SeiferWar

I'm pretty sure eating 5-6 small meals boosting your metabolism is a myth. It's amazing for your psychological well being though. I prefer not having to wait 4-5 hours in-between meals. I actually eat well over 5-6 small meals, I eat more like 8-9, but I eat small things throughout the day.

3 meals a day with 2 snacks is pretty decent too.

Losing weight is all about finding what works for YOU. No one is the same.

yauncin

@MarkOsborn
Here is a day in the life. Note that I am cutting. This includes supplements and workout information. Also I understand most people would be hard pressed to follow this routine. I've been doing it for about 2 1/2 months. I get a steady 2 lbs a week loss with this. YMMV.

5:00 - Power bar - 2 eggs
5:30 - 2 mile run (Tue, Thu)
weight training - 30 mins (Mon, Wed, Fri)
5 mile run (Sat)
7:00 - 1 1/4 cup of shredded wheat with 3/4 cup %2 Lactaid Milk
1 capsule GNC Ginsa Gold (Ginseng)
8:00 - HIIT - (various) 10 mins
8:30 - 2 Scoops Optimum Nutrition - Pro Complex Protein Powder
10:00 - 1 package Quaker Low Sugar Oatmeal
12:00 - Dinner - 2 Tuna Sandwiches on Whole Wheat (Something with no HFC)
GNC Maximum Greens Ultra Mega Green Vitamin/Mineral supplement
2:00 - Yoplait Yogurt
3:30 - HIIT - (various) 10 mins
4:00 - Fruit Snack
1 tblspn Peanut butter
1 capsule GNC Ginsa Gold (Ginseng)
6:00 - Supper - Spaghetti
9:00 - 1 Scoop - Optimum Nutrition - 100% Casein Protein

@SeiferWar
I don't know about boosting your metabolism but there is a study which proposes your body goes into a catebolic state after about 4 hours. Eating more frequently is suppose to keep this from happening.

tandoorichicken

I'm pretty sure that your body goes catabolic only after a high-carb meal. Carbs are absorbed relatively quickly, so you find yourself hungry only a few hours after, say, a cheese panini, versus a comparably sized bowl of hearty meat chili, which is slowed down in the GI by all the protein and fiber. I'd propose that the frequency of your eating is determined by what it is exactly that you're eating.

rpmcduff

There are good diets out there. The Paleo, the New Atkins, Weight Watchers, etc... and you can always find someone that has had success and others that haven't. I believe the key is to stop looking for a 'diet' as something you do to you reach your weight goal.

I prefer to approach the process as a lifestyle change to become a healthier (and lighter) person. The changes that I have made I intend to continue for the rest of my life. That means exercising on a regular basis, eating healthier (more fruits & vegetables, less simple carbs, and less processed food) and restricting my calories.

The problem with the diet or the pill solutions is that you have only treated the symptoms of the problems that were caused by eating poorly and not exercising. As soon as you go off the diet or pills the reasons you became overweight return, as does the weight.

Instead educate yourself on how fat, carbs and protein are utilized by your body and when you need them. Develop a long term goal for weight loss that is based on a 500-700 calorie deficit per day. Acheive your calorie deficit with a combination of restricting the food you eat and exercise. If you have a favorite unhealthy food (or 2 or 20, lol) don't tell yourself you can never eat them again. Instead understand the nutritional baggage those foods carry and make adjustments to the rest of your intake to compensate. You can't have them all in the same week but you can have them.

As far as diet pills go, I have tried them in the past and not had success (of course I was still eating badly). All I got was shakey from the stimulants. I believe the caffeine from the 2-3 cups of coffee I drink a day is more effective.

xo_liana

I honestly have never dieted. Diets are meant to be temporary, due to changing the way you eat very drastically, and therefore, any results you see are usually lost when you go off them (and make no mistake, most people do).

Now, this isn't to say I don't eat healthy, because I do. I did a complete overhaul of the way I eat, but I did so in a way that I like what I'm eating now, and my body learned to crave the healthy stuff rather than sweets. Small, sustainable lifestyle changes are the way to go.

chuninabun

Regardless of what diet your on or what you eat, you still have to restrict calories. My guess would be that even weight watchers..behind all its points use that basic concept or something similar. Google Calorie Calculator and you will get a bunch of results. Find your daily calorie needs and based on a few different diets you can adjust it to see how many grams of protein, carbs and fats you need each day. A diet that i have seen trully work for alot of people goes by the name of "shaklee cinch loss plan" it utilizes this same concept. You can package dieting as a name but in the end its calorie restriction. And most fad diets such as atkins will leave your body screaming for energy and deficient in nutrients not provided by the foods allowed. Dieting sucks, that's all there is too it, i suggest not trying to diet or excercise to loose weight or look good. Either for health or find an activity thats sport related that you really enjoy, it will encourage you to work out more to get better, excercise has to be fun and motivational.

Kathy13118

If you spend just ONE WEEK of your life (make it a week, even though it seems tedious) measuring every single thing you eat and put in your mouth, then entering it into fitday, getting the totals for a day, you will have a tremendously valuable education in what makes you feel satisfied, what puts on weight (a lot of calories, over and above what your body needs given your level of activity) and what you can reasonably change and feel comfortable with.

Even seen a 4 oz piece of grilled chicken?