What's the best way to reduce weight ???

I didn't want to hijack the other thread :

( Preparing for no food - get lean or bulk up? ) .. so started the question here. Everyone knows the simple rule ( eat less , excercise more). But there are ssome details that need clarifications.

For example, I heard some of my freinds who started walking an hour a day and controilling diet, they said they lost some weight and then ... weight was as stubborn as a rock.

Then I read many times about losing muscle instead of losing fat ( not good !!) and that can be caused by body going in starvation mode and shutting off fat consumption, in which case it starts to consume muscle !!

I am 56 yo and very sedentary and overweight ... My waist has almost doubled in the last 10-15 years.

On my drawing board, I have a plan of walking 30 minutes a day ( which weill be an achievement in itself since I don't seem tro stick any program like that) .. After it becomes routine and my fitness can take that comfortbaly I will increase it to one hour

phase 3 will be one hour daily walk carrying a light load of 10-15 pounds

phase 4 will be phase3, plus garden work.

Garden work will be for both physical benefit plus growing my own fruits and veggies.

Any advice is apprecaited , especially in the weight loss side. How do I avoid "eating my own muscles". ??

Double or Even Triple up Portions of Greens such as Collard,Mustard,Turnip Greens.Double-Back or Reduce 2 times as much or eliminate Alltogether,Starchs,ie,Rice,potatoes,Cous cous/Pasta,Bread,etc.,Reduce Sugar intake or Replace Entirely with Honey,Quit Smoking(If you do),Replace salt with Lemons/Limes as much as possible,Carry a Bunch of Toiletpaper with you,& Don't forget to Stay Hydrated at All times!It will feel like,You have entered The gates of Hell for the 1st month,After that You will have so much energy,Increasing your Mileage/Km's will be,Actually Fun & You will be proud of Yourself,& Very Glad it is a Month Behind you!For each month behind you,You will have gained 2 Ahead of you,In terms of Quality of life! Good luck!

My solution was the Aktin's Diet. It used to be very fashionable to bash it but an awful lot of recent studies have validated the basic approach. In the short term, you cut out nearly all carbs- initially you'll only eat about 20 grams per day. As you lose the weight you will start adding back the "good carbs," but to keep the weight off you really have to lose the bad ones. There's no diet I know of that allows you to eat a bunch of candy, soda pop, Dominoes pizza and milkshakes for every meal. The more processed foods you cut out the better off you'll be. Stick to real food, things that are identifiable on the plate.

I lost over 100 pounds this way, and have kept most of it of for around 10 years. Occasionally, maybe every couple years, I have a phase where I stray from the path a bit and put on maybe 15-20 pounds, but at the heaviest I've been I was still around 75 lbs lighter than my heaviest point pre-Atkins. It's harder to keep weight off as you get older and often more sedentary, but I find it's been easier to eat healthy. Partly it's just years of evidence of just how bad some of those foods are.

It's astonishing how much better you feel just taking 10-15 pounds off. Losing 100 pounds feels miraculous.

Phaedrus, your post is motivating
I can feel it glowing with inspiration .. Thanks for sharing your experience. I heard about Atkins and thought of trying it earlier , but .. lazy me.


Richlacal
Thanks. But I didn't quite understand the toilet paper thing.
Please explain.

I don't drink or smoke at all, and work in no-smoking environment. My wife is trying hard to prepare healthy meals for us .. but stress and depression often causes me mood swings at work ..etc. which leads/pushes me to overeat. In most cases an apple or orange is not available so I eat the only thing that is availabel in the carfeteria >> junk food.

So, I ought to change my lifestyle , not only the food type.

Although I am not waiting for retirement to improve my health , but I think that 3-4 years from now I will be retiring and will be mostly at home ( supervised by DW )LOL. In my retirement I will have a new lifestyle and be less stressed.

Anyways
Here is the question that worries me now : If I reduce the carb intake suddenly, won't that cause the body to go in "survival mode" and shut down or slow down fat consumption and increase muscle decay ? I need to understand this point a bit better.

Thanks again everyone

One way to make a waking program more viable is to incorporate other activities of interest to you - do it in an interesting environment, see something interesting. Tour a Civil War battlefield or go bird watching, etc. - whatever floats your boat.

I always like mixing walking or hiking with bike riding. You burn the same amount of calories per time unit in each activity, but you go about three times further on the bike. How about commuting to work on the bike? Is that feasible?

Can you stash healthy food at work rather than rely on the cafeteria?

Personally, I have had better success with gradual reduction in calories rather than s sudden change. I have also found it helpful to weight myself regularly, but not often.

I have done Atkins also and can attest to its effectiveness. First google it and learn all about what happens. Yes you will bonk a little in the first day or so, but the body is very effective at compensating. It starts to burn fat to make up for the lost carb sourced glycogen. It does not go into survival mode because calories are still going in.

My experience...works well but is not a true lifestyle. Use it to jump start the weight loss and then change your eating habits and exercise routine to maintain a healthier lifestyle.

Now if I could only cut out all those beers......

Bill

Disclaimer right off the bat: I am not a doctor or other healthcare professional. I am not overweight but I am badly out of shape; DW has had a weight problem for most of her life. We have been through all this so I do have some experience with it. Both of us are not active enough so we share a lot of your concerns. To begin, you know you should consult your doctor first. I would suggest you do as there are many times you will want to consult with him/her in your weight loss journey. It will also alleviate a lot of the concerns you mentioned. Once you are cleared with your doctor to start, I would suggest you start with the exercise (your doctor may suggest otherwise in which case I would suggest starting with whatever s/he says to start with). You will be amazed the difference more physical activity alone will make. Next, work on your diet. As others have suggested, replace any processed foods with more nutritional ones. Only you know what works best for you. Quit cold turkey or make the changes gradually. It will take some effort and LOTS of will power to make these changes. For instance, if you often eat microwaveable dinners from the freezer, you could start by replacing those with a healthy dinner from home. These are surprisingly easy to do. Prepare healthy meals on the weekends and put them in Tupperware type containers to put in the freezer. There are other options out there as well. I suggest if you fall off the wagon and binge on something you shouldn’t, then get right back on the wagon. This is the mistake most people make (including my wife). A binge snack that turns into a binge meal that turns into a binge day that turns into a binge week … well, you get the idea. Some people like a planned binge. Again, whatever works for you. Also, change the way you react to stress and depression. Binge on exercise instead of food. As you progress, exercising more and altering your diet, it will improve your mood anyway. When you hit a plateau (and you will hit many as your body adjusts to each change) there are several things you can try. One is to not weigh yourself as often. Another is not to worry about the weight, but rather concentrate on other factors like how you feel, how your clothes fit, and your fitness level (once again your doctor can help you measure this). This is what it SHOULD be about anyway, right? Other options include changing up your diet (reducing calories if appropriate, or replacing another processed food … this may be a good time to consult your doctor or a dietician) and changing your fitness routine (low impact aerobics, yoga, biking or weight lifting instead of or in addition to walking – again I’d suggest that you consult your doctor). Just remember it has taken 56 years to get where you are now. Change will not be immediate, but you can do it. Most importantly, talk to your doctor. They can help you along the way and probably suggest more options, a good dietician, maybe a support group, and answer a lot of the questions you have. Ask your questions and tell them your concerns. If they try to offer a prescription for the latest diet pill you do have the option to tell them no. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Ask Oprah. She's tried EVERYTHING. Ha! Ha ! Ha!!

Pete #2

Congrats on wanting to change your fitness level. My suggestion is to try and incorporate a bit of walking into your everyday activities.
- If you drive to a shopping center/mall, park farther away from the door
- 'Pay' for each meal with a five minute walk beforehand, after the habit is established, increase to 10 minutes or longer
- If you work in a multistory building, walk up one flight of stairs everyday
- Sign up for walking tours, nature walks, orienteering competitions
- Go hiking. It's more interesting to go for a walk in the woods than the same boring walk around the neighborhood
- Listen to audiobooks while walking

The simplest and best diet recommendation I've ever gotten was by Michael Pollan:
"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."
By "food" he means food with minimal processing. If it comes out of a package and has more than five ingredients on the label, then it probably should be avoided. Buy ingredients and cook your meals, and avoid packaged meals and snacks. Another food rule from Pollan is "don't eat any foods you see advertised on TV."

Get more active and eat healthier food, then start working on portion control. Gradually increase your exercises to include some strength training and more activities that burn calories.

+1

I am not an expert in nutrition but I have been in the fitness industry for 15 years and trained or assisted hundreds of people into the best shape of their life, through diet and exercise. I understand these at a very high level.

Lots of good advice on here, except stating Atkins is good for you. I am sorry but Atkins, apart from being a great self-marketing company that reinvents itself every ten years, is a horrible long term strategy for success and creates no long term positive eating habits. I will never advise a client, friend or family member to do this program.

YOU CANNOT SUSTAIN A LIFE LONG HEALTHY EATING PROGRAM BY DENYING YOURSELF FOOD. The biggest failure in Atkins is psychologically people miss the 'crunch'. Aside from bacon and pork rinds you are hard pressed to find foods that are crisp. Add to this, the lack of carbohydrates and the body enters a process of Ketosis.

People who partake in this diet do see immediate weight loss in a range of 10-20% but like most denial diets only about 5% will maintain that loss for even a short period of time. Eventually you have to start eating in the real world and the cascade of denial psychosis leads to binge eating and eventual yo-yo back to the start weight or higher.

I do apologize for speaking harshly about Atkins and I am not being personal, but it is a horrible diet program usually started by people who are looking for quick fixes to a long term eating problem.

The real fact is this. Almost every diet is crap. Seriously. Less than 5% of 'dieters' maintain their weight loss long term. Don't even start on the latest fad, HCG. The highest percentage of people who successfully lose weight and maintain that weight loss are people that make lifestyle changes that can be followed for life.

*In order to lose weight you must eat less, move more.
*Find your resting metabolism to find how many calories you burn in a day. stay under that number either through 100% nutrition or a combination of nutrition and exercise.
*My personal experience with people shows a percentage of intake equaling about 40% carbohydrates, 30% protein, 30% fat is a simple and long term sustainable nutrition plan.
*Vary the exercise with frequency, intensity, time and type and plateaus will be rare.
*If your unsure, unmotivated, have a medical condition, or do best with a laid out plan, there are a variety of resources to get the education, motivation and accountability you need.

Part 1 - go to your doctor. Consult. get his/ her advice. make a plan.
Part 2 - regular exercise and lower calorie foods. A lifestyle change


Note - Part one is hardest.

The Toiletpaper factor,comes into play as soon as, you start Eating The greens,Because they are going to Naturally Cleanse your G.I.Tract(Gastro-Intestinal system),You are going to Poop your Brains Out!That is The quickest/safest way to obtain Energy,Of which in Turn should Motivate you/Alert you to,Your need to do More for Yourself!It's quite possible & probable,You will Discover You had things in your system,That are Abnormal,& Unless you have an Outhouse,Your family is going to Discover this Abnormality,as well but Only for The 1 few Visits to The Throne,After that things will Level Off to a Less fragrant Experience,You will still be a Well known patron to The Throne Initially,But I will Guarantee,You will have more Energy,& You will feel like you've lost alot of weight!Instead of Junk Food,Bring some Root Vegetables-Radishes,turnips,Carrots,etc. & Make it a Point that,People/co-workers/Family See You eating these things,Their Astonishment/Expressions/Remarks will be a Delight for you,& Hopefully a very Positive Feeling towards More self-Motivation!If you have to,Force yourself to Smile when the stress comes about,& Rather than walking over to the Junk Food,Walk past it with your Bottle of water,& Just Go for a Short walk! Make This a Habit,& You Will,Blow Peoples Minds!When other"Plump" associates/friends Inquire to, your Change of habits,Ask them"Do you want to Feel Good?,Come Walk with me now!"These are Very Small Tasks,That produce Humongus rewards! Good Luck!

My experiences over the last ten years and those of my family strongly disagree re Atkins. Actually I think it's wise to just omit his name since that seems to strip people of all rationality. Most of the criticisms I've heard of Atkins come from people who've never read any of his books. There are also a lot of straw man arguments that attack things that don't appear anywhere in the literature. One thing almost no one seems to realize is that it's not just eating bacon and eggs and steaks. I would wager that outside of the first month or two as outlined in the first book, the average Atkins follower eats far more servings of veggies than your average person.

I really don't have any desire to debate it, given the fact that I've been doing so for ten years. It's worked pretty well for me, maybe it won't for you. But I will say that if you take to heart the main point he tries to make (ie stop eating empty carbs with no other food value) you'll be on your way to a lifetime of better health.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjKsz34PDn0

There is always the Kipper, Gruel and Clapshot diet. You're occasionally allowed some Cullen Skink and Haggis to break the monotony though.

I love that video. Weight loss is simple math. There are advanced calculations required to define the parameters, but with some very simple tools, a little effort, consistency and common sense it is easy to calculate energy in and energy out.

Start with a food journal and knowing your daily RMR. In the most basic, basic sense track by name and total calories consumed everything that passes your lips with a calorie attached. (Track % of CHO, PRO, FAT, sodium if you want)Usually just this honesty will curb unconscious snacking and save a couple hundred calories daily.

At the end of the day add up all the calories/energy you put in. SUBTRACT that from your RMR with the goal to be under eating your RMR by 250-500 calories every day.

Each time you exercise, track the energy out/calories burned, and include this number as a SUBTRACTION from your RMR. Now you see how the deficit builds up.

If consistent every day per week:

If your RMR is 2,000 calories per day,
And food intake is 1,500 calories,*
Person has a 500 calorie food deficit for the day.
End result is a 3,500 or 1 lb loss per week.**

If RMR is 2,000 calories per day,
And food intake is 1,500 calories per day,*
And your daily exercise is 500 calories per day,
Person has a 500 calorie food deficit AND 500 calorie exercise deficit for the day.
End result is a daily deficit of 1,000 calories per day or 2 lbs loss per week.**

This basic program is not without its flaws as you move into tracking by a magnitude of years, your body changes, goals change, habits change. You need to readjust personal static numbers and introduce muscle confusion.

*Daily Food intake regardless of doctrine does not summarily dictate weight loss. Other factors such as the % of Carbs, fats, protein, absorption of vitamins and minerals, water, sodium and a host of other issues may come into play on a daily basis. Long term simple math does dictate consuming less than required equals weight loss.

**Weekly losses are results of daily consistency. There is no magic pill, magic diet, late night exercise equipment or advanced math that guarantees if you are exactly 3,500 calories short of your weekly RMR, you have lost one pound. This is where eventual plateaus are found because the body has become accustomed to the eating, displaced held water, cleansed the digestive system, mastered the efficiency of your exercise or the RMR needs to be adjusted due to weight loss, or lean muscle gain.

I'm really sorry this post and the last are so long, if I was saying this it would take just a minute. Reading is much longer.

This seems a remarkable turn around in health advice, that no one has heard of. Can you cite where these studies are that now say eating saturated fat is good for you?
qjs

Phaedrus wrote:
>the Aktin's Diet. It used to be very fashionable to bash it but >an awful lot of recent studies have validated the basic approach

- when parking anywhere, don't park next to the door - park out in left field and walk in;

- if you have a parking garage at work - park near the top - the views are usually pretty good, there's lots of spaces, and you can find your vehicle easier - not to mention you then have the opportunity to walk down and then walk back up again. reverse if subterranean parking;

- if you work in a multi-story building - take the stairs instead of the elevator - and if you're lucky enough to work in a tall building, make it to the 10th floor (an arbitrary number) and then back down - increase over time;

- wear your 10 - 15 lbs pack when using the above;

- portion control - we eat too much - we rate a restaurant by how large the portions are;

- only eat a pint of ice cream, not the whole quart

- more later after i eat lunch.

By the way ... I'll add something helpful, since my last comment was flippant.

One of the best exercises ... is simply walking. The human body is very well designed for walking. Long distance walking is an excellent way to maintain a good healthy body weight.

We tend to get caught up in the mentality of "high intensity" workouts. Although these types of workouts can burn a lot of calories, they can also more easily generate injuries. In addition, some people have a hard time getting motivated for very demanding workouts - whereas the simple act of walking isn't too hard to do (any time of day or night). Walking does not overstress your body, but will burn calories at a consistent rate if you keep it up. You can increase you energy consumption by walking up hills, or walking up hills and having a light rucksack on your back.

In many poorer countries around the world - people stay in excellent shape just by walking every day. Of course, it's usually because they don't own a car. But our prosperity sometimes works against us ... if more Americans spent time walking it would do them a lot of good.

Pete #2

I have experienced good results using Bill Phillips' Body for Life program. While I don't really do the exact program any more, the way he teaches the eating aspect is pretty easy to adopt as a lifestyle; I think this part is key.

To get going though, I'd definitely recommend following the program to the tee, especially the planning aspects. While, as I said, it is easy to transition into a lifestyle, the structure for the first 12 weeks (or even more!) helps build the foundation which makes the transition possible.

I'll chime in on the "get your body moving" advice. Find ways or excuses to walk. I almost always use the stairs. It is amazing what walking the stairs for a few floors every day will do for you.

If you work in a multistory building, whenever you leave the office do not come back until you go up and down at least one flight of stairs. Heck, you may start a trend and the next thing you know everyone is getting healthy. If you do not have that option, then take the long way back.

With regards to food, I have found that making meals has been a great help. It is great to learn new things about cooking. I just have a hard time not eating a half gallon of spaghetti; I love pasta! Keep your meals balanced. Also, drink water. This will also add to the trips out of the office and stairs taking. Just be careful with the amount of water. I have experienced the extreme flushing of nutrient/minerals. I was way too thirsty. I knew I had make sure I pulled back a little. When I did, things were better.

In the final analysis it is all about moderation and balance.

Perhaps the single most important thing is to stop going out to lunch at work. No fast food. Become a "brown bagger." Several people I've worked with over the years have tried this advice and, when they stuck with it, their average weight loss was in the 20 pound range. You may also find you save money.

Go ahead, spoil your appetite. Don't let the memory of Mom saying those famous words stop you. If you are hungry, eat a snack. Just make it a piece of fruit (I'm partial to bananas and apples). If you allow hunger to build up, you are bound to overeat, or become frustrated with your "diet." Eat like a bird: several times a day, small health meals/snacks. Keeps the blood sugar up and something in you to keep your energy up and your tummy full.

Walk, walk, walk. Start at 1/2 hour a day, try to work up to 1 hour.

Dump the idea of "going on a diet." If you go on something, you can go off. Recognize that you are making permanent changes in yourself, which are reflected in what you do and eat.

Give it time. You didn't get this way overnight, so the weight won't go away overnight. Your body has been trained to think that the way you are now is "normal" and will fight the new you. One year is a good time frame for results. Remember what Martin was able to do (with considerable fine effort)in the "Fat tracker" thread.

I'd start with homecooking as often as you can, and if you can't, go for less processed food. The more natural the better.

I find it helps to make at least half a meal either veggies or fruit. My family loves meat and potatoes/pasta so, I usually make the other half of the meal (at most) a combo of the two. Complex carbs like sweet potatoes and whole wheat pasta are better than simple startchy ones like white potatoes and pasta. We encourage our Scouts to "eat a rainbow" every day. Them more colourful your meals the better - green veg + orange veg + red veg etc.

Slip in veggies wherever you can. I have to hide things like carrots from myself sometimes. Grate some sweet potatoes or carrots into your meatloaf, use tomato sauce instead of cream and snack on fruit and veggies.

Also, remember that many people confuse thirst for hunger, so be sure to drink lots of water.

Walking is a great idea Chisel. It's easy, cheap and you can do it anywhere.

Just don't be too hard on yourself. It takes time to develop good habits.

Eat less, exercise more is not far off.

I would modify it to eat healthier.

I am an Atkins fan. 150+ pounds so far.

My dog walks me every day for two miles. On weekends we try to find a creek to visit as part of a hike in a local state park or forest preserve. She likes creeks.