Diet

[AKFLY]

Yo yo

I have battled the bulge my entire life. Tried them all Mayo Clinic, Atkins, South Beach.

The one that lasted the longest was the body for life diet regime. While I did not drink the protein shakes I adhered to eating a protein, carb and vegetable for each meal.

Anyway I quit smoking about a 1.5 years ago and gained back 40 - at least that is my excuse. Happy to say that i am off of cigs still and feel a hell of allot better. Despite my weight gain I still workout 4-5 times per week - mainly cardio. The weight still stayed on.

A friend of mine lost about 40 pounds - she looks great. Her diet = 125 grams of protein ( 1 gram for each pound -enough to get to her goal weight on the last 6 day of 125 pounds) and about 60 - 70 grams of carbs and minimal fats. Veggies are all free foods.

So I have been trying to adhere to a similar diet of 190 grams of protein and about 70 -90 grams of carbs - plenty of vegies and minimal fats. I allow one day a week to cheat (nothing too crazy but I love beer). In the last 6 days I lost 5 pounds. I feel better but really struggle to eat enough protein. Servings of carbs are easy as is fat.

I am sharing this with those that are on to fad diets to reconsider. Also diet should be an important part of this fitness forum. Protein will help build muscles but you need carbs for energy. Working out alone will not get you there.

[golftrainer]

Congrats on quitting the smoking! That's HUGE!

 

So many people go on diets and fail. I hear this all the time. You should never feel like you're "going on" anything. Easier said than done. You should pick a reasonable plan that you know you can stick with for life (not the short-term).

 

Common sense is the KEY to a successful eating plan. Try not to even call it a diet. Like Body For Life. These are "life" changes!

 

One step at a time is the approach.

 

I would also recommend 2 days a week of a total body strength program to stimulate lean muscle mass. Doing just the cardio won't make for a long-term fat loss program.

 

Just do 2 sets of one exercise per body part. Should only take you 30 minutes.

 

Best of luck to you!

[AKFLY]

Thanks for the response. I love to work out - do it anywhere from 4-5 days per week. My swing has more control as I felt that i was to loose with. Weight training has shown results. I recently added a leg routine twice a week - I never worked legs before feeling that they were tree trunks as is. In the past month this really added to my stability.

 

Now I just need a fat free beer with 5% alchol content - LOL