Scientific approach to weight loss & fitness?

[sophia34]

I was curious to see who on this post has actually been successful in losing weight and how they have done so. I read so many posts asking how to lose weight, when in my experience, it really differs from individual to individual. It did for me, for sure.

 

I was wondering if anyone here has taken a more scientific approach to weight loss. That is, when I was overweight, I really thought "I'd tried everything" and was about to give up. But when hit my top weight--that magic number that I'd always vowed I'd never hit--I decided to get more mathematical about it. So, I treated myself kind of like a lab experiment, and gathered all the data I could.

 

-I kept a journal, logging everything I ate and how much as well as the type and duration of exercise I did

-I monitored my appetite, trying to decide what triggered ravenous hunger (lots of sugar, low-intensity exercise) and what actually worked to suppress my appetite so I wasn't hungry

-I monitored my fatigue rates, when I was energized and when I was tired, and traced causes and effects over time

-I tested different combinations of vitamins, to see which ones had a positive effect and which ones didn't

 

What I found out was incredibly surprising, and things that I would never have learned if I had only focused on straight diet and exercise. For instance,

 

-I found that 3 or 4 glasses of iced green tea each day curbed my appetite, while 3 or 4 glasses of straight water had no effect

-I learned that a multivitamin had no effect on my fatigue, and a B-complex vitamin alone had no effect. But a combination B-complex vitamin, fish oil, and calcium/magnesium supplements gave me more energy

-intense, shorter exercise sessions had an appetite suppressant effect, while longer slower sessions actually made me feel hungrier

-I found that a 10-minute rule helped distract me from eating when I knew I shouldn't. That is, if I wanted to eat something outside my given calorie budget, I would wait 10 minutes and drink a glass of tea. Almost always, I'd get distracted and forget I even wanted it. If I still wanted it, I'd eat it with no ill effects.

-I found that I ate less of meals and baked goods I made myself (because they were more flavorful and I had more satisfaction in them) than when I ate more haphazardly (chips, cereal, snacks, etc.)

 

No diet book and no exercise regimen would have helped me find these strategies that helped me lose weight. I was wondering if anyone else out there has had a similar experience in finding the tricks and triggers that applied to them and no one else?

 

This aspect of weight loss really did surprise me. Although it's a matter of "calories-in-calories-out," it also has to do with one's personal appetite and body chemistry. When I'm ravenous, I can't stop myself from eating. I actually had to analyze my appetite triggers and find what I could do to actually make myself NOT HUNGRY to make it work. That's something no one really tells you.

[portableversion]

YES! I did that too after i had my son.

 

I kept a book detailing the amount of exercise i did a day, and how many calories were burned. I also kept an book with my food intake and calorie intake.

 

I found that it worked also. i had to find the 'magic' number, that is, how many calories do i need to cut in order to lose weight. You were much more thorough than i was though.

[sophia34]

Yes, I think the food journal is definitely the way to go! It really helps keep track of exactly what's going to influence your weight, and how much you can really have to keep everything in check.

 

But I now know that if I only focus on "not eating," I'll fail every time. My appetite will always win out. I had to do all that work to find out what would make me "not want to eat"! That was a different focus for me.

 

And sometimes the appetite still wins! But I now know how I can make it go away most of the time, so that's been wonderful.

[HotCaliGirl]

Your post is very insightful with some great observations about yourself. It is often heard in order to lose weight "eat right and exercise"... but there is so much more to look into, just as you have. Behavior can play an important role, such as your 10-minute distraction rule...substitution can play a role - in your cae, substituting green tea for water, etc.

 

To lose weight and be in good shape is to be in tune with your body's needs, to adjust according to what makes it function best and most efficiently, and adapting to its needs, which can best be accompllished by paying close attention to what works and doesn't work.

 

Some people might need only 10 minutes of exercise to do the trick, others an hour...some may need to substitute sugar with honey, water with tea, one type of vitamin with another, etc etc...

 

we're all different and many do not look into themselves for answers, but instead blindly take the advice of others and try to adopt it into their lives, then think something is wrong with them when it doesn't work and they are not getting the same results...

[ReluctantRomeo]

Interesting. I lost about 30 pounds over the space of a couple of years a few years back. I've kept it off.

 

I was pretty scientific about it too... trying different foods and different exercises. I don't think I discovered anything that is new to science, and most of what I discovered I think would apply to most people, but it was interesting. And highly motivating - instead of focussing on the weekly weight, I was changing my lifestyle and finding something healthy that worked for me.

 

Among my discoveries:

 

- as with you, drinking tea distracts me for a bit.

- weight training made me lose as much weight as 20 minute cardio sessions. At least initially.

- low glycemic index foods really do fuel you for much longer. I noticed this when I changed my breakfast, when I ate more fruit, when I cut desserts etc.

- cutting the masses of high caffeine coffee helped me eat less. And made Saturdays less of an energy dip.

[sophia34]

My experience was the same. Weight training was the biggest factor, I think, in my weight loss as well! I've lost 22 pounds, and I think the biggest factor was adding three 45-minute weight training sessions to my week. The added muscle mass shifted my metabolism quite a bit, so that I burn calories more efficiently. When I do have a day when I overeat, I know it's the added muscle that keeps those extra calories from doing lasting damage.

 

At first, I had trouble starting a weight training program that would work (don't have a gym membership, don't have a home weight training machine). But I discovered that 200 pounds of dumbbell pairs, 2 to 25 lbs, stored under the bed and several weight training video workouts work perfectly for me, and my space limitations and schedule.

 

That's something else I think many people should realize--they don't need fancy equipment to get in shape. My "gym" is a nearby park, those dumbbells, a stability ball, a jump rope, workout tapes, and my VCR. Those inexpensive pieces of equipment are all I needed to get in the best shape I've ever been in.

 

Well, you've also got to use them! Have to admit that on some days I'm more motivated than others. But that's the next step in my little "scientific experiment"--looking for ways to stay motivated now that I've lost the weight and won't see the big gains in muscle and losses on the scale as my reward.

[ReluctantRomeo]

But that's the next step in my little "scientific experiment"--looking for ways to stay motivated now that I've lost the weight and won't see the big gains in muscle and losses on the scale as my reward.

 

Well, you could chose this moment to join a gym. Or get an exercise buddy. Or both. Other people and lots of fun new equipment are motivating for me

[Jtizzle]

yea getting a exercise buddy and joing a gym helps very much... My mother would only go to the gym if i pressured her to go, whereas she had a buddy before me who would only go once and a while and she said i was better motivation for her... We lifted weights three times a week sumtimes four, and we did cardio each time we went to tha gym (started with 30mins and then workd our way up)..

 

we stopped going to the gym for about a month bcause i had went back to the east coast to visit my pops, and when i came back, we had did the master cleanse together. Ive lost a good 12pounds from it, even thought i didnt do the full ten days like i was supposed to, i did 7. after that, i kept a food journal and realized that i dont eat very much (once a day, and sometimes none), and from some studies ive read, that its NOT bad to NOT eat, whereas in the media you have folks telling you its bad to not eat,which isnt true. I take vitamins which gives me energy and keeps the body working etc. to increase muscle strength i took creatine,etc...i also became a vegetarian, and i had cut out products that had hydrogenated oils or partially hydrogenated oils in them ( a reason in why you get fact and your body doesnt act right)

 

but yes definately you get more of a feel with how your body acts and reacts to some things when you write them down and keep records..