sirdarksol

Alright, so in another thread, the topic of losing weight came up, and instead of throwing a whole bunch of info in that thread, I decided to start a new one.

I would like to start out by saying that you (meaning anyone who is worried about health or body image) should quit worrying about weight. Instead, worry about inches, worry about fatty tissue, and worry about muscle mass. For the past year, I've weighed 190 pounds, but my body is quite a bit different now than it was a year ago. I have developed quite a bit more muscle on my arms, and the muscle in my legs has become more dense. I've also lost quite a bit of fat in my legs and arms (though I still have a bit of a paunch. The midsection is the hardest place to lose fat from)

So if you're worrying about your weight, it's a good guess that you are really concerned with your health, your appearance, or both. (Hopefully you are worried about your health, and hopefully that overrides your concern for your appearance. What you want to do for both of these things is to build muscle and lose fat. The good news is that if you build muscle you will lose fat. Muscle burns more calories than fat, meaning that every activity, from sleeping to climbing Mount Everest, will burn more calories as you build more muscle.

The first thing you've got to look at is activity. Humans are less active than we were meant to be. Look at every creature on the planet that has a metabolism near ours. They don't spend 16+ hours of the day being nearly inactive. We are hunters and gatherers by nature. We are meant to move. This doesn't have to be something as dry as jogging or sitting at a gym pumping iron. What you should do is find something that's fun that involves moving. If you actually like jogging, that's fine, but for those of you who don't, here are some other ideas.
Take up martial arts. Kobudo (using Okinawan farm implements as weapons) provides an excellent cardio workout that also does quite a bit to build muscle. Karate, kung fu, Taekwondo, any of these provides a good workout, especially if the instructor drives the students. Because you are always working toward something, learning something new, it might be more interesting than jogging. If this sounds like a good idea, but you don't like the "hard" styles of martial arts, there are some styles, like certain types of kung fu, and Tai Chi, that are much smoother in their movements, and have become something akin to a ritualized dance.
Yoga is not only good for building strength, it has other benefits, such as an improved immune system, and improved resistance to age-related joint damage.
If you enjoy dancing, drag your husband/boyfriend out dancing. If you're one of those alien guys who likes dancing, that's fine, too, and your wife/girlfriend will probably love you for it.
Bellydancing is good for building core muscles, which support the back (making it an excellent exercise to help those with a history of back pain. Just make sure to start slow). I've been told that it also does wonders for self-image.
Biking is always fun. Make sure you don't just coast down hills, and try to go up hills as much as possible (this helps build calves/thighs)
Canoing is also a really good exercise, as long as you keep moving. Even going downriver is pretty good exercise, as you're constantly paddling to keep on the correct course.
There are, of course, many, many more possibilities.

When making a plan for an activity, try to get someone else involved. If you've got someone else doing the activity with you, it's harder to back out, and it's usually more fun.

When it comes to eating, less fat, less sugar, and less food is the way to go.
Remember that it takes around 20 days to change your taste buds. Just because something seems too dry, or too grainy, or too whatever right now, doesn't mean you'll never be able to eat it. Just work at it. I used to hate asparagus. I made myself eat it, and now I go out and buy it, not because it's good for me, but because I like it.
Avoid deep fried foods at all cost, especially if they're breaded (a double whammy, since the breading has a really high glycemic index, and it soaks up the oil like a sponge)
Try to eat foods with natural sugars (like cane sugar) rather than high fructose corn syrup. Even if the two have the same number of calories, the corn syrup's calories are in a more readily usable form, meaning that the body has to burn fewer calories to get at them.
Processed flours bad, whole grain good. Processed flour, like corn syrup, makes the calories more easily available to the body. If you eat a lot of bread, and can get to the point that you can eat sprouted grain bread, you'll have a huge weapon in your quest for a healthier body.
Darker or brighter colored veggies and fruits are better for you. Face it, corn is little more than a bunch of miniature packets of sugar. Eggplant, zucchini, asparagus, blueberries, strawberries, peppers, and other veggies/fruits like this are good examples. There are exceptions. Bananas are good for potassium, and potatoes have quite a few good vitamins and minerals.
All of this doesn't mean you've got to get rid of everything you like in order to eat healthy. Small changes can do wonders. Start out by changing one or two things. If you drink a lot of milk, and normally drink 2%, switch to 1%, then skim. If you have a lot of stuff made with flour, switch to a flour with a lower glycemic index, such as whole wheat, or brown rice flour. Instead of cocoa puffs for breakfast, have something with less sugar and more fiber.

There are also a few things you can add to your diet that will help you burn a few extra calories. These are not quick fixes, they are little boosts. Cinnamon, for example, helps boost metabolism. It doesn't need to be on sweets, either. Many Middle Eastern dishes use cinnamon.
Green, red, or white tea, as well as coffee, also help with a boost to metabolism, and all four may potentially aid the body in fighting diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's.
Spicy foods are another good metabolism booster. Just be careful not to eat so much hot food that you damage your stomach lining.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, is sleep. If you don't sleep well, your body will be thrown out of whack, and will likely begin storing fat. It should be noted that the human animal does not adapt well to a nocturnal schedule. Sometimes it can't be helped, or the benefits of working at night (such as a huge pay differential) may be too great to ignore, but you should be aware that it is rough on the body.

b0n3ZA

You forgot to mention the all too important supplement use -.-

armadillo

Mmmh. Coffee actually slows down your digestion, and causes cellulite, so ladies, don't quite start on the 15 cups a day diet!

I must say I have felt a little taken aback by a couple of responses from my thread on diet. I felt some responses made rather broad-sweeping assumptions about me and other 'sufferers' and, reduced the problem into over-simplistic terms, dismissing that we might find the whole weight gain problem rather worrying.

First off, let me clarify: I used 'weight gain' as an expression. I am not constantly weighing myself and weight is not my calibrator/performance indicator of a good diet. Most people know that muscle tissue is heavier than fat and when they say they want to loose weight, they mean they want to burn fat and build up muscle tissue, not loose weight on the scales.

My right to worry: it is a depressing thing to see your figure go, and your metabolism slow down. Ask any woman experiencing this will tell you. Of course it brings you down. What I mean is that confidently commanding me to stop worrying is never really going to achieve anything. Plus (this is addressed to the older ones among us): can you remember when our right to worry got taken away? I remember a time when it was perfectly acceptable to have issues. I find we live in a world that is increasingly turning into a positive thinking mental dictature. I am sorry but no, there are things that are depressing or make you anxious and that no amount of positive thinking will make disappear. And boy is it good to have a good laugh about it with friends around a good cup of tea.

To those of you with little weight problems: please contemplate the fact that you may just be lucky in the genetics sweep? That some people could eat 1/2 of what you eat and do 2x as much sport, and still come out unhealthily overweight.

What led me to my weight problem: Excessive business travelling and looooooooong hours at the office were my main hurdle. I actually love a couple of sports, and am a rather healthy eater (aside from my passion for pasta). I travel away from home 4 days a week, eat out in restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner for those 4 days, and have to eat cheese all the time because most countries in the world have not heard of vegetarians.

Also, I spend so long at the customer's office that I have absolutely no energy to do anything once in the hotel. And lunch is often just grabbed quickly at my desk. Spending half my life sat either on a plane or on an office stool, and being so exhausted when I get home that all I do is sit, is not a mean feat to overcome weight problems. Last week, I told my boss that I could not continue with this wreckless travelling regime (it's been 5 years). I am now starting regain control and I go jogging, squashing, walking, etc. again and indeed, feeling much better.

In other words: neither the time nor energy to do much exercise, and very little access to healthy food from my nomadic lifestyle. That's my problem, and no amount of education or encouragement will change the fact that this lifestyle is totally incompatible with healthy living.

All am saying is please don't assume that all people with weight problems need educating about exercise, healthy eating and a positive mental attitude. That really is reducing the problem to something artificially simplistic. I know you're doing this in good spirit, but I personally felt quite judged and misunderstood by some of the responses.

I just wanted a little survey on who was in the same boat, basically. To get a group empathy hug, you know? I didn't ask for tips or education (although the apple a day trick is a great one, thanks, Sutsina flower!). I just want to know that there are more people out there who are also slightly bummed by their weight. Oh, that's another thing: I am not hysterically depressed about it or anything. It's just bumming me out when I think about it is all.

Rant over.

sirdarksol

That's part of the reason I didn't add it to that thread, it changed the scope of the thread.
This info wasn't aimed at you, or anyone in particular. There was a lot of interest on that thread, not just for a group hug, but also for the technical aspects of losing weight, so I thought that this might be something that others in the forum might find interesting/useful.

I started a new thread specifically to make it a separate entity, the only reason that I put that first line on my post was really an explanation of why I started thinking about this.


This is probably something that should be said in the other thread then (especially since there's so little traffic in this one)

Tom

IMO, anyone that has a very good cardio is in shape as long as they don't have a large belly. I admit I have a bit of a belly,but I am in great physical shape, I have a fair amount of muscle and have a great cardio.
Tom

sirdarksol

Also, I apologize if anything I said in the other thread troubled you. I didn't mean to cause any agitation.

(Sorry, I wrote my response early in the morning, and my brain was only half on. I wasn't trying to be insensitive, it was just a result of me not being awake)

Tom

If you think you offended me, I know I have a belly and I consider myself healthier compared to those people that spend most of their life trying to get rid of fat.
Tom

armadillo

Look, don't worry about it. It's a touchy subject for me is all. I really really really know you had good intentions.

It's just that, well, am sick of being a manatee, and am doing something about it now, and, well, you know, it takes time, but I think each can do it with their own methods.

And you're also right about this: you did start a new thread for it, for the very purpose that they don't get associated. But I had to have the rant because, well, it is a sensitive subject and we don't always need more advice. Sometimes, we just need to know other people are in our case and we're doing our best.

sirdarksol

Tom: Sorry, the initial apology was directed at armadillo. I guess that I'm still asleep. I should have indicated that it was directed at her.

Armadillo: I never said you needed education. That's why the separate thread. This way it's not cramming it down anyone's throat. Rather, people can choose whether or not they wanted to read it.

armadillo

Yeah, that's it, Sirdarksol. That's what am saying too: that you took the time to create a new thread so as to make it clear it was not directly in response to my thread, which it wasn't. I appreciate your point, I really do.

Gawd, doing this in writing is tricky because it reads like I am annoyed or something, but right now am not, you know? Dont' know how to make that come across in writing, though. Mmmm, a smiley maybe!

sirdarksol

Oh, a smiley, I get it now

b0n3ZA

Well for wheight loss, particularly on a big stomach, sure, you can lose the wheight, buts its nearly impossible to lose it all, as well as the flab without some form of fat burners. Xedra Cut is a really good product.

Gaining wheight and muscle... well there's just so much to choose from! Protein supplements are essential. If you are naturally slightly big, but want to define yourself and build muscle, go for high quantity whey protein, with little or no carbs. On the other hand, if you are a hard gainer like me, go for a protein supplement with high carbs. You will want to take in about 1-2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight throughout the day. So an average person who weighs 150 lbs would want to consume between 150 and 300 grams of protein in a day.

You can't just supplement and not eat right, and expect to build muscle. Drink LOTS of water, 4L a day is a good amount. Eat a lot of protein in all your meals. Avoid fried foods! A good food to eat is cans of tuna, I have 1 or 2 a day to snack on. Chicken breasts are great and high in protein as well. Awesome for supper time. And for breakfast, 4 eggs and whole weat bread.

Eating right is half the battle. Excercise almost every day is how you lose/gain wheight depending on what you do (cardio, wheights). You can't expect to see ANY significant results by just following some cheesey diet!

My brother was slightly on the chubby side, though naturally big. He's been gyming for just under 2 years now. Honestly he was chubby, and now look at him:

sirdarksol

Supplements are unnecessary for most people.
Weight loss products almost always fall into one of two categories: Worthless, or do more harm than good. Talk to several doctors before taking drug meant to aid in weight loss.
As I stated in my original post, activity, diet, and sleep are the three big keys. In previous ages, the average human was a healthy weight, and they didn't have supplements or weight loss drugs. They were active, and they ate more vegetables than meat (due solely to the fact that it was cheaper to produce, and thus, buy veggies), and their activity, diet, and the fact that they didn't have a ton of things to do once it was completely dark out made for a decent night's sleep.

armadillo

Yep, and not everyone wants to look like your bro although I must admit, I'd spotted him shirtless in the first post you ahd of you all in teh garden. hi hi hi. :P

sirdarksol

Armadillo....pst....armadillo, you're drooling.

b0n3ZA

lol, ok pic removed

armadillo

Who, me? : :P