Can anyone suggest any proven ways for weight loss?????

[Drinky]

Hi everyone, I have been really obsessed with my weight problem. I am a 33 year old female and have gained 90lbs which makes the count to 210. I recently took out some of my summer clothes and they don’t fit me anymore!!! This is a real tragedy for me. How can I not wear the ones I adore...moreover the new look is getting me mad (with the comments from my friends). I know quite a few ways to start losing weight…….but I don’t really feel that, with so many people failing using these methods that I will make it through. Does anyone know a proven way to reduce the weight?

Please help me…..this is killing me!!!

[dsm]

I know this is cold comfort but the *only* way I can keep my weight down is with

1) Very good xPAP therapy (has a lot to do with the will to exercise)

2) Regular exercise even if it is only as little as a 20 min walk each morning.


If you can't manage the exercise then the alternatives are not what I call good ones - these include

- medical intervention (stomach stapling)

- xenical tablets (messes up your social life just a bit - flatulance & messy stools)

- fad dieting (they never last & usually trigger binge reactions)


This is tough but the simple formula is

calories in vs amount of exercise vs retaining sanity vs avoiding depression

DSM

[gasparama]

There just isn't much to add to the reply by DSM.

Weight is a problem for me also. I'm fortunate in that my family doctor has been educating me about carbohydrates and insulin function. Although vigorous fad diets are very hard to use over the long haul, it usually helps to hold down the carbohydrates that come with processed starch and sugar. It's a not so simple fact that carbohydrates raise blood sugar which causes your pancreas to secrete more insulin to keep that glucose level stable. And insulin is the "fat producing hormone" which makes it more difficult to lose weight. Overweight people often are insulin resistant which means that their bodies don't use the insulin correctly so that the hormone and the high blood sugar just circulate through the body putting on more fat. And of course, this is why we see so many obese diabetics in this country today. There is no way that I could begin to thoroughly explain what goes on (not enough knowledge, time, or space), but your cpap therapy, exercise (makes the body use your insulin more efficiently), and carbohydrate control could help you. (low fiber, high carbohydrates>blood sugar rise>insulin secreted>difficult weight loss)

I am not advocating any specific low carb diet. I'm just suggesting that you hold back on sugar, white flour, white rice, potatoes, and other starchy or sweet foods. And also keep your calories down by eliminating much of the fat. My husband has been doing that for a couple of years now, and has shed about 70 pounds. He's used no weight loss meds or tough fad diets. It's really just a sensible way to eat.

One more thing: look for a website with fast food nutritional values. Keep your mind armed with knowledge about what you put into your mouth.


Keep us posted on your progress, don't try to lose weight quickly. And don't be obsessed with your diet to the point that the first time there's a sharp turn in your life that you will become sidetracked. Easy does it, slow weight loss, enjoyable exercise.

Jane

[flylow]

Exercise and diet. You need to change the energy balance (burn more and eat less). The exercise is the easy part. Make it a regular part of your day just like waking up and going to work. The more it is habit the less you will find excuses not to exercise.

On the diet front, gasp offers very good advice. To add to that, consider joining weight watchers. The advantage of weight watchers is that it teaches you how to eat in a sustainable fashion. Fad diets don't do that and although often successful, it is short term and you wind up gaining your weight right back. The eating part of the equation is the hard part. Personally, this has been my struggle. I have been having some success with this but it is really hard for me as I, as most people, love to eat.

Good luck and to make it relevant, a good nights sleep with good xpap therapy should give you the energies to help with your success.

[BigMoose]

Jane has a plethora of good tips above ^^^

Do a google on glycemic index and as you understand the ratings, remove all high glycemic index foods. Much like Jane suggested. Also if you find this successful, you will likely have to limit carbs daily. I found that I must stay below 120 grams/day to maintain weight; and be below 70 ish to loose weight.

The only successful loss program I had was a Dr. supervised protein sparing modified fast. It worked. But if you do have this carb sensitivity; which I did not understand at the time, you will gain it all back if you don't limit carbs afterwards. I will gain weight on 800 cals and 175 grams of carbs a day! For some of us, its all about insulin and insulin resistance....

[bap40]

All the above info is correct. Basically it is input versus out put of calories.

Get rid of junk food and fast food. Eat smaller portions and take walks!

[bobby_tee]

Drinky,

I'm a 48 yr old man about to start CPAP therapy. I'm really looking forward to having more energy and using that to get in better shape. To get a head start, I've started eating better. I used to eat a LOT of junk every day, with no regard for my health. A little over 3 weeks ago I weighed 252. Today I weigh 237, so that's 15 lbs lost just by being aware of what I eat and tracking it on a calorie counter web site. I plan to add a morning walk with my dogs next week, which will only help me toward my goal of 195, or 55 lbs lost.

I don't mean to make it sound easy, but once you are truly motivated, the bottom line is eat less and exercise more, regardless of what 'program' you are on. My motivation, for both losing weight and starting CPAP, is simple: I want to extend my life. I plan to be around for my daughter' (17 & 18 ) college graduations, weddings, grandchildren, etc. And I plan to spend as many years as possible with my wife, to whom I've been married for 20 so far.

I've tried and failed many times, but I feel very committed now and even just losing 15, I feel much better. So my advice is:

• *positive outlook- you have to feel good about the future!
  *track what you are eating- sounds lame I know, but it really openined my eyes and made me accountable, especially if you share that info with a loved on
  *exercise- anything is better than nothing! Just a walk around the block will help. Than you can do more and more as you feel better.

Good luck!

Bob

[JeffH]

Eat less

Move more

[newfoundsleep]

A wonderful doc in Tulsa, Dr. Kelly Flesner, told me to start by cutting out as little as 250 calories a day, from what I would normally eat. Also, she said to get active thirty minutes a day, for five days a week. I have never had a "diet" work. Something about what/how she said it has clicked for me. I started with the mindset of cutting 250 calories to begin with like she said. That got me thinking about calories in general and while my goal was 250, I bet I am cutting much more like 5-700. I also walk more and get more active. In a month I have lost 14.6 pounds. I don't feel like I have turned my world upside down or anything. I just feel like it has helped me make a few better decisions. I don't eat only one class of food, or none of another class of food.

My knees already feel better.

[Guest]

Hi, all the advice given so far has been great. I just wanted to add some advice I get from a nutrition counsellor when I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic.

She gave me a very simple way to keep my carb count low. She said I should eat 10-11 carb UNITS per day A carb unit is roughly 15 carbs after you've subtracted the fiber count. So, roughly speaking, an apple is a carb unit; a piece of bread is a carb unit. Almost all foods have their carbs labelled so you can be fairly accurate.

I was also to eat roughly 7-8 oz. of protein a day, and 1/3 cup of nuts and seeds. Since I can't tolerate milk products, I use soy milk unsweetened and eat Tums for calcium.

Plus, of course, I was supposed to exercise regularly. I began weight-lifting and walking. Since I have the metabolism of a slug on valium, I lost 11 lbs over about three months and am no longer pre-diabetic.

One other thing I found helpful was to eat what I was supposed to and then get out of the kitchen. It seems my stomach takes a while to tell my brain that I'm full.

Hope all this advice helps. Oh, and one other thing. Generally, men lose weight much more easily as women so don't compare yourself to a guy on a diet. You'll just get discouraged.

[halb]

A few suggestions that helped me lose 35lbs
1)Before each meal I drink 4-5 cups of water. After that you do not feel like eating as much
2) I drink only water,diet soda,or diet drinks. (I use milk for cereal)
3) I eat frozen yogurt which tastes like ice cream but has much less calories than cake (20 calories per oz)
4) I don't take seconds of food, whatever I place on my plate that is it
5)At night when I get hungry I eat apples or carrots or other fruits but no cake. I find that apples bloat me a little bit.
6) If you eat a little less, even though you feel slightly hungry, you will get used to eating less and it wont bother you

[Scribblet]

I have a weight problem too, I thought CPAP therapy might help with that but it hasn't, although after 3 years I haven't found that it helps me at all, I sleep better without the mask (I think).

I too used Xenacal for about a year, lost about 20 lbs. very slowly, but can't take it for ever. Gained it all back and then some.

The only real way to lose weight is to eat less, and exercise more, so far I'm not doing too well at it myself.

[darthlucy]

I know I'm late to this party, but I'll add my two cents and hope the original poster sees it.

I can unequivocally, without reservation, recommend Weight Watchers. I've lost about 90 lbs on this program, and I can't imagine doing it any other way. It isn't a diet; it's a lifestyle change. The program teaches you to make healthy food choices that fit in with all of the other advice that's been posted here.

Based on your current weight, height, age, and exercise level, you are given a certain number of points per day, plus additional points you can use throughout the week when needed. When you exercise, you can earn additional points (which you have the option of using or not). Everything you eat or drink "costs" you a certain number of points, and that is based on the calories, fat, and fiber of the food. High fat/low fiber foods cost more, low fat/high fiber foods cost less. In a short amount of time, you learn that if you "waste" your points on high fat/low fiber foods, you'll be hungry. So you learn to choose things that get you the most food for your points. As you lose weight, you get fewer points per day. This makes sense, because a smaller body requires less fuel to run it.

There is also an option where you don't have to count points. You eat from a certain list of very healthy foods, and as long as you eat from that list you can eat as much as you need to feel satisfied. Many people like this, but for me it's too restrictive, and I honestly don't like the lack of portion control. If I were good at portion control and recognizing satiety, I probably wouldn't need WW in the first place.

If you're interested in learning more about the program, the Weight Watchers web site has a message board that's open to the public, not just paying members. I highly recommend checking this out.

[ZZZzzz]

I hate to sound like a broken record: But cut out as much sugar and carbs as you can!

The more sugar I eat; the more I HAVE to have. I mean, like a drug addict.

I wish I had learned in my teens what I learned in my 40's about insulin.

Insulin is the taxi cab that escorts the sugar into the cells.

-Bev

[Needsdecaf]

Me wonders why the original poster

1) Chose to post this as their first post.

2) Never posted back.

I would have expected another low count poster espousing a new website to help you lose weight. Strange we didn't get it. Maybe our kindness wards off further spam!!!