Weight loss thread

Gary W. Graley

Gary W. Graley

“Imagination is more important than knowledge"
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Mar 2, 1999
Messages
27,479
This year I'm determined to gain/lose back the weight that I lost before
taking the job I currently have, the stress of it's initial start caused me
to lose my focus and return back to poor eating habits out of stress.
I had lost a bit over 50 pounds but in this new job I gained 30 pounds back
not a good thing! My main goal is not so much weight but to get into
size 32 waist pants again, which I had JUST attained prior to being directed
into the new position, now I'm into 36/38 so I have a ways to go!

Towards that I'm riding my bike at lunch time, do run my errands and excercising
at night as well as cutting out a lot of nasty things I've taken to eating lately.

I also made a small sign that I put on my fridge last night, made my wife and
youngest daughter chuckle but for me it will be a constant reminder of my
goals. I also have an 8 x 10 posted on my wall at work too! Here is a screen
capture of what that sign looks like ;)

garyrules.jpg


To everyone else that is trying to battle a weight problem, I wish you much success, one book that I've use with good results is Harvey Diamond's 'Fit for Life" one and two
G2
 
Sounds good to me. So far I've lost 6 lb last month. Not too bad. If we can keep a long thread going that would be great. Also, a great way to lose weight is give yourself a financial incentive.... ie. give a loved on or friend $20 for every week that you don't find yourself a bit lighter. It works wonders.
.
Also, Gary, that sounds like a winning plan, now STICK TO IT!!! ;)
 
Hi Gary, thanks for the thread. At 40 years of age (7 years ago), I found myself at a body weight of 250#s at 5' 8". Not good, to say the least. I looked in the mirror just after getting out of the shower on my 40th birthday and thought "I look like Jabba the freakin' Hut." Long story short. I found 'The Protein Power Plan' by Mike and Mary Eades, MD's. and lost 50 pounds in about four months and felt fantastic while doing it. Had more energy and enthusiasm than I did as a kid. I could list all the other positive benefits of going on this diet, but it would take an essay to do so. Let's just say it corrected about a dozen different health problems I'd been having for years, almost majically.

The bad thing for me was that, slowly and surely, I went back to many of my old eating/drinking habits and am now up to 240 again. I don't feel as bad as I did at 40, but I'm losing much of that positive benefit I'd gained before. I had just made a commitment, two days ago, to get back in the saddle and eat right and lose the extra pounds again. I'm glad for your post, because it's nice to know someone else going through the process, as a kind of moral support.

I wish you the best of luck and luck to any other forum members who may be thinking of the process, or are going through the process as we type this. Perhaps we can all give aid, information and moral support to each other to ensure success for everyone.
 
I'm in. I'm 32, 6 foot 1 and currently weigh 236. I'd like to get down to at least 210. When I was in college and for a year or two after I weighed around 190 but I'm not sure that is realistic at this point as I was playing lacrosse in school and worked as a bike messanger after that. I recently found a pic of me on my bike at age 22 and relized how out of shape I am. I pulled out the old steed last week and have cleaned her up to start riding.
Patrick
 
Thanks guys, I think it is good to support each other to add incentive.

Hopefully it will be a good summer for all of us!
G2

PS I am 5' 6 1/2" and when I was at 225, that was a bunch! I have
a fairly strong build, shoulders and chest so not all the weight was
waist ;) but I'd run a lot better at 170 or better 160 :)
When I lost that 50 I was very trim at 175, now back up to over 200
I'm not too happy :( but I know I can do it, lost that weight, held it
off for over a year by eating properly and excercising, so back at it!
G2
 
YOu can do it, doc says I've lost about 45 lbs. Treat yourself once a week, but stick to your eating plan and excercise.
 
Gary,


Have you had to take any supplements at all? I pretty much cut out junk foods, white bread, and tv dinners, and I'm finding that I feel a bit more tired lately, as well as feeling hungry more often. I wasn't trying to, but I also lost quite a bit of weight over the past month and a half, down from 175 to 160. Usually that wouldn't be that bad, but since I'm right around 6', it's kind of noticeable. Do you find that you need to eat more when it's healthier food?
 
You might not be getting enough sugar, or your body isn't used to the lower amount of sugar. Either way, before doing anything drastic, you should cough up the money and speak to a nutritionist. I haven't, but I really should too.
 
I'm with ya

I decided last week that I either had to buy new pants or start losing weight. I had always told myself I didn't want to get over a size 38 waist. I can get by on a 36 with jeans, but lately fewer of my jeans are fitting.

I had done the Atkins diet a few years ago. I was also lifting weights every night at that time and I got myself in probably the best shape of my life. But marriage and two kids (third one come out tomorrow) later, things have settled again.

I've been one week on what I call a modified low carb diet and already the clothes are fitting better. Basically I cut out all bread and pasta and try to stick with meat, cheese, vegies (lots of salads), fruits, nuts and eggs. I figure I'll do this for another week or two to get back under control and then slowly add a few more carbs in, but try to keep my portions under control.

The biggest thing for me is just getting into the mindset and getting the willpower to not grab a couple candybars every afternoon, stay away from the cookies and cake, and drink diet soda and lots of water.
 
I'm there -- I'm up to 200 pounds which is the most I've weighed in my life. I'm 5'10" and when I quite smoking and hit the age of 27 I went from about 165 to my current weight. Any suggestions on websites or plans for eating right? I really don't care about the weight so much, just not so big on the little tummy that came with it. :D
 
Chris Mapp said:
Gary,


Have you had to take any supplements at all? I pretty much cut out junk foods, white bread, and tv dinners, and I'm finding that I feel a bit more tired lately, as well as feeling hungry more often. I wasn't trying to, but I also lost quite a bit of weight over the past month and a half, down from 175 to 160. Usually that wouldn't be that bad, but since I'm right around 6', it's kind of noticeable. Do you find that you need to eat more when it's healthier food?
Click to expand...


Chris, Just some guesses, as I'm not an expert. But, I have read a lot of nutrition related books in the past seven years. Your body can burn either sugars/carbohydrates for energy or it can burn fats for energy. It will burn sugars more easily than fats, as a general rule, but will burn fats much more effeciently, given the chance. Here's the problem. If you eat quite a bit of carbohydrate on a regular basis your body has the enzymes on hand to burn carbs as fuel, and will do so as long as you keep providing carbohydrates for it to use. However, if it uses carbs for fuel, it will not use up much in the way of stored fat, because it hasn't produced enough fat burning enzymes to burn fat easily. If you provide a little carb on a regular basis your body will use it till it's gone. Then you get tired cause you're "out of fuel," so to speak.

If you want to use bodyfat (but, at 160#s, you're certainly not a fatboy, like me) or fat in general to use as fuel you need to eliminate carbohydrate as a significant source of fuel for a good period of time. Your body will produce fat burning enzymes in sufficient quantity to then use fat as a regular fuel source. If you're hungry all the time, perhaps your body is telling you it needs something for fuel. But you're not giving it an either/or situation.

My guess is that you need to decide whether you want to burn fat or carb for fuel and make a conscious effort to put your body into a fat burning or carb burning mode of metabolic operation. If you're hungry all the time, listen to your body and eat according to your decision (ie:carb or fat). But definitely take silenthunter's advice and go see a nutritionist, if you're really concerned. Also, if you want to learn more about metabolism, I recommend 'The Protein Power Plan' or 'The Protein Power Lifeplan' by Michael and Mary Dan Eades. They are medical doctors, have studied a great deal of research and will explain all the above much better than I do.
 
Haven't tried the supplement things, just want to 'CHANGE' how I eat and make it stick so no real diet type of thing ever seemed to work.

I would suggest getting those two books by Harvey Diamond, checkem out of your local library to stay on the cheap and then if you think it's worth it, buy them for reference.

The main thing for me was to eat only fruits in the morning, as your body is still processing what you ate the night before.

Also I usually don't drink 'with' a meal but later on after a meal, unless the meal is extremely dry fair, there will be enough moisture in it to suffice. The reasoning behind that is the enzymes (sp) in your stomach can be diluted with the water as you eat, so let the little buggers do their thing un-diluted.

Also not to eat after 7pm a biggy as well, unless your day starts later, then just shift it so that you don't eat a few hours before you lie down to sleep.

The biking thing, well that is an extra plus now a days with the gas prices! :eek: what I do is trick myself so that I'm not 'exercising' but doing errands, like today, I rode down to the post office, then across town and up to the dvd rental place and then back across town to work, wipe myself down in the bathroom, change my clothes and get back to work.

At night, nothing too crazy but some circuits of free weights.

As I say, I hope to be back into 32 waist pants by Sept, we shall see!
G2
 
Well, two weeks down, system is pretty easy to follow
lost a little over 12 pounds so far, clothes fit much better
but still in into the 32" wasit size just yet, another month
or more and I hope to be there!
G2
 
Great thread, G2.

Starting on June 9, I finally decided to do something about the weight I've accumulated in the last five yrs. I have quite a large frame, but I reached an all time high of 274 lbs on June 8 and could no longer hide it. I weighed myself today, after a nice hike into the mountains, and have lost exactly 30 lbs.

My plan has been no or low carbs, and plenty of exercise. I feel great, look really good, and have plenty of energy.

My target weight is 200, with a solid 10 lbs of extra muscle that I've lost over the last five years-- while I was gaining the fat.
 
I'm still in. So far I have stopped drinking soda (down from 2+ liters a day) and am eating smaller portions. I now weigh 230 lbs down from 236 on 7/13.
How's everbody else doing.

Patrick
 
Good for you G2, and the rest of you guys also. The doc told me I should also lose some of the old poundage and recommended a book. It is unlike any diet book I have seen. Interesting stuff. "The Way to Eat, A Six-Step Path to Lifelong Weight Control" by David L. Katz, MD.
 
Twelve punds in two weeks, Gary. That's awesome. I've been going for better than two weeks and have only dropped six, so far. But, if ya put down a half gallon of chocolate ice cream on a binge somewhere in there, ya can't expect miracles. Overall, I'm doing good, though. It'll come off.
 
Way to go G2! You've done it before, you can do it again.

I've been reading a blog by a guy that has lost around 60 pounds in a year, and all he has done is start riding his bike everywhere he goes. He even sold his car (his wife still has one) so that he isn't tempted to quit. His goal was to lose weight without giving up the foods he loves.

Sounds like you are up to speed though.
 
I would reconsider the "only fruit before noon" thing. That makes your energy source almost all sugars, which is not a good idea for any meal. Fruit is good, but that's a lot of sugar.

I also wouldn't go for the rule about only carbs or only protein in a meal. You are better off eating a small amount of protein before any meal. I find a small amount of nuts (lots of protein, not a lot of saturated fat) before a meal really helps me to feel full without eating too much. The worst thing you can do is eat in the reverse order, like the way they give you bread before your meal at restaurants. You could eat half a loaf of bread in no time and still be hungry for a burger or steak. Bread is actually only filling in large amounts, but 1 or 2 slices are about all you need for a balanced meal. I try to include chicken, fish, beans, or a soy-based item, and I eat those things FIRST, followed by whatever fruit or veggie I have. I try to save bread for last, and when I manage to do that I usually find I don't need it anyway.

Of course, if you are losing weight and are happy with your current plan don't mess with it. :)

Getting back to fruit, I try to avoid juice. Juice is almost a scam because juice tends to be short on the things that are supposed to make [whole] fruit good for you. It has a lot of calories in a small amount, so I think it should be as full of good stuff as possible. It is also tempting to have juice as a with-the-meal drink, which I find makes it hard to control my intake. I tend to gulp the yummy juice down and want more before I am done eating. Better to have a piece of actual fruit after I eat protein/fiber/veggies.

I usually drink water or diet drink with my meal. Diet coke is 0 calories, and no caffeine if you choose that variety, but I find it helps me to feel like I am consuming something and along with protein at the front of the meal I feel a lot more filled with a small amount of calories following it.
 
Gary, I've found that not eating any refined carbs for dinner helps tremendously. I usually do a grilled meat and a grilled or steamed veggie. Also, you can eat protein and carbs together, just not carbs and fat. Something else that works well is not drinking any beer, ever. When you drink, make it vodka on the rocks (Belvedere or Grey Goose) and don't eat two hours prior to drinking and not again until the alcohol has burned off (basically when you sober up). Sorry if I sound like a know it all...but I'm into fitness and have experimented alot. Good luck with your weight loss. You're determined to do it and that's most of the battle right there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top