Dieting and Exercising is this enough?

[vansmack]

Ok, here's the deal. I am 22, 6'1'' and 185 lbs. When I was in highschool I was extremely fit and toned, now after four years of university I have developed a bit of a gut, which can be attributed to eating worse, drinking more and excercising less. I am not really insecure about my appearance however I have recently become more aware of my family history with respect to heart problems.

Over the past month I have completely changed my lifestyle, trying to be proactive with respect to my health. I have cut out softdrinks, fastfood and almost completely stopped drinking beer.. In addition, I have been working out 5-6 times/week with what I consider to be a pretty intense routine (30-50 minutes of cardio + a rotating weight cycle).

My apartment has a gym, but the equipment is limited. I only ride the bike and lift weights at the gym. My other cardio comes from playing hockey 2 nights a week.

My daily diet usually consists of

Non fat yogurt for breakfast with 1% milk or orange juice
An apple on the way to school
turkey wrap and fruit bowl for lunch
1 baked boneless/skinless chicken breast w/ roasted veggies (broccoli, red pepper, mushrooms and onion) for dinner with a glass of milk

I also usually drink about 3 litres of water/day.

Although I know the changes must be positive, considering I used to eat fast food 5-6 times a week and drink about 24 cans of pop per week and the only physical activity was playing hockey twice a week, I have yet to witness any weightloss.

Am I doing somthing fundamentally wrong, or do I just need to be patient?

Thanks in advance for any help you mave have

 

[JTM]

Hey mate. Congrats on turning your lifestyle around.

My first impression is that you are not eating enough. While the things you eat are good, it's just not enough to give you the energy needed for the exercise schedule you have mapped out for yourself. As a result the body hangs on to the food you eat because it is afraid it wont get any more.

I will let the guru's in here give you more specific diet recommendations but I would suggest getting more protein in your diet and eating 5-6 smaller meals during the day (all containing a source of protein.) There is actually a lot of great advice re diet already on the forums so I would suggest having a look around.

Another consideration may be that you have gained a bit of muscle which has offset any fat loss. Do your clothes fit better?

Anyway, I reckon your aren't eating nearly enough and that's your problemo!

 

[vansmack]

Hello, and thanks for replying.
I guess my obvious problem is a lack of knowledge about how to effectively burn fat. Would it be possible to insert a few protein shakes before and after lunch to help with the lack of protein and up the calories a bit? I find it difficult to find the time to fit in the extra meals, but if it were as easy as a shake, i am sure i could fit it in.

 

[Dallen]

You can try eggs or oatmeal in the morning. Great way to start besides yogurt. That's like 2x the milk in the morning since you're drinking milk too. Best thing to do is find your BMR, then subtract 300-500 from it, then divide that up into 4-5 meals. I usually do 3 meals a day, with 1 protein shake. I know 4-5 meals are good, but I honestly can't put in that many meals a day. It seems to be working for me thus far, but only time will tell.

 

[C-MayheM]

Read all the stickies, study them, do what they tell you and you will be a fat burning machine. Come back with an improved diet plan, and we can make corrections much easier.

I can tell just by glancing at your diet that your are not eating enough food.

Also, what lifts are you doing? Reps? Try to go into more detail on your diet/workout, you are lacking a lot of useful information for us.

But as I said, check out the stickies first, then come back.

 

[vansmack]

Here is a little more info, specifically changes I have implemented into my diet for the past few days. I would really appreciate some feedback on this

Breakfast - 1 boost energy drink
AM snack - Banana
Lunch - fruit (watermelon, cantelope and grapes) 1 bottle (347 mL) V8 original blend
PM snack - 1/2 baked chicken breast plain
Dinner - spinach salad w/ renee's gourmet Wellness Fig Balsamic dressing w/ 1/2 of a red peper.
3/4 cup of whole wheat penne
1 plain baked chicken breast
1 diced tomatoe.

I did a basic calculation based on caloric intake and it is approximately 1100 calories, 15 g of fat, and 80 g of protein.

In addition my workout today consisted of
60 minutes on the bike - burned 629 calories travelled 23 km with my heart rate between 140-150 for the first 30 minutes and 150-160 for the last 30.
I also did a few sets of crunches w/ a friend tossing a medecine ball at me, while balancing on an exercise ball.

With this type of daily activity and consumption should i start to see better results? Am I still not eating enough? Also, I eat a LOT of chicken, is it bad to rely so much on it for a large part of my daily caloric/protein intake?

ANY help is greatly appreciated!

 

[C-MayheM]

Here is a little more info, specifically changes I have implemented into my diet for the past few days. I would really appreciate some feedback on this

Breakfast - 1 boost energy drink This is not a meal, it is real far from being a meal. It's like a negative meal...
AM snack - Banana
Lunch - fruit (watermelon, cantelope and grapes) 1 bottle (347 mL) V8 original blend Ok by lunch time, you have had nearly nothing to eat...
PM snack - 1/2 baked chicken breast plain
Dinner - spinach salad w/ renee's gourmet Wellness Fig Balsamic dressing w/ 1/2 of a red peper.
3/4 cup of whole wheat penne
1 plain baked chicken breast
1 diced tomatoe.

I did a basic calculation based on caloric intake and it is approximately 1100 calories, 15 g of fat, and 80 g of protein. You must be starving...

Read bold.

Drop the boost energy drink. You need real food for breakfast, oatmeal, eggs, chicken, ANYTHING.

I like your dinner.

Did you read the stickies? Do you know your BMR?

 

[vansmack]

Read bold.

Drop the boost energy drink. You need real food for breakfast, oatmeal, eggs, chicken, ANYTHING.

I like your dinner.

Did you read the stickies? Do you know your BMR?

I did and I don't. I have used a bunch of different online calculators, but I can't put a lot of blind faith in that. I assume its somewhere between 2200 and 2700.

I know i need more in the morning, and I am trying but I really have never been a big breakfast eater (i know its the "most important meal of the day"), As I have mentioned earlier, this is all a big switch for me, so I am willing to try to make adjustments.

 

[C-MayheM]

I did and I don't. I have used a bunch of different online calculators, but I can't put a lot of blind faith in that. I assume its somewhere between 2200 and 2700.

I know i need more in the morning, and I am trying but I really have never been a big breakfast eater (i know its the "most important meal of the day"), As I have mentioned earlier, this is all a big switch for me, so I am willing to try to make adjustments.

The equation is in the stickies.

You should eat 5-7 equal meals, though large meals mixed with snacks is also acceptable. Start training yourself to eat in the morning. Force yourself to eat something, even if it is not much. Eventually you will start to crave food in the morning.