Submitted on 2009/08/07 at 6:36am
Hi Zuzana,
first of all, thanks for the nice pasta salad – it’s a nice change to normal pasta salads but can be also enjoyed warm.
Well, just had a look at your diet & nutrition section, where you calculated how many calories you burn in a day and how much you could eat distributed over your 6 meals/day.
It seems that the salad portion you have in this video (with max. 8 pieces of actual pasta maybe and the rest is basically vegies/fruit) is ways below the 360 kcal that you calculated for your uptake per meal (if having 6 per day) to keep your weight.
Even if you ate only that little portion of salad 6 times a day (no smaller, no bigger meals) and exercise as much as you do, you’d definitely loose weight. Maybe I do have a high metabolism rate but by just roughly following your recommendations (what worked for you does not have to work for everybody else – I know) I’d be getting skinnier in no time.
I do really like your websites with all the tips and you are the best proof that it pays off to exercise often and eat clean but (since I am also not the first person commenting on that) it seems a bit unrealistic to me that this little portion is all you eat for your meal.
Please do not get me wrong & keep on posting your yummy recipes and great exercises!
Best,
Sylvie
Hi Sylvie,
Do you think that I am lying and eating more behind your back? :) I said I eat at least 5 – 6 times a day and I also eat different types of foods and different meals – not just this salad. The calculations I have posted should just give people a basic idea of how to count the calories according to a particular equation. I do really eat those little portions and I eat often like I said. I always point out that everyone is different and that’s why it is important to keep a diet log where you can keep track of your meals and portions. It takes some time to find out what works for you, but I believe that this approach is a better way than counting calories.
I have had a lot of experience with counting calories and it didn’t bring me the results I wanted. I was eating the prescribed amount of calories for a few months and I ended up getting bigger! I didn’t have much body fat but I definitely got much bigger muscles. According to all these equations and tables, I had a healthy weight given my hight, and a healthy body fat percentage and the right caloric intake. But was I happy about the result? Absolutely not! I didn’t even feel good because I felt heavy even tho all of the weight was in my muscles.
Remember that you have to look at my site as a frequently updated blog, which means that posts are getting old. I am getting older each day and things change. If you were following my posts from at least February, you would notice that in that time when I started to talk about calories and how to count them, I started to get bigger and you could notice that in my videos!
Girls were writing me that I looked bulky. I felt embarrassed, because I knew they were right and it was really upsetting, because I was following exactly ”the rules” and eating a proper amount of calories, so how was that even possible? When I am telling you (girls) that you can not get bulky, it is actually not true. You can get bulky, but not because of your workouts, but because you are feeding your muscles too much. Women can get bulky no matter what every fitness professional says, because bulky means something else for every girl. Bulky doesn’t mean only to look like a female body builder. To me, bulky is what I have looked like for example in my Boot Camp Circuit Workout. Every girl has a different opinion, and that’s fine, but this is the main reason, why those prescribed caloric intake equations often don’t translate into reality.
The same thing is happening to many people and especially women. All of these calorie intake equations are far from reality. You can read and learn all about counting calories and diet, but if you don’t have any of your own experience, your knowledge is worthless. I believe that our intuition and common sense coupled with a basic knowledge about food is what can bring us the best results.
Since I started to use my own intuition and portion size control, I started to get into the shape I have always desired to be in. Now I am getting the results I really want. But It took time to get back to smaller portions since I was used to eating bigger meals thanks to the previous method. According to that equation that I was using, my meals are now most likely way below the subscribed caloric intake, but why should I get upset about it if I feel better then before, I am much stronger, I have way more energy and I prefer the way my body looks right now than it did when I was counting my calories. Does it make sense?
You don’t have to agree with me ( I am talking to all of you now), but I wish that you just take my words into consideration and give the eat clean diet a try for at least one month. This won’t cost you anything, only your own effort. And if you come back to me again about counting calories, I swear I will just delete that old post that I made about counting calories all together :)
Best,
Zuzana.
hi zuzana..i wanted to know what food do you suggest to eat over a whole day?i know that small portions of food should be eaten each 2 to 3hours,but how can i classify which type of food should i eat and when should i eat it??
Hi Zuzana! I was wondering…do you take any supplements? Things like Whey Protein powder or Casein? What do you think of these? Would it be wise to incorporate these or any other supplements into a diet?
Hi Melissa,
I don’t take any supplements and I don’t believe that it is necessary. The supplement industry is making millions of dollars so it makes sense that their ads will tell you that you absolutely need their supplements. It is up to you, what do you want to believe in. I believe that my body can obtain all the necessary energy, vitamins, minerals, and proteins from real food.
[...] Zuzana, Tell Me The Truth About Your Diet! | Fitness Advice … [...]
Hi Zuzana,
I have found your videos on youtube, because I was looking for ab workouts and found you. I was quite intrigued by how great your body looked and how hard you’ve worked. I wanted to know how you got started into fitness, have you always been fit. About me, I am 26 years old, 5′2, about 95lbs, I know you are probably thinking I should already be fit but I’m not, the problem is I am not fit at all, I do have a fast metabolism though and my weight fluctuates between 95lbs to 100lbs..I’ve never been over 100lbs, though I am not trying to gain weight, but I want to work out more in my stomach. I do have a short torso and I am not sure what exercises to do. I could send you a picture so that you can see. I hopefully want to be as fit as you are. I have thought about getting a trainer, but sometimes I have little motivation. I mean I am small but I would like to be to have more definition. I have attached my myspace page website.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Thank you much!
hi
i just wanna know how i can know how many calories i’ll burn if i eat 100g broccoli? well all the negative calories food you’ve talked about.
can you help me??
thankssss
Hi Zuzana I’ve watched many of your videos and really want to get into the type of shape your in. Right now I’m working out twice a day and doing more then an hour of cardio. I really want to see results quick and am trying to do whatever i can to get results in the next month or so. How long do you think it takes to get rid of just a little excess fat? i only have some around my hips, abs and back area but not much. Since i only have a little bit it seems like its taking forever to get rid of it. If you have any advice or anything i could do differently to get rid of the fat ASAP then let me know, thanks.
Hi Zuzana!
I’d like to thank you for your posts, I think you’re doing an incredible job and helping a lot of people out and it looks like you’re loving it too. Now that it’s too cold outside, I’m forced to workout inside and hopefully I’ll get fitter over the winter with the help of your workout series. Thank you so much again and big hugs from Slovenia.
@Lisa: Hi Lisa. If I may try to answer your question: there is a web-page I know of that specifies calories in different foods. Don’t frustrate yourself with calories intake too much though! :) Here is the link:
http://www.thecaloriecounter.com
You just select the food group and browse trough the results, pick your food and it will show you what you need to know.
Zuzana I am 28 years old, do u think I could ever look like you if I work out properly ? Be honest if it’s to late !
Thank you
Hi Anca, it is never to late to get in shape. There are many old people who have completely changed their lifestyle and got in amazing shape at an age that most people consider to be old.
Hey , thanks for taking the time to reply ! Here’s another one :) how many years ago u started? And here’s another one :) are you on facebook?
I only founf this site 2 days ago and onestly I am spending so much time watching your videos and read about diets , I absolutlly love it !!!! Well done !
Hey Zuzanna :) I have been looking at your website for a few weeks, and I think the calorie counting is definetly not a good way to track calories, this is my own personal expeirience, before I counted calories I was eating less, but it was very healthy, then I went on a calorie counting website telling me I need to eat a certain number of calories, now my thighs have gotten fatter, not much, but If I have extra energy on my thigh then that means I am eating to much! I workout and do contortion regularly, but the rest of the day I am usually not very busy and go on the computer alot, I don’t need that much food!! calorie counting is very very annoying, and miserable, it is much better to listen to your body, I am slowly moving toward 5 small meals a day, and I stopped counting calories pretty quick(couldnt do it for more than a week it was so annoying!). everyone on the calorie counting site was telling me that I do not eat enough, but the funny thing is to get my recommended calories ment I could eat pumkin pie (which I love) every day or chocolate and not get fat!! what kind of health advice is that??.. ok gorge yourself every day on 1900 calories and don’t get fat!! I was seriously eating food when I wasn’t hungry to get to my “number” the thing is my diet is very satisfying lots of fiber, low sugar, whole foods, so I’m not hungry for that much food, anyways so I definetly agree, we eat way to much.~erica
haha I meant a good way to eat nottracl calories sorry!! bye the way I love your workout videos and have been doing them~erica
hmmmm you do not look bulky to me in those videos, but i guess how you feel about your body is more important then how other people feel, I guess I don’t mind lots of muscle on me even though I am a girl~erica
Hi Zuzana,
please help me! What can I do about food cravings? For 7 days I do the workouts, and I feel so great. Yesterday’s evening I started for the children in my family to make Christmas calendar, all filled with candy … I could not resist and I ate about 20 chocolate and gummy bears. I feel so bad and can almost already feel how each praline settles on my hips and belly. Damn now the whole training was for nothing…but I love candy… Got a tip for me please so I won’t relapse?
Thank you very much
Nathalie from Germany
HI, don’t look at it as all or nothing when it comes to working out and healthy dieting- The all or nothing approach can definitely give fast results, but it can also be tricky and can lead to those underserving thoughts that you’ve failed. It’s not all or nothig. I prefer “steady as she goes”…I work out really hard all week long and try to eat very “clean”, but because I work out hard and eat “clean” generally, I know that I can afford to “mess up” once in a while. Don’t beat yourself up about it, just don’t make it a habit. And try and look your best, not somebody else’s best. That’s one important thing I’ve learned in all the years I’ve been working out.I want to look my best, and my best may not look like Zuzana- it could be more or less- it’s all relative anyway. Keep up the good work and you’ll see the improvements in your body, you’ll see your muscles gettign defined, and complimenting your body type. I hope everyone here has figured this out by now..We can’t look like somebody else’s best, we can be inspired by them to look our best- whatever that is.
I love the support in this community, thanks again Zuzana and Fred!
Heyya Zuzana!
I wanted to know, the way that you eat, like the small portions and stuff every 2-3 hours, would it be okay for me to eat that way too if im a track runner who does pretty much intense training and weights? I really like the distribution of food method because it makes perfect sense why you feel lighter and don’t feel so heavy during the day…which make me sleepy. Also how much do you weigh? Im only asking because you have muscle, i have muscle but i weight like 140 but its muscle…u know?
Zuzana, I used to count calories and eat the prescribed amount.. blah blah blah… And I ended up gaining weight, too… I didn’t like it so I experimented with my diet and found the best thing that works for my body. I feel more energized, healthier and happier.. You are definitely right. P.S. I love your videos and tips. You are a great motivation for a 16 year old girl like myself who is trying to combat society’s idea of “beauty” and being stick thin. Thank you!
I totally honor and respect your way of thinking. I thank you for this post because I was just recently second guessing my calorie counting. Although my body composition is changing I have not seen a change in the pounds I have lost. I know it is not all about the numbers on the scale but I feel that for my efforts I should have better results. I will try this new method you have shared with us. I am sure it will work. Thank you for sticking to your guns and sharing your thoughts no matter what other people may think or say.
hi Zuzana,
i just wanted to say that i admire you & your tips. well, im 16 years old and i want to know what i have to do before my senior year to have a body like yours…PLEASE!!! i weigh 123 pounds. please send me a list telling me how i can get in shape, and how i can loose pounds within 6 months! if you make respond to this, tell me the following please: work outs, your meals/ your menu…etc. thank you. <3 ally.
Hi Zuzanna,
since I’ve become I fan (woow… nearly two monthes ago) I’ve wanted to implement this thesis, of eating small portions several times a day. but I never managed to follow this. the hardest part is that during the week, all my colleagues go to eat launch at a certain hour. and that’s the only “time out” I really have with them. and secondly, and more importantly (though it’s only twice a week), during the weekend my husband and I want to either eat out, or eat in after I make a special meal for both of us… and I find it hard (very hard) to follow your thesis … which I really want to follow. do you have any advice for me?
Thank you very much… love everything you do :)
Naama
Hi Naama,
it’s hard and only people with a strong will can manage their eating habits. Thats all I can say. I have difficulties myself to keep the portion sizes small. I don’t have a problem to pack food with me when I spend a whole day away from home. I just pack some snacks, fruit or whole wheat bread.
Hi Zuzanna,
it’s 07:00 am… I’ve packed lots of snacks, fruits and even cooked quinoa in small portions. I’m out until 22:00. it’s a first try, and a fresh start… I wish I’ll be strong enough to keep the portions small, and see the results I’m aiming for.
you’re the best, thanks for everything.
Naama
hi zuzana this is mi firts comment and i wanted to ask you a cuestion i’ve been workinguot for a couple weeks now whit your website and i really like it the only problem is my diet because it seems no to be working i eat 6 meals a day small portions teh only sugar i take is in the morning with my coffe try to eat claen and not to eat bread but is really hard cause i love bread but i take whole weat instead not more than 4 o 5 slices a day not everiday most of my body fat is en my midsection around my weist and y drives me crazy i would like to know how do i get rid of that belly fat im 6′5 and weigh 185 pounds please if you can answer me and excuse my english txn
Tell us about your daily diet, what do u eat?
that is an interesting thought.
dear zuzana,
what do you think? do you think you can write one week long what do you eat, at which times, when you make sports, when you go for wokring,..? A one-week-diary about your food/times/Sports,..! it would be interesting and maybe it will help me to understand the size of your portions ( I mean how small they are and so on)
greetings and take care
i was looking for the quinoa salad recipe
I have the most amazingly easy and tasty Chicken Quinoa Salad recipe for you.
1 lg can chicken or fresh cooked chicken brest
1 c. cooked red quinoa
1 bunch scallions diced
1/2 c. celery diced
1/2 c. carrots finely diced
1 c craisins or grapes halved or raisins
1/4 c. mayo
1/4 c. flax oil or low fat yogurt
1 clove garlic finely chopped
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. celery salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
Mix mayo, yogurt, seasonings and herbs together. Mix all other ingredients with mayo mixture.
I eat a small amount of this salad with half an apple and it is very tasty and filling. Enjoy!
hello,
you have a body which is for my opinion to close of a bodybuilders. how many ours a day you practice yourself?
I am far far from bodybuilders and I exercise for 30 minutes max a day. I workout in a completely different way then bodybuilders do.
Hi hi, I stumbled across one of your video on youtube and now I’m hooked! I used to work with a trainer but it got expensive so now I’m on my own but it just isn’t the same. My trainer worked me hard in 30 minutes but when I’m by myself I take my time next thing I know a hour passed. But now I can use your routines to time challenge myself!
Anyway I have a couple of questions…I know you mentioned you work out 30 minutes a day (which is great cuz I spend a hour at the gym and sometimes it doesn’t feel like I “broke” a muscle in especially my triceps and abs since I don’t work with a trainer anymore), was wondering how many days a week do you work out? I want to head the gym 4 times a week & stick to your workout routine but curious if 4 times are excessive?
Also can you come up with a list of stuff to eat? I know you eat 5-6 times a day as I do too but I run out of ideas. Its probably not 5-6 MEALS but you’re eating healthy snacks in between meals. My problem is I’m constantly hungry, I’ll eat a snack like fruit or peanut butter sandwich couple hours before a meal and it isn’t enough to tie me over. What can I do so the snacks I eat leave me feeling full longer?
Hello Zuzana. I’d appreciate it if you told me a few things about you. I’d really like hear this from someone like you, because I don’t know any women who take exercising as seriously as you. If I did I wouldn’t be bothering you with this. I want to know if I am the only athlete that is hopeless when it comes to dieting, or does this also happen to the best?
I’m a 15 year old girl, I’m 170cm tall and I weigh 57kg. I’ve been working out almost every day for 2 years now. I’m not new to this, my bro’s also been into exercising for a really long time, so I know most of the things about exercising and I’m aware that the nutrition represents about 70% of your progress.
Anyhow, I’ve gained a decent amount of muscle mass over the past two years, and I’m happy with that. I never had problems sticking to an anabolic diet. But because it also made me gain some fat along with muscles, I now want to lose those extra kg and define my body.
But I have problems sticking to a fat loss diet. I’ve read about the ketogenic diet in Lyle McDonald’s book and tried it (for like a million times now), but after two weeks I can’t help but eat carbs for like a whole week (in crazy amounts) which leads to a yoyo effect. So basically I make up for the little amount of fat I manage to lose.
Anyway, I was wondering… what kind of diet were you on? And did you ever have problems sticking to it? Did you ever fully stray from your diet and had to start all over again? How did you stay motivated and how did you train your self control?
I really want to hear this from a woman, to me it means so much more than hearing such advice from a guy.
Also, thank you very much for inspiring me, I truly admire your dedication and training.
Sanja
AMEN! I lost my weight with smaller portions. If you make your proper portions and excercise you will drop the weight. I stopped counting and dropped the weight and maintained a stong body. I feel my vitality comming back and much more energy. I eat nuts somtime with an apple or yogurt for snacks, maybe chicken, rice and spinach salad with viniger dressing for dinner but without working out I would maintain. I maintain (when I get motivated) an average of 10,000 steps a day = 5mls and that weight is stedily dropping. I put a weight routin in while on the tredmil and I sweat it out strong. I love the powerful workout Zuzana and I’m excited to start building the definition that you have. Thanks!
Hi Zuzana,
I had a baby ten months ago and cannot seem to get rid of the extra ten pounds. I go to the gym and workout for an hour and a half for three days.
I have also done some of your workouts because they are excellent, but do you have any advice and workout tips. Thanks!
Hello Zuzana.
do you ever induge in less than healths foods,such as chips,soda chocolates?
I had a personal trainer for a while and she said that i could more or less eat what i wanted once a week.what do you think?i lost quite a bit of weight with her (my trainer) and now i cant seem to shed any more and i run 3 times a week as well as skiing and going for walks,so i`m active about 5 days a week.HEEELP!! :-)
You can indulge a little once in a while if a drug addict indulging in a little crack once in a while makes sense to you. Once you been on a diet for a while and your pretty much a little hungry often on a diet, any type of excess fat your body gets in will be stored around your body. Why? Cause our bodies are built to survive, not to stay skinny and fit.
The idea here is to eat 5-6 small portions throughout the day so your body can burn it off easier and you can digest faster. At the same time, your not hungry throughout the day which would normally cause people to overeat when they are really hungry. There are no shortcuts, tips, or tricks. Just stop eating a lot, especially fatty foods! Go run you bums
Hey Zuzanna! I’m new to your site and I saw a lot of your vids on youtube. First of all, don’t worry about ppl who are not willing to put in the effort and blaming you for not achieving their results! I think you are an amazing role model for me! I know exactly what you mean about the Calorie COunting, i’ve tried it too….very very meticulous counting…everyday…spending 2 hours…sometimes to count my calories!! but i actually gained weight and LOOKED bigger, bulkier like you..said. I stopped doing calorie counting…and actually slimmed down more and got lean and fitter. I do weights and cardio, but I haven’t actually tried your workouts for real yet. Only discovered your videos recently. So i’m very excited to give them a go! I SOOOO want your body and I knwo you’ve worked so hard for it and I’m so so happy for you; you seriously deserve it! =) I know it’s hard, keep up the good work Zuzanna =)
ooops…sorry i spelt ur name wrong i meant ‘zuzana’ it’s a beautiful name! =D
i was wondering what is your portion of protein during a day nowadays.
Ok question. I know to lose pounds I should eat 6 small meals a day but what can I do about not being able to afford to eat that much. I norm eat one meal a day maybe two (and not bug meals ether). I try to eat healthy though so thats good. Am I really hurting my chances at weight loss??
I WAS WONDERING HOW TALL YOU WERE AND HOW MUCH YOU WEIGH? WHAT IS YOUR GOAL WEIGHT?
Hello Zuzana!
I’ve stumbled upon your videos on youtube today and found your videos to be very helpful to me.
I am a high jumper in high school, i am 5″11 and i weigh 132 pounds. My coach says im too fat,and needs to be 118pounds. How do i lose weight properly without starving myself because i am already exercising everyday and abstaining from oily, fried food and sweet junk food.
Hi Zuzana, I just want to know, What do you think, about de fat after three pregnancys, How can I get ride of it, because, I´m not sure if it´s only fat or extra skin but in the same case, it´s possible to do something to help tha tummy zone, that´s my only problem. But belive me I´m desperate.
Does Zuzana have any books, videos, dvds to purchase?
Zuzana, I know it’s rude to ask but can you tell me your hight and weight PLEASE. My bff swears that Jessica Beil’s body is better than yours (she’s INSANE). Don’t worry, I posted a “POLL” on my face book with 2 pictures of you and 2 of JB and everyone voted for YOU!!! =D
I want to share something with you:
marksdailyapple.com
you might reconsider everything you know about diet and fitness. Especially diet(vegan diet and so on…)
thanks for your great website
I have gone through a couple spurts where I counted my calories. It was very helpful at the time because it helped me learn what fat/carbs/protein were in foods. It was very educational to me. I focused on eating the good food and quickly learned when I ate something “bad” how quickly it threw off the scale of the fats to carbs to protein I was suppose to have in a day.
Now I’m focusing more on just eating whole foods and counting my veg/fruit serving intake b/c that is the main food I lack in my diet and have to force myself to focus on making sure I actually eat vegetables in a day. Once this becomes norm for me, I’m sure I’ll change my strategy again to overcome whatever next becomes the weakness in my eating.
Hi Zuzana,
Just commenting to say that, I’d rather be “bulky” and strong than a fragile twig. When I saw one of the workouts I didn’t think “bulky”, I thought “wow, look how strong she is! She has definition.”
Personally, I don’t think you’re bulky, because you’re slim, but toned at the same time. :-D