Building my diet.

[canadianrookie]

Hi Everyone.
I would really appreciate a clarification.
I realize that diet is the base. Without it you've got no foundation upon which to build your temple. I need a little help in mixing my morter so to speak.
From searching the board and reading the stickies I see that a little trial and error is the one of the best ways of finding out what works best for you.

Grunt's sticky says you should start out with Start with a good 40/40/20 ratio (protein/carb/fat), guage your progress and improvise from there.
Also in that sticky he mentions that you should be eating 1g of protein for every pound of body weight for a "good diet".
If I'm 255lbs by those calculations I should be eating per day;
* 255g of Protein.
* 255g of Carbs.
* 127g of Fat.
all spread out between 5-7 meals / day.

Also about Calories.
The calculator I found says my BMR is 2166 if I'm doing nothing.
I like to be in the gym doing cardio 5x a week and lifting 2-3x a week. According to said calcuator (freedieting.com) for that activity lvl. my maintenance is 3168cals and for extream fatloss (which is my goal) I should consume approx 2040cal.

I guess in all of that typed thought my question is do I have these numbers right? Is there anything else I should be taking into account?
Srry for the long post but I would truely appreciate it if one of you guys could say "looks right" or "change this".
Thanks!

 

[karategirl]

2040 cal is really low for you, even to drop weight, try to stick 500 cals below maintenance if you want to have fat loss as well as let your body cope with the changes. Dropping too many cals will cause your body to respond by loweing your metabolism and thinking it is starving.

You have the ratio's right, and the 1g protein is a minimum thing, you can go up to 2g per lb bodyweight as long as you keep within your cals.
Just remember that not all carbs are the same, so try to stick to only complex carbs, rolled oats, sweet potato etc and you should be fine.
Post a sample diet here and we can help you to tweak it.

 

[exnihilo]

Ok in order to help you it'd be helpful to know:

Your current height, weight and % bodyfat.
What you currently eat on a regular basis.
Your level of general activity and fitness.

I have a feeling we are going to have to go baby steps with you man, I don't think the laid out diet plan thing is for you. I'd suggest for now just forgetting about "extreme weight loss" and just remove all the crap from your diet, start eating higher quality food and more protein, and do cardio for 30-45 minutes a session 3-4 times per week (ideally by getting into a sport).

 

[canadianrookie]

Thanks so much for your replys!
This is what I was working with prior
Sample Diet:
08:15 - Protein Shake (110cal - 1fat - 2carb - 23protein)
09:30 - 2 whole egg w/2 whites (139cal - 8fat - 0carb - 15protein)
Bananna (200cal - 1fat - 51carb - 2protein)
11:30 - 2 whole egg w/2 whites (139cal - 8fat - 0carb - 15protein)
Orange Juice (120cal - 0fat - 28carb - 2protein)
14:00 - Lean Chicken Breast (86cal - 2fat - 0carb - 17protein)
Baked Potato (237cal - 9fat - 35carb - 4protein)
14:50 - Basil Vinagrette Salad (73cal - 6fat - 4carb - 1protein)
15:50 - Tuna w/ultra lowfat mayo (125cal - 1.15fat - 4carb - 22.1protein)
16:55 - Orange Juice (120cal - 0fat - 28carb - 2protein)
18:30 - Grilled Steak (328cal - 14fat - 0carb - 50protein)
Basil Vinagrette Salad (73cal - 6fat - 4carb - 1protein)
Green Beans (18cal - 0fat - 4carb - 1protein)
Baked Potato (237cal - 9fat - 35carb - 4protein)
20:00 - Protein Shake (110cal - 1fat - 2carb - 23protein)

Daily Total - 2115cal - 57.15fat - 197carb - 182.1protein
So the changes I would make on this is add 2 chickenbreasts and some veggies to bring the values up to what was calculated in my first post.
What do you think??

Exnihilo,
Current stats:
Height = 5'11"
Weight = 255lbs
approx bodyfat% = 30% (haven't had it measured in a while though so this is just an estimate based on a calcuator I found online)
I do try to be in the gym every morning for 30-45mins of cardio and I lift afterwork 2/3 times a week. I've also started playing office-soccer with a couple of people at lunch but this is more play then serious sport and is quite weather dependant.
I guess my long-term goal is "extream fat-loss". My short-term goal is to learn how.
I really appreciate any comments you guys may have for me.
Thanks for your time!!

 

[exnihilo]

Truth be told bro at your bodyfat percentage you should have a pretty easy time dropping weight as long as you exercise portion control and exercise frequently.

If I were you, to get started, I would just eat whenever I was hungry (or every 4 hours, whichever is sooner). Eat as much as you want, but jack the protein and fiber content of your diet up through the roof. Don't eat refined sugars or fats at all, and limit your intake of fat in general. Also, spicy foods have been shown to be more effective at blunting hunger, so add salsa/chili powder/peppers to your meals if you like eating that sort of food.

What I'm trying to get at here bro is that we really need to get you on a lifestyle change and get it to stick before we take things to the next level. I'm 100% positive you can get to about 18% bodyfat (probably 205-210ish since I doubt you're carrying much in the way of muscle) without you ever counting a calorie, just by adopting a generally healthier lifestyle of diet and activity. Once you get there, and the lifestyle has "stuck" we can talk about fine tuning things with exact macronutrient ratios, calorie counting and specialized workout plans to take you to the next level.

Best of luck bro.

 

[canadianrookie]

Truth be told bro at your bodyfat percentage you should have a pretty easy time dropping weight as long as you exercise portion control and exercise frequently.

If I were you, to get started, I would just eat whenever I was hungry (or every 4 hours, whichever is sooner). Eat as much as you want, but jack the protein and fiber content of your diet up through the roof. Don't eat refined sugars or fats at all, and limit your intake of fat in general. Also, spicy foods have been shown to be more effective at blunting hunger, so add salsa/chili powder/peppers to your meals if you like eating that sort of food.

What I'm trying to get at here bro is that we really need to get you on a lifestyle change and get it to stick before we take things to the next level. I'm 100% positive you can get to about 18% bodyfat (probably 205-210ish since I doubt you're carrying much in the way of muscle) without you ever counting a calorie, just by adopting a generally healthier lifestyle of diet and activity. Once you get there, and the lifestyle has "stuck" we can talk about fine tuning things with exact macronutrient ratios, calorie counting and specialized workout plans to take you to the next level.

Best of luck bro.

So without trying to oversimplify what your saying, I should eat every couple of hours a diet of mostly protein (eggs, fish, steak, chicken ect...) and fiberous carbs (broc, bran) with some veggies (some spicy like peppers ect...)
Combine that with my current exercise level (or should I step it up a notch?) and just pull things down to the low 200's before I talk about taking a step up the nutritional ladder?

 

[Rodja]

Also, you should drop the OJ, the banana, and the baked potatoes for some lower GI carbs. If you are trying to cut alories and carbs, then it is not wise to consume fruit juices and you especially not have a carb-obly meal. Replace them with either oats or possibly whole grain pastas.

 

[canadianrookie]

Awesome!
Thanks for the tips!!
Any more would be greatly appreciated.

 

[exnihilo]

So without trying to oversimplify what your saying, I should eat every couple of hours a diet of mostly protein (eggs, fish, steak, chicken ect...) and fiberous carbs (broc, bran) with some veggies (some spicy like peppers ect...)
Combine that with my current exercise level (or should I step it up a notch?) and just pull things down to the low 200's before I talk about taking a step up the nutritional ladder?

Yeah. I promise you, since eating healthy isn't a habit for you, the easier you make it on yourself the more successfull you will be. For now, keep it simple. When you've developed the habits of eating healthy and exercising regularly, you will be ready to start developing new habits which are really just extensions of the habits I am asking you to develop now.

It really is quite simple... Kind of hard to oversimplify By eating a meal high in protein and fiber your body will send you the signal that it is full more rapidly. Capsaicin (the chemical in chilis and other spicy things) also causes you to feel full sooner - getting cans of pickled jalapenos, crushed red pepper or habaneros and putting them in food is a good idea, though be careful with the habaneros, they are potent. The idea is that by focusing on foods that make you feel full rapidly you can eat as much as you want while consuming fewer calories, which will lead to weight loss. Some people also eat out of boredom or negative emotions, you need to figure something out if you do this.

I also agree with what the other guy said, about the potato, orange juice and banana... Eating these will make your diet harder to follow because none of them really satiate your hunger effectively, and they are higher glycemic index as well.

 

[peterson24]

Just to add in here, Making that lifestyle change with your diet is the best thing you can do. Now I myself have never been overweight but I used to eat pretty much anything I wanted at anytime. The only thing that kept me in check was Ice Hockey 3-5 times a week. Since I am not as active, I decided to change my diet almost a year ago. I can't even fathom going back to my old habits. The increase in energy and well being I have gained just from getting the right foods has been unbelievable. The gains keep coming in the gym and I feel better now than when I was 21 and in college sports. Good luck with everything and once you get going, you'll find the idea of snacks and fast food disgusting. trust me.

 

[canadianrookie]

Thats awesome!!
Thanks so much for your feedback! I'll follow your sugestions and try and sponge as much info. off you guys as I can

Thanks again!!:box: