i need tips to lose weight

[jinks215]

Im 28 years old 6 foot 5 and i weigh 330 lbs i did care about my weight and health untill about 6 months ago when i got married and i looked at my wedding photos and it really opened my eyes ive been using the fitbit flex and dieting i workout but im not losing weight i burn alot of calories everyday and always make sure i take 12,000 steps everyday even if im just sitting at the office i need help any suggestions

[carl669]

how long have you been at it?  sometimes it can take a bit for the body to start the weight loss.

what changes have you made to what you eat?  weight loss starts in the kitchen.  

are you doing any other kinds of workouts?  someone (i think @Heybales) has some good info on when to weigh yourself after a workout.

[jinks215]

well i use to eat out alot but now i cook at home and take my lunch to work with me usually chicken or pork chops and fruits and veggies i have a weight set and punching bag that i use i dont lift heavy cause i already have big enough musclesi just lift light to get heart rate up

[lcynicl]

Shop around the edges of the supermarket.  Don't buy prepared food, fix your own.  Cut back on white bread and processed grains.  Go for whole grain, fresh fruits and veggies.  Cut down salt intake.  Drink lots of water.  The biggest single factor is probably portion control.  Read the label, eat only one portion.

Good luck in your journey.

[Flylow21-Judy]

Some good advice Icynicl  !!!  I will use it myself.  Self discipline is the hardest part of creating a new habit.

[Dominique]

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@jinks215 wrote:

ive been using the fitbit flex and dieting i workout but im not losing weight i burn alot of calories everyday and always make sure i take 12,000 steps everyday even if im just sitting at the office

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Your profile shows you have been using your Fitbit since Sep 4, ie. just two weeks. This is much too short to expect any significant results. During those two weeks, you actually exceeded 12,000 steps on only one day. This is no criticism, merely saying the perception of one's own activity level may not match the reality (Fitbit provides a good reality check). Anyway, most people can't lose any significant amount of weight by exercise alone, nutrition is the most important factor: the kind of food you eat, the size of your portions etc.

[Heybales]

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@carl669 wrote:

how long have you been at it?  sometimes it can take a bit for the body to start the weight loss.

what changes have you made to what you eat?  weight loss starts in the kitchen.  

are you doing any other kinds of workouts?  someone (i think @Heybales) has some good info on when to weight yourself after a workout.

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Ditto's to this advice.

At this start of the journey, it shouldn't be hard to create a deficit.

Now, in concept with terrible logging you could think you have a 1000 cal deficit, but you wiped it out by badly underestimating how much you ate.

Calories is per weight - grams, not by measure - cups & spoons (except liquids). So confirm that. 

Even packaged items. Because "about 2 servings per package" could be 2.7 per actual weight, and if 160 cal per serving, that's a lot of calories if you log 2 servings, and do that several times during the day.

Also, if just walking, you are taking Fitbit's estimate and not replacing it yet. It should underestimate your daily burn, so eating 1000 less than that is just fine, you are actually get bigger deficit.

As far as valid weigh-in days, may not apply yet with gentle exercise, but if it's left you sore because it's new, it applies.

Morning after rest day eating normal sodium levels, not sore from last workout.

So not high or low sodium eating on rest day compared to normal. And if you always say walked the dogs daily, that's still a rest day because your body doesn't find it a workout anymore, just extra calorie burn.

Indeed, you likely do have some good muscle mass, but don't want to lose it either, so keep protein high enough (0.82 grams per pound of goal weight), deficit reasonable (1000 now), and some resistance training where you don't use the muscles all the time. Least used is most at risk.

[Dominique]

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@jinks215 wrote:

Im 28 years old 6 foot 5 and i weigh 330 lbs

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Here is an amazing success story by @LewWagner, who went from 300 to 170 lbs in less than 10 months. It must have taken a lot of dedication and effort. Maybe he can share tips.

[LewWagner]

Dom,

Tips, hmmm?

I've noted such tips in previous posts throughout other threads, but basically:

• Negative calorie burn = weight loss
• Buy and electronic scale and religiously weight your food and keep track of what you eat.  No fudging and no lying..you'd only be hurting yourself
• No processed foods...just fresh fruits, veggies, nuts (my addiction are salted cashews), and meat counter steak, fish, porkchop, shrimp, boneless/skinless chicken thighs.
• Smaller portions (I went from 16 oz prime ribs to just around 3-4 ozs of steak now and then.)
• Walking my ass off for all that time (more now than at the start).  Mostly over uneven terrain but shaded with lots of trees.  I'm getting in over 40 miles a week now.
• Starting to rebuild muscle mass lost during the oddyssey by doing calisthenics, pushups, situps, doggies, side leg lifts, isometrics, etc.
• Keeping track of all my activity using spreadsheets so I can see the trend and what to adjust.
• Now that I'm in maintenance mode, just rebuilding that muscle mass and burning more calories to keep me at my maintenance weight.
• Oh, one other "little" thing...I became very obsessed and OCD about achieving my target weight.  What really got me kickstarted back in Oct of 2013 was being told I had Type II Diabetes.  Now, I'm off the meds and controlling with diet and exercise - my two new religions...

[SunsetRunner]

Good on you for just getting started!

Along with getting more active, probably need to make some changes not just in how much you're eating, but more about WHAT and WHEN you're eating it. 

Don't skip meals to make balance in your intake.  Hoses up your body.  Instead you should eat 5-6x a day....healthy breakfast...mid-morning snack (veg/fruit/nuts/seeds)...lunch....afternoon snack....dinner.  Going to an earth-grown whole foods diet and just getting moving should start shedding weight pretty fast.  Switching to a diet that is rich in types and quantities of veg/grains -- you'll get all the nutrients you need, tons of fiber which will both fill you up, keep you feeling full, and help with cleaning out your guts.  With how you described details, probably several pounds of foods in your intestines to get cleaned out, and then you're body will REALLY be able to efficiently pull all the phytonutrients out of your foods.

Do keep in mind, you didn't get to 330 lbs in a few months so set reasonable, challenging goal and put a date to it....I think you started working on this at the beginning of Sept.  Halloween might be a fun check progress point.  ~60days in.  Maybe target 315lbs by 31 Oct? 

Maybe thats not challenging enough, so others might have a suggestion.  Then, come 1 Oct, do a check....weight?  clothes fitting looser?  and watch the mirror too as even while weight can come on or off, WHERE you're noticing it can point to places in your food/meals that need some tweakings.

Doesn't have to be a life of potions and pills and tablets either.  Just relearning your foods.  Like other poster said, start out small.  Go through your kitchen and get rid of (or just don't buy any more depending on your $)...dump all processed foods, especially the 'white' ones.  General rule, if making it requires A) open box, B) add water, C) cook -- avoid it.  Eat the rainbow -- meaning all the colors of the rainbow in your veg, pass on lettuce, go for darker leafy greens like spinach, kale, etc..

You can health-up whatever your favorite meals are too.  Like pasta?  Look for quinoa based pastas.  Spend some time reading product labels...sometimes make a quick trip to the grocery store take ages, but little things like skipping tomato sauces that contain high fructose corn syrup.  And get surprised at the amount of sugar that gets added to all kinds of things you might not expect.

Last bit, eat based on either what you just did or are about to do.

Easy rule.  need to fuel up a bit before working out, not too much as you're trying to train your body to burn fat but that is harder than fueling up on nutrients.  Don't buy low-carb or no-carb diets -- body needs carbs and all carbs are not equal.  100 cals of veg is not the same to your body as 100 cals of McDonalds or pizza.  Want to get your carbs from as nutrient dense sources as you can.

Get some healthy, whole grain breads.  Safeway as a great range called Open Nature which here in Colorado is only $2.50 currently and comes loaded with grains, seeds, nuts and it very tasty!

A good breakfast starts the day off right too.  A good go-to suggested by Mike Dolce is the breakfast bowl.....some oatmeal, some steel cut oats, (I put cinnamon in mine), fresh fruit (whatever is in season), I sometimes put some granola on the top...depending on the amount of oats in it and such....splash of almond milk....yum!!

Will keep track of this post....

[PhyllisB]

When you say that you are dieting, what exactly are you doing?  Sometimes we can actually have the opposite effect by not eating enough.  I know that it sounds crazy, but it is true. How much water do you drink each day?  That is also a factor.  The rule of thumb is to drink 1/2 your body weight in ounces each day.  That is A LOT of water, but just drink as much as possible to help flush out your system and speed up your metabolism.

Good luck!  

[carl669]

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@SunsetRunner wrote:

... Don't buy low-carb or no-carb diets -- body needs carbs and all carbs are not equal.  

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i disagree.  low carb can be a great way to shed weight and increase energy.

[CarlaJ]

Are you planning your meals and weighing your food?  Sometimes we eat more than we think we are eating.  Decide the number of calories you will have every day and keep a food log.  Good luck to you.  

[Dominique]

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@carl669 wrote:

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@SunsetRunner wrote:

... Don't buy low-carb or no-carb diets -- body needs carbs and all carbs are not equal.  

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i disagree.  low carb can be a great way to shed weight and increase energy.

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I agree (with @carl669, who disagrees with @SunsetRunner😞 general principles apply to all diets (like favoring food prepared by you from raw ingredients rather than ready-made, highly processed food), but the split between macronutrients is a matter of personal preferences and of what works best for each of us. I don't think low-carb is for me either, but it's well established it can work well for some people, so why shouldn't they "buy" it?

I found the following four-part article by Lyle McDonald useful to assess the suitability of  various mixes of macronutrients:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/comparing-the-diets-part-1/

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/comparing-the-diets-part-2/

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/comparing-the-diets-part-3/

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/comparing-the-diets-part-4/

[jinks215]

yes that is true but thats just the fitit part i didnt even know aout it befor i was just using a app on my phone befor i found fitbit i was also on weight watchers but i dont think that was the diet for me even though it was nice meeting with ppl every week who were on the same goal

[jinks215]

I had a huge problem with video games i got two lil brothers in there teens and i played video games with them online everyday when i got home from work ut finally i got the courage to sell all video game systems to get me off that couch i started doing wood work out in the garage again cause it keeps me on my feet and entertained

I really appreciate the help by the way

[jinks215]

well ive been cooking my meals fresh and been doing like chicken and pork and i love broccoli and cauliflower so that's usually my veggie and i usually have eggs and whole grain cereal in the morning

[fluxcore]

Try juicing. Watch "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead", i beleive the sequal just came out. I did a 15 day reboot once and I felt amazing. Now juice replaces 3 (of my 5) meals a day!! 

[Dominique]

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@fluxcore wrote:

Try juicing.

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OTOH, juicing is quite wasteful: it retains the sugar and gets rid of the fibers that would favor satiety (in addition to their other benefits).

[fluxcore]

Well if you follow the 80% vegetables and 20% fruit, sugar is not an issue for most people. It also allows the macronutrients, vitamins, and enzymes to be absorbed almost immediatly.

In the past it was thought when juicing fruits and vegetables, a significant amount of nutrients remained in the fiber of fruits and vegetables, but that theory has been disproved. The Department of Agriculture analyzed twelve fruits and found that 90% of the antioxidant activity was in the juice rather than the fiber.

In other words, drinking a glass of fresh juice gives you the same amount of antioxidants as eating 2-3 lbs of fruit.


It was also thought that the juice had no fiber. Juicing got a bad rap in the early nineties because it was thought that the juice lacked fiber. But that assertion was simply not true; only the insoluble fiber is removed in the juicing process, and it's loaded with soluble fiber, which is excellent for the intestinal tract.