Need advice on losing weight

bobman1235

pmckeealaska wrote: »

That was one study and that does not mean its fact.

It's certainly more scientific than stubbornly insisting YOU'RE correct without any basis besides personal experience.

People love to try and discredit scientific studies that they do not agree with, regardless of how valid they may be, just on the basis of their own stubborn genius.

xj4094dg

bobman1235 wrote: »

It's certainly more scientific than stubbornly insisting YOU'RE correct without any basis besides personal experience.

People love to try and discredit scientific studies that they do not agree with, regardless of how valid they may be, just on the basis of their own stubborn genius.

Well said bobman. The several hundred people in the study and I are walking proof that diet is the key.

beardog03

I am @ 288lbs, and need to follow this thread closly !!

I am starting to change my diet, and am looking to join a gym that has a trainer for me, and a POOL !

Swimming burns calories, and is great for the heart and more


The Doc said that if i don`t start soon, I `m in serious trouble, health wise...and I already have to take heart pills , stomach pills and blood thinners for the rest of my days...

I may be able to knock off some of the meds if I get into better shape

I was told to eat 5 small meals a day to make my motabalisum speed up, and possibly go on a diebetic diet...less salt, sgar , etc.

pmckeealaska

I'm a biologist myself so I understand the importance of peer-reviewed research. They are right in the sense that diet is the key, but you will not have sustained weight loss if you're not active. I can only testify from my own experience. And my experience is not based on "it just seemed to work". I went about it very systematically by weighing my food and tracking my workouts. I mean, I have an excel spreasheet for tracking my caloric intake for goodness sake! My only concern with the study mentioned her is that it might encourage Americans to continue to be the lazy population they already are. All things being equal, if you work out, you're burning more calories than you would if you were just sitting on the couch.

beardog03

True enough...for me it`s not just eating better, it`s also getting my **** out of the house and doing something


and walking more

pmckeealaska

beardog...you got it EXACTLY right. Eat between 5 and 6 meals a day and you will lose weight. I got an ebook called "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle" that became my bible for proper eating. Even though it is written by a weight lifter and it also has detailed workout regimens as well, I paid little attention to that part. Reading the chapters on eating really opened my eyes. Also, I should add, I drink about a gallon of water a day as well. I know this may sound extremed, but it keeps me from retaining water.

Jstas

You know, you can lose all the weight you want with a diet that starves you and essentially malnourishes you. But, if you don't do any exercise, you are still susceptible to heart disease, cholesterol problems and all kinds of other health problems that come from a sedentary lifestyle.

Exercise is an important part of a healthy life. Dieting alone will help you lose weight but without exercise, you won't have the healthy lifestyle you are striving for.

For my scientific evidence, I hold up Dr Robert Atkins who suffered from coronary artery disease which is essentially the complications caused by the build up of plaque in the blood vessels surrounding the heart that supply the heart with nutrients and oxygen. Where does that plaque come from? The high fat diet of the Atkins Diet. Sure, Atkins himself was 72 years old and quite slim but with his diet that dropped the weight but didn't advocate vigorous exercise, he had a heart attack from the cholesterol build up and still needed surgery to fix it. He didn't die from it though. He died from slipping on ice and whacking his head on the pavement.

You know what helps that? Eating carbs like bran and other stuff full of fiber oh and exercise.

Just because you lost the weight doesn't mean you're healthy. That's why the statements and the study were criticized.

pmckeealaska

You hit the nail on the head Jstas! Again let me state it to be clear...it is not about WEIGHT loss, its about FAT loss! There are plenty of people that might be at a healthy weight, but are living with 30% body fat! They're called "skinny fat people" and are at serious risk for major health problems like heart disease and diabetes.

Right now, not only am I at a healthy weight for my height (175 pounds and 6 feet tall), but I am at 13% body fat. Like I said, I measure this once a week with fat calipers and every 6 months, I get the water immersion fat measurement done, which is considered the gold standard for measuring body fat percentage.

bobman1235

Jstas wrote: »

You know, you can lose all the weight you want with a diet that starves you and essentially malnourishes you. But, if you don't do any exercise, you are still susceptible to heart disease, cholesterol problems and all kinds of other health problems that come from a sedentary lifestyle.

Exercise is an important part of a healthy life. Dieting alone will help you lose weight but without exercise, you won't have the healthy lifestyle you are striving for.

For my scientific evidence, I hold up Dr Robert Atkins who suffered from coronary artery disease which is essentially the complications caused by the build up of plaque in the blood vessels surrounding the heart that supply the heart with nutrients and oxygen. Where does that plaque come from? The high fat diet of the Atkins Diet. Sure, Atkins himself was 72 years old and quite slim but with his diet that dropped the weight but didn't advocate vigorous exercise, he had a heart attack from the cholesterol build up and still needed surgery to fix it. He didn't die from it though. He died from slipping on ice and whacking his head on the pavement.

You know what helps that? Eating carbs like bran and other stuff full of fiber oh and exercise.

Just because you lost the weight doesn't mean you're healthy. That's why the statements and the study were criticized.

That's just it, the study was pretty clear that it had nothing to do with HEALTH, just weight loss. Being healthy has little to do with being thin. It's just a data point, something to consider when figuring out how you want to lose weight.

In particular a lot of people would say "well, I like to eat like ****, maybe if I just work out a lot more I'll lose weight" and you won't.

concealer404

I'm afraid i don't understand why if people are losing weight for health reasons, why they wouldn't want to lose the weight AND be healthy?

So the study sounds more like a Hollywood Diva study.

bobman1235

I guess the point is it's just a study. It's for science. Just because the information might be used in an unhealthy way doesn't mean it's not important to knowing how your body reacts to different methods of weight loss. Shoudl they not have published the results just because they're inconvenient?

pmckeealaska

I guarantee you if you are fat (either overweight, have a high body fat percentage) you will NOT be healthy. Maybe being healthy doesnt have anything to do with being thin, but, all things being equal, if you are at a healthy weight and body fat percentage, you ARE healthier than someone who isnt. There seems to be this movement now by some groups (like the National Association for Fat Acceptance) to try and convince people that there is nothing wrong with being fat and that fat people can be healthy. This is total and complete ****! If that were the case, the U.S. would be the healthiest country in the world. Obesity is an epidemic in this country. Anyone that encourages people to not get out and be physically active is doing people a serious disservice.

concealer404

bobman1235 wrote: »

I guess the point is it's just a study. It's for science. Just because the information might be used in an unhealthy way doesn't mean it's not important to knowing how your body reacts to different methods of weight loss. Shoudl they not have published the results just because they're inconvenient?

I'm not saying they shouldn't have.... Just saying that you yourself pretty much just said that it's not the best way to lose weight in a healthy manner.

bobman1235

If I said that I didn't mean it. I tried to say that for losing weight diet is the most important thing, and not to neglect it no matter how much you exercise, as this here study shows. I wouldn't be surprised if I said it wrong and misrepresented myself, because I'm a moron, but that's what I MEANT.

pmckeealaska

Look...believe what you want to believe. The study mentioned in this thread obviously has merit but it only addresses initital weight loss. If you want to maintain weight loss, you have to be active. Sooner or later, most people will go off of whatever healthy diet they're on (if it is, infact, a healthy diet at all). When that happens, which it almost always does to everyone (myself included), you will gain weight again and probably more than you lost initially if you dont incorporate physical activity into your routine.

concealer404

bobman1235 wrote: »

If I said that I didn't mean it. I tried to say that for losing weight diet is the most important thing, and not to neglect it no matter how much you exercise, as this here study shows. I wouldn't be surprised if I said it wrong and misrepresented myself, because I'm a moron, but that's what I MEANT.

Oh gotcha... i think we may both have communication problems. I took what you said as backwards.

I agree with you for the most part, i may have just misinterpreted before and thought that you were saying that exercise isn't important when trying to lose weight. My apologies.

For the record though.... i eat garbage all day, with two "clean" meals a day, although HUGE meals with insane calorie intake, and i fight a battle daily to keep weight on me. So i actually need to exercise to maintain my weight. If i ate nothing but healthy food, and stopped exercising, i would probably become unhealthily thin.

But i'm also "special."

bikezappa

Krazy

It's great that you want to lose weight and feel better. I hope you do well. I'm not going to give you any direct advice because I am not qualified and don't know enough to help you. And my story is not your story and it won't help you.

My suggestion would be to read some books by Jack Lalanne and avoid any books or advice from people like Dr Phil and most people in general. Jack has spent most of his life helping people get in shape and to feel better about their bodies. He has made very little money in this process and practices what he preaches. His fitness level at any age is unbelievable. His method is simple and requires very little extra money. He doesn't sell special foods or exercise equipment. He is basically advicing simple common sense. I think and this is just my opinion that all the diet books are written by people to make money. And that the people writting the books don't follow their diets.

Did you know that 99% of the people on diets gain all the weight back in less than two years?

Jack's best quote IMHO "Exercise is King, Diet is Queen."

Good luck

Peter

pmckeealaska

Yep, Mr. Lalanne is correct. The reason 99% of people who "diet" fail is that, by definition, a diet is seen as something temporary. Something to be done in the short term to lose weight for some particular reason. When I say my "diet" consists of 6 smaller meals of "clean" food, I mean diet in the sense that it is what I eat every day. This is my lifestyle, not a quick momentary way of eating. I eat this way every day of the year. That and the fact that I exercise regularly is the reason I lost the weight and, more importantly, have KEPT it off!

tommyboy

bobman1235 wrote: »

If I said that I didn't mean it. I tried to say that for losing weight diet is the most important thing, and not to neglect it no matter how much you exercise, as this here study shows. I wouldn't be surprised if I said it wrong and misrepresented myself, because I'm a moron, but that's what I MEANT.

Good, I thought you meant the other way too. But you bring up a great point. Some people think since they are on a diet and seeing weight come off, they don't need to exercise. And for others (and the worst for weight loss), they think doing a walk around the park will let them off the hook for a slice of cake:eek:

But with how I feel now, I know exercise is just as important. I pretty much stopped working out for about two months ( combination of work, school, and plain laziness), and I can alreay feel it affecting me. Drowsiness, having trouble getting up in the morning, more headaches, just overall feel like ****. This week I finally started back up and I'm sore as hell, but I much rather feel this way then I have been.

TECHNOKID

bikezappa wrote: »

Krazy

It's great that you want to lose weight and feel better. I hope you do well. I'm not going to give you any direct advice because I am not qualified and don't know enough to help you. And my story is not your story and it won't help you.

My suggestion would be to read some books by Jack Lalanne and avoid any books or advice from people like Dr Phil and most people in general. Jack has spent most of his life helping people get in shape and to feel better about their bodies. He has made very little money in this process and practices what he preaches. His fitness level at any age is unbelievable. His method is simple and requires very little extra money. He doesn't sell special foods or exercise equipment. He is basically advicing simple common sense. I think and this is just my opinion that all the diet books are written by people to make money. And that the people writting the books don't follow their diets.

Did you know that 99% of the people on diets gain all the weight back in less than two years?

Jack's best quote IMHO "Exercise is King, Diet is Queen."

Good luck

Peter

Hummm, this is so far the best advice of this entire thread. Don't listen to each and everyone beliefs or own truth but believe who ever is fact of what he preaches, there lies the truth. Lalanne is the best example of all!

Cheers!
TK

KrazyMofo24

bobman1235 wrote: »

That's just it, the study was pretty clear that it had nothing to do with HEALTH, just weight loss. Being healthy has little to do with being thin. It's just a data point, something to consider when figuring out how you want to lose weight.

In particular a lot of people would say "well, I like to eat like ****, maybe if I just work out a lot more I'll lose weight" and you won't.

I remember reading a Slate article on how that report was bs. After reading XJ's claim on from what he read I believe is different than the one on Time.

The one on Time

Could pushing people to exercise more actually be contributing to our obesity problem? In some respects, yes. Because exercise depletes not just the body's muscles but the brain's self-control "muscle" as well, many of us will feel greater entitlement to eat a bag of chips during that lazy time after we get back from the gym. This explains why exercise could make you heavier — or at least why even my wretched four hours of exercise a week aren't eliminating all my fat. It's likely that I am more sedentary during my nonexercise hours than I would be if I didn't exercise with such Puritan fury. If I exercised less, I might feel like walking more instead of hopping into a cab; I might have enough energy to shop for food, cook and then clean instead of ordering a satisfyingly greasy burrito.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1914857-4,00.html#ixzz0XRBqdJWi


This article is trying to say by working out that you are going to be more likely to eat junk food, because it somehow depletes your "self-control" muscle. Who really believes that? If you had no self-control after working out it wouldn't just affect just your eating habits.

Now XJ's claim is different, and I agree with his that losing weight is just basically burning more calories then you take in. So you have two ways of doing that eat less, or burn more.

Lots of great info so far will be helpful in making sure I stick to this, I'm going to check out that Jack Lalanne book.

pmckeealaska

If you do both, reduce your caloric intake AND exercise regularly, you will experience even greater weight/fat loss. Many, though not all, actually experience a decrease in appetite after working out. I know its true for me. Exercise has always acted as an appetite supressant for me.

KrazyMofo24

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2009/08/exercise-weight-loss.html

http://www.obesitypanacea.com/2009/08/exercise-wont-make-you-thin-or-so.html

http://www.diet-blog.com/archives/2009/08/15/debunking_time_magazines_why_exercise_wont_make_you_thin.php

Just a few articles debunking the Time article.

KrazyMofo24

pmckeealaska wrote: »

If you do both, reduce your caloric intake AND exercise regularly, you will experience even greater weight/fat loss. Many, though not all, actually experience a decrease in appetite after working out. I know its true for me. Exercise has always acted as an appetite supressant for me.

In the past when I was generally more cautious on what I ate, when I was working out, because I always felt I would waste my workout if I didn't.

cstmar01

In regards to the OP, when it comes to weight loss and buring fat there is a lot of advice out there on it.
The thing you need to be careful of is when you are going from taking in like say 3000 to 1500 calories just like that, poof, your body doesn't know what just happened, and sometimes will go into starvation mode. you will acutally increase in weight because your body is storing everything you are taking in, rather than buring it off. Also if you do not eat balanced and enough protein your body will start to eat itself by depleting your muscle. This is not good and yes after awhile you will start to loss fat but you will end up doing a lot of damage to your muscle in the process.
With diets take it slow, change one thing at a time, first cut back on soda, or drink diet soda, its still not good but will can help get you off the regular stuff. Also when looking at your diet, eat a lot of protein. This will help you stay fuller longer. Peanut butter, the natural kind, is great. Lean chicken, or fish, and beef can be good as well. Great thing too that I love is egg whites. I buy them in a large quantity and they are pasteurized so you can just drink them. No flavor to me and one of natures best sources of protein. Nuts such as almonds can be used as a snack food. Look for whole grains. when eating rice eat brown rice, it takes a longer time for your body to break it down, thus will help keep you fuller longer. Also some people like me for example, have a problem with carbs, even the healthy ones and will gain weight like no other if I eat too many.
You may also want to start looking at making your own food. Prepar some chicken on a Sunday to last you through till wensday and just put them in the fridge. You will know exactly the portion your are eating and what all went into making it. You will know what oil you are using, extra virgin olive oil is good.
Cardio is good too btw, but you should also look to lifting 3 days a week as well. You can over do it btw, with lifting and cardio so be careful. Also for cardio switch it up. Run one day, bike another, elliptical the next, swim, then maybe stairs another day. It will help keep your muscles in use as they all use different parts of your body.
And have you ever thought about supplements? A good mulit vitamin works well, but also adding protein powder will help make sure you are getting enough protein in your diet.

KrazyMofo24

Well a little update. I have been eating healthy and working out at least 3 times a week since my last post. However I stupidly made a bet with 3 of my co-workers who challenged my goal of losing 15lbs in a month. They said I couldn't do it, and want to bet me. So I took the bet $100 each. The first two weeks I stuck to my diet 90% of the time, and worked out moderately. This whole month I have drank at least 64oz of water everyday. I didn't see much of weight loss, I believe just 3 pounds. I was on vacation for a week which was between the second and third week. I was on the road a lot, but stuck to my diet most of the time, but didn't get much workout in however was more active since I wasn't sitting in a desk 8 hours a day. I lost 3 pounds that week, and got down to 264. I had to get to 255 by this morning at 11am.

So when I returned I had about 12 days left I worked out about 5 times a week, for an at least an hour, drank a lot of protein shakes, and still drank a lot of water. Doing that brought me down to 261 as of last night. So definitely not where I wanted to be, yesterday I read an article on how to drop water weight which is done by wrestlers/fighters apparently. So I limited my water intake yesterday, ate a lot of meat, but very little carbs. After work I stopped drinking water I ate 3 hard tacos at Chipotle just steak, cheese, very little sour cream and lettuce. I then worked out for 1 hour with a sweater, and sweats. I also took that to the sauna for 30 minutes. I then took a hot bath with Epsom salt for 45 minutes which had me sweating a lot. During this time I drank one glass of water.

I woke up this morning went to get the gym, and I was at 257. I took one bottle of 5 hour energy, and did two 30-minute sessions in the sauna. I went down to 254 just in time for the weigh in.


So I won the bet, and have drank like 6 bottles of water so far. Well I realized this was stupid, and not worth it. Simply because I really couldn't afford to lose the $300. So I lost a lot of water weight, and hope to rehydrate a 100%. I decided never going to make a bet like this anymore, and never going to lose water weight like that ever again.


So now I'm going to continue to eat, and drinks lots of water this weekend and wont work out again until Monday or Tuesday night to let my body recover. From this point I want to lose weight the healthy way, which I feel I have been doing up until last night and this morning. I am fine with 1-2 pounds a week and not in a big hurry. But I want to build muscle too, do I have to lose the weight, and then work on only building muscle or can I do both at the same time?

My real weight is 261, and I need to lose about 100 pounds, but I would also like to add about 20 pounds of muscle, but I'm complete beginner, and don't know where to start. I'm going to do some research tonight though.

Zitro

Do not overestimate the power of drinking a lot of water throughout the day. I lost 20 pounds that way, without changing my diet or exercise. It keeps your metabolism high and quells hunger cravings very well. Plus, its easy to do and is just good for you. Jut carry a water bottle with you and you'd be surprised how normal is becomes to just take a drink every now and then.

anhchungdoan

KrazyMofo24 wrote: »

I decided last week that I finally need to make a change for good this time and lose weight, and stay skinny this time. I am currenty 5'9 and weigh 267. My ideal weight would be 155, and I want to be close to that in a year. I have been doing research on what to eat when I do eat out. Two days ago I bought some Campbell's soup, and fruit cups to keep at work. I've given up hamburgers, fries, sour cream, ranch, mayo, and my biggest weakness soda.

I don't think i'm ready to quit caffeine yet so I take one caffeine pill 200mg in the morning which has been working fine. I'm not a fan of coffee.

Well I have been reading on how many pounds I should lose a week and how much calories I should limit myself. Most sites say 1-2 pounds a week, and one site recommended cutting down 500 calories and burning 500 calories more a day. That site also recommends only working high intensity for one hour max, and only losing 1 pound per week.

So this is where I get confused, because giving up soda alone will cut down almost 1,000 calories a day. On top of that I'm only eating things that are low in grams of fat, like the Chargrilled chicken sandwich, and medium fruit cup at Chick Fila is only 350 calories and 3 grams of fat. Breakfest I just eat a bowl of frosted flakes with low fat milk. Dinner will be usually a grilled chicken sandwich or panda express steam rice, with mandarin and black pepper chicken. I'm also drinking a lot of water throughout the day 64oz or so.

So I would say my calorie intake on average this past week has been 1500-2000 a day. I've only worked out twice in the past 7 days for one hour, but my goal is to do 3-5 days a week, one hour mininum, and on the weekend try to get two hours in.

Is this a good plan? If I start losing more than 2 pounds a week should I be concerned? The site said if I lose more than 1 pound a week, then i'll slow my metoblism down and when I start eating more i'll gain weight faster. The way I look at it is even if that happenned when I get below 190 I can start lifting more weights, and as I get in better shape I can do harder workouts plus eat more, and I think that would get my metoblism back up. So right now my goal in the next few months is to lose a lot of weight fast, then work on building muscle, eating more again once I am lighter and in better shape.

Take a trip to those poor countries in Asia for a summer then you will need not to be on diet at all. Rice and fish and vegetables at small rations per days.

Have ever you seen an overweight Chinese or Korean or Vietnamse abroad? Hardly!

tcrossma

Lasareath wrote: »

I was recently reading something that sounded like it could work, it is called the Every other Day diet

http://www.everydiet.org/diet/every-other-day-diet

To me that sounds unhealthy, gimmicky, and frankly pretty damn difficult. And when you could just control your eating each day to a healthy level, I'm not sure why you'd want to starve yourself every other day.

markmarc

I've watched many people, including my wife attempt various diets for years. The one's that worked the best involved the following:
Drinking lots of water every day
Eating slower
Moderation across all proper food groups instead of elimination
Basic daily exercise i.e. walking.
Taking a lunch to work.

There are a few things to avoid:
Heavily salted foods
Partially hydrogenated corn syrup