diet while preparing for bootcamp

[warehimer33]

Originally Posted by jdAECF

I wish I had to diet for boot camp. Losing weight is actually easier for me than gaining it. When I swore in, I was underweight for my height. It's hard to have a high calorie high fat diet and pt as well.

I think it'd be hard to gain weight. All that eating and then PTing probably makes you feel like crap... I like being overweight, even though it's only by like 5 pounds. Gives me room to play but it sucks because I can only gain weight at the gym, I never lose weight when I work out, it's because of my build. It sucks but it's whatever. If you want to gain weight I would do it by swimming. Eat a lot of carbs and protein, like 2 PBJs then go swimming. That's what my polo coach made me do for my defense position so I could bulk up and be stronger. And it works.

[jzhaun]

Okay, so I eat fairly well and also read nutrition books and blogs and things like that, but I'm not a professional or anything.

Basically as far diets go you shouldn't be looking to restrict anything. If you're eating 10,000 calories a day and not training like an Olympic athlete then yeah, you should probably cut back a bit but going under 2000 calories isn't going to help you in the long run because a) if you go too far under your body goes into starvation mode and b) unless you keep eating that way forever, you'll gain the weight back once you stop.

So a better idea is to swap some stuff for healthier options and try to eat stuff in moderation. Add some vegetables, swap pop for water etc. Don't try to live on vegetables though, because most of them aren't that filling on their own unless you're eating an entire produce store. E.g. if you swap snacking on chips for celery, put some peanut butter on it, because celery by itself isn't going to stop your stomach from growling.

Stay away from stuff that says sugar-free or fat-free though. Fatty foods are okay in moderation. Most of the time they're adding chemicals that are worse for your body even if the calorie count is less. Diet pop isn't any healthier than the regular kind. Skim milk isn't better than whole. Try to get away from processed-foods-that-come-in-a-box too.

And as far as the breakfast haters go:
Try eating something small (like a small bowl of cereal or an egg) an hour or two after you get up. It doesn't have to be a huge meal.

[Ncnavymom]

Add more real food - veggies, fruits and lean meats. Cut out SUGAR! Also remember there is no caffeine at Boot so if you're highly addicted cut it out now and save yourself the crushing headache while they are depriving you of sleep the first few days.

For the breakfast haters. Remember anything can be eaten for breakfast - try dinner for breakfast - chicken breast, veggies, sweet potato. eat small - try all protien or all (good) carbs ( oatmeal, fruit smoothies etc) to see which works best for your system. Try making extra at dinner to have an easy breakfast in the am. Start small once you train your body to eat you'll start to be hungry every day.

Best of luck to you all.

[rocky112]

Originally Posted by jzhaun

If you're eating 10,000 calories a day and not training like an Olympic athlete then yeah, you should probably cut back a bit but going under 2000 calories isn't going to help you in the long run because a) if you go too far under your body goes into starvation mode and b) unless you keep eating that way forever, you'll gain the weight back once you stop.

Diet is by far the most important aspect to losing weight. As far as getting in shape you will need exercise, but working out and not adjusting your calorie intake will make for a long road to weight loss. I started working out in December and didn't start losing weight until April because I didn't adjust my diet enough.

You need to figure out how many calories your body needs to maintain your current weight. There's a lot of fancy equations, but this site should help you figure out how many calories your body needs to maintain your current weight.

Since a pound of fat is roughly 3,600 calories, and if you're looking to lose a pound a week, you're going to have to cut over 500 calories off your maintenance calories every day. Then you can add to that how many calories you burn from exercise. For most people, that number will be below 2,000 calories.

Most physical activities, even if strenuous, burn surprisingly few calories. For example, a healthy adult male only burns 124 calories running a mile. What is frustrating about exercise is that the more you do it, the more efficient your body becomes, and you wind up burning fewer calories.

If your maintenance calories are around 2,200 and you eat 2,000 and think you should lose weight running a mile everyday, it could take you two weeks to lose a single pound.

From personal experience, if you're trying to lose weight and you don't adjust your diet you're setting yourself up for failure. Since June I've lost 30 pounds by combining my P90X workouts with a 1,800 calorie diet. Have I felt hungry? You bet, but being a little hungry is better than getting tossed out of your DEP pool for being overweight.

[LT Guppy]

Originally Posted by rocky112

From personal experience, if you're trying to lose weight and you don't adjust your diet you're setting yourself up for failure. Since June I've lost 30 pounds by combining my P90X workouts with a 1,800 calorie diet. Have I felt hungry? You bet, but being a little hungry is better than getting tossed out of your DEP pool for being overweight.

I agree. I work out 6 days a week, but if I ate a 2000 calorie diet I would still gain weight.
Everyone's body is different.