I am looking to restart my diet again after a failed attempt at the beginning of January ( all those xmas chocolates were too much of a temptation).
Anyway, I was just looking for some tips for my diet plan as I will need to do the shopping tomorrow, for snacks, meals etc. I really need lunch and main meal ideas. I did have an ediets sub and got a few recipes from there but cancelled it.
What can I do with chicken apart from have it with salad? (I am not very creative )
I read that Pineapple juice increases metabolism, is a glass of this every morning a good idea?
I am thinking of having 1400 calories for the first month then dropping by 100 or so. How much exercise do you think I should do? I have an exercise bike, Rosemary Conleys Slim and Salacise box set and Nell McAndrews Maximum Impact and Ultimate Challenge DVDs.
I currently weigh 165lbs and about 5' 5" and would like to put my weight back into the healthy range which is between 120lbs and 150lbs, ideally somewhere in the middle, about 40lbs, how long would this take? I want to go from a UK size 12/14 to 8/10 would loosing 40lbs do this?
Alright, let's break this down to one thing at a time...
Quote:
Originally Posted by KarieH
Anyway, I was just looking for some tips for my diet plan as I will need to do the shopping tomorrow, for snacks, meals etc. I really need lunch and main meal ideas.
What can I do with chicken apart from have it with salad? (I am not very creative )
I LOVE chicken. Try experimentsing with some different marinades. I don't do very well with salads, so I eat them VERY rarely (like once a month maybe). Tonight, we're having boneless skinless chicken breast tenders marinated in an Italian steak marinade served with brown rice and whatever frozen veggies I have in my freezer.
Last night, I made big club sandwiches for dinner--I did 3 slices of bread, 4 slices each of Hormel sandwich ham and turkey, a couple slices of center-cut bacon (less fat and calories than regular bacon), soy mayo, honey mustard, and reduced-fat cheese.
Tomorrow night, I might make a bbq chicken pizza--I cut up some chicken breast and cook it in bbq sauce (I found a bbq sauce at Whole Foods yesterday that only has 25 calories per 2 T), cook a few slices of bacon on the stove and break it up into small pieces, then mix into the chicken and bbq sauce, then spread it all on a Boboli whole-wheat crust, top with some reduced-fat shredded cheese, and toss in the oven.
Earlier this week, we had turkey burgers with bacon and cheese on wheat buns (I promise I don't eat bacon every day--just coincidentally happened multiple times this week ).
Quote:
Originally Posted by KarieH
I read that Pineapple juice increases metabolism, is a glass of this every morning a good idea?
Honey, if I ate everything they claimed raised metabolism, I would drink nothing but green tea, eat hot sauce on EVERY meal, add chile peppers to my morning cereal, eat 3 grapefruits a day...it's just not practical. The best things you can do for your metabolism are not reduce your calories by too much, eat multiple times a day (suggested every 2-3 hours), and exercise (both cardio for your heart and fat burning, and strength training to build muscle to burn more calories at rest).
Quote:
Originally Posted by KarieH
I am thinking of having 1400 calories for the first month then dropping by 100 or so.
I'd suggest you start out with the 1400 (which isn't very high--do you have any idea how many calories you consume regularly NOW, without dieting?) and stick with it until you no longer see results. Why lower it if it is still working?
Quote:
Originally Posted by KarieH
How much exercise do you think I should do?
Everyone is different--it really depends on your level of fitness. Some people typically didn't do ANY exercise, so going for a 10-minute walk each day was a great start for exercise. Others have been active for a long time, so they might do 60 minutes or more of cardio coupled with some weight lifting sessions. It really depends on what your body can handle. Just be sure to incorporate both strength training and cardio exercises for the best results.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KarieH
I currently weigh 165lbs and about 5' 5" and would like to put my weight back into the healthy range which is between 120lbs and 150lbs, ideally somewhere in the middle at 135lbs so loosing about 30lbs, how long would this take? I want to go from a UK size 12/14 to 8/10 would loosing 30lbs do this?
Again, it all depends on a lot of factors. Often, people lose weight quickly at first, but then it slows down. Since you don't have a lot to lose, you may find that it comes of slower. Even if you eat the same amounts and exercise the same amounts, you likely will NOT lose the same amount of weight each week. How long it will take you to lose your weight is a question no one can answer, but remember that this is NOT a race. Healthy weight loss (when you don't have a lot to lose) is only 2 pounds or less per week.
As for 30 pounds taking you down 2 sizes, that depends on a lot of things as well, including age, height, shape, body fat, etc. The best way to make sure you lose sizes and not just pounds is to be sure to include strength training to tone your muscles since a pound of muscle takes up less space than a pound of fat. In this way, some women are even able to go down a whole dress size (or 2) without losing ANY weight on the scale, just by reducing fat and building muscle, which makes your body leaner.
I can attest to Jilly's wonderful bobolli and baked chicken recipes! I tried those last week and I am seriously HOOKED! I used a good barbeque marinade and just baked my boneless chicken breasts in a throw away oven pan for 20 minutes, so easy and delicious.
I find I go down about a size per each 5 to 10 pound loss. When I first started lifting weights again (been doing this for over a decade), I put that muscle right back on (it comes right back within a few weeks if you've been doing it for a while but stopped) and like Jill said, went down a few sizes without losing many pounds at all. Now I have another 20 to lose and I expect the next 20 will bring me down 2 sizes from a 10 to a 6 as I used to weigh 128, was quite muscular (without looking masculine of course!), and wore a size 6 (I'm 5'2").
If you plug your current weight and goal weight and goal date in fitday.com, it will tell you how many pounds a week you must lose to get there on time. This site is great for plugging in what you eat so you can track your calorie consumption.
I think 1400 might be too low as well as you may get hungry and discouraged. I would try starting with 1700 and see if you lose about 1 pound per week on that.
You've gotten a lot of good tips so far. Let me add my 2 cents worth:
Make a meal plan. Do at least 1 week of meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks). Have the calories of each food next to the food and then print out several copies of the plan. Each day, highlight the foods you eat as you eat them (it actually takes less time to do this than to write down everything you eat). Have a space at the bottom for any extras you ate during the day that were not planned. Then add it up to see how many calories you've eaten.
I was at a stall in my weight loss for over 4 weeks, and just last week I made my plan and already I've lost 1.5 pounds. Here is my menu as a sample to get you started:
Menu for January 27-February 11 2007
Breakfast—choose 1
1 cup egg whites + 1 Morning Star Farm Sausage 160
1 cup egg whites + 1 Morning Star Farm Sausage + ½ grapefruit 200
1 cup egg whites + 1 Morning Star Farm Sausage + ½ cup berries 200
1 cup oatmeal + ¼ cup raisins 230
Breakfast Burrito (whole wheat tortilla, ¼ cup egg whites, ½ serving of Morning Star Farms Crumbles, 2 T salsa, 2 T low fat cheese) 260
1 cup Raisin Bran + ½ cup skim milk 230
Lunch
Cranberry Salad (2 cups torn baby greens, sprinkle of blue cheese, 1 T dried cranberries, 1 T pecans, ¼ cup cooked chicken breast, 1 ounce Trader Joe’s Raspberry dressing) 285
Snacks—choose 2 or 3 per day
Tangelo 100
Apple 75
6 Triscuits + 1 wedge Laughing Cow Cheese light 155
Kashi roll 190
1 cup Fage fat free yogurt + ½ cup mashed banana 150
¼ cup cashews 200
Dinner—choose 1
Santa Fe Chicken Chili 390
4 oz. chicken + ½ c brown rice + 1 cup broccoli and cauliflower 375
Italian Vegetable Pie + 1 cup green beans 260
Greek Steak (stuffed with spinach) + Parmesan Orzo 475
Pork Tenderloin with chutney + 1 c broccoli and cauliflower 375
Raspberry-Balsamic Chicken + 1 cup green beans 245
Turkey Burgers w/ Laughing Cow Cheese on Whole Wheat bun + vegetables and dip 375
Spiced Chicken and Barley + green beans 340
Fish Taco 300
If I eat the most caloric choices, I still come in at about 1400. I think this is workable.
I agree a million percent with planning ahead. If I just pick food out as my day goes on, I have no idea what my total will be by the end of the day, and I either end up overestimating how much I've had and then think I have to starve myself at dinner, or I underestimate how much I've had and end up eating way too much in the evening.
I don't plan a week ahead like Alison, but I do sit at my computer (I use Fitday) either at night or first thing in the morning and plan out what I'm going to have for the day. If I vary at all from that plan, then I enter it when I go to plan the next day.
I too am a big planner, I practically know everything that I will be eating a week in advance. I keep a well stocked home of only healthy things. Cucumbers, cauliflower, broccoli, string beans, plum tomatoes, brussel sprouts, mushrooms and red peppers are just a few of the things I am never without. I also always have Danon Lit and Fit yogurt. Great snack at only 60 calories.
I eat chicken 4-5 times a week. I love grilled chicken cutlets, which I had marinated in fresh garlic. I sometimes serve it on a bed of leaf spinach and then top it off with a broiled sliced tomato. Very easy and very tasty.
I also make a yummy stir fry with chicken breasts. I brown sliced onions, red peppers, fresh spinach and tons of mushrooms, add some fresh crushed garlic, then the cut up chicken and then a little chicken broth. Quick and yummy.
I grill a chicken breast and slice it up and add it to a huge salad.
Sometimes I season it (chicken breast) with some taco seasoning and add that to a salad and crumble up 1/2 taco shell (only 30 cals).
I could go on and on with my chicken recipes.
As for juice speeding up metabolism, I highly doubt it. I find the best way to keep the metabolisim going is by eating every 2 - 3 hours. Starting with breakfast. My breakfast is almost always high fiber cereal with 1/2 cup skim milk.
My caloric break down is as follows:
Breakfast - about 200 calories
Lunch - under 300
Dinner - under 500
Snacks - under 400
I work full time and got fed up with salads and wraps every lunchtime, therefore I casserole my chicken (or lean beef) with some onion, carrot, mushroom and stock (and sometimes some new potato chopped small) and take it to work in a thermos flask. Just breaks up the week food-wise.
Exercise - I had Nell McAndrew's Ultimate Challenge but found that by doing it regularly it played havoc with my knees - it was very high-impact if I remember rightly.
Dress sizes - I was 140lbs a couple of years ago and was a size 12 in most shops, I'd therefore guess that if you get to 125lb you'd be a size 8/10 bearing in mind you're taller than me.
As for how long it will take - the time will pass by regardless therefore don't get too hung up on this! It's finally registered with me that even if I "only" lose 1lb a week, I will be 52lb lighter by the end of this year. If I'd stuck to that principle last year rather than getting impatient and jacking it all in, I wouldn't be overweight today!
I agree with Jill-start at a higher calorie level first, and see if you lose any weight on that. Why lower it if you don't really need to?
Your aim is to lose 1-2 pounds per week. Really, no more than that. So, if your goal is to lose about 40 pounds...then give yourself AT LEAST 20 weeks to do so...if not a few more. (This is because, as you get closer to goal-the weight comes off slower.)
You didn't gain weight overnight, and you shouldn't try to lose it overnight, either.
As far as exercise-everyone is different. Just as Jill stated, if you don't exercise at all-doing 10 minutes each and every day is a big step. If you are already exercising, then your goal is to slowly increase the time, or the difficulty of what you are doing.
Chicken...hmmm....chicken breast meat diced and cooked with onions and peppers can be put into a tortilla for a fajita, ground chicken or ground turkey can be used in any recipe-chili, tacos, burgers, whatever you would normally use beef for.
I make homemade chicken soup a lot-breast meat, potatoes, carrots, celery, etc. in fat free chicken broth-with a few whole wheat noodles thrown in.
Search out some lower calorie recipes on this site-there are lots of great ones.
Starting again - tips!
all those xmas chocolates were too much of a temptation).
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