The *Official* Lets Get Healthy Thread

<p>join cross country and distance track :).</p>

<p>about the calorie thing...calories arent bad. a calorie is energy..which is good. the thing that is bad is when calories arent used..when you dont use the energy. then it becomes fat and thats when its all bad. so i guess just dont eat more calories than you think you will use..because then its fat.</p>

<p>yeaah.</p>

<p>But distance running is so boring...</p>

<p>i can't gain weight no matter how much i eat (i get around 600 cal just for breakfast on most days). now i am anticipating getting bashed after the above posts, but i am tired of being skinny.</p>

<p>
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Go vegan... you'll drop pounds effortlessly (assuming that you don't just eat chips all the time or something). I lost 7 pounds in two or three weeks after I did, and I was still eating the same amounts, just not meat/eggs/dairy. Saving the animals is just a side benefit.

[/quote]
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<p>Veganism is cool. I personally went vegetarian sometime during my freshman year (I was mostly concerned about the animals and whatnot, I don't think I lost weight then), but stopped after three weeks because AP exams were coming up and I was worried I wasn't eating a balanced diet and my brain would die and such. I should probably go vegetarian again sometime. Or vegan.</p>

<p>But the thing is, about sports, you have to try out, and make the team. At least, at my top-sports ranked school. So, it's really a vicious cycle...you want to joing the team to get fit, but you have to be fit to join the team.</p>

<p>I'm currently trying to get thin enough to join my school's lacrosse team this spring...looking at the current members, it appears as if your bmi needs to be in the underweight zone :)</p>

<p>Yeah, I didn't do it to lose weight; that sort of happened automatically. It's definitely possible to maintain a balanced vegan or vegetarian diet, but you do have to learn a bit about nutrition for that to be possible (although I'm enough of a geek to actually find that interesting :p). The difference that struck me the most was actually how much lighter, cleaner, and more alert I felt after I changed my diet. I don't know what exactly caused that, or if it was a combination of things (probably), but I'd love to find out. </p>

<p>[/hijack]</p>

<p>I'm 245/6'0 but I find it okay since I need that weight to be competitive in the easiest and heaviest weight class for wrestling :) Anyway, I seem to be managing my weight when I need it; dropped from 235 to 206 last year for the wrestling season, then gained again (realized that the 285 is easiest). Now, I'm planning to loose weight slowly to be about 200 during track.</p>

<p>PS. When you need to cut weight you cut sugars, when you need to gain weight you eat sugars -- works for me.
PPS. I don't seem to have any major fat so I don't quite understand where weight comes from and where it goes -- my shape stays quite the same :D</p>

<p>I was always 'thicker' growing up (5'0 and a size 9), but when I turned 15 (sophmore year), I started playing soccer, going to the gym 3 times a week and doing soo much stuff that I didn't have time to eat or think about eating. By the end of my sophmore year I was 5'3 and I had about a 25-26 inch waist. Then I stopped and I gained a lot of weight... like 30 pounds. I'm trying to get it off by eating better and going to the gym 7 times a week (eliptical for 30 minutes and the rower for 20)
.. its been a month and... nothing. It's quite sad acctually. But whatever I'll lose it.</p>

<p>My Junior year I was 120 pounds, 5'4, so I went on a diet in December. During spring break, I found out I was about 102 pounds. I lost all that weight by just eating fruits and veggies, but when my bday rolled around I gained all that weight break and I'm currently trying to lose it. Right now I'm about 5'5 and 115, but I think I'll be able to lose the weight by christmas.</p>

<p>i wear a size 2 or 4 and still need to go on a diet, because basically all i eat in a day is a microwavable pizza or a candy bar. haha. i'll actually probably /gain/ weight if i stop eating junk. but it's even harder to motivate yourself to eat healthy when you're not fat.</p>

<p>I think my biggest enemy is carbs.
I don't think of the them as unhealthy so when I "diet" I only cut out the sweet things, but continue to welcome the extra servings of pasta.</p>

<p>In October, I was 5'5 and 118 lbs. That was a good weight but I was starting to get a gut. So I started doing small things like climbing up stairs, not eating all my food, and doing some excerises. Now I'm 114. Even though that doesnt seem alot, my gut is gone!!</p>

<p>I'm 5'7 126 lbs (f) and I can easily drop 5lbs whenever I want -in 2 or 3 days - by simply not eating when I'm bored.
I'm one of those people that MUST do something. So when there's nothing to do, I eat because I always have that urge to do something (if not, I feel lazy).
What that does is it makes me feel less bloated.
To lose that small amount of pounds, I dont think it's neccessary to cut out any sweets at all. Whenver I want to drop 5, I just eat small things. Whether it be a piece of chocolate or grapes or apples. I basically just avoid big meals. That means I eat 6-7 small things per day. My day would go like this:</p>

<p>7.30am - a piece of toast + juice
10.30am - a moderate sized muffin
12.30pm - a sandwich
3.30pm - couple of kiwifruits
7.00pm - when everyone's having dinner, sandwich or toast (weird i know but it fills you up)
9.00pm - some fruit
11.00pm - a piece of chocolate (for those who sleep at 3am).</p>

<p>And uhh I dont think this thing would work for people wanting to lose real weight (like 30+ lbs).
And excercise is soooooooo important. I try to run 5 times a week. muscle burns fat.</p>

<p>Scary. I've been eating at least 3.5k-kcal for the past two years and I haven't moved from 150lbs. I can't understand people who eat nothing. (like the person above me)</p>

<p>I have a lot of experience losing (and gaining weight) for taekwondo. I posted a summary of what's worked for me and what I've learned as a result, but everybody's body is different, so you'll likely need to try and see which works for you.</p>

<p>Basically, if you're following a healthy weight loss plan, you can expect a weight loss of 1-2 pounds a week. A stable, gradual weight loss is much healthier and easier to maintain in the long run. Rapid weight loss (usually more than 2 pounds a week) can indicate loss of muscle, which will decrease amount of calories you burn as a result of daily activities and make it harder to maintain your goal weight.</p>

<p>Most people find that mini-meals can help you to feel much fuller throughout the day on less calories than the typical breakfast, lunch, and dinner eating style. Personally, I like to eat about 5-6 mini meals each day. Each should consist of protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats. Mini-meals should be smaller than a "typical meal", but still significant enough to make you feel satisfied and not hungry. </p>

<p>To find out how many calories you should be eating, you can use an online calculator to get an idea of your basal metabolic rate (BMR, or amount of calories you need to maintain your weight if you do nothing activity-wise all day). However, you should always be eating more calories than your BMR because I'm assuming nobody here is extremely sedentary. Eating less calories than your body "needs" is dangerous because you may end up sending your body into starvation mode. Put simply, in starvation mode, your body will start to look for new sources of energy, since you're not providing enough calories to fuel it. Most often, this energy is found from the muscle mass in your body, which your body will start to break down for the energy. This will, in turn, lead to a slower metabolism, which is counterproductive to your weight loss.</p>

<p>Once you have an idea of your BMR, you can split up that amount between 5-6 mini-meals. You really don't need to eliminate "junk food", but should try to minimize it. The occasional treat is okay, the constant consumption of only processed food is not. Carbohydrate wise, you'll want a balance of simple and complex carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates provide a more long-term source of energy, while simple carbohydrates are good for almost immediate energy. Good sources of complex carbs include oatmeal, wheat bread, and most vegetables. Eating high-fiber carbs will help to maintain fullness longer. Fullness can also be aided by the consumption of protein. It's usually best to stick to the lean sources of proteins. Turkey, chicken, tuna, and soy are all good sources of lean protein. However, some fatty fish sources such as salmon are also okay because they contain Omega 3 fatty acids, which are very good for you when eaten 1-2 times a week. </p>

<p>Activity-wise, you should probably aim to do at least something 5 times a week. It doesn't have to be extremely strenuous, but something that burns a little extra calories. Possible ideas include walking, running, cycling, swimming, soccer, basketball, etc. It should just be something that you enjoy. Be careful to adjust your calorie intake if you’re exercising a lot. You want to make sure you’re fueling your body enough for your workouts.</p>

<p>Lastly, make sure you're drinking enough water. A good rule of thumb I like is your body weight in pounds divided by two should be the minimum amount of water you should drink each day (in ounces). Alcohol contains a lot of empty calories and should probably not be consumed very often at all. Some people like diet soda, but I usually try not to drink too much of it because of the chemicals.</p>

<p>Edit: Just reread over this post, sorry if it sounds too preachy ;) Just trying to help with what I've learned.</p>

<p>Whoa. Nice.</p>

<p>eat healthier foods and go out and run/bike/swim</p>

<p>Or...you could jsut become really stressed out about college.</p>

<p>Ever since I became obsessed with JHU, I've lost about 10 pounds. I literally lost my will to eat, and when I do, I throw up because it makes me sick.
For energy, I just take lots and lots of caffeine- that way, I can stay up and do work without falling asleep from lack of energy.</p>

<p>I know. Opposite of healthy. But it works</p>

<p>Dude Tinas, that's screwing you over and you dont even realize it....</p>

<p>I don't want to gain or lose weight...I want to tone up....</p>