Anyone have any advice on a diet for me? (from RCCL forum)

[sppunk]

I'm looking to lose about, oh, 20 pounds. Nothing too extreme, but have never paid attention to diets or anything of the like.

 

What are some tips you guys have? It might help to know my schedule is very odd, as I work as a designer at a newspaper. My workday goes from 3 p.m. to midnight. As for cooking, I'm not good at all, but can do basics I suppose.

 

I have an exercise bike, but it's pretty old but works just fine.

 

Help me lose this little gut I'm building! :)

[VABeach]

Atkins. It works. 165 to 120!:D

[sppunk]

No Atkins for me. I'm actually attempting to give up red meat (doing a fairly good job), but looking for others.

 

My main problem is just not knowing what to eat/snack on. I have fruit and drink water, but a lot of times I want something else. I love Wheat Thins, but I think the calorie intake on those is pretty high?

[VABeach]

There are many misconceptions about Atkins. You have to read the book. In all actuality, you can be a vegitarian and do Atkins. No red met reqired.;)

[beachchick]

I can only recommend that you talk to your physician. What works beautifully for one person may not work well and may in fact be harmful to another.

 

Most doctors seem to feel that a diet with lots of vegetables, lean meats, and whole grains is a good way to go. There also seems to be general agreement that limiting refined sugars/starches and excess saturated fats is generally beneficial. Fortunately, there is an abundance of fresh vegetables and fresh fruits available. A sandwich on whole grain bread with, say, chicken breast, lettace, tomato, and onion along with some snacks like cheese, peanut butter, yogurt, and fruit can make for better eating during an off-hours work schedule. And you absolutely should remember that a "treat" now and again is not a bad thing. It's when treats and empty calories become your basic food sources that you run into trouble. Also a good deal of "fast" food is leaning toward a more healthy diet (wraps and baked potatoes instead of double burgers and fries, etc.), so not too much work involved for the "challenged" cook.

 

I think it's kind of amusing that the government guidelines recently released back up what most doctors have been saying for decades: eat better/less, eat a variety of foods, and get regular exercise. (Dang, that sounds boring--I tell you I've been waiting for that magic pill to come along. Sigh.)

 

Many people do very well on Atkins, others on South Beach, still others swear by Weight Watchers. That is why a chat with your doctor might be the best way to lead you to the best diet/lifestyle for you. Oh, and resistance/weight training is very important for all fitness levels and all ages.

 

Good luck (I'm in the same place myself).

 

beachchick

[sppunk]

beachchick, thank you very much. You provided a lot of helpful tips.

 

I just realized tonight that my size 32 pants don't fit anymore, and my 34s are starting too fit too good. No more of that! I need to pull the exercise bike back out of the closet and once again ride it for 35 minutes after work. :)

[beachchick]

I'm glad you found my comments helpful. Sounds like getting out the old exercise bike is a great first step. Consider getting some resistance bands or hand weights for strength/resistance work.

 

Boy, I do understand how it feels when the larger size you bought starts to feel snug. I'm at that point now and just made the decision to do what I can about it. One thing I know to be true: it took time to put on the weight, it's going to take time to take it off.

 

One last tip, do not under any circumstances starve yourself. My doctors have confirmed that it's true that if you go too low in your calorie intake that your body goes into starvation mode and it's even harder to lose weight. (My doctor's opinion, which might differ from your doctor's, is that women should go no lower than 1200 calories per day and men no lower than 1700.)

 

Hey, check in a month from now and let's see how we're doing. I might even go over to the "lose before you cruise" board; they are bound to have some good ideas.

 

beachchick

[bUU]

Starvation mode is effected more as a matter of low protein intake and little weight-bearing exercise than any specific number of calories. I spent nine months (under medical supervision) at 500-800 calories per day, and never experienced starvation mode (or hunger, for that matter), and indeed decreased my body-fat percentage from 43% to 19%. You can be eating 2000 calories per day and still be catabolizing your lean-body mass; meanwhile, it is very possible to eat as little as 1200 calories per day, even for men, and be building muscle, as long as you're knowledgeable and conscientious about what you should be eating. While no one should ever go as low as I did without medical supervision, the point is that folks should worry about protein intake and exercise rather than calories.

 

Please do join us over in the Lose Before You Cruise board.

[Single mom]

I tried Atkins, and just didn't have the "will" to give up what I love, breads and pastas. So I asked my doctor, he said first cut out sugar, give that a few weeks and then try to cut out fast food, then last step was watch portion control.

 

That said I followed his steps and used Weight Watchers as a Guide for my portions and have lost 16 pounds.

 

Only have @ 20 more to go before October.

 

Good Luck. Try riding your bike when you get up before your shower and then again before bed.

[ondeckatsea]

Weight Watchers worked for me. After years of trying everything else I found it the most sensible plan. It actually isn't a diet, it's reeducating yourself on eating a proper balanced meal plan, not completely cutting out any food groups, and allowing yourself occasional treats. I lost 33 pounds about 3 years ago and except for about 5 creeping back on (on cruises when I just cut loose and enjoy myself) I've kept it off. I think part of it was having to shell out some money and also having to get on the scale every week. It kept me honest. I don't write everything down anymore, I think that's an important part of it, but I still try to stay within my points allowed.

[madelinerose]

No diets. Cut back on all sugars and eat no processed foods, partially hydrogenated oils or white flour and the weight will fall off.

 

No Wheat Thins - crackers are not good at all. If you must have pasta and breads, eat whole grain only.

 

In other words, eat healthy, real food and pay attention to labels.

 

Stay off the scale. Once you've starting eating healthy foods, weigh yourself maybe twice a month. You'll know you're losing by the fit of your clothes and your energy level. ;)

[lmmn]

Find some type of excercise you like so you stick with it. If you're starting to get bored with it, try something new or change it slightly. If you enjoy walking or running, bite the bullet and buy a really good treadmill. It's really quite easy to excercise and watch a good program or the news. Plan to excercise daily...even on the ship! Don't diet, just eat in moderation and try to eat right. If you don't like to cook, try the frozen dinners...Smart Ones, etc. They are really quite good. Cutting back on hidden calories also helps. Cut back on butter, use lower calorie dressing, skim milk, less drinking, try popcorn instead of chips for a snack. Good luck....I know you can do it!

[mtd716]

The simplest answer is basic math. Burn more calories than you take in. You can lose weight eating exactly whatever you eat now, just eat less of it (portion control). This is how I have been successful in the past. However, what you eat and how often you eat can affect the rate at which you metabolize calories. If you are sedentary, you calorie intake will need to be more restricted to lose weight. The more active you are, the more calories you can consume and still lose 1-2 pounds per week (the recommended maximum healthy weight loss).

 

I am currently subscribed to ediets.com (about $12/month). Based on your gender and activity level, they will give you a recommended daily allotment of calories and recommended meal plan. You can exclude from a list of foods that you don't like/can't eat. You can even specify the number of time per week you can't live without fast food and it will give some fairly healthy fast food options. A lot of their recommendations for me are Lean Cuisine items, which I find reasonably satisfying. I don't always follow their recommendations, but I do stay within the calorie limit. Have so far lost 4 lbs in 2 weeks. They also have a Nutrition Tracker where you can enter the food and beverage items you consume and it keeps a daily tally of your calorie intake. I use this a lot!

[Appgrad]

You can also try http://www.fitday.com. It is free and gives you lots of information as to what you need to eat to lose.

 

I echo many of the statements above... Cut out sugar and any processed foods. You'll be surprised at how much better you feel!

[Lenora1426]

I follow Weight Watchers. I eat anything I want, just watching portion size.

[ThatGrrl]

If you'd like to talk to folks who are in your same situation, try the "Lose before you cruise" thread in the "Fun Stuff" part of this forum:

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=149

[critterchick]

I find that I do very well on Weight Watchers, too, when I stick to it (there's always a catch!). MEASURE everything you eat - you may be surprised at how small a "serving" of something really is. Yes, you can have pizza on the plan, but you'll probably find that you can only have one small slice instead of half a large 'za. Also, plan your meals and snacks ahead of time. And as Beachchick said, check with your doctor. Twenty pounds is hardly morbidly obese, but he or she will probably have some great ideas to help you.

 

And enjoy your Wheat Thins (get the low sodium ones)! Just remember that there are only 12-14 of them in a serving!:mad:

[Sea Island Lady]

If you'd like to talk to folks who are in your same situation, try the "Lose before you cruise" thread in the "Fun Stuff" part of this forum:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=149

 

Yes, this thread needs to be moved over to the Lose Before You Cruise board and I am going with it! :D DH and I just decided that we may take a cruise as early as next month. Lots of helpful information over there.

[HorrorFan]

No diets. Cut back on all sugars and eat no processed foods, partially hydrogenated oils or white flour and the weight will fall off.

 

No Wheat Thins - crackers are not good at all. If you must have pasta and breads, eat whole grain only.

 

In other words, eat healthy, real food and pay attention to labels.

 

Stay off the scale. Once you've starting eating healthy foods, weigh yourself maybe twice a month. You'll know you're losing by the fit of your clothes and your energy level. ;)

 

That is the BEST advice. I have dropped 85 lbs in about a year. What diet? Canada's food guide. Doesn't cost a cent. It DOES cost you some time in preparing FRESH foods but thats all. Preprocessed foods like chicken fingers, fish in batter, ANY of that kind of stuff has to go in the garbage. Cook your food fresh, and of course, watch your portions. Sure, you'll get hungry between meals. Too bad, no one said it would be painless, but after a week or so, you get less hungry and once you start to see some results, it gets much easier to stick with it.

[clingandclatter]

The simplest answer is basic math. Burn more calories than you take in. You can lose weight eating exactly whatever you eat now, just eat less of it (portion control).

 

So true. At work we were having the diet discussion with a bunch of people and my boss said he follows the "Eat what you want, but less of it diet". One pound is equal to 3500 calories. Since there is seven days in a week, if you just cut back 500 calories a day you'd lose a pound. 500 calories really isn't all that much a day - a couple of cookies here, a soda there, etc. Of course you have to make sure that you really ARE cutting back on the calories for it to work.

 

And exercise! That helps get you back some calories to eat - if you burn off 250 calories by exercise, then you only need to cut back 250 calories in food on a given day. Even get some weights and do some weight training! Muscle will burn more calories than fat even when you're just sitting around. Since it is denser than fat it will also make you look slimmer even if you stay at the same weight.

[firstcruise05]

I like the South Beach myself. It severely restricts your carb intake for the first two weeks but then goes into a more reasonable diet plan of low healthy carbs (WHOLE grains breads...make sure your wheat bread is WHOLE wheat, most are not). In any case, cut the sugar...that means cakes, candy, beer, soda, switch to splenda in your coffee and tea (I'm trying to think what else has sugar...it hides in many sneaky places), watch your white flour intake (or better yet cut it out completely and stick with whole grains, take it easy on the alcohol ( a sure weight gainer for many people) and eat until your pleasantly full but NOT stuffed. I lost 30 lbs and intend to lose about 10 more (30 was my original goal so even if I don't lose any more I will be happy).

 

 

Good Luck! Oh and like other posters have said...you didn't gain weight overnight and you won't lose it overnight either.

[Ontheseas]

Ditto to what others have said and cut out all sodas and all fried food/fast foods. Add more fruits and veggies AND do strength training in addition to cardio workouts. Good luck! HAve a blast on your honeymoon cruise. We sure did! :cool:

[PhoenixCruiser]

Another vote for Weight Watchers. I'll be celebrating my 3 year anniversary next month. Have been able to maintain my goal weight for 2.5 years.

 

Be sure to drink lots of water!

 

Good luck to you :)

 

###

[ellikitten]

I'd have to recommend the South Beach diet. My dad has been on it for a little over a month and I'm still amazed every time I see him at how much he's lost. He's feeling better than ever and not deprived in the least.

 

~elli

[mtd716]

Ditto to what others have said and cut out all sodas and all fried food/fast foods. :cool:

 

In my opinion the problem with a lot of diets is that they forbid certain foods and make you feel like you failed if you slip. In a sensible diet, you should eat healthy per the suggestions of others, but it IS okay to have the stuff you like once in a while. I still eat at McDonalds. Just not every day. And when I do, it's now a hamburger and small fries (500 calories total) instead of a Quarter Pounder and large fries (around 1000 calories -- more if you add cheese). It gives me a taste of the things I like to satisfy the craving. And because I'm not on a diet that forbids carbs, or whatever, I don't feel like I "cheated" as long as overall I'm still within my calorie range for the day. I also still snack on the snack foods I like (chips, etc.) but I limit myself to one serving. One thing that helps with stuff like chips -- instead of eating directly out of the bag, count out your serving first, then put the bag away before you eat. This waaay reduces the temptation to overindulge without meaning to.

 

 

One pound is equal to 3500 calories. Since there is seven days in a week, if you just cut back 500 calories a day you'd lose a pound.

 

True, but don't forget that if you are currently gaining weight, you have to cut out enough to calories to halt the weight gain PLUS the additional 500 calories per day to lose one pound per week.

 

When it comes to exercise, I'm not as motivated as I should be. But every little bit helps. Even just walking more in your daily activities. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, park on the far side of the parking lot, etc. Get a pedometer to measure how many steps you take in a day. I got one a couple of weeks ago and it has been pretty motivational for me. Aim for 10,000 steps per day. You probably won't get anywhere near this without setting aside some dedicated walking time. If that goal is too ambitious, wear the pedometer for a few days to see what your daily average for steps is, then aim to increase that by 10% for one week, then by another 10% for the second week, etc.