Weight = Shocked . Help? [m ash] [living in china]
Reply:I have lost 25kg this year and for me a low carb diet has done it. You are young and exercising, keep up the protein. (But choose low-fat protein, like chicken breast is much better than chicken leg or thigh.) I have eliminated carbs for breakfast and eat protein and vegetables in some form or other, or have low-fat no sugar yoghurt etc (maybe hard over there?!) Drinking plenty of water is great, if you want a treat sometimes can you get a diet soda in China? I would choose vegetables that don't contain too much carb, and if you do eat carbs choose low GI ones – a book may help you on that. e.g. even with things like rice some varieties are better than others. It's not that you can't have carbs, just watch how much you are consuming, and what sort of GI rating they have – you can get a surprise. Things like mashed potato can turn rapidly into glucose in your blood, you get an insulin dump and then later… hungry again. Choose things that take your body longer to process. Watch what fruits you are eating too – limit bananas and other calorific fruits and increase those that are better for not gaining weight – most citrus fruits, apples, some tropical fruits like mangoes and pawpaw. Don't know what's available there! Have a safe, small snack mid-morning and mid-afternoon, and don't peck at other times. When you go out, make sure you know what you are going to eat if a meal falls whilst out (if that's possible), otherwise you will give in to temptation. (e.g. even taking a diet soda can help when you are in a social situation – you know what you are going to drink etc.) If you make some dietary changes, keep the exercise up (but not obsessively), and have the support of your family, you should find that a sustained effort will be rewarding. Hope you can find a system that works for you!
Reply:pjmasterr,
Any exercise that you do is a plus, but you need the kind of weightloss that can only come from serious, sustained, calorie restiction. A 16 year old at 5'8" and 236# has a lot of work to do.
I'd recommend learning to count your calories and record everything faithfully. I think you can get good, sustained weight loss on as many as 2,000 calories a day, which isn't a hard diet but you must be faithful to it. I think that you should keep plugging away at it until you get to the vicinity of 75 Kg (165 pounds.) See if you can find a good book on calorie controlled dieting or look online, there's a lot of good material.
It's good that you've realized the problem early on and your naturally high metabolism will make it easier for you to lose than for an old duffer like me.
