Diet?

[Justin]

I've been calorie counting and exercising more and it's working for me too.

I stay under 800 cals per day input, sometimes less than that. I've increased the amount of fruit in my diet and have eliminated all chocolate, icecream, cookies, pizza, beef and other high sugar, carb and fatty foods (unless they occur in a low calorie ready meal).

I walk 1 - 2 miles per weekday and on Sundays. On Saturdays, I walk 5+ miles, for a total of 14+ miles per week. I also do two hours of martial arts per week. In all, I spend about 1500 - 2000 cals per week exercising, that's equivalent to burning roughly 2+ days worth of food.

I have been on this programme since the end of May and have already gone from being officially obese to overweight. I hope to be in the normal category by mid September.

Holy c**p, 800 calories?! While the weight loss is commendable, such a low calorie intake
can overall be harmful to your efforts. If your body is not getting enough calories, it will go
into starvation mode.

That being said, I wish you much luck in your efforts!

 

[EricNoah]

Right after I stared doing a low-carb diet for the first time, I did a little additional research and learned that all "carbs" are not created equal. And the same goes with fatty foods. So I made a little chart for myself (helped me with meal prep and shopping) to show good carbs/bad carbs and good fats/bad fats. Under good carbs I put fruit, beans, and whole grains; and under bad fats I put red meat and dairy. Thus if I had a choice between eating an apple and eating a piece of cheese, I felt I should go for the apple even though it didn't strictly fit the "low carb" model.

Nowadays with counting calories, I generally still cut out a lot of carbs because they aren't as satisfying given the number of calories, and I'll save some calories for a desert if my sweet tooth is active.

If I'm hungry (as opposed to craving food when I'm not particularly hungry), fruit and veggies are very filling at a very reasonable calorie cost. One tip is to have a bunch of veggies already cut up and ready to eat -- and then when you get the urge to eat them, presto, no work involved. I typically have a green or red pepper cut up, some sliced mushrooms, some grape tomatoes, some broccoli, and some carrots ready most of the time.

 

[Umbran]

A large part of the issue is sustainability. In order to lose weight and keep it off, you must change your habits permanently. Any diet that is difficult to maintain for the rest of yoru life is a poor choice as a long-term solution.

In finding a solution, you must consider medical, social, and psychological impact. Atkins, for example, relies on a metabolic "hack", severely limits your food choices in social situations, and largely eliminates large classes of foods that have positive psychological impact from your diet. None of these are good signs for someone trying to make a permanent life-change.

Long-term - exercise, eat a balanced diet with the right number of calories for your body size and activity level. Everything else is either a pain in the neck for you, or your friends.

 

[GlassJaw]

WATERJustin and Umbran have some great things to say in this thread. Heed their words.

Just avoid (or at least minimize) refine carbs:
white bread, sugars (cut out the soda, but some fruit each day is VERY GOOD) and all the
other junk most food manufacturers stick in to make up for a lack of taste and shelf life.

This is perhaps the best advice given in this thread so far. Processes/refined sugars are some of the most difficult things for your body to break down. Soda is probably the worst thing you can put in your body: it has a TON of sugar, caffeine, and it rots your teeth. What a combo.

If you have a sweet tooth (like I do), look for some all-natural snacks in your supermarket. I'm addicted to Odwalla bars and Stacy's cinnamom pita chips right now. One of the problems with eating better is that it's not necessarily inexpensive.

As far as white bread/grains go, I always buy whole wheat. Eat brown rice instead of white. Limit your pasta intake, etc.

Portion size is also out of control in this country. Fast food and other chain restaurants serve way too much food. Don't eat unless you are hungry and try not to "stuff" yourself. Eat smaller portions more often if you have to or get some low-fat/low-cal munchies between meals like carrots or the previously mentioned pita chips.

While I do watch what I eat, I also allow myself to eat the occasional candy bar or go to Taco Bell. Otherwise I'd go insane. The key though is exercise and balance. Balance your food intake and exercising regularly are better than any "named" diet.

Now I'll save the best advice I can give for last:

WATER!!

Drink it. Don't stop drinking it. Drink as much of it as your body allow. Seriously. Water is the best thing you can put in your body.

 

[Justin]

While I do watch what I eat, I also allow myself to eat the occasional candy bar or go to Taco Bell. Otherwise I'd go insane. The key though is exercise and balance. Balance your food intake and exercising regularly are better than any "named" diet.

GlassJaw makes some great points, but I'd like to strongly second the above point. I
have long since gotten to the point where eating healthy is as habitual for me as breathing,
so I also know that I can indulge from time to time because I know that 1) my body can
handle, and in fact likes, the occasional jolt (not cola) and 2) after the occasional splurge
I'll fall right back into my normal habits and the junk I've consumed will be burned off within a
week at most, depending on the severity of the incident (or string of incidents, as holidays
are prone to creating).

 

[Zander]

Holy c**p, 800 calories?! While the weight loss is commendable, such a low calorie intake
can overall be harmful to your efforts. If your body is not getting enough calories, it will go
into starvation mode.

That being said, I wish you much luck in your efforts!

Thank you for wishing me luck.

I really don't think that I'm in starvation mode or even close. The pounds are gradually coming off, pretty much at a steady and predictable rate, and I feel OK. If my body were reacting badly to the diet, my weight would be fluctuating and I probably wouldn't feel well.

I'm lucky that I don't feel hunger as most people do. I can skip meals without any ill effect. I've gone without food for 48+ hours before (not as part of this diet) and still didn't crave it or even desire it much. The mechanism that tells other people that they're hungry doesn't work well in me. It seems to be genetic: my father and one of my uncles are the same way.

 

[The_Fan]

I've started a health and fitness class over the summer in an effort to get in shape (and a required credit). I'm taking a dual approach, increasing my calorie expenditure by hitting the gym and decreasing my intake by...well, primarily by not having the money to afford food.

Our teacher has us using this website: www.fitday.com to keep track of our progress. I've already started to notice a change after just a week and a half.

 

[The Edge]

Im actually technicly underwieght, just by a bit, but thats what the chart says. Its strange too, since I know I eat too much junk. Im not anorexic (sp?), Im perfectly content about my health/weight situation at the moment, but I might like to gain just that bit extra to get me where the chart thinks I should be. Anyone want to trade.

I know the best way for this would be to eat loads carbohydrate rich foods like pasta or bread, but I cant eat enough, I get full too quick. I owe my wieght to both my metabolism and the fact that Im always moveing. Fidgeting is a great extra helper for useing up energy. I have the view that I may as well run home rather than walk since I can afford the energy, Its good for my heart/lungs etc, and its faster so I might as well. I prefer to stand and walk about at a bus stop because its more interesting than sitting down, why not.

My only concern is that the amount of saturated fat and sugar I eat can still be a problem regardless of whether im burning a lot. high sugar levels even for a short while put strain on my pancreas (I think thats the organ Im thinking of) which can lead to diabieties. And to much saturated fat will attach to my arterys and once its there its very hard to get rid of it. Ive actually recently started trying to find alternative snacks with less sugar and sat fat. Its quite tricky since I much prefer a kitkat over a sandwhich, but malt loaf is one thats worked well. Except that I got greedy, just three hours ago I ate my entire loaf all in one break time, it was suposed to last me the next three days. :\

oops.

 

[The_Fan]

I used to be like that when I was a teenager. Now that I'm 22, even though I'm still growing, my metabolism has seriously slowed down. As a result, I've creeped up from 180 to 200 over the past year.

You don't want to lose more than one or two lbs per week because it can kick your body into starvation mode and also because environmental toxins, preservatives, and other unsavory things accumulate in your fat cells. If you live an unhealthy lifestyle and then start dropping weight quickly, these toxins will put undue strain on your liver and kidneys.

I'd also recommend an exercise program for anyone who wants to change their diet (note: not go on a diet, change their diet). It can essentially double the effects of any such change, or minimalize the amount you have to change your lifestyle. To lose one lb in a week, you need to consume 500 calories less each day than you expend. You can reduce your intake by 500 calories, but that's a good-sized meal. That's also a half hour of strenuous exercise. A pretty big change for most people.

If, on the other hand, you increase your activity level while decreasing intake, you only have to go 250 calories in either direction. That's 20 minutes of moderate exercise and two cans of soda.

 

[fusangite]

Those of you who have gone the counting calories route, how many calories does one burn in a 3-4.5 mile run, assuming one is doing 10 minute miles?