Lose weight 29

Some quick tips from my copyrighted system of brilliant weight loss

99% of all diets fail it's a terrifying fact. The reason why we keep failing is simple, if your overweight before you start to diet something is wrong your either getting too little exercise or eating too much or more than likely both. If you go on a Diet and lose weight and then when you are finished you go back to your old eating habits guess what you will put the weight back on. Most of us do this and we keep YoYo'ing because of it.

Being overweight does not necessarily make you a piggy, to be 50lbs over weight at age 40 you only need to eat 25 cals a day (half an apple) to much every day starting when you are 20. Although many of us comfort eat through stress / depression in an ever downward circle of despair which is not helped by the addictive nature of some foods. Eating junk food can certainly add to feeling low and make a bad situation worse.

To lose the weight and keep it off we are going to have to make permanent lifestyle changes, this means eating controlled amounts of food and taking regular exercise. Once you are at goal weight you will be able to eat more with the occasional bad thing but most of the time you will need to stay eating healthy foods and follow a reasonable exercise regime. It's important to accept we probably have eating issues and to resolve them we are going to have to make permanent lifestyle changes.

There's no quick fixes, no magic tablets and no matter what you read no wonder combinations of food that will make the weight fall off. All the research to date has shown that no matter what dieting system you use it comes down to the basic laws of thermal dynamics. If energy eaten is less than energy used you lose weight.

Before you even think about losing weight it's important to realise that weight loss is 90% in the mind. You have to really want it, if your only half committed then you will fail as we all have many times. You need to be in a good place mentally before you start as you will need to be focused on the task at hand most of the time. If you have external distractions and stresses it's going to make your journey very much harder, remember this is about you and that means most of the effort involved is going to have to come from you alone.

So which diet system is best? The simple answer is they can all possibly work, the best way to go forward is to find a system that you can follow and fits in with your lifestyle be it calorie counting, WW, SW, the hardcombe diet etc. Try to avoid the dangerous diets that let you eat the dangerous fats (cholesterol and hydrogenated / trans fats) or diets that replace meals with a "shake" (which are ultra high refined sugar) or replacement "meals" with packets of dog knows what.... An important part of the journey is training yourself to learn what is the right amount to eat and when, and to literally relearn when we are actually hungry and not respond to stress, depression or addictive behaviour.

Now here's the horrid bit your brain could be chemically making you crave "bad things" and working against you, the human brain is large and needs a lot of energy to feed it, and as a defensive message against starvation we have evolved to release hormones from the pleasure centre of the brain to reward the eating of high energy foods (sugars and fats). The downside is after a short "high" we feel a much longer "down" which can lead to eating just to crave the high again. We can kick this behavioural pattern no one is holding a gun to our heads saying eat these bad foods, we need to look in that mirror be truthful to ourselves and let our own will power and determination just say no! After a week or two of avoiding foods with addictive like properties most if not all cravings should go and weight loss should become much much easier. The tough bit thou is those first two weeks and avoiding the addictive type food but once "detoxed" there should no longer be cravings

The addictive type foods are:

Fatty foods - A difficult one since some fats/oils are very good for your health. Try to avoid any food with 3% or more saturated fat especially if the fat cannot be removed (and avoid totally hydrogenated / trans fats). It is however important to eat healthy fats / oils (polyunsaturated / mono-unsaturated) as they have a very positive affect on health and even lower cholesterol. Nuts and cold pressed extra virgin rapeseed oil are great sources as well as oily fish (plus you get omega oils!). However you need to be careful on the amounts you eat as they are very energy dense.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8673208.stm

Refined sugars - nasty over processed stuff, not to be mixed up with natural sugar in fruit, etc. Avoid it, there's a reason that diabetes is reaching epidemic proportions and this stuff is it.

Chocolate - really trips the old pleasure centre into overdrive, ultra energy dense with loaded fats and sugars. After two weeks you wont miss it, trust me.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8644016.stm

Cheese - the surprise contender, again causes hormone release and many types contain opiates! No wonder I was a class one cheese junkie

To also be considered

Caffeine - causes a release of sugar from the liver (the energy kick) but you then get insulin production which could cause sugar cravings. Going cold turkey from caffeine causes most people headaches, there's a hint if ever one was needed.

Alcohol - tasty and fun it maybe but it's just wasted calories with almost no nutritional benefit.

The nasty E word Exercise, It's important, in fact it's extremely important to do at least 3 seasons of 30 mins a week of exercise or more if you can, you need to be working at a level where you are breathing heavyish (from the lower part of your lungs) but you can still talk. Warm up and down for 5 mins before and after, build up to this level slowly and see a Doc beforehand. Anything will do, jogging, bike, elliptical trainer, aerobics, wii fit etc. Make yourself build it into the natural part of the daily life, remember this is a lifestyle change forever, not a quick fix. Exercise not only burns calories whilst being done but also whilst you recover. Regular exercise will also speed up your metabolism and if some strength / resistance training is built into your regime it will increase the amount of calories you need each day, yummy we can eat more

So how much should I eat, unfortunately we are all very different and have very different amounts of muscle and our activity levels change greatly. Here is one of many good websites that can give you a guide as to how much you need to eat a day. It should be noted it is critical not to eat too little, this just causes the metabolism to shut down and go into starvation mode (it can even start to consume your own muscle and organs!) and weight loss will become extremely hard.

http://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html

What to eat, where ever you can avoid processed food (and the nasty muck they put in it). Eat simple healthy natural foods (often called whole foods) with lots of fruit and veg, natural carbs and lean protein. Carbs can be good for you but generally we eat to many especially late at night when we do not really need the sustained energy they give. You should eat about 30%-40% of your diet as carbs, their best eaten before periods of heavy physical activity like exercise or physical work such as in the morning or at lunch. Bread /Wheat /Rye can be a problem for some people (gluten). Eat lots of lean meat as this acts as an appetite suppressant and don't forget those healthy oily fish. Avoid where you can energy dense high calorie foods, anything over 200 cals per 100g as these will be high fat and or high sugar which also means you get very little to eat. But don't forget to eat those healthy oils and fats, try to get 30% of your calories from them. Generally it's better to eat a large plate of fruit and veg than one small snack bar for the same calories and actually be full.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8688104.stm

Where you can make your own food, this should not only be vastly healthier and you can control what's in it but it should also be cheaper and you use calories in the actual cooking process so its win, win, win . Where you can avoid putting salt in anything, we get more than enough.

Some people like to give themselves little treats / rewards during the week. In my mind those treats, that night drinking, or that unhealthy meal out are just self defeating. Not only are they keeping the cravings alive but they are going to slow down your weight loss and may lead to weeks with no loss or even a gain which is just going to demotivate you and lead to more disappointing weeks and maybe even failure. I think it would be better to just to set yourself a realistic amount of weight to loose in a sensible amount of time and then in your mind commit 100% to eating healthy all the time. It may help to be honest to partners, friends, family and work colleagues for the next X weeks please do not tempt me with bad things ... Staying focused on your goal will help keep the losses coming in which in turn keep you focused on the task in hand.

When it comes to weighing yourself always use the same method. That is the same place, the same time, the same scales. ONLY ONCE A WEEK !! as its easy to become demotivated with the natural gains your body can make over the week. The ideal time is first thing in the morning after your ablutions, naked and before you drink (a mug of tea can add 0.6 lbs!!) but however you do it always use the same system.

And finally there are no quick fixes no magic tablets / drinks that will work (or everyone would be super slim) I am afraid it's down to basic physics, if calories used are less than calories eaten you will lose weight. Accept this is going to be a permanent lifestyle change, "detox" from the addictive foods, eat normal healthy unprocessed food, take that exercise and look forward to enjoying the new healthier you



Gadgets and software that can help

The wii fit has had some great comments by some of our members although I have not used one as I prefer my treadmill.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wii-Fit-Plus-Balance-Board/dp/B002BSA3EM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1269331702&sr=8-1

Actifry, my saviour makes ultra healthy chips / wedges (use cold pressed extra virgin rapeseed oil (which is so yummy)), mines 18 months old and gets used like a work horse, also can do other healthy meals.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tefal-ActiFry-Low-Electric-Fryer/dp/B000T76UOE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=kitchen&qid=1269330573&sr=8-1


VidaoneOne Diet and Fitness, is ideal for anyone who does not want to join a club but wants to accurately monitor calories and exercise (it also does points)

http://www.vidaone.com/vodf_win.htm

MyPersonalDiet, my second saviour, allows for accurate monitoring of calories and exercise on your phone!!! Available on several phone formats and syncs with the Diet and Fitness desktop software for printing charts etc. The ultimate aid for the truely geeky dieter

http://www.vidaone.com/impd.htm

Body fat calculating scales, The standard BMI calculation is very inaccurate, with these types of scales when used as directed will give you a far more accurate idea of how much fat and how much muscle you have. This will allow you to set your goal much more accurately.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Omron-BF508-Body-Composition-Monitor/dp/B0033AGBVG/ref=amb_link_112643707_3?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=hero-quick-promo&pf_rd_r=05RYW6TDGQ9H5QD2NJ8V&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=151272467&pf_rd_i=B001N064JW

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Omron-BF508-Body-Composition-Monitor/dp/B0033AGBVG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=drugstore&qid=1276498953&sr=8-2


Disclaimer: I am not a doctor / scientist, I am just an above avg IQ nerd who reads far too much, I have no affiliations or links with anyone or any company mentioned, Always seek medical advice before undertaking anything, never run with scissors. We accept no liability if you lose too much weight, fail to lose weight, put on weight, remain ugly, your leg falls off, aliens invade your house and kidnap your cats, your lottery tickets do not win, you die or any other bad thing happens to you, copyright Eric Pisch 2010

victory wrote: »

T

eric I don't read your posts because they are so factually filled, if it was that easy we would all have no problems, I am a smoker and I know what it does to me and the people around me but it has not yet stopped me:D;)

I tired to make it more English less techy, i wanted to chuck it at the start of a thread so i can link to it rather than keep repeating it for new people who may be interested, if not ignore it but i do think for most people it will help to some extent. The disclaimer is worth a scan regardless

As for the smoking, of course you have a physical addiction (its chemical not emotional), your brain is telling you YOU MUST SMOKE, that is always going to be hard to break. When your ready in your mind you will be able to do it. It would take immense mental control to be able to loose weight and break an addiction as strong as nicotine at the same time.

Some foods do a similar thing but to a lesser extent, if can you avoid them weight loss does become much easier, I have had no cravings for 10 weeks now. It is also possible that I am just odd, Very odd, Very odd indeed :cool:

sarymclary wrote: »

Time for a new thread :j

The clocks are about to Spring forward, Summer will soon be here. Got a swimsuit, bikini, dress, party or wedding to attend, and want to shift some pounds?

hmmm your either sexist or you want to see my cross dress

i need to stop messing about and actually go for my jog ...

Funnelly wrote: »

Right after weeks of lurking and reading all your posts, I think this new thread is clearly my time to join in!

I know I'm overweight and I know that I need to do something about it, I just dont seem to have enough motivation. I dont know where to get any from so if you've seen some please send it my way!

Starting yesterday I've been cutting back on what I've been having for lunch as that was a major source of calories, I'm also going to fit some exercise in - going to get off the bus earlier and actually use my exercise bike rather than use it as a clothes horse!

welcome :j

I think from my own experience the motivation has to come from within, we will encourage you and lots of people here can give you tips and advice on the various systems and things you can do but deep down you have to say no thats it i have had enough being like this, i am going to change it, and everyday get up with the same message. Maybe set your self an attainable goal, be it an outfit, wedding etc. A big part of it for me was my OH (SWMBO to the peeps on the board). The odds where I would not be here in 10 years time and I would become ever more a burden on her and that tore me up.

Admitting you have a problem and really mean it as well as accepting who you are (ie long look in a mirror) was also a big part of it for me. Being able to endlessly ramble on this thread helps as well to keep focused

I also have a picture of Eddie Izzard stuck on my wall as inspiration, If he can go through the insane pain involved in running 43 marathons pretty much back to back to raise money for charity how hard can it be for me to go with out a few treats for 12 months, do some exercise and drop a few (hundred lol) pounds :j:j:j

Thanks for the info Eric.
One big killer for me is PLANNING.
So for example it's my sisters birthday on Friday and everyone else will have a takeaway.
If I PLAN then I will take a low fat sandwich which will be fine.
If I don't plan it then I will be hungry and have no alternative to have a takeaway where there are NO low calorie options available.

Similarly being out on a day trip, or simply being at home with nothing in the cupboard, presents a real problem.

I'm work full time and regulalry go out with mates, family etc. so for me this is an absolute KILLER and the thing more likely to de-rail my diet than anything else.

I ride a motorbike and go out with my mates for rides.
We stop off at greasy cafes and everyone has a bacon butty,.
We eat out a LOTand therefore don't always have food at home in the cupboard.
We are getting better at making batches and having things in the freezer available for a busy evening.

I guess for home based mums then the challenges are different (picking whilst cooking would be a killer for me), but for someone who's working who travels and socialises then it's important to recongnise the risk of not planning.