[dysfunction]

I haven't kept a log in a while... it's a pain, but it's a useful tool when you're trying to lose a few. or a lot.

[Azbackcountry]

Well I was curious as to how much I was really eating and how many calories I was taking in, in a day...which is why I kept a food log and it was only for about 4 months or so. It was a great tool and opened my eyes really wide, but it was more of a PITA than anything. Now I just eat sensibly and when I fall off the food wagon and eat junk, I just spend a little more time at the gym, lifting heavier weights and spend a little more time on the treadmill.

[azbackpackr]

Boy if I did that I'm sure it would be an eye-opener! I know I nibble all the time, eat the cookies at work, etc. Keeping track would sure let a person know where all that flab is coming from!

[pencak]

I keep hearing about the 5 meals thing. I just am not that organized.

This and this alone is the #1 item that takes the most discipline. Going to the gym takes discipline but messing with your eating habits seems to take a lot more. I've done it, it wasn't easy but if you stick with it then it will become habit. I'll tell you how I did it.

Discipline Paradigm Shift - I don't eat, I put ingredients in my body.

Over a year ago I turned 49 and had 37% body fat at 265lbs. Both of my grandfathers lived into their 90's and I knew my quality of life would be miserable so I set out to lose the weight. At 50 I hit 212 and 18% body fat. It took diet and exercise. Very little cardio, mostly weights. For the diet I pre-calculated what I should take in and balanced it 40% carbohydrates, 40% protein and 20% fat. The key here is that I already know the maximum number of calories I need to take in to maintain my lean body mass and I take that in the proportions above. The carbs are complex. Only brown rice, legumes, vegies, etc. Protein is lean meat of multiple sorts. It's all divided into 6 meals. I only have to pre-make 4 of them and I do that all on the weekend (usually Sunday afternoon) for the week ahead.

I've been doing this for so long now that I feel weird if I don't do it. The key is that I take in less calories than I burn if I want to lose fat (no more than 10% though.) I meter the carbohydrates by making sure they are complex and broken up into 6 meals. This levels the insulin spikes. When your insulin spikes (like because of a candy bar or white bread) the unused energy is stored as fat for later use. Sunday for me is a day off. I eat normally and whatever I feel like but don't pig out. Also, I eat most of my calories in solid food (as opposed to meal replacement or protein drinks, etc.) because my body has to work harder at getting those calories. This further increases my metabolism.

The key to sticking with it and not having insane cravings is making sure you eat carbohydrates. When you don't get enough of those your brain will have your body breaking down walls to get at them. Fat is also a necessary ingredient. I try to stay away from fatty red meat and get omega 3 from fish etc. Apparently, from my investigation into it, we have a more difficult time losing fat if we cut all fat from our diets.

Bottom line.
Keep it balanced with protein, carbs & fat.
Take in less calories than you burn.
Stay away from concentrated quick release calories.
Try to reduce insulin spikes by breaking it up into 5 or more meals.
and...
Hike your pumpkin off all the time. It uses large muscle groups.


BTW when I look at the scale and see it creep up a few pounds because I've been falling off the wagon I realize that each pound of fat is something like a stack of 36 pancakes with butter and syrup that I will have to burn off with great effort. It helps to focus that slight change on the scale into what it really is.

One final note. When I started this I knew I would have to live this way for the rest of my life. This also helped. It's not a diet, it's a change in the way I eat forever. So far it seems to work well for me.

[azbackpackr]

I recently have lost 5 pounds. I could stand to lose 10 more. It really has made a difference in my "performance" which is a word I dislike, but you know what I mean. For example, although I had been going cross country skiing 2 or 3 times a week, and it seemed easy to ski uphill at a fast pace, I hadn't ridden my bike at all for over a month due to cold, snow and ice. I rode 22 miles on Sunday, and was amazed how easy it was to ride up steep hills, comparative to last fall before I had lost the 5 pounds.

I just switched out a few things in my diet. I try to eat nothing that has sugar added, for the most part. I eat a lot more salad meals, and I eat smaller portions of regular meals. I have not increased my exercise because I am studying so hard these days, but I do need to figure out a way to fit exercise into my busy schedule on a daily basis instead of two or three skis a week. Walking or biking to work was one thing I was doing that I let go, so will start that one again. After I lost the 5 pounds I stopped losing. So I need to start paying attention again.

[jeffmacewen]

Just don't make the mistake of cutting too far back on caloric intake; most research now points to this behavior putting your body into a gain\lose cycle that you'll never break free from. Exercise and activity are the key.

[azbackpackr]

Ok, good point, and also it has been pointed out to me to be careful to eat enough protein with all those salads. The weight loss was gradual, then stalled, but I didn't gain any back, so I tend to think it was pretty healthy.

[sundevilstormin]

currently reading two intresting books:
"Good Calories Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes
"Trick and Treat: How Healthy Eating is Making Us Ill" by Barry Groves
next up is "Cereal Killer" by Alan Watson

I'm gald that M. Obama is now heading the obesity epidemic... let the change continue!

I personally follow a mostly high protein, moderate fat, low carb "paleo" diet coupled with Crossfit exersize and biking to/from work during the week. My biggest weekness is the Costco dipped ice cream bars with nuts...YUM!

Tim Ferris has an interesting post on fat loss and starvation diets:
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2008/02/25/the-science-of-fat-loss-why-a-calorie-isnt-always-a-calorie/

It seems a bunch of my neighbors are doing the HCG 'diet' and they look like the walking dead! I guess 500cal/day "diet" will do that.

[jeffmacewen]

There's increasing evidence that it really does matter where your ancestors came from with regard to what you eat. Some people need more veg and less meat, others need to opposite. I just had to experiment to see what foods gave me the sustained energy I want without introducing a lot of fat or other undesirable stuff while all the time ensuring I was getting what I need. It takes thought and I would argue that this is why it escapes so many Americans. It's easier to just get a burger and say: "It's too complicated."

[dysfunction]

well, there are places I've lived where it was much easier to get a burger or a slice of pizza than it was to find a green grocer... Tucson ain't really one of them.. but parts of Baltimore certainly were (contrast Europe, where when I left in 93.. and it certainly may have changed.. one had to go out of their way to find a fast food joint in many instances, when all your grocers were on the high streets or fußgängerzone). Then there's the tripling of portion sizes in the last 25 years, that probably has more to do with our current state as a nation than the difficulty of properly determining nutritional needs.

[jeffmacewen]

well, there are places I've lived where it was much easier to get a burger or a slice of pizza than it was to find a green grocer... Tucson ain't really one of them.. but parts of Baltimore certainly were (contrast Europe, where when I left in 93.. and it certainly may have changed.. one had to go out of their way to find a fast food joint in many instances, when all your grocers were on the high streets or fu. Then there's the tripling of portion sizes in the last 25 years, that probably has more to do with our current state as a nation than the difficulty of properly determining nutritional needs.

Yes and no. A huge salad is not worse for you than a small hamburger on any day of the week.

[dysfunction]

I agree, finding a salad though.. was often a difficulty in those very same neighborhoods


Actually, a huge salad with a cup of cream based dressing, covered in cheese, bacon, etc, etc, etc may easily be worse for you than the burger

[jeffmacewen]

That isn't a salad. That's what I like to call "stealth fat."

[dysfunction]

In response to Jeff MacE:


... or.. most of the 'light' options at chain restaurants