I excerise, but my eating habits are preventing weight loss. Any suggestions?

Question

I am quite overweight (240 at 5'9). For a while now, I am having an active lifestyle, burning about 500-700 calories a day (or at least I hope it is, hehe, I walk a lot, and lift weights, with some occasional aerobic exercises). But the problem is what I eat.

I have a green tooth, and enjoy salads and stuff. But I also drink sodas (regular), eat pizza and chinese food a lot. Not to mention, Taco Bell is a favorite place for me.

I do try, like subsituting soda for flavored water, or having soup to fill me up with chinese food, but it isn't enough.

Any suggestions? I'm not a picky eater or anything.

Answer 1

It sounds like you are off to a great start. Adapting an active lifestyle is the bigger half of the battle.

If you're active, it would be ok to indulge in a few "bad" foods once in a while. Obviously, as you already know, portion control is everything. A few changes you can make to help yourself even more...1. In an asian restaurant, order off the menu instead of eating the buffet. Also, read up about MSG and what it does to your appetite. Some of those foods are designed to create hunger. 2. Allow yourself only 2 trips to a fast food restaurant a week to reward yourself for excercising 3. Commit to a plan where you do not eat after 7 pm. Period. 4. Try to eat your heavier meals earlier in the day and taper off with your eating so that Breakfast is your heaviest and dinner is your lightest. A good solid breakfast with lots of protein will stave off cravings for sugars and fats later in the day. The night eating is what's killing you. 5. A good trick I do when eating pizza is to substitute sliced green olives instead of pepperoni. It is just as salty and much better for you! You can also make sure you get thin crust, or atleast go to a place that offers whole wheat crusts....or learn to make your own! You can make VERY healthy pizza right in your own home.

note: Diet soda is NEVER the answer. One person said it would help if you switched...they have their "lesser evils" confused! Anything that is artificially sweetened is 10 times sweeter than it's sugar sweetened counterpart, thus creating more sugar cravings for later in the day. Not to mention how unhealthy it is to begin with.

Answer 2

First off flavored water usually has sugar try to get no sugar added. It is some what difficult but you either change to diet soda or stop drinking it. It will take a few days to stop either way. Taco bell salads are OK but not the other stuff. Fattening! For get the pizza two slices have over 1500 Cal's. No Kidding!!!! If you cannot eat healthy you are defeating the purpose of exercising it is not just to get in shape it is also to be healthy. You have to watch out when eating Chinese because of salt. You need to talk to a nutritionist. Try eating plenty of greens and lean meats. limit the fruit because of natural sugars at least until you reach your goal. Berries of any kind are ok. stay away from breads and ketcup because it is high in sugar same for tomatoes and onions. If you like seafood that will help alot. no pastas heavy sauces. try that for a while and see what happens. Or try low carb.

Answer 3

Salads and stuff are really good for you, it's what you put ON the salad that will get you in trouble. Like.....use as little salad dressing as you can stand (or lite dressing, if you can stand the taste), don't put bacon bits on, etc. Also, you could try diet pop, if it doesn't bother you. Yeah, that's a lot of sodium, BUT it's no calories. One thing that worked for me and the girls in my apartment is to simply keep a journal of how many calories were in what you ate. Once you have a good idea of what a "normal" day is, start cutting back on calories. It worked for us. Between the three of us, we've lost 50 pounds in the last 6 weeks.

Answer 4

I would definitely change your eating habits. Try looking for some weight loss plans on the net. To give you some ideas. Take a look at the link below. It works!!

Answer 5

Complete your eating three hours before your bedtime

Answer 6

turn dinner into a healthy lunch the next day by wrapping your lean leftovers in a whole wheat wrap add a little dijon mustard or curry powder for added flavor

Answer 7

To know how much calories you have to eat just add zero to your weight

Answer 8

okay so this is how i lost weight: i ate when i was hungry and stopped when i wasn't. not when i was full but when i wasn't hungry. i also avoided snacking unless i was truely hungry. by doing this i lost around 15 lbs and i ate whatever i wanted. just in smaller quantities.

Answer 9

save the kitchen and the dining room table for cooking and eating try not to use it as a place to do work or other activities or you may be tempted to eat more

Answer 10

try a plain greek yogurt with frozen berries for a pre workout boost