I've been using my stepdad's Panasonic SL-SX330 portable CD player and it's never skipped on me even on vigorous walks. And best of all, it's cheap--only US$39.95. Decent .MP3 portable players start at US$90 and go WAY up from there. 
Posted on 01/21/2006 7:21:11 PM PST by RightOnline
I mentioned this superb list of rules/suggestions for fitness and weight loss in another thread, and my FReepmail box filled pretty quickly. :)
To keep this brief: The Lovely Wife and I got into weight lifting (strength training) a few years ago, and one of the companies from whom we purchased sports supplememts (whey protein, etc.) issues a monthly email newsletter. This particular one I kept, because to my mind, it is the best......by FAR........encapsulation of the things we should all do to lose weight and keep fit. Anything and everything I have learned about fitness fit in these "rules" very, very well. I have sent this to a fair number of people, and without exception, EVERY one of them has lost significant excess weight and is far, far healthier.......and in a way they can so easily live with on a daily basis.
Therefore, I'm sharing this with all of you in the hope that it may help one or two of you. I can only promise that if you print this out, tape it to your refrigerator, and diligently follow what you read here..........you will feel sooooooo much better in such a relatively short period of time, you simply won't believe it.
Top 10 Ways to Drop the Fat by Cathryn Majorossy
1. Eat 4-6 small meals per day. Spread your calories out evenly during the day to help keep your metabolism moving and your energy levels naturally high. Try to target balancing each meal so that they contain roughly the same amount of calories. Meal replacements and nutrition bars are an easy way to supplement up to 3 meals per day.
2. Balance each meal with protein, carbs and fat. By providing reasonable amounts of these three essential nutrients at each meal, your body will have the fuel it needs to run at an optimum level. Balancing the nutritional make-up of your meals also helps prevent the storage of body fat.
Preferred sources of protein: fish, lean meat, chicken, eggs, turkey, lean pork, protein powders. Preferred sources of carbohydrates: fruit, vegetables, beans, whole grains. Preferred sources of fats: olive oil, nuts, fish oils, canola oil.
3. Choose the right carbohydrates. When constructing your meals, select complex carbohydrates that are “colorful” and high in fiber (like fruits, vegetables, beans and nuts). Try to avoid highly processed carbohydrates like pasta, bagels, crackers, chips, soda and candy. Highly processed carbs have little nutritional value and can easily be stored as body fat. If it’s a carbohydrate and it comes in a bag or a box, you should be suspect.
4. Don’t forget completely about the fat. Despite the hype in the 80’s and 90’s, fat IS an important part of everyone’s diet and is necessary for fat loss. It may sound strange but it is the reality. One benefit is that fat is slow to digest so it makes you feel full and thus you eat less. Fat also helps in proper digestion of carbs and protein; without it your body cannot process food efficiently. The key is to select foods that are rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. These include salmon, mackerel, almonds, walnuts, olive and canola oils.
5. Eat until you are no longer hungry, not until you are stuffed full. A common mistake people make in their everyday eating habits is that they just eat too much. They eat until they are literally bursting at the waistline. You don’t need to be stuffed at every meal, or eat every bite . . . despite what your mom told you, it is ok to leave food on your plate. Even better, don’t put so much on your plate in the first place. Keep your portion sizes under control If you find yourself eating for no reason, or you just can’t stop, you are probably eating to fill a void in your life, as many people do. Taking some time to evaluate the areas of your life that are making you unhappy may help. Food is not the answer, and overeating always results in feeling worse.
6. Don’t cut your calories too low. Drastic calorie cutting attempts usually result in failure. If you are looking for lasting results and not just a quick fix, then your best bet is to aim for about 2/3 of your “normal” caloric, or food, intake. Putting your body into starvation mode will ultimately derail your weight loss attempts. Your body will fight back by trying to hold onto your fat even more tightly! Slow and steady wins the weight loss war.
7. Give yourself one, and just one, splurge day per week. If you are eating “clean” 6 days a week, you deserve a splurge day. Pick one day per week and save up all your cravings for that special day. Make a chocolate dessert, or have some extra pasta with dinner. Whatever it is, after 6 days of keeping your diet in order and keeping focused on your ultimate goal, you not only deserve a day of eating some of your favorite foods, but your body can also completely handle it. Remember, you cannot gain a significant amount of body fat in just one day. It takes months, in most cases, years of poor eating to add that weight. One splurge day a week is acceptable and even helpful; just make sure when the next day comes around, you get back in the saddle again and get ready for 6 more days of good clean eating and weight loss progress.
8. Get your body moving with exercise. You will not reach your fat loss goals without getting your body in motion. Exercise helps you burn calories more efficiently, improves blood circulation to all parts of your body (including your brain), helps your skin stay young looking, and even improves bone strength. Just 3 or 4 workouts per week is enough to get some truly life-changing benefits from exercise. There are so many types of activities you can participate in. There’s no excuse. Weight training exercises are great for both men and women to build muscle strength. The more muscle your body has, the more calories it burns per day. Cardiovascular exercise is a great way to get your blood pumpin’ and your energy levels high. And you can do some of your exercise outdoors and breathe in some of that fresh air too!
9. Drink plenty of water. Drinking at least 8 glasses of water per day is essential for fat loss. Water helps your digestion, helps you feel energized, gives you a feeling of fullness and keeps you looking young. In addition, water seems to act as a natural appetite suppressant. In fact, people on diets who do not increase their water intake will find themselves feeling “hungry” much more often and more severely than those who do up their water consumption.
One possible reason for this is that dieters are getting less water from their food, because they’re eating less food, so the body is actually craving fluid. These cravings can be significantly curbed with increased water intake.
10. Supplement wisely. The JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) now recommends a multi vitamin/mineral complex for all healthy adults. Also, a quality weight loss supplement may aid in your efforts and help you finally get rid of that unwanted fat. (Note: weight loss supplements work well only in conjunction with a healthy diet and exercise program).
Chunks of fatback?
After years of yo-yo dieting, I switched to the several very small “meals” a day. I also cut back on meat from three times a day to once every couple days. Peanut Butter sandwiches make a fine substitute, as does the occasional protein shake.
I have noticed the body going into survival mode about every ten pounds. After losing about 40 pounds it kicked in. I would cut back on the food intake and increase the exercise and get nowhere. I would go from 240 to 230 and (without increasing food intake) bounce back to 240. I would cut back further and increase exercise (weights) and drop to 230 – then bounce back to 240. I am now trying to get below the 220 mark – but my body just seems to like being around 225-230.
I can increase muscle easily, almost like I’m on steroids – but as the muscle mass increases and the body fat percentage (now around 20 - 25%) drops I gain weight. When I stop working out I also lose muscle mass fast – a result of age?
I actually have to stop the workout to lose a couple pounds. That’s hard to do – weight work is as addictive as running. It feels good when I’m done.
Sounds good. I figured almost all of those out on my own since the end of September as I've lost over 40lbs. One slight variation I have is on the carbs. Don't be afraid of carbs, just be reasonable and don't eat "empty" carbs. If it is bread or pasta, ALWAYS go with whole grain wheat. My wife has found whole wheat everything in the store or she grinds our own wheat and makes it herself. She's lost 25lbs in the same time period. We both feel so much healthier and younger not to mention how much slimmer we look. She's got only 5lbs to go but I'm only a little over half way to my goal.
I don't eat 4-6 meals a day. I eat 3 with a light snack in between each one. Breakfast is usually fatfree, low cal yogurt with some whole grain granola mixed in it and about 6oz of Hot&Spicy V8 juice. Snack is a piece of fruit around 10am. Lunch varies but is kept to about 250-300 calories and is very lowfat. I sometimes have a very low cal, low fat dessert after lunch like sugar free jello or fat free pudding or something. Afternoon snack is usually some 94% fat free popcorn or some rice cakes. Dinner varies but portion control is done and I avoid high calorie or fatty foods. Usually a ton of salad, 3-4 ozs of lean meat (if any), and a low fat, low calorie side dish. I usually wait an hour or more after dinner for a low fat, low cal dessert. Calculations say my body burns over 2500 calories a day and I'm keeping my intake at less than 1500 while eating healthy. I lose, on average, about 2.5 lbs a week doing this.
Get an MP3 player. No skipping at all. Learn about podcasts and find some favorites. Exercise your mind and body at the same time. My treadmill has a "media tray" specifically designed for a note book computer. I web surf while I exercise.
I'll word this terribly, but for a given volume, muscle weighs more than fat.
When I began working out, I was 180 or so (but had almost always been around 165). After a while, I was 192....but had dropped several inches around the waist and added inches to the chest and other areas.
IOW, when weight lifting, do NOT just go by 'weight' alone. You may very well put ON weight (especially when downing protein shakes right before and right after lifting; aka "the bracket method", a philosophy with which I happen to agree and have had great results), but the right kind and in the right places. Look at how your clothes fit; that's a sure sign...and that's what I go by now. My goal is to weight 200 pounds with < 10% body fat (and I'm 50 years old). Not far from that right now.
The rule my wife and I follow is "eat meat sparingly". Some may recognize that rule. It is part of a set of rules that we follow that we've had so much success with.
After a while, I was 192....but had dropped several inches around the waist and added inches to the chest and other areas.
I lost 30+ pounds a couple of years back (on advice of a Cardiologist)by exercise (brisk walking an hour a day) and Atkins.The pounds seemed to melt off of me.Atkins was surprisingly easy for me (a chocoholic and lover of all carbohydrates)...but you've gotta like water,chicken salad
and beef.
I've been using my stepdad's Panasonic SL-SX330 portable CD player and it's never skipped on me even on vigorous walks. And best of all, it's cheap--only US$39.95. Decent .MP3 portable players start at US$90 and go WAY up from there.
Har har har. ;-) Chunks of tofu.
Fatback goes much better with a pot of beans than tofu.
the Tao of Tofu indicates that substituting tofu for meat is a sin... But tofu& beans aren't bad together. ;-P
the Tao of Tofu indicates that substituting tofu for meat is a sin
A lot of people dislike the texture; however, it can be changed by boiling it, freezing it, or soaking it in sake. Tofu is the Chuck Norris of food. :-)
End of list.
Soaked in Saki? That I might be able to handle.
MP3 players start at about $30. The more songs/audio you want to hold, the more expensive it gets. I find it hard enough to manage 60 audio files, let alone the thousand the expensive players hold.
But you really need an MP3 player to practically listen to podcasts. You could do it with a CD player that plays CD RWs you burn on your PC, but it would be kind of painful.
I lost 60 pounds in this past year and I did it by not eating out as much, walking and biking and then I also got on weight watchers flexplan which I am a huge fan of. I am still looking to lose quite a bit more, and it's just a process. I think that one mistake a lot of people make is wanting it all off RIGHT NOW and when they don't lose 10 pounds in the first week they give up. Healthy weight loss is slow, steady weight loss!! And with exercise, your clothes start falling off of you which is the really exciting part of it.
Actually eating 6 times a day is a great way to lose as well. It keeps your metabolism going.
I also do Weight Watchers flexplan- I love the idea that I can have anything I want to eat- that takes away the guilt that comes from drinking a coke or having a cheeseburger-- I can have what I want I just have to compensate with what I choose for the rest of the day. And usually whatever food I am craving- I will start eating it and find out that halfway through the allure is gone and I stop eating it. If you are forbidden a food under a diet, you are more likely to eat it b/c if you're going to break the rule then you might as well go ahead and totally break it!! This way- I think "hmm I dont' really want this cheeseburger anymore and if I stop now I only have to write down that I ate half of it instead of the whole thing." LOL--- for me, writing down what I eat really changes what I choose b/c I look at something and think "OMG I don't want to have to write that down" so I won't eat it. Some people don't like this idea or think it's a lot of work but you'd be surprised how little effort it takes- especially as you can log in online, which is what I do-- log in my points and then head over to FR! :-)
And in re: exercise-- again people have to keep in mind that the goal is not to become a marathon runner after a month. I started out walking because I was so heavy that not much else was practical. And I would walk first for 15 minutes and then 20 and then- when I would get to 20 I would think-- just go another 3 minutes... Just pushing yourself for just a little bit more.... and the next thing I knew I was up to walking an hour. Same thing with my bike- go 2 miles and then see if you can go just a little bit more than you did before. Before i knew it was riding 5-6 miles no problem.
To really be successful at losing weight and keeping it off, you have to look at it as a lifestyle change and be willing to accept that you might gain a pound or two here or there, but that's ok- you can take it off next week. It's a gradual process, and this is not a race.
Learn to love your blender and your juicer. If you don't have a juicer, Black & Decker makes an affordable one for under $25. You can find it at Wal-Mart or Target, etc.
We keep the weight off by making healthy shakes, smoothies and juice mixes from fresh ingredients. I absolutely love carrots and apples juiced together and for breakfast today I had a smoothie made from frozen melon chunks, banana, skim milk (I also use soy milk), vanilla and a packet of Splenda. Scraps from our juicer go to the chickens, or you can throw them into your compost pile, too.
There are many cookbooks out there on juicing and smoothies, and of course you can find recipes on the web. It's an easy way to get a lot of nutrition & fiber into you without getting a lot of calories into you, too! :)
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