Help this newbie with Diet, Please!!!!

RacinRob · Mon, October 22nd, 2007, 03:37 PM

Ok, I'm new here and I need help in a bad way. I'm 33 in Nov. I weigh 220 and I'm 5'8. This is the heaviest I have ever been, I would like to get down to 170 by Dec. 28, I have my first race in 2 years and I need to get in shape.

I have a PT and I've been working out with weights for 2 weeks, we do Upper one day Lower the next something different everyday Mon-Fri 5x, I also do some sort of cardio in the evening 6x a week, I just do walking 30-45 mins. other times I go to the boxing gym for 1 hr. and do various types of cardio If I'm reading correctly I'm doing some LISS(walking)and some HIIT (boxing, pads, jump rope, etc..)

Now here is my prob. or question, I did the math and I think I did it right....3260 Cal. -1000 for 2lbs. per week. 2260 cal. I'd like to lose more if there is a way to do so healthy. 6 meals a day, at approx. 376 Cal. per meal. in a 40/40/20 split. How do I figure out the 40/40/20? Can anyone give me some examples of Portion size? I have no diet as of yet and my PT says he isn't a dietician and won't give me a diet. I know I want 2 shakes per day to be 2 meals, so now I need 4 more meals.

I need examples of say: Lean Chicken Breast(protein40%)-How much chicken is that? Whole Wheat Bread (Carbs 40%)-How much Bread is that? Natural Peanut Butter (Fat 20%)-How much peanut butter is that? I'd like to know so that I can make up meals for the week, and just grab one from each catagory Protein/Carb/Fat. I've never really understood the diet thing, and I'm going to try and figure this out. Any help is greatly appreciated as I almost feel that with no diet plan, all this is for nothing. Please help me!

I've quit drinking anything but water, been shooting for a gallon a day, but I have no idea about diets.

dpark · Mon, October 22nd, 2007, 07:08 PM

I'm going to be honest, even though I don't think it's what you want to hear. I don't think you can safely lose 50 pounds in 2 months. I think a goal of around 20 pounds would be more reasonable and healthier. Maybe others will disagree.

As for portion size, the USDA is pretty much the definitive word on how many calories are in a food. Their database is publicly searchable. You can use it here:

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

Several other sites use the USDA database, and probably provide friendlier interfaces. There's also this site, which shows a bunch of 200 Calorie portions (can't vouch for accuracy, as I haven't personally checked):

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-does-20...-look-like.htm

As for the 40-40-20, you can't really add, say 25g of chicken breast protein. Chicken breast isn't 100% protein. Instead, you have, say, 150 grams (~5.3oz) of oven-roasted chicken breast. That will contribute 118 calories, with 25g protein, 0.6g fat, and 3g carbs. Most foods will contribute fat, protein, and carbs (or at least 2 of the 3).

You are very much correct in that the diet is important. I'd say it's the most important thing. Congratulations on getting started. I think your goal of 170lbs in December is too optimistic, but I think you could definitely be at that weight in only a few months. Buckle in and do what you have to do. It's worth it.

virtualadrian · Mon, October 22nd, 2007, 07:37 PM

Read the stickies, and you can't lose that much weight in that period of time safely.

leandom · Mon, October 22nd, 2007, 10:34 PM

Have you thought about going on a keto diet which means you take in high protein and low carbs I mean less than 50g per day you will lose large amounts off mass mostly fat if you keep your fat and protein intake high and also cycle by loading with carbs on the weekend check out the ckd diet or anabolic diet you will be quite surprised how much fat you can lose but 50pounds would be reaching a bit high I would say about 25 to 30 pounds by following one of these diets.
Just so you know this is just me speeking there are alot of people on this site and on others that will tell you that this is not the way to go but I love this type of a diet it works well for me but we are all different.
Need anymore help please let us all know.

RacinRob · Tue, October 23rd, 2007, 08:53 AM

I'm sorrry I should have said my goal is to lose 50lbs. as fast as I can safely and just lose as much as possible by Dec. 28th. I want to maximize everything I can by following instructions to the tee. I am working out fine following everything my PT says, but my diet is going to be the death of me if I can't figure this stuff out.

chris0374 · Tue, October 23rd, 2007, 11:11 AM

If you have a PT, then I think you should consult him about your diet. If he is not knowledgable in the field of nutrition, then find another PT.

goonie · Tue, October 23rd, 2007, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris0374

If you have a PT, then I think you should consult him about your diet. If he is not knowledgable in the field of nutrition, then find another PT.

Because of legal liability issues, many clubs/gyms do not allow PTs to provide detailed nutritional consultation.

A PT (in the USA at least) is usually not a registered dietitian or someone with credentials in nutritional studies.

goonie · Tue, October 23rd, 2007, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RacinRob

I'm sorrry I should have said my goal is to lose 50lbs. as fast as I can safely and just lose as much as possible by Dec. 28th. I want to maximize everything I can by following instructions to the tee. I am working out fine following everything my PT says, but my diet is going to be the death of me if I can't figure this stuff out.

What "instructions" are you trying to follow to a tee? The guidelines you should be most concerned about should be generic like eat less processed junk, chose whole food sources, eat protein with every meal, more vegetables, etc..

You sound like you're suffering from the misconception that there's an exact list of food you must eat, at just the right times, and with labratory measured precision of serving sizes to get things moving in the right direction. That's really not the case.

If you really have 50lbs of fat to lose, I'm sure you can start making gradual improvements to your diet to start seeing the results you want. Also, I wouldn't feel forced to take a 1000 calorie reduction (>30%) off what you're estimating as your maintenance point. That's a bit steep without ever having tracked your results before.

Use a free tool like FitDay or NutriDiary to put together some meal combinations you enjoy if you want to see how the numbers break down. You can use this to answer some of your original questions, but don't drowned yourself here to the point where you feel overwhelmed. If you're thinking about numbers ahead of whole food sources, then this is a mistake.

If you want, list out a sample of what you think would be a good meal plan for a day, or just list how you're eating today. And remember, there's nothing healthy about your diet if it's a source of stress in your life.