Apple shape DIET help!

smileteddy

Hi all,
Unfortunately in my family genetics, we are predisposed to getting type 2 diabetes. Most of the people in my family are apple shape (i.e. most fat concentrated in the stomach area). I am 19 years old, 160 cm and 53-54 kg, wearing a UK size 8 or a US size 2-4. I have skinny arms and legs but the area from under my boobs till the bottom of my belly button is extremely fat. I have spare tires and I have decided to make a diet change to improve my health. Although I look pretty good in clothes, a lot of people don't realize how unhealthy my body really is.

At the moment this is my usual food options:
Breakfast: piece of cake, cereal with milk, natural muesli with fruits and greek yoghurt, raisin toast, hot chocolate or coffee
Lunch: I am at university most days so either I eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a sandwich with ham, cheese and lettuce or a sweet potato. Sometimes I don't eat lunch as well.
Afternoon: Okay, so this is where I think my diet is really bad. I eat chips, sweet buns, ice-cream, cookies, chocolate etc. You get the idea.
Dinner: Whatever my mum cooks so I don't have control over this. Usually rice with some vegetables and meat.
Dessert: Usually will eat a bowl of fruits salad.

Randomly in the day: I snack on cashews and almonds

As for exercise, I am mostly sedentary but sometimes I go for hour long walks 1-2 times a week. My goal is to shed all the fat off my stomach without my legs and arms getting any smaller (is this even possible?!). Reviewing my current diet, it looks like I eat a lot of sugary foods. Apart from cutting out sugar, what else should I add to my diet or remove from it?

Thanks
-Spare Tire Girl

SharonNehring

You already know your afternoon snack selection isn't the best, so I'd start by focusing on making better choices there. I'm guessing the days you skip lunch are probably when you eat more sweets, so you could try increasing your protein and fiber intake at lunchtime which should leave you feeling less hungry later.

Then I'd take a look at tweaking your breakfast a little. You have a lot of carbs listed and not much protein. Again, protein and fiber are filling. (The greek yogurt is a great choice by the way.)

You can't really spot reduce fat but core strengthening can help you tone and lose inches off your waistline. Increasing your calorie burn will also give you more wiggle room in your nutrition plan so you can more easily work in some of the treats you enjoy.

aalbert_82

I'm an apple shape too and can totally relate to looking okay in clothes (because I know how to dress) but having a lot of unhealthy stomach fat. I'm new to MFP but have successfully lost significant weight in the past. While you can't do anything to lose all your fat from one particular area, I've found that when I lose it's minimal from my arms and legs and mostly from my midsection. Like the previous poster said, strengthening your core can help suck you in. I find yoga is great for this. For changing your eating habits you could look at reducing your sugar consumption and pack healthy snacks with you during the day. Good luck with your weight loss journey!

DancingMoosie

Since you don't have a lot of weight to lose, you can add strength training at a slight deficit (or even maintenance calories) and try to burn fat and retain/gain muscle.

smileteddy

Thanks for all the replies.
Looks like I need to cut out sugars from my diet coming from processed foods (but still eat fruits etc.). I like to eat overnight oats so I'll probably prepare that the night before so I make healthy choices in the morning. I probably need to eat more lunch - reason I eat so many snacks. One peanut butter sandwich isn't really enough so I'll try and pack more food.

Looks like I need to do some strength exercises :O