Sorry to hear that. Stock on the green Jello. But, sounds like there is progress, 1 step back, 2 steps forward kind of thing. That's good.
Yup, 6 weeks afterwards I can go back to work and the gym. I did get tons of jello, chicken broth and popsicles.
When I want to lose weight I do this: No rice, no pasta, no bread, no candy, no beer. Work out (cardio) 30 minutes 3-4 days a week. Currently am not on that regimen (opposite, in fact) but will have to kick it in to gear soon for a trip in January.
I'm amazed to read in this thread that people have as much of an issue with carbohydrates and sugars as I do. I initially did Atkins because it was the easiest diet to do while traveling and eating out in restaurants. After my initial withdrawl (which was a three day headache), I actually felt better than I did before the diet. Now, I watch the amount of carbs and sugars I take in simply because I feel better without them in my diet.
Eliminated daily consumption of sugar drinks, including juice. Many people don't realize how many calories are in the liquids they consume, and some people get a lot of calories from these liquids. Count the calories is this person's daily liquid diet: 2 Large mocha coffee drinks, 3 sodas; 2 beers, 1 cocktail (or 1 milkshake if a teetoler). That adds up. Eliminated most dairy products from regular diet. Whole milk products contain an insane amount of fat and are a deceptively dense source of hidden calories. Get milk, butter and cheese out of your house, and when eating out, say "no dairy". The calorie savings are enormous. Eliminated regular consumption of processed grains: No "white" anything. Bread, pasta, rice, potatoes. Switch to whole grain only, and even then, watch the portions. No dairy rule and no "white" rule, eliminates by default most of what we consider desert. So, deserts are a treat, not a daily diet item. Made produce a "free" food. All you can eat! Made animal products and processed oil a limited consumption item. Dole out in small bits only. For example: you can eat a bushel of lettuce if you want. You still only get 2 Tsp of dressing. And when we do eat meat, mostly it is salmon - not red meat. Try to stay active as a regular part of every week, ever day if possible. Anything and everything from walking, hiking, biking, gym. Improved diet after reading The China Study and Eat to Live. Was following some (about half-way to their ideal) of the recommendations to improve health. Side effect (not the goal) was dropping 20+lbs to my high school weight, and keeping it off - over 5 years now. http://www.drfuhrman.com/ Basically, the China Study research indicates that no other diet comes close to a mostly vegan, mostly vegetable based source. There are LOTS of diets that will help you lose weight. Most of them are not particular remarkable or that useful long-term. The key problem for many diets designed to lose weight rapidly is they are calorie restricted and very short of nutrients. If you stick with the diet for more than a short period, you become fed, but malnourished. Atkins is a diet that has been blasted by nutritionists. It is really bad for you long-term. Too high in fat, saturated fat, and protein and too low in complex carbs, produce and nutrient deficient. Atkins long-term leads to clogged arteries, heart desease and cancer. But other than that, it's great. Since dieting is HARD (they all are), wouldn't you want to expend the effort on a diet that is making positive changes for the long-term? If you eat more healthy foods, over the long-term you will get sick less often and be less susceptable to "modern" diet caused disease (most cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc.). As a side effect you lose weight. Most of these rules are the same things "mom" has been saying for years. Or Jack Lalane. People just don't want to hear the truth. They wanted a pill to swallow to make up for the fact they are eating empty calories with limited nutrients. They wanted to eat junk food and desert not just for special occaisions, but every day. They wanted to be able to skip their veggies. Unfortunately, there currently isn't any shortcut or pill or other solution. Eat healty, or have a higher risk of illness.
Skinny-fat is the worst thing to be. You have skinny arms, skinny legs, small shoulders and then a poochy pot-belly. It means you've gotten skinny by eating nothing but vegetables, not working out, and haven't built any muscle mass.
I am sorry you are so misinformed. You absolutely cannot get a poochy pot-belly from eating "nothing but vegetables". It is not physically possible. You would have to spend too many hours per day eating. Large pot bellies come from eating food that is more concentrated in calories than produce. The more concentrated the easier it is to get fat. If the concentrated calories are fat itself, all the better, as fat is often stored in the body without being broken down. Fat cells stored in the body often can be identified as identical to a cell from a piece of bacon for example. The majority of folks that call themselves vegetarians or vegans do it for religious or political reasons and not for health reasons. Thus, they avoid meat and/or animal products, but still can eat many junky foods. Like french fries and doughnuts. Look at me, I am a vegan, and I eat doughnuts for breakfast and fries for lunch. Yummmm. Hey, why do I have a pot belly? As well, didn't I mention activity in my original post? Could have sworn I did.
Idle down there, hall monitor. Take a look at the picture above that Rodolfo posted. That is skinny fat. I've seen soooooo many vegans and vegetarians that fit that mold. Vegans and vegetarians get much of their protein from soy. Some studies have suggested that soy protein can increase estrogen levels in men. Guess what that helps with? Poochy bellies, skinny arms, skinny legs, and girly shoulders.
video games and corn dogs will do that to you. I think I maxed out at 220 after the being laid out. You just hit a point where you dont feel good.
Plus the only exercise i've ever liked doing is lifting, so that doesn't help tremendously. I don't feel bad yet but i don't want it to get to that point either. Dammit schools, this is why you shouldn't cut PE, i ate like absolute shit the whole time and never got over 205 in high school. We would literally drive to a fast food place like 4 out of the 5 school days for lunch even.
I'm 5'9" 165lbs. Before I got really sick I was at about 175lbs. with very minimal body fat. Its always been a struggle for me to gain weight. Drinking massive amounts of protein and eating small meals every 2 hours finally did the trick in getting over that plateau to gain weight. Large breakfasts with hash browns and eggs helped as well.
Did you read what I posted? Did you click on the link and read that? Vegetarian does not equal healthy eating. Period. Did the example of doughnuts and french fries not help you understand that people can eat a junk food diet and be "vegan". Well, that includes soy hot dogs and vegan "meat" and "cheese" lasagne. That stuff is not healthy eating. So, whoever you have known who eats tons of processed soy junk has NOTHING to do with the diet information I provided to Mook. NOTHING. I eat soy, mostly as tofu, but not very much. There is plenty of protein in a combo of greens and brown rice. No need to add tofu. And all legumes are full of protein. No reason to be stuck with processed soy junk.
The next frontier of nutrition research. Just because the best overall diet for large populations is known, doesn't mean that works best for every individual. Genetics and nutrition is the new thing. Some people likely won't thrive unless they have more animal protein in their diet. Some people don't do well with grains, and others thrive if it is a major calorie source.
