NoRubNoDub

Hi all, I've decided to drop some weight an get myself in shape. I've got a routine of using the my fitness pal app to keep track of my calorie intake. I'm a little confused about what I should be aiming for. The app has gave me a target of 1600 calories for my life style. I'm still a little confused about how I should be taking these calories to get the best i.e carbs/fat/protein. I'm also finding that I'm taking much less cals than recommend. Averaging from 1000 to 1200, is taking less than this counterproductive?

Also what sort of exercise do I need to be doing to complement this?

dojj

iTrader: (3)

the first thing to do is to sort your eating habits out for regular intervals

once you've got your body used to eating regularly then you can start counting calories and adjusting them

NoRubNoDub

Well I've started forcing myself to take breakfast which I never did before, I'm haven't a light lunch and dinner with snacking on fruit if needs be.

dojj

iTrader: (3)

i've been off work for a month now, and doing a bit of gardening and a little bit more exercise and eating regularly i've gone from 72 kgs to 75 kgs

so the moral of the story is eat properly first which is a good start for you

how long have you got to lose the weight?

NoRubNoDub

I do eat well, always fresh, plenty of veg etc. The problem is binge eating with me. I live with my brother and we always cook too much, too big of a potion, seconds etc. I'm keeping a tight eye on potion sizes now but I'm still not sure about low carb/low fat etc, I'm just going with low calorie at the moment.

I'm under no real time pressure to do it but I'd like to have a good bit off for summer.

St3V3_C

Regards portion sizes - I'm sure someone said each meal should be the size of your fist.

NoRubNoDub

That sounds about right for the main part of it, you can add on plenty of salad and veg then?

Big G

No wonder I am a fat cunt with these shovels at the end of my arms

dojj

iTrader: (3)

no no no

each "portion" of your 5 a day fruit and veg should fit into the palm of your hand

your heart is normally roughly the size of your fist, as is your stomach, but your stomach expands, plus your food is compacted when you eat it so it takes up less space (unless it's a liquid lunch)

mercury grey minter

Calorie counting is bollox.Whats best ....
1000 calories of donuts or 1000 of fruit and veg??.
It's what you eat not how many calories.
You could fill your daily 1600 calorie intake with pies,chips,cake e.c.t. but you wouldn't drop any weight

Best thing to do is
Up your protein intake.
Drop your carb intake
Do plenty of cardio (running,walking or cycling.
Oh and drink lots of water,good for you and will make you feel full.try drinking a pint of water just before you eat.

NoRubNoDub

Reduce meal sizes full stop then, I've just had a big plate of salad with tuna. Is that far wrong? The salad works out under 30 cals tuna 120 and dressing is 20.

That's sounds about right, really need to look at what I'm eating aswell as calories and size.
And I'm not getting away with drinking two or three double espressos with cream and sugar just because they are "only" 60 calories each lol

I've been upping the water but I wouldn't eat at all if I had a pint before a meal. I normally drink about 4 pints if water a day between meals.

bigchez

losing weight is extremely straightforward - forget all the fad diets and miracle cures, simply eat less and move more.

There are lots of eating plans online (and in the fitness and weight training room on here ) but I'd say get into a regular exercise routine to get your fitness up and follow the common sense rule of lots of fruit and veg, good fresh meat and less fried food, takeaways, booze, etc.

If you're training for a specific event or sport then you can increase protein, carb load, etc, once you're a little further down the line.

Once you get into it you'll really enjoy feeling better and challenge yourself to do more and more - this week for example I cycled 60k on sat morning, ran 10 miles tues eve and just back from gym tonight where I rowed 10k, cycled 11k and did 75 press ups - yet I'm still a big 16 stone lump as I like a shandy and lots of cheese so have to exercise it off

NoRubNoDub

There a fitness room? Lol I'm not looking a miracle cure ( although I'm taking that herbalife bullshit in the morning because I hate eating in the morning and it's fast) I'm looking for the rules and tips to keep me on track.

NoRubNoDub

Not sure about this fists theory. Tonight's dinner was exactly 150 calories 30g of protein 1.5g of fat 1.7g of carbs but it was a full plate, about 3 fists?

dojj

iTrader: (3)

Salad tends to take more energy to digest and it has less energy to recoup in the first place
Plus its filling for the short term and the nutrition isnt as much as other foodstuffs which keads to it being good for you to lose weight
Its also easy to eat several times a day so win win
Just take it slowly rather than shock your body into accepting changes overnight, take a few weeks and that way you can slowly fube tune it to meet yoyr requirements

NoRubNoDub

I've been at it 13 days now. I've been pretty consistent so far but it's just calories I've been controlling. I'm just trying to figure out what works and what doesn't.

Ellie

Actually, you would, unless you have a shit slow metabolism/sitting down all day in which case your BMR may be lower.
But, 1600cals is 1600cals. Burn them and you'll lose weight.

dojj

iTrader: (3)

My evening meal tonight was as follows:
One tin of tomato soup
1 little bottle of aptimil
2 rotis
1 medium sized bowl of moong dhal
1 small bowl of spinach
1 can of redbull with 3 shots of vodka
3 more shots of vodka with a can if coke

Ive also cunsummed 2 crumpets
6 custard creames
2 big bowls of mushroom curry
4 380ml bottles of lucozade
4 toast

And some other bits and bobs throughout the day

I currently weigh 75 kgs and this is a fairly normal daily intake

NoRubNoDub

image.jpg

Last week

image-2.jpg

This week, am I taking too little?

image-1.jpg

Today's breakdown, pretty much spot on?

NoRubNoDub

Wow that works out at 3,905 calories.

Ellie

Aptimil??? That's baby milk.
Actimel by any chance?? Lol

JoeE30

As has already been said before above, up your protein intake, lower your carb intake, good fats, fish oil, up your fibre intake and drink plenty of water.

As for cardio, do plenty.


You WILL not loose weight eating 1600cal of high saturated fat,
Starchy carbs and high sugar foods... WILL NOT!

Stick to the basics that have worked for decades for the majority of sports/fitness people.

High protein (fish, chicken, steak etc)
High fibre (green veg, asparagus, broccoli, kale etc)
Good fats (eggs, fish oil supplements)
Cut out breads, pastries, white pastas/rice etc
Drink 2l+ a day water
Green tea helps
Cardio as much as you can a day whilst at the gym(don't mean 5 hours ha)

RS09SAT

Also, workout your body fat %, that will having a baring on your calorie intake. If you have low BF then you will need to eat more.

Also, what is your BMR? And what is your day job? If you under eat your body wont shift the fat.

Disclaimer: I'm no expert, but have managed to lose six stone (so far)

NoRubNoDub

How do you work out those? The app I'm using worked out my calories based on my height, weight, age and activity levels.

I'm mixed activity wise, I have three long days of college with the rest either working on wind turbines, on a farm or behind a busy bar or nothing. It a quite hard to get an average activity level.

NoRubNoDub

How long did it take you to shift six stone?

RS09SAT

This for your BMR http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/
This for your BF http://www.bmi-calculator.net/body-fat-calculator/

Your body fat will give you a good indication of how much calorie deficit you can get away with. Be honest with the measurements otherwise you will only be cheating yourself.

RS09SAT

I started in Jan 2013. But for about six months I had no real idea what I was doing.

dojj

iTrader: (3)

and yet i struggle to put on weight, my wife by comparison just has to look at a slice of cake and gains 5 stone (or so it would seem)

mmmm danone

75 calories
11.7g sugar
1.5g fat
1.1g saturates
0.1g salt

also forgot yesterday that i ate 200g of honey roasted ham slices (tesco) which i nibbled at throughout the day every time i went passed the fridge

It's Czech Mate

Thats good advice at the bottom but at the top you are wrong

1600 calories is 1600 calories, if you burn more than you eat you will lose weight unless you have discovered how to break the laws of physics

NoRubNoDub

I want to get it worked out now so I'm not wasting time, I've done other bullshit diets before and they don't last. I need a lifestyle change.

I'll take a look at BMR's now, thanks.

RS09SAT

I'm happy to give adive, but like I said I'm no expert. I only know what has worked for me.

If you come back with your BMR and BF I will let you know what I think.

NoRubNoDub

I've the same metabolism as your wife then, I could put on noticeable weight over a few days
My little brother would be similar to you, eats whatever he likes and is skinny as a rake. Eats a big breakfast, takeaway or about four sandwiches for lunch and then a dinner that would feed a family of four (he had an entire baking tray of a cream based pasta last night for example) and he constantly snacks on chocolate bars. ( I'm not bitter )

NoRubNoDub

BMR 2299.7
I'll have to work out BF later.

RS09SAT

Thats about the same as mine, 1600 calories is probably way too little. If you are pretty active day to day you could probably eat 2200 calories and still lose weight.

If you was in a coma your body would burn 2299 calories a day to maintain its weight, that is just your basic bodily functions. Normally you wouldnt really want to eat so much under your BMR, that is where your BF comes in to play.

dojj

iTrader: (3)

in one of the articles on arnold schwarzeneggers site they make the same exact point, there is no such thing as bad calories IF you work them off

obviously there's the issue of everything else that comes with those calories like salt and fat and all that but i'm in no way an expert in whats what but for specific calorie counting only, you either bank them or you use them

i find that i use up energy really quickly though, an hour working in the garden digging up and carting shit about is enough for me for the day and it takes ages for me to get the energy back, but working on the car where it's slow steady work i could go on for days and days without eating

NoRubNoDub

I'm eating far less than 1600 and still getting plenty of food. I've been told going below 1200 puts you into starvation mode and you don't lose weight?

RS09SAT

Not 100% true. There is no such thing as starvation mode.

Your body has three sources of energy, food, fat and muscle. If there is not enought food it will burn fat, if there is not enough fat it will break down your muscle. This is why your BF % is important.

If you have high BF and can deal with eating 1600 cals then keep it up. Otherwise you could end up do yourself and metabolism damage.

NoRubNoDub

If that's the case I could adjust for what I'm doing that day. I'm quite happy taking less than 1000 on a college day because it's just sitting about. I could take more if I'm in the bar or farm.

RS09SAT

You have a bmr of 2299 there is no way you should be eating anywhere near 1000. It's far to little.

What's your age, height and weight?

NoRubNoDub

24 5,11 and 17