I'm fat. You're not. Help? :P

[neverborn]

I'm not overly obese, though I have quite a few pounds I'd like to lose. I'm 6'0 and around 230.

I see tons of people eating the worst food ever for you and they're skinny like a freaking washboard.

I couldn't do the low fat thing, I heart my meat and stuff.

Atkins thing is workable, though I love bread and potatoes.

Is there something I'm missing... some method people use to eat shitty food and not gain weight? Or is the answer "stop eating shit, get off your ass, and go run?" :x

[northzax]

1. yeah, you pretty much nailed it

exercise, baby. (not that I do it) is the key. take the stairs, not the elevator. Walk whenever possible. It will help.

[Maine-i-acs]

2. Portions and net metabolism

Eat less of the same things. The "fullness" alert is miswired on some people.

Burn more calories than you eat. Hide the remote control if you must.

You didn't get to 230 overnight, so don't look for a way to burn it off overnight.

[belladonna]

3. I don't eat a lot of junk food

But I do eat what I want when I want. How do I stay thin? Number one, I'm lucky and seem to have a high metabolism. BUT, that seems to be fading away as I get older, so I'm simply in the habit of making sure I get some sort of exercise every day. I can't run anymore due to some problems with my knee, but I find other ways to get the exercise. With summer coming up, I'd recommend swimming as a great way to burn off calories.

One last thing, don't just pay attention to what you eat, pay attention to WHEN you eat. Eating late at night is the worst thing you can do if you're trying to shed pounds. :hi:

[TrogL]

4. for some people it's a metabolic thing

They just "run hot", like me. The only time I ever gained weight was when I was on an anti-depressant that screwed up my seratonin levels and my stomach couldn't broadcast "full" signals.

It also may come down to personality. I get so busy I forget to eat and I forget that I'm hungry.

[Dogmudgeon]

5. No help here

Fat people are bad people. They're people to make fun of, and to lecture on their lack of Personal Responsibility™.

I'm a scant 5'8" and weigh nearly 270. I eat like a bird -- a sparrow, not a vulture -- and now I'm on a strict low-carb diet. I also usually exercise 30-60 minutes a day. And the scale remains stuck. It is strictly because I am a bad person.

I've considered taking up smoking. All the teenage girls say smoking will help you lose weight. OK, I really haven't considered taking up smoking. It was just a thought. Although if I took up heavy drinking, I might be able to take up teenage girls, too.

The FDA has also ruled that ephedrine is a no-no. If you want chemical assistance -- "the easy way", according to the virtuous slimbos -- you have to pay for Meridia, which is $15 per day. And I deserve to have to pay that much, except I don't have that much, so I deserve nothing at all.

Ah! To be Fat in America!

--bkl

[m-jean03]

6. I'm an exercise nut

I need to get some exercise every day, or I go nuts.

That's my big secret! :-)

[redqueen]

7. I hate diets - so it's exercise for me

Used to do aerobics / floor work 3-4 x per week, and kung fu classes 5 x per week. Now I don't do anything. :(

I have briefly flirted with trying Pilates, though, and they sure seem promising. If I ever get around to doing it regularly, I'll find out if they're effective.

Others have already given the good advice (don't eat late at night, try smaller portions, etc.)

The only other tip I can offer is that you should exercise first thing in the morning - it raises your metabolism for the *whole day*. If you do it after work you only get the higher rate for the rest of the day. For a while I was working out in the morning and afternoon, and it worked great!

[GumboYaYa]

8. Part of it is metabolism.

Aside from that, exercise is the key to me. I exercise six days a week and can eat just about whatever I want without gaining weight.

[neverborn]

13. What do you *do*?

What exercise do you do? :x

[GumboYaYa]

17. I jog and bike most of the time.

At a bare minimum I go for a walk after my last meal of the day.

I am into endurance events. Right now, I am training for a marathon and a triathlon. When I am in heavy training I have to add meals to my diet each day to maintain my weight.

I know not everyone is a psycho like me, but even ordinary amounts of exercise will make a drastic difference if you do it regularly.

[skippysmom]

9. It's metabolism

No two ways about it. Some people can really eat anything and they don't gain weight. Me, I think about eating chocolate and gain 5 pounds.

I personally couldn't do Atkins because I am not a huge protein eater and life without bread is a life not worth living in my mind. I've been following the Weight Watchers diet for 3 months now and have lost 13 pounds. It's more about portion control than anything.

I also walk 45 minutes every day.

[ZenLefty]

10. You see people eat crappy food

They look skinny as a rail, sure. Ever check their blood pressure? Cholesterol level? Resting heart rate? Probably not. Neither do you see what they eat the rest of the week, or how many calories they burn in a day. Tough to judge them by just watching what they eat. And, of course, everyone has a different metabolism. Some people naturally burn lots of calories, without ever stepping foot into the gym. They suck, and we hate them. But that attitude isn't very constructive.

I've had the best success by just watching quantity. Try this: For a week, count exactly how many calories you consume. Don't diet, don't hold yourself to any expectations, just count every calorie you consume. Bread, beer, toothpaste, everything. Figure out your daily average. Then, try to reduce this a little. How much to reduce it really varies, but if you normally eat around 2800 per day and see no weight loss, take it down to 2400. If your day is pretty sedentary, introduce some activity into your routine. Doesn't have to be the gym, just get up and do something. Walk, run, play frisbee, paint the house, whatever. You'll lose the weight slow, maybe a couple pounds a week at first, half that rate after you've been doing it for a while, and that's the best way to lose it. You have the least risk of gaining it back, and you're developing a healthy lifestyle to maintain your goal weight once you get there.

This is certainly not the only way, just the way that works for me best.

[Laszlo_Hollyfeld]

11. Add some activity.

Make it something you enjoy. Take up biking, waterskiing, swimming, hiking, or roller skating. Doesn't matter what, just find something you love and do it like crazy.

[loftycity]

12. Go dancing it's more fun, even if you can't dance, go anyways!

[Bertha Venation]

14. Fat moms are better than skinny moms.

When you're depressed and you go to a skinny mom, she says "Well, why don't you go for a run around the block? That'll release endorphins in your bloodstream and you'll better cope with stress."

When you're depressed and you go to a fat mom, she says, "Well, let's eat Oreos, M&Ms and marshmallows. . . . and when you wake up outta that sugar coma, it'll be a brand new week!"

(from Roseanne Barr)

[4_Legs_Good]

15. Skinny as a post

and I have been always.

But once I turned 30, it started to go away. I had tried to gain weight previously and couldn't, but then the big three-zero hit and fat started to accumulate (gut style). I decided I didn't want that to happen, so I started counting calories. For me, this worked wonders, as much to encourage eating healthily as for losing the fat. Most people burn 2,000 calories a day, so take in less than 2,000 calories a day and you *should* start losing some weight.

A lot of stuff I ate had way more calories in it than I would ever have guessed.

If you go over your goal one day, you can burn it off by exercising extra. Some exercises (highly aerobic ones, I believe) require more than 20 minutes to actually start burning fat. There are exercises that are lower impact that are more effective at fat burning, I believe.

I'm a vegetarian too, which probably helps, but I do eat a lot of cheese...

david

[Commendatori]

16. Slim Fast shakes for the evening meal, and

no food after 6:00 p.m.

[Hegemony Cricket]

18. This is the best thing I've seen so far...

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/diet/

The name of this episode of Frontline was "Diet Wars".

Their ultiamte advice:

Eat reasonably, watch out for bad fats and processed starches. Don't cut out one or the other completely, just be aware of what type of each you're stuffing in your head.

To maintain or lose weight, you need to start keeping track of the numbers of steps you take each day.

Go buy a pedometer. They're anywhere from $10 up.

Wear or carry the thing in your pocket for a few days to see how many steps you take a day (the average american takes 4000 steps a day). If you want to lose weight, combine a reasonable diet with 10000 steps a day (about 5 miles if you were to actually just walk it).

If you want to maintain your weight, make sure you're walking at least 6000 steps a day.

They key to all of this is being mobile, not walking in a straight line anywhere (pacing around a room counts!). The pedometer gives you a cheap and easy way to track and set reasonable goals as you build up the number of steps you take each day.

Ultiamtely the low-fat or low-carb diets out there are pieces of a personal puzzle you put together in as natural a way as possible. It's never easy to modify your diet, and pre-planned schemes are always attractive for that reason...however, just by being aware of what you're eating and staying on your feet a reasonable amount of time every day should take you towards your goals.

(oddly this special didn't cover high-fructose corn syrup, which is a nasty contributor to the bulge).

[LostInAnomie]

19. Smoke while you exercise....

and when you arent exercising.

[Shrek]

20. Here's what worked for me

And I was in almost exactly the same boat -- six feet, 229 pounds.

I counted calories ruthlessly; never more than 1200 a day, and most days I kept it around 1000 or so.

Six days a week, a 65-minute cardio workout (mostly running with a tiny bit of biking and swimming for variety). One day a week I rested or exercised very lightly (just walking or yard work).

In six months I was down to 170 and I've managed to keep it off for 4 years. I don't worry too much about restricting certain types of foods, because I found that overall calorie consumption is the key.

[neverborn]

21. I have gotten better...

I was around 260 -- I used to drink tons of soda. Like... 4 liters or more a day.

I now only drink diet soda... may not be good for you, but better than regular.

I *love* soda. :x

[JohnKleeb]

22. I dont know what to suggest

Ive lost weight before but the most Ive lost is like 10-20. That was through going back on my meds which keep me alert and paying attention in class and not eating meals. Its tough, I know. Good luck.

[geniph]

23. I've never been heavy, but I've had my issues with a few pounds

I'm 5'2" and 115 now, but I had gotten to 135, which I was quite unhappy about. My husband is 6'2" and had gotten up to 305, which was killing him. We went on South Beach because I don't believe in diets, and South Beach is less a diet than a mindset. You basically get a quick weight loss to motivate you from the strict phase of it, then basically just eat sensibly.

What do I mean by sensibly? Low on the glycemic index - aim for foods that don't raise your blood glucose quickly. Not counting calories, not counting carbs - not counting or apportioning anything. Just thinking about what you eat and making an effort to eat healthier. Even small, incremental changes can make a huge difference. Start reading labels and avoid heavily-processed foods with lots of added useless crap like high fructose corn syrup (and it is in fucking EVERYTHING, when you start looking!). Switch to chicken breasts instead of thighs. Eat more fish instead of hamburger. Lay off the fried foods. Try some of the lower-fat alternatives for stuff like sour cream and ice cream (we were really surprised at how palatable some of the lower-fat alternatives were). Go easy on stuff like cheese. Eat a lot of green vegetables.

John's lost almost 35 pounds in 2 months, and has basically shed 10 years. No more sleep apnea, wheezing, or back pain for him. I'm down to my goal weight and feel a lot less fatigued and just generally crappy.

For exercise, neither of us wanted to get really ambitious, and he couldn't - he was too heavy to get into serious exercise. But we've been walking a LOT, and John's been getting on the treadmill for 30 minutes every couple of days. He does fairly physical work, so even adding a little gentle aerobic exercise helps a lot for him. My work is entirely sedentary, and I'm one of the laziest people on the face of the earth, but I'm always willing to go outside for a half hour or hour walk.

The big thing is to make small changes. Take one less scoop of mashed potatoes. Take an extra helping of salad instead of ice cream. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Think small, but keep reducing portions until you're used to eating a more reasonable portion size (a portion size for most foods is about the size of your fist, not the size of your head. Our portions in this country have gotten so whacked-out that we feel cheated if we don't have a pound of meat at every meal). If you buy stuff like chips or nuts in big bags, measure out reasonable portions into zip-lock baggies right away, and only eat one portion. That stuff really helps over the long term.

[SmileyBoy]

24. I hear ya buddy...

"I see tons of people eating the worst food ever for you and they're skinny like a freaking washboard."

I've always wondered that myself.

I'm 5'10" and 225 lbs, about the same size as you. I've been lifting weights lately and walking alot. I've also been trying to drink lots of water every day, and drink fruit juice in substitute for pop.

I've lost a little weight this spring, but I'd like for it to be more.

[Shrek]

27. Look out for the fruit juice

Using it as a soft drink replacement won't help much. If you look at the calorie content, you'll see that juice isn't much better (but of course it's still a better choice from a nutritional standpoint).

[neverborn]

28. True...

I went to Diet Soda and it helped a LOT -- no high fructose corn syrup, no sugar, no calories.

[Skittles]

25. do what I do

eat anything you freaking please but exercise an hour five times a week.

[sandnsea]

26. Just quit eating shit

That works for me every time. Too bad I don't stick to it long enough to actually lose ALL the weight I need to. But I can drop 20 pounds in no time just by cutting out fast food. But I so hate to cook!