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#1
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Diet Newbie: any tips?
About three weeks ago, I started the 'hacker's diet', a rather simple
calorie-counter supplemented by the logic an engineering mind needs and statistical analysis tools. At the beginning of the diet, I weighed 245lbs. After just this modest time, I am down 9.5lbs to 235.5 (although the weighted trend suggests my true weight is slightly higher) I'm cutting my daily intake by 1000-1200 calories a day (haven't nailed my daily expendature just yet), and I find this actually liberating. I imagine I'm pretty young compared to the group average, at just 18, so I figure I'll ask the a.a.diet community what tips and tricks make the little annoyances of a diet a little less noticeable. |
#2
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Diet Newbie: any tips?
Some tips....
Eat breakfast, preferably with some protein. Drink lots of water (8-10 glasses). This does help. Keep a food diary and write down everything. Get a small kitchen scale and weigh portions. Up the fruits and vegs. Make short, medium and long term goals. Exercise. Recognize this is a marathon, not a sprint - and the hardest part is not actually losing the weight, but developing life long habits that will help you keep it off. Mary G. Lost over 50lb in 2004, maintaining. |
#3
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Diet Newbie: any tips?
said...
Some tips.... Eat breakfast, preferably with some protein. Yep! "Breakfast is gold, lunch is silver and dinner is lead." Drink lots of water (8-10 glasses). This does help. Yep! If I'm hungry between meals, I drink water. Keep a food diary and write down everything. Yep! Use software like dietpower (www.dietpower.com). NO affiliation! Get a small kitchen scale and weigh portions. Yep! Become a food label expert! Eat as natural as you can. Where ARE my reading glasses? Up the fruits and vegs. Yep! Diabetics use caution with the fruits. Gout sufferers use caution with some veggies. Make short, medium and long term goals. OK. I strived to fit into the BMI "mold." And I have arrived! Exercise. Yep! Upper and lower body, not just walking or bicycle riding. Recognize this is a marathon, not a sprint - and the hardest part is not actually losing the weight, but developing life long habits that will help you keep it off. Yep! And stay off the saturated fats as much as possible, in favor of the mono- unsaturated kind. Mary G. Lost over 50lb in 2004, maintaining. Congrats!!! Best, Andy 6'3" 198lbs. (A slimmer image of my former 247lb. self) -- T2 HBP Gout |
#4
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Diet Newbie: any tips?
Thought of another one -
Be ready to be put denial, excuses, and avoidance away. Yes, people have metabolic differences due to genetics, age, hormones, activity levels, blah, blah, blah.. However, in the final analysis, if you are taking in less in calories than you are expending in energy, you WILL lose weight. And if you are not losing, you are still eating too much, and need to experiment and dial it back a bit. Mary G. |
#5
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Diet Newbie: any tips?
James G wrote:
About three weeks ago, I started the 'hacker's diet', a rather simple calorie-counter supplemented by the logic an engineering mind needs and statistical analysis tools ... I imagine I'm pretty young compared to the group average, at just 18, so I figure I'll ask the a.a.diet community what tips and tricks make the little annoyances of a diet a little less noticeable. Time issue - The time scale for fat loss is month to month no matter that not one dieter in history has liked the fact. One advantage of the engineering approach in the Hacker's Diet is an understanding of noise in the data readings (the scale bounces from day to day) and the use of smoothing formulas (the average of the last couple of weeks matters not today's reading). Being able to view the time scale on a monthly basis during the losing phases and on an annual basis during maintenance is a huge advantage. Any smaller view of the time scale leads to frustration. In the short term (months) action gets more leverage than attitude. In the long term (years) mental attitude gets more leverage that action. Problem solving issue - Note that a stall is define dby Dr Atkins as 4+ weeks without a cheat, without a new low, without a lost inch. This definition is useful across the board not just on Atkins because it gives time scales about what is and isn't reasonable in expectations. It also points out that inches matter - Lose size and you're successful. But the time eventually comes when a stall happens by that definition. Treat a stall as a puzzle to be solved. There are blocking foods and chemicals, nutritional deficiencies that can cause lower metabolism and such. A stall is the time for experiements. Reaction to a binge - If you binge, remember what triggered that binge. Then avoid that trigger. In the process you've learned a way to not binge in the future. Learn a lesson and the memory of that binge becomes a victory not a failure. Thus don't fear the unknown. Rather learn from what happens. If you plan says this is the month to try eating X, and that triggers a binge for you, don't refuse to try X in fear that it might trigger a binge. Step out in faith that whether it does or not you will have learned how to improve your maintenance variety. |
#6
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Diet Newbie: any tips?
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#7
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Diet Newbie: any tips?
On Mar 7, 3:00*pm, wrote:
Thought of another one - Be ready to be put denial, excuses, and avoidance away. Yes, people have metabolic differences due to genetics, age, hormones, activity levels, blah, blah, blah.. However, in the final analysis, if you are taking in less in calories than you are expending in energy, you WILL lose weight. And if you are not losing, you are still eating too much, and need to experiment and dial it back a bit. Mary G. Having attempted several diets in the past, this is the one single thing I wish somebody had told me. I mean, in all reality, my acquaintances aren't very health-minded, so they probably didn't know. All the same, I suspected for years that dieting had to be simpler than just cutting calories. The body's complex, so why isn't dieting? I have been following the majority of the advice given here since the diet began. All except the exercise; naturally, I understand the importance of exercise (I actually ran long distance for three years in high school), but my schedule just makes it rather inconvenient to do something. HackDiet actually recommends a simple high-intensity 15- minute workout everyday, moving up a ladder of intensity to continually stay at a personal maximum. Have any of you tried these high-intensity, short duration exercise plans? I also find my biggest trouble moments come a few hours after dinner. Right now I usually budget a few calories in that time to munch on a few dill pickle spears (at 5 calories apiece). Anybody know of any other easy low-cal snack attack foods? Thanks for the replies so far everybody, it's comforting to know that even when my charts and numbers showing good progress can't convince me, I can seek the support of others familiar with the trials of obesity and diet. |
#8
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Diet Newbie: any tips?
James G wrote:
I imagine I'm pretty young compared to the group average, at just 18, so I figure I'll ask the a.a.diet community what tips and tricks make the little annoyances of a diet a little less noticeable. I personally do not subscribe to the ensuring eating breakfast rule. You know your body, you know your willpower. For me, I am weakest in the evenings. No matter how much or how little I've eaten in the day, I *will* eat a lot a night. So, for me, the best thing to do is to eat as little during the day as possible so that my night eating is not so disastrous. Your mileage will vary. -- Anita -- 149/140/130 |
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