Avatar cosplay inspired weight loss thread

[Sarah Noel]

Originally Posted by Fkeu'itan

Hey guys...
Firstly, I have a lot of problems with putting weight on in the chest and lower stomach region, but my legs and arms stay largely lean and tough. I was wondering if there was any way to specifically target this area, other than general weight-loss.

The ONLY way to get fat off an area is general fat reduction, you cannot reduce fat from just one area of the body of your choosing, when you take the proper steps to reduce fat, the whole body will slim down, some parts faster then others, the parts you're worried about will eventually get smaller too given enough time. To reduce fat, your energy output must be bigger then your energy input (food). Things high in fat and sugar have high energy. (calories)

You can target an area for muscle growth for specific areas, e.g. sit ups for the ab area, but ripped abs will not show up under the layer fat.

Originally Posted by Fkeu'itan

I really wish to eat a more Na'vi diet I seem to be alright with things like Banana, Mango, Melon, and all vegetables are fine. Nuts also have the ability to do this to me, but so far, I haven't had a problem with peanuts or cashews. It's things like almonds, hazelnuts, brazil nuts etc... B) I am pescatarian, which means I have to rely on sources other than meats for proteins.

If you want to eat more like a Na'vi, then eat more like a Na'vi. Fresh produce eaten raw, steamed or grilled. Raw being the preferred option. Lean skinless meat (I cannot think of a fish that is not considered lean meat, so that one should be easy for you), baked, grilled or boiled, never fried. Eggs that aren't fried are also a good choice, just don't eat too many at once.

Reduce processed foods and things with high fat, like whole milk, cream and butter. Switch from white breads and pastas to whole grain, although bread is cut entirely from a true Paleolithic diet, (the closest thing to a Na'vi diet) but I like bread too much to ever cut it out entirely.

Skip the foods you react badly with. You may have "pollen food allergy" specifically to Alder pollen and Birch Pollen, which encompass most regular fruit, but not many of the fruit you mention. I really don't know much though, that's really just one google search's worth of "only allergic to some fruits" and reading the first result. Oral allergy syndrome - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia scroll down the page for the fruit lists

Drink water. Eliminate soda or switch to diet, it has a TON of hidden sugar, and since it's a liquid your body doesn't even register that it just had a meal's worth of energy. Diet soda has a type of synthetic sugar we taste, but cannot process, making it have 0 energy content (calories). It's still better to drink water. Reduce alcohol consumption too, it's in a very similar boat, with the added bonus of reducing self control of food once intoxicated. Also, eat slowly and stop eating when you feel full, don't feel compelled to clean your plate, just save it for later.

Originally Posted by Fkeu'itan

I *really* am not into the whole 'scientific' weight-loss thing, I do really enjoy walking/hiking, a lot of dancing and also things in the natural environment... but I don't know if these activities really do a lot for muscle toning

The only natural activity that I can think of that really tones muscles is rock/mountain climbing, where you're scaling mountains and things and frequently need to lift your own body weight with a combination of your arms and legs.

Walking tones the legs, but you need to get in a lot of walking to "break" the muscle groups as I call it (not a scientific term at all), it's when they feel sore after you stop. When it recovers from the stress after, the muscle cells heal bigger, provided they have enough protein in your diet for them to work with. For lean muscles, just increasing general activity should suffice, if you really want to bulk up, I don't have much experience there. My link should though.

Originally Posted by Fkeu'itan

Any suggestions/links you could throw out there would be of massive help to me.

The link I put in the beginning of this thread really is a great starting point for any body improvement question you may have. It does have a lot of "science diet" in it, but I'd recommend reading the whole page at least once, just so you have some general knowledge, and understand why certain things work and others don't. You don't need to count calories really if you cut the crappy food out and eat like a Na'vi. I tried to keep the "science diet" out of my advice as much as possible for this post. (I only mentioned "calorie" twice!)
Beginner's Health and Fitness Guide

TL;DR: eat unprocessed foods, like fruits, vegetables, lean meats, fish and eggs. Cut fat, sugars, and simple carbs, like white bread and white pasta. Drink water, not soda. Get exercise.