Want to Lose 1.5 Stone - Diet Help Please!!

justbringit89

Hi there so I'm hoping to lose 1 and half stone before i go to Aus in September. I am really motivated and really wanna get in shape... I just want to point out my diet & look for advice.

Breakfast: Porridge & A cup of Tea
Break : Tea & an Apple
Lunch: 1 chicken Fillet, A low fat Yoghurt (90 cal) & an Apple.
Dinner: Chicken Wrap with lettace & small bit of bbq sauce

Snack are usually Crackerbread, cream cracker or rice cake.
Usually drink 2 litres of water a day


Thats just a typical day, I know its not the cleanest or best diet but i know i can stick to it & be happy with it.

My exercise is usually:

Mon: Weights & 15 mins HIT on threadmill
Tue: Swimming for 30 Mins
Wednesday: Weights & 15 Mins HIT on threadmill
Thursday: Swimming for 30 Mins
Friday: Swimming for 30 Mins

I'm wondering could I get some advice on both my Diet & Exerice??

Thanks

Tartopher

Well to me your diet seems really healthy -protein, fresh fruit etc -I wish I could be that good!
I don't really get why you need advice on it...it seems like it's exactly the kind of diet you should be following- very balanced and not too severe.

Good luck with it!

Susie_Q

Where are the vegetables in your diet?? Up your veg intake so that you're getting the benefits your body needs.

Also, ditch the yogurt, its just sugar. BBQ sauce is also very high sugar.

MrMojoRising

Tartopher wrote: »

Well to me your diet seems really healthy -protein, fresh fruit etc -I wish I could be that good!
I don't really get why you need advice on it...it seems like it's exactly the kind of diet you should be following- very balanced and not too severe.

Good luck with it!

Worst post ever.

Where's your fiber and veg OP?

To me a chicken wrap isn't a dinner. You should try and get more red meat into your diet. Have a steak and some veg some time. Great source of protein and pretty healthy to boot.

How do you make your porridge? With water/milk/ss-milk?

Your exercise is brill (I aspire to be that good!)

You haven't given your gender or height, so I'm not sure what way your calorie intake lies.

ApeXaviour

What weight are you currently? What gender? Can you estimate your BF%? (if not then give me your height too).

You're definitely running a calorie deficit either-way (which is the point). You'll have to put up with a number of obstacles...

Hunger: This is the main reason diets fail. After a few days of the above even the hardest of us give in. The idea is not to go crazy when you do. Have planned "Free Meals" twice a week where you can have a normal meal (with potatoes :eek:) and a moderate amount of ice-cream etc for desert.

Metabolic slowdown: basically starvation mode, your body will begin to switch off some non-vital functions. Libido will drop, immune-system goes south, you'll feel colder (morning body temperature will be lower), more sluggish, hormones will plummet (also causing hunger), you'll be less able to critically process information as your blood glucose yo-yos.

Muscle wastage: evolution has prepared you to deal with perceived oncoming famines. As a side effect of the metabolic slowdown you'll have switched over from burning mostly fat for energy to mostly muscle. This is because muscle is energy expensive, while fat is super efficient energy storage, so it wants to save that till last.

You're body hates you doesn't it? No it really loves you, it's just got a whole load of fail-safes because it thinks you're still roaming the Serengeti.*

There are number things you can do to offset the above:
1: Eat more protein: This is by far the most important, especially when dieting, because it's then that you need more. It will not only make you feel less hungry (and thus increase your chances of success) but if you eat enough of it, it will completely offset the muscle wastage. Your body thinks you must be killing animals and lets you keep your muscle so you can keep doing it. You really need to be eating a serving of protein with every meal and snack.
2: Utilise the free meals.
3: If you're already sorta lean (I'll assume you're not so ignore this one) you're more liable to suffer worse from metabolic slowdown. In this case its more important to get a stupid amount of protein. You can also *trick* your body to switch out of starvation mode by periodically eating a very large amount of carbohydrates. I mean like once every week or two. This is a technique called ketogenic cycling. For it to work to your advantage you need to already be relatively lean (<20% BF for me, <30% for women) your diet really needs to be low carb, and preferably you should be doing some modicum of resistance training. Anyway nevermind all that.

Snack are usually Crackerbread, cream cracker or rice cake.

A much better snack would be maybe 100g of low fat cheese. A few slices of parma/serrano ham (or regular ham/turkey). Experiment with low calorie condiments on them, personally I've found tabasco and garlic tastes great on cheese and ham.
No crackers/bread/rice cakes. They're completely useless empty calories that will cause an insulin response and inhibit fat loss.

An omelet with 2 normal eggs and 4 egg whites is a great high-protein/low-cal breakfast/lunch . Minced beef salad is also fantastic. Tesco healthy living mince is very lean and a reasonable price, easy to cook too in a Teflon pan (don't be afraid to eat lots of it). Steamed green veg tastes great and is very low calorie (good roughage). I'd suggest having two chicken fillets for dinner instead of one. It's only an extra 130 calories or so but it's a whole lot more protein. Ditching the cream crackers will more than make up for it.


For further reading google:
-Protein sparing modified fast (PSMF),
-Lyle McDonald rapid fat loss,
-ketogenic cycling (or cyclic ketogenic diet)


*I just wanted it noted that I don't actually believe your body makes independent conscious decisions. These are automatic reactions to stimuli that have come about after millions of years of evolution. Since they are logical in nature, personifying them makes for a more pleasant read.

justbringit89

Thanks for the replies.

First of all Im 5"9" and Male.

For breakfast I have porridge with low fat milk.


i will ditch the yoghurt no prob.

For Dinner I could also have chicken curry with brown rice. I would include some veg in th curry also:).

The main reason i have the wraps is because they are so filling & I have tried numerous times to eat veg but failed.
By have a wrap I can include some veg.

Also with regards to the BBQ sauce. I know its not the best but I have in my diet to keep me sane. I have went on these strict diets before and failed. But i feel if i have something i really like , even if its as simple as bbq it keeps me from falling off the wagon.

I also have rasins as a snack . For rice cakes, there are these "Organic Rice cakes" , Are these even bad?

For a treat day , I would have oven chips. Maybe twice a week??

I must look in tesco for the minced beef, sounds nice:)

Also I was thinking of changing one of my swimming days to "45 mins of Spinning", would that be better?

ApeXaviour

justbringit89 wrote: »

First of all Im 5"9" and Male.

Okay but what's your current weight?

For breakfast I have porridge with low fat milk.

Very little protein there. How much porridge do you have, i.e. how much to the oats weigh before you cook them? If it's 90g, you could cut that in half and have two eggs or some low fat cheese as well.

For Dinner I could also have chicken curry with brown rice. I would include some veg in th curry also:).

Since you're dieting I'd ditch the rice, it just undoes a lot of the exercise.

Also with regards to the BBQ sauce. I know its not the best but I have in my diet to keep me sane. I have went on these strict diets before and failed. But i feel if i have something i really like , even if its as simple as bbq it keeps me from falling off the wagon.

Keep the bbq sauce so! I'd recommend you try different brands, read the nutrition information on the back and try choose low sugar ones. Also the less you use the better, if you still enjoy it with only one tsp instead of 6 then obviously that's better.

I also have rasins as a snack . For rice cakes, there are these "Organic Rice cakes" , Are these even bad?

Yes. Serrano ham, seriously.

For a treat day , I would have oven chips. Maybe twice a week??

okay... not the best but if it keeps you on the diet then fair enough! You really really should have good-sized lean steak or something with that too... it'll keep the protein up and lower the total GI of the meal.

I must look in tesco for the minced beef, sounds nice:)

It's delicious

Also I was thinking of changing one of my swimming days to "45 mins of Spinning", would that be better?

You already do a whole lot of cardio. I'd always advocate more resistance training, get one of the instructors to show you how to squat, then squat as heavy (safely) as you can. Squats (and other heavy compound lifts, but especially squats) increase metabolism and testosterone. Testosterone is like the youth hormone, it decreases bodyfat, increases muscle tone etc. Have an ask on the aul' fitness forum, they'll steer you right!

El_Dangeroso

Very thorough post ApeXaviour! May I ask why you recommend low fat cheese, is it the cals? Or the extra protein? I'm wary of relying on cheese for protein personally, a lot of casein doesn't seem to be good for the heart, but the fat in cheese seems to offer a blunting effect, hence why I'd always recommend full fat cheese.

corkcomp

justbringit89 wrote: »

Hi there so I'm hoping to lose 1 and half stone before i go to Aus in September. I am really motivated and really wanna get in shape... I just want to point out my diet & look for advice.

Breakfast: Porridge & A cup of Tea
Break : Tea & an Apple
Lunch: 1 chicken Fillet, A low fat Yoghurt (90 cal) & an Apple.
Dinner: Chicken Wrap with lettace & small bit of bbq sauce

Snack are usually Crackerbread, cream cracker or rice cake.
Usually drink 2 litres of water a day


Thats just a typical day, I know its not the cleanest or best diet but i know i can stick to it & be happy with it.

My exercise is usually:

Mon: Weights & 15 mins HIT on threadmill
Tue: Swimming for 30 Mins
Wednesday: Weights & 15 Mins HIT on threadmill
Thursday: Swimming for 30 Mins
Friday: Swimming for 30 Mins

I'm wondering could I get some advice on both my Diet & Exerice??

Thanks

Firstly, the exercise looks ok, however for 30 minutes of swimming to be of real benefit you would want to be swimming continuously.. personally id swap one of the swimming sessions for 30 minutes in the gym.

as regards the diet, there is nothing you really need to remove from this, the main problem is the lack of veg and lack of protein. if you can get 30% of your cals from protein that is more than enough, but I dont think you are getting anywhere hear that.. it also looks light on cals. maybe take a whey shake with breakfast and one PWO would help.

as mentioned, you didnt post your weight, but more importantly your BF% so throw that up if you know what it is ..

justbringit89

corkcomp wrote: »

Firstly, the exercise looks ok, however for 30 minutes of swimming to be of real benefit you would want to be swimming continuously.. personally id swap one of the swimming sessions for 30 minutes in the gym.

as regards the diet, there is nothing you really need to remove from this, the main problem is the lack of veg and lack of protein. if you can get 30% of your cals from protein that is more than enough, but I dont think you are getting anywhere hear that.. it also looks light on cals. maybe take a whey shake with breakfast and one PWO would help.

as mentioned, you didnt post your weight, but more importantly your BF% so throw that up if you know what it is ..

Thanks for that,

I am 11.5 stone but havn't a clue of my BF%

corkcomp

justbringit89 wrote: »

Thanks for that,

I am 11.5 stone but havn't a clue of my BF%

ok.. your a guy yes? if you lose 1.5 stone you would be 10 stone at 5 9 which may not look good either.. what waist size are you? thats next best thing to BF% to give us a better idea whether you need to add muscle / drop fat or both

justbringit89

corkcomp wrote: »

ok.. your a guy yes? if you lose 1.5 stone you would be 10 stone at 5 9 which may not look good either.. what waist size are you? thats next best thing to BF% to give us a better idea whether you need to add muscle / drop fat or both

Ya no Prob, Well Actually I'd say i be more 5"8", sorry shot the load there. I would be 34" waist. Cheers

corkcomp

justbringit89 wrote: »

Ya no Prob, Well Actually I'd say i be more 5"8", sorry shot the load there. I would be 34" waist. Cheers

hmm ok. well my advice then is to keep with your current exercise routine but maybe swap one of the swims for weights workout.. I think 11 stone would be around your correct weight, or a little below but not 10 stone.. get your body fat measured in the gym and work on reducing this..

edit: as for shooting a load, thats too much info really:pac:

ApeXaviour

Temple_Grandin wrote: »

Very thorough post ApeXaviour! May I ask why you recommend low fat cheese, is it the cals?

It's the calories alright, mostly. When at maintenance I'd only eat full fat cheese! But during temporary diets at a high calorie deficit this just makes achieving a protein:calorie ratio impossible.

We had this discussion before. I think we came to some kind of compromise:
Low fat cheese okay if on a temporary diet that's very calorically restrictive.
But for the rest of the time: Full fat cheese > low fat cheese


Out of interest, I hadn't heard that about casein and your heart. I'd like to read further, can you link me to where you found that out?

El_Dangeroso

Ya no problem, most of the research is in rats unfortunately but here's a good overview:

http://www.medical-hypotheses.com/article/S0306-9877(00)91265-9/abstract

Note that this applies to A1 casein, A2 casein, as found in rarer breeds of cows and in goats doesn't seem to have the same effect, no idea why.

In fact the whole idea of The China Study is based on casein protein which the author then extrapolated to all animal protein. It's really easy to give rats cancer, heart disease and auto-immune diseases when you give 'em lots of casein. Right research, wrong conclusions.

Dairy fat provides a protective effect to this mechanism, though we really don't know how. My guess is the CLA and possibly phytanic acid, both of which are fatty acids that reduce inflammation.

Here's a nice little study showing an inverse relationship between full fat dairy consumption and BMI in Swedish children. The more dairy fat in their diet the leaner the children:

http://gupea.ub.gu.se/dspace/handle/2077/20457

I think all other things being equal using low fat dairy instead of full fat is going to make no difference to weight loss. Plus your missing out on all the best nutrients.

Tartopher

Relax MrMojorising!
I never claimed to be a nutritionist or the like. The OP asked for an opinion and I gave mine. I, on the other hand, did not ask for an opinion on my reply.

The Hill Billy

If anyone has a problem with a post - use the Report Post button IMG]http://b-static.net/vbulletin/images/buttons/report.gif[/IMG & let a mod take any necessary action. Do not bicker on-thread.

Now - get back on topic please.

HB

kippy

Quick question,
Am following a lot of these diet posts lately as started running a few weeks ago and cut out all fizzy drinks, crisps and chocolate from my diet and tried eating "better". I am Sixteen stone and 5'10 so I have a fair bit to shed. My target weight is about 12 stone.
Isnt 11.5 stone pretty much ideal weight already for a male who is 5'9?

ApeXaviour

kippy wrote: »

Quick question,
Am following a lot of these diet posts lately as started running a few weeks ago and cut out all fizzy drinks, crisps and chocolate from my diet and tried eating "better". I am Sixteen stone and 5'10 so I have a fair bit to shed. My target weight is about 12 stone.
Isnt 11.5 stone pretty much ideal weight already for a male who is 5'9?

It is more or less. But best not to judge people's goals. When you're on the leaner side of things absolute weight isn't a great measure of anything. I know two people who are 5'8, one is 12.5stone but ~10% bodyfat. The other is 11 stone but doesn't look very healthy at all. The latter could do with increasing the aul' LBM*:fat ratio if he was so inclined.


*(lean body mass)