Weight loss help

[snapdragen]

Or -- you could check out Weight Watchers. Even if it's only ten lbs., you can learn all kinds of good stuff about nutrition, healthy snax, etc. It's really helped me bunches. I especially like how you are allowed to increase what you eat after exercising, based on how long and the amount of exertion.

I go to meetings where I work, they are too convenient not to! They also have WW online, or WW at home, check out their website.

[Bike Goddess]

Rita girl- yes! RIDE, exercise, do weights, do anything exercise wise (if you can) BEFORE you have breakfast! I (believe it or not) get up at 4:30AM 4 days a week to get all this activity done. If its inclement weather, I go to the gym and do a full workout. Otherwise, I ride and upper body workout. I am at the gym 3x a week- MWF. and riding Sun-Friday with Saturday off. I just started doing the gym stuff in November and that has helped with muscle strength translated to endurance on the bike.

Now here's the other part- if I can lose weight, so can you! I'll be an "official senior citizen" come September. So there, you young ones. No whining!

Nancy

[LBTC]

hi folks

just the chatty one checking in again...on my favourite topic! weight loss....heh

okay, well, I didn't lose no 40 lbs in a year. wow. that's a lot and that's fabulous. it was more like a year and a half to lose 25 or 30 lbs....and I have kept it off. In fact, this year, I didn't even really get the winter 5 lbs. yay!

foodwise:
always eat breakfast

snack at your desk more

drink more water

eat more vegetables

eat lots of protein

make sure your carbs come from whole grains as much as possible


sure, so how do you make that work? one thing at a time, making habits as you go along.

I started with snack carrots at work

I keep boiled eggs handy for quick protein

I only buy cookies, chips, pretzles, etc when we go on a road trip

we eat a lot of boneless skinless chicken breast

I make a wicked banana bread with very little fat, very little sugar and loads of cool things like raisins and cranberries and blueberries, etc.

when I make soup, I start with a can, but you can bet I'll add 2 cups of veggies and a touch of whole wheat pasta and some type of meat (tofu meatballs work well)

veggies are expensive up here in the great white north. when bell peppers go on sale, I buy tons, chop em and freeze em. perfect for soup and stir fries

everything is spicey. especially thai spices. very satisfying

I keep bread in the freezer. just one extra step to snacking on it, slows down my consumption.

dried fruit and nuts make good snacks. so does my banana bread. and fresh fruit! and sliced peppers or any other veggie you like.

diet pop? yeesh, why bother? herbal tea. no sugar added. keep trying them and you'll find ones that you like: Stash has a very nice rooibis and their lemon ginger is quite good. Tazo zen is quite uplifting. Stash also has a nice green and white tea combination. that and water. try not to drink anything else if you're not exercising at the moment. (before, during and after a heavy exercise session is totally different: gatorade, monster, red bull, cytomax, endurox, whatever works for you)

try a new vegetable every month. every once in awhile you'll find a cool one you didn't think you liked. integrate it into your eating. I tried eggplant. turns out if you chop it small it just takes on whatever flavour you've got in the rest of the food. I keep chopped eggplant in the freezer to add to soups, sauces and stir-fries. just another vegetable.

and for exercise....change it up once in awhile. try a new sport for a month. change the way you do your weights. work on intervals instead of long endurance spins. go ahead....go out of your "target range". my personal experience has been: the greatest advances in losing that extra layer of fat which allows all the muscle to be defined happened from the most intense aerobic intervals. primarily from mountain biking and doing lots of anaerobic hill climbs. seriously, the lower heart rate might have some merits, but intervals and high intensity stuff works faster!!

get enough sleep

get enough rest

when you reach a milestone, don't celebrate with food (I used to do that) try something different: new clothes, new aromatherapy scents, a pretty candle, a new book...anything but food!

somebody said this already: sometimes we think we're hungry when we're thirsty. If you're about to devour whatever you can get your hands on, first pour yourself a good tall glass of juice or watered down gatorade (something more than water usually helps the hunger go away, but water can work, too). by the time you've drunk it and let it settle, you'll either find that you can eat less, you might not need to eat at all, and you've had time to rethink what you were going to eat to something more healthy.

oh, and pay attention when you eat. savour it. enjoy it. eat slowly and meaningfully. except, of course, after an intense ride! haha

that ought to be enough ideas for one post, don't ya think?

go, girls, go! you can do it!!!

Namaste,
~T~
who currently has strep throat and an oveactive brain

[AutumnBreez]

I have found since I have cut soda at the end of last year, refined sugars, dairy products, white flour/bread and began an adventure with living foods (raw foods) I have more energy and have lost 12 pounds. Now I am adding in the cycling and expect to widdle down, maybe not so much the weight as the size of my body should slim down.
You don't have to eat as much of raw as you do cooked to feel full, the body does not have to work as hard in finding the enzymes, less stress more energy.
If you eat nuts or seeds, remember to soak them like you would beans, without heat (not blanching), before eating them. They have enzyme inhibitors that have to be tricked into being released so your body can digest them easier. I have seen so much success from my forum buddies without trying to lose, it happens anyway.
Doctors recommend this treatment to cancer patients, why wait till you get it?! My plan, to eat raw, fill my lungs with fresh country air, and cycle long. Yep, this is the life!

[trigurl]

Wow, thats a lot of information

I found a calorie counter on line which keeps tabs on calories and calories burned during your exercise which may help some. Also, in this months Runners mag. they have a runners diet, it tells you to take your current weight x 13 and that is how many calories you need to consume to maintain your current weight, mine is only 1989 so to lose I am going to 1800 and see what happens.

So far today - through lunch - I will have consumed 1110 calories and after my evening workout (and including my morning workout) I will have burned over 1400 calories, COOOOL. oops, I didn't include my weight workout, I will have to go put that in too.

I lost the 40 lbs doing Atkins and I truly believe I would not have been able to lose it any other way! once I started training for Tri's I switched to a lower fat higher carb diet and had no problems with gaining. July will be 2 years and I have not gained any back.

[Irulan]

Funny, I don't see much about the five times a day style of eating. I eat very small portions, all day long instead of big meals. This works for me.

~Irulan

[trigurl]

I do too! I know when it is 10:00 am and 3:00 pm b/c I get hungry! that is when I try to eat fruit, yogurt, pretzels, etc. something to hold me over until lunch and dinner.

I find that those things don't last long tho, I ate pretezels at 10 it is now almost 11 and I am still hungry!

[DeniseGoldberg]

[QUOTE=...I ate pretezels at 10 it is now almost 11 and I am still hungry![/QUOTE]

Might be worth trying something with a bit more nutrition than pretzels...

[Irulan]

Might be worth trying something with a bit more nutrition than pretzels...

yup, what she said. What abour a peice of fruit and some nut/cheese? Protien is what gives you staying power.

Irulan

[Jo-n-NY]

Hi Denise,
I read your post where you recommended the nutition book by Nancy Clark. I just ordered her new 2005 publication The Cyclist's Food Guide

I just wanted to thank you for passing the info along. For anyone else that might be interested, this book is geared to any type of rider, recreational, touring and those who do long rides that last for hours, days or weeks.

http://www.nancyclarkrd.com/books/cyclistsfoodguide.asp

Looking forward to receiving it.

JoAnn

[DeniseGoldberg]

...I just ordered her new 2005 publication The Cyclist's Food Guide

JoAnn-
That book looks really interesting - I think I need to add it to my library. So - thanks back to you too!
--- Denise

[trigurl]

I ended up eating a small banana also. Geesh, I know what I should have majored in

I just got to thinking if I eat 1800 calories a day and burn 1200+ that isn't right is it? If I need to eat 1989 to maintain, 1800 to lose but I burn 1200, I need to be eating more right? I swear I ain't (really) blonde

[snapdragen]

I find that those things don't last long tho, I ate pretezels at 10 it is now almost 11 and I am still hungry!

One of my favorite mid-meals is an apple with a bit of peanut butter. Almond butter is good too.

[SadieKate]

yup, what she said. What abour a peice of fruit and some nut/cheese? Protien is what gives you staying power.

Fiber also! That's why whole grains are better for you and last longer. They have the protein and the fiber left in because the grain isn't processed to smithereens. I find that hot cereal made from cracked or cut grains is not only more tasty but has a whole lot more staying power than rolled or process cereals. Same reason why whole fruit is better than fruit juice. Essentially, the less processed the food the higher the nutritive value.

[slinkedog]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7080440/

Check it out. I thought it was pretty interesting to read this today after all the talk here on the board.