put your hours in the gym. put good food in your mouth. thats it. no shortcuts to anyplace worth going.

track your calories somehow. i use myfitnesspal.com i think thats pretty good. also, are you drinking enough water? basically at the end of the day you should be having a net calorie intake of around 1500-1800. after looking at your meal plan above, i'd probably say you are in around 1000-1200 cals per day. but then again i have no idea about your age, height, weight, etc. so hard to really say what you need. sometimes hunger and thirst send the same signal. so when hungry, down a big glass of water.

calorie out > calorie in = reduced waistline

no spot reduction, so you may lose elsewhere first. but it will get there.

...within 1 week you will binge. and binge like mad. just eat everything in moderation. do you know your bmr, tdee and all that other stuff? set macro's and eat within those macros. eat anything you want (sort of) within those macros. try not to completely avoid unless they are your ultimate kryptonite (for me its french fries or potato chips. just cant moderate so i completely avoid).

and try to get some workout's in. remember. 'time is like a cleavage, the more you squeeze, the more you get.' or something like that. good luck.

add some leg exercises into your weight training. squats and stuff. and. if you are not already. do heavier weights and lower reps. girls will not easily 'bulk' so dont worry about that. you may not lose weight, but if you take measurements you will get smaller.

my estimation for your calorie intake above should be around
breakfast ~350 cals.
mid morn: ~120 cals
lunch: ~350 cals
mid lun: ~ 30 cals
Din: >600 (cant really estimate mum's cooking )

Total: ~1350 cals

i think the range is ok. but i cant really tell cause i dont really know what brands/types you are eating. but is this maintainable? what protein are you using? it should be a lifestyle change and not just a temporary thing. so keep it maintainable and keep long term goals and actions in mind.

*edited* It is enough if you are not exercising. as mentioned below you should target 1400-1600 cals according to your TDEE and BMR. if you are doing HIIT you are burning around approx. 200-300 cals or maybe even more. so on those days should you target around 1600-1800 cals. you will have to somehow calculate the cal according to intensity and such. perhaps with an HRM or the gyms. HRM on the bikes and stuff if thats what you are using for the HIIT.

you should stick to around 1400-1600. as long as you are below your TDEE you will start to lose weight. Make sure you drink enough water each day. this will help curb hunger slightly. when you start you might put on some weight, but then will start losing as your body stops retaining so much water. you will get used to the hunger and later on you wont feel it. the hunger is more a response to habit. thats why if you ask several people during the middle - end of fasting month, they arent really hungry at all. their bodies have already 'reprogrammed' to the new food schedule. just blardy thirsty. but then again, as mentioned above, you might not be eating enough due to your exercise.

cheat meals are meals which are above your standard calorie intake, but are at your maintenance level (TDEE) calories. but live your life. dont feel bad going over as long as its not every day. skip the cake or 'grazing' as ways to cut calories. or eat smaller portions.

Dont eat below your BMR. as you dont have that much weight to lose (your BMI is in healthy range).

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/metric-bmi-calculator.php

weight loss is done basically by having better management of 'calories in vs calories out' its not exactly so basic as that, but for most people it kinda is. you can burn 1000 cals a day but if you are eating back all those calories then you wont see that much of an effect. most people try to keep calories around 20-30% below their TDEE and will see weight loss. but for those who are doing a weight lifting regime, its better to take body measurements. your weight might not change, but will lose inches around your body. body weight measurement is not really a good measurement. in the evening you can be up to 2kg heavier than you were in the morning.

as stevenX mentioned. get myfitnesspal. a lot of foods have a higher cal than one expected. surf the boards. a lot of good advice there. but of course choose carefully. a lot of freaks out there.

This post has been edited by panda-man: Jan 9 2014, 10:58 AM

hehe. well some people are very lucky and do have a high metabolism. but some people are just active but its just not apparent. actually for an average male the TDEE should be around 2300-2500 calories a day without exercising. one pizza is around 2000 calories or two big mac regular meals are around 2500 calories. so sometimes these people are still around or below their TDEE. so they wont put on weight. everyone is different. so if you want to lose weight you should calculate your BMI, BMR, and TDEE. a lot of people have this 'grazing' thing going, and think "im eating healthier by eating jacobs crackers and tea". but actually 2 jacobs crackers (~16 grams) are already around 70 calories. whereas a chicken breast (~160 grams) is only 130 calories. and will keep you full longer and more satisfied. 10 times the mass but only 2 times the calories. i think thats a good deal.

*edit - you should sign up for myfitnesspal. it helps you better understand eating habits and calories. its shocking how much some food has. even like that nice caesar salad = same calories as big mac meal. so yeah. its fun to take a look and also kinda shocking really.

This post has been edited by panda-man: Jan 9 2014, 11:36 AM

for brands i dont really have any comment, but basically you should always check the nutritional information on the bags. like for bread. white bread and wholewheat normally have the same calorific value. however, wheat is more nutritional. some people just think 'if its wheat i can eat 3 slices as its healthy'. you dont have to always cook. actually im working in beijing now and will eat out for all my meals normally. its just inconvenient as i spend 90 mins going to work and 90 mins coming home. so i have no time for shopping or cooking if i want to still keep my sanity. when i eat out, i will reduce carb intake especially rice. i go for dense foods and low calories. 1 cup of rice = 240 calories. that is the same as eating 1-2 chicken breasts. so i will eat the chicken. i usually go to similar restaurants so i roughly know whats on offer and will control/adjust what i eat. of course everyday cant be perfect as sometime my wife craves a certain food and i have no choice but to join her and eat (if i dont eat, she gets grumpy and that just sucks) so i sacrifice some days as long as its under my TDEE. I dont think you are always going to new restaurants so just roughly figure out whats out there and their calories. like sushi, burgers, pizza, certain types of salads, etc. this will help you a lot.

For the protein. i just looked it up, and dont think its that good for the cost. im not trying to sell anything or judge nutrilife, but for me its not enough protein for its price. i use optimum nutrition (ON). It costs me around RM450 from GNC (with membership) for a 4.5 kg bag (150 servings). thats around rm3 per serving. and you get >20g of protein and BCAA's. if you are doing HIIT, i'd recommend this over nutrilife. one scoop with no-fat milk is around 230-250cals (depending on the milk).

For water. on your work days, i'd say you are getting about enough. but keep it up on the weekend. hunger is sometimes a reaction to boredom. thats why during boring movies we munch munch. but during exciting scenes you dont think 'i want to eat'.

If you are going for Korean BBQ. then you should be ok. just eat the grilled meats and vegetables. cut down your calories during the day. for me if i skip breakfast i wont feel hungry and can last the whole day without eating much. but the moment i eat breakfast, bam, 2 hours later. im hungry. maybe you can consider intermittent fasting (IF). that really trains the way you eat and think about food. its hard at first, but you get used to it. i tried it for a while and was interesting.

i count calories every day. its become a habit and quite enjoyable (at one point i tracked for 250 days in a row), but thats just me because i like to look at numbers and calculate stuff. but yeah its life. sometimes you go over, just let it pass. some people freak out about it and thats just not healthy. for me i used to crave food. but now its just 'thats not worth it' sometimes food tastes like crap but we still eat it cause its there...

anwyays these are just some tips, because everyones different (and you are much lighter than me. hahah.) but hopefully it will help you reach some better understanding and success.

where you bought? share lah i was in kl for a week so quickly just found that and cabut back to beijing for work.

hahah. not there yet. when i get there you will see hahah. but so far i lost 26kg following those small changes to lifestyle

I think I've heard of that before. Will check it out when I get my next supply hehe.
For food it is damn oily. Makes me feel like throwing up sometimes. No real method to control. As I live here its a little easier. Kinda get used to it or use the chopsticks and squeeze the oil out. Especially from the vege. Squeeze the vege while eating like squeezing water out of a towel. Sometimes really so ridiculously oily.


Unless you are going to put in some serious effort and time to weight lifting. Not sure how much creatine will have an effect. But I guess check out that muscle factory shop mentioned above.

if put through hot water then all the flavour also gone. haha. chinese food here all tastes the same now. food in malaysia is so much better. i guess thats why i put on all the weight in the first place. all non-chinese food is pretty expensive so its quite hard, just gotta go for moderation. sometimes want a steak, but cost RM 100 just for normal lvl. steak. bleh.

yeah lots of food on MFP. plus a lot of people input food by themselves according to what they believe. but for the most part its like stevenX mentioned. just go for the closer bet. or you can add extra calories or increase serving size. some people weigh their food even. or there are sites you input the recipe and it calculates the cals. i dont cook, so dont know much about the accuracy there.

i think thats a myth. your body uses energy while you are sleeping. some people even recommend drinking a slow release protein shake (casein protein) before sleeping. hehe. for me i just watch my calories for the day. and not consider the time im eating at all. sometimes cant sleep if im hungry. or maybe thats just an excuse to eat hehe. welli'm more focused on time to eat only if i have a workout or something planned.

interesting read: http://www.askmen.com/sports/foodcourt_250...lism-myths.html

from what i've read or heard. its not that bad for your kidney's as long as you are not going crazy. like downing several protein shakes a day. and for those people with too much protein their urine will seem 'foamy' not sure about creatine as im not so familiar with that. anyways as a safe bet i'd drink maybe 1 or 2 glasses extra than you normally drink when taking whey.

+added:
just checked out creatine a little. i cant really find anything about aiding in fat loss. basically its used to increase power by helping get your muscles hydrated faster. doesnt seem like something to use unless you are hitting it hard at the gym to build strength and muscle. i would use it i guess after you are done cutting and start bulking?

This post has been edited by panda-man: Jan 10 2014, 11:24 AM

no such durian to help for that. sorry. it would be nice though.

your BMI is ~27.27
your BMR is ~1397.1
your TDEE is ~ 1921

As you dont have so much weight to lose, i would eat at BMR or slightly above. Please also note that you should eat back your exercise calories if calculated accurately. if using MFP to calculate, eat back half of those exercise calories.

edit: MFP sometimes does really low calorie because you set to lose the weight in the shortest amount of time. like 1 kg per week or something like that. and 1200 is the minimum the site recommends.

This post has been edited by panda-man: Jan 21 2014, 01:01 PM

thats pretty good. the times you eat at is not so important as long as you get your calories in for the day. sometimes i will reduce all calories and eat a bigger dinner. add some fruits into your diet. and try to change up between rice and other carbs. like some multigrain or wholegrain breads and such. make sure the steps you are taking to lose weight are manageable and long term. if you are suffering through it, it wont last. good luck. and also dont beat yourself up on days which you slip up and eat more than your calories. enjoy life at the same time.

edit: are you at the gym using the treadmill? if so, i think you should look into lifting weights as well. girls dont bulk easily, so dont worry there. your weight wont go down so much but you will lose more fat and you will slim down. heres some reading:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/berardi12.htm

This post has been edited by panda-man: Jan 22 2014, 10:19 AM

if your BMI is high then it is ok to eat below your BMR as you have excess fuel already in your system. But for those who are slimmer, it is bad to go below BMR. How much weight have you lost in the 2 weeks. please note that once starting a gym workout, you may put on weight due to water retention by your muscles. it would be best to alternate weight lifting days and cardio days. and both days you should go hard. HIIT for cardio. and go heavy for weights. 2 sen.

you cannot spot reduce. but if you are lucky, it will target that place first! hahah. the exercise is good, but you need to focus on what you are eating, more than your exercise. .

1 cup of rice (200-250 cals) = 15-20 minutes of jogging

So, the most efficient would be to manage both diet and exercise, within reason.

firstly. i think your target is unrealistic. possible. but very very difficult. if in two months you've lost 15 kg which is a great achievement. but havent reached your goal you might just give up in the end. or something like that.

my advise to you is sign up on myfitnesspal.com and go from there.

for me, im a follower of IIFYM (if it fits your macros). so eat whatever you want. but in moderation. but generally a diet lower in carb is easier as carbs take up quite a lot of your caloric intake.

you should be cutting from your TDEE not from your BMR.

didnt watch the video. because if you do a quick search, you will know it is wrong to cut from BMR.

here is the definition for you and you can decide what to cut from.

Basal metabolic rate (BMR), and the closely related resting metabolic rate (RMR), is the amount of energy expended daily by humans and other animals at rest. Rest is defined as existing in a neutrally temperate environment while in the post-absorptive state. In plants, different considerations apply.
The release, and using, of energy in this state is sufficient only for the functioning of the vital organs, the heart, lungs, nervous system, kidneys, liver, intestine, sex organs, muscles, and skin.

TDEE is the common abbreviation for Total Daily Energy Expenditure which is a metric to calculate the amount of calories your body needs to function in a day. This is quite similar to BMR; in fact, you need your BMR to calculate your TDEE; but your TDEE accounts for your average daily activity as well to give a figure truer to your specific situation.

edit : deleted youtube video link.

This post has been edited by panda-man: Feb 25 2014, 10:06 AM

i would change your 2 tablespoon milo powder to chocolate flavoured whey protein powder (i recommend ON double rich chocolate).

the food might be ok, but you should do some research about BMR and TDEE and look into possibly signing up to myfitnesspal.com if you think you can log all food. it helps a lot.

dont need to worry too much about the weight loss yet as you just got into it. just focus on changing your lifestyle! results will follow.

if you have access to a gym. then start lifting weights!