purplebug12

I am going to be away from home/the gym for 2 weeks and want to come up with a body weight routine that I can do in the meantime. I will be busy with family stuff a lot and likely won't have large chunks of time to exercise or get really tired. I want to design a plan that I can do for these 2 weeks that won't require me to change/get really sweaty, can be broken up and done in little time chunks throughout the day and that doesn't require equipment or a lot of space. I've been exercising pretty hard the last 2 weeks (about 40 min a day, 20 cardio and 20 weights) and I don't want to gain weight/lose muscle over the holidays (even though I know this is likely impossible with barely any exercise and eating extra food lol but hey a girl can dream). So what do you think would be the most effective? I was thinking: 200 squats 100 alternate lunges 200 standing cross body crunches 20 pushups 36 tricep dips 40 crunches 10 reverse crunches

So I will gain more weight if the 150 cal come from alcohol (red wine) than if it came from food? I don't want elite body building results, just looking to gain some muscle and strength (was very weak and no muscle before- so 5 20 min dumbbell and bodyweight workouts a week consuming 2500 cal (130g protein)).

I was just wondering if anyone knew anything about the effects of alcohol on weight and muscle building? Will it cause weight gain (fat) or affect my muscle building if I drink? To what degree? Say, how about a glass of wine 4x a week?

I am coming down with a cold (bit achy, congested nose, sore through, headache etc.) and I was wondering if I should keep with my workout and push through or is it best to adjust it? What should I do? Should I exercise and eat the same or change anything?

Alright thanks for the help! I hadn't really been worrying about it before because I have been avoiding really processed fatty foods, trans fats etc. but did not check how much I was getting from my healthy foods. I don't need to lose weight, just want to basically maintain and gain muscle. So 80-100g of fat if it is coming from nuts, oats, bread, eggs, meat (turkey, ham, steak etc with no visible fat) then it is ok?

I have been trying to reduce my fat intake, mostly just get it from lean meats and nuts and the small bit in breads etc. But I just looked at my total fat intake and it is pretty high. How important is the fat macro to being healthy and what should I aim for? I try to limit unhealthy fats and processed food, so less saturated and hardly and trans. But I am getting 47g of fat from nuts (40g of almonds and 40g of walnuts) almost everyday. Is this bad? I know they are supposed to be good fats but it is still alot and with my other food I end up at 80-100g a day (eating 2500 cal).

I find I have sleep issues when I am not eating enough. Are you giving your body enough calories and nutrients? How many calories are you eating? I find calorie counting is better than any diet. It gives you more freedom (provided I still try to make healthy choices). If you eat too many vegetables for atkins then I'd say it is the wrong diet for you. You should be able to eat what you want and I don't think limiting vegetables is necessary. As for bread. If you want to eat it eat it. You don't need to do paleo either. I just try to stick to healthier and less processed grains. Again, if you are counting calories and watching macros (carbs, protein, fat, sugar etc.) then you can still lose weight. I try to stick to a calorie goal every day and just try to keep my carbs and fats healthy and protein at 1g/lb. You just need to find what is right for you. You will lose weight, provided you stay at a deficit. So maybe try seeing how many calories you are eating and then make adjustments if you aren't losing? As for the exercise issue, could you come up with a weekly plan that had different exercises each time you workout? Do a walk or run one day, bike another, do zumba or aerobics, buy some dumbbells and so arms one day, legs another. I always watch tv when I workout, I find it really helps. I sometimes do a set of lunges, set of squats, then some weight work, then go back to squats then weights etc. You can switch it up. You can post on here for accountability or feel free to message me if you like

Sorry to hear you are having such a hard time. Would you find it beneficial to start fresh? Start a new diet plan and workout plan? I would suggest just sticking to a certain calorie amount every day (say maybe 1500 to start) and then see if your weight go up or down and then you can adjust your daily calories up or down. <1200 seems low for a man working out that much. You want to get your body used to functioning and losing on a decent amount of calories so you are stuck starving your body forever (you can imagine how that might hurt your healthy). What I do is not follow a certain diet (paleo etc.) but I try to eat healthy foods (lean meats, vegetables, fruits, non fat dairy etc). that is high in protein, low in bad fats and sugar. I tend to eat a lot of the same things but it does vary every day. I would eat whatever foods you want (mostly the healthy carb and protein things) and just weight/measure them and log it in a calorie counter. Some variety may do your body good and it would provide you with more balanced nutrition. As for your workout you could try changing it up. Maybe alternate cardio and lifting days? Do weight training MWF and cardio TH, then you can do each for a longer amount of time. Also, if you are getting stronger the increase in muscle mass will affect your weight so maybe try measurements.

Well I made it through. I believe I actually was under my calorie target everyday but I was still able to enjoy time and food with my family. I didn't eat as healthily as I have been but that's what holiday's are about. It shouldn't affect my weight since I was under in calories, it just makes it a little tougher to wean myself back off treats and get back to eating healthy. I did end up doing exercise all but 1 day. Some lunges, squats, crunches, planks and wall/counter pushups.

It really depends what your metabolism is like for how many calories you need, but you could try a TDEE calculator to ball park it. I imagine you will need around 3000 to gain since you need a surplus. You definitely could add more food to your meal plan. How about whole grain breads and pastas, oats, lean meat of any kind, yogurt, eggs, milk etc. If you aren't hungry liquid calories can be useful. Maybe try milk and protein powder. Nuts are also really calorie dense and have good fats.They recommend 0.8-1 g of protein per lb of lean body weight, I just try to get 1g per total weight to make it easier. For meals you can really have whatever you like! I wouldrecommend counting oyur calories for a bit via measuring food so that you can get an idea of what you need to eat.

Thank you all! I will definitely enjoy my holiday but focus on making healthy choices. I will try the no two in a row method and will focus on vegetables and meats. I will continue to count my calories so hopefully I can just stop when I reach that and not gain. My worry is that the food at home is higher calorie than my food here and so I will be hitting my calorie target but will still be hungry. I will try to focus on low calorie filling foods and snacks over the next 4 days, maye limit myself when I am alone and have control so I can eat normal with others.

Hi all! So thanksgiving is coming up and mine will be a 3 day stay (2 half days and 2 full days) stay with family. They are not very healthy eaters (meals are ok but lots of snacks and not very supportive of my healthy eating endeavors or exercising). I do count calories, but I won't be able to measure so I will have to estimate. I won't be able to do my exercise but I will try to fit in 10 min of bodyweight training a day. I don't want to cause friction by refusing all the foods I used to eat growing up so I think I may just take them when I need to and try to make the healthiest and lowest calorie (while filling) choices when I have control. I am going to really try to stick to my calorie goal (2500) (not trying to lose just maintain/gain muscle). Any suggesting for surviving the holiday? What do you do? Is there anything I should try hard not to do? How will 4 days off my regular diet and schedule affect me? Will I lose muscle/strength progress? Will I gain weight?

I guess I just want to eat healthy. I used to eat a lot of processed foods and sugar and I have worked at cutting that down. I have also cut back my use of artificial sweeteners. I would like to still eat healthier. I would probably need to work on cutting back on processed foods still and go with more 'real' food. I am trying to gain muscle and strength (fat is not really an issue, 5'5" and 120 lbs or a little less). I try to get at least 120 g of protein and I track everything on MFP. I get 2500 calories and I get >20 g of fiber a day. I'm not sure how much I should be having for carbs and fats. Looking at the last few days I had 200-300 g of carbs and under 20g of sat fats (usually way under) a day.

Just a snapshot at my diet now: source yogurt (35 cal reg or 50 cal greek), veggetables, potatoes, squash, fruit, whole wheat pasta, canned soup, robin hood oats, eggs, meat (chicken, pork, beef, fish), pb2, dempsters protein bread, unsweetened almond milk, kaizen vanilla protein powder, almonds, walnuts, pistachios, bagels, fat free cheese slices (would real cheese be better?), popcorn kernnels or 100 cal microwave bags, special k cereal, multigrain life cereal, multgrain cheerios, wheat thins, melba toast, laughing cow light cheese, dark chocolate, some ice cream, some lipton sidekicks or uncle ben rice, stuffed pasta, some quaker chewy granola bars or kashi granola bars, soem lipton cup a soup, subway ham sandwich or pita pit ham pita, arrow root cookies, thinsations packages, wine, wiskey adn diet coke, some sugar free jello

I have cleaned up my diet quite a bit but I still feel it may be unhealthy. I do not eat paleo but I would like to stat turning my diet into 'clean eating'. Any advice or beginner tips? Is this a good move? What should I mostly rely on? What should I be sure to avoid? How do you eat out or at other's houses?