Hi all,

My name is Chris...I'm new here and I'm definitely excited to start tracking my progress on traineo!

After reading around a bit, I'm realizing that one of the areas I really need help in is my diet. My average every day diet is usually around 1300-1400 calories...probably a bit low for a 27-year old guy!

Oddly enough, I really don't have issues with hunger, but I DO have issues with low energy...I find it pretty easy to talk myself out of going to the gym due to that.

I know so little about nutrition, so I was hoping some of you might be able to tell me what to look for if I'm trying to boost my energy and add a few calories as well (ie, "foods rich in ______ will help you boost your energy" or if you have specific suggestions, that would be great as well!)

One caveat is that I'm completely worthless in the kitchen, so something I could eat fresh or maybe microwave would be best.

Odd question I guess, but I get kind of overwhelmed at the grocery store and tend to buy the same old stuff...guess I just need some ideas.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Chris

Okay i got some good things for you.
#1 the reason you have no energy is because your not eating enough food. depending on your height and weight you at 27 should be eating more like 1500-1600 to lose weight and 1800-2200 to maintain your weight.
#2 i buy healthy mocrowave meals like lean cuisean and other similar to it if your trying to lose weight there great because they have low fat and most have lots of nutrition in them. also chicken is lean and i eat alot of steamed veggies that come in big bags for like 5 bucks at a grocery store and they have all types of veggies and ropasted potatoes and stir fry and wicked good stuff in em'

im as useless as they come in the kitchen aswell.

Find your BMR and eat that many calories per day. Move more. You'll lose weight.

Unless you're 5' tall and weigh 110 pounds, 1300 calories is far too few.

According to the Benedict-Harris Equation, if you eat 1.2 times your BMR in calories per day, you'll maintain your body weight if you're sedentary. Write everything you shove down your maw in your food log. Most of us lie to ourselves about how much we're really eating. If you eat that 1.2 times BMR and walk for an hour a day, you create a caloric deficit of about 500 calories a day, which is a pound of weight loss per week, all things being equal.

If you're more active than that, like if you're a ninja or a CrossFitter like me, you can eat more than that and maintain your weight. It's really just a numbers game. Burn more than you eat, lose weight. Burn less than you eat, gain weight. Math. It's pretty freaking awesome.

Also, eat more protein. If you need a whey protein shake, so be it. If you're trying to get in shape, aim for 1 gram of protein per pound of your bodyweight. If that seems excessive because you're heavy, you have my permission to shoot for 1 gram of protein per pound of you GOAL bodyweight.

[quote]#2 i buy healthy mocrowave meals like lean cuisean/quote]



That prepackaged crap is so misleading. Sure it may be low-fat or whatever, but can you pronounce more than half the words in the ingredient list? Yes they are convenient, low calorie, and cheap, but cheaper, freshly made alternatives are available, without all the extra crap they add to make sure it stays in the freezer forever, and tastes decent coming out of a microwave and cardboard box.
OK Chris, you're 27, time to learn to cook for yourself buddy. Not only will you eat better, but you'll impress any woman if you can cook something more than minute rice and lean cuisine, am i right ladies?
I've got a buddy in the same position, he's 27, and lives off these frozen meals and shakes in a can. He refuses to learn to cook, thinking that someday some woman will just want him for his looks and agree to take care of him cause he's such a stud.
Chicken: this is easy, get a pan, put it over heat, throw the chicken in with your favorite seasonings, bbq sause, dressing, whatever, and cook til its done. Easy.
Beef: see above
Veggies: same, and you don't even need heat. Chop em up, mix with the beef and chicken, and eat.
you could even try those premade dinner classes, where you go and make like a months worth of food in their kitchen, using all their stuff, they're a bit pricey, but they will teach you to cook, and cook enough to store some and eat later. Good bye lean cuisine frozen dinners, hello cheap, healthy dinners, and learning a skill that will pay off the rest of your life.

A solution to the grocery store problem: plan your meals in advance including snacks, make a shopping list accordingly (specify all ingredients and amounts), only buy what's on the list.
Benefits: better health, saving money.

How much cooking talent does it take to steam some broccoli? Jesus, I am tired of "I can't cook" as an excuse to why people eat horrible things. I can't cook either, but I hardly think that baking chicken and steaming vegetables constitute "cooking."

Thanks for all the advice everybody...I appreciate the input!

Rhianna - Yeah, after reading these boards a bit, I agree that the lack of energy is probably due to not eating enough calories. As odd as it sounds, I never really made that connection before...

Apollo - Thanks for the link and the advice. According to that site, my BMR is 1900 calories. Well I've been eating 1300-1400 and I'm still overweight, so I must still be doing something wrong! I guess my metabolism is all but non-existent.

Matt - About the pre-packaged food, what's so bad about them (besides the fact that the ingredients are hard to pronounce)? I realize that they're not nearly as good for you as fresh food but some people act like they're worse for you than cigarettes, alcohol, meth and everything else! I'm not trying to be snarky...It sounds like you know what you're talking about. I'm curious...

And I knew the "learn to cook" responses would be coming. It's not that I refuse to learn, it's that I'm genuinely BAD at it! I've taken cooking classes before and I smoked out the classroom two different times. As sad as it sounds, I would have no clue on how to go about steaming broccoli, even though I'm sure that sounds like the easiest thing in the world to most of you. I'll keep trying but it's just one of those things that I'm horrible at.

Anybody have any good tips for "energy" foods or what type ingredients to look for a good boost of energy?

Again...thanks for all of the input!

Chris

Hey Chris,

Just like learning to eat better, exercise more etc has to be learned, so does cooking for yourself. Just keep trying, and you'll learn fast enough after you've set off too many smoke alarms when your food is done.
And the prepackaged crap is just that....crap.
Sure they're convenient, but our bodies pay for the convenience.
So full of chemicals, preservatives, sodium, to make sure that it makes it from the factory, to the store, to your freezer, and out of your microwave and still be tasty.
So here's a simple meal that keeps nicely, and will take only a few minutes to cook. Get a few boneless skinless chicken breasts, and cook em up in a pan, should take about 20 minutes to cook a breast completely. if you've got a non-stick pan you don't need anything in the bottom, if not splash a tiny bit of olive oil (should be a staple in your kitchen, then even make olive oil spray. Don't be put off by the price of olive oil, a little goes a long way!) Boil some water, throw in some pasta, count to ten minutes, drain.
Get some premade pasta sauce, split up the chicken into five batches, split the pasta the same way, dump that into zip-lock bags or tupperware / rubbermaid type containers, and stick in the fridge or freezer. Voila, you've got five ready to eat meals, just heat in the microwave and enjoy.
you can do this with rice, pasta, quinoa, frozen of fresh veggies, chicken, steak, just about anything will sit in the fridge a few days, and the freezer a few weeks.
This way you can also make the exact portions that you want, with the exact ingredients that you want, and they will be just as handy and portable and convenient as the prepackaged stuff.

Think clean protein and foods closest to the sun.

Clean protein:
Raw nuts
baked chicken, fish
cheeses
beans
All without a lot of extra glob, oils or sugars on them.

Nuts w/ veggies seems to perk my energy.

Foods closest to the sun:
Raw fruits and veggies
The less processed and multi-syllabled ingredients the better. Actually one ingredient is the very best!

Then start moving your body. I noticed today how much more mental energy I had after going to the gym. My body...not so much.

Hi Chris,

The foods below work very nicely for me.

• Cheese strings (60 cals and lots of protein)
• Smoothies made with unsweetened skim yogurt and frozen fruit. Throw in some fruity whey protein powder if you like.
• Diet cottage cheese, skim milk
• All Bran bites - a tasty way to get more fiber

"That prepackaged crap is so misleading"
Okay i know that its mislerading but not all of it is garbage, i was using the lean cuisean brand as an example i dont eat that one, but i do eat frozen vegitables that are packaged and i have read the back and theres nothing hokey on it. i'm not above eating frozen food im not a HUGE health nut. and ive lost 23 lbs doing it my way pretty fast and healthily. and im healthier then ive ever been. i dont have the money either.

@ Rhianna - there's a difference between using frozen vegetables, which are just vegetables frozen, and eating pre-prepared frozen food. Often the pre-prepared stuff has all sorts of additives in it to keep it fresh for longer, to make it taste better, to make it cheaper to produce, etc.

Frozen doesn't necessarily mean bad, but pre-prepared food is often less healthy than the foods you prepare for yourself.

Hey Chris - here's a really simple, easy recipe that requires only a microwave!

INGREDIENTS
- 1 serve Mexican refried beans (heaps of protein and about 80 calories)
- 1 slice of extra-light cheese (about 70 calories)
- 1/2 or 1 whole roma tomato (either 20 or 40 calories)
Basically you just put the beans in a microwave-safe bowl, cut up the tomato and put it on top, then tear up the cheese slice and put THAT on top and microwave until the cheese is all melty - try 1 minute on high first and then go from there. This is really filling and always makes me feel like I'm having real Mexican food, which I love! And it's super easy and quick. Hope you like it!