Diet only fat loss - six week
Discussion
I've been working on an intensive project for most of the year that has another six weeks to go. I'm keen to get back into training with Ordinary Chap's No Homo Tops Off Training Tips thread but I'm working 12ish hours a day over 6/7 days at the moment.
I'd like to use the rest of October and November for a little experiment to see what impact just changing my diet has - though I'll be going for the odd swim or ride to blow the cobwebs away when I get the choice.
I don't want to be measuring stuff out and supplies of specialist foods are limited here in the Middle East so what I'm looking for is some sort of simple, sensible diet and some structure to go around it along the lines of the 'no carbs after 6pm' and the like.
Overall aim is to move towards a better eating regime and to lose some flab ahead of the exercise plan kicking in - I'll be off for much of December and Jan so I'm planning to really get into it then.
Can anyone point me in the right direction?
I'd like to use the rest of October and November for a little experiment to see what impact just changing my diet has - though I'll be going for the odd swim or ride to blow the cobwebs away when I get the choice.
I don't want to be measuring stuff out and supplies of specialist foods are limited here in the Middle East so what I'm looking for is some sort of simple, sensible diet and some structure to go around it along the lines of the 'no carbs after 6pm' and the like.
Overall aim is to move towards a better eating regime and to lose some flab ahead of the exercise plan kicking in - I'll be off for much of December and Jan so I'm planning to really get into it then.
Can anyone point me in the right direction?
Have a look at Rosemary Conley Low GI Diet book; you just pick a brekkie, lunch and dinner from the various menus plus a choice of snacks (fruit in the first couple of weeks, but more variety after that).
It's easy to follow, most of the food is really nice and easy to cook, and doesn't require particularly specialist stuff (she has seafood, chicken, meat and veggie options), and it brings results without being faddy.
Examples of the dinners; pork & mango meat balls, spicy chicken pasta, salmon and new potatoes etc. You do need to measure things but often you can roughly work it out from the package weight (e.g. buy 500g of meat, divide it roughly by 5 and you have 100g servings).
It's easy to follow, most of the food is really nice and easy to cook, and doesn't require particularly specialist stuff (she has seafood, chicken, meat and veggie options), and it brings results without being faddy.
Examples of the dinners; pork & mango meat balls, spicy chicken pasta, salmon and new potatoes etc. You do need to measure things but often you can roughly work it out from the package weight (e.g. buy 500g of meat, divide it roughly by 5 and you have 100g servings).
I thought fruit was full of sugar and therefore not so good?
Thanks for the Rosemary hint but I'd like to avoid following a plan as such - I'm not one for following recipes when I cook. What I need is some rules around what type of food to eat, when to eat what and what to avoid.
I am thinking:
1. Make time for a good solid breakfast
2. Have some low fat snacks available in the office (I spend a lot of time at work and the vending machine is a buddy)
3. Make lunch the main meal
4. Protein and veg for dinner
I don't eat much red meat and I don't drink that much because of work and because the Mrs is preggers. If I could get a structure like that above it would be a huge step forward from eating the wrong things whenever the mood takes me - and mostly in the evenings.
Thanks for the Rosemary hint but I'd like to avoid following a plan as such - I'm not one for following recipes when I cook. What I need is some rules around what type of food to eat, when to eat what and what to avoid.
I am thinking:
1. Make time for a good solid breakfast
2. Have some low fat snacks available in the office (I spend a lot of time at work and the vending machine is a buddy)
3. Make lunch the main meal
4. Protein and veg for dinner
I don't eat much red meat and I don't drink that much because of work and because the Mrs is preggers. If I could get a structure like that above it would be a huge step forward from eating the wrong things whenever the mood takes me - and mostly in the evenings.
Hitch78 said:
I thought fruit was full of sugar and therefore not so good?
Thanks for the Rosemary hint but I'd like to avoid following a plan as such - I'm not one for following recipes when I cook. What I need is some rules around what type of food to eat, when to eat what and what to avoid.
I am thinking:
1. Make time for a good solid breakfast
2. Have some low fat snacks available in the office (I spend a lot of time at work and the vending machine is a buddy)
3. Make lunch the main meal
4. Protein and veg for dinner
I don't eat much red meat and I don't drink that much because of work and because the Mrs is preggers. If I could get a structure like that above it would be a huge step forward from eating the wrong things whenever the mood takes me - and mostly in the evenings.
Most fruits are full of suger, some are OK. Again, low GI fruits are OK. Google should throw something up.Thanks for the Rosemary hint but I'd like to avoid following a plan as such - I'm not one for following recipes when I cook. What I need is some rules around what type of food to eat, when to eat what and what to avoid.
I am thinking:
1. Make time for a good solid breakfast
2. Have some low fat snacks available in the office (I spend a lot of time at work and the vending machine is a buddy)
3. Make lunch the main meal
4. Protein and veg for dinner
I don't eat much red meat and I don't drink that much because of work and because the Mrs is preggers. If I could get a structure like that above it would be a huge step forward from eating the wrong things whenever the mood takes me - and mostly in the evenings.
Porridge is great for breakfast, it's got carbs, but that's the best time to have them. Can either get the little microwave sachets, or just buy a big bag of it and make it yourself. I prefer the little sachets, simply for the convenience.
You can get trays of veg from most supermakets. Cook them the night before and then cook some turkey/chicken to go with at as a snack. You can also get little bags of veg, think they're around 250g, and they take a few minutes in the microwave. Not as nice as proper cooked veg, because they go a bit soggy, but they're great for meals because you get decent nutrition and they fill you up.
Should aim to eat every 3 hours, if you're just having veg and meat, then you can experiment with how much veg fills you up. Then normally around 200g of meat should do.
You'll need a fairly low carb diet to lose weight just by dieting. The problem with that is energy levels. You'll probably feel like s
t for the first couple of weeks, but your body will get used to it.
Ive managed to lose 2 inches off my waist in 5 weeks without doing any excessive exercise. 6ft 3 and gone from 38 to a 36 with a belt required or it gets embarressing)
I never ate breakfast and now have a decent sized bowl of bran flakes(or sometihng similar)
Some berries or similar fruit for mid morn snack
A salad consisting of spinach, tomates, cucumber, carrott etc with a breast of roast chicken
Anything I fancy for tea
and my 4 cups of coffee a day have been cut from 2 sugars to 1.
Not the biggest weight loss in history but like i said a 38 to a comforatble 36 and from an XL to an L in 5/6 weeks.
I never ate breakfast and now have a decent sized bowl of bran flakes(or sometihng similar)
Some berries or similar fruit for mid morn snack
A salad consisting of spinach, tomates, cucumber, carrott etc with a breast of roast chicken
Anything I fancy for tea
and my 4 cups of coffee a day have been cut from 2 sugars to 1.
Not the biggest weight loss in history but like i said a 38 to a comforatble 36 and from an XL to an L in 5/6 weeks.
Have a look at this guys work, its what I base a lot of my theory on;
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/
I'd suggest rapid fat loss handbook, below is an exert from his home page.
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/
I'd suggest rapid fat loss handbook, below is an exert from his home page.
Lyle said:
October 17, 2011
Rapid Fat Loss Without Weight Training – Q&A
Question: I’m beginning a rehab program for a diastasis recti. I’m male, 58. I’m in fairly decent cardio shape (resting heartrate of 52 and can do 30 second intervals at 85-95% MHR; I try to do 15-20 minutes of variable paced warmup followed by the intervals and cooldown.)
However, I’m significantly overweight (6′ 220; ~35% body fat by a cheap scale) which is obviously a contributor to the diastasis. You can see why the idea of rapid fat loss is attractive. The thing is, for the first 6 weeks on the diastasis program, strength
training is out of the picture. I’m doing my cardio on a VersaClimber, which at least works my legs fairly well.
Would the rapid fat loss protocol work OK under these conditions? It sounds as though to try it I would need to put in more time on the climber and skip the intervals for the duration.
Answer: The short answer is that, at your current body fat percentage, yes, the Rapid Fat Loss Handbook program can be done without weight training. This is an issue that I discuss in the book as well as in the article Initial Body Fat and Body Composition Changes but, simply, the higher your initial body fat percentage, the less muscle you are likely to lose under any circumstances (and by extension the leaner you are the more muscle you tend to lose, although this depends on a host of variables). The primary function of resistance training on any diet is to maintain muscle mass (as discussed in Weight Training for Fat Loss Part 1 and Weight Training for Fat Loss Part 2) but when the risk of muscle mass loss is reduced, the importance of weight training is lessened.
An additional factor, also discussed in the book is that there is often an increase in lean body mass (and this represents both muscle mass and connective tissue) when people gain body fat. From the standpoint of obtaining a ‘normal’ body weight (whatever ‘normal’ means here) losing that ‘extra’ LBM is thought to be beneficial or necessary by some obesity experts.
Rapid Fat Loss Without Weight Training – Q&A
Question: I’m beginning a rehab program for a diastasis recti. I’m male, 58. I’m in fairly decent cardio shape (resting heartrate of 52 and can do 30 second intervals at 85-95% MHR; I try to do 15-20 minutes of variable paced warmup followed by the intervals and cooldown.)
However, I’m significantly overweight (6′ 220; ~35% body fat by a cheap scale) which is obviously a contributor to the diastasis. You can see why the idea of rapid fat loss is attractive. The thing is, for the first 6 weeks on the diastasis program, strength
training is out of the picture. I’m doing my cardio on a VersaClimber, which at least works my legs fairly well.
Would the rapid fat loss protocol work OK under these conditions? It sounds as though to try it I would need to put in more time on the climber and skip the intervals for the duration.
Answer: The short answer is that, at your current body fat percentage, yes, the Rapid Fat Loss Handbook program can be done without weight training. This is an issue that I discuss in the book as well as in the article Initial Body Fat and Body Composition Changes but, simply, the higher your initial body fat percentage, the less muscle you are likely to lose under any circumstances (and by extension the leaner you are the more muscle you tend to lose, although this depends on a host of variables). The primary function of resistance training on any diet is to maintain muscle mass (as discussed in Weight Training for Fat Loss Part 1 and Weight Training for Fat Loss Part 2) but when the risk of muscle mass loss is reduced, the importance of weight training is lessened.
An additional factor, also discussed in the book is that there is often an increase in lean body mass (and this represents both muscle mass and connective tissue) when people gain body fat. From the standpoint of obtaining a ‘normal’ body weight (whatever ‘normal’ means here) losing that ‘extra’ LBM is thought to be beneficial or necessary by some obesity experts.
Someone has already mentioned portion sizes.
For me that's the biggest thing. I've always had large portions - sometimes of the worst foods. I live to eat ! And with age we need less.
However, for the last week I have really cut down. The body soon adjusts - its all in the mind. I should be on course for loosing about 5lbs this week - but I do have a lot to loose !
For me that's the biggest thing. I've always had large portions - sometimes of the worst foods. I live to eat ! And with age we need less.
However, for the last week I have really cut down. The body soon adjusts - its all in the mind. I should be on course for loosing about 5lbs this week - but I do have a lot to loose !
Thanks chaps - will be commencing tomorrow. I've already resisted the urge to do a booze run this morning so we're now a dry household. My wife has just found out she's got some pregnancy related blood sugar issues so we're having no treats in the house.
Smaller portions, significantly fewer carbs apart from breakie, less booze, no sweet/fatty treats, no eating into the night. We eat out a lot too, so I'm going to be very picky about what I choose off the menu.
Bought some better scales yesterday with body fat measurement also - I know it might not be entirely accurate but as a single source of data it will give me a baseline to work down from.
I'll report back through the other thread. I doubt it'll change my world but it'll get me through to the end of November when work should break, so will act as a phase one to a longer scheme.
Smaller portions, significantly fewer carbs apart from breakie, less booze, no sweet/fatty treats, no eating into the night. We eat out a lot too, so I'm going to be very picky about what I choose off the menu.
Bought some better scales yesterday with body fat measurement also - I know it might not be entirely accurate but as a single source of data it will give me a baseline to work down from.
I'll report back through the other thread. I doubt it'll change my world but it'll get me through to the end of November when work should break, so will act as a phase one to a longer scheme.
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