Hello all, i,m looking for bit general advice mainly on weight loss if possible please. I,m 45 years old 6 foot 3 inches tall and 19 stone ,quite a bit of which is fat have maybe 2 stone stored round my belly chest (man tits) and hips. I,ve trained with weights off and on for 9 years but have never been dedicated enough diet or cardio wise to get in the shape id like mainly due to family / work commitments giving me an excuse to cheat
However i,m now in the position where i can get to the gym for about an hour at 6.30am each weekday so i had thought i would try the following workout and diet which was recommened by lad at the gym who is in very good shape

Each weight lifing exercise is carried as follows, 4 exercises per body part ,3 x 10 reps or to failure then move up to heavier weight next time around if 3x10 reps are reached, all weight lifting sessions last approx 45 =60 mins
Monday - chest and triceps
Tuesday - cardio 40 mins
Wednesday- back and biceps
Thursday- cardio 40 mins
Friday- legs and shoulders followed by 20 mins cardio

Daily diet typically
8.00am Breakfast- special k or weetabix with semi skimmed milk , slice of wholemeal toast with cottage cheese or philly cheese
10.30am snack- 100 grams chicken (either from cooked roast chicken bought from tescos or packet of mattesons chicken slices)banana
1.30pm Lunch-Jacket potato with either tuna or chicken mayo , salad and coleslaw
4.00pm snack -chicken as above and apple
7.00pm evening meal choice of roast chicken dinner, veg,potatoes,gravy etc/ home made chilli with lean mince small rice portion/omelette/tuna sandwich 2 slices of wholemeal bread & banana/chicken and vegatable stir fry/beans and slice of wholemeal toast.
9.30 snack metrex powder mixed with skimmed milk

Sunday is cheat day and a few beers and a takeaway are allowed here apparently

My main goal is to lose the fat and be toned up. i,m happy with the size i am with regard to my shoulders, tri's biceps etc as long as i can lose the fat i,m not looking to get big as such just to get in shape. Any thoughts or suggestions greatly appreaciated, thanks

I would run that plan for a few weeks and see what happens to be honest. Then after that time assess what progress has been made and take it from there. I could suggest do more cardio, but if you find after a few weeks you have dropped a fair bit of weight on your current plan, then the extra cardio is not needed at this stage - but have a view to implement this later on when weight loss starts to slow down, as it inevitably does.

Maybe have porridge in the morning if you like to eat it, I would think it is a lot more sustaining than Special K.

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Thanks for the feedback RHF,just a couple of quesions if you dont mind?

When you mention porridge does it have to be the real stuff cos i,m not keen or could i get away with oats so simple or ready brek ?
Could weetabix with semi skimmed milk be part of a decent breakfast or does that fall into same catagory as special k as i really prefer cereal with cold milk?
In your interview you mention eating jacket potatoes (among other things)making you knackered, do you think i should ditch them from my diet and just have salad with tuna or chicken as i have a jacket every week day lunch time?

Just read your interview by the way very very well done. I,ve just got back into the gym again after a good few months away and theres a girl there who when i was last there was probably getting on for your old size and when i saw her the other week she d lost loads of weight and looks like a different person and so much better and healthier .Great to see and very inspiring.
Finally any general advice for getting into the mindset of eating right little and often or do you think it is simply just a willpower thing ?

ORIGINAL: dodgerkeith

When you mention porridge does it have to be the real stuff cos i,m not keen or could i get away with oats so simple or ready brek ?

No it doesn't have to be plain oats if you're not all that keen on them. Readybrek is fine, as it is basically oats with oat flour and added vitamins, nothing else added. Oatso Simple again is fine, but I would stick with the plain one as the flavoured ones have sugar added.



Could weetabix with semi skimmed milk be part of a decent breakfast or does that fall into same catagory as special k as i really prefer cereal with cold milk?

Weetabix is absolutely fine. I just suggested porridge to have for a change.



In your interview you mention eating jacket potatoes (among other things)making you knackered, do you think i should ditch them from my diet and just have salad with tuna or chicken as i have a jacket every week day lunch time?

I find I react badly to JPs, I get a dreadful slump after eating them - therefore I only eat them when I am close by to my bed and don't have anything planned I need to do. They affect me that much! If they don't have this effect on you, then there is no reason not to have them for lunch. I think they're a great addition to a healthy diet.



Finally any general advice for getting into the mindset of eating right little and often or do you think it is simply just a willpower thing ?

I don't know about how others feel, but I just know that I feel better in all aspects if I eat little and often and eat good healthy food. If I eat a lot of crap - I feel crap. Sugar is the worse for me, I have had occasions in the past where i have eaten such a huge amount of sugary crap that I actually almost feel drunk on it and have trouble walking. Yes willpower is somewhat involved here also, if we all had 100% willpower there wouldn't be such a problem with obesity in this country. Sometimes you do have to stop and say no. It's not easy - I love my food ... but I love being slim much more than I do being fat and that is what keeps me motivated

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Buy some cadburys highlights(low cal chocolate powder) and add that to your porridge to give it some life.

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Yes Tony, I do that sometimes. Hmmmm choc porridge

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Cheers again, chocolate porridge eh ? now we're talking