healthy way to lose weight

I'm overweight and trying to lose pounds, too. I think the best way (for me, at least) is a healthy, sensible diet and exercise. Nothing else has worked. I guess we're all different, though.

Best of luck :)

I've lost 20 lbs. in 2 months by only have some coffee (w/fat free creamer) for breakfast and lunch, and a small dinner. Then I excercise for about 30 mins. 3 times a week (treadmill) and I DO NOT DRINK SODA. Or touch anything with added sugar. On Sundays I eat whatever I want (well usually just a fast food lunch & dinner).

The only problem with that is, if you start to eat normally again, you're likely to put the weight back on. You'd have to continue skipping meals indefinitely. . . it's like when people lose weight on Slim-Fast shakes, they have to keep drinking them every day even after they lose the weight, because if they go back to eating the way they were, they'll gain it back.

MoNiCaxOC wrote: I've lost 20 lbs. in 2 months by only have some coffee (w/fat free creamer) for breakfast and lunch, and a small dinner. Then I excercise for about 30 mins. 3 times a week (treadmill) and I DO NOT DRINK SODA. Or touch anything with added sugar. On Sundays I eat whatever I want (well usually just a fast food lunch & dinner).

The best way to lose weight and still basically eat what you like is to calorie count. I’m your same height and was 130 pounds at your age. Even though people told me I should lose about five pounds, I wish I was still at that weight. I got so sick of dieting that I finally gave up and now twenty years later I’ve gotten way too heavy.

What I wish I knew then that I know now is that you can eat pretty many calories to maintain a 130-pound body. If you only eat the calories to maintain a 130 pound body (or any other weight) you will eventually get down to that weight without killing yourself.

Decide to go slowly and stick to it. Don’t shoot for fast weight loss because you will never stick to it. So here is the formula. Choose a weight you want to be and I’ll use 130 as an example. There is a simple formula for determining how many calories to eat a day. If you don’t exercise at all, multiply the weight by 13. Example: 130 x 13 = 1690 calories. If you are moderately active, multiply the weight by 15. 130 x 15 = 1950. If you are very active, multiply by 17 and if you are extremely active multiply by 20.

I took a nutrition class in college that had a very complicated formula to get pretty much the same numeric results. I found this simple formula years ago in Prevention magazine I believe.

Anyway, the point is, if you are at 151 pounds now and you are not active, then 151 x 13 = 1963 calories a day. That is how much you are eating on average. If you calculate 1963 calories (to maintain 151) minus 1690 calories (to maintain 130) then it shows that you are only eating 273 extra calories a day to be 151 pounds. That is not very much. It could be only a soda or two, two or three cookies or even only a couple tablespoons of peanut butter.

So don’t kill yourself trying to lose weight fast on a 1000-1200 calorie a day diet like I used to do. 1690 calories should let you eat quite a bit and over time you WILL lose the weight and get down to 130 (or less – whatever weight you choose – just follow the formula). It is Math that is your friend. Your body cannot maintain 151 pounds unless you are feeding it enough calories to do so.

Most food packages have the calorie counts per serving on them. Make sure you look at how big a serving is! There are usually multiple servings per package. And get a good calorie counting book from the store, or look on-line.

You will find that you can eat much more food if you choose lots of vegetables. And of course exercising helps, but if you hate to do it, then the calorie counting should still work.

Good luck. The best thing to do is lose the weight now while you are young, but SLOWLY. Then, once you are down to your desired weight, follow my mom’s rule; weigh yourself every day and when you gain two pounds – go back to the calorie counting!

Remember, only 65 calories extra a day (if you don’t exercise) will keep FIVE extra pounds on you. That is like half a soda a day!!!!! (If you don’t believe me, then do the formula above for 130 pounds and then for 135 pounds.)

One more thing, if you are in school and eat the cafeteria lunches, then you should try to bring your lunch so you can control the calories. If this is not possible, then I would calculate the school lunches at around 800 calories (usually loaded with fat). But that still leaves over 800 calories for the rest of the day! You can do it! Just stay away from the regular sodas and juices. They are loaded!

Okay, trying to watch what I eat a little more closely now (especially the late-night snacking, which is probably one of my biggest problems), and trying to exercise more (using the weights more regularly again, and trying to increase my exercise from 40 to 60 minutes as often as I can stand it, as many days of the week as I'm able to fit it in).  I guess I'll see how much that helps.  I'll probably weigh and measure myself again in a week or two and see if it's helping.

what do you think would be the best thing to buy in a school cafeteria? its hard to make good choices, e`specially since im a vegetarian!

Ever since I went on a diet...I learned  A LOT about what to eat.
Don't hate calories...my friend told me that its not the calories but the calories from fat. I also know to stay away from saturated fats, and refined grains. I also learned that if you are excercising a lot...you should have a little sugar in your diet after a work out it helps the muscles..I don't know a lot on that subject...but a friend of mine who plays baseball about five times a week puts sugar in his water becuase he says it helps his muscles .... Drink a lot of water...of course... stay away from soda...it destroys your bone mass as well...and your teeth..so its overall better anyways. As for coffee...I have heard it speeds up your metabolism...I use to drink it everyday...but if i drank it on an empty stomach...I found myself extremely hungry and then overeating or getting headaches...

pears, raisens, and prunes help you... You want a LOT of fiber...This may all be old news...but I use to eat badly...ONLY looking at the calories...not the fat...fiber...fat grams...etc

Forget dieting choose a food change for life-healthy foods know your good & bad fats.Example below & copy & paste the link for info about sugar & carbs.

Good Fats, Bad Fats Remember that all fats are high in calories. The best choices for heart health are the monounsaturated, omega 3 fats and the polyunsaturated fats. Best Fats Monounsaturated Fat Foods Avocado Oil (canola, olive, peanut, sesame) Olives (all) Nuts almonds, cashews filberts, hazelnuts macadamia nuts peanuts, pecans pistachios Peanut butter, old-fashioned Sesame seeds Good Fats Polyunsaturated Fat Foods Margarine (first ingredient is polyunsaturated oil) Mayonnaise (regular or reduced-fat) Miracle Whip Salad Dressing (regular orreduced-fat) Nuts (walnuts) Oil (corn, safflower, soybean, cottonseed) Salad dressing (regular & reduced-fat) Seeds (pumpkin, sunflower) Omega-3 Fatty Acids Fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, tuna, herring) All fish and shellfish contain these fats Nuts & flaxseed Bad Fats Saturated Fats Bacon & Bacon grease Butter (stick, whipped, reduced-fat) Coconut Cream & half-and-half Cream cheese Ice cream Lard & salt pork Palm & palm kernel oil Bad Fats Trans Fats Hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats Margarine (stick) Nondairy creamers Shortening

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/T045000.asp

& the rest is common sense & excersise also remember muscle weights heavier than fat  good luck.

Thanks for the chart

You can watch what you eat very closely, like see how many calories you SHOULD be eating a day & stick to it. Don't go over, don't go under. Also, exercise frequently. Not necessarily every single day. Run, jog, swim laps, hit up a gym, etc. I know it's not what you want to hear but that's the only way.