How to lose weight... really?

[~hellbaby~]

anyone have an update to share?

i've been cutting for about two weeks now... down almost 4 pounds... roughly three of them fat pounds and just over one pound of lean mass. not a bad ratio but it's coming off faster than i'd like.... i'd rather be closer to a pound a week.

{red bull and smart pop aside}
I really think white bread,or any breads and alcohol are the biggest culprits. This is only my opinion but in 4 months I've lost 30 pounds now, without exercising. I loosly follow weight watchers points plan. I stay aware of what I eat and cut out breads and alcohol, eat a lot of pop corn,raw cabbage and carrots and try to drink a lot of water. But I eat ice cream {weight watchers}everyday. I drank a pretty good amount of alcohol,maybe thats why it makes such a difference, alls I know is it's working.

 

[Cakegirl]

I will be competing in August in a weight class where I have to be under 69kg... I am currently 78.5, according to my scales, which tend to be a bit forgiving... Also, I'll be flying for 16 or something hours 3 days before I have to weigh in... The weigh-in is the day before the competition, though, so I plan on hitting 69kg when I leave home, and cutting water weight for the weigh-in.

I've lost about 9kg using the WW points plan, my normal training and about 3 extra cardio sessions per week. To ramp up my weight loss, I am changing that to cardio every day. I just got a great deal on a gym membership through a friend, so now I'm going to be going to the gym to use their cardio equipment, plus jogging, swimming and bikeriding outside...

 

[nurse_erotic05]

weight watchers is the way to go

 

[Beco]

The best way i found was to walk around 4 miles 3 times a week and you can eat anything you want but don't pig out on stuff eat in moderation but you can still eat anything.

I walk from my apartment to the town i live by and it is 4 miles away it is down hill most of the way but i would make it and to get home i would take the bus home.

But find an area that is flat and walk it or go to the mall and walk it from on end to the other and back several times.

I lost 40 pounds in 4 and half months it seemed like i was losing 10 pounds a month but becareful if you are going to take pills go to your doctor because some of those natural stuff can mess up your meds. if you take them.

Good luck.

A guy in my office found a parking garage 1 mile from our offices. He took the garage because it was the cheapest in town. We all laughed at him for being so cheap but he now walks about 3 - 6 miles a day going back and forth. I have to say, the guy is in great shape now! Walking works

 

[Seduce]

A guy in my office found a parking garage 1 mile from our offices. He took the garage because it was the cheapest in town. We all laughed at him for being so cheap but he now walks about 3 - 6 miles a day going back and forth. I have to say, the guy is in great shape now! Walking works

It surely works.
When I used to climb around with my goats (sometimes 10-15 km in a day) I was in great shape (47 kg at 160 cm), strong and healthy. And I used to eat like a wolf anything I wanted to, like full plate of french fries with 4-5 scrambled eggs and half loaf of white bread just for dinner....... and didnt put on a gram.

 

[veronicamng]

There has only been one time in my life where I could eat anything I wanted and not gain a pound and that was when I was at my best fitness and cardio shape.
After I stopped, I had to start my wieght watching again.
I eat when I am bored, drink when I am lonely or in good company, and I am a slacker when it comes to exercise.

Currently I am overhauling myself because the last couple years I really let myself go and it did not make me feel good. I want to feel good, so if that lifestyle wasn't doing it for me, then why not try something else?

Only a couple things I know to be true, sadly it does take healthy eating and exercise to lose weight. But don't make drastic changes all at once, pick your battles and you will win the war with your mind. If you really dont know anything about nutrition than Weight Watchers is a great way to learn, any plan that makes it easy and has choices you like is a start. Take a multivitamin every day. If you can make use of a gym then be honest with the trainers, you have to start easy or you will never stick with it. If you try it on your own, then start with small goals and success will bring you back. Small victorys feel just as good as getting to a final result. And this lifestyle change is full of gradual results so don't put a time frame on it. Your motivation will increase with every challenge you meet.
Finally one last truth, if you eat something you are trying to avoid or if you just can't face doing exercise one day, don't let it get to you, your mind will try and defeat you at every turn.
Good luck.

 

[Frank.S]

I would agree with some of this thread but not all of it.

Being healthy and loosing weight is a lifestyle change, not somthing you do for a few months. If you are having 'cheat' days you are still hooked, eventually one day you will go back to where you were. Besides if you do it correctly you wont even want those foods, and anytime you have them you will probally get sick after your body realizes what is actually in them.

What I do:
Excersize every day. Its easy if you do somthing that you like. Go hiking, go biking, climb a mountain, get into rock climbing, go kyaking.. anything. You dont have to run laps around your neighborhood to loose weight. You may as well you do something you enjoy. I know for me its anything outdoors. On days when I cant do this (rain, snow, work etc) Ill workout at home and do what I can.

Drink lots of water. I drink about 8-10L per day. Im a pretty big guy and I need it for sure.

Step off the Scale. Weight means nothing. I could give my height and body weight numbers to any calculator and they would all say I weighed to much. There is a lot more to it then weight. Muscle ways more then fat. And scale readings are innacurate due to if your drinking alot of water, your weight could be down a few pounds if you just stopped drikning for a few hours..

All these fad diets and programs you have to pay for are not the answer. You can see that clearly in this thread and many people say 'That worked for me before and im going to do it again soon' Well if your going to do it again, it didn't work? Quick fix, maybe. Lifetime health and fitness, no way.

 

[houseman]

A guy in my office found a parking garage 1 mile from our offices. He took the garage because it was the cheapest in town. We all laughed at him for being so cheap but he now walks about 3 - 6 miles a day going back and forth. I have to say, the guy is in great shape now! Walking works

I walk an hour a day to get into when pre-contest. Low intensity - 3.7mph, 2.5 degree incline.

Preserve muscle and only lose bodyfat.

Walking is good.

Any amount of cardio will be useless without proper nutrition.

For all you people who do low carb/no carb dieting... you're fooling yourself.

 

[houseman]

All these fad diets and programs you have to pay for are not the answer. You can see that clearly in this thread and many people say 'That worked for me before and im going to do it again soon' Well if your going to do it again, it didn't work? Quick fix, maybe. Lifetime health and fitness, no way.

Agreed. Dieting is just a word I use as a way of life.

Losing weight or gaining weight (muscle) is all about lifestyle changes. I'm sorry but you can't just go on a diet. You have to alter your lifestyle, put in some hard work and keep at it IF you want to maintain it fo rthe long-term.

These books and programs are a joke. Pick up a basic nutrition book and you people will discover what those in the athletic and bodybuilding community have known for years.

 

[EJFan]

welcome to lit, frank!

Being healthy and loosing weight is a lifestyle change, not somthing you do for a few months. If you are having 'cheat' days you are still hooked, eventually one day you will go back to where you were. Besides if you do it correctly you wont even want those foods, and anytime you have them you will probally get sick after your body realizes what is actually in them.

i have to disagree with you here... cheat days rock. it's not a matter of being "hooked" but, for me, i lift weights 3x a week and the diet is fairly rigid. i like having a cheat day when i can reload carbs and eat the crap i don't allow myself other times.

i see what you're saying... that it's like any other addiction... but UNLIKE other addictions, we need food (we don't need alcohol or crack or what have you).

Step off the Scale. Weight means nothing.

amen brother. i wish more people thought like this. funny how the government can't come up with a "plan" that works and makes sense. they have yet to get any index or guideline correct, wouldn't you say?

 

[EJFan]

For all you people who do low carb/no carb dieting... you're fooling yourself.

i agree... on the bright side, at least the atkins-heads helped balance out the gov't. one telling you to eat shit pots of carbs and the other telling you none. lol.

would you agree that carbs should be ingested more around workout times and used as caloric ballast though? in other words, no magic quantity or percentage but more of a timing thing.

 

[houseman]

welcome to lit, frank!




i have to disagree with you here... cheat days rock. it's not a matter of being "hooked" but, for me, i lift weights 3x a week and the diet is fairly rigid. i like having a cheat day when i can reload carbs and eat the crap i don't allow myself other times.

Cheat days are only useful for those doing low carb dieting in which you need to replenish glycogen stores and ramp up metabolism again OR for those doing an extended dieting phase for multiple contests spread over 2-3 months but if that's the case, you typically go off the contest dieting for a week just to stabilize hormone levels and metabolism, etc.

For those dieting the correct way, cheat days aren't needed.

amen brother. i wish more people thought like this. funny how the government can't come up with a "plan" that works and makes sense. they have yet to get any index or guideline correct, wouldn't you say?

Hate to say it but there is no cutter cutter guideline and having one be a bad idea. Although, there a limited one pushed by the Government.

Nutritional and training program need to be taylored to the individual. However, a base must exist in order to tweak based on the individual.

Any GOOD trainer will construct a nutritional plan that coincides with the training program. To do one without the other would be foolish and leads to stalling out and dimishing returns.

Good debate going here.

 

[houseman]

i agree... on the bright side, at least the atkins-heads helped balance out the gov't. one telling you to eat shit pots of carbs and the other telling you none. lol.

would you agree that carbs should be ingested more around workout times and used as caloric ballast though? in other words, no magic quantity or percentage but more of a timing thing.

Well, it should be based on the individual and their training, etc.

I eat 6 meals a day not including my post workout nutrition.

All but one of those meals include carbs and I'm eating on average 300-450 grams of carbs a day depending on my training for that day. (except on not weight training days where I just do cardio).

Nutrient timing is important but it's also important to understand the body can only take utilize so many nutrients at any one time. A lot of people "claim" to be training hard and therefore would take say their carb alotment before and after training but in reality their doing half-assed (if that) training.

People must learn to eat for their energy output. As Frank said, this is a lifestyle.. a way of life. For those who can't get this through their head or don't want to put int he effort to get the results... go away and stop btiching and crying because you aren't getting results.

You reep what you sow...

Just my thoughts Everyone is different.

 

[EJFan]

yeah... everybody (and every BODY) is different. i have a problem getting my hands around 400g of carbs every day. i don't know if it's me or my habits but if i had that kind of carb intake i'd have no room for the protein i need... i just wouldn't be able to eat that much.

right now i'm on a cut so it's even more impossible... but even at 3500 kcal/day it would be hard to take in this much. like you said, it's just me and the way i do things.

 

[houseman]

yeah... everybody (and every BODY) is different. i have a problem getting my hands around 400g of carbs every day. i don't know if it's me or my habits but if i had that kind of carb intake i'd have no room for the protein i need... i just wouldn't be able to eat that much.

right now i'm on a cut so it's even more impossible... but even at 3500 kcal/day it would be hard to take in this much. like you said, it's just me and the way i do things.

Oh, you don't start out right at 400. you have to work your way up to them. I only go that high on a leg training day.

Most days, other than training back, I am down around 300. And this is for dieting.

When I am bulking up, I keep it around 600 grams of carbs/day.

For cutting I typically do a 35 protein/55 carbs and 10 fat ratio.

For bulking I try to maintain a 40/40/20 split.

All my carbs are low GI. Oatmeal, brown rice, yams. Those are my carb sources and that's it.

It makes a difference.

 

[EJFan]

i could never handle those ratios... i do closer to 40 protein, 25 carbs and 35 fats... regrdless of whether i'm cutting or bulking. the fats help keep me satiated more than the carbs do. i'm not anti-carb but my body just doesn't work that way i guess.

my carbs are all low GI too... oatmeal being the biggest one and i do fruits PWO (mostly).

 

[houseman]

i could never handle those ratios... i do closer to 40 protein, 25 carbs and 35 fats... regrdless of whether i'm cutting or bulking. the fats help keep me satiated more than the carbs do. i'm not anti-carb but my body just doesn't work that way i guess.

my carbs are all low GI too... oatmeal being the biggest one and i do fruits PWO (mostly).

If I were training you, I have no doubts you'd see better results doing a 40/40/20 split than what you currently do.

Zero doubts.

I know and I don't HAVE to know you're body to know that. Now, getting under 10% Bodyfat... that gets tricker and does require carb manipulation.

 

[EJFan]

i used to work with higher carb figures but didn't see the gains i have in the time since i changed... good fats have replaced about 50% of my carbs and i've been far better off.

i never thought i was the exception but maybe i am.

 

[houseman]

i used to work with higher carb figures but didn't see the gains i have in the time since i changed... good fats have replaced about 50% of my carbs and i've been far better off.

i never thought i was the exception but maybe i am.

You could be but most aren't.

The proble usually lies in the training and HOW one trains. Again, each nutritional program should be customized to the type of training being done.

But.. if you are seeing results then that is all that matters. When you stop seeing results if when it's time to find another path to your goals.

 

[EJFan]

But.. if you are seeing results then that is all that matters. When you stop seeing results if when it's time to find another path to your goals.

this is the part most people forget (or ignore). i think (and i could be wrong) that the reason i don't do well with carbs (even high GI carbs) is that my day is almost entirely sedentary. i work on the computer and walk the dog... other than actual lifting time (maybe 5hrs/week) there's very little activity in my day.

 

[houseman]

this is the part most people forget (or ignore). i think (and i could be wrong) that the reason i don't do well with carbs (even high GI carbs) is that my day is almost entirely sedentary. i work on the computer and walk the dog... other than actual lifting time (maybe 5hrs/week) there's very little activity in my day.

Not to keep replying JUST to you.. but I work on a computer all day too

I eat like a beast and I train like one.

450 squats Sunday for reps, 500lb single-leg leg presses for reps. 750 hack squats for reps.

It's all in how you train

But I digress.

 

[EJFan]

Not to keep replying JUST to you.. but I work on a computer all day too

I eat like a beast and I train like one.

450 squats Sunday for reps, 500lb single-leg leg presses for reps. 750 hack squats for reps.

It's all in how you train

But I digress.

g'head... reply to anyone you'd like... everyone who reads it will get somethign out of it so it's not really just you and i dude.

i'm just getting ready to add hack squats to my routine next week... really looking forward to it! i'm such a sadist.

 

[Kassandra13]

Cheat days are only useful for those doing low carb dieting in which you need to replenish glycogen stores and ramp up metabolism again OR for those doing an extended dieting phase for multiple contests spread over 2-3 months but if that's the case, you typically go off the contest dieting for a week just to stabilize hormone levels and metabolism, etc.

For those dieting the correct way, cheat days aren't needed.

Well, the thing is, at least I guess for us non-bodybuilder types, it's not that cheat days are "needed" - they're wanted. Don't forget that eating is, for a lot of people, a sensual experiece - and if I've exerised and eaten right all week, a chocolate bar once in a while isn't going to hurt me that much. It's not that I "need" it - I want it. I like the taste, and I like to indulge once in a while.

I'm totally on board with the "lifestyle" thing though - quick diets are of no value whatsoever. And the low-carb thing is a joke - how can anybody think that's a good idea? (Sorry to any low-carbers out there - I just don't get it.)

 

[Frank.S]

I guess I should have been a little more clear..

Loading up on carbs one day is fine, I know when I was into a more body building type workout I did it often. What I meant by cheat days is going to the chinese buffet and chowing down.. I mean, I dont care what your doing, thats really not good for you.

I personally think alot of eating is in your head. Ive gone on long backpacking trips (long endurance hikes with heavy pack for several days) and brought very little food (trying to keep my pack light..) I was fine. If your not constantly thinking of 'food' or 'dieting' then youll have no problems.

Just for fun i stepped on the scale today (its been a while) im 180.. Thats not to bad for 6 feet tall. I got some muscle definition too.

The only time I have ever had a problem eating healthy is on road trips when the only place to eat it McDonalds or somthing similar.. Now I just pack my own food as much as I can.

 

[Frank.S]

Well, the thing is, at least I guess for us non-bodybuilder types, it's not that cheat days are "needed" - they're wanted. Don't forget that eating is, for a lot of people, a sensual experiece - and if I've exerised and eaten right all week, a chocolate bar once in a while isn't going to hurt me that much. It's not that I "need" it - I want it. I like the taste, and I like to indulge once in a while.

Yeah I guess I can understand that. For me though, whenever I eat stuff like that I feel horrible for an hour or two, just tastes like a bunch of chemicals to me.