Weight Loss? HELP!

[bydand]

Ok where to start? I need to lose some weight and get back in shape. Just have a bunch of questions for all of you out there on MT. I am not a real big fan of diets, I have seen them fail far too often, but do need to drop about 40 pounds. What is the best way of dropping some extra baggage without resorting to a grapefruit and water diet that will backfire as soon as you go back to real food? I know exercise is a big factor and am planning on joining a real gym the first of the week. Will just watching portions, and cutting out the soda and other junk food be enough? I know it doesn't happen overnight and from here on out is going to be something I need to remember.

I know I need to do this, I am mid 40's now and last night it hit me that I am overweight and out of shape. If I want to be here for a long time for my boys and my wife, I have to make some changes! I don't want to be the Father who doesn't have the energy to go out with his kids.

I know there has to be a few of you out there who have done this already and can point me in the right direction. I already plan on talking to my Dr., but support is beyond measure. Thanks in advance!

 

[Bigshadow]

Ok where to start? I need to lose some weight and get back in shape. Just have a bunch of questions for all of you out there on MT. I am not a real big fan of diets, I have seen them fail far too often, but do need to drop about 40 pounds. What is the best way of dropping some extra baggage without resorting to a grapefruit and water diet that will backfire as soon as you go back to real food? I know exercise is a big factor and am planning on joining a real gym the first of the week. Will just watching portions, and cutting out the soda and other junk food be enough? I know it doesn't happen overnight and from here on out is going to be something I need to remember.

I know I need to do this, I am mid 40's now and last night it hit me that I am overweight and out of shape. If I want to be here for a long time for my boys and my wife, I have to make some changes! I don't want to be the Father who doesn't have the energy to go out with his kids.

I know there has to be a few of you out there who have done this already and can point me in the right direction. I already plan on talking to my Dr., but support is beyond measure. Thanks in advance!

I have done it and I have put some back on. The way I did it was change how I ate and exercised. I tried to stick to fresh veggies, fruits, and lean meats, no refined foods, and exercised daily. I did more cardio than strength training, although when I started strength training, I started putting weight back on. Then my marital problems threw my life out of balance and it has added to the pounds. I am slowly working my way back to my training, exercise, and eating routines.

You really have to change your life habits. Once you change your eating and exercise habits, you have to think of it in terms of "this is my new life, I can't go back to my old ways". If you go back to the old ways, you will go back to the old look, too. With this in mind, think "sustainable". Whatever you do, must be sustainable for the rest of your life. So make changes that you can live with and do indefinitely.

 

[exile]

Ok where to start? I need to lose some weight and get back in shape. Just have a bunch of questions for all of you out there on MT. I am not a real big fan of diets, I have seen them fail far too often, but do need to drop about 40 pounds. What is the best way of dropping some extra baggage without resorting to a grapefruit and water diet that will backfire as soon as you go back to real food? I know exercise is a big factor and am planning on joining a real gym the first of the week. Will just watching portions, and cutting out the soda and other junk food be enough? I know it doesn't happen overnight and from here on out is going to be something I need to remember.

I know I need to do this, I am mid 40's now and last night it hit me that I am overweight and out of shape. If I want to be here for a long time for my boys and my wife, I have to make some changes! I don't want to be the Father who doesn't have the energy to go out with his kids.

I know there has to be a few of you out there who have done this already and can point me in the right direction. I already plan on talking to my Dr., but support is beyond measure. Thanks in advance!

Scott, if I can only recommend one thing for safe, effective weight loss, it's interval training. In interval training, you alternate a normal `jogging' level of whatever cardio-type exercise you favor with a small amount of serious `sprinting'-level output. So 50 seconds `jogging'/10 seconds `sprinting', for 20 minutes, will give you way, way more exercise than 20 or even 30 minutes of constant `jogging' -level exercise (I'm using scare-quotes because it doesn't have to be running that's involved, although that's my cardio regime of choice).

The reason for intervals is that the sprint part ramps your heart rate and overall metabolism up to intense levels and your body stays at that level for a good deal of the `jogging' part of the exercise... and then, having partially recovered during the `jogging' portion, you ramp the output level up again during the next brief `sprint' portion.

A side benefit: there is good evidence that interval training keeps your metabolism at a heightened level far longer than steady-paced moderate level exercise for even prolonged periods.

My advice:

(i) get the green light from your MD for a semi-intense cardio regime;

(ii) spend around a month getting yourself happy with a 30-minute `jogging'-level workout 3 times a week at least;

(iii) after the first month, adust your normal moderate cardio to include 5 seconds of `sprint' per minute;

(iv) gradually boost the `sprint' portion to 10 seconds out of every minute, and drop the duration of the workout to 20 minutes or so; do that twice a week, and do normal moderate-level excerice all the other days.

(v) You should do some moderate resistance training just to make sure that the boost in your metabolism from the cardio doesn't start to catabolize your protein reserves (especially muscle tissue). Muscle tissue actually burns calories, because it's never in a completely resting state, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn.

I guarantee you that even if you stick to your present diet, in four months of this you will see a big improvement in your cardio health, and a substantial drop in weight, at the expense of stored fat, which is what you want. Any reduction in total calories will help the cause as well, of course.

Best of luck, and definitely you're doing the right thing!

 

[Sukerkin]

It would seem that you and I are in boats of great simalarity, my friend.

My mid-rift is ballooning at a vast rate of knots as I settle down comfortably in my mid-40's .

The only permanent solution is to create a small negative balance between 'calories in' and 'calories burnt' and maintain it for a long time.

Too big a difference and you can't comfortably keep up the regimen. The same goes for getting a balance between changes in diet and changes in excercise.

For me, my primary plans involve:

1) Trying to not enjoy quite so frequently the delicious outcome of the process of fermenting grapes. It might not seem it but white wine is hugely calorific due to the sugars used in the fermentation.

2) Break the two takeaways per week habit we seem to have fallen into.

3) Get myself an excercise bike, if I can find somewhere to put it and make lots of use of it

4) Re-introduce myself to the profoundly calming pass-time of walking.

5) Persuade my missus to stop feeding me as if I'm a calf being readied for slaughter and cut down on portion sizes a bit.

6) Once the other measures have started to work at bringing back a facsimilie of physical condition, begin to intoduce more traditional excercises (sit-ups, press-ups etc)

Hopefully, these measures should start to have an impact after a month or so and be noticeable after a few months more.

The trick is gradualism - our bellies crept up on us over the course of a few years and it'll take as long to banish them as it did to grow them .

 

[KempoGuy06]

Diets arent that bad. if done properly. grapefruit and water is wrong on so many levels. Stick to foods you like, but obviously cut out the ones you know are bad for you. switch simple sugar foods for complex sugar foods (ie. wheat bread instead of white, brown rice instead of white). Eat more times a day and also the first meal of the day should be the biggest and the last meal should be the smallest (only of core meals breakfast, lunch, dinner) when you snack eat stuff that its 1. healthy (obvious) 2. contains the basics of what you need for fat loss (carbs, protien and yes more fat but the right kinds) 3. easy to eat (half a wheat bagel and a tablespoon of peanut butter.)

If you need more help PM me and I can give you a sample of the diet I am on.

B

 

[morph4me]

What worked for me, besides joining the gym and going religously, was cutting out breads and crap, I used to have a humongous sweet tooth, I took about a month and didn't eat bread, bagels, cake, candy and that kind of stuff, then I went back to eating what I wanted to and found I just wanted less of it. I also played mind games with myself I took smaller plates when I ate, and filled them just like I did with a big one. I started eating slower because I read somewhere that it takes at least 20 minutes for your brain to get the message that you're not hungry any more. I also started making better decisions about what I ate, instead of the milky way, I ate a banana. Never gave up anything just ate less of it. It also helps to tell your wife that you want to make changes in how you eat. If I can do it with my lack of willpower, anybody can. Good luck with it.

 

[Lynne]

I will be glad to give you support. I have lost some bodyfat but I am not there yet. In truth, I gained about 6 - 8 pounds within the first three-four weeks of Tang Soo Do. Sure, some was muscle but not all of it. TSD increased my physical hunger, true hunger, immensely. Yet, we had very thin women start training who were complaining of losing 5 pounds in two weeks. It seems like such an oxymoron, but when you are overweight it is more difficult to lose fat than it is for someone at normal weight or who is too thin. The fat cells are hungry little sparrows.

I have tried all kinds of diets. Once, when I was slim I found I had high cholesterol. I went on the popular low-fat fad diet. I gained weight for the first time in my life and my triglycerides soared over 500 when less than 150 is normal. In addition, high carbohydrate diets make me hungry. They can cause an insulin reponse in people with normal blood sugar metabolism which will make you hungry, make you crave more carbs, complex and simple. Plus you need good fats in your diet - they will help lower lipids as well.

The low-carb diet has been very successful for many people long-term but do you want to eat minimal starches the rest of your life? This diet is so successful because the protein content does cut hunger and stops the vicious blood sugar rollercoaster.

You will hear people parrot the breakfast thing. There is no real scientific proof that anyone needs to eat breakfast. The studies that have been done are not repeated controlled studies. One study was done on a group of impoverished school children in Louisiana. They performed better, academically, after eating breakfast. Of course they did. They were a nutritional mess. In the other study done, overweight people who did not eat breakfast lost weight. Here is the other half of that story - overweight people who ate breakfast and began skipping it lost weight.

I have naturally slim friends who only eat one or two meals a day. Mind you, they don't do martial arts or other intense exercise though.

If you are thinking about the grazing thing be careful. A lot of doctors have concerns with grazing. If you do that, you have to count your calories, otherwise you could end up gaining weight. Some doctors feel that grazing teaches one to overeat. It has been discussed that grazing also creates a diet mentality and could cause an eating disorder because of the constant weighing, calorie counting, and constant eating. You can become so fixated on food.

If you go to the internet and use the calorie calculators, you will find that they vary by hundreds of calories. Some of them claim to be using the Harris-Benedict equation but I've seen as much as a 700 hundred calorie difference between them.

I generally try to stay within a calorie range without going too crazy counting calores I write down what I eat which has been more helpful than anything. If I see that I've had 1700 calories by 4:00 pm, I keep it under or at 300 the rest of the evening unless I am truly physically hungry. If I go over, I do not try to compensate for it the next day. Some people do. If I'm hungry, I eat.

How many calories are you taking in? For a male, multiply your current weight by 14 if you are sedentary, by 15 if you are moderately active, and by 16 if you are very active. The number increases if you are exercising intensely almost every day of the week. Walking the dog doesn't count. Walking around the block doesn't count either. The above equations gives you your maintenance calories for your current weight. If you eat below maintenance, you will lose weight. You may have to use a number higher or lower for a multiplier because everyone is different.

I would suggest:

-keep a food journal and approximate how many calories you are taking in.

-don't go crazy and cut out all the stuff you think is bad for you.

-don't go crazy with low-fat; essential fatty acids (walnuts, peanuts, almonds, fatty fishes like salmon, mackeral, sardines, olive oil, canola oil, walnut oil, peanut butter) are needed to absorb fat-soluble vitamins - these fats also lower bad lipids and can rise the good HDL.

-do try to lower saturated fats.

-it's probably more important to add healthy foods to your diet than it is to cut out ALL of the bad ones.

-eat more high-fiber foods - a cup of beans at lunch can really kill the hunger.

-eat some protein at every meal and snack; you will stay full longer and you will be more alert. (Don't eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast.)

-eat when you are hungry; don't deny hunger. You may find that you only need 1/2 a sandwich or just 100-200 calories to satisfy hunger at times.

-nuts are a good snack. Make sure you measure those out - you don't want to take in anymore than 100 - 200 calories.

-fruit is great but it's not a good snack by itself; the simple sugars will make you hungry again in an hour.

-it is good to incease veggies and fruits but if you try the volumetrics thing of low-calorie density by filling up on a salad, I guarantee you it will backfire. It's an effect called the "Chinese Restaurant Effect." Have you ever gone to a Chinese restaurant and ordered a dish high in veggies. You got full fast but you were hungry two hours later! I tried eating huge salads at lunch. I got full fast, then I was hungry two hours later.

-Here is a tip that's been very helpful for me. Make two of your meals a day the same. There's built-in calorie control right there.

Amongst dieticians, I think there is just a lot of parroting going on. Most of those diet ideas are theories or schemes that revolve around lowering calories in a creative way. They sound good in theory, but they just don't work because no one can stick to them because of hunger.

Another thing to remember is that cutting calories doesn't automatically guarantee weight loss. If that worked, most everyone would be quite slim. The body is complex and will fight losing fat. It's not always easy to find the magic number/range of calories. But it can be done. Don't give up.

Lifting weights may be more effective for fat loss than cardio work. Too much cardio and you will start to catabolize muscle. You want more muscle as it's more metabolically active and will burn fat even at rest. As you get in shape, cardio is best done as interval training for a short period of time, like 10 - 20 minutes total workout time - it burns more fat and conditions you more than long runs/long cycling sessions.

The bottom line is that you have to find a way to cut calories that won't make you too hungry. You have to look at where the excess calories are coming from. Heck, I eat a healthy diet over 90% of the time, but it's easy to eat too many beans and whole-grain tortillas.

You could increase your exercise. You might find weight training will make the fat fly off. The trick is to not outeat your energy needs as your hunger increases.

You don't have to write down anything, weigh anything, etc. If you can pinpoint just one meal where you are overeating or one thing you are doing that's not helpful (a beer a night/regular sodas) and change it/drop it, you will most likely lose the weight.

 

[Shuto]

I lost 35 lbs by limiting my fat consumption to 30 or 40 grams a day. I was able to maintain that weight by consuming 40 or 50 grams of fat per day. I also made sure that I felt full after I ate which I think is an important component of any long-term successful diet. I think this worked well for me because I do not consume a lot of sugar so fat was the most calorie dense food that I ate.

Take a close look at the fat content of the foods you eat if you already don't. I was very surprised at the amount of fat I was unknowingly consuming.

Good luck.

 

[Phoenix44]

Weight Watchers. It's healthy, sensible, you don't go hungry, you don't feel deprived, and it has a proven track record. I assume that since you're a martial artist, you're exercising--it's the approach to food that has to change.

Before age 50, I never had a weight problem in my life--then it started creeping up on me, and within a year I'd gained more than 20 lbs. I went to WW, and took it off in 4 months, learned how to eat, how to deal with restaurants, people who sabotage your efforts, etc. It's not a quick fix diet--it's a great lifelong approach to food.

 

[fireman00]

once I made to 45 years of age the weight that I'd put on during vacation stopped coming off easily no matter HOW much exercising I did.

My wife convinced me to try weightwatchers and its been a big help. What I thought was a healthy diet for my age and height was almost 2x what it should be.

Since I started counting points (versus the "core diet") I've dropped 5.8 lbs in 2 weeks with another 25 to go... slow and steady. Most the "diet" is just watching portion sizes and making a decision what you want to eat and they have a slew of online and hard copy materials that help you to choose foods that are healthier for you. What I like is that if I want cheesecake, pizza, donuts, or whatever I can plan out what I'll have during the day so I don't kill my points. I'm not a big fan of their pre-made stuff though.

Check with your doc to make sure you're healthy.

 

[bydand]

Wow, quick and great response. I really am going to do this, and all these tips and helpful bits of advice are going to help tremendously! I was going to say, I start Monday, but darn it all, I've said that before and NOT this time. I start tomorrow morning. Thanks for the support shown, so far!

 

[baron]

there is a web site i use Shape Up America that covers all aspects of weightloss. nutrition, physical activity, life style change. how to get rid of the bad habits we form, and replace them with a life style change that promotes good habits. good luck in you new life style change.

 

[phlaw]

Here is what I did to lose about 60lbs over 6 months training for my Black Belt Test. I have kept it off for almost a year.

Wake up 4am, head to gym and do 45-60 min cardio on Elyptical. Also about
20-30 min of light weight training for toning muscle. I usually drank
about 1 liter of water during my workout.

Around 6:30-7am I had a protein shake for breakfast.

Around 9:30-10AM a snack, usually beef jerky (Jack Links Original) or some
type of fruit, apple, banana, grapes...

Lunch, I usually had a protein bar, the MetRX type I think, chocolate and
caramel I believe. (wal-mart)

Around 2-2:30 or so another snack (same as before)

Around 5pm Supper, whatever I fixed for the boys.

8-10pm (depends if I had TKD or not) Cassein Protein Shake.

I would say on average I probably drank at least 4-6 liters of water a
dayt during this process.

I also did NO carbs between Bedtime and 12 noon the next day.

 

[RED]

The wife and I started to do the slim fast thing. The wife has lost considerable amounts of wieght. She was very strick to the meal plans on the web site. For me I wasn't so strick and I still lost 20-30 lbs. I lift weights and have gained muscle mass but the jeans fit loosely now. We have a new out look. We don't focus on our weight as much as thinking healthy. We don't diet we think healthy. She walks daily for atleast a half hour. I frequent the gym and the heavy bag. All the ideas mentioned are good, but it starts with the way you think. If I remember correctly you have children and if you are like me you are busy, and fast food is part of your life, but there is alternatives. You can find healthy things to eat almost everywhere if you are careful. But instead of fast food consider packing a sandwich. It's quicker and healthier than the drive through. Coffee helps curb the appitite. Drink it in moderation though without sugar. cut out soda completely and that is good for 10lbs. I don't step on the bathroom scale much. I don't focus on weight. I focus on what excersize I'm going to do for the day. Loosing weight is simply a side effect of a new way of thinking. Somethings work for one person and not the other. I lost 10 pounds walking around amusment parks for three days. the wife gained 5. Find what works for you. But It all starts with the way you think.

Good Luck and keep us posted on you success.

 

[gnrail]

Here is some of my own experiences in another similar thread


http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=832064#post832064

Some life style changes that I made and have worked for me

I eat 5-6 smaller meals per day. I adjust sizes of meal based on my workout schedule. On days that I have training my afternoon smake is more like my supper and supper is a light snake since I can't eat just before training.

It is important if keep track of what you are eating and what you are doing in a day. A simple notebook or if you are into gagets a PDA with some of the varoius food tracking software.
It is important to eat enough in a day.

I went down the path of almost vegitarian but I was not lossing anything and all I want to do was sleep when I wasn't forcing my self to be functional. My calloric intake was down around 1600-1800 calories. This was to low for my basic daily requirements plus the additional requiremnts of Karate Classes three times a week. My system had gone into starvation mode. Utlimately it ultra process everything you eat to get the nutrition you require. I wasn't until I increased my intake to 3500 calories up to 4500 on heavy workout days that the weight started to fade away.

I simply cut 2-300 calories per day and over a week this equates to about 1 pound loss. The body does not mnotice small cahnges like this

To determine what is enough for you look up information on calories and Basic Metabolic rate (BMR). The book I mentioned in the other post has a good section on this. Becareful of govenment guidelines they seem to be bit over inflated.

The other thing I have noticed for my self is that I tend to lose in about 30 - 40 pound increments. I will lose that amount then hit a plateau for 2-6 months then things seem to start up again.

Having a support networ is also very important. We made it a contest at work for a while and the whole gang at the dojo has been great as well.

Sorry for the long story but don't hesitate to contact me if you have other questions on what worked for me.

Last point make sure you have the blessing of your medical professionals if you suffer from any of the major age and size related illnesses.

 

[arnisador]

They have a pill for you now! But, the side effects can be unpleasant, apparently.

 

[Drac]

Go to your local Viatimin store and buy some Hydroxycut and not the crap they sell at the Walmart, the Hardcore Formula..I used it and the weight loss was unbelieveable...One of the biggest help recently was I stopped drinking soda pop, and everyone that knows me knows that I use to like on Coke...

 

[Seeking Zen]

Well,
I have lost almost 60 pounds and kept it off for over a year without any hardcore diet just a simple common sense approch.

If your training on a regular basis this WILL work.

1. Eat brerakfast...Toast, peanut butter, one yogurt, and fresh fruit. Get the old metabolism going.

2. Have large lunch keeping in mind to have most of your carbs breads, rice, potatoes etc. (have it before) 1:30.

3. Dinner protein and salad ...whatever steak chicken whatever.

4. No beer during the week.
5. No fried food during the week.
5. Ok no crap during the week.
6. Don't eat dinner after 7:00
7. tons of water

and fianlly when you do indulge on the weekend...DON'T have 3-4 freaking helpings.

There that's it....

 

[crushing]

My experience will give you two ways NOT to cut weight.

I don't think you can get this stuff anymore, but several years ago I was popping Slim-n-ups and drinking shakes one summer and lost about 50 pounds. My nerves were shot and I got awful headaches, felt like someone was putting a spike through the middle of my head. Got lots of compliments on my weight loss, but it didn't matter because sometimes I felt like I wanted to die. Because I didn't do it right and got off the ephedra I gained much of the weight back.

The second way wasn't my choice. I lost 20 pounds in May this year with the help of bronchitis or pneumonia. Now, I've managed to keep that 20 pounds off and have been steadly subtracting more by being more careful about my food choices and by eliminating pop/soda. I was drinking mostly Diet Coke, but eliminating it still helped me healthwise. I found that diet drinks were causing my fingers to itch and feel like they were on fire late at night. I thought it was just Diet Coke that did it, but I had a 'Lite' Lemonade Friday, which probably had aspartame (which I assume to be the culprit, and Friday night my fingers were on fire again.

Lots of great ideas and suggestions from the community here. I wish you the best in your persuit!

 

[Lynne]

Just .02 more: moderation does not work for weight loss. Whoever said that must have never had a weight issue. It does take hard work. I think knowing it takes hard work is the psychological preparation one needs to be successful at weight loss.

-moderation does not work

-weight loss takes hard work (low-carb is easier though)

-Daniel Kirschenbaum said, "Diets don't work except when they do." He's a psychologist specializing in weight loss. This was his backlash against "the don't diet" mentality/practice. He wrote a very interesting book, The Nine Truths of Weight Loss. I don't agree with all of his advice, i.e., go as low in calories and fat as you can. But a lot of his advice is very practical.

-you can lose weight without exercising

-you can lose weight without dieting (but it's gonna be a lot of time working out)

Regarding the pill issue, you can buy pseudoephedrine at Wal-Mart or your local drug store. You will have to sign for it as meth manufacturers use it in their concoctions. Pseudoephedrine is a nasal decongestant. Have you ever used one and notice how it cuts your appetite? I would check the internet for the safety of any of this stuff though.