Weight loss - how's my diet?

Kevo

Hi,
I'm attempting to lose about 5 kilos in body fat.

I already have a calorie deficit most days but I would like some advice on how to improve.

Diet:

weekdays:
breakfast - 2 weetabix pieces + milk, maybe a tsp of sugar but not always.

lunch - two pita breads, two slices of a pepper, chicken and three small tomatoes.
- mango.
- Diet coke - low calorie but still need to cut this out.

dinner - varies but generally some meat along with broccoli, corn or potato.
- after dinner I usually have an orange and/or mango

In between I might have a snack two or three times a week. This would usually be something sweet and it obviously needs to be cut out.

On weekends I will probably eat one takeaway and have about 5/6 pints of beer. Aside from that my calorie intake is similar to weekdays.

Exercise:
Monday - Friday - very little exercise. Just walking to and from work and the occasional run at night.

Saturday - run ~5k

Sunday - cycle ~ 20k
- interval training (running up steps)

So my main problems from what I can see are that I need to cut out the snacks, drink less beer (might switch to wine) and do more midweek exercise.

I'm mostly interested in ideas for food at each meal and good cardio exercises that I can do during the week.
Any advice appreciated.
Thanks

BobLeeSwagger

Hi there,

I've recently changed some small habits in my diet and have made a big difference.
First of all you need to cut out soft drinks and keep sweet stuff to a minimum. Snacks should consist of fruits, vegetables and nuts and you should aim for around two liters of water throughout the day.
As you have said yourself you need to go easy on the beer and takeaways. if you do happen to end up in the takeaway just go for a for plain chicken wrap for minimal damage.

As for exercise if you have a bike try and get out on it. Push ups, sit ups and some light weights can make such a difference.

Hope this can help
BLS

Oisinjm

Kevo wrote: »

Diet:

weekdays:
breakfast - 2 weetabix pieces + milk, maybe a tsp of sugar but not always.

lunch - two pita breads, two slices of a pepper, chicken and three small tomatoes.
- mango.
- Diet coke - low calorie but still need to cut this out.

dinner - varies but generally some meat along with broccoli, corn or potato.
- after dinner I usually have an orange and/or mango

In between I might have a snack two or three times a week. This would usually be something sweet and it obviously needs to be cut out.

On weekends I will probably eat one takeaway and have about 5/6 pints of beer. Aside from that my calorie intake is similar to weekdays.

Hi Kev,

It seems you know yourself the majority of things you need to cut out.

For breakfast I'd try move away from weetabix and processed foods. Think eggs. Omlettes, scrambled eggs + turkey rashers, boiled eggs in a salad. Throw some greens in there too, spinach/green beans/broccoli.

For lunch I'd remove the bread. Some ideas might be to use lettuce as a wrap instead? Something like this. Or else a leafy green salad with some chicken. Throw spices etc on there to keep it interesting. Berries also go great in salads I find.

Dinner sounds good, meat and veg. Play around with different spices and herbs and find what you like. In this weather the BBQ also makes everything delicious.

Snacks try have some nuts instead of something sweet. You could also make your own protein bars or buy some Quest Nutrition bars. They're delicious.

Link to Quest Bars
Protein Bar Recipe Thread

I'm mostly interested in ideas for food at each meal and good cardio exercises that I can do during the week.
Any advice appreciated.
Thanks

As for cardio do some HIIT and mix it up to keep it interesting. Skipping, sprints whatever you can think of.

Hope this helps,
Oisín

Kevo

Thanks guys. It's useful advice.
Kev