Weight Loss Diet

shoomshoom

Hey there,

I was just wondering would anyone be able to help me with reducing my calorie intake and what food should I really be eating.

I work full time and sit at a desk for most of the day but I try to get to the gym 3 nights a week (see Fitness Logs) so I am a bit active.

I try to eat healthy but I have a really bad sweet tooth and beacuse I work in the middle of nowhere I have to buy my lunch in the morning so I have to decide what I want at 8 in the morning.

If anyone has any ideas or suggestions I would be very grateful!

Thanks

ApeXaviour

Sugar begets sugar cravings. Honestly the best thing you could possibly do is remove sugar from your diet. The next would be reducing/removing white bread, rice, crackers, anything like that. These would lower your insulin and help you be in a more burning mode, not to mention the added side effect of lowering your risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer etc etc. Have a read of other threads in the nutrition and diet forum, as I'm just giving a synopsis of information that's been repeated again and again ad infinitum.

Can you not make a packed lunch? Do you have access to a microwave? Tuppaware meat and vegetables with a nice sauce (pasta sauces, chinese sauces, indian sauces). There are so many different combinations you can make, so it never gets boring. Snack on unsalted nuts (not peanuts).

EDIT: maybe this should be in the nutrition & diet forum

BossArky

Hi ShoomShoon, I just posted in your log telling you to create a post here.. but you beat me to it

Have you tried including squats and deadlifts in your exercise regime? As two big calorie burners they will help you out, along with a decent diet.

Dietwise:

Almonds to snack on = lots of protein for muscle and good fats for weight loss.

Tuna (heaps of it) i.e. 2 cans a day = lots of protein.

Avoid additional carbs every few meals --> so instead of having stirfry and pasta/rice, just have the chicken and veg. It is actually alot nicer once your mind gets used to the idea your stomach will follow.

Have porridge and a banana for breakfast to prevent yourself for getting cravings for rubbish around 11 or so.

Snack on chopped carrotts, grapes, apples, or oranges. It is easy to pack these into plastic containers the evening before.

rubadub

Get a small digital scales and start calculating your calories. Start reading packs for nutritional info on your usual foods. If none is on the pack then look at a similar brand/product. Tesco have info on nearly everything.

This way you learn what is high/low in calories. You hopefully end up naturally making better choices.

i.e. if you want a pack of super noodles, then 3 or 4 spicy chicken fillets will have the same calories- more filling, and better for you.

Eat 6 meals a day, breakfast should be the biggest, the rest should be about the same size calorie wise, and spaced out evenly too. This increases your metabolism. Also you are never stuffed, your stomach shrinks, so you end up fuller quicker. Since your next meal is never far away you are less likely to snack. If you want something sweet eat fruit, not fruit juice.

I still drink lots of diet soft drinks- water is better and some are concerned with sweetners etc, but I feel I am better off. I get enough "cancer risk" from all my other foods, everything seems to cause cancer these days.

A dirty big breakfast works wonders. Try and get protein in every meal too.