First ever diet

TheBiz

18 year old here currently in Leaving Cert.
I want to start a diet, I've never attempted one before but I've noticed I'm gaining more weight now, probably from inactivity.
I'm going to swim regular (I'm a lifeguard but not currently working)
Possibly a morning jog and generally eating less sugar, starch and general crap.

How do I make that change? I don't like fruit or veg because I rarely it it except with dinner.
I want to eat to not only lose weight but also help mentally with the Leaving Cert coming up and all.
So basically I need suggestions on how to start improving my diet and general fitness and health,

I've also noticed recently that my stomach grumbles/growls now! I never felt hunger before but now I need to eat nearly every hour..
Any help would be appreciated thanks!

Slydice

If it was me... and I'm looking back at the leaving cert.. like an awful lot of years

Anyway.. if it was me.. and it was this close to the leaving cert.. I wouldn't go changing anything about my life.. except maybe studying more.. until after the leaving cert.

Cos, you'll have all the time in the world after the leaving cert

Mars Bar

TheBiz wrote: »

18 year old here currently in Leaving Cert.
I want to start a diet, I've never attempted one before but I've noticed I'm gaining more weight now, probably from inactivity.
I'm going to swim regular (I'm a lifeguard but not currently working)
Possibly a morning jog and generally eating less sugar, starch and general crap.

How do I make that change? I don't like fruit or veg because I rarely it it except with dinner.
I want to eat to not only lose weight but also help mentally with the Leaving Cert coming up and all.
So basically I need suggestions on how to start improving my diet and general fitness and health,

I've also noticed recently that my stomach grumbles/growls now! I never felt hunger before but now I need to eat nearly every hour..
Any help would be appreciated thanks!

You'll have to suck it up and start eating fruit and veg more. Try different ways of cooking it and with different spices and you'll no doubt find a way to like your veg.

Fruit with greek yogurt or in porridge is great.

Cutting sugars from processed food, fizzy drinks and sweets is definitely a good start.

Zillah

First of all, get the idea of "going on a diet" out of your head. You should learn how to eat well and then eat that way for the rest of your life. Otherwise, best case scenario, you managed to lose some weight and then gain it again.

Secondly, as has been said, your number one goal needs to be to find some fruit and veg that you like. It's such a fundamental part of a healthy diet - really it should constitute the bulk of your diet - that you'll be fighting uphill forever more otherwise. A lot of Irish people grow up having carrots and cabbage boiled to hell as their only veg. We tend to scare people off. Go do some shopping and pick a bunch of veg you've never really had before, or only had boiled by mom. Google some ways to cook it. Personally I stirfry a lot of veg - the trick is to make sure it stays a little crunchy. You could get a healthy cook book and try doing one of the meals in it, say, once a week to get yourself used to it. I don't agree with everything they say but the Happy Pear lads have some great healthy dinners in their books.

You've probably gotten used to a very processed diet, and it can be tricky to re-teach your body how to eat properly, but it'll get easier if you stick with it. You're young, fix it now and it'll be much easier than leaving it until later.

Dropping the sugar and other fast carbs is a good idea - they're probably why you're getting so hungry. They cause a blood sugar spike and then acrash, which causes that cycle of hunger pangs. Fruit and veg fill you up and you won't feel inclined to eat as much.

Post up a typical day's food so we know where you're at.

TheBiz

A typical diet doesn't really exist for me but for my school day-

Morning:
-bowl of cereal (crunchy nut/coco pops)
-tea, coffee.

Break (11ish):
A sandwich/panni, cookies and maybe a chocolate bar.

Probably eat a bar or something between classes (constant hunger)

Lunch (12:40):
Stomachs been growling since break if I haven't ate something,
Eat the other half of sandwich and maybe another, another bar and/or nuterigrain bar.

Eat something (not always) before school finishes.

Before after school study (4:00)
Go to shop get a packet of crisp + mentos/bar

Break (5:15):
Bar or whatever I left for this break.

Home (6:15 - 11/12:00)
4/5 cups of tea, dinner (whatever was made, usually chicken curry/chicken + mash) another few biscuits bars etc.
Bed at around 12 asleep at 1:30 or later, up again at 8..

To be honest I don't know how I'm not fatter.
I'm 5'7/8, roughly 10 stone, only a 28/30 inch waist and still able to keep to the other lads who play on teams, most can't believe I eat such s***e yet I'm still as fit as them with asthma!

So my diet's atrocious.

Zillah

TheBiz wrote: »

(crunchy nut/coco pops)
cookies and maybe a chocolate bar
a bar
another bar
mentos/bar
Bar
biscuits bars etc.

I got diabetes reading this post.

Your diet is almost entirely carbs. You've got virtually no fats and you don't seem to get any real protein until dinner. You've only gotten away with this so far because you are so young. This diet is going to start having severe consequences very soon.

What do you think about what we said about fruit and veg?

Step 1 would be to have a proper breakfast and cut out as much of the snacking as possible. Coco-pops are dessert, nutritionally speaking - they've as much sugar as ice cream. In your case I think even a fry in the morning would be much better for you. Get some fat and protein in there so you don't get hungry too soon.

Everything is wrong with your diet, everything. It's all backwards. I'm not sure where to even start.

livedadream

Oh to be 18 again!

Listen youve recognised the problem, all the sugar is literally going to your head,

try having mroe complex carbs, prooidge, wholegrains etc,

veg isnt that bad once you get used to it,

the one thing I would say is all the dairy and asthma not ideal- look i dont think its scientific of anything but youth is on your side at the moment if you were 30 plus eating like that youd be very very unhealthy and chubby and a bit grey looking...

do you do your own cooking or is there a parent or someone?

if so ask them for fish, salmon wasnt the salmon of knowledge for nothing ya know, loads of omegas to help the brain. lean red meat. turkey chicken etc, stir fries are get to get in extra veg.

enjoy your treats but try to cut them down, the leaving cert is stressful let the kid have their mars bars. jsut dont let it become a habit,

google recipes donal Skehan has some great simple recipes in his first book for boosting immune systems and building a healthy body, cooking good for stress too :-)

worse case scenario hit up the social scientific (home ec) teacher and ask them for some advise.

Alf Veedersane

The reason for your feelings of hunger is your diet. You keep using bars to counter the hunger but they're probably just making matters worse.

Given that you're coming up to the LC, there are some basic changes you can make that will improve things in the short term.

Breakfast: Ditch crunchy nut flakes/coco pops in favour of something like porridge, scrambled eggs, etc etc.

Stop eating bars to ease the huger. Have some more fruit, Greek yoghurt, etc instead. Go to bed earlier. Drink more water.

hardCopy

One non foodie tip. Don't let dietary research distract you from your real studies. From my own experience, study time always inspires me to take on all sorts of projects and ideas completely unrelated to my studies. Make a to-do list for after your exams and put diet at the top.

Best of luck with the exams.