Little Darwin

I have some support from someone more special to me than forumites to help me, but I wanted to get as much encouragement as possible, and possibly encourage others in weight loss.

I weighed 423 pounds several years ago, when I joined Weight Watchers, and was down to about 305 when I moved and dropped the program. I then went and gained about 60 pounds over the course of a few years, and started bouncing up and down. There were 2 major contributions to my inability to lose weight.

1) I moved from CA where I rode year around, and never got an early jump in the Spring, or used the trainer I bought regularly in the off-season

2) I LOVE food... perhaps with some addictive elements and mood eating.

I did try Weight Watchers a couple of times since the move, but I don't know if it is me or the different leaders, but it wasn't really effective for me.

But, on to the good news. I was able to start riding early this season, and I am in better cycling condition than I have been in years. My heart rate which has hovered around 72-76 for the past several years is now in the 64-66 range. My BP is usually around 120/80 and was 114/68 a few weeks ago.

At the age of 57, I have come to realize that I have been on borrowed time from serious issues for many years. I am extremely fortunate to have had no significant health issues associated with my weight other than osteoarthritis in my knees. No diabetes, no high blood pressure, healthy cholesterol levels etc... but I know it is just a matter of time.

I weighed about 340-350 as the new year chimed in, and lost a little bit through the first few months of the year, then I started eating better, and the weight started dropping a little, but I still wasn't hard core.

After the 4th of July weekend (when I weighed about 331 pounds), I got serious, and committed to myself and a special friend that I would be down to 320 by the end of the month. I am weighing every day, which I have avoided in the past due to advice because of the daily variations, but I found that I can use the daily measurements for motivation.

I do need to start writing down a log of everything I eat (I did for a few days this month), but I currently at least make mental note of everything I have eaten this month.

For the past few days, my weight has been consistently below 320... and this morning I weighed 317.8 and know I will never see 320 again. Last week I let my friend know that 315 was in reach this month. By the end of the week, I expect to be closer to 315 than 320... and quite possibly be below 315. By the end of August, I plan to change that dreaded first digit to 2 instead of 3.

My food in a typical day consists of:

2 servings of oatmeal with 2 tbsp of flax seeds, 2 tbsp of brown sugar, and some cinnamon. With a glass of milk... and sometimes even a pat of butter in the oatmeal.

Yogurt or cottage cheese with fruit or pickles or ??? for lunch.

Snacks are either fruits or dry roasted, unsalted, peanuts.

Dinner varies, but my favorite (for an example) is 3 ounces of shrimp sauteed in olive oil and garlic with vegetables, some sort of carbs (usually whole wheat toast) and a glass of milk.

I drink water before each meal to help me slow down while eating, and I am learning to eat until satisfied, and not until I am full. I plan to cut down a little more when I get comfortable with my current intake, but making adjustments slowly (as long as I keep losing), and making sure I get the nutrients I need.

I am not doing anything that I haven't known I needed to do for years, but my mindset has finally changed to understand the need to be healthy in order to enjoy my impending retirement years. I will not silently fade away into death, I will enjoy life for as long as I have it, and live it with gusto.

Nothing can stop me now.

bbeasley

Great news, keep it up!

One mistake I made when I got near a big number, for me 200, was focusing too much on that number. It turned into a wall, if you know what I mean? When I was 205ish I changed my focus to 190 and was able to drop right through 200. Funny how our minds work.

Willbird

I think that is super tremendous :-).

One minor suggestion would be to go to a 7 day rolling average weight, you still "see" the number every day, but use the rolling average as the "official" number....for me it took tons of the anxiety out of the minor day to day fluctuations. Mine will hold, hold, hold, then drop a couple lbs...then repeat, or it may drop 1.5 one day then hold then another 1.5, but the 7 day average is a nice smooth slope down :-).

I eat 80g (dry weight) of Oatmeal any day that I am going to work out right away, last time I checked if I ate it and just sat down and did nothing it still spiked my sugar levels, if I eat it and go ride I stay 110-115.

If you have never tried the sugar free Davinci coffee syrups on your oats give them a shot, I use Vanilla or French Vanilla.

I have cut "manually" counting calories, or not even counting every one, but Blue Cross Blue Shield put me onto Myfitnesspal and I simply LOVE that ap (I access it from computer and Ipad too)....it makes tracking calories very very easy, and you can track exercise too.

AND you can if you wish add "friends"...and see their progress and let them see yours as well (but privacy is at your control, if you want to be an army of one you can lock it all down).

I know at least one guy here on Bike Forums that I am Myfitnesspal friends with.

Bill

linnefaulk

Great job. Apps like LoseIt! and My Fitness Pal are wonderful at keeping track of the calories.
Each morning I add in the calories I know I will be eating. As the day goes on, I can see what I have available for dinner. Do I go for the quesadilla and no desert, or a salad and fudge pop?
Once I was honest with myself, I started losing again.

1loosemoose

Awesome job!! Way to take control of what appears to be a great future

gman214

Man that's AWESOME! I'm also on countdown to 300! The bibs I got from you a couple of months are getting too big...time to pass them on! GOOD LUCK!

MikeRides

Damn OP you eat like a bird...

My meals since I started this whole new healthy lifestyle..
Breakfast; 1 cup of honey nut cheerios, sliced banana, cup of 2% milk. Lunch was either a PB&J sandwich, a granola bar, a 6oz yogurt w/fruit, or nothing. Dinner consists of a lean meat(skinless chicken seems to be what we eat the most), a vegetable (corn or potato is favorable), a whole wheat roll or whole wheat pasta, and a single scoop of ice cream for dessert.

Little Darwin

Thanks for the encouragement and ideas.

I especially like @Willbird's idea about sugar free coffee syrups. That will definitely keep the oatmeal from getting boring. A friend who turned me on to oatmeal says she has 3 or 4 different kinds of oatmeal, and she can taste the difference between them.

And the apps sound good too. I tinkered with them occasionally, but not when I was serious about the program.

I think the apps are like the bariatric surgery (which my doctor asked if I was ready for last December, and was a part of my motivation) in that they are only helpful if you can make the lifestyle changes to support them. And I am definitely in that ballpark now.

I am looking forward to seeing my doctor when I weigh 40+ pounds less than when he saw me for last year's physical.

Ursa Minor

Wonderful news! You have my prayers.

Charlie

Willbird

Vanilla, french vanilla, caramel, and Kahlua sugar syrups are EASY to find, but there are actually 50 flavors so between different brands that you can order, a friend was totally ecstatic when she found they have a banana flavor :-).

Steel cut oats are good too, and you can make them ahead in the crock pot, divide into portions and even freeze, but I get lazy :-). I will get the recipe from a friend and post it up here. You can also just add oats and water to a pan, bring it to a boil, then turn off the heat and leave it in the pot right on the stove til the following morning. The crock pot recipe is similar but adds bananas and chia seeds.

I had some sugar free maple syrup at Ihop (Careys brand) that might totally rock in oatmeal :-).

I have used flavored whey protein too...but I sort of left that behind because I'm not really sure how much protein is really avail from that stuff.


Bill

linnefaulk

Have you tried steel cut oats? They take longer to prepare but are so much more filling.

Little Darwin

I have never had steel cut oats, but after a little searching, I think I will definitely give them a try.

My friend mentioned Irish Oats, and this appears to be a synonym for steel cut oats, and it looks like nutritionally they are very similar, but steel cut are supposed to have a lower glycemic index, which is a good thing.

It was also interesting to see that the only difference between the various types of rolled oats (ignoring those with added sugar) is that the thinner they are rolled, the faster they cook. So, traditional rolled oats are thicker, followed by quick oats, and finally the thinnest are the instant oats. So, now I know I can eat whichever is available and pretty much get the same nutrients and benefits.

Now to go check out oat bran, as I have heard that mentioned as well.

Willbird

The best buy on rolled oats is Quakers Old Fashioned at Sams or Costco.
First buy two of the large round cardboard containers anywhere....eat them up :-)...they say 2lb 10 oz or 42oz
Then grab the ten pound box from Sams and or Costco, I prefer the old fasioned, the ten pound box has (2) 5lb bags in it, the two 5 lb bags will refill the two containers...takes a little compression but they do all fit.

The ten lb box is around $10 at Sams

There are (57) 80 gram servings in the 10lb box......I do not eat them EVERY day, every weekday probably tho, so I have breakfast for 2 months for $10 :-).

Costco has them too, the clubs usually get a pallet of old fashioned, then a pallet of quick....so when I see the old fashioned I grab about 2 boxes.

The box also has instructions to cook the whole ten lbs, so if/when the zombie apocalypse happens you can feed your crew easily :-).

Little Darwin

While I would appreciate an option that cheap, I don't think it is worth the membership fee, since I am living alone right now... but I will keep it in mind in case I run across someone with a membership, or decide to sign up myself. In the interim, I will get a couple of the big containers in the store to be ready for if/when the time comes.

Willbird

I don't remember how much the containers were at the store, it was more the fact that I was always running out of them :-).

Looks like the same qty would be around $16 at Walmart :-).

Some of the health food stores, the larger ones sell rolled oats in bulk....both organic and inorganic :-).

I buy the oats at sams/costco.....and low sodium V8 by the case(two a day for me), low carb monster (1 a day for me) by the case...and diet green tea (two a day for me). Pays for itself pretty quickly :-).

Bill

linnefaulk

McCann's Irish Steel Cut Oats. Make sure to get the original and not the quick cooking. It takes about 5 minutes to cook them on the stove. You add the things you want like raisins, blueberries, cinnamon, etc. If you like them but want to ease to cooking, you can make them overnight in the crockpot. Some people make a big batch once a week and microwave a bowl daily.

Little Darwin

Maybe if I look at it that way I can justify it... However, I would need to fight the temptation to buy other things in bulk that will do nothing more than add bulk to me... But, then again, I am committed to doing things right, which has always been a struggle in the past. Thanks for the input!

Turzy

Awesome ! Keep it up !
I've been struggling losing weight lately, been stuck at 315 lbs for a long time. I've been eating around 1920 cals/day, but wasn't losing. My bodyfat went from 41% a year ago to 30% as of tuesday.
Yesterday I was messing around with MFP and set the weekly target weight loss to .5 Kg/week (1lb) instead of 1 kg/week (2lbs) (I suspect I was eating enough to lose weight). Now my target caloric intake went up to 2800 cal/day...i'll see how it goes for a few weeks.

mcmoose

+1 on the McCann Irish Steel-Cut Oaks. I like to mix in some almonds and cashews.

Willbird

Here is the steel oats in the crockpot recipe............