I have decided to change eating habits, here is what I have been doing, and I have lost about 5 pounds.

Every morning:
1 cup of Kahshi Go Lean cereal
1 cup fat free milk
2 tbs flax seed
1 cup of blueberries
I usually eat breakfast at 6:00 on workdays
On the weekends I eat about 7:30

three hours later:
Two hard boiled eggs
Bannana
1 Dannon fat free yogurt
Water

3 hours later
1 serving of Lentil soup, with flax seeds
Fruit, cherries are in season so I eat a handful
V8 juice

3 hours later:
A turkey wrap. 3 slices of turkey in a wrap. I get the low fat high fiber low carb wrap.
Water

3 hours later:
Dinner at home consists of steamed veggies and either a hunk of salmon (drizzled in EVOO*) or bbq chicken. For dessert I will have some fruit. Sometimes I will buy a deli sandwich, usually turkey with no mayo.

No fast food allowed. No other food except the ones I mentioned. I drink green tea in the morning and water starting at lunch. No soft drinks, diet or otherwise. Watching portion sizes, eating slower, and remembering that the food is from the bounty of our Lord, and being grateful to Him for that.
I also work out with weights.
5'11"
220 LBS
38-40" waist
Don't have a body fat measurement

*extra virgin olive oil

Mid,

That looks excellent and I disagree that you will soon get bored (I eat the same thing 5 days a week and for the most part for 7 days a week).

With a nutrition plan like this, combined with your exercise habits, you will trim down very reasonably and in a healthy manner.

You might replace the banana with some other fruit. I love 'em too but they are a very high glycemic fruit... just FYI.
I eat them in my bulking season but not when I'm trying to cut.

I would plan on having a cheat meal or cheat day every now and then. Nothing wrong with enjoying certain foods in very moderate levels and can actually be good for you physically because your body says "hey, we're not starving".

Do you have any idea what your total calories are there? I usually don't count calories but was just wondering if you had any idea on what your total intake is there per day, give or take.

Mid,

That looks excellent and I disagree that you will soon get bored (I eat the same thing 5 days a week and for the most part for 7 days a week).

With a nutrition plan like this, combined with your exercise habits, you will trim down very reasonably and in a healthy manner.

You might replace the banana with some other fruit. I love 'em too but they are a very high glycemic fruit... just FYI.
I eat them in my bulking season but not when I'm trying to cut.

I would plan on having a cheat meal or cheat day every now and then. Nothing wrong with enjoying certain foods in very moderate levels and can actually be good for you physically because your body says "hey, we're not starving".

Do you have any idea what your total calories are there? I usually don't count calories but was just wondering if you had any idea on what your total intake is there per day, give or take.

I was thinking the same about eating the banana every day. I buy bannanas every other week, for the reasons you mentioned. Bananas have been a bargain at 79 cents a pound. I do have a cheat meal, sort of. I have mentioned my "fast food Fridays" where I have a polish dog meal or the slice of pizza. I have found that cheating can be done, at the right time. On my polish dog/slice of pizza meal I don't have the diet Coke anymore, I have it with water or a V8 juice. I think diet drinks are bad, along with the regular soda. So having my cheat meal with water or a V8 juice helps in my case. I have been interested to figure out the calories, and I'll do that and let you know, and it's good to know for myself!
Thanks..

oh and just out of interest why are you eating every 3 hours?

Eating every 3 hours keeps your portions lower and calories spread out over more meals, which keeps your body from being more apt to store those calories as fat.

The typical 3 meals a day means you are intaking more calories per meal and usually resulting in storing more calories as fat because of that style of eating.

Here are a couple of simple, good articles on the benefits of eating 5-6 meals a day:

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/eat-6-meals-daymaximum-weight-loss.html

http://www.healthycookingrecipes.com/articles-submit/richard-adams/6-meals-day-diet.html

but i was told that your body needs 5 hours to properly process food and for the HGH to release else you start the process over again and thats why you put on weight cos the process doesnt like start a second cycle, the old one finishes and if its still as sugars or something, then it gets stored as fat...

its all so confusing... to know who to beleive... cos losing weight has been a battle for me since i was a child... and im determined not to reach 30 at this weight,.. but its just a battle... especially with my stupid cravings...

im sure i would be able to control food easier if i ate small amounts every 3 hours, but ive always been told its bad to eat that often... and that i need to leave longer between meals...

fs,

Who did you get that advice from and what does their body look like?

I know many, many people who eat 5-6 meals a day and engage in vigorous crosstraining of weightlifting and cardio who maintain muscular physiques with low bodyfat percentages.

I have never heard what you are saying above from any source. Its just something I have never seen before. Can you point me to a source?

Dude, that is awesome! I need more discipline to eat that healthy.

Hey Mid,

Haven't heard from you in a while... how is the program going?

Hey Toolman,
I was away from board for awhile, a lot of stuff happening in my life, but I am back now. I am back in the gym now, and back to my eating plan. I started to do an ab exercise routine every morning. There is another post where I explained about that. I am working on gaining some lost ground, but my goals still remain the same, loose weight, eat healthy for all over feeling of well being, firm up, and six pack abs. I am back on track again! This forum is excellent for good tips and for generally inspiring me to keep up the work.

Good deal.. lookin' forward to hearing good things about your progress!

Well lets see....

This morning I had two Krispy Creme doughnuts and a half a pot of coffee. I had soup for lunch and will probably have a great dinner tonight (Christmas get-together). Of course I may have a hard time staying away from the ho-ho's and chocolate covered nutty bars before dinner tonight. :)

Is that stuff listed in the OP food? I recognize a few things like eggs, banana, and turkey.

:lol:

Update: I am seriously curbing my portion size and eating more frequently. Its working. Still sticking to the original posts diet, or trying to. I am determined to get this body IN SHAPE.

Update: I have been working out again and I am down from about 224 to 215. It's been a long slow process, but I am trying to change my eating habits rather than go on a diet. I have changed what I eat somwhat. I have the Kashi cereal, but some mornings I have 1/2 cup oatmeal mixed with a tablespoon of peanut butter and a scoop of whey protein. I have been eating about the same stuff the rest of the day. I have been changing up my workouts at the gym to include HIIT cardio and when I am lifing. The 6 pack will be mine!