Diet Help

Brewie

Hi folks,

I've started really looking at what I eat in a bid to lose weight (goal 3 - 4 stone), currently 18.5 stone. I went to a trainer and got the following loose diet to follow. I'm really just looking for a second opinion. So here it is;

Breakfast 8.30am:
3 eggs scrambled (nothing else added, not even salt or pepper)
or
2 wheatabix with less than 100ml of low fat milk

Lunch 1.00pm:
a ready made soup Veg or chicken & veg (400 calories per container)
or
half a melon with an apple & banana

Snack 4.00 - 4.30pm (if going to the gym after work):
Banana

Dinner:
2 chicken fillets cooked in the oven (no additives)
or
half pound of lean mince (no additives)
or
large piece of fresh cod fillet (no additives)
Tomato ketchup is the only sauce/flavouring I eat with the above.
I would also have a 220g tin of sugar free baked beans and glass of low fat milk with all of my dinners.

I suppose I'm luck that I prefer plain dinners and I dislike salt, pepper and all other sort of sauces.
The hardest thing to give up on was bread (wholemeal), pasta & rice but I have managed it and no longer crave it. I've been thinking on trying Brown rice but I think I might just be teasing myself with it.

I'm also taking multi-vit & fish oil supplements daily.

I'm also going to the gym 4 days a week - weights & cardio.

So has anyone any thoughts or opinions on the above, am I doing alright or could do better?

ps I do not eat Veg and my calorie intake is circa 1500 daily. I use Myfitnesspal app on iphone and track everything.

tattykitty

I'm a bit bemused that you were told "no additives" with your meat, but were recommended a readymade soup (which are usually full of them)! Perhaps have a salad, some homemade soup or leftovers from the night before for lunch instead.

When you say you don't eat veg - is it that you simply don't like it? There are hundreds of different kinds to try that would be healthier than eating tins of baked beans.

Weetabix isn't ideal (again, additives! And sugar and salt) - stick with the eggs for brekkie.

Well done on cutting out the bread and pasta...stopping bread has been the hardest part for me, I adored bread.

Brewie

tattykitty wrote: »

I'm a bit bemused that you were told "no additives" with your meat, but were recommended a readymade soup (which are usually full of them)! Perhaps have a salad, some homemade soup or leftovers from the night before for lunch instead.

When you say you don't eat veg - is it that you simply don't like it? There are hundreds of different kinds to try that would be healthier than eating tins of baked beans.

Weetabix isn't ideal (again, additives! And sugar and salt) - stick with the eggs for brekkie.

Well done on cutting out the bread and pasta...stopping bread has been the hardest part for me, I adored bread.

Sorry if I was a bit misleading with the no additives part with the meat. The trainer said nothing about this, I simply do not like/need any additional flavors. Simply put, I just like plain food.

I eat the soup the odd time and went for this one purely based on the fact that it is only 400 calories for a bowl sized portion.

I eat the wheatabix if I'm not up early enough to cook the eggs. Sometimes the difference of 3 or 4 mins is massive. The hardest thing is giving up on hitting the snooze button

Lambchops65

What do you eat with the fish/meat and tomato sauce for your dinner??? Surely you are having some salad or veggies with that?

Friend of mine is on the strictist diet ever (shes preg and has diabetes) so EVERYTHING is off limits. She's been told that weetabix are full of sugar/salt and that shredded wheat is really good, maybe try that?

Brewie

Hi,

I dont eat anything with the meat. MY dinner is literally a tin of sugarfree beans while waiting for the meat to cook. Meat is then placed on a clear plate, tomato ketchup and eat away.

I dont take much enjoyment from eating. I love deli food and fry's so once all that has been removed food is just a tool to remove hunger.

Think I am going to have it hit snooze 1 less time and swap out the wheatabix for the eggs properly.

razor425

If you can stick to that diet I'd be quite confident you will have no problems losing some weight. It is very similar to my own diet at the moment and would estimate that it is about 2000-2500 calories a day.

thegreatiam

Brewie wrote: »

Hi,

I dont eat anything with the meat. MY dinner is literally a tin of sugarfree beans while waiting for the meat to cook. Meat is then placed on a clear plate, tomato ketchup and eat away.

I dont take much enjoyment from eating. I love deli food and fry's so once all that has been removed food is just a tool to remove hunger.

Think I am going to have it hit snooze 1 less time and swap out the wheatabix for the eggs properly.

or boil some eggs while you cook your dinner, pop em in the fridge and eat for breakfast

nbar12

thegreatiam wrote: »

or boil some eggs while you cook your dinner, pop em in the fridge and eat for breakfast

that's what I do! I have weetabix every second day though. Have a look at this! Has helped many friends of mine to lose weight... http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/10/04/the-beginners-guide-to-the-paleo-diet/

KABLOOEY

Diet is ok mate, well done on cutting out bread - it's usually the hardest part for people. Well, bread & sugar.

The soup at lunch is just toxic. Read the nutritional info and see how much sugar & salt is in it. If you just cooked double at dinner & had the other half for lunch you would be laughing! A bit of ketchup everyday is fine, the weetabix less so but if anything has to change it's definitely the lunch.

The only other thing I would add is to try to eat vegetables, you're not getting enough vitamins, minerals and fibre in that diet. A half plate of green veg with lunch or dinner will see you right.

tattykitty

Brewie wrote: »

I dont take much enjoyment from eating. I love deli food and fry's so once all that has been removed food is just a tool to remove hunger.

Reading this line made me feel sad. I know it's important to eat healthily and to be at a healthy weight (and believe me, I know what a struggle it is), but surely there are foods that you could still enjoy while also losing weight? A diet should be part of your life, rather than a temporary thing, and if you do enjoy certain kinds of food, depriving yourself of everything could end up with you ultimately bingeing on what you're craving (again, speaking from experience here).

You say you like deli food - what kind of stuff do you mean?

Why not look at some of the paleo/primal threads here on Boards and give some a go? Or take a look at this website - there are lots of really quick and easy recipes, and a lot of them would be quite diet-friendly.

All the best.

Denerick

These food specific diets are insane if you're trying to lose weight. You won't stick it out long term. The only way to do it is to reduce overall calorie consumption to a personal ideal level (If you're a man with a daily requirement of 2500 just to break even you should restrict your intake to 2000, which would lead to one pound weight loss a week, and lose the other pound strictly through exercise.)

Those 2,000 calories should be yours to do with as you see fit. Of course try to improve your diet in a general sense, and cut out junk food to a very occasional treat/cheat, but don't go overboard and create this spartan schedule for yourself. Unless you have the willpower and restraint of Jesus Christ himself you won't stick to it, and you'll be back to square one in no time.

Its a lifestyle change, not a temporary fix. It'd be different if you were Keira Knightly and you wanted to lose half a pound for the next big photoshoot, but you're a big bloke.

Brewie

Thanks for the feedback so far.

@ tattykittty - when I say Deli food I mean, breakfast rolls, sausage rolls, wedges, spicy chicken fillets, basically hot pastry & meat type things - really really bad I know so I just don't go to the deli anymore.
I understand what you mean regarding the "I don't take much enjoyment from eating" line. I generally want food when I am hungry and want it immediately, I dont have the patience for spending 30+ mins cutting, stirring & monitoring food. I'll fire raw chicken fillets or fish in the oven, set the timer and come back when its done. Sauces and other stuff is wasted on me tbh. Was always this way. Think I'm lucky when I'm doing this sort of thing.

When I do treat myself and have a pizza or curry I always feel like crap after it so that in itself is more motivation to maintain this change in my food & excerise approach.

The soup thing at lunch is at most once a week. Generally I have half a melon (absolutely love melon), a banana & an apple.

I should add, I do not get hungry for any amount of time more than 60 mins. I am not hungry throughout the day and count down the minutes to lunch/dinner. That is unrealistic and doomed to failure for me anyway.

I went on holidays for a week and the 8 weeks previous I followed the diet (not as strict) lost only about 7 lbs but toned up alot. Blew the diet out of the water for the week though, decided to enjoy the holiday and literally took the week off from everything. Didnt do alot of damage though, thankfully, gym was alot harder for about a week though :mad: