New diet. Any advice?

E

Epulum

Member
Hello.
Just to give you all a little background about me; i'm 22 years old, employed, in a stable relationship with one son (& another on the way) and live in my own home with my fiancee.

I'm overweight. "Clinically obese" according to bigwigs and various NHS, BBC and other websites which measure your BMI. 22 stone, 308lbs to be exact.

Now, it's never really been an issue for me, i dont really do that much exercise which is probably why its never been an issue, and i dont push myself hard for fear of being out of breathe but with a son, and another on the way i know i need to change my lifestyle NOW.

I've looked around the internet and spoke with other friends about how they keep track of their weight - but without them knowing im trying to lose weight, exercise more and eat less/better.

I've put together the following little plan, for a morning and throughout the day and i'd like to hear what people on here thought about it and also of any other tips or hints you may have.

Many thanks.

Wake up
Do a few exercises like sit ups, hip rolls, bridges, squats
Have breakfast within 15 minutes (metabolism?)
Walk to the next bus stop
Take the stairs at work, rather than the lift up four floors
Eat 5 meals a day (7:30, 10:30, 13:30, 16:30 & 19:30) consisting of no more than 300 calories per meal
Drink no carbonated drinks, and only water
Get off the bus home from work, one stop before mine & walk home
Repeat exercises from the morning
Jog/Shuttle runs for approximately half mile, then build up to a mile, 1.5 then two miles over time

Thanks for reading. & any help would be greatfully appreciated as its my first time of dieting...

Regards,
Epulum :sigh:
 
sounds like you have a plan. Personnally, i think it is too much change in one go. Do the changes gradually over a couple of weeks, you will find it easier to stick to it that way and it will become more routine.

Good luck
 
I know what you're saying but i think i need to hit it HARD, and if i don't do something which impacts every aspect of my life straight away then i won't notice a change to my life, and i wont take it serious. I need a massive kick up the whohar and hopefully this will do it.

I'm gunna try and nail 5 meals tomorrow at:
7:30 - Coco pops
10:30 - Banana
13:30 - Jacket potato, small amount of tuna
16:30 - Apple & nutrigrain bar
19:30 - Pasta/Potatoes with chicken/steak

Anything inbetween has to be fruit. No carbonated drinks whatsoever, not even diet coke. Water, Water and Water. I might look into some fruit squash but very diluted to the point of it just being a flavoured Water!

Then half hour on the wii and a small jog. Then a shower and an early night and see how i feel when i wake up Wednesday morning, then weigh myself on Tuesday (25th) morning and hopefully see an improvement, which will make me continue and push on :)

No more energy drinks
No more snacking on crisps or chocolate
No more burgers, pizza etc for dinner/tea:wave_cry:

Regards,
E:rolleyes:
​
 
Hi Epulum, the desire to hit it hard is probably a desire to lose the weight as fast as you can..so far so good...and well done for coming to this decision.

give it a go, you might find that you are a fitness power hitter and can meet your targets, sometimes to break inertia one does need a massive push at the beginning.

My only thoughts would be along

what support system do you have in place for this and what support systems aids and tools will you be doing?

The plan itself looks good but how are you actually going to do it and keep doing it?..

if you are very motivated and naturally proactive, its doable..my experience it that when the motivation flags if there is no support system in place, things flag. You speak of a massive kick up the behind, but who is going to give you that ? And why would you want to be kicked anyway..would you not rather be supported and encouraged along the way? Lets know what happens and do reach out..all the diet programes have support threads if you opt for either a commercial product or service.


Bella
 
Hi, thanks for leaving a message - all messages, and feedback etc are really welcome - the more i get the more i feel involved, and feel like i can come on the site and update with my story.

Regarding my support system, i don't really know if this is the answer you're looking for but this is all i've got right now so here it is :)

Im 22 years old, i know pretty much that its now or never. I could have chosen to stay at my current weight, maybe get abit bigger with my OLD lifestyle and plod on with my life and eat myself into an early grave but instead i've decided that im still young enough to change my life. I have a 19month old son, who will want his dad to play with him, and play football, run around with him and be energetic with him and i've also got another baby on the way which will want exactly the same - so to be honest, im doing this 50% for me and 50% for my kids. I want them to be proud of me.

My fiancee is helping me out alot, we used to get takeaway and things like that but now she isnt going to do that and we've decided to spend our money we spent on takeaways split between ordering a movie & putting an extra few £ in our savings jars, instead of buying the junk food i liked we now buy either fruit and good foods for both of us, the only junk food things we buy are things that my partner likes but i dont. She isnt gunna diet right now because of the baby, she is eating healthier and eating meals with me, but she is planning her diet as soon as baby #2 (Nathan, or Summer!) come in July - she'll probably come on the forum and join in at the time.

My motivation is to get fit for me, my kids and my partner. I know the first few days, and weeks are hard but i just weighed myself before writing this message and im coming in at 299lbs (i was 308lbs on Tuesday) and i've not been able to get out on my bike or for a jog at all yet, or plug in the nintendo wii so i think i've done really well just by eating less junk food and less carbonated drinks (used to have 2L of coca cola a night!!!!)

Maybe kick up the backside was wrong phrase to use, but its what i felt i was giving myself whilst my family supported me. Im not part of any SW groups or on any diets because im a really picky eater, i dont like many (if ANY) vegatables and im really self conscious and get embarassed so i dont want to attend any groups just yet :(

Many thanks,
Epulum.
 
Weigh day today, 297lbs! I have lost 11lbs in one week - i know people say to only lose 1/3lbs a week and gradually lose the weight however when you're starting off as big as i am i think an initial loss of 11lbs isnt so bad, it isnt even noticeable.


So, here's to another week of fruit smoothies, chicken, potatoes and pasta!

I'm buying a new exercise bike, rower and cross trainer today (from a friend, so cheap!!!) so im going to install them in the attic/loft conversion and put a old TV up there, a radio and aswell im going to stick some mirrors and pictures of my son aswell and if i do an hour up there a day, along with my healthy eating, i'll be a happy man!
 
Heya,
Amazing loss so far! Well done.
The having 5 small meals a day is a great plan, it helps to cut back on snacking.
You exercise regime sounds fab too, I'm all for jumping in head first rather than easing in, but do make sure you don't hurt youself :)

You've got some pretty damn good motivation and incentive there, so I've no doubt you'll do it!

And remember, the odd blip is fine, it's what you do after the fact that matters!

Best wishes!
 
Yeah i found that by having 5 smaller meals, at certain points of the day really works for me - and instead of carbonated drinks i've been making fruit smoothies with whatever fruits in the fridge, really easy, keeps throughout the day and they're really nice too :) Which is a bonus, because i dont like veg or salad, so meal times are difficult because there are only so many times i can have chicken, potatoes or pasta!


Exercise is working, i feel a small difference but only small enough that it all might be in my head, i feel like i can go for a little bit longer than when i started :)

The motivation is what i lacked before, and i usually quit after a day or two, so to have this forum and a diary, and the fact i've been doing it a week and im splashing out on some equipment, all makes me think, and know that this is for real this time! 11lbs in a week aswell, what more motivation do i need to carry on!!!


Thanks for the support! :)
 
It is freaking me out a little that our size, motivation and goals are so similar E. Keep it up mate and we will be able to be the dads we want to be for our kids.
 
I make my own breakfast smoothies too. I'm adding a bit of flaxseed (linen seed) and wheat germ in there to make it high fibre and it'll keep you full for hours!
Or instead of coco pops have some wholegrain cereal. Coco pops don't have much nutritional value and you will be hungry quicker. Also swap normal pasta to brown pasta. Potatoes are quite full of calories too and you can swap them for heaps of other veggies like broccoli and cauliflower! These are just things what I've discovered. You’ll find your own favourites in time :)
I love your motivation…you’re a good inspiration. Well done and good luck!!
 
"you can swap them for heaps of other veggies like broccoli and cauliflower!"
Thats a problem i have, i dont like any veg. Tomatoes, onions, lettuce, celery, cucumber, etc etc any of it.

Im going to eat the last of my pasta tomorrow and when i shop again i'll make sure i only buy wholemeal pasta.

Im usually ok on a morning, small bowl of coco pops or even just a little bit of fruit and im ok until about 3 or 4 o clock, whereas before i used to eat and eat and eat, i think im just getting used to eating NOT being a major part of my life and my daily routine, i just eat now when im hungry and eat for nutritional value rather than for taste.

Put it this way, there's 2L of coke, a massive slice of homemade chocolate cake and some leftover pizza in the fridge, un touched, which will be going in the bin tomorrow if my girlfriend doesnt eat it.

Still need to get into the habit of exercise though, buying myself the gym equipment (cross trainer, exercise bike and a daft thigh thingy) tomorrow so ill have an hour or so on that lot each day.

I've set myself a spreadsheet on Excel, got this year broke down into quarters (Jan-Mar, Apr-Jun, Jul-Sep, Oct-Dec) and my weigh dates there to keep a track of what i do - i have chose against putting in targets, because if i dont hit 1 or 2 that will knock moral.

Thanks, and here's hoping it continues!
 
Just been out and did a 1km jog/sprint/run in 4:59.1 and it absolutely killed me. I'll give the bike and Xtrainer a bash tomorrow when i get them at 5:30 and report back with how i get on.

No football for me (Watching, not playing, obviously!) at the weekend so i should have a good few sessions on the bike, perhaps throw in a daft 15/20 minute jog on the beach over the weekend too.

PS - Any idea how to incorporate natural yoghurt into a smoothie? I've got loads of fruit, and juice and ingredients but the natural yoghurt wont last in the fridge much longer so i want to use it asap!

Thanks! :)
 
Re natural yoghurt: just put it in! :)

My morning smoothies always have 60 ml natural yoghurt in there. It makes it nice and creamy :)
 
Heya, looks like you're doing well! Keep it up!
I'm so jealous that you're going to have your own cross trainer!!! That's what I miss most about the gym!

With the vegetables. Could you make yourself eat them? Eventually you will learn to like them. I had to force myself to start eating greens, but now that I do, sometimes I actually crave them! Which is weird. Just whack a load of gravy over them maybe? Or try the unusual ones, like, sweet potato or butternut squash.

Best wishes.
 
I didn't hurt or ache afterwards but i struggled through it and was REALLY out of breathe towards the end and when i got home when i had finished!

Do you find yourself out of breathe, or not?
What pace do you tend to go, a gentle continuous pace throughout or a few sprints?

I'll try blueberries, raspberries and strawberries with natural yoghurt tomorrow morning and report back!
 
Re: Veg
Nah, don't think anything will work - i'm going to try a few peppers cut up really small with my next pasta and maybe put some other bits in there too, just cut really small and hopefully get them out of the way but like i say, i dont like them, and if i know meal times are veg times, that'll put me off my diet and i'll crash.

I don't know what type of Xtrainer it will be, i don't imagine it'll be very good and i've never actually used one before but my dad tells me they're weird at the start but once you get used to them and know how to use them they are really good - and an exercise bike is well, just that - at least half an hour a day on each one, try for longer, but really push myself - i'll put a countdown on my phone too rather than a timer, so i know when the countdown is in the last 5 minutes to really go for it and work up a sweat!

+ I had a DIY disaster today so i've already been up and down the stairs a ridiculous amount of times! & heavy lifting!
 
Just hit the exercise bike, i did 10km in 14:43.1 - I know that the measurement is always going to be a little bit out, and the timing for that distance too but now i have a starting point at which to focus on for each time i use it - I'll aim to get my time under 14mins, and then under 13.5 and so on :) It took its toll, i was sweating like crazy and had to jump straight in the shower, but i feel better for it!

Weigh day on Friday, and it'll have been 10 days, so here's to a good Sunday, a good week and a positive week which will hopefully end on a high, and a high loss come Friday!
 
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