You Wanna Lose Weight!??!?!? Read This Before asking Questions!

[Blindfaith]

To lose weight you need to BURN more calories then you EAT. You do not necessarily need to exercise regularly to accomplish this, since your body burns calories all day. Your weight loss will be much more rapid, and you can eat more, if you do find time to slip in some regular cardiovascular exercise.

So to start out you want to try to drop your caloric intake by 400-500 calories. This will most likely get your burning more then you eat.. unless you are rapidly gaining weight right now, which means you are taking in a LOT more then you burn. If this is the case you need to get more drastic, but for now 400-500 fewer calories per day should do.

How do you do that? It is actually quite simple, but I would need to know your currently diet to make it very precise. I will tell you some pretty easy and common ways to cut 500 calories a day out.

DO NOT EAT OR DRINK ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:

SODA - just 3 12oz regular sodas per day has about 450 calories You can drink diet though, especially if you need caffeine. I HATE diet, but believe me I got used to it. I still don't like it but the only reason I really need to drink soda is for caffeine.

MAYO - People think eating sandwiches is healthy, not if you have mayo on them. I know a lot of people can't handle this, but use a good mustard instead. You will be surprised, you can really live without mayo. You may need to give up things like Tuna Salad, Chicken Salad, Potatoe Salad completely if you cannot handle these without the mayo. BUT, low fat mayo in moderation is exceptable.

CHIPS - One exception, feel free to eat anything BAKED. I love baked lays. They make baked ruffles.. and there are baked tortilla chips. Never eat cheetos.. doritoes.. fritos.. potatoe chips, etc. These are extremely high in calories and saturated fat.

FRENCH FRIES - anything FRIED. Sorry guys, you just gotta live without.

ICE CREAM - You can eat non-fat frozen yogurt or LOW fat ice cream, but for reasons I will discuss below its not a good idea either.

Donuts, Bagels, Candy, Pastries (no cookies!) - These things go straight to fat in your body.

JUICE and most FRUIT. - Juice is death!!! FRUIT is ****. its all Fructose, which is a type of sugar, and WILL cause you to store fat. Now don't take this as never eat any fruits, fruits such as blueberries, strawberries, blackberries with high fibre content and low GI is ok. Fruit is great if you are living a "healthy" lifestyle, but for losing FAT it will hinder your progress. Mod Edit: Fruit is fine! It contains high fiber content which controls the release of fructose. Don't skimp on fruit

SALAD DRESSINGS & OIL - Go for NON-FAT dressing.. they still taste good.. especially honey mustard and ranch. One serving of dressing has 100+ calories!

CHEESE - unless you can find non-fat.. skip it. You can live without it.

Ok so what to make sure you ARE eating:

PROTEIN: protein should be a BIG part of your diet, this is why. Protein fills you up, but has half the calories as fat. Protein also does not cause your body to store fat, but carbs do. I will explain later.

WATER: This is VERY important for a few reasons. Drink it all day long, constantly, force yourself too even when you are not thirsty. There are techniques to do this, fill a glass and drink it all at once. Then fill the glass again to take with you or whatever. Why water. Well first off you need a ton of water for your body to burn fat. It will increase you metabolism and help you burn burn burn. But here is the reason why I think its great.. pounding a glass of water can trick your body into thinking it is not hungry.. it is great for when you get late night cravings... slam some water and go to bed.. in the morning you wake up starving.. before breakfast drink a ton of water and you wont eat as much. Use it to fill you up.

VEGGIES: Vegetables fill you up, but have little or no calories. You can use them as snacks and fillers. I prefer carrots. They are crunchy like chips, have a little taste.. and really have no calories.
So what good stuff can you eat though?

SNACKS: try nuts or peanut butter. Nuts are super high in fat, but the oils you get from it are good and essential to the body. Try a trail mix, even one with some chocolate in it. Its far better then candy.

STEAK, CHICKEN, & TURKEY: who doesn't love a great steak.. and how many different ways can you eat chicken? Tons! For steaks go for New York, or Sirloin... Top and bottom round is good too but tough. NEVER EVER eat Rib Eye or Filet Mignon they are LOADED with fat .. London Broil and Tri Tip is not bad either.

FAST FOOD: yes you can eat fast food, you just have to be smart about it. Try to get meals that have chicken. Cut out the french fries and mayo and you will be left with a semi-decent fast food meal. Fast food is NOT ideal by any means but for someone who is busy it is inevitable at times.

PROTEIN BARS: there are TONS on the market now. Many taste really good, some taste like a candy bar. I like Detour bars.. and they have 32g of protein each! Cliff bars are not bad either if you find a flavor you like.

Yogurt! Get non-fat, there are tons of flavors out there to play with.

You really have to get yourself in a mode of thinking "Is what I am eating now going to be good for me or bad for me?" Everything you put into your body should have a purpose, don't just eat because it tastes good.

Also, some fat is ok.. don't sweat it. The reason why you have to concentrate on looking to reduce it is because people normally eat more fat then they should, so really key in on that and look for ways to eliminate it. To compensate beef up your protein intake.

So why no juice? no bagels? no carbs?
This is why everyone says carbs are bad: It really isn't that CARBS are bad.. it is that sugar is bad.. and carbs have tons of sugars in them. Complex carbs are good. whole grain bread, etc, but don't go overboard.

So why is sugar bad? To process sugar your body releases insulin, and insulin promotes fat storage! You ultimately want to keep your insulin levels low low low. And very consistent and even.. when you get an insulin "spike" your body puts fat on, in men it puts it around the waste. So this is why you need to avoid sugar like the plague!

So I hope this does not sound bad or depressing, it really isn't. You do not need to starve, you do not need to give up everything that is good in life

The REALLY good news is that you do not need to live like this forever. If you follow everything above you will be adhering to a fairly strict diet. Use it to drop weight.. say for 2, 3, 4 maybe even 6 months. Once you get to where you want you can increase you calories slightly.. start adding in a dessert here and there.. treating yourself more. I stayed on the diet above for 3 months or so, now I eat much more liberally.

The number one piece of advice to take from this is: Be conscious of what you are eating at all times and its effect on your body!

Anyone will self control can diet themselves. People tend to use weight watchers and things like that because they need a support group, they are not strong willed enough to suck it up and do it for themselves. I am sure if you set a goal you will have no problem meeting it.

I know you are busy with work, but throw in a basketball game at a gym every few days.. or a short job... a ride on a stationary bike.. something to burn a few hundred extra calories here and there. The more you exercise, the more you can eat!

DO NOT weigh yourself regularly. Scales are a bad indicator of FAT loss. Measuring yourself every 2-4 weeks gives you a way better indication if you are lossing inches or not. Start today, find out where you are at. Then track your progress. Your own progress will be self motivating.


good luck!

Tips for Lowering Your Dietary Fat Content

[zackdarnell]

Did you right that? It looks very familiar.

[bachovas]

He wrote that in another thread. He just felt like it deserve it's own thread.

[chuck89gt5.0]

That whole thing basicly looks like a keto diet, yet you are saying stay away from fats? That would make no sence to eat just protein without carbs or fat......

And weigh yourself regularly?! Are you on crack! That is the last thing you should do when dieting, scales can vary big time, BF testing is the only way to go to monitor progress....and if you have no bf tester use the mirror. The scale will mess with your head and confuse you.

[Blindfaith]

chuck apparently you did not understand the article...this is not a keto style of diet in anyway shape or form. I think you should re-read the article to perhaps get a better understanding of it.

Secondly, i do agree that bodyfat measurements are definitly the way to go but most people dont have the patients to do a caliper test on themselves and at that its pretty unreliable. Or have the money to get them done on a regualr basis.

I should have specified more cleary on weighing yourself....it should be done once a week first thing in the morning on the last day of the week....so either on fridays or sundays. Weighing yourself more than that is redundant and pointless.

And Chuck no i am not on crack, next time you want to make a comment dont insult me just present your arguement like an adult(assuming you arent 13)....if you stick around long enough on this board you just might learn a thing or two from me.

cheers

[2flare]

Thanks for posting, useful info

appreciate it!

[JustinM]

Someone should make this thread a sticky. Very good article.

[Semper Fi350]

That was a GREAT article Blindfaith!!!!! I think I will print that off and hang it up

I basically went by that for a long time!

And I lost great!

I weighed in at 149 yesterday morning at the MEPS station!! YEHAW me!

I had some slices of cheese pizza last night for supper!

AND some Christmas candy this morning I love the freedom!

But I won't let it all go!

Thanks for all yall's help, and I will keep all of you informed!!!!

Oh, and BTW, I had a Hardee's chicken bacon swiss yesterday which consitsted of:

Chicken, lettuce, tomato, 3 slices of bacon, 1 slice of white cheese.
AND dang it was good. NO mayo, ketchup or mustard.

Yummie and delicious. And NOT bad fast food either!

[Blindfaith]

right now i am not dieting...because right now its all about christmas cookies and the nog!

But as soon as new years hit my life for 6 months is over

[Semper Fi350]

Originally posted by Blindfaith
right now i am not dieting...because right now its all about christmas cookies and the nog!

But as soon as new years hit my life for 6 months is over

That is inspiring

B/c that is basically how mine is going to be!

MERRY CHRISTMAS to you ALL, and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

[SCRAM]

Nice Job <S> I dont think anybody can argue that! SCRAm

[supercharged5.0]

Thanks Blindfaith. This is exaxtly what I was looking for.

Thanks
Eric

[griman]

hey blindfaith, if you're not on keto, does all this still apply? can we get a sample day of your diet? One for lifting days and one for running (for cutting stage)? that'd be awesome.

[Blindfaith]

i dont change my diet between the two days....i eat the same regardless what activities im doing during the day.

here is a sample of what i will have during the day:

meal 1: 1/3 cup of oatmeal, 4 egg white omlete with some veggies

meal 2: protein bar

meal 3: 1 chicken breast (5-6oz) 1 cup brown rice, 2 cups broccoli

meal 4: 2 cans of tuna in a whole wheat pita shell w/ mixed veggies, with low fat ranch dressing.

meal 5: 4-6oz sirloin steak, 1 cup brown rice, large garden salad w/ low fat ranch

meal 6: 1 cup cottage cheese


i have 2 or 3 protein shakes in there (whey isolate) i dont count those as meals.

allow yourself to have a cheat meal once a week or 2 snacks during the week. this will keep you somewhat sane. This kind of dieting isnt as hard as it seems...it is very easy to stick to because it allows a large variety of food in it.

[griman]

Thanks blindfaith. would it be possible to supplement the oatmeal and omlette with something else, possibly some peanut butter on a pita with whey protein, or something (i dont have access to the eggs or oatmeal at school)? And what kind of protein bars exactly do you eat? are they beneficial? i love the met-rx ones, but they're loaded with sugar and carbs. The Myoplex lite ones are good too. Any suggestions are appreciated.

[Blindfaith]

of course you can change the oatmeal and eggs...just dont load up the peanut butter.

I personally love the bio protein bars that you can get at Costco for like $1 a bar. The myoplex lite ones are a solid choice too! Even if a bar has some sugar in it dont worry too much about it...it maybe just a glorified chocolate bar but its better than a bag of chips and a slurpie you know what i mean...and its got tons of protein in it. Just try not to eat them late at night....try to keep your insulin levels steady before bed time.

cheers

[griman]

bioTECH protein bars? which ones exactly do you eat? I thinki'm gonna buy 30 or so bars, not to eat everyday but maybe every other day.

[Blindfaith]

yeah they are called bio something...they come in like double chocolate, penut butter, and cookies and creame.

[griman]

hey blindfaith, i just bought 15 Mega Protein low Carb bars from ANSI --- the same people who sell Biochem bars. Here are the facts....190 cals, 4 grams fat, 2 saturated, 11 carbs, 5 grams sugar, and 22 grams of "quality" protein. What do you think? money well spent or no?

[Blindfaith]

Sounds pretty solid to me bro.

[griman]

ok nice, how many do you buy at a time? What are you currently eating for the bars? I remember you saying that now was the time for cookies, and i know what you mean by that i probably had about 30 last night, but how are you working around all the gluttony and partying to stay fit?

[Blindfaith]

right now im just going with the flow man...im just eating whatever whenever....and drinking almost everyday. This time of the year i always give myself a break...tiss the season! The gym has been closed for the past few days but it opens tommorow...so im probobly going to play about 3 hours of racquetball and lift some weights. That should get rid of some of the crap that i have been eating.

When i buy protein bars...i just buy a box...there are usually about 12-15 bars in the box. And actually i dont have any right now....so i think i might buy some more today. Thanks for reminding me!

cheers

[griman]

3 hours of raquetball jesus thats a workout. I just bought some more protein bars so i have 30 total now, 15 of those i told you about earlier, and now i have EAS advantage bars. 2 carbs, but also has that glycerine stuff which "is not counted as carbs" on the package, so about how many carbs do you that stuff makes up? It doesn 't say it has any collagen in the protein blend which is a good thing too i believe.

[bachovas]

Collagen (gelatin) is not in the blend, keep going read the ingredients.

[griman]

oh ****stains......here's what it says..... Protein blend (calcium caseinate, whey isolate, soy isolate, milk protein isolate, whey protein consolate), hydrolyzed gelatin, glycerine, water...etc

so....................whats the damage?

[Blindfaith]

listen bro...dont worry about it...most if not all bars contain this kinda stuff. Its not going to kill you to have one or 2 a day.

[griman]

how many carbs (about) do the glycerine count as? Do you know? And is it true that collagen or gelatin (when mixed with whey and soy) are actually fine for completing your daily protein intake?

[Blindfaith]

honestly i have an idea of how much but im not for certain...so i would rather have someone else answer this one.

[griman]

ah well, i have a nutrition question....if i were to eat about 4-5 slices of turkey breast (honey turkey) from the supermarket about an hour before bed, that'd be ok am i correct? no bread, just the turkey meat.

[Blindfaith]

sounds groovy baby!