Do you think that this diet would be sucsessful?!

[helen888]

Hi, i am a 19 year old girl, since meeting my boyfriend in 2010, i have gone from a UK size 8, to a UK size 12. The main reason being, eating out more, and his family own a chinese restaurant, (where i work) and have been eating Chinese atleast 5x a week!

i need to loose atleast a dress size asap because im fed up of feeling frumpy and unsexy in my clothes!

my main issue is i work all the time so don't have much time to cook and exercise!

i would love to go on a diet which contains nothing but stew-like dishes;

eg: garden peas, sliced carrots, sweetcorn, one potato, and lean steak mince, boiled together in a pan for about one hour, served in small bowl, with one slice of brown wholemeal bread -

eaten twice a day, for as long as i can keep it up, would equal a weight loss, or, do you think it would equal weight gain? because meals such as stew fill me up, therefore i snack alot less, paired with 1 hour exercise daily, and lots of water!

but, as i have read, the bread and potato are carbs.... so will it have the opposite affect even though its only one potato and wholemeal bread? NOT TO MENTIOn i won't be eating chinese- which will cut out alot of calories in my diet.........

do you think it will be sucsessful?

 

[Aline]

Helen,

I honestly don't believe carbs are evil. Most of my calories come from whole carbs (brown bread, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, potatoes, veggies and fruits...) then I add some vegan protein (tofu, lentils, beans, peas, ...) and sometimes a drizzle of olive oil but it's rare.

I'm at my normal weight range and I swear I only gain weight when I increase my fat intake.

You gained weight because chinese food has crazy amounts of fat.

Your plan sounds very repetitive, if you don't mind I would suggest that you add something for breakfast (e.g. fruits with a slice of your favourite brown bread).
Your stew sounds great but only for lunch and dinner, but I think you could change some ingredients everyday for some variety. You could add a side salad for greens as well

You're right on the water thing, drink lots of it.

 

[RachBlue]

I'm living off that kind of stew thing most days a week for now, I jazz them up with garlic or curry paste or cheese and beans, but the base is 1 potato, 1 onion, 1 big carrot, 1 courgette, about 200g broccoli and some celery, all chopped and boiled in a big stockpot for an hour. My skin's never been healthier and the weight's coming off, and most days I have enough for 3 or even 4 bowls... I do cheat a bit and use 10g Onion Bisto granules stirred in in the last 5 minutes, which maybe aren't the healthiest thing on earth but they make all that veg taste so much better they're worth it (I don't eat meat btw).

I don't eat bread either but have GG Bran crackers dipped in, they're like cardboard eaten alone but dipped into this they add more fibre.

I'm not that bothered that it's repetitive, once I start to maintain I can branch out a bit more but for now I decided I'd sacrifice indulging my taste buds' every whim to getting back in shape.

Edit on 18/09 to add, I tried swapping out the potatoes for the equivalent calories in green lentils on the most recent batch I cooked, they're something I was always too lazy to bother with before, and they made the whole lot far more filling - if you're adding meat it might not be such an issue for you, but just thought I'd make a flying visit to mention it!

 

[Initiative]

Hey Helen, your idea is great! Stir fries are an awesome way to get slim. I would try adding foods that have less sugar. Naturals sugars are good for you but it seemed like you had a lot of them all bunched together. Veggies and proteins are an easy way to jump start weight loss. Try imagining your eating in a weeks period like a pyramid. Starting say.. Sunday you eat more strictly proteins and veggies, and as you go further through the week you increase your carbs and sugars and; then decrease again at the end of the week to start over. Working exercise around that schedule will help a lot as well. Heavier workouts on protein and veggie days can speed up fat burn so when you start eating carbs again and slow down your exercise your body will get comfortable again. I like to think of it as tricking my body... <_<;; Hope this helps!

 

[rowanx2]

I imagine of you just stopped with the take away food and ate normally the weight would come off, but sounds like some nice foods youre planning on eating anyway, sounds healthy enough to me.

Contentment often means piling the pounds on! xxx