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How many calories needed?
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As Gilly has said...please DO NOT get caught up on calorie [STRIKE]obsessing[/STRIKE] counting. If you drop too many calories you won't lose weight at all.
That is said a lot, but I've never seen anything which suggests it's true.
If people eat very little, because of famine and war, for example, they starve. And end up very, very thin. There were no fat people in concentration camps.
Very Low Calorie Diets, of which there are special versions, appear to work pretty well for weight loss. Wouldn't fancy it myself, though!...much enquiry having been made concerning a gentleman, who had quitted a company where Johnson was, and no information being obtained; at last Johnson observed, that 'he did not care to speak ill of any man behind his back, but he believed the gentleman was an attorney'.0 -
Tried pilates, that was too much for my joints. Never heard of callanetics but I just googled it and that looks too much as well. Need to be careful with walking as normal day to day walking is fine but I went on a 4 hour walk and that was too much as well.
Swimming? That's supposed to be very gentle on the joints, I think....much enquiry having been made concerning a gentleman, who had quitted a company where Johnson was, and no information being obtained; at last Johnson observed, that 'he did not care to speak ill of any man behind his back, but he believed the gentleman was an attorney'.0 -
It does make losing weight more difficult though because your body goes into famine mode and starts to conserve the resources it has by slowing your metabolism, so when you eat something it tries to "save some for later" because it doesn't know when the next meal is coming. It's better to eat a little more and exercise to help burn off the calories. Crash diets are ok for a week or two but for long term sustainable weight loss a sensible reduction in calories and exercise is the best way to do it. I lost about 90lbs 5 or 6 years ago doing this and it's not gone back on yet.neverdespairgirl wrote: »That is said a lot, but I've never seen anything which suggests it's true.
If people eat very little, because of famine and war, for example, they starve. And end up very, very thin. There were no fat people in concentration camps.
Very Low Calorie Diets, of which there are special versions, appear to work pretty well for weight loss. Wouldn't fancy it myself, though!250 -
Forget eating less, and instead learn how much exercise you need to do to burn off an extra 500 calories a day.
http://www.nutristrategy.com/activitylist4.htm
The above table is american, but it shows you roughly how many calories per hour you burn off doing each activity/sport, with 4 weight calories.
i.e. someone about 9.5 stone would need to do 4 hours of cleaning and dusting to burn off 600 calories, which is about a 3 pack of sandwiches!
If you find it impossible to fit in the extra exercise needed to keep up with your eating habits, THEN you need to cut down on what you eat.
ps - cheese is laden with calories and fat!Should've = Should HAVE (not 'of')
Would've = Would HAVE (not 'of')
No, I am not perfect, but yes I do judge people on their use of basic English language. If you didn't know the above, then learn it! (If English is your second language, then you are forgiven!)0 -
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neverdespairgirl wrote: »That is said a lot, but I've never seen anything which suggests it's true.
If people eat very little, because of famine and war, for example, they starve. And end up very, very thin. There were no fat people in concentration camps.
Very Low Calorie Diets, of which there are special versions, appear to work pretty well for weight loss. Wouldn't fancy it myself, though!
DH gets his clients to sometimes do food diaries and over time hes seen plenty of women who cant loose weight but dont eat much. And clients who obsess over food, loose weight, and then pile it back on when they stop. A healthy balanced diet with exercise keeps it off. It needs to be about changing your lifestyle and eating properly and not going on a crazy diet.
yes you do need to to obviously burn more calories than you put in to loose weight, but you dont need to go over the top.
One of his most successful clients has lost around 5 stone, and none of that has been through calorie counting or dieting. Shes just stopped eating huge potions and junk, and pretty much cut out alcohol.0 -
What should I do? I can't exercise apart from walking due to health problems so I can only lose weight by dieting.
Walking one mile (20-30mins) per day will burn off ~10calories per stone of body weight you have. So for a 15 stone person = 150 per day. Every alternate day = 1050 per fortnight. Thats 1lb off fat every six weeks if you do have not eat more than you need.
Reduce your portions a little for each, walk a little every day and watch the weight fall off. If you can't manage one mile at a time, go for 4-5 shorter walks a day and build it up. If you are really commited you can easily lose 2-3 stones in a few months just by stretching your legs and getting some fresh air (I did).0 -
caledonian_princess wrote: »It does make losing weight more difficult though because your body goes into famine mode and starts to conserve the resources it has by slowing your metabolism, so when you eat something it tries to "save some for later" because it doesn't know when the next meal is coming. It's better to eat a little more and exercise to help burn off the calories. Crash diets are ok for a week or two but for long term sustainable weight loss a sensible reduction in calories and exercise is the best way to do it. I lost about 90lbs 5 or 6 years ago doing this and it's not gone back on yet.
You're quite right that it's better to drop your your calorie intake slightly to maintain your metabolism and preserve as much muscle as possible so that you're only breaking down the fat supplies in your body (ideally 500 calories less than your BMR).
But there are people on this thread who are saying that if you drop your calories too low you won't lose any weight which simply isn't true unless you're half plant and photosynthesise.
I have done some extreme dieting to get in shape for competitions and although I lost a lot of body fat I also lost a lot of muscle (which I expected anyway).
It's all about calories in versus calories out.
If you consume more calories than you burn you will put on weight regardless of where the calories come from (even if you eat all "healthy" food) and if you consume less calories than you burn your body will lose weight. It really is that simple.
The best diet for me to get in shape is the ketogenic diet combined with intermittent fasting (mainly because it suits my lifestyle anyway)."The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money"0 -
I would recommend looking at the glycemic load of foods. Patrick Holford has written some very good books and recipes with this in mind. Food is the single biggest factor in weight gain and loss unless you are doing a lot of exercise.
Cardio exercise helps burn fat and keep the heart nice and healthy, but weight bearing exercise is great for keeping bones strong and building muscle will burn more calories at rest.
Can you do any kind of weight bearing exercise on any part of the body?0 -
If you want to lose weight you have to count calories, it doesn't take long and you can get free apps that will help you log this. Weight Watchers is a way around counting calories but all they've done is convert the calories into points so you're still adding up numbers.
You can do as much exercise in the gym as you want but you can't out train a bad diet."The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money"0
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