The Biggest LOOSER -- running weight loss thread

I'm five, maybe six pounds -- I haven't weighed myself the past couple of days -- into what I hope will be a loss of about 15 or 20 pounds by October, when I plan to go on a cruise.

I'm back to eating lighter/better again, with less picking in between meals, and have started getting back to more conscious exercising. It's paying off quickly, as I knew it would if I just stuck with my conscientiously good habits.

 

I'm probably a good 20-30 pounds overweight. I don't eat the greatest. I don't exercise. Gaining weight isn't a problem right now, I've stayed within a 5 pound range for a couple of years.

I know I need to change but every time I get on a treadmill or exercise bike, I hardly make it a minute before I quit, usually because of boredom. I don't cook (at all). I'm pretty much limited to microwave foods.

Any advice on how to get out of this rut I've been in?

 

So, what DO you like to do? Obviously there's more to the exercise world than the treadmill or exercise bike. There's lifting weights, pickup games of basketball or racquetball, walking the dog, etc. As they always say, the best exercise plan is one you can stick to.
I also do some lifting, but for cardio, I like the elliptical because it is easy to read on. I crack open a book, and it's usually good enough that I can manage 30 minutes on the elliptical without getting bored. If it's a really good book I might go longer because I'd think "hey, I'm just going to go home and keep reading anyway, so I might as well burn some calories while doing it." But - what works for me might not work for you. But there's got to be something you enjoy that's active.

As far as the food goes, I dropped 35 lbs once upon a time without doing much cooking. I ate a LOT of Lean Cuisines. Which is, admittedly, dull. I'd do sandwiches a lot, too, with really light lunch meats and the lowest-cal bread I could find. While I didn't get too fancy cooking, I cut a lot of things out of my eating habits - cheese, all dessert, all soda, red meat. Snacks involved a LOT of hummus. Ate a lot of cereal, too - again, the low-cal stuff. Pay attention to serving size on cereal packages: Some will be listed as 1 1/2 cups, some might be 3/4 cup, so the headline calorie number will look the same, but the actual calories are fairly different. And again, like exercise the best diets are ones you can stick to. I definitely realize what worked for me might only work for me - but, hey, it worked for me.

If you do want to dabble with cooking, crockpots are a good way to get started: Dump ingredients in, walk away for 4-8 hours, come back to a meal. They're fairly low involvement and there's like 800 million "healthy crockpot recipe" lists out there.

 

I'd say you're not in a rut; you just haven't decided yet to lose weight. By that, you haven't decided yet that you're actually willing to do the work of weight loss. So, probably whatever you try, it won't work, because you're just not ready.

And, by saying, "I don't cook," what does that mean? You don't even make yourself some eggs once in a while? Or throw a burger patty on the stove or the grill? Or throw together a basic salad?

You don't need to be a gourmet chef, but one of the first things I'd advise you to do in order to try to get ready to lose weight is to take up some cooking. Fresh/home cooking is much better, both in terms of health and taste, when it comes to food, and you never know, you might end up liking it -- both the food, and making it.

My mom, one of the best cooks I've ever known, taught her whole family to appreciate what good food is, and what it tastes like. Most people don't even know, and now all of us kids are either good or excellent cooks, or, in the case of one of my brothers, a trained gourmet chef who makes his living in the restaurant/commercial-food industry.

Anyway, my mom's oft-repeated mantra always was, "If you can read, you can cook." And seriously, it's quite true. Some people have more of a knack and a flair for it, of course, or have gotten better with repeated attempts. But really, just about anybody can become a pretty good cook, and certainly, they can do it for at least a limited-but-good repertoire. That kind of describes me. I know I'm a good cook, I'm confident I can do it, and I've successfully entertained and served others with my food and had them enjoy it too, even though my actual down-pat, always-comes-good menu is somewhat limited just because I always focused on a few dishes that I, myself, loved, and I just became proficient at making those. And since I'm very habitual eater, my little repertoire serves me well, I'm happy with it, and I just haven't bothered with much else. But I know I could, if I wanted to do so.

So could you, and, as I said, you never know...

And unless you want to live on Lean Cuisines -- that's one Lean Cuisine per meal, not two -- and trust me, you don't, and won't, after not too long -- you should stay away from frozen foods for the most part, anyway. The only exception I make is for the Panko Breaded Chicken Breast Tenderloins from Costco. Otherwise, pretty much nothing I eat anymore is frozen.

Oh, and just FYI, the microwave ruins most real foods. It's good for a brief warm-up of leftovers, but most things just are not as good out of microwave as they come when cook on a stove or an oven.

 

Just a thought, but since it's summer how about instead of a treadmill or exercise bike, try running outside or riding a real bike? A lot less boring.

 

Well, I plateaued out on the recumbent bike and took some time off. Now I've gone back to the treadmill. Trying to get back to where I could run three miles without stopping. After 10 days (one of them an off day), I'm doing two miles at an average pace of 15-minute miles. I'm doing intervals between brisk walking pace (3.6 mph minimum) and some running (5 mph or sometimes even 6 mph at times). I can feel the endurance building, and even though only a few pounds have come off I definitely feel thinner. The first week I looked forward to the workouts and did them in the afternoon. The last few have been tough for motivation and weren't done till later at night, but today is going to be a good day. Goal was to lose 53 pounds when I started with the biking. Still about 35 to go.

I think the goal of three miles jogging without stopping is about 3-4 weeks away.

 

Good job o_t! Keep up the great work. Mixing things up is good, and really, there's no deadline for weight loss/exercise goals, which I think people tend to forget.

Because of bad knees, I tend not to use the treadmill much, and when I do, it's at no more than a fast walk. I generally stick with swimming, bikes and elliptical machines, but I admire people who can run for miles and wish I could do it. My knees can't take the pounding, though.

 

Thanks!

Yeah, I'm worried about the knees and ankles starting to act up, but so far so good. It was about a year ago exactly that I started a walking program and the left knee got too sore. But this time around, no problems. Got home from a freelance assignment Saturday night and did three miles on the treadmill. Not all running, but some good running and nothing less than brisk walking. Haven't felt that good on my feet in a long time.

 

I plateaued for about three or four months, but I wasn't too upset by that. I didn't expect to be able to maintain the body I had built while working out six hours a day. Trying to go from linebacker's to swimmer's physique is my goal during my 30s. I've recently motivated myself to start losing another 10 pounds or so. I've pretty much stayed the course calorie-wise, so the big thing is now cutting down on sugars a little more and shaking up my exercise routine so my body responds a bit better.

 

Pretty excited about tonight's treadmill session. 3 1/2 miles in 50 minutes alternating between running at 5 mph and walking at 3.6. Did a couple stretch-outs at 5.5 and 6.0 and felt better running at the end of the session than I have felt running in at least 15 years. Still have a goal of a 3-mile run with no walking, and then it'll be fun to see where I can go from there.

Brian, keep it up. I'd love to know some details of your workouts. I don't think I can do much in the way of weights because of a torn biceps tendon five years ago, but I'd love to hear some ideas other than weights. For now, the running/walking is my focus, but I'll eventually want to add some things.

 

I hit 255 earlier this year, an increase of 25 pounds in about a year and a half. Blood pressure has shot up to 140+/90. The weight (and BP) is mostly from job related stress and poor decisions (beer, dining out, very little exercise).

I've been doing PT on my right shoulder - I aggravated my surgical repair (SLAP) in October last year. Been doing a lot of isometrics and resistance band training. I have about two more weeks of PT.

Anyway, when I get back in town next week, I plan to kick it up another notch. I plan to use a personal trainer to help get me kick started. I've already had the initial consult and evaluation.

So, I have a question: can anybody recommend any really good athletic socks? These crap socks that come in packs of six from Target or Walmart just are not cutting it. I need to get some really good socks. Suggestions?

I might need new shoes too. I've pretty much worn out what I am currently wearing. Thoughts on shoes? Cross trainers maybe? I plan to do a lot of walking in addition to the gym. I don't run (asthma) except for maybe short distances.

Any help is greatly appreciated!
VB

 

I like Gold Toe socks. Thicker, especially around the toes and heals, and if you get a certain style, also in the arch-way of your foot. For some reason, I've always been hard on my socks, and have to replace them more often than usual, so they're actually something I think about and that I often try different kinds, so I feel like I know what's out there.