Fitness

I recently started working out and eating healthy again. It's been a little over 4 weeks and so far, I have lost 6lbs! Yeah! However, I get these intense cravings for doughnuts, usually a couple hours after I run or in the early afternoon.

I am pretty sure it has something to do with my workouts and calorie intake. I am pretty sure I am missing something and I need any advice on what I can add to my diet so these cravings subside. I believe firmly in moderation so in no way am I deprived from treats. I've been eating between 1600 and 1900 calories a day and I jog/ walk on a track outside for an hour a day. I also work in the food industry so I am on my feet 30+ hours a week in a pretty fast-paced enviornment.

An example of one of my food diarys:

before run in am: 100 calorie bran muffin and nonfat yogurt, a little coffee

breakfast: kashi cereal, nonfat milk, whole wheat toast and orange juice

snack: fruit

lunch: 2oz turkey on spinach tortilla with 1 piece swiss cheese, lite mayo, mustard and lettuce, 1/2 red pepper, iced tea unsweetened

snack: 1/2 cucumber, watermelon, granola bar

dinner: 3 oz chicken, 1/2 c pasta salad, peas, corn

snack: 1/2 c raspberry sorbet

(water all day long, constantly!!!)

total calories: 1750

 

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate the help!

 Hmm, not seeing a whole lot of protein sources in your diet, maybe I'm missing something though - what's your nutritional breakdown?

That's a great question since I don't usually track anything but calories. Should I start tracking protein? I'm not even sure how much protein I should be getting.

 Well, I tend to keep track of absolute numbers more than percentages, but there's a nutritional breakdown in the "analysis" tab in your account that gives both grams and percentages of the various macronutrients.

 When dieting - and when doing moderate endurance exercise - you need about 1.2-1.4g/kg of protein, so how much you need depends mostly on your body weight. (1kg is roughly 2.2lbs. So the formula is weight in pounds/2.2lbs/kg*1.2-1.4g/kg= grams of protein you should be aiming for in a day. 1.2 gives you the lower bound, 1.4 is the upper bound of what you can actually use - getting more isn't problematic until you get up to the 4g/kg bracket but your body's not going to use it for anything really constructive either.

does 88 grams of protein sound about right?

 

I think her protein looks ok. I'd estimate at least 75g from the kashi cereal (I'm assuming GoLean at 10g/serving), turkey (20g)and chicken (25g) + yogurt (5 g), whole grain bread (10 g) and milk (5g). She doesn't list the quantities of toast, milk or yogurt though.

In my experience, I get less sugar cravings when I have a protein-rich meal, so I aim for at least 20 g of protein at breakfast, 20 at lunch and 30-40 at dinner.

 Ah, given that I'm 195lbs and aiming for the strength training rainge of 1.8g/kg of protein - works out to about 160g/day - I'm used to having to aim to get about 25-30g protein per meal. So my reflexes are a bit misaligned with your needs I suppose :)

 If you plug your numbers into the formula, how does it compare to what you're getting in a day?

8 oz milk, 6 oz yogurt and one piece (100 calories) whole grain toast. And yes, it is kashi go lean.

Have either of you tried the naked juice protein zone? It has about 270 calories in a bottle but it has 20 grams protein. I was thinking of fitting that into my diet somehow.

It looks like I need about 88 grams of protein and right now I am getting about 75.

 

I'm a little protein-obsessed! I saw a nutritionist 5 months ago who suggested I should increase my protein. I thought I was getting enough but I was only coming in at ~60 g! Now I aim for 90-120 g every day and it has made a HUGE impact on my hunger levels... I rarely feel hungry or snacky.

When most people post their daily menu, I always notice the lack of protein sources (followed by how many "diet" food products they eat!) and my comment is always "you need more protein" but in this case, she seems to be getting a decent protein source in every meal, though I would suggest slightly larger portions of meat at lunch & dinner and maybe adding an egg or egg whites to breakfast.

Thanks you guys! This is really helping. I do tend to shy away from meat. It seems like I need to focus on my protein intake for a while. I think I will try bumping it to 100 g and see how I feel. I can't eat a doughnut everyday! lol

Try eating more fruit.  It gives you natural sugar that your body may be craving.  I used to be addicted to ice cream but now I eat a cup of raspberries, cherries, or blueberries when I crave sugary foods.  This way I satisfy my cravings but don't ruin my diet!

I think your doughnut cravings might have more to do with needing a bit more (healthy) fat in your diet.  Also, I'd look at your salt and potassium intake as your electrolytes might be out of wack from your running.

As I've increased my early morning running, I've noticed that I've changed my breakfast meal to be more salty than sweet (because it makes feel more satiated).  Before, I'd have oatmeal and fruit.  Now, I tend to have an egg white and a small amount of cheese on a whole wheat english muffin.  This particular meal is a near-perfect combination of high quality grains, protein, and fat.  Cheese isn't the best food, but if you stick to 1/2 oz and choose lower-fat varieties, it won't kill your diet.

You should also consider getting a good recovery meal/snack within 30 minutes or so of your run.  Shoot for a 4:1 carb to protein ratio.  This might help with the cravings you are getting, but it will definitely help your body refuel post-workout.

if you simply need more protein, i recommend TVP (it's a kind of dried and granulated soy product that contains mostly vegetable protein and nothing much else. not even much sodium/cholesterol... which is good cause you can easily bring up your protein intake without hitting your blood cholesterol levels too badly :3 I just bought a pack today, which gives me 12g of protein per serving, at 80cals per serving...) it's not flavored on its own though, so i tend to eat it with pasta+salsa...

you might want to make a wholemeal PB sandwich as an after workout snack...? it's a pretty good balance of carb, fat and protein, and would probably be healthier than donuts...

I think a fat/protein/fiber combo like almonds or pistachios or peanut(butter) would do away with the junk cravings.  Though a weekly/monthly doughnut fix isn't bad either. 

I keep stashes of nuts around and peanut butter in the fridge. Not only are they healthy fats and proteins but the fiber helps with cravings too.  I would replace the granola bar with nuts.