Weight loss and weight management catch-all!

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Hey guys! Let's talk about controlling our weight, OK? Advice, regular progress reports, before and after photos, motivational speaking, that sort of thing! And this thread isn't just about losing weight - it's about maintaining a healthy weight, and what we can all do to help each other reach our goals!

I know what you're thinking: hey, there's already a fitness thread over here! The thing is, you don't have to be a fitness enthusiast to just want to ditch a few pounds, and that thread can be a bit intimidating for a newbie. We haven't had a proper weight loss thread since the 2011 weight loss group, and when I checked my calendar I realized that it hasn't been 2011 in years. Even though some of us have kept partying like it's 2011 anyway, it's just time to move on.

I'm in!

Still got a few pounds to go. I'll go see if I can dig up the March 2013 to March 2014 photo my wife made.

These are two my wife put together

IMAGE(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3933/15526065216_db06f4f3b4_m.jpg)
IMAGE(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3930/15526065396_07b485c564_m.jpg)

This is just about the most recent, from my son's birthday about 2 weeks ago.

IMAGE(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5611/15363636618_6deb06b969_m.jpg)

Fantastic Hemidal!

I recently lost about 20 pounds to come down from 205-ish to about 185. I stopped because the speed of the weight loss was kind of frightening. I used MyFitnessPal to document my caloric intake and cycling about two hours a day (once in the morning, once at night just around the house) to boost my caloric budget. MyFitnessPal estimated I needed to consume 1770 calories per day only in order to lose about a pound a week, but cycling apparently adds about 1400 more to that. I tended to go under-budget, too, for the days in which I was busy at work, so I lost the 20 pounds in 8 weeks. Some people thought I started doing uppers or something (occupational hazard).

I've been off the bike, but I'm keeping an eye on what I eat, and strive to consume less than 2000 calories. Cutting the soda, the sugary stuff, and any incidental snacks really helps!

OK. I'm 200 pounds or so and I need to drop down to 195. I'm adding muscle through exercise but I'm chubby round the middle due to late night snacking. The problem there is eating food before I sleep.

I can't help it sometimes. I take my nighttime depression medication and my restless leg medication and my self-control switches are switched off in my head. Last night I had two pieces of fruit.

Oh, and thanks Gore. Loving the new thread.

Strangeblades wrote:

OK. I'm 200 pounds or so and I need to drop down to 195. I'm adding muscle through exercise but I'm chubby round the middle due to late night snacking. The problem there is eating food before I sleep.

I can't help it sometimes. I take my nighttime depression medication and my restless leg medication and my self-control switches are switched off in my head. Last night I had two pieces of fruit.

While it can be more expensive making sure you have healthier snacks around makes a big difference. Instead of chips or left overs having fruits and nuts has made a difference for me.

What I'd do in your situation, Strangeblades, is to cut calories from somewhere else. If your late night snacking desire is strong, best not to engage there. Attack where you're strong and the calorie-munchies are weak. I do best with a eat-this-not-that system. Basically, I look up the caloric content of the stuff I eat, and then eat the less-calorie dense meals that I still quite enjoy when I snack earlier, or intend to snack later. Variety makes things go better, IMO. Sometimes you binge on late night ice cream and then have small, tasty steak; other times you munch on fruit and then go to that buffet and stuff your face.

Important!

I found out that I'm severely underhydrating. I'd fallen into the trap of thinking I'm peckish when I was really thirsty. So. I made a rule that I had to drink a tall glass of water whenever I was about to bust something out - pig out on roast pig, stuff my face with ice cream, or finish a bag of Lay's.

ranalin wrote:
Strangeblades wrote:

OK. I'm 200 pounds or so and I need to drop down to 195. I'm adding muscle through exercise but I'm chubby round the middle due to late night snacking. The problem there is eating food before I sleep.

I can't help it sometimes. I take my nighttime depression medication and my restless leg medication and my self-control switches are switched off in my head. Last night I had two pieces of fruit.

While it can be more expensive making sure you have healthier snacks around makes a big difference. Instead of chips or left overs having fruits and nuts has made a difference for me.

Fruit is always good. Trouble with nuts though is that they're immensely calorie dense. So while they're a major step up in terms of nutrients, swapping out chips for nuts won't really help in the weight loss department. For me they are actually worse in that respect; when I go snack crazy I can pack away more calories of nuts faster than I can with chips.

LarryC wrote:

I found out that I'm severely underhydrating. I'd fallen into the trap of thinking I'm peckish when I was really thirsty. So. I made a rule that I had to drink a tall glass of water whenever I was about to bust something out - pig out on roast pig, stuff my face with ice cream, or finish a bag of Lay's.

Watch your pee. When I was training > 10 hours a week for triathlons, and therefore sweating a *lot*, I had to pay attention to hydration like a hawk. The color of my pee was the yardstick - if it wasn't clear, then that was a sign that I needed to drink more.

gore wrote:

Fruit is always good. Trouble with nuts though is that they're immensely calorie dense. So while they're a major step up in terms of nutrients, swapping out chips for nuts won't really help in the weight loss department. For me they are actually worse in that respect; when I go snack crazy I can pack away more calories of nuts faster than I can with chips.

True, but some nuts are worse than others.

1 cup of peanuts: 828 calories, 72g fat (10 of which is saturated), 38g protein

1 cup almonds: 529 calories, 45g fat (3.5 of which is saturated), 20g protein

That's a helluva difference.

gore wrote:
ranalin wrote:
Strangeblades wrote:

OK. I'm 200 pounds or so and I need to drop down to 195. I'm adding muscle through exercise but I'm chubby round the middle due to late night snacking. The problem there is eating food before I sleep.

I can't help it sometimes. I take my nighttime depression medication and my restless leg medication and my self-control switches are switched off in my head. Last night I had two pieces of fruit.

While it can be more expensive making sure you have healthier snacks around makes a big difference. Instead of chips or left overs having fruits and nuts has made a difference for me.

Fruit is always good. Trouble with nuts though is that they're immensely calorie dense. So while they're a major step up in terms of nutrients, swapping out chips for nuts won't really help in the weight loss department. For me they are actually worse in that respect; when I go snack crazy I can pack away more calories of nuts faster than I can with chips.

I'm trying mental tricks to keep myself from late night snacking first. Then I'll consider other options mentioned here. Thanks for the suggestions!

Jonman wrote:

True, but some nuts are worse than others.

1 cup of peanuts: 828 calories, 72g fat (10 of which is saturated), 38g protein

1 cup almonds: 529 calories, 45g fat (3.5 of which is saturated), 20g protein

Peanuts are a legume.

It's 12:38 a.m. PST and still haven't snacked. Drugs are inside me but no snackies. Going to bed soon. Snackless.

I don't really plan to keep updating except for major milestones, but here's my story:

April 10, 2014: go to the doctor for a stomach bug, get a full round of tests at the nurse practitioner's insistence. Weighed in at 273.

April 15, 2014: NP calls me and tells me I have type 2 diabetes

April 23, 2014: go to the doctor to talk about diabetes and get prescribed metformin, weigh in at 282.

May 22, 2014: Start using an app called Noom to facilitate weight loss

October 14, 2014: get told by NP that I should no longer be medicating for diabetes

October 17, 2014: weigh in at 212.

So I've lost 70 pounds in a bit under 6 months. It has been a lot easier than I thought it would be, honestly. I've been surprisingly resistant to snacking impulses and have kept myself, with the exception of holidays, under 1400 or so calories per day. Lately it's been more like under 1200.

The worst part about all this was having to replace my entire wardrobe. My girlfriend says that's the best part about losing weight, but it wasn't her $600.

I'm trying to hit 200 by Thanksgiving and 180 by next April. I'd probably need another entirely new set of clothes at that point >_<

I might scrounge up a before and after shot later.

Blind_Evil wrote:

I don't really plan to keep updating except for major milestones, but here's my story:

April 10, 2014: go to the doctor for a stomach bug, get a full round of tests at the nurse practitioner's insistence. Weighed in at 273.

April 15, 2014: NP calls me and tells me I have type 2 diabetes

April 23, 2014: go to the doctor to talk about diabetes and get prescribed metformin, weigh in at 282.

May 22, 2014: Start using an app called Noom to facilitate weight loss

October 14, 2014: get told by NP that I should no longer be medicating for diabetes

October 17, 2014: weigh in at 212.

So I've lost 70 pounds in a bit under 6 months. It has been a lot easier than I thought it would be, honestly. I've been surprisingly resistant to snacking impulses and have kept myself, with the exception of holidays, under 1400 or so calories per day. Lately it's been more like under 1200.

The worst part about all this was having to replace my entire wardrobe. My girlfriend says that's the best part about losing weight, but it wasn't her $600.

I'm trying to hit 200 by Thanksgiving and 180 by next April. I'd probably need another entirely new set of clothes at that point >_<

I might scrounge up a before and after shot later.

Man that is amazing! I'm coming up on two years now and that's how much I've lost, I try to run about a 500 calorie deficit a day (but end up probably closer to 300 a day).

The wardrobe thing is definitely a real consideration. Lucky for me I had kept my old clothes from before I "bulked up," so I had something I could use when I got near my goal. Too bad they had gone a bit out of style, but at least they fit

boogle wrote:
Jonman wrote:

True, but some nuts are worse than others.

1 cup of peanuts: 828 calories, 72g fat (10 of which is saturated), 38g protein

1 cup almonds: 529 calories, 45g fat (3.5 of which is saturated), 20g protein

Peanuts are a legume.

Your face is a legume.

And it was a no-snack night. Made it through one night.

Don't ruin food with guilt, man. Every night you don't snack is a victory! But every night you snack - well, it's a snack night so it can't be that bad, right? Both are good in their own way. Hehe.

Strangeblades wrote:

And it was a no-snack night. Made it through one night.

Congratulations!

One thing that has helped me immensely is using a calorie tracking app. I use Lose It! but a lot of people like My Fitness Pal.

When I get the urge to snack for whatever reason, the act of logging the calories gives me pause, and I will either not snack at all or snack less than I would otherwise.

LarryC wrote:

Don't ruin food with guilt, man. Every night you don't snack is a victory! But every night you snack - well, it's a snack night so it can't be that bad, right? Both are good in their own way. Hehe.

Don't worry. I don't feel no guilt. (thanks to drugs and being a reporter for 14 years)

gore wrote:
Strangeblades wrote:

And it was a no-snack night. Made it through one night.

Congratulations!

One thing that has helped me immensely is using a calorie tracking app. I use Lose It! but a lot of people like My Fitness Pal.

When I get the urge to snack for whatever reason, the act of logging the calories gives me pause, and I will either not snack at all or snack less than I would otherwise.

What's keeping me going is I want to see the results of my strength training.

It's going to be a no-snack night and a no-booze weekend. No-snack night. No-snack night.

I did an unofficial weigh-in this morning... 222.6! Somehow I'm down 3.5 since Tuesday.

In honor of being below 225, I'll do some before and after. I had a really hard time finding full body pictures. Surprisingly, when I didn't like the way I looked I didn't have many pictures taken.

From my sister's wedding 3-30-2013: 295-315 lbs (not sure exactly)
IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/Bd9cfFP.jpg)

From a friends wedding a few weeks ago (10-3-2014) : 231 lbs
IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/puuMkSQ.jpg)

Edit: That before and after is pretty shocking to me. Did I really look like that for the past 10+ years?

Wow! That's amazing kaostheory.

Glad there is a new thread. I feel like I can jump in easily. I am 6'5" and around 310 lbs. I hate being over 300 and from past experience feel that I would be happy in the 225 to 250 range depending on the muscle amount I end up with.

I recently discovered that I not only had sleep apnea (snoring a lot) but I a also have hypo-thyroidism (thanks mom). I got a cpap and now am not falling asleep on the way home from work all the time. I am currently trying to find the right dosage level to get me to the normal range for my thyroid. Apparently this has a big affect on my weight when it is correct. I've put on around 8 lbs since I started the medication, so obviously I'm not there yet.

My previous weight loss attempts required me to be around 1500 or less on my caloric intake. The doctor said that this was much lower than it should be due to me being a freakishly tall person. Hopefully with the proper dosage level if I consume ~2000 I should be on track.

1500 is hard for me to hit, but I am going to start up again as I am sick of being this overweight and need to get it under control. I also am trying to get the motivation to work out a little at first so that I can start getting into a routine. We have an elliptical at home so I want to set it up in front of a tv and catch up on shows that way.

By posting this here I now have some accountability. Is there an app that most people here use for tracking the basics where I will be held accountable? I downloaded "Lose it!" the other day, but haven't opened it. I also have Pedometer++ but don't really trust it yet.

I found MyFitnessPal to give me a reasonable budget. I aimed for 1 pound a week as a sustainable goal. I'm only 5'8" and it gave me something like 1800 calories for a budget, vegging around the house and playing games. With a regular 2 hours of cycling a day, it gave me over 3000, I think.

Guess I need to tag this thread now.

So as mentioned in the other thread, I'm finding it incredibly helpful working with a nutritionist, and I'm just following her plan (portions and food groups) of what to eat every day. The last time I saw her (a month ago) she upped my carbs and meat, to keep me gaining muscle. She has me eating the big portion of carbs and meat (dinner) as my meal right after I workout at the gym with weights.

I haven't been losing weight for the last 5 weeks or so, but...omg i guess i've been losing something. She checks me with those pinchy calliper thingies.

So let me post it this way:

Height 185cm (6'1")
Starting Weight: 29% fat 120kg (6/6/2014 - 264 lbs)
Last Checked in Weight: 27% fat 108.6 kg (9/26/2014 - 239 lbs)
Today's Checked in Weight: 25.8% fat 108.6 kg (10/17/2014 - 239 lbs)
Target Date/Weight: 100kg (12/25/2015 - 220 lbs)

So I went down 1.2% fat, while staying the same weight. She says that at some point I'll start to plateau the muscle gain, and then lose measurable weight fairly fast like I did at beginning.

So yeh team! 1.2% fat down!

Been struggling with stress eating... probably gained twenty-five pounds in the last 3 years and I'm trying to motivate myself to get it off. Better to get cracking on it before the holidays so I can grow some willpower to turn down treats.

Going to the doctor early November so I'll have an official starting weight then. Not looking forward to the number she's going to tell me. Horrifyingly enough, that worry just adds more stress and makes me want to eat.

How do you even break the cycle? I'm honestly unsure.

Duchess wrote:

Been struggling with stress eating... probably gained twenty-five pounds in the last 3 years and I'm trying to motivate myself to get it off. Better to get cracking on it before the holidays so I can grow some willpower to turn down treats.

Going to the doctor early November so I'll have an official starting weight then. Not looking forward to the number she's going to tell me. Horrifyingly enough, that worry just adds more stress and makes me want to eat.

How do you even break the cycle? I'm honestly unsure.

I'm very new at this, but when I first started I was trying to do food on my own, and got help from trainer at a gym. I felt guilty, at that point, eating any amounts of foods with calories (carbs/meat/etc.). Once I saw the nutritionist though and got a plan (e.g. "For dinner 3 cups of carbs, 150g of lean meat, 1 cup of veggies), I could eat my carbs guilt-free and I felt *much* better about eating food in general.

And the truth is, looking at my 3 cups of spaghetti...that's a LOT of spaghetti. But at the same time, I realized that at some meals with my wife's family, I was eating the equivalent of 3 cups of spaghetti, and 3 cups of potatoes, and 3 cups of bread. So...turns out I used to be okay having 9 cups of carbs at a meal.

Having official permission for what I *can* eat, reduced most of my guilt about food. Rather than focusing all day on what I *can't* eat.

I'm still really new at this, but that's what's helped me so far. And here in Greece, at least, the amount of money it costs me to see the nutritionist once a month, is completely paid for by how much less food I eat in that month vs. what I used to eat.

Yay. Another no snack night (last night). And regular food during the day (yesterday) too. Tonight? Another no snack night.

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