Hi everyone. I just need some help regarding nutrition and my diet. I'm 24, 5"3 and weigh 63 kilos. Over the last 6 or so months I have put on about 6 kilos and I would definitely like to maintain where I am and not creep up any further, if anything I wouldnt mind getting back down to 60. I also am quite lean except for around my stomach where I have a huge pot belly even though I don't drink. I do 4 RPMs (spin) a week, 2 weights sessions and sometimes a pump as well with one rest day.

I used to have a 'cheat day' but I have a feeling this is what is causing the gain as I tend to go a little crazy but that is because I get to the point where I am so hungry from all the exercise I do and just binge on crap. I sometimes dont feel hungry but I get lightheaded and grouchy. By the end of the week my workouts are a struggle because I feel so deprived and I need that 'binge' to get me going again. At the moment my diet looks like this

Breakfast: 65 grams of muesli, tub of low fat yoghurt/ Weekends two pieces of toast with peanut butter
Morning tea: Carmans muesli bite
Lunch: Small wholemeal breadroll with 65g turkey, piece of low fat cheese, small banana.
Afternoon tea: 130g strawberries
Dinner: 160g chicken/steak etc with a salad and baked beans
After Dinner: Glass of milk

So I was thinking that if I incorporated more healthy food into my diet I wouldn't need a "cheat day" as I would be satisfied. Any advice?

I'm not suprised you are hungry! If you eat eggs, how about a poached egg with wholemeal toast or porridge with a small sprinkling of nuts & half chopped apple? Do you eat fish? How about sardines or kippers? By eating protein at breakfast, you will find that you are satisfied longer and you may not need to snack during the day.

'Cheat' days? Yes, you can drop those. If you are eating 80% whole, unprocessed unadaulterated foods, you can indulge in whatever takes your fancy, however, make sure your indulgence is of the hgiest quality. There is no need to avoid what you love eating, if you make the right choices.

You start the day off high in carbs and this is a problem. I always put emphasis protein with fewer carbs. Load up on fresh veggies, fruit, lean white orgainc meats and fish. Stick to one portion of carbs per day if possible. For cereal bars, go for something like Nakd and Trek bars and flapjacks or Bounce Balls. These are really filling and tasty!

All the best.

YOu're not eating nearly enough. It's no wonder that you go crazy on your "cheat" days .. because you're starving yourself the rest of the week.

AT your weight you need to eat about 1500 calories to lose weight healthily - especially with the amount of exercise you do.

Looking at your diet, you could stand to have more protein, but you also need MORE VEGGIES. I don't see a single veggie on that list and a teeny-tiny bit of fruit.

Where are your leafy greens? Broccoli? Squash? Carrots? Celery? Any and all of those things.

You can't just leave veg out of your meals. YOu need the nutrients they provide.

I do have a large salad with my dinner so I do get some veg, probably not enough! I'm probably burning on average between 400-600 calories a day with my exercise (I forgot about that I run before I do before RPM!)

Plot your food and activity through FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal so that you can see both your calorie balance and a breakdown of your nutrients. That way you can be sure that you are hitting all your nutritional targets. Keep an eye on things like protein, fibre, calcium, healthy fats, sodium...

I eat a lot of fruit and veg (probably more like 10 a day than 5 a day) and find that works really well for me. The more fruit and veg that I eat the less that crap is any temptation for me. It helps the fibre total too.

I dont feel faint at all by doing this. Although on the surface much of your food looks to be healthy food - I suspect that you are not hitting all your nutritional targets.

Read up the sections on nutrition in order to deduce your targets.

Personally - I would shoot for at least the following:
70g protein
25g fibre
1000mg calcium
and try to keep your sodium under 2400mg

Try having things like salmon which really helps on the healthy fats and protein. I would happily take my protein higher than this though and my fibre tends to be much higher.

I am sure that once you get the balance right - your starvation problems will go away.

Your food plan is a little bit lacking. You might place your body in a dangerous situation wherein you might end up in a relapse (let's just hope not).

The plan to add fruits to your diet is a great idea. Just avoid the fatty ones. The idea of a healthy salad by viccles is good.