Listen, I’m a 26 year old man. i’m 6 feet tall. I’ve been slender my whole life. I am not sedentary, but not athletic. I walk places regularly. I enjoy going outdoors. I feel like I lead an active, if not strenuous life. I have a modest diet. I like vegetables, I eat fruit. I eat 3 meals a day. I usually don’t snack in between. I hate potato chips. I try to eat healthy, although I don’t mind the occasional greasy food (not fast food). For the past 3 years, I’ve watched my weight gradually balloon from 145 lbs to about 180 lbs. I understand that this is not tragic. I don’t look particularly bad, but you can see a bit of a roundness in the belly and when I sit down there is some overhang. I don’t want to continue at this pace and get one of those hard stomachs. In fact, I’d like to get to about 165. Any suggestions?
Big changes in lifestyle don’t work for me. I don’t see myself adopting a strenuous exercise routine, although I could imagine walking more. I don’t like crash diets - I lose weight fast, but then gain it back just as fast. Any tips from the masters?
If you want to lost the weight and keep it off, you’re going to need to make some lifestyle changes, it’s just something you have to do. I would suggest riding a bicycle instead of walking. Maybe try some swimming.
Lose weight, eh? You’ve definitely come to the right boards… Lots of people here have lots of good advice about weight loss.
My suggestion would be to sign up for some type of race. Not a long race, a short race - something that would require training about 30 minutes 4-5 days a week. Perhaps a 5K running/walking race. Signing up for one of these has several benefits: first, instead of focusing on the fact that you are trying to lose weight, you’d be focusing on getting ready for your race. That way, you wouldn’t be constantly thinking about numbers on the scale - you’d be thinking about your next training session. Second, lots of people participate in these races, and you’d probably meet some cool people while training for or running/walking in the race. And third, you’ll probably lose weight, and even if you don’t, your muscles will doubtless tighten up a bit, making you firmer and more trim. Just make sure that you do your training in addition to walking as a means of transportation.
I second this. I’ve lost 10 lbs. in the last 6 months just by doing this - smaller portions, more frequent meals. I also try to eat more fruits and vegetables.
The caffiene in coffee can lead to blood sugar crashes, which then lead you to want to consume a lot more sugars and simple carbohydrates than you otherwise would.
Green tea is much lower in caffeine (I find it has just enough to keep the withdrawal headaches off), and has a chemical in it that helps the body burn fat at a slightly higher rate. It’s no substitute for proper diet and exercise, but I recently dropped six pounds just by switching from coffee to green tea.
Yeah, I’d second the idea of drinking water. After High School, I dropped about 40 pounds over the course of about a year, without making any significant changes… other than getting used to having a big ol’ liter-sized bottle of water around all the time.
But buy your own filter and refill the bottles. Makes you feel like a putz to keep buyin’ 'em.
I second the “Cut out the sodas” suggestion. I still have one every now and again (mainly when mixed with whiskey or rum), but outside of that, I go with water.
Oh, and get a job that gets you up at 3:30 in the morning, and maintain an active social life that gets you to bed around midnight. I lost about 70 lbs in a year doing that (Of course, I think it’s also lead to my recent thinning hair problem, but that’s another issue all together).
And i hear about a tablespoon of olive oil with a meal helps cut back a bit on the body’s fat digestion. So, when you’re eating, mix some olive oil with some black and red pepper, a bit of Italian seasoning, and dip a roll in it while you eat. Makes for a nice little side.
(Of course, I think it’s also lead to my recent thinning hair problem, but that’s another issue all together).