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[spagmasterswift]

Well I've switched from Sausage & Bacon Sandwich to either an apple or a banana for Breakfast. Not gonna have pie and chips for lunch, probably a sandwich. Salad or soup for tea.

Going to the gym twice a week now too.

Hopefully it will start falling off me. Thanks for your words of encouragement Chain I blame Xbox Live

[Matt]

Spag, give us a run down of your daily diet and I can let you know what I think.

An apple or banana won't do for breakfast, it's not enough. I'm currently having both an apple and a banana, a protein shake, and 20g nuts, and I'm on a pretty serious carb restricted diet - and then I eat 2 1/2 hours later. It is possible that you're eating too little which is a bad way to diet.

I can't over-emphasise the importance of breakfast, after 8 hours of fasting (when asleep) your body is in starvation mode where it stores fat and eats muscle - breakfast sets you up for the whole day

[spagmasterswift]

Spag, give us a run down of your daily diet and I can let you know what I think.

OK, take today:

Breakfast: 1 x Banana

Lunch: 1 x EAT Tomato and Sweet Red Pepper Soup

Edit - tell a lie, just ate an apple

After Work: Gym followed by a few pints (only drink once or twice a week/Gym twice a week)

Dinner: Caesar Salad - if I'm not back too late to bother.

Tomorrow I'm out again drinking so probably:

Breakfast: 1 x Apple

Lunch: Sandwich (probably something substantial)

Wont get Dinner due to going out.

This is very interesting now I look at it. Right Chain - start disapproving

[Matt]

Well what are you goals?

If it's building muscle or losing weight, either way you're best eating 6 meals a day to increase your metabolism / remain anabolic.

Skipping any meals is a bad idea, you're go in to starvation mode and become "catabolic" - using muscle for fuel rather than stored energy (fat). So your weight goes down, but it's not a good weight loss.

The most glaring thing in your diet is the total lack of protein! Apart from the 1 whole gram you'll get from your banana, you're not eating any. That means you can not possibly hope to stay healthy. Protein builds and maintains all the "parts" you need - you know, muscle, organs, brain, those kind of important things.

I'm always harking on about the need for protein shakes, as I believe people who don't train would be healthier taking it. Very few people get enough protein, and it's literally the building blocks of life. And the good thing is, they'll double nicely as "meals" so that 6-meals-a-day doesn't seem to bad.

Oh and they taste nice nowadays - try MRM Metabolic Whey, it's the best tasting once around imo.

OK so this is a rough diet, considering you are dieting and doing some exercise, with weight loss as your goal. It may seem a lot, but to be honest I'm amazed you're not dead with the little you eat now

8am - Breakfast - Bowl of oats with skim/semi skim milk, no sugar have sweetener. May be throw a small handful of chopped nuts in with the cereal for extra protein and essential fats.

10.30am - Snack - protein shake. This would be 300ml skim/semi milk with a scoop of protein.

1pm - Lunch - Either Tuna, chicken or cottage cheese, with either a jacket potatoe, salad, or as a sarny in granarie bread.

4pm - Snack - protein shake

7pm - Dinner - something else from the Lunch menu.

10pm - protein shake with NO milk, have it with water.

See how that does you. Make sure each meal is small.

[mr ooops]

these protean shakes, anywhere online you can recommend for ordering (idealy which brand do u recommend too?) im trying to eat healthier and build muscle , but alas i am terrible at eating regular, skip breakfast and sometimes my first meal is at 5pm

cheers
jason

doh just noticed u recommended mrm metabolic whey

[marcus]

The drinks you mention Chain, are they of any use to me - I dont want to put on weight, and want to tone rather than put on bulk muscle (although I would like to build arms and pecs a bit). I visit the gym twice a week, do two runs a week, play badminton and football so its important to me to keep my fitness levels up. I always think of those drink as being aimed at people who want to put on muscle, and wouldnt want to drink a (possibly) high calorie drink when theres no benefit to me in terms of what I am trying to achieve.

At the moment, Im 6ft 1" weighing 13st 4lb if thats any use to you at all

[ItsThere]

Mate, don't get depressed about your weight! I used to be the same way, hovering around 17 stone of LARD. Weight made me depressed, depression made me confort eat, and that's not going to help any.

If I can lose that weight, anyone can. A small change here and there and you'll lose a stone before you know it.

To start with, I cut out fast food - pizzas and burgers had to go. That small change (and I'd still have fast food maybe once a month), with zero exercise, and I was down to around 16 stone in well under a year.

Then it was time to make more changes; crisps were replaced with corn snacks, limited the number of cheese sarnies, and limited chocolate. Before long I was 15 1/2 stone.

Then I got back to the gym. Around last November I was somewhere around 12 1/4 stone, but that was too thin (people thought I was ill). I'm now a very healthy looking 88kg -> which makes me heavy according to that site above!

If I can do it, anyone can

Chain, reading that is almost exactly what I was like, the weight I put on was from drinking and eating way too much in the first year of uni and consequntly went on a massive weight loss bender.
Everyone thought I was ill as well... I think the lowest I got was 11.5 st.
Am now at 81kg on the wieght gaining and eating more diet.
Seems to be working ok, completely agreed that it is easy once you put your mind to it.
Also was surprised to find that my biceps now measure just under 13". Well pleased with that!

Oh and anyone who doubts Chains advice, don't. This dude knows what he is talking about!

[Spagoli]

Well I've switched from Sausage & Bacon Sandwich to either an apple or a banana for Breakfast. Not gonna have pie and chips for lunch, probably a sandwich. Salad or soup for tea.

Going to the gym twice a week now too.

Hopefully it will start falling off me. Thanks for your words of encouragement Chain I blame Xbox Live

I reckon its the gym that will do it, for lunch I had porridge and 2 toast for lunch 2 grab bags of crisps and a kit kat along with a blueberry muffin and a donut and for tea pasta and 3/4 bottle of wime then again I did 9miles last night 1.5miles warm up at 7.30 min miles then 6.2 miles in just under 40mins then a 1.5 min warm down then 8 miles in 56mins tonight so dont feel guilty which I reckon is the main thing, you need to feel happy, I wouldnt care if I was 18stone but I like to run fast which would be a problem so as long as I stay around 12 I can run at a respectable pace, reckon if I could lose 1/2 stone i'd be better off but it aint worth the starvation or alcohol deprivation! I sure as hell dont look ripped or bulky though in fact its weird my legs are massive really defined muscles everywhere but my arms are like sticks and the erst of me is pretty trim, if you are into the whole body sculpting thing nature sucks I guess....

[Matt]

these protean shakes, anywhere online you can recommend for ordering (idealy which brand do u recommend too?) im trying to eat healthier and build muscle , but alas i am terrible at eating regular, skip breakfast and sometimes my first meal is at 5pm

cheers
jason

doh just noticed u recommended mrm metabolic whey

MRM is lovely! Now if you lived near Seaford in East Sussex, you could visit my gym and buy my product But as I don't sell online, I'd recommend going for monstersupplements.com very good prices. MRM Metabolic is the best I've ever had, and I'm quite partial to the Alri Lipolytic as well. Works out around ?32 or so I think per 5lb tub, which is 75 odd servings so about enough for a month. Not bad, 75 meals works out under 50p per meal - add milk and you're away!

Now DO NOT SKIP MEALS for the reasons I've stated previously. Get in the habit, and after a few weeks you'll be hungry every few hours due to your increased metabolism.

[Matt]

The drinks you mention Chain, are they of any use to me - I dont want to put on weight, and want to tone rather than put on bulk muscle (although I would like to build arms and pecs a bit). I visit the gym twice a week, do two runs a week, play badminton and football so its important to me to keep my fitness levels up. I always think of those drink as being aimed at people who want to put on muscle, and wouldnt want to drink a (possibly) high calorie drink when theres no benefit to me in terms of what I am trying to achieve.

At the moment, Im 6ft 1" weighing 13st 4lb if thats any use to you at all

Marcus, EVERYONE should have protein shakes! Given the macronutrients you get from food (this is simplistic of course) are either fat (needed for good health), carbs (needed for energy), and protein (needed for tissue growth and maintenance), a balanced diet needs to contain all these. A chicken breast may be around 25 to 30g of protein. I'd advise everyone to get 150g of protein a day even if they're not training, it's just good for general health. And I don't fancy eating 5 to 6 chicken breasts every day, so protein shakes help.

Protein shakes were initially aimed at bodybuilders, but their benefits exceed simple muscle building. More protein makes you healthier, it is that simple.

Some shakes are aimed purely at mass building - these tend to contain high carbs (around 50% of the total volume, almost always a low GI sugar known as Maltrodexin) and 35% protein. If you have these, you'll gain weight - both muscle and fat, unless you have a very fast metabolism.

In your case, I get the impression from past posts you're really in to "fitness" rather than bodybuilding. I don't know any athletes, including endurance runners, who don't supplement protein. That may necessitate a drop in carbs and fats to balance out your calories, it's hard to tell until you start taking it. From what I understand, it's pretty much impossible for protein to be metabolised to fat in the body (please check this I've read this both ways) so that won't get stored as fat. I suppose what can happen is any surplus protein may be used as energy, creating an energy surplus resulting in excess carbs being stored as fat, but I think you'd have to eat a lot for that to happen - normally excess protein will go straight through you

Protein drinks don't have to be high-calorie. Do what I do, take a scoop or two of protein with 400ml of WATER, not milk. May not taste as nice, but it's not as bad as it may sound. A single scoop (25g average) of good quality protein powder will be around 22g of protein, and maybe a gram or 2 carbs and 1 fat, which would equal around 100 calories! That's not a lot, 3 of them a day will do more good than harm.

You say you want tone rather than to bulk up on muscle - well when people say "tone" what they actually mean to build muscle. It's one and the same. People want to "shape what they have, not get big", but in reality you can't shape muscle - you can build it and you're stuck with whatever shape your genes dictate that particular muscle can become. My advice would be to train a little harder with heavier weights and lower reps to put on a bit of muscle and see how you feel. If it affects your running you'll know before too long and muscle is pretty easy to lose Put on 5lbs of muscle, you'll be surprised at the difference that can make - shoulders more curved, chest full, quads stronger, and that kind of muscle will benefit running.

NO ONE should worry about "getting too big" because let me tell you, unless you're genetically gifted, it won't happen. Building muscle is HARD, you have to eat a lot of food and train with intensity for a long time, and even then unless you've got the genes and / or steroids, you'll never be that big!

Personally I find gaining muscle incredibly hard, yet can get fat at the drop of a hat.... not that I want to get "big" but I'd like to be in better shape than I am.

Hope some of that is of help, any more questions please ask. Just try the shakes; buy a tub, have the three-a-day, everyday, for a month. Even though you won't gain much muscle in a single month, it will hopefully be enough time for you to feel the benefits a high-protein diet can give.

Oh and for general information to everyone else, if you're looking to build muscle I'd recommend at least 1g protein per pound of bodyweight per day, and increase as necessary (I'm on 1.5g = 280g a day). Split that in to meals throughout the day, taking in to consideration that no-one is sure how much protein the body can digest in one sitting but it seems to be around the 35g-40g mark.

[Matt]

Chain, reading that is almost exactly what I was like, the weight I put on was from drinking and eating way too much in the first year of uni and consequntly went on a massive weight loss bender.
Everyone thought I was ill as well... I think the lowest I got was 11.5 st.
Am now at 81kg on the wieght gaining and eating more diet.
Seems to be working ok, completely agreed that it is easy once you put your mind to it.
Also was surprised to find that my biceps now measure just under 13". Well pleased with that!

Oh and anyone who doubts Chains advice, don't. This dude knows what he is talking about!

Thanks for the recommendation mate

Glad to hear someone else has had success losing weight, and then success in not taking weight-loss too far! It's wierd, you're looking in a mirror thinking you're fat while everyone else says you're too thin.

Good news with your biceps mate! I've been putting together a nice workout for arms, I have trouble adding size to my arms but have added over an inch in about 4 months, which is pretty good going!

Keep up the good work and if you're interested in my arm routine let me know.

[ItsThere]

Thanks for the recommendation mate
Keep up the good work and if you're interested in my arm routine let me know.

Yeah would be interested in that mate, biceps can be hard to add to I find. It sounds like a cliche but the whole distorted body image thing is easy to get wrapped up in.
The only ONLY advantage of losing too much weight is that you can put it back on in muscle and not lard afterwards. Not that I would advocate it in any way.
I'm gonna have to head down to your gym soon chain, though I won't be quite as beefed as anyone else there

[marcus]

Marcus, EVERYONE should have protein shakes! Given the macronutrients you get from food (this is simplistic of course) are either fat (needed for good health), carbs (needed for energy), and protein (needed for tissue growth and maintenance), a balanced diet needs to contain all these. A chicken breast may be around 25 to 30g of protein. I'd advise everyone to get 150g of protein a day even if they're not training, it's just good for general health. And I don't fancy eating 5 to 6 chicken breasts every day, so protein shakes help.

Protein shakes were initially aimed at bodybuilders, but their benefits exceed simple muscle building. More protein makes you healthier, it is that simple.

Some shakes are aimed purely at mass building - these tend to contain high carbs (around 50% of the total volume, almost always a low GI sugar known as Maltrodexin) and 35% protein. If you have these, you'll gain weight - both muscle and fat, unless you have a very fast metabolism.

In your case, I get the impression from past posts you're really in to "fitness" rather than bodybuilding. I don't know any athletes, including endurance runners, who don't supplement protein. That may necessitate a drop in carbs and fats to balance out your calories, it's hard to tell until you start taking it. From what I understand, it's pretty much impossible for protein to be metabolised to fat in the body (please check this I've read this both ways) so that won't get stored as fat. I suppose what can happen is any surplus protein may be used as energy, creating an energy surplus resulting in excess carbs being stored as fat, but I think you'd have to eat a lot for that to happen - normally excess protein will go straight through you

Protein drinks don't have to be high-calorie. Do what I do, take a scoop or two of protein with 400ml of WATER, not milk. May not taste as nice, but it's not as bad as it may sound. A single scoop (25g average) of good quality protein powder will be around 22g of protein, and maybe a gram or 2 carbs and 1 fat, which would equal around 100 calories! That's not a lot, 3 of them a day will do more good than harm.

You say you want tone rather than to bulk up on muscle - well when people say "tone" what they actually mean to build muscle. It's one and the same. People want to "shape what they have, not get big", but in reality you can't shape muscle - you can build it and you're stuck with whatever shape your genes dictate that particular muscle can become. My advice would be to train a little harder with heavier weights and lower reps to put on a bit of muscle and see how you feel. If it affects your running you'll know before too long and muscle is pretty easy to lose Put on 5lbs of muscle, you'll be surprised at the difference that can make - shoulders more curved, chest full, quads stronger, and that kind of muscle will benefit running.

NO ONE should worry about "getting too big" because let me tell you, unless you're genetically gifted, it won't happen. Building muscle is HARD, you have to eat a lot of food and train with intensity for a long time, and even then unless you've got the genes and / or steroids, you'll never be that big!

Personally I find gaining muscle incredibly hard, yet can get fat at the drop of a hat.... not that I want to get "big" but I'd like to be in better shape than I am.

Hope some of that is of help, any more questions please ask. Just try the shakes; buy a tub, have the three-a-day, everyday, for a month. Even though you won't gain much muscle in a single month, it will hopefully be enough time for you to feel the benefits a high-protein diet can give.

Oh and for general information to everyone else, if you're looking to build muscle I'd recommend at least 1g protein per pound of bodyweight per day, and increase as necessary (I'm on 1.5g = 280g a day). Split that in to meals throughout the day, taking in to consideration that no-one is sure how much protein the body can digest in one sitting but it seems to be around the 35g-40g mark.

Thanks for the advice fella

[spagmasterswift]

Well what are you goals?

Oh and they taste nice nowadays - try MRM Metabolic Whey, it's the best tasting once around imo.

OK so this is a rough diet, considering you are dieting and doing some exercise, with weight loss as your goal. It may seem a lot, but to be honest I'm amazed you're not dead with the little you eat now

8am - Breakfast - Bowl of oats with skim/semi skim milk, no sugar have sweetener. May be throw a small handful of chopped nuts in with the cereal for extra protein and essential fats.

10.30am - Snack - protein shake. This would be 300ml skim/semi milk with a scoop of protein.

1pm - Lunch - Either Tuna, chicken or cottage cheese, with either a jacket potatoe, salad, or as a sarny in granarie bread.

4pm - Snack - protein shake

7pm - Dinner - something else from the Lunch menu.

10pm - protein shake with NO milk, have it with water.

See how that does you. Make sure each meal is small.

Great read! My goal is to drop some serious weight - at least two stone and tone up my flabby bits (which the gym has started to do already tbh).

I think the thing I need to get my head around is the lifestyle change stretches beyond going to the gym. If I'm going to follow that diet I need to be getting up in time to have breakfast, find somewhere near work who provide the right sort of lunch, etc.

Feeling very positive about it all at the moment. Was at the gym last night and starting to feel comfortable with my workout, push myself a little bit more each visit.

Not sure about these protein shakes though - Keeping hearing Cartman's voice in my head. BEEFCAKE!!

[Matt]

Great read! My goal is to drop some serious weight - at least two stone and tone up my flabby bits (which the gym has started to do already tbh).

I think the thing I need to get my head around is the lifestyle change stretches beyond going to the gym. If I'm going to follow that diet I need to be getting up in time to have breakfast, find somewhere near work who provide the right sort of lunch, etc.

Feeling very positive about it all at the moment. Was at the gym last night and starting to feel comfortable with my workout, push myself a little bit more each visit.

Not sure about these protein shakes though - Keeping hearing Cartman's voice in my head. BEEFCAKE!!

Glad you're motivated. That diet may be a little too big for "serious" weight loss, but if each meal consisted of say a chicken breast (no sauce, sorry!) and a SMALL jacket potatoe or a salad, I don't think it's too bad for fat loss. Always the option of having every protein shake with water instead of milk.

Preparation is the key. If I don't have anything on hand to eat, and I get to the 3 hour mark... well things can happen and I'll end up eating a Burger King or something as I'm starving! You must avoid this. Buy a shaker and some protein, keep it at work, and it's always on hand

Even looking for a serious weight loss, you want to drop no more than a kilo a week. Anymore (except in the first week or two) and it will be mainly muscle. It's a slow process, but fad diets never work longterm. You need to come up with a diet you can keep at for the next ten years, not ten weeks.

There are lots of sites online that work out your daily calorie need. Get that, take away 500 calories, that's your daily target. Then split it to say 40% protein, 40% carbs, 20% fat, split that all in to 6 meals, and then work out your meals. Calorie counting is a pain, but once you get the hang of it and know what kind of meals you're aiming for, it's not too bad. Just remember to recalculate every few weeks as your calorie needs go down as your weight does!

Weight loss is simple - energy in < energy less. So you need a calorie deficit (500cals), then add 20 to 30 mins of HIGH Intensity Interval Training 3 times a week, you'll suddenly find that kilo of fat falling off you every week

"Follow you dreams, you can reach your goals. I'm living proof. Beefcake. BEEFCAKE!!!!!!!!"