Is this a decent lunch?

[basslover1]

1/3 lb of top round roast beef, one naval orange, and 1/2 cup of Planter's mixed nuts.



I'm trying to take baby steps to start lowering my weight. For reference, I'm 25 (26 in June) 5'10" 205lbs, I've been that weight for probably 4-5 years though for maybe 18 months through that time period I was avidly hitting the gym 4-5 times a week. In which I did notice a muscle gain just not much of a fat loss because my eating habits sucked. I don't consider my self fat, but I know I'm overweight for my height.

I have pretty much zero personal activity/gym time since I have a full-time job and I'm a full-time student. However, work keeps me busy I'm on my feet 8 hours a day lots of walking around some heavy lifting in between. So i'm no couch potato but with my current time constraints that's the best I can offer myself.

I've already cut out soda/sugar drinks, chips/salty snacks and drink a good amount of water a day.

So what have you ATHF? Decent first step or should I rethink my direction?

 

[janas19]

Sounds good, but I've never had much success at losing weight with small portions and being hungry. First of all mixed nuts and fruits are a snack. They are not a meal, no matter what the trendy fitness magazines tell you. You should make your meals real meals and then enjoy the healthy snacks as snacks.

The most sucess I've had with losing weight came from 2 (well maybe 3) things: whole grains, water, and lean meats (chicken, fish). Eat lots of whole grains. Complex carbohydrates like brown rice and oatmeal have fiber to keep you full, carbs to give you energy, and they don't break down quickly so the energy lasts longer.

I never went hungry, I always ate and drank as much of those three things as I wanted, knowing well they were nourishing my body. Then when I did get hungry I would eat a handful of nuts or a piece of fruit or a bowl of cereal.

Long story short, I lost about 8 pounds of fat in two months, and gained some muscle as well. So my advice is pick the whole grain and lean meat you like and make that your staple to fill you up. Then have fun with the snacks, buy lots of interesting or exotic stuff to give you something to look forward to so you won't get bored. For ex my staple was steel cut oats and quinoa. I would always eat a bowl of oats for breakfast and that started my day off right. If I got tired of it I would switch with quinoa.

Sorry that was so long but hope it helps you.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Where are the veggies? Veggies are gonna be the highest volume, most satisfying food per calorie. That would be a good thing to add. Make them taste good so you actually want to eat them though I find squeezing a lemon over some broccoli is a good, easy option.

In addition, if you're interested in losing weight, check out the fat loss sticky. You may not be ready for an exercise program, but the diet info in there would be useful for you. If you're serious about losing weight, then you may want to start tracking your calories. That would facilitate some good habits for weight loss.