Healthy lifestyle/weight loss advice

Windorah

So I'm 25 female and desperate to lose at least a stone. I'm not overweight per se but iv gained this said stone in the past year and I need to lose it!

So I love exercising and get to the gym about 6 days a week, a typical gym session would be 5k on the treadmill, 10k bike and then some weights. I am loosely following the mi40 weights plan.
I have also just signed up for another marathon (my last one was near two years ago).

So unfortunately I know you can't out train a bad diet. And my diet is all over the place!! Breakfast is either a protein shake, porridge or pancakes (I love pancakes!!)

Lunch (if I eat it!) is fruit and yoghurt, salad with risotto or a shake if I didn't have one for breakfast,

Dinner is fish and veg, stir fry with cauliflower rice, steak and veg or.., cereal!

I should mention cereal can replace any or all of my meals on any given day..

At the weekends I usually eat out maybe Friday and Saturday night (bad very bad!) and have a few drinks (also bad!)

So any advice at all?! Try be gentle!!

vard

Your diet sounds fine, minus the cereal. If it's the occasional bowl - whatever, but you say you often substitute other foods/meals with it. What you haven't said is how much you're eating. That is key. Are you adding everything up correctly? Include any snacks and be precise. Know what calories you're consuming and have a rough idea of what you're using.

There's nothing wrong with splashing out a bit over the weekend, just don't go overboard and try eat sensibly. "Eating out" doesn't tell anyone very much. You can eat out and still stick to a regime. Likewise "a few drinks" is far too vague. What are you drinking? How much is a few?

Windorah

Hey,

Thanks for that. I think my portions are probably ok with main meals except I find I do be hungry after work or after running and instantly reach for a bowl of cereal or porridge or two and then I'm not hungry for anything proper!

I need to calculate my bmr. I'm always confused should I count calories or is it true that not all calories are equal and it's what you eat that's important. I'm also torn between cutting calories and still being able to click up running mileage. I try stay away from the obvious pasta, potatoes, bread etc.

Just from reading back on my post i may need to be more prepared with meals like preparing my lunch and dinner beforehand. Any ideas or websites for healthy food choices?!

runawaybishop

What sort of cereal? Most of them are sugary crap.

What would you have out on the Friday/Saturday?

You say your portions are ok but you are putting on weight so something is up, right? You should use an app/site like myfitnesspal to track what you eat for a week.

vard

All calories are equal in so far as energy consumption and expenditure is concerned. However, with your problem being feeling hungry you would probably do well to be selective in choosing where your calories come from. 100 calories of veg is a whole lot more filling than 100 calories of chocolate. When it come to satiety calories are not all equal. Then of course there are macronutrients/vitamins and various health and nutritional benefits which may lack in one calorie source compared to another. However, if you are strict with your consumption and manage to adhere to a strict calorie intake/deficit then it doesn't really matter where they come from.

I can't really offer advice on meals as I'm an incredibly lazy cook. I take a bag of raw mixed veg, microwave it, throw on a bit of sauce and whatever meat is lying around. That would be an average dinner... Boring, but I can't be arsed cooking.

One of my go-to snacks though are quest protein bars. They are slightly addictive... They have a very good nutritional profile. Rare for something that comes in bar form particularly protein bars, which tend to be processed muck - no different from candy with added protein. On top of that they have a lot of fibre and are very filling. They're pricey, but I'd recommend having a look at them.

SamforMayo

Try to pin point what you changed last year that caused you to put on a stone.
Porridge is good for breakfast or poached egg on toast very filling. Homemade soup is a healthy , tasty way to bulk up a meal or as a snack. Lunch needs to contain lean protein to keep you going, there is nothing wrong with pasta, rice etc especially when doing a lot of running but be careful what you add to them. Plan ahead: at the weekend plan your meals Monday to Friday and shop for that. Make homemade soup and freeze, some tomato based sauce and freeze in batches so it a quick dinner just add pasta, meat or veg. When you are going to run eat a good snack 2 hours before, plan your evening meal something that wont take long, on your return have a banana or yoghurt to keep you going. Hope that helps. If you eat well during the week , you can afford a treat or 2 at weekends, especially when you will be doing your lsr .

JJayoo

Are you making your own pancakes? Eggs/low fat milk/ blended oats/whey = a good pancake

Windorah

Hi

Thanks for all the replies! All good points.

Basically I went traveling for 6 months last year and in that time probably saw the inside of every McDonald's in the world hence the weight gain!

I never really had to watch what I ate before because I was so active but now it's time to get serious.

Sugary cereal crap is out.

I will look into those protein bars but would a protein shake be the same thing?

I make pancakes using mushed bananas, eggs and protein powder (looks horrific but tastes nice!) but I will try using oats!

As of this weekend I will plan all my meals. It will save me running to get to the shop after work too- win win!! I also need to track my calories!

Thanks guys! I could have figured this stuff out myself but sometimes you just need to see it written down!

king_of_inismac

As far as exercise/diet goes, I think it's easier (in my experience anyway) to lose weight by changing the later.

I would suggest three meals and two snacks per day and drinking 2 litres of water also.

Try to reduce carbs and increase protein. Also keep an eye on portion size. The difference between weight gain and loss can be lots of small things, and since your diet is decent to begin with, just some small adjustment is required.

P.s. this is coming from someone who's lost 4 stone in the last six months. I'm also gyming 4-5 times a week but I think it's really a good consistent healthy diet that keeps the weight off

Windorah

King_of_inismac congrats on the weight loss! That is a serious achievement!

You are dead right it is small changes from now on. My weight has been stable since I went back to work so a few little changes and ill be back in pre-McDonalds jeans!!!

Also +1 on the water.

king_of_inismac

Windorah wrote: »

King_of_inismac congrats on the weight loss! That is a serious achievement!

You are dead right it is small changes from now on. My weight has been stable since I went back to work so a few little changes and ill be back in pre-McDonalds jeans!!!

Also +1 on the water.

.

Oh one more thing I've found important, while absolute calories taken in (regardless of how/when) will determine weight gain/loss, I find I eat more if I leave more than 3 hours between meals/snack. I think this is due to insulin levels.

Best of luck with it

SamforMayo

king_of_inismac wrote: »

.

Oh one more thing I've found important, while absolute calories taken in (regardless of how/when) will determine weight gain/loss, I find I eat more if I leave more than 3 hours between meals/snack. I think this is due to insulin levels.

Best of luck with it

The above is very true, if I get too hungry I eat all around me as nothing seems to satisfy me! Also make sure what ever you are eating , you enjoy it, no point switching to something super healthy but hating it, this will cause you to give up. You sound like you have a good diet overall and at least you know why you gained. Small changes and the marathon training will take care of the rest. Which marathon are you signed up for?

Windorah

Iv signed up for the Limerick marathon in May so training has only officially started last week and I realised I needed more work than I thought!!!

SamforMayo

Windorah wrote: »

Iv signed up for the Limerick marathon in May so training has only officially started last week and I realised I needed more work than I thought!!!

You have plently of time, just stick to the plan! Good luck with it.

siochain

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