Food diet off balance

Question

Every day i ride 20km to work with my bike. Then when my work is done i do those 20km again. I'm doing martial arts 2 times a week and try to get 4 power workouts a week to gain some muscle.

I do still weigh 84kg and i'm 1.70m.

My main problem is that i seem to be unable to get a good food balance that makes me feel allright.

My main problems are:

• I have my breakfast 10 minutes before i start biking and my body feels 'empty' causing my to have a very strong hungry feeling after.
• During the day i try not to eat to much but when i get home i feel like eating loads of food. But then i feel this is energy is not burned and turned into fat.

I do try to eat healthy and limit any fastfood/alcohol/candy. But i feel my food balance is way off since i'm not loosing any weight.

To prevent loosing muscle tissue i do take a proteine shake every day.

I hope i can get some advice to make my body feel comfortable and actually start loosing some weight.

Thanks!

edit: I'm not looking really fat but i can't hide my belly ;)

Answer 1

Here is my 2 cents

First off, I think you are probably working out plenty. Biking 40 km per day is a great workout and should burn plenty of calories. In addition, you work out other times, so the AMOUNT you are working out is no problem at all.

A good breakfast is extremely important in my opinion for feeling good throughout the day and also to even help your metabolism. It's always healthier to eat a little slower, and it sounds like you are really rushing your morning meal. I know it can be hard, but maybe wake up earlier or eat RIGHT when you wake up before doing other things. Doing a long bike on an undigested meal can leave you feeling queasy for hours from my experience.

Try to keep your eating consistent throughout the day. It's better to eat 2500 calories or whatever you eat per day over several meals and snacks rather than gulping down half in one meal. Your metabolism reacts quicker and better, allowing you to constantly store more energy and burn more energy.

Also, I've never been a huge fan of protein shakes. First off, if you do have protein shakes, make sure you're buying lean protein shakes with next to 0 fat. You would be surprised how many of the protein shakes have exorbitant amounts of fat and carbs in them. For some people, that's good, like football players and atheletes. This gives them more energy to burn and let's face it, most athletes, whether they are high school, college, or professions, burn MUCH MORE calories than an average person. This is why protein shakes are especially good for athletes. Not only do they get the protein, but also some fat (energy) to burn.

If you eat a healthy, normal diet, you should have plenty of protein to maintain your muscle. Muscle doesn't just evaporate. Honestly, muscle can dip quickly, but it's not really muscle mass you're losing. Losing actual muscle mass takes months of strictly not working out and eating a poor diet. The same goes for building muscle. It takes several months to actually build permanent muscle. If your protein shake has lots of calories, ditch it, or buy a leaner protein shake. You really don't need it to maintain muscle. As long as you continue to work out and have some protein in your diet, you'll be fine.

Finally, maybe you could try using a calorie counter? I find them actually really fun and entertaining. This will also help you guage your diet balance. Almost every person in America has way too much salt, way too much sugar, and not enough potassium. Challenge yourself to be well rounded in those categories.

My last litte bit is about eating after working out. Dont be worried it's going straight to fat!. You just worked out. Your body needs nourishment. It's healthy to eat a lot when you are done working out, so continue eating when you get home, just maybe eat slower and try and watch how many calories you put in. Avoid 1000+ at a time. Cheers.

Answer 2

It is OK and normal to be hungry after activity. If you really want and need to eat, don't force yourself not to, this probably wont work. But there is a simple trick you could and should try: Eat slow.

Hunger is a feeling that your brain produces, after you started eating it takes some time for the feeling to be satisfied, the amount of food you actually ate only plays a little role (you are likely to eat too much). Eating slow reduces the amount of food you eat before the hunger feeling is gone.

If you think you are unable to or have no idea how to start eating slow, you can force yourself into the habit by snacking whilst preparing your meal. Eg when I eat pineapple yoghurt, I always snack some of the pineapple while preparing. You snack some nuts while you prepare your meal, too. Just don't munch them all.

Addressing your main problems:

• You should re-arrange your breakfast, let it settle down before you ride to work. Maybe have breakfast before your bathroom routine. If that's not possible you might want to get up a bit early. A hastily gulped down breakfast is not a good start into the day.

• Eat throughout the day, there is nothing inherently bad with eating, especially as some small meals will probably reduce the risk that you overeat in the evening.

Answer 3

Try paleo and read up on intermittent fasting.

Or better yet, check and see if the "bulletproof" diet does anything for you.

It's main shtick is a quick but filling breakfast, that leaves you with enough energy until your next meal. It does go far beyond that and offers a lot of ideas on nutrition and exercise in general.