The Biggest LOOSER -- running weight loss thread

Cottage cheese is a great late night snack, but it's too disgusting to even think about.

 

Laughing Cow Cheeses on a celery stick is a good snack. The little wedge can real tasty and is only 35 calories. Cut the celery into 2" pieces and the wedge can last for 4-5 pieces.

 

Sirs, Madames,

209 on Oct 15 (after a month of dieting and swimming).

July 1: 171.

36 waist to a loose 32

XL shirt to M

YHS, etc

 

Great job, FotF! Feels damn good doesn't it? Keep it up!

 

Dear Sir

Well done. I applaud you.

Yours,

HC

 

Nice work FOF. I imagine buying new clothes is a great reward.

Did you have any tough stretches where you felt like you'd stagnated? I'm going through that right now, haven't lost much in the past couple weeks.

 

Had my best workout in a year today, a day after perhaps my worst. Blasted my abs with 100 reps of exercises and crushed a 6-mile run on the tread. With my eye toward my first road race (a big local 10-miler) in less than three weeks, today was a big confidence booster.

Followed it with a Gatorade recovery drink (they aren't my fave, a little high in carbs, but I had a half hour drive home and wanted to get some protein and rehydration right away), a protein shake at home (46 g of protein, 3G of fat and 6 g of carbs), some taco seasoned turkey meat (leftovers) with salsa and a chicken breast.

Feeling great and ate tasty healthy food. Now watching the all-star game and wondering how well I'll be walking tomorrow.

 

Mr G

I bought a suit for a wedding right before the weight loss. David Bryrne circa Heads tour '83.

All new wardrobe, nothing salvageable. But that's okay.

YHS, etc

 

Tell me about it. Down 90 lbs means numerous wardrobe replacements. Never happier to spend money on anything.

 

It's been a while since I lurked on this thread. Actually hadn't lurked a lot in the past, but a couple times. Almost posted when I began my weight loss/lifestyle change, but for some reason didn't.

I've always been bigger, not always obese, but always big. Very broad shouldered, etc. My last year of hockey when I was 17 I was 6'4" with a playing weight of 225 lbs. In the summers I worked at a golf course, whipping around trees for 8 hours a day, so I always kept myself in check. The best shape of my life was before my second year of college after working all summer in a gravel pit. Only time of my life when I had a six pack. But the years of hockey and manual labour messed up my knees, basically wore the muscles out surrounding them to the point where they didn't hold my knee cap in place when I bent them. It became very painful. The knee specialist gave me the option of discomfort or 18 months of surgery and rehab per knee. Seeing as my career path didn't require me to be an athlete I chose the discomfort over the three years of surgery and rehab.

And thus began the great back slide.

Between never having had a proper diet and eating poorly for most of my life, something that only increased at college and as I entered my professional life, coupled with the stress of the job, terrible work hours, a quickly dropping level of self esteem and really having no one to influence me otherwise or keep me in check over the next 7 years my weight climbed to 333 pounds. Since moving to my current shop, now almost four years ago, where the hours have only got worse as has the lifestyle, the weight gain has only got worse. And I fully admit, I used every excuse in the book not to go to the gym or eat better.

Finally in late April a 24 hour gym opened in town, and I took that as a sign of having no more excuses not to go and I started at the beginning of May. I signed up for an intro to fitness course with a trainer at the gym and I wanted to die when she had me step on the scale to find my weight had climbed to 372 pounds. Keep in mind I am 6'4" and have a large frame, so I carried it fairly well, as well as anyone can carry that weight. And no I have no illusions over how big I was and still am. Definitely far too big and I believe the medical term is morbidly obese.

That began the complete change in my life. I have found a diet that works for me and I have a routine at the gym. I did have a major hiccup about a month ago where I put out my back, got sick and then got hit with a major project at work, which all combined knocked the wind out of my sails and I lost all momentum at the gym for about three weeks. But the last couple I have been going back. But I stuck with the diet, no problem, the entire time.

I have a two year goal to get back down to 225 and where I go from there, well I will push it as far as I can. I don't weigh myself very often because I don't want to become fixated on the scale -- for me it's about becoming healthy and feeling better about myself, and I am totally noticing it in the way my clothes fit and the way I feel overall. Hell i had to actually drop an entire belt size a couple of weeks ago and I enjoy not getting winded just simply walking up a couple flights of stairs. I had weighed myself after the first couple weeks and I dropped eight pounds and felt pretty good about it. The big news is I weighed myself tonight after working out for the first time since and I am down to 348 pounds, and I know it could have been more had it not been for that three week hiccup at the gym.

I know I'm not breaking any records, but for where I was, to drop under the 350 mark is a great feeling. It's a start and I have a long way to go, but I will get there.

To think I haven't had a potato chip, a doughnut, a pop, pasta, or stopped at a hamburger joint in three months for me is mind boggling, but outside of the very odd craving I don't miss it. And the diet has been easy, I don't even consider it a diet, it's just the way I eat now. The easiest way to stick to it is I make most of my meals and I don't buy any of the junk. If I want a snack I have some carrots, a salad (obviously careful with the dressing, low cal, low fat etc.) or some fruit or berries. Hell I've even taken up hiking and enjoy it. I also plan to get back to playing tennis again before the fall and skating this winter.

Gomer, buddy, congrats on your loss as well, that's awesome news. If I can ever figure out my serve you'll have to kick my ass on the tennis court sometime.

 

Beef, that's awesome. Congrats on the lifestyle change, and sticking with it.

 

Thanks KJIM