Thread: 7 Reasons Not to Diet

not to mention cheeseburgers taste good and make me happy

Originally Posted by Jen4MDaBlock

I think you should still eat a healthy "diet" to go along with exercising. Just make sure you're eating the right amount of the right foods.

This. Technically, I've been "dieting" since the start of the year. I was about 50 pounds over a normal weight for my height and build. I got that way by eating crap (fast food; junk food) and not exercising. So I started doing 2 things. First, I stopped eating the crap. But I never starved myself - I'd still get in 3 meals a day while trying to make sure my body got the nutrition it needed. Second, I made sure I got in 30 minutes of some kind of exercise a day (putting an elliptical trainer in front of a tv was a big help for this). I'm down 35 pounds since I started.

I started eating healthy about six months ago, honestly, I've never felt better. No junk food or fizzy drinks at all send i feel amazing!

This subject is very near and dear to my heart. In Aug of last year, I weighed 320 lbs\145 kgs. I set myself the goal of 200lbs\91kgs by Aug of the following year and with 60 days to go, I am 22lbs\10kgs from my goal. I come from a family of obese people and for the longest time just assumed I had to be fat. This is a lie. It may be harder for a genetically challenged person but its not impossible. I should add this wasn't my first attempt at losing weight, but it will be my last. :D

Along the way, I have learned a few important things:

1) Calories are indeed king. As much as it sucks, at least when it comes to weight loss, its important to know what your calorie per day goal should be and until you get a feel for it, you should count calories to give yourself a feel for that amount of daily calories.

2) Crash dieting, which I will define as anything under 1500 kcals per day for a man & 1200 for a woman, will never be healthy. This is what the OP is talking about. You can't meet your nutrition requirements on so few calories and this type of diet, since it leaves your body starved, is prone to yo-yoing (Believe me, before this current lifestyle change - I no longer call it a diet - I have tried this route too many times... its very prone to binging and yo-yoing)

3) After you get a feel for your daily intake requirements, stop counting calories. I realize that contradicts #1 but obsessing about every calorie you put into your body actually hurts you. Are you really hungry one day despite eating your normal amount of food? Your body is probably trying to hint at something. Listen to it.

4) Learn the concept of an empty calorie. Its a word thrown around lightly these days but it holds true. If a calorie doesn't provide yourself with either protein (I stick with mainly nuts, white chicken & fish for this - but I am not against red meats now and again) or vitamins (veggies, veggies, veggies) or fiber (lots of things but veggies work here too), then it may be an empty calorie. There is nothing wrong with empty calories in moderation but if they make up the bulk of your diet, then you are probably starving your body of nutrients.

5) Total no carb doesn't work long term. No carb diets definitely take #4 to heart and produce amazing short term results if you stick with them. However, long term they leave you sapped of energy. Doing no or low carb diet also precludes anything but light exercise. Light exercise is better than no exercise but doesn't produce the long term results that many are looking for.

6) Exercise is key. The way to lose weight while still providing your the nutrition your body needs is to eat balanced (for me, this means leaning towards veggies and lean protein with mixing in whole grain carbs... though I actually skip carbs at dinner usually since I don't need that quick energy boost they provide for bed) and be active as possible.

When I first started, I couldn't walk a mile without being in pain. It wasn't easy walking daily. I had blisters & joint pain. My muscles were stiff constantly and I was hating life. it sucked, but I stuck with it. Now, I can run 5+ miles at a brisk 8 min mile pace. I can bike 20 miles in a little over 75 minutes on a crappy mountain bike (ie not one built for speed) and I can do 12 miles at 4 miles per hour with a 40 lb weight vest on. I didn't just focus on cardio though. I also did weight building exercises like pushups, stups and weight lifting (after a while and only upper body as I felt my lower body was being toned well enough). Despite the troubles when I started, I love exercise now. Its downright addictive & I feel amazing even if I still have a little bit to go to meet my goal.

That said, I didn't mention that to brag. You can lose weight by dieting alone and then once you get your goal, you could then start exercising but you are making it harder on yourself and your results won't be as dramatic. Learning to walk at 320 lbs meant I was building endurance that is helping me do more and more now. Imagine yourself strapping 100lbs to yourself and carrying that around while you exercise. Its an amazing amount of resistance and will make you stronger. You have to be careful to not overdo it & you must listen to your body... stiffness, minor aches are fine... sharp pains are not. But preserving when its hard as hell pays huge dividends later, IMO.

Anyway, that's my lessons for the past year. Can't wait to see what happens in the next :D

---------- Post added at 08:42 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:33 AM ----------

Oh yeah, two addendums:

1) Sleep is important. I went from being a night owl to an early to bed early to rise person. I always get 8 hrs of sleep and its amazing the difference you see on nights when I have to short change that. Your energy levels go way down and I find that I didn't recover as much so I am stiffer from the previous days activities.

2) This goes along with the empty calorie/carb points. But there are certain foods I avoid completely. These are fried foods, desserts (do fruit if you want something sweet after a meal), and full sugared soda. Fried foods just add empty calories. The breading adds carbs that you don't need & the oil is caloric ally dense as well without providing nutritionally benefits such as vitamins & proteins. You could fry in omega-3 I suppose but you are better off getting that from fish. Desserts & sodas are just empty calories as well... mostly sugars which has no benefit outside of upping calorie counts. Finally, there is a whole list of foods that I tend to eat in light moderation... so I wont go into it... but basically anything starchy - potatoes, corn, breads, rice, etc - basically be careful with carbs and try to stick whole grain as they provide proteins, nutrients & more fiber than your white, processed carbs.

I heard there are some diets that let you eat whatever you want for 2 days in a week but in the other days you should eat only salad.
Anyway, going to the GYM will solve weight problems and also make you feel better.

Girls need to have a look at this... :-p

I agree with all this. Dieting is so un natural, but the problem nowadays is that people are eating un natural amounts of food, too. Which is what makes them fat and resort to diets.

Exercise is the main way to lose weight for me. Having time to do some exercise is about the only upside to unemployment :(

The most important thing is
you should never skip meal because it can create nutrition deficiency and cause serious health issues.
So be careful.

Dieting in general really annoys me. It's so basic: burn more calories than you take in. If you eat PROPERLY and do exercise you will lose weight. You don't need to eat only turkey breast and brown rice it's about not eating junk food and putting the time/effort to do exercise.

I hear about so many people who go on some diet or another then go out drinking every night, do no exercise and complain that they're not losing any weight...