I don't want to be fat anymore. - Page 2

About 8 years ago I was in great shape - used to go the gym every other evening and do an hour on the cross-trainer; headphones on, head down and waddle away like a spastic.

I kept this up for months, and more importantly I kept eating the same stuff I normally ate; chocolate - a shit load, I love it. Crisps (chips to you yanks) by the bucket-full - love them. I figured I still had to have the things I enjoyed, just exercise and the weight will drop off. And it did - I looked the best I've ever looked. About a year later I met a girl, got comfortable and gave the gym up.

7 years later and I'm approaching 40, flabby, out of breath at the top of the stairs and shallow breathing as I'm not using my lungs for anything other than walking from my car to my desk. Feel like shit.

Well fuck that - 3 weeks ago I joined the local gym again and have started training again; couple of weights here and there but mainly back on the cross-trainer. Still eat the same shit I always have, but in 3 weeks I've lost 6lb (mostly probably water to start off with) but I feel better in myself for hauling my ass across the road to the gym.

The thing is to keep eating the same shit you normally do, don't deny yourself anything otherwise you'll go fucking mental.

Just exercise. That's it.

No diets, those things designed by people looking to cash in on people looking for an excuse not to exercise.

Don't want to be fat? Then get off your lazy ass and work off more calories than you eat, it's that fucking simple.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stale Elvis 
The thing is to keep eating the same shit you normally do, don't deny yourself anything otherwise you'll go fucking mental.

 

Just exercise. That's it.

 

No diets, those things designed by people looking to cash in on people looking for an excuse not to exercise.

 

Don't want to be fat? Then get off your lazy ass and work off more calories than you eat, it's that fucking simple.

I love chips and chocolate too.  Love.

Pardon me if I am taking your post too literally.  For me this works. For you it might.  And buried deep in there, your advice to just get off your ass is good.  However, for the more obese, or for those with a specific kind of metabolism, this may not help.  And personally, it is dangerous advice.  In fact, it could confuse the shit out of their body and they may be worse off than they were when they started.

I agree that a person should not quit what they like cold turkey and that they should exercise.  I dropped 60 pounds of fat by weening myself off the crap and large portions.  Junkfood should be a reward, not an opportunity to continue to indulge in the very thing that got someone fat to begin with.

Bottom line, if it makes you overweight, you really shouldn't be putting it in your body.

As much as I love food - especially the shit, I wish we could banish it to Dimension X.  It would rid us of a majority of obesity, and it would quash my temptation.  I am weightlifting again, trying to gain back lost mass from shoulder surgery (plus any more I can before my body stops producing this much testosterone), and I am eating anything I can shove into my mouth.  I am justifying it because calories are wonderful for muscles. Although that is somewhat true, I could eat much better calories - I am just lying to myself and using it as an excuse.

I just read an article that stated the US has a 37% obesity rate, while the next country (forgetting which) after us is around a third that.  Americans are fucking disgusting.

So, even though my muscles are gobbling up those calories, they are marbling like mad because of the careless way I consume fat calories...

Yeah, exercise may have increased my fitness, but the actual weight-loss didn't really come until I changed my diet.  I tried to deny diets for a while, but that just wasn't working.

It helps to see a diet as not a denial of something you love, but a measure of discipline.  How much can you control yourself?  That's an important thing to be able to do anyway.  Within reason, of course... which will vary from person to person.

I agree with the both of you I just think diets alone are shit. You need to exercise. You need to exercise.

Again - I agree And as someone with a single GCSE in biololgy I'm the last person who should be dishing out medical information.

I think the problem comes from the word "diet", normally construed as faddish shit like eating only soup or grapefruit, usually performed by widening secretaries or your mom. "Intake" is probably a more fitting term, because it's normally not a short-term thing, it's a lifestyle change. Eating at least 75% "clean" (little or no processed stuff, less sugar, more veggies/fruits/lean meat, no fucking soda ugh that stuff is terrible for you) does wonders and many nutritionists/trainers would swear to changing your intake being the first and foremost important thing when it comes to weight loss. I mean, it's hard to power your body on subpar fuel - it's like trying to run a car on watery gasoline. Of course they advise cheat meals/cheat days/etc. to specifically keep one from losing their shit and being found in a sugar coma atop a pile of empty Krispy Kreme boxes, but once you can commit to eating clean for a majority of your meals, results will show. That being said, exercise just because it's good for you!

This post brought to you by a guy who's currently 40 lbs. overweight and hasn't been to the gym in almost two years. Yay stress and laziness! 

Oh god I already posted in this thread nevermind

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jake 

I think the problem comes from the word "diet", normally construed as faddish shit like eating only soup or grapefruit, usually performed by widening secretaries or your mom. "Intake" is probably a more fitting term, because it's normally not a short-term thing, it's a lifestyle change.

Exactly correct and a great way to put it.  Not so much "being on a diet" but more "your daily diet".

It really is all about discipline. I was always pudgy growing up, and after high school I started to pack on more weight till I was about 200 pounds. I remember meeting up with my brother after not seeing him for awhile, and he made a crack about how I looked like I was putting on the pounds. Well, that was all it took for me. I didn't want to be the guy who people see and think, "Oh wow, he's gotten fat!" I changed my ways immediately after that. I have my brother to thank, even though he was just being a dick.

Everyone will tell you that diet and exercise are the key, but I agree with other posters that "diet" has negative connotations. You have to change what you eat, when you eat, and how you eat -- forever. And I think cheat days are essential. I tend to have one a week, but if you're not careful it can spiral out of control until every day is a cheat day. Been there many times. I also think it's good to drink endless amounts of water, and avoid fast food and packaged food as often as possible.

As for exercise, I get some in every day. Doesn't matter if it's a hardcore hour at the gym or a simple walk to the store, just try to do something.

Another tip that's worked for me: try being a gay man. Seriously, we HAVE to look good or we'll never get laid, ever. Frustrating, but true!

or you could be like me, and have a nasty hiatal hernia.

Want to overeat... get ready for chest pains, major gas, and heart palpitations.  Oh, and don't forget about vomiting up food that sits in your esophagus for 40 minutes beforehand.  

I got my hiatal hernia due to overeating.  Never got fat, just got about 5 inches of my stomach displaced above my diaphragm.  Only solution,... surgery.... and that doesn't always work.  

So the general prescription is drink lots of water, no soda, lots of fruits and veggies, and lean meats - is that just like unbreaded chicken and fish?  I was trying to eat lean lunchmeats for a while, but then someone told me bread (even whole wheat) is bad for you.  Are sandwiches pretty much out of the question then?

Nothing is out of the question, really. Bread isn't "bad for you" (especially wheat --- whole grains and what not). Everything in moderation. 

If you're trying to go on an Atkins diet... yeah... bread is 'bad' for you.  Heheheh

if the bread is green, and starting to move around on it's own... yeah, it's bad for you

Perspective is definitely necessary when it comes to this sort of thing. I have a tendency to freak out and over-cut from my diet, and I have to remind myself to take a step back. First thing first, stop drinking soda and eating brownies and Big Macs. Then worry about bread.

Also:

I was a personal trainer and nutritionalist for approximately 6 years and believe the key to fitness is the exact opposite of what the general public is doing.

* First off when referring to someone as fat, or in shape, I am not being critical of someone that is fat, just describing their body type.

Go into any health club and you will see fat people on the treadmills and cardio machines and the fit people will be lifting weights.   A good cardio session can burn between 200 to 800 calories and that can be only one coffee at Starbucks (and does nothing for the rest of the calories you're taking in during the day).  Cardio should be used for heart health and circulation.  The reason is this:  1 LB. of muscle burns 50 calories a day just sitting there and 1 LB. of fat only burns 5 calories.  So, through resistance training, the more muscle you build, the more fat your body will start burning throughout the day.  In my experience your body adapts to cardio very quickly and I know several obese, or severely overweight people that can run on a treadmill for an hour, but will see no change in body type.

As for nutrition, it is the hardest part and will be responsible for approximately 70% to 80%  of your body change.

Look at food in 3 food groups: Protein, Carbs and Fat.  A good breakdown is getting 40% of your daily calories from carbs, 30% from protein and 30% from fats (but serious weight lifters will require a different ratio and increase protein).

You can look at all the diets in the world, but a simple method is to ONLY eat single ingredient foods (i.e. meat, rice, green beans, etc).  It is hard not to eat healthy, if you are not eating pre-packaged multi-ingredient foods.

Eat a fast burning carb directly after a work-out such as white rice, or potato, but use slower digesting carbs at other times (such as yams, brown rice, barley).  The slower digesting carbs do not spike your blood sugar levels. 

Use a whey protein directly after a work-out because your body digest it quickly and gets it to your recovering muscles quickly.  Use a casein protein before bed, as it slowly digest and can feed your muscles while you sleep (almost like a drip method).

I have started avoiding chicken as my protein source due to  all of the antibiotics/hormones being used in the poultry industry.  I use lean protein sources such as tuna, talapia and buffalo (buffalo has similar iron, protein and creatine as beef, but is lower in fats and cholesterol and is also a protected species and does not have the hormones and antibiotics that the cattle industry uses).

I'm doing practically no cardio and just body weights - push-ups, triceps, squats, pull-ups ... about an hour and a half every other day.  I'm on my feet all day at work, bending and squatting, and walking, walking, walking .... I don't need more cardio after work, though I will start playing basketball soon to get more flexibility and range of motion (I tried basketball twice this summer and it's too rough on my pinched nerve, but I think my body is strong enough now)  As for diet I've cut out processed sugar, gluten, and alcohol.  The fat is just disappearing, and I'm not talking about 2 or 3 pounds, I'm talking about 2 or 3 pounds a week.  215 lbs to 195 in about two months.  Anyone serious about loosing weight should read that post by 29thcleric, then read it again.  In 2012 there should be no mystery in how to loose weight any more, but it's a serious commitment, no more crap food and at least 6-8 hours of exercise a week that can mostly be done in front of the TV.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TonyB79 

So the general prescription is drink lots of water, no soda, lots of fruits and veggies, and lean meats - is that just like unbreaded chicken and fish?  I was trying to eat lean lunchmeats for a while, but then someone told me bread (even whole wheat) is bad for you.  Are sandwiches pretty much out of the question then?

Ditch bread.  Ditch wheat.  It metabolizes as sugar with little nutritional value.  It's bad for you and it makes you fat.   I'm not eating it and I'm loosing tons of weight.  In "My Dinner with Blassey" Classy Freddie Blassie says not to eat it, and that was in 1983.  The secrets out.  Don't drink juice either.  Once you get all that sugar out of your liver you won't be hungry.  I'm 6'3" and I'm shocked how small my meals have gotten.  I'm just not hungry.  Listen to Alec Baldwin interview Dr. Robert Lustig on Alec's "Here's The Thing" podcast - It will all make sense.  

I just read Gary Taube's book "Why we get Fat". It espouses the Atkins diet, nothing new there. But he presents all the scientific evidence backing the claim up, which I have to say is pretty compelling  stuff. Highly recommended reading. 

Trader Joe's has been a real haven for me in terms of finding a place to shop for groceries that offers a ton of healthy, delicious food at really good prices.  If you have one in your area, give it a try.

Is TJ expensive?  I have wanted to check it out, but I have been discouraged by rumblings of cheaply made products, novelty items and expensive food.

Depends on what you're getting. Every Monday on my way to work I stock up on lunch for the week for about 30-40 bucks. I get stuff to make salads with (bagged salad greens, beets, roast beef, bleu cheese, sun dried tomato), and they're great, filling salads. They also have a GREAT selection of nuts, if that's your thing. Depending on the season, you can get some really good stuff very reasonably priced. I eat paleo the vast majority of the time, and TJ's is pretty dependable when it comes to "clean" food in my experience. Their snack food isn't any healthier than anyone else's, sadly.

May also depend on the location.  I'm in NC, so my groceries are pretty reasonable.  A TJ in NYC will probably charge more.  I'll buy some items there and the rest at the farmer's market, which is the most kick-ass farmer's market I've ever been to.  30,000 square feet of locals selling homegrown food.

Tilapia is a fucking godsend for your diet. It's cheaper than Salmon, super lean like chicken breast, and seafood is a lovely change of pace from chicken and red meat. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freeman 

Tilapia is a fucking godsend for your diet. It's cheaper than Salmon, super lean like chicken breast, and seafood is a lovely change of pace from chicken and red meat. 

You forgot its most redeeming quality; as a whitefish it takes flavors like tofu.  So many options to not get bored by.

Also for good prices on fish and a variety of flavors I recommend Sam's club.  Bags or boxes of salmon, tilapia, trout and cod for excellent prices.  My sons would eat the Parmesan Encrusted tilapia every night if I gave them half a chance.  Get that and some country dijon mustard and a few limes.  Half a lime per two-three taplespoons of mustard makes a good dipping sauce for the parmesan tilapia.

It's not like Tilapia is horrible for you, but it's not the magic food that people claim either.  It has great protein, but Tilapia is not super lean.  It contains an incredibly high amount of Omega-6 fat.  On the flipside, it has some of the lowest Omega-3 fat content of any fish.  Additionally, it has a "shitty" diet and is most commonly a farmed fish.  It doesn't hurt to eat on occasion - especially if you want to mix things up, but to rely on it more than another protein source (or fish) isn't in ones best interests. 

There used to be a fresh fish guy in my town that would go to some area around Mexico for a month and fish.  He would come back with his fresh catches and sell them for a month.  Rinse and repeat.  I learned a lot from him about fish.  I always found it amusing when he would go on Tilapia rants.  "Tilapia is the worst thing to happen to food in a while.  It is overpriced and has no flavor.  It's the hot dog of the sea."

Quote:

Originally Posted by wd40 

It's not like Tilapia is horrible for you, but it's not the magic food that people claim either.  It has great protein, but Tilapia is not super lean.  It contains an incredibly high amount of Omega-6 fat.  On the flipside, it has some of the lowest Omega-3 fat content of any fish.  Additionally, it has a "shitty" diet and is most commonly a farmed fish.  It doesn't hurt to eat on occasion - especially if you want to mix things up, but to rely on it more than another protein source (or fish) isn't in ones best interests. 

 

There used to be a fresh fish guy in my town that would go to some area around Mexico for a month and fish.  He would come back with his fresh catches and sell them for a month.  Rinse and repeat.  I learned a lot from him about fish.  I always found it amusing when he would go on Tilapia rants.  "Tilapia is the worst thing to happen to food in a while.  It is overpriced and has no flavor.  It's the hot dog of the sea."

Seconded. Tilapia is one gross-ass piece of fish.

Tilapia might as well be water.  Utterly flavorless.

More "sugar is bad" fun. When will people get it and stop defending that industry?

http://now.msn.com/coca-colas-polar-bears-the-subjects-of-anti-soda-video

Oh yeah, I agree with the tilapia sentiment. Terribly boring fish. Just eat cod, just as cheap and very good for you. Plus, MUCH less bones to worry about.

Good on you.  The best thing you can do is to try and go every single day.  After about two weeks it will become natural and you'll feel incomplete if you don't get your sweat on.  No chips.  Chips are death. 

I hate diets, but recognize the need to watch what I consume.  I eat the same foods I always have but in smaller portions. American restaurants tend to double, sometimes triple, portion sizes. Thus, I just eat half my meal and take the rest home for another meal. When I eat at home, I eat off of salad plates rather than dinner plates (which quite honestly are the size of perfectly portioned meals). I don't drink soda or sugared drinks, and I rarely eat dessert. But only because I don't really like them. My kryptonite is alcohol. If I stopped drinking, I could drop my BMI so fast. But alas, I dig the whiskey. As always moderation is key, and this goes for exercise as well. I also was a personal trainer and found a mix of weight training and cardio does wonders. One without the other works for a time, but the combo has additive effects. 
 

Tilapia is supposed to have bad omega acids, so I avoid that.

Recently (a month) I started doing the green coffee bean extract pills to lose weight. I had heart surgery a year ago, and the come back has been slow. And I'm un-employed now for a few months, so inactivity has made me take on a lot of belly fat. I Had heard good word of mouth about the product so I bought some.

Gotta say it works great. I'm losing about 5 lbs a week and no side effects, just take a tab or 2 before each meal. Even my Doctor noticed/approved of it as it helps regulate my glucose levels.

I own a Magic Bullet, so I make my own healthy drinks.  Toss in some raw baby spinach, some pomegranate seeds, whatever fruit I have at hand, some water, and blend that shit.

I am 6'1" and weigh about 165.  If I weighed 180, a 32 waist would be a perfect fit.  I WISH I could get to 180.  It's really frigging hard to do in a healthy way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoatMan 

More "sugar is bad" fun. When will people get it and stop defending that industry?

 

http://now.msn.com/coca-colas-polar-bears-the-subjects-of-anti-soda-video

 

 

Oh yeah, I agree with the tilapia sentiment. Terribly boring fish. Just eat cod, just as cheap and very good for you. Plus, MUCH less bones to worry about.

It's fun to see people talk about fat content and running on the treadmill.  Since I stopped eating sugar and wheat at the beginning of the summer, and started eating piles of fatty nuts, cheese, whole milk, McDonald's hamburgers without the bun, frozen cherries and peaches, and apples, apples, apples - the weight has come off and stayed off.  I've plateaued at 185 down from 215 (I'm about 6'3") - and at 36 my body looks exactly like it did when I was 19, except with two sessions of body-weights a week and a 5K run on the weekend (which I'm not even tired during anymore), the six pack I never had is beginning to come in.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WendellEverett 

It's fun to see people talk about fat content and running on the treadmill.  Since I stopped eating sugar and wheat at the beginning of the summer, and started eating piles of fatty nuts, cheese, whole milk, McDonald's hamburgers without the bun, frozen cherries and peaches, and apples, apples, apples - the weight has come off and stayed off.  I've plateaued at 185 down from 215 (I'm about 6'3") - and at 36 my body looks exactly like it did when I was 19, except with two sessions of body-weights a week and a 5K run on the weekend (which I'm not even tired during anymore), the six pack I never had is beginning to come in.

That's pretty much the Atkins diet. There is a reason it works so well.

When you start to take in carbs again, just stay away from processed breads, i.e. anything from a supermarket or fast food. Some sugar is always added for the yeast, but those places add a TON of sugar for more flavor. Make your own bread, or get it from a good bakery. Won't last as long, but it tastes better and has far less sugar.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim K 

Okay. I think I've hit some sort of wall and I went to my doctor for some blood tests. Back in March I gave up all wheat and bread and have done the same thing WendellEverett has, but my body stubbornly stays in the 215-220lb area. I weightlift three times a week and do a 12 to 20 mile bike ride two to three times a week and still nothing.
If I make the diet any stricter I start to lose strength and muscle, but the fat in my gut stays where it is. I'm kinda pissed off right now.

I've hit plateaus like that before, and had one just end. I was stuck at 180 with no ab poking through forever (close to a year!), but I just kept with my diet and woke up five pounds lighter one day and have started to look a bit more jacked day by day since then. I'm anticipating another plateau any day now, though. And really, I'm okay with it, as at this point I've just decided that this is how I live now. I really don't miss bread products that much, and I feel great. Losing weight slowly and being in a plateau sucks, but it sure as hell beats going in the other direction.

Also, someone posted this on my twitter feed recently, and it seems relevant:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim K 

Okay. I think I've hit some sort of wall and I went to my doctor for some blood tests. Back in March I gave up all wheat and bread and have done the same thing WendellEverett has, but my body stubbornly stays in the 215-220lb area. I weightlift three times a week and do a 12 to 20 mile bike ride two to three times a week and still nothing.
If I make the diet any stricter I start to lose strength and muscle, but the fat in my gut stays where it is. I'm kinda pissed off right now.

Are you drinking juice?  I would say just drink water and milk.  Also, how tall and old are you?  It sounds like your muscles might be isolated to particular groups with that type of exercise - depends on what type of weightlifting you do.  You might want to look into yoga or some exercise like tennis or basketball with a little more variety to loosen up more parts of your body.

Something that works for me nowadays (and I've tried several approaches): the infamous meat and eggs diet, quite primal.

Breakfast: eggs, bacon and meat (no sauce, just meat. any meat, whether it's chicken, beef, pork, turkey, lamb, duck)

Lunch: meat or fish and green salad, cucumbers, maybe two tangerines

Dinner: when not sick of meat already, even more meat and two handful of nuts, cheese, cottage cheese, quark with straw/blueberries

throwing in some vegetables sometimes, like sprouts, asparagus, cauliflower, broccoli

Drinking only water, around three liters a day, maybe one single cappucino.

Training/week: one day of strength training (just body exercises and small barbells), two days of cardio (mostly moderately running on the spot, watching tv), each lasting around an hour and each slightly longer/more than the one before, and not killing myself. I got bored of studios and I'm not living in an area that lends itself to outdoor sports.

As for nutrition, I tried many variations and on most mostly green diets, I couldn't keep up with the ridiculous amount of green you need to take in in order to reach the minimum calorie value. I also had a decent problem keeping the carbs down, because cereal, bread, rice, pasta, anything with potatoes is just so delicious.

As a result, I'm constantly losing weight, I never feel sore or tired due to overtraining but experience a constant improvement, I actually enjoy the diet, my skin is flawless (it always was but it's even better now), I really need less sleep than before, I'm always full of energy and cutting down on dairy apparently improves digestion. I always thought eating too much meat could be a huge fat problem, but apparently it only stays on when in combination with enough carbs, which this diet nearly hasn't. Only con: buying so much meat and fish leaves it's marks.

edit: watch this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsSC2vx7zFQ
if that doesn't inspire to become leaner, meaner, better feeling, happier, wanting to become more successful I don't know what will

also: the Rocky Balboa soundtrack

Building metabolism is key.  There is a lot of good information in this thread, especially with regards to fat converting to energy.  Body builders are known to do what they call a "loading" period where they eat like horses and essentially make themselves fat.  Then, weeks before the next competition, they cut their diet to, gosh I dont know, a slice of salmon and brown rice 8 times a day?  And burn all the fat into energy and get that ripped appearance.

Personally, I freaking hate working out.  Its boring and tedious.  I've adjusted my diet to mostly reflect my sensibilities, sashimi, roast chicken and rice pilaf, sea scallops and swiss chard, etc....  Also, I do an extremely serious form of martial arts.  Its brutal (Its Kuntao/Betawi/Penchak Silat, as seen in the Raid Redemption) and I train 3 times a week one on one with a grand master.  The classes are from 2-3 hours each.  I'm a mess of jello and sadness after every class.  

Due to work problems, I had to skip three weeks recently.  Between that, and not eating well, I ballooned 10 lbs immediately.  So it takes constant attention and vigilance.  

Keep at it and you'll work it off.  Giving up is the only way to fail.

I'm telling ya, green coffee bean extract pills. I'm losing 5lbs of belly fat a week with no exercise. no side fx.

My son is in his Sophomore year in college pursuing a degree in Exercise Physiology. Not Engineering like I wanted him to but anyway....

He is constantly trying to make me live longer. Which is sweet cause I'm more valuable money wise to him dead. Anyway he put me on a great diet and we put up a small cheap universal gym in the basement for me which I use carefully. He doesn't use it as he has to go to a gym to lift. He laughs at the machine like it's a tinker toy but it works for me . The kid is fit.  I admit I am feeling better. He doesn't understand how I'm going to self destruct over Christmas but diet is key. Bad habits are key. I've lost 15 lbs. this past two months because of him.