need to lose a stone

goodguy2011

hi all,

Ok here are my stats...Im a male aged 31, and weigh 82kg (or 13 stone).
Im 5ft 10 inches tall (or 178cm).

I want to lose about a stone in the coming 6 months or so. I work in an office job so dont get alot of exercise on my work time.
I do 20 mins walking into work daily,and 20 mins after work 5 days a week. I also do a very light stroll for 20 mins on my lunch break.(but its really a stroll,nice n slow!).
I play sport also,I do soccer and my season is due to start in the coming month. I will train for 1 hour once a week and play for 90 mins at the weekend. I occassionly get another hour of training if I can make it with work etc.
Im not afraid of exercise,I trained hard for many years but have found since the last 4 years or so Ive not been able to make as many trainings etc. But what Im saying is Im not afraid of work / exercise.

Now I dont drink alot, maybe twice a month and I dont smoke. Sleep wise Im not great getting about 6 to 6.5 hours a night.

Food wise I generally eat the following:
Breakfast at 8am - Slice of brown bread,butter and jam and a bananna.(Im trying to change it to an apple now instead of the brown bread) and a cup of tea.
Snack at 10am -ie. Bowl of museli and a cup of tea.
Lunch at 1pm - Usually a sandwich.(white bread,but I know I need to stop having white bread!).Filling is usually cheese,ham and peppers,occassionly coleslaw.
Snack at 4pm - Apple and maybe a cup of tea.
Dinner at 6pm - Consisting usually of maybe a pork chop (or a breast of chicken-oven cooked), vegetables (eg carrott,butternut squash) and potato. Im trying to reduce my potato intake and have tried some rice instead. Sometimes I dont have a full dinner and just have a cold salad plate instead perhaps with some smoked salmon etc. Cup of tea after my dinner.
Snack at 9pm - Maybe a bowl of ceral with low fat milk.

At weekends I do allow myself some sweet stuff and generally my Sunday dinner is bigger than normal portion sizes etc. Desert also on a Sunday!

So folks, thats my life. What Im hoping someone here will help me with is how I can try to reduce my weight from 13 stone to 12 stone. Im getting married in the coming 12 months,and would like to be fit and healthy for that,but also the soccer season at 31 is getting tough and I want to keep my place for another while more!
So how can I get my weight down a stone or so. Im started doing 2 mile jogs twice a week in the evenings now after work also.
I dont want to join a gym and there is no swimming pool nearby. I think my diet is as much an area to get a reduction in my weight as is the exercise. So if anyone can help me out or tell me what I can do, Id be so appreciative.

Ive noticed that over the past 3 years or so I am a wee bit heavier than Id like to be. Im not a fat person and its not very noticeable,but I know myself that I should be slimmer. My sister who only see's me every year or so also noticed it, so I need some help everyone.

Goodguy

sexonsundays

Hey goodguy!
May I suggest you eating leaner meats such as chicken and fish during the week. Fish is really good for you, especially oily ones like salmon. Salmon on brown soda bread is lovely and would be a good sandwhich replacement at lunch time, tuna works well also & they're both really good in a bagel Other than that your diet seems good. Green tea is also meant to be a good weight loss aid so you could try that too if you like.
Congrats on getting married and good luck!

Mars Bar

Honestly, with your time frame and cutting out rubbish and changing your diet a bit (I'll let the guys in the know deal with that bit) and regular exercise, you'll drop the pounds in no time. I have almost lost a stone in 12 weeks, you have double that time.

You do eat a lot of snacks though. Do you just eat the snack to fill the time or do you genuinely feel hungry at those times?

goodguy2011

Thanks, I do try to eat fish regularly. Generally I can honestly say I dont eat chips very often or fatty foods etc. I like chocolate but dont eat it anymore unless its a rare treat.(I went off it for lent and am keeping off it cept for maybe a bar a week or less).
The lunch is limited as I eat in the city, and have to go somewhere that make up food for you. I usually get a salad now for like 6 euro,but its damn big!!
Also the snack times, generally they are at 10 am (which is partially my breakfast to be honest) and the 4pm time is now a cuppa tea and an apple. The snack time before bed is the devil alright and it is the one time Im peckish alright. I just have a bowl of ceral (in low fat milk) and it solves the peckishness.
I dont fry food,its oven baked or poached usually,unless I have a lamb chop and will use the Georgeforeman then. Ive started stopping eating the fat on the meat I eat (the tastiest part lol!).
Ive really tried to eat more fruit in my diet. Its a good filler and is good for me I assume.
I love my cups of tea,normal tea that is! Ive gone off coffee for the past 2 months, I used to have to have a cup in the morning but have stopped it now for other reasons and its a win win for me as I dont take sugar in my tea but used to in my coffee! The next time I'll have a cup of coffee will be next year on my first day of honeymoon,that the goal, to keep me focused. I did a 2 mile jog while ago, and am finding that its getting easier each time I do it, although I wont increase the distance for another 2 weeks as Im due to go back pre season training also with the soccer.
Im also taking a simple multi vitamin tablet as when I increase my exercise regime and on pre season I pick up colds..but the multi vitamin helps me stave them off I think.
Can anyone else give me some suggestion as to what foods are good etc.

Goodguy.

corkcomp

my advice would be to cut out the 10am and 9pm meals. have a decent breakfast to keep you going until lunch like porridge, apples and berries and natural yoghurt or scrambled eggs and brown bread. The cereal at night probably isnt necessary either.. if you did just these two things you'd definately drop a stone in 6 months I reckon

marathonic

I'll add a bit of maths to this (I like to think of it this way because that's all weight loss is - maths).

• A mile of walking/running would typically burn 110 calories, regardless of speed
• The average walking speed of humans is 3mph
• A 45g serving of cornflakes with 200ml s/s milk is 260 calories

Given the above information, you can expect to burn about 330 calories in an hour of walking. Therefore, it would take between 45 and 50 minutes of walking to burn off that 9pm snack.

What I'm trying to say is that the excercise is good but it's all about the diet. From the experience of my recent weight loss (about 1 stone, 10lbs), I'd say it's about 80% diet, 20% excercise.

goodguy2011

Ok,that makes alot of sense. So when Im feeling peckish what would suggest I eat instead of the ceral etc.
What are good stomach fillers without the calories..I mean practical foods...I cant have salad all day every day etc.

Goodguy

corkcomp

apple would be fine at night or apple and some cottage cheese.. if you've eaten enough all day and a decent dinner I wouldnt see the need to eat later at night though, unless it was after a training session or something. strawberries and blueberries are low in calories too as are most vegetables.

Bottle_of_Smoke

goodguy2011 wrote: »

hi all,

Ok here are my stats...Im a male aged 31, and weigh 82kg (or 13 stone).
Im 5ft 10 inches tall (or 178cm).

I want to lose about a stone in the coming 6 months or so. I work in an office job so dont get alot of exercise on my work time.
I do 20 mins walking into work daily,and 20 mins after work 5 days a week. I also do a very light stroll for 20 mins on my lunch break.(but its really a stroll,nice n slow!).
I play sport also,I do soccer and my season is due to start in the coming month. I will train for 1 hour once a week and play for 90 mins at the weekend. I occassionly get another hour of training if I can make it with work etc.
Im not afraid of exercise,I trained hard for many years but have found since the last 4 years or so Ive not been able to make as many trainings etc. But what Im saying is Im not afraid of work / exercise.

Now I dont drink alot, maybe twice a month and I dont smoke. Sleep wise Im not great getting about 6 to 6.5 hours a night.

Food wise I generally eat the following:


At weekends I do allow myself some sweet stuff and generally my Sunday dinner is bigger than normal portion sizes etc. Desert also on a Sunday!

So folks, thats my life. What Im hoping someone here will help me with is how I can try to reduce my weight from 13 stone to 12 stone. Im getting married in the coming 12 months,and would like to be fit and healthy for that,but also the soccer season at 31 is getting tough and I want to keep my place for another while more!
So how can I get my weight down a stone or so. Im started doing 2 mile jogs twice a week in the evenings now after work also.
I dont want to join a gym and there is no swimming pool nearby. I think my diet is as much an area to get a reduction in my weight as is the exercise. So if anyone can help me out or tell me what I can do, Id be so appreciative.

Ive noticed that over the past 3 years or so I am a wee bit heavier than Id like to be. Im not a fat person and its not very noticeable,but I know myself that I should be slimmer. My sister who only see's me every year or so also noticed it, so I need some help everyone.

Goodguy

Right it will be pretty easy to lose a stone if that's your current diet. Basically far too many carbs. For excercise you are moderately active. Lifting weights would really speed things up and allow you more leeway with diet. Do that instead of the two mile jogs. You get plenty of cardio from football.

Breakfast at 8am - Slice of brown bread,butter and jam and a bananna.(Im trying to change it to an apple now instead of the brown bread) and a cup of tea.
Snack at 10am -ie. Bowl of museli and a cup of tea.

I'd say have eggs for breakfast and some nuts for a snack with your tea.

Lunch at 1pm - Usually a sandwich.(white bread,but I know I need to stop having white bread!).Filling is usually cheese,ham and peppers,occassionly coleslaw.

Brown bread whilst better won't make much difference.

Do you have the option of having salad instead? Salad with lots of meat eggs or fish.

Snack at 4pm - Apple and maybe a cup of tea.
Dinner at 6pm - Consisting usually of maybe a pork chop (or a breast of chicken-oven cooked), vegetables (eg carrott,butternut squash) and potato. Im trying to reduce my potato intake and have tried some rice instead. Sometimes I dont have a full dinner and just have a cold salad plate instead perhaps with some smoked salmon etc. Cup of tea after my dinner.
Snack at 9pm - Maybe a bowl of ceral with low fat milk.

If you follow my first two suggestions you won't have to change much here. Potatoes are actually quite nutritious. Wouldn't be concerned about switching to rice I'd suggest just have a smaller portion of potatoes.

You drink 4 cups of tea a day(and I suspect more :P) do you take sugar with it? If so get used to sugarless tea or get yourself a sweetener.

Instead of cereal heres a list of 20 snacksunder 100calories. That's less than half a bowl of cereal with milk.

http://womansday.ninemsn.com.au/health/diet/997243/20-snacks-under-100-calories

also are you a non-drinker? If not post up how much and how often you drink.

goodguy2011

Cheers, I think alot of your questions are mentioned in my posts but anyhow. I have actually recently switched to salads at lunch time,although the portions are big enough.(maybe I just need to reduce it abit).
No sugar in the tea, and drink rarely,maybe twice a month. Those 100 calorie snacks are a great idea,thanks.
I think its just down to be disciplined when Im peckish,I tried some almond flakes earlier on! Must start changing what I eat I guess.
Is cottage cheese alot better than normal cheese so then?

Thanks for the help so far.
goodguy

marathonic

goodguy2011 wrote: »

Cheers, I think alot of your questions are mentioned in my posts but anyhow. I have actually recently switched to salads at lunch time,although the portions are big enough.(maybe I just need to reduce it abit).
No sugar in the tea, and drink rarely,maybe twice a month. Those 100 calorie snacks are a great idea,thanks.
I think its just down to be disciplined when Im peckish,I tried some almond flakes earlier on! Must start changing what I eat I guess.
Is cottage cheese alot better than normal cheese so then?

Thanks for the help so far.
goodguy

Cottage cheese is a lot better but some people can't stand it. I've grown accustomed to it myself - kind of like Guinness which I used to detest

100 calorie snacks are a step in the right direction. A small handful of nuts, a yoghurt (greek natural is best) or some frozen berries (you can buy these in Tescos or Sainsburys) are probably better.

Any fruit is also good - Aldi are great with their weekly specials.

Porrige is better than muesli if you like it - some of the muesli options are fine, others are rediculous. This is why I find buying porrige easier - don't need to read the packaging to see how much sugar, salt, etc. are in them.

Bottle_of_Smoke

i came across rolled oats recently.great for people like myself who find the consistency of porridge to be vile.

goodguy2011

Ok so the food diet is very important.
So what are the best vegs to eat and the best fruits to eat?

Goodguy

marathonic

goodguy2011 wrote: »

Ok so the food diet is very important.
So what are the best vegs to eat and the best fruits to eat?

Goodguy

The number one tip I can give for veg is the following:

I found myself throwing a lot of stuff out as I do weekly shopping. Buy a bag of every type of frozen veg in the supermarket and steam two random types up for dinner each day - peas, sweetcorn, brocolli, sprouts, cauliflower, carrots, green beans, spinnach (great for omelletes), the list goes on.

Also, if you have access to a microwave at work, the microwaveable steamed veg bags are GREAT.

I bring a bag with me, fire it in the fridge at work and into the microwave at lunchtime and have it with a tin of tuna or a chicken breast that I boiled the night before.

If you're worried about frozen not being as good for you - don't. Some would argue that the frozen is better and fresher as it's frozen within hours of being picked. The fresh stuff you pick up in the supermarket is probably days old.