RON8O

Great work so far Rocky, you'll meet your goal weight..no doubt!

I'm sorry to hear about your father's passing, I learned what that's like first had this past September. My father passed away in his sleep (shouldn't we all be that lucky?) also from heart failure. He too was obese, and I definitely want a better life than to have to die so young because of bad choices I've made in my past.

Keep it up, and email/IM anytime!

Ron

GradStudent

Rocky -- What an accomplishment you've made by losing over 60 pounds last year!! That is fantastic! I'm sure you're an inspiration to the people around you who watched the changes you've made.

Good luck reaching your new goal!

-GS

cdnguy

I am 230 lbs wanting to go down to 170. I was thinking of setting a target date of six months to reach my goal. Roughly 2 pounds a week. Does this sound like an attainable goal?

Lone_rider

Thanks Ritz with your kindness and your quote I think that you can do anything that you set your mind to. I am going to try to my best not to let things that I can't control worry me and work on the things that I can control like my weight.

natelutkjohn

In response to cdnguy


If you eat right and exercise, then definitly! I was 230 and started to lose weight back in August and am now 174, very close to my 170 goal which I had originaly planned on getting to by May, but it actualy went much quicker then I had planned.

Ritz

Lone Rider, I know that a lot of things can come along and bum us out, but like you said, don't worry... you added... about things you can't control, But consider stoping at those two words... Don't Worry. Read Matthew 6 when you get the chance, it might just make you feel a little better. Visit my website too for encouragement! https://www.tourdepants.com .

rockygnr

The great thing about losing 1-2 pounds a week is that the method you use soon becomes a habit. My plan was basically to maintain about a 500 calorie a day deficit and ride my bike for exercise. I figured that it took
20 years to put on the weight, so I would reverse the process. So far so good. Oh, and I just bought a pair
of 36 pants this weekend. Been a long time since I could fit into that size.

Lone_rider

Your right Ritz I find that since I have started going back to church I am more @ peace with myself. The funny thing is I get the same feeling when I am riding. Maybe I should start my Sunday rides from the church parking lot when I am not working .

Ritz

Not wanting to freak anyone out, some folks get offended by talk of our faith, I'll just say this... You are not alone! When I get the chance to ride and attend services in the same day, the only way to describe the sensation is...Sublime! Peace Brother. WWW.TOURDEPANTS.COM .

Team853

All right, I think I'm going to join this club. I need all the help I can get. I weighed myself this morning and I've hit 213, which is the heaviest I've ever been. I'm 5'11" and should probably weigh somewhere is the range of 170 or so. I turn 30 this year and I've made it my goal to be in better shape at 30 than I was at 20. Although I was skinny at 20 (probably 130 or so) I wasn't in great shape, so I think this goal is attainable.

Anyway, I'd like to get to 170 by September 2 (my birthday), but it's going to take a lot of work. Does anyone here have advice on cutting out junk food? That's my Achilles heal. I drink way too much Coke and eat too much of things like potato chips and other salty snacks. I also used to eat McDonald's and crap like that way too often, but since New Year's I haven't eaten fast food. I've tried cutting back on the Coke and snacks, but it seems like an addiction. I just can't do it for a sustained period of time. Whenever my stress level goes up, I talk myself into believing I "deserve" something I like, and before you know it I'm overeating again.

Part of the problem may be that like some others in this thread, I used to be really skinny and could eat anything and everything I wanted. I used to actually have a really hard time gaining weight. I think that period allowed me to develop really bad eating habits, which are now hard to shake.

Advice?

RON8O

Welcome to the club!

I think your comment above about developing bad eating habits hits the nail on the head for me. What we don't realize when we are younger is that we can almost eat anything we want an stay fit because of the energy we burn off throughout the day. Hell, I'd pass out if I tried to run as much as I did when I was a kid.

As far as tips go to avoid eating junk foods, etc. The best piece of advice I could give you is to LITERALLY plan out your days food. I eat healthier/smaller meals five times a day (every three hours.) My second and forth meals are usually something like a protein bar or shake (shakes are very filling), or rice cakes. I was surprised to find that they are making rice cakes now in various flavors, many of which have enough sweetness to them to curb my sweet craving after lunch (this is where meal/snack #4 comes in.) I didn't eat as I should have this past weekend, but I still stayed under 2500 calories.

Make sure you have your food for the whole day ready, if you can't take it with you, make sure you are going someplace that will make it easy on you to make a GOOD decision (read: NOT McDonald's.) This should help a great deal.

One other thing I would do is keep track of your intake, and output. A few of us in this group use www.fitday.com this site, which is extremely easy to use to keep track of your daily routine. You have the option of making your profile public or not, so maybe it would help to have others check on it for you. Here's mine if you are interested:

Good luck with your goal!

Ron

Ritz

Team853, You have made the most important step already, you acknowledge that you have a dependancy on junk food. Yea, it's starting to sound like a 12 step program, but it's the truth, once you have admitted that you have a problem, you are well on your way to fixing it. Congratulations!

Team853

Thanks Ron,

Wow, that's an excellent tool. I created a profile and have begun tracking everything. I can already see where some of my problems lie, and they're not necessarily where I thought they were. For instance, while the can of Coke I had at lunch added 151 calories, the cheese in my sandwiches added well over 700! I can definitely see how this will help me control my calorie intake. Now I just need to work on controlling my cravings!

Anyway, my profile can be found here.

Thanks again, I can't believe that's a free tool.

Team853

Thanks, but I think admitting the problem is going to be a lot easier than doing something about it. But I have a goal in mind and my intention is to get there this time. I'm eager to see how much easier climbing will be once I drop the weight!

RON8O

Yeah, I find it to be a great tool, and I'm even considering the purchase of their Fit PC version, which has more functionality to it. Looks pretty nice!

I've bookmarked your profile, and may check on it every so often. You should do the same with mine and chew me out when I've been bad.

Has anyone in this club seen the movie "Super Size Me"? I'd be surprised if anyone who saw that continues to eat McDonald's. This may be the best way to avoid the McDonald's cravings...see the movie!

Ron

Team853

I haven't seen Super Size Me yet, but I'd like to. I've heard from those that have seen it that you'll never want to eat McDonald's again. To be honest, halfway through eating McDonald's food I feel like I never want to eat it again, but something about the smell always seems to draw me in. But not anymore, hopefully.

Oh, and I'll definitely check in on your progress from time to time. I think some accountability will definitely help me.

Team853

Hey Ron,

Is there anywhere on FitDay that offers a better description of the lifestyles? I chose Seated Work, with the intention of entering any exercise I do (like biking). But I wasn't sure if Seated Work, Some Movement might not be better.

Also, what's the deal with the weight descriptions? Based on my height (5'11") and weight (213), it says that I'm severely overweight. I don't think I (or anyone who knows me) would describe me as severely overweight. I need to lose weight, but when I think someone who's severely overweight, people like John Goodman come to mind.

RON8O

You will be able to enter multiple activities, I choose "Conditioning Exercise" for work I do on my bike/trainer, and of course Bicycling for any bike rides I go on. I think their descriptions leave a bit to be desired, but I just choose what I think is best for the type of work/out I've done for the day. Today for example, I have two entires, "Bicycling, stationary, 150 W, moderate effort" for 15 minutes, and "Bicycling, stationary, 200 W, vigorous effort" for 25 minutes. I really don't know how many Watts I'm pushing so it's really just your best judgement that counts. I personally always side with the lesser of the two, so it may possibly show that I've burned fewer calories than the next option. Take a look at my Activities (you can also go back over the days that have passed too) to see how I've done mine.

As far as falling in the "severly overweight" group, welcome to the club. Although we don't "feel" that overweight, according to practically every healthcare group and government agency out there, we are in fact overweight by a lot. They say a healthy BMI (Body Mass Index) is 20-25, mine is 30.4. The BMI is just one more way to see how you are doing with your weight loss, it's calculated by multiplying your height in inches by itself (mine: 69 x 69 = 4761), then divide your weight by that number (mine: 206 / 4761 = .0432), then multiply that number by 703 (mine: .0432 x 703 = 30.37.)

Email anytime!

Ron

Team853

The problem I have with BMI is that it's way too simplistic. According to the BMI, just about every running back in the NFL is severely overweight. Now, I'm not saying I'm like a running back from the NFL, but you get the idea. Only accounting for weight and height doesn't accurately tell the whole story.

Having said all that, it's just a label and I know I need to drop the weight, so I'm not going to worry about it. With any luck I'll be out of that category in a few weeks anyway!

Thanks!

Metro1

Congrats on making the decision to change your life! And that is basically what it's all about. I'm not a believer in the word "Diet"....it's a lifestyle change big time. I think what works for some may not work for others but sometimes you can take a part of what someone may say as advice and incorporate that into your "new" lifestyle.

I changed my life as of three months ago and I have lost 30lbs., to date. But with my lifestyle change came other decisions too. I was in a very negative relationship that I had to remove myself from. And since that decision I've taken on a more positive attitude towards my health and well being.

Today I eat foods which give me energy. And not the sugar laden, high fat foods from the past.
My plan may sound a bit extreme to some but it's what works for me.
For breakfast I usually have oatmeal (not the instant kind....loaded with sugar and preservatives)and a yogurt and a banana.
For lunch and dinner I have salad....not just boring old lettuce...salads can have substance....I will mix in garbanzo beans, or another type of bean, canned/fresh red salmon, beets etc....be creative.
I'm not big on chicken or red meat. And I drink lots of water. Although a large percentage of water comes from the foods you eat. So you don't really need to over do the water quota. I use to drink soda all the time. But since I have cut it out, I don't crave it any longer.

I also keep "trigger" foods out of my house. Those are things like cheese, ice-cream, chips, soda, etc... in general any kind of 'junk'. Some people believe in moderation. I'm the type of person that just avoids the trigger foods altogether.
I also try to eat at least 4/5 other veggies and fruits a day. And take a multi-vitamin.
And of course the other "change" was more activity. I've added cycling, treadmill, (when it's nice I hit the trails outdoors) and free weights. I found out just moving gets your metabolism going. Which then becomes the furnace to burn the fat.
A book I would like to recommend is called: The Healthy Heart Miracle written by Gabe Mirkin, M.D. I think this book saved my life.
Good luck!

RON8O

I'm curious, how often does everyone here jump on the scale to check their weight?

Am I the only person that likes to wait long periods of time (a few weeks) in between weighings? My logic is that if I check myself daily, and I only see a small decrease one day, then small increase, then small decrease, I feel like it's too small of a jump. No, I'm not in a hurry to lose my weight (although it would be nice ot have it GONE), it just helps me stay motivated by seeing larger differences each time I get on the scale. Make sense?

trekkie820

After winter break, I checked it see my current weight, and nearly started crying. Lets just say that I have since repurposed and am back to strict dieting and more cycling.

Team853

I check just about every morning at the same time, mostly because the curiousity gets to me. I can understand why you'd wait though. Seeing little change from one day to the next can be discouraging.

Ritz

Once a day, Just because.

Zin

January 16, 2005.


Current weight........= 220lbs

Max weight............= 340lbs

Target/goal weight...= 180lbs (by August 24, 2005)

Distance to goal......= 40lbs

No change from the previous week, which I forgot to post here. I have started low carb to see if I can get my weight moving down. We'll see how it goes.