weight loss thread

[j2b4o]

Last summer I was as overweight as i had ever been, I was somewhere around 235 and I am 5'10 and not muscular. I was determined to change so I cut out all junk food (I mean all chips,dairy,cake,cookies,candy,soda). and drastically changed my diet from mostly pizza, pasta, bagels to a diet of comply carbs (REAL whole grain and whole wheat bread and wraps, beans and other legumes) and lots of salads usually with some chicken (veggie chicken in my case) and in general cut way way down on how often I ate. I began to be amazed how long my food started to last and within one month i lost about 8lbs. I was surfing the whole time so that was my main exercise but in general things I used to put off or pull a "honey can you grab that for me" I was doing without thought just to be active. the second month I lost 18lbs which I thought was amazing because in the middle of the month I put on a little weight. the next month continued and my surfing increased and i pulled out another 17lbs.

anyone else have any good proven weight loss routines that helped them?
I know a lot of people struggle with this and I think its important that we tackle it healthily instead of with a pill or snake oil.

so what cha' got???:aok

[JRDill]

When I started Jiu Jitsu last May I was pushing 200 at 5'7" and no muscle. Over the summer I lost 23 pounds and I've kept most of it off. I'm back on the healthy diet again for tournament season and it feels great. My diet consisted of five meals a day, one being a protein shake. Lots of healthy options thrown in like veggies, chicken breast, etc. The most important part of my diet was my cheat day. Every Tuesday I'd continue with my small meals throughout the day, but lunch and dinner I ate what I wanted. Helped cure the cravings!

[Jaan]

You guys are inspiring me!!

[Scott Peterson]

Love threads like this - good on you!

My solution is work out hard, eat with planning and thought, and get my rest.

It's just that simple... and that hard. It's as complicated as you make it, or as simple as you let it be.

[halorealm7]

I ride my yo-yo cycle with very little success or grace....but you inspire me.

http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/ae208/halorealm7/DiscvrPeggy2.png

[Bankston]

I'm 5'10". This time last year I was 218 lbs (down from 230 the previous year). I changed my diet, cut out most junk and fast food (still treat myself occassionally), started eating very light dinners and having healthy snacks between meals. I also cut way back on alcohol intake.

In conjunction with the change in diet, I got back in the gym and on the jogging trail.

I've been at 185 since July and have maintained it. I've had to buy a new wardrobe because my extra large shirts swallowed me and the 38 pants wouldn't stay up.

I'm now wearing mediums and 34's and it feels great.

I'm working to lose another 10-15 lbs to get down to my ideal weight.

One thing I've learned. There are no magic solutions. It takes discipline, commitment and hard work.

[j2b4o]

My solution is work out hard, eat with planning and thought, and get my rest.

It's just that simple... and that hard. It's as complicated as you make it, or as simple as you let it be.

Exactly it really is just about knowing what you eat and eating whats healthy while staying active. which is the easiest and hardest thing all at once which is why there are so many gimmicks.

[sonic1974]

Has anyone out there started eating quinoa? I heard it's great and very healthy. I'm going to pick some up this weekend and try cooking it.

[sixstring531]

I'm 5'10". This time last year I was 218 lbs (down from 230 the previous year). I changed my diet, cut out most junk and fast food (still treat myself occassionally), started eating very light dinners and having healthy snacks between meals. I also cut way back on alcohol intake.

In conjunction with the change in diet, I got back in the gym and on the jogging trail.

I've been at 185 since July and have maintained it. I've had to buy a new wardrobe because my extra large shirts swallowed me and the 38 pants wouldn't stay up.

I'm now wearing mediums and 34's and it feels great.

I'm working to lose another 10-15 lbs to get down to my ideal weight.

One thing I've learned. There are no magic solutions. It takes discipline, commitment and hard work.

Discipline is it! I am 5'10" and stocky - ie, I got muscle if I want it. I was around 185-189 when I got married (lifting through college) and down to 5% body fat. Got married, ate well and started REAL work weeks and within a few years got up to 219. Decided to get back in the gym - got down to around 192 then starting a new weight program (12 week cycles) and am now back around 200-205 on any given day.

I am by no means fat, nor really cut, but I am big and it shows. I wear 34 pants (was in 32s in college) so I can still cut some fat - which is my new years thing - continue to get stronger and cut the bad carbs way down along with portion size.

It's amazing how writing something down or maintaining some kind of journal can help with the discipline. Not to toot my own horn (okay, I am) but I was doing short sets (for reps) of 265 on an olympic bar on Monday and it feels pretty good!

[j2b4o]

It's amazing how writing something down or maintaining some kind of journal can help with the discipline. Not to toot my own horn (okay, I am) but I was doing short sets (for reps) of 265 on an olympic bar on Monday and it feels pretty good!

For me it was finally buying a scale and standing on it once a week. seeing the numbers made it very real for me.

[stratotastic]

great job man. I lost 50 pounds about 18 months ago and have kept it all off. it was all diet and no exercise. the most important thing to me was to log everything I ate. there are cool sites like myfitnesspal and fitday that are awesome for this. the other thing is always have a cheat day. 1 day a week eat or drink whatever you want. now that I am just maintaining I cheat pretty much all weekend. And then I hit it hard during the week. good luck keeping it going!

[sfarnell]

Congrats. You are an inspiration.

In 2002, at age 47, I started to have frequent chest pains. I'm 5'10" and weighed 210 lbs. I couldn't walk 5 minutes without chest pains. I went to a cardiologist and in the middle of my stress test he stopped me and told me that I had to immediately get an angiogram, which later revealed that I had severe blockages in four arteries. One blockage on the descending artery was called a widow maker. The next day I had emergency heart bypass surgery and when I awoke I was told that I was so clogged up that they had to do six grafts and that it was obvious that I had been suffering from diabetes which had gone undetected for a long time. I was put on a ton of medication which the doctors said I would be on for the rest of my life.

That was a wake up call to say the least. I changed my diet, started exercising every day, and retired from my stressful profession of 25 years. I stopped eating meat and poultry, started eating carbs low on the glycemic index, and started taking a lot of supplements. Within two years I was down to my high school weight, about 155 lbs, my blood sugar is completely within the normal range (non-diabetic), my blood pressure is better than normal (115/70), and I can speed walk for hours without tiring. I am completely off of all medication.

So, it can be done. If anyone is interested in my health and exercise regimen, especially if you suffer from heart disease and/or diabetes, send me a PM and I'll be glad to tell you all about it.

[Bankston]

For me it was finally buying a scale and standing on it once a week. seeing the numbers made it very real for me.

Yep. The scale holds me accountable for my decisions . . . oh, you REALLY want to eat pizza for dinner, huh? What's the scale gonna say about that tomorrow morning?

[ford]

Great job people!

Sometime last year I stepped on a scale and it was the most I have ever weighed... and way too much...282:console

So I started eating much healthier and working out much more often...

I'm down to 241 now... ultimate goal is 199.... but my next small goal is 230.....

I think it's good to have both...I'd like to be 230 by the end of March.

[j2b4o]

Great job people!

Sometime last year I stepped on a scale and it was the most I have ever weighed... and way too much...282:console

So I started eating much healthier and working out much more often...

I'm down to 241 now... ultimate goal is 199.... but my next small goal is 230.....

I think it's good to have both...I'd like to be 230 by the end of March.

I also feel fluctuations with the seasons is good and a nice change of pace.

[jimmybcool]

Way to go. The key is stay with what is working I guess.

I started at 235 last spring. At 6' I wasn't a whale but I defintely qualified as a Santa Clause stand in :aok

And while I have lifted weights off and on for years I never worked out on the cardio side. The last year I had been taking blood pressure meds and my last checkup the doc said "great, now we see signs of diabetes."

At his suggestion I could either take more pills and needles the rest of my life or get off my fat ass and lose the weight.

So I am now on a simple diet. I count the calories. And I'm limited to 1750 a day PLUS whatever I burn in a workout wearing a Polar heart rate monitor. Well, I learned two things.

1) If you eat healthy foods you don't get as hungry as fast. I can eat 1700 calories of salad and be full all day or 3500 calories in cookies and want more at bedtime. I changed WHAT I eat.

2) To burn calories requires raising your heart rate and keeping it there. I now do 40 minutes of cardio a day. Including "spin classes" and the like. They kick my ass but I do notice a difference when I do stuff. I know I could get up from this chair and run 3 miles and not die. Not bad for a 55 year old.

The result is I am now 200. I am off BP meds and no signs of diabetes. I am not through here. I still feel I'm 10 pounds overweight. Just that the holidays were tough. I want to see 190 and then I'll see if that's right. But I'm in it for the long haul. No quick losses for me.

[doublea]

I also feel fluctuations with the seasons is good and a nice change of pace.

I go from 200-205 lbs to 175-180 lbs every winter to summer. I eat a lot less in the summer and also wakeskate/wakesurf every weekend. I rarely exercise in the winter months and drink a lot beer while watching football. I'd like to only aain 10-15 in the winter rather than 25. Habits are hard to break.

[Selsaral]

No more soda. Very few sweets.

Cut portion size down to half of what I used to eat. Within a month this 1/2 size portion was completely filling.

Ate 3 small meals a day, instead of 1-2 huge meals. Ate a small breakfast every day.

Used tricks to stop myself from eating for entertainment. I focused on guitar and music and my girlfriend.

Didn't excerize. I should just for general health reasons, but I didn't need to in order to lose weight.

Lost 50 lbs, it's staying off, but the holidays have been brutal on that front. The last 10 lbs are proving very hard to lose...and I am coming to terms with that right now.

[axavm]

Has anyone out there started eating quinoa? I heard it's great and very healthy. I'm going to pick some up this weekend and try cooking it.

Quinoa is awesome. Very healthy, but high in carbs so no more than 1 cup is plenty. Make sure you wash it a good long time before cooking.

[steve108819]

I get on a scale every single day. If I see I'm up 1 or 2 pounds(very easy when you like pizza as much as I do), it's very easy to adjust my diet for a day to get back down to my target weight. I spent over 10 years of my life being unhappy with my weight. I wasn't that heavy it, just 20 pounds over where I needed to be, but it showed. I finally found the willpower somewhere to do something about it. One of the biggest changes I made was to cut out all snacking after 8pm.

[Johns7022]

Exercise or not...eat only when your truly hungry....never leave the table full.

[sonic1974]

Anybody know some good websites to get tasty healthy and easy to make recipes? Thanks!

[scottlr]

I've lost pounds just by giving up booze. No exercise, not change of eating habits. I noticed my clothes fitting rather loose. I was just weighed at the doctor about a month ago, and according to our scales, I've lost 17 lbs.

[sfarnell]

I get on a scale every single day. If I see I'm up 1 or 2 pounds(very easy when you like pizza as much as I do), it's very easy to adjust my diet for a day to get back down to my target weight. I spent over 10 years of my life being unhappy with my weight. I wasn't that heavy it, just 20 pounds over where I needed to be, but it showed. I finally found the willpower somewhere to do something about it. One of the biggest changes I made was to cut out all snacking after 8pm.

Eating after 8 p.m. is called the sumo wrestler diet. :roll

[Boomer]

About a year and a half ago I was a very uncomfortable 280 pounds at 5'10". I managed to get sick and thinking it was something I was eating, I cut back pretty much to brown rice (and not much of it) as it seemed that eating almost anything else caused horrendous esophageal and intestinal spasms. Doctors looked at everything, and I mean everything, tried three different antibiotics in case of gall bladder/liver/intestinal infections. The best they could do was give me Librax to clam the spasms.

Bottom line is that I dropped from 280 to 202 over the course of about ten months. About then, the spasms stopped. Everyone is still scratching their heads but, frankly, I never could have done that on my own. I've had a bit of a bounce and I'm up to 212 but it's held there for almost six months.

I have modified my eating habits and I'm working towards getting under 200 pounds. If I can do that, I'll be thrilled.

I wish I could say this was the result of hard work but the reality is that it was unbearable pain for almost nine months.

I don't recommend this method of weight loss but I can't argue with the results!

[Josh O]

I finally started to say enough was enough Jan 2009, desk job since getting out of college in '94, up/down weight battles, stints with gym memberships, a home gym machine etc, I'm 6'0" and finally hit 265+ after a Biggest Loser style contest at work that I didn't really give the time of day and actually gained weight. I've never been skinny per se, have always some level of a "gut" even when I look at pictures of myself in high school where I appear to be thin as a rail but was always embarrassed to take off my shirt, it's in my makeup and genes unfortunately.

So I started working out at home (Bowflex dumbbell set, adjustable bench and an elliptical machine) and unlike other attempts in the past, have stuck with it. Do I do it as much as I'd like to, no unfortunately, but I always go back to it and still have that fire to want to continue on, lose more weight, build more muscle, etc. I'm down to 225ish, have been in that range since Dec 2009. I did change my diet somewhat, no more candy bars or potato chips for snacks at work, pretty much cut soda out of my daily intake and replaced with water. Do I still eat pizza, Taco Bell, cheese, etc, yes. Do I do it in moderation? Yes. I do still snack during the day but it's usually granola bars or cereal like Cheerios or something.

I feel so much better, clothes fit me much better, my closet is now full of designer crap because it fits and I've dumped the XXL LL Bean wardrobe. I def want to lose more weight, would like to get below 200 and build up the muscle base more.

Basically, somewhat of a diet change and exercise program that I'm not locked into 7 days a week has definitely helped me out.

[Scrototone]

Around summer of '08 I weighed about 310. Joined a Ultimate Fighting place and was down to 280 in a year without really changing my eating/drinking habits. I began to notice that people that joined the gym after me were getting way better than me; I felt like the excess weight was hampering progress. So I got serious about eating less and drinking (a little) less and was between 225 and 230 by Feb. '10. I'm a big guy anyway, my ideal weight is probably 200-205, so I sort of took my foot off the gas after that. Typing this right now, I'm about 235 and need to redouble my effort to at least get around 215.

As for specific strategies, I really only have one: expend more calories than you ingest. Every day. It can be very discouraging and requires a lot of patience and discipline, but you'd be surprised what 4 months can do.

[Dickie Fredericks]

anyone else have any good proven weight loss routines that helped them?
I know a lot of people struggle with this and I think its important that we tackle it healthily instead of with a pill or snake oil.

so what cha' got???:aok

Well a bunch of us have done or are doing the P90X thing. It works too.

I truly believe though that even more important than the exercise is the diet. It really is.

"You are what you eat".... stupidly true.

[scott757]

I've lost 15 lbs since Nov 24. I've just been using livestrong.com to track my cals. I'm trying to keep them under 1800 per day. Unfortunately due to my school/work schedule I don't have much time for exercise. But I'm hoping that I can keep this up and keep it coming off.

[A-Frame]

I've lost 22lbs since Dec 9th (222lbs --> 200lbs as of this a.m.) and feel better than I have in 20 years. Haven't weighed this little since 1986. Five more lbs to my target weight of 195.
Pretty simple plan:
1) Modified my eating to what I learned from South Beach.
2) Start the day with 20min on my old Nordictrac skier. Do another 40 min in the evening (20min if I'm lifting).
3) Do the workout that came with my Bowflex Selectech dumbbells 4 days a week.
4) Replaced the 'however many I want' beers with one glass of red wine in the evening.
5) Drink lots of water.
6) Try and get 8hrs sleep every night.

[RupertB]

No more soda. Very few sweets.

Cut portion size down to half of what I used to eat. Within a month this 1/2 size portion was completely filling.

Ate 3 small meals a day, instead of 1-2 huge meals. Ate a small breakfast every day.

Used tricks to stop myself from eating for entertainment. I focused on guitar and music and my girlfriend.

Didn't excerize. I should just for general health reasons, but I didn't need to in order to lose weight.

Lost 50 lbs, it's staying off, but the holidays have been brutal on that front. The last 10 lbs are proving very hard to lose...and I am coming to terms with that right now.

Well done. :aok

Very close to my story, except that I'm fairly active.

I got a bad cholesterol score last Feb, weight was 202 (I'm 5' 11").

- No sodas, minimal carbs, cut WAY back on animal fats.
- Started reading nutrition labels & restaurant nutrition info. Remarkable how much of my problem was simple ignorance.
- I've come to grips with the fact that I will be hungry for the hour before each meal, that this is NORMAL, and that I don't need something to "tide me over" except maybe a glass of water.

In October, I weighed in at 155 & have been within 5 lbs of that since. Haven't needed a Prilosec for heartburn since May. Feels great.

[squeally dan]

I believe the best way to lose wegiht is to eat a few less calories each day. That akes for slow weight loss but when people lose weight quickly, thy never keep it off & usually they lose muscle mass. Aim to subtract 300-500 calories/ay ad get a bit more active. Think if you drop to daily soft drinks your subtracing at least 300 calories. Add some walking to subtract another 100-200 calories. All of a sudden you are losing. Try to focus on changing your body and getting healthier more than losing weight. Pay attention to how your clothes feel. Set goals and set goals that aren't based on pounds. Try to lose 1-2 pounds/week. Thats about 50-100 pounds/year. Realize that it will take some time, but you will b doing things you can do foever instead of following another diet that will only lead to tempory weight loss. Thats what worked for me 20 years ago.

Wrote this today and thought it was fitting:

I Can't Lose Weight!

I can’t lose weight! It seems like I here this statement at least ten times a day. Over and over, all day long, people tell me they can’t lose weight. They tell me they have tried everything imaginable from diets, to medications, to injections, and nothing has worked. They have been through physician-monitored programs, been hypnotized, completed acupuncture sessions, and nothing has worked.

I have to admit, that part of me is tired of hearing it, because I just don’t think it’s true. I believe you can lose weight, but if you are constantly telling yourself the opposite, it may be very difficult. Instead, tell yourself that can lose weight if you choose too. More importantly you can improve your health and change the composition of your body if you do the work that it takes to accomplish this.

The people that say: “I can’t lose weight” aren’t purposefully lying to themselves. They believe what they are saying. They whole-heartedly believe that they can’t lose weight. The problem is that this belief no matter how strong, doesn’t make the statement any more accurate. I can believe all day that I’m Brad Pitt but it doesn’t mean its true.

I think if we were honest with ourselves we would see that the statement “I can’t lose weight” is not what we really mean. What we really mean is “I can’t lose weight fast” or “I can’t lose weight as fast as I want too.” That is a much more accurate statement. The truth is that we can lose weight but if we do it the right way, it takes a longer amount of time and it also takes some work. On the other hand, if we do it the wrong way it moves along faster but never works out in the long-term. That’s how it goes and I see people prove this over and over.

Instead of saying “I can’t lose weight,” we ought to say “I can’t lose weight as fast as I want too.” I see people every day that can’t seem to quite make this distinction. They tell me how they have tried multiple weight loss plans and nothing has worked. Again, it isn’t that it didn’t work; it just didn’t work as fast as they wanted.

After further probing, I always discover that my clients have almost always lost some amount of weight with each attempt. Then I ask: “what happened next?” The response is almost always identical: “it just stopped.” Well guess what? It didn’t just stop. Usually the person quit the program and then the weight loss stopped. In other words, if they would have kept the same regimen, they might have lost more weight. However, most of us become impatient when the weight loss hits those temporary, but ever frustrating roadblocks.

Another common scenario is that the person is following the typical diet that is over-restrictive and they can’t continue it. The reason that they can’t continue is because their body is fighting against them every step of t he way. It just doesn’t feel good to starve! Your body will always fight against that feeling. Eventually, it feels so bad that you quit the diet until the next diet comes along.

The key here is to not starve! Yes, it is true that you have to eat les calories to lose weight, but you don’t have to starve. People usually gain weight from eating a few more calories than what they actually need and over time they gradually pick up the weight. We need to take the same approach to weight loss.

Instead of starving, we have to slightly cut back calories and we will gradually lose weight. Aim to subtract 300-500 calories/day from your norm and you will gradually lose weight. Get rid of two 12oz soft drinks and that at least 300 calories alone. That’s just one example, but those types of changes are things that you can learn to do forever. We can’t be on a true diet forever.

I say all this just to support my original point, which is that you, me, we all can lose weight if we choose too. However, it takes work, and if we do it the right way, it will take some time.

Dedicate some time to thinking about where you want to be in a year. Do you want to have gained and lost the same 20 pounds two to three more times over the next year, or do you want to look up in a year and see that you have achieved meaningful weight loss through hard work.

That weight loss may be 20-50 pounds in a year instead of 100, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that you will have done it in such a manner that you will be able to continue the process without feeling like you are starving. Yes you will be lighter, but you will be stronger, healthier, and you will be able to do things you couldn’t have done a year ago.

You can lose weight, but you have to know what it will take and you have to begin by dumping some of the garbage that is currently in your head. Erase the negative junk and replace it with new positive junk. Don’t tell yourself “I can’t lose weight.” Tell yourself you can lose weight slowly, if you follow the steps to make it happen. Then, go make it happen! I know you can.

[fritferret]

i recently bought a treadmill for home use. since finishing grad school i've put on weight due to a regular work schedule and poor eating habits. i think that if i can get into healthier habits with some cardio first, byt the summer i'll have the motivation to hit the gym (weights, et cetera). my aim is to shed 40 or so pounds by summer! treadmill should arrive tomorrow or early next week. good luck to everyone.

oh, when i was in much better shape, i use to tell my mom and sis about working out and eating right. now i have to take my own advice. i use stress just how much work goes into bad habits. just think of all of the actions that go into getting a pizza to your table, whether you're ordering or making a frozen one. exercise discipline and it get a lot easier to discipline yourself in other ways. i would also argue that taking baby steps foten backfires. if you make things too easy, then you're often easier on yourself when you fall off. just my 2 cents.

[S-L-A-C-K-E-R]

I'm about 5'-10" and 235 lbs. I would like to be at 200 lbs. I know it's not an earth shattering change, but I'm trying to be realistic since I love food and I have little time to exercise. I'm trying to make small changes with the intent of making them habit and therefore making signifcant impact over the long haul.

1.) Bring a healthy lunch to work at least 3 out of the 5 days. (Really hoping for 4 - 5 days a week, but I'm not going to beat myself up if I have a bad week).
2.) Cook dinner at home at least 3 out of 5 workdays and 1 out of 2 weekend days. With the intent of trying to find something healthy to make (although I'm pretty sure that just about anything I can put together at home will be better than fast food).
3.) Only allowed to hit up the vending machine once a week at work.
4.) No more soda unless it's during a meal and I really want it.
5.) Eat a healthy breakfast 5 out of 7 days a week.
6.) Play racquetball once a week with my friend.
7.) Take a half hour walk after lunch at work twice a week.

That's my plan.

Anytime I've tried to track calories or get involved in a strict diet, I do well for a while and then end up going back to my old ways. I want to allow myself to treat myself a little here and there. We'll see if I get results.

[ChopsJackson]

Man you guys kick some serious azz!

My wife and I should probably stop planning weekends around what we're going to eat and what kind of wine (bottles) we're going to get.

I may have sloth genetics.

[steve108819]

more important than the exercise is the diet. It really is.

"You are what you eat".... stupidly true.
The golden nugget of this entire thread.

[shane88]

eat less & walk 2 de pub

[Bryan T]

I had to change my diet to eliminate gluten. That cut out a lot of the breads and pastas that I was eating before, eliminated a lot of the high calorie stuff that went along with them, and forced me to eat at home a lot more. I've probably lost 25 or 30 pounds since April of last year. I still have carbs - rice, potatoes, corn pasta. I don't really have fast food, other than the occasional french fries or bun-less burger.