In the swing of things finally....

LundiMardi

ok, i've finally managed to get back into the gym...eventually!!

At first i was looking to improve fitness but after weighing myself in the gym i really need to focus on loosing weight as well... I weighed in at 142.5kg, approx 22.4 stone:( I'm 6ft 4''

I carry it well apparently, pics of me can be found

http://www.irishnationalfolkcompany.org/other/images

I'm the guy on the left...

So my aim is to get to 18 stone by next July... possible?

My plan is to train 5 times a week, i don't want to over do it though, so mon/wed/fri will be in the gym doing cardio and weights, Tues/Thurs i will just swim, just to keep myself active.

Now my diet, maybe people could offer some advice on things i'm missing out... I don't really 'plan' what i eat or how many calories i'm eating, i'm just trying to keep it all in moderation.... I'm doing my own shopping now so i can buy what i need, i've even taken my own shelf in the fridge!!!

Gym first....

Breakfast - 2 weetabix or muesli and low fat milk and a piece of fruit

Mid Morning snack - Smoothie (today it consisted of 2 smallish bananas, 3 strawberries, 3 spoon fulls of low fat natural yogurt and approx half pint of low fat milk...mmmmm:p )

Lunch - 2 boiled eggs(freerange) and two slices of wholemeal toast with low fat spread, cut into soldiers:D

Mid afternoon snack - i don't know, it may be another smoothie, or i might have a tin of tuna, with tomato and cucumber, and weight watchers salad cream..

Dinner - Chicken breasts and some form of vegatables, i'm trying to swap chips for vegetables of some kind... i may have baby potatoes as i said, i don't really plan... i could also have turkey, who knows!!

That will probably be it, if i want something later on i'll have some riveta and some philadelphia low fat spread or something, or just fruit...

So, am i missing anything? I'd like to include more fish but i'm not a huge fish lover to be honest, that's why i NEED the salad cream with the tuna...

Also, i MAY consider getting a personal trainer, because i know i'm going to hit a wall at some stage and need someone to give me a push.. Do ya's recommend any? How much do they generally cost?

Thanks

slicus ricus

For Breakfast, you should try porridge (oats) instead of Weetabix. In spite of what they say in their advertising, Weetabix is not very nutricious.

Make sure you dont eat chips for dinner- huge amounts of saturated fats in them. In terms of vetegables, potatoes are an essential (you need carbs in your diet if you're gonna be trainin 5 times a week), and at least another veg- you have a huge choice (carotts, parsnips, cabbage, broccoli etc).

LundiMardi

yeah, i have to force feed myself veges.... carrots being the only veges i really like, i could chew them all day.... maybe a bit of broccolli i could stomach too:)

Yeah porridge is kinda nasty!! But i reckon if i stuck in some raisings or something it may be better..

slicus ricus

Theres no need to be eating stuff you dont like: carotts and potatoes with chicken or turkey or any piece of meat is fine.

The Porridge is nice if you put milk in it instead of water (how any1 can eat it with water I will never know). It only takes two and a half minutes if you cook it in the microwave.

Hope you find some of that useful. Hope the trainin and the diet work out well for ya.

LundiMardi

cheers, i've opened a fitday.com account, just by inputing the foods i've eaten today, it says i've eaten way to many carbs... however i'm skeptical of the accuracy of the nutritional information....

g'em

fitday.com isn't too bad, use it as a general guide. its great in the respect that its like keeping a 'food diary'- we tend to accidently-on-purpose forget a lot of the things we eat so if you're compltely honest with yourself and write it all down it helps you see how much snacking and un-necessary eating you're doing.

LundiMardi

According to fitday, i've have consumed approx 974 cals, 25g fat, 142g carbs and 52g protein:o although i haven't had my chicken yet;)

LundiMardi

oh yeah, generally, how much of each food category should i take in in a day? for instance, is 25g of fat so far today good?

g'em

Grain products 5-12 servings per day
Vegetables & fruits 5-10 servings per day
Milk products adults: 2-4 servings per day
Meat & alternatives 2-4 servings per day

this is for the 'average' joe soap who wants a healthy, balanced diet. people who are very athletic or active may need different combinations, all depends.

as for fat, all depends on the 'type' of fat. good fats are omega-3 oils (fish, nuts, flax seed, rapeseed, linseed) which are a really important part of the diet. bad fats.. well you can guess- most animal fats and highly processed vegetable fats. think about where the fats came from- if its good sources, fine, if its from highly processed food, try to cut them out. stuff like mayonnaise, or creamy sauces have lots of hidden bad fats.

The less processed a food is, (generally) the better it is for you.