Okay losers, post here! v. The Weight Loss thread

[CafeContin]

Leanest and weakest? I fail to see the merit in a diet void of the protein/etc that meat/chicken products provide.

Protein is probably the easiest nutrient to get in sufficient quantities. Many North Americans consume 3x as much protein as they need in a day.

 

[Morrison's Lament]

My "diet" is not really healthy, but it works, and I heard some asshole just made a few million bucks selling a book with basically the same idea summed up in 300 pages of text. 8)

Anyway, what I do is I eat rarely. Ever notice that if you eat a big brunch you can usually eat more at dinner time? Well, I usually eat nothing for most of the day - which is fairly easy because I feel somewhat nauseated most days. I only start getting really hungry after 17:00, and if I smoke pot.

I don't drink anything carbonated, because I read an interview with an eating champion from Japan (the Kobayashi guy) who said all he needed to be able to expand his stomach was a lot of carbonated water. The gas helps expand the stomach!

So basically, after a few days of eating one dinner and not much of anything else - the amount I can eat at dinner decreases. I get full from far less, and start having more and more leftovers.

The great thing is I can eat what I want, I don't really watch what I eat much at all - just how much. If I'm eating something fattening I'll have less - and basically I try to savour every meal and make it as appetizing as possible.

Again, I have some nausea problems, so I can't really imagine eating a lot of something that's not appealing - I'd rather eat a bit of something very appealing

However, I haven't found any place for sugar in this diet, it's bad for my stomach and just makes you want it again the next day. Two days after you quit sugar you don't need it any more, imho.

My top weight before I began this (undoubtedly unhealthy!) cycle was about 120kg (roughly 240 pounds, I think), I currently weigh about 75 (150). Still, should work out more - I've no doubt lost muscle mass. I'm 187cm, which I figure is just over six feet.

--- G.

 

[xfillerbunnyx]

oo i want to join too.
i want to weigh what i used to!!

ive put on like 15lbs in the past year [grr], i dont know how much of that is down to growing [im 17] but still, i have definately got fatter. [grew boobs though which im not complaining about heh]

anyway...now i weigh... 130lbs or therabouts. I want to get down to 115 methinks. [not sure what that is in kgs but its about 9st 5lbs and 8st]
I doubt that'll happen. I am such a failure at diets. but i guess i should think positive. 8)

should be more of an eat healthily/exercise more thing anyway. Ive done far too many crash diets losing like 7lbs in a week and just piling it all back on again when i crack.

[uh im about 5'7 if that matters]

anyways good luck to everyone

 

[misscelestia]

I just started Weight Watchers, and I lost a couple pounds so far - my goal weight is 135 (but 140 is more realistic). Anyway, I am a working student (45 hours a week at school, 10-20 hours a week at work, and plenty of drive time between) so my working out and cooking time is very limited. That said, I am making a geniune effort.

I'll check in to this thread from time to time with updates

 

[newskin]

These are some ways I have lost weight and am currently maintaining my weight. Keep in mind that what I am really concerned with is my body composition, strength and overall fitness level.

1) I eat at least 5 times a day. On a good day I eat 6-8 times.

2) I eat a lot more protein than I used to. I try to get around 30% of my calories from protein. I get this from tuna, lean meats, eggs (mostly egg whites), lean dairy products such as cottage cheese and skim milk, and a whey protein powder. Whey powder is created by seperating half of the protein from dairy and then removing the lactose. So although it is considered a "supplement" by some, it really is just a food.

3) I do resistance training 3-4 times a week, and on a good week cardio twice.

4) I try to limit simple carbs as much as possible, and get most of my carbs from oats, other whole grains, fruits, starchy vegetables and legumes. On days I have school I sometimes don't do great on this one, as vending machines+math tests are a dangerous combination.

5) I'm not sure how much this effects weight loss, but I also try to limit saturated fats.

I will update if I think of anything else.

 

[misscelestia]

1) I eat at least 5 times a day. On a good day I eat 6-8 times.

Now, this is not a criticism, but - where do you work that you can stop to eat (even if it's smaller meals) that frequently? I know it is much better for you (keeps your blood sugar and metabolism even), but I will never have that kind fo regular eating schedule. Even when I get done with school, I am going to be a hairdresser, where my schedule varies due to business and such, and I make more money the more clients I can service in my day.

My reality is more like 3 meals a day (and I really suck at eating breakfast). :/

 

[Strawberry_lovemuffin]

Now, this is not a criticism, but - where do you work that you can stop to eat (even if it's smaller meals) that frequently? I know it is much better for you (keeps your blood sugar and metabolism even), but I will never have that kind fo regular eating schedule. Even when I get done with school, I am going to be a hairdresser, where my schedule varies due to business and such, and I make more money the more clients I can service in my day.

My reality is more like 3 meals a day (and I really suck at eating breakfast). :/

It doesn't take that long to eat a piece of fruit!

I work in an office I suppose, I don't know what service industry jobs would be like but I would think you could surely fit in a banana or a muesli bar in between breakfast and lunch, and lunch and hometime.

I couldn't *imagine* only eating 3 times a day! I eat 8 times a day! Breakfast (7.30am), morning snack(10am - fruit), lunch (12 noon), two small snacks after lunch (2pm & 4pm - usually 1/2 a piece of fruit & then a yogurt), small snack when I get home (5.30pm, a handful of pretzels), dinner (7pm), desert (8.30pm).

That's my average day. And I still do this on my diet too! I just have smaller meals in order to save enough points for snacks.

Those snacks aren't much, and not large, but I need something at least every 3 hours... maybe I am weird!

 

[mentaldent]

Great thread. This was touched on earlier but I think it bears repetition. IMHO the two things impeding anyone from steady and healthful weight loss are high glycemic-index carbohydrates and unscheduled eating.
Though it's trendy as hell, I've lost over 38lbs on South Beach. Check it out. No portion controls and the added benefit in my experience of no mood swings or irritability because your blood sugar is out of whack.
Happy to help anyone who is considering South Beach with advice and suggestions.


md.

p.s. When a diet works so well you feel yourself a little like someone who has just found Jesus: "Hey, have you heard about South Beach?? He did wonders for me!"

 

[Morrison's Lament]

Those snacks aren't much, and not large, but I need something at least every 3 hours... maybe I am weird!

No, the reason you need to eat every 3 hours is that you eat every three hours. After a couple of uncomfortable days of eating fewer and smaller meals you won't need to constantly refill. Again, keep in mind that I'm not claiming this is healthy - just a good way to stop being hungry all the time.

--- G.

 

[newskin]

Though it's trendy as hell, I've lost over 38lbs on South Beach. Check it out. No portion controls and the added benefit in my experience of no mood swings or irritability because your blood sugar is out of whack.

I hate when people say South Beach is a fad diet. It is true the "induction" phase is just a gimmick to make it compete with atkins. Cutting out carbs at first causes a sudden drop in water weight and muscle glycogen, giving people fast and nearly instantaneous results. The reason for the loss in water weight is that carbohydrates cause water retention.

But the maintenance phase of SB is really just an explination on how to eat healthy. Health and fitness experts have known all that stuff for years, just like they have known about ketosis. The difference is that no health and fitness expert considers atkins to be a viable long term diet.

All South Beach is really is:

1) Limit simple carbs whenever possible

2) Limit saturated fats. Increase Omega 3/6 fats when possible

3) Don't go too crazy on the carbs. Be reasonable. Make chicken the main dish and pasta as a side dish. Don't have a giant mound of pasta with a chicken breast plopped on top of it.

That's it. Now that I know it, it seems like common sense.

 

[Morrison's Lament]

Eh, no, the caveman diet is some fad Atkin-inspired bullshit that bears absolutely no resemblance to my vegitarian high-carbohydrate diet

All I'm pitching is a easily verifiable claim: the more one eats one day the more one can eat the next day.

And like I said, all I'm saying is it worked wonders for me when nothing else had. I was quite obese since I was a kid untill last year. It may kill me, and it may not slim you, but the information is at least out there, no?

--- G.

 

[aunty establishment]

Eating lots of small meals has helped me lose weight (I used to be a one or two meals per day person). Eating infrequently is a common cause of overeating for many dieters. If it works for you, cool, but it didn't for me

 

[Morrison's Lament]

OK, cool, didn't know that was a common problem. I've never really been involved in any group effort, just experimented untill something worked

--- G.

 

[Strawberry_lovemuffin]

This thread is getting interesting!

I think it's pretty clear by now that what works for one person doesn't necessarily work for another - and that's not surprising, given we all have different tastes and lifestyles and personalities.

Every diet is just a variation on the same theme anyway: reduce calories. It's just the methods they use that differ.

For me, Weight Watchers works. Weight Watchers is basically portion control when you really come down to it; with an emphasis on fruit and vegetables, and a fairly even proportion of carbs and protein. What I like about WW is that it doesn't limit your lifestyle: you can choose to drink a 6-pack of beer or eat a chunk of chocolate cake if you want... you just have to somehow find a way to "afford" it, with your daily points allocation.

So you don't have to hermit yourself up while you're dieting, if you have a dinner out with friends you just "save" for it by eating lots of salad and vegi soups the days before, and compensate afterwards by earning extra "points" with exercise.

Thus, in my view it's a realistic, long-term approach. You are *always* going to be up against temptation. WW teaches you a way you can indulge sometimes, sensibly, and still lose or maintain your weight.

For me, I couldn't not eat until dinnertime, I also couldn't stomach too much protein, and I would get bored with a vegetarian diet. So this approach works for me.

Wow well I've only been back on the diet 4 days but already I feel great! My skirt is loser today and I am really looking forward to Thursday nights' weigh in.

Oh and I am beating my ultimate demon - WINE - I had a couple of glasses Friday night, but apart from that, none since last Thursday. If it were an average weekend I would have (Thurs-Monday) gone through at least 5 bottles of wine. I kid you not.

So, losing weight AND beating my alcoholism at the same time

 

[StagnantReaction]

All South Beach is really is:

1) Limit simple carbs whenever possible

2) Limit saturated fats. Increase Omega 3/6 fats when possible

3) Don't go too crazy on the carbs. Be reasonable. Make chicken the main dish and pasta as a side dish. Don't have a giant mound of pasta with a chicken breast plopped on top of it.

That's it. Now that I know it, it seems like common sense.

If they're pushing animal products yet the rules state that you should limit saturated fat, how is that common sense?

 

[newskin]

If they're pushing animal products yet the rules state that you should limit saturated fat, how is that common sense?

It's common knowledge that there are plenty of low or no-fat animal products. Some examples are:

1) Lean chicken
2) Lean fish
3) Lean pork
4) Lean beef
5) Skim milk
6) Fat free cottage cheese
7) Egg whites

Yes, modern man has finally invented a technique for seperating the fat from dairy products! No longer must we be limited to only whole milk! Perhaps some day scientists will figure out a way to destroy its harmful bacteria as well!

 

[StagnantReaction]

You can only reduce the harm you're consuming, I suppose.

Oh, and dead things rot. You can only slow down this process as I strongly doubt science can find a way to bypass this.

 

[newskin]

Every diet is just a variation on the same theme anyway: reduce calories. It's just the methods they use that differ.

I agree with this to a certain degree. If you are over weight, eating fewer calories (within reason, not starving yourself) will almost definitely be benificial to you.

But the quality and timing of what you eat definitely effects how your body uses those calories. Take an extreme example: You could eat 2000 calories of pizza all in one sitting. Your body is going to use what it can in a few hours of digesting, and after that the rest will be stored as fat.

Eat 5 healthy meals dispersed throughout the day, and your body is going to use that food for energy and muscle maintenance. Comparitively less will go into fat storage.

As a six foot male I went from 185 lbs to 150 lbs. But my body composition was still so terrible that I still looked and felt like shit. There are numbers on a scale, and then there's real fitness. The key to real fitness is more than just calories in calories out.

 

[smart-e]

Wow I acturally didn't eat to badly today. Morning ceral with chopped stawberries and bananna. Lunch Pumpkin Soup. Goign to the gym after work and hopefully dinner wont be to fatty.

 

[Strawberry_lovemuffin]

Good for you! I have done really well as well. Breakfast - 2 crumpets with scrape of honey. Banana for morning tea. Lunch - pita bread with tuna and heaps of salad, lowfat mayo. Afternoon, low-fat apricot yogurt and chunks of rockmelon.

Tonight's dinner is a small tomato-based pasta, and I can have 2 snack size Lite mars bars for desert.. yum.

I am really craving a glass of wine right now though That is the hardest thing to give up for me.