A more comfortable weight loss plan

Last year I got down to 184 pounds, which was the lightest I'd been since high school. Once I started to drop below 192 pounds I was constantly hungry, I got sick a lot, & I got a couple injuries. I'm usually injury proof. I thought those were sure signs that my body was unhappy at that low of a weight. Back then on an average day I'd eat 3 ounces of meat & a carb every 3 hours. I'd eat approximately 30% protein, 30% fat, & 40% carbs on an average day. I was faster than I ever dreamed I'd be, but I was miserable all the time with hunger, I was sick & injured, & eventually my body stopped dropping more weight regardless of what I did with my calories. I ended up gaining back all the weight I had lost in my off season.

Earlier this year I got some great diet advise from a fellow triathlete & professional personal trainer Garret Rennon. He told me that if I increased my protein & fats I'd be more comfortable & I'd be able to get to a lower body weight. I've tried it & it's a miracle!

I raised my protein from 3 grams to 4 grams every 3 hours. I've also increased my daily fats by adding fish oil, almonds, walnuts, & avocados to my daily diet. For breakfast I'll eat a meal that's 50% carbs, then I'll workout. From then on I'll eat 4 ounces of protein & a cup of fruit or 4 ounces of protein & around 100 calories fresh raw vegetables every 3 hours. I stop eating carbs after midnight, which is 6.5 hours before I go to sleep (I work nights). At 3 AM I'll eat 4 ounces of protein & an avocado or 2 ounces of nuts- no peanuts though! Peanuts are actually a bean & don't have as many of the good stuff like healthy fats. At 6:30 AM, which is when I go to sleep I'll have a slow digesting protein powder such as Syntha 6 & some fish oil. The protein before bed is VERY important so that the body can recover & build muscle while sleeping. If a person doesn't have protein in their stomach while they're sleeping they won't recover properly from their training & their body will start to eat it's own muscle to feed it's organs, hair, & nails. That's the opposite of what an athlete wants. They want to be building lean muscle, not cannibalizing it!

I'm currently 189 pounds, & still losing approximately 2 pounds a week. I still feel great. I'm not hungry, & I'm not getting sick or injured, I'm not as cranky, I'm sleeping better, I'm carrying more muscle at 189 pounds than I was last year. I'm even a little faster than I was last year at the same weight.

Thanks Garret! I appreciate the great advise! It's made a huge difference!