posted 05-28-99 10:04 AM ET        

Let us share methods and ways of losing weight (or starting to like it ).

There was talk of the Atkins diet. IIRC, it is the one where you quit eating carbohydrates and start burning body fat through ketosis.

posted 05-28-99 10:31 AM ET            

But my problem is not severe - my weight is 105 kg and height 194 cm. How fat are you people?

posted 05-28-99 10:43 AM ET         

It is rarely one or two things that make a difference. It is cutting back a little over the whole range of things. This makes it easier (although it may not seem so) during the diet, but difficult to maintain the loss after you come off the diet. Thus the aim should be to get into permanent good habits, i.e. a change of lifestyle.

The most important thing is to monitor. This may sound awful but unless you take note what you eat (in terms of calories and fat) you WILL delude yourself. Hopefully by the time you reach your target weight you won't need to do this any more (except for the occasional check) as knowing the approximate values become almost instinctive.) I tried for years just cutting down without taking notes. Just being sensible. It failed to work (apart for the occasion period of illusion) until I bit the bullet and kept records.

Try to keep to a calorie and/or fat limit. Don't panic if you go over the daily allowance you set yourself, but try to compensate in the next day or two. Also don't panic if you go up or stay the same weight during the week. It is the general trend that is important not the odd blip. Try not to decide "that's it, I've failed today/this week/whatever, I'm giving up."

Exercise is good, but you have to do a lot to make any difference. Judging from personal experience, any affect on your metabolic rate, seems minimal. But to do it anyway. It is good for health, and helps make the change to a new lifestyle. Once a week to start with, twice when you are getting into the swing of it. (Three times if you can build up the dedication. Not that I'm that dedicated ) I found brisk walking was very good ! But my usual choice is a session in the gym. I really must start going again )

Consider joining a dieting group even if this isn't your thing. It keeps the intention in your mind and stops you slipping back into old eating habits.

Don't cut out all the things you enjoy, just limit them if fattening. If you hate the diet, you won't stick to it. You don't need a few treats every day. Have one a week, on the weekend perhaps. It is something to look forward to. But beware of treating them as rewards as I find I deserve rewards all the time !

As a practical suggestion, if you have overeaten, or are close to your day's limit, home made vegetable soup/stew is a major help. It has few calories/fat. You can always add a slice or two of the low calorie bread if you like. Stuff up on fruit and veg when you can. Don't worry too much about avoiding carbohydrates as these are not as bad as they are made out to be, and have the result of making you feel full (so you are not tempted to fill up on other things).

Try drinking more water it is supposed to help (bit of "do as I say" rather than "do as I do", unfortunately.)

Let's see. What else ... Try buying smaller plates. Psychological tip there.

posted 05-28-99 10:51 AM ET         

Let's see 105 kg is about 16 stone.... and .. about 7 lbs ? And about 6 foot... 4 ish.

posted 05-28-99 11:31 AM ET            

However, here is a product of psychological research that may be interesting/helpful (I learned this when I took Psych 101 back in college):

Overweight people tend to eat when external cues tell them they should, not when they are actually hungry (e.g. "it's lunch time, I'd better make myself a sandwich"). Being aware of this can help you alter your eating habits. If you aren't actually hungry at lunch time, skip lunch. And when you are hungry, eat just enough to satiate your hunger, not what you think is an "appropriate meal".

posted 05-28-99 01:14 PM ET            

I started eating breakfast again. This is good - gets your metabolism working right away, as long as it is light (bran muffin and OJ, or something similar, complex carbohydrates. No froot loops.)

I started walking. Instead of taking the bus home, I walk home some days. When it's sunny, and I don't have to do anything. If it's a long way, just get off the bus early. Cars will really reduce your fitness, and the amount of money you can spend on new computers. Plus they're bad for the environment.

I started eating less. Not cutting out anything specific. I'm eating so that I am not hungry, not so that I am full. I have not cut out too much, so that I don't enjoy what I eat, or can't eat specific food, or am hungry all the time.

I changed my eating patterns so that I eat at regular times (4 times a day, breakfast at 8:45, lunch at 12:30, dinner at 5:45, late meal after 9 since I only go to bed at 1 or 2). This means I am hungry then, and only then, which helps me eat less.

I avoid caffeine, sugar and all those simple carbohydrates. They don't make a meal (2 litres of Pepsi and 2L of Chocolate Ice Cream is not a balanced meal). I still eat cookies and chocolate bars, and drink tea, but only around meal time.

posted 05-28-99 02:01 PM ET            

1. Eat everything you like, including candy, greasy food, and no vegetables.

2. Avoid anything saying "lo-fat", "diet" or "light".

3. Don't do any exercise you don't need to.

posted 05-28-99 05:55 PM ET            

Could someone please translate that strange system?? I don't have a clue over how much 220lbs is??

I have this strange problem, it seems like that it doesn't matter how much I eat or how little I excersise I still have big problems to gain weight.
Oh, how I whish that would be true. I've reach my top now My weight is 80kg on a 180cm tall body
I guess I'll have to go back to the gym and start jogging But I'll never stop drinking beer, the liquor of life

Ambro2000

posted 05-31-99 04:59 AM ET            

Ahh... now I see, those profits from the stock market went directly into your stomach...

"Roland is" (ie fat)

Just kidding. Weight 81kg, 183 cm tall (that's about 180 pounds and 6 feet for the non metric community ). The weight I've put on since my low (74kg or something like that) is mainly muscles (damn spelling; did I confuse it with sea food there ? ), and many people say I'm too thin (though I seriously consider buying them glasses...)

posted 05-31-99 08:08 AM ET            

Shame on you - 97 kg/189 cm while children are starving in all imperialist/capitalist countries... Not exactly a "socialist" weight.

posted 05-31-99 09:26 PM ET            

As we grow older, our metabolism slows, thus, it is harder to keep a decent body as we age. Perhaps some strong willpower or egoboost will do the trick?

posted 06-01-99 08:02 AM ET            

I seem to remember (my biochemistry is a bit basic, please correct my errors and forgive oversimplifications) that fat is actually broken down pretty slowly by the body into simple compounds and then rebuilt into fat molecules again. This process is apparently fairly complicated and takes a long hand. Carbohydrates however break down into sugars very quickly and are then converted into fat if they are not needed.

So I'm guessing from this diet that cutting down on carbohydrates (ie potatoes, bread, pasta and rice) is the main saving. Presumably sugars are to be avoided too (that Vodka/Red-Bull must be just about the worst thing in the world weight wise).

posted 06-07-99 06:12 AM ET         

Other reasons can be, feeling uncomfortable (a biggy for me, or it was) and general health reasons (yes fat doesn't necessarily mean unfit, but you ain't doing yourself any favours). And anyway everyone has the right to want to look however they want to look so let's not knock it.

Re carbohydrates. Can't understand the downer mentioned by some here. I kept carbs in my reducing period with good effect. I don't pretend to know the science behind it but if MikeH II is correct then I guess the slow process is why you feel fuller for longer with carbs, and this helps you to resist high calorie / fat treats that otherwise you might eat too many of.

In any case it is always excess calories that get stored so eating sufficient and feeling full (or close to it) must be better than eating a few choc bars in the afternoon !

Anyway, fwiw, the info I received, and it worked for me, is that fats are more easily converted into fat of your own than any other type of food. So whilst you need sufficient fat, most eat far too much. So cutting down here is your best bet. In any case saturated fat isn't supposed to be very beneficial anyway, so monitoring/restricting your intake of that is likely to be good for your health anyway.

For the kids on the forum Yeah when I was a teenager I may have been a bit overweight, but never enough to overly worry me. Give it time, you'll get there (possibly) !

posted 06-07-99 02:34 PM ET            

Eat your heaviest meal at lunch if this is feasible. If it's not, consider splitting your meals into 4 small ones a day.

Cook with less oil or butter or margarine than you would be inclined to. A /tiny/ amount of oil is all that's needed for most pan-frying. Or broil stuff instead of frying it.

Drink things other than soda -- diet soda is an option, but not for everyone (I know a /remarkable/ number of people who have a problem with Nutrasweet), so consider iced tea (yes, it's possible to use as much sugar there but most people won't and some can drink it unsweetened), lemonade (ditto), water, juice (still got sugars, but actually nutritious), iced coffee (especially if you take your coffee black).

Make a habit of eating more vegetables. Not only will you be healthier overall, you will end up eating less meat and starches -- er, hopefully.

Do /not/ go crazy buying low-fat stuff. You /need/ a certain amount of fat, and you will be inclined to cheat and/or eat more. And a lot of low-fat food is high sugar or high salt, which is not a trade-off that's good to make. If you're worried about fat consumption, be careful about the /types/ (I highly recommend stickign to real butter over margarine, and picking peanut oil or light seed oils, particularly in lieu of corn oil) and cut down on the amounts (use one slice of cheese instead of two; use a measured pat of butter for bread instead of slathering it on; use a measured tablespoon of sour cream for a potato instead of dumping it on, etc.).

Do /not/ worry about an absolute calorie count. Everyone's metabolism is different anyhow. The US RDA -- yes, I know, not everyone here is US, but a lot are -- is just that: a /recommended/ daily amount. For the mythical average person. The more you worry about your total calorie count, the less good it does to watch calories. People tend to eat poorly when they're tense.

However, /do/ watch your portion sizes. Especially if you live alone/eat alone. That 8 oz steak sure looks good, doesn't it? Try eating half of it instead. And it's tempting to eat the whole package of stuffing rather than wrap it up, right? Bad idea. Sandwiches made by look? Try counting the slices or ounces of meat -- 3 oz is a healthy serving.

/Treat yourself/. Allow yourself one decadently unhealthy meal a week, and one or two fattening desserts a week.

Snack. Yes, really. Granola, fruit (dried or fresh), small amounts of nuts (say, a handful), a small bag of pretzels (meaning about 3/4-1 oz), between lunch and dinner, and then eat a lite dinner late. This is on the presumptive 3-meals-a-day schedule.

Exercise moderately. Walk a few blocks. Go up the stairs instead of taking an elevator if you're on the 2nd floor; do it at least half the tiem if you're on the 3rd. Waiting for a bus or for coffee to brew or some other short thing, do swivels. Stretch your legs and do lunges. You don't have to "go work out". If you're going to, swim for half an hour to an hour, 3-4 times a week. Use /light/ weights (20-50 lbs) for spot area, do a /few/ (3-4) sets. If you do a /lot/, it's counterproductive.

If you drink, either stop outright for a few months, or cut it back to a maximum of 2 drinks a week for a while. You'd be amazed how many nice, empty calories there are in drinks.

Do NOT use diet pills. If you feel the need for an appetite suppressant, drink something with caffeine in it; that's all half the over the counter **** is anyhow.

Do NOT go on fad diets. Just don't.

I highly recommend against using Slim-fast with the sole exception of keeping some around for a quick breakfast or when you honestly don't have time to make lunch.

Do NOT expect quick results. If you're 30 pounds overweight, give yourself at least a year to lose it, and expect to go up a bit if you're exercising more; muscle mass /is/ heavier than fat mass. In fact, I would highly recommend giving up weight as a standard altogther. Clothing size is a good measure. Shoot for losing a size/an inch off a body part instead of a specific poundage (kilogram, whatever) loss.

posted 06-07-99 02:43 PM ET         

Do you know the old saying "It is a shame to waste it" ? Arrhhh dieter's nightmare. You have been taught not to waste food. It seers a mortal sin to put it in the bin. That food died for you !

The point is that if you don't need it then it is wasted anyway. You don't change that by passing it through your system (where some will lodge as unwanted fat) first.

You don't need to "just finish this up".