How to lose weight?

[Kazuku65]

if you cut out sugars and carbs, you'd be suprised how much you'd lose with some exercise (spelling? derp)

[Vekrah]

Cardio is good but it is generally only productive if you do it as interval training or for long periods of time. If you're not in shape, the stamina may not be there. If you're more into lifting, squats are actually a very solid way to burn fat by working out the largest muscle set in your body (Ham/Quad/Glute).

Honestly though, it all starts with a healthy diet. You can work your ass off but, if you're eating crap and treating your body poorly, it will treat you poorly in return. Multivitamin with a big breakfast, decently sized lunch, and a moderately sized dinner...treat your meals like royalty. (Breakfast is king, Lunch is queen, Dinner is jack) High fiber, lean protein, wheat/brown carbs, veg and fruits. Don't buy into all of the protein powder/diet supplement garbage...if you take basic care of your body, you'll see results.

EDIT: What helped me when I was trying to get more fit was keeping a food journal. Write down everything (EVERYthing) you eat throughout the day; mark down times and portion sizes. Not only will it cause you to think about what you eat but, when you look at it at the end of the day, you'll be able to more easily identify what can go and what can stay. Good luck and, most importantly, have fun with it! =)

[Squeezus]

Yes, you would gain "weight" (Muscle...) and still lose the fat. That's much better. What happened to common sense? :S

I think they are referring to borderline starvation where your body knows you aren't taking in enough calories so it starts quickly converting pretty much everything you eat in to fat for later use. It's a pretty common problem for people trying to lose weight to not eat enough and wonder why they aren't losing anything.

[ElAmigo]

Step 1: Buy P90x
Step 2: Read all of the instructions and follow (exercise and nutrition wise)
Step 3: ???
Step 4: Profit

[Digglett]

you need to eat enough to keep your body out of staration mode which is eating like slightly more than 1000 calories with carbs and proteins which is laughably easy, from that you need to cut out calories from your diet and exercise more. A pound a week is relatively easy by cutting 500 calories out a day which can be done by switching most liquids to water or diet drinks, cutting out a few snacks and going on a 20 minute run or so. the key is self discipline and being able to keep up with your plans, not everyone can go on some 1200 calorie diet while maintaining running. Depending on your weight i'd aim for 1500-2000 calories a day and run 2-3 miles depending on your weight. You don't even have to run it just helps, eat less than your body burns.

By eating less, I meant eating more than a meal a day, people will take eating less as starving themselves, which you really don't need to do, just have to be smart with what you eat.

[klaps_05]

dont listen to people "dont eat this, dont eat that" - yes, eating 50 cheeseburgers a week is OBVIOUSLY wrong, use your common sense. besides that the most efficient way would be simply fitness - that includes gym + swimming. you'll lose weight and increase your vitality and u can eat whatever u want in normal amounts.

[Jaqera]

There is honestly no need to count calories. None want to spend their life counting calories. Just do not eat anything you feel is bad for you i.e. chocolate, cake, pancakes with bacon.So in short:

Jaqera's Super Tips to the PERFECT body.

• Run hard, fast and regularly - cardio ftw
• Join a gym - build some muscle where you wish
• Eat logically - no need to eat subway for lunch everyday if you can make yourself tuna sandwich, plus you save ££

It is all common sense and self discipline.

I should add that Jaqera's guide has a 110% success rate.

[Radux]

Step 1: Buy P90x
Step 2: Read all of the instructions and follow (exercise and nutrition wise)
Step 3: ???
Step 4: Profit

P90X is a great fitness tool. The nutrition/diet, however isn't something to be proud of. There are way better ways to feed your body than what P90X tells you. If any of it is correct, it would be phase 1.

[warpath2k]

Ok that is useful info. Please ignore half the people saying run more/move more. As a female at 185 you are overweight. I am a well built male builder at 190lbs.

To lose weight well the best thing to do is make a plan, the gym is not always the best idea. Eg, (I am assuming you are american at a guess) you could cycle more to and from work/walk/rollerblade. Food is important, you need around 2000calories a day max per average female. Its not really what you eat, its how much you eat.

The fact you don't drink or smoke is good, that can add a lot of weight. You don't want to build muscle you want to loose fat, lots of cardio work will help. Do things that get your heart pumping (Yes even S*X will work) If your heart is over 120 beats per min you will be burning fat.

Most of all, don't expect it to happen over a week. Try a diet, or exercise plan then after 2 weeks weigh yourself. The best time is after you wake up/have had a wash been to the loo etc to get an accurate reading and deduct up to 6lbs if you are fully clothed. Sorry for wall of text I used to work in a gym GL.

[Squeezus]

As a trainer, I actually don't recommend counting calories for someone who's never really been into fitness or eating right. It's really overwhelming. Hell just drastically changing your diet + workout out is a big enough change. So long as you have an idea how much you're putting into your body is the key.

That's the point, most people don't have a clue unless they start counting and learning. If anything a beginner should be counting and someone who has been doing it for awhile already has a good idea what to avoid, or about where their at.

[xile]

Step 1: Buy P90x
Step 2: Read all of the instructions and follow (exercise and nutrition wise)
Step 3: ???
Step 4: Profit

for the record p90x only really works for those who want to lose weight which would help her, but it's also mildly demanding for those who it helps the most. i've done all 90 days and wasn't particularly pushed too hard by any means, and wasn't particularly impressed, then again i work out like none other. the only thing really useful you can take away from it is that you should eat less than you burn and you should always vary your exercise.

[Fullblast]

Follow the above... don't eat too little. Get a job that keeps you active, I run a lumber mill and all my guys including myself have lost a good deal of weight just going to work everyday.

[Radux]

That's the point, most people don't have a clue unless they start counting and learning. If anything a beginner should be counting and someone who has been doing it for awhile already has a good idea what to avoid, or about where their at.

Not necessarily. Ask someone who has been unhealthy forever to all of this sudden change their diet 100% and then workout a whole bunch. That's going to blow their universe in half. Give them a list of foods to eat and a decent protein/fats/carb ratio and tell them to eat less than they normally do. It actually works.

[Deleted]

I like how people make losing weight sound harder than it really is. It's really simple, but just takes time.

The problem is that the craving for fast results lies in human nature, but hey... patience is a virtue, right?

[MintJam]

Step 1: Buy P90x
Step 2: Read all of the instructions and follow (exercise and nutrition wise)
Step 3: ???
Step 4: Profit

If P90X seems too extreme, try out the regular version, Power 90. Much much easier to get into if you can't handle P90X.

Also, be sure that if you exercise, involve some sort of weight lifting, no matter how minor. Lifting burns fat and is just as important as cardio in your workout routine IMO.

[ElAmigo]

P90X is a great fitness tool. The nutrition/diet, however isn't something to be proud of. There are way better ways to feed your body than what P90X tells you. If any of it is correct, it would be phase 1.

The first phase is correct if you just want to lose fat, yes that is true. But the other parts of it work to help you gain more muscle and become more fit. You eat a lot of complex calories to burn a lot, and you can only burn a lot if you physically capable to do it which is why the last phase comes towards the end.

for the record p90x only really works for those who want to lose weight which would help her, but it's also mildly demanding for those who it helps the most. i've done all 90 days and wasn't particularly pushed too hard by any means, and wasn't particularly impressed, then again i work out like none other. the only thing really useful you can take away from it is that you should eat less than you burn and you should always vary your exercise.

If it didnt push you then that's not the exercises fault i believe that's your fault for not modifying the exercises to push yourself to your limit. That's something tony stresses a lot, you're not there to match the demonstrators, you're there to push you're self to your limit and "Bring it"

[Digglett]

Not necessarily. Ask someone who has been unhealthy forever to all of this sudden change their diet 100% and then workout a whole bunch. That's going to blow their universe in half. Give them a list of foods to eat and a decent protein/fats/carb ratio and tell them to eat less than they normally do. It actually works.

I've had a really hard time dieting before I started counting calories, I really had no idea what I was doing and was kind of guessing by eating what I thought seemed healthy. Its not exactly a hard thing to do, it got me on the right foot and I dropped 60 pounds from it, finally lost the weight I was never able to.

And of course, working out helped a great deal, too.

I guess it can vary from person to person, just saying what was successful for me as a fellow female, who was around your same weight. (@OP)

[Melesaria]

Alot of these suggestions are good, but damn, HOURS at a gym? Screw that! The best weight loss system I've found is the no white's diet.

No white food, no white rice, no potatoes, no dairy, no paper. If it's white it's out, you get 1 day off a week where you can eat anything, I ate pizza ^.^
Do that with at least a 30min walk/jog and you'll do fine. Mate of mine who told me about the diet lost 20kg's over 6 months without any real stress of radically changing his diet or being forced to free up 3 hours per day to do gym work.

[Bruxby]

there alot of great info already posted but i would also like to remind you or anyone else trying to lose weight, to not kill yourself or beat yourself up too much. ya it's not the end of the world if you miss a workout or skip that salad once in a while, just try to live a balanced lifestyle as best as you can

and as for diet a good tip is to not try and go on 'extreme' diets because as soon as you reach your goal weight and then get off that 'extreme' diet your weight might go right back up. so you have to make decisions in your eating habits knowing that you might be eating that way for the long term.

good luck and have fun!

[avengingbt]

Eat less.

That's really all there is to it. Exercise obviously helps you to burn more calories, so do some exercise each day, but if you're not losing weight you're obviously still taking in more calories than you're burning off, and that means you're eating too much.

I'm not saying you have to skip meals or eat super healthy foods, you don't. Just eat less. When you make your dinner, make less. Instead of having a full plate, have two thirds of a plate.

It's really basic stuff. Energy cannot be created or destroyed - in other words, the fat didn't just appear from nothing, and similarly the food you eat doesn't just disapear. You cannot fail to lose weight if you reduce the amount of food that you're eating. That does not mean reduce your portion size and then grab a snack or extra drink later to make up for it (Yes drinks count too).

If you can be bothered to exersize the whole process will be healthier for you. But if all you wanna do is lose fat, eating less will achieve it.