Sick of being overweight - diet alone is not cutting it.

[Anonymous]

I am nowhere near 200 pounds overweight. I've got more like 50 pounds that I could lose (more than that probably but let's start with 50). And let me tell you, there is a HUGE difference between being 50 pounds overweight and 35 pounds overweight. Just jump starting my weight loss and shedding 15 pounds pretty quickly is going to get me into an area where exercise will feel better and I'll already LOOK better.

If you reduce your carbs/calories - focus on lean protein/low glycemic veggies you will burn fat. You just will. Even sitting on your arse all day.

Again - I am not talking about doing super low cal for extended periods of time.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Google the Ideal Protein Diet and try that. 800 cals per day and no more than 40 g carbs a day. You also need to take supplements. Works better than anything I have ever tried in many years. And you will NOT be hungry (although you may get tired of certain veggies such as cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, etc.). Not cheap but highly effective. No alcohol. Also limited exercise (walking okay) because the calorie intake is so low. When you reach your target weight you shift to a higher level of calories and carbs and can have alcohol again.

+1. I'm in my 40's and have tried every diet out there, plus exercising 1-2 hours a day. The only thing that worked quickly and well is Ideal Protein. It's been a lifesaver. I've lost 50 pounds in 4 months. I've still got a ways to go, but I easily drop 2-3 pounds a week (more the first month). It's nice not to beat myself up exercising and still losing wait. I'll never try another diet again - although hopefully I won't have to!!

By stripping your body of muscle mass with an unsustainable diet, I can guarantee you that you will be dieting again.

Purposely eating 800 calories a day is disordered eating. You don't have to go to the extreme with exercise - exercise is not a punishment for being overweight. I could never do a diet like that because my workouts would suffer and no weight loss is worth that.

Agree. It is truly disturbing to me that people actually recommend these "diets." Barely eat and don't exercise, you'll be too weak! Great advice.

You reduce calories down low when you are already fairly sedentary. Once some of the weight comes off and exercise feels better - then you up the calories a bit as you exercise more.

I know that the slow and steady approach is touted as the best way to lose weight. But it can also be a painfully slow and frustrating approach. I would never suggest an 800 calorie diet long term. But if you are talking about getting your weight loss jump started it is not a bad approach. In fact, it's pretty much what gastric bypass does to you. At least when you restrict calories willingly you haven't forever surgically altered your body in a permanent way.

But it's pretty much guaranteed to fail. You need the muscle to burn the fat. The scale results look great because you are letting your muscles waste away. Slow and steady usually means you keep the muscle but drop the fat (or you don't lose too much muscle). I just wish people would change their perspectives a bit. Why not go for a walk for a half hour a day and start to make changes that you can live with? Yo yo dieting is really unhealthy, and companies like ideal protein and nutrisystem know that they will have lots of repeat business.

Switch the focus to adding muscle and the weight will come off and you won't hate your body anymore. Please stop punishing yourself. Eating 800 calories a day is terrible for you, especially ehen that 800 calories is mostly processed stuff. Spend a few months making a few positive lifestyle changes and you will actually get to keep the rewards. Being overweight is not some state of emergency that has to be fixed RIGHT NOW. If you are sedentary, that is what needs to be fixed ASAP. Not your weight.

I will also say that I have done the slow, patient, steady weight loss approach with strength training. Know what happens? My body ADJUSTS and starts to gain. It is the most frustrating damn thing...gah.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you for the recommendations. I'm feeling very encouraged!

Good luck, OP, you have lots of great ideas!

Glad to hear your husband is so well-qualified to teach you weight-lifting (I'm the PP who asked)--that's an awesome resource. For protein, you could also try things like bacon tempeh (might be good on a salad) or roasted tempeh or tofu. Beans get boring after a while, but you'll definitely need to get protein in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Google the Ideal Protein Diet and try that. 800 cals per day and no more than 40 g carbs a day. You also need to take supplements. Works better than anything I have ever tried in many years. And you will NOT be hungry (although you may get tired of certain veggies such as cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, etc.). Not cheap but highly effective. No alcohol. Also limited exercise (walking okay) because the calorie intake is so low. When you reach your target weight you shift to a higher level of calories and carbs and can have alcohol again.

+1. I'm in my 40's and have tried every diet out there, plus exercising 1-2 hours a day. The only thing that worked quickly and well is Ideal Protein. It's been a lifesaver. I've lost 50 pounds in 4 months. I've still got a ways to go, but I easily drop 2-3 pounds a week (more the first month). It's nice not to beat myself up exercising and still losing wait. I'll never try another diet again - although hopefully I won't have to!!

By stripping your body of muscle mass with an unsustainable diet, I can guarantee you that you will be dieting again.

Purposely eating 800 calories a day is disordered eating. You don't have to go to the extreme with exercise - exercise is not a punishment for being overweight. I could never do a diet like that because my workouts would suffer and no weight loss is worth that.

Agree. It is truly disturbing to me that people actually recommend these "diets." Barely eat and don't exercise, you'll be too weak! Great advice.

You reduce calories down low when you are already fairly sedentary. Once some of the weight comes off and exercise feels better - then you up the calories a bit as you exercise more.

I know that the slow and steady approach is touted as the best way to lose weight. But it can also be a painfully slow and frustrating approach. I would never suggest an 800 calorie diet long term. But if you are talking about getting your weight loss jump started it is not a bad approach. In fact, it's pretty much what gastric bypass does to you. At least when you restrict calories willingly you haven't forever surgically altered your body in a permanent way.

But it's pretty much guaranteed to fail. You need the muscle to burn the fat. The scale results look great because you are letting your muscles waste away. Slow and steady usually means you keep the muscle but drop the fat (or you don't lose too much muscle). I just wish people would change their perspectives a bit. Why not go for a walk for a half hour a day and start to make changes that you can live with? Yo yo dieting is really unhealthy, and companies like ideal protein and nutrisystem know that they will have lots of repeat business.

Switch the focus to adding muscle and the weight will come off and you won't hate your body anymore. Please stop punishing yourself. Eating 800 calories a day is terrible for you, especially ehen that 800 calories is mostly processed stuff. Spend a few months making a few positive lifestyle changes and you will actually get to keep the rewards. Being overweight is not some state of emergency that has to be fixed RIGHT NOW. If you are sedentary, that is what needs to be fixed ASAP. Not your weight.

Well, let's agree to disagree. I'm guessing the ones who say it's unhealthy have never been over 200+ pounds before - that's unhealthy. I've exercised heavily my entire life, and it never did much for me. I do this program under a doctor's care and get weighed every week with those high tech machines that weigh muscle too. Of the 50 pounds I've lost, only 5 pounds have been muscle. When I'm down to the weight I should be at, then I'll start exercising more and build up the little bit of muscle I've lost. By not going overboard on the exercising, it does not eat your muscle b/c of the high protein count. You can walk, do some weight lifting, but nothing that gets you out of breath. If you go to that level, it does start eating your muscle. I'll take this diet over gastric bypass any day.

You're wrong. I was 240 pounds with 40% body fat. Over two years got myself down to 25% body fat. It wasn't fast but now I have a good lifestyle and I can eat a lot. I think I ate 600 calories for breakfast yesterday.

Exercise is never bad for you, and never will be, even if the reason for holding back on the exercise is to lose weight. I am going to guess that the doctor is associated with ideal protein and is not using a body pod or dexa scanner. I hope that you are the exception and that you are able to keep it off.

+1

I've lost 1/3 of my body weight (late 30s, overweight my entire life even as a kid), by slowly adding exercise. I'm not only the thinnest I've ever been in my life, but the most fit. And also eat more than I ever have. Sustained exercise over the long term (doing things that make you sweat, get your heart rate up, and continually trying different things and upping the ante) is GREAT for both health and weightloss. I'm 5'3" and probably eat 2,500 calories most days (most of that are carbs). Sometimes even more! It's not just because of the calories I burn during a workout, but committed exercise absolutely changes your metabolism.

It can take time - years. But if you stick with it, exercise is amazingly transformative.

But everyone wants to lose 50lbs in 5 months. smh.

[Anonymous]

^I wish you the best of luck but perimenopause and menopause are a whole new ballgame for a lot of women. I've been exercising for years to and there is simply a limit to how much my 50 year old body is going to take or what I am willing to put it through...

[Anonymous]

I am the original ideal protein poster. Did this diet on rec of my physician who had several patients use it with success. The diet is specifically designed to avoid or minimize muscle loss ( that is why you eat a lot of lean protein). They use a sophisticated scale each week (you have to meet weekly with a counselor) to measure body fat and muscle mass as well as water weight, so they can see exactly where you are losing the weight. After the first week or so one can ramp up the exercise a bit and even do light weights at the gym, as long as you don't overdo it. And you eat a bit more on workout days. The idea is to switch your body into ketosis so you are burning fat for fuel. Carbs are under 40g per day. I lost 30 lbs only 2 lbs of which was muscle. Blood pressure went from 140/90 to 120/80. Feel great. And, although hard to believe, NOT HUNGRY while on phase 1 ( where you lose the wright). My only regret is I did not find this diet sooner. You have to sign up for it through an authorized counselor of which there are several in the DC area. You can listen to the naysayers or you can give it a try and maybe find a solution for yourself. I was skeptical too.

[Anonymous]

You can't outexercise your diet. You need to up your protein and lower the carbs. Several people have said this and you are resistant but you lose weight in the kitchen, you get fit in the gym.

[Anonymous]

Agreed.

Another great food: nonfat Greek yoghurt. The fage brand has 130 calories in a cup, 23 g protein, 0 fat, only 9 g carbs. Mix in a little sweet leaf stevia flavoring and you have a filling breakfast along with a couple cups of coffee.

[Anonymous]

Everytime I eat less, I lose weight the first month but stop at the second month. When weight loss stops, thats when I start the feel the affects of eating less. Constant hunger and tiredness, lifts at gym start to decrease. When I start to eat normally, weight goes right back to the start weight and my strength returns. All I want is to lose the last 10 lbs!

[Anonymous]

OP here: for most of the past week I did a green smoothie for breakfast (spinach, celery, low-carb fruit with flaxseed and almond milk), and yesterday I did one for breakfast and lunch. They're very filling (surprisingly) and satisfying. I've cut out grains and am trying to focus on being low-carb while eating a plant-based vegan diet. I started a beginning runners program last week - am on vacation this weekend but will get back to it Monday! Also will get into lifting. Thanks again everyone for your suggestions and encouragement!

[Anonymous]

I started to use a free app called Lose It last Sunday. And I lost 3 pounds in a week. The goal I setup was to lose only 1 pound per week. But somehow I lost it faster.

Basically, you track what you eat and what you do for exercise. Lot of things I didn't know before such as doing sit-ups or push-ups burns so few calories. Cadiovascular exercises make you lose weight much faster. I never ran in the past week, only did Elliptical 30-60 minutes a day.

I also realized that I had been over eating without my knowledge. Who would know the Cherry Bomb Chicken I ate at Big Bowl for lunch had a whopping 1500 calories.

I really liked the app. There's a premium version that you had to pay. But I think the free version has everything I need. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I've never eaten at Big Bowl but 1500 calories for a chicken/veggie dish is horrible! What on earth do they put on that chicken to make it so high calorie??

This is why I cook at home where I can control how my food is prepared. I just had a bunless turkey burger with a side of steamed yellow squash sprinkled w/a little fresh parmesan and pepper. It was really good

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here: for most of the past week I did a green smoothie for breakfast (spinach, celery, low-carb fruit with flaxseed and almond milk), and yesterday I did one for breakfast and lunch. They're very filling (surprisingly) and satisfying. I've cut out grains and am trying to focus on being low-carb while eating a plant-based vegan diet. I started a beginning runners program last week - am on vacation this weekend but will get back to it Monday! Also will get into lifting. Thanks again everyone for your suggestions and encouragement!

Protein, OP! PROTEIN!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here: for most of the past week I did a green smoothie for breakfast (spinach, celery, low-carb fruit with flaxseed and almond milk), and yesterday I did one for breakfast and lunch. They're very filling (surprisingly) and satisfying. I've cut out grains and am trying to focus on being low-carb while eating a plant-based vegan diet. I started a beginning runners program last week - am on vacation this weekend but will get back to it Monday! Also will get into lifting. Thanks again everyone for your suggestions and encouragement!

Protein, OP! PROTEIN!

Yup, everyone needs 1 lb per 1 kg of lean body mass just for muscle maintenance per day. If you don't get this much protein per day, you will slowly lose muscle.

Weight loss is pretty easy, it mostly takes carb reduction, especially for people who are insulin resistant (i.e. most fat people). You need to reduce your carb consumption to the point where you consume what you need. Anything more than that and it's immediately turned to fat. There are calculators for this online, and it depends on factors like your level of activity. As for the rest of the macro nutrients you need, if you are still hungry and you're eating sufficient carb and protein, then you need to turn to good high quality fats. Think avocado and eggs, fatty fish, coconut oil, etc. Don't eat trans fats and try to minimize omega 6 consumption in favor of omega 3s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^I wish you the best of luck but perimenopause and menopause are a whole new ballgame for a lot of women. I've been exercising for years to and there is simply a limit to how much my 50 year old body is going to take or what I am willing to put it through...

I'm 50, and I agree that really upping the frequency of exercise and mixing up the type helps. I'm not yet perimenopausal, that's true, and it's also true that I have not been a consistently strong exerciser throughout my life.