Weight loss advice

Is soup okay for weight loss? My friend says stay away from it because it has lots of sodium and sodium will make the body retain water.
Woohoo! I love this kind of stuff!

Been really into health for the past four years and have lost 80 pounds and becoming a fitness life coach.

Soup is not necessarily bad. There are soups out there that are not high in sodium and whatnot. I would stay away from creamy soups.

Here are some healthy soups that I try to eat when I'm in the mood for a soup :)

Mushroom and Barely Soup
- This recipe is low in calories and loaded with vegetables! Will fill you up :)

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 c. mushrooms, sliced
3 cans low-sodium vegetable broth
1 c. barley, cooked
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add onion and carrots, cooking until soft. Add mushrooms and cook until soft. Then add vegetable broth and barley, simmering for 10 minutes. Stir until mixture is blended. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Lumberjackie Soup
This soup is vegan. It's loaded with veggies, antioxidants, and minerals. :D

7 1/2 cups chopped rutabaga
6 cups chopped carrots
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms
18 cups water
2 cups cooked chickpeas (roast for 15 to 20 minutes at 350 degrees)
5 teaspoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons black pepper
1 cup organic Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sea salt
2 low-sodium vegetable bullion cubes
6 cups fresh spinach

Directions:
Place all ingredients except spinach in a slow cooker. Cook for approximately 6 hours until rutabaga and carrots are soft. Add spinach, allow to cook down, and stir to incorporate into soup.

Creamy Carrot and Tomato Soup
This is not a hot soup, but cold.

Ingredients:
1 lb. carrots, peeled and sliced
2 c. vegetable stock
1/2 c. celery, chopped
1 c. yellow onion, chopped
1 1/2 lb. tomato, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. garlic, chopped

Directions:
Heat oil in a pot, and cook garlic, onion, celery and carrots over medium heat until they are soft. Add the tomatoes and vegetable stock, and simmer for 15 minutes. Pour the mixture into a blender and puree until smith. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Chicken, zucchini and potato soup.

2 lbs. potatoes, peeled and cut into inch square pieces
2 lbs. chicken breast
2 lbs. zucchini, cut into inch square pieces
2 med. onions, chopped
5 c. low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tbsp. per serving unsweetened Greek yogurt (optional)

Directions:
Place all ingredients into a crock pot, layering potatoes first, then chicken, followed by zucchini and onions last. Pour in low sodium chicken broth, and sprinkle nutmeg on top. Cover and cook for 8-10 hours on low heat. After cooking, shred chicken with a fork. When ready to serve, add a tablespoon of unsweetened Greek yogurt to each bowl and enjoy.

Makes 8-10 servings.

Homemade Tomato Soup
This is healthier than canned tomato soup.

Ingredients:
6 vine ripe tomatoes
2 med. red peppers
1 med. onion
Olive oil
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 tbsp. garlic, minced
2 boxes organic vegetable broth

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice tomatoes in half and remove all seeds. Slice and roughly chop the red peppers into large pieces. Quarter the onion. Place all the vegetables, keeping tomatoes cut side up, on a baking sheet. Drizzle everything with olive oil and cover with fresh thyme sprigs. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. A few minutes before the vegetables finish in the oven, bring a large pot to medium heat. Once the vegetables finish, add the can of tomato paste and the roasted vegetables. Remove the thyme from the sprigs. Add it to the pot along with the minced garlic. Add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Then, reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes. Once the soup has simmered for thirty minutes, remove from the heat and use an immersion blender to blend to an even, smooth consistency. If you do not have an immersion blender, ladle the soup 2-3 c. at a time into a blender. Blend until smooth and repeat as necessary.

Makes 8 servings.
 
Soups are OK....make your own that way you have some control over what goes in.
Weight loss is best achieved by staying away from fad diets and using an app. instead that monitors energy intake and energy usage.
For example, for breakfast if what ever you have gives you 85 calories and you have maybe walked around the block a few times before breakfast and that used up 105 calories, then your calorie budget so far is -20 cals = weight loss. Keep it up for lunch and dinner, and as long as your overall calorie expenditure is greater than you intake you will lose weight.
 
Woohoo! I love this kind of stuff!

Been really into health for the past four years and have lost 80 pounds and becoming a fitness life coach.

Soup is not necessarily bad. There are soups out there that are not high in sodium and whatnot. I would stay away from creamy soups.

Here are some healthy soups that I try to eat when I'm in the mood for a soup :)

Mushroom and Barely Soup
- This recipe is low in calories and loaded with vegetables! Will fill you up :)

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 c. mushrooms, sliced
3 cans low-sodium vegetable broth
1 c. barley, cooked
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add onion and carrots, cooking until soft. Add mushrooms and cook until soft. Then add vegetable broth and barley, simmering for 10 minutes. Stir until mixture is blended. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Lumberjackie Soup
This soup is vegan. It's loaded with veggies, antioxidants, and minerals. :D

7 1/2 cups chopped rutabaga
6 cups chopped carrots
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms
18 cups water
2 cups cooked chickpeas (roast for 15 to 20 minutes at 350 degrees)
5 teaspoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons black pepper
1 cup organic Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sea salt
2 low-sodium vegetable bullion cubes
6 cups fresh spinach

Directions:
Place all ingredients except spinach in a slow cooker. Cook for approximately 6 hours until rutabaga and carrots are soft. Add spinach, allow to cook down, and stir to incorporate into soup.

Creamy Carrot and Tomato Soup
This is not a hot soup, but cold.

Ingredients:
1 lb. carrots, peeled and sliced
2 c. vegetable stock
1/2 c. celery, chopped
1 c. yellow onion, chopped
1 1/2 lb. tomato, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. garlic, chopped

Directions:
Heat oil in a pot, and cook garlic, onion, celery and carrots over medium heat until they are soft. Add the tomatoes and vegetable stock, and simmer for 15 minutes. Pour the mixture into a blender and puree until smith. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Chicken, zucchini and potato soup.

2 lbs. potatoes, peeled and cut into inch square pieces
2 lbs. chicken breast
2 lbs. zucchini, cut into inch square pieces
2 med. onions, chopped
5 c. low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tbsp. per serving unsweetened Greek yogurt (optional)

Directions:
Place all ingredients into a crock pot, layering potatoes first, then chicken, followed by zucchini and onions last. Pour in low sodium chicken broth, and sprinkle nutmeg on top. Cover and cook for 8-10 hours on low heat. After cooking, shred chicken with a fork. When ready to serve, add a tablespoon of unsweetened Greek yogurt to each bowl and enjoy.

Makes 8-10 servings.

Homemade Tomato Soup
This is healthier than canned tomato soup.

Ingredients:
6 vine ripe tomatoes
2 med. red peppers
1 med. onion
Olive oil
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 tbsp. garlic, minced
2 boxes organic vegetable broth

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice tomatoes in half and remove all seeds. Slice and roughly chop the red peppers into large pieces. Quarter the onion. Place all the vegetables, keeping tomatoes cut side up, on a baking sheet. Drizzle everything with olive oil and cover with fresh thyme sprigs. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. A few minutes before the vegetables finish in the oven, bring a large pot to medium heat. Once the vegetables finish, add the can of tomato paste and the roasted vegetables. Remove the thyme from the sprigs. Add it to the pot along with the minced garlic. Add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Then, reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes. Once the soup has simmered for thirty minutes, remove from the heat and use an immersion blender to blend to an even, smooth consistency. If you do not have an immersion blender, ladle the soup 2-3 c. at a time into a blender. Blend until smooth and repeat as necessary.

Makes 8 servings.

Some of these I've had, but others are totally new to me. I'm going to cook some of these this fall -- they sound pretty incredible.

My wife just made Carrot and Ginger soup the other idea. It was delicioso.
 
Feel free to add to the list...

1. Take ice-cold showers. Here's a great video that explains why ---> LINK
2. Try to avoid carbs after 3 PM.
3. Drink a lots of water before each meal.

...
 
Is soup okay for weight loss? My friend says stay away from it because it has lots of sodium and sodium will make the body retain water.

Campbell's doesn't want you to know how unhealthy soup is: Not the best diet to be on. You have internet-do the research.

The best thing you can do is

#1: STOP eating anything with "High Fructose Corn Syrup". It's everywhere.

Eat raw and steamed vegatables- A LOT.

Eat fresh fruit 1-2 times (and servings) a day.

Cut back on protein-if you can eat 1 meat serving a day and 1-2 beans or nuts (Unsalted and / or raw) servings, you will start to lose weight quickly at first.

NO SODA or carbonated waters / juice. Your body expels carbon as a toxin-why would you put it back in?

Anything that ends in 'ose' is a sugar. When you eat ANY type of sugar your body goes into 'make fat mode'.

Just about all artificial sweeteners are worse for you than real sugar: use RAW sugar/ unprocessed, unbleached. Substitute sugar in baking/ cooking with 'natural' applesauce or 100% maple syrup-not processed.

'Thou shalt make sugar thine enemy' if you want to start dropping the fat.

Be careful with dry fruits, 1-2 servings a day (they have sugar).

Beef Jerky is GOOD! as long as it isn't flavored and smothered with 'stuff'.

Bread may be a problem for you: GLUTEN/ GMO products- eat very little 'leavened'-yeast induced breads. No more than 2 servings a day.

Milk and dairy-1-2 servings-GET RID OF THE SUGARY CEREAL! (Processed milk as antibiotics in it)

Check out 'Gluten Free' and 'Diabetic Diets'-they work for everyone who is overweight.

When you feel better and stop losing weight ("Plateau") -start a mild exercise program: walking a mile in the morning is enough.

5-6 small meals/ snacks a day are better than 1-3 large meals a day...start calorie counting: no more than 2000 calories a day, 2500 if you workout that day (strenuously).

Be smart-educate yourself and change the way you think about food: Natural Salsa GOOD! Salsa with sugars-BAD! Dill pickles GOOD! Bread and Butter pickles BAD!

Dining out-fast food; BAD (McDonalds etc..VERY BAD!) Some places have started to offer 'vegetarian' and 'gluten free' options-take advantage of these. We are in a "Food Revoltion"
 
Last edited:
Feel free to add to the list...

1. Take ice-cold showers. Here's a great video that explains why ---> LINK
2. Try to avoid carbs after 3 PM.
3. Drink a lots of water before each meal.

...
I took a cold shower this morning, power up! Interesting video, especially the part about sitting in a hot tub. If someone got in the hot tub everyday for more than 30 minutes per day on purpose, I'd be curious to hear your opinion on that in a PM.

All in all great advice!
 
Soups are OK....make your own that way you have some control over what goes in.
Weight loss is best achieved by staying away from fad diets and using an app. instead that monitors energy intake and energy usage.
For example, for breakfast if what ever you have gives you 85 calories and you have maybe walked around the block a few times before breakfast and that used up 105 calories, then your calorie budget so far is -20 cals = weight loss. Keep it up for lunch and dinner, and as long as your overall calorie expenditure is greater than you intake you will lose weight.

What's some good apps? The diet I'm doing right now is low carbs some days and no carbs other days, it depends on how hard I plan to workout for the day. Today is back day for me so I had 2o carbs for breakfast but don't plan to have any more carbs for the rest of the day.
 
Campbell's doesn't want you to know how unhealthy soup is: Not the best diet to be on. You have internet-do the research.

The best thing you can do is

#1: STOP eating anything with "High Fructose Corn Syrup". It's everywhere.

Eat raw and steamed vegatables- A LOT.

Eat fresh fruit 1-2 times (and servings) a day.

Cut back on protein-if you can eat 1 meat serving a day and 1-2 beans or nuts (Unsalted and / or raw) servings, you will start to lose weight quickly at first.

NO SODA or carbonated waters / juice. Your body expels carbon as a toxin-why would you put it back in?

Anything that ends in 'ose' is a sugar. When you eat ANY type of sugar your body goes into 'make fat mode'.

Just about all artificial sweeteners are worse for you than real sugar: use RAW sugar/ unprocessed, unbleached. Substitute sugar in baking/ cooking with 'natural' applesauce or 100% maple syrup-not processed.

'Thou shalt make sugar thine enemy' if you want to start dropping the fat.

Be careful with dry fruits, 1-2 servings a day (they have sugar).

Beef Jerky is GOOD! as long as it isn't flavored and smothered with 'stuff'.

Bread may be a problem for you: GLUTEN/ GMO products- eat very little 'leavened'-yeast induced breads. No more than 2 servings a day.

Milk and dairy-1-2 servings-GET RID OF THE SUGARY CEREAL! (Processed milk as antibiotics in it)

Check out 'Gluten Free' and 'Diabetic Diets'-they work for everyone who is overweight.

When you feel better and stop losing weight ("Plateau") -start a mild exercise program: walking a mile in the morning is enough.

5-6 small meals/ snacks a day are better than 1-3 large meals a day...start calorie counting: no more than 2000 calories a day, 2500 if you workout that day (strenuously).

Be smart-educate yourself and change the way you think about food: Natural Salsa GOOD! Salsa with sugars-BAD! Dill pickles GOOD! Bread and Butter pickles BAD!

Dining out-fast food; BAD (McDonalds etc..VERY BAD!) Some places have started to offer 'vegetarian' and 'gluten free' options-take advantage of these. We are in a "Food Revoltion"

Thanks for the advice. I usually never have high fructose, except on Friday nights, then I'll have a cup of soda, but I think I'm going to cut that out. My breakfast was quinoa with kale, egg white and a slice of bacon. But probably should try my best to cut the bacon, but a love bacon. Maybe I can keep the bacon if I don't have the soda on friday. :)
 
I just wanted to say good luck. I have put on some pounds over the past few years and it is hard for me to lose them.

I am a very picky eater for one. I do not eat fruit because I can't stand the taste or the texture of fruit. I do eat some vegetables, but there is only a few like broccoli, canned peas, corn, cauliflower, mushrooms and onions.

I also cannot stand to exercise. It's boring to me. I would ride my bike, but that requires me to have to go to the storage area everytime I want to ride as there is no room in our apartment for it. Then there is the fact that I have no bike rack for our car.

At least I don't eat much in the way of red meat, maybe only having it once a week or less. We eat lots of chicken and try to eat fish at least once a week.

Organic foods are too expensive as well when we are limited by the amount of food stamps that we get. It has to last the month.
 
Woohoo! I love this kind of stuff!

Been really into health for the past four years and have lost 80 pounds and becoming a fitness life coach.

Soup is not necessarily bad. There are soups out there that are not high in sodium and whatnot. I would stay away from creamy soups.

Here are some healthy soups that I try to eat when I'm in the mood for a soup :)

Mushroom and Barely Soup
- This recipe is low in calories and loaded with vegetables! Will fill you up :)

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 c. mushrooms, sliced
3 cans low-sodium vegetable broth
1 c. barley, cooked
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add onion and carrots, cooking until soft. Add mushrooms and cook until soft. Then add vegetable broth and barley, simmering for 10 minutes. Stir until mixture is blended. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Lumberjackie Soup
This soup is vegan. It's loaded with veggies, antioxidants, and minerals. :D

7 1/2 cups chopped rutabaga
6 cups chopped carrots
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms
18 cups water
2 cups cooked chickpeas (roast for 15 to 20 minutes at 350 degrees)
5 teaspoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons black pepper
1 cup organic Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sea salt
2 low-sodium vegetable bullion cubes
6 cups fresh spinach

Directions:
Place all ingredients except spinach in a slow cooker. Cook for approximately 6 hours until rutabaga and carrots are soft. Add spinach, allow to cook down, and stir to incorporate into soup.

Creamy Carrot and Tomato Soup
This is not a hot soup, but cold.

Ingredients:
1 lb. carrots, peeled and sliced
2 c. vegetable stock
1/2 c. celery, chopped
1 c. yellow onion, chopped
1 1/2 lb. tomato, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. garlic, chopped

Directions:
Heat oil in a pot, and cook garlic, onion, celery and carrots over medium heat until they are soft. Add the tomatoes and vegetable stock, and simmer for 15 minutes. Pour the mixture into a blender and puree until smith. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Chicken, zucchini and potato soup.

2 lbs. potatoes, peeled and cut into inch square pieces
2 lbs. chicken breast
2 lbs. zucchini, cut into inch square pieces
2 med. onions, chopped
5 c. low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tbsp. per serving unsweetened Greek yogurt (optional)

Directions:
Place all ingredients into a crock pot, layering potatoes first, then chicken, followed by zucchini and onions last. Pour in low sodium chicken broth, and sprinkle nutmeg on top. Cover and cook for 8-10 hours on low heat. After cooking, shred chicken with a fork. When ready to serve, add a tablespoon of unsweetened Greek yogurt to each bowl and enjoy.

Makes 8-10 servings.

Homemade Tomato Soup
This is healthier than canned tomato soup.

Ingredients:
6 vine ripe tomatoes
2 med. red peppers
1 med. onion
Olive oil
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 tbsp. garlic, minced
2 boxes organic vegetable broth

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice tomatoes in half and remove all seeds. Slice and roughly chop the red peppers into large pieces. Quarter the onion. Place all the vegetables, keeping tomatoes cut side up, on a baking sheet. Drizzle everything with olive oil and cover with fresh thyme sprigs. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. A few minutes before the vegetables finish in the oven, bring a large pot to medium heat. Once the vegetables finish, add the can of tomato paste and the roasted vegetables. Remove the thyme from the sprigs. Add it to the pot along with the minced garlic. Add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Then, reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes. Once the soup has simmered for thirty minutes, remove from the heat and use an immersion blender to blend to an even, smooth consistency. If you do not have an immersion blender, ladle the soup 2-3 c. at a time into a blender. Blend until smooth and repeat as necessary.

Makes 8 servings.

80 pounds wow, congratulations! Thats an awesome achievement.

I lost 8 pounds this week. I was at 196 then dropped to 188. I think I want to drop down to 160 and see what that looks like, then go from there.
 
I just wanted to say good luck. I have put on some pounds over the past few years and it is hard for me to lose them.

I am a very picky eater for one. I do not eat fruit because I can't stand the taste or the texture of fruit. I do eat some vegetables, but there is only a few like broccoli, canned peas, corn, cauliflower, mushrooms and onions.

I also cannot stand to exercise. It's boring to me. I would ride my bike, but that requires me to have to go to the storage area everytime I want to ride as there is no room in our apartment for it. Then there is the fact that I have no bike rack for our car.

At least I don't eat much in the way of red meat, maybe only having it once a week or less. We eat lots of chicken and try to eat fish at least once a week.

Organic foods are too expensive as well when we are limited by the amount of food stamps that we get. It has to last the month.

Maybe try getting a pull-up bar. I put one in my room so now every time I walk past it I do a set. Also pushups are easy to do around the house and can help. :)
 
One thing I'd recommend is using workout videos that you can find on YouTube. There are tons of them. The Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred videos are on youtube. Another channel which is excellent is Fitness Blender. There are also some lists of workout moves that usually only take about 20 minutes or so.
 
What's some good apps? The diet I'm doing right now is low carbs some days and no carbs other days, it depends on how hard I plan to workout for the day. Today is back day for me so I had 2o carbs for breakfast but don't plan to have any more carbs for the rest of the day.
Try eating regular amounts. Your body won't know if it is coming or going by irregular intake:)

The Apps I use are what was recommended by my health care professionals up here in OZ.
MyFitnessPal
8700
EasyDietDiary
That last one in particular is really worthwhile
All three are quite powerful tools for monitoring what you are taking in and what you are burning up without having to confine yourself to a diet of 'distilled water and Lettuce leaves'
The fact that they are based on Australian foods should not matter for US citizens, nor the differences between oz or gm since the real object is to have a negative or minus energy total for each day. Of course eating big needs exercising bigger, so it is obviously not a license for binge eating.:rolleyes:
An example, from 8700: 30 minutes of childcare uses 1028 kj or making a bed for 5 minutes burns 226kj so as you can see there are a lot of normal activities that can be factored into your energy budget.
Hope this helps.
 
80 pounds wow, congratulations! Thats an awesome achievement.

I lost 8 pounds this week. I was at 196 then dropped to 188. I think I want to drop down to 160 and see what that looks like, then go from there.
Yep, I feel pretty great!

Btw, apps are good. I use apps to keep track of my weight loss. But it's not necessary for you to lose weight, but it does help to keep track of what you're letting in and what you're letting out in exercises.

I personally use an app called 10K. I bought it, but it was only like, $3. But it does interval training, so it does step by step of what you should do. It makes you run and then walk, run, then walk, etc. for about 45 minutes. THe purpose is for you to run a 10K in 36 days :)

I absolutely love it. You run for about 30 seconds, then walk for 4 minutes. I think it builds you up eventually, but in the beginning it's pretty easy.

In order to lose weight, you must be determined. I would encourage you to download apps, but if you don't do apps, carry around a notebook and pen and write down what you're eating. I also pre-plan my meals the day before just so I don't overeat.

And it's okay to give yourself a rest day (or what I like to say, "cheat day"). But don't overdo it on your cheat day. I typically just give myself a cheat meal, but I still try to make healthy choices :)

If you need any help, let me or anyone else know! :)
 
Are these apps capable of calculating calories burned during weight training? I usually do about 60 minutes of weight lifting, and then 30 minutes of cardio.
I'm sure MyFitnessPal does :)

I just don't trust MyFitnessPal with the exercises section, so I actually do not count how many calories I've burned. I just pretend I didn't lose any and just continue eating until my calorie intake is up for the day.
 
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