i did this for a friend of a friend, try it.
A few thoughts.
Femmale
Age:42
5’5”
165 pounds
Body Mass Index 28
Amount of Calories to maintain current weight 2,188. Per day
15,316. Per week
A moderate drop in calories to encourage fat loss at the present activity level. About 200 to 250 a day. This combined with spreading the calories over 5-7 meals a day with the bulk of the carbs coming pre workout and post work, and the rest spread evenly throughout should yield at least 1 –2 pounds of fat loss a week alone. The calories spread over many meals with the majority consisting of protein will cause a thermogenic effect. The body will be forced to burn calories all day to digest the food. The smaller meals more frequently eaten will result in a satisfied or not hungry feeling because this type of diet keeps insulin levels constant.
Meals. Breakfast- oatmeal, instant but not flavored. Add splenda, honey, or sweet n lo to taste. Fresh blueberries are also an excellent flavor additive. Natural peanut butter sandwich on low carb bread is also a good choice. Smuckers is the best, remember to keep it refrigerated. The low carb bread from natures own is only 7grams per slice. A balance bar and a glass of skim milk is also a good start to the day.
2-3 hours later. – Low fat cottage cheese, or a yam. (No butter) Dannon light-n-fit yogurt is also a good choice. A peach, or other piece of fruit is good as well. Preferably not bananas or oranges, too sugary.
2-3 hours later-1 or 2 8 oz chicken breasts. Or a can of tuna in water. No mayo, add mustard, hot sauce, bananna peppers etc to taste.
2-3 hours later- 2 turkey burger patties, with mustard or b peppers. Or sliced roast beef.
These are all examples. The ideal macronutrient split for medium to speedy results is 50 percent protein. 25 percent carbs 25 percent fat
The fat should be good fat containing omega 3 fatty acids. I.E peanuts.almonds.walnuts. Peanutbutter.olives, olive oil etc.
The protein will be a little rough on the stomach the first few days , as is any drastic diet change, the yogurt contains good bacteria for aiding in digestion and should be added right away.
The carbs should be unprocessed complex carbs. I.E yams, whole wheat bread, whole-wheat noodles, brown rice, etc.
The increase in protein and decrease in fat and simple carbs will cause the body to raise your metabolism. A simplified version of this is… Every calorie of protein requires 4 calories of fat to digest it. By cutting your fat intake and raising you protein intake the body is forced to use stored fat for digestion purposes. The ketones in the fat are what the protein needs to digest, hence the term “ketogenic diet”.
Your body uses the carbs for energy, the muscle glucose you burn while working out needs to replaced as soon as possible after a session to maximize muscle growth when accompanied by a healthy dose of protein. Unburned calories will always be stored as fat, Hence the need for a calorie deficit to begin with.
The good part.
After you clean up your diet and get your meal plan ready. Get your but in gear. At least three days of LOW intensity cardio a week for at least 45 minutes a session. No need to run, walking is fine, we are concerned with getting your heart rate up for 45, minutes at a time to burn fat, make your body a furnace so to speak. Too much intensity will lead to a negative oxygen state and could actually cause muscle loss by releasing free radicals. Save your intensity for 3 days of at least one hour of weight training a week. Adding muscle to your frame, even toning it with lightweight and high reps is another way to raise your metabolism. The reason being is new muscle requires more calories to support it, since your in a calorie deficit it will use stored calories (fat). The additional calories burned by cardio and weight training should up your fat loss to 2-5 pounds a week on a good clean diet. Your weight training and cardio days need to overlap at least once a week because you need to rest your body completely for at least two days a week.
Finally, good luck and allow your self one cheat meal a week and save money for smaller clothes..