What makes you fat?

I am so going to be straight foward here but what food makes you put on weight very quickly??


I have stopped drinking beer, but I have been eating a heck of a lot and not excersizing and drinking way too much alcohol that I feel like a big elephant!

Having lost 95lbs, I would say fast food, white flower, white sugar, pop (this includes diet/light), and anything with high fructose corn syrup. The "low" carb fad is silly. You have to have carbs in your diet to maintain energy and blood sugar levels.

I need to loose 15lbs to get back to my healthy weight.
But its not working

We've cut out fast food and red meat for a month now, and I've lost 10 lbs. I went from 127 to 117. My husband has lost 20 lbs.

Since you asked...bread, rice, pasta, any grains or flours, potatoes, winter squash, soda, any beer, any high carb vegetables such as carrots and peas, oh and all fruit.

Thanks to yo yo dieting and developing metabolic syndrome.

For grins and giggles, do a web search on "william banting" if you want to see just how long ago, folks discovered that for some, higher protein/higher fat and low carb was the only way for them to lose weight!

Originally Posted by lookingglass

Having lost 95lbs, I would say fast food, white flower, white sugar, pop (this includes diet/light), and anything with high fructose corn syrup. The "low" carb fad is silly. You have to have carbs in your diet to maintain energy and blood sugar levels.

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Not silly at all! It just has to be balanced, and done properly (no ketosis thank you very much). It's not a fad since this form of dieting has been around since at least the 1800s.

Having lost almost 75 lbs this way and prevented progression into Type Two diabetes by eating a balanced carbohydrate, higher protein, higher fat diet, it's a topic I feel quite qualified to discuss.

If you are losing more than 2 lbs a week, you are doing it wrong and will almost definitely put it back on. Why? Because more than that requires significant lifestyle changes that most people cannot commit to for life (like, yes, you can exercise an hour a day for a couple weeks, but can you do it forever?)

The best way to lose weight is to eat smaller portions and be more active. It's actually that simple.

You need to use 3,000 more calories than you take in to lose a pound. To gain a pound, you need only take in 1,000 more calories than you use. Our bodies are very well designed for famines. Not so much for industrialized countries.

Think of a few things that you eat that are calorie dense and nutritionally marginal. Examples would be beer (of course, as you mentioned), soda, mayonnaise, snack foods with lots of sugar or fat, etc. Think of the quantity of these foods in 3,000 calories and try to cut back that much.

A little known fact: ALL types of alcohol are 100 cals per ounce. So any drink with an ounce of alcohol has at least 100 calories. Many people stop drinking beer to try to lose weight, but a glass of wine or a mixed drink has the same, if not more, calories than a lite beer. Remember, it is a sugar!

Little changes are better than drastic ones. If you make small changes that you can stick with for life you won't yoyo diet and you will be healthier. You won't lose 15 pounds right away, but you will lose 15 lbs and more, and keep it off.

Most people look for complicated ways to do it, like the stupid low-carb diet, that end up not working. Have smaller portions, eat slowly (it takes 20 minutes for you to feel full), do NOT deprive yourself but rather moderate yourself, eat small amounts of healthy foods more often as it keeps your metabolism working properly, go for a walk or park farther away or do little exercises while watching tv.

A diet is what you eat. You can have a terrible diet and gain a bunch of weight and clog your arteries, or you can have a good diet and be healthy. Being thin is not necesarily healthier if you're talking about 15 lbs (that's vanity weight) but you're eating the same old garbage.

Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

Most people look for complicated ways to do it, like the stupid low-carb diet, that end up not working.

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Well, a lower carb diet for some, is the only thing that works, and I assure you, it is not stupid. If you'd like to discuss it via pm, or anyone here, I'd be glad to.

I honestly feel like every time I post what I've spent so many years learning about and practising, no one seems to listen. I can not tell you how many folks I know who exercise daily, count calories and either do not lose or are suffering incredible hunger so that they can not maintain and eventually binge eat. It is simply not so simple as counting calories and increasing exercise, not for everyone. Thank your lucky stars that you are not dealing with hyperinsulinemia!

So I guess I won't share about it any more. But trust me, this came out of painful experience over more than 40 years of dealing with my body and food. I am intelligent, I have my RN degree, and I don't go for fads. I do understand that not all ways of eating are appropriate for all folks, and I also eat this way for overall health, not just as a weight loss tool.

So...best wishes to all of you seeking better health, and to lose weight. I'll just give one last piece of advice. Do not diet again and again and again, you will damage your metabolism, and you will regret it as you age. It is better to make adjustments once and then stick to how you've chosen to eat, how you've chosen to incorporate exercise in your life.

I'll be glad to discuss this via pm with anyone in the future, but no more public contributions.

Actually I thought I was agreeing with you, not that you'd be offended by what I said. You said you used a balanced-carb diet and eliminated a lot of empty sugars. Which isn't what I was talking about at all. I'm talking about people who make themselves sick (you also mentioned ketosis...) by not eating any kind of carbs at all, a totally unsustainable and unhealthy diet. It was an example of the idea that you need to buy a book full of complicated menus and rules in order to lose weight.

Just going by all the registered dieticians that I know. And the nutrition textbooks I've read.

Sorry you are upset by what I said, I wish you'd reconsider withdrawing yourself since I'm sure you have valuable things to say.

I agree with Zissou'sMom. I was pointing out the people that think low carb is just eating protein and eliminating all carbs all together. From a girl who eats pasta three times a week, and was able to still lose almost 100lbs I think that I can say that carbs were one of the reasons that I lost all the weight. Cutting out transfat and the chemical garbage that is put in food these days is one of the best ways to not only make your self healthy, but to loose weight as well.

Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

Well, a lower carb diet for some, is the only thing that works, and I assure you, it is not stupid. If you'd like to discuss it via pm, or anyone here, I'd be glad to.

I honestly feel like every time I post what I've spent so many years learning about and practising, no one seems to listen. I can not tell you how many folks I know who exercise daily, count calories and either do not lose or are suffering incredible hunger so that they can not maintain and eventually binge eat. It is simply not so simple as counting calories and increasing exercise, not for everyone. Thank your lucky stars that you are not dealing with hyperinsulinemia!

So I guess I won't share about it any more. But trust me, this came out of painful experience over more than 40 years of dealing with my body and food. I am intelligent, I have my RN degree, and I don't go for fads. I do understand that not all ways of eating are appropriate for all folks, and I also eat this way for overall health, not just as a weight loss tool.

So...best wishes to all of you seeking better health, and to lose weight. I'll just give one last piece of advice. Do not diet again and again and again, you will damage your metabolism, and you will regret it as you age. It is better to make adjustments once and then stick to how you've chosen to eat, how you've chosen to incorporate exercise in your life.

I'll be glad to discuss this via pm with anyone in the future, but no more public contributions.

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Ah, nicely said! I'm sorry that your advice is falling on deaf ears, I think you're full of knowledge and like to hear what you have to say.

I think the issue is that people want the easy way out. I've lost 25 pounds and I'm looking to lose 15 more...and I'll tell you, it's hard work. And you're right, dieting is not the answer...diets will come and go, but they're so ridiculous you can't stick to them without going crazy. And you're also right that one thing won't work for all.

I hope you'll continue to share your knowledge, you know what you're talking about and we need that more than "well I heard..." comments.

well i eat garbage

Currently i am 60 kilograms, but when i was 45 - 50 Kgs 2 years ago i was alot healthier, I know 60 kgs isnt alot but its the fact that I am small.
I have been walking alot more than what I did in the last year I just sometimes feel like its not enough!

I was thinking of just cutting out beer and resorting to wine but after reading your post about alcohol now i know why i put on a bit in the last week!

I hate to even say this but I can't gain an ounce, I eat sweet stuff all the time, I am alway's thinking about food, just seems nothing as good as it used to be anymore, I have gotten to where I don't like meat, I weighed 102 I think the last time I went to the Dr I was down to about 97, although I am only 4ft 11 small frame I wish I could put on some weight, can't even find clothes that look good, I think it's just as bad as being overweight, even the Dr told me EAT more bread or something I must burn up the food before I swollow it. My Daughters are all 200 lbs everyone goes what happened to them I said I over feed them I guess, 2 weighed 3 pounds when they were born 1 weighed 5 lbs 8 oz , but My Mom was smaller then I am and my younger sister wears a size 1, I don't want to be that small...

Originally Posted by halfpint

I hate to even say this but I can't gain an ounce, I eat sweet stuff all the time, I am alway's thinking about food, just seems nothing as good as it used to be anymore, I have gotten to where I don't like meat, I weighed 102 I think the last time I went to the Dr I was down to about 97, although I am only 4ft 11 small frame I wish I could put on some weight, can't even find clothes that look good, I think it's just as bad as being overweight, even the Dr told me EAT more bread or something

I must burn up the food before I swollow it. My Daughters are all 200 lbs

everyone goes what happened to them I said I over feed them I guess, 2 weighed 3 pounds when they were born 1 weighed 5 lbs 8 oz , but My Mom was smaller then I am and my younger sister wears a size 1, I don't want to be that small...

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Have you had your thyroid checked? You could be out of balance.

with the whole carb thing its not really that you need to cut carbs out because yeah... you need carbs but it is seperating the good carbs from the bad carbs.

i'm a lil' chubby and i know for me it is the soda. soda makes your body bloat.i havent had a soda in like 3 or 4 weeks and none of my pants fit any more. i have to wear a belt! but the funny thing is that i havent lost any weight. lol. but when i wear my cloths i look like i shrank in them or something cuz my shirts are big and my pants are baggy lol. my mom cut soda out of her diet and now she's wearin my pants and they fit her fine (and she isnt totally obese but she isnt skinny either... bigger than me)!

i'm close to being diabetic so i try to watch what i eat.

Originally Posted by lookingglass

Have you had your thyroid checked? You could be out of balance.

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Oh yes had that checked every year, Just had a complete physical, the Dr told me I am in better shape then she is I do have high blood pressue and high colorestral have had those for 15 years, have been on medication for that all this time. Other then aches and pains from getting old I seem to be ok

Actually I went on a high carb diet and lost 85lbs. You HAVE to have carbs. Thats why when people are on the "no carb" diets have low-no energy. Carbs=sugars=energy. More carbs I ate, more energy I had to exercise.... but everyone is different. Try not to eat after 7pm and if you do, make it fruits and veggies

I've lost 67 lbs so far on Weight Watchers. For me, the secret isn't cutting anything out alltogether, but eating everything I want IN MODERATION. I've cut way, way back on processed and prepared foods, but I still have them as an occasional treat. I even still have a little fast food or pizza on occasion. The difference is that the majority of my diet is now fresh fruits and veggies, lean meats, and whole grains. The other stuff is now an occasional indulgence instead of my regular diet.

Fast-food makes me fat. Like within an hour. for real. Anything fried makes me all fat and flabby.

I just eat non-fried foods, and I'm good. I also try & keep myself busy. Working the 2 waitress jobs has me running for at least 8 hours a day. So that rocks. I've lost a few pounds just from working and eating less.

I'm blessed or cursed. I'm not super slim and cut, but it's really difficult for me to gain fat, so I can eat almost anything. If I dont lift weights, I lose weight. I already lost 5 pounds because I don't lift as much during softball season.