Need some advice on a weekly exercise and eating plan!

[Detroit_Waves]

So, this week Ive figured its time to sort out whats been going on the past few months. Out of nowhere Ive gone from being a skinny runt, to having a belly, something now, that needs to be fixed! So lets start with a bit of background.

Im 25, up until I was about 22 I used to eat nothing but crap, I could eat burger king and dominos all day and not put on any weight. I never ate salad, fruit or veg. At 22 I started cooking, and stopped eating most crap, although I still have the odd curry here and there. Although my diet could still be a lot better, I now eat a salad, veg, and the odd fruit. As some of you may know from a fairly recent thread, I had a huge addiction to Coca Cola. Laughable by some, however, for 10+ years I have been drinking 8+ litres a week! The end of last year, I decided to stop this though, and from November Ive cut down to no more than half a litre a week, most weeks being none. I know many associate things like sugary drinks with weight gain, but honestly, for me, I was fortunate enough that this wasnt the case. The gain of the belly came just before I gave it up, so I dont think this factored TOO much in the gain either. Up until about a year ago, I was always about 9 and half stone with a 28 waist. Ive now gone to about 11 stone with a 31 inch waist. Im not saying I want to be a skinny runt again, I like having a little more size, the rest of my body Im not too fussed about at all, as I cant see too much gain there, its literally just the belly thats getting me down. However, any excess body fat elsewhere that has gained, I wouldnt mind shifting too.

So, I need your help, as my knowledge of what I should be eating and shouldnt be eating, and what exercises I should be doing on a weekly basis, is well nonexistent. Im hoping you guys can help me get a rough weekly guide in place, that I can start implementing straight away, so as of right now, here is my current weekly guide.

Food wise: Most mornings I have cornflakes or toast (normally white). Lunch can be anything of everything, so real structure, but normally some pasta or a sandwich. Dinner again, can be so varied, but its normally homecooked by myself, so I can happily make most things. Normally based around meat, I try and get some veg in there, but its normally root veg. I dont snack too much, but I have to admit when it is, its normally chocolate based. Fruit is the big thing I want to replace chocolate with, I just dont like most of it, so all I have to work with really is bananas! However, just getting into apples and some oranges! I know I need to cut out white bread and pasta, something Ill be doing as soon as this starts. I know the same goes for potatoes, which I eat a bit of...so hopefully some useful replacement suggestions too!

Exercise: Well this is something I have neglected heavily! I have been travelling a lot for the past couple of years, so exercise has gone out the window. From next week though, im back on the jogging train, making sure I get a few miles in at least 3 times a week, something Im exicited about getting back into. What other exercises should I be getting in weekly however? I dont belong to a gym, as I travel too much, so wouldnt be able to make the most of it, so anything home or outdoors based please

Drink: I dont drink too much, I have a beer here and there, but never over the top. I drink a fair bit of wine, but normally a couple of glasses every couple of days, as well as a couple of glasses of whiskey a week.

I dont smoke cigarettes, but I do smoke on average one or two cigars a week and I dont do or take drugs.

So yes, this is where I stand. Can anyone help, in getting a rough weekly plan together that I should be following to get this belly flat again? Im not too bothered about having crazy abs definition, just back to the way I was a year ago.

Thanks for reading, and look forward to hearing your help! Any Q's just ask!

 

[icecold]

SO MANY OF THESE THREADS RECENTLY!

You seem to have a fairly good grasp of what you should be doing (although replacing chocolate with fruit isn't the best idea), so I'm not really sure what you want us to say.

Reduce all your carb intake, stop having cornflakes for breakfast and get some protein in at this point, and then exercise. You probably don't have that much weight to lose, and if you have zero interest in putting a bit of muscle on that's more or less all there is to it, you can get back to where you were in no time.

 

[Detroit_Waves]

Well what im looking for, is some advice on what exercise is going to be best for me, and what meals are going to be best for me as this is where I get a lot lost!!

For example, what protein should I be having for breakfast? Why are cornflakes so bad? Whats wrong with replacing chocolate with fruit as a snack? And what exercise should I be including on top of the jogging? And when you sy cut carbs, do you literally mean stop eating as much as possible, or will dropping all white bread, rice, pasta and the such, for brown instead, be enough? These are the questions that get me lost, as my knowledge on these areas is next to none, and I want as much knowledge as possible about what im doing to my body and why.

 

[sigma]

Lol similar ages to me but I weigh a fair bit less (still under 10st I think) but the belly has started to form and it's disgusting! Trying to do something about it but don't really want to lose too much weight!

I read that the less you weigh the harder it can be to lose weight so might have to resort to carb cycling? Not quite sure but someone will no doubt be able to shine some light on the matter.

For breakfast have boiled eggs.

 

[icecold]

Briefly as I don't have much time:

- eggs for breakfast, at least 4. Or something like makerel on toast. Need to be aiming for at least 30g of protein.
- cornflakes are bad because they are just a carb source, and not a great one at that.
- the sugar in fruit can't be used by your muscles directly, it's always converted to fat first by the liver
- there are different levels of carb reduction you could go for. Only brown sources I'd say was the minimum, almost completely zero carb being the max. A happy medium is a general reduction of ALL sources that *can* come in white forms (bread, pasta, rice). So brown toast is ok for breakfast, but avoid pasta meals for dinner almost completely. Beans and lentils are fine. Basically you want to reduce the amount of carbs that spike your insulin to as small a quantity as you can reasonably manage.

Here is my standard-ish meal list for when I'm controlling my carbs:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=18422880&postcount=106

 

[Detroit_Waves]

Cheers for all the advice! Whats magical about the 30g of protein in the morning? And so youre telling me fruit isnt the wonder its been cracked up to be for years? Ive felt crap for not eating enough of it, but actually, its not as good for you as I though? Ill be looking to drop as much carbs as possible then! Hard as it seems everything has a good bunch of carbs in.

Anyone have any good alternatives to say, potatoes with dinner?

And still hoping for some advice on what weekly exercises I should be looking at!