Advise on diet / work out

loopyloulou

Hey there. Ive been meaning to post for a while to get peoples opinions on my diet / fitness program. Im 31, 5ft 3inches and I weigh 10 stone. I would realistically like to lose about half a stone. I know in reality I should be eating 5-6 meals a day but ive found that ever since I had an operation on my stomach about a year and a half ago that my appetite just isn’t what it used to be, it would be rare that I would actually feel really really hungry, I just know I have to eat because its a) lunchtime or b) dinner time!!

Anyway, this would be a basic day:

Breakfast – 2 slices of wholegrain toast + tea
Lunch – Wholegrain sandwich with either ham/turkey + salad, yoghurt.
Dinner – Normally chicken stir fry with brown rice or spag bol with wholemeal spaghetti or wholemeal pasta with tuna or salmon with frozen veg + potatoes. Yoghurt afterwards.

I know im probably going to be told im not eating enough and when I checked my calorie intake for today im only at about 1300 for the day. Im taking in about 28% fat, 51% carbs and 21% protein. What would be the proper percentages here??

Onto the gym:

I go 2-3 times a week, my workout is broken into chest + arms, legs and then shoulders and back. Sometimes I will combine the leg workout with one of the other so that would mean id only be there twice a week. I hate doing cardio in the gym, the most I might do is a 20 min run on the treadmill. Ive recently bought a bike and weather permitting I go out for 30-40 mins which im really enjoying. I suppose my question is if I continue with cycling over the next month or so will I see that half a stone dropping off? My gym sessions are tough, I lift fairly heavy weights and im really happy with the definition in my arms and legs. My problem area is my stomach, I carry all my weight there but I know id have to alter my diet in some way to shift this. Anyway, thanks for reading I know its long but just looking for any advise/opinions.
Lou

EileenG

You forget to tell us one of the most important things, are you male or female?

Also, what was the operation on your stomach?

Anyway, keep cycling, and keep lifting. What you are doing there looks pretty good. Make sure most of your weights work is compound lifts using free weights like squat, deadlift, and bench press.

Diet: way too much bread, not nearly enough protein. Try eating eggs for breakfast instead of the bread. And by the way, are you eating it dry, or putting on butter and jam? They add up.

At lunch, try eating more turkey etc and a much bigger salad, and less bread. Is your yogurt a natural one or one of those low fat, extra sugar and chemical ones? Your best bet is plain yogurt with some seeds or nuts mixed in.

Dinner: extra vegeables would be good.

Try eating nuts or cottage cheese during the day as quick snacks. Those little pouches of John West "Tuna with a twist" are a very handy snack to carry, even if they do look a bit like cat food.

There are lots of ratios that work, depending on your lifestyle. The general rule is that you should aim for your lean mass in grams of protein (so if your lean mass is 120lb, then aim for at least 120g protein), and the fat and carbs can be planned depending on your lifestyle. The more instense your exercise, the more carbs you can eat.

If fat loss is your priority, then you should increase the amount of fat in your diet (I know, sounds wrong, but it works) and lower carbs. A high carb diet increases insulin secretion, which effectively stops your body burning bodyfat (good article in this months Fitness Rx). Lowering your carbs and increasing fat encourages your body to burn fat for running energy.

loopyloulou

Hi Eileen, thanks for the reply. Im female and my operation was to prevent acid reflux : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissen_fundoplication.
I didnt think the bread would be a problem as i try to only eat wholegrain (advise from gym instructor) normally with butter. The yoghurt is just a normal yoplait fruit one, i know the low fat ones are full of sugar.

Ill try those john west tuna packs and some nuts but its hard to force myself to eat when i just dont feel hungry.

thanks again

EileenG

Wholegrain is definitely better than white bread, but bread is better to fill gaps than as the main part of a meal. If you've eaten your protein and fat and veg, and your are still hungry or low on cals, then a piece of bread is fine. Also, some bread can be useful before a tough workout. But the ratio of nutrients to calories is very low, so if you are eating low calorie, then you need food with more bang for your buck.

Eggs, fish, meat, nuts etc are all a better deal for you.

Ironically, a diet with a lot of refined carbs (like bread!) is a definite factor in acid reflux. I used to get killer heartburn before I switched to a low carb diet.

celestial

EileenG wrote: »

Ironically, a diet with a lot of refined carbs (like bread!) is a definite factor in acid reflux. I used to get killer heartburn before I switched to a low carb diet.

I used to get heartburn ALL the time back in my days of eating junk fairly regularly. Never get it now....mad.