Losing Weight/Staying in Shape

[Gryffindorian]

Doesn't this belong in the sports and fitness forum??

Agreed.

Anyway, from what I heard, there are certain eating habits you must avoid if you want to lose weight or stay fit.

1. Do not SKIP meals. Skipping meals can slow down your metabolism and only increases craving or appetite. Those who eat frequent and small meals throughout the day are said to be in good shape and have better metabolism.

2. Do not take a nap after a big meal. Unused calories/energy = Body Fat.

Sumo wrestlers are said to skip meals and take naps after eating to increase their body size and weight.

 

[JonathonWally]

Sumo wrestlers are said to skip meals and take naps after eating to increase their body size and weight.

And you know, destroy all you can eat buffets. That helps too.

 

[Holdfast]

^ Chankonabe FTW.

It's pretty tasty stuff.

 

[Strider]

Turn off your computer and go for a walk. Then eat a light dinner and call up a member of the opposite sex to hang out with. Right there you got your exercise, your diet, and your motivation. Seriously, it's easy stuff.

 

[CaptainStoner]

Getting in better shape is fairly easy. A brisk walk a day will get that going. But to burn actual fat, it takes long, moderate intensity exercise from my understanding. Which is why no exercise fad claiming 15 or 20 minute workouts is going to work. It takes a good 20-30 minutes to just begin burning fat, and then, it burns very slowly. Look up your calorie usage for your height/weight, and calories burned in various exercise.
According to my reckoning, if a # of fat = 3500cal, I'm looking at around 6 hours of moderate pace cardio per pound. And, I need to lose around 45 pounds. That works out to around one year of exercising an hour/day, 6 days a week.
My math might not be spot on, but this is why diet fads are a hoax. Because no one is going to sell a book or DVD that states "eat anything you want in moderation, and exercise 1-2 hours a day."

 

[DanTheGrey]

I'm doing things in stages, but I need to accelerate because of some wonky blood sugar readings (and I have several maternal relatives with Type II Diabetes so I'm genetically predisposed). Last year I eliminated soft drinks pretty much completely from my diet, preferring to drink tea, and whenever possible in the summer true iced tea, not sweet tea. Where I am all you get is Brisk/Nestea sweet teas unless you make it yourself. Between that and walking about 30 - 45 minutes 5 times a week from April - November I managed to make a dent of about 7 lbs through 2008.

This year I'm going to make some more diet changes. Trying to eliminate crisps entirely from my diet as well as trying (not much success, but improving) to eliminate any after dinner snacking for at least 5 nights of the week (managing about 2 so far, but only at it for 2 weeks).

As for exercize, I want to ramp up, so I'm using the treadmill more and will be trying to be more diligent in the walking on nice evenings. Once the streets/sidewalks dry out and de-ice I'll look at getting off the bus earlier and increasing my walk home to add about 10 - 15 minutes more walking a day.

As much as I'd like to believe in a pill...I'm just trying to make adjustments that I can build on week by week and take responsbility for the choices I make in how often and what I order in restaurants. I think of the pill solution as being like magic...yeah it can offer you possiblities and control but what's the cost going to be for that?

 

[bigdaddy]

I garden and look damn fine doing so.

 

[kimc]

1) Only eat when hungry
2) Focus on fruits and veggies
3) Get some form of exercise every day (if possible)
4) Don't cancel plans to go straight home from work and walk the dog around the lake in order to go drink beer and eat Reuben croquettes with your co-workers instead.

#4 is the one that gets me into trouble...

 

[galleywest]

1) Only eat when hungry
2) Focus on fruits and veggies
3) Get some form of exercise every day (if possible)
4) Don't cancel plans to go straight home from work and walk the dog around the lake in order to go drink beer and eat Reuben croquettes with your co-workers instead.

#4 is the one that gets me into trouble...

I was gonna say, #4 there is awfully specific... Eating out is far and away the thing that messes me up the most, in terms of my diet.

 

[kimc]

1) Only eat when hungry
2) Focus on fruits and veggies
3) Get some form of exercise every day (if possible)
4) Don't cancel plans to go straight home from work and walk the dog around the lake in order to go drink beer and eat Reuben croquettes with your co-workers instead.

#4 is the one that gets me into trouble...

I was gonna say, #4 there is awfully specific... Eating out is far and away the thing that messes me up the most, in terms of my diet.

Indeed!

 

[galleywest]

1) Only eat when hungry
2) Focus on fruits and veggies
3) Get some form of exercise every day (if possible)
4) Don't cancel plans to go straight home from work and walk the dog around the lake in order to go drink beer and eat Reuben croquettes with your co-workers instead.

#4 is the one that gets me into trouble...

I was gonna say, #4 there is awfully specific... Eating out is far and away the thing that messes me up the most, in terms of my diet.

Indeed!

But as long as we're on the topic, if one were in the market for reuben croquettes, where might one look? Wait! No! Don't answer that!

 

[jennifer8055]

I used to be pretty obese and started putting on a lot of weight especially on my thighs and bottom in my late thirties. I started exercising as often as possible and also cut down on a lot of high calorie stuff. Unfortunately I hardly managed to lose much weight at all. I then recently read an article by a lady who claimed that she managed to lose nearly half of her weight using a particular weight loss supplement. I tried it out and it actually worked quite well. Within 4 months I managed to lose about 65 pounds. The results were pretty amazing and I feel so much healthier and energetic now. You can read more about the lady's article at

http://www.obesityzapped.com

 

[An Officer]

^ That's all very well and good, but how does it actually work? If the outlandish claims are true, it's probably a laxative of some sort... thereby fucking up your body very nicely.

 

[Danoz]

Everyday I see different type of losing weight plans on television, like taking pills, arobic exercises, and exercise equipments (Bo-flex, anyone? ) And have always wondered how people really stayed in shape. I for one, just try and eat right (which doesn't always happen) and exercise on my treadmill or for an occasional walk.

I guess my main question is-- has anyone here really tried any of those "diet" pills? I have always wondered if they really work. I've been lucky and not really been overweight, but I could be a few pounds lighter!

Because I work an office job that can run from 8AM to 6:30PM, much of which is spent at the computer, I still try and dedicate an 1 1/2-2 hours to the gym 6 days a week after work. I don't mind getting home late because I prioritize and plan on the workout, regardless. Weekends I walk a LOT and work on my photography-- or I head down to the national mall and run back and forth between the capitol and washington monument.

Monday/Wednesday/Friday = Upper body lift, arms/back, abs. 20 minutes cardio

Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday = Lower Body lift, sides, abs. 20 minutes cardio

It's to the point where I shower more at the gym than I do at home. As for watching my diet, I just try to balance and make sure that I am including fruits/veggies and a multi-vitamin. I love eating things that are low in fat and high in protein.

Having said that, I don't feel guilty about putting down a pizza and a bottle of wine some weekends... but I have found that with this workout schedule I have more energy, I eat/drink well during the work week, and I look forward to the gym everyday. Just a matter of deciding on your habits (and being single and having virtually no responsibilities outside of work).

 

[Danoz]

Because no one is going to sell a book or DVD that states "eat anything you want in moderation, and exercise 1-2 hours a day."

That's because that's what it takes.

I used to be more critical of people, until I realized just how freaking difficult it was to work a sedentary job and then try and hit the gym at the end of the day. I also understand that some people can't just do what I do and spend their evenings at the gym when they have kids and families and responsibilities to return to. When I have kids, I'll definitely get a treadmill and a Bowflex and finance a home gym.

Anyway, a buddy of mine who was pretty overweight took up Racquetball and daily running-- watched the diet. He lost a TON of weight, namely because Racquetball is naturally competitive and a great way to motivate and keep up the cardio for a good hour and more.

 

[Strider]

I used to be pretty obese and started putting on a lot of weight especially on my thighs and bottom in my late thirties. I started exercising as often as possible and also cut down on a lot of high calorie stuff. Unfortunately I hardly managed to lose much weight at all. I then recently read an article by a lady who claimed that she managed to lose nearly half of her weight using a particular weight loss supplement. I tried it out and it actually worked quite well. Within 4 months I managed to lose about 65 pounds. The results were pretty amazing and I feel so much healthier and energetic now. You can read more about the lady's article at

http://www.obesityzapped.com

Oh yes, the world-famous SPAM diet. I'd like to hear more about your fat thighs Jennifer, please continue.

 

[Gryffindorian]

Everyday I see different type of losing weight plans on television, like taking pills, arobic exercises, and exercise equipments (Bo-flex, anyone? ) And have always wondered how people really stayed in shape. I for one, just try and eat right (which doesn't always happen) and exercise on my treadmill or for an occasional walk.

I guess my main question is-- has anyone here really tried any of those "diet" pills? I have always wondered if they really work. I've been lucky and not really been overweight, but I could be a few pounds lighter!

Because I work an office job that can run from 8AM to 6:30PM, much of which is spent at the computer, I still try and dedicate an 1 1/2-2 hours to the gym 6 days a week after work. I don't mind getting home late because I prioritize and plan on the workout, regardless. Weekends I walk a LOT and work on my photography-- or I head down to the national mall and run back and forth between the capitol and washington monument.

Monday/Wednesday/Friday = Upper body lift, arms/back, abs. 20 minutes cardio

Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday = Lower Body lift, sides, abs. 20 minutes cardio

It's to the point where I shower more at the gym than I do at home. As for watching my diet, I just try to balance and make sure that I am including fruits/veggies and a multi-vitamin. I love eating things that are low in fat and high in protein.

Having said that, I don't feel guilty about putting down a pizza and a bottle of wine some weekends... but I have found that with this workout schedule I have more energy, I eat/drink well during the work week, and I look forward to the gym everyday. Just a matter of deciding on your habits (and being single and having virtually no responsibilities outside of work).

Good for you! I wish I could say my experience going to the gym had been more effective these past few years. I finally canceled my membership last year and got an elliptical machine I use at home. I figured I was paying $30 a month to use a cardio machine for 30 minutes at the gym that was always overcrowded, with a time limit of 20 minutes (not nearly enough to burn calories), and that's assuming I could actually find a machine that was available. The weight equipment was okay, though I didn't use it all that much.

 

[hamudm]

If you have previous exercise experience and are in relatively mobile shape, try P90X... the workouts are absolutely murder, but you'll get f'n ripped.

You can all thank me later

 

[RoJoHen]

If you have previous exercise experience and are in relatively mobile shape, try P90X... the workouts are absolutely murder, but you'll get f'n ripped.

You can all thank me later

I am so intrigued by this program, but I really don't have a space in my home to work out.

 

[Hugo Rune]

I've just started an antagonistic superset regime for my strength training which after just one round (three days) I know is going to kill me.... BUT will also remove any remaining excess fat and strengthen me for when I want to bulk up a bit in 2-3 months.

I walk out of the gym simply dripping in sweat and with almost no energy in me. 1/2 an hour later though I feel better than I ever thought possible.

But it requires quite a bit of determination to keep going. And that's the key for any weight loss regime. Determination and staying power.

Still, my appetite at the moment is just astonishing and have to keep large volumes of fruit/cereals/veggies to hand when hungry. In fact the other night my stomach was calling out for food so loudly my body was forced awake at 5am and I had to have a bowl of muesli to shut it up. Just can't get enough food into me some days.

Hugo - 7.5 weeks and 5% body fat to go