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Ask YC: How do you lose weight?
26 points by Flemlord on April 18, 2008 | hide | past | favorite | 150 comments
This was inspired by another Ask YC post that mentioned the Hacker's Diet (http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/www/hackdiet.html).

After extensive research, I tried the Hacker's Diet and lost 60 pounds over 7 months. The big problem with HD is that it doesn't emphasize increasing your protein intake. As a result, I lost some muscle mass as well as fat. I kept the weight off for two years but eventually gained most of it back. Another criticism of HD is that you lose your energy--had I been working at the time I couldn't have pulled it off.

I recently started a medically supervised diet called a Modified Fast which does emphasize increasing protein and virtually eliminating carbs. One of my board members recommended the clinic and they claim they can do 15-20 pounds a month with no muscle loss or decrease in energy. I'm ahead of schedule but I'm only a couple days in so it doesn't really count. (The first 10 lbs are water weight.) I also take an appetite suppressant called phentermine during both diets.

Here's the Wikipedia link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketogenic_diet) for something similar to my current diet. They call it the Ketogenic Diet. (The whole point is to kick your body into a state of ketosis where it rapidly burns off all your fat. The protein is to make sure it doesn't also burn off muscle.)

So YC, have you ever tried to lose weight? If so, how?



First of all, exercise. You can't get in good shape through diet alone. Exercise is more than just cardio; strength training increases the amount of muscle mass you have, which allows you to burn more calories.

"Diets" don't work because the word implies a temporary change in your eating habits. In order to maintain weight loss, you need to change your eating habits for the rest of your life.

Further, in order to be in good shape - not just maintain "low weight" - you need to eat well and exercise. For the rest of your life.


From someone who exercises a good amount (usually 5-6 days a week for 1-2 hours at a time) I never really believe in exercise for weight loss.

The math just doesnt work out, go and run hardcore for about 3 miles at 250 lbs bodyweight and you are looking at burning about 500 calories. While thats a good amount its the same as maybe 2 bottles of soda. Its a lot easier to cut out 100 calories from 5 meals then to run 3 miles...

So I never advocate exercise for weight loss purposes as much as diet. I greatly advocate exercise for all the other benefits plus the motivation it helps with in dieting.

Really as someone else stated, if you are overweight you need to make a lifestyle change. Cut out all the crap esp empty calories like soda (sugar) pastries, and other junk.


Your math doesn't work because it's not that simple. The effects of exercise - strength training or cardio - do not stop once you stop. Your metabolism is raised for hours after, and your body has to start repairing itself.

Also, please note there is more to exercise than cardio.


Go look at the actual research about raised metabolism after training, and about the increase with more muscle mass. You'll find it's actually pretty tiny.

However, excercise does have other effects, possibly including reducing cravings and changing hormone levels and maybe (over the long term) gene expression.


No, in fact you are wrong for exercise like intense weight lifting.

Of course proper diet does have a huge effect in weight loss though.


> Go look at the actual research

I can and have lost eight pounds (not water) in three days. I could do it right now. I call BS on whatever research.


I'm not going to say you haven't lost eight pounds in three days, but I will say that most of that was water weight and the rest was probably muscle.

A pound of fat is roughly 3500 calories. In order to lose eight pounds of fat in three days, you would have had to induce a caloric deficit of over 9000 calories per day.

A note to everyone: The most weight you can healthily lose is about two pounds per week. More than that and you're going to start losing a measurable amount of muscle mass. The exception is when you first start out exercising and eating properly, but that should only last for a couple of weeks.


When you cover huge distances all day the weight/calorie arithmetic is not linear. Your body rapidly sheds large amounts of weight to become more efficient.

I specifically said it was not water.


You body stores about 1 pound of glycogen (a quickly available starch energy source) in the muscles and the liver. With it is about 5 pounds of water. When you eat a low carb diet, the first thing your body does is burn that off. That, plus dehydration, means you can expect to lose about 6-8 pounds in a few days. I can and have done that many times. And then I can gain it back in two more days with a couple of big plates of pasta. Competitive athlethes like wrestlers who need to make weight can routinely cut and gain a temporary 15-20 pounds in less than a day.

In other words, sorry if you don't believe me, but much of what you lost was water.


I know all this. But when the weight stays off, and you in fact continue to lose weight in the following weeks, then it is not water loss. A lot of muscle, yeah.


I am in no way saying 'don't bother exercising', but if the only reason someone exercises is to lose weight they will usually jump ship. I have never met anyone that has a serious exercise regiment (>3 years) that says they do it mainly for the weight loss.

The problem with exercise, like many endeavors, is that the results are from long hard work. Many times as soon as the initial results slow to a crawl people will lose pretty much all motivation. Its the same as anything else really, burnout is not caused by the work but by the months of seeing no results.

I mainly exercise with weight training (5-6 days a week) and cardio maybe 2-3 times a week. I have been exercising regularly for probably about 8 years now. I don't do it for muscle or weight loss anymore (but of course I enjoy those effects) I do it to get away from everything. Its the time when I can really clear my mind and do something is mentally very easy (although many times physically difficult).

I think exercise is the best thing for people that spend many hours doing mentally challenging but physically non-challenging work like programmers or engineers.


It does scale, and it is that simple. I exercise regularly (run, lift), and if anything, I've only gained weight while on an exercise-only program.

On more than one occasion, I've made relatively mild cuts to my caloric intake (say, 250 Cal/day), and lost significant (>10 lbs) amounts of weight in 1-2 month time periods (and I've kept it off for years). Right now, I maintain my weight (6'2", 180lbs) by eating about 2,300 Calories per day. I don't count Calories anymore (I can estimate pretty well), but by weighing myself daily, I adjust what I eat to maintain.

People think that calorie restriction doesn't work, because they don't give it enough time, they aren't careful about it (i.e. sloppy record keeping), or they cheat. But if you're diligent, patient and honest, it's the most effective weight loss routine you can establish. I recommend using something like calorie-count.com to keep track of everything that you eat for a week or two, then cutting back on that number by a small amount (say, 250-500 Cal.) for a month. You'll be surprised at the results.


For most people, it's pretty easy to cut 400-500 kCals out and barely notice.

Just cut back on soda. Eat half a burrito instead of guzzling the whole thing. Eat proper meals instead of snacking on candy bars.

Just the basics.

I've never dieted, but I'm down at 177 pounds from 189, since I thought I was getting a bit heavy, just through using the techniques above.

I suspect the largest contribution is from not eating an entire Chipotle burrito every couple of days, but instead eating just half, which is still a pretty good meal.


I totally agree with you on your last point about sloppy record keeping. You've learned over time how to properly estimate calories. Once I started to actually measure and record the food I consumed my weight changed dramatically.


I think that many people who over-eat because of 'nervous energy' and the calming effect of moderate exercise can help these people eat less. Also as far as I understand it, exercise raises your metabolism for a considerable period (maybe even days). And of course any extra muscle mass developed through exercise will also increase metabolism.

So I think you may be underestimating the impact of exercise on weight. I certainly haven't done as much as you but I feel exercise has helped me lose weight.


It's more than just metabolism. Slow twitch exercise like distance running and cycling causes your body to shed weight in excess of calories metabolized. Your body says "Hey, I seem to be carrying this extra weight around long distances. Better get rid of it as an efficiency measure."


Makes some intuitive sense but I'd like to see a reference.


i remember in high school i was quite chubby. i was a good runner, too, and ran at least every-other day, and did other exercise. but i didn't lose weight. it wasn't until i stopped eating large servings of delicious burritos & hot dogs that i lost a lot of weight

so yea, at least in my case, exercise doesn't do much for weight. re: stress though, that's a different issue


> i was quite chubby. i was a good runner, too

Sure you were.


The key with exercise is to realize you're on a progression. Maybe you start by burning 500 calories in 30 minutes, but eventually you will be able to burn 800-900 calories in 60 minutes. That's a good 600-800 additional calories per day.

You still may have to make some diet changes: sucking down sodas all day long is not a good idea no matter how much exercise you do.

The other thing to realize is that your body will try to adapt to exercising every day. If you are routinely active, your body is going to be less likely to store energy in fat.


Excellent points. Muscle mass is key for many things, including burning more calories.

I wouldn't focus on being a certain weight or losing a certain weight - you should initially be staying about even since you will be increasing muscle mass while reducing fat mass.


I also think that for many people strength training can be more fun, and consequently, are more likely to continue doing it. It's more visceral than most cardio, and the goal/reward system of increasing weight and reps gives faster gratification.

Part of the problem is that most people have no idea how to do the basic lifts, and most personal trainers don't teach them. Another problem is a basic lack of structure, which is why I advocate focusing on the basic lifts: bench, squat, deadlift and maybe clean & press.

Doing both cardio and strength training is important, but I think most people already understand the basics of cardio.


> I advocate focusing on the basic lifts

For the average dude just trying to stay in shape, nothing beats the full olympic lifts. Take the barbell from the ground to over your head with snatches and cleans. Do it right and you'll be stronger than 90% of the people in the gym from 10 minutes three times a week.

FYI: The kind of lifts you see most people do in a gym are derived from body building routines, not proper strength training for athletic purposes. Such lifts will puff up muscles through sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. These slow movement high volume exercises actually decrease peak force, and puffed up muscles will slow you down and decrease aerobic efficiency. Hence the terms "blown-up" or "puffed-up" fighter.


30 minutes of snatch and cleans per week will not result in you being stronger than 90% of the people in the gym.


Done properly, yes they will. Strength increases from exceeding previous peak maximal effort. That's almost the whole story. This does not require a lot of time. Very brief and intense sessions are effective. Explosive full body movements done to failure have by far the biggest effect on strength.

Strength is more a neurological matter than people realize. Achieving higher explosive strength is almost more about training the nervous system than the muscles. The explosive lifts done properly achieve this training, whereas slow heavy-weight movements simply don't.

To equivocate, just snatches and cleans will lead to accommodation quickly. Variations will be necessary. But I will stand by my assertion that ten minute strength training routines done three times a week can leave you stronger than most of the people in a typical gym. You won't necessarily puff up bigger, but you will throw a much harder punch.

p.s.

I like how you admit to being a newbie elsewhere yet you're contradicting me with confidence. I'm not just talking out my ass. This is knowledge I use to win in the ring.


The Olympic lifts are great, but I've found they often require a base level of fitness to do them at all. Plus, it's a lot easier to teach yourself how to squat or deadlift than to do a proper clean (squat clean, not power clean).


"diet" implies your normal eating habits, not a change in eating habits.

go to a nutritionist and they will ask you "what's your diet like?"


In the context I was using it, "diet" implies a temporary change in eating habits. I'm aware of the definition of the word and it's technical usage, but I'm also aware of how it's actually used.


It's really too bad that "diet" is treated as a "four letter word" in the US and not simply the foods and eating habits that make up your regular intake.


Move more, eat less. It really is that simple.

If you want to lose weight you need to include both exercise and proper nutrition in your life (I don't like the word "diet").

Running, weights, PT, biking, swimming, etc. Brisk walking is great. Just do something!

My best advice regarding exercise is to make it a habit by including it in your daily routine. At first you'll feel worse when you do exercise than when you don't, but if you persist you'll soon feel worse when you don't. That's when you've succeeded.

The body's a machine, and with proper fuel and maintenance you have the best chance for a long and productive life.

When I'm eating that salad every day during lunch I just tell myself it's "brain food," and I notice the difference in the afternoon.

I also believe being a balanced and well-rounded person gives you the best chance of being a successful entrepreneur. You can only sprint for so long--think instead of "what I'm going to do for the next 40, 50, or 60 years."


Thinking down the road is what got me off my ass and in the gym. I realized that I'd been 40 pounds overweight for the past seven years and that there is no magical weight loss fairy who would wave her wand at me and make me wake up one day without that fat.

Right now I'm still getting "newbie gains", but I can't even begin to describe how great it feels to know that every day I'm stronger and healthier than I've ever been in my life. I'm also happier and handle stress better than ever. Really, exercise is that miracle drug everyone seems to be searching for.


That's so awesome.

"Fit for life" is a good mantra, because fitness--a balance of stamina and strength--improves every aspect of life.


> Move more, eat less. It really is that simple.

It's probably not quite "that simple." How else to explain the epidemic of obesity? Lifestyle hasn't changed that much since the 70s. It's dietary changes, most conspicuously much lower fat intake. Composition of calories matters a whole lot. So many people have difficulty executing on weight loss because they are malnourished in various ways.

I hate this guy and think he's a self promoting huckster, but he does an adequate job of making the point on calories here: http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2008/02/25/the-science-...


The problem is more complicated then given credit to. Basically, we don't know. We do have hundreds of diets, but if you go to a doctor and ask the question you're not going to get a nice, uniform and consistent answer.

From what I read and experienced over time there are some conclusions to be drawn:

1. Most diets are short-medium term, and for long term they're inefficient or (if at least one study is to be believed) even detrimental.

2. Excercise does help. The single most efficient thing you can do, with long term results and no side-effects is to build up your muscle mass. Aerob (resistance) exercise helps too, but I'm not sure yet how much.

3. Meta-diets are more efficient. Instead of following a certain diet, make long-term smaller changes to the way you eat. A few things you can try:

- Add more variety. That's btw what all the doctors say: a balanced diet is a healthy diet.

- Switch starting/stopping a meal from external cues to internal cues. Eat when you're hungry, not when you are offered food or the favorite show is on. Stop eating when you're full, not when the plate is empty. If you can, don't do anything when eating, like watching tv or reading. Hurts the above-mentioned internal cues.

- Don't base your diet on willpower. Willpower is a limited commodity, and it's best kept for other things (really, it's cognitive science).

A good way of combining all of the above is to plan what you're going to eat, but not from a diet standpoint but from a gourmand one. Eat only delicious food. Eat whatever you feel like at the moment. Enjoy eating. By that i don't men stuff yourself with the same hamburgers all the time, but cook your own food and actively search new eating places and foods.


Making my own meals helps me. I try to start from scratch as much as possible and avoid fatty meats. Plus, cooking my own food makes it more enjoyable to eat, which means its easier to eat healthily. The inventive aspect is also fun.


I'm be pretty skeptical of anything that advertises more than 1lb/week of weight loss, hence why I'm pretty skeptical of diets. About 2 years ago I went from 235 to 185 and have mostly kept it off ( because of a more sedentary lifestyle in the winter, my weight varies from 190-200 during the year).

It's very simple to describe: 1. I stopped eating crap: no chips, pop, snacks, a bit less high-fat stuff etc. 2. I scaled back the portions: I was amazed as how much less food I needed to be full and have energy when I started cutting back. I am not a small person (6'4"), but I find lunch portions in most restaurants are a bit too big and dinner portions are often times insane. 3. Started exercising seriously - last summer I ran about 10km 5 days a week, the year before I biked about 120km-150km/week. It may be tough to get started, but after a while it actually gets easier.


I am not overweight and not a specialist for diets. However, recently I read one book about nutrition that made a big impression on me: The China Study by Colin Campbell. It doesn't give you a specific diet plan, except for the recommendation to avoid all animal proteins. But if that sounds hard, the book provides ample motivation, because it summarizes lots and lots of studies that show that most "civilization diseases", like heart disease, cancer, multiple sclerosis, diabetes and more can be avoided by such a diet. But the author is not a crank or self-announced health guru, but a scientist who has devoted his life to studying these things. The most extensive study is the China Study that gave the book it's name, but it is not the only one.

As for losing weight, I remember that he writes that people with a mostly plant based diet tend to actually eat more calories than meat eaters, but stay slimmer nevertheless - the energy is used in a different way. He also criticizes some popular diets, for example while Atkins dieters lost weight in studies, what is less known is that they also lost critical amounts of calcium. Overall, Atkins is apparently very unhealthy.

Also, apparently people who switch to plants based diets also lose weight, without calories counting.

Of course I am not a health scientist, so I can't judge the book. But it sounded convincing to me, also because even before I read it I had a feeling I should try to avoid dairy products. I did some google searches but found no refutations of The China Study (it has a section on the grip of the food industry on the dieting market).

In fact, I would be interested in hearing other people's opinions.


That's interesting. Do you know how accurate the calories to weight conversion is?


Joe Hruska (one of my co-founders at RescueTime, YC08) has lost 42 pounds in the last 3.5 months with approximately zero exercise.

He pretty much did the South Beach Diet. It's kinda faddy, but it really is approximately what humans were designed to eat. You should pick up the book, but approximately: no white flour, no white sugar, no rice, no potatoes. First two weeks are pure carb-free (painful) but the rest of the time, complex carbs are okay in moderation.


On Dec. 17th I had blood work done for my yearly physical. At that time I was warned by the doctor that I was trending towards diabetes. My triglycerides were 381 and cholesterol was 173.

This really kicked me in the ass to drop weight. I did a fair bit of research into diets and really detested the idea of a fad type diet. But, for me - the South Beach diet allowed me to eat the food I enjoy and not feel like I was starving myself.

Fast forward to April 12th I had lost 42.6 pounds and had my blood retested. My triglycerides were down to 76 (a drop in over 300 points) and my cholesterol was down to 153. Granted triglycerides can range fairly broadly from day to day, but the doctor was very impressed with my progress.

This week, I started a morning exercise routine as outlined by the Hacker Diet ( http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/www/chapter1_2_5.html#Exerc... ). My goal is to drop an additional 25-30 pounds, which will get me to 170-175, over the next year by eating right and exercise.


Congrats on the weight loss. Medical reasons kicked off my current diet too--I was diagnosed with high blood pressure. South Beach sounds similar to what I'm doing right now. The first two weeks of no-carbs should have kicked your body into ketosis, and it will stay there as long as you keep the carbs down.


This is important. To first approximation, all that matters is diet. Exercise has many other health benefits, but as a weight-loss strategy it's almost lost in the noise.


I did the SB diet also. Keep in mind it's not a no-carb diet. It's a complex carb (whole grains, veggies, etc) diet. The first two weeks are to break our "addiction" to carbs.

During those two weeks, it was hard to focus + I would get headaches from the withdrawl. Nowadays it's much easier to find whole grain/lean meat alternatives at every restaurant. All you need is will power to make the right choices.


"approximately what humans were designed to eat"

and humans weren't approximately designed to sit in chairs for 10-12 hours day typing away staring at a computer screen.

the diet matched the activity.


Well, a lot of peoples have basically hibernated for the winter. Inuit hole up for almost half the year and live off provisions. Back in more agrarian days there really wasn't a whole lot to do all winter. Cows and chickens only make milk and eggs all year now from artificial stimulation.

People ate high fat preserved food. Cheeses, pemmican, manteca, bacon, etc. Also pickled stuff.

So if all you do is sit around, try living off tubs of lard and sauerkraut.


First two weeks are painful, but then you are allowed to have some wine and the taste of even a so-so wine is absolutely incredible. I guess these two weeks do something to your taste buds, so they start picking up even minute traces of sugar.

I would actually repeat the South Beach just for this wine tasting experience :)


I've lost nearly 60 pounds in 7 months. I did that by making sure I walk for atleast 1 hour a day and changing my diet. Yes, just regular walking - no running because 15-20 minutes of running kicks my ass whereas I can walk for 1-1.5 hours without getting too tired.

Aside from that I've made sure I'm comfortable with my diet throughout the initial weight loss. To maintain the loss I've realized that I need to decide to change my lifestyle and my diet permanently. So that excludes diets that deprive my body off essential nutrients and which I can not maintain long-term. I've started to eat more salads for my meals - the salads always include protein (grilled chicken or grilled steak) and sometimes carbs too (sweet fruits). I always make sure my meal contains some form of veggies. I try to avoid fat and greasy things totally (but not always). For desert or just increasing my sugar level when I'm feeling lethargic I take sugar in the form of fruits - mostly apples, oranges or anything else that is sitting in the fridge. I've developed a new appreciation for fruits and veggies during the last 6 months. For breakfast I've shifted to having boiled egg whites and recently have started to include brown bread too.

I think the first comment hit the nail on the head - to maintain the loss you need to change your habits permanently. You should pick a routine _now_ that you are comfortable with and plan to carry it with you long term. You can keep tweaking the routine to suit your needs as you go along but anything that you can not carry with you long term should be avoided.


I gained 40 pounds over the course of 3 years working at a startup. I lost this weight in three months by hiring a personal trainer. She helped me design a diet and exercise plan.

The exercise plan involved a lot of balance, stretching and unconventional weight training. For instance, rather than just pumping iron, the trainer had me do things like stand on a wobbly platform and lift "kettlebells."

Prior to getting fat, I was relatively athletic and went to the gym regularly. I would use the treadmill and lift weights. The new training methods my trainer introduced were much more effective than what I was doing on my own, and I'm now much stronger and more flexible than I ever have been in the past.

I highly recommend this approach if you are serious about getting into shape. Look for a trainer who is into balance, flexibility, "core fitness" and who knows something about nutrition. Most hackers I know are very DIY-independent and are skeptical about hiring someone to help them achieve goals. I am this way, but I found that having a trainer really helped me much more than I was able to achieve on my own.


1. I moved to Europe

2. I stopped drinking soda


Heh. Every time I go to Japan, coming from the United States, I gain weight. Part of this is because I probably get less exercise while in Japan (since I don't lift while I'm there), and part of this is because I love Japanese food, and so I tend to eat a lot while I'm there.

People who move and then lose weight probably just don't like the food in the country where they moved.

That said, when I stopped drinking soda, I dropped a surprising amount of bodyfat, and felt better overall.


It's a good thing Japan is not in Europe.

Moving can have a big influence on someone's body/appetite, but moving specifically to Europe has other advantages. There's a book called The French (don't) Diet. I haven't read it, but I know people who have. The basic idea is that French food (and presumably much of Europe's food overall) is naturally healthy. It's not filled with preservatives or infused with high-fructose corn syrup. Those artificial ingredients in most American foods are hard for our bodies to digest, so they move to fat where they are almost never digested. The French food is made of natural ingredients that our bodies can actually use for nutrition and energy, so we don't store the food away - we use it.

The funny thing is that in America, we don't have this artificial food because it tastes better. We have it here because it's cheaper.

On another note, why is this on HN? I know it's tangentially related to the hacker diet, but an Ask YC: How do you lose weight? thread doesn't seem like it would belong here.


Food has to be digested before it can be stored in fat cells. Also, if it's actually more difficult to digest a given food, then you'll get less energy from it, which means less stored as fat. So, basically, easier-to-digest means more fattening.


One large difference between American and European diets is portion size. One study into why the French don't have an obesity problem like a lot of other western nations had the simple conclusion that they simply ate less.


> People who move and then lose weight probably just don't like the food in the country where they moved.

Not true in my case because I moved to France and food is _good_. But I've noticed three important differences from the US:

1. Portions are smaller 2. People eat more slowly 3. Meals are more varied (given #1 it's quite normal to eat starter + main course + dessert in a restaurant because all are relatively small).


I moved from Canada to Spain, ate and drank to excess, but lost 30 pounds in a year. Why? Because I started running, working up to the point where half-marathons were routine. The climate was a contributor, but I think the key was just stepping out of my current milieu into somewhere where I could easily change my lifestyle without any of the old triggers.


People seem to think Japan = Miso, Green Tea and Sushi, but let me present some popular alternatives - Tonkatsu - deep-fried pork cutlet - ice-cream bread (a loaf of white bread with the centre filled with ice-cream) - endless convenience store aisles of two-minute noodle bowl - prized marbled beef (which always looks to be 50% fat!), etc. Though it is true I eat a lot of cabbage here.


Oh, yeah, there's tons of horrible food in Japan. But there's also a lot of much healthier dining options that nominally cost less. For example, I tend to eat a lot of Bi-Bim-Don at Matsuya, with a side of salad. Costs less than 500 yen (about $5 US), really healthy, and tastes great.

You also left out Okonomiyaki, which is not only delicious, but surprisingly healthy. And onigiri...

Damnit, now I miss Japanese food again. :)


To me it's really obvious that you should eat well and exercise... the problem is getting the time to do it. Why not work/hack at the same time as exercising?

My home work desk is configured for standing... right now I'm experimenting with mini-steppers though I have a feeling that I either need to hack a full blown stepper or that I need to buy a treadmill. The problem is that most mini-steppers have bad design and will probably break in a month, though if you want a treadmill that doesn't break after prolonged use; I've heard you need to spend a few grand...

Ideas:

- http://www.engadget.com/2005/06/08/the-treadmill-workstation...

- here's one guys hack: http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/07/31/web-workout-make-a-work...

- http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/3634

- http://www.buzzfeed.com/buzz/Treadmill_Workstation

I also use a combination of Wii and a mini exercise cyle (not usable for most desks and it's too loud for the office) when I play xbox 360 video games.

http://www.amazon.com/Brookstone-Mini-Exercise-Bike/dp/B0000...


I've been using a treadmill desk for about 8 months now: http://rura.org/blog/2007/11/14/the-treadmill-desk-exercise-...

Once I knew I'd be using the treadmill long-term, I bought a Nordic Track A2350 treadmill online, along with a 4-year extended warranty (added to the year that's already included). There is little chance the treadmill will actually last through 5 years of 5-8h daily usage, so I expect to get my value out of the extended warranty. The whole thing cost about $950 delivered. Far less than a treadmill that's actually built to tolerate this sort of long-term usage.


nice =)


Here's a guy who advocates a daily 14-minute workout using a sledgehammer:

http://www.shovelglove.com/

His logical, noncommercial, do-it-yourself attitude reminds me a lot of the Hacker's Diet.


It's also a good idea to mull over tough designs and business decisions in your head while running or working out.


I've lost over 50-60 lbs since last year. Bulk of it (30-40 lbs) was within ~5 months. The way I did it was mostly through exercise: at the peak, I was doing an hour of cardio a day, 5-7 days a week.

I began (in December of 2006/January of 2007) with 15-35 minutes of cardio, three-four days a week (with intensive weight lifting). That got me back into the pace of exercise; weight lifting created muscles which consume fat when I do cardio. I also targeted the muscles closest to the biggest fat deposits (abdominals, legs) more. After I built up more strength and created a pace (roughly March 2007), I switched to nearly daily work outs with 30-45 minutes of cardio, which grew to an hour of cardio. At this pace I was doing at least 3500 calories a week.

In mid-to-early May, I've reached my initial goal, a normal BMI (for my height it's 174 lbs, down from 200+ lbs). Weight loss became even more rapid after that. 165 lbs by mid-to-late June, 155 lbs during the fall and (stably, since mid-December) 145 lbs. I've remained at that weight since. (The only way I know the dates is I've kept a private diary).

It's been the second greatest improvement I've made to my life (the first greatest improvement would be going to college): I've gained enough confidence to resume dating, I've found myself having more time, I've found myself having more energy to do work. I work 8-10 hour days followed - with occasional crunch time and hackathons - while doing a masters part-time: about equivalent, if not greater, work load than one would have as a startup founder (This brings me to another point, yes you do have time to work out).

As for diet, the only real changes were: - As little white flour as possible (substituted with whole weat). There is minimal difference in taste/enjoyment, but there are less of the "bad" carbs. - As little refined sugar as possible, no high fructose corn syrup at all. Splenda in it's place. In reality this means: make your own tea, drink water (and in the worst case, diet Coke). Dump the junk drinks (and that means dump Bawls and Jolt Cola too - diet Rockstar). - Moderation: don't eat when not hungry, don't starve myself (starvation only puts your body into an energy conservation mode). Less eating at night, less snacking. Smaller portions.

In case you want proof: http://rn86.net/~af/badge.jpg (April 2006, this wasn't even at my worst! Just as I began working full-time) http://rn86.net/~af/photobooth.jpg (few weeks ago)

Hmm, perhaps this deserves a full fledge blog-post.


I've made just a couple of simple changes, and I'm slimming down.

One, I now walk for a long time (1-2 hours) every few days. I go around the neighborhood, up hills and such, so it's not a huge strain but not trivial either. I find a 2 hour walk all at once is much better than, say, 4 days of 30 minute walks, because your body only has to "ramp up" once and spends most of the time at a higher metabolic rate.

Two, I reduced, but did not eliminate, the "bad" things from my diet, permanently. For example, I like soda; but I drink mini-bar cans (100 calories) instead of bottles. I'm slimming anyway; soda is fine, as long as you don't drink so much that there's no calories left for real food. Sure, maybe I could slim down a week or two faster without it, but I wouldn't be happy, so why go through that? :)


Losing weight is as simple as eating less and doing anaerobic exercise for up to an hour a day, 3 to 4 days a week. If you're lifting hard, then the only variable is your diet. Drop a couple hundred calories off of your intake every day for a week - if you aren't losing 1 - 2 pounds per week, take another couple hundred calories off. I would say, in general, no man should eat less than 1800 calories per day, however. If you are, and not losing weight, you should most definitely see your doctor.

Aerobic exercise is great, but you shouldn't do it to lose weight. Do it for the benefits to the cardiovascular system. Anaerobic exercise will add muscle mass which in turn increases your metabolism. Also, by strenuously using your muscles every week, your body has to continuously repair them.

That is important because our bodies are designed for survival. What I mean is that when forced to lose weight, your body will first burn whatever muscle it doesn't need, then resort to the fat. It takes less effort for your body to break down muscle than fat, so it does so first. Your body puts a priority on repairing itself, so it's going to be forced to not burn the muscles it is repairing and instead break down fat for the energy it needs because you're eating less than you need to maintain your weight.

If you want a good weight lifting routine, check out www.wannabebig.com. Specifically, take a look at this routine: http://www.wannabebig.com/article.php?articleid=25


That is a body building routine. Most people don't want to get a huge ass and well muscled but still protruding gut. It's also absurdly split up and apparently designed for someone already huge. Two different sets of squats AND deadlifts in the same day?! That is for some puffed up monster. That's just a complete waste of time for an athlete or someone going for fitness.

> Aerobic exercise is great, but you shouldn't do it to lose weight.

WTF? Distance is THE way to lose weight. There are a ton of bloated guys throwing around barbells. I never see a fat person making good time on the trails.


>Most people don't want to get a huge ass and well muscled but still protruding gut.

You're not going to get huge overnight. It just doesn't happen and isn't something that anyone should even be remotely concerned with.


Actually, I saw quite a few fat people on the trails today. Not making good time, well that's physics.


I'll qualify that a lot of genuinely fat people have insulin sensitivity issues and increasing muscle mass is actually a higher priority than aerobic training for that reason. But if you're just pudgy? Distance burns that off lickety split.


I don't believe in dieting in the sense that it is a temporary fix. I try and change my habits as research comes out. I also don't believe in calorie restriction in the sense that although the physics work, other factors cause the approach to fail. To get an idea why I think this is so, try breathing "less air" sometime and see how long you keep it up.

-Don't eat reduced-fat or "diet" foods. Most of them reduce satiety. I have found, personally, that fats make me feel full, but I can eat an unlimited amount of carbs. Unsaturated fats are ideal. I avoid trans fats everywhere possible.

-smaller plate-size hack http://fooddemocracy.wordpress.com/2008/02/29/mindless-eatin...

-eat breakfast (oatmeal or something with fiber)

-avoid white carbs in favor of whole grains (release energy slowly) and swap out white pasta for whole grain pasta and white breads for whole grain breads. View white bread as a rare treat.

-cut out soda and high fructose corn syrup as much as possible (corn syrup is a more recent addition to our diets that may mess up insulin/satiety)

-weight training--I had great return on exercise (ROE) with the four hour work week's 30 minute regimen from his blog and I seem to need to do this and run to stay slim.

-run (3x a week at least)

-get all required sleep, with naps (some research indicates that over-eating and sleep deprivation are linked)


2 hours of surf every day, stopped eating almost everything that contains high percentage of fat. But since my project is sport-related, I had to take drastic action to avoid (well, at least damage-control) being a bozo.

I'm far from thin (BMI 24.2), but I don't have time to exercise more for now.

edit: my most important weight loss at once was while doing the Oslo-Trondheim pilgrimage in 2006, 640km in 18 days, even while eating an ice-cream each day made me loose 10kg. But you need time and money.


I think there are two issues in losing weight: 1) Dropping the fat aka expending more energy than you absorb and working to keep muscle as you go. 2) Changing your habits to effect a change to not go back to where you were.

Frankly, most of us are professional sitters. We essentially do nothing physical every day. If we were, historically, designing the human system, we would have never expected it to expend so little energy in a day. We have systems to manage and regulate weight but our activity level is below the expected minimum and they fail. Design-wise--we are not what was expected, so we must consciously do more.

This is to say that medicine and science can help you tremendously with 1) but you need to get your head in a different place if you want to succeed at 2) and that is hard++.

In addition to your efforts at 1), I would _strongly_ recommend working on new habits. One I continually recommend is getting the habit of doing something physical for an hour a day on average. If you can't do an hour at first, do a half-hour on average. By something I mean literally that: bounce a ball against a wall, go for a walk, go for a run, hit the weights, jump rope, bicycle, etc. Just make sure you are fairly constantly active for the period. I think this something idea is more effective because it is much easier goal to keep. People fail at 2) because they cannot stick to their goals for new habits.

This is already more than I intended to write, but I have one last point. Focus on developing a truthful awareness of what you are putting into your body. Eating is an amazingly subtle and powerful mental process. Forcing yourself to be aware of what goes into your body will help you engage better habits.


Be vegan and don't snack or drink soda. I graduated college at 5'10" and 140lbs. ;-)

Actually, here's what I would recommend:

- Stop drinking soda. Drink less beer and more wine and whiskey. Hoooyah. - Don't snack and do get in to things like organic dark chocolate instead of Snickers for dessert. - Set a goal to do something like 100 sit-ups and 25 push-ups a day, no matter what. - As much as possible, eat locally-grown foods. Fat, salt and other undesirables are used to counter the loss of flavor in most food that's packed, shipped, frozen, etc. - Drink a full glass of water before every meal. - Eat more slowly. Using chopsticks helps with this, until you get really good with chopsticks. - Get some exercise band/tube things. You can loop them under your chair and do shoulder presses at about 25-35lbs. resistance while puzzling through an intellectual problem in your code, or while staring at some stupid YouTube video.

The rest is all just about being more active. If you do that well and your metabolism goes up, you don't even have to be as picky about dieting. On top of it, some increase in muscle mass will cause you to shed more calories across the board.


> don't snack

I have often heard the exact opposite advice: eat smaller meals and have more between meal snacks, though obviously with a focus on healthy snacks.

Why do you find this to be a more effective approach?


More recent research has shown that it doesn't make much if any difference as to the number of meals you eat. I don't have the journal link right now, but it's out there. I'm most comfortable not eating much for the first 3-4 hours of the day so that I can eat more in the afternoon and evening to get that nice, full feeling at dinner. If you prefer eating 5-6 meals a day, go for it. Anything is better than eating like the masses.


Eating smaller meals isn't a bad approach. Don't snack should have been "don't eat packaged snack food" because it's more likely to be junk.

So, we agree. If you want to slice up some cucumber and dip some humus, that's probably fine. If you're staring at a bag of chips, that's probably trouble.

One of the best methods to make snacking benign is to not stock anything unhealthy. Like, if it's crap, don't buy it and then you won't have to worry about avoiding eating it at home later.


Being reminded about stress from another comment, I just remembered the second health-relevant book I read in recent times: "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers", a book about Stress. One relevant tidbit: during a stress event (like a lion jumping out of the bush to eat you), the body doesn't care for hunger. Rather, it tries to use as much energy as possible (for example for running away). After the event (IF you escape the lion), the body wants to replenish the resources, so you get very hungry.

Why then, do some people lose weight during stressful phases of their life, and others gain weight? The explanation put forward is that people might experience stress in different ways. The one kind really experience a prolonged stress experience, so they forget to eat (stress suppresses the hunger). The other kind of people experiences lots of small stress events. For example driving to work: first red traffic light - stress, second red traffic light - stress, call customer - stress. So they have lots of short stress experiences, each one followed with the natural hunger reaction after stress. So they tend to eat a lot, and gain weight.


The best resource I have ever found on this is Lyle MacDonald's materials. You can go to (http://www.bodyrecomposition.com) for articles. He takes a geek approach to nutrition, and talks extremely straight about it, and bases all his conclusions on science and research.

There are many myths and pieces of information out there on dieting. Yes, keeping protein intake up, to a point that many people would even consider disgusting, is important. It's ultimately pure thermodynamics: eating less than you burn. However, it is a big mistake to try and do too much in the gym. The eating is by far the most important part of the equation.

Another big key is that certain diet patterns are much easier to follow. Low carb works very well for me (after a week or two of adjustment where I'm absolutely fried). Once it's locked in, all cravings for high carb and junk foods just disappear. But I have to be careful, because any break from this leads to extreme temptation again.


Please explain why you think it's a mistake to "try and do too much in the gym." My observation is that people don't work hard enough in the gym.


Doing an hour of cardio every day might be too much. (I'm talking about something which is higher intensity than fast walking... That would be great.) Half an hour three times a week would be fine. The issue is with adherence, and also the body's negative response to this much exercise. In many people (including me for sure) it triggers an adaptation that makes them try to conserve calories by making them feel sluggish and lethargic later on.

Weight training has similar effects. The body can be in an anabolic mode with a caloric surplus, and in that case, yes it's good to work hard in the gym. (Most people shouldn't go to failure very often if ever though.) But when you are in a catabolic mode, working out very hard with weights is going to lead to adherence issues again, e.g. dreading the workouts. You don't really need to do all that much to maintain muscle mass, as opposed to building it when you are approaching your genetic limit. Three times in the gym per week at 30-45 minutes per session would be just fine in my opinion.

In summary, picking something you can adhere to is far more important than trying to optimize the equations in a way that someone with infinite willpower might manage.


Don't buy into the "genetic limit" line of thinking. The limit on the amount of muscle mass you can pack onto your body is much higher than most people have the will to achieve.

My issue is not length, but intensity. I understood "not doing too much in the gym" to mean "don't work too hard." If instead you meant use your time in the gym wisely, then that I agree with. But if you want to see continued improvement, then you need to increase the intensity over time. Despite being in the gym the same amount as some people, I'm in better shape because I work harder.

I agree with your summary, but I would stress "work hard." I've found that working hard and continually trying to improve actually makes workouts more fun.


Everyone has a genetic limit. I'm not going to bench press 700 pounds. Therefore the set of all things I could do (naturally) in my lifetime to raise it has a least upper bound. QED:)

There's a time for intensity. As someone starts to get diminishing returns, the needs increase for higher intensity, probably higher volume, and higher complexity e.g. periodization or something even more complicated than that. The time for intensity is not when you are just starting weight training, in which case anything will work (but someone should do exercises properly of course.) The time for intensity is doubly not when your primarily goal is to lose weight, in which case the body isn't going to have its full resources to repair itself.


Quoting myself, adding emphasis, "The limit on the amount of muscle mass you can pack onto your body is much higher than most people have the will to achieve." A 700 pound bench press is actually humanly possible, as the record for a raw, drug tested bench is 711 pounds. If you said 2000 pounds, then I'd agree with you; I think that's beyond human capacity. But 700 pounds is within human capacity, and your limit is your will.

As a counter-example to what you said about intensity, check out the video for The Captain: http://www.gymjones.com/video.php

I also like this essay: http://www.gymjones.com/knowledge.php?id=36


Increasing the speed throughout the extent of a treadmill run takes my mind off the pain, cuz I'm trying to appreciate the slower speeds before I have to go faster:)


I've been participating in triathlons/5ks/10ks since I was in high school. To keep in shape, I have a pretty simple regiment that I do 5/6 days a week. Each one of those days, I run, bike, or swim, depending on what I feel like doing. I go for how ever long I feel appropriate - long enough that I feel tired but not absolutely exhausted. I also go to the gym for half an hour to an hour each of those days. I do a lot of olympic type lifting (snatches, lifts, presses, rows, squats) and resistance training (pushups, situps, pullups, dips). Every now and then I throw something else in just to keep things exciting (like rowing, rock climbing, kayaking, skiing in the winter). I don't consider anything I do very strenuous, definitely something everyone is capable of. It winds up only being about an hour or two every day, which isn't much considering you're awake for about 16.


About a 1.5 months ago, I started the Men's Health BellyOff! program and I have nothing but praise for the system. The diet is pretty strict but its strength is its simplicity. I pretty much eat the same thing every day so I don't even think about cheating anymore. It sounds restricting but it really frees my mind up from having to ask "What should I eat?" at every meal.

The exercise regimen is very practical. It requires 30 mins 3 times a week. All exercises can be done at home with the addition of an exercise ball and chair-no need to buy expensive equip AND they can be done even when I'm away from home. The exercieses also increase in difficulty as time progresses so you don't feel stagnant. I've definitely seen results.

All the details on the program are here:http://bellyoff.menshealth.com


I've lost about 26lbs since January 1. I've increased muscle mass and decreased fat. I feel fantastic all the time. I average about a 1 pound a week. I'm 5'10 and I've gone from 220 to 194. I'm still going down too. I don't know when I'll stop, but I figure around 170 is right for my frame.

I've made several changes in my life that I feel contribute to my loss. I don't know which changes have the most effect, but like anything I think it's a little bit of all of them.

First up, Eat real food, not too much, mostly plants. The book "In Defense of Food" changed my life. It's not a diet at all, but guidelines to how to eat better for yourself and the environment. I feel this has had the most impact on my weight loss. I eat way more fruits and vegetables now but less food overall. I try (it's damn hard) to stop eating when I'm full.

I also go to the gym every day. I don't have a in-depth program. I just have day 1 and day 2. Day 1 is 25-30 minutes of cardio and some simple weight training. I typically hit each major muscle set with one set of reps. Day two rests my weight training -- I do 40-45 minutes of cardio. I should also clarify that I don't hit the gym every day; I don't always go if I'm doing some other physical activity that day.

I've been working from home since mid-January. I use the gym in my building at lunch. Again, I do it every day. Commuting and lack of showers in my office were a huge mental barrier for me doing this in the past.

I've also been reliably and visually recording my weight. Every Monday I weigh in when I get up. I put my weight into a google spread sheet and it draws a graph for me. Seeing my progress has been a great reinforcement.

On top of the spreadsheet, I said in January that I want to be 190lbs by May 1 (I'm a pound off track right now). I used the spreadsheet to track where my progress should be. I purposely set my goals for roughly a pound a week. I was able to do a quick formula to show me where I should be every week. This allowed my to check my progress in bite sized pieces.

Good luck!


A nice, basic, simple (but not easy) way is this:

a. cut the gratuitously bad stuff out of your diet. Drop sodas, chips, candy, etc. If you eat fast food, get a grilled chicken sandwich and a salad instead of a double cheeseburger and fries.

B. add some exercise. It doesn't have to be a lot, but what has worked well for me over the years is walking on a treadmill, and gradually upping the incline to increase the resistance as my conditioning improves; and/or increasing my speed or adding time to my sessions.

You'd be amazed how much weight you can lose if you walk on a treadmill for an hour at 3.5 MPH, with the incline set all the way up, 4-5 times a week. Just be patient. Trying to lose more than 2 lbs a week is probably not a good idea, and it takes some fairly hard work (see above) to lose even 2 lbs a week.


http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1797596

Exercise. Establishing a lasting exercise routine is the only way to stay healthy for life. I was about 40 pounds overweight for 5 years and tried all sorts of diet changes, and nothing lasted for more than a month or so.

Instead of going on another diet, I started running. The above route is almost 6 miles that I ran last week. In February, I could barely run a half mile. It didn't take that long to get into great running shape, and I feel fantastic. I've only lost about 10 pounds, but I figure I've gained about 10 pounds of muscle and lost about 20 pounds of fat. Instead of concentrating merely on what's on the scale, concentrate on how you feel- the scale will come around eventually.


Find BMR: http://tinyurl.com/2uc7ps

Use BMR info to find daily calorie needs: http://tinyurl.com/yxrujb

Subtract the total daily calorie amount by 250-500 and eat that many calories per day. Yes, you'll have to count calories.

Make sure to get enough protein (at least 1g per pound of bodyweight) and healthy fats (olive oil, peanut butter, nuts, etc) and a moderate amount of carbohydrates.

Do weight lifting 3 days a week, cardio the other 3, and take one day off to rest.

Losing weight is very simple: just make sure you're eating below your maintenance calories. There's no need to follow any special 'diets'.


You're advising too much protein: One to one and a half grams per kilogram is enough for almost anyone except the most devout lifters (read: those who compete). As for determining calories, most people eat a similar amount every week, so all they need to do is track their calories for a week then subtract from there until they're losing one to two pounds per week; not counting the first one or two weeks where they'll lose a lot of water weight.


1 gram per pound of body-weight is a good amount for someone who lifts weights (not only those who compete) and is not hard to achieve every day. Would you rather they overload on carbs all day? It's even more important if you're trying to lose weight: cutting too many calories and not getting enough protein will most likely result in you losing a lot of muscle mass.


Protein digestion causes your body to produce more heat. This thermal effect causes greater idle calorie loss.


Excess protein intake puts significant stresses on the kidneys and is unnecessary.


Excess, significant -- numbers? I'll tell you what puts stress on your body, being fat.

Huge numbers of people have being-fat related diseases. Never have I heard of someone succumbing to this protein myth.


> healthy fats (olive oil, peanut butter, nuts, etc)

Saturated fat is healthy fat. It's a lot easier to eat properly once you understand butter and suet are great.


I just started at the gym. I've gone every other day so far. It's only been the first week, but I am starting out slow with about 30-60 minutes of cardio. Along with that I try to keep in check what I am eating. Eating breakfast is a big thing cause it gets your metabolism going in the morning. For lunch instead of a whole sandwich I eat half a sandwich and some fruit and a yogurt. For dinner I try to keep red meat to special occasions and eat more chicken and fish. I also try to make smarter choices like salad with dressing on the side instead of french fries. Thats about it.

Edit: I also don't drink soda, diet or regular.


Bet your friends $500 that you can lose more than they can.

A morning after a booze and pizza filled night, my buddy and I were feeling particularly fat. So we placed a bet, the one who loses most will win a bet. He invited another fat friend. So three of us each put $500 into a envelope ($1,500 all in), and we had 6 weeks to lose as much as possible. We weighed in immediately (3 times each, taking the average, very anal about the details). 6 weeks later one had lost 8lbs, one 20lbs and I lost 23lbs (I was completely dehydrated!), but we were skinny and I was rich. It was the easiest way of losing weight ever.


Here was my plan: http://www.datawrangling.com/hidden-video-courses-in-math-sc...

Watched videos on the archos while doing cardio at the gym...Add regular weightlifting where the weight increases over time (just find a program you like from one of the usual muscle mags from the newstands)... and be sure to do cardio with alternating sprints/jogs along with watching your diet. If you are new to lifting, or haven't much before then take it slow and make sure you use good form to avoid injury.


I've dropped 60lbs over the last year and over half of that was within the first two months. All I did was be mindful of my weight and convince myself that losing it was important. From there I just stopped eating as much crap and bought an exercise bike and made a simple rule. If I'm not watching tv / movies with friends, I'm on my bike.

As a note of interest, if you do nothing but watch all the star trek episodes and ride an exercise bike with minimal effort you will end up burning over 50 fat-lbs worth of calories. I still haven't made it through the first series I picked yet ;)


I lost maybe 7-10 lbs or so (from 185 to 175ish). I wasn't really trying to lose weight, just get in shape. I focused on heavy cardio (elipticals turned up to a moderate resistance) and swimming, with some running/treadmill and lifting.

For diet, I ate mostly multigrain pasta, chicken, turkey, bread and vegetables. I didn't worry about eating too many complex carbs. You may want to avoid sugars, but otherwise if you like carbs, all you have to do is get enough exercise. I would also suggest beans (though I didn't at the time). Black beans are one of the best foods you can eat.


veganism, go climbing/biking/hiking (take an active interest in a physical activity as it will give you a reason to train when you are not able to do what you love i.e. pull ups to get stronger for climbing).

kettle bells. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mahler56.htm Seriously makes so much sense compared to running. Covers both bases (cardio and strength). Only trick is getting them, hopefully you can find them somewhere locally. I managed to find some at sports authority at a mall of all places!


AAAGH, the hacker diet is really really stupid, there are a lot better ways than that torture! If you want to go nerdy with your diet, try a CRON lifestyle (Calorie Reduced, Optimal Nutrition) and use CRON-o-Meter to track your eating. (http://www.optimal.org/peter/cron.htm)

Why cant you do it the normal way of increased exercise and moderated eating, while you avoid eating junk food and rich desserts? And if you eat desserts & junk, you'll only eat it during weekends or something.


I lost 10-15 pounds since I started biking five miles to work and back. I have no patience for exercise for the sake of exercise, so it is the only thing I can consistently do to get my heart rate up.


the same mental tenacity you use for hacking/ your start-up you need it for losing weight, especially living in the US

1. Turn off the TV (constant bombardment by food ads)

2. Don't eat out at restaurants (huge caloric intake/ ridiculous portions)

3. Learn to cook/ cook a majority of your foods

4. Don't eat processed foods. (high fructose corn syrop, partially hydrogenated oils, carbonated water especially)

5. find a sport/exercise you ENJOY -- snowboarding, biking, etc.

6. try to combine excercise work or excercise/entertainment. (ride a stationary bike while you watch a movie)

7. have fun and enjoy life and don't be worried about how you look


I knocked off about 25-ish pounds using the 'eat to live' approach and I still seem to be losing although I'm not as orthodox as when I first started. It's basically a plant-based whole foods diet focusing on low fat / low salt / high nutrient density.

The book is worthwhile but I don't know about any of the other stuff that Dr Joel Fuhrman sells. You don't even really need the book as you can find enough web resources to get started if you google 'eat to live'.

http://www.drfuhrman.com/


i used, to great success, a variation of this:

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/04/06/how-to-lose-...

in addition to this type of diet and exercise, lift weights to build muscle. more muscle = more calories burned. because of this, make sure to take in extra protein, and during the one "break" day, eat minimal protein.

change around the food and such as you like, but keep the principles the same.


I lost about 40 pounds two years ago. Here was my method for doing it: http://uncledirtae.com/blog/archives/2006/02/08/how_to_lose_...

I think a big part of losing weight (and keeping it off) is changing your routines. Thus, if you want to lose weight, you might also try changing other aspects of your life at the same time (e.g., moving to a new city or starting a new job).


Make simple changes that add up. Exercise, of course. Take the stairs, walk further distances.

Switch out breads and starches for veggies. Eat a meat with spinach and tomato, instead of fries / pasta. Skip the soda, skip dressing and use more spices for flavor.

If you're gonna go for a gimmicky diet, I recommend the caveman diet: http://www.earth360.com/diet_paleodiet_balzer.html


Seth Roberts has a theory that foods that taste exactly the same every time (particularly those with a high glycemic index) increase appetite and that unfamiliar or flavorless foods decrease appetite. I recommend his paper on the subject: http://sethroberts.net/about/whatmakesfoodfattening.pdf.


If you're serious about losing weight, there is a 2 step program that makes it very easy:

Step 1: See a real nutritionist and have them develop a nutrition plan for you.

Step 2: Exercise.

It's pretty much that easy. And the nice thing is that once you've got those 2 steps figured out, you'll find you don't have to worry about losing weight ever again because you'll know how to maintain your weight.


How do you reduce weight? Reduce your intake or increase your metabolism.

How do you keep weight off? Understand there is no short cuts. Basically, follow a steady diet that maintains your weight.

In short cut out manufactured foods e.g. chocolate, soda, cakes, breads, pasta, pizza, burgers etc. Eat simple foods for the most part with water.

Most fat people do not know how to eat/exercise.


Running long distance is a waste of time. You only burn calories while you run, not afterward. The best approach is a combination of building muscle, dieting to lose fat (many, low glycemic index meals per day) and performing HIIT training to continue burn fat after your exercise session is over (HIIT training only takes 15 minutes!).


I use stickk.com as an incentive to workout regularly. I play squash 3 times a week and do cardio and weightlifting twice a week. It's all about regular exercise as well as cutting out fatty foods (hamburgers, fries, pizza, etc.). Also, be careful about eating fruits. Vegetables and lean meats (turkey, chicken) are far better for you.


Start a startup. My cofounder and I have both lost about 10% of our weight over the last 3 months. Its a combination of not eating out every day like we used to (there's no more time, and it's a waste of money), the increased stress level, and a little bit of motivation to do something away from our desks once in a while.


I think it's pretty simple - eat right to the point where you're not full but not hungry and go to the gym as often as you can. I find that a balanced schedule leads to a balanced mind.

In terms of workouts, try hard intervals for both cardio and weights. It's the ideal way to both lose weight and keep your muscle toned.


The biggest drop in fat/weight I noticed is when I stopped eating meat. I also saw lesser (but noticeable) improvements when I stopped drinking cola, started running, started martial arts, stopped eating HFCS, and started lifting weights. But empirically, vegetarianism was the single biggest factor.


Eat less fat and things that are converted into sugar. Don't drink anything with calories. Exercise more. Eat as many fruits and vegetables as you can stomach. Drink black coffee or tea. For a treat, go with chocolate that is 70%+ cocoa. Or if you want to be hardcore, raw cocoa beans.


Welcome to Atkins, South Beach, etc diet camp, but I suspect you already know that.

I'm curious how your diet is different from other no-carbs and especially curious as to what they suggest you'd do after you are off the diet.


I used P90x from beachbody.com and I lost 23 pounds in 3 months but also gained a lot of muscle and amazing definition. I highly recommend it.


Bikram Yoga is my way. It's a style of Hatha Yoga. Bikram Yoga is very intense but, also very rewarding. I can't recommend it enough.


http://www.straightdope.com/columns/030314.html


Very easy: 1) Don't eat anything that contains sugar. 2) Do some intense exercise like jogging or martial arts regularly.


Yes, I have. It is pretty simple. Exercise regularly and eat a healthy balanced diet. Repeat forever.


weightwatchers

It helps you figure out how much to eat, and let's you indulge occasionally so you don't go crazy. Their new online site is fairly geeky, and there are some great recipes as well.

No meetings or anything. Just online. It works!


My wife and I both started Weight Watchers about 5 months ago because she wanted to drop the baby weight she put on while pregnant with our son. To date I have lost 40 pounds and am in better shape then I was in high school. My wife has lost over 30 pounds and is also thinner then in high school, and she's still losing weight (she is about 3 lbs from her target weight). I have hit my target weight and am now maintaining by adding additional points and continuing the exercise routine. Weight Watchers has been great for us because we can eat whatever we want, but we only get so many points per day so we have to make decisions about what we eat. I can have Taco Bell for lunch for 14 points, or I can have a turkey sub from Subway (hold the Mayo) for 10 points and have an ice cream sandwich for 4 points after dinner. The biggest change hasn't so much been what we eat, or even how much we eat (although we eat much more appropriate portions now), instead the biggest change has been how I think about food, how I perceive foods that are inherently unhealthy versus more healthy options. It's been a life changing process and I'm never going back.

Thanks Mark


i have the body of a god (http://www.huongsengrand.com/images/fat_buddha.jpg) why would i want to change anything ?


Drink water only!


expend more calories than you eat


easily said, harder to do.

Lookout for hidden calories. Soda, juice, etc can contain about 250 cals per glass. It takes probably about 15 minutes of running to counteract that.

So, to balance those scales of calorie intake (or tip them into your favour) focus on eating better and drink mostly water, coffees and teas.

Exercise is a must. Do whatever form you can do regularly.

Patience is the final piece the puzzle, you can't healthily lose more than a few pounds a week.


People who think juice is a healthful food are nuts.


Not everyone has a problem with calorie intake.


Many dieting books advise against juice. Not because of the calories, but because it bypasses some parts of the digestive system (you don't chew juice or soup, for example).


I have heard that fructose -- as present in fruits and juice -- can suppress the body's sensation of fullness, causing people to eat more. Some people advance this theory as a reason to not eat or drink anything containing high-fructose corn syrup. I was able to find studies both supporting and refuting the theory, though, so I'm not sure if it is true. Both sites obviously have their own agendas:

http://www.naturalnews.com/022836.html

http://www.hfcsfacts.com/UofWResearchAJCN.html


Even still, drinking a glass of orange juice delivers fewer nutrients than eating an orange, and of course you don't get any of the fiber, either.

Pretty much every drink other than water is empty calories.


I'm not saying people shouldn't drink juice. Juice tastes great and is a gentle morning eye-opener. That's why I drink it.


That sounds simple, but it's not. The amount of calories you need drops with your activity level. So let's say an inactive person needs 1500 calories a day, and they meet exactly that plus a Snickers, which is an extra 271 calories. An active person who needs 2500 calories a day and does the same thing won't be hurt as much from that extra 271 calories; 18% of daily calorie needs versus 11%.

Being active gives you more "slop." Further, being inactive changes what your body does with those calories.


expend more calories than you absorb


I don"t understand why this remark has been downvoted. This is key!

How to do it is a different question.

My way is to eat mostly fresh food, highest quality meat and fish and very moderate amounts of all. The most important thing: no sugar, and when I say no I mean no! No yoghurt with sugar, no drinks with sugar and also no artificial sweeteners. They ruin the taste and you will always want sweet things. Better have two bad weeks without any sweet things. After that sweet tasts ugly. This is one really big step. If you don't like sweet any more, the whole diet will become more healty.

I do understand this is very hard to achieve in the US. But for me this is very important. Without sugar I can eat enough without high calorie intake. Similar things are true for alcohol. Especially in the evenings its billions of calories.

I run twice a week (10 miles) and swim twice a week (1 mile) . My weight is 145 lbs at 5ft 10. Running and swimming does not burn a lot, but the regeneration phase does (repair, build muscles, refill energy reservoirs etc.). Plus you 'll soon be in great shape and can take the stairs instead of the elevator ;o). Or the bike instead of a car.

Well, and it takes a lot of time and patience. But in the end it works.

Monks life? ;o). Not at all. Fresh milk with cereals and fresh fruits (strawberries, melons) in the morning taste absolutely great. Fresh salad with barbecued fish and a glass of chilly white wine is fantastic in the evenings.

Good luck.


That's true. Vomit it all up.


run your ass off and portion control. that's it.


Sadly, I don't.


Start training for an Ironman.


First off, I wouldn't recommend a high-protein, low carb diet. It's very hard on your internal organs. Kidney problems abound from all the protein waste processing.

There are are some extremely effective substances you can use but they are a bit harder to get.

Clenbuterol will shed pounds like crazy but it's not something to stay on long-term. So plan to maintain your weight after you have help losing it.

Human Growth Hormone is a very effective fat-burner but it's also expensive from a reputable source. Most black market HGH is fake (usually HCG is substituted).

The diet industry doesn't want you to have these products because it would put them out of business. So you need a prescription, and most people are unaware of those options entirely.

Hormones are extremely influential when it comes to fat storage. If your stress level rises, your body will automatically store fat to compensate and burn muscle for fuel.

So getting rid of stress is critical.

If you are already tired but force yourself to work out, it may help your mental stress, but it does add MORE physical stress so your body may break down muscle and store fat. A lot of people have heard about overtraining but don't realize you don't already have to work out a lot in order to overtrain yourself. Simply being stressed/exhausted can cause overtraining with any vigorous exercise you perform in that state.

Avoid processed food. The more fresh whole foods you eat, the harder it is to overeat, and the vitamins and minerals will make your body stop feeling hungry in a way that doesn't happen when you eat something processed and devoid of nutrition..

Any kind of sugary drinks are a big problem. This includes fruit juice, which typically has all the sugar with none of the fiber. You can drink hundreds of calories of fruit juice in seconds, whereas if you eat whole oranges it takes a lot more work!

Exercise is key. You won't lose much weight because your appetite increases commensurately, but all sorts of things go wrong when you don't exercise. Exercise is a body regulation mechanism. If you don't do it you are guaranteed to have problems.


Best recommendations I have seen yet. There are a number of ways to reduce stress level (exercise among them) but keeping stress low was extremely beneficial for me. In fact I suspect if you were to track my stress levels and body fat % over the last 10 years you'd find a pretty strong correlation.


A high-protein, low carb diet isn't necessarily good. However, most people probably do not eat enough protein and eat too many carbs. I would say about a gram of protein per kilogram of bodyweight would be good for most people who are getting in to proper diet and exercise, which may need to be adjusted depending on the individual's goals.


It's simple: Exercise More.

That's pretty much the most important thing you need to lose weight.

Exercising burns calories when you do it, and then your body burns more calories just by itself when your muscles are bigger and so on.

It's like owning a website which brings you income just by chugging along!

Also, whenever you really yearn for something delicious to stuff your face with, try eating some kind of fruit instead of that chocolate bar.

Fruit can be delicious too, and will most likely be less fattening than, well, anything that you can't pick up from a tree/bush/the ground.

If you really want to go hard-core, eat lots of carrots.

They're definitely not delicious, but at least they provide you with the sensation of Eating, and keep your mouth busy, thus preventing it from devouring sweets.

I believe most diets are just an illusion - or bullshit - pick one.


If you can catch Paul McKenna's "I Can Make You Thin" (I'm presuming you're in the US) in reruns on TLC -- revolutionary.

You don't "diet". Here are the rules (and they work):

1- eat anything you want (don't eat diet crap)

2- eat when you're hungry (no emotional eating)

3- eat mindfully (one bite at a time, put your fork down, chew 20 times or so, taste your food)

4- stop when you are full.

The rest is elaboration. Exercise helps, of course, and learning to enjoy exercise will help you in a lot of ways (disease prevention etc.).

But the big thing for me has been learning how to eat. That conquered, the rest comes naturally.


eat less


There's that nice image on internets: How to lose weight in 2 easy steps. Step 1. Stop eating so much you fat fuck. Step 2. Wake up and move your ass.

Well basically that's it. I go to dancing classes. It's not hard and effect is not instant, but I rate that better than gym.




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