What should I do?

[cody sockeye]

This school year is coming up, which means gym and weight lifting classes. Any advice on what I should eat to lose pounds?

[anon643]

stay away from sugar and eat alot of protein.

[cody sockeye]

What are some foods that are high in protein?

[gettingrid]

Just overall be careful of not eating more than you need (count calories)....then you will surely lose weight...dont starve or your body will slow down its metabolism and conserve fat...so you need to keep your food in the midrange. I have found the following things really in useful my weight loss (40 lbs in 5 months)

First find how much you should eat. You need roughly
For sedentary people: Weight x 14 = estimated cal/day  (e.g. if u are 200 pounds then you need 2800 calories per day to maintain your current weight)
For moderately active people: Weight x 17 = estimated cal/day
For active people: Weight x 20 = estimated cal/day

The simple thing to do now is create a deficit of 3500 calories to lose 1 pound of weight. So if you need 2800 and you eat 1400 and go the gym and expend around 400 calories then you create a deficit of 1800 calories per day so you will lose 1 pound in 2 days. Keep a day to relax your eating (dont binge) so you keep your weight loss around 2-3 pounds per week which is ok (depending on where you start from).

Sometimes your body slows down after a period of dieting then take a week off and eat your maintenance calories to get back your metabolism.

My diet (male 28yo 6'2)

1. Eat some breakfast always to get your metabolism started (e.g. high-protein slim fast shake, cereal and low fat milk) ~250 cals
2. Eat some lunch where you know how much you are getting (lean cuisine etc have a bunch of good entrees which are ready in 5 mins) ~350 cals
3. 2 Small snacks in between meals (fruits, baked chips and salsa in small calorie containsers) ~ 200 cals
4. Dinner (something under 600-800 cals) high protein tofu, vegetables, meat, fish etc.

Other tips

5. Drink lots of water (supposedly improves metabolism)
6. Avoid any sugary sodas (take light lemonade, diet-sodas, diet arizona tea)
7. Most fast food places do have things to eat under 400 cals (qdoba, jimmyjohns, taco bell, subway, fazolis etc. ) look up their nutri info on their website before eating out...small changes like halving the cheese or mayo can bring down their calories to reasonable levels without sacrificing taste

Note this is all from my personal experience and information gleaned from browsing the web. You should consult with your PCP and do your homeowrk before trying it out. Essentially it all does boil down to diet and exercise...sadly:)...if you are going to build lean muscle try and add a protein supplement like whey protein to your shake/smoothie to get the 100\% daily protein requirement. Workout different muscle groups each day so the muscle buildup is more effective.

[gust]

I agree with gettingrid, in that an 1800 calorie daily deficit will definitely make you lose weight.  HOWEVER, this is starvation and you are going to be losing alot of muscle/lean body mass and not very much fat at all.  You might not even be a very muscular person to begin with so you might think, "who cares if I lose muscle as long as I lose fat too."  At least that's what I thought when I went from 240 lbs to 150 lbs in 5 months.  But the thing is, now I'm a fat-skinny person because alot of the fat stayed with me while the rest of the good weight disappeared, (incidentally, now I have to gain weight in order to lose it...it's messed!)  What you wanna do is create a 500 calorie daily deficit from your maintenance calories to ensure that you're actually burning off fat.  Also, be consistent; don't think that just because you ate above maintenance one day that you can somehow make up for it by starving yourself the rest of the week or vice versa.  Just get back on track at minus 500 cal/day as soon as possible. 

As for determining maintenance, I would say just keep eating the same amount and doing the same amount of physical activity, and weigh yourself now and two weeks from now.  If you are the same exact weight, that's probably your maintenance.  If you've lost exactly 2 pounds, then you are already right on track for a successful fat loss diet.  Don't lose more than a pound a week, (unless you're really obese, and then maybe up to 2 lbs/week.)  sThink of yourself as a piece of raw meat.  Now, you could just throw yourself into a 700 degree oven, and you will definitely burn really fast and maybe the insides will even be cooked.  But if you want to be nice and tender and cooked all the way through, you want a to be in a 350-400 degree oven for a longer period of time.

Furthermore, make sure that 40% of your calories come from protein, 40% come from carbohydrates, and 20% come from fat.  Protein:  lean meat (chicken//tuna/salmon/turkey/lean steak,) eggs, whey, casein (yogurt/cottage cheese.)  Carbs:  Complex carbs (whole grain, oats, sweet potatoes, vegetables, beans.)  Fats:  Mostly mono/poly unsaturated and EFA's (olive oil, nuts, flax, fish/fish oil.)  Make sure that you eat these meals spaced evenly through 6 meals per day, generally consuming protein in each meal while keeping carbs primarily in the morning and fats at night. 

For exercise, make sure that you have a solid routine established before figuring out your maintenance calories, otherwise, your maintenance will be a shot in the dark.  Actually, exercise isn't even necessary for fat loss, but it is extremely helpful.  A good routine will consist of 3-4 days of weight training per week which should be the primary focus.  Once you've established a good weight training regimen, then look into cardio.   High intensity interval training (HIIT) is the best, but you can look up the specifics on your own.      

[matthew1]

Just overall be careful of not eating more than you need (count calories)....then you will surely lose weight...dont starve or your body will slow down its metabolism and conserve fat...so you need to keep your food in the midrange. I have found the following things really in useful my weight loss (40 lbs in 5 months)

First find how much you should eat. You need roughly
For sedentary people: Weight x 14 = estimated cal/day  (e.g. if u are 200 pounds then you need 2800 calories per day to maintain your current weight)
For moderately active people: Weight x 17 = estimated cal/day
For active people: Weight x 20 = estimated cal/day

The simple thing to do now is create a deficit of 3500 calories to lose 1 pound of weight. So if you need 2800 and you eat 1400 and go the gym and expend around 400 calories then you create a deficit of 1800 calories per day so you will lose 1 pound in 2 days. Keep a day to relax your eating (dont binge) so you keep your weight loss around 2-3 pounds per week which is ok (depending on where you start from).

Sometimes your body slows down after a period of dieting then take a week off and eat your maintenance calories to get back your metabolism.

My diet (male 28yo 6'2)

1. Eat some breakfast always to get your metabolism started (e.g. high-protein slim fast shake, cereal and low fat milk) ~250 cals
2. Eat some lunch where you know how much you are getting (lean cuisine etc have a bunch of good entrees which are ready in 5 mins) ~350 cals
3. 2 Small snacks in between meals (fruits, baked chips and salsa in small calorie containsers) ~ 200 cals
4. Dinner (something under 600-800 cals) high protein tofu, vegetables, meat, fish etc.

Other tips

5. Drink lots of water (supposedly improves metabolism)
6. Avoid any sugary sodas (take light lemonade, diet-sodas, diet arizona tea)
7. Most fast food places do have things to eat under 400 cals (qdoba, jimmyjohns, taco bell, subway, fazolis etc. ) look up their nutri info on their website before eating out...small changes like halving the cheese or mayo can bring down their calories to reasonable levels without sacrificing taste

Note this is all from my personal experience and information gleaned from browsing the web. You should consult with your PCP and do your homeowrk before trying it out. Essentially it all does boil down to diet and exercise...sadly:)...if you are going to build lean muscle try and add a protein supplement like whey protein to your shake/smoothie to get the 100\% daily protein requirement. Workout different muscle groups each day so the muscle buildup is more effective.

  where does a family back size of Doritoes and a liter of coke fit in this diet?  lol

[gust]

Meats, beans, eggs & milk. As many vegetables as you feel like eating. Whole wheat bread, not too much. Drink protein shakes on workout days. NO rice, sugar, white bread, candy or soda!!!

dont listen to this weirdo, if your looking to lose weight i would suggest not drinking protein shakes, it give you too many calories you can do without, a good website to try is http://bodyperformancetv.com/ good resource for losing weight

I don't agree with you there, bro.  I would say that most whey concentrate protein powders average 100-150 calories per serving and 20-25g of protein.  As whey is absorbed into the system more speedily than most other sources of protein, it makes an ideal component in postworkout nutrition when you need it the most.  I do not, however, agree with maywest about not eating rice; brown rice is a good source of complex carbohydrates and carbs are necessary especially if you plan on doing any type of exercise along with dieting.  Unless you are starting a keto diet, complex carbs should make up around 35-40% of your macronutrients.  Ketosis diets are kinda lame IMO cuz most everyone I've talked to who has tried them has gained all the fat back and then some once that person started eating normal again.  But yeah, sugar, white bread, candy or soda:  not good!

[silverback]

I agree with gettingrid, in that an 1800 calorie daily deficit will definitely make you lose weight.  HOWEVER, this is starvation and you are going to be losing alot of muscle/lean body mass and not very much fat at all.  You might not even be a very muscular person to begin with so you might think, "who cares if I lose muscle as long as I lose fat too."  At least that's what I thought when I went from 240 lbs to 150 lbs in 5 months.  But the thing is, now I'm a fat-skinny person because alot of the fat stayed with me while the rest of the good weight disappeared, (incidentally, now I have to gain weight in order to lose it...it's messed!)  What you wanna do is create a 500 calorie daily deficit from your maintenance calories to ensure that you're actually burning off fat.  Also, be consistent; don't think that just because you ate above maintenance one day that you can somehow make up for it by starving yourself the rest of the week or vice versa.  Just get back on track at minus 500 cal/day as soon as possible. 

As for determining maintenance, I would say just keep eating the same amount and doing the same amount of physical activity, and weigh yourself now and two weeks from now.  If you are the same exact weight, that's probably your maintenance.  If you've lost exactly 2 pounds, then you are already right on track for a successful fat loss diet.  Don't lose more than a pound a week, (unless you're really obese, and then maybe up to 2 lbs/week.)  sThink of yourself as a piece of raw meat.  Now, you could just throw yourself into a 700 degree oven, and you will definitely burn really fast and maybe the insides will even be cooked.  But if you want to be nice and tender and cooked all the way through, you want a to be in a 350-400 degree oven for a longer period of time.

Furthermore, make sure that 40% of your calories come from protein, 40% come from carbohydrates, and 20% come from fat.  Protein:  lean meat (chicken//tuna/salmon/turkey/lean steak,) eggs, whey, casein (yogurt/cottage cheese.)  Carbs:  Complex carbs (whole grain, oats, sweet potatoes, vegetables, beans.)  Fats:  Mostly mono/poly unsaturated and EFA's (olive oil, nuts, flax, fish/fish oil.)  Make sure that you eat these meals spaced evenly through 6 meals per day, generally consuming protein in each meal while keeping carbs primarily in the morning and fats at night. 

For exercise, make sure that you have a solid routine established before figuring out your maintenance calories, otherwise, your maintenance will be a shot in the dark.  Actually, exercise isn't even necessary for fat loss, but it is extremely helpful.  A good routine will consist of 3-4 days of weight training per week which should be the primary focus.  Once you've established a good weight training regimen, then look into cardio.   High intensity interval training (HIIT) is the best, but you can look up the specifics on your own.      

This guy is right on the money with everything he said, exactly what I have learned through a lot of research.  The only thing I would add, is some people prefer to begin at 40% protein, 30% carbs, and 30% fat to see how "carb sensitive" their body is.  This of course should be tweaked based on how you feel (up the carbs and lower the fat if you feel lack of energy with a heavy cardio / weight training regimen.)  All-Natural peanut butter is also a great, tasty source of fat that some people overlook.  It is also a good idea to eat vegetables that are lower on the glycemic index, as high-glycemic foods elevate insulin and blood glucose, and stimulate fat storage - you don't want any of this.  You can google "glycemic index" and find where all foods rank pretty easily.