advice please - diet + exercise

unreg11

Hi all
am female, 5'7, just over 12 and a half stone :eek:
I put on over a stone over the last year or so and am sick of it. Used to find it quite easy to lose half a stone or so in the past but it's just not shifting this time. I'd like to get down to 11stone again, anything else would be a welcome bonus.
I'm also interested in generally just eating more healthily as well as the weight issue
so I'd like opinions on whether today's eating is ok and any suggestions?

breakfast:
porridge and banana

lunch:
salad with boiled chicken and egg, tomato, mixed seeds, and general salad mix
2 tblsp of some extremely low fat low cal caesar salad dressing, diluted with some skimmed milk
cup of tea with no milk, spoon of honey, a couple of biscuits
In the past on weekends I'd have had soup and a sandwich but I think salad would be better? Feel better after it anyway

snack:
few mixed nuts. I think they're walnuts, cashews and brazil nuts

dinner will be:
chicken curry - chicken, peppers, broccoli, homemade sauce, small handful of brown rice
probably another tea and biscuit after.

i know the biscuits are bad !
exercise: did w1 d3 of c25k
drinking: had about 1.5L water so far, I drink water like a fish.

in general: I sometimes walk to or from work, it's 4.5km each way
I also do exercises with my dumbbells some evenings. Plus I'll be keeping up the c25k program.
Breakfast during the week , I can't eat when I get up (can't stomach it that early in the morning) so it would be at my desk, coffee and either nutrigrain bar which I'm trying to give up, or banana and yogurt.
mid morning break would be tea or coffee and banana/yogurt/brown soda bread/nothing. I should bring my bag of nuts with me instead for break time?
lunch would be a tuna sandwich or soup and dark brown soda bread, more coffee.
dinner is when I come home, around 5-6, often involves chicken and veg and rice. couple biccies again. If I'm hungry again before bed I'm happy to have fruit or nuts

I think that's it advice welcome

Transform

knock the bread and biscuits on the head for a month (the bread forever really) and i would put money the weight will come off.

watch total calories and remember to eat for the weight you want to be not the weight you are - watch portions!!

crow_eat_crow

The trick, I think, is to include more protein at every meal. So in the morning you have to have a high quality protein with breakfast. E.G. porridge with banana would not do the trick. What your body needs first thing in the morning is a high quality protein like a boiled egg or a piece of cheese with a good quality carb like a good quality oatcake or some homemade brown bread. The reason why the body needs a good quality protein in the morning, is because after a night's sleep, it needs the protein to get the body started on a good path for the day. Protein is very important for the expenditure of energy over the day.
Also protein is important to have with every snack over the day, even a few a peanuts or raw almonds are great as a snack. Don't always rely on carbs for a snack. So for example a very good snack for the body would be to have a small banana (or any fruit) with 6 raw almonds.
Finally, drinking at least 2 litres of water over the day is also very important.

The above was dictated to me by my, missus, who knows stuff.

Transform

a banana outside of training times would be no-no for me and my clients - berries would be better with the nuts

corkcomp

consumption of bananas has to be taken in context, of course berries are lower in sugar and overall calories but if it was a choice between a mars bar and a banana then banana ftw. bananas are not the issue for most people, white food stuffs are much worse imo

morningpeasant

crow_eat_crow wrote: »

The trick, I think, is to include more protein at every meal. So in the morning you have to have a high quality protein with breakfast. E.G. porridge with banana would not do the trick. What your body needs first thing in the morning is a high quality protein like a boiled egg or a piece of cheese with a good quality carb like a good quality oatcake or some homemade brown bread. The reason why the body needs a good quality protein in the morning, is because after a night's sleep, it needs the protein to get the body started on a good path for the day. Protein is very important for the expenditure of energy over the day.
Also protein is important to have with every snack over the day, even a few a peanuts or raw almonds are great as a snack. Don't always rely on carbs for a snack. So for example a very good snack for the body would be to have a small banana (or any fruit) with 6 raw almonds.
Finally, drinking at least 2 litres of water over the day is also very important.

The above was dictated to me by my, missus, who knows stuff.

Would porridge with 1 tbsp of 100% peanut butter and a small apple do the trick?

Transform

morningpeasant wrote: »

Would porridge with 1 tbsp of 100% peanut butter and a small apple do the trick?

love peanut butter and oats!!

Transform

corkcomp wrote: »

consumption of bananas has to be taken in context, of course berries are lower in sugar and overall calories but if it was a choice between a mars bar and a banana then banana ftw. bananas are not the issue for most people, white food stuffs are much worse imo

if there is something in a post that needs pointing out then i will point it out.

I agree most people need real food rather than junk foods but when you get down to the detial things like that do matter to those wanting to know.

unreg11

Thanks for all the replies everyone much appreciated

No more bread is in my house and I'm eating salads at work now
total calories I don't tend to count as long as I have a rough idea it's below 1600 or so. Portions I keep very small, especially the porridge and rice, and my chicken in my meals would be about 200grams

o in the morning you have to have a high quality protein with breakfast. E.G. porridge with banana would not do the trick. What your body needs first thing in the morning is a high quality protein like a boiled egg or a piece of cheese with a good quality carb like a good quality oatcake or some homemade brown bread.

Ok thanks I have included peanut butter in the morning at the idea of another poster above, will this do?? I don't have time to cook eggs in the morning and since I eat one at lunch I figure that's one a day max?

Also protein is important to have with every snack over the day, even a few a peanuts or raw almonds are great as a snack. Don't always rely on carbs for a snack. So for example a very good snack for the body would be to have a small banana (or any fruit) with 6 raw almonds.

Yeah that's what I'm doing now, I had pistachios and mixed nuts as a snack today...
had chicken bell peppers tomato and broccoli as a stir fry type thing this evening, this is ok ?

thanks again

Transform

unreg11 wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies everyone much appreciated

No more bread is in my house and I'm eating salads at work now
total calories I don't tend to count as long as I have a rough idea it's below 1600 or so. Portions I keep very small, especially the porridge and rice, and my chicken in my meals would be about 200grams


Ok thanks I have included peanut butter in the morning at the idea of another poster above, will this do?? I don't have time to cook eggs in the morning and since I eat one at lunch I figure that's one a day max?

Yeah that's what I'm doing now, I had pistachios and mixed nuts as a snack today...
had chicken bell peppers tomato and broccoli as a stir fry type thing this evening, this is ok ?

thanks again

yes all that looks good now get with the weights and do cardio to stip away the fat faster .

unreg11

Transform wrote: »

yes all that looks good now get with the weights and do cardio to stip away the fat faster .

yes I am keeping up my c25k program (week 2) and weights
Cant wait to be able to run for longer :eek:

Mink

unreg11 wrote: »

yes I am keeping up my c25k program (week 2) and weights
Cant wait to be able to run for longer :eek:

The couch to 5k program is brilliant. I did it last year as well as cleaning up my diet (generally less crap food, correct portions) & I was losing 1/2 a pound to a pound a week & managed to shed a stone.

I've actually maintained it since then (apart from like 3 pounds over Christmas which came off) & still keep up the 5K runs & healthy eating for the most part.

It's all consistency & patience. Eat less crap, move a lot more.
Whatever you do, don't give up on the c25k - keep at it & you'll see results.

To be honest I didn't really start seeing the weight coming off consistently for about a month after starting it & after tweaking what I was eating to the optimum amount of calories to shed approx a pound a week. Once I got it right, it just happened naturally.

And this is from someone who was "trying" to lose the stone for about 6 or 7 years