VT'ers Dieting Thread

[Guest av1]

Thanks mike 

[mottaloo]

1 hour ago, Xela said:

Excellent news chief.

I'm sure you can still fit a mixed grill in! 

Cheers dude, that's kind of you and as for fitting in a mixed grill.....i mean, come on....does a grizzly defacate in the woods (clearing or not )

That said, my last one was feb ! I can hear the Vine calling for me.....

[Villan_of_oz]

I find this thread extremely helpful. I was telling the Mrs that even though I don't know any of you lads personally, knowing you can relate and vice versa makes getting motivated easier. Late thirties seems to be the time when life catches up with you. 

The main thing I think I need to remind myself is it is not too late. I'm sure my kids would agree. 

I look forward to posting and reading posts of us getting our act together and living life a bit smarter. 

In saying that I'll ignore the beer in the fridge and make a cup of tea instead. 

Edited May 30, 2017 by Villan_of_oz

[Stevo985]

It's never too late.

[Rob182]

I'd not seen this thread until now. I'm 30, and would probably be considered as 'slight' in build, but I've definitely put on a belly over the last few years, that I'd really like to lose. What would people recommend to lose the belly?

 

My fiancée says I just need to do sit-ups/planks and it'll go, but I feel like I need to do cardio too. Any advice?

 

I think my diet is pretty healthy, I don't eat much crap, but I have started watching what I eat more closely, because I do like a snack (crisps/chocolate), but alcohol is something I could go months without touching and not be bothered.

[Stevo985]

11 minutes ago, Rob182 said:

I'd not seen this thread until now. I'm 30, and would probably be considered as 'slight' in build, but I've definitely put on a belly over the last few years, that I'd really like to lose. What would people recommend to lose the belly?

 

My fiancée says I just need to do sit-ups/planks and it'll go, but I feel like I need to do cardio too. Any advice?

 

I think my diet is pretty healthy, I don't eat much crap, but I have started watching what I eat more closely, because I do like a snack (crisps/chocolate), but alcohol is something I could go months without touching and not be bothered.

Sit ups and planks will do next to nothing in terms of losing your belly.

If you're looking to do exercise then cardio cardio cardio.

 

But more important than all of that is diet. It's possible to do enough cardio to get rid of your belly, but it's hard if you're not eating right.
if you're getting a belly it's because you're eating too much. Simple as that. The easiest way to get rid of it would be to address your diet.

Cardio would of course help though.

[Rob182]

I've read that before, but I've found it difficult to see what I can cut out. I would say that I eat very healthily, I generally have granola/porridge for breakfast, a sandwich/wrap for lunch, and then a decent dinner with veg/ proper meat etc. I've cut out a lot of snacks that I eat, and I'd say my weekly alcohol consumption is probably 3 units or less. I drink a lot of water and very little fizzy drinks. The main thing I probably have too much of is coffee (and lattes, I like a latte). I probably need to do a proper calorie count thing, but I feel a bit daft doing that when people that know me often say that I could do with putting ON weight!

[Stevo985]

17 minutes ago, Rob182 said:

I've read that before, but I've found it difficult to see what I can cut out. I would say that I eat very healthily, I generally have granola/porridge for breakfast, a sandwich/wrap for lunch, and then a decent dinner with veg/ proper meat etc. I've cut out a lot of snacks that I eat, and I'd say my weekly alcohol consumption is probably 3 units or less. I drink a lot of water and very little fizzy drinks. The main thing I probably have too much of is coffee (and lattes, I like a latte). I probably need to do a proper calorie count thing, but I feel a bit daft doing that when people that know me often say that I could do with putting ON weight!

You would be surprised where the calories hide.

Granola and porridge are both very healthy, but also full of calories. Especially if you have a lot. A big bowl of prridge might seem very healthy but it's also calorific.

I speak from experience because I have porridge every day. I used to pile it in and just add hot milk on top rather than actually cooking the porridge, and put fruit and nuts in it too, until I weighed how much I was using and realised my breakfast was 600+ calories!
When I started cooking the porridge with water and then just adding a bit of milk after, I realised I could use half the amount of porridge and still have a big bowl.

 Same with your wrap. Wraps can easily be 500 or 600 calories even though they sound healthy.

Black coffee is probably fine, but when you start looking at lattes and stuff like that, especially if you have sugar, then again you can be consuming more than you think.

 

My advice would be, as you've mentioned, do a proper calorie count. Download "myfitnesspal" and scan/log everything. Don't lie to yourself. And make sure you weigh everything. Don't eyeball it. You'd be amazed at how wrong you can be in terms of the weight of things.

It'll be a pain for a week, but it should highlight where you could make changes. It'll probably be as simple as swapping one wrap for another at lunch or having a smaller breakfast etc.

 

Apart from a very tiny minority of people, if you're putting on weight, it's because you're consuming more calories than you burn. There's no other explanation.

Edited May 31, 2017 by Stevo985

[Rob182]

Cheers Stevo, I'll look into that app. I know that I probably don't exercise enough either, to be honest, as wedding planning is taking over most evenings! If I start to exercise more I'm guessing I'll see a big difference.

[Stevo985]

Just now, Rob182 said:

Cheers Stevo, I'll look into that app. I know that I probably don't exercise enough either, to be honest, as wedding planning is taking over most evenings! If I start to exercise more I'm guessing I'll see a big difference.

Yep, exercise definitely helps. But the old cliché is "you can't out train a bad diet".

if you did an hour of cardio, 3 nights a week you're probably burning 1800 calories over the week.

If you divide that 1800 calories by the 7 days in a week, it's only about 250 calories a day.

 

That means you only have to be consuming, say, 300 extra calories a day and all that exercise still won't stop you putting on weight (although it would obviously slow it down)

 

Exercise is great, but don't neglect the diet.

[lapal_fan]

@Rob182, you're a better dude than me!  

I started proper dieting, caulirice, corgetti, the lot! 

First weigh in tomorrow.  Should be ok, but i found a stray penguin today.. stupid ****.

I just eat shit usually and do little exercise. I think I'm nearly 16st now!!!! 

Want to get to about 13.5, that's a long ways to go, but i don't see the point in not setting a high target, I can bounce a stone off quickly in either direction.

[Villan_of_oz]

I lapsed at work tonight, I ate 1 biscuit with my cup of tea. 

But if you put into comparison that I can smash a whole packet of biscuits in minutes then having 1 biscuit in 4 days seems pretty good. 

Still had no alcohol. Normally I would have 2-4 drinks most days so my body has been denied at least 8 drinks already. 

Sorry if I seem a bit happy with myself. Its cos I am 

[mikeyp102]

40 minutes ago, Villan_of_oz said:

I lapsed at work tonight, I ate 1 biscuit with my cup of tea. 

But if you put into comparison that I can smash a whole packet of biscuits in minutes then having 1 biscuit in 4 days seems pretty good. 

Still had no alcohol. Normally I would have 2-4 drinks most days so my body has been denied at least 8 drinks already. 

Sorry if I seem a bit happy with myself. Its cos I am 

Offices can be the worst place for diets as everyone always brings in bakes sweets etc 

So much temptation. Stay strong dude

[Villan_of_oz]

48 minutes ago, mikeyp102 said:

Offices can be the worst place for diets as everyone always brings in bakes sweets etc 

So much temptation. Stay strong dude

I'm a baker, I make those sweets all night 

[Rob182]

13 hours ago, lapal_fan said:

@Rob182, you're a better dude than me!  

I started proper dieting, caulirice, corgetti, the lot! 

First weigh in tomorrow.  Should be ok, but i found a stray penguin today.. stupid ****.

I just eat shit usually and do little exercise. I think I'm nearly 16st now!!!! 

Want to get to about 13.5, that's a long ways to go, but i don't see the point in not setting a high target, I can bounce a stone off quickly in either direction.

All day yesterday at work I was saying how I'm going to try to run/jog home from work in the next week. It's around 8 miles, and I was casually saying to work colleagues that I reckon I can run about 4 miles okay, and that for the remaining distance I'd run->walk->run->walk etc.

 

I went for a run when I got home last night, I did 2.2 miles and was shattered 

 

Today's 'plan' (if you can call it that):

Granola for breakfast, strawberrys and an apple as snacks, Chicken salad for lunch, gym after work, then I'm going to just bang something in the microwave for dinner as it'll be 7.30-8 when I get home. I have a few ready meal things in the freezer that don't LOOK terrible for fat content. Someone will probably tell me that I'll just be undoing all the good work at the gym!

[Stevo985]

Only thing I'd say is you can pretty much ignore fat content. It's all about calories.

Obviously low fat is good for your health in other ways. But in terms of losing weight, don't think too much about it.

 

Often "low fat" foods are still very high in calories. Special K is the classic example. It's marketed as a healthy cereal because it's low fat. But calorie wise it's about the same as other cereals.

Don't assume that if something is low fat you'll lose weight by eating it.

[Rob182]

To be honest, I've never looked at the calorie or fat content of the frozen ready meals I've got, but they just look relatively healthy because they're things like 'frozen vegetable pasta' etc. I'll look later

[mottaloo]

12 hours ago, Villan_of_oz said:

I lapsed at work tonight, I ate 1 biscuit with my cup of tea. 

 

Yes, but you recognised it and didn't shrug it off in denial. I get the same sort of lapsed moments but then  (like you did with ur biscuit)  i remind myself that the old/previous me would've caned the rest of the packet, or loaf in my case. 

Some of the boys on here speak about a cheat day once a week or month. It's something i do and i appreciate the treats all the more.

Put it this way ; 30 yrs of bad eating habits aren't going to be extinguished in a few weeks dieting, not totally, but it's not long before you notice changes in your shape, taste buds, wardrobe and more importantly your state of mind.

Keep it up dude 

[Stevo985]

10 minutes ago, Rob182 said:

To be honest, I've never looked at the calorie or fat content of the frozen ready meals I've got, but they just look relatively healthy because they're things like 'frozen vegetable pasta' etc. I'll look later

Yeah, I'd check if I were you. There's plenty of frozen meals that are fine (although I usually conclude the low calorie ones are low calorie because they're tiny), but there's also plenty that aren't.

Looking healthy doesn't always mean it is healthy.

eg Those pre-packaged pasta salads in supermarkets with chicken and covered in a tomato sauce or mayo or something. It sounds healthy, it aint!

[mottaloo]

@Stevo985 - good points well made.

Taking it on to a different level, I used to think how a jar of pasta sauce could have a 9 month shelf life...aah...preservatives....of course !

So that got me thinking about prepping meals for the freezer from scratch..... homemade meatballs, slow cooked curries/stews, different sauces made from fresh tomatoes, soups etc. It may mean a bit of spare time is taken up making it but at least I knew exactly what's going in to it, in particular salt and other chemicals the manufacturer threw in en masse. Ok, even veg and meats have natural fats, salt and sugar but i feel more in control seeing what goes in to it as i make it.

Not rocket science and it can be time consuming but the satisfaction is considerable. Also, if you think you cant cook thrn there are loads of books, online stuff which are idiot/bloke proof that even this slouch potato doesn't mess up. My own preference is Nigella Lawson and her YouTube tutorials 

Edited June 1, 2017 by mottaloo
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