I went running on Wednesday night for the first time in over a year. I ran a mile and a half, which was possibly a mistake, because when I was finished, my right leg cramped up, and today, for the second day in a row, my thighs are painfully sore. Guess it takes a few days to recover.
I’ve taken a look at the South Beach Diet and I might give it a shot, or at least follow its guidelines as to what foods to eat or avoid. I’m only about 10-15 pounds above my ideal weight, I think.
There’s this whole low-carb craze, but I just don’t get how things like bread and rice, staples of the human diet for millennia, can be bad for a person. I guess we’re less physically active as a species than we used to be – we don’t need to wash our clothes by hand or farm our own food anymore. I’m just glad I’m a city person and do lots of walking, otherwise I might not be as slim as I actually am.
For what it’s worth, I don’t recommend the South Beach Diet. It does work while you are religious about avoiding carbs (I lost 7 pounds), but NO ONE can stick to it forever, and the pounds come back quickly when you add back carbs. I was much more successful with just eating a healthy disribution of everything in moderation and sticking to that. If you give your body everything it needs, you don’t feel hungry. You feel hungry when you leave something out it wants (eg CARBS!).
I haven’t tried it but I’ve heard lots of people speaking positively about the Abs Diet. Body for Life tends to have a lot of advocates as well.
The trouble with white rice, white bread, and potatoes is that your body processes them so quickly that you get hungry again almost immediately. And since humans evolved to pack on extra calories as fat (as protection against famine), those easy carbs go right to your belly fat.
I liked South Beach, and it’s reasonable if you follow its snack suggestions. Don’t skip meals/snacks. Don’t let yourself get hungry. Vary what you eat, so that you don’t feel like you’re in food prison. Jim’s right; you’ll put weight back on if you go back to eating like you used to, but that’s true with any diet.
As far as the running goes, good for you! I used to live in Inwood right by the park and had a great place to run just a block from my house, but for most people in NY just getting to a park is hassle. And when exercising is a hassle, I tend not to do it. I just started running again, and YES you have to take it easy at first! If you wear yourself out right at first you will find it hard to keep motivated. Start slowly, both in speed and distance, and work your way up from there as your body adjusts. And it will. Once you establish a route, I always find it fun to time myself, because (though there are always off-days) I tend to get faster the more I run as I get in shape, and this helps keep me motivated. Results!
As far as diets go, I have a hard time with them. Most work in the short term, (I lost 11lbs in two weeks on Atkins, but I was about ready to kill myself) but a better bet is just to exercize and cut out all the extra dessert that you really didn’t need in the first place. If you are cutting out food you like, eventually you will break down and gorge. Exercise is the best way, along with moderation – I know, that is one word that most of us Americans detest. But it works. You don’t want to feel guilty every time a meal rolls around, just don’t go back for seconds.
In regards to carbs, you should try to avoid white flour carbs. Look for whole grains and it will help a lot. I’m currently on a pseudo-diet and it’s consisted of cutting out fried foods and explicitly sugary stuff (candy, soda, etc.) while trying to keep a balanced diet. I ride my bike to work twice a week (about 8 miles each way) as well. In the two weeks I’ve been doing this I’ve lost somewhere between 3-5 lbs. I’m currently hovering around 167 and I want to be closer to 160.
As others have said, it’s not a good idea to go cold turkey on stuff. I’ll have a sugary treat once or twice a week, instead of every day.
I think in the future people who diet constantly will be sitting in group therapy alongside other types of eating disorders.
Excercise & Eat Many Things Moderately
1) People genetically tend towards this or that body type as they age, most of which are considered hopelessly undesireable by popular culture. Mitigate the slow migration towards your fate by excercising. Exercise chemically fosters a RoshTov and good self-image.
2) Eat a varied, season-based diet. Moderation is everything. Constantly trying to increase the variety should be an eternal goal. I’m always “trying to try” new foods. And, i never eat if i am not hungry, and i always eat when i am.
Do this, and like our ancestors, you’ll survive and dominate. All else are fads of a dying culture and its soft, pudgy participants.
rob@egoz.org
Don’t get freaked out. Your body changes over time. You’re not going to stay the perky little babe that you are forever.
At least on the outside.
What’s important is t ove and be loved.
The Abs Diet is the way to go, mostly because 1) it emphasizes what foods you should eat, rather than what foods you should avoid, and 2) exercise is part of it.
Basically, the Abs Diet is a fad diet based on the concepts of “eat well” and “exercise.” The most brilliant marketing idea I’ve ever seen.
Seriously, don’t even think about any of these idiotic diets that have you load up on protein (Atkins, South Beach, Zone), because they’ll destroy your kidneys and liver.
Find a sensible, not radical, plan and you’ll be much happier, as will the people who have to eat with you.
I’m with Reese. Eat sensibly not faddishly. Count calories and fat grams and set yourself a healthy daily target for both. You’ll find yourself automatically cutting down on stuff like white bread and fatty and sweet stuff, and moving more towards lean meat, salads, stuff like that.
Losing weight that way’s pretty easy, and it’s not rocket science.