Post by kitty on Dec 7, 2009 22:26:35 GMT
So I talked to a former friend today and realized again how under-informed some people are. (is under-informed a word?)
Not sure if anyone cares (because you can find all those information in the net - somewhere) but I thought I make a quick summary of the most important facts about weightloss, weightgain and how to maintain weight.
Weightloss
As more you weigh, as easier you loose.
As lighter you are, as more excerise you have to do to loose.
Men loose easier than women, they also gain muscle easier.
Muscles weigh more than fat and burn fat quicker.
If one plans to do 60 minutes of cardio every day, he'll loose more if he does 6 times 10-minute workouts instead of one 60-minute workout. (because the metabolism has no time to slow down)
A good start for a diet-change, not just a short term diet, is trying to have 50% carbs, 30% protein and 20% good fats (unsaturated) in ones diet.
Drinking calories is a waste. Water and tea are the best option - you can eat more when you don't drink caloric fluids.
Fruit is healthy but often very high in carbs - ONE apple takes the doctor away, a whole lot of fruit can be the reason one doesn't loose weight.
As greener the food, as healthier it probably is.
Changing plates to dessert plates in black gives the illusion of eating enough even though it's only half of a usual portion.
If someone has a daily calory intake of 2000 cals, each meal should have about 400 cals (5 meals a day), most people eat double the cals in one sitting, the plate-trick helps to transition.
Sauces can make it tricky. Gravys, mayonese-based sauces and creme sauces should not be in ones diet more than once a week.
Good alternatives are guacamole (sp...), salsa and veggimashes thinned with brooth.
It is not possible to loose weight at one specific part of ones body. If you don't like your belly, you must loose in general first.
The midsection is harder for men, the legs and bum area harder for women to loose fat at.
If you want a six-pack, the fat that lies above it must be gone first.
Great workouts, that use a lot of different muscles are swimming, surfing, snowboarding, rollerskating and rock climbing.
If one is highly overweight, the best workouts are swimming, nordic walking, racewalking (no matter how funny it looks) and aquagymnastics.
A vegetarian diet can help in loosing weight, but it can easily result in undereating and put the body in starvation mood, to prevent this, fats and proteins in the form of legumes must be eaten.
Obesity leads to premature death. So does a highly underweight body. Still, the BMI is not generally representative, because it ignores cultural specifics (asians being generally smaller etc) or activity levels (athelets have a higher weight because they have more muscle). If one doesn't tire quickly, has no trouble walking up stairs, fits in the average pants (medium) - he is probably ok.
Some people only store fat at their midsection. Its found to be this that can determine someones risk for weight-related illnesses.
Some people appear thin, but have very high bodyfat percentage. Those people tend to get weight-related illnesses just as easily as obviously fat people. (asians are prone to this phenomenom)
If one changes only his diet but not his excerise regime, he will loose but has a bigger risk to become skinny-fat (as described above) or get a yoyo-effect.
Quick weightloss usually means quick weightgain afterwards.(Beyonce being a good example)
Loosing two pounds a week is a healthy option for people overweight. Normalweight people wanting to loose, shouldn't loose more than 1 pound a week.
Men can up their protein intake fairly dramatically to gain muscle faster. 40g of protein per meal (3 meals a day) can be a realistic target, when weights are lifted 3 times a week plus cardio everyday. This can result in a considerable change of the body in 3 months.
Women need a lot longer to achieve what's described above. They should not go over 25g of protein per meal. (when the woman is 6'2 a broadbuild she probably can... but not much people are)
The very minimum of daily calories is f=1200, m=1500. For most people, that is too less to live on, especially when they work out.
Highly overweight people can live on a very low calorie diet longer than thinner people. Normal weight people tehnd to go into starvation mood or reach a plateau very quickly when going for very low cals.
Starvation mood means the body doesn't burn bodyfat for energy anymore, it first slows down dramatically and later burns muscle tissue (only when starvation mood is ongoing, the problem of anorexics).
An overweight person can reach starvation mood too.
To see if one reached starvation mood, one must check on his general feelings. Do you feel dizzy often? Are you sleep deprived? Do you have digestive problems? Are you getting colds easier than usual? Are you cold a lot quicker? If the answers were yes, you might be in starvation mood.
In case of doubt, consult your local physician.
Weightgain
If one wants to gain weight, he should first look at his family.
Do they tend to be all lean? Than weightgain might be really hard. Go for muscle weight instead of general higher body fat.
Don't start eating junk food just because you can stand to gain some pounds. This will only make you ill and mess up your digestive system. It's possible to gain with a healthy diet.
Tone down your cardio workouts and up your weight lifting. That's for both, men and women.
Up your daily calorie intake slowly. Add 300 cals every fifth day. Don't go over an absolute maximum of 3000 cals a day for men and 2800 cals for women.
Remember your age. When you are under 30, your body might change when you reach the 30 mark and you wish you didn't try to gain.
Gaining weight is only neccessary when one feels unwell on a low weight or serious health risks are a concern.
Maintain Weight
When you lost weight and now want to maintain, quit at one of your cardio sessions a week and eat a stable amount of calories.
When you gained weight and now want to maintain, add a new cardio session and eat a stable amount of calories.
Don't stop excerising entirely or add a considerable amount of workouts.
Start exchanging workouts for sports you enjoy and which don't feel like excerise to you. Join a volleyball team, start playing waterball, take up wandering or play basketball after work everyday.
__________________________________________________
Well, that was a lot of stuff, obviously not in any particular order (sorry about that), maybe some of the information is somewhat interesting to someone.
Not sure if anyone cares (because you can find all those information in the net - somewhere) but I thought I make a quick summary of the most important facts about weightloss, weightgain and how to maintain weight.
Weightloss
As more you weigh, as easier you loose.
As lighter you are, as more excerise you have to do to loose.
Men loose easier than women, they also gain muscle easier.
Muscles weigh more than fat and burn fat quicker.
If one plans to do 60 minutes of cardio every day, he'll loose more if he does 6 times 10-minute workouts instead of one 60-minute workout. (because the metabolism has no time to slow down)
A good start for a diet-change, not just a short term diet, is trying to have 50% carbs, 30% protein and 20% good fats (unsaturated) in ones diet.
Drinking calories is a waste. Water and tea are the best option - you can eat more when you don't drink caloric fluids.
Fruit is healthy but often very high in carbs - ONE apple takes the doctor away, a whole lot of fruit can be the reason one doesn't loose weight.
As greener the food, as healthier it probably is.
Changing plates to dessert plates in black gives the illusion of eating enough even though it's only half of a usual portion.
If someone has a daily calory intake of 2000 cals, each meal should have about 400 cals (5 meals a day), most people eat double the cals in one sitting, the plate-trick helps to transition.
Sauces can make it tricky. Gravys, mayonese-based sauces and creme sauces should not be in ones diet more than once a week.
Good alternatives are guacamole (sp...), salsa and veggimashes thinned with brooth.
It is not possible to loose weight at one specific part of ones body. If you don't like your belly, you must loose in general first.
The midsection is harder for men, the legs and bum area harder for women to loose fat at.
If you want a six-pack, the fat that lies above it must be gone first.
Great workouts, that use a lot of different muscles are swimming, surfing, snowboarding, rollerskating and rock climbing.
If one is highly overweight, the best workouts are swimming, nordic walking, racewalking (no matter how funny it looks) and aquagymnastics.
A vegetarian diet can help in loosing weight, but it can easily result in undereating and put the body in starvation mood, to prevent this, fats and proteins in the form of legumes must be eaten.
Obesity leads to premature death. So does a highly underweight body. Still, the BMI is not generally representative, because it ignores cultural specifics (asians being generally smaller etc) or activity levels (athelets have a higher weight because they have more muscle). If one doesn't tire quickly, has no trouble walking up stairs, fits in the average pants (medium) - he is probably ok.
Some people only store fat at their midsection. Its found to be this that can determine someones risk for weight-related illnesses.
Some people appear thin, but have very high bodyfat percentage. Those people tend to get weight-related illnesses just as easily as obviously fat people. (asians are prone to this phenomenom)
If one changes only his diet but not his excerise regime, he will loose but has a bigger risk to become skinny-fat (as described above) or get a yoyo-effect.
Quick weightloss usually means quick weightgain afterwards.(Beyonce being a good example)
Loosing two pounds a week is a healthy option for people overweight. Normalweight people wanting to loose, shouldn't loose more than 1 pound a week.
Men can up their protein intake fairly dramatically to gain muscle faster. 40g of protein per meal (3 meals a day) can be a realistic target, when weights are lifted 3 times a week plus cardio everyday. This can result in a considerable change of the body in 3 months.
Women need a lot longer to achieve what's described above. They should not go over 25g of protein per meal. (when the woman is 6'2 a broadbuild she probably can... but not much people are)
The very minimum of daily calories is f=1200, m=1500. For most people, that is too less to live on, especially when they work out.
Highly overweight people can live on a very low calorie diet longer than thinner people. Normal weight people tehnd to go into starvation mood or reach a plateau very quickly when going for very low cals.
Starvation mood means the body doesn't burn bodyfat for energy anymore, it first slows down dramatically and later burns muscle tissue (only when starvation mood is ongoing, the problem of anorexics).
An overweight person can reach starvation mood too.
To see if one reached starvation mood, one must check on his general feelings. Do you feel dizzy often? Are you sleep deprived? Do you have digestive problems? Are you getting colds easier than usual? Are you cold a lot quicker? If the answers were yes, you might be in starvation mood.
In case of doubt, consult your local physician.
Weightgain
If one wants to gain weight, he should first look at his family.
Do they tend to be all lean? Than weightgain might be really hard. Go for muscle weight instead of general higher body fat.
Don't start eating junk food just because you can stand to gain some pounds. This will only make you ill and mess up your digestive system. It's possible to gain with a healthy diet.
Tone down your cardio workouts and up your weight lifting. That's for both, men and women.
Up your daily calorie intake slowly. Add 300 cals every fifth day. Don't go over an absolute maximum of 3000 cals a day for men and 2800 cals for women.
Remember your age. When you are under 30, your body might change when you reach the 30 mark and you wish you didn't try to gain.
Gaining weight is only neccessary when one feels unwell on a low weight or serious health risks are a concern.
Maintain Weight
When you lost weight and now want to maintain, quit at one of your cardio sessions a week and eat a stable amount of calories.
When you gained weight and now want to maintain, add a new cardio session and eat a stable amount of calories.
Don't stop excerising entirely or add a considerable amount of workouts.
Start exchanging workouts for sports you enjoy and which don't feel like excerise to you. Join a volleyball team, start playing waterball, take up wandering or play basketball after work everyday.
__________________________________________________
Well, that was a lot of stuff, obviously not in any particular order (sorry about that), maybe some of the information is somewhat interesting to someone.
