Good ways to lose weight.

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Hello,

I have a problem with losing weight for two reasons.

1: Some medicines I am on causes weight gain

2: I am a rather picky eater because of my Autism.

Can anyone make suggestions on easy ways for an Aspie to lose weight? Thanks.

I've always had the best luck with some variation on the Atkins Diet - eliminate carbs, especially white carbs like potatoes, bread, white rice, anything with sugar in it - and stick religiously to vegetable and meat protein.

It's rather extreme, but once I went for three or four months eating one hamburger patty and half of a can of vegetables twice a day, Sunday night through Friday afternoon.

From Friday afternoon through Sunday Afternoon, I ate whatever I wanted (within reason, no binging or gorging).

I also kept a regular exercise routine the whole time, weights, ab crunches, walking 2 miles a day.

After the first day or two, I didn't even feel especially hungry, but when I did, I just figured hunger pangs are the sensation of my body consuming it's own fat.

Dropped over 40 pounds and continuing the exercise, have kept it off for years.

I hope this does not sound belittling, as I am trying to be supportive here. I have a lot of experience with modifying my weight up and down and assisting others...


Losing weight is easy, very easy. Really all you have to do is eat less. All the information/diet industry out there and people failing due to not trying the basics is what makes it seem hard but it is not.

Just eating less will not necessarily provide you with the best figure, and that is what exercise is good for. Exercise makes you healthier, fitter and improves the way both men and women look. But exercise is a very inefficient manner in which to lose undesirable weight.

The things you should first remove from your diet is sugar/things containing sugar. Keep intake of things like pasta, rice and bread moderate. And you can increase vegetables & meat pretty much as much as you like. Both are very healthy, will keep you full but not fat. If you can choose fish from the sea and red meat that was grass raised. If you eat fried food regularly, change them to an occasional treat instead. Choose something like boiled/baked potatoes instead of fried for example.

Consider these changes to be PERMANENT. You dont have to change everything at once, I would start with the sugar and see how you go.

Find a physical activity you ENJOY and that is approachable (not too hard) like walking, cycling, dancing, yoga, swimming etc.. something that you can keep up long term. Remember enjoyment NOT difficulty.

If you stick with it, even removing one thing from your diet like sugar PERMANENTLY. You will see continual long term improvement to your figure and health.

I strongly disagree with atkins/ketogenic approach.

This is good for dramatic weight loss over a short period for people who are experienced and have iron will power. Even then it will not be that effective and make you feel terrible. Carbs are satiating, healthy and make you happy. There is a BIG difference from eating cakes and drinking sugary soda to eating potatoes. Potatoes are a superfood! They contain more fibre than brown rice and more vitamin C than most fruits.

You could go on a potato only diet and lose more weight than atkins and improve your health while at it.

Most people who do atkins/ketogenic diets are fooled anyhow as they do not get past the introductory stage. When you go zero carb, it can take up to 3 weeks for the carbs in your body to be depleted. For every 1g of carbs you store 3g of water. So at the beginning dieters lose about 12lb of water weight and think atkins has done its magic. As soon as you eat carbs, this water weight will return. And I mean in the same day.

You can absolutely lose weight on a high carb diet. But better on moderate carb, high fibre (from vegetables not wheat), moderate fat and high protein diet. This is the most healthy, it will also fuel an active lifestyle unlike atkins, which will also contribute to a better physique and happiness.

I reiterate and emphasise, modest but PERMANENT changes. The exact opposite of atkins.

I have to agree with the above about how easy it is to eat right and stay healthy. I lost the 40ish pounds I've put on since high school in the last 6 months and feel really stupid for having not done it early and being so lazy and making up dumb excuses over the years heh.

From what i've discovered and observed it's best to try stuff out and find what works for you, not every diet is for everyone obviously.

Naturally being an aspy type I over analyzed and researched and learned a lot too, a lot about some of the dumb myths and some odd truths.

A myth - carbs are bad. Totally not true, the atkins thing may work for some but for the vast majority it's a crash diet that won't last. Carbs are perfectly ok, yes you definitely want to avoid the white stuff and definitely avoid them as much as possible with dinner but like almost any food, even a burger from mcdonalds, they are perfectly healthy in moderation.

Dont eat late at night is another big myth. Not eating after say 7 or 8 is something to avoid. You can put your body into starvation mode and really destroy your metabolism that way. Obviously you don't want to eat a 1,000 calorie dinner late at night but you definitely want to ensure you have a nice healthy snack before bed.


One thing that really worked for me is using a smart phone app. MyFitnessPal has been great and really kept me on track. Logging everything and visualizing it has really kept me from straying.

I've lost 10lbs over the last year (not intentionally) because I made a major modification to my diet. I blend up produce (lots of it) and store it in the freezer. Instead of fast-food, vending machine food, or starving, I eat the blender food.

It's great for appetite control (I binge eat way less), it has lots of water content and fiber (I call it food with an exit strategy). The taste takes a little getting used to, but you can always add more fruit to make it more palatable.

My friends call it EOM (edible organic material), somehow, that name sticks.

Interesting. What kind of produce do you use and how do you eat it? Do you eat it warm or cold? Is the consistency that of baby food or more like smoothie?

I use a little of everything, kale, spinach, root vegetables, pineapples, broccoli. It would be easier to tell you what I don't put in it (corn, potatoes, iceberg lettuce). The consistency is a little chunky if you use a ninja blender. A vita-mix or blend-tec will take it to baby food consistency. I think its much better if eaten cold.

I've added yogurt in the past, it helps with the consistency. If you ever decide to try it yourself (you'd probably be the first) I can pass on the tricks of the trade.

A lot of people will suggest this diet or that. I think all have their pros and cons, and it is often a false notion that this diet or that will be a magic bullet to a new, slimmer you. The fact is nearly all work because they restrict what you eat in some way, and finding some foods now proscribed, you literally take in fewer calories and lose weight.

Now, I should preface by saying I'm not overweight. But weight is a concern to me as a distance runner, and sometimes, especially after the winter, I'll come away a few pounds over my ideal running weight, and this can affect my speed and my running form. It is important to shave off a few pounds. And I've found success by combining an uptick in physical activity...as in get your heartrate going...don't just walk, jog a little, get a bit out of breath, once a day every day.

And examine your diet, what you eat, and where the caloric content resides. You might be surprised that there is a particular food item that is particularly troublesome. For me it was ice cream. I LOVE ice cream and I used to eat it every day. But I noticed the fat content I was taking in and decided to cut back.

The trick is you don't go cold turkey. Instead, substitute. Instead of ice cream for desert each night, I began to enjoy bread with honey, or graham crackers with a little chocolate frosting.

I found by substituting what i normally at with something less fatty and caloric, that was enough to lower my net caloric intake to result in weight loss when combined with my increased training regimen. I actually lost a little more weight than I intended, and had to readjust!

The thing is you must be patient. Don't fixate on how much you lose, and how quickly. Lose it gradually. I shaved off five pounds or so in the course of a summer. Pretty slow, but it was effective.

Learn to derive satisfaction from the pleasure of controlling your body. Of being master of it, by saying you aren't a slave to this food or that, and telling your body, "Hey, slim down." And you may surprise yourself that the change can happen. Look at it as a game of fine tuning the foods you eat until you achieve that balance, where you burn just as much calories as you take in, and thereby you don't lose OR gain, you stay just where you are!

(Moved from Love and Dating to Health, Fitness and Sports.)

Anti-depressents? I was on sertraline (generic zoloft) for 3 months earlier this year and quickly gained 15 pounds despite not really changing anything else. I quit after discovering that.

I'm now on Aderall (for my ADHD focus issues) and it has a lovely side effect of appetite surpression and extra energy to get to the gym. Maybe add a stimulant to your SSRI cocktail? That's what my Aunt does and she has kept her weight down despite being on anti-depressents for years.

i lost about 60 pounds just by walking without changing my diet. then i started eating healthier and lost another 25 pounds.

get exercising BEFORE changing your diet.

There's heaps of great ideas and advice on here, and obviously many people are willing to help.

I think if you give us a rundown VERY HONESTLY of what you are eating, and what exercise you're doing, plus your current height and weight, you could get some really helpful advice.

Merely going through the process of writing down what you're actually buying and eating each week will start to give you strength and insight.

Also, you should tell us what foods you feel you can't resist and probably eat too much and too often (weaknesses), and what foods you think are healthy and you like, but you don't seem to get around to very often (possible strengths). For example your weakness MIGHT be chocolate, and your strength might be carrots and cottage cheese.

Finally if you are aware, tell us what situations cause you to head for your weakness foods. For example, some people will eat badly when they've had a hard day at work, when they've had a few alcoholic drinks, when they go home and their mother spoils them, when people bring birthday cakes to share in their office etc.

If you put some effort into a little report for your fellow forumers we will be ready to assist!

Hi

I have a suggestion. This is what I use at the moment. It's little effort, high results, and works well in my opinion; better than anything else I've ever tried.

If you can find a 'Curves' gym around you, give them a try. They use hydrolic machines, designed particularly for women's bodies. They're not too hard on your body, and it takes about 45mins, 3 x times a week (30 min workout, and 15 min stretching).

If you do that, plus take protein powder supplements, you should hopefully see results fast

Work out.

Watch how much you eat (specifically what you eat doesn't matter much, it's just total calorie intake).

But for real, I don't understand how someone could get into a "routine" in which they are sedentary and eat almost nothing in order to lose weight.

Maybe it's just me, but I lost 60 pounds (and actually probably a lot more because I gained minimum 20 pounds of muscle) in less than 18 months basically by playing basketball and a couple times a week walking/running on a treadmill for a half hour with a shedload of weight stacked on me.

Diet-wise, I was just cognizant of how much I ate. I ate horrid foods the whole time, I just rarely ate to excess.

Granted, I've gained most of it back after moving and no longer having people to play sports with, but I lost it faster than I gained it and am confident I could lose it again no prob.

I can usually (and am hoping to) lose weight fairly easily. I'm cutting out alcohol, and easing off the dairy products which is a lot of my caloric intake right now. Adding more fruits and veggies. I try to stay active, but I'll probably bump of the intensity of my exercise again.
Not a huge fan of constant calorie tracking, but I have been double checking some foods in case of any unpleasant surprises.