Diet / nutrition advice

So, I started a fairly strict diet a week ago, under 1000 calories a day. Last Sunday at Weston I got colder than I should have and wasn’t quite at my best. Today at Owls Lodge STR, I was way off it, feeling a bit confused, cold and not moving nicely. Even the drive home wasn’t easy as I felt almost dream-like.

I obviously need to be putting more in me before I shoot, I know that now. I just wondered if anybody on here actually KNOWS the key pointers for how I should go on. I usually stuff the full English down, so I need the substitute for critical nutrition without the huge calories. I’m not sure if it’s sugar, general calories or some other thing that is the holy grail. 

Or do I just to stay overweight to shoot at my best? ?

You've cut your calorie intake too far.  If you want to lose weight it's healthiest to do it slowly.  At 1000 or less per day you'll struggle, binge on 5000 calories at one sitting and then feel crap. 

I've lost 35lb over the last six months at 1300-1500 calories per day.  For a bloke, you can safely go 500 calories more than I did and still lose weight.  If you consume 500 fewer calories per day than you burn you'll consistently lose around 1lb per week.  Doesn't sound much, but if you combine it with a bit more activity (doesn't have to be strenuous, just walking more has worked for me) then you'll increase that loss a bit as well.

Look at what your current diet is and work out where you biggest calorie intakes are and alter those, either alternatives or smaller portions.  I don't have a sweet tooth, so for me it was reducing carbohydrates.  Rather than going for simple carbs (white bread, white rice, pasta etc), I looked at alternatives and/or reduced portions.  I also try to avoid stuff that is cooked in a way that makes if more calorific - swop chips for new potatoes, cook that piece of chicken in the oven rather than deep frying it - that sort of stuff.

If  you've got a sweet tooth try to cut back on sugar.  Just replacing sugar in coffee with a sweetener has resulted my husband losing a bit of weight without really trying.

If you want to go for an English breakfast do it, but select the things that are lower in calories.  Grilled bacon, poached egg, fried tomatoes, beans - all not too bad.  Leave the hash browns and fried bread alone.  For me, porridge or whole jumbo oats with low fat yogurt seem to work well - whole oats take a while to digest and keep you going for quite a while.

It's really tedious, but the thing that worked for me was using a fitbit and linked scales to monitor calories in and out and how my weight changed.  When you see it is working it's so much easier to say, I'll have soda water and lime instead of a pint of beer or pass up on that slice of chocolate cake.

I can't profess to be an expert, someone like Ben H will know a lot more.

What's an example of your diet? 

You might find some helpful hints here: http://www.usashooting.org/11-resources/shootinginstruction/nutrition

I try to have this in the morning before heading out shooting: https://www.thebodycoach.com/blog/banana-and-chocolate-overnight-oats-110.html  I certainly feel better after that then a sausage and egg roll!

Doug Pinnegar said:

I try to have this in the morning before heading out shooting: https://www.thebodycoach.com/blog/banana-and-chocolate-overnight-oats-110.html  I certainly feel better after that then a sausage and egg roll!

Click to expand...

My breakfast these days is 30g jumbo rolled oats, 150g low fat yogurt and whatever soft fruit is in the fridge (sometimes none).  Depending on the fruit it's 220 to 300 calories in total.

I've still been known to have the odd bacon roll for lunch after a shoot if I'm hungry and have a long drive.  I just factor it in to the calories for the day and adjust what I have in the evening.

My diet is breakfast Whole Banana,Blueberries,Raspberries and low fat Greek yogurt and a large coffee with a sweetener.

Lunchish 2 thick pieces wholemeal toast,olive oil spread,100g Smoked Salmon,2 poached eggs...the protein keeps you feeling full for ages plenty of vits + omega 3.

Almost anything not fried for dinner in a fair quantity usually works out under 2000 calories and i do 30 minutes on the exercise bike plus walk the dog lose 1/1.5kg a week.

The worse thing is drinking alcohol as it is just dead calories

lost 8kg in 2 months coming up to Xmas unfortunately the last 2 weeks i have put on 2 but back to the grindstone now

Thanks. I bet you didn’t actually put 2kg back on in terms of fat. It’s just what’s in you! I “lost” 2.5kg in the first 2 days. I won’t elaborate.? Tape measure around the belly unchanged..

Will Hewland said:

Thanks. I bet you didn’t actually put 2kg back on in terms of fat. It’s just what’s in you! I “lost” 2.5kg in the first 2 days. I won’t elaborate.? Tape measure around the belly unchanged..

Click to expand...

It's fluid.  If you eat a lot of carbs, consume alcohol or eat salty food you retain water within your muscles.  As soon as you reduce doing those things you lose water.  I'm not drinking much these days, but an evening out on the beer and I'll be up 3 to 5lbs the next day.  Within three days of going back to normal it's down again.

I’m actually pretty knowledgeable about dieting as I’ve done it since 1980 on and off, battling against the love of food and weekend drinking. I had great advice from somebody who knew their stuff back then. I know I’m doing this too quickly right now, but I’m in the mood for it and have to grasp the nettle. I’m impatient too. My SPECIFIC question is what MUST I eat just prior to shooting to make my body and mind function well, while in a general low cal phase.

Will Hewland said:

I’m actually pretty knowledgeable about dieting as I’ve done it since 1980 on and off, battling against the love of food and weekend drinking. I had great advice form somebody who knew their stuff back then. I know I’m doing this too quickly right now, but I’m in the mood for it and have to grasp the nettle. I’m impatient too. My SPECIFIC question is what MUST I eat just prior to shooting to make my body and mind function well, while in a general low cal phase.

Click to expand...

Try eating a banana or raisins, 1000 cals is definitely not healthy, most blokes would lose weight at twice that. 

Oats are a slow release carb, bananas fast release.  If you had oats soaked overnight in semi-skimmed milk or low-fat greek yogurt along with banana it should stop you getting a plummet in blood sugar.

Couple of poached eggs on whole-wheat toast wouldn't be bad either, or beans on toast if you can face that for breakfast.

Tree nuts (so not peanuts) are a good thing to top up on as you go around if you need them.  Again, slow release so should avoid the plummet in blood sugar that will make you feel shaky and horrible.

Cup of coffee 8-10 Digestives , nothing all day until about 4-5 a few pints then home to a big cooked meal , cup of tea later on about 9-9.30 plus 8-10 Digestives .

My weight is brilliant my height is lacking.

Will Hewland said:

My SPECIFIC question is what MUST I eat just prior to shooting to make my body and mind function well, while in a general low cal phase.

Click to expand...

We go hill walking and climbing whenever possible and to keep the levels up we take unsalted mixed nuts and raisins from Tesco plus dried apricots or similar. Good fats and good carbs. Both are essential.

I'm pretty skinny so most people assume I couldn't possibly know anything about weight loss, but... My wife, who was 9 stone when we married (an awfully long time ago), is now back at a shade over 9. What we learned over time is that diets don't work; yes okay people typically lose some weight through their preferred diet plan, but virtually everyone regresses and the weight comes back. It's not healthy to be overweight but it's worse to yo-yo.

My wife loves almost all types of food and she's a great cook but she accepted that to shed a stone and a half -  and keep it off - meant changing her eating habits forever. Literally forever. She approached it in 2 ways, firstly to eat less rather than eat differently. She wasn't willing to give up her favourite foods but smaller portions at main meals with more green stuff on the plate and for breakfast a sustaining bowl of porridge and fruit. She also makes her own Kefir and we grow our own soft fruits which she mixes with it. Interestingly, her taste for chocolate biscuits, cheese, Topic bars etc. has diminished and she doesn't drool over such things any more.

But just losing weight through changing eating habits wasn't enough, she wanted to be in good shape too and for the last 10 years or so she's been a regular at the gym, at least 4 times a week.

FWIW she'll be 70 in a couple of months and looks about 50.

I agree with Bebo on the slow release carbs in the morning, bring a banana for fast carbs when out shooting and you feel the dizziness coming on. To fight the freezing experience do the usual tricks. Heat up from the inside (tea) and have warmers in the strategic places. 

The 1000 cal diet is a hard one. If you keep it up for to long (more than a week), your brain and body will start to make the best use of every gram of fat and energi stored in your body. It will think you are in the middle of a famin (our technologies have evolved tremendously, but bodies and brain haven't). So when you increase your calorie intake again at some point, it will store all of the extra calories. (1000 cal diets are only for small framed women, literally, with a minimum of daily movement). It sounds very drastic to me that diet. 

Lars

LarsJ said:

I agree with Bebo on the slow release carbs in the morning, bring a banana for fast carbs when out shooting and you feel the dizziness coming on. To fight the freezing experience do the usual tricks. Heat up from the inside (tea) and have warmers in the strategic places. 

The 1000 cal diet is a hard one. If you keep it up for to long (more than a week), your brain and body will start to make the best use of every gram of fat and energi stored in your body. It will think you are in the middle of a famin (our technologies have evolved tremendously, but bodies and brain haven't). So when you increase your calorie intake again at some point, it will store all of the extra calories. (1000 cal diets are only for small framed women, literally, with a minimum of daily movement). It sounds very drastic to me that diet. 

Lars

Click to expand...

I want to kick start my weight lose, as this will motivate me to carry on. I’ll happily go to 1500+ once I have the first few kilos off.. and I’m allowing Saturdays to be a bit of a cheat.. ?

Will Hewland said:

I’m actually pretty knowledgeable about dieting as I’ve done it since 1980 on and off, battling against the love of food and weekend drinking. I had great advice from somebody who knew their stuff back then. I know I’m doing this too quickly right now, but I’m in the mood for it and have to grasp the nettle. I’m impatient too. My SPECIFIC question is what MUST I eat just prior to shooting to make my body and mind function well, while in a general low cal phase.

Click to expand...

I would suggest smoked salmon with scrambled eggs on wholemeal toast before you leave the house and a protein shake as you drive to the shoot, you should not need too much else until later in the day but agree 1000 calories is asking for trouble

Porridge made with milk 

Will Hewland said:

I’m actually pretty knowledgeable about dieting as I’ve done it since 1980 on and off, battling against the love of food and weekend drinking. I had great advice from somebody who knew their stuff back then. I know I’m doing this too quickly right now, but I’m in the mood for it and have to grasp the nettle. I’m impatient too. My SPECIFIC question is what MUST I eat just prior to shooting to make my body and mind function well, while in a general low cal phase.

Click to expand...

Porridge made with milk.

Listen to Bebo and incorporate exercise like schmokinn says.  Don't pay any attention to the weight since if you're exercising you gain weight before you lose it.  Muscle weighs more than fat and consumes far less space.

IIRC, ips claims  an Adonis-like physique.  You might check with him for details about attaining that if he will share

Will Hewland said:

So, I started a fairly strict diet a week ago, under 1000 calories a day. Last Sunday at Weston I got colder than I should have and wasn’t quite at my best. Today at Owls Lodge STR, I was way off it, feeling a bit confused, cold and not moving nicely. Even the drive home wasn’t easy as I felt almost dream-like.

I obviously need to be putting more in me before I shoot, I know that now. I just wondered if anybody on here actually KNOWS the key pointers for how I should go on. I usually stuff the full English down, so I need the substitute for critical nutrition without the huge calories. I’m not sure if it’s sugar, general calories or some other thing that is the holy grail. 

Or do I just to stay overweight to shoot at my best? ?

Click to expand...

Surely you know the answer to this question Will. Think back 20 years to your days motor racing. Did you not follow a managed diet then? I know I did.

For what it’s worth, I would suggest you eat a healthy breakfast before you leave home. Cerial, toast that kind of thing. If you’re hungry at the ground then fruit or an energy bar. Something that releases energy slowly. Above all, avoid high calorie breakfasts at the ground. Your body won’t process the food effectively and, whilst it may not directly affect your performance, it’ll probably leave you feeling pretty uncomfortable.

I reckoned porridge and apple juice breakfast before I posted this. Doesn’t seem too far off what folk think.

Jan Powell said:

Surely you know the answer to this question Will. Think back 20 years to your days motor racing. Did you not follow a managed diet then? I know I did.

For what it’s worth, I would suggest you eat a healthy breakfast before you leave home. Cerial, toast that kind of thing. If you’re hungry at the ground then fruit or an energy bar. Something that releases energy slowly. Above all, avoid high calorie breakfasts at the ground. Your body won’t process the food effectively and, whilst it may not directly affect your performance, it’ll probably leave you feeling pretty uncomfortable.

Click to expand...

It became a joke with my F3 team, handing me a banana before qualifying. The difference with motor racing is you just can’t have much in you, or you feel sick..