Thinning down the herd.

You can call me "grasshopper"!

At least when it comes to humour.

So I don't think that Alcohol is much of a problem. :D

However Bananas are a totally different story I was force feed them when younger and now refuse to eat them under any circumstance. Then add to the fact that some lunatic called Larry came through the place and destroyed all the Naners trees and they suddenly started to cost over $18.00 a Kilo so they where defiantly taken off the menu. Anyway I plan on doing things the proper way and use Man Made Drugs. After all if God didn't want man to survive She would never of allowed man to make things that could be used instead of Natural Foods. Besides I'm allergic to withes. I seem to remember that they insisted that you could eat different foods and get better. That's the work of the Devil though. :^0

OH BTW that Larry guy full name was Cyclone Larry who hit North QLD a while ago.

Col

Animal-based foods (meats & organs) only have cell membranes to degrade. Plants have both a cell membrane, and a cell wall. Humans aren't the most efficient digesters of plant-based materials as we've undergone several million years of evolution to be omnivores. So while I thank the animals I eat for their 'offering', I don't feel at all guilty about eating them, and actually take extreme pleasure in properly cooked foods. (I do have a problem with people wasting food of any type though).

Probably the best "diet" I've heard described is the one Jack Lalane eats; mostly fresh vegetables, no processed foods, and very little meat (usually fish). That, in combination with his exercise regimen, make him look like a very physicially fit man half his age, with the energy of someone even younger, which is pretty good for a 90-something year old.

I went in at 165, left Lackland AFB at 175, finished tech scholl and arrived at first duty station at 184.

This was back in 1977, 1978. I went from a very active outdoor lifestyle before the military, to a sedentary, indoor desk job. Probably the worst thing I could have done to my health.

I did get it together back in the late '80s when I took up Tae Kwon Do and my wife and I get into Weight Watchers. I went from back problems and 215 pounds down to running my best times ever at 185 pounds. Then came Desert Storm and nothing has been the same since.

The advise you have been given here is some of the best, especially Tigger's tape measure.

There was a science based program by Dr. Oz on Discovery science on how the body works. I remember two of them. One had a group of people volunteer to go to a zoo and be feed like the animals (actually it was just fruits and vegetables, but a lot of it, I think it was 20lbs). They lost wieght.

The second was on two truckers. They had them swallow a small camera to see how food was processed through their system. The [high fiber] food was processed twice as quickly as the fast food they usually eat.

Both of these groups spent a lot more time in the bathroom too.

The next Discovery program is on:

http://health.discovery.com/beyond/player.html?playerId=219475126&categoryId=219560252&lineupId=284947485&titleId=285856703

I noticed in the promo, the measured the waist as well as weight.

Good luck.

Contradiction in terms I think - I hope the sauce has only natural ingredients . . .

I make my spaghetti bolognaise totally from scratch, buy fresh lean beef mince, fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, pepper (freshly ground), virgin olive oil - coming to think of it, the spaghetties themselves are bought, and they should be wholemeal - I'll start that next time!

Very interesting postings, I have learned things already.

in no time you will lose the pounds and stop being a fat bas!

You Suck & That is Sad.
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa12/sharewhat2/FP0004630.jpg
(was it not)

The "y", Gold's Gym & others will give you from 3 days to a week to "Try before you buy". The closest one to my house is called "24 hour Fitness" changing to "Family Fitness" I think they're just a small chain not national like YMCA or Gold's Gym. I told the salesperson at the fitness place I was shopping around and that I had a weeks pass to Gold's & she said "I can do that".
They also are giving me a little discount because I got a note from my Dr. telling me to try to get 1 hr exersize 3X/week.
Also something else to check into a lot of health insurance co. are offering discounted memberships to gyms or fitness centers. If nothing else check with the fitness center you're interested in and see if they offer the Dr discount thing. Most family Dr.s are more than happy to write a prescrition for exersize amoung other things.
I've lost 42 lbs over the last 2 yrs, kinda stuck right now that's why I went to the fitness center still need to loose 10-12 lbs to make my Dr happy. I had a physical last year & Dr. told me I was on my way to type 2 diabetes and some other health issues if I didn't lose more weight than I already had at that time. I weigh myself 2 - 3 times a week, that way I can keep a closer eye on my progress or lack of it. It's amazing what you can learn from that if you also track what you're eating and activity levels.
I wish you luck and success in your quest!

I have nearly quit eating butter. Hard to do at first, but when I discovered GOOD olive oil (usually $25-$40 per wine bottle-sized bottle), I realized you can substitute it for butter almost anywhere: corn on the cob, toast (for a change, use a little parmesan...it's dry cheese so low-fat), freshly-ground black pepper on these only add to the goodness. I use it in mashed potatoes (YUM!). Try 7- or 12-grain toast with olive oil drizzled, an avocado mushed, with black pepper. YUM again!

And for depression, I started dancing. Not realizing its benefit, I suffered for months through the 6 left feet and no body part in connection with the others part. (Teachers have later told me they wondered what kept me going!) Within 6 months, I tossed (well, I weaned myself then tossed) the anti-depressant drugs. Today I work part time as a dancer, which is fantastic for keeping the weight off. I sleep like a log. And while I DO get sad sometimes, I no longer go for weeks at a time depressed. I have availed myself of counseling once during that time for about 7 months (in other words, "dancing" didn't resolve all the issues), but the dancing has kept the energy levels up, kept me motivated, kept the weight off, kept me physically fit, etc.

Oh... and I ditched everything that would allow my TV to have reception. No rabbit ears, cable, etc. Now THAT was huge! But if I had TV, I would watch it. I rent 2 movies about every 18-24 months. It is just no longer a factor in my life, other than to watch dance and body isolation videos.

Well, that is my 2 cents. I applaud all of you who are working to reduce the weight. I know how HARD it is to lose, and pray to God all the time that I am always able to stay active, so I stay fit and never have to LOSE weight. (I did have to lose about 20 pounds when I started dancing, but it melted away with my intense dance practice during those early years.)

I'll be checking out, "You on a diet". Looks like an interesting program. I put the dates and times on my calendar.
I can identify with eating for comfort. Now if I'm real hungry I eat smarter.

Amazing. Two-thirds of Americans overweight. I so want to be in the other third.

We're going grocery shopping after dinner tonight. Besides fish and chicken-breasts for baking, apples and I'm going to load up on frozen vegetables, green beans, carrots and brussel sprouts. I had no idea that frozen vegetables were actually better for you. Makes sense why.

I think I'm going to add a fish oil pill to my supplements.

I'm in this for the long-term so I may as well get used to shopping smarter as well as eating smarter.

Hi,

On the ropes. I have taken an interest in becoming healther. I stated to eat healther and do some moderate excercise. Then I stumbled upon a book although it says diet it's not a diet at all. It helps one to plan for a way of life and helps a person to understand their body and nutrition. It answers most of the whys in dij's reply. Do a search on the ABS Diet and read up I don't believe this is a fad diet. You can probably find the book used online

That is NICE of you! So few guys will look at the bigger picture... that it is all work. If she's working 40 at a job, and you aren't, well why the heck aren't you putting in 40 around the house?! (You COULD include your fitness routine in that... that was what I did with dance practice.)

Congratulations on thinking of that bigger picture and making your relationship more equitable. I am sure your wife totally appreciates it. :-)

I told her that she threw me off schedule, that I might be planning a laundry marathon. :D She also kicked the dishwasher on and THAT messed me up. I use the two hour dish cycle for a timer.

Maybe she's feeling guilty once in awhile but there's really no need for her to have to do anything besides what she wants to do. I'm a big boy. I can take care of all of these household things. It's really not that hard and it gets me off my butt. No different than being a single man living in my own place really, except that I have more time. My mother-in-law asked me if I'd clean her house too. I think she was serious. :^0 Not going to happen.

Having been in stable relationships from my mid-20s to my mid-40s, I found myself several pounds overweight.

Within 6 months of separation from my wife I started having anxiety attacks. By the time I had figured out what was happening, I had lost 30 pounds.

In the last 5 years, I have had 4 or 5 more attacks and each time I lose at least 10 pounds, before the medication kicks in.

On a more serious note, I keep the weight off by diet and exercise. Play soccer at least 3 times a week. Do not eat sugar or white flour or potatoes. Actually, I try to avoid all white foods in general. Works for me. As for alcohol - drink as much as you like, just watch what you drink.
Beer - stick to light beers, they taste like water, but do the job.
Wine - red or white works fine as an alternative to beer.
Liquor - stick to the pure stuff avoid mixed drinks. Rum and whisk(e)y are going to knock you out before you put on any weight.

All IMO of course,

Les.

The Dr. said some good stuff in his posts. You are on the right trck with counting calories. To lose weight you need to reduce your daily caloric intake, to gain weight, you increase it.

I learned this from weight guru Tom Venuto. (look him up) He uses an age old plan of eating whole foods, not processed and to eat multiple small meals like 5 or 6 thoughout the day. (roughly every three hours) The reasoning behind this is whenever your digestive system is digesting food it increases your metabolic rate burning calories. The small meals incurage the digestion and gets the maximum nutrition from the meal rather than filling up and storing the food into fat. If you do this with basic daily excercise your body will naturally burn off the calories in a relaxed state as well as during exercise. Also as the more muscle mass increases, during rest your body will burn off fat. It is essential to get a complete 8 hours of sleep (straight through not added through naps)

You should keep a journal of your daily intake and use a spreadsheet to calculate your calories. Use this journal to track your weight loss due to how much and what you are eating so you can see how your body is reacting to change. He talks about a starvation effect when people diet, they tend to skip meals thinking that well if I dont eat or cut meals out, I'll get thinner. Not true becasue we are an animal and animals forage for their food. When food is scarce our body react into self preservation mode by lowering the metabolic rate. You cannot command your body to change the rate other than manipulating it through the multiple meal plan.

Basically you should eat;
meal 1
Lean Protein (meat), Starchy Carb (potato), Simple Carb (fruit)
these things together make for ample digestion (the items are examples) Carbs are essential to give the body fuel for the day without being stored into fat.

meal 2
same as above

meal 3
same as above, only difference is that you swap the Simple Carb for a Fibrous Carb (salad/veggies). It helps for a quicker digestion heading into the late day/night hours.
meals 4-6
is the same as meal 3. look up what a lean protein , Starchy Carb, Simple Carb, and a Fibrous Carb is and plug in your favorite choice.

You will have more energy, feel better, and eventually look better. This isnt a crash diet. You will see at max about two pounds a week average. Remember that is a huge amount. IF you lose too much too fast you will have excess rolls of skin. A gradual loss wont leave you looking like a Sharpei. Weight loss always begins in the easiest parts of your body and not the midrift, that is the toughest and last place. It is recommended if you cut 200-300 calories a day you will lose the estimated 2 pounds a week. So calculate your daily caloric intake and reduce it by 200-300, record your findings and when you hit a plateau like everyone does (starvation effect) reduce it slightly more. Most importantly dont get discouraged, it takes time, it is not overnight sensation Once you reach your desired weight scale back the food and see your fluctuation and balance your intake accordingly. All fitness gurus will tell you that 80% of all weight loss is due to managing a diet with the correct foods at the right times of the day, 10% is excercise, and the last 10% is mental. If you are negative your body responds in a negative way. Try to be positive and look at eating and excercise as a positive thing not a chore.

Lastly yoga is an excellent form of excercise especially with women. Women benefit from it in multiple ways including the big "O". Two other phenominal work outs is swimming and boxing. ( not contact mind you but working a heavy bag for an hour a day burns huge amounts of calories and gets you into shape.)

First of all congratulations!

Since I started commuting to work by bike I have lost 10 pounds and I haven't been in better shape in twenty years.

Start small maybe one day a week in nice weather and go up from there.

I wrote an article about my experience in the local paper:

Commentary:Commuting to work is as easy as riding a bike

http://tinyurl.com/2vtcso

And more info here:

http://www.shifttobikes.org/

Good luck,
Dave

I get songs playing in my head, I watch the wildlife around me, I chat with Mike, I dream up new fund raising stuff, I pretend I am Wonder Woman...

When I get to the event, I know that I can get from pit stop to pit stop without going mad. That gets pretty important. And I have a goal- walk all 60 event miles. There is truly nothing in the world like reaching the last mile and knowing that you have made it... again.

This year is the 3-peat. 180 event miles walked and the Pink Ribbon Brigade made up of walkers. I can't wait!

I do like hiking, but even then, trying to reach the target destination is often cumbersome. What I do when hiking, is first, try not visiting the same places/trails too often. Then keep a lookout for things to see and or snap photos of. It keeps my mind off of most other things.
I actually followed a deer for 30 minutes 1 time, and did not realize just how far (or long) I had travelled.

When getting to the sites that everyone else sees, I often also keep an eye out for other viewpoints. Like when at Yosemite last Spring, I climbed up a bunch of rockes to get a much better (but misty) view of a waterfall. Only took 15 minutes, and no rope needed, but it wasnt that easy either. When I started slipping too much, I decided I had climbed enough.
The way down was worse though :)

When you start noticing that you are thinking about other things, try to re-focus and look for alternate items to keep your mind refreshed.

Of course walking/hiking is not for everyone either.

I used to work with a woman who stood about 5'6", weighed maybe 100 lbs at best. Most frustrating (for me), she ate like a horse - she easily ate twice as much as I did, and I was twice her weight.

Her metabolism was incredible - the woman couldn't sit still. She was always moving - fast. She wasn't a caffeine addict (didn't even smoke), but she sure acted like one. She once told me she wished she had the ability to sit still and relax every once in a while.

CLA - basically the natural ingredient in sunflower oil, linoleic or linolenic acid

Flax seed oil - more omegas

and some lecithin - from soy

and sometimes some natural mixed tocopherols (vit E), and GLA - gamma linolenic acid type oil

Actually ran into someone in the store who's doctor told them to take the CLA for heart probs to help them

sure, in all the manufactured foods. But not in the frozen veggies, fruits, nuts, grains, natural breads, etc.

It's really easy to avoid cookies, cakes, fries, etc. Just substitute natural versions.

We make a natural pie with pumpkin pie filling, use granola and wheat germ as crust, can subs frozen whole berries.

otherwise eat grapes, cantaloupes; tons of natural bars such as kashi. I now get something called green bars at Trader Joes. have sprouted grains; there's a chocolate and non-choco version. The choco tastes really like rich chocolate, with the crunchy sprouted grains in the middle.

Mix up big pots (4 cups rice to 8 cups water) of brown rice, throw in mixed frozen veggies of pretty much any type you like.

sweet corn, froz green beans.. add a tub of fresh humus if you can find it without preservatives. Gives it a garlic / protein taste and makes it kind of less dry.

Scoop it up within a day after cooking, one serving spoon at a time into portion sized sandwich or snack bags and freeze. Then ready to eat at home or take to work and cook on a paper plate. Avoid all the crud food people bring in for holidays.

Kanga & Roo meat is far better for you than Beef. It has no fat to it and is much better for you. Of course it all depends if you can get it. But as AU exports lots of it for Human Consumption there should be some available where you are.

Just don't tell Tig that you are eating one of her friends. :D

Col

You're doing so good!

Be careful, you're making a LOT of changes to a body that's had a habit for years.

If you hit a plateau or feel stuck or just ....pissed? don't get discouraged, keep going.

I've learned a few things lately:

Brown rice. BROWN RICE.
I make brown rice w/ organic chicken/beef broth and throw spices in to the cooker.
Then I toss cut veggies into a steamer top for the rice cooker (usually carrots, broc, cali, hard veggies) and put spice on them too.

All this fiber helps scrub your intestines, and the cholesterol gets pushed too.

If it's opaque: I don't eat it.
I had to lower my cholesterol - Dr's orders, and did it in 6 weeks.
No dairy (unless it was probiotic yogurt)
No ice cream
no butter
No mayo...etc.

Park at least twice as far as normal from things.
Makes it a bit easier to "get your exercise" in...without getting off the couch (I'm really bad about that)

Eat something every 4 hours. Apple, carrot, veggies, munchies...as long as it's not a processed food. Kashi bars are ok, but not white flour, oils, etc...Jerky is ok...keep an eye for MSG!!!! Plus, the harder the food, the more work you have to do to eat it and digest it. And the more ..Original? the food is, the more likely you'll get the nutrients..

The longer /steadier you keep your blood sugar going, the happier your body is. Really. Lots like a UPS/ surge protector for your body, the energy gets to be much smoother and your mobo isn't peeved.

CINNAMON will help your blood sugar stay up longer. Applesauce & cinnamon.

If you're going to eat cheese, yogurt, go for the probiotic ones. They'll help balance your immune system (in your gut) and you'll get the calcium you need.

As for portion control :
Divide the plate into 4 sections...
Veg Veg Starch Meat.

Portion sizes: no larger than your fist.

Ok fats to eat: Nuts, fish, veggies.
Semi ok fats: beef (low!) bison, chicken, turkey.

Notice Pork was off that list? (high chol, high fat..)

Eat a breakfast- oatmeal, hard to digest, good for fiber and blood sugar. Put some flax seeds in it.

Salad for lunch? Sure, put walnuts and flax in it..Or lentils. Protiens and fiber. Chicken as protein too.

Snaks? Granola, cinnamons...apple, orange..lots of fiber here..

Dinner...ah. Beef fajitas (low fat cuts) or a bison steak, and lots of veggies.

Walk outside with wife, enjoy cool fall air, and go to bed.

CuteElf

Is fun for me.

Why not use Mp3 player, and listen and learn? Or take a camera, and take pictures?

Something I'm noticing in your posts, OTR, is that you want to be 3 or 4 steps ahead of where you're standing.

"I always start thinking about things I'd rather be doing" and your grumbles about how long this is taking...

Hon. Do you REALLY know how to enjoy a moment? (spiritual here)
Really? Just to watch a leaf fall from a tree, and enjoy how they flutter?
Or to go for a drive and see how beautiful the scenery is, and NOT think about how much gas this is wasting omg thats sucky oshit are the tires ok..

When this happens...it does to me...I call it the gerbil-in-my-head-is-on-crack.
It's flat out anxiety, for me. I'll be doing something doot de doot de doot and then while I'm doing X, gerbil yells about Y Z Q P and O.

I specifically have to take the time to tell the gerbil to STFU, and to focus on the X I'm doing.

Really.
It's learning how to be IN the moment you're in. Not 5 min from now, the NOW.

OTR: depression and anxiety go hand in hand, ironically.

Keep your nutritional changes up, and keep your butt moving, this is good.
But find a way to bike/walk/iceskate every other day. This will help the endorphins, and that will help the gerbil shut the hell up.

Oh, BTW.
Something I do just for the hell of it:
I use applesauce jars as weights. I do kickbacks and curls while shopping. Really.

You have things in your home to use for weight lifting. Why spend $? Or whine about $? Use the applesauce jars, use the big chunky soup cans...etc etc.

CuteElf

First of all thank you for your posts, support and advice. I went back and read the entire discussion as a disinterested party to see if I was coming across as anxious. I think that there may be some manic/anxious overtones to some of my posts. Thanks for pointing that out. It's never my intention to be a phony with false positivity or negativity here at TR, or in my personal life for that matter. It's difficult to know how something is going to appear to anyone as we're all limited to a few digital bits on digital paper. Sometimes it's hard to see the true intent.

I usually say that what you see is what you get. That statement comes off as being uncaring about what it is that you do indeed see. That's not really the case as far as I'm concerned. I strive to make myself clear and lately have found myself taking some time to rewrite my posts as I've developed several bad habits. For one thing I create long run on sentences using, ?and?, ?but? and ?or?. I try not to do that.

It may be that my final edit has lost the original thought/feeling that I had when I originally wrote it. Hard to say. Anyway, postings aside, I do think that I can enjoy the moment, without being anxious about the future. I know that I said that I'd rather be doing something else besides walking and that's true. I wasn't going to post the reasons because I think that I complain quite enough. If you'll look at the reasons as explanation and not complaining maybe you'll understand why walking is difficult for me.

First item: I have bone spurs on the soles of both feet. Bone spurs create a callous by rubbing the skin from the inside. I liken it to walking with a thorn in your foot. Every time your foot hits the ground you get a nice little pain sometimes causing you to stumble if you step on a rock just right. Much fun. My Doctor says he'd have to cut my feet open and grind the spurs off to get rid of them. If I could afford to have him do that I would pay him even if there's no guarantee that they won't grow back. Historically I've had problems with scrapes and ulcers from them on my legs so you know that bone spurs hurt if, given my history, I'd still have the procedure.

Second item: I have tinnitus/ringing of the ears. I can hear the smallest sounds yet I have this constant tone in my ears that tends to drive me crazy if there isn't some background sound. Living in the country like we do it's almost like I've gone deaf outside here sometimes it's so quiet. Then I focus on the sound coming from my ears and it makes any enjoyment of the silence a real meditative task. Again, my EN&T doctor wants to operate, essentially to break my jaw and reset it. They say I have TMJ, a.k.a. Temporo-Mandibular Joint Disorder. That's a condition where you have clicking in the jaw when chewing. I have the clicking but I'm unsure that an operation for TMJ would clear up my tinnitus. I may have gotten TMJ by taking a few hard shots directly to my jaw. Who knows? All I know for sure is that I've never been knocked out during times where being unconscious just would not have been a good thing.

I've had tinnitus for years and I think that it's been caused by loud noises, gunshots mostly. It cracks me up to see them shoot a full clip inside a room on TV then whisper something. It doesn't happen like that in the real world. To preserve my hearing I wear ear plugs while doing yard-work and other noisy activities. My take on it? I'm not deaf and don't appear to be going deaf. That's something to be thankful for. The operation? Probably not going to happen. I've read some real horror stories about it. I know what my ?luck? is like. Going under the knife when I'm not sure just is not my favorite thing.

The bone spurs combined with the tinnitus make walking a real chore, an unpleasant activity.

I can ride a bike. At least I have the wind blowing past my ears, the sound of the rubber and the sound of the pedals to focus on. At home we have a TV going in the background just for noise. At night we run a fan in the bedroom except for the coldest nights. Tinnitus is no fun. (I guess I've said that) Biking lets me shift my feet on the pedals so that the spurs don't bother me as much. They still let me know they're there but they're not at the forefront of my mind.

I'm going to change my statement to jemorris and call it excusable neglect, if there is such a thing. The parents don't know any better. Abuse is something else again. Neglect can come from ignorance.

My eating habits developed when I was a kid. My Mother often left me on my own, with my sister, after my Father died when I was 8. She had to work. Obviously I never developed proper eating habits. Do I ?blame? anyone? No. It is what it is. I understand the point jemorris made about children. Their parents aren't doing them any favors. I've set at Country Buffet restaurants and have seen the same thing. The parents just let it become a free-for-all. It's sad. Would my Mother have been any different if they'd had buffet restaurants back then? I don't know. Would I be any different if I had kids? Today I can say that I would. Two or three months ago? I'm unsure but I like to think so. The breaking of the habits should start with the parents learning and then passing on correct eating habits. They have to want to learn them. How do you make that happen?

Life goes by at break-neck speeds sometimes. My taking personal responsibility for my diet seems like something I should have learned a long, long time ago. I didn't. I think they need to teach nutrition in schools from an early age. Kids are smart and can do it on their own. From what I'm seeing the news is calling it an obesity epidemic. It would be nice to see that turn around into a fitness epidemic. Too early to tell if that's going to happen.

I'm breaking life-long habits and it's not easy. Sometimes I feel like everything I know is wrong. I'm not too old to learn. I'm only 51. They say that you can't teach an old dog new tricks but I think you can. It just isn't easy for the old dog.

Thanks again for your encouragement, advice and waking me up to the fact that I appear to be anxious. I am somewhat anxious. I want to get down to the right weight A.S.A.P.. Following the advice you and others have posted in this discussion I should be able to and do it safely, a day at a time.

I'm trying to drop about 120 pounds. At my heaviest I weighed 325. I am now at 307. This has been a battle for most of my life. I have tried many diets before and have failed each one. I now consider what I am doing to not be a "diet" but a life style change. I now take the stairs at work instead of the elevator. The last few months I have cut out most of the soda I drink, and have lots of water throughout the day. I do not eat anything with Trans-fat or hydrogenated oils. I do not use butter, I use Promise margarine very sparingly. I mostly try and use olive oil when I can. I have lots of salads, chicken and fish. I just can not find a good salad dressing that I like, that is low fat and low in sugars. It is crazy that they take out the fat and just load up on the high fructose corn syrup.

edit: to fix a slip up.

Just got my latest Readers Digest middle of last week and...
One of their regular health columns had some good tips http://www.rd.com/content/enjoy-thanksgiving-without-ruining-your-diet/
A lot of it as many here have said is replacing bad habits with good ones and that's not always easy. Sometimes identifying the bad ones is tuff. Some people think it's all black & white, but there are shades of grey in-between. And all the little things add up too. I could start listing all the little things that I started out making changes on but that would take too long but here's a few going w/ just a hamburger rather than a cheeseburger!, Switching over to baked style chips ( I know at first they taste kinda bland but after a bit they start tasting okay) you get the idea though.
I started out at 248 lbs looking like I had a beer belly 2.5 - 3 yrs ago, I actually used my belly to rest my plate or drink on, though nothing like that picture posted earlier! Saturday I was at 206 lbs. These last 10 lbs seem to be the hardest!

I went back & read a couple more of your previous posts and read that article a little better. I couldn't help but notice the mention of the "clean your plate" philosophy that most of us were reared with. This has been a really hard one for me to break. Also many of us came from larger families than today's average, there was serious compitetion for a fixed amount of food. Everyone got to fill their plate at the beginning of the meal, after that it was everyone for himself, very seldom was there any leftovers! And none of us was overweight either, I am 6'1" and weighed 165 lbs when I graduated High school, all my brothers were similarly built.

I too look for low impact exersizes but mostly for my lower body, don't have very many issues on upper body. Have scar tissue in hips & ankles and I suspect knees as well. And that's one of those "Catch 22" things, The scar tissue causes strong discomfort while exersizing & the more I exersize the more it hurts, but exersizing with stretching on a regular basis can bring some relief.

A very happy (belated) birthday to you as well!

All the best people were born on the 15th... or thereabouts... :D

I cannot find anyone else on this thread that claims to have lost weight using an Atkins or similar type diet.

This is how I keep the weight off. It basically restricts you to not eating junk food and cutting out sugar from your diet.

On the plus side you can eat as much meat as you like (although I do understand there can be side-effects). I basically live off various types of salad mixed with different meats.

I also indulge in sugar-free chocolate for dessert.

I have lost about 50lbs in the last 3 years (currently just over 200) and the other nice thing about low card is .. you can drink, which is a real benefit if, like me, you are an alcoholic.

;-)

Les.

Dr. Fuhrman at all yet?

As I said, I have been a fitness and nutrition junky most of my life and I honestly didn't think that I would learn all that much by reading the book.

I was blown away by what I learned.

At least check out the website: www.drfuhrman.com.

I just got done w/ my half Marathon a few weeks ago, but these are two great sites.

http://www.worldwidehalf.com/cgi-bin/wwhalf/home

http://steverunner.com/

The Phedippidations podcast (award winning) is awesome! It has something for everyone and the testimonies and others losing weight and feeling better is where some of my motivation comes from.

We have a lot of Tex-Mex resturants around here, which is understandable since this is part of a large area that takes some credit for being home to it. Even the grilled stuff from these places wouldn't be considered low-cal, but man it sure is good especially the salsa & chips, it's also high in salt. We'd finish off a quart of "fresh" salsa & bag of chips in one sitting. We still occasionally have some chips & salsa, but much smaller quantity and use the slightly less flavorful baked chips. Cheese is pretty much a staple in my diet, another one of those childhood things, but I have switched to the lower calorie types and they're okay.
You've got a good mind-set (attittude?) going and you're recognizing where the problems are, this is all great and I bet if you keep it up you'll succeed before you know it!

?:|

]:)

:8}

when they made me they destroyed the mold, I'm to far from the "norms" for comfort.

with a stark outlook [ black and white, no greys ], and being pagan and goth, I can usually shake people's world view up. ]:)

Thanks for saying something about recommended calories. There have been several days when I haven't hit 1200 calories. Even if I did hit it I'll still be at 1000 calories less than I require per day.

What I mean by deficit:

I must not have explained myself well. By 1000 calorie deficit I mean that I'm "allowed" 2532 calories per day if I wanted to maintain my weight at my last weigh-in, 211 lbs. A deficit would be that I eat 1500 calories for the day leaving the deficit of 1032 calories for weight loss. My actual intake would be into the healthy range that you're talking about and would still put me at a theoretical weight loss of roughly two pounds per week.

Having said all that, I've been over-doing it. (Under-doing it?) If I look at my journal over the three days I have recorded so far I have 850, 945 and 715 calories eaten. That gives me a deficit of 5086 calories for three days. Supposedly I should only have a 3000 calorie deficit to be on a two pound/week weight-loss track.

I've read the same "safe" number that you have, 1200 calories. I've also seen 1500. I'm unsure how accurate those are because mostly I don't feel hungry. If I'm not hungry why eat? If my body wants to go into starvation mode it's going to be doing it without my approval!

This whole weight loss thing is a scientific experiment for me. I have a tendency to go over-board when I'm serious about something. When I do the weigh-in (and tape measure) I'll see if what I'm doing is working. It feels like it is. I can wear some size 36 jeans a lot more comfortably than when I first tried them several weeks ago. I mostly don't lop over the waistband when I stand straight up. When I had the first operation on my wrist about 2 years ago I could barely get my jeans fastened. I needed help. That should've been a tip-off right there but it wasn't. I just wore large pajama pants for my second operation a year later.

I know... who cares? That's the attitude I expect to see from people. The thing is... I care. It's my fat behind that I'm trying to save. I've been eating wrong for too many years. Maybe now that I'm beginning to understand nutrition better I want to under-eat to make up for my excesses. Whether or not it's going to be harmful remains to be seen. I feel good and that's what I'm going with.

Back when I drove a truck over-the-road I said that my truck ran on caffeine and nicotine. My caffeine was Mountain Dew. It was the only drink that still tasted good if it got warm. When I started driving locally at first I had a couple of Dews everyday. I read about the 3500 calories per pound. I figured out how many pounds I'd cut out from a year of drinking water versus Dew. It added up. Cutting out 3500 calories over any given period of time equals one pound of fat. That's why the professional dietitians go on the tube and recommend cutting out one pat of butter. It all adds up. Excess is excess no matter where you (I) get it.

You might have read above about that friend of the family, Leonard, who was found on the floor at his home. I talked to his son in person about him yesterday. Leonard's not doing too well. He didn't even want to walk from his wheelchair to his bed. I asked his son if he thought that Leonard's weight might have something to do with it and he said yes. Leonard was walking with a walker so he can walk. I think that he's allowed himself to get so out of shape that he's just too weak to want to support 300 pounds. That's a lot of weight. He's a grouchy old fud (to be as kind as I can) too. He may be experiencing the on-set of dementia. I've seen studies where dementia is more likely in obese people.

I weigh a lot. I don't want my body to become cumbersome for me. I can foresee it happening if I don't regain control of my diet and exercise plan.

For me being overweight is a serious issue. When I finish Phase One I'm going to begin work on Phase Two. I want to get to a 6-8% body-fat and maintain it. I've read where it's tough for professionals so I know that it's not going to be an easy ride for me. I'll worry about Phase Two when it gets here. I can lay the groundwork for it now. I can work turkey chili, beans and hot sauce into that plan. No cheese.

It's cool that you started working all of those healthy foods into your day. You might want to visit the link to Dr. Fuhrman that Inkling posted. http://www.drfuhrman.com/ There is a lot of good reading there. I particularly like the part about the vegetarian diet. That's not what Dr. Fuhrman recommends but there is good health advice regardless.

you don't have to count calories. No ifs, ands or buts about it. Just eat the right foods.

It sounds like you are doing a pretty darn good job of it. When choosing fruits, remember that berries are the best for you. With veggies, remember, dark/leafy greens (spinach, broccoli, romaine lettuce) are the best for you (variety is key though). If you eat enough dark greens, you get more than enough protein and can leave meat our of your diet completely.

As far as calories go, if you [b]are[/b] counting (and not eating a vegan diet), then you need to consume slightly fewer calories than you burn on a daily basis to lose weight. You are correct, if you consume too few calories, you wind up hurting yourself (I don't know what the exact number is).

Also, frozen fruits and vegetables are often better for you than fresh fruits (assuming you don't cook them too much).

The best way to cook your veggies is to slightly steam them. Soggy vegetables have very little nutritional value compared to slightly steamed ones.

Another interesting fact I learned from Dr. Fuhrman (I don't want to look the exact numbers up, but if these aren't accurate, they are damn close): If you steam your vegetables and eat them, your body absorbs something like 20% of the vitamins and nutrients. If you blend your veggies, your body absorbs something like 85% of the vitamins and nutrients.

Finally, there are so many vitamins and nutrients we get from fruits and veggies and nuts and legumes and beans that we have yet to identify. These are just as important as the ones we have discovered.

P.S. If you want a great chili recipe, I think there is one on the Dr. Fuhrman web site (www.drfuhrman.com), if not I know there is one in the book "Eat to Live".

last time Dr. Fuhrman was on the radio here.

Someone called in and was asking about problems she had been having with her slow metabolism.

Dr. Fuhrman asked the woman the following question:

"If I were to tell you that I was going to do something to speed up your body so that you aged faster and died sooner, would you want me to do that?"

His point was, you don't [b]want or need[/b] a fast metabolism (because it [b]will[/b] make you age faster and die sooner). You just need to eat the right foods.

Blah, EDIT: I forgot to add that Dr. Fuhrman does consults for people having serious health problems. They are, of course, pretty expensive and I don't know if health insurance covers it. [b]However[/b], you can join his web site for $7/month and ask him questions on his forums. I don't personally have a reason to do that, but it is an option if you want more information and/or you have a health issue that you believe may be helped by changing your diet.

what he is recommending is very close to what the Doctors put me on in 1975, no sugar, caffeinne or starch.
lots of snacks between meals, all fresh fruits and veggies and lots of protein.

His "diet" really has very little to do with weight loss. It is all about what is healthy and how to avoid heart disease, cancer, dimentia, etc.

You should really check out the website (www.drfuhrman.com) and just read some of the success stories.

From listening to him on the radio, he talks about, for example, diabetes. His success rate in getting diabetics off insulin is just incredible. There are lots of awesome stories.

Man, you would think that I have a vested interest with how many times I've posted that web address. I don't though. First, I'm lazy and I hate having to look through posts for a link. Second, I really believe in what he says.

I gained weight when I had my daughter 18 years ago. I was 150 lbs before. The old "I'm eating for two" was how I justified my gorging on everything that wasn't nailed down. After I had her, I couldn't shed the weight and it made me embarrassed to be seen so I stayed indoors. I didn't work for a while and I just sat around and watched TV. Between my daughter and my laziness, I gained 46 lbs. When I finally got a job, I was forced to walk to it (45 minutes each way) because I didn't drive. I was in NYC for pete's sake! If I had to go anywhere that was far, the bus and/or subway would take me there! When I was younger, I took my bike to work. Now I had to walk 45 minutes each way to my cashier job 4 times a week sometimes 5 if they needed me last minute. Within 2 1/2 months, I went from 196 to 176 without trying. I was 31 lbs away from being back to normal and I guess I got too cocky and before I knew it, I was up to 240 lbs! I've teetered between 240 and 250 for a few years now.

In June/'05 I decided to go on the Jorge Cruise 3 hr diet. My friend had lost 50 lbs on it and she looked great. I managed to lose 20 lbs until my husband decided to move to Florida. When I told my friends and co-workers, their response was "Well, we'll have to go do lunch before you leave!" Needless to say, I have A LOT of lunches before I left so when I got down to FL I had re-gained the 20 lbs. I figured when I got here, I would go back on the diet. No chance. Family invited us for dinner and then we had to invite them. I tried to get back on track and each time I failed. I was getting disgusted but I kept trying knowing that sooner or later I'd be able to "get back on the wagon" with my diet.

Through my attempts, I wrote a lot of stuff down on my blog to help me admit to myself what I was doing. When I failed, I wrote it, when I started I wrote it and whatever happened to me to cause a good or bad day, I wrote about it.

I'm in the beginning of my fourth week...back on the 3 hour diet. The first week I lost 7 lbs and the second week .2. My "official" weigh in is on Monday morning. Yesterday I weighed in and I lost 1.8 lbs. I rewarded myself by having pizza for lunch and then right back to my diet.

You or anyone else are more than welcome to read my blog. I think you need to be a member if you want to comment but I think I can change that feature.

my blog is:
www.thejellybean66dietsagain@blogspot.com

I gained weight when I had my daughter 18 years ago. I was 150 lbs before. The old "I'm eating for two" was how I justified my gorging on everything that wasn't nailed down. After I had her, I couldn't shed the weight and it made me embarrassed to be seen so I stayed indoors. I didn't work for a while and I just sat around and watched TV. Between my daughter and my laziness, I gained 46 lbs. When I finally got a job, I was forced to walk to it (45 minutes each way) because I didn't drive. I was in NYC for pete's sake! If I had to go anywhere that was far, the bus and/or subway would take me there! When I was younger, I took my bike to work. Now I had to walk 45 minutes each way to my cashier job 4 times a week sometimes 5 if they needed me last minute. Within 2 1/2 months, I went from 196 to 176 without trying. I was 31 lbs away from being back to normal and I guess I got too cocky and before I knew it, I was up to 240 lbs! I've teetered between 240 and 250 for a few years now.

In June/'05 I decided to go on the Jorge Cruise 3 hr diet. My friend had lost 50 lbs on it and she looked great. I managed to lose 20 lbs until my husband decided to move to Florida. When I told my friends and co-workers, their response was "Well, we'll have to go do lunch before you leave!" Needless to say, I have A LOT of lunches before I left so when I got down to FL I had re-gained the 20 lbs. I figured when I got here, I would go back on the diet. No chance. Family invited us for dinner and then we had to invite them. I tried to get back on track and each time I failed. I was getting disgusted but I kept trying knowing that sooner or later I'd be able to "get back on the wagon" with my diet.

Through my attempts, I wrote a lot of stuff down on my blog to help me admit to myself what I was doing. When I failed, I wrote it, when I started I wrote it and whatever happened to me to cause a good or bad day, I wrote about it.

I'm in the beginning of my fourth week...back on the 3 hour diet. The first week I lost 7 lbs and the second week .2. My "official" weigh in is on Monday morning. Yesterday I weighed in and I lost 1.8 lbs. I rewarded myself by having pizza for lunch and then right back to my diet.

You or anyone else are more than welcome to read my blog. I think you need to be a member if you want to comment but I think I can change that feature.

my blog is:
www.thejellybean66dietsagain@blogspot.com