Monday, 19 September 2011
-
Weight Loss: Real Measure of Fat
Aw, man! I gained weight again. Provided, it's only a pound, but it made me want to research if I should really be paying that much attention to the scale.I found this site. This site makes me happy. It says things like:
"If you experience a sudden weight change, it is likely the result of some simple – and temporary – factors."
And what are these factors?
- Eating and drinking: This is the 'duh' one, but extra food and water in the body-- you know-- increases weight.
- Water: Being dehydrated or having excess sodium in the body causes water retention, adding weight.
- Glycogen: This is losing energy, not fat. This happens when one doesn't eat or is on a low-carb diet. The weight-loss is temporary and will come back once carbs are reintroduced.
- Salt: Again, extra sodium = extra water = extra weight.
- Exercise: Can cause a quick loss of weight, but this is temporary and usually due to water loss.
- Hormones!: Weight fluctuates around women's menstrual cycle, due to water retention.
So, what's the moral?
"The bottom line is that it doesn't pay to lament – or celebrate – every little change of the scale. Burning fat 'is a very, very slow process,' Piplani said. 'People tend to give themselves way too much credit when they lose a pound and beat themselves up way too much when they gain a pound,' he said."
So... this is all comforting, save for fat burning being a "very, very slow process." I want change now!
Sigh.
What really needs to happen is a change in my diet... which I don't want to do, you guys! It's getting cold now and all I want are the nice, warm carby-carbs that make me feel loved!
So I ask you in desperation:
How do you make a successful change in your diet?
RecommendRelated Posts
Post a Comment
- Back to healthkicker's Healthkicker Site!
- Note: your comment will appear in healthkicker's local time zone: GMT -05:00 (Eastern Standard - US, Canada)
About the Author
-
- From: funnygirlblues
- About Me: I am a 6'1" girl trying to put my life together in New York City. I love to write, read, cafe hop, and swim when I have the chance. I believe good health has its foundations in good mental health, and do my best to keep that in order as well. Everything's a work in progress.
Stats: This Week All Time Posts: 0 67 Views: 0 123197 Comments: 0 957 View all posts by funnygirlblues
Comments (14)
I struggle with losing weight. I'm not obese but there are about 20 to 30 lbs I need to lose which makes it hard because a simple change like only drinking water, or adding a few extra minutes at the gym, isn't enough to kick my body into weigh loss mode.
I think true, long term weight loss starts with our thought patterns. Losing weight has to come from an inside change before the outside can follow suit. I think that's why diets don't work...most of us just eat the diet food with the thought, I'm going to get skinny (!!) but haven't done any mental homework to make sure that the weight loss is permanent. When you lose the weight and stop the diet, have you actually made the change forever or is it only as long as you are on the diet? Will you go back to your old ways immediately because of the thought patterns you allow yourself to have?
I struggle with that constantly and here's the kicker: If I stopped dieting and exercising, but changed my thinking, I could be skinny. Seriously, instead of doing things only for the sake of losing weight and wanting to look a certain way, what if I did things in order to teach my kids how to live well? Or what if I thought about how exercising and eating right could help save me from osteoporosis problems or cancer? See what I mean?
When the focus is changed, I think it's easier to lose weight and not constantly be thinking about food or the scale.
I'm trying to change my thoughts of, "I want to be thin" to "I want to play outside with my kids more". I've also started thinking about portion control. A second plate is going to make me feel sick, so I focus on the sick feeling I get when I over eat instead of the craving for how good the food tastes in my mouth.
It's started to help a little and I'm trying my hardest to not get discouraged because whether or not I get thin, I am eating healthier/less and I am getting more exercise which keeps my bones and nervous system healthy. I'm actually more content with my body that way, even if I'm not a size 4.
I've been battling weight loss, on a minor scale (20 or 30 pounds at most), for a long time. Here is what I have tried in the past / am trying and how successful I found it to be:
1. Weight Watchers. It really does work. This is what I'm doing now and there program is by far the best out there, IMO. It's almost the most flexible program, IMO. I've lost 15ish pounds since May.
2. Meal planning. I planned a week at a time, in an excel workbook, with specific attention to percents of calories generated from carbs, fats and proteins. The percentage allocations depend on your height / weight / level of activity / etc. I was running 3 or 4 miles a day, eating approx. 1,500 calories, eating 60% carbs, 20% protein and 20% fats (the healthy ones).
3. Stop Eating Out. I did this inconjunction with 1 AND 2 (above) and I ended up spending a lot of time at the grocery store until I got better at meal planning. Haha...
4. Drink lots of water when you're hungry. I drink close to 100 oz of water a day. It is helpful.
5. Donate to the homeless (or your friends) food in your house that you shouldn't be eating (oreos, doritos, JUNK FOOD). And then don't ever buy it again. ever.
6. Educate yourself. I read "The Runner's Diet" and learned all kinds of new things about food, meals, snacking, etc.
Good luck to you! :)
If your goal is weight loss ... probably take you much effort to change eating habits.
If you think we are not taught to care for our body, but to abuse it ...then, you can start being more careful about what you eat, feel if you need it or not, what you really want to eat... To me at least, I find it hard to differentiate anxiety from hunger. And the changes have been for very reasonable grounds.
Yayy.
Alli, prepare own meals and avoid eating out, and don't eat around people who fill their bodies with junk. I've slowly lost 20 pounds since March and am hoping to hit 40 by the end of the year. (Currently 5' 7" and 165 lbs)
i'm losing 3 pounds a month. i've got 25 to go
~breakfast- 300 calories ~lunch- 500 calories ~dinner- 500 calories ~supper- 400 calories
between each meal i feel like snacking and drink my 500ml bottle of water, then i'm full. when i break the plan i know its my emotional eating and try to get through it. hopefully, when i reach my goal i'll add 200 calories and stick to the plan instead of gaining back the weight.I used to be so up tight about the numbers I saw on the scale. Now I won't even get on it because I know what it does to me. Seeing those magic numbers can either enhance or destroy my mood. I stopped giving it that type of power and now I focus on improving my health through starting healthy habits. Eating properly, instead of starving myself. Exercise frequently, instead of sitting on my rear all day.
My diet? I'm now focusing on 80% carbs, 10% fat and 10% protein... I just bought this 80/10/10 book by Dr. Graham. Waiting for it to arrive, but I do believe in the concepts and have been trying to stick to it. It's so difficult when you live with someone who eats junk food all day and doesn't move worth a darn. But I try, and will keep trying until I die.
1. Eat a healthy breakfast.
2. Eat small healthy meals and snacks like five times a day. 3. Exercise.4. Drink water.5. Eliminate/seriously cut back on unhealthy empty calories. 6. Keep track of everything you eat.I think a lot of people don't realize how much they eat...writing it down helps me A LOT.I've lost about 20 pounds and I have 15-20 more to go.
Just keep exercising, eating healthy and drinking a lot of water and you'll see it melt off :) It won't be a quick-and-easy process by any means but be patient and it'll happen, I promise!
I weigh myself i the morning at least three times for accuracy, and then after I eat, and then before and after I swim laps. I usually subtract a pound after swimming because of the water. Then I weigh myself at night three times. It usually fluctuates a couple pounds.
I also only eat mainly fruits, veggies, rice, and small amounts of bread.
@lyrra_askavi@xanga - Hey! I started the same time you did and I've lost almost the same except a little more and I also plan to lose 40 more pounds after this. Yeah, it takes a lot of time.
I've lost 31 pounds since about February. I did it by keeping up my exercise routine (7x a week) and by simply eating better. I end up eating less than 1200 calories a day. I can do that because I'm only 5 feet even and have a small bone structure, literally I buy kid's shoes. If I fall off my diet, I don't sweat it and just get right back on. If I would have quit each time I got discouraged I'd be 30 pounds heavier right now. Good luck to you!!!
It's amazing what cutting out junk can do in the long-term. I went away to college and started eating the food in the dining hall. For months on end I drank very little soda and never went to fast food places. I ate more salads and pasta. In the course of a year I've lost 20-30 pounds.
One thing I've noticed about cutting out the junk is that when I tried to eat it again it made me feel sick or didn't taste as good to me. Sodas are too sweet to me now and I can taste the sugar in almost anything. I'm also eating significantly less than I used to. I take the stairs more often and it's easier to make more healthy choices once junk stops tasting as good.
A big change like that seems hard at first, but it gets easier and easier as you go.
There is so much that you can get from this. So many people are trying to deal with losing weight. There is so much work that goes into it. Really stay strong on this.
Etobicoke roofings