Diet tips?
 

I gained 21 lbs this school year, from 176 to 197. BAH! (I am 5'10"). My biggest problem was I had little time to exercise. But today was the last day of finals, and I have 8 weeks before summer classes begin, and want to use that time getting back in shape.

Any diet tips for losing 21 lbs of fat, not muscle? Thanks. I actually enjoy exercise and prefer being outdoors rather than in a gym, but just haven't had any free time for several months.

Lots but you haven't given us enough information.

How many meals do you consume?

Have you used the weight calibration to determine how many calories you consume during exercise, and how many calories you can absorb during exercise?

If you want to lose weight, you must burn more than you consume. Simple.

If you wish to ensure you're maximizing your calories, you need to identify foods you will eat, but 40.40.20 ratio, of protein, carbs and fat is a good simple ratio for exercise and weight loss.

More meals, smaller portions is better.

my advice isn't as high tech as Archaea's, but some simple things to keep in mind that will help...

Don't eat after 8:00 (or 7 if you're crazy)... drink lots of water... I'm doing something everyday whether it's riding my bike or going for a run.. I'm just trying to be as active as possible. Also, I'm eating smaller portions and listening to my body - meaning I used to eat until my plate was clean, now I stop eating when my body says it is satisfied.. I've also stopped eating fast food and soda. I used to be a Wendy's maniac...

Hope some of that helps.

You really don't have to do a whole lot. Just go to CVS and get some diet pills, follow the directions and you're good to go.

Look at what you did, 4ever! You went and offended the cycling gods and we got us a new forum! :)

I'd say cut all sugared drinks if you haven't already. Easy way to axe a bunch of empty calories.

Simple, non-scientific way.

Reduce portion sizes. Eat when satisfied not busting at seems. Eliminate all sugared drinks.

Eat more frequently.

Eliminate all white breads.

Eliminate all fast food.

Eliminate desserts.

Snack on fruits, not prepared snacks, or tuna (your neighbors will love you).

If you do these things, I imagine you'd lose weight. Imagine what you'd do if you added an hour of exercise every day.

Some of my techniques:

- Take dietary fiber. This helps you eat less, helps keeps you regular, and helps lowers your cholesterol - a virtual wonder-substance. Metamucil ain't just for old people any more.
- Eat breakfast. When I skip breakfast then I'm ravenous at lunch and ravenous at dinner as well. When I eat breakfast I find that I'm not so ravenous at the later meals in the day. I'm currently on a 1200/1500/1800 calorie rotation. I rotate calories so as to not decrease my metabolism too much and so as to avoid the tendency to get ravenous and "snarfy" that occurs when on a reduced calorie diet for too long. On my 1200 days I have 200 calories for breakfast, 300 for lunch, and 700 for dinner. On 1500 days it is Breakfast 400, Lunch 300, Dinner 800. On 1800 days it is Breakfast 400, Lunch 300, Dinner 1100.
- Chew slowly, take little bites. No really - I'm serious here. One of my historical problems is that I wolf my food down. I end up eating double helpings before my brain has relayed the message that I'm full. By eating slower I've found that I feel full after just one portion intead of having seconds or thirds.
- I don't stick to some special kind of diet (i.e. low carb, low-fat, etc.). If you strictly count calories then you'll naturally start avoiding high-carb stuff because it is just too expensive from a calorie standpoint to make it worth eating. The problem comes when you don't strictly count the calories - 50 for mayo, 110 for an ounce of cheese, etc. 100 for half a chocolate-chip cookie, etc. The next thing you know you're easily 500 calories over your daily limit. The downside of calorie-counting is that it is a hassle and takes a lot of effort. It's also virtually impossible to do if you eat out a lot so if you eat out a lot then you may be better off with some type of specific diet plan.

I've heard that before... what does that do?

Eating more frequently, smaller meals, makes your body continue to work on digesting and burning food and energy. Archaea, please add to this.

I have lost 20 pounds since the start of the year by: exercising more (running about 3 miles a day, walking more on top of that as well) and by eating better. I cut out the candy during weekdays, I don't eat many burgers and fries anymore as well. I will not eat after 7pm (because when I used to, it was usually ice cream, candies, etc.). I also eat all three meals...but I will have a few snacks midmorning and midafternoon (like some peanuts or string cheese).

There is a Jamba Juice 3 1/2 miles from home, so I walked there for lunch and it was a 7-mile round trip.

I hear that in the first week it is not uncommon for men to lose a pound a day, but after that you don't want to lose more than 2 lbs in a week.

Two questions:

1) Giving up sugar and soda is a given, but what about Diet Dr. Pepper and Diet Mountain Dew? Are there other things in regular sodas besides the sugar that are bad for you?

2) I've been told to stick with high protein foods, like fat free cottage cheese, beef jerky, and tuna fish with no condiments (right out of the can). Peanut butter is loaded with protein, but is high in fat; however I always thought peanut butter has a "good" kind of fat. Are there other "fat" foods that are good for you?

My technique: get tonsillitis so you can't swallow food. I lost 25 lbs. in the last month and am below 200 lbs. for the first time in years.

Actually, I once went on a diet where I severely limited my fat intake and cut out virtually all sugar. I lost 30 lbs. in 3 months. And I kept it off pretty good, until I started eating Ding Dongs again. I also noticed a difference when I switched to diet soda - even more when I drink more water than anything.

I think a big key is to limit your appetite - don't feel like you have to finish your entire plate - I always try to leave a little - make sure I don't eat as much as I really want.

I think when people ask about good diets, they're really asking how to lose weight without limiting fats and sugars. Let me know if anyone discovers that method.

Pig out on whole fruits, especially citrus. They fill your stomach, help to satiate sugar cravings, and scrub you out. BUt stay away from juices, as they're nearly as fattening as soda, and have none of the benefits of whole fruits.

Answers to questions.

Eating more frequently spreads the calories over a period where they are absorbed better and used. If you consume much more than you will use in a short time, you risk "storage", or fat building.

Many guys in the 160 lb category can absorb only 300 calories per hour. So if you consume 1000 calories as opposed to 500, you get more absorption, more direct input and less waste and storage.

Example, during an Ironman, I know approximately how many calories I need to absorb on the ride and run. I'm usually at a deficit at the end of an Ironman. However, unless I use high fibre I won't need to defecate. If you are efficient, you won't defecate as much.

Secondly, carbonation. I haven't researched it, so my understandings could be wrong, but carbonation affects oxygenation in the liver and slows metabolism down. Before races I go off sodas altogether and feel better. Caffeine is a diurectic, drying you out, exposing to risk of kidney stones and accelerating unnecessarily your heart rate.

1. Carbonation is pretty not-good for you overall but I don't know if it impacts weight loss/gain.

2. I'd skip the jerky due to salt but otherwise protein is good. Skippy has a newer peanut butter out called Skippy Natural. I'm addicted. It's 10,000x better than old style natural peanut butter, and it's got no trans fat. Salmon is another food that is fatty but in a good way.

One strange thing about carbonation which may be untrue, but I heard somewhere is that although, you decrease the ability of your blood to carry oxygen, it also causes your body to retain water, hence bloating and increased body fat.

Here is what i have done i am down roughly 75lbs since November for myself and 50lbs for my wife.

1. High protein diet, i eat lots of beef jerky (original is the best, the others have a lot of sugars and more carbs than you would think), chicken in the can, tuna, chicken breast (i eat at least one of these a day, grill up the george foreman takes about 5 minutes total.) egg whites.

2. Low Carbs- i try to stay away from white breads, cereal, sugar, and anything else high in carbs. A few things we do eat that still have some carbs, carb control tortillas, whole grain or wheat breads and my wife still loves total cereal.

3. Calorie control- like Meanie said if you watch your calories it will help with your carbs. I read that your daily caloric intake if you want to lose 1.5lbs a week is your body weight multiplied by 7 but not to exceed 2000 calories. This has worked extremely well and it is not hard to figure out.

4. Excercise- i lift weights at least 4 times a week and do at least 30 minutes of cardio (usually more) 3 times a week. Be sure to try and mix it up as much as possible as it can become boring and hard to stay on track. I switch up my lifting workout every couple of weeks as well.

5.Think before you eat- this may sound stupid but before i go out to lunch, or make a snack, before i do anything that involves eating i think about it, for example if i am going to go out to lunch with a few guys from the office, i will think of a place that has something healthy and will ask if it is alright if we go there, no one ever seems to mind. Also if you are going to make something to eat at home dont just open the fridge and stare you are more likely to grab something you dont want, so plan on what you are going to eat before you open the fridge.

6. Cheating is not a bad thing- I have never splurged and gone crazy, however if you go completely cold turkey and say that you will never have a piece of candy again the chances are slim that you are going to stick to it. Their is a reason you need to lose weight my guess is self control is not one of your strong points. So eat that piece of candy then when you work out go for an extra minute or two.

7. Set goals- I am a strong believer in goals in all aspects of life, but especially in weight loss. Dont just set a general goal, like i want to lose 30 lbs. Set specific date/time goals for when you want to lose it by, and what you are going to do to lose it. Also break the goal up in to smaller parts. For me i had one "check point" on March 1st, my next one is June 1st. The ultimate goal seems very unattainable if you look at it all at once, but if you break it up it is very achievable. Make sure however you set realistic goals that can be reached.

Now that i have written a novel on weight loss, take it for what its worth i still have a ton of work to do, but this is what i have been doing and its worked very well.

Yeah, I don't know if carbonation affects weight gain either, but it probably will affect your exercise performance.

And about the Skippy natural-- even though it has no transfat, I think it does have hydrogenated oil. The natural kind (where the oil separates) is non-hydrogenated, so it's better for you. I bought the Skippy natural once, then figured out it had added sugar and palm (or coconut oil) added in.

Yeah. It doesn't have hydrogenated oil (it uses palm oil) but it does have sugar. It's not actually natural peanut butter. Pretty clever on their part. But the sugar content is lower than regular peanut butters, no hydrogenated oils, and it tastes sooooooooo good, that it's good enough for me! (We Gordons are big-time peanut butter consumers!)

We buy Smuckers. It's just peanuts and salt. You can find it at Wal-Mart and it's not too expensive. We are nuts for peanut butter around here. We'll eat it straight out of the jar, which is not something you should do, particularly if you are trying to lose weight.

I knew I liked you guys! This is our approach, as well. I even have a recipe for a great peanut butter glazed chicken breast if you're interested.

But it appears we have differing notions as to what constitutes an acceptable peanut butter. By my rules, the two inches of standing oil disqualifies the Smuckers. I actually used to make my own peanut butter. But that seemed dangerously close to something domestic. I'd hate to raise Flash's expectations.

:)

Do you ever use peanut butter as an ice cream topping, like hot fudge? Mmm mmm. All you do is heat some in a saucepan with a little milk stirred in, which changes the consistency just enough to prevent it from solidifying when hitting the cold surface.

I actually like it when it solidifies. Hard peanut butter shell with soft ice cream inside. yum!

I'm not much of a chef, but I used to make a mean brownie peanut butter hot fudge sundae. One of the many things that went by the wayside when I gave up sugar. sniff.

When I get really snacky/snarfy and feel like I have to eat something I usually go with popcorn. Popcorn doesn't have that many calories for its volume so it acts as a good "filler". The salt makes you retain water but I actually don't mind that so much because the salt makes me thirsty, I drink more water, and then am full. At this point in the game I would rather have too much salt than too many calories.

Easiest answer to your question: Body for Life.

6 smaller meals per day
weight training (they have an excellent workout) approx. 45 min 3 times week.
cardio approx. 20 minutes 3 times a week

one day a week is a free day where you can have a veritable food orgy. I've done this program a couple of times. You'll lose 2 pounds a week like clockwork and it really minimizes muscle loss. Check out the book in any bookstore or go to

bodyforlife.com

It's as easy as it gets.

When I participated in a fitness challenge two years ago, I would eat one of those 300 calorie protein bars for breakfast and couple that with one of those one a day weight loss vitamins. I figured that if I was going to go to the trouble of swallowing a horse pill sized vitamin, I might as well have it help me lose weight.

During that 10 week challenge, I lost 40 pounds. I've sadly put it back on and am participating in the CB biggest loser contest, so I'm hoping I can get some of it back off.

You'll be most successful keeping the weight off if you make a permanent lifestyle change (which I'm sure I didn't actually need to tell you), so unless you're planning ong eating protein bars and vitamins you probably better start looking at smaller portion sizes, more fruits and vegetables, no soda, cut the sugar, limit the meat, and you should make sure to drink milk.

There was an article in National Geo a while back about an enzyme that is found in cow's milk that helps your body break down fat. It's apparently only found in milk, not other dairy products...or maybe milk was just the best source, can't remember. Either way, point is that drinking at least skim milk will help.

I think that you're right. One of the biggest problems that people that diet have is that once they get the weight off, they change their eating habits to reflect the new loss (somehow one feels better about eating fast food if he or she is excercising).

For a specified period of time, the protein bars aren't bad, but you're right, for the long term, lifestyle and menu changes are important...the vitamins should be a constant.

The best and simplest thing I have done for weight control is regular weight-lifting. I lift three times a week for about 20 minutes or so (in addition to jogging every morning - racquetball a couple times a week). The lifting has increased my muscle mass and density and I have noticed a big difference in my metabolism. It is quite a bit easier to maintain my weight now.

You are consuming more than half of your daily calories at dinnertime, but I've been told it is much better to do so at lunch, and then have a light dinner, that way your body has calories to burn during the day.

Eliminate white bread or white flour? For example, are white breads, flour tortillas, and normal pastas bad for you, but wheat bread, corn tortillas, and spinach pastas are okay?

I've heard this before but in practice it is not so great to consume the bulk of my calories during lunch. The practical problems are:

- There is no time in the mornings to make larger entree-type dishes (i.e. that have more calories) that I can eat during lunch.
- My wife makes larger entrees for dinner so I could theoretically eat my little 300-calorie sandwich for dinner and then save the entree for lunch the next day; however, that means I'm eating re-heated leftovers for lunch every single day and never getting to eat something while it's fresh or hot off the grill or whatever. (NOTE: I don't have a problem with eating re-heated leftovers for lunch but the point is that I also get to eat them when they were fresh as well. I don't want to only eat leftovers.)
- I could minimize the leftover issue by eating out for lunch every day but eating out every day is too expensive and complicates the process of counting calories.