Weight Loss Tips/Advice

[missjae]

Does anyone have any good advice or tips to losing weight? I know you have to eat well and work out, but does anyone have any routines/meals/work outs that works well? I need to drop weight and fast!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Go to the gym every day. I''m not kidding cardio for an hour a day for a minimum of 4 days a week will be a big help in getting you to your goal. Don''t restrict calories too much either. I find when I''m working out a lot, eating a little more gives me better results. You also might want to track what you eat in a journal.

By doing the above, I lost 25-30 lbs in 4 months or so.

 

[MishB]

What''s always worked for me - moderate exercise at least once a day, twice if you can - morning and evening. Cut all the rubbish out of your diet, greasy fatty foods, spreads, dressings, anything with sugar in it. Go easy on refined carbohydrates, don''t overindulge on fruit. Don''t waste calories on drinks, eg alcohol or juice.

 

[bee*]

If you go to the healthy lifestyle section there''s tons of good ideas there. I go to salsa step aerobics on Monday and Saturday and salsa aerobics on Saturday too and walk Amber daily. I do my best to try and eat healthy too and the weight has been coming off me quite quickly. Just hoping it continues.

 

[robbie3982]

Check out www.sparkpeople.com. You can input all of your current stats, your planned activity level, your goal weight and the date that you want to reach your goal by and it will create a meal and exercise plan to meet those goals.

 

[Upgradable]

I''m currently having some amazing success because I''ve decided to shake my addiction to sugar and starches!! What this means is that for one entire month I am not eating ANYTHING with sugar, flour, rice, pasta, or potatoes. *Your body immediately utilizes sugar for fuel, and then ANY EXCESS that is not used right away is stored away for later. The long term storage is in the form of fat! Starches are turned right into sugar in your digestive system and used the same way, so by eliminating or limiting them, here is what your body does instead. It pulls out the stored sugars and breaks down the stored fats back into sugar to use for fuel. All of this requires fuel to do, so not only are you getting what you need to function, you are using more metabolic energy to do so, resulting in a faster depletion of stored fats than if you were just decreasing your food intake. Also, the veggies and proteins that you are eating are broken down and used for building blocks, not stored away as more fat. Just a simple glance at this concept should show that you''re going to loose body fat by going this route. Oh, and if you are exercising moderately during this time, the proteins, vitamins and minerals from your changed diet will be made into muscle which consumes more calories just existing than fat does, thus requiring more fat to be turned into sugar, and...... YUP, more weight loss! Oh, I forgot to add that it takes more energy to digest proteins, fats, and veggies than it does sugars and starches, so more calories burned here too!! Be careful of fruit intake, even commonly assumed "healty fresh fruit" during the first month because they contain a lot of sugar too! It is crucial that you drink bucket loads of water during this time!!! Your body is making lots of wastes that need to be cleared by the kidneys. So, try to drink about 2 liters per day! Fill an old 2L soda bottle with tap water and put it in fridge so you can easily keep track. You may feel really crappy the first week and a half or two until your body stops craving the sugar, but it will be worth it. Stick it out!!



*I am a schooled and credential college anatomy & physiology professor

 

[somethingshiny]

Ditto on the Healthy Lifestyles section of PS. I''ve struggled with my weight my entire life. I was unable to find an exercise regimen I could stick with until I found yoga. (I *puffy heart* yoga) And, at least for me, I think the HLT is what helped me along. I need the support and the accountability that I get when on HLT.

Please don''t do any of those scam diets. They just hurt your body in the long run.

 

[fleur-de-lis]

Date: 2/11/2009 1:28:33 PM
Author: somethingshiny
Ditto on the Healthy Lifestyles section of PS. I''ve struggled with my weight my entire life. I was unable to find an exercise regimen I could stick with until I found yoga. (I *puffy heart* yoga) And, at least for me, I think the HLT is what helped me along. I need the support and the accountability that I get when on HLT.

And, along those lines, avoid "The Cupcake Thread!" in FH&H.

 

[missjae]

Hudson thank you for the advice! I am going to do that! I always feel panicked about restricting Calories! I would LOVE to be able to drop 30 pounds as quickly as possible...in total I want to lose ALOT more than that, but I have to be realistic and start with something reasonable so if I can lose ten pounds first I would be happy...then battle the next ten etc. My sister is getting married next year and she wants to dress shop by spring...her and I have both taken to working out!! It''s so stressful and frustrating!

 

[missjae]

You all have given such great advice! Thank you so very much! I loved the "avoid the cupcake thread!" lol bahahahaha isn''t that the truth!!!! I was never a big girl - until certain health circumstances and lifestyle change(took a high stress, sit down all day type job), I''ve stacked on the weight and am mortified at what I''ve become. I don''t drink Alchohol and will admit that cutting the junk and SODA!!! out is the hugest battle first off...I feel so overwhelmed by this....I am lucky enough to have a work out buddy(my sister) and she gets me to the gym and we work out hard!!! but I''ve been terribly sick with a cold since the weekend so haven''t been able to get to the gym and feel so set back....sigh...

 

[Steel]

My tip is boring.

Don''t concentrate on your short term goal. You may well drop pounds fast. But if you do not do it slowly and carefully you will meet those same pounds - with friends very soon.

Short term weight loss is never the answer, it mostly leads to long term weight gain and yo-yo diets.

 

[Upgradable]

Are you calling me a yo-yo?

 

[Steel]

Date: 2/11/2009 7:30:33 PM
Author: Upgradable
Are you calling me a yo-yo?

If the cap fits.....

 

[Upgradable]

Date: 2/11/2009 8:08:54 PM
Author: Steel

Date: 2/11/2009 7:30:33 PM
Author: Upgradable
Are you calling me a yo-yo?

If the cap fits.....

lol!!!!!

 

[Jas12]

Upgradable--doing what you suggested will really work for all the reasons you have stated, but the only thing that is really important to keep in mind is that there will be some rebound gain when/if sugars, starches are re-intoroduced (as will occur with any diet once it is stopped ). I remember learning about the effect sugars have on blood sugar levels etc. more than 10 years ago ( i read the first Zone book after my sister was put on a similar diet to help control her juv.diabetes and then read many, many other books and studies in an attempt to support/understand my sister''s lifestyle changes) i was able to change my diet to omit most refined foods and sugars 80% of the time, and never looked back, but i watched some of my family initially loose weight but not hold onto the basics. They gained it all back.

Missjae--it is my belief that most of your success will come from a change in diet. Exercise is very good and very necessary but it takes a great deal of energy to burn off one chocolate bar (for example)--not eating that bar in the first place, combined with eating a healthy diet in general--is the best way to get the lbs off.
I only really shop in the perimeter of the supermarket (veggies, fruit, meats, eggs) and i make most of my treats from scratch so i know what is in them and i have to really want something in order to bake it and clean it up afterward. Those little tips keep my weight under control and i only ''diet'' in a general way.

 

[Upgradable]

Jas, you are exactly right!! It really needs to be seen as a lifestyle change. I know that I have a terrible addiction to sugar and sweets. It has been really wreaking havoc with my fibromyalgia, so I decided to break the hold it has on me.

I am really looking forward to seeing if I can manage my choices once I shake the addiction.