The Official MR Weight Loss Challenge™

[Iscariot]

You don't need to rub it in.

I'm the slim type, high metabolism in my teens (I could basically eat whatever I wanted, as much of it as I wanted and I wouldn't gain weight), but now that I've hit a more sedentary college life, I can definitely see a difference. The weight gain is not that big (I'd say 6 pounds tops, I don't have a scale), concentrated around my mid-section. Besides cutting down on the snacks (I love cookies and chocolate) and start to do some jogging, is there anything else I can do?

Oh, and is it possible to lose at least a pound or two in a month? (/wishful thinking)

You can lose a pound or two in a week. Reduce your caloric intake by about 500, and jog for twenty minutes a day.

 

[arkitect]

(I'd say 6 pounds tops, I don't have a scale), concentrated around my mid-section.

You don't have a scale?
Get a scale.

Seriously. You will fool yourself if you don't check it accurately…

Or you'll end up like those guys with huge beer bellies who insist they still wear a size 32" — only now they wear it muuuuch lower.

 

[nbs2]

You don't have a scale?
Get a scale.

Seriously. You will fool yourself if you don't check it accurately…

I have avoided getting a scale because I'd probably get on it 3 times a day, especially on days where my weigh in was on the high side.

But, I am lucky to have one at the work gym. The only frustration is that I lose the ability to weigh in on weekends or on days when I don't get a chance to work out because the commute takes longer than expected. It makes my chart look way better or worse that it should thanks to the interpolation (I think it factors those in).

 

[GradientMac]

Am I the only person in the world that realizes there's got to be something wrong with society today?

My parents never had to think constantly about the calories they were eating, what they were eating and how they were eating it, or even how much! They just ate it, they did about the same amount work that we do today [Don't let them tell you different, kids then were just as lazy, they were just lazy in different ways.] and they're thin!

Is there something changing? What's happened?

I'm not fat by any means but I would love to lose weight, but for some reason I can't bring myself to eat many vegetables. It's not really the taste, it's the texture. The way they feel in my mouth...

I love fruit though. Fruit is like... God. But you can't really live off fruit. Do I just have 'fatty taste?'

I think the problem we have now is the accessibility of food. Not laziness, not how much we work out. We can walk outside our door, the local super market is a 3 km walk but the nearest McDonalds or convenience store is 0.5km away.

Honestly, you can raise a picky eater, but there are sometimes things people just don't like. I don't like sausage, I don't like donuts, I don't like chocolate, I don't like hot dogs, I don't like pickles... I could go on and on.

I do have a few vegetables I can eat, as long as they're cooked. Soups are very good for me as I can handle the texture of the vegetables in soup, they're generally softer and they don't have that 'snappy squirt juice all over mouth' texture I hate so much.

Things I can't handle in soup:
• Leeks (They taste fine, but they're kind of chewy and I don't really understand the point of adding them.)
• Lettuce (It's bitter and doesn't add much to the flavour.)
• Pickles/Cornichons/Gherkins (The texture, the taste, the look, the colour, everything about these vegetables is like Satan in food form to me.)

Things that bother me in a huge abundance in soup:
• Onions (I understand that they are generally a huge part of the base flavour in soup, and that's perfectly fine, as onions are sweet after cooking and can taste very good, but if the soup is like 50% onion, 10% other vegetables and 40% liquid everything starts tasting like onion [obviously] and it seems like you're eating some sort of soggy onion stew.]
• Tomatoes (I really like tomatoes, but tomatoes have a very strong, rich flavour and you can't use too much of them. Tomatoes do not a good soup make, I prefer tomatoes when they are mixed with carrots, celery, garlic and onion to give them a more complex flavour. Tomatoes are otherwise kind of bitter and boring.)

Things I absolutely love in soup:
• Pasta or Barley (Adds a great texture and something to munch on)
• Peppers (Sliced small though, huge hunks of pepper add a little too much flavour, doesn't look appetizing and doesn't get soft. Spicy peppers are fine, they add a great bit of bite and an interesting flavour, but don't make them too big either. Definitely them.)
•*Cheeses (I'm a cheese person, through and through.)
• Chicken or Turkey (Softer texture, subtle taste and work well with the chicken stock that is the base of almost every soup [obviously] but also work well with vegetable stock.)

Moving away from soups and onto other foods:

Wraps and omelettes.

Can't handle:
• Raw onions. (No. Just... no.)
• A lot of Sauce/Condiments (Texture disgusts me, I literally CAN'T handle mustard or ketchup in an abundance. It tastes, feels, smells and just looks disgusting to me.)
• Crunchy Vegetables in General (To me it seems like drinking a can of soda and then randomly finding something hard and crunchy in it, it makes my hair stand on end and just doesn't seem right.)

Don't mind:
• Salsa (I like salsa, but if the veggies are huge and crunchy it just leads to the same problems with the crunchy veggies in what I can't handle. If the salsa is blended and pureed I absolutely LOVE the taste of it, it's the texture that can bother me.)
• Mayo (Can lead to the "This is disgusting" texture I mentioned before.)
• Sour Cream (It's fine as long as, again, it's not used in too much abundance, although I don't really get the point as it's not really that strong of a flavour, kind of bland.)
• Parmesan (I like it, but that stuff is 100% Proof, use cautiously)

Love:
• Oregano (Seriously, this is my favourite seasoning EVER. I LOVE it. Dried oregano is generally the only herb that tastes better dried than it does fresh, it concentrates the flavour. Most dried herbs taste like cardboard.)
• Basil (As above, but fresh.)
• Pizza Sauce (I just think it tastes awesome.)
• Steak (Yum.)
• Buffalo Mozzarella (Seriously, use as much as you want. Aughh. <3)
• Cheddar (The real stuff, and as above.)

I much prefer it if the filling is made with small, cubed vegetables with steak or meat in same pan, fried until there is caramelization and colour on all the vegetables then sprinkled with herbs at the end to retain flavour, then cheese finally and baked in the oven lastly. This combines the flavours and creates a more appealing texture to me.

There are certain foods that just bother me no matter how they’re cooked that I can’t bring myself to enjoy:

• Salad (The textures, the taste, the smell... everything about it throws me off.)
• Stew (Again, the textures and taste bother me, and the colour. It just doesn’t look appetizing to me.)
• Stir Fry (Same reasons as above.)

There are also things that I really enjoy cooked a certain way with certain things in them, that I can’t stand uncooked.

• Sub Sandwiches and Sandwiches in General (If it’s like a Salad on bread I can’t handle it. Crunchy anything throws me off, but if it’s made with say steak and cheese with some oregano and microscopically cubed peppers and broiled in the oven cheese-up it’s amazing, or pizza sandwiches with pepperoni.)
• Pizza (It’s one of my favourite foods, but the only kids I really like are Pepperoni or Cheese. Generally I like your average pizza sauce used at your local Pizza Hut or Panago. I know I said I don’t like sausage, but pizza pepperoni is an exception provided it’s thinly sliced and spicy. I prefer pizza with a thick, doughy crust. I know, I know, it’s not right then, it’s not Italian, Italians used plain old roasted tomatoes for the sauce and the pizza was thin and crispy! Well I prefer it the way it’s made today, can you really hold that against me?

Drinks:

I am the human liquid drinking machine. Seriously, I can drink a 500mL water bottle in like 5 seconds, and drink about 500 of them. One of the reasons I like drinks so much is that they can prevent me from eating if I have enough liquid in my body. The problem I have with food is that I eat when I’m bored, or when I’m not hungry and I get terrible cravings. Food kind of gives me something to do with my hands, but drinks allow me to fill my stomach enough that I don’t really want food.

Really, my drinks taste is simple. I love soda, I love pretty much anything fruit flavoured, I LOVE Iced Tea and I LOVE Iced Coffee.

Things I don’t like:
• Savoury Drinks (You know, drinks flavoured with meat or tomato juice or clams... it doesn’t seem right to me.)
• Alcohol (I cannot. CANNOT stand the taste of alcohol, and it’s illegal for me to drink it anyways.)

Now after reading this, you may be thinking that I could just do this fine, right? Wrong. The problem is I still live with my mom- I’m only 15 as of August 13th.

I have limited money supply to buy the foods that I like, I can really only eat what’s in the house and what’s available to me.

What’s the problem with that? Well, my mom’s boyfriend is a very large man who likes... well food that makes you very large. So that’s what we have...

Currently I am living alone, I am not living with my mom right now, she’s off on a little business trip thing [another debate for another time, she prefers not to trap me inside a little parental bubble and trusts me to live as an adult.] But I don’t start my job until the 28th- 30th of August. I have no cash supply, I’ve already spent it on food, so what we have in the house consists mostly of stuff like hamburger helper and Kraft Dinner [Kraft Macaroni and Cheese for those in the US]

I really want to get healthy, so I need to figure out a way to work around these obstacles. Once I get my own job, I can try to purchase the food I like, but my mom and I currently live in a one bedroom apartment [I sleep in the living room, we’re on a list for a 2 bedroom, no big.] and we don’t have much food storage space. Honestly I think we buy way too much of it [In the store, I always tell her that we have enough, because I know that if it’s there I’ll probably wind up eating it] but she basically just ignores that.

I tried to go vegan [I know, after reading this you guys must be like “That kid? Vegan? He barely likes vegetables...” but I genuinely want to be thin. Blah blah blah, I know, physical appearance doesn’t matter, blah blah blah, but I want to be happy with myself, know where I’m coming from? I want to be someone that can look in the mirror and [I’m gay] know that I find myself attractive and would want to date someone else that looked like me [provided I um, wasn’t me?], and I currently can’t do that, I don’t find myself attractive at all because I feel fat and overweight, whether the scale tells me different or not.

I don’t really know how to handle this, I can’t wear the clothes I like because I feel embarrassed when I even walk outside, I wear baggier clothes in summer and layer up because it hides what I look like because I feel embarrassed about who I am, I can’t even make myself go swimming because I’m too afraid to take my shirt off in the locker room, this is ruining my life and I have no idea what I’m supposed to do about it. I’m ashamed of my body...

Yes, it’s ridiculous and I know that, but it’s something I can’t really control and it’s just how I feel, and I need to change it. I’ve already started thinking about saving for gastric bypass surgery with my job, and I’ve weighed the risks in my head, but I just don’t know what to do!

I can’t feel good about myself, I know that what other people think isn’t supposed to matter, but it does to me, and I feel that my physical appearance says things about me that don’t really fit who I am inside. I need help with this and I don’t have any idea how to accomplish what i need to accomplish, I already have a severe case of insomnia, it seems like there’s not enough hours in the day to get a gym membership, work and go to school, study and have free time with friends.

It sort of feels like I’m trapped within this stupid cage of how I look and it’s making me feel terrible. I’ve been clinically depressed before and I don’t want that to happen again, doctors can’t help, they just tell me what I already know “Eat right, and exercise!” Well it seems like that’s something I really can’t do right now!

Am I alone in this? I just need a little help, you know?

And in case you’re wondering, this is what I look like...

http://img.skitch.com/20080819-m1aseprgwej911gjedh9uhhpep.jpg
http://img.skitch.com/20080819-86fxgyhj2an3h3u6khy7p4kd95.jpg

[No, the pictures weren’t intended for this post, otherwise there wouldn’t be a peace sign in the 2nd one, heh.]

I hope someone has the will to read through all of this, because I just really don’t know what to do...

Edit: I didn't realize how long this was, I'm sorry for the wall of text but I had to get that out of me.

 

[MonksMac]

Your post was quite long, but don't worry. Sometimes we just need an outlet for our problems. I totally understand about being limited by your environment and the people in it. It's the same way for me. I try to eat good, but it is so hard when my parents want to eat fried chicken, Pizza, etc. Unfortunately I always fail to eat well during the summer because I am alone in a house filled with junk and nothing better to do, so I eat. Also- you don't look that heavy.
Remember that you're 15 and that means you only have a couple more years until you can live on your own. Hang in there.

 

[Iscariot]

Am I the only person in the world that realizes there's got to be something wrong with society today? Do I just have 'fatty taste?'

Evolution provided us with tastebuds that determine, among other things, the sugar content in a food so that we could focus on eating foods that would give us energy. We are predisposed towards eating large quantities of tasty foods because that's what we needed to do to survive when we were hunter gatherers that had to live off only what we were able to find.

I think the problem we have now is the accessibility of food.

That's a huge part of the problem. We have access to a significant quantity of cheap, easy food, nearly none of which is actually nourishing. Foods high in sugar are easy to produce and sell much better than healthy foods because everyone has a taste for them.

Really, my drinks taste is simple. I love soda, I love pretty much anything fruit flavoured, I LOVE Iced Tea and I LOVE Iced Coffee.

Soda, fruit drinks and many commercial iced coffees contain massive amounts of sugar and calories. Three cans of soda a day will add nearly a pound to your waist per week.

I really want to get healthy, so I need to figure out a way to work around these obstacles.

As BadAndy will tell you, being thin doesn't necessarily have to do with what's on your fork. If you increase your physical activity, you can burn off the excess food and any excess weight you want to lose.

I don’t really know how to handle this, I can’t wear the clothes I like because I feel embarrassed when I even walk outside, I wear baggier clothes in summer and layer up because it hides what I look like because I feel embarrassed about who I am, I can’t even make myself go swimming because I’m too afraid to take my shirt off in the locker room, this is ruining my life and I have no idea what I’m supposed to do about it. I’m ashamed of my body...

Yes, it’s ridiculous and I know that, but it’s something I can’t really control and it’s just how I feel, and I need to change it. I’ve already started thinking about saving for gastric bypass surgery with my job, and I’ve weighed the risks in my head, but I just don’t know what to do!

I know what it feels like. From the time I hit a growth spurt in grade 10 through to the first few years of my adult life I was embarrassingly thin. I couldn't find clothes that fit (shopping in the kids section), no way was I going to be in any position where I had to take my shirt off, and I was made fun of on a constant basis (yes, by adults). One day I decided enough was enough, and I sat down and started up a calorie counting regime that would help me gain weight. At first it was a lot of hard work, and I nearly quit a number of times, but after a while it became second nature and just a part of my life. I can remember everything I eat in a day down to the condiments and it only takes me two minutes to log it all at the end of the day.

 

[MonksMac]

I really need to count my calories, but I'm afraid of people making fun of me for doing it. When you stop to think about it the amount of calories we take in each day is staggering and unless you count everything religiously you would never know.

 

[Prof.]

...and I currently can’t do that, I don’t find myself attractive at all because I feel fat and overweight, whether the scale tells me different or not.

I don’t really know how to handle this, I can’t wear the clothes I like because I feel embarrassed when I even walk outside, I wear baggier clothes in summer and layer up because it hides what I look like because I feel embarrassed about who I am, I can’t even make myself go swimming because I’m too afraid to take my shirt off in the locker room, this is ruining my life and I have no idea what I’m supposed to do about it. I’m ashamed of my body...

You're still very young and most likely, still growing. If you're careful with what you eat, when you grow taller, you will get skinnier. I'm gay too and let me tell you, it took me almost five years to say to myself... "Wow, I am disgusting and overweight and I hate my body." What I decided to do was cut back on my eating (I too eat when I'm bored and when I'm depressed) and start speed walking/jogging on the treadmill 5 days a week for 30 mins. Maybe you can do something like that? idk.

I, for one, do not think you are unattractive; you are actually very cute. You're the farthest thing from unattractive or ugly.

Yes, it’s ridiculous and I know that, but it’s something I can’t really control and it’s just how I feel, and I need to change it. I’ve already started thinking about saving for gastric bypass surgery with my job, and I’ve weighed the risks in my head, but I just don’t know what to do!

Don't get GBS! I may be mistaken but I don't think doctors will perform that surgery unless the patient is morbidly obese.

Am I alone in this? I just need a little help, you know?

If you wanna talk to someone (who is pretty much in the same boat as you) feel free to IM me on AIM @ AVAfan89. You can IM me whenever I'm online (even if it says Away cuz most likely I'm not away).

I hope someone has the will to read through all of this.

I did!

 

[nbs2]

I really need to count my calories, but I'm afraid of people making fun of me for doing it. When you stop to think about it the amount of calories we take in each day is staggering and unless you count everything religiously you would never know.

It is staggering. What I do, that helps significantly, is just jot the numbers down on a little note pad I keep at my desk. You didn't say how old you are, but if you are in the workforce and have a desk, just make a note of it throughout the day. I don't even note what it was I ate, just the number. Even more helpful is that I have the same breakfast (oatmeal) so I know exactly how many calories are in it everyday. Since those are givens, you just have to do the math on how many given kcal you will have to spare each day. Just count for those and it becomes even easier.

For the things that you can't calculate exactly, I just estimate based on previous research (500 per slice of pizza). As long as you set your limit well below your activity-adjusted metabolic rate, you'll be fine. For example, I have estimated my rate to be 2700 (1950 resting), so I target 1800-1400.

 

[nbs2]

Must...keep...dying....thread..........alive.

On a positive note, I had my first 180lb weigh-in since....well, in a long time. Now I just need to keep on keepin' on.

 

[question fear]

Huh. Guess I missed this thread when it first started, but it's timely now. :-D

I am coming off of knee surgery this past May, and pretty much the bulk of my activity has been limited to physical therapy. Recently I started swimming (once I got past putting on a bathing suit!) and it's been good, although nothing beats running (won't be cleared to run until probably late September/early October).

I am gearing up for a major focus on weight loss/regaining strength. I was in the best shape of my life prior to my injury, had come off an intense fall rugby season and was running close to 20 miles a week, life was good. Then boom, one bad hit at rugby practice and my ACL was shot...apparently it's super common for women in sports.

I will go back through this thread and look to some of the programs, stories, and ideas here for inspiration...hope to be back in good shape by next summer.

 

[nbs2]

Then boom, one bad hit at rugby practice and my ACL was shot...apparently it's super common for women in sports.

I will go back through this thread and look to some of the programs, stories, and ideas here for inspiration...hope to be back in good shape by next summer.

My wife would agree with you on that. Oh how she wishes she could get back up on her skis.

You'll find a lot of good advice here. I have found it really helpful for myself to follow through with the original challenge of posting my weight chart weekly - publishing my results to the world means slacking requires excuses that nobody other than me would believe. Of course, it would be nice not to be the only one publishing...

On a side note - does anybody have any suggestions on how to break through my current plateu?

 

[Rower_CPU]

I'm back on the wagon and starting to make progress again after plateauing for a few months.

My game plan: go from 230 pounds to 200 by January 1.
Method: Small meals frequently throughout the day, calorie deficit (using basal metabolic rate) of around 500 calories a day without activity, resistance training twice/week, cardio 2-3 times a week.

So far I've dropped about 3 pounds in the last week and a half.

nbs2 - can you give us an outline of your current program and how long you've been using it?

 

[nbs2]

nbs2 - can you give us an outline of your current program and how long you've been using it?

Heh. I should have done that in my last post.

Anyway, it's a pretty simple routine, it's M-F (I give myself S/S to recover):

Morning and evening commutes are a total of about 1.5-2m of brisk walking (with time sitting on the train thrown in) - not real activity, but enough to wake me up in the morning and relax in the evening.

When I get to work, I go for a run. I had some knee issues a while back, so I started with a really short distance - 1m. I tack on .25m every 30sec improvement in my mile pace or 15 runs. That used to be followed by 15-30-45-30-15 10lb weighted crunches until I decided to focus on burning fat before building muscle. Now, it is a run out/walk back and low weight/high rep butterflys and shoulder press. I did tweak my calf on 9/4, so I decided to use the exercise bike for 45 min on days I don't run. Makng it worse, my calf was better on 9/9, but I managed to hit my knee on one of the machines in the weight room while stretching.

As for eating, after my workout I have 16 oz Gatorade. I have a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, a fruit cup for a mid morning snack, a sandwich for lunch and a regular dinner. If I know I'll be at work late and won't get hom until after 8, I have a heavier lunch. Water throughout the day. I always leave room in my caloric intake plan for a dessert (me like sugar). I have been on a 1300-1600 calorie diet, with daily intake varying from 1200-1900.

So, that was a bit more than an outline, and probably has a lot of irrelevant material and not enough relevant. Let me know if there is anything else you need to know.

 

[Rower_CPU]

Well, IANAPT , but here's my 2 cents based on the last few years of my quest to get in better shape...

Your body adapts. This is how we evolved and thrived as a species and it hasn't changed much over the past few millenia. When you first try out a new diet/workout program/etc. you typically see results for a few weeks and then taper off. Your body is saying, "Oh, this is my new normal state and I need to figure out how to be as efficient as possible".

Without getting over my head with the bodies energy systems, ATP cycle, metabolism, etc., for me it comes down to keeping active in the sports/activities I enjoy while doing specific training to keep from getting into a mental/physical rut.

To get specific with your program, there are some things I think you might be able to try with some success.
1) Exercise
- Try some heavier weight/lower rep resistance training to shock your muscles and generate some new growth that will help with metabolism/fat burning.
- Try more full-body exercises (squat press, burpees, etc.) that incorporate the core as well as upper and lower body - you'll get an intense workout in a much shorter time.
- It sounds like all your cardio is all steady state - one pace the whole time is OK for general fitness, but your body is used to it and has learned how to be efficient. Try mixing in some intervals, hill runs, etc. to change things up.

2) Diet
- In general it looks OK, but I'd try going lighter at lunch and getting in snacks between lunch and dinner. By not putting any food into your system for a few hours you're telling your body that it might be a while before you eat again so be sure to sock things away just in case. Small meals throughout the day keep your metabolism higher and don't put you into starvation mode - then, even when you're running a calorie deficit your body will still burn up the calories.
- Also, make sure you're eating enough total calories. It's counter-intuitive, but going into too large of a deficit will put the brakes on weight loss, too as your body goes into survival mode. What formula are you using to determine your needs/appropriate deficit?

Like I said, it's not professional advice, but it's stuff I've been reading about and trying myself for a couple of years.

 

[nbs2]

Thanks for those suggestions. As far as the diet goes, I've been working off of the calculation that I go thorugh 1900-2000 calories a day at rest. I try to maintain a 500/day deficit - but mostly reducing my unneeded carbs and consuming high-nutrition ratio foods. I do try to space my meals throughout the day - each food item is consumed 2 hours after the previous. But, I also try not to eat anything significant after 7:30.

The exercise changes I hadn't considered. I hadn't thought about muscle mass consuming more calories or the need to change a running routine (just like any other exercise routine). Or more accurately - the need to change my running rate. I already run at a varying pace through my runs, but that has more to do with bad pacing skills than intention.

I guess I'll try a three-fold approach: 1) change my running routine; 2) start working on building mass; 3) not panic.

 

[Applespider]

Not be harsh but when you say you give yourself Saturday/Sunday to recover - do you undo all your good work of the week by over-indulging?

Any chance of you joining a sports club or something to do something cardio other than running? Helps keep the interest up too. Or if you're at the gym, take a look at some of the classes - promise that they're not just for girlie gym bunnies. We have men in Pump and Balance who seem to enjoy it.

Be careful if you go for heavier weights that your form is good in case you injure yourself.

 

[Rower_CPU]

nbs2
Yes, definitely try one thing at a time and give it a chance to work. For interval training in general (run, bike, whatever) it's not just small variance in pace, but working near/at your lactate threshold for a certain period, returning to a "working rest" pace (typically a bit slower than your normal) and then repeating for a few cycles. The number/duration of intervals will increase with fitness, so don't worry about starting small.

To dovetail on Applespider's comments about a gym/club, spinning (stationary bike) classes can be fantastic for interval workouts and easier on the joints than hard running.

And definitely make sure you have good form before increasing the resistance with free weights. Another relatively safe way to shock your muscles without lifting huge weights is to try drop sets, which tire your muscles out with heavier weight and then challenge you to continue with repetitions at lighter/safer weights. There's many a time when I've had a 5 pound weight make me cry like a baby at the end of a hard drop set.

 

[nbs2]

Not be harsh but when you say you give yourself Saturday/Sunday to recover - do you undo all your good work of the week by over-indulging?

Dear me, no. I'd never forgive myself. I take the days off from structured exercise. My caloric intake on Saturday is normally arount 1500-1700 and Sunday about 1200-1400. I should have been clearer about that.

As a benefit, I find that my best performance is on Monday, which I attribute to giving my body time to heal and recover from the stresses of the week.

Any chance of you joining a sports club or something to do something cardio other than running? Helps keep the interest up too. Or if you're at the gym, take a look at some of the classes - promise that they're not just for girlie gym bunnies. We have men in Pump and Balance who seem to enjoy it.

Be careful if you go for heavier weights that your form is good in case you injure yourself.

With the weights, my form is rather controlled, as all we have are a couple of nautilus machines. I'd like to use a ergometer, but we don't have one.

As for classes, that is completely impossible. I don't actually go to a gym-gym. My current employer has two fitness centers. One has classes available (as well as my desired ergometer), but is only available to actual employees. The center that I am permitted to use is open to contractors and others, in addition to actual employees.

Quick rundown of the room - two ellipticals, two treadmills, one bike, one four station nautilus (press, butterfly, leg curl/extension, pulldown), one leg press nautilus, one free weight bench/squat, dumbells, and a mat. Oh! There's a water cooler too. It's not much, but free is great and there are showers I can use.

 

[nbs2]

After making a few changes to my routine (incorporating more cardio than before, changing running style), I think I'm more sore than I've been in a while. But, it's a good sore.

More importantly, I'd like to thank you Rower_CPU and Applespider for your encouragement to stay on track. It's only one day (I don't have a scale at home yet and had an early meeting yesterday), and could easily be just daily fluctuation, but seeing the numbers make some progress was incredibly fulfilling.

question fear, how are things going for you?

 

[FoxyKaye]

I need to lose a few but I'm not quite sure I want to be a part of the challenge. Great idea though.

I'm in the same boat - I must have missed this thread last year.

But, I can say that I'm fairly tall - 5'11" (my Aunt Emma was 6'2", so it runs in the family) - and I've been doing my own weight loss program since the middle of 2006. To date, I've probably lost about 50 pounds, and I'm planning on another 50 or so. I've also dropped 4-5 dress sizes and am now back to department store shopping for most of my clothes.

The usual stuff - I cut out soda entirely (it actually makes me sick now), don't eat too many sweets and carbs, exercise regularly on a treadmill, began walking and/or biking to work, and I've started taking 20-30 mile bike rides on the weekends.

One place I've found inspirational, if not always helpful, is CNN.com's Fit Nation, which has a lot of individual stories.

Anyhow, congrats to all the people losing weight on this thread, it really is a Good Thing.

 

[Afini]

When I first started trying to lose weight, one of the things I did was "try to eat healthier".

Its not as simple as it sound sometimes, trying to cut calories while making sure you get all your required nutrients and at the same time not feeling like you have eat un-appealing food can suck sometimes.

Some people may find it easier than others, but I found a website called "Worlds Healthiest Foods" a really good tool. It had the caloric and nutritional tabs for a lot of really good foods, and it has a lot of great recipes that are low in fat and high in nutrition if you follow it.

Its a very educational, non-profit website, and it worked wonders for helping me get better on track with a healthy diet!

Hope this helps anybody working in the food part of losing weight.

Edit: *DISCLAIMER* This website is not a "fad diet lost 10 pounds in a week" site, its more of a good way to govern a permanent life style change for your eating habits, so if you're looking for a quick solution, this website won't be very interesting!

 

[P-Worm]

I saw that this thread got resurrected to some degree today, and as it just so happens, I started a work out yesterday. Today is only day two, but I'm determined to keep it up.

I don't have time now, but I'n going to read through the thread and get some pointers. I would love to do the visual chart tracking like nbs2, but I'll have to take some time later to check it out.

P-Worm

 

[nbs2]

I don't have time now, but I'n going to read through the thread and get some pointers. I would love to do the visual chart tracking like nbs2, but I'll have to take some time later to check it out.

One of the things I love about physicsdiet is that once you get through the five minutes or so it takes to set up your account (create un/pw, profile, etc), it takes me about 10 seconds to go to the site in the morning and type in my weight for the day. And then I'm done.

Now, if I could stop myself from spending another 10 minutes or so pouring over trends and trying to figure out what I did in a given span of time to manage or promote loss, or checking out the public profiles to see how others are doing (in the spirit of friendly competition), or just gazing in wonder at the dramatic changes I've seen over the last few months, I'd be happier.

Really though - it is great to be able to manage all of this info in just a few seconds a day.

 

[Rower_CPU]

Glad to hear you're feeling motivated again and back on track, nbs2.

It's truly amazing what a little encouragement and seeing some positive results can do for your confidence and commitment.

I'm feeling great on my new game plan, too, down to 225 today from 232 over 2 weeks ago.
(The blue is the actual weight and the green is the trend line)