Overwhelmed!!!! Please help me get this right! (Long)

[GunMetal510]

Hello all. This is my first post here. Im nearly 20. I used to be 300 pounds at 6'2. This really caught my attention. My father is the same as me. A big guy by birth. Im an endomorph. No doubt about it. Well a year ago i realized i was letting myself out of control. I cut out all soda. And alot of junk food. I cannot even finish off a soda anymore. I cant stand them. I started eating whole foods and following some kind of caveman diet. I lost nearly 30 pounds. For a while i floated between 272 and 275. I still had a large belly, and was in general unhealthy. For the past 3 weeks ive been trying to do the exercise bike for an hour a day. It says i typically do 15 miles in that hour. I was doing weights for a while afterwords but i didnt want to keep gaining muscle weight while burning fat. Ive gone down to 262 now. The exercise part i get. But the diet is confusing me. I try to research it but it overwhelms me. Ive cut out alot of carbs. That helped quite a bit i believe. Some say to eat whole grains more. Some say go into ketosis. Then the more in depth ones with insulin and such. My biggest fear is diabetes. I want to join the coast guard after i finish with my associates. So you can see why i dont want diabetes or high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Im all over the place. I apologize. My typical diet is.. Breakfast. 2 eggs scrambled, a cup of oatmeal with blue berries, and some plain non fat yogurt with fresh fruit. I stopped drinking orange juice after seeing how much sugar was in it. Between this a lunch i might eat a handful of almonds or a banana. For lunch it varies. Some days i eat a chicken salad from qdoba. (low carbs!) some days i might eat left overs. Dinner. Im still with family and my grandmother likes to fix alot of white bread and alot of high sugar and carb dishes. I started just frying a beef patty and eat it by itself with a salad. I love salad. I typically put mixed greens, walnuts, strawberries, orange slices, tomato, carrots, and then put a raspberry vinegerate on it. I try to avoid desert like the plague. But i feel like this isnt a sustainable diet. I honestly dont know what else to eat and am scared. I should add i currently use chewing tobacco and am in the process in giving that mess up. Like i said. There is so much conflicting stuff out there by "professionals" that is boggles my mind. I just dont know what to do right now. Im sorry for the long thread but this is killing me. Thanks to whoever can tackle this. God Bless.

 

[Franky - FJ Fitness]

OP, I know you said you stopped lifting weights because you didn't want the muscle, but weight lifting is actually a great way to burn fat. Muscle tissue requires a lot of calories to maintain itself, so the more you have, the more calories you will burn automatically. As far as diet goes, if you're a true endomorph, you may be more sensitive to carbs than others. In your breakfast example you said you include a cup of oatmeal. Try half (or even a quarter cup) of steel cut oats instead. They will keep you full longer and won't provoke as big a blood sugar spike as typical rolled oats. Also, a few times a week, try a turkey patty or chicken breast for dinner instead of a beef patty. Those are the things that jumped out at me about your diet, and these are the things I can recommend right off the bat without knowing more. Good going on cutting soda, junk food and juice.

 

[MrNiceGuy1]

With so much conflicting advice on how best to lose weight successfully, it’s unsurprising that you’re at a total loss.

However, the questions you’ve raised are largely the same as anyone else who has ever embarked upon the same journey, so don’t apologise for asking how you manage it.

Equally, due to so much conflicting and misleading advice, there’s a tendency to over complicate things when you really don’t have to.

Regardless of the countless diet plans that exist in the modern age, one thing hasn’t changed and that’s the difference between calories consumed and those expended.

The ability to lose weight is a science, but it’s not rocket science.

To set you on your way and to help you understand how many calories your body needs, if you’ve not already done so, research BMR calculators since they’re largely accurate in determining how many daily calories your body needs, based upon age, weight, height and level of activity.

Once you’ve obtained this figure, you can begin to introduce a daily deficit through calorie reduction and exercise.

Also research macro-nutrient calculators, since these provide a breakdown of how many calories should be consumed between the respective food groups, based upon your goal.

As for your concerns surrounding your diet, on the whole, it’s not as bad as you think, since you’re choosing the kind of foods that one should eat when eating a healthy and balanced diet.

Don’t worry if your breakfast consists of largely the same choices. My breakfast largely consists of eggs prepared in various forms (ie. poached/soft-boiled), accompanied by wholemeal toast or porridge, both of which keep me satisfied until mid-morning.

As for mid-morning/afternoon snacks, the consumption of nuts and fruit is something that I also include within my daily intake, as they’re sources of satiation and energy.

When it comes to evening meals, as tempting as they probably are, by substituting the simple, refined carbohydrate on offer with grains such as quinoa, lentils and bulgar wheat, for example, you can continue to enjoy the bulk of the meal, whether it be chilli, ragu, etc.

Additionally, by researching lower calorie alternatives and different recipe ideas to the kind of food currently placed upon the table, with time, perhaps you’ll begin to influence a change in the kind of food enjoyed in the evening.

Most importantly, though, the most important thing to consider is that of portion control, even when eating a healthier, more balanced diet.

Having researched BMR and macro-nutrient calculators, with regard to portion control, ask yourself: ‘Do I really need to consume 100g of rice, or will 60g (calorie saving) suffice, bearing in mind I’m also going to plonk a ladle full of chilli on top of the rice?

On the subject of exercise, ease off on using the exercise bike every day, opting to lift weights twice a week, instead (your legs will thank you for the rest).

When resistance training, even if you’re using a weight that you can perform 8-12reps with, three times over, the worst that’ll happen is that you’ll begin to develop shape and mass in the muscle, as your levels of body fat reduce through reduced calorie intake, in addition to possessing wider shoulders and a smaller waist.

As for time spent upon the bike, in order to maximise your levels of fat loss, you should be aiming to perform HIIT twice a week. Your HIIT sessions will be considerably shorter (max 20-25 mins excluding warm up), but the benefits upon the uptake of fat, utilised as fuel during your intense sprints, will be far reaching in your quest towards achieving a body image that you're happy with, largely due to the huge energy deficit that HIIT creates.

If you wish to attempt sprints upon the exercise bike, increase the intensity as high as you’re able to manage for a period of 30 seconds, before recovering slowly for 60 seconds without any tension felt at all. Repeat the process for as long as you’re able, up to a maximum of 25 minutes.

Concerning smoking and the chewing of tobacco, if you’re able to, possibly consider switching to using an electronic vaping device, in order to prevent any more tar lying in the bottom of your lungs, as you’ll improve your body’s ability to process oxygen during exercise (VO2 max).

 

[BalloonGirl]

Congratulations on your success of managing your weight to 262 from 300! I do not say "lose" weight as we always look to find lost things, but congrad in managing your weight!

Agree with Franky, that more muscles you have the more fat you burn during day. So you should build your muscles and maybe gain muscle weight but this will help you to burn more fat in long term. And cardio is the best friend to manage belly.

Couple things on low fat yogurt: check how much sugar it has per serving. I am not a fan of this low-fat zero-fat diet but this is different post. Some manufactures bring fat to zero or 1% which suppose to be good (our brain needs fat to function!!!) and add extra sugar for a taste or High Fructose Corn Syrup which is even worse. So you might consume more sugar than you think you are, which triggers more insulin, and you might feel hunger.

Great that you cut carbs. Think about reducing grains as well. Refined grains can increase insulin levels and may be partially to blame for diabetes and weight gain. Other factors play a big role in this as well, but grains contribute to it. Grains we eat right now, are different from the ones 100 or even 50 years ago. This is interesting article about this topic: http://wellnessmama.com/575/problem-with-grains/. So for breakfast you might want to stick with 3-4 eggs, avocado, and some veggies side. If you drink coffee, try bulletproof coffee which will fill you as well in and give you energy for couple hours. Fruits have a lot of sugar so maybe you can limit how much you eat per day.

I know this is very limited answer to your broader question. Did you try intermittent fasting? Maybe this will be a good solution for you: choose a window every day for you to eat and have two good size meals (excluding carbs, processed food). In between your body will digest what you ate and burn fat. Good article to read about this: ******/1fVToeC.

Good luck

Wow. I just looked up what bulletproof coffee is as it hasn't reached my inner circle as yet. Sounds disgusting. Are you referring to the butter and oil added type? Have you tried this and does it work for you?
Cheers

 

[BalloonGirl]

I am going to have to try it. Where did the idea originate? I am 5 days in with a gastric balloon and cannot bear the thought of something that will instigate cramps. What other golden tips do you have?