Meal plans to lose weight.
Discussion
I'm starting this new thread since i've been having a lot of problems losing weight.
My troubled relationship with food is the root cause, which you can read all about in my other post 'Emotional eating and feeling unlucky in life.'
What i need are simple, quick, easy to cook meal ideas to lose the excess weight.
I'm 49, divorced, ex pat parent. Currently 205 lbs (93 kgs) for 5'11". I've always been stocky.
Put on 10 kgs in last 12 months.
No sport for previous 18 months due to injuries. Got divorced Deb 2015.
Cleared by GP to do sport again in May this year. Joined local sports gym.
Breakfast eaten at 6am daily, lunch in school cantine at 13.30 and evening meal at 7.30/8.
Sports: cycling once a week every Sunday morning for roughly 2h.
Local gym: 2-4 sessions/week depending on time i get home in evenings or at weekends.
30 mins of crossbike, 1 hour of lifting heavy weights with low reps or lighter weights with 20-25 reps, then a further 30 mins crossbike to finish. Each time i go to the gym or cycle i'm absolutely ravenous and could eat a horse!!!
I tend to overeat after doing sport.
Food i eat: breakfast is a bowl of porridge with 1 chopped up banana, sprinkle of cinammon ( to replace sugar), skimmed milk and a tea or coffee.
No sugar or full fat milk.
Mid morning snack: 1 apple.
Lunch: school cantine. Side salade from salade bar, meat with vegetables( no sauce), dessert is. natural or Greek yogurt. Some days the cooks add rice/pasta/quinoa.
Sometimes i take home made sandwiches as the school cantine portions are huge!!!!
The food is already served on the plates!
Evening meal: meal times vary due to 1 hour commute back with frequent jams/accidents ( i drive 90 miles a day near South East Paris.).
Generally 2 slices of cold ham/turkey, salade, or in winter cooked chicken breast, quinoa or rice, beans, tomatoes, or broad beans then cheese or yogurt.
Fruit: 2-3 per day (apple/banana/kiwi).
I don't smoke or drink alcohol.
No biscuits/cakes/pies/tarts etc despite having terrible sugar cravings when i'm feeling depressed.
I only eat brown rice and bread. I put a lot of herbs/spices into my food to give it flavour.
I cook with coconut or olive oil never butter/margarine.
My chest/shoulders/legs/thighs are definitely more muscular but i've got more belly fat. I can't fasten the nice jeans i bought last Christmas as i've gone up from size 44 to size 46. My waistline has expanded.
I tried 'exercise more and eat less' and i ended up feeling dizzy and weak and the weight still didn't budge.
I use up a lot of energy at school. I walk up 4/5 flights of stairs about 20 times a day. I walk from class to class to teach.
I also have to walk very briskly from the 6th form to the secondary school ( and vice versa) during the morning and afternoon breaktimes due to my timetable. The 2 schools are 500 metres apart.
After lunch i walk all the way around the school grounds to digest and clear my head.
I drink 2-3 litres of bottled mineral water per day. Tap water is poor quality here in France.
I don't take anything from the coffee machines or snack machines in the teacher's staff room.
The belly fat is the real problem. I'm feeling fitter but heavier and my stomach feels constantly bloated, and my jeans/ trousers are too tight now!
I need to cut the excess fat but still have the energy to teach, walk a lot from school to school etc and eat enough to keep me full all day but not feeling bloated!!!
My troubled relationship with food is the root cause, which you can read all about in my other post 'Emotional eating and feeling unlucky in life.'
What i need are simple, quick, easy to cook meal ideas to lose the excess weight.
I'm 49, divorced, ex pat parent. Currently 205 lbs (93 kgs) for 5'11". I've always been stocky.
Put on 10 kgs in last 12 months.
No sport for previous 18 months due to injuries. Got divorced Deb 2015.
Cleared by GP to do sport again in May this year. Joined local sports gym.
Breakfast eaten at 6am daily, lunch in school cantine at 13.30 and evening meal at 7.30/8.
Sports: cycling once a week every Sunday morning for roughly 2h.
Local gym: 2-4 sessions/week depending on time i get home in evenings or at weekends.
30 mins of crossbike, 1 hour of lifting heavy weights with low reps or lighter weights with 20-25 reps, then a further 30 mins crossbike to finish. Each time i go to the gym or cycle i'm absolutely ravenous and could eat a horse!!!
I tend to overeat after doing sport.
Food i eat: breakfast is a bowl of porridge with 1 chopped up banana, sprinkle of cinammon ( to replace sugar), skimmed milk and a tea or coffee.
No sugar or full fat milk.
Mid morning snack: 1 apple.
Lunch: school cantine. Side salade from salade bar, meat with vegetables( no sauce), dessert is. natural or Greek yogurt. Some days the cooks add rice/pasta/quinoa.
Sometimes i take home made sandwiches as the school cantine portions are huge!!!!
The food is already served on the plates!
Evening meal: meal times vary due to 1 hour commute back with frequent jams/accidents ( i drive 90 miles a day near South East Paris.).
Generally 2 slices of cold ham/turkey, salade, or in winter cooked chicken breast, quinoa or rice, beans, tomatoes, or broad beans then cheese or yogurt.
Fruit: 2-3 per day (apple/banana/kiwi).
I don't smoke or drink alcohol.
No biscuits/cakes/pies/tarts etc despite having terrible sugar cravings when i'm feeling depressed.
I only eat brown rice and bread. I put a lot of herbs/spices into my food to give it flavour.
I cook with coconut or olive oil never butter/margarine.
My chest/shoulders/legs/thighs are definitely more muscular but i've got more belly fat. I can't fasten the nice jeans i bought last Christmas as i've gone up from size 44 to size 46. My waistline has expanded.
I tried 'exercise more and eat less' and i ended up feeling dizzy and weak and the weight still didn't budge.
I use up a lot of energy at school. I walk up 4/5 flights of stairs about 20 times a day. I walk from class to class to teach.
I also have to walk very briskly from the 6th form to the secondary school ( and vice versa) during the morning and afternoon breaktimes due to my timetable. The 2 schools are 500 metres apart.
After lunch i walk all the way around the school grounds to digest and clear my head.
I drink 2-3 litres of bottled mineral water per day. Tap water is poor quality here in France.
I don't take anything from the coffee machines or snack machines in the teacher's staff room.
The belly fat is the real problem. I'm feeling fitter but heavier and my stomach feels constantly bloated, and my jeans/ trousers are too tight now!
I need to cut the excess fat but still have the energy to teach, walk a lot from school to school etc and eat enough to keep me full all day but not feeling bloated!!!
Edited by rosbif77 on Saturday 3rd September 08:41
Edited by rosbif77 on Saturday 3rd September 08:57
CICO - calories in vs calories out.
It's all that matters.
It doesn't matter if you cycle 100 miles a day if you eat more calories than you burn off.
Fruit also has calories - quite a bit in some!
Download myfitnesspal and target say no more that 1500 calories. You will lose weight - it's impossible not to with a calorie deficit.
But log EVERYTHING food wise.
It's all that matters.
It doesn't matter if you cycle 100 miles a day if you eat more calories than you burn off.
Fruit also has calories - quite a bit in some!
Download myfitnesspal and target say no more that 1500 calories. You will lose weight - it's impossible not to with a calorie deficit.
But log EVERYTHING food wise.
Edited by p1stonhead on Saturday 3rd September 08:43
rosbif77 said:
I'm starting this new thread since i've been having a lot of problems losing weight.
My troubled relationship with food is the root cause, which you can read all about in my other post 'Emotional eating and feeling unlucky in life.'
What i need are simple, quick, easy to cook meal ideas to lose the excess weight.
I'm 49, divorced, ex pat parent. Currently 205 lbs (93 kgs) for 5'11". I've always been stocky.
Put on 10 kgs in last 12 months.
No sport for previous 18 months due to injuries. Got divorced Deb 2015.
Cleared by GP to do sport again in May this year. Joined local sports gym.
Breakfast eaten at 6am daily, lunch in school cantine at 13.30 and evening meal at 7.30/8.
Sports: cycling once a week every Sunday morning for roughly 2h.
Local gym: 2-4 sessions/week depending on time i get home in evenings or at weekends.
30 mins of crossbike, 1 hour of lifting heavy weights with low reps or lighter weights with 20-25 reps, then a further 30 mins crossbike to finish. Each time i go to the gym or cycle i'm absolutely ravenous and could eat a horse!!!
I tend to overeat after doing sport.
Food i eat: breakfast is a bowl of porridge with 1 chopped up banana, sprinkle of cinammon ( to replace sugar), skimmed milk and a tea or coffee.
No sugar or full fat milk.
Mid morning snack: 1 apple.
Lunch: school cantine. Side salade from salade bar, meat with vegetables( no sauce), dessert is. natural or Greek yogurt. Some days the cooks add rice/pasta/quinoa.
Sometimes i take home made sandwiches as the school cantine portions are huge!!!!
The food is already served on the plates!
Evening meal: meal times vary due to 1 hour commute back with frequent jams/accidents ( i drive 90 miles a day near South East Paris.).
Generally 2 slices of cold ham/turkey, salade, or in winter cooked chicken breast, quinoa or rice, beans, tomatoes, or broad beans then cheese or yogurt.
Fruit: 2-3 per day (apple/banana/kiwi).
I don't smoke or drink alcohol.
No biscuits/cakes/pies/tarts etc despite having terrible sugar cravings when i'm feeling depressed.
I only eat brown rice and bread. I put a lot of herbs/spices into my food to give it flavour.
I cook with coconut or olive oil never butter/margarine.
My chest/shoulders/legs/thighs are definitely more muscular but i've got more belly fat. I can't fasten the nice jeans i bought last Christmas as i've gone up from size 44 to size 46. My waistline has expanded.
I tried 'exercise more and eat less' and i ended up feeling dizzy and weak and the weight still didn't budge.
I use up a lot of energy at school. I walk up 4/5 flights of stairs about 20 times a day. I walk from class to class to teach.
I also have to walk very briskly from the 6th form to the secondary school ( and vice versa) during the morning and afternoon breaktimes due to my timetable. The 2 schools are 500 metres apart.
After lunch i walk all the way around the school grounds to digest and clear my head.
I drink 2-3 litres of bottled mineral water per day. Tap water is poor quality here in France.
I don't take anything from the coffee machines or snack machines in the teacher's staff room.
The belly fat is the real problem. I'm feeling fitter but heavier and my stomach feels constantly bloated, and my jeans/ trousers are too tight now!
I need to cut the excess fat but still have the energy to teach, walk a lot from school to school etc and eat enough to keep me full all day but not feeling bloated!!!
Remember you are stressed on a daily basis.My troubled relationship with food is the root cause, which you can read all about in my other post 'Emotional eating and feeling unlucky in life.'
What i need are simple, quick, easy to cook meal ideas to lose the excess weight.
I'm 49, divorced, ex pat parent. Currently 205 lbs (93 kgs) for 5'11". I've always been stocky.
Put on 10 kgs in last 12 months.
No sport for previous 18 months due to injuries. Got divorced Deb 2015.
Cleared by GP to do sport again in May this year. Joined local sports gym.
Breakfast eaten at 6am daily, lunch in school cantine at 13.30 and evening meal at 7.30/8.
Sports: cycling once a week every Sunday morning for roughly 2h.
Local gym: 2-4 sessions/week depending on time i get home in evenings or at weekends.
30 mins of crossbike, 1 hour of lifting heavy weights with low reps or lighter weights with 20-25 reps, then a further 30 mins crossbike to finish. Each time i go to the gym or cycle i'm absolutely ravenous and could eat a horse!!!
I tend to overeat after doing sport.
Food i eat: breakfast is a bowl of porridge with 1 chopped up banana, sprinkle of cinammon ( to replace sugar), skimmed milk and a tea or coffee.
No sugar or full fat milk.
Mid morning snack: 1 apple.
Lunch: school cantine. Side salade from salade bar, meat with vegetables( no sauce), dessert is. natural or Greek yogurt. Some days the cooks add rice/pasta/quinoa.
Sometimes i take home made sandwiches as the school cantine portions are huge!!!!
The food is already served on the plates!
Evening meal: meal times vary due to 1 hour commute back with frequent jams/accidents ( i drive 90 miles a day near South East Paris.).
Generally 2 slices of cold ham/turkey, salade, or in winter cooked chicken breast, quinoa or rice, beans, tomatoes, or broad beans then cheese or yogurt.
Fruit: 2-3 per day (apple/banana/kiwi).
I don't smoke or drink alcohol.
No biscuits/cakes/pies/tarts etc despite having terrible sugar cravings when i'm feeling depressed.
I only eat brown rice and bread. I put a lot of herbs/spices into my food to give it flavour.
I cook with coconut or olive oil never butter/margarine.
My chest/shoulders/legs/thighs are definitely more muscular but i've got more belly fat. I can't fasten the nice jeans i bought last Christmas as i've gone up from size 44 to size 46. My waistline has expanded.
I tried 'exercise more and eat less' and i ended up feeling dizzy and weak and the weight still didn't budge.
I use up a lot of energy at school. I walk up 4/5 flights of stairs about 20 times a day. I walk from class to class to teach.
I also have to walk very briskly from the 6th form to the secondary school ( and vice versa) during the morning and afternoon breaktimes due to my timetable. The 2 schools are 500 metres apart.
After lunch i walk all the way around the school grounds to digest and clear my head.
I drink 2-3 litres of bottled mineral water per day. Tap water is poor quality here in France.
I don't take anything from the coffee machines or snack machines in the teacher's staff room.
The belly fat is the real problem. I'm feeling fitter but heavier and my stomach feels constantly bloated, and my jeans/ trousers are too tight now!
I need to cut the excess fat but still have the energy to teach, walk a lot from school to school etc and eat enough to keep me full all day but not feeling bloated!!!
Edited by rosbif77 on Saturday 3rd September 08:41
Edited by rosbif77 on Saturday 3rd September 08:57
Your body responds to all stress in exactly the same way. So every time you have a stressful day, your brain instructs your cells to release potent hormones. You get a burst of adrenaline, which taps stored energy so you can fight or flee. At the same time, you get a surge of cortisol, which tells your body to replenish that energy even though you haven't used very many calories. This can make you hungry...very hungry. And your body keeps on pumping out that cortisol as long as the stress continues.
Some other points as follows
Cut down on caffeine if you drink coffee or tea.
As mentioned above fruit is full of sugar.
If you crave chocolate then have a single piece so not to make this an issue. A small portion will not harm you
Diets will just lead to worse weight gain.
Plenty of sleep. This can be hard if you are stresses all the time which is hard under your circumstances.
Your diet sounds pretty spot on. The quantities might be big but obviously I am not sure if this is the case. IMO stress is the issue.
Stress as we all know is a killer. Your circumstance are extreme on a daily basis. You can't go on with this on a daily basis before your health takes a turn for the worse.
As mentioned in the other thread your children are your World be you need to stay healthy to continue to make sure you are able to stay in their world.
Hope the above helps
WinstonWolf said:
Get MyFitnessPal, log everything religiously. You'll soon see where you're going wrong and what the easiest things to cut out are.
Don't worry about every single day, keep to the weekly recommended average and you will lose weight.
Agree with this too..Don't worry about every single day, keep to the weekly recommended average and you will lose weight.
When logging your food actually weigh it. You will be very surprised by portion sizes. Don't lie to yourself and not log things. Often the inconvenience of having to log it puts you off eating it. not all bad!
DervVW said:
WinstonWolf said:
Get MyFitnessPal, log everything religiously. You'll soon see where you're going wrong and what the easiest things to cut out are.
Don't worry about every single day, keep to the weekly recommended average and you will lose weight.
Agree with this too..Don't worry about every single day, keep to the weekly recommended average and you will lose weight.
When logging your food actually weigh it. You will be very surprised by portion sizes. Don't lie to yourself and not log things. Often the inconvenience of having to log it puts you off eating it. not all bad!
That one change on its own is worth 1lb per week.
WinstonWolf said:
DervVW said:
WinstonWolf said:
Get MyFitnessPal, log everything religiously. You'll soon see where you're going wrong and what the easiest things to cut out are.
Don't worry about every single day, keep to the weekly recommended average and you will lose weight.
Agree with this too..Don't worry about every single day, keep to the weekly recommended average and you will lose weight.
When logging your food actually weigh it. You will be very surprised by portion sizes. Don't lie to yourself and not log things. Often the inconvenience of having to log it puts you off eating it. not all bad!
That one change on its own is worth 1lb per week.
Another + for MFP
I consider myself to be a healthy eater and do about 6 hours of exercise a week but got a bit stuck for a few weeks
Examples of surprises I've had after using MFP (they are obvious but seeing is believing)
Olive oil, sesame oil, nuts and seeds amounted to 1000 cal in one day.
2 slices of bread peanut butter and banana - post run 'snack' - 700 calories
I log all my red wine as lodi zinfandel - one week it came up 4th in list of highest calorie contributions!
Back on track now.
I consider myself to be a healthy eater and do about 6 hours of exercise a week but got a bit stuck for a few weeks
Examples of surprises I've had after using MFP (they are obvious but seeing is believing)
Olive oil, sesame oil, nuts and seeds amounted to 1000 cal in one day.
2 slices of bread peanut butter and banana - post run 'snack' - 700 calories
I log all my red wine as lodi zinfandel - one week it came up 4th in list of highest calorie contributions!
Back on track now.
272BHP said:
Never understood My Fitness Pal.
If I make a spaghetti bolognaise how the hell does it calculate how many calories are in it?
You enter the ingredients as a recipe and save it as a meal, job done.If I make a spaghetti bolognaise how the hell does it calculate how many calories are in it?
Pre-made meals are easy, scan the barcode and it's all there for you.
It can take a few weeks to get your regular meals in if you cook from scratch, but if you use the "copy from" it takes seconds once you're going.
It's made it very easy to control my weight when I choose to.
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