Weight Loss

[legion]

I had been steadlily gaining weight since college. I was 195 when I graduated, and hit a high of 245. (I've also gone from bench pressing 200 lbs. to 315 (reps, not max) in the same time period, so it's not all fat.) I'm at about 240 and declining right now, but I'm very optimistic for the future.

What's my secret? I've cut back big time on the exercise.

After work I used to do about 1000 calories worth of cardio a day 4-5 days a week, then immediatley go on to 1-2 hours of very intense weight lifting. I'd been completely exhausted, and I'd come home and eat, and eat, and eat. Even when I was full, I had trouble stopping. And even though I was exhausted, I had trouble falling asleep. My body wanted 10-12 hours of sleep a night, and at best, all I could manage was 6. (Despite the fact that I was in bed for 8 hours.) I would wake up tired and exhausted the next day, and repeat the cycle. I started drinking coffee to keep me awake in the morning, and it only made things worse.

After Christmas, I decided to cut back on exercise. I'm only doing 400-500 calories worth of cardio, and doing about 30 mins. of weight lifting afterwords. I've noticed that my appetite has decreased. I can stop eating well before being full. I fall asleep much faster and get a much more restful night of sleep. I wake up refreshed and ready to take on the day. I've switched to drinking decaf.

Who knew that there was a such thing as exercising too much? I really think the last five years have been an extended experiment in sleep deprivation and exhaustion...

[Jim Richards]

I think your strategy is a winner. Moderation in everything. And cutting out the caffiene probably helps.

[masraum]

Cutting way, way back on refined sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, etc... is also a good way.

I think I've read that back in the day 100 years ago the average person ate what amounted to about 1-2 lbs of sugar a year, but now that average is something like 50lbs.

It's scary, if you start reading labels at how many things have sugar in them and how high up the list sugar usually is.

Fruit, natural sugars isn't nearly as bad. Also refined flours and premade foods that you just heat up are not very good for you either. Carbs aren't necessarily the problem, it's the type of carbs.

[EdT82SC]

Quoting from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10403173/site/newsweek/:

The major causes of the obesity problem in the United States are no mystery. It’s simply a consequence of people eating more calories than they burn and gaining weight. The leading source of calories in the U.S. is sugared beverages, which accounts for about seven percent of all calories consumed. This is a big part of our problem since it is so easy to consume calo_ries in liquid form. The No. 2 source is cake and sweet rolls, fol_lowed by hamburgers and cheeseburgers, then pizza, and No. 5 is potato chips and corn chips. Those food items account for about one-fifth of all the calo_ries consumed in our country. The other side of the equation is at least equally important. In popula_tion surveys, it turns out that the No. 1 activity in our country for burning calories is not jogging or walking but driving a car! The next form of activity for total caloric ex_penditure is office work. No. 3 is watching TV or movies, then taking care of children. No. 5 is an activi_ty performed while sitting quietly, and number six is eating!

[livi]

In terms of athletic performance its no secret that "too much" will render less result than "too little". There is perfectly simple (well rather complex) explanation for that in terms of chemical / hormonal response to training.

I have learned the hard way myself. Been training boxing and weight lifting for many years. Took a loooong time for me to understand that recuperation, in a sense, is far more important than the amount of exercises.

Every time I end a phase of very light (or none) training, I am stunned with the fast gains I make when hitting the heavy irons again. That, as well as a renewed level of energy, better sleep etc.

[UconnTim97]

I've been doing about the same workout you are doing now since late may. I usually do abouut 450 -500 calories of cardio, followed by about 30 -45 minutes of weight training 3-4 times a week.

I've lost 25 pounds so far. Started at about 195 lbs.

I also cut out the refined sugar for the most part.

This workout schedule has worked great for me.