It seems that this is another “the grass is always greener” topic.
I know that during the holiday season, most people are resolving lose weight at the beginning of the new year, but I’m having the opposite problem, and one of my goals is to get my weight up.
I have been hovering between 130-132 lbs for the last month and can’t seem to push it up any farther than that. I realize that I’m not in a danger zone for my height, but I just feel like I’m too small. To give you a general idea, I’m 20 lbs lighter than I was when I graduated from University, and only 5 lbs heavier than when I graduated high school.
The thing is, I don’t just want to add junk food to my diet. I feel like it would be really easy to just drink 2-3 beers everyday or eat a lot of junk food, but that would defeat the purpose of why I’m doing this (to stay healthy).
Here’s the deal, I’m sticking with a low carb diet, because standard and high carb diets just kill my energy levels. I walk between 7-10 km a day, plus I do some calisthenics and strength training every morning (nothing too strenuous as I’m just getting started with the strength training).
My diet consists of mainly high protein and high fat foods with lots of vegetables. I avoid sugar, bread, and rice generally. This diet has been really good for keeping my energy level up.
I’ve been able to sustain about 2500 calories per day for the most part. About 1000 for breakfast, 500 for lunch, and another 1000 for dinner with a couple snacks that make up any deficits.
My question is, does anyone have any ideas on what healthy low carb options there are that I can add to my diet to supplement my calorie intake?
I’d take this to a health blog, but I’d rather see what the people I know are doing or have done.
Hey Oggy!
Aside from your physiological frustrations, I hope you are well. I have experienced similar challenges in optimizing my body composition, weight, and strength-to-weight ratio throughout the last five years. Matt Might offers reasonable advice about muscular development, including comments about dietary modification. His protein supplementation suggestions may fulfill your parameters for “healthy, low-carb options”.
A registered dietitian also created a personalized eating plan which has worked well for me; you may wish to consult a professional to design a tailored program which satisfies your requirements. (As always, if you receive professional medical advice which contradicts my statements, disregard this commentary.)
Please feel free to continue this conversation if you wish – I would be glad to answer any questions.
Good luck and Happy New Year!
Elizabeth (from TU)
Hi Elizabeth!
It’s been far too long. Thanks for the suggestions.
I’ll check Matt Might out. Just curious, a quick Google search returned a professor in CompSci and logic. Is that the same guy? Do you have any links that I can follow?
Unfortunately, my financial situation prevents me from going to a dietitian for personalized advice, but if you can point me to some general advice, I’d be happy to follow up.
Thank you again!
And Happy New Year!
Apparenrly comments require more than 14 characters to post… Cheese!
Hey Hyphen, thanks for the suggestion.
I’ve heard this a bit, but was curious if the kind of cheese is important.
I’m sure a Google search would give me the answer that I seek, but I thought I’d ask you anyway.
Hey Hyphen, I found this:
http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/kind-cheese-good-high-protein-low-carb-diet-1913.html
In short, the cheeses that are aged longer and drier are highest in protein and lowest in carbs. So Parmesan is better than cream cheese.
Anyway, just following up. Let me know if you have anything else.