What's for Dinner?

[AtomicEraTom]

I'm always open to suggestions. I've never been good at weight loss!

Losing weight isn't difficult. I lost 10 pounds in a month and a half, and I did it all through eating, and light exercise (a walk around the neighbourhood each afternoon). On average, I was losing a pound every 2-3 days.

I gained nearly all of it back when my mother came to visit, but she's back in Singapore now. And I've already lost another two pounds and it's been four days.

I could tell you my diabolical secrets if you wish...

 

[dnjan]

I'm always open to suggestions. I've never been good at weight loss!

My secret is to keep NO junk food in the house.
With no junk food, I only eat at mealtime.

 

[jamespowers]

My secret is to keep NO junk food in the house.
With no junk food, I only eat at mealtime.

That tends to work for me too---until the children bring in some of their own.

 

[Shangas]

I'm always open to suggestions. I've never been good at weight loss!

Two golden rules for any successful weight-loss:

1. Drink more.
2. Eat less.

And one additional rule:

You're always thirsty. Never hungry. And this is a scientific FACT. Most of the time we think we're hungry, we're actually THIRSTY. Ask any survival expert. Even Bear Grylls supports this. It's a very old truth that nobody remembers these days.

So what do you do?

Find the BIGGEST mug you can find. Perhaps that cool German beer-stein you brought back from Octoberfest.

Fill it with water. Drink the whole thing. Repeat this all day long. If what's coming out is almost as clear as what went in, you're almost drinking enough water. Keep going.

Water is surprisingly filling. Doing this will keep your hunger away almost all day.

I keep a 1pt English-style beer-tankard next to my computer (1pt is about 500mls). I'll be drinking out of that thing anywhere from five to ten times a day, or more. My record so far is about 12 pints of water in 24 hours.
But, you gotta eat too...

The water will only keep you full for a while. But keep going. When you are REALLY hungry, then have something to eat.

You can eat whatever the hell you want. I was having pasta two times a day and I was still losing weight. But for you it might be different.

Here's where rule 2 comes in: "Eat Less".

A good approach to this is to HALVE everything you eat.

If you have two sandwiches for lunch...have one. If you have three slices of pizza, have two. If you're used to a large bowl of pasta/rice/cereal, find the smallest bowl in the house and fill that up to the brim instead.

Doing this means that most of the time, your body is full of water, not food. This means that when you move around, your body is forced to burn off whatever fat is in your body, as fuel. And it means that you don't feel hungry as often, so you don't snack and fatten up. And when you eat, you're not eating excessively.

Also, this means that you can eat...certain things...without feeling guilty. I'll admit this freely: I eat chocolate, chips, cookies and other "naughty" things on a regular basis. But following this routine, it's never more than slightly affected my weight, and the effects are always temporary, they go away after two or three days.

Don't expect FAST weight loss from this.

Don't expect HUGE weight-loss from this.

Expect STEADY weight-loss. If my experience is anything to go by, you'll lose roughly 1/4 to 1/2 a pound a day, or every two days. By no stretch of the imagination is that fast. But half a pound a day, by the end of the month, is 15 pounds. And that's significant. I was 65.1kg (143lbs) when I started doing this. My weight dropped to 61.7kg (135lbs). That's eight pounds in roughly six weeks. Like I said, it's not fast, but it does work.

Add a walk around the neighbourhood each day and the weight will slowly burn off.

The great thing about this routine is...

1. It's dead easy. How hard is it to drink water all day? How hard is it to halve food? If you can't do that, then you seriously can't lose weight, because this is the easiest way, hands-down, to do it.

2. It WORKS. I wouldn't have done this for three months if it didn't. It doesn't work fast but it does work if you give it time and keep a track of your results. Weigh yourself every 2 days and see what happens.

3. You enjoy the foods you like, so long as you remember the rules. The problem with a lot of "diets" is that you feel like you have to cut out on going for lunch, or dinner with friends, or munching on chips during your favourite movie, or WHATEVER...You don't have to do that with this...so long as you keep things reasonably small.

 

[ThemThereEyes]

Tuna casserole with mascarpone and macaroon tartlet with berries for dessert.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Yeah, that's what I'm trying to do, and I love junk food lol. I have no willpower for dieting, either. I've always been a boy with a big appetite. Doesn't help that Mom always loved to cook and loved for us to eat!

My secret is to keep NO junk food in the house.
With no junk food, I only eat at mealtime.

That's been my trick as of late. There's a bubbler about 10 feet from me at work and I visit frequently. I also bring a lunch instead of eating from the vending machine. A nice, simple sandwich on wheat bread, instead of some pastry or burger.

Two golden rules for any successful weight-loss:

1. Drink more.
2. Eat less.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Pizza from Little Caesars -- not the greatest but you can't go wrong for five bucks. [huh]

 

[J.W.]

I also bring a lunch instead of eating from the vending machine. A nice, simple sandwich on wheat bread, instead of some pastry or burger.

Is it wholemeal bread?


Today, the chef will be offering Jamie Oliver's tomato sauce with spaghetti, topped with some grated Parmesan.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

All's I know is it says 'multi-grain' on the bag lol

Is it wholemeal bread?

 

[dnjan]

That tends to work for me too---until the children bring in some of their own.

My kids are mostly moved out, so I am generally safe.
However, when my daughter comes home, she likes to bake. That can be a problem ...

 

[William Stratford]

On tonights menu: Lasagne (Homemade, always!)

 

[Shangas]

Gonna have something simple tonight. Maybe just sandwiches...

 

[jamespowers]

My kids are mostly moved out, so I am generally safe.
However, when my daughter comes home, she likes to bake. That can be a problem ...

Well, one of my sons wants to be a chef so go figure.

 

[J.W.]

Well, no need to worry if he wants to be a chef in one of those over-the-top-restaurants: the portions are usually so small that you leave hungry...

 

[J.W.]

All's I know is it says 'multi-grain' on the bag lol

That's better than plain white bread, because it keeps you saturated longer. Drinking lot of water, eating smaller portions, but higher-quality food, and doing some exercise is a good way of losing weight. "You are what you eat" is a good slogan.

 

[jamespowers]

Well, no need to worry if he wants to be a chef in one of those over-the-top-restaurants: the portions are usually so small that you leave hungry...

lol lol lol I might have to make sure he does get into one of those places then.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

That's better than plain white bread, because it keeps you saturated longer. Drinking lot of water, eating smaller portions, but higher-quality food, and doing some exercise is a good way of losing weight. "You are what you eat" is a good slogan.

How about eating one meal a day? That's what I generally do.

 

[jamespowers]

How about eating one meal a day? That's what I generally do.

What if you eat a lot of ham?

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Ham's not on the menu this week.

 

[jamespowers]

Ham's not on the menu this week.

Oh.