i have another question, at school if i eat a salad with chick peas, carrots crutos, and a little bit of fat free Italian dressing, would this help me in my goals??
Like if i eat a 220 calorie breakfast bar every morning, with a glass of orange juice, (lunch) the salad i just explained, and Dinner (Grilled Chicken breast, or something along those lines) when should isee some results, and will this help me lose fat for the summer. I'm a guy that is very self-conscious about my body, and told myself in october i would start dieting to look good for summer 07', but i lasted a day and i kept on telling myself that if i have this piece of cake, or some cookies, i'll start dieting and working out tomorrow. I'm pretty pis*** at myself for delaying it until now. But now i am focused and ready to go. No more junk food, or extra food that i don't ned, i'm going to eat my food slower than i usually do, because i heard that fills ya up faster? Im pumped for this summer and its gonna be a great one if i don't feel ashamed to go somewhere and take my shirt, but its going to be the worst one ever if i don't reach my goals. Its weird, in t-shirts and shorts i look normal, i actually look like im a built(muscular) kind-od kid. But i ahte changing in locker rooms, and places like that because i am very very self conscious about my upper boy. I know that i'm spilling my guts out here, but i really need to turn my body around. Anybody including Steve have any diets that worked for them. Anybody ever about 190 and lost 20-30 pounds in 2 1/2 months???

please im thanking you for the help so far, but i need more help than just saying finding a diet that works for me, because i've tried that before and it desnt work, if someone would give me a diet that worked for them, please ell me it!!!!


thanks alot


-Summertime

Calories in vs. calories out didn't work for you?

I hate to tell you, but that is impossible. It is something called thermodynamics. Can't defy it.

If you are in an energy deficit, you will lose weight.

There is no magic diet out there that is specially designed for people in your position with the amount of weight you want to lose. The only thing you can do is decrease your calorie intake (reasonably) and increase your exercise (reasonably). Also, are you thinking about what happens after the summer? Are you planning on eating salad for lunch and chicken breast for dinner for the rest of your life? When I came on this forum I had very unrealistic goals of what I wanted to be before the end of the summer because I am going to Europe for three months starting in September. I prayed someone could give me a foolproof way to accomplish my goal, but no one could. Your body is going to lose weight at the rate it wants to lose it. I had one week where I lost 9lbs and another where I lost 1 1/2. You just have to be consistent with your diet and exercise and let the fat melt away at its own pace. If someone does tell you a "magic" weight loss plan to help you lose it more quickly, it probably isnt sustainable for the rest of your life and when the summer ends and you go off it, you will gain back more than you lost because you wont know how to eat healthily to maintain your weight. Having said all that, June 1st is 2 1/2 months away, so I would think it is possible for you to get at least close to your goal if you average about 10lbs a month loss. However, you may have unrealistic goals of what you will look like when you lose the weight. Muscle building seems at least to me to be harder than losing weight, so just because the fat comes off doesnt mean there is going to be a 6 pack underneath it. But even if you dont have the muscles you crave at the beginning of the summer, just keep working on them throughout the summer and your body will continue to improve. I am not a professional like Steve, but I hope I helped some, although I may have only reiterated what Steve already said.

no Steve i said it wrong. I have heard of people liking their diets and finding ones that are "fun". I haven't and i meant wheneevr i start a diet, it's "boring" and i quit it. It sounds stupid but i cant help it. But now im gonna try everything again because of my goals that i am sticking too.

I know i am not going to have a six pack when the fat melts away, but if i do crunches while the fats still there, will the abs build up and show after the fat melts away????

stop thinking of it as a diet - diets are short term and ineffective in the long term - go with a lifestyle change -one you can live with for the rest of your life because that is what you are going to have to do...

No. We all have abs under the fat.

Remember, I said you can't build muscle in a caloric deficit. You can only maintain what you have. Muscle building is a very energetically expensive process. If you are dieting, you certainly don't have the surplus of energy to add new tissue.

You have to diet the fat away and see what you have hiding under there. If you don't like it, you take the necessary steps at that time to make some body recompositions.

I agree with Steve and Mal and New. Eating well is never as fun as eating whatever we want, and people who tell you that it's easy are lying.

However, it doesn't need to be very restrictive. Simple, little things like eating grilled chicken instead of fried, roast beef instead of a hamburger, etc, will set you on a good path.

We'd all be hard pressed to say that we prefer the activities that make us skinny - after all, if they were so much better wouldn't everybody be thin? But we can learn to be content with them and enjoy a better body for it.

just wondering llamabean, how long did it take you to lose 37 pounds?

also i know i said i wouldnt take any pills, but do any of you guys take pills or anything of that sort???

I dont and wont take pills. From what I have heard they RARELY work, and if they do work, they are doing major damage to your body. A summer of looking fit is not worth sacrificing your health. Also I do know a few people who took pills that it worked (with some health consequences) but as soon as they stopped taking them, they gained a LOT and ended up heavier than they had started. There are things you can do to naturally speed up your metabolism like lifting weights, eating small amounts every few hours, making sure you eat breakfast, etc... you dont need a pill to do what you can do for yourself.

I'm on day 202 today :-)

i'm down almost 140lbs with no pills - taking a pill is absolutely not an option...

how long did it take u to drop that much??????

good news...just from switching to healthier foods...i am already down 4 pounds.