Working on a routine

[TrippersGirl]

Is there any type of genreal guidelines for diet and exercise routines for women? I want to be physically fit to where I could do a competition and I'm not sure what my options are on food and how I should be working out the correct way. I have about an hour to an hour and a half of free time where I can work out everyday.

Right now my diet consists of Optimum cereal every morning, a turkey sandwich and grapefruit for lunch (or tuna and tortilla chips), and a chicken breast/salad/brown rice for dinner. (This is getting old and I need some other option so I won't "cheat")

My workout is all scrambled. I end up working out 3-4 days a week running 3miles a couple times a week, leg work outs twice a week and occasionally arms. I also do 200 crunches 4 days a week.

[shortz]

One thing I noticed is that you are using distance as a gauge for cardio. If it is being in shape that you are worried about, go for a time, not a distance.

There are some ery knowledgable women here, so I won't get too much more into an answer since you are asking for a woman's advice. Here are some other food optins though...

Protiein
Tilapia-5g and 28 cals per oz
Egg whites-4g and 17 cals each
Salmon-5g and 52 cals per oz
Extra lean beef-7g and 71 cals per oz
Don't forget about Turkey too!!

Carbs
Brocolli-3g per serving (about 4 florettes)
Nuts-varies
Oats-27g 150 cals per 1/2 cup
Banana- 30g and 115 cals per large banana

For a snack, strawberries with sugar free cool whip is awsome. Strawberries only have 4g of carbs and 18 cals per 5 medium strawberries and 1g of fiber.

[Goosteady]

For a snack, strawberries with sugar free cool whip is awsome. Strawberries only have 4g of carbs and 18 cals per 5 medium strawberries and 1g of fiber.

I don't feel that this is the best advice. Although strawberries may have only 4grams of carbs, these carbs are not the kind you want to take in. Fruit is really pretty worthless if you're taking a multi-vitamin, so I would suggest replacing it with green vegetables and snacking on a handful of almonds or some unsalted mixed nuts instead.

[BBAddict]

I find it's easier not to cheat if I'm not hungry. If you're only eating 3x/day, I would increase that to at least 6x/day focusing on getting a more steady flow of calories to your system. That really helps your metabolism. I would focus on getting your carbs early in the day and also do your cardio early if you can and then taper toward more higher protein, lower carb meals in the evening. The exact details of the right workout and meal plan depends on what your immediate goals are (ie. gain lean mass, lose weight). Feel free to post more details and an example diet and there are lots of people that can help with fine tuning it. RedSquirrel and several others on here are better at the details specific to women--hopefully they'll chime in as well.

[shortz]

I don't feel that this is the best advice. Although strawberries may have only 4grams of carbs, these carbs are not the kind you want to take in. Fruit is really pretty worthless if you're taking a multi-vitamin, so I would suggest replacing it with green vegetables and snacking on a handful of almonds or some unsalted mixed nuts instead.

So, the fiber in strawberries and other fruit are worthless? It's worthless if she has a sweet tooth and you say they are worthless so she cheats and has a candy bar or something? The fact that the best nutritionists in the world give this same advice?

Please, tell me what a muti has in it that compares to a priece of fruit. Are multis sweet? Do they have fiber? Mixed nuts are high in cals, perhaps that would put her over her total calories for the day.

[Goosteady]

So, the fiber in strawberries and other fruit are worthless? It's worthless if she has a sweet tooth and you say they are worthless so she cheats and has a candy bar or something? The fact that the best nutritionists in the world give this same advice?

Please, tell me what a muti has in it that compares to a priece of fruit. Are multis sweet? Do they have fiber? Mixed nuts are high in cals, perhaps that would put her over her total calories for the day.

Well first of all, she stated that she was looking for some other food options so she won't cheat. She did not say she has a sweet tooth or that she is looking for any food that would be the slightest bit detrimental to her goals. Certainly if it comes down to having a candy bar or some strawberries then the latter would make more sense. But if she doesn't need these types of foods then why suggest them? This type of advice can be very confusing for a beginner. And as far as the nuts go, she is getting good fats and carbs from them, a small price to pay for a few more cals IMO. I'm not trying to get you pissy here, buddy. I just felt like she could have received better advice and I decided to speak up. I'm sorry if our difference in theory has enraged you. :dunno:

[shortz]

Well first of all, she stated that she was looking for some other food options so she won't cheat. She did not say she has a sweet tooth or that she is looking for any food that would be the slightest bit detrimental to her goals. Certainly if it comes down to having a candy bar or some strawberries then the latter would make more sense. But if she doesn't need these types of foods then why suggest them? This type of advice can be very confusing for a beginner. And as far as the nuts go, she is getting good fats and carbs from them, a small price to pay for a few more cals IMO. I'm not trying to get you pissy here, buddy. I just felt like she could have received better advice and I decided to speak up. I'm sorry if our difference in theory has enraged you. :dunno:

I would argue that the carbs from the nuts are far worse than the strawberries. I simply recommended strawberries as a snack because it helps many people from cheating. We are not talking about a person getting ready for a contest either. Strawberries are perfectly fine. 18 calories and 4g of carbs sounds alot better than 200 calories+, 6g+ of carbs. One last thing, and most important, if you look at her diet, it is low fat, not low carb. Also, a high fat source that is higher in carbs will cause a slower metabolic rate, which will promote fat gain or prevent fat loss.

[Goosteady]

I want to be physically fit to where I could do a competition and I'm not sure what my options are on food and how I should be working out the correct way.

You have a point on the diet. Regardless, however, there are better foods she can be taking in, especially better sources of fiber. And the above quote tells me that she is wanting to be a little more hardcore than the weekend warrior. But anyway, I think more importantly is that it doesn't appear that she is eating often enough throughout the day. So TrippersGirl, I would bump those small meals up to about 6 a day spaced a few hours apart. Good Luck.

[shortz]

You have a point on the diet. Regardless, however, there are better foods she can be taking in, especially better sources of fiber. And the above quote tells me that she is wanting to be a little more hardcore than the weekend warrior. But anyway, I think more importantly is that it doesn't appear that she is eating often enough throughout the day. So TrippersGirl, I would bump those small meals up to about 6 a day spaced a few hours apart. Good Luck.

I agree. I think what turned me off by your orginal post was that you said I was giving bad advice, atleast that's how I took it. I am sorry if I took it the wrong way.

One thing that I noticed are the tortilla chips. That's def going to be a :nono: . All carbs from here on out must be high fiber and timed properly.

[Shibby]

Get some sugar free jello and add the sugar free whipped cream if you have a sugar craving.

[BBAddict]

Get some sugar free jello and add the sugar free whipped cream if you have a sugar craving.

:agree: I use sugar free, fat free jello and mix the powder with casein protein powder and use water instead of milk to make a bedtime snack food for when I have cravings. I kill the sweet tooth and get casein protein, which is a great source for nighttime protein. It's a little harder to work out the proportions to get the texture right with water, but it's worth it! If you aren't anti-dairy, it's really easy with milk; it's kinda like the Stallone pudding.

[Puddles]

TG, nice to see ya here. :)

When you say you want to prepare to compete I asume in Figure, right?

If you want to train and eat seriously it'll take a lot of dedication but you've got a spectacular body that should respond quickly to the changes you undergo.

There are quite a few threads about diets so browse the board to get more info. but a few things are...

You need to eat more often. Every 3 hrs. is optimal. First meal should be complex carbs to help keep your insuline levels in order since you've basically been fasting all night. Nearly all carbs should be complex like brown rice, oats, sweet potatoes. The one exception about carbs is right after you finish your workout, having a small amount of carbs like those found in a protein shake or fruit are good. You need protein at most meals, that is what will feed your muscles and help them to grow. You need good fats like those that come from fish, flax, olive oil, and nuts. What works well for me is a 60/20/20 diet of protein/fats/carbs. You could probably go a little lower on the protein and a bit higher on the carbs though.

Go to Fitday.com and you can create a diet there that will calculate everything for you as you create a menu so you'll know exactly what you're consuming.

You need to find out how many callores a day you'll be needing, I don't have a link on this computer, maybe someone else can post one.

Drink a gallon or more of water every day.

Green fiberous veggies are best as the small amount of carbs they provide are complex. Veggies like corn, tomatoes, and white potatoes have too many simple carbs in them so avoid them.

Protein should come from lean meats and fish mostly. Chicken and turkey breast are simple to cook and convenient to eat on the run.

Don't mix fats and carbs together in the same meal. Like if you're having chicken and a salad, either use some olive oil for a dressing or have some brown rice, not both the oil and rice in the same meal.

Dairy is rarely used except as protein found in cottage cheese. Milk and other cheeses are pretty much out.

Try to time your workouts about 2 hrs after a meal so that an hour or so later when you're done, it's time to have another meal and a protein shake with a few berries would be great.

Training can be working out each bodypart once a week, doing usually 3 or 4 exercises per bodypart with the reps at about 12 per set. Don't just move the weight back and forth effortlessly, you should be challenging yourself to use heavier weights all the time. If you're using a weight and you can do more than 12 reps you're going too light, increase the weight. As you do your last set you shouldn't be able to get all the way to 12 reps as you've already worked them hard and they're getting tired, 8 reps on the last set is fine. Take your time with the movements and malke sure you're doing them right to avoid injury and to get the most out of your training session. Cardio a few times a week is fine but I think you should focus on the weights mostly for a while if you want to compete.

[TrippersGirl]

I definitely want to compete, but I heard I was too short and "stalky" to do a figure competition. Then my only other option would be a bodybuilding competition and that would be fine with me, but I think I would have to change my workout/diet routine a little bit. As for sweets go, if I ever have cravings I'll have a handful or two of dried cranberries and then I'm set for the day. I'm writing down my weekly diet, so I'll post that as soon as the week is over. I'm going to tweek my diet to where I'm eating more often and different foods.
Puddles, I had no idea milk was bad? When I have my turkey sandwiches should I not eat the bread and just have the turkey? Also, if milk is out of the questin do I not eat cereal and substitute it with egg whites or oatmeal?

[Puddles]

Puddles, I had no idea milk was bad? When I have my turkey sandwiches should I not eat the bread and just have the turkey? Also, if milk is out of the questin do I not eat cereal and substitute it with egg whites or oatmeal?

Lowfat milk has a lot of simple carbs, your body will treat them just like sugar. Regular milk is high in fat and not the healthy kind of fat, so just skip dairy.

White bread is not on the menu at all. If you are to have a sandwich it should only be with wholegrain bread but really, try to get used to not eating sandwiches, instead have some brown rice or sweet potato with your meat.

Breakfast cereals are too high in sugar and they are overprocessed giving you too many simple carbs. For breakfast have 1/2 cup of oats cooked with water. You can add splenda and cinnamon or even a little sugarfree syrup if you like. I've posted a recipe for protein pancakes that are good and convenient when made in larger batches and then frozen, you can find it if you do a search in the recipe forum.

How tall are you? Who told you that you're too short and stocky to do figure? I've seen some really short girls in figure and you're by no means stocky.

[TrippersGirl]

I always drink non-fat milk, does that make a difference? I'm 5'2".