One year down, a life time to go

[Ingersoll444]

Well a few weeks ago was my one year of the "new" me. When I hit my lowest, and decided I was going to take care of my self. How have I done? Pretty good. I started right around 265lbs. Went down to a bit under 210[one day at 205 but that was a fluke] and after working out, and trying to get the hang of a maintance diet, instead of a loose weight diet, I am now running between 215-220. I am feeling MUCH better. I look better, and eating a LOT better. Am I happy were I am? Well, kinda. I would realy like to see 200, with the added mussle. But I would be happy with 205-210lbs. I did not put it on in one year, so I am giving myself more then that to stablize. So wish me luck on the next year!!!!

[Carl]

The basics of a maintenance diet are.

Desired weight / 2.2 * 24

That is the number of calories for sleeping all day. Then depending on how active you are add some to compensate for that. I know that there are exercise sites on the web that will tell what activity will burn how many calories per minute.

[HydroHarold]

FWIW, I found that on a maintenence diet eating smaller portions more times a day staves off hunger. Your body is getting a steadier intake of calories and it doesn't hit the "hunger pang bell". Bannannanans (?), locarb bar, slices of meat wrapped around some cheese filled in my between times and made it easier to keep regular mealtime portion sizes down. The main thing is to have the healthy snack handy when the "bell" rings.

[Ken N Tx]

Maybe a good idea to get a little taller!! ROF

[Michael]

Maybe a good idea to get a little taller!! ROF

Naw, Being 6'6" tall doesn't do anything but give you the opportunity to get fatter.ROF I have been on the diet since 2003 and have lost about a 100 pounds and am at 265. Thats where I will stay and do maintenance dieting:bannana:

[simple_john]

wow, paul.. good job 45 lbs in 1 year is pretty great.... :congrats:


michael, 100 lbs...great job...:congrats:

[Michael]

Now with the Elvis voice Thank you, Thank you, Thank you....:trink40: I don't drink suds but I think this works. The doctor says I am now 5 under my best weight and He perfers I stay around 265-275 as it my best weight for my body size. The hardest thing I have ever done was lose the weight and quit smoking at the same time. I did it and I have a huge increase in being able to work outside and I have stayed the course and I feel great for a guy thats 48 years old. One of my buddies is still on the Burger Gut and I don't say a thing about his lifestlye of going to Mickey Ds and getting 3 double quarter pounders and 3 frys and a super sized diet soda. I am guessing that he is about 375 pounds and 6 foot tall.

[Ingersoll444]

Naw, Being 6'6" tall doesn't do anything but give you the opportunity to get fatter.ROF I have been on the diet since 2003 and have lost about a 100 pounds and am at 265. Thats where I will stay and do maintenance dieting:bannana:


Michael says it all right here. Being taller makes it tough to see changes. OK in a way I am lucky. Being tall[6'2"] and of large frame I can hold a lot of weight. But my down fall is that I put it on eavenly, and then one day you say"OMG where did this weight come from??!!??" But it is good, becouse wile others are fighting to get to 160-170lbs, I am doing good at over 200 :D

[Ingersoll444]

Maybe a good idea to get a little taller!! ROF

Does remind me of that line from Chears though

"What you up to Norm?"
"My normal weight if I was 7 foot tall"

[Michael]

The biggest problem as I see it is not the adults (we can control our weight) but the mini-blimps I see waddling around. One thing my wife and I did for our son who is large like me is the fact that he was made to go outside and stay outside playing when he was growing up and helping me when he was a teenager. I always made sure that he was working on physically demanding work. Now that he is 28 years old he is a inch shorter then me but at the same weight as I am. A big healthy adult. Some of his friends already are having health isues and they are same weight.

For me is the shock that I had when I went to 30th year class reunion and to find out that 14 of the 105 folks that I graduated from high school are already dead. 2 from traffic accidents, 1 was a policeman and killed in the line of duty, 2 in the military and the rest from heart attack and stroke. A even bigger group are going to be gone in the next few years as the weight gets them. I was shocked by the fact that at least half of my class was overweight and the vast majority are about 2-3 years older then me (I graduated 2 and half years early from high school when I was barely 16). I guess they just never stayed active and let themselves go. Yeah I know that dieting is (believe me I know) but death is even harder and I want to see my 3 grandkids grow up.

[Ingersoll444]

That is VARY scary with the kids. I have tryed VERY hard to tech my daughter the right way to eat, and the right foods. Granted its hard for me, becouse I dont realy have all the best tools to do that. There is very little candy in the house, and it is only given for very rair special accations. NO SODA!!!!!!!! The kid is 3 and has NEVER had any and if I have my way she won't. It realy frosts me too becouse some people almost forse candy on kids. My Mom does all the time, and I always get into an argerment about it. Kids CAN live without sweets. They dont NEED it. What they need is the love and affection of there parents.

[Ingersoll444]

Well guys... Figure I would bite the bullet, and update this post from a few years ago....

Sad to say, I did not hold out. :( After the birth of our second kid, I kinda went through a bad time. Lot of stress, and other stuff... Well long story short, Im back where I started. :(


The good news is I KNOW I can do it. Becouse I have before, and Im on the track agean to do it. Been working on it about amonth, and dropped about 5lbs so far, and finly starting to get going good, and hopefully it will drop off agean. Wish me luck!!!!!!!

[Wizard99]

Best of luck, a good weight for me is about 190. I switched jobs about 3.5 years ago. and now I work at a desk 97% of the time. Since this I have gained about 70 lbs IN THREE YEARS. and man does it take its tole on your body and what you feel like doing. Its a viscious cycle. But I will take this post as an inspiration and try to get some will power and work along with you. Lets keep each other posted. I will check my weight again tonight.

[bontai Joe]

In 2006, I weighed 330 at the peak (I'm 6'-3" tall) In the simmer of 2008, I weighed 260. How did I do it? The stress of a premature baby being born by emergency c-section and the sudden need to work 2 jobs got me away from sitting in front of the TV stuffing my face all night. My real job is sitting in front of a computer all day, so including my commute in the car, I'm sitting 11 1/2 hours a day. The 1 1/2 years I worked nights and weekends, I was on my feet every minute, constantly picking up 10 to 20 pound hunks of meat and cheese in a deli. Not strenuous work, but much more active than pushing a computer mouse around. I quit last July and I've crept back up to 290 and I feel it! My new pants don't fit anymore, the new holes I punched in my belt don't get used anymore, my back is beginning to bother me again. I was a REALLY bad boy during the holiday season with all the goodies available to eat. I absolutely LOVE pie, fruitcake, cookies, candy, pastries, etc. So I've promised myself to NOT go over 300 again. Another fault I have is I'll lay on the couch and not exercise because my back hurts, and I know that my back hurts because I haven't been exercising. So I decided this year that if I'm not working outside the home at night, I'm going to work inside my home as if I was on a paying job, not watch TV just because it's there, but start on the "honey do" list with ernest.

[FlCountryBoy]

I've dropped about 30 pounds over the last 6 months. I'm 6 foot and was up to 310 lbs. I was a paramedic for years and the setting waiting for calls and eating junk food pushed my weight from 240 on up to about 290. About 4 years ago, I had next surgery and went from being some what active to laying on my back and allowed my weight to get up to the 310. My doctor started me on 25 mgs of DHEA a day (it's a natural male hormone) and it's helped to drop the weight. I also try to get out every day and do something in the yard for an hour or so. I can't do a lot of heavy lifting but just riding or pushing the mower or picking up branches, gets me going and makes me feel better. Check with your doctor and see if DHEA is for you. For women the dossage is 5 mgs a day. I've also eliminated all sodas from my life and drink only water.

Dave

[Brad]

Congratulations to those that have, or are, and best wishes to them that are. It's a tough one and you are all to be commended!

[Volfandt]

I feel your pain bro's. After going for nearly a yr watching everything I ate and forsaking many things I loved, I dropped 38 lbs and was pretty happy w/the way I felt.
Unfortunately my maintenance regime sucked.... I'm now bouncing back up between 15 to 20 lbs and this vessel that supports my soul doesn't like this extra weight. It reminds me every day with additional ackes and pains etc...
In any case, y'all are not alone. I'm with ya on the losing weight wagon.......

btw, whats up w/a 6oz piece of chocolate pie turning to a lb over night?

[DYT4000]

Early in Dec I was just feeling awful...no energy and lethargic. I started the South Beach diet and so far have lost 15lbs and feel a whole lot better. Funny thing is, I almost eat better now than I did before!

[DJFaninTN]

In Nov 2008 I was feeling tired all the time plus I felt like someone had just whipped me with a 2x4. I ached all over. I kept going but knew something was quiet right. I finally broke down and went to the DR's office.

After several blood test they discovered my thyroid was extremely low. In fact they said it was at a dangerous level. So we started on medication and finally got that balanced out. I slowly felt better but I had slammed on the weight. I got to 255 lbs and I've never been that big before.

After the holidays I made a decision that I was going to lose the weight. The wife and I got a treadmill. The first week or so I was having trouble making one mile. I hurt all over. My legs were nothing but rubber!

But here it is the third week of January and I am up to three miles a day. I am not setting any speed records on it but I can do it. In fact today I spent some of that time actually running. Yep it hurts, but I am not quitting. It is something that I want to do.

I am trying to eat better as well. In fact I am tracking everything I eat. I found a website called Fit Day. You can track what you eat and all you activities. So far its a good tool to see what you are doing.

And the weight? Well I stepped on the scale this morning and I weighed in @ 239. Not too bad so far.

Best of luck to each of you trying to get that weight off. You can do it!:thThumbsU

[Ingersoll444]

After the holidays I made a decision that I was going to lose the weight. The wife and I got a treadmill. The first week or so I was having trouble making one mile. I hurt all over. My legs were nothing but rubber!




Oh I know!!! I have a excersize bike, and the first four days on it, I could not eaven get a good cardo workout, becouse the mussels were giving out before then!!!!:Stop: Doing better now. Did a full 30 min last night. I set up a TV down in the workout room. Best move I ever did!!!!! A LOT less boring!!! I can pace my bike workout now also. I up the speed, and intensey during the brakes, and slow, and get my wind during the show. Works well. :D Im adding some weight lifting during during the work out every 5 or so days a week

[Ingersoll444]

Well still been doing well. Working out almost every night, and eating a LOT better/less!!! Almost ten lbs down!!!

[DYT4000]

Good job Paul! Keep it up!!!:bannana:

[BOSOX]

Keep it up guys! It's not easy!
I'm 5'7" and 200# and have been that way for 20 years. I walk all day at work (11 miles or so last I checked) and still can't regulate my diet to lose weight. Got plenty of aches and pains and the Dr.'s warnings to drop 20-30#s . My biggest problem is I don't eat the veggies, can't get them down. I envy people who can eat a salad before dinner. Another problem is I'm on my feet for at least 8- 10 hours at work and have very little left for excercise when I get home. (all I want is to eat dinner and get off my feet) I do keep busy most days with my daughter and work around the house but going for a walk with the wife and kid is out of the question(the dog isn't too pleased either). Anyhow , you guys are inspiring me to take another look at losing weight. I do like to ride my bike and am going to get the family riding again in the spring , we love to ride the bike lanes of the Cape Cod Canal, it's never boring always something to see. Enough bending your ears, have a good day folks.....:goodl:

I'm not over weight, I'm under tall! Vertically challenged! That's all...

[Ingersoll444]

One day I rode the rail trail on the cape form Dennis, to the seashore!!!! THAT was a ride!!!!!!!!!!!

The canal one is nice, but I think I like the trail from Falmouth to woods hole the best. Not that long, but real nice trail!!

[woodsy]

I started the Atkin's diet just after Thanksgiving at my Dr's ( a cardiologist) request. I'm 5'9 and was at 215 lbs. I've lost about 15 lbs. so far and it has not been that difficult. If you get the book and follow the rules, you end up eating a very balanced diet. My goal (5 lbs. at a time) is to get down to about 180 - 185 lbs.

I know everybody calls it " the caveman diet" but you are instructed to eat various vegetables (i.e. salad, broccolli, etc...) along with the protein portion (various meats, fish, etc...) of the plan. Once you get past the first few days (without alot of carb's) it becomes pretty easy. My wife has been on it as well for about 2 weeks and agrees that she feels much better. I think she has lost about 5 lbs. so far.

Keep up the good work and you'll see improvements. I know how hard it is sometimes to stay on-track but the rewards outweigh the negatives. Losing the weight provides a good incentive to stick with it.

Stay positive and good luck to all!

[HydroHarold]

"Walking" is only useful for weight loss if you are walking enough to get up a sweat and keep it for at least 15 minutes. "Aerobic sweating" is the only way the body will lose weight other than reducing calories (boring!:D).

I did the Atkins years ago with excellent and fairly quick results. It's one of the only "diets" where I could feel satisfied after a meal... which reduced the craving for M&M's.

I also found that the proper amount of fiber supplement and plenty of water is a help during dieting. "Fiberchoice" crunchy tablets taste good (orange anyway) and go down easy, and if you need to they make them in a sugarless form. You might think this doesn't mean squat... but it does help.