Diet tricks to kick-start the 'ole metabolism?

[Orchidflower]

I stay on Atkins for a couple weeks. Eventually the scale plateaus. I go off Atkins for ONE day only and eat all I want of carbs like pizza, ice cream, candy and so forth. My system must get shocked as the weight starts falling off again. Is it just me?
Upping my exercise seems to help, also, at times.
Does anyone know any dieting tricks to kick-start the 'ole metabolism after being on the same diet for awhile? The plateaus--and the jeans fitting the same way as they did a month before--gets discouraging.

[hankster]

It does get discouraging. I've had pretty good results cutting my carbs to 30 grams
or less per day and adding in some brisk walking several times a week. This is a lot
easier when it's not winter time. I battle carb cravings this time of year and the
weather makes walking outside a bit unpleasant here in the northern climes.

[simple girl]

Joy Bauer (from the TODAY show) did a story on this today: 4 strategies to get past that weight-loss plateau - Health - MSNBC.com

I've been following her diet guidelines for her "Fit Club" for a little over a week now. Not doing all the specific meals, just the dinners, and counting calories (blah!). So far I've lost 2 pounds.

[growing_older]

I've found diets only seem to work for me if I also exercise. That may just be me, so no idea if it will help you or not. When I hit a plateau, what works for me is a change of exercise, not a change of diet. If I've been running, I'll swim for a couple days, or go ride a stationary bike. A change in activity seems to be what my system needs to get out of the rut. Though I've also found these things are personal and what works wonders for one person may not be effective for someone else. Best you can do may be try some different ideas and see what works for you.

[Oldbabe]

The key is to build muscle. I followed the Body for Life program back in 2001, lost 15 pounds and have maintained that weight without too many problems. Once you've gained more muscle mass, then your body changes, burns more calories,and you can keep the weight loss more easily. But it's not a weight loss program per se. The goal is losing bodyfat and gaining muscle. It takes a while, about 6-8 weeks for most women to show obvious results.

I'm certainly not a good example of a fit woman. But, even with my limited results from the program, I feel that the benefits have really been wonderful.
Body-for-LIFE

[FinanceDude]

Drinking lots of water always helps, I heard fasting for one day a week also helps wieght loss..........

[SteveR]

I have been on many many diets. Atkins, Pritikin, WeightWatchers, Protein Power, Zone, South Beach etc. etc.

Some worked for a week or two and then nothing. The only way I have lost more than 10# was by just cutting back what I ate and increased my aerobic exercises along with added strength training. I lost 30# doing all this in a three months. Sadly, I have gained it all back after I remarried. I have good intentions but find I don't have the time to get back into it right now. Maybe next month.....

Water is important in effeciently burning fat.

Exercise and lower caloric intake is the formula no matter how you package it. Some folks (like me) have various setpoints that really make it hard to lose weight with just one of the two (diet or exercise). If I eat less I don't have the energy to exercise much. If I exercise more I tend to get hungrier and salads just don't do much for me.

I don't diet anymore. I just restrict carbs. to about 40 gms a day and reduce saturated fat intake while increasing fiber and water. So far the exercise has been shoveling snow 2-3 times a week. I have lost 5 pounds since Jan. 2 so something is working I guess.

[HFWR]

Interesting article...

Your Body Can Burn Fat on Its Own on Yahoo! Health

[jambo101]

Mohammad Ali used a diet called the White diet,pretty simple just dont eat anything that is white,i remember him saying it was a great way to lose weight.

[Insanity]

A study published in the last week links metabolic syndrome to consuming diet sodas. In one ten-year study they reviewed the eating habits of nearly 10,000 adults to examine the relationship of western diets to metabolic syndrome. An unexpected finding (they were looking for a relationship between fatty foods and the syndrome) was that the consumption of diet sodas was a better indicator of who would develop metabolic syndrome than the consumption of fatty foods.

Artificial sweeteners have been suspect for several years now. Another recent study showed rats that were fed diets that included saccharine instead of natural sugars also gained weight and developed defects in insulin management. It appears that, when the rats are fed sweetened foods, their bodies release insulin as the food is consumed whether or not the sugars are natural or artificial. (Many "light" foods, including one of my favorites, yogurt, are artificially sweetened and had the same impact on insulin levels.)

[simple girl]

Originally Posted by Insanity

A study published in the last week links metabolic syndrome to consuming diet sodas. In one ten-year study they reviewed the eating habits of nearly 10,000 adults to examine the relationship of western diets to metabolic syndrome. An unexpected finding (they were looking for a relationship between fatty foods and the syndrome) was that the consumption of diet sodas was a better indicator of who would develop metabolic syndrome than the consumption of fatty foods.

Artificial sweeteners have been suspect for several years now. Another recent study showed rats that were fed diets that included saccharine instead of natural sugars also gained weight and developed defects in insulin management. It appears that, when the rats are fed sweetened foods, their bodies release insulin as the food is consumed whether or not the sugars are natural or artificial. (Many "light" foods, including one of my favorites, yogurt, are artificially sweetened and had the same impact on insulin levels.)

This was on the TODAY show this morning and caught my attention. I'm not a big diet soda drinker, but I do like a little Splenda in my iced tea and evening tea. I also like my sugar free pudding. Hmmmm....strange how insulin is released even with artificial sugars.

[toofrugalformycat]

To get back in control of my weight, I spend a few days weighing and measuring food, and counting calories in and calories burned with
USDA - CNPP - MyPyramid Tracker
It's tedious to set up the first time, but once you find all the foods you usually eat you can store them in the program and just click to get them.
It helps me several ways. One, I find my portion sizes tend to creep up if I don't measure them once in awhile. Two, it motivates me to work out a little more so I can afford to eat a little more, because this program estimates how many calories you're burning. Three, sometimes I'll try a new food and not realize how calorie-dense it is. And four, if I know I have to enter it into the d*mn program, I reconsider if I really want to eat something more.

[amy5708]

Dark-colored soda also contains phosphates which rob your bones of calcium. Very bad for women.

I recently wrote an eBook regarding metabolism and losing weight.

Ways to increase metabolism:

• Best Way is to increase lean muscle mass through strength training; every pound of muscle burns 50+ extra calories/day at rest.
• Thermogenic foods, such as Green Tea, Guarana, Ginseng
• Get your sleep; your body can't work efficiently under too much stress
• Eat frequent, small meals (5-6 / day). Your body knows it will get fed frequently, and you will avoid the "starvation" mode that comes with skipping meals.
• If I wake up in the middle of the night, I will drink a small protein shake or eat a little protein bar to keep my metabolism up.
• Drink lots of water; your kidneys and liver need water to flush toxins from the body, and it fills you up.

[Orchidflower]

What great information...keep it coming!

[TromboneAl]

links metabolic syndrome to consuming diet sodas

The speculation is that the body senses the sweetness, and then finds it doesn't get the calories. So it says "Well, I guess I need a lot more sweet stuff if there are so few calories there -- turn on the cravings!"

Could this explain the obesity crisis? Let's say that a definite causality could be established. Then all we'd need to do us outlaw diet sodas. Totally win-win, but it would never happen.

[FinanceDude]

Originally Posted by TromboneAl

The speculation is that the body senses the sweetness, and then finds it doesn't get the calories. So it says "Well, I guess I need a lot more sweet stuff if there are so few calories there -- turn on the cravings!"

Could this explain the obesity crisis? Let's say that a definite causality could be established. Then all we'd need to do us outlaw diet sodas. Totally win-win, but it would never happen.

One caveat, Al. When I am in the fast food places, I see ONE diet soda spigot, and FOUR or FIVE sugar soda spigots. My theory is that the fast food places as a whole sell more "sugar" soda than diet soda.......

But that is not a scientific test, to be sure..........

[amy5708]

Originally Posted by TromboneAl

Could this explain the obesity crisis? Let's say that a definite causality could be established. Then all we'd need to do us outlaw diet sodas. Totally win-win, but it would never happen.

I don't think diet sodas alone could explain the obesity crisis, I mean I could probably drink sodas all day, but if I burn the calories via exercise, I won't gain weight. But would I be able to say I was "healthy?"

I'd say a combo of white flour, sugar, saturated fat and low/no exercise.

The obesity #s in the country correlate to the low-fat "Snackwells" craze of the late 90's. Remember all those products coming out that were "light" so people thought they could eat all they want. They were low fat, but high in sugar and refined grains; all simple carbs.

[Jeb-NY]

Originally Posted by TromboneAl

The speculation is that the body senses the sweetness, and then finds it doesn't get the calories. So it says "Well, I guess I need a lot more sweet stuff if there are so few calories there -- turn on the cravings!"

Could this explain the obesity crisis? Let's say that a definite causality could be established. Then all we'd need to do us outlaw diet sodas. Totally win-win, but it would never happen.

I offset the empty calories of the diet soda by eating chocolate at the same time to fool my body into not craving more sweets.

Jeb