Big appetite and weight loss? Please help!

Maybe some of you share in this delimma....I'm 42 and currently about 40 lbs overweight. I have the all-too-common spare tire around the stomach. My problem is that I have a sizeable appetite which makes dieting difficult. I also love foods that are very hard to give up i.e; pizza and burgers.

I have an appointment for a complete physical and will ask my doctor for recommendations. I know that I will need to begin an exercise regimine in order to lose unwanted weight. I am currently in excellent heath (other than the weight) but wanted to ask some of you what works for you when you've tried dieting but end up starving all the time? How do you lose weight if you have a big appetite? Should I try an appetite suppressant? I don't want to use ephedra or caffeine because of heart related risks involved with those.

Finally, I also realize that I need to create an exercise plan that combines cardio and strength. Any recommendations on a workout plan for a healthy 42 year old male? For cardio I thought about power walking. It's something I enjoy and at my age I can do very effectively. It seems to really get my heart rate up. I live in an apartment building that offers some universal weights and treadmills in the workout room.
Maybe some universal weights combined with power walking and treadmill? How should I alternate the days? How many cardio and how many strength? And finally, if I want to target my stomach (would love to have my old sixpack back!) and want a lean, strong (but not overly muscular) chest and arms do you have any suggestions on how to target those? I know I have a lot of questions and thank you in advance!

as far as the large appetite goes, sometimes if u dont drink enough water ur body becomes dehydrated and u feel hungry. if ur not getting enough water try to start drinking more. also cardio will help u to lose some of that weight..but diet is probably the most important thing.

Admittedly I don't drink enough water so I will try to increase my water intake. I had quit eating fast foods but some recent travel caused me to rely on for food because of expediency. I'll get back to removing fast food from my diet too and starting a power-walking regimine. I think those will be good first steps.

Hey brother...congrats on your decision to change your health and settle for nothing but the best...I'm in a similar boat although in 20's and not really overweight but definetely sloppy diet...I love the Chinese Buffet...hahaha

I would recommend as one of the simplest methods of eating and exercising plan that I've seen is go to labrada.com. It is a supplement company. They are good tasting things and you will be able to download a twelve week challenge pamphlet for free. Very good discussion of exercise and diet in short condensed version that is difficult to argue with. It is the basics and all you really need are the basics. Defintely don't get caught up in those stupid fad diets like south beach, Atkins etc. And you can also download workout and diet journal pages to keep track of your progress.

You really shouldn't be too hungry on an eating plan just add more foods like veggies to fill you up....as far as workouts go I used to have a real lean mean look and the key is just consistency with your eating and exercise--there are no secrets or secret exercises but you should definetely weight train and cardio. Keep it simple and focus on one day at a time...in a few months you will be amazed at the results if you stay focused. Set specific goals and stick to your plan.

Good luck, keep us posted and if you have any questions ask and maybe we can help.....

actually the comment on water is the biggest one, and something i found out around christmas and i have seen exactly what it does.

The key is to drink at least 2 liters of water a day ( 64 ounces ) anything over that is great, the reason for it is if your body does not recieve enuff water in a day it will begin to retain water to make sure it is there for later use (causeing more weight).

And since i have had to do that depending on how much water i drink in a day i could be all of 15 lbs heavier the next day from the previous days weight.

And water also can act as a mass substance to fill up your stomac. One of the things that i have read in a mens health magazine is for every bite of food you have take a sip from your drink (water), it helps fill your stomac and as long as the water is cold it also boosts your metabolism rate.

But honestly if your looking for ideas go to www.menshealth.com they have it all except methods to enlarge a penis but that is why i come here (plus its a lot cozier here)

Try an Ephedrine/caffeine stack for appetite. Also this stuff is awesome for appetite control:
http://www.1fast400.com/?products_id=1666

Try dividing your meals into as many times as you can throughout the day. My metabolism jumped to at least double it's normal rate once I started forcing myself to eat a small meal every couple of hours. So, the trick is to eat small meals frequently. The worst thing that you can do is "diet." Dieting usually reduces the number of times that you eat/day. Reducing meal frequency sets your body up to convert anything you put in to fat, instead of using it for energy. That is why people will gain a load of weight right after ending a conventional diet. When you decrease the meal frequency, you are sending a signal to your body that there is a famine (lack of available food) and that it should protect you by storing the calories as fat. When you increase the meal frequency, you are sending your body a signal that it is o.k. to use the food for fuel and it does not have to prepare for a famine. By reducing the meal size, you are also making it easier for your body to digest what you give it. So, you should be able to eat the same, or greater amount of calories than normal, as long as you break it down into smaller portions.

Cut out all soda and fast food. Go to Blockbuster and rent "SuperSize Me." After watching that, you won't want to eat fast food as badly - especially McDonald's.
lol
I think it's o.k. to eat hamburgers and pizza once in a while, as long as they are not the backbone of your diet. The closer the food is to it's raw state, the better it is for you (not including meat - that needs to be cooked well). This means that whole grain breads are better for you than processed flour "white" breads. A fresh apple is better than drinking bottled apple juice. Ground beef prepared at home is better than a Big Mac. - You get the picture.

Of course, I agree that exercising and drinking more water will help as well.

I personally would avoid any supplements promising weight loss. Even if they work, you are gambling with your health by taking them. A lot of weight loss supplements have been later found to cause permanent heart and liver damage. It is not worth the risk - IMHO.

Good luck!

HOOS

Hey everyone...thanks a bunch! Good advice here that I'm sure I'll be able to use. I'll try to keep you posted on how its going.

caffeine

Since it was the first of the month I figured now was as good as any to begin. I did 30 minutes for exercise bike today, drank a lot of water (the flavored waters by Aquafina are terrific!), and even went to an all you can eat buffet. I was really proud of myself. I made healthy choices; oven roasted skinless chicken, salad w/light vinegrette dressing, cottage cheese, some honey dew melon pieces, and ice tea with artificial sweetner. My girlfriend and I went to the grocery store and stocked our kitchen with a lot of healthy foods; whole grain breads, vegetables, fruits, lean meats, etc, etc. I know I can do this. I just have to stay focused and I'll have the 40 lbs off. I think I will take one day a week and reward myself with something I really like but still in moderation. I think by doing that I will have a greater likelihood of success.

Craig:

Great your off to a good start...but if I were you I'd make it one meal a week rather than a whole day to eat what you want...trust me a whole day of bad foods will throw you off but one meal really won't be as bad...and start to think about your meals in terms of portion sizes of good food...use the fist method...protein size of fist and carb size of fist and veggies size of fist...good luck!!!!!!

craig98366 said:

Since it was the first of the month I figured now was as good as any to begin. I did 30 minutes for exercise bike today, drank a lot of water (the flavored waters by Aquafina are terrific!), and even went to an all you can eat buffet. I was really proud of myself. I made healthy choices; oven roasted skinless chicken, salad w/light vinegrette dressing, cottage cheese, some honey dew melon pieces, and ice tea with artificial sweetner. My girlfriend and I went to the grocery store and stocked our kitchen with a lot of healthy foods; whole grain breads, vegetables, fruits, lean meats, etc, etc. I know I can do this. I just have to stay focused and I'll have the 40 lbs off. I think I will take one day a week and reward myself with something I really like but still in moderation. I think by doing that I will have a greater likelihood of success.

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PaloMalo said:

Craig:

Great your off to a good start...but if I were you I'd make it one meal a week rather than a whole day to eat what you want...trust me a whole day of bad foods will throw you off but one meal really won't be as bad...and start to think about your meals in terms of portion sizes of good food...use the fist method...protein size of fist and carb size of fist and veggies size of fist...good luck!!!!!!

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I agree with PaloMalo. Craig, it is important for you to stay away from "buffets." Buffet type restaurants are places that encourage you to eat more than you need to in one sitting = bad news. In reality, you can eat just as much or more than you would at the buffet - just break it down into smaller meals. The size and frequency of the meal is the key. It does help of course to be eating healthy foods. However, eating things like ice cream can be done in MODERATION. I would not eat ice cream every day. If I did eat ice cream, I'd be sure to eat a small portion and STOP THERE. It's important for you to be able to enjoy some of the foods that you are accustomed to. The point is to limit the crap to small portions and specific times (maybe once a week like PaloMalo suggests). If your main diet is healthy, a bowl of ice cream won't kill you. Especially if the ice cream is only one small portion out of 8 for the day/1 portion out of 56 for the week. One of the best things that you can do is to plan your meals. You will know what to expect, will attain your goals more easily, and will have positive reinforcement from seeing on paper what you are doing.

Regards,

HOOS

Craig if your up to reading i started reading a book called "the abs Diet" and its done by the editor of mens health magazine its sofar a really good read

It talks about different diets and the flaws they have and it also tells you what to stock your kitchen with and what each item does for you im about a 8th the way through the book but i just started reading it yesterday.

Just to echo what some others said, definitely don't make it a full day. This is what they describe in the body-for-life book, I tried it and the day to eat whatever you like really buggered me up.

Stay away from the supplements (apart from protein) you don't need them, good food and regular exercise is all you need. Your on your honeymoon period, so set yourself short term goals every now and again to make sure you stick to it.

british banger said:

Stay away from the supplements (apart from protein) you don't need them, good food and regular exercise is all you need. Your on your honeymoon period, so set yourself short term goals every now and again to make sure you stick to it.

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I wouldn't consider protein a supplement. It's a food, and a necessity. It may be powdered but it's still a food.

I think protein powders great, but in my opinion its a supplement. Probably not the most rational reasoning but;

would you consider creatine as a supplement?

since are body supplies it naturally and is a neccesity. Effectively when your taking creatine your upping you level, the same as with protein powders.

I would never consider a body builder for being un natural for using protein, I just think it adds something and therefore a supplement. I can understand why you think it's not, just different opinions.

I should've mentioned that I only went to the buffet because my girlfriend decided she didn't want to start her healthy lifestyle until "tomorrow" so we went somewhere where I could eat healthy (salads) and she could eat other foods.

I have started taking whey protein and am going to do cardio three times a week and cardio three times a week with a day off. On my free day I will eat only one meal of my choice (to let my body know I'm not starving it) and even then my pizza or burger intake will be with moderation.

Everyone has been really great with the advice! It speaks volumes about the caliber of people on this board! Thanks again!

Craig:

The advice in these posts is good...I wanted to support the idea of keeping a journal of the things you are eating...at least for the first few weeks....you can download journal pages on the internet from the labrada website but I am sure there are tons of other ones and maybe you can even buy a nice one...

I've been writing down everything I've been eating for the past week and it is crazy....hopefully you won't be as horrified as I was when you look back on it....hahaha

And really set goals like has been mentioned...motivate yourself...take pictures every two weeks....visualize where you want to be...and its good to have your girl come along for the ride to support each other...but in the end this is your deal...you must do this for yourself and not let anyone else slow you down....no crutches...

And one last thing ....cardio is good but cardio and weight training is excellent...it really is the best and fastest way to get to where you want to be...if you aren't a gym member you can do exercises at home...at least work in pushups and pullups and squats and things without weights if you don't have access to any...but look into a gym membership or a home gym...you will be impressed with the results if you are consistent....

And the Ephedra Caffeine stack is highly effective...it is no magic bullet but it helps with appetite control and is one of the few things that have actually been scientifically proven to increase metabolism and fat burning....keep up the great work...

this is great to hear and i am really enjoying the book but its amazing how this book signifys how things work and it goes into great detail about different things such as cholesterol and diabetes and what causes them so i dunno im still kinda at the begining of the book but it goes into great detail about how the things you do in the book help you achieve your goal from the differences between cardiovascular exercises and weight training (and how each effects your body). Its a good read and i personally think its the best $25 bucks (canadian) that i have ever spent on a book.

Im gonna work on what it says for dieting and now have a partner at the gym to help push me with my exercises and goals so hopefully by the time im done i should be around 195-200 lbs. and ill post picks of myself as soon as my sister gets back with my camera from mexico.

Again, I agree with PaloMalo. Let me also add that weight training is probably the most effective way to burn fat - even more so than cardio. Here's a small chart of lbs of fat burned per lbs of new muscle gained:

LBS of========LBS of fat burned
new muscle=======per month===per year
1----------------------->0.5----------->6
3----------------------->1.5----------->19
5----------------------->2.6----------->31
10---------------------->5.1----------->62
12---------------------->6.2----------->74
15---------------------->7.7----------->93
20---------------------->10.3---------->123

I'm not sure how accurate that table is, but my wife (a licensed dietician) confirms that adding muscle mass burns more fat.

craig98366 said:

On my free day I will eat only one meal of my choice (to let my body know I'm not starving it)

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You should never feel starved if you eat the small meals frequently throughout the day. It's not necessarily a bad thing to feel hunger. However, you are not fasting or really even "dieting" per se. At most, you should only begin to feel small amounts of hunger once your metabolism kicks in. Even then, it is good to distinguish "mental" hunger from "physical" hunger. Learning to recognize "mental" or psychological hunger for food is a powerful step in controlling your eating and taking charge of your health.

Regards,

HOOS