Some Dieting Questions

[IggyWH]

I've never had to worry about dieting before, but lately between a lot of drinking and a lot of dining out, I'm a little over-weight now. I need to lose about 10 pounds although I'd like to lose 20-25 as long as things work out well.

My daily routine right now is get up at around 10, do some situps and pushups and then go for a jog. That takes about an hour or so and then I make lunch. My lunch consists of steamed vegetables, either broccoli or cauliflower, and some fruit. I work normally from 1-5 so when I get home after, I make dinner. Dinner is some more steamed vegetables and I boil some chicken breast. Sometimes I'll go for an evening jog after dinner depending on how I feel. I usually get hungry again late at night so I'll eat some fruit or some sugar free Jello.

So far things have gone well. I've managed to cut out pretty much all sugar and almost all salt. I've ran into a few problems though and since I've never had to diet before, I need some advice.

1)I was told the best way to make chicken is to boil it. I'm wondering though is it okay to grill chicken? I'm thinking if I could marinate the chicken it would taste a lot better.

2)What else can I go with other than chicken? I love chicken but I have the feeling it's going to get old quick. I was told fish but I hate fish.

3)Snacking is probably the hardest thing to get over. Other than some Jello and fruit though I really haven't come across any snacking type foods that would be okay. I looked into rice cakes but they didn't seem all that great. Are there any snack foods I should look into?

4)This Thursday, I have to travel to Penn State for work. I am lost on what I'm going to do for dinner Thursday night and then breakfast/lunch Friday while I'm working. I can't remember if I had a microwave in my hotel room last time or not so let's assume that's not a possibility. Got some suggestions on what I can do for food? Thursday night I'm sure we'll be stopping at a restaurant for dinner on the way, so what should I probably eat? Is there a certain way I should request that it's prepared? Then for Friday it'll have to be something I can pack in my cooler while I'm out in the field.

I know it's only going to be 1 day, but I'm fully committed to not cheating on my diet. I'm afraid that if I make an exception, I'll just keep finding more reasons to make exceptions and soon be off my diet.

Any other advice you think a dieting n00b should know, please don't hesitate to share.

Thanks
Iggy!

[Matt Williams]

[ QUOTE ]
I've never had to worry about dieting before, but lately between a lot of drinking and a lot of dining out, I'm a little over-weight now. I need to lose about 10 pounds although I'd like to lose 20-25 as long as things work out well.

My daily routine right now is get up at around 10, do some situps and pushups and then go for a jog. That takes about an hour or so and then I make lunch. My lunch consists of steamed vegetables, either broccoli or cauliflower, and some fruit. I work normally from 1-5 so when I get home after, I make dinner. Dinner is some more steamed vegetables and I boil some chicken breast. Sometimes I'll go for an evening jog after dinner depending on how I feel. I usually get hungry again late at night so I'll eat some fruit or some sugar free Jello.

So far things have gone well. I've managed to cut out pretty much all sugar and almost all salt. I've ran into a few problems though and since I've never had to diet before, I need some advice.

1)I was told the best way to make chicken is to boil it. I'm wondering though is it okay to grill chicken? I'm thinking if I could marinate the chicken it would taste a lot better.

2)What else can I go with other than chicken? I love chicken but I have the feeling it's going to get old quick. I was told fish but I hate fish.

3)Snacking is probably the hardest thing to get over. Other than some Jello and fruit though I really haven't come across any snacking type foods that would be okay. I looked into rice cakes but they didn't seem all that great. Are there any snack foods I should look into?

4)This Thursday, I have to travel to Penn State for work. I am lost on what I'm going to do for dinner Thursday night and then breakfast/lunch Friday while I'm working. I can't remember if I had a microwave in my hotel room last time or not so let's assume that's not a possibility. Got some suggestions on what I can do for food? Thursday night I'm sure we'll be stopping at a restaurant for dinner on the way, so what should I probably eat? Is there a certain way I should request that it's prepared? Then for Friday it'll have to be something I can pack in my cooler while I'm out in the field.

I know it's only going to be 1 day, but I'm fully committed to not cheating on my diet. I'm afraid that if I make an exception, I'll just keep finding more reasons to make exceptions and soon be off my diet.

Any other advice you think a dieting n00b should know, please don't hesitate to share.

Thanks
Iggy!

[/ QUOTE ]

I am not a nutritionist by any means, so take what I say with a grain of salt. First off, it sounds like you are not eating enough. You can't cut too many calories to lose weight. Your body will punish you sooner or later whether you like it or not. The general rule of thumb is to multiply your weight by 11. That is your resting metabolism. You want to eat that many calories to maintain your weight. Lets say you weight 200 lbs. You want to eat 2200 calories a day to stay at that weight. The safest goal is to lose 1-2 lbs a week to keep it off. But you want that weight to be fat loss. If you cut 500 calories a day, you will lose 1 lb a week. (3,500 calories make up a lb.) If you lose more than 2 lbs a week, your body uses its muscle as energy and that is bad.
When you eat, you want your largest meals in the beginning of the day and gradually make them smaller as the day goes on. Always try to have both protein and carbs. in all meals except the last one which you don't want any carbs. Try to have the last meal right before you go to bed. Before I go to bed, I try to have a handful of peanuts and some string cheese. Nothing fancy. When I wake up, I have eggs, ham, a small bagel and juice. The key is to have 6 meals a day. That means eating every 2 to 3 hrs depending on how much sleep you get. It's a pain in the ass I know eating non-stop but it works. What it does is keeps your metabolism rate up and doesn't give your body a chance to slow down. I am not a big snacker either, but I force myself to eat. Try cheese, nuts, fruit, beef jerky (it has to have less than 5% fat, check the label), yogurt, ect. Marinating chicken is OK, but try not to make it a habit all the time. I like to grill chicken and have light BBQ sauce on the side. I dip each piece into the sauce before I eat it so that its not loaded in extra calories. Drinking water is also important. Convert your weight to ounces and that is how much water you should drink a day. Yea, it is a shitload, but after 2 or 3 days, your body gets used to it and you won't piss as much. If you drink a lot, try to cut it to only one day a week and have a glass of water in between drinks. Diet Soda is fine, but cut out any regular soda. Try to limit white bread as much as you can. If you go to www.menshealth.com or www.fitday.com ,they can help you out a lot. Especially men's health. Look for the "Belly off club message boards."