Creating permanent fat loss and reaching you ideal weight?

[alexplatups]

I have been posting in this forum for a while, but mostly in the business
section. Since I have been working on my weight loss site using SBI that
Steve recommends, I have not really had that much time to spend making
posts in these forums, because creating content takes a lot of time.

My site is about creating permanent fat loss, and I wanted to start a thread
in here for a while. My question about creating permanent fat loss and
reaching ideal weight is focused mostly on people who have a body type
that makes it difficult for them to lose unwanted body fat.

In my early twenties I became extremely overweight. I was born with a slow
metabolism, and a huge desire to eat delicious food. By consuming probably
twice the amount of daily calories that my body could burn at that time,
I gained some serious unwanted body fat.

After many years of trying to lose weight using many different low calorie
and fad diets, eventually I found a way to create permanent fat loss.

The funny thing is that the solution was found in the area of self-development
and not so much in a weight loss approach that I used. Of course, I used
proper nutrition and exercise on a regular basis, but the non-stop motivation
and the drive to actually keep going without quitting or giving up was
produced by creating a vision of myself reaching my ideal weight and
at the same time objectively observing, assesing and tracking my
current reality on a daily basis.

Of course if you were born with a fats metabolism, then you will have no
problem in this area, or at least most likely will not have, because there are
many ways that you can slow down your body's calorie burning abilities

Anyway, to make a long story short, I would like to hear if there are people in
this forum, that have problems losing unwanted body fat, and if you can,
maybe you can tell me the approaches that you have used in an attempt
to reach your ideal weight and create the body of your dreams.

Also I would love to hear stories from people who have accomplished this
goal, since the majority of people that are trying can't seem to create long
term weight loss results.

EDITED: I PUT THIS INFO FROM ANOTHER OF MY POSTS SO I CAN EDIT IT
WHENEVER THIS WILL BE NECESSARY

ANYWAY HERE THEY ARE THE STEPS TOWARD PERMANENT FAT LOSS
ONE BY ONE, THEY MIGHT NOT BE FOR EVERYONE, BUT IF YOU HAVE
AN ENDOMORPH DOMINANT BODY TYPE THEY MIGHT HELP YOU:

1) create an effective goal setting chart that includes the exact result
that you want to achieve when you arrive at the end of your journey.

This can be called your major health goal, and should be written on top of
your goal chart. This can include how much you want to weigh, what body
fat percentage you want to have, what you want your body to look like,
maybe like some movie star, or an athlete, etc

Then write what you have in your current reality in relation to your major
health goal. This can be written at the bottom of your chart.

Obviously this should include how much you weigh, your current body fat
percentage, your current lean body mass, and your current eating habits.
In other words, what you eat, how much you eat, and when you eat it!
Plus include your current activity level, and exactly what you do, when you
do it, for how long you do it. It is also good to understand what body type
you were born with, since this will effect the steps that you will have to take

Now between your major goal on top and your current reality at the bottom,
you can make a list of steps that you must take to go from where you are
right now, to where you want to be in the future, when you finally reach
your major health goal

Effective Goal Setting

2) create your own weekly weight loss chart, that will help you to track
your weekly results, and will show the changes in your total body weight,
your lean body mass and your your total body fat weight

this is very important because this is part of tracking your current reality,
and it is an objective way to observe, assess and track exactly the results
that you are achieving in your weight loss program.

This will not be based on the weight scale and looking in the mirror, which
does not show you how much body fat you lost, how much muscle you lost,
and if you are moving in the direction of your major health goal, or not!

Weight Loss Tracker, Creating Your Ideal Weight, Tracking Weekly Progress

on this page there is a link to the weight loss chart and also a link to a page
which helps to interpret the results which you are getting, and how to
adjust them on a weekly basis, in case you wonder of the path toward
your major goal for some reason, like maybe a few too many cheat meals

3) Once these charts are created then your next step should be to calculate
your optimum daily calorie intake. This is the amount of calories that your
body can burn on a daily basis.

Since calories are the most important part of creating permanent fat loss,
knowing how many you should consume will allow you to create the perfect
size meals that you will consume while moving toward your major goal

The Calorie Counter

this is where everything about calories is explained in full detail

4) After making the calories calculations, the next step is to choose the best
nutrient ratio for your body type. This is simply the number of daily calories
that will come from your carbohydrates, protein and dietary fat.

Since everyone is different, we all have to find our own nutrient ratio, mostly
through a period of trial and error.

Healthy Diet Plan, using the right nutrient ratios

If you are a vegetarian, and eat only plants products, or a lacto-vegetarian
and allow yourself dairy products, or a lacto-ovo-vegetarian and consume
eggs and dairy products, obvioulsy you can still get all of your
macronutrients, micronutrients, vitamins and minerals choosing the right
combinations of foods.

Carbohydrates, Your Energy Source

Protein Foods for Permanent Fat Loss, Complete Protein Foods

Menu For Low Fat Diet, Permanent Fat loss, Saturated Fats, Unsaturated Fats

5) The next step is to choose the optimum meal frequency/timing approach
that you will use on a daily basis, to eat the meals that you will create using
your daily calorie intake and your nutrient ratios

Fitness Nutrition Secret, Meal Frequency

this is very important, because if your portions are too large, and you do not
eat often enough, the calories that your body can't use from a large meal,
most of it will be converted to unwanted body fat and driven into your fat
cells. This will obviously lead to weight gain

6) Using cardio training to burn unwanted body fat directly is the next step
toward permanent fat loss. Actually this should the major strategy to burn
body fat directly.

Everything else, especially the nutrition, should be used only to maintain
your current weight

Without a doubt, cardio is the secret to creating permanent fat loss, and
will always be the most effective way to make your body use the fat from
your fat cells as an energy source

That section of my site will be finished in a few days and then I will put the
link in this thread

7) The last step is weight training. This is very important because it helps
to maintain your muscle while you are in the weight loss phase of your
program and keeps your metabolism elevated

This section is also not finished completely, and just like with cardio, I will
provide the links in the nearest future

Obviously this approach is not for everyone! It has been designed for people
that have a difficulty losing body fat, but still want to have a lean, healthy
body, and do not want to use low calorie and fad diets that only increase
your appetite and create a massive cravings for food. Plus the muscle loss
and water loss during these ineffective nutrition approaches, leads to long
term weight gain, which is exactly the opposite of what most people are
actually using them for

[dave marshall]

HI,


I have lost 7 stone so far and feeling great

Dave

[newdad]

I have taken my belt in four notches over the last month. I'm not on a diet. I just changed my eating habits. I eat the way our ancestors ate. Which means, eating lots of meat and fat, eating lots of leafy veggies, and some fruit.

I don't count calories. I eat until I'm full and then I'm done. A typical day, looks like this.

B: 3 Eggs, Bacon
S: Apple
L: Salad, with spinach, steak, blueberries, strawberries, feta cheese, vinegar and oil
S: Apple
D: Steak and Broccoli

I feel younger, more energetic. I'm never hungry. I don't miss eating bad foods. And, there are no phases and I don't need to go off the diet when I reach my ideal weight.

Follow what is natural, not what "science" created two generations ago.

[James81]

Originally Posted by newdad

I have taken my belt in four notches over the last month. I'm not on a diet. I just changed my eating habits. I eat the way our ancestors ate. Which means, eating lots of meat and fat, eating lots of leafy veggies, and some fruit.

I don't count calories. I eat until I'm full and then I'm done. A typical day, looks like this.

B: 3 Eggs, Bacon
S: Apple
L: Salad, with spinach, steak, blueberries, strawberries, feta cheese, vinegar and oil
S: Apple
D: Steak and Broccoli

I feel younger, more energetic. I'm never hungry. I don't miss eating bad foods. And, there are no phases and I don't need to go off the diet when I reach my ideal weight.

Follow what is natural, not what "science" created two generations ago.

Wow, lol.

1. You may be losing weight on that diet, but are you sure that you won't have a heart attack later on down the road because of all the grease, fat, and meat in your diet? (there's more to healthy eating than just losing weight)

2. When I think about what our ancestors must've eaten, I think that 90% of their diet almost had to be nuts, berries, fruits, and vegetables. I figure the bulk of their diet was probably nuts, berries, and fruits though, because that would be the types of stuff you'd find out in nature the easiest. I highly doubt they ate many eggs, and probably only had spurts of eating meat (after a hunt).

I'm not vegetarian or anything, but I can see where the vegetarian diet is probably the most healthy because it makes sense from an ancestral point of view. I figure eating meat was probably the exception rather than the rule.

[newdad]

1. You may be losing weight on that diet, but are you sure that you won't have a heart attack later on down the road because of all the grease, fat, and meat in your diet? (there's more to healthy eating than just losing weight)

2. When I think about what our ancestors must've eaten, I think that 90% of their diet almost had to be nuts, berries, fruits, and vegetables. I figure the bulk of their diet was probably nuts, berries, and fruits though, because that would be the types of stuff you'd find out in nature the easiest. I highly doubt they ate many eggs, and probably only had spurts of eating meat (after a hunt).

I'm not vegetarian or anything, but I can see where the vegetarian diet is probably the most healthy because it makes sense from an ancestral point of view. I figure eating meat was probably the exception rather than the rule.

Our early ancestors would have eaten mainly meat and lots of fat. Early cave drawing, early archeological relics, all suggest that early man was a hunter. Until agriculture was invented he would not have been able find enough calories from eating just veggies. He would have had to spend his entire day grazing and searching to do so.

More recent studies on hunter/gatherer societies show that they ate high concentrations of fatty organs and meat and had great teeth and very, very low incidents of heart disease, cancer, and many of the modern diseases of man.

Fat has gotten a bad rep, thanks in part to Dr. Keyes. When he did his "study" of different countries dietary lifestyles and its link to health. He only kept the information points that supported his theory and threw out all of the information that didn't fit. Many scientist used his information to suggest diets of low-fat, high-carb diets would be the ideal. But, look at the trends in obesity, heart disease, and diabetes, in the last two generations, when a diet low in fat and high in carbs was suggested, all of these rates have sky rocketed and it is not enough to contribute to a sedentary lifestyle.

Our bodies convert carbs into energy really easily, and what we don't use at that time is stored (Body fat). On the flip side, it takes more time to digest fat and convert it into energy. Therefore the body is expending more energy in the process and doesn't store nearly as much energy (Fat) in the process. Also, you feel full, so you don't eat as much.

Almost all of our fat and cholesterol is produced from our bodies when we consume carbohydrates. We don't absorb it through eating fat or cholesterol. Plus, many, many of our nutrients that we need are found in fat.

This is a hard concept for people to grasp, not because they are unintelligent, but because they have grown up hearing conventional wisdom tell them, low-fat is the way to go. But, there are many studies out there that show this wrong. The suggestion of a low-fat diet was founded on a bad study and even worse "science".

There are some great sites that can tell you more if your curious. such as marksdailyapple.com or paleodiet.com

look up Mark's definitive guide to fats

[aelle]

Originally Posted by alexplatups

Anyway, to make a long story short, I would like to hear if there are people in
this forum, that have problems losing unwanted body fat, and if you can,
maybe you can tell me the approaches that you have used in an attempt
to reach your ideal weight and create the body of your dreams.

Also I would love to hear stories from people who have accomplished this
goal, since the majority of people that are trying can't seem to create long
term weight loss results.

Yes, I have. I lost 20kg in the span of a year, going from BMI 30 (obese) to 24 (healthy). It's been over a year and I haven't put a single pound back on. I had never managed to lose weight successfully before, because I couldn't care less about my physical appearance (weight does not register as unattractive to me) so I couldn't see a point!

What happened is that I switched my habits (became vegan and a foodie, preparing most of my meals myself) and my mindset (focused on my health, well-being and love for my body) and the fat just melted right off until I reached my intended weight. I know temporary diets wouldn't have worked for me, just like they don't work for most people. I needed lifestyle changes that I could believe in.
Also, as a consequence of the method, I was not focused on the immediate outcome. I would have stayed vegan and proud of my body no matter what my weight was - it was a nice side effect, but not a goal.

[alexplatups]

aelle,

inspiring story, good to hear when people create long term results, especially
taking into account that you did being a vegan. This is not easy for most
people because of hunger

newdad,

your story I also find very interesting and your approach to weight loss very
original. In the end results are what counts. And as far as fats, it is the trans
fats that are dangerous, and not so much the animal fats (saturated), so it
is possible to eat a lot of meat without serious health consequences...imo

As far as carbs causing fat gain, this is very true, especially the processed
carbs like white flour, white sugar, and all food products that have these
as the main ingredients. Whatever our bodies can't burn up for energy, is
converted into fat and driven into our fat cells.

the thing is that carbohydrates, are the body's most preferred energy
source, and for most people consuming 50% of their daily calories from
this macronutrient is the best approach, at least to maintain weight, with the
only exception being people that have a very high sensitivity to
carbohydrates. These people should consume 30% to 40%

The most important thing is to make the distinction between natural carbs
and the refined carbs, and to know at least an approximate amount of
calories, that you are consuming in every meal of the day from this
nutrient

protein is also very important, and the amino acids that we get from the
proteins are necessary for our bodies to function properly. Protein has
a very high thermic effect, with up to 30% of the calories that come from
this nutrient getting burned up during the digestion, processing and
utilization of this macronutrient

so it is possible that you are staying within your daily calorie limit, and losing
weight because of this fact. The problem with this approach is that if you
ever start eating carbs, the weight will creep back on really fast

fats are very calorie dense (9 calories per gram) and many people consume
too many calories from consuming it, and no matter what they do, they gain
body fat, there is no way around this

and yes, our bodies view fat as a long term energy source, and burn it mostly
when there is not enough carbohydrates to use as an energy source, or
during cardio training when there is the perfect amount of oxygen in our
bodies for body fat to be burned directly

there are so many different things about nutrition and exercise, and how it
can be used to lose weight, maintain weight or even gain weight (muscle
hopefully) it will take more than this page

but the most important thing in weight loss, maintaining weight or weight
gain is calories, nutrient ratios and meal frequency/timing, at least the
part that has to do with nutrition

dave marshall,

7 stone? is that pounds of body fat?

James 81,

I liked what I read in your thread in this section, and our ancestors in some
ways lived much worse, but in some they lived much better, at least they
were more *free* and were not as lazy as most of us are

something absurd in the way we live these days, especially the part that has to do with food that we buy in stores, the way it is produced and what is in
it, just take trans fats, what they do by hydrogenating unsaturated fats
to make them last longer

[newdad]

@alexplatups vegan and paleo/primal have many things in common: avoid processed foods, lots of raw fruits and vegetables, often an avoidance of dairy-though not all primals avoid it, and basically a focus on general health and how it affects our bodies.

These factors and the focus on health, is probably why people from both camps see results.

[liamona]

Originally Posted by aelle

What happened is that I switched my habits (became vegan and a foodie, preparing most of my meals myself) and my mindset (focused on my health, well-being and love for my body) and the fat just melted right off until I reached my intended weight.

I think freshly-made unprocessed food is one of the keys to weight loss. I've noticed on weight loss forums the people who have the least success with their diets (whether veg*n or low-carb) are the ones who don't cook and/or eat processed foods like soy dogs or low-carb shakes and "nutrition" bars.

Also, in The Shangri-La Diet, Seth Roberts said that varying the spices used in dishes encourages weight loss, because it helps confuse the body (I'm paraphrasing from memory here—it has something to do with the fact that the body gets used to a food after being eaten several times, and "knows" how many calories and nutrients are going to be entering it).

He theorizes that since processed foods rely on the same ingredients according to a formula, your body knows exactly what to expect when you eat a Big Mac or a Krispy Kreme donut.

[Eric Roosevelt]

Originally Posted by James81

I'm not vegetarian or anything, but I can see where the vegetarian diet is probably the most healthy because it makes sense from an ancestral point of view. I figure eating meat was probably the exception rather than the rule.

Although I don't know very much on the merits of meat eating versus vegetarianism, I don't think that what our ancestors ate is necessarily what is best for us. Firstly, it's possible that our ancestors adapted to many different types of food. And they just ate whatever was around.

Our great advantage over our ancestors is that we finally have enough control over our food production to choose very carefully what we eat, to adapt our eating to our bodies, instead of simply eating what's available and then waiting for our bodies to adapt to our eating.

[James81]

Originally Posted by Eric Roosevelt

Although I don't know very much on the merits of meat eating versus vegetarianism, I don't think that what our ancestors ate is necessarily what is best for us. Firstly, it's possible that our ancestors adapted to many different types of food. And they just ate whatever was around.

Our great advantage over our ancestors is that we finally have enough control over our food production to choose very carefully what we eat, to adapt our eating to our bodies, instead of simply eating what's available and then waiting for our bodies to adapt to our eating.

I was going to make a similar comment.

I mean, what was the life expectency back then compared to now? Were they REALLY healthier than we were?

In same ways, I realize that we have evolved to this point because of what they ate, but I also realize that we are still evolving. and since the dawn of nutrition and science and modern medicine, life expectency has increased dramatically.

[newdad]

We certainly have many more choices over what we eat and when we eat than our ancestors. But, if you look at food as fuel and you want what is best for your body, you basically wind up choosing the same foods that our ancestors would have.

Processed foods and the such are conveniences I choose not to eat, because they make me ill.

[alexplatups]

I definately have to agree with Eric, that our ancestors ate whatever they
could find, including themselves, whenever they found someone from another
tribe wondering around too far from home, well, dinner was served

but here is how I have achieved permanent fat loss, and reached my ideal
weight about ten years ago, and have been able to maintain it this whole
time, in itself this is no big deal, but since I have an endomorph dominant
body type and love to eat large portions of food, especially in the evening,
this was not an easy task. In this list I will include not only the steps I took,
but also what I have learned in the last ten years:

I will copy this post, and put it in the first post that I made in this thread,
so that I can add something, and plus it will be easier to find, if anyone
will be interested in reading it again, this way you do not have to search
through the different posts to find this info

I hope that this information can help someone to reach their ideal body weight
and create the body of your dreams!

These steps toward permanent fat loss, that work especialy well for people
with endomorph dominant body types (like me):

ANYWAY HERE THEY ARE ONE BY ONE:

1) create an effective goal setting chart that includes the exact result
that you want to achieve when you arrive at the end of your journey.

This can be called your major health goal, and should be written on top of
your goal chart. This can include how much you want to weigh, what body
fat percentage you want to have, what you want your body to look like,
maybe like some movie star, or an athlete, etc

Then write what you have in your current reality in relation to your major
health goal. This can be written at the bottom of your chart.

Obviously this should include how much you weigh, your current body fat
percentage, your current lean body mass, and your current eating habits.
In other words, what you eat, how much you eat, and when you eat it!
Plus include your current activity level, and exactly what you do, when you
do it, for how long you do it. It is also good to understand what body type
you were born with, since this will effect the steps that you will have to take

Now between your major goal on top and your current reality at the bottom,
you can make a list of steps that you must take to go from where you are
right now, to where you want to be in the future, when you finally reach
your major health goal

Effective Goal Setting

2) create your own weekly weight loss chart, that will help you to track
your weekly results, and will show the changes in your total body weight,
your lean body mass and your your total body fat weight

this is very important because this is part of tracking your current reality,
and it is an objective way to observe, assess and track exactly the results
that you are achieving in your weight loss program.

This will not be based on the weight scale and looking in the mirror, which
does not show you how much body fat you lost, how much muscle you lost,
and if you are moving in the direction of your major health goal, or not!

Weight Loss Tracker, Creating Your Ideal Weight, Tracking Weekly Progress

on this page there is a link to the weight loss chart and also a link to a page
which helps to interpret the results which you are getting, and how to
adjust them on a weekly basis, in case you wonder of the path toward
your major goal for some reason, like maybe a few too many cheat meals

3) Once these charts are created then your next step should be to calculate
your optimum daily calorie intake. This is the amount of calories that your
body can burn on a daily basis.

Since calories are the most important part of creating permanent fat loss,
knowing how many you should consume will allow you to create the perfect
size meals that you will consume while moving toward your major goal

The Calorie Counter

this is where everything about calories is explained in full detail

4) After making the calories calculations, the next step is to choose the best
nutrient ratio for your body type. This is simply the number of daily calories
that will come from your carbohydrates, protein and dietary fat.

Since everyone is different, we all have to find our own nutrient ratio, mostly
through a period of trial and error.

Healthy Diet Plan, using the right nutrient ratios

If you are a vegetarian, and eat only plants products, or a lacto-vegetarian
and allow yourself dairy products, or a lacto-ovo-vegetarian and consume
eggs and dairy products, obvioulsy you can still get all of your
macronutrients, micronutrients, vitamins and minerals choosing the right
combinations of foods.

Carbohydrates, Your Energy Source

Protein Foods for Permanent Fat Loss, Complete Protein Foods

Menu For Low Fat Diet, Permanent Fat loss, Saturated Fats, Unsaturated Fats

5) The next step is to choose the optimum meal frequency/timing approach
that you will use on a daily basis, to eat the meals that you will create using
your daily calorie intake and your nutrient ratios

Fitness Nutrition Secret, Meal Frequency

this is very important, because if your portions are too large, and you do not
eat often enough, the calories that your body can't use from a large meal,
most of it will be converted to unwanted body fat and driven into your fat
cells. This will obviously lead to weight gain

6) Using cardio training to burn unwanted body fat directly is the next step
toward permanent fat loss. Actually this should the major strategy to burn
body fat directly.

Everything else, especially the nutrition, should be used only to maintain
your current weight

Without a doubt, cardio is the secret to creating permanent fat loss, and
will always be the most effective way to make your body use the fat from
your fat cells as an energy source

That section of my site will be finished in a few days and then I will put the
link in this thread

7) The last step is weight training. This is very important because it helps
to maintain your muscle while you are in the weight loss phase of your
program and keeps your metabolism elevated

This section is also not finished completely, and just like with cardio, I will
provide the links in the nearest future

Obviously this approach is not for everyone! It has been designed for people
that have a difficulty losing body fat, but still want to have a lean, healthy
body, and do not want to use low calorie and fad diets that only increase
your appetite and create a massive cravings for food. Plus the muscle loss
and water loss during these ineffective nutrition approaches, leads to long
term weight gain, which is exactly the opposite of what most people are
actually using them for

[Susanna77]

Last year I lost approx. 14 kg on a low carb, low cal diet. But I felt ill most of the time. By ill I mean: dizziness, unfocused brain, tiredeness, bad mood, etc. And I was hungry all the time and often had to grab something which then led me to feel guilty.

After going back to the nutritionist I'd have to confess I'd had more snacks than what she had established I could have. I was always left feeling that she felt I wasn't trying hard enough.

To cut a long story short now I know I have high levels of insulin in the body and inflammation. The conflicting information we see nowadays (so many diet books, so many theories) is literally driving me nuts.

After being given a high carb diet by another nutritionist yes my blood sugar is stable but the weight is returning even though I am exercising.

For example, newdad's diet seems good to me, except that if I ate fruit on its own mid morning it'd make me even hungrier.

If I wanted to do a round the clock high protein diet (with no fruit or very limited fruit) is it OK to have those protein poweder shakes sold at sports shops?

[alexplatups]

Originally Posted by Susanna77

If I wanted to do a round the clock high protein diet (with no fruit or very limited fruit) is it OK to have those protein powder shakes sold at sports shops?

In my opinion you should use a moderate appoach, and consume real food,
because powdered food is not what out bodies were *designed* for

the best approach is to first calculate your total daily energy expenditure,
which is how many calories your body can burn during the day, and then
eat that amount on a daily basis

as far as food, a good place to start is to consume 50% of your daily calories
from natural complex carbohydrates (both starchy and fibrous) 30% of your
calories from protein sources (this choice has to be made taking into
account if you are a vegetarian or not) if you are, soya protein is just
as complete as from animal sources, and about 20% of your daily calories
should come from good dietary fat

based on the results you get, you can adjust these ratios, and eventually
find the one that is just perfect fo your body type

this is all explained in my site, there is a link in my signature

and the last two steps that I would recommend would be to do simple cardio
like walking three times per week, and do some weight training exercises
at home also three times per week, just simple stuff

cardio will burn body fat directly, and weight training will help to maintain your
current muscle and will make you feel really great, since muscle is a
metabolically active tissue, and our body expands energy (calories) to
maintain it, the more muscle you have the more calories you burn during the
day

all you need is a small calorie deficit on a daily basis to produce long term
weight loss results and reach your ideal weight

and this should be achieved through cardio, the nutrition and weight training
are just to maintain your current weight and lean body mass!

[Susanna77]

Originally Posted by alexplatups

In my opinion you should use a moderate appoach, and consume real food,
because powdered food is not what out bodies were *designed* for

the best approach is to first calculate your total daily energy expenditure,
which is how many calories your body can burn during the day, and then
eat that amount on a daily basis

as far as food, a good place to start is to consume 50% of your daily calories
from natural complex carbohydrates (both starchy and fibrous) 30% of your
calories from protein sources (this choice has to be made taking into
account if you are a vegetarian or not) if you are, soya protein is just
as complete as from animal sources, and about 20% of your daily calories
should come from good dietary fat

based on the results you get, you can adjust these ratios, and eventually
find the one that is just perfect fo your body type

this is all explained in my site, there is a link in my signature

and the last two steps that I would recommend would be to do simple cardio
like walking three times per week, and do some weight training exercises
at home also three times per week, just simple stuff

cardio will burn body fat directly, and weight training will help to maintain your
current muscle and will make you feel really great, since muscle is a
metabolically active tissue, and our body expands energy (calories) to
maintain it, the more muscle you have the more calories you burn during the
day

all you need is a small calorie deficit on a daily basis to produce long term
weight loss results and reach your ideal weight

and this should be achieved through cardio, the nutrition and weight training
are just to maintain your current weight and lean body mass!

I'm allergic to soya. Can't have that. I had lots of soya based products for a while and I wasn't too bad, but as soon as I eat something with soya now my nose blocks and I can't breathe properly.

I bookmarked your site. I had a look and tons of info there so I need to sit down tonight and have a proper look.

Thanks for your help.

[alexplatups]

Originally Posted by Susanna77

I'm allergic to soya. Can't have that. I had lots of soya based products for a while and I wasn't too bad, but as soon as I eat something with soya now my nose blocks and I can't breathe properly.

There are many other sources of protein that you can use, and you have to
keep adjusting your approach until you find the approach that works the
best for you

there is no one strategy that will work for everyone, to create permanent
fat loss and to bring into reality the body we want, we have to custom
tailor our approach based on who we are, what we like, what we dislike,
how our bodies react to the food we consume

but in the end, everything should start with the end result that you want
to actually create, and then it is important to look where you are currently
in relation to this result, by doing this properly sometimes you can create
the steps toward what you desire almost intuitively

[aelle]

Originally Posted by Susanna77

I'm allergic to soya. Can't have that. I had lots of soya based products for a while and I wasn't too bad, but as soon as I eat something with soya now my nose blocks and I can't breathe properly.

I bookmarked your site. I had a look and tons of info there so I need to sit down tonight and have a proper look.

Thanks for your help.

There are several other plants that offer all essential amino acids! Quinoa, barley, buckwheat, hempseed, amaranth... and of course the good ol' legumes, as long as you're also eating cereals regularly. I'm vegan and hardly eat any soy at all (I just don't like the soy products I find here... living in Asia spoiled me )

[James81]

Originally Posted by alexplatups

7) The last step is weight training. This is very important because it helps
to maintain your muscle while you are in the weight loss phase of your
program and keeps your metabolism elevated

There you go...the crux of weight loss all in one measley step. All that other stuff falls a distant second to this one.

You want to lose weight? Get up off your butt and exercise. If you don't exercise, start. If you already exercise, do more.

NOTHING, and I mean absolutely nothing, will replace exercise as the primary way to lose weight.

Diets and eating are something you do for your health (thinks like blood pressuring, cholesterol, etc.) mainly. Exercise is where weight and fat management comes in.

[alexplatups]

aelle and James,

good to hear your input on this, because this can give hope to people that
are trying to permanently lose weight, but can't because of the amazing
amount of mis-information on what it really takes for many people to lose
unwanted body fat, especially if they have a slow metabolism

look forward to hearing more about how vegans use different food sources
to provide their organisms with all the macronutrients, micronutrients,
vitamins and minerals to keep themselves truly healthy!

[newdad]

Don't get me wrong when I disagree with Jame81. Exercise IS great. It is great to build muscle, which will help improve metabolism.

However, it take two hours just to run of the weight of one slice of pizza. What if you had two slices of pizza? Would you have the time to run four hours a day? Everyday? And if you did, what would that do to the joints in you're legs?

80% of weight-loss comes from diet 20% from exercise. There is also evidence in Good Carbs Bad Carbs that shows more exercise doesn't necessarily equate to more weight loss.

Also, a calorie deficit doesn't always equate to weight loss. There are pockets of severe poverty where the population is completely malnourished, often surviving on a slice of bread and some coffee each day yet are obese.

[alexplatups]

Originally Posted by newdad

Don't get me wrong when I disagree with Jame81. Exercise IS great. It is great to build muscle, which will help improve metabolism.

However, it take two hours just to run of the weight of one slice of pizza. What if you had two slices of pizza? Would you have the time to run four hours a day? Everyday? And if you did, what would that do to the joints in you're legs?

80% of weight-loss comes from diet 20% from exercise. There is also evidence in Good Carbs Bad Carbs that shows more exercise doesn't necessarily equate to more weight loss.

Also, a calorie deficit doesn't always equate to weight loss. There are pockets of severe poverty where the population is completely malnourished, often surviving on a slice of bread and some coffee each day yet are obese.

The best approach that I have found to create permanent fat loss is to first
decide exactly what you want, and then use the combination of proper
nutrition and exercise, to produce this result!

Plus having a system that can objectively track the short term results that
you are producing on a weekly, or bi-weekly basis, tremendously helps to
accomplish the goal that you are after much more effectively and in a much
shorter time span

[Orecle]

Originally Posted by James81

There you go...the crux of weight loss all in one measley step. All that other stuff falls a distant second to this one.

You want to lose weight? Get up off your butt and exercise. If you don't exercise, start. If you already exercise, do more.

NOTHING, and I mean absolutely nothing, will replace exercise as the primary way to lose weight.

Diets and eating are something you do for your health (thinks like blood pressuring, cholesterol, etc.) mainly. Exercise is where weight and fat management comes in.

I second James post

Want permanent fat loss?

Exercise.

Exercise at least 6 days weekly

Do something that makes you breathe hard for at least 45 -mins to one hour at least 6 days weekly. Then lift weights to get a shape (most people are surprised to find no shape when they slim down - Ladies.. A rounded Jennifer Biel ass, toned legs and arms, nice v shape back are muscles - if you dont have it naturally, build it)(Men those dudes in the front of mens health never got that physique from just cardio and healthy eating)

Fat loss = Physical discipline and mental

Permanent fat loss = Mental and physical discipline and lack of complacency

You see what stops people from making it permanent, is once their goal is accomplished, there is nothing to keep motivation? If I was 15 stone, and it took daily cardio, to get me down to 10 stones, I certainly dont need that amount to maintain 10 stone. The energy (time and physical effort) it took Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to become the richest men in the world is not what its taking to keep them there.

Sometimes there is not alot of motivation in maintainance, as there is in original creation) Notice alot of naturally slim people eat crap and do zero exercise.

Why? Because they have nothing thay desire to create. Building a dream body is the motivation, to get people into the gym

Eating a piece of fried chicken at 10 stone, after you lose 5 stone, is a lot less guilt inducing,than if you were still fat. At 10 stone, it is seen as a reward for a job well done ( plus the fact, with an increased metabolism from all that exercise,you wont see it on your hips in the morning) where as when you are overweight it is a reminder of lack of discipline and you imagine it contributing to the jelly belly that confronts you in the mirror in the morning.

Surrender to permanent exercise.

Even after you have lost the initial fat. Pick a weight 5 - 7 lbs over your ideal weight. If you hit the threshold. Cardio like crazy. 5 -7lbs of fat should take 2 - 3 wks if you are aggressively cardioing. When you get down, to ideal. If you like, take down the intensity, till you are doing enough to maintain your ideal look (unless you trying to increase your fitness). Do this till you are old and gray or injured

I defie anybody to tell me they could not lose weight running/jogging - heavily panting and sweating 1hr daily/ 6 days weekly permantly, irrespective of diet. In the unlikely event that you still cant lose wait increase it to 90 mins. I mean minimum slow jog, or a power walk on the highest incline at a speed where you almost have to hold on. Indication you are trying is the massive amount of sweat and panting. I have seen 4 20+ stoners, lose 6 stone each from January, doing this 2ce daily, Monday - Sunday

pss I know I said irrespective of diet. I do beleive I can do 3 hrs Cardio a day,7 days , and lose fat on a diet of fried chicken chips and coke. I hear Micheal phelps eats 12000 cals of crap, but burns it with 6 hrs daily swimming.

However eating junk as compared to eating healthy is like going on a 600 mile race.

Proper diet is like going in a sports diesel car. Eating **** is like going their on a bike. Not a tour de france bike, but a BMX or schwin. Not only will the car get there alot faster, but you will have alot more energy after driving 600 mile (best part of half a day), than you would riding 600 miles ( best part of half a week for most, not to mention the leg and butt cramp)

[James81]

Originally Posted by newdad

Don't get me wrong when I disagree with Jame81. Exercise IS great. It is great to build muscle, which will help improve metabolism.

However, it take two hours just to run of the weight of one slice of pizza. What if you had two slices of pizza? Would you have the time to run four hours a day? Everyday? And if you did, what would that do to the joints in you're legs?

You realize that your body naturally burns off a certain amount of calories in any given day, right? (that's called "metabolism")

So, on a day you eat a slice of pizza, you have two choices. Figure out how many extra calories that pizza contains so that you can exercise a little more. Or you can cut back on calories in the other foods you eat that day.

You don't have to burn up every calorie you eat. With a 2000 calorie diet, you typically only have to burn 250 to 300 calories (which could take 45 minutes to an hour) to assure that you're burning more calories than you gain.

Originally Posted by newdad

80% of weight-loss comes from diet 20% from exercise. There is also evidence in Good Carbs Bad Carbs that shows more exercise doesn't necessarily equate to more weight loss.

Also, a calorie deficit doesn't always equate to weight loss. There are pockets of severe poverty where the population is completely malnourished, often surviving on a slice of bread and some coffee each day yet are obese.

Man, I think you have been seriously misinformed when it comes to dieting and health.

[alexplatups]

As far as weight loss, maintaining your weight, or weight gain, calories are
the most important element, period!

if you consume more calories during the day than your body burns, then this
excess calories will be converted to body fat and driven into your fat cells

to create permanent fat loss, you have to consume the optimum amount of
calories on a daily basis, eat the right foods for your body type, and eat four
average size meals per day, about every four hours (a least this is the best
approach that I have found, since you are never hungry, and at the same
time not running arround with plastic food container like crazy, thinking
where you are going to eat)

plus meal frequency is only third in line as far as importance for weight loss,
with calories being first, and nutrient ratios second

I eat four meals per day (from 800 to 900 calories per meal) about every
four hours and I eat only natural products, that have not been processed,
I do eat fish and lean protein sources, but in the future will look into
switching to soya protein and other non-animal protein sources

Currently about 50% of my daily calories come from natural complex cabs,
both starchy and fibrous, 30% of my daily calories come from lean protein,
and 20% of my daily calories come from good dietary fat

as far as exercise, doing both cardio and weight training I have found to be
the ultimate approach for permanent fat loss

for example, I do cardio training M,W,F,S for 60 minutes and do weight
training T,TH, SAT for about 45 minutes per workout, using a two day split
routine. This allows me to consume 3500 calories per day, and maintain my
ideal weight without any problem (175 pounds/80 Kg)

when I was 24 (now am 39) I reached 285 pounds/130 Kg, and had to find a
way to get myself back into shape, it took a while, but eventually I designed
an approach that works really well, and is easy to maintain

I also was born with an endomorph dominant body type, and if anyone has
one, they know how hard it is to lose unwanted body fat, so my approach
is really focused on this body type, and might not work for some people

[Susanna77]

Originally Posted by James81

There you go...the crux of weight loss all in one measley step. All that other stuff falls a distant second to this one.

You want to lose weight? Get up off your butt and exercise. If you don't exercise, start. If you already exercise, do more.

NOTHING, and I mean absolutely nothing, will replace exercise as the primary way to lose weight.

Diets and eating are something you do for your health (thinks like blood pressuring, cholesterol, etc.) mainly. Exercise is where weight and fat management comes in.

How do you explain that some people can eat and eat and eat ANYTHING and are still nice and slender. Yet people assume that a fat person lives on doughnuts, fried food, etc.

When I left here and went for lunch I met the pharmacy lady who was having a big cake. She was telling me she has them everyday but it doesn't affect her weight.

Yes everyone should exercise because it has other benefits apart from weight loss. You're saying that if someone who exercises is still fat then they should exercise more? Like what? 3 hours a day? Does that sound healthy?

What about a healthy balance between exercise and food?

[Susanna77]

Originally Posted by newdad

Don't get me wrong when I disagree with Jame81. Exercise IS great. It is great to build muscle, which will help improve metabolism.

However, it take two hours just to run of the weight of one slice of pizza. What if you had two slices of pizza? Would you have the time to run four hours a day? Everyday? And if you did, what would that do to the joints in you're legs?

80% of weight-loss comes from diet 20% from exercise. There is also evidence in Good Carbs Bad Carbs that shows more exercise doesn't necessarily equate to more weight loss.

Also, a calorie deficit doesn't always equate to weight loss. There are pockets of severe poverty where the population is completely malnourished, often surviving on a slice of bread and some coffee each day yet are obese.

I just read this after posting what I did. And what you say it's spot on.

My mum used to be a secretary and NEVER exercised YET she was always able, and still is, to eat anything. A big bar of chocolate a day does nothing to her figure. One square a day makes me put weight on (tried and tested).

My dad on the other hand, was an old day agriculture who dug the earth, did hard body work around the farm everyday and just like me (I take after him) he was obese (died 7 years ago). He loved salads, fruit and grilled meats and fish. People always assumed he stuffed himself with food and it totally wasn't the case. We never had fried food, sweets or fizzy drinks in the house because I was fat from a young age. It didn't do any good.

[Orecle]

Originally Posted by newdad

However, it take two hours just to run of the weight of one slice of pizza. What if you had two slices of pizza? Would you have the time to run four hours a day? Everyday? And if you did, what would that do to the joints in you're legs?

Not true. It does not take 2 hrs, to run off a slice of pizza. That doesnt make sense. 1st That presumes everybody has the same metabolic and digestive rate. Micheal phelps can eat and burn 12000 calories. Does that mean we all can?

Thats like saying to drive 600 miles will take any car $£150 of fuel irrespective of car, without taking into consideration engine size, engine technology, petrol or diesel, weight of passengers, vehicle size, speed at which they will be driving.

How many people do you know eat alot of crap, including pizzas and dont store weight. And people that get fat from just staring at food? How many people can eat a mountain of food and be hungry 2 hours later vs people who can run marathons on a chocolate bar?

Also if you are saying 1 slice of pizza can power 2hrs of running, so 2 - 3 slices should be able to power a 26 mile, 4 - 5 hr marathon?

nope doesnt work like that. You didnt even address whats on the pizza. Will not a full veg pizza have a different thermic effect than a pure meat feast. Thin crust or thick crust? stuffed with cheese?. Extra cheese on top with pepparoni?

Want to know what affects speed at which food gets burn?

speed of metabolism.
Speed of digestion.

I can eat a full plate of rice and chicken 6 - 7 times daily, and be hungry within 2 hrs. I had to work my way up to it. Speeding up my metabolism through daily running helped that immensely

People do not use the energy from food at the same rate. The fitter a person becomes the more efficient your body becomes at using calories from food, becos it realises it is going to be used more readily than a sedentry person. The same way the cardio vascular system improves with exercise

Lastly, the body adapts. Think about it. If you were overweight and you ate the same foods, and did the same exercises and lost 2 lbs weekly till reached ideal weight. Do you think even if you changed nothing, you will lose fat till you weighed 0lbs? No, your body will adapt and learn to last longer on less food. And soon even an increase of exercise and a decrese of food will not bring anymore fat loss. so pizza taking 2 hrs to burn is flawed. Just as are the calorie counters on exercise equipment. They are a guide, not accurate gospel.

Originally Posted by newdad

80% of weight-loss comes from diet 20% from exercise. There is also evidence in Good Carbs Bad Carbs that shows more exercise doesn't necessarily equate to more weight loss.

Again not true. I have personally seen the difference on myself and others I know. Vigerous exercise speeds up metabolism. All the vigerous exercises I know do not have weight problems irrespective of diet. There are people who can lose weight on just diet, and people that need an exercise induced increase in metabolism.

BE WEARY WHEN BOOKS START THROWING AROUND %. If we took 100 people and put them on a diet with exercise can you without a shadow of doubt say 80% of their results will come from their diets? Well which diet? Are all the diets out there going to produce this 80% result. Will the atkins produce the same 80% as the paleo, south beach, Dave Palumbo, green tea, anabolic diet, ketogenic diet? If all these give up to 80% than exercise, why do people hop and change? When was the last the last time you saw an obese farmer or manual labourer. If you put both a cycle delivery rider and an desk clerk on the same diet, are you saying the cyclist only has a small advantage, being the more active?

Exercise is faster in my opinion, cos most dont have the discipline to maiintain a healthy diet for life. Otherwise why is the western world getting fatter, even though the diet industry is at an all time high?

If diet is a hammer. Vigerous, semi long duration exercise is like adding a sledge hammer or dynamite
As evidence, I give you most of the followers of diet plans. Do you know why so many people buy different exercise plans? Because most dont work? Or rather people dont have the patience or discipline to work them.

Most people will lose fat with a combination of sensible eating,(abscence of junk and sugar and bread) and exercise done daily and I dont mean a brisk stroll - I am talking sweat inducing heavy breathing (not fainting) exercise. The reason I am against just walking as cardio is I know many posties who walk up to 5 hrs deleivering post and they are still overweight. Some doing hours of hill walks, and yet still pudgy

Besides i think a person is more likely to eat better if they are exercising than if just dieting. Also, Dieting does not build muscle (which also increases metabolism)

Most people would not have a weight problem if they had just kept up exercise after they left school

I guarantee you someone running 40 + miles a week for years a week, is not going to have a weight problem like your typical chronic dieters. I do not deny the importance of dieting, But to say that exercise is only 20 is simply not true. The thing about getting advice from nutrition books is they find evidence to suit their biases.

Originally Posted by newdad

Also, a calorie deficit doesn't always equate to weight loss. There are pockets of severe poverty where the population is completely malnourished, often surviving on a slice of bread and some coffee each day yet are obese.

This I agree with because the body does adapt, even in extreme circumstances like famine and malnutrition.

ps. Be very weary of what you read in diet books. They like advertisers have their own agenda. Let me give you an example

Bodybuilding industry. Creatine is only made by like 3 - 5 companies in the world, the same as whey protein. All the supplement companies get theirs from exactly the same companies from the one selling for $50 to the same size selling for $10. Why is one selling 5 times more? Marketing. The 50$£ will make outlandish claims that theirs will give you 400% more results than the competitor selling exactly the same thing. Then they will add ingredients with super sounding names and get really sexy looking models to endorse it. BSN and Muscle tech come to mind

[Susanna77]

I agree with a lot of what you said now.

I admit that one of the reasons why I am in deep trouble in first place is because I NEVER exercised regularly. True, a lot of slim people I know haven't either and they eat everything but hey...it's the metabolism crap.

I've been exercising but perhaps until I do it for a year in a row I shouldn't rush to call it an habit or something that I do regularly. I need to prove myself first.

There is A LOT of info out there folks. It's overwhelming.

Question: how do I cope with low blood sugar while exercising? Nutritionist advised having sugar pack (those you get at cafes), but I have those bars for sports people. Won't this make the problem worse? Do I even have an option? One day (as an experiment) I had a Mars bar before my husband and I went for a walk. When we returned my blood sugar was fine, excellent even. And so was my husband's who only had a sandwich all day 5 hours earlier

When I exercise without the "sugar crutch" blood sugar drops to dangerous levels.

[Orecle]

Originally Posted by alexplatups

As far as weight loss, maintaining your weight, or weight gain, calories are
the most important element, period!

if you consume more calories during the day than your body burns, then this
excess calories will be converted to body fat and driven into your fat cells

to create permanent fat loss, you have to consume the optimum amount of
calories on a daily basis,

The problem with this advice is its abiguous. Can you tell me to the exact calorie how much you both eat and burn in one day?

Do you burn the same calories every single day as to know how much food to replace it with?

Pls tell me how much you burnt and consumes every day this week?

Do you think even the nutritionists know and agree what exactly is in certain foods calorie wise


I will tell you what will beats calorie counting. A diet that keeps your insulin levels down. Why? Because you burn bodyfat. Why? Because when your body is flooded with insulin, through too much carbs, fat burning stops. This is why Atkins diet,anabolic diets and typical bodybuilding diets (who by the way routinely lose more bodyfat than everyone else on the planet) work. If you notice all the current successful diets admonish the elimination or severe reduction of carbs

Do you think 2000 calories from fat and carb, will have the same effect as protein and fat? Nope the protein and fat will lose body fat far faster even if they are eating more calories. Go look at the results of people who have done the anabolic or keto diets. Some consume up to 5000 cals and still lose. People should think in terms of what can I do to make my body use its stores BODYFAT FASTER

Originally Posted by alexplatups

eat the right foods for your body type, and eat four
average size meals per day, about every four hours (a least this is the best
approach that I have found, since you are never hungry, and at the same
time not running arround with plastic food container like crazy, thinking
where you are going to eat)

Again ambiguous. What is the right food

Originally Posted by Susanna77

My mum used to be a secretary and NEVER exercised YET she was always able, and still is, to eat anything. A big bar of chocolate a day does nothing to her figure. One square a day makes me put weight on (tried and tested).

Originally Posted by Susanna77

How do you explain that some people can eat and eat and eat ANYTHING and are still nice and slender. Yet people assume that a fat person lives on doughnuts, fried food, etc.

When I left here and went for lunch I met the pharmacy lady who was having a big cake. She was telling me she has them everyday but it doesn't affect her weight.

See Alexplatups, most people would have said to susans mum that a big bar of chocolate is wrong, or the pharmacy lady and yet they dont gain weight. Besides if you advocate that fat loss is a calorie issue than food type should not make a difference?
We both know it doesnt work that way

Originally Posted by alexplatups

I also was born with an endomorph dominant body type, and if anyone has
one, they know how hard it is to lose unwanted body fat, so my approach
is really focused on this body type, and might not work for some people

I am also an endomorph and I commend a fellow endomorph for losing fat.

Originally Posted by Susanna77

What about a healthy balance between exercise and food?

I say do daily cardio to lose fat and then wen you have reached ideal look. Taper down days and mins till you are doing enough to maintain weight + 5 - 7 lbs