Diet Change for Weight Gain?

sdavies13

Hi all,

Been cycling to work for about a year and half now but family are saying I look a bit gaunt (lost just over four stone).

Decided to sign up for the gym to hopefully improve my core body strength but also build a bit of upper body strength/muscle mass.

The instructor advised me to reduce my bread intake (3 slices a day) and in general improve my diet (more salads, beans/pulses, chicken, etc) but I have no idea where to start on changing my menu so any pointers or web sites you could recommend please?

Thanks.

rochja

You paid for this web site with your taxes. It was money well spent and professional advice is always better than free advice:
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/Goodfoodhome.aspx

Angry_Bear

Also try logging what you eat and the exercise you do on MyFitnessPal (it's free).

It's often suggested to people who are trying to lose weight, but it would work equally well for you as shows a good breakdown of where your calories are coming from (fat, protein, carbs etc) so you should be able to see which categories you're not getting enough of.

stephen77

rochja wrote: »

You paid for this web site with your taxes. It was money well spent and professional advice is always better than free advice:
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/Goodfoodhome.aspx

Professional advice can have vested interests.

I would not use the NHS for nutritional advice as I disagree with there food plate.

Kendall80

Try protein shakes, extra chicken, tuna, pasta along with an upper body weights workout regime. Twice per week should be sufficient at least at first. You could switch your bread to the Lidls 20g protein low carb version.


Be prepared for your cycling to suffer a bit though. Your legs wont be used to moving that extra muscle mass up the hills! - Then you'll have to hit the squats, lunges and deadlifts too in order to maintain your power/weight ratio.

jonnytinker

oils are an easy way to add cals in... EVOO / coconut / macademia etc etc (watch how your cholesterol improves after adding EVOO in...)

sdavies13

Thanks for the advice all.

My BMI is 22 which is about middle of the healthy scale so think the family are commenting as they are more used to me carrying a bit more weight.

I did the London to Brighton at the weekend and my weight dropped below 11 stone for the first time since I'd left school so certainly need to increase my intake...

brat

If you lose four stone, you will look gaunt to many people. You'll probably feel great within yourself, especially compared to a couple of years ago.
My BMI is 21 (174cm & 140lbs). I lost 35lbs 5 years ago, and people told me I looked gaunt. I never felt so well! People don't now tell me that I look gaunt, because they're used to the way I look.

If you exercise (cycle) and diet at the same time, your face definitely will become more defined showing your facial bone structure, but that's probably how you should look, rather than the puffier look that your family had become used to.

If you've had a successful diet regime, it's just as important to stop losing weight once you reach your target. Someone mentioned the My Fitness Pal app. It's really good for letting you record what you eat and the exercise you do, and showing what calories you need to eat to aim for your next target weight.

stephen77

BMI is not a particularly good method for health.

If you feel good & look better, that's what matters, especially if your gained a little muscle via training.

You may look "gaunt" as your body is not holding on to as much glycogen & water.