[Leon]

tehk, if that method of dieting doesn't work, than why has it worked for me?

twice?

[Leon]

so anyway, my diet is going pretty well so far. i'm feeling better, that's for sure! whether or not i've lost any weight, i don't know, as i don't have a scale, but then day-to-day weight measurements aren't really useful. on Monday of this week (6-25-07) i weighed in at 188 (nude). this weekend i'll check myself again, though i don't expect much of a loss, since i only started running again Wednesday (through Toledo's Botanical Garden's no less, as it's a stone's throw from my new place).

[oompa]

how you eat is more important than what you eat. routine is everything, and it is for a reason. the body functions the way you want it to much better if it expects whats happening. eating less than normal meals doesnt make you lose weight at all, infact if it does - its temporarily and either way its not healthy in the long run.

by regularly i mean i dont care if its an apple. no chewing gum, no mints, nothing that -fools your tummy that its gonna get something and starts processing-. eat something like breakfast, early lunch, early dinner and one meal again a good while before going to sleep, all but breakfast home cooked food. food dont add weight nomatter what. you must make your tummy adapt to only getting food at regular intervals.

dont bother with all these charts about this and that. your body can recover from being shot outside of any vital part, it could withstand you getting lost in a winter for days with no food etc etc. it can easily manage to maintain weight without you counting milligrams of carbos or vitamins.

think like this: proteines, carbos, and vegetables.
proteins being mainly meat. we are meat eaters, beans/other prot's once in a while. carbos being rice, pasta and potatoes. these three mainly. something else once in a while. a plate of one third meat, one third pasta/rice/potatoes and one third salad of any kind is an enough level of detail in what you eat.
fruit is ok, but hard drawn its just water and "sugar". the reason its not so good isnt that it contains anything bad, but it will screw your routine you try to get going with meat, carbos and vegs.

the second part is the exercise. once your tummy is beginning to expect food at regular intervals and is bitching less about sugar and fat, it will pick up all the nourishments and lose excess carbohydrates and fat -MUCH more effective-. much more. this makes such a big difference. to lose weight healthy is about exercising. i swear that when i was doin military service, i could have been drinking olive oil and chew butter for meals and still wouldnt gain a pound. (tho it wouldnt be healthy lol).

its just as important with exercise as with food to do it regularly. your body will take some time to adapt at first, just like your tummy. after that you will loose weight much more effectively but it requires that you are eating right. to eat right and exercise right requires what is often hardest to find: motivation.

its kinda hard to go on a 45 minute jog if you just worked an extra shift and have a headache. do it anyway, just dont push it. activate your body for the same period of time but maybe take a walk instead. this routine is as decisive as the eating one. slowly try to find a good workout schedual. slightly to tough, you will wear out. it will take more or less time but it will happen. to easy and its not efficient.

walking/running/jogging is by far the best way to lose weight. weight lifting builds muscles and makes you sweat = you lose water. thats roughly about it. running means you tell your body to move fast. not only will you lose weight all over but as a bonus the body will eventually respond to this by losing weight even more efficient in order to make you faster. its a good trick.

another good thing is to run before you eat. the body picks up all the good stuff in food more efficient if you just had a workout, and you chill down afterwards. this is cus for hundreds of thousands of years, the body was developed for hunting, wich meant running, catching, eating, resting. its still in the genes.

as a last thing: since motivation is the hardest part, care for it in any way possible. its no biggie if you wait an extra five minutes before taking that long jog, or taking a minute in the middle. as long as it doesnt lead to bigger breaks in the routine, its more important than losing the will to do it in the end.

to maintain the motivation is so important that most people fail to maintain it cus they are to strict wich makes it a mental burden. it shouldnt be. care for the motivation, while maintaining the eating and exorcising routine.

[DelfinoPie]

I love this thread...tehk's advice is awesome an e-rep heading your way after this post.

I was going to make a post about trying to lose weight but seeing as this one is already up and running I'll jump onboard this train of thought.

Yeah so I've been meaning to lose weight for some time, I am a procrastinator but since I started working I've become a lot more motivated. And seeing as a large part of my jobs is physically demanding I thought it could help as well as eating the right food and at the correct intervals.

What pushed me over the edge to do it today was when my parents were talking about my next door neighbour who is one year older than me and how she has put on weight. In my opinion she was hot but yes, she has put on a few lbs over the last few years. As have I. Then my Dad randomly said that I was 'turning into him' and that I was getting chubby cheeks. Not good when diabetes runs in your family lol.

So yeah, great thread...words of advice will be heeded.

[tehk]

how you eat is more important than what you eat. routine is everything

Very well put. I can lose 5 pounds a day if I wanted, I think anyone can. Just don't drink anything or eat anything, weigh yourself in the morning and whooop! 5lbs magically disappear. But, once you drink/eat something, your weight will go up again.

The whole "extreme food deprivation" dieting method is totally flawed, and I do NOTTT recommend it to ANYONE. Consuming less calories will equal fat loss, that is a given. However, you must do it correctly and intelligently! Research ways you can calculate it for yourself.

I keep mentioning research. I think I've done that in about 80% of my posts, however, I think I'm going to say it in every single response from now on, just to get in your heads .

I know my stuff, a lot more then what an average person would know regarding diet/training. Hell, I know a lot more then my peers regarding muscular functions and food, and they're majoring in the medical fields. Even so, I continuously research everyday - yes, I really do. I use the "Wikipedia" method of doing my research; example, I know what protein is, but what is protein synthesis?.. K, Protein synthesis, got it, but how do Branched Chain Amino Acids help produce it? etc...........

This is a great tip for ANYONE wanting to gain/lose weight, and I use this method everyday:

To monitor your progress, use the MIRROR, NOT the scale.

Edit:
There's a lot of mentioning of protein within this thread. I'm sure the first thing that pops into people's minds are, "Excess protein equals muscles. Therefore, I should only do so if I want mass." Wrong. First of all, its is very, VERYYYYYYYYYYY hard to put on pure muscle mass. 1-4 lbs a month on average, taking in consideration of your genetics, if you've trained HARD ENOUGH.

Calories are divided up into Proteins, Carbs, and Fats. Think of it this way.
Your calorie intake is 100%. Carbs and Fats should be cut down when you want to lose fat. Simple enough, everyone should know this.
Therefore, you should divide your calorie intake like so:

60% Protein
20% Carbs
20% Fats

Savvy?

Oh yea, if you plan to consume more protein, drink more water.

[Marko]

Wow, I rarely visit these non-music sections, so I was quite suprised to find a thread like this - and a very informative one I must say

My exams are coming to an end, and I'll finally have some time for myself... I had a cool routine - running every 2 out of 3 evenings with a warm up i did at home (basically, just a ton of pushups and situps) and a nice relaxing bath afterwards But since then I had a 2-week break and I've lost the edge...

I'll try to start it all over in a few days... maybe even start going to the gym...

This diet thing is where I'm absolutely clueless... I skipped the biology classes when I was a kid and now it's catching up. All I know is that I drink lots of green tea(I hate coffe but i need a stimulant of some sort) and obscene amounts of water. I'll sure try to follow TEHK's advide - as much as the circumstances allow

[tehk]

I'll sure try to follow TEHK's advide - as much as the circumstances allow

Why thank you .

The best way to discovering a diet plan that works best for you is to try out sample ones provided by professional/legitimate sources. On the way, tweak them to suit your personal lifestyle and to optimize your results. However, before you begin ANYTHING, make sure you have a good idea of what you're going to be undergoing. Your body and your mental/physical well being is an investment. Loads of time, money, and energy will be utilized to reach your goals. Therefore, try not to waste any of your precious resources.

That's one of the few reasons why I'm pushing the research thing. I'll provide 2 of the most useful websites in terms of all things dieting and exercising.

Bodybuilding.com's Main Page - The Largest And Most Complete Bodybuilding Site Online! Bodybuilding Info.
Yes, kinda obvious. But, it is one (if not) the best website for this kind of stuff. Plus, they have a neat little store where you can order stuff

Bodybuilding.com Forums - Bodybuilding And Fitness Board
Personally, I believe this is more informative then the previous link. And, being a member of a seven string board, I'm sure you'll share my opinion for the praise of forum information. I find motivation in many sections of the forum; member's photos, member's lift stats, new routine ideas, etc.. It makes me say to myself, "I wanna lift that much", or "That sounds like a great idea. I'm gonna try that!". With that motivation, I can't wait to get to the gym. Simply awesome.

[thedownside]

thanks for this thread guys. i've been wanting to get back into beter shape, and this might almost be enough motivation to do it.

i used to be super active, 2 hockey teams at once, football, track, kickboxing, but then i blew out my knee kickboxing and basically havent done anything since (many years). i've always been thick, but not like i am not, atleast some of the gut has to go.

but it's hard to motivate me to do anything about it, which has been one of my biggest hurdles. that and the diet part. i used to eat anything, and everything i could (mainly bad for you stuff). my matabolism is high already, if it wasnt, i'd be sooo big, cause i live off of grease and meat. so what to eat is the biggest issue for me really. i know i can work out as much as i want, and how i eat is gonna stop so many gains.

but maybe i'll give it a shot in the next week or so (my gf is out of town for the next month starting next week, i'd like to even loose a little and surprise her when i see her again). but i have my bands first show this week, so nothing will be happening this week, enough on my plate as it is

[Jeff]

I'm doing better on the meal thing; although I wouldn't call them all meals, I've been eating 5 times a day instead of the standard 3. Haven't missed a beat with working out either, though yesterday was rough. 3 miles on rollerblades, and the streets are kinda rough here. So my ankles hurt!

[tehk]

3 miles on rollerblades, and the streets are kinda rough here. So my ankles hurt!

Hahaha, I hope you recover soon then