Foods, diet, and weight loss

[ardchoille]

I have spent the last 12 years studying law and medicine and have many years of classes under my belt (including years of medical school) on both subjects. At one time I weighed 288 pounds. I followed some medical advice and now weigh 170 pounds. A friend recently asked me the "proper" way to lose weight. My friend followed my advice and has lost 20 pounds. So, I thought I'd share this advice with my kilted brethren.

Diets
Diets are good, but you have to keep something very important in mind. Your body will process any food you put into it, but only at a certain rate. If you put less food in than your body can process, then you are likely to lose weight. If you put in more food than your body can process, then you are likely to gain weight. Let's say your current eating habits keep you at 170 pounds, but you aren't happy with that weight and want to lose some. If you go on a diet to lose weight and, in fact, do lose weight, you can be happy that you are at the weight you desire. However, you'll have to stick to that diet for the rest of your life. If you return to your old diet you'll likely go back to 170 pounds and you'll wonder why the diet failed you. The diet didn't fail, what failed is the understanding of how this whole process works. Fasting is not good because your body can think it's "starving" and, when you do eat, store food for later use rather than process it to counter any damage the next time it feels it is being starved.

Pills
Using pills or diet aids to lose weight has the same effect. Once you get to your desired weight you'll have to continue taking the pills or diet aids to maintain that weight - discontinuing will return you to your "old system" and you'll likely return to your old weight. Returning to the pills is actually what many diet pill vendors are hoping to acheive so they can count on "return customers".

Exercise
Exercise is good, the body will atrophy without it. But, again, you're looking at the same thing - you'll have to continue the exercise to maintain the desired weight. Exercise can also alter your metabolism so that your body will process food as a faster rate.. but that rate will diminish if you stop exercising, which will likely return you to your old weight.

My advice
1. Eat only when hungry. Many people eat to overcome stress, anxiety and other things. Some overweight folks never come within a mile of hunger. If you find yourself eating when you're not actually hungry, perhaps you should investigate another area of your life.

2. Never stuff yourself. There is a difference between eating until you are no longer hungry and eating until you are full.. the latter is never a good thing because your body will store excess food (spare tire anyone?).

3. Go to bed hungry. Your body slows down during sleep and any food in your stomach will not be processed at your normal rate. Some foods can rot during sleep and this has an adverse effect on your overall health.

4. Exercise. It does a body good. The proper way to lose weight, and one that will have lasting effects, is to increase activity and decrease food intake.

My opinions (just that.. not medical advice)
Milk - Milk is rich in fats and sugars. This is good for a newborn being to help it "get going". But, for adults, milk is not necessary. How many times have you seen full-grown animals in the zoo or forrest drinking its mother's milk? Of course the dairy industry doesn't want you to think that way.. much the way that the tobacco industry doesn't want you thinking that nicotine is addictive.

Spicy foods - I see advertisements all over the television about products to alleviate gas and heartburn. How about not eating the foods that cause gas and heartburn? That will save you money on those products as well as wear and tear on your body.

Fish - Fish contains omega3 fatty acids and these acids are essential. The body cannot make these acids and can only obtain them from foods.

Sweets - I don't see sweets as a bad thing. I eat sweets now and then and don't see it having an adverse effect on my health.

Moderation - Almost anything is good in moderation and too much of even a good thing can be bad.

Take care of your body, it's the only one you get

Well, I hope this will help someone.. I know it has helped me in the past.

[Red_Raven]

Thanks ardchoille,

all of what you said has a lot of weight behind it..(opps did I say that) Very good sumation.

I have battled the middle age spead for about 17 years. I am slowly working on the 'change your life style' not the diet asspect and that seems to be a much easier way of attacking the weight loss. Chrome scholar and I have made it a point to walk at least a mile every day and we are up to about 2.5 miles a day.

we no longer keep any desert type foods in the house unless for a special occasion..kids don't need any more sugar then they allready get at school. and we have gone to quality over quantity when it comes to what we are fixing and eating. Spend a little more to get real fresh veggies and fish etc then eating cheap and high carb. I think the change will be much more long lasting, and the kids don't seem to notice, but then my son is growing a 1/4" a week and is a human vacume..I don't think he knows what he eats.

[ardchoille]

Thanks ardchoille,

all of what you said has a lot of weight behind it..(opps did I say that) Very good sumation.

I have battled the middle age spead for about 17 years. I am slowly working on the 'change your life style' not the diet asspect and that seems to be a much easier way of attacking the weight loss. Chrome scholar and I have made it a point to walk at least a mile every day and we are up to about 2.5 miles a day.

we no longer keep any desert type foods in the house unless for a special occasion..kids don't need any more sugar then they allready get at school. and we have gone to quality over quantity when it comes to what we are fixing and eating. Spend a little more to get real fresh veggies and fish etc then eating cheap and high carb. I think the change will be much more long lasting, and the kids don't seem to notice, but then my son is growing a 1/4" a week and is a human vacume..I don't think he knows what he eats.

Yes, losing weight properly is, in fact, a change of lifestyle and takes perseverance, but it can be done. As we grow older, we must realise that our old eating habits, which worked fine for a growing body, no longer work and we need a change if we are to maintain our ideal weight. I struggled with this for a long time.

Kudos to you for realising all of this

[Kiltferone]

I posted on this thread on August 15th that I was down 31 pounds. Well today I steped on the scale and I am at 48lbs lost! I can't belive I have lost so much so fast. My food intake prior must have been REALLY bad (it was). I am going to lose 100lbs total, so I am almost half way there. I have enjoyed all the support on this thread for us folks losing weight. It all helps.

[oldsoldier]

I just recently started doing the same thing. After 12 years in the Army, as a grunt, my body got used to hard living. Then, 3 years later in civilian life, my eating didnt slow, but my lifestyle did. Now, I am back to exercising every day, and TRYING to control my eating. Eventually, I'll get back down in weight. It's rough...but, already, a couple people have commented. And, well, that made me feel good, and keep on doing it ;)

[MysticMead]

Like you said.. losing weight is a lifestyle change. BUT, it's doesn't have to be a hard change to make. I have gone from 220lbs to 175lbs in the last 8-9 months.. how, I changed the way I was eating. I have removed MOST (not all) carbs from my diet. I didn't remove all carbs because you do need some to be healthy. My wife and follow a modified diabetic diet..

At first it was hard... there are a lot of things I was eating daily that I never thought twice about... then they were gone..and I craved them... now, I don't even think about half the stuff I used to eat.. no eating out 3-5 times a week... pizza is a treat that we get every couple months.. not a weekly thing like it used to be..

the best thing besides me and my wife losing weight and being healthier... our kids are healthier.. who knew that making a few simple changes to the food ya shovel in could make such a big difference

[ardchoille]

Like you said.. losing weight is a lifestyle change. BUT, it's doesn't have to be a hard change to make. I have gone from 220lbs to 175lbs in the last 8-9 months.. how, I changed the way I was eating. I have removed MOST (not all) carbs from my diet. I didn't remove all carbs because you do need some to be healthy. My wife and follow a modified diabetic diet..

At first it was hard... there are a lot of things I was eating daily that I never thought twice about... then they were gone..and I craved them... now, I don't even think about half the stuff I used to eat.. no eating out 3-5 times a week... pizza is a treat that we get every couple months.. not a weekly thing like it used to be..

the best thing besides me and my wife losing weight and being healthier... our kids are healthier.. who knew that making a few simple changes to the food ya shovel in could make such a big difference

Yes, I think the cravings were the biggest hurdle I had to overcome. I'll bet you feel better and have more energy too

[Kiltferone]

Well, I am also on the diet thing. I think it has finally sunk in that I NEED to lose weight. I would like to see my kids grow up. My doctor has put me on a BP medicine, but says I don't have a bp problem, I have a weight problem. Lose weight and you won't need the medicine anymore. I started after that visit on June 28th and I am down 31 pounds! A good friend of mine put it very simply "eat less, burn more" (he lost 85 pounds 3 years ago and still has it off)

[ardchoille]

A good friend of mine put it very simply "eat less, burn more" (he lost 85 pounds 3 years ago and still has it off)

'tis the best, and most cost-effective, way to lose weight. Glad to hear you have lost some

[MysticMead]

one thing though... spicy foods... don't cut back on those...they're GOOD for you..

Cholesterol is found almost exclusively in foods from animals (meats, eggs, oils), and is constantly made in the body, mostly in the liver and kidneys. While some cholesterol is essential in the formation of hormones and cell membranes, too much is dangerous. Many people process excess cholesterol naturally and never encounter any problems.

However, there are others who accumulate cholesterol in the blood, resulting in high serum cholesterol counts that lead to atherosclerosis, which is plaque deposits of cholesterol, fats, and other remains in the walls of medium-sized and large arteries. This condition causes the affected vessel to narrow as its walls become thick and hardened, which reduces circulation to organs and other parts of the body. These conditions are the major causes of heart attack, heart disease, chest pain, and other circulatory disorders.

Chile in the diet can enhance the means by which cholesterol and fats are processed. Studies have found that capsaicin works in two ways to reduce cholesterol levels: it decreases cholesterol absorption by the body so that more is excreted in the feces; and it increases the enzymes responsible for fat metabolism in the liver, so that more triglycerides, the hard insoluble fat, are secreted by the liver rather than accumulated in the body.

Studies have found that dihydrocapsaicin, a constituent of capsaicin, can lower blood levels of low *density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), which contributes to atherosclerosis, and raise high *density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), which retards atherosclerosis. A study in India found that rats eating a high *fat diet that included chile and adequate protein experienced less weight gain and exhibited lower serum and liver triglyceride levels. Additionally, they found that capsaicin, when added to an established high *fat diet, actually reduced triglyceride levels in the blood.

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