Weight Loss Advice

[theWB]

Has anyone here successfully lost significant weight and how did you do it.

I've committed to a 10 mile race sponsered by my company and need to drop some significant weight so I don't embarass myself.

I have dropped 4 pounds in 5 weeks going from 230 to 226.
But I'd like to get down to 195 to 200 by race day which is July 27th,
That gives me 16 weeks to drop another 26 to 31 pounds about 2 per week.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[Satch]

I once dated a nymphomaniac and lost about sixty pounds in six weeks...

 

[sleepysurf]

About 6 mo ago I got a "wake up" call that I had Type 2 Diabetes, and a VERY bad lipid profile. My Doc suggested South Beach Diet. I lost ~10 lbs the first two weeks, and 25 lbs overall. I've been eating "carb smart" ever since! I also kicked up my usual bicycling regimen, and bought a Waterrower (www.waterrower.com). My triglycerides dropped from 470 to 70, and total cholesterol from 185 to 112, and my blood sugars are running normal. So, I heartily (pun intended) recommend South Beach Diet, not only for short-term weight loss, but as a LIFETIME committment to eating smart.

 

[amey01]

There's no voodoo, it's simple mathematics.

Energy expenditure must be greater than energy intake. Simple as that.

Eat less, exercise more.

 

[Kruppy]

Has anyone here successfully lost significant weight and how did you do it.

I've committed to a 10 mile race sponsered by my company and need to drop some significant weight so I don't embarass myself.

I have dropped 4 pounds in 5 weeks going from 230 to 226.
But I'd like to get down to 195 to 200 by race day which is July 27th,
That gives me 16 weeks to drop another 26 to 31 pounds about 2 per week.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated

Wayne,
My wake up call occured Christmas 2004 after I saw pictures of myself with the family. I have successfully dropped and kept off about 50lbs. How did I do it? Nothing but working out and eating right.

My work outs consist of both weights and cardio work. I do 2 spinning classes and two weights classes a week at Life Time Fitness. I have also added jogging into my weekly schedule. I burn roughly 5000 calories a week. I have two off days Monday and Saturday. During the week my workouts start at 4:30 am so that I am able to get to work by 7 or 7:30 and not loose and family time after work.

2lbs a week is pretty aggressive in my opinion, well at least for my situation. Yours might be completely different. A 3500 calorie weekly deficit is equal to 1 lb loss, 7000 calories = 2lbs.

Something important to remember is that there is a line between reducing your food intake to facilitate weight loss and reducing too much and forcing your metabolism to shut down and go into conservation mode.

I'm no expert, but I'd be happy to disucss this further by pm if you'd like.

 

[HsvToolFool]

Follow a sensible plan. I lost 40 lbs and my gall bladder
the last time I dieted.

First, I weaned myself off sugar (mostly from colas) which
was excellent. I lost weight and felt much better. But then
I decided to quit fast foods cold turkey. So I unknowingly
went from a moderately high-fat diet to nearly zero-fat.
This caused gallstones which caused incredible abdominal
pain which required surgery.

 

[Rich]

Eat less, exercise more.

Crap! There must be an easier way! I think I am going to follow Satch's plan. Although my wife may have issues with that. But then she is the one suggesting that I lose some weight. . .

I am right there with you Wayne. I am at 225 and would do well to get back below 200.

If you train properly for this race, that should help you lose some of the weight pretty quick. Start slow and ramp up gradually. By race day, you should have already run a ten mile run a couple of times so you know what you are in for. And stretch properly, so you don't hurt yourself. Three months is a pretty good bit of time to prepare so you should be good. I wish you luck.

 

[theWB]

Thanks to all for the advice.
Satch I like the sound of your plan, would be a very hard sell to the wife,


Alan, went to The South Beach website, looks interesting might go this route.Congratulations on your weight loss and improved health.

Amey, very true, but spoken like someone who's never had a weight problem, sounds like something I would have said 20 years ago.

Bob, Losing 50 pounds very impressive. I ike the math, 7,000 calories a week equals 2 pounds. So if I reduce my calorie intake by 3,500 and burn 3,500 through excecise every week, I'm there.
I like the idea of lifting weights, something I've never liked to do, but as I get older I know it's something I should do.

Brian, Sorry to hear about your gall bladder, but you did loose the 40 pounds.
I too have cut sodas out of my diet and replaced with water, except my morning and afternoon energy drink., can't seem to ween myself off of these.

Rich, it's not the distance that worries me, I've completed 2 marathons, but it's been 22 years since my last one which I completed in 3 hours 6 minutes. I weighed between 175 and 180 pounds back then. I just want to have a respectable time, and less weight equals faster time with equal effort.

 

[Rich]

Rich, it's not the distance that worries me, I've completed 2 marathons, but it's been 22 years since my last one which I completed in 3 hours 6 minutes. I weighed between 175 and 180 pounds back then. I just want to have a respectable time, and less weight equals faster time with equal effort.

My wife is also a marathon runner, so I asked her advice. She says if you are comfortable with the distance, but want to increase your speed to get a better time, then you need to add hill repeats and fartleks to your training schedule.

 

[amey01]

but spoken like someone who's never had a weight problem,

Ok, I'll confess - very true - got me there......

I ike the math, 7,000 calories a week equals 2 pounds. So if I reduce my calorie intake by 3,500 and burn 3,500 through excecise every week, I'm there.

But it IS exactly what I said, isn't it? Eat less, exercise more.

 

[Kruppy]

I like the idea of lifting weights, something I've never liked to do, but as I get older I know it's something I should do.

The more muscle you have the more calories you burn. Cardio alone will only get you so far as is the same with building muscle on it's own. You should be doing a balance of both to kick your metabolism up.

By the way, just finished my first mountain bike race (a time trial) today at Pontiac Lake. Fell three times and finished third in my clydesdale class (I'm still on the big side). The guy that came in second (24 years old) beat me by 3 seconds (I'm 39). Not to bad for an old guy.....

 

[tsmooth]

FRESH VEGETABLES, FRUIT, WHOLE GRAINS, FISH, and LOW FAT MEATS (chicken, turkey, etc). Take carrots for a simple example. One ounce of carrots has about 15 calories. One ounce of pretzels has over 100 calories. In your stomach the weight all feels the same! Also, you might want to check the index used for folks with Diabetes. It basically rates foods based on their impact to your blood sugar. Some foods break down much faster, hence making you prone to eating more.

I eat a solid breakfast, small snack at work, lunch, another small snack during work, and then an average dinner. Eat less more often and you will never be hungry. My meals are about 500 to 600 calories and the snacks are about 100 to 200 back when I needed to lose and now a little more to maintain. Try to take a sip of liquid (water or milk) between every bite and you will fill up easier and eat less as well.

If you don't have the time to workout, try to work in movement during the day. A person who taps their toes, etc. can burn something to the tune of 200 or more calories then a person sitting still (over the course of a day). Always use the stairs and walk around during breaks at work. I use a bathroom at work that is 500 steps away from my desk twice a day. Small changes like that will work wonders for you in the long run as you can only safely lose ½ to 1 pound per week.

This will allow you to work towards a healthy weight without having to really change your lifestyle. Add a little exercise and I started to see results after only 2 weeks. The first step is determining that you are going to make a change, but the true test is sticking with it, best of luck.

 

[eknuds01]

Wayne -

Some general guidelines:

SouthBeach is OK. I think you will lose some weight with that approach, epecially during the phase I stage. However that portion of the method is very restricted with respect to the carbohydrate intake and then with phase II-III, you gradually let carbs (good carbs) back into the diet.

As long as you stick with it, I think you can safely loose about 1lb/week. If you excercise, you go lose a bit more more.

Another idea is the Body-for-Life method. This book is highly recommended. Bill Philips lays out the whole plan for you. Basically you eat 5-6 meals a day. Portion sizes are governed by the size of your fist. Essentially you eat lean, clean, protein with whole grain, or low glycemic carbs. He does advocate lots of excerise. For most people, I recommend the BFL book.

Another approach is to 'carb cycle.' Eat only lean protein and vegetables (low glycemic like broccoli, salad, etc) 3-4x a day and maybe a snack or two consisting of cottage cheese, egg whites, etc. Do this for three straight days and then have a carb loading day. On this day go ahead enjoy some pasta, a 6" sub from Subway and so on. Keep it sensible. Avod coke, cake, gobs of ice cream, etc. You have a few treats on the carb loading day, but, again, use common sense. Then go back to the low carb meals for 3 more days in a row and continue the process for 4-6 weeks and evaluate the progress.

As far as exercise goes:

To shred fat, might I suggest a german body comp routine 3 days a week with cardio (high intensity interval training) on the off days. Do that in conjuction with the diet and your jogging/running and the fat will melt right off. You'll have a TON of energy, believe me once you get into it.

German body comp training is essentially lots of super setting where you mix an upper body movement with a lower body movement with minimal rest between sets. For example...

Monday Strength routine

BLOCK A

Squats (12 reps)
Lat pull down (12 reps)

rest 30-45 secs

Squats (12 reps)
Lat pull down (12 reps)

rest 30-45 secs

Squats (12 reps)
Lat pull down (12 reps)

Block B

Front split squat (10-12 reps)
seated rows (12 reps)

rest and repeat 2 more times as shown in Block A.

Block C

Stiff leg dead lifts (12 reps)
barbell curls (10-12 reps)

rest and repeat 2 more times as shown in Blocks A-B.

Ab exercise:

Decline Bench crunches
Weighted floor crunches

Then you perform a similar routine on Wed and Friday. The wed and fri routines would work the other major muscle groups: chest, shoulders, arms and there's some work devoted to the smaller groups such as the calves.

General eating guidelines:

Avoid simple sugars (carb loading is the exception): sodas, refined sugar, etc lack fiber and it's hard to get full on these foods. They also mess with your insulin levels too. Alcohol, as well, should be avoided. Lots of empty calories and carbs there.

Drink plenty of water! Roughly a gallon a day should do the trick. Sip water continuously throughout the day.

Low glycemic veggies are your friends.

Lean protein is important: fish, ground turkey, lean ground beef/steak, cottage cheese, and egg whites. Chicken and lean cuts of pork are also good sources of clean protein.

 

[mikesinger]

Wayne -

Some general guidelines:

As long as you stick with it, I think you can safely loose about 1lb/week. If you excercise, you go lose a bit more more.

Another idea is the Body-for-Life method. This book is highly recommended. Bill Philips lays out the whole plan for you. Basically you eat 5-6 meals a day. Portion sizes are governed by the size of your fist. Essentially you eat lean, clean, protein with whole grain, or low glycemic carbs. He does advocate lots of excerise. For most people, I recommend the BFL book.

This is a great approach - I have lost 90 lbs and have kept it off for over 15 years. At 43, I can freebar squat 505 lbs for 3 sets and bench 115 lbs dumbell for 3 sets.

Something to keep in mind - it is a lifestyle change. If you can stay with it - you'll feel better, look better, and your wife will be a very happy woman.

 

[eknuds01]

I would also like to add that 65-75% of the results/progress is tied to the diet. Excercise is the spark - diet is the fuel.

It's easy to find activities that are fun and burn calories. But it takes far more discipline to avoid eating the rice or pasta or bread that comes with nearly all of our meals when we eat out. It takes a lot more discipline to avoid picking up the potato chips, ice cream and beer at the store.

You'll spend only 4-5 hours a week working out (maybe more) but you'll devote considerable time to cooking, eating, and shopping for whole foods.

Erik

 

[Nik]

WB-
I was in the same boat as you are. I woke up last october weighing 234lbs! I couldn't believe it and realized how bad I felt and looked. I couldn't run up a flight of stairs, I couldn't be with the misses without getting exhausted. I hated that! SO I decided on a diet plan. Simply put I was watching my calories and s. fat. There is so much more to dieting than that but those are the two main things to look for when dieting. Fat is fat is fat, and same goes for calories. Carbs though are ENERGRY. The body brakes them down, they do get converted to stores of energy but they do not stay like fat cells do. Fat cells will only grow and increase in number, they will never go away only get smaller.
The amount that you eat is the biggest part. Figure out for a typical day how much you were eating and go from there. I could probably guess that if you were eating somewhat healthy already that the SIZE portions are what might be the problem. I had the same problem- I would eat healthy things but my serving sizes were 3x what they should of been.
Now for exercise- don't kill yourself or over work yourself because they will lead to failure since you will not enjoy it and then it become a negative aspect (causes of most failed diets). Go and get yourself a good pedometer to see how much you are walking. If you work in a multiple story building take the stairs if possible. When you drive to work and its a beautiful day- park as far back as possible so you can take in extra steps and get a mini-workout. Once your exercise needs PASS your calorie intake that is when you loss weight. Don't forget work around the house, sex, sleep all these things burn calories while you are doing it so don't forget to include those.
There are a MILLION tools at your disposal and you have to find the right one for YOU! What works great for me could be aweful for you. Find the one that works best for you and stick with it! As people mentioned there's South Beach, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, ect blah blah blah. You get the idea. I enjoy http://www.calorie-count.com/ It a great community filled with people trying to lose weight and they all can help you out too. I like it cause it helps me identify the good food from the bad by breaking down the contents of the food. And thats how I have lost weight. Here is my weight loss graph from Calorie Counter!

The blue line is my weight lost and the green line is my trend. As you can see I have gone from 234 to 195! (The last few weeks of the graph are not good and you do not want to see that however due to family issue and depression I didn't eat- every bad for anyone! So don't do it) I feel great and have tons more energy!

 

[Yang1815]

Okay, I haven't read through every single response/suggestion in the thread and I apologize in advance if what I'm about to say has already been said.

I lost 55 lbs doing this:
Cut out the starch - no potatoes, no rice, no pasta, no bread.

You can compensate by eating more vegetables and more meat so you're not starving. Fruits have a lot of carbs also, so eat the same amount that you're eating now. When you go out to restaurants, sub the potatoes/pasta/rice for steamed vegetables. Ask for dressing on the side, and if you must, share a dessert.

Soda - only diet, beer - only light and limit yourself. Miller Lite, Bud Light, Bud Select, Michelob Ultra are all good choices.

If you must snack, snack on some unsalted almonds or nuts of your choice. A lot of fiber, protein, healthy fat, other nutrients.

If you have a history of constipation, take fiber supplements and drink lots of water. Also take a multi-vitamin everyday and try to be more active than you are right now. Skip the elevator and hit the stairs, park at the farthest corner to avoid door dings and maximize walking. The weather's getting so nice, hit a round of golf, play tennis, go walk/jog around a lake, whatever you do, be active.

Also, weigh yourself every morning when you wake up and keep track. If you are not losing weight or if you're gaining weight and you see that in the morning, you will subconsciously tell yourself throughout the day every time you're eating "hey, eat less!"

Lastly, since you're training for a run, do that! Set a pace and target time and just go for it!

Good luck!

 

[David Matz]

There's no voodoo, it's simple mathematics.

Energy expenditure must be greater than energy intake. Simple as that.

Eat less, exercise more.

Wayne,

I think this is the best advice. It is simple, but it is the reality. From a practical stand point, you need to limit what you eat for dinner. Most people can eat close to 2,500 calories just during dinner. If you are aware of what you eat at night, you can do it.

 

[Yang1815]

Nik - carbs are energy but they do get converted and stored as glycogen in liver and muscle cells.

The phrase "eat less, exercise more" is very simple and maybe too simple. How much less to eat and how much more to exercise is enough? In addition, besides how much one's eating, what one's eating is also very important. If you eat right, you'll not only look great, but you'll also feel great.

I read most of the suggestions and they're different enough where you would probably just have to pick one and jump into it.

Again, good luck, and make a new post with the result and your experience!

 

[theWB]

Thanks to all for your advice and success stories.
I didn't lose any weight last week, but I didn't gain any either.
So it's been 4 pounds in 6 weeks.
This week will be tough since I'm on the road all week for work.