Diet plans/meal tips?

fudgey

I want to try and lose another stone but have now plateaued at 11st10.

I have lost 16lbs in the last 6 weeks since the wife said she wanted a divorce, this was done by upping the cycling a bit and eating bugger all.

Unfortunately my appetite has returned but its been good and I am now aware to not eat too much etc and managing to keep to that weight.

What are peoples typical meal plans that don't leave you starving all the time?

I get everyone is different and to loose weight its simply eat less and move more but wanted to see what people actually eat.

Cheers for any advice.

reacher

How tall are you ?

fudgey

180cm.
I have a bit of belly flab, tops of legs are a little flabby and slight moobs that ideally id like to shift.

Not interested in a sixpack or anything like that, just wouldnt mind loosing the wobbly bits.

reacher

5'10 then, are we talking about trying to tone up or lose weight as a cyclist ? That's not exactly overweight at that height for a normal person, I would say hit the gym and and you will soon get sorted, the problem with losing a lot of weight is the crap usually stays put around the middle and the muscular tone is poor, how old are you ?

sloppyschleckonds

A mate of mine lost 3 stone when his wife divorced him.

Try a diet high in fibre, nitrates and protein etc.

If you are upping your training load don't necessarily cut calories.

fudgey

reacher wrote:

5'10 then, are we talking about trying to tone up or lose weight as a cyclist ? That's not exactly overweight at that height for a normal person, I would say hit the gym and and you will soon get sorted, the problem with losing a lot of weight is the crap usually stays put around the middle and the muscular tone is poor, how old are you ?

I hate gyms haha. Im 36...
I wouldnt say i was massivly fat, just a bit extra than id like. Muscle tone isnt too bad, i have a fairly broad frame but have never in my life been slim/skinny

Id put a pic up of me in my Y-fronts but photobucket has blocked all image hosting.

fudgey

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

A mate of mine lost 3 stone when his wife divorced him.

Try a diet high in fibre, nitrates and protein etc.

If you are upping your training load don't necessarily cut calories.

I have taken up eating Avacado, and like eggs so eiher have an avacado or scrambled eggs for breakfast, or nothing. When at work ill have shredded wheat for lunch as i cant be arsed to make anything but dinners are usually where i fall down. Quick stuff like pasta or chips and somethin oven cooked as my lad swims a few nights a week so its quick stuff to get him fed and out the door.

Although that doesnt mean i have to eat that stuff, its just usually prepared when i get home from work (still currently living together)

reacher

Muscle wont tone itself unfortunately, losing weight is just that, losing weight, its muscle that creates tone and the only way to get that is to train the muscle, legs will be fine the bike will take care of that.

fudgey

OK, can't work out yet how to host images but links should work.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/150757364 ... ed-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/150757364 ... ed-public/

Flabby bits are moobs, belly, love handles and tops of thighs I'd like to shift.

fudgey

Oh and pics arnt the best, but the best of what my lad could manage - and excuse the beardyness, on holiday at the mo and forgot shaver charger!

rieko

What is this divorce diet everyone is talking about?

Have you tried home videos like Insanity? I know a couple of people who lost loads of weight doing that and increased muscle tone.

poynedexter

Fudgey wrote:

I want to try and lose another stone but have now plateaued at 11st10.

I have lost 16lbs in the last 6 weeks since the wife said she wanted a divorce, this was done by upping the cycling a bit and eating bugger all.

Unfortunately my appetite has returned but its been good and I am now aware to not eat too much etc and managing to keep to that weight.

What are peoples typical meal plans that don't leave you starving all the time?

I get everyone is different and to loose weight its simply eat less and move more but wanted to see what people actually eat.

Cheers for any advice.

i'm tracking calories atm. i'm 5'5" 147 lbs and am on 1850 cals per day (+exercise cals). factoring in cycling, i ate over 3000 cals in what i deem to be proper quality food today and yesterday. if you are going to train or cycle to any real level, you must fuel it properly. i'm targeting a 500 cal deficit per day, and still have about 500 cals to eat this eve. fwiw, my garmin with a power meter etc on the bike tells me i used >1600 cals yesterday and >1700 today.

i checked out some tdee calculators and they suggest ive a bmr of about 1480 cals per day.

lesfirth

First thing to do is to throw away your chip pan and deep fat fryer . Next eat some breakfast. Quick porridge and fruit for me. It is very quick to prepare. Then look at everything you eat or drink and check out the calories in your food/drink. You have to reduce your calorie intake. Cakes ,pies,biscuits and snacks are the easiest to reduce. I do not like the term diet. It implies some sort of stop start eating. You need to change what you eat on a permanent basis. Do not go for quick results. You do not look too bad . A couple of pounds a month for a few months and you will notice that you are using new holes in your belts.

reacher

Personally I think your being a bit too critical of yourself at your currant weight for someone who does no gym work, it's one thing to lose weight and come below a natural weight for your height it's another thing entirely to expect to look fit and toned just by shedding a load of weight and doing nothing else to supplement it

fudgey

rieko wrote:

What is this divorce diet everyone is talking about?

Have you tried home videos like Insanity? I know a couple of people who lost loads of weight doing that and increased muscle tone.

Ha well i thought as id started to loose weight id try and carry it on to loose all the wobbly bits.

No not tried any home videos, motivation for that would be hard i reckon.

fudgey

lesfirth wrote:

First thing to do is to throw away your chip pan and deep fat fryer . Next eat some breakfast. Quick porridge and fruit for me. It is very quick to prepare. Then look at everything you eat or drink and check out the calories in your food/drink. You have to reduce your calorie intake. Cakes ,pies,biscuits and snacks are the easiest to reduce. I do not like the term diet. It implies some sort of stop start eating. You need to change what you eat on a permanent basis. Do not go for quick results. You do not look too bad . A couple of pounds a month for a few months and you will notice that you are using new holes in your belts.

Yep i think ditch the processed food and just eat healthily is the key, recipie ideas will be appreciated haha.

I certainly am eating less than i was which is good, hopefully got used to smaller portions just need to be a bit more disciplined with what goes in

fudgey

poynedexter wrote:

Fudgey wrote:

I want to try and lose another stone but have now plateaued at 11st10.

I have lost 16lbs in the last 6 weeks since the wife said she wanted a divorce, this was done by upping the cycling a bit and eating bugger all.

Unfortunately my appetite has returned but its been good and I am now aware to not eat too much etc and managing to keep to that weight.

What are peoples typical meal plans that don't leave you starving all the time?

I get everyone is different and to loose weight its simply eat less and move more but wanted to see what people actually eat.

Cheers for any advice.

i'm tracking calories atm. i'm 5'5" 147 lbs and am on 1850 cals per day (+exercise cals). factoring in cycling, i ate over 3000 cals in what i deem to be proper quality food today and yesterday. if you are going to train or cycle to any real level, you must fuel it properly. i'm targeting a 500 cal deficit per day, and still have about 500 cals to eat this eve. fwiw, my garmin with a power meter etc on the bike tells me i used >1600 cals yesterday and >1700 today.

i checked out some tdee calculators and they suggest ive a bmr of about 1480 cals per day.

I have no idea what calories i should be taking in daily, but as usual i guess i just try to take in as little as possible.

fudgey

IO

reacher wrote:

Personally I think your being a bit too critical of yourself at your currant weight for someone who does no gym work, it's one thing to lose weight and come below a natural weight for your height it's another thing entirely to expect to look fit and toned just by shedding a load of weight and doing nothing else to supplement it

Cheers. Ill maybe try and factor in some gym work. I occasionly try and do the odd set if pressups and situps, but thats about it.

I have a buggered knee and hip that are awaiting surgery so at the mo i cant run/squat or do anything that involves bending my knee fully or extending my leg out to the side etc..

poynedexter

start here. it may not be 100% for you but its a start. eating too little will not work.

http://www.eattoperform.com/eat-perform ... alculator/

poynedexter

why eating too little doesn't work:

you will lose "weight", then.....
you'll deplete your glycogen stores
you'll deplete your water
your energy levels will be lower
your mood will be lower
your cycling will suffer

then....
you'll get fed up
you'll cycle less
you'll start overeating again
you'll gain weight

bobmcstuff

I do calorie counting etc. when I'm cutting as I find it helps with discipline. Helps you to quickly figure out what is unnecessarily calorie dense too.

Also try to eat smaller amounts of food more often helps me with the hunger pangs you mention. I hate going to sleep hungry so that timing is important.

bobmcstuff

poynedexter wrote:

why eating too little doesn't work:

you will lose "weight", then.....
you'll deplete your glycogen stores
you'll deplete your water
your energy levels will be lower
your mood will be lower
your cycling will suffer

then....
you'll get fed up
you'll cycle less
you'll start overeating again
you'll gain weight

I suppose it depends what you mean by "too little". You need to eat a bit less than you're burning otherwise you will not lose weight at all. There's obviously a happy medium.

poynedexter

bobmcstuff wrote:

poynedexter wrote:

why eating too little doesn't work:

you will lose "weight", then.....
you'll deplete your glycogen stores
you'll deplete your water
your energy levels will be lower
your mood will be lower
your cycling will suffer

then....
you'll get fed up
you'll cycle less
you'll start overeating again
you'll gain weight

I suppose it depends what you mean by "too little". You need to eat a bit less than you're burning otherwise you will not lose weight at all. There's obviously a happy medium.

exactly, but the OP is eating as little as possible to lose fat, whatever that means.

bobmcstuff

Depends how strong willed he is! But yes, I agree with that.

The worst mistake is to do a really long or hard ride and not eat enough afterwards. I have sometimes done this if I have a hard evening ride midweek, and it can leave me feeling really bad the next day.

PhilipPirrip

bobmcstuff wrote:

poynedexter wrote:

why eating too little doesn't work:

you will lose "weight", then.....
you'll deplete your glycogen stores
you'll deplete your water
your energy levels will be lower
your mood will be lower
your cycling will suffer

then....
you'll get fed up
you'll cycle less
you'll start overeating again
you'll gain weight

I suppose it depends what you mean by "too little". You need to eat a bit less than you're burning otherwise you will not lose weight at all. There's obviously a happy medium.

Indeed. Having lost 9st in a year it is finding that happy medium where neither your diet nor exercise are punishment as that is counterintuitive to the stated aim but the OP's stated practise of eating as little as possible is likely to be counterproductive to both their continued diet and the ability to exercise.

It should also be remembered that it should not just be about losing weight now but building a sustainable approach to life, diet and exercise for the future.

fudgey

poynedexter wrote:

start here. it may not be 100% for you but its a start. eating too little will not work.

http://www.eattoperform.com/eat-perform ... alculator/

Thanks, I'll take a look.

fudgey

bobmcstuff wrote:

Depends how strong willed he is! But yes, I agree with that.

The worst mistake is to do a really long or hard ride and not eat enough afterwards. I have sometimes done this if I have a hard evening ride midweek, and it can leave me feeling really bad the next day.

I'm on holiday in Spain at the no, been doing 20-30mile rides with about 1500ft of climbing this last week, yesterday tho knocked out 63 with 5000ft and thought I was going to pay for it today but still did another 20 miler at 1500ft.the 63 according to strava said I burnt 2500cal, all rides were fasted if that makes any difference.

I don't think I'm over doing it on the bike as generally I don't feel too bad.

webboo

Fudgey wrote:

OK, can't work out yet how to host images but links should work.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/150757364 ... ed-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/150757364 ... ed-public/

Flabby bits are moobs, belly, love handles and tops of thighs I'd like to shift.

No wonder she's threatened to divorce you if you keep posting photos of yourself on the inter web for other men to comment on. :shock:

fudgey

Ha, unfortunately its no threat..!

And i think this is the first time i have posted pics of me in my under crackers...

reacher

PhilipPirrip wrote:

bobmcstuff wrote:

poynedexter wrote:

why eating too little doesn't work:

you will lose "weight", then.....
you'll deplete your glycogen stores
you'll deplete your water
your energy levels will be lower
your mood will be lower
your cycling will suffer

then....
you'll get fed up
you'll cycle less
you'll start overeating again
you'll gain weight

I suppose it depends what you mean by "too little". You need to eat a bit less than you're burning otherwise you will not lose weight at all. There's obviously a happy medium.

Indeed. Having lost 9st in a year it is finding that happy medium where neither your diet nor exercise are punishment as that is counterintuitive to the stated aim but the OP's stated practise of eating as little as possible is likely to be counterproductive to both their continued diet and the ability to exercise.

It should also be remembered that it should not just be about losing weight now but building a sustainable approach to life, diet and exercise for the future.

Exactly right, which is why most people that rely purely on diets that reduce their wight to unsustainable levels for their height snd body type fail and soon put the weight back on

daniel_b

Interesting post, and sorry to hear about your personal circumstances, but you seem to be handling it in the best way you can, and targeting some personal improvement, which can never be a bad thing.

I was always pretty darned thin when growing up, and classed as underweight, but that was how I was, and it was no issue.
As age crept up on me (Just turned 41) I realised I was the heaviest I had ever been, I felt it too, and my cycling and running were suffering - it was a struggle, and I was not enjoying it like I used to, so not unlike yourself, I decided the time had come.

I decided to cut out crap food, or more to the point cakes and chocolate (Still my downfall, and probably always will be) and to start cycling a heap more, and carrying out strutured training too.

I was 11st 10 at the beginning of the year, and did get down to 10st 4, but since being back from holiday, this has now crept up to 10st 8, so I am hitting it hard again this week. Alas at the weekend (parties) I indulged in too much cake and cheese, so I now need to sort that out.
My target was, and always has been around the 10 stone mark, and I'm not a million miles off that, or wasn't post holiday anyway!

I don't count calories, and instead try and eat sensibly whenever I can - though I do find cycling makes me absurdly hungry - no huge surprise I guess.

A soothie maker has made a pretty big difference for me I think, where as I used to snack during the morning, one smoothie can now keep me going until lunch - I have half at 09:30, and half at 11:30.
My smoothie recipe is as follows:
40g porridge oats
10g chia seeds (Or simply 50g porridge oats with no chia seeds)
Half a green apple
Half a banana
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp of sunflower seeds, or 6 almonds
50g low fat natural yoghurt
40g frozen blueberries
60g spinach
200ml water
100ml almond milk

That's a bastardised version of a recipe I found online - I currently use 2/3rds for each day, and make them up 2 at a time, so 2 will cover me for 3 mornings.

For lunch I have been hitting the tuna pretty hard, which is good as I like it a lot, and have it in a wholegrain sandwich with no spread, but a bit of low fat mayonnaise instead, chuck in some fresh ground pepper, touch of balsamic, and either salad of rocket, and I find it really tasty - not a bind to eat at all, and does not feel like I am missing out in anyway.
Clearly you have to like Tuna for that to work, but you get the idea I expect!

Dinners tend to be not that special, and as we have a timescale with a young daughter, and we are both working, it has to be fairly simple and quick at times.

I tend to cook stuff up in batches, and then freeze, so usually I will have a few portions of slimming world chicken and bacon stew ready to roll - just cook rice.
I also cook up a lovely Bolognaise recipe, in which I use 1kg of steak mince, and if memory serves, I can freeze it in portions that will allow us to make about 6 meals out of it comfortably.
Just need to add spaghetti, or a pasta of your choosing for that one.
Another favourite is one of the British cycling recipes, they have one for an easy, but not bad for you Lasagne, and it's bloomin nice - will become a staple again once the weather deteriorates even further.

Other nights for easy quick food, we do on occasion have to perhaps not eat the best things - but then I try and counteract that as best as I can with LOADS of salad - which I genunely love now, as long as it has a splash of oil and balsamic.

Fresh pasta is one of those super easy meals, the fresh stuff with spinach and ricotta filling etc, but instead of one of the sauces, we just use half a jar of green or red pesto as a sauce, and serve it with the above mentioned salad.

One night a week we also succumb to pizza - again counteracted with lots of salad.

One night a week we have fish portions and home made oven cooked chips, my daughter loves fish and chips, and so do I to be honest - I try and counteract this by me and the missus having a smaller portion of chips, or sometimes sweet potato chips, and we also have a big serving or peas and broccolli.

If I am peckish, I tend to have either a bit of bread with jam and no spread, or a smallish bowl of no added sugar muesli and bran flakes, with skimmed milk - guessing neither of those are that lacking in calories, but I like them, and they are not cake or chocolate.
Sometimes I have natural yoghurt with muesli too, oh and we try and eat loads of fresh fruit, having that for dessert often, melon, peach etc etc

I have also cut down alcohol a lot, and am enjoying two low alcohol drinks a lot when I do partake - Erdinger lager, and St Peter's Without - which is also a 0.05% ale, I had one last night, and it's top drawer in my opinion.

Sorry, probably far too much info there, but once I started.......

I lost my weight pretty gradually, which was my intention, but hit a plateau at about 10st 5, and my end target is 10 st flat, partly because I have a hill climb event in a few weeks, and party just because I think that is my ideal weight, or there abouts, and I want to see what it is like - it's evidently easy enough for me to put it back on if needed!
I have certainly found running and cycling much easier and critically enjoyable when carrying less weight.

However, I'm not going to kill myself trying to get there, and if it ends up being that my current ideal weight is 10st 4, then so be it - at some point, I imagine you will get heavier to some degree, as you must be bulking up your muscles.

Interested to keep an eye on this thread to see if any good ideas crop up, and good luck with your quest - keep us posted