Diet Plan Advice Needed

Life Health & Fitness
1

About 2 years ago, I used a book called Matt Roberts Fat Loss Plan, and lost a considerable amount of weight, although it took an age to do so because I couldn’t afford the diet the book suggested and only followed the exercise part of the book. I ate what I thought was good, oatmeal cereal in the morning, fruit mid morning and mid afternoon, a rice / pasta meal in the early afternoon and fish / white meat with veggies at night.

Sadly, I quit after I seriously hurt my shoulder whilst - of all things - training. It has taken me two years to pluck up the courage to start again due to a period of depression. The depression is much better now, although it still pops up to demotivate me. I joined World Gym in Donghu, tried a personal trainer who was ridiculously expensive, and went back to the Matt Roberts book.

However, while I have no problems with following the plan at the gym, I am clueless about what I should do regarding my eating patterns. For the past month, I have - because my wife has asked me to join her - embarked on Herbalife, taking various supplements with a shake for breakfast and dinner, and a normal lunch. I have heard a lot of slander about Herbalife, but because it seemed to focus on marketing, I ignored it.

I am losing a little weight around my belly, but I feel that my diet still needs a lot of work, so I will end Herbalife and try something involving real food. Today, I had my shake for breakfast at 9am, a good portion of pineapple and star fruit at 12, some steamed dumplings (with chive filling), pickled cabbage and fish ball soup at 3.30pm, a small sandwich at 6.30 on my break, and a shake at 10pm. But it feels wrong.

I would love some basic advice on the best times to eat, what particular nutritional sources to look for at those times and what I should avoid, considering that I work cram school hours, which are 4.30pm - 8.30pm. If people could say what they do in brief, that would be great, but bear in mind that my goal is losing my stomach girth (not getting a 6-pack) and getting fit enough to be able to find my own way should I decide to go for more.

2

You don’t need herbalife, you already seem to be perfectly sensible about diet. There’s no great mystery about diet/fat loss. Eat lots of fruit, veggies, whole grains; avoid excessive fat, sugar, fried foods, processed foods, meat, junk food, cola, alcohol.

But the clincher is you’ve got to do regular aerobic exercise, not just shuffling around the park but actually getting your heartrate up, at least 3 times per week. Weightlifting helps one to look better, but it won’t burn off the fat. I highly recommend bicycling, even with just a regular, crappy old cheap bike, like my wife’s bike, which I try to ride every morning before work for an hour or so. It really makes a huge difference. You WILL see your gut disappear. And, it’s fun, especially if you don’t live too far from a river, so you can ride on the nice riverside bike paths.

Good luck and have faith in yourself. It’s all common sense. You’ll do fine if you believe in yourself and stick to your plan consistently.

3

My only advice, control your intake (1,000-1,500 Kcal) and move more … power walking, hiking, no need for running as it’s not that good for your knees when overweight, to get your heart pumping, up to the fat burning rate and increases your metabolism … at least 3-5 days a week … over 20 minutes each time, preferably 30-50 minutes … try to get 3-5km per day you exercise. Get enough night sleep, better bed rest helps your fat burning.

4

What a can of worms this is!!!

I recommend a high protein, low fat, medium fiber and carb diet, including having at hand small healthy snacks for in between meals. The calorie intake should just be a little but lower than your body mass index requires. You can safely lose a pound or two every week. More than that, you’re starving yourself and are bound to rebound. You need to work out, with weights and with lots of hard cardio. Muscles need energy to work for you, and protein is good energy. More muscles = more energy burning = more fat burning (but only if you’re eating right). There ain’t a damn thing wrong with building muscles, I don’t think. Eating more regularily (5-6 times a day) keeps the system running hot and smooth, and helps you avoid lows and highs regarding your blood sugar. They say it’s not good to fast for too long as your body will tend to think it needs to save more energy that way.

I found lots of good information on these sites and I found that making a diet plan and sticking to it really helps. Ignore where they are trying to sell you stuff and dig for the tips.

bodyforlife.com/

leehayward.com/

sport-fitness-advisor.com/du … cises.html

thecaloriecounter.com/

The internet is really your friend, try what works best for you.

Last year, I started out really well, losing two pounds a week, and I got greedy. I lowered my calorie intake too much and exercised more and really crashed hard, with injuries, weakness and bad feelings about the whole thing. Try , try , again. Luckily I still have some residual strength that I gained from last year and I’m SLOWLY working up to a good schedule and diet. .

And yes, good sleep is essential!!!

Good luck!

5

[quote=“canucktyuktuk”]What a can of worms this is!!!

I recommend a high protein, low fat, medium fiber and carb diet, including having at hand small healthy snacks for in between meals. The calorie intake should just be a little but lower than your body mass index requires. You can safely lose a pound or two every week. More than that, you’re starving yourself and are bound to rebound. You need to work out, with weights and with lots of hard cardio. Muscles need energy to work for you, and protein is good energy. More muscles = more energy burning = more fat burning (but only if you’re eating right). There ain’t a damn thing wrong with building muscles, I don’t think. Eating more regularily (5-6 times a day) keeps the system running hot and smooth, and helps you avoid lows and highs regarding your blood sugar. They say it’s not good to fast for too long as your body will tend to think it needs to save more energy that way.

I found lots of good information on these sites and I found that making a diet plan and sticking to it really helps. Ignore where they are trying to sell you stuff and dig for the tips.

bodyforlife.com/

leehayward.com/

sport-fitness-advisor.com/du … cises.html

thecaloriecounter.com/

The internet is really your friend, try what works best for you.

Last year, I started out really well, losing two pounds a week, and I got greedy. I lowered my calorie intake too much and exercised more and really crashed hard, with injuries, weakness and bad feelings about the whole thing. Try , try , again. Luckily I still have some residual strength that I gained from last year and I’m SLOWLY working up to a good schedule and diet. .

And yes, good sleep is essential!!!

Good luck![/quote]

Thanks, that set of links was really useful! I am particularly interested in Myoplex, which I see listed in a lot of success-story’s diet plans. Is this obtainable in Taiwan, and if so, where?

6

You don’t need that stuff. it’s just protein powder with a great marketing scheme. You can get a big jug-o-generic protein powder at costco. Or you can order online, I guess. I don’t eat milk products and I avoid gluten so I order brown rice protein powder online (when I’m working out). If you want results like those people in the pictures you really have to make a lifestyle choice and work hard hard hard for a long time. And eating is most important.

I’m sure MONSTER will chime in. I think he knows more about this than me.

7

You don’t need any protein powder at all … just eat meat, dairy, fish and veggies … loads of protein in there …

8

Agreed. People got along just fine for 500 million years without protein powders, Nutrashakes, Herbalife or whatever. Those kind of things are all just massive money-making business scams. Everything you need can be bought at Wellcome.

BUT, you said your goal is to lose your gut.

For that the answer is not protein powders or weightlifting. I’ve got nothing against weightlifting; I know it feels great and helps one to look better. But, if you want to lose your gut, what you really need to focus on, besides eating a plain and simple, sensible diet and cutting out the snacks, fried food and other crap, is REGULAR AEROBIC EXERCISE.

No mystery, no secret, no need to buy books or pay money for a program. Just commit yourself to going for a vigorous walk or bike ride at least 30 minutes at least 3 times a week, preferably more often and longer if you’re really serious about it. If do that and stick to it consistently SUCCESS IS GUARANTEED. Period.

It’s that easy. All you have to do is make the committment, start the plan, and stick to it.

Good luck.

Btw, if you haven’t discovered Taipei’s riverside bike paths yet (assuming you live in Taipei) you’re in for a big treat. They’re terrific. Many many miles of nice paths past green fields, farms and other attractive scenery. If you’re anywhere close to a river, as many of us are, that’s a great place to ride.