Help tailor a diet

[itishe]

Hey folks, I want to lose some of my excess fat before beach season (about a month left in my part of the states).

My gym membership ran out, and I try to get into the high school weight room atleast two times a week. It's hard with track practice after school and the weight room closing up at 5. So if I don't get my weight lifting in I usually do some good cardio (sprinting as I'm a sprinter).

I think my diet is still to blame for my slow/stagnant weightloss.

Here is my current diet:

Morning:
Two slices of bread w/ Peanut Butter
Lunch:
Taco with lots of beef or chicken breast
Mid Afternoon (after track):
Left over taco, or some type of pasta
Dinner:
Chicken Breast
Midnight:
usually eat some trash like Spaghettios or popcorn

I think my sleep (get to bed around 1 most nights and wake up at 7:45) and mightnight snacking are mostly to blame.

The list of food above is my ideal day, sometimes I might skip a meal, or eat some lower quality food for dinner, etc.

I'm not terribly fat, and have lots of muscle so it pushes out the fat making me look a little chubbier than necessary. I just want to know what'd you recommend to lose this extra fat.

 

[stronglifts]

Simples rules
*eat lots of protein: beef, eggs, turkey, chicken,...
*eat healthy fats: olive oil, fish oil
*eat green veggies & fruit
*cut the carbs: lower your bread, rice, spaghetti, popcorn,... consumption
*lift weights 3 times a week

-Mehdi.

 

[jt the azn]

Right when you wake up, go for an empty stomach jog. Afterwards, eat protein like tuna, or protein shake along with some type of carbs (no sugars, but starches like whole wheat bread are alright. Remember to eat lots of meals a day spread throughout every 2-3 hours (this keep metabolism up). Never skip meals. Don't consume carbohydrates prior to sleeping, so no midnight snacks. Sleep is important for energy, so try to have at least 8 hours a day. It is also important to drink lots of water. Most importantly, watch your calories. Calories consumed < Calories burned = weight loss

 

[Throttle]

Two slices of bread w/ Peanut Butter

100% whole grain bread only, and consider oatmeal / oat bran (no sugar added) as a sometime alternative.

some type of pasta

this is a no-go if you're trying to lose lots of bodyfat.

Chicken Breast

add green veggies and/or salad.

Midnight:
usually eat some trash like Spaghettios or popcorn

those are your worst choices at that hour. you want something essentially zero carb, no matter your goals.

but getting more food throughout the day might help curb the late night cravings. you need to add at least one moderate sized meal somewhere in all this, ideally one meal every 3-4 hours, 5-6 meals per day (none need to be three or more courses -- one or two would do nicely).

I think my sleep (get to bed around 1 most nights and wake up at 7:45)

this probably doesn't help in terms of hormones. lack of sleep produces too much cortisol & too little hgh, and so on.

The list of food above is my ideal day, sometimes I might skip a meal, or eat some lower quality food for dinner, etc.

set some specific goals, and recognize that skipped meals do NOT help you lose weight -- they make it more likely that you will snack later on, among other things.

lower quality dinner can mean lots of things. some extra fat you can handle, some extra simple carbs you can't, and complex carbs should probably come from veggies that late in the day.

fluids all day should be water and/or green tea (not including postworkout nutrition). appx 1 gallon/water per day.