whats the right diet for swimmers,i've recently tried the controversial Atkins Diet and lost a few inches but gained muscle mass..?
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Former Member
One thing that has worked well for me, and i'd higly recommend it is keeping a food diary. Write down what you eat, and how much you eat. Summarize it daily.
Yeah, you have to write down the cheats too. Not to worry, they happen.
Anyway, other than it being a little motivational mental game, it will really give you a good grasp about what you're really eating.
In mine, I write down what and when I eat, figure out the calories, and even try to put down the amount of carbs, protein and fat.
Having battled overeating my whole life, I've kept a food diary on and off for years, especially when trying to lose or maintain lower weight. I've gotten really good at 'guesstimating' calories and what the food contains too.
Over the years, I can tell that when I lose weight and stay healthy, what I eat is most resemblant of the traditional "healthy balanced diet" with emphasis on counting calories (not eating too much). The times I would get sick, or too weak, or hit a long plateau in weightloss or muscle growth would be when I would overdo something, or not do enough of something else.
Many examples over the last 15-16 years. One period of time, for a few months, I got on a fat-free kick, and I was worried that with too much protein, I would ingest too much fat, so I got concentrated on mostly carbs, nonfat or lowfat carbs. I'd get a lot of short term energy boosts, I would lose some weight (this was when I was around 16% bodyfat), I would lose 5 or so pounds but my bodyfat stayed the same. I worked out hard and harder, and wasn;t getting any stronger. And would get into eating frenzies, where I could literally inhale a whole box of 'special K' (no fat...) and still be hungry... Well, after few months I turned out my body was craving some fat, and that it needed it.
I relaxed the standard, started eating in a more balanced way, my weight went up 10 pounds, I dropped a dress size and the body fat went down to some 13 or 14%.
Cutting out carbs did not work for me at all. It would send me into a BIG overeating frenzy where I could literally 'inhale' 3000 calories and still feel hungry.
The times I would really gain weight is when I would relax, and eat what I feel like eating, and not exercising.
Right now, I'm exercising a lot (swim between 2000 and 3000M every day), and concentrating on keeping my calories between 1800 and 2500 a day (I'm 5-9, around 160lb), with emphasis of at least 50% protein. I want to build muscle.
Once I build more muscle, it will be rather easy to lose the last 15-20 pounds by cutting down the calories to about 1500-1800 for few weeks.
If I was sedentary, and wanted to lose weight, I'd cut my calories to 1000 or 1200 a day. The intensity of the workouts I do every day is about 700-1200 calories. Some strength building days, some cardio days, some fat burning days, some combination days. The thing is, with somewhat restricted calories, and a good amount of protein, my body is using up the fat, and even if not losing the significant weight, it is replacing the fat with the muscle. I can tell that is happening. In last 9 weeks I've gone down a full dress size and a little bit more, I'm seing muscles where tere were none (to see), and the thing that we girls dread, my boobs are getting smaller. I don't weigh myself, but I'll make a guess that I probably lost 10-15 pounds (of fat) since I started. I have no worries about getting too muscular.
Being a habitual carboloader, I find it little tough to eat enough protein every day, but I found this great protein bar that tastes like chocolate, and has 34g of protein. I try to have one of those within couple of hours after the swim practice.
Small sandwich for lunch, and a nice piece of meat or fish for early dinner (I hate chicken).
Well, anyway, hopefully the more detailed description of 'how I do it' gives some of you ideas about what may or may not work for you.
Oh, and Sparx35... (dating suggestions if I may) impress a girl with your brain and how nice you are, and not so much with your body. But if losing some weight will give you more confidence, that will reflect in your personality too. Us girls are a lot less visual when it comes to attraction then you guys are. For girls, balanced confidence in a guy is very attractive. (At least for nice girls)
May I ask how old you are and how much weight you're trying to lose?
One thing that has worked well for me, and i'd higly recommend it is keeping a food diary. Write down what you eat, and how much you eat. Summarize it daily.
Yeah, you have to write down the cheats too. Not to worry, they happen.
Anyway, other than it being a little motivational mental game, it will really give you a good grasp about what you're really eating.
In mine, I write down what and when I eat, figure out the calories, and even try to put down the amount of carbs, protein and fat.
Having battled overeating my whole life, I've kept a food diary on and off for years, especially when trying to lose or maintain lower weight. I've gotten really good at 'guesstimating' calories and what the food contains too.
Over the years, I can tell that when I lose weight and stay healthy, what I eat is most resemblant of the traditional "healthy balanced diet" with emphasis on counting calories (not eating too much). The times I would get sick, or too weak, or hit a long plateau in weightloss or muscle growth would be when I would overdo something, or not do enough of something else.
Many examples over the last 15-16 years. One period of time, for a few months, I got on a fat-free kick, and I was worried that with too much protein, I would ingest too much fat, so I got concentrated on mostly carbs, nonfat or lowfat carbs. I'd get a lot of short term energy boosts, I would lose some weight (this was when I was around 16% bodyfat), I would lose 5 or so pounds but my bodyfat stayed the same. I worked out hard and harder, and wasn;t getting any stronger. And would get into eating frenzies, where I could literally inhale a whole box of 'special K' (no fat...) and still be hungry... Well, after few months I turned out my body was craving some fat, and that it needed it.
I relaxed the standard, started eating in a more balanced way, my weight went up 10 pounds, I dropped a dress size and the body fat went down to some 13 or 14%.
Cutting out carbs did not work for me at all. It would send me into a BIG overeating frenzy where I could literally 'inhale' 3000 calories and still feel hungry.
The times I would really gain weight is when I would relax, and eat what I feel like eating, and not exercising.
Right now, I'm exercising a lot (swim between 2000 and 3000M every day), and concentrating on keeping my calories between 1800 and 2500 a day (I'm 5-9, around 160lb), with emphasis of at least 50% protein. I want to build muscle.
Once I build more muscle, it will be rather easy to lose the last 15-20 pounds by cutting down the calories to about 1500-1800 for few weeks.
If I was sedentary, and wanted to lose weight, I'd cut my calories to 1000 or 1200 a day. The intensity of the workouts I do every day is about 700-1200 calories. Some strength building days, some cardio days, some fat burning days, some combination days. The thing is, with somewhat restricted calories, and a good amount of protein, my body is using up the fat, and even if not losing the significant weight, it is replacing the fat with the muscle. I can tell that is happening. In last 9 weeks I've gone down a full dress size and a little bit more, I'm seing muscles where tere were none (to see), and the thing that we girls dread, my boobs are getting smaller. I don't weigh myself, but I'll make a guess that I probably lost 10-15 pounds (of fat) since I started. I have no worries about getting too muscular.
Being a habitual carboloader, I find it little tough to eat enough protein every day, but I found this great protein bar that tastes like chocolate, and has 34g of protein. I try to have one of those within couple of hours after the swim practice.
Small sandwich for lunch, and a nice piece of meat or fish for early dinner (I hate chicken).
Well, anyway, hopefully the more detailed description of 'how I do it' gives some of you ideas about what may or may not work for you.
Oh, and Sparx35... (dating suggestions if I may) impress a girl with your brain and how nice you are, and not so much with your body. But if losing some weight will give you more confidence, that will reflect in your personality too. Us girls are a lot less visual when it comes to attraction then you guys are. For girls, balanced confidence in a guy is very attractive. (At least for nice girls)
May I ask how old you are and how much weight you're trying to lose?
