Being the fat guy is making me depressed need some tips

Signs and symptoms
1

At the moment I'm running everynight for around 15 mins. Everytime I can do the current run in doing without stopping I extend it abit. I am getting a lot of Lower back pain but that's due to my weight (224lbs) I'm enjoying running but I want to maximise my efforts to get the best results out of running and to be the best I can be. 

my diet usually consists of:

About 7am Porridge and a cup of coffee

Around 10am I have a sandwich

12pm I have a couple of pieces of fruit a sandwich and a packet of crisps. 

Around 6.30pm I have a decent meal consisting of a piece of meat a couple of potions of veg and also a potion of some sort of carbohydrates 

Throughout the day I also drink water

Do you have any tips for me or ways I can improve and get the best out of my time. 

2

Hi Scrumpert

Sounds like your problem is that you have bought into the "eat lots of starchy carbs" "cut right down on that nasty artery clogging fat" mantra that has failed so comprehensively.  The evidence of this is all around us to be seen.

About 10 years or so ago I was taken in by the "slow release" carbs nonsense i.e. porridge.

I would have porridge (yum NOT) at 6.30 - 7am and by 9.30 - 10am I would be totally ravenous.  But now I understand about insulin (the hormone that stores excess blood sugar as body fat) and how after a carb based meal you have an insulin spike followed by a crash followed by the desire to eat a scabby horse.

Looking at you usual diet can I make the following observations.

About 7am Porridge (carbs possibly with extra carbs/sugars from sugar or honey maybe) and a cup of coffee (with milk maybe i.e. milk sugars/ Lactose possibly)

Around 10am I have a sandwich (due to hunger / insulin crash)(also bread/carbs)

12pm I have a couple of pieces of fruit (carbs) a sandwich (bread/carbs) and a packet of crisps (carbs / MSG / trans fats and Acrylamide, a cancer-causing and potentially neurotoxic chemical etc etc etc).

Around 6.30pm I have a decent meal consisting of a piece of meat a couple of potions of veg (potatoes maybe also known as carb bombs)  and also a potion of some sort of carbohydrates (MORE carbs !!!)

What do I eat:-

No breakfast (you only eat it because we have been indoctrinated to think that we should).

I break my fast at lunch time with two soft boiled eggs and a small avocado (good fats even better proteins and next to no carbs)

Snack IF I feel hungry:- a few organic (pesticide free) nuts and 4 small squares of 85% organic chocolate (some sugar/carb but not much).

Dinner/tea time:-

Lots of organic (low starch/sugar/carb) veg and a small amount of good quality (unprocessed/ non factory farmed) protein /meat.

Do I fell hungry?

Put it this way:-     I'm writing this at just gone 2 pm UK time and have only had a black coffee (no milk/lactose/sugar/carbs) and some drinks of water (no fruit juice/sugar/carbs)  and I could EASILY last until dinner/tea time.

What do I avoid 99% of the time:- sugar, bread, potatoes (except sweet potatoes) milk, any sugary drinks.  That would be my tip.

3

Hi Scrumpert,

Personally, I wouldn't advise that you miss out on breakfast at all! We wouldn'y try and run our cars on empty so why try the same with ourseves! Keep whatever portions of meals you have considerably smaller than you're used to and keep up the water throughout the day; take regular sips especially if you're feeling peckish as it's surprising how it helps keep hunger at bay.

If you used to have meat every day then try chicken for 2 or 3 meals per week instead, and when you do have meat make sure it's only the size of the palm of your hand.

The main thing you need to do is up your exercise and be careful of your intake of food. Exercise includes weights or kettlebells, best used at the end of an exercise routine. You're wise to do the running, but....does that make your back pain worse? If you think it just might be then try brisk walking for 1/2 hr instead or do walking in between the running. i.e. walk for 2 mins, run for 2 mins then repeat over and over until you've achieved your total minutes of exercise goal. The more exercise you do the better you will feel and the more you'll want to do, soon you'll see the weight dropping off and feel a new man.

I have an under active thyroid, but I lost 2 stone, if I can do it, believe me, so can you! All the very best in your journey! smile

4

One 2008 study that evaluated the effect of fasting during the Muslim observance of Ramadan found it had a positive effect on body mass and other health markers in trained athletes.

There's also plenty of research showing that fasting has a beneficial impact on longevity in animals. There are a number of mechanisms contributing to this effect. Normalizing insulin sensitivity is a major one, but fasting also inhibits the mTOR pathway, which plays an important part in driving the aging process. The fact that it improves a number of potent disease markers also contributes to fasting's overall beneficial effects on general health.

One recent study by Dr. Benjamin D. Horne, PhD, MPH, director of cardiovascular and genetic epidemiology at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute, and the study's lead author included more than 200 individuals, found that fasting increased the participants' low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL or so called "bad" cholesterol) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL, the "good" cholesterol) by 14 percent and 6 percent, respectively. Why would fasting raise total cholesterol? ,He offers the following explanation:

"Fasting causes hunger or stress. In response, the body releases more cholesterol, allowing it to utilize fat as a source of fuel, instead of glucose. This decreases the number of fat cells in the body... This is important because the fewer fat cells a body has, the less likely it will experience insulin resistance, or diabetes."

Even more remarkable, the study also found that fasting triggered a dramatic rise in HGH—1,300 percent in women, and an astounding 2,000 percent in men!

HGH, commonly referred to as "the fitness hormone" plays an important role in maintaining health, fitness and longevity, including promotion of muscle growth, and boosting fat loss by revving up your metabolism. The fact that it helps build muscle while simultaneously promoting fat loss explains why HGH helps you lose weight without sacrificing muscle mass.

5

Hi Sue...Wt 

Just to expand on your car analogy a bit further.

Humans are like hybrids cars when it comes to fuel (food). We prefer petrol (carbs) as they are easy to "burn" and are cheaper, but if we run out of petrol (carbs) for a bit we can switch to diesel oil ({body} lipids/fat) as a fuel.  It is harder to "burn" but gives you more MPG (energy /calories) and if you reduce the content of your diesel tank a bit (each day) before you switch back to petrol after a refuel (carb containing meal) then your car will be a little bit lighter as diesel (fat) weighs more than petrol.

6

Hello Brian, I have taken onboard a lot of what you have had to say interms of structuring my meals. As I have a job which involves a lot of lifting I can't really skip breakfast. I have replaced my porridge in the morning with two eggs scrambled and my cup of coffee for a flavoured tea. Then for my lunch I have swapped out the sandwich for 2-3 chicken legs minus the skin. 

7

Hi again Scrumpert

'The Novak Djokovic Diet'. The world tennis number one recently released a book, titled Serve To Win, in which he credited a carefully controlled nutritional intake for his success on the court. He eliminated gluten, dairy, and tomatoes from his diet, and instead focused on eating nuts, seeds, vegetables, fish, chicken, and quinoa. The result, Djokovic says, was palpable: “I was lighter, quicker, clearer in mind and spirit ... I could tell the moment I woke up each morning that I was different than I had been, maybe since childhood. I sprang out of bed, ready to tear into the day ahead.”

Also exercising especial HIIT (high intensity interval training)(or heavy lifting /work) increases the production of HGH (human growth hormone) and so "burning" of body fat while in a fasting state.

8

Hi, I find that cutting out bread makes a huge difference and I am trying to do it now. I have lost 5lb in 9 days (did have one day of bread). Basically if I eat bread I do not lose! There is something about it that doesnt agree with me,, as much as I love it! Its hard especially when I just feel like grabbing a sandwich for quickness, but I am taking the time to think about it and up to now I am happy with results. I have at least 3 stone to lose.

9

I am still having my morning coffee as I don't want to give up everything i enjoy and I certainly do love my morning coffee! I have porridge or low fat natural yoghurt with a tspn honey and some fruit or omlette with bacon and cheese or eggs and bacon (if i have a pure protein meal I try to leave 4 hours before eating anything else as fat and protein burn fat off). Then for lunch - omlette if I havent had one or baked spud with beans, cottage cheese with ham and tomato maybe with a ryveta or two. Main meal cooked from scratch - chicken stir fry, chicken curry, chicken pasta, casserole, spag bol, kheema, chilli con carne, loads of veg used (onions, garlic, celery, leeks, peppers, mushrooms, beansprouts, carrots, babycorn) and serve with rice or pasta or a salad with as much salad stuff as possible, a few new pots and chicken or tuna or prawns or ham. Snacks are fruit, nuts and dried fruit, low fat or fat free yoghurt. I drink a lot of water, sugar free squash, diet coke now and again, hot water with slices of lemon. I am trying to sort of combine slimming world and atkins. All I know for sure is that bread is one of the main probs. i am missing it, but not hungry! I am also missing a choccy bar at night!