For more clarification, in case you didn't read, I do have hypothyroidism and on top of that I wasn't consuming enough calories, and the calories I were consuming were mostly from fat. My body was constantly in starvation mode, storing everything I took in.
Eating more is what you should do when trying to lose weight. It keeps that metabolism up. Also why weight lifting over cardio makes that much more sense. When you don't eat, your body will slow down its metabolism and store that fat that you're trying to lose. "Survival Mode". Just make sure your eating healthily though for those numerous meals throughout the day.
This is a subject that I've spent a lot of time thinking about, so I'm going to split my thoughts into two gigantic posts. On the issue of why we're so fat: The percentage of fat and morbidly obese people in America compared to other countries alone should be enough to debunk this "genetics" myth. Fat people in America have genetics from all corners of the world. I was a 5'7" 200 pound Vietnamese guy a few years ago. When I visited Vietnam, let me tell you that I'm not kidding when I say that I looked like Ralphie May compared to everyone else. Are some people genetically predisposed to getting fat? Perhaps, but the problem is with our particular society. 1. Fattening food is abundant, cheap, and readily available by the time kids get into grade school. Sugar is funneled into mouths in the form of candy, sodas, and fruit drinks and parents/government cares only that the kids are getting food, not what kind of food the kid gets. 2. Physical activity is compartmentalized as a hobby, not as a way of life. We drive everywhere, take the elevator, and generally view walking as something poor people have to do rather than as a means of physical transportation. 3. I even feel like the backlash against fast food has backfired. Even if you avoid McDonalds, you can go into any mom-and-pop restaurant in America and find cream-sauced, drenched fried "wholesome, home cooked" meals. Subway advertises itself as healthy, but never fails to mention that only a few items on their menu are healthy, and only if you get it without cheese and oil. Not to mention that their footlongs are actually two servings and many people eat the whole sandwich. 4. Delusion and ignorance. People starting diets read the nutrition label on their favorite cookies and see that a serving is only 120 calories. What most fail to realize is that the serving size is two cookies, and they usually eat half the bag in one sitting. Many people refuse to take the time and effort to learn about what their eating, how to control portion size, and the simple math of BMR and what their actual caloric intake is. These are the people that will order a salad with fried chicken strips, ranch dressing, and cheese, and tell you that they're eating healthy.
My experience with getting fat: During high school, I did not have much fattening food in the pantry and generally ate what my parents ate. It wasn’t always great for me (usually something fried with rice and vegetables), but the portion sizes were reasonable and I wasn’t eating more often than necessary. In addition to this, I was on the basketball team and exercised vigorously. I was 5’7”, 150 pounds with a good amount of lean muscle from being in the weight room and doing all the activities associated with basketball. During summer, I would eat with my teammates and generally have burgers, fries, and pizza every day. With my level of physical activity, I still didn’t gain weight. This led me to believing that I had a naturally high metabolism and would always have a free pass to eat what I wanted. After college started, however, things changed dramatically. I began to eat even more crap and mostly stopped exercising. I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I would eat between classes, while studying, and before bed. My weight gain was gradual, but within a few years I had become 200 pounds and lethargic. It was not until I saw a picture of myself on facebook looking like I was 8 months pregnant did I realize that something had gone horribly awry. I decided to do something about it. I took the time to learn about how many calories I needed a day, how to plan out my meals and portion them, and how to control myself when it came to unnecessary eating. This didn’t mean that I stopped eating what I wanted. If I was craving fried chicken, I would have a KFC original breast with some broccoli and zucchini. If I wanted a burger, I would hold the cheese and mayo and eat it with a big salad with low fat dressing and no croutons. I learned to savor the deliciousness of the foods I love while still filling myself up with the necessary nutrients and vegetables. I am now around 155 and feeling very healthy. And to all the people who believe that they can’t lose weight!: my girlfriend was 200 pounds when I met her 6 months ago. I knew she wasn’t exactly the healthiest person, but I fell in love with her for other reasons and knew that I could help her be healthier. She was skeptical, because she believed her fat was genetic. Her parents are fat, all of her aunts and uncles are fat. But it wasn’t genetics that was making them fat, it was the gigantic portions of cheese and fatty meats that they would routinely eat. Since she has learned about portion control and the correct foods to eat, she has lost a good 30 pounds and is on her way to losing more. It’s not rocket science! Eat fewer calories than your body burns naturally and you will lose weight.
This is right about the moment where you should realize it's pointless. On the internet, the more you tell people you care, and the more you show it, and the more you try to get them to care, the funnier you get. Seriously, it's not worth getting pissed about it. You can advocate for a dialogue and all that, but honestly, on the internet at least, it's not worth it in my experience. People can hide too easily to care. The moment where you care enough that you want to leave this forum, is the moment you start to lose. Take the internet as a tool to educate and amuse yourself, and as a way to make connections with people that are worth your time. Don't waste your time and anger on people that aren't worth it. They'll turn around in their own time, if your cause is just enough. Honestly dude, you should just move on with it. It's Clutchfans, we're mostly a bunch of insensitive guys that idealize guys that jump high, don't expect that to change too much. You're only wearing yourself out, and for what?
Actually, this isn't uncommon at all, and is kind of typical. Your body feels the need to store fat if it is being malnourished because it becomes almost like a tupperware container for any and all nutrients and fat is receiving. The second she started eating a normal diet which consisted of all the sustenance her body needed, she started shedding the fat that her body no longer needed to store for energy. It's the reason why they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day......your body has been in rest for so long that it is necessary to kickstart the metabolism.
Any ideas how I can increase my food intake to increase my metabolism? I hate fruits and salads or anything sweet. Cheers
I read this when it came out and I still think it is the best diet advice I've ever seen. It's written by the guy who developed the "Apollo Program" fitness plan. He's a chemical engineer and he really gets to the science of the matter. Engineering a Healthy Body
Does anyone have clinical proof of this? I've heard so-called experts repeat this over and over again. But I haven't seen any proof supporting increased weight loss when meal frequency is increased in and of itself. If you're on a caloric restriction of, let's say, 1800 calories a day, I don't understand why eating 2 big meals of 900 cals each would have much of a difference from eating 3 meals and 3 snacks split up. I can't imagine that the human body would just shut down or dramatically reduce its metabolism that quickly based on such a short period of not eating. It's not like you're starving yourself for days; it's only a few extra hours.
This isn't true it takes about 3 days in a fasted state for your metabolism to slow down. The meal frequency myth is broscience. Given the thermogenic effect of food we naturally burn off about 10% of what we eat. Now you have to take into account the composition of the foods you eat because protein generally burns more calories but this is the basis of the myth, eating 6 times per day will keep "your metabolism fired up." Not true. Let's say you eat 1500 calories in a day, the thermogenic effect will account for about 150 kcals. It doesn't matter how it's broken down. If you eat 6 meal at 250 calories each burning 10% each meal gives you 25 kcals per meal. 6*25=150. Eating 3 meals at 500 kcals has you burning 50 kcals. 3*50=150.
I admit I don't know much about this but my understanding for why timing of meals and eating more small meals rather than a few large meals a day is that our metabolism isn't always processing at the same rate. If we can work with our metabolic cycle we could optimize timing of when we eat with when we use more calories. One example of this might be that digesting a large meal takes up a lot of our body's activity so when we eat a large meal there will be a period of sluggishness as we digest where we can't be that active. Eating a smaller meal though the body is less occupied with digesting and we can active right away. So while total calorie consumption might be same whether I eat 6 meals of 500 calories versus 3 at 1,000 the down time when you can't be active because of digestion is less. Again I don't know much about it personally don't engage in trying to carefully time or disperse meals.
Meal frequency all comes down to personal preference. One is really not better than the other, well, there are purported health benefits to eating less frequently but at that point we are nit picking.
I think the reason diet "experts" tell people to eat small meals frequently is so that food addicts will constantly have something to look forward to instead of obsessing about the next meal and binging on giant meals when they eat. It could be a good strategy for people who always need to be eating, but I haven't seen a convincing article about how frequent eating stimulates metabolism in any significant way. I've read that even a tough workout will only stimulate metabolism for about 20 minutes.
I don't know how much this will stimulate your metabolism but you could eat more and still maintain or even lose weight depending on what you eat. Eating more high fiber foods can help control appetite by giving you a feel of fullness without adding more calories. Of course you might not like the taste of those but you got to sacrifice something.
This is a good tip. I have become a complete fiber w**** since I've been taking my food intake seriously. People think of fiber as something that helps old people go to the bathroom, but it fills your stomach up and generally helps you feel more satisfied. If I'm hungry, I'll eat a fiber one or fiber plus bar between lunch and dinner with a tall glass of water and it fills me up. They're only around 140 calories, have less than ten grams of sugar, and taste like granola or chocolate bars. Fiber cereals taste great and will give you typically 50-70% of your fiber needs since nobody eats just the serving size (3/4 of a cup). This one is yummy: Pair that with unsweetened almond milk (40 calories for a whole cup) and you have a sweet breakfast low in calories and high in calcium, protein, and fiber. Beans and veggies like broccoli are also great for filling you up. Just watch out for a lot of baked beans because they can have nearly 20 grams of sugar per serving.
well, I have lost close to 20 pounds by not eating until I am 100% full, I eat about 80-90% full now. I have gone from about 210 to about 190. I want to get back down to 180 which i think would be pretty close to ideal for a 6' person. When I was in college, I could eat all I want and keep my weight at 160, it was all down hill after college.
People are fat because they eat large amounts of carbs and sugars together. That converts straight to fat if it isn't used immediately. Eating protein and fats together is fine, eating protein and complex carbs is fine. That's why the 4-hour body book preaches the slow carb diet. Complex carbs and protein. Its simply why a donut or a bagel with cream cheese is one of the most fattening things you can eat for breakfast. Carbs, fat, & sugar all combined with no protein.
How come no information about the Apollo Fitness Program can be found on the Web? His website has no mention of this technique although the journal article points to it. If you search for Nick Hallale online lots of website saying that it is a SCAM populate the search. However, none of those website themselves work. Weird. Anyhow, as an engineer, the article makes lots of sense. Too bad I can't find more info...
Most recent thing I read said you probably shouldn't eat small meals throughout the day, because those people tend to overeat. I was 145lbs when I was 17, was 195 at 19 and then was back to 145 at 20. I'm 25 now and weigh 207 (was up to 217 at one point). When I was 17, I could eat what I wanted and however much I wanted, but I was also a cross country runner and tennis player. I gained the weight after I quit being active, but didn't change my eating habits. I lost the weight through portion control, along with being on my feet so much on campus and working at Wal-Mart. After college it was too easy to fall back into a sedentary lifestyle filled with not eating good. I ate more and more. Now I'm trying to live healthier again, but it is a lot harder when you spend so much of your day sitting at a computer.
