Newbie Advice

Bey0nd

Hey guys, new to Boards so be gentle!

I've been reading this forum since about half 5 this morning in preparation for the diet thats finally going to change my life (hopefully!). Ive read all the stickies, from the encouragement ones to the informational ones so I think I have the basics of carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

What I was thinking of doing - at least while Im starting off to make it easier for myself and give me a "guideline" so to speak was make up daily food plan templates, maybe 3 or 4, that I could choose from each day. Like if I came up with 3 alternative breakfasts, lunches and dinners, and 3 different snacks - I could just pick one of each to have that day? Or is this a silly way to go about it? I know it's probably not the best way if Im looking to make life-long changes, but Ive started and failed so many diets that I think it would help ease me in if you know what I mean. I guess Im just looking for some general critique of my plan!

A bit about me - Im a 23 year old male who is 6'3" and somewhere between 15 and 16 stone (closer to the latter I would say I dont know exactly because I dont have scales (should I get one?). Ive graduated from college and while Im job hunting, I have free time so Id like to improve my fitness a lot.

Im walking 7.5 km a day, and running 2.5 km. Thats not including daily routines like if I were shopping and walking around town etc, this is from a set walking/running schedule. Im a bit shy to take up swimming at the moment (maybe when im fitter!) and Im looking into taking up a bit of football or something similar, but for the meanwhile it'll be just the walking/running.

About the templates, or menu even Im thinking of putting together. A few things Ive seen people recommend that I dont like and would be keen to avoid are:

Cheese (unless cooked)
Porridge
Cold Salad
Garlic
Low Fat Milk (it just tastes too water-diluted, it really makes me sick, sorry!)

For breakfast, I go walking for 5km at about 7am so was thinking of:
-Protein Shake
-2 Poached Eggs (with small bit of ketchup)

Is this okay? I've seen people constantly recommend protein so I think Im covering that basis anyway.

For Lunch, ideally I would like some sort of sandwich but then bread is a no-no around here. Is there any bread I could have? Or what else could I do considering Im not a fan of cold salad (really dont like it )

For dinner, Im looking at chicken/steak/fish with vegetable (no potatoes). What sauces would I be allowed have with these? Im a big fan of parsley sauce but not sure if its good or not!

Also while Im here, just wanted to pick your brains on the nurtritional pitfalls/benefits of a burrito! I'd like to have at least one variation from the meat and veg, so was thinking of a buritto that had chicken breast, salad onion, diced lettuce, grated cheddar, enchilada sauce, refried beans. Is this at all good for me, even if I was very sparing with the enchilada sauce? Also, any recommendations for snacks apart from fruit - I like fruit, but just something to vary it as I imagine id be quite sick of fruit if thats all I had!

Sorry if this post is all over the place. Thanks for any help

EileenG

Unless you are lifting weights, or skipping meals, you probably don't need to supplement with protein. Two poached eggs are a good start to the day. Wilt a bit of spinach and melt a little grated cheese over the top, and you have a restaurant quality meal!

I'm not a fan of salads either, except for about two weeks in the summer. The rest of the time, I eat quick cook veg, which I can boil quickly or stirfry along with whatever meat/fish I have for lunch. Are you eating lunch at work? What facilties do you have, fridge, microwave etc?

Full fat milk is fine. Your body will absorb the calcium from the milk better in the presence of fat.

Most sauces are fine, as long as you make them yourself and they are not full of sugar.

If you are mostly eating fresh whole foods, you can get away with the odd cheat meal.

Nuts, seeds, cottage cheese, natural yogurt, veg soup, sugarfree jelly, are all handy snacks.

Bey0nd

Thanks Eileen!

Im at home so I have access to pretty much anything I need cooking wise. Can anyone tell me what this is like as a day by itself:

10:00 Breakfast
Omelette (2 eggs and 2 slices ham. Fried on one side, grilled on the other)
Glass of whole milk

13:00 Lunch
Bowl of Corn Flakes (w/ whole milk)

18:00 Dinner
1 boiled Chicken Fillet with large serving of frozen vegetables (microwaved) and pepper sauce
Glass of whole milk

20:00 Supper
Sandwich: 2 slices wholemeal bread, low fat butter and slice of ham.

Apart from that, I allow myself 2 snacks (usually a banana and an apple) during the day, and I drink plenty of water.

I'm also jogging 2.5km and walking 2.5km per day (5km in total), and would usually have an isotonic sports drinks while doing it.

Any critique apprecieted, thanks!

El_Dangeroso

Can you swap the whole milk for water? Just that a lot of the guys round here recommend milk as a way of gaining weight. In tea and coffee it's fine but three glasses would be the best part of a litre, and you can definitely find more filling sources of 500 calories.

If you take out the milk, replace it with some more protein and veg. Like you could add in some root veg to dinner with a little butter.

Also, cornflakes are nutritionally devoid, the only nutrients they have are the one's added by the manufacturers.

Have you eaten this menu yet? Did it fill you up all day? I think I'd be starving after it personally.

EileenG

Definitely ditch the cornflakes. You can do a much better lunch than that. And I'd with Temple, I'd rather eat my calories than drink them.

Low fat butter? Real butter is best.

Bey0nd

Thanks Temple.

I guess I could go with water with meals instead, it's probably more habit that I drink milk but I guess the whole point of this is to form new eating habits, so I'll cut down on the milk.

I've had this menu (or one similar, i.e. poached eggs in the place of omelettes and steak instead of chicken) and it did fill me. Although I am drinking a lot of water so that could have something to do with it

EileenG

I've never been convinced that water is filling. Once you are properly hydrated, more water just makes you pee more.

Sapsorrow

You could do a lot better than cornflakes and a ham sandwich, they're not really meals. Get more protein and veg in there instead!

Transform

Bey0nd wrote: »

Thanks Eileen!

Im at home so I have access to pretty much anything I need cooking wise. Can anyone tell me what this is like as a day by itself:

10:00 Breakfast
Omelette (2 eggs and 2 slices ham. Fried on one side, grilled on the other)
Glass of whole milk

13:00 Lunch
Bowl of Corn Flakes (w/ whole milk)

18:00 Dinner
1 boiled Chicken Fillet with large serving of frozen vegetables (microwaved) and pepper sauce
Glass of whole milk

20:00 Supper
Sandwich: 2 slices wholemeal bread, low fat butter and slice of ham.

Apart from that, I allow myself 2 snacks (usually a banana and an apple) during the day, and I drink plenty of water.

I'm also jogging 2.5km and walking 2.5km per day (5km in total), and would usually have an isotonic sports drinks while doing it.

Any critique apprecieted, thanks!

hit the weights - even body weight exercises and adjust the diet as suggested.

Overall it just needs some changes e.g. fruit with nuts as a snack, more veg with everything (fresh), ditch the bread and have oatcakes with nut butter etc

WesternNight

Transform wrote: »

hit the weights - even body weight exercises and adjust the diet as suggested.

Overall it just needs some changes e.g. fruit with nuts as a snack, more veg with everything (fresh), ditch the bread and have oatcakes with nut butter etc

I dunno about the fresh instead of frozen. If you know that they are genuinely fresh and not the ones that have been sitting in Dunnes for a couple of weeks, then fair enough. There's nothing wrong with freshly frozen veg at all though.

Bey0nd

Sorry to bump this thread, but I didnt want to create another one!

So for the past 2 weeks I've taken some of this advice on board and a daily menu would be something like this:

Breakfast: 2 egg omelette with 2 rashers (sliced to remove fat) and Spring Onion
Snack: Apple or Banana
Lunch: Chicken Salad. It's nothing overly complicated, I usually just boil a chicken fillet, tear it up and mix it with some fresh leaves, some spring onion and red onion, grated carrot and sweetcorn (not much sweetcorn, I heard it can be bad for you?).
Dinner: Large serving of vegetables (Carrots, Brocollim Cauliflower, Peas) with Chicken/Steak and Peppersauce (or Fish and Parsley sauce)
Snack: Apple or Banana
Supper: Bowl of Weetabix

I find it's filling me no problem, and I feel like I have enough energy to excercise. Im doing couch to 5k programme, in the middle of week 3 and I go for a 5k walk on the days Im not jogging. I havent been able to do weight training yet but Im saving up to buy a few pieces of equipment (would a rowing machine be a good first investment? I quite like using them). Oh, and I still allow myself a glass of milk with dinner. Take that away from me, and I might go insane This whole diet is a radical change from my old one which would be awful for you regulars in here. It contained lots of junk food, processed food and ready meals But Im enjoying this, and I find it quite rewarding i must say. Thats kind of weird though lol

My main goal is weight loss. Any tips or am I going alright?

Sapsorrow

Looks pretty good, definately wouldn't advise two bananas in one day too, definately limit yourself to just the one if even that they are super carby. You're not eating enough fat, don't be cutting the fat off your rasher and boiled chicken *yuck!* add plenty of EVOO or butter to your veg too. Also wheetabix for supper? You shouldn't need a supper if you've had a proper dinner that's practically a whole extra meal a day, you'll find it damn hard losing weight with the wheetabix on top of the snacks.

WesternNight

I assume the apple and banana are either/or...as in, you have one of the two early in the day and the other later?

Only thing I'd be inclined to want to change there is to ditch the Weetabix late in the evening. Other than that it's reasonably fine. If it's working, it's working.

The only other thing is that because it's such a dramatic change from your previous diet you're likely to see quite quick results. That will level out as your body adjusts to the new diet. So you'll probably need to change it up every now and again.

Bey0nd

Sapsorrow wrote: »

Looks pretty good, definately wouldn't advise two bananas in one day too, definately limit yourself to just the one if even that they are super carby. You're not eating enough fat, don't be cutting the fat off your rasher and boiled chicken *yuck!* add plenty of EVOO or butter to your veg too. Also wheetabix for supper? You shouldn't need a supper if you've had a proper dinner that's practically a whole extra meal a day, you'll find it damn hard losing weight with the wheetabix on top of the snacks.

Thanks Sapsorrow! The things you learn on this forum - carbs in bananas? I'd never in a million years have known that! Even at that, I prefer apples a lot more so I usually have 2 apples. Maybe a banana every 2 or 3 days if even. I'll cut out the weetabix for supper, maybe just a slice wheaten bread or two. I'll also leave the fat on my bacon (less effort :P yay! ) and dont worry, I use plenty of butter on my veggies

WesternNight wrote:

The only other thing is that because it's such a dramatic change from your previous diet you're likely to see quite quick results. That will level out as your body adjusts to the new diet. So you'll probably need to change it up every now and again.

Thanks for the reply! Im doing the Couch To 5k program which takes 9 weeks, and after that Im going to go onto a 10k program, so ill change things up when I switch programs. I've never felt so positive about a diet after whats nearly 4 weeks before! I usually grow disinterested and bored after a week max, and thats where I've always failed. Im actually happy on this one, it's so strange!:o:D

--Kaiser--

Bey0nd wrote: »

Thanks Sapsorrow! The things you learn on this forum - carbs in bananas? I'd never in a million years have known that! Even at that, I prefer apples a lot more so I usually have 2 apples. Maybe a banana every 2 or 3 days if even. I'll cut out the weetabix for supper, maybe just a slice wheaten bread or two. I'll also leave the fat on my bacon (less effort :P yay! ) and dont worry, I use plenty of butter on my veggies
D

Sugars are carbs, and bananas are some of the sweetest fruit out there

Sapsorrow

No worries but just to let you know bread isn't any different to wheetabix, it's still just processed wheat and a load of extra calories/carbs that you shouldn't need to eat at the end of the day when you're probably just chilling out watching telly or sleeping.

WesternNight

Bey0nd wrote: »

I'll also leave the fat on my bacon (less effort :P yay! ) and dont worry, I use plenty of butter on my veggies

You should get some good fats instead of eating the fat on rashers (I'm not sure how people can do that.. *gag*). Nuts and seeds are good for snacks and for good fats (just don't go overboard).

Sapsorrow

WesternNight wrote: »

You should get some good fats instead of eating the fat on rashers (I'm not sure how people can do that.. *gag*). Nuts and seeds are good for snacks and for good fats (just don't go overboard).

There's nothing particularly wrong with bacon fat, and nuts and seeds can pack quite an omega six punch are prone to oxidative degradation so can cause more harm than good.