Weight loss advice!?! - join in the fun

[Janknitz]

I am NOT dieting. I'm eating low carb high fat for life--for my health and for the rest of my life. I don't get hungry except when I forget to eat lunch (this happens often). I can easily go 8 or more hours between meals because my blood sugar isn't on a carb roller coaster anymore. I feel great and the weight is coming off slowly but it's coming off.

As much as I'd like to lose the weight, it's the health benefits that are the reason I'm doing this. If I never lost another pound(and I've just broken through an eight month stall by INCREASING my calories) I would still eat this way.

[chunkyfrog]

Veggies count in soup, just make sure it's home-made, without all the salt, excess fat, and preservatives.
I love Ukrainian borscht.
I make it with lean pork or chicken, carrots, onions, beets, cabbage, whatever other veggie is good, tomatoes, or even V8 juice.
Toss on a dab of real sour cream (why suffer). Let the men have the potatoes; and skip the bread.

[SleepyToo2]

I can eat vegetables ground up or stewed in say a soup or something, ala carrots in chicken noodle soup - or tomatoes in ketchup - but most people are quick to say that "They don't even count!" So what is a guy to do?

Vegetables that you grind up or make in a soup are OK - it's the additives that make them bad for you. That includes milk and flour that are often included in purchased soups. You should be able to find recipes that include pureed vegetables - blend, and then roll up in a slice of ham? Make a gourmet chicken with pureed vegetables instead of cheese? Spice it up a bit with your favorite spices. If your diet allows it, you could mix the ground vegetables with cheese. We did that the other day, and our 14-year-old loved it - he is very fussy about what he will eat in the vegetables line ...

Alternatively (or as well), Swanson's, and I am sure other makers, have fruits and vegetables in a pill/capsule. Try those.

[portiemom]

Two weeks in and I feel wonderful. Even when the hubby is munching on a huge bag of Taco chips and Salsa, or eating a huge bowl of ice cream.
I've been preparing FRESH veggies for the first time in my life, and I am no Spring Chicken. I know now, that having only eaten canned or frozen veggies steamed is the reason I couldn't stand them. Now sauted in good oil with lots of onions and garlic, I'm loving them.
Eating more meat or chicken as the days go on, (never been much of a carnivore), and I am not hungry or craving grains or sugar. I do need to quit the diet Coke, but I have cut down quite a bit.
Already off a few meds. and that is always a +.

[jweeks]

Hi,

I just came back from an early evening walk. When I weighed myself, the scale said 195.0. That is down 135 lbs from my pre-CPAP peak. When measured in units of frozen turkeys, which I count as 15 lbs each, I have lost 9 turkeys. I still have one more to go before reaching my final goal. I don't know if CPAP had anything to do with this, but I do know that my sleep doctor was the one that found a way to convince me to get started losing weight. She told me that I was much too young to have that many "morbidity factors". That was more than enough of a wake-up call.

-john-

[Janknitz]

Gwydlion,

There are some people who lose weight on low carb and paleo diets and never eat veggies. Heresy I know, but true (a lot of people wouldn't want this information to "get out" because it reinforces the idea that a low carb diet is "unhealthy" by CW standards). You can get most of the vitamins that veggies provide in clean, pastured animal sources (not so much in grain fed animals) and "cover" yourself with some supplements (i.e. a daily multi-vitamin).

A lot of people will say "what about the fiber?" but you probably aren't getting much now anyway. And there's evidence that our need for fiber is not as great as it's hyped up to be. If you're worried about fiber, use flax seed meal, take fiber supplements, or make up the lost veggie carbs with small servings of low glycemic fruits like berries and melon. You can always try to prepare things in different ways. Steamed kale is awful to me, but baked kale "chips" are yummy!

As you get the sugars and starches out of your diet, you may find your palate changes, and you may find that you like more veggies than you thought. But don't sweat the veggies and don't let this aversion keep you from trying a low carb way of eating.

[PST]

At 6'5", 260lb is not that bad if you have a good muscle structure. I know several guys in their 40s who are 6'5'-6'6" who weigh 265 and better who do not look fat at all.

Good luck on your program.

I couldn't agree more. And that business not putting on muscle weight is crazy. Maybe SneakerPumpernicle hopes that with enough weight loss he can overcome apnea and avoid the need for CPAP, but we know that's highly unlikely. Better to accept the need to treat apnea and base diet and exercise on general good health, which means lifting is good, not bad, even if it adds some muscle weight.

I have had good results from cutting way down on carbohydrates: no sweets, practically no bread, avoid potatoes, rice, and pasta to the degree practical. It resulted in a 65 lb loss over the course of six months or so. I'd still be extremely happy to have SneakerPumpernicle's BMI.

[filpa]

Well...

The best tips to lose weight are:

Use of fresh juices,
Drink Plenty of water,
Use fresh vegetables and salads...

[Gerryk]

I walk an hour a day, either on the treadmill or outside. I tried to run but my knees cant take it so i stick with walking. I try to eat less, but find that hard to do. I have found if i have a cup of green tea a day and drink lots of water it helps me eat less.

[DavidCarolina]

Dont go on a diet. Dont count calories. Go on a feast. Feast on no/low sugar foods, proteins, etc.

Pick twelve foods and eat those all the time. For me bananas, salmon, spinach, dark chocolate, oatmeal, etc.

Keep a blender handy. Make smoothies every day. Drink them down, use yogurt, fruit and wheat germ.

Keep it simple. Eat before you get hungry. The less complicated the better.

And walking, biking, and swimming is best. Low impact. Good therapy to think. A sony walkman for soothing music or
talk radio or even bible sermons. Try to walk an hour a day six days a week.

Running may not be so good for your heart. A steady increased heartbeat is best. Not that adrenalized feeling.

By the way im a former athlete.

[bayourest]

I m a fan of Weight Watchers
attention to planning and good choices, 5 fruits and veggies per day, healthy oil, lots of water, whole grain carbs, exercise according to what you can do.
Its pretty healthy and you can actually not feel deprived.
It's very much like the Dash diet
works for me!

[JesseMHunter]

Dr Carel le Roux, an obesity specialist thinks there is another explanation, why some people appear not to get fat despite eating at lot. She says, "Studies have shown that this tendency to lay down muscle rather than fat when we over-eat is genetically determined.

[JesseMHunter]

Dr Carel le Roux, an obesity specialist thinks there is another explanation, why some people appear not to get fat despite eating at lot. She says, "Studies have shown that this tendency to lay down muscle rather than fat when we over-eat is genetically determined. All of these answers focus on genetic factors, beyond everyone's control and infer that it's almost hopeless for overweight people to lose significant weight and keep it off.The "genetic factor" does not explain the rapid rise in obesity over the last 10 years, since the gene pool cannot change so quickly. It suggests that environment must also play a role.

[Sir NoddinOff]

That's an easy one... stop exercising.

Well, one certain exercise, that is: STOP FLEXING YOUR BICEPS AND RAISING YOUR HAND TO YOUR MOUTH, ESPECIALLY IF THERE'S INAPPROPRIATE FOOD IN YOUR FIST!!!

Simple.

[DreamStalker]

Eat like your ancestors did for over 200,000 years ... we are genetically designed to eat fresh meats and fresh veggies with occasional fresh nuts and fruits when in season.

Processed grains and sugars were never meant as part of our diet.