Sam
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Registered: 24th Dec 99
Location: West Midlands
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Limiting your calorie intake helps - I lost over 4 stone in under a year by doing that and sod all exercise!
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Carl
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Registered: 9th May 04
Location: Jimmy Bennett's la la land.
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I'd start with scraping the fizzy drinks, make sure you keep eating but look at the portion sizes, and try and cut the snacks out inbetween. Don't try and change everything all at once or you will just set yourself up for a fail 9/10.
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AlunJ
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Registered: 3rd Apr 07
Location: Newport
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cut eating&drinking the shit in the week, maybe get down the gym or go for a run/bike ride every now again. Allow yourself a treat on the weekend.
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DizzyRebel
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Registered: 2nd Jan 09
Location: Lincoln
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First you need to be comitted, if you dont want to get healthy and wont comitt then it wont be a sucessful venture and you will probably end up fatter than before.
Your diet is poor and you are obviously very inactive, my first advice is to get interested in exercise, start looking up training and nutrition, join a few forums and websites such as uk-muscle and t-nation for inspiration and help. Take an interest and you will actually want to sort yourself out.
Dont diet, as diets have an end and we all know what happens at the end of the diet... So adopt a healthy lifestyle and live by it. ill post you a nutrition for newbies article and please for your own sake read it, save it, print it off and read it again till you understand the basics and how to apply them.
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DizzyRebel
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Registered: 2nd Jan 09
Location: Lincoln
User status: Offline
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Beginners trying to lose body fat don't need to follow an advanced fat loss program in order to get results. If you're fat, you're fat, and following an advanced training program won't necessarily speed up the process. All you really need to do is move.
The same can be said about newbie nutrition. Many people new to the fitness game are quick to ask how often they should be performing carb refeeds or what advanced supplements they should be taking, but all they really need to focus on are some basic guidelines.
One of the hardest things to do as a personal trainer is to get new clients to understand that what they eat and how they eat it plays a significant role in their overall progress. Even if you're not a trainer or strength coach, I'm sure many of you are often bombarded with questions and comments from friends and family members concerning nutrition.
Let's begin!
Not a day goes by where I don't hear one of the following:
"I eat really well."
"My diet is fine."
"I make great food choices."
The reality is that most people aren't making good nutritional choices and most have no idea what they're putting down their pie holes. If you're eating so well, then why are you 20 pounds overweight? If your diet is so flawless, then why do you always feel lethargic and have low energy? If you make such great nutritional choices, why haven't you, while standing, been able to see your penis in over five years?
Rules to Follow:
The goal now (read: not tomorrow, not next week, now) is to just make better food choices and improve your daily eating habits. There's no need to get cute or technical with things. There's no need to count calories daily, nor is there any need to worry about macronutrient percentages.
Instead, I want you to follow these simple rules for the next six to twelve months. In doing so, I can guarantee you'll feel and look better.
1. Eat Breakfast Every Day!
This is simple. There's no excuse not to eat breakfast every day. It takes no more than two minutes to whip up a bowl of oatmeal or blend a protein shake with a piece of fruit. Anyone who says they don't have time to make breakfast in the morning is being flat-out lazy and just doesn't want to make the effort to change. Get up fifteen minutes earlier if you have to.
Studies show that people who eat breakfast on a consistent basis tend to be significantly leaner than those who don't. Additionally, breakfast is a great way to stunt the release of cortisol (a hormone that tells your body to store fat). Start each day with breakfast, no excuses.
2. Eat Every 2-3 Hours, No Matter What!
Never skip a meal to "save calories." In doing so you're more likely to overeat later in the day. One of the worst things you can do is to go for prolonged periods of time without eating. You should eat to prevent hunger, not because you're hungry. Even if you're not hungry and it's been three hours, eat something. A protein shake with a handful of mixed nuts would suffice.
Strive for five to eight meals per day. Doing so will go a long ways in keeping blood glucose levels in check and providing some arbitrary improvements in overall metabolism.
It's simple math really. If you're awake 15 hours out of the day, that equates to at least five meals (15/3 hours = 5). So if it's 9 PM and the last time you ate was 6 PM, it's time to eat again. Granted, what you eat during this time will make a difference (I wouldn't suggest a bowl of cereal or a bagel), but it stands to reason that you can and should eat a small meal prior to bed.
Don't listen to Oprah (or any dieting guru who agrees with her) when she says that she doesn't eat past "X" time at night. There's a reason why people call her a yo-yo dieter. It doesn't work.
3. Eat Lean Protein With Every Meal
Protein has the greatest Thermic Effect of Feeding (TEF) compared to fats and carbohydrates combined, which translates to more calories being burned during digestion.
Simply put, the body will burn more calories (upwards of 30%) assimilating and digesting protein than carbs (6%) and fats (3%). So for every 100 calories of protein ingested, the body will burn 30 calories just digesting it.
Additionally, protein provides essential (and non-essential) amino acids, which are the building blocks of precious lean muscle. Protein also takes longer to digest which will give you a greater feeling of satiety and prevent hunger pangs.
4. Eliminate Calorie Containing Beverages
Alcohol is basically a poison to the body, and when it's ingested the body's main objective is to get rid of it. Fat loss is impossible or at least stunted when alcohol is present in the body. The liver must metabolize and excrete all the alcohol before it can go on doing anything else.
I'm not saying a glass of wine here and there is a bad thing, but I will say that if your goal is fat loss, alcohol should be limited (if not eliminated entirely).
Other beverages on the hit list:
Fizzy drinks: Nothing but sugar and/or artificial sweeteners
Fruit juice: Highly processed and devoid of the "good stuff" (fiber)
By eliminating calorie containing beverages from your daily diet, you're essentially reducing your daily caloric intake by quite a bit, which will equate to fat loss.
Rule of thumb:
Drink at least a gallon of water per day if you're a woman, 1.5 to 2 gallons if you're a man. A great way to judge if you're drinking enough water is the color of your urine. It shouldn't be yellow; it should be clear with a hint of off-yellow tone. If it isn't, you're not drinking enough water.
5. Ingest Vegetables And/Or Fruit Every Time You Eat
Remember, that lone leaf of lettuce you have on your sandwich doesn't count. You need to be eating vegetables and/or fruit with every meal and plenty of them. Various fruits and vegetables offer a plethora of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, and fiber. Buying fresh fruits and veggies will undoubtedly provide a fuller flavor compared to frozen, but in the end just eat them and quit being so stubborn.
The important thing is to consume the vegetables and fruits that are most convenient for you and your lifestyle. As a general rule of thumb, eat all the veggies you want and limit your fruit to 2-3 servings per day
6. Save "Starchy" Carbs For After You Train
Use your carbs, don't wear them. When it comes to starchy carbohydrates (think pasta, rice, and potatoes), your best bet would be to save them only for upto hours after you train. Please read that again. Save your starchy carbs only for upto 2 hours after you train (which for most is three to four times per week). The rest of the day, focus on protein, veggies/fruit, and healthy fats.
After you train your body will actually put those carbohydrates to good use: replenishing depleted glycogen stores, aiding with shuttling nutrients to muscle cells, and shutting down cortisol production (a very catabolic hormone which breaks down muscle). Your body will handle the carbs much more effectively in the 2 hours after a workout than at any other time during the day, so save them for that time only.
7. Eat Fat
Let's say this together: dietary fat does not make me fat. We need to focus on the quality of the fats we eat, not necessarily the quantity.
There are three types of fat — saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated. Eating all three kinds in a healthy balance can dramatically improve your health and even help you lose fat. Sounds like an oxymoron (you need to eat fat to lose fat), but when you concentrate on the "good" fats, that's what happens.
Your saturated fat should come from animal products. You can even toss in some butter or coconut oil for cooking. Your monounsaturated fat should come from mixed nuts, olives, and olive oil. Your polyunsaturated fat should come from flaxseeds, flaxseed oil, fish oil, and mixed nuts.
8. Have 10% Foods
One of the greatest sports nutritionists out there, John M Berardi has stated numerous times that 100% nutritional discipline is never required for optimal progress. The difference in results between 90% adherence to your nutritional program and 100% adherence is negligible.
Weekends tend to be the time when people are tempted to stray from their normal eating habits. As long as you're strict 90% of the time, those three slices of pizza you ordered on Friday night won't be the end all/be all of your success. Planned cheat meals are actually quite beneficial to fat loss in general and have actually been shown to help people get out of their fat loss plateau.
Just make sure you do the math and determine what 10% of the time really means. For example, if you're eating six meals per day for seven days of the week, that's 42 meals. Ten percent of 42 is about four. Therefore, you're allowed to "break the rules" four meals each week.
9. Food Preparation is Key
The hardest part about eating well is making sure you can follow the rules above consistently. I can't stress enough how important food preparation is for your success. This should be your first priority!
It takes time and discipline to prepare the foods you need to be eating. Sure, it's more convenient to order fast food rather than cooking a few chicken breasts and steamed veggies for dinner. But you need to look at the food you eat as either bringing you one step closer to your goal or two steps back! Cooking and preparing meals ahead of time will ensure that you're eating the right foods and not eating for convenience. If the good food is already there in your fridge, you're less inclined to eat the bad stuff.
What to shop for
Try to stick to the outer perimeter while grocery shopping. This is where your fresh produce, meats, dairy etc are. Don't shop in the middle aisles. With a few exceptions, all your grocery shopping should be done on the outer isles of the grocery store.
Here are some middle isle exceptions: tuna, old fashioned rolled oats, canned fruits in own juices, dried fruits with no additives, beans (no added sugars), some whole grain pastas, spices, brown rice, mixed nuts, natural peanut butter. Make a grocery list every week and go shopping for all the foods you'll need to succeed.
Some food for thought:
• If your food has a wrapper or a box, chances are it isn't good for you.
• If your food has ingredients you can't say, chances are it isn't good for you.
• If your food makes a claim that it's healthy, chances are it isn't good for you.
• If your food comes pre-seasoned, chances are it isn't good for you.
• Lastly, if your food makes any claims about fat loss, chances are it isn't good for you.
Heres a list of which foods fall into which categories:
Protein
Lean Meats:
93-95% ground beef
top round
top sirloin
chicken breast
turkey breast
ground turkey
ham
pork
lamb
Fish:
salmon
tuna
cod
trout
haddock
Eggs and Low Fat Dairy:
cottage cheese
plain yogurt (no fruit on the bottom)
part skim cheese
skimmed milk
string cheese
Milk Protein Supplements (powder)
Carbohydrates
Complex or 'starchy':
Wholegrain bread
Brown rice
Wholegrain pasta
Ryvita
Potatos
Pastry
Breakfast cereals
Simple carbs:
Sugar
Fruit juice
Honey
Fruits
Sweets
Fizzy Drinks
Fats
Saturated Fats:
Animal fat (found in meats)
Eggs
Cheese
Coconut oil
Monounsaturated fat:
Extra virgin olive oil
Nuts and peanut butter
Avocados
Polyunsaturated fats
Flax seeds/oil
Fish oil
Nuts and Peanut butter
Vegetable oils.
Putting all this info on your plate:
By now you should have a good idea of what foods you should eat but to help make it clear heres how a daily meal plan for a well built male might look:
meal 1:
6 egg omlette with ham and low fat cheese.
1/4 cup brazil nuts
meal 2:
8 oz chicken
1/4 cup raw almonds
meal 3:
8 oz chicken
1/4 cup raw almonds
meal 4: post workout
50g whey
100g wholewheat pasta
1/4cup grapes
1 apple
meal 5:
2 organic turkey patties
5 fish oil tabs
meal 6:
50g whey
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 tbsp olive oil
At each of those meals id add copious amounts of green veg and maybe a little fruit too, obviously this is just a guideline and you can make your daily diet as simple or complex as you like.
Wrap-Up
The above recommendations represent how I approach nutrition with the bulk of my own clients. With a few exceptions, most just need some basic structure of what, when, and how to eat for their first six months to a year of training. There's no need to worry about percentages or how often one should re-feed, or what supplements he or she should be taking.
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1_Litre_Porsche_Beater
Member
Registered: 9th Apr 02
Location: Kent
User status: Offline
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Thats a great post, will definatly try and take some of that on board.
Only problem i find when you live on your own is buying fresh produce, it goes off far too quickly!
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fir3vip3r
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Registered: 14th Jun 06
Location: Stevenage, Hertfordshire
User status: Offline
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cheers for that post dizzy... read it word for word..
some people will give you stick for it, but its generally nice to have someone on this site who knows what there talking about and dispenses advice without being an arse..
there the arse kissing shall end..
but its appreciated
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Twiggy
Member
Registered: 15th Oct 04
User status: Offline
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OMG you should do a thing where you do 3 runs before you lose weight and 3 after and compare 
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Nic Barnes
Member
Registered: 5th Apr 04
Location: nowhere near ginger people
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by Twiggy
OMG you should do a thing where you do 3 runs before you lose weight and 3 after and compare
doing that saturday then will compare next year..............
well diet has started. ive had weetabix with skimmed milk for my breakfast. partly due to thatbeing the only cereal in the cupboard though. not sure what to have for lunch. was thinking of some tomato soup.
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sand-eel
Member
Registered: 15th Mar 07
Location: carluke/braidwood--IRNBRULAND
User status: Offline
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Having cereal in the morning apparently reduces weight, so the adverts say.
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DizzyRebel
Member
Registered: 2nd Jan 09
Location: Lincoln
User status: Offline
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Throw the weetabix in the bin, get youself 3 scrambled eggs on wholemeal toast with a pro biotic low fat yoghurt to down after it.
Tomato soup wont fill you up or help you loose weight. Its not a case of cutting down food its moreso eating the right things.
Lunch should consist of a lean meat of some description (chicken or tuna being the easiest) in a salad and make sure its a big one too that fills you up.
Dinner should be more lean meat (steak, lamb, chicken) with boiled/steamed veg.
Keep mixed nuts, chicken legs, fruit etc on hand incase you feel the need to snack.
You need to eat plenty to stop you gorging on junk food when you get massive hunger pangs.
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C2RL R
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Registered: 28th Mar 02
Location: Redcliffe, QLD
User status: Offline
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Dizzy - you talk about protein shakes for breakfast, do you have a link to the best kind as whenever i look i get confused as there is so many.
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DizzyRebel
Member
Registered: 2nd Jan 09
Location: Lincoln
User status: Offline
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I wouldnt reccomend a protein shake as a staple breakfast but to add to it a protein shake is a good idea.
Phd is a good brand that i use, 6hr release is their best one.
Also biotest metabolic drive is another good one.
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C2RL R
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Registered: 28th Mar 02
Location: Redcliffe, QLD
User status: Offline
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i made a thread in sports day about high protein breakfasts and you suggested a few options. i've been forcing breakfast down for 2 weeks now and i'm actually getting used to eating at that time. i just don't think i'm getting enough protein still thats why i asked about protein shakes. i've been having scrambled eggs and fruit most days.
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DizzyRebel
Member
Registered: 2nd Jan 09
Location: Lincoln
User status: Offline
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one scoop of whey should make it up to 50g at breakfast then mate. Get it down you!
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