A
female
age
36-40,
anonymous
writes:I'm very uncomfortable with my body, my bf however loves it. He says he loves the curves. But, I'd like to find a good medium...lose some weight and get fitter w/o losing some curves :) So I thought ok, let me lose 20 pounds. I've done research but honestly, some diet plans look like total bs and I don't want to be deceived... I mean cmon, the cabbage diet? :p I work a lot and don't have too much time to work out...can someone please give me some good tips that helped them reach their goal? Anything will help! Thanks in advance! Reply to this Question
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reader, anonymous, writes (24 August 2010): This is verified as being by the original poster of the questionI wrote down every piece of advice! Thank you all for taking the time to help out! I hope to reach my ideal weight in two months, my 5yr old little sister got very excited when I told her we'd be going to the park more :p
A
female
reader, tennisstar88 +, writes (24 August 2010):
 Besides the basic diet and exercise..which does work but it's the maintaining part, and discipline that's key. I've got curves, hate to exercise and love junk food. Some fat is good but in moderation. Cabbage diet or I knew a girl that did the steamed veggie diet but then she got burned out on it. You can slowly introduce more veggies and add salad to your dinner. Don't cut out carbs completely a little is still good. I found that eating a lot of cottage cheese helps lose those inches around the waste. As far as diet pills go, Hydroxy cut isn't too bad, my friend lost weight off that, any of those powdered ones don't work, don't do Alli that will give you the orange greasy poops, you spend more time on the toilet than anywhere else, protein diet bars aren't that filling and they are more for building muscle, Slim fast products are a way of starving yourself, and you tire of it quickly. I would do diet and exercise 45 minutes of cardio at least 3 times a week and go to GNC and get a diet pill to help aid your weight loss.
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female
reader, SirenaBlusera  +, writes (24 August 2010):
 You must exercise and eat properly. My trainer at the gym gave me a very important piece of advice... that eating is 90% of weight loss. If you don't eat healthy, it's not gonna work!
Fruits, vegetables, chicken... and drink loads of water. Just don't starve yourself.
You have to excercise too. Aim for an hour or more of cardio. Lifting weights increases the metabolism because you develop more more muscle mass. Muscle mass=faster metabolism.
It's a matter of physics... calories out vs. calories in. If you're burning more than you're consuming, then something is gonna go.
Good luck, and hope this helps...
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female
reader, Dazed~Confused  +, writes (24 August 2010):
 Exercise, exercise, exercise and portion control.
You need to do Cardio and weights in order to really see any difference. Muscle burns 3 times as many calories. Also, if you lose a lot of weight, there are issues with skin being lose. Muscle is the foundation for that skin, the more you have the tighter your skin will be; it has something to anchor too other than fat.
Also, you need to do vigorous exercise. Moderate exercise actually stimulates your appetite...so you will end up eating more after you workout which defeats the purpose.
Vigorous exercise suppresses the appetite. So, you want to be dripping sweat when you finish your workout, whether it is lifting weights or cardio.
Also, drink lots of water. Often when you feel hungry you are actually dehydrated. So when you start to feel hungry drink a glass of water and wait 20 mins. If you don't get the hunger pangs anymore, you're good to go. If you still feel hungry have a healthy snack, but you will eat less b/c you already have water in your tummy.
Stay away from things with artificial sweeteners or too much sugar as both cause bloating and water retention.
Protein is important, especially if you are doing weights, but too much, like anything else will cause you gain weight.
You might also want to determine what your body type is (endomorph, mesomorph, ectomorph). You can find this easily on the web, along with guidelines that will help you lose weight. Some body types benefit from more weight training and less cardio, or vice versa.
Good luck!
D&C
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female
reader, anonymous, writes (24 August 2010): Yeah I agree the cabbage diet is nonsense. It's not sustainable and as soon as you start eating normally again the weight will come back as you've been starving yourself.
Even if you can't exercise much you can still lose weight. This will mean changing your diet but not going crazy. It's pretty simple if you substitute things rather than cutting them out. For example:
Drink more water and cut out sugary drinks. Sugar free fizzy drinks are ok but they are not good for you and can be bad for your bones if you drink lots of them. Weak cordial is fine as well, sugar free. But water is best. You should have 2 litres a day. This will also help fill you up.
Cut back on alcohol (if you drink it). Have sugar free mixers.
Make sure you eat at least 5 portions of fruit and veg a day.
Drink skimmed milk not full fat.
Switch to complex carbs rather than simple or processed ones. So, try brown rice, brown pasta, brown bread, that sort of thing. Anything labelled wholegrain is good.
Lean meat is full of protein and excellent for a main meal. Fish is also very good and nutritious.
Cut out butter on bread.
Depending on how much you work, you only need to do a small amount of exercise to kick start your metabolism. 20 minutes running a day will be fine.
Don't starve yourself but cut back on fatty and sugary foods. You will soon get used to it. Don't deny yourself the odd treat but make it a treat and not a habit. You'll soon notice the differece; 20lb isn't much to lose either so I'm sure you see results.
Nb. To lose 1lb of weight you need to eat 3500 cals fewer or use up 3500 extra cals. This will give you an idea of how you need to adjust your diet in a sensible way to start losing weight. Good luck.
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female
reader, Tisha-1 +, writes (24 August 2010):
 Move more, eat less. Pretty basic. Park further from the store or your office and walk more steps. Don't use the elevators or escalators anymore, take the stairs. Do pushups on your kitchen counter when you are waiting for something in the microwave (keep your feet on the floor, natch). Drink a big glass of water before each meal (just saw that on the morning news) to feel full.
If you have a smartphone there's an eye-opening app (free) called "Lose It!" that helps track your calories in and calories burned. VERY eye-opening.
Don't sit and watch TV, do some simple workout moves.
Get up a half hour earlier and go for a really brisk walk, on hills.
Sign up for a charity walk or race. That can be highly motivating. Get a girlfriend to walk/run with you. (Obviously, see your doctor to make sure you are okay to walk or run.)
If you take half and half or cream in your coffee, stop.
Don't drink nutritionally empty calories in sweetened sodas. Complete waste of calories, as far as I'm concerned.
Cut out potatoes and rice and plain pasta, add whole grains like bulgur, wheatberries, wild rice, wholewheat pasta. Eat more veggies.
Do not eat at fast food places--horrifyingly high in calories, fat and sodium. Pack a lunch if this is a problem for you.
Move more, eat less. Worked for me! I lost 40 lbs, eating less and walking.
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reader, anonymous, writes (24 August 2010): Hello. I can tell you first hands diets do not work. I am a male, and when I first got married I was in excellent shape, and over the years i let myself go to hell. I went from 180 LBS to 258 LBS over the last 12 years. I found myself tired all the time, all kinds of body aches and pains, and just a general feeling of not being well. Also I developed hypertension. I have kids and my wife was not to pleased with my weight, so finally i decided to do something.
At first I tried to cut my meals in half, but all that happened was that I felt sick all the time as my body rebelled. Than I took a different approach. What I would do was to cut just 1 thing out of each meal every month. For example if I ate 3 breads I would cut just one out a month, and also I stayed away from second helpings. Because it was not a shock on my body, i would adjust pretty fast and by next month I could cut out one other thing.
The next thing I started doing was walking every day at least 2 miles, very religously. At first it was hard, but as I saw the pounds drop it became addictive. I started loosing steadily 1 LBS a week, sometimes 2 if i increased my activities. Now I am down to 200 LBS, I look good, and I feel great. I am not tired all the time anymore, most of my aches and pains are gone, and my wife loves it. I should hopefully be down to my former weight in about 3 to 6 months. I hope this helps
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male
reader, dirtball +, writes (24 August 2010):
 Most likely you don't have the healthiest eating habits. Changing how you eat and portion size can make a big difference.
Do you eat breakfast? When? When do you eat dinner? When do you go to bed?
Honestly, you can lose weight and still eat 5 times a day. Eat a big breakfast. You can pretty much eat whatever you want for breakfast because you'll use those calories to fuel yourself through the day. Have a small snack between breakfast and lunch, something like a granola bar. Eat a healthy and filling lunch. Another small snack and then a smaller dinner. Make sure you eat dinner at least 2 hours before you go to bed. Another thing you can do is drink only water. Soda and other flavored beverages are full of empty calories.
The reason this works is that once your body adjusts, it helps your body metabolize the food that it is taking in. It never stops metabolizing those calories. Often people will try starving themselves, cutting out meals and such. This causes your body to hoard the fats it takes in because it doesn't know when it will get more fuel. Hope this helps.
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