Diet to lose weight - Advice?

Associate
Joined
1 May 2012
Posts
203
Location
Scotland
Just looking for some advice or motivational stories here.

I am 25 and use to be fit as a fiddle since I was 20 or 21 I was promoted and have sat behind a desk since working in a warehouse since I was 16 and over the years my body has changed from having abs and not being/feeling fat to where I am now.

I am 6'2 and currently 92kg or 14.5 stone not sure where this fits in the obese or not category but I am not happy with how round I have become.

My diet is not the greatest and I have tried strict diets in the past but something always brought me away from them.

Breakfast - Never usually have it - Around 10am I will have a breakfast drink

Lunch - Noodles or rice and chicken or a pot noodle but the usual crisps, biscuits, chocolate is there as well I know I need to cut this out

Dinner - Chips with everything but the other part is usually a decent meat or chicken - Do have the odd takeaway but have been staying away from Mcd's and such

Supper - Nothing

If I am feeling peckish I can binge on a share bag of crisps etc.

I do have a drink on a Saturday and wont be changing that at the moment as its my release from the week of work.

Work can be very busy at times and I simply do not have time for the Gym with current involvements - Me my other half and a mate took up swimming for about 6 months last year as we all enjoy it but work simply gets in the way and if it doesn't it leaves no time for anything else.

I have weights and a bench as well but again its trying to find the time but what I did notice when I was lifting and dieting I was actually gaining weight but I think that is down to muscle actually being just as or heavier than fat - Given I never tried to shed any weight before lifting.

Also have an exercise bike in the house.

My goal for the moment is simply to diet correctly and lose weight to the point I actually have a flat stomach again - Abs start in the kitchen I guess.

I have managed to replace most of my fizzy juice drinking with water but it is flavored water is this a downfall? I cant stand drinking normal council juice.

Are just liquid diets any good?

Hopefully I can use this thread to update any changes or keep track of my general gains and losses - I really want to get back to a point where I am happy and be strict to keep it there.

So does anyone have any advice or tips for this tubby one :)
 
Swap chips for vegetables, cut out all the crap (biscuits, sweets, etc) and have something filling for breakfast.

Try an app that lets you log calories (MyFitnessPal for example) and see how much you're actually eating. Don't miss things off, you're only lying to yourself.

Get little bits of exercise here and there. No one, and I do mean no one, is so busy that they can't fit in 30 minutes of walking per day.
 
Just cut around 1000 calories a day and you should lose 2 pounds/1kg per week, I went from 84kg to 71kg in around 3-4 months while still eating fast food. MyfitnessPal app on your phone can help with this and keep track of it all.
 
Remove the chips, biscuits, chocolate, crisps and other sugary foods/drinks from your diet. You don't burn enough daily so those types of food turn into fat deposits.
Replace with fruits, nuts, carrots but don't go crazy - moderation is the key.

Replace rice with brown/wild race.

Have noodles only during the days you take your bike out.

Start with that and keep in mind that going hungry every now n then is natural. Don't start stuffing your face as soon as hunger sets in.

Forget diets, they rarely work in the long term, it's all in the life style as Diddums said.
 
To be honest, you don't need to make as big a change as you think....but the difference it will make will be dramatic

Sugar is evil

If you only did the following few things it would really help

No chocolate bars
No full sugar drinks
Cut down on the chips
Take yourself for a walk a few times a week

You 'could' get youself something like an apple watch which makes going out for exercise a little bit more fun. Kinda motivates you when you can keep track of your progress.
 
Just don't have snacks and eat nutritious meals.

Cut out all biscuits, cakes, chocolate and sweets etc. It is all empty calories that provide no benefit.

If you absolutely must have a sugary snack at some point, have a piece of fruit.
 
Bin the crisps for a start. If peckish try an apple. Flavoured water contains 3-5 spoons of sugar per bottle.
You seem to be making lots of excuses for not doing exercise which probably means you do not want to do any. I know I have been there. For me it took a health shock to loose weight.
Tips.
Get a smaller plate for your food. In most cases it works.
Cut out sugar in drinks ... this will take time to readjust your taste buds to sugar free tea or coffee. There is massive amounts of sugar in every day food.
Walk a bit more, do it faster and climb stairs instead of getting the lift.
DONT go for faddish diets. They never work especially in the long term. Just eat a little bit less of everything you already eat.
Alcohol is a big calorie addition but you need something after a weeks work.
Decide what exactly you want to loose. Your weight/height shows you are not that much overweight.
Give yourself a reasonable time scale to do it. Unreal timescales are useless.
Any exercise will build up muscle weight but this can be compensated by fat weight loss.
I set up a spreadsheet of weight loss over time and it was a great motivational tool as I saw my progress and challenged me to do better.
Situps, for your stomach, you can do in your house
Lots of small things you can do which build up to a lot.
 
Prepare food to bring to work such as fish, chicken, etc. Don't have sauces. Cut down on bread, rice, potatoes, crisps and pasta. Most food at work will be poor quality full of sugar and salt. Cut down on carbs and anything that has a lot of sugar. Have regular times to eat so your body gets used to regular meal times and reduces the temptation to snack between them.

Exercise can be as simple as just walking everywhere. Yes you can make time. I work at least 12 hours a day with 3 hours commuting. Then look after kids when at home. When I was losing weight I would walk for an hour at midnight when everyone was in bed and when all the other housework had been done. There is always time if you want it enough.
 
How much of a drink do you have on a Saturday? Bearing in mind a pint of beer is roughly 250kcals minimum, 4 of those and you can wipe out a 1000kcal deficit without even thinking about it.

If you don't want to or can't exercise you don't have to if you all you want to do is cut some podge,it does mean you'll have to be stricter with what you eat though.

Workout your BMR http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ then your total calorie needs http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/ then you can start having a proper look at how much you can eat.

Switching from rubbish food to "healthy" food but then eating a ton of it because it's healthy will not help you lose weight and is something a lot of people fail to understand.
 
Wow lot of feedback - Thanks guys

I will try to make the changes manageable - As I have tried going from one extreme to another all out and became bored of very fast

What could I have for breakfast thats meaningful? Either before I leave or make at work - I have never been big on cereal or anything

Going to get the fitness pal on my phone - I do walk when I can (passing my test at 17 made me lazy in a sense as I love cars) I always opt for the stairs don't take lifts but while im hungover on a Sunday I suppose I could go for a stroll as I dont drive a day after drinking anymore.

I will lose the fatty things I shouldn't be eating - Carrots is an interesting 1 never thought of them before - What would a good kind of lunch entail to some of you?

Glen8 - Thanks for that as dramatic is what I am going for :)

I should have mention in the first post as well that I am a big bread/roll eater usually have 2 rolls at lunch as well.

Aaa so the flavored water isn't quite as good as I thought it was - What about the flavorings you can get to put in normal water is that just as bad?

Its really not that I don't want to exercise (although when I was and not losing weight I was disheartened wont lie) as I said when I done the swimming I loved it, I use to lift my weights do an hour on the bike in the past as well but I made the mistake of doing it to get 'big' with a mate and we never saw it through to the end but the absolute killer is time I am usually at work for 8am working until at least 6 or 7 then drive to pick the wife up from her work can entail me waiting half an hour ( suppose I could go for a quick jog or something) then were home for 8 or just before and need to have dinner - Not all nights are like this but most during the week are.

Do ron ron I hope you are now happy and healthy.

I may need to look into a spreadsheet and making a diet plan or something as motivation of keeping things going is what can kill me - But I suppose that is where not trying to do everything at once comes in.
 
Prepare food to bring to work such as fish, chicken, etc. Don't have sauces. Cut down on bread, rice, potatoes, crisps and pasta. Most food at work will be poor quality full of sugar and salt. Cut down on carbs and anything that has a lot of sugar. Have regular times to eat so your body gets used to regular meal times and reduces the temptation to snack between them.

Exercise can be as simple as just walking everywhere. Yes you can make time. I work at least 12 hours a day with 3 hours commuting. Then look after kids when at home. When I was losing weight I would walk for an hour at midnight when everyone was in bed and when all the other housework had been done. There is always time if you want it enough.

I am going to try and make the time even if it is just walking as it is really beginning to get me down :)

Can you elaborate on the regular times to eat as currently I am just lunch and dinner really - The snacking can be random one day and none the next its very odd.
 
When I lost a load of weight, from lifting weights and eating well, there were times when I weighed pretty much the same but had substantially less fat. I ended up not really worrying too much about what I weighed.
 
Join slimming world.

I lost 6.5lbs last week..

So far this week i have lost 1lb, but i expected it to slow down.

Involves a complete change in mindset (well it did for me).

But im 2 stone lighter and much happier from it.
 
Prepare food to bring to work such as fish, chicken, etc. Don't have sauces. Cut down on bread, rice, potatoes, crisps and pasta. Most food at work will be poor quality full of sugar and salt. Cut down on carbs and anything that has a lot of sugar. Have regular times to eat so your body gets used to regular meal times and reduces the temptation to snack between them.

Exercise can be as simple as just walking everywhere. Yes you can make time. I work at least 12 hours a day with 3 hours commuting. Then look after kids when at home. When I was losing weight I would walk for an hour at midnight when everyone was in bed and when all the other housework had been done. There is always time if you want it enough.

Nothing wrong with Rice, potatoes and pasta.
Nothing wrong at all... I eat an abundance of them yet lost 2 stone within 3 months by just changing what i eat.
 
There's nothing wrong with any food, eat anything and everything just do it sensibly.

I changed my diet a few weeks ago as I need to trim down a bit and I've been having mashed potato, roast potatoes, bread, etc. and I'm losing fat. It's really not about what you eat.
 
Back
Top Bottom