No prob bud.

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In reverse... to fix your late night hunger. Casein.

What is it? Protein that digests slowly. When it gets into your stomach it turns into a gel and sits there slowly being absorbed. It is healthy for you (helps reduce muscle deterioration while you sleep). Also it sits in your stomach... so you feel full.

There are two major ways to get casein.

1. As a powder drink. This is the easiest way. Drink one shake at around 8-9PM and then you are done eating until you wake up. This is the one I use:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/opt/naturalcas.html

2. Cottage Cheese. Eat one serving of cottage cheese at 8-9PM and you are done eating until you wake up. Go for 1%, not fat free. You can mix a little bit of fruit like grapes, strawberries or blueberries with it if you can't do it plain.

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How to lose the weight.

You just need to balance your food. Logically break it down into the following categories.

Protein - Meats, Chicken, Fish, Soy stuff, some beans, Eggs
Carbs - Breads, Cereals, Waffles, Pancakes, Potatoes, Corn
Vegetables - Peas, Carrots, lettuce, peppers, broccoli, squash
Dairy - Cheese, Milk, Yogurt
Fats - Oils, Butter, Some beans
Condiments - Mustard, Ketchup, Mayo

So, now that you can define what you eat, do your best to describe how often and what you eat in a day. I'll see what I can do to keep you close to the same foods, but maybe mix it up so you can lose weight without much shift.
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Edit: Just a note, last year at about this time I weighed 165. I currently weigh around 140. I dropped about 15% weight. I have been working out and eating well since I started this past January. So I've been reading and doing this stuff constantly for the last 9 months or so.

Nekkoru wrote:

Get rid of red meat, get your protein from dairy products and lentils and soy. Learn how to make lentil burgers, too. They're awesome.

Soy is ok in moderation, however it is high in estrogen and while studies remain somewhat mixed, it is pretty much agreed amongst the male fitness community that a pure soy protein diet would work against a man trying to be in good shape. I enjoy tofu and other soy products, but only as about 5% of my protein intake at maximum.

Atma wrote:

GPFontaine wrote: So, now that you can define what you eat, do your best to describe how often and what you eat in a day. I'll see what I can do to keep you close to the same foods, but maybe mix it up so you can lose weight without much shift. Thanks for the Midnight hunger trick. Will certainly try it. As for what I eat the most of? EASILY Proteins more than anything. Always eating a Burger, Steak, Chicken, Seafood. Something like that. I consider myself a carnivore more than anything. Certainly eat Carbs as well, Usually in relation to the Proteins (Steak and Potatoes, Sandwiches, Cereals) And I try to get healthier cereals, not eating shit like Cinnamon Toast Crunch anymore Dairy too, I drink milk constantly, I get 1% for it. Also Love cheese and put it on just about anything. Condiments - Normally use Light Miracle Whip on stuff. I seriously have done my best to get rid of the obvious stuff (Sodas, Candy, Chips, Junk food in general) Sometimes I do break down and get Fast Food every once in a while. I try to eat light Yogurt as a snack throughout the day If I can. Stick to Fruit in the morning, Usually a Banana and an Apple. My eating sched. is something like Breakfast around 8-9am, Lunch around 12ish, and dinner like 7 or 8ish. Usually whenever the hell I get hungry really. Hopefully I didn't overload you with info. Sorry if I did.

If you want to lose the weight you probably don't need to change much of what you eat, just when and how much.

Your meal times are good, but you really need to keep your metabolism going inbetween.

For timing, try to break your meals into Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Snack, Dinner, Casein.

Before I suggest how much of each food, I need to get an idea as to your physical size. What size are you now, height, weight, and build. And what is your ideal weight and build.

Atma wrote:

GPFontaine wrote: Before I suggest how much of each food, I need to get an idea as to your physical size. What size are you now, height, weight, and build. And what is your ideal weight and build. I'm 5'7, about 165, not overweight but I have some stomach chub. I'm within Navy Weight Standards, and I don't have trouble working out. So Cardio wise I'd say I'm in shape, but I want to burn off the chub to look more toned. Not trying to be Arnold in Pumping Iron. My ideal weight? 150ish I'd say. Maybe even a little lower than that, but I don't want to be scrawny either if that makes sense.

Wow... I was the same exact size.

Before I continue I want to clear up a few health myths. The first is about protein shakes. There are four major types of protein shakes. Egg, Whey, Soy, and Casein. They all have different uses, but in their purest form they are protein supplements that fill your caloric needs with protein. The nice thing about a protein shake is that you can replace a protein meal with one if you choose. I don't suggest you do this all the time, but once in a while it has advantages.

Lets say that you eat red meat 4 times a week. If you opted to avoid one day a week and go with a protein shake of equal protein value, you would reduce your cholesterol, calorie, and fat intake.

For someone who is regularly in motion such as yourself the biggest balancing change I can suggest is to refine your carbs, eat them mostly over breakfast and lunch, and switch your carbs for proteins if you need the calories. The increase in proteins will hurt you badly if you go for 85/15 hamburger meat every day. Chicken is probably the best option, however if you are eating a lot of protein chicken is high in cholesterol.

I would try for this. Each day, two large servings of protein and one moderate serving of carbs.

How big should the servings be? 6-8oz of meat per serving twice a day. A cup of cereal or bread with a sandwich, or a potato. If the thought of eating two large meat servings a day is gross, that is why a protein shake works.

Since you will be eating less carbs, you need to refine them. They need to work for you, not against you. So complex carbs from wheat are great: wheat bread, wheat pasta, wheat cereal.

During the rest of the day, mix in the rest of your food. Try to separate it over 5 defined eating times. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner.

I wouldn't do the Atkins diet if you workout during the day. It is too low energy.

As for carbohydrates, they are sugars. Complex ones break down and are useful for long term energy. Direct simple sugars are sweet and burn fast, but unless they are 100% burned, they turn to fat. When you look at the nutrition label on a food product, you should see them separated:

Total Carbohydrates: ##g
Dietary Fiber #g
Sugars #g

The total Carbohydrates minus the Sugars & Dietary Fiber = Complex Carbohydrates

Example A.
A Hershey's bar has 26g total carbs. 24g of them are from sugar. 1 is from Fiber. That means that one bar has only 1g of complex carbs. To not get fat, you must burn all 26g but you only get 1g of carb towards your sustained energy. This would be amongst the worst carb choices for sustained energy.

Example B.
Barilla Whole Grain Penne has 41g total carbs. 2g of them are from sugar. 6g are from fiber. That means that to not get fat, you must burn 41g. However, you have 33g of sustained complex carbs backing you up. This would be among the best carb choices for sustained energy.

But be alert to the idea that if you don't burn the carbs, they turn to fat. So 41g of pasta is going to be bad for you if you eat it and then just go to bed. That is why carbs should be eaten during the breakfast and lunch meals.

It is important to realize that there are carbs in our other foods too. Even our vegetables, fruits, proteins, and dairy products. We generally don't count them because they are in small amounts, but an absolute no-carb diet would mean drinking water and not eating food. When people talk about low or no carb diets, they are discussing the removal of pastas, breads, cereals and other similar type foods.

So lets look at your meals:

Oatmeal = Carb
Banana = Fruit
Apple = Fruit
Chicken Salad = Protein & Vegetable
Dressing = Condiment
Hamburger = 85/15 meat = Protein and fat, Bun = Carb, Ketchup = Condiment

Great news! Overall, it isn't a bad day!

How to switch it up to work in your favor?

Change 1. Take a fruit from breakfast and eat it as the first snack.
Change 2. Try to find one more vegetable for the salad. Try something new, or retry something you haven't eaten in a while (Red bell peppers maybe?).
Change 3. More food will help you lose some weight if it is the right food. Snack 2 is important. Try a small healthy snack. Example Healthy Cheddar Puffs http://goo.gl/PMxB
Change 4. Try 93/7 burgers or turkey burgers. Use whole wheat buns.


Breakfast = Oatmeal & Banana
Snack 1 = Apple
Lunch = Chicken and Salad
Snack 2 = Cheddar Puffs
Dinner = 93/7 Burger with Whole Wheat Bun

Total Eaten

Carbs = 2 Servings
Protein = 2 Servings
Vegetables = 1 Serving
Fruit = 1 Serving
Fat = 0 Servings
Condiments = 2 Servings

If you really want to lose the weight, drop the bun on the burger all together and replace those calories with a protein shake with breakfast. Alternatively eat 3 egg whites or some turkey bacon in the morning.

Natsu wrote:

Didn't that doctor die . I personally think the dieting suggestions you've heard here are better, forcing your body to burn fat obviously will lead to weight loss you may be sacrificing a more healthy/balanced diet. I have question for the work out gurus. Would it be beneficial to not eat a high-energy meal before a intense cardio work out so that your body would have to burn your fat instead? Maybe have like a snack bar before work out/throughout it?

Some protein (10-13g) in your system about an hour before a high intensity workout is important. Carbs aren't necessary unless you didn't eat any for like a day or so. Drink water with the workout as needed in sips. If going longer than an hour, you might want want half a protein bar midway.

After an intense workout within 15 minutes a protein (20-25g) shake is necessary. Carbs should be eaten within 30 minutes after the workout. A single serving of carbs is pretty much burnt off 100% if you eat it directly after a workout. I wouldn't count it against the daily food.

Ash,

Isopure is one of the best protein companies on the market. Two concerns about the products. First, they are expensive. For some, it may not be an issue, but they are amongst the highest priced products. Two they use artificial sweeteners. Not a big deal if you are ok with it, but I know that it makes me have problems with my stomach.

As for results though, it is one of the best options on the market.

I use ON 100% NATURAL Whey. Isopure tastes better and has better results, but for me, I need a natural product. Just showing that no matter the circumstance there are available options.