Weight-Loss Weight Loss Plan and Diet

[CHADT]

Hello...

I am a 29 year old, 6'4" male who weighs 240lbs

My BMR is 2342 calories

I am tired of being tired all day and being bigger than I feel I should be. My goal weight is 230. I lift weights twice a week and run 2 miles three times a week.

I went to a nutrition website and it told me that I need to eat 2876 calories a day to lose one pound a week. And this is without any exercise.

This is the diet I plan on beginning:


6:30am - Bowl of Fiber One Cereal (Soy Milk) and Protein shake = 300 calories
7am - Banana = 200 calories
10am - Apple and three brazil nuts = 165 calories
12pm - Grilled Chicken Breast, 1 cup of steamed brocolli and protein shake = 450 calories
2pm - 1 cup of raw carrots and 1 Banana = 250 calories
5pm - Protein shake and three brazil nuts = 220 calories
7pm - Grilled Chicken Breast, 1 cup of steamed brocolli = 450 calories

This gives me a total of 2035 calories.

Do I need to increase this diet by 700 calories to lose weight? Or can I do this diet, exercise and just lose weight more rapidly. I would really appreciate any answers to suggestions you have for me. Thank you in advance.

 

[KaraCooks]

Hi Chad. Welcome.

I have two thoughts on your plan. One is that you really really really should eat all the calories you're allowed. Eating fewer only slows your metabolism down faster and will cause you to stall out or plateau - especially if you're working out a lot. So yes, those extra 700 cals will make a difference.

The other thought I have is that the diet you've outlined is not balanced. There's a ton of protein, a handful of veggies and fruit, but very little by way of complex carbs and practically NO healthy fats - which are crucial to being able to absorb the nutrients from all the other food you eat.

Here's how I'd tweak that diet, if it were me:

6:30am - Bowl of Fiber One Cereal (Soy Milk), protein shake, banana = 400 calories
7am - apple and 1 serving of almonds = 260 calories
10am - 1 slice whole grain bread & 1 serving natural peanut butter = 280 calories
12pm - Grilled Chicken Breast, 1 cup of steamed brocolli and 1 serving brown rice or quinoa = 450 calories
2pm - 1 cup of raw carrots and some hummus for dipping = 180 calories
5pm - Protein shake and three brazil nuts = 220 calories
7pm - Grilled Chicken Breast, 1 cup of steamed brocolli, some kind of whole grain (brown rice, quinoa, whole grain pasta) = 450 calories

In addition to the above changes, I'd add in more veggies with either lunch or dinner - a big green salad with some olive oil dressing, or some grilled or steamed veggies, or anything like that. You've got an extra 500 calories, after my changes, so use them to add olive oil, avocado, things like that to help boost fats.

 

[CHADT]

Hi Kara,


Thank you so much! Just a couple more questions. Does quinoa taste better than brown rice? What do you mean by 'natural' peanut butter? Can I toast the bread and get the same amount of nutrients? Could I add another serving of almonds to boost fats?

 

[KaraCooks]

Does quinoa taste better than brown rice?

Heh. Depends on your personal preference. I like them both equally. One thing you can do to boost flavor is cook them in some broth rather than just plain water. I also bake my brown rice, which gives it a fluffier texture than regular boiling. Also you can substitute any whole grain here - I actually sometimes eat whole oats as a side dish. I use steel cut oats instead of the rolled, pressed kind. Again, cook them in some broth or stock, rather than just plain water.

What do you mean by 'natural' peanut butter?

When you check out the peanut butter aisle at the grocery store, look for "natural" pb. That means pb that doesn't have too much added sugar, no HFCS, and no stabilizers. It means the oil will separate out, but you can mix it back in easily. My favorite is a brand called Naturally More - they make peanut butter and almond butter. The pb has honey and cane sugar for sweeteners and no HFCS ... and also has flax seed added for additional Omega3s.

Can I toast the bread and get the same amount of nutrients?

Yeah, toasting won't affect nutrition. But make sure you get a WHOLE GRAIN bread, and not just "wheat" bread.

Could I add another serving of almonds to boost fats?

Absolutely. About 28 almonds is a serving and that's 170 calories, 6g protein, and 14g of healthy fat. I usually have a serving as part of my afternoon snack before I head to the gym. That or a boiled egg.

 

[CHADT]

Thank you so so so so so much! I am beginning this diet tomorrow so wish me luck! Going to Jamaica in a year for our 5 year anniversary and want to look my best.

 

[Jynus]

pretty much confirm everything kara said. my first thought was way too much protein shakes and not enough fats or complex carbs. Try to avoid shakes as much as possible. save them for post workout yes they are protein, but they are also nutritionally barren. Instead of a shake, eat some fish. Instead of a shake, try what I do and fry up some extra lean ground beef, brown it, drain and rinse all the fat out of it, put it back in the pan with canola oil to get some healthy fats in their, voila, a lean protein with healthy fats. since you like chicken and veggies it's also a great way to get healthy fats by using a tablespoon or 2 of oils to cook it with. and as was already said, almonds are great, so is natural peanut butter..

But I must give props, overall it's a very good diet for just putting together yourself. I can tell you're doing some research, keep it up...

 

[CHADT]

pretty much confirm everything kara said. my first thought was way too much protein shakes and not enough fats or complex carbs. Try to avoid shakes as much as possible. save them for post workout yes they are protein, but they are also nutritionally barren. Instead of a shake, eat some fish. Instead of a shake, try what I do and fry up some extra lean ground beef, brown it, drain and rinse all the fat out of it, put it back in the pan with canola oil to get some healthy fats in their, voila, a lean protein with healthy fats. since you like chicken and veggies it's also a great way to get healthy fats by using a tablespoon or 2 of oils to cook it with. and as was already said, almonds are great, so is natural peanut butter..

But I must give props, overall it's a very good diet for just putting together yourself. I can tell you're doing some research, keep it up...

Thanks! The internet is such a great learning tool. I have been to over 20websites just today to learn what is best. This is by far the best forum.

So would a can of tuna fish be better than a protein shake? Maybe cut out my afternoon shake and put in a can of tuna? I'm not really a fan of fish, but tuna is the most bearable other than the expensive kinds.

 

[KaraCooks]

So would a can of tuna fish be better than a protein shake? Maybe cut out my afternoon shake and put in a can of tuna?

Tuna fish is awesome for protein and nutrients. It's also a good source of Omega3 fatty acids, which are important. If you swap a shake for a can of tuna, I'd say that was a great choice. Try not to eat more than 2-3 cans a week, though, since tuna can be high in mercury. Boiled eggs (or eggs in general) are another option you can add to your diet. I forgot to mention them earlier, but I often eat a boiled egg (or 2 or 3) as snacks, or I make egg salad sandwiches for lunch for a nice combination of carbs and protein.

 

[CHADT]

Hello everyone. Just a quick update. I am on day four of my diet and it's going pretty good. cannot eat hummus because it is nasty, at least to me. Maybe the brand I got should have been better.... I got rid of the time alerts and just snack throughout the day. I have an open bag of carrots and almonds I eat right here by my desk. The chicken, rice and brocolli have been going good too. I actually like brown rice, funny because I hated it before.

Just three questions. Is it okay if I just snack throughout the day instead of at certain times. For example, instead of having a full serving of almonds at 10am, I will begin eating them at 9am and quit at 4pm. It's usually two servings. I also do this with carrots. I usually just eat all the time. There actually hasn't been a 30 minute period where I didn't eat anything. I figure that as long as the food is healthy, it will be ok. Is this right?

Also, is it put a little teriyaki sauce on the chicken breast when I cook it. I see that the only thing on the label that is bad is the sodium content. I don't think I eat a lot of sodium so I thought it would be harmless? Your thoughts?

Also, since I like brown rice. Good this be the only food I eat for the whole grain part of my diet?

Thank you in advance!

 

[CHADT]

Can anyone give me their thoughts on this?

 

[KaraCooks]

cannot eat hummus because it is nasty, at least to me. Maybe the brand I got should have been better...

Make your own. It's super easy and tastes SO much better than what you buy in the store. But really you don't have to eat hummus - it's just one of my favorite snacks and so I suggest it a lot.

I have an open bag of carrots and almonds I eat right here by my desk.
[...]
Is it okay if I just snack throughout the day instead of at certain times. For example, instead of having a full serving of almonds at 10am, I will begin eating them at 9am and quit at 4pm. It's usually two servings. I also do this with carrots. I usually just eat all the time. There actually hasn't been a 30 minute period where I didn't eat anything. I figure that as long as the food is healthy, it will be ok. Is this right?

Keep in mind that although almonds are good for you, they're pretty high in calories. I personally cannot just keep an open can of almonds around because I'll mindlessly eat all of them. I HAVE to count out 28 almonds (a serving) and eat just those. If you eat fewer than that, no problem, but I'd be very careful about just keeping an open bag to hand.

Carrots are also fairly high calorie for a veggie - they have a lot of sugar. Again, if you snack slowly, then no biggie, but I'd just eat the whole bag. Watch your servings and your calories. Other than that, there's no problem with eating continually. It's the total amount of calories and nutrients that's more important than the timing.

Also, is it put a little teriyaki sauce on the chicken breast when I cook it. I see that the only thing on the label that is bad is the sodium content. I don't think I eat a lot of sodium so I thought it would be harmless? Your thoughts?

Get in the habit of reading labels and making your own decisions on these things. The thing is, people want this absolute "this food is bad, don't eat it" or "this food is good, eat it" rule and it just really doesn't work that way. Is teriyaki sauce good? I dunno. Does it fit into your calorie allowance? When you eat it does it raise your sodium level too high? Only YOU can answer that for YOU.

Part of the challenge of learning to lose weight the healthy way and keeping it off for life is not just the "diet" part - it's learning how to figure out for YOURSELF what is good for you.

For me, I like teriyaki sauce, but I make my own because I have made the personal choice to not eat items with a lot of preservatives and chemicals in them. So if you were to offer it to me, I'd most likely say "no thanks". But that doesn't make it a bad food - it just makes it a food that *I* have chosen not to eat.

Also, since I like brown rice. Good this be the only food I eat for the whole grain part of my diet?

I guess you could, but why? What about whole grain bread? What about whole grain pasta? What about quinoa? What about oats? What about whole grain crackers for a snack? Why would you limit your diet in that form, when you can add variety and flavor to your diet by adding in other things?