<p>I had the aforementioned slow creep of pounds over the past decades. I lost about 20# a few years ago and have kept it mostly off. I find I have to get mentally into a place where I just don’t care that much about food, I choose something unexciting and easy for lunch and eat the same thing every day for weeks at a time, just making it no big deal.</p>
<p>I do the best when I can maintain the mindset of just not caring that much about food. It does not always work, sometimes I am starved, but I approach each day anew and take it one pound at a time.</p>
<p>I try to do what my slim kid does-fidget and wiggle all the time, any little thing to add a little extra calorie burning at any extra moment. </p>
<p>I eating small meals and really avoid polite eating, like consuming a full dinner just because every one else does.</p>
<p>I now weigh myself frequently, the same time of day for consistency, to make sure there is not too much creeping of pounds going on ;)</p>
<p>About 4 years ago I was diagnosed with diabetes, probably one of those funky “new” diabetes like Type 1.5. Although I was not technically overweight at the time, I still lost 20 pounds and have kept it off since. My diet secret is “FEAR”. </p>
<p>I am one of those people who absolutely loathes exercise and hates to sweat, but exercise helps keep my blood glucose in line. I don’t want to have a heart attack or lose a limb (hence the fear) - so I ride an exercise bike every day for at least 45 minutes. I still hate it and I don’t really have the time (yeah, I work outside the home, too), but I’m more afraid of death and disease.</p>
<p>-drink water. lotsa times, that will prevent a meal or snack because you really were thirsty
-sleep. its free. try to get 10-12 hrs a night. drop me a line after a month or two. I will bet my first born your weight is down (provided you aren’t doing stupid **** like eating five big macs a day)
-increase fiber+protein intake. protein has higher TEF than carbs/fats. fiber keeps you satiated
-increase fish oil intake. improves insulin sensitivity, among other things. you know whats a great snack when you are cutting fat? few fish oil pills and some ground flaxseed or something.
-eat your fats. fattest people you will see will remain that way because they are ■■■■■■■■ and will go for low fat or no fat stuff. If you don’t feed your body fat it will jack your triglyceride levels up. Seriously, I am not making this **** up. And no, saturated fats won’t clog your arteries, or whatever. And margarine is way worse than good butter.
-Most people would be better of having a fat intake of at least 30-40% and drastically reducing carbs, esp from sugary stuff. Best to get them from veggies and some starches, or whole grains if you are so inclined
-stay away from anything white…white flour, white salt, white bread, etc.
-no liquid calories. at all. if you are too weak to quit soda, whatever
-no snacking on candy/processed stuff…fruit or fiber is good</p>
<p>just some things off the top of my head.</p>
<p>oh, the scale is a dilemma. people will see they are 20 lbs lighter and get excited. maybe 10 lbs of that was lean tissue. thats terrible. keep pictures, keep BF measurements using calipers or something. You don’t want to lose lean mass. If so, you will lose a fat look and replace it by skinny fat.</p>
<p>generally speaking, gluten free or carbs free or fats free whatever are just fads and have no real relevant impact. well, sorta. Aktins diet is way flawed but if you are somewhat of an athlete (esp. strength ones), there are couple ways that ketosis could be induced with pretty good results (low carb, high fat diet). For the general population its probably not that necessary. Cleaning up your diet is simple enough.</p>
<p>Oh another thing. Don’t fast, don’t go on a ‘cleanse’, don’t go on a juice/cabbage/rutabaga, whatever the current fad diet is. Try not to go under 16x your lbs bodyweight in kcals when starting to cut…14x is as low as you can go without risking serious lean mass loss.</p>
<p>iloveagoodbrew, you make some excellent points, except gluten-free is not a fad, but a sad nutrition reality for folks with Celiac disease. Candy and white bread are what makes your a$$ grow large, my grandpa used to say. He used bacon generously in his cooking but was as skinny as a broom handle.</p>
<p>Thanks, BunsenBurner. Celiac is a serious problem for something like 25% of the population, most of whom do not know they have it. If you have frequent stomach upset (with all the unpleasant side effects), if you are bloated, and generally feel achy in the midsection, have yourself checked out. But make sure your doctor knows what you are thinking…my dh was diagnosed with about 4 different things over the years when it was Celiac all the time.</p>
<p>Interesting. I’ll look into it. I’m not susceptible to gluten’s side effects, but I suppose other people might be. Well bacon, or any fats, doesn’t actually make you fat. If only people could get that into their heads. I mean, fish oil isn’t going to give you scales, and carbs won’t make you sweet…yea.</p>
<p>I don’t like those guidelines, they have no basis in reality. Transfats and hydrogenated shouldn’t be part of you diet <em>AT ALL</em>. American Heart Association or whatever will be hard pressed to find any evidence or studies regarding saturated fats and clogged arteries. Their cholesterol recommendations are off as well. I’d honestly take what they say with a huge grain, ah, maybe a few table spoons of salt.</p>
<p>“Try not to go under 16x your lbs bodyweight in kcals when starting to cut…14x is as low as you can go without risking serious lean mass loss.”</p>
<p>Interesting iloveagoodbrew ^ Could you explain what body weight in kcals? I researched it & thought it was bodyweight X 10 = # cals you should consume per day. Not sure if this is right…?</p>
<p>Well yes. If you go below a certain level your metabolism will take a hit and you probably won’t lose too much fat. Take me for example. I am 185 or so. 10x is 1850. I have lost weight (unintentionally) on ~2500-3000 without any physical activity. 14-16x is what I, and quite a few other coaches have noticed to be the limit where lean tissue loss can be avoided. If you are losing more than 2 lbs/week, you are risking that <em>unless you are humongous to start with</em>, like corpulent fat.</p>
<p>Wait, did you mean bw*10 is what you should consume when not on a diet? That is nuts, you’d rot away very quickly.</p>
<p>Um…I was just trying to figure out how many calories is optimal to consume, per day, according to your body weight (I thought that’s what the kcals were about). I gain quickly if I go over a certain # of cals per day, but also lose quickly (comes back, though) if I go under. Can’t seem to find the optimal ‘lose permanently’ amount. </p>
<p>So, if, say, a person is abt 118 lbs–how many cals should they be eating per day to lose wt slowly & not have it be a quick lean muscle loss? If you don’t mind…</p>
<p>I’m sorry…I didn’t want to post that & be annoying. I am small-boned w/the kind of bone structure that shows a few lbs. My one gf is big boned & very naturally muscular. She & I have completely different weights at which we look/feel ‘fit.’</p>