HelpMeRhonda

Hey Chefisaac,
I'm a very longtime lurker/member. I don't make my living as a writer, thus, I'm a one legged man in any written a$$ kicking contest. Some go on and on about all the negative things/reason/issues in life. Weight / surgury / etc. In fact many threads on this forum are "poor me" threads. Then, when a very positive thing happens (loss of 100 lbs), we immediately critize the diet / approach. I just don't get some posters. I guess I need to go back to lurking. I very much appreciate your positive view and written words on this forum. You really display a positive / can do attitude. Thank you for that.

Neil_B

This reminds me of "Caleb" from Alt.support.diet infamy. He devised a "100 day diet" which consisted of extremely low calories and exercise consisting of walking with weights around his ankles. It was never sustainable, and every year or so for a decade he'd restart it. Caleb, too, claimed his plan was "101 stuff" and wrote one should celebrate a weight loss of "a pound a day."

Your buddy reached the century mark far faster than most other former 400 pounders I know, including Sayre Kulp and myself. (Sayre and I both took about nine months.) Sayre has been maintaining for three years and I was keeping most of it off until my knees finally went at the end of 2011. The reason I participate in this thread is that I want Chris to lose weight in a healthy and sustainable fashion. Pardon me for being skeptical of an ultra-rapid weight loss that rivals that of a medically supervised liquid diet.

MattFoley

There are also clinics that cater to lower income folks, where you can get a checkup at minimal cost. Also, there are programs like Medicaid...maybe Nerys doesn't qualify, but I hope that he's at least done some research on what his options are.

chefisaac

Sorry if it came off as rude Neil. Not my intentions.

We both know that weight loss for others are their own journey. Some cane lose fast and sustain, some take longer and are edge at quick weight gain which I fit that boat.

There is an "all aboard" mentaility and then there is the all talk mentaility both can lead to great weight loss, some slow and some faster. In the stark reaility of things, the overall belief is that fast weight loss is bad. But then there are the folks who can be the exception to the rule. I have not known Ozzie for a long time but I do know that he follows the menus we have written together to the T. Though I am a chef and not a dietican, he also works with a dietican locally as well along with a few other people. His heart and hard work are in it 100% every d@mn minute of the day and I wish I could do the same thing. lol

Neil_B

He has. I know because I helped with it.

BTW we are tentatively riding together tomorrow. Chris will let me know tomorrow morning if he can make it.

chefisaac

Great post.

I should join you for some popcorn in the lurking area too

rica rica

i think fast or slow weight loss can be successful, because i've seen people who used both maintain for years.

the key is to stop making excuses and take responsibility. That was the common element in their approaches, and i think it was more important than their particular weight loss plan.

chefisaac

+100

Neil_B

Cue the nine dollar bag of rice discussion. ....

nerys

there is nothing wrong with a "crash diet" to a point. at our weight levels there is tangible immediate "risk" simply BEING as heavy as we are. so while a crash diet is risky IS the risk of that diet larger than the risk of staying 200-300 pounds TOO heavy? I don't know but I bet its pretty close and the loss of 100 pounds would be one heck of a moral booster.

sadly my lifestyle and work structure are non conducive to a "crash diet" or I would probably try one!

the weight loss and method are not to blame for the rebound. that is a DIFFERENT issue. a mental one.

I THINK I have finally licked that aspect. I think I finally have my head wrapped around the mortality issue of being this heavy.

I just got to get rid of it. right now 90% of my problem is getting my life in order and just DOING it.

one thing I am not good at is organizing my daily life into a steady controlled routine.

I REALLY need to stop ordering out (regardless of the calories) I just work so damned many hours many times I am just too stinking tired to spend the next 30-60 minutes preparing a meal. I know some will say that's just an excuse but IT IS a reality of my life. I need to change it absolutely but its not a snap the fingers its changes solution.

and now I might need to be looking into a second job.

Life it interesting. habits are forms. life sucks. have to work extra hard to work around life and change long formed habits.

I WILL change it. bit by bit I WILL change it.

JackoDandy

I will throw my 2c (again). It all comes down to boredom and has for me many times. Its boring to eat a salad instead of hot dogs, its boring to ride a bike than go to a bar (for many people at least) and its boring to count calories instead of eating what you want. I fight off the boredom by 'rewarding' myself with new bike toys now and again. Like Chris, I'm a numbers guy and so I enjoy riding my bike so that I can compare my numbers - cadence, feet climbed, heartrate, mph. Many people dont care about the numbers, I do and it keeps me going and interested.

Chris has to find his own path (IMHO) as to what keeps him motivated. It's tough and thats why soooooo many 'hardly used bikes' are on craigslist etc. Chris is a smart guy, he will figure it out.

You can lead a clyde to water but you cant make him drink...

rica rica

so true... i have seen a lot of people start with motivation, go gung ho for a couple weeks, then return to their previous habits. And thats not to say they will fail, because of course many people have setbacks and then keep trying.

it is a matter of long term vs. short term gratification. frankly its been a horrendous week, i will work every day this weekend from home, and i would really like a pint of ice cream. that would be considerably more exciting than beans and salad. but then i'd be disappointed tomorrow when i felt slow on my ride soooo. so yeah. you hit it exactly. it is boring in the immediate sense of things!

JackoDandy

Sometimes, when biking is feeling old, I just take a break. I didnt ride for most of February and by March I missed it so much I jumped back on the bike. However, the price of not biking for me was strict diet for all of Feb

rica rica

oh good point! a break is sometimes a good thing for people.

Neil_B

Its not an either/or, Chris. Ever since you started posting here you've been saying "I gotta lose this weight as fast as possible" or words to that effect. There are definite risks to rapid massive weight loss. Look at the health problems contestants have from time to time on The Biggest Loser. Even chefisaac's buddy isn't immune; he injured himself on an early ride and another time his facial color allegedly concerned one rider so much he feared a possible heart attack. Meanwhile you pooh-poohed fitness as secondary to weight loss.

Neil_B

Two answers - prepare meals ahead of time and stop people from leaching off you. You've disclosed in this thread that you have two adults in the household, at least two, who don't drive, and rely on you for rides everywhere. Change that.

In other words, start thinking of yourself as worth investing in. And by investing I don't mean buying toys like cars and bikes and cameras and whatever junk you find on Craigslist, but investing time and good works in Chris. Stop making yourself secondary to others. If it means skipping immediate gratification and retail therapy, then so be it.

As for the greater reason you ballooned after you left high school, I have my thoughts, but I'll share them privately with you if you like.

rica rica

a fresh meal does not have to take very much time at all, or cost very much. for that matter a meal doesn't have to do anythig but provide enough nutrition for a while. i'm not sure how a nutritionist would rate me, but breakfast is often a glass of almond milk and a piece of fruit, lunch some nut butter on crackers and fruit or vegetables slices, and dinner spinach+some meat or beans, and more vegetable slices or fruit.

that's baseline, and I add things (rice, pasta, or just more quantities) depending on training volume.

my point is all of those take much less time and significantly less money than when i used to order food or go to a fast food restaurant.

Rock31

Get some frozen brown rice steams right in the microwave and is dirt cheap!

Chris trust me I know how crazy life can get, I RARELY cook a meal that takes longer than 15 minutes to cook and when I do have free time I prepare extra meals for the week. Chicken breast, veggie and potato can be done in less than 10 minutes, salads, smoothies can be done in closer to 5.

I am FAR from perfect, or even on point with my diet but you really need to eat better foods, I don't care about the calories, the fact that you are sweating the way you are has me nervous that it is more than a 'cold'

Stay on track buddy, no matter how busy you are if you don't put time into you things will never change!

Sayre Kulp 

Looking back at my weight charts, my first 100 lbs came off in about 6 months. And in that time, I still ate a high calorie count. Somewhere around 4000 calories daily at the start and started whittling it down from there as I came down from the high 400s. The first big changes for me were WHAT I was eating - not even how much. Getting rid of many of the processed foods in favor of fresh as well as better decisions (hold the mayo, for example) were a big part of learning to eat right. Also paying attention to food labels and starting to really UNDERSTAND portion sizes and nutritional information.

The second part was getting active and doing ANYTHING. I was almost totally sedentary at my worst. I started riding a trike (slowly) and walking as much as possible. Everything that has come subsequently was a result of those early small steps.

And I have held pretty solid at my current weight for about 2 1/2 years. Yes, I could certainly stand to lose some more, but right now I'm at a pretty happy balance with regards to life, exercise, and diet.

Sayre Kulp 

My whole point for posting that was to just offer my 2 cents on quick weight loss. 6 pounds a week is hardly unrealistic, especially when you've got enough to lose.

chefisaac

+100

Funny how people *think* they know what a correct weight loss per week is for everyone.

Sayre Kulp 

The hardest part after experiencing rapid weight loss for a few weeks or months is when things start to balance out and that rapid loss slows down to a crawl.

Neil_B

Understood from observation and my own practice. However, there's fast and there's fast. In my case I was losing so quickly at first I increased my calorie consumption because I was alarmed how quickly I dropped. If I recall correctly I lost 30 pounds the first month, although that figure isn't precise since I was weighing myself with two analog scales. I slowed the rate of loss to about ten pounds a month and reached the century about nine months later. I didn't begin seeing a doctor until I was four months into my weight loss, and while he complimented me on my progress and determination he also agreed I was running risks with rapid weight loss.

Hmm. Are you sure it was six months for you for the century loss? I recall you started October 2009 and were 330 during our June 2010 ride.

Regardless, you are an amazing success story and the C/A Forum is very fortunate to have you contributing.

Neil_B

Agreed.

Neil_B

Since Chris is still not feeling well, we've rescheduled our ride until next weekend. Meanwhile, I'll be away this weekend, hiking and doing something that a couple of Bike Forums posters insist I don't do anymore.....