Hi, not sure if this is the right thread, as I'm not really trying to lose weight, just maintain and eat healthier.

I'm late 20s, female.
My BMI is 19.5, should be okay but I do wish I could have flat abs.
Doesnt really matter what I eat or don't eat, my weight is consistently 51kg+- (no exercise).

I have been trying to eat healthy, so is it okay to cut carbohydrates?
I used to have rice twice a day, or at least once a day.
My meals now are primarily chicken/meat, with lots of vegetables (most of the time stir-frying).
The portion is also small, I'm not a big eater.
I try to eat fruits daily too, either banana or apple once a day.

I still take rice or pasta, but only around 3-5 times a week.
Say if I had pasta for lunch, then dinner is only steak with vege.

I'm not really cutting down on sugar or fat.
I still have my coffee daily and use oil + seasonings.
I drink plain water between 1lit to 2lit daily.

Is this diet plan okay?
Is there anything I should add?
Is powdered milk okay daily?

There really isn’t much room to manoeuvre actually. Your BMI is good and at 51kg, there’s no point in going lower.

For a person who doesn’t exercise, one rice meal a day is fine. And what you are doing with the carbo is sufficient with your level of inactivity.

Perhaps I would up the fruit intake. I have two bananas, an apple and sometimes throw in an orange too — daily.

As for sugar and salt, guess it is always safe to say go slow on it. In my case, I totally cut out sugar and salt everyday. But that’s me.

I would suggest you try to incorporate some form of physical activity into your schedule.

anyone have idea how to loose weight without avoid favorite food.

Dont stress so much about it okay? Your mental health is important too! Btw, have you considered airfryer? Cutting calories in your diet is more effective than exercise. Like me, I'm also exercise but I still need to eat healthy for optimum result! Air fryer really helps in reducing my calorie intake. You can check out the calorie count differences.

1. Low calorie alternatives. They are a fair bit more expensive, taste a less nice but have a lot less calories. There are sugars, syrups, bread, noodles etc versions of it.

2. Calories In (makan) minus Calories Out (Physical Activity) = Weight Gain if Positive, Weight Loss if Negative. Go cardio, run, bike, swim etc. The longer and more often you do it, the more you burnz.

3. Keep eating your favourite food, but eat less of it.

Moderation is key. Imagine if you drink 1 can of coke daily, and have a bag of chips twice a week - when you cut them down to half, you would have cut down half the calories.

Learn how to eat 'just enough' or 70-80% full, and portion out your chips/ snacks. Also, example - instead of eating fried stuffs almost daily, reduce your intake or frequency.

i have been working on reducing body fat + belly but not much changes past 2 months. weight 68kg with 173 cm height. bodyfat around 19%

i only focus cardio 4-5x running per week. 3-5km each run in 30 minutes
2 meals per day from 12pm-8pm with less rice. mostly noodles. no snacks
stopped beers during weekdays and only drink in weekend

do i need to increase to more mileage in running?

Yeah, could try increasing the cardio to 1 hour. You probably have to reduce the intensity to last that long though. I reckon that steady state cardio is the way to go. It is not going to burn more kcal/min, but multiply by more time means that you burn more kcal/day. I hope that makes sense.

It is not about the rice and/or meals per se. It is about total calories consumed. Less rice and a lot more lauk may actually result in surplus calories, ironically.

This post has been edited by ViktorJ: Dec 9 2020, 10:05 AM

i have been practiced in eating 80% full the most for each meal
i reckon is the beers making it worse and hence i try not to dring during weekdays

-> noodles are also carbs; lesser carbs, more protein & greens is key
-> may want to consider adding HIIT workout or functional training into your workout regime
-> drink more water
-> it's okay to snack on some nuts, fruits, yoghurt etc

-> beer you can have it for your cheat day but the key is not to overdo it
-> even if you're having it only over the weekend, make sure to control your quantity
-> moderation is key

it's a change of lifestyle and not temporarily. Adjustments are hard but you'll get around it with consistency and persistency.

thx. yes self discipline is important

i really have to change my lifestyle liao

One step at a time change/ fine tune 1 thing at a time.

what if i go for weight training instead of running? will it helps better?

Oh yes, of course. If you get into weights training, it'll help you to build muscles.

A combination of HIIT (high intensity interval training) and weights training throughout the week is ideal. But if you enjoy running, just continue with it and add-on weights routine.

but main focus is the belly. so cardio still better i guess?

at 68kg and 19% bf...say u want to drop to 15%...ur weight would probably be around 63-64kg?...thats quite stick insect already at 173cm...

also 2 meals a day doesnt say much...cos its still calories in vs out...

3-5km in 30mins is quite a range...from a quick walk pace to a decent jog...
if 3km / 30mins better just extend to 6km / 60mins...
else that one 30min session u probably only burn like 150-200cal? 1 teh ais will wipe that out

In my mind, the best way to lose weight this is correct diet. You should eat 5 times on a day but in small portions. Also you need cooking useful dishes with components which our body needs. If you don`t know any simple and useful recipe you can find it here https://recipes.cafe/en.

yeah i quite surprised they suggest me to drop to 65kg.

WFH is definitely playing some roles in calories out as i walk way lesser compare in office

if i lazy, i would go for 3km at 20 minutes then another 10 minutes slow pace just to round up total 30 minutes
if the mood kicked in, i will go for 5km at 30-33 minutes.

well to 65kg...3kg a month is doable...
say 0.75kg / week...and 1kg of fat is 7700cal...so u need to be at deficit of about 800-900cal / day...and with only about 200 / day from exercise...means u have to eat less food
even then ur not losing 100% fat...always some muscle loss associated...