Starting a new diet/exercise regiment

[ob5idian]

Okay, I'm a newbie at the whole DDR scene, but I need to lose some weight and I figured this was a good way to do it. At last check, I weigh about 260 and am ~6' tall (though I have a very large body shape, so I'm not extremely obese). Here's my plan, tell me how it looks:

Food: 1200-1500 Cal./day. Usually I eat two meals a day: lunch and dinner (I've never eaten breakfast, and my class schedule unfortunately makes it difficult to start). I try to stick to as few meats as possible, and instead try for grains (rice and noodles) and my favorite: the Boca burger. I also eat a good amount of sushi, and the occasional normal serving of roast turkey/chicken, lean pork or baked fish. As long as I ignore random temptations (d**n TV...), I'm rarely terribly hungry. I drink skim milk at meals and water everywhere else (though occasionally I'll have a glass of grape juice if I've a sweet tooth).

Exercise: First off, I walk everywhere, and usually that means uphill. I also walk very fast, but not quite power walking. At least 5 days a week I spend 45-75 minutes on my DDR. I'm currently doing mostly 3-4 footers with 2-foot warmups, but I'm improving pretty steadily (d**n jumps and eighth notes always get me). I also lift 15-lbs handweights (20 tricep lifts, 25 bicep curls, and 20 overhead lifts per arm; I don't know the real names of the lifts) every day. I'm also considering starting some crunches, probably 30-40 5 days/week.

So, how does that sound? I'm open to suggestions, but remember that my mornings are all for classes, so food usually has to wait until ~12:00. Anything other tips, however, would be appreciated. Also, if anybody has any vague idea of how much weight loss I can expect weekly/monthly, it'd be appreciated. I'm looking to lose about 50 lbs from now to Christmas if possible, but I'm in no hurry. Overall, my goal is to weigh 190 lbs, but that's over the whole year.

[orangina]

Eat breakfast..hard cooked eggs and a slice of toast, oatmeal..something ..eat breakfast.
Studies show that people who dont weigh more than people who do.
You are probably overeating at lunch and dinner due to your lack of BF.

[orangina]

Also if you are 6 foot and 260 and eat as few calories as you say and have been for a while..then something is not right.
Unless this small amount of calories for your size is something new (in which case I dont think its enough) you need to get a check up.

hmmm just reread your post..are you eating 1200-1500 Now? or plan to in future..? Doesnt sound like enough for your size to me. Sounds like a low calorie I will lose weight and then gain it right back again plan.

[ob5idian]

I started eating this many about two weeks ago. I haven't really been starving myself; when I'm hungry I eat, I just don't get hungry that often and when I do I stick to more healthy snacks (usually pretzels). I'll see what I can do about breakfast, but hard-boiled eggs are no-go (I can't cook in the dorms, and the meal halls don't have them). The only breakfast I could probably manage is scrambled eggs or bagels and such. I can, however, eat more small meals after classes in the afternoons.

As for overeating at lunch, I don't know about that but I could be wrong. My usual lunch consists of say a boca burger with lettuce and worcestershire and a small baby spinach salad with cabbage and crutons and a little fat-free ranch dressing. My dinners are usually similiar, though they usually tend to include more meat and swap out rice or spaghetti for salad when available. Both meals tend to be about 700 calories. If I should eat more, I'd like to know what you would suggest.

[abrannan]

I'm going to second the eat breakfast comment. You need that energy earlier in the day. Cut back a little at dinner, possibly. You don't need as many calories earlier in the day. By not eating breakfast, you're sending the signal to your body that there isn't food available, so your body is responding by clinging to your available energy reserves (Fat), and compensating by slowing your metabolism (So you burn fewer calories per day). Get up a little earlier, and get some scrambled eggs. It'll only take about a week of getting up earlier for your body to adjust to the time (Your roommates may be another story).

You may also try cutting back on your simple carbs (white rice, pasta, white bread) and incorporating a little more protein into your diet (Beans, peanut butter). Keep the complex carbs (veggies, whole grain breads/pastas, brown rice). The simple carbs digest too fast and make you blood sugar spike, while the complex carbs will sit in your stomach longer, leaving you feeling fuller throughout the day.

But eat some breakfast!

[orangina]

I have a college aged Daughter. When I saw her over the weekend I gave her 1/2 doz hard cooked eggs, 1 bag bagels, cream cheese and apples. ALSO I gave her prepackaged oatmeal..just add water and tiny packets of brown sugar.
If you think about it you should come up with breakfast ideas.
As far as eating only 1400 calories on your frame...thats not very much.
Do you like eating what you are eating?

[ob5idian]

I'll start breakfast. You've all convinced me. Probably just a bagel, but apparently it's better than nothing.

As for the food, I do like it, very much. I'll try to cut out the simple carbs in exchange for more greens. Boca burgers are very good, and sushi (a common lunch for me, and the only exemption from the cutting of the simple carbs) is one of my favorite foods. Greens I'm not quite as fond of, but it's either that or the nasty french fries (or rice/pasta, which I guess is no good either), so I'll deal. As long as I can add some crutons and fat-free ranch (which is also low-calorie), I'm good. As for drinking only water, I've been doing that for years now. I just don't drink soda anymore and haven't for some time.

By the way, I get lots of protein from the burgers, since they're made mostly of soy beans. I also get some from when I do eat meat for dinner (which while nowhere near as common an occurence as it used to be is still pretty often).

Also, I'll consider eating more calories, but I need to know how many I should go with. I've never eaten that often, but I used to eat lots of really unhealthy foods (lots of fries and other bad stuff) in large quantities. I find that by eating "good foods" in smaller quantities I'm still satiated without stuffing myself. I still eat about as often as I always did, just lower-calorie food. I haven't noticed any obvious signs of energy deficiency, but if I do I'll start with some higher-calorie stuffs.