Can anyone suggest any proven ways for weight loss?????

[Gipsy]

Hi everyone, I have been really obsessed with my weight problem. I am a 33 year old female and have gained 90lbs which makes the count to 210. I recently took out some of my summer clothes and they don’t fit me anymore!!! This is a real tragedy for me. How can I not wear the ones I adore...moreover the new look is getting me mad (with the comments from my friends). I know quite a few ways to start losing weight…….but I don’t really feel that, with so many people failing using these methods that I will make it through. Does anyone know a proven way to reduce the weight?

Please help me…..this is killing me!!!

[Tuckervill]

There's only one way. Burn more calories than you consume.

Do you have a bike? Ride it.

Karen

[bmccasland]

Gipsy,
Have you checked with your doctor? Is your thyroid out of whack? Unless you've been sitting on the couch eating bonbons in the past year, with an icecream chaser, there might be a medical reason for some of your weight gain. I would get a physical, keep a diary of foods eaten, and then start riding a bike, taking a walk, something, but get moving.

We all know we need to lay off the soda pop, chips, cookies, cheesecake, fried foods, french fries...... all that stuff our mothers would call *junk food*. If you're in the northern hemisphere, it's prime season for fresh fruits and vegies. I've recently discovered the joys of munching on raw sugar snap peas - sweet and crunchy. They may be higher calories than other types of green beans, but they do satisfy my desire to eat something sweet.

[OakLeaf]

Relevant story from this week's LAT health section:

Based on data from more than 7,000 people, Wing says there are few similarities in how people lose weight. But those who succeed in maintenance sing the same song.

Instead of trying to eat less for the rest of their lives to bridge the energy gap, these people exercise more. They typically spend an hour or more each day in aerobic exercise and strictly limit time spent watching television.

Physical activity, in ways that researchers don't really understand, influences some of the biological systems that promote weight regain, encouraging the body to become more sensitive to leptin and insulin, for example.

"Everyone thinks exercise is about burning calories," Fujioka says. "But you are actually returning the system to more like what it should be. Things start working again."

[cyclingmama]

Many studies have shown that the people who lose weight and are successful at keeping it off have found a way to make exercise a regular part of their life. I think a lot of people focus more on cardio in order to burn calories, but strength training is just as important to weight loss. It helps insure that the weight you lose from all that cardio is more fat than muscle, and it boosts your metabolism, so that the cardio becomes more effective and you burn more calories even at rest.

And keep riding that bike!!!!

[mimitabby]

what she said. Start being more physical. Walk instead of drive.
park farther away from things when you have to drive. Admit to yourself
that to lose weight you have to TAKE the time to do things with your body;
like walking, riding, stretching, and exercising. if you don't take the time now,
you will lose it on the other end; in terms of shorter life span and shorter HEALTHY life span. you're young, you CAN do this.

You might read "Younger Next Year - Turn Back Your Biological Clock" by Chris Crowley

forget diets, they don't work. CHANGE YOUR LIFE. that's what's going to work.

[Flybye]

I have had great success using both LA Weight Loss and Weight Watchers. That was some of the best money that I ever spent. Accountability and journaling are what make all the difference for me. You might surprise yourself about how much a nibble here and there add up calorie wise. Also, I have had difficulty losing weight when I don't eat enough food. Journaling keeps me right smack dab where I need to be.

I generally follow a 1200-1400 calorie diet using The Calorie King book (that is now that I don't go to either Weight Watchers or LA Weight Loss) and on days that I ride hard I add calories according to how many I have burned using this calculator:

http://www.kanbike.org/pages/cal.php


Both LA Weight Loss and Weight Watchers are pretty much low carb diets.

I lose weight faster when I am not exercising/training. I know the reason is that when I train hard I tend to be more tired and therefore don't want to mess with journaling and I also have less determination to leave the snacks alone.

Hope that helps.

[ny biker]

Some random thoughts -

I know someone who had great success with Weight Watchers. He joined with his wife a few months before their wedding and they both lost weight. After a while he did admit that he got tired of counting points, but through the point system he became more aware of what foods were better to eat than others and what kinds of portions were right for him. Then he switched jobs and started commuting by bike and lost even more weight.

I lost 25 lbs a few years back by getting back to a regular exercise routine, so that it became such a habit that I felt weird if I didn't go to the gym or go for a walk or bike ride. I do weight training twice a week and cardio 2-3 days a week. For cardio I like to vary my routine - bike rides and long walks outside when the weather is good, and when it's not I walk on the treadmill, ride a stationary bike, use an elliptical machine, etc. The important thing is to fine a couple of activities that you like so that it's not a chore.

Also I cut way back on fried foods (which are my big weakness - I don't have a sweet tooth, I have a fried tooth). I still allow myself to have the bad foods that I like, but I limit them, e.g., french fries are allowed only twice a month max. I've read that it's better to allow yourself a treat periodically rather than completely forbidding certain foods because if you try to cut your favorites out completely you wind up bingeing (sp?) on them.

Also I've watched that guy Dr. Oz on TV a few times and he seems to make sense in terms of his advice on eating better and getting exercise into your life. I've never read his books but it might be worthwhile to hit a bookstore and check them out.

http://www.realage.com/ct/the-you-do...t/cbr/YDGGLE18

The Washington Post health section has some columns and weekly web chats on healthy eating and exercise - the Lean Plate Club and the Misfits. The web chats are good for specific advice and for support. (Website registration is required for washingtonpost.com but it's free and it's just looking for some demographic info - you can make stuff up if you want.)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv...lpc/index.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...050201281.html

Overall I think the most important thing is to focus on lifestyle changes that you can maintain over the long term. Meaning gradual changes to eat healthier foods and increase your activity level. And it's better to lose weight slowly and gradually than to go on an extreme diet that you won't be able to stick to.

Whatever you do, keep us posted. And good luck!

[LainiePants]

Of course, like everyone else said: EXERCISE !

And also, don't forget to eat your fruits and veggies. Lots and lots of them.

[shootingstar]

This is your lst post.

Tell us, abit about your cycling that you do/hope to do. It is...after what connects most us here in the first place.

[tpb]

Weight Watchers is great because it teaches a lifestyle change. The goal is not only weight loss, but healthy eating and a more active lifestyle. I've had great success with them.

-T

[SandyLS]

I agree that Weight Watchers is a great program. I became a life time member 11 years ago and have never missed my monthly weigh-in. It is the only thing that has kept me on track all these years. We all know that we need to move more and eat less. There is no magic and no shortcuts. Keeping a food journal is a great start. If I have to write it down I think twice before eating. Strive to loose no more than two pounds a week. Bad things can happen to our bodies when we loose too fast. Don't think of your weight loss as one big goal. Break it up into 5 or ten pound goals. Plan to give yourself little non-food rewards when you reach each goal you set for yourself. It sounds as if you are really motivated at this point in your life. That is what it usually takes to get started. Good luck. And remember that no food is off limits. I would not be a happy camper without a bit of Dove chocolate or ice cream every now and then.

[tctrek]

I have tried every program and diet in the world, restricting calories, eating only fresh (no processed foods), you name it, I did it. I would lose a few pounds and then stop losing. Then gain it all back. I have hypothyroidism and insulin resistance and I'm post-menopausal. My favorite excuse was "what do you want from me? I have no metabolism and no hormones to help me to lose weight!"

Nothing worked until I first stepped on a treadmill and started walking a little each day. Then I went to a spin class. Then I got a bike and started riding. Now, even though I work a very stressful job and don't have much free time each day, I try to get at least 30-60 minutes of some sort of exercise every day. Nothing else works except to move your body -- a little at first, then more.. nothing too fast or that makes you breathe too hard -- good aerobic exercise.

Of course, moving your body doesn't mean we can eat Big Macs and french fries! You still need a balanced diet, but if you give your body less calories than it needs to perform your basic bodily functions (ie: way below your BMR), you will not lose weight. Your body will figure out how to do things more efficiently and will consume less calories for the same amount of work. So, you have to eat more than you might think when you are exercising... you need to give your body the fuel so that you can exercise more and so that it doesn't start figuring out how to do the exercise without burning too many calories.

Say your BMR is 1500 calories -- this means to do all your normal daily activity, you need 1500 calories. You would think that eating 1200 calories, you would lose weight, right? Sure -- for a little while you will. Then, if you are like me, your body will figure out how to do what it needs to do each day on 1200 calories! It will become more efficient and the weight loss will stop.


The trick is to eat your BMR each day, then exercise say 400 calories worth,
then put back maybe 100 calories, for a net calorie deficit of 300 calories.
(The numbers are just examples, but you get the idea) -- you have to give your body the calories it needs to function, then exercise, then put back at least a little of the calories that you exercised off. Then mix up the exercise - walking, rowing, weights, cycling . This keeps your body a little confused and it won't be able to learn how to keep up with what you are doing on less calories.

Get a copy of Covert Bailey's book -- Smart Exercise, Burning Calories, Getting Fit. It explains the physical side of exercise and debunks some of the myths about why we are fat and how to get thin.

Good luck and may the force be with you!

[Tuckervill]

Great post, TC.

Karen