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UpTheIrons wrote:

Spanky wrote:I think my main problem is midnight snacks.

You and me both. I don't get up at 2am, but I have a BAAAD habit of snacking way too much just before bed.

Maybe you could get in the habit of "not-as-bad" snacks? or even better yet, snacking on fruit? It takes some intentional changes, but it'll be worth it, I promise.

74novaman wrote:Day 7: 227. 7 lbs in a week isn't too bad!

Keep it up! You'll notice the pounds literally start melting off when you've built up some more muscle and turned your body into a regular fat-burning furnace. Then you'll get to a point when the pounds stop coming off so quickly, but don't be discouraged when that happens, it's cause your muscle:fat ratio is increasing, and muscles weigh more than fat.

TexasComputerDude wrote:I've lost somewhere around 60lbs, give or take. I need to lose a lot more but I still struggle with real cokes lol. I'm like a crack addict. The lapband surgery is a lot of hard work. You still have to control yourself.

Yea, people definitely get addicted to the sugars from sodas...sometimes, when I get a craving for a soda, I grab a sparking water (like perrier or similar). Doesn't exactly eliminate the craving, but then by the time I've finished it I'm pretty full and wouldn't be able to drink a real soda anyways.

UpTheIrons wrote:About a year and a half ago, I told my wife I wanted to lose 40 pounds by my 40th birthday, which gave me almost 2 years to meet my goal. I was cruising along, well ahead of schedule, and by Christmas of 2008, I lost 30 pounds. Then, because i bought crappy shoes, I pulled a ligament in my foot and couldn't exercise for almost 2 months. That really set me back, and I gained 10+ pounds back and have been there since March of 2009.

Now, I've got 3 months to reach my goal, and 22 pounds to go. After reading through this thread, I'm finally getting motivated again. It was too easy to say "woe is me" after so much early success, but know I can do it, because I did it before. I know how stress can be mitigated through exercise, and we clergy really need that stress-busting in our daily lives - not that everyone else doesn't, but there's something about doing the Lord's work that really gets trying sometimes.

Thanks again, melkor41 for starting this thread - and to all who have contributed so far.

Speaking as someone currently in seminary, I can certainly relate to the stress it can add, and your limitations on time. You ever thought about getting an exercise group together with people from your church? Ministry+exercise could be killing two birds with one stone...

Besides, I'm pretty sure God wants us to take care of the bodies he gave us.

davidtx wrote:

C-dub wrote:

KC5AV wrote:

melkor41 wrote:[SNIP]
Now I can exercise and run for more than 2 miles without coughing up a kidney. I'm 44y and working my way back up to 5 miles.

Do you carry when you run? This is a serious question - there are a couple of very nasty looking Bull Mastiff's on my walking (and future running) route. One of them almost killed a lady a couple of years ago (not sure if it was one of these two or a third one - same hose though and one of them is clearly very aggressive).

-davidtx

I've tried carrying while jogging one time, just to see what it would be like, and it is really uncomfortable. The best thing I can think of would be to get a waist pack (aka fanny pack) and put a pocket gun like LCP or Kel-Tec P38 in there. Even with that it'll be bouncing around...

dewayneward wrote:I am a P90X'r. It is awesome! That in addition to Karate is helping me feel better, however, the actual weight is not coming off. I am hanging tight at 215-220lbs. Everyone has commented at how thin I am looking,but the actual weight is not going down, grrrr! I know about the myth of "your adding muscle", but it isnt a 1:1 replacement. I am hoping that once I hit phase 2 of P90X, it will start to come off (that is what I am being told). My plan is to get below 200, possibly in the 180-190 (my healthy weight for a 5'10" guy).

Yea that P90X is no joke! How long have you been doing it?

And I wouldn't worry too much about actual weight for now. Muscle is denser and heavier than fat, so if you're building muscle and losing fat, you may not see your weight drop much at first. Also, what is your diet? Because if that hasn't changed, you're not going to see as dramatic of results as you might be hoping.

A few years ago I was sitting at 225 (my post-college weight gain) and after some hard work, I'm back at 175. I still keep those old photos around just for motivation, and my old expired cut DL in my wallet for the same reason.

Resurrecting this one...

Just curious how you guys are doing on this these days

melkor41 wrote:261, and my energy is going up... yay me!
I cheated yesterday.... they had a ton of pizza brought in for a training class and there were left overs and i caved in and had one.. just one... im glad at that.. i usualy eat 5 or 6 peices..

Good job! I don't think it's a good idea to completely deprive yourself of delicious foods like pizza, it's just portion control that you've got to watch out for

In college our sports nutritionist came and gave several talks to our team. Recognizing that you can't get college students to NOT eat pizza altogether, she was more focused on getting us to make better decisions (ie, ask for light cheese, don't eat the whole pizza)

She had absolutely no success in her mission to get us to drink less beer, however.

melkor41 wrote:Try fiber capsules. They give the feeling of full quite well.

agreed. TexasComputerDude, try adding a lot of fiber to your diet. Eat high fiber cereals, high fiber snacks, they will all help you feel full without getting surgery. IMHO surgery should always be a last option - healthier eating habits should come first.

Tactical_Texan_CHL wrote:Down 6 pounds from my first post. I cut out soft drinks cold turkey, and I think that made a big difference in the beginning. Had a very active weekend at the lake. Did a ton of walking and climbing and assorted outdoor stuff. Still doing well with the junk food thing. I have all kinds of good stuff in the office instead of junk now. My wife is all kinds of happy that I'm trying harder to stick with it this time instead of her dieting alone. We went grocery shopping yesterday and got tons of good, fresh stuff for the next week or so. We've now ditched most of the junk food in the whole house.

Good going there...If you go from an avg of 2 soft drinks per day down to zero, you've effectively cut out 300 calories per day, or 2,100 calories per week (that is like cutting out an entire days worth of calories).

Keep it up

melkor41 wrote: had a day from heck yesterday at work. I didnt get to eat my lunch until 4:30 and i was running around trying to get to altex electronics and back for this emergancy i was trying to fix. I stoppped by taco bell and grabbed 3 of their 79c burritos

Melkor41, I know it's tough to resist the taco bell, but if you absolutely must get your burrito fix, remember to ask for it WITHOUT sour cream and cheese. That will save you tons of fat and calories. It's still a taco bell 79c burrito, but it's not nearly as unhealthy as it was.

Tactical_Texan_CHL wrote:Well. I ditched the peanut butter crackers and chocolate chip granola bars in the office. I replaced them with apples and carrot sticks. I also replenished the bottled water supply and got rid of all soft drinks. I've got a bunch of tuna for lunches. I'm cutting down on the client lunches also. Maybe I'll start scheduling my visits for after lunch instead. Still riding the bike. I try to ride every day at least down to the nearby park and back which is a mile. If I have time, I take a longer ride.

Just a word of advice, be wary of tuna SALAD. Tuna/dolphin is great, but don't make it into a tuna salad sandwich. All that mayo is just loaded with fat.

Has anyone ever tried to "reverse" their meals? In other words, have cereal for dinner? Sometimes when I'm too lazy to cook I'll just grab a bowl of high fiber cereal for dinner. Fills me up (thank you fiber) and is low in fat and calories. I couldn't do this every day mind you, but it's a lot better than grabbing fast food and eating it before you go to bed.

Tactical_Texan_CHL wrote:Had to do some hospital sales calls today. I decided to take the stairs instead of the elevator. Man, that alone will make a difference if you do alot of work up and down different floors of a building!

small steps make a big difference.

Did you like my double entendre?

John wrote: What is it about soda anyway. I find that if i drink caffene free diet coke (basically colored water with CO2, right?) I do not lose as well as when i drink only water and and maybe unsweetend tea. I am starting to think that the sugar substitues they use do not really help any. Says 0 calories though.

Whether you agree with me or not is a different matter, but I believe that our bodies are super smart and well designed, and take in as much energy as possible from the substance you put into your stomach. Even though diet sodas are technically 0 calories, I think somehow our body converts those sugar alcohols into actual calories. I'm no scientist, nor do I have any evidence of this, it's just my personal belief. Besides, the more you stay away from artificial anythings, the better.

John wrote:I also know that in sports... sodas are a big no no,diet or not, but have no idea why the diet ones are not OK.

The reason you don't drink sodas in sports, diet or otherwise, is because of the caffiene, which is a diuretic (causes you to pee more often) and will dehydrate you.

melkor41 wrote:I left my money at home to keep me from being tempted by the evil snack machine

Actually, I usually keep a stash of healthy snacks in my drawers, such as dried fruit, granola, etc. I find that munching on these whenever i get a little hungry prevents me from gorging when I go out for lunch or dinner. Just don't stock up your drawer with Doritos.

There are definitely times when you just need something quick, and unfortunately fast food is too convenient to pass up in these situations. The key though is to get as healthy of a meal as you can possibly get there. For example, if you must have a hamburger, have it without the cheese, bacon, or mayo. Definitely far from perfect, but you just saved yourself 300 calories and many grams of fat right there. Even better yet, instead of the hamburger get the grilled chicken sandwich (not the crispy one - that is just as bad if not worse) with tomato and lettuce, no mayo. By the way, do you know how long it takes to burn off 300 calories on the treadmill??

Don't EVER get the combo meal which just adds fat and sugar and empty calories. Instead, if you don't think the sandwich will appease your hunger, go for the cup of fruit or baked potato (no sour cream) and you should be good to go.

Finally, give up the sodas for good and stick to water and skim milk. It's not easy, as Americans I think we're addicted to sugar, but stay away even from juices, which are loaded with sugars. But once you get past that hump you'll ask yourself how you ever drank the stuff in the first place. Seriously, I don't drink anything now but water or skim milk. Every once in a while I get a random craving for a 7up or something like that. When I taste it, my immediate reaction is "wow that is super sweet" and end up throwing it away after the first sip or two.

Anyways, good luck, and all of us are here to motivate each other