The Biggest LOOSER -- running weight loss thread

[HC]

I started eating a lot better about three weeks to a month ago, and I'm really starting to notice it.

As a broke 20-something writer, I haven't invested in a scale yet but I had a real "Holy crap" moment about two or three days ago. I was doing laundry day and a shirt that I haven't been able to fit into for quite a while was brought out. Usually I'd have a little gut protruding through the bottom (yeah, it was one of THOSE shirts. Sorry for the image) but it actually fit. It was a little snug, but it wore correctly for the most part.

That, and I've lost two belt notches as well as feeling my class ring slip and slide a lot more than it used to - I may have to invest in some tape for it.

I have a long, long LONG way to go, but this is the first time I've really sustained this kind of habit this long and I'm really proud of myself.

Congrats!

 

[TheWritingWaffle]

I started eating a lot better about three weeks to a month ago, and I'm really starting to notice it.

As a broke 20-something writer, I haven't invested in a scale yet but I had a real "Holy crap" moment about two or three days ago. I was doing laundry day and a shirt that I haven't been able to fit into for quite a while was brought out. Usually I'd have a little gut protruding through the bottom (yeah, it was one of THOSE shirts. Sorry for the image) but it actually fit. It was a little snug, but it wore correctly for the most part.

That, and I've lost two belt notches as well as feeling my class ring slip and slide a lot more than it used to - I may have to invest in some tape for it.

I have a long, long LONG way to go, but this is the first time I've really sustained this kind of habit this long and I'm really proud of myself.

Congrats!

Thanks! Right now I'm not doing much working out other than my daily trips up and down my apartment stairs, just eating a heck of a lot better than I was before.

Most of my meals come in the Lean Cuisine/WW variety (which I know have a sodium problem but they're still helpful), and the points system helps give my eating some accountability. Leaving no room for guesstimation really helps me stay disciplined.

On top of that, it leaves a good bit more money in my pocket. Going to get anything from a fast food place was going to cost me 6-8 dollars every meal. With the pre-made meals, they're usually about 1.75-3.00 apiece depending on which types I get. That extra money can go towards fruits for breakfast, or mid-day snacks like almonds, pistachios and carrots. Having more money to buy foods that are typically a pinch more expensive doesn't hurt.

 

[HC]

I started eating a lot better about three weeks to a month ago, and I'm really starting to notice it.

As a broke 20-something writer, I haven't invested in a scale yet but I had a real "Holy crap" moment about two or three days ago. I was doing laundry day and a shirt that I haven't been able to fit into for quite a while was brought out. Usually I'd have a little gut protruding through the bottom (yeah, it was one of THOSE shirts. Sorry for the image) but it actually fit. It was a little snug, but it wore correctly for the most part.

That, and I've lost two belt notches as well as feeling my class ring slip and slide a lot more than it used to - I may have to invest in some tape for it.

I have a long, long LONG way to go, but this is the first time I've really sustained this kind of habit this long and I'm really proud of myself.

Congrats!

Thanks! Right now I'm not doing much working out other than my daily trips up and down my apartment stairs, just eating a heck of a lot better than I was before.

Most of my meals come in the Lean Cuisine/WW variety (which I know have a sodium problem but they're still helpful), and the points system helps give my eating some accountability. Leaving no room for guesstimation really helps me stay disciplined.

On top of that, it leaves a good bit more money in my pocket. Going to get anything from a fast food place was going to cost me 6-8 dollars every meal. With the pre-made meals, they're usually about 1.75-3.00 apiece depending on which types I get. That extra money can go towards fruits for breakfast, or mid-day snacks like almonds, pistachios and carrots. Having more money to buy foods that are typically a pinch more expensive doesn't hurt.

Hey, my original fitness committment 3 years ago was to walk to the streetcar stop instead of taking the connecting bus. It's at most a 10 minute walk but those baby steps led to more and more ....

As for food, do you cook at all? There are all kinds of cheap and easy recipes out there on the internet. A stir fry is dead simple and you can make enough for several meals.

 

[Smash Williams]

I'm back on this scale after a successful 25-pound weight loss four years ago was undone by a back injury, then a move when I stopped working out.

So I'm back above where I was originally (211 to start, eek) and down to 203 since Jan. 1. I'm an extraordinarily picky eater, which has its drawbacks. My favorite stuff is all oh, so terrible for me. So instead of doing completely unsustainable diet changes, I'm going to do what worked the first time around - eat smarter amounts of the food I like (one slice of pizza instead of 3) and eat fewer meals spread over a more reasonable time rather than backloading everything like I used to.

I have both the advantage and disadvantage of already playing ice hockey once a week. So it's definite cardio, but my body is used to it. I'm trying to add cycling in front of the TV every other day as well as some simple strength training three times a week. Again, I want it to be sustainable over the long run.

I don't want to be skinny. I'll never be skinny given my family's build. But I would like to get down to the 160 range (I'm 5-5ish for reference). Hopefully it will also help with the asthma, which has been a giant pain recently with some of the weird weather.

 

[bigpern23]

I'm back on this scale after a successful 25-pound weight loss four years ago was undone by a back injury, then a move when I stopped working out.

So I'm back above where I was originally (211 to start, eek) and down to 203 since Jan. 1. I'm an extraordinarily picky eater, which has its drawbacks. My favorite stuff is all oh, so terrible for me. So instead of doing completely unsustainable diet changes, I'm going to do what worked the first time around - eat smarter amounts of the food I like (one slice of pizza instead of 3) and eat fewer meals spread over a more reasonable time rather than backloading everything like I used to.

I have both the advantage and disadvantage of already playing ice hockey once a week. So it's definite cardio, but my body is used to it. I'm trying to add cycling in front of the TV every other day as well as some simple strength training three times a week. Again, I want it to be sustainable over the long run.

I don't want to be skinny. I'll never be skinny given my family's build. But I would like to get down to the 160 range (I'm 5-5ish for reference). Hopefully it will also help with the asthma, which has been a giant pain recently with some of the weird weather.

If I may make a suggestion, you don't have to give up the foods you love if you make them in a healthier fashion.

Pizza is my favorite food, but I rarely order it anymore. What I do instead is buy whole wheat dough, reduced fat cheese and top it with turkey pepperoni and red peppers. My pizza ends up having about 12 grams of fat in the entire pie (as opposed to about 11g PER SLICE in a Domino's pizza), good carbs (brown instead of white), and about 25g of protein.

It's not something I would necessarily eat once a week if I'm trying to lose weight, but I can eat it occasionally and still get my pizza fix. Now that I'm in maintenance, rather than weight loss mode, I can eat it more often. Though I do try to stick to two slices instead of three.

I still eat tacos, chicken nuggets, buffalo chicken sandwiches, etc. However, I cook almost all of them myself (I rarely eat out because of both cost and health considerations) and I use healthy ingredients that make them taste just as good, if not better than what I was used to.

When I was really shedding the pounds, I ate a pretty strict diet six days a week and allowed myself one "cheat" meal (usually on Fridays so I wouldn't have to cook) where I could eat whatever I wanted, a burger, a steak, whatever. I found that I usually lost two or three pounds when I weighed myself after the cheat day because the shock to my body's system sped up my metabolism.

That cheat day allowed me to not feel as if I was missing out on my favorite foods, but six days a week I was eating great. Nowadays, I find that all those different healthy meals I ate six days a week just became a part of my natural diet. I tried lots of new foods and found tons that I really enjoy that I never would have tried before.

Good luck and let me know if you want any recipes!

 

[TheWritingWaffle]

Just jumped on the newly acquired scale and have lost about 25 pounds since I started my new writing job back in October. I think I put on weight in the three months between being hired and starting this in January, but since I have no way of knowing, I'll just use my hired weight as my starting weight.

The 25 pounds I lost puts me below the weight I was at when I went to [Waffle's College] my junior year. I'm pretty shocked.

Like I said a couple of weeks ago, there's still a LOT LOT LOT to lose, but to be honest I'm on the verge of tears at the moment. This is the first time my weight has gone in the RIGHT direction in...probably ever.

 

[HC]

Congrats, WW! That's awesome.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Congratulations!

One thing I'm battling right now is a huge sweet tooth that I've developed. I need to muster the discipline to kick the habit.

 

[Gomer]

Great news Waffle. Mind sharing any secrets you've learned?

 

[TheWritingWaffle]

Right now, I'm doing the Points system Weight Watchers has. When done correctly, it works like a dream. My dad, who was 340 at the beginning of the year, is now at around 295 (needless to say, he's following it even more stringently than I am. haha).

I usually aim for 30 PointsPlus points, which isn't all that bad when you play right to it. My day can include:

---Breakfast: I usually like to have a fruit smoothie (0 points if you just use fruit and ice) and a pack of the Nature Valley Granola Bars (4 pts)
---Lunch: I'm trying to mix it up here, doing anything from soups (2-5 points) to WW or Lean Cuisine meals (5-9 pts) or even salad when I have the time to make it (the points dependent on the dressing). I'm planning on putting sandwiches back in in the next week or so.
---Dinner: This is where you can do some more as well. All the options for lunch remain, plus something like chicken or turkey works here as well.

One of the things I really like to eat is a turkey burger. They taste good and still, with their much leaner content, allow me to fat kid it up. When I feel like I need something huge to eat, I do this:
Sandwich roll/circle (IDR what they're called): 2 pts
Turkey Patty: 4 pts
Cheese: 2 pts for what I use, depending on the cheese may be more/less
Turkey Patty: 4 pts

12 pt burger. Considering the way most other double burgers will do you in, that's bang for the buck right there. For the sides, I really like to do baby carrots but I figure any fruit/veggie you want is good for no points. Of course, anything else and it's all based on math and whatnot.

There are plenty of points and points plus calculators online that make it easy to find out about things that don't have the points labelled on them. This really appealed to me because it holds me accountable for what I eat.

Working out hasn't really happened yet, although I'm doing little things at the moment like parking my car an extra block from the apartment when I can or parking further away from a gym that I'm going to for a game. It's not like lifting weights and running on the track, but every bit helps.
----
tl;dr - Weight Watchers points, fruits are forking awesome, point calculators everywhere

 

[TheWritingWaffle]

Congratulations!

One thing I'm battling right now is a huge sweet tooth that I've developed. I need to muster the discipline to kick the habit.

Smoothies, my friend. Farking smoothies.

Peeling the oranges is a biscuit and a half, but if you peel a couple of those, add a banana or two and throw in a couple of strawberries and ice, then blend...that's how you do it. It should make you 2 or 3 decently sized ones, too depending on the amount of ice size of the cup, etc.

I've also started looking at Blue Bunny...heck, IDK the exact name. It's like Shameless Sweets or something. They're not as good as real ice cream, but much less damaging and actually start to get better the more you force yourself to them (call it a culinary stockholm syndrome)

 

[Dick Whitman]

Congratulations!

One thing I'm battling right now is a huge sweet tooth that I've developed. I need to muster the discipline to kick the habit.

Smoothies, my friend. Farking smoothies.

Peeling the oranges is a biscuit and a half, but if you peel a couple of those, add a banana or two and throw in a couple of strawberries and ice, then blend...that's how you do it. It should make you 2 or 3 decently sized ones, too depending on the amount of ice size of the cup, etc.

I've also started looking at Blue Bunny...heck, IDK the exact name. It's like Shameless Sweets or something. They're not as good as real ice cream, but much less damaging and actually start to get better the more you force yourself to them (call it a culinary stockholm syndrome)

For the last four days, I've essentially given up junk food. Finally. Well, I've started on the road to it. I still had, for example, a small bag of pretzels (140 calories) with my chicken sausages at lunch. But I'm trying to make the commitment to finally getting rid of those last 10-15 pounds/2-3 inches of fat on my body. So yesterday, for example, I had a bagel for breakfast, an 8-oz. sirloin steak for lunch with a 90-calorie dinner roll, and then two chicken sausage sandwiches and a small salad for dinner.

It's not perfect yet. It's a process. But I used to, up until seriously just the last few days, rationalize everything I put in my mouth. I had a last meal on Monday night - footlong steak and cheese at Subway along with a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos and a chocolate chip cookie. Woke up at 160 that morning, which is where I've been at lately, then kicked it into gear the next day with both the exercise and the diet. Was at 156 this morning and had lost 1/2 inch off the waist. Got to keep pushing it this time, through the 150 barrier and down into the low to mid 140s.

Two major things to keep in mind: (1) Diet, diet, diet. No junk food. Limit the carbs; (2) Intensity of my workouts. Don't become static. Always challenge myself.