Wanna Be A Loser?

turbo

As can illnesses. I have had cartilage removed from both knees (injury due to years of working on concrete floors), and now have arthritis in both, which seems to have spread to my feet and hands. If I don't watch my caloric intake, I'll pile on the weight. Now, I'm trying to keep up proper nutrition despite the respiratory problems that hinder my ability to taste food.

I love to cook and to eat tasty, healthy food, and this chronic respiratory problem is putting a dent in that.

Ivan Seeking

I was stuck at 201 for two weeks. But during that time [last Friday, actually] I had to move my new [smaller] belt down to the next notch. So with another inch off the waist, I must be adding muscle as fast as I'm losing fat.

I stepped on the scale this morning. For the first time in over 20 years, the first digit was a 1 instead of a 2! - 199. Woohoooo!!!

I was also craving something terribly... I think it's chocolate. I haven't really had bad cravings since I quit eating bread 18 months ago. Interestingly, eating something hot [spicy] seems to help.

Ivan Seeking

198. Weird, nothing for two weeks and then three pounds in five days.

Luke77

Great! Actually, some "food/nutrient analysts" have said that wheat helps you to GAIN the most weight.

Ivan Seeking

I've been hovering around 189-190 for some time now. But I have increased my workout [weight lifting and aerobics], started doing some strength training instead of just lots of reps, and have gained a lot of muscle mass - esp upper body. I am also down to about a 35 inch waist. I went through most of one belt and almost all of another one now. Only one notch left to go on this one.

At 190 I have lost a little over 50 lbs. A 50 Lbs loss was my original goal, but now the goal post has moved and a 32 inch waist is the target. Still guessing what my weight will be when I hit 32 inches.

I am starting to feel a bit on the buff side again for the first time since I was in my twenties! Yay! It feels so good to feel good again.

Oh yes, this was cool. I got the most intense case of runner's high that I've ever experienced, the other day. It was so intense that at first I didn't even know what it was. I had increased my weight-lifting routine [more weight!]. Wow!!! It was just like getting a shot of morphine.

OmCheeto

Some years back, I put all of my old blue jeans in a box, and put them in the attic.
I'd finally decided that I would never have a waist as small as that again.

Last year, I came down with an odd, weight losing disease, of which I'm still not sure what it was. But that's another story.

Also last year, our company decided, based on some very good scientific data, apparently, that they should get the entire company healthy. I joined the program, and have been quite happy to keep that weight off. Mostly because we have a 5 star cafeteria at work that has a salad bar to die(or not) for.

Anyways, I just got the box out of the attic, tried to put on the pair of 28" waist jeans, which I knew I'd never fit in again, and, well... here I am, wearing them as I type. And the blood circulation to my legs still seems to be quite normal.
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ps. I do believe this pair last fit in my Junior year in high school.
And I now have 10 extra pairs of pants!
Ah! What's this? My Lederhosen from Germany. I was 11 years old when I got those. OMG I had a big butt! hmmm... smaller waist though....

Ivan Seeking

Slow going now but my 36's make me look like a kid wearing his dad's pants, and I can step right out of them if I don't use a belt! So time to buy some 34's. One size away from by goal.

I haven't even been checking my weight. My percent body fat is changing so fast with the strength training and continuing but slowing fat loss that it doesn't mean much at this point.

Ivan Seeking

Due to my extensive lifestyle change, one thing has become abundantly clear. Fine dining and elaborate meals are the root of all evil! Eating used to be an event. And I guess it still could be if I really wanted to go to all the trouble. But this entire notion that meals are an event I think serves greatly to sabotage our health. We eat because we like to and not because we need to, and that is a big part of the problem, IMO. In the spirit of the season, consider the classic Thanksgiving meal. Jeez, I can't even imagine eating so much food any more. And the carbs, carbs, carbs, carbs, carbs... When you can't eat carbs [a bare minium] you quickly notice how many carbs most people eat. We live in an environment that is super-saturated with carbohydrates.

Eating well, I have discovered, is actually very easy, fast, and cheap. Sometimes I just eat [scarf down vegies mostly] while standing at the counter. Sometime lunch takes less than five minutes. And breakfast is just a protein drink. I still usually make something for dinner but nothing elaborate.

Now I understand why diets usually fail. There really is no such thing as an effective "diet". It has to be a lifestyle change that remains a constant. And for me that meant losing the classic breakfast, lunch, and dinner, where would I sit and eat until I'm full, and usually too full. Eating far less more often is far better. Diets don't work. Lifestyle changes do.

Just food for thought in this holiday season.

nazarbaz

That's the big issue with weight loss or control. The dedication you need is huge on the long run. So be very careful. Don't think that you've already won the war : there's so much battles to come.
A serial eater is an addict. I lost 70 kg in the last two years and I'm still haunted by bad habits. Usually, I run 60 km per week and use almost exclusively my bike to move. But I got seriously injuried lately (the bike tracks and the trafic in general are very dangerous in Paris) and my willingness to follow the training program I chose is very shaky.

Ivan Seeking

I'm about at the two year mark [down over 50 Lbs and hit my goal] as well and I'm definitely past the worst of it. But I have bit more motivation than most as I am hypersentive to carbs, so I really don't have a choice unless I want to feel terrible all the time.

Congratulations on the weight loss!!! That is a lot of weight to lose.

nazarbaz

That's great. Keep going.

Lisa!

I like to lose some weight but I eat a lot of junk food recently. That happens when I'm worried and unhappy...

Ivan Seeking

Have you hit your target weight yet or do you need to lose more?

Ivan Seeking

Hi Lisa!! Why are you worried and unhappy, the political situation?

nazarbaz

It seems like whatever I do, I can't lose weight any further. 85 kg for 180 cm. It's a bit frustrating but I must live with it, since I'm against plastic surgery for philosophical reasons.
I like the way I am right now.

Ivan Seeking

Surgery? I'm confused. What is your waist size?

nazarbaz

I don't know. It's a stressing factor and I chose since the beginning not to check my weight or my waist more than one time every three or four months.
When I started the whole operation my pants size was 62 and now it's 42 (european standards), though. Surgery could remove what's left of body fat but I don't want them to reshape my body according to their standards of "beauty". I did it to be healthy, not to look nice.