Aa
Starting to lose weight
Hi there, I am Lucy, 24, 5'2 and currently weigh 70.1kgs. I am looking to get to around 59/60kgs. I am considering cutting my meat intake down to 4 days a week. I only eat chicken, don't really like red meats. Is cutting out meat advisable? I'm not a big dairy eater either, or fish. Should I start taking a multi vit? If so can anyone reccommend a good all round 1? I live in the uk so needs to be something available here. Any help is much appreciated!!
Cauliflower is a great non-starchy low-carb alternative to rice and potatoes!
If you grate or food-processor it before (or even after) lightly steaming or microwaving, it's like rice; and for mash just boil it really well then do the same as you would for potatoes-- butter, salt, pepper, etc. I've even given that to my kids with their beloved sausages and gravy, and they didn't notice it was cauliflower at all!
Best of luck with everything :)
If you grate or food-processor it before (or even after) lightly steaming or microwaving, it's like rice; and for mash just boil it really well then do the same as you would for potatoes-- butter, salt, pepper, etc. I've even given that to my kids with their beloved sausages and gravy, and they didn't notice it was cauliflower at all!
Best of luck with everything :)
Thank you for your detailed reply. :-) I will not be cutting out chicken thanks to your response. Going to try find a fish I like, I don't mind tuna so much and cod so going to start bringing these in. Potatoes and rice are defo my problem foods as I love them alot. Have them everyday!! There going to be hard 2 cut out.
But I know its important so will try my hardest. You may get a message from me very soon.
Thanks again Lucy
Lucy x
But I know its important so will try my hardest. You may get a message from me very soon.
Thanks again Lucy
Lucy x
Hi Lucy, I'm also a Lucy!
OK, so cutting out meat (particularly lean meat like chicken) is pretty much the last thing you should be doing. You need that protein to protect your muscle while you lose weight (otherwise you'll just burn muscle, not fat, which slows your metabolism long-term) AND protein cannot be converted by the body into fat AND it prevents you from feeling hungry!
What you need to cut is sugar and starchy carbs (bread, pasta, rice, potato, couscous, oats), since they're incredibly energy-dense AND easy to break down, meaning they dump a lot of sugar into your blood stream... which is then converted and stored as fat.
Dairy you can live without (although you should definitely be taking a multivit and extra calcium, magnesium and vit D to avoid weak bones in the future), but fish really is a wonder-food, so eat as much of it as you can. It's almost entirely composed of lean protein and unsaturated fat, both of which are essential to burning fat (it's a pretty complex chemical equation, but basically you need unsaturated fat to transport fat from your cells to be burned; good fats are found in olive oil, avocados, vegetable spreads, fish and SOME nuts - check the label on that last one).
A good diet for someone who wants to shed fat is LOADS of lean protein, LOADS of vegetables (except ones like potato, parsnip and swede, which are high in starch), and plenty of good fats - I mean literally as much as you can eat, being hungry only forces your body into starvation mode and makes it try harder to hold onto its fat reserves. If you can stick to that and exercise every day - heavy weights and interval training are best for fat-burn - you will burn through your excess fat very quickly.
The only thing with this plan, though, is that while you will definitely burn FAT you may not actually lose much in terms of WEIGHT; that's because fat doesn't weigh a lot, and lean muscle - which you will be building (don't worry, you won't bulk) - is very heavy. A better way to monitor your progress would be to measure your boobs, waist, hips, upper arms and thighs before you start, and keep an eye on the measurements. Last time I did this plan, I gained about half a kilo but LOST three inches around my hips.
Good luck with changing your body, and message me if you'd like to try my suggestion and have any questions!
OK, so cutting out meat (particularly lean meat like chicken) is pretty much the last thing you should be doing. You need that protein to protect your muscle while you lose weight (otherwise you'll just burn muscle, not fat, which slows your metabolism long-term) AND protein cannot be converted by the body into fat AND it prevents you from feeling hungry!
What you need to cut is sugar and starchy carbs (bread, pasta, rice, potato, couscous, oats), since they're incredibly energy-dense AND easy to break down, meaning they dump a lot of sugar into your blood stream... which is then converted and stored as fat.
Dairy you can live without (although you should definitely be taking a multivit and extra calcium, magnesium and vit D to avoid weak bones in the future), but fish really is a wonder-food, so eat as much of it as you can. It's almost entirely composed of lean protein and unsaturated fat, both of which are essential to burning fat (it's a pretty complex chemical equation, but basically you need unsaturated fat to transport fat from your cells to be burned; good fats are found in olive oil, avocados, vegetable spreads, fish and SOME nuts - check the label on that last one).
A good diet for someone who wants to shed fat is LOADS of lean protein, LOADS of vegetables (except ones like potato, parsnip and swede, which are high in starch), and plenty of good fats - I mean literally as much as you can eat, being hungry only forces your body into starvation mode and makes it try harder to hold onto its fat reserves. If you can stick to that and exercise every day - heavy weights and interval training are best for fat-burn - you will burn through your excess fat very quickly.
The only thing with this plan, though, is that while you will definitely burn FAT you may not actually lose much in terms of WEIGHT; that's because fat doesn't weigh a lot, and lean muscle - which you will be building (don't worry, you won't bulk) - is very heavy. A better way to monitor your progress would be to measure your boobs, waist, hips, upper arms and thighs before you start, and keep an eye on the measurements. Last time I did this plan, I gained about half a kilo but LOST three inches around my hips.
Good luck with changing your body, and message me if you'd like to try my suggestion and have any questions!
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