How to lose weight... really?

[muddpuppy]

Wow! I wasnt expecting this much feedback, i have definitly learned alot from this thread. Your comments have been very helpful.
I do have a couple more questions for ya'll, i was wondering if chinese food was okay to eat (sweet and sour chix, lo mein, and chix fried rice.)
I have had several people tell me that its low in calories, is that true?
Also, is it true that clear soda's (sprite) are better than dark (coke?)

 

[Eilan]

i was wondering if chinese food was okay to eat (sweet and sour chix, lo mein, and chix fried rice. I have had several people tell me that its low in calories, is that true?

It's always been my understanding that some Chinese food contains lots of sodium and MSG. The sodium (in soy sauce, for example, which has a TON of it) can cause you to retain water and contribute to blood pressure problems. I'm not exactly sure what the MSG does, but I know that some people don't tolerate it well. Avoid any Chinese food that's deep-fried. Sweet and sour chicken would probably not be your best bet because of the coating on the chicken. Steamed rice is your better than fried. Not as tasty, though.

I know that some types of Chinese food are healthier than others; it's all in the preparation. I just bought a cookbook about (nearly) fat-free Chinese cooking, but I haven't had a chance to look over it yet.

Also, is it true that clear soda's (sprite) are better than dark (coke?)

I avoid sugary drinks of any type; in fact, I even limit my kids to ONE serving of juice a day, IF that. People get way too much sugar from pop, juice, and other sugar-laden beverages. Several years ago, my husband lost about 10 lbs just from switching from Coke to Diet Coke. My drink of choice (other than lots of water) is Diet Rite. It has no sugar, no sodium, and no caffeine. And it's sweetened with Splenda, which is made from sugar.

 

[EJFan]

chinese food is only good for you when it's ACTUAL CHINESE FOOD... not the "americanized" kind we're all so used to. the local chinese buffet is the devil and should be avoided at all costs... unless you stick to steamed veggies and plain chicken. stay away from sauces and breading. period.

if you're changing your eating habits you have to try to be strong for the first few days. that's when temptation is greatest. once you have yourself in a good groove, enjoy a "cheat meal" once a week or so. personally, saturday is a cheat day for me when i'm bulking (on a cut right now which sux ass).

 

[bisexplicit]

chinese food is only good for you when it's ACTUAL CHINESE FOOD... not the "americanized" kind we're all so used to. the local chinese buffet is the devil and should be avoided at all costs... unless you stick to steamed veggies and plain chicken. stay away from sauces and breading. period.

if you're changing your eating habits you have to try to be strong for the first few days. that's when temptation is greatest. once you have yourself in a good groove, enjoy a "cheat meal" once a week or so. personally, saturday is a cheat day for me when i'm bulking (on a cut right now which sux ass).

A wok is a wonderful invention. Its great for doing healthy chinese food.

And my suggestion would be to avoid doing cheat times as much as possible, instead come up with stuff that you enjoy as much so that you don't spend your whole time thinking that you're depriving yourself and waiting for your time when you can eat like you want to. There are great sugar-free dessert recipes, etc.

 

[Eilan]

And my suggestion would be to avoid doing cheat times as much as possible, instead come up with stuff that you enjoy as much so that you don't spend your whole time thinking that you're depriving yourself and waiting for your time when you can eat like you want to. There are great sugar-free dessert recipes, etc.

I agree. However, I also think that it's a good idea NOT to cheat for the first month or so once you go on a "diet" (I SO hate that word). Then, one cheat day a week (ONE meal--NOT the entire day) should be fine. If you slip up, don't beat yourself up over it. Tomorrow's another day.

Remember that fat-free foods aren't always all they're cracked up to be. When the fat's removed, something else, like sugar and preservatives and other crap you don't need, is often added to enhance flavor/texture. Sometimes you're better off using the full-fat products in smaller amounts. Dairy products tend to be the exception, however.

 

[EJFan]

info at my other blog

 

[muddpuppy]

Tomorrow's another day.

LOL... Thats another one of my problems.
I figure, oh well i will give in today and start fresh tomorrow... Needless to say tomorrow never comes.

 

[muddpuppy]

info at my other blog

Do you have any pics so i can see the way these are done?

thin-tummy, lifting one leg (313)
static lunge
DB lying row
DB upright row

mini-circuit two
curlup (515)
DB bench step
DB lying pullover
DB bench press

mini-circuit three
pushup hold
standing single-leg calf raise
DB seated hammer curl w/twist
DB tricep kickbacks

 

[Willing and Unsure]

I know everyone else is telling you foods to stay away from and to avoid all the time, but I have to disagree with that. If the sweet and sour chicken (or whatever fried food it is) is one of your favorite foods of all time, than save it for certain occasions or limit how often you have it. The other thing is to also look into if there are ways for you to make the same meal for yourself in a healthier way. You dont have to cut every single bad thing out of what you eat just because it is bad.

I agree with the pop thing. It doesnt matter what color it is, it still has sugar in it. You'd be a lot better off drinking water and skipping the pop altogether. I've actually gotten to a point where I'll drink something that's not water once in a great while, really just when I have a taste for it. If you want sugary drinks, go for fruit juices. At least those should give you some vitamins and minerals and other nutritional value besides the sugars.

 

[silverwhisper]

um...there are diet versions of carbonated beverages, W&U. :>

ed

 

[bisexplicit]

drinks: Go for light versions of juices, they have an amazing amount of sugar in them (which obviously equal calories). Most of the time, if you're counting calories, a super high sugar drink is not worth it.
Speaking of drinks, I'm not sure if this was brought up yet, but alcholic ones can really do you in. My sister in order to avoid this does things like rum (hard liquor is not a lot of calories) and diet coke. Things like margaritas, daquaris, etc. need to be avoided though.

 

[Willing and Unsure]

um...there are diet versions of carbonated beverages, W&U. :>

ed

I know that, but those still arent that healthy for you. The carbonation will help dehydrate you and the aspartame (not much knowledge of Splenda here yet) in the sweetener used can cause other problems in the body. Most people dont drink anywhere near enough water in a day for their body and should drink more. If you're trying to lose weight, or even just be healthier, not drinking any carbonated beverages or fruit juices is the best bet.

 

[bisexplicit]

I know that, but those still arent that healthy for you. The carbonation will help dehydrate you and the aspartame (not much knowledge of Splenda here yet) in the sweetener used can cause other problems in the body. Most people dont drink anywhere near enough water in a day for their body and should drink more. If you're trying to lose weight, or even just be healthier, not drinking any carbonated beverages or fruit juices is the best bet.

It really is fine to drink carbonated beverages as long as you drink eight glasses of water a day.

 

[silverwhisper]

W&U: i don't know about you, but i need caffeine to function. :>

ed

 

[EJFan]

Do you have any pics so i can see the way these are done?

if you look to the right side of my blog page, there's a link to exrx.net and they have a search function that will lead you to animated .gif's of just about every lift ever invented.

i personally don't have any pictures but i've always used exrx... or a picture search on google when all else fails, but that's very rare.

 

[EJFan]

juice v. soda

personally, i advise avoiding both juices AND soda (chemically sweetened sodas are acceptable... if you like chemicals of course). whether you're talking about fructose, glucose, dextrose or whatever kind of sweetener (natural or processed) they're not that good for you. your body NEEDS sugars right after working out to replenish liver glycogen but that's about the only time fruit, juice or anything sweet is really "good" for you. and frankly, 90% of the juices on the shelf aren't actually juice to begin with. eat fruit instead.

as a footnote, everyone is unique and all bodies respond differently so please don't chew me out or PM me or email me because this isn't true for you. i only put it out here as an opinion and what works for me.

and W&U is right. there's no need to avoid certain foods entirely. there are times when we have to cheat a little so enjoy a cheat day or meal every once in a while. just don't make it every day. lol.

 

[EJFan]

drinks: Go for light versions of juices, they have an amazing amount of sugar in them (which obviously equal calories). Most of the time, if you're counting calories, a super high sugar drink is not worth it.
Speaking of drinks, I'm not sure if this was brought up yet, but alcholic ones can really do you in. My sister in order to avoid this does things like rum (hard liquor is not a lot of calories) and diet coke. Things like margaritas, daquaris, etc. need to be avoided though.

this reminds me... fitday.com has a TRUCKLOAD of nutrient/caloric info on just about every food and drink ever made. web accounts are free and you can track your kcals and macro breakdown there if you'd like.

 

[Eilan]

It really is fine to drink carbonated beverages as long as you drink eight glasses of water a day.

When I'm trying to lose weight, I'll drink up to a gallon of water a day; I'm always careful to drink water before, during, and after my workouts. Even when I'm not trying to lose weight, I'll drink quite a bit of water, but not a gallon. The only downside is that I'm constantly running to the bathroom.

Don't go overboard on the water consumption, however. In extreme amounts, it CAN be fatal.

 

[muddpuppy]

Just the other day i went for a jog (for the first time in years) my body felt fine but i found myself gasping for air, i couldnt hardly breathe (totally besides the point.) When i got home a friend of mine was there and he suggested i eat a banana, he says it will help keep my calories burning... Any one else ever hear of that?

 

[Christina O. Leigh]

1. High protein foods for energy
2. Lots of fiber---poop out those toxins.
3. Low carb. foods.
4. Multivitamins.
5. 8 glasses of water a day --flushing toxins out as well.
6. 20 min. walk daily.
7. Don't forget your fruits and veges.

 

[Cakegirl]

I'm another vote for Weight Watchers. I've lost 8kg with them since the end of February (I think that's 17 pounds), and I have another 14kg (30 pounds) to lose. I've been overweight all my life (although physically active as an adult), and I always thought that losing weight was something that would just never happen for me. However, with Weight Watchers, they give a point value to all foods, and then tell you how many points you can eat a day.

So yes, you can eat ANYTHING - you're just responsible for making sure the points add up right at the end of the day... So if I know I'm going out for a couple of drinks with my friends, I make sure I eat low-point food the rest of the day, and then choose lower-point drinks (e.g. wine/champagne) instead of high-point foods (e.g. mixed drinks with sugary soda, sugary cocktails, etc).

I have challenged myself to exercise "most days". This is not that hard, because I am a grappler and karate teacher, so I train most days. Since re-evaluating my goals yesterday (when I realised I need to lose 14kg more in order to compete in a new weight class later this year), I have now changed that to a new challenge - I'm going to do my normal training, PLUS a cardio workout 6 days a week.

Now mind you, two weeks after I joined WW, I broke my foot, and so I couldn't go for walks or anything... Fortunately for me, I had no cast, so I started going to the local pool and swimming laps - for the first few weeks, I was swimming arms only, because kicking hurt my foot, but once it started to heal a bit, I could kick, and now I go a couple of times a week. That's one type of cardio.

I've also been riding my bike. I have discovered some nice bike paths around my city!

And now my foot's strong enough that I can walk pretty long distances and pretty fast... So now my challenge is - I will eat 3 pieces of fruit per day, and I will walk to the store EACH DAY to buy them!

 

[Eilan]

Just the other day i went for a jog (for the first time in years) my body felt fine but i found myself gasping for air, i couldnt hardly breathe (totally besides the point.)

Don't try to do too much at first if you're not used to exercise. If you want to take up jogging, start out walking first. Gradually decrease your walking time while increasing your jogging time.

When i got home a friend of mine was there and he suggested i eat a banana, he says it will help keep my calories burning... Any one else ever hear of that?

Never heard of that one.

this reminds me... fitday.com has a TRUCKLOAD of nutrient/caloric info on just about every food and drink ever made. web accounts are free and you can track your kcals and macro breakdown there if you'd like.

I was just going to suggest FitDay as a way for muddpuppy to keep track of what she's eating. A notebook used for this purpose would also work, though.

If you write down everything that you eat for a few days, you might find that you're eating more than you think. When I'm trying to lose weight, keeping a food diary keeps me honest.

as a footnote, everyone is unique and all bodies respond differently so please don't chew me out or PM me or email me because this isn't true for you. i only put it out here as an opinion and what works for me.

Why on earth whould anyone do that? I think you're giving pretty sound advice. I've found that worked for me was to gather info from lots of places and use what I thought was best for ME. Everyone else's mileage may vary.

 

[Cakegirl]

Another option would be to see if you can stick to a food pyramid, while keeping in mind "low fat" and "low sugar":

Each day, eat:

* One serve of protein (if this is meat, a serve is about the size of the palm of your hand. If it's fish, it's a bit bigger)
* Two serves of dairy (milk, yoghurt, cheese, etc. If you put milk in your coffee all day, count that as half a serve)
* Three serves of fruit (easiest way is to translate that as "three pieces of fruit")
* Five serves of vegetables
* Five serves of breads and grains

If you're still hungry, fill up with veggies, not any of the other food groups. So if you have lunch and you're still hungry, make up a quick salad with lettuce, peppers, mushroom, tomato, carrot, shallots, cucumber, etc. And remember - no creamy dressings! Use a low-fat prepared dressing, or what I do is use balsamic vinegar and a teensy bit of olive oil - which prevents heart disease!

It's actually hard to find the space to fill with junk food once you've eaten all that food! And where would you put it anyway - Soda - what food group is that?! It's not in a food group!


An example day might be:

Breakfast: 30g musli (not toasted!) and skim milk (1 grain, 1 dairy), Still hungry? 1 apple and 1 slice of toast (1 fruit, 1 grain)

Snack: 1 banana (1 fruit)

Lunch: tuna sandwich with tomato, lettuce, avocado etc (1 protein, 2 grains, 1 veggie)

Snack: 1 diet yoghurt (1 dairy), some carrots (1 veggie)

Dinner: Half a cup of rice (1/2 a cup when dry - works out more once it's boiled) and a massive vegetable stir fry - made in a wok with spray-on oil on the wok, no other added oil. Any veggies you like (1 grain, could be as much as 4 serves of vegetable). If you want to add flavour to the stir fry, try some red curry paste, or a little bit of soy sauce, or just some crushed garlic and coriander

Dessert: a bowl of watermelon pieces (1 fruit)


NB: Weight Watchers recommends this food pyramid, and it's worked VERY well for me in conjunction with the points system... In fact, I've had many days where it gets to 6pm and I'm so on track with low points foods that I'm not sure how I'm going to fit in the food I still need to eat for that day LOL!

 

[EJFan]

Just the other day i went for a jog (for the first time in years) my body felt fine but i found myself gasping for air, i couldnt hardly breathe (totally besides the point.) When i got home a friend of mine was there and he suggested i eat a banana, he says it will help keep my calories burning... Any one else ever hear of that?

yes. fruits and processed carbs after working out. potassium is great after cardio in general anyway. eat up!

 

[EJFan]

1. High protein foods for energy
2. Lots of fiber---poop out those toxins.
3. Low carb. foods.
4. Multivitamins.
5. 8 glasses of water a day --flushing toxins out as well.
6. 20 min. walk daily.
7. Don't forget your fruits and veges.

protein doesn't give energy... carbs give energy. protein builds muscle mass.

high carb foods are good too. concentrate them around workout time. it also depends on how insulin resistant you are personally. some do better with more carbs, some with less.

food is preferable to vitamins.

fibrous fruits and veggies are good... broccoli, string beans, etc.. stay away from peas, corn, beets and other high-sugar items (aside from post workout).