wanna lose some weight for spring

[alex38]

I know there is some serious health kickers on here, what is best, safest, easiest, fastest way to lose 10-15 lbs?

[crashman]

My wife just lost 12 lbs in 10 days by drinking/eating nothing but fruit and vegetable juice

[Horton]

Raw chicken

[alex38]

Yes, I heard the raw chicken diet is very effective, @crashman 12 lbs in 10 days... nice.

[aswinter05]

My recommendation is to drink water as much as possible. Stay away from anything else if you're serious about losing weight fast. Sugary drinks contribute to ugly calories. Carbonation isn't great for your health overall and I've heard it makes you hungry? (possibly just rumors but you better play it safe)

 

Next recommendation would be to do ANY type of high intensity interval workouts. These workouts typically last less than 30 minutes. You'll do something intense for 30 to 60 seconds then rest for 30-60 seconds. You really get a sweat going.

 

Simply google "HIIT workouts" and you'll have your work cut out for you. They say there's no better way to get your metabolism kick started and burn fat than high intensity interval training (HIIT)

 

Another recommendation is to hold yourself accountable. Make a quick, simple Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and keep track of your days and what muscle group you worked out. Don't forget to take a rest once or twice a week. Sometimes your body needs to "reset" and obviously heal.

 

Best of luck on your journey!

[Wish]

Kilo Kai. Drink...repeat. Or if your hair is long like @Hortons.....cut it.

[skibug]

It is as simple as making your caloric intake less than what you burn. Eliminate 500 calories from you diet each day and burn an additional 500 in exercise. 500 calories is really quite simple to cut out for most of us. Take a real hard, honest look at what you eat daily. I bet you will find 500 calories you can eliminate.

 

That is a 1000 calorie swing everyday. A pound has about 3600 calories; so, if you can manage to do this 5 out of the 7 days of the week....you will drop about 1.5 pounds a week and it is the right way to do it. You have to allow youself those two other days to not worry about it and eat whatever you want with only a little more discretion.

[BillBarton]

I have no frickin' clue what it takes to lose weight anymore. This winter has been great for my strength training. I spent a ridiculous amount of time in the gym this winter, never been stronger. Problem is I have also never been fatter! loseit.com has me on a 1000 calorie a day deficit and I haven't lost a pound. I'm thinking professional help :)

[Chef23]

Paleo. If you follow a strict paleo diet and workout you will lose weight.

[A_B]

Do you know anyone that has the flu?

[BraceMaker]

10-15?

 

If you want it fast and safe, @chef23 is pretty darned close. I'm not a paleo guy, but you can always use those same theories while having normal real people food.

 

1st. No fast food, second reduce your booze intake by atleast a unit a day (if you have 2 beers after work have 1 etc). Halve your orders, get the 6" if at subway, don't get the chips, don't drink soda.

 

Just from that you will lose, but you won't hemmorage weight, if you want fast you need activity.

 

I dropped 10 (185-175) by simply doing car work outs, I drive an average of 2.5 hours a day, so I now keep various things in my car, grip type rings and the like, I do grip work outs to songs, or in sets till fatigue every time I get in the car. Also every car trip I pick a song and try to do a core workout in the car as much as I can. This is number 2- adding simple activity to your daily work out.

 

3rd. I added a 20' manila climbing rope at home, and I use that daily, I have a waterski handle on my rafers, I do sets of pull ups from the fingers on that daily. @rippedforearms...

 

 

[alex38]

What is paleo?

[BraceMaker]

paleolithic - basically a diet that is based on food sources that a "caveman" might eat. You're talking hunter gatherer, raw foods, nuts, veg, fruits, basic lean meats.

 

The paleo diet is based around that, but you get varying suggestions in terms of what is/isn't correct.

 

I think it is easier to focus on quantity and quality, as opposed to if it is historical in nature.

[alex38]

Interesting on paleo, just tried a hiit workout on youtube, pretty sick, will look into most or all of these except for raw chicken-I googled that and it is not a real diet, actually very dangerous :)

[BraceMaker]

Ya - violently loose bowels for several weeks will lose you the 10 pounds, as well as your taste for food.

[Brady]

Sell your company and have the new owners come back to the table 3 times and change the deal on you, while selling your house and taking care of the most picky buyers on planet Earth!!! Most stress I have ever had this last month, and if you can stay away from the alcohol, guaranteed to lose the weight.

[alex38]

Stress!!!!! Great workout!!!

[E_T]

crossfit FTW!!!!!

[Phil2360]

Atkins Works for me!

It's probably mis-interpreted by most as the "Fat Diet".

 

Not the case when you follow the complete advice he gives.

That means reading the whole book, which most people don't do.

 

I didn't actually read the book at all.....

I purchased it on audio tapes by mistake about 10 years ago,

so have got to listen to it several times over while travelling.

 

I'd recommend it. He makes a lot of sense when you take in everything that he says.

[Phil2360]

And he doesn't say "Stay off the Carbs altogether".

More a case of the right & wrong carbs & the quantity & balance.

 

[Waternut]

Not everything works for everyone due to body types and needs as well as dedication required. There are actually a lot of things you can do without really changing what you eat or how much you eat as well. The changes won't be fast but they can keep you at a healthy weight and are easy to keep up. Simple things like eating breakfast gets your metabolism going early in the day and eating 6-7 small meals is much better than 2-3 large meals. A metabolism that works 18 hours a day is going to burn more calories than one that works 8 hours a day. If you still want steak, potatos, and vegetables for dinner, eat them individually at different times. Eat the steak when you get home from work, the baked potato a couple hours later, and the vegetables an hour or two before bed time. This is harder with a family but it's one option.

 

The other thing to do is walk with a purpose. When you walk into the store, go into work, or just go out to get the mail, don't casually poke along. Walk like you need to be somewhere. This does a few things that are subconscious. First it burns more calories. It also keeps your attitude and mentality up which makes you more proactive and likely to do other things besides sitting in front of the tv. Lastly, it can put your mind in rush mode and that alone can keep your heart rate elevated.

 

I know people say to stay away from soda and sugar. For me personally, it's much easier to lose weight with these things. Soda and sugary snacks actually curb my appetite. I might sip on a coke for an hour and a bite size snack every 30-60 minutes will keep hunger at bay for me. Sure it's not the healthiest thing but IMO, it's quite a bit better than being obese.

[MattP]

If I weighed any less I would be skiing on a 64" ski...

[kevintcom]

My plan was to have a regular exercise regimen in place through the winter to not put the weight on in the first place, but since I failed miserably at that, I'm now working on being very aware of what and how much I eat, and finding every opportunity that I can to exercise and burn more calories. I'm hoping that will pay off at least by mid-summer.

 

I wish that I had a magic potion that would do the trick, but this has been the only thing that has worked for me.

[Chef23]

I have only put on about 5 pounds and gained strength. I need to focus on dropping a few pounds between now and the start of ski season.

[skibumm]

I was at 197lbs a year and a half ago and some friends (LOL) talked me into doing Ironman St George. I cut out all soda and worked out 6 days a week for a rediculous amounts of time and watched what I ate. I am now 169 but raced at 161 and now am trying to put a little wieght back on but all the training keeps me in the 160s. I could eat anything I wanted right now but am pretty close to a paleo diet. The best thing I did was purchase a blend-tec blender and I have a tons smoothie type drinks with protein and vegies.

[jhughes]

Just switched to a stand-up desk at work. Certainly feels like a workout all day!

[Sethro]

Hey Brady, I hear ya about the stress involved with selling the home/business. I'm only selling a home as I don't have a business...maybe that's why I haven't lost weight. :)

 

I never have trouble sleeping at night, but lately I'm awake as much as I'm asleep....but the waterfront living dream is getting closer, so hopefully it will be worth it in the end.

[Brady]

@Sethro It Sucks!!! I agree. Now I am homeless and jobless! I get to go start something new and find a new place to live. Good thing is my ProStar is staying. That they can rip from my cold and dead corpse! I am thinking about starting a pontoon boat business.

[A_B]

You can always schedule a colonoscopy the last day of your diet. I have been ducking mine for three years, but I hear they can be quite enlightening.

[alex38]

Great responses, very simple and attainable answers here. So far I have easily taken 3 of the many suggestions; changed foods in diet AND portion sizes, also changed from lifting and running to HIIT workouts, running was great but seems to push my threshold for long duration, whereas HIIT brings the pain in short bursts, kind of piecemeal if you will.

I will stay on this regement for a week or two and assess results, then start attacking some of the other ideas here as well. Thanks everyone! Happy skiing. Too bad raw chicken has no flavor.

[alex38]

The colonoscopy will definitely be last.... if ever.

[h2odawg79]

What exactly is Weight?

 

I always hear people taking about "Losing Wgt" with no referance to their actual objective...

 

Weight can be readily gained or lost in the form of Water, Muscle, Fat and from within the Bowel tract...

 

I always ask: Whats your objective?

 

To look good in clothes? (High school reunion, Wedding)

To look good on the Beach?

To perform better?

To feel better?

[davemac]

in my case, it is

E. All of the above (in the reverse order you listed them)

[alex38]

Goal for me is to be lighter and have less fat or mass in my torso or abdomen which has always given me better balance for skiing (and snowboarding). Secondary is to be strong and have great endurance. I think that is my recipe.

[Ed_Johnson]

I have gone the opposite diection..I learned that Center of Mass, COM, in the Direction of Travel gives you the Greatest Acceleration. Therefore it stands to reason that the Greater the COM, the Greater the Acceleration...So Beer, Pizza, and Donuts, Equals Greater COM..Sounds like the way to go for me !!!

[slalomboy96]

Lay off the beer and sugar and exercise lots(any form of exercise)...

[gregy]

@ AB I buried my 65 year old aunt and 40 year neighbor this last year due to colon cancer. If your at any risk get that colonoscopy done. It's no big deal. It's a real curse in my family, I go every 3 years.

 

@brady sounds like a good time to move south.

[h2odawg79]

@davemac, has the right idea!

 

@alex38, Sounds like you have a fairly clear picture of your objective or goal. That's a good thing, b/c "Losing wgt" will normally end up as "Losing Muscle." In fact, most people actually sacrifice their Muscle 1st and never really lose much Fat. This is a very common error.

 

Especially when trying to target the Mid-section abdominal fat. This is generally a hereditary cond. that is greatly influenced by ones Diet, Exercise habits and Stress. (I am one of these people!)

 

The Mid-section is Very tricky and MUST be chipped away VERY, very slowly. Do not do any highly restrictive, Low Calorie type diets or the Belly fat will generally be retained, (or even added to from the Stress) while the rest of you melts away. The scale will show that you are Losing WGT. but, it will be the wrong WGT. and as soon as you go off the Restrictive high Cal. deficit diet you will gain all of the WGT. back with an additional % of Fat to help the Body Gird against the next season of Famine...

 

Go get a legit Fitness or Fat test from the YMCA or other source locally (Water or Calipers) and then go back and monitor your results every 3-4 wks. This will be a slow process but, these tests will reveal an accurate visual chart of your progress w/regards to your total Body Composition. i.e. Fat %, Muscle %, total Body Wgt.

 

Nothing worse then Dieting your Butt off and Working out real hard only to find out you've lost 15lbs of Muscle and 2 lbs of Fat... -this Happens all the time

 

Good luck!

[DanE]

So @Ed_Johnson - A Beer

to start with, pizza for Main Course and donut for dessert? Wouldn't chasing down the Beer keep you lean and fit? :)

 

[Ed_Johnson]

Darn, forgot to add the Chocolate Sunday with Whipcream and Nuts..That should really add to the COM !!!!....43 off, here we come!!!

[A_B]

I should be skiing off the platform by now Ed.....

[Ed_Johnson]

@AB....Patience, it's the new normal...OUR time will come !!!

[GaryWilkinson]

From all that I've ever heard, losing more than a pound a month is almost impossible unless you're losing water that's naturally retained or muscle mass much liked you'd lose if very sick.

 

I think body preparation will be more important that specifically losing that amount of weight so quick. I'd concentrate on core strength and hand and arm preparation. The calories you'll burn doing these things will reduce your body fat but if you focus on more weight reduction specifically it will be at the expense of overall body health. According to a doctor friend of mine, diets never work, not sustainable. Many small behaviour changes achieve the best, most consistent results but in your case of a time limit, I'd work on getting ready for the season and less on dropping weight. That'll come as a bonus for doing frequent exercise and eating better. Behaviour changes not "miracle diet" strategies.

[Chef23]

@GaryWilkinson starting last February I started a combined regimen of working out and eating Paleo. I lost between 1-3 lbs a week for close to 3 months and dropped about 30 lbs total while gaining strength the whole time. I never watched the amount of food I put into my mouth I just watched what I put into it.

 

The weight loss stopped when I became less strict about what I ate. I have gained about 5lbs since my bottom weight when I stared eating some candy and other crap around the house. I have maintained my workouts and my strength.

 

I do believe that the Paleo diet works for weight loss when combined with a strength program without losing muscle mass. I need to get some discipline back in my diet and try get back with the program.

[bogboy]

Maybe focus on 3 things that you like to do, along with portion control, and not eating after 5:30 or so. My 3 things are swimming laps, skiing, and walking the dog. I am holding right at 190. If I loose any more, my wife will kill me. that would not be a good way to loose more.