advise on diet.

creme egg

Hi all,

I was hoping that you would be able to advise me on a good diet to start for weight loss. I would love to shift about 14 / 21 lbs. I was originally thinking of joining Educogym, but after seriously thinking about it, I am going to try and do it myself first, and if that does not work then look at other options.

I find when I typically start a diet (usually a weight watchers plan) I am always hungry.

I work in Dublin City centre, so want to try and bring lunch in with me every day. I would probably do about 40mns to an hour of walking a day (walk the dog) so might start to try and jog a bit too ( terrible stamina for running, so it will be a slow process to build it up)

I am 5ft 3 and weigh 10st 7. I am of average build and have a desk job.
I want to ideally shift most of the weight from my bottom half (pear shape)

Would anyone be able to give some examples of what they would consider a good diet. I am probably a bit pidgeon holed as in I always think of a diet as low fat and want some new ideas. Like I read there someone was talking about protein powder.... this is all new to me!

Thanks so much.

creme egg

Faith

Have a read through the stickies here and in the Fitness forum for help. They're a great place to start. Second, try reading through some of the food diaries in the forum above this. Marinchik's is very good, as are a few others.

Basically, you want to eat good food. Avoid anything that's highly processed, high in sugar or white. If you're eating bread/pasta/rice, have them in moderation and make sure they're wholegrain and not the crap white versions. Cut out crisps, chocolate, sweets, fizzy drinks etc.

Porridge is the best thing you can have for breakfast, or else something like eggs are great. Try to have protein with every meal. Work out your calorie requirements from the stickies in Fitness. Try to eat 5-6 evenly sized meals throughout the day (like, if you're aiming to eat 1500 calories a day, eat 5-6 meals with about 250-300 cals each).

Watch portion sizes. If you can, get a digital kitchen scales so you can weigh your portions. A "serving" of cereal is 30g usually, but most of us would easily have 60g without realising it.

For exercise to be efficient, you need to be out of breath and sweating. A gentle stroll won't help at all. Jogging would be great. Weights are important too. Are you a member of a gym? Protein powder is made into a drink and used as a meal. It's great for building muscle and keeping your full.

That's a very, very, very brief overview. Like I said, read through the stickies here and in the Fitness forum for a better idea.

mack1

creme egg wrote: »

I was originally thinking of joining Educogym, but after seriously thinking about it, I am going to try and do it myself first

Good move, well done - pity more wouldn't take the responsibility themselves instead of looking for a quick fix.

There is loads of information on good diet in the stickies (the threads that are "stuck" to the top of the forum) both here and on the Fitness forum, g'em in particular has written volumes. I would suggest have a good read and come up with a plan of action and post it up here, people will then be able to help you tweak it.

EDIT: Faith beat me to it!

creme egg

well, I was thinking along the lines of...

porridge for breakfast with sunflower seeds (and some sugar, made on water) (I have this every morning anyway)
herbal tea

mid morning snack (well at the moment is chocolate) but was thinking of a low fat fruit yogurt, or just some fruit or crudites.

Lunch, cous cous with veg or baked potato with reduced sugar baked beans, veg soup with bread. should I be looking to get some protein in here?

something along the same lines for an afternoon snack, as for the morning snack.

Dinner, veg thai green curry with brown rice, lasagne with salad (very lean mince), pesto and wholewheat pasta, chilli con carne (with very lean mince) with brown rice, chicken stirfry with noodles.

Evening I would also usually have chocolate, but would substitute this with a yogurt or if I got a chocolate craving one of those "options" 40 cal chocolate drinks.

What do you think of this? Anything else I should / should not be doing?

I am a member of a gym, but really do not enjoy going at all. I do walk the dog every evening, so will look to get my husband to go with me, and we can jog (he is very fit) so hoping he will spur me on too.

What is the story about protein powder, is this any good to add to porridge to keep me fuller for longer? (find I am always peckish after porridge)

I don't usually drink too much water, but am trying to increase this. would also have 2 coffees and 2 teas a day, probably 2 herbal teas too.

EileenG

You are definitely headed in the right direction, but I think you need to add more protein, and more fat. Don't be afraid of fat, it really is essential for good health.

A natural yogurt, maybe add in some seeds etc yourself, would be a good choice. I'd be very wary of those Options, they have a lot of sugar in them. If you really want a chocolate drink, why not make your own with cocoa powder? Much better nutritionally.

Raw nuts like almonds and walnuts are a good snack. You can buy little "Good4U" bags of seeds, which are healthy and portion controlled! Try keeping a tub of cottage cheese handy and eating some when you get the munches. Great protein content and very filling. Cheese strings can be handy in an emergency.

Definitely get some protein into your lunch. How about fish? Tins of sardines or tuna are very cheap, and mostly have a ring-pull, so you can throw them onto a salad. You can also buy pouches of "tuna with a twist" which are handy, even if they look like cat food.

Protein powder is handy for after a hard workout, or in an emergency if you are missing a meal, but dont' use it as a substitute for good meals.

Plan short workouts in the gym. 15-20 sets of 10 reps of a heavy-ish weight will be over in half an hour, and you will see results.