trouble losing weight

[B_NineInchCock_160IQ]

Hey guys.

Status update.

I'm currently at 217 lbs. Not a big loss for me, but at least I started moving in the right direction. I also think I've added a significant amount of muscle mass. My mid-section is still a bit flabbier than I would like, but I can definitely see a change, and I've been going to the gym more regularly and for a longer stretch of time than I ever have before in my life. I just spent 5 minutes looking at myself in the mirror and thinking I look damn good.

After my initial post to this thread, I made some fairly drastic changes to my diet. I cut out practically all dairy (only exception would be lowfat yogurt once in a while and recently, slim fast shakes). I cut out almost all red meat. I greatly reduced the amount of other kinds of meats but I still eat chicken, tuna, and sushi, just in restricted quantities. I cut out almost all soda, I still have a diet soda once in a while. I cut out almost all bread, though I still have a Subway sub once every 1-2 weeks, on wheat or honey oat. I cut out almost all added sugars, I get natural sugar from fruits. Recently I've also been subsisting off SlimFast shakes and snack bars- which I believe contain appetite suppressants because I've not been as hungry and I'm taking in far fewer calories. In addition to the SlimFast bars I also snack on cranberries and some other fruits, almonds and othere nuts, vegetables- mostly carrots and celery, and healthy crackers. If I eat a meal, it's usually something light combining items from above, maybe a salad, or some chicken. Perhaps a Lean Cuisine Skillet Sensation.
I still take a multivitamin, N.O.xplode work-out supplements, protein powder, calcium supplements, some herbal weight loss enhancer (which I'm pretty sure is complete bullshit, but whatever), and Omega 3 fish fat pills.

Anyway. I'm making some progress. If it keeps going this way... in a few more months... I think I could be in the best shape of my life. I've always been kind of out of shape, at least since about 2nd grade, and possibly excepting when I was 14 and playing a lot of basketball. Wish me luck. I may post some new pics if I get to a point where I think my body is really worth showing off.

 

[Principessa]

That's great NIC, keep up the good work! :smile: Sounds like you have the willpower and determination to reach your goal.

 

[Rikter8]

*DISCLAIMER - Not a WW Plug*

I signed up for E-tools with weight watchers. Its cheap per month and it allows you to check points of all the food you eat. After a couple of months, you get an idea what foods are OK...and what foods arent.

My Co-worker lost a SHITLOAD of weight in a fair short amount of time by just following the "good Food" list, and eating her daily point allowance. The first couple weeks were a bitch, as Im sure they will be for me too...but it worked for her. She was a loveable, short lil chunker, that turned into a hot momma in less than a year.

Check it out...it might help out alot. I've already been shocked on foods that I "Think" are OK...and they really arent!
C

 

[vince]

Hey, great going NIC. Losing 10 lbs in a month is a healthy rate. Are you doing some cardio work as well?

 

[Rikter8]

I've told him he needs to go to a professional dietitian. His problems are far more profound than my own. He's about 350 lbs right now.

Thyroid Problems?

 

[B_NineInchCock_160IQ]

Thyroid Problems?

I don't believe so. Unless this is a recent development, because he's had his thyroid checked out before. Considering some of the other unique medical conditions he's had to endure, it might be something similarly uncommon causing the weight problem, though everyone has always assumed the biggest part of it was that he used to eat McDonalds french fries and drink lots of Coke every day. This is only the second time in his life he has seriously tried to lose weight, the first time it worked fine and he lost 150 lbs to get down to 180, then he put it on again after the girl he lost the weight for didn't notice. He hasn't tried again since then. This time he's had almost no results.

 

[hrconsulttex]

There's some great advice in this thread. I've always struggled with my weight, since I was about 9-10 years old, but in the last few years, it's been even harder. I turned 30 and all of the sudden my metabolism seemed to slow down a lot. Then I took my current job, which requires travel every week, so I eat out in restaurants far more than anyone should. As a result, I've gained weight. I've managed to stop gaining, and keep it pretty steady, but now I'm at a point where I really want to take off what I've put on in the last 3-4 years.

So tomorrow I dust off that gym membership I've neglected for the last two months.

 

[WellHung83]

I'm eating smaller meals, say six a day with my main big meal being lunch and that usually just consists of either salmon or chicken on a bed of salad or cous cous, with water being my mainstay drinking beverage. On the training side of things I have started doing Spin classes at the gym a couple of weeks ago and when I can afford it I will join up to do the weight training on top of that.
I guess the main sticker is you have to keep active during the day, get enough sleep to let your body recover at night and also restrict the amount of empty calories you consume.

 

[DC_DEEP]

I'm happy for ya, NIC. It does get more difficult as you get older.

My weight was fairly stable until about a year ago. My doctor gave me one of those one-week prednisone dose-paks. Within a month, I packed on 30 pounds, and have been pretty much unable to get rid of it. Unfortunately, I also have some skeletal/joint issues that make some of the best forms of exercise impossible for me.

My eyes kind of glazed over trying to read some of Nantuckett's calculations, but the suggestions in the middle of his post are excellent. Metabolic "starvation-response" is very real, and is the cause of the ubiquitous weight loss plateau. Zig-zagging not just the carbs, but the calories in general, helps to prevent that.

 

[simcha]

I know this is kind of ratical but....

Why not just accept your weight? That's what I'm working on. I'm a big guy and I come from a long line of big guys and gals.

See these things:

A Fat Rant - Joy Nash

Big Fat Blog

 

[B_NineInchCock_160IQ]

I know this is kind of ratical but....

Why not just accept your weight?

If that makes you happy, fine.

Or if striving to improve yourself makes you feel very unhappy, fine.

but... why not just accept everything in your life is beyond your power to change and never do anything again? I'd rather have some kind of goal to work toward. I'd prefer to look good and feel good about myself than eat a bunch of shit food and feel like a lazy piece of crap because I live a completely sedentary life. I'd rather have more energy. I'd rather be stronger. I'd rather attract more attractive members of the opposite sex than not. yeah... it's society and the advertisers telling me that I should have a nice body. but once in a while they're right.

 

[DC_DEEP]

If that makes you happy, fine.

Or if striving to improve yourself makes you feel very unhappy, fine.

but... why not just accept everything in your life is beyond your power to change and never do anything again? I'd rather have some kind of goal to work toward. I'd prefer to look good and feel good about myself than eat a bunch of shit food and feel like a lazy piece of crap because I live a completely sedentary life. I'd rather have more energy. I'd rather be stronger. I'd rather attract more attractive members of the opposite sex than not. yeah... it's society and the advertisers telling me that I should have a nice body. but once in a while they're right.

So, when do you want to meet me at Anita's for dinner again?

 

[B_NineInchCock_160IQ]

So, when do you want to meet me at Anita's for dinner again?

haha. The mention of shit food got you hungry for Anita's, DC? :biggrin1:

um... how about whenever this rain of yours stops?

 

[simcha]

If that makes you happy, fine.

Or if striving to improve yourself makes you feel very unhappy, fine.

but... why not just accept everything in your life is beyond your power to change and never do anything again? I'd rather have some kind of goal to work toward. I'd prefer to look good and feel good about myself than eat a bunch of shit food and feel like a lazy piece of crap because I live a completely sedentary life. I'd rather have more energy. I'd rather be stronger. I'd rather attract more attractive members of the opposite sex than not. yeah... it's society and the advertisers telling me that I should have a nice body. but once in a while they're right.

Ah but that's the trick isn't it? It's all about how YOU feel. I try not to let society and advertisers dictate what I should feel about myself and what constitutes a "good" body. I've found that most often than not they are wrong and are only trying to profit from people's insecurities.

Do what makes you feel happy. If losing weight makes you happiest, then do it.

As for me, I didn't find happiness at my lowest weight. I found disordered eating patterns and over-exercise that ruined many of the joints in my body. I gained all of the weight back over the last 5 years without binge eating and while remaining active. What I stopped was harming my joints by over-use with 2 hour work-outs 6 times per week and eating way below my nutritional needs to remain gaunt.

I'm like Joy Nash. I have a very active life. I feel healthy. My bloodwork shows I'm healthy. I eat in a healthy way. And I'm still a big guy.

Diets are death. 98% failure rates mean that dieters yo yo from thin to fat many times. That's worse on the body than remaining at a constant weight. That's a fact. It's indisputable no matter what the weight-loss industry would like us to believe.

 

[NCbear]

Do you eat healthy or do you eat lots of greasy food? I'm 26 and I'm 5'10"/165lbs and I burn calories very easily, but then again I eat well (lots of fruits and vegetables, minimum red meat, chicken, pasta and lots and lots of liquid) and I exercise (weight lifting during the winter and 15km of bike a day during the summer - easiest way to lose weight, I find). How many times a day do you eat? I find it easier to control my weight when I just eat whenever I'm hungry (as opposed to the standard three-meals-a-day routine).

Listen to burns1de. He is correct.

NCbear (who can't find the smiley with the kneeling, bowing "we're not worthy" figures, but who would have used it here if he had)