Forty0z's Fitness/Food Journal

[Forty0ztoFreedom]

I have a lot of weight to lose. I've been having Slimfast for Lunch but just read somewhere in another thread its high in sugar?? I have to take a lunch to work and find Slimfast to be a good choice . . with a banana usually and a 90 calorie gronola bar.

I read high fat is good to lose fat too?? That sounds insane to me. I thought low-fat is the way to go. I've always thought like staying below 15 grams of fat is the best way.

I've seen so much other bvll**** uncovered on this site I can only assume the same will be true for dieting. So what is the best way to eat when trying to lose a lot of fat?

Also, how much weight training should I be adding to the cardio I do?

 

[Warboss Alex]

I honestly can't think how anyone can eat less than 15g of fat a day unless you live off lean turkey breast and egg whites. you definitely need more than that for so many reasons, one of which is fat loss - deprive your body of fat and in most cases it will hold onto as much fat as it can. conversely, convince your body that fat is in plentiful supply via a moderate/high dietary fat intake and it'll start using up its own stores.

if you've been living off slimfast and sub 15g of fat a day and have a lot of weight to lose, you don't need to do anything drastic - your diet should consist of protein, fat and low(er) carbs through fruit and vegetables.

simple fat loss rules for the 'average' guy:
- eat protein (meat, fish, poultry or eggs) in every meal
- eat vegetables in every meal
- eat 3-4 meals a day plus snacks if you are hungry for them
- don't count calories, eat until you are satisfied - if you're still hungry eat more protein and vegetables in your meals
- feel free to have some fruit if you want, but keep it earlier in the day
- snack on nuts, fruit, yogurt, cheese, vegetables and sugarfree jelly/jello
- drink at least one gallon (4 litres) water a day
- half a gallon of strong green or white tea in addition to your water has tremendous health and weight loss benefits
- supplement with 10g of fish oil a day
- 2 meals a week have whatever you want and as much as you want - but make this the last meal(s) of the day
- if you have to eat out and you've already had your 2 'free' meals for that week, then eat meat and vegetables, steak and vegetables, chicken salad (no croutons), if you're getting burgers or tacos then scrape the meat/cheese out and eat that (throw away the bun/shell)
- do some sort of exercise every day, weights or cardio for at least 30 mins a time
- in addition to your scheduled exercise, increase daily activity levels - take the stairs instead of the elevator, park as far away from the building/store you're parking at so you walk further, walk briskly wherever you go

follow this for 3 months and you will be happy afterwards.

 

[Forty0ztoFreedom]

Wow, you just about blew my mind. That seems like a lot to me, but you seem to know more. How big are these 4 meals though? I'm guessing not your average full-plate meal? And what should I be doing for carbs?

I live at home and pasta/rice is for dinner a lot of the time . . Should I be avoiding that completely?

 

[user43770]

Wow, you just about blew my mind. That seems like a lot to me, but you seem to know more. How big are these 4 meals though? I'm guessing not your average full-plate meal? And what should I be doing for carbs?

I live at home and pasta/rice is for dinner a lot of the time . . Should I be avoiding that completely?

It's not really about how much you eat, it's more about WHAT you eat. You should be getting the majority of your carbs from fruits and vegetables. Your parents should respect the fact that you're trying to improve yourself.

If it was easy, nobody would be overweight.

 

[Warboss Alex]

A lot of what? Food? You can eat a lot and lose weight, as long as it's the right foods. In fact the worst thing that many dieters do is eat too little and screw up their metabolism and thyroid.

As for the meals, simply go by your hunger and scale them according to the energy needs of the day. That means for example, a good sized breakfast and a smaller meal in the evening. But don't be hungry! Just eat until you're satisfied: cook up a lb of meat - if you're hungry for all of it, eat it. If not, eat the remainder later in the day.

Don't worry about measuring or weighing food. Just eyeball it, no-one ever got fat from eating too much meat or vegetables. After a while you'll know how much food will make you satisfied and be able to cook more accurate portions but for now, err on the side of too much.

You should not be eating any carbs that aren't vegetables or fruit. So pasta and rice are out I'm afraid. Save these for your free meals. As you lose weight you can factor them back in, even on a daily basis but not until you've lost the weight in the first place.

 

[Forty0ztoFreedom]

Ok . . I obviously know nothing about this. I always just tried to eat as little fat & calories as possible. Had moderate success sometimes but its been a yo-yo thing. Except about 8 years ago, I lost 120 pounds pretty much eating next to nothing. Gained it all back eventually . .

Is there a good book or video, even some threads, you would recommend so I can learn more?

I read one you wrote and you mentioned eating carbs pre-workout and post-workout. Does that still mean fruit/vegetables only?

Thanks to both of you for the replies.

 

[Warboss Alex]

reading books is all well and good but there's a lot of conflicting information out there - the basics you need to lose fat in this thread. one guy I trained (or rather, did his nutrition plan as he did zero exercise) lost 20lbs in 2 months eating as I described above (with zero exercise like I said). kept it off too.

don't worry about pre and post workout carbs either. get into the routine of sticking to this plan first and then you can worry about those (and to be honest, people with a lot of weight to lose - 120lbs counts as a lot) shouldn't even be having those either.

your goal right now is to be consistent with your new way of eating.

 

[Forty0ztoFreedom]

Ok, just so I'm clear . . Should the meats I'll be eating be lean? Like, lean chicken, steaks, etc. Or is something like Meatloaf, a burger, meatballs etc. acceptable? What should I look for in terms of fat content.

And I drink on weekends . . whats the best way to go about this? I heard Wild Turkey whiskey has no carbs . . How about that and diet soda?

 

[Warboss Alex]

you should include some moderately fatty meat in your diet, as it will give you energy in the absence of starchy carbs. but overall just eat a variety of meats and don't worry about the fat % right now.

always eat whole eggs though. none of that egg white business.

 

[Warboss Alex]

sorry, forgot this bit.

And I drink on weekends . . whats the best way to go about this?

the best way is to not drink. otherwise, spirits are probably the 'safest' thing to drink - but remember as soon as the alcohol hits your bloodstream, you ain't burning fat anymore. if you can avoid drinking, do so. if you drink a lot, count it as a free meal so you get one less the following week.

 

[Quagmire911]

the best way is to not drink

 

[Forty0ztoFreedom]

Sounds good .. thanks a lot, man. I can't believe how wrong I was before today.

Looks like Subway is almost as bad as Burger King now.

 

[EFFORT]

(throw away the bun/shell)

no no pass that my way instead

 

[EFFORT]

Forty make a journal here too, and start listing what you eat everyday for awhile. This will help keep you on track and we can also help you a lot easier.

 

[Throttle]

losing bodyfat is hard enough (i don't care what any braggarts here say to the contrary) w/o having to wade through misinformation. WBA is feeding you the straight dope.

 

[Forty0ztoFreedom]

I think I will start a journal, thanks. Is there a way to just turn this thread into one? That would be the best way to learn.

 

[mintxx]

Just post away my man.

 

[SinJester]

I would just like to add a slightly different opinion. You could work out how many calories you eat in an average day and work out how many calories a day you need to maintain weight. Then you can count your calories and aim to eat just under that every day untill you lose weight in which case you will reduce it slightly more. You have to do it slowly or you will put you body into starvation mode and it will hold onto fat.

That being said Warboss knows what he is talking about and you will get results and be a lot healthier if you follow that. I just wanted to add a seperate way of looking at it. All of this is assuming that you are exercising.

 

[Warboss Alex]

I would just like to add a slightly different opinion. You could work out how many calories you eat in an average day and work out how many calories a day you need to maintain weight. Then you can count your calories and aim to eat just under that every day untill you lose weight in which case you will reduce it slightly more. You have to do it slowly or you will put you body into starvation mode and it will hold onto fat.

With all respect, someone who has 100lbs to lose and has previously been eating as little as possible does NOT need to be counting calories.

in fact - most people will be better off not counting them as it leads to overanalysation. this is individual of course, however in this case calorie counting is the last thing that should be considered.

forty0z, PM Quiksilver and ask him to change the title of this thread to 'forty's journal' or something and just keep posting on here..

 

[Forty0ztoFreedom]

Alright. Hopefully the thread title is changed soon.

I should mention I've also been taking some diet pills called "Lean System 7." I'm not sure if anyone knows about it . . Here are the ingredients:

"Green Tea Extract (45% EGCG, 80% Polyphenols), Yerba Mate Leaf Powder (Ilex Paraguariensis),Natural Caffeine, Caffeine Anhydrous, 7-Keto (3-Acetyl-7-Oxo-Dehydroepiandrosterone), P-Synephrine (Advantra-Z), Bioperine (Piper Nigrum) Fruit, T3/cAMP Activator Bend: L-Tyrosine, Guggul Lipid Extract (2.5% Guggulsterone), Evodia Rutaecarpa Extract (10% Evodiamine), Clary Sage Powder, Coleus Forskohlii (Forslean 10%). Cognition Complex: Xanthinol Nicotinate, Bacopin (20% Extract), Vinpocetine. Other Ingredients: Gelatin Capsule, Rice Bran, Magnesium Stearate, Titanium Dioxide, FD&C Red No 40, FD&C Yellow No. 6 and FD&C Blue No. 1."

Should I stay on this or drop it and do the green tea/fish oil thing? Or both?

As for food . . I started the diet after work yesterday, but I'll include all of yesterday anyway.

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, salsa, and a little cheese in a wrap. (Plain wrap)

Lunch: Slimfast shake, banana, and granola bar with Diet Orange Soda.

Got home from work and had a small plate of Roast Beef, Green & Wax Beans . . one of those small plates that you can rest a coffee-mug on. (I don't really know how to measure amounts of food exactly when there isn't a Nutrition Information label).

I worked out like I usually do . . I get on the treadmill, walk at 2.5 to the 2 minute mark, then run to the 30 minute mark at around a speed of 3.8-4.0, then I walk to the 50 minute mark at about 3.0.

This was HARD yesterday for some reason. Could it be because of lack of carbs before the work out? Oh well, I'll deal with it if its better for me.

Today for breakfast I had the scrambled eggs, salsa, and cheese without the wrap. And I have the same lunch (Slim-fast.) Speaking of which, should I stay on Slim-Fast or do something different for lunch?