Is my calorie restriction diet having an adverse effect on my weight loss?

Question

After my first question about losing weight and my training, I was told that my diet should be the next step in burning fat.

I started to watch out for what I am eating and how much. I used to drink a lot of drinks like Coke, iced tea, and Red Bull everyday. So my first step was reducing the consumption of these kind of drinks. I went from drinking from 3 Red Bulls and 0.5l Coke/iced tea per day down to 2 Redbulls and only water.

The next step was my eating habits. Before my diet, I would eat two croissants in the morning. For lunch I woudl have a random meal (curry rice, pasta, or something like this) with a dessert (e.g. bread with vanilla in it). In the evening, I would eat whatever my mother was cooking, but I didn't eat much back then either.

Now I am eating one croissant in the morning. For lunch, my meals still vary, but I try to eat salad at last once a week, and I don't eat desserts anymore. In the evening, I try to eat salad and bread only and after workout I also eat meat after this. During the day I also have one apple or a fruit mix.

My stomach is rumbling very often now. Is what I'm doing healthy or not?

Answer 1

You should be eating to support your activity level. At 1.75m, 64.5kg, you're not overweight at all and you have a very full training schedule (kickboxing and jogging). You've got to feed your body so that it can adapt to this stress and build muscle.

Given what you've said about what you eat, and how you feel, I'd say you should perhaps eat a bit more, but eat better. Best would be to learn about sports nutrition for yourself, but here are some suggestions:

• No red bulls. If you're feeling low on energy, just try sleeping a bit more, or eating better.
• Hydration is really important. Carry around a water bottle with you and just sip it throughout the day.
• Eat a better breakfast: oatmeal or a cereal, milk or yogurt, a banana or other fruit (eating a croissant is like eating cake).
• Lunch sounds alright, but maybe replace dessert with fruits.
• Dinner, probably can't go too wrong with what your mom cooks. It's free :) But, if it's not quite matching what you'd like to be eating, you could let her know your motivation for eating differently.
• Add little bits of nutritious snacks throughout the day (dried fruit, almonds or other nuts). You can just carry around a little bag of this stuff.

Your weight may actually go up with all your exercise and feeding yourself properly, but that will be due to muscle gain. Muscle is more dense than fat. Your body fat percentage could still be dropping even though your weight is increasing, and this will be the route to looking fit.

Answer 2

(Usual disclaimer: I am not a professional dietician; listen to your body.)

If your stomach feels empty physically and you think your blood sugar levels are ok, your diet might be on the "energy-dense" side. Unbuttered and unsugared popcorn (and those puffed rice wafers that look like styrofoam), low-fat yoghurt, apples etc. will help physically fill your stomach without too many extra calories. (I'd guess a bowl of proper cereal, e.g. oats, grated apple, raisins, low-fat milk, that has the same calories as your breakfast croissant will have twice the physical volume, so your stomach will feel less empty. In general aim for protein and fiber.)

On the "external" side, training your abs will constrict your stomach, so it should feel fuller also. (Or maybe that is the placebo effect in action.)

Answer 3

It doesn't sound like you're getting enough protein. To get more:

• Try adding eggs (or egg whites) to your breakfast, or yogurt as @Sancho suggested.
• If you have pasta or a salad for lunch, throw in 1/2 cup chickpeas, black beans (or any bean).
• Low-fat cheese is a great 'protein snack' - Babybel light is my favorite (50 calories & 6g protein).

Carrying a cooler to work and/or in the car makes it easy to fuel your body with healthy foods throughout day. And you'll have more options for what to bring since you can keep food cool.

Lastly, experiment with different foods to find options that are satisfying and don't have too many calories. Different things work for different people, but something with protein is usually a safe bet.