Diet Advice?

Vikings

Hi Guys,

I've a similar thread over in Fitness but i'm looking more for diet advice now so thought this would be the best place to go.

Info: Male, 6'3", 260lbs (18.5 stone)
Goal: Weight loss.

Looking to drop my overall weight in the quickest time possible - have an interview this week and assuming I pass that I will have a medical in a few weeks which is very strict on BMI by all accounts. My BMI is 32.1 roughly and the golden number is 29.9 or under, I would love to be able to reach that target to have a better chance at getting through the medical.

My diet yesterday was:

(8am) Breakfast: Bowl plain porridge made w/ water.
(11am) Meal 1: Pita bread w/ spreadable cheese (laughing cow 'lite') + Banana
(2pm) Meal 2: 2/3 Ryvita, low fat yoghurt + Apple
(5pm) Meal 3: 2/3 Ryvita + grapes + carrot
(7.15pm) Dinner: Chicken fillet, wholegrain rice w/ peppers, onion, sweetcorn.

This is much better than what I was previously eating as I was piling on carbs everywhere having 6 slices wholegrain bread a day not to mention chips/potatoes everywhere.

Is there still too many carbs in the above? I have roughly the same with me again today except I have another apple and some water melon as well.

Any suggestions on what to replace from the above to make it better all round? Will probably be adding a tin of tuna on to that at some stage, possibly Meal 3.

Kind of clueless about this so appreciate any and all help. Thanks!

g'em

Hi Vikings, to be honest pretty much everything (bar the chicken) is carb-based!

As an alternative what about swapping the ryvita for a hard-boiled egg or a tin of tuna (which you've suggested already). Nuts and seeds also make for good snacks as they're rich with good fats which will help you lose weight (I know, sounds weird, eating fat to lose fat but trust me )

In an ideal world you'd make all your meals protein based and then add fats and/ or carbs as needed.

Vikings

Thanks for the reply g'em. Yeah I was trying to work out the make up of what I was eating and was getting carb results coming out the ear hole.

I'm willing to try anything so hard boiled eggs and tuna will be on the line up tomorrow. I'm off work tomorrow so can go shopping/spend time making the foods once I get the menu sorted. I'd like to get something balanced that would help with the weight loss and then just stick to that everyday for the next couple of weeks for handiness sake.

Might add another chicken fillet in during the day at some stage to replace the Ryvita (only started these but like the taste of them now ) but don't want to overload on calories at the same time either.

Is there anything else you would recommend I change? Cutting down on the carbs is the first port of call and increasing protein will go hand in hand with that. Have natural yoghurt in the fridge also will be working on that tomorrow.

It doesn't sound like you are eating enough for 260lbs.

g'em

Vikings wrote: »

I'm off work tomorrow so can go shopping/spend time making the foods once I get the menu sorted.

Buy some Tupperware while you're at it - go retro and bring a lunchbox!

You can fill up on vegetables, lots and lots of vegetables, which are not only calorie sparse but hugely beneficial and jam-packed with minerals and vitamins to keep you feeling good. You can cook a big meal and divide it in two so that it lasts you for two of your three meals a day. for example:

Breakfast of porridge & natural yoghurt (and perhaps a small handful of raisins to sweeten it)

Mid-morning a hard-boiled egg and a piece of fruit

Lunch of chicken stir-fry

Mid-afternoon some tuna & pineapple (sounds very weird but tastes lovely!!) or perhaps a small handful of nuts and some carrot/ pepper sticks

Dinner, more stir-fry

That's only some very loose suggestions though, but you'll that most of the meals are all protein based (tuna, egg, chicken...), there's lots of veg, a little fruit and if you add in a small hanful of nuts and some nut/ seed oil (sesame oil is brill for stir-fry's) you can keep your good fats up. Carbs are grand first thing in the morning when you're more likely to need the energy.

If you like grapes (which you seem to as they're listed in your OP!) try sticking some in the freezer. They make a really yummy snack to curb cravings in teh evenings if you're watching tv; raspberries, strawberries and chunks of virtually any fruit can be used the same way. as Moonbaby has pointed out though, make sure not to undereat either, as that'll actually be more likely to make you retain weight, not lose it.

Vikings

g'em wrote: »

Buy some Tupperware while you're at it - go retro and bring a lunchbox!

Already went a bit overboard on the tupperware have 4 different containers in with me alone today!

g'em wrote: »

You can fill up on vegetables, lots and lots of vegetables

Is there any veg in particular you would recommend? Is going down the frozen veg route much worse than sticking with fresh? I'm usually picky when it comes to what fruit & veg I eat but now that it boils down to it I need to eat whats best for me so anything good for me I will shovel it down.

Thanks for the replies so far g'em giving me some ideas for tomorrow already.

Grapes, apples, banana's and water melon are the fruits that I enjoy eating, bought in loads of them already. Have a chopped raw carrot with me too for nibbling on if im peckish need to find some more veg to get into the mix though.

Also is there any other meats out there I should be looking at?

rubadub

Vikings wrote: »

Is going down the frozen veg route much worse than sticking with fresh?

Some would say frozen is better than fresh, the frozen can be frozen soon after picking so can sometimes have more nutrients.

I try and eat low carb, I still eat ryvitas as I miss the "crunch" in foods. A ryvita is only ~10g so 3 of them have around the same carbs as a slice of mc-cambridges bread. And 3 ryvitas seems more substantial.

Fruit is all well and good, just do be aware of the calorie content, bananas are ~20% sugar. Thought it does sound like you might need to increase calorie intake, can't really say unless you actually calculate your portion sizes.

g'em

Vikings wrote: »

Also is there any other meats out there I should be looking at?

Lean meats in general are fine, and a meat-based meal tends to be highly satiating and prevents you snacking unnecessarily. Chicken and turkey tend to be the leanest meats, goose and duck are quite fatty, beef depends on the cut and hte same for pork and lamb. Fish wise you can go nuts on any of them. Shellfish are super low in fat (I love my prawn stir-fry's), and oily fish like salmon, mackerel and tuna steaks are jammed with good fats so eat them without worry.

Vikings

Finding this a great help guys, really appreciate it.

I've a lot of tuna at home as it is so i'll pick up some pineapple tomorrow as suggested and try them together. Will pick up some frozen veg aswell, probably the usual carrots/pea's etc farmers mix from tesco's. Is there anything else that would go well with say a chicken stir fry?

I love fish so will try work that into my main meals as well if I can find the right combinations. Find it hard to pair the protein with foods that aren't full of carbs though. Will put lots of veg in with them I suppose to keep me full.

Portion sizes aren't huge, I know my calorie intake there isn't particularly huge - especially for my size - but I havn't found myself hungry yet which I think is a good sign.

g'em

Vikings wrote: »

Will pick up some frozen veg aswell, probably the usual carrots/pea's etc farmers mix from tesco's. Is there anything else that would go well with say a chicken stir fry?

don't get me wrong, there's nothing inherently wrong with peas & carrots, but there's veg out there with slightly better nutritional profiles - broccoli, sprouts, onions, broccoli, spinach, asparagus, broccoli, peppers and did I mention broccoli?!?

My persoanl favourites for stir fry's are mange tout, broccoli, thinly sliced carrots, red onion and baby sweetcorn.

Vikings

g'em wrote: »

don't get me wrong, there's nothing inherently wrong with peas & carrots, but there's veg out there with slightly better nutritional profiles - broccoli, sprouts, onions, broccoli, spinach, asparagus, broccoli, peppers and did I mention broccoli?!?

My persoanl favourites for stir fry's are mange tout, broccoli, thinly sliced carrots, red onion and baby sweetcorn.

Haha now youre talking, broccoli is actually one piece of veg that I could stomach before I wanted to eat better... will grab some of that tomorrow as well.

Hmmm...I might need more tupperware for all this

celestial

Vikings wrote: »

Finding this a great help guys, really appreciate it.

I've a lot of tuna at home as it is so i'll pick up some pineapple tomorrow as suggested and try them together. Will pick up some frozen veg aswell, probably the usual carrots/pea's etc farmers mix from tesco's. Is there anything else that would go well with say a chicken stir fry?

I love fish so will try work that into my main meals as well if I can find the right combinations. Find it hard to pair the protein with foods that aren't full of carbs though. Will put lots of veg in with them I suppose to keep me full.

Portion sizes aren't huge, I know my calorie intake there isn't particularly huge - especially for my size - but I havn't found myself hungry yet which I think is a good sign.

You're not alone! I try to eat high-protein but find it hard not to have bread/potatoes with meat and veg. It is easier once you get used to it though. Also bear in mind that having plenty of protein with carbs 'dulls' the effect of carb on blood sugar, so if you REALLY want some potatoes with that meat it's okay to have a very small amount once in a while - I think quite often it's just having the taste of the spud that you want. Best bet is to cut the carbs down as much as possible until you see results weight-wise, and then gradually introduce them - unless of course you don't miss them!