Dieting

[Pekka]

Also don't fall into any of those miracle pills or whatever they have on commercials.. Spend more than you take (calories) and the weight will drop. Simple as that!
Some people give it a week or two and then be disappointed and quit.. give it a few months at least, you'll get results! It's all in your mind .
If you start working out, try to make it fun, it's not supposed to be hell... it's supposed to be fun, and make you feel good, not bad and disappointed.

It's very easy, there aren't any shortcuts, but make it fun for yourself and more permanent. And don't be too hard on yourself if you slack few times.. it won't do big damage.

If you want to have miracle pills whatever, the only one that works is amphetamine, and I think it's illegal substance . Other than that, there are no other ways, they're all lies..

edit: and some final words.. mirror is more reliable than scale. You just need to get past the hard part, which is few weeks-month from starting.. keep doing it.
It doesn't matter how you look anyway, it matters how you feel, and working out and keeping good diet makes you feel good, so don't be too hard on yourself. Besides, it's your body, you should always take good care of it!
That's it, I didn't mean to sound patrionating or anything, I just wanted to say that it's very possible, you just need to believe in it and keep working out correctly. It's simple math, and it works for 99% of people.

[chequita guevara]

The only thing that works is controling one's diet and excericise. I starting excersizing a week ago. My daily workout goal is to burn 288 calories, which is 1.2 ounces of fat or one pound of fat every two weeks. It takes about 40 minutes of bike riding.

My concern is this 15 calories per pound thing. At 262.2 pounds, that's 3933 calories daily to maintain, and that just doesn't sound right. Hell, I don't think I could eat that much in a day (it's like four double whoppers w/ cheese). At 160 lbs of lean mass, i.e., the rest of me minus the 100 lbs of fat, I should need 2400 calories a day. Then you have to make adjustments for age and whatnot, the chart had me at 2000-2400 calories a day.

Since I started tracking my calorie intake, I'm averaging about 2100 a day, with extremes of 1180 and 2810 (I woulda come under the wire, but orange juice has 110 calories and I had about five glasses worth, plus three root beers--1030 calories drinking alone --it sneaks up on you).

At www.foodcount.com a nutritionist mentioned you have to have a deficit of 3500 calories a week in order to lose one pound (you can make the deficit by excercise or dieting) a week. That's five hundred calories a day. So that means I only need to knock 212 calories off my diet daily . . . now if I could just figure out my actual target caloric intake.

BTW, there are over-the-counter amphetamines, such as Sudaphed, but I don't like the way it makes my heart race.

[orange]

personally I don't think you need any health pills or anything like that...

biking is a good start. If you get to a point where you think you can do it, try running, or at first alternating runs with your biking, and then switch to running. Running is the best calorie burner there is, and when you get to a point where you pleateu, you'll need the extra calorie burn to maintain your success.

I would also add some basic stretches and exercises, such as crunches and pushups. Nothing too major now, but some stuff to limber you up and start you on a path that will allow you to, in the future, stretch well and develop abdominal and upper body chest and arm strength.

[orange]

3933 calories is absurd. I'd say, for your height and weight (what, 6'0 260?) 2000-2300 sounds about right. Especially if you're exercising...but break it up into smaller meals and more of them, and don't fill it with empty calories (beer, sodas, etc.)

Also, drink a good amount of water. If you don't normally do this, build up to 6-8 glasses a day gradually. Incorporate lean meats into your last meal to help burn calories at night, when your metabolism normally drops.

[chequita guevara]

When I'm finished biking, I stretch all the major muscle groups in my legs. That adds another 8 minutes of excercise. I figure after about a month I'll change to using the treadmill or stair master or something like that. Right now, I'm simply too out of shape for my joints to take that kind of punishment.

Water's good, water's yummy, water's delicious. Just thinking about it makes me want some right now. I don't drink soda all that often, but yesterday I just screamed out for sugar (went on a long bike ride without eating breakfast, then hit the grocery store )

[orange]

natural. Once again, good luck It's not always easy. Took me quite a few tries before I got something I liked enough to stick with.

[Lancer]

...and a one and a two and three and four...



Pushups!

...and a one and a two and three and four...

[alva]

nice one

[DarthVeda]

I should start exercising...

[Blackwidow24]

Dieting???? Whatever.. eat and eat but remember that eating junk will make you fat!!! So eat fruit and veggies till your hearts content but leave Fast Foodo out of it!!!

Eat Breakfast that will get yyou metabolism going and that is the most important meal then eat whatever you want..get your energy flowing and be active..as long as you eat and move you will lose weight.. try it!!!\\I lost 40 pounds eating .. CHIPS AND SALSA GUYS!!! Salsa has so many fat burners in it..limes..onions... garlic..incorporate that in your meals you will lose weight!!!!!!

[Urban Ranger]

You should eat most for breakfast and leasf for dinner. Some good exercise you can do is jumping jack or ropes. Do any of that for 20 minutes a day, and you probably don't even need to go on a diet.

[Gatekeeper]

Chegitz:

Well, health concerns have forced me to start watching more what I eat and how much. With that in mind, I do the following on a daily basis, and it helped me lose 7 pounds 3 1/2 weeks (at least according to the doctor's office visit I had on Dec. 20):

1. I bought a Schwinn Airdyne Evolution stationary bike and use it twice a day for 15 minutes apiece (30 minutes total), five days a week. The remaining two days a week I do it once a day. Anyway, this burns an average of 400 total calories per day when I do it twice a day. 400 calories out the window with only a 30 minute investment isn't bad, IMHO.

2. I have started counting carbohydrates, which is what supplies your body with energy. 15 grams of carbohydrates is equal to "1 carb," and the average diet isn't supposed to have more than 24 carbs a day (I happen to be on 21 right now).

3. Watch your meat intake. I have a guideline of 8 ounces a day, although I do go over that a few times a week (eating out twice a week is my "treat," so to speak).

4. Make sure your fat intake isn't more than 60 to 85 grams a day, with saturated fat staying around 20 grams or so.

5. Keep your chin up. This stuff can take up to a year, IMHO, to fully kick in and benefit your body, particularly if you haven't been much into exercise prior to getting a wake-up call.

6. Go to a doctor's office and get a physical NOW. Only then will you know what your limitations are (plus you avoid finding out the hard way).

Best of luck, Chegitz.

Gatekeeper

[lightblue]

I think the two best aerobic exercise machines are:

1/ Those elliptical crosstrainers that sort of emulate the movement of cross country skiing. They get me up to a sweat in less than 3 minutes and put next to no pressure on your joints.

2/ What us in the rowings biz like to call ergos, which are the stationary rowing machines. Rowing exercises just about every muscle in your body (if you do it right), bar possibly your triceps and pecs. It is ridiculous how fit you get from rowing. I came from university level basketball and changed to uni rowing and my fitness went thru the roof (running for 2hrs? No problem; increase of max weights by 20%? No problem).

Most gyms should have these.

[HershOstropoler]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
My concern is this 15 calories per pound thing. At 262.2 pounds, that's 3933 calories daily to maintain, and that just doesn't sound right. Hell, I don't think I could eat that much in a day (it's like four double whoppers w/ cheese). At 160 lbs of lean mass, i.e., the rest of me minus the 100 lbs of fat, I should need 2400 calories a day. Then you have to make adjustments for age and whatnot, the chart had me at 2000-2400 calories a day....

At www.foodcount.com a nutritionist mentioned you have to have a deficit of 3500 calories a week in order to lose one pound (you can make the deficit by excercise or dieting) a week. ...

From my dieting experience:

I read the "7000 calories to lose a kilo of fat" too. As for your basic burn rate: It's just a wild guess anyway. I started at 93 kg and went to 75 kg. I got the impression from continuing calory counting that my burn rate had decreased, but that may have been a consequence of dieting, not of the weight loss.

Judging from my calory intake+weight loss, my burn rate seemed to be about 2000 calories at 78 kg/~170 pds. The rate increases when you're heavier, might just not be linear.

I'd say take the 7000 calories=1 kg and experiment. Take your average weight over 5 days, let 2 weeks pass inbetween, and from your intake+weight loss you should roughly get your number. At 260 pds I'd guesstimate something 2500-3000 without exercising.

"So that means I only need to knock 212 calories off my diet daily . . ."

That didn't work for me. I had to create a deficit of about 1000 calories daily to get an effect. Maybe it was inaccuracy of my assumptions, maybe my body adjusted to a few 100 deficit... I lost 1 kg per week pretty regularly.

Another thing: Seperating foodstuffs or reducing fat had no effect that I noticed. Although if you limit yourself to 1000 calories as I did, you will look for more "saturating" foods (fiber instead of fat etc) automatically.

[Starchild]

You know, a massive, life threatening infection is often a great way to lose weight. My former manager's cousin lost over 100 lbs fighting off a bad case of mono.

A brief touch of food poisoning (in which during the middle of summer, 30 degree C heat, I was under six duvets with a hot water bottle and still shivering from the cold) and old sweaters got a new lease on life!