Overweight. Need tips.

[Pum]

Cutting down on WoW could help too.

[TheOne]

Self-control and willpower are, in my opinion, two of the best traits we as human beings have. We all possess these two abilities. Most of us choose not to use them because they aren't as convenient as going to Taco Bell or McDonalds. Use of these two very wonderful human traits is a necessity in order for all human beings to become a more significant species on this planet. Either that, or we can just continue to destroy ourselves and each other.

[Deleted]

I lost like 5 kg w/o knowing it in 1 winter since i was playing so much sc2 and the rest of my 3 time i was only drinking/hanging out trying to sky then giving up and sliding on a plastic bag => I forgot to eat most of the days xD.
So you might just want to try eating less.

[Thoroth]

Hi I lost about 80 pounds in 6 months doing the simple following:

Cabbage soup diet. (look it up I lost about 10 pounds the first week)

After that my weight loss slowed down. I started jumping rope for an hour each day. Eating HEALTHY. This includes drinking nothing but water and eating salads with steamed chicken. Not very satisfying I know but if you want results you can't afford to eat anything delicious

Thats SO not true. Unless you think eating food dripping in fat and full of carbs are the best food there is.
You can eat so many delicious things without gaining a gram.

[Tyrianth]

I'm in the same boat. I've lost 10 pounds in a week simply by cutting back on calories (no eating out, cutting back on pop, snacking, etc) and going for a daily 40 minute walk around the block.

Best thing for me: get a digital scale. A scale has kept me motivated because I can check my progress daily. Nothing feels better than waking up and saying, "Oh hey, I'm down another 1.3 pounds from yesterday!".

Also, if you have an iPhone the loseit app is great for counting calories.

[YersiniaPestis]

Stop eating. No, really. Don't eat after 6pm (no matter what time you go to bed). And try to eat only once or twice before 6 pm.

It is very stressful but VERY effective.

[Tyrianth]

Stop eating. No, really. Don't eat after 6pm (no matter what time you go to bed). And try to eat only once or twice before 6 pm.

It is very stressful but VERY effective.

Thats terribly unhealthy, the best way is to eat 5 SMALL meals a day.

[Nørf]

So u got the value what now?
Now u take away 5-10% , or about 500 Kcal, this is what u have to eat from now on.

Even though I'm new to this, I've heard that you need to consume minimum 1200 Kcal a day to be a functional human being, your body will burn muscles instead of fat if you go lower.

[Deleted]

I will repeat what most have already said here.

Water only, not only will it cut down you calorie in take, it hydrates your body and mind which is key to weight loss.
Exercise is also vital, it may seem obvious statement though a lot don't think you require it, but the amount of people who lose weight by not exercise is vast and though it works in the short term, long terms it's not good for you.
Exercise, though tiring at the time actually increases your energy levels and as some people have mentioned increases matabolism, which are actually different things.
This will allow you as you progress to eat more and continue to keep your weight loss or maintain a weight you're happy with.
There are athletes out there who eat 5x more then an overweight person does and you would never of been able to of guess it.

I would say the most important thing for someone starting off is to enjoy what you're doing.

Setting small goals and achieving them goals are important.
Make yourself a little plan, a routine and reward yourself with a night off occassionally, maybe every 2 weeks have a take away and enjoy some junk food, as time goes on you will find though you actually won't want this at all, but don't shock your body too much at the begining otherwise you will crash and burn.

So what type of exercises? A lot have been mentioned already, 30 minute walk to begin with... maybe going up to 1 hour... increase the pace slowly, maybe bring it to a small jog when you become comfortable.
Cycling is fantastic if you have a bike.
Do some muscle work as well, sit ups and press ups, fantastic exercise, star jumps, squats.... so many, check the internet for some 'at home exercises' do what you like the most.

So what foods?
Again a lot have been mentioned.
try to cut down on carbs ( pasta, potatoes, bread) If like myself you love carbs so much, then get brown pasta and so on, these are slow releasing carbs, which means your body uses them more efficiently, rather then turning to sugar very quickly if not used.
Chicken, turkey and veg though are going to give you the biggest increase in weight loss as wellas provide good energy and good muscle recovery for your exercise.
Try to eat fruit as snacks, but if you struggle (I know I do) buy some healthy cereal snack bars, which are a decent alternative.

I hope this helps.

[Flash85]

eat half of what you usually eat , you might feel hungry sometimes , but its not as bad
and you keep eating your fav food this way still

[Sjenka]

Start small. Try taking walks on a daily basis and build up to more strenuous exercise... or you could try what I did and get mono sclerosis, and not eat for 4 days (I lost 50 lbs!!!)... wait, second thought, go with what I said first... change your lifestyle.

[Taianne]

When I was younger (until 7th grade, so 14), I used to live veeeery far from school and I would walk around 3 km/day. I really don't know how many kgs I had but I was uber skinny. In the 8th grade we moved to a little town where I had to walk 3 min to school and 15 min if I wanted to do a circle around the town. The kgs came IN NO TIME. Literally, by the end of the 9th grade I had 70kg (I'm 1.75m).

Every time I got pissed that my clothes wouldn't fit, I'd just say "ok I'll lose some weight". Ofc, I never did anything and went along like that until last winter. I'm 23 now, mind you, so I had more than enough time to do something but I never did. I'd be at a steady 74 kg for the past years, nomming pizza, KFC, fries and the like and running from salads like it was holy water.

This winter, however, I got on the scale... I had 83 kg and that was the point I said "stop". I must do something. And it was very simple, during 3 weeks I lost 8kg. The only thing I had to do was to learn to say "NO". And by learn, I mean Pavlov reflex: "here's some chocolate, why don't I have a bite?" -> NO. It was like a mental blockage and it worked wonders. Also, 2 liters of water/day is mandatory. It makes you feel sated to some point and keeps you hydrated. I was ofc saying no to fries, steak etc and it wasn't difficult, because the mental blockage would kick in. Then I stopped paying so much attention but still, watched it out so I didn't gain anything back during these months, just a fluctuating kg that comes and goes.

Now we're going to holiday in august and it's time to finish the plan so I started all over (you need a lot of motivation to do it). So I have 1.5 months to get rid of another (at least) 10 kg and I started drinking water heavily and eating up to 2 slices of bread/day, carrots, salads (NO TOPPING!!11). I started on Monday, 1 kg is gone and I feel great (I think it's due to the water). I'll also start rope jumping, which I heard helps a ton.

Oh, I am female, too.

Bottom line is (it has all been said before): water, water, water, exercise if at all possible and stop eating crapz. Good luck, keep us posted!

[Knight Gil]

Do some exercise, more and more as you progress, and don't eat too much crap, and eventually you'll get there.

Now, there's something you don't want to do....

DON'T do some "miraculous" diets that some people may talk about. Most of them might get you to lose some pounds in a week or two, but in the long term, they are unhealthy. Try to eat healthy

[Deleted]

Replace your diet with vegetables and stuff with lots of fibre, its filling but doesn't really have that much actual usable stuff in. Can't help with exercise though, never exercised since I left school and I'm still consitently half a stone to a stone underweight -_-

[Deleted]

Hey all! I am sort of in the same position as OP in terms of needing to lose some weight. I've been working out and trying to eat right for a couple of weeks now. Heres what I do

Everyday I work out for an hour. I do 10 minutes on a treadmill going 2.5mph then I do weights, i.e dumbbells, and a weight machine which has like a pull down bar, and a lot of other things on it, then i simply repeat the treadmill part and then the weights part again. Then my hour is usually up. Hopefully this works, anyone got any ideas on how I can improve?

Those 10 min on the treadmill is like a warmup, you do not burn much at all during that time. Also I wouldnt work out everyday if i were you, its not healthy, your muscles need time to rebuild (an exception would be if u work out with different muscle groups on different days like bodybuilders tend to do, but i doubt you do that?). I would recommend 2 ~1-hour exercises per week, 2 resting days and 3 days with walking /jogging /running for at least 30 min (for starters). Check my post on page 3 if you want to see an example training scheduele.

And btw ive seen a few horrible advices in this thread, I know you are trying to help or whatever but dont do it unless you know what you are talking about..

[Purple Glow]

In my experience, my body grows accustomed to taking in a certain total number of calories every day. That means I have to readjust my body to accept fewer calories.

The hardest part is the first 3 days. I feel nearly sick cutting back on calories. The cravings are so powerful. The only way I can get past those first 3 days is to take some nyquil and knock myself out for the day.

But once you've adjusted, its downhill from there.

As far as exercise, cardio can do a lot. I ride a stationary bike for 30 mins every day. I like that exercise because its very easy to take your mind off of it while doing it. You can listen to music or watch TV and barely even know your working out. Doing that and lower calories really takes the weight off.

[ibnalail]

I can't drink Diet Soda, to me.. It's just nasty . In turn, I drink Coffee instead of Soda. But, in order for me to drink Coffee I need to litter it with Creamer and Sugar. Tons. I need to find a better alternative. I love tea, but only with some Honey. >_<

While some studies show that coffee can actually have health benefits, that's only in moderation. Lately I've been chopping my coffee intake down for tea. I've limited myself to one latte in the morning, followed by Tazo Zen tea until mid-afternoon {which is usually about one, maybe two cups}. Because of the lemon grass and spearmint in it, it is sweet enough that it doesn't need sugar.

In the evenings, I switch to Iced Tazo Passion Tea. It comes in larger bags that make a gallon of tea. It, too, is naturally sweet and is an herbal blend, so it has no caffeine.

But make your own! Bottled teas can have sugar added and the "shaken" iced teas at Starbucks usually are made with syrups or sweetened lemonade added. It may not be "mmmmm....coffee" but once you get into the habit, it's actually a nice change of pace and you start to prefer it.

[Sorissa]

do it like my friend: queue as dps and work out during the 20-30 minute queue.

[Silhouette of Seraphim]

The closest pool is about 1 mile away. So, swimming is really out of the question. However. When I do those Jumping-Jacks.. I could have totally done about 30 or so. It's those damned push-ups that got me >.<

Walking a mile isn't that far. And afterwards you have a nice cool pool to enjoy. Then you get more exercise from walking back. All the better for you. As you're a larger person, you burn more calories when exercising than someone smaller, so that would be real good for you. Make sure you bring water with you.

Speaking of water, drink it. Lots of it. Nothing but it, in fact. Here's a copy of some really good advice.

The regular person in America, who does not exercise at all or that rigorously, needs water to lose weight. If the body does not receive adequate amounts (1-2 quarts a day), you will actually start to retain water causing a net gain in weight and the liver to cease metabolizing fat at a normal rate. Basically, your metabolism will slow to a point where fat and water is now being store by the body UNTIL it receives the proper amounts of water. An easy equation with the elements of weight loss is:
Water + Oxygen = Weight loss
Drinking water plus physical activity where you breathe at a higher heart rate (ie aerobic activity like walking, jogging, swimming, biking, resistance training etc.) will ultimately lead to weight loss. Not only will you release retained water - ending the bloated and puffy feeling, but your metabolism will burn fat at a higher rate than before you started adding sufficient water intake to your diet. If you are significantly overweight (50-100lbs), you need to add more water to your diet than the minimum recommended daily amount. Some experts agree that the intake should be another 6-8 oz. of water for every 10-20 lbs overweight.
The bad news is that coffee, tea, diet drinks, alcohol, and nicotine are diuretics meaning they actually will dehydrate you. These drinks should not count as your 1-2 quarts a day of daily water consumption. If you think you maybe retaining water, try adding up to a gallon of water a day and you could lose about five to ten pounds of retained water in a few short days.

A good formula to use is that for every 100 pounds you weigh, you should be drinking half a gallon of water. So if you're 200 pounds, drink 1 gallon a day. 300 pounds, a gallon and a half.

Next, stay away from packaged foods. Spend the 5 minutes to make something for yourself.

Read all ingredients. Something might be "low fat" but be packed with sugar and sodium to make up for the taste difference. You don't want that either. Also, make sure what you're getting has as few ingredients as possible, and ones that you can pronounce and know what they are.

Eating 3 meals a day isn't actually the best advice. You want to eat about every 3 hours. This both keeps your metabolism going and doesn't make it so your body goes into conservation mode, and will also keep you feeling satisfied, so you don't have a big fatty binge when meal time comes. You just need to redefine what a meal is. Still have your breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but greatly reduce portion sizes from what you're eating now. In between, you'll want a snack, but it's about choosing good ones. Fruits, nuts, and vegetables go well here.

Here's an example of how my typical day goes food wise:

Breakfast: Oatmeal topped with a couple spoonfuls of yogurt. I have this every day. And I don't mean that packaged shit that's loaded with sugar. Oatmeal should have one ingredient in it and one only - oats. The great thing about oatmeal is that you can mix it up all manner of different ways, and it's very filling, and will start your day off keeping you full. Throw in some flax seeds for some additional fiber. You want fiber, as it keeps you full longer. They're very cheap and you'll hardly even notice them in there. What else to add? Typically I'll add fresh blueberries, which is my personal favorite. (You can use frozen, which is slightly more economical, just be aware they have a particular scientific property called "staining the shit out of everything they touch.") Also, a very small spoonful of brown sugar goes a long way. It gives it a nice color, and gives it a nice flavor, for relatively low calories. Remember though, *small* spoonful. That's all you need. Raisins go well here too, barring having any blueberries on hand. Top it off with a scoop of yogurt and you're all set to start the day off right, and full. As for how much oats? 3/4 of a cup is great.

Snack 1: Usually an apple. If you've been doing some muscle building exercises, throw in a *little bit* of peanut butter. Don't go hog crazy here. Also, if you've been walking or running in the meanwhile and want some calcium for you bone recovery, throw in a string cheese, or a couple small thinish squares of Cracker Barrel cheddar.

Lunch: Turkey wrap, with baby spinach, tomatoes, honey mustard, and dried cranberries. This is absolutely freakin' delicious, and has pretty much everything you need in a meal. First, find a whole wheat wrap or tortilla. I use Joseph's flax, oat bran, and whole wheat flour tortillas. Lay down your tortilla on a plate, spread on a little honey mustard. Put down a layer of fresh baby spinach next, followed by some slices of fresh tomato. Next, throw down a couple slices of turkey, ideally low-sodium variety from the deli, also might be referred to as kept in "natural juices." Sprinkle on some dried cranberries, and you have huge nutrition and huge flavor packed into one easy meal. The only problem part here is be mindful of the cranberries. It's very hard to find them without added sugar. Whole Foods I've found to be the only option for them without. Use fresh cranberries if you can, but I've never seen them in a supermarket that I can recall. Just be mindful of how much you're using and you'll be fine.

Snack 2: Ants on a log. Lay down one or two stalks of celery, give it a light topping of peanut butter, and pop on some raisins. When it comes to peanut butter, having compared all of the readily available store brands, I've found that Jif low-sodium all natural creamy wins out here.

Dinner: You don't want to load up on carbs here. 90% of the time I have a delicious salad. Baby spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, and sugar snap peapods. No dressing, but I do add walnuts and once again, a light sprinkling of dried cranberries. It makes for an amazing and flavorful salad, without the added fat mostly empty fat and calories from dressing. If you've been working out your muscles, again, this is a good place for some protein, you can add some baked chicken, no breadcrumbs or any of that, here. Or, if you're not the most savvy cook, canned chicken, is a great and easy thing to add. It's got negligible fat and a huge helping of protein. Check your labels, the only ingredients should be chicken, water, and salt. The salt content is negligible here, and you can further reduce it by the following steps. Drain the water that's in the can, fill it back up with fresh water. Drain that, and repeat once more. Then just add it to your salad and you're great.

Snack 3: Wrapping up the day, you don't want anything fatty or high in carbohydrates. An apple or banana, or two if you feel you need it, works well here, and the fiber from the apples keep you feeling full so you're not going to want anything else before bed.

---------- Post added 2011-07-06 at 12:19 PM ----------

sweat is good.

No.

Well, let me explain. The physical exertion and calorie burning that causes sweating is good, but sweating by itself, through use if saunas, or ridiculous things like "sauna suits" or god forbid throwing a trash bag over yourself when you go for a run are horrible ideas. No only do you look like an asshole, it has the opposite effect of being good for you. Yes, you might get out of a sauna, step on the scale, and be down a pound, this is true, however, that does not equal to fat loss. It's just water weight. The second you hydrate back up properly, that weight is back instantly. It's nothing more than an illusion of true weight loss, and a potential dangerous one at that.

You want to be hydrated properly, so that your liver is able to break down fat properly and doesn't try to conserve fat because it thinks your body is at risk of going dry.

Exercising and causing sweating = good.
Staying well hydrated = good.
Sitting in a hot room sweating or using/wearing things that cause you to sweat more than you normally would = bad.

[gamingmuscle]

Diet is the most important aspect of weight loss. Going from Eating badly to eating right can be very difficult. Warwithing suggested cutting calories, but it is far more complicated then that. Depending on your current diet you may need to cut calories, or you might need to actually add calories. You'll need to change what and likely when you eat.

Some tips

Never skip breakfast
Eat protein with every meal
Eat nutrient filled foods
Avoid high fructose corn syrup
Drink more water
The more processing involved in the food generally the less good it is for you.
If you need salad dressing, do not add it to the salad. Put it in a little cup and dip your fork into it before spearing some salad. If you enjoy like balsalmic vinegar (NOT VINAGRET), go ahead and poor that all over your salad. 0 calories ftw

Cardio vs Weight Training
You need both to an extent, but some studies have shown weight training to be better for weight loss. Strength training creates a metabolic boost that lasts 3-4 hours after exercising Plus the added muscle burns more calories.

---------- Post added 2011-07-06 at 04:22 PM ----------

I have two meals a day, one at lunch and one in the evening. During the weekends I sometimes only have the evening meal every day.

That is actually not a great eating habit and could promote weight gain.