View Full Version : How would you drop 5 pounds?
Don't really need to lose more than 5-7 lbs. of winter hibernation fat. Any quick tips? Perhaps others are in the same boat...Thanks
The best hint for this is - reduce whatever serving of starch (grain, potato, bread) you are having to half. It is amazing how doing just this makes a big difference.
No flour, no sugar for a few weeks (and then minimize).
I second razz's tip. It is amazing as stated. Alas, I never take my own advice :( Also up the movement you do each day.
Eat to Live diet for two weeks - basically vegan.
Cut out all strictly sweet stuff, candy and cakes and sweet pastry. Go slow on the starches, try to eliminate potatoes entirely. No soda, only unsweetened coffee. Walk for a half hour each day. Over time this will help Depends on how much of the stuff like this you normally eat.
I have a question for the no sugar part. I only drink one cup of tea or coffee a day, about, but I do sweeten. How would you sweeten that? I can go all day without bread, pasta, rice, or sweets, or even the tea and coffee, but I would like to have it, and no, I don't want them unsweetened.
I have a question for the no sugar part. I only drink one cup of tea or coffee a day, about, but I do sweeten. How would you sweeten that? I can go all day without bread, pasta, rice, or sweets, or even the tea and coffee, but I would like to have it, and no, I don't want them unsweetened.
I was really resistant to cutting out the sugar from my coffee, too, but once I tried it I adapted pretty quickly. If you use cream instead of milk, that actually sweetens it up a bit and is really rich and lovely.
You can also use a no-calorie sweetener, if you don't have reactions to them.
lhamo
Low carb works for me. I dropped about that much weight in the space of a few weeks last summer when I first tried it. I've kind of fallen off the wagon and am not being so strict (hard to avoid rice in China), so I'm stuck at a plateau that is hard to get off of at the moment, but depending on your body type it may be an excellent way to jump start things.
My sister also started it after I did, was initially skeptical, but now has lost over 50 lbs. And friends of hers have also started and lost considerable amounts of weight.
A great resource is Jonny Bowden's book Living Low Carb -- in addition to providing a clear and readable overview of the science, he reviews many different low carb diet plans and talks about their strengths and weaknesses. Can be a big help in finding the plan that is right for you.
lhamo
If you have any chemicals in your diet (coke, etc), then cut that. Amazing what it does.
Will cut down on carbs. I have a zombie brain saying "must.have.carbs" Will also get out more. If it would finally stop raining we have a lot of gardening to do! I also just got a ninja blender hoping to make veggie smoothies etc. Thanks for all of the wise advice!
Gosh, I lost about seven pounds a few months ago when I had that nasty flu/bronchitis bug that was going around. Lost my sense of taste, was living on chicken soup (home-made), water and hot tea...not recommended for weight loss, but no sense of taste meant food was most unattractive--and tasteless. Who wants to chow down on cardboard??
Otherwise, to lose weight in a more enjoyable manner, I eliminate most wheat products (bread, pasta, beer) and concentrate on oatmeal or veggie omelet for breakfast with a piece of fruit, protein & salad (cut up small piece of chicken breast or lean meat such as ground round patty, hard-boiled egg) with lots of mixed greens and cut up veggies such as broccoli, carrots, sometimes apples & raisins and sunflower seeds/walnuts/almonds, with an olive oil/wine vinegar dressing), switching out with a soup (for lunch and dinner) and confine my beverages to one cup of coffee in the morning (with 1 t. real sugar and almond milk) and lots of water or unsweetened hot/cold tea through the day.
Water seems to help curb my appetite.
Desserts and snacks can be a stalk or two of celery with a dab of organic peanut butter., a piece of fruit, or low-fat yogurt with the least amount of sugar I can find.
dado potato
6-9-12, 4:55pm
First, congratulations on the decision to lose some weight!
To lose 5 lbs, I would suggest: Give it 6 weeks.... Have an accurate scale and weigh yourself same time every day. Graph the weight once per week.
I lost 3% of my weight between May 20 and June 9 (4 weeks). In terms of diet changes, I totally eliminated alcohol and sweetened beverages. I cut down (probably should eliminate as well) desserts and snacks.
When it is unavoidable to eat away from home, as it was at lunch today, I opted for Subway (I didn't have to have cheese or mayo with the chicken and spinach sandwich... and the iced tea is unsweet.)
I got some inspiration from the HBO documentary series "Weight of A Nation".
I use the free online version of fitday.com to log and graph weight. Other functions are available there, such as logging food consumption, exercise, etc.
Incidentally, I still plan to drop a further 6% body weight by the end of September, in order to be at "healthy" weight for my height.
At that point the ratio of waist to hip circumference would be .9 (an ideal for guys... an ideal ratio for maidens is .7 in Indo-European cultures)
Hey dado- thanks for the tips. I can often lose 5 lbs in a few weeks but regain it because I'm really didn't lose it over time. I won't give up my glass of wine each night but will give up my treats such as granola bars and an occasional ice cream. We actually don't drink soda in our house except as a rare treat. It's those darn carbs!!!! I weigh 120 lbs. and I'm 5'2" and a rather petite frame so I look really thick in the middle with an extra 5-7lbs.
"my fitness pal" for your smart phone and experience the tracking effect. Or to put it another way, eat consciously. When that piece of pie beckons at 10pm and you know you will put on weight that day if you eat it, but will take off (a little) weight if you don't - then you are conscious. It is oddly satisfying to not eat that pie at that point.
"my fitness pal" for your smart phone and experience the tracking effect. Or to put it another way, eat consciously. When that piece of pie beckons at 10pm and you know you will put on weight that day if you eat it, but will take off (a little) weight if you don't - then you are conscious. It is oddly satisfying to not eat that pie at that point.
Love MFP as well, dkdc.
A few days of the Norovirus made me lose 7 lbs. in 4 days.
The only other way is diet AND exercise.
I've dropped four pounds in four days at my new job in the Wholefoods deli by scurrying around for 8 hours scooping salads and slicing meats and cheeses!
I have a question for the no sugar part. I only drink one cup of tea or coffee a day, about, but I do sweeten. How would you sweeten that? I can go all day without bread, pasta, rice, or sweets, or even the tea and coffee, but I would like to have it, and no, I don't want them unsweetened.
Try Stevia--it's sold in health food stores, is a natural product, and very effective as a sweetner. One bottle will last for a very long time. I use it instead of sugar in tea drinks and hot chocolate.
Tussiemussies
7-4-12, 1:02pm
I have a question for the no sugar part. I only drink one cup of tea or coffee a day, about, but I do sweeten. How would you sweeten that? I can go all day without bread, pasta, rice, or sweets, or even the tea and coffee, but I would like to have it, and no, I don't want them unsweetened.
Hi Tiam, you can use Stevia available at Iherb.com. The reason I recommend them is because their stevia tastes like sugar whereas regular stevia has a licorice taste. I am not a representative of them or anything like that. It is all natural grown from a plant and no calories or side effects. We use it in all of our drinks and in making soy ice cream.
:)
Mighty Frugal
7-11-12, 9:59pm
The problem I had with Stevia in my coffee is that it didn't blend well. So I was left with bitter coffee with a HUGE sugar hit at the end of my gulp. I bought the Stevia at a reputable health food store
Does this happen to others? Or should I stir it for a long time? Just never blended
Tussiemussies
7-11-12, 11:42pm
You can use stevia to sweeten your coffee, tea etc. it is best to buy it from I herb.com, I'm not affiated with them in any way, it's just that they process it so there is no licorice flavor to it, which it naturally has and that is what you would get if you bought it in a health food store. It is natural, from a plant, no side-effects and no calories...
Mighty Frugal
7-12-12, 9:43am
You can use stevia to sweeten your coffee, tea etc. it is best to buy it from I herb.com, I'm not affiated with them in any way, it's just that they process it so there is no licorice flavor to it, which it naturally has and that is what you would get if you bought it in a health food store. It is natural, from a plant, no side-effects and no calories...
mine didn't taste like licorice at all. It just didn't blend.
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