For those trying to lose weight

[Muhaba]

I have been trying to understand why some people can control their eating / weight and why others can't. What is the difference between these two kinds of people?

I think that those who have control have their weight / health / body figure at the forefront of their consciousness. and those who can't, don't. That is, while they are aware that they need to watch their weight, watch how much they eat, eat less, etc, they aren't conscious of this all the time, every moment. Most of the time, they are only aware of it when they look in the mirror or check their weight or when they have to attend some important event. That is when they realize that they have to lose weight. Even if some are aware that they have to lose weight, this fact is at the back of their mind MOST OF THE TIME. Especially when they eat, they forget this but when they are bloated they might remember it again.

they might try to lose weight for a while, watching their eating, etc, but soon it's forgotten and they are back to their old habits of evereating, eating all the time, eating the wrong foods, etc.

What I have seen is that if such people could make themselves conscious of the need to eat less, watch their weight, etc, they would be better able to control their eating.

And the way to do this is to look at one's fat body everytime you sit to eat or think of eating and point out how fat they are. Even call themselves fatso! Do this ever you eat or think of eating and before you know it, you will be conscious of the fact that you need to watch your eating and you will be conscious of it all the time. you will then have better control over your eating and you won't even get hungry so much!

try it and see how it works. But don't tempt yourself with food you can't resist.

[glo]

Watch how, when and why you eat.
Often we eat out of reasons other than hunger - such as being bored or stressed etc.

Try to eat only when you are hungry! Learn to become aware of your body and what it actually needs.
And when you eat, eat slowly and with purpose. Taste and enjoy your food. And stop eating when you are no longer hungry!

[Muhaba]

^that is so true, sister Glo.

But it's easier to stop yourself from eating for the wrong reasons if you associate the need to lose weight or your body image with food. just the thought of food, for any reason, should spark the thought of needing to lose weight . if you can do that, you're halfway there!

so keep saying to yourself, i am fat, this fat has to go, etc while looking at your fatty body and before you know it, you;ll be conscious of this like all the time.

then when you think of food or see food, you'll remember that you need to watch your eating.

you can also get a dress that no longer fits, preferaly one you really love, and use that as a reminder that you are unfit and need to do something about it.

[sister herb]

If your mind says I miss something to eat keep some vegetables in fridge; carrots, tomatoes, radish, berries. Eat them instead of some snacks.

Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.

When you create an account, you can participate in the discussions and share your thoughts. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and make new friends.
Sign Up

[Muhaba]

^yes, and guess what! you can do it better if you are conscious of the need to lose weight!

[MysticSoumeya]

Well, well, this is kind of condescending for the ones who suffer from overweight. It would be really too simplistic to confine this disorder in the "can eat less" cathegory. Taking aside the bad eating habits, one must in no way forget the genetic/morphological inheritage of each of us. Plus, it would be relevant to mention the social/psychological/anthropological side of eating.

Anyway, it's Thursday and I wish to all those who are fasting a Syyam Maqbuul.

[Muhaba]

^it's important not to blame being overweight on genes or medical conditions unless a doctor has specifically told you that you have such a condition.

it's easy for people to hide behind such excuses and while you may do it infront of others, if you need to lose weight then you have to be hard on yourself. if you have to point at your fat body and call yourself fat just to become conscious of this, then you have to do that.

it's true that there are people whose metabolism is faster and they don't gain weight even when they eat more than others, but in that case, the ones with slow metabolism have to try harder. i know i am of the type who gain weight fast. and i have to try harder to keep my weight down.

by the way, those with slow metabolism are not the ones who have a medical problem. medical problem in this area is rare but it is serious. so if you have a medical problem, then go to your doctor immedialtey. i heard of someone whose weight was over 300 pounds because of a medical condition. I am unsure what sort of problem it was and if it had to do with thyroid gland or what, but it was a serious problem. so if you are worried that your weight is because of that, then see your doctor. (I am no expert in this by the way).

this thread is for tthose who have normal health, whether thye have slow or fast metabolism.
those with slow metabolism simply have to eat less and exercise more. and it's necessary to become conscious of the need to lose weight all the time!

[dqsunday]

As somebody who has been overweight all her life, I certainly know the difficulties in getting down to a healthy weight. There is more to maintaining a healthy weight than just changing one's eating habits. Its changing one's lifestyle. The best way to lose weight is gradually. Ignore all the 'lose weight fast' diets and supplements. Most are dangerous and rarely work to keep weight off, simply because, once the pills are done etc. people go back to the same old routine that put the weight on in the first place.

For the last couple years I have lost about 80pounds. I didn't use any fad diet or whatnot. I instead educated myself on food, read the nutrition labels on what I ate. Controlled portion sizes. Increased physical activity. It was hard at first, when I was very over weight and out of shape, but after a few months I felt much better, my endurance was higher and I could walk and use a treadmill far easier than when I started. I also noticed my metabolism was better, for I seemed to burn off food faster. I had far more energy etc. I am not down to the weight I want to be (bit of a tough year and ended up putting back on some weight because I fell back to old habits..but on the bandwagon again with my diet/lifestyle and will lose that weight I gained plus the additional weight i need to get down to my idea weight, Inshallah).

My suggestions for anybody wanting to lose weight, avoid all pre cooked food. Eat fresh salads that only have vegetables in them (ie don't add cheese, chicken, any creamy salad dressing etc) Most fast food style salads are high calorie or high fat. Fill up with low calorie but nutritionally sound food. (avoid ice berg lettuce for instance...spring mix or endive/escaroli, collard greens etc..far more healthier greens) Avoid using butter and too much salt. Meat portions is about the same as a deck of normal playing cards... Fruit is a great dessert.. add in no fat, sugar free yogurt and its a great low calorie and healthy snack

[جوري]

In 2009, David Smith sat down with Matt Lauer on "Today" and revealed a dramatic 400-pound weight loss.
But over the past three years, Smith has regained over 300 of those pounds. In an exclusive interview with "Today" in the video above, he opens up about his weight loss -- and the tumultuous time he's had since.
"All my life I was this monster in my head and all of a sudden to be this good looking guy, it blew my mind away, I didn't know how to deal with it," he says in the video above.
Previously featured on a TLC documentary called "650-Pound Virgin", Smith, of Phoenix, initially worked with trainer Chris Powell to drop over 400 pounds over 26 months without surgery.
Despite forging a close personal friendship with Powell, becoming a personal trainer, finding a new girlfriend and living in his new body, Smith felt like "a terrible mess" on the inside, and eventually turned to alcohol and drugs to cope, "Today" reports.
When those outlets didn't help, he turned once again to food. "A lot of people were counting on me to be inspiring, and I didn't want to let anybody down. But I just felt so bad, I didn't know how to cope," he says.
Smith began overeating after being sexually molested as a child, the Daily News reported, and struggled even more after the death of his mother when he was just 17.

But now, something has changed. Fearful that his time is running out, Smith says he is determined to lose the weight once and for all. He's back in the gym, thanks to unconditional support from his girlfriend. "If your foundation isn't built up, you're just going to crumble down," he says. "Unfortunately, I fell down, but I know I can climb back up."
He's not alone. By some estimates, about two-thirds of dieters regain more weight than they lost after four or five years, Women's Health reported. While Smith is still below his initial weight, he has gained more than 75 percent of his size.
That doesn't mean permanent weight loss is impossible -- it just takes commitment. Want proof? Click through the inspiring weight loss success stories below.

you can see a video of this guy here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/06/david-smith-regains-weight_n_1574170.html?icid=maing-grid10|htmlws-main-bb|dl13|sec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D167598

The brain has to be in concert with the body and it has to be disciplined also requires some modification to food choices and other life style choices.. When a person makes a plan it is important that they learn to stick with it otherwise it will be like this case of this individual.
There are very very rare hypothalamic disorders that cause obesity. But even in cased of hypothyroidism, DM or PCO a person can lose weight and get back to normal in fact for the latter two losing weight can improve the pathology whereas in the first treating the pathology will treat the weight..otherwise people are overweight because of what goes in, it is a matter of input and output.. bad eating habits and sedentary lifestyles aren't a genetic problem it is a lifestyle choice..
may Allah swt aid Muslims conquer obesity and overweight as it is a huge problem plaguing us.

and Allah swt knows best,

:w:

[glo]

may Allah swt aid Muslims conquer obesity and overweight as it is a huge problem plaguing us.

Only Muslims?

[Muhaba]

In 2009, David Smith sat down with Matt Lauer on "Today" and revealed a dramatic 400-pound weight loss.
But over the past three years, Smith has regained over 300 of those pounds. In an exclusive interview with "Today" in the video above, he opens up about his weight loss -- and the tumultuous time he's had since.
"All my life I was this monster in my head and all of a sudden to be this good looking guy, it blew my mind away, I didn't know how to deal with it," he says in the video above.
Previously featured on a TLC documentary called "650-Pound Virgin", Smith, of Phoenix, initially worked with trainer Chris Powell to drop over 400 pounds over 26 months without surgery.
Despite forging a close personal friendship with Powell, becoming a personal trainer, finding a new girlfriend and living in his new body, Smith felt like "a terrible mess" on the inside, and eventually turned to alcohol and drugs to cope, "Today" reports.
When those outlets didn't help, he turned once again to food. "A lot of people were counting on me to be inspiring, and I didn't want to let anybody down. But I just felt so bad, I didn't know how to cope," he says.
Smith began overeating after being sexually molested as a child, the Daily News reported, and struggled even more after the death of his mother when he was just 17.

But now, something has changed. Fearful that his time is running out, Smith says he is determined to lose the weight once and for all. He's back in the gym, thanks to unconditional support from his girlfriend. "If your foundation isn't built up, you're just going to crumble down," he says. "Unfortunately, I fell down, but I know I can climb back up."
He's not alone. By some estimates, about two-thirds of dieters regain more weight than they lost after four or five years, Women's Health reported. While Smith is still below his initial weight, he has gained more than 75 percent of his size.
That doesn't mean permanent weight loss is impossible -- it just takes commitment. Want proof? Click through the inspiring weight loss success stories below.

you can see a video of this guy here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/06/david-smith-regains-weight_n_1574170.html?icid=maing-grid10|htmlws-main-bb|dl13|sec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D167598

The brain has to be in concert with the body and it has to be disciplined also requires some modification to food choices and other life style choices.. When a person makes a plan it is important that they learn to stick with it otherwise it will be like this case of this individual.
There are very very rare hypothalamic disorders that cause obesity. But even in cased of hypothyroidism, DM or PCO a person can lose weight and get back to normal in fact for the latter two losing weight can improve the pathology whereas in the first treating the pathology will treat the weight..otherwise people are overweight because of what goes in, it is a matter of input and output.. bad eating habits and sedentary lifestyles aren't a genetic problem it is a lifestyle choice..
may Allah swt aid Muslims conquer obesity and overweight as it is a huge problem plaguing us.

and Allah swt knows best,

:w:

I have struggled with weight all my life so i know what this is about. although, thank God Allah i was never that overweight, but i had been over my goal weight.

the thing is that for some people losing weight is a struggle. and my idea is that one can change their mindset so it is no longer a struggle. (one reason why the man in the above story may have regained his weight was because he struggled to lower his weight.)

for me, sometimes it was a struggle. i would try hard to keep myself from eating. while sometimes i was able to go on a diet even for a few months. but it was always that, a diet. and i could never reach my goal weight.

but then i started thinking, why can some people be so healthy. one of my relatives is a health addict, maybe that is what got me thinking. he's always exercising and eats the right foods, masha-Allah, and although he is normal weight, he says he doesn't want to gain weight, he wants to lose weight, etc.

so what makes these sort of people different?

and that made me think, maybe it is because they are conscious of their body all the time. they don't have to struggle with their weights because they are so conscious of their health.

the rest of us are not so conscious, so we tend to overeat. although we might not be our goal weight, but we forget.

so i got this idea and i tried it and for a while i have seen that it works. i don't have to tell myself to eat less. i don't have to struggle with my eating. i just don'e feel like eating as much as i did before.

[Muhaba]

Only Muslims?

God help everyone.

[جوري]

I have struggled with weight all my life so i know what this is about. although, thank God Allah i was never that overweight, but i had been over my goal weight.

the thing is that for some people losing weight is a struggle. and my idea is that one can change their mindset so it is no longer a struggle.

for me, sometimes it was a struggle. i would try hard to keep myself from eating. while sometimes i was able to go on a diet even for a few months. but it was always that, a diet.

but then i started thinking, why can some people be so healthy. one of my relatives is a health addict, maybe that is what got me thinking. he's always exercising and eats the right foods, masha-Allah, and although he is normal weight, he says he doesn't want to gain weight, he wants to lose weight, etc.

so what makes these sort of people different?

and that made me think, maybe it is because they are conscious of their body all the time. they don't have to struggle with their weights because they are so conscious of their health.

the rest of us are not so conscious, so we tend to overeat. although we might not be our goal weight, but we forget.

so i got this idea and i tried it and for a while i have seen that it works. i don't have to tell myself to eat less. i don't have to struggle with my eating. i just don'e feel like eating as much as i did before.

I too struggled with many issues all my life, religion, weight etc.
During grad school one of my preceptors in a comment about an obese patient said 'If you don't like something about yourself, then change it'
well the words are simple enough but carry so much truth in them as is usually the case with things that speak to your reason. I had actually worked on the religion thing directly after '911' as I was away from home and just upset by many issues and undoubtedly this was a huge factor in turning me to Islam if it didn't turn me off from it and it didn't take an epiphany from a middle aged man to make me do the research. The weight thing I wasn't where I wanted to be no did I enjoy the exercises I was doing as a result I'd go one day if my friend kept insisting and miss 20, then I just decided what my ideal should be and I how I'd go about doing it. And the first thin I did was rid of all the 'comfort foods' laying around the house giving you a quick snack and soda and although my ideal was to go down to 115, I am now at 123 lbs that is and I am ok with it. I don't obsess or put undue demands on my body but I really don't want to go back there to that place. Yes many times I am craving eating more but I never crave the junk I used to crave and I swear to God I think if anyone (healthy otherwise) keeps a food diary then they will lose the weight. I struggles in the beginning with awful cravings... I'd actually say I want salt I want sugar because that is all it came down to. I don't feel that way anymore and I think there must have been something unnatural in those foods that makes those cravings so intense.. Because now I can have two dates and a glass of milk and feel sustained and not hungry for a good six hours. I don't know what kind of colorants or preservatives they put in those items otherwise but to me it was like getting off heroine or smoking it really was an addiction.
ultimately it is a personal decision.. You can't make someone want better for themselves and most people don't tolerate advise.. people aren't motivated by hurtful comments or necessarily feel that it is constructive.. It has to come from within.. a person has to create a goal and a vision for themselves and follow it through a personal challenge and not for someone else.
But I remember hearing this lecture about Umar ibn ilkhtaab, where a man with a quite the pot belly came to him and when Umar ra asked him what is that, he said hazhihi ni3ma and umar ra told him nay it is naqama.. i.e not a blessings like the man thought but a curse... and I think as Muslims we should strive for the best and be the best...

:w:

[جوري]

God help everyone.

Allah swt helps those who help themselves..

[top] [next match]

Lahu muAAaqqibatun min bayni yadayhi wamin khalfihi yahfathoonahu min amri Allahi inna Allaha la yughayyiru ma biqawmin hatta yughayyiroo ma bianfusihim waitha arada Allahu biqawmin sooan fala maradda lahu wama lahum min doonihi min walin

13:11 For each (such person) there are (angels) in succession, before and behind him: They guard him by command of Allah. Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls). But when (once) Allah willeth a people's punishment, there can be no turning it back, nor will they find, besides Him, any to protect.

[Muhaba]

It is so true that it must come from within. no one can make a person do anything they don't want to.

i have myself seen that if you eat a chocolate bar or cookies, within a qaurter of an hour, you are going to get hungry. i think it has to do with too much sugar entering your bloodstream and then being digested quickly, leaving the bloodstream empty of sugar which makes a person become very hungry very fast. so yes, if one wants to lose weight, they have to stop having junk foods. i stopped eating them a long time ago because i saw that even one small pack of cookies seemed to undo everything i did to lose weight!

But while a person should eat healthy foods and avoid junk foods, in this method of losing weight we aren't telling ourselves we can't eat this or that because we have to lose weight. we are only making ourselves conscious of our condition and letting our body by itself do what it needs. There is no struggle to stop oneself from eating. you don't say "I am not going to eat that because..." If you do, there is going to be a fight with your body wanting one thing and you giving it something else and that will make you fail in the long run. even when you lose weight, you will feel like you were imprisoned and can't wait to get out. and once you reach your goal weight, you will start overeating again becuase you are finally free. No, that isn't what this is about. This is about you becoming conscious of your condition and then your body by itself doesn't want to eat. you will eat enough for your daily needs but you won't be craving anything. There won't be a struggle. your body doesn't want something you aren't giving it. and before you know it, you will be losing weight.

you are also becoming health conscious. somehow, when you become conscious of your condition, you become health conscious also. your body no longer wants to eat too much or the wrong kinds of food. this will help you even when you lose the weight because then you won't go back to the old habits.

as for Umar (R)'s statement, that is so true. Allah tells us in the Quran in so many places to eat of the good things but not to over indulge or not to waste and that He doesn't like those who waste. over eating is wasting of food.

[sammie]

Hi does fasting make u gain weight or lose it? ?


Anyway, it's Thursday and I wish to all those who are fasting a Syyam Maqbuul.[/QUOTE]

[GuestFellow]

hi does fasting make u gain weight or lose it? ?


Anyway, it's thursday and i wish to all those who are fasting a syyam maqbuul.

[/quote]

:sl:

I'm going to be a nerd today and post in the science part of the forum. :P:

You need to lose weight the correct way. Fasting and starving yourself will not work. You will lose weight, but end up gaining back the weight you lost. You may even gain more weight as a result.

You need to exercise more and eat less. It's not that simple, but you should consider making small changes. Replace each food you eat with some healthier on a regular basis. Eat food that is homemade and drink water. Food made by industries is not good for you...in general. Treat yourself like once a month. With exercising, there is no shortcut.

If you want me to continue with my nonsense talk, let me know. :nervous:

[iRock]

:sl:

I'm going to be a nerd today and post in the science part of the forum. :P:

You need to lose weight the correct way. Fasting and starving yourself will not work. You will lose weight, but end up gaining back the weight you lost. You may even gain more weight as a result.

You need to exercise more and eat less. It's not that simple, but you should consider making small changes. Replace each food you eat with some healthier on a regular basis. Eat food that is homemade and drink water. Food made by industries is not good for you...in general. Treat yourself like once a month. With exercising, there is no shortcut.

If you want me to continue with my nonsense talk, let me know. :nervous:[/QUOTE]

In my opinion , do not eat too much and do physical exercises , this is the best way I know :D

[Muhaba]

eating healthy and exercising can be addictive too! and it makes you feel so good. Lately i've reduced my food consumtion by half. & the feeling is awesome!

[iRock]

I do physical exercises everyday , and you know , it's really good .;D