Any nutritionists or dieticians on here? Diet help!
Discussion
I need to lose weight, a fair chunk as I am a big lad!
Find weight control difficult, varied but often sedantary lifestyle, (workwise)no regime, lots of travel and hotels, expense account. But genuinely I dont eat a huge amount, just wrong stuff I think, and only 2 meals a day too. I eat too fast people say, also. I work long hours from home also, so can come from bed to office and be there pretty much all day til bed again! Not often, but it can happen.
I a looking for a "Sea change" as such, my lifestyle work wise is what it is. I am fits and starts in the Gym, swimmming mostly, but proper mile plus lane swimming, everyday when the mood takes me and I have chance. I swam a mile a day for 6 months and only lost 8 pounds, but got brilliant at swimming!
But I need to get things sorted diet wise. I think carbs and other sugars are not my friend.
So basics, what should I eat and avoid, realistically, (by that I mean witih travellingthe world, it is not easy to avoid certain things, bread for example). I need to start to get in shape?
All tips and advice greatly received. I'd like to lose a couple of stone then chip away at the rest. I am 6ft1 and very broad shouldered (read powerfully built!!) and am 18 stone 4 lbs at present!! eeek. At 15 stone I did look really good, even though I was still well over a correct BMI, ...I do have big shoulders!! I should add that I had got a DVT on a plane trip a few years ago, then the day after diagnosis broke my leg and needed an op, that was tricky due to the treatment. I ended up off my feet for many months and put a lot of weight on. I am now fully walking, but the leg is "not right", I get lots of pain and inflamation from knee and hip, so too hard impact stuff is out, hence the swimming. The weight is not helping at all of course. I take blood thinners as a result fo all this crap, to this day, (warfrin).
Any piss taking also received in good spirits!!
PS, I have looked at the Transformation thread and there is some goood stuff there, albeit witih a bit of a homoerotic undertone!!
Find weight control difficult, varied but often sedantary lifestyle, (workwise)no regime, lots of travel and hotels, expense account. But genuinely I dont eat a huge amount, just wrong stuff I think, and only 2 meals a day too. I eat too fast people say, also. I work long hours from home also, so can come from bed to office and be there pretty much all day til bed again! Not often, but it can happen.
I a looking for a "Sea change" as such, my lifestyle work wise is what it is. I am fits and starts in the Gym, swimmming mostly, but proper mile plus lane swimming, everyday when the mood takes me and I have chance. I swam a mile a day for 6 months and only lost 8 pounds, but got brilliant at swimming!
But I need to get things sorted diet wise. I think carbs and other sugars are not my friend.
So basics, what should I eat and avoid, realistically, (by that I mean witih travellingthe world, it is not easy to avoid certain things, bread for example). I need to start to get in shape?
All tips and advice greatly received. I'd like to lose a couple of stone then chip away at the rest. I am 6ft1 and very broad shouldered (read powerfully built!!) and am 18 stone 4 lbs at present!! eeek. At 15 stone I did look really good, even though I was still well over a correct BMI, ...I do have big shoulders!! I should add that I had got a DVT on a plane trip a few years ago, then the day after diagnosis broke my leg and needed an op, that was tricky due to the treatment. I ended up off my feet for many months and put a lot of weight on. I am now fully walking, but the leg is "not right", I get lots of pain and inflamation from knee and hip, so too hard impact stuff is out, hence the swimming. The weight is not helping at all of course. I take blood thinners as a result fo all this crap, to this day, (warfrin).
Any piss taking also received in good spirits!!
PS, I have looked at the Transformation thread and there is some goood stuff there, albeit witih a bit of a homoerotic undertone!!
Edited by poo at Paul's on Wednesday 4th January 22:43
The Spruce goose said:
Just one point,it usually takes me 6 months at the gym before i start to lose proper weight. getting fit is a life long change init for the long haul.
Yes, this is what I am finding, it is difficult (impossible) to get into a regime as I am away so much and can be anywhere staying in any sort of place for weeks on end, working 20 hr days! So formal excercise is sporadic, I feel therefore a bit of help on the diet will be the key? poo at Paul's said:
The Spruce goose said:
Just one point,it usually takes me 6 months at the gym before i start to lose proper weight. getting fit is a life long change init for the long haul.
Yes, this is what I am finding, it is difficult (impossible) to get into a regime as I am away so much and can be anywhere staying in any sort of place for weeks on end, working 20 hr days! So formal excercise is sporadic, I feel therefore a bit of help on the diet will be the key? You are correct in your thinking that the less good the exercise regime the better the diet needs to be to maintain your current shape however good diet and no exercise is never going to give you what it sounds like you're looking for.
I know a competing bodybuilder who is in the same shoes as you but he just works around it, goes to the gym at whatever hotel it is for that particular day and in the unlikely case the hotel doesn't have a gym he trains in his room for an hour using bodyweight exercises. He will either train in the evening or get up early and train before going to work if he got in late the previous night.
Like most things it comes down to how much you want it.
Can you post up your average diet for us to look at?
As OC says above, you can train if you really want to. There are quite a few 'hotel room' based workouts available on line that you don't need equipment for. Even something likeing walking 3 miles a day will have marked impact on your health.
When it comes down to weight loss, it's mainly diet so you have to get that in order. Don't go faddy diet and stick with a simple eating plan that you're going to stick to. It's about thinking long term and losing the weight slowly imho. Try eating 500 kcals less a day and increasing your activity levels and adjust accordingly.
As OC says above, you can train if you really want to. There are quite a few 'hotel room' based workouts available on line that you don't need equipment for. Even something likeing walking 3 miles a day will have marked impact on your health.
When it comes down to weight loss, it's mainly diet so you have to get that in order. Don't go faddy diet and stick with a simple eating plan that you're going to stick to. It's about thinking long term and losing the weight slowly imho. Try eating 500 kcals less a day and increasing your activity levels and adjust accordingly.
maximus123 said:
Can you post up your average diet for us to look at?
Sure. There is nothing obvioousy bad on a regular basis howerver! I'd say typically, I am a 2 meals a day person, if I am up very early for work, travel etc, say 4am start, I will have breakfast at about 6 ish. Anything from 2 weetabix to beans on toast or a bacon sarny, amybe a Mcds, but only ever a sausage and egg muffin and a coffee, no hash brows. But as a rule, I dont eat breakfast, I just dont feel like it.
Lunch will be sandwich style stuff when out travelling, rarely a full emal, at home it will be beans on toast. I can easily eat a tin of beans on three rounds of toast, but rarely do, normally half a tin on 2.
When at home dinner will be various stuff, stir frys, chilli, (all homemade), pasta, I love it and eat more than I think I should, but it is not everyday, maybe 2 or 3 times a week. But I am worried that this is the problem, ie lots of carbs at night. I also eat very quickly, and am trying to deliberatley slow down the physical eating. When away on the road, it is always hotel food. Not into deserts at all, but will have a soup starter and a main course, anything from club sandwich or burger, to steaks curries etc. In summer, it si honestly true to say that 75% of my evening meals are salad based, ie no chips and potatoes, salad with chicken / meat etc. But in winter, I do eat some salad stuff, and lots of veg, but am more likely to go more confort food, ie shepperds pie, chillis, raosts etc. All home made, I am not a ready meal fan.
I drink, but rarely. I'd say a max of about 3 pints of cider a week. Rarely drink beer now.
If I was a big drinker, or chips with everything man, it would be easy to knw what to do, but I am just not! Over Xmas, I noticed also, that my plate of food was far smaller than every other bloke round the table and they are all skinny!
The lifestyle thing is not an excuse, it is ust how it is. I travel all aroudn the world, a guy in a limo picks me up from my home, takes me to Heathrow, I get on a plane, go to whereever, then get a car or rental the other end and drive to where I am going. Go in, sit there for 8-10 hours, back to hotel etc. There is very little walking like I would do on a comute. If I have time in the day for a lunchbreak, I will go out walking, a proper hour walk, but it is rare to have the time to stop, maybe on 30% of jobs.
I will be away for the whole week, but that is often only 4 nights, maybe have time to get to the gym if there is one on one of those, but the 1st day is hard as i am normally knackered.
I find overall, I really dont eat much, but sometimes I get tired a lot, and can easily suddenly just feel flaked out by mid afternoon. I think my diet and lifestyle is not giving me the energy to get going and keep going. I stay up long hours, and dont always get too mcuh sleep, work through the night often. I often drive accross Europe to jobs, and will do 600 miles in one stint at the start and end of a 5 day week. Ineitably, it is sandwiches and sugary drinks from the petrol station instead of a proper meal.
I did Weight Watchers for 3 months absolutely religiously middle of last year. It was ridiculous, I was allowed I think 54 points per day. Even accounting pessimistically for EVRY thing passing my lips, I was struggling to get to 40 points per day! I did lose some weight by sticking to about 35 points, about a stone in the 3 months, but it just plateaud at that stage. I think why it did not work for me was it did not discourage bread so I found myself havng a couple of bacon sarnies for lunch and still only covering about 70% of the points I was allowed for lunch!
My general plan is to replace all potatoes where poss with rice or other green veg. Vut out all bread, or limit it to one slice a day. I think I need to cut oout the pasta, which will be the thing I miss most! Not least because of it being convenient to cook, (again fresh stuff, not dried, or I make my own). I have to be a little careful with the green veg, I can and do have it with most meals, but it affects the way the warfrin is absorbed and can put my blood clotting into turmoil! So my dietry changes whilst I think they should be quite radical, I have to introduce them slowly and monitor my blood.
After the Xmas selection boxes, I will stop all the choc bars, I am not a massive choc fan, but will have about one curly whirly or flake a week. I also aim to be very careful about the sugary drinks and "energy" drinks. I am not on like one or two a day, but when out and about, will pick up powerade rather than a bottle of water. I do try to do the lo cal ones where poss.
I think I also jsut need to be far more concious of my eating and excercise levels. When I get deadlines on, as I say, I can walk the 2 metres from my bedroom to my office, work for 15 hours, with only about another say 50 metres back and too to the kitchen for tea and meals, then back to bed. It can be like that for days on end. It's no good!! So I aim to "walk to work" everyday I can, ie out the house, a mile round the village, then back in to work.
So dieticians etc, am I eating the wrong end of the day. Should I be looking at a big breaky and missing or just a light evening meal? Cut out the bread and potatoes? Avoid the pasta? Drink more water?
A quick tip re pasta - this is how much I cook: I grab a handful (Penne or Fusilli) and what ever doesn't fall back into the bag makes it into the pot. Add vegetables and meat/fish. (Actually, I do put a bit more in nowadays as I am trying to bulk but that's how much I put in before.)
Another tip: snack on (healthy) stuff between meals. They call it grazing. It means you're less likely to stuff yourself come meal time. Plus it accounts for the fact you tend to skip breakfast as you'll be eating whenever you can. It sounds wrong but you will have a tendency to eat less for the main meal and not eat so quickly.
Learn to enjoy the flavours.
And get your taxi driver to pick you up from the end of the road.
Some diet tips for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HiZzQQ1JXc (turn speakers down; music's too loud)
Another tip: snack on (healthy) stuff between meals. They call it grazing. It means you're less likely to stuff yourself come meal time. Plus it accounts for the fact you tend to skip breakfast as you'll be eating whenever you can. It sounds wrong but you will have a tendency to eat less for the main meal and not eat so quickly.
Learn to enjoy the flavours.
And get your taxi driver to pick you up from the end of the road.
Some diet tips for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HiZzQQ1JXc (turn speakers down; music's too loud)
swerni said:
Eat breakfast, it's the most important meal of the day!!!
ps how about liposuction you fat knacker
I have actually considered it, but my blood issues mean operations are a bit of a no no now. When i bust my arm last year, I should have had it pinned, but they were unwilling to, so I missed about 6 months of normal things due to having to let it heal more naturally, (and not as well). Seems better now, but has taken 7 months!ps how about liposuction you fat knacker
daveparry said:
It has been suggested to me that a fruit based diet can work. eat fruit all day then protien rich food for evening meal! anyone want to comment.
You'll lose weight then put it all back on. Or were you planning on doing this for the rest of your life. Everything should be for the long haul!Paul I'd recommend you start calorie counting for a start.
And then I'd recommend you consider carbs in your diet as you've pointed out already. Carbs can be useful if you're training hard otherwise they can become a big problem. I'd recommend no processed carbs for a start like bread/pasta etc.
I'd also consider portion sizes since this often where people go drastically wrong, I've seen folk with a good diet on the face of it but then eating about 3 times as much food as needed.
At 18st and with what you've said I do wonder if you're over-eating.
Your idea of going and walking or doing something is also a must! Our bodies aren't designed to not be exercised and as well as helping with weight nobody who doesn't exercise is healthy!
So to start with, remove as many carbs as you reasonably can, no sugar, no fizzy drinks and consider portion sizes, do not eat heavily processed foods, microwave foods etc then capture what you're eating on one of the many applications on the web or mobile devices and see how you're getting on after a month.
Diet doesn't need to be overly complex
And then I'd recommend you consider carbs in your diet as you've pointed out already. Carbs can be useful if you're training hard otherwise they can become a big problem. I'd recommend no processed carbs for a start like bread/pasta etc.
I'd also consider portion sizes since this often where people go drastically wrong, I've seen folk with a good diet on the face of it but then eating about 3 times as much food as needed.
At 18st and with what you've said I do wonder if you're over-eating.
Your idea of going and walking or doing something is also a must! Our bodies aren't designed to not be exercised and as well as helping with weight nobody who doesn't exercise is healthy!
So to start with, remove as many carbs as you reasonably can, no sugar, no fizzy drinks and consider portion sizes, do not eat heavily processed foods, microwave foods etc then capture what you're eating on one of the many applications on the web or mobile devices and see how you're getting on after a month.
Diet doesn't need to be overly complex
Ordinary_Chap said:
Paul I'd recommend you start calorie counting for a start.
And then I'd recommend you consider carbs in your diet as you've pointed out already. Carbs can be useful if you're training hard otherwise they can become a big problem. I'd recommend no processed carbs for a start like bread/pasta etc.
I'd also consider portion sizes since this often where people go drastically wrong, I've seen folk with a good diet on the face of it but then eating about 3 times as much food as needed.
At 18st and with what you've said I do wonder if you're over-eating.
Your idea of going and walking or doing something is also a must! Our bodies aren't designed to not be exercised and as well as helping with weight nobody who doesn't exercise is healthy!
So to start with, remove as many carbs as you reasonably can, no sugar, no fizzy drinks and consider portion sizes, do not eat heavily processed foods, microwave foods etc then capture what you're eating on one of the many applications on the web or mobile devices and see how you're getting on after a month.
Diet doesn't need to be overly complex
As always OC speaks the truth And then I'd recommend you consider carbs in your diet as you've pointed out already. Carbs can be useful if you're training hard otherwise they can become a big problem. I'd recommend no processed carbs for a start like bread/pasta etc.
I'd also consider portion sizes since this often where people go drastically wrong, I've seen folk with a good diet on the face of it but then eating about 3 times as much food as needed.
At 18st and with what you've said I do wonder if you're over-eating.
Your idea of going and walking or doing something is also a must! Our bodies aren't designed to not be exercised and as well as helping with weight nobody who doesn't exercise is healthy!
So to start with, remove as many carbs as you reasonably can, no sugar, no fizzy drinks and consider portion sizes, do not eat heavily processed foods, microwave foods etc then capture what you're eating on one of the many applications on the web or mobile devices and see how you're getting on after a month.
Diet doesn't need to be overly complex
If you're right on the amount of food you eat and the weight you are I'd suggest going to the doctor and asking him if you have any medical issues that could be affecting your weight. I'm not an expect but in some cases thyroid problems can cause weight issues.
The first thing I thought when reading you food diary was you don't know what you are eating. To lose weight succesfully you need to know exatcly what your're eating and that does mean calorie counting.
You don't need to be anal about it but you need to have some idea of how many calories you are taking in. Eating that much carbs is also something you need to address. I wouldn't recommend going too extreme and cutting out carbs altogether. Maybe try eating between 100-200g of carbs a day.
Best of luck and let us know how you get on.
Not diet advice but I started running to lose weight with the concept that I could carry on eating the same but the exercise would negate the 'bad stuff'. Started off very slowly in July but now I am doing about 7.5 hours a week and have lost 5lbs in the last two weeks (including all the bad stuff over Christmas).
Diet is also changing as it takes so long to get the weight off I am less likely to eat junk in the week. My biggest fear is keeping to my target weight as I could be in the perverse position of having to eat more.
Being active and doing decent fat burning exercise has been the key for me.
Diet is also changing as it takes so long to get the weight off I am less likely to eat junk in the week. My biggest fear is keeping to my target weight as I could be in the perverse position of having to eat more.
Being active and doing decent fat burning exercise has been the key for me.
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