Posts by someclevername

Determine your BMR from your body fat and weight. I use http://www.phord.com/cc. The primary tricks to losing fat instead of weight are lifting heavy weights, eating enough protein, and only going slightly negative in calories. Also, eat smaller meals more frequently (4-6 meals generally).

Original Post by hope2577:

beer and endless pizza

I think you mean pizza and endless beers. I haven't actually drank anything since I started this because I can't get it out of my head that my liver can't metabolize fat while it's crunching on the alcohol.

Use a BMR calculator to determine necessary energy requirements. I prefer http://www.phord.com/cc since the Mifflin-St. Jeor formula tends to be more accurate for me than the Harris-Benedict formula employed by CalorieCount.

Aim to eat close to your RMR. RMR is BMR multiplied by 1.2.

Eat 5-6 meals. This reduces the likelihood of overeating at any one point, continually stimulates the metabolism, and regulates energy and insulin levels better than 3 big meals.

Consume 30-40% of your calories as Carbohydrates, 30-40% as Protein, and 20-30% as Fat.

Eat Protein with every meal.

Eat green vegetables, fruits, nuts, salmon and tuna, turkey, chicken, lean beef, beans, and extra-virgin olive oil. Choose whole grain over white for breads and pastas.

Lift weights three times a week.

Park in far spaces in parking lots, take the stairs, walk up and down escalators, use grocery baskets instead of carts, handwash dishes, push-mow the lawn, go for walks and watch less TV. In a nutshell, increase normal physical activity that should occur in everyday life.

Drink a lot of water.

High insulin levels do impede fat mobilization, and I believe that's his primary reason behind the split. Another reason is if one eats carbs and fat together then primary energy needs are met by the carbs, and the body just stores the fat since it's not needed for energy at the time. One can eat carbs and fat together, but moderation is the key.

For example, I have met several people who are successfully losing fat by following the Zone, which recommends eating 40% carbs, 30% fat, 30% protein every single meal/snack. The reason it works is Sears recommends green, fibrous vegetables as carb sources, nuts and olive oils as the fat source, and then a lean protein like chicken or turkey as the protein source. This combination slows the release of insulin down because of fiber, protein, and fat all slow down carbohydrate digestion. A person could follow a Zone prescription and gain fat quite easily by eating some spaghetti with high fat meatballs and a white creamy sauce. This combination would still be 40/30/30, but the quality of the foods is nowhere near as good as broccoli and baby spinach with olive oil drizzled on top next to some grilled chicken.

The important things to take away from Berardi's work are to eat 5-6 times a day, eat protein with every meal, and eat clean. Cut back on pastas, breads (substitute whole wheat ones for any white ones), increase green vegetable intake, eat good fats (olive oil, fish oil, flaxseed oil, mixed nuts), and eat more lean protein (chicken, turkey). Splitting the meals up into protein/fat or protein/carb will just make the loss more efficient, but it isn't necessary so long as someone is eating clean in the first place.

Pre-measure the oil and weigh it on a food scale. Cook your food. Let the remaining oil cool and weigh it on a food scale. The difference is the amount absorbed by your food.

When frying, try to do it without the oil smoking. Otherwise you're basically destroying any good monounsaturated fats that were in the oil. Or look up baking recipes that are similar to what you want.

I really wouldn't wish for people to never find a helpful, informative, balanced nutritional site. There are several people I will not discuss my weight loss with, though. I've been learning about the concept of "Toxic People" lately and have been actively identifying people that are hindering me, intentionally or not.

For example, I have a friend from high school who suffers from many of the same problems I (did) suffer from: grossly overweight, sedentary lifestyle, horrible diet of fast foods, and back pain as a result of the former problems. I've been working to fix my problems in recent times while he has continued to get worse. I used to bring up my successes in weight loss to try to motivate him, but he always lashed back or tried to convince me to stop. Then I tried to be neutral and just avoid the subject, but he would bring it up and be negative about it. Now I don't talk to him anymore. Just how it goes.

If someone is on this website trying to improve themselves through diet and exercise, then they deserve nothing but respect. Of course, not everyone is trying as evidenced by several forum and journal posts I've read of people repeatedly doing the same stupid crap over and over "oh noes, I want to lose weight but I drank 9 margaritas in one night" or being in the same exact position they've been in for over a year. For those people I have nothing but contempt, but for those really trying, nothing but respect.

Like everyone said, vegetables (green ones) will make you fell full since they're a ton of fiber, nutrient dense, but not calorically dense. Another benefit of eating green vegetables is that one has to chew them for a long time. Apply that concept to everything. Don't take mouthful bites; take smaller ones instead. Then chew, chew, and chew some more. Basically, you want to chew something long enough that you have time to put the knife and fork down for a few seconds. Also, putting utensils down and picking them up again add time to the meal. The longer you're eating, the more it'll seem like you're eating. Especially with smaller bites and more chewing. Focus on tasting your food instead of swallowing it.

Since you're in high school, it may be better to eat what calorie count says is how many calories you burn per day (probably 2100 if the advice section said 1600 calories per day to lose weight) and just try to get 500 calories of exercise done each day. Overall, you'll be healthier, and high school is still one of those early times when we're developing and cutting calories can muck with that. If you have Physical Education class, just use that to exercise, but make it count.