What's your best advice for losing excess fat for an overweight person?

[Anonymous]

i don't mean getting toned or shaping muscle, I mean like burning that jello on the body. what's your biggest tip to someone who is overweight?

[madmisskelly]

I would say my best advice is to keep weight loss a personal journey and not a competition.

It is common for a lot of people to want to lose weight to look like someone else or they have some unrealistic image in their head. this is damaging, as is having a specific number in mind. These goals can be harmful to our self esteem when we don't reach them or we learn our bodies CAN'T go there.

Keep weight loss about looking good for your shape and looking as good as YOU can. Every body is different and everyone looks and feels better at different weights.

Along the same lines is being realistic. You should work your ass off and really try to look your best- be motivated.

However, don't compare yourself to someone else, especially celebrities. A good example is Gwenyth Paltrow. Amazing body. However, she works out 2 hours a day 6 days a week. You may be able to get the same results putting the same effort in, but then again, you may need to cut out whole food groups or work out twice that amount to get that result. It's all relative. Yes, most of it is how hard you are willing to work, but the rest is realistically, how much time can you put in and at what point are you willing to compromise on it.

[Anonymous]

eat healthy, exercise daily, I've been over weight I know how hard it is but its possible!

[djbreal87]

Biggest tip is to eat more often, its strange but trust me. When you skip meals, your body goes into starvation mode and stores more than it needs, so you actually gain weight when you eat less. So the key is to eat 5 small meals spaced out over the day. I'm deployed, and this is what I do.(I work night shift so first meal for me is dinner) Dinner is 2 sandwiches and an apple with a water, about 2 hours later, I eat another apple, or banana or orange with a water, midnight chow is one sandwhich with an apple and a water, 2 hours later another fruit, then breakfast is Kelogs Smart Start, low fat milk, fruit (usually strawberries and grapes) and a water. I have lost 13 lbs in about a month and a half. This is with a regular work out routine. Just cause you lose the weight, doesn't mean you lose the inches, so you need to do some strength training to let the muscle fill the void (especially when it comes to the abs) don't worry, you won't BULK up or anything, weight training works different for women than men, you will just tone out, and get slimmer, as for me, I will get beefier. Stick to these simple things, and only drink water, after a month or so, you will be able to see the changes, even off the scale :) Good luck

[NotJustAnotherGuy]

Eat more, lose weight? -.- Yeah, great advice. People on this site need to stop using the term starvation mode as if they know what it means. You mistake the fact that your metabolism slows down thinking it means your metabolism slows down enough to make eating more beneficial to weight loss.. Also, I don't think you know what metabolism means.. It's how much energy your body burns if you just lay in bed all day. Hardly relevant, and doesn't constitute all of your energy output.

[djbreal87]

link

link

link

Here are 3 websites, that are valid and truthful sources of information, proving my statement above since some people choose to believe otherwise, I'm not an expert, or a health nut, but I never make a comment unless I know what I am saying is true

[NotJustAnotherGuy]

Then learn to read "a team of nutrition researchers concluded that whether you are practicing the 'three' or 'six' meal daily dietary pattern, weight loss ultimately comes down to 'how much energy (or calories) is consumed as opposed to how often or how regularly one eats.'" Straight from that first link. The second link is another guy like you. The third link might of gone over your head, but put simply the guy is talking about hunger satisfaction not metabolism-- he's also wrong.

[djbreal87]

Thats why I listed in my original comment the fact they should be smaller meals, spaced out over time, and to do regular fitness and running. I was aware of the third links topic, and figured it was also good to put in, even though it wasn't about metabolic rate compared to eating. Yes it does come down to how many calories one consumes in a day, the 5-6 meal plan makes it easier to track this, another reason why it is a good idea.

[NotJustAnotherGuy]

Here's a study.. and not an article (which isn't really a great source of truth fyi) regarding hunger satisfaction and meal frequency.

link

As for metabolism and meal frequency although I thought this was a dead myth a long time ago.. apparently you still believe it. So look up STUDIES and you'll see. One study is the effects of meal frequency on energy utilization in rats, but there's more.

[NotJustAnotherGuy]

"Yes it does come down to how many calories one consumes in a day"

Let's not pretend you didn't say it..

"When you skip meals, your body goes into starvation mode and stores more than it needs, so you actually gain weight when you eat less."

[NotJustAnotherGuy]

Make fitness a priority. There should be no such thing as "I don't have time to workout" or "well.. I did a lot today" or "I don't feel like it" . You want to consistently lose weight each week? Then you need to consistently work out each day. I like running. It's a hobbie. It's my favorite exercise. It's a lifestyle. You may like cycling, or rollerblading, or hitchhiking or whatever.. find something healthy you can become addicted to and strive to be a professional in your sport or fitness hobby. That would be the best advice I could give to someone to be healthy, and in this case, to lose weight.

[dan123z4]

It depends why your over weight. Do you eat to much. Do you eat to little and just pick here and there. Are you very stationary and have no sort of exercise? It all depends what your doing now bef I can say anything

[Joshbgosh]

Walk for 35-60 minutes after every meal, it'll increase your metabolism.

[Joshbgosh]

lol An arrow down? Really? I eat like a pig and walk after every meal...I am 5 foot 11 and weigh 170 and I am not fat, so I kind of have an idea with what works in keeping fat off.