Weight loss advice.

[hatseflats]

My advice? Don't do anything people have posted so far (except for Smilomaniac and Scimal).
I'm a normal guy who lives in a Western country. I'm not fat, even though I'm not one of those people who can eat anything they want. I have been a lot bigger for a while but I got lost of the excessive weight.
How? Simple: don't do anything that requires effort. Counting calories, not taking sweets or alcohol or meat, eating too little &c. are extremely bad ideas because nobody, except for a few people who kind of make these regimes their hobby (i.e. bodybuilders) can sustain that for a long time. You'll lose weight now and gain lots of weight again when you inevitably stop being so harsh on yourself.

Knowing that it is possible to not be on a diet while still remaining slim or even losing weight, while knowing that literally everybody who has gone on a diet, ever, has soon gained weight again (we all know at least one of these people) what you should do is change your habits. Not a lot, just a bit can be enough.

The main advice I would give you is: enjoy food and enjoy exercise. I like walking and cycling so I do that instead of taking the bus or going by car. Just a bit of exercise works rather well to make you feel fitter and better and I guess it will make your metabolism get working though I don't know whether that's really true.
Enjoying food is especially important. Most people who eat too much (especially junk food), like I did, actually don't really enjoy the food, they enjoy eating. When I was younger I would once in a while buy some sweets and savour every single one of them. Years later I would buy them and eat all of them in a few minutes and frankly I didn't enjoy it nearly as much.
Start cooking for yourself, make nice meals.* You can eat anything, just make sure you don't eat a lot and do eat vegetables and fruit. I eat more meat and less vegetables than is typically advised but I'm still rather healthy. You don't have to be too strict, just make sure to eat full meals and not too much, and avoid eating lots of snacks (eat a small bowl of crisps instead of the whole pack and try to enjoy every single one).
If you can pull it off (such a change, albeit smaller than a diet, can still be tough) you'll find yourself enjoying food more, feel better about yourself and be fitter.

*As in: enjoyable meals., including stuff like hamburgers (with salad). I'd recommend buying a nice cookbook with meals that appeal to you. I personally like Italian cooking, Italian recipes usually do not contain a lot of ingredients (meaning its cheap and easy), taste great and are rather healthy.

 

[geierkreisen]

My advice? Don't do anything people have posted so far (except for Smilomaniac and Scimal).

You made me a sad panda there. What you are writing is basically what I wrote some posts ago. But that's okay. You're still my hero.

 

[Flames66]

1. Eat fruit and vegetables. Don't exclude meat from your diet entirely (unless you have already), just eat smaller portions

2. Exercise. I don't mean tons of weights, just walk to things instead of driving or taking the bus.

 

[ProtoChimp]

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

Give up fizzy drinks. I gave up coke for lent 2 years ago and I lost so much weight. And that was just 40 days.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

snip

Yeah Yoga is on the wii fit. I used the wii fit when I lost 3.5 stone in about 3-4 months. It works really well if you keep at it.

 

[Gnmish]

If you are desperate, meal replacement therapy is a sure thing. I've used Optifast (any of them will do) to get my intake to about 700 calories a day whilst still getting enough vitamins/minerals/essential amino acids etc, that is guaranteed weight loss, even if you are lying in bed all day. Of course its not the nicest thing to be eating day in and day out, and going to parties is just a nightmare, but if you are carrying a lot of fat, you can probably drop 10-20kg in about 3 months, more if you can manage light exercise.

Obviously this is short term stuff, but if you really need results fast, this is a sure fire way to do it, you then of course need to slowly reintroduce food (your stomach will have shrunk to a tiny size) but make sure you adopt good eating habits and maintain your new exercise regime.

 

[direkiller]

Switch to 0 calorie soda, unsweetened tea, or black coffee. You would be shocked how much fat and calories people drink a day.

For example, a 16oz Starbucks Caffe Mocha has 250 calories, 8 grams of fat, and 42 carbs!

Otherwise,
1. Count calories.
2. Restrict your Saturated Fats.
3. Load up on healthy vitamins and minerals.
4. Do 20-30 minutes of moderate exercise per day. (I like to walk a mile or two at a fair pace.)

TL;DR
Don't eat garbage and get off your ass. =P

0 calorie soda is just as bad as HFCS/real sugar.
aspartame(the sweeter used) tends to hang on to sugar in your blood and puts you at health at risk for long term use.
Id say just cut soda entirely and you have a fine plan.
one thing to add make it a lifestyle change not a diet

 

[zelda2fanboy]

Don't run? My dad uses an elliptical at his gym because he has high arches. Especially, if you don't know how to run properly, you can seriously muck your joints up.

This. I've been a skinny guy since forever, so I really don't have a whole lot of weight loss tips, but I do exercise. I used to run in P.E. a lot as an elective (my high school was weird) and my knee eventually started giving me problems. I switched to the elliptical class and I think the simple motion of moving my legs on that machine helped a lot. I haven't had a problem with it since. I also never run anymore, but I walk a whole bunch. Walking is the best. I usually get about 3 or 4 miles in a day, and sometimes double or triple that when I'm really bored. I recommend giving podcasts a try for this, like Kevin Smith's assorted smodcast stuff, Mohr Stories, or Jim and Eddie Talking Shit. Don't use a treadmill, unless it's really crappy outside. Make sure you have to walk back from wherever you walk to.

Also, people shit on Wii Fit at every opportunity, but I use it four times a week and I know how to work up a good sweat with it. Stay away from the aerobic and balance games and just focus on yoga and strength training. Depending on your weight, it might break the scale it comes with though. I don't mean to insult you, but there is a weight limit and I don't know what you weigh.

As far as eating, I'd recommend counting calories. Just google everything you eat. It's all online and readily available. I counted what I ate the other day, and it was only about 1400 or 1500 calories in total, which is probably why I'm so thin in the first place. I'd probably stay away from carbohydrates (bread, pasta, potatoes) and sugars because they are helping your body hang onto its fat stores by providing immediate energy. Meat, protein, and fat all have to be broken down. The Atkins Diet is the only thing that ever worked for my mom, but prepare to be gassy if you go that route. I'd also avoid diet sodas because those can actually increase your appetite. Good luck.

 

[hatseflats]

My advice? Don't do anything people have posted so far (except for Smilomaniac and Scimal).

You made me a sad panda there. What you are writing is basically what I wrote some posts ago. But that's okay. You're still my hero.

I sincerely apologize my good sir.

 

[DJ_DEnM]

Boxing is great for losing weight. I just joined a boxing lesson in a local gym (Along with other calorie-killer classes for the rest of the week) and I feel it's the most effective. Boxing training is crazy.

 

[snowwraith]

As some have already said: Determine what your individual daily calorie requirement is. There are many websites offering free calorie counting if you google them, although aim for ones that give a proper breakdown for a 24 hour period, or at the very least by activity per hour.
http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.php as an example.

In the UK most products quote average daily calorie requirements for both men and women. However, that figure is based on a generic person of average height/weight/age, and in some cases can be wildly off when compared to the person reading the label. Knowing how many calories you need right off the bat means you can then intelligently determine where to go next. It's a no-brainer to determine that when calories consumed less calories burned leaves a positive result then those surplus calories will be stored by the body and converted into fat. For gentle weightloss your goal would be to ensure your intake of calories is less than your daily requirement, but only by a relatively small amount. If, for example, your daily requirement was 2100 calories then aim for 1900 calories (approximately 10%).

Once you have your calorie figure the next step I would suggest is determine the lifestyle you want to pursue. There are many helpful postings about doing a variety of exercises. But do you want to hit the weights and put on bulk or do you want to go for a lean yoga figure? How about the wiry runner type physique? Also some of these suggested activities require an expense you may not have, e.g. gym fees and/or specialist food supplements. If you want to lose weight but really don't see yourself hitting the gym on regular periods then the advice offered - despite being helpful - is not going to be for you. Be honest with yourself.

Alternate ways of losing weight is, as has been mentioned, changes in your diet. A major problem in trying to lose weight is that we often eat outside of a normal meal cycle when we're bored/depressed/angry/sad/etc., plus we, as humans, crave fats anyway. Fatty products taste good and it's all too easy to go for the maxi-mega bag of crisps/chips and eat the lot in one go (guilty here). In an ideal world we would just say "don't buy them, if it's not in the house you can't eat it". In reality we will usually buy the stuff anyway because we might be in a shared household and others in the house do want them (e.g. kids/housemates).

Obvious changes: If you enjoy the taste of soda then change to a zero calorie version. Yes, the taste is never the same, but find a brand that gives you a reasonable taste that you can tolerate, it won't take long to adjust to the new taste. It's incredible how many calories are in regular sodas, often a 2 litre bottle will contain enough for a full adult meal. Reduce the amount of sugar you have in tea or coffee over time (I used to be a 4 spoons of sugar each cup but slowly reduced it over months to none). There are also low calorie versions of sugars as well as alternates to sugar (such as Xylitol - very common in the East and used as the alternative to Aspartame).

If you enjoy cooking then there are many recipe books with lower calorie meals you can prepare yourself that will have a nice taste (The 1500-Calorie-a-Day Cookbook for example). These often contain individual meals that you can mix and match until it comes up to your target calorie count. It is important not to starve yourself, as has been previously stated, since too few calories causes the body to go into a survival mode whereby it deliberately stores calories as fat and slows the metabolism down. So whatever you decide to eat make sure that if gives your body the calories (and nutrician) it needs, hence the reason for suggesting only a 10% reduction in calorific requirements. Also make sure that what you eat makes you feel full, otherwise you'll find yourself wanting to snack and begin overeating - A problem I personally encounter whenever I eat a salad (for me it lacks the density to make me feel full unless I'm eating masses of it, and I just don't have that kind of time on my lunch breaks.)

Sorry for the wall of text.

Written by a low willpowered ex-fatty.

 

[MrBenSampson]

My uncle lost 130+ pounds over the past year, and he just finished a triathlon. All he did to lose weight was sigificantly reduce the carbs and sugars in his diet. His diet consists of veggies, dairy, and as much meat as he wants.

 

[galaktar]

Exercise - The more muscle you have, the more energy you use, leg exercises do tend to put on the most muscle mass in the shortest amount of time. Try different things and see which ones don't irritate your legs. Lots of muscle is possible in the back as well, so there's another good place to get started. Under no circumstances should you do anything that might injure your back though. All exercise becomes next to impossible if that happens.

Activities - literally anything outside for extended periods of time. People are comfortable at room temperature because it is the temperature at which the body is most efficient at maintaining your internal temperature. Get hotter or colder for significant amounts of time and your body has to expend calories to constantly adjust whether through physical movement or increasing/ decreasing circulation.

Food - avoid carbs: bread, potatoes, corn, rice, spaghetti etc. They are good for extended aerobic activity, but will be saved by your body as fat if the extra energy provided by them isn't used. If you are in the US, generous allowances are given to grain/corn producers and the like. As such extra carbs are stuffed into everything far beyond what most people need. Sugars are the same, though they are much easier for your body to convert into energy, and will be stored as fat much quicker if they aren't burned up immediately. If you absolutely need something sweet, eat fruit or sugar-free/carb-free snacks (sugar free jello is a good place to start).

Find vegetables and meats that are easy to work with. If you have to spend a lot of time preparing them, then you will eventually stop working with them. Tomatoes (not tomato soup) and sour dill pickles (not sweet) are freebies, you can eat as many of those as you want. Carrots are good but a little starchy. They will be ok though depending on how much you limit your other carb intake.

Avoid eating nuts except as an addition to other food. Seafood, eggs, and Poultry are the best bets for protein. If you want red meat, limit yourself to very lean meats or hold off and only buy very good cuts of meat. These days the price alone will limit your intake. Google: caveman porterhouse.

Humans started cooking food originally because it helped break down food and made digestion less energy intensive. We have to burn calories in order to process calories, so when food was scarce starting the digestive process outside the human body was a way to cheat evolution. As such, raw vegetables are better for burning calories than cooked. Raw (rare) meat is better too but should probably be avoided in order to not get trichinosis or any other fun diseases.

Liquids/semi liquids: Alcohol has an effect far in excess of its caloric amount. Avoid whenever possible, and it probably doesn't help at all for heart disease to boot.
Limit, but don't eliminate dairy products.
Drink a approximately 64 oz of water a day. It helps your body work better, increases testosterone, and will generally force you to burn anywhere from 50 to 100 calories extra each day to process it.

 

[Lord Beautiful]

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.

This.

It really is that simple.

 

[lacktheknack]

It seems whenever I begin exercising and eating healthy I put on weight?

That's good! There's two major forms of "weight" in your body: Fat and Muscle. To avoid disease, you want less fat. To become more powerful, you want more muscle. If you want to look good, you need less fat and more muscle (unless the beanpole look is in).

However, fat weighs significantly less than muscle. What this means is that, if you have atrophied, unworked muscles, they spring back quickly once you start exercising, thus adding weight more quickly than you could hope to lose in fat alone in the same amount of time. It balances out after a couple of months.

Furthermore, there's three different kinds of exercise: Cardiovascular, resistance, and stretching. Cardiovascular is the exercise that greatly raises your heart rate and burns more fuel, resistance training is what breaks your muscles so they overrepair, making them larger, and stretching is good for flexibility and has little effect on fat or muscle (although it can reduce muscle cramping).

The thing about fat is that it's your body's method of storing energy during times of bounty, to be used in times of famine.

Thus, your best way of getting rid of it is by purposeful famine.

This doesn't mean crash-dieting or fasting, though. You'll lose weight at a healthy clip if you simply eat properly and eat about two thirds as much as you currently do (if you're actively gaining weight right now, make it half as much). Your body will adjust quickly.

You have to keep exercising, though! If you don't exercise, your body realizes that you don't need those bulky, protein rich muscles and will start cutting out of them as well as your fat content! Cardiovascular exercise is your best bet, as it strengthens against heart disease, strokes, and lymph disease, among others, as well as kicks up your fat burning considerably. Find a cardio exercise you like (I like swimming) that's NOT running (seriously, don't do it until you're a healthy weight) and do regularly.

Eating properly isn't too hard. All you have to do is make sure you're eating enough of the various critical minerals - lots of fruits and veggies should cover it - and the rest is just energy (which you'll be cutting down on). Eat more fish and chicken, eat less beef and SIGNIFICANTLY less pork. As a general rule, saturated fat is bad, unsaturated is good, less fat overall is good. (There's a lot of conflicting research on this - butter, for instance, while very saturated, is now apparently "better than margarine", but cut down on both for the time being). There's others, like carb types, variance in minerals, etc, but you can find that out yourself.

In general, unprocessed = good.

Lastly on food, KILL THE SUGAR. Honey and molasses? All right. Brown sugar? Keep it under control. White, bleached sugar? Danger! Fructose/Dextrose that you find in pretty much all "sweet nothings" (candy, soda, packaged cakes)? ABSOLUTE HAZARD TO YOUR HEALTH. Limit your intake of the last ones, with the ultimate goal of eliminating them. Check you ingredient list on your food.

Sum Up: Do cardio (not running, preferably), eat better and LESS, drop kick processed sugars out of your diet. You'll do great.

 

[Frozen Donkey Wheel2]

Well, cut down on really obvious junk food: Soda, chips, fast food, pretty much anything that you have to microwave. Oh, and working out every now and then can't hurt. Actually, it will. Quite a bit. If you can't run for very long...Just do whatever you can, I guess. Or find an alternative, like swimming or biking. Honestly though, it's mostly diet.

 

[lacktheknack]

Salad. Even a lot of salad (with low-fat dressing) is comparatively low on calories. Also, skip breakfast. And no snacks. That's pretty much all I did when I was trying to lose weight, and I ended up losing 20 pounds in about two months (with barely any exercise, though maybe try that too).

Actually, if you do any rigorous exercise, the above advice is very bad. A good salad, while a boon to your mineral intake, is inadequate to power you well enough to last you an hour in a pool, so your exercise efforts will suffer, and skipping breakfast will be an absolute bane of your existence (one of the worst days I ever had started with me waking up and going to the gym without eating... I could barely do anything and wanted to kill everybody). Plus, if you exercise consistently throughout the day, small snacks will keep your metabolism up.

If you refuse to exercise, though, then by all means, follow Jack's advice.

 

[lacktheknack]

Well... if Cracked is to be believed... there is no advice that will help... at all...<.<

http://www.cracked.com/quick-fixes/fat-officially-incurable-according-to-science/

Just sayin...

As a currently shrinking fat person, who knows tons of formerly fat people... I call epic bullcrap.

I mean, come on. That whole "starvation switch" thing should be going through me RIGHT NOW, according to that article. ...Sorry Cracked, you're pretty cool, but you just stated an objectively wrong thing.

 

[Kolby Jack]

Salad. Even a lot of salad (with low-fat dressing) is comparatively low on calories. Also, skip breakfast. And no snacks. That's pretty much all I did when I was trying to lose weight, and I ended up losing 20 pounds in about two months (with barely any exercise, though maybe try that too).

Actually, if you do any rigorous exercise, the above advice is very bad. A good salad, while a boon to your mineral intake, is inadequate to power you well enough to last you an hour in a pool, so your exercise efforts will suffer, and skipping breakfast will be an absolute bane of your existence (one of the worst days I ever had started with me waking up and going to the gym without eating... I could barely do anything and wanted to kill everybody). Plus, if you exercise consistently throughout the day, small snacks will keep your metabolism up.

If you refuse to exercise, though, then by all means, follow Jack's advice.

Hm, yea, that makes sense. Though for me I always put some meat on my salads, usually chicken. Not a ton, but enough to keep my stomach from rebelling against me due to lack of delicious meats.

I should also mention that I haven't eaten breakfast with any degree of regularity since high school (almost 10 years ago). Generally the only times I eat in the mornings is for a special occasion. I'm very, VERY used to not eating anything until lunch. People who eat breakfast almost every day may have more trouble with the "no breakfast" thing than I ever did.