Black wallnut 

Thanks!

I don't mind at all. My life "before" I would several days a week order lunch delivered. Either a burger and frys with fry sauce or chili burger plus fries or Chinese food. None of these are lw in calories and all are high in carbs. Then as now I work a desk job so life is extremely sedentary. Previous to moving into an office job I was losing weight while following the South Beach diet, more or less. When I decided to make the changes I re-started the SBD somewhat by going low carb most of the time. I started packing my lunch to work every day and it was most often salad. Just that change with riding a bike added in lead to weight loss at a slow pace. My early rides were 3 miles. I really wanted to start bike commuting since I worked only 3.25 miles from home. I recall the Saturday I decided to ride to work to see how long it would take and to see how I'd feel after doing so. It seems like it took about 22 minutes, which for then was not too bad. On the way home there is a little hill that I must go over with a gain of 90 feet or so over 3 blocks, so not even as steep as most overpasses. I had to use my easiest gear and was passed by a jogger. That was very humbling. I soon started bike commuting. and in mid July I broke over the 10 mile ride mark. I discovered that I had mush more fitness than I had thought and rode 19 miles in one ride with no ill effects. From then on my weekend rides became a bit longer.

Fast forward to the next February itching to get outside I started longer Saturday rides over lunch time, only twice that month but as spring blossomed it became a weekend routine, gathering momentum. The simple, seemingly changes of switching to salads for weekday lunches and skipping Saturday lunch in exchange for a ride and ride snacks all the while increasing distance and intensity of my rides lead to gradual weight loss. However each winter, my weight would climb up about 10 pounds. Once it did that I mostly subtracted beer from my diet until I dropped the weight off in the spring. The first year I lost 35 pounds. I stagnated there for about 2 years. (+10 in the winter, off by March) February '14 I decided to get serious about weight loss and started MFP. Simply tracking calories enabled me to lose another 30+. I plateaued a couple times this year though, first in the mid teens and now right around 205.

As far as food types I have never avoided dietary fat. I enjoy cooking nearly everything in olive oil. I will eat bacon, often. My daughter raised pigs for FFA over a year ago plus one for us. While it lasted we used the sausage for lots of dishes. Last winter she raised another for us and at harvest it was nice and big. Bacon, sausage, and other pork cuts were common in our diet. I'd have breakfast meat most mornings with my 2 eggs. I also raise chickens for eggs and meat. I eat 2 eggs every single day. I also try to eat fish at least once a week. I've cut back on ice cream, most of the time I want to maintain or lose weight more than I want the instant gratification ice cream brings. My lipids went from high and getting higher when i was at my heaviest to normal, although medicated. My Dr. let me stop taking meds for cholesterol. She and I discussed putting me back on meds when they rose to high end of normal but decided that since I was still planning to lose more weight and the link between elevated cholesterol and heart disease is now in doubt we'd watch and see. As far as other foods I don't always choose lean cuts of beef. I do however buy low fat content burger, although often enough when it is family taco night I am just as likely to have fish tacos while the wife and children have regular. I still try to limit carbs but mostly due to the impact carbs have on calorie counts. Interestingly enough I'll often choose 2 cups shredded hash browns for breakfast instead of two pieces of toast with butter, less calories. For tacos I'll use small corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas due to calorie content; six small corn is less than two medium flour. Simply being aware of caloric content of food choices has helped me eat less. We also switched to real butter. I still eat pizza although not as often as I was a few years ago. I am a firm believer in portion control and keeping caloric intake between daily goal and maintenance level. I currently have a 2 pound loss a week goal that is not really working for me. However by tracking each day I know before I have dinner how many I have left. I mostly ride before dinner. In this way I budget in after group spin/ride (season depending) hoppy beverage consumption. If it is an easy ride then it is one hoppy beverage, a harder ride or trainer session maybe two...... almost never more than 2.

What I have done has worked for me. I have no idea if it will work for others. I choose the exercise often, eat lots path. Others eat less and exercise less and actually have more dramatic results. Weight loss is still an important long term goal however it is far from my most important goal. Good health is primary and after that actual athletic improvement measured by faster hill climbs and faster average speed are my #2 goal. To that end I don't fret when I go over my calorie budget for a day or two. I've several times cut back my loss goal to make sure I am fully nourished for events or races. Good luck in achieving your goals.