Fat Burning Plan Help

[ActiveMommy]

Hi everyone! I'm focused on fat burning (vs weight loss). I really want to drop from about 25% body fat to 20%. (My real goal is 18% but i'm taking it one step at a time - sort of).

Any way... I've been reading a ton about nutrition and trying to make sense of which foods are good fats, which are simple vs complex carbs, which truly count as proteins etc.

I've also read a lot about how to time what you eat and how much you eat. So ... for example, that you should eat simple carbs within 30 minutes of your workout etc.

I can't seem to find a really good all-inclusive guide though. I've tried ot piece it together myself but it's taking forever! 

I really wish i had something along the linese of - here are your 6-8 meals, here is how many calories and what percent macronutrients per meal, and here are some examples etc. And more so... here's what to do on a rest day vs workout day etc. 

Do any of you know of something like that that I could reference to put a really good fat burning meal plan together?

Thanks!

[GershonSurge]

@FitBeforeFifty

It's unusual for us to completely agree. I actually agree with your diet when coupled with the amount of exercise you are doing. I could support it through the works of Ken Cooper, the father of Aerobics.

Dr. Dean Ornish is fairly flexible on the foods eaten, but he insists those interested in recovering from cardiac problems should keep their fat below 10% and preferably below 5%. Five per cent is pretty radical and is usually coupled with a need for weight loss. He does let people eat anything they want, but the 5% limit drives them to avoiding animal products and added oils. 

In one of his books, he did point out that processing protein takes a good mix of carbs and some fats. In other words, the protein should come packaged in healthy foods. When the percentage is too high, then problems with the kidneys, bones and other things start occurring. He points out mother's milk is only 5% protein. He also cited Chittendan's work which showed heavy laborers only need 5% protein. I think Dr. Ornish suggests limiting protein to about 10% for best results. Personally, I keep mine between 5% and 15%. Usually, it's around 10 to 12%.

 I think @ActiveMommy said she was at a normal weight and what would be considered a healthy body fat. She can probably eat pretty close to her calorie burn to maintain her weight, or lose it slowly with a slight deficit. The percentages suggested above would probably come close to the table Fitbeforefifty posted.

[Nora58]

@shipo what a different diet than you had in your post :

Does one *really* need a calorie deficit to lose weight?

I remembered reading about the loaf of raisin bread and wondering where the veggies were during the day.

Your posted diet then .

For my food intake:

Breakfast: two to three "Sausage McMuffin with Egg" look-alike sandwiches: 900-1,350 calories

Snack: pretty much non-stop between breakfast and lunch, nuts, pastries, whatever was lying around the office: 500-1,000 calories

Lunch: whatever the cafeteria at my company had as the feature entree; tyically at least 1,200 calories

Snack: pretty much non-stop between lunch and 3:30(ish): 300-1,000 calories

Dinner:

• A Bertolli "Classic Meal for Two": 1,000 calories
• Two IPA style beers: 400 calories
• One liter of whole milk: 600 calories
• Full loaf of toasted cinnamon rasin bread (14 slices) with lots of butter: 1,500 calories

Total: 6,600-8,050 calories on any given day; a few days were a bit lower such as days when I was racing, other days were much higher.

[ActiveMommy]

Wow! Limit protein to only 10 percent of daily calories ? That seems so low. I would have thought maybe 30-40%.

And yes you are right at my weigh in on Monday I was 112 lb with about 23% BF. Trying to get hag down to 20 and maybe a bit less if I can in order minimize my pear shape and look fit (but also to drop enough so that I don't keep adding more body fat with each kid I have !). I was 18-10% BF before my first kid.

Thank you !

[shipo]

@Nora58, there were plenty of fruit and veggies back in 2013 when I was losing all that weight; in the "food intake" list you quoted, I just hit the high points.  As has been my habit for, I don't know, decades now, I would typically eat two to three bunches of asparagus, a head or two of broccoli, and a box or two of arugula per week, not to mention any stray carrots, cucumbers, and tomatoes which might wander into my path.  My bad for not including them in my list, I eat so much of that stuff I completely forgot to mention it.

Edit: Silly me, I also eat a couple of bunches of celery per week as well, usually with crunchy peanut butter smeared all over.  🙂