Getting fit - how's my plan?

nobodythere

Hey,
Decided I'm going to get in shape. I'm Male, 6ft, 205lbs (BMI=28), 20 years old. I'd be aiming at about 180lbs. I'm probably one of the least muscular people ever conceived. I'm mostly concerned with losing fat initially as from what I know, gaining muscle=gaining fat and would hence slow my progress. I know there's the metabolism argument but I'm not willing to get any fatter before I get skinnier!

Exercise:
I've been doing HIIT running, 45 seconds on, 90 seconds off. I have done 3 sessions in about 9 days, could only do 3 reps the first time, 4 the second and almost made it to 5 on the 3rd.

I've been doing some low rep, high intensity exercises (pushups and situps are high intensity exercises for me!) before HIIT sessions as I've read that this helps prevent muscle loss.

I feel like the HIIT is not enough. I would like to do more exercise during the week as this keeps me in a healthy mindset with regard to diet. If anyone has any suggestions on what other exercise I should do with the HIIT I'd appreciate it.

Diet:
My approach to this may have to be different than most, because I do have some problems controlling my eating (I binge eat and I also can't walk in and out of a shop without buying crap!). That's a problem I'll have to manage myself however.

Another problem here is knowing what to eat. Should I be doing a carb/fat/protein of 20/20/60? Should I be drinking some protein drink after HIIT?

I was thinking about 1300 calories a day would be suitable (12x205=2400, meaning I should drop about 2lbs per week).

I've kept a food diary for the past 10 days, I'm going to give an example of what I would usually eat then and hopefully you can suggest what I could eat.


Things i generally eat:
Breakfast:
Sausages, white toast, cereal, milk
Lunch:
fish fingers, chicken burgers, white bread, baked beans, spaghetti, milk - that looks really crap written down actually.
Dinner:
Either meat/fish with potatoes/veg kinda stuff, chicken and rice with sauce kind of stuff, spaghetti bologneise, shephards pie.
Supper usually consists of me eating everything in the house...

That was when I started the food diary, I've made a few changes since, breakfast usually consists of a yoghurt and some fruit, I cut out white bread for whole grain stuff, I'm generally not home for lunch any more so I bring sandwiches to college, and trying to eat more vegetables with dinner. Supper still consists of me eating the house.

Thanks for any help.

Khannie

First off, congratulations. Big step. Even posting up here is a big step IMO.

Down to business...

grasshopa wrote: »

I'm mostly concerned with losing fat initially

I'd suggest some aerobic as well as the HIIT then. Even walking's great for burning fat. I wouldn't shy away from the weights though, especially as you see your body fat drop.

grasshopa wrote: »

I was thinking about 1300 calories a day would be suitable (12x205=2400, meaning I should drop about 2lbs per week).

1300 calories a day is not enough for someone your size. I think you probably need to redo your calculations there. If you have a deficit of 1000 a day you should see yourself lose about 2lb / 1KG per week. (or maybe I'm misinterpreting? Where's the 12x205 coming from?)

grasshopa wrote: »

I've kept a food diary for the past 10 days, I'm going to give an example of what I would usually eat then and hopefully you can suggest what I could eat.

That's a nasty looking diet alright. I'll offer some general advice:
The stickies in here and the diet and nutrition forum are really really useful.

Try to get low GI foods. Porridge or museli (porridge moreso when you're trying to lose weight) is a total winner for breakfast. Really keeps you going.

Supper's an interesting one....We never did it in my house. I'm not a big fan of eating before I go to bed. When I'm trying to lose weight I always think that I'd rather be hungry in my sleep than when I'm awake. Snacks are ok in the evening though....you just need to be sensible about them. Salsa and carrot sticks / celery. The extra light mayo and carrot sticks. Cottage cheese on ryvita. That kind of thing. Fills the gap but wont ruin your calorie count.

The thing I found singularly most useful when losing weight is my digital kitchen scales. Weight _everything_ for a week, or two (to start) and keep an exact count of your calorie intake (even milk in your tea / coffee). It's really a numbers game at the end of the day and if you're weighing stuff the numbers don't lie.

In general, avoid getting calories from liquids if you can (water instead of coke, etc. etc.)

Good luck.

nobodythere

Thanks very much for your reply. I'll look in to the low GI foods (to be honest I thought GI had something to do with genetic modification )

1300 calories a day is not enough for someone your size. I think you probably need to redo your calculations there. If you have a deficit of 1000 a day you should see yourself lose about 2lb / 1KG per week. (or maybe I'm misinterpreting? Where's the 12x205 coming from?)

I read before that you burn 12 calories per pound of body weight if your metabolism is average (excluding exercise), this is where I got the 2400 calories. That's about an 1100 calorie deficit. When you say 1300 is not enough do you mean it's not enough calories or it's not enough of a drop in calories?

WRT aerobic exercise I walk in and out of college every day (2 miles) so I guess I could speed it up a bit and make proper exercise out of it!

If I do weights while I'm trying to lose fat what sort of effect will it have? I've heard differing stories.

Thanks again.

Khannie

grasshopa wrote: »

Thanks very much for your reply. I'll look in to the low GI foods (to be honest I thought GI had something to do with genetic modification )

Hehe. It's the rate at which your body uses the carbohydrates in a food. Starchy stuff like white rice raises your blood sugar level quickly. Brown basmati (for example) will be absorbed slower, leaving you with less of a spike / crash. Low GI foods will generally keep you feeling fuller for longer.

grasshopa wrote: »

I read before that you burn 12 calories per pound of body weight if your metabolism is average (excluding exercise), this is where I got the 2400 calories.

Fair enough. I'd point you towards g'ems post in the sticky. I've used it to really good effect.

grasshopa wrote: »

That's about an 1100 calorie deficit. When you say 1300 is not enough do you mean it's not enough calories or it's not enough of a drop in calories?

Not enough calories. At 6 foot and 205lb's you'd be feckin' starving with only 1300 calories. Especially if you're exercising. My own experience is that I can lose a pound of fat a week and not feel hungry (at all) doing it. 2lb's and I feel hungry at least some of the time.

grasshopa wrote: »

WRT aerobic exercise I walk in and out of college every day (2 miles) so I guess I could speed it up a bit and make proper exercise out of it!

Actually, speeding it up will not make a huge difference to the amount of calories burned. Is it 2 miles each way?

grasshopa wrote: »

If I do weights while I'm trying to lose fat what sort of effect will it have? I've heard differing stories.

You're right in that it's very difficult (I think some say it's impossible) to gain muscle while losing fat. If your main goal is fat loss, maybe drop some weight first, then try to add some muscle.

Just thought of something else: Sugar free jelly might be something to consider for night time snacking. I use it. Basically just water and protein and you can eat a full pint of it for only 30 calories.

Oryx

No expert here, but I too would say as well as the HIIT, go for lower impact, longer time span aerobic stuff. Run slower, a nice easy pace, but longer. I just think initially as you build your fitness, you might get more from that than being a gibbering sweaty heap after a few minutes. Personally Im finding thats whats really impacting my stamina and endurance, and if you read from exercise machine output stats, 30mins light jogging is better calorifically than 10 mins HIIT.