Critique my new lifestyle changes plz guys

Rock Paper Scissors

Hey guys,

Just recently i decided to change my lifestyle and get healthy. I joined the gym and cut out ALL the junk food. I'm currently 31 and weigh 12st 1 and am 5ft 10". My BMI is 24.2 I have a very noticeable beer belly and want rid of it. Up until now I have never exercised in my life. I want to change

Here is a typical day for me since I started eating healthy:

Breakfast 8am: Small portion of bran flakes topped with a tablespoon of milled linseed, pumpkin seeds & sunflower seeds with low fat milk.

2 days a week I will have scrambled egg for breakfast (3 eggs)

I then to to the gym for about 2 hours, i walk/jog for 3kms, cycle for 6 kms, cross trainer for a while, swim a couple of lengths and do a small upper body workout on the machines

(note: it is my intention to do the gym 7 days per week, i will increase my time spent in the gym as i get more fit)

Lunch 12pm: 3 or 4 pieces of fresh fruit diced up in a bowl, I try to mix it up every day, one day i might have an apple, kiwi and banana........ The next day i might have an orange, a plum and a peach.

Dinner 5:30pm:Dinner would consist of a full salad including ham, small portion of cheese, onion, carrott, tomato, celery, beetroot, lettuce etc and maybe a breast of chicken.

Other days I might have a fillet of fresh cod, a small portion of potatoes and a large portion of green beans.

Tea 8pm: 2 rye crackers with some low fat philidephia and a cup of green tea

I also drink around 2 litres of filtered ice cold water every day and a ridiculous amount of green tea (about 10 cups per day). I absolutely love the stuff and have been drinking it for years.

The diet above is a typical day for me now. I stated this diet/fitness 2 weeks ago and have lost 5lbs already so i'm really motivated.

I also take omega 3 and super strength garlic supplements every day.

I have cut out everything I love such as crisps, biscuits, cider, chocolate etc.

The one treat I do have now is 5 or 6 gin & slimline tonics on a Saturday with my mates, i know this is bad but its an improvement over the 10 pints of bulmers I would have normally drank.

I'm only in the gym 2 weeks and feel so much better.

Does my diet/fitness sound ok to you or are there any changes you suggest I make?

Would appreciate any comments/opinions

Thanks guys

Alan

gavtron

Hi Alan,

congrats on starting to make some positive changes, here's some comments from me...

Rock Paper Scissors wrote: »

Hey guys,

Just recently i decided to change my lifestyle and get healthy. I joined the gym and cut out ALL the junk food. I'm currently 31 and weigh 12st 1 and am 5ft 10". My BMI is 24.2 I have a very noticeable beer belly and want rid of it. Up until now I have never exercised in my life. I want to change

Here is a typical day for me since I started eating healthy:

Breakfast 8am: Small portion of bran flakes topped with a tablespoon of milled linseed, pumpkin seeds & sunflower seeds with low fat milk.

2 days a week I will have scrambled egg for breakfast (3 eggs)
Bran flakes, and breakfast cereals are not all that good for you, no matter what kellogs would have you believe, mostly full of sugar/salt. I'd stick to the eggs, try an omelet with some veg in it perhaps? Or some porridge with some nuts and seeds/fruit?

I then to to the gym for about 2 hours, i walk/jog for 3kms, cycle for 6 kms, cross trainer for a while, swim a couple of lengths and do a small upper body workout on the machines
(note: it is my intention to do the gym 7 days per week, i will increase my time spent in the gym as i get more fit)

You don't need to spend more time in the gym, 2hrs is a pretty long time anyway. You need to make your workouts count rather than just spending a bunch of time there. You've a lot of cardio there, mix it up with some full body weight routines and add some intervals for your cardio instead. They can be better than just steady state for dropping fat, which is your main goal right? The beer belly?

Lunch 12pm: 3 or 4 pieces of fresh fruit diced up in a bowl, I try to mix it up every day, one day i might have an apple, kiwi and banana........ The next day i might have an orange, a plum and a peach.

That's not a whole lot of food to be eating for a guy of your size, plus there's a lot of sugar in fruit. You should try getting some protein into you at every meal.

Dinner 5:30pm:Dinner would consist of a full salad including ham, small portion of cheese, onion, carrott, tomato, celery, beetroot, lettuce etc and maybe a breast of chicken.

Other days I might have a fillet of fresh cod, a small portion of potatoes and a large portion of green beans.

Dinner is not too bad, nothing wrong with a salad, but if it was me i'd be wanting more food in general throughout the day. you need to fuel your body effectively for your training and fat loss/muscle building. An extra bit of muscle would be alright wouldn't it?

Tea 8pm: 2 rye crackers with some low fat philidephia and a cup of green tea

I also drink around 2 litres of filtered ice cold water every day and a ridiculous amount of green tea (about 10 cups per day). I absolutely love the stuff and have been drinking it for years.

The diet above is a typical day for me now. I stated this diet/fitness 2 weeks ago and have lost 5lbs already so i'm really motivated.

I also take omega 3 and super strength garlic supplements every day.

I have cut out everything I love such as crisps, biscuits, cider, chocolate etc.

The one treat I do have now is 5 or 6 gin & slimline tonics on a Saturday with my mates, i know this is bad but its an improvement over the 10 pints of bulmers I would have normally drank.
I'd say it's an improvement alright, but i don't know for sure. you COULD cut it out altogether but then you'd be no fun and have no friends

I'm only in the gym 2 weeks and feel so much better.

Does my diet/fitness sound ok to you or are there any changes you suggest I make?
As I said, it's a good start, more to work on. have you taken a read of the Fitness/Nutrition Basics stickies? Tons of good info there. Final notes, eat more protein and fats, cut down on the cardio and do some more weights.

Would appreciate any comments/opinions

Thanks guys

Alan

Best of luck!

Rock Paper Scissors

thanks for taking the time to reply gavtron.

when you say stick to egg/porridge for breakfast, would it be unhealthy to eat 3 scrambled eggs every morning of the week?

Can you give me some examples of what you mean by full body weights?

When you say eat more protein & fats, can you give me some examples of these?

Sorry about all the questions

Cheers

gavtron

no problem dude, glad to help!

Rock Paper Scissors wrote: »

thanks for taking the time to reply gavtron.

when you say stick to egg/porridge for breakfast, would it be unhealthy to eat 3 scrambled eggs every morning of the week?
no, it might get boring though so no harm in changing it up

Can you give me some examples of what you mean by full body weights?
a typical gym session for me would be squats, bench press, chin ups and sit ups or something like that. plus you could add in some sprints/intervals on a bike/rower at the end


When you say eat more protein & fats, can you give me some examples of these?
Protein: beef, turkey, chicken, lamb, pork, fish...anything that once ran, swam or flew and somebody had to kill it to eat it.
Fats: coconut oil, olive oil, nuts, fish oil etc.

Sorry about all the questions

Cheers

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

and this one:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055157091

they explain things much better than i could!
also, focus on getting good quality food into you, if you can cook, cook all your meals. if you can't learn how!