I have a disorder which (among many smaller symptoms) completely imbalances my hormones.  Because of that fact, I had a lot of weight that I could not get rid of.

I'm not fat and I never have been, but I had/have some belly flab that I often feel very self-conscious about.  Well, when I finally found a doctor who told me about my disorder, one of the smaller symptoms was that weight would be harder to lose.

When I was in the library, a book caught my eye that was titled something like "Balancing your Hormones" and I checked it out because I was curious about my disorder and about other possible ways I could fix my system.

Most of the book, however, was not actually about balancing hormones.  That is, balancing hormones for the sake of balancing them as not the focus.  Instead, the doctor who wrote the book put a lot of emphasis on how hormone balance can help you not only LOSE weight, but to keep that weight off.

I fond it a very interesting read, but I was sadly unable to finish it.

One of the things I read though, was that keeping your thermostat low can help you lose weight because your body burns all these calories trying to keep you warm.  Another thing the book mentioned was that certain foods are better for losing their weight only if they've been cooked twice.

A potato, for example, will take more calories to consume if it's been baked twice.   I guess what struck me about this was that the potato wasn't the only example.....apparently there is a WHOLE group of foods like this!!!

What do you guys think?  Have you heard of any less common strategies for losing weight and/or keeping it off?

Well, Personally I don't think less common strategies for losing weight are a very good idea.

Losing weight is pretty simple people just don't want to get up and exercise. It takes a lot of hard work and exercise and that's it. Plain and simple.

I would recommend that anyone who was looking for 'other' ways of losing weight to be very careful because their is a lot of dangerous ways people try to lose weight. It's crazy the lengths some people go to, to lose weight when the answer is pretty simple, get outside and jog every night. If you are so out of shape you cannot jog then go outside and walk every night and with both jogging and walking just make sure to keep at it and don't get discouraged when you don't see any results within the first week.

I notice that's the problem most overweight people have with exercising to lose weight. They think they can exercise 4 or 5 times in a week and see instant results, when that's usually just not the case. You must make exercise and staying active a part of your life FOREVER if you want to be in shape, cold hard truth.

Of course eating right and healthy is another major factor but I've found from my personal experience if you work out regularly (3-4 days a week with days of rest in between work out days) you can eat a little unhealthy sometimes, as long as your body is still getting the proper vitamins and nutrients it needs.

Hello.
I must agree to LegolasJJH.

Get up, exercise and just eat normal common balanced meals

regard
Blucoll

LegolasJJH :

Actually, I completely agree with you.  I think we live in a world that is so very obsessed with appearance, and I think it's a very sad thing to witness.  There's a difference between saying "Hey I way 400 pounds, I need to lose some weight or risk very bad health problems", and "Hey I way 100 pounds.  Oh my goodness I'm so fat and my friends will make fun of me!  I need to lose ten pounds!"

I am not overweight, never have been, and I am not even overly concerned with losing the weight I have.  I am healthy and have a nice figure aside from the bit of belly flab I developed as my disorder got worse.

I simply posted this because I found my readings interesting and never knew that things like that could supposedly make a difference in your weight loss.

I DO agree that exercise is the best solution.  That and eating healthy.  I do not eat healthy due to a budget unfortunately, but I do exercise whenever and however I can.  Since I live in the third most dangerous city in the nation (According to some surveys), I can't just go jogging down the street. I have a treadmill in my bedroom which I use, and I also take time to do a few exercises each day at work.

After my doctor put me on some medicine to help regulate my hormones, she said that I would be able to start losing some of the weight.  I got on the treadmill most days for a month....for 30 minutes.  And let me tell you..I lost TEN pounds in two weeks.  TEN.  I did not go super crazy on the treadmill.  I started out jogging for two minutes (and then because I was so out of shape) followed by adverse walking and jogging.  By the end of the month, I was able to jog at 5.5 mph for ten minutes, walk for five minutes, jog for five minutes, and alternate each with jogging and walking for five minutes.

Unfortunately now that the school year has started again, I haven't had the time to jog on the treadmill for nearly two months, and I've gained five of those pounds back.  It's my goal to MAKE time for the treadmill again, and to get the five pounds off again.

(By the way, I got your pm and I'm not ignoring it.  I simply have to run off to a faculty meeting and your pm will take me much much longer to respond to.  You opened a can of worms by asking me about one of my hugest passions in life.   )

Easy.  To lose weight you have to exercise more.  Just by walking more times a day you can lose weight.  But most importantly you have to stick to your workout.  You can't give up.

Yeah all of this is true, I gained a few pounds but I am working hard to lose it. I started walking and jogging around my neighborhood for like 30-45 minutes and lifting weights also.

Again, I agree with all of you. Even if I can't make the time to do 'normal' exercises, I will at least flex my muscles often to ensure that I am constantly active.

However, in this thread, I DID ask if anyone had heard of less common methods.  I don't believe in most of them...I was just curious.  

I find it amusing, some of the advice offered to lose weight.

Wow. Those are indeed.....very strange.  Oo  That was more along the lines of what I was looking for.  LOL  What in the world would possess people to do something like that?!?!  (I'm stating that question about several of those strategies.)

I'm going to have to google some of those  Did you just type "odd ways to lose weight" or something?  A few of them I've heard, but around half of them I haven't.

The way i loose weight is i excercise, I usually run down the streets with my sister. We would most likely run around the block about 5 times, and then we would play a little basketball and by that time we would have been tired. Knowing me i push myself to the limit so after that I make my sisters come with me and lift weights. I honestly don't know why they want to loose any weight because they are not even fat, but at least i have somebody to work out with you know what im saying. Finally after we get through lifting weights we would go inside and Do around maybe about 100 sit ups till we think we can't go on anymore.

That must be nice.  LOL  I don't live with any of my siblings or parents any more, and I only live with my husband.  He's not keen on exercise though he certainly needs it.  I wish I could motivate him, but I'm not a very good motivator I guess. LOL