How to lose a bunch of weight?

Hey y'all, how's it going?

Well, here's the thing: I got fat. I have always been a "big guy" on some level, up until the summer of 2002 I had always been fairly husky. I know I have a wide frame and know I'll never be some weedy, thin little fellow (which is fine by me!). The summer of 2002 was a really good year, I started at about 250 lbs and I ended up losing around 40 lbs over the summer, through a diet a Doc of Natural Medicine came up with, and a whole lot of running. It cut out all bread/wheat and milk products, and I felt quite good, lots of energy. I continued to lose weight when I went back to school that fall, and by the time Christmas rolled around I was getting darn thin, I was down to 180, the lowest in recent memory. Seeing as how I had been "the fat kid" my whole life, that was awesome.

Anyway, I lived my life, kept going to school with all its ups and downs, and eventually started eating all kinds of formerly forbidden fruit again. Over the next two or so years, I may have put on say, 30 pounds. I don't know why, I guess just lack of activity/interest in my health. I recently weighed myself and saw the numbers 230, which really sapped my courage. Over the last few years I've also expanded past the borders of most of my clothes, and having so few clothes, this has been a maaaajor pain in the ass and has left me a rather bland dresser.

Anyway, now I'm back in my home in the country, and have nothing to do but exercise to pass the time (very few people my age, and nothing to do, at all). I've been running a lot recently and know I'm getting better at it daily, but I need to supplement that with other activities. I have an old weight bench and the like in my garage, and plan on using it once we clean up that junk room. Anyway, I just need a few suggestions on other exercises, weight loss techniques, anything really. If anyone has any suggestions whatsoever, fire away!

Sounds like you are heading in the right direction to me. I have never found a pill or suppliment that really works to lose weight, only diet and exercise. Good luck and stay positive,

Some time back, there was a most excellent thread about this. You might want to check it out. That's not meant to discourage discussion in this thread, though.

EJFan is one of the How-To diet and exercise gurus--he lost a lot of weight and kept it off, so he's not just talking out his ass when he shares what he knows. I'm sure he'll add his four cents to this thread the next time he's online.

Good luck!

cutting out refined carbs works so well for me I can't recommend it enough. I lost some weight on the South Beach diet and pretty much adjusted the way I eat and try to get in exercise a few times a week.

Good luck and remember, no one gets fat overnight, so don't expect it to come off overnight!

There have been a few really great weight loss and exercise threads here, so you may want to do a search to get more ideas.

In addition to the running and weight training, could you do more physical activities for recreation, especially as the weather improves? I'm not sure what's in your area, but hiking, swimming, golf, recreational sports leagues, etc., might be fun ways to get in some extra exercise without getting bored.

Are you going back to the eating plan that worked for you before? Maybe a followup consultation with that doctor or a nutritionist would also be helpful? You might seek advice on how to either tailor it or transition later to a maintenance plan you can stick to for life (so you don't rebound) as well.

I agree there are no magic pills or supplements that are safe and effective. However, I have noticed adding some supplements with the goal of overall good health can have a positive effect on the waistline. Talk to a doctor and research it well (because much of the stuff on the market is crap and it can be tough to figure out what you need and what's good), but sometimes simple things like calcium/magnesium and B-vitamins can curb cravings, and decaf green tea extract (provided it has a sufficient amount of EGCG --most green tea supplements don't-- 270mg of EGCG per day is the amount used in one of the big studies on metabolism) can reduce appetite, increase metabolism, and is just damn good for you (it's also been shown to have cardiovascular, immune system, cancer, and a host of other benefits). These are far from instant and magic, but they can play a very helpful supporting role in weight loss and general health.

it seems like you have control of things... you've done it once so there's no doubt you can do it again.

short of any specific questions you have, i'll make a couple of generic suggestions.

1. if you start lifting weights be sure you're eating protein to help rebuild the muscle tissue. there's some degree of detail the process of building lean mass... but if you just want to lift to maintain, these details aren't overwhelmingly important.

2. know what your maintenance kcals are. track your food on fitday.com for a while and when you learn your maintenance level, eat about 500 kcals per day UNDER that amount. this will put you on track to lose about a pound of fat a week... and that's optimal. remember, it's about FAT loss, not WEIGHT loss. if you diet wrong you'll surely wind up with unwanted results.

3. there's a fairly new book out called "you: the owner's manual" by dr. mehmet oz and dr. michael roizen. i highly recommend you read it. it covers all the body's major systems and explains what you can do/eat to age them too quickly along with what you can do/eat to keep them healthy and young. there's no quirky science in this book and they're not selling anything... just sound medical advice that's very easy to follow.

good luck. keep us posted.

Here's a crap recipe that will probably do more harm than good for people who like to eat!!!!

2 x sudoephedrine (sinus cold remedy)
1 x NoDoze (caffeine/stimulant)
1 x 325mg Asprin.
Take all of them, wait 45 mins, then train. In whatever fashion, housework, excercise. 3 wks on, 3 wks off. When i use this combo, i tend not to tear muscles. As im heated up. I tend not to eat either, which appeals to the inner anorexic in me thats struggling to get out.
Thermogenic for weight loss and appetite suppressant. All over the counter meds that can be bought in any drug store.

Warning: this is drug abusive method for weight loss. Its not safe, its not been medically tested, but its available, easily. And fast too. Each to their own.

Other healthier options are calorfic intake, must not exceed calorific output. Simple.

I find it most successful for weight loss, if i find a partner to embark with me.
Then once at my ideal weight/fitness, slob out for a few years, pile the weight back on, then do the whole thing over again.

pandoravampire

pandoravampire said:

Here's a crap recipe that will probably do more harm than good for people who like to eat!!!!

2 x sudoephedrine (sinus cold remedy)
1 x NoDoze (caffeine/stimulant)
1 x 325mg Asprin.
Take all of them, wait 45 mins, then train. In whatever fashion, housework, excercise. 3 wks on, 3 wks off. When i use this combo, i tend not to tear muscles. As im heated up. I tend not to eat either, which appeals to the inner anorexic in me thats struggling to get out.
Thermogenic for weight loss and appetite suppressant. All over the counter meds that can be bought in any drug store.

Warning: this is drug abusive method for weight loss. Its not safe, its not been medically tested, but its available, easily. And fast too. Each to their own.

Other healthier options are calorfic intake, must not exceed calorific output. Simple.

I find it most successful for weight loss, if i find a partner to embark with me.
Then once at my ideal weight/fitness, slob out for a few years, pile the weight back on, then do the whole thing over again.

pandoravampire

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there's nothing healthy or advisable in this post. we're all free to do as we wish but i hope no one does this... and i can't even begin to enumerate the reasons why.

from what i've heard, there's no point starving yourself because your body notices you're not eating, and so sets itself into 'starvation mode' and so as soon as you start eating again, your body clings onto every ounce of fat it can because it's scared it's going to be starved again. hence why the fat piles straight back on.

not much else to add here, except good luck Dead Kennedy if you have the willpower to lose this weight, you will do it

i wish i had more willpower *sigh*

I've heard, but not tried myself, that if you're dieting you should actually eat more often. Like every three hours eat a small variety of foods (fruits, veggies, protein, all that). It keeps your metabolism at a more stable level, enabling your body to burn energy more efficiently (sp?). I haven't tried it myself, but the people I know who have say they had more energy and didn't have cravings to go off and eat a box of doughnuts like they would otherwise (a generic example).
Hope that helps.

Wow, I wish you luck!

I got some great advice from a nutritionist about what the typical meal should look like. Half of your meal should be fruit and vegetables. One quarter should be protien. And one quarter should be starch/grain. Plus a glass of milk, or another low-cal drink. Following this worked for me. I lost about 20 pounds in a few months without excersizing because I had injured my knee running.

Additionally, all your meals should be approximately the same number of calories. This keeps your metabolism at an even keel, instead of fluxuating up and down all day.

What I liked is that she worked with my eating habits. Meaning that I'm not a snacker at all! So the above post about eating more often wouldn't work for me.

If you have health insurance a nutritionist might be covered. It wasn't scary at all- they wanted to help me and see my progress!

Good Luck!!!

ickle_stace said:

from what i've heard, there's no point starving yourself because your body notices you're not eating, and so sets itself into 'starvation mode' and so as soon as you start eating again, your body clings onto every ounce of fat it can because it's scared it's going to be starved again. hence why the fat piles straight back on.

not much else to add here, except good luck Dead Kennedy if you have the willpower to lose this weight, you will do it

i wish i had more willpower *sigh*

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this is absolutely true stace.

YellowShirt said:

I've heard, but not tried myself, that if you're dieting you should actually eat more often. Like every three hours eat a small variety of foods (fruits, veggies, protein, all that). It keeps your metabolism at a more stable level, enabling your body to burn energy more efficiently (sp?).

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this tends to work well while in a fat loss program because it keeps you eating throughout the day... in other words, you only have to wait about 3 hours to eat again... which is a huge emotional help.

one of the biggest reasons to do this is to keep your body from having an insulin spike, regardless of whether you're trying to loose or not. it's a marginal issue for most people but if you're in a diabetic risk group that can be a big help in keeping the disease at bay. if you bombard your body with a huge intake of carbs (particularly high GI carbs) you have a massive release of insulin all at once and this can exacerbate an underlying problem that could be present.

there's also the distinct possibility that if you eat at very short intervals you'll also increase the amount of kcals you can consume in a day... that happened to me. the best thing about this practice, however, is that you have a constant degree of energy throughout the day... no big burst of energy after a meal that wanes in a couple of hours and no huge desire to sleep after a big meal which would slow the metabolism.

it's a great practice that i would recommend for anyone who can employ it. the main thing is to eat good foods, learn some basic nutrition, watch your caloric intake and move more. fat loss is only complicated if you listen to all the marginal science that's flooding the self-help sections in your book and video stores. joe average doesn't need to concern himself with the trivial minutia.

I eat salsa at every meal. A lot of green veggies, I'll eat a can of green beans or a big bowl of broccoli, and a lean meat. For breakfast I mix salsa and oatmeal (sounds gross but it's good) and eat 3 eggs. Boiled, only the whites. I also eat two big snacks. Usually something like nonfat low cal yogurt mixed with All bran extra fiber cereal.

I try to eat 5 times a day around 300 calories or so each. I do the elliptical machine 3 times a week and ride a bike once. I also lift weights 3 times a week for no more than 30 or 40 minutes. I've lost 25 pounds since the holidays and have maybe 25 more to go.

But the key is you can't go on any diet that you'll want to get off later or just go back to where you were before. As I guess you already found out. Same thing with exercise. Find something you enjoy and can stick with.

I heard about some diet based on the meat. Is anyone have some expirience with this?

pingvin said:

I heard about some diet based on the meat. Is anyone have some expirience with this?

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you're probably talking about the adkins diet. i don't know any of the specifics about it... just that by eliminating carbs from your diet your body's supposed to restructure the way it gets energy from food and all sorta o' shit like that.

i'm not a dr. but i don't buy it. the biology of it might hold water but i sincerely question the health aspect of it. your body is set up to use carbs for energy and i don't feel that "tricking" it into some other process is wise. IMHO.

WriterDom said:

I eat salsa at every meal. A lot of green veggies, I'll eat a can of green beans or a big bowl of broccoli, and a lean meat. For breakfast I mix salsa and oatmeal (sounds gross but it's good) and eat 3 eggs. Boiled, only the whites. I also eat two big snacks. Usually something like nonfat low cal yogurt mixed with All bran extra fiber cereal.

I try to eat 5 times a day around 300 calories or so each. I do the elliptical machine 3 times a week and ride a bike once. I also lift weights 3 times a week for no more than 30 or 40 minutes. I've lost 25 pounds since the holidays and have maybe 25 more to go.

But the key is you can't go on any diet that you'll want to get off later or just go back to where you were before. As I guess you already found out. Same thing with exercise. Find something you enjoy and can stick with.

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i love this philosophy. to me, diet is a noun, not a verb. diet is just what you call your daily eating habits... when you get in the mindset of "to diet" being a momentary change of eating habits to lose fat you do yourself a world of hurt. i believe that you should have a diet that you can live with day in and day out for the long term.

of course, that doesn't mean we can't cheat from time to time. just a bit.

EJFan said:

of course, that doesn't mean we can't cheat from time to time. just a bit.

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After all, the owners of Chinese buffets are counting on it.

Eilan said:

After all, the owners of Chinese buffets are counting on it.

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yeah. if they want me to put 'em outta business!

when i show up at the one i frequent, all the kitchen and wait staff run for cover like cockroaches having a light shined on 'em.

Wow, thanks for all the replys! Never expected such a response.

On the subject of diet pills and home remedies: nooooo thanks. I stay away from medications and over-the-counter stuff as much as humanly possible.

The suggestion of eating smaller meals more often makes a lot of sense to me. I developed some mighty crappy eating habits when I was at university, since I lived around half an hour off campus, and I had some very long days. This usually meant I couldn't get back home for a good meal. Solution: make that daily meal COUNT, and boy did I ever. My favorite meal (still) is to eat about a cup of rice, two pork chops/chicken breasts or equivalent, perhaps a few frozen veggies, and go through it slowly with a pair of chopsticks. Now THAT is a meal! Unfortunately you're pretty useless before you eat, and pretty much beached for about an half an hour afterward. I find the rice is suuuper-nourishing for me, and supposedly has some sort of sugar that is most beneficial for the intestine (I used to had colitis in my youth, so this helps a lot). I guess learning how to cook and finding some non-animal foods that I like would help a lot... I'm not much for the veggies.

I think I'll check out that "You: The Owner's Manual". I have to admit, I'm pretty blissfully ignorant about the workings of my own body. I'll check the library this week.

Another interesting question, a more subjective one: what about the mind? I know the summer where I lost all that weight, I was feeling on top of the world. I was home from school (a rough year indeed), I had found some sort of romantic attachment for the first time in pretty much ever, I really seemed to be changing for the better. I got back to school, and in the second scemester I realized I just wasn't happy where I was, and started putting on a bit of weight. I had a real sense of panic as to my future, and I changed schools. I got there, and it was a great experience, but still very stressful in new ways. Eventually I ended up very unhappy at school in my last years after a string of bad living situations and general stupidity on my part. When I graduated I was very, very glad I was finally off the hamster wheel of school/stress. So, I've noticed that stress has a verrrry negative impact on my mind, and the body isn't far behind. So, would stress and generally being in a bad headspace have a notable effect on one's ability to lose weight/stay healthy?

Atkins is a good diet, if you're using it for short term, which is not it's intent. Over time all that protein and fats build up, not good. It's also not good for anyone with liver or kidney problems, or worried about diabetes.
I just say everything in moderation.
Best of luck to you!!!

Dead Kennedy said:

So, would stress and generally being in a bad headspace have a notable effect on one's ability to lose weight/stay healthy?

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Yes, but I think it's going to affect people differently.

I, for example, discovered when my ex-husband and I separated that my reaction to stress is to not eat. I lost 50 pounds in eight months. The problem was, I didn't have 50 pounds to lose. Pics of me from that time show this stranger who looks like one of those lollipop-headed celebrities in the supermarket tabloids.

Dead Kennedy said:

Another interesting question, a more subjective one: what about the mind? I know the summer where I lost all that weight, I was feeling on top of the world. I was home from school (a rough year indeed), I had found some sort of romantic attachment for the first time in pretty much ever, I really seemed to be changing for the better. I got back to school, and in the second scemester I realized I just wasn't happy where I was, and started putting on a bit of weight. I had a real sense of panic as to my future, and I changed schools. I got there, and it was a great experience, but still very stressful in new ways. Eventually I ended up very unhappy at school in my last years after a string of bad living situations and general stupidity on my part. When I graduated I was very, very glad I was finally off the hamster wheel of school/stress. So, I've noticed that stress has a verrrry negative impact on my mind, and the body isn't far behind. So, would stress and generally being in a bad headspace have a notable effect on one's ability to lose weight/stay healthy?

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in short, yes. eilan makes a great point... stress affects everyone differently. i think the key to handling stress is to find what you can incorporate in your life that balances/counteracts your stress. whatever the negative fallout is that stress brings you, it's important to your overall health that you find something to turn to... whether it's friends, faith, yoga, or whatever.

cleansing diet

I don't have the recipe at the moment, however I will get it emailed to me. It is a diet plan that yoga teachers recomend. It will take off around 15 lbs on av. every 3 wk period you are on it. You go on the diet for 3 wks at a time, adn then go off for a week. You can stop and start the diet until you have reached your desired weight. I will post it as soon as I can get it emailed to me. It has specific things durring that you must follow. I am planing on doing it so I can kick some weight myself. Good luck though!

Simple Weight Control

Do three things
1) Eat less
2) Exercise more
3) Continue to do 1 & 2

I think I've discovered the Holy Grail of weight loss! Now I'm also a big guy, about the same size as the thread starter, and I've always struggled with my weight. It's been really frustrating this year because I'm playing hockey 4 nights a week, but still I haven't lost a pound. in fact I think I've gained 5 pounds this year. Exercising harder than ever, yet still not losing weight? WTF?

Then I balanced my checkbook. A HUGE chunk of my paycheck every month seems to be going to eating out and especially fast food. The problem is 100% of that shit is also going to my ass. Now for the last two weeks we've started to ween ourselves off the quick and easy fast food routine. I'm eating easily 75% less fast food, even though I think I'm eating more quantity of food prepared at home. I've lost 6 pounds.

Hmm..... Connection? I don't think it's a coincidence. Not to mention I feel better too. I think we as americans are poisoning ourselves with this overprocessed crap, and I know I've fallen right into that trap. I'm not sure if this applies to Dead Kennedy, but I'll bet if you cut out the fast food you'll see an immediate effect.