Weight loss stories

[Hoffstra]

Since I was around 17 I guess to around age 28, I was around 145 pounds due to a mostly physical job and the amount I ate.

Then I got a job that had NO physical activity and I began eating more than double my normal amount.

Turns out I really wasn't eating enough, due to a variety of reasons. But I also wasn't exercising at all. Within say a year my weight went up to around 165 pounds.

Since I have a thin frame, these extra 20 pounds looks like a lot more. My face, my belly, looked like I had become overweight.

I hate how I look in the mirror. But I didn't know how to change this.

I tried losing weight by just dieting, but that didn't work.

I tried losing weight by just exercising, but that didn't work.

I went down to 158 pounds with massive amounts of exercise and barely eating any pasta, rice, or bread, but then I went on a vacation and scarfed that stuff down when I saw it, as I mentally felt very deprived.

A month ago I decided that I have to alter my eating in a way that wouldn't make me feel deprived, but would still reduce carbs and calories.

I also decided I had to return to exercising in a less aggressive way, so I would be able to do it more often and not feel like it was torture.

So now, I ride my exercise bike every other day, alternating at different resistance levels every 2 minutes for 10 minutes. I then do 10 push ups.

I am eating less bread, less rice, less pasta. But I still eat it. I still enjoy it.

I've gone from a maximum of around 167 pounds around a month ago, to 162.4 right now.

After exercising the night before I tend to lose almost 2 pounds in my sleep (mostly water), so I think I'll be aroud 160.5 tomorrow AM.

The goal, is at least 155. I want to see my cheekbones again. I want this damn gut to be gone, as its disgusting to see. I want my damn double-chin to be gone, as I feel like its a damn cartoon of who I should be.

Once I hit 155, how will I keep this up? Well, I guess Im just gonna have to keep exercising and watching my eating. I've found that I REALLY love apples, and those are great for keeping weight down. But its going to be hard.

What is your story? What is your suggestion for me for after I reach my goal?


Thanks.

 

[asaratis]

Over the years, I have lost thousands of pounds! Gain a few...lose a few..easy come...easy go.

The only way to lose weight and keep it off is to slap yo ass away from the table.

Eat slowly...(it takes a while for your stomach to tell your brain you're full)

Leave some on the plate...

Drink a full glass of water before each meal...

Don't eat anything after 9 PM...

Eat a light breakfast, a medium lunch, a small mid-afternoon snack, a small dinner...take one aspirin and go to bed...(use 81mg unless your doctor okays 325)...be sure to take it at bedtime, not in AM...use coated aspirin if your stomach is sensitive to regular...

Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables...

Exercise regularly...

Walk a lot...

Cut out the Coke and Pepsi...regulars have a lot of sugar...diets are full of harmful chemicals...drink cranberry or grape juice (no sugar added type) instead

Stay away from starches...

Watch your sodium intake..(too much and you will retain water...and get sock dents)

Weigh yourself daily...

Don't let hunger pangs drive you to eat early...they go away...and you are NOT going to starve to death before lunch comes...


Eat what you want but remember:

Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels!


The only other suggestion I have is the DUCT TAPE DIET:

Buy a big roll of duct tape. Hold your arms out straight. Have a friend wrap half the roll around each elbow and a couple of inches above and below. Now you can't bend your arms to stuff your face...and you can't take the tape off!

 

[Mr. H.]

Last time I went on a crash diet, I quit drinking for a week. Rode my bike to work every day. Ate less, exercised more. Lost 10 pounds in ten days. It's doable. No biggie.

 

[Hoffstra]

Yes, Ive heard that drinking water is good for weight loss.

We retain water if the body feels it doesn't have enough water. Hydrate enough and you won't retain water, so they say.

I've been drinking lots of water because I know that the sugary stuff just means more fat.


The really hard part for me will be to make exercise a regular part of my lifestyle, forever.

 

[asaratis]

Yes, Ive heard that drinking water is good for weight loss.

We retain water if the body feels it doesn't have enough water. Hydrate enough and you won't retain water, so they say.

I've been drinking lots of water because I know that the sugary stuff just means more fat.


The really hard part for me will be to make exercise a regular part of my lifestyle, forever.

Try an elliptical machine. There's no foot pounding and you can adjust the resistance to suit yourself...watch TV while you work off calories.

 

[Noomi]

I've lost 14 kilograms since the start of the year. Exercise more, and eat less junk food.

 

[asaratis]

Even the less expensive elliptical machines may have a calorie counter that enables you to approximate just how many calories you have burned in each session. You can then estimate how many calories you can afford to consume without gaining weight. In the course of normal activities you will have burned more than you record on the machine. There's a chart somewhere that gives the approximate calories burned during typical activities...even threading a sewing needle burns a few.

The most important thing for you to remember is:

If calories IN are greater than calories OUT...you'll gain weight!
If calories IN are less than calories OUT...you'll lose weight!
If calories IN equal calories OUT...you'll just stay fat!

 

[harryferrel]

I have success losing weight just by exercising and 2-3 shots of organic wheat grass a day.
At first it was disgusting! I always have the urge to vomit. But then I got used to it in a week.

 

[Wolfsister77]

Drink 6-8 glasses of water a day. Exercise-at least go for a walk every day or try a treadmill. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Watch your portion size. Limit sugar and carbs but don't eliminate or you'll feel deprived. Don't skip breakfast. Good luck!!

 

[dblack]

For me the key was finding exercise I enjoyed - namely bike riding. That inspired me further, to the point I started going to the gym and doing the elliptical when weather or time didn't accommodate a long bike ride.

Anyway, lost 80 lbs, and I've kept it off for over a year now. I feel much better physically and otherwise. I haven't been this fit since high school (I'm 49). My only regret is that I didn't do it years ago.

 

[Zoom-boing]

As far as exercising goes, if possible do it early in the day, preferably before you do anything else. That way, you've gotten in it, if you don't do anything else the rest of the day you've done that, it will boost your metabolism for the day, you won't have it on your mind, you won't be too tired (which often happens if you let it go till the end of the day or after work).

I would suggest trying many, many different types of exercises. Not all 'cardio' either. Your body will adjust and adapt very well to what you do and if you just do the same thing over and over (treadmill or swimming) as your body adjusts you will have to work harder and harder to achieve the same level of performance. Change it up. Hiit programs/exercises are all over the internet ... look them up. Most are 10-20 mins of 30 secs on, 10 secs off doing a variety of exercises. Walk one day, do a 40 min cross training type dvd the next day, do yoga, do pilates, run, swim, play tennis, walk the dogs. The more you move the more you'll move.

 

[Darkwind]

A pound of weight is the equivalent of 3500 calories.

I point that fact out as a reference to some of the information I have gathered with regard to weight loss and maintenance. Weight is actually a very simple formula. To maintain the same weight you have now, you must ingest the exact number of calories you burn. In other words, if you normally eat 2,000 calories a day and your weight has not changed by more than two to three pounds a week, up and back or down and back, then you are in equilibrium. Daily changes in weight can be attributed to water retention or loss.

If you wish to lose one pound of weight in a weeks’ time, then you simply need to reduce the amount of calories you ingest by 3500 over seven days. That means that you will have to burn or reduce the amount of calories by 500 per day. This can be done by exercise, diet or a combination of both.

Now, most people have a psychological response to being deprived of something they enjoy, and for people who enjoy foods that have low fiber and high carbs, they will experience anxiety and is difficult to overcome. The feeling of deprivation simply sounds an urge in the mind that gets louder and louder until they cave in and return to old eating habits. There is also the ‘comfort’ factor of foods for some people. They use food as a means of feeling better about themselves or the people around them, and in truth, in many families, food = love. The question becomes, how can I lose that one pound a week, or even two pounds per week without feeling deprived?

That is why I mentioned the 3500 calorie number. Most people will say I have to stick to a reduced calorie intake if I want to succeed. For the most part, that is true. However, what they fail to take into account is that they do not have to stick to the ridged 500 calories per day. As everyone knows and has experienced, some days are easier than others. If the overall goal is to reduce the total calorie count by 3500, then one can lose 250 on Monday, 575 on Tuesday and so on; as long as at the end of the week, you have achieved 3500 fewer calories than you normally take in. The key is to reduce those days of higher anxiety while taking advantage of those days when it seems to be easier to go with a little bit less. Which brings Me to the methods of reducing 500 to 750 calories a day.

The calorie reduction need not be all diet. A 60 minute brisk walk will net you nearly 300 calories per session. If you reduce your calories that day by an extra snack, that is another 150 to 200 calories and voila,You have just hit your 500 calorie goal without a great sacrifice in comfort food! Most people won’t do a full 60 minutes, but it is recommended that you do at least 30 minutes, and 60 is better. If you can combine a couple of activities (preferably ones you enjoy like golf, racket ball, or even a half hour of just shooting some hoops alone, you can increase those burn rates considerably. As you get more and more fit, you can of course increase your duration or intensity of the exercise and increase the burn rate. The whole point is, you have to focus on the weekly goal, and not the daily goal.

Take realistic approaches to losing weight. You may hear of people who shed 10 pounds the first week, 12 the next, and then can do five pounds a week for as long as they want. I would treat these claims as boasting and unrealistic. Often, if you see that same person six weeks later, they haven’t really lost any weight. There will be excuses, but the truth is, it may have taken you a year to put on the extra pounds, plan on a year to take it off. If it happens sooner, then you can celebrate, but in reality you are going to have bad weeks, and your weight is going to go up and down on some weeks, and plateau for weeks on end. This can be frustrating, but steady effort is always rewarded. The point is, plan a realistic weight loss goal, and work toward it over a realistic timeframe. You will save yourself a great deal of frustration. So, as an example, if you are 50 pounds overweight, then expect to take 50 weeks to lose it. If you can manage to lose weight through exercise, you may be able to increase your weight loss to 2 pounds a week. So, you are still looking at nearly six months. If you reach your goal in four months, then you can feel even better about yourself, but if you don’t make it in four, then you won’t be disappointed.

None of what I have written discusses nutrition. Lets not make a mistake here and think that simply because I can control calories and exercise, that I will be healthy. Nutrition is a different subject and deals with the quality of energy you ingest, not the quantity.

As always, these are My thoughts on the subject and not to be taken as medical advice. Everyone is responsible for their own health and it is in your best interest to understand the three major macro-nutrients of food, the function of calories with regard to weight, and the benefits of activity.

I have one word of caution though. Never reduce your caloric intake below 1200. Not only is it harmful to your body, your body will actually be triggered into a survival mode and begin storing energy because it thinks it is in a famine situation. This is done by stealing vital nutrients from parts of the body that really cannot afford the deprivation.

To lose weight, you MUST eat.

 

[Darkwind]

As far as exercising goes, if possible do it early in the day, preferably before you do anything else. That way, you've gotten in it, if you don't do anything else the rest of the day you've done that, it will boost your metabolism for the day, you won't have it on your mind, you won't be too tired (which often happens if you let it go till the end of the day or after work).

I would suggest trying many, many different types of exercises. Not all 'cardio' either. Your body will adjust and adapt very well to what you do and if you just do the same thing over and over (treadmill or swimming) as your body adjusts you will have to work harder and harder to achieve the same level of performance. Change it up. Hiit programs/exercises are all over the internet ... look them up. Most are 10-20 mins of 30 secs on, 10 secs off doing a variety of exercises. Walk one day, do a 40 min cross training type dvd the next day, do yoga, do pilates, run, swim, play tennis, walk the dogs. The more you move the more you'll move.

This is true for two reasons.

1. If you have just eaten a breakfast that is high in carbohydrates, which is essentially glucose, then your body will be burning calories to digest your meal, but more important, you body will be burning the glucose from the food you just ate. In other words, you blood glucose and insulin levels won't be affected because the exercise simply used the most readily available energy source; your breakfast.

2. Exercise is a way for the body to send insulin to the bodies cells for burning the needed energy for sustained exercise. It will also need the nutrients to help repair the damage to the muscles that occur during exercise. What you want to do is eat a breakfast AFTER exercise, and keep it mostly protein and fats as opposed to carbs. This provides the muscles the amino acids needed to rebuild, and forces your body to burn fat instead of sugar (glucose) for energy to rebuild and keep you going through the day.

In fact, reduction in sugar intakes and carbs with no fiber value should be eliminated from a persons diet completely.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

I lift weights after work M-F and run on the weekends. I eat a lot of organic food and cut out most of the crap. Basically, when at the grocery store, stick to the perimeter. That's where most of the healthy food is.

 

[Hoffstra]

woke up, weighed myself, was about 160.8

 

[QuickHitCurepon]

Since I was around 17 I guess to around age 28, I was around 145 pounds due to a mostly physical job and the amount I ate.

Wow, I was just that exactly 145 when I joined the Air Force in 1978. It's a small world isn't it.

 

[Hoffstra]

161 right now.

tomorrow I may get below 159.9

we shall see.

 

[AyeCantSeeYou]

Do yourself a favor and don't get on the scale more than once a week at the most - once a month is even better. Your weight will fluctuate during the day and from day to day depending on what you've eaten and how much or little you've been moving around.

Another tip: Gain muscle by lifting weights and don't stress out too much over cardio. You don't have to go to a gym or buy expensive equipment either. Muscle burns more calories than fat. You can get your heart rate up easily lifting weights if you circuit train. Learn the proper form though; it makes a huge difference.

If you need ideas for different activities to do, a quick search online will bring up many you can do at home.

 

[dblack]

Do yourself a favor and don't get on the scale more than once a week at the most - once a month is even better. Your weight will fluctuate during the day and from day to day depending on what you've eaten and how much or little you've been moving around.

Another tip: Gain muscle by lifting weights and don't stress out too much over cardio. You don't have to go to a gym or buy expensive equipment either. Muscle burns more calories than fat. You can get your heart rate up easily lifting weights if you circuit train. Learn the proper form though; it makes a huge difference.

If you need ideas for different activities to do, a quick search online will bring up many you can do at home.

I had a different experience re: scale watching. It worked better for me to check regularly. You need to understand weight fluctuates up to five pounds in a given day, but staying constantly aware of where I stood was key for me.

I'll also offer this advice: obviously the trick is "wanting it". But you have to want to lose weight, which is different than simply wanting to weigh less. In other words, you have to dedicate yourself to the process – which always amounts to some combination of diet and exercise.

 

[QuickHitCurepon]

161 right now.

tomorrow I may get below 159.9

we shall see.

Gosh, I haven't weighed myself in a couple of years. At 52, I now... weigh 149.

But that can't be right. I had been constantly right around 160 for about 20 years.

I bought this scale in the eighties, but it has always been trusty. Wah happened.