Diets ~ Honestly how do i loose weight?

[young livers heal quick]

I'm not sure if anyones mentioned this since I don't diet and don't know the names of diets... but the other day some people were talking about this... one woman who was solid but not fat swears by the no carb thing... another who has lost about 15 kilos *30odd pounds?* in 2 months or so swears by EXACT PORTIONS of carbs and protien.
Measured precisely. You need a book or something to work it out, but apparantly if you eat the exact same amount of protein as u do carbs in a sitting, then the weight just falls off.
Sounds a bit weird to me but seems to have worked for that woman!
I think excercise, snacking on healthy stuff, and eating well rounded meals in moderation is all you really need, plus a good attitude.
Negativity causes you to put on weight to 'protect yourself' they say
Good luck.
[ 30 December 2002: Message edited by: young livers heal quick ]

 

[Brock]

Angelface, starving yourself before you eat is the worst thing you can do. When you starve yourself, your metabolism slows down. When you throw food at it at the lower metabolic rate, the food is stored as fat instead of burned up quickly for energy. You should eat smaller, more frequent meals to raise your metabolism. By doing this you take in more calories, but you also burn more calories. Mix with intense exercise and you [should] burn fat and build muscle provided you have a clean diet. The basic principle of weight loss is simple: You lose weight when you burn off more calories than you take in. Write down everything you eat for the next week and figure out how many calories you're taking in. It's a pain in the ass to look at labels and doing math for food, but it's the only way you're going to start making any progress.
As far as carbs go, try to stay away from starchy carbs and if you do eat them, don't eat any after lunch (you won't burn them off and will turn to fat). Do eat complex carbs like potatoes, rice, pasta, most vegetables and fruits. One thing you can try is to rotate carbs: get your carbs from potatoes, rice, and pasta for 2 days then get your carbs strictly from vegetables for 2 days.
If you can workout first thing in the morning, do it. When you first wake up, your blood sugar is at its lowest so when you exercise, your body pulls from its fat stores for energy. You said you surf right? Do more dawn patrols.
Have you ever had your body fat measured? By knowing your body fat, you can properly determine if your exercise regiment is working. Evaluating your progress solely by your weight is misleading.
[ 31 December 2002: Message edited by: Brock ]

 

[KaNdEbUtTaHfLy]

one woman who was solid but not fat swears by the no carb thing... another who has lost about 15 kilos *30odd pounds?* in 2 months or so swears by EXACT PORTIONS of carbs and protien. Measured precisely. You need a book or something to work it out, but apparantly if you eat the exact same amount of protein as u do carbs in a sitting, then the weight just falls off.
i think youre talking about the 40/30/30 diet. my mom has been doing it for 3 months, and has lost more than 20 pounds, and over 17 inches.... she looks WONDERFUL... id love to drop 50 lbs, but when i say i have no time to eat properly, or to exercise, i really mean it... i find though, that the more i stress about what i weigh, and trying to watch what i eat, the fatter i get AND feel. when i just kinda go with the flow and do my best without starving, or denying my self anything, i tend to be at the lower end of my weight fluctuation... i also heard a commercial for the news recently, about how dieting may cause you to GAIN weight... ill see if i can find any studies or the article corresponding to that story...

 

[broiled brain]

First thing, is this really the right forum for this? Check out forum.bodybuilding.com for some real advice.
The Atkins diet (high protein moderate fat low carbs) is NOT healthy. Healthy kidneys can handle it no problems, but when your body primarily metabolizes protein you can end up having some of your heart muscle being metabolized into energy. This can cause long lasting damage to your heart.
The ketogenic diet (high fat moderate protein low carbs) is much healthier. In fact studies have shown that metabolizing ketones (your energy source from fat if you don't have enough glucose) is healthier for the brain and the heart. However going on the ketogenic diet requires a major lifestyle change and I would not reccomend it to anyone who has not already been able to stick to a more relaxed regiment. I have not provided you with enough information for you to go on the ketogenic diet. Look up the above link for more detailed info.
How correct is the information provided in a college course in pschyoactive chemicals? The same can be said for most nutrition classes that you will find. A lot of research has been done in this area in the last twenty years but for some reason most of it has yet to filter through to class. Many doctors and nutritionists are still giving out outdated information, like too much protein is bad for you or the low fat diet is good for you. Look up the actual studies, check out the forums from people who have actually tried out the new diets and have had success. It's not a science yet but we're getting there.
Don't do the fad diets. I can tell you how to lose 10 pounds in 5 days, heck I can tell you how to lose 40 pounds in 2 minutes (chop off a leg) but that doesn't mean that they are healthy, or a good idea. Many of the fad diets and stuff you can buy on television do little more than reduce water weight. not very useful.
Your doctor is fucked up. You should NEVER be hungry. Read what Brock wrote. Your trainer is better informed. Studies have shown that just splitting up your meals and eating more frequently will raise your metabolism without changing anything else. You do not know proper nutrition. If you keep thinking you know everything you will never learn anything.
Ever go down to the track and look at the runners? You will notice that the sprinters are strongly muscled and have really low body fat, whilst the marathon runners have much less impressive bodies. Short intense periods of exercise are much better for losing weight than long endurance runs. You don't lose that much weight while running, rather the exercise raises your metabolic rate for the entire day which helps you lose weight. So ideally you want to do your exercise first thing in the morning.
Look up ephedrine and usnic acid or sodium usinate. I have not provided you with enough information for you to use these substances. Both can have serious side effects and can even cause death if you sufficiently abuse them. On the illicit side there is DNP (extremely dangerous I do NOT reccomend it) and of course, meth and coke Can't think of a more enjoyable way to lose weight, but can't think of a dumber way to do it either.
[ 02 January 2003: Message edited by: broiled brain ]
[ 02 January 2003: Message edited by: broiled brain ]

 

[fairnymph]

Ever go down to the track and look at the runners? You will notice that the sprinters are strongly muscled and have really low body fat, whilst the marathon runners have much less impressive bodies. Short intense periods of exercise are much better for losing weight than long endurance runs.
Actually, it depends what kind of body you want, what kind of 'thin' you are looking for.
Sprinters definitely build a lot more MUSCLE, but their body fat % is only slightly lower ( 2% difference according to the only study comparing the two runners that I could find, that was conducted in the 70s on only 26 subjects....not exactly conclusive, to say the least).
Distance runners are definitely SMALLER...they take up less space, and their muscles don't BULGE (distance runners tend to TONE muscles while sprinters BUILD them), and they wear a smaller size of clothing. Not to offend anyone, but I think that many women would prefer the physique of a distance runner to that of a sprinter.
These aren't the best pics but they give you an idea of the general trend:
Pic of female sprinter Cathy Freeman
Pic of female x-country runner Sara Bei -- and this is for distances like the ones I recommend running (not marathon).

 

[broiled brain]

Originally posted by fairnymph:

size of clothing. Not to offend anyone, but I think that many women would prefer the physique of a distance runner to that of a sprinter.
and this is for distances like the ones I recommend running (not marathon).
I wasn't really reccomending sprinting either, just trying to point out that real exercise involves a certain amount of exertion (i.e. don't walk around for 30 min and think you've had a good workout)

 

[gothfaery3]

I will say that, as a disclaimer, I've never been overweight and never HAD to lose weight for medical reasons. The only reason I've ever tried to lose weight is to FEEL better.
A few tips from me:
Drink instead of eat:i dont mean skip meals and drink coke. I DO mean that a lot of times when you feel like munching or feel a little hungry, you'll find that drinking some water or juice will supress this hunger. I used to subconsiously confuse hunger with thirst all the time, something that I fixed by MAKING myself drink a glass of water before I ate when I felt hungry. More often then not, i wasnt hungry at all (dont be stupid with this and drink like 15 gallons of water a day to not eat....)
Get out of the house: I find that I eat when im bored, plain and simple. If im not doing anything, I munch. Stay busy and this doesnt hapen
Only buy food thats decent for you from the store: dont buy crap food. If you ONLY have fruits and veggies in the house, and you're like me in that you wont make a special trip just to get a bag of doritos, that's what you'll eat.
If you need junk food, do it wisely: baked chips, pretzels, popcorn..stuff thats not aweful for you.
Eat cereal! I cant tell you how much better I felt when i stopped buying chips and junkfood and bought just cereal instead...You can eat like 4 boxes of honeycomb for the same fat as a bag of doritos...maybe cals are a bit different but I feel JUST as fulfilled eating cereal as chips
I guess none of this is the "low carb" way out, but I have a really high metabolism so I dont need to worry bout not working this stuff off. Hope this helps someone

 

[DurbanPoison]

Angel-
Have you thought about writing down what you eat? It will really help you to see how many calories you are consuming and where they are coming from. Go to fitday.com and make an account- its free. You can log your food and exercise daily into it, they even give you an average BMR (basal metabolic rate) Make sure you drink lots of water too. divide your weight by 2 and thats how many ounces you are suppose to drink a day.
Its ok to eat Carbs, I would just stay away from "white carbs" like from refined proccesed foods, like white rice white bread etc.
Try an exercise that gets your heart rate up to about 60% of your maximum heart rate. Its been shown that the more intense the exercise (like running) that you will burn more "carb calories" than "fat calories". Try a moderate exercise like the stationary bike or a brisk walk instead of running, this will flip the burning mode and you will burn more fat cals. than carb cals. Strength training is the best way to boost your metabolism, im not talking about bulking up, just toning.
Good Luck

 

[special-k]

when exercising try keep ur heart rate between 130 - 150 bpm... (fat burning mode/ zone)
good luck

 

[XxXStevoXxX]

I'm a firm believer that water works beautifully...buy 6 bottles of Aquafina (the bigger bottles, around 1 litre volume) and fill each with tap water once you've drank them...keep at least 4 of them refrigerated at all times, and over the course of the day build yourself to drinking 4-6 bottles a day...at first this will obviously not be feasible (you'll piss every 5 minutes) but your bladder will get used to it, and trust me it works...in about a month you should be at least at 4 bottles, but make sure to space it out (1 bottle/meal or so) because too much water at one time dilutes your electrolytes which is a very bad idea...along with weight, your complection will be much better and I've noticed improved mood (if not only from looking better and detoxing my body)...make sure its cold, and combined with exercise and a reasonably healthy diet you'll definetly notice great results...hope that helps, good luck!

 

[candygrl66]

i drink 8-10 glasses of water a day. i always keep a gallon of water refridgerated at home, and where i work they have a water cooler. i have been drinking nothing but water for about 3 weeks, and i am still pissing every 5 minutes!! it does help reduce your appetite tho....also 3 hours before i go to bed i stop drinking, because if not i am up all nite running to the bathroom, and that gets annoying!!!

 

[partydiva]

I think the following suggestions are surefire ways to lose weight:
- get into the habit of drinking lots of water. Divide your body weight in half - that is how many ounces you should aim for each day! Cut out caffiene and sugary drinks.
- if you can, eat small frequent meals that are nutritionally balanced. This will boost your metabolism, which probably took a beating after all the dieting you did.
- the Atkins diet is not good for long term. Nor are dietary supplements. Do not be seduced by a quick fix - you didn't get the size you are overnight, and you aren't going to lose weight overnight either. Slowly introducing lifestyle changes is the best way to go. Don't overwhelm yourself, it will only lead to frustration.
- incorporate activity into your life! Park far away from your destination, take the stairs, dance around when you're cleaning the house, etc.
- if you do cardio, make sure you are in your target heart rate. Otherwise you are wasting your time or over-exerting yourself. When I was employed at a gym, I would see so many people half-ass their workouts which is a shame.
- try not to focus on the numbers on the scale - see how your clothes fit and how your body feels in general. Muscle weighs MORE than fat, so it is possible your body fat percentage was lower when you worked out with your personal trainer even though you weren't happy with what the scale said. Get a body fat assesment at the gym NOW and check it again a few months later, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised at the results.
Good luck

 

[MezZedUp]

The Atkins diet doesn't just involve the initial almost no carbs. It also has a program where you begin to incorporate "normal" portions of carbs slowly.. try Atikin's Center for more info.
I think that most people miss the fact that although the initial phase of this diet contains "as much protein as you want" the three cups of salad are VITAL to the success of this (healthwise and weight loss wise).
[edit] I'm by no means saying that this is the perfect diet, and I personally don't recommend it anymore to anyone, I much prefer the idea below which is much more balanced... I'm just pointing out that the whole Atkins approach is much less "NO CARBS" than lots of people think. [/edit]
For the question about whether you can do the Atkins diet vegetarian:

Can a vegetarian follow the Atkins Nutritional Approach?
Animal proteins are a vital component of doing Atkins and it is difficult to follow the program without them. Meat, fish and poultry contain many essential fatty acids that cannot be found in any other sources. However, if you are willing to eat eggs, cheese and tofu for protein, it is possible to do Atkins. Nonetheless, the limited options would make it a boring program to follow and most vegetarians do not stay with it long term. If you are willing to also eat fish, doing Atkins becomes more enjoyable.
A vegan cannot follow Atkins. A pure vegan diet could never be low enough in carbohydrates, because there are no plants that are carbohydrate free.
From Here
Aside from that there are many "experts" (dietitians, nutritionists etc) who agree that eating lots of fresh produce (fruit and veg) plus ADEQUATE protein is the healthiest way to eat. Basically base your meals around fruit and veg/salads.
I personally think that bread, pasta and potato are no nos if you want to lose weight unless you do a lot of running or other high energy aerobic activity most days of the week...
[ 09 January 2003: Message edited by: MezZedUp ]

 

[CynaKill]

I second what fairnymph has advised!!! Nothing beats running a few km/m every day.
Start off by jogging 100-200metres, then walking 100-200metres, and slowly build up! Also don't go straight into running coz you will stuff your shins and be totally distracted from your goal.
Just remember, KEEP PUSHING! Don't ever stop, don't ever give up, just KEEP GOING!

 

[Pickles]

I think one really important thing to remember is that muscle weighs more than fat does.
ie) a section of muscle the same size as a section of fat will weigh more than the fat does.
If you are going to the gym regularly and not losing weight, it could be because you're laying down muscle. You may very well be at a point where your weight is maintained because you are losing fat but gaining muscle.
Try going by measurements instead. This is a much better way of gauging how much weight you've lost if you are doing a lot of gym work.
Try not to weigh yourself too often as it can be really discouraging. I know that just having breakfast and a couple of glasses of water will make me quite heavier than I am first thing in the morning. And women retain water during their cycle so there are all sorts of factors that can affect your weight at different times. Measurements are the go, imho.
Losing weight is a pretty simple equation. Consume less energy than your body burns and you'll go into your stores of fat.
Good luck!

 

[ilbumy]

I used to be 158. I'm now consistant 145s, all I did was sit-ups everyday and changed to a healthy diet. Instead of eating greasy stuff I ate more vegetables, yogurt for snakes, lots of ceral.

 

[silverfucked]

derpriving your body of carbs is just gonna make for a high fat conversion once you start eating them again...
Many people eat right, but they eat way too much.. Americans have the idea that more is better. Also cut soft drinks out.. they will mae you gain weight real bad.. And dont eat after 7:00 to make best use of your metablolism...
To burn fat, it takes some kinda of cardiac exercise.. Anerobic wont do it!!(Lifting weights)...

 

[candygrl66]

here's another tip:
if you crave sweets alot, keep lollipops and some hard candy on hand, it doesn't take much to satisfy a craving, and it is sooo much better than eating a whole candybar. also, when i crave sweets some fruit does the job for me.

 

[Pickles]

To burn fat, it takes some kinda of cardiac exercise.. Anerobic wont do it!!(Lifting weights)...
That is not entirely true. Lifting weights helps you to build muscle and having muscle means your body has to burn more calories just sitting around than it would if you didn't have the muscle.

 

[DancinXTCangel]

I recently lost some weight (30 lbs and still losing). I'd wanted to lose weight for years but wasn't able to. I used to complain a lot that I had tried to lose weight and couldn't, but looking back that was definitely a cop-out. I was always active, but not as active as I could have been (I was on a dance competition team so I had practice for 10 hours a week, but that wasn't usually 10 hours of constant exercise). And I'd go on diets but they'd last for about a week at the most. Finally, something clicked inside my head that made me really start attempting to lose weight. It's kind of stupid to say that I woke up one morning and felt the motivation, but that's pretty much how it happened. *shrug* Anyways, here are some things that work for me:
~I started going to the gym 5-6 times a week. I do 25-45 minutes of cardio, usually on the elliptical trainer but sometimes running on the treadmill. I also do resistance training to build muscle.
~I cut sugary soda out of my diet. I used to drink it constantly, but I switched to diet soda and now I'm trying to drink more water instead.
~When I'm on a diet* I eat no more than 1500 calories a day (1200 on days I don't go to the gym) and as little fat as possible. A typical day for me is usually something like:
breakfast- a carton of fat-free yogurt and 1 piece of whole wheat toast, no butter
lunch- sandwich on whole wheat bread (turkey and fat-free cheese, or tuna mixed with 1 teaspoon of fat-free mayo), and an apple
dinner- a Lean Pocket or Lean Cuisine, or a big salad with grilled chicken and fat-free dressing
snacks- I always have fresh fruit or low-fat things like pretzels around to snack on if I get hungry. I only allow myself 1-2 snacks a day depending on the fat and calorie content. When I eat anything that comes in a package, I take out exactly one serving and put the rest away so I don't overeat.
*I haven't consistently eaten like this for the past 8 months, obviously, or else I would have lost way more than 30 lbs. There have been weeks at a time where I've taken breaks from dieting and eaten almost like a normal person. I never gained any weight back during that time so I guess I'm lucky, but I didn't lose any either. All it ever did was keep me sane for when I'm heavily restricting my food intake like I am now. And it probably helped my metabolism, too!
~I told my family and friends exactly what my weight-loss plans were. That helps keep me motivated because I'm much less likely to go to McDonald's with everyone else or skip an extra day at the gym when I know someone else will notice that I'm cheating. That's probably just me, though.
So those are the main things that have worked for me. I never followed a certain weight-loss plan like Atkins or Weight Watchers, I just made changes that I could live with. Maybe some of those changes could work for you. If you ever need to talk to anyone about how things are going with that you can always message me- MDMAngeL6982 on AIM. Good luck!!
[ 08 January 2003: Message edited by: DancinXTCangel ]