Diets while working out?

[SkeeterTZX]

For the past few months I have been hitting the gym pretty consistantly. Then m,y wife and I had a baby and I stopped going for about 6 weeks. Just didn't have the energy anymore with lack of sleep!

I am starting up my routine again and would really like to start off on the right track and eat right. I tried eating well the last time I was working out and definately saw results but want to see more.

I only need to lose around 10lbs. I am hoping some of you guys that work out could recommend a few books or diet programs to help me. I want to be able to set a meal plan so I need to know what I should eat and how much.

Anyone able to help? Which books or diets worked for you?

[bgibson53]

The Adkins Diet worked great for me.

[BareZ518]

Weight watchers is the healthiest and most effective for long term eating habits.

[briansgi]

21 pounds so far in 2 1/2 months for me. Eating less, cutting out most breads except whole wheat and also no starches, potatoes are the worst. It's basically the Adkins diet plus walking 40 minutes per day and now started to lift a little. A lot of salads, fruits/veggies and fish, meat and chicken.

[Phoenix Jim]

good info, how long did it take for you to start dropping. I too am cutting back and I work out every day for the last month now but hardly notice a change. I am only trying to lose about 10 lbs. I cut back eating, work out 45 mins a day and walk when the weather permits.

[TomM]

I've lost 10 pounds since Jan 1 based on this I got from a nutrionist. Mind you, this is along with 3 nights of cardio and 3 nights of not too heavy weight lifting per week.

Breakfast (8am) - 1 cup of cereal (I eat Frosted Flakes) with skim milk
Snack - (10am) - Yogurt with small handful of mixed, unsalted nuts
Lunch - (noon) - Smart Ones/Lean Cuisine or sandwich (whole wheat, turkey/chicken, no cheese)
Snack - (2-3pm) - Apple or Orange with small handful of mixed, unsalted nuts
Dinner - (6pm) - Anything but 1/2 of my plate is veggies, 1/4 carbs, 1/4 meat
Snack - (8pm) - Six crackers with peanut butter or cream cheese.

And lots and lots of water.

Only about 30 pounds to go.... LOL

Tom

[Brent Jordan]

My wife put me on Weight Watchers 4 weeks ago. I am eating fairly normal just less and I rarely use all my "points in a day. I am down 11 lbs. Also for Activity Bonus go fishing all day and get 38 bonus points.

[smalljawguy]

No diet. Diets don't work long term. Change your entire way of eating and you'll keep the weight off. I used the Eat Clean book to tailor how I eat now so that I can maintain the 65lbs I lost. 80% of weight loss is your eating habits according to the trainers I've met and work with.

[dchance]

Too many diets require you to change eating habits too drastically too soon, therefore they arent stuck to. If you change your eating too drastically odds are you won't continue those habits for very long. The better way to do it (and this is really what Weight Watchers is) is to watch portion size. I do this by simply counting calories. I use Myfitnesspal.com to do mine. It is pretty simple and just takes a few extra minutes throughout the day. It really makes you aware of the amounts of food you are eating and what you should be eating.

[dreaminbig]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by dchance &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">Too many diets require you to change eating habits too drastically too soon, therefore they arent stuck to. If you change your eating too drastically odds are you won't continue those habits for very long. The better way to do it (and this is really what Weight Watchers is) is to watch portion size. I do this by simply counting calories. I use Myfitnesspal.com to do mine. It is pretty simple and just takes a few extra minutes throughout the day. It really makes you aware of the amounts of food you are eating and what you should be eating. </td></tr></table>
Bingo! This is what I did. Counting calories is tough but I NEVER changed what I ate and lost 87lbs over the course of 1 1/2 years. Unfortunately, my job now is swing shift and I put on 30lbs of that hard lost weight. Back to the grind soon and hopefully 70 or so to go.

[briansgi]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by Puma Jim &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">good info, how long did it take for you to start dropping. I too am cutting back and I work out every day for the last month now but hardly notice a change. I am only trying to lose about 10 lbs. I cut back eating, work out 45 mins a day and walk when the weather permits.</td></tr></table>

Pretty much right away the weight started coming off. Wife and I use to eat out all the time and we cut way back on that but when we do we split an entree. It's funny once you start cutting back on the amount of food you eat it doesn't take long before you can eat about half of what you use to eat and be perfectly satisfied. Before I was bad about stuffing myself, don't do that any longer. I also only drink unsweetened tea. I use to drink maybe a 2 liter of diet coke each day and losing all that sodium intake I'm sure helped too. The withdrawal from that diet coke was horrible though! I occasionally will get migraines, and immediately after I stopped cold turkey on the diet coke I got 5 days straight of migraines. I was about to start back up again but thankfully that passed. Migraines are a BITCH!!

[1781ccT]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by smalljawguy &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">No diet. Diets don't work long term. Change your entire way of eating and you'll keep the weight off. I used the Eat Clean book to tailor how I eat now so that I can maintain the 65lbs I lost. 80% of weight loss is your eating habits according to the trainers I've met and work with. </td></tr></table>
Eating "clean" is a diet. Technically, eating anything is a diet. One is better than the other, obviously.

But I'd also make a point of contention with the trainers who've said 80% of weight loss is one's eating habits. It's a good bit higher than that...as in 100%. You can work out like a beast, but if you eat crappy food like it's your job, then there's little chance for weight loss.

Eating is everything when it comes to weight loss, because weight loss can occur without exercise

[JoeBro44]

Lost 60 lbs last year while working out. Went from 250 down to 190. Didn't really cut down on my food intake. Just cut out the junk as much as I could. Replaced chips and candy with fruits and veggies. Was hitting the weights HARD at the same time so for lunch I'd throw in a protein shake (Myofusion ). Ended up in without a doubt the best shape I'd ever been in. Great definition and vascularity! Put some of that weight back on the past two months so I'm getting back on that routine today. Still hitting the weights hard but the holidays left me with some extra weight so I'm going to cut that before the fishing season kicks off And oh yeah... DRINK LOTS OF WATER!!!

[1781ccT]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by dchance &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">Too many diets require you to change eating habits too drastically too soon, therefore they arent stuck to. If you change your eating too drastically odds are you won't continue those habits for very long. The better way to do it (and this is really what Weight Watchers is) is to watch portion size. I do this by simply counting calories. I use Myfitnesspal.com to do mine. It is pretty simple and just takes a few extra minutes throughout the day. It really makes you aware of the amounts of food you are eating and what you should be eating. </td></tr></table>

Yep, it's all about a lifestyle change!

[SkeeterTZX]

I do eat pretty healthy, I just wanted to know if there were any books anyone recommended that had meal plans in them.

I ate healthy meals but I would also cheat some and that didn't help.

I usually try to eat a lot of fish, some steak or chicken and veggies every night.

I also need to work on my portion size.

[smalljawguy]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by 1781ccT &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
Eating "clean" is a diet. Technically, eating anything is a diet. One is better than the other, obviously.

But I'd also make a point of contention with the trainers who've said 80% of weight loss is one's eating habits. It's a good bit higher than that...as in 100%. You can work out like a beast, but if you eat crappy food like it's your job, then there's little chance for weight loss.

Eating is everything when it comes to weight loss, because weight loss can occur without exercise </td></tr></table>

If you want to be technical then yes, eating anything is a diet. But the typical diets, - Adkins, etc. aren't long term solutions. Changing eating habits completely is more of a lifestyle change. You have your opinion and I have mine. I'll stick with the one change that worked for me and has worked for close to 5 yrs now. It works for me because I changed from the wrong foods to eating foods that were good for me along with exercise. I'll also stick to what my trainer, who is certified both as a trainer and nutritionist.

[JoeBro44]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by SkeeterTZX &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">

I ate healthy meals but I would also cheat some and that didn't help.

</td></tr></table>

I cheated every once in a while. Ya gotta allow yourself some splurging here and there. You don't want your diet to be discouraging or depressing. If there was something I really wanted. I ate it! The overall change in my diet more than offset the cheats here and there. Playing it smart and being miserable are two totally different diets

[BareZ518]

I don't have a wt problem and I don't want one. What I do is follow a weight watchers type diet during the week and eat what I want on the weekends once I am at my ideal wt. When you are 5-5, 5-8# makes a big difference

[assfault]

Do you just want to lose the weightier do you want to be healthy? There is a lot of advice here, but at least is not healthy or sustainable.

[JoeBro44]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by bare2 &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote"> When you are 5-5, 5-8# makes a big difference </td></tr></table>

Ain't that the truth! Imagine an extra 60 lbs on a 5' 5" frame