This may get long winded, but for those of you who have the time, I'd truly appreciate the feedback. This is going to look like an essay, oh well here it goes.
I have been aware of this forum for a couple of months and it has REALLY opened my eyes. I have taken some drastic changes in my lifestyle and I think they have been really beneficial, however I think alot of them are unnecessary.
I am a 19 almost 20 year old college student, 5'8", roughly 123 pounds, 7-8% body fat. I do 20 minutes of cardio and probably 15-30 minutes of calisthenics each day -maybe an off day. I do not weight train. My goals are simply to be healthy, lean / toned w/abs
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I am not a competition body builder, I am young, active, and (I think) I have a fast metabolism. You see, I've always been pretty scrawny (whole family is built smaller) and I used to eat fast food when I wanted, chips when I wanted, pasta, pizza, rice, muffins, cookies, cereal whenever I wanted. I never went overboard, it was in moderation just like a regular kid. I ate like this and it never reflected in my weight. My first year at college last year, I ate the same, except alcohol was in the equation and exercise was not, I think I got up to 140 pounds.
This year I've come to school I've gradually phased out all the old bad habbits, but as of late I have become extreme. I now eat 5-6 meals a day. Those meals consist of vegetables, grilled chicken, tuna, cottage cheese, some fruit mainly apples, oats, nat pb... and that's about it. Not only do I eat perfectly clean, I do LOTS of cardio. If I don't, I feel like I'm being lazy, even though I know it probably isn't necessary every day. I do not drink alcohol, eat sugar, bad carbs, any of that. I even turned down what used to be my favorite dessert of all time: my mom's pumpkin bars at this past Easter. Not only this but I constantly critique my mom and brother (neither of whom are overweight by any means) when I'm home about their white bagels and frozen pizzas.
I have also discovered www.fitday.com and I think it's great, however I have become obsessed with it. I have to put everything in, no matter what. If I make something special like protein pancakes or muffins, I figure out macros and do calculations up the wazoo.
Now, there is a good aspect of this new lifestyle as I can tell I am at the lowest body fat percentage I've ever been, my abs are more defined and visible than ever before. A big part of this I know is diet, which is another area I'm concerned with. I think I need to eat more. From what fitday.com tells me, I consume on average about 1100 calories a day (40/40/20). Plus I do cardio like a madman. I eat though, alot! Each of my 5-6 meals is around 180 - 230 cals, and includes veggies, and chicken or tuna and is well balanced. Sometimes I'll have a tuna sandwich and sometimes with some fruit, also fiber 1, oats, and CC.
Now I have gotten to a level physically I have never been before, but is this unhealthy? I'm afraid I am burning myself out. There are days, more often than not, when I feel like I have no energy whatsoever. I'm a college student so I'm walking ALL over, up stairs, you name it. There are days when I feel like I just can't go on. But when I get ready for my workout I'm ready to rock, most of the time.
Basically I miss the old days. The days when I wasn't obsessed with what I had to eat, when I was carefree. Obviously it's good I cut things out like fast food, but some things I really miss. Eating cereal for breakfast, eating the occasional cookie, even if it's 1 a day, eating white rice with Korean meals my grandmother cooks, eating the occasional pizza with friends, you know that stuff. I can live with the eating 5-6 times a day, cutting out white breads and things, it just seems I am taking on the habbits of a professional bb when I don't need to.
I really want to ease back a bit, but now I'm afraid that my body is used to such a low amount of calories, and such clean foods, if I up the cals and start putting a few more pleasurable food items in my menu, I'll receive a negative reaction from my body. I'd really just like to maintain with how I am now. About 125 would be great with a pretty low bf%. What would happen if I ate 1500 calories a day, pretty much all clean? I would gain right? Is my metabolism going to be all messed up from eating so few calories? Being young I might as well throw some stuff at it while I still can. I'm really liking where I'm at physically, but I'm just not as happy as I used to be, I think the happy factor is important. Im just afraid that right now my eating so little and doing so much cardio that my body (fat percentage) is as good as it will get for me and if I stop this crazy routine I'm on I will just see negative results. I guess I'm just looking for some security and support in that I don't have to train so hard, and have such a strict diet for my lifestyle and goals. Thanks.
I have been aware of this forum for a couple of months and it has REALLY opened my eyes. I have taken some drastic changes in my lifestyle and I think they have been really beneficial, however I think alot of them are unnecessary.
I am a 19 almost 20 year old college student, 5'8", roughly 123 pounds, 7-8% body fat. I do 20 minutes of cardio and probably 15-30 minutes of calisthenics each day -maybe an off day. I do not weight train. My goals are simply to be healthy, lean / toned w/abs
. I am not a competition body builder, I am young, active, and (I think) I have a fast metabolism. You see, I've always been pretty scrawny (whole family is built smaller) and I used to eat fast food when I wanted, chips when I wanted, pasta, pizza, rice, muffins, cookies, cereal whenever I wanted. I never went overboard, it was in moderation just like a regular kid. I ate like this and it never reflected in my weight. My first year at college last year, I ate the same, except alcohol was in the equation and exercise was not, I think I got up to 140 pounds.
This year I've come to school I've gradually phased out all the old bad habbits, but as of late I have become extreme. I now eat 5-6 meals a day. Those meals consist of vegetables, grilled chicken, tuna, cottage cheese, some fruit mainly apples, oats, nat pb... and that's about it. Not only do I eat perfectly clean, I do LOTS of cardio. If I don't, I feel like I'm being lazy, even though I know it probably isn't necessary every day. I do not drink alcohol, eat sugar, bad carbs, any of that. I even turned down what used to be my favorite dessert of all time: my mom's pumpkin bars at this past Easter. Not only this but I constantly critique my mom and brother (neither of whom are overweight by any means) when I'm home about their white bagels and frozen pizzas.
I have also discovered www.fitday.com and I think it's great, however I have become obsessed with it. I have to put everything in, no matter what. If I make something special like protein pancakes or muffins, I figure out macros and do calculations up the wazoo.
Now, there is a good aspect of this new lifestyle as I can tell I am at the lowest body fat percentage I've ever been, my abs are more defined and visible than ever before. A big part of this I know is diet, which is another area I'm concerned with. I think I need to eat more. From what fitday.com tells me, I consume on average about 1100 calories a day (40/40/20). Plus I do cardio like a madman. I eat though, alot! Each of my 5-6 meals is around 180 - 230 cals, and includes veggies, and chicken or tuna and is well balanced. Sometimes I'll have a tuna sandwich and sometimes with some fruit, also fiber 1, oats, and CC.
Now I have gotten to a level physically I have never been before, but is this unhealthy? I'm afraid I am burning myself out. There are days, more often than not, when I feel like I have no energy whatsoever. I'm a college student so I'm walking ALL over, up stairs, you name it. There are days when I feel like I just can't go on. But when I get ready for my workout I'm ready to rock, most of the time.
Basically I miss the old days. The days when I wasn't obsessed with what I had to eat, when I was carefree. Obviously it's good I cut things out like fast food, but some things I really miss. Eating cereal for breakfast, eating the occasional cookie, even if it's 1 a day, eating white rice with Korean meals my grandmother cooks, eating the occasional pizza with friends, you know that stuff. I can live with the eating 5-6 times a day, cutting out white breads and things, it just seems I am taking on the habbits of a professional bb when I don't need to.
I really want to ease back a bit, but now I'm afraid that my body is used to such a low amount of calories, and such clean foods, if I up the cals and start putting a few more pleasurable food items in my menu, I'll receive a negative reaction from my body. I'd really just like to maintain with how I am now. About 125 would be great with a pretty low bf%. What would happen if I ate 1500 calories a day, pretty much all clean? I would gain right? Is my metabolism going to be all messed up from eating so few calories? Being young I might as well throw some stuff at it while I still can. I'm really liking where I'm at physically, but I'm just not as happy as I used to be, I think the happy factor is important. Im just afraid that right now my eating so little and doing so much cardio that my body (fat percentage) is as good as it will get for me and if I stop this crazy routine I'm on I will just see negative results. I guess I'm just looking for some security and support in that I don't have to train so hard, and have such a strict diet for my lifestyle and goals. Thanks.
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