Diet and exercising and counting calories help needed

all_smilz

Hey,
i hope this is the right place to post- i saw kingtuts recent post and decided to start my own....
I've given up a LOT of really bad habits in the last six months and have lost four stone between dieting and exercising.... i still have a LONG way to go....
Today i've had about 1900 calories in (which i am a bit disappointed in) it included wholegrain bread, homemade soup, grilled turkey, two actimels, veggies, basically no junk....

i did about an hour of a workout in the gym which the machines told me i did about 500 calories..... is it wise/ accurate to SUBTRACT that from the 1900 calories i've eaten and then to say to myself that i've really only had 1500 calories intake (quite acceptable i think)....

i'm going walking later as well but only gentle few rounds of the Lough...
2-3km....
how am i going? i really hate cutting down my food and my portions are ok ish.... is more exercise the BEST plan?
i'll appreciate all your help....
thanks in advance

Bog Butter

You lost 4 stone; thats some achievement, well done! Don't be depriving yourself. Why don't you post your average daily diet. You can bring down the calories not by eating less but by eating differently and healthy at the same time. I have found that some foods, which I thought were healthy and good for weight loss were actually not.

all_smilz

Ok,
most days i get up and have a bowl of porridge made with water, a teaspoon of honey and maybe a splash of low fat milk, sometimes i have a banana and walk to work,

at morning break i'll have a yogurt and a bit of fruit salad and maybe a cup of tea ( i like one spoon of sugar so usually i avoid it)

half the time i will have the canteen dinner at work - a meat and two veg affair, maybe another piece of fruit.

Then at about 6 i may or may not have the canteen tea which can be anything from a curry, spag bol, shepherds pie or a grill or fry, i TRY to resist having the occasional sausage beans and chips but sometimes i give in, sometimes i bring cereal and have that....

i like to have an options hot chocolate drink at bed time as i am mostly very good in NOT having all the chocolates we get given at work.... maybe a slice of toast or a yogurt when i get home as well because i always feel hungry. Im trying to curb that though....

on my days off i cook for myself, i make juices, all brown rice, very little pasta or potatoes, i cook for my bf who eats very plainly and healthily so NO salt, butter, sugar, spices, or red meat....

I seem to be resistant to portion control at times so i feel like UPPING my gym time is the best option cos i do love my grub....

malman wrote: »

You lost 4 stone; thats some achievement, well done! Don't be depriving yourself. Why don't you post your average daily diet. You can bring down the calories not by eating less but by eating differently and healthy at the same time. I have found that some foods, which I thought were healthy and good for weight loss were actually not.

BobbyOLeary

red meat....

There's no reason to cut out red meat entirely.

On the canteen dinners try and eat without potatoes and without sauces as much as possible. Lean meat and veg should be fine. I can't remember who came up with the idea of telling them you're diabetic or saying you're under doctor's orders to not eat potatoes but it struck me as a genius plan to eat in a canteen but not have to eat mounds of potatoes.

Well done on the 4 stone loss btw.

all_smilz

Being a girl and a savage i didnt mean i cut out red meat entirely, its a great source of iron, i just avoid having it a LOT and prefer chicken, turkey and ham/bacon (only occasionally)....
Yeah the spuds are murder, theres a good salad bar but i dont like raw veg (I KNOW how good they are).... theres always bloody chips on fridays.... In fairness they do have signs up saying they only use low fat milk in the mash and NO salt, (i work in a hospital).... so if i told them i was diabetic, well there'd be a big fuss.... plus i'd rather not jinx myself in case i ever developed diabetes...... superstitious or wha'!
Thanks for the advice though.
Keep it coming!

BobbyOLeary wrote: »

There's no reason to cut out red meat entirely.

On the canteen dinners try and eat without potatoes and without sauces as much as possible. Lean meat and veg should be fine. I can't remember who came up with the idea of telling them you're diabetic or saying you're under doctor's orders to not eat potatoes but it struck me as a genius plan to eat in a canteen but not have to eat mounds of potatoes.

Well done on the 4 stone loss btw.

Bog Butter

Bear in mind i'm not an expert and I didn't know much about my diet in relation to losing fat until I came to this fitness forum. Like you i'm trying to lose weight so I have soaked up a few things from here.

Your breakfast and mid-morning foods look grand but I would say that these foods: curry, spag bol, shepherds pie or a grill or fry are not conducive to your aims. It is recommended that you:

- eat fresh foods and avoid processed foods; if it has more than a couple of ingredients it tends to be processed; if it comes from a box it tends to be processed
- chose meat that is lean such as chicken and fish
- eat enough protein (esp. important if doing a lot of exercise)
- eat the recommended intake of fibre (as well as being of nutritional importance fibre helps with bowel movements!!)
- avoid white carbs i.e white bread, white rice and white pasta
- instead eat whole wheat pasta and brown rice
- but limit the carbs; (research this more)

If you heed this advice you would stop eating the canteen foods. You are unlucky, you are confronted by these foods everday. Turn your back on them and the chocolate, choco drink, chips and sausages. There is a lot of calories in fruit juice; eat a whole fruit instead. Start bringing in your own food in to work.

You must be doing a lot of exercise; you shouldn't be over reliant on exercise because if you get fed up or get injured or sick you may pile the weight back on. Read the stickies about nutrition. It's important to make it a lifestyle change. Don't get me wrong I do sometimes eat chocolate but it's not part of my regular diet. If you do eat such foods make it real treat. The way I do it is I confine it to the weekends.

I find that i'm not getting enough calories in (i use fitday.com) a lot of the time and i'm not going hungry either. But thats because I have stuck to the above, 90% of the time. So I reckon if I stop going to the gym I will maintain my current weight.

BobbyOLeary

Salad bar it is I suppose. You'll have to get a taste for raw veg, or at least stop on the potatoes, they do nothing for you at all! Go off the spuds completely and I guarantee after 2 weeks you won't miss them. Scratch that, give it a week and I'd say you'll see a change.

all_smilz

cheers,
I do bring in my own lunch often enough maybe once or twice a week (i'd only work 4 shifts a week max), like i said about it being a hospital most ppl are health conscious but they almost never do brown rice and rely on sauces a LOT which bugs me.... anyway, the dietitians have a fair amount of input.... but i'll try to bring more in with me.

all_smilz

BobbyOLeary wrote: »

Salad bar it is I suppose. You'll have to get a taste for raw veg, or at least stop on the potatoes, they do nothing for you at all! Go off the spuds completely and I guarantee after 2 weeks you won't miss them. Scratch that, give it a week and I'd say you'll see a change.

i've TRIED to eat raw veg.... REALLY i have, but i'll take spuds off the workplace plate for a while. They really do suck if ur dieting....
i dont think it'd be a bad thing to have them in the soups i make though???

Also when i say i have fruit juices i mean i have a juicer and i put in half veg and half fruit to keep the sugar content low...

Bog Butter

BobbyOLeary wrote: »

Salad bar it is I suppose. You'll have to get a taste for raw veg, or at least stop on the potatoes, they do nothing for you at all! Go off the spuds completely and I guarantee after 2 weeks you won't miss them. Scratch that, give it a week and I'd say you'll see a change.

Yep I agree with that on the spuds. Try it with bread too; I was snacking on it too much. You don't have to eat raw vedge. Fry some brocolli with a little olive oil and sprinkle some spices on it.

all_smilz

malman wrote: »

Yep I agree with that on the spuds. Try it with bread too; I was snacking on it too much. You don't have to eat raw vedge. Fry some brocolli with a little olive oil and sprinkle some spices on it.

good idea with the broccoli... cheers...... im an inventive cook (i think) but it would not have occurrd to me to do anything other than steam it....


so is wholemeal bread ok? its like brown bread cake, not soda bread..... i dont like bread much and substitute with wraps and pittas (wholemeal) but i do LOVE this particular loaf i get locally....

Bog Butter

Yeah its actually very nice and chruncy, I trow in a bit of ginger. I was probably too flipant on the bread. It is just I like it far too much and when I put real butter on it ... well it just gets dangerous. I think wholemeal bread is fine. Obviously you would eat it in moderation.

all_smilz

malman wrote: »

Yeah its actually very nice and chruncy, I trow in a bit of ginger. I was probably too flipant on the bread. It is just I like it far too much and when I put real butter on it ... well it just gets dangerous. I think wholemeal bread is fine. Obviously you would eat it in moderation.

real butter on this bread would be absolutely wonderful.... but i use a low fat spread or maybe a little jam and peanut butter or honey or low fat philadelphia.... i prefer it plain though....
*drools*

Bog Butter

Indeed, i'm sure it would. Wholemeal bread toasted with real butter and jam, now that scrum-didly-umshous but i am a bit complusive and I have a real sweet tooth so thats why it works for me to give bread up. You should also try raw baby spinach leaves, you get them in a packet, they have a lovely flavour.

kingtut

all_smilz wrote: »

i'm going walking later as well but only gentle few rounds of the Lough...
2-3km....

Sorry off topic I know but are you from Cork by any chance? oh and it is good to hear I am the reason for you starting this thread