Help with losing weight?

[Anonymous]

I need to lose weight, really bad.

It's the summer now, and I want to go back to school next year thinner, instead of going back the same fat girl everyone looks at to feel better about themselves.

So, I already have a diet plan worked out - healthy eating is sorted. But what about exercise? I'm really not in a position where I can just go out to the gym all day every day, so what can I do? I've heard walking is good, but how long do you need to walk for each day to lose a lot of weight? or running, how long do you have to run for each day?

Any help is really appreciated, thanks!

[Anonymous]

If you're serious about losing weight, stop trying to rush it.

Rushing it means you're not serious.

Start with the basics. See if you can actually stick to the diet plan for a month. If you put too much effort in up front, you will fail. So don't try and kill yourself at the gym either.

When it comes to weight loss, dieting is by far the most effective means of weightloss. Exercise is useful, because it keeps your metabolic rate high, and is good for your health. But it's effects in weight loss are minimal. Just compare the calories you burn in an hour at the gym, versus not eating a snickers bar. Believe me, watching what you eat is far more effective.

Count calories, drink lots of water, stay away from "diet" sodas and "diet" foods. Eat healthily. No processed foodstuffs if you can help it.

You should aim to lose 2-3lbs per month, if you want the weight to stay off, and not become a yo-yo weight problem. After a month, of you just managing your diet, you can start a very light exercise program. Start with basic walking. Use weight belts if it helps. Slowly increase the amount you walk over time, until you're doing an extra 5 miles a day. Then you can start to run for a little bit of that 5 miles, and increase the amount you run every time, until eventually you're running 5 miles a day.

That should take you the guts of a year to do. But at the end of it, you'll be about 20lbs lighter, and able to run for 5 miles. That will take you well on your way to proper weight loss, and a much healthier life style.

It's not difficult, but it is time consuming, and most people don't have the patience to do something which works but takes a long time. They want a quick fix, and they want it yesterday.

[Asker]

It's not that I want an urgent quick fix that I'll drop the minute I'm thin, because I wont. I want a new healthy lifestyle, not a short term solution. But from what I've heard about other people's weight loss, 20lbs over a year is too little. And it's not that I don't have the patience, it's that I don't have the time to make my life all about exercise, and it's not uncommon for that to be the case, yet other people manage to be healthy.

[Opinion Owner]

That's the point. You don't have time to make exercise the focus of your life, so you can't expect the same weight loss as someone who hits the gym for 4 hours a week.

[tc1125]

just dieting isn't the best way to lose weight. you should look to exercise and watch your diet at the same time. lowering your calorie intake slightly and exercising. running is a very good way of burning calories. try to do as much running as possible :) but make sure you have good footwear and stretch before and after a run. eat a decent amount of protein as well, it will help your body repair after a long run.

I won't lie to you, it won't be easy but it will work. it's about the long term, not the short term.

to lose weight properly you need to make exercising and eating healthily a part of your lifestyle, not just a quick fix. i.e. once you lose the weight, you still need to keep up the exercise!

I hope it works out for you :)

[therisenfirebird]

Drink lots of water, and one of the best ways to lose weight is by finding something you love to do, If you like blaring music and being silly, dance, even just in your room. If you can find one activity that you love to do, you can turn that into your exercise

[Anonymous]

A pound of fat is 3500 calories.

If you ate 500 calories less per day, every day, you could lose up to 4lbs a month. A little more with exercise. But any nutritionist would tell you that losing 1lb a week is not sustainable in the long term. You're not going to lose 52lbs in 52 weeks.

And if you lose too much too quickly, you just put it back on. Hasn't Oprah or Kirstie Alley's massive weight swings taught the public that much already?