absolute best healthy way to lose weight

[Nostril Cheese]

well, I find myself about 20lbs heavier than I'd like to be.

Need to get back in shape, was wondering all of your methods...

not looking to get ripped, just lose a bit of the gut

Here's what i was thinking...

run every other day after work, or at least as much as my knee will allow. alternate with upper body weights.

more lean protein, less carbs, lots of water

[Z-man]

I'm in the same boat -- but I need to loose closer to 30-40lbs to get down to my ideal weight.

My problem is that I'm a stress eater. Lots of stress at work lately has drawn me to the candy machine, which is double bad for me, since I'm also a diabetic.

It's about 28 degrees out right now, but I think I'd better do a walk around the block regardless.

Once it gets warmer, I will be hitting the tennis ball - one of my hobbies of yesteryear should help me get healthier.

And I gotta lay off the candy. Anyone have some ideas on how to relieve stress at work?

-Z-man.

[RallyJon]

For losing a small amount of weight like that, it can be as easy as a little more exercise than normal, and less sugar and simple carbs. Depends on you though, it makes it easy if you drink a couple of sodas a day and have a donut or two for breakfast.

[Oh Haha]

Don't eat anything three hours before going to sleep. Drink lots of water.
Just what what you eat and how much during the day. Eat light dinners as much as possible.

I do a simple cardio workout each night in the garage. I jump rope for around a half hour. Not constant but I try to be moving the entire time.
My three year old likes to help Daddy jump rope. We make it family time with just him and me.

I'm not a doctor nor do I play one on television but this strategy has worked pretty well for me. I haven't lost but a few pounds in the past month but my clothes, especialy pants fit much better. I have high blood pressure so Ineed to do cardio to get the blood flowin'.

Hope this helps.


EDIT: Oh yeah, I work for a vending company which makes temptation a real problem. LOTS of candy and goodies always around the office. I've been good so far this year, though.

[on-ramp]

walking is better than running... less force on your joints.

sit-ups are also good to target the abdomen.

[Nostril Cheese]

I usually have a couple cups of coffee a day, an apple or bannana in the morning. Dont usually drink soda as it gives me stomach acid really bad. I usually eat pretty decent, but love the occasional braunschweiger on rye with hot mustard and jack cheese.

I just feel sort of run down lately. Like my metabolism isnt up to snuff. I imagine excersize for a few days should help.

Just got a 30G iPod, so that should help out with the running.

[Hetmann]

Avoid "white" foods except califlour. White foods include white bread, potatoes, rice, sugar, etc. All are empty calories. Eat more veggies and fruits.

[Super_Dave_D]

I lost 50lbs in the last 6 months. Lost the first 30 on nutrisystem (It works). That taught me portion control. For me it was basically stop eating everything you love and start walking a few miles each night. I am 6'4 245 so I have 25 more to go!!!! It sucks!

[notfarnow]

A couple years ago someone showed me pictures from their housewarming party. There I was with my big, fat face. It was an eye opener, I didn't see myself that way. I was almost pissed that my wife hadn't said "hey Jake, yer gettin fat".

Within a year, I lost ~25 lbs without any MAJOR lifestyle changes.

1) As soon as I said I wanted to lose weight, my wife started packing my lunches. My wife is a very healthy eater, which made it very easy to eat better. Healthy stuff like vegetable stews, brown rice etc.

2) I tried the gym a couple times but I hated it. I started walking the stairs at work instead of using the escalator. Did that twice a day. I'm on the 19th floor, so that is a good 8-10 minutes twice a day.

3) I'm like Z-man... I am a stress eater. Stress is not optional at my job, so the best thing I can do is have snacks around that aren't crap. cheese & crackers, apples, yogurt. Mrs Notfarnow packs 'em with my lunch.

It took about 9 months for me to lose the weight, but I never really felt like I was "on a mission" or anything. I've maintained my "new" weight (178 lbs) within 5lbs ever since. I still eat crap when I want, but it's the day to day stuff that really made the difference over time.

Pretty amazing how different I feel too. Pick up a backpack with 25lbs... it's surprising!

[Jims5543]

Lots of good info in this thread.

If your knee is bad running might destroy it. I have a bum knee too and I bike 5-10 miles every other day and lift weights every other day, muscles are fat burning machines and the more you demand of them the more they burn and they get bigger in the process if your using heavier weight and lower reps.

More muscle = more fat burning

Bigger muscles = less likely to gain weight back becuase your body will require more caloric intake to support the muscles.

Cardio will burn calories while you are doing it, its good for you and I recomend it. Weight training will burn calories, but, the bonus here is as your muscles recover through the day they continue to burn calories = Big Bonus.

Good luck, I let myself go about 4 months ago, drinking a lot and eating really bad and not doing squat cept for sitting on my butt feeling sorry for myself. I am 10 lbs through a 20 lb loss and with less than 10 to go I already feel better.

[MRM]

+1 on walking the stairs. As long as you don't have a locked stairwell it is an incredibly efficient workout. I talked to my doc and she said stairs are fine for knees unless you run too hard on them, and to stop if they start to ache. Otherwise stairs are pretty low impact.

That and switch to whole wheat everything and don't eat when you're not hungry.

[Mr_Wizard]

Lost about 20 pounds earlier this year. Used an elliptical for 30 mins when I woke up each day and took the dog for longer walks in the evening. I found when I was working out in the morning my lunch meals were larger but I was not as hungry at dinner. Worked for me. I think each person needs to find something that fits their lifestyle. The biggest thing I would say though is just be more active.

[TSNAPCRACKLEPOP]

lifestyle change. walk about 3 miles a day, my knees cannot run 6 anymore. went to non fat milk, no butter(fat free spray) fat free pretzels, celery, fat free yourgurt insted of ice cream, no bread(fat free wraps, tuna, turkey , and ham.. no hunger, and i still eat about every 3 days, a meal of chili or stew. lost 18 lbs since new years day. read the labels on your food. i went from !!!270!!!! to 252, intend to keep this up to 210. my car and motorcycle will go faster.

[TSNAPCRACKLEPOP]

did i mention bananas for breakfast? the yogis say, nothting but fruit till noon.

[Drago]

I've lost 55 pounds since hitting an all time high of 345 (I'm 6'7"). I did it with no change to my diet except to limit the amount of food in the evenings. I walk a lot. A couple of miles minimum at work everyday and another couple in the evening. My goal is ~250 pound hopefully by spring or early summer.

[the]

Exercise is good, but the key to losing weight is the supply side, i.e., stuffing yer piehole less.

At the end of the day, it is really essentially a math game involving calories. Eat less calories then you burn and you will lose weight.

Exercise is fine, but it's relatively hard to exercise a calorie off, and given our crap food filled society, very easy to put a calorie in. You can go for a brisk walk for an hour and burn 350 calories, but then put those back in in 30 second and 1 little Krispy Kreme glazed.

And, people tend to overestimate how many calories they burned, or the effect on their metabolism, and then eat more or "treat" themselves because of their great workout.

I think low carb diets really do work, although not exactly for the reason most people think. They work because protein foods tend to be (1) very filling, (2) low in calories, and (3) self limiting. For ex., a chicken breast from El Pollo Loco is 180 cals. 2 of those is a filling lunch, but only 360 cals, and will keep you feeling full for quite a while. 360 cals of "carby" foods is nothing, and you will be hungry again in an hour. Protein is also self limiting because it's so heavy and satiating. For ex., you could eat a Whopper meal with fries and a soda, and that would probably be 1200 calories, but it would be very difficult to put down 1200 calories of roast chicken.

So low carb tends to work because in reality, if you're really doing it, it is actually low calorie.

I do agree, though, that you need to find what works for you. I know people that have lost a lot on low carb, and others that couldn't do it successfully. My neighbor (female) just lost around 30 lbs on Weight Watchers "Flex plan."

[Flatbutt1]

often overlooked is when to eat. If you spread your meals out to 5 times a day rather than 3, you'll spread the calories out more, keeping insulin levels steady. This will help turn down the fat storage tendency in our bodies.

[arcsine]

eat right & exercise

[Z-man]

Thanks for the encouraging words, folks. Good to know I'm not the only one in this situation...

Just got back from a 22 minute **brisk** walk. Brisk because it's cold out there.

Now if I can only stay away from that candy machine, which I sall nickname "The Antichrist" I'll be ok...

-Z

[930addict]

Diet:

1) Lower your carb intake
2) eliminate soda
3) Increase your protein intake
4) Watch your fat intake no more than 70grams/day
5) Pay attention to when you eat. Don't eat too late.

Exercise:
1) Brisk walk (or other sport that gets your heart pumping) for minimum 45 minutes a day. One hour is preferable. The first half hour of your cardio is burning your reserve energy stores. After that you begin to burn fat.