South Beach Diet

[Ksandra]

hey I'll admit it, idc I know I'm fat. I'm 162. ;_; hope to be at least 130 by wedding day, hell even 140 would be nice. What can I say, VIDEO GAMES KILL.


And thanks Kael!

[Kiro]

lol @ 162 being "fat". Unless you're like.. 5 feet tall. gtfo

[Kohan]

162 is "fat"? Shit. As Kiro implied, are you a midget? Either that or you're really petite.

[Bearsan]

Assuming she's 5'5", 162 is pretty beastly for a girl. I'm 5'11" 178 with a good amount of muscle, and I still have enough fat to the point where my abs aren't very defined.

[Ruiner]

It's really only about two things: cutting out the shit and calories in vs. calories out. Stop eating candy, fast food, chips, soda, etc. and burn more than you put in. You're bound to lose weight this way.

The only really good specific suggestion I have is to drink only water. There's an unbelievable amount of shit in most beverages out there today, especially the so-called juices and teas. Stop drinking that shit, and start drinking lots of water, and you're gonna see results.

[guartz]

Frankly, I am not at all surprised this topic is being discussed.

[Ksandra]

I'm only 5' 3" ;_;

[archibaldcrane]

You don't talk to that many girls do you?

...lol

I talk to enough of them to know not to treat them like overly-sensitive morons who all act like the worst stereotypes of women on sitcoms or something.

@Ksandra - building some muscle will help you lose weight as well - the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn in regular activity, since muscle is a much more metabolic tissue than fat. Incorporating full-body weight training into your gym routine will help more than only doing treadmill/stairs/elliptical, and helps to keep it from getting monotonous and boring.

[Ksandra]

...lol

I talk to enough of them to know not to treat them like overly-sensitive morons who all act like the worst stereotypes of women on sitcoms or something.

@Ksandra - building some muscle will help you lose weight as well - the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn in regular activity, since muscle is a much more metabolic tissue than fat. Incorporating full-body weight training into your gym routine will help more than only doing treadmill/stairs/elliptical, and helps to keep it from getting monotonous and boring.

you know my fiance tells me the muscle thing all the time, but in my head I can't decide which is worse, a fat chick or a chick with too many muscles. I'd rather have to constantly work off the weight than look butch.

[archibaldcrane]

Even at 5'3 130 you won't look "buff", trust me. I'm not saying "start stacking those plates on the bench press!" - just see if your gym has a circuit of machines. It's a good starting point and a good way to work your whole body. Do it twice a week on a low or no cardio day. If you think you're starting to get bulky (this won't happen) then stop or do it once a week.

People bust their asses 4-5 days a week trying to put on bulky muscle - you aren't going to accidentally do it with higher-rep, lower-weight occasional lifting.

At my gym, most of the trimmest women I see aren't on the 1st floor on the treadmills and shit, they're on the 2nd floor (where most of the guys are) with the weight-training gear.

[Beckwin]

Beckwin's tips:

1. lots of water. get a nice water bottle and make it your best friend. don't have soda or beer unless you're out (if you eat out a lot, you'll need to discipline what you drink).

2. cut out snacking. if you don't have the willpower to just say no, find ways to keep yourself busy so that your mind doesn't wander to "hmm I bet some gardettos would be fucking delish right about now". If you really must snack, get a set portion instead of sitting with the bag beside you.

3. no desserts, generally speaking. special tip for this: brush your teeth earlier. if you brush your teeth not long after dinner and then later think about dessert, you'll be like "fuck but then I'd have to brush again and that's just a hassle/wasteful"

4. cut down portions, especially meat. this works well if you're moderately active, but it should be a general thing as well. american portions for meat are huge; a standard serving size is roughly the volume of a deck of cards. also, go for lean meats and be vigilant about trimming fat off what you do eat. in general, just be conscious of not going for seconds or filling your plate, no matter how delicious the meal is.

5. kind of some retread, but just try to build habits/lifestyle where food isn't an option all the time. eating a light dinner then having a busy night out, having a good breakfast then going on a long hike and not eating till dinner, watching movies in bed (unless you're George Costanza).

6. last but not least, physical activity. make it a habit, and find ways to enjoy it. I really like running/hiking alone or with my dogs for the contemplative environment, but if you need something more social to motivate you and have fun, go for it.

I've lost about 15 lbs in the last 5ish months- was close to 190, now a bit to a pound under 175. I was in decent shape to begin with, but didn't want things to get out of hand so I started increasing my activity. I didn't start to see really good results until I made some dietary changes though, particularly cutting out snacks/desserts. Some people do well with switching to a "grazing" pattern for eating (several smaller meals) but personally I've come to appreciate cutting down on meals (basically a normal breakfast, perhaps a light lunch (fruit and some sort of grain), and a normal dinner) because the way I figure, that's fewer times a day you may have to restrain yourself.

And don't beat yourself up if you lapse, because you will- there will be nights out with friends where you have some greasy mexican food and 6 beers, there will be family gatherings where you eat all day, etc. if anything, just use those lapses as motivation to sweat more the next day- run an extra mile, go on a hike with the fiance, take the dogs to the park in the morning, whatever.

[Lbelle]

I think that weight watchers is much better than SBD. Weight Watchers is good because of those meetings they make you go to go, so it's like you have to force yourself to be good cause they weigh you once a week and give you little confidence boosters and it's a very easy program.

However, I felt bad cause I'm not really overweight at all but self conscious and like there were lots of very overweight women when I went there and I dont think they liked me. I lost like 5 lbs in a week and then got to like 99 the next week and then stopped going cause the people scared me, but it worked well and was an easy program to follow. SBD is alot of cooking and limiting what types of food you can eat (i.e. carbs are bad for you). WW follows the you can eat anything as long as you eat limited portions idea.

[archibaldcrane]

I lost like 5 lbs in a week and then got to like 99 the next week

Oof. I hope you're under 5'2...

[Beckwin]

oh and if you don't like weightlifting/gyms, you can honestly get by without it, especially being a female and without a lot of muscle/strength to start with. pushups and pullups will be your friends (or enemies) and for legs you can do squats/lunges (add some dumbells if needed).

[Lbelle]

Oof. I hope you're under 5'2...

5'1!

[Norelco]

Pick up the book Body For Life...that's what got me on my latest kick. It has a list of foods you can eat, it programs in a cheat day for you (usually a Saturday where you can eat what you want), and shows you how to do weight lifting exercises.

I'm currently at 203.8 from 218, 6'2". From the lifting weights alone, I look alot more defined. Went from a 35" waist to 33", had to put a few notches in my belt, and generally I feel better.

I got 3-5 times a week. Lift 3 days a week and then on the 4th/5th day do cardio.

And no more Mt. Dew or Coke.

[Norelco]

Beckwin's tips:

1. lots of water. get a nice water bottle and make it your best friend. don't have soda or beer unless you're out (if you eat out a lot, you'll need to discipline what you drink).

2. cut out snacking. if you don't have the willpower to just say no, find ways to keep yourself busy so that your mind doesn't wander to "hmm I bet some gardettos would be fucking delish right about now". If you really must snack, get a set portion instead of sitting with the bag beside you.

3. no desserts, generally speaking. special tip for this: brush your teeth earlier. if you brush your teeth not long after dinner and then later think about dessert, you'll be like "fuck but then I'd have to brush again and that's just a hassle/wasteful"

4. cut down portions, especially meat. this works well if you're moderately active, but it should be a general thing as well. american portions for meat are huge; a standard serving size is roughly the volume of a deck of cards. also, go for lean meats and be vigilant about trimming fat off what you do eat. in general, just be conscious of not going for seconds or filling your plate, no matter how delicious the meal is.

5. kind of some retread, but just try to build habits/lifestyle where food isn't an option all the time. eating a light dinner then having a busy night out, having a good breakfast then going on a long hike and not eating till dinner, watching movies in bed (unless you're George Costanza).

6. last but not least, physical activity. make it a habit, and find ways to enjoy it. I really like running/hiking alone or with my dogs for the contemplative environment, but if you need something more social to motivate you and have fun, go for it.

I've lost about 15 lbs in the last 5ish months- was close to 190, now a bit to a pound under 175. I was in decent shape to begin with, but didn't want things to get out of hand so I started increasing my activity. I didn't start to see really good results until I made some dietary changes though, particularly cutting out snacks/desserts. Some people do well with switching to a "grazing" pattern for eating (several smaller meals) but personally I've come to appreciate cutting down on meals (basically a normal breakfast, perhaps a light lunch (fruit and some sort of grain), and a normal dinner) because the way I figure, that's fewer times a day you may have to restrain yourself.

And don't beat yourself up if you lapse, because you will- there will be nights out with friends where you have some greasy mexican food and 6 beers, there will be family gatherings where you eat all day, etc. if anything, just use those lapses as motivation to sweat more the next day- run an extra mile, go on a hike with the fiance, take the dogs to the park in the morning, whatever.

I like your advice. I definitely need to cut down on meat portions. You're right about that. Eating smaller portions has done well for me.

[Yuri-G]

South Bronx Paradise Diet is the only way to go...imo...

I knew someone would beat me to it.

[Kohan]

Assuming she's 5'5", 162 is pretty beastly for a girl. I'm 5'11" 178 with a good amount of muscle, and I still have enough fat to the point where my abs aren't very defined.

I'm your height and am female, so don't worry, I understand. Right now I'm overweight, but that's because I used to be a very physically active person who was suddenly shut down by a bad back injury (and no medical insurance to help with recovery). I used to weigh almost exactly what you do, actually -- probably just a few pounds less -- but now I'm over 200, and it's awful.

Fortunately, I'm at the point where I no longer need to constantly use a cane and/or wear a back brace, and I'm able to afford a gym membership again, so it's time to get rid of all this. Sitting around and bitching about it is failure, doing something is the way to fix it.

2. cut out snacking. if you don't have the willpower to just say no, find ways to keep yourself busy so that your mind doesn't wander to "hmm I bet some gardettos would be fucking delish right about now". If you really must snack, get a set portion instead of sitting with the bag beside you.

I'd like to also suggest chewing a piece of gum, since that helps get your metabolism going and keeps your mouth busy. Sugary types or ones filled with artificial sweeteners aren't all that great, so I'd recommend stopping buy a health food store and getting a natural mint type.

EDIT: Oh, and don't worry about being buff. I used to lift weights and what not as a part of my exercise regime -- once my back muscles are strong enough, I'm going to resume doing so -- and I was never "buff." My calves are a little thick, but I used to be in a lot of sports with heavy running and what not -- aside from that, nothing really noticeable.

[Stiker]

you know my fiance tells me the muscle thing all the time, but in my head I can't decide which is worse, a fat chick or a chick with too many muscles. I'd rather have to constantly work off the weight than look butch.

You want to build lean muscle or basically think of it as being "tone" or "firm". I mean even doing sit-ups/crunches, will build muscles in your abs. You may not put out a six pack, but building those muscles up will help.

Bulk muscle is a pain in the ass to build. Diet, heavy weights, overloading, etc goes into it. Light weight and high reps will do just fine and you won't become an Amazon woman.