Strazdas said:
What, is escapist running diet advertisement now or something?
15 overweight men who were restricted to 360 daily calories
yeah, thats not healthy at all. they weren getting enough calories to even run their brains. can leave permanent damage very quickly.
wulfy42 said:
If you have set your life up in a way that you are happy, that is the best way to lose weight. Focus on food, making yummy food you really enjoy, spend energy and time making it, and you will end up with more energy and you'll end up being happy with the weight loss process.
but making yummy food is what got me into beign fat in the first place! now i have to eat bad tasting vegetables and stuff. really, my tastes for food is really something thats never gonig to be healthy, but i prefer health>taste
Seanchaidh said:
And this diet is cheap, like wow it is so cheap.
Starvation is cheap until health disorders kick in.
By making yummy food, I don't mean unhealthy food, I mean making healthy food as yummy as possible
Trust me, my go to food basically revolved around steaks, pizza, burgers, more pizza, lasagna and lots of chineese (the food not the people). I did not eat healthy at all till a few years after getting married. Till I was 27 I could eat as much as I wanted and never gain a pound, and I ate a TON (my 3 best friends...who would hang out with me every weekend for most of that time ate less all together then me usually).
It was quite hard to change my eating habits after my metabolism slowed down at 27. First I gained about 30 pounds (all in my gut), and then, after another decade of mostly driving everywhere...and not watching my diet much, I gained another 20-30 (I would constantly fluxuate between 270-280.
Even though I would exersize..and I was being careful how much I ate...I still wouldn't drop below 270. My legs where in great shape (could be a leg model lol), but I couldn't get my gut to go down. Very frustrating.
Eventually I decided to stop just "trying to diet" and take it seriously. I used the methods I mentioned above, no more soda, no pizza (or very very rarely and not half a large etc), including veggies in my meals etc.
The whole spend time to make yummy meals was meant to say, spend the extra time it takes to make your meals yummy. I'm not a big veggie fan, never was, but with enough time and love you can make some VERY yummy veggie dishes. Same goes for chicken at home for instance, or fish (orange roughy was always good, but cod will work in a pinch) etc. Neither of those where meats I really loved, but....with the right spices and preparation, I can make food I look forward to eating.
I guess basically what I'm saying is you can make healthy food taste good, and make yourself look forward to eating it...if you spend the time it takes to prepare it to your taste. It's more work to make really tasty food (that isn't throwing a steak on a grill which is always good to me heh)....but it's worth it. The extra energy you spend making the meal is a good thing as well. The energy you spend shopping for fresh ingredients both burns calories, and keeps you motivated, it's almost like hunting for your meals each day heh.
I guess my biggest point is that people should aim for a diet that they enjoy, that isn't work for them, and that they don't need to feel like "Is the results worth it?" all the time. If you find a lifestyle that you enjoy, then it won't be hard to maintain it.
If your overweight it can be hard to have extra energy, to be positive about things (everyone is different of course), and it can be easy to focus on dieting like it's a chore, or something you HAVE to do. I suggest trying to find a form of exersize you enjoy, be it Dance Dance Revolution, Water aroebics, Table Tennis, Yoga/Martial arts of some kind, Hiking, Swimming etc. Try and find something you enjoy. Don't rush everywhere, take time to walk around when you can. Don't always use your car if you don't have to. Find ways to burn calories that fit into your life and that you at least don't mind doing, if not enjoy. Then focus on your food. Spend time and energy finding healthy meals that you actually LIKE. Make them yourself and they will taste better. Don't go for the pre-packaged diet meals etc...I know some people have had success with them, but I would rather eat cardboard pretty much. They never worked for my wife because she only liked a few of them, and would often eat more then one (which defeats the purpose).
My wife went from around 500 pounds to just about 300 so far. My mother before she died went from 700+ to about 350. I cooked for both of them, and that was a big reason they lost so much weight. I also motivated them to move, and do water areobics (at their starting weight it was the only real option for burning calories).
My weight was never extreme, but my ideal weight for my size is 220 pounds and I'm within 20-30 pounds of that regularly now. Still have a bit of a gut, but with most shirts it's not noticable anymore at least. I'm in decent shape (could run a mile) and have more energy. I don't drink soda or alcohol, and I eat a salad before every dinner. I generally just have a bananna for breakfast (I know they say it's the most important meal, but for years I skipped it all together. I compromised by having fruit for breakfast).
I'm pushing into higher gear starting next month, having me and my wife work out twice a day (once in the morning and once in the afternoon fairly close to dinner time). That may help get us over the last hump...and drop off the last 20 pounds or so for me, and the last 100 or so for my wife. She had a long recovery due to being bed bound for 2 1/2 years from necrotizing faciatice, it was all I could do to just maintain her weight at that point, so she has lost about 100 pounds in the last year or so. That is all due to diet and exersize. No pills, no program, just plain eating right/healthy, and moving. She also went from not being able to stand, to being able to get in a wheelchair, to using a walker, to using a cane only now.
It is possible to lose weight and for the process to be pleasant. My wife (I love her), is not the best at doing things she does not like. My fault since I have spoiled her for 14 years. The solution was to find ways to motivate her and keep the process from becoming a chore. If you can find ways to prepare veggies that you enjoy, they are very filling, but quite healthy. I'd say focus on that for your meals more then anything else at first....once you have that down you can expand on the other portions, but having yummy veggies as part of your meals is key.