I need to lose 20 lbs in three months

Hey Panda,

I'm a vegetarian, so I don't think my diet would offer much insight for you. This TV show might:



<a href="http://www.bbcamerica.com/content/273/healthy_quiz.jsp">You are What You Eat</a>



The show's website includes healthy tips, recipes and the ubiquitous quiz. It's a kick to watch, she is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPZhEbLiQck&feature=related">snarktastic and doesn't mince words.</a>
 
[quote author="PANDA" date=1216020450]I'm curious to see what your daily diet is for some of you thin people. Would someone care to share what you eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday? I told my wife today that I am planning going on a new diet of intaking only 1000 calories daily, she laughed telling me "Good Luck" :)</blockquote>


A guy your size and height should not be eating 1000 calories a day. Me, maybe...I'm short and female but it's not sustainable. You will for sure go into starvation mode and you'll be miserable to boot.



CUT 1000 calories a day via diet and/or exercise to lose 2 lbs per week. A pound of body fat = 3500 calories. 2 lbs = 7000 calories = 1000 per day each week.
 
Panda,



1000 calories/day will be VERY painful. Instead of starving yourself, I recommend you spending 45-60 min a day exercising. Start lifting weights and running. 1 mile/day for 6 days a week (pick a rest day) + moderate weight training, should get you to lose 10-15 in 3-6 months. If the progress is too slow, get a physical trainer.



I got a trainer named Peter. The guy is brutal. He makes me ride hundreds of miles every week and do repeats on ridiculous hills. :p
 
Panda,

My experience has been this. About 3 months ago, I was 183lbs. I'm 5'11" and when I did my physical, my cholesterol was high, my sugar levels were borderline high (father died of diabetes, mother has diabestes...), my blood pressure was high also. I immediately started on a lower carb diet as well as no cokes/heavy processed sugars. On top of that I started doing 1 hr of cardio in the morning and of course more ballroom dancing in the evening (2-3 hrs). Within 2 months I went down to 163lbs with alot more stamina and muscle.



Its just the simple things that work well.

good luck

-bix
 
Slim people are mostly non dieters.



My daughter can eat anything and is 38 and is still slim.



She had a college roomie who was short and plump. When they went grocery shopping

her cart was full and she ate it all.



The roomies cart was not and she never lost weight.



French people are seemingly all slim and they don't diet. They walk and

they eat rich food.



Nature plays a part in this and tho eating a lot of junk will make you

fat fighting nature can make things worse.



Please don't go on an ultra low calorie diet.
 
Panda - From your post, I think you know what the problem is. Just stick to it and you should be losing 3-4 lbs a week easily...to reiterate what you wrote.

Do your exercise, 45 mins in the morning, Stop eating noodles at night, Sweets.



To add to this...



- 45 mins in the morning, 45 mins at night (when you exercise, sometimes you arent hungry afterwards)

- Eat whatever you want to eat, I dont think you are discipline enough to keep to a proper foods diet yet. Eat at night if you want to, but Just cut your portions in HALF!

Sometimes you think you have to eat more, but wait ten minutes and you wont feel the urge to. You will not see results otherwise...

- Try to spend more time outside, walk at night with the wife and you'll see when you get home, you wont want to eat.



On Skinny people, they are very active, not necessarily in the gym, but if you observe them, they are always moving around doing something...

You probably sit on your butt and work on the computer all day long...
 
if you have the will power... Go Vegan (or at least as close as possible)

Eat all the fruits and vegies you want excersise and you will lose the weight.
 
Panda



Most people focus on a net weight loss/gain when evaluating progress. This method usually leads to failure in the long run due to the goal of hitting a number, like 150lbs. The better way to evaluate your progress is to measure the change in body fat composition. (I am assuming that you are trying to just lose fat and not alter your body structure.)



Most people have hit on the points you need to focus on to lose weight, resistance training, 5-6 smaller meals per day, limiting carbs to less-processed ones, and a net negative balance on caloric intake versus caloric burn. Dropping weight or adding (yes there are people who want to do this) weight is actually very simple when you have a plan and the discipline to stick to it. Most people lose the discipline when they do not see progress (weight lose in lbs).



If you are serious about this I would suggest having a hydrostatic body composition (I think this is the most accurate one. Calipers are very inaccurate and so is bio-impedance) test run to measure your baseline %, resting metabolic rate and most tests will also give you a report outlining your goal % and set the daily caloric levels you need along with the amount of calories you will burn during certain events. I would suggest doing test every 4-6 weeks depending how much of a control freak you are...I like 6 weeks.



As someone who has had to gain weight and then lose it as I have gotten older, I understand your frustration. There is no short cut and as someone touched on earlier this has to be a lifestyle change. You must be willing to maintain these lifestyle changes in order for you to keep your changed body structure.



A quick note on personal trainers...Most are completely uninformed, even the certified ones, and are a waste of your money. The signs of a good trainer are



Balances resistance training, cardio, flexibility and other activities tailored to your lifecycle (cycling, ply metrics, surfing, whatever) and adjusts the intensity as you progress

Creates a food plan with a sustainable approach for you

Gives equal weighting to the importance of health and appearance

Sets you up to reach your goal and maintain it without them...avoid the "drug dealer" trainers, the ones that convince you that you need to continue to use them to stay in shape

I am not in the training business, nor am I a workout freak, but I have had the chance to be trained by some of the best the NCAA has to offer and understand the method to the madness.



Good luck
 
Exercise, drink lots of water and as someone else said go to bed a little hungry. Most people don't do that last part and wonder why they don't lose weight. A late night snack can ruin a whole day's worth of eating healthy. It would be like living a frugal life on a daily basis on to buy an overpriced house at the height of a bubble... penny wise and pound foolish.
 
- It helps to keep a food log for EVERYTHING you eat



- Think of it as a life style change. If you limit yourself to 1000 cal/day you will just balloon back up as soon as you stop doing that (this is why most diets fail). You need to find a routine that is sustainable for the long term. This should be a combination of proper eating habits and exercise. I recommend group sports, biking, hiking ... something enjoyable that you will continue doing even after you've reached your goal.



- Cardio work can change your metabolic rate as well. Interval training can do wonders.



- Pumping iron will shape you, but won't burn as many calories as cardio. At the end of the day weight loss it's all about how many calories you've burned vs. caloric intake.
 
[quote author="biscuitninja" date=1216040676]Panda,

My experience has been this. About 3 months ago, I was 183lbs. I'm 5'11" and when I did my physical, my cholesterol was high, my sugar levels were borderline high (father died of diabetes, mother has diabestes...), my blood pressure was high also. I immediately started on a lower carb diet as well as no cokes/heavy processed sugars. On top of that I started doing 1 hr of cardio in the morning and of course more ballroom dancing in the evening (2-3 hrs). Within 2 months I went down to 163lbs with alot more stamina and muscle.



Its just the simple things that work well.

good luck

-bix</blockquote>


Thanks Bix,



I guess there is hope for the Poor Fat Panda,



These are some things I am going to change immediately: No more regular trips to Starbucks and McDonalds for creamy coffee. I will only drink water and Korean tea "Bo Ri Cha" Continue to work out 45 minutes in morning and jog 2-3 miles in the evening. Throw away all of the Neguru and Shin Ramen noodles and all the Junk Snacks in the house. Eat more vegetable and fruits. Have the biggest meal for breakfast, moderate lunch, and smaller portion dinner. I also hear that if you drink a lot of water you can lose the weight.



I am determined to be go from a FAT Panda to a Nice THIN Panda where I can wear around my '30 Waist Size' True Religion Jeans.



Thanks everyone! :)
 
I love you Panda. But I wanna go on record predicting your plan will, long term, not work.



Please, Panda, just stick with moderation and balance. It's so much better for you in the long run. It will take longer, for sure, to take weight off that way, but it is 10x more likely to stay off.



Also, I heard a great quote once "You are not supposed to fit your clothes, your clothes are supposed to fit YOU." If you're already running 45 minutes a days I would guess you are already healthier and in better shape than a lot of "thin" people out there. Think about setting a fitness goal and not a pants-size goal.
 
Panda is supposed to be a bit chubby ;)





Anyhow, I lost 23 pound in about 6 months. It was an unintended side effect of being sick. But it allowed me to re-exam my eating pattern, which I permanently changed. As a result, I kept the weight off for over 3 years. The key is to have a pemanent change in lifestyle. Don't treat the process as a "diet" where you intend to go off of after the weight loss (and go back to your late night ramen). Eat smaller meals and eat 5 to 6 times a day. Never starve yourself and eat smart (a lot of people touched on this already so I won't repeat myself). In summary, reduce your intake of sugar, processed food, and saturated fat.
 
[quote author="lawyerliz" date=1216014428]you couldn't lose weight while breast feeding?



Lordy.



That was when I was at my skinniest. I could eat

anything.



Oatmeal is very good for you of course. Lots of fiber.

Yeah oatmeal!!</blockquote>


For my first kid, this was totally true. I could and did eat everything and anything, but the pounds kept falling off. I lost all my pregnancy weight plus an additional 15 pounds. I went down to a size 0. My husband was overjoyed.



This time round, second kid does not eat as much as the first. Plus, the last time I was pumping extra to donate my milk, and I elected not to do that this time round. I'm just too tired. :p
 
[quote author="tenmagnet" date=1216166858]Why True Religion jeans?

Diesel, Antik, and 7 are all very good brands.</blockquote>


There really is a jeans brand called "True Religion Jeans"? I thought it was some kind of joke between you and Graph. The only jeans Panda likes to wear is CK and Levis.
 
OMG! Ten and Graph are not JOKING around? There really is a jeans brand called "True Religion Jeans". I thought it was some IHB Joke.



http://www.truereligionbrandjeans.com/



$179 for a pair of Jeans? Are they CRazy? The most Panda would ever pay for a luxury pair of jeans is $40 (Banana Republic Jeans)
 
There is ONLY one jean... Levi's. There used to be the North American Plant in El Paso texas. You could get HIGH quality stuff for dirt cheap.

-bix
 
[quote author="biscuitninja" date=1216176308]There is ONLY one jean... Levi's. There used to be the North American Plant in El Paso texas. You could get HIGH quality stuff for dirt cheap.

-bix</blockquote>


yea... but try finding a pair of "jeans" that are actually made of jean material not the stretchy jean stuff.
 
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