Hey guys, new member here. Hoping you have some avenues that I can research. As actors, I'm sure most of you are pretty well experienced in weight loss, better eating, etc, so I'm hoping that you might have some valid opinions.

I've been trying to lose about 50 pounds for a few years now. When I got my first desk job, I sky rocketed up to 225 lbs. For a 5'9" guy, that's no good. This was when I was about 21, so being young, I just cut my portions in half, went jogging, kept up my weights, and knocked it down to my svelt 175 with no problem. Then I got married, started cooking for two, and gained it all back.

Now I'm 30 and I can't seem to shed it. I bike, lift weights, eat mostly right, etc. I can drop a few pounds here or there, but overall I'm just maintaining a solid 225. I've been doing a lot of reading, and this thyroid specialist (hope the link is OK) is saying that a lot of people are unable to lose weight because as their diet worsens and they get older, it adversely affects their thyroid and that bad thyroid function can make it hard to lose weight, even if they don't have any other real symptoms. Now I'm kind of worried that the diets that I did back in the day when I was heavy into lifting are causing me problems now.

Has anybody else heard this? I've got no other symptoms. I'm not fatigued, achy, sick, etc, I just can't lose the padding. Do you think it's a valid thing that I should have checked out? I mean, I always thought that a little diet and exercise would fix almost anything, but I cannot seem to shed this weight.

Any advice or other avenues of research would be awesome.

Yes, I've heard of it from mainly two sources:

1. People who think that they're doing something right, but things aren't happening. It usually boils down to them underestimating how much they eat and/or overestimating exercise.

2. Quacks who want to sell some sort of service or medication.

Diet and exercise are fixes, but they need to be managed and calculated.

Hi Kerse, Have seen fad diets come and go over the years, the only one that I've seen, that has remained consistent, AND people often even choose to remain on it is Weight Watchers. It incorporates both a healthy diet and exercise. Think the exception is if you are diabetic, they won't take you? Not sure on that though.

As well, many people think that by using artificial sweeteners it helps, but it only makes it harder, and may even aid in putting/keeping the weight on.

Dr. Weill has a great website with a new(er) food "pyramid" from the ones we had growing up, and lots of reliable health info. Livestrong does also.

Personally, I also prefer to eat organic foods, or at least non-gm'd food, whenever possible. Good starting place, though not comprehensive, is nongmoshopping guide. com.

Buddy systems can help, too.

Know it can be tough, and it'll be worth it. Good luck!

Had to look this up, a TED Talk I saw a while ago that shows how a healthy diet will help us, too, as the years go by. It's 16 minutes worth watching. "Healing Through Diet"
http://www.ted.com/talks/dean_ornish_on_healing.html

Muse, please elaborate on how sweeteners affect the whole deal.

quote:

Originally posted by Blithesome_Muse:
Had to look this up, a TED Talk I saw a while ago that shows how a healthy diet will help us, too, as the years go by. It's 16 minutes worth watching. "Healing Through Diet"
http://www.ted.com/talks/dean_ornish_on_healing.html

Very enlightening lecture!

quote:

Muse, please elaborate on how sweeteners affect the whole deal.

Hi Yonie, for a short version, here's a link to the Google Scholar search:
"Weight gain" and "artificial sweeteners"

As well, I consider them a kind of poison: Some 25 odd years ago, I experienced debilitating migraines from them, and I am far from alone. See another Scholar search: Aspartame and Headaches

Healthiest option is to just eat real food, organic when possible: Multigrain bread, nuts, fruits, vegetables, organic dairy, beans, legumes, oats, eggs, et al. And steer clear of as much: processed, canned, gm'd, pesticide-ed, hormone-ed, high sodium, and prepackaged stuff as you can. I still eat some of it, but just a fraction of what I used to, and feel much healthier because of it.

quote:

Very enlightening lecture!

Thanks Trinks!

Gotta' love TED Talks!

Yes, some people are intolerant of phenylalanine -- which aspartame is a source of. This does not include the majority of consumers out there.

Yonie, The intolerance of phenylallanine that is mentioned refers to those diagnosed with Phenylketonuria, usually at birth. And includes severe food limitations, especially protein. As well as presenting other symptoms starting in early childhood: seizures, slow development, eczema, and a slew of others.

This is a separate issue to those responding to aspartame with headaches as adults.

A useful article on sweeteners in today's Rodale magazine: The 5 Best and Worst Sweeteners

Like most things, using moderation of the right stuff, is good, too. The article mentions that "About 100 years ago, humans ate the equivalent of one tablespoon of sugar a day; now it's up to 7 tablespoons daily because sugar is hidden in everything"