Here are some of my tips!

fattymcrunnerpants

Truly was not trying to over complicate anything for anyone. I was trying to offer tips to anyone who is stuck and perhaps trying to take it to the next level. Weight loss has been known to plateau if your body gets used to a certain action.

I wasn't going to say anything but I think you found my last nerve. I haven't lost any weight for a couple of weeks...and I know some of my friends think I eat too much "junk" like Ghiardelli or Godiva dark chocolate (which is actually very nutritious and good for you).

OK, my scale weight has not gone down (so freaking WHAT), but my body fat % has, and so have my inches...and I might have even gained some newbie lifting muscle. There is not a darn thing wrong with what I am doing, I meet my macros and then if I want what you consider "junk" food, I eat it. I look in the mirror and see the fat and the muscle and where I am gaining and losing very realistically, but that is me. I really do love and accept myself the way I am, and I really want a healthy body, where I see fat, there REALLY is fat, but that is not true for many on here who look in the mirror and see fat where there is none, and I am not sure posts like yours are serving them.

There are more people with eating disorders on this site than I have ever seen in my life anywhere else. There are so many people thinking if they eat 1201 calories in a day they will not lose weight, who are starving themselves while they lose muscle and some are even courting organ damage. I am glad what works for you worked for you, I drink green and ginger teas sometimes too, but if there is something I really want, I let myself have it if it fits my macros. Yesterday I even had a "cheat" day, although I didn't even eat (what I think is) my maintenance, I had about 2000 calories.

You know, this whole idea that you have to do this or do that instead of finding what works for a SUSTAINABLE weight loss for you as an individual is just wrong, what worked for you worked for you, does not mean it is best for anybody else. CICO applies to all of us, but after that, we figure out how we can make this trip and not get off the train.

I am getting really ticked off at these people who act like scale weight is god. Lift some weights and get some tone to your body. If you want to make something a "God", make it being "toned" truly toned, with lots of muscle. Skinny fat is not "healthy" you know.

I am thanking God I got out of the scale weight and low calorie mindset, and am doing the things that will actually help me achieve my goals and keep them in the long run.

Honestly, just to point out, the OP does have an eating disorder and really shouldn't be giving advice/ tips to anyone until she gets the help that she needs.

yopeeps025

I drink green tea mixed with lemon, cayenne pepper and apple cider vinegar while snacking on green coffee beans. It's the equivalent of doing hours of cardio.

LOL

LiminalAscendance

Yeah, the only thing out of that list that I actually use/do is the planning/pre-logging.

I eat 1 big meal, late in the evening, and a few snacks, and almost always eat all of my calories after 3pm. I usually eat an icky processed ice cream sandwich within 15 minutes of going to bed. And I eat all the same foods I ate before... Just less of it. It's equaled 30 pounds gone in a little over 2 months.

OP, I get that this method worked for you... but I would be completely miserable.

I understand you have achieved rapid weight loss with this method, but it is not healthy weight loss which is what I was trying to promote.

How can you tell me it's not healthy? I haven't lost "rapidly" I had a big drop the first week, and about 2 pounds each week following. I eat, I exercise, and I'm feeling pretty great. Are you my doctor? Because she seems pretty happy with what I've been doing and the fact that both my blood sugar and blood pressure have gone down.

To play Devil's Advocate (since I certainly ate "junk" while losing, and don't agree with the OP's list):

If someone's 300 pounds (to use a nice round number), you can lose weight while eating a lot of unhealthy food. You already were eating a ton of it, just to maintain your previous weight.

So, if you go from eating two pints of ice cream a night, down to only one, your doc will be singing your praises. Why? Because you're doing better. You do realize this isn't the same as necessarily doing good, right?

Oh, and yes, I eat ice cream, pizza, oreos, and a whole host of other "junk," but let's get off the "my blood work is great, so I'm healthy" train.

jofjltncb6

1. Yes they have lost weight but this does not mean they are healthy and I'm sure they had to REDUCE the amount of these processed foods SIGNIFICANTLY to achieve this.
2. It is not irrelevant at all and I am living proof. It is not NECESSARY but helpful.
3. IVE ALREADY STATED that this has worked for me and might work for others who haven't tried it but are stuck. It is proven that small meals throughout the day is more beneficial to ones metabolism than 3 large meals. It does not make a HUGE difference but it can take someone to that next level.
5. Green tea helps diffuse bloating around the stomach area. Not kill fat, you're right but reduce bloating and flush out toxins that usually accumulate around that area.

Name a toxin, any toxin that the green tea will flush from your system.

:laugh:

Okay, *now* I'm in...

...to see if this has been responded to yet.

maidentl

let's get off the "my blood work is great, so I'm healthy" train.

So, how are we defining health then?

Sarauk2sf

1. Yes they have lost weight but this does not mean they are healthy and I'm sure they had to REDUCE the amount of these processed foods SIGNIFICANTLY to achieve this.
2. It is not irrelevant at all and I am living proof. It is not NECESSARY but helpful.
3. IVE ALREADY STATED that this has worked for me and might work for others who haven't tried it but are stuck. It is proven that small meals throughout the day is more beneficial to ones metabolism than 3 large meals. It does not make a HUGE difference but it can take someone to that next level.
5. Green tea helps diffuse bloating around the stomach area. Not kill fat, you're right but reduce bloating and flush out toxins that usually accumulate around that area.

Name a toxin, any toxin that the green tea will flush from your system.

:laugh:

Okay, *now* I'm in...

...to see if this has been responded to yet.

Have a guess.....

gypsy_spirit

1. Yes they have lost weight but this does not mean they are healthy and I'm sure they had to REDUCE the amount of these processed foods SIGNIFICANTLY to achieve this.
2. It is not irrelevant at all and I am living proof. It is not NECESSARY but helpful.
3. IVE ALREADY STATED that this has worked for me and might work for others who haven't tried it but are stuck. It is proven that small meals throughout the day is more beneficial to ones metabolism than 3 large meals. It does not make a HUGE difference but it can take someone to that next level.
5. Green tea helps diffuse bloating around the stomach area. Not kill fat, you're right but reduce bloating and flush out toxins that usually accumulate around that area.

Name a toxin, any toxin that the green tea will flush from your system.

:laugh:

Okay, *now* I'm in...

...to see if this has been responded to yet.

Fingers are crossed. I truly hope today will be the day. The odds are (n)ever in your favor.

redversustheblue

Threads that start with "my tips!" or some variation of that are the best. :laugh:

jmv7117

There are a LOT of questionable statements.

Eating after a certain hour is not really a thing.

Teas are good for digestion but not magical.

Eating after a certain hour is a thing if you are doing IF or following the Essene Diet or similar where you are purposely creating a 14 hour (more or less depending on program) fasting period.

Jacwhite22

If you are at a plateau like myself or are just now beginning your journey, here is what I have noticed makes all the difference:

1. ***WHAT*** you eat (a 200 calorie homemade smoothie with good antioxidant/fiber filled fruits and green veggies is way better than a zero calorie coke zero) and avoid refined, processed, sugar/salty foods. If you want to take it to the next level, avoid the center aisles in the grocery store altogether except for wheat bread, quinoa, organic peanut butter (if you're like me and will love PB till the end of time) and white tuna in water!

Better in what way? I'm not disagreeing but am not sure what you are trying to get at here.

2. WHEN you eat (try to avoid eating past 7 PM as food digest slower while you sleep)

No

3. HOW OFTEN you eat (5-6 small meals/snacks a day has proven to be more effective than 3 normal meals)

No

4. PRE-PLAN your meals. This is an option but has proven to be extremely effective! Fail to prepare, prepare to fail type attitude. Cooking your meals for the next day each night has helped many stay on track and buying a small cooler will insure that you follow your guidelines because now your food is traveling with you

This can be very beneficial for some people.

5. GREEN TEA AND GINGER TEA are so extremely beneficial for people trying to lose weight especially around the tummy area! Not a cure or easy way out but green tea provides energy and speeds up metabolism. I buy 5 oz of tea leaves from my local tea store but organic bagged green tea is just as good ginger tea is good for after meals because it promotes digestion. Green tea can also be a replacement for people who are trying to not drink coffee as much.

Both are drinks. They do not have any magical fat burning properties.

LiminalAscendance

let's get off the "my blood work is great, so I'm healthy" train.

So, how are we defining health then?

Ok, to clarify...

If I were 150 pounds overweight, I wouldn't consider myself "healthy" based solely on "blood work."

I realize that I'm among the minority here.

I won't patronize you by posting links (which is all the rage here), but you might want to check out the risk factors for, let's just pick two...heart attacks and strokes.

jofjltncb6

1. Yes they have lost weight but this does not mean they are healthy and I'm sure they had to REDUCE the amount of these processed foods SIGNIFICANTLY to achieve this.
2. It is not irrelevant at all and I am living proof. It is not NECESSARY but helpful.
3. IVE ALREADY STATED that this has worked for me and might work for others who haven't tried it but are stuck. It is proven that small meals throughout the day is more beneficial to ones metabolism than 3 large meals. It does not make a HUGE difference but it can take someone to that next level.
5. Green tea helps diffuse bloating around the stomach area. Not kill fat, you're right but reduce bloating and flush out toxins that usually accumulate around that area.

Name a toxin, any toxin that the green tea will flush from your system.

I think you may not realize that you're asking an incredibly complicated question that at this very moment is being investigated by some of the best oncology & drug designers in the world.

It's first prudent to ask IF catechins and (polyphenols in general) actually have an effect in humans -- such as boosting immunity. One of the big issues with green tea derived compounds like catechins is that they aren't that bio-available, which basically means they aren't taken into our body well. Catechins could be the be-all end-all cure to cancer, but currently we wouldn't know what to do with it since we don't even fully understand how catechins are synthesized by our body!

As for the "what do they actually do?" question and how that can help relieve our body of toxins, the mechanism of action is unclear and very likely to be hugely complex. The reason for this is that the molecular targets (what catechins bind to to have effect) are very diverse and there are LOTS of them. Most of this stuff has been figured out in test tubes, so often we can't be so sure if it will be the same in humans. Also, since these kinds of compounds do a lot of different things (cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's, immune system modulation, allergy, etc.) it is likely benefits are not do to any one process or one specific toxin like you are asking.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3763709/

This article touches on what I mean by that. It's about EGCG, a major catechin compound of interest in a lot of biological research. It's kind of technical if you don't have a degree on metabolics/oncology, but the basic topics are approachable at least.

Some of the suggested broad-level mechanisms of action are removing reactive oxygen species (the so called antioxidant effect), hypolipidemic effects (lower blood fat levels), helping to prevent DNA damage, immune cell activation ( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23835657) , and altering the level of important proteins known to help in the prevention of cancer.

And then some mechanisms of action can get really specific, like this study ( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16889749 ) looking into catechin compound EGCG effects on the release of effector molecules by immune cells (this is just one example of thousands of equally specific mechanisms for different things).

TL;DR - Catechin compounds(a compound found in Green Tea) are reported to do a lot of different things to a lot of targets, but it is unclear if their effects are truly significant for therapy at this point.

So...which toxin? You don't have to name all of them. Just name one that is cleared from the body by drinking this particular drink that wouldn't otherwise be cleared.

eric_sg61

1. Yes they have lost weight but this does not mean they are healthy and I'm sure they had to REDUCE the amount of these processed foods SIGNIFICANTLY to achieve this.
2. It is not irrelevant at all and I am living proof. It is not NECESSARY but helpful.
3. IVE ALREADY STATED that this has worked for me and might work for others who haven't tried it but are stuck. It is proven that small meals throughout the day is more beneficial to ones metabolism than 3 large meals. It does not make a HUGE difference but it can take someone to that next level.
5. Green tea helps diffuse bloating around the stomach area. Not kill fat, you're right but reduce bloating and flush out toxins that usually accumulate around that area.

Name a toxin, any toxin that the green tea will flush from your system.

I think you may not realize that you're asking an incredibly complicated question that at this very moment is being investigated by some of the best oncology & drug designers in the world.

It's first prudent to ask IF catechins and (polyphenols in general) actually have an effect in humans -- such as boosting immunity. One of the big issues with green tea derived compounds like catechins is that they aren't that bio-available, which basically means they aren't taken into our body well. Catechins could be the be-all end-all cure to cancer, but currently we wouldn't know what to do with it since we don't even fully understand how catechins are synthesized by our body!

As for the "what do they actually do?" question and how that can help relieve our body of toxins, the mechanism of action is unclear and very likely to be hugely complex. The reason for this is that the molecular targets (what catechins bind to to have effect) are very diverse and there are LOTS of them. Most of this stuff has been figured out in test tubes, so often we can't be so sure if it will be the same in humans. Also, since these kinds of compounds do a lot of different things (cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's, immune system modulation, allergy, etc.) it is likely benefits are not do to any one process or one specific toxin like you are asking.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3763709/

This article touches on what I mean by that. It's about EGCG, a major catechin compound of interest in a lot of biological research. It's kind of technical if you don't have a degree on metabolics/oncology, but the basic topics are approachable at least.

Some of the suggested broad-level mechanisms of action are removing reactive oxygen species (the so called antioxidant effect), hypolipidemic effects (lower blood fat levels), helping to prevent DNA damage, immune cell activation ( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23835657) , and altering the level of important proteins known to help in the prevention of cancer.

And then some mechanisms of action can get really specific, like this study ( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16889749 ) looking into catechin compound EGCG effects on the release of effector molecules by immune cells (this is just one example of thousands of equally specific mechanisms for different things).

TL;DR - Catechin compounds(a compound found in Green Tea) are reported to do a lot of different things to a lot of targets, but it is unclear if their effects are truly significant for therapy at this point.

So...which toxin? You don't have to name all of them. Just name one that is cleared from the body by drinking this particular drink that wouldn't otherwise be cleared.

Don't hold your breath for a response, that poster ragequit back a few pages

yopeeps025

Threads like these help pass the time.

monicapatituccijones

While I disagree with most of what the OP posted. I think most people need to chill a bit. She never claimed to be an expert. She was just saying what worked for her, and that can be useful for people who are really struggling.

Some people benefit from having lots of rules that restrict what they can eat. It's just a way of organizing their meal plan. Other people do best with a more free-form approach. For me, I need a snack late at night before I go to bed. Otherwise, I feel weak when I wake up. I am nursing, so it's important for me to eat fairly regularly. Otherwise, I want to pass out.

The diet that works best is the one you can stick with.

maidentl

let's get off the "my blood work is great, so I'm healthy" train.

So, how are we defining health then?

Ok, to clarify...

If I were 150 pounds overweight, I wouldn't consider myself "healthy" based solely on "blood work."

I realize that I'm among the minority here.

I won't patronize you by posting links (which is all the rage here), but you might want to check out the risk factors for, let's just pick two...heart attacks and strokes.

No, I agree. However, since their numbers ARE good and the weight IS coming off, I don't think a little junk is particularly concerning. I could be wrong, but that's how I take those comments.

1HappyRedhead

I believe only one person has given me one reason as to why I'm "wrong" (a website link) but most have just offered their own personal experiences which is also where I based most of my tips on. TIPS. Not die hard facts, JUST. TIPS.

many a painful and unfortunate experience has come from offering someone just the tip

BWAAHAAAHAAA..... :laugh: oh, wait... are we still on the same subject?

Laurenloveswaffles

These are not the tips I was hoping to see

yopeeps025

let's get off the "my blood work is great, so I'm healthy" train.

So, how are we defining health then?

Ok, to clarify...

If I were 150 pounds overweight, I wouldn't consider myself "healthy" based solely on "blood work."

I realize that I'm among the minority here.

I won't patronize you by posting links (which is all the rage here), but you might want to check out the risk factors for, let's just pick two...heart attacks and strokes.

No, I agree. However, since their numbers ARE good and the weight IS coming off, I don't think a little junk is particularly concerning. I could be wrong, but that's how I take those comments.

I can only imagine that 150 pounds overweight is being healthy. Your body might slowly be getting healthy from diet and exercise but high body fat % contributes to health risk.