Seriously WTF

Mental wrote: One of the hardest lessons to learn is that to lose weight, you need to eat more. My wife lost 60 lbs in a year. For the first month she had to eat so much it would almost make her sick. But you are trying to fool your metabolisim .

More detail on this please. My wife's been trying to lose weight and is getting pretty pissed that her 6 weeks of eating less and exercising more haven't changed a thing either on the scale or in the way her clothes fit.

gamby wrote:

EastCoastMojo wrote: You are building muscle mass, muscle is heavier than fat. Plus, you may have been dehydrated when you weighed in the first time. Either that or gravity has suddenly gone all wonky.

Just about impossible to put on 5lbs of muscle mass in 2 weeks.

Exactly. Even if every ounce of fat in your body instantly turned to muscle, you wouldn't gain or lose a single milligram.

Bottom line is this: if weight in your mouth is greater than weight out your, um... exits, (including evaporation - your pores, mouth, nose, eyes, ears, etc are exits as well) you gain weight. Forget counting calories. There are so many diets out there with really strict rules and therefore people think that diets only exist under strict rules. Take in less stuff, make sure that what you're taking in covers your individual body's needs for nutrition, and poop your way to a healthier you.

People think that eating a candy bar is going to add 5 lbs to their hips. That is only true if its a 5 lb candy bar and your body converts every molecule into fat.

pigeon wrote:

Mental wrote: One of the hardest lessons to learn is that to lose weight, you need to eat more. My wife lost 60 lbs in a year. For the first month she had to eat so much it would almost make her sick. But you are trying to fool your metabolisim .

More detail on this please. My wife's been trying to lose weight and is getting pretty pissed that her 6 weeks of eating less and exercising more haven't changed a thing either on the scale or in the way her clothes fit.

My wife is currently on a fat-release type diet. It starts with loading your body with fat for two days. This is believed to get your body used to dealing with fat. Then you do a 30-60 day course of eating VERY small amounts of fat in reduced-size portions while taking herbal supplements that "trick" your body into thinking it needs to keep dumping fat. If you just diet alone, your body will work hard to maintain your fat level and convert more of what you eat into fat. The supplements are there to make her body ignore that stasis and continue dumping fat. Typical weight loss is about an average of 1 lb a day.

There are a million diets that work, but here is what gets me. People have totally forgotten about portions and basic physics. Diet-makers have totally reduced diets into eat this, not this, and only X amount of it. They added this complicated thing called Calories as part of a diet regimen.

If you are on a 1500-calorie/day diet, you can choose several ways of filling those calories. You can eat 10 teaspoons of sugar (with a weight of about 0.1 lbs), or you can eat one Olive Garden Entree (with a weight of about 1.5 lbs) People forget that a calorie is a unit of energy. Both meals are mostly comprised of things that your body can turn into fat. Let's even say for a moment that your body can turn 100% of them into fat. Which one will make you add weight? The calorie diet leaves out two major components... weight, and how much of those calories actually get absorbed. If you eat 1000 calories of sugar, it will probably get mostly absorbed. If you eat 1000 calories of insoluble fiber, almost none of it gets absorbed. People on the low-calorie diet tend to spread out their calories over the most possible food so they don't feel hungry. They end up ingesting multiple pounds of low-calorie food per day.

Bottom line... think of your body as a big filter. Now think about what components of that food are available for absorption. If you swallow 10 lbs of stainless steel, you will gain 10 lbs.... until you poop it out. If you swallow 10 lbs of sugar, much of that sugar will be absorbed.

Okay folks..I'm seriously thinking about "taking the plunge". I'm tired of feeling weak and old (I'm 49 this month, but have some seriously bad habits). My doc's one of those on the low-carb bandwagon, and I made an honest effort before I got laid off. About the third week or so, I hadn't lost much weight (still drinking beer like a fiend, but lost about 7lb regardless)..but I had so much more energy that it was the first time I'd felt good in years. Problem is, SWMBO is scared to death of losing me to the cholesterol intake (yeah, I've got high blood pressure as well). And of course, since I've been laid off..I can't really justify the increased cost of buying real food instead of the processed stuff at the moment. Any suggestions?

friedgreencorrado wrote: Okay folks..I'm seriously thinking about "taking the plunge". I'm tired of feeling weak and old (I'm 49 this month, but have some seriously bad habits). My doc's one of those on the low-carb bandwagon, and I made an honest effort before I got laid off. About the third week or so, I hadn't lost much weight (still drinking beer like a fiend, but lost about 7lb regardless)..but I had so much more energy that it was the first time I'd felt good in *years*. Problem is, SWMBO is scared to death of losing me to the cholesterol intake (yeah, I've got high blood pressure as well). And of course, since I've been laid off..I can't really justify the increased cost of buying *real* food instead of the processed stuff at the moment. Any suggestions?

Try damn hard to give up the beer. I've put on about 7 pounds since turning 21 in January.

Gosh Fast_Eddie_72, 1110 post?! No wonder I can't find the one where you laid out your diet. Do you remember how far back it was? Where do you guys find the time?!

pigeon wrote:

Mental wrote: One of the hardest lessons to learn is that to lose weight, you need to eat more. My wife lost 60 lbs in a year. For the first month she had to eat so much it would almost make her sick. But you are trying to fool your metabolisim .

More detail on this please. My wife's been trying to lose weight and is getting pretty pissed that her 6 weeks of eating less and exercising more haven't changed a thing either on the scale or in the way her clothes fit.

Honestly, she had a trainer. So I am speaking to this third person.

The first thing she did was start keeping a food diary. She figured out she was taking in about 1600 calries a day. Her trainer bumped her to 1800-2000 a day with 1/3 of the calrories being protien, 1/3 carbs and 1/3 fat. She really had to cut back on the sugar and no more skipping breakfast. That part was huge. So every morning she would force a 1/2 cup of egg beaters and a whole wheat tortilla down. Then every 3 -4 hours it was time to eat again. A whole grain bagel or fruit.

It had been alluded to, but it's not just eating, but what you are eating and how often. I am certian that a small bit of research could yield better information than what I have here, but yeah, breakfast, several small meals and find out what you are taking in.

The clothes thing you can't change. But when she was full up lifting and running, my wife actually gained a little wieght, but lost all kinds of inches before he weight started catching up. So honestly, hide her scale. It's a terrible measure of fitness.

I use a scale about once every three months, but its a terrible indicator. I have never (and I mean NEVER) been athletic. I lifted weights once in college and I hurt for three weeks. berkeley that.

So, its pretty safe to say that my weight has been predominantly a factor of my eating. The heaviest I got was 269, and I actually looked pretty good. I wore 36/32 jeans. After that I slowly yo-yo'd down to 212 a few years ago. I looked pretty good. I wore 36/32 jeans. I am now about 240 and I look kinda odd. My legs look like I run marathons and do power lifts, but my beer gut makes it hard to find my dick and my chin has its own zip code.

Weight has nothing to do with it

After my bypass surgery I went on a diet, not for cholesterol but for diabetes. To avoid having to use insulin I changed my eating habits to limit my carbohydrates intake. I might eat a slice of bread ,or a hamburger bun once a week now. Almost everything else is eaten in measured quantities, but I still have pasta once or twice a week, pizza once, and lots of chicken, fruits and vegetables daily.I've gotten used to the changes ,you can make anything a new habit in 30 days, and I've lost 30lb (started at 195) over the last 7 months. I go to the gym 3 times a week and hockey at least once to get some cardio and maintain as much muscle mass as possible. I feel great !
Why do all this? I'm almost 59 and have unborn grand children yet to spoil!!
I do crave a 12 pack of Tim Horton's donuts though !

How seriously should I take the recommended weight for my height? I am 6'2". I know my recommended weight is between 180 and 200lbs but even when I was in damn good shape in high school I was at 200lbs. I am at 215 now.

Just reading thru this... the goal really shouldn't be to lose weight. Change the goal to being fit and healthy.

If you can do an hour of strenuous exercise a day, maintain a reasonable caloric intake you will look and feel better. The basics work - exercise more, eat healthy, repeat. The key is to make "healthy" the consistent norm. The thing is - everybody knows that deep inside. You don't end up on a couch for a decade because you are a very motivated, self-starter when it comes to exercise... so you need that first. You have to be able to commit to any schedule, rain or shine, every day for the rest of your life. Once you can get there - whatever plan you choose will work.

That is why you see a lot of "...after my bypass surgery, heart attack, diabetes diagnosis..." because nothing motivates like the sudden realization that mortality is real. I started running, biking, hiking, whatever for the same reason. If people not faced with a medical choice could harness that same fear - everyone would be buff.

How can I get ride of belly fat? I have pretty much always had this even when I was running 5 or miles a day.

93EXCivic wrote: How can I get ride of belly fat? I have pretty much always had this even when I was running 5 or miles a day.

You really can't specifically get rid of "belly fat" by targeting your belly. Fat is fat... doing sit-ups will make muscle under it but you will still be fat. You have to lower the whole body fat number.

If you are doing 5 miles of cardio every day - you are in good enough physical condition to tune a little. Try mixing in some lower heart rate stuff. Lift weights. Try Yoga every other day. Look at your diet - cut some sugars.

I have this same issue - I run 20-30 miles a week and can still put on a spare tire. The high cardio does not burn fat as well but it gives you the lung and heart capacity to successfully do whatever you want. To lean out I do my own mix of the Crossfit/P90X stuff as time/work/travel allow. That really works but diet is my biggest issue - I love me some good beer and grilled stuff. I could probably cut the workouts to just running and yoga or callisthenics every other day if I could stop eating like an ass.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

93EXCivic wrote: How can I get ride of belly fat? I have pretty much always had this even when I was running 5 or miles a day.

If you are doing 5 miles of cardio every day - you are in good enough physical condition to tune a little. Try mixing in some lower heart rate stuff. Lift weights. Try Yoga every other day. Look at your diet - cut some sugars. I have this same issue - I run 20-30 miles a week and can still put on a spare tire. The high cardio does not burn fat as well but it gives you the lung and heart capacity to successfully do whatever you want. To lean out I do my own mix of the Crossfit/P90X stuff as time/work/travel allow. That really works but diet is my biggest issue - I love me some good beer and grilled stuff. I could probably cut the workouts to just running and yoga or callisthenics every other day if I could stop eating like an ass.

I am not doing 5 miles right now. I am hoping to build back up to that. Diet is my biggest problem because of my schedule right now, I am always on the go and broke so I have to much fast food but I try to pick healthier choices. Also I do love good beer.

Also, your metabolism will adapt... if you eat too little, your body will go into "starvation" mode and retain EVERYTHING it possibly can. I'm one of those people that will stay the same weight if i eat 2000 calories vs if i eat 6000 calories.

The energy level is way different between the two, even though my weight and BMI fluxuate very little.

To lose weight, eat moderately and exercise, but DO NOT STARVE YOURSELF. You won't lose a damn thing.

I came across an insightful strength training article recently: Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie. Like the author says, I'm "weak like a little girl," but so far I'm too lazy to do anything about it. He does give me hope, though!

I've found diet to be the key to my improved fitness. If you're working long days, or traveling it's hard to find appropriate food. I'll reinforce the comment about not starving yourself. I probably eat 2000-2400 calories a day now, but I eat 6 times every day. I used to try and lose weight by skipping lunch and it was futile.

93EXCivic, I was told to focus on other numbers, not my weight so much. My % body fat is now between 18 &19%. "Healthy" is usually listed as 11-24%. All my other numbers used to be marginal, like cholesterol and blood glucose and are very good now. If you can keep those and fat % in a normal range you'll be fine. In high school your body fat was probably a little above ideal, but your were more active ,and therefore fairly healthy.And as a previous poster pointed out, do it before you have the crap scared out of you!

nderwater wrote: I came across an insightful strength training article recently: Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie. Like the author says, I'm "weak like a little girl," but so far I'm too lazy to do anything about it. He does give me hope, though!

Great article. Right to the heart of the problem - nobody can find real answers from "fitness professionals" because there is no money to be made off people who do push-ups.

Basic strength training is free.

nderwater wrote: I came across an insightful strength training article recently: Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie. Like the author says, I'm "weak like a little girl," but so far I'm too lazy to do anything about it. He does give me hope, though!

Wow!!!!!

AWESOME article! Bookmarked for future use. Ima get HUGE!

If you check Castle you will see that ol' Mal has kept in shape.

I lost over 60 lbs a couple of years ago but it came back. I really need to figure out how that happened. It is difficult to exercize when everything hurts.