[DumbbellDude]

Hi there,

I'm currently around 19st 7lbs and 35%+ body fat and I'm trying to lose some weight. Over the last few weeks I've started doing weights again (aiming to add in some cardio soon) and my appetite has increased even more then normal so I've basically been eating everything. Now that my body has started to get used to training again I'd like to start counting calories so was thinking of the below diet:

1	4 large eggs (320 kcals, 28g Protein, 2g Carbs, 20g Fat)	4 large eggs (320 kcals, 28g Protein, 2g Carbs, 20g Fat)
2	Protein Shake and BCAA's (160 kcals, 40g Protein)	Protein Shake and BCAA's (160 kcals, 40g Protein)
3	400g Turkey Breast with Rice and Light Mayo (908 kcals, 100g Protein, 78g Carbs, 19g Fat)	400g Turkey Breast with Rice and Light Mayo (908 kcals, 100g Protein, 78g Carbs, 19g Fat)
4	Protein Shake, Protein Bar and Creatine (330 kcals, 49g Protein, 15g Carbs, 8g Fat)	Protein Shake, Protein Bar and Creatine (330 kcals, 49g Protein, 15g Carbs, 8g Fat)
5	Homemade Beef Chilli (1040 kcals, 120g Protein, 104g Carbs, 16g Fat)	6 Chicken Sausages, 6 Slices Turkey Bacon, Baked Beans and Black Pudding (956 kcals, 98g Protein, 68g Carbs, 27g Fat)
Total Calories	2758	2674
Total Protein	337	315
Total Carbs	199	163
Total Fats	63	74

There'd be some changes here and there, I'd have fish once a week, and on top of this I'll be drinking a berries and greens shake each day. If things start to stagnate the first hing I'll be doing is adding in additional cardio then I'll start reducing carbs and finally fat.

If you've got any advice on changes I should make then please let me know.

Cheers

 

[The Last Time]

I was 19st 4lb 12 weeks ago and over 35% body fat. I'm 15st 4lb now and much lower bodyfat.

I started on around 2500 calories with a cheat meal once a week.

Now down to 2000 calories and a cheat every 12 days. Obviously it gets harder as time goes on.

I haven't worried about food sources too much. I've kept it varied. Just hit your calories and protein...

I'm nowhere near happy yet but I hope this gives you an idea of what's possible...

 

[DumbbellDude]

Wow mate, you've done amazingly well there. I'm hoping I can achieve similar results so that's very inspirational.

What sort of training routine did you follow during the 12 weeks? I'm not really doing much cardio at the moment so I'm looking to add in a few walks each week.

Thanks for the reply, I feel motivated haha.

 

[The Last Time]

Thanks mate. It's perfectly doable.

A lot of people will advise you to lose the fat slower than I have. Loose skin is a risk. I've been lucky so far and don't have any.

The risk with losing 1-2lb a week when you're 19 stone plus is that you lose motivation before you get close. 7 weeks to lose a stone? When you've got 5 plus to shift? Not for me. Lol.

I needed to see progress and fast. Now I've got the bug and there's no doubts I will eventually get to where I want to be.

I followed a push/Pull/legs plan for the first 8 weeks. Fairly high weight, moderate volume. 20 mins cardio per session. The weight fell off.

After the first 8 weeks I had a week off, ate around maintenance, trained whatever I felt like. Just to keep the body guessing and to give it a break from the same routine.

Then I kicked in with a different plan after that week break. 6 days split now, much higher intensity, more volume. Cardio increased and also some HIIT stuff for a bit of variety.

If you want to drop me a PM I would be happy to send you some stuff over what I've been following.

 

[Ultrasonic]

I'll add a few thoughts...

1) Save your money and don't buy any more BCAAs - they won't do anything useful for you.

2) Protein bars are very expensive, pretty universally taste rubbish and don't have any magical properties. Unless you positively like eating them I would again save your money.

3) Your planned protein intake is pretty high for someone with as much body fat at you. 250g per day would probably have you covered from a muscle retention point of view. More might help stop you feeling hungry but that's something for you to experiment with. What you have planned isn't 'wrong' but don't feel it's necessary.

4) Typical recommendations for body weight loss are up to 1% of body weight per week which for you currently would be 2.7 lb per week. This is to some extent with more experienced people in mind for whom muscle loss is more of a concern so you could go a bit faster if you can manage it but you want whatever you do to be something you can stick with long enough to get meaningful results.

5) Use Myfitnesspal to track what you eat and just worry about total calories and protein. This makes it easier to vary what you eat from one day to the next if you want to.

6) Your listed diet appears to be very low in fibre and has little to no vegetables or fruit in it. Fix this. These issues are important both for general health, and because the fibre will help to keep you feeling fuller for longer, and particularly for vegetables they just give you more to eat for relatively few calories.

 

[DumbbellDude]

I'll add a few thoughts...

1) Save your money and don't buy any more BCAAs - they won't do anything useful for you.

2) Protein bars are very expensive, pretty universally taste rubbish and don't have any magical properties. Unless you positively like eating them I would again save your money.

3) Your planned protein intake is pretty high for someone with as much body fat at you. 250g per day would probably have you covered from a muscle retention point of view. More might help stop you feeling hungry but that's something for you to experiment with. What you have planned isn't 'wrong' but don't feel it's necessary.

4) Typical recommendations for body weight loss are up to 1% of body weight per week which for you currently would be 2.7 lb per week. This is to some extent with more experienced people in mind for whom muscle loss is more of a concern so you could go a bit faster if you can manage it but you want whatever you do to be something you can stick with long enough to get meaningful results.

5) Use Myfitnesspal to track what you eat and just worry about total calories and protein. This makes it easier to vary what you eat from one day to the next if you want to.

6) Your listed diet appears to be very low in fibre and has little to no vegetables or fruit in it. Fix this. These issues are important both for general health, and because the fibre will help to keep you feeling fuller for longer, and particularly for vegetables they just give you more to eat for relatively few calories.

Thanks for that Ultrasonic, I really the response. I'll rework my diet a bit and reduce the protein and up the carbs and fat slightly, that should give me more to cut down when needed then as I've always responded well to low carbs (just feel like s**t).

Re the low fibre, I do actually have a 'health smoothie' once a day which I make myself. It contains leafy greens, green veg, berries, nuts, seeds and spirulina so I should be getting my fibre in. I will however add in some veg to my main meal.

Also the only reason I'm using bcaa's is because I use beef protein not whey so was told (by the supplement dealer) that I'd need bcaa's with it, what are your thoughts on this?

Thanks again.

 

[Ultrasonic]

Thanks for that Ultrasonic, I really the response. I'll rework my diet a bit and reduce the protein and up the carbs and fat slightly, that should give me more to cut down when needed then as I've always responded well to low carbs (just feel like s**t).

If making you feel rubbish means you can't train as well then this is a reason to consider not going so low carb. You certainly shouldn't need to feel rubbish to lose fat in your current position.

Re the low fibre, I do actually have a 'health smoothie' once a day which I make myself. It contains leafy greens, green veg, berries, nuts, seeds and spirulina so I should be getting my fibre in. I will however add in some veg to my main meal.

That drink will definitely help make your diet a bit healthier but you need to include the calories from this in your daily total. Secondly, when focusing on fat loss I would personally be eating more food rather than drinking them, as you'll likely find this more satisfying. One suggested figure for fibre intake is 14g per 1000 kcal and you won't be getting that much from a single smoothie, and as I said above more may help reduce hunger. Don't suddenly increase your fibre intake though - it's better to increase it more gradually so that your body gets used to it.

Also the only reason I'm using bcaa's is because I use beef protein not whey so was told (by the supplement dealer) that I'd need bcaa's with it, what are your thoughts on this?

He was talking complete bollox to get you to spend more money. Do you have an issue with eating dairy products?

The next time you want supplements I'd personally suggest buying from an online bulk seller like Bulk Powders - but only buy when then have at least 30% off the products you want as this happens literally every few days.

 

[DumbbellDude]

If making you feel rubbish means you can't train as well then this is a reason to consider not going so low carb. You certainly shouldn't need to feel rubbish to lose fat in your current position.

That drink will definitely help make your diet a bit healthier but you need to include the calories from this in your daily total. Secondly, when focusing on fat loss I would personally be eating more food rather than drinking them, as you'll likely find this more satisfying. One suggested figure for fibre intake is 14g per 1000 kcal and you won't be getting that much from a single smoothie, and as I said above more may help reduce hunger. Don't suddenly increase your fibre intake though - it's better to increase it more gradually so that your body gets used to it.

He was talking complete bollox to get you to spend more money. Do you have an issue with eating dairy products?

The next time you want supplements I'd personally suggest buying from an online bulk seller like Bulk Powders - but only buy when then have at least 30% off the products you want as this happens literally every few days.

Thanks for the reply Ultrasonic and the bulk powders recommendation. I'll add some veg in to my main meal and have 1 or 2 portions of fruit per day as well. How does the below diet sound?

Meal	Monday	Tuesday
1	2 Eggs on Seeded or Sourdough Bread (414 cal, 22g Protein, 48g Carbs, 15g Fat)	Large Bannana on Seeded or Sourdough Bread (395 cal, 11g Protein, 77g Carbs, 6g Fat
2	Smoothie and Protein (426 cal, 33g Protein, 66g Carbs, 2g Fat)	Smoothie and Protein (426 cal, 33g Protein, 66g Carbs, 2g Fat)
3	400g Chicken Breast with Rice, Salad and Light Mayo (778 cal, 57g Protein, 62g Carbs, 31g Fat)	400g Chicken Breast with Tortilla Wraps, Salad and Light Mayo (843 cal, 59g Protein, 73g Carbs, 34g Fat)
4	Protein Shake and Creatine (163 cal, 40g Protein, 0g Carbs, 0g Fat)	Protein Shake and Creatine (163 cal, 40g Protein, 0g Carbs, 0g Fat)
5	Homemade Beef Chilli (832 cal, 96g Protein, 83g Carbs, 12g Fat)	6 Chicken Sausages, 6 Slices Turkey Bacon, Baked Beans, Black Pudding and Mushrooms (895 cal, 93g Protein, 58g Carbs, 25g Fat)
Total Calories	2613	2722
Total Protein	274	236
Total Carbs	259	276
Total Fats	60	67

This should give me plenty of room to reduce carbs and fat when needed 2000 calories per day.

Thanks again.

 

[Ultrasonic]

It looks fine if total calories are sensible for you, which you'll only really know from trying it. But don't get stuck into thinking you can only eat one or other of those 'menus' each day. Just focus on calories and protein and you can vary what you eat day-to-day.

 

[mcrewe123]

I was 19st 4lb 12 weeks ago and over 35% body fat. I'm 15st 4lb now and much lower bodyfat.

I started on around 2500 calories with a cheat meal once a week.

Now down to 2000 calories and a cheat every 12 days. Obviously it gets harder as time goes on.

I haven't worried about food sources too much. I've kept it varied. Just hit your calories and protein...

I'm nowhere near happy yet but I hope this gives you an idea of what's possible...

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View attachment 155755

Fair play mate, well done