Trying to lose weight, two questions
I am currently 18.6 stone. I started dieting three days ago and have massively reduced my caloric intake. For example, last night I had only 200 calories after subtracting my cardio, according to my calorie tracker (My Fitness Pal). Normally I would be over the daily guidance amount, but does this really make a difference? I read that the ONLY way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you consume. So even though I cut off hundreds of calories from my diet, I still won't be losing weight as a result of it? Or am I understanding this wrong?
On a related topic, Subway is advertised as having healthy options. Is it possible to eat a meal there that would support my weight-loss goals?
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Weight-loss is a bit more complicated than the simplistic views presented in magazines and tweaked in the ads.
Healthy meal is not necessary a diet-friendly meal. Subway sandwiches are generally good, but what is making them non preferable for dieting is the bread itself.
If you are looking for a book on the subject, I highly recommend you Why We Get Fat: And What To Do About It.
The most effective diets out there, do not rely simply on reducing calories. What you need to do is reduce your carb-intake drastically. The Paleo diet and Atkins are low-carb diets that have been proven better than the majority of others, so if you are looking for concrete advice I suggest looking into Paleo.
The most effective first steps are:
Stop drinking sugar (non-diet sodas, juices, alcohol)
No bread, pasta
Keep your portions small/reasonable (I weight mine)
If you do cheating days, do it with very small 'cheats' - eat half a chocolate bar, eat a quarter. Don't cheat yourself.
As a really good source of my reasoning, for what diet to follow, watch this presentation by Christopher Gardner for the Stanford School of Medicine Medcast lecture series:
The Battle of the Diets: Is Anyone Winning (At Losing?)
There is going to be a lot of conflicting view, simply because we don't understand a lot of the science behind it. Your best bet is to look at long term solutions, read everything you can from both sides of the fence, and come up with a sustainable solution that works for you.
In general, yes, if you take in less calories than you expend, you will eventually lose weight. It takes about 500 calories a day deficit to lose a pound a week.
Personally, I don't like the term "diet plan", as it generally has the connotation of being a short term thing. "Oh, I dieted and lost 50 lbs, now I don't have to diet anymore", which is why so many people fail to keep the weight off and even gain more back. I prefer something like "eating habits", or similar.
I personally try to follow the Atkins guidelines. I know for a long time they were put down, but there are a LOT of eminent physicians, cardiologists, etc. that are starting to get behind it. You need to read the plan to understand it though, too many people think "Oh, it's just eating steak every night", and it's not.
Boris is right: read the science, not the hype.
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