A holiday diet

[Sparky-Watts]

Water. Start with only drinking water vs. other beverages. Try to drink too much water (you can't).

Oooh, bad plan. Yes, you can drink too much water. It can even kill you. It's called "water toxicity". Too much water without other nutrients can cause a serious electrolyte imbalance, resulting in cardiac arrhythmias, cerebral infarct, kidney failure, and death. How much water, you ask? Depending on your body size and how long ago you last ate, as little as one liter of water can put you into metabolic shock. Symptoms include cool clammy skin, dilated pupils, decreased level of consciousness, rapid and/or irregular heart rate, lowered blood pressure, and rapid breathing.

The rest of your post was very good, and right on target, but I would caution anyone about foregoing food for water only for any extended period of time. If you are going to satisfy your hunger with only liquid, I'd suggest using Pedialyte or something similar that also replenishes electrolytes. Avoid some of the more popular sports drinks that also contain high levels of sugar and carbs, as they will negate the effects of low calorie diets.

 

[Special_K]

Oooh, bad plan. Yes, you can drink too much water. It can even kill you. It's called "water toxicity". Too much water without other nutrients can cause a serious electrolyte imbalance, resulting in cardiac arrhythmias, cerebral infarct, kidney failure, and death. How much water, you ask? Depending on your body size and how long ago you last ate, as little as one liter of water can put you into metabolic shock. Symptoms include cool clammy skin, dilated pupils, decreased level of consciousness, rapid and/or irregular heart rate, lowered blood pressure, and rapid breathing.

The rest of your post was very good, and right on target, but I would caution anyone about foregoing food for water only for any extended period of time. If you are going to satisfy your hunger with only liquid, I'd suggest using Pedialyte or something similar that also replenishes electrolytes. Avoid some of the more popular sports drinks that also contain high levels of sugar and carbs, as they will negate the effects of low calorie diets.

Okay, that's fair...but I didn't mean the water thing quite so literally and I certainly didn't intend to imply foregoing food for water for any period of time. That would be bad. Water has no calories or nutrients, per se...you have to get calories and nutrients from somewhere so food actually becomes more important. The whole water thing was intended to counter the tendency people have of drinking way too little water (and mistaking thirst for hunger)...this becomes much more important when trying to lose weight. All this brings me to one point I forgot:

Don't skip meals...eat regularly, eat healthy, eat modest...even snack healthy in between modest meals. Never let yourself get too hungry...if you do, you'll be more likely to over-eat or eat improperly. Regular, healthy, modest (but appropriate) food intake is very important.

 

[cewtwo]

Water, exercise and the proper food.

I was assigned a reading list to understand food better. The list included The South Beach Diet (good fats/bad fats, good carbs/bad carbs), glycemic index books (the need to reduce processed foods and why), and general nutrition books to understand how to balance meat (and meat types), legumes, grains, fruits and vegetables.

Learn what foods can be a problem for you. For instance, I like sweets. If I really like an approved dessert, I tend to not eat it so I am not tempting myself to eat too much of it. Whitman's makes a great sugar-free chocolate box. They taste great and are on my diet. I found them at Safeway at 1/2 price after Christmas but didn't buy any as I think that I like them too much and would be too tempted.

Get a support group among your friends and peers. If everyone is understanding, then they will be able to know when you don't indulge like they are. Sometimes, for like a meeting at a restaraunt, I walk around the building when the food is served (ostensibly for a cell phone call). When I rejoin the group, everyone has started eating and the edge is off.

I use podcasts to keep my mind focused during exercise. Topics very from comedy to exercise to dieting and nutrition to technical to comedy. that has been the difference. I can tolerate the exercise now and I have always found dull and boring before.

Mostly? Push your food away when you are full and exercise.

It is a learning and a balancing experience.

 

[cewtwo]

Oh yeah. Dinner at a reasonable time and no after dinner snacking.

I work the swing shift, so dinner is always close to bedtime anyway, but I had always snacked after dinner.

I try to plan my dinner for a good, tasty calorie load that will promote a feeling of fullness so I won't feel the need to snack afterward.

Breakfast needs to be a filling meal to get your metabolism going. I tend to eat 5 smaller meals a day. Basically a snack between breakfast and lunch and one between lunch and dinner (mostly fruit or a low fat low sugar trail mix).

 

[Sparky-Watts]

I tend to eat 5 smaller meals a day. Basically a snack between breakfast and lunch and one between lunch and dinner (mostly fruit or a low fat low sugar trail mix).

I've got a friend that was on the "5 A Day" diet. He could basically eat anything he wanted on the three main meals, and healthy snacks in between. The problem with a lot of people's bodies is that when dieting, the body thinks it is starving, so it actually packs away as much of the fats and stuff as it can. When eating 5 times a day, your body thinks it is getting plenty, so it doesn't pack it away and burns or excretes more of it. He lost over 190 lbs in 2 years this way, and looks and feels like a new man!! I hadn't seen him for about 6 months when he first started the diet, and hardly recognized him because he looked so much slimmer and healthier.

 

[Sparky-Watts]

Okay, that's fair...but I didn't mean the water thing quite so literally and I certainly didn't intend to imply foregoing food for water for any period of time.

Oh, ok....that makes more sense. Whew!!:redface:

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

I'll vote for Ants' diet :shock:

 

[judge09]

I'll vote for Ants' diet :shock:

Now if I could only find a good personal trainer :lol:

 

[OutOfStep]

I usually rotate diets, this is the one I'm on currently

http://www.arjenroos.com/beer/diet.htm

 

[TwistedCU]

One thing people almost always leave out of the dieting plan is...

SLEEP!

Sleep has a huge influence on your metabolism. Not enough or too much sleep can cause weight gain.

The formula to proper weight is:
Excercise regularly, get enough (but not too much) sleep, and don't over-eat.

Every time I begin to show signs of weight gain, I find one of these three things are in need of fixing. I may eat healthy one day, or a cheese steak with fried onions, french fries and a Coke the next. What you eat is a much lower factor over how much you eat for maintaining a healthy weight.

If you need to alter what you eat for other health reasons like high colesterol levels then that's another story.

 

[hoss-42]

i know of somthing fun... or were you talking more on the lines of somting to eat when your hungry??

That's low calorie to isn't ? I mean the Sea Food Diet.......

 

[cewtwo]

Re: A holiday diet update!

Alright. Down 30 pounds and up to 3 miles a day.

I even went out and invested in running shoes...

 

[TwistedCU]

Re: A holiday diet update!

Alright. Down 30 pounds and up to 3 miles a day.

I even went out and invested in running shoes...

Rock on!

 

[judge09]

Re: A holiday diet update!

Alright. Down 30 pounds and up to 3 miles a day.

I even went out and invested in running shoes...

Damn thats awsome. I wish I had your ambition and drive for that.

 

[cewtwo]

Geez. It has been a long time since I posted here.

Thought I ought to give everyone an update.

At today's official weigh-in for this week, I am at 205.7 pounds. That is a total loss of 42 pounds since 11/29/2005.

I am still on the '5 a day' diet with an hour of exercise every day. I ran my 19 year old ProForm treadmill into the ground, so I had to buy a new one. I got a NordicTrack C2200 treadmill. What a difference 2 decades can make in technology. I run 4 miles 3 days each week, 5 miles 2 days each week and 3 miles the other two days. I also use the services of iFit and Push.TV for exercises and work out routines.

It works for Jeepin'. A month ago we ran Carnage Canyon up in Boulder county. On Fireman's Road above Carnage, there is a steep section. Four of us tried the run. 3 Jeeps and a heavily modified Custom Toyota on his maiden run. As I came down the steep, I got the feeling that the back end was going to pass the front end (overhead). We kept the rubber down and so did the Jeep behind us. The Toy came next. As I was talking to the guy in the second Jeep, I saw the Toy tip and land its top on a tree. Not thinking about it, I ran up the hill to assist. Effortless! I had to run up and down that hill a few times before we got the Toy back to a proper rubber down condition. The 3rd Jeep took the bypass (wise choice!)

When we were in Moab last month, I ran the trail to get lots of pictures and video. It is a good thing to be in shape!

Charlie

BTW... One of my set goals was to make a Doctor appointment when I reached 205, so I will be going to the Doctor next week...

Oh yeah... The Toy started right up and aside from a tree trunk dent in the roof and driver' window he was fine!

PPSS - I ended up buying a "Poison Spyder" rollcage for the Mighty YJ and am working on getting it weldled and painted between weekend runs...

 

[Special_K]

You da man!!

That is awesome. By now I suspect that you don't even have to watch every calorie (within reason). Feels good doesn't it?

Congrats...and as usual, keep it up. urple:

 

[cewtwo]

I know that this is an old thread, but here are the most recent results.

I weigh 195 pounds now. That means that I have lost 52 pounds total so far. I still run from 3 to 6 miles everyday.

Went to Moab last weekend. While the Jeep group that I was with were driving the trails, I was running!

I ran on Fins & Things, Hell's Revenge, Cliff hanger and Poison Spider mesa. It's a great combination. I can run ahead of the group and stop at "Kodak Moment" opportunities.

I do feel a lot better than I used to. That's for sure!

Charlie

From the Cliff Hanger trailhead...

 

[TwistedCU]

That's great man! Now you just have to watch out for those all-U-can-eat buffett trips while out on trail runs!

 

[cewtwo]

Finally! (actually a while ago)

I am at 190 pounds. Stabilized. Still on a diet. Bike riding and lots of running - About 5 miles per day.

Thank you everyone here for your support!

Charlie White (cewtwo)

 

[dropseys]

congrats. Great job and keep up the good work. Wish I had the ability to do that right now, just waiting to be able to walk again. ugghh.