I want to go on a diet and i'm not sure which one to go on. Help!?

Question

I need to lose about 10-15 pounds

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

Really diets are not the answer. It's a lifestyle change that will give you results. Eat healthier meals. Aim for 5-6 small meals a day for a total of 1500 calories. Smaller portions, no seconds. You should also get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. Even if it is just walking. Drink plenty of water throughout the day as well. You should try to lose only 2-3 pounds a week - any more than that and it's likely to come right back.

Answer 3

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.

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. It's really just simple math: burn more calories than you are taking in. Try this (diet alone won't cut it):
-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 will raise your metabolism).
-Do 20+ minutes of cardio before breakfast most mornings (anything that will raise your heart rate will do).
-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

Lately, I had been looking to devour extra end result and veggies. The wrestle begins on the retailer. You ought to truthfully BUY the end result and veggies. More over, DON'T purchase the matters that you're going to seem within the cabinet and devour alternatively of end result and veggies, like Doritos and Chips Ahoy cookies. Next, I attempt to make certain that dinner comes with two non-starch veggies. Usually, a small salad and some thing else, like corn or inexperienced beans or brocolli. I attempt to devour fruit as snacks. Our fridge has a drawer for end result and veggies... but if I placed stuff in there, I fail to remember approximately it and it sits for two weeks after which liquifies and will get thrown out. So, alternatively, whilst I get fruit, I wash it and placed it in a bowl, correct on most sensible within the entrance of our fridge and a few out at the counter, repeatedly, too. This method, it's the first choice I see, now not the choice that I fail to remember approximately.

Answer 6

This diet is awesome. I lost 25 pounds in about 3 weeks. Couldn't beat it with any other diet out there.

Answer 7

I'm a Zone fan. Not only can it be used for weight loss but after you are down to your target weight it is a good maintenance program. And, unlike many diet suggestions, the Zone (the original Barry Sears Zone, not sure about the knockoffs) has scientific evidence behind it.

Answer 8

You should consult with your doctor before going on any sort of diet. Chances are with many you will lose the weight of a bit and then gain it all back, if not more.

Try adding some extra exercise to your routine, that should help a lot.

Answer 9

Ask your doctor and consider an "outer ring of the grocery store" diet. low fat dairy, fresh fruits & veggies, fresh lean meats. no fast food, water instead of soda, no processed foods. if you're slightly overweight, and are moderatly active, eating right and in appropriate portions should have you losing weight slowly (slow - 1 to 2 lbs a week is what's normally considered safe)

Answer 10

Include veggies and fruits in your meals, Cut down on carbohydrates. Avoid drinking carbonated softdrinks. A balanced diet with extra physical workout can do wonders to your waistline. If you are too busy, then a 15 minute brisk walking everyday can do the trick.

Answer 11

while on vacation also don t forget your diet and exercise plans