what is the best way to loose 100-150lbs and keep it off?

Question

I need to really pull off at least 150 lbs for my health but I want to do it right. I am trying to avoid surgery. my blood pressure is low and my chlorestoral is good. I just weigh 374.

Answer 1

First, for all of the "quick and easy" weight loss diet pill suggestions, remember, if something sounds too good to be true... it probably is, particularly if you have to pay for it.


On Yahoo!Answers I find certain questions being asked repeatedly which is simply a reflection of new people participating. A couple of common questions amount to "How do I lose weight," or more specifically, "How do I lose abdominal fat?" I have gotten very positive responses from my answers when I paused to reply (and now beginning to get "It works!" emails that are very gratifying. I like helping people)... so have recently decided to put a good solid answer on my Yahoo!360 Blog (September 10) that I can point people to. These are my thoughts as a physician and athlete.

Don't target losing more than about 2 lbs per week. If you try to lose faster, your body will go into "starvation mode" and get very stingy about burning calories while at the same time very efficient about storing any calories that you do provide. And it will make you feel awful.

There is no site specific way of losing fat... the old myth about working your abs to burn belly fat isn't true. To get rid of love handles, you need to lose overall fat. That happens with exercise and watching your diet. More on that below.

The most effective way to lose fat is aerobic exercise in the "moderate" fat-burning range, ideally first thing in the morning before you eat. When you wake your body is ready to burn fat and your levels of growth hormone are highest at that time. Later in the day it can take up to 30 minutes just to put your body into a fat-burning mode.

Another overlooked way to burn fat is by lifting weights. Skeletal muscle has very high caloric needs... almost twice that of adipose (fat) tissue. Put on a little muscle and you will burn calories all day even at rest. Be aware that skeletal muscle weighs more, so with this approach you may see your weight increasing while your body fat is melting away. Not realizing this often stresses folks who think they should be losing weight as a measure of fitness. Forget the scale, look in the mirror and you will be happy.

To lose a pound of fat, you need to eliminate about 3500 calories. You can do this by burning more with exercise or by modifying your diet to reduce intake. If you do a Google search on say, "swimming calories" you will quickly find a website with tables of calories burned for a given exercise. You can use such lists to estimate how many calories you are burning up with your routine.

For diet, keep a diary for a couple of weeks counting calories, grams of protein, and grams of fat intake. It is easy with online sources of nutritional information (type the name of the food and calories into the Google search engine) and packaging labels. That will let you quickly figure out where the fat is coming from in your diet.

Fat gives you 9 calories per gram. So take the number of grams of fat, multiply by 9, then calculate what percentage the fat calories are of your total daily calories. Restricting the calories from fat to about 20% of your total intake is ideal for a maintenance diet... that isn't overly restrictive. Of note, you need some fat in your diet. For instance, the body uses fat to produce hormones. Once you have a picture of how to modify your diet, you can drop the diary and just go back to it occasionally if you are wanting to tweek things further.

There is a subset of questions that goes further and asks about "How to get a six-pack?" The answer is the same. Six-packs are 20% abdominal exercise and 80% diet. There is one caveat... abdominal muscles will form in the position that you work them, so be certain to pull them tightly toward your spine while doing crunches, etc. Also, during most lifting, the "core is active" which means that you should be stabilizing with contracted abs then too. Fail to do this and the abs will form, but bulging outward and the result is not attractive.

If you are trying to build muscle as a way to lose fat, then you may need to increase total calories and specifically your protein intake. I target about 0.8 g of protein per pound of body weight each day when actively building. That is far more protein than most people need in their diets.


Aloha

Answer 2

walk quickly, every day, only as far as you feel you can handle. 20 minutes everyday of an aerobic type of exercise is really good too. making your heart strong is the factor in the beginning steps. once you arent winded and feel you can step it up, start going to the gym (you will also be in a better routine) 3-4 times a week for 45 minutes. do small weights with slow repetitions, walk the treadmill, etc. Then once your strength is up, get into a weekly or more class where there is an instructor. Maintain a healthy diet (which you should ask your doctor about). They can give you a plan, recipes, and calorie count to make sure you are getting everything your body needs. 5 pounds a month is a lot to lose to keep it off. you might shed more though in the first few months, then it will get harder. but dont be discouraged. at least you are doing something to be healthier.

Answer 3

My wife weighed 325 pounds and had gastric bypass surgery. She lost 80 popunds within the first 3 months and and promptly died from a heart attack. Up until then, she was in good health. The doctors said the strain on the heart muscle from the extra weight was just too much. So much for good health.
If surgery is out, then a rigerous diet and exercise plan is the only real option. Join a gym or, if money is a problem, begin walking daily, cut out the starches and sugars and get a buddy to help. Preferably someone also overweight and do it together. A support system like that works best.

Answer 4

Start smoking and washing down diet pills with Red Bull... OK, that will work, but it will put you in an early grave. Try this instead:
-Eat less fat and sugar and drink more water (always order water and skip dessert).
-If possible, eat 5-6 smaller meals instead of 3 larger ones (this is difficult, but will raise your metabolism).
-Do 20+ minutes of cardio before breakfast most mornings (anything that will raise your heart rate will do, like fast walking).
-Work out with weights 3 times a week (if you can't afford a gym membership, just buy some dumbbells).
-Get 6-8 hours of sleep every night (preferably 8).
-Start drinking green tea and taking a multi-vitamin every day (recent scientific research suggests that green tea has potent fat-burning properties).
-Be consistent! Most people don't have the time or self-control to really get in shape and lose weight. Good luck.

Answer 5

The best, most healthful way to lose any amount of weight is through a lifestyle change that includes regular exercise and a healthy diet that contains all the food groups (but in proper portions). Trying to follow diets that ban certain foods tend to result in putting the weight back on, once you stop doing them. Eat the foods you like, add the ones you need, use a scale to measure food portions, and one to weigh yourself daily. Take up walking as an exercises. Once you start to lose weight, and feel stronger, you might want to bump up the fat burning with jogging or aerobics.

Answer 6

Have a friend that is slim and healthy help purge your kitchen. That is the first step. If you are serious you can do it yourself. But you have to be strong and have a place to donate all your junk food maybe a food bank or a soup kitchen.

NO JUNK FOOD, NO SWEETS, EXCEPT FRUIT. No fried foods, no starches. No sodas or sweet drinks. Drink water only. No fast food, until you get your eating under control do not go near a fast food eatery. Once you get under control you can get the healthy items like salads or yogurt and fruit. But it is best to just stay away.

Eat lean meat, veggies, fruits, lots of water every day. Eat three light meals, keep them small, have a fruit snack between meals. Stop eating by 7:pm.



Reading labels in mandatory. This is just a start.
GOOD LUCK!!

Answer 7

You might think about trying this book called "The Movie Star Diet" by Steve Simmons. It helped me lose thirty pounds in 2 1/2 months when I didn't think anything would work. My goal to begin with was only 20 lbs! It has a really easy plan to follow and an excellent workout to use as well. But with that goal, keep in mind that it will take time and long term dedication. I have no doubt that you can do it, though. Good luck!

Answer 8

Eating better and exercising regularly are the best way. You don't have to give up ice cream and chocolate if you eat those frequently, but you should cut back on them considerably. Ice cream should constitute an after-dinner treat, not a second meal in itself.

Instead, eat things that are actually filling, and yet are not greasy and fattening. Cut back on fried foods, and try to eat a more balanced diet, and eat at least twice a day. Determination, discipline, and realism are the way to get down to a normal, healthy weight.

Answer 9

1. Exercise, even a little light walking can start helping.
2. QUIT drinking soda of any sort, especially diet stuff.
3. Drink lots of water.
4. Go cold turkey on any food that comes from a drive thru.
5. Shrink your meat portions and increase your salad and vegetable and fruit portions.
6. if you feel like a snack, drink a glass of water and eat an apple and or a dry cracker biscuit.

Answer 10

As long as you are fit and healthy, do the cabbage soup diet (search for it on google). You will lose 1 stone in one week. It's also a very good detox. I did it over a year ago and never put the weight back on. I believe it's actually given out by hospitals for anyone who has to lose weight before surgery. Take a good vitamin pill while you're on it though.


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Answer 11

You need to change your lifestyle and overcome a few bad habits you might have. Remember, habits are not inherited, they are developed and you can undevelope them. It's going to take some effort on your part with exercise and diet. Here is a formula for you
Happiness = effort
Sadness = laziness.

Good luck.