Diets and gluttony

When I went on the diet back in 2004, I gained the weight back because of poor eating habits. A lot of fatty foods, and junk food as well.

Now, I will try to monitor what I eat. No more meals consisting of 16 hotdogs (on rolls) or 24 pancakes. I should be able to stay slim.

 

Not necessarily, but the diet has to be even more fine tuned. What restrictions do you have as far as exercise goes?

There has been some promissing scientific study done with WBV (whole body vibration) just recently. I would look into it and ask your doctor. It has shown promissing effects on circulation, arthritis, lymphodema, muscular maintenance and increase and bone density. Soloflex just released the first non commercial machine.

http://www.soloflex.com/index.asp?m=toolbar&d=wbv&sd=about&p=1
http://www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/band144/b144-6.html
http://www.bcvibranthealth.com/bcvibrant/wbv.htm

 

I thought you had no preference in food.

 

no preference, webdog. I ate whatever was served. I lived at someone elses house and what they put on table, I ate. And they would not just let me walk away with 2 hotdogs or 3 pancakes.

Now that I am married, I am in a more controlled environment. I eat better. More wisely

 

You were forced to eat 24 pancakes or 16 hot dogs? Did they have you tied up at gunpoint?

 

Believe it or not, webdog, there were many times when I wanted to get up from the table, but could not. I would eat what was on my plate and the lady of the house would have more on it before I could put my spoon down.

She would say I was not to let the food go to waste and I had not finished what was on my plate. Wen I would try to explain I needed no more, she would accuse me of being rude, refusing their hospitality.

 

Best advice so far. :thumbsup:

 

Atkins works best for me. Six feet, fluctuate between 190, and 200. Can loose 7 or 8 lbs. in a week, or week and a half by cutting out bread, potatoes, noodles, rice and all sweets, potato chips-Fritos. It's really just going light on the "white" stuff.

We can hold our weight within 5 pounds with the following. Our breakfast and lunch are simple fares. Bacon and/or sausage, and eggs with coffee in the morning.

Lunch a few crackers, cheese, and peanut butter - or Vienna sausages - or soup - or chili - or ham & cheese sandwich - or tuna fish sandwich or with crackers, and you get the idea. Not many "carbs" heading into Dinner.

Dinner red meat, fish, chicken, or shrimp, with a couple of vegetables. I do have my favorite of "noodles and polish sausage" about every week and half. May have small portion of sweets an hour or so after dinner.

Good luck, and hope you find something that works; I know some just have a more difficult time in losing weight.

 

Thank you Aaron

 

I understand your problem. Years ago, I had inlaws that would keep piling stuff on my plate. They thought it was good hospitality; I think it was rude. Of course they ate like pigs and were way over weight.

The zone diet worked for me 15 years ago. In the zone diet, you eat 6 small balanced meals a day and you are supposed to weigh your food. You never really get hungry and you never really feel full. I still eat six small meals a day (usually) and have put back on about 10 of the 40 lbs I lost 15 years ago.

 

SBC said it right, lifestyle change is the only answer. I have been on every diet in the book - nurtisystem, weightwatchers, starvation, cabbage, sugar busters, and Atkins. It wasnt until i was finally ready to pay the price that I actually lost it and kept it off. My husband loves to eat out and we have done plenty of that in our marriage. He also doesn't "diet" with me, so that has always made it a little more difficult, as I am on my own in eating the way I do. I know that this will be a lifelong struggle for me, but I have gotten to the point that I am thankful for it, because it is another area of my life that makes me dependant on the Lord.

Atkins has been the method that has worked best for me, because I do love vegetables and lean meats. But Atkins isnt what made me lose the weight (and keep it off). I ask God daily to help me make the right eating choices so that I can honor Him with my body. If I go "off" the lifestyle, I gain back quickly. So I live on it. Baked fish, chicken and turkey, lots of broc, cauliflower, cabbage, green beans, salads, olives, nuts, etc. I had to learn to cook in a completely different way.

I didnt used to think I really ate that much, until I stopped eating the girls leftover fries, chicken nuggests, licking spoons, having cokes and other sugary things, etc. There are so many empty calories that we consume without even realizing it.


There is a passage of scripture that really helps me when I feel tempted to give in and eat all the treats that I used to love so well. I memorized it almost 3 yers ago and it is still very meaningful to me.

1 Corinthians 9:27 "But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified."

As for the Opening post...if you are really eating right, exercising right and honoring God with your body, then there is nothing more you could do. You dont have to fit the mold of what charts say you should be.

 

Thats good tater, why do we beleive we must fit a certain pattern for what the world says we should be like, look like, think like? We should ain for what God wants us to be not the world. The world may say you should 124 pounds but God may say 150 pounds.

 

I think the medical people are quite correct regarding body weight and good health in relation to how bodily organs function and their requirements.

On the otherhand, I firmly believe that our heritage does dictate our destiny so far as weight and shape are concerned. At the same token, we don't need to carry extra baggage. This part can be controlled to some degree. The Twiggy factor should not enter the picture. She was all skin and bone, yet so many tried to emulate that nonsense too.

Be happy with who you are. If after all caution and efforts are expended, then live with it.

I don't think God has anything to do with this, in my humble opinion. We blame God for enough things without weight being among them.

Cheers,

Jim

 

When I worked in Europe I asked people what they spent on food for their family. It was about the same as in the US. Food in that country was about 80% more. While I was there I also found myself eating less.

 

An Indian evangelist from India was once asked by Dr. Billy Graham, what his greatest impression of America was. His answer was simple: "The size of your garbage cans!"

I think that says it all.

Cheers,

Jim

 

I was one who struggled with weight all throughout my life. I had been overweight since I was about seven years old. I simply didn't (and I believe still don't) have the metabolism of most people my age.

I am 5'8" and the heaviest I had gotten was 210lbs. I tried several diets, but they never worked as I was always forgetting. When I got into martial arts, that helped a lot. I dropped to about 170lbs, which was a vast improvement, but it wasn't permanent. I always seemed to rapidly fluctuate about 20lbs up and down, coasting at around 190lbs.

I remember punching myself in the gut and saying "What's wrong with me?! Why do I struggle so much when everyone else seems to be able to eat anything they want without gaining anything?!"

Then, I made one of the greatest investments in my life: I went to Walmart and bought a $20 electronic bathroom scale. I determined that I would consciously monitor what I ate, try to eat a little bit less than I currently was, and use the "nutrition facts" labels to budget whenever I could. I would make sure I weigh myself every morning, every other morning, or one morning per week at the least. I determined that I was not just trying a diet fad, but that I was going to alter my lifestyle.

Well, the rest was history. I monitored my weight down to about 150lbs, and that is where I have stayed for the last three years. Being much lighter has allowed me to be much more athletic; yet I refuse to rely on exercise alone to maintain weight.

For those who are serious about this issue, here are my tips that worked (and still work) for me:

1. Weigh yourself consistently! I can't stress that enough. You must weigh yourself in the morning and naked to get reliable results. The scale both keeps you accountable and rewards you for your success. If you don't use the scale, you won't lose weight and keep it off, period. I know it's hard to see it "insult" you at first, but it's very rewarding when it becomes your "friend" later on.

2. Read labels on everything you buy. You would be surprised how some of the things you may munch really add up the calories. Count fat grams, protein grams, carbohydrate/sugar grams, and total calories. Protein and carbs are 4-5 calories per gram, and fat is 9-10 calories per gram. There are some things that are really small that pack a lot of calories. It isn't just quantity that matters, it is quality.

3. Try eating a little bit less than you have been. This makes a difference too. When in doubt, try a little bit less. You don't have to be stuffed to be satisfied.

4. Try to replace cravings. If you have "the munchies," don't look for a bag of chips. This is dangerous, at you can easily consume about 500 calories without thinking. Try actually drinking a glass of water to curb your hunger. Drink it slowly. If you are still hungry, try drinking another glass of water slowly. It may actually help you hunger pains go away. If it doesn't completely, at least you may be saturated enough with water that you don't feel you have enough room to eat anything. If you have to have something solid, try eating a piece of fruit, slowly. Consentrate on how good it tastes and thank God that He provides food for you to eat.

5. Never starve yourself. Starving yourself is never a good way to lose weight. When you refrain from proper nourishment, you destroy your metabolism. When your body finds no food in your stomach to burn for fuel, it goes for stored energy. This includes fat and muscle. You may lose some fat temporarily, but you also lose important muscle that may be difficult to regain.
Like a fireplace, if there is not the proper balance of kindling and wood, the fire suffers. If there is a lack of wood, the fire dies down. When the fire gets low, adding wood may not help much and the wood will just stay there. So it is with metabolism. Too many calories and the metabolism struggles then burns out. Not enough calories and the metabolism gets lazy and dies down. Then when it finally gets enough, it has a hard time burning again and you gain weight. If you starve youself, then eat, you will gain weight, not lose it.

6. Educate yourself and learn to cook. Try to learn new and healthy recipies. Too often we concentrate on making large pieces of meat tasty and tantalyzing while slapping on a small side of boring boiled vegetable, because *sigh* "you've gotta eat your veggies." Why not try giving those veggies a little attention and make something tasty and hearty out of them? Why not turn the tables and try to make the veggies the main course, while the meat can be used as an optional "seasoning"?

Get a bag of mixed vegetables (my favorite is Bird's Eye brand "Thai Stir Fry") and fry them. Now, you need to be healthy with this. Use a tiny bit of oil, like one or two teaspoons (I use sesame oil). Use different sauces and spices for flavoring, not grease. Try splashing rice vinegar, teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, garlic powder, oregano, etc. Be creative. The oil is just to keep from burning. "Fry" until the vegetables have soaked up the liquid in the pan. You can pretty much stuff yourself with this stuff and not have to feel guilty. You can try including tiny pieces of chicken or beef in with the veggies if you like.

I used to eat burgers and fries a lot. Now, I could care less about it. It simply isn't appetizing any more. I would rather eat my "fried" veggies.

I hope this has been helpful.

 

I think your routine is backwards. The body produces what is called glycogen. It is used up in the first 15 or so minutes of a work out. Your best bet is to spend 5 minutes on the treadmill to warm up. Then stretch all your muscle groups. Commence your work out and do the treadmill at the end. That way you are burning energy from fat instead of glycogen.

I would also recommend splitting your work out into two parts. One day the upper body and the second day the lower. Just cardio the third and repeat. Take the weekend off. See a trainer at your gym to set up your workouts.

It is important not to work the same muscle group two days in a row. Splitting the workout will still give you 45 - 60 minutes plus the treadmill if you do it right.

The exception to the rule would be working your abs' and lower back everytime you work out. Just take it easy when trying to work the abs'. Try crunches. For the lower back, a Roman Chair is great. Ask your trainer about it.

I have lost 80 lbs through excercise and diet. The key is consistancy. As we get older we lose about 10% of our muscle mass per decade. This leads to back pain, leg pain and as we get heavier, joint pain.

I would check with your doctor and ask about fish oil (omega-3 fatty acids). It is great for your heart, circulation and promotes good levels of tryglycerides and chloresterol. For joint pain check out Glucosamine Chondritin. I use it as I had joint pain because I am 50 yrs old. Works great.

As far as diet goes, it will be easier to lose weight as you gain muscle. Muscle burns more calories than fat does. Lay off the junk and most carbs. Sounds tough but if you are a pasta man, try spaghetti squash. Cut it open and take a fork to it. It comes out of the shell like spaghetti. Cook it the same way, add sauce and meat and your good to go. Mash up cauliflower just like potatoes. Switch to fat free margarine and salad dressings. It is better than going without.

You have alot of things to control friend. But we can do all things through Christ.

If you follow this routine for two weeks you will notice a significant difference in your vitality. It will only get better from there. I guarantee you will feel at least 10 years younger. Of course the guarantee is only symbolic. Ha Ha!

One other thing. So you don't feel like you have nothing to look forward to, every two weeks reward yourself. Go get a meal of whatever you want. Pizza or anything. Eat what you want but don't stuff yourself.

I will pray for you! raying:

 

Here's how I lost about 20 pounds. It took about a year and a half, but I have kept it off.

* I gave up drinking ANY regular soda. I sparingly drink Coke Zero and Sprite Zero. (I actually think this was my most important change. Before that, I could almost fast, drink a Coke and gain weight.)
* I walk two miles several times a week.
* When I am really hungry, I eat. But I have picked a few snacks I really like. They may not be perfect, but they are better than a candy bar.
For example, I like Townhouse sesame whole wheat crackers with cream cheese. When I eat some of those, it tastes good and stills a lot of cravings. This keeps me from overeating things that aren't so good.

I don't really like the taste of water, so I often drink flavored no-calorie water.
I have tried a lot of diets, including Weight Watchers, but I don't like counting things or planning everything out.

Years ago, I went on the Scarsdale diet. For a short fix, that was successful. Partly for me because I didn't have to weigh anything or count anything. I guess Atkins is a modified Scarsdale diet.

Different things will work for different people. Sometimes a short stint of a week or two on a rigorous diet may be useful to jumpstart things.

On the other hand, God made us as individuals, including body types. I don't think we should overly worry about weight and appearance. Of course, defining "overly" is tricky.