Diet advice

[rmalik25]

Hi all

I am new to this forum. I currently weigh in at 90kgs and am 174 cm tall. I am looking to loose weight, tone up and get the body that I have always dreamt about. Aim is to get to 80kgs in the next 6 months, i.e. around 15-Mar-2015.
I have always been lazy when it came to my diet and want to now get it under control. Over the last 4 weeks here is what I have been eating on 6 days of the week....the 7th day I have been using as a 'cheat day' and eating what I want:

Breakfast:
3 X eggs scrambled
1 X banana
OR
instant oats + honey + banana, strawberries

Snack 1:
Fruit or almonds or pumpkin seeds
AND
1 X skim latte

Lunch:
Roast Chicken/grilled fish with salad

Snack 2:
1 X skim latte
AND
Fruit e.g. 1 apple

Pre-Workout snack:
2 X rice cakes with peanut butter and cinnamon

Dinner:
Chicken breast + broccoli + brown rice or salmon + veges + broccoli

Snack 3:
Rice Cake + Peanut butter as a snack if required

I am working on 4 days a week which includes a mix of Cardio and weights. I am following the workout plan in the 'Bizzy Diet' on bodybuilding.com. On off days I might go for a 30-40 min jog.

What do you guys think of my diet? Anywhere I can improve.

Thanks
Rahul

 

[El Testicle]

Get on the clen bru

 

[El Testicle]

But srsly...

Ditch the lattes. 1st step.

Have you worked out your macros etc.. i.e. what amount of cals. you need to restrict yourself to?

Also need to do this in tandem with reviewing your current training regime and ensure you are hitting the sweet spot with your food intake when compared with the amount of activity you are doing on a daily basis.

I find this to be a pretty good macro calculator : http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/

If anything I'd say you're not eating much, but that would need to be reviewed with some knowledge of your workout routine/frequency as stated.

 

[Repacked]

Like [MENTION=15762]El Testicle[/MENTION]; said it doesn't sound like many Kj, but you'd need to provide a bit more info in terms of what it all works out to, how hard you're training and what sort of state you're in atm (bf etc.). I'd say the first step is to record everything (food) so you know where you're at, at last you have a starting point then.

 

[rmalik25]

Yup...lattes will be the first to go!

Did a quick body fat calculation on Body Fat Calculator, it says my BF is 21.5%

I recorded all my food intake yesterday in myftinesspal and the total calorie count for yesterday was 2251 calories: Fats: 111g, Carbs: 173g, Protein: 152g.

According to IF Calculator, I should be eating 2281 calories on Rest days: Fats: 82g, Carbs: 185g, Protein: 200g.
On workout days: 2851 cals, Fats: 114g, Carbs: 256g, Protein: 199g.

Is it me or is the recommended carb amount give by IF Calculator a little too high?

 

[El Testicle]

Yup...lattes will be the first to go!

Did a quick body fat calculation on Body Fat Calculator, it says my BF is 21.5%

I recorded all my food intake yesterday in myftinesspal and the total calorie count for yesterday was 2251 calories: Fats: 111g, Carbs: 173g, Protein: 152g.

According to IF Calculator, I should be eating 2281 calories on Rest days: Fats: 82g, Carbs: 185g, Protein: 200g.
On workout days: 2851 cals, Fats: 114g, Carbs: 256g, Protein: 199g.

Is it me or is the recommended carb amount give by IF Calculator a little too high?

Good start.

Yes, tbh I only use the calcs. as a guide as you find out that in time you know your own body best.

Esp. if your goal is to lose weight.

So.. What about your exercise regime?

Weights... cardio... sports?

 

[rmalik25]

For exercise I am currently doing the following:

Workout A: Upper Body, 2 times a week

20 mins on treadmill alternating 1 min walk then 1 min run
then
5 exercises 2 times through:
- 20 reps flat dumbbell press
- 20 reps dumbbell row
- 20 rep military press
- 20 rep curls
- 20 rep kickbacks
then
10 mins cardio, rowing, bike etc
then
repeat the weights workout above again 2 times

Workout B: Lower Body, 2 times a week

20 mins on treadmill alternating 1 min walk then 1 min run
then
5 exercises below 2 times through
- 20 reps squats
- 15 stationary lunges holding dumbbells
- 40-50 calve raises, holding dumbbells
- Ab exercise 1
- Ab exercise 2
then
10 mins cardio, rowing, bike etc
then
repeat the weights workout above again 2 times

I don't take much break when switching from one set to another....just the time it takes to setup etc. The workout takes me around 1hr and 10mins. The last 4 weeks I have done the above workout primarily using machines. I have already started seeing a difference in my physique. This week I have started using free weights instead.

I play squash once a week on Sunday, or go for a jog once a week for about 40 minutes on top of this.

 

[El Testicle]

Nice. Good effort mate.

tbh that workout is good for a beginner who is looking to lose weight (that is the goal yeah?) but I'm sure others would have their own take on such a routine.

So training 4 x a week at intensity with some active rest days by way of a jog and squash, which I understand can be quite intense on its own.

Is your reason for wanting to mix it up as you've feel progress has slowed somewhat? Or you just after a change?

 

[rmalik25]

Yea, the goal is weight loss and just get toned. I enjoy playing squash socially so want to continue with that...no other reason really. I think my progress at gym has been good since starting 4 weeks ago. I can already see more tone in my arms and chest area.

 

[White_Lie]

I'm doing the same training at the moment, workouts are good for fat loss, won't do much for muscle/strength gains though unless you've never lifted?

Cals seem on the high side to me but 10kg in 6 months will be achievable at that rate. What are you eating on 'cheat days'? I would limit it to a cheat meal rather than a day but refeeding can (or will) help

 

[C_T]

ok its banana or oats, not both.

fruit and almonds/pumkin seeds are 2 different strategy's, you can't just choose, it depends what you previously had and lifestyle.

milk is the devil, try some quinoa/almond/coconut blended types of milk. you'll never look back

chicken and broc? why? how about adding some more colours to the plate? the more pieces of colour the more diversity, the more diversity the more natural micronutrients your covering which directly relates to positive growth.

thats my 2 cents at a brief glance

 

[C_T]

keep the latte, doesn't matter. gotta keep some simple things you enjoy.

 

[Rugby88]

Best condition I ever got in - I ate -

Meal 1 - Protein shake with non-sweeted almond milk (about 40 cals a serve/2-3g carbs), Almond oil - great stuff

Meal 2,3,4 - Salmon, handful of almonds

Meal 5 - 350g-500g steak, with Salad - whatever sauce you like


Cardio 5-6 times a week - 30mins - 1 hour

Training everybody part - 2-3 times a week (In total I was honestly doing prob 8-12 gym sessions a week)

- Had a "carb up/re-feed" on Saturday morning for 1st meal (Oats/honey/peanut butter/protein powder - mixed together) and then a semi cheat day on Sunday - i.e subway lunch with acouple of cookies, maybe abit of ice cream but everything was pretty much the same for the rest of the day as the rest of the week.



Thing is keep it simple, and something you can keep doing for the long term - make sure the main focus is protein then carbs/fat - I tend to focus more on fat between those 2 when dieting - always always keep protein high though.

In regards to training - honestly when I was dieting/in crazy mode - aslong as I didnt train the same bodypart 2 days in a row - that was really the only rule - and I mixed it up - heavy, light, low reps, high reps - I tend to suggest though when dieting to try and keep weights as heavy as possible between the 2-4 sets x 6-8 and then maybe 1 or 2 lighter sets/finishing sets afterwards if need be - do all light work/15-20 reps etc for everything/every session you will find it hard to build any muscle or maintain any muscle you have built.

 

[Repacked]

keep the latte, doesn't matter. gotta keep some simple things you enjoy.

But isn't milk the devil?

Science.

 

[Shrek]

ok its banana or oats, not both.

fruit and almonds/pumkin seeds are 2 different strategy's, you can't just choose, it depends what you previously had and lifestyle.

milk is the devil, try some quinoa/almond/coconut blended types of milk. you'll never look back

chicken and broc? why? how about adding some more colours to the plate? the more pieces of colour the more diversity, the more diversity the more natural micronutrients your covering which directly relates to positive growth.

thats my 2 cents at a brief glance

That's just the Zone Diet. Picking colours for food.
Oh and let me guess, avoid white????

 

[rmalik25]

What are you eating on 'cheat days'? I would limit it to a cheat meal rather than a day but refeeding can (or will) help

I had a cheat day on Saturday, and I ate a burger for lunch, and KFC in the evening...Had a 4 drinks that night as well.

I am restricting my calories to roughly 2200 cals per day, including 135g of protein using the 1.5g per kg rule.

I have noticed since I have been on this plan over the last few days my energy levels have dropped. People at work this morning have also told me that I look very tired...I don't think this is normal? My guess is that I am restricting the carbs in my diet. Anyone else have this happen to them?

 

[steveP]

I had a cheat day on Saturday, and I ate a burger for lunch, and KFC in the evening...Had a 4 drinks that night as well.

I am restricting my calories to roughly 2200 cals per day, including 135g of protein using the 1.5g per kg rule.

I have noticed since I have been on this plan over the last few days my energy levels have dropped. People at work this morning have also told me that I look very tired...I don't think this is normal? My guess is that I am restricting the carbs in my diet. Anyone else have this happen to them?

2200 calories a day with only 135g of protein should give you plenty of room for carbs.

 

[jzpowahz]

ok its banana or oats, not both.

fruit and almonds/pumkin seeds are 2 different strategy's, you can't just choose, it depends what you previously had and lifestyle.

milk is the devil, try some quinoa/almond/coconut blended types of milk. you'll never look back

chicken and broc? why? how about adding some more colours to the plate? the more pieces of colour the more diversity, the more diversity the more natural micronutrients your covering which directly relates to positive growth.

thats my 2 cents at a brief glance

I don't even know where to start. Seriously, wtf?!

OP: if you have been eating this way for 3 weeks with your cheat day also then all you need to do now is objectively measure your results.

How has your weight moved?
Measurements?
pics?
strength levels in gym?
energy levels day to day? (down, so possibly increase cals a bit)

Calorie calcs are a good starting point but they are just estimates and since you have ACTUAL data, you should use that and adjust from there.

And yes you can still have lattes provided they fit into your total cal/macro targets.

 

[rmalik25]

OP: if you have been eating this way for 3 weeks with your cheat day also then all you need to do now is objectively measure your results.

How has your weight moved?
Measurements?
pics?
strength levels in gym?
energy levels day to day? (down, so possibly increase cals a bit)

Calorie calcs are a good starting point but they are just estimates and since you have ACTUAL data, you should use that and adjust from there.

And yes you can still have lattes provided they fit into your total cal/macro targets.

Yes, my weight has moved in the last 1.5 weeks. I am down from 90.5kgs to 89kgs last night which is a good sign! I also am feeling clothes have been looser on me over few days. I can started to see some definition around my arms and chest area and my calves look stronger than over. One thing I have noticed after moving from the machines to free weights...I am seeing results a lot faster!

As for strength, I am increasing weight by 5-10% every 1.5 weeks.

My energy levels are back to normal. I think the cause was that I was not getting enough sleep. I am been going to sleep at 11pm lately and things seemed to have improved so I will probably stick to the same calorie intake.

 

[El Testicle]