Help! I need your tried and true weightloss solutions

[thebiglebowski]

After I drop the kids off at school every morning I start to turn left to go home, but turn right and head straight to the McDonald's drive thru for the #2. I dont even have to tell them any more, they just know. Pretty pathetic. I dont think mild stimulants will be a problem, since I'm not craving the meth any more at alk. So I may be able to combine something like that with a better diet. I need to switch to black coffee also. If it isnt fast food, it's a caramel macchiato. Im so ready for this. Ive done it before, but with starvation, so I know I have will power in here somewhere.

 

You aren't ready for the supplements. Watch the movie (don't mean to be a broken record, but it is way more thorough than what anyone here can say). Try and eat a vegetable with every meal. No fast food and black coffee (as you have obviously admitted you need to do). Come back and post when you are there. It's a process and no need to try and change too much at once.

[IanRees]

Yep, and don't starve yourself.

[thebiglebowski]

mainly they are derived from whey protein which is just going to raise your blood sugar and consequently raise your insulin level, which just promotes fat storage.  

 

Do you have a good reference on this (hopefully based on a university study)?

 

I'm not saying I don't believe you but a post-workout whey protein shake has been a staple for lifters probably as long as I have been alive. Would definitely need some convincing before I changed that. But I'm open to listening / reading.

[noodle]

^ weight lifting is never bad but someone with 30 or 40% body fat should probably spend all (or maybe 90%) on cardio. This is that range where someone is so out of shape that it just flies off with exercise (ie, more than 15 or 20 pounds in a month). When this stops, then it's time to bring in the weights and change things up. Just a little wrinkle to what you said.

 

Yeah... Agreed... are they 40% body fat?

those are definitely important factors.  good thing to point out!

[thebiglebowski]

Yeah... Agreed... are they 40% body fat?

those are definitely important factors.  good thing to point out!

 

I don't know what the record is or anything but I've definitely heard of 40-50% body fat and even higher. We are talking about someone who is dangerously obese. Like a 300 pound man under 6 feet tall and not an "athletic big".

[steviex2shoes]

Yep, and don't starve yourself.

Yeah you really don't need to starve yourself. If you're hungry you should eat just better food options rather than fast food or snacks like potato chips or other really carby foods.

[partysmasher]

Definitely agree with people saying you'll have better results from a lifestyle type change, if you take your time and stick the change out, the biggest benefit aside from anything health-related is that it should become so ingrained that you'll find it hard to not keep it up. That's certainly what i've found anyway. I play 60 mins of five-a-side football (soccer) on a monday and on top of that over the course of the week i'll run two or three times and do two or three sessions consisting of a half hour cycle followed by 15 mins of fairly intense free weights and body weight exercises - on average i probably do some sort of exercise six out of seven days. I've not always been this active, i was actually in terrible shape in my early 20s. But once i got into it i managed to make it a big enough part of my life that not doing it makes me feel worse than any of the shitty early morning or freezing cold runs that i've had to force myself to do.

 

My advice would be to learn how to eat well and healthily, use the my fitness pal app if you can (i use this to help myself drop some weight if i feel it's needed) because it'll really make you realise how much of a difference eating a chocolate bar and a couple of cans of coke every day will add up to and i guarantee it'll make you think twice. Also, find a sport or activity you like and go do it, join a team or a group of people who play because it makes everything way more enjoyable and if you really get in to it, you might even find that it encourages you to exercise outside of it to make yourself better at it! Don't go after quick fixes cos they'll be intense, unsustainable and your only thought will be to get through it!

[thebiglebowski]

Also, to the OP, since you have kids I'm going to assume you don't have tons of flexible income. Just seems like it is usually that way in general for everyone. I friggin hate Trader Joes. I love my local fruit / farmer's market. Today I bought bananas, apples, lettuce, cabbage, carrots, avocados, sweet potatoes, green peppers, and mushrooms. Hard to describe the quantities but it is enough food for me (I live alone) to eat for a week if all I ate was this food. Cost me $8.

 

If you look around, you'll find the place around you like this. Just to give an example, the closest supermarket to me was selling avocados for $2 each last time I was there. I got them for 50 cents each today.

 

So my point is obviously, that $$$ is not a reason to eat unhealthy food. Just gotta find the right place. I have found Trader Joes to be 2-3 times more expensive than the local market.

[IanRees]

In California Sprouts is a good farmers market type thing buts its a store with about the same prices.

[Shitty Rambo]

Just run and eat more whole foods. Easiest and fastest way. Even if you only do 20 minutes a day 5 days a week you'll see results within 2 weeks.

[000000]

Went processed food free and doing a damn good job of following Paleo over the past 8 days.  I was going to a gym since October but wasn't seeing the results I wanted.  Finally decided to commit to a new diet (tough when you still live at home and not on your own/buying your own food, etc) and I'm feeling good.  Haven't seen a lot of changes yet but I know it's coming and it'll be worth it.

[noodle]

eat a balanced 1,500 calorie diet, cardio for 1 hour x 4 days a week... 8-10 pounds loss in a month, safely.  

good food well help, being active and doing some good cardio will only enhance those results.

[thebiglebowski]

eat a balanced 1,500 calorie diet, cardio for 1 hour x 4 days a week... 8-10 pounds loss in a month, safely.  

good food well help, being active and doing some good cardio will only enhance those results.

 

Really shouldn't recommend a number this way. It is very specific to body type. It can easily be calculated:

 

http://weightloss.about.com/od/eatsmart/a/blcalintake.htm

[JessRD]

Do you have a good reference on this (hopefully based on a university study)?

 

I'm not saying I don't believe you but a post-workout whey protein shake has been a staple for lifters probably as long as I have been alive. Would definitely need some convincing before I changed that. But I'm open to listening / reading.

 

Quick (very quick browsing of just the internet) lead me to this http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/pdf/1743-7075-9-48.pdf

I didn't read through the whole thing, but I seems like others I have read. I honestly don't have much time right now to look around. I have access to tons of medical journals at work, I could always check it out tomorrow.

 

I was just saying for weight loss, whey protein does tend to spike insulin and I believe it's pretty well accepted now that high insulin levels promote fat storage.  

 

I know what you're saying about post-workout whey protein shakes for lifters, but I think their goals are different from the regular joe looking to lose weight. 

[maneatingcow]

I've actually got to start looking at going on a diet or at least taking more time in eating a healthy and diverse group of food.

 

I'm 5 ft 10 in and 160 lbs so not the typical look of someone who needs to lose weight.  I have, however, went from 4% body fat 10 years ago to sitting in the low 20%'s now.  It's showing with the pot belly I'm growing. 

 

Soda is something I'm working on reducing.  Cutting it out at work is the first step, except working second shift it's easy to get have a bad night or get tired and go for the caffine.

[thebiglebowski]

Quick (very quick browsing of just the internet) lead me to this http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/pdf/1743-7075-9-48.pdf

I didn't read through the whole thing, but I seems like others I have read. I honestly don't have much time right now to look around. I have access to tons of medical journals at work, I could always check it out tomorrow.

 

I was just saying for weight loss, whey protein does tend to spike insulin and I believe it's pretty well accepted now that high insulin levels promote fat storage.  

 

I know what you're saying about post-workout whey protein shakes for lifters, but I think their goals are different from the regular joe looking to lose weight. 

 

Yeah, that isn't the easiest read in the world. I didn't look too hard but I see a problem with that (at least, drawing a conclusion about whey from it). Their experiment 16.7 grams of protein with 25 grams of carbs, whereas your average protein powder has something like 25 grams of protein vs. 3 grams of carbs. So clearly they are studying milk here, not protein powders. That doesn't mean the thing is worthless or anything.

 

It's a little weird to digest this. So leucine (and other amino acids) stimulate insulin production, but at the same time, I can pull this off wikipedia (I know, I ask for academic sources and then resort to wikipedia...):

 

Leucine is the only dietary amino acid that has the capacity to stimulate muscle protein synthesis

 

So say that I am doing a cycle of bulk and cut. I have no question that the whey should be taken on the bulk. Not trying to slim down. The question is, when I am cutting should I use the whey protein to try and prevent muscle catabolism or not take it to keep insulin levels lower? I guess you could answer with "just eat chicken a couple times a day" but this is kind of impractical (requires cooking vs the shakes which are a quick mix) and animal protein wouldn't provide the same protein / calorie ratio. 

 

I don't know. Just thinking out loud. Maybe the right answer is that it should be taken preworkout when cutting to try and kind of exercise through the blood sugar spike? And I'm not talking average Joe here. I agree that shakes aren't needed for everyone.

[thebiglebowski]

I've actually got to start looking at going on a diet or at least taking more time in eating a healthy and diverse group of food.

 

I'm 5 ft 10 in and 160 lbs so not the typical look of someone who needs to lose weight.  I have, however, went from 4% body fat 10 years ago to sitting in the low 20%'s now.  It's showing with the pot belly I'm growing. 

 

Soda is something I'm working on reducing.  Cutting it out at work is the first step, except working second shift it's easy to get have a bad night or get tired and go for the caffine.

 

4% body fat is all-world bodybuilder ripped. It would almost be so little fat that your body could be put in danger if you didn't manage your nutrition perfectly. So I think you are estimating that a little wrong (unless I am wrong in assuming you were not a competitive bodybuilder type with every vein bulging out from under your skin). 

 

But that is kinda germane to your general point so back to it. If you want caffeine but not the sugar of regular pop or the stuff in diet pop that is basically formaldehyde, you can get a bottle of caffeine pills for like $4. Be careful not to go crazy with those either but if the choice is between the pill and a soda, the pill is much better for you.

 

Sounds like you otherwise know what you gotta do (as far as what foods to cut out and what to add). 

[youmightbewrong]

Okay, so I've already gotten off the soda. I did that awhile ago. I do have the insanity work-out program, that I am going to start again tomorrow morning. I'm in the right frame of mind to do this guys. It took me looking at that scale, just as it did the last time I lost 70 pounds. This time, I'm looking at the healthy road, because since I have fought with my weight since I can remember, I know it can't just be a short term thing, as it will come right back. I'm going to watch that movie thebiglebowski recommended for me to watch, and I'm going lean. I already started tonight at work with nothing but a chicken breast and a green salad. One of the biggest no-no's I have a problem with is eating all the wrong things, maybe only twice a day, but it's still all the wrong food. I'm taking a little bit of this and that from everybody's input so far, and I'll go from there. Thanks so much to everyone for all their great advice. I want to be able to report back here periodically with good news. Time will tell.

[somethingvinyl]

As far as exercise goes, I find it really hard to want to pay for a gym. I think, gyms have only been around for the past 50 years, why can't I get in shape by running like the Greeks?

 

There's this great free ap called Couch 2 5K. The approach is to get someone from the couch to running a 5K in just 8 weeks. It helps you pace yourself, starting just walking, then slowly adding in running. At this point, I run 3 minutes, walk 3, run 3, walk 3. I know it isn't much, but coming from someone doing nothing, it sure feels good.

 

Only downside, my limbs feels like they're in pain for the entire day after.

[lonesomexloveus]

 

As far as exercise goes, I find it really hard to want to pay for a gym. I think, gyms have only been around for the past 50 years, why can't I get in shape by running like the Greeks?

 

There's this great free ap called Couch 2 5K. The approach is to get someone from the couch to running a 5K in just 8 weeks. It helps you pace yourself, starting just walking, then slowly adding in running. At this point, I run 3 minutes, walk 3, run 3, walk 3. I know it isn't much, but coming from someone doing nothing, it sure feels good.

 

Only downside, my limbs feels like they're in pain for the entire day after.

i severely sprained my left ankle, and broke my right foot (and have had numerous stress fractures in the same place), so running isn't an option for me. a lot of super fitness freaks (mostly the body builder-type or the crossfit people) rag on planet fitness, but for $10 a month, you can't beat it.

[thebiglebowski]

^ I feel the same way about gyms but I would suggest a power rack, olympic bar, and 300 pounds of olympic weight in addition to running.

 

It can be had essentially for "free", meaning that if you buy on Craigslist you should theoretically be able to get your money back out of it 10 years down the road. Free weights have a drastic difference in price between retail and the aftermarket, but then they pretty much stay constant. A 45 pound plate manufactured 30 years ago does the exact same thing as one manufactured today.

[lonesomexloveus]

 

It's honestly all about building good habits and getting rid of bad habits.  Go two weeks without McDonalds and you won't even crave it anymore.  The problem is, fast food is addictive, there are actual food scientists that have the sole purpose of making that food addictive.  Get it out of your system and you wont want it anymore.  Once you start seeing positive change, maybe a pound or two, or a pant size, you'll crave more change and it just snowballs from there.  

 

i never ate a ton of fast food, but once i stopped eating it, it now literally disgusts me to think about it. i can't even remember the last time i was to a wendy's or mcdonalds.

FEELS GOOD, MAN.

[ronniegwilliams]

I love Planet Fitness, it's not great for serious body builder types looking to get all magilla gorilla like, but for basic workouts you can't really beat it.  

 

Okay, so I've already gotten off the soda. I did that awhile ago. I do have the insanity work-out program, that I am going to start again tomorrow morning. I'm in the right frame of mind to do this guys. It took me looking at that scale, just as it did the last time I lost 70 pounds. This time, I'm looking at the healthy road, because since I have fought with my weight since I can remember, I know it can't just be a short term thing, as it will come right back. I'm going to watch that movie thebiglebowski recommended for me to watch, and I'm going lean. I already started tonight at work with nothing but a chicken breast and a green salad. One of the biggest no-no's I have a problem with is eating all the wrong things, maybe only twice a day, but it's still all the wrong food. I'm taking a little bit of this and that from everybody's input so far, and I'll go from there. Thanks so much to everyone for all their great advice. I want to be able to report back here periodically with good news. Time will tell.

 

Also, look into eating a lot more small meals throughout the day, that will allow your metabolism to speed up, thus dropping off more unwated poundage.  Also, I said poundage, awesome. 

[thebiglebowski]

   

i never ate a ton of fast food, but once i stopped eating it, it now literally disgusts me to think about it. i can't even remember the last time i was to a wendy's or mcdonalds.

FEELS GOOD, MAN.

 

I realize Taco Bell wasn't mentioned. Wondering if it is intentional. That is still my weakness...

[AdventureIsOutThere]

I love Planet Fitness, it's not great for serious body builder types looking to get all magilla gorilla like.