About diets...

[Sapphi]

@ Fawn: DANG YOU! I'm 5'3 also, but I weigh 120. 110 is what I've been trying to achieve for a very long time, but 120 seems to be where my weight tables >_>

There are a lot of good tips in this thread. You guys are all making me so jealous, talking about healthy food. Right now I'm working two jobs and I just finished taking two summer college classes... between all that, it's difficult to find good (cheap) food that can be made quickly. It's even worse because I live with a parent who is a hoarder (the kitchen is never clean, counters are never clear, fridge is too full of spoiled food to store good food without it getting dropped in swill, buried, or stolen by another family member). I am emetophobic on top of that, so food safety is a top priority of mine... you can imagine my situation is a little hopeless. I'm living on crackers, baby carrots, and those little cardboard microwave meals right now... but I fantasize all the time about having my own kitchen and making tons of healthy food! *_*

More on topic, in high school I went down from 136 lb to 120 lb by walking pretty slowly on a treadmill at maximum incline, for about an hour a day, for about 3 months (my summer break). I owe it all to the anime I used to distract myself from how shaky I was getting from low blood sugar (Evangelion and Yamato, among other things) My diet wasn't anything special then, though. I was eating a lot of fiber bars to keep me full, lots of carrots (have you noticed I like carrots?), and a lot of milk-less cereal (too many carbs!).

[papillon]

2. Be careful with those "diet" or "low-sugar" products. Indeed they have lower calories or sugar content in them, but if you abuse them (eating them in large quantities) in the end you even eat more calories and sugar.

Even if you're not trying to gorge yourself on them, there's a theory that some specialised diet foods can 'confuse' the body by not providing the amount of energy you'd expect for the amount of food you've eaten, which can mess up your instinctive ability to judge portion sizes - and that means that unless you're incredibly careful, you'll end up accidentally overeating not just the diet food but other foods as well.

However, I am remembering this vaguely from reading studies that weren't conclusive, so it's not like this is a guarantee or anything.

[Samu-kun]

In terms of exercising, you should do stuff that you find fun. I initially lost weight by downloading a ton of anime songs on Stepmania, buying a USB dance pad, and playing an hour a day for two years. And then I took up the way of the sword and learned kendo. =w=

In terms of eating, whenever I need to lose weight, I need to abandon the old Asian dictum of "never wasting food." I stop eating the instant I stop feeling hungry and just dump the rest of it down the trash. I feel pretty sad for the poor children in Africa, etc, etc, but you always end up eating more than you need just because you want to finish your plate.

Also, drink nothing but water and cut out beer, sodas, juices, etc.

I've been on a diet since very late march (I began on the 27th or so.) I've lost over 65 pounds (30 kilograms) since then, by cutting out carbohydrates while eating plenty of meat and cheese. This is basically the induction phase of the Atkins diet, and similar to what Good Calories, Bad Calories recommends.

Bravo sir, that's incredible progress!

[PyTom]

A big problem is that a lot of "diet" food assumes the theory that fat or calorie consumption is what causes weight gain. At least in my case, it seems more likely that sugar consumption is what caused the weight gain. More specifically, increased sugar consumption caused insulin resistance, causing high levels of insulin in the blood, which caused fat cells to store sugar as fat even as I was feeling tired and hungry.

"Diet" food tends to replace fats with sugars, so if sugar is the cause of weight gain, such food can be counterproductive.

Bravo sir, that's incredible progress!

Thanks, but I still have quite a bit to go before I reach a normalish weight.

[Sapphi]

"Diet" food tends to replace fats with sugars, so if sugar is the cause of weight gain, such food can be counterproductive.

It's true... and the diet foods that advertise themselves as being "no sugar added" or "sugar free" just amp up the sweetness with artificial sweeteners >_> Seriously, can't everyone just learn to enjoy less sweet food? That's what dessert is for! I have a major sweet tooth (Chocolate and sour candy), but I would rather get my sugar in the form of elective treats than the non-elective main course.

[Fawn]

Congrats PyTom! You can do it!

Yeah, fake sugar is a lot sweeter than regular sugar- if you eat too much over a period of time, normally sweet things (Like fruit and even sweet vegetables like carrots) will not taste sweet enough for your cravings.

Even though I'm a healthy weight, I have trouble cutting out sugars... I simply cannot go a day without something super sugary. My family has a history of adult diabetes, too, so it's concerning. However I've found some healthy alternatives like Sweet and Spicy tea (http://shop.goodearth.com/Good-Earth-Or ... iginalTeas) and sweet potatoes. That tea tastes just as sweet as soda but has no sugars, not even fake sugar, just herbs. As for sweet potatoes, they are super nutritious and filling, but also just as sweet.
If you have time and want to try them as an alternate desert, try this recipe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZeyu6ftCmI Just cut out the sugar part of the recipe, it's necessary since the butter added will make the sweetness of the potatoes come out even more. (Also a little butter is actually good for you. Just use it in moderation!)

[PyTom]

Sweet potatoes are a simple carbohydrate, though, which tends to jack up your blood sugar and insulin. I've been avoiding that, and sticking to things like meat, cheese, eggs, and bacon - which don't contain very many carbs in them.

[LVUER]

Even if you're not trying to gorge yourself on them, there's a theory that some specialised diet foods can 'confuse' the body by not providing the amount of energy you'd expect for the amount of food you've eaten, which can mess up your instinctive ability to judge portion sizes - and that means that unless you're incredibly careful, you'll end up accidentally overeating not just the diet food but other foods as well.

However, I am remembering this vaguely from reading studies that weren't conclusive, so it's not like this is a guarantee or anything.

I don't really know about screwing your metabolism part. I'm talking from more psychological aspect. Usually people think since it's a "diet" or "low-sugar" product (like diet coke), it's ok to eat more of them. But eating two 60% sugar content would mean you eat 120% sugar content which means you eat 20% more from your usual portion.

[redcat]

Hm... I wonder how many grams of grain/meat do people here usually take in each meal? Do you eat a lot of snacks outside your mealtime?

I personally don't eat much, so I never had any overweight problem...

[Snow Blossom]

I met this doctor recently, and he said it's best to use olive oil when making food and to drink green or black tea without sugar - or if you have a sweet-tooth like me, to mix it with organic honey instead :3 He also says it's best to eat only around 2 desserts a week or none at all - it's torture, really. ;__;
@ Redcat
I used to eat like 5 meals a day, but now I've cut it down to 2. But aside from making me feeling wonky at times, it hasn't produced much of an effect... yet. XD

[Efreet]

Even if you're not trying to gorge yourself on them, there's a theory that some specialised diet foods can 'confuse' the body by not providing the amount of energy you'd expect for the amount of food you've eaten, which can mess up your instinctive ability to judge portion sizes - and that means that unless you're incredibly careful, you'll end up accidentally overeating not just the diet food but other foods as well.

However, I am remembering this vaguely from reading studies that weren't conclusive, so it's not like this is a guarantee or anything.

I don't really know about screwing your metabolism part. I'm talking from more psychological aspect. Usually people think since it's a "diet" or "low-sugar" product (like diet coke), it's ok to eat more of them. But eating two 60% sugar content would mean you eat 120% sugar content which means you eat 20% more from your usual portion.

That's not too far from the friend I mentioned of in my first post here. The worst part is the 'binge' aspect. I know there are some diets for men where they eat two eggs a day to help build up protein for muscle gain, but this girl ate five hard boiled eggs with buttered toast. That's a lot of proteins, fats and carbs.

One other thing that I don't really do anymore is snack between meals (since I'm getting full meals atm). If I can't then snacking on healthy stuff, but not gorging on them is my alternative. Missing out on a meal isn't really a good thing, I've read a theory that went something like if you ate less, your body would recognise this change and 'store' it, making you gain weight. It was likened to your body going into "starvation mode".

I drink both milk tea, herbal tea (gotta love peppermint with a dash of honey), chinese tea and water. I only drink fizzy drinks when I really need to, such as working and suddenly beginning to feel tired.

@ Snow Blossom - Yeah olive oil is more friendly to your body than vegetable oil, no harm in switching over to it.

[Elenakiara]

I went to Italy last month where I wasn't too hungry because of the heat, so I got used to eating very little in the morning and most in the evening. Not too healthy, true, but my stomach got accustomed to smaller portions. So, back at home, I just ate smaller portions, less snacks in between the main meals and healthier alternatives. xD I lost 4kgs so far in a month and I only need 6kgs to get to my ideal weight. >w< Plus, that's including the new added muscles from all the exercise!

I'd say that if you count your calories and eat healthier, remember to possibly set out one day per week to spoil yourself a bit more than usual. That way, your body won't hit a plateau(I'm not sure if that's really what it's called though) and not simply start saving fat because it thinks you're living in a famine. xD

[redcat]

@ Snow Blossom - Yeah olive oil is more friendly to your body than vegetable oil, no harm in switching over to it.

I agree with this. Olive oil is good for your heart as it reduce the bad cholesterol in your body. Too bad it's very expensive here (nearly ten times the price of palm oil).

Btw, IIRC... the way you sleep also affects your body metabolism. I mean, if you sleep less, then more likely you'll eat more... resulting in increasing body weight.

[yummy]

There are lots of great ideas, thank you everyone for your insights!
And Tom, you amaze me, you're a king of diets ^^

Unfortunately, I don't have any kendo school in my immediate vincinity, so I went for the wu shu instead.

I've begun to cut on the sugary things, I mean, I've limited myself to small quantities. No sugar means no energy, so I'd rather take at least a little...
Green tea seems a good idea. I've also changed how I eat rice and pasta, to boil them until they're just ready to eat (al dente), because if cooked further, the heat alters the starch to smaller sugar, thus increase blood sugar after digestion.
I try to cut on carbos too, but it's hard. I've stopped sodas and anything too sugary.

I also try to eat balanced meals, 1/3 of each nutriment "family", represented by green, yellow and red "companions". Meaning vegetables, starchy food and meat. Since it's a diet, I eat less in the morning (generally coffee and that's pretty much all), then 66% full at lunch, then normally before 20:00 at dinner (because when you sleep, you don't consume the energy at the same rate as when you're conscious, thus build fat).
But triglycerides are essential to human body mantenance so I try not to hurt my body too much, doing this.

I've also changed how I fry things.
Olive oil is great to fry things because its smoke point is high. When an oil starts smoking, it's generally a bad sign since it is generating substances you should rather not eat.
That's why I use it regularly, either sunflower oil is great too. Great for green "lifeforms" too.

I've heard that you are generally influenced by how people eat around you, in case of diabetes type 2, due to eating snacks and all.
And it's also a mental stress, since you are somewhat fighting against your own body, that naturally wants the fat.
There's also the problem with your liver, if you radically change your nutrition course.
Eating only greens without taking note of the protein aspect will stress it and modify it to the point you will actually gain weight (and end up with a damaged liver).

Maybe weight loss is linked with how to efficiently use the stored energy...

[RemnantDream]

Fish and chicken.

Cut back on the red meat you eat. Fish and chicken are leaner and healthier for you and they contain more protein and nutrients your body needs.

I'm a vegetarian as of a couple months ago. Since then, I've lost some weight. But I also only eat 1-2 meals a day.