18

4/26/2007 3:51:28 PM

yeah, I took a guess on my weight. I really don't care what that number says, I just care about what I look like. (better health is just coincidental benefit) I am wearing a 36, but they have started to get a little tight, I just want to be able to wear a 34...but that's a big difference...

4/26/2007 4:03:23 PM

I've lost 20 in 12 days...

4/26/2007 10:02:14 PM

yea the first 2 weeks are the easiest... all of that water weight sheds off so fast... but it will slow down... trust me

4/26/2007 10:02:46 PM

is alcohol bad for weight loss. Obviously the calories in beer, but if you're shooting 1500 a day. If 200 of those are from two beers is that really bad? I am sure that calories from beer are worse than calories from carrots, but you get what I'm saying.

might be a dumb question, sorry

[Edited on April 26, 2007 at 10:35 PM. Reason : mk]

4/26/2007 10:35:08 PM

lol It won't do anything for your body but go for it!

I've lost 20lbs in 3.5 months. Very slooooooooooooooowwwwwwww process....

4/26/2007 10:36:50 PM

bttt

4/30/2007 7:34:12 PM

I should hit 50 by the end of 5 months. the first 40 went quick, but im trying to slow it down and find a good medium for when i want to stop losing.

4/30/2007 7:37:41 PM

le sigh, did poorly on the diet this weekend as well as not working out. Apparently the 12 hour workdays are killing me. Luckily they will be changing in two weeks.

My nose has been super runny and my head is killing me, however I haven't hit the gym in three days. Deal with snot running all over their equipment and having to use my tshirt as a tissue, or skip and go twice tomorrow?

Mother fucking meh!

4/30/2007 7:49:24 PM

i'm still walking around at 270, down from 320. Weight loss gets really really slow after that first 25 of waterweight.

but fuck it, this is for me and for my future kids

i refuse to die at 50 like my pops did.

4/30/2007 8:31:03 PM

ill be getting on the fat loss after track season is done, im excited

not tryna lose 50 pounds but i want a little abs and to be cut a lil bit

id like to go from 260 back to 235, thatd be good

i have always looked awesome at 235

[Edited on April 30, 2007 at 9:23 PM. Reason : d]

4/30/2007 9:22:23 PM

^how tall are you, though?

4/30/2007 9:45:08 PM

5'11"

im short but trust me 235 looks good on me

[Edited on April 30, 2007 at 9:47 PM. Reason : s]

4/30/2007 9:46:52 PM

For those of you that care I went to workout.

NEENER.

I feel like I've hit a rut. I blame my work schedule change, on my days off I'm fabulous with my diet and exercise plan. As soon as work begins all that goes out the window. Thank goodness it goes back to normal soon!

KIWI DO NOT WANT FATTY

4/30/2007 10:01:45 PM

Kiwi congrats on losing 20 lbs, thats about 19 pounds more than most people lose on their "diets"

You seem to be getting really frustrated with the slow process of it though so I thought Id help you evaluate your routine.

I'll start with the things you're doing well:

1) Weight training. In order to lose weight you have to transform your body's efficiency. Gaining lean muscle mass is the best way to improve your body's metabolism. Don't ever use the attitude "muscle weighs more than fat" as an excuse not to lift. As a girl you'll be lucky to put on 5 lbs worth of muscle in a whole year. And if you ever want to lose the muscle you can just stop lifting weights for 2-4 weeks and watch it evaporate. In the meantime you're improving your overall body shape & tone while increasing your fat burning potential.

2) Persevering. Most people would have given up within a few days or weeks. Particularly with the slow progress you are making and the realization that you are not going to hit 50 lbs by July. If you've really let yourself go over the years this isn't going to be an overnight transformation. Keep focused and try setting goals that are a little easier to achieve and with shorter duration. Once you reach them you'll feel better about yourself and more determined not to give in.

3)
Not getting injured. This is probably why your personal trainer was treating you with kid gloves. Most people who are well overweight tend to overdo it when starting a training program and the injury ends up adding to their weight problem because they cant work out and end up getting depressed. Now that you've given your body ample time to adjust to activity, it's time to start aiming for serious weight loss.



Now for the things you aren't doing so well.

1) Diet. Your diet should reflect your weight loss goals. There is nothing more important than diet when it comes to losing weight. Currently, you seem to be eating healthier than you used to and that is the main reason you've been able to lose almost a pound a week.

But you said yourself that you haven't made dramatic improvements and that you're weight loss has been slow. The thing is, the first 20 pounds are MUCH easier to lose than the next 20 are going to be.

You are really stunting your progress by making some unwise eating choices. You really have to allow your body to become a fat-burning machine and that's never going to happen on your current diet. First things first. Eliminate all cheat days for one month minumum. "cheat days" are for maintenance diets, they have no place in weight reduction. One cheat day a week can erase a full pound/week of progress. You are not only flooding your body with calories but the sugars and fats are preventing your body from learning to adapt to its new sources of energy.

Secondly, eliminate the simple sugars immediately. I really can't stress this enough. If it's not a fruit or vegetable, then any simple sugar you are putting in your body is going to completely derail your progress. Whole grain and complex carbohydrates are the ONLY carbs (sans fruits & veggies) that should be entering your body for at least ONE MONTH.

Fats. You are teaching your body to burn fat for fuel. So you need to get ample fats during the day. The right kinds of fats (nuts, fish oil, flaxseed oil, peanut butter) CAN NOT be stored as fat in the body. They can only be burned as fuel. Since you are no longer eating simple carbohydrates or saturated fats, you're going to need to make sure you get these fats in your body with regularity (4-6 times a day).

Protein. I don't know exactly how much protein a girl needs when she's losing weight. Get it frequently throughout the day (5-6 times) but never more than ~20g at a time.

You absolutely HAVE to change your diet. What you are doing now is more of a maintenance diet than a weight loss diet. It may have worked for the first 20 lbs because you were well over your body's ideal weight, but it will not ever get you to where you're looking to go.

Continuing on your current diet is like attending all the lectures, taking good notes, and then not studying the night before the test. You may think you're doing "enough" but you are not.


2)
Cardio. Your cardio program leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to weight loss. I have no doubt the program you are on has improved your cardio and respiratory systems and your overall health. That's terrific, but it's not the way to lose weight.

First of all, 20-25 minutes is just not going to get it done. That's great for MAINTENANCE. 6 months from now when you've reached your desired weight, feel free to go back to 20-25 minutes. But for weight loss the key is DURATION not intensity.

You absolutely need to be doing cardio 5x a week at 45 minutes per session. Now initially this probably scares you, but it shouldn't. What you need to do is lower the intensity of your workout (i.e. go slower). If you want to burn a higher % of fat (the goal right?) you need to work out at less intensity so your body can use stored fat as a fuel instead of carbohydrates. Running and burning carbs is a great way to make you hungry and burn muscle, not a great way to shed fat. Unless you're training to run marathons then you need to lower the speed & intensity and increase the duration of exercise immediately.

Timing. This is essential. Your cardio MUST be done immediately upon waking up in the morning. I know it sounds awful to do cardio before work but if you want to lose weight this is a dealbreaker. You absolutely CAN NOT eat before you do cardio. If you eat anything in the 4-6 hours before you do cardio then you are going to waste the first 20-30 minutes of exercise just burning carbs. Which means when you get home you'll have to replace those carbohydrates through more eating.

YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST WALK FOR 45 MINUTES BEFORE YOU EAT ANYTHING IN THE MORNING. You will burn about 3x the amount of stored body fat by just doing this one simple thing. Don't blow this advice off whatever you do.

Suck it up for just one month and follow this plan and I can guarantee you'll lose 10+ pounds this month alone.

I realize you can't keep up this strict of a regimen your entire life, but do it for one fucking month and then after you've given your body the wakeup call it needs you can scale down a little.

Otherwise, you're about to plateau and get frustrated. When that happens you'll be lucky to lose another 10 lbs by December.

[Edited on May 1, 2007 at 7:33 PM. Reason : a]

5/1/2007 7:31:09 PM

Word man. I needed something like that written out. I'm at that point where things are going to get tough, I'm willing to go that mile I just don't know how to do it.

My cardio usually last 45 minutes. Just recently I switched up my workout to keep it interesting. Right now I do 10 minutes on Jacob's Ladder which really gets my heart going. After a minute rest to drink and catch my breath I get on the Arch Trainer for twenty minutes at 40 whatever resistance and 4th level I cant think of the word but increase the angle. After that I do 15 minutes on the bike pedaling hard.

Should I switch to 35 minutes of arch trainer alone? I get bored with the same machine is all.

As far as diet goes, I need to get strict. Those are good pointers. I was reading up on working out in the morning and plan on doing that. Burning more calories throughout the day jsut form working out in the am sounds good. Plus I tend to get lazier as the day progresses.

I take fish oil pills, love walnuts and peanut butter. My only forms of protein are tuna, chicken, turkey, eggs. Don't care for tofu so much.

I am really committed to getting into shape, I don't want this rut to turn into the end of the diet. Gotta stay focused.

5/1/2007 7:40:12 PM

Well if nothing else just make sure you switch to the cardio in the morning.

Relax on the intensity. As long as you're operating around 70% of your max heart rate for ~45 minutes and doing it on an empty stomach you'll see the pounds melt off.

Theres no problem using two different machines but i'd eliminate that "break" you take. If you feel like you need a break then you're probably going a little too fast and need to lower the intensity instead.


Tofu blows i tried that too didnt work. Those are all good sources of protein, so thats not a problem.

5/1/2007 7:50:27 PM

I just make sure I sweat, I was getting worried that my workouts weren't intense enough since I didn't feel like I was dying when I walked out.

My trainer did say that it's 98% diet though.

My typical food day is

1 1/4 cup Rice Krispies, one cup skim milk
snack-apple-handful of walnuts-carrots-fruit
sandwich-turkey, lettuce, tsp mayo, carrots as a side
dinner-eggs with toast, grilled chicken with veggie for side, tuna sandwich with tiny mayo and toast, salad(cherry tomatos, carrots, tiny bit of italian dressing) on rotating days

How do I make this the ultimate losing weight diet?

5/1/2007 7:54:09 PM

well, you could go down to 1 cup rice krispies and 1/2 cup skim milk and no mayo - whatsoever. and a less fat dressing.

5/1/2007 8:26:58 PM

whats a good alternative to mayo? I guess i could eat it plain

is italian vinegrette a good one to use?? any others i dont know of?

My breakfast is 130 calories...

5/1/2007 8:28:13 PM

^ jizz

5/1/2007 8:31:06 PM

Quote :

"Fats. You are teaching your body to burn fat for fuel. So you need to get ample fats during the day. The right kinds of fats (nuts, fish oil, flaxseed oil, peanut butter) CAN NOT be stored as fat in the body. They can only be burned as fuel. Since you are no longer eating simple carbohydrates or saturated fats, you're going to need to make sure you get these fats in your body with regularity (4-6 times a day). Protein. I don't know exactly how much protein a girl needs when she's losing weight. Get it frequently throughout the day (5-6 times) but never more than ~20g at a time. "

wow, after 18 pages of dieting advice, you managed to say the two stupidest things in the entire thread. good job.

5/1/2007 8:31:19 PM

I was told that balsamic vinegar is what most people use instead of mayo. I just dont use anything because I dont like vinegar.

5/1/2007 8:31:38 PM

did you mean balsamic vinegarette dressings? I don't see how you could substitute vinegar for mayo.

5/1/2007 8:32:31 PM

Wonder if that will taste ok on salads. I dont want to eat a salad plain but if I have to I will...

^What's your advice now that I'm at that "work harder" stage?

[Edited on May 1, 2007 at 8:34 PM. Reason : curious]

5/1/2007 8:33:01 PM

No. Just the vinegar. Not the dressing. I tried it one day and they only put a little, and it was just too over powering.

^ I would use whatever you want on the salad, but not use mayo on the sandwich. Then again, I am on the 1500 calorie regimen. So, I save some calories for regular dressing. (Right now, I have been off the diet fr about a week...not good. Gotta get back on!)

[Edited on May 1, 2007 at 8:35 PM. Reason : ]

5/1/2007 8:33:58 PM

Mine is like 1300 which I haven't been doing on the weekend.

5/1/2007 8:37:25 PM

mustard doesn't have any calories, or minimal calories for some of the spicy mustards and dijon mustards. just stay away from the extremely sweet honey mustards, because they tend to have a lot of sugar in them.

as far as my advice, I think you've stated that your hardest problem with dieting is trying to keep on track when you're at work. do you bring a lunch with you to work, or do you eat out? I noticed a big difference in my body sculpting goals when I switched from eating lunch out to bring a lunchbox with small meals from home in them to eat throughout the day. it's cheaper too.

I think you should try alternating what you do for cardio. on days when you don't have a lot of time, do some high intensity sprints. on other days, do a more moderate pace for 45 minutes or more. you have to make the most of the time you have when work dictates your schedule.

5/1/2007 8:40:05 PM

Bringing but ignoring it and eating out. Eating their countless candy bags they bring in too. 12 hours is a long time, gotta bring lots of snacks i guess. Althought I dont have much time to stop and eat so Im on the go sucking on chocolate. meh

Gotta be strict I guess.

5/1/2007 8:42:49 PM

it sucks having to resist all the junk people put out around the office sometime. One lady at our office works at JC Penny, and somehow she ended up with over 100 pounds of their promotional coupon milk chocolate candy bars. For the last 3 weeks, there has been a seemlessly never ending supply of those things sitting around. I bet most people in our office have gained a few pounds during the last couple of weeks.

5/1/2007 8:55:25 PM

95% of what I said i know is correct.

eleusis, If you have a problem with consuming the right type of fats and protein throughout the day Id like to hear it.

I just like to make sure my body doesnt start burning muscle.

I know you know a lot about this stuff but I think my body speaks for itself when it comes to fat burning so i highly doubt my advice was the stupidest thing in the thread.

I also know you've got a reputation for being a know-it-all for this type of stuff so you're probably just exaggerating about the "stupidity" of the advice to call more attention to how elite your knowledge is.

Ill admit that I pretty much never have to "try" to lose weight Im more into muscle retention so perhaps my advice could use some tweaking in certain areas. Let's hear what you disagree with.



[Edited on May 1, 2007 at 9:00 PM. Reason : a]

5/1/2007 8:59:30 PM

they have a fat free mayo... about 5 bucks, but it tastes fine if you mix it with tuna


i hit -40 today since jan. 7th

5/1/2007 9:05:57 PM

I'll do a better job.

Another problem I notice is I'll eat dinner around five or six and then get really hungry around 8 or 9pm. Should I not eat? Eat something small? I heard eating past nightfall is bad but don't know why.

I'm gonna try morning workouts, in fact I'm going tomorrow before my doctors appt.

Should I cut out all sweets from her until I lose the rest of the weight? I have a horrible sweet tooth and don't know how long I'll last with that. Any recommendations on what's ok? These fudgsicles I bought are only 80 calories and minimal with everything else. Oye

5/1/2007 10:00:53 PM

carrots and celery

5/1/2007 10:01:42 PM

I go through carrots like crazy! I have celery but don't eat it as much, I should.

Those aren't sweet though. Are you referring to nighttime snack?

5/1/2007 10:02:40 PM

just eat your dinner at 6:30 if needed... then don't eat anymore, thats what ive been doin

if you have to... eat a small meal at 4 then another at 7... that way you wont snack late a night

[Edited on May 1, 2007 at 10:06 PM. Reason : x]

5/1/2007 10:05:35 PM

I've tried eating late too. Always get hungry a few hours later. Happens throughout the day but I know at night time it's bad.

5/1/2007 10:07:16 PM

sometimes you just have to grit it out and go to sleep earlier than you normally would

i sometimes drink a bunch of water

5/1/2007 10:08:28 PM

Basically you're saying suck it up. Fucking word! Nobody ever got anything without a little sweat, blood, and tears!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111

5/1/2007 10:09:32 PM

tis teh truth tho.

5/1/2007 10:09:56 PM

Amen. 30lbs. to go to a hot Kiwi.

Should I go to the gym twice a day? say I did weight training in the am should I go back and do cardio even if I do cardio once a day every other day?

5/1/2007 10:10:57 PM

Quote :

"95% of what I said i know is correct. "

the other 5% was latent bullshit. good dietary fat can't be stored as body fat!?!?!? what the fuck were you thinking? it's still a source of energy, and your body will store what it doesn't immediately need if there is insulin present in the bloodstream. Also, how in the fuck do you go giving dietary advice on protein when you start off by stating that you don't know the first thing about it? there's no reason to limit protein to under 20 grams per meal, and almost all research coming out in medical journals points towards high protein diets being by far the most effective forms of diets.

if you want to go off on some stupid rant about who knows what, then maybe I should call you out for all your bullshit Micheal Vick posts. At least the stuff I post is backed up by statistical data and research, even though you've proven with other topics in sports talk that you don't think statistics mean anything.

[Edited on May 1, 2007 at 10:40 PM. Reason : the notion of "good" and "bad" fats is overly simplistic too, but that's for another thread.]

5/1/2007 10:39:07 PM

Way to go, Kiwi

I need to get with it but am not feeling very motivated right now - not sure why.

5/1/2007 11:32:05 PM

Kiwi is amazing!

My goal is to lose 30lbs by August! You are keeping me motivated, girl!

5/1/2007 11:35:38 PM

5/2/2007 12:39:32 AM

before?

5/2/2007 12:46:36 AM

^^

5/2/2007 1:14:33 AM

Wow, I thought I was doing well until i read what Kiwi was eating. I'd kill myself.

I've been shooting for 1500 calories a day. But I have paid little attention to how it comes, though I know to try and keep the fat down. I have been eating mostly chicken, shrimp, mushrooms, lean cuisines/lean pockets, sugar free jello and waffles with sugar free syrup.

I have also been doing cardio....try for at least 30 minutes a day. The problem for me isn't what to eat, it is the low amount of food. I still want to eat six double cheeseburgers instead of one chicken breast.

5/2/2007 1:31:52 AM

Quinn, that's with 30 more pounds to go. Imagine me 20 pounds heavier and you've got before. Now you see why it was so important to lose it.

At first adjusting my diet sucked hardcore and I had lots of little failures but losing weight kept me committed. Now I just need to know if I should cut back on my calories even more to continue the weight loss trend or amp up the workouts, or both. I don't want to hit a platuea but have for the last two weeks I suppose.

5/2/2007 9:46:34 AM

set em up

5/2/2007 9:48:20 AM