How do you lose weight?

[chadachada123]

...I don't think that I could ever be overweight at my age, because my metabolism is such that I can only gain muscle, not fat.

That said, this summer, for the first time since being on the high school swim team (three years ago), I decided to start exercising, doing push-ups and occasionally jogging. After a couple of weeks, I then bought a cheap weight set from a garage sale, and I've gained some five to ten pounds of pure muscle over this summer alone.

It feels good, and gives me an excuse to eat lots of protein-based foods (which I love). I've been meaning to exercise more now that school has started, since it makes me feel better and makes me have higher self-esteem.

The greatest feeling was when my best-girl-friend, who hadn't seen me for several months, hung out with me, and when we got to the topic of exercise and I pointed out my weight-training, she immediately said, "yeah, I noticed your pecs but I didn't want to say anything." Greatest feeling.

 

[OmniscientOstrich]

Right now? Fuck all. Got some dumbbells lying around at home that I should put to use more often and I should probably get round to joining a gym at some point, but momentarily speaking I'm just to lazy. Feh. Really though, it's only within this past year that I've started to get a bit on the chubby side, I mean my first year at uni actually left me pretty skinny because of how frugal I had to be and before that I had a pretty slim figure in spite of doing next to bugger all in the way of exercise. So kinda sucks and kinda strange that now all of a sudden I've gotten bigger. =/

 

[Simonoly]

Well I have Crohn's disease which has pretty much guaranteed a slim body for the past 7 years. However recently, due to the wonders of medical science, I now put on weight like everyone else. So now I am preventing myself from expanding by going to the gym 3-4 times a week and being more careful with my diet. I don't have 'snacks' anymore and I substitute a lot of food for lower calorie offerings.

So yes, either develop an inflammation disease of your intestines or just ensure that you keep up a regular mostly intensive exercise regime, and cut out all snacks. A lot of the time the snacks between meals are purely habitual, so after a week or so you don't feel any hungrier for being without them.

 

[Jarsh82]

Portion sizes.

Look up how much food an average meal should be and keep an eye on it. I think an average daily caloric intake is around 2000 calories, and a burger from a fast food joint can end up being that big just on it's own. If you're eating fast food 2 or 3 times a day you could be tripling your daily recommended intake.

 

[DanielBrown]

Got an excersise bike at home. Have just recently started working out again after three years of sitting on my ass. I've hardly gained any fat, thanks to wonderful genes I suppose, but I've lost most of my muscles.
Works pretty well though. Don't own a scale, but I'm a bit slimmer than before.

 

[TwiZtah]

I have an ultra-high metabolism, I can't lose weight if I don't gain any in the first place.

I thought I had that too, I did not gain any weight and I thought I ate alot. As it turns out, i didn't eat enough to gain any weight. I may have eaten, 1500-1800 calories, while I need 2200 when I just sit on my ass the whole day, now while lifting heavy weights, I need maybe 2800 calories. I think this is the case for most of the skinny/high metabolism/ yadda yadda, think you eat enough, but you don't.

 

[Thegreatoz]

Past year I have spent about an hour to two hours a day in the gym, along with watching what I eat, and it has helped a lot. But one thing that I found was to take breaks while gaming to do small things. Like if I am waiting on a match to start in COD, I will do some push-ups, next time some sit-ups, then maybe some jumping jacks. This has really helped maintain an active mind set while sitting on the couch.

Also, carrot chips...they are kind of like potato chips if you close your eyes and think really really REALLY hard.

 

[Berithil]

Well I have Crohn's disease which has pretty much guaranteed a slim body for the past 7 years. However recently, due to the wonders of medical science, I now put on weight like everyone else. So now I am preventing myself from expanding by going to the gym 3-4 times a week and being more careful with my diet. I don't have 'snacks' anymore and I substitute a lot of food for lower calorie offerings.

So yes, either develop an inflammation disease of your intestines or just ensure that you keep up a regular mostly intensive exercise regime, and cut out all snacks. A lot of the time the snacks between meals are purely habitual, so after a week or so you don't feel any hungrier for being without them.

Dude! Same here! High five!

......

I mean.... No, it sucks..... <_<

I've gone through the same thing. Started gaining a little bit of weight, but not much.

 

[DoomyMcDoom]

I lost 85lbs in 6 months, simply by walking more, and changing my diet, simply removing soft drinks, beer, bread, and pasta from my diet, so I was essencially eating, meat, brown rice, quinoa, veggies, and fruit, I was only drinking orange juice(100% pure not from concentrate no sugar added, y'know oranges... juiced...), milk and water, mainly water, milk only on occasion, I ate cheese too, but that's mainly because a bit o cheese spices up salads and other such things pretty good.

Essencially if you make sure to get a majority of your calories from fats rather than carbs, and keep your intake of blood sugar spiking simple carbohydrates(usually found in any processed wheat product) you can lose weight with minimal physical activity.

 

[SquidVicious]

Diet and exercise really. I stopped drinking soda and beer which really helped me lose a good 20 pounds in a little over 3 months with some heavy cardio at the gym. I also found that by breaking my meals into mini meals and drinking lots of water I was able to really boost my metabolism. Now I'm at a healthy 170 lbs which is the right weight for my height 5'9.

 

[Richardplex]

I just ran a lot. Lost 15 kg in about 3 months, another 10 over the next 6 and then OH GOD WHY DID I LET MYSELF SNACK FOR EASTER and put those 10 kg back on.

So yeah, exercise and not eating unhealthy snacks. Also, 4L of very low calorie (like 2/250ml) drinks a day helps offset hunger.

 

[Dags90]

I think an average daily caloric intake is around 2000 calories, and a burger from a fast food joint can end up being that big just on it's own. If you're eating fast food 2 or 3 times a day you could be tripling your daily recommended intake.

Averages suck though. Average height in the U.S. is probably around 5'7", but very few people are 5'7". Most men are going to fall somewhere above average size, and most women are going to fall somewhere below. Calories should be adjusted accordingly.

The USDA has a pretty good resource.[footnote]http://www.choosemyplate.gov/myplate/index.aspx[/footnote]

 

[Saregon]

Just wanna say kudos to those who have succeeded in losing weight, great work, and keep it up.

As for me, I do a fairly intensive strength regime 2-4 times a week, intensive in that it builds muscle, and also keeps my pulse high enough to improve my conditioning, oxygen intake etc, with minimal cardio (I loathe running, and there aren't any floorball (my preferred sport, having played on a team that reached the Norwegian Championship) teams where I currently live).

Basically you want a fair bit of muscle to keep burning up that excess fat when you're not moving.

Also I eat the same stuff I always did, only more often, with smaller quantities, and always, always make sure that (when applicable), you have at least 2 parts salad/vegetables to 1 part meat+1 part rice/potatoes/whatever, it's very filling, it tastes awesome when prepared right, and is way better for you (as an example, body builders going for minimal bodyfat eat very very very little, but they are allowed to eat pretty much unlimited amounts of broccoli, because it's so low carb and full of other goodies (and contrary to kids' beliefs, tastes awesome, in my opinion). And make sure it's rich in protein, and some zink and stuff to recoup what your body expends when working, and don't be too hard on skimping the carbs, your body needs them for energy during and after your workout, slow carbs a bit before (and at other times), and some quick ones right after (half a liter of chocolate milk for example works wonders).

And last but not least I cut down on my candy/snack/soda intake to only the weekend, because I love it, and don't intend on being miserable for the sake of looking good.

 

[geK0]

I've never had any concern for my weight, and I've never really had a problem with gaining weight; actually, I seem to be losing it lately, pants are getting loose. It's genetic I guess : \


I do walk to places I need to get to because I hate public transit, so that probably helps. Although with the home made cooking I do, I'm surprised I'm not a little bigger seeing as I use the "everything can be improved by bacon" and "everything is better deep fried" philosophies to cooking.

 

[Dusty Donuts]

I have an ultra-high metabolism, I can't lose weight if I don't gain any in the first place.

Spoiler

Fast Metabolisers

Fast metabolisers are always feeling hot. That?s because their thyroid and adrenal glands are working overtime, accelerating cellular activity. Heat is a by-product of this metabolic overload.

Their endocrine glands cause them to gain weight in the abdomen and torso without much gain in the legs or arms. Doctors call this "central obesity," but most people call it an apple shaped physique.

Fast metabolisers frequently develop addictive personality traits. They can be nervous and irritable. High blood pressure is typical.

On the biochemical front, fast metabolisers never have enough calcium or magnesium, the sedative minerals. But they have too much sodium, potassium and phosphorus, which keep ?em jazzed.

We were all born fast metabolisers. Children have constant energy; ask any parent! However, a family?s eating habits will alter that chemistry over time. By the time the child turns into a teenager, s/he will mirror his or her parent?s biochemistry.

I hope for your sake that you DON'T actually have that high of a metabolism.

 

[esperandote]

I'm actually trying to lose weight right now, i pllay basketball three days a week and if when i finish playing i'm not tired enough i do sprints acrross the court and do jumps to touch the board until i can't reach it anymore.

About food i have bran flakes or allbran for dinner during the week and anything on weekends.

I haven't lost a lot of weight but my condition has improved.

I used to touch the basket in my early twenties and now i can't so that's my other goal, to be able to touch the basket again.

 

[Aerosteam]

I have an ultra-high metabolism, I can't lose weight if I don't gain any in the first place.

Spoiler

Fast Metabolisers

Fast metabolisers are always feeling hot. That?s because their thyroid and adrenal glands are working overtime, accelerating cellular activity. Heat is a by-product of this metabolic overload.

Their endocrine glands cause them to gain weight in the abdomen and torso without much gain in the legs or arms. Doctors call this "central obesity," but most people call it an apple shaped physique.

Fast metabolisers frequently develop addictive personality traits. They can be nervous and irritable. High blood pressure is typical.

On the biochemical front, fast metabolisers never have enough calcium or magnesium, the sedative minerals. But they have too much sodium, potassium and phosphorus, which keep ?em jazzed.

We were all born fast metabolisers. Children have constant energy; ask any parent! However, a family?s eating habits will alter that chemistry over time. By the time the child turns into a teenager, s/he will mirror his or her parent?s biochemistry.

I hope for your sake that you DON'T actually have that high of a metabolism.

I'm getting worried, I have all those traits.

 

[One Shot wonder]

Wage war on breakfast, and sometimes lunch. During any day where I have nothing going on I sleep in til noon or so. Eating a rather generous and properly nutritious dinner keeps me fed and the sleep reduces the time I'm awake and building hungriness, whilst not considerably decreasing my calorie usage due to the rather 'lazy' lifestyle I lead when there's nothing of interest happening. A light lunch and a decent dinner suffices to keep me fed and going through the day, which is usually from 11am-3pm through until 2am-4am. Obviously extra meals are needed when there's something going on or I'm intending to do anything beyond mooching around the house, but I effectively eliminated the weight I gained in my first year of uni like this (though considering the food budget I'm on this year I should probably have kept the fat reserves to help see me through).

That's right, I turned laziness into a weight loss program. I should probably start going to a gym again though... Man did being in better shape feel good.

 

[razer17]

Like a lot of people in their late twenties, I put on more than a little weight. Over the past year I lost fifty pounds by running and cross fit. What do you do to keep the pounds off?

If you have an hour to spare you should watch this BBC Horizon episode: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfna7nV7WaM

It arrives at some pretty simple ways of staying healthy, loosing weight and prevent diabetes. It also goes into details with how exercise has absolutely no effect on some people. Worth a watch!

It never talks about exercise. If you are aware of an episode which does I'd love to watch it. I'd like to find out how they word that, because I'd say it's given a number of qualifiers.

I'm sure he does briefly mention that he also excercises, but certainly nothing really explicit or anything like that.

I do keep meaning to try this 5:2 diet he does in the programme, but it's hard when you're not the one food shopping. I guess I need to suck it up and tell my parents I'm going on a diet.

OT: Not much at the moment, but I do intend to start soon. I already cycle and skate a little, but not enough. I want to make a more regular excercise regime, including cycling skating (rollerblading) and running (I have a treadmill in the house, I have absolutely no excuse not to), as well as sit ups daily. On top of that I'm going to hopefully try aforementioned diet. I'm not at uni anymore, so alcohol intake (and therefore calories) has probably already decreased fairly significantly, now I just need to kick it into gear.

Thing is, some people just aren't meant to be skinny. It might be hard to lose weight, but it can be even harder to keep it off since it's easy to lapse on your diet and excercise regime when you get down to your target weight.

Edit - You know what, I'm inspired. Tomorrow I'm going to write a schedule and start a new routine. I could stand to lose at least a stone.