Weight Loss

Everything else
21

A couple of years back, I lost about thirty pounds myself. That makes me seem to have been massive, but my body has an equal-distribution policy which many fat people have called “progressive” so while I was definitely out-of-shape, I didn’t look too bad. I didn’t really set out to lose the weight, either - it just sort of happened. Here’s more or less what I did. By the way, I’m not professing to understand anything about the weight cycles of the human body, just summarizing my experience.

  1. Stopped drinking all forms of soft drinks. The soft drinks were a killer to me and once I was off them, I didn’t miss the fizzy sugar syrup at all, since all they do is make you feel thirstier. Instead, I now drink massive amounts of water - at least two gallons a day. And while I enjoy the occasional Coke or something, I don’t really crave them and never keep them in the house anymore. This was actually probably the biggest step. Drinking Coke is a bad habit, not really a craving.

  2. I’ve always enjoyed walking, but in the evenings, I’d light up my pipe and go for a simple hour’s walk. This is actually a good idea for even people who don’t want to lose weight or keep in shape, just because it stimulates ideas.

  3. I stopped snacking and adopted the European model of eating (I was living in Belgium at the time), with a nice meal at around 1 or 2 and then a small cheese sandwich in the evening. Most of these meals were vegetarian. Having an entire day to burn off most of the food you have eaten makes a lot of difference, and, though I enjoy meat, a vegatarian-emphasized diet makes you feel lighter after a meal and also helps with “regularity”.

  4. I never ate so much that I was “full”, just satisfied. Actually, even now, I can’t understand why I used to eat to the point where I just felt stuffed and bloated. It is incredibly unappealing. Yet just a few years ago, I could eat a large pizza all by myself.

There were other things that helped, including a tour through the Middle East carrying a 50 pound backpack at all times, but those were the main lifestyle changes I unconsciously made. I remember in horror the idea of a “diet” a few years back, but once I switched into it, it was amazing how little impact it had on my life. I still eat anything I want - the difference is that instead of going out for lunch and wanting to gorge myself on a double quarter pounder with cheese, fries and a milk-shake, I now tend to crave a salad, a light sandwich and a glass of wine. I very rarely get a craving for snacks and when I do, I would tend to make myself a cheese sandwich or eat a couple of cookies instead of drinking a two-liter bottle of coke and an entire bag of Doritos. I also don’t work out besides an evening walk, and although I’m probably 5 pounds heavier than I ideally should be, I’m not in bad shape and I know I could probably lose those 5 pounds if I gave up on my addiction to cappucinos.

Really, the vast majority of people are fat because they have terrible eating habits. Change those and you’ll be all set. I myself didn’t find changing them to be that hard. Good luck!

22

When you don’t gain any weight now, while you’re overweight, then you won’t gain any weight when you resume your normal habits, after a diet or fasting.

Christopher, I’m no dietician, but the Germans must have a magical metabolism if you believe that obese people maintaining a static level of food absorption will concentrically expand in ringlets of fat to an infinite horizon from the common center of their gobbling maws. Are you seriously suggesting that fat people eating, say, 6,000 calories a day to support their monstrous bulk can continue to be thin after a diet once they resume gobbling down black pudding and butter sandwiches? Fat people expand as far as it takes for their body to accomodate the food they eat and no further. Under your theory, though, fat people would continue to expand endlessly, like the universe, while not absorbing the food to make such expansion possible. This is a physical absurdity. There is a limit, after all, to how much a fat person can eat in a day, so that at some point, their weight gain will level out.

Fat people need to change their eating habits. They can’t diet for a few months and then immediately go back to eat entire boxes of Double-Stuffed Oreos in a sitting if they want to remain thin. Your theory of infinite weight gain is exactly why so many people immediately regain the weight they just lost - they want the look without the lifestyle.

23

Complete bullshit. That’s an urban myth spread by people who never were in the situation, or confuse short-term water loss with fat loss. I lost 20 kg (43 lbs) of fat by strict dieting over a period of three months, and never regained it (more than a year since). And I knew other seriously overweight persons who’d only lose weight once they started radical dieting, and the weight would stay down just fine.

When you don’t gain any weight now, while you’re overweight, then you won’t gain any weight when you resume your normal habits, after a diet or fasting. You only have to adjust your lifestyle enough to not gain weight anymore. Once you’ve done that a drastic diet (long enough to actually lose fat and not just water!) will help you lose weight fast and permanently.[/quote]

So you dieted, lost weight, went straight back to your old food intake/exercise pattern, and didn’t gain it back?

24

Christopher, I’m no dietician, but the Germans must have a magical metabolism if you believe that obese people maintaining a static level of food absorption will concentrically expand in ringlets of fat to an infinite horizon from the common center of their gobbling maws.

It’s little known that black holes are actually the late stage of planets with overweight and decadent industrial societies.

25

The Atkins Diet (no relation) actually does work. I’ve lost significant weight on it twice. The first loss I kept off. The second was disrupted by Dawn getting pregnant and being unable to stay on the diet with me because of that (we’d have had to cook different meals…)

As far as how much meat you can eat, etc., you have to read the book. Binging on two steaks or 30 slices of bacon isn’t allowed. And after you’ve been on the diet for a couple of weeks you’ll crave nothing more than you do bread.

The first time I did the diet it was pretty hellish because the cravings for a sandwich or something with breading/carbs got so heavy. However, the second time was much easier, because a dozen web sites like “Low Carb Luxury” popped up. These sites have things like pizza crust, sandwich bread, pita wraps, etc. that are made with low-carb ingredients, so you can kill most cravings without having to go off the diet.

I question how good Atkins is for your body, because ketosis isn’t a natural state for it to be in. However, after you accomplish the weight loss, the “maintenance” simply involves watching carb levels, not staying in ketosis. It’s doable, and at that point it doesn’t seem unhealthy. And it’s not voodoo – you still have to watch what you eat, and exercise.

I’d do it again to get my weight back down – not an option right now with the baby feeding going on, and the near impossibility of finding time for cooking two different meals when you have a four-month-old.

(If you want to know the best way to GAIN weight, just let your wife get pregnant. I gained quite a bit, and I didn’t lose 30 pounds after the baby was born like some of us did, dagnabbit!)

Right now I’m just watching what I eat and trying to do lighter, early dinners. Finding much exercise that’s not mind-numbing is a bit difficult when the high is 2 degrees F and your schedule is too insane to make to a gym.

26

Could you elaborate on this part? I’ve read things by Atkins which seem to claim you can eat as much bacon and burger as you want, then read other portions which suggest turkey sausage and other lean meats.

What is the official stance on this part of the diet? Is there a limit to how much meat you’re supposed to eat per day?[/quote]

It’s not about eating as much as you want, it’s about cutting out the carbohydrates. There’s a huge misconception that Atkins is about gorging yourself on meats and fats and losing weight - it’s not. It’s about eating a normal, low-carb diet. This means that if a regular caloric intake is 2000-2500 calories/day, you can eat 2000-2500 calories/day with very very little carb intake, and lose weight. If you try the Atkins and end up eating 4000 calories worth of meat a day you’re not going to lose anything.

The principle behind is is that you get your body into ketosis - when your body does not receive enough carbohydrates for energy, it turns to fat and protein as its primary source. In effect, an extremely-low-carb diet simulates the effects of starving to your body, only coupled with a high-protein intake and light-moderate exercise, your body burns fat as its primary energy source instead of protein/muscle.

You don’t consider fat content when you eat foods on Atkins, because when you’re in the ketosis stage, your body will burn it for fuel anyway. BUT, common sense has to be used - you want to burn off your body fat, not a massive fat intake of food.

And you don’t stay on an extremely low-carb diet forever. As you reach your target weight, you gradually introduce more and more carbs into your daily diet until find a level that is both satisfying and maintains your weight.

There have been plenty of positive and negative studies on this diet. I’ve heard about the potential for harm due to high-cholesterol and fat intake, but recent studies published last year from various scientific and medical journals found that the Atkins diet actually lowered LDL (bad cholesterol) levels and increased HDL (good cholesterol) levels in the people that were on it for at least 6 months. And negative reports have been written about the potential for kidney stones or constipation when on the diet, but these reports don’t factor in the amount of water you pretty much need to drink a day while on this diet. I’ve eliminated all soft drinks from my diet, and drink roughly 80-100 oz. of water a day, and am perfectly fine. I believe the minimum they recommend is 8, 8-0z glasses of water/day.

27

Weight training. 3 or 4 sets of 12, one minute between sets. Decrease the weight for each set so that you can do 12 reps. Every other day. Pick 6 or 7 standard exercises. Don’t do bench press - use push ups for that - make most of the exercises “pull” type.

I’m 40 years old, and dropped 35 pounds in 2 months doing this. That was 1.5 years ago, and it’s still off. I also do aerobic exercise (55 min on a treadmill at 8% grade and 4.5 mph) on alternate days. But the weight training led to the weight loss. Your metabolism increases, the muscle burns more calories than the flab.

I’m sorry, but in my admittedly un-medical-professional opinion, any type of strange diet is horsesh*t. I didn’t change much in my eating habits, but the damn weight just melted away. I still eat a big dinner. I did stop eating big lunches (saving money was an added benefit on that). I eat junk at midnight, too. Then again, the only time I have to do that exercise is 9 pm to 10:30 pm, so my internal clock is sort of screwy anyhow.

How did I motivate myself? I spent $300 on weights, and just started. You see results in 2 weeks, which further motivates you. You do hit a plateau after a few months, but by then it’s a lifestyle.

28

The biggest craving I had on the Atkins was just like… juice. Any type of sweet liquids. You mix an Atkins diet with a solid workout schedule, and the weight’ll be gone in no time.

29

I lost 100 lbs. last year by exercising and my own diet which I like to call the “salad as big as your head” diet.

Cereal with fruit for breakfast (coffee and juice too), no lunch, and eat anything you want for dinner, but first you have to eat a salad as big as your head.

By the time you’re finished with that, you take three bites of the burger that you wanted and you’re pretty much done.

Also, I haven’t been to McDonald’s in almost two years. They just posted their first loss. Coincidence? I think not!

30

>> …but first you have to eat a salad as big as your head. <<

That’s beautiful! I assume it’s not one of my salads, though - - some iceberg and a tomato all glued together with 20 oz of thousand island dressing, a box of croutons and half a bottle of baco-bits.

31

Nope. Typical salad consists of lettuce (not iceberg), cucumber, radishes, celery, carrots, tomato, green or red pepper, broccoli, and scallions. Maybe some spinach if I’m in the mood.

Only lite or low fat dressings allowed. No croutons, eggs, cheese, or other salad “cheats”.

Nowadays I might add a pita and some hummus, but that’s because I’m maintaining now instead of losing.

32

I lost 50 lbs on Weight Watchers. It is simple and effective. All it does is make you accountable for what you eat. You can eat anything on the diet it just costs more to eat certain things. I was on the diet for 9 months, far longer than I have ever been on any other diet. I was able to eat at Wendy’s, Taco Bell, and Subway among other fast food places and not break the diet. Also, I never exercised and never drank as much water as they wanted me too yet I still lost weight.

The Atkin’s is ok I tried that but I was ready to kill someone for a slice of bread by the end of a week and I was always in a bad mood and on edge. Might have something to do with my borderline hypoglycemia.

I did end up putting the weight back on but that is because I didn’t follow through. WW will actually help you maintain your weight as well once you get it to the point you are happy with it. Right now I am fat and happy. I tried to go back a few times I just don’t have the willpower or drive.

33

What is with the “drop soft drinks” mantra? Haven’t you guys ever heard of diet soda?

Also, there was a report I read recently which indicated that the “you must drink two gallons of water a day” was basically bunk.

You’ll get 90% of the water you need from the food you eat, unless you’re eating sand. Anyway, that massive water intake stuff isn’t necessary. If you want to piss all day, though, be my guest.

-wumpus

34

The Atkins diet is the way to go.

First, Jason McCoullghauh said the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard an eductaed man say. That if you diet, lose weight, then go off the diet, you gain it back. WOW. How insightful of you! Does that mean, if I pour red paint on my head then wash it off then pour red paint again on my head, my head will be red? FASCINATING. You are a tool.

Keeping weight off with any diet requires that you do NOT go back to your way of eating. It was that way of eating that got you to be a fat ass in the first place.

The Atkins diet gets bashed for stupid reasons. Read the book and you’ll understand. It is tough in the first few days, especially if you drink or eat a lot of sugar. Get off sugary drinks and drink water or diet soda and you’ll lose some weight anyway. But go full Atkins and eat less than 20 carbs a day for 2 weeks then stick around 30-40 carbs a day and you WILL lose weight. I’ve lost 40 lbs in about 3-4 months.

and, SHOCKING, I eat sandwiches now and even french fries and haven’t gained anything back.

35

Diet soda. Watch out if you start getting headaches. Some people have a reaction to one of the chemicals used in diet soda and it causes headaches. I know, I am one. I drink ice tea instead, no sugar.

Chet

36

Almost, yes. Weight gain doesn’t happen instantly. I had been gaining weight on and off for years. The “off” periods were when I was living a sensible lifestyle with exercise and no overeating. Didn’t help any with my excess fat, though. That didn’t go away until I did some serious dieting.

After the fasting period I did watch out to not get into extended fat-gaining periods again, but otherwise no lifestyle change was needed. I took up weight training but actually ate more (milkshakes with protein concentrate mainly) to compensate for the effort and provide raw materials for the new muscles.

37

Have you seen some seriously overweight people? That’s actually an accurate description of their appearance. But your body will eventually just flush most of the extra food, so no, you won’t gain infinite amounts of fat. If you’re in such an extreme situation then you’ll probably have to reduce your regular food intake no matter what, I give you that.

But there’s also the probably more frequent case of people gaining their excess fat slowly, and not really eating too much most of the time. That was the case with me and the people I knew. In such cases, drastic changes to your lifestyle aren’t needed once you shed the excess pounds in a radical diet. Just eating sensibly all of the time won’t help you, though, because there’s not enough excess fat to burn any significant number of calories per day just for maintaining the bulk.

38

The insight isn’t that you gain it back, dipshit, it’s that you gain back even more. Temporary lifestyle changes are a bad idea.

39

Ooo… insightful!

My point is, that it’s a fucking logical given that if you go off a diet and eat the way you did before, you gain it back and perhaps even more. SHOCKING revelation. Just fucking SHOCKING. You should be the next Dr. Phil.

As with EVERYTHING, if you’re going to make a change, the change has to be permanent. Please find me one “change” that goes back to its original state yet is still considered a “change”.

40

Heh, how bout when shocking guest goes back to its original log on name. (I just know this is a regular posing as a shocking guest)