Getting Healthy - Where to start?

JackieBurkhart

Hey,

New here. I know that this is a very general question. I'm starting with 'the new me' tomorrow:rolleyes:. I've been piling on the pounds for the last few months.

I relation to diet, should I cut out carbs altogether, or reduce?

I was thinking of going with porridge for breakfast for the winter months and try to go low fat, low carb for dinner - as in a stir fry etc - just meat & loadsa veg. I usually eat out for lunch - so I'm hoping to stick to salads & soups.

I suppose my main question is whether I should cut out bread altogether? Is this sustainable?

I hoping to snack on fruit and low fat yogurts.

Any thoughts? Thanks..

Catari Jaguar

Hey and welcome! I love your username, That 70s Show rocks!

Post your stats and we can give better advice! Watch out for "low fat" foods - usually packed with sugar. Fats are fine and necessary. Meat and veg for dinner and your lunch ideas sounds good

Oh yea, it's totally doable to cut out bread! Takes a while to get used to it though.

Brenireland

yeah same here now for the new year please god...
I am around 5ft11 & 14 1/2 stone

(2&1/2 stone put on in under 3 months I got a bad injury,all good now do!)

& any advice diet-wise would be much appreciated,also I walk alot and cycle 15 miles a day.

God Bless&Happy New year!:)

JackieBurkhart

Thanks a mill!

I'm female, 30, 5ft6. I'm not sure of my weight - I used to be between 11 and 12 stone. I'm fairly sure I'm over 13stone now. I will weigh myself tomrw. This has only crept up since the summer - so I'm hoping to lose the first stone quickly enough, and work hard from there.

I think I will try to ditch the bread - I'm on the go a lot and often grab lunch from petrol stations etc, so I seem to be reaching for bread a lot.

I should also mention that I have had a lot of events in the last year & a lot going on personally (all good) so I have been drinking a lot. I seem to constantly have a glass of wine in my hand:o One of my new year resolutions is to cut way back on the booze - keep it to special occasions. I would imagine this will make a big difference!

tHE vAGGABOND

The sticky 'Nutrition 101' above is a great place to start, I found that and the others brilliant when I was starting to loose weight.

I also read the 'fitness - the basics' sticky in the fitness forum, for the exercise part

Welcome and good luck everyone

Frogdog

The Vaggabond has given great advice there, read the stickies here and on the Fitness forum. They're worth their weight in gold.

A couple of points on things you have said however - low-fat is not very healthy in my opinion, you're more likely to lose weight and keep it off with a diet that is moderate to high in healthy fats. Healthy fats can be found in oily fish, olive oils and any other oils, nuts, seeds, avocados etc. Think of Mediterranean diets. You'll find more information in the stickies.

Don't cut out carbs altogether. All fruit and veg are carbs. Cut out or limit the bad carbs while increasing the good carbs. Again, more info in the stickies.

Porridge is a great breakfast. As an extra suggestion, try get some protein into your breakfast as well. Maybe something like a couple of eggs?

For dinner, meat and loads of veg is a great option. Don't forget fish the odd time or maybe some form of fat like extra virgin olive oil over your veg/salad?

Cutting out bread is sustainable, I rarely eat bread myself and then only as a last resort. I find it's too high in calories with very little nutrition. There's much healthier options out there. Do a bit of research (stickies etc).

Careful with your snacks - I would advise against low-fat yoghurts (or low-fat anything for that matter). Generally the fat is removed and replaced with sugar in these products.

Anyway, hope my advice helps.

JackieBurkhart

Thanks Vaggabond & Frogdog for the helpful advice! I will check out the nutrition stickys & fitness forum.

Very interesting re fat being replaced by sugar. I will avoid the low fat options and go for 'good fats'. I hope to greatly reduce my carb intake - as mentioned I eat a lot of bread & I am definitely not eating enough fruit and veg. It's laziness really as I love veg - I just tend to avoid 'cooking' when I come home in the evening and tend to pick at bits and pieces in the fridge.

Hopefully I will be able to implement these changes and stick to it.
Thanks again for the tips - I don't seem to have the 'thanks' option for posts.

Frogdog

I don't think you have access to "thank" posts until you reach a certain number of posts yourself. It's something small like 10 or 15 maybe.

Macha

My advice would be not to try and be perfect from day one. It isn't a race and trying to change too many things at once is exhausting - literally.

So I'd say try to change one thing every week. First week, get your breakfast sorted out, then the next week move onto your dinners, then your packed lunches etc.

spaceylou

Best of luck with the 'new you'!

+1 on whoever said porridge is a great breakfast. There is a thread somewhere about all the things you can put in it/on it to stop it getting boring. For example its a great place to get another piece of fruit into your diet or some of those good fats from nuts.

JackieBurkhart

Cheers! I might update on how the new me is progressing..

Oh look - I just got the thanks option.

JackieBurkhart

My 'new me' got off the ground on Tuesday. Have got off to an okay start - Fruit for breakfast & chicken/veg stir frys for dinner.

I'm running into a bit of trouble at lunch - Bearing in mind that I am making a concerted effort to avoid bread as much as possible and keep carbs down; If faced with the option of Brown Bread sandwich for lunch or a wrap - which should I choose? Why are wraps associated with the healthier choice?