Rat Man
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Roughly fifteen years ago my weight ballooned up to just a few pounds shy of 300. Scary. I went on a diet and was extremely successful. Some of you may remember me mentioning this a long time ago. I lost almost 100 lbs in eight months and I didn't starve myself or even exercise. Slowly but surely my weight has worked itself back up to about 260. I'm tall and can carry some weight but to be honest I am fat. So about nine days ago I went back on the diet. Once I get started I tend to be a hard ass about such things so I'm pretty sure I'll be successful. I'm trying to get a good exercise program started to go with it. At 63 the body resists exercise but I'm stubborn. I'll whip the old carcass back into shape one more time. One of the things that happens when you loose significant weight is that you loose first where you want to loose it the least and last where you want to loose it the most. For most men the weight comes off the arms, shoulders, and chest first and off of the gut last. For women usually their butts and thighs tend to thin last. I know my diet is working because I can already see my shoulders are a bit smaller. The diet mainly centers around carbs. Most people think of carbs as bad things. Your body needs the complex carbs you get from grains and starchy foods like potatoes and doesn't need the kind you get from saturated fats. Unfortunately most people get way too much of the good complex carbs that your body needs. Please keep in mind that I am not a Nutritionist or any sort of health care professional so try this at your own risk. Most of this is based on ideas borrowed from Pat Croce, a former trainer then part owner of the Philadelphia 76ers. Basically this is it. This diet is as much about when you eat what as much as what you eat. Let's start with what you can and can't eat. Things that are not permitted: fried foods, fatty meats, cheese, cake, candy, chips, soda, butter, (margarine is OK within reason), etc.. Basically you're avoiding any sort of animal fat or sugary junk food. Things that you can eat: fruits and vegetables, lean meat in moderation, fish, and a variety of products made from grains. Rice, some bread, oatmeal, etc. Potatoes are permitted also as long as you don't junk them up with forbidden items. Of course both lists are much longer but with a little common sense you can fill in the rest. As I wrote above, this diet is as much about when you eat what as what you eat. I've had arguments with professional Nutritionists (Kugger slingdog for one) who claim that my diet is bunk and that it doesn't matter what time of day you consume which calories. All I can say is 100 lbs in eight months without starving. So you start your day with a fairly large breakfast. As I mentioned, this isn't a starvation diet. You want to pack in all of your complex carbs that your body needs for energy and to build muscle in the morning. You don't want to eat them at night then go to bed with a belly full of calories that you're not going to burn. Breakfast can be a good helping of any kind of quality whole grain cereal, (not the sugar glop crap) with skim milk. If you absolutely can't stand skim use 2% sparingly. Milk fat works against this diet. A bowl of rice with some margarine and soy sauce on it, oatmeal, Cream of Wheat, a couple of baked potatoes with some margarine on them, etc.. You get the idea. Lunch you want to go much lighter on the complex carbs. A can of soup like Campbell's is very low in calories and there's enough of a variety to keep you interested. That and three or four crackers will get you by. Or a single peanut butter and jelly sandwich. A tomato sandwich with a little mayo is OK. I do mean a little. A can of dry tuna can get you by. Eat the kind that is packed in water, not oil. The point is to limit the complex carbs with lunch. Dinner should be as close to no complex carbs as you can get. A skinned, pan fried chicken breast, a broiled fish fillet, or even a lean piece of pork like the loin is OK. Have it with some steamed or boiled veggies like string beans, corn, lima beans, peas, etc. Sometimes I'll nuke a sweet potato. After dinner there are no complex carbs until the next morning. One of the things that makes this diet work is that any time of the day or night you can eat any quantity of fresh raw fruits or veggies that you want. They won't put an ounce on you. Trust me. Skim milk is also permitted and can help with killing your appetite. I've found that grapefruit are great for suppressing your appetite also. I like to keep a large supply of celery in. It takes more calories to digest celery than are in celery. It's a good idea to buy fruits that take a little time and effort to eat rather then ones that you can just glom into your mouth. Buy seeded grapes instead of the seedless kind. Pomegranates are a great choice. You get the idea. One other thing that helps this diet to work is that once a week you're allowed one big cheat. If you want to eat a pizza on your cheat day go for it. I almost forgot to mention, lay off the booze. It has no place on this diet. If you have to drink do it as sparingly as possible. Beer, ale, stout, should be avoided completely (I know...) because they're loaded with empty calories. There's much more to it but this is the basics and should be enough to get anyone who is interested started. As I said, I'm nine days into it. Wish me luck. I'll keep you posted as to how the weight loss is going. The last time without exercise I lost about 13 lbs per month. One more thing... I have gone on diets that cut out all of your complex carbs. You just eat lean meat, fish, fruits, and veggies. You will loose lots of weight very quickly on such a diet but the results won't last because you're starving your body of what it needs. Also you end up burning up your muscles as well as your fat. As soon as you reach your target weight and go off of such a diet your weight will come roaring back and sometimes you end up fatter than when you started. That's how people end up yoyo dieting. I think I'm done. Feel free to ask questions.
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