Tumblr from my treadmill - hell yeah...

Hey everyone, I’ve spent hours this evening searching for ideas on how to get the most out of strength training workouts, and I’m hearing a lot about papaya. Among many other helpful nutrients, it has an enzyme called papain that digests protein and reduces inflammation… sounds like it’s very helpful for reducing muscle soreness and helping in building muscle as well.

Anyway, to make a long story short (too late!) I was wondering if anyone has advice on where/how to buy fresh papaya? I’m near a big city and would be willing to go to specific ethnic grocery stores if the freshness or price is significantly better. I’m going to try some ASAP to make sure I like it, but I’m a bit daunted by the $3 price tag at the local store.

Just thought I’d post a follow-up to my post yesterday, Finding the Middle Ground, in which I asked “Is it just me, or is it surprisingly difficult to get a net calorie total for the day as a happy medium (1200-1600)?”. I got some really great tips and suggestions…

 strongereverysecond answered: Add some nuts and almonds and lentils and chickpeas! And olive oil! Those are extremely healthy things with more calories than veggies

 wishicouldbethin answered: I think you should aim to eat in total between your BMR and your total calorie use. Any less and you’ll be lacking, any more and you’ll gain.

 flevrs answered: idk when this happens to me i normally eat a piece of toast with pb/fruit or a bowl of cereal w/ soymilk and fruit for dessert

 fitter—happier answered: I have this problem too. I say eat when you’re hungry and fill up on the healthy stuff. 1200 cal of junk won’t benefit you in any way.

 greentea-lovely answered: MY PROBLEM. Aiming for 900-1100 cal pre-dinner helped me; bulk up breakfast! with nut butter, or some greek yogurt etc. Works for me

 pamsical answered: i’m in this kind of limbo too. After my exercise, i find my net calories way too low and i’m already stuffed up from food!

 onthelightside asked you: Tried to write a reply but there wasn’t enough room! Anyway, that kept happening to me last week and my net was always too low. What helped me was getting up early enough to eat breakfast, workout, then have a mid morning snack before lunch. I got in more calories that way, could plan my day’s calories better, and didn’t feel like I was stuffing myself/eating unhealthy to reach my net. Eating more nuts helps too and if you like chocolate milk it’s a good thing to drink right after workouts!

Wow! A lot of great suggestions here - and how reassuring to know it’s not just me.

And, in replying to a couple of questions I got, I came across the best calorie calculator I’ve ever found: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm this site has a ton of helpful info that’s helping me get back on track.

Looking over my calories on My Fitness Pal… yikes! I definitely ate too little at the beginning of this month… and have been so all over the place the past week or so I didn’t even record much. What a wake-up call!

Taking into account my schedule and mild hypoglycemia, I’m looking at creating an eating plan that is roughly two meals and four snacks a day. About 400 calories at breakfast, followed by three 200ish calorie snacks throughout the day, a 600 or so calorie dinner, and a 200 calorie snack after that. I am not advocating this approach for anyone else, this is just what I’m going to try for myself. This is assuming a roughly 500 calorie burn from exercise, by the way.

I hope this info is interesting or helpful to others… TBH, it’s partly just for my own sake, so I can find all this info in one spot later. Feedback, suggestions, ideas for some healthy 150-250 calorie snacks?

Is it just me, or is it surprisingly difficult to get a net calorie total for the day as a happy medium (1200-1600)?

I gotta ask because this drives me craaaazy. I guess I just like healthy food “too much” and yet also have a tendency to overeat in the evenings. Because especially when I’m hitting the treadmill regularly, I have the HARDEST time having a sensible net calorie number. Like today, I did an hour on the treadmill, and ate breakfast, lunch, and two snacks so far… and my net calories currently sits at -127. >:(

It’s almost dinner time, and I usually have an evening snack but how in the heck am I to get to net 1200 or so without eating CRAP for dinner? I’m not starving myself*, I eat when I’m hungry, I eat what looks good. We just keep a lot of healthy stuff around. So basically, I keep having days like this where I work out around midday and eat sensibly in the morning and afternoon and either end up way too low on calories or let the fact that I’m so low on calories turn into a stupid excuse to order pizza and end up way too high on calories.

*sigh* So I guess I’ll just admit, this post is kind of just a rant. But I’m also really curious - does anyone else struggle with this? I know it sounds kind of ED-ish, but I’m really not happy with how low my calories are… but I feel like I eat all day and my net is so darn low. What the heck is going on here?! I’m so frustrated… does anyone else relate? And or have some suggestions? This is making me batty, especially because it’s probably part of why I’ve hit a plateau with my weight. All (polite) feedback welcome. <3

*I suppose in some senses I AM, but what I mean is that I’m not doing it on purpose.