Thread: Losing Weight

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  1. #41
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    I used to weigh around 230lbs. I'm a pinch under 6 foot tall and of average build. After starting my new job I got down to around 190lbs within around 4 months.
    I can say with absolute confidence this was solely down to physical activity (my job is fairly physically intensive, but not overly so. Some heavy lifting, on my feet 10 hours a day with lots of walking around)
    When I was at my heaviest I ate a fairly carb heavy diet and maybe consumed around 2500-3000 calories per day on average. However I had VERY little physical exercise so the weight slowly piled on.
    Since my new job began I regularly consume up to 3500 calories daily but I'm maintaining a fairly ideal weight for my stature and i haven't changed what I eat at all really. I still love eating pizza and drinking beer.
    Obviously limiting your calorie intake will make you lose weight, but it's an extremely difficult thing to do long-term because you'll always feel hungry, tempting you to gorge when you do decide to eat and basically reversing any attempt you've made to lose weight.
    By FAR the best way, in my opinion is to become more active. If you drive, choose to walk to your destination instead if it would take less than an hour, or buy a bike. It'll save you a crapload of gas money and get you fitter at the same time. You don't need to join a gym, simply walking a couple of miles a day will make a massive difference after a few weeks.
    Of course dietary-wise there are some things you could try too. Go grocery shopping just after you've eaten a meal. If you shop when hungry, you're far more likely to buy junk you don't need based on the fact you've got an appetite. If you do have trouble with snacking a lot, try to cut down on your carbs a little and replace it with protein. Carbs produce sugars that feel rewarding for a short time but leave your body craving for more. Cheese has a very similar chemical, so try to avoid adding cheese to stuff or buying overly cheesy foods.

    But yeah, overall the most effective way to lose weight is to increase your physical activity. You'll feel healthier without having to feel hungry and it's completely free.

    Diet aids like pills and so on are cheating in my opinion and have absolutely no benefit to your physical health apart from the weight loss and should only be used by the tiny percentage of people that have a real psychological over-eating issue and aren't just lazy/greedy (no offence intended)

  2. #42
    * Start out slow by noting down whatever you eat. Use a nutritional chart to calculate you daily calorie intake.

    *Input your Data in this website to find out how many calories you need to maintain your current weight (http://www.caloriecontrol.org/health...ool-kit/weight -maintenance-calculator-men)

    * That number tells you the approximate amount of calories you burn just by living

    * Subtract that number from your daily calorie intake

    * The resultant number will provide you without your net calorie gain/loss

    * A loss of 3500 calories results in a loss of 1 pound

    * Start by exercising slowly; you can start by walking for half hour initially, and then increasing it to an hour after you feel comfortable

    * Lower your food intake to a comfortable level in which you don't feel too hungry and not stuffed

    * Do not put unhealthy snacks in the fridge; remove all soda, chips, cookies and replace them all with healthier alternatives such as fruits, juices, lean meats (fish, lean cut beef etc...)

    * Since your current weight is quite high, you can safely lose 4-5 pounds a week, but try to lower this amount to 2-3 pounds a week once you're in the 200s.

    * Remember losing water weight is just temporary; don't get too excited or too disappointed if you lose or gain weight too quickly

    * Remain well hydrated to avoid the situation mentioned directly above (drink more than half a gallon of water daily, more if your exercising)

    * Remain vigilante and consistent; you may encounter certain plateaus in your weight loss, but constant effort will break through these plateaus

    Best of luck in your difficult but a highlyl rewarding journey

  3. #43
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    Don't over think it, I did that with females back when I was younger and when you over think something, it ruins your ability to do something.

    You honestly just need to go for a short run and do it everyday, now it could just be around the block considering you are around 330 but that's all... I'm going to say it straight, get out there and get running.
    Hey everyone

  4. #44
    In order to lose weight, you have to burn more calories than your intaking. So that means you have to EXERCISE. someonesaid p90x, and thats really your best bet, not only does it push you but you'll put on effective muscle weight. Need good nutrition though, thats 75% of your weight loss/muscle gain. You said oatmeal which is great, you can add fruit in it to add more flavor. Soy Milk instead of dairy milk is also good, intake more fruits and vegetables because they are low in calories and no fats. Eat protein after your workout and consistently: fish, ground beef, tuna, chicken, even peanuts/almonds. Drink lots of water, try not to flavor it because that stuff can affect your hormones. Bananas, berries, broccoli, carrots, sweet potatoes, grains (oatmeal, brown rice, whole grain pasta). Just be committed and prepare to work your ass off if you want the results. Macro Nutrients = Fats, Carbs, Protein. Always aim for 60g of healthy fats = avocado, peantus/almonds, olive oil (doesnt have to be precise 60g, but you can use a chart to help you out.) Carbs = Brown Rice, Sweet Potato, Whole Grain Pasta, Oatmeal, Whole Grain Breads, these are SLOW/COMPLEX carbs which are better than white rice, white pasta, white potatoes cuz those go through your body like toothpaste. Plus they have Fiber which is important as well. Protein = Fish, Beef, Chicken, Nuts, Tuna, Salmon, Sardines (when I dont hav emoney I got to sardines lol). Hope it helps and do your best and forget the rest! lol

  5. #45
    Deleted
    I would recommend trying to cut out most carbs of your diet and instead eat more food rich in fat (Low Carb High Fat) and with this start to do regular exercise that you enjoy, don't go out to hard with the excercise you'll just get burned out, ease into it instead.

    Watch this youtube video, it's very interesting when it comes to how we eat and should be eating. You can also find alot of interviews with other prominent people in this field on his channel here.


  6. #46
    There's a lag between when you are full and when you body feels satisfied, so eat slowly and drink plenty of water.

  7. #47
    A couple of years ago I was 240 lbs, my ideal weight for my height is between 170-185. During my first attempt at weight loss I managed to drop 30 lbs in a couple months, but it was exhausting. So when life became a little stressful I said screw it. Which let to me dieting on and off for about a year, finally realizing I need to change my lifestyle when I was 250 lbs about 18 months ago.

    Right now I weigh 180 lbs of relatively good weight and have very little trouble watching what I eat. I used to wolf down mountains of crap and now the very prospect disgusts me more often than not. Here is what I suggest outside of the healthy eating and exercise norm.

    - Start slow, it's a journey not a race.
    - Don't set very long term goals like "I want to lose 120 lbs in a year". Go month to month, it's far more encouraging and rewarding; and it promotes more self-control.
    - Drink tons of water all day until your cravings seriously diminish. Avoid salt and refined sugar like the plague, once you start you're screwed.
    - Take a large dose of Omega 3 daily, tons of benefits particularly for people new to the gym.
    - Lastly exercise and EXERCISE more. My biggest mistake the 1st few months was skipping often, it boosts your mood, confidence, and quells ungodly urges to eat crap.

    Thats about it.

    The grass is really greener on the other side.

  8. #48
    Quote Originally Posted by Harzaka View Post
    Again, wrong.
    It is calorie in calorie out. Carbs dont matter.
    Ignoring the carb debate, the first part of your statement is utter crap, but I'll give you the benefit if the doubt that it was an emotional response to disagreeing with low carb diets.

    Calories are not all made equal. I'm sure anyone with even the slightest idea about healthy eating could see that. If you get put on a 1500 calorie diet, by that logic you could simply eat 1500 calls of fried chicken and chips a day and have success. Calories are a very archaic method of measuring energy because our bodies treat different foods in a variety of ways.

    But for the record, carbs do matter, maybe not for everyone, but for a lot of us they do. When I got fat after tearing my ACL and shattering my arm, no matter how strict I calorie counted, or how hard I trained, my weight loss was minimal.... To the point of being negligible. After doing some reading and talking to a nutritionist about each foods role in our diet, I made up my own mind about carbs. The weight came off, stayed off, and I felt great.

    Now, I know a lot of people have issues with low carb diets simply because they became a 'fad', they also mistake them for very low carb or even no carb diets, which is wrong. My Diet still had plenty of carbs, they still made up about 20-30% of my daily calories. But I only ate good carbs, meaning most came from fresh veggies. I eliminated bread, pasta, rice & spuds entirely because I didn't need them, and my body didn't need them. Not only did I lose the weight, but I stopped getting sleepy after meals (especially lunch) and never felt overly hungry.

    That's my own personal experience. I was never morbidly obese, and spent most of my life relatively fit. I lost 25kg's over a year to return to to my original weight (18 months when you factor in the time I spent with no results before going low carb).

    There's plenty of other people with success stories from reducing carbs who previously struggled with weight loss. It might not work for everybody, but you can't make silly statements like its only calories in / out that counts when that's clearly not the case for many of us.

  9. #49
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    Quote Originally Posted by kidA View Post
    P90X It's hard and it works.
    i one up you and say TapoutXT, i was 240 when i started 90 days ago, yesterday was my final day and i weighed in at 196.5, yeah... great plan for eating, and exercise only 45 minutes a day on avg.

    ---------- Post added 2012-11-11 at 06:13 PM ----------

    Also when it comes to carbs, your body will consume all the carbs you eat, and after than itll start using your fat for energy, essentially burning off fat.

  10. #50
    i will just stick to vege

  11. #51
    Quote Originally Posted by Jaxsz View Post
    Hilariously false. A good idea in theory (I will agree with the law of thermodynamics here) but it isn't nearly that simple. This is setting people up to fail.

    The calories that go in greatly effect both the amount that go "out" and the type of body mass that goes "out" in this equation. The type of calories that go in also greatly effect a persons hunger and satiety, all crucial to any long term success with weight loss.

    A person eating 1500 calories a day of meat and vegetables for a year will not look the same as that identical person eating 1500 calories a day for a year of refined carbs. Pretending that they would is just stupid and makes you look foolish, and you should stop doling out worthless advice to people.

    And that's not even noting the fact that the person eating nothing but refined carbs will never have the "willpower" (not real) to resist binging / over eating due to only eating the foods that stimulate increased, relentless hunger.
    I wanted to quote this and stress the bold part as this is very critical. The most important factor in losing weight is the types of food you eat, including what foods you eat in conjunction with each other. They will stimulate what your body does with the calories you took in.

    As a course study you can see what happens if you skip a meal each day and reduce your calorie intake by 30% by doing so. You will lose weight for the first couple weeks, then after that you will see no weight lose as your body will guess that you are starving yourself and defend by slowing your metabolism down in order to conserve the food that it doesn't think you are getting enough of.

    Exercise is always important, but you will find that if you have moderate exercise every day and don't change the way you eat, you will lose next to no weight, while you can eat correctly and not exercise and see massive amounts of weight loss. In my experience, exercise is more critical to staying healthy and fit then it is to losing weight (thought it will increase the rate you can lose weight if you do it in conjunction with a healthy diet).

    @the OP, As several have suggested, speaking to your doctor or a professional dietitian or trainer would go a long way into helping you set up a meal plan that works for you in not only losing the weight in a healthy manner, but in also creating a plan to use to maintain the weight going forward. The main thing I would point out is that you don't want to look at it as going on a diet so much as you want to view it as a lifestyle change.

  12. #52
    Quote Originally Posted by Ragedaug View Post
    I wanted to quote this and stress the bold part as this is very critical. The most important factor in losing weight is the types of food you eat, including what foods you eat in conjunction with each other. They will stimulate what your body does with the calories you took in.

    As a course study you can see what happens if you skip a meal each day and reduce your calorie intake by 30% by doing so. You will lose weight for the first couple weeks, then after that you will see no weight lose as your body will guess that you are starving yourself and defend by slowing your metabolism down in order to conserve the food that it doesn't think you are getting enough of.

    Exercise is always important, but you will find that if you have moderate exercise every day and don't change the way you eat, you will lose next to no weight, while you can eat correctly and not exercise and see massive amounts of weight loss. In my experience, exercise is more critical to staying healthy and fit then it is to losing weight (thought it will increase the rate you can lose weight if you do it in conjunction with a healthy diet).

    @the OP, As several have suggested, speaking to your doctor or a professional dietitian or trainer would go a long way into helping you set up a meal plan that works for you in not only losing the weight in a healthy manner, but in also creating a plan to use to maintain the weight going forward. The main thing I would point out is that you don't want to look at it as going on a diet so much as you want to view it as a lifestyle change.
    Starvation mode does not exist in normal human dieting. It exists when you eat virtually nothing for an extended period of time. Thanks for playing.

  13. #53
    Quote Originally Posted by jbhasban View Post
    Starvation mode does not exist in normal human dieting. It exists when you eat virtually nothing for an extended period of time.
    And I would be fine with that..other than every actual study on the matter saying otherwise.

    Thanks for playing.
    It was my pleasure /grandiose_bow

    ---------- Post added 2012-11-12 at 05:38 AM ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by Dakara View Post
    But for the record, carbs do matter, maybe not for everyone, but for a lot of us they do. When I got fat after tearing my ACL and shattering my arm, no matter how strict I calorie counted, or how hard I trained, my weight loss was minimal.... To the point of being negligible. After doing some reading and talking to a nutritionist about each foods role in our diet, I made up my own mind about carbs. The weight came off, stayed off, and I felt great.
    I had a very similar issue. I had torn my ACL playing sports during my stint in the Marine Corps. I ended up gaining 15-20 pounds during my convalescence and was strongly and repeatedly encouraged to take that weight off. In additional to other exercise I ran a minimum of 20 miles every week, worked out on my own. I dropped the first 10 pounds but nothing more. Having no clue what I was doing I would try to skip a meal and would lose a few pounds, then after 2-3 weeks put those few pounds right back on. I switches which meal I was skipping and again lost a few pounds for the first couple weeks, then once again put those pounds right back on.

    I had screwed up my metabolism so badly by the time I talked to an expert that in 6 months I went from eating anything I wanted and being able to maintain my weight along side the standard daily/weekly physical regiment that comes along side being a Marine, to where I would gain 3-5 pounds any time I was indulgent and ate a big dinner and it would take me 2-3 weeks of being very careful what I ate to drop those few pounds.

    But as Dakara is saying, the types of calories you eat absolutely matter, as well as when and how often you eat. They all can be factor's in weight gain and lose.

  14. #54
    Quote Originally Posted by Ragedaug View Post
    And I would be fine with that..other than every actual study on the matter saying otherwise.


    It was my pleasure /grandiose_bow

    ---------- Post added 2012-11-12 at 05:38 AM ----------



    I had a very similar issue. I had torn my ACL playing sports during my stint in the Marine Corps. I ended up gaining 15-20 pounds during my convalescence and was strongly and repeatedly encouraged to take that weight off. In additional to other exercise I ran a minimum of 20 miles every week, worked out on my own. I dropped the first 10 pounds but nothing more. Having no clue what I was doing I would try to skip a meal and would lose a few pounds, then after 2-3 weeks put those few pounds right back on. I switches which meal I was skipping and again lost a few pounds for the first couple weeks, then once again put those pounds right back on.

    I had screwed up my metabolism so badly by the time I talked to an expert that in 6 months I went from eating anything I wanted and being able to maintain my weight along side the standard daily/weekly physical regiment that comes along side being a Marine, to where I would gain 3-5 pounds any time I was indulgent and ate a big dinner and it would take me 2-3 weeks of being very careful what I ate to drop those few pounds.

    But as Dakara is saying, the types of calories you eat absolutely matter, as well as when and how often you eat. They all can be factor's in weight gain and lose.
    Bull shit.

  15. #55
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by Ragedaug View Post
    And I would be fine with that..other than every actual study on the matter saying otherwise.


    It was my pleasure /grandiose_bow

    ---------- Post added 2012-11-12 at 05:38 AM ----------



    I had a very similar issue. I had torn my ACL playing sports during my stint in the Marine Corps. I ended up gaining 15-20 pounds during my convalescence and was strongly and repeatedly encouraged to take that weight off. In additional to other exercise I ran a minimum of 20 miles every week, worked out on my own. I dropped the first 10 pounds but nothing more. Having no clue what I was doing I would try to skip a meal and would lose a few pounds, then after 2-3 weeks put those few pounds right back on. I switches which meal I was skipping and again lost a few pounds for the first couple weeks, then once again put those pounds right back on.

    I had screwed up my metabolism so badly by the time I talked to an expert that in 6 months I went from eating anything I wanted and being able to maintain my weight along side the standard daily/weekly physical regiment that comes along side being a Marine, to where I would gain 3-5 pounds any time I was indulgent and ate a big dinner and it would take me 2-3 weeks of being very careful what I ate to drop those few pounds.

    But as Dakara is saying, the types of calories you eat absolutely matter, as well as when and how often you eat. They all can be factor's in weight gain and lose.
    Ignore Jbhasban, he's the king of broscience. Your metabolic rate will change depending on a shit-ton of factors: Weight, activity level, types of food being eaten, when it's being eaten and how much is being eaten. The key is finding a method of eating, and a diet tailored around foods that work for you, and arguably, one that you enjoy eating too (unless you're a professional body builder and / or a fighter doing aggressive "cutting" phases.)

  16. #56
    Quote Originally Posted by Reqq View Post
    Ignore Jbhasban, he's the king of broscience. Your metabolic rate will change depending on a shit-ton of factors: Weight, activity level, types of food being eaten, when it's being eaten and how much is being eaten. The key is finding a method of eating, and a diet tailored around foods that work for you, and arguably, one that you enjoy eating too (unless you're a professional body builder and / or a fighter doing aggressive "cutting" phases.)
    But that's still Calories In vs Calories Out. The difficult part is determining Calories Out.

  17. #57
    Quote Originally Posted by Reqq View Post
    Ignore Jbhasban, he's the king of broscience. Your metabolic rate will change depending on a shit-ton of factors: Weight, activity level, types of food being eaten, when it's being eaten and how much is being eaten. The key is finding a method of eating, and a diet tailored around foods that work for you, and arguably, one that you enjoy eating too (unless you're a professional body builder and / or a fighter doing aggressive "cutting" phases.)
    The science behind starvation mode is sketchy at best and signals a decrease that is fairly insignificant (around 50 calories for someone who, through calculations, should need around 1700 calories). Yeah, it exists. But it isn't something someone needs to worry about. What is most likely true is people who eat too little perceive themselves working out much harder than they are or they overeat and in fact are not eating as low as they think they are. Do certain foods burn more calories than others? Yeah, thermogenic effect of food is well documented. Is it a huge amount? Only if you eat an obscenely unbalanced diet (thermogenic effect of food fats = 0%, carbs = 0-15%, proteins = 15-20%). People reach plateaus because they run out of gas and are not exercising as hard as they think they are. It is also possible their bodies get use to the routines they are doing and become more efficient thereby lowing the amount of calories they are burning. Altering diet may allow you to recharge and effect your lepton levels such that you do not binge eat. But there is ABSOLUTELY NO evidence that you can combat starvation mode through nutrition or diet scheduling. In fact, it is well documented that timing of food intake has NO effect on weight gain or loss except to the extent that skipping meals may increase hunger but that is highly dependent on the person. I agree with your advice: the key is finding a method of eating, diet, and exercise that works for you. But to suggest that people should worry about starvation mode is ridiculous because a) the evidence that it exists is sketchy and b) there is no scientific evidence that you can combat it if it does exist.
    Last edited by jbhasban; 2012-11-12 at 05:15 PM.

  18. #58
    Your body doesn't know what time it is when you eat. That's a myth, which (from my understanding) grew out of a suggested eating habit from nutritionists. Basically, it can help (mentally) if you plan ahead and schedule your meals instead of trying to do it on the fly but that's about it. Spacing out your meals can also help alleviate hunger (same calories, spaced out over the day), but if you have a late dinner at 10pm, you haven't stuffed your diet!

    Remember, Evolution takes millions of years, and therefore it was only yesterday that Humans would eat when they killed say a mammoth and the live off nuts/berries until they killed another one. Pretty sure they had a lot less obesity problems than modern society! Nutrition and weight loss is a pretty lucrative business and you need to separate the fact from the fiction/marketing.

    As for Starvation mode, mothing makes me /facepalm more than when I hear it get thrown around discussions like this. "Eat to lose weight" is one of the biggest myths in dieting. You want to talk about studies? Read up on the Minnesota Starvation Experiment. If you ever starve yourself like those guys did, then your 'reduced metabolic rate' is the least of your concerns. And those guys didn't actually go into 'starvation' mode until they were almost half dead (iirc).

    Bottom line is, if you starve yourself your body just eats itself for energy. In terms of fat loss, then that's a good thing. But if you don't get enough vitamins/minerals then other functions become impared and if you don't eat enough protein, your body will start to eat your muscle (maybe even your organs). But we're talking extreme starvation here (POW Starvation), not a "1000 calorie daily defecit" or the likes.

    -edit-

    I'm not actually suggesting people go on a 'starvation' diet. I'm merely pointing out the fact that starving yourself has a very little effect on your BMR. It's by no means a healthy way to lose weight.
    Last edited by Dakara; 2012-11-13 at 06:31 AM.

  19. #59
    Quote Originally Posted by Coar View Post
    I've been trying for a while to lose weight, I feel that the reason I have been failing is because I try too hard to push myself, and that I am never prepared enough (I don't have the right foods, the correct plan in general).

    I can probably come up with a plan, regardless if there would be an absolute 'best way' to lose weight, I think it would be most effective for a normal person to just make a solid plan and stick to it until you hit your target weight, and keep using it thereafter.

    I have a few questions regarding a few topics:

    • Are any pills effective? Not miracle weight loss pills, but vitamins and other kinds.
    • How many calories should I try to deficit every day from the calories I need to maintain my weight, how much of this should come from exercise?
    • Currently, I plan to drop over 120 pounds, I am 330 pounds and want to be 210 when I finish, how long is an acceptable goal?
    • I was thinking original oatmeal for breakfast most of the time, some kind of sandwich for lunch, and some kind of meal involving chicken breast for dinner. Is eating the same exact meals every day inherently bad?
    • Water flavoring packets - bad?

    I may be using this thread as a blog type if that is allowed on MMO-C. Not so sound like an asshole but if you are just guessing at any of the questions, and giving your personal input on what you think I should do, please don't. I'm looking for people who are knowledgeable on the subject and can give definite answers.
    As someone whose lost over 80lbs in about 7 months, I'd recommend you focus on getting strong - you'll get leaner, as you gain muscle and lose fat, and for a while you should lose weight too, being 330lbs(I can't give you a good weight target goal, without knowing your height, but 180-240lbs if you're between 5' 6" and 6'2" is a good place to be for most males). Go to StartingStrength.com and read all you can. Eat 4 decent sized meals with meat, eggs, fruit, and vegetables making up most of your diet. Eat real food, flavor is good, learn to cook, it's a valuable skill. Supplements can offer marginal levels of improvement; A multivitamin and fish oil can help cover nutritional bases. Creatine can be moderately useful(it's a compound found in meat, commonly sold as a supplement in powder form, google it). However, the benefits will probably be undetectable to a novice who is rapidly improving multiple times a week. The food and gym bill are much more important than any supplement.

    For me, I found at 152lbs 5" 6" I was far too small and weak. I wished I'd eaten more and progressed on my squats, instead of starving myself and doing a crapton of cardio(which did little for me except give me knee tendonitis, which is now healing). I would have reached my current goal much sooner. I want to be strong and athletic - not skinny. "Skinny" is as much of an insult as "fat" is, in my opinion.

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