Skettios

I'm about to turn 24 and I weigh close to 300 pounds. I've been fat my whole life, and I'm sick and tired of it.

My peak weight was 324, and I lost about 24lbs last year by just going to the gym. I was also pretty heartbroken about a girl for awhile, and while wrong it really helped curb my appetite.

I want to lose a lot of weight, and I want to do it quickly. I've decided that I'm willing to do just about anything to do this.

I tried Atkins for awhile, and got down to 265. I did this when I was living with my parents. I moved back to school and gained most of it back in a few months. I don't want to go the atkins route again, I really don't believe that it's very healthy. I do however want to lower my carbs, empty calories, and try to keep myself full with protein. I seem to be hungry all of the time, and would like help with any kind of appetite control as well.

Here's what I'm doing so far:

I do the elliptical trainer at 40 minute intervals. I try to keep my calories/hour around 1100. I have recently learned that keeping a steady pace probably isn't a good idea.

I've tried to cut down on my drinking but it's been really hard. My whole social life revolves around the bar scene. I've decided I'm willing to get rid of alcohol altogether if that's what it takes.

I'm considering bariatric surgery or even liposuction, but I can't afford any of that stuff right now so it's not really an option.

I'm also considering posting some kind of fitness challenge on my website that will keep people updated if they want to, some kind of written commitment thing.

The point is I really need help losing weight. I know this forum is chock full of people that understand this kind of stuff, and help would be appreciated.

__________________
Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies.

Frederich Nietzsche

hannukah harry

i've found atkins is good for appetite control, and if done right, isn't unhealthy (my opinion). by that i mean using nutritional supplements, getting your 15-20 carbs/day from veggies, and eating fish and poultry mainly, egg whites rather than full eggs, and only occasional red meat, pork and cheese.

maybe try south beach? it's got more food variety. but just cutting a lot of suger out would probably be a good help.



huh? keeping a steay pace helps allow you to go for a long time. also, an elliptical is not going to get you burning 1100 calories an hour. not even close. running burns approx. 100 calories/mile, so an elite athlete may be able to do taht, but the elliptical will burn fewer than running.



any chance you can limit yourself to only one or two drinks a night? light beers, diet coke and rum (according to bacardi, it's only 66cal). and avoid bar food...



maybe set up a TFP challenge sorta thing... where anyone who wants to can post their fitness goals and update it... could be good positive reenforcement... i'd be in for that.

__________________
shabbat shalom, mother fucker! - the hebrew hammer

skier

I'm still a newbie at health and fitness, but I'll tell you what I know about weight loss.

1. eat 5-6 SMALL meals a day. By eating more regularly during the day, you will curb your "approaching mealtime" appetite that encourages you to eat large portions of food. As well, eating those 5 or 6 meals a day will keep your digestive system running and that means you will havea faster metabolism, burning more calories over the course of the day, even when not working out.

2. Count calories. If you really want to lose weight, watch how much you eat. If you burn more calories than you consume, you will lose fat.

3. Don't watch your scales. When you exercise, you put on denser muscle while losing fat. You can be getting a lot thinner and healthier and still not register much on the scale.

4. Eat healthy. Diets work mostly by starving your body. This is painful and tiresome to body and mind. Just really tone down nonessential fatty foods (like fast food), pop, chips, and other junk food that are just empty calories that are transformed right into fat. Make some yummy food at home- balanced and healthy. The food pyramid is a cool way to go about it. I taped one to my fridge door and make my meals based on it's requirements. I hope some other forum members can give you more specifics for what kinds of food to eat, as I am trying to gain weight and haven't checked that out.

5. Alcoholic drinks have tons of calories. 4-5 drinks a night can bring you up from 400 calories all the way to 600 calories. Empty stuff that goes right to the gut. When out at a bar, get some water or nurse whatever drink you get. It's not really that big of a deal,if your friends notice, tell them you're going out to have fun, not drink.

6. Keep records, write stuff down. It's a great motivator, and will keep you in track with your goals. heh oops- that should be number 1. Make a goal for yourself a few months down the road. Make a few goals in between. Outline the steps you need to take to reach that goal. If you have trouble with motivation, find the tools you will need to stay motivated throughout your program. put post it notes on your door to remind you before you go out. Put alarms on your phone to go off to remind you to workout/eat snack/light cardio/stretch whatever.

7. Allow for change. Don't make your program/life choice/work plan too inflexible to allow for error, slow going, mix ups, or trouble in your life. Imagine your life as a hose, bending this way and that as water flows through it. If your plan in inflexible, it is like a thin piece of balsa wood strapped to it. It'll snap and fragment and fall apart when you try to carry on with your usual life. Make your plan flexible and it will be strong enough to carry you to your goal.

8. Eight is my favorite number. There had to be an eight. Anyways, i'm probably missing a lot of junk, but I hope this helps you out.

P.S. (number 9): Check out some stuff on HIIT High Intensity Impact Training. It'll set your metabolism way up for the rest of the day and will help you lose weight. I think there are a number of threads about this on the board already.

__________________
"Asking a bomb squad if an old bomb is still "real" is not the best thing to do if you want to save it." - denim

lytri

There are two things that I think help anyone control their appetite. The first is to drink lots of water. Go out and buy a Nalgene bottle and keep it with you and filled with water. The second is to have a healthy snack handy at all times and to eat a couple snacks a day. Fruit and vegetables are always good. I prefer to have some raisins and peanuts always mixed up (GORP - good ol' raisins & peanuts) in a tupperware container in my room. This allows me to grab a handful if I'm hungry. I also like peanut butter and celery (or apples).

As for the drinking, I'm not sure how much you typically drink, but if you really want to go for the same effect drink a couple shots before you leave and just drink less when you go out, and try to stick to hard alcohol.

__________________
-={}=-
Rational Anarchy

stevie667

After i fucked up my body on various illicit substances, i decided in my head that i refused to be this way any longer, which is what you need to do.
Just look at yourself in the mirror, think 'fuck this body, fuck what i look like now, i don't give a shit about how long it takes, but i will like good' (but maybe with a few less curses, i have to get myself slightly worked up...).
Once you've got into that mental state, you need to do something about it.

Get yourself some gym equipment at home first, even if just a few weights. Working out at home is in my opinion absoloutly fantastic. You don't need to worry about other people watching you in the gym, you can do it whenever you want, you can do what you want, wear what you want, and really do things to suit you.

Eat 5-7 small meals a day, completly cut out your sweets, cakes, all that kind of stuff. If you get hungry between meals, drink a glass of fat free milk, it fills you up, and will help build those all important muscles.

When you look at the calorie content on foods, take a look at the carb content as well. Avoid foods with most of their carbs from sugars, eat things like oatmeal, bannanas, wholemeal bread, foods that release their energy over time. Search for something called the glycemic index, it'll tell you how quickly you get energy from various foods compared to pure sugar. Eating foods with a low glycemic number (glucose is 100) helps your body burn food more efficiently, rather than storing excess.

Go for long (5 mile) walks. I've done this plenty of times, it really helps. Grab a book, walk down to your local park in the early morning, sit on a bench and have a read, then go for a wander, and then home.
Walks like that help burn off fat, and will really help relax your mind, and get you uplifted.

STOP DRINKING! It sucks, but i managed it, and it does work.

tbc

bookerV

Basically everyone here has covered it.

As for drinking, I would say stop if you can. If you are at the bar just don't drink. If you do end up drinking. Drink on an empty stomach. Your body will try and burn off alcohol first, so if you have food in your gut your body will start storing that as fat to save for later. Drinking also has a ton of cal's, so try low cal drinks whenever possible. I would recommend shots of vodka on an empty stomach. Quick, you'll get drunk fast, and shots can be quite fun.

I would also recommend doing some weight training rather than just cardio. Muscle burns more calories. Also building muscles makes the body work as well. So I would start hitting the weights if I were you, and finish your workout with a good cardio session. Then do a full HIIT routine on your non lifting days.

Hope that helps. Good luck!!

__________________
"That's why you're the judge and I'm the law-talking guy."

Lionel Hutz

Spanxxx

I haven't read all these posts, but I have some comments for you.


First, congratulations. Making the first step about knowing you need help and are seriously wanting that change bad is the hardest step of all.

Second, I've found the key to weight loss is 3 simple rules. 1. Exercise more. 2. Eat less. 3. Eat better. They are in order of importance as well. I've found time and time again.. sticking to those three will make significant changes to your physique.

From what I have skimmed, everyone seems to be giving you very good ideas. When it comes to losing weight, the number one factor is exercise. It sounds as if you are already realizing that route and are willing to do it. Dedication to that will get you 75% of the way there. I would however recommend doing weight lifting in combination with your cardiovascular workouts. I often here people who want to lose weight say, "I don't want to bulk up though". Well, the key is that building muscle mass will help your body to burn more fuel all day long even in a relaxed state. Muscle burns energy all the time. The more muscle you have, the more you will burn.

Here is a site that I would thorougly recommend about weightlifting and especially diet: www.bodybuilding4you.com

Get on their forums, post this same message you posted here on there and they will help you. There are lots, and I mean LOTS, of great readers of that forum that truly want to help people that are in dire needs of a health makeover.

You can go there and set goals for yourself. I always believe setting short and long term goals and sharing them with others can help immensely. Also, finding someone who might be willing to take a "challenge" with you and also be going through what you are going through at the same time can give you the mental fortitude sometimes to stick with it because you can have each other for support. Keeping a daily log of your exercise and what you eat is also a good idea. It forces you to visually SEE how much you put in your body for the day. Write down how much you drink too (in all forms) just so you can see how much of everything you are putting in your body. Do this for several weeks and it can put a realistic spin on what you really need to work on.

Pertaining to diet, the number one rule for weight loss is : eat less. Second rule, eat better. Remember which rule comes first. I know the hardest part for me is eating better, because I love those sweets, but I believe in moderation. For me, I decided that even though they were bad for me.. if I could reduce my intake of desserts to only 1 after only 1 meal, and no snacking on sweets during the day.. that was a really good start.

In looking for foods that give you energy, Stevie is on to something. You want to find foods lower in the GI (Glycemic Index) because they release their energy slower over time and will help you to feel full longer. Also, as others have said as well.. WATER. Drink plenty of water. Tons of water.

Alright, and I know you don't want to hear it but... stop drinking. If you can, it is better for you in many many ways. The alcohol reasons aside, it is a killer on a healthy diet. Especially beer. Also, another hard to hear one is to stop drinking soft drinks/colas/cokes/sodas/pop. Taking those out of your diet alone if you are a big soda drinker will make a big jump toward helping you keep down your caloric intake for the day.

Okay, some starter rules for you if you can handle them.

1. Exercise more (weight lifting AND cardio)

2. Eat less (drink plenty of water and use foods low in the GI to help curb hunger pains, and stop the snacking.. just don't buy snack foods - if they aren't around, you can't eat them.)

3. Eat better (read and learn about the GI and the right balance of protein/carbs/fat for your body's needs*).

=).. see, they still apply


Most of all, good luck. Keep your current mindset, and don't get discouraged.. it takes time. I know you want fast results.. but these things aren't overnight kinds of changes. However, with the right amount of work, you can and will see your changes start very quickly. However, once you've lost the first 30-50 pounds it might slow down and you might hit a plateau... from there you will need to refocus and know that you can still go further.


Take care and good luck.



* beware what you read on websites relating to portein/carb/fat blends for your body. Most are targeted toward bodybuilding, and thus are skewed toward that thinking.

__________________
I think that's what they mean by "nickels a day can feed a child." I thought, "How could food be so cheap over there?" It's not, they just eat nickels. - (supposedly) Peter Nguyen, internet hero

rockzilla

Having a commitment like that is a great way to keep yourself motivated and accountable to others for your success. You're more likely to work out even if you don't feel like it when you know that if you skip the gym, you'll have to tell everyone about it.
Along the same lines, see if you can recruit a friend to go work out with you. You'll be able to keep each other motivated and accountable (there's that word again).
Best of luck to you, and you know where to come when you need advice or just encouragement.

Yakk

I'm not sure if you like crash-coursing, or doing things gradually.

I'd advise eliminationg soda pop if you drink it. Right now, never touch another drop. If you want to wean yourself off it, drink club soda+fruit juice (50/50), and over a month stop drinking the fruit juice part (fruit juice is better than pop, but still not good in quantity).

Glycemic Index matters. (GI)
Glucose and White Bread are both fast-metabolizing evil foods. As is white rice, potatoes and (to a lesser extent) carrots.

Fructose (in fruits), Whole Wheat Bread (not brown, whole wheat), and other substitutes are better. They aren't "eat as much as you want", but they are better.

Fast metabolizing foods cause your blood sugar to increase rapidly (which, btw, makes you feel good), causing your body to release hormones that make it drop relatively quickly. With refined carbohydrates (high GI) the hormones take longer to dissapate than the food takes to be digested. This means your body is full of hormones that lower your blood sugar, and the flood of blood sugar drys up.

The result is a blood sugar valley. This makes you feel bad and makes you hungry.

Your body becomes hungry when your blood sugar drops below a certain amount. (well, that's a big factor). So, if you can take control over your blood sugar, and keep it more stable, you will be less hungry with less food.

Atkins and other "low carb, lots of anything else" diets, goes further than this, and exploits some other mechanisms. I personally find the metabolic tricks it pulls on you to be ... of concern. Without alot more knowledge, and alot of instruments to track biological signs, I wouldn't be comfortable using it.

(I am not a biologist or nutritionist, the above is based off pop-sci nutrition reading.)

For exercize, I could believe he is pushing 1100 cal/hour. That would be an intense workout however. Use more than 1 kind of machine to measure your cal/hour: otherwise, the machine might be miscalabrated.

How often are you exercising?
What kind of foods are you eating around the exercise?

Oh, and every beer is like drinking a glass of sugarly sludge.

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Last edited by JHVH : 10-29-4004 BC at 09:00 PM. Reason: Time for a rest.

stevie667

continued...

With regard to the website log, go for it! You'll be able to see how well your coming on, how far you've progressed (you can easily forget what you were like before when your body changes slowly), and it allows everyone else to offer their support to help you reach your goals.

Just charge forwards and don't look back. Force yourself to be who you want you to be, and reap the rewards.

Cowman

100 calories per mile? wtf? Where do you come up with a number like that? The amount of calories per mile you burn depends on A) speed, B) your weight/physical fitness and C) whether you're running flat, decline, incline, whatever. I burn ~150 calories per mile, but I only weigh 150 pounds. Someone who weigh's 300 pounds can easily push 300 calories per mile. As well, elliptical thingys tend to burn more calories per minute then running does...running is probably better overall, however.

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You don't like my point of view..but im insane

hannukah harry

ask any nutrionist, any exercise physiologist, pretty much anyone in the exercise/weight loss industry and they will tell you that that is the approximation used. walking or running, that is the amount. there are more accurate ways to do it, but that's how it is estimated... see how i said approximately? it differs from person to person based on things such as weight and fitness levels.

oh, and by the way, the electronic "calories" burned are again just an estimate. puts info into an equation. not incredibly accurate. if you want accuracy you need to get a metabolic cart.

__________________
shabbat shalom, mother fucker! - the hebrew hammer

pocon1

Hi Harry. the estimate assumes a I believe 160 lb male in normal condition. To move 300 lb simple requires more work and more energy. Most good cardio machines will now ask for weight to give a more accurate measurement of your calories burned. That is one of the reasons watts were used as an early measurment. It was a measurement of the output of the work, so you could figure out how much energy was being put in the other end.

BookerV, your understanding of alcohol consumption is a little off. When you drink on an empty stomach, alcohol is the only thing that is metabolized (not burned, metabolized). Drinking on a full stomach slows down the metabolism of the alcohol, the end result is the same.

Alcohol is a poison. The body does not digest or handle it well. For a person trying to be healthy, it throws off sleeping patterns and causes dehydration as well as giving you a lot of calories and a light wallet.

Keep going with the steady state exercise. Hiit may be nice, but it is not more effective for calorie burning. It is designed for cardiovascular training, which is not the same thing. You want to burn calories right now, the healthy heart is a fringe benefit. If you want to rn races, then train your heart.

Add weightlifting. Muscle needs to eat, so it helps burn the calories you put in your mouth. It also keeps your metabolism working a little better, because the longer you diet, the more your metabolism slows down to protect the body from starvation.

If you have any questions, pm me. Good luck.

Skettios

I don't know what the deal is with the elliptical trainer. All I know is that I break a pretty mean sweat, but that it's also better on my body than jogging on a treadmill. I mean, I'm carrying a lot of weight around, it's pretty hard on my ankles and knees to be jogging.

The machine that I use is a Life Fitness model. It takes weight into account.

Today I did 40 minutes of random elevation, with a 3 minute high elevation resistance sprint at the end. Supposedly I burnt 800 calories.

I ate a half a sandwhich from the local butcher before I went, along with a V8.

After my workout I had the other half. I estimate that meal was around 600 calories.

For dinner I had a grilled chicken breast on the bone, no sauce, with another V8. Also had romaine lettuce with a little cheese and this cool lo-cal raspberry vinagarette that I found. I'm not sure how to estimate the calories on that.

Went back to the gym for another 32 minute jaunt on the elliptical. Again the readout said 700 calories by the time I was done. Don't know if this is real or not, but it would be nice if it was.

Drank a ton of water.

Here are my questions so far...

Is HIIT cardio better? It seems like I can do either way for about 40 minutes without much trouble, so if one is better than the other, I'd like to know.

My other hurdle is that I'm usually pretty hungry before I go to sleep at night. I was thinking maybe a 200 calorie protein shake might be the answer. I feel like I need something otherwise I have trouble sleeping.

Also, is it okay to be hitting the gym twice a day? I'm awfully tired right now, but I think that might be because I didn't sleep very well last night.

Finally, are there any vitamins or supplements that I should be taking that might help muscle strain or help weight loss, you know healthy stuff?

Thanks to everyone for their help and support.

__________________
Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies.

Frederich Nietzsche

roadkill

Just rember that if you have a mindset to do shit, you can and well get it done! Thats what I've learned.

coash

wasn't it interval training? I thought that was the key word in HIIT. anyway, it does burn more calories overall than boring 40 min jogging, and keeps way more muscle mass as well

skier

probably interval. Everyone I know just says "Hit" training, so I associate it with impact. Crazy brain.

__________________
"Asking a bomb squad if an old bomb is still "real" is not the best thing to do if you want to save it." - denim

roadkill

hows thinking logically, admittily ingoranly, wrong? first time i heard it i also thought the same thing

apeman

and if you do it properly, it certainly has a great impact ...

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pain is inevitable but misery is optional - stick a geranium in your hat and be happy

stevie667

I get that same problem, i just drink a big glass of milk and head off to bed, sometimes if i really can't sleep i put it in the microwave for a toasty warm stomach, but it does help, and with non-fat/skimmed milk it's not too bad on the ol' diet.

Heres an idea, why not open a thread the Health and fitness forum here, just putting in what you do each day, and how things are coming along, and we can easily see what you doing, and help things along with encouragment and ideas?

bookerV

Yeah HIIT = High Intensity Interval Training.
From the various resources that I have read it is much more effective at burning calories. I believe I read that it burns around 9 times more calories. Not immediately but over the course of the day. HIIT has some delayed effects in the way it hits your body. I found all the articles off this forum. Just do a search on HIIT and you will come up with a lot of good info.

__________________
"That's why you're the judge and I'm the law-talking guy."

Lionel Hutz

almostaugust

Good for you. My advice to you is to make these health changes to your life, rather than just think you will lose the weight then go back to being who you were. This is why alot of crash diets dont work. My other advice is to incorporate long walking periods into your week where possible. You might find you really enjoy this time to think and study. Also, if you decide to start jogging, this is a great precursor to that.

__________________
'And it's been a long December and there's reason to believe
Maybe this year will be better than the last
I can't remember all the times I tried to tell my myself
To hold on to these moments as they pass'

Yakk

I know what you mean. The same can be said of walking: I would actually advise you to start doing short walks that gradually get longer, in order to toughen up your feet. And don't do this in either new or old shoes: you want your shoes to be broken in but not overly worn.

I can believe that, especially on machines that take your weight into account.

Note: V8 is a drink made nearly out of pure salt (slight exageration). And I can't help but think the blending process ruined most of the fibre. . . It is better than most of the alternatives, probably. =)

The vinagarette should have calorie information on it.

Edit: forgot the following bit.
The chicken breast: skin or no skin?
Calorie informationf or things like Chicken breast, lettuce and cheese is pretty easy to find on the web. Go to google. =)
Here is one chart:
http://www.caloriecountercharts.com/chart1a.htm


I have heard machines tend to overestimate the calorie number. But, it was from an unreliable source.

Hope so! Every dietary Calorie you burn is generates enough heat to warm a Litre of water by 1 degree C. =)

(well, actually, you get ~528 Calories per Litre of evaporated water: phase changes expensive!)

From what I have read, HIIT helps with conditioning much better. It might also help with weight loss, but I haven't seen any good arguements. Being able to exercise longer and harder will, however, allow you to burn calrories faster and better, so it is tempting...

I personally do interval exercise because it is less boring than doing the same thing for a huge block of time. =)

Aim for slowly digested foods. I personally don't like any diet that leaves you chronically hungry. Hence all the talk about Glycemic Index.

Bananas are a good source of Potassium. Potassium (and Calcium) shortages is what causes muscle cramps (those ions are used to single muscles to tense up and release).

That's the sum total of my knowledge asto what minerals are needed for an active life. =)

Me being the paranoid fuck I am think that if you are taking a multi-vitamin, take at least two (very) different brands of it on alternating days. (just in case one or the other has a flaw in their formula)

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Last edited by JHVH : 10-29-4004 BC at 09:00 PM. Reason: Time for a rest.

Skettios

Thanks for all of the help guys.

I think a tilted fitness challenge might be a good thread to start.

I'm on my way to the gym right now, and I"m going to max out on some weights to get an idea of what I can lift right now. That way I can post my height, weight, and what I lift, and set some realistic goals for the end of summer.

__________________
Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies.

Frederich Nietzsche

Averett

I'm up for a fitness challenge myself. I'm not fat but I could stand to get in shape. And get healthy. I have the worst eating habits....

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Absence is to love what wind is to fire. It extinguishes the small, it enkindles the great.

coash

alright... HIT and HIIT are TWO different things.

HIT training has to do with weights (abbreviated sets, failure, yada, crap). Stands for High Intensity Training (even though it's not high intensity )

HIIT is alternating the intensities in intervals. This is the cardio one that is greeat

stevie667

Thats great!
see if you can find some callipers to measure your body fat as well, it's a great way of tracking how your doing as you watch the bf% slowly drop, plus it gives you a good idea of how much muscle is replacing fat.

Yakk

At least at my Gym, they have an electonic toy that reads body water and (hence) fat percentages.

In men at least, waist size might be a good indicator of losing fat->muscle conversion. Men tend to carry their fat around in a tube just above the waist. ;-) I've lost 2-3 inches without my weight changing more than 2 lbs, which broke any faith I had in scales.

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Last edited by JHVH : 10-29-4004 BC at 09:00 PM. Reason: Time for a rest.

Skettios

I've been remiss in what I said I was going to do as far as this board is concerned.

I posted last on Wednesday, I said I was going to go work out and max out weights and I didn't do it. I went to the gym but I didn't report back, and I certainly didn't max any weights out

I went to the gym and worked out for 40 minutes, and got a phone call from the girl I"m into, kind of got off track for awhile.



The next day I was too tired to go to the gym, but I ended up playing some basketball for a few hours, and considered that the same as going to the gym.

Anyway, long story short, next day was Friday. I went to the gym, worked out for 40 minutes on a random interval on the elliptical trainer. Then I went and asked the guy at the counter to help me max out. He told me instead of maxing out, to find a weight that I was comfortable with for each exercise. The first was the bench press. I felt alright at 130lbs. I could do at least 10 reps of 3 sets. The next exercise was forearm curl, I was at 70. The other shit I did was, I don't know what it's called but it's the one where you sit up straight and reach behind you and press weights in front of you. I"m at 140 on that machine. Then I did 150 on the ab isolater. So I might need to do this again, but from the info I've gathered I want to set some real goals for the rest of the summer.

p.s. I formed this thread when I was feeling kind of down, but I've started working out, and I've got a lot of encouragement from you guys, and it helped a lot. My confidence has been better already, I was even up dancing when we went out the other night, and that never happens.

My next step is to start the TFP challenge/obligation board for those members who need some extra help getting in shape. I know I need all the help I can get and hopefully it will help others. Right now I"m just waiting for the proper time to set it al up. Hopefully I'll see a lot of you over there, whether you need to post on it or not.

Thanks for all your help.

__________________
Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies.

Frederich Nietzsche

Ella

A lot of the above advice is very useful....I tend to stick to a really simple high protein, low fat, low carb thing.

Brekky:
1 protein (1 egg)
1 fruit or 1 grain (slice of wholemeal bread)
Sugar free drink (black coffee for me)

Lunch:
1 protein (skinless chicken breast, lean ham, silverside)
1 vegetable (I throw a few slices of capsicum and cucumber in a salad)
2 cups lettuce (one of the lowest GI vegies..you feel full for ages)
1 fruit
Diet coke

Dinner:
1 protein (chicken/steak)
1 vegetable
1 fruit
2 cups lettuce

All dressing should be fat free.
Size of the protein should be the size of the palm of your hand. Snacks in between (you should eat every two hours to increase your metabolism) should be protein - lean ham, low fat cheese, protein bars (I posted my faves in the Protein Bars thread).
Drink lots of water.

Also, get some ketone sticks and pee on them to see if you're in ketosis. If you're in ketosis, you're losing fat. If you're not (and not everyone shows via ketone sticks) and you're thirsty and you're getting lighter/smaller, then it's working.

Have an all protein day once a week. And drink no alcohol. That's the hardest part (your body will always burn this before fat). And take a good multi vitamin and an omega 3 fatty acid supplement.

Good luck!

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"Afterwards, the universe will explode for your pleasure."