Advice on my diet

eviltimeban

Hi there,

I've been dieting for about 4 weeks or so and have noticed the difference already, losing pounds and seeing waistline get less flabby.

However, I want to make sure that what I'm doing is right for weight loss; as in, I'm going to be able to continue to lose weight quickly. I've been using the calorie count website and have been coming well under the 2000 calories a day recommendation. I'm 16.2 stone and am 6'5". I supplement my diet with weight training but very little exercise otherwise (beyond going for a walk at lunch time).

Breakfast:
Bowl of Alpen with low fat / skimmed milk. Black coffee, one sugar.

Morning snack:
Banana. Skinny latte from Starbucks / Insomnia.

Lunch:
Can vary but when in work I have a wrap with chicken, veg, etc; I avoid ones with cheese or mayo but may get one with sweet chili sauce for flavour. Or I get a salad. At home I would have Ryvita with the extra light Philiadelphia. Or tuna salad.
Followed by a Muller light yogurt.

Afternoon snack:
Apple. Goji berries. Nuts. (not all at the same time)

Dinner:
Will obviously vary. Have been having salads lately with leaves, chicken (fried with olive oil), a small amount of fried haloumi cheese, and a low fat caesar dressing.

Or:
Fillet steak with roasted chili chips (with crushed chilis), rocket, small amount of grated parmasean cheese, white wine / olive oil vinagarette (Gordon Ramsay recipe)

Or:
Tagliatelli, tomato based sauce with baby spinach leaves, topped with spoon of ricotta cheese

Or:
Stir fry with quorn pieces and egg noodles with sweet chili sauce (all M&S bought). I have a mixed veggie / meat eating diet.

When I "sin" I have a pizza (Dominos, low fat cheese version, with pepperoni), or go out for dinner and have Indian (rice, naan etc) or burger etc. But that happens rarely. And generally I make up for it by only having a salad for lunch that day.

Evening snack:
Bowl of Special K with low fat milk.

What I used to eat before was toast for breakfast, loads of bread for lunch (triple decker sandwiches from O'Briens), crisps, cakes, bars, pastries, and later in the day biscuits, peanuts, followed by heavy meals like ready meals, chinese, and pizzas more than once a week! So cutting out the bread and junk has made a difference to me. But I want to know I'm heading in the right direction? I'm never hungry on this diet anyway.

EileenG

If it is working for you, great, stick to it. If it ain't broke....

However, if you want to improve it, I'd replace some of the most carb-heavy meals with a mixture of protein and fats. As it stands, your diet is very low in fat, which isn't actually a good thing. You need a fair bit of fat for good health, strong bones and high testosterone.

An obvious place to start is your breakfast. I'd stick to oats (porridge or bircher muesli) or have eggs to start. You can toss lots of mushrooms into an omlette, or have poached eggs on top of spinach.

I'd try to replace some of the fruit with nuts or vegetables. Fruit is way better than crisps etc, but most people are surprised at how many calories there is in a banana or orange.

You have a lot of bread / pasta / noodles in your meals. You could try occasionally replacing some of those with a big plateful of salad or green veg.

I'm not a fan of Special K. It's very high carb/high gi. A whole grain muesli would be a lot better. What about a pot of cottage cheese?

jomag45

Looks like you're doing good there, well done. But remember cutting down on calories is only one half of the battle. To lose weight, its a simple balance of calories taken in versus calories expended during normal bolidy function plus exercise. A differential of 3500 calories equates to 1lb in weight. Just think how easy it will be to maintain your rate of weight loss, and then stay at your ideal weight if you were to increase your level of exercise. Moderate exercise (i.e. where you are out of breath) for an hour several times a week will benefit greatly here, and allow you the occasional treat, without feeling guilty. There's always a danger that in a one sided approach (cutting down on calories without increasing exercise), the weight loss is not sustainable. Just speaking from experience here.

eviltimeban

That's good advice, thanks. I'm going to get back to playing squash, something I used to do once a week (when I was eating junk though). That should help alongside the low calorie diet.

jomag45

Good for you. This more balanced approach will be easier to maintain when your enthusiasm isn't as high as it might be now and will lead to healthy weight loss and overall well-being.