Weight Loss Questions

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I have a few questions concerning weight loss. 1) Why is it that it is put so simply that if you reduce calories, you lose weight? Isn't that really feeding fuel to the fire of anorexia and bullemia? So wouldn't skipping meals be good? And why is skipping meals bad?2) I've had conflicting answers on whether to have a light or a heavy breakfast. Can I please have a definite one? 3) Is a rowing machine a really good exercise device? I just got one for free, wondering it it really works out as much as I hear. Also any suggestions on plans would be appreciated. - Many Thanks

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1. Why is it that it is put so simply that if you reduce calories, you lose weight? Isn't that really feeding fuel to the fire of anorexia and bullemia? So wouldn't skipping meals be good? And why is skipping meals bad?
   Calories are food energy in order to make our bodies function. The reason why skipping meals is unhealthy because our bodies need energy. There's no getting around it. Depending on the individual, one may need more, like someone who's in activities that invovle more movement because they burn more calories. That's why a balance is very important. Depending your size, daily activites, and other factors you can lose or maintain your weight, while keeping the energy you need.

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2. I've had conflicting answers on whether to have a light or a heavy breakfast. Can I please have a definite one?
   There really isn't one. It depends on you and your needs.

As far as 2 goes, this is what I've been told:Basically, eating a larger breakfast supposedly speeds up your metabolism (to a certain extent). This happens because eating earlier starts up your digestive processes faster (since they slow down at night) and allows you to process food faster throughout your body. I don't know how accurate this is, though. It's also part of the reason why it's not good to eat right before you go to bed because your digestive processes will slow down and will instead store more of the food you ate as fat as opposed to being used for energy (you don't need much energy when sleeping). Also, skipping meals causes your body to actually store more of what you eat as fat because it goes into a starvation mode and will try to keep as much as it can for times when the person skips meals. I've actually known someone who became quite overweight because of this and once they got a good nutritionist that told them to eat more as opposed to less, they finally started to lose weight eventually. That's also why it's bad to feed someone a lot at once after they've been in a situation with very little food because their body will store it as fat. It needs to be gradually changed.

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It slows down you metabolism to eat less, which is why I try to explain to people who wanna gain weight to eat more per meal and eat less, I've proven it with a couple of people now. And it's all about dropping calories you just gotta find which calories to drop. and how far to drop them.

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Eat a heavy breakfast, it'll keep you fuller throughout the day, then eat a small supper so it's easy to digest and isn't just sitting in your stomach as you sleep.

I dunno about 3 I'm not sure what it is but if you got it for free why not use it, it's probably not going to bad for you regardless.

As far as 2 goes, this is what I've been told:Basically, eating a larger breakfast supposedly speeds up your metabolism (to a certain extent). This happens because eating earlier starts up your digestive processes faster (since they slow down at night) and allows you to process food faster throughout your body. I don't know how accurate this is, though. It's also part of the reason why it's not good to eat right before you go to bed because your digestive processes will slow down and will instead store more of the food you ate as fat as opposed to being used for energy (you don't need much energy when sleeping). That theory isn't completely accurate. The food will not store as fat opposed to being used for energy. It just simply stays in you longer and causes you discomfort and makes it harder to digest.You burn calories living, even sleeping, if your body can store things as fat, it can still store it as energy.If you eat a meal that's 500 calories then passt out asleep right after, it's not going to be 480 fat calories, it just won't digest fully until you wake back up.I still eat just before I go to bed, like 20 mins or so before. And remember, I went from 242 pounds to 185. So I think I'd know

I'm mainly talking about if it is a constant habit of eating very soon before going to bed. Not if you just do it once in a while.

I specifically stated it was a habbit, I always eat just before I go to bed.

Quote:The food will not store as fat opposed to being used for energy. It just simply stays in you longer and causes you discomfort and makes it harder to digest.I don't know why but I can't see that being completely accurate. The body is at rest at the night. You're right that sleeping burns calories, but it's obviously isn't going to be a great deal of burning. Because the body is at rest and not active, you're taking in more energy (calories) than you need. Depending on how much you eat and what you eat, one will gain a bit of weight from eating at night.Digestion is slower at night, but the body isn't going to store it as "extra energy" for the next day. It's going to turn it into fat. But of course, it always depends on the individual.

Originally Posted By: TheFallenLightAs far as 2 goes, this is what I've been told:Basically, eating a larger breakfast supposedly speeds up your metabolism (to a certain extent). This happens because eating earlier starts up your digestive processes faster (since they slow down at night) and allows you to process food faster throughout your body. I don't know how accurate this is, though. It's also part of the reason why it's not good to eat right before you go to bed because your digestive processes will slow down and will instead store more of the food you ate as fat as opposed to being used for energy (you don't need much energy when sleeping). That theory isn't completely accurate. The food will not store as fat opposed to being used for energy. It just simply stays in you longer and causes you discomfort and makes it harder to digest.You burn calories living, even sleeping, if your body can store things as fat, it can still store it as energy.If you eat a meal that's 500 calories then passt out asleep right after, it's not going to be 480 fat calories, it just won't digest fully until you wake back up.I still eat just before I go to bed, like 20 mins or so before. And remember, I went from 242 pounds to 185. So I think I'd know Please ignore everything in this post, it is full of misinformation, and I cannot be bothered correcting it right now.

I find it hard for you to prove me wrong, but hell, try me. And please define which points.

There are plenty other sites, rather hten just my experience alone that will tell you that you won't gain fat just because you eat before you sleep.

Rather than waste my time trying to explain something you won't believe anyway. Why don't you explain to me the science behind your theory. How exactly does eating before you sleep not make you put on weight?I did study Nutrition at Uni, so don't hold back on any details.

I'm no expert in this area, but my understanding is that the more recent studies suggest that in terms of absorption of calories it doesn't much matter when you eat, though it may make a psychological difference in how you feel.The body stores energy for the short term as glucose, for the medium term as glycogen, and for the long term as fat. All these are interchangeable, and the maximum size of glucose and glycogen stores is limited, so any excess calories, over time, will end up as fat.Doing nothing does consume quite a lot of calories just keeping our body temperature up (so mammals need to eat a lot more than reptiles). Exercise is on top of that. The important thing is calories eaten minus calories used. If the difference is positive you put on weight, and if it is negative you lose weight. Either way, a little bit of fat is equivalent to a lot of exercise.

Originally Posted By: InfiniteI have a few questions concerning weight loss. 1) Why is it that it is put so simply that if you reduce calories, you lose weight? Isn't that really feeding fuel to the fire of anorexia and bullemia? So wouldn't skipping meals be good? And why is skipping meals bad?2) I've had conflicting answers on whether to have a light or a heavy breakfast. Can I please have a definite one? 3) Is a rowing machine a really good exercise device? I just got one for free, wondering it it really works out as much as I hear. Also any suggestions on plans would be appreciated. - Many Thanks 1. Go to bodybuilding.com. You'll find most, if not all your answers there. 1a. To lose weight, you need a deficiency in calories. This means you expel more calories than you take in. Simple. So that brings up the next point of skipping meals. What happens is when you skip meals constantly your body goes into "survival mode". This means that whenever the body does get food, it stores it as fat -- because it's not knowing when its next meal might be. This ties into upping your metabolism. Eat more often, but eat smaller, BALANCED meals. As far as eating before bed: It depends on what you're trying to accomplish. If you're looking to gain lean muscle mass, then eating something high in slow digesting carbs (cottage cheese) is a great idea. This is because the body starves at night. It's always needing energy to maintain itself, i.e. keep you alive. The problem is that it loves glycogen as its main source of food/energy. This is usually found best in proteins -- otherwise known as muscle. When the body is sleeping and it has no other source of energy to use, it turns into a catabolic state. It will start to breakdown muscle tissue to use as energy. So eating before bed, again, something like cottage cheese or a protein shake, will save your muscles from being used as its, the body's, primary source of energy. So if you're building lean muscle while losing fat (muscles use up TONS of calories by the way) and you want to keep the muscle you've built...eat something small before bed. Just make sure it's not a fast absorbing protein/carb. Also a calorie is a calorie is a calorie. The body sees protein/carbs/fat calories the same. It just depends on how the cells use them This probably wasn't nearly as in detail as someone like Helmsman could've done, but hey...it's the effort and thought that count right haha. where is helmsman, btw??

Originally Posted By: TheFallenLight

There are plenty other sites, rather hten just my experience alone that will tell you that you won't gain fat just because you eat before you sleep.
Your experience doesn't mean it's a state of fact. The thing you have to understand when it comes to other people is each individual is different. Some have faster or slower metabolism, some are able to easily gain or lose weight, and many other factors like genetics. This is why not all diets or plans work for all people.

I no expert in this field myself, but I think it makes sense if you ate something heavy, like greasy food, you'll easily gain a bit of weight. But if you ate something small, like a piece of fruit, it won't make a difference. But that is, if this is an every night habit or a once in a while thing.

But I'm always willing to read with whatever you come up with when it comes to night eating. And by that I mean, anything to back up your claim.

Quote:where is helmsman, btw?? Have you been gone that long? Helms left and is gone for good.

Pretty much, but your energy levels do drop quite significantly when you sleep. Even keeping warm is much easier as you're normally rugged up. The food you eat before bed can be stored as glycogen, but much of it will still be released before you wake up the next morning. It usually starts 3-4 hours after eating.

Originally Posted By: blackmanoncampus[quote=Infinite]Also a calorie is a calorie is a calorie. The body sees protein/carbs/fat calories the same. It just depends on how the cells use them Not true exactly. For example; the brain can only use glucose for energy, not fats. Which is one reason why the Atkin's diet is bad.

Originally Posted By: TheFallenLight1It slows down you metabolism to eat less, which is why I try to explain to people who wanna gain weight to eat more per meal and eat less, I've proven it with a couple of people now. And it's all about dropping calories you just gotta find which calories to drop. and how far to drop them.[Spam removed]

Yeah I'm no nutritionist so I'm going to stay out of this one, but the only question unanswered, yeah rowing machines are great! My High school had one, great leg work from it. Only fat guy who ran track :)!! It honestly should not be the only tool you use, but hell, if it's free, use it!What the hell, I lied, if you are going to be doing a lot of physical work as soon as you get to your job or just generally in the morning, eat a bigger breakfast including fruit, wheat toast, lower fat foods, oatmeal even. But if you're just gonna go sit down at a desk have a smaller meal but still enough to last you until a late morning snack(fruit, fresh greens just don't go for caffeine, makes for an early crash! Since I don't want to talk out of my ass I'll refrain from personal commentary on the rest!