Hey Guys,

I am in week 8 of my first challenge. I normally eat every 2 1/2 to 3 hrs...all of a sudden I am starving after an hour of eating...when I don't eat I start craving junk...should I add protein or something? To help this is a typical day for me...

8am 1 egg 1 white 1/3 cup plain oatmeal (no sugar or salt)
1030 chix breast, bn rice, raw green beans and raw carrots
130 pm whey shake and 2/3 cup bran flakes
4 pm cottage cheese fruit
6 pm EFL dinner with family
830pm whey shake and bran flakes or fruit

thanks for your input...Tammy
ps I am logging off for the night so I'll check responses in the morning:0)

It looks like you have a pretty good plan. You have good protein/carb balance in most meals. Even though your breakfast and meals 3 & 4 are good EFL type meals, they may not be holding you. You are getting less than 200 calories and less than 18 grams of protein with your breakfast. That's not good for the first meal of the day. Maybe add a couple more egg whites. And a slice of whole wheat toast. A dash of cinnamon in that oatmeal.

I don't know what you are getting in your "Whey" shake but mine gives me 120 Cal., 23g of Protein, 3g of Carbs and 1g of Fat. per serving (EAS 100% Whey) If yours is similar then your Whey and fruit or Bran flakes is plenty of Protein and carbs but again possibly just right at or less than 200 calories. Check to see if you are getting high protein, low carb. You may be drinking a Meal Replacement Shake that is giving you less protein and more carbs.

Cottage cheese, I'm assuming is a lower fat variety, has about 80 -90 calories per 1/2 cup and 9-12 g protein depending on brand. It's a wonderful food! I eat it a lot. Adding fruit you get about 150 or more calories and maybe 12 g of protein per meal total. (I like to add a half serving of protein powder to add about 12 g of protein.)

Okay, add all this up and out of your 4 meals a day you get a total of less than 800 calories and around 70 grams of protein. With what you eat the other two meals you should be fine in total protein intake. Your total calories could be a little low at around 1400 or about right depending on the other two meals. I would look at the timing of your meals. Could you add more protein, maybe even a few more complex carbs (a slice of whole wheat toast) like I mentioned, to your #1 meal? Right now you end then start your day with less than 200 calorie meals. Could you maybe swap meals #2 and #3? Right now, again you have two low cal ( one of them low protein) meals together. You may have to adjust meals #5 and #6 to allow for more Carb calories earlier in the day. Are you eating around your workouts? Eating a good protein, high carb diet after your workout? I know I've made this sound really complex but it's really not. You are eating clean. You are making great choices. You are working hard to. You are even getting in you fiber!

Are you drinking your water?

I hope I've helped by suggesting you might want to space out your bigger meals in the more traditional B-L-D method and then your smaller meals in between and after.

Uncle Dave

It doesn't look like you are eating enough at breakfast and your third and fourth meal well, you are having a shake w/ bran flakes for your third meal and that's fine but then you are eating cottage cheese with fruit for your next meal doesn't seem substanial back to back, check out Bill's assignment 3 he puts it all together the right way. One thing I do notice though, you are eating an EFL dinner for your fifth meal, so in essence if you are following the EFL to a T then you should be fine. I follow the EFL right on and I never find myself hungry at all, The EFL has a lot of tremendous meals that are healthy and nutritious and filling. Give yourself a couple days of just eating the EFL and I bet you will find yourself more satisfied and not hungry in between meals.
God bless =)

Jerome
http://www.transformation.com/billsb...ignment-3/1500

I would also like to ask about portion sizes... the size of your palm or clenched fist on protien and carbs... How does that measure up?