Need helpfull hints on dieting

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AgitatedPancake

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Hey there! As you can see, im new here. I'm now 19 years old, and I've been working out for about a year. I'm right around 6'1" and 6'2", and went from 260lbs to 205 through working out. It wasn't until recently that i've put myself on a strong workout schedule, focusing on weight training more than cardio. The problem im facing, is that i've hit a serious plateau on my weight loss, as I have been right at about 205 for about 3 months now. My problem is my diet. I have a VERY hard time keeping a good diet (not even a strict one, just avoiding fast foods, sweets, etc). I was wondering if any of you have any tips on keeping a healthy diet, without cheating yourself out of losing weight.

My goal is to get down to approximately 190lbs, or wherever i start feeling confident in myself and my body.

Thanks!
 
hi

i don't follow the strictest diet, but I try to avoid getting hungry throughout the day by eating something with a lot of fibers for breakfast (ex. oatmeal) and lots of it, make food at home and bring it to work if they don't serve healthy stuff where you work, and if I want candy I have dried fruit which works great. good luck and don't forget cardio it strengthens the most important muscle you have ;)
 
One of the reasons people don't typically stick with a healthy eating plan is they go too far and deny themselves too much. Yes, there are the ultra dedicated, but for the vast majority, you have to find a balance between eating the things you want and eating the things you should. For most, it's the only way to stick with it.

As for avoiding fast food, pack a lunch, it's all a matter of routine. When you do end up at needing to grab a quick bite out, choose the best you can - no, you don't have to get a cheeseburger and fries just b/c you are at Wendy's, you really can order the grilled chicken with Baked Lays and iced tea instead of soda.
Big Bacon Classic combo w/ DrPepper - 1280 kcals/50g fat/160g carb
Grilled chicken w/ Lays and iced tea - 500 kcals/10g fat/70g carb

See the difference?
 
AgitatedPancake said:
Hey there! As you can see, im new here. I'm now 19 years old, and I've been working out for about a year. I'm right around 6'1" and 6'2", and went from 260lbs to 205 through working out. It wasn't until recently that i've put myself on a strong workout schedule, focusing on weight training more than cardio. The problem im facing, is that i've hit a serious plateau on my weight loss, as I have been right at about 205 for about 3 months now. My problem is my diet. I have a VERY hard time keeping a good diet (not even a strict one, just avoiding fast foods, sweets, etc). I was wondering if any of you have any tips on keeping a healthy diet, without cheating yourself out of losing weight.

My goal is to get down to approximately 190lbs, or wherever i start feeling confident in myself and my body.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

How many calories are you eating? If you've plateaued, more than likely it's your diet.

My only advice is to not treat this as a "diet". Diet implies something short term. Look at this as a lifestyle change. Don't completely ban foods. Allow yourself your favorite unclean foods once or twice a week, in moderation. Practice self control. If you happen to slip up, don't think "well, my day is ruined now". Just get back on track; don't fall into that cycle.

Food will always be there. You are only going to have one body.
 
Honestly, I've been living on a very random diet. The way I have been eating there is no way to count my calories. I am really trying to get myself on a decent diet that I don't mind, and can turn into a routine.
 
Look at the sigs of several of the more hardcore members. Many of them have the link to their FitDay journals, which shows what they eat on a daily basis.
 
After searching around the forums some, i've started to get a feel for things. I made myself a fitday, and have posted todays food intake in it. I know the balance isnt great, but feels good beginning an eating routine for myself...so its a step in the right direction. I also did the math for maintenance calories, coming out to about 2820 calories. I know I need to eat more then I do now, with less fats and carbs. What do you all think?
 
What do you guys (and gals =P) think of todays report? Anything I should really look into changing besides getting cardio in (which comes tomorrow).
 
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You could possibly up your calories just a bit 2820 - 500 = 2320 or 2820 - 20% = 2256.

Your ratio looks pretty good (40/32/28)

A few small things,

*SlimFast is good for convenience, but not the best choice in the world (has a lot of sugar and junk in it).
*try to get some plain water in there with that Propel (I understand the need for some taste every now and then though)
*try brown rice instead of white rice

Overall, if your previous diet consisted of a lot of sweets and fast food, then you should feel good about getting it together and getting on the right track. There will always be rooom for improvement, but it boils down to making choices each day - will I eat a burger for lunch or chicken and veggies? It doesn't happen overnight, but one small choice at a time.
 
Thanks for the info deschain!

I did a workout today for my delts/traps, and figured it was a good day to do my first session of HIIT. Holy cow. That was....incredible. I feel like I should turn myself in for physical abuse after one of those...basically killed me. Including warm up and cool down it aws 22 minutes long....and I felt sick afterwards.

(R = run, S = Sprint, W = Walk; SPEED, then TIME in minutes):
Warmup
R 6.5 ... 3
S 8.5 ... 1
W 3.5 ... 3
R 6.5 ... 2
S 8.5 ... 1
W 3.5 ... 2
R 6.0 ... 1
W 3.5 ... 1
R 6.0 ... 1
W 3.5 ... 1
Cooldown.

I kinda forgot the pattern once I got there, so I accidentally overran at the beginning, tiring the crap out of me at the end lol. Next time I'll try to follow whats in the HIIT Explained thread better if you all think it would be better.

It was one of those times where afterwards I got the feeling that I just KNEW it was a good workout, ya know? Anyways, got home and drank a protein shake.

I can't wait to see how I feel in a few weeks, as I am just now getting my diet in check, and doing a *much* better cardio routine!



Heres an edit to ask all of your advice, to tell me what you think I should do. Right now I'm working each muscle group 1 time a week, for a total of 4 times a week. Heres how it goes:
Mondays: Chest/Triceps
Tuesdays: Legs/Calves
Wed: Break Day
Thurs: Traps/Delts
Fri: Back/Biceps.

Each muscle gets a couple different workouts. I don't have set days for my cardio, but its usually like mon, wed, fri (probably stay the same for HIIT). If I am trying to lose some body fat while trying to keep my muscle/maybe gain a little (not looking for major improvements as im losing weight though), does this sound good or would you recommend something else?
 
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I've been reading on people doing 3 full body workouts per week, are they better than what I listed above if i'm trying to lose weight? I've been searching around and havent really seen anyone saying outright that the full body is better than seperate ones.

Another question is about my diet, right now as deschain said my carb/protein/fat split is about 40/32/28 percent on average, I was wondering if I should try to up my protein while keeping the same caloric intake (possibly lowering carbs some in the process)? This is another subject that i've been having a tough time finding in the forums through all the searching i've been doing.

Thanks alot for all your help, Greg!
 
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