Weight Loss and Diet Support Group

[Draka]

Well done on the 20lbs! Are you feeling the difference in the way you move?

I'm feeling the difference in the way I carry myself if that's what you mean. My clothes fit looser and I find myself putting my hands on my hips/at my waist a lot more. I think just for the novelty in that it feels so different there now. My butt, or rather the change in it, I'm finding remarkable and I keep kinda feeling it like "whoa, that's different".

I am going to start a diet, or rather stop eating anything that is "bad" tomorrow. Your thread encourages me

Good luck with that. Temptations do arise to eat or drink certain things you know you shouldn't. And sometimes you may have slips (I did slip a couple miniature Snickers from the leftover Easter candy about a couple weeks in) the thing is to not let any little slips make you think you've ruined your plan. Also, the rare treat (like the cupcakes I had) is not a bad thing. If you're doing well all around, a treat isn't going to ruin that.

 

[Draka]

Another 5lbs down. 25 total so far and still going. Had a beer last week. Was SO good :drool:

 

[strikeviperMKII]

The equation of calories works, but it is hard to find a diet that is low enough in calories. On average, a person needs about 1700 calories if there is no physical exercise. If you eat less than that, you'll loss weight.

It works...but in my opinion, its clumsy. I don't think it addresses any of the major issues that cause people to gain weight. For me, it was serving size. I would eat way too much food, and I gained a lot of weight because of it. I also ate at all the wrong times. If you eat a lot of food right before bed, all those calories are going straight to your hips (or stomach in my case).

My equation is to eat small regular meals. About every three to four hours I have something to eat. An apple, a granola bar...anything but those sugary snacks that don't really fill you up anyway. I also found that skipping breakfast is a very bad idea. If there was a meal to skip, it would be dinner. The biggest meal of the day should be breakfast, so make time for it.

Okay, rant over. Take what you will.

 

[Onkara]

Good advise Strike!
I have found smaller meals mean more control. The issue is the more hungry you feel the more you are likely to eat. I like the logic with dieting.

Well done Draka!
another 5lb, that is 2kilos, hope you took before and after pictures for you add campaign!

 

[Draka]

Another 2 weeks and I just feel like I'm hovering now. One day the scale tells me I've lost 27 lbs and the next it says I've gained a pound back and it's frustrating. Though, come to think of it, last week was my daughter's birthday and I did indulge in a few cupcakes that week. So that might have hampered me a bit. But I still stuck to a good calorie budget even with the cupcakes. Oh well. I guess I give myself another week and see how things are going. I might need to adjust my exercise regimen a little. Did slack off a bit during my period (also last week).

So looking forward to being able to say I've lost 30lbs. Keep the milestones coming!

 

[Onkara]

Well done Draka
I am not sure why this plateau affect happens. I have seen it and others have told me that they stick too. I am not sure if you need to change eating or exercise routine to kick start it again or not....

I have lost almost 3 kilos, about 7.5 lbs, so I still have a long way to 30lbs but I feel encouraged!

 

[Draka]

Well done Draka
I am not sure why this plateau affect happens. I have seen it and others have told me that they stick too. I am not sure if you need to change eating or exercise routine to kick start it again or not....

I think I'm just going to keep going with the diet like I have been and just make sure I'm exercising regularly and, for the moment, chalk up the wall to cupcakes and inactivity during period. Going to go another week or so and see how things progress.

I have lost almost 3 kilos, about 7.5 lbs, so I still have a long way to 30lbs but I feel encouraged!

Congratulations! Got the ball rolling. Stick to it!

 

[Draka]

33lbs so far and still counting.

Today has been a hard day. I usually do so very well with feeling satisfied and not being hungry, but today has been different. I don't know why, but I've just felt hungry all day. Everything sounds good and I want to snack on it all. I keep getting the munchies and to keep myself from giving in I've been chomping on gum quite a bit. I'm down to 3 sticks left so this better not carry on into tomorrow.

 

[blackout]

33lbs so far and still counting.

Today has been a hard day. I usually do so very well with feeling satisfied and not being hungry, but today has been different. I don't know why, but I've just felt hungry all day. Everything sounds good and I want to snack on it all. I keep getting the munchies and to keep myself from giving in I've been chomping on gum quite a bit. I'm down to 3 sticks left so this better not carry on into tomorrow.

That's awesome!

Is your success mostly diet related,
or is exercise a major part of your weight loss routine?

 

[Draka]

That's awesome!

Is your success mostly diet related,
or is exercise a major part of your weight loss routine?

My exercise routine fluctuates as it's sometimes not easy to set aside solid blocks of uninterrupted time to work out considering the kids and Tim's work schedule. So the vast majority of the weight loss is attributable to my diet itself. I've been a calorie counting fool for a few months now. And it's working. At first it seems a little much or a hassle, but after a while it becomes second nature and takes no time at all to mentally work out the numbers. I also keep a small notebook where I log down what I eat everyday, the calories, my exercise and even a check off for taking my multivitamin every morning with breakfast. I even made up a playlist for my computer and my MP3 player of upbeat songs to walk/run/dance to to make workouts that much easier.

 

[ConfusedKuri]

How do I know what exactly I should change in my diet if I want to lose weight?

 

[Draka]

How do I know what exactly I should change in my diet if I want to lose weight?

Well, I can only say what's working for me. I've lost 36lbs in about 4 months, so it's working pretty well.

I'm not doing any fad diets or tricks or drinks or even Weight Watchers or the like. I'm simply monitoring my calorie intake and making sure I try to exercise on an, at least, somewhat regular basis.

First thing to do is to figure out what your basic caloric needs would be. Finding a calorie calculator is the easiest way to do this. Here's one I've used: Calorie Calculator - Daily Caloric Needs

Once you know how many calories you need to maintain the weight you are now with the activity level you have, you can begin to figure how many calories to try to set your goal at. When limiting your calorie intake you will find that you will naturally end up eating healthier food as you simply cannot afford to eat the junk type food that has the higher calories. You'll simply never feel full and always feel hungry. Also, you may find that eating several small portions throughout the day helps you from feeling hungry at any given time instead of waiting for set mealtimes for larger meals. You'll tend to get hungry between those meals and be more susceptible to snacking.

I've found the best thing for me to do was get a couple small notebooks. One is where I log everything I eat, the calories, and my exercise for everyday. This helps to keep me on track and see what it is I'm doing and what I can adjust in my diet as I go. The other notebook is basically a journal. Where I track my highs and lows, my ideas, my weight loss, even my body measurements.

There are sites such as Calorie Count which can help you find how many calories are in different things you eat.

Another thing to keep in mind is that weight loss isn't the most important thing when it comes to having a healthy body structure. Your body fat percentage has a lot to do with it. Here is a site to help determine what yours is: Online Body Fat Percentage Calculator

Here are the charts to determine what those percentages mean: Body Fat Percentage Charts for Men and Women


Again, these are the things which have helped me. No tricks, no fads, no special diet. Just watching what I eat, the calories, portion sizes and so on. It works well as long as you can stick to it. And really, once you've stuck to it a while it becomes easier and easier and almost second nature.

 

[ConfusedKuri]

Well, I can only say what's working for me. I've lost 36lbs in about 4 months, so it's working pretty well.

I'm not doing any fad diets or tricks or drinks or even Weight Watchers or the like. I'm simply monitoring my calorie intake and making sure I try to exercise on an, at least, somewhat regular basis.

First thing to do is to figure out what your basic caloric needs would be. Finding a calorie calculator is the easiest way to do this. Here's one I've used: Calorie Calculator - Daily Caloric Needs

Once you know how many calories you need to maintain the weight you are now with the activity level you have, you can begin to figure how many calories to try to set your goal at. When limiting your calorie intake you will find that you will naturally end up eating healthier food as you simply cannot afford to eat the junk type food that has the higher calories. You'll simply never feel full and always feel hungry. Also, you may find that eating several small portions throughout the day helps you from feeling hungry at any given time instead of waiting for set mealtimes for larger meals. You'll tend to get hungry between those meals and be more susceptible to snacking.

I've found the best thing for me to do was get a couple small notebooks. One is where I log everything I eat, the calories, and my exercise for everyday. This helps to keep me on track and see what it is I'm doing and what I can adjust in my diet as I go. The other notebook is basically a journal. Where I track my highs and lows, my ideas, my weight loss, even my body measurements.

There are sites such as Calorie Count which can help you find how many calories are in different things you eat.

Another thing to keep in mind is that weight loss isn't the most important thing when it comes to having a healthy body structure. Your body fat percentage has a lot to do with it. Here is a site to help determine what yours is: Online Body Fat Percentage Calculator

Here are the charts to determine what those percentages mean: Body Fat Percentage Charts for Men and Women


Again, these are the things which have helped me. No tricks, no fads, no special diet. Just watching what I eat, the calories, portion sizes and so on. It works well as long as you can stick to it. And really, once you've stuck to it a while it becomes easier and easier and almost second nature.

Okay I'll check them out now is it true that one has to find the right workout? e.g. for some dancing, for others cardio etc. work better? There is no general rule that applies to everybody?

 

[Draka]

Okay I'll check them out now is it true that one has to find the right workout? e.g. for some dancing, for others cardio etc. work better? There is no general rule that applies to everybody?

I don't believe there is any general rule which applies to everyone. There are just basically two kinds of workouts when it comes down to it. Cardio and strength. It is best to have some kind of a balance between them, but as everyone is different one may find that their body does best with 70% one and 30% the other or 60/40 or so on. Go at your own pace and see what your body can do at a very basic level in different kinds of workouts and adjust your goals from your starting point on an exercise by exercise basis.

 

[ConfusedKuri]

Okayy I will experiment around. Btw I calculated my BMI and my Calories, I hope I can find some sort of diet tipps on the page as well...

 

[Draka]

You can always check out Health.com as well. There's always stuff there about foods and diet and exercise and so on.

 

[ConfusedKuri]

Thankssssssss a lot

 

[Shadow Wolf]

My latest efforts ended in disaster. I was doing very good, I had adjusted my diet, I was walking four miles in the morning then swimming for an hour and a half to two hours, and then walking two miles in the evening. I lost 40 pounds in two months. And then I tore my meniscus disc in my left knee (again) while swimming.
I did find this site of help and interest.The Most Accurate Calories Burned Calculator, They have a very long list of activities, and approximately how many calories it burns. Things from running, swimming, jogging, putting away groceries, studying, and even sex.

 

[Draka]

Went off my diet for a couple weeks. Was kind of like a vacation. Ate some things I had denied myself and lounged around instead of exercising. Started back in this past Monday. Although I've lost about 40lbs so far I'd still like maybe 20lbs more dropped off me. So, I figure I'm about 2/3rds through my trek here. Not too bad.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Draka reminded me about this thread!

I've been making a conscious effort to get my weight down for a while now... ever since I started pilot training. I'd been noticing for a while that I was starting to get a spare tire, but I never really did anything about it.

When I started training, my instructor asked me my weight - it's important for balance in a small plane. At the time, I was around 210, so I told him. He offhandedly said that it was close to the limit but OK... but if I gained 10 more pounds, I'd have to use a larger plane for my lessons.

Bigger airplanes cost more money to rent, so I realized that I now had financial incentive to get a bit of a buffer between me and that weight limit.

When I started dieting officially, my weight was 208. I've set my target as 185; going by BMI, it's still technically just in the "obese" range, but I'm okay with that - I'm fairly sure that I've built up more muscle mass than average through my martial arts, so I'm not taking BMI values as anything other than a rough guideline.

And as of today, my weight is 196.8, which is close enough to my halfway point that I'm calling it halfway.

I started at the beginning of August, so I've averaged about 5.6 pounds per month so far.