Jason762

Borrowed from http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=81315

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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 shit. 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!

Mobo123

Helluva great post, bud. Great information. Thanks

stevie667

I'd like to make a change to that about fruit.

Firstly, fructose is not as bad for you as it is made out in that statement, the real killer is fructose syrup, the concentrated stuff they put into foods to make them sweet.
Natural fructose is roughly 6x sweeter than glucose, so you'd be suprised how little of it you eat. As the mod edit put, fruit is very good for you, one would be much better cutting out other sugars from the diet.

Also filet steak loaded with fat? Thats definatly a new one to me.

An insulin spike is not the kiss of death as supposed by this article either. Insulin is just a way for your body to regulate your blood glucose levels. It is true, if one eats a small heap of sugar, some of it will be sent to fat, but with a normal meal, its no biggy, just make sure its a balanced one.

Salad dressings, generally a no-no, but olive oils contain boat loads of unsaturated fats, the good kind of fats. Having a good sprinkle of that stuff on your salad can be quite good for you.

Last point, a mirror is the best way to judge fat loss, along with a tape measure. Like the article said, scales are a poor indicator because as muscle weighs 4X more than fat, it is easy to lose lots of fat, but muscle up and gain weight.

Other than that, some good stuff.

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Xazy

Thanks for all the good info.

absorbentishe

Any whole grain is good, wheat bread etc. The more processed the worse it is for your body. If it's not refined, it takes calories to break it down to a usable form.

Eat 6 small meals a day, this keeps the blood sugar level consistant, and will turn the body into a fat burning machine.

Sho Nuff

Ive done well eating carrots and spinach/tomato salads for snacks. I also eat baked shelled peanuts and pistachios to satisfy my craving to munch. Every once in a while though I need a greasy kung pao chicken or carryout 4 piece wing and fries. When I do eat it though I eat until I am satisfied, not until I am done and immediately throw the rest away so I dont finish it later. The craving is fully satiated and the negative impact is minimized.

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Ample

I would like to add one thing....

For my final meal of the day, 3-4 times a week I eat half a bag of microwave popcorn. You know the light stuff without all the butter and salt. Personally I prefer the Kettle Corn type.

maleficent

I had to check...

Fat/Calories in Filet Mignon
6 oz serving
348 calories
16 g fat
6 g unsaturated fat

Flank Steak
3 oz serving
165 calories
7.1 g fat
2.9 g unstaurated fat
2.8 g mono unsaturated fat

Tenderloin
3 oz serving
179 calories
8.8 g fat
3.3 g saturated fat
3.4 g unsaturated fat

Sirloin
3 oz serving
158 calories
5.3 g fat
2.0 g unsaturated fat
2.2 g monounsaturated fat


Tenderloin seems to be the worst - but filet isn't any better or worse than other steaks...

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stevie667

Well, i guess i was wrong.

But its just so goooood.

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thingstodo

I kind of agree/disagree with the cardio muscle thing. I mean, I don't think you'll lose muscle with cardio alone - if you do your cardio the right way.

On one hand, I do believe in lifting and that it's important. And I lift myself and am pretty serious about it although I don't lift real heavy now that I'm older. I also do more funky things, like right now I'm doing two sets of 25 reps for everything for a few months.

On the other hand, cardio is great for fat processing with no muscle loss if you do it the right way. You'll need to use a heart rate monitor and learn how to find your AT - anaerobic threshold - the point where you body stops buring equal amount of fat and sugar and goes to only sugar. The bad thing about going above this for very long is that you start to use muscle mass for fuel when you run our of sugars. 15 BPM below this level and you are using mostly fat. The good thing is that your also teaching your body to better process fat for fuel at these lower levels.

It does take dicispline to work out lower but longer. It takes about an hour of the lower level stuff to equal a 3 mile, 30 minute jog.

I'll attach a few links, one is a chart for these zones and the AT thing. Print it out and read the second page on how to find your AT without a stress test. I copied some of that stuff here but there is much more in the chart and second page.

http://www.lifetimefitness.com/modul...ning_chart.pdf

1. What is heart rate? The frequency that the heart pumps blood and oxygen
to working muscles. It is the most practical measure of cardiovascular intensity.
2. What is heart rate training? Heart rate training is simply using heart rate training zones to guide your fitness program. If you’re interested in weight loss,
it balances the best use of your fuel (fat vs. carbohydrates) with the need to increase calories burned. If you’re interested in athletic performance, it balances the need to build an aerobic base and endurance with the need to improve your
ability to maintain higher intensity exercise.
3. How do I measure my heart rate? A heart rate monitor is the most accurate way to consistently measure your heart rate during exercise. Manually measuring
your heart rate is often inaccurate and impractical.
4. What is a heart rate monitor? A heart rate monitor consists of a strap worn around your chest that counts your heartbeats, plus a watch that displays
your current heart rate in beats per minute. The chest strap
wirelessly transmits your heart rate data to the watch. In more
advanced models, the watch can also display information
such as workout time, time in specific zones, calories burned
and distance traveled.
5. What are the benefits of heart rate training?
• Improved results: Heart rate training will help you lose weight
or increase your speed and the amount of activity you can do.
• Increased motivation to exercise:
– Your workouts are more interesting and accountability
is improved when you know how many calories you’ve
burned, your average HR and time spent in your target
heart rate zones.
– Different workout types make exercise fun.
– A heart rate monitor is your “cardiovascular dashboard,”
continually providing feedback on your workout.
• Increased metabolism:
– Heart rate training provides the right mix of aerobic
(longer time spent) and anaerobic (higher intensity)
exercise to increase your fitness level and the amount
of time spent using fat for fuel.
• Helps you avoid overtraining:
– A heart rate monitor provides the feedback necessary to
show you if you are over exercising and should slow down.
6. What is Anaerobic Threshold? (AT) Your Anaerobic Threshold (AT) is the exercise intensity level at which exercise becomes noticeably difficult. Breathing
becomes heavy and talk is challenging. A beginner can
only exercise for a few minutes at this intensity. A very fit
individual can exercise at or above AT for thirty minutes
or more. Your AT will improve with exercise and is the best
way to measure your personal fitness level.
7. Why should AT be used to create heart rate
training zones? As your fitness level improves, you are able to do more work
at the same intensity or the same amount of work at a lower
intensity. What was once hard is now moderate and what
was moderate is now easy. The change in your ability to
exercise, i.e., your fitness level, requires that your heart rate
zones change too. Anaerobic Threshold is the best measure
of fitness level as it changes with fitness improvements. (Other
cardiovascular measurements, like predicted maximum heart
rate, do not change when your fitness level improves; Life Time
Fitness does not believe they are accurate gauges for
determining heart rate training zones.)
8. What is maximum heart rate? What is resting heart rate? Maximum heart rate is the highest number of beats per minute that your heart can produce. Resting heart rate is the beats per minute your heart is pumping just after you wake up and before you get out of bed. With improved fitness levels, you will lower your resting heart rate, i.e., your heart can provide the same amount of blood and oxygen in fewer beats.
9. Which method for determining AT is right for me? (See chart)
The Bronze method is a general estimate and should be
used for a starting point only. You will quickly learn whether
it works for you or not. The Silver method is a feeling-based
measurement and is a much more accurate determination
of AT. The Gold method provides an absolute measurement
and also provides you with your fat utilization profile.
10. How often should I have my AT tested? It depends on your level of fitness. If you’re just starting a fitness program, you can test 4 to 6 weeks after you begin.
If you’re moderately fit, you should test 8 to 12 weeks after beginning a program. If you are very fit, you should re-test every 3 to 4 months or when you are starting to train for an event. The more fit you are, the harder it is to change your AT.
11. What is my target heart rate or target zone? There is no single target heart rate or heart rate zone. You should use a variety of zones in your fitness program. The zone or zones for a given workout will vary depending on
the goal of the workout and your fitness program. A good guideline to use for your fitness program is to keep 80% of your cardiovascular training below your AT in zones 2 and 3. The other 20% should be spent above AT in zone 4. Very fit
users should also use zone 5.
12. If zone 3 is where I burn the most fat, is that the zone where I should exercise? You should train in multiple zones. Training in zone 4, above AT:
• Helps increase your fitness level, providing a large range of
intensities where you use fat for fuel.
• Helps you increase the calories you burn after exercise and
at rest.
• Helps improve your ability to store excess carbohydrates as
glycogen in the muscles instead of as fat.
The Life Time Fitness Heart Rate Training Chart: Your guide to finding your individual training zones.
Heart Rate Training—An introduction:
The heart is a muscle that needs to be exercised regularly to be strong and efficient. Your heart rate (heart beats per minute) provides a constant measure of your exercise intensity.
Exercising at the right intensity for the right amount of time is the key to getting the most out of your workouts and meeting your fitness goals.
____________________________________________

Here's an good article on the same stuff from Mark Allen, 6 Time Ironman World Champion:

http://www.duathlon.com/articles/1460

Here's a teaser from the article:

Working Your Heart
The secret of training smart

How hard do I have to workout? How far do I have to go? I workout 2 hours every other day of the week and I still can't lose those last 10 pounds. Why do I keep getting injured when I try to run? These are all questions and comments people make about their training that seems to have no simple solution.

I want to give you that solution. It's called a heart rate monitor. Whether your goal is to win a race or just live a long healthy life, using a heart rate monitor is the single most valuable tool you can have in your training arsenal of equipment. And using one in the way I am going to describe will not only help you shed those last few pounds, but will enable you to do it without either killing yourself in training or starving yourself at the dinner table.

Good luck!!

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Jason762

Good advice -->

newtx

Yes I wanna lose weight. Thanks for all the info. So far the only thing that has worked for me is low carb. Not too healthy and the ketones are way too smelly for me.

thingstodo

And really, not very healthy as you body needs those fruits and veggies and not as much animal fat.

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Stangers have the best candy.

Jason762

That's somewhat true. However, a PROPER CKD diet will have veggies in it. Especially broccoli, spinach, and cauliflower. Those veggies basically have no net carbs and you can eat unlimited amounts of them. I have eaten a pound of veggies with a meal.

Apparently eating veggies with fat makes it easier to extract vitimans. Fruits SHOULD be eaten on carb-ups.

Done right a CKD/TKD can be healthier than the standard diet.

I am currently on a CKD diet and I have no problems. Just remember to drink a lot of water. I typically drink 3 gallons a day.

BTW - a good website/forum for CKD and TKD diets would be http://www.c-k-d.com/

GREAT forum here, and not as busy (which I like cause there isn't much "clutter").

thingstodo

One of the things I've learned about fruits and veggies is that you do much better with a "rainbow" of colors because you get different things from different colored items. Eating the rainbow makes it complete.

You can learn a lot about eating right at a Whole Foods store and with a little research.

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Stangers have the best candy.

Martian

This write-up gets the Martian Seal Of Approval. Which, y'know, means a whole bunch. Really.

All very sound advice. Simple carbs (read: sugar) are bad for you, because they add a lot of calories and bost your blood sugar levels drastically. They also tend to come in what's called "empty calories" - that is, high levels of caloric intake with little to no nutritive value.

Even if you're not trying to lose weight (at my staggering 160 lbs, I can't afford to lose any myself) baked foods as an alternative to fried are generally easier on the gut and much healthier. Baked french fries turn out quite nicely, baked potato chips in my opinion taste better than their fried counterparts (and come without all that bloody grease, which is a huge benefit as far as I'm concerned) and even things like grilled cheese sandwiches can be very tasty and much better for you if done under the broiler instead of in the frying pan. Which I suppose would make them toasted cheese sandwiches. Who's keeping track?

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maleficent

that's a lot of water... there is such a condition called hypo something or other - or water intoxication where you are drinking so much water, the sodium content in your body drops to low...

Studies I've seen says that you should drink:

Your body weight x .5 ounces (i think that number goes up to .7 if you are extremely active)
+ 16 oz if you live in a temperate area
= 16 oz if you are extremely active


Best way to tell if you are drinking enough water is to check the colorof your urine..it should be a pale yellow... too dark and you are dehydrated.

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Jason762

Yes, 3 gallons is a lot of water, but a CKD diet is very deuretic. Therfore you cannot retain water and must continually replenish it.

As for sodium, there is a lot of salt in cheeses and meats, so it's replaced somewhat easily. Also, loss of electrolytes is a danger, especially on a CKD, where you can't drink Gatoraide.

EDIT: I usually only drink about a gallon and a half, but there was ONE time when it was hot enough and I had exercised enough it warranted 3 gallons. Typically I drink 1.5 gallons.