I need diet advice for my wife. Please help

[bigEge]

My wife has recently asked me for advice to losing fat, but I am not 100% sure about my response to her. I recommended a 1200 colorie per day diet, with a low intake of carbs.

Here's the kicker. My wife has a hypoactive thyroid which is regulated by synthroid. SUPPLEMENTS ARE BASICALLY OUT OF THE QUESTION. You can't take shit with a thyroid condition.

Her current eating habits are not horrible (she has somewhat of a sweet tooth), but I am not sure about a coloric intake of 1200 with her condition. She plans to work out 3 times weekly with 35 minutes cardio and 1 hour light weight training. She has been out of the gym because she had her tits done She is 5'9", about 160 lbs and 28 years old. Not fat, but a little soft in the belly and thighs.

Any feedback would be great. Nicole? Fyre? Supergirl? Where ya at?

 

[Technobarbie]

Does she work out at all - or do any cardio???

The answer to this would be a big factor in determining caloric intake.

 

[Faye]

IMO she should get into the gym, do 1 hour of HEAVY weight training followed my 20-30 minutes of cardio 4 days a week combined with a CLEAN diet of about 1600 calories per day high in protein, moderate carbs and low in fat.

 

[Fyre]

1200 calories is far too low!
Can you get her eating six small meals a day?
What does her current diet look like now?

 

[supergirl]

hey ege..
the ladies are on point as usual..

basically... apply a typical starter/newbie plan for her... i am assuming she is a beginner...

that is a basic plan just to get her started and enjoying what she is doing..
5-6 small meals a day, every 3-4 hours consisting of protein, fat and low complex carbs... cals ~ 1600... give her a cheat day once a week for her sweet tooth.. it has been my experience with my clients that if they cut out a favorite food completely, they are much more likely to binge and go off their diet, but if they are allowed a fun cheat day once a week (stay under 2500 cals though) she will be much more inclined to stay strict during her diet.. i also suggest M-F she is strict with either sat or sun as a cheat... keep in mind anything over 2500 cals and she gains 1lb...

the training... couple of options.. morning cardio 3x a week and weight training 3x a week.. that is 6 days in the gym or 3 days if she does double sessions.. potent for fat burning and speeding up the metabolismk... too much??
ok.. option 2.. weight training followed by 30 mins of cardio... 4x a week.. looking at about an hour or so in the gym.. her weight training at her level need not take more than 1/2 hour... a simple routine to get her going is good..
for my women clients that are beginners, i give them an upper body and a lower body split... rep range 10-15 with 1 min rests... keeps her heart rate up a bit too.. then follow her training with 30mins of high intensity cardio... or even high/low intensity..

then after about 8 weeks.. change up her routine to splitting the body parts for more intensity... plus she will now be comfortable in the gym and should be consistent with her diet.. after 8 weeks of this program, she will have already lost weight and be excited about increasing her lean mass more and losing much more body fat...
baby steps


hope that helps ya a bit!! Just my $.02
Super

 

[Faye]

Excellent advice Super!

 

[bigEge]

Thinks girls. I knew I could get some solid advice.
Fyre - I would post her current diet, but the fact is, it doesn't really exist. She is definitely a newbie.

How worried should I be about her thyroid? She has a high pulse rate already. If she is doing high intense cardio, what pulse rate is too high?

Thanks again.