I have been dieting and working out, so far I have lost 43 pounds but seem to have hit a plataeu and was wondering if cutting down on salt intake could help, I do eat quite a bit of salt.
2007-04-02 06:12:17 · 32 answers · asked by bar_b_c 2 in Health ➔ Diet & Fitness
Salt can cause you to retain water but cutting down would not make you loase fat. Try reevaluating how you are losing the weight. You need to research how to break free of the plataeu. Remember the less you weigh the less calories you should be consuming. try these simple steps.
Step 1: Find out what your basal metabolic rate is. Goto http://health.discovery.com/tools/calculators/basal/basal.html
This is the amount of calories you need to eat to maintain your current weight.
Step 2: Do you exercise? Do you exercise right? Exercising right means that you monitor your heart rate and make sure that you reach your target heart rate and maintain it for the longest period of time while exercising. Just walking/excising is a good start but if you want to get the most out of your work out find out what your target range is. If you don't belong to a gym then I recommend the
Polar Fitness F11 Heart Monitor Watch.
Step 3: You need to decrease your caloric intake or increase the amount of calories your body uses in a day by 500 calories a day for a week to lose 1 pound. So you can decrease that basal number you got in step 1 by 500 calories and exercise very little(yes you still need to exercise). Or you can decrease it by 250 and exercise off 250 calories or any other combination. Remember that your basal number is the amount of calories you body needs to live. If your number were 2400 then your body burn 100 calories per hour. So if you walk for half an hour and burn 300, 50 of that is your basal.
Step 4: Count your calories, it's not hard and you'll find out that you eat a lot of the same things on a daily basis so you won't have to research everything over and over again. Balance what you eat(equal parts carbs and protien whenever possible) . One of the best websites out there is one from the FDA. http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/
This database has almost every food on the planet counted and weighed. (Hint: they do a lot of their weights based on 100grams. If you put 0.28 in the serving size this equals 1 ounce). Get a reliable food scale, preferably digital. Weigh everything that you put in your mouth that is not prepackaged. You need to know what you’re eating and how much you’re eating. The number one mistake is "eating healthy". Everyone thinks because it's "healthy" the portion isn't that important. A handful of peanuts is "healthy" and has nearly 250 calories! Eat enough calories and it won’t matter how "healthy" it is your going to gain weight.
Step 5: Adjustments and Variety. If you are doing your best and losing weight but your starving, increase the amount of calories your giving yourself by 100-200 calories a day. Losing weight and starving are not good bedfellows. If you starve eventually you will crack and lose the battle. The more types of exercises you do the more weight you will lose. You will work more muscles and keep your body guessing.
Step 6(optional): If you belong to a gym or have some free weights at home. Use them! Muscle takes up less space in your body than fat (pound for pound). A pound of fat sits around and does nothing all day, while a pound of muscle, even at rest burns calories(increasing your basal metabolic rate).
Good luck!!!
2007-04-02 06:18:33 · answer #1 · answered by a_talis_man 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
An increased water intake and a decreased sodium intake may help you rid your body of unneccesary "water weight," but not result in a weight loss due to body fat. However, weight loss is weight loss, and as long as it doesn't come back, count it towards your total pounds lost.
Have you calculated your normal daily sodium intake? If not, take a day or two and write down the amount of sodium in EVERYTHING you eat and drink. If there isn't a nutrition label available, go to http://www.calorieking.com and find it there. A "no added salt" diet is an approximate 4 gram (4000 mg) intake of sodium daily. In comparison, a low sodium diet is an approximate 2 gram (2000 mg) intake of sodium daily.
There is disparity among highy accredited medical sources -- some say a daily diet containing 2,400 mg of sodium can increase your risk of hypertension...some say the risk of hyperension due to increased sodium can begin with as little as 1,500 mg a day.
You have to figure out what's best for your body. As for me, I've lost 56 pounds since October, journaling my daily food intake, and trying to keep my sodium under 2000 mg a day. Sometimes it's hard, depending on the source of my food, but it's definitely do-able.
Definitely journal and get an idea of how much salt you eat everyday. Then take that information and research the relationship of increased sodium and the risk of hypertension. A few good sources of information will equip you with the tools and passion to lower your sodium intake to improve your overall health -- and maybe shed a few pounds in the wake.
Good luck!
2007-04-02 06:45:39 · answer #2 · answered by southernserendipiti 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
find calorie/fitness calculator on the net, enter your stats and it will tell you how many calories a day you need to maintain your weight. take 300-400calories off that number and that's how much you need to lose weight.
eat 5-6 small meals a day instead of 3 big ones.
5-8 servings of fruit and vegetables a day.
8 glasses of water a day.
4-6 times a week cardio work out for 30-50min plus light weight training.
no junk food, no sodas, no white flour (white bread, pasta, cookies, cakes etc)
2007-04-02 08:46:08 · answer #3 · answered by Natalie 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
disable food cravings
2017-04-06 10:13:52 · answer #4 · answered by Maria 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try a cardio routine that engages multiple muscles simultaneously
2016-09-03 00:00:56 · answer #5 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
cut your lawn with a push mower for 17 minutes
2016-03-18 02:14:03 · answer #6 · answered by Ruben 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
distracted dining will get you in trouble avoid eating in front of a television or in a movie theater as you re bound to consume more calories
2016-08-30 15:02:22 · answer #7 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
love the starbucks grande caramel frappuccino skip the whole milk and whipped cream which packs in 410 calories total and order the starbucks grande caramel frappuccino light which is only 140 calories
2016-01-17 21:08:49 · answer #8 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
take a leisurely walk in the park for 51 minutes
2015-12-16 06:34:14 · answer #9 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Stop hunger pangs while dieting by eating foods that keep you full
2016-03-29 04:58:02 · answer #10 · answered by Willy 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋