Weight Issues

[izifaddag]

Being as I practically hijacked Bolly's thread in 'By The Fireside' I felt it was only right to start my own selfish little thread in the correct area of the forum.

So here we are

 

I started at 243 and am pleased to say that after 4 weeks I am at 239.

All that advice in the other thread has certainly helped. I have taken note of all of it.

I seem to be doing a pound a week and that would be, by the consensus of opinion, the best way to get it off and keep it off.

 

I have now developed a steady but adjustable routine. I am alternating between heavy cardio and light cardio or even none but getting stuck into the weight machines.

There has been a noticeable difference.

I can lift more weight and seem generally feeling better.

 

I will not give up the booze though. I like my drink and drink almost every day.

I have switched to the American light beer which although watery is beer after all said and done.

Anybody got any advice regarding calories in white wine and beer?

 

The other thing that I am curious about is if anybody knows anything regarding the way the weight comes off. That is targeting certain areas of the body. I have not really noticed any difference in my waistline but the scale doesn't lie.

I am thinking that the fat is coming of my internal organs first. Anybody anybody??

I am doing 100 crunches using 150lbs in 2 x 50 rep sets. Seems to have no effect at all and I am considering quitting doing it and concentrating on my back instead. Any thoughts?

[Gobby]

losing weight is about 50% diet alone.. eat clean good food and you will lose no matter what..

cardio and lifting is important too.. more muscle mean you burn more fat all day long.. cardio is burning the cal in that one moment while you are doing it.. so lifting is important as to losing weight also..

 

think about it this way.. if you can lift more that mean you are gaining some muscle.. muscle is heavier then fat.. since you are losing 4 lbs that mean you lose more fat then just 4lbs.. since you gain muscle while losing fat.. every lbs counts

 

just keep doing what you do and stick with it.. stop drinking if you want to lose weight more quickly, as drinking make you less motivated about exercising.. drink water and lots of it.. if you are full of water then you wont be hungry right?... plus no cal in water..

 

hope this help some what..( i know im good at bullshiting..)555

but joking aside.. keep up the good work and have FUN.. without it your workout day wont last to long.. enjoy.....

 

PS. abs shows after you get your bodyfat down to about 10% so dont expect it to show unless you are a bit lean...o and free weight make you lose more weight.. ( you use more muscle working out )

 

ok bullshit over and out..hehe

Edited October 24, 2007 by PE.GOB

[potrillo71]

Red wine is the best and if you want to loose weight fast just eat alot of protein foods and cut out the sugar and white bread , red meat, chicken, fish, eggs and bacon in the morning and light cardio and i'll guarente you'll loose 10 pounds in 14 days or two weeks

[markster]

Losing weight is incredibly simply ... but not easy. All those diets about what to eat when, good carbs/bad carbs, sugar vs fat, etc., are all bullshit. Here's all you need to know is ...

 

Burn more calaries than you consume!

 

If you limit yourself to 1000 calories per day and work out regularly the pounds will melt away faster than you can imagine (much more than a pound a week). But if you cheat it doesn't work. And, if you're not hungry, it's not working.

 

It's very easy to look up the calorie content of almost all foods on the internet. It does take a lot of commitment and disapline but I know from personal experience it works. Good luck.

[ROIDFREAK]

Losing weight is incredibly simply ... but not easy. All those diets about what to eat when, good carbs/bad carbs, sugar vs fat, etc., are all bullshit. Here's all you need to know is ...

 

Burn more calaries than you consume!

 

If you limit yourself to 1000 calories per day and work out regularly the pounds will melt away faster than you can imagine (much more than a pound a week). But if you cheat it doesn't work. And, if you're not hungry, it's not working.

 

It's very easy to look up the calorie content of almost all foods on the internet. It does take a lot of commitment and disapline but I know from personal experience it works. Good luck.

What absolute horseshit!! Unless you want to lose lots of lean muscle, dont listen to this BS, he obviously has no fucking clue of an idea what hes on about..

Go ahead, drop down to 1000 cal a day and your body's metabolism will slow down. Your body will turn to burning lean muscle mass for fuel more than fat. You will look and feel like crap. Your body will probably come even "softer" than when u started. Although you will no doubt be lighter, your body will look and feel worse than when you started.

Also there is a hige difference between eating 1000 calories of sugar vs 1000 cal of decent protein. Also good carbs vs bad carbs is bullshit? whatever!..bad carbs-in soft drinks, sweets, chocolates, white bread, etc. will cause huge insulin spikes in your body, making you have a short term energy boost followed by a severe crash, definitely not what you want, especially if you're training..good carbs-brown rice, baked potatoes, wholegrain breads, low carb "Burgen bread" being the best, brown low carb pasta"dreamfields" best have sustained, slow release of energy which is what you need, especially when training..

 

To put it bluntly, unless you are a 45kg thai girl, dropping down to 1000 cal a day, and not paying attention to where the cals come from, will fuck you up..lol

[camy9000]

roidfreek is spot on

starving yourself will only make matters worse

[Bitch Controller]

I agree with RF....if your eating 1000 calories a day, you will lose weight and you will be lighter but you will be fucking yourself over in the long term.

 

Congrats on your efforts so far lincs....in terms of food intake, diet is so important. Whats the point of training hard and eating shit. Sure, energy in v energy out is the basic principle but how you burn your energy and how you take it in is what is important.

 

In terms of food, it comes down to how disciplined you are and how anal you want to be.

 

Generally, as RF said, good carbs are important. Forget the whole "low fat" craze, thats bullshit also. Good carbs are slow release carbs, so your fibrous vegetables, whole grains etc. Cut out the white bread and sugar. Brown/Wholemeal or as RF said, Burgen bread is the bomb. Proteins are also important, especially if your lifting weights and weights are vital for weight loss.

 

The key to weight loss is losing weight whilst maintaining muscle. Your body is like a machine, muscle in your body helps you burn fat through your metabolism, the more muscle, the better. Im not saying become Mr Olympia, but a weights program is vital for weight loss along with a good cardio program.

 

Im a fat bastard and have always been, I lost 40 kilos once and then hit the wall with shit in my life and put some of it back on. Im back on a program now which is long term. I havent been able to train the last 2 weeks due to flu and fatigue and Ive eaten shit and put on 3kgs....it sucks ass.....

 

My suggestion for food, which is what Im following:

 

Proteins - chicken, fish, lean beef, tuna, egg whites and your protein powders

Carbs - oats, brown rice, spinach, brocolli plus salads

Fats - good fats come from things like avacado's, almonds etc. use extra virgin oil but minimise. Use fish oil and flaxseed oil supplements.

 

Try eat 6 meals a day. If you can, count your macronutrients so you can work out how much protein, carbs and fats you should be consuming. Generally, a gram of protein for every pound of body weight is good.

 

Good luck dude, Ill be watching this thread and contributing......

[LaaMok]

Im a fat bastard and have always been, .

 

Dont try and take the attention away from your new identity, LB fuka

[yamabthere]

Weight training is great for losing weight but it is your lifestyle you need to change to make big differences. Doing one hour of exercise but then sitting in front of the TV won't do it you need to think about your whole day, what are you eating and what are you doing every hour!

[Bitch Controller]

Not to hijack this thread but Bryan - chances are YOU will be the ladyboy that one of the boardies fucks in the next 3 months given you will probably be broke and desperate for cash and given that your 7 foot tall, you would be the ideal candidate fagboy.,.....now back to regular programing.

[izifaddag]

What absolute horseshit!! Unless you want to lose lots of lean muscle, dont listen to this BS, he obviously has no fucking clue of an idea what hes on about..

Go ahead, drop down to 1000 cal a day and your body's metabolism will slow down. Your body will turn to burning lean muscle mass for fuel more than fat. You will look and feel like crap. Your body will probably come even "softer" than when u started. Although you will no doubt be lighter, your body will look and feel worse than when you started.

Also there is a hige difference between eating 1000 calories of sugar vs 1000 cal of decent protein. Also good carbs vs bad carbs is bullshit? whatever!..bad carbs-in soft drinks, sweets, chocolates, white bread, etc. will cause huge insulin spikes in your body, making you have a short term energy boost followed by a severe crash, definitely not what you want, especially if you're training..good carbs-brown rice, baked potatoes, wholegrain breads, low carb "Burgen bread" being the best, brown low carb pasta"dreamfields" best have sustained, slow release of energy which is what you need, especially when training..

 

To put it bluntly, unless you are a 45kg thai girl, dropping down to 1000 cal a day, and not paying attention to where the cals come from, will fuck you up..lol

 

That is EXACTLY what I have learned. Anyway consuming 1000 calories a day is completely impossible unless you starve yourself. I aim for 2000 and that is only a goal. Someday it is more other times less. I am aware of the carb thing and try to create a calorie debt by exercise. I have discovered that the weight loss process continues even if you miss a day at the gym. I think mixing the exercise is positive also. Sometimes 1 hour of walking on a treadmill. Other days 1/2 hr on the treadmill and hit the machines. Other days just weights. It is helpful breaking it up not least of which to counteract boredom.

Great advice here.

Edited October 25, 2007 by izifaddag

[izifaddag]

Weight training is great for losing weight but it is your lifestyle you need to change to make big differences. Doing one hour of exercise but then sitting in front of the TV won't do it you need to think about your whole day, what are you eating and what are you doing every hour!

 

Thank you for contributing to this thread but I am sorry I do not understand what you are saying.

Are you suggesting that I go to the gym for 1 hr then run in place for the rest of the day?

I have to disagree with you. I go to the gym and then relax. Yes that involves watching TV. I see nothing wrong with that. Now if all somebody does is sit in front of the TV and eat Fritos and ice cream (and I have been guilty of that) then yes they have gained weight through their lifestyle. However that is not what I am doing.

[izifaddag]

Sure, energy in v energy out is the basic principle but how you burn your energy and how you take it in is what is important.

Generally, as RF said, good carbs are important. Forget the whole "low fat" craze, thats bullshit also. Good carbs are slow release carbs, so your fibrous vegetables, whole grains etc. Cut out the white bread and sugar. Brown/Wholemeal or as RF said, Burgen bread is the bomb. Proteins are also important, especially if your lifting weights and weights are vital for weight loss.

The key to weight loss is losing weight whilst maintaining muscle. Your body is like a machine, muscle in your body helps you burn fat through your metabolism, the more muscle, the better. I'm not saying become Mr Olympia, but a weights program is vital for weight loss along with a good cardio program.

My suggestion for food, which is what I'm following:

 

Proteins - chicken, fish, lean beef, tuna, egg whites and your protein powders

Carbs - oats, brown rice, spinach, broccoli plus salads

Fats - good fats come from things like avocados, almonds etc. use extra virgin oil but minimize. Use fish oil and flaxseed oil supplements.

I thought avocados were extremely fatty and off the menu in any diet - can you explain?

Try eat 6 meals a day. If you can, count your macronutrients so you can work out how much protein, carbs and fats you should be consuming. Generally, a gram of protein for every pound of body weight is good.

That whole thing about 'macronutrients' I don't understand

Good luck dude, Ill be watching this thread and contributing......

Thanks, I appreciate it.

 

First of all a big huge thank you for the encouragement. I am pretty motivated right now and I must say that for some dumb reason I really like this Gold's Gym I am going to. I have no idea why because I have been to many Gyms over the years and they all have the same stuff.

Must be that girl who looks like a centerfold model that keeps wiggling around the place - OMG!!!

Everything you have said I know to be true.

All you guys are encouraging the building of muscle which I can now see is very logical. I will adjust to that end. More weights and maybe a little less cardio.

 

As for diet I am pretty much following what has been said here. However in 2004 I bought that South Beach Diet book and read through it expecting a miracle. I went on the diet for about 6 months and worked out - minus much in the way of weights. Didn't lose much, only about 12 pounds and plateaued like a complete bitch.

 

I did learn a bunch of stuff though. The whole good/bad carb thing and relating to the glycimic index. Problem was that I just didn't lose the weight. So I became disheartened and gave up. Back to French bread and cheddar cheese in large quantities. Still tended to stay away from the sugars though.

 

I put another 20lbs on and here we are.

 

So I have moved from South Florida to Houston got a new job and a better grip on life and I am going for it.

 

Breakfast consists of 2 bananas and a cup of coffee with fat free powdered creamer and nutrataste. Sometimes I will eat a raw carrot too. In fact as far as snack food is concerned apples, carrots and light popcorn have substituted cheese crackers and bags of chips.

 

I have laid off eating danish or bear claws for breakfast. Donuts and pizza are out.

I eat sort of weird now but it seems to be working. For example, partially due to my living conditions, I will eat several pieces of cold chicken for dinner, with a salad (no lettuce) OR a bowl of bran with 2% milk and 1 packet of nutrataste. Maybe an apple after that with a handful of peanuts.

I am eating much more salad now and find I just don't get as hungry as I did before when I would eat pastries etc. The food stays with me.

Seems to cut out farting too !!!!!

 

As I said before I drink either light beer (95 to 105 cals a glass), brandy with diet coke or white wine. Just can't go without a little drink I am afraid.

 

My other cheat is on Saturday I will often go to try different barbecue places. After all I am in Texas and fair is fair these folks know how to barbecue. I will eat brisket of beef or baby back ribs or chicken or a little of everything. I ditch the sauce. No extra sauce at all, I know that stuff is pure sugar. I have to stop eating the fresh bread, that is unnecessary.

Burgen bread - I have never heard of this and will look it up on the internet.

I have been trying the vegetable juice as Bolly was recommending and I have a great big container of protein powder in Florida. When I go down there at Xmas I will bring it back and incorporate that stuff too.

What is best to mix it with? Fat fee milk? Juice? Also is putting a spoonful of fiber in it ok.

 

The 6 small meals a day I just can't do. I have tried it in the past and it is really difficult to maintain. Life just doesn't lend itself to eating by the clock and the types of food readily available for me are just not there. I live in the car, bombing around Houston all day and I can't stop. It is the nature of the work.

 

One last thing and I will shut up.

These Nutrisystem assholes.

I checked them out and the foods that they dish up. Tres expensive!!! Beaucoup bucks!!! So I researched and found that the low calorie ready made microwave meals that can be bought at the supermarket for just a couple of bucks are just as good. That with a salad seems to let me have a little taste of pasta or rice now and again along with a big salad. Any comments?

[drpaul854]

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMHO all of the above contain good information.

 

A few further points:

 

*Think about stopping the alcohol until you reach you target weight - the weight will come off much faster and it gives you a goal. Once your target is reached moderate daily consumption can resume. Alternative - maybe only during the weekend BBQ splurge

 

*Nothing wrong with an occasional splurge (ie the weekend BBQ) be sensible and recognize that splurges will effect your results in direct proportion to how often you partake.

 

*Track inches rather than weight as mentioned by earlier posts muscle is more dense than fat. Depending on your condition prior to this diet/exercise program it is possible to gain weight while losing inches and looking better.

 

*Exercise vs Work. IMHO an hour of walking on the treadmill is an hour mostly wasted - unless that walking was done at a pace at which you could not easily hold a conversation. Short burst exercise is the new fad - and IMHO a correct one. This point was made clear to me (a long distance runner for 40 years) by the comparison between body shapes of sprinter vs marathon runners who do you want to look like? (the analogy is more valid if you take the comparison back 10+ years because today many of the marathon runners are beginning to look like sprinters due to the incorporation of short burst activity on top of the long miles run done not for looks but for the increased performance in their long distance events) Do an internet search there is lots of info on the topic.

 

Golds Gym - only worthwhile if the social aspects motivate you. If you do go to the gym - stay away from the machines and stick to dumbbells and exercise balls. Tough to get good core stability when using a machine that isolates the activity you are performing to one or two muscles. These machines are great if you are looking picture perfect symmetry (ie bodybuilding because everyone is a bit different and maybe you need to emphasize calf development without additional buttock or thigh use) but for overall useful strong body (lean muscle) development the more muscle groups that work together in a coordinated manner the better. A simple bicep curl done while sitting on an exercise ball engages a lot of other muscle groups while training them to work together in a coordinated manner - either that or you fall off the ball

 

*The long run - fluctuation - some feel staying at peak shape is something they should do 24/7 365. I look at it more as seasonal episodes of peak and off peak - during my "off peak" I exercise less and to some extent splurge more. When the waist band gets tight it is time to ramp it up again.

[markster]

What absolute horseshit!! Unless you want to lose lots of lean muscle, dont listen to this BS, he obviously has no fucking clue of an idea what hes on about..

Go ahead, drop down to 1000 cal a day and your body's metabolism will slow down. Your body will turn to burning lean muscle mass for fuel more than fat. You will look and feel like crap. Your body will probably come even "softer" than when u started. Although you will no doubt be lighter, your body will look and feel worse than when you started.

Also there is a hige difference between eating 1000 calories of sugar vs 1000 cal of decent protein. Also good carbs vs bad carbs is bullshit? whatever!..bad carbs-in soft drinks, sweets, chocolates, white bread, etc. will cause huge insulin spikes in your body, making you have a short term energy boost followed by a severe crash, definitely not what you want, especially if you're training..good carbs-brown rice, baked potatoes, wholegrain breads, low carb "Burgen bread" being the best, brown low carb pasta"dreamfields" best have sustained, slow release of energy which is what you need, especially when training..

 

To put it bluntly, unless you are a 45kg thai girl, dropping down to 1000 cal a day, and not paying attention to where the cals come from, will fuck you up..lol

 

 

Geeze, kind of testy aren't we?

 

Just to clarify my point here. Fab diets lose sight of calories and it gives people an excuse for cheating. I'm not proposing this as a lifestyle. It's a way to drop fat but should be combined with a good diet, exersise. The calories you limit depends on your body size.

 

I needed to drop 30 lbs (180 to 150). I limited my intake to 1000 calories (200 of which came from protein suppliments), took vitamins and suppliments, ate whole grains, and eliminated sugar. I did 20 mins cardio and 30 mins weight training five days a week. In about 2-3 months I lost the fat and put on muscle and gained energy in the process. Now I watch what I eat, exersize, and don't have to worry that much about calories. But if I hadn't lost they weight quickly I would have lost interest and would not be where I am today.

 

Obviously if you only eat 1000 calories/day and it come from 4 snickers bars and you didn't do anything physical you'd be a mess. Thats not what I meant. I've seen far to many people fail diets because of the slow pay off--they are currently fat, unhappy, and very unhealthy.

 

By they way, if you want to lose weight and feel like shit--do Atkins.

[izifaddag]

*Track inches rather than weight as mentioned by earlier posts muscle is more dense than fat. Depending on your condition prior to this diet/exercise program it is possible to gain weight while losing inches and looking better.

Haven't noticed anything yet but it is early days. I suppose it has become easier to use the 3rd hole on my belt rather than the 2nd all the time. Fat still sticks my ribs in though. Yeah I want to look better but at this point it is more to do with health. I hear what you say but it sure feels good when you weigh once a week and see another pound is gone.

*Exercise vs Work. IMHO an hour of walking on the treadmill is an hour mostly wasted - unless that walking was done at a pace at which you could not easily hold a conversation. Short burst exercise is the new fad - and IMHO a correct one. This point was made clear to me (a long distance runner for 40 years) by the comparison between body shapes of sprinter vs marathon runners who do you want to look like? (the analogy is more valid if you take the comparison back 10+ years because today many of the marathon runners are beginning to look like sprinters due to the incorporation of short burst activity on top of the long miles run done not for looks but for the increased performance in their long distance events) Do an internet search there is lots of info on the topic.

Boy that is a tough one. It goes against much of what I have known my whole life! I think I will decrease the treadmill and do more weights. According to the meter on the machine I am burning about 300 to 350 calories each time. That has to be worth something. I try to speed walk for 20 minutes then run at twice the speed for 1 minute. Then walk for another 20 etc.

 

Golds Gym - only worthwhile if the social aspects motivate you.

Not interested in the social aspect at all. I watch Wheel of Fortune to pass the time. Nobody speaks to me while I am there anyway. I am a 52 year old overweight guy with grey hair - ain't nothing going to happen, that is why Thailand is in my life.

 

If you do go to the gym - stay away from the machines and stick to dumbbells and exercise balls. Tough to get good core stability when using a machine that isolates the activity you are performing to one or two muscles. These machines are great if you are looking picture perfect symmetry (ie bodybuilding because everyone is a bit different and maybe you need to emphasize calf development without additional buttock or thigh use) but for overall useful strong body (lean muscle) development the more muscle groups that work together in a coordinated manner the better. A simple bicep curl done while sitting on an exercise ball engages a lot of other muscle groups while training them to work together in a coordinated manner - either that or you fall off the ball

 

I think at this point the machines are fine but I will start to mix it up until I completely go to weights only. The weight applied on the machines is increasing. Again quite encouraging. As time goes by this will shake out more and more. I don't quite understand what you mean by 'core stability', I haven't fallen over yet so I guess my core must be fairly stable.

 

*The long run - fluctuation - some feel staying at peak shape is something they should do 24/7 365. I look at it more as seasonal episodes of peak and off peak - during my "off peak" I exercise less and to some extent splurge more. When the waist band gets tight it is time to ramp it up again.

Edited October 25, 2007 by izifaddag

[izifaddag]

Geeze, kind of testy aren't we?

 

Just to clarify my point here. Fab diets lose sight of calories and it gives people an excuse for cheating. I'm not proposing this as a lifestyle. It's a way to drop fat but should be combined with a good diet, exercise. The calories you limit depends on your body size.

 

I needed to drop 30 lbs (180 to 150). I limited my intake to 1000 calories (200 of which came from protein supplements), took vitamins and supplements, ate whole grains, and eliminated sugar. I did 20 mins cardio and 30 mins weight training five days a week. In about 2-3 months I lost the fat and put on muscle and gained energy in the process. Now I watch what I eat, exercise, and don't have to worry that much about calories. But if I hadn't lost they weight quickly I would have lost interest and would not be where I am today.

 

Obviously if you only eat 1000 calories/day and it come from 4 snickers bars and you didn't do anything physical you'd be a mess. Thats not what I meant. I've seen far to many people fail diets because of the slow pay off--they are currently fat, unhappy, and very unhealthy.

 

By they way, if you want to lose weight and feel like shit--do Atkins.

 

 

Each to his own - I would die trying that routine. As for Atkins I have never met anybody yet who has taken weight off with that diet and kept it off. It is a typical seesaw diet. Down then worse than before.

It can't be ignored that genetics has much to do with this. I was so skinny earlier in my life I actually went on a diet to put weight on!! Then I hit 40 and started to grow, exactly like my dad. Now I know I didn't help things because I was always used to being able to eat anything I wanted and not suffering. Those days are gone !! My mother and grandfather were overweight too. My mum dieted her whole life and didn't lose a thing until the cancer got her. She lost it then all right. She was actually pleased about that part of it!!

 

Off to the gym now

Edited October 25, 2007 by izifaddag

[ROIDFREAK]

Each to his own - I would die trying that routine. As for Atkins I have never met anybody yet who has taken weight off with that diet and kept it off. It is a typical seesaw diet. Down then worse than before.

It can't be ignored that genetics has much to do with this. I was so skinny earlier in my life I actually went on a diet to put weight on!! Then I hit 40 and started to grow, exactly like my dad. Now I know I didn't help things because I was always used to being able to eat anything I wanted and not suffering. Those days are gone !! My mother and grandfather were overweight too. My mum dieted her whole life and didn't lose a thing until the cancer got her. She lost it then all right. She was actually pleased about that part of it!!

 

Off to the gym now

 

Heres a few tips you may want t try- replace milk with light soya drink, very high protein, very low carbs(simple sugars).Your body converts milk into simple sugars very fast.

Add some extra virgin olive oil, cold over your salads, chicken, etc. Also you asked about avocados-like EV olive oil they are a good fat and will help your body lower cholesterol.Omega 3 fatty acids are good to supplement, alternatively eat salmon-high in omega 3s.

Buy "Udo's oil" if you can find it, take a tablespoon a day.

Concentrate more on the quality of your calories as opposed to just the number of them.

Don't eat carbs after about 7pm..

 

Do cardio in the morning if possible on an empty stomach. if you do weights and cardio together, do the weights first, cardio last.

[markster]

Heres a few tips you may want t try- replace milk with light soya drink, very high protein, very low carbs(simple sugars).Your body converts milk into simple sugars very fast.

Add some extra virgin olive oil, cold over your salads, chicken, etc. Also you asked about avocados-like EV olive oil they are a good fat and will help your body lower cholesterol.Omega 3 fatty acids are good to supplement, alternatively eat salmon-high in omega 3s.

Buy "Udo's oil" if you can find it, take a tablespoon a day.

Concentrate more on the quality of your calories as opposed to just the number of them.

Don't eat carbs after about 7pm..

 

Do cardio in the morning if possible on an empty stomach. if you do weights and cardio together, do the weights first, cardio last.

 

Hope I'm not beating a dead horse here but ...

 

Everything you say is great if you're close to a good body weight and you're intune with your body. However, if you're trying to lose a large amount of weight some of your points can be counter productive if not properly understood. Specifically, concentrating on quality of calories as opposed to number .. I'm not a nutritionist but I am a psychologist and I understand how people rationalize choices.

 

So, here's a typical scenario: someone is told to eat lots of fruits, leafy green vegatables, and whole grain breads; and replace butter with EV olive oil--all quality calories. So, at breakfast he has 2 glasses of OJ (what could be healthier than OJ?), maybe some cereal with fruit, and whole wheat toast (since I'm being soo good I think I can add a little jam to the toast--who likes dry toast anyway).

 

Because of the high fructose content of breakfast he's going to need an energy boost mid morning--have a granola bar, it's all whole grains (again, good calories).

 

Lunch: If he's serious he'll go for a salad with a protein on top (that lasts about 2 days--most guys don't stick to salads). He'll stay away from the creamy ranch dressing because he knows the health benefits of Olive Oil so he douses it with several tablespoons--adding a little more later. If he's in America the salad will be as big as a house and will include eggs and a lot of cheese.

 

Mid afternoon. Prior to the diet he was consuming loads of sugar and now has some major cravings (I had a healthy lunch so I can sneak a cookie).

 

Dinner: Salads don't keep you full for long so now he's really hungry. Nothing better than chicken. He breads a chicken breast in whole wheat bread crumbs and frys it in Olive Oil (this Olive oil thing is great--soo healthy). Broccholi, califlower, carrots all steamed to perfection--very healthy. Butter is bad, Olive oil is good--he douses the vegs with EVO. He sopps up the remaining oil on his plate with a slice of healthy wheat bread.

 

He's had a great day of eating healthy ... he now deserves a beer.

 

The reality is that while he ate good foods he consumed probably well over 3000 calories (Olive oil alone is 119 calories/tbls, Orange juice is 112 calories/cup, granola bars can be more than a candybar). If he did some moderate activity he probably burned around 2000 calories. So, yes the calories he consumed can be easily translated into energy but since there was soo much energy available it didn't touch the fat reserves.

 

After a few weeks of this an no weight loss how motivated do you think he will be to continue?

 

At the end of the day, it's simple physics--you have to consume less calories than you burn to lose weight. Yes, make sure they're good calories but track how many.

 

All the talk lately of the health benefits of EVO, Fruit, Wine, etc give people the impression that they are low in calories--they're not! Yes, they are healthy but they will not help you lose weight. So in addition to low calories one needs plenty of vitamins and suppliments (i.e. Omega 3s) while they're losing.

[Bitch Controller]

The psychoanalysis of weight loss, are u serious? "Most guys" shouldnt fit into the equation, one mans will is another mans weakness, simple really.

 

Your suggestion of 1000 calories a day is ludicrous, whether you eat clean calories and exercise or not. You suggest that someone who has alot of weight to lose should not follow the quality calories route....why the hell not? Since your well read, perhaps you can discuss maintenance calories and an individuals BMR and how that relates to weight loss.

 

Ive tried the starvation method of 1000 calories a day. I weigh over 120kg and using your method gave me nothing but problems, I lost weight but I also lost muscle mass, its all relative to the individual, hence why the BMR is essential.

 

My success in weight loss, and I was a very very big boy, 160kg, was eating 6 meals a day, splitting my meals up, focussing on good calories and exercising like a demon. It takes commitment, hard work and a good understanding of nutrition and how the human body works, nothing else.

 

If your 1000 calories a day worked for you, good, but it certainly shouldnt be applied across the board.

[markster]

The psychoanalysis of weight loss, are u serious? "Most guys" shouldnt fit into the equation, one mans will is another mans weakness, simple really.

 

Your suggestion of 1000 calories a day is ludicrous, whether you eat clean calories and exercise or not. You suggest that someone who has alot of weight to lose should not follow the quality calories route....why the hell not? Since your well read, perhaps you can discuss maintenance calories and an individuals BMR and how that relates to weight loss.

 

Ive tried the starvation method of 1000 calories a day. I weigh over 120kg and using your method gave me nothing but problems, I lost weight but I also lost muscle mass, its all relative to the individual, hence why the BMR is essential.

 

My success in weight loss, and I was a very very big boy, 160kg, was eating 6 meals a day, splitting my meals up, focussing on good calories and exercising like a demon. It takes commitment, hard work and a good understanding of nutrition and how the human body works, nothing else.

 

If your 1000 calories a day worked for you, good, but it certainly shouldnt be applied across the board.

 

Are you suggesting psychology (emotion, motivation, reinforcement, self image, etc) has no role to play in weight loss?

 

I didnt suggest that someone who has alot of weight to lose should not follow the quality calories route. At least that was not my intention. I simply suggested it's important to know how many total calories you consume vs. how many you burn. I guess I’m a little confused. Do you disagree with that idea? Good for you on your success in wieght loss--Im sure it took a lot of commitment and effort. You lost weight because you were on the right side of the consuming/buring ratio; which is my one and only point.

 

As for the 1000 calories, I wish I’d never brought it up. It worked for me but I was a little guy to begin with. However, it’s far from starvation—you’d be surprised how much you can eat for 1000 calories. As a matter of fact, it worked so well that the picture in my avatar is actually me!

 

Now, back to my bagel.

[ROIDFREAK]

Hope I'm not beating a dead horse here but ...

 

Everything you say is great if you're close to a good body weight and you're intune with your body. However, if you're trying to lose a large amount of weight some of your points can be counter productive if not properly understood. Specifically, concentrating on quality of calories as opposed to number .. I'm not a nutritionist but I am a psychologist and I understand how people rationalize choices.

 

So, here's a typical scenario: someone is told to eat lots of fruits, leafy green vegatables, and whole grain breads; and replace butter with EV olive oil--all quality calories. So, at breakfast he has 2 glasses of OJ (what could be healthier than OJ?), maybe some cereal with fruit, and whole wheat toast (since I'm being soo good I think I can add a little jam to the toast--who likes dry toast anyway).

 

Because of the high fructose content of breakfast he's going to need an energy boost mid morning--have a granola bar, it's all whole grains (again, good calories).

 

Lunch: If he's serious he'll go for a salad with a protein on top (that lasts about 2 days--most guys don't stick to salads). He'll stay away from the creamy ranch dressing because he knows the health benefits of Olive Oil so he douses it with several tablespoons--adding a little more later. If he's in America the salad will be as big as a house and will include eggs and a lot of cheese.

 

Mid afternoon. Prior to the diet he was consuming loads of sugar and now has some major cravings (I had a healthy lunch so I can sneak a cookie).

 

Dinner: Salads don't keep you full for long so now he's really hungry. Nothing better than chicken. He breads a chicken breast in whole wheat bread crumbs and frys it in Olive Oil (this Olive oil thing is great--soo healthy). Broccholi, califlower, carrots all steamed to perfection--very healthy. Butter is bad, Olive oil is good--he douses the vegs with EVO. He sopps up the remaining oil on his plate with a slice of healthy wheat bread.

 

He's had a great day of eating healthy ... he now deserves a beer.

 

The reality is that while he ate good foods he consumed probably well over 3000 calories (Olive oil alone is 119 calories/tbls, Orange juice is 112 calories/cup, granola bars can be more than a candybar). If he did some moderate activity he probably burned around 2000 calories. So, yes the calories he consumed can be easily translated into energy but since there was soo much energy available it didn't touch the fat reserves.

 

After a few weeks of this an no weight loss how motivated do you think he will be to continue?

 

At the end of the day, it's simple physics--you have to consume less calories than you burn to lose weight. Yes, make sure they're good calories but track how many.

 

All the talk lately of the health benefits of EVO, Fruit, Wine, etc give people the impression that they are low in calories--they're not! Yes, they are healthy but they will not help you lose weight. So in addition to low calories one needs plenty of vitamins and suppliments (i.e. Omega 3s) while they're losing.

 

Okay, here, Ill try and explain to myou since you are OBVIOUSLY not a nutritionist. I am more than qualified on this subject, aswell as personal training and performance enhancement..

Firstly u ask "what could be healthier than orange juice?"-If u read my post u will see that I advise to avoid "simple carbs", i.e sugars and although the amount of OJ u said contains only 112 cals, your body processes OJ like simple SUGAR..u work out for yourself how healthy that is on a diet..

Second, in relation to Extra Virgin olive oil.. I advise to have it COLD on your salad/chicken/foods,etc. And when it is cold, your body will use it very fast aswell as lower your cholesterol and aid in BURNING FAT. When you heat it up, even a little you change the molecular structure and it becomes very bad for you therefore wherever you thought frying in olive oil is healthy, you're totally wrong.

Thirdly, where in my post do I advise eating granola bars? I certainly dont-they're shit, full again of SIMPLE SUGARS, which I advise to avoid or eat with moderation, in the instance of dropping weight, I would avoid them.

Same thing as Jam-its a simple sugar, best avoided altogether..

[brad117]

You could read a 100 different approaches here. Here's mine -

 

Try to eat good food - just less of it (I'll not go into all the specifics, I think most people know what good food is).

 

Drink water, lots of it. Not excessively

 

DONT drink pop, or eat sweets. Very little if you do. I refuse to quit drinking beer.

 

Be consistent with your excercise. Everyday, if possible, don't get discouraged and quit if you miss a day or two. BUT get back. On days you can do extra cardio, do it.

 

Dont focus on weight. It's inches. Muscle weighs more than fat.

 

Keep it simple and go easy starting out. As you get stronger push yourself a little more. It's amazing how you can progress. Don't push it to hard. You can get hurt and then you're fucked. Learn and use good lifting technique.

 

KISS (keep it simple stupid). Burn more calories than you consume, but also feed your body. Dont make it more difficult than it is.

[Bitch Controller]

I wasnt suggesting psychology of oneself doesnt play a part, but every man is different and as I said one mans will is another mans strength and so on and so forth....

 

You said it yourself, your a small guy, so the 1000 calorie thing would work well for you. Yes, my weight loss was as a result of in vs out but what was going in had to be given careful consideration.

 

Im not suggesting what you have said is completely inaccurate and Im glad you can see that your ways are not for everyone. I was applying the scientific approach to it.

 

As Brad117 says, theres alot of different ways to look at this. Oh and if thats you in your avatar, dude, id cut back on the oestrogen.

[izifaddag]

Heres a few tips you may want t try- replace milk with light soya drink, very high protein, very low carbs(simple sugars).Your body converts milk into simple sugars very fast.

Add some extra virgin olive oil, cold over your salads, chicken, etc. Also you asked about avocados-like EV olive oil they are a good fat and will help your body lower cholesterol.Omega 3 fatty acids are good to supplement, alternatively eat salmon-high in omega 3s.

Buy "Udo's oil" if you can find it, take a tablespoon a day.

Concentrate more on the quality of your calories as opposed to just the number of them.

Don't eat carbs after about 7pm..

 

Do cardio in the morning if possible on an empty stomach. if you do weights and cardio together, do the weights first, cardio last.

RF & BC

Thank you for your input I really, really appreciate it. I don't know as much about this stuff as I would like and your ideas and insight are invaluable.

I will start to incorporate the soya drink (I like that stuff). I will make an effort to change to working out in the morning early before work, they open at 5am.

I will change to weights first. I have been doing the reverse thinking I should warm up first. I look at the serious guys in the gym and I have noticed that they do maybe just 15 minutes on the treadmill then go to the weights. So I have cut my treadmill workouts to 1/2 hr and increased the amount of weight I am trying to lift. So far so good.

The rupture is coming along fine by the way

All the other stuff is valid too including what Markster says. However I can't do 1,000 cals a day. I just know I can't. The food regimen that Markster mentioned I understand what he is referring to i.e psychology but I am not doing that.

I bought a Power Bar in a moment of weakness the other day. I ate it because it was $2 but then I read the label. A supposed protein bar and it was full of sugar and weighed in at 270 calories!! Fuck that is a meal!!! Way too many calories and I won't do that again. As for chicken I don't bread anything. I am able to go to the supermarket late at night and get 8 pieces of baked chicken for $3. Then I put it in the fridge and live off it. I love salad and will eat that in preference to other stuff because it is tasty. Tend to stay away from lettuce though. I use a fat free dressing which is ranch and I don't like it. When it is gone I will go back to my low cal Italian. Salad has virtually no calories and tons of good nutritional value. The dressing is the evil part of the equation.

When I get settled in my new place and actually can use a kitchen I will switch to RF's suggestion about the oil etc.

 

Now a new question regarding actually working out.

Ok so I have cut back the cardio per Doc and increased the weights but now I feel something is missing. It is like I am not doing enough.

before I would do 1hr on the treadmill and then flash through the weights every other day. Now I am stuck.

I go through the weights exercises quite quickly. I do 2 chest exercise at the same time. Flys and press. I give myself a chance to catch my breath and then use the other machine. (incidentally I don't see anything wrong with machines - weight is weight and I am nowhere near the level of you guys), I am doing 10 reps x 3. I try to vary the weight. So maybe 1 set lower then heavy then lower.

Then I do shoulders with another machine used in 2 different ways - wide and near.

Lats on a pull down and then biceps on a curl machine.

The weight is increasing I noticed.

However I am now confused about the regimen. I am thinking

Monday, Wednesday, Friday - cardio AND weights

Tuesday, Thursday - cardio only (just 1/2 hr)

Sat/Sun rest.

Any thoughts?

(BTW I start a new round of dance classes Sunday night. I like doing that and if anybody here thinks that it is easy doing the waltz / foxtrot / rumba think again. It is a serious cardio workout. I leave there tired after 2 hours.)