Weight loss and weight management catch-all!

Ah, I dig. That sounds like a good plan, especially with the new job... better to not make too many huge changes all at once.

LarryC wrote:

How about carrots? I got a recipe for lumpia with significant amounts of carrots and potatoes in it. It's how I like my lumpia.

They're one of those things that, if they're chopped up to be small enough that I don't notice, I'm fine with. Otherwise, I feel like I'm trying to swallow not-food.

I grew up with an absolutely atrocious diet, and when you're buying stuff you don't like and are the only person in the home that's going to be eating it, suddenly it is a lot harder to make changes to diet.

I'd like to eat more spinach, but the problem is they don't sell them in a small enough quantity for me to justify. I don't like the idea of buying a package that I'll use maybe half of before it starts wilting and going bad. I'll use some in sandwiches and such, but not enough, and I don't really know any ways to properly prepare it. I was considering purchasing frozen spinach, but want to take some time to find instructions for putting spinach together in an interesting fashion first.

You can chop the carrots as fine as you like! Purée them if you want. I put them into the lumpia because they're otherwise too plain. I'll post the recipe when I get home.

I've been making smoothies for breakfast with spinach. 1 banana (probably going to cut that down to a half), a handful of frozen berries, whatever we have on hand, a spoonful of peanut butter, as much spinach as I can cram into the cup, and enough milk or almond milk to get it to blend. Usually not pretty, ends up either purple or brown depending on what fruit ends up in there, but it tastes really good and is only about 300 calories.

OK, LETS DO THIS!!!

Starting Weight: 450 lbs (08/25/2012)
Last Week (ha): 350
Current Weight: 336 lbs (1/26/2015)
Change: -14
10% Term Goal: 315 lbs by (03/01/2015)

Been about two weeks, still though that isn't bad.

Starting Weight: 320.6 1/5/15
Current Weight: 306.2 1/26/15
Goal for now: 250 Sometime reasonable

I walked a lot at PAX and still lost 1 lb from before I left... I didn't eat horribly, just a little badly and I successfully had a fun trip without gaining back what I had been losing.

I think the rate I am losing weight is good, but it will not remain steady without more work on my part. Plan to actually start walking with the wife tonight.

(I know I won't get a constant loss rate, I just want to make sure that as I lose more weight I work harder to keep it going as much as possible.)

fleabagmatt wrote:

I've been making smoothies for breakfast with spinach. 1 banana (probably going to cut that down to a half), a handful of frozen berries, whatever we have on hand, a spoonful of peanut butter, as much spinach as I can cram into the cup, and enough milk or almond milk to get it to blend. Usually not pretty, ends up either purple or brown depending on what fruit ends up in there, but it tastes really good and is only about 300 calories.

Hey I've been doing smoothies for the past two weeks now. I don't have the perfect blend yet but here is what I mostly do.

20oz Berry PB protein Smoothie

1 cup milk, soy milk, or almond milk Or 1/2 cup milk & 1/2 cup OJ
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 of the little cup that comes with protein power whey, french vanilla
2 tbs PB2 (optional)
1/2 cup old fashion oats
1 cup frozen mixed berries
1/2 cup frozen spinach
a few olives (optional)
2 to 4 ice cubes
4oz plain yogurt
squirt of lemon juice (optional)
1 tsp Flax Oil
honey

PB2 mixes better than PB. I first did it without ice but it wasn't cold enough for me. I also started with 6oz of yogurt but the yogurt was to overpowering so I reduced it. I love it but it isn't perfect yet.

I found a slightly healthier sub for a chocolate shake (and I do like chocolate shakes)

1 cup chocolate almond milk (120 calories)
1 banana (100-ish calories, depends on size of banana)
1 scoop cookies and cream whey protein powder (130 calories) - can sub for protein source you prefer
1/4 tsp vanilla
15-20 ice cubes

Blend until smooth

For ballpark 350 calories, this is a pretty solid meal replacement. Might be a little high in sugar, but for 350 calories for a large shake, it beats the heck out of the 1100 for a McDonald's one*

* - I make no claims that this tastes exactly like a McDonald's shake, sacrifices have to be made from time to time.

I do berries (Costco blueberries mostly) and banana. Add ginger and basil to taste. Add chia seed for protein sometimes.

I love being able to drink fruit. I get so many more servings of fruit in thanks to the Vitamix.

I want to do this for breakfast, only with less sugar and chocolate. If breakfast isn't ridiculously lazy, I won't eat it. I also hate cold cereal.

Starting Weight (12/28/13): 295 lbs
Previous Weight (01/20/15): 220.4 lbs
Current Weight (01/20/15): 219.2 lbs
Change: -1.2 lbs
Overall Progress: -75.8 lbs

A little more progress this week. Positive little steps forward.

Time for a weigh-in!

Height: 6'1" Start: 11/15/2012 | 250 lbs | 33 BMI | ~36% fat Previous: 12/31/2014 | 172 lbs | 22.6 BMI | ~14% fat [b]Current: 01/27/2015 | 170.1 lbs | 22.5 BMI | ~12.7% fat[/b]

That's it, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! The last week I've been hovering right around 170, which is my maintenance goal.

Now, on to MAINTENANCE!

Over the last two years I've logged my calories using Lose It! every single day. This is how I lost weight. I ate basically the same things (just less of them); the only thing that worked for me was strict monitoring of caloric intake.

I think I will stay on Lose It! until the end of my current challenges (i.e. the end of winter). After that I will see how I fare without Lose It! for a while. I will continue the daily weigh-ins on my Aria scale and if I hit 175 I will go back to daily logging. I think 170-175 is a good range to target.

I really appreciate the GWJ community over the last two years. Having this thread (and its predecessor from 2011) has been invaluable in keeping me motivated. Every time I saw it drift to the top of my tracked threads I looked at it and it was very encouraging. Hopefully maintenance will be as successful

SUCCESS!!! Congratulations, Gore!

gore wrote:

Time for a weigh-in!

Height: 6'1" Start: 11/15/2012 | 250 lbs | 33 BMI | ~36% fat Previous: 12/31/2014 | 172 lbs | 22.6 BMI | ~14% fat [b]Current: 01/27/2015 | 170.1 lbs | 22.5 BMI | ~12.7% fat[/b]

That's it, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! The last week I've been hovering right around 170, which is my maintenance goal.

Now, on to MAINTENANCE!

Over the last two years I've logged my calories using Lose It! every single day. This is how I lost weight. I ate basically the same things (just less of them); the only thing that worked for me was strict monitoring of caloric intake.

I think I will stay on Lose It! until the end of my current challenges (i.e. the end of winter). After that I will see how I fare without Lose It! for a while. I will continue the daily weigh-ins on my Aria scale and if I hit 175 I will go back to daily logging. I think 170-175 is a good range to target.

I really appreciate the GWJ community over the last two years. Having this thread (and its predecessor from 2011) has been invaluable in keeping me motivated. Every time I saw it drift to the top of my tracked threads I looked at it and it was very encouraging. Hopefully maintenance will be as successful :)

That's super awesome!

The community has been a great help for me as well. Feeling like I need to stick to my weekly update forces me to actually weigh-in weekly. And anticipating my weekly weigh-in encourages me to weigh-in multiple times per week just to assess how things are going. I will weigh myself Sunday morning and that will help me decide if we can go out for breakfast or if I should just eat something small at home. The regular updates and encouragement is a huge part of why I've stuck with it now for more than a year compared to at most a couple months in the past.

gore wrote:

That's it, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

All of the high fives. ALL OF THEM!

First weigh in of my class yesterday. I was bit surprised by the number, I've been tracking my calories and it should have been less than this. I'll take it as a good start, though.

Starting Weight: 321.4 lbs (01/20/2015)
Current Weight: 314.6 lbs (1/27/2015)
Change: -6.8
Short term goal: Below 300 by 03/01/15
Long term goal: 231 by 12/01/2015

fleabagmatt wrote:

First weigh in of my class yesterday. I was bit surprised by the number, I've been tracking my calories and it should have been less than this. I'll take it as a good start, though.

Starting Weight: 321.4 lbs (01/20/2015)
Current Weight: 314.6 lbs (1/27/2015)
Change: -6.8
Short term goal: Below 300 by 03/01/15
Long term goal: 231 by 12/01/2015

Good work! It's not uncommon for the start of a new program to have larger numbers than expected. There's a trap there where you start to get discouraged by 1s and 2s instead of 5s and 6s. 1s and 2s are where the long term, sustainable progress is.

kaostheory wrote:
fleabagmatt wrote:

First weigh in of my class yesterday. I was bit surprised by the number, I've been tracking my calories and it should have been less than this. I'll take it as a good start, though.

Starting Weight: 321.4 lbs (01/20/2015)
Current Weight: 314.6 lbs (1/27/2015)
Change: -6.8
Short term goal: Below 300 by 03/01/15
Long term goal: 231 by 12/01/2015

Good work! It's not uncommon for the start of a new program to have larger numbers than expected. There's a trap there where you start to get discouraged by 1s and 2s instead of 5s and 6s. 1s and 2s are where the long term, sustainable progress is.

Keep it up!! I completely agree with the don't get discouraged. Even when I go back a pound or two, week by week I am still doing better.

kaostheory wrote:

Good work! It's not uncommon for the start of a new program to have larger numbers than expected. There's a trap there where you start to get discouraged by 1s and 2s instead of 5s and 6s. 1s and 2s are where the long term, sustainable progress is.

This!

It's also helpful to know that your weight can vary by 3-4 pounds just over the course of a day due to hydration level and, er, other things in your system. So don't focus too much on short term weight changes, take a step back and look at the long term picture

NSMike wrote:

To make this short, I am failing myself. I injured my shoulder in January last year, making my lifting routine impossible. I didn't start getting proper treatment until the summer, and didn't really feel better until late fall. That said, my lifting routine falling off the map sucked the motivation out of my mind completely. I haven't done any major exercise in a long while, and what I did do during this time was sporadic. My diet started to slip.

In mid-2012, I hit the height of my weight loss, having passed 100 pounds lost since I started trying to lose in 2010, putting me at 211 pounds. I have gained 50 pounds since then. It's come back slowly. 2012 was rough. 2013 didn't get any easier, and I closed out the year with reckless abandon at the holidays. By the beginning of 2014, I was 20 pounds heavier. At the beginning of 2015, I am 30 pounds heavier than that.

I'm not a happy person right now. Motivation is scarce. Even though the gym was a familiar place in 2012, I have been away so long that it's intimidating again. I've got no accountability.

I'm throwing away my progress. I'm filling out my clothes more and more. I am frustrated to the point of tears that I had to go buy some shirts a size larger or suffer the embarrassment of wearing tight, small clothing. Most of all, I don't know how to fix this alone.

Most of my major strides in progress came from an office-sponsored "Biggest Loser" competition. They're not doing that anymore. I need help or I'm going to end up destroying everything I worked for before I could even begin to enjoy it. None of my real life friends are doing anything that relates to fitness, diet, or exercise.

I guess what I'm looking for is an accountability partner - someone to help keep me on task. This would, of course, be reciprocal for anyone who wanted to help. I keep setting new start dates and getting ready to commit, but never follow through because there are no short term consequences for it.

Anyone who is willing to help... Please, PM me.

Starting Weight: 312 lbs

Current Weight: 259 lbs

Goals:
Under 200 by 2016
185 as a major milestone
175 as the magic number

Dammit, Mike, you sound just like me.

I'm currently in the worst shape of my life. I'm 34 and for the first time ever my knees are beginning to bother me.

I don't care how much I weigh, I just don't, but I'm utterly and completely out of shape. Exercising just doesn't fit my life right now but the good news is the gf is done with grad school in a few weeks and things will open up a little bit more.

Mike, I hope you've found an accountability partner, I know how helpful that can be in things.

ccesarano wrote:

I'd like to eat more spinach, but the problem is they don't sell them in a small enough quantity for me to justify. I don't like the idea of buying a package that I'll use maybe half of before it starts wilting and going bad. I'll use some in sandwiches and such, but not enough, and I don't really know any ways to properly prepare it. I was considering purchasing frozen spinach, but want to take some time to find instructions for putting spinach together in an interesting fashion first.

Here's what I'm hearing:

I like spinach and I want to eat more.
But I'll end up throwing some away.

To which I say:

I like spinach and I want to eat more. - AWESOME! Do it!
But - Doesn't matter.

You don't need to eat it all, you don't. Leafy vegetables have a short shelf life normally and canned or frozen is just not as good as fresh spinach for the things you mentioned (ie. sandwiches).

As far as prepping it, sauté em, butter em, garlic salt, have at it. Spinach is one of the easiest things to cook in a kitchen, it really takes one or two times cooking them to have a handle on it.

Spinach is also amazing in eggs.

Here's what I'm also hearing:

I am considering purchasing frozen spinach - YES! Do it!
But want to take some time to find instructions for putting spinach together in an interesting fashion first. - NO! Get the spinach, throw it in the freezer, find instructions, then make whatever.

Quit overthinking! Get some spinach. Make some stuff. Eat some stuff. Throw leftovers away. No guilt.

It's easy to do and you can do it. So, do it!

[size=0]This tough love and hopefully somewhat inspirational post is brought to you by some strong ass coffee and the letter Z.[/size]

garion333 wrote:
ccesarano wrote:

I'd like to eat more spinach, but the problem is they don't sell them in a small enough quantity for me to justify. I don't like the idea of buying a package that I'll use maybe half of before it starts wilting and going bad. I'll use some in sandwiches and such, but not enough, and I don't really know any ways to properly prepare it. I was considering purchasing frozen spinach, but want to take some time to find instructions for putting spinach together in an interesting fashion first.

Quit overthinking! Get some spinach. Make some stuff. Eat some stuff. Throw leftovers away. No guilt.

I like the cut of garion's jib on this.

I'd also point out that there's a billion more things to do with spinach than put it in sandwiches. You can eat more spinach, just throw it in most everything.

The alternative is to buy your spinach loose instead of pre-bagged, then you control how much you buy.

I'm starting to wonder if garion333 is astroturfing for the spinach advisory board

I've discovered that a smallish meatball and sausage sammich is now a favorite lunch of mine, and the other half would be smallish cheese steaks. I'll specify later how these notoriously unhealthy things should be moderately portioned due to how I make them. But the overall point is that spinach should be easy to infuse into the two. In fact, I've done it with cheese steaks before. SoI think I can justify the purchase.

I like spinach in these:

IMAGE(http://kawalingpinoy.kawalingpinoy.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/ginisangmunggoatchicharon3680.jpg)

Er. It's mung bean stew, I guess? Translation is hard, yo.

The dish is very savory and very rich in protein. There's some fried pork in it for flavor, but I actually prefer putting in smoked fish - smoked sardine or anchovy.

ccesarano wrote:

I'd like to eat more spinach, but the problem is they don't sell them in a small enough quantity for me to justify.

I have a similar problem, but I just end up freezing it. You lose some nutrition in doing that, but then you can throw it in a stir fry or pack it in a smoothie and it's fine. I buy a big batch of spinach, rinse it, chop and throw away the stems, then pack it in a freezer ziploc.

fleabagmatt wrote:

I've been making smoothies for breakfast with spinach. 1 banana (probably going to cut that down to a half), a handful of frozen berries, whatever we have on hand, a spoonful of peanut butter, as much spinach as I can cram into the cup, and enough milk or almond milk to get it to blend. Usually not pretty, ends up either purple or brown depending on what fruit ends up in there, but it tastes really good and is only about 300 calories.

I do something similar. 1 banana, 20-30 blueberries, 2-3 strawberries, a few small chunks of mango, 1/2 cup kale, 1 cup spinach, 1 cup almond milk, 1 tbsp ground chia seeds, 1 tbsp hemp protein powder, and a bit of water to counter the powders and thin it out.

May I ask why you're cutting the banana down? It's definitely quite a strong taste, but I find that helps defeat the bitterness of the kale in my recipe. I've been considering having a bigger smoothie and using 2 bananas just because my potassium intake isn't very high(most people barely get half of their daily recommended amount).

Trying to limit sugar content, mostly. I've decided to keep making them with a whola banana, though, and remove some fruit from later in the day.

Since I'm fighting a cold right now, I decided some chicken noodle soup would be a nice meal. Trying to get some veggies in the mix, I sauteed a big bunch of spinach and half an onion in olive oil, then added that to the soup. It was tasty!

Checking in today to get MORE PUMPED

Starting 1/8/2015: 172
Current 1/29/2015: 169
Goal: 155

I have been stuck at this weight for 2 weeks now. I've had a few splurges, but overall have been eating healthier than I did all last year which is positive. In order to lose I really need to stay in the 1000-1200 calories/day range, so my eating focus will be not to mindlessly eat empty calories.

I'm realizing I need to add exercise, so am planning to do some basic cardio/strength workouts this weekend while watching tv (jumping jacks, burpees, running in place, core stuff, etc). Stating here to make myself accountable.

Wish me luck, and the power to not O.D. on pita chips.

DiscoDriveby wrote:

Wish me luck, and the power to not O.D. on pita chips.

The one thing I realized about a lot of snack foods is that I tend to appreciate them more for the crunch or texture than the taste, and what I'm realizing more now that I've been using Goldfish crackers to occasionally snack on at work (I can make a single snack bag last anywhere between two to three days) is that, without the salt, I wouldn't really enjoy eating them so much. Ultimately, some snacks merely become habitual. You crave them because you get used to them. The solution for me is to typically just stop buying snacks. For a while I was craving to finish each night with some kind of cookie to go with milk, but this past week I haven't encountered that craving at all since I was unable to fulfill it. I don't crave chips like Doritos until I go to my parents' home and they're all over the place.

Snacks in and of themselves are not bad, but I think the best sort are the ones you can just pour a handful into your palm (which Goldfish are, admittedly, wonderful for) and walk away, munching on what's there. Once they're gone, so should whatever craving you had.

I will confess this is just stuff that I've found helpful, and I'm going to try out some other snack foods as well. The rough thing about nuts (lol) is that, without the over-abundance of salt, they tend to be rather dry and bland as well (double lol). So while I figure I may as well just buy myself some peanuts to snack on at work, they'll only be a mild improvement to Goldfish. I'm actually curious about what sort of stuff Nature Box provides or if they, too, use all kinds of ingredients that ultimately defeats the purpose of being healthy.

Yeah, I have to not buy the snack in order to not eat them. I'm terrible about saying, "oh, I'll just eat 8 pita chips" then actually stopping. Really I love anything carb-y which is hard to get a healthier version of in snack form (sometimes bananas work).

We have snack stuff in the house for the kid (goldfish, graham crackers, cereal) which I'm good about not digging into, but I sometimes steal bites when I get something for him. I think that adds to the weekend difficulty since he eats every few hours...hard to not join him!