Okay, recently, I've been stupid, and have been letting myself go. I tried to gain weight, for no apparent reason, other than being influenced by my girlfriend. I'm up to the heviest weight I've ever been. I'm currently 6 foot 1 and a half, and weigh abot 220. For the past two years or so, I've played football in the range between 190 and 200, but now that my football career has ended, I let myself go(like I said). Well, basically, tomorrow starts my ressurection, or so to speak. Starting tomorrow, I'm gonna try and eat healthy, cut all soft drinks out of my diet, and get back on my old workout routine. Among others, I want to get back down to 180 or 190, I want to get healthy again, and I want to try and get abs. My girlfriend, being her subconscious self, wants to try and do the same thing as me. Tonight, I went to the store and bought apples, bananas, and raisins to replace my unhealthy snack foods. So, for the advice part, I'm wondering what kinds of foods (examples, please) I should try and eat, and what are some of the better snacking ideas (are fruits good, etc?)? Thanks for all the advice and help.
P.S. To substitute for a former unhealty breakfast, I bought a couple boxes of nutrigrain bars for us to have. Are those the best bet for on-the-go breakfast meals. If not, what is healthier? Once again, thanks.
are fruits good? yeah, they may good for you. i don't know **** about dieting, other than i need to eat more.
If you feel the urge to snack on those goodies, go for those 100 calorie packs. They have em in various flavors like Chips a Hoy, Oreo and Golden Grahams. Another healthier snack is a Rice Krispie Treat, if you get tired of all those fruits.
When you feel hungry, drink some water. No, seriously, don't laugh. A study showed many times people mistake thrist for hunger.
are rice krispie treats really healthy? i figured they had a bunch of sugar in them. and, youre only trying to lose 20-30 lbs, so don't do any stupid fad diets either. and for those abs, there was a thread for this earlier. let me find it. and here it is.
I'm in the same boat. I used to work out alot, and in the last 4 months or so. I've let all that slip away. I really need to get myself back into shape, this is kind of depressing. I've been so lazy this fall.
A typical rice krispie treat has about 90 calories and 1 gram of fat. Take if from me I know. I'm in Men's Health cover shape. But then again I run 3 miles a day and do 250 crunches, in addition to another hour in the weight room.
Jello is an awesome snack when you feel hungry. No calories and no carb. Just good old water and some magical powder.
Just cut out sugar and simple carbs. No sodas. Be concious of what you eat and don't stuff yourself, just eat small meals throughout the day. And try to not eat at night. You'll sleep better too. If you make a diet too strict, you usually won't live up to it and it will fail. Just be concious, you know that pizza and beer, buffets, wings, ice cream, etc.. isn't exactly the best for you gut so cut that type of stuff out and reward yourself every once in awhile with a "cheat" meal if you feel like you are sticking to your diet.
Make sure you have a good mix of protein, carbs, and fat. For protein, eat things like lean meat, fish, egg whites, chicken breast, etc. Good sources of carbs are sweet potatos and brown rice. For fat, almonds are a good choice. Try to eat 5-6 meals a day. There are some forums at bodybuilding.com that you should check out. You'll be able to get some ideas for workout and diet plans that will work for you.
If you're just trying to lose 20 or 30 pounds, go on Atkins for a few months. Atkins gets a bad rap, but if you eat lots of chicken and fish (instead of sausage and beef) it's fine. Especially if you're only planning to be on it for a few months.
Walnuts are a good snack. Loaded with Omega-3 for keeping that cholesterol down. Try to eat 5 small meals a day instead of 2-3 big meals. Example: Breakfast: Oatmeal Snack: Banana or serving size of carrots Lunch: Lean Cuisine (not healthy portions) Snack: Handful of walnuts and a Motts strawberry applesauce Dinner: 2 veggies and 1 protein serving The key is to try and get in 5 veggies/fruits a day and spread it out. It will speed up you metabolism. If you workout heavily, make sure you add extra protein. Tell me how it goes.
South Beach Diet is a good low carb diet that empasizes good carbs and good low fat meats (like chicken and fish). I suggest starting with Atkins and transitioning to South Beach, as you know more familar with the low carb lifestyle. EddieWasSnubbed, I am assuming that you are in your early twenties. When I was that age, I could use weight by just cutting back on what I ate. For example, you could eat little or no dinner for a month and see if that works for you. If that does not work for you, I would cut out all the junk food from your diet. Next, I would add aerobic exercise, like running 30 minutes everyday in the morning. Something you might also consider while you are losing the weight is permanent healthy lifestyle changes. Some have already been mentioned on this thread. Daily exercise. 5 small meals a day. Removing sugared drinks entirely from your diet. etc.
