Background information: I'm not that overweight. I'm 5'2" and weigh 136. I weight train, so for better accuracy, my body fat percentage is 29.4% which roughly means I'm carrying 40 pounds of blubber on my bod. Most in the typical female areas - hips, thighs, waist.

Below are my diet rules; bits of wisdom I have picked up over the diet rollercoaster I have ridden these past 4 years. I have one huge caveat - this is what seems to work for me. When I follow it. Your mileage may vary.

Rule 1: Weight loss is a matter of physics. You have to eat less calories than your body expends in a day. That part hasn't changed, no matter who claims what.

Here are the tricks I use regarding rule 1:

a) To lose weight, multiply your current body weight by 10 and by 13. So if you weigh 240 pounds, you should eat between 2400 and 3120 calories a day. Obviously if you want to lose faster, eat more towards the 2400. Don't think that if you go even lower you will lose faster. All you will do is be hungry and kill your metabolism.

Say you want it to be (relatively) fast. Take 2400 and divide it by how many meals a day you eat. I eat 5, and I highly recommend it and eat each one at least 3 hours apart. This will keep you for the most part from being hungry and prevent huge insulin spikes. Any way, that means you can eat 480 calories per meal. That's a lot.

You can adjust these numbers a little for convenience sake. Say you want a larger sit-down dinner of 600 calories. simply don't eat as big a 1st Breakfast. It does not matter when you eat! As long as you eat less than you burn, you will lose.

Less is not neccessarily better, because if you don't eat enough, your body slows its metabolism and starts breaking down muscle. It also causes bodily stress. Crash dieting is useless. If you lose only 1 - 2 pounds a week, you will lose more fat than muscle.

b)The best exercise for weight loss is weight training. Why? Because it helps prevent muscle loss, and muscle is more compact and burns more fuel. Try to train at least 3 times a week. More is not neccessarily better because of overtraining, which can lead to fatigue.

A couple of comments on weight training: You cannot 'convert' fat into muscle. You either are losing fat or gaining muscle. With the exception of absolute beginners, it is almost impossible to do both at the same time. When you diet you weight train to prevent muscle loss.

Cardio training is also good for weight loss and of course helps your cardiovascular system. 20 minutes a day 3 times a week is plenty. If you start going overboard it will eat through more muscle. It doesn't matter if you weight train first then do cardio or vice -versa or do them on separate days. Do what feels best to you. And if you have to choose between weights or cardio, weight training is better. Really!

Rule 2: A reduced carbohydrate diet is better than a reduced fat diet. Read the low-carb books for the physiological reasons. My reasons for low-carb are so:

a) Fat in your diet causes your brain to register the idea you are full. You will eat less if you eat fat. I don't worry about sources of oil; I love mayo, butter, etc. It does add up, so I tend to eat most oils in the form of salad dressing and grill my meat as opposed to pan-fry it.

b) Carbohydrates cause cravings. It's tough, but once you cut out bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, and sugar, after 3-5 days you quit craving it. As long as you are on it you will desire it.

c) Staying away from such carbs means insulin levels will be level. You will feel better overall. I never realized how moody I got until I stopped (well, almost stopped) eating all that crap. I have more energy and get more accomplished.

d) Good carbs are vegetables; your body takes a while to digest them. Some fruit is okay, like melons and berries, but eat them sparingly. I eat at least one salad a day plus one cooked veggie, like broccoli, snow peas, greens, or stir-fry. Sometimes I eat 2 salads.

e) Your ratio of protein to carbs to fat should (roughly) be: 30%\5%\65%. Or, eat at least 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass(if you weight train). Do not skimp out on fat! Again, this will help you maintain the muscle you have.

f) If you weight train, invest in whey protein. Find a brand that tastes good. Take a certain amount (I take enough to give me 20g of protein, more than enough) after a workout so your body won't chew on its own muscle.

Rule 3: Diets can be boring. Deal with it.

a)Always be on the lookout for new foods. I just tried spaghetti squash, and it is quite tasty.

b)Spices help. There are more out there other than chili powder. Vary them; find good cook books (at LEAST the Joy of Cooking).

Rule 4: Tupperware (in the generic sense; that stuff's expensive)!

a) I eat 3 of my meals at work. I buy the cheap stuff so that if I lose one or have to throw it away because it was left in the hot car for 3 days I don't stress.

b) Try to prepare things ahead of time. If you make 3 batches of tuna fish salad or egg salad, you are set for one of your lunches for 3 days. I also cut everything up for salads ahead of time, like green onions. Cut them all up at once, so all you have to do when preparing a salad is grab a handful out of tupperware and go.

c)Convenience foods exist, but they are not those gross protein/low carb bars (but hey if you like them knock yourself out!). Convenince is pre-cut/pre-shredded cheeses, deli meats, rotisserie chickens (mmmmmm). Always look at carb amounts on containers and stay away from store bought tuna/egg salad. (sugar).

Rule 5: Don't get obsessed by the scale.

a) The best time to weigh yourself is when you first wake up, butt nekkid, after your morning pee. The numbers won't vary as much as other times.

b) During the day, the scale can vary by more than 11 pounds (it's the food/water/waste you eat/drink/eliminate)

c) Try only weighing yourself once a week on the same day at the same time (when you wake up). Daily will discourage you. Not that I don't do this.

d) How you look and how your clothes fit is far more important than how much you weigh.

e) On a low carb diet, you will deplete your stores of glycogen in your muscles and liver. Glycogen is a stored 'quick' fuel. One molecule of glycogen bonds with four molecules of water. You will experience maybe 5-10 pounds of water loss right at the beginning, especially if you are religious about low carbohydrates (20-30 grams of carbs a day). The reverse is true. If you eat an entire pizza, you will think you gained 10 pounds of water overnight. Don't let it get to you; just stick to the plan and that will go away in 2 -3 days.

f) Because you are no longer storing glycogen, your body will feel tired more quickly as you exercise. Work through it; your body will convert to burning fat.

g) Nonetheless, if you exhaust yourself, up your carbs a little before your workout. This is why I started eating oat bran. It helps.

Rule 6: There is no rule 6.

Rule 7: keep a log of what you eat.

a)Yes, it's a pain in the ass. But you must keep track of what you eat, at least until you make a habit of your meals. Many dieters, I won't name names, blithely lie to themselves about how much they eat and then blame it on their metabolism. I don't doubt there are people who have messed-up metabolisms, but I wonder how many of them are clinging to it as an excuse to eat poorly and do no excersize? Write down what you eat and the amount.<

b)The most accurate way to measure food is by weight. Buy a good scale and use it. Eventually you will know what an ounce of cheese or 6 ounces of hamburger 'looks' like and you can approximate it. Keep a spreadsheet of your most common foods and amounts and this helps immensly. No, I won't show you mine because it's not on a spread sheet. It's on paper. Okay, so I bend some of my rules. Fitday has an exellent (and free) method of logging your eating habits. Be religious about it!

Rule 8: Keep temptations away from you.

a) Throw all the crap food in the house away or give it away. Don't have it around. If you have 'trigger' foods (mine is beer), try to find a reasonable substitue. If you can't, try giving it up altogether. Despite Michelob Ultra, I'm coming to the conclusion that I need to stop altogether or have it once in a very blue moon.

b) If some asshole at work buys everyone a pizza, it is easier to resist if you have only eaten an hour or so before.

c)If you JUST NEED SOMETHING TO EAT that's why God invented Slim Jims. Really! Slim Jims are a legit snack food. Gardetto's are not. Cheat with protein and fat, NOT carbs. Mmmmmm jerky!


d)The key to any successful diet is to get educated on food, learn how to fix your own food (though there are many shortcuts), learn how to determine what you can and cannot eat, and how much. Keep index cards of your favorite recipes and try to add one at least once a week.


-We will see if this works.