The Biggest LOOSER -- running weight loss thread

Been about six weeks since I updated.
The weight loss is still good. Total of 20 pounds since Sept. 9.

Where I'm really noticing progress is in little things, like at work, we are in the midst of moving to a new warehouse and I was able to move carts and lift boxes without feeling exhausted at the end. My heavy coat fits a lot better than it has in the past.

Gonna hit my goal in 2011. A pound a week overall is the goal.

 

Awesome! Have you had to buy any new clothes yet? That's when the real fun starts

I weighed in at 152.8 this morning, with a waist line just dipping under 33 inches. This is really good news, because it seems like - fingers crossed - just maybe that the fat is starting to melt away from my belly, at long last. The goal is to get to 31 and see if the abs start to emerge.

It's been fun to go back through this thread and see where I started early this summer and track the progress to now. It's been 18 pounds and four inches since I started participating in this thread. In 2003, I believe, I weighed 215. I started 2010 at 185. I might see the 140s before New Year's. I am beyond ecstatic.

The next few week is going to be a tough one for everyone. Remember: Moderation. And if you slip up for a night or two, just get right back on that horse.

 

We had casual (jeans/tshirt) day at work and frankly, my jeans are just too big. But since I plan on losing more in 2011, i'm holding out as long as I can.
I will have to buy new pants for baseball umpiring in February. And those might just be one-year pants instead of the typical two or three years, but that's a small price to pay for losing the weight.

Matt

 

I think that losing inches can be pretty slow going. To me, it's an accomplishment when you lose a 1/4 inch or a 1/2 inch, particularly when you start getting to those last 5-10 stubborn pounds of fat and last 1-2 stubborn inches.

Sorry, I wasn't trying to be a douche.

 

Oh, to answer your other question, vanity sizing these days makes it impossible to buy any other way but to just try everything on.

 

Dick, not trying to be a, well, dick, here, just a legit question. How tall are you again? Aren't you getting close to being UNDERweight? Major props to you for how hard you have worked and the weight and inches you've lost, but be careful about how low you try to get. I'm almost sure I'm a few inches shorter than you, and if I was in the low 150s I think I'd look sickly.

That said, I wish I had your will power and drive! I'm into working out and trying to be healthy, but not at your level.

 

The will power and drive are a little easier when the gym is like four blocks from your house like mine is!

To answer your question, I'm 5-foot-9. For what's it's worth, this chart:

http://www.healthchecksystems.com/heightweightchart.htm

... says 148-160 is ideal for 5-9 men. That's in line with most of what I've seen out there. I've seen one reputable chart that has 132 as acceptable - probably elite long-distance runners get that low. You know what I think? I think that in this country we've probably come to accept a new normal, and that new normal is being overweight. I think, also, that you read about 100 times more alarmist stories about eating disorders than you do about obesity, when obesity is the real killer out there.

I definitely don't look sickly at all. In fact, I still have a belly and some torso flab. What I suspect is going to happen is that I'll keep slowly - because it has slowed down considerably - losing 5-10 more pounds before there's not a lot of safe fat left to lose. Then I expect - well, I hope - to start packing it back on as muscle. As slow going as fat loss can be, muscle gain can be even more excruciatingly slow, from everything I've heard.

FWIW, I eat about 1,800-2,000 calories a day, at least. So you won't be watching any After School Specials about me any time soon.

I'm about 18 percent body fat right now, so there is definitely fat to eliminate. I'm just not very muscular. Poor genetics. I remember growing up my dad was really small - and still is - like 5-8, 135 pounds or so. But he always had a little belly. The term bodybuilders use is "skinny fat."

 

Ha, my gym is right across the street from my place. It's the reason I go five times per week. My will power tends to fade when it comes to eating (I do OK, but just not all of the time)!

I can't give you much advice, but I will tell you this: You'll find it pretty much impossible to add any muscle if you don't start eating about 500-1,000 (probably toward the higher end there) more calories per day. Proteins and good fats.

 

I've read other studies that say that's a myth - at least the degree to which protein is pushed. That if you eat too much, no matter what the nutrients are, you may gain fat.

But I definitely plan to work on nutrition after the New Year.

It's all trial-and-error, you know? Hopefully I hit upon the right formula eventually.

 

A few more updates, since did measurements at the gym today.
Since early september, down 2.5 percentage points in body fat. Of the 20 pounds lost, 13 is fat
Total inches lost in chest, upper arms, waist, hips and thighs: 17

I'm very happy. But as I said in the previous message, the hard work continues in 2011... A pound a week is the goal.