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Lots of weight to lose

rangeryo

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Feb 7, 2013
432
2
39
Central Virginia
Hello all. I'm seriously considering an effort to try to enlist once again. I tried to join up with the Marines in 2005, and was DQ'd for failing the hearing test at MEPS three times.

To be honest, I'm super out of shape, and will have to lose another 100 lbs just to make the height/weight requirement (already lost 20). I went through this process on my first attempt, having to lose 65, and did so in three weeks. I'm not trying to go there again, but I would like to cut the weight fairly rapidly, as I'd like to target a fall enlistment. Anyone have any tips that could help me reach my goal of 180-190 lbs? Although I'm considering NG this go round, which to my understanding also work off of body fat percentage (I'm fairly muscular, and large framed so this may work in my favor). My current weight is 280, and I'm already on a low sodium/fat diet. I've also been working on my blood pressure, which was 200/110 about a month and a half ago, and is now a consistent 120-30/70.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!
 
Small food portions, drink water only, watch sodium, fats and carbs. For breakfast, plain organic oatmeal (no sugars or flavors) helped me to lose a good bit of weight and lower my bad cholesterol. Exercise......and after you exercise, you'll be hungry as hell, but continue with your portion control. Watch out for fruits as they have a lot of sugars.

If you're not looking to bulk up, exercise with weights and use low weight but high reps - that will tone you much quicker. Find something that you like that will also give you cardio - walk, jog, run, treadmill....carrying your 12lb tactical rifle through the woods while stalking will do more than you think.

Edit: There's also a caloric calculator somewhere on the Internet that you can input your goal weight and it will give you the max calories you should be eating a day.
 
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It's funny you mention the 12lb tactical rifle. I actually just finished putting my new rifle together, and it came out to 13.2lbs minus mag and ammo :). I live in the country, so I was thinking about daily 1-4 mile walks with rifle and weighted pack. Even in the country, not sure what kind of reaction I would get walking down the road with my "black rifle" though.
 
If you are so out of shape running might not be an option. A good routine could be built around a stationary bike. For example get on the bike and set it to a level that you can easily maintain. Your goal is 20 min. every two min. try to keep your cadence above 120 for 30 seconds. So 2 min. easy with HR below 120 any cadence it takes to keep your HR stable. Then 30 seconds at a cadence of 120 or above. Watch your heart rate, and adjust the intensity level to accomplish your goal.

I would also recommend interval training with weights. Look this up. You can develop your own sets of intervals. I do four stations and three sets. Do them all back to back with no rest. You will lose weight and increase total fitness.

Chip
 
One other recommendation. Folks are going to try to steer you to one diet or another. I'll make a simple diet recommendation... Oatmeal. Good organic oatmeal with fresh or frozen fruit every morning for breakfast. Once you begin to see sore muscles start adding LF cottage cheese to your oatmeal. Ultimately you want to stimulate/increase metabolism. One easy way to do that is eat six small meals.

Chip
 
One other recommendation. Folks are going to try to steer you to one diet or another. I'll make a simple diet recommendation... Oatmeal. Good organic oatmeal with fresh or frozen fruit every morning for breakfast. Once you begin to see sore muscles start adding LF cottage cheese to your oatmeal. Ultimately you want to stimulate/increase metabolism. One easy way to do that is eat six small meals.

Chip

Like I said, I'm already on a pretty good diet, as my dad just had a heart attack about 2 months ago. The whole family has went to a low sodium low fat diet. I generally have a glass of OJ and a bowl of oatmeal with a half tsp of unsweetened cocoa powder (helps tremendously with BP). I've also found that as long as I drink lots of water (about 200oz/day) weight just falls off. I generally have an apple or orange, for a snack by about 10, and a small portion lunch around noon. I also have a small, healthy snack once I get home from work at about 5, and a small portioned dinner at ~7 or 8. I also try not to eat anything after dark, which also seems to help significantly. I'm already losing weight at a fairly good pace, so I'm really looking at ways that I can speed that up from time to time.

Yesterday afternoon I loaded up with 40lbs of gear, and went for an hour hike in the woods behind the house. I got home and had to pick 4 ticks off of me, so I probably won't be doing that again.
 
Awesome. I hadn't thought of the cocoa powder - Great Idea! Lots of water helps. Might I recommend one other thing? Since you eat dinner later - I would try to stay away from carbs during that meal.
Simple carbs are important, especially when working out/exercising. If you won't be burning them (i.e. at night) then your body will store them as Glycogen. Unused Glycogen will convert to fat. Now, somewhat counter to that advice, fit people who plan to exert themselves at high levels often benefit from Carb loading the night before.

Finally, I'm a big guy too. I've gone from 260 to 220. I'm not some skinny super fit guy throwing out advice that I have never applied. Generally I enjoy good healthy food, but we all have a weakness. Pick a day during the week. Allow yourself a cheat day. Even though you are changing your lifestyle you can still enjoy that bowl of Ice Cream, cheese burger, fried chicken or pizza. Calling it a cheat day allows you to recognize those foods are no longer helpful to your life style. However, you still want to eat a reasonable portion on that day.

To qualify, I am not an expert on biochemistry.

Chip
 
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I hear you there. Cheat days are important. My biggest downfall before was soft drinks. This is hard, because my office desk is about 5 steps from the vending machines :(. I've completely cut them out for the most part. Allowing at most one drink per week, sort of satisfies my urge, and keeps me from overindulging. I recognize the importance of cheat days. I've went on diets before, and not allowed them, only to find myself going overboard when I finally break.
 
Try Isogenix. It's not a diet.

This is a commitment to change your lifestyle. Weight loss is a side effect.

You will feel better, discharge all the toxins in your body. sleep better, boost your immune system, improve your sex drive, elevate your mental capacity, change your life for the better.

I highly recommend it. NO cheating. You must commit or it is a waste of money.
 
Sweet tea Was my drug. Whole Milk was a close second. I cut them out, and I've managed to stay on the wagon so far.

Chip
 
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Stop thinking about food as a pastime or fun activity. Start thinking about it as what it simply is: Fuel. Every time you make a food choice, you make a life choice about what is more important to you: long-term health and goal achievement, or short-term, short lived satisfaction?
 
I would not cut out fats, if you are eating decent healthy small portions of foods I would even consider adding some healthy fats to your diet, (olive oils, nuts), not only will they be good for you overall health they will help to satisfy and control your hunger pangs through the day.
 
A nice food tracker app is called myfitnesspal. Online and avail for the phone. Pretty easy to use, tracks calories and all the nutrition data.
 
I'm down 4lbs since starting this thread two days ago. In response to not eliminating fat completely, I don't. I've just replaced all of the bad fats with "better" fats I guess. I use olive oil, in place of vegetable oil, replaced margarine with real butter. Staying away from processed sugars seems to help, but I still get some from the fruits I've been eating (apples/oranges). I think I notice the biggest difference when I'm drinking lots of water. I had plateaued for about a week and a half at 280, then upped my water intake this Wednesday. Immediately, I'm dropping around 2lbs/day.

On a side note, my dad just had a doctor visit yesterday, and found out his ejection fraction is still right around 30 (they want him over 35) where a normal heart should be over 60 I believe. Doctor is thinking they will have to implant an ICD, as it's looking like he would be at high risk for sudden death. Kinda bummed about that, so I've got even more motivation to get healthy again!
 
The human body is the most amazing machine in the world. A diesel truck cant run off of gas but our body can run off of junk. Changing the way we eat will not only make us loose weight but also prevent many diseases such as cancer. stay away from white foods such as breads, potatoes, and rice. switch to whole wheat, lean meats for protein, green vegetables. fruits, beans, and fat free or low fat dairy but limit it to 1-2 per day. Buy a gym membership and pay for a year in advance so you will keep going. Start out on a stationary bike to get your blood flowing then move to weight lifting. The more muscle you gain the higher your metabolism will be.
 
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Stay away from juice, don't use oil and stop using whole butter. Shedding weight all comes down to calories taken in versus calories burned. As mentioned before, an easy method is downloading an app and counting the calories. I would not worry much about walking around with a pack and a rifle if you intend on losing that much weight. The body will react better to the weight loss than walking around with the same weight you are trying to take off. As a retired military member, I would recommend that you go get your hearing reevaluated first before you do anything. While you need to lose the weight for health reasons, you may find that your hearing is still going to be the deal breaker so start there first and then create a goal based on what the outcomes of the tests are.
 
Cut out all sugar and non-fiber carbohydrates for about four days. This will put your body in ketosis. Eat only protein, high quality animal fats and high quality oils, such as sesame and olive oil. Once your body is in ketosis, as verified by using Keto-Diastix from the local pharmacy, reintroduce no more than 20 grams of sugar per day. Find your nearest Crossfit. You will shed the weight like a molting grasshopper.
 
Cut out the fruits and all that crap. Fructose is not the friend of somebody trying to lose weight. The old hypothesis about calories in and calories out is not accurate at all, but rather a very outdated and superficial analysis of human metabolism.

To use the analogy of a car, if you put diesel in a gasoline engine, the chemical energy going into the motor might be greater, but the fuel is wrong and you won't go very far. This is the same concept as calories in should be less than calories out - a concept that focuses really only on the chemical bond energy of the foods you are eating and ignores whether or not the human body is meant to run on these foods. A prime example in nutrition is fiber. Technically fiber is a carbohydrate, but since it is not broken down into usable fuel by the body, it is not counted as sugar. You would be unwise today to count this in your caloric intake. Think of the bulk-forming laxative Metamucil. You could eat it all day long and it's not going to fuel your body. You'll just crap out the hydroscopic psyllium husks.

The last shit you want to put in your body is anything processed, and I am especially talking about hydrogenated oils and margarine. Basically the story with hydrogenated oils is that oils solidify and liquify at different temperatures based on how many hydrogen atoms are attached to the carbon chain that forms the oil. When you have an oil that is a liquid at room temperature, it is not easy to put it into a packaged food and have the packaged food remain appealing to a customer. By adding another hydrogen to the carbon chain, which is essentially completely altering the molecule to something that never would have occurred naturally, the oil will become a solid at room temperature. Now you can put it into a food product and the oil will not separate out of the food anymore. Make no mistake, your body was never meant to run on hydrogenated oils.

As for fats, you absolutely want to eat high quality animal fats such as bacon and butter. This is the type of fuel that your body will run best on. The same goes for high quality meats - not Chinese take-out, but real chicken and red meat. And no, red meat is not bad for you, but you will not benefit from eating low quality processed meats. You need the real thing that your body was meant to run on.

Potatoes and such are truly garbage for your body. The glycemic index (a measure of how fast the food raises blood sugar) of a baked potato bests that of table sugar because the cooking process cleaves the starch and you will get a terrible insulin spike after eating shit like potatoes and bread. The very worst is white bread, which nutritionally is nothing more than fluffy table sugar.

Here is what you need to know about metabolism, and this is science, not Richard Simmons:

The body runs on sugar and sugar only. In your body, this is the glucose in your blood and it is the only fuel that your body uses to run cell processes. How your body gets that glucose can occur in a few ways. Either you can eat it directly, or you can let your body make the amount of it that your body needs to run.

Lets say you eat a baked potato, which is terrible for you if you want to lose weight. If you are hungry, your blood sugar is probably dipping, which triggers a hunger response. When you eat the potato, your blood sugar increases to an optimal level right away, but there is so much sugar coming in from the potato, that you would turn hyperglycemic if all of the sugar went into your blood. This is where your insulin kicks in and takes the extra sugar out of circulation by converting it either into glycogen or into fat. More on glycogen in a second.

Now let's say you eat a stick of butter on your baked potato. The fat will slow the absorption of the sugar from the potato, but not by a whole lot. Your blood sugar increases, the extra sugar become glycogen or fat, and the butter goes straight into stored fat (adipose). The exact same thing happens when you eat pizza.

Now lets say you don't eat the sugar or the carbs that become sugar. Your body has stores of a sugar called glycogen. Glycogen is stored in the liver and muscles and converted to glucose extremely quickly. When you run out of this glycogen, your body can no longer use this metabolic pathway to create glucose. Think of glycogen reserves like an immediate fuel tank for maintaining blood glucose levels. Once you deplete this fuel tank, the first thing your body wants to use is adipose tissue, which is what we all call fat.

By depriving your body of sugars, you are forcing the body to deplete its glycogen reserves and metabolize fat reserves for fuel. This is where weight loss actually occurs. When your body is metabolizing fat, the result is a molecule called a ketone, and you can measure the concentration of these ketone bodies in your urine using a test strip for diabetics that is available at any local pharmacy. As long as you avoid putting sugar in your body, your body will continue to run on fat. As soon as you eat sugars, your body will use that sugar for immediate blood glucose and put any leftover sugar into glycogen reserves. Then you need to burn up those glycogen reserves before your body touches its fat again.

In the unlikely event that somebody runs out of fat to turn into blood glucose, the body will turn into a state of catosis, which means you are now metabolizing protein (muscle) and turning that protein into blood glucose. This is highly unlikely, especially if you are eating enough that you are not starving yourself. If you have fat on your body, your body will use it before it uses protein for glucose.

In summary, biologically your body is meant to run on high quality fats and proteins and very very small amounts of low glycemic carbohydrates. This means butter, coconut oil, olive oil, nuts, sesame oil, bacon, chicken, eggs, pork, red meat, etc. Your body was not meant to run on breakfast cereal, white rice, white bread, baked potatoes, large quantities of fruit, beer or cheap processed foods. If you want to lose weight, just look at the metabolic pathway and maximize it. You may also be interested to know that the strains of wheat and maize we consume today rank far higher on a glycemic index than the ones consumed a hundred years ago. And it may also benefit you to cut out gluten, much of which you will eliminate with a low carbohydrate diet. Gluten has an inflammatory effect in the body and many many people benefit from eliminating it, not just those who suffer from Celiac disease.

I hope this helps.

M1Amen
 
I went from 335 to my current weight of 210 by eating low carb. The "low fat" crap is bullshit. All I eat is fat and protein. 2 months ago, total cholesterol was 149, LDL was 77 and HDL was 73. There are so many chemicals in "low fat" foods that they end up fucking poisoning you before you ever get the chance of having a heart attack...this shit not only is carcinogenic, but it also jacks up hormone levels rather significantly. Read up on "xenoestrogens."

ETA: Thank you, M1Amen! Perfect explanation. OP, for your reference, do a web search of the "glycemic index."
 
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This may sound stupid but try insanity I maintained 2700 calories a day along with insanity and man just withing the 1st two weeks I was down 16lbs and 3 in its fuckin HARD but damn it was worth it all in all went from 265 down to 215 in a matter of 2 months and wayyyyyy better metabolism energy and actual endurance best part is there is only dvds no extra weights needed.
 
I got a neighbor's kid in shape back in 2006 for enlistment. He had never been in shape, was about 65 pounds overweight and wanted to go to MEPS within six months. Here are some of the things we did:

- find a buddy to do it with; you can both help motivate each other

- see if you can find a long, long flight of stairs and start hitting those regularly, as many times up and down as you can; add a ruck with some weight for more resistance

- cut out the soft drinks, candy bars and junk food across the board

- eat smaller portions, more often; big breakfaster, snack, lunch, snack, light dinner

- bias towards carbs in the first half of the day and towards protein in the latter half

- avoid eating a meal after 7pm (generally)

- snacks should be small, simple carbs or protein (quality trail mix, beef jerky, can of tuna) to hold you over until your next meal

- you will be starving all the time for the first few weeks, use every ounce of will power you can to avoid over eating or breaking that routine as it will get better once your body starts adjusting to the new regimen.

- cardio, cardio, cardio; mix it up, 20mins a day at a minimum, do stairs, walk a couple miles at a fast pace, jog, sprints; you need to get your heart rate up for sustained periods of time. This is one of the hardest parts in the beginning, but it will get better over time

- don't overwork your body; always plan a day of rest in a week, mix up the week with high intensity and low intensity days.

- don't laugh at doing aerobics, they'll cardio your into the ground

Most important of all: stick with it. It takes time and effort; if it was easy everyone would do it. If you push too hard, you may injure yourself, which is common. If you go too light you won't see results and you'll be discouraged. But if you commit to a workout/diet regimen and ultimately fail, listing one excuse after another, maybe enlisting isn't for you? Just be honest with yourself and how much you really want it because if you get in, you owe it to yourself and all who came before you to do your best 100% of the time and you will be tested regularly for it.
 
Look into the Paleo diet. Im down 30lbs and have been lazy about it. Im sure if I got my butt in gear I would be down alot more.
 
Along with diet of course comes excercise and I hate going to the gym. Gotta get in the car or run/bike to the gym so I decided to just work out with what I always have with me...just my body weight. I do push-ups during commercial breaks of programs I'm watching and two hundred before every shower. I do as many as I can during the break and wait in the front leaning rest until the commercial is over. Pull up and chin ups are done on the bathroom door frame. Sit ups and flutter kicks on the floor. Takes awhile to get there but it adds up quickly. On vacation last year I was still able to work-out just did push-ups in the hotel room.
 
I got a neighbor's kid in shape back in 2006 for enlistment. He had never been in shape, was about 65 pounds overweight and wanted to go to MEPS within six months. Here are some of the things we did:

- find a buddy to do it with; you can both help motivate each other

- see if you can find a long, long flight of stairs and start hitting those regularly, as many times up and down as you can; add a ruck with some weight for more resistance

- cut out the soft drinks, candy bars and junk food across the board

- eat smaller portions, more often; big breakfaster, snack, lunch, snack, light dinner

- bias towards carbs in the first half of the day and towards protein in the latter half

- avoid eating a meal after 7pm (generally)

- snacks should be small, simple carbs or protein (quality trail mix, beef jerky, can of tuna) to hold you over until your next meal

- you will be starving all the time for the first few weeks, use every ounce of will power you can to avoid over eating or breaking that routine as it will get better once your body starts adjusting to the new regimen.

- cardio, cardio, cardio; mix it up, 20mins a day at a minimum, do stairs, walk a couple miles at a fast pace, jog, sprints; you need to get your heart rate up for sustained periods of time. This is one of the hardest parts in the beginning, but it will get better over time

- don't overwork your body; always plan a day of rest in a week, mix up the week with high intensity and low intensity days.

- don't laugh at doing aerobics, they'll cardio your into the ground

Most important of all: stick with it. It takes time and effort; if it was easy everyone would do it. If you push too hard, you may injure yourself, which is common. If you go too light you won't see results and you'll be discouraged. But if you commit to a workout/diet regimen and ultimately fail, listing one excuse after another, maybe enlisting isn't for you? Just be honest with yourself and how much you really want it because if you get in, you owe it to yourself and all who came before you to do your best 100% of the time and you will be tested regularly for it.

Best post for content and concise presentation so far, at least in my experience. I started running a few years ago and dropped 35 lbs which I have kept off so far. I don't run nearly as much as I used to (10 mi/wk versus the 25-30 back then...), but I still view food as fuel to a large extent.

I will add that all the workout equipment I have is a 35lb kettle bell, some parallel bars ($10 in 2x4 wall studs), and a pull up bar (2" pipe hanging by rope from an exposed rafter) and I maintain good core fitness. I do want an olympic bar so I can start bulking a little better, but that'll have to wait for now.
 
Fitness in 100 Words

Fitness in 100 words:

Eat meat & vegetables, nuts & seeds, some fruits, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise, but not body fat.

Practice & train major lifts: deadlift, clean, squat, presses, c&j, and snatch. Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics: pull-ups, dips, sit-ups, rope climb, push-ups, presses to handstand, pirouettes, flips, splits and holds. Bike , run, swim, row, etc... hard and fast.

five or six days per week mix these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow. Routine is the enemy. Keep workouts short and intense. Regularly learn and play new sports.

MW
 
Fitness in 100 words:

Routine is the enemy. Keep workouts short and intense. Regularly learn and play new sports.

MW

So true! I suggest starting to think more long term and not just about dropping some weight fast. Fitness should be a lifestyle choice. Have fun with it! Run obstacle races. Try learning how to surf. Take up mountain biking. Train in martial arts (just recently started learning jiu jitsu...not only is it an amazing workout, it is very addictive. So much fun, you'll by thrashed by the end of your class but still wanting more).

Stop living a sedentary life.
 
Cut out the fruits and all that crap. Fructose is not the friend of somebody trying to lose weight. The old hypothesis about calories in and calories out is not accurate at all, but rather a very outdated and superficial analysis of human metabolism.

To use the analogy of a car, if you put diesel in a gasoline engine, the chemical energy going into the motor might be greater, but the fuel is wrong and you won't go very far. This is the same concept as calories in should be less than calories out - a concept that focuses really only on the chemical bond energy of the foods you are eating and ignores whether or not the human body is meant to run on these foods. A prime example in nutrition is fiber. Technically fiber is a carbohydrate, but since it is not broken down into usable fuel by the body, it is not counted as sugar. You would be unwise today to count this in your caloric intake. Think of the bulk-forming laxative Metamucil. You could eat it all day long and it's not going to fuel your body. You'll just crap out the hydroscopic psyllium husks.

The last shit you want to put in your body is anything processed, and I am especially talking about hydrogenated oils and margarine. Basically the story with hydrogenated oils is that oils solidify and liquify at different temperatures based on how many hydrogen atoms are attached to the carbon chain that forms the oil. When you have an oil that is a liquid at room temperature, it is not easy to put it into a packaged food and have the packaged food remain appealing to a customer. By adding another hydrogen to the carbon chain, which is essentially completely altering the molecule to something that never would have occurred naturally, the oil will become a solid at room temperature. Now you can put it into a food product and the oil will not separate out of the food anymore. Make no mistake, your body was never meant to run on hydrogenated oils.

As for fats, you absolutely want to eat high quality animal fats such as bacon and butter. This is the type of fuel that your body will run best on. The same goes for high quality meats - not Chinese take-out, but real chicken and red meat. And no, red meat is not bad for you, but you will not benefit from eating low quality processed meats. You need the real thing that your body was meant to run on.

Potatoes and such are truly garbage for your body. The glycemic index (a measure of how fast the food raises blood sugar) of a baked potato bests that of table sugar because the cooking process cleaves the starch and you will get a terrible insulin spike after eating shit like potatoes and bread. The very worst is white bread, which nutritionally is nothing more than fluffy table sugar.

Here is what you need to know about metabolism, and this is science, not Richard Simmons:

The body runs on sugar and sugar only. In your body, this is the glucose in your blood and it is the only fuel that your body uses to run cell processes. How your body gets that glucose can occur in a few ways. Either you can eat it directly, or you can let your body make the amount of it that your body needs to run.

Lets say you eat a baked potato, which is terrible for you if you want to lose weight. If you are hungry, your blood sugar is probably dipping, which triggers a hunger response. When you eat the potato, your blood sugar increases to an optimal level right away, but there is so much sugar coming in from the potato, that you would turn hyperglycemic if all of the sugar went into your blood. This is where your insulin kicks in and takes the extra sugar out of circulation by converting it either into glycogen or into fat. More on glycogen in a second.

Now let's say you eat a stick of butter on your baked potato. The fat will slow the absorption of the sugar from the potato, but not by a whole lot. Your blood sugar increases, the extra sugar become glycogen or fat, and the butter goes straight into stored fat (adipose). The exact same thing happens when you eat pizza.

Now lets say you don't eat the sugar or the carbs that become sugar. Your body has stores of a sugar called glycogen. Glycogen is stored in the liver and muscles and converted to glucose extremely quickly. When you run out of this glycogen, your body can no longer use this metabolic pathway to create glucose. Think of glycogen reserves like an immediate fuel tank for maintaining blood glucose levels. Once you deplete this fuel tank, the first thing your body wants to use is adipose tissue, which is what we all call fat.

By depriving your body of sugars, you are forcing the body to deplete its glycogen reserves and metabolize fat reserves for fuel. This is where weight loss actually occurs. When your body is metabolizing fat, the result is a molecule called a ketone, and you can measure the concentration of these ketone bodies in your urine using a test strip for diabetics that is available at any local pharmacy. As long as you avoid putting sugar in your body, your body will continue to run on fat. As soon as you eat sugars, your body will use that sugar for immediate blood glucose and put any leftover sugar into glycogen reserves. Then you need to burn up those glycogen reserves before your body touches its fat again.

In the unlikely event that somebody runs out of fat to turn into blood glucose, the body will turn into a state of catosis, which means you are now metabolizing protein (muscle) and turning that protein into blood glucose. This is highly unlikely, especially if you are eating enough that you are not starving yourself. If you have fat on your body, your body will use it before it uses protein for glucose.

In summary, biologically your body is meant to run on high quality fats and proteins and very very small amounts of low glycemic carbohydrates. This means butter, coconut oil, olive oil, nuts, sesame oil, bacon, chicken, eggs, pork, red meat, etc. Your body was not meant to run on breakfast cereal, white rice, white bread, baked potatoes, large quantities of fruit, beer or cheap processed foods. If you want to lose weight, just look at the metabolic pathway and maximize it. You may also be interested to know that the strains of wheat and maize we consume today rank far higher on a glycemic index than the ones consumed a hundred years ago. And it may also benefit you to cut out gluten, much of which you will eliminate with a low carbohydrate diet. Gluten has an inflammatory effect in the body and many many people benefit from eliminating it, not just those who suffer from Celiac disease.

I hope this helps.

M1Amen

M1,

This is a great post. I have been interested in this particular lifestyle. Could you post an average day of meals? My father in-law is diabetic. He did not realize that for many years, and as an indirect result ended up with a quad-bypass. He has completely eliminated all carbs, especially potatoes, and eats a high fat diet. In fact he adds 2 tbs of butter to his coffee, sometimes even heavy cream, and had reduced his Cholesterol Levels to below normal in the process. A little back ground for you, I had my pituitary gland removed thirteen years ago. As a result my body can not regulate cholesterol like it use to. I am due for labs in the next month. If my levels are still high I would like to try a high fat low carb diet.

Chip
 
Tag. I have been in the process of trimming down since the first of the year. My goal is to loose 80 pounds and as of now im down 30.
 
I would say go ahead with the high fat low carb diet. I am not a dietician or have any other "certifications" but I don't feel I need any of that to share with you what I know works.

The low fat diets are an unworkable joke, and that's why nobody ever wants to stay on them. Your body is designed to run on fat and protein, with very small amounts of carbohydrates. The modern diet completely reverses this. Look how people drink 64 ounce big gulps, complement it with pork rinds, and then say their fat problem is glandular.

The problem is feeding the wrong food into the body. No one expects a cow to be carnivorous or a dog to eat vegetables. Likewise for the human. We are meant to run on fat and protein. For effective ketogenic weight loss, keep the carbs really really low, preferably around 20 grams per day or less. Then eat plenty of fat and protein. These will fill you up and keep you full a lot longer than carbs as well.

Just think of how fast you get hungry after a breakfast of raisin bran versus a breakfast of eggs and bacon. Bacon and eggs carry me to lunch without any issue; if I were to eat raisin bran, I would be hungry again in two hours or so. Also, I often do the butter in my coffee as well. If you don't have butter, you can use coconut oil, which is an excellent high quality fat and delicious too.

Feel free to eat all the salads and stuff that you want, but I would skip any processed dressings. That's why I use olive oil for dressing, and you can't load up on the sugary items at the salad bar. You can do a slice or two of tomato, but mandarin oranges and raisins and dried cranberries and shit are all pure sugar, so they are out. Vegetables are your friend as long as they aren't high sugar.

As an example, here's what I ate yesterday:

Breakfast: a huge heaping shit ton of coconut oil went into the pan. Then I cooked 5 eggs, yolks and all. Yum

Lunch: didn't really have lunch. It was more a late breakfast.

Dinner: snacked on some almonds, then I ate some tuna fish with mayo and a high quality olive oil. Also had a salad with olive oil instead of dressing. Delicious.

Today for breakfast: finished the tuna that I had left over from last night. The olive oil makes it a full 10 in my book.

Haven't had lunch yet.
 
Also, look at the Paleo Diet. My wife dropped close to 50 lbs after our first child.

You can eat butter, bacon, meat, even lard....

+1 for Paleo. I lost 20lbs of fat and put on 18lbs of muscle. I'm 2 pounds less than I was 6 months ago, but much stronger. That includes a 5-6 days a week workout routine.

Circuit training is key for weight loss and muscle building. High intensity, peak heart rate circuits will shred you. Lots of people wil say "45 mins on the elyptical..." and so on, just make your weight lifting intense and it's far more impactful. Look at Olympic marathon runners vs. Olympic sprinters or even football players. Sustain a high heart rate while lifting weights (not like most people who take a minute or two break between sets) will get you ripped up rather than being skinny and week from just doing cardio.
 
Rangeryo, +1 more for Paleo. Check out Mark Sisson's "Primal Blueprint". I slimmed down 30 pounds last year and ate plenty of good food and was never not satiated. I have an appetite like I still play college football. Just no sugar, and no grains, and no legumes. My blood work went from bad to great, my skin cleared up, and I am from all appearances, much healthier. Good Luck.
 
As M1Amen said cut out those carbs for 4 to 5 days and start your metabalism burning correctly. I would not go much more than that without some fiber or you will truly understand the phase "shit a brick".
 
Get rid of the following from your diet and you will lose weight.


No High Fructose Corn Syrup
No Bread
No Wheat
No Flour
No Soy
No Rice (or other grains)
No sugar
No Soda (Water Only, Tea and Coffee are fine)


That gets rid of MOST of the stuff that prevents you from losing weight.

Limit your diary (Milk, Cheese, Butter, etc) to small amounts.
Limit your use of condiments (and verify they aren't full of the crap listed above)
Limit artificial sweeteners.


Eat the following:

Increase your protein intake (Fish, chicken, other relatively lean meats, consider steaming for chicken and fish, Grill meats, DO NOT FRY IF POSSIBLE)
Increase your vegetable intake (Steamed or Raw)
Supplement with vitamins and fish oil
Use Olive Oil in place of other vegetable oils and butter where possible
Steamed/Hard Boiled Eggs are fine

Steaming is an excellent way to heat food, but can leave it bland.

Good Luck!!! Seriously, weight loss (fat) is 80% diet and 20% excercise. I went from 230# in April 2012 to 175# in Dec 2012, doing this and I am 46 years old.
 
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Alot of great advice and personal testimony! You didn't mention your age, unless I missed it in there, that's something to consider because we slow down as we get older. I'll be 44 this year, but have been blessed with a high metabolism. Watch what you eat, I've learned to listen to my body now, if I'm sore or tired, I scale back on the work out, because you can get burned out on some things. Another member advised getting your hearing tested. That is a very good idea. If that is going to be the deal breaker, you clearly will be making adjustments. I wish you all the best!

Doug
 
I don't have a hard time staying away from dairy except cottage cheese. I can't handle milk or other cheeses. I guess I'm lactose intolerant or just allergic. Makes me sick if I eat something like ice cream. Havent had it in years. My question is Soy milk ok or should that be cut out as well! And for those of you smarter than I why can my body handle cottage cheese but not cheese or milk? Thanks and this is a great thread!! Keep the advice coming!! You guys are great!! Good luck to everyone ready this that's trying to loss weight!! I think the right mind set is also high on the list. I dipped Cope for 12 years and quit cold turkey. Haven't had one in 3+ years. I miss it everyday!!!!
 
Great post! I've recently finished up a couple year Chemo regiment where I lost tons of weight due to the side effects...now I'm on some recovery/maint meds that have ballooned me up...even when eating very little. Anyway, as the cancer is gone and I'm getting back to "normal" this post has been a huge encouragement to getting back into shape! Not enlisting, but encouraged by it...thanks guys!
 
+1 for the Mountain biking! i got one almost 3 weeks ago and @200miles later went from 265 to 245. Switching on to oatmeal breakfast and some of the above advice now. goal is 220-225. look for a local rails to trails.
 
Lots of great advice here... thanks for all the posts. It may take a few of us some time to find the right/best plan for each of us... but we'll all get there. I am still battling back from a heart attack... and i have to try different things because of the drugs that they put me on; the drugs make it hard to exercise and the weight just seems to jump up on me... but I am down 10# thru diet and exercise and hoiping to do 10 more in the next 2 months. Hope that everyones workout goal are work for them !
 
Talk to your recruiter, make him earn your enlistment. When I went in the Army many years ago, they had a delayed entry program, they had dietary counseling and PT lead by the recruiters while you where waiting up to a year, to leave for basic. I lost 200lbs before I went in. Stayed in for eight years. I know it's been more than 25 years since I got out, but I'm sure they still have a similar programs.
 
Lot's of good advice here. I highly recommend Paleo, Primal (Mark Sisson), and crossfit. Counting calories and the whole calories in calories out is a complete and 6 meals a day is garbage. The only reason you need 6 meals a day is because you are eating the wrong food and you need 6 meals to compensate in an effort to regulate your insulin production. Bottom line is that your body will produce fat cells to store excess insulin. Become "fat adapted" by keeping your carb level below 100gr a day and your body will start burning the fat like crazy! Here's an great (FREE) e-book about calories: http://www.stumptuous.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Jebes-kalorije-secured.pdf
 
Lots of good advice in this thread already and many ways to skin a cat. Best advice is to figure out something that can be realistic for you and then STICK WITH IT. Most of the advice here will work as long as you commit to it. Remember, it is a war! Be serious and fully committed.

Bob Harper's book skinny for life and jumpstart to skinny are great books. The diet makes sense and the workouts he gives are simple and tough things yo can do at home. I scoffed at these books at first, until read them. Very pragmatic.
 
Im still plugging away at it. Since the first of the year Im down 40. Ive been doing weight watchers. I dont go to the meeting I just follow there plan.