Diets that work

Hi All,

This is my first time on a forum and really looking to shed 25 lbs and trying to see if anyone has any tips on how I can lose weight healthy. Also, it would be great to know some exercises that would help to flatten tummy and tighten legs.

Thank you.


Ana
«13

Replies

  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    I don't think that diets work because they stop or have an endpoint. I would shoot for a lifestyle change instead. That way you are never done or stop. I do a mix of running 5 days a week (25 mi), Strength training 3 days a week and planks 5 days a week. Weekends I take off.
  • thavoice
    thavoice Posts: 1,326 Member
    Simple.

    Eat less calories than you need to maintain your weight.


    You can eat the foods you like as you just make sure it is at a deficit.
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  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
    I eat an apple everyday (accompanied by a slight calorie deficit and consistent exercise)
  • chaosrock
    chaosrock Posts: 13 Member
    What has worked for me is eating like our ancestors did. I don't mean eschewing any modern comforts and eating undercooked meat and huddling in a cave. I mean choosing food items that are ideal for human biology. Skipping things like sweets, grains, sugars, and carbs in general and instead loading up on protein and fat.

    The diet I follow is called keto (ketosis). The idea is that if you eliminate most carbs from your diet your body instead burns fat, and 24/7, not just while you're at the gym.

    In a month I've lost 32 lbs. I don't feel sick after eating (which I did in my previous high carb diet). I get full without paying attention to calories (and my calories are always under my daily limit). I'm never hungry after meals.

    Keto is what works for me. Give it a shot and see if it works for you.
  • hearthwood
    hearthwood Posts: 794 Member
    First of all eliminate the word "diet" from your vocabulary. That's a very scary intimidating word, and a word that means to most a temporary solution.

    Many people immediately think of that word--as themselves eliminating some of their favorite foods which is simply not true.

    You can eat whatever you want, you just eat a lot less of it.

    Long term weight loss success is simply calories in versus calories out. Simply meaning eat less--move more. Since you're looking to lose 25 pounds--don't expect it to come off quickly. Only morbidly obese people can lose a lot of weight quickly, simply because they're accustomed to eating 4 to 7 thousand calories a day, and putting them on restrictive diets down to less than 1500 is going to shed a lot of weight quickly. But even they has they continue to lose will slow down. Be happy with a pound a week, and as you get closer be happy with 1/2 and then 1/4 pound a week. You'll get there, just don't get discouraged.

    Welcome and good luck to you, YOU can do this.
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
    Another vote for calorie deficit. I just ate a lovely serving of caramel ice cream, and it fit just fine in my calorie budget. Don't give up all the things you love. Don't develop a love/hate unhealthy relationship with your food. Don't make eating a source of anxiety.
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
    This is my first time on a forum and really looking to shed 25 lbs and trying to see if anyone has any tips on how I can lose weight healthy. Also, it would be great to know some exercises that would help to flatten tummy and tighten legs.
    Welcome aboard.
    Do read the sexypants post, several times if that's what it takes for the info to sink in.
    It's a numbers game. If calories in are less than calories out, you lose weight.
    Eat what you like, just less of it.

    Use a BMI chart to be sure your goal weight is reasonable & healthy for your height.
    You want to be in the green range: http://www.shapeup.org/bmi/bmi6.pdf

    Since you don't have much to lose, aim for 1/2 to 1 lb per week. Do that by cutting 250 to 500 cal per day from what you're currently eating, which isn't much of a change. (Take your current weight, multiply by 10, and subtract 250 - 500.)
    Don't go below 1200 cal per day unless you're supervised by a doctor or very short.
    Or you can use that goal weight & multiply by 10 & there's your calorie goal. Pretty simple. That's what my doctor & dietician use.


    "Most weight loss occurs because of decreased caloric intake. However, evidence shows the only way to maintain weight loss is to be engaged in regular physical activity."
    "To maintain your weight: work your way up to 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, or an equivalent mix of the two each week."
    (The page explains moderate & vigorous.)
    http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/physical_activity/index.html


    You can't spot-reduce, but you can firm or increase muscles in a certain area, so when the fat comes off you'll have a good foundation.
    For the abdominal area: situps, leg raises, twists (for the obliques), side situps, back extensions. Work all the way around. (Whenever you do weightlifting, work both sides of the joint: hamstrings & quadriceps, bicep & tricep.)
    For legs, I've just been doing lots of work on the elliptical, plus the hip adduction & abduction machines. That works everything from my glutes to my feet.

    ***************************************************

    Eat breakfast!!
    "Breakfast is associated with lower body weight ...
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24898236

    This study compared eating a small breakfast, medium lunch, and large dinner, [200, 500, 700 cal]
    with eating a large breakfast, medium lunch, and small dinner [700, 500, 200 cal].
    "The [large breakfast] group showed greater weight loss and waist circumference reduction ... fasting glucose, insulin [&] triglycerides ... decreased significantly to a greater extent in the [large breakfast] group."
    In addition, hunger was less and satiety was greater.
    Abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23512957
    Full text:
    http://genetics.doctorsonly.co.il/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Jakubowicz-at-al-Obesity-2013-oby20460.pdf

    "subjects assigned to high caloric intake during breakfast lost significantly more weight than those assigned to high caloric intake during the dinner"
    Abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24467926
    Full text: http://www.tradewindsports.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Nutrient-Timing-and-Obesity-2014.pdf

    "data suggest that a low-calorie Mediterranean diet with a higher amount of calories in the first part of the day could establish a greater reduction in fat mass and improved insulin sensitivity than a typical daily diet."
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24809437

    *****************************************************

    You might find some useful info & links on my blog: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MKEgal
    I generally document things out the wazoo, lots of links to reliable source materials (NIH, CDC, actual research articles).

    setting goals (weight & calorie): http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MKEgal/view/setting-goals-667045

    motivation & encouragement: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MKEgal/view/motivation-encouragement-680938

    recommendations on exercise: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MKEgal/view/exercise-667080

    lots of resources: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MKEgal/view/resources-666876
  • bcanderson123456
    bcanderson123456 Posts: 45 Member
    What has worked for me is eating like our ancestors did. I don't mean eschewing any modern comforts and eating undercooked meat and huddling in a cave. I mean choosing food items that are ideal for human biology. Skipping things like sweets, grains, sugars, and carbs in general and instead loading up on protein and fat.

    The diet I follow is called keto (ketosis). The idea is that if you eliminate most carbs from your diet your body instead burns fat, and 24/7, not just while you're at the gym.

    In a month I've lost 32 lbs. I don't feel sick after eating (which I did in my previous high carb diet). I get full without paying attention to calories (and my calories are always under my daily limit). I'm never hungry after meals.

    Keto is what works for me. Give it a shot and see if it works for you.

    you do know that there is a minium requirement of around 130g of carbs a day to ensure proper brain function. So to lose weight at the expense of long term brain trauma doesn't make sense to me. The 130g comes from the institute of medicine and is not some Dr Oz type thing.
  • bcanderson123456
    bcanderson123456 Posts: 45 Member
    "Most weight loss occurs because of decreased caloric intake. However, evidence shows the only way to maintain weight loss is to be engaged in regular physical activity."

    Can you point me to the scientific studies that have validated the above statement? I mean the part about physical activity to maintain weight loss.

    [edited to clarify]
  • sculli123
    sculli123 Posts: 1,221 Member
    IIFYM. Find your TDEE using a TDEE calculator. Then eat 500 calories less than that. If you're not losing 1 lb / week then eat another 100 cals less and see if things start moving along. If not, then repeat the process. Once you're losing, keep working out and eating based on this guideline. Y

    ou MAY want to lower your carbs, or maybe not but for me that was what I had to do in order to get my overall calories down. I know other people that don't have as much of a problem with carbs that instead lower fats. Not going to get too deep as to why but don't get rid of all your fats, keep at least 20 - 25 % of your calories from fats at a minimum.

    If you do the low carb thing like I did, it's VERY beneficial to do a weekly carb refeed especially the day prior to your hardest workout of the week (I sometimes did this 2x per week).

    After a while when you hit a brick wall, then you up your cardio to create a further deficit and start losing again.

    I did the above. My TDEE was 2700 calories. I eventually got down to eating 2,000 calories a day using this method and I lost 25 lbs slowly over about 6 months. I was able to sustain my muscle this way very well as opposed to trying something drastic (did it in the past and didn't work as well as this method).
  • dorisopen9
    dorisopen9 Posts: 94 Member
    you do know that there is a minium requirement of around 130g of carbs a day to ensure proper brain function.
    How have Inuit and Massai survived on their virtually carb free traditional diets if this was true?
  • bcanderson123456
    bcanderson123456 Posts: 45 Member
    you do know that there is a minium requirement of around 130g of carbs a day to ensure proper brain function.
    How have Inuit and Massai survived on their virtually carb free traditional diets if this was true?

    Well since I haven't studied either of those groups, I don't know what their lifespan is and how well their brains function in later years. I will stick with the institute of medicine they have nothing to gain from advising macro nutrient minimums, which they also have for fats and proteins.
  • bcanderson123456
    bcanderson123456 Posts: 45 Member
    you do know that there is a minium requirement of around 130g of carbs a day to ensure proper brain function.
    How have Inuit and Massai survived on their virtually carb free traditional diets if this was true?

    Well since I haven't studied either of those groups, I don't know what their lifespan is and how well their brains function in later years. I will stick with the institute of medicine they have nothing to gain from advising macro nutrient minimums, which they also have for fats and proteins.

    Oh the internet is a wonderful thing, here is an excerpt that explains that "virtually carb free diet" from wikipedia:

    Inuit actually consume more carbohydrates than most nutritionists have assumed.[14] Because Inuit frequently eat their meat raw and fresh, or freshly frozen, they can obtain more carbohydrates from their meat, as dietary glycogen, than Westerners can.[14][15] The Inuit practice of preserving a whole seal or bird carcass under an intact whole skin with a thick layer of blubber also permits some proteins to ferment, or hydrolyze, into carbohydrates.[14] Furthermore, the blubber, organs, muscle and skin of the marine mammals that the Inuit ate have significant glycogen stores which assist those animals when oxygen is depleted on prolonged dives.[16][17][18] For instance, when blubber is analyzed by direct carbohydrate measurements, it has been shown to contain as much as 8—30% carbohydrates.[17] While postmortem glycogen levels are often depleted through the onset of rigor mortis, marine mammals have a much delayed onset of rigor mortis, even in warm conditions, presumably due to the high content of oxymyoglobin in the muscle that may permit aerobic metabolism to continue slowly for some time after the death of the animal.[19][17] Additionally, in cold conditions, glycogen's depletion is halted at -18ºC (-0.4ºF) and lower temperatures in comminuted meat.[20][21]
  • chaosrock
    chaosrock Posts: 13 Member
    What has worked for me is eating like our ancestors did. I don't mean eschewing any modern comforts and eating undercooked meat and huddling in a cave. I mean choosing food items that are ideal for human biology. Skipping things like sweets, grains, sugars, and carbs in general and instead loading up on protein and fat.

    The diet I follow is called keto (ketosis). The idea is that if you eliminate most carbs from your diet your body instead burns fat, and 24/7, not just while you're at the gym.

    In a month I've lost 32 lbs. I don't feel sick after eating (which I did in my previous high carb diet). I get full without paying attention to calories (and my calories are always under my daily limit). I'm never hungry after meals.

    Keto is what works for me. Give it a shot and see if it works for you.

    you do know that there is a minium requirement of around 130g of carbs a day to ensure proper brain function. So to lose weight at the expense of long term brain trauma doesn't make sense to me. The 130g comes from the institute of medicine and is not some Dr Oz type thing.


    This is completely false. The brain requires fatty acids. It requires very little carbs.
  • chaosrock
    chaosrock Posts: 13 Member
    Not to mention humanity for hundreds of thousands of years lived just fine on low-carb diets. High carb diets are unnatural and the reason why everyone is sick and fat. Lots of "science" (read: studies rife with selective bias) promote high carb diets. But that's mostly because the organizations heading up the studies include the FDA, which have a stake in commodities that are predominately starchy vegetables (which are high in carbs). Any salesman will tell you that you "need" their product.
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
    Not to mention humanity for hundreds of thousands of years lived just fine on low-carb diets. High carb diets are unnatural and the reason why everyone is sick and fat. Lots of "science" (read: studies rife with selective bias) promote high carb diets. But that's mostly because the organizations heading up the studies include the FDA, which have a stake in commodities that are predominately starchy vegetables (which are high in carbs). Any salesman will tell you that you "need" their product.

    Everyone, eh?
  • mojohowitz
    mojohowitz Posts: 900 Member
    None. Eat less. Move more.

    Forget the word diet.

    Eat healthy from now until you die.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Not to mention humanity for hundreds of thousands of years lived just fine on low-carb diets. High carb diets are unnatural and the reason why everyone is sick and fat. Lots of "science" (read: studies rife with selective bias) promote high carb diets. But that's mostly because the organizations heading up the studies include the FDA, which have a stake in commodities that are predominately starchy vegetables (which are high in carbs). Any salesman will tell you that you "need" their product.
    The FDA has a stake in the starchy vegetable commodities? Look, I think the government is a mess where food is concerned, too many conflicts of interest for them to be of any use to nutrition discussions, but the "starchy vegetable lobby" is NOT at the root of the problem.
  • Sam_I_Am77
    Sam_I_Am77 Posts: 2,093 Member
    1. Use a diet that will work for you LONG-TERM, don't fall into any fads or other BS.
    2. Diet eating as many calories as you can. For example, if your maintenance calories are 1800, try first 1700 and see how it works, adjust down 5% to 10% as needed.
    3. Paleo-style diets are fine, but don't forget foods like Sweet Potatoes and Red Potatoes, other carbs. Paleo is a generic definition as ancient cultures all over the world had different food available to them, including things like grains.
    4. Carbs... No, carbs are not needed by any means but at the same time they're not this evil thing that they are made out to be. Try doing a Keto diet for like 2 weeks with 35grams of carbs or less to help get your body use to using fat and it will also help improve your insulin sensitivity and you'll use carbs more efficiently. From there you can add in carbs as needed. From a pure performance stand-point, there are plenty of studies that show performance and capacity improvement from having carbs and there are those that show marginal difference from following a more Keto diet. Short-answer is... find what works for you. This is not something you'll figure out right away, but be patient and work with it. If you're a marathon runner or something like that, you'll need to eat more carbs in the long-run.

    My MS program is largely based on performance based training but many of the same rules apply. Here's some research I had to do recently around carbohydrates

    Coyle E, Jeukendrup A, Wagenmakers A, Saris W. Fatty acid
    oxidation is directly regulated by carbohydrate metabolism
    during exercise. Am J Physiol. 1997;273:E268–75.

    Kreider R, Leutholtz B, Katch F, Katch V: Exercise & Sport Nutrition. Santa
    Barbara: Fitness Technologies Press 2009.

    Jeukendrup A. Carbohydrate supplementation during exercise:
    does it help? How much is too much? Gatorade Sports Sci Exch.
    2007;20:1–5.

    Here's some additional reading our professor gave us:

    --Aragon, Alan Albert; Schoenfeld, Brad Jon. Nutrient timing revisited: is there a post-anabolic window? Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2013, Vol. 10 Issue 1, p1.

    --American College of Sports Medicine; American Dietetic Association; Dietitians of Canada. American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Nutrition and athletic performance. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2009 March; 41(3): 709-731

    --Colberg, S.; Albright, A.; Blissmer, B.; Braun, B.; Chasan-Taber, L.; Fernhall, B.; Regensteiner, J.G.; Rubin, R.R. & Sigal, R. (2010). Exercise and type 2 diabetes: American College of Sports Medicine and the American Diabetes Association: joint position statement. Exercise and type 2 diabetes, Medicine And Science In Sports And Exercise, 42(12):2282-2303.

    --Kreider RB.; Wilborn CD.; Taylor L; Campbell B; Almada AL.; Collins R; Cooke M; Earnest CP.; Greenwood M; Kalman DS.; Kerksick CM.; Kleiner SM.; Leutholtz B; Lopez H; Lowery LM.; Mendel R; Smith A; Spano M; Wildman R; Willoughby DS. ISSN Exercise and sport nutrition review: Research and recommendations, Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2010, Vol. 7, p7.
  • RHachicho
    RHachicho Posts: 1,115 Member
    Not to mention humanity for hundreds of thousands of years lived just fine on low-carb diets. High carb diets are unnatural and the reason why everyone is sick and fat. Lots of "science" (read: studies rife with selective bias) promote high carb diets. But that's mostly because the organizations heading up the studies include the FDA, which have a stake in commodities that are predominately starchy vegetables (which are high in carbs). Any salesman will tell you that you "need" their product.

    No sorry but that just isn't the case. A lot of healthy people eat quite a bit of carbs. It doesn't magically make them sick and fat. It's true that a low carb diet can aid wight loss. But there is literally zero reason for a fit and healthy person to avoid carbs. You need to wake up and realize that people are sick and fat because our lives have become sedentary and we have become dependent on pre prepared food which tends to be extremely unhealthy.

    Geez I mean the things people will believe to skirt around the idea that sitting around on our *kitten* all day and eating pizza and ice cream isn't doing us any good. By all means tout the benifits of low carb. As honestly there are some to be had for those wanting to lose weight. But it isn't the solution to everyone's problems. And frankly for a healthy human being it is an unhealthy diet. Especially if they intend to have any athletic performance at all.

    Also to be honest the way low carb shoppers go on about it like it's "diet Jesus" I am half tempted to believe the brain needs carbs theory.
  • smfh
    smfh Posts: 17 Member
    bump
  • paulzli
    paulzli Posts: 72 Member
    I eat an apple everyday (accompanied by a slight calorie deficit and consistent exercise)

    no visits to the md for you.
  • Sam_I_Am77
    Sam_I_Am77 Posts: 2,093 Member
    Also to be honest the way low carb shoppers go on about it like it's "diet Jesus" I am half tempted to believe the brain needs carbs theory.

    My biggest thing about something as strict as Paleo or Keto is that for most people it's not maintainable long-term. For individual's that are overweight, part of the challenge is getting into health habits that are maintainable for life and not just the short-term. Generally speaking, most people are not going to maintain a low-carb diet for life; some people obviously can but those are not the norm. Finding balance that works for you is key.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Not to mention humanity for hundreds of thousands of years lived just fine on low-carb diets. High carb diets are unnatural and the reason why everyone is sick and fat. Lots of "science" (read: studies rife with selective bias) promote high carb diets. But that's mostly because the organizations heading up the studies include the FDA, which have a stake in commodities that are predominately starchy vegetables (which are high in carbs). Any salesman will tell you that you "need" their product.
    The FDA has a stake in the starchy vegetable commodities? Look, I think the government is a mess where food is concerned, too many conflicts of interest for them to be of any use to nutrition discussions, but the "starchy vegetable lobby" is NOT at the root of the problem.

    Big potato is at it again....