Diet recommendations???

obmckenzie

My mom lost about 47 lbs in 4 months, and if she stays on her current rate she'll probably be about 60-70lbs down at 6 months. She's basically doing keto (which I've just started) with no cardio but some weight training. My goal is to be 60lbs lighter by August.

I would really look into Keto for your goal, I'd also look into weight training. It's very, very helpful for WL.

ctalimenti

Try to avoid the high cal junk food. The first line of defense is keeping it out of the house.

Increase your protein and fiber. This will keep you full longer.

Reduce the bready stuff, noodles, cakes, pies, candy, soda.

Eat eggs, beans, meat, vegetables, fruits. Make homemade dishes. Make chilli or soups like split pea. If you eat out, cut down on it.

You'll be able to fit more healthy foods in your day if you cut down on the junk food/processed foods. Try to treat your intake like a budget. Spend wisely.

Replace high cal with lower cal. Drink light beer, replace cow's milk with 30 cal unsweetened almond milk. Watch your portions. Make it a permanent lifestyle change.

When you feel the urge to eat, ask yourself "Am I hungry or am I bored?

View food as nutrition, not a boredom alleviator or friend. It's seriously not your friend if it's making you fat.

Fight back!

There is NOTHING wrong with drinking regular beer or dairy milk.
I don't drink but I've been told that light beer tastes like urine.
And plenty of people have had success drinking craft beer and full fat dairy milk.

You are more likely to succeed if you continue consuming the foods/drinks you enjoy.
Everything in moderation.

Depends upon how many beers you want....or how much milk you drink.

Note I said moderation.
IIFYM.

Well, the OP wrote this and she's asking what has worked for others. I wrote what has worked for me. Also, the older you get, the more strategies you learn to keep the weight off....

Hi Everyone and Happy New Year!

I just joined and desperately want to get on the right track. I have a hefty goal of losing 60 pounds in 6 months. Not going to be pleasant!

The MFP recommends eating 1200 calories a day. My question is what is the best approach to eat those 1200? I'm assuming avoiding junk and processed foods but does anyone know or can recommend an approach to eating these 1200 calories that has worked for you I'd really appreciate it!

nomeejerome

Edit: Post removed

sales pitch is sales pitch.

mckelly5

pounds lost are pounds lost.

nomeejerome

pounds lost are pounds lost.

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kinzieplatt

eat clean, count your calories, everything in moderation, and use MFP

LishieFruit89

Edit: Post removed

Strong 1st post.

Also against forum rules.

DebbieLyn63

Wow that's awesome!

I guess those fad diets are pretty crappy only I found the Weight Watchers plan which does allow for you to eat crappy stuff (cookies, cakes, etc.) just enabled me to still crave those foods. I'd really like to overcome these cravings for crap once and for all because I feel that my hormonal ups and downs throughout the month coincide with craving and eating crap.

What do you guys think about this whole ALKALINE approach to eating?

Don't know anything about the Alkaline approach, but as to eating 'healthier' foods as opposed to 'crap' foods. That depends on the individual. There are many people who can include nothing but fast foods and junk in their diet and lose weight be healthy. They are usually young and very active!
Some people have medical issues, i.e. blood sugar problems, HBP, insulin resistance, autoimmune disorders, hormone imbalances, etc, that find that eating a certain way, or keeping their macros, (protein, fat, carb percentages) in a certain way, or even eliminating certain foods completely, work better for their body.

Very few people have Celiac disease, but many more have a poor reaction to the gluten in wheat. It can cause all kinds of symptoms, and many have found that by eliminating gluten, those symptoms disappear.

Some people are diabetic and must limit their carbs to control their blood sugar. Many more are borderline,or are insulin resistant, and have problems effectively using the sugar in their diets. This can cause weight loss to be slower, as well as other problems. These people need to limit their starchy carb and sugar intake as well.

Some people with autoimmune disorders, or hormone imbalances have found relief by following the Paleo plan, or Atkins plan, which is lower carb, but higher fat. I personally have found that grains and processed sugars cause worsening of inflammation in my body, and cutting back drastically on my starches and sugars makes a huge difference in my pain levels. Less pain means more activity, which means better weight loss results.

And some people have trigger foods. Eating junk carbs make them crave more carbs, which results in going over their calorie limit for the day. Some people can have one donut or one serving of chips, etc, and fit it into their day. Others cannot do that yet, and may never be able to control the portion of certain foods. For those people, certain foods may have to be eliminated completely, at least for awhile.

Try different plans to see what works best for YOU. Something that you can keep with until you reach your goal weight, then transition over to maintenance. You may find something works for a while, then you need to switch to something different.
It often comes down to trial and error.

Losing the weight can be difficult, but keeping it off is the crucial part.

fitphoenix22

Losing 10 pounds per month is a pretty lofty goal. Let's do the math...

1 month = (roughly) 4 weeks
10 pounds/4 weeks = 2.5 pounds weight loss per week
1 pound of fat = 3,500 calories.
3,500 x 2.5 pound goal = 8,750 calorie deficit requirement per week
8,750 calorie deficit / 7 days in the week = 1,250 calorie deficit per DAY

Your minimum calorie intake should be no less than 1200 calories to keep your metabolism from shutting down and going into "starvation mode" where it stores fat. Unless your body requires 2,500 calories per day to maintain your current weight, it's going to be damn near impossible to meet a 1250 calorie deficit each day. Good luck doing that for 6 months.

This is why crash diets are just that... they crash and burn.

Eat less. Move more. Stick with it. Be patient. DON'T QUIT

twixlepennie

Edit: Post removed

reported

mckelly5

Fair enough on the 'Message me' aspect. As far as everything else in your response - It was a diet recommendation, just as they had asked for. I don't sell it.

mckelly5

I have been made aware of the rules that I have broken. My apologizes to everyone. I was seriously just trying to give a recommendation.

DebbieLyn63

I'm currently doing Dr. Ian's 6-Week SHRED program (http://www.amazon.com/Shred-Revolutionary-Weeks-Inches-Sizes/dp/1250038278/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1388676380&sr=8-1). I was a little hesitant at first, mainly because I'm skeptical of "fad diets," but a family member of mine SWEARS by Dr. Ian, and she actually has more trouble sticking to eating plans than most. I'm on my second week of the program and it really is great. Although it's designed so that you don't have to count calories, I still log everything I eat into MFP. I rarely eat more than 1300-1400 calories per day AND I never, ever, ever feel hungry. In fact, the plan has you eating so often, you feel like you're eating too much! It's also super flexible and allows you to cut out certain components of your meals if you feel like you don't need/want to eat that much. All in all, it's super do-able and I've felt great ever since I started it. I think it's also really good at training you in how to eat properly for weight loss/maintenance so that you don't gain everything you lost once you're finished with the program. You can even repeat it (the program is cyclical) or just repeat certain parts of it once you're finished with the entire 6-Week cycle. I highly recommend it. Good luck on your journey!

Haven't read the book, but did check it out on Amazon. I had to laugh at week 5 being titled Cleanse and week 6 titled Explode. Reminded me of my colonoscopy prep!

mckelly5

Thank you.

mckelly5

Can anyone please tell me how this post is any different than me being excited about something that did wonders for me?

I'm currently doing Dr. Ian's 6-Week SHRED program (http://www.amazon.com/Shred-Revolutionary-Weeks-Inches-Sizes/dp/1250038278/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1388676380&sr=8-1). I was a little hesitant at first, mainly because I'm skeptical of "fad diets," but a family member of mine SWEARS by Dr. Ian, and she actually has more trouble sticking to eating plans than most. I'm on my second week of the program and it really is great. Although it's designed so that you don't have to count calories, I still log everything I eat into MFP. I rarely eat more than 1300-1400 calories per day AND I never, ever, ever feel hungry. In fact, the plan has you eating so often, you feel like you're eating too much! It's also super flexible and allows you to cut out certain components of your meals if you feel like you don't need/want to eat that much. All in all, it's super do-able and I've felt great ever since I started it. I think it's also really good at training you in how to eat properly for weight loss/maintenance so that you don't gain everything you lost once you're finished with the program. You can even repeat it (the program is cyclical) or just repeat certain parts of it once you're finished with the entire 6-Week cycle. I highly recommend it. Good luck on your journey!

Haven't read the book, but did check it out on Amazon. I had to laugh at week 5 being titled Cleanse and week 6 titled Explode. Reminded me of my colonoscopy prep!

StalgiaPasternak

Thank you for all this great advice! I guess I want to cut out crap (or whatever you want to call it) just because I want my body to be rid of toxins as much as possible so that my next pregnancy and baby can be super healthy. My daughter is almost two and she is super healthy but it's really just lucky because I wasn't as health conscious as I could have been when I was pregnant last. I had horrible morning sickness, gained 75 pounds (30 never came off and I breastfed for 18 months) and was really uncomfortable.

I think because my cravings are largely based around my hormonal cycle (which has calmed down a lot now that I weaned 4 months ago) I want to try and rid my body of those cravings ahead of my next pregnancy when my hormones go wild again.

ndj1979

Oh yes and what do you think about this weight lifting for women thing? Do think I should start lifting weights now when I'm a chubster or should I wait until I've slimmed down a bit?

I've seen some amazing pictures on here of weight lifting women that have totally changed their body shapes!

good resources...

starting strength
new rules of lifting for woman

I would recommend familiarizing yourself with compound movements - bench press, deadlift, barbell squat, overhead press, chin up/pull up - and then incorporate them into a three day a week routine with cardio on off days....once you drop some weight off you could go to more of an upper/lower split type workout with less cardio ...

do you have access to a gym?

ndj1979

Losing 10 pounds per month is a pretty lofty goal. Let's do the math...

1 month = (roughly) 4 weeks
10 pounds/4 weeks = 2.5 pounds weight loss per week
1 pound of fat = 3,500 calories.
3,500 x 2.5 pound goal = 8,750 calorie deficit requirement per week
8,750 calorie deficit / 7 days in the week = 1,250 calorie deficit per DAY

Your minimum calorie intake should be no less than 1200 calories to keep your metabolism from shutting down and going into "starvation mode" where it stores fat. Unless your body requires 2,500 calories per day to maintain your current weight, it's going to be damn near impossible to meet a 1250 calorie deficit each day. Good luck doing that for 6 months.

oh it must be the new year..

so lets just get this one out of the way right now..

You will not go into starvation mode consuming 1200 calories a day, or less than that...you would have to eat NOTHING for a prolonged period of AT LEAST 72 hours (probably more than that) to go into true starvation mode...

However, I agree that 60 pounds in six months is a little extreme...I would recommend 1 to 1.5 pound per week loss...

fitphoenix22

I joined in with my girlfriends earlier this year and we did the "Shred" diet (not the same as Jillian Michael's 30 day shred). It was very effective for all of us... but you don't have to buy his book to do what he teaches you. He has you eating roughly 1200 calories and getting in 30-45 minutes of exercise each day. He teaches you how to eat small "snack size" meals instead of gorging on huge American-sized meals. The meal plans don't restrict carbs, which I liked - but it does require that your carbs be whole grains or sweet potatoes and you eat them mostly in the earlier part of the day.

Look, these are things you can do on your own, but he has a lot of great snack ideas and meal plans to follow. I would actually give this "diet" a thumbs up... but even Dr. Ian says it's a 6 week cycle, then you have to use what he's taught you to maintain your weightloss. You can repeat the 6 week cycle if you have more to lose, but it's not a long-term thing. It's still a diet that eventually you will have to manage on your own.

ndj1979

I'm currently doing Dr. Ian's 6-Week SHRED program (http://www.amazon.com/Shred-Revolutionary-Weeks-Inches-Sizes/dp/1250038278/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1388676380&sr=8-1). I was a little hesitant at first, mainly because I'm skeptical of "fad diets," but a family member of mine SWEARS by Dr. Ian, and she actually has more trouble sticking to eating plans than most. I'm on my second week of the program and it really is great. Although it's designed so that you don't have to count calories, I still log everything I eat into MFP. I rarely eat more than 1300-1400 calories per day AND I never, ever, ever feel hungry. In fact, the plan has you eating so often, you feel like you're eating too much! It's also super flexible and allows you to cut out certain components of your meals if you feel like you don't need/want to eat that much. All in all, it's super do-able and I've felt great ever since I started it. I think it's also really good at training you in how to eat properly for weight loss/maintenance so that you don't gain everything you lost once you're finished with the program. You can even repeat it (the program is cyclical) or just repeat certain parts of it once you're finished with the entire 6-Week cycle. I highly recommend it. Good luck on your journey!

Haven't read the book, but did check it out on Amazon. I had to laugh at week 5 being titled Cleanse and week 6 titled Explode. Reminded me of my colonoscopy prep!

bahahahahahaha

ndj1979

The meal plans don't restrict carbs, which I liked - but it does require that your carbs be whole grains or sweet potatoes and you eat them mostly in the earlier part of the day.

why do you only eat carbs early in the day?

fitphoenix22

Losing 10 pounds per month is a pretty lofty goal. Let's do the math...

1 month = (roughly) 4 weeks
10 pounds/4 weeks = 2.5 pounds weight loss per week
1 pound of fat = 3,500 calories.
3,500 x 2.5 pound goal = 8,750 calorie deficit requirement per week
8,750 calorie deficit / 7 days in the week = 1,250 calorie deficit per DAY

Your minimum calorie intake should be no less than 1200 calories to keep your metabolism from shutting down and going into "starvation mode" where it stores fat. Unless your body requires 2,500 calories per day to maintain your current weight, it's going to be damn near impossible to meet a 1250 calorie deficit each day. Good luck doing that for 6 months.

oh it must be the new year..

so lets just get this one out of the way right now..

You will not go into starvation mode consuming 1200 calories a day, or less than that...you would have to eat NOTHING for a prolonged period of AT LEAST 72 hours (probably more than that) to go into true starvation mode...

However, I agree that 60 pounds in six months is a little extreme...I would recommend 1 to 1.5 pound per week loss...

I'm not a newbie, so save me the self-proclaimed expert "advice". Do you really believe that eating less than 1200 calories is healthy? You're preaching for her to buy a book on weight lifting... how will she build muscle mass on less than 1200 calories? Brilliant.

fitphoenix22

The meal plans don't restrict carbs, which I liked - but it does require that your carbs be whole grains or sweet potatoes and you eat them mostly in the earlier part of the day.

why do you only eat carbs early in the day?

I was explaining what the author encouraged. I eat carbs with all meals.

ninerbuff

My recommendation:

Lose 1% of your body weight a week.

Eat in moderation ensuring you get in your correct percentages of macro/micro nutrients.

Eat about 20% less calorie than your TDEE.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ndj1979

Losing 10 pounds per month is a pretty lofty goal. Let's do the math...

1 month = (roughly) 4 weeks
10 pounds/4 weeks = 2.5 pounds weight loss per week
1 pound of fat = 3,500 calories.
3,500 x 2.5 pound goal = 8,750 calorie deficit requirement per week
8,750 calorie deficit / 7 days in the week = 1,250 calorie deficit per DAY

Your minimum calorie intake should be no less than 1200 calories to keep your metabolism from shutting down and going into "starvation mode" where it stores fat. Unless your body requires 2,500 calories per day to maintain your current weight, it's going to be damn near impossible to meet a 1250 calorie deficit each day. Good luck doing that for 6 months.

oh it must be the new year..

so lets just get this one out of the way right now..

You will not go into starvation mode consuming 1200 calories a day, or less than that...you would have to eat NOTHING for a prolonged period of AT LEAST 72 hours (probably more than that) to go into true starvation mode...

However, I agree that 60 pounds in six months is a little extreme...I would recommend 1 to 1.5 pound per week loss...

I'm not a newbie, so save me the self-proclaimed expert "advice". Do you really believe that eating less than 1200 calories is healthy? You're preaching for her to buy a book on weight lifting... how will she build muscle mass on less than 1200 calories? Brilliant.

I was addressing your starvation mode comments, which are not correct. I never said that OP could build muscle eating less than 1200 calories, nor did I say that less than 1200 was healthy. I was also not recommending that she eat less than 1200 calories. I recommended the books, because the OP asked about weight lifting. Do you really think that weight lifting is ONLY for building muscle?

jennegan1

Thank you for all this great advice! I guess I want to cut out crap (or whatever you want to call it) just because I want my body to be rid of toxins as much as possible so that my next pregnancy and baby can be super healthy. My daughter is almost two and she is super healthy but it's really just lucky because I wasn't as health conscious as I could have been when I was pregnant last. I had horrible morning sickness, gained 75 pounds (30 never came off and I breastfed for 18 months) and was really uncomfortable.

I think because my cravings are largely based around my hormonal cycle (which has calmed down a lot now that I weaned 4 months ago) I want to try and rid my body of those cravings ahead of my next pregnancy when my hormones go wild again.

Just a little story my youngest will be 3 in March so that means I went thru every holiday from Halloween thru New Years and I ate poorly compared to my older daughter and guess what shes just as healthy as her older sister...I understand how you feel and what you want to do but my best advice is to ask a dietician or a nutritionist.... I dont know where you are located but in the US we have whats called WIC. If you can get onto it and theyll give you healthy foods for you and your baby

StalgiaPasternak

Thank you everyone for all your advice! I think I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by my goal so I think I'll cut it down to 30 pounds in 4 months. At that point, I should be feeling a lot better and I'll be able to really increase my activity level. Right now I feel so big and uncomfortable I'm finding it difficult to get into exercise. Even Yoga feels like a workout where as just a year ago (one year postpartum) I would be able to do a 90 hot yoga class easily. So it's not even just a fat thing it's an activity. I guess that's why I'm wondering if I should be focusing on weight lifting, cardio, or a combo of both. I've just seen these posts by people who only weight lift who looks AMAZING and I think man if I could just lift 3 times a week and look like that I'd be a happy camper!