To eat Carbs or not? How to lose weight.... that is the question.

[Lilly]

here's how lilly lost 30 lbs:

had the flu for 4 weeks, then had to stoody like a mofo for ap tests, then had to take them (of course in the meantime, landing herself in the hospital...twice...for stress).

my recommendation: don't go with that.

my other recommendation: keep you calories under 1000, that-a-way you'll be sure you burn all of them.

oh, and apricots, lotsa apricots.

 

[u2loopy]

Oh yeah, just one more thing. I am a fan of supplements for personal use but I wouldn't recommend any to anyone else. But if anyone is contemplating taking one of those fat burning supplements--DON'T. They are dangerous (metabolife, xenadrine, hydroxycut, ripped fuel, etc...). There have been many documented deaths and many more lawsuits, and what is worse is that many of these things are made by convicted fellons. They are street-legal versions of speed and they can hurt you. You can lose weight in a much safer fashion.

Just my two cents
Brian

hmmmm-I'm taking Xendadrine which was recommended to me by my pharmacist who was also my former employer. He suggested it because he views it more as a metabolism booster. It is also Ephedra Free I've read the label and it has the same Supplemental information that your basic daily multi-vitamin has.

I know you are more knowledgable on this subject than I may be, but I trust my pharmacist-he's been a pharmacist for 30 years, I don't think he would sell products to people that would potentially kill them.

I wouldn't go near Stackers or Ripped Fuel, but I feel Xenadrine may be a little bit safer than the others. At least I hope so!!!!!

 

[u2loopy]

Oh, and to reply to Angel. Years ago I did the Atkins diet. Don't get me wrong, it worked (I lost 12 pounds in two weeks) but it was VERY VERY hard to do and when I stopped, I gained it all back and then some.

I think WW is the best way to go. It really does teach you the PROPER way to eat. What I love about it is not only do you learn how to lose, you also learn how to maintain it when you've reached your goal. It may be a bitch to count points, but when you've been on it long enough, you kind of know by heart what each food is worth in points.

What I did when I first started WW was made a list of all the types of foods that I enjoy (which is EVERY THING!) and I carried it around with me in my journal. I continue to use my journal even after I reached my goal weight.

Anyway, no matter what you decide losind 5-7 pounds will be very easy for you.

Boy do I talk alot.

 

[Bri2k]

Loopy,

I have done some research on "ephedra free" xenadrine, and here is what I have concluded. I am not saying anything against your pharmacist, but here is my opinion on it.

Take a closer look at the label, I am looking at the Xenadrine EFX:
The first four ingred. look good, like you said, multi vitamin.

What concerns me is this ingred:
Proprietary Thermodyne? Complex?1415 mg

Tyroplex? (proprietary blend of l-tyrosine and acetyl-l-tyrosine), Green Tea Extract (standardized for epigallocatechin gallate, caffeine, and polyphenols), Seropro? (proprietary cocoa extract standardized for PEA (phenylethylamine), tyramine and theobromine), Yerba Mate (standardized for caffeine and methylxanthines), di-Methionine, Ginger Root (standardized for gingerols), Isotherm? (proprietary blend of 3,3',4',5-7 pentahydroxyflavone and 3,3',4',7-tetrahydroxy-flavone), Bitter Orange (standardized for synephrine, n-methyltyramine, hordenine, octopamine, and tyramine), DMAE (2-dimethylaminoethanol), Grape Seed Extract (standardized for catechins).

Granted this looks like a bunch of nonsense, but what first troubles me is that it combines all these ingred and gives a sum of how much is in there--1415 mg. this means that you have no idea how much of each is in there.

So how does a company take out ephedra but still keep it's fat burning properties--jam it with much more caffeine. If the majority of this 1415 mg is caffeine (which is probably is), then you are looking at about the equivalent of 10-15 cups of coffee. And you are supposed to take this twice a day? 20-30 cups--sure you won't be hungry.

But here is what is even more bothersome. Take a look at the ingred called bitter orange. It says it is standardized for synephrine. Hmmmm.....I thought this was ephedra free. Sorry, this is just another form of ephedrine. Citrus aurantium (bitter orange), a source of synephrine, which stimulates digestion and suppresses appetite. Although there are claims that synephrine does not produce the undesirable side effects that ephedrine does, studies in rats have shown that synephrine can cause cardiovascular toxicity.

My final opinion, if there is a huge warning label on the bottle that mentions heart problems, why would someone even think of taking it?

All of these "ephedra free" are not so ephedra free. They may not contain as much or the pure form of it, but they contain some.

be careful, just my opinion
Brian

 

[u2loopy]

Hey Brian,

Thanks so much for your thorough information. That was very informative-I appreciate your opinion!!

I guess I'll just walk a little more and drink a little bit more water rather than taking those!

thanks again

 

[anitram]

So long as you eat Carbs (CHOs), your body will preferentially burn glucose from glycogen, rather than fat.

That's why people like Oprah have gone on protein diets, because the reduction of CHOs will swing your biochemical pathways in favour of fatty acid mobilization. However, this is clearly not the healthiest approach.

When you exercise, it's important to keep in mind that you WILL NOT be losing any fat until roughly 20 minutes of exercising elapses. This is because, once again, your body will preferentially break down glycogen, and use it as a fuel source. After about 20 minutes, the levels of glucose will be substantially lowered so that fat will begin being used as the primary energy source.

Another thing is, the fat cells you have in your body are there to stay. Many people don't realize that. If you gain a lot of weight, your adipose cells propagate. Later on, even when dieting and exercising, you will not be getting rid of the cells; rather you will be making them get smaller and smaller. But they'll still be there, which is why it's easy to put the weight back on after the diet ends.

 

[STING2]

It still comes down to the simple fact of burning more calories than you take in. The Science and different diets and methods are fine, but a person just counting calories and making sure they burn more than they take in will be successful. I know that for a fact. Once a diet or workout period has accomplished its goal, its important to continue working out on a regular basis and to adjust the diet to a level that will not cause you to lose weight but not cause you to gain either. Again at that point, calories burned simply needs to equal calories consumed.

 

[Bri2k]

I believe it is actually around 40 minutes that you begin to burn fat, not 20 min. It also depends on the intensity of the exercise as well. If you are exercising for 40 minutes, more than likely (general population here) they are exercising at a lower intensity level.

Sting you are correct in your energy balance statement, but it isn't necessarily as easy as just take in less than you expend.

Don't think that if you are exepending 1200 kcals/day then just consume 1000 kcals. Your body cannot survive and function normally on 1000 kcals, especially if you are exercising.

Brian

 

[adamswildhoney]

I lose weight by swimming and watching what I am eating. When I swim I find that I tend to eat less. I have never gone on a diet! I just watch what I eat, but still eat everything that I want to.

 

[STING2]

I have heard about the 20 min and 40 min theory of when one begins to burn fat, but in my experience that has not been so. 45 minutes of exercise usually has produced great results when eating a normal diet. But according to the above, that would only be 5 minutes of fat burn. I had a friend that would walk for only 45 minutes to 60 minutes a day, and over many months perhaps closer to a year, he lost 60 pounds. This guy went from 230 down to 170.

I don't want people to read 20 or 40 min to get to the fat burning level and decide that its to tough just to get to that level to burn fat and become discouraged and don't do anything. My father has burned plenty of fat by only running 20 minutes a day and eating a normal diet. Bottom line, any exercise you do helps.

 

[Bri2k]

Sting,

It's a little more than a theory, I am looking at a physiology book right now. It takes about 40 min for the fuel utilization to become more lipid in nature than CHO. Now, you said you dad lost weight only doing 20 min, well a calorie burned is a calorie burned. Does it really matter which substrate it came from? Not really. One thing you touched on though was a normal diet. What is a normal diet, because what I think the typical American diet is would not be considered a "normal" diet. But you are right, I dont want someone to think that they have to exercise for 40 minutes just to lose weight, that is not the point.
Exercise is exercise, in fact, you would probably burn more calories in 20 minutes at a higher intensity than you would for 45 min at a lower intensity. Again, does it really matter to you which fuel source it came from? Probably not.

My recommendation, exercise for 30 minutes a day. I don't think that is unreasonable. If you cant do it all at once, do it in intermittent bouts. Get your heart rate up and do it.

Eating is a different story, and sorry to say, is the majority of your weight loss. You can exercise all you want, but if you eat like crap, then you will never lose weight effectively.

Brian

 

[anitram]

Yes, it depends on the intensity of exercise. My old biochem text and prof both said it was 20 minutes, but I can't remember the level of intensity they wre talking about.

The problem with the calories in = calories out approach is that while you can add together the calories in different foods, it's not necessarily the best idea to be consuming said foods. For example, if you're limiting yourself to 1500 cals/day, that doesn't mean you should eat back bacon for breakfast, a double cheeseburger with a milkshake for lunch and pizza for dinner. Even if those things add up to your desired calorie amount.

I firmly believe that the best way to lose weight is to start exercising and eating properly because you want to feel better and healthier. The weight loss will come, but it'll be an added bonus, rather than the primary motivation.

 

[U2002revolution!]

protein, its all about the protein, baby...i'm trying to build muscle,so.....