Thread: G/F is making dramatic lifestyle change, would love some diet advice :)

My g/f and I have recently started to workout and diet. Problem is, she is completely transfixed by the "fat is bad" mantra perpetuated by magazines and t.v.. However, she is willing to listen to me, if only i could provide her a decent diet to adhere to. Some pertinent information:

She is 5'6, 200 lbs, large bone structure, 44" waist (from pants). Her bodyfat percentage (very rough estimate based on waistline/height) is in the low to mid 30's. By large bone structure, i really mean it, she has large hands, feet, very thick calves naturally, etc..

Eitherway, weight has been an issue all her life. She is affixiated by fat content in foods and is (by her own admission) addicted to carbs.

When we first started dating last summer she was at 220 lbs, she dieted and has made her way down to 200 but has been stuck there for 8 months. She is very typical in her love for cardio and situps but being very scared of bulking up using weights.

So the scenario at this moment:

1. Calorie intake is sporadic...by an estimate 1000 calories 2-3 days in a row followed by 2000-2500 for a day.

2. She is now receptive to weight training, we have went 4 times to the same gym (this helps a lot) and i have introduced her to many exercises (from bis, tris, shoulders, back to quads and hams)

3. Diet:

I am willing to make any diet changes necessary...I just really need help designing something that fits our budget (tight both of us are university students) and incorporates foods she enjoys as much as possible.

Her diet currently:

Mornings: Bowl of Cheerios.
Noon: Salad (fat free dressing)/stoned wheat thins OR 6 inch subway veggie sub (9 times out of 10) OR chicken breast (sliced from deli) sandwich with fat free mayo
Supper: Chicken/rice or pasta/chicken or a can of chicken noodle soup.

Snacks: popcorn (4 times a week) gummi bears, ( apples, oranges, pears, carrots, watermelon, fat free yogourt, one or two from this list every day) (spuds, crispy minis, rice krispy squares, pretzels, 1 from this list 4 times a week)

Other information is she really likes fat free mayo, fat free sour cream, if a condiment has a fat free version she is likely to have it and use it occasionally.

The diet the way it should be: Well, obviously things need to change from what ive read on here the last few days. Foods available to build a diet from that fit our budget that she enjoys: (limitations costwise put in brackets to limit its incorporation)

chicken (1 meal a day, 4 times a week)
tuna
turkey (once a week, expensive)
skim milk
pears, apples, lettuce, onions
whole wheat spaghetti /w tomato sauce
dressing (recommendations?)
condiments (recommendations?)
stoned wheat thins, popcorn (she loves these, any room for these occasionally?)
breakfast cereal (recommendations?)
water
diet pepsi
other lean meats in general (that arent too expensive)
cheese (mozza, mild, marble being favorite)
any other type of vegetable, minus exotics (staple types)


This is just a list of things particularly liked...any incorporation of these things makes things quite a bit easier from an enjoyment perspective. There is no real requirement for any of them though (Minus water heh)

A couple things that are not practical though are:

peanut butter (allegeric), supplements (too expensive for our budget atm, would prefer to avoid) and flax seed oil (i introduced it to her, she simply refuses to use this type of oil).

So if anyone can give me any advice on how to structure a meal plan within this framework (ill answer any questions offered concerning anything here i might have left out) it would be great.

Notes:

As for her goals, she wants to trim down her waist and tone her legs, arms and back. She also wants to weigh less; her overall goal is 150 lbs. The number on the scale bothers her, but she is willing to work longterm on fitness and muscle tone also; however, a meal plan that would help her down to 190 by July 1st would be greatly appreciated. I know she needs to eat more fat (EFA's that is) , less sugar, more protein, more meals and fewer snacks in more balanced proportion.

The reason why im trying to figure out a diet beforehand (instead of just posting what she eats daily and having it adjusted) is that if i offer her a plan that is only moderately good and she implements it and you offer changes...she is going to get mad. Id rather offer her one relatively solid plan from the start to get her motivated and confident from the get-go...I think it would increase her chances for success. If i was to constantly introduce one new food or one change daily to her diet she will get frustrated, its the nature of the beast, and i want to help make this lifestyle change (a big one) as easy as possible on her.

Again, thx for any help or meal plan information you can provide within this context.

Edit: Also, the reason why IM listing this is because she really doesnt like computers.

yeah man rofl