[Serial Midget]

From 165 to 198.3 in 4 years and I'm only 5ft7. lthumbsdown:

No excuses - the bulk of the fatness has occurred over the last 18 months, 10 LBS from July - September of 2008 when I was living at Holiday Inn and eating out every meal everyday.

Christmas put me over the edge - 195 seems to be my breaking point.

Today I started the Nutri System for Men program they have been advertising on TV.

I'm going to try and drop 30 LBS by the summer riding season.

 

[RUFUS]

Just signed up for WW for men 2 weeks ago. I am down 10 lbs from 210 thanks to an entire year of injuries preventing me from much exercise.
I will hopefully start exercising more in a few weeks. Terrible headaches for 4 straight months all day every day has kept me off even my trainer.
The first step is admitting that you have some heft that needs to go.
My goal is to be back to 170-175lbs like I was 2 seasons ago.

Let me know if you need any motivation, recipes, exercises, etc.

 

[syadasti]

You have to change the environment that fosters a unhealthy lifestyle as there is also a strong psychology aspect rather than buy in to the latest diet program that will never yield long term results.

If you do a meta analysis of long term weightloss from commercial diets in peer reviewed journals you'd find most people return to their pre-diet weight.

After 5 years, most reports show that less than 10% of people maintain a 5% loss from initial body weight.

 

[RUFUS]

Understandably so but getting some form of help is the first step. Removing beer and soda as well as junk/unhealthy food is a huge step. Teaching yourself that these are necessities and can life can go on without them is what is needed.
Of course environmental and psychological changes are needed to stay on a steady course and maintain and that is what seems to be doing it. The first step to righting anything is admittance.
Good job on slamming on someone trying to better himself. I like your signature as well, really helps push your point across to just give up.

 

[syadasti]

Its far more effective to look to nutritional science rather than whatever the latest scam some diet/supplement company wants to sell you. Most of them are not much better than thieves.

Its a quote, not a signature.

 

[Serial Midget]

I can't and wont argue with what I know to be sound reasoning. My issue is portion control, eating out and a significant loss of free time. My career path changed significantly when I went back to work in 2004. During my extended period of being a bum I had the idea that I could retire early if I watched my funds - I seldom ate out, my house was paid for and I drove a 10 year old truck. My group of friends where very athletic and active - now that I am in the rat race again its all about meetings, travel and 6 day work weeks.

I'll have to continue making changes in my personal habits but for now the structure of prepackaged portion control seems pretty attractive...

You have to change the environment that fosters a unhealthy lifestyle as there is also a strong psychology aspect rather than buy in to the latest diet program that will never yield long term results.

If you do a meta analysis of long term weightloss from commercial diets in peer reviewed journals you'd find most people return to their pre-diet weight.

 

[RUFUS]

Its far more effective to look to nutritional science rather than whatever the latest scam some diet/supplement company wants to sell you. Most of them are not much better than thieves.

Its a quote, not a signature.

I appreciate what you are saying and I agree that there are some systems and companies that just want your money when they know good and well that their product will do nothing but make your wallet thin.

I was very apprehensive about signing up for the WW online, however WW online has great recipes and a great tool to help track what you eat for a points value. Pretty cheesy and maybe nowhere near a true representation of a food's nutritional value but mentally it is a step in the right direction.

I used to be a head chef for a restaurant here in Burlington years ago and I love to cook and bake. I found myself more and more wanting to eat out or grab that quick snack during the whole year of injuries because i was not in the mood to cook or was burnt out from many years of nothing but cooking.

WW online has hooked me up for some alternative/healthier recipes and suggestions and so far they have worked.

Like a financial budget, the points tracker makes you realize just how much you have consumed in one day and the toll, i.e. calories, fat, sugar, etc of what said food has done to you.

I am a fan of WW online so far and it has helped me personally and hopefully nutrisystem will help serial to reach his goals.

Diet and exercise are the obvious factors as well as a strict adherence to your goals, the plan and the future plans.

No disrespect to you or your comments syadasti, I just get a little annoyed when someone gets "shot down" when they are trying to better themselves.

 

[binary visions]

syadasti, you should also take into account the type of person who is likely to be reading this forum - it's not an average cross section of the population.

I agree that diet "programs" often don't work because they don't teach better habits but a mountain biking forum is not where you'll find the typically lazy, looking-for-an-easy-fix type of person that usually subscribes to the programs. Most people who bike at an enthusiast level are familiar with some hard work, exercise and looking at more long term goals.

At least these guys have an exercise outlet when the program is over.

 

[syadasti]

The point wasn't to give up but that commercial diets don't work and are a waste of money which the overwhelming body of peer review science journals have shown. Also as I noted research has shown long term loss from environmental and psychological changes.

Its like when someone tries to mountain bike with a walmart bike. Sure it might get some people into the sport but its not safe prospect to put your trust in to department store bike, you have to invest more than that to get functional bike.

 

[Kntr]

I go through this almost every year. I gain 15-20 lbs over the winter. Then come Jan 1 I exercise and eat right and get back down. Read my New Years Resolution thread below.

Its all about eating right and exercise. You can do it.

Good luck. Im down 5 lbs since the first, only 10-15 lbs more to go.

 

[Serial Midget]

I'm a militant killjoy who won't back down.

Diets don't fail, people do.

 

[macko]

#1 fastest way to loose weight: run.

 

[H8R]

I lost 15 lbs recently. 220 (heaviest I've ever been) to 205. (I'm 6'3")

I stopped:
Eating pastries when I go out for coffee (in which I also omitted half & half)
Eating crappy food on the run - (take a minute to eat before you leave or bring something from home to work)
Eating when bored (THIS IS HUGE!!)
Eating so much processed sugary foods


I un-stopped:
Increased activity (hell, even walking helps)
Healthy foods - lots more fiber and protein and less empty carbs - in other words, A BALANCED DIET
Basic one a day vitamin
More water

The formula is simple - eat healthy and burn more than you take in.

Or as I like to call it: poo more than you chew.

I'm almost at 200. Goal is 190 - 195 with better upper body strength.

 

[JRogers]

I lost 15 lbs recently. 220 (heaviest I've ever been) to 205. (I'm 6'3")

I stopped:
Eating pastries when I go out for coffee (in which I also omitted half & half)
Eating crappy food on the run - (take a minute to eat before you leave or bring something from home to work)
Eating when bored (THIS IS HUGE!!)
Eating so much processed sugary foods


I un-stopped:
Increased activity (hell, even walking helps)
Healthy foods - lots more fiber and protein and less empty carbs - in other words, A BALANCED DIET
Basic one a day vitamin
More water

The formula is simple - eat healthy and burn more than you take in.

Or as I like to call it: poo more than you chew.

I'm almost at 200. Goal is 190 - 195 with better upper body strength.

Good advice. While some of the diet programs and such can be helpful, a lot of them are just ways to get people to simply burn more calories than they consume. I dropped a decent amount of weight about 1.5 years ago- about 185 to 160 at 5' 9". Granted I had the benefit of not having a full time job for a part of that (lots of time to ride and work out), it still took a lot of effort. I made time to exercise and just ate less and watched what I ate more. I also make more of my own food now and buy as much fresh and as little processed food as possible. Rarely eating meat (cutting down is a good idea for almost anyone) also helped.

I also stopped lifting weights. I did lose a good amount of upper body strength (which was part of the weight I lost). I seldom lift now and my bench press is probably around 190 instead of around 290, which was my max before. But I realized that being that strong wasn't necessary for cycling, my workout time could be better spent doing aerobic activities and (this is true for some but not all) I find that lifting weights increases my apetite and riding or hiking doesn't.

One other thing I've found to be helpful: have a scale and use it regularly. Don't obsess over it, but use it often. I let myself gain a few pounds here and there, expect some gain over holidays and stuff. But I keep tabs on it and always keep my target weight the same. I try to remember that it's always easier to do gain weight than lose it.

 

[Serial Midget]

188 LBS as of this AM.

I have a lot of travel lined up for February - one of the pluses for this diet is it's portability. It will help avoid eating out and pad my pocket with unspent per diem.

 

[Serial Midget]

#1 fastest way to loose weight: run.

I like to run but not in sub zero snow...

 

[macko]

I like to run but not in sub zero snow...

Understood. I live in Arizona and there really is no bad time of year to run.