[jct us101]

I want to lose 50 pounds. I'd be awesome if someone could act as some sort of coach for me (although I obviously don't deserve it)...some mental support would definitely be a good thing. I can post what I eat a day in this thread, or something. I just need some kind of coach. So will you guys please be my coach?

[jct us101]

Oh, and for those who have tried to lose weight themselves, a plan would also be helpful like to how you did it. I figure I'll give myself one day of eating something not so good a week, and try to cut down on portions and calories for everything else that I eat. Oh, and exercise daily.

[Henrik Kristensen]

Well... you got my mental support

I am no coaching expert so will only tell you what has worked for me (22 pounds in 9 months so far) is to not make a hard rule to say "Never!", but make small changes in the every day life:

1. Chocolate (my great sin) or other candy, cake, burgers or whatever: only once a week (saturday for me) except for special occasions (big birthdays, weddings etc.)

2. Don't skip meals, BUT only 1 portion for every meal (and not a HUGE mountain of a portion). This was actually a big sin for me. Always taking 2 or 3 portions, because it looked good, tasted good and I wouldn't want it to go to waste. Now... only one portion except for those BIG occasions mentioned above.
(a mental tip if you have a hard time telling yourself to stop after one portion: tell yourself to wait for 10 minutes after eating portion number 1 - your brain/body needs time to realize that you are no longer hungry)

3. Mix my favorite foods with something healthy. You can often introduce a healthy ingredient to your meals (carrots, beans or whatever you actually like). It will take up some place of your 1 portion where something not so healthy would usually be.

4. This one is hard: I live a busy life and used to tell myself that I had no time to exercise. Well, as it turned out that wasn't exactly true... I set the alarm to half an hour earlier 5 days a week and use those 30 minutes to do some sort of workout (doesn't really matter what it is: running, a FAST walk, riding a bike, push-ups etc) PRIOR to taking a shower. It's hard in the beginning, but afterward you feel AMAZING !!!
Personally I run for about 25 minutes and do some push-ups.
In the beginning it is VERY hard to get up earlier for workout. After 4 weeks, I wouldn't do without it!

Above 4 small changes has stopped me from not only gaining weight, but also loosing some. But the biggest advantage is that I FEEl great . such a difference. I know that you can loose weight faster, but I don't want to say goodbye to all the "good" stuff and eating things I don't really like. This is something I can keep doing the rest of my life. Eating stuff I don't like would make me stop after 2 weeks.

There are many false statements out there, but the bottom line is to consume less calories than you use. That will make you loose weight.

If you are not used to running (or just hate it), run intervals:
Week 1
Run 3 minutes - walk 2 minutes - R3 - W2 - R3
Week 2
R3 - W2 - R3 - W2 - R3
Week 3
R3 - W2 - R3 - W2 - R3 - W2 - R3
Week 4
R3 - W1 - R3 - W1 - R3 - W1 - R3
Week5
R4 - W1 - R4 - W1 - R4 - W1 - R4

Even if you feel you can run more in week 1 - DON'T: Your body needs to get used to the "abuse".

I wish you the best of luck with the project. The benefits are HUGE !!!

My personal main motivation was becoming a father. I wanted to be able to play with my daughter and to live long enough to see her become a women!

Personally I still need to loose around 18 pounds and I will get there by next summer - no doubt in my mind

[jct us101]

Wow! Thanks for that advice. I think I'm going to substitute running for going on the treadmill in our school's recreation center...considering it's free, and not to mention a tad easier to do than find a route to run on each day when it's around 100 (although that won't be hopefully for much longer) and I'm already paying for it, so I might as well use it!

[blackcloudbrew]

Good luck on this. You might want to join

traineo | Fitness & Weight Loss Community

It's free (of course) and has a number of online tools for tracking fitness/weight loss. My family used it this year to good result. You can get a trainer to encourage your efforts. Check it out. I might be a lot better than posting here on this topic.

[Parallax]

It is really quite simple (not easy, but simple) If you take in fewer calories than you burn you will loose weght.. Exercise speeds the process but is not absolutely necessay. Exersise will speed up your metabolism and it will stay up for several hours. It will also help keep it from slowing overall in response to the lower intake but the point is that you can loose weight by diet alone if you have to.

[Taff]

post a pic of yourself here each week and we will tell how good your looking or if you have given in to the urges how Bad you've been

[adamkean]

carry a picture of your family or signifcant other with you when alone and you are eating put it out. think to yourself you want to eat healthy to live longer to be around them. kind of sappy, but worked for my friend

[er1kksen]

Eat SLOWLY. You can take in far more food than your body actually wants before your body has time to register "I'm full" and tell you to stop. So you can eat less and still feel full.

Also, foods like fruits and veggies can make you feel more full with fewer calories; a lot of their mass just passes through your digestive system. More nutrients for fewer calories= a healthier you.

If you stop eating desserts you won't even notice you miss them after a few weeks. Stop drinking soft drinks and after a little while you'll wonder how you ever did... most colas taste like some sort of industrial cleaning fluid. And you'll feel much healthier for it.

[Wheatfield]

Eat more veggies and less meat. Get a job that is physically demanding. A few months ago I decided to rejoin the workforce and went out and got a job slinging lumber and building materials at my local Home Depot.
I haven't lost a whole lot of weight, but I have lost three inches around my gut, have put on a surprising amount of muscle, and I feel a lot better overall.

[geauxpez]

My wife did a combo of Weight Watcher's online and increased exercise. She now wears her pre-baby clothes. It has also taught her better eating habits by having an idea (or increased guilt) about just how much impact eating certain things can have. It is not a passive system, so you have to be honest and not blow off your entries.

[jct us101]

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I'll give it a try. I do like the take a photo of myself each week (although I'm hideous) and the family member ideas.

Cut your carbs increase protein. When I was your age I killed 100lbs in 3 months on level 1 of Atkins. Kept it off for 10 years.

sell your camera, sell your computer, buy a liposuction. Win,win,win, win, win and another win to make it even more attractive

[res3567]

Eat more veggies and less meat. Get a job that is physically demanding. A few months ago I decided to rejoin the workforce and went out and got a job slinging lumber and building materials at my local Home Depot.
I haven't lost a whole lot of weight, but I have lost three inches around my gut, have put on a surprising amount of muscle, and I feel a lot better overall.

I have a job that is physically demanding and it keeps me toned. I also work out at the gym when my job is in its slow season and train with weights with the tread mill.

My problem is that I can't seem to get rid of my gut. I try to eat right but I do love meat. I will use your advice and see what happens; I am getting the itch to go back into the gym.