OT: I need to lose weight!

[mornnen]

I understand too about the losing weight thing. A few years back I did weight watchers, and I must say that while I stayed on it, it really worked well--got within spitting distance of my high school weight. I recommend it because it emphasizes eating well, and planning, and how to gauge the calories of "eat out" food. My mom has used it as well with good results.
And like a couple others, I too, got walk away the pounds-- a bundle pack at amazon that has a 1,2 and 3 mile walk. I've done the 1 and 2 mile, and they do help with the posterior and thighs--but it does take time and I am still not where I want to be in those areas. The nice thing about it is that you do it in your home, you don't have to worry about the weather outside, or feeling like you're the only non-fit person in the gym.
And as for the hip issue--me too-- and I have read in different sources that the hip area is the location where women lose fat last. I don't say this to depress you, but so you'll hopefully not get discouraged when you don't see immediate results.

Julie

[WynnieG]

The hardest part for me in terms of lifestyle changes, is getting discouraged when I don't see progress.

There are better ways to gauge progress, I discovered, than by getting on the scale. Someone here suggested http://www.sparkpeople.com a while back. It is a free weight loss tracking site, and operates a bit like Weight Watchers Online, only it is more robust. On it you can participate in community forums, track your meals, find healthy menus and recipes, plus you can track inches lost and find home exercises to do with a minimum of equipment. Every week they have you doing a mix of cardio (house cleaning, playing musical instruments and gardening count, btw!) and also weight training.

With weight training, remember that small weights with more repetitions = tone, but increasing weight each time will cause the bulking up of muscles; essentially the muscle develops tiny tears, and then the tear fills in with more muscle tissue as it heals.

For those of us who hate, or can no longer jog a good substitute is swimming, if you can find yourself a pool. I heard somewhere that swimming may actually burn more calories than running.

[suzeeq]

Okay, here's another eating tip....

If you do have something starchy, eat protein with it. Like fruit and cheese or nuts, toast/bagel with peanut butter or cheese or have an egg too. That kind of thing.

sue

[kellyjo32]

One thing to remember when weight training, and I just learned this, if you are trying to gain muscle, you actually need to eat more calories than you are expending, so you body has fuel to turn into muscle. So if you are doing a cardio / weight training regime to lose weight and tone up, you have to structure your diet differently. On cardio days you need to burn more calories than you consume. On weight training days, you need to increase your calories.

[Old Knitter]

The last time I went to the doctor see "suggested" I drop 30 pounds. I tried for months to lose and didn't. A friend suggested I stop dieting and eat 6 times a day but only take half would usually take. I did increase dairy in the forms of yogurt and cheese and also nuts. This was also at my friends urging. Turns out my problem was portion control. I'm still eating the same foods, but less and I am losing 2 or 3 pounds every week. This is really working for me.

[jamadian75]

Okay, here's another eating tip....

If you do have something starchy, eat protein with it. Like fruit and cheese or nuts, toast/bagel with peanut butter or cheese or have an egg too. That kind of thing.

sue

I've read several articles on food combining that say eating proteins and carbs together causes neither one to be digested. I know this is pretty much the way we all eat (meat & potatoes, etc) but this article may be of interest for helping with any digestive issues.
ETA: lots of ads there, but you can google "food combining" for other sources

Here is the gist (a quote from the article):

Starchy foods require an alkaline digestive medium which is supplied initially in the mouth by the enzyme ptyalin;

Protein foods require an acid medium for digestion- hydrochloric acid.
As any student of chemistry will assure you, acids and bases (alkalis) neutralize each other. If you eat a starch with a protein, digestion is impaired or completely arrested!

[VictoiseC]

Well I only read the first half of all the replies coz my dad's visitng and screaming for me to come help him again,

but Ilost 25 lbs by doing PIlates (I HATE jogging too) and cutting out carbs.
Then I went back to carbs and have gained quite a bit back but I find if you just don't eat white bread (except for the occasional French bread NOT OFTEN) (or pizza NOT OFTEN) ... and do little tricks like whenyou make
a sandwich use one piece of whole wheat on the bottom and a piece of lettuce on top... I'm not kidding these little things work.

And like Oprah said, don't eat after 8 if you can help it esp carbs

Well, Suzanne Somer's book really helped me. Even if you only cut carbs 2 days a week it will begin to show. Whole wheat pasta. Fruit by itself, not with the meal.

No candy of course! but WINE AND CHEESE yes yes yes


Oh yeah, a very good thing is to eat your carbs in the morning or noon,
then at night no carbs, just like soup & salad or a chicken breat/meat
and veggie but NO CARBS AT NIGHT. Very important.

[suzeeq]

I've read on food combining, but not everyone's agreed that it's a valid theory. Eating protein with sugary or starchy foods helps limit the BG/insulin spike.

sue

[Jeremy]

I can't really disagree with much of anything that has been said so far. I've lost about 80 lbs so far on Weight Watchers. Losing weight really comes down to calories. You can lose weight without exercising but it will be slower and it will be harder to keep it off. The best thing you can do for yourself is to plan well. If you can avoid being very hungry you will also avoid impulsive eating which is the death knell of any diet. If you want to circle around the issue of calories, try the Weight Watchers core plan or something like it (my wife tried Sugar Busters and was very successful, South Beach is a little more restrictive but really the same idea). The Core Plan only allows certain healthy foods -lean meats, vegetables, fruit but allows you to eat enough to keep you satisfied. I've switched back and forth from it and you might like it. At any rate, good luck. Its a tough road we're all on.

[kellyjo32]

I think it's more about the glycemic index of foods. Low glycemic index are much better for you because they do not create that spike in blood sugar levels, which ultimately leads to fat storage and weight gain. There are many foods that have the same number of carbs, but one will have a much lower GI and therefore is a better choice when deciding what to eat. There are tons of links out there with the GI levels of certain foods.