Good Diet, Loads of Exercise & Still can't shift the Fat!

fergietime

Hello,

So Basically I'm at a loss. I have a very good diet and go to the gym 4-5 times a week and still not shifting fat. I'm 24 years old and 5"6" and 11 stone. I know that seems fairly low but I'm not actually skinny. I have a belly and prob fairly high bodyfat %.

I head to the gym next to work a fair bit and do weight machines for 30-40mins. HIIT for 20 Mins with 1.5min jogging and 30sec running.

My Diet:

Breakfast - Porridge with Milk & Tea
Lunch: Breaded Fish with Veg Stirfry
Dinner: Chicken Curry or2 Steaks or 2 Breaded Chicken Fillets with Veg Stir Fry

In between for snacks I'd have an apple a day or even a few pears or grapes.

Would I benefit from drinking Protein Shakes? What am I doing wrong? Should I be doing more cardio to loss fat or what?

I'd rather lose fat than build muscle!

Cheers,

Dan

Blatter

fergietime wrote: »

Hello,

So Basically I'm at a loss. I have a very good diet and go to the gym 4-5 times a week and still not shifting fat. I'm 24 years old and 5"6" and 11 stone. I know that seems fairly low but I'm not actually skinny. I have a belly and prob fairly high bodyfat %.

I head to the gym next to work a fair bit and do weight machines for 30-40mins. HIIT for 20 Mins with 1.5min jogging and 30sec running.

My Diet:

Breakfast - Porridge with Milk & Tea
Lunch: Breaded Fish with Veg Stirfry
Dinner: Chicken Curry or2 Steaks or 2 Breaded Chicken Fillets with Veg Stir
Fry

In between for snacks I'd have an apple a day or even a few pears or grapes.

Would I benefit from drinking Protein Shakes? What am I doing wrong? Should I be doing more cardio to loss fat or what?

I'd rather lose fat than build muscle!

Cheers,

Dan

How long have you had this diet and routine for?

Don't concentrate on your weight on the scales. Get your bf% measured in the gym by staff and measure your waist, take pictures of yourself every week.

I'm pretty sure if you stick to your current routine you will see changes.

Maybe drop the bread chicken and fish for fresh cuts with no bread and if you want have eggs for breakfast instead of porridge.

Maybe do some bodyweight workouts like push ups, pull ups etc and learn how to do Squats instead of doing the machine weights.

Other than that, keep it up and the results will come.

fergietime

SOCCER4LIFE wrote: »

How long have you had this diet and routine for?

Don't concentrate on your weight on the scales. Get your bf% measured in the gym by staff and measure your waist, take pictures of yourself every week.

I'm pretty sure if you stick to your current routine you will see changes.

Maybe drop the bread chicken and fish for fresh cuts with no bread and if you want have eggs for breakfast instead of porridge.

Maybe do some bodyweight workouts like push ups, pull ups etc and learn how to do Squats instead of doing the machine weights.

Other than that, keep it up and the results will come.

About 3 Weeks, Suppose when I say it like that, I should be more patient. Well to be honest I used to be eating lots of bread before this so I'd rather keep the breaded fish as I never eat Fish before this. Maybe in a while I switch to a better one than Donegal Catch or any of them.

I think I will start to take pictures. I was looking at starting protein shakes, Will I bother or will it make a difference?

Timewise Its far handier for me doing weightmachines? Are the Weight Machines really not that effective or something? I hope to get my bf measured next week.

Thanks for the reply

Dan

Transform

protein drinks are NOT going to change a thing - look at training harder, lifting heavier stuff, get really good at body weight movements and your diet is sorely lacking more good fats.

Blatter

fergietime wrote: »

About 3 Weeks, Suppose when I say it like that, I should be more patient. Well to be honest I used to be eating lots of bread before this so I'd rather keep the breaded fish as I never eat Fish before this. Maybe in a while I switch to a better one than Donegal Catch or any of them.

I think I will start to take pictures. I was looking at starting protein shakes, Will I bother or will it make a difference?

Timewise Its far handier for me doing weightmachines? Are the Weight Machines really not that effective or something? I hope to get my bf measured next week.

Thanks for the reply

Dan

Yeah 3 weeks wouldn't be long enough to see proper results at all, but are you feeling more energetic, and happier with yourself?


There is no need for the protein shakes, they would just add unwanted calories to your diet. You seem to be getting enough protein into your diet with the 3 servings of meat/fish a day.

Fair enough if you want to stick to the breaded fish/chicken. The rest of your diet is good so you should get away with it easily. I'd just point out to you that Donegal catch, Bird's eye etc. can be very processed and fresh fish/meat is much, much healthier for you.

You could add in some fish oil/tablets to get more good fats into your diet too. Good fats are essential.

No, nothing to do with time. Bodyweight exercises such as press ups, pull ups, squat etc. are compound exercises. Compound exercises work several body muscles at once. The more body muscles you work = the more calories you burn. If you could get somebody to show you how to do the deadlift, benchpress and squat using free weights, all the better, as they are the most effective compound exercises.

Machine weights can be OK but often only work one muscle group at a time. You will get alot better and faster results with the exercises I've mentioned above.

Hope this helps.

rememberthis

One change I would make is replace the milk in your porridge with water. That's what I've done. Chop in a banana to the porridge and it will keep you fuller longer.

Transform

rememberthis wrote: »

One change I would make is replace the milk in your porridge with water. That's what I've done. Chop in a banana to the porridge and it will keep you fuller longer.

emm not quite sure thats a significant change as you are adding back the calories with the banana and a fruit sugar to someone that is already eating plenty of fruit.

fergietime

Thanks for all the advice, very much appreciated!! I'm joining a new gym in may and hope to start doing free weights and compound weights.

Also wondering how effective do people think HIITis for losing fat? Also is it ok to do weights 5 days a week with HIIT mon-friday? I know some people prefer rest days but I'd rather kick on and do 5 days a week?

Also for when I join the gym, should I look at starting strength or any recommended programs?

Cheers

Dan

Blatter

fergietime wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice, very much appreciated!! I'm joining a new gym in may and hope to start doing free weights and compound weights.

Also wondering how effective do people think HIITis for losing fat? Also is it ok to do weights 5 days a week with HIIT mon-friday? I know some people prefer rest days but I'd rather kick on and do 5 days a week?

Also for when I join the gym, should I look at starting strength or any recommended programs?

Cheers

Dan

HIIT is highly effective for fat loss. Studies have shown that it's several times more effective than low intensity cardio over longer distances.

It's not something that you can just start doing five days a week, though. After a HIIT session, you should be absolutely wrecked. You should be barely able to breathe and on the verge of getting sick. This would not be a good idea to do 5 days a week, it would drain you. Being brutally honest, I would suggest you do 1 HIIT session and 1 steady cardio session a week and do weights 3 times a week. That's more than enough IMO. You can do the cardio and weights on the same days if you like.


As for the weights routine, starting strength is a popular one around here and does yield very good results. Here's the starting strength website There is a fitness log forum here where you can track your progress. SS is not the only way to go about getting your goals, IMO bodyweight exercises that you can do at home with little or no equipment will yield excellent results.

The most important thing in all of this is that your diet is consistent and you are well prepared. After that, train hard and the results will come.

rememberthis

Transform wrote: »

emm not quite sure thats a significant change as you are adding back the calories with the banana and a fruit sugar to someone that is already eating plenty of fruit.

Works for me

Blatter

rememberthis wrote: »

Works for me

It's impossible that you could notice any sort of change in weight that was directly related to the fact you swapped milk and porridge for water and a banana in porridge.

The calorie difference would be minuscule.

rememberthis

Well it works for me, because I am lactose intolerant.... so I don't feel bloated. Please ask first before making accusations.

Blatter

rememberthis wrote: »

Well it works for me, because I am lactose intolerant.... so I don't feel bloated. Please ask first before making accusations.

Then why in God's name advise the OP to make the change when he never complained of being bloated or never mentioned anything about being lactose intolerant?

rememberthis

Because I was trying to help. Get over it :cool:

Blatter

rememberthis wrote: »

Because I was trying to help. Get over it :cool:

Oh I get you were trying to help, but what made you think it would help?

rememberthis

No offence.... but would drawing a picture help you understand better?

Blatter

rememberthis wrote: »

No offence.... but would drawing a picture help you understand better?

Well seeing as you're having a hard time of it explaining it in words then it might be worth a shot to draw a picture.

brendansmith

OP I hope all this petty sqabbling is answering your question.
Lads fight over the mention of a banana........:rolleyes:

Try reducing your portion sizes.
Eat 6 times a day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner and have snacks like fruit or low fat yogurt in between meals so that on average you are eating every 3 hours.

Now lads, continue
'Milk v water & banana' I believe.

rememberthis

As you are having a hard time understanding in words, then I can't be bothered drawing a picture. Water and banana win. That is all.

Blatter

brendansmith wrote: »

OP I hope all this petty sqabbling is answering your question.
Lads fight over the mention of a banana........:rolleyes:

Try reducing your portion sizes.
Eat 6 times a day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner and have snacks like fruit or low fat yogurt in between meals so that on average you are eating every 3 hours.

Now lads, continue
'Milk v water & banana' I believe.

No petty squabbling from me.

Just pulling somebody up who is clearly offering misguided and incorrect advice.:rolleyes:

---

Why eat 6 times a day? Why make sure you are eating every 3 hours? What difference will that make?

metamorphosis

Unless people want to take a break from the forum, take the squabbles to PM

rememberthis

Seriously, is this SOCCER4LIFE picks on everyone day. You are always at it bless.

brendansmith

SOCCER4LIFE wrote: »

Why eat 6 times a day? Why make sure you are eating every 3 hours? What difference will that make?

The human body, when it thinks its being starved will store fat.
Eating every 3 hours during the day will eliminate this storing.

Well at least thats what I was told and I have lost alot of weight recently.

Blatter

brendansmith wrote: »

The human body, when it thinks its being starved will store fat.

True. The body will utilize the proteins within muscle tissue as a fuel source first rather than use up fat reserves.

brendansmith wrote: »

Eating every 3 hours during the day will eliminate this storing.

Yes and eating once a day will eliminate this storing too, as long as you eat enough. All that matters is the amount of calories you take in. It's irrelevant whether you eat 1,2,3 or 10 times a day.

In fact, studies have shown people who practice fasting on a regular basis, can prime their bodies to abstain from food without burning lean tissue.

brendansmith wrote: »

Well at least thats what I was told and I have lost alot of weight recently.

Well done on your weight loss but don't think it's directly related to the amount of times you eat a day. It's simply down to you consuming fewer calories than your maintenance calorific requirement.:)

brendansmith

Fair enough.
It sounds like you know alot more about this kind of thing than me.

Blatter

brendansmith wrote: »

Fair enough.
It sounds like you know alot more about this kind of thing than me.

Nutrition is one of those things where a little information can be a dangerous thing:)

There's so many myths and common beliefs out there that are wrong. It's also a very subjective topic which only adds to the ambiguity.

Transform

brendansmith wrote: »

The human body, when it thinks its being starved will store fat.
Eating every 3 hours during the day will eliminate this storing.

Well at least thats what I was told and I have lost alot of weight recently.

that my friend is not true and the correct answer has been posted

--Kaiser--

SOCCER4LIFE wrote: »

Nutrition is one of those things where a little information can be a dangerous thing:)

I am always saying this to co-workers when they make ignorant comments on my meals (or lack thereof)