Need to Loose Weight - Need Advise what really works

[Anonymous]

I am looking for help too. Tried EDiets and mild exercise before and it did not work.

[Anonymous]

Weight watchers. I've lost 64 lbs since June. I had basically resigned myself to being fat the rest of my life. WW has helped me develop much better habits. Don't get me wrong: overeating continues to be a problem for me. I've had setbacks and bad weeks along the way. I think I will probably be on and off WW the rest of my life. I just hope that I don't wait as long as I did in the first place (meaning I go back when I gain 5 lbs, not 50).

[Anonymous]

The ONLY way to lose weight is by calorie restriction. All the diets named by the PPs cause you to restrict calories in some way. You may not be overweight because you're over-eating now, but because you ate too much at some point in life and didn't do anything to remedy that. Go to Myfitnesspal.com and put in your stats and how much weight you want to lose. Track and follow religiously and you WILL lose weight. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

i have tried lots of "diets" (South Beach, Paleo, Atkins, sugar/wheat free) and i really could not stick with any of them longer than 2 weeks. i felt awful. i have been doing Weight Watchers since January 1 and have lost 9 pounds (I have 25 to go). even though WW allows it, i do NOT eat unlimited fruit - way too much sugar. i will eat 1-2 servings of fruit a day. i DO eat unlimited veggies. i eat 1 serving of steel cut oats with a nut butter in the morning, and maybe 1-2 healthy carbs more in the day - but that is IT. not really low carb, but lower carb. i also go to the gym 3x a week. i don't do anything crazy, but just enough to get a sweat going and build some muscles. i find going working out makes me really hungry and makes it somewhat harder to lose weight, so I do it to more for cardiovascular health.

the biggest change i've made to my diet, and it was recommended to me by my internist, is to buy ready-cut veggies. it is more expensive, but it ensures me that i can grab veggies anytime. Whole Foods has awesome pre-cut stir fry mixes and i throw them in the skillet with some low-sodium, gluten free Tamari soy sauce and it is SO delish. my 2yo DS LOVES to share my veggies with me (which is a first, let me tell you).

good luck!

[Anonymous]

I was going to tell you what worked for me, but I went out last night and had 4 pints of beer and chicken wings, and I just stepped on the scales, and as a result I have decided to keep quiet.

[Anonymous]

Get rid of your car. Went car-free a couple years ago and lost weight without making any other conscience changes. Of course, the other way to do this is to choose to park at the back of the lot, take the stairs, get off a stop early on the Metro, but I found that it's a lot easier to get exercise when I have no choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Paleo/primal and exercise. 3 days cardio, 3 days lifting.

+1 once I got over feeling like I needed bread or some other carb to fill out a meal, its been very easy to follow with about 80% compliance and I feel amazing!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cut out all sugar, wheat and ingredients you can't pronounce.

No. Yes, cutting out processed food is good. However, you need to eat in a way that you can sustain long term, following a Mediterranean diet for example.

I would consider taking classes that get you moving aerobically and making sure you hit your target heart rate.

This is completely sustainable long-term, as long as you mean refined sugar. You don't need to fully eliminate all the time, but you do at first. Do this for a month, and the weight will fly off. You will also see how addicted you were to refined sugar and wheat. You will no longer crave it, so the weight will continue to drop. One week a month, I reset my system again by completely cutting it out, but I notice that even when I am not, my consumption is way, way down.

[Anonymous]

I hate when people pipe up as if they're experts. The thing is different things work for different people. I know plenty of people who eat sugar, drink every now and again, eat carbs with every meal, and they are skinny and healthy and fit and happy.

You have to sort out some balance and moderation. We all have a different combination of genes, hormones, chemical balance. Everyone loves to say eliminate carbs and do the paleo thing, but seriously, I'm usually thin, and when I tried that (in the name of health, not weight loss), it was the first time in my life I gained a lot of weight (and not muscle). When I went back to my usual balance of carbs, protein, sugar in my coffee, I went back to my normal weight.

One thing that is important is to make sure that you are getting some activity/movement in every day. It doesn't have to be killer. In fact, it's better if it is something sustainable, like a 30 minute walk.

And remember, a lot of those drastic diets that cause fast weight loss lead to, eventually, more weight gain. Even the bariatric (sp?) surgery... I've read that a lot of people are really pleased the first 2 years, and then they gain *all* of the weight back, but they've carved up their bodies in a way that they'll forever have to take supplements.

[Anonymous]

Weight watchers has great structure for someone who has had trouble in the past. Right now I'm 38, trying to lose 59 pounds, and I've lost 20 just by using Lose It and straight-up calorie counting. I eat about 1,400/day, mostly vegan because that's how I like to eat.

Honestly it's just calories in / calories out. If it's a mental thing, join weight watchers and have that support and structure. I also used the cognitive-behavioral book "how to eat like a thin person" by martha beck and found it really really helpful. Good luck OP!

[Anonymous]

I am going to be blunt here:

You want to loose fat, the only way to loose fat is to burn it, the only way to burn it is exercise. All those diets, meal plans etc will cause you to loose lean body mass, not fat.

You are not very motivated, it takes hard work and a change of lifestyle, all thsoe diet plans do is make you depentendent on them

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate when people pipe up as if they're experts. The thing is different things work for different people. I know plenty of people who eat sugar, drink every now and again, eat carbs with every meal, and they are skinny and healthy and fit and happy.

You have to sort out some balance and moderation. We all have a different combination of genes, hormones, chemical balance. Everyone loves to say eliminate carbs and do the paleo thing, but seriously, I'm usually thin, and when I tried that (in the name of health, not weight loss), it was the first time in my life I gained a lot of weight (and not muscle). When I went back to my usual balance of carbs, protein, sugar in my coffee, I went back to my normal weight.

One thing that is important is to make sure that you are getting some activity/movement in every day. It doesn't have to be killer. In fact, it's better if it is something sustainable, like a 30 minute walk.

And remember, a lot of those drastic diets that cause fast weight loss lead to, eventually, more weight gain. Even the bariatric (sp?) surgery... I've read that a lot of people are really pleased the first 2 years, and then they gain *all* of the weight back, but they've carved up their bodies in a way that they'll forever have to take supplements.

This is really a funny post because (1) OP asked for what has worked for people. Thus we are all "experts" on what works for us. Thats what she wants to hear, others' experiences, and (2) You then proceed to offer advice, so you are acting as an expert yourself.

There is some science here. Yes, different diets work for different people but there are diets with long and established track records. I would put WW in that category. I know people who have lost large amounts of weight on Atkins but I also know some who had their cholesterol spike up on Atkins and others who eventually put on more weight than they lost. In terms of a generic diet that works and has a good track record of keeping the weight off, WW is the best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am going to be blunt here:

You want to loose fat, the only way to loose fat is to burn it, the only way to burn it is exercise. All those diets, meal plans etc will cause you to loose lean body mass, not fat.

You are not very motivated, it takes hard work and a change of lifestyle, all thsoe diet plans do is make you depentendent on them

This is absolutely not true. There have been studies that show that exercise alone is not going to cause you to lose weight. I think we all know this anecdotally but it has received a fair amount of attention lately. I have no idea where you get this idea that diets cause you to lose body mass (whatever that is) and not fat. Thats just hooey. Of course, you need to exercise while you diet, and beyond, for a host of reasons, including that it does help the diet. But exercise alone will not do it.

As for diet plans making you dependent, I don't know what that means. Weight Watchers caused me to make permanent changes in my diet so that years later I've kept the weight off and each much healthier than before I went on WW. Is that dependency? If so, bring it on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am going to be blunt here:

You want to loose fat, the only way to loose fat is to burn it, the only way to burn it is exercise. All those diets, meal plans etc will cause you to loose lean body mass, not fat.

You are not very motivated, it takes hard work and a change of lifestyle, all thsoe diet plans do is make you depentendent on them

Absolute nonsense. A reduced-calorie diet burns fat stores, not "lean body mass." Don't even know what you mean by that.

Exercise Won't Make You Thin: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1914974,00.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Paleo/primal and exercise. 3 days cardio, 3 days lifting.

+1 once I got over feeling like I needed bread or some other carb to fill out a meal, its been very easy to follow with about 80% compliance and I feel amazing!

this is what many of my family and friends say. I think many of us are more sensitive to carbs than others. I want to get to the point where I don't need bread at every meal. I eat well but if I have soup/salad I NEED bread. A Sunday is not a Sunday without bagels...Not a big pasta/rice person but love oatmeal. The bread I eat is whole grain, natural but it seems that one piece creates a need for more.