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Any other people on diets? - Maril - 01-17-2015
Sooo.. For the first time ever, I am going to try and follow an actual diet. My goal is the lose about 7kg all in all. I'm going to be following the 5:2 diet. Beyond dieting I also swim once a week. I'm not massively over-weight, but I have been unhappy with my weight for a while and my eating habits aren't the greatest, so I am hoping this could set me on a better path.Â
But I was wondering if anyone else are currently dieting or if someone has any tips on how to keep yourself at it, I have this feeling my motivation wont last forever. Heck even if you just want to recommend or not recommend something that's cool too.
If anyone else is at it I guess we could cheer on each other or something.Â
So yeah. Anyone else in this boat?
RE: Any other people on diets? - Steel Wolf - 01-17-2015
I've been looking at this boat myself for a while now. I was hoping to slim down and look less...squishy...before my partner arrives from Wales so I could look good for him and be more healthy for me.
That's now three weeks away. XD
I was considering following a Paleo diet, as it seems to have a food regimen that doesn't seem completely insane. The problem, though, is motivation. And getting started.
So I'll be watching this thread with great personal interest.
RE: Any other people on diets? - Kage - 01-17-2015
I used to eat a lot more and then tried eating a lot less as well as exercise..
I've learned that the only way I can do it is by having that motivation myself. It helps having a helping motivator by your side but when they move or you move... it goes back to the way things were or even worse.
The only thing you can do is resolve yourself to doing things you can do.
Try to eat less. Portion better. Eat healthier versions. Eat out less. THose are all the things I can do but doing them is all another matter entirely. :c
RE: Any other people on diets? - Edgar - 01-17-2015
Can't eat dairy because I have an allergy to casein, as opposed to lactose. Whereas most people with simple lactose intolerance can pop a pill and eat as much dairy as they want, I have to avoid it like the plague.
Does that count as a special diet?
RE: Any other people on diets? - allgivenover - 01-17-2015
This might rub some people the wrong way, but here's my honest advice.
Dieting is not what you want to do because dieting is a temporary thing that you will eventually stop doing. After you stop dieting you will quickly gain back whatever you lost.
This is why fad diets like 5:2, Atkins, Paleo, etc, are doomed to failure. You cannot possibly cleave to such a strict dietary requirement your entire life. You will fail.
The cold hard truth that is difficult to accept about being fit (and looking good, they're the same thing) is that you pretty much have to change your entire way of thinking, forever. You do not "go on a diet", you improve your permanent, day to day diet. Again, it's got to be permanent. Additionally because of our sedentary modern lifestyles a change of diet alone will only leave you being thinner but not very fit (some people refer to this as being "skinny-fat").
You need exercise if you want to look good, always.
Our entire view of portions and food in the west has been so muddled by the diet industry that some people have trouble getting to the factual science, and that science is pretty clear. If you have the willpower and are lucky enough to have avoided bad genetics (which a small % do unfortunately have bad genetics, but it's used as an excuse way, way too often by many, many people), then you can do it.
Again, modern lifestyles are extremely sedentary compared to our ancestors, even if you work out, it's nothing compared to their lifestyles. The average 25 year old male, depending on height, needs little more than 1600-2500 calories a day tops to be healthy (for women it's even less, unfortunately). Any more and they will put on weight until it matches their daily calorie allotment - usually thousands more than they need. And many, many people have no idea how much they're actually eating, some are swinging numbers in the 10,000 range every day, and have no idea. My wild guess is that most Americans get between 3000-5000 calories a day and have no earthly idea that it's happening.
In the past, Humans were burning thousands of calories every day with backbreaking labor, so they developed a diet to match that labor. When the labor left our average lives, the diet didn't. This has left us with an appetite far, far greater than we need, and it will be a long, long while before Humans adjust.
What you'll be happy with with is something you have to figure out yourself. I know people who gave up sugar entirely and work out several times a week, I also know people who don't give a shit, and many more (like myself) who fall in between. Personally I do my best to cut out sweets from home permanently, I try to only eat or drink them when I go out or have a guest. My portion size with all meals is small. I do resistance training twice a week and run on a treadmill three times a week. I'm 5'9 @ 130 lbs, and at 30 years old I'm in better shape than some friends a decade younger than I am. I get asked all the time by friends how I do it and they never like the answer:
Eat right and exercise, in whatever amount you can manage. Forever. That's the hard truth no one wants to accept.
RE: Any other people on diets? - Aris - 01-17-2015
I can't speak for any other diets, but I know lots of people of all ages that have been on the 5:2 diet with positive results. Some have stayed on it and feel like it's manageable for them, whereas others have since come off it. Some have put weight back on and gone on it again.
As far as 'fad diets' go, it's more gentle to your body instead of something extreme. And when you think about it, it's only twice a week where you're cutting back your diet and (ideally) eating healthy meals. Which is very manageable to me any way.
From what I've heard, it's good to spread the two days out rather than having them in a row.Â
 I think I'd do one of the days earlier in the week to 'get it out of the way', and the other on a weekday, as weekends are associated with relaxing.Another tip might be.. rather than trying different things on your regular days (smaller portions for example) at first just focus on those two days, so you're easing yourself into it. Previously when I've tried dieting, if I've thought of lots of different things to do at once it feels a lot more daunting. But that may just be me!
I think you'll be able to do it! Swimming is a fab idea, one of the best exercises and quite enjoyable too.
I've been thinking about doing it as well, so maybe will start and we can cheer each other on.Â
RE: Any other people on diets? - Aris - 01-17-2015
(01-17-2015, 05:38 PM)allgivenover Wrote: Eat right and exercise, in whatever amount you can manage. Forever. That's the hard truth no one wants to accept.
This is definitely the reality! There are many fad diets out there but when it comes down to it, eating well, everything in moderation, and a bit of exercise each day is the best way to remain healthy.
I would like to add though, I don't think it's necessary to deny yourself anything. You want that chocolate bar? Have it! Craving some cheese and onion crisps? Go for it! I don't blame you. Mmmm. But there's no need to have a second and third packet. Recognize why you want the food - are you bored? Are you feeling down? Eating for the wrong reasons are often a reason why people can start gaining weight.
(This isn't aimed at 'you' I mean 'you' as as everyone. Specifically me. I need to stop eating for the sake of it.)
RE: Any other people on diets? - Maril - 01-17-2015
I've picked the 5:2 diet because it does seem very gentle. Unfortunately I have a sensory disorder that means I taste far too well, among a host of other issues with my other senses. It's something that's associated with my PDD-NOS, and the two team up to make my diet.. Extremely plain and a lot of the same food, and unfortunately it's not always healthy. I don't eat a whole lot of junk, but I do eat pasta and all of those not so awesome foods. I have planned my first fast-day to be tomorrow, and have shopped in for two meals that come to 500 calories there-abouts, so I can have breakfast and dinner. I am hoping that because the calorie limit forces me to think creatively with my food, I will be able to convince myself to let more things into my food-pattern if you would, which is no small task. And honestly, if the diet is good I may stay on it for as long as I can, once I have made a habit out of things I am extremely bad at breaking the habits (which can be a real pain in the butt).Â
I have already forced myself to eat less, here in Denmark or at least in my family, it's the social norm to eat two portions at dinner and such, so it has been a struggle to convince my stomach that it is actually full now. Through that + swimming + calorie-counting in general (I've been trying to keep myself to the 1700 mark. I should note I am a woman so, its not too much below the recommended daily intake afaik) I managed to lose about 8kg, but after those it just stalled - and as a result I stopped counting, because it felt like there was no point. I'd also gotten very conscious about what was in my meals and such.Â
I think my main problem with motivation is that I don't have much support IRL - When I talk about losing weight with my family, they sorta just roll their eyes because they think it's just not going to happen. It (and some light social awkwardness) prevents me from signing up to gyms and such, one thing is that it's good to do something for myself, but it really kills me a bit when no one else has any sort of belief that I'll be able to stick to attending it. Heck they had the same reaction with the diet thing, but that is the smaller mountain to climb right now so to speak.
RE: Any other people on diets? - Izayoi - 01-17-2015
I eat whats called Low-carb food. Mostly because it's what works for me and my body. I eat to much carbohydrate my body tells me without fail. I lost 30 kilos so far, and slowly loosing the rest that I would like to see gone.Â
Its not a diet for me though, its a lifestyle change. And for me that was what I needed
 The most important is that you find out what works for you, and then keep tweaking it until it is "perfect" for you, and what others think about it doesn't really matter^^
RE: Any other people on diets? - allgivenover - 01-17-2015
(01-17-2015, 06:09 PM)Aris Wrote: I would like to add though, I don't think it's necessary to deny yourself anything. You want that chocolate bar? Have it! Craving some cheese and onion crisps? Go for it! I don't blame you.
Well all make exceptions now and then, it wouldn't be much of a life if you never ate chocolate or crisps. But you should deny it most of the time. It's the only thing that works.
RE: Any other people on diets? - Recoil - 01-17-2015
I'll be starting the master cleanse in a couple days.
I've a couple friends who've done it a few times over the past few years. They lose a good 10 to 15 pounds over a twelve day period because of it. I'm not exceedingly overweight or anything, but the new medicine I've been taking has had me put on a bit of weight, and lately I've just had a sensitive stomach.
After that I'll be transitioning to a paleo diet for a while.
RE: Any other people on diets? - C'kayah Polaali - 01-17-2015
(01-17-2015, 06:28 PM)Sastra Wrote: It (and some light social awkwardness) prevents me from signing up to gyms and such, one thing is that it's good to do something for myself, but it really kills me a bit when no one else has any sort of belief that I'll be able to stick to attending it.
I think the trick here is to find something that you really *like*, so that you're not "sigh, going to work out now", you're just doing the things you like.
I love bicycling, for instance, so that's a part of my exercise regimen. I also love rowing crew (which was a surprise for me when I discovered this), so I added that. I'm not ultra-serious about either (I'm a fair weather bicycle commuter, I do some recreational rowing, too), but they form the foundation of how I exercise. Both bicycling and rowing are seriously aerobic, and and aerobic fitness is one of those things that's pretty painful (metaphorically and literally) to develop, so I tend to keep up with them during the off-season, simply to spare myself the misery when it warms up of getting back into them.
Since both bicycling and rowing benefit from strength training, too, I do a three-times-a-week workout involving weights. It's not terribly complex - four exercises that take about 20 minutes total to do, plus a fifth that I have to do to compensate for a motorcycling injury.
The result of all this is an exercise program that keeps me reasonably fit and doesn't really take willpower. The only gym stuff I do are the weights (which I could do at home, if I really cared about it) and rowing on an erg. And the erg is fun (I'm a masochist), because it's rowing!
A little postscript about rowing, by the way, though it applies to a lot of team sports: The club I row for, like most rowing clubs, has a learn to row program. It was a 6 week commitment, and they taught me everything I needed to get started. Everyone else in the class was just as new as me, so we were all in the same boat. Rowing is certainly a team sport, in that you're in a boat with a bunch of other folks and you're all working together to make it go, so everyone encouraged each other. It made it a really nice, positive experience. Instead of feeling crappy about my poor rowing skills and my poor rowing fitness while holding up a bunch of experienced rowers, I was with people who were (literally!) in the same boat as me.
RE: Any other people on diets? - Mae - 01-17-2015
I was never a small girl. According to my pediatrician and confirmed by other doctors as I was going through childhood, I had a heavier build and I would've been unhealthy if BMI scores were allowed to dictate my weight. I wasn't fat, I was just bigger. Like... if I had been a boy, I would've been encouraged to play defense in football.
When I was a teen, I was put on a medication that caused me to gain over 150lbs in the first six months I was on it, for a total of over 200lbs gained before a more intelligent doctor stepped in and pointed out that I didn't need to be on the medicine in the first place. I've been fighting against all this weight ever since -- I'd start to lose weight, and then I'd hit a point where I wasn't feeling -right- and the weight would come back. Come to find out about seven years ago, the medication was fat soluble, so it's stored -in- my fat. I lose weight, get to the point where I'm burning the fat that I gained while on the medicine, medicine re-enters my system, and not being aware of what was happening I'd let the effects creep up on me... which resulted in me gaining the weight back. Vicious cycle.
The three years that followed after that discovery and learning what to look out for regarding that medication screwing with me, I managed to drop almost 100 pounds. It was a lot of "Whee, I lost five pounds this week!" and "Another five pounds gone? VICTORY!" and then "Eh. Two pounds down. At least it's something." followed by "... Well, this sucks. I gained five pounds..." and "Another five pounds? I'm doing everything the same as I have for the past month. Why am I putting weight back on.. oh, crap, have I had a change in personality/moods recently?" for the first year or so. Once I keyed in on the early warning signs, I stopped re-gaining the weight after I lost it, but I slowed down losing it overall. I probably could've 'done better' if I'd gotten 'professional' help, but I'm very self-conscious in public and the idea of going to a gym/getting a personal trainer terrified me.
So instead of putting myself through the emotional trauma of having to get on a treadmill in front of strangers, I danced for my exercise. It was something I enjoyed (I had dreams of being a ballerina as a child), and could do in the privacy of my apartment. What did I dance to? Judge all you like, I danced to the film recording of Cats. If someone ever walked in on me doing it, I probably looked silly as hell but damned if it didn't work because weight-loss wasn't the only thing I was going for. My endurance and stamina went up, my flexibility and range of motion improved, and it's possible that because I was determined to sing at the same time my lung function improved -- I was having less and less asthma attacks. And yes, while all of these are benefits of losing weight in general, my doctor told me that the results he was seeing outstripped what was typical with the weight I was losing.
Actual food/diet wise, I didn't really have one. I learned when I was younger the meanings behind food cravings, so I ate when I was hungry and I ate what I was -actually- hungry for. Craving sugar? You are actually craving bitter (greens) and probably suffering from an imbalance in your liver or pancreas. Not a fan of fish, but suddenly that tuna steak at the grocery store's seafood counter is really interesting? You're low on essential fatty acids and craving extra protein for any number of reasons. Not a fan of pasta or bread, but suddenly all you want is a bowl of spaghetti and a piece of garlic toast? Don't pass it off as a simple carb craving, you might have a slight niacin deficiency. I am probably one of the few people that would encourage shopping on an empty stomach because, once you lean these clues your body is giving you, you tend to make better choices... or at least you will if you can control temptation. I'll be the first to admit that sometimes I did fail at swapping the pack of cupcakes for a bag of spinach or other greens. And sometimes it leads to the weirdest food combinations (peanut butter, olive oil, and salsa sandwich, anyone? How about smoked trout, brie, green apple slices fried with garlic, and pickled carrots on sourdough?), but when I was dealing with my body screaming for -something-, stuff like this usually satisfied the craving with the first serving.
The loss of the apartment my husband and I had and having to move in as roommates to another couple put a huge damper on my drive to exercise -- one roommate was a stay-at-home type and always around, so self-conscious me didn't feel comfortable dancing like an idiot for one to four hours a day when I might end up with an audience. I gained some weight back, ten or so pounds, in the year and a half we were living with them. Which wasn't horrible, I probably would've gained more if my job hadn't tripled in the amount of physical activity required of me at the same time. Being on the truck the past three years, I've put even more of the weight back on, but what can I really expect from being in a vehicle for 20+ hours a day? I'm getting off the truck this spring, though, and I can't wait to get back into the swing of things. I already have a new DVD of Cats sitting in storage, and I've got money put away for a new set of acrobatic dance shoes and brace for my knee.
My husband, he went on a diet/lifestyle change last year (it was a program offered and pioneered by his work), and I have to say that it worked well for him. I would've joined and done it alongside him, but I can't eat a lot of the food the program recommends and alternatives aren't readily available out here on the road.
The only things that were counted with the foods he ate were protein, calories, and carbs. Had to be high protein and low carb, or at least within a certain range of each-other percent-wise. He had five meals a day (decent sized breakfast, a good snack three hours later, lunch decent sized lunch three hours after that, another good snack three hours later, then dinner three hours later), and after a while he started to complain that he felt like he was having to eat too much. On several occasions my husband was told that he had to increase his calorie intake, usually related to him cutting back on his soda intake.
Exercise was one 15-minute period per day where he got his heartbeat up to a certain rate -- for him it was three sets of brisk walking for four minutes followed by one minute of jumping jacks. It was recommended that the routine be done before breakfast, but as long as it was done before his last meal of the day it would be fine.
We stopped tracking how much weight he's lost after the official program ended, but at his final weight-in at thirteen weeks, he had lost 38 pounds. He doesn't follow it as strictly as he did when the program was active, but he's recently gone down another pants size so he's doing well enough as far as I'm concerned.
RE: Any other people on diets? - Du'lance Fiourtune - 01-19-2015
I don't do much dieting in the way of giving up certain foods or even that of following an actual diet. I'm the type of person who, once has decided to lose weight, simply just cuts back into smaller portions of what I normally eat.
*flexs muscles*
Works wonders
hahah.
RE: Any other people on diets? - MikoBehnen - 01-19-2015
(01-17-2015, 06:28 PM)Sastra Wrote: I have a sensory disorder that means I taste far too well...
I'm a supertaster too! It's awful how quickly flavors can become overwhelming. BUT I have found making simple healthy foods and just cutting back the number of sauces and spices works really well. Also I steam a lot of chicken in my rice cooker which is very good. Veggies are important too! Like greens, and really anything with fiber. You can do little things too like using lettuce instead of bread for sandwiches, or switching to whole grain pasta and 2% cheeses. Umm... I don't have too much advice on diets because my biggest problem is I eat too little so I never go on them. :\
But in regards to weightloss I've had great success with weight training/exercising 5-6 days a week, cutting out (or rather lessening) sugar intake, and drinking a SH*T ton of tea and water.
... wish I had a pool cause that sounds amazing.Â
