Weight loss - your thoughts?

[Ralph1611]

That is crazy tiring though.

It is, but some people can jog for miles without stopping... some cant. 30 minutes of this would be a great exercise.

 

[Zarxrax]

I think exercise gets way too much credit for weight loss. Look at how much work you have to actually do to burn any reasonable amount of calories. It takes up an astronomical amount of time, and its extremely unpleasant and boring in my opinion.
Simply eating fewer calories is a far easier option in almost every situation. You don't even have to specifically eat healthier things. Just counting your calories and being aware of what you are eating is usually enough to spur some weight loss.

For example, if you don't count calories at all, then a chocolate milkshake means nothing to you. It's just a tasty chocolate milkshake. You have some vague idea that its not very good for you, but it wont hurt just this once, right?
On the other hand, just by being aware of how many calories you consume per day, and how many calories that milkshake has in it, suddenly the whole equation changes. Now, its not JUST a milkshake. Now its 800 calories. Now its equivalent to the entire dinner that you had planned for tonight. Now its a lot easier to reconsider drinking that milkshake, and either going with a more sensible option, or just doing without.

 

[Deboog]

I think exercise gets way too much credit for weight loss. Look at how much work you have to actually do to burn any reasonable amount of calories. It takes up an astronomical amount of time, and its extremely unpleasant and boring in my opinion.
Simply eating fewer calories is a far easier option in almost every situation. You don't even have to specifically eat healthier things. Just counting your calories and being aware of what you are eating is usually enough to spur some weight loss.

For example, if you don't count calories at all, then a chocolate milkshake means nothing to you. It's just a tasty chocolate milkshake. You have some vague idea that its not very good for you, but it wont hurt just this once, right?
On the other hand, just by being aware of how many calories you consume per day, and how many calories that milkshake has in it, suddenly the whole equation changes. Now, its not JUST a milkshake. Now its 800 calories. Now its equivalent to the entire dinner that you had planned for tonight. Now its a lot easier to reconsider drinking that milkshake, and either going with a more sensible option, or just doing without.

Well, yes exercise is terribly inefficient at burning calories, but it's good for staying healthy in its own right. Many people die of diabetes, but heart failure is the number one killer in most wealthy countries. Exercise helps keep our hearts active.

 

[FAST6191]

Also, there is this technique you can use to get your heart rate going so you can lose some calories, and you can do it anyway you like, just start by running as fast as you can for 30 seconds, then walk for 2 minutes.... then run again as fast as you can go, and walk again.

For the curious this would normally be known as interval training. Opinions are still a bit divided on whether it is that wise an idea, does work though (especially if you do the inverted version) and any immediate harm tends to be that associated with exercise in general.

Anyway I already went. The key for the vast, vast majority of people is still eating proportionally to your activity levels (which you want to be more than zero for various other reason), or if you want to lose weight then a bit less than that but making sure you have the nutrients you need. It sucks as you are literally starving yourself and it is only in the last few decades that an evolutionarily significant proportion of the population could afford to be fat bastards but that is how biology works. There are tricks you can do to help but it is still going to suck.

 

[Catastrophic]

I think weight loss is relatively easy as long as you remain aware of what you eat. I haven't had a single sip of soda for about two years and started eating a lot less junk food than I did and my weight fell by about 15kgs. I'm around 57kgs now. I think most people who have problems losing weight are people who have formed lifelong eating habits that are very bad for them and have a hard time dropping those habits for newer healthier ones. When I first stopped drinking soda, I had a hard time resisting a glass here and there but nowadays I don't want to touch the stuff ever again.

 

[Ralph1611]

thank you. thanks what its called.. High Intensity Interval Training..

 

[grossaffe]

thank you. thanks what its called.. High Intensity Interval Training..

There's Interval Training and then High Intensity Interval Training. I've been considering getting into some HIIT at some point to improve my hockey endurance.

 

[VinsCool]

There's Interval Training and then High Intensity Interval Training. I've been considering getting into some HIIT at some point to improve my hockey endurance.

Hah! I knew your Capital's hockey shirt on your avatar had something to tell!

 

[grossaffe]

Hah! I knew your Capital's hockey shirt on your avatar had something to tell!

Must be nice to have have hockey as the prime sport in your country. Growing up, I think I only had one other hockey fan/player in my grade (until Ovechkin taught the rest of the peasants that hockey is cool).

 

[Rizzorules]

Exercise is awesome, im 16 years old and i have been making exercise for one year and i have a six pack but i still need to get more muscles in other parts of my body. I would recommend anyone to make exercise, you feel better, you look better and you are healthier

 

[gifi4]

I can put input on this now: I was 99.5KG and like 170cm tall. Recommended weight is around 60-70KG for me. About 10 days ago, I stopped eating so much food and started doing exercise each night. A 10 kilometer walk with a little bit of running included. I do that every night. After 7 days of not eating as much (Not starving myself but not eating too much) and doing the walking, I'd lost 2KG. My goal is 1.4KG each week for 22 weeks (Gets me to 70KG by the end of October).
It takes 2 hours a night and the eating less saves you time as well...
The main problem that I have is that it's generally just boring. I listen to a podcast while walking on Friday. Every other day, it's just music. But, I have a goal and I'm going to reach it. That's all that matters.

 

[GameSystem]

I'm a firm believer of quality over quantity. I'd rather eat wonderful tasting and unhealthy foods and die at 55 than live to be 90 from eating grass. It's not like I can do anything fun in those years anyway. Your bones and joints are all rotten and you can barely move. Don't care about what your weight is. If you can afford to eat, then go for it. Many people don't have that luxury. All the time spent exercising could be better spent on video games or something.

 

[Hungry Friend]

Changing what you eat is one of the most crucial parts of losing weight. Quite often I've heard comments that vegetables don't taste good. It might take a while to get used to them, but a large part of making vegetable is making them taste right. Even something simple such as potatoes, carrots and even spinach taste quite different if you make it in salt water compared to plain water. Take some time to check out recipes for simple things. You don't need to make food look like the stuff you see on Michelin restaurant guides. Also if you happen to need some simple things to compensate in your diet, go from animal greases such as butter to vegetable oil (olive oil, etc) or try some kind of mix (50-50 and you won't lose the flavor of butter but still get better oils).

If you're into losing weight at the gym, skip the protein shakes and stuff. My girlfriend, who has played ringette (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringette for those of you who aren't from the Nordics or Canada) on a national/world cup level, has mentioned quite a few times that you really need to work out quite a bit to actually be able to get anything out of those as the extra protein your body can't use is usually transformed into fat. A simple program will help you focus on what's important. Don't go into muscle building day 1 as you will benefit far more if you can gain endurance. Losing weight will happen at the same time, but remember to eat. Burning fat is one thing, but your body also does need a load of other stuff to function properly

ps. 75kg/165 lbs and 181cm/~6 feet here.

The extra protein only turns to fat if you're consuming more calories than you need, especially if you're eating more than 2000. I have 1 1500-1800 calorie meal per day, usually with a protein shake in there and I've had no problems. It's all about calorie intake, but yeah if you're drinking protein shakes as extra calories, the protein will turn to fat if you don't lift a lot.

Also, naturally increasing your testosterone levels if you're a dude helps as well. I take Zinc, Magnesium(not ZMA, just separately) Creatine HCL(very small doses, increases strength/helps build muscle a bit but drink lots of water if you use it) and Resveratrol at 1000mg(stuff in grapes/red wine, mild aromatase/estrogen inhibitor at higher doses) and a multivitamin. It's very subtile but I'm faster, stronger and have a higher sex drive than I did before, and testosterone lowers bodyfat as well much like estrogen increases it. My test levels have always been high but naturally increasing them isn't a bad idea, especially if you're lifting. Stay away from steroids and TRT. Keep in mind this suff simply makes your nuts produce more test and will not give you an effect like outside hormonal shit like roids or TRT. It's very mild.

EDIT: Also, the fact that I turned 30 last August motivated me to lose weight and get in shape as well. After 35 or so your metabolism slows down significantly, making it much harder to lose.

 

[Blaze163]

Hit the gym with a vengeance today. On the treadmill alone for nearly an hour. Feeling good Totally changed my diet (went shopping t'other day and returned with no cheese whatsoever, that's unheard of), changed my eating regime, etc. Even though I've only been at this for a few short weeks, I'm already noticing improvements. I can now go full speed up a flight of stairs without needing a breather afterwards, I can push myself harder and faster every day, my clothes fit better already. Long road ahead to only have one reasonable sized gut, but it's nice to feel like all this effort is worth something.

 

[Hungry Friend]

Good on you man. Just remember, even if you stick to your plan perfectly there will be periods of time when you plateau/don't lose weight, but if you stick to whatever your diet/exercise plan is, it will pass and you'll start losing again. Plateauing can really fuck with you mentally when you're trying to lose weight because it's demoralizing, but it's normal so good luck and I hope you reach your goal. Keeping the weight off is even harder than losing it but I'm pretty confident I won't let myself go again, at least not until I'm old or something.

 

[dimmidice]

There's Interval Training and then High Intensity Interval Training. I've been considering getting into some HIIT at some point to improve my hockey endurance.

i started HIIT 23 days ago, also changed the way i eat drastically. lost 7kg so far. so i recommend it. i like how its easy to stick with and it doesn't make you feel like complete shit for hours after. i tried losing weight a year ago by just doing low intensity exercises for an hour a day, and that had pretty much no effect whatsoever.

 

[Deleted User]

The way I've been loosing weight isn't a good one; I haven't been eating nearly as much as I normally do. The only reason I do this though is because I'm on Vyvanse, and one of the side affects is a decreased appetite, so I just totally forget about eating. I mean, I did eat a shitton before, but now I'm skipping lunch almost entirely, so that's not very good. Another way (and a better way) I've been loosing weight is by playing Wii Fit Plus because we can't really afford exercise machines, and I don't like going outside, especially in summer, because of hornets and heat and stuff like that. I also pace around the house a lot when playing games on my 3DS or DS, I don't know how much that helps, though.

 

[grossaffe]

i started HIIT 23 days ago, also changed the way i eat drastically. lost 7kg so far. so i recommend it. i like how its easy to stick with and it doesn't make you feel like complete shit for hours after. i tried losing weight a year ago by just doing low intensity exercises for an hour a day, and that had pretty much no effect whatsoever.

For me it isn't about losing weight, but about endurance. Even at my heaviest I was at a healthy weight (though basic BMI may have considered me overweight, a most of that is due to having the legs of a skater). When I start working out again, I'll look at doing some kind of shadow-boxing HIIT. Should help if I get back into sparring.

The way I've been loosing weight isn't a good one; I haven't been eating nearly as much as I normally do. The only reason I do this though is because I'm on Vyvanse, and one of the side affects is a decreased appetite, so I just totally forget about eating. I mean, I did eat a shitton before, but now I'm skipping lunch almost entirely, so that's not very good. Another way (and a better way) I've been loosing weight is by playing Wii Fit Plus because we can't really afford exercise machines, and I don't like going outside, especially in summer, because of hornets and heat and stuff like that. I also pace around the house a lot when playing games on my 3DS or DS, I don't know how much that helps, though.

You're in Canada! Lace up the skates and play some hockey; no hornets or heat there! Well, actually there was that time that my teammate ran off the ice and started undressing on the bench because a wasp had somehow gotten stuck in his equipment and was angrily stinging him, but that's anomalous.

 

[Deleted User]

You're in Canada! Lace up the skates and play some hockey; no hornets or heat there! Well, actually there was that time that my teammate ran off the ice and started undressing on the bench because a wasp had somehow gotten stuck in his equipment and was angrily stinging him, but that's anomalous.

I like watching Hokey, but playing it? Eh, not really. I'd rather roller skate than I would skate on ice.
I've actually wanted roller skates for while. I have a scooter too, but our neighborhood has shitty sidewalks, you literally go flying if you hit a crack in the cement, it's so uneven too.

 

[grossaffe]

I like watching Hokey, but playing it? Eh, not really. I'd rather roller skate than I would skate on ice.
I've actually wanted roller skates for while. I have a scooter too, but our neighborhood has shitty sidewalks, you literally go flying if you hit a crack in the cement, it's so uneven too.

I'll play some roller here and there (there's an outdoor roller rink where we vacation in the summers that Jeff Carter has been known to visit since he has a house there), but ice is so much better than pavement. Scraped my knee something awful a few weeks back when I instinctively tried to stop by digging in like I do on ice but instead just lost my footing.

Also, forget sidewalks, take to the streets! I don't even have sidewalks.