Weight loss advice.

[BringBackBuck]

In my personal experience my weight loss was 95% diet.

Like you OP I have bad knees. After 15 years of rugby and 2 knee reconstructions I have horrible arthritis in my knee and literally can't run more than a few steps.

I dropped 20kgs last year just by adjusting my diet without taking a step. I did this like a nerd. I made a spreadsheet and tracked my calorie intake for about 3 months. Dropped portion size, ate more fish, vegetables, fruit. Gave up sodas and potato chips and greasy takeaways.

It was surprisingly easy.

 

[Luna]

If you eat a calorie deficit you will lose weight. It is that simple.

If you can't run then swimming is a solid form of cardio.

 

[xplosive59]

Everything has pretty much already been said but I think the most important factor to lose weight is perseverance and adjusting mentally to the task at hand, if you feel like you want to stop the diet at anytime you will start to half ass everything and lead to failure, just keep up at it and you will see results over time.

 

[Xaio30]

Swimming is a good way to work out without putting stress on your joints. I also find it refreshing whatever what season of the year it is.

 

[maninahat]

I'm told explosive, high intensity, exersizes are much better for fat burning than longer, gentler sessions - so avoid jogging (which is bad for your joints anyway), and go for fast cycling (bad for your crotch instead) or fast swimming.

As for eating - drink nothing but tea or water. Try to eat much less meat and drink less beer (anything manly). Skip breakfast, and ignore the claims that it "starts you off for the day" and "kicks you into gear". Unless you eat a colossal fatty breakfast, eating early can often make you hungrier throughout the late morning, which will have the effect of making you want to eat more at lunch.

Most people are lazy and look for dietary solutions only. Exersize is probably the more important part. Luckily, explosive high intensity exersizes are quick and easy to fit into your schedule. I even once saw a program that claimed two minutes of the hardest, most strenuous exercize per day willl do wonders for most people (emphasis on "most" - people burn fats at different rates and for some, exersize can be less effective). That certainly appeals to my laziness.

 

[VladG]

Don't run. Bike, swim, go to the gym, any form of cardio is good, there's no point in fucking your joints up.

If you're interested just in dropping weight make sure you look up a proper cardiovascular exercise regime. This means doing the kind of exercise that keeps your heart rate up above a certain threshold for a certain time (look up some online charts, the intensity depends on your age and physical condition).

I also recommend high intensity intermittent training. It's very tough, but gives good results and boosts your metabolism and fat burning rates and is the best exercise for reducing CVD risk. Basically what you do is alternate short periods of max-out exercise with cool-down periods of about 50% exercise. Look up some exercise routines online, you'll find plenty.

This method is also extremely time-effective, a workout session generally lasts 15-20 minutes and gives about the same benefits as an hour-hour and a half long regular 70% training session.

Even better, it boosts your resting metabolic rate as well.

You have to be careful with what you eat ofc. Drop all junk foods and high-sugar foods. Sugar is a metabolic bomb, avoid it at all costs.

Don't know how much you eat, but most people eat WAY more than they really need to. Try cutting your normal food portions by 25%. You'll notice that after a while it will feel as filling as what you used to eat.

I can also recommend looking up a Herbalife centre around where you live. They have some excellent natural supplements that boost metabolic rate and encourage weight loss, as well as very healthy low calorie meal replacements if you can't handle healthy food on your own (eating healthy isn't easy. It takes time, money and knowledge)

Oh, and it's been said, but I'll say it again because it's very important: Drink lots of water. 3+ litres of water a day. Drink when you're not thirsty, drink a little all the time. If you're even a little bit thirsty, it means you're dehydrated and your metabolic rate suffers.

 

[Odbarc]

Hey guys, I'm in need of weight loss advice, I'm at an extreme risk of developing a lot of heart diseases due to my heritage, and I need to drop weight and I was wondering if there was any advice you guys could give? Anything at all?
It seems whenever I begin exercising and eating healthy I put on weight?
Also due to my size, when I go for a lot of runs in a short amount of time, my knee plays up, anyway to counter this?
Thanks in advance

Elliptical machines or the bike are two alternatives that are easier on the joints.
Alternatively, swimming can be really good too.

I seem to put on weight when I trim too. As a gym-buff for going on 7~9 years, I can tell you what's worked for me in the past and other small advice I've read.

-Don't just eat less. Eat the same amount more frequently.
-Taper carbs. Eat all your slow digesting carbs in the morning (oatmeal), fast digesting carbs in the afternoon (whole grains), and none at night.
-Do not eat three hours before bed. Your last meal should have casein protein (get at a nutrition store) or cottage cheese. (I wash out the creamy parts and only eat the cheese.)
-The two best times to exercise (even 15 measly minutes) are right as you wake up before you eat and before you go to bed. (In both instances, you will need to burn fat for energy instead of food-energy).
-Eat at least 1/3 your weight in protein (1 pound : 1 gram). Again, a protein powder can help you with this if you have difficulty eating that much protein. Those cartons of egg-whites I find quite high in protein. (55g per box!)
-It's also noteworthy to understand that cardio is based on the amount of heartbeats/breathes you take during the exercise. Work hard for a minute, then cooldown until you catch your breath or feel able to do another minute hard. During the cooldown while your still sweating from the hard effort and breathing hard, your body is still burning those top-notch calories as IF you were pushing it hard without exhausting your muscles.
-Don't neglect weight resistance training. I'm not saying go hardcore - your aim isn't gaining weight. But muscle burns calories.
-"Healthy fats" help you lose weight and make you feel less hungry. Almonds, Flax seeds, ect.
-If your going to have a snack/sweets or any kind of fix like that, do it after a workout when your body will put that sugar to use. The glycogen rush will help deliver protein to your muscles.

"Drastic change creates drastic changes."

The more of these things you do to lose weight, the faster you'll lose it. If you can't do everything I've listed, do the ones you can.
If your willing to spend money, there are supplements that can help out.
I've been using Ripped Freak to give me more cardio endurance but I've also used Sub-Q.
Taking an omega-3 supplement can help with cravings a little bit and have some of the healthy fats you want too. Especially good if your allergic to nuts/almonds.




Q: Why do I gain fat when I'm trying to lose weight?
A: You're body is probably starving and it's holding onto calories to compensate. Feed yourself. It's weird, but eating more can help you lose weight depending on what you're eating. A healthy balance beats a low calorie intake.

Q: What if I can't do any of the cardio machines at the gym?
A: Those things are merely convenient, but they aren't the only means of burning calories. Even walking your dog 1~2 times a day can be a good amount.

Q: I NEED a cheat meal.
A: Sometimes you do. Cravings are actually your body's way to telling you your missing something in your diet. If you still have these cravings 15 minutes after your healthy meal, cheat meal it up. If it's just A cookie... just eat the damn cookie.

 

[Yopaz]

Well first of all don't eat candy or drink soda.

Since running seems to hurt your knees try lifting weights or swim. Lifting weights will boost your muscle mass, but it will increase your metabolism so you'll have less fat even if your weight might increase. Also lifting weights can be as simple as lifting groceries or packages of flour. As long as you lift something heavy enough to make it feel like exercise there's no need to go to the gym.

Swimming is great because you wont hurt yourself the same way you do when you run. Biking is much of the same.

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

Just stop eating meat. Works like a charm (or a curse if you actually want to get bigger) /shameless agenda pushing.

Or the opposite. If you limit your diet to meat only it's almost impossible to gain weight (without making yourself sick).

If you eat donuts all day then cutting out meat isn't going to do anything.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

snip

All of this is very good advice. Listen to this guy

 

[bluemistake2]

Thanks for the support guys, I really appreciate it, might begin to differentiate between the pool and the gym sometime soon
To answer a earlier question, I'm a fairly big guy, about 2 meters tall weighing about 120 kilos.

Another question, any suggestions for healthy snacks? I heard it's a big help

 

[A Random Reader]

Get liposuction. I'm not even kidding.
What occurs is that when you lose weight, the cells you have are losing fat. This feels like shit, because you're actually starving yourself.
What occurs when you gain weight, however, is that you make new cells to contain the fat that your body stores. The only way to remove these cells is to cut them out.
Why this is bad is that your body attempts to keep itself in homeostasis, and your starving yourself changes the cell content (Lower levels of fat than normal). Ergo, your body has an 'ideal' weight template, which is having all of your cells in homeostasis, making it harder to remain at a lower weight once you reach it.

I can't really provide much other advice, as I'm not a expert on this.

 

[VladG]

Just stop eating meat. Works like a charm (or a curse if you actually want to get bigger) /shameless agenda pushing.

No, this is false. lean meat is a great thing to eat if you're trying to lose weight.

Don't eat very fatty meat or meat that's dripping in gravy with lots of potatoes and possibly deep fried a few times. That's bad.


Oh yeah, someone else also posted this, and I'll post it again: Don't starve yourself. Most people overeat, but under-eating is just as bad.

Eating way less than you need will only make you drop a few pounds early on. But it will also set your body to emergency mode. EVERYTHING you eat will be converted into fat after the initial loss. You will deprive yourself of vitamins, minerals and your body will start consuming it's own muscle mass because it's easier to break down than body fat. This means your heart tissue as well.

You will become weak because the body will focus on storing energy instead of spending it.

You have to learn to eat smart. Eating more frequently and less is a very good way to start. Having your body learn that it gets constant energy means it wants to store less of it.

Have a strict eating schedule. The more consistent the eating schedule, the less your body will want to store.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

Less cheese and bread, and more meat and veg. Also, dish yourself up slightly smaller portions of food than you would normally eat, but don't just cut it in half or anything.

Your body needs time to get used to these sorts of changes, so don't go mad.

 

[Sonicron]

- Determine the amount of kcal your body burns each day at your desired weight, then reduce your daily intake to that amount minus 1000. Counting calories is easy and costs nothing, by the way, unlike that Weight Watchers nonsense. (Technique that worked for me: Food diary.)
- Work out. Not much is required, just work your dumbells a bit and do a few sit-ups and push-ups, but do it daily - otherwise your body will burn muscles instead of fat, and you'll be left with all flab and no power.
- As long as you're overweight, DON'T run. It'll mess up your joints like you wouldn't believe. Go swimming instead (about 3 times a week), it burns calories like nobody's business; swimming 1km in 30mins burns as much as 400-500kcal and 50g body fat.
- No sodas, no juice, no alcohol, no sweets.
- Eat at regularly timed intervals. For example, I eat at 9, 2 and 7; that way I control my body's insulin secretion and thus avoid hunger attacks. (Bonus: You'll adopt a normal day-night-rhythm, a thing unheard of for most of us internet dwellers. )
- Adjust your diet to include all the important food groups - carbs, protein, fat, vitamins. All of these are important; don't overdo it on any of them, but you do need them to avoid malnutrition.

Follow this advice and keep your discipline, and you'll drop weight. A lot of it. In a relatively short time.
Want to know how I know this? Because I just used this very method myself, and I lost 49kg in 24 weeks so far.

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

I lost about ten stone in the last year by cutting down on food. Not removing anything or changing it to be particularly more healthy but just by cutting down.

Like if I'm having a nice steak meal, I'll have one less onion ring and a smaller handful of chips. If I'm going out for the night I'll only have one Red Bull instead of two. One packet of crisps a day is enough. Things like that.

At first there's not much difference, but then you start to only have one packet of crisps every two days, then every three, then suddenly you're going more than a week without eating junk food at all.

Of course, without knowing exactly what you're eating right now it's kind of hard to give dietary advice. If you're eating three full meals dipped in batter a day then obviously there's a problem, but if you're only eating a slice of toast for breakfast and still not losing weight you've probably got a serious problem (exaggeration used for example, not as actual speculation about your diet.)

Oh, also, I walk to work now and have been doing so for the last nine months. It's only ten minutes, but ten minutes in the morning, ten minutes home at lunch and ten minutes back in, and ten minutes at the end of the day at least works to strengthen my joints a little. It used to take me fifteen minutes to walk in when I started, now it takes me ten or even five if I hurry.

 

[Hoplon]

Don't mix carbs and fat.

Also weight train over cardio. Muscles will burn more calories so you can eat the same amount of food (with supplemental protein to maintain muscle) Strength training over trying to get ripped too.

 

[TwiZtah]

Hey guys, I'm in need of weight loss advice, I'm at an extreme risk of developing a lot of heart diseases due to my heritage, and I need to drop weight and I was wondering if there was any advice you guys could give? Anything at all?
It seems whenever I begin exercising and eating healthy I put on weight?
Also due to my size, when I go for a lot of runs in a short amount of time, my knee plays up, anyway to counter this?
Thanks in advance

I guess you want to lose fat. Well then, count how many calories you use per day and eat 500 calories under that every day. You can do this in two ways, either train away 500 calories or eat 500 calories less. The first option is probably better.

When i've done this i have lost half a kg of fat per week with negligable muscle-loss, which is my goal. Also, try to eat good, slow carbs and not sugar. My diet consists of 50% carbs (most slow) 40% protein and 10% fat. Also, keep as far away from sugarfree soda as you possibly can, they will make you more fat than regular soda.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

Thanks for the support guys, I really appreciate it, might begin to differentiate between the pool and the gym sometime soon
To answer a earlier question, I'm a fairly big guy, about 2 meters tall weighing about 120 kilos.

Another question, any suggestions for healthy snacks? I heard it's a big help

Apple slices with a little bit of peanut butter can be a really tasty and indulgent snack when you are on a diet.

Bananas are great snacks and give u lots of energy.

Be careful eating nuts as they can be quite fattening.

Unsalted or unsweetened popcorn is a nice thing to munch when you are feeling snacky. I also really loved Ryvita when I was dieting you can get it in a variety of flavours and its great with low fat cream cheese on or with soup.

Raisins are also great snacks. Be careful with fruit though as it contains natural sugars and can send you over your calorie count

 

[VladG]

Thanks for the support guys, I really appreciate it, might begin to differentiate between the pool and the gym sometime soon
To answer a earlier question, I'm a fairly big guy, about 2 meters tall weighing about 120 kilos.

Another question, any suggestions for healthy snacks? I heard it's a big help

All sort of nuts and dried fruit are very good. They give a huge energy boost, have beneficial fats and lots of protein and minerals.

However a handful of mixed nuts should be enough for a snack. And try to avoid heavily salted stuff or any sort of roasted nuts.

Eat lots of berries and drink tea (that's actual tea -green, black, yellow, oolong- not just any infusion).

Pineapple helps with muscle inflammation and soreness.

Generally avoid pears, bananas and grapes. They contain a lot of sugar (starch), carbs, and relatively little water. They have more calories per weight than most fruit.

While they are very healthy, they aren't very good if your focus is to lose weight since all those extra carbs and calories need to be burned down as well as your own surplus.