Weight Loss and Fitness

[Pop]

Slowly starting to understand, man I feel dumb not getting this

How about cereal with milk, that any good? or should I go for eggs and bacon in the morning?
Spaghetti with kethup an option? or should I go for rice instead for dinner?
Which fruits and veggies are better? I enjoy, Tomatos, Cucumber, grapes, Oranges, Apples, Pears, Pinapples, bananas, watermelon and strawberries, grape-fruits I can eat if I sprinkle them with sugar...

and how do I know if a certain thing has too much of something? I know I can read on the labels, but it might aswell be written in greek...

Really appreciate the help and advice

[galled]

It's not that simple to food group x and food group y. It's all about the carbs so you need to look at the labels.

For example, cereal carb counts are all over the place. Some have more carbs than candy and soda!

I can say eggs and bacon are perfect! I eat 2-3 eggs and bacon almost every morning. Zero carbs! You can add cheese too or a little bit of salsa if you like to spice things up a bit. Keeps me going until lunch!

The same goes for pasta--some are crazy high in carbs and there are some zero or really low carb alternatives. You have to read the labels.

Ketchup is OK, but while it has high carbs (it's like candy), most people don't eat a ton of it, so the usual amounts seem to be ok and stick below the 20g of carbs total limit.

Tomatos are fruits. Cucumbers are low carb. The others on your list you can have, but may have to limit portion size. Adding sugar is bad. Sugar is really bad for you. You'll have to give that up. However, there are a ton of low/zero carb sweeteners out there, so you can keep your sweet tooth for the most part.

You know, just google the food and carbs. Google knows all! Like "banana carbs."

Hey, glad if my little bits of info help you. It changed my life for the better!

[MonkeyGirl18]

Completely random, but I did recently meet my first short term goal of getting under 300lbs. Im at 296 and aiming for 250 now.

[galled]

A worthy goal! You can do it!

Did you cut carbs or what are you doing with your diet now?

[MonkeyGirl18]

Not eating as much, mostly.
Probably not the way to go, but im trying to not feel as hungry. And trying to slowly cut out soda. I've inly drank 3 bottles last week which is an inprovement.

[galled]

Yep. Soda is so bad for you.

[Lemon Cheesecake]

If it is the carbonated water you like then try replacing the soda with sugar free sparkling water. You can add sugar free flavoring if it isn't strong enough flavor. Personally I don't like the carbonated water since it makes me feel bloated.

[MonkeyGirl18]

I do have a brand of sparklinv water I like and super cheap for being like 1 liter. (Its like $0.50 btw). But im just trying to drink regular water right now... with some juice here and there, and maybe a Gatorade or 2 at work or gym.

[galled]

Be careful. Regular Gatorade has as much sugar in it as regular soda.

I like the flavored sparkling water too. And it is cheap, which I like too.

[Vaughn Creighton]

no sugar...well from avoiding drinks and snack.. well help to loss weight

[Lemon Cheesecake]

I'll drink Power zero for the electrolytes but you can also drink coconut water for electrolytes. Water alone does not keep you hydrated enough.

[Polaris]

So there's lots of things once can do to help with weight loss/getting into shape/staying fit. One way is being extra mindful about what you're putting into your body when you're eating your regular meals & snacks. You don't have to necessarily go up and change *everything* about your regular diet, but rather you can start by looking at healthy alternatives to what you already eat!

For example, say that I eat eggs on toast with some ketchup and a fruit on the side everyday. Seems healthy already, right? HOWEVER, I like to fry my eggs up in the morning and have it as scrambled eggs or maybe sunny-side up. Eating fried eggs and toast every day for breakfast can lead to all those oils and saturated fats from frying my eggs builds up *LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) in the arteries of our bodies --> this leads to an increased risk for heart diseases and stroke.

Now this doesn't mean I have to completely scrap eggs and toast for breakfast. If I wanted to keep eating my eggs and toast for breakfast every day, it would be better if I looked towards swapping out my fried/scrambled eggs for a boiled or poached egg instead. Doing so helps decrease my consumption of saturated fats and oils, keeping me mindful of what I'm eating and putting into my body.

Another thing I could do is swap out my favorite white bread for whole-grain bread to use for toast instead. This is because white bread contains highly-refined flour, which gets rapidly absorbed as sugar and so rapidly increases the body's blood sugar levels -- too much of this can lead to obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.

*Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol - is a type of cholesterol that collects in the walls of the body's arteries because it cannot dissolve in water, it must be taken to the liver to travel through our bloodstream (which is hydrophilic - aka loves water) to be flushed out of the body. LDL isn't necessarily bad (it's important for damaged tissue and cell repair) but too much of LDL leads to a build-up of plaque that narrows the blood vessel and restricts blood flow.

[Polaris]

(also since we're on the topic of hydration haha -- pulling out some stuff I learned in uni)
For normal people doing normal work outs, water is generally enough to keep you hydrated and you don't need the extra salts from sports drinks like gatorade to re-hydrate and replenish your electrolytes. It's only when your body is lacking in electrolytes that water is not enough. This occurs when one is:

1) Serious athlete - doing lots of strenuous activity like sports, training/running a marathon
2) Exercising in really hot/humid conditions --> lots & lots of sweating
3) Not getting enough electrolytes and important minerals through your diet by
eating lots of vegetables --> electrolyte deficiency symptoms felt throughout the day

The Electrolytes: Sodium, Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium

In particular, sodium is very important for maintaining the electrolyte balance in the body. It's all about maintaining a healthy balance of sodium (and other electrolytes) to water in your body. You can do so by drinking enough liquids (water, green coconut water) throughout the day and making sure that food rich in electrolytes are regular fixtures in your daily diet.

You don't need to be consuming gatorade and other sports drinks every day just to get your electrolyte fix (unless you're doing lots of sports/strenuous activity). It would be better to add/fix foods naturally containing electrolytes such as dairy (calcium), potatoes (calcium, magnesium), spinach (calcium, magnesium), or bananas/sweet potato/squash (potassium) to your regular diet.

For cases when electrolytes are lost through a fever, vomiting, or diarrhea, you can make this healthier Oral Re-hydration Solution at home --> also contains less sugar than your average 20 ounce serving of gatorade if you want to watch your sugar intake.

TL;DR - For the normal lay person doing regular workouts (i.e. not an athlete), eating a diet rich in minerals will keep your body's electrolyte balance happy; you don't really need that bottle of gatorade.

***Also, beware of drinking too much water as that also upsets the body's electrolyte balance. Chugging down too much water in a short amount of time can lead to what's called "water intoxication."

Additionally, here are some cool reads of scientific studies and articles on water & hydration:

[+] SPOILER

The Physiological Basis of Hydration (https://www.nature.com/articles/ejcn2009111)

Study: Effect of Increased Daily Water Intake and Hydration on Health in Japanese Adults (https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/4/1191)

Shifting Focus: From Hydration for Performance to Hydration for Health (https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/462996)

[galled]

Wow so informative!

I'm going to read through it all. Thanks, Polaris !

[Vaughn Creighton]

i guess good exercise but without starvation or fasting... and no snacks..sad life