A Simple Diet, Help Me

[JTM]

Right ive joined a gym and I want to loose some weight. Mainly stomach. I understand cardio (running, swimming) is best for loosing weight, and im also doing some weights etc for upper body.

My normal day will consist of usually:

6am Breaky of porridge

8am Piece of fruit (apple banana etc) or nutri grain bar

10am Piece of fruit and a single sandwich, usually either chicken or beef etc, usually granary bread

12pm Rest of sandwiches ^^^, more fruit,

2pm Piece of fruit

5pm Tea, chicken and noodles or jacket potato etc

I drink a fair bit of tea with no sugar

I dont want a complex diet as I wont stick to it, need to be simple and easy. What tips etc can people give me.

Thanks

[fruitbat]

rice and pasta diet, worked for me as i lost stone and half in 2 months and excercise helped tone up

(i know loadsa people will say rice/pasta dont have everything your body needs but meh)

Put the weight back on when i stopped though so starting it again

Frooty

[munkee]

To be honest i wouldnt be overly concerned with sandwhiches etc.. just have decent meals. You dont want to be some big ass bodybuilder so theres no need for 8 meals a day etc. Just eat decent meals and dont snack. Im talking about like maybe a nice steak and vegetables etc. Real meals that require cooking... fast usually tends to = shite.

At the gym .. hit compound exercises. These will burn the most fat/calories (shit word to use but simple for you to understand) for the amount of time you do them. Pretty much... squat (front squats, back squats with full range of movement), bench (incline, decline, flat) and deadlift (partial, regular, sumo). Infact you could split those in to 3 training days say a monday wednesday friday. The reason ive given those 3 compounds is because they will pretty much (not 100%) work your whole body. Total body training is definitely the way forward, none of this chest/back, triceps/biceps day shit.

In the way of cardio, 35 minute runs/treadmill, rowing, step ups. Will all help. Oh yea and the biggest thing you will be needing for you diet.... fish oils = cod liver oil.. stuff packed with DHA EPA. Its scientific fact that they are the best thing for you ever. They also help with central obesity (fat tummys).

This is all in my opinion plenty of people will rinse what i say but since you wanted simple thats all you need.

[JTM]

That mean you didnt eat meat? I cant handle not having at least chicken im afraid!

I dont need to loose serious weight, im 5ft 11 and 13st but above average in the muscle regions so im not massively overweight or anything. I still want nutritious food etc. Its just the layer over my abs I want rid of lol!!

At the gym .. hit compound exercises.

Pretty much... squat (front squats, back squats with full range of movement), bench (incline, decline, flat) and deadlift (partial, regular, sumo).

Infact you could split those in to 3 training days say a monday wednesday friday. The reason ive given those 3 compounds is because they will pretty much (not 100%) work your whole body. Total body training is definitely the way forward, none of this chest/back, triceps/biceps day shit.

Can you please explain squats to me?! Sorry lol

When you say 35mins cardio, is that in one go?! Im goosed after running a mile!

[munkee]

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadri...BFullSquat.html

If you dont have the barbell , then you can use dumbells in your hands and do the same movement just with them down by your sides.

Cardio is something you work towards. You dont want to be sprinting a mile either, my fat housemate will be able to tell you exactly about this stuff when he comes home but theres something about you need to be at 70% of your heartrate or some shit like that to burn fat. Meaning dont go all out, longer less paced cardio will burn more in the long run. That doesnt mean walk btw, just a steady jog to keep you ticking over and sort your breathing out.

If you find running hard (like me its f**king gay i hate running), then go for the cycling/rowing. The rowing will probably be better due to needing your abs for stability.

[JTM]

Well Ive been doing around a 9 minute mile, which is just ove 6mph. Dunno if that means anything to you?

How does that barbell thing loose weight?! I thought the idea I was aiming for was to get rid of as much fat as I can covering my abs, then I can go from there to build them?

[endofreak]

I have been following this routine for the past few weeks and have gone from nearly 14 1/2 stone to around 13 1/2 stone

.

Multivitamen - 1 in the morning, 1 before bed

Choline and Inositol (members of the B vitamens which help the liver process fats ) - 2 with breakfast, lunch and dinner

Breakfast - Oat bran with 3 egg whites. ( I was advised to eat egg whites but I just fire a scoop of Whey protein into my cereal instead. Followed by half a grape fruit.

Lunch - 1 lean chicken breast with veg and a little cider vineger poured over the top followed by half a grape fruit.

Dinner - 2 Cod fillets with a medium baked potato and veg again followed by half a grape fruit.

Snacks - Crisp bread with low fat cottage cheese.

Apparantly grape fruits are great for helping to shift the fat. I thought it sounded a bit odd but the above is working for me so I'm not going to argue with it.

Hit the weights hard and do cardio straight after your weights session. This will allow you to get some good lifting done and make your cardio session more affective as your energy levels will be depleted.

Lifting is very important as the more muscle you have the more fat you will burn and your body will burn extra calories for around 24 hours after you have finished while the body repairs itself. With cardio you only really burn extra calories while carrying out the activity.

[JTM]

Is the multivitamin just a general one? And the other stuff, where you get it from?

I wont be eating egg whites lol. Ive been told porridge is fine in the mornings, and I barely have time to make that, so it will have to do. I do make it with milk though......?

to be honest my lunch isnt too bad, I could do with cutting out butter and mayo etc though. I simply dont have the time to make a chicken breast for lunch, or the means. So i have to do the best I can with whats availiable to me.

Basically, I dont really eant anyone to change my diet too much, just modify it. Ie, not, DONT EAT BREAD, more like EAT THIS KIND OF BREAD (just using bread for a example)

[endofreak]

I get my vitamens, cider vinegar and whey from Holland and Barrat and everything else from Tesco.

Try ditching the bread for a while. Get some bags of mixed salad from tesco. Fire some in the bottom of a tupperware bowl. Boil or steam a chicken breast and throw that in too with a little cider vinegar for a little flavour.

Cider vinegar was something else I was advised to take. I was actually told to take a tablespoon of the stuff in the morning and at night but I couldn't hack it so I stick some on my lunch instead.

[JoNnY__Mc]

hey, im 5ft 7" and weigh 13 and a half stone... im of the fuller build but i reckon i am putting on weight... gotta get my act together before i turn into a lump ...

i used to be quite chubby when i was 13/14 years old... (im now 16)... decided something had to be done, i found that a good effective way of loosing weight (and learning to protect yourself at the same time) is attending a boxing club... simple additions like cycling to school/work, attending a boxing class 3 times a week for an hour and a half a night and cutting out any snacks and replacing them with fruit is very effective... i have never really stuck to a specific diet but a combination of a regular conistant exercise with a low calorie diet should do the trick...

[JTM]

Yeah ive come to the conclusion that its much easier to not eat (for eg) 500 calories than it is to burn it off at the gym.

The whole doing sports thing like boxing isnt really for me as one, Im not into boxing lol and two I dont have the time with work etc.

Im getting some good ideas from here though boys, keep them coming

[Whizza]

Vegan diet is were it's at!

[endofreak]

Vegan diet is were it's at!

I couldn't live without meat.

[mat hudson]

i've lost nearly a stone in the lst 2 months, i just havnt been eating as much as usual, i never snack anymore and its pretty cool to be honest. i cant do any real exercise as i cant walk propperly because i f**ked my leg(no riding until april ) so i'm just doing loads of pull ups, sit ups and pressups. i usually eat like a packet of crisps a burger and apropper evening meal in a day and i just dont get hungry, i think its something to do with me being a little depressed i cant ride for so long. i know it isnt exactly normal way of dieting but if i had eaten as much as when i rode i would have piled weight on so i guess this is better.

[Dan-Walker]

Well Ive been doing around a 9 minute mile, which is just ove 6mph. Dunno if that means anything to you?

i used to do running and my avarage mile was 7 mins, not bad.

[Has anyone seen my shoe?]

I did the sport relief mile in 6:40 and I do no form of exercise.

[JTM]

9 min was hard work like.....

Would I be better slowing down to say 5mph and taking longer then? Ie the longer i sweat the better

[Janson]

i have been told that the harder you work out, the fitter you will get. this implies that the "take it slow, burn fat" is all bullshit. i do not know what to believe, i just know that it feels better in my mind if i have just come back from a fast run than a slow one.

[munkee]

i have been told that the harder you work out, the fitter you will get. this implies that the "take it slow, burn fat" is all bullshit. i do not know what to believe, i just know that it feels better in my mind if i have just come back from a fast run than a slow one.

But you are misinterpreting what i am saying. Slow run for longer is better than a quick blitz round the block.

http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/hrm1.htm

there you go, a very basic site which doesnt go in to great detail as to why you do it but take a look a the first zone. As you move up out of 70% heart rate you start to move out of fat burning. Go to google and just search for heart rate for fat burning im sure there are better examples.

http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/fatburn.htm

There you go better link. Basically says you burn fat at as low as 68% but also burn fat at high intensity. However the way i see it is you can run a lot longer at 68% than you could at 90% so end of the day your going to be running longer, burning fat for longer. Etc

Edited November 6, 2006 by Spacemunkee

[Trebor]

Diet-wise, I think you're doing fine. Probably way better than your average person. Just try to get more veg in and have 3 main meals a day, less snacking. Raw vegetables are, in general, much better for you than cooked. Maybe switch to just having one or two sandwiches a day, and switching the other sandwiches with veg. Btw, I dunno if this'll help you lose weight, but you'll probably feel better and have a bit more energy for the gym.

How much water do you drink daily? Try to get your 2 litres in. Tea counts, and fruit/veg is surprisingly high in water content, so maybe try to actually drink around 1.5 litres a day.

With these kinds of topics you're going to get so many varied replies. Everyone is different and their body deals with food/drink intake differently. So I wouldn't go for anything too specific, variation is always good. And you can't go wrong with Multi-Vitamins/Codliver Oil.

Disclaimer: This is what works for me.

[Boris_the_second]

By what my nutrition class has taught me so far your diet is very good. Keep on doing it just do more exercise thats the key and drink more water.

[kells]

i have been told that the harder you work out, the fitter you will get. this implies that the "take it slow, burn fat" is all bullshit. i do not know what to believe, i just know that it feels better in my mind if i have just come back from a fast run than a slow one.

Its true that the harder you work the fitter you will become. But its also true that if you take it slower you will burn more fat, this is because if you work at a lower intensity you will be able to take in more oxygen and oxygen is needed to use fat as an energy source. The higher the intensity of exercise, less fat will be used and carbohydrates will be the main energy source.

[Boris_the_second]

Its true that the harder you work the fitter you will become. But its also true that if you take it slower you will burn more fat, this is because if you work at a lower intensity you will be able to take in more oxygen and oxygen is needed to use fat as an energy source. The higher the intensity of exercise, less fat will be used and carbohydrates will be the main energy source.

. Wooo i love this topic i feel so gud. Fat isn't used during exercise. Well not directly it does get used up but only after all auxiliary energy sources. To get fit or fitter you have to use the overload and progression method to progress you must overload. Such as you want to be fitter u run down your street 5 times in one day. to get fitter you run 6 the next day forcing your body over its limits or overload. day after run 7 then 8 then 9 ect... this pushes your body to adapt and get fit as your body sweats it sweats out fat and you body use's some up 2 their for you get fit.

Yet another exciting installment from Dr Boris.

[mat hudson]

you sweat fat out

[kells]

. Wooo i love this topic i feel so gud. Fat isn't used during exercise. Well not directly it does get used up but only after all auxiliary energy sources. To get fit or fitter you have to use the overload and progression method to progress you must overload. Such as you want to be fitter u run down your street 5 times in one day. to get fitter you run 6 the next day forcing your body over its limits or overload. day after run 7 then 8 then 9 ect... this pushes your body to adapt and get fit as your body sweats it sweats out fat and you body use's some up 2 their for you get fit.

Yet another exciting installment from Dr Boris.

Yeah thats what i got taught at GCSE but fat is actually the body's most plentiful source of potential energy

you sweat fat out

No its broken down in the body and you breathe it out as carbon dioxide