Newbie - Need to drop some fat weight

Have you tried chewing gum? Gum helps with my sweet cravings.

HAHA ya I already chew gum quite a bit.

So, I was wondering does this sound like an okay lunch?
Lean turkey on wheat w/lettuce,tomatoes,sprouts,spicy yellow peppers,1 slice of provolone and spicy mustard
followed by a green apple and water

This is what I ate today, planning on something else in about 2 hours
Then dinner about 3 hours after that

Also I will probably go for a jog/sprint/jog tonight before bed
Maybe something to eat after that as well?

Thanks,Raz

Hi again!

I'm so sorry for the delay! I've had an insanely busy past couple of days. I'm back now!

Yes, that lunch looks really good! After that try to stick to veggies instead of fruits as fruits tend to have more sugar (fructose) so you'll want to eat the majority of that in the mornings.

Before bed go for something like low fat cottage cheese and veggies or eggwhites and veggies. You could also through some healthy fats in there too.

Great job!! How are you feeling so far?

Cassie

feelin okay so far. the scale says i lost 5 pounds but i'm not too concerned about that. we'll see when i actually start to feel lighter or more fit.
anyway yesterday my meals looked like this:
430am - 7oz of frozen red grapes, 3 hard boiled eggs (2 whites,1 whole)
700am - oatmeal (water), 5 egg whites (microwave)
940am - 80grams lean roasted pork loin, 4 baby carrots, 3 sweet peas, 8inch banana
noon - 2slices whole wheat bread, 6 slices land'o'frost honey ham, 2 leafs romaine, 1 part skim string cheese, 6 carrots, 5 pea pods
320pm - 6 carrots, 2 egg white (microwave) // 21cal, 78cal
600pm - 2 wheat slices, 6 honey ham, 2 romaine, tomaoe, 1 string cheese, 5 carrots, 4 pea pods
900pm - 1/2 cup cottage cheese
Worked out in the GYM from about about 530 to 615am - weights full body - ten min treadmill upon exit

Today so far looks like this:
600am - 6oz frozen red grapes
730am - 1pk oatmeal (plain,water), 2 egg whites

Did about 30 minute cardio and just now finished my oatmeal and eggs.

Thanks for checkin' in hopefully I'll continue to have good news, and be able to stay motivated.
Also, if there's anything really wrong in my diet still let me know what you think.

Hi again,

Diet doesn't look too bad but definitely room for improvement. First, I believe your calories are too low. You'll definitely want to increase those. Starting out with calories too low can make you give up your diet too soon because you'll feel like youre deprived. Also you'll feel your energy levels start to drop and your metabolism will start to slow down to survive on the decreased number of calories that you're feeding it. I love to eat so I try to figure out how many calories I can eat and still lose weight. This number is going to vary from person to person but i would imagine that you should be able to eat atleast 2500-3000 (of clean foods!) while still losing weight. Sooo I would definitely increase calories and see how many you can eat while still losing weight. Once you figure it out, stick to those calories until you find that you're weight loss has stalled. At that point decrease calories a bit (maybe a 50/ day or so) until you start losing again.... and continue that process until you get to your goal weight. You really won't want to go any lower than 1800-2000 or so, so decrease slowly. By doing it this way you'll keep your metabolism firing at full capacity and you'll be more likely to maintain this diet as you'll be able to eat more making you feel more satisfied. Also, starting at higher calories gives you some "wiggle room" to decrease over time and keep your body guessing. I'm guessing you'll need to decrease calories about once a month or so... however this varies from person to person so you'll really just have to experiment and see what happens.

Ok looking at your diet:
430am - 7oz of frozen red grapes, 3 hard boiled eggs (2 whites,1 whole)
700am - oatmeal (water), 5 egg whites (microwave) (how much oatmeal are you having here? Could have a few more eggwhites)
940am - 80grams lean roasted pork loin, 4 baby carrots, 3 sweet peas, 8inch banana (I would add some healthy fat here. Maybe nuts, flax, or avacado slices)
noon - 2slices whole wheat bread, 6 slices land'o'frost honey ham, 2 leafs romaine, 1 part skim string cheese, 6 carrots, 5 pea pods (Not bad. Could add some healthy fats. Do you not like other veggies? Tomatoes, spinach, broccoli, mushrooms, asparagus, green beans, brussel sprouts, peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, celery... all offer a wide range of vitamins. Maybe add in some other frutis and veggies?)
320pm - 6 carrots, 2 egg white (microwave) // 21cal, 78cal. Need more calories here. For protein sources don't be afraid to try things like chicken, fish, lean beef, soy. Also, maybe try a different kind of veggie here? Peas and carrots aren't terrible but both have higher amounts of sugar than other veggies. Lastly, you need some healthy fats here. Nuts, nut butter, flax, olive oil, avacado are all good choices
600pm - 2 wheat slices, 6 honey ham, 2 romaine, tomaoe, 1 string cheese, 5 carrots, 4 pea pods (not bad. Need other veggies though. )
900pm - 1/2 cup cottage cheese (I would increase this to atleast a cup and make sure its low fat or fat free. You could add a bit of peanut butter to that cottage cheese too. Tastes delicious!)
Worked out in the GYM from about about 530 to 615am - weights full body - ten min treadmill upon exit

Good job! You really are doing great!

Cassie

Okay thanks for the feedback. I will do my best to adjust as much as possible today. Unfortunately i'm already at work and have my meals packed pretty much. Maybe i can buy something upstairs in the cafe. Still need to go to a market fresh store and get some nuts and maybe some other veggies/fruits.

As far as oatmeal I've only been having 1 packet - not sure how much is in one. Quaker Oats Original Plain.
I kinda get what you're saying about eating more calories (clean) but a bit hesitant. Afraid I'll just be counterproductive.
Not fond of peanut butter in any form but may try it out with cottage cheese.

My lunch today was gonna be tuna sandwich plain on wheat with romaine and tomatoes, some broccoli, carrots and water. any suggestions or additions before I head up to eat would be awesome (still got about 1.5hours)
Maybe i can pick up a plain yogurt fruit parfait or a side salad from upstairs if needed.

Thanks!

Hi there,

The quaker oats... does it have sugar or salt in it? Pour a packet in a measuring cup and find out how much is in one packet. You'll want to eat atleast 3/4 cup (measured uncooked). Next time you buy oatmeal go for plain old fashioned oats (comes in a big canister deal). I try to stay away from packets because sometimes they'll sneak in things like sugar, salt, and other stuff you don't need. With the plain oats you know exactly what youre getting.

Don't be hesitant to increase calories! Eating too few calories will only set you up for failure. You need a plan that will give you energy and that you'll be able to maintain for an extended amount of time. Again, don't go crazy... just slowly increase calories until you find a number that allows you to still lose weight. Also, keep in mind that when you're eating things like veggies and protein your body will have a much harder time storing those as fat as it would things like candy, pizza, cookies, and other crap. Trust me on this one ok. I promise I wouldn't advise you to increase the calories if I didn't think it was best for you in the long run.

Thats totally ok if you don't like peanut butter. You definitely don't have to eat it. Have you tried almond butter? I like that better than peanut butter. If you would rather have the cottage cheese plain that works too. Its all about catering the diet to what your personal preferances.

Lunch... That sounds great! I wouldn't do the yogurt. Side salad is great! If you can add things like olives, avacados, and sunflower seeds even better. If they have some form of olive oil vinegarette dressing then that would be perfect!

You're welcome. Happy to help!

Cassie

Going up for lunch now, i'll probably grab a small side salad to go with the sandwich.
The oats i had are pretty plain and weight 28grams dry, 0 sugar and 80mg of sodium 19carbs and 105mg potassium 3gram fiber and 2gram fat and pretty much nothin else. but okay next time i'll buy the big container.
I'll try that almond butter it even sounds more appetizing.

thanks again

For the oats... thats not even half a cup... sounds like one packet has about 1/3 of a cup on it. Have 2 packets in the morning until you finish those, then buy the tub. The tub will last you longer and is most likely cheaper than the packets too so thats a bonus.

Cassie-Thanks so much for providing the diet guideline earlier in this post.
I have been doing fairly well. I started at 210 on August 10 working out every day and trying to change my eating habits. I did great the first 2 weeks and lost 10 pounds..but I think it was mainly because I didn’t eat any fast food and I dropped drinking pop. I do still have one occasionally if I get a craving, but it doesn’t even taste that great now and I will drink less than half of it now. I used to drink 3-5 sodas a day and some were 32 ounce. I hit a plateau for the next 3 weeks and so I changed my exercising. I was exercising everyday but only the elliptical, so I decided to change it up with the bike and treadmill. I also think I was lifting too high of weights then…I lowered the weight and increased repetition. I also read on HIIT and so I added that at least 3 days a week…so then the weight started coming off again and ( I fluctuate hour to hour) but 197-194.5 range. For the last 2 ½ weeks I have been on a plateau and could not get past 194.5. I worked longer workouts, harder workouts, tried mixing it up more and just stayed the same.
Well, then fortunately I came across your post with including the lean protein and complex carb in every meal and the healthy fats in at least 3 meals…and thanks so much for listing examples.
I have been trying this following it pretty strictly this week. I write down in a notebook each meal and make sure I have the lean protein and complex carb, then add healthy fats into it. I am so excited to say yesterday I was down to 193 and today 191.5! Yay! A breakthrough, finally!! My goal was to be down 20 pounds at 2 months, which is Saturday and that would be 190 and I now think that is a a possibility. Or at least very close. I do what everyone says not to do and weigh myself every day and for me it encourages me to work harder or change my diet and so I do weigh everyday and I can understand the fluctuation in the weight, but I know being in the 200’s is now gone forever and I take a photo every time I reach a new number. So I have 210 - 191.5 now and it is very encouraging to see the progress I have made.
Example of how I have been following your advice. And I had a hard time with adjusting to eating 6 times a day because it feels like I am always eating, but I realize what I am now eating is making a huge difference and I love the foods (such as adding lunch meat – I didn’t know that was a lean protein! Also, I always hear you must eat under 1200 calories to lose weight.

Workout at 4:15am-5:30.
6:30am - 5 egg whites, 1 whole egg – salsa topping the eggs, apple and oatmeal. (I cook the eggs in olive oil)
9:30-10 - 5 slices of lunch meat (Oscar Meyer –BBQ chicken breast is yummy and only 50 calories per 5 slices and 1 g of fat) Sodium is 570 -460 on the smoked turkey but that is the lowest sodium I could find) grapes, string cheese, 10 almonds (now I love the almonds and I have read how great they are online but I still hesitate because of the 16 g of fat per 9 almonds) – It can tend to put me over on the Shape fit diet tracker suggested fat grams – which is like 40..something daily.
12:00- chicken breast with Tabasco sauce (cooked in olive oil), frozen peas, strawberries
2:00 - 5 slices of lunch meat, celery with peanut butter (still having trouble with this as I can’t stand the taste of low fat peanut butter – so I am still using regular Skippy)
4:15 - string cheese, grapes, 10 almonds
6:30 - roast, fish, - I cook for my family so it might be pasta, cheesy beefs, meatloaf and if it is I just cut my portion way down. Add a vegetable…
Corn or green beans, cottage cheese, tomatoes If I cook any kind of potato – I will also just have a small portion. Could be roasted potatoes with veggies,
Buy my family does like the instant flavored potatoes too.
8:00 – peaches, cottage cheese….maybe 10 almonds or string cheese

That has been typically what I have been eating this week and like I said I think it is the reason I got over my plateau.
Also, I take fish oil supplements (heard those are really good for the Omega 3 and I drink green tea all day and water. Usually 2 bottles at workout time and 4-5 more bottles during the day/evening. There is a spinning bike at the gym that I have started working on…and that really gives quite a leg workout.

Cassie-Thanks so much for providing the diet guideline earlier in this post.
I have been doing fairly well. I started at 210 on August 10 working out every day and trying to change my eating habits. I did great the first 2 weeks and lost 10 pounds..but I think it was mainly because I didn’t eat any fast food and I dropped drinking pop. I do still have one occasionally if I get a craving, but it doesn’t even taste that great now and I will drink less than half of it now. I used to drink 3-5 sodas a day and some were 32 ounce. I hit a plateau for the next 3 weeks and so I changed my exercising. I was exercising everyday but only the elliptical, so I decided to change it up with the bike and treadmill. I also think I was lifting too high of weights then…I lowered the weight and increased repetition. I also read on HIIT and so I added that at least 3 days a week…so then the weight started coming off again and ( I fluctuate hour to hour) but 197-194.5 range. For the last 2 ½ weeks I have been on a plateau and could not get past 194.5. I worked longer workouts, harder workouts, tried mixing it up more and just stayed the same.
Well, then fortunately I came across your post with including the lean protein and complex carb in every meal and the healthy fats in at least 3 meals…and thanks so much for listing examples.
I have been trying this following it pretty strictly this week. I write down in a notebook each meal and make sure I have the lean protein and complex carb, then add healthy fats into it. I am so excited to say yesterday I was down to 193 and today 191.5! Yay! A breakthrough, finally!! My goal was to be down 20 pounds at 2 months, which is Saturday and that would be 190 and I now think that is a a possibility. Or at least very close. I do what everyone says not to do and weigh myself every day and for me it encourages me to work harder or change my diet and so I do weigh everyday and I can understand the fluctuation in the weight, but I know being in the 200’s is now gone forever and I take a photo every time I reach a new number. So I have 210 - 191.5 now and it is very encouraging to see the progress I have made.
Example of how I have been following your advice. And I had a hard time with adjusting to eating 6 times a day because it feels like I am always eating, but I realize what I am now eating is making a huge difference and I love the foods (such as adding lunch meat – I didn’t know that was a lean protein! Also, I always hear you must eat under 1200 calories to lose weight.

Workout at 4:15am-5:30.
6:30am - 5 egg whites, 1 whole egg – salsa topping the eggs, apple and oatmeal. (I cook the eggs in olive oil)
9:30-10 - 5 slices of lunch meat (Oscar Meyer –BBQ chicken breast is yummy and only 50 calories per 5 slices and 1 g of fat) Sodium is 570 -460 on the smoked turkey but that is the lowest sodium I could find) grapes, string cheese, 10 almonds (now I love the almonds and I have read how great they are online but I still hesitate because of the 16 g of fat per 9 almonds) – It can tend to put me over on the Shape fit diet tracker suggested fat grams – which is like 40..something daily.
12:00- chicken breast with Tabasco sauce (cooked in olive oil), frozen peas, strawberries
2:00 - 5 slices of lunch meat, celery with peanut butter (still having trouble with this as I can’t stand the taste of low fat peanut butter – so I am still using regular Skippy)
4:15 - string cheese, grapes, 10 almonds
6:30 - roast, fish, - I cook for my family so it might be pasta, cheesy beefs, meatloaf and if it is I just cut my portion way down. Add a vegetable…
Corn or green beans, cottage cheese, tomatoes If I cook any kind of potato – I will also just have a small portion. Could be roasted potatoes with veggies,
Buy my family does like the instant flavored potatoes too.
8:00 – peaches, cottage cheese….maybe 10 almonds or string cheese

That has been typically what I have been eating this week and like I said I think it is the reason I got over my plateau.
Also, I take fish oil supplements (heard those are really good for the Omega 3 and I drink green tea all day and water. Usually 2 bottles at workout time and 4-5 more bottles during the day/evening. There is a spinning bike at the gym that I have started working on…and that really gives quite a leg workout.

Hey girl!

WOW! THank you so much for posting this awesome update message! I am SO PROUD OF YOU and SO HAPPY TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR PROGRESS!!! Honestly, you just made my day! I'm all smiles here!

Your diet looks absolutely AWESOME! Great great job!!! Isn't it amazing how much keeping the food journal helps to keep you on track? I've been keeping a food journal since March 30th and honestly feel like something is missing if i don't enter my foods in there. I've also decked my journal out with inspirational sayings, photos, and a list of the most common foods that i eat along with nutritional info for them (this helps me immensly!).

As for the misconception that you need to eat less than 1200 calories a day... honestly that is probably the biggest misconception out there when it comes to dieting and weight loss and it is the number 1 reason (in my opinion) why most people fail miserably when it comes to losing weight. This is NOT about starving yourself. It is NOT about depriving yourself. It is NOT about making temporary changes for a set amount of time. In order to lose weight and keep it off you MUST feed your body, and as long as you stick to clean healthy foods (with the occasional treat) you can eat a TON of food and still lose weight. I eat TWICE as much food as most people I know and I weigh half as much as them! (You'd think they would start to catch on!LOL!) I'm a firm believer that this is also about re-training your body to alter your cravings for food. Once the junk food is out of your system, you don't crave it any more and when you do eat it, it just doesn't taste right. When you feed your body clean healthy foods it begins to crave these foods... plus you feel so much better having them in your body!

As for the low fat peanut butter. STICK TO WHOLE FAT, 100% natural! That low fat stuff is pure junk with a bunch of sugar, sodium, and preservatives in it. I buy Adams 100% natural salt free peanut butter. The only ingredient is peanuts. The purpose of the peanut butter is to get healthy fats in your diet so do go for the high fat, natural stuff and enjoy it!

Again, I'm so proud of you and happy to hear that you are meeting your goals! Please continue to keep me posted on your progress! You could even snap some pictures so you can go back in the upcoming months and see how far you've come!!

Cassie

But really you are the one who made not just my day but my week! I think you are really informed and I am so thankful that you are sharing your knowledge.

The food journal is a huge help…I have tried with the diet tracker on here and it is great, but sometimes if I don’t enter it right away I forget so I find it is better to right it down first then go back later and enter it. That is a great idea about the inspirational sayings.

I think you are right about the 1200 calories a day because I can eat less but not lose. And I am now craving string cheese and lunch meat. Lol
I will look for the Adams 100% natural salt free peanut butter….not sure if I have ever seen that before.
Thanks so much for your encouragement…if it wasn’t for you and others here, I probably would have given up last month. And I will take some photos because I did when I started but haven’t lately. And my pants have gotten really loose.

I know that this isn’t a post on spinning but I seen on your profile that you teach it. Do you have any good pointers? I workout at Anytime Fitness and they have 1 spinning bike there and I was really hesitant to get on it, but I got on it over the weekend and once this week and I really like it, but whoa do my legs hurt the next day. Not quite used to that. Thanks again, Cassie!

I'm happy to help!

As for the journal.. I'm the same way with the online trackers. I need to enter my food as its going into my mouth so i know exactly how many calories i've taken in and how many i need for the rest of the day. This ensures that i get enough protein as well. Plus, I like to know exactly whats in my food and i've found that reading labels and actually measuring my food helps immensly. Sometimes i think those online trackers give you estimates instead of exact numbers.. I prefer exact figures so i measure my food (with a food scale and with measuring cups/spoons) so i know exactly whats going into my body... however i'm a bit extreme as my diet is taylored towards a competition diet so the average person probably doesn't have to be quite as anal.

Spinning... spinning is great because it is easier on your joints than, say running, and in my opinion is a more intense workout than just hopping on the ellipitcal and plugging along for 30 minutes. When my class is done the members are actually dripping sweat and this morning we had the mirrors completely fogged up. Its an intense class. When i teach spinning I load my ipod up with songs of different beats and tempos (classic rock works great!). Each song is a different workout in itself. For one full song we'll increase resistance and do a standing hill, then for the next song take it seated and pedal as fast as we can for the full song. For the next song we'll maybe do something like intervals, then crank the resistance back up to a standing hill again. Then on the next song keep all the resistance on there from the previous song and take it seated. Its kind of hard to explain.. does that make sense? Breaking it up like this makes the class go fast, and its actually a lot of fun. About once a month or so I'll play the song "YMCA" and make the class do the dance with their arms as we pedal. I get a lot of glares when i make them do it but its loads of fun!

Hope this helps. Keep the questions coming if you have anymore.

Cassie

Yes..that makes perfect sense...I will try that. Thanks again for all your help!

UPDATE:
Sorry it's been a while and I've been a busy guy. Anyway, I have lost 11 pounds and feel pretty good. The diet tracking in fit tracker has helped tremendously. Along with my handy dandy scale and various measuring spoons I can track pretty accurately what goes into my body, just as Cassie said. Also completely dropping the sodas,sweets,potatoes and fats I'm sure has had a lot to do with it. Still a long way from my goal but making progress.

Cassie,
Again thanks for the help, I will probably keep updating this post from time to time on my progress. And also if i have questions,comments, or concerns. So, check back every now and then if you can.

Rgds, Raz