Lose Weight, Live Longer! (4 Viewers)

[Njja]

John,

Congrats on the loss so far!

I have been lucky to have been blessed a high metabolism.

Thanks Brad!

Yes you are quite lucky, I am hoping to break into the 230's next week, then next stop the 220's so my Harley's will stop wincing when they see me coming!

 

[Njja]

Did a little lawn work yesterday 238 today! That is 24lbs in a little over a

month!

I believe our metabloism has two different cycles, it is either storing calories

(fat) or burning calories. It all depends on how many calories you consume in

a day. Once you cut the calories you consume down to a more reasonable

number you begin to lose weight. I usually now lose 1lb every night when I

sleep. Physical exersion can add to this loss. It is really quite interesting, and

easy.

I have done this twice before last time I got down to 206. This time I will

not fall back into the old bad habits of soft drinks, snapple, and Varsity Chilli

Dogs and Fries!

John

 

[aujj65]

Did a little lawn work yesterday 238 today! That is 24lbs in a little over a

month!

I believe our metabloism has two different cycles, it is either storing calories

(fat) or burning calories. It all depends on how many calories you consume in

a day. Once you cut the calories you consume down to a more reasonable

number you begin to lose weight. I usually now lose 1lb every night when I

sleep. Physical exersion can add to this loss. It is really quite interesting, and

easy.

I have done this twice before last time I got down to 206. This time I will

not fall back into the old bad habits of soft drinks, snapple, and Varsity Chilli

Dogs and Fries!

John

John, that's good news! Well done indeed. Many years ago my wife went on a diet where you could not eat proteins and carbohydrates together, which meant that a cheese sandwich had to be eaten cheese followed 4 hours later by the bread! Mind you it worked she lost one and a half stone over about 6 months. The trick was to loose weight gradually to let the body’s metabolism adjust. I have a habit of snacking during the evening – Bad! The body can’t burn off the calories.

Jeff (overweight by a bit!)

 

[jazzeum]

I have no idea why we are different in how metabolism works. I suppose it's genetics. I know that if I start to gain a few pounds, I just cut out junk for a few days and I seem to lose a couple of pounds. I also have very low blood pressure, again lucky, considering my job and what my son can do to me on occasion

 

[trooper]

Violent exercise is the answer. I make sure I always have to turn the ignition key twice.

 

[Wraith]

Violent exercise is the answer. I make sure I always have to turn the ignition key twice.

You go for it Bad Boy!

 

[Njja]

John, that's good news! Well done indeed. Many years ago my wife went on a diet where you could not eat proteins and carbohydrates together, which meant that a cheese sandwich had to be eaten cheese followed 4 hours later by the bread! Mind you it worked she lost one and a half stone over about 6 months. The trick was to loose weight gradually to let the body’s metabolism adjust. I have a habit of snacking during the evening – Bad! The body can’t burn off the calories.

Jeff (overweight by a bit!)

Jeff what I like about what I am doing is there is no drastic change in my eating habits. I have replaced Snapple with water saving 960 Calories a day, and I am eating oatmeal with fruit for breakfast instead of Creamcheese eggs, bacon & sausage.

I am not hungry and eat fruit, or tuna if I feel like something and wake up each morning usually 1lb lighter.

No wacky diet, just take a look at the calories before we buy something at the store. This is where they get you, with the crazy serving sizes......who ever drank 1/2 a can of soda? Just tell everyone its 200 calories! Instead they say its 100 because a 12oz can is two servings........for who? An elf?

 

[Njja]

I have no idea why we are different in how metabolism works. I suppose it's genetics. I know that if I start to gain a few pounds, I just cut out junk for a few days and I seem to lose a couple of pounds. I also have very low blood pressure, again lucky, considering my job and what my son can do to me on occasion

Brad I admit I am certainly no expert, but here is my theory. I believe in our genetic backround our bodies either are storing fat or burning fat. It seems to take a week to switch which is why I believe people find it so difficult to lose weight. People decide to change their eating habits and starve themselves for a couple of days then get on the scale and find they have actually gained weight! If their body is still in the storing mode it will simply slow down your energy level to allow it to continue storing what ever you put in it. If you can mentally get by this first week or so, your body switches to the burn fat mode and you will find yourself with more energy and a little daily weight loss if you watch what you eat.

Anything that is a drastic change seems doomed to fail, as you may grow tired of eating grapefruit, or no carbs, or whatever and resume your normal bad habits.

Currently I'm enjoying everything I'm eating tonight is pasta, and believe me I can get along without the Snapple, and Soda......and no High Frutcose Corn Syrup.......they are even to cheap to use natural sugar! They grind up pulp then mix it with yeast to make a gooy substance 180 times sweeter then sugar Its no wonder we have so many health issues here in US!

As a side note I started this Thread to help any other Forum members who wish to feel better and lose a few pounds. I welcome any notes from anyone with any questions.

I can still be quite a character as many will attest to I just don't want to be the guy on the plane next to you asking for the Seat Belt Extender!

 

[Louis Badolato]

Jeff what I like about what I am doing is there is no drastic change in my eating habits. I have replaced Snapple with water saving 960 Calories a day, and I am eating oatmeal with fruit for breakfast instead of Creamcheese eggs, bacon & sausage.

I am not hungry and eat fruit, or tuna if I feel like something and wake up each morning usually 1lb lighter.

No wacky diet, just take a look at the calories before we buy something at the store. This is where they get you, with the crazy serving sizes......who ever drank 1/2 a can of soda? Just tell everyone its 200 calories! Instead they say its 100 because a 12oz can is two servings........for who? An elf?

John,

You are very lucky to have the metabolism you enjoy. I eat a far more restrictive diet then the one you are describing, and if I lose a pound in a week I count myself lucky. I had been on Atkins non-stop for more than eight years just to keep myself at a reasonable weight (190 lbs), when it just stopped working, and I gained 35 lbs in less than a year. I starved myself on nutri-system for a year to lose 30 lbs, and as soon as I went back to eating normally I gained 20 back. I have been eating oatmeal for breakfast, non-fat yogurt for lunch and a small dinner for months. I drink only water, unsweetened ice tea or diet soda. I lost 12 pounds, then gained 10 back over the holidays, and have since lost 7 back. With my metabolism, I am either dieting (to lose maybe a pound a week) or gaining about 5 lbs a week. I have been fighting my weight since I was a kid. I would love to have a metabolism where I just cut out empty calories and lose a pound a day. Even when I was running 5 miles 5 mornings a week and working out with a personal trainer 3 days a week I never lost a pound a day!

 

[Wraith]

Even when I was running 5 miles 5 mornings a week and working out with a personal trainer 3 days a week I never lost a pound a day!

Weight's not everything though, it's also how you're carrying it. One of my colleagues at work is 260lb. Admittedly, he's tall at 6'03", but there's not an ounce of fat on him. He's just lean with muscle, and muscle weighs heavy.

I know I'm not saying anything people here don't already know, but on a personal level, I'm worry less about my actual weight, and more about how and where I'm carrying it.

I used to have a pretty high metabolic rate until about 5 years ago, when my body decided I'd been taking the p*ss with it a bit and decided to get it's own back. I'm fairly fortunate that it hasn't gone completely the other way, but I have to be a little more careful with what I stuff in my stomach now.

Simon

 

[Njja]

John,

You are very lucky to have the metabolism you enjoy. I eat a far more restrictive diet then the one you are describing, and if I lose a pound in a week I count myself lucky. I had been on Atkins non-stop for more than eight years just to keep myself at a reasonable weight (190 lbs), when it just stopped working, and I gained 35 lbs in less than a year. I starved myself on nutri-system for a year to lose 30 lbs, and as soon as I went back to eating normally I gained 20 back. I have been eating oatmeal for breakfast, non-fat yogurt for lunch and a small dinner for months. I drink only water, unsweetened ice tea or diet soda. I lost 12 pounds, then gained 10 back over the holidays, and have since lost 7 back. With my metabolism, I am either dieting (to lose maybe a pound a week) or gaining about 5 lbs a week. I have been fighting my weight since I was a kid. I would love to have a metabolism where I just cut out empty calories and lose a pound a day. Even when I was running 5 miles 5 mornings a week and working out with a personal trainer 3 days a week I never lost a pound a day!

.......................................................................................................

Louis drop me a note, or give me a call, I'm sure you could find a way to stablize your weight and still enjoy what you eat. There is a great book out called "Eat this not That" which explains a lot about what junk is in foods that we commonly eat. It gives you options and shows you which products in a catagory are OK and which to avoid!

You would be amazed! Your stressful work, I assume probably contributes to the problem. I would think if you begain to eat foods that you like, instead of a "Fixed Diet" it would be much easier to contine and get to the weight you like.

 

[Njja]

Weight's not everything though, it's also how you're carrying it. One of my colleagues at work is 260lb. Admittedly, he's tall at 6'03", but there's not an ounce of fat on him. He's just lean with muscle, and muscle weighs heavy.

I know I'm not saying anything people here don't already know, but on a personal level, I'm worry less about my actual weight, and more about how and where I'm carrying it.

I used to have a pretty high metabolic rate until about 5 years ago, when my body decided I'd been taking the p*ss with it a bit and decided to get it's own back. I'm fairly fortunate that it hasn't gone completely the other way, but I have to be a little more careful with what I stuff in my stomach now.

Simon

........................................................................................................

Simon:

Age also becomes a factor, in another month I will be 60! This I really can't believe....besides allowing myself to gain to much weight I feel like I am 20. I have no health problems except an inactive thryod, still ride motorcycles, and do everything I have always done......except climb up on the roof!

Having now dropped 24lbs I have even more energy and look forward to losing even more. Nowdays it seems 60 and 70 are not as old as they used to be. But you still need to give yourself every opportunity to have your health as long as you can.

 

[OzDigger]

If you really want to lose weight long term you should think more in terms of improved eating HABITS rather than a DIET because diets ALWAYS fail

The reason diets fail is that they require you to eat smaller amounts of food than your body has become used to. This causes your brain to SLOW down your metabolism because it thinks you're going through hard times. And of course when your metabolism slows you don't lose weight as fast - so you get depressed - then you eat sweet and or fatty snacks to cheer you up - and often gain more weight than you lost

* You have to stop (for good) eating snacks foods such as sodas, chocolates, chips etc. Substitute these with whole fruits and nuts rather than processed fruit bars. From now on think of these different fruits etc as your treats (not as hard as you may think ).

* Drink at least Two litres of water each day. If you feel a bit nauseous shortly after drinking water from your tap you should consider boiling it first. I always boil my water and let it stand/cool before I drink it because when I worked for the EPA I found out how much Chlorine etc they put into town water - and how many bugs can survive the "treatment"

* Many suggest cutting back on red meat and eat more chicken and fish. That seems fine in theory but in practice bbq/roast chickens often have more fat than trimmed red meat so you need to use some common sense there. For example they say the secret is not to eat the skin off the chickens but I find that easier said than done so I eat as much Steak as I do Chicken

 

[Njja]

237.5 today can't wait to get into the 220's!

 

[Njja]

Uh Oh.......stuck at 237.5! No more cherrys!

 

[kilted vampire]

Attaboy John you can do it! Losing weight is not real tricky. The idea for me was to eat anything I want and not cut myself off completely. A little bit of every thing a little at a time. I do eat chilli dogs once in awhile. Also eating a lot more vegetables. Nancy loves me to eat vegetables. Some are pretty good. Sometimes just have to find new ways to prepare them. The biggest thing I cut out was all the frappachinos and all the cokes. Way tooo much sugar. Burned out the pancreas on that one. Tons of fat in the fraps. I used to drink the Ventes and grande mochas all week long. Did cut most of that out. Still share them once in awhile with Nancy, usually a small one. Right around 238.
I am 6'5". I am working out now to. It is helping with all the surgery sites and strength issues from the coma.

 

[Njja]

Attaboy John you can do it! Losing weight is not real tricky. The idea for me was to eat anything I want and not cut myself off completely. A little bit of every thing a little at a time. I do eat chilli dogs once in awhile. Also eating a lot more vegetables. Nancy loves me to eat vegetables. Some are pretty good. Sometimes just have to find new ways to prepare them. The biggest thing I cut out was all the frappachinos and all the cokes. Way tooo much sugar. Burned out the pancreas on that one. Tons of fat in the fraps. I used to drink the Ventes and grande mochas all week long. Did cut most of that out. Still share them once in awhile with Nancy, usually a small one. Right around 238.
I am 6'5". I am working out now to. It is helping with all the surgery sites and strength issues from the coma.

KV:

Always nice to hear from you and read your posts! I agree 100% that watching what you drink is really the key. It is quite easy to consume 1000 calories a day in liquid form. I now only drink water, hot tea, or Coke Zero usually 1 or those a day. So I am not worried when my weight sticks for a day or two....it usually happens every time you move into a new range.

Glad you are feeling better and working out!

So you are 238..........at 6'5"

My problem is I am 237.5 at 5'6"

Actually I am 5'10" but you still have me by 7" and I don't think that .5lb is equal to that 7"

 

[Njja]

236 thats down 26lbs from the start!

 

[Njja]

235! Over the last stall now, only 3 more lbs to go

until the famous Disneyland photo from 1980's where I closely resembled a

circus fatman!

 

[Gideon]

I had been a husky child up till 13 when I slimmed down. High school I was skinny.

I began putting on weight when I was about 19/20 working various physical jobs and eating three square per day.

In also took to cycling at least 10 miles per day - mostly commuting to work round trip. This grew to more and eventually I got to 178 lbs at my height of 6'1 - 6'2. My family was worried about my weight but I was lean and agile like you wouldn't believe.

I went to work as a sales rep for a large software company and it was out of control. At my heaviest, I was 240 and feeling horrible and tired. I was at the doctor all the time. So I started cycling again and got down to 220. That didn't feel much better. My knees were hurting.

When I left that job at 30, I immdiately lost 15 pounds. My weight fluctuated from 30 to 33 between 210 and 220.

Just before last Thanksgiving, my body began screaming at me due to my stress level. My grandmother passed away and my girlfriend of 9 years and I split up for what seemed like it would for good. My body had had enough of this and forced me to eat right and excercise. Which I am doing.

My diet consisted of the most hearty salads you will ever see.

My "diet salad" is this:

Big clamshell of actual salad greens (lettuce has no nutritional value)
Marinated artichoke hearts (I buy the big containers at Costco)
Middle Eastern stuffed Grape Leaves in olive oil and lemon juice
Mushrooms - marinated or raw
String beans, fava beans, red beans
Ground up raw cashews and dried mango (chop them up fine in a blender)
one whole cucumber

There are several dressings I make which I can provide recipes for

For protein - either one of the following but not a large portion - a few cuts unless its fish:

Lamb with salt pepper and lemon juice
Chuck steak - salt and pepper or my ginger dressing I make from scratch
Marinated herring fillets (among the best sources of protein ever put on Earth)
Chicken - though I don't like chicken

Theres other things I'll eat to but if you want to lose weight and keep your body prepped for excercies the above will help.

Also, most things I cook I use sesame seed oil for instead of most other oils. It is very healthy and has a great flavor.

Lastly, I do not go anywhere near fast food - nothing, none of it. It is poison. I read ingredients and will not eat anything that is overly processed.

Eat as fresh and local as possible. It doesn't take long to make these things, it just takes some adjustment and provisioning.