Weight Loss Advice

Snacking is fine, just make sure your snacks are healthy and help with glycemic control. Go for things like fruit bars or protein bars and nut/seed mixes; force yourself to snack on that for a week and you won't look back. Just go easy on Brazil nuts as those contain lots of selenium.

Lots of tricks when it comes to portion control at the link, even if you don't have money to invest in smaller plates, which is the usual advice.

15 pounds is easy, you'll get there in no time if you're as active as you say you are. Just don't give up if nothing seems to move on the scale for the first couple of weeks, let your metabolism adjust to the changes.

R1 Thank you! I am not the best runner, so sometimes they turn into long walks- like an hour to an hour and a half. I am in the middle of a great audiobook.

And I drink coffee, water, and have a whiskey or two at the end of the day. Whiskey is healthier than most alcohols.

Bulimia?

I've lost 30 lbs since Feb by diet and portion control. Zero workout. Not kidding.

And Intermittent fasting . I don't eat from 8pm to 11am the next day.

[quote] Whiskey is healthier than most alcohols.

I've never heard this and if you're in law school, you should be more quantitative in your evaluations.

Count your calories and grams (protein, fat, carbs). Get a food scale with nutrition info on it. Figure out how many grams of protein you're supposed to be getting.

OP, you can afford to buy smaller tableware regardless of how budget-constrained you are. Go to Target, IKEA, or Wal-Mart. Spend, at the most, $20. You will have saved that $20 within the coming month by consuming less food. Portion control is a paramount issue in America, regardless of what you choose to eat. This is your health we're talking about. Spend the money on your health. It's more important than whiskey.

Weight loss is 85% what you eat. Everyone thinks if you run 5 miles and go to McDonald’s you won’t gain any weight. Definitely portion control. I also agree that intermittent fasting works. I lost 50 pounds during the pandemic and have kept it off.

R8 Good job! You are right it is health, but a good diet is also having rewards like McDonald's. Just start going less and less.

R7 I have smaller plates and bowls but sometimes I was two portions.

R6 Attached is an article.

R9 yes you def need to treat yourself. My go to.. is Del Taco.

OP, Join us bitch

If you’re poor, that great—you don’t have to buy too much food.

People don’t lose weight through exercise; they lose it by eating less. Exercise is more about weight maintaining

What I like to do is run to the mirror right before I'm about to eat, and ask, "Are you a fat cunt? WELL, ARE YA?!" I quietly answer, "No."

I find this helps.

"My biggest problem is portion control and snacking. How do you stop this?"

Sew your mouth shut?

Snacking is NOT fine, because it just reinforces your belief that its ok to eat anytime you want. Get the snacks out of the house. If portion control is an issue, buy nutritional, microwaveable dinners (and eat ONE per meal!) until you get the portion thing under control. Learn the difference between actually being hungry, and just wanting to eat something. Stop having intimate dinners for four unless there are three others present :)

Selina Meyer is here to help you, OP.

I do not have a scale, but I know I have lost some weight. I can tell by belly has shrunk and a tight fitting pair of pants fit better.

I have been jogging/walking two miles 3-4 times a week. I have been working on portion control and eating a lot of rice/beans, fruit with peanut butter/wheat crackers, and 1/2 cup of oatmeal with a spoonful of PB.

Everyday I grab my belly fat and been disguised with myself.

If I stay stagnant, I might go on the Judy Garland diet of black coffee and cigarettes.

If I want a snack, it has been chips and homemade guacamole.

OP, all you need to do is walk an hour every day and do planks every morning.

Build up your planks from 30 seconds to 3-5 minutes if possible.

Your arms will get tight as well as your core.

Walking will take off the weight. If you want a tighter butt, do two steps at a time for 10 minutes a day.

It works. Trust me. I’ve done this and usually see results within three to four weeks.

[Quote]Count your calories and grams (protein, fat, carbs)

With this method I lost me over 50 lbs.

That includes exercise, but lower calories works for me.

A quick tip for good portion control is to use a bread and butter plate as your dinner plate, and make sure what's on it at both lunch and dinner is more than half vegetables. You don't appear to be eating any, other than legumes (the beans). See a nutritionist, OP.

Walking WON'T take off weight without changing your food habits. Exercise by itself will certainly help your general health, but if you don't also change your eating habits you'll probably find your scales read heavier, because you'll be developing [heavier] muscle tissue without losing the fat you dislike.

Cocaine

R21 A lot of times I eat rice, beans, broccoli, and shrimp. Then once a week or so, I will lightly fry the leftovers.

I eat cauliflower, too.

Stop eating carbs / sugar and you’ll be down 15 in less than 4 weeks

Of those, only the broccoli and cauliflower are actual vegetables. The rice is starch.

Frying the leftovers occasionally won't hurt if you don't use much oil, but your diet doesn't sound very balanced and that may be why you overeat. Your body may be craving nutrients it isn't getting, so in your case it may be less about what not to eat and more about what you should eat. Truly, see a nutritionist/dietician.

Sorry, that was me! Forgot to sign off.

[quote]OP: My biggest problem is portion control and snacking. How do you stop this?

I know it is old-fashioned and has gone out of style, but have you ever tried self-control?

Just a thought.

Your liver is integral to weight loss. Drinking alcohol preoccupies the liver for 48 hours while it processes the alcohol toxins. The liver will always make this it's priority. Therefore, stop drinking alcohol and you'll see weight loss.

EVERY weight loss plan has a "no alcohol" rule for the first two weeks. The liver starts working overtime and burns serious fat. The "no alcohol" rule is also for psychological reasons. The dieter sees dramatic weight loss, in those first two weeks, and it motivates them to stick with the plan.

R25 I can't afford a dietician.

If you want to get away from snacking, maybe try the following: Buy a non-fluoride toothpaste, preferably one with a strong taste, like minty fresh. Brush your teeth several times throughout the day. You will not crave food so much while having that strong taste of toothpaste in your mouth.

Regarding portion control. Wait after each portion. Drink before and after each portion one or two glasses of water.

Probably what most people do already: Prepare your food, and snacks, at home and put it Tupperware instead of buying (unhealthy) food and snacks at stands, fast food restaurants, etc.

Personally, I only drink juices (a mix of fruit and vegetable juices) when I'm at work or spend the day outside, and eat solid food at home with my trusted and discreet toilet nearby. I am lactose intolerant and a bit shy doing no.2 in public, or office, toilets. Granted, that may only work for me.

Cut out the meat and eggs and dairy and avoid processed food and the pounds will melt off. Making food boring, not a feast or a reward or a cheat, that's the key.

Keto. Low amounts of carbs, high intakes of fat. No sugar!

It's all about calories in vs. calories out. No fasting, no special foods, get enough protein and not too many simple carbs. Keep up the exercise and get a calorie counting app for your phone. Once you've entered the couple dozen or so foods you eat most often it becomes incredibly simple.

There's no fussing with a lot of rules and restrictions, and it take very little time once you get going.

A bread and butter plate? I guess you could fit one veggie burger on there. That's very small.

The woman in this clip makes some good points regarding portion control.

[quote]It's all about calories in vs. calories out.

No, it's not. The body doesn't process every calorie the same. 100 kcal of sugar or high fructose corn syrup are not identical to 100 kcal of lettuce or some lean chicken.

And as I said in the next sentence, R36, not too many simple carbs.

R28 is totally correct (unfortunately, I wish it wasn't true). I am a type 1 diabetic (the people who the keto diet was originally created for to keep us alive). Because of the way the liver processes alcohol, it gets preoccupied by the alcohol preventing it from using insulin or ketones properly. It basically puts any calorie burning on hold until your liver finishes processesing the alcohol. (because of this type 1's like me get thrown for massive blood sugar loops when we drink so I get to experience the actual living science behind when the liver decides to process insulin again). Also- I read the article about the Whiskey benefits- the benefits are benefits for the vitamins found in Whiskey- take a multivitamin, don't try to get nutrition from alcohol.

Yes, R34, I meant a bread and butter plate. It's a good hack if you want strict portion control for weight loss.

If you go to antique shops you will see that family china of the 1940s or 50s was quite a bit smaller than it is now. This is one of the reasons why people were thinner. The other point is that everyone who visits the States from another country comes back agog at the huge size of the servings in cafes and restaurants, so quite aside from whether the food on the plate is any good, there is almost always way more of it than you'll get in Italy or the UK or Australia.

Box it up and take it home!

Less food, more exercise.

But I hope the OP gains two pounds for every earnest, supportive, fat-typing person who posts on her thread.

Notice how she had to crap out the "law school" business up front?

I just lost over 25 pounds by watching my diet. I went to the Galapagos Islands in January. I was only there for a little over a week, but I was active, snorkeling, walking, swimming and I was eating clean - fish, and good food and not much snacking, that when I came back, I noticed I had lost some mass. I wanted to keep that going so I changed my diet- not drastically. I still work mainly from home, so I run/walk in the morning. I eat an egg white scramble for breakfast with plenty of water and some juice. I make my own lunch in the afternoon and for snacks - Trader Joe's popcorn and their pita chips are excellent for cravings and very tasty. In the evening before bed - mango and watermelon slices. For protein I'll eat some smoked salmon. In a month and a half I went from 200 pounds to 174 and I think I've lost even more since the last time I was weighed. I don't keep a scale but I can fit into things I wasn't able to for years. The best thing is that I don't diet - just portion control. For lunch yesterday I had burger with gruyere cheese and truffle fries. But I made sure I exercised this morning.

You won't be able to do it without changing your diet. Exercise helps make the calories stay off and tones your body but if you're eating back what you're burning off, you're wasting your time.

Fitnesspal.com. Count your calories. I dropped 35 pounds in 6 months, and it's still off 2 years later.

Ditch sodas, including diet sodas. I dropped a ton of weight after I did this. I switched to making my own cold brewed unsweetened iced tea instead. It totally changed my taste palate and I wasn't craving super sugary or salty things as well as greasy foods.

^^Oh, and the app is free.

Don't drink your calories. They won't make you any fuller. You might think "Oh, this is only 90 calories," but the calories really add up if you have several drinks a day. Read the calories on packages carefully. One might say "360 calories" on a package that isn't so big, but it's 360 calories per serving, and the manufacturer has decided that the package has 2 servings.

Remember, OP, after a week or so your stomach will shrink due to your smaller portions. You will feel full more. When your little inner voice whines and stamps it foot "But I'm hungry! I want a snack!". Grab some fruit.

R47 It has been carrots recently. Sometimes I just need something crunchy.

R6 and R15 have good advice. Despite one's best efforts, and the helpful comparisons like a deck of cards, a fist, or cassette, nothing is as accurate as actual weight.

No one seriously attempting weight loss ought to be snacking either, at least the first few months sorting out new habits, and strengthening one's resolve.

From the Web MD article, I don't believe their advice is the best...(perhaps fine for maintaining)

1 1/2 - 2 1/2 cups of fruit and 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 cups of vegetables

6-10 ounces of grain, 1/2 from whole grains

3 cups of nonfat or low-fat dairy foods

5-7 ounces of protein (meat, beans, and seafood) each day

No more than 5-8 teaspoons of oils, mostly from plants, fish, and nuts

170-400 calories from solid fats and added sugars

I don't think the fruit or dairy guidelines are good for weight loss. I'd replace most or all of the fruit in the beginning with 5 Cups of dark greens. Fruit can be relegated to a garnish or a bit player in salads and "juice" drinks. Sugar (even natural) as well as refined carbs (white foods/bleached grains) do not really benefit weight loss, according my own empirical evidence.

Nuts and seeds should be encouraged, even if one isn't on a Keto diet. I see no recommendations for them. They provide one a sense of satiety, and good fats.

If OP or others have a high body fat percentage, you most certainly do need exercise, and muscle building training: strength/resistance/weight-lifting, as more muscle is what burns fat. As we age, we need to encourage our development of muscle mass the best we can, depending on our constitution, and abilities. Changing diet alone does not work well enough for most people over a given age.

If snacking is "required" try 7 almonds.

Try lowering your Uric Acid levels as well. You may need to pester your Doc for these blood panels, as most figure if you do not suffer from Gout, the Uric Acid is meaningless. Sadly this is not true. Uric Acid levels that are very high are implicated in Metabolic Disorder, or Metabolic Syndrome, and may also be a contributing factor to Type II Diabetes.

For some further details on the connection of Uric Acid and Metabolic Syndrome.

Yes, r48, carrots are excellent too.

A more recent article on Metabolic Syndrome

Join Jenny Craig. Put the expense on a credit card.

I could lose weight if I followed my husband’s eating habits. I cook every night but he eats half of the food on his plate and saves the rest for lunch the next day. He doesn’t snack but he does drink. A vodka and grapefruit juice while watching the evening news; a glass of wine with dinner. He will have another glass of wine or two while we watch television in the evening. He will have a bourbon or two after 10 pm then off to bed he toddles!

Buy Adderall from the 1 Ls.

[quote] Despite one's best efforts, and the helpful comparisons like a deck of cards, a fist, or cassette, nothing is as accurate as actual weight.

A lot of people get scared and discouraged easily. Trying to add playfulness and whimsy into dieting takes away some pressure of having, or wanting, to lose weight. Some people need gimmicks to stay motivated and get a routine going. It's the same with things like Weight Watchers, where people need a support system to hype each other up to stick with their diet and not just counting the calories of each pea or carrot to make all sorts of mathematical gymnastics to come up with a proper meal.

R54 He’s an alcoholic?

Currently, I am 5'7 and 161. I would like to get down to 141-145.

I do not look "fat," but I need to lose belly fat.

R54 that is a lot of alcohol

I concur with R57