best way to lose weight?

[uthustler]

Ok, got married, had a kid and somehow during her pregnancy I put on about 50 lbs. (was 175 when we married, 10 mos later in 225 lbs) Its from not working out after we got married, and eating shit, and picking up drinking her damn cokes. So any suggestions? Im thinking just going to water only, eating healthy again, and doing 45 mins of cardio a day.

what are some healthy things you guys eat? Think that plan should help me lose weight?

[Fastback]

Ok, got married, had a kid and somehow during her pregnancy I put on about 50 lbs. (was 175 when we married, 10 mos later in 225 lbs) Its from not working out after we got married, and eating shit, and picking up drinking her damn cokes. So any suggestions? Im thinking just going to water only, eating healthy again, and doing 45 mins of cardio a day.

what are some healthy things you guys eat? Think that plan should help me lose weight?

Definitely a good plan! Limit your calories, too using fitday.com or some other software calorie tracker. We tend to eat for our current weight not the weight we want to be...sort of maintain. Once you build some muscle (in about a month of your cardio) you should shed weight like crazy. Carbs are tricky and should be used sparingly and correct carbs are essential: High fiber, whole wheat ,whole grains are your friends. White flour, starchy noodles, potatoes= cravings outta control. Eat right to have WILL POWER. Look for whole wheat pasta etc. Eating healthy and learning how to manage blood sugar is the secret. Another encouraging thing is you are going for muscle mass not just "how long did I work out today" follow? You burn more calories while resting when your muscles are built.

[DON SVO]

The purest way to lose weight is to do 5 things:

1. Eat 5-6 meals a day, and consume only a 10:1 ratio of calories to weight (you weigh 225, eat 2,250 calories a day)
2. Drink an ounce of water per pound, per day.
3. Avoid high fructose corn syrup like the plague.
4. Read your nutrition labels and, if you have the patience, figure out what you are taking in per the 3 macronutrients: protein, carbs, fat. Get serious about it, break it down to a 40/40/20 percent ratio... 40% protein, 40% carbohydrates, 20% fats.
5. Get jogging or biking: cardio 4-5 days a week, 45 minutes at a time, maintaining a 130-150 BPM heartrate.

If you completely remove sodas, avoid the horrible snacks, keep the calorie count low, you can shed as much as 3-4 pounds a week with safety. If you go nuts with the cardio, I don't see why you couldn't drop 60 pounds in 4 months.

[uthustler]

Definitely a good plan! Limit your calories, too using fitday.com or some other software calorie tracker. We tend to eat for our current weight not the weight we want to be...sort of maintain. Once you build some muscle (in about a month of your cardio) you should shed weight like crazy. Carbs are tricky and should be used sparingly and correct carbs are essential: High fiber, whole wheat ,whole grains are your friends. White flour, starchy noodles, potatoes= cravings outta control. Eat right to have WILL POWER. Look for whole wheat pasta etc. Eating healthy and learning how to manage blood sugar is the secret. Another encouraging thing is you are going for muscle mass not just "how long did I work out today" follow? You burn more calories while resting when your muscles are built.


thanks for the help! What are some specific things I can buy at the grocery store that is good, healthy and not bad? I want to cut fat-period and foremost.

[DON SVO]

thanks for the help! What are some specific things I can buy at the grocery store that is good, healthy and not bad? I want to cut fat-period and foremost.

If you're sucking down cokes and eating crappy, your carbohydrate intake is more than likely the root of your problem. Your body has a habit of storing unused energy (fat) if you eat sporadicly and eat too big of portions when you do. You'd start dropping weight solely on cutting out the sodas, eating 6 times a day, and eating 2100-2250 calories a day without the exercise. The cardio helps to kill off extra calories and gets your blood flowing, so to speak. From what you have posted, I would focus on calorie intake, cutting sodas, and getting 5 to 6 meals a day.

However, as for the fats, cut saturated fats and trans fats... your body cannot produce EFAs and it needs them. Keep your fats within 15-20% of your caloric intake and you're good to go.

Seafood is typically the best route to take to remove fats and bump protein, FWIW. Chicken is pretty close.

[mtr519857]

good info, good luck

[uthustler]

If you're sucking down cokes and eating crappy, your carbohydrate intake is more than likely the root of your problem. Your body has a habit of storing unused energy (fat) if you eat sporadicly and eat too big of portions when you do. You'd start dropping weight solely on cutting out the sodas, eating 6 times a day, and eating 2100-2250 calories a day without the exercise. The cardio helps to kill off extra calories and gets your blood flowing, so to speak. From what you have posted, I would focus on calorie intake, cutting sodas, and getting 5 to 6 meals a day.

However, as for the fats, cut saturated fats and trans fats... your body cannot produce EFAs and it needs them. Keep your fats within 15-20% of your caloric intake and you're good to go.

Seafood is typically the best route to take to remove fats and bump protein, FWIW. Chicken is pretty close.


cool, im about to go to the grocery store, here is a list of what im going to get- what else can I get or should I consider in addition to this below?

canned tuna
canned chicken
water
oatmeal
apples
oranges
bananas
carrots

?


Ive done this once before 6 years ago, instead of the freshman 15, did the freshman 60, and in 5 months dropped the 60 lbs, but at that time my metabolism was racing and I ate canned chicken and drank just water and did an hour of cardio 7 days a week. Didnt want to go quite that aggressive this round.

[DON SVO]

4-5 days of GOOD cardio will more than suffice. I do a bit more, typically 5-6 days a week, but I am in the gym doing weight lifting 4 days a week. The best way to kick start your metabolism is to eat a bunch and run/jog regularly. People kinda freak out when you tell them to eat a lot, because the "less is more" mentality is so strong. Also, metabolism tends to slow because we get more sedentary after our late teens/early 20s. If your body is constantly being subjected to work, and you are constantly feeding yourself (even eating a light snack before bed is good!) your body has to play catch up instead of going into a storage state. No exercise and poor eating habits wreak havoc on your metabolism because it cannot identify a pattern, it goes into a metabolic shock, and saves excess energy for when you might need it... basically, you get fat.

Think of it like this: when you were younger, your body was growing/going thru puberty/getting more of a workout. Your metabolism demolishes calories trying to keep up, so even a mediocre diet won't add much fat. Hell, at my high school I was walking 2 miles a day just going from class-to-class and the back side of the parking lot in the mornings/afternoon do drive home! Teenagers do a lot more than your average working stiff sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day.

I avoided the "freshman 15" in college because I rode my bike from a parking spot almost a mile away 3 times a week, and went street riding between classes because I had an hour gap from govt. to my bio lab. I actually did a "freshman lose 5 lbs.", LMAO!

So to sum it up: starving yourself won't work because your body will eat muscle, cardio increases metabolism/stamina/testosterone, eating right lets your body stop storing calories.

More things to get:
fat free yogurt rules.
a tub of whey protein
strawberries
wheat bread, Nature's Way is like 50 calories per slice
fat free milk
eggs
lean meat, like sirloin
whole fish, salmon and tilapia kick ass.

:)

[Fastback]

thanks for the help! What are some specific things I can buy at the grocery store that is good, healthy and not bad? I want to cut fat-period and foremost.

The super foods! As in Dr. Pratt's book ,<i>SuperFoodsRx</i>. There are 14 different super foods:

Tomatoes, walnuts, yogurt, salmon, pumpkin, blueberries, spinach, oats, soy, turkey, tea (green or black), oranges, broccoli, beans

There are "sidekicks", too. For instance, if you don't like tomatoes you can eat watermelon. The super foods get your health on track BIG TIME. If you start taking super good care of your body, it will balance out. Our bodies are biomachines. Like a race car, we can benefit from "race gas". Essentially, the super foods are "race gas". Cells repair, muscles have the nutrients they need to build, we get stong and run great. With a strong immunity, more can be accomplished and all while feeling extraordinary. To sum up, you need diet, exercise, and education...study up on whole foods. I cannot stress how important this is. People often think. "I want to lose weight." What they really mean is they want to LOOK and FEEL great...MOST of the time...right? So many people trash their bodies with crash diets and bad, out-of-form exercise. They do more harm than good. Do it right from the get-go and your body will be on your side for the process instead of working against you via fatigue, injury, and the like. Contrary to popular belief, you can enjoy the process and without suffering.

[Slowhand]

I've lost 20 pounds in roughly 6 months doing this. It's a lot more simple than all the systems and shit:

1. eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. don't snack inbetween (was my big problem) unless you feel like you're going to die.
2. drink a lot of water (flushes system out, plus it keeps your stomach full so you don't feel the need to snack)
3. cut out the cold drink/beer (this will save you 5-10 lbs a year alone, supposedly)
4. cut out the fast food as much as you can
5. let's say you have a steak, roll, mashed potatoes and a salad for dinner. don't eat all of anything. make it a point to leave 10-25% of each food on the plate. most of the time you're not really hungry enough to eat everything, you just feel like you should becuase it's there.
6. try and replace either lunch or dinner with just a salad. if you replace lunch like i did, be prepared to feel shitty for a few days until your body copes with the complete lack of nutrients (ha)...feel free to snack inbetweeb lunch and dinner if it makes you feel too bad.

again, not scientific at all, but it works. I lost 20 pounds doing this alone ,and working out once or twice every two weeks at best.

[clean89]

subscribing

[DON SVO]

I've lost 20 pounds in roughly 6 months doing this. It's a lot more simple than all the systems and shit:

1. eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. don't snack inbetween (was my big problem) unless you feel like you're going to die.
2. drink a lot of water (flushes system out, plus it keeps your stomach full so you don't feel the need to snack)
3. cut out the cold drink/beer (this will save you 5-10 lbs a year alone, supposedly)
4. cut out the fast food as much as you can
5. let's say you have a steak, roll, mashed potatoes and a salad for dinner. don't eat all of anything. make it a point to leave 10-25% of each food on the plate. most of the time you're not really hungry enough to eat everything, you just feel like you should becuase it's there.
6. try and replace either lunch or dinner with just a salad. if you replace lunch like i did, be prepared to feel shitty for a few days until your body copes with the complete lack of nutrients (ha)...feel free to snack inbetweeb lunch and dinner if it makes you feel too bad.

again, not scientific at all, but it works. I lost 20 pounds doing this alone ,and working out once or twice every two weeks at best.
You do realize that if you go into a serious nutritional deficit, your body will begin to eat muscle since it is higher in energy? What you've described isn't the best route... I know way too many people that have killed 45-60 lbs doing it the way I described above in the same time you lost 20.

[coddingtonrolla]

i lost 60lbs in 4 months
went from 250 to 190

the plan:
gym 4 or 5 times a week- i did what i call sprints.. i would do 5 min on the bike then go to a machine and do 3 sets of 10 of medium weight. then i would go back to the bike and do 2 minutes a little faster then back to a new machine then back to the bike for 2 minutes.. it kept my heart rate up and i could do a different muscle group every day.. after a bout 2 months i switched over to the tread mill. i did 30 minutes of weight training then i went at the steepest incline for 30minutes at about 4mph on the tread... just a fast paced walk..

for my diet i went all out
breakfast- 1/2 cup of oats, 6 egg whites and 2 cups of black coffee
then a protien shake at 10am
then a decent lunch- chicken breast, green veggies and unsweet tea
then another protien shake at 3
for dinner i ate chicken or turkey with veggies
then i would work out
then a post work out shake
then a hand full of lunch meat and a glass of milk right before i went to bed

its been about 2 months since ive lost all the weight and although i still halfway maintain my diet i havent been to the gym in two weeks.. im still losing inches off my waist and maintaing the same weight.. i can really tell my metabolism has sped up and im getting pretty lean.. ill prolly step up the calories and do some building this winter

the whole key i found was eat clean and often.. avoid white carbs and stick to oats or whole grain, try to take in a lot of clean protien so your body doesnt break down the muscle, and be sure to get your amino acids
exercise moderatley.. dont strain yourself

and just stay focused.. i take some product from advocare called catalyst and it really helps me stay on track when i go to the gym..

www.bodybuilding.com was my bible. it has tons and tons of info

[Chili]

The purest way to lose weight is to do 5 things:

1. Eat 5-6 meals a day, and consume only a 10:1 ratio of calories to weight (you weigh 225, eat 2,250 calories a day).

Okay.. So, I weigh about 275.. I should be eating 2,750 a day with your 40/40/20 mix and with that I will lose weight? That seems like a lot of calories, even spread over 6 meals.

If I can tolerate 2,000, would that be better?

(Yeah, it's time to start losing weight) :(

[White_lightning]

chili.. im 320lbs and making it day to day on 1500-1800 calories..

[Chili]

chili.. im 320lbs and making it day to day on 1500-1800 calories..

Are you losing? What body fat percentage is that for you, do you know? I know you have a shit ton more muscle mass than I.

I know I can do even less than 2,000 a day, just don't know about possible side effects.

[The Raven]

The quickest way to lose 100+lbs would be to get a divorce.

[Chili]

The quickest way to lose 100+lbs would be to get a divorce.

Lol..

Realistically, I would like to get down to about 220.. When I was in very good shape (in the Army) I was still 185 - 190. I was always well within body fat limits but never made weight.

[White_lightning]

Are you losing? What body fat percentage is that for you, do you know? I know you have a shit ton more muscle mass than I.

I know I can do even less than 2,000 a day, just don't know about possible side effects.
between that and cardio. down 33lbs in 5 weeks.


i was 348lbs before at mid 30s%..down to 313 right now.. not sure the exact %'s.. since i dont care till i get closer to my goal.

[White_lightning]

Lol..

Realistically, I would like to get down to about 220.. When I was in very good shape (in the Army) I was still 185 - 190. I was always well within body fat limits but never made weight.

BHAHAHAAH..
AAROn.. THATS FOR YOU!!!

[Chili]

BHAHAHAAH..
AAROn.. THATS FOR YOU!!!

:confused:

[White_lightning]

:confused:
inside joke:)

[Pro Trash]

Ok, got married, had a kid and somehow during her pregnancy I put on about 50 lbs. (was 175 when we married, 10 mos later in 225 lbs) Its from not working out after we got married, and eating shit, and picking up drinking her damn cokes. So any suggestions? Im thinking just going to water only, eating healthy again, and doing 45 mins of cardio a day.

what are some healthy things you guys eat? Think that plan should help me lose weight?

Well I know your pain, first off knowledge is key, like the fact 20% of Americans calories are in-took through liquid i.e. soda. Develop a healthy diet and work out at least 15-30 minutes a day, even if you don't feel like it, don't let your mind tell you what to do, that is why you are chubby now.

Diet but allow yourself one cheat day a week where you eat a lunch and dinner that you want calories aside. If you plan to cheat then you won't end up watching UFC with a bucket of ice cream, a spoon and a bag of cookies in the dark LOL.

If you need any help coming up with food ideas let me know. I don't worry about wieght I have been focused on diet (what I eat and how much) and exercise, most people think I have lost weight because I am leaner and my face is thinner but my wieght has remained at 215 for a few months, I have replaced fat with muscle so stay away from the scale, your waist line will tell you if you are succeeding.

[The Raven]

:D

[The Raven]

Seriously though, getting married is no excuse to get fat and lazy. Clear the junk food out of the house yesterday. Give yourself only healthy choices, and it's alot easier to eat the right stuff.

[The Big Matt]

chili.. im 320lbs and making it day to day on 1500-1800 calories..

Dave, seriously you're killing yourself.

Step it up to 2000-2500, at your size, you'll be fine

[White_lightning]

Dave, seriously you're killing yourself.

Step it up to 2000-2500, at your size, you'll be fine
once i break 300lbs i will adjust.. but for now.. im still gaining strength at that calorie level..

im tired of being fat.. its time to lose the chub

[DON SVO]

Okay.. So, I weigh about 275.. I should be eating 2,750 a day with your 40/40/20 mix and with that I will lose weight? That seems like a lot of calories, even spread over 6 meals.

If I can tolerate 2,000, would that be better?

(Yeah, it's time to start losing weight) :(

Less is not more. Yes, you will SAFELY lose weight eating 2,700 calories a day at the start. With decent cardio (3-4 times a week, 30 minutes at a time), the given rule of thumb is 10:1... 10 calories per pound. Obviously, you want to adjust your calorie intake to match your weight.

Amazingly, after your body adjusts, you can LOSE weight taking in more calories than you are now. Your metabolism dictates the amount of STORED ENERGY it wants to use. Eat 2,400 calories a day... 2 or 3 times a day... your body will retain a ton of it... Lots of food at once, long periods of fast. Eat 2400 calories spread out over the day beginning at breakfast... 6 times a day... the body isn't having to worry about when the next 'feast' is coming.

[Chili]

So yesterday I felt like I ate a ton of food but as much as I ate I only ended up consuming 1300 calories..

I didn't eat breakfast, which I know is a no-no, but I couldn't make it to the store until late morning.

I had:
Morning Snack-
12 Pistachios (41)
1 cup of black coffee (4)

Lunch
2 Sandwiches for lunch (295) consisting of:
- 4 Slices of Mrs Bairds "Calorie Light" Honey Whole Grain Wheat (40 ea)
- 10 slices Oscar Meyer Smoked Turkey Breast (7.5 ea)
- Kraft Fat Free American Cheese (30 ea)
Salad w/ Wishbone Fat Free Italian Dressing (33)
Crystal Light packet in water (10)

Afternoon Snack -
Yoplait Fat Free Yogurt (100)

Dinner -
Burger King Chicken Sandwich, no mayo, no cheese :o (450)
Can of Green Beens (68)
Crystal Light Packet in water (10)

After dinner -
Chicken Southwest Salad w/ Sun Dried Tomato normal dressing (300)

The blend of Protien / Carbs / Fat was a little off (34/40/26) substituting 6% of protien with fat. i just didn't have a chance to get anything better for dinner.. I was out much of the evening.

Today my plan with Breakfast, snack, lunch and afternoon snack only has me at 531.. That only leaves dinner and a snack, which I doubt will be over 1000.

Protein will also be higher today, and fat lower.

[Chili]

I plan to start working out next week. I guess I will try to bump up the calorie intake then. Until that point I was satisfied with what I ate yesterday.

I also haven't smoked since Saturday night.

[Hollywood]

I've lost 20 pounds in roughly 6 months doing this. It's a lot more simple than all the systems and shit:

1. eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. don't snack inbetween (was my big problem) unless you feel like you're going to die.
2. drink a lot of water (flushes system out, plus it keeps your stomach full so you don't feel the need to snack)
3. cut out the cold drink/beer (this will save you 5-10 lbs a year alone, supposedly)
4. cut out the fast food as much as you can
5. let's say you have a steak, roll, mashed potatoes and a salad for dinner. don't eat all of anything. make it a point to leave 10-25% of each food on the plate. most of the time you're not really hungry enough to eat everything, you just feel like you should becuase it's there.
6. try and replace either lunch or dinner with just a salad. if you replace lunch like i did, be prepared to feel shitty for a few days until your body copes with the complete lack of nutrients (ha)...feel free to snack inbetweeb lunch and dinner if it makes you feel too bad.

again, not scientific at all, but it works. I lost 20 pounds doing this alone ,and working out once or twice every two weeks at best.

I concur. When I was at 215 lbs, if I exceeded 1900 calories a day, I would gain weight, this was without exercise. With 30 minutes of cardio 1900 calories would be holding steady, no gain or loss.
I cut out fast food, soft drinks (except on weekends) and snacking between meals and lost 45 lbs despite a few setbacks like over-eating and not being able to do cardio at for weeks at a time.
The eating 5-6 meals a day has never worked for me. I've tried it on 3 separate occasions. The first problem is I don't get the opportunity to eat that many times most of the time due to my work/school/rehearsal schedule. Secondly, small meals won't fill me up, so I end up over-eating and eating twice as much as I would if I only ate 3 times a day.
I say, try each method and go with the one that works for you.
I went from 215 down to 169 doing this and it wasn't until I started eating crap food and drinking heavily the last couple of months that I have shot back up to 177.

[Fastback]

Hollywood Anubis is right. Count your calories. Some people's bodies just want to gain and cant keep track of calories. So above all else count calories... Here is a free website to help:

http:www.fitday.com