Changes in diet

pclancy

Hi,

Im 24 and have been fairly unhealthy for the last few years between stressfull It job in the day and lots of gigs and partying at night/weekends. Im a bit overweight and want to lose a few stone and get healthy. Was smoking nearly 20 a day before xmas but gave up at new years and still off them!

Ive done a number of things this week to change and wondering are they gonna help me lose weight and am i doing the right thing:

1. No white bread- all brown from now on
2. Gave up tea/coffee, drinking lots of water each day now and fruit juices
3. Gave up crisps, bars and peanuts replacing with 4-5 portions of fruit per day. Not going to eat fast food any more except maybe one "treat" at the weeeknd.
4. Having a bowl of Special K in the morning with skimmed milk
5. Trying to go for at least a ten minute brisk walk each day.
6. Lunch consists of soup and some brown bread, dinner meat, spuds and peas most nights and snacks afterwards either fruit or cereal.
7. Gave up alocohol completly for the next month. First time in 7 years!!!

Do you reckon i might lost a bit by following the above?

Ideally id like to join a gym or start swimming and will when i have the money.

Chris P Duck

Yeah, by giving up crap food you should loose some weight. I'm no expert but, can I offer you a few suggestons.

Ensure the brown bread is made from wholegrain or wholemeal bread. Alot of brown bread is made from wheat flour which is the same as white bread.

Be careful of drinking lots of fruit juices. Fruit juices can contain alot of sugar.

Despite popular belief, their is nothing special about special k. They wouldnt be considered as one of the more healthy breakfast cereals because they are made from wheat. Porridge, Weetabix, All Bran, Cherrios are all better choices, with porridge been the best.

Exercise is a really important factor when trying to loose weight. A 10 minute walk is better than nothing, but if you can go for longer then do.

Try to avoid soups that are labelled "Cream of ....."

Thats just my 2 cents. Best of luck with it.

foodietwoshoes

At the risk of sounding like one of those TV life coaches, congrats on your decision to eat more healthily. I've always been more or less a healthy eater, but I had a terrible sweet tooth. Sweet things were always my downfall. Then I learnt the Big Secret of controlling my sweet tooth - and now I hardly ever crave sweets. Not just that - I have more energy which means I spend more calories during the day. Result? I feel much better than I did five years ago.

Here's the Big Secret(of course, this is in addition to choosing healthy things):

1) Eat small meals frequently. It is hard to do initially, but soon you'll get the hang of it. For example, if you eat 2 toasts in the morning, eat 1 toast at say your normal breakfast time of 8 and then the other at 10. Same with lunch and dinner, if you can. You eat BEFORE you feel so hungry you'll stuff anything in your mouth. Your blood sugar levels remain constant as a result of which your cravings for sweet disappear. Have some small amount protein with each meal to slow digestion.

2) Choose wholegrain instead of brown or wholemeal

3) Water - PLENTY of it - you can lose some weight just by drinking 2-2.5 litres of water per day. I did - without changing any other habit.

4) Read up on the GI diet - it's the best and healthiest eating plan there is.


Edited to add: You don't have to spend a lot - just get yourself some weights (when you're a bit fitter) and do some strength-training. There are many DVDs out there to help you. Strength training = more muscle mass = more calories burnt even at rest/sleep. Good luck.