[sjohnson]

Hi everyone - Just wanted to get a few opinions and thoughts about a easy to maintain diet plan. I have read so much on diets, that I have managed to COMPLETELY confuse myself.

Just a little background -

I'm 32 years old, and about a year ago managed to get into a accident at work which got me 3ed degree chemical burns on my lungs. Between the inhalers that included steroids and all the bed ridden time I had, my weight BALLOONED up. I went from about 230 semi-nicely built to my current 320lbs. I used to be able to just double up cardio and things like that, and not worry alot about my diet, but now that my cardio is pretty limited, I'm going to have to really rely on my diet - And thats where I'm a bit confused. Since my in-activity, my metabloism(sp) is at stop ( Is it possible to go in reverse? :) )

So far, I know that I need to eliminate the soda type drinks, and really overdo the water. (is there ever a such thing as TOO much water?)

I know that eating more, smaller meals is better than a few big ones...

Breakfast could be egg whites, dry toast.
Snack some sort of protien bar
Lunch maybe some green beans/Grilled chicken breast.
Another snack ??? Not sure

Dinner again could be chicken breast, tuna fish or somesuch....

Am i even on the right path? My job requires me to almost live on the road, so simpler the better - any type of help would be greatly appreciated...

Doing some figures I read on the net, to maintain my 320lbs I need to take in about 3500 calories a day (Which I didn't think I was eating that much, but my weight is stable, so I guess I am) I was thinking of trying to hit about 1200-1500 calories per day...

I'm not really weight lifting yet - I am just trying to loose as much fat as possible at this point...

Thanks Again, and nice to meet you all!

[projekt0]

Welcome

well i probably shouldn't be the one to talk since my diet is piss poor, but here it goes anyways

as far as drinks if you're trying to lose weight, just stick with mainly water.

for food if u just want to lose weight eat subway and lots of salads (chicken salads, egg salads) stuff like that since they have low calories

also i think it would be healthier for you to eat 1500-2000 calories spread out over 6-8 meals throughout the day instead of eating so few calories because eating that few calories might be starving yourself instead of healthy weight loss

however, even if you don't want to start lifting yet i would recommend that you some some sort of weight training instead of just cardio because it will make you burn more calories throughout the day even when you're inactive. i don't know if you current go to a gym, but if you don't want to do much weight lifting just do light weight sets on a machine (3 sets of 15) at the gym because it will help burn calories and speed up your metabolism.

i don't know much else advice to offer but i hope some of this is useful for you. good luck bro

[chrispghmuscle]

Welcome to the dungeon,, nice to have you aboard. One question are you OTR ( over the road ) truck driver? If you are you need to carry everything u need to eat with you.. Water is the key to weight loss. good solid foods like the ones your eating, chicken ,fish, almonds are good for sustaining hunger on the road.

Are you able to do any weight training at all? Please post what you are able to do.. Then we can give you some quality advise..

Chris

[sjohnson]

Originally Posted by chrispghmuscle

Welcome to the dungeon,, nice to have you aboard. One question are you OTR ( over the road ) truck driver? If you are you need to carry everything u need to eat with you.. Water is the key to weight loss. good solid foods like the ones your eating, chicken ,fish, almonds are good for sustaining hunger on the road.

Are you able to do any weight training at all? Please post what you are able to do.. Then we can give you some quality advise..

Chris

Hey! Thanks both of you for the advice.

No, I'm not a truck driver - I work in various plants around the south getting thier process control systems up and running correctly - I live in Louisiana, and travel from texas to florida - which puts me on the road almost daily..

I used to play college football, so I was *ALWAYS* working out to build mass, and get stronger, All I ever did was lift heavy and often - After the incident with my lungs, and add a car wreck with a torn rotater cuff(sp) in my shoulder that cant be operated on, I have not been to the gym in any length of time. I think a lot of my not going basicaly involves not really knowing what I SHOULD be doing. Years ago there was an old motto - Heavy weight, few reps will build mass, lower weights, higher reps would tone, and help loose weight - so thats what I was trying to do. However not seeing any type of results I just kinda gave up.... (Of course, my diet wasn't correct really, so I should have known it wouldn't really help)

Also, being on the road so much makes it hard to get into any schedule in a gym - I could be home Monday, leave tuesday, and not come back home for 2-3 weeks. so I end up living out of motels....

All that background, and what looks like a bit of excuses - but I truly just cant find a way to make a real, sustained effort at a gym. Maybe a routine of pushups and situps and stuff that can be done in a hotel room? would it really make any noticable difference? (In addition to diet, of course)

I'm HOPING once I loose 40-50Lbs, I'll be able to do more cardio type work - but The doctors just dont know, they say they doubt it, but its worth a shot. I figured I would have to do the first part of this body reshaping all with diet, and hopefully that will open the door to a few other things.

Any of this background help at all? :)

Thanks again.

[Kirk]

sjohnson, im sorry to hear your schedule is all f'ed up. but this is the hand you've been delt, and you got to pay the bills right? so where do we go from here, that background helped alot. as far as the shoulder injury you've taken months? years? off, so getting back in, movement wise is going to be a tough one. My suggestion, turn cardio into a regular thing, you can perform cardio wherever you go, it actually will help you feel better. as far as lifting, not every location you go to will have a gym, and if they do im sure you'll have to pay. motels sometimes have small exercise rooms, do your best with what you have there. start small distances, break a sweat for an hour or so, and then take a shower and eat. diet wise there is always food around you, where you chose to eat is up to you. stay away from fast food places, if need be Men's Health - Men's Guide to Fitness, Health, Weight Loss, Nutrition, Sex, Style and Guy Wisdom has good suggestions if the need for fast food arrives, you can limit your fat intake. chris said it, water is the most important fuel to losing weight. if a motel doesnt have cardio go for a job around the block, pushups and situps never hurt so break those out when u get back from your job. pullups on a playground? pushdowns on a playground? use your resources, be creative, but as long as your using whats around you and breaking a sweat, keeping your diet in check and eating regularly (bring your lunch with you wherever you go, fill up at grocery stores)...you'll see your losing weight results with time.

[Freak]

First off sorry to hear about your accident. Are you reimbursed for food you purchase? Carbs and protein are kind of hard to make on the road assuming you don't have access to a stove..

Here are some tips:

Drink cold water throughout the day. Start with 1 gallon but with so much traveling you might bump it up if you are still dehydrated. You burn a little more calories drinking cold water than room temp. Yes there is a thing as too much water: water intoxication, hypokalemia (low potassium), and hyponatremia (low sodium).

Eat vegetables at least 3 times per day. Low calories but full of nutrients and fiber.

Fruits: Start your breakfast off with fruits and sprinkle throughout the day. Avoid eating at your last few meals of the day.

Not sure yet exactly what I can advise when you are traveling. If you could have access to a stove 2 days per week that would be sufficient to cook your carbs and protein for the week.

Do not consume list:
Pop, alcohol, processed foods, foods loaded with sodium, foods laced with hydrogenated oils or high in saturated fat.

Stick to complex carbs and 6-8 meals per day.
1500 calories is too low for a 320lb man. Do a 3 day journal of what you are currently eating, take an average of the macros and this is your baseline. From here reduce by 1000 calories. Take your measurements right now (bf, bodypart measurements, bodyweight), take pictures so you can compare as you make progress and track your progress.

Some good foods for traveling that come to mind: nuts (preferably unsalted almonds), fruits, vegetables, skim milk, whey protein.
You might try buying a coffee grinder and grinding up your complex carbs to make a shake. Grind up brown rice or oatmeal, you could even throw in some flax oil or olive oil, fruits, whey protein and this would keep you going and be really easy.

Please let me know if you have any other questions. You might be better served to pm me if you do.
Hope this helps. Good luck on your recovery and attaining your goals.