What are some important things to look at when eating to lose weight?

Question

I know that when losing weight, eating right and excercise pretty much go hand in hand. What are important things I need to know about eating healthy? What should I eat more of? How should I portion out my meals? Do the times I eat matter? Different things like that. These questions are some examples of things I want to know. Please feel free to give as much info as you see necessary.

Answer 1

Above all, do not lose it too fast! I know that's a bummer, but I've been there. Doing so is unhealthy and too often rebounds in wt gain.

Don't go on a diet; change the way you eat, permanently. Another bummer, but you do not only get used to healthy, low-fat, low-caolorie foods, you actually get to like them. It takes awhile (a month for me) but it's so great liking, even craving healthy food!

If you feel a hard craving for something you shouldn't eat, it's better to give yourself a small treat rather than end up splurging.

In a National Geographic article a few yrs ago I read of how much and how fast we have increased our portions--the amount we eat. If you can, look at a picture of a fast-food hamburger, fries, soft drink or whatever. The diference is staggering!

Give up fast foods. Carry something with you to eat.

It may not be a good idea to look at the scales too often. It's not only disheartning & discouraging, but also misleading. Go by how your clothes fit, how they begin to feel just a bit loose.

Eat *fresh* veggies! They lose a great deal each day after they're picked. I get mine from a local famers' market I trust. If not fresh, at least frozen--not canned.

Look at labels, carefully. It's amazing--the sugar (& salt) that's put into food!

Beware of sugar disgused as "glucose" and other names.

Check the amount of fat, salt, and sugar in eerything you buy.

Use herbs instead of salt. You may want to ease into this. I had to. I began by using less salt and combining it with herbs, decreasing the amount of salt more and more as I found the herbs palatable,then delicious.

Eat often and eat small portions. This is healthier anyway, and it helps keep you satisfied in appetitie and in feeling your tummy's full.

Eat plenty of fiber. But get used to it slowly or *ouch.* The only real bran cereal I've ever found is All-Bran --the one that has large rolls. The other cereals I've tried all had sugar and fat.
Citrucel and Metamucil drinks are easy.
A great thing about fiber is that it makes you full, besides being healthy in regulating the amount of water in your colon.

Avoid processed foods! Not all are unhealthy, but most less than desirable. Since world hunger has been largely replaced with world malnutrition, and most of our foods are processed beyond redemption, robbing them of nutrients as well as flavor, this can be a real pain in the @sterisk.
Nothing can replace good home cooked meals. If you can't find the time to cook, perhaps a friend or relative would help you.

Get friendly symbiotic bacteria. Yogurt, low or no- fat is yummy. Friendly bacteria also use any fiber you don't digest to make little chains of fatty acids.


Calculate your BMI.
Drink plenty of water. You can drink too much, but that takes some heavy drinking! I know only because I'm a hydraulic.

Speaking of drinking, alcoholic drinks are full of sugar--very fattening.

V-8 (vegatable juice), pommegranate seeds are good, containing anti-oxidants. Drinking pommegranate juice is fine too.


Be wary of so called 'energy bars' and the usual granola bar. All the ones I've seen are full of fat,sugar,and empty calories.

Make the last meal or snack you eat several hours before bedtime. Eat your largest meal in the morning.

Take a good vitamin-mineral-plus supplement. Make sure that extra iron is healthy for you though. And, make sure the filling in the suplement isn't bad for you.

Excercise, of course. More muscle, less fat. Keep in mind that muscle tissue weighs more. You need both aerobic and stretching exercise. My fav. excersise is walking (no undue pressure on the joints either) and yoga. Don't strain yourself, just get your heartbeat going a bit and feel your muscles stretching --not too much or you'll be sore.

*******Don't rely solely on me or anyone else who answers!********* Look up information on the internet --preferably on sites w/o sponsors (you never know what corporations have stocks in brands of food). Above all, consult a good dietician who knows a great deal about nutrition--and you GP of course.

Good Luck :) Getting the extra weight off is great for your health as wel as your self-esteem.

ps: Don't mistake being plump for being overweight! The modern ideal of "You can't be too skinny" is unhealthy and monumentally stupid. Besides, if your BMI is fine and you have enough muscle tissue, there's nothing wrong with being plump.

Several yrs ago I got down to 117 lbs and thought I looked fantastic. Actually I looked bony and sickly. I looked ok in clothes, but in a swimsuit, even shorts----bleeech! I weigh 131 at 5'7, and at 43, I'm content w/ my figure and have no wish to have the figure of a model or celeb.

Answer 2

First off, this is really a huge topic to cover, but I'll try my best here.

1. Yes, they do indeed go hand in hand. Clenical studies have shown that both dieting and exerciese combined produces the best weight loss results and preserves muscle mass and strength.

2. What to eat more of? Vegies and protein. Again, studies have shown that that a diet rich in vegies and protein support and aide a exercise and weight loss program. What is better is to focus on what NOT to eat (ie fast food, anything fried, processed foods, simple sugars, soda, and simmular fare).

3. How should you portion out meals? There is two schools here, weight and volume. I prefer volume (actually measuring the foods I eat before hand) over weight, maily due to the ease of measuring cups over a scale. I have measuring cups handy for EVERY meal.

4. Do the times I eat matter? Yes. You want to think about your day as a sliding scale of portion, from heaver in the morining and early day, to small in the evenings. Also, it is best to have 5-7 small portion meals throughout the day to keep your metabolic rate running at hight speed.

This is such a huge topic, but these should adress all your questions thus far.

Answer 3

I found the book to be very informative and easy to read.

I've lost 17 pounds in 12 days, I'm just concerned that I'm losing too much weight, too quickly. I will admit I haven't followed the guide exactly. I'm not sticking perfectly to the listed foods and meal plans (but mostly) and doing very little exercise, but the weight keeps flying off.

It clearly works and if I'd followed it exactly I think it would scare the living daylights out of me because of the amount that I'd lose. So thanks again for the information. I've never purchased anything like this before because they are usually full of trash, but 3WD has been a pleasant surprise.

Get started today!

Answer 4

The best advice I ever read on this came from a book called The Good Calorie Diet by Phillip Lipetz PhD. He explains what programs our bodies to gain weight and what can help probgram to not gain excessively and what foods and combinations will help without starvation or selective malnutrition. It is based on the glycenmic index which is a measure of how food metabolizes in our bodies but goes beyond that.

Example things like high frutose corn syrup (the usual sweetener in pop), white breads, soggy pasta as opposed to al dente, programs our bodies to make maximum use of every callorie and store all the fat they can while stuff like veggies, fruits, legumes, rice, al dente pasta, programs our bodies to be less "efficient" and not store fat. Eating the right stuff (which is not by any means all boring lettuce) helps sort of reset our bodies controlls and we both loose weight and feel better. That is a huge oversimplification but if your metabolism is one that this works for - and the book has a test in the from that lets you tell if it is - it can make a major difference. It did for me. Your library probably has the book. Read a little of it and see what you think.

One thing I like is that there is nothing you can't have it just shpws you how to balence it so u don't feel deprived and your body doesn't get messed up and go into the yo-yo thing of loose gain more loose gain

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Answer 5

I will try to keep it simple. Your metabolism is basically the rate at which your body burns calories to create energy. So the faster your metabolism, the faster you burn calories and the easier it is to lose unwanted weight. To boost your metabolism naturally you just need to eat the right foods.

You can sit down and literally eat a 1,000-calorie dinner and yet be absolutely starving just a few hours later and the reason is simple: Because your body didnt get what it needed in those 1,000 calories so it sends signals to your brain telling you to ingest more calories and thus, the late-night cravings. That means that the surest way to end those late-night cravings and keep your weight loss goals on track is to eat a more balanced, nutritious diet that actually gives your body what it needs.

It's VERY EASY to lose weight if you eat the right foods. Check out Dr. Charles Livingston's video here: http://www.sexyjese.com - it will blow your mind.

Answer 6

Most important is to look at portions. Your plate should be composed of 2/4 vegetables, 1/4 starches, and the rest of your choice but cut back on the fat. Try a diet rich in fiber to keep you full for longer, and drink lots of water and exercise!
Times don't matter but be sure to eat a breakfast, a small snack, lunch, snack, and dinner. The smaller intervals between the meals filled by the snacks keeps your metabolism going. But mind you though, the snacks have to be healthy too!
Good luck!

Answer 7

I've always found that looking at roadkill (the freshly splattered variety) helps when I'm trying to lose weight.

Answer 8

always have vegetables on hand saute a big bag of frozen mixed vegetables in olive oil and garlic add some red pepper or turmeric for additional flavor and separate into portion sized containers for the fridge

Answer 9

Sleep in a cold room Sleeping in a cold room is a best way to force your body to heat itself up for hours

Answer 10

eat in front of mirrors and youll lose weight