Please Critique my Diet/Fitness Regime

[graveawakening]

Hi everyone. I've just registered with the forum with the aim of trying to get some clarity on my fitness regime. Obviously, I'm no expert in this area and hope generous folks here can share their knowledge and try to point out any problems with my regime and plans. First and foremost, I've read the recommendations on the forum charter about what one should post in this type of question, so hopefully this answers all the questions, including portions of food instead of just 'naming the food'.

What is my objective? Well, the problem is most of my fat is concentrated around my midsection including my behind, thighs and waste. This obviously makes me look more disproportionate than I should be. This is the main reason I wish to lose weight and get fitter because I find it very embarrassing to walk around in jeans when they make me have this disproportionate figure. So, I guess at this stage I should post my stats to give you an idea of where I am.

Stats

23 years old
male
5'11
193.6 lbs
Bodyfat - Unknown
Waist - 36 inches

My initial diet, from only a few days ago consisted of the following:

Meal 1 - 11:00 AM
Large portion of cereal (not the good kind) with full fat milk.

Between Meals - Snacks of some sort such as 2-3 biscuits or a packet of crisps.

Meal 2 - 1 PM
Two slices of white bread, covered in margarine and topped with 2 slices of ham and lettuce. Usually with a full glass of milk.

Between Meals - Snacks of some sort such as 2-3 biscuits or a bag of crisps.

Meal 3 - 5 PM
3-4 Scoops of Mashed Potatoes, a Meat source (mostly chicken, beef or lamb) and Green Vegetables.

Between Meals - Usually always a bag of crisps and a couple of sweets.

Meal 4 - 9:00 PM
Slice of Cake, 2 Sandwiches (White Bread) with Ham and Lettuce.

These would have encompassed the main meals of the day but later, maybe after 10.30pm, I would start again with more snacks, sometimes frozen meals or more milk as I wanted something to tie me over till the morning. I also did little exercise, maybe on the treadmill twice or three times a week for 30 minutes. This was my diet continuously for many years until about 5 days ago when I changed it for the following:

Meal 1 - 10:00 AM
1 Weetabix with a little milk, about 50mL.

Between Meals - No Snacks.

Meal 2 - 1 PM
Two Medium-Sized Eggs, boiled.

Between Meals - No Snacks.

Meal 3 - 5 PM
1 Scoop of Mashed Potatoes, Lots & Lots of Green Vegetables and a Meat Source. Tried to have more Veg than Mash.

Between Meals - No Snacks.

Meal 4 - 9:00 PM
Tuna with Wholemeal Bread

Later in the evening, I also avoid any snacks and might try an apple or yoghurt, but try to avoid bananas as they are high in calories and full of sugar so I don't want to give myself a sugar rush like that before bed. Usually, I'd sleep at 1am. Plus, I've also tried to engaged in some exercise as I was pretty sedentary before, doing about 40 minutes daily on the treadmill at the moment. The machine usually registers a loss of between 350-400 calories for this 40 minutes at the moment. I'm disappointed because I'd like to lose about 600-700 but I'm just not fit enough to go running for a long period of time. I can't go to the gym so rely on my exercise at home with the treadmill machine. I've also started to drink water, usually between 5-7 glasses over the whole day.

So yeah, I think I've included all my details so I hope this is of some use. As I said above, my objective is to lose weight, especially around my mid-section as I'm tired of wearing larger jeans to accommodate this. I'm unsure what amount of pounds I'd have to lose, but I'd like to get down to 180lb's. I think I'm overweight anyway with a BMI of 27 so I have to lose the weight irrespective of how disproportionate I look. I'm also worried that if I lose weight it will still make me look disproportionate only in a thinner form. :-( Also I went onto one of those fitness logs and they recommend I have about 1,870 calories per day to lose a pound a week, so hopefully my diet is less than this figure so I could lose more hopefully.

Anyway, I also would like comments on my new diet and exercise regime. My old diet seemed to be lacking in protein so I've tried to accommodate for that while I've tried to cut carbs to a limit somewhat. Anyway, I'm no expert, so I look forward to your response and thanks in advance. :-)

[qksc2]

1800 calories is fine. add in exercise and track your calories.

you can use and app like myfitnesspal or a pencil and paper with simple math.

weight your food, do not just guess.

food in itself isnt going to help you lose weight, calories well.
one could lose weight eating McDonalds daily if they track their calories and take in only what they need.

[graveawakening]

1800 calories is fine. add in exercise and track your calories.

you can use and app like myfitnesspal or a pencil and paper with simple math.

weight your food, do not just guess.

food in itself isnt going to help you lose weight, calories well.
one could lose weight eating McDonalds daily if they track their calories and take in only what they need.

Thanks for that. What about the problem of my weight centring on the midsection of my body? Can anything be done to alleviate it somewhat even though I know you cannot spot reduce weight.

[qksc2]

You body genetically stores fat in a sequential fashion. As you cut off weight and fat, your will lose your gut. That just seems to be where your body wants to keep the majority of excess fat.

You are right as well, you can not target fat loss. The fat will fall of the same way it came on (basically).