[uniqueMR]

Originally Posted by chassis

Great job! What has been working most effectively for you?

Thanks

I would say: treadmill 5-6 days a week (burning average of 250-300 calories a day), minimize of sugar (chocolate, candies, cookies, ice cream), eating less, no food past 7pm, ignoring weight scale and never giving up

I still eat what I want as long as under 1700 calories a day. I do not believe in starving myself. I would rather be a turtle and lose weight over years.

I know many who lost weight in 3 months, 6 months, etc. But how many people do we know who are consistent? Who exercised from teenager years till death? I bet we can count those people on our fingers (meaning very few). They are real winners.

Being patience, balance and moderate will take us a long way in all aspects of our lives. End of the day Turtle wins

[chassis]

Weight loss and maintenance plan:

1. Eat less
2. Exercise more
3. Realize that step 1 above is ten times more important than step 2.

[poling2127]

Originally Posted by 6oclockshadow

Its always been pretty simple: burn more calories than you take in.

accurate. its calories in versus calories out. everything else is to help that process.

for those who struggle or need more info, jeff nippard has some great videos on YouTube on the topic. John meadows, an absolute amazing trainer, has great workout videos as well (name is mountaindog1 on YouTube).

The other thing you may want to check out is layne norten's app. it breaks down easy ways to track what you're doing/eating and I've heard great things about it.

[3PedalJake]

Grains have not been with us from the beginning, they've been consumed as a staple for a tiny fraction of our evolutionary history. Not that they're inherently bad, too much of them is bad. Everything you need to know about metabolic health and hence healthy weight can be summed up "don't overflow your liver's glycogen storage capacity". If you don't know what that means you should find out. The takeway from this is, what you eat and even to some extent total quantity is less important than how often you eat. We're not designed for a steady influx of food every few hours all day every day, you're much better off eating to satiety less often than nibbling and counting calories. (this means do intermittent fasting).

[TXSTYLE]

Trying these out for meal replacement...

[anselansel]

your most important equipment to lose weight is your fork and knive. You have been taught by society that high sugar high fat delicious meals are the norm. You have to retrain yourself to think of food as fuel, not a treat, a destination, a right, a comfort etc but fuel. Most people eat way way too many calories and carbs. If your car was going on a trip that required 5 gallons at most would you pump 20 gallons in and overflow your gas tank? of course not but people do that every day w food for their energy needs.

The most important thing you can do is decide that you will change your lifestyle. Not go on a diet and then think its over and I can go back to eating like a pig. Make a choice health, looks and confidence or gluttony......

[Mosaud1998]

I lost 21 pounds during the pandemic. I used to weigh 181. No, I weigh 160.

I just ate 1,500 calories a day or a little less and ran on the treadmill every day.

Burned around 300 calories a day.

Now I eat 2k calories a day to maintain my weight and burn about 500-700 calories a day. I walk a lot at my job

[cotmfk]

Originally Posted by poling2127

accurate. its calories in versus calories out. everything else is to help that process.

for those who struggle or need more info, jeff nippard has some great videos on YouTube on the topic. John meadows, an absolute amazing trainer, has great workout videos as well (name is mountaindog1 on YouTube).

The other thing you may want to check out is layne norten's app. it breaks down easy ways to track what you're doing/eating and I've heard great things about it.

+1

Nippard's stuff is awesome.

[overcoil]

Originally Posted by Mosaud1998

I lost 21 pounds during the pandemic. I used to weigh 181. No, I weigh 160.

I just ate 1,500 calories a day or a little less and ran on the treadmill every day.

Burned around 300 calories a day.

Now I eat 2k calories a day to maintain my weight and burn about 500-700 calories a day. I walk a lot at my job

lost 30 pounds starting last Christmas. came down form mid 170's to mid 140's.
Running and lifting on alternate days.

Never counted calories but eating very high quality foods. Had a few cheat days with Wholefoods and Trader Joe's snack and desserts - but have determined those snacks and desserts were low quality.

My thoughts are refined sugars, whether in meats or drinks or breads - in any food are a threat to controlling my body weight.

[infinitekidM2C]

Originally Posted by TXSTYLE

Trying these out for meal replacement...

I've never tried one of those nutrition bars to lose weight. I wouldnt mind losing 5 lbs. I have 2 questions:
1) are they gross or what?
2) if i eat that instead of say lunch, am i going to get blood sugar issues? aka cold sweats etc.?

[TXSTYLE]

Originally Posted by 6oclockshadow

Its always been pretty simple: burn more calories than you take in.

That's waaaaaaay easier said than done. #fact

[TXSTYLE]

Originally Posted by infinitekidM2C

I've never tried one of those nutrition bars to lose weight. I wouldnt mind losing 5 lbs. I have 2 questions:
1) are they gross or what?
2) if i eat that instead of say lunch, am i going to get blood sugar issues? aka cold sweats etc.?

Nope. These aren't too bad. They are unique in that they are formulated specifically with a Keto Diet and not just another Protein Bar.

[6oclockshadow]

Originally Posted by TXSTYLE

That's waaaaaaay easier said than done. #fact

Of course it is. But it's the only long term solution.

[oVeRdOsE.]

Originally Posted by chassis

Weight loss and maintenance plan:

1. Eat less
2. Exercise more
3. Realize that step 1 above is ten times more important than step 2.

yeah pretty much it.

But how to eat less ? here what worked for me :

- drink only water when thirsty.
- sip my coffee from 6am to 1pm in a vacuum sealed cup . On my body; coffee reduce my hunger by a lot and increase heart rate, so burns more cal.
- when you're hungry, you can eat anything , right? so before meal take something healthy ( often is less desirable), so on the main meal I wont eat that much, and wont take any desert. I often take a salad or apple.

also
- having a wife that doesn't like sugar nor dessert and do fitness, so the meals are very light, everyday.

i do 0 exercice, desk work. But im 'active', no tv, no video game, always outside to build something on my house or car.

IT DOESN'T mean that im healthy , in fact I'm pretty sure im not, but no sugar, healthy meal, no smoke, not much beer ; its a good start.

6.0', 155lbs for now. Need some muscle, next step.

[Humdizzle]

i am a physician and see this as a common complaint. everyone's body is a bit different so what works for one person may not work for another, but here some things i can share :

1. eat in regularly spaced intervals throughout the day, about every 6-8 hours. by starving yourself you are sending a message to your caveman brain there is no food around, so your body will hold on to what it can instead of burning through it.

2. water, water, and more water - you don't need juice/gatorade/milk etc, these are all just full of calories and sugar. low sugar options like kombucha, gatorade g2, and unsweetened teas are ok.

3. try not to snack -- save your calories for your mealtime. if you do want to snack find a low calorie option like baby carrots, pickles, an apple or something. don't go for a bag of chips

4. ok to have sweets every now and then, we are all human - a good option is having things that take time to eat. things like jolly ranchers take time to eat, while a candybar or reeses we can inhale in a minute. peeling an orange takes a bit more work and is less calories than pouring a glass of OJ. if you are a chocolate fan go for a higher quality dark chocolate option thats 70%+ rather than a hersheys bar

5. we put on weight through the addition of carbs usually. chemical bonds of carbon-hydrogen-oxygen. this is the same for fats, they are just long chains of this for more efficient storage of this chemical energy. So how do we lose this ? you don't lose the fat by pooping, peeing or sweating. You lose it by breathing. we exhale the carbs or fats as CO2 + water. So the more breathing you do (exercise) the more weight you lose. each breath is a little bit of fat being burned off.

6. try to avoid stress. i know, easier said than done. But if you are in a constant state of bad stress/anxiety it raises a hormone called cortisol which leads to a host of issues including weight gain or difficulty losing weight

[JP10]

Originally Posted by Humdizzle

i am a physician and see this as a common complaint. everyone's body is a bit different so what works for one person may not work for another, but here some things i can share :

1. eat in regularly spaced intervals throughout the day, about every 6-8 hours. by starving yourself you are sending a message to your caveman brain there is no food around, so your body will hold on to what it can instead of burning through it.

2. water, water, and more water - you don't need juice/gatorade/milk etc, these are all just full of calories and sugar. low sugar options like kombucha, gatorade g2, and unsweetened teas are ok.

3. try not to snack -- save your calories for your mealtime. if you do want to snack find a low calorie option like baby carrots, pickles, an apple or something. don't go for a bag of chips

4. ok to have sweets every now and then, we are all human - a good option is having things that take time to eat. things like jolly ranchers take time to eat, while a candybar or reeses we can inhale in a minute. peeling an orange takes a bit more work and is less calories than pouring a glass of OJ. if you are a chocolate fan go for a higher quality dark chocolate option thats 70%+ rather than a hersheys bar

5. we put on weight through the addition of carbs usually. chemical bonds of carbon-hydrogen-oxygen. this is the same for fats, they are just long chains of this for more efficient storage of this chemical energy. So how do we lose this ? you don't lose the fat by pooping, peeing or sweating. You lose it by breathing. we exhale the carbs or fats as CO2 + water. So the more breathing you do (exercise) the more weight you lose. each breath is a little bit of fat being burned off.

6. try to avoid stress. i know, easier said than done. But if you are in a constant state of bad stress/anxiety it raises a hormone called cortisol which leads to a host of issues including weight gain or difficulty losing weight

Boom, gold metal post. Everywhere I look people are starving themselves in attempt to lose weight, where that is the last thing you want to do as you're essentially stunting your metabolism. My mother is prime culprit here. I preach regularly spaced meals and abundance of water, maybe one day she will listen to me haha.

[BMWLiebe]

When trying to lose weight I have found that besides the usual: stay in a calorie deficit, switch cardio for weights and get enough sleep; eating enough protein rich foods also helps a lot. Eating enough protein is important for muscle growth and as we all know muscle burn more calories in the long run and help you lose hat body fat. I ave found this article about protein rich food (it is in German but you can translate it with Deepl for example): https://www.sundt.de/blog/proteinrei...Essen_abnehmen

[M5Rick]

Cut our snacking between meals and take a sip of water say every half hour rather than downing a large amount. Obviously a calorie controlled diet helps and if a meat eater try going vegetarian one day with a fish day another, mine is Fridays. Sitting on the floor at times instead of the sofa and getting up for no reason works for me.

[barryc365]

I've lost almost 50 lbs over the last three years.

I was 213, down to 165 now.

It was slow and steady with a few plateaus along the way.

Exercise helped me focus on eating clean but in reality it was 90% food intake that made the difference

The first 10 Lbs was easy, I just stopped ordering take out every night

Next 10 lbs was harder and I had to start eating a salad instead of a sandwich for lunch

Next 10lbs was about swapping out junk food snacks for lower calorie options. Low sugar dairy free fro-yo, instead of real Ice cream. Protein bars instead of a snickers when on the road, water instead Of soda etc

Then the final push was intermittent fasting. Basically I gave up breakfast outside of coffee so I have lunch at 12pm and dinner at 6pm and that's it, nothing after 6pm until 12pm the next day outside of water and coffee. I find this allows me to have a really nice lunch or dinner and the scales don't move because I have that gap and less calories by eliminating breakfast

Consistency is key, don't expect quick results. Some months I lost nothing. Slow and steady is the way to go to keep it off (I know because I lost it quick before and put it back on!)

Best of luck!

[Patton250]

Originally Posted by chassis

Weight loss and maintenance plan:

1. Eat less
2. Exercise more
3. Realize that step 1 above is ten times more important than step 2.

This is the most accurate and truthful yet painful weight loss statement I’ve ever seen written.

[3PedalJake]

Originally Posted by 6oclockshadow

Its always been pretty simple: burn more calories than you take in.

This is a truism, while factually correct it's completely useless as a weigh loss strategy. It's akin to telling a poor person all he needs to do to solve his problems is to get more money. Well duh. It's useless advice because food isn't comprised of "calories", it's made up of fats, carbohydrates and proteins, with various vitamins and minerals as well. Your body has a completely different hormonal response to equivalent amounts of "calories" of steak or vegetables or say coca cola or krispy-kreme. Your body has certain requirements for vitamins and minerals, as well as protein and essential fatty acids EPA and DHA. This is why you can dump vast quantities of "calories" into your body but if it's requirements aren't met you will be compelled to keep eating, and there's no amount of willpower that will be able to stop you in the long term. If you eat biologically appropriate foods at biologically appropriate frequency (once or twice a day eating) you will never have to count "calories" because you'll stop eating when you get the Leptin signals that your requirements have been met for the day. Insulin resistance is at the root of all these problems, anyone who doesn't know what this is or understand it's implications should do themselves a favor and research it, it's where the answers lie, not in truisms about calories.

[3PedalJake]

Originally Posted by Humdizzle

i am a physician and see this as a common complaint. everyone's body is a bit different so what works for one person may not work for another, but here some things i can share :

1. eat in regularly spaced intervals throughout the day, about every 6-8 hours. by starving yourself you are sending a message to your caveman brain there is no food around, so your body will hold on to what it can instead of burning through it.

2. water, water, and more water - you don't need juice/gatorade/milk etc, these are all just full of calories and sugar. low sugar options like kombucha, gatorade g2, and unsweetened teas are ok.

3. try not to snack -- save your calories for your mealtime. if you do want to snack find a low calorie option like baby carrots, pickles, an apple or something. don't go for a bag of chips

4. ok to have sweets every now and then, we are all human - a good option is having things that take time to eat. things like jolly ranchers take time to eat, while a candybar or reeses we can inhale in a minute. peeling an orange takes a bit more work and is less calories than pouring a glass of OJ. if you are a chocolate fan go for a higher quality dark chocolate option thats 70%+ rather than a hersheys bar

5. we put on weight through the addition of carbs usually. chemical bonds of carbon-hydrogen-oxygen. this is the same for fats, they are just long chains of this for more efficient storage of this chemical energy. So how do we lose this ? you don't lose the fat by pooping, peeing or sweating. You lose it by breathing. we exhale the carbs or fats as CO2 + water. So the more breathing you do (exercise) the more weight you lose. each breath is a little bit of fat being burned off.

6. try to avoid stress. i know, easier said than done. But if you are in a constant state of bad stress/anxiety it raises a hormone called cortisol which leads to a host of issues including weight gain or difficulty losing weight

I agree with many of your points here, but #1 is not the way our physiology is supposed to work, and the situation you describe only applies if your metabolic machinery has been compromised to the point where you are carb dependent (sadly that's well over half the population). When the carb dependency is broken and you can burn fat again (== lowering insulin levels) it's easy and seamless to eat once a day, twice a day, once every other day, or even do longer fasts as you seamlessly transition to burning your own stored energy. Energy expenditure actually INCREASES on a longer fast as that is when our caveman ancestors would have needed their energy most to go out and procure more food, and after experiencing it I will say there is a noticeable malaise in comparison when constantly fed. There is also a lot of cellular level housekeeping that goes on in a fasted state AKA autophagy that our ancestors would have experienced on the regular but most ppl today do not with eating from dawn to bedtime constantly. We were actually designed for irregularly spaced and erratic eating patterns.