Little bit of diet advice please

RoboRat

I used to be very fit but i smashed my knee about 5 years ago and I put on a fair bit of weight (went from 13.5 to 17 stone). I was also doing a lot of weightliftiing and not enough cardio so i started to get a bit 'chunky'

I have stopped doing weights at the start of the year and I am focussing more on cardio - playing football, Judo & MMA training and have come down to just over 15 stone.

I started to do a Paleo diet 2 months ago as I had a colleague who lost a lot of weight that way and whilst it was great for shedding pounds, I had very little energy when I was training and I thought it was counter productive for my needs so I stopped. I have modified it a bit and would like to see if people think this is a good diet for weight loss as I'm looking to shed about 2 stone.

I have read that if you don't eat enough your body stores fat so basically I'm looking to optimise my diet so that I can help shift this belly fat - I have a very slow metabolism and I have always found it very hard to get rid of it even though the rest of me is quite defined!

Breakfast 8am:Porridge, 2 x boiled eggs, one slice of wholegrain toast, 2 scoops of protein.

11am: Kiwi fruit, 2 tablespoons of brown rice, chicken breast (or another lean meat), some nuts, 2-3 tablespoons of mixed veg (broccoli, asparagus, spinach, peppers, green beans, onion) - basically its mixed into 1 stir fry.

Lunch 1.30: Apple plus above stir fry

Pre training 4pm: Bananna, Activia yoghurt, 2 scoops protein, plus above stir fry (smaller portion)

Training (usually at 6pm)

Post training 8pm: 2 x mandarin, 2 scoops protein, small meal with a small amount of carbs and some lean meat

I also take multivitamins & cod liver oil supplements.

I know that eating late is not advised but my training is very hard and if i don't eat anything I wake about 2am and im trying to eat the pillow because I'm so hungry!

I'm trying to be sensible and look to cut 1 to 2lbs a week as I have a lot of good muscle that I don't want to loose, just the fat on my stomach. I also like to have one day at the weekend where I can eat normally - I'm not talking about a pig out, just eat some pasta or have a takeaway!

What I am wondering is 2 things, (1) does the diet above look good and cover most bases and (2) would it be OK to add a little bit of sauce to the meals as they can be quite bland, if so, any suggestions of good low cal sauces

Any advice or input is most appreciated

BraziliaNZ

RoboRat wrote: »

I have read that if you don't eat enough your body stores fat

I don't know where you got that from but if you are eating less calories than you are expending then you will lose weight, it's as simple as that. Like if you spend more money than you have you go into overdraft. Humans aren't camels!

RoboRat

I don't know where you got that from but if you are eating less calories than you are expending then you will lose weight, it's as simple as that. Like if you spend more money than you have you go into overdraft. Humans aren't camels!

To be honest I would have thought so but there are so many articles out there about starvation mode and the fact that it can impair losing body fat. I really have no idea why i cant loose the belly as I train hard and eat well (always have ate well although usually 3 meals a day job - hence why im trying new diets.)

Even when I was doing the Paleo diet, I was taking in about 1300 - 1500 calories a day whilst training 2 hours (hard training burning at least 1,000 cal) and although I lost a bit of weight, for the amount i was eating versus the amount I was expending, I should have lost a lot more.

BraziliaNZ

RoboRat wrote: »

Even when I was doing the Paleo diet, I was taking in about 1300 - 1500 calories a day whilst training 2 hours (hard training burning at least 1,000 cal) and although I lost a bit of weight, for the amount i was eating versus the amount I was expending, I should have lost a lot more.

How much were you losing? A couple of years ago I got to 92kg or so, then I started on about 1200-1500 cals a day, and I was losing about 1.5kg a week for the first few weeks, then it slowed down and I plateaud at about 80kg.
From looking at what you eat now you're taking in at least 2500kcals a day. I'm about 82kg now and I lift heavy a few times a week and cycle 20k a day and I eat about 1500 a day and remain at this weight.
So in my opinion you're eating too much to lose weight. do you really need 3 of those stir frys? Why not just have one stir fry for lunch and leave it at that?
I take no supplements and can squat 1.5 times my body weight and bench press more than bodyweight. I only eat about 200g of meat a day so I really don't know why you need all the supplements and meat either.

Brel

I read that too, that for people who leave big gaps between their meals and follow a low calorie diet, they tend to store fat and have a slow metabolism. It makes sense really when you think about the similar idea of water retention.

Apparently smaller portions more often is the best way to approach it and I also read that varying your diet and reducing repetitively is also a good idea with regard to metabolism. These are just things I read, so they could be entirely wrong! There are always new theories published, many of them complete nonsense.

On a personal note, I found pilates surprisingly great for the stomach area.

RoboRat

How much were you losing?

Lost about 6KG over 2 months but it was unsustainable as I couldn't train properly due to lack of energy.

From looking at what you eat now you're taking in at least 2500kcals a day.

Hmmm I have clocked it at about 1600 cal (not including protein supplements), the meals I am eating are small, about 5 tablespoons of low fat food. Im eating regularly as I have been told by so many sources that little and often is better for losing weight than 3 meals a day (this is what confuses me, some people say one thing, others say another?)

I take no supplements and can squat 1.5 times my body weight and bench press more than bodyweight. I only eat about 200g of meat a day so I really don't know why you need all the supplements and meat either.

Again, I have been told that taking protein helps you build lean muscle which in turn helps burn fat. I didn't take protein when i was weight training (did once and I got massive) and I was benching 120kg.

As you can see, its confusing as hell as you read or are told one thing only for someone else to tell you that's wrong!

BraziliaNZ

Porridge – 150
2 x boiled eggs – 200
one slice of wholegrain toast – 80
2 scoops of protein – 250
Kiwi fruit – 15
2 tablespoons of brown rice – 50
chicken breast – 150
some nuts – 100
2-3 tablespoons of mixed veg – 50
Apple plus above stir fry – 300
Bananna, Activia yoghurt, 2 scoops protein, plus above stir fry – 600
2 x mandarin, 2 scoops protein, small meal with a small amount of carbs and some lean meat – 500

That’s my rough estimate, and I’m being pretty easy on you, that comes to 2450 – am i right? I’m just trying to help you not underestimate your calorie intake. Protein shakes are calories too.

RoboRat

That’s my rough estimate, and I’m being pretty easy on you, that comes to 2450 – am i right? I’m just trying to help you not underestimate your calorie intake. Protein shakes are calories too.

Fair enough, I wasn't putting the protein shakes down as they are 135 cal per 3 scoop portion and im taking 2 scoops which is 90 cal. Also, I only take it on days that I train and the morning after and I train Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays... so I take it:

Monday evening
Tuesday morn
Tuesday evening
Tuesday night
Weds morn
Thurs eveing
Thurs night
Fri morn
Saturday morn
Sat afternoon
Sat evening

I had estimated that the additional caloric intake with the protein would be offset by the training and still leave me in a deficit.

I realise that I may have been a bit unclear on my amounts so I have broken it down below - as ytou can see the stir fry is broken down into 3 smaller amounts. I was using myfitnesspal to give me a rough guide of calories and i was coming in with just under 1400 cal not including protein supplement. This is based on using:
360g of chicken (3 small breasts) (261cal)
100 grams of brown rice (111cal)
2 cups of steamed vegetables (80cal)
30 grams of nuts (170cal)
Porridge (208cal)
2 x boiled eggs (120cal)
1 slice toast (69cal)
Apple (72cal)
Bananna (105cal)
Kiwi (50cal)
2 small mandarin (74cal)
Activia (68cal)

Add an additional 200 calories for variance and its still 1600 cal - on a good 2 hour workout session I would burn at least 1000 cal so I should be in a decent deficit over the week.

I don't know, maybe I am not getting this right but I am trying to work this out properly and I appreciate the fact that you are taking your time to reply to me and offer assistance.

BraziliaNZ

I dont know it's just I seem to eat far less than you. On a usual weekday I'll have -

Sachet of porridge and skim milk - 200
Can of fish and salad and some dressing for lunch - 300
stir fry with chick/turkey some brown rice or brown spaghetti - max 600 id say

I drink milky coffees and might have a snack sometimes, something small, but I'm still not skinny and lifting pretty heavy. Maybe I just don't need as much as other people.
I can certainly pig out sometimes at the weekend though.