New to the forums, and need help.

Bob3.5VQ · Sun, January 25th, 2004, 12:56 PM

Hi, A friend showed me this site and it has me motivated.

I am about 6foot tall and weigh 315lbs, and I am not really sure how to go about things and get started. I've had a slimfast every morning for the past year, I've always taken in low amounts of fat and under about 2500 calories for a while now, but now I hear about all this low carb craze, does it really work, because i've been taking in low fat and low calories but tremendous amounts of carbs today for instance:

Slimfast- 40g of carbs
Soup- 35g of carbs

Thats 75g of carbs right there, so my question is, which is better? Low carb or Low fat? Thanks.

PxT · Sun, January 25th, 2004, 01:07 PM

At first it won't matter much. Try to lower your calorie intake by a couple hundred calories per day, and do some cardio exercise at least 3 mornings a week. As long as you are in a calorie-deficit you will begin to see the weight come off. Ideally you will also want to add in some weight training another 3 days a week since the more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn (and so the more weight you will lose). Once you start getting into it you probably want to aim for roughly 40%/40%/20% balance of carbs/protein/fat.

www.fitday.com is a good way to track your food intake
www.fatlosstips.com is good reading if you're just getting started.

Congratulations on taking the first step and commiting yourself, good luck with your goals!

Ranger17 · Sun, January 25th, 2004, 01:17 PM

Another great way to track what you are eatinng is by using a spread sheet. I use mine for everything I eat. I have a menu, that I cut and paste from. It helpsyou to track what you are eating. If you want a copy, let me know!
J

Bob3.5VQ · Sun, January 25th, 2004, 01:25 PM

Thanks for the quick replies, I've usually tried to do about 20 minutes or more on my stationary bike, daily, but of course over time i've started putting it off, I also have a Weider weight system I'm trying to put together, but it's taking me forever, thanks for the advice, I'm going to try my hardest to stick with this.

Jingo · Sun, January 25th, 2004, 02:17 PM

it's quite possable that you'll find weights as much if not more of a help than cardio. You DO need to do some cardio, but building up those muscles will definatly improve your fat burning and for most is something they can comit to easier than cardio. Of cause the best option is to do both.

Also make sure you're drinking plenty odf water, basicly as much as you can all the time, this will definatly help if you're already on the right track with your eating habits.

Bob3.5VQ · Sun, January 25th, 2004, 02:24 PM

wow, reading some of your sig's and I see where alot of you have lost lots of weight in a short time! I hope I get there soon!

Splinter · Mon, January 26th, 2004, 01:32 AM

Congratulations Bob 3.5VQ on your decision. I have been scouring these forums for the last few hours and am having my 'personal epiphany' as I type.

Dave · Mon, January 26th, 2004, 01:39 AM

I'm in the same boat about the carbs. I set up my spreadsheet, and now that I'm counting the numbers of cars, fat, protein, calories, etc that I take in every day, I'm amazed at how many carbs I'm eating. I'm doing like 20% fat and protein a day and 60% carbs. Any advice on how to go about lowering the carb number. I know I can increase the protein intake, just looking to lower the amount of carbs I eat to try to get it to the optimal number.

the_quark · Mon, January 26th, 2004, 06:03 PM

Dave,

If you want to lose weight, total calories are more important than where they come from. Atkins, etc., are trying to do some things with your body chemistry to get it to burn fat more quickly. If you're not following their precise plan, it doesn't matter as much if you're eating carbs or protein.

Obviously, if you're trying to build muscle, you need to be concerned about your protein intake. As well, a lot of people have trouble with carbs because most of their carbs are coming from refined carbs, which tend to be junkier and make it easy to bust your calorie target.

Speaking personally, I exercise hard (mostly cardio) for at least 45 mins/day, and figure I'm burning between 3000 and 3500 calories per day, total. I follow two simple rules on my diet: I shoot for less than 2500 calories per day, and I try to avoid any food that comes, ready to eat, in a package. I've been trying to get a little more protein as I'm trying to build some muslce, but, mostly, I just try to avoid refined carbs. So, for example, for breakfast in the morning, I have oatmeal with non-trans-fat margarine (with, I admit, the smallest hint of brown sugar for a little flavor), instead of a prepackaged cereal.

I find I get at least 50% of my calories from carbs, but since they're mostly unrefined carbs, I don't feel as hungry (since it takes my body time to process them). Of course, everyone's different. I love carbs, myself, and would find it a lot harder to cut way back on brown rice (or fruit!) than I've found it to cut way back on red meat. Other people are exactly the opposite, and if you find it easier to give up raw carbs than meat, you'll want to try another approach.

But, if you're trying to say, "Wow, I eat too many calories, and I see most of them come from carbs, so I should reduce my carb intake," I'd say: Look at the kinds of carbs you eat. If a big chunk of your carbs are prepackaged (and that doesn't just mean traditional "junk food,") you can reduce your carb intake a significant amount (and increase your dieatary fiber intake) by trying to cut out prepackaged carbs in favor of raw or unrefined carbs.

The biggest thing most people can do is keep a food diary. If you're not, already, writing down everything and looking up the cost, you'll be surprised that you're eating a lot more calories than you thought. Of course, my "system" doesn't work to lose 50 pounds in 50 days, but it's something you can live with the rest of your life. I've been gradually getting more and more with this program since about mid-2000 - I started out excercising little, and just trying to eat better. Over that time, with most of my excercise coming in the past twelve months (but with five months off of excercise post knee-surgery), I've lost about fifty pounds and eight inches off my waist. Not the killingly dramatic change most people want, but studies show, the more slowly it comes off, the more likely it is to stay off. I'm more concerned about being fit than being light.

TQ