Help with weight loss...suggestions

Sounds like you are doing the right things, weight loss takes time, keep up the good work.

You don't have to cut out all grains, just only consume whole grains and try making everything from scratch. Don't buy pre made anything as those things usually use cheap quality ingredients and have high caloric density

Thought I'll share this...vegetable calorie count

[IMG]http://41.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lm59m ... 1_1280.jpg[/IMG]

I don't see how eliminating coffee/ tea would help. Caffeine intake increases metabolism and helps burn more calories -- unless you load them with cream and sugar...

I'm kind of like you. I was hovering for 10+ years after university above 165. My ideal weight should be around 150-155. I even went up to 175 for awhile due to stress at work, drinking out alot, etc, before settling at about 168 for the longest time.

I'm about 5-10". Average build, 32-33 waist.

For the longest time, I would yo yo, try gimmicks, eat salads, etc. A few times, I got down to about 160 lbs, before shooting right back up. And that 160 lbs was a struggle. The year I got married, I worked out like crazy, tried to watch what I ate, and still only hit that 160, before gaining it back after a month. After the stress and being concerned about how I would look in pictures was over, I would eat more often.

Then this year, starting around March, and by June, I dropped down to 150 lbs. And have stayed there. It fluctuates up to around 154 after a heavy eating weekend, but 2 days of just being normal, I'm back down. That weight loss without even hitting the gym one time. No jogging, nothing.

I've been given many compliments by co-workers, even one ex-worker who I would joke around with alot, but would never look at me in that way when I used to joke around "I used to be pretty handsome chap before I gained this weight" would just laugh at me. Recently we had a re-union as I meet with ex-co workers after drinks, she kept just looking at me, and kept saying how different/younger I looked, etc. The big difference now is I have my jawline back, whereas it was softer around the neck before.

My advice: is it's all about Portion size, consistency, and making sure your stomach doesn't stretch too much. Yes, the first 2-3 days will be painful, but it's amazing how your body adapts. It's also mental. You have to really want it, and not make excuses about eating more, etc. And get rid of the Aspartame! It's shown that your body still reacts like it's sugar. It also increases your cravings for other things.

Really, forget that junk about eating more often. You can eat less to regulate your blood sugar. I just strictly limited myself to 3 meals a day. For about a month. It also helped that this started after I went to the dentist after not going for along time and got a scolding for plaque on my teeth. I had to use a listerine type mouth wash 2x a day.

So I would do this:

Wake up, brush, and wash mouth. No eating for 30 mins thereafter. So go to work. Have breakfast at work which was a cup of instant coffee BLACK, have a grapefruit or orange, and maybe something really small (a piece of bread, or homemade small muffin). Floss, brush my teeth.

At around 1:30, I'd have my lunch, which was a wrap I made. It was ground pork, with whatever I had. I made it flavourful in that I added many salt, spices, ketchup, siracha, Worcester sauce, etc. The key was to also add some black beans in it. This meal gave me junk food satisfaction. Floss, brush teeth. Since beans made a larger proportion of my calories now, I would drop weight like crazy after #2. That's 1 lb of ground pork for the week.

Dinner, around 6:30. Was just about anything, but size wise, it was SMALLER than my lunch. This was to ensure it didn't stretch my stomach. Floss, than brush teeth. Don't eat again. No snack, etc.

I did this all week. Weekend, might have changed it up a bit, but kept to it.

Benefits:
-I saved a ton of money. No buying lunch or coffee at the food court downstairs. In a week, I didn't even spend one dollar. The only thing I bought near my work which has a supermarket were oranges or grapefruit (that's if I didn't bring it from home).
-I saved time from going out to get stuff at work. Especially lining up for morning coffee.
-I lost weight. First month, took a bit longer, but after, it just goes down fast.
-Dental Hygienist was super impressed at the progress I made.
-Feel better, lighter.
-Blood pressure was lower. It was below 120/80 when before, I could never get both below that.
-More compliments from the ladies

My wife, who has joined this boot camp type thing, has been going alot, has all these gimmicks for food to deal with her hunger pangs (ie/ have little snacks ready), has just lost a bit of weight like how I would before.

While me, no exercise, spend alot less money on food just blew away what I wasn't able to do in over 10 years. Get down to my Freshman/2nd year highschool weight.

I second portion size. Be ruthless about sugar. Exercise helps reduce cravings for sugar but calories burned are inconsequential. Start diet in summer or holiday as it takes energy and good mood.

It sounds like you starved yourself.

Dark Phoenix wrote: ↑It sounds like you starved yourself.

The first 2 days or so, sure. It felt like that a bit. But after, I found myself not even thinking about food. And frankly, when I go for a walk downstairs in the foodcourt, pretty disgusted at what people were buying, eating, etc.

My actual appetite decreased, my view on snacks changed. I absolutely feel unshackled from this prison that was my stomach. The real prison is mental. I see these big bellied and bummed people lining up to pay for their $10+ lunch on overpriced gimmick salad lunches or heavy saucey chinese food, wasting time and money all the while worsening their health. What dictates alot is your blood sugar. I've realized that essentially controls the mind. But it's the mind that must also control the blood sugar. Initiating that control is the hardest.

Again, I'm down to my high school weight (in my mid 30s), and I feel great in that it's not forced, and naturally feel that way. It's my wife who still loves to eat, and I see that while she's trying, she still trapped in that way of thinking which just leads to constant struggles mentally and physically. Me, I'm completely balanced.

I actually feel more contented now when I bring whatever scraps I can from home (could be a fruit or so, some bread), and that's my meal for the day. No excuse in taking money out and paying for additional stuff. Whereas before, mentally, I'd feel 'unfulfilled' that I didn't eat that nice warm heavier lunch. Don't feel my blood sugar going down, feel stable, etc.

Thanks for this....I am slowly cutting out bread, potatoes and cereals. I am working towards eliminating the sweeteners. My meal throught weekend was all black eye beans, grilled fish, mised vegetables and eggs.

at1212b wrote: ↑I'm kind of like you. I was hovering for 10+ years after university above 165. My ideal weight should be around 150-155. I even went up to 175 for awhile due to stress at work, drinking out alot, etc, before settling at about 168 for the longest time.

I'm about 5-10". Average build, 32-33 waist.

For the longest time, I would yo yo, try gimmicks, eat salads, etc. A few times, I got down to about 160 lbs, before shooting right back up. And that 160 lbs was a struggle. The year I got married, I worked out like crazy, tried to watch what I ate, and still only hit that 160, before gaining it back after a month. After the stress and being concerned about how I would look in pictures was over, I would eat more often.

Then this year, starting around March, and by June, I dropped down to 150 lbs. And have stayed there. It fluctuates up to around 154 after a heavy eating weekend, but 2 days of just being normal, I'm back down. That weight loss without even hitting the gym one time. No jogging, nothing.

I've been given many compliments by co-workers, even one ex-worker who I would joke around with alot, but would never look at me in that way when I used to joke around "I used to be pretty handsome chap before I gained this weight" would just laugh at me. Recently we had a re-union as I meet with ex-co workers after drinks, she kept just looking at me, and kept saying how different/younger I looked, etc. The big difference now is I have my jawline back, whereas it was softer around the neck before.

My advice: is it's all about Portion size, consistency, and making sure your stomach doesn't stretch too much. Yes, the first 2-3 days will be painful, but it's amazing how your body adapts. It's also mental. You have to really want it, and not make excuses about eating more, etc. And get rid of the Aspartame! It's shown that your body still reacts like it's sugar. It also increases your cravings for other things.

Really, forget that junk about eating more often. You can eat less to regulate your blood sugar. I just strictly limited myself to 3 meals a day. For about a month. It also helped that this started after I went to the dentist after not going for along time and got a scolding for plaque on my teeth. I had to use a listerine type mouth wash 2x a day.

So I would do this:

Wake up, brush, and wash mouth. No eating for 30 mins thereafter. So go to work. Have breakfast at work which was a cup of instant coffee BLACK, have a grapefruit or orange, and maybe something really small (a piece of bread, or homemade small muffin). Floss, brush my teeth.

At around 1:30, I'd have my lunch, which was a wrap I made. It was ground pork, with whatever I had. I made it flavourful in that I added many salt, spices, ketchup, siracha, Worcester sauce, etc. The key was to also add some black beans in it. This meal gave me junk food satisfaction. Floss, brush teeth. Since beans made a larger proportion of my calories now, I would drop weight like crazy after #2. That's 1 lb of ground pork for the week.

Dinner, around 6:30. Was just about anything, but size wise, it was SMALLER than my lunch. This was to ensure it didn't stretch my stomach. Floss, than brush teeth. Don't eat again. No snack, etc.

I did this all week. Weekend, might have changed it up a bit, but kept to it.

Benefits:
-I saved a ton of money. No buying lunch or coffee at the food court downstairs. In a week, I didn't even spend one dollar. The only thing I bought near my work which has a supermarket were oranges or grapefruit (that's if I didn't bring it from home).
-I saved time from going out to get stuff at work. Especially lining up for morning coffee.
-I lost weight. First month, took a bit longer, but after, it just goes down fast.
-Dental Hygienist was super impressed at the progress I made.
-Feel better, lighter.
-Blood pressure was lower. It was below 120/80 when before, I could never get both below that.
-More compliments from the ladies

My wife, who has joined this boot camp type thing, has been going alot, has all these gimmicks for food to deal with her hunger pangs (ie/ have little snacks ready), has just lost a bit of weight like how I would before.

While me, no exercise, spend alot less money on food just blew away what I wasn't able to do in over 10 years. Get down to my Freshman/2nd year highschool weight.

tatiyana wrote: ↑Thanks for this....I am slowly cutting out bread, potatoes and cereals. I am working towards eliminating the sweeteners. My meal throught weekend was all black eye beans, grilled fish, mised vegetables and eggs.

That's good to hear. But... It's ok to have them, it just really has to be portion controlled. Otherwise, in the long-run, you will go crazy and eat 10x the food you missed out on. Now, are you a woman? I do find that they're blood sugar is more volatile in general. It probably has to do with the iron fluctuations (ie time of the month, hormonal, etc).

You really have to accept it mentally, that food is just something to get into your stomach, and not to have so much money spent on. I do see it in my wife that she's mentally weaker, that she doesn't really want to give up the foods she likes.

at1212b wrote: ↑I'm kind of like you. I was hovering for 10+ years after university above 165. My ideal weight should be around 150-155. I even went up to 175 for awhile due to stress at work, drinking out alot, etc, before settling at about 168 for the longest time.

I'm about 5-10". Average build, 32-33 waist.

For the longest time, I would yo yo, try gimmicks, eat salads, etc. A few times, I got down to about 160 lbs, before shooting right back up. And that 160 lbs was a struggle. The year I got married, I worked out like crazy, tried to watch what I ate, and still only hit that 160, before gaining it back after a month. After the stress and being concerned about how I would look in pictures was over, I would eat more often.

Then this year, starting around March, and by June, I dropped down to 150 lbs. And have stayed there. It fluctuates up to around 154 after a heavy eating weekend, but 2 days of just being normal, I'm back down. That weight loss without even hitting the gym one time. No jogging, nothing.

I've been given many compliments by co-workers, even one ex-worker who I would joke around with alot, but would never look at me in that way when I used to joke around "I used to be pretty handsome chap before I gained this weight" would just laugh at me. Recently we had a re-union as I meet with ex-co workers after drinks, she kept just looking at me, and kept saying how different/younger I looked, etc. The big difference now is I have my jawline back, whereas it was softer around the neck before.

My advice: is it's all about Portion size, consistency, and making sure your stomach doesn't stretch too much. Yes, the first 2-3 days will be painful, but it's amazing how your body adapts. It's also mental. You have to really want it, and not make excuses about eating more, etc. And get rid of the Aspartame! It's shown that your body still reacts like it's sugar. It also increases your cravings for other things.

Really, forget that junk about eating more often. You can eat less to regulate your blood sugar. I just strictly limited myself to 3 meals a day. For about a month. It also helped that this started after I went to the dentist after not going for along time and got a scolding for plaque on my teeth. I had to use a listerine type mouth wash 2x a day.

So I would do this:

Wake up, brush, and wash mouth. No eating for 30 mins thereafter. So go to work. Have breakfast at work which was a cup of instant coffee BLACK, have a grapefruit or orange, and maybe something really small (a piece of bread, or homemade small muffin). Floss, brush my teeth.

At around 1:30, I'd have my lunch, which was a wrap I made. It was ground pork, with whatever I had. I made it flavourful in that I added many salt, spices, ketchup, siracha, Worcester sauce, etc. The key was to also add some black beans in it. This meal gave me junk food satisfaction. Floss, brush teeth. Since beans made a larger proportion of my calories now, I would drop weight like crazy after #2. That's 1 lb of ground pork for the week.

Dinner, around 6:30. Was just about anything, but size wise, it was SMALLER than my lunch. This was to ensure it didn't stretch my stomach. Floss, than brush teeth. Don't eat again. No snack, etc.

I did this all week. Weekend, might have changed it up a bit, but kept to it.

Benefits:
-I saved a ton of money. No buying lunch or coffee at the food court downstairs. In a week, I didn't even spend one dollar. The only thing I bought near my work which has a supermarket were oranges or grapefruit (that's if I didn't bring it from home).
-I saved time from going out to get stuff at work. Especially lining up for morning coffee.
-I lost weight. First month, took a bit longer, but after, it just goes down fast.
-Dental Hygienist was super impressed at the progress I made.
-Feel better, lighter.
-Blood pressure was lower. It was below 120/80 when before, I could never get both below that.
-More compliments from the ladies

My wife, who has joined this boot camp type thing, has been going alot, has all these gimmicks for food to deal with her hunger pangs (ie/ have little snacks ready), has just lost a bit of weight like how I would before.

While me, no exercise, spend alot less money on food just blew away what I wasn't able to do in over 10 years. Get down to my Freshman/2nd year highschool weight.

Definitely will work csuse I did the same. But here is where things go bad. If you were really fat you probably will have hanging skin. Ive lost almost 20 lbs doing this but also lost muscle. I was lighter than my high school days but people started to say I looked sick and malnourished. I then started back weight training lifted heavy and gained back 10 lbs muscle and look much tigter. I also increase eating 6 small meals a day. From 164 lbs to 174 and I look better than my high school days.

I believe running 5 times a week is overdoing it with the running. You're supposed to have a day off in between, which u can use to do other things like weights, cycling, etc.

Dr Oz this yr had his "total rapid weight loss program" on his show. Maybe check his website out for information. This program is about rapid weight loss thru food choices, and has no cardio, cuz he said running can increase appetite.

I personally like tea and coffee, the later being an appetite suppressant for me, and the former being a good source of hydration as I usually drink a few pots a day.

1) Calculate how many calories a day you should be eating to lose weight (2 pounds a week accelerated, 1 pound a week slow).
2) Try to get 0.8-1g of protein per pound of lean body weight.
3) Sign up for myfitnesspal.com and track everything.
4) If you end up overeating, try to compensate a bit the next day without sacrificing your protein goals.
5) If you know you'll be overeating on a certain day, try to plan for it.

Don't over complicate things, eat what you want within reason. I went from 235 January 1st of this year down to 183 at my lowest early June just doing that (while lifting 3x a week, some low intensity cardio).

Look into Keto. It works and is almost enjoyable.

tatiyana wrote: ↑My current situation.....

I weigh 160lbs, run at least 5 times a week, and only recently started cutting down on my meal i.e. trying to eliminate chips, coffee/tea, potatoes, and the odd chocolate.

My goal is to get to 140-145lbs

I must point out that I don't drink any pop at all, and only use splenda. I also do not eat pizza, hot dog and all that stuff. I was looking at the South Beach diet, and it pretty much eliminates all grains, a lot of fruit, caffeine, etc.

Your thoughts

Please. Please. Eliminate Spenda. If you want a sweetener, use a natural one like Stevia. Also, what is wrong with using sugar, in moderation?

Do you eat from Canada's Food Guide? I found that the number of fruits and veggies they recommend, makes you full

tatiyana wrote: ↑Good job and well done. So what type of lifting did you do if I may ask?

Been doing ICF 5x5 the whole time (https://www.muscleandstrength.com/worko ... ce-workout) minus the hyperextensions and cable crunches as I lack the equipment. I do some ab work and calf work twice a week. Also walk to work every day and from work every day besides workout days, about 30 mins each way.

Kept my calories anywhere from 1200-2000 most weekdays, usually more than 1500 (with ~140g-150g protein), Fridays/Saturdays were usually way higher (around ~2500-5000 cal on those days). Aimed for 5000 or more cal deficit a week.

EDIT: Should mention, I'm 6'3" so my BMR should be/is pretty high.

Becks wrote: ↑I believe running 5 times a week is overdoing it with the running. You're supposed to have a day off in between, which u can use to do other things like weights, cycling, etc.

Dr Oz this yr had his "total rapid weight loss program" on his show. Maybe check his website out for information. This program is about rapid weight loss thru food choices, and has no cardio, cuz he said running can increase appetite.

I personally like tea and coffee, the later being an appetite suppressant for me, and the former being a good source of hydration as I usually drink a few pots a day.

Dr Oz is a snake oil salesman and shouldn't be trusted.

With weight loss there is one simple rule. Eat less than you burn (CICO - Calories in vs Calories out). Look up TDEE calculators and set to sedentary to find find out a starting point with approx how much you burn (it isn't going to be 100% accurate).
Then use a tool like Myfitnesspal to log your calories. Many people use fat logic on why they say they cant lose weight, well they are wrong. They aren't losing weight because they eat too much.

All the different diets (south beach, keto, atkins, low fat, paleo, etc) are just ways to eat less than you burn, but if you still eat too much you will gain weight. I had huge success starting with keto, and used it for 6 months, but now I just count calories.

Dr.Oz is an idiot, but he is correct in that food choices is what matters the most. Running for 30 min or an hour isn't going to burn too much calories for a 160lb person.. couple hundred at most. And when most people exercise they often do have a bigger appetite, or think they worked so hard they deserve that treat afterwards which can negate the total calories burned or more.