My weight loss success story

GJPJC · Newbie Joined: 09 Feb 2007 Posts: 15

I posted this earlier, but an administrator thought I was "spamming" because I included a link to some software that helped with my weight loss. I promise not to do that this time!

First of all...don't stop reading after you read the next sentence. A few years ago, I lost about 30-35 pounds by counting calories. However, there were TWO major things that helped me.

1. Education. OK...I'm going to include a link to the article that really motivated me. (Administrator person...this is not a link to a product. It's a link to an ARTICLE. OK?)

health.howstuffworks.com/diet.htm

This article talks about how diets work and that they ALL essentially work the same. That's mind-boggling when you consider how different they are (Adkins vs. Low-fat for example). The article shows that all diets work by limiting calorie intake and that it is physically impossible to lose weight any other way.

One of the things that blew me away in the article is the fact that one pound of fat contains 3,500 calories. So, if you eat 3,500 calories more than you burn, you will gain one pound. If you eat 3,500 less than you burn, you will lose one pound of fat.

I'm a really big guy (6' 4" and about 240 pounds) and I had to eat only about 2,000 calories a day to lose one pound per week. That's not very much food at all. It's really amazing how little (compared to the American lifestyle) you need to eat to live.

However, you can modify your diet any way that works for you to get your calorie intake down. I have found that spending about 1/4 of my calories on breakfast and lunch allows me to eat a pretty satisfying supper. That works well for me.

2. Technology. OK. This is where I got into trouble before, so I'm not going to include any links to products. However, if you do a Google search, you will find that there are many different software packages that help you count calories. I chose one that worked very well on a Palm Pilot.

I think it would be relatively impossible to count calories using a reference book and pencil and paper. However, by using some kind of software it is really easy. And, if you are willing to buy a cheap Palm Pilot (the cheapest is under $100) it really makes it easy.

The program I used also allowed you to monitor your food intake based upon some of the most popular diet plans (like "The Zone" and stuff) and gave you a daily report of your fat, protein and carb intake, your cholestrol, your fiber, etc.

One thing I learned really quickly is that my normal diet, even modified down to 2,000 calories, was WAY too high in fat and WAY too low in fiber. I had to make a few adjustments, but it really helped my overall health. I think that increasing the fiber up to the recommended amount was what really helped in my overall healthy feeling.

I confess that in the past 3-4 years I've gained back about ten pounds, but three days ago I got the software back out again and I'm back on track. By summer, I will be back down to my "normal" weight.

One last thing. If you are going to do this, you have to be brutally honest with yourself and with the software. You can't put a half-cup of cream in your coffee and tell the software that you only put in a tablespoon. The system just won't work that way. The first week or so, you really have to measure to know how much you are eating, but after that you have a pretty good idea.

After a lifetime of yoyo dieting and fad dieting, it was great to discover the TRUTH about diets and find something that helped me lose weight and, for the most part, keep it off.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments. I'm totally sold that this will work for anyone as long as you are honest with yourself and the software.

GJPJC · Newbie Joined: 09 Feb 2007 Posts: 15

Just thought I'd post that I've lost 9.5 pounds of the ten that I gained over the last 3-4 years.

The pants are fitting better!

It took me about 3-4 weeks, and all I did was log each meal into my Palm Pilot and stay at or below 1,920 calories per day.

This is just plain science.

All diets work by limiting caloric intake. ALL OF THEM. They just have slick ways of packaging them.

Adkins works by limiting high calorie foods full of carbs, like starches and sugars.

Almost all diets recommend high amounts of vegetables, which are very low in calories.

By understanding calories, you can eat what you want to eat in moderation, or modify your menu to eliminate high calorie stuff, and lose weight. (For example, I used to eat a bagel and cream cheese with coffee/cream/sugar every morning. Now, I drink tea with sugar (no cream) and substituted olive oil for the cream cheese because I use much less.)

I'm telling you, if you want to lose weight, do some research. Go to the "How Stuff Works" website (howstuffworks.com) and find the article entitled "How Dieting Works."

Don't do fad diets, because you'll fall back into bad habits afterward. Understand how much you can eat to lose AND how much you can eat to maintain your weight. Then, just get used to eating less.

It HAS to work for you. It's just basic science.

I've decided to go ahead and lose more weight going into spring and summer. I could stand to drop ANOTHER 30-35 pounds and then I will be down to the official "healthy weight" according to the charts.

ccqortiz · Newbie Joined: 17 May 2008 Posts: 2

what was the name of the software that you used for your pda? thanks.

ccqortiz · Newbie Joined: 17 May 2008 Posts: 2

what was the name of the software you used on your pda...just give me the name please not the link - thanks.

Monkey293 · Supporter Joined: 22 Apr 2008 Posts: 179

the best way to lose weight is to eat little and often and exercise!

you lose weight by burning off more calories than you eat!

My weight loss success story

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