Interestingly, I always assumed the mass of the food and drink I took in minus the mass of the poop and pee would have to be negative to lose weight, but when you lose weight, most of it leaves your body as CO2 (and water vapor) that you exhale. It's not just a mass balance made up of the things you can see.
I need to lose weight myself, so interested in reading about all the things that work for others.
I use a combination of MyFitnessPal to track calories and Zero to monitor my fasting (I shoot for 16 hours for maintenance and find I lose more weight once I go to 18 hours for a fast). The combination has helped me to drop almost 14 lbs in the past two months. This is the first time in my life I've counted calories (I'm 42), and it's been eye-opening. In the first month of quarantine, I was snacking a lot and didn't realize it. I needed the accountability of MyFitnessPal to figure out how much I could eat, and it's been a huge help.
I had gained 9 lbs the first month of quarantine, so I knew I couldn't continue that trend. My job is 100% sedentary, so I try to run a few times a week and I'm very active on the weekends doing projects around the house.
Hope that helps!
I came back from FL last spring at 237# and didn't feel good, so I decided to do something about it. Now, let me preface this by stating "I DON'T FOLLOW DIRECTIONS VERY WELL. NEVER HAVE AND PROBABLY NEVER WILL". My sister-in-law told me to try a KETO diet, so I did a bunch of research. Seemed impossible because the only way protein got into my body was via carbs(bun, bread, bagel, crust, etc...). I had to do something not only for me but for her also.
The theory is easy, cut down and eventually cut out carbs(to a point). I decided to go for it and begin taking "baby steps" and educating myself. I first went through the pantry, drawers, cupboards, refrigerator and freezer deciding what to keep and what to give away. No more sugar, flour, soda, iced tea mix, hot chocolate mix, salad dressings, ketchup, orange juice, milk, potatoes and lots more stuff. It's not just a diet change, it's a lifestyle change. It's training your mind and body how to eat, when to eat and what to eat.
I used to crash mid-afternoon when my blood sugar would drop and my "go-to" was running down to BK or McD and grabbing something quickly and returning to work. But the problem started first thing in the morning. I would get up, make a cuppa coffee with sugar in it and half-and-half and then make a bagel sandwich or toast and jelly when heading out. The carbs in all of that turn quickly to sugar in the body when metabolized. So, what you have for breakfast affects what and when you have lunch and over eating late in the afternoon was my problem. Then I would go home, make dinner and overeat that meal as well. The starch that I would eat at dinner, potatoes, carrots, french fries/tater tots(which I love), also turn to sugar in your system. We don't even need to talk about desserts as we know they aren't good for you in any way, not even most fruits! Who knew!
French fries become parsnip/rutabaga / turnip fries.
White sugar becomes Monkfruit sweetener.
Lots of cauliflower. Seriously, it gets used for everything!
Cashew and almond milk instead of regular cow juice.
LOTS of eggs!
KETO has worked for me, I went from 237 to 188 in 8 months. My knees don't hurt any more, my energy level is up but it all comes at a cost. Buying healthier foods is damn expensive! Buying a new wardrobe of pants, shirts, shorts underwear is expensive but incredibly rewarding! There is also a HUGE mental benefit as time goes on. You look better and you feel better. The weight loss becomes a game and a quest.
Bottom line for me is that I like the way that I look and feel much more than I miss the foods that I no longer eat.
Good luck and whatever you decide to do, stick with it and you will see the results over time. Don't get discouraged when you don't see immediate results. It's tough getting started but you will reap the rewards with persistence.
ProDarwin said:1) Strength train over cardio. Muscle burns a ton of calories during recovery and will increase your BMR significantly, unlike cardio. Its very win-win. The more muscle you get, the better you look/feel, the more calories your body burns even when you are being a lazy bum.
2) My Fitness Pal suuuuuuuuucks*, but its still one of the best options out there for tracking intake.
Veggies have almost no calories. You can eat them until your are sick and not put a dent in your caloric intake. Fruit isn't quite so low, but its close.
*seriously. It sucks.
Repeated for posterity since this was the first post to address BMR. Or "basal metabolic rate" which is how many calories your body burns every day just by existing (breathing/thinking/moving). Since weight gain/loss is essentially an equation of calories in vs calories out there are two ways to change your outcome. Decrease calories in or increase calories out. As Frenchy said back at the beginning, our fat cells are smart and want to hang on to "extra energy" for the next lean time. Which mean reducing our calories in sends the body into starvation mode and our BMR drops. Therefore just dieting is a self defeating process.
But weight training will increase you lean muscle mass. Lean muscle burns a lot of calories just by existing so that time spent exercising repays you by burning extra energy for months and months to come.
There is some excellent advice here, when often that is not the case.
Caloric deficit is the only thing that will result in weight loss.
Exercise should be a part of your plan and can affect that but it's not an effective way to lose weight on it's own. In this respect, cardio is a complete waste of time. The above post is right on, but in the big picture, the amount of calories burned is not affected significantly, though it all helps and is a part of my own strategy
Fad diets like Adkins and Keto do not work because they are not sustainable and are often bad for your health - when better health is the ultimate goal.
Everybody's different and some things may or may not work for you but caloric deficit still applies.
Personally, I've found that eating heavy early in the day works for me. When I work a (12hr) day shift I eat my big meal at 9AM, then mostly fruits and veggies the rest of the day. On my days off we eat a medium size breakfast and a large dinner between 3PM and 4 PM.
I couldn't pass the kitchen and not 'quality control' something on my way through during the early part of Quarantine/WFH. I have never tracked my calories and exercise was sporadic at best.
The ads for Noom sucked me in so I signed up for the trial period and really like it as an educational program but probably more importantly as a calorie tracker. I like that I can scan packages with my phone and if I don't have to get into the weeds with ingredients if I don't want to. I can just type 'Chili' and the volume and I feel it gets me in the ballpark. The color categories for food density has been a great learning piece as well. I continued for the full package.
The second piece was buying a 'cheap' Garmin watch... I was always against smartphones (Why do I need something when my phone is 6" away in my pocket.) but darn, I do enjoy making the color wheel pop me up when I hit step or stair goals. And the GPS is cool for hiking/kayaking.
My promise to myself is that I can't cheat on logging things in Noom and my activity has to increase every week. So far so good as I approach 30 pounds lost since mid-March - And a hell of a lot smarter about it which is the point.
Gary said:There are a lot of good suggestions here, and I am sure they will all work. Follow any one but the important thing is to stick to it. I will tell you what absolutely worked for both Annie and me: low carb. Not Keto. We simply cut out pasta, bread, potato, etc., and I cut beer from my intake (except Miller Lite for the first year or so). I lost 40 pounds. Annie lost around 12. We are both pleased. I'm at 160 now, my high school weight, which was over 50 years ago. And Annie's at a weight she likes. So find something that you think you can live with and stick to it. You can do it! And good luck.
Exactly what my wife and I have done. We cut out almost all carbs, try to keep net carbs under 50g per day. Has worked very well for the last 6 months with both of us losing around 10% of our pre-diet weight. Very sustainable once you learn where the hidden carbs are, and avoid them like the plague. It took a while to learn a new batch of good recipes that focus on protein and healthy fats, and it is VERY hard to give up favorites like pasta and homebaked breads and such, but it's worth it. Also, not all carbs are equal. Sugar is the devil and are worthless calories. Things that you might think are healthy and "natural", fruit juice for example, are really bad if your trying to lose weight.
Old_Town said:I couldn't pass the kitchen and not 'quality control' something on my way through during the early part of Quarantine/WFH. I have never tracked my calories and exercise was sporadic at best.
The ads for Noom sucked me in so I signed up for the trial period and really like it as an educational program but probably more importantly as a calorie tracker. I like that I can scan packages with my phone and if I don't have to get into the weeds with ingredients if I don't want to. I can just type 'Chili' and the volume and I feel it gets me in the ballpark. The color categories for food density has been a great learning piece as well. I continued for the full package.
The second piece was buying a 'cheap' Garmin watch... I was always against smartphones (Why do I need something when my phone is 6" away in my pocket.) but darn, I do enjoy making the color wheel pop me up when I hit step or stair goals. And the GPS is cool for hiking/kayaking.
My promise to myself is that I can't cheat on logging things in Noom and my activity has to increase every week. So far so good as I approach 30 pounds lost since mid-March - And a hell of a lot smarter about it which is the point.
I'm glad to see some feedback on Noom here. I've been intrigued because I really need to lose a lot of weight. Already cut out alcohol, I have a few low calorie protein shakes for lunch ~350 calories. Then an early dinner of just some grilled chicken and a large salad with carrots/radishes/etc. So far in 10 days I've already lost about 4.5 lbs. But I have a LONG way to go to get to where I want and need to be.
Now just need to add exercise back in.
Call it what you want
^^^^^
/thread.
I'm a big fan of intermittent fasting. I generally try to get past 16 hours before eating, unless I am going on a prolonged bike ride and know I will need some protein. I also try not to drink my calories -- other than beer, scotch and wine. Even then, I take those in moderation.
Exercise as much as you can.
There are also cognitive benefits to IF that are important as you age -- I'm approaching 50, and that's another reason why I am a fan of it.
Old_Town said:The ads for Noom sucked me in so I signed up for the trial period and really like it as an educational program but probably more importantly as a calorie tracker. I like that I can scan packages with my phone and if I don't have to get into the weeds with ingredients if I don't want to. I can just type 'Chili' and the volume and I feel it gets me in the ballpark. The color categories for food density has been a great learning piece as well. I continued for the full package.
The second piece was buying a 'cheap' Garmin watch... I was always against smartphones (Why do I need something when my phone is 6" away in my pocket.) but darn, I do enjoy making the color wheel pop me up when I hit step or stair goals. And the GPS is cool for hiking/kayaking.
My promise to myself is that I can't cheat on logging things in Noom and my activity has to increase every week. So far so good as I approach 30 pounds lost since mid-March - And a hell of a lot smarter about it which is the point.
30 pounds is huge! that's awesome.
My wife gets sucked in by things like Noom, which I found out when the $130 charge or whatever hit our account. Unfortunately she never follows through on anything she has bought or ordered over the last several years.
I started wondering if i could like reset it or start over with it and just do it myself since we already paid for it but she never used it. That and I get sick of lighting money on fire, but I play with cars, so you pick your battles.
Regardless, I've dropped 10 pounds since coronavirus/quarantine started. I have a very sedentary job plus long commute and also ate out a lot as a result, so I'm actually more active working from home and not commuting. At 6'2 I hit my self comfort limit when i saw the scale tipping past 245 routinely and decided to cut out beer/pop, fast food, and just made some effort on portion control. Nothing drastic, but cutting off snacks in the evening, and making our own food has helped.
I know some say the BMI scale is garbage, but it's an arbitrary line that gives me the next goal. I'm only like 2 pounds away from getting out of the "obese" category and into the "overweight" category (weight of 233 at 6'2).
The "normal weight" BMI for 6'2 doesn't start until under 195 pounds which feels miles away at this point. I haven't seen 220 in over a decade so that's my next big goal. Plan to refine the diet further and start taking the physical activity side more seriously and get back on my mountain bike.
Havent seem anyone mention it specifically, other than the OP himself saying he may cut down on the bourbon, but thats where i see room for improvement. 3/drinks per day, everyday, is a lot. Not just from the calories (thats a part of it) but from the other things that go with it.
I say that from experience too, though mine was craft beer, which is even more empty calories. When work was bad i was also having 2-3 drinks every night to relax. Usually i wanted to sit in a comfy chair and do nothing. It was much harder to go for a run or lift some weights with a few drinks in me. I think it can have a depressing/slowing effect on your metabolism too.
Now i exercise 3-4 times a week, and limit the drinking to wednesdays and saturdays. The combination of the two has helped me shed 20 lbs in 6-8 months.
Flynlow (Four-Digit Forum Supporter) said:Havent seem anyone mention it specifically, other than the OP himself saying he may cut down on the bourbon, but thats where i see room for improvement. 3/drinks per day, everyday, is a lot. Not just from the calories (thats a part of it) but from the other things that go with it.
I say that from experience too, though mine was craft beer, which is even more empty calories. When work was bad i was also having 2-3 drinks every night to relax. Usually i wanted to sit in a comfy chair and do nothing. It was much harder to go for a run or lift some weights with a few drinks in me. I think it can have a depressing/slowing effect on your metabolism too.
Now i exercise 3-4 times a week, and limit the drinking to wednesdays and saturdays. The combination of the two has helped me shed 20 lbs in 6-8 months.
This. A 12oz Guiness has 125 calories. It takes about 12 minutes of stair climbing or running something like a 9 minute mile to burn that off. To offset your drinking, you'd need to do do almost 40 minutes of light to moderate cardio each day.
I think what we often concern ourselves with is weight, but that's just a number on a scale. A 6'1" guy that weighs 200lbs can be shredded, or have flabby love handles and chicken legs. They might be the same weight on the scale, but two different levels of fitness and appearance. The heaviest I've ever been was also the best shape of my life, so I don't really concern myself too much with the number on the scale as long as it's not rising/falling too quickly. Don't worry too much about the number on the scale. Just use it to judge trends over time.
If you want to look better and feel better, you've gotta lift weights. It's the most efficient way to change the shape of your body. Cardio burns calories while you do it. Building muscle raises your BMR and burns calories around the clock. It also strengthens and supports your joints to reduce potential injuries.
If it's been a long time since I've lifted, I always start by working on my core for a week or so. Once that's going well enough, work in exercises that use multiple muscle groups at the same time (squats, lunges, deadlifts, presses, etc). These save time in the gym by working a bunch of muscles at the same time but also work the largest muscles in your body, which burn more calories rebuilding. Plus they're common movements outside of the gym, so they'll improve your day to day movement too (picking things up off the ground, lifting overhead, etc).
So the basic recipe for you is to replace most of the alcohol you drink with water (maybe shoot for cutting back to 1 drink per day at first, and ultimately something like just 3 drinks per week) and strength train as often as you can fit it in. You can do core work and some body weight exercises in under 30 minutes at home if you can't fit in a full workout or trip to a gym.
xflowgolf (Forum Supporter) said:I know some say the BMI scale is garbage,
In my experience it's only people who don't think they are overweight, but clearly are
It's been said, but I'll say it again. Reduce caloric intake and increase activity. Do what works for you. Fad diets like Keto never last for me, but ymmv. What ive also noticed is that when you pick something that works for you and someone asks what you did to lose weight, one of two things will happen: 1. They will be greatly disappointed you didn't lose it by taking a diet pill or 2. They will tell you how wrong your plan is and how much better you could do by doing xyz instead.
Ive been on the path of being healthy for 12 years now. Senior year of college I was 240 (6'), fat, and miserable. No activity. All fast food. I wanted to do something about so I started to ride my mountain bike and slowly started cutting back. I worked up to running a lot of miles and then cut calories back to 1200-1500 calories per day. I got down to 170 which is where I like to stay. Took about 6 months. My body and appetite want me to be 240, though. Fat cells are forever hungry. So over the years I've yo yo'd but usually come back.
Since Thanksgiving I had shot back up to 191. Started eating right and exercising on May 26 and today, one month later I'm down 11lbs.
Good luck.
Peabody said:xflowgolf (Forum Supporter) said:I know some say the BMI scale is garbage,
In my experience it's only people who don't think they are overweight, but clearly are
The problem with BMI is that it oversimplifies things. It's based on weight to height ratio only. If you are packing a lot of muscle, you are probably above your ideal BMI, but you're probably also very healthy. Think Arnold Schwarzenegger at his peak Mr. Olympia level.
Having said that, the vast, VAST majority of people who are above their ideal BMI, are there because they carrying too much fat around. Me, for instance. 
Calories are a poor what to judge nutrition. Think about it. Salt is 0 cals. So are diet sodas. If you see corn in your poop, do you think you got all those calories? Nope. Calories are measured by burning food. Our bodies dont do that. Are calories a single data point that at least give us a direction? Yes. Calorie counting is pointless in my mind.
150 calories of Oreo vs raw carrots? I dont think anyone would argue that you are getting anything equivalent in terms of fuel for your body.
I try to eat food that looks like a plant or an animal. A tenderloin is better than sausage. Brown rice is better than white. Less processing before it hits the table, the better. Stuff like that.
I lost 30 lbs by not only watching portion size (smaller dinner plates help), but also ID all the foods that had hidden sugar in them. Baked beans? Favored yogurt? Both are packed with sugar. I also needed to drop sugar so I didnt have high cholesterol. They never take you off those pills!
Peabody said:Call it what you want
I can totally dig this, but it is oversimplifying. This suggests to count calories and burn more than you consume and it just isn't true. It depends on the TYPE of calories. That is to say... if you ingest 1000 calories of sugar, your body will absorb/convert/keep more of it than if you ate 1000 calories of chicken. The calories (which are a unit of energy) are only applicable for the actual amount of caloric value your body retains.
Eat 1000 calories of sugar, your body absorbs most of it. It keeps what it need for balancing your blood sugar right now, then it converts the rest to glycogen and fat. It squirrels it away for a rainy day. If you eat 1000 calories of protein, it converts it into water, aminos, hydrase compounds, and passes the rest through as lactic and uric acids. Eating the same caloric value in sugar means you need to work MORE to lose it than if you did the same calories as protein.
Also, since calories are a unit of energy and has nothing to do with weight, this whole idea that calories in vs calories out is just a non-starter. If you're on a 2000 calorie/day diet, you could accomplish those calories by A) Eating one pound of sugar, B) eating 2 pounds of chicken, or C) eating 33 lbs of lettuce. News flash. If you eat 33 lbs of lettuce, you gain 33 lbs until it passes, and most of it will pass. If you eat one pound of sugar, you'll gain 1 lb, but because nearly all of it gets absorbed and put in storage, and you retain not only that pound, but all the water and stuff it takes to convert it into fat. It's the type of calories, not just how many.
The set number of calories isn't accurate either.
A person sitting in an office all day needs far less calories than someone on their feet and doing a physical job.
Tell a guy stripping concrete forms all day that he only needs 2000 calories.
Tangent:
Best weight lifting / strength training exercises to do, at home, quickly, with minimal equipment?
I know, that is a lot of qualifiers!
I don't have room for much equipment. I don't have a lot of time. I want results as quickly as can safely be done.
Whatcha got?
Are sit ups and pushups really the answer here? Maybe some lunges?
The best 3 are Pullups, Pushups, and Squats
Arnold home workout is actually pretty good: https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a31818878/arnold-schwarzenegger-home-workout-plan/
otherwise, get yourself a 'Tabata' timer app for your phone. You can do a fairly brutal compound muscle group in 4 minutes, full body in 12-16 mins.
Simple home workout equipment I would get, in order
1) Pullup bar
2) Rings (hang from pullup bar)
3) Kettle Bell
4) Olympic bar + bumper plates
I've been in the fitness field for years thanks to EMS and medical, so I can give some pointers.
wvumtnbkr said:I am now 40 years old.
I am 6 feet tall and weigh 220 lbs.
There are all these diets everywhere and people telling me that fruits and veggies are the way to go. Some say the exact opposite.
"yeah bro, those things we been eatin' fer millions o' years? stop doin that bro!"
Do yourself a big favor and don't listen to them again; they're probably gonna try telling you about a SEE-KRET government carburator that runs on water and unicorn farts that gets 100MPG or something.
I have always believed in simply eating less to lose weight.
That isn't working anymore.
I do not eat sweets. I do not eat fast food much (maybe 1 x per month). I don't drink soda.
I do drink 2 x cups of coffee a day with cream and sugar. I also have probably 3 alcoholic drinks per day (Guinness, or bourbon and ginger).
What have people done that works for them?
Is there some actual science that says fruits and veggies may NOT be the best? (Seems like the current fads and trends are trying to state this).
Thanks!
Rob R
I've bolded the major points I'll focus on.
Eating less will help, provided that you keep your energy level expediture the same or increase it. Calories out = Calories in and all, but this can be difficult.
The likely reason you have all this weight is your alcohol consumption, and that "little" extra sugar doesn't help. There are lots of calories in liquor- Alcohols are broken down into sugars which are quickly burned or stored, and their use in the body requires water to flush the liver out later to move said sugar alcohols to the kidneys. This means part of your weight is in water. Liquids always follow solutes- like sugar!- and thus your extra sugar intake is also keeping more weight on you in just free liquids to disseminate this via osmosis. While it won't be your magic bullet, cutting your beer and liquor completely will probably have a big effect over the next month.
As for exercise, ProDarwin is kinda right but for the wrong reasons (sorry!). Don't "Strength train over cardio" simply because muscle is better at burning calories; you should strength train because you're day-to-day job you said, involves walking several miles and you're body is already built and used to it. Tossing more miles at it will just hurt your feet and not do too much weight-wise since it's already gotten so good at it. Instead, pick a time when you have plenty of energy (typically mornings for you, though I don't) and try to do a basic strength training plan, probably a 3x or a 4x per week based on your work schedule. The other days I would focus on cardio and stretching, specifically working your "fast twitch" muscles. Lifting is all slow-twitch, so you don't want an imbalance.
Finally for anyone else, disregard BMI, and get a measurement of your body fat precentage. The latter will actually give you a semi-accurate measurement of your adipose tissues, and any personal trainer should be able to do it with reasonable accuracy- It involves a clamp on the tricep, super non-invasive. Also, always take every finding into consideration with each other- every bodybuilder, power lifter and even some long-distance runners I've met have been considered 'overweight'.
Post up what you're comfortable with and what you're lifting experience you have and we can start creating a basic excersise plan.
ShawnG said:The set number of calories isn't accurate either.
A person sitting in an office all day needs far less calories than someone on their feet and doing a physical job.
Tell a guy stripping concrete forms all day that he only needs 2000 calories.
This is why I brought up BMR earlier. Here's an easy way to ballpark your daily burn:
(KATCH MCARDLE FORMULA)
BMR(calories) = 370 + (9.82 * Lean Body Mass(lbs))
Sedentary = BMR X 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job)
Lightly Active = BMR X 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)
Moderately Active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)
Very Active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)
Extremely Active = BMR X 1.9 (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2 X day training, full time training, etc.)
Cardio effectively increases the multiplier you use each day.
Lifting effectively increases your BMR
wvumtnbkr said:Best weight lifting / strength training exercises to do, at home, quickly, with minimal equipment?
I don't have room for much equipment. I don't have a lot of time. I want results as quickly as can safely be done.
Careful; that attitude is how plans fail.
How much time do you have per day? You you have bars or heavy things that can support your weight around your house, like an old steel clothesline? Do you run? Do you have any freeweights at all?
As for the diet, you'll have to post your typical eating habits, otherwise all I can say is to use smaller plates, eat slower, and cut all alcohol/beer/wine ect.
You'll need to log in to post.
