Wow!! So much has been going on in the last few weeks, I’m not even sure where to start!!! I think I will have to break this into a few posts so I don’t overwhelm you with all the stuff that’s been happening lately!
Well I guess we can start with food. Because who doesn’t like that?! In my next post I will fill you in on how my Olympic lifting training is going as well as some new things happening on the school/what I’m going to do with my future front.
So you know how I told you guys about ETP and that I was starting that program? Well I did it for about a month, and discovered it’s not really for me. I didn’t see any increase in my performance, in fact I ended up feeling very lethargic and tired. Usually I don’t workout until 4, and going all day without carbs, relying just on fat and proteins for my intake resulted in me feeling pretty crummy. My body composition didn’t change at all either, so while I didn’t gain weight, I also didn’t lose any and I didn’t gain muscle. If anything I felt less “toned” and more soft. So I decided I needed to change things up AGAIN and figure out what I needed to do to increase and fuel my performance, while also trying to build lean muscle.
So I sat down with one of my coaches who is BIG on nutrition, and after an hour and a half, we had figured out a plan for me. We decided I definitely did need to be eating more than the 1,400 calories I had previously been eating, but maybe not as many as ETP had me on (2,400). So we found a good balance at 2,000 calories per day. We know I’m still expelling more than this, so there should be a slight deficit which will allow my body to remove fat, but it’s still enough calories to build lean muscle. He also told me I didn’t need to be eating as much fat as ETP had me on (85 grams) which was another relief because I didn’t like doing that AT ALL, and think it is part of what was making me feel heavy and blah, because my body just doesn’t like fat very much. So we moved my fat down to 40 grams. As far as my carbs he actually left those about the same (between 250 and 300 grams) but wants me to spread them out equally between each meal. Finally he told me I didn’t need to be intaking the 175 grams of protein I was trying to consume, given my body weight is only 145. So we lowered that to 155 grams, which is much more reasonable in my opinion.
So being the super OCD person I am, I took those macros and divided them out between 5-6 meals so I know what to be hitting for each meal. It comes out to *about 7 grams of fat, 40-50 grams carbs and 25-30 grams protein. Really this is very manageable and so far I have found it very easy to hit these macros at each meal. So, it seems like it could be the perfect fit for me!
I liked that my coach said to not worry about what everyone else is doing or what works for someone else, I have to figure out what works for me! So that’s what I’m doing!! He also said that for the most part athletes who are expending large amounts of energy don’t need to be doing crazy diets or restricting their macros to certain times of day. They just need to eat pretty “normal”, listen to their bodies, and make sure they are getting enough fuel. Easy, right?
As far as the types of carbs I’m eating, because I know you all are SO curious, I’m mostly sticking to sweet and white potatoes, white rice and gluten free oat flour(for my protein pancakes of course!) Other things I changed is I do eat some dairy(gasp!!) because I can…meaning it doesn’t make me double over in pain. I still don’t drink cows milk, because I don’t like it, but I do eat some cheese…because it’s actually a good protein source and it’s yummy 🙂
Speaking of yummy, here’s a breakfast recipe I’ve been eating lately to help get some of those carbs! Obviously, it’s not paleo, sorry guys! BUT I will give you some substitutions you could use to make it paleo!!
Breakfast Hashbrown Casserole
Ingredients:
- 1 bag shredded hashbrowns(or you can make your own!! A paleo substitution here would be sweet potato hash browns, yum!)
- 1 pound lean ground beef( I used 96/4 because I wanted to keep the fat in this recipe on the lower side)
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup egg whites
- 1 1/2 cups almond milk
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 1 bell pepper (chopped)
- 2 cups shredded fat free cheddar cheese (Paleo peeps just leave this part out! Could add in a few tbsp of nutritional yeast to keep that cheesy flavor!)
- 2 tbsp onion powder
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Spray a large class baking dish with olive oil or coconut oil. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Heat a large pan to medium and brown the meat. Add some salt and pepper as it cooks.
- Spread half the hashbrowns on the bottom of the baking dish. Next layer 1 cup of cheese and half the onion and pepper.
- Next add the beef, spreading evenly across the pan.
- Add the rest of the hashbrowns, onion and pepper.
- Wisk the eggs, egg whites, and almond milk in a large bowl. Add in the seasoning and pour the entire mixture on top of the casserole.
- Top with the remaining cheese, and put in the oven for 1 hour. Check and make sure the casserole is done by sticking a knife in the middle. If it comes out clean it’s ready! If not, give it about 10 more minutes!!
- Let cool, then cut with a knife and Enjoy!!!
Serves: 8 Calories per serving: 249 Fat: 5 grams Protein: 28 grams Carbs: 21 grams