Weight Loss tips and techniques

[vike daddy]

I thought it might be a good idea to have an open discussion on this topic, as I see posts here and there of guys who are either struggling to lose weight or justifiably congratulating themselves for recently having done so.

What works for you guys? Share your success stories!

[MKnight82]

For me these are the things that work best: 

- You have to exercise every day.  Even if that's just getting 10k steps or whatever, you can't sit at the keyboard all day every day. I try to alternate leg vs. upper days. 

- Intermittent fasting.  Cut out breakfast and don't snack at night.  Your body will burn body fat faster this way. This has always been super easy for me because I'm never hungry in the morning and just never eat breakfast.  Hardest part for me is not snacking at night.

- I'm not big on eliminating whole food groups like carbs or whatever, but I am a big proponent of portion control. If I have food on my plate I'm going to clean the plate.  Portion out the appropriate amount of food for your plate and lean heavier on veggies than anything else. 

- Cut back on alcohol significantly.  This is super boring, but its a ton of extra calories your body doesn't need, and I tend to eat worse when I'm drunk/hungover.  

[kingseanjohn]

Count calories and eat at a deficit

[RedGold]

See's eat less and drink less

[MikeT14]

I've been adding weight recently as I've gotten older. Nothing major, but I'm definitely seeing it in my face.

The biggest thing for me is I appear to be hungry more often now. Not sure what changed. I don't have good control over just "not eating" either. 

[Tetsujin]

1. Eat Unprocessed, nutrient dense whole foods: beefs, eggs, pecans, blueberries, fish, raw milk/cream, butter, etc. No vegetable oils.

2. Don't be constantly eating throughout the day. No snacks - only 1, 1.5, or 2 satiating meals daily.

No exercise required.

The more I live, the more I experiment with diets, the less I buy into the calories in/calories out model. It neglects hormones and the mass of food. It's based on lighting food on fire in a "bomb calorimeter", monitoring the change in temperature of the water around it, then trying to equate this "burning" with your body's "burning" of calories. Hormones really matter. That's why steroids make you drop weight like crazy, almost regardless of diet. Also, not all food is used for energy. Protein builds your body and fats carry out a lot of mechanisms in the body.

Edited May 8, 2023 by Tetsujin

[MKnight82]

1 hour ago, Tetsujin said:

1. Eat Unprocessed, nutrient dense whole foods: beefs, eggs, pecans, blueberries, fish, raw milk/cream, butter, etc. No vegetable oils.

2. Don't be constantly eating throughout the day. No snacks - only 1, 1.5, or 2 satiating meals daily.

No exercise required.

The more I live, the more I experiment with diets, the less I buy into the calories in/calories out model. It neglects hormones and the mass of food. It's based on lighting food on fire in a "bomb calorimeter", monitoring the change in temperature of the water around it, then trying to equate this "burning" with your body's "burning" of calories. Hormones really matter. That's why steroids make you drop weight like crazy, almost regardless of diet. Also, not all food is used for energy. Protein builds your body and fats carry out a lot of mechanisms in the body.

The no exercise required model doesn’t work when you get older. 

[titansNvolsR#1]

Since having a baby, my energy levels and available time for cardio have gone down. Still going to the gym 3x a week, but haven't been on the bike or done a jump rope nearly as much as I'd prefer. Sadly need to start getting a reign of my sweet tooth and cut out the beers and whisky but easier said than done.

[MWil23]

16 hours ago, kingseanjohn said:

Count calories and eat at a deficit

What's helped me is the MyFitnessPal app. I have it synced to my Fitbit with "negative calories" being deducted when I hit my workouts, steps, burning calories, etc.

Yes, it's absolutely calories in/calories out, but what's helped me is intermittent fasting (16/8 or 17/7). When I took it next level and figured out that I needed to break my fast and do a higher protein AND higher fat diet, with almost zero dairy and minimizing carbs until AFTER my workout (really went against the old school conventional thinking there for those of us who grew up with the archaic food pyramid). Here's what a typical day looks like for me:

1. Wake up, drink 2 cups of black coffee

2. Break fast between 10:00AM and 11:00AM with carrots, apple, and almonds

3. 12:00 PM eat lunch (Yogurt, leftovers from the night before or a salad or a sandwich)

4. Workout between 2:00 and 3:00 PM (unless it's the weekends, then I work out on a fast)

5. Post workout snack (oatmeal with honey)

6. Dinner. Chicken/Pork/lean meat with healthy starch such as sweet potatoes/regular potatoes and a vegetable. If still hungry, eat 2 pieces of wheat toast.

End of Eating window, goal 1800-2100 calories

I have also incorporated 2 cheat meals per week where I just "don't go crazy". Yes, I'll have pizza/wings/whatever and a dessert, no I will not have 4 cookies/pieces of pie/whatever else.

I'm down 15 pounds since doing this about 9 months ago, kept the weight off, and my muscle tone is the best it's been in years. It took me about 2-3 months to lose the weight in a healthy and sustainable way.

[Tetsujin]

15 hours ago, MKnight82 said:

The no exercise required model doesn’t work when you get older. 

The older you are, the longer it may take to repair the damage that's been done over decades.

[Tetsujin]

CI/CO didn't work for me. I was 260+, averaging 1500 calories daily and lost about 3 lb in 3 months. My insulin, blood sugars and testosterone were all out of whack.

If you eat the proper foods, you won't overeat, and your body will get back to where it should be. No calorie counting required. 

Also, bodyfat is not 3,500 calories per pound because it's not pure fat. Bodyfat is made up of fat, glycerol, and water. The fatter you are, the higher % of water your fat is. When people say "when you first start dieting, it's mostly water weight", yes, some of that water is coming from the fat loss.

[kingseanjohn]

2 hours ago, MWil23 said:

What's helped me is the MyFitnessPal app. I have it synced to my Fitbit with "negative calories" being deducted when I hit my workouts, steps, burning calories, etc.

That’s what I used until they neutered the free version. Now I use Cronometer. 

[naptownskinsfan]

387 pounds in February 2020 (at one point over 400), 195 today.  

Make small changes.  Do not try to do it all at once.  This is why your New Years Resolution fails.  Sleep apnea hit me so hard that I couldn’t function, so I rarely cooked for myself and ate fast food.  I cut out the fast food.  Then, I got out sodas.  Then I started watching portions.  Then I started walking a couple miles a few days a week.  Then I started walking every day.  Then I started running a little, and now I run quite a bit.  Started going to a kickboxing gym.  You absolutely can not expect to do it all at once.  Your body will rebel and you will revert back.  

Definitely watch portions, but you also can not cut out entire groups completely as others have said.  Like above, you can’t just do everything at once, so if you have a sweet tooth, you have to gradually cut back.  If you love to have bread, cut back gradually.  

If you have a weakness, mine is chips, don’t keep that kind of food in the house.  Candy is another one for me.  We buy a small bag to fill up when company comes over, and then I usually end up eating all of it. 

When you go out for dinner, make better choices.  One of my grandmother’s favorite places to go is the Cheesecake Factory.  I got their skinny pasta which is about 600 calories, and it tastes better and more fresh than their “Normal” pastas.  I am still eating pasta, but with grilled chicken and a pure tomato sauce, versus coated and pan-fried chicken with a ton of butter in it.  It’s a 1400-2000 calorie difference. If you want the cheesecake, split it with someone or take half home for the next day.  

And don’t fret a cheat day.  Just watch out that you don’t overdo it.  

[BobbyPhil1781]

On 5/8/2023 at 3:04 PM, MKnight82 said:

For me these are the things that work best: 

- You have to exercise every day.  Even if that's just getting 10k steps or whatever, you can't sit at the keyboard all day every day. I try to alternate leg vs. upper days. 

- Intermittent fasting.  Cut out breakfast and don't snack at night.  Your body will burn body fat faster this way. This has always been super easy for me because I'm never hungry in the morning and just never eat breakfast.  Hardest part for me is not snacking at night.

- I'm not big on eliminating whole food groups like carbs or whatever, but I am a big proponent of portion control. If I have food on my plate I'm going to clean the plate.  Portion out the appropriate amount of food for your plate and lean heavier on veggies than anything else. 

- Cut back on alcohol significantly.  This is super boring, but its a ton of extra calories your body doesn't need, and I tend to eat worse when I'm drunk/hungover.  

This is all good stuff that I do as well.

I would add of you're having trouble with fasting and skipping breakfast, get a sugar free fiber powder and use that as a breakfast replacement. It fills you up and has great health benefits as well.

Lastly I would add to cut out excess sugar and sodium as well. 

[naptownskinsfan]

Another thing I’ve heard from a lot of people is that they want to exercise and do things so “I can eat what I want.” And while it’s true that if you work out, you might be able to eat more of what you want, you won’t be able to outwork a poor diet.  The right nutrition and diet, for the activities you are doing, is absolutely key.