NickW
Guest
I am so struggling with the diet today. Nothing sounds better than a giant thin crust papa murphys peperoni pizza..... Miss. Good. Tasting. Food. Yummy. Arrrrrrgggghhhhhhh. It's funny how when you get hungry like this and you get tired of the same bland boring foods how you want one of the worst things...
Well, for quick weight loss, what I've found that works for me is keeping it low carb during the day and filling up at night. I've found that a good amount of protein keeps me from going hungry during the day. I have a relatively sedentary office job, but stay occupied during the day, so I just snack in between tasks. (Half a protein bar here, half a protein bar there.) I take a 20min nap during lunch to recharge. Lots of water keeps the ketotic headaches at bay during the day.
At night, I load up on veggies and protein, some fruit. For snacking, I'll go with low sodium pretzels for a bit of carbs. I find that nuts are too calorie dense for my preference, and a few times self control was an issue. I might also have some carbs before bed to keep the ketotic headaches in check.
I usually do my cardio in the mornings, and I'll have some protein powder beforehand. I've done cardio in the afternoon before, and also broken it up into chunks throughout the day. I've read that the afterburn effect after a workout is a myth, so several small workouts may not be better than one long one. So, I prefer an hour run in the morning on my cardio days and do a 3days/off/2days/off rotation.
I don't bother with strength training during weight loss, as I get discouraged when watching my strength diminish, probably due to some muscle loss and/or lack of energy.
Through trial and error over the past two years, I've found that this works for me. I can lose up to 3/4 pounds on a good day, averaging 3-5 pounds a week (not including the initial water loss). It's pretty intense and can be exhausting, but the weight loss keeps me highly motivated. Unfortunately, more likely than not, it won't work for you, so I'm not recommending it. Through trial and error, you'll find what works for you.
The first 45lbs were fairly straightforward, and I just had to eat less with moderate exercise. I had to use some variation of the above strategy to lose the last 25lbs twice, while figuring out my maintenance regimen, which is similar to the above, but much more forgiving. I'm doing a few days of it now, to knock off the few pounds of fat that I've gained since restarting strength training 3 months ago. Three more lbs and BMI will be below 23 again.
Oh yeah, while dieting, once every 7-10 days I might go cookie monster and take out 1000-2000 cals at once. Though, that only sets me back a day.
At night, I load up on veggies and protein, some fruit. For snacking, I'll go with low sodium pretzels for a bit of carbs. I find that nuts are too calorie dense for my preference, and a few times self control was an issue. I might also have some carbs before bed to keep the ketotic headaches in check.
I usually do my cardio in the mornings, and I'll have some protein powder beforehand. I've done cardio in the afternoon before, and also broken it up into chunks throughout the day. I've read that the afterburn effect after a workout is a myth, so several small workouts may not be better than one long one. So, I prefer an hour run in the morning on my cardio days and do a 3days/off/2days/off rotation.
I don't bother with strength training during weight loss, as I get discouraged when watching my strength diminish, probably due to some muscle loss and/or lack of energy.
Through trial and error over the past two years, I've found that this works for me. I can lose up to 3/4 pounds on a good day, averaging 3-5 pounds a week (not including the initial water loss). It's pretty intense and can be exhausting, but the weight loss keeps me highly motivated. Unfortunately, more likely than not, it won't work for you, so I'm not recommending it. Through trial and error, you'll find what works for you.
The first 45lbs were fairly straightforward, and I just had to eat less with moderate exercise. I had to use some variation of the above strategy to lose the last 25lbs twice, while figuring out my maintenance regimen, which is similar to the above, but much more forgiving. I'm doing a few days of it now, to knock off the few pounds of fat that I've gained since restarting strength training 3 months ago. Three more lbs and BMI will be below 23 again.
Oh yeah, while dieting, once every 7-10 days I might go cookie monster and take out 1000-2000 cals at once. Though, that only sets me back a day.
NickW
Guest
Its good to have a "cheat day" in my opinion (those cookie benders you were talking about). It curbs those cravings for a little while which makes it easier to continue on the diet. Also, I've found that sometimes you'll make yourself sick on those "cheat days" which then makes it easier to stay on the diet because you realize how much better you feel while on it.
Food ads, political ads. Many reasons not to watch commercials!
For me, TV comes after exercise. Well, usually my entire day comes after exercise. Like dessert, I prefer my exercise first, so that I'm sure I'll have room for the good stuff!
While strength training, I've been carb cycling, so every other day is a "cheat day". However, I know what you mean, and I head out to a nice buffet every once in a while, just to get it out of my system. I try not to keep junk food in the house.
I've just found that an extra 100 cals a day isn't all that impressive, but it adds up to 3lbs over 3 months. Add a few more significant indiscretions on top of that, and the belt starts to feel snug. I'm glad to be getting those few pounds off again. If I make it through this holiday season, I'll be happy!
Such as our very own world travelling, Ford model, Indiana Jones?
Okay, Nick, you inspired me. I was going to take a rest day and carb up, but I felt pretty good and wasn't really hungry, so I'm powering through. I dusted off the old Turbofire DVDs, since it's a good workout and I needed a break after 3 days of running. There's not as much twisting as I thought in the upper body. Or at least not the way I do it, where I'm mostly facing forward and have my eyes glued on the screen to keep track of the moves. Of course, you'll have to see if it will work for you.
It does take a bit of rhythm, but I keep it light on the feet. If I get confused, I'll keep moving, hopping around a bit, like when boxers move around a ring. Many of the moves are pretty similar across the videos. The more complex moves took me about three workouts to get it right, occasionally hitting pause and practicing for a minute until I got coordinated.
There's a bit of jumping, but the Asian girl on stage always demonstrates the low impact version. Even with the normal version, it feels far easier on my joints than running. Although, my shoulders are a bit sore from all the punching moves.
I don't know what your wife does for exercise, but you might enjoy it together. The first time, I lost the final 20lbs doing only the videos. The second time, was with running only.
Here's a YouTube clip.
It does take a bit of rhythm, but I keep it light on the feet. If I get confused, I'll keep moving, hopping around a bit, like when boxers move around a ring. Many of the moves are pretty similar across the videos. The more complex moves took me about three workouts to get it right, occasionally hitting pause and practicing for a minute until I got coordinated.
There's a bit of jumping, but the Asian girl on stage always demonstrates the low impact version. Even with the normal version, it feels far easier on my joints than running. Although, my shoulders are a bit sore from all the punching moves.
I don't know what your wife does for exercise, but you might enjoy it together. The first time, I lost the final 20lbs doing only the videos. The second time, was with running only.
Here's a YouTube clip.
I really, really like the concept of rowing, since it works the whole body. Though, my body just gets bored with the repetitive motion. Same thing with stationary bikes. Though, I find running and stairmaster somewhat meditative. There's something for everyone!
NickW
Guest
I'm not sure how I motivated you but I am glad I did. My wife is down 4 pounds now and does not exercise at all right now. Her schedule is just too hectic and chaotic with her working full time and going to school full time (last term yay!) plus being a mommie. She's not going to add in exercising until January after she graduates and gets to have that taken off her plate.
Just coming on this forum, sharing ideas, learning from others' experiences, all helps to keep my head in the game. Keeping it at the forefront of my mind, prevents me from slacking off. I don't know a lot of people who are into fitness, and I don't belong to a gym. So, I find this place very helpful.
(Since it's so helpful, I suppose I should make another donation to the forum!)
NickW
Guest
So the wife and I both fell mostly off the diet this weekend. We have decided to change to a new plan, her parents are doing this one, because the one we were on is just way to strict and we both are constantly hungry and I have been feeling way to weak while running and working out. I can't stay on a diet like that when I am that hungry all the time. The new one we are starting does a mix of low carb and high carb days. I forget the name of it. My wifes parents have had really good luck on this diet and say that they are always so full that they often don't finish the meals that are suggested and planned for them. My father in law has lost 30 pounds in a matter of 2 months on this diet and I think my mother in law lost 20 in that amount of time.
I think that Chris Powell was on an episode of Dr. Oz. That's all.
Bodybuilders have been using carb cycling for years. Though, their caloric intake is probably higher than what's in the diet book.
Weekends are tough Nick, especially if you have family get together's and social gatherings. Good luck with this new plan. Keep us posted.
NickW
Guest
I will keep you posted Rick. It wasn't just the weekend that was tough though, it was every waking moment, in my wifes case even when sleeping it was difficult because she would wake up in the middle of the night just starving. If we both hadn't been starving the whole time we wouldn't have binged 3 days straight. All the weight I lost prior to the binge came right back. If I feel that hungry all the time there is no way I can stay on a "diet". For me I also must feel like I have enough energy when I run and go to the gym, and on that diet I definitely did not. It's ok, you winn some and you lose some but you will never know if a particular type of diet will work for you unless you give it a shot. This one, doesn't work for us and thats fine. Hopefully the Chris Powell one will work for us like it has my inlaws.
I have one word for you. Nuts. BWAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!! Seriously. You eat one small handful of nuts the first time you wake up hungry (just keep them next to the bed) -and that will take care of your hunger for the rest of the night most likely.
Once you start eating right most of the time, then you will no longer be hungry at night. It doesn't take much to trip the night time hunger switch, either. If I eat even a couple hundred extra grams of sugar in a day, that can be enough to cause me to wake up hungry that night.
