CAD and exercise
Hi, guys! I am jumping over here from Atkins because I have a feeling it might work better for me. I'm new to this whole idea and I have a few questions:
1. I exercise a lot. I ride my bike to get around, which usually equates to a few hours a day. By the time I get to my RM I feel totally depleted. I feel like I should exercise after my RM to lower my insulin levels a little. Do other people exercise after RM? I usually get kinda sleepy after eating the carbs at my RM and would rather relax, but I feel like I should "do something" or it will all be stored.
2. I've never been a "meal" eater. I've always grazed, snacked, nibbled my way through the day. Little pieces of sugar have kept me going. It's been like a constant blood sugar roller coaster. This plan forces me to eat, then nothing till the next meal. It is admittedly quite the challenge for me, but it's making sense that this has been the missing factor in my inability to lose weight. Even though my calories have been restricted, is it possible that tiny bits of food here and there have been keeping my insulin levels raised? I really feel there is a lot more than just calories in vs calories out, because with my very high level of activity and very low level of calories I simply have not been able to lose any weight. So I am hopeful that maybe this plan will help me.
3. How much can I trust my appetite to guide me? Today I biked for probably 3-4 hours total, and ate just protein/fats/some veggies for my 2 CMs, then for my RM I had a huge salad (my favorite part of the meal) with a chicken breast, followed by some cereal with yogurt, 1/2 banana w peanut butter, some cottage cheese and dried fruit, and a bit of chocolate. I know that's a ton of food, but it was not at all out of control, I was just really, really hungry. My calories for the day are still under 2000, and I could easily eat more (but I won't). I guess I'm just wondering how important it is to keep my RM balanced, or if I can just continue to let my appetite guide me.
4. I kind of like not having a planned RM, but just eating what I want. It's like my only time I can eat what sounds good. Is that ok, or should I try to form more of a "meal" instead of grazing for the hour? I know CALP is more about keeping it balanced, and I have a huge salad with protein to start, followed by a fair amount of carbs.
5. How bad is it to have a low-carb snack, like a hard boiled egg and/or cheese between meals? I know the one plan includes a snack, but I feel like not eating between meals may be my ticket to weight loss. I feel like even though I had a ton of food for my RM tonight, I'm still hungry, would love some more chicken... probably because I burned a lot of calories today. Is this something I should just ignore, or should I eat?
I'm sorry for so many questions. I'm really trying to figure out how to make this work for me.
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