A weight challenge

[guncrasher]

changeup is right if you eat more calories than you use then you gain weight.  hence my joke about juicing, if you go hungry by the second day you will be juicing a ham.  I only eat once a day, i exersice 3 times a week and walk 4 to 5 miles 5 times a week. plus lift 40 lbs machines 5 days a week and 15 lbs rails 5 days a week.  reason I dont lose weight is because i am getting a bit of muscle while losing some fat.

semp

[Brooke]

So, just to be clear, you guys think a diet of X calories of Mexican food, twinkies, and Cokes will result in the same body weight as X calories of meat and salad?

[ghi]

I use this "S health" app for awhile to get motivation and move my bacon , was preinstalled in my phone with T-Mobile;

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sec.android.app.shealth&hl=en

here a screenshot, my  evening walk today; shows the # of steps, calories burned, distance..... and has lots more features in settings ;

         

BMI , body mass index calculator; 
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_bmi/english_bmi_calculator/bmi_calculator.html
I don't like what I saw

[Rondar]

That is pretty cool ghi.  I have a smartwatch that counts steps, but if I am working on our machinery and stuff I don't wear it.  I don't want to get it oily, greasy, scratched up or full of dirt or whatever.  Good to know this is on the phones.  I saw it when I first got my Note 5, but didn't look into it at all.

I normally have my phone in my pocket so this may still count steps without the watch.  I'm going to give it a try.

[Kanth]

low carb and exercise has been very successful for me..

Running is okay for your overall health but to lose fat you'll probably want to do some weight lifting. It's important to mix it up as well. I was running 3-7 miles almost every day and it just wasn't dropping my weight.
 
I've used P90x and I did try "insanity" but the guy doesn't switch up the the exercises enough and you end up doing a lot of leg work without breaks which means you burn your legs out without breaks and can't max out.  I do have a bow flex and some free weights and a doorframe pullup bar. All are used.

P90X is nice, doesn't require a full on gym or heavy amount of weight sets. Just a few free weights your body mostly. It's P90x3 now and it's a nice balanced set of exercises with variety. They have a low carb nutition book and a scheduled and dvd so you know what to do.

But again you can do your own, the internet has a lot of their videos on youtube and stuff.

You might want to get something like a fitbit or something to keep track of what you are doing but to watch your heart rate, it's important not to push too hard. I have a fitbit surge and it has an online app that tracks everything for me including meals, water, sleep hours all of that.

Also if you are struggling get your thyroid checked make sure it's all fully funtional and within normal parameters (might as well get chloresterol and stuff checked as well)

I'm very close to my goal (8lbs out) and it's slow going but that happens, just keep at it. 

So basically what Brooke said ++

[Kanth]

Oh and you should be eating about every 3 hours, smaller meals all day long will help you keep burning calories it's hard to do but meal preparation before the week starts can help you from floundering too bad.  There are companies that can help you with that too if you need it. Companies like Icon Meals.  But once you know what to eat you can do it yourself. 


Lack of sleep/Lack of water/eating once a day  ALL will cause you to stop losing weight to your best potential.

[ghi]

Running is okay for your overall health but to lose fat you'll probably want to do some weight lifting.

 Running is ok if you are not high in overweight/obese BMI range, can be devastating for joints  and bones especially after certain age without training. I would start with walking , fast walking and  get a safe transition to running.
 Imo swimming is maybe best physical activity to save joints and bones. The  Archimedes buoyant force holds body weight while the muscles are burning calories; first physical activity we naturally perform in the amniotic liquid, before we are born. 

[Kanth]

yep great point, and probably lower impact than running (if you have access to machines)would be the elliptical.

swimming, especially during the hot months of summer would be easier to keep up if you have access to a pool.

[Changeup]

So, just to be clear, you guys think a diet of X calories of Mexican food, twinkies, and Cokes will result in the same body weight as X calories of meat and salad?

One will come off slow and one will come off faster but rest assured, they'll both come off. 

Your example is unhealthy to say the least and it's not sustainable.  Remember, for avg person 2000 calories/day is about normal.  You can't eat very many burgers and twinkies and stay under that number.   Especially with no excercise.

And the TYPE of calories only comes into play after you've exceeded your needs.  Please don't believe me.  Just look it up.  WebMD has an unbelievably easy explanation.

[Changeup]

low carb and exercise has been very successful for me..

I was running 3-7 miles almost every day and it just wasn't dropping my weight.
 

I find this exceptionally hard to believe.  I run 3.5 a day at a sub 8 pace and I burn 460 calories doing it according to my iWatch and corroborated by MyFitnessPal app..  Because of that daily regimen, My BMR jumped to 2900 cals a day from 2120 00 a day and I'm 50-54.  Not exactly a high BMR age.

At the run rate you claim, 90% of the population would burn over 1000 calories a day but your BMR would sky rocket past 3000 a day.  Know why?  Muscle repair.  Your metabolism would increase so much to repair the muscles you use to run 7 miles.

Your new BMR plus the 1000+ burn rate at a 6 mile run would mean you would be eating 5000 cals+ a day not including the cals you burn walking any distance. 

Tough to believe anyone can run an average of 6 miles a day and not lose weight...even if they are doing the Army "airborne shuffle". Tough to believe bro...

[Brooke]

One will come off slow and one will come off faster but rest assured, they'll both come off. 

Your example is unhealthy to say the least and it's not sustainable.  Remember, for avg person 2000 calories/day is about normal.  You can't eat very many burgers and twinkies and stay under that number.   Especially with no excercise.

And the TYPE of calories only comes into play after you've exceeded your needs.  Please don't believe me.  Just look it up.  WebMD has an unbelievably easy explanation.

Eating meat and salad isn't unhealthy.

If all that mattered were calories, high-sugar/high-carb diets wouldn't be unhealthy either.

WebMD isn't a thorough reference on metabolic pathways.

If you want more information on some of these things, I highly recommend "The Big Fat Surprise," by Teicholz.

[TheBug]

You can complicate things as much as you want.  Most people are searching for that magic diet for success.  It all comes down to diet and exercise.  Burn more calories than you eat, with the goal being the calories you do take in are the most nutritious and healthy you can eat to correctly fuel your body.  Exercise is great to keep your body strong and help with the pains of aging, but calorie counting is the best way to lose weight.  Try the Myfitnesspal app to count calories for two weeks if you have trouble losing weight, you will be surprised how many calories you may actually be getting each day.  After that since most peoples diets remain somewhat the same you will have a clear idea when you are over indulging.

To lose weight, be healthy and fit is a very simple recipe.  It is the hard work and commitment that has people searching for that magic answer that doesn't exist. Be it some new fad diet or exercise machine.  A simple recipe doesn't make for a good book.  Your diet should be a diet for life.

[Changeup]

Eating meat and salad isn't unhealthy.

If all that mattered were calories, high-sugar/high-carb diets wouldn't be unhealthy either.

WebMD isn't a thorough reference on metabolic pathways.

If you want more information on some of these things, I highly recommend "The Big Fat Surprise," by Teicholz.

I wasn't talking about meat and salad Brooke.  You know I wasn't.

Metabolic pathways?  Lol.  Asked and answered.

Don't be obtuse.  If you are trying to lose weight you can't eat enough volume of the trash u listed to get full before reaching your daily daily caloric limit because they are so high in calories.  You'd lose weight from starvation if you stayed under your caloric load as I've stated and you haven't even excercised yet!

The math doesn't lie.  Ever.  Brooke, it's ok, they can't all be home runs

[Changeup]

You can complicate things as much as you want.  Most people so searching for that magic diet for success.  It all comes down to diet and exercise.  Burn more calories than you eat, with the goal being the calories you do take in are the most nutritious and healthy you can eat to correctly fuel your body.  Exercise is great to keep your body strong and help with the pains of aging, but calorie counting is the best way to lose weight.  Try the Myfitnesspal app to count calories for two weeks if you have trouble losing weight, you will be surprised how many calories you may actually be getting each day.  After that since most peoples diets remain somewhat the same you will have a clear idea when you are over indulging.

To lose weight, be healthy and fit is a very simple recipe.  It is the hard work and commitment that has people searching for that magic answer that doesn't exist. Be it some new fad diet or exercise machine.  A simple recipe doesn't make for a good book.  Your diet should be a diet for life.

 

[Brooke]

I wasn't talking about meat and salad Brooke.  You know I wasn't.

Metabolic pathways?  Lol.  Asked and answered.

Don't be obtuse.  If you are trying to lose weight you can't eat enough volume of the trash u listed to get full before reaching your daily daily caloric limit because they are so high in calories.  You'd lose weight from starvation if you stayed under your caloric load as I've stated and you haven't even excercised yet!

The math doesn't lie.  Ever.  Brooke, it's ok, they can't all be home runs

I'm saying this:

X calories of food Y is not the same effect to body weight as X calories of food Z.  X is not all that matters.  Y and Z matter significantly.  Why?  Because metabolic pathways are different for different foods.

Here is one example for you:  glucose vs. fructose.  Both are sugar.  However, eating X calories of fructose results in enormously more fat production than X calories of glucose.  Here is a link for you that shows it in about 3 seconds:

https://youtu.be/dBnniua6-oM?t=3872

If you want to see what metabolic pathways are like and how they can be different for the same number of calories, here is a link for you:

https://youtu.be/dBnniua6-oM?t=2705

Your math isn't the problem.  Your problem is that you have too simplistic a model, and as a result, you think that the only thing that matters is how many calories you eat in a day.  I can tell you from references, first-hand experience, and second-hand experience with several friends and family that changing the composition of your diet can matter more.