Posted on 08/12/2008 9:56:35 PM PDT by Bear_Slayer
I want to lose some weight and have been working-out on an "Elliptical" trainer (I think it is called) for a couple months. I do 3.5 miles in 30 minutes per day, and I work up a good sweat. I burn 300 - 350 calories.
My diet is crappy. I eat when I can and when I reduce intake I feel nutrionally starved. I then go for fats and carbs.
Thus the following questions to those that are willing to answer:
How much do you exercise per day (or week)?
What type of diet (eating style, foods, calorie intake) do you eat?
Are you over-weight?
Were you once over-weight and how much weight did you lose?
In what time frame did it take you?
What do you do for self-discipline (motivation)?
Put the TV behind the treadmill. Put on a Jane Fonda workout video. Turn on the treadmill and get on and pretend as if you're running away.
If that doesn't work, eat a healthy, American breakfast, cut down on the size of your lunch, and eat a healthy dinner. Combined with a steady workout plan, you'll start losing weight. Oh, and go to bed earlier than you normally would. Chances are you get hungry before you go to bed and decide to have an extra snack, completely wiping out your workout.
A good idea is to stop drinking if you drink alcohol. The calories in alcohol are not the problem, however, hangovers and happy hour tend to cut into your workout time and generally are bad for your health.
The elliptical is a good workout, but you should couple it with some resistance/weight training. Strengthening your muscles and building up your muscles is a good way to burn more calories continuously and feel better than just aerobic elliptical training.
For Breakfast, eat a hardboiled egg and take out the yolk, the whites are only 30 calories,
Eat about 600 calories at lunch and about a 1000 calories at dinner.
Throw in some snacks like jello or Low calorie yogurt and you wont even be hungry.
You will lose a pound a week or more.
Just check the web for the calories in what you eat you will be surprised.
And do not drink anything with sugar at all, drink water, seltzer, unsweetened iced tea or if you must, diet coke.
And you don't need to burn 300 calories a day in exercise, 150 a day walking at a medium fast pace on a treadmill is more sustainable over the long run with less stress on the joints.
> How much do you exercise per day (or week)?
I walk several times a week, by leaving the car at home if the trip is less than a 20 minute walk one way. Saves gas and so far Helen Clark hasn’t discovered a way to tax walking!
And I Patrol once or twice per week as a Guardian Angel. Maybe four hours of slow walking, with plenty of stops along the way.
> What type of diet (eating style, foods, calorie intake) do you eat?
I eat a normal diet: plenty of vegetables, potatoes or pasta, and meat. That’s dinner. Lite lunch. Lite breakfast. Lots and lots of hot tea with milk throughout the day. Easy on alcohol: maybe once per week a couple pints.
> Are you over-weight?
Yup — but I am rapidly losing weight, and keeping it off.
> Were you once over-weight and how much weight did you lose?
I was 265 lbs in February. I am 215 lbs now (August).
> In what time frame did it take you?
Six months, losing just under ten pounds per month.
> What do you do for self-discipline (motivation)?
Martial arts — but not overly strenuously. Who needs an injury?
Don’t think about losing weight — it’s no big deal. Just like quitting smoking — no big deal. Just do it. The more you stress over it, the more it becomes a Big Deal.
There is no need to knock yourself out: just eat sensibly and get a little bit of exercize: your body will adjust to suit. Your liver and lungs and kidneys are your very best friends, so go easy on them so they can clean out all the guck in your body and burn off the fat.
Special diets and special exercises are for the birds. Expensive wastes of money. Your body knows what to do: just give it a chance to work properly.
That is some advice I can use. However, I just read that studies show, that those who monitor their weight tend to lose it faster and keep it off.
Is there a healthy balance between monitoring and not obsessing?
I was overweight, and recently lost about 30 pounds. Breakfast and consistant sleep were vitally important. I like to eat something every two hours, with no single meal taking up any large portion of my daily intake.
As for exercise, I went for the P-90X routine, which was more than I could handle at first. But the cardio, yoga, and karate routines were real calorie-burners, and the weightlifting/resitance came with time. My philosophy of exercise is now centered around variety. If nothing else, it keeps you occupied.
My guess is that fruits, cheese, and nuts? would be good, but boring after too long.
How old are you?
Yes, there is a healthy balance: it’s called “habit.” Don’t treat a diet like it’s something special, or something that will immediately change your life for ever. Get accustomed to checking your weight. Get accustomed to eating and exercising a certain way. Once tracking calories, pounds, and inches becomes second nature to you, you will cease harmful obsessing. I’m sure the people in the study you read were people that monitor their weight like other people monitor their oil changes.
Do you have something constructive to add?
I have been working with a personal trainer for the last 4 months. I also try to follow the Lindora eating plan (Lindora is a place on the west coast - www.lindora.com). The first phase is great - no hunger or cravings. You eat protein, fruits, vegetables and grains - I live on protein bars to curb any cravings. After gaining weight about 10 years ago, I lost like 40 pounds in 3 months following this plan and never felt better because I was eating all the right things.
mid 40s
5 days per week in the gym. 30 minutes cardio on the excercise bike followed by 35-45 minutes weight training - free weights whenever possible (very few machines). An apple right after, whey protein powder in milk (for the calcium) as a drink 15 minutes or so after with a banana eaten (for the potassium).
What type of diet (eating style, foods, calorie intake) do you eat?
High protein, lots of fruits and vegetables, medium carbs and fat - I try to avoid white flower and high sugar items. I haven't counted calories or fat in many years, so I can't help you on that front.
Are you over-weight?
6'1, 185-190 lbs (it varies depending on water and how much food I've eaten in the last 24 hours).
Were you once over-weight and how much weight did you lose?
Yes. I started exercising about 9 years ago and lost around 55 lbs over about 2 years.
In what time frame did it take you?
2 years. But I was more concerned with strength and cardio conditioning (heart rate and aerobic vs. anaerobic breathing) than just weight loss. It probably could have taken much less time if that had been my focus.
What do you do for self-discipline (motivation)?
I mostly needed it for the first 6 months or so. After that, my muscles began to get addicted and if I miss even a single day they start to ache for exercise. Once I reached that point, motivation was a non-issue.
The key is getting through that first 6 months. For me, as shallow as it sounds, going to a gym with lots of attractive women was an excellent motivator - it does work, believe me.
Also, keep a chart of your body weight, heart rate at a given level of exertion (eg. the challenge level on an exercise bike), and the amount of weight you can lift. Charting that info in excel and looking at the positive trends really makes you feel like you're accomplishing something and can help motivate.
I average five fruits and vegetable servings a day, two servings starch, two protein, two dairy, and one fat. I do not obsess over what a “serving” consists of; I judge by fullness, which can be tricky, but if I overeat on any food, I make sure it’s fruits and vegetables.
You’d be surprised how much variety there is out there. There are plenty of plants and animals I’d never eaten before.
My tips:
Make sure not to eat any carbohydrates at night, say after 6pm.
Eat every 2-3 hours, a small meal, instead of eating 3 big meals. Must always pack healthy snacks if you work or travel during the day.
Go to a health food store and find a protein shake that tastes good to you. You can use this as one or more of your meals.
Find a gym or buy a cheap weight set and start building some muscle. Muscle burns fat.
>A good idea is to stop drinking if you drink alcohol. The calories in alcohol are not the problem, however, hangovers and happy hour tend to cut into your workout time and generally are bad for your health.<
Whoa there. One thing I learned from exercising correctly and living a healthy life is that one needs to ‘REWARD’ your body after discipling yourself for a majority of the week.
example: When they interviewed the (WWE’s) THE ROCK. He said that he “pigs out” on Saturdays, eating everything from pork rinds, jelly doughnuts, downing a 6 pack of beer and Jack, to reward his long workouts during the week.
One needs the carbs to burn. The greatest Olympia, Michael Phelps’ diet requires him to chow down get this...8 pancakes with syrup every morning PLUS 2 whole pizzas as his carbs.
On a personal note, I only drink beer occasionally on the week but NEVER everyday. I am aware of the calories but just like life, sometimes if you crave a cheeseburger from Carl’s JR, it won’t kill you to have one.
I'm 51 and today I burned 652 calories in 40 minutes, cooldown included. I am no specimen.
You need to start pushing yourself toward 500 calories in a 30 minute period.
Eat a Subway tuna sandwich with veggies and spicy mustard instead of mayo as a meal whenever you can. Drink water constantly. If you own your house, spend lots of time in the yard. Take the stairs. Walk everywhere you can. Move constantly.
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