My doctor gave me this book, Eat to Live, that describes how to have a good plant based diet, and why it can be good for you. I thought it had great info, even if you don't go all the way vegetarian, and it bases it's recommendations off of a really wide swath of public research, not just a doctor who's making a buck from one super specific idea like "your endothelial lining becomes inflamed".
Have you read any of Dr. Joel Fuhrman's books on nutrition? Its a great place to start on optimal nutrition and losing weight...basically optimizing nutrient-dense/lower calorie foods. I highly recommend Eat to Live.
https://www.amazon.com/Eat-Live-Amazing-Nutrient-Rich-Sustained/dp/031612091X
Have you checked out Dr. Fuhrman's 'Eat to Live' book yet? This is where I would recommend you go after the two week taste reset. It is a great book to read and tells you all the reasons why eating a whole food plant based diet is just the best option for a healthy life.
His plan, in a few words, is eat as much as you want of raw vegetables (at least one pound a day) and one pound of cooked veggies a day as well. It has a few more restrictions on vegetables to avoid and a few other ingredients to seek out, but lots of people (including me) think that it is very simple to follow and a great resource.
I started this ~~diet,~~ change of life style, last December and saw great loss of weight (50lbs.) eventually, regular bowl movements (it takes a few weeks) and was never feeling like I was hungry or missing anything. I then got in a stressful period where I relapsed back to my "comfort foods" to make me feel better and regained all the weight I had lost. I started last week again with the potato reset and am already down 15lbs. But most of that is water weight as I shed the salt in my body. Good luck!
Like you, just changing my diet made enormous and unexpected changes to my life and health.
I follow Dr. Fuhrman's Eat to Live "nutritarian" diet -- essentially a whole foods diet. Note: I'm not affiliated with him in any way. I just thought you might be interested in it too.
For losing weight. I used the diet advice from Dr. Joel Fuhrman's book 'Eat to Live'. My initial attempt had me lose about 50 pounds. It's hard, but it's a diet that doesn't leave out nutrients. You get the best nutrient bang for your calorie buck. I reccomend picking up this book and reading through the whole thing if you want to empower your efforts with lot's of convincing data and facts.
I often have trouble staying on the diet myself, but when I stick to it, I'm always not just slimming down, but mentally I can think more clearly and I'm less often in a bad mood, and I can get out of a bad mood more quickly.
Not really, no. The tend to be highly processed (lots of sodium, for example) and not very nutrient rich. Most vegetarian/vegan bibles, like Eat to Live recommend avoiding them. They're not all bad, obviously, but most of them are just highly processed foods that don't bring much to the table.
Please do.
You will go through withdrawal, keep in mind. Muscle through it and don't try to go on a no-sugar or no-carb diet during that phase.
I highly recommend this book:
I think the advise people have given so far is great. 90% of your weight loss will come from diet.
My biggest problem/hurdle losing my weight was actually figuring out what/how to eat. You can count calories all day long but if you are still hungry you are going to screw up eventually.
I followed the Eat to Love book below and it really helped me change the way I look at food as well as gave me a really great outline for what I should actually be eating. I dont have to calorie count or weigh anything I just eat whats on the plan an know I am going to lose the weight. I had very similar stats to you (6'4" 275) and am down 45+ in 4 months. I didn't start any real exercise until I had already lost 30+ lbs (3 months in).
Of course I still crave terrible stuff but I actually know things I can eat and get full from and still lose weight.
http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Live-Amazing-Nutrient-Rich-Sustained/dp/031612091X
You shouldn't have cravings if you eat properly. This book explains why in great detail.
TL;DR: you should eat 90% fruits & vegetables and 10% beans & whole grains. You should be consuming a whole bag of leafy greens a day. These foods are extremely nutrient dense. By the time you reach your daily calorie goal you will have consumed an abundance of nutrients and your body will be satisfied.
When you eat shitty food like bread, pasta, things soaked in oil, etc., you aren't getting enough nutrients. Because you are nutrient deficient, you continue to crave food. So you eat more shitty food. You exceed the calories you burn in a day and put on weight, but you're still hungry. It's a vicious cycle.
If you follow the 90% vegetables & fruits and 10% beans & whole grains, you will have absolutely no desire to eat meat or cheese. If anything, you'll want to not eat it, because you know it will put you right back on that cycle of eating like shit and feeling super hungry because of it.
There's also a book called Eat To Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. It's been very well received. Might want to look into it.
I had amenorrhea too. I once went 7 months without a period and it would have been longer but I saw my doctor who did a round of Provera and put me on BCP.
With my new diagnosis of PCOS I started a whole foods plant based diet (vegan) and strictly followed this. I went off BCP with a prescription for Provera, to take every 3 months if I didn't naturally get a period.
Since being vegan, I have had periods every 1-2 months--I haven't had to take the Provera at all. Being a vegan takes discipline, but I would rather change my diet than take hormones. So it's all about priorities! Good luck!
If you're interested in reading more, check out Eat to Live from the library!
My experience is that if I combine healthy eating with rowing (and some hiking, stretching, a little core work, and sometimes weight lifting), I can maintain a healthy weight. I feel happiest/ healthiest if I can work out for 5-10 hours/ week. For me, one of the keys to doing that has been to gradually get acclimated to doing long endurance rows (on the water in season and on an erg out of season). One side effect of being able to do 60-90 min (regularly) to 100-120 minute (occasionally) long rows has been that other exercise feels is easy (e.g. shoveling in the garden for hours, hiking for hours).
Here's a resource on healthy eating - Dr. Joel Fuhrman's book Eat to Live
And a link that clarifies how total hours of exercise relates to appetite:
Θα πω την άποψη μου, χωρίς όμως να είμαι ειδικός. Καλύτερο είναι να επισκεφθείς κάποιον ιατρό ή διατροφολόγο.
Όσον αφορά την διατροφή, συμφωνώ με την άποψη του δόκτωρ Joel Fuhrman, ο οποίος διατείνεται πως η διατροφή του ανθρώπου πρέπει να ξεκινά από δύο σημεία. Το ένα σημείο είναι η ενέργεια (calories) ενώ το άλλο σημείο είναι τα θρεπτικά συστατικά (nutrients). Ο δόκτωρ Fuhrman ρωτά: "με βάσει ποιο κριτήριο πρέπει να επιλέγω την τροφή που τρώω;". Τα κριτήρια είναι δύο: η ενέργεια και τα θρεπτικά συστατικά. Εν συντομία, η τροφή που τρώμε μας παρέχει την ενέργεια που χρειαζόμαστε για να ζήσουμε και τα θρεπτικά συστατικά που χρειάζεται το σώμα μας ώστε να λειτουργεί σωστά, να καταπολεμά ιούς, κτλ. Τι συμβαίνει όταν καταναλώνουμε περισσότερη ενέργεια απ' όση χρειαζόμαστε; Συμβαίνουν δύο πράγματα: πρώτον, αυξάνεται ο μεταβολισμός μας και δεύτερον, αυξάνεται το λίπος στο σώμα μας. Τι συμβαίνει όταν καταναλώνουμε περισσότερη ποσότητα θρεπτικών συστατικών απ' όσα χρειαζόμαστε; Ο οργανισμός μας τα αποβάλλει με ασφάλεια.
Άρα, λέει ο δόκτωρ Fuhrman, ο σκοπός είναι να καταναλώνουμε όσο το δυνατόν λιγότερη ενέργεια και ταυτόχρονα όσο τον δυνατόν περισσότερα θρεπτικά στοιχεία γίνεται. Δηλαδή, ένα φαγητό είναι θρεπτικό όταν παρέχει πολλά θρεπτικά συστατικά για κάθε μονάδα ενέργειας. Για τον δόκτωρ Fuhrman, ισχύει η παρακάτω σχέση:
Υγεία = (θρεπτικά συστατικά) / ενέργεια
Όταν επιλέγουμε να τρώμε τροφές πλούσιες σε θρεπτικά συστατικά και "πτωχές" σε ενέργεια, τότε μπορούμε να φάμε όση ποσότητα θέλουμε. Πεινάμε λιγότερο, χορταίνουμε για μεγαλύτερο χρονικό διάστημα και καταναλώνουμε την ενέργεια που χρειαζόμαστε χωρίς να αναγκαζόμαστε να μετράμε θερμίδες.
Ποιες τροφές είναι "υγιεινές" σύμφωνα με όσα λέει ο Fuhrman? Για να το μάθεις αυτό, απλά αναρωτήσου αν μια τροφή έχει πολλά θρεπτικά συστατικά για κάθε θερμίδα. Παράδειγμα, τα λευκά μακαρόνια είναι μια πολύ κακή τροφή διότι δεν έχουν σχεδόν καθόλου θρεπτικά συστατικά ενώ σου δίνουν πολύ ενέργεια. Δηλαδή, βάζεις στο σώμα σου ενέργεια/θερμίδες, χωρίς όμως να παίρνεις κάτι ως αντάλλαγμα. Αντίθετα, το μαρούλι είναι μια πολύ καλή τροφή γιατί σου παρέχει πολλά θρεπτικά συστατικά για κάθε θερμίδα που περιέχει. Επιπλέον, οι πιο υγιεινές τροφές τυγχάνει να είναι τα πράσινα λαχανικά, τα κρεμμύδια, τα φρούτα και τα μανιτάρια. Αυτό σημαίνει ότι τρώγοντας αυτές τις τροφές, λαμβάνεις και άλλα χρήσιμα συστατικά όπως οι φυτικές ίνες και τα phytochemicals, τα οποία δεν υπάρχουν σε μη-φυτικές τροφές.
Εάν ενδιαφέρεσαι να μάθεις περισσότερα, διάβασε το βιβλίο του Joel Fuhrman Eat to Live.
Τέλος, θα σου πω την δική μου εμπειρία με αυτό τον τρόπο διατροφής. Έχω θέμα με την χοληστερίνη μου από την παιδική μου ηλικία. Η χοληστερίνη μου είναι υψηλή λόγω αδυναμίας μεταβολισμού της από το σώμα μου. Ο ιατρός μου μού έδωσε κάποια συμπληρώματα διατροφής προκειμένου να την μειώσω. Μειώθηκε αρκετά, ωστόσο παρέμεινε υψηλή. Ταυτόχρονα ξεκίνησα να τρώω σύμφωνα με αυτά που διάβασα στο βιβλίο του Joel Fuhrman. Μετά από 6 βδομάδες, η χοληστερίνη μου είχε πέσει κατά 20 μονάδες μόνο λόγο της διατροφής μου. Το κακό με την διατροφή του Joel Fuhrman είναι ότι πρέπει να οργανώσεις την ζωή σου με τέτοιο τρόπο ώστε να μπορέσεις να την διατηρήσεις. Δηλαδή, πρέπει να μαγειρεύεις υγιεινά γεύματα για όλη την βδομάδα, να έχεις φρούτα και ξηρούς καρπούς κοντά σου για σνακ, και γενικά να είσαι οργανωμένος.
Καλή επιτυχία! Ελπίζω να καταφέρεις να χάσεις τα κιλά σου και να ζήσεις πολλά χαρούμενα χρόνια.
nutritionfacts.org he also has a ton of short youtube videos, you can just search “greger [any term pertaining to a topic you’re interested in]” and you’ll find plenty of things to watch
among the others mentioned, dr. mcdougall wrote the starch solution. dr. fuhrman wrote eat to live (among others) and coined the term nutritarian for the lifestyle he promotes
The best way to lower blood pressure is through diet.
https://www.vivahealth.org.uk/healthfeatures/lowering-blood-pressure-vegan-diet
I recommend Dr. Fuhrman's book Eat to Live, available on Amazon. It changed how I eat, and I'm much healthier now.
I picked up this book for around 9 bucks new. I see it for like 4-5 used
Dr. Furhman outlines the primary causes of American's death in regards to health and its relation to heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Once I took into perspective the health concerns with eating high fat diets it became easy to adopt vegan eating habits.
I linked it below but here it is again: Fueling the Vegan Athlete by Dr. Furhman
edit: hyperlink
So, I'm also quite late to the party here as well but wanted to keep the positivity going! YOU'VE GOT THIS!!!
Most of what I wanted to say has already been said, but I at least wanted to share this book that completely changed the way I view food. I have a history of binge eating but this book seriously helped me get it under control: Dr. Fuhrman's "Eat to Live". (I'll admit, it looks a little gimmicky with it's bright colors and promises of losing 20lbs in 6 weeks, but there's some really solid science in there and some great success stories of his patients who have been able to go completely off medications and turn their lives around with dietary change.) Why I like it: you can pretty much eat as much as you want so long as you're following his guidelines and results come quickly! (I also felt amazing after just a week on the plan and it gave me something to focus on other than how miserable I was).
Yes, it's a bit of an investment (both time and $) to eat this healthy, but if you are really at your lowest point and want to change that badly, you ABSOLUTELY have to be willing to make some sacrifices. It's not easy (that part I can say with certainty) but you are so young and making some investments in your health will pay off infinitely down the road.
One last thing (I'm not going to sugarcoat this one). Therapy is great! Like many other posters here, I highly recommend it. BUT, at some point, you have to realize your own role in your health and you HAVE to be willing to prioritize it above everything else. It's easy to blame our environment for the way we are (for a long time, I blamed my hometown for my weight because we had sooo much fast food) but change can't happen until you realize that (at least going forward) you are 100% in control of decisions. That said, don't beat yourself up for making bad decisions now and then, but use it as motivation to make tomorrow even healthier! The fitness journey is so much more enjoyable if you can learn to love yourself as you are but be open and willing to change. You've got this and you've this whole community behind you! :D
Read Eat to Live!
Just majorly clean up your diet and add a ton of walking. Try the subreddits /r/EatCheapAndHealthy and /r/1200isplenty for recipe ideas.
It's going to ALL come from diet.
Eliminate all junk food and eat TONS of a variety of veggies every day. "Eat the rainbow" of veggies. Have an enormous salad the size of your head. Fill up on veggies so you don't crave other things. Have avocados, nuts and olive oil- all healthy fats.
This book helped me a ton and I lost about 30lbs in 4 months. I will say the first 3 weeks absolutely sucked while I got used to eating less and eating healthier. I tried to pretend in my head that I had a gastric bypass and so I could only eat small portions.
Then, it got easier I think as I got used to the taste, the smaller portion sizes and new routines. Now I am actually psyched to go to the farmer's market every week and get an enormous bag of veggies. I get $40 of every veggie I can carry at the farmers market and then stop at the butcher and that is basically all the food I buy every week.
A typical day looks like this:
bkfst: oatmeal w. nuts and berries
snack 1: apple w. peanut butter
lunch: giant salad the size of my head w a protein on it like salmon or chicken
snack 2: greek yogurt, veggie sticks like green beans or peppers
dinner: roasted veggies w. lentils or baked chicken, sausage or fish
dessert: pomegranate, pear or other fruit
With that diet, I am NEVER hungry and rairly tempted by junk. Even in my office we have huge candy bowls out all the time and they don't phase me, I walk right by.
Get a fitbit and track your walking. Try to get in a minimum of 10k steps per day, every day. I'll be your friend on fitbit if you want! We can cheer each other on. :)
Don't stress the loose skin- it's going to happen or it's not, it's mostly genetics and nothing you can do to really prevent it at this point. But it's better to have some loose skin than to be that heavy and stressing your internal organs and joints.
Good luck, keep us posted on your success!!!
It's not a paper, it's a book. The book however provides information from several peer reviewed journals by Dr. Fuhrman. Here's an amazon link to the book: http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Live-Amazing-Nutrient-Rich-Sustained/dp/031612091X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1442714355&sr=8-1&keywords=joel+furhman+books
Here's Joel Fuhrman's wiki page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Fuhrman
Invest another <$20 and buy a copy of Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Live-Amazing-Nutrient-Rich-Sustained/dp/031612091X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1329858203&sr=1-1 In short, aim for getting 90% of your daily calories in the form of fresh fruit and fresh vegetables.
If you've not set foot in a gym in a long time, don't push yourself too hard. Ease into working out. And do a mix of both cardio and weights. Schedule your exercise in just as you would any other important activity.
Best of luck to you.
Sounds like you have an excuse for everything.
If you really want to lose weight and get healthier, read this book.
http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Live-Amazing-Nutrient-Rich-Sustained/dp/031612091X