Diet time

[KennyR]

Smoking is btw also a good diet tip. You ain't thinking about food then.

Err, no it's not. Smoking is disastrous for diets.

[whabang]

Do sit-ups and press-ups before you go to bed (30 should do, but you won't be able to do that many at first!).

Aw, come on! Just because you weigh too much, you don't neccesarily have to be untrained! :-P

/me can do 50...

[Speelgoedmannetje]

KennyR wrote:

Smoking is btw also a good diet tip. You ain't thinking about food then.

Err, no it's not. Smoking is disastrous for diets.

Yes, if you're stopping.

There ARE positive things about smoking, and this is one of them.
Let me sum up the pro's and cons of smoking:

pro's:
- it's good against tension (tension can make you fat, with eating a lot and so)
- it's good when you have to think

cons:
- various health issues
- stench

[KennyR]

Other cons for smoking during diets -

It's an appetite stimulant. Oopsy for a diet.

It decreases energy and makes it harder to exercise.

It makes you die slowly. No use in getting rid of the fat outside if it's clogging your heart.

[Speelgoedmannetje]

KennyR wrote:
Other cons for smoking during diets -

It's an appetite stimulant. Oopsy for a diet.

It decreases energy and makes it harder to exercise.

It makes you die slowly. No use in getting rid of the fat outside if it's clogging your heart.

Harder to exercise, indeed, you're right there, and the die slowly thing too. But it is the opposite of an appetite stimulant. And you lose your taste.

[KennyR]

Trust me speel, if you went to a dietician, the first thing they'd tell you to do is stop smoking. Smoking never helped anyone lose weight. It's great for putting on weight though - whether you're stopping or not.

[uncharted]

Good luck adz

I'm itching to start losing some weight, I'm about 2 stone overwieght at the moment.  My diet is great, well balanced, no artifical crap, but I've been unable to excerise for quite some time(and I used to be a very active person)

I'm just waiting for the doctor to give me the all-clear and then I'll be down the pool like a flash, and those 20 mile bike rides will be back on the agenda as will footie and badminton again

*sigh* and to think, some people *Choose* not to exercise.

@Blobrana

Re: you avatar - Did you have a traumatic childhood? ;-)

[Speelgoedmannetje]

Well, I'm not smoking anyway (apart from that I buy so every 3-4 months a box of 10 cigarillos)

[Speelgoedmannetje]

uncharted wrote:
*sigh* and to think, some people *Choose* not to exercise.

Some people have bad experiences about exercise, mainly because of the mentality of it.

[smithy]

adz, don't take meat and so called 'junk-food' out of your diet! That's what life is all about!

Get rid of the junk food, but not the meat.  Like someone else said, it's reducing calories (those that come from carbs) that's important for losing weight, not reducing fat (but if you have a high-fat diet, you should cut down on that too).

Bread, rice and pasta are absolutely sky-high with carbohydrates, so it's more important to cut down on these than it is on steak.

Fruit and vegtebles are relatively low in carbohydrates (and therefore calories), and because they are high in vitamins and minerals, these are good things to eat.

[KennyR]

The problem with cutting down carbohydrates is that you need them - they're the slow burners that keep your digestive system going all day long. Without them you will feel tired, weak - and very hungry. And you'll probably eat lots of sugary foods to get some energy back. Oops - they're high in sugar and fat. Weight piles on again.

The simplest way to diet: use more calories than you eat. That's all. Diet doesn't work on its own, because the body goes into lean burn mode. Exercise doesn't work on its own because you'll feel hungrier and eat what you lose in calories. You need both, and there's really no way (without Atkins or anorexia nervosa) most people will lose weight without both.

[FluffyMcDeath]

@adz

You can always try what Sorious Samura did.

http://www.cbc.ca/national/news/ethiopia/sorious.html

[smithy]

Remember that diets aren't just short term plans. You'll have to keep them up for a good while - even after you've reached your ideal weight - otherwise the weight will just pile back on.

A 2-phase diet is appropriate:
1.  Get into shape (burn more calories than you take in)
2.  Rest of life (maintain calorie-balance)

Do sit-ups and press-ups before you go to bed (30 should do, but you won't be able to do that many at first!).

This would be like drinking 3 cans of Red Bull before you go to bed!  Don't do it!  Exercise produces all the hormones that keep you awake.  And sleep is very important when you're going through body-changes... feeling tired makes you hungry.

A half-hour daily power walk is also a great workout

Anything that gets your heart going is good... but if you get to the 'zone' then that's much better.  This 'zone' is where your body has used up all of its energy stored in muscles and has to start getting it from body fat.  This usually happens after 25 minutes and it's at this point where your body is screaming at you to stop, and at this point where you get the benefits to your cardio system (youe heart) and also weight loss.

[smithy]

The problem with cutting down carbohydrates is that you need them - they're the slow burners that keep your digestive system going all day long. Without them you will feel tired, weak - and very hungry.

A good tip to avoid getting tired is to have a morning and afternoon snack.  A cup of tea and an apple is a good choice.  Apple's contain slow burning carbs that will see you through the morning/afternoon.  I find that citrus fruits (usually an orange) is good for a quick perk up too.

[adz]

KennyR wrote:
Remember that diets aren't just short term plans. You'll have to keep them up for a good while - even after you've reached your ideal weight - otherwise the weight will just pile back on.

Also exercise has to be an integral part of any diet, or you might find yourself putting weight on, rather than losing it. Do sit-ups and press-ups before you go to bed (30 should do, but you won't be able to do that many at first!). A half-hour daily power walk is also a great workout.

Good luck! It sounds so easy, doesn't it? ;-)

Thanks :-) :-) :-)...As for keeping up the diet, thats why I'm back where I am now, so far I've tried this twice, each time I've knocked the kilos off, but then I get lazy and stack them back on, I'm going to keep it up this time.

I tried doing sit-ups...err a sit up just then, wasn't a pretty site, funny though. Push-ups I'm ok with, my upper body still has a fair bit of strength, too bad I can't say the same for my lower body, my six pack has become a keg.

[adz]

uncharted wrote:
Good luck adz

I'm itching to start losing some weight, I'm about 2 stone overwieght at the moment.  My diet is great, well balanced, no artifical crap, but I've been unable to excerise for quite some time(and I used to be a very active person)

I'm just waiting for the doctor to give me the all-clear and then I'll be down the pool like a flash, and those 20 mile bike rides will be back on the agenda as will footie and badminton again

*sigh* and to think, some people *Choose* not to exercise.

@Blobrana

Re: you avatar - Did you have a traumatic childhood? ;-)

Thanks...hope all goes well for you too :-) :-) :-) I'd really love to exercise, its just so hard with my work schedule, so I'll probably go with Kenny's theory. I may also take up swimming on a Saturday morning. Although, in the past I've never had to exercise to loose weight, my problem is that I eat a lot of junk and sit on my backside at work all day, so the kilos tend to pile on.