Help my mum :)

[monkeyd]

Help my mum - jodi can you help please?

Hi,
I'm trying to help my mum achieve some goals with respect to body recomposition, and I figured that the experience of some of the women on here would be of way more benefit than anything I could come up with.

I suggested she log a normal days food

Cals Fat Carb Prot
Scott's Porage Oats 178 4 30 6
Milk, cow's, 2% fat 76 3 7 5
Honey 96 0 24 0
Coffee, instant, decaf 4 0 1 0
Tea, leaf 5 0 2 0
Cheese cheddar 87 7 0 5
Pepper, sweet, red,raw 8 0 2 0
Cucumber, raw 6 0 1 0
Tomatoes, Cherry, 12 0 3 1
ham, whole, lean 287 20 0 25
Salad, Cosmopolitan, 11 1 1 1
Caesar dressing 78 8 0 0
Biscuit, Digestive, 60 3 9 1
Pecan Nuts, Tesco's 35 4 1 0
wine, table, red 74 0 2 0
1 Apple, raw 61 0 16 0
Cheese, Cheddar 189 16 1 12
Nuts, Walnut pieces, 105 10 1 3
Trout fillets 215 10 0 34
Asparagus, 13 0 2 1
Courgette / Squash, 12 0 3 0
Green Beans, 15 0 3 1
Sweet Potatoe (Baked) 84 0 20 1
Butter, 34 4 0 0
Totals 1745 91 128 99


Other than eating a bit more cheese than usual, this is fairly typical.

Her stats are 147lb, 5'7" and she is 53. She wants to lose about a stone/14 lbs from her hips and legs (I told her that spot reduction is impossible) and to do this in less than 3 months. She doesn't go to the gym really (/yet ). She would be happy to start walking or biking for 30mins a day or something like that though.

It would be extremely kind if someone could outline some changes to her diet in order to help her achieve this. I figured something like dropping the fat, and having more of it come from EFA's, up the protein/carbs a little bit and eat 6 meals a day, but can anyone suggest anything further? 6 meals a day at around 1700 cals a day is not much per meal though.

Anyway, if jodi or anyone can help it would REALLY be appreciated.

Thanks a lot

 

[atherjen]

kudo's to your mother for making wise diet choices. it doesnt look bad at all. Although she is LACKING food,... far too low calories as you mentioned yourself.
She could definitly add in some EFA's to start with, along with more fiberous veggies. her Carb choices are good ones already.
perhaps slightly increasing her protein intake.. does she like meat? like chicken, beef or eggs?

how many meals/day is she eating right now?
make sure that EACH one has a balanced serving of protein. you could say to aim for 3meals with carbs/proteins mix and 3 meals with EFA's, protein... ensure that she includes more fiberous veggies in her diet though.
you could also print off the grocery shopping list that is posted in the sticky at the top of the forum.
how much water is she drinking?

is she considering joining a gym? or perhaps invest in some dumbells even to get started into weight training. perhaps not as "hardcore" as most here, but even 2-3X week is a start with many benefits.
walking/biking and other activities daily will defintly aid in her goals as well.

 

[monkeyd]

Thanks for the reply Atherjen,

using a few calorie calculators on the net (for a rough idea), her maintenance level would seem to be around 1700, although to me this seems low.

Carb choices are a result of me forcing my parents into sweet potatoes and oats But they are very health conscious anyway so they are interested in all this stuff, and cut down on bread and things like that.

Ok, yes, more fibrous veggies. She generally eats 3 meals a day, oats for breakfast, salad for lunch and meat/fish + veg for dinner would be typical, with nuts/cheese for mid meal snacks. She does like meats. She drinks water, but not enough imo. She doesn't mind exercise but doesn't like breaking a sweat. We have some weights about the house, so that is a possibility actually, but as I say, 30mins brisk walking or biking is possible.

So how do the following suggestions seem:

more fibrous veggies, more efa's.

At least 125g protein per day, spread evenly over the meals
increase carbs slightly and decrease fats, with more fats coming from EFA's and less saturated. (so what kind of macronutrient ratio? - I don't know whether such a high fat intake is good, or whether to up the carbs in their place? Personally I follow a 40/40/20 but I get lots of exercise, so I'm unsure what to suggest for her)

Generally group P+C and P+F, and have a tbsp of ACV before each P+C meal. Limit starchy carbs after lunch.

Drink 8-10 glasses water a day

Do 30mins aerobic exercise a day, and / or a little weights

Up calories slightly to compensate. Maybe 1850 cals or something, split into 3 main meals and 3 snacks.


Anything else?
Thanks

Originally posted by atherjen
kudo's to your mother for making wise diet choices. it doesnt look bad at all. Although she is LACKING food,... far too low calories as you mentioned yourself.
She could definitly add in some EFA's to start with, along with more fiberous veggies. her Carb choices are good ones already.
perhaps slightly increasing her protein intake.. does she like meat? like chicken, beef or eggs?

how many meals/day is she eating right now?
make sure that EACH one has a balanced serving of protein. you could say to aim for 3meals with carbs/proteins mix and 3 meals with EFA's, protein... ensure that she includes more fiberous veggies in her diet though.
you could also print off the grocery shopping list that is posted in the sticky at the top of the forum.
how much water is she drinking?

is she considering joining a gym? or perhaps invest in some dumbells even to get started into weight training. perhaps not as "hardcore" as most here, but even 2-3X week is a start with many benefits.
walking/biking and other activities daily will defintly aid in her goals as well.

 

[monkeyd]

bump, pleeease can I get some comment on my last post. I don't want to be an ass and constantly bump this, but I really would like to help my mum out, and I want to be sure that the advice is 100% on the right path for her.

 

[Akateros]

Six meals a day at 1700 should be fine, monkey. That's actually quite generous, for what you'll normally find for a woman's diet. Depending on her schedule, she might like five better, but she should definitely eat at least every three hours, and every meal should include some protein. About a g/pound should be quite sufficient. (If you break down her meals the way you propose, I'll wager she'll quite naturally end up at about the same 40/40/20 ratio as you.)

Higher fats from EFAs should not be a problem. She could probably continue to get some of them from measured quantities of nuts, too (in her late-day meals) which would keep her from feeling overly woeful and tormented.

If she's got a time-sensitive reason why "three months" is important, she may wish to eliminate pretty much all added sugars (e.g. the honey) just for the duration, and the dairy.

Definitely add in exercise. If you can persuade her to do some lifting, that will do lots for the firming and uplifting she wants.

 

[Vieope]

Don´t start everything in one day.. today tell her to start dieting.. two days from now she start drinking more water.. take the first month just to adapt. You have no reason to go fast.

 

[monkeyd]

bump for jodi