Well, I need some advice on how to lose weight and keep it off. I do work out some, but not as much as I should. I ride horses a lot and walk several miles a day. I've been losing a little weight, but not as much as I need to.

I was reading some of the fitness articles on military.com and saw that in the diets that had been laid out, slim fast bars were included. Is slim fast healthy to add to a diet? Does it help take of the weight and keep it off or is it just a quick fix and when you stop eating the stuff you put on the weight again?

Also, my grandpa, an ex-navy seal, was telling me about this HydroxyCut stuff. I'm not sure I like the idea of adding any kind of diet pill to my body. I was just wondering if anyone has tried either of these things and if they work/worked for you.

Please let me know. Thank you.

Watch what you eat. I've lost a lot of weight just by watching my diet and I still splurge occassionally. You want to keep your fiber, protein, fat, and calories all in control. Without knowing how tall you are, how much you need to lose, your body shape, etc it is difficult to give advice. I'm NOT a trained medical professional so the best bet is to try and find stuff online that looks good for you.

I'm a pear shape. I found that I need to do a lot of cardio to get my lower body slimmed down and do weight training to strengthen my upper body.

Thanks for the advice. I am 5'4 and weigh approximately 175 lbs or so. Someone told me I need to be at like 145 or something like that, so I need to lose around 30 lbs.

I'm not quite sure what my shape is... I don't really know how to classify that either.

Thanks again for the advice, I appreciate it.

Shapes:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_body_shape

This is a pretty good description of the female body shapes.

stay away from the snake oil diet remedies such as hyroxy cut. these are not proven to do anything except raise your blood pressure. i've know plenty of folks who took the stuff, lost the weight, quit taking it and gained the weight back. also, stay away from anything like slim fast because you will not have access to it in basic training.

if you want a program, do something like weight watchers where you learn how to eat properly, everything is on the menu, and you don't need to buy any special foods.

start off with exercise and diet and the weight will come off.

eliminate the white starches such as white rice, white bread and potatoes and replace them with brown rice and low fat wheat bread for your starches.

drink lots of water, and watch your sodium intake.

write down everything you eat to make yourself accountable.

have 5 or more servings of fresh fruits and vegatables every day.

eat more chicken breasts and less red meat. baked cod is a good alternative if you like fish.

walking, biking, and swimming are great for exercise, but also as a way to build up your heart & lungs as well as your hips, knees and ankles for the stress of running. i'd shoot for an hour of activity from these daily. it can be in combination (ie 30 min walking and 30 min biking, or 45 walking 15 min biking etc)

start off slowly with any kind of running. run a mile and then start adding 1/4 mile (about a lap around a track) to your run.

don't neglect your abs and upper body. make sure you get some kind of activity to stregthen and tome. remember low weight + high reps = tone and fat burning while high weight + low reps = muscle building (and weight gain)

good luck to you.

Thank you Caesar. I'm already losing weight with just working out more and watching what I eat. I've cut back my calorie intake by a lot. I drink like a fish and do a lot of horseback riding and walking.

I do need to start running more, but I hate running alone and my horse tries to kill me when I try to get him to run with me.... He's lazy lol.

Concur with a lot of the advice seen here.

Most importantly, see your doctor and discuss your weight removal goals with them. Otherwise, you may set yourself up for other issues.

Stay away from the supplements. A lot of them were the subject of somewhat dubious research, especially on long-term side effects. If you join the military, some of them could cause a positive result on a urinalysis, which then opens up a can of worms better left closed.

Learn to make smarter choices, both in what and how much you eat. If you elect to use a commercial program, choose one that doesn't require you to get their prepacked meals - learn to eat what's available wherever you go.

Keep up the exercise, gradually increasing both duration and intensity. Taking care of the stable should give you some good strength training.

There are lots of little things you can do to help.

Such as using lemon juice instead of salad dressing, using whole wheat flour, and even using egg whites instead of the whole egg. These are all natural ideas that can help give you a healthier diet.

Other things that will help also follow a more mental rather than tangible approach.

<< Links removed by MOD >>

Remember, whether you think you can or think you can't - you're 100% right. Believe in yourself that you can eat healthy and stay that way and you'll be rewarded.

All the best,

H.G.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dave_M,