This summer's diet plan?

[anotherlaujgirl]

I want to lose 25-40 this summer before I head out to College.

I feel like losing that weight would make me feel more comfortable
and allow me to feel more confident in myself.


But at the same time, I don't know it 25-40 is a reasonable number to lose.


How would you start dieting?

[melissajh44]

Doing this helped me lose 30 lbs last year:

1. Workout 4-5 days a week
2. Very low carb intake (no complex carbs such as white bread / choose whole wheat instead)
3. No meals or snacks right before bed
4. Portion control

[sdenimandlace1]

Sounds like you had a good plan for losing weight.

[lvstephanie]

Doing this helped me lose 30 lbs last year:

1. Workout 4-5 days a week
2. Very low carb intake (no complex carbs such as white bread / choose whole wheat instead)
3. No meals or snacks right before bed
4. Portion control

Actually you do want complex carbs., like whole wheat bread. Simple carbs. are sugars which will easy be converted to fat if not needed, whereas complex carbs. are longer carbohydrate chains that require more work for the body to digest, like dietary fiber which is important to look for in whole grains. This means that it will take longer to fully digest and will provide the body with a more sustainable amount of energy throughout the day. Also whole grains tend to retain more of their vitamins and minerals over the processed foods like white bread and regular pasta. Otherwise everything you said in 2 is exactly correct. Low carb. / high protein works best; the protein (along with the exercise) will increase muscle mass which acts to increase your metabolism (your muscles will continue to burn energy even if they are not being worked strenuously at the time).

Also along with #4, you may want to eat more often (which just means in terms of frequency but not in terms of amount). Although it sounds counter intuitive, this actually helps you lose weight for a few of reasons... First, whenever we eat but cannot use all of the energy from the foods, our body will store the excess as fat so as to store the "energy" for later use when food becomes scarce. Unfortunately, our diets never have a true starvation period where it would go into our fat reserves. Thus when you have only one large meal a day, your body tends to just continually store fat. Also for the second reason to have more meals each day, you will tend to feel full throughout the day, and so you won't feel like you need to eat as much for each meal. You'll be eating enough to sustain the energy that you need without having too much excess get stored into fat. Finally, having more meals means that you'll start eating first thing when you get up. This in turn triggers other parts of your body to "wake up" and begin burning energy. And by starting to burn energy early in the day, your body will have longer to burn this energy and again lead to less being stored as fat and more of that fat that is already stored to be used up. This is conversely also why you should eat late in the evening; your metabolism will slow down when you are asleep, so anything that you've eaten right before bed may not get spent and will get stored as fat instead. So instead of trying to "starve" yourself and just eat 1 or 2 large meals a day, try having 5 or 6 meals a day, with each having about half the recommended portions.... For example, you may have heard to eat a lean protein the size of a deck of cards. But if you have more meals each day, you may only want a protein the size of a half-deck of cards, so your mid-morning "meal" may consist of a handful of nuts and an apple.  

[mstevenson2]

seriuosly do the low carb thing 20 -25 a day subtract fiber from carb count no bread sweets pasta peas corn rice

[Sciolaro]

Doing this helped me lose 30 lbs last year:

1. Workout 4-5 days a week
2. Very low carb intake (no complex carbs such as white bread / choose whole wheat instead)
3. No meals or snacks right before bed
4. Portion control

Actually you do want complex carbs., like whole wheat bread. Simple carbs. are sugars which will easy be converted to fat if not needed, whereas complex carbs. are longer carbohydrate chains that require more work for the body to digest, like dietary fiber which is important to look for in whole grains. This means that it will take longer to fully digest and will provide the body with a more sustainable amount of energy throughout the day. Also whole grains tend to retain more of their vitamins and minerals over the processed foods like white bread and regular pasta. Otherwise everything you said in 2 is exactly correct. Low carb. / high protein works best; the protein (along with the exercise) will increase muscle mass which acts to increase your metabolism (your muscles will continue to burn energy even if they are not being worked strenuously at the time).

Also along with #4, you may want to eat more often (which just means in terms of frequency but not in terms of amount). Although it sounds counter intuitive, this actually helps you lose weight for a few of reasons... First, whenever we eat but cannot use all of the energy from the foods, our body will store the excess as fat so as to store the "energy" for later use when food becomes scarce. Unfortunately, our diets never have a true starvation period where it would go into our fat reserves. Thus when you have only one large meal a day, your body tends to just continually store fat. Also for the second reason to have more meals each day, you will tend to feel full throughout the day, and so you won't feel like you need to eat as much for each meal. You'll be eating enough to sustain the energy that you need without having too much excess get stored into fat. Finally, having more meals means that you'll start eating first thing when you get up. This in turn triggers other parts of your body to "wake up" and begin burning energy. And by starting to burn energy early in the day, your body will have longer to burn this energy and again lead to less being stored as fat and more of that fat that is already stored to be used up. This is conversely also why you should eat late in the evening; your metabolism will slow down when you are asleep, so anything that you've eaten right before bed may not get spent and will get stored as fat instead. So instead of trying to "starve" yourself and just eat 1 or 2 large meals a day, try having 5 or 6 meals a day, with each having about half the recommended portions.... For example, you may have heard to eat a lean protein the size of a deck of cards. But if you have more meals each day, you may only want a protein the size of a half-deck of cards, so your mid-morning "meal" may consist of a handful of nuts and an apple.  

This betrays a basic understanding of human metabolism.  So-called "complex carbohydrates" often raise blood sugar more rapidly than simple carbohydrates. (British Journal of Nutrition 2004 Jun; 91(6):979-89) Absolute carbohydrate restriction facilitates weight loss.  Carbohydrates drive insulin drives fat, despite the edicts coming from our government agencies.  

[anotherlaujgirl]

xD


Thanks even though I am now confused.

[ancmetro]

   
       Do not forget to exercise every day. Walk and walk!

[LuckyDeutch]

I need to lose about 20 lbs or more But i can not do hardly any workouts. I also watch what I eat. I have stomach problems and have had multiple stomach surgeries. Any suggestions on what I can do for workouts? i am very restricted. I can not do too much with my left arm or shoulder due to lymphodemia. Sorry for spelling of that. ANY help at all will be greatly appreciated!

[bigfoot951]

People are always looking for an easy quick fix when it comes to losing weight and it just doesn't happen like that.  Obviously eating habit and exercise are huge when losing weight.  Also if you just eat less with each meal and eat more meals a day if you need to, I promise that alone will make you lose weight.  It helps you metabolism do its job.

[dbenjamin]

I want to lose 25-40 this summer before I head out to College.

I feel like losing that weight would make me feel more comfortable
and allow me to feel more confident in myself.


But at the same time, I don't know it 25-40 is a reasonable number to lose.


How would you start dieting?

Well, I lowered my calorie intake,cut portions down,rank breakfast drinks,drank more water,and walked as often as possible.

[anotherlaujgirl]

Thank you everyone!