I think I’ve lost more weight than anyone I’ve ever met. However this is not necessarily a good thing. It means (up to 4 years ago) I ended up putting it back on. That is very unhealthy and you should avoid at all costs. My excuse is that I’m bipolar. I’d lose weight during my manic periods and put it back on during my depression periods.
What worked for me is long duration moderate intensity exercise (3 hours a day at 60% to 70% effort). I maintained a 1200 calories/day diet with, heavily weighted toward high protein, very low fat and low sugars (except fruit). I used this to get down to my current weight of 175. When I last had to lose a lot of weight (and it will be the last time I have to) I started out at 215 the heaviest I had ever been by a good 10 lbs.
My maintenance diet is similarly weighted but calories are much higher (depending on how much and how hard I train). I find the harder I train the hungrier I get and the more I need to prevent from overtaining. If I overdo the training/diet equation the wheels come off the bus. My training suffers and I eat more than I need. I find for me that if I am out of shape and am trying to lose weight “intensity is my enemy”. It just leads to injury, overtraining or both. Good luck.
When i stopped drinking 1000 calorie weight-gain shakes everyday my weight seemed to drop. The two may have been related.
In all seriousness though, lots of cardio and a sensible diet should get you where you want to go. Personally, goals help me achieve a lot more too (like a certain amount of preperation for an upcoming race, or time i wanted when swimming competitvely) and weight/strength/fitness are secondary benefits of the goal.
Well, my suggestion is not for anyone, but last time I tried the “Purina Diet” I lost 50 lbs in a fairly short period of time. I plan to give it another shot, as unfortunately the first time I tried it I also ended up in the hospital with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IVs in both arms due to some side effects.
Essentially, it is a perfect diet. The way that it works is to load your pants pockets with Purina nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry. The food is nutritionally complete and provides a balanced diet.
As I mentioned, I’m giving it a second shot, since things were going pretty well the first time until I stepped off a curb to sniff an Irish Setter’s ass and a car hit us both.
I lost ~40lbs over 18 months so I could be fast on the run. 300/day calorie deficit and time. In the end it is a lifestyle change where you become aware of exactly how much you eat daily and match it to your activity level. I started off with calorie count tools, but after a few weeks you kind of know. Our daily diets don’t end up being that much different from week to week.
For me, trying to keep it simple and not have to keep any detailed counts of anything…
Cut out beer. I can still have a pint or two if I’m going out with some co-workers at happy hour for somebody’s birthday or something like that, but no more just having a beer when I get home, then another beer or two with dinner, and another watching TV later on… pretty easy to kill a case per week without even really ‘drinking’. I can do everything else the same as far as working out and eating regular meals, but just this one thing will cut out about a lb per week of empty calories compared to my off-season program.
Drink an extra glass of water at the beginning of dinner. Besides the beneficial hydration and all that, it’ll help you feel fuller sooner so you eat a bit less at each sitting. Nuthin’ fancy…
Well, my suggestion is not for anyone, but last time I tried the “Purina Diet” I lost 50 lbs in a fairly short period of time. I plan to give it another shot, as unfortunately the first time I tried it I also ended up in the hospital with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IVs in both arms due to some side effects.
Essentially, it is a perfect diet. The way that it works is to load your pants pockets with Purina nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry. The food is nutritionally complete and provides a balanced diet.
As I mentioned, I’m giving it a second shot, since things were going pretty well the first time until I stepped off a curb to sniff an Irish Setter’s ass and a car hit us both.
Is there a particular flavor that works best? Do they have a banana cream pie flavored nuggets?
Cut back on the carbs. I did this and lost 35 lbs. in two months. I had to start eating some carbs again when I started exercising twice a day. so, exercise once a day, minimal carbs, only eat carbs after exercise.
I think I’ve lost more weight than anyone I’ve ever met. However this is not necessarily a good thing. It means (up to 4 years ago) I ended up putting it back on. That is very unhealthy and you should avoid at all costs. My excuse is that I’m bipolar. I’d lose weight during my manic periods and put it back on during my depression periods.
What worked for me is long duration moderate intensity exercise (3 hours a day at 60% to 70% effort). I maintained a 1200 calories/day diet with, heavily weighted toward high protein, very low fat and low sugars (except fruit). I used this to get down to my current weight of 175. When I last had to lose a lot of weight (and it will be the last time I have to) I started out at 215 the heaviest I had ever been by a good 10 lbs.
My maintenance diet is similarly weighted but calories are much higher (depending on how much and how hard I train). I find the harder I train the hungrier I get and the more I need to prevent from overtaining. If I overdo the training/diet equation the wheels come off the bus. My training suffers and I eat more than I need. I find for me that if I am out of shape and am trying to lose weight “intensity is my enemy”. It just leads to injury, overtraining or both. Good luck.
You worked out 3 hours per day and maintained a 1200 calorie diet; you had to of burned at least that many calories during exercise alone. How did you function on that or are you not including calories you ate during exercise?
Move more - First thing in the morning. Wake up even 10 minutes earlier and do 10 minutes of cardio, it will help “wake up” your metabolism and you’ll start burning calories earlier in the day.
Eat less - In the evening. You don’t need a massive dinner, you’re about to lie down for 7 hours.
I think I’ve lost more weight than anyone I’ve ever met. However this is not necessarily a good thing. It means (up to 4 years ago) I ended up putting it back on. That is very unhealthy and you should avoid at all costs. My excuse is that I’m bipolar. I’d lose weight during my manic periods and put it back on during my depression periods.
What worked for me is long duration moderate intensity exercise (3 hours a day at 60% to 70% effort). I maintained a 1200 calories/day diet with, heavily weighted toward high protein, very low fat and low sugars (except fruit). I used this to get down to my current weight of 175. When I last had to lose a lot of weight (and it will be the last time I have to) I started out at 215 the heaviest I had ever been by a good 10 lbs.
My maintenance diet is similarly weighted but calories are much higher (depending on how much and how hard I train). I find the harder I train the hungrier I get and the more I need to prevent from overtaining. If I overdo the training/diet equation the wheels come off the bus. My training suffers and I eat more than I need. I find for me that if I am out of shape and am trying to lose weight “intensity is my enemy”. It just leads to injury, overtraining or both. Good luck.
You worked out 3 hours per day and maintained a 1200 calorie diet; you had to of burned at least that many calories during exercise alone. How did you function on that or are you not including calories you ate during exercise?
At 60% to 70% PE I guess (I think that is the right word) I probably only burn 800 to 900 calories. Maybe I “perceive effort” higher than it actually is. Basel metabolism for a 40 y/o male is about 2000 calories (less if you are an old fart like me). that gives me about
1200 - 900 = 300
2000 - 300 = 1700
a pound of fat = 3500
3500 - 1700 = 1800
1800/3500 = 1/2 pound fat per day
Of course many days you end up eating 1500, but the formula still works. Ultimately the time exercising is most helpful in keeping your basel metabolism up and prevent loss of muscle. You emerge lighter, and then you start building strength while increasing your calories appropriately.
