High Protein Diet

Pembily

Hi, this has probably been done but I can't find anything. Apologies!

I am 5' 6", 11 stone, wanna get to 10stone 7lb! Also wanna make my thighs smaller!!

My normal diet is good

Breakfast - porridge cooked with water, some cinnamon, soya milk and milled flaxseed and gogi berries

Lunch - fish / turkey / beans with salad and maybe some ryvita, oatcakes.

Dinner - fish / turkey / beef with lots of veg and either brown spelt pasta, brown rice or a potato

Snacks are chopped fruit and veg. Sometimes eat peanut butter or some nuts. I would eat sweets once / twice a week mostly.

I walk 3/4 days a week for 40 - 50 min fast. I also do some aerobics from a DVD!!

I wanna eat less carbs to tone up my legs. Also while I am normally good with not eating sweets etc I am finding it very hard for some reason, I know I have a sweet tooth, can normally control it but cant right now!!!

Any suggestions?

Thanks
Thanks

EileenG

Diet looks generally good. The only obvious place to drop carbs would be the carb with dinner, you could (if you want) swop that for more veg. And the sweets!

However, while dropping carbs tends to show up pretty quickly on the belly, it doesn't show so easily on the legs. You need a combination of cardio, weights and overall diet for that.

corkcomp

hi OP, as per EIleens advice you could try dropping carbs in favour of veg at dinner time ... keep the porridge and some carbs at lunch time ... we all like sweets but they are a no brainer if trying to drop fat!!

Pembily

EileenG wrote: »

However, while dropping carbs tends to show up pretty quickly on the belly, it doesn't show so easily on the legs. You need a combination of cardio, weights and overall diet for that.

Thing is I dont really have a tummy at all, its mostly little, its the thighs that bug me / upset me

Any ideas??

Thanks for all the advice!!!

mega man

Eat less meat and more fruit and vegetables. You can't go wrong.

EileenG

Basically, it's just a matter of plugging along, clean diet, plenty of exercise, lifting weights (heavier than you think is right). It won't happen overnight, but you'll get there. Be realistic. Remember that even super-models don't look that perfect first thing in the morning before make-up and airbrushing.

Don't agree about cutting meat. Most people have too little protein in diet, not too much. More veg is always good. Cut sweets and and processed food.

Pembily

Thanks!!! Defo won't be cutting down on meat!!!! Eat alot of veg... Is fruit ok? Eat about 4 pieces a day, mainly pineapple, melon, apple and grapes!!! Rarely eat processed foods, always cook my own!!! Is smoked fish ok?

K ploughing along with walking and squats it is, thanks again!!!

EileenG

Smoked fish is okay, but often has a lot of added salt. Maybe poach it so you'll get rid of some of the excess salt. Not smoked salmon of course! That's far to nice to mess with.

Eat lots of veg, and use fruit to fill the gaps. Some of the ones you've picked are relatively high calorie/high sugar fruits. I'd start with lots of berries, and then go for things like pears and apples and oranges, keep grapes and pineapple for before a workout.

TerrorFirmer

I'm guessing that is a revised diet you've come up with lately. If that was your day to day diet, there really isn't any way you could be in a condition that necessitated weight loss. If you stick honestly to what you have up there, it's a fairly good diet. Good snacks for a sweet tooth are very dark chocolate (75%+) or sugar free jelly.

EileenG

Oooh. Got mention something I found recently. Montezuma Chili Chocolate. 70% cocoa, and enough chili to give a real kick. This stuff is lovely, but you have to eat it slowly. If you just munch mindlessly, you'll take the mouth off yourself. I bought a 30g bar of it and ate half!!!

mega man

substitute fruit for sweets. to say a fruit is high in calories is laughable. No fruit is a threat to anyones health unless there alergic to them. there calories are the least of your worries

corkcomp

mega man wrote: »

substitute fruit for sweets. to say a fruit is high in calories is laughable. No fruit is a threat to anyones health unless there alergic to them. there calories are the least of your worries

Have to agree 100% here! Yes fruit can be higher in cals than veg but I doubt fruit was ever major factor in weight gain. Also, as another poster asked above, op is the diet posted a new plan or has that been your diet all the time? Nothing bad in there unless you are going overboard with sweets etc!!

El_Dangeroso

Hi OP,

Like others have said weight loss happens from top to bottom and there's no way of changing this and no way to spot reduce. The good news is that belly fat is the unhealthiest fat to carry and thigh and bum fat has actually shown to be health protective. Not much comfort I know when you're trying to reduce your bottom half.

EileenG

mega man wrote: »

substitute fruit for sweets. to say a fruit is high in calories is laughable. No fruit is a threat to anyones health unless there alergic to them. there calories are the least of your worries

Depends on amounts. I used to eat tons of fruit, thinking exactly that. But if you eat half a dozen bananas a day, the calories mount up pretty quickly. At least people know that if they eat a bar of chocolate, they've eaten a significant amount of calories, most people feel that fruit is a free food which doesn't count. It all counts.

Pembily

That would be my normal day to day diet for the last 3 years!!! Lost 3.5 stone 3 years ago and have kept it off but have 7lb I still wanna loose and cant seem to get it off!!!!!

Need an extra boost for a while t get rid of the last 7lb!!!

Do generally sub fruit for sweets, try only eat treats at the weekend and don't eat wheat or dairy - chocolate is usually only dark!!!!

Any suggestions?

Thanks

mega man

EileenG wrote: »

Depends on amounts. I used to eat tons of fruit, thinking exactly that. But if you eat half a dozen bananas a day, the calories mount up pretty quickly. At least people know that if they eat a bar of chocolate, they've eaten a significant amount of calories, most people feel that fruit is a free food which doesn't count. It all counts.

who the hell would eat half a dozen bananas everyday?

El_Dangeroso

Pembily wrote: »

That would be my normal day to day diet for the last 3 years!!! Lost 3.5 stone 3 years ago and have kept it off but have 7lb I still wanna loose and cant seem to get it off!!!!!

Need an extra boost for a while t get rid of the last 7lb!!!

Do generally sub fruit for sweets, try only eat treats at the weekend and don't eat wheat or dairy - chocolate is usually only dark!!!!

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Have you heard of intermittent fasting? You basically consume the same amount of food but give yourself a longer break between meals or eat bigger meals but 2 meals a day instead of 3.

I did it to get rid of the last 8-10lb.. bought my first ever (and I mean ever) pair of size 8 jeans the other day

There's lots of science around it if you want to give it a quick google.

El_Dangeroso

mega man wrote: »

who the hell would eat half a dozen bananas everyday?

I don't know if it's just me but back in the (overweight) day, I could eat an entire net of satsumas without thinking, something about citrus fruits just triggers a 'need mooore' reaction in me.

corkcomp

mega man wrote: »

who the hell would eat half a dozen bananas everyday?

exactly! obviously eating that many bananas is a bit different to having three or four pieces of varied fruit per day, that gets you three or four snacks or something to have with coffee for around the same, or less cals than a bar of chocolate!

EileenG

I wouldn't cut out dairy entirely, something like cottage cheese is an excellent addition to most diets.

What are the weekend treats? They could be undoing a lot of good work.

EileenG

mega man wrote: »

who the hell would eat half a dozen bananas everyday?

I used to. Back when I was 17 stone, I used to follow the food pyramid religiously, and I ate fruit and rice and pasta etc (not sweets!) till they were coming out my ears. I was fit and healthy, I did the Maracycle every year and lifted weights three times a week, so it wasn't as if I was a lazy slob, I just wasn't eating the right food in the right amounts.

And for what it's worth, I was overweight, but didn't have any emotional problems. If anything I have more food issues now that I'm a lot thinner.

corkcomp

EileenG wrote: »

I used to. Back when I was 17 stone, I used to follow the food pyramid religiously, and I ate fruit and rice and pasta etc (not sweets!) till they were coming out my ears. I was fit and healthy, I did the Maracycle every year and lifted weights three times a week, so it wasn't as if I was a lazy slob, I just wasn't eating the right food in the right amounts.

And for what it's worth, I was overweight, but didn't have any emotional problems. If anything I have more food issues now that I'm a lot thinner.

ya see thats the problem, eating anything until it comes out your ears is not going to be helpful ... What we were talking about here (in the OP's case) is eating a few pieces of fruit per day and having fruit instead of sweets, thats entirely different IMO .. if you were that active you would not have got to 17 stone unless your portions and cals were too high ...

EileenG

Oh agreed. But my point was that even "healthy" foods are not good if you have too much of them. You'd think that someone who lifts weights three times a week and cycled 200 miles a week should be able to eat without counting calories and weighing portions if all she was eating was "healthy" food like lots of fruit.

I saw a very interesting study a while ago. They showed people various items of food and asked them to estimate the number of calories in each portion. The thing is, each portion was exactly 200 calories. But all the respondents got it wrong and they all got it wrong the same way. The healthier they preceived a food to be, the less calories they thought it had. Most people reckoned the two apples had 100 cals, and a few guessed 50. And nearly everyone guessed the mac and cheese and the chocolate to be close to 400.

In the end, calories count, and if you think apples have only a quarter of the calories that they actually do, you can overeat.

corkcomp

EileenG wrote: »

Oh agreed. But my point was that even "healthy" foods are not good if you have too much of them. You'd think that someone who lifts weights three times a week and cycled 200 miles a week should be able to eat without counting calories and weighing portions if all she was eating was "healthy" food like lots of fruit.

I saw a very interesting study a while ago. They showed people various items of food and asked them to estimate the number of calories in each portion. The thing is, each portion was exactly 200 calories. But all the respondents got it wrong and they all got it wrong the same way. The healthier they preceived a food to be, the less calories they thought it had. Most people reckoned the two apples had 100 cals, and a few guessed 50. And nearly everyone guessed the mac and cheese and the chocolate to be close to 400.

In the end, calories count, and if you think apples have only a quarter of the calories that they actually do, you can overeat.

I agree 100% that it comes down to calories ... I dont see the need to calorie count on a daily basis though, I know if i eat an apple it wont make me fat, its not like i am eating 10 at a time!! However, (and I am basing this on my own friends and work colleagues) most people still go for a bar of choc at coffee break, and they could have three or four pieces of fruit per day for the same cals .... I would never advise anyone to reduce fruit unless it is an extreme case e.g. half dozen bananas!

EileenG

Eat a banana at each meal, and one at each tea break, and there you are. No stuffing, no gorging, but a lot of calories. People remember the bar of chocolate, they often forget the fruit.

corkcomp

EileenG wrote: »

Eat a banana at each meal, and one at each tea break, and there you are. No stuffing, no gorging, but a lot of calories. People remember the bar of chocolate, they often forget the fruit.

not trying to be funny but why the hell would anyone eat a banana at each meal? IMo that would be gorging ... i have yet to meet anyone who would eat that many bananas per day

El_Dangeroso

Actually fructose has been proven to increase appetite.

I'm all for fruit in moderation but like Eileen says it easy for some to go overboard.

I hedge my bets and stick with mostly berries due to the high potency of various nutrients and phytochemicals and low fructose content.

EileenG

corkcomp wrote: »

not trying to be funny but why the hell would anyone eat a banana at each meal? IMo that would be gorging ... i have yet to meet anyone who would eat that many bananas per day

Er, because that's what all the experts were telling me I should be eating? Ok, not a banana at each meal, but certainly a piece of fruit at each meal, and some between meals.

Pembily

EileenG wrote: »

Er, because that's what all the experts were telling me I should be eating? Ok, not a banana at each meal, but certainly a piece of fruit at each meal, and some between meals.

I get where you are coming from EileenG, my dad and a friend do that too. Have a decent dinner and then to be healthy have an an apple / banana or some fruit after it!!!

I eat fruit in between meals and mix it up with carrots, cucumber and celery and I rarely eat fruit after a meal!!!

Could eat max three bananas a week!!!

Are flaxseeds good / bad for weight loss??

El_Dangeroso

Depends what diet your on, if you're calorie counting, they are quite calorific.

But if your low GL/Low carbing then they are an excellent addition.

They are realy high in fibre though so don't overindulge :pac: