Hi,

I've been doing both Pump and RPM for circa 2-months now.  My goals are to improve my overall fitness as well as to tone (and build a little) - and therefore i'm NOT looking to lose weight (I'm a male weighing 11st 10lb's).  I've never really looked into my diet particularly - I eat reasonably healthy (although I allow myself the odd treat now and then ! ).

I'm after some advice as to what I should be looking to do with my diet.  I'm slightly concerned that for the amount of exercise I'm now doing, I'm not taking in enough food to maintain my current weight.  Obviously I want to be eating the right kinds of things, but it's not so easy when in an office all day - and the only quick accessable food is from the snack mahine (which is about 10ft from my desk !).

I've looking to obtain calorie information from the foods I generally eat and may start to keep a food diary for a few weeks so that I can see how much I'm eating.

I'd be grateful for some input.

Thanks in advance.

Consider a simple analogy to economics. More calories ingested than expended = fat deposition = weight gain. Less calories ingested than expended = weight loss.

So, if you want to maintain your current weight, then you need to match in vs out, but I'm sure you already know this.

However, remember that in reality it is more complex than this, and changes bodyweight are also dictated by muscle mass, bone mass and body total water content.

You may get recommendations in other posts advocating diet variants and weight manipulation techniques. Encourage those posters to include verifiable and/or referenced information to back up opinion.

As some further reading, look at: USDA NAL - Dietary Reference Intakes (PDF 4.9Mb) and: ACSM - Nutrition and Athletic Performance (PDF 1.7Mb). Nothing specific to your request in there, but they will give you some idea of what and how to target.

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The forum member "pipera" is not a Les Mills Instructor, though his posts, signature and profile will falsely claim otherwise.

Since he has been economical with the truth on his profile, read the real facts here.

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Soundlab:

 Obviously I want to be eating the right kinds of things, but it's not so easy when in an office all day - and the only quick accessable food is from the snack mahine (which is about 10ft from my desk !).

 

How's about a salad sandwich and fruit from home and walking straight past the snack machine? That way, the calories you are eating are good calories. (Hence you can eat more and feel better for it.) 

Good for you for wanting to eat healthy, but you've got to be organised so you don't succumb to the quick and easy crap. Snack machines? They should be condemned!!

Best of luck!

Thanks for the quick replies.  To be honest, I do actually bring a fair bit of fruit to the office on most days.  I don't use the snack machine a great deal to be fair as I try and keep to a reasonable balanced / healthy diet.

My main concern is just to not lose weight - as losing weight is not my goal.  My weight is about right for my height (I had a full medical about a month ago and my BMI, and other scores were all in the healthy / normal range).  They gave me a resting calorie intake suggestion and a max calorie intake suggestion as part of this and I'm trying to find a way of increasing my intake a little by eating the correct sorts of foods to balance this off against now doing 4 classes a week (where before I was doing nothing but going out for a walk at lunch and a bit of mountain biking at the weekend).

Many thanks.

Soundlab:

My main concern is just to not lose weight - as losing weight is not my goal ... They gave me a resting calorie intake suggestion and a max calorie intake suggestion as part of this and I'm trying to find a way of increasing my intake a little

Unless you eat like a bird and/or are working extremely hard during those classes, I'd be surprised if you are at real risk of calorie deficit. If anything the opposite usually applies.

The average person needs about 25kcal/kg/day to maintain "normal" activity and support BMR. Thereafter you would, at most, burn another 1000kcal per class (though likely less), so you only need another 4000kcal (max) per week.

The Western diet tends to be quite rich and it is not difficult at all to inadvertently match that extra ~500kcal per day.

---

The forum member "pipera" is not a Les Mills Instructor, though his posts, signature and profile will falsely claim otherwise.

Since he has been economical with the truth on his profile, read the real facts here.

---

Thanks again for the responses.  I've never really looked into diets etc before so I'll do some investigating !

What are peoples thoughts on Whey Protein shakes ?  Are the widely used by you guys ? (hope I haven't missed a thread on this subject already !).

Cheers.

Hey Soundlab,

I prefer the natural method of weight liffting and building muscles rather than taking whey proteins.

Are they healthy for your body in long term? I doubt...

But it's up to you.

Just my viewpoint.

 

trancendental:

The Western diet tends to be quite rich and it is not difficult at all to inadvertently match that extra ~500kcal per day.

So sad and so true...but is sure is delicious going down!

tiger75:

Hey Soundlab,

I prefer the natural method of weight liffting and building muscles rather than taking whey proteins.

Are they healthy for your body in long term? I doubt...

But it's up to you.

Just my viewpoint.

 

I agree, but it's just something I thought I'd look into

tiger75:

I prefer the natural method of weight liffting and building muscles rather than taking whey proteins.

Are they healthy for your body in long term? I doubt...

But it's up to you.

Just my viewpoint.

I also agree.  Remember, supplements are only doing something for you for the duration that you're taking them.  It's better to train the body to generate as many required energies as possible by just eating properly and consuming enough water- that way if (when) you ever get off taking those synthetic additives your body won't panic wondering how to take care of itself.

Lots of lean meats for proteins (or some milk products, eggs, or beans/ legumes) will provide your body with the proteins it needs to perform.  Keep those great fruits and vegetables that you mentioned that you're eating... and of course, pick one day of the week to indulge in those treats- the body can handle a short-term binge like this effectively.

Use this rule of thumb: "The LEAST processed, the better for you."  I find it simplifies things a lot.

Hope this helps!

tiger75:

... whey proteins.

Are they healthy for your body in long term? I doubt... 

Whey protein is mostly casein extracted from milk, so there is nothing "unhealthy" about it.

The liver is extremely efficient at metabolising excess intake, so the only thing you'll hurt is your wallet.

---

The forum member "pipera" is not a Les Mills Instructor, though his posts, signature and profile will falsely claim otherwise.

Since he has been economical with the truth on his profile, read the real facts here.

---

Nutrition is the basis of your health - garbage in, garbage out. You need to listen to your body and it will tell you what it needs and how much. Whey protein is a good option if it suits your lifestyle and doesn't become your primary fuel source. Nutrition can be made out to be a complex issue when in fact it is quite simple. The majority of your diet should include things that are as close to what nature intended. A point that has been overlooked so far is including the "right" types of fat into your diet. These fats ( eg: avocado, flax oil, olive oil, nuts) are essential in small amounts to your diet and help with satiety.

 

Soundlab:

Hi,

I've been doing both Pump and RPM for circa 2-months now.  My goals are to improve my overall fitness as well as to tone (and build a little) - and therefore i'm NOT looking to lose weight (I'm a male weighing 11st 10lb's).  I've never really looked into my diet particularly - I eat reasonably healthy (although I allow myself the odd treat now and then ! ).

I'm after some advice as to what I should be looking to do with my diet.  I'm slightly concerned that for the amount of exercise I'm now doing, I'm not taking in enough food to maintain my current weight.  Obviously I want to be eating the right kinds of things, but it's not so easy when in an office all day - and the only quick accessable food is from the snack mahine (which is about 10ft from my desk !).

I've looking to obtain calorie information from the foods I generally eat and may start to keep a food diary for a few weeks so that I can see how much I'm eating.

I'd be grateful for some input.

Thanks in advance.

Speak to a nutritionist. Bad snack machine very bad graze and eat small meals and never eat a main meal after 7.00 pm at night and if possible have your main meal at midday and a smaller one at night. Don't over eat in the summer, and watch the comfort food in the winter. Drink plenty of water and plan your weekly diet. Talk to a nutritionist and finally work with a PT that you know has a good client base and can show you that they have achieved results.

The rest is up to you.

You are what you eat.

RPMfreak:

A point that has been overlooked so far is including the "right" types of fat into your diet. 

Agree, maximising the proportion of unsaturated vs saturated fat is important. Especially since fatty acids are an important substrate for muscle ATP generation and for cellular synthesis. Another important aspect is that there are essential unsaturated fatty acids, but no essential saturated fatty acids.

However, remember that humans evolved with a certain amount of saturated fat in our diet, so it shouldn't be regarded as dangerous per se, just to be taken in moderation ... just like everything else.

Also, to flesh out and balance the discussion, I'd like to put a word in for cholesterol. It is used for cell wall synthesis and steroid hormone production, amongst other things. It is non-essential (i.e: the body can synthesise it endogenously) so little dietary intake is required, but the bad rap has been overplayed in the media.

---

The forum member "pipera" is not a Les Mills Instructor, though his posts, signature and profile will falsely claim otherwise.

Since he has been economical with the truth on his profile, read the real facts here.

---

I did see a nutritionist a short while ago before starting pump and RPM (not because I was starting these, but because it was part of a medical I was having).

They did analysis on my diet (based on a food diary that I'd been requested to keep leading up to the "meeting") and advised a few things I should change (there were a few too many snacks in there - which I've now cut out and replaced with more fruit).

The paperwork I subsequently was given gave me a record of my protein intake, saturated fat intake, etc, so I'll have another look through that.  As I say, I'm only just starting to look into my diet properly now. 

Thanks again for the comments, it's all useful info to me.