Renegade

I have a very busy schedule that doesn't allow me time to cook very often etc. I have a lot of things going at once, I've gone from my high school size of 5 8 155-160 with some muscle and definition to 180 pounds of all fat over the past 5 years. I look like shit. I'm going to start doing the elliptical for 45 min a day and basic weight training 3 days a week.

However, my biggest issue is my diet, I am not a great cook, and I also am in many situations where I'm not in a situation to cook. I'm trying to eat healthy when I go out, but even salads at half these places are loaded with calories or fat.

For those who eat out almost every day or pick up, where do you go, what do you get, etc?

I'm not looking for some miracle diet or special exercise routine. I'm assuming if I go from no exercise to 45 min a day and weight training and cut back on some of my calories and fat I'll lose weight.

Doom878

Dude we don't eat that healthy and we're still dropping weight. Oven baked chicken shouldn't take that long with a salad if you have a chance to cook which really won't take that long. Smaller portions whenever you go out. You'll probably eat mostly chicken since they'll serve up everything else greasy as hell. A lot of places do have a diet menu and you should be able to see the calorie counts etc. I don't like crash diets because almost always bounce back. Just avoid the fast food joints if you can. Subway has a few subs that you can eat (just 6 inches). No soda, just water. No snacks, just small meals.

The workout is crossfit which take like 20-30 minutes and if enough energy a 30 minute run after. I helped my friend move over the weekend and saw some friends that I hadn't seen in a few months and they mentioned I've lost weight. Wife's down 2 sizes.

Josh99CL

The best thing you can do is kill soda and junk food.

I drink water and "snack" on almonds and shit like that.

LuvMyTSX

-Limit snacking (this is my biggest hurdle while at work)
-No soda, cut down on beer and alcohol
-If you get salads while out to eat, get grilled chicken instead of fried chicken strips. Cut back on the trimmings like croutons, etc. Use less dressing.
-Try to get more veggies in your diet (I'm trying to work this in right now)
-Smaller portions
-Drink more water. Get something like Crystal Light if you need something with flavor. I picked up a bunch of those "to go" packs and keep them at work.
-Don't eat dessert every night. If you want something sweet, eat some fruit.
-Try to exercise as much as you can. Even a 15 minute walk is better than nothing.
-Try to cook on weekends or whenever you have a little more time. Freeze stuff in individual portions that you can pull out and heat up during your busy times.
-Really try to limit eating out. I think it's next to impossible to eat healthy when eating out. Everything is loaded in calories/fat, even things you may think are healthier.

LuvMyTSX

I thought of something else last night. If you must eat out, try Wendys. Their spicy chicken sandwich tastes good and is not too bad if you don't get all the fixings. If I go there, I get the sandwich with just lettuce and onion. Forget the cheese, mayo, etc. I think it comes out to about 400 calories without all the fixings. Get it with fruit or maybe a salad if you need more. They also have low fat chili that is decent.

Doom878

I seriously could get full on a small chili, salad, and water. That's like $2.50 right there.

STL+3.0CL

SUBWAY
local supermarket salad bar
St. Louis bread co (or similar). Soups and Salads
If you go to Burger King or Wendys and get a chicken sandwich, skip the meal and just get the chicken and water. 2 plain tacos at T-bell is like $1.30 and can be worked off fairly easy.

Personally I hate eating out. And try to make my own lunch and snack as much as possible.

LuvMyTSX

I also started buying those 100 calorie packs for little snacks when I just really want something sweet. They're pretty convenient.

is300eater

Subway's roasted chicken sandwich, $5 for a footlong which should be eaten in 2 meals (that's $2.50 per meal!!).

most fast food places will have at least one grill chicken sandwich on their menu... Don't know if you guys have Del Tacos or El Pollo Loco's there... but they both have pretty cheap chicken taco al carbon... ($1 each @El Pollo Loco, I think $1.39 at Del Taco).

Renegade

Lots of sodium

I have high blood pressure, and everything seems to be loaded with sodium

incredulous1

you should buy a normal box of the snacks and just calculate how many of them make a 100 calorie pack. then put them in little bags and bring them to work. its cheaper cause when you buy a box of 100 calorie packs, you're paying more for less food.

to OP, just drink tons of water and cut down on whatever you think you shouldnt be eating. basically everyone else has said it

is300eater

honestly then? I hate to say this... if you have high blood pressure and you need to lose weight... you just gotta figure something out... and somehow make your own meals... it's the only way to go.

Renegade

well the weight isnt the problem, ive had the high blood pressure when I was in shape, had every test in the book done, source cant be found why, no history in the family either

Doom878

Maybe when you were in shape you ate like shit? I mean you are posting about what to eat. When I was about your age, I was in shape from working out but still ate like shit. I stopped and a year later I also had high blood pressure. Now at 30 with a decent diet (I still eat junk once in a while) and exercise, I have normal pressure and normal cholesterol.

Bottom line, the foods prescribed will help you lose the weight. If the sodium is too high on that, then like is300 said, you're going to have take the time to either cook or probably get a pro caterer to make food to your needs ($$$).

GIBSON6594

The way I see it, when it comes to cooking, you're lazy.

I am too, but I work out a lot, every night, so I can balance the weight gain with the crappy food I sometimes eat. Basically, either spend more time in the gym or more time in the kitchen.

Bdog

Along with what everyone else has said, I try and do the following.
-If getting a sub, get a 6" and double the meat. This will off set all the carbs from the bread with double the protein, get a little oil and vinegar instead of mayo.
-First thing in the morning drink two large glasses of water. Then grab a carnation or slimfast if you don't do breakfast for some protein, then snack on fruit or nuts.
-Fastfood, get grilled chicken and take it off the bun, add some mustard to it or light ranch.
-Drink lots of water all day long!

Whiskers

Just always take the healtiest options at places to eat, its what I do. Subway is fine, but get the wheat bread, get healthy meats (turkey, chicken) avoid the tuna because of the mayo, pass on the cheese and put mustard on it instead of mayo. Get the baked chips.

McDonalds - they have salads, avoid the dressing.

Ice Cream - Get the fat free ones - Rita has fat free / sugar free for example.

Dunkin Donuts - I love the coolata with skim milks and a plan multigrain bagel.

There are lots of choices, and you get used to them in time.

Josh99CL

God I love tuna so much.... I wonder if you could make a tuna mix that tastes as bad ass with something like mustard?

pttl

This is my first post on AZ in months....

First of all...if you are 22 and you have high BP there is something wrong. If at 155 you had some definition...at 180 you should not be hypertensive. Does hypertension run in your family?

Your cardio will help you lose weight, but be aware, some of the weight that you'll lose will be muscle. That's a bad thing since muscle is what burns calories off your body. You need to do a routine of 3-4 days a week of weight training...no more than an hour at a time.

When you are there, work hard! The heavier the weight for 6 - 10 reps the better...this will stimulate your muscles to grow, thereby increasing your metabolism, and will also result in lowering your blood pressure.

Don't forget to do LARGE (compound) movement lifts...Squats...Leg press..Back rows...Pull ups or Lat Pull downs if you can't do pull ups...Bench press. Isolation lifts (biceps curls etc.) will make you "look better" but they won't crank your metabolism like the compound movements will. Then you should do 3 days of cardio training half hour at a time.

Get sleep each night...your muscle grows then.

You need to clean up your diet as best as you can... First of all - NO SWEETS!!!! Sugar slams the breaks on your metabolism. Try to eat whole grain breads. Don't drink your calories, unless its a whey protein drink, (to feed your muscles after hard weight training session) that you made, mixed in water.
Eat meat (lean), chicken, tuna, veggies, beans, BROWN rice. Baked potato - put salsa on it NOT butter and sour cream.
Snack on nuts...protien and GOOD fats. Oh...uhhh NO SWEETS OF ANY KIND!!!!!!!

ehh...i'm tired of typing. hope this make sense. Good luck.

GIBSON6594

Well said pttl.

Good advice

invisiblewar

if anything. make a few large meals on a free day thatll last 5-6 days. soup is a great thing to do, plus alot of soups are pretty easy to make. Just use google for recipes, theres all types of things out there nowadays for any type of diet

invisiblewar

Also,
I heard that baking chicken and barely seasoning it at all is a great way to loose weight. since its so bland you most likely wont want to eat the whole damn thing( breast), have some tomato on the side with it too

Josh99CL

You could bake chicken and cut it up in a spinach salad with some really light dressing ++++

Renegade

Thanks for the advice, and no absolutely no history of hypertension in the family. Actually my family has very good blood pressure levels even at an old age. I have had almost every test in the book done, even one of those MRI things with a needle shooting crap in and holding my breath to light up my organs. I get my blood work done like every 3-4 months, everything checks up healthy every time. It's just something really weird, I take 20mg of lisinopril to keep it in check.

I can do some compound, but need to be careful with my knees, my legs are "misaligned" and I pronate and the cartilage gets rubbed against and was told by my doctor my knees can't take pounding.

I will try to work on my diet best as I can, especially now since I'll have a much larger kitchen and place

Doom878

Hmm if your knees are messed up you might want to consider a row machine or if your place has an on-site pool. Both are fantastic cardio with less impact.

Whiskers

or elliptical

MDAcura08

Planning is key to achieving your weight loss goals. Obviously working out will help because muscle burns more calories than fat; however, it also weighs more than fat so don't rely completely on the scale. As for nutrition, I use "cooking in bulk" as a means to avoid the inevitable trip to the drive-thru.