Losing the Weight -- How?

[RDF]

And that leaves me with #3. I have just been having so much trouble. Been improving, but still hard to stop eating once I start... Getting more sleep would probably help too.

A coffee, cigar, or shot of liquor after a meal is a good way to stop gorging on food when you're hungry or lingering too long at the table and eating too much. They put an official end to the meal, deaden the taste buds, and kill the appetite.

Some experts recommend a couple glasses of water at the end of a meal to fill up the belly and kill the appetite. But on a long-term basis, chugging a lot of water is not something I look forward to at the end of a meal. I like a little treat awaiting me at the end.

If I'm serious about losing some weight, I'll figure out how much I want to eat at the start of the meal and then have something right at hand as soon as I've taken my last bite of food. A strong cup of coffee is good after breakfast. For supper, I'll have a finger or two of whiskey neat in a glass right at hand and start sipping slowly as soon as I'm done eating. (I don't tend to drink a whole lot of straight whiskey, so a single drink will satisfy and I won't be tempted to get refills). Booze is extra calories, of course, but the booze gives me a lift and gives me energy to get active after supper (putter around or practice dance steps), and that burns extra calories and aids digestion.

Here's a separate issue that hasn't been brought up but is sometimes worth mentioning.

Dieting means putting up with an empty stomach much of the day. Some people may find an empty stomach to be genuinely uncomfortable, leading to snacking between meals and difficulty controling their weight. In some cases, the cause may be some mild gastritis (long-term irritation of the stomach lining). When the stomach is empty, the stomach acids irritate the stomach lining; snacking provides relief because food in the stomach soaks up the acid. But that cycle makes it hard to diet. Therefore, such people may want to consider use of antacids (Tums and Maalox) and PPIs (Zantac and Pepcid) to reduce stomach acid, at least temporarily until the irritation subsides.

Mild gastritis can also lead to sleeping problems. Typically, such people can get to sleep easily but find themselves waking up for no reason after 2-4 hours of sleep (about the time the stomach gets empty and irritated). Late night snacking helps them get back to sleep, but that's not good when you're trying to lose weight. So again, such people would probably want to take a 75 or 150 mg of Zantac at bedtime to settle their stomach for 8 hours, and maybe also get a white noise machine (babbling brook, wind in the trees) to provide stimulation and help change up their sleep patterns. Even with that, it might take a couple weeks to change their sleep patterns permanently and stop waking after a couple hours sleep.

Just a couple random suggestions that have helped me and others.

FL

 

[JAVO]

See the hiking thread.

 

[Natrushka]

... get four new bras. One good one makes it look like you've lost 10 pounds, ergo...

 

[Zergling]

Find some new activity to do that keeps you focused. That way, you won't be eating out of boredom, and will be less likely to snack if you're doing something interesting. (At least, this works for me as a way to eat less.)

 

[Totenkindly]

... get four new bras. One good one makes it look like you've lost 10 pounds, ergo...

One down, three to go! Wheeeeee!!!!!

...Hmm. For some reason, I think the scale is broken. My weight isn't changing... <frown>...

---

I just would like to say I tried very hard to get my walking in this weekend... AND not eat to the point of overstuffing, even at the wedding and rehearsal dinners I had attended. I could have eaten less, but I definitely did not eat my normal amount... and still felt full and content afterwards.

I am just trying to psyche myself up: "I can do this, I can eat wisely and still be happy and don't need food to feel better about life."

 

[Nighthawk]

Just something I've learned as I get older: It gets harder and harder to exercise off excess weight. When I was younger, I could lose 10 pounds just by upping my exercise level a bit. But nowadays, even with a pretty vigorous level of regular exercise, I'm having to resort increasingly to reducing my calorie intake just to stay at an even weight level.

Same here. I used to be able to take pounds off by just increasing exercise. That doesn't seem to work for me anymore. Now I have to watch what I eat (and drink). I lost about 25lbs with Atkins a few years ago, but gained most of it back due to not sticking to a low carb diet ... and my beer intake. I can stay at just over 190lbs with my present diet and (lack of) exercise. Would like to make it down to 175lbs again though. We shall see. I seem to suffer from lack of motivation in this decade as well.

 

[GZA]

My understanding is that you'll need to cut out all the sugar and all the fatty stuff, and replace it with good, nurtrious food. For the first two or three weeks, you'll be hungry as hell untill you adapt. If you get hungry between meals, have something you can nibble on that is healthy and won't add a lot of calories or fat or anything. A good example is just a little baggie of veggies or fruit slices or lettuce (mmm, lettuce ). If you're going to drink, I hear vodka is the best when you're on a diet, because it digest better and has very few calories or something (I'm not really sure, but its better than beer). Find food that you like that is nutritious. Find a good deli with healthy food. Prepare your meals before hand so you have definitive portions to eat and don't go and make extra.

Exercise. Make sure you have fun while doing it, or else you won't do it at all. Go for a long walk one day, lift weights another, ride your bike, swim, ect. Building muscle mass is good because it will convert fat tissue into energy and more muscle tissue and heat (or something like that), so don't be afraid to lift weights and get some muscles. It will probably look better, too.

Be patient. Don't go on the scale everyday, because you won't see a difference. In fact, put your scale in your basement or in a box in the closet so you don't look at it all the time. Check your weight every two weeks or something, that way you'll actually notice a change and you'll feel great about it, you'll feel accomplished.

 

[nightning]

Hmmmm some weight gain as you age is normal... don't feel too bad about it.

Suggestions:
1) reduce salt intake - High salt in your system leads to water retention. Besides, it's bad for you anyways...
2) try keeping yourself happy - Some people have a tendency to indulge in food when they're depressed. Also stress can cause your body to go into "emergency mode" where it thinks it needs to store additional fat in preparation for difficult times. Blame evolution for that silly nonsense...
3) reduce intake & increase exercise - As you age, your metabolism goes down... use less energy = more energy for storage.
4) weighing yourself on a scale repeatedly is bad for you - Really your absolute weight probably isn't as important as how you perceive your overall health is. Just try to maintain a balance and healthy lifestyle. ^^

 

[prplchknz]

4. I agree with whenever I weigh myself I'm never happy with the results, so I avoid the scale as much as possible. I weighed myself in a moment of weakness and realized I should lose 15 pounds, even though I'm not fat. Yet but it takes another 15 pounds + another+ a few more before I'm losing things under flabs fat.

On how to lose weight I don't know the only ways I know are unhealthy. I guess mostly reduce calories and exercise but I'm sure someone's mentioned that already.

 

[targobelle]

this was an interesting revelation to me um I actually wasn't eating enough, now that I have started eating um I am starting to lose weight again.... odd isn't it?

 

[Metamorphosis]

this was an interesting revelation to me um I actually wasn't eating enough, now that I have started eating um I am starting to lose weight again.... odd isn't it?

It's a mistake that a lot of people make. That's part of the reason it's important to eat the right foods 5-6 times a day.

 

[targobelle]

yup

I usually have yogurt first thing because it's easy to grab and eat
then I have breakfast carb (whole grain) + protein
fruit
lunch, left overs or a sandwich or something
fruit/veggie + protein
dinner lean meat, carb and veggies lots of veggies....

water thrown in there and a lot of it as well as coffee and probably some cookies..... but it's good and it's working

when I looked at my BMI it said I needed 2000 calories to maintain my weight add to that my caloric burn of 300-500 calories 5 days a week and not eating my body was starving. I don't count calories though. I am making smarter food choices and not getting starving hungry, just eating.

 

[Usehername]

my most effective weight loss program involved a three step program:
1. go to africa
2. get sick
3. have some unnamed bug screw with your hormonal system, thus manipulating your metabolism to be a super-slick system that makes it impossible to gain weight.

My theory, based off my backward attempts to gain weight:
If I want to gain weight, it takes true effort for me and I have to slow down my metabolism by:
eating infrequently during the day (as opposed to my usual continual snacking habit) and then eating a lot in one sitting (as opposed to my usual inability to ingest large amounts all in one sitting)

So, one should speed up their metabolism by doing what I do naturally (eating all the time but always healthy meals and in always having small snacks throughout the day; not eating much at a "meal time" at all, it's just more snack time).

 

[Metamorphosis]

my most effective weight loss program involved a three step program:
1. go to africa
2. get sick
3. have some unnamed bug screw with your hormonal system, thus manipulating your metabolism to be a super-slick system that makes it impossible to gain weight.

My theory, based off my backward attempts to gain weight:
If I want to gain weight, it takes true effort for me and I have to slow down my metabolism by:
eating infrequently during the day (as opposed to my usual continual snacking habit) and then eating a lot in one sitting (as opposed to my usual inability to ingest large amounts all in one sitting)

So, one should speed up their metabolism by doing what I do naturally (eating all the time but always healthy meals and in always having small snacks throughout the day; not eating much at a "meal time" at all, it's just more snack time).

This probably has a lot to do with body type, too, though. You would gain weight if you still ate as often, but like 2000 calories more a day. I'm jealous.

 

[Recluse]

-Get enough sleep:
The Dream Diet: Losing Weight While You Sleep

If you can't fall asleep, take 300-mcg melatonin before bedtime, which not only aids in falling asleep but also aids in regulating body weight.

-Drink enough water:
Drinking Water - Drinking Water for Maintaining Good Health

-Consume enough calcium:
Calcium and Weight: Clinical Studies -- Heaney et al. 21 (2): 152 -- Journal of the American College of Nutrition

-Decrease salt to eliminate water retention, especially if your face and ankles look puffy or if you experience bloating during PMS. (This won't help you to lose actual fat, just water, but can make a difference in your appearance.)

-Consume enough vitamin D:
Dodging Weight Gain with Vitamin D

-Consume enough fiber:
Dietary fiber and body weight. [Nutrition. 2005] - PubMed Result

-Consume enough omega-3 fatty acids:
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=19135

-Divide your calories into multiple meals:
Go Ask Alice!: One big meal versus many small meals a day

I eat two meals per day and have never been overweight, but the science indicates that eating frequent small meals is best for weight loss. I would suggest giving the mini-meals a try and then switching to two medium-sized meals if you find frequent eating to be too much of a bother.

-Never skip breakfast:
For Your Weight Control Effort, Breakfast (Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter, March 2004)

-Eat high-fiber cereal or whole-grain quick breads for breakfast:
The Effect of Breakfast Type on Total Daily Energy Intake and Body Mass Index: Results from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) -- Cho et al. 22 (4): 296 -- Journal of the American College of Nutrition

-Start a weight training program:
Fitness For Women - Strength Training Takes 10 Years Off

I use #10 dumbbells.

-Do calisthenics to strengthen your back and abdominal muscles, giving you better posture, which can make you look slimmer.


If you can't get out to do aerobic exercise, read a chapter or two of an engrossing book while you pace around your house. (Clear a path first, if necessary.) The time will seem to pass quickly. Or dance while listening to music.

 

[miss fortune]

you could do what my grandma says! "if it tastes good, don't eat it"

 

[cascadeco]

Hmm..well, I'd say don't pay any attention to any of the diet plans out there.


Basically, I think it's about balance. Don't eat too much of any one type of food. And don't purge entire food groups out of your diet, just out of the hope of losing weight.

I actually don't even like the concept of dieting. I view all of it as a lifestyle choice. So most people would probably think I'm perpetually on a 'diet', because of what and how I eat, but I don't view it that way.

I'm reasonably aware of the caloric content of everything I eat, so I know that a couple of handfuls of chips are going to equal quite a few extra calories, even though it doesn't seem like that much.

I eat meats, dairy, chocolate, veggies, quite a bit of fiber, rice, pastas...quite a lot! I don't eat many processed foods, though - I never buy chips, or cookies, or pop, or sugary fruit drinks. My liquids are water, milk, orange juice, and tea. That's pretty much it!

I also don't eat any deep-fried foods -- I used to not eat them for health reasons, and because they're high in fat -- but now, my stomach has rather an aversion for it, and I feel ill when I eat too many rich foods...so as a result of how I've been eating for a while, I actually find fried foods rather distasteful!!

At work, I *never* snack on the office munchies, or donuts people bring in occasionally. People don't understand this, but I don't 'need' the food.

I eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and don't snack. However, like others have posted, it's actually probably better to do several smaller meals a day. But to me, the two methods would yield similar results, as long as you're keeping the calories the same with the two -- and as long as your more-frequent meals do not equate to more calories.

In my mind..if you're wanting to lose weight, decrease caloric intake by a bit, and increase exercise. It has to be both, and I think it also needs to be viewed as a lifestyle change, to be continued forever. So you need to figure out a lifestyle change that you actually like, and are happy with -- otherwise you won't be able to stick it out very long, and the weight may come back eventually.

So, say you currently eat about 2,500 calories a day. Try to decrease it to 2,000 initially, maybe. There are books out there that go into your weight/body mass index, and tell you your 'target range' for caloric content. You'd have to make sure it was above what your body needs to function (usually around 1,500 for women??), with extra calories for exercising, etc. You don't want to lower calories too much, because then your body will just go into more of a 'starvation mode' and metabolism will decrease sharply, which is what you wouldn't want. Plus, it's not healthy. Eating isn't 'bad' - it's just finding a balance, and a little more moderation.

But in general -- balance in what you eat, be attentive to your caloric intake, and figure out a way to lose weight that can actually be more enjoyable, and doesn't make you miserable. I think it's possible!

 

[targobelle]

hey Jen, was wondering how the gym and weight loss was going for you.

So in an effort to cut back my snacking and my love of cookies, I bought some dark chocolate, so yummy and so satisfying. What I have done is broken it into pieces and have 1/3 of the chocolate bar a day. But you see it satisfies the need for sugar therefore causing me to not try and fill the void with everything I find. This has worked for 3 days now. So I am gonna buy a few more bars and break them up and stick them in the freezer, it's a quick fix for the gotta have it need

 

[Magic Poriferan]

I don't mean to piss anyone off here, but I can't gain weight to save my life(I fear that it may become literal someday).

It makes no difference how much I eat or what I eat, so I've been spending a lot of time trying find a cause.

I can barely stand still. I always have to be moving.
I guess most of the time I don't eat that much, but there have even been periods where I was intentionally stuffing my face to no result.
I do lots and lots of exercise now, but that wouldn't explain why I was permanently skinny even before now.

It's just a mystery, and it's kind of weird to be in a world where everyone has the opposite problem. Especially since it means so many products are trying to become diet friendly.
I don't need to diet! Give me nutrients...

 

[Metamorphosis]

What exactly is "lots and lots of exercise?"

You are probably an ectomorph, so you have a very high metabolism. It all comes down to calories consumed during the day. You obviously aren't getting enough. Try adding in 2 PB&J sandwiches at night, every night. Or...get weight gainer powder and make at least 1 shake a day. If this isn't enough, add more.