Exact diet to go from 20 stone-16 stone

me_right_one

Hi All. Last year I joined a gym to lose weight. I'm 20 stone, 6' 2", and have no clue about gyms, diets, lifting weights or losing weight! I tried a few fad diets in my time, obviously to no avail.

So last year I bit the bullet and signed up for a year with a well known shower of pr etty gym people. I explained my situation, asked if I could have some private coaching to help me along, I was damn serious about this. So I got this personal trainer, who stood by my side for the first couple of sessions, but then he vanished. 3 months of treadmill bashing later, I hadn't lost any weight. One day he strolls over and said, "ah sure it must be your diet". Well I could have decked the cnut.

I paid a serious whack of money for this wanker and never once did he mention diet before that day. I was doing 500 calories on the treadmill 3 times a week for 3 months. I would consider my eating perfectly healthy, but I don't know, hence why I asked for assistance.

So, could anyone here give me an example, as exactly as possible, of what I should be eating to lose 4 stone, how many grams of it, and at what time, on a Monday to Sunday basis? No fancy brown pasta or long rice etc. Just stuff that your ma would have in the kitchen. Throw in a swim twice a week. Thanks in advance.

x in the city

me_right_one wrote: »

Hi All. Last year I joined a gym to lose weight. I'm 20 stone, 6' 2", and have no clue about gyms, diets, lifting weights or losing weight! I tried a few fad diets in my time, obviously to no avail.

So last year I bit the bullet and signed up for a year with a well known shower of pr etty gym people. I explained my situation, asked if I could have some private coaching to help me along, I was damn serious about this. So I got this personal trainer, who stood by my side for the first couple of sessions, but then he vanished. 3 months of treadmill bashing later, I hadn't lost any weight. One day he strolls over and said, "ah sure it must be your diet". Well I could have decked the cnut.

I paid a serious whack of money for this wanker and never once did he mention diet before that day. I was doing 500 calories on the treadmill 3 times a week for 3 months. I would consider my eating perfectly healthy, but I don't know, hence why I asked for assistance.

So, could anyone here give me an example, as exactly as possible, of what I should be eating to lose 4 stone, how many grams of it, and at what time, on a Monday to Sunday basis? No fancy brown pasta or long rice etc. Just stuff that your ma would have in the kitchen. Throw in a swim twice a week. Thanks in advance.

well i am no fitness guru but that guy seemed awful,

but i think in fairness if your diet goes out the window then no amount of treadmill work or gym antics will do anything as all the hard work done will be lost.

so, firstly. i think you should just sort out your diet, go to a nutrition expert.

and a daily jog. clear the air a bit.

you are on the right track...(in wanting to make a change).

me_right_one

Thanks X.

x in the city wrote: »

but i think in fairness if your diet goes out the window then no amount of treadmill work or gym antics will do anything as all the hard work done will be lost.

Exactly.

x in the city wrote: »

so, firstly. i think you should just sort out your diet, go to a nutrition expert.

and a daily jog. clear the air a bit.

you are on the right track...(in wanting to make a change).

Cheers for your advice X. Nutrition expert? Good idea, but I thought I'd ask some boards amateur experts first;)

So, I have it nailed down to this: If a 6' 2" male of 16 stone were to do nothing only wake up and exist, he would prob still need to burn 1000 calories per day just from being awake / moving around. Am I right? More, less? Taking that as a starting point, I will need to eat less than 1000 calories (or eat more, but burn extra off) until I hit 16 stone. Then, maintain 1000 calories per day, and just add on more to compensate for any physical exertion, as appropriate. Straightforward enough. But, how does one plan a diet for 1000 calories per day?

silverharp

is there anything in your commuting etc that you could build into your routine? walk or cycle instead of Bus/Car? it still amazes me how many people live less then 5 miles from work but wont consider cycling or leaving the car halfway.

syklops

OP,

Why dont you do a food diary on here and people can give you advice on maybe what you are doing wrong? I am losing weight at the moment(or trying to), and I have cut carbs way down.

The Irish Diet tends to consist of alot of bread, and alot of potatoes, which is great if you spend 10 hours a day working in the fields, but most people now spend most or alot of their day sitting down, so the sugars aren't burnt in the course of the day so get stored as fat.

Post up either on this thread, or in the food diary forum, and maybe something that you are eating, which may be perfectly healthy, might be causing you to keep the weight on.

We can also give some tips and recipes we have found that help. I have replaced rice in all the rice dishes I eat with "Cauliflower Rice". It tastes almost exactly the same, but has few carbs, and lots of protein.

TommyKnocker

Hi me_right_one

Firstly Hold up. Where in the name of all that's holy did you get a figure of 1,000 calories for the BMR of a 16 st, guy @ 6' 2"????

Secondly, in your original post you stated that you were 20st and the title is "Exact diet to get from 20st to 16st, so which are you now, 20st or 16st?

Thirdly, what is your age?

Lastly for now, for a guy of 6' 2" and 20 st, a 1,000 calorie diet of a long term could seriously damage your health. The calorie requirements bandied about for Jane and Joe Average is 2,000 calories a day for Jane and 2,500 for Joe.

Have a read through this thread http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055963342

There is a formula in one of g'em's posts which shows how to work out your daily caloire requirements. Guessing you age at 23, I estimate that you should eat around 2,900 calories daily to stay the same weight.

So please read through the link above and come back and post what you would typically eat and drink in an average day, along with what exercise if any you would take.


Best Regards,

M

As said, post up what you eat in a typical day. You'll need to start doing some weights training too, 3 times a week on the threadmill won't do the job at all. Gym chap that advised you is a f***tard no doubt.

tHE vAGGABOND

Read the stickys in the Health and Nutrition Forum, they are solid gold : http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=982

FYI : I was 20 stone 3 odd months ago, and Im now about 17 1/2 stone, and its not down to come miracle pill or fad diet. Its simply eating properly [Basically everything I eat has fresh fruit or veg in it, somehow - and no microwave meals], cutting out all the rubbish full stop - combined with a decent amount of cardio and weights.

Transform

me_right_one wrote: »

Thanks X.



Exactly.




Cheers for your advice X. Nutrition expert? Good idea, but I thought I'd ask some boards amateur experts first;)

So, I have it nailed down to this: If a 6' 2" male of 16 stone were to do nothing only wake up and exist, he would prob still need to burn 1000 calories per day just from being awake / moving around. Am I right? More, less? Taking that as a starting point, I will need to eat less than 1000 calories (or eat more, but burn extra off) until I hit 16 stone. Then, maintain 1000 calories per day, and just add on more to compensate for any physical exertion, as appropriate. Straightforward enough. But, how does one plan a diet for 1000 calories per day?

to be honest man you are NOT eating in any way healthy if you have trained that much and have not lost any weight as even without any exercise at all you should have dropped at least a stone by just addressing your total calorie intake.

I would say without even seeing your diet you are eating wayyy to much in total and then after you address that have a look at total carb intake.

To drop 4 stone at your current weight of 20stone is NOT going to require massive changes - going from 14stone to say 13stone and in super shape, well thats a different story.

tHE vAGGABOND

OP - As someone on the nutrition forum said on a related thread the other day, dont eat or drink ANYTHING your relatives 100 years ago did not eat or drink and your basically sorted [Only semi joking, but think in the spirit of it]

99% of food/drink which is 'processed' is crap you dont need

muboop1

Most of us aren't experts etc... But we know a bit.

Post up your current diet, be honest and try include serving sizes etc. And from here we wil try point you in the right direction.

Also, not brown rice because you won't find it in your "ma's" kitchen... This is a cop out!

Bad start! Ask her to buy it! I'm sure she wouldn't object.

We are talking about yor health here, spare no effort!

Also, ask questions. You realistically should of known 500 kcals burned 3 times a week of whatever was not going to be shedding the weight no? Maybe you just assumed he knew best. Either way, educate yourself! Ask questions. Knowledge is key, Knowledge and will power.

The knowledge is required, and the will power to implement it.

mrpink6789

Breakfast - Porridge & Honey
Mid Morning - couple of mandarins
Lunch - Low fat Wrap, ham, lettuce cucumber with a homemade salad of rocket, sweetcorn, cucumber, carrots and beetroot + fat free yoghurt
Afternoon(pre workout) - protein shake, handful of hazlenuts
Post workout - protein shake
Dinner - Mixture between a couple of chicken breasts or 2 pieces of fish and mixed veg and fat free yoghurt
Sometimes I have some low fat biscuits at night to keep myself sane!

That diet hashelped me get from over 21 stone to 15 and a half stone. I would be in the gym doing a mixture of cardio and weights 5 times a week.

I make sure to have a calorie deficit of 500 cals a day from my recommended allowance to maintain my weight so the diet can be tweaked.

hope that helps but you are probably going to need more calories then me to make sure you are losing weight at a healthy rate.

AntiVirus

I don't think you're doing anything wrong? You've gone from over 21 stone to 15.5 stone, you've lost over 5 and a half stone. I think you're doing really well! Keep it up

EDIT: Just seen that was mrpinks diet up above! Well done MrPink!!

kryton101

me_right_one wrote: »

Hi All. Last year I joined a gym to lose weight. I'm 20 stone, 6' 2", and have no clue about gyms, diets, lifting weights or losing weight! I tried a few fad diets in my time, obviously to no avail.

So last year I bit the bullet and signed up for a year with a well known shower of pr etty gym people. I explained my situation, asked if I could have some private coaching to help me along, I was damn serious about this. So I got this personal trainer, who stood by my side for the first couple of sessions, but then he vanished. 3 months of treadmill bashing later, I hadn't lost any weight. One day he strolls over and said, "ah sure it must be your diet". Well I could have decked the cnut.

I paid a serious whack of money for this wanker and never once did he mention diet before that day. I was doing 500 calories on the treadmill 3 times a week for 3 months. I would consider my eating perfectly healthy, but I don't know, hence why I asked for assistance.

So, could anyone here give me an example, as exactly as possible, of what I should be eating to lose 4 stone, how many grams of it, and at what time, on a Monday to Sunday basis? No fancy brown pasta or long rice etc. Just stuff that your ma would have in the kitchen. Throw in a swim twice a week. Thanks in advance.

Good nutrition accounts for about 60 to 70% of good health and weight management. A mixture of cardio and resistance training makes up the rest. Why is nutrition so high? Basically it's the foundation upon which a healthy lifestyle and body is created. We are literally what we eat and no amount of running and pumping iron can undo daily bad habits and poor nutrition.

Nutrition is such a huge field it's hard to give you advice in 2 minutes but generally most gyms are not equipped to give accurate and correct advice. Consider your energy balance. i.e what goes in to what you burn and then create a slight calorie deficeit. Then exercise. a pound or 2 a week is good. any more your wasting muscle.

Mellor

me_right_one wrote: »

I paid a serious whack of money for this wanker and never once did he mention diet before that day. I was doing 500 calories on the treadmill 3 times a week for 3 months. I would consider my eating perfectly healthy, but I don't know, hence why I asked for assistance.

I can guarantee that you weren't eating perfectly. You may believe you were, but if you post it here, I'd say there is at least 5 things wrong with it. Number 1 being portion size.
Portion size is critical. Then get on to the right foods, reduce carbs etc

me_right_one wrote: »

So, I have it nailed down to this: If a 6' 2" male of 16 stone were to do nothing only wake up and exist, he would prob still need to burn 1000 calories per day just from being awake / moving around. Am I right? More, less?

A lot more, you should at least double it. 2000 cals a day (as long as you count accurately) would be a big deficit for you, and you'd see results fast

syklops

This thread was open on the 3rd, its now the 5th, and despite numerous requests for the OP to post up his normal diet he hasn't.

If he does not come back in the next day or two I will be unsubscribing.

tHE vAGGABOND

Portion size is important to, forgot that - I think back to my "healthy dinners" [befoere I saw sense and learned about nutrition!] of gigantic plates of pasta [with insane amount of cheese on top] which would feed about 4 large hungry people

me_right_one

Hi all. Thx for your replies. I have been keeping a record of what I've eaten over the last few days and its amazing how much you never think of till you see it written down.

silverharp wrote: »

is there anything in your commuting etc that you could build into your routine? walk or cycle instead of Bus/Car?

Hey Silverharp. Unfortunately its 40 miles to work, and I'm not paying 4 euro/hour for 42 hours per week to park 4 miles away. But I see your point, incorporate some exercise into daily tasks.:)

B-Builder wrote: »

Hi me_right_one

Firstly Hold up. Where in the name of all that's holy did you get a figure of 1,000 calories for the BMR of a 16 st, guy @ 6' 2"????

Hey B-builder. The answer is out of thin air, I was only guessing. Thats why I opened a thread asking for advice. Whats BMR?

B-Builder wrote: »

Secondly, in your original post you stated that you were 20st and the title is "Exact diet to get from 20st to 16st, so which are you now, 20st or 16st?

I'm 20 stone. I was saying IF a fella was 16 stone, would 1000 cals be typical for him to be eating? Thats why I put "more/less?" after it. Maybe I worded it a bit wrong, sorry:o

B-Builder wrote: »

Thirdly, what is your age?

I'm 28

B-Builder wrote: »

Lastly for now, for a guy of 6' 2" and 20 st, a 1,000 calorie diet of a long term could seriously damage your health. The calorie requirements bandied about for Jane and Joe Average is 2,000 calories a day for Jane and 2,500 for Joe.

Have a read through this thread http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055963342

Gold B-builder, thanks a million.

tHE vAGGABOND wrote: »

Read the stickys in the Health and Nutrition Forum, they are solid gold : http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=982

FYI : I was 20 stone 3 odd months ago, and Im now about 17 1/2 stone, and its not down to come miracle pill or fad diet. Its simply eating properly [Basically everything I eat has fresh fruit or veg in it, somehow - and no microwave meals], cutting out all the rubbish full stop - combined with a decent amount of cardio and weights.

Thats great vagabond, more power to you! Thanks for that!

muboop1 wrote: »

Also, not brown rice because you won't find it in your "ma's" kitchen... This is a cop out!

Bad start! Ask her to buy it! I'm sure she wouldn't object.

We are talking about yor health here, spare no effort!

Hey muboop1. I lol'd, the issue is not that my "ma" wont buy anything, I was using that as an example of whats available locally. I dont live anywhere near Dublin, and you just cant get unusual stuff in my supermarket. Its just cabbage, cauliflour, potatoes, bread etc. There's a vetinary surgeon nearby who has packets of mixed nuts, thats how rare things like that are around here. If I were to go to Dublin to pick up some dietery supplies, where would you suggest?

muboop1 wrote: »

Also, ask questions. You realistically should of known 500 kcals burned 3 times a week of whatever was not going to be shedding the weight no?

No. Why would I?

muboop1 wrote: »

Maybe you just assumed he knew best.

I did indeed, I was paying him enough!:mad:

muboop1 wrote: »

Either way, educate yourself! Ask questions. Knowledge is key, Knowledge and will power.

The knowledge is required, and the will power to implement it.

Good advice. Thanks muboop.

mrpink6789 wrote: »

Breakfast - Porridge & Honey
Mid Morning - couple of mandarins
Lunch - Low fat Wrap, ham, lettuce cucumber with a homemade salad of rocket, sweetcorn, cucumber, carrots and beetroot + fat free yoghurt
Afternoon(pre workout) - protein shake, handful of hazlenuts
Post workout - protein shake
Dinner - Mixture between a couple of chicken breasts or 2 pieces of fish and mixed veg and fat free yoghurt
Sometimes I have some low fat biscuits at night to keep myself sane!

That diet hashelped me get from over 21 stone to 15 and a half stone. I would be in the gym doing a mixture of cardio and weights 5 times a week.

I make sure to have a calorie deficit of 500 cals a day from my recommended allowance to maintain my weight so the diet can be tweaked.

Firstly, fair play for losing all that weight mrpink. 21 st to 15 st is amazing, well done, more power to you! How long did it take?

Secondly, that diet you put up is exactly what I'm looking for, BINGO! Thanks a million, thank you so much, thats what I wanted. Can you tell me more about the protien shake, do you make it up yourself or is it bought? Thanks again mrpink:)

syklops wrote: »

This thread was open on the 3rd, its now the 5th, and despite numerous requests for the OP to post up his normal diet he hasn't.

If he does not come back in the next day or two I will be unsubscribing.

Syklops. People have more to do than sit on the internet all day. Whether its bringing a child to hospital, or attending the funeral of one of your parents, or just being busy at work. Relax. Incidentally, you have not posted what I asked for, which is what the title of the thread is all about. Please be a bit more understanding:)





So folks, I recorded my diet over the last few days, and here it is. I should explain that I work 12 hour shifts, on nights 7pm-7am, 4 nights per week:

Breakfast, 4:30 pm;
5 medium sized potatoes
1 breast of chicken
1/2 tin of beans
1 pint of milk
2 knobs of butter
2 sprinkles of salt
2 chocolate digestive biscuits
2 cups of tea, 2 sugars in each, milk in each.


Lunch, 9:00pm;
1 apple
1 tea, 2 sugars, milk


Dinner, 12:20am;
1 scoop of chips
1 scoop of baked chicken pieces
1 ladel of sweet-chilli sauce
1 cup of 7up
1 tea, 2 sugars, milk
1 mars bar


Tea, 4:00am
1 apple
1 tea, 2 sugars, milk


This is what I had on Wednesday. For other days, just replace the chicken with beef, ham, or pork. On weekends, add 10 pints of carlsberg.


I know the obvious ones. Immediately I could cut out the beer, bar, butter, and biscuits. Other than that I'm stumped. I eat an unusual breakfast because everybody else in the house is eating dinner at the time, but its all good healthy food is it not? My portion sizes are the same as everybody elses at the table, and none of them are fat. Would the 4 B's stated above really contribute that much to my weight?

As for exercise, where I work is a massive, sprawling factory complex, 1 mile long by 1/2 mile wide. Some shifts I could have to walk from one end to the other 10 times a shift:eek:. I reckon I'd cover an average of 4 miles walking per day, nevermind the physical end of the actual job.

So, my mission is to nail my diet. Mrpink posted an example of what I'm looking for. Thanks to all who have replied already, all advice and help is very much appreciated:pac:

mrpink6789

me_right_one wrote: »

So folks, I recorded my diet over the last few days, and here it is. I should explain that I work 12 hour shifts, on nights 7pm-7am, 4 nights per week:

Breakfast, 4:30 pm;
5 medium sized potatoes
1 breast of chicken
1/2 tin of beans
1 pint of milk
2 knobs of butter
2 sprinkles of salt
2 chocolate digestive biscuits
2 cups of tea, 2 sugars in each, milk in each.


Lunch, 9:00pm;
1 apple
1 tea, 2 sugars, milk


Dinner, 12:20am;
1 scoop of chips
1 scoop of baked chicken pieces
1 ladel of sweet-chilli sauce
1 cup of 7up
1 tea, 2 sugars, milk
1 mars bar


Tea, 4:00am
1 apple
1 tea, 2 sugars, milk

Sorry man but your diet is shocking for weight loss. I know it's harder because people are eating dinner when you want breakfast but you are going to have to make your own meals to control what you eat, thats what I did. If you go in to a website like foodfocus and add up how much calories you are consuming i'd say its nowhere close to your 500 calories a day deficit.

Cut down on potatoes, switch to low fat milk, try and curb the sugar or use canderel or something healthier(if there is one), get rid of the chocolate (digestives and mars bar), get rid of the chips, what exactly are baked chicken pieces, do they have breadcumbs on them? if so get rid of them! switch your 7up to diet 7up. thats the things i would sort out straight away, most posters will probably add to that.

I used to go out and have quite a few guinness ont he weekends, because i only have a couple of stone to go i've cut out alcohol as i found its not worth it after putting so much effort in the gym. if you are going to have the 10 pints at weekends you need to work that extra bit harder when exercising.

you'll find though by cutting out some of the junk i outlined above will make a huge difference on the scales.

I entered in your data to food focus and you are eating nearly 2,500 calories a day.

pinkypinky

me_right_one wrote: »

Breakfast, 4:30 pm;
5 medium sized potatoes
1 breast of chicken
1/2 tin of beans
1 pint of milk
2 knobs of butter
2 sprinkles of salt
2 chocolate digestive biscuits
2 cups of tea, 2 sugars in each, milk in each.
Lunch, 9:00pm;
1 apple
1 tea, 2 sugars, milk
Dinner, 12:20am;
1 scoop of chips
1 scoop of baked chicken pieces
1 ladel of sweet-chilli sauce
1 cup of 7up
1 tea, 2 sugars, milk
1 mars bar
Tea, 4:00am
1 apple
1 tea, 2 sugars, milk

You need a lot more fruit and vegetables in your diet. You know yourself the obvious things to cut out as you said above. The alcohol is not helping. If you can, get your carlsberg in bottles instead pints. It's a significant reduction in the amount of alcohol and calories but it's easy to match rounds with people having pints. Cut down to low-fat butter, milk, etc and diet 7up.

tHE vAGGABOND

What I have done with booze is say to myself I can only drink once a week, and Im pretty strict about it [all but gone are my beloved Thursday pints]. As one of the lads said, its pointless killing yourself in the gym and drinking a rake of pints several times a week - as all your done work is undone.

I have tried many "less bad" alcoholic drinks but find myself drinking Coors Light Pints or Guinness pints, and every 3rd or 4th round [or so] I will go slow and skip a round and either just not have anything that round or get a water or something.

I know a lad who moved to bottles and that works for him, but I find I just drink more of them. Gin or Vodka are also far better than pints, but I can drink them like water - so just cant

seamus

me_right_one wrote: »

Breakfast, 4:30 pm;
5 medium sized potatoes
1 breast of chicken
1/2 tin of beans
1 pint of milk
2 knobs of butter
2 sprinkles of salt
2 chocolate digestive biscuits
2 cups of tea, 2 sugars in each, milk in each.


Lunch, 9:00pm;
1 apple
1 tea, 2 sugars, milk


Dinner, 12:20am;
1 scoop of chips
1 scoop of baked chicken pieces
1 ladel of sweet-chilli sauce
1 cup of 7up
1 tea, 2 sugars, milk
1 mars bar


Tea, 4:00am
1 apple
1 tea, 2 sugars, milk

Sweet. Jesus.
*Theoretically* nothing wrong with that diet, if it was spread out over 2 days.

As said elsewhere above, portion control is your main issue here.

Your "breakfast" alone accounts for 2,000 calories. The entire day works out to around 3,700 calories - give or take, as I don't know exactly what kind of portions you're eating.

For the moment, forgot about what foods you're eating, and just focus on how much you're eating. Once you have control over your portion sizes, then you can focus on improving the type of food that you're eating. That is, if you want to eat chips five times a day, then that's fine so long as you don't go over your calorie quota for the day. When there's a lot of information coming at you about "eat fruit and veg, cut out processed foods" and so forth, it's easy for the core message here to be missed:

Weight loss = Eat less calories than you're burning.

You can eat all the healthy food in the world, but you won't lose weight if you continue to eat too much of it.

Looking at your diet, there are some *huge* and basic things you can do.

Breakfast:
Lose 3 of those potatoes.
Eat 1/4 tin of beans.
Lose the butter in favour of a low-fat margarine.
Lose the pint of milk. Why are you drinking it? Drink water or diet 7-up instead.
Lose the biscuits
Lose the sugar from your tea - canderel is no different.

Dinner:
Chips are a pain in the ass because they taste so bloody good. A small handful of deep-fried chips will cost you dearly. I have no idea how big a "scoop" is, but I'd be fairly sure it's more than 500cals per go. Try switch to something that's not fried. Two slices of bread would be better
Same for the chicken pieces - they're dippers I assume, baked, rammed with grease and calories.

Overall, try to get something that's not deep-fried for your dinner. Unfortunately you're no doubt stuck with takeaways or a canteen, so this may involve bringing sandwiches to work with you

In order to get control over your weight, you need to know exactly what's going into your mouth and the effect that it's going to have on your weight.

The stickies listed above are chocked with information. Start counting calories, use something www.fitday.com to keep a food diary. It's the single proven most effective way of losing weight. Remember that excuses are just that - nobody else puts food into your mouth. "My housemates are sitting down to dinner at that time", or "there's nothing else to eat in the work canteen" are excuses and nothing more.

What I have done with booze is say to myself I can only drink once a week, and Im pretty strict about it [all but gone are my beloved Thursday pints]

Damn you.
When I was younger, vodka + diet coke used to work with me. I'd get pissed 3/4 nights a week without breaking the calorie bank. I'm older now though, can't handle it any more.

tHE vAGGABOND

I'm older now though, can't handle it any more.

And your still about 12, arent you

me_right_one

pinkypinky wrote: »

You need a lot more fruit and vegetables in your diet......

5 spuds, 2 apples and 1/2 tin beans??????? Thats 8 portions of fruit / veg per day, surely thats more than enough???????????

seamus wrote: »

Sweet. Jesus.
*Theoretically* nothing wrong with that diet, if it was spread out over 2 days.

As said elsewhere above, portion control is your main issue here........ When there's a lot of information coming at you about "eat fruit and veg, cut out processed foods" and so forth, it's easy for the core message here to be missed:

Weight loss = Eat less calories than you're burning.

You can eat all the healthy food in the world, but you won't lose weight if you continue to eat too much of it.

You're bang on the money Seamus. Hence the confusion thats out there. I distinctly remember an ad campaign telling people to choose food from the food pyramid, as in loads of carbs and bread, small amounts of red meat and very rarely a desert. Nothing about calories or portion size. By those standards, my current diet should be fine.

mrpink6789 wrote: »

Sorry man but your diet is shocking for weight loss.....

Hey mrpink. Thats my current diet, not one geared towards weightloss. A weightloss diet is what I'm looking for.

YOU were the nearest to what providing what I'm looking for. What about grams, as in how many grams of porridge, how many grams of honey etc.? And whats the story with the protein shake?

mrpink6789 wrote: »

Breakfast - Porridge & Honey
Mid Morning - couple of mandarins
Lunch - Low fat Wrap, ham, lettuce cucumber with a homemade salad of rocket, sweetcorn, cucumber, carrots and beetroot + fat free yoghurt
Afternoon(pre workout) - protein shake, handful of hazlenuts
Post workout - protein shake
Dinner - Mixture between a couple of chicken breasts or 2 pieces of fish and mixed veg and fat free yoghurt
Sometimes I have some low fat biscuits at night to keep myself sane!

Cheers:D

Transform

simple point here really - you are currently 20stone.

ANYTHING is going to work for you right now as long as it means less calories!!

Eat way less, get a few stone off and then you can start looking at getting specific.

OP I wouldn't consider 5 spuds to be "vegetables"... when people are saying vegetables they mean more like green ones! Broccoli, lettuce, etc etc

The spuds is the main thing that jumps out at me, eat 1-2 instead of 5!
Cut out the sugary tea and the mars bars and don't drink the 7up, have diet 7up

But yeah just have less of everything to start off...

Tattude

Here's the thing, there's so much info out there about health & fitness that there has never been a better time to get in shape however this also works against us as we can fall prey to 'Paralysis of Analysis' or an overdose of info to the point where we just don't know what to do or what is the correct way to train, to lose weight or achieve our fitness goals. I found a 'back to basics' approach worked best for me, a way to cut through the BS and just get results. The bottom line is that we need to get our bodies into a 'Negative Caloric Balance' simply put, this means USING more calories each day than we are CONSUMING. Your bodyfat is just stored calories that you haven't used yet, a piggy bank of calories if you will so if we eat 2500 calories in a day and use the same then nothing happens. Starving ourselves won't work cos this forces our bodies into Famine mode where it holds onto the stores of bodyfat and consumes muscle stores, not good. I weigh about the same as you and need a buddy, someone to compare notes with a couple of times a week, I've already dropped four stone so if this interests you then feel free to PM me, cheers.

Donie75

Me_right_one,
I was in a similar situation and I lost nearly 3 stone and hoping to drop another 2.
My basic diet is:
Breakfast:
Porridge 50 to 60g with chopped fruit, ie kiwis or dried cranberries. Make it with water and add a bit of milk afterwards.
Coffee with splenda sweetener.
Maybe a yoghurt or apple.
Tea break:
Coffee with splenda
1 slice of wholemeal bread with low fat cheese spread.
Lunch:
Chicken or fish salad. Lots of greens, tomato, cucumber, etc.
Or maybe a wrap with chicken or turkey & salad.
Chicken & veg soup.
Afternoon Snack:
Apple
Dinner:
Big chicken or fish salad
Baked chicken fillet stuffed with light phillidelphi.
Baked salmon steak or fish.
And loads of veg like Broccoli, spinach, etc.
Sweet potatoes and a red onion chopped and seasoned and baked in the oven are class.
Flavoured Couscous is really good too.
But portion size is the key in the high calorie areas.
Evening snack:
I'd often have some leftover dinner or veg.
I'm a sucker for a cup of tea and a biscuit at night so I still have a cuppa with two Cafe Noir biscuits or two Fruit Shorties. Only 35ish calories each.

Also, I bought a racing bike on the Bike To Work Scheme and I do around 100 to 140km per week. It's a great sport if you work shift too.
Try it, I'm totally hooked now.

Hope this helps.

bullvine

Not a diet expert but speakin as someone who was 19 stone and who shed 3 stone easily enough. This is what I did and it worked for me. As a sample day.

Simple rules:
No Beer/Cider, have a vodka and coke zero
No fried food, choc, crisps, cheese.

Typical diet for me.

Breakfast
2 slices brown bread + Dairy Gold
Tea with half spoon sugar

11 O'clock
fat free activia
Coffee

Lunch
Erin soupfull (Beef and Veg)
2 slice of toast(No Butter)

Dinner
Half Roast Chicken - No Skin
6 boiled Baby Potatoes, lots of boiled carrots and Peas
OXO gravy

Snacks
Pink Lady Apples
Chedder Popcorn
2 x Rivita with light philadelphia

Make sure you exercise everyday, especially a sport that you can't hide in, 3 times a week, like kickboxing.