I lost 16 pounds in 21 days...and I still eat carbs!!! (1 Viewer)

[Robert_Z]

There is hope for those of us who want to get in shape and/or lose some weight, but LOVE bread and other carb foods. I lost 16 pounds in 21 days (started at 183 on January 30...weighed in at 167 tonight), during which time I have eaten: 10 slices of pizza in one buffet sitting, tuna and turkey sandwiches on whole wheat bread, and bacon cheeseburgers twice.

I did not eliminate carbs, I simply reduced my intake of them...and am eating more sensibly overall. My approach was simple, I wrote a list of the 10 foods I could think of that I eat the most of, but that probably contribute to my being a little overweight and bordering on high blood pressure and high cholesterol and diabetes.

Those foods/drinks included: white bread, flour tortillas, hamburger meat, soft drinks, artificial sweets, Ramen noodles (I'm single), pizza. There were some others. My goal was to eliminate these foods/drinks from my diet.

Anyway, I wanted to get on an exercise/diet plan that is reasonable and one that I can make a permanent part of my life. After two weeks I realized I wasn't going to live forever without pizza and hamburger meat, so I went to buffet and cut loose, and I've had burgers. Mind you, I am eating many frozen dinners (Michaelangelo's Chicken Parmesan, which has a good amount of spaghetti) with salads sans dressing...and a lot of baked chicken, and air-popped popcorn with a little bit of butter, and a lot of cereal. I have knocked my daily calorie intake to 1700-1800 a day. I am eating 3 meals a day with a snack at 10am (fruit) and a snack at 3pm (veggies...a lot of carrots).

I have also been walking/running for 30-60 minutes and lifting weights at home. I would say I have exercised at least every other day, but never 3 days in a row. I don't want to burn out too fast...I am hoping I can make this more active life a permanent change.

The results speak for themselves...so far. I think these initial results show that if you are a little to somewhat overweight, you can lose some pounds without having to turn your whole diet and life upside down. I hope I am able to stick with it, and I hope some of what I have shared is useful to folks out there in similar situations health/weightwise.

 

[CaseyLS]

I could stand to lose about 20 pounds. But then I would be a been pole so I should probably lift

 

[Clinton McClure]

Way to go Robert!

 

[Max Leung]

Nice work!

In a related note, a researcher says you can keep those pounds off if you eat 100 less calories per day than you usually do:

http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/diet.....ap/index.html

I was a little ill during the holidays, and lost 5 pounds. I'm having a hell of a time getting the weight back (I need a few more pounds, not less). It seems that my body "ups" the metabolism as I intake more food, so I don't gain weight. I have to really go overboard to make any gains, then I can ease off on the food to maintain it.

It doesn't help that I don't get as hungry as other people though.

 

[Christ Reynolds]

i lost 22 lbs in 21 days. all i had to do was get mono, and the rest was easy.

CJ

 

[Zane Charron]

Yes! I lost 10 lbs in a week once from being sick. It's really the best way to lose weight.

If you cut down your caloric intake and exercize an hour a day, then yes, you can lose weight easily. I'm assuming you're referring to the Atkin's diet thread that's been up lately. Atkin's isn't the only way to lose weight, I think we've made that pretty clear. To be honest, I don't think Atkin's is the BEST way to lose and mantain either, since at some point you're going to want to eat SOME major carbs. IMO, the best way to lose and mantain weight loss is a good balanced diet and exercise. Simple as that.

Good going, Robert.

 

[Daniel Kikin]

Zane, you have the right idea. I lost 40 lbs over 3 years like that.

I ate regular meals but cut out snacks (except popcorn at the movies a couple of times a month )and replaced them with fruits and vegetables, and burned 1200-1500 calories a week on the treadmill, which wasn't too hard since I had a TV in front of me.

 

[Robert_Z]

i lost 22 lbs in 21 days. all i had to do was get mono, and the rest was easy.

Ouch.

 

[Chris PC]

Sounds good. Weight loss can be water or muscle mass so be careful. Sounds like your plan is sound though. Keep up the diet and exercise

 

[DaveF]

If you cut down your caloric intake and exercize an hour a day, then yes, you can lose weight easily.

That doesn't sound "easy" to me

Is there any doubt that if you eat fewer calories than you need, you'll lose weight? That's the essence of dieting. (or, crudely put, starving people are never fat)

I gained about 40 lbs during the last few years of my graduate work. Since August I've been exercising about three times a week, 30 - 60 minutes each time. I moderate what I eat, and going for a greater variety of foods. I don't count calories; aiming for "I feel full" and not "I'm stuffed" and definitely not "Ugh, I ate too much". I've lost 11 lbs, and am currently averaging a little under pound per week. I've also seen my resting heartrate drop a few beats per minute, and my blood pressure has dropped too.

I'm striving for improved, sustainable habits over fast results. So far, I'm succeeding. And hopefully I'll be at my weight goal in a few months.

 

[David Rubenstein]

Well, I had some abdominal surgery in December and I've lost 30 pounds (unintentionally).

I had to go buy all new clothes

 

[Chris PC]

Too little calories is not so good. starving people are never fat, but they also have muscle loss.

 

[Jonathan Burk]

Starting from square one:

In order to lose fat, you must consume fewer calories than you use.

You can either consume fewer calories (eat less), use more calories (excercise, drugs, or illness), or both.

Once you accept that fact, you can decide how you want to accomplish your goal. If a diet claims to violate the above principles (otherwise known as the First Law of Thermodynamics), then it either doesn't work, or it's water weight. If you hop over to the Atkins thread, you'll see that when the diet wasn't "working" for someone, the advice is to eat less, and start excercising. No mystery behind that diet, and no magic either.

A good rule of thumb: there are 3500 calories in a pound of body fat. If you consume 100 fewer calories a day than you used to, you will lose a pound of body fat every 35 days (or put on 1 pound less than you would have ). If you see people claiming to lose >1 pound of body fat in a day, ask them how they got rid of the 3500 calories. That's a lot of running.

And any weightloss diet should be measured by the percentage of your weight that is body fat. If you ever hear anyone talk about "losing x number of pounds", your first reply should be "pounds of what?". It could be water, hair (from a haircut), muscle, poop, and the list goes on...

A good estimate can be figured out here:

http://www.healthcentral.com/cooltoo...s/bodyfat1.cfm

And diets don't only affect your health through weightloss. You should also recognize the impact on the rest of your health. Don't get "tunnel vision" and just monitor the number of pounds you weigh.

Now what was this thread about again?

 

[DaveF]

Chris - agreed. I'm not recommending a starvation diet. Rather, there are many diets that recommend one food type versus another. But if you just care about weight loss, eating fewer calories than you burn is the answer. And with all things, moderation.

 

[Michael Varacin]

Anyone serious about weight loss / fitness should have a body fat scale. They are not perfectly accurate, but a good indication. They can be had for about $100 at any major sports store, and they really do work well.

It's really important to measure % body fat rather then total body weight.

 

[Anders Englund]

I've realized that I'll never get rid of my gut. So here's the new plan: I lift weights so my chest and shoulder will get larger than my gut. No luck so far.

Seriously. If you wanna lose weight, fine. But do it in a way that's right for you. Some people may be able to do it by eating less. Not me. I eat the same as I always has, but I'm execising more: Racketball once a week, and weightlifting once or twice. Feels great. Don't know if I lose any weight/fat, but it makes me feel god, and that's what's important.

And Michael, no offense, but IMHO such devices are bullsh*t. Forget the numbers, just try to FEEL good.

--Anders

 

[Robert_Z]

I've also seen my resting heartrate drop a few beats per minute, and my blood pressure has dropped too.

I have noticed that my heartbeat seems to have chilled out a bit too, for lack of a technical term.

 

[Chris PC]

When I went to give blood last year, after having been doing my diet and fitness for over a month, the woman was taking my pulse and cocked her head to the side after counting for 15 seconds, calculated my heart rate and asked me if I exercised. I smiled and said, "Oh yeah, plenty". My resting heart rate was 45

 

[Michael Varacin]

Anders,

Such devices are not BS. As I said, anyone SERIOUS about weight loss should get one. There are two things here...being serious about weight loss, and feeling good. Yes, a body fat scale is not needed to feel good. But I take my fitness SERIOUSLY and would not have any idea my true weight without a clue what my body fat % is. Feeling good is a result.

As far as the resting heart rate, it does go down with fitness. Everyone's heart rate varies, but typicaly the better your cardio condition, the lower the resting heart rate. It's a known fact.

Another device that Anders might consider BS would be a heart rate monitor. It's another valuable tool for cardio training that can be had for $50 these days.

 

[Chris PC]

Devices are fine. You want certain results and the devices help you monitor your progress more precisely than looking at your self in the mirror. Use a combination of body fat measurements, your appearance and your physical fitness level including your weight lifting numbers. All in all you are able to track your progress and work towards your goal. Otherwise, you are not maximizing your results. Sure you can exercise and eat better and feel better, but if you want to improve your fitness and lose fat, reach a specific goal, tracking your results is the way to go.