The Biggest LOOSER -- running weight loss thread

The turkey has been addressed. I don't know what your GF is talking about.

The other things are right. Having 'healthy' versions of foods is a warning about the original food and the new version.

Just less is the right idea for cheese, pasta, bread. You can swap out mayo for hummus in a sandwich. Use pita or real whole wheat instead of white.

Also, if limiting your mayonnaise intake is a key part to your diet, you are eating too much mayo.

 

With mayonnaise it’s more about using it in a recipe. Having to use a lesser amount of the full fat than a recipe might call for with light mayonnaise would probably not taste as good.

I have found plain Greek yogurt to be a good substitute though.

 

What do you use it in recipes? I use it for baked chicken tenders, but can't think of anything else other than condiments..

 

Chicken salad, tuna salad, etc.

 

Use mustard instead of mayo for those chick-tuna salads.

 

Started what is probably my 5th diet on this thread alone. At the start of lockdown, I was probably 215 or so. Looked and felt pretty good. Could snack less and drink less, but not too bad. The diet and the red wine consumption has gone for the worse over the past 18 months. Still exercising a lot, but I’ve realized that only goes so far.

So on October 1, started the new regime. No change to the exercise routine of one long walk a day and the elliptical 3-4 times a week. Healthy breakfast and a salad for lunch. Snacks are only fruits, veggie and nuts. Nothing crazy for dinner but not super strict. Only dessert is dark chocolate and a dry October. Went from 236 to 222 in a month. I have a goal of 220 by December 31 and then 215 by Super Bowl (which may be a step too far).

 

Here's a good, well-researched article in the NYT on the increasing use of bariatric surgery for teens/kids.

Bariatric Surgery at 16

I underwent gastric-bypass surgery myself as an adult, and it has been successful. But I have mixed feelings about bariatric surgery as an option for kids, and wanted to post the story so others, perhaps, could read it, and then it could be discussed.

 

My sister works at a diabetes clinic. The doctors there think at teh clinic that the new medications will largely replace bariatric surgery. Right now it is hard to find the medications. My CVS ahs a wait list. Bit production will increase.

 

I would love to hear more about that -- the medications and the prospects for widespread use, etc.

It would seem that more of things like that might be what we need, at least until some sort of lifestyle changes occur that would naturally take care of some of these childhood-obesity issues, which are definitely a real thing these days.

I find it disturbing how many genuinely fat kids there are nowadays, and how early the problem seems to be arising -- like, by the time they're 4, 5 and 6. This, to me, is largely a familial and parental responsibility. Kids need their food intake taught well and healthfully, and I don't think there are enough home-cooked family meals done these days. It's all processed, frozen, drive-through/pick-up stuff -- and, worst of all -- no physical activity in between as kids live on their phones, talking on them, playing on them, reading on them, listening music on them, socializing on them...and if they're not doing that, they're watching TV.

There are so many kids now, who, before long, will be like overweight middle-aged adults who can't run for any distance without breathlessness, would rather not walk, don't know how to ride a bike or swim, will have heart, breathing and joint-stress problems early on, and will be living their entire lives having to diet -- if they even can, in order to avoid getting even heavier. Parents are doing their kids no favors by letting youngsters eat whatever they want, whenever they want, and using food as their kids' primary motivator, to make them happy, shut them up, reward them, etc.

I remember having weight issues early on, myself -- I matured a bit early and was taller than average for my age at around 9 or 10 years old, but the actual weight problems didn't really begin until around eighth grade, so, at 12 or 13. And my weight didn't really balloon until my mid-college years, when some poor eating habits, focus on work and full-blown bulimic tendencies, combined with my what ended up being my short height (I don't think I grew, height-wise, after about 10 years old and wound up at 5-2), quickly added on the pounds.

I could be wrong, but that story makes it seem like I'm not, in that weight problems are becoming so much worse, and more prevalent, particularly in the U.S., and something needs to be done about it. That's the only reason I wouldn't dismiss or disallow bariatric surgery in kids out of hand. I know the positives that can and do occur with its use, but it is a drastic step that would seem to not really be needed in most cases among the young -- if things are done and handled right early on.

 

My Ozempic journey has begun. I paid $800 for one months supply.

I took the first shot December 23. My BMI was 42. In a week I have lost about two percent of my body weight so far though I think that will be my best week, Whenever I start a diet I lose five pounds weight right away.

My prescriptions got screwed up because I was on a waiting list and as a result I received the regular 1.0 dose rather than a smaller started dose. I felt very, very slightly nauseated for the first week. It was not bad though. I think it might of been because I did not start with the smaller dose.

Now I feel fine as long as I adjust to my new appetite. I used to consume one huge meal daily with two or three servings. Now I stop at one. If I have a second helping I the feeling of nausea starts to come back. Again, it is very mild and it really does bother me much. But I am learning to discipline my food consumption.

But I have seen a big drop in my appetite. I have also been able to cut back on junk food. I was always searching for junk food because I was hungry, damn it. Now with a smaller appetite I can eat healthier, I don't need a dessert.

My goal is reducing my BMI to 30, which is a reduction of close to 30% of my body weight. The journey has started.

 

Good luck, man. I saw a friend last night at a NYE party who is husky by nature and whose weight fluctuates wildly so I took no note that he was reportedly down 35 pounds in a just a few months. It’s because of Ozempic. I wish you both luck in your journey.

 

Sounds good, and if Ozempic can give you a start on the road to where you want to go, and be, then I'm all for it. I used my weight-loss surgery the same way.

I've not used Ozempic at all, so I can't say much about it for sure, or impart anything based on experience. But you should be aware -- you probably are, but just in case not -- it might actually have been the junk food that was making you want more food. That's a large part of why it is junk food. It's a vicious cycle, and doesn't doesn't resolve physical hunger in the same ways that healthier food does. Although it can help with emotional pain/hunger, it can actually make you crave.

But, whatever happens or whatever you use that helps you eat less, you'll find that, yes, the less you eat, the less you'll find you can eat, or want to eat as you become full faster. As you start to realize that, you'll start adjusting your eating and your portions, etc. accordingly, and, for the most part, willingly.

Good luck with it, and keep us posted if you're willing and inclined to do so. Oh, and don't beat yourself up for eating something you want, sometimes, even if it doesn't exactly fit in with dieting/weight loss. Consistency is key. And lots of protein helps, too.

Ever since my surgery, I've always told myself that what I was after was normalcy, not perfection. That mantra has worked, for the most part, for me for the last 15 years. (I underwent gastric-bypass surgery on Aug. 6, 2008).