The Officialish FOFC Weight Loss Dynasty

[Yellow5]

My wife and I decided to make a life change and start eating healthy on Jan 1st.

I was 197 lbs, very high for me (I am used to being 170), eating pizza once or twice a week and generally eating every bad thing possible. Not good when you are 39 years old and have a 1 year old son. I thought that it was time to do something to make sure I am around to see him grow up so....

I started eating right. I've been eating normal meals that are low cal, low fat but high fiber and high protein. I eat more than 3 meals a day, usually 5 meals a day now with small portions in between.

As of Feb. 1st I've lost 17lbs and am down to 180. Not bad on just diet alone with a little carido thrown in each week.

One of the things that helped me was to find a fitness site that I could use to track what I was doing, how much I was eating and all of that fun stuff. I decided on Sparkpeople.com and have been very happy with it. They have a great sister site dedicated to recipes that are good for you, and actually taste good.

I'm also motivated a little bit by greed. My family is doing our own "bigest loser" challenge. We all chipped in 50 bucks, and the person who has lost the greatest percentage of weight by Easter wins the pot of $500.

[DaddyTorgo]

well, i'm down to 223.5

slow and steady loss is what i'm aiming for (better chance of keeping it off that way) so i'm happy. I hit a plateau for a while, where I wasn't weighing myself and wasn't increasing my cardio, but i'm back down onto my losing ways.

223.5 is prolly about halfway to where I want to be (right around 200), so that's great. Essentially 3 months (including the worst months of the year) to get down halfway is not bad.

[sabotai]

An update.

I failed to bring sexyback for my friend's wedding (which they had in February. They set the date in January.) But, since there were no single chicks there at all, it didn't matter.

Part 1 - It's taken until 2 weeks ago for me to finally kick the junk food habit. I started buying a lot of fruit instead. So now instead of pop tarts and chocolate chip cookies, I'm eating a lot of bananas, kiwifruit, peaches, strawberries, etc. I also really like blueberries and raspberries, but they are a bit expensive in this area right now. Raspberries cost about 4 times as much as strawberries!

I've been trying a lot of new fruits, to increase the variety. I tried kiwifruit for the first time a few days ago and that got put right into my starting rotation. I also tried a papaya, but that failed to pass the test.

I've also tried some vegetables, but the results were not good at all. I thought I liked cucumbers, but apparently I really don't. I just can't seem to find veggies I like. Corn, green beans, beats and potatoes are about it, and I can't say I'm a big fan of the potato (I have to add stuff, like butter, to make it taste good and that kinda defeats the purpose). So I guess I'll be eating a lot of corn, green beans and beats.

Part 2 - I've only drank maybe 3 or 4 cans of soda in the last few months, and the last time I was in a fast food place was about a month ago (Arby's). So I guess I've done pretty well there.

Part 3 - I got REALLY sick in January for most of the month and it took me quite awhile to get back into lifting weights 3 times a week. At some point during that period, the magnetic resistants in my exercise bike stopped working, so I haven't been doing any cardio like I planned. Sometime this weekend I'm going to take apart the bike and see what's going on.

I wrote that original post in September and it looks like, in the middle of March, I'm finally getting around to actually getting to it.

[sabotai]

Finally got a scale and here are my readings from it today:

Weight: 245.2 lb
Body Fat %: 37.3% (8-19.9% is Normal)
Muscle %: 29.5%
Visceral Fat: 16 (9 or lower is good)
Resting Metabolism: 2165 kcal
BMI: 34.7

I don't know how accurate these are. It uses the Bioelectrical Impedance Method to determine Fat %, which sends an electric current through the body. I've weighed myself several times since yesterday (before bed, after waking up, when I got hoem from work and I did again just now, which are the above readings). All of the readings, except for Visceral Fat which has stayed at 16, have fluctuated a point or two, but they all seem consistant.

Looks like I have a lot of work to do.

[sabotai]

I started weighing myself every morning (and most afternoons). I started on 4/5, and here are the weights (ignore the numbers I posted above)

4/5 - 241.0
4/6 - 239.0
4/7 - 239.2
4/8 - 239.2
4/9 - 240.6
4/10 - 239.6
4/11 - 240.4 (first week average: 239.9)
4/12 - 239.2
4/13 - 240.4
4/14 - 240.0
4/15 - 238.6
4/16 - forgot
4/17 - 238.8 (second week: 239.4)

When I would weigh myself in the afternoon, my weight would be a pound or two higher, but the body percentages from my scale would be a point or two better (if BF was 37% in the morning, it would be 35-36% in the afternoon).

[JeeberD]

It's best if you weight yourself more like once a week, and the same time of the day every time you do it. You get a more consistent reading, and are less likely to get frustrated by the weird readings.

I've been back on the wagon for about a week now. Yesterday was my first day back at the gym...I'm sore already.

[GoldenEagle]

What type of scale are you using sabotai?

[MacroGuru]

Alright....my turn again...

I am up to 210 - 215, depending on the time of day, but the thing that is killing me is my diet.

Back to eating healthy, dropping the soda and working out.

Me dropping soda is generally a 10 pound loss in 2 weeks, I hope it sticks true to form. The hard part will be getting to the gym, but I will figure out a way to make it work, or buy a set for the home.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by GoldenEagle

What type of scale are you using sabotai?

This one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KK02X0

I've started just weighing myself once a week. I only did the day-to-day for the first few weeks so that I could see kind of variation (+/-) I should expect. My last weight was 239. Sleepless nights are killing me.

[Ksyrup]

I'm back to actively exercising and trying to lose weight. I lost all that weight about 18 months ago, gained about half of it back, and now I'm 6 weeks into losing it again. I'm about 18 pounds down already and cut my body fat % by about 5%. I'll be starting adult soccer and tennis leagues next week, which will help. I'm getting to the gym when i can, which isn't that often, but I'm liking the strength training on the Wii Fit. My balance sucks.

Best part is, a bunch of secretaries at work decided to do a Biggest Loser contest at work, and they begged me to join. Everyone puts in $60 for 12 weeks ($5/week), and each weekly winner gets half of that week's pot, with the overall winner getting the rest of the pot. So with 20 people, that's $1,200 total, with the weekly winner getting $50 and the overall winner getting $600. I may very well win the whole thing.

Anyone have any thoughts on BMI? I find it pretty ridiculously unrealistic. Based on the Wii Fit calculation, I need to lose about 15 pounds to get to the absolute upper limit of the "normal" range. And to be safely in the middle of the "normal" range, I'd have to lose about 25 pounds. At about 15-20 pounds from where I am right now - which is where I was 18 months ago - I had people asking me if I was recovering from an illness and stuff like that. No way I will believe that it's healthy for me to be another 25-30 pounds less than I am right now.

[Ksyrup]

I won the weekly Biggest Loser pot again. That's $90 for winning 2 of the first 4 weeks (we have 18 people instead of 20). These secretaries are going to hate me by the time this competition is over.

[Ksyrup]

I've been trying to keep track of my progress informally, and here's where I think I am:

April 14th - 197.7 (fucking ridiculous and shameful)
June 4th - 176.6

My goal is 163-ish. AGAIN.

[johnnyshaka]

Good job, Ksyrup.

About the BMI stuff, I also find the ranges a bit wonky. I know I'm overweight but the range they say somebody with my build should be in seems rather ridiculous to me. But, then again, I'm no doctor.

Anyway, I've been talking about trimming down lately and I think I'm going to head to the gym to renew my membership sometime this week. The intent is to head to the gym several times a week during my lunch hour. With baby number 2 on the way next week that is likely going to be the only time I'll get to do so for the forseeable future otherwise I'd try and get up an hour earlier and get in a workout before work...like I used to do.

I haven't weighed myself in quite a long time but I would guess that I'm somewhere around 235-240 lbs. For starters, I think getting to 210 would be a great start. After dropping those initial "easy" 25 lbs then I think getting down to 190 would probably be a pretty good ideal weight for the long term.

This week may not necessarily be the best week to get started again as I'll likely be off of work for a week or two to help out with the new baby so this plan may get delayed...we'll see.

Regardless, keep up the great work!!!

[Ksyrup]

Had my weekly weigh-in for our Biggest Loser challenge and did surprisingly well - I lost 2.5 pounds. I'm now down a total of just over 23 pounds since April 14th. Not sure if I won the week (and the MONEY) yet, but I'm in the lead. Surely someone lost more than that!?

Although, I hope I do win because we had a bit of gamesmanship this week. The girl who originally convinced me to join and has been getting shit from the others about how much I'm winning, bribed one of my co-workers into taking me to an Indian buffet on Friday afternoon. I definitely ate more than I had planned, but I thought I did pretty well, AND I was so full I didn't even eat dinner. Then I went to the gym Saturday morning (which I probably wouldn't have done), ran for 30 minutes on Wii Fit Monday night, and had my first team tennis match last night. So I rallied to lose 2.5 pounds for the week - and I made it a point to tell all of them that the other girl is to blame if I win this week because of her little stunt. HA!

[johnnyshaka]

Women are so conniving and yet it usually bites them in the ass. Chalk one up to karma!!!

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by johnnyshaka

About the BMI stuff, I also find the ranges a bit wonky. I know I'm overweight but the range they say somebody with my build should be in seems rather ridiculous to me. But, then again, I'm no doctor.

Neither was the person who created the BMI scale, so don't worry about it.

[Sublime 2]

I posted in here before, but due to the rigors of my senior year in college I never got going with weight loss. From graduation in Spring '07 until this past Christmas my weight steadily rose and then plateaued at around 280...pure disgusting. As my previous post indicated, in high school I was a three sport athlete and never above 200. 2 knee surgeries + college lifestyle + lack of moderation = pure obesity.

However, an unfortunate event (/blessing in disguise) in my life around New Years has completely changed my lifestyle. I have stopped my constant weekend binge drinking, and am proud to say in four days I'll have been sober for 6 months on the dot. Along with the sobriety, I decided other changes needed to be made, so in February I ordered a month's worth of Nutrisystem Advanced for Men.

I stayed with NS religiously for the first month and saw big-time results on the scale. Ordered again for March, stayed with it a little less stringently, but continued to see great results. Through April and May I didn't order the NS because I felt the price was killing me, but my exercise picked up due to the increasingly nice weather. I started walking when I went golfing as opposed to using a cart and felt great afterwards. I continued eating healthy foods, but did cheat more often. My weight loss plateaued into June, so I decided to go back on NS about 5 days ago, and again I'm seeing the results fast. The combination of walking 27-36 holes a week and the dieting has me feeling great and energized.

Here are my totals...

Start Date - February 3rd
Start Weight - 281.0 lbs
Goal Weight - 240.0 lbs

Weight Loss
Feb - 12.0 lbs
Mar - 10.5 lbs
Apr - 4.0 lbs
May - 3.5 lbs
Jun - 7.0 lbs (On track to continue my 10.0+ lbs loss while on NS)

Total - 37.0 lbs lost, 4.0 pounds to my original goal!!

I have since revised my goal to 220.0 lbs.

I did want to thank you guys though, there are a lot of inspiring stories/updates in here that really kick started me checking out this dynasty in the past. Here's hoping I keep updating you guys.

[MacroGuru]

I have to say I am a stress eater and very weak when under a lot of stress, so I have been unable to keep myself disciplined. But it has to change and I have to stop talking about it and do it. Thanks Sublime 2 for prodding me in the right direction again.

[MacroGuru]

Alright,

For those of you who had to, how did you battle the soda/caffeine problem. This is honestly my weak point, I can't stop drinking it...I can't do diet it's a psychological thing stemming back from being misdiagnosed as hypoglycemic as a 12 year old.

I know water, but what did you do when the cravings hit.

[molson]

Originally Posted by MacroGuru

Alright,

For those of you who had to, how did you battle the soda/caffeine problem. This is honestly my weak point, I can't stop drinking it...I can't do diet it's a psychological thing stemming back from being misdiagnosed as hypoglycemic as a 12 year old.

I know water, but what did you do when the cravings hit.

Resist the cravings just for a little while - maybe an hour. The key is to cut back, not think about stopping entirely.

If you usually have 6 sodas a day, try to get by with 4 for a while. Space them out a little, and you'll enjoy them even more.

[MacroGuru]

Originally Posted by molson

Resist the cravings just for a little while - maybe an hour. The key is to cut back, not think about stopping entirely.

If you usually have 6 sodas a day, try to get by with 4 for a while. Space them out a little, and you'll enjoy them even more.

Well, I generally buy 1 20 oz bottle and nurse it through the day, but if I go out to lunch I have a tendency to pound them there.

However, drinking water with lunch shouldn't be the problem. It's those days where I buy 2 or 3 20 oz bottles of soda and just drink and drink....

[finketr]

Originally Posted by MacroGuru

Alright,

For those of you who had to, how did you battle the soda/caffeine problem. This is honestly my weak point, I can't stop drinking it...I can't do diet it's a psychological thing stemming back from being misdiagnosed as hypoglycemic as a 12 year old.

I know water, but what did you do when the cravings hit.

This is my 21st day without caffeine.

I accomplished getting past the caffeine withdrawal headache by getting sick (strep throat) at the same time so that I couldn't tell between the sick headache and the withdrawal headache. when i recovered i hadn't had caffeine for 5 days so i stopped drinking caffeinated coffee at work. The other thing I did was make sure i was getting the proper amount of sleep and therefor not requiring the caffeine pick-me-up in the morning.

It's going pretty well thusfar and my BP has dropped a few points even.

I'm setting a goal to lose 26 lbs by the end of december. I will be walking 2.3 miles tonight at 3.1mph with 3.5 incline and increase this by .1 miles every 2 days.

00tim

[MacroGuru]

Originally Posted by finketr

This is my 21st day without caffeine.

I accomplished getting past the caffeine withdrawal headache by getting sick (strep throat) at the same time so that I couldn't tell between the sick headache and the withdrawal headache. when i recovered i hadn't had caffeine for 5 days so i stopped drinking caffeinated coffee at work. The other thing I did was make sure i was getting the proper amount of sleep and therefor not requiring the caffeine pick-me-up in the morning.

It's going pretty well thusfar and my BP has dropped a few points even.

I'm setting a goal to lose 26 lbs by the end of december. I will be walking 2.3 miles tonight at 3.1mph with 3.5 incline and increase this by .1 miles every 2 days.

00tim

Now I have read that the caffeine from tea is minimal and its just enough to take the edge off, and if you don't use creamer or sugar in it, it should be a healthy substitute. When I first did my major weight loss I still had the 1 20oz a day and it didn't effect me, but I don't want to be the slave to Soda anymore...

Do you guys think Tea is a healthy alternative?

[Lorena]

Okie dokie, apparently working and trying to follow a diet was too much for me. Luckily, my contract ends on Friday and I'll have time to actually plan my meals and whatnot.

[MacroGuru]

Alright, 2 days on the new diet, 5 small meals a day, no soda and I am already down 4 pounds, however I have yet to be able to hit the gym. I need to find time in my schedule to do it, as I am drinking a meal replacement shake twice a day and they have more protein than some and I do not want to drop weight and be what the wife and I call a skinny fat. (If it makes sense, they person has dropped the weight, no real muscle there, just some fat.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by MacroGuru

Do you guys think Tea is a healthy alternative?

Next to water, tea is the best thing you can drink. (real, nonherbal tea, that is. Not the little packets or the kind that's a sugary powder)

Caffeine gets a bit of a bad rap. A lot of studies have been done on caffeine, and there really is no consensus over the results. Some point to it raising blood pressure, so point to raising blood pressure short term but not long term, and some have shown it actually lowering blood pressure. Studies have also shown that the negative health effects of caffeinated soda are not present when drinking caffeinated coffee.

But, if you are still worried about caffeine, then drink White tea or Green tea. They have less than half of the caffeine that you'll find in Black tea (which has about half of the caffeine you'll get in coffee).

Coffee* is actually pretty good for you as well. It's loaded with antioxidants (Oxidation is a factor in degenerative diseases and cancer - antioxidants helps the body protect against it).

* - taken black, of course. Loading it with sugar and cream/milk pretty much tips the scales to the "it's bad for you" side of things.

[Sublime 2]

Updated Totals

Start Date - February 3rd
Start Weight - 281.0 lbs
Goal Weight - 240.0 lbs
Current Weight - 240.5

Weight Loss
Feb - 12.0 lbs
Mar - 10.5 lbs
Apr - 4.0 lbs
May - 3.5 lbs
Jun - 10.5 lbs (3.5 lbs since last week's weigh-in)

Total - 40.5 lbs lost, .5 pounds to my original goal!!

I have since revised my goal to 220.0 lbs.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Logan

Of course it is!

My Friday morning weigh-in turned into a Saturday morning weigh-in due to the fact that it was impossible to get out of bed for work yesterday, so my routine was all messed up.

Start: 234.5 lbs (9/4/06)
Previous: 226.5 lbs (9/15/06)
Current: 224.5 lbs (9/23/06)
Goal: 195 lbs (3/4/06)

I was a little nervous getting on the scale, since my exercising was basically non-existant this week. But I'm fine with the results, since my eating habits are still strong.

Ugh...this is from almost 2 years ago. Well, a lot has happened since then. Back then I was in the middle of a serious relationship which hung on for less than a year. I was still living with my parents, which also went on for about another year before I decided that while saving so much money was awesome, not having my own space and not being around most of my friends sucked. Now I'm living in Manhattan which is obviously awesome, but no more fairly healthy dinners cooked for me. Over the last 10 months, my dieting success has gone up and down, and overall I thought I did better than it could have been (it's hard not to eat out or order in a lot with all the great food here). Obviously being in the city means more going out, which means more drinking, which leads to more late-night eating. As for exercise, I have an awesome gym on the top floor of my building, so that's helpful, but again I was very on and off with that.

Two weeks ago I committed to eating much better than I had been, and also to getting to the gym everyday if possible. I weighed myself around Memorial Day and saw I was 221.5 pounds. Still, after seeing the above post I'm glad that I'm actually down a drop from that time. In these two weeks, I'm happy with how I've been eating, and as for the gym -- I missed one day the first week, and this second week, I missed both yesterday (closed for the 4th) and today (headed home to my parents' house early and was nursing a hangover from yesterday's festivities.

I'll weigh myself tomorrow morning and update this post then. I don't have a scale in my apartment, so I might just monitor my success by feel for awhile, or maybe I'll go out and buy one. Probably a good idea, but in the past I've had trouble not getting on the thing every damn day which usually leads to discouragement. So for now...

edit (updated):
Start: 221.5 lbs (5/27/08)
Current: 215 lbs (7/6/08)
Goal: 190 lbs (12/6/08)

The 210 mark seems to be a bit of a plateau for me going back a few more years, so I know it won't be easy, which is why my timeline is pretty conservative.

[Ksyrup]

I drink tea, but not for the caffeine. My wife, OTOH, gets headaches if she doesn't drink 1 or 2 cups in the morning.

I'm still doing well with my weight loss and with our Biggest Loser competition. I went on vacation the week of the 23rd and all the women were happy someone else would win the week I was gone, and then again the week I got back (because if you miss a week, your 2-week total weight loss is cut in two for that week's competition). Well, the week I came back I lost 6 pounds over the 2 weeks, so I won the week I came back, even with just a 3-pound weight loss counting for the competition. They were not happy and are basically conceding the overall victory to me. I'm back down to around 166 and have lost around 31 pounds since I started (around 28 during the competition).

I got a severely sprained ankle right before I went on vacation and it's still on the mend (I think I might have pulled some tendons or something), so that has kept me from being too active - although we were on the go all vacation, which was great for my weight loss, but not so great on my ankle. I'm going to give tennis and soccer a shot this week - I think my ankle is strong enough. We'll see.

[sabotai]

I got to 236 two weeks ago, but I was back to 239.5 this morning. I fell of the wagon for awhile there. Started eating poorly again and had migraines for a few weeks that kept me from lifting.

I plan to start doing the Couch-to-5K program tonight. I found a park relatively near me and I got a watch to keep track of time. It's been raining off and on, though, so hopefully it clears up later tonight.

EDIT: It's pretty much pouring down now so I guess I start tomorrow or Wednesday.

[sabotai]

OW, MY NIPPLE!

I forgot about chaffing.

I tried to start the Couch-To-5K program tonight, but I guess I'm more out of shape than your average couch potato because I could not keep pace with the 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking. I think I tried to go too fast at first, though. I think on my first 60 second jog, I was closer to "running" than simply "jogging".

There's also a little hill on the path that's nice to look at, but hell to jog up. I was pretty close to the top of the hill when I started my 3rd 60 second jog, but coming down the hill took quite a bit out of me as well. I'm not sure how to work around it except to always walk up and down it regardless of where I am at during the workout. It's not a big hill, so maybe once I lose some weight and get used to running, it'll be nothing to me. I saw a few people jogging pretty much nonstop around the path, so I'm sure they also went up and down the hill too.

Anyway, I could only go for 45 seconds that 3rd time, and then ended up doing 2 minutes of walking and then the 4th time another 45 seconds and I was done for about 3 minutes. I kept going, but I tried jogging for 60 seconds after I caught my breath, which usually took 2-3 minutes (closer to 3 than to 2), but most of the time only managed to jog for 45 seconds.

I worked out that in 20 minutes, that would be about 13 repetitions of 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking (the 20 minutes is up halfway through a 14th 60 second jog). I didn't want to push myself too much, so after it was apparent I wasn't going to be able to keep pace, I kept going until I made 10 attempts at jogging for 60 seconds, and I'd say 4 times I made it 60 seconds, 5 times to 45 seconds and once only 30 seconds. Actually, I don't think I counted the 30 second one, so make that 11 attempts with 6 times making it to 45 seconds.

So anyway, I'm going to keep trying, and the first time I do keep pace, I'll count that as Day 1.

I do feel like I got quite a workout, though. I was sweating like crazy and my legs are pretty weak right now, but I didn't feel dehydrated or ill at all (no light headedness, dizziness, etc.) I did start to get a cramp after the 4th attempt, but it went away.

There might be rain the next two days, so it's looking like Friday will be my next try.

[MacroGuru]

Well, finally found a gym about a block and a half from work. It's a little more pricey than I want to spend, but the only time I am going to get to work out is during my lunch break.

Considering I drink a shake for lunch, it's not taking anything away from me there.

[SFL Cat]

My worst weight was almost 250. I dieted and went down to 215...then eventually went back to about 240.

About eight months ago, I joined the YMCA and started working out on a regular basis. It was tough at first because I'm in my 40s and was really out of shape. Despite wanting to quit several times, I stuck with it -- minimum 3 times a week (I now do it 3-5 times a week). I'm glad I did. I dropped 10 pounds without dieting. About three weeks ago, I started South Beach. I'm down to around 220. My waist has gone from a 44" to a 40" and I'm shooting for a 38" (I was a 36" in college). I went on a cruise a week ago, and gained about 5, but I'm proud of myself because I hit the shipboard gymn twice that week, and considering I didn't limit myself as to what I could eat, I didn't think 5 lbs. was too bad of a pick up. Since I've been home and on a regular regimine again, that extra weight is falling off fast.

Excercise has been the key for me, and I can honestly say I'm in better shape now at 47 than I was at 35.

[Ksyrup]

Lost another pound this week, good for 3rd place in our Biggest Loser contest. I'm still going to win it all, but I'm at the point now that I don't think I can lose 2 pounds a week anymore to try to take the weekly prize. We have 3 more weigh-ins (next 3 Wednesdays, ending on the 30th). So, far I've lost a total of 33 pounds overall, and officially 29 in the contest (although the first weekly weigh-in I purposely weighed after lunch to inflate the total).

I also scheduled a physical for August 1st. Should be interesting to compare my cholesterol levels from before (I think I posted them in this thread, way back in January of 2007).

[sabotai]

I suck at math. I realized while running tonight (first time since the first time) that it's 8 repetitions of 60 second jogging and 90 seconds of walking. I have no idea how I got what I did before.

Anyway, I ran tonight and was able to keep with the pace. This time I made sure to just go at a nice jogging pace instead of running too fast and burning out quickly. So Day 1 of Couch-To-5K is complete!

I also happened to run passed a hawk that had made a fresh kill. That was a bit tense moment, actually. I was afraid for a second as I jogged passed it that it would defend its kill and come after me. I couldn't see what it killed, but it was probably a rabbit. There are a lot of them in that area.

[Logan]

So overall I think this was a pretty good week. To recap, I was happy with my eating from Monday to Friday. I wasn't snacking and my meals were on the healthy side. On Saturday, I was pretty hungover and had a big day ahead, so I had a pumpernickel bagel in the morning (nothing on it, which helps) and then me and a bunch of friends were going to the Bon Jovi concert in Central Park, so we were running around a bit. I had a Lean Pocket (about 300 cals, 7 g fat) around 1, and then a slice of pizza at 3 (fresh mozzarella and tomato slices - really good and at least it's not a meat or breaded chicken). After the show and before going back out, I had a panini from a sandwich shop that had grilled chicken, salsa, some cheese, etc. For my bad day, I think I made some good choices that didn't hurt me too much. And considering how random all this eating was, I was okay with it. I ate well on Sunday so no slippage.

The issue this week wasn't eating; I went out and partied pretty hard each night on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday...and to be honest, Saturday was a 3pm to 3am session (with a few hours off in between during the show). I always try sticking to light beer and straight alcohol to cut down on calories and sugar and stuff, which I pretty much did. Still, putting in all those calories at 2am is never good. This weekend definitely won't be as crazy, and I'm fighting the urge to go to a bar on 82nd St tonight that has a big Home Run Derby party with a bunch of drinking games .

As for exercise...I did a lot of cardio Monday thru Wednesday. After I get home from the gym, I started doing some pushups, crunches, and squats to hopefully help a bit in the muscle development (I HATE lifting). Thursday I didn't make it to the gym as I worked late and then met some friends for dinner, but I made sure I went on Friday for a low-intensity 45 min cardio session even though I felt like complete crap the entire day and had no desire to move. No gym on Saturday as it was just a really busy day, and again I had a nice hangover, but at the very least, I was walking around a lot. Did exercise yesterday too.

So results? I also ended up buying a scale yesterday. I have no idea if it's a good one, but it was pretty much my only option at the hardware store by my apt. I read the instructions which said to set it down on the floor, step on it, and step off quickly while ignoring the display. It said that this was to set the scale because when it is picked up and moved around it loses its accuracy apparently (is this normal?). After the display goes away, that's when you step on for a reading. So I do that and the scale reads 212 lbs (down 3 lbs) but being that this is late in the day I figure I would weigh myself in the morning as that is when I plan on doing it each week for consistency.

So this morning I get on and it reads 211 lbs. Nice. I pick up the scale to put it back in my closet where I plan on keeping it during the week (I really don't have a good spot in either my room or my bathroom to keep it, so I figure I'll do the re-balance thing each time - I now realize that's a pain). Anyway, for some reason I decided I would test the re-balance thing again, and this time, after stepping off first, it reads 213.5 lbs. I think (and hope obviously) that this was inaccurate or I didn't re-balance right, as the original reading of 211 would be more consistent with the prior day's 212, taking the time of day into account. I left the scale in the same spot in my room, so I will re-weigh tomorrow just to be sure.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter much to me, as I can already feel a difference in my clothes so I know I'm progressing, but I want to make sure I'm weighing myself correctly.

Start: 221.5 lbs (5/27/08)
Last week: 215 lbs (7/6/08)
Current: 211 lbs (7/14/08 - and pending)
Goal: 190 lbs (12/6/08)

[MacroGuru]

Getting into the new gym was a big step for me, I started lifting, doing the elliptical and biking last week.

Eating really isn't that bad, it's the sugar snacking sitting at my desk and typing that kills me.

But, just from changing the diet, and getting into the gym, I am down 5 pounds...220 to 215..only 30 more to go...

[sabotai]

I might already be done with running. My right foot and knee were hurting quite a bit today. I'm on my feet most of the day at work so it's going to be a bit before they heal up and I can try again. Wondering if this means I have bad knees (at least one bad knee) or maybe I just came down on it funny once during my run.

[RedKingGold]

I'll start a thread/dynasty once I get a little bit further, but I've so far lost 27 lbs in 25 days using Nutrisystem and consistent exercise (the real key). Nutrisystem helps with my biggest eating problem (controlling portion size) and it feels good to be exercising on a regular basis again.

[Logan]

Great job RKG (even if you're a Phillies fan).

I weighed myself this morning again just to make sure I didn't mess up yesterday with the whole moving the scale around thing, and thankfully I came in a half pound under my first reading of 211 lbs, so on we go...

BTW I didn't realize how long my week recap post was. Please don't feel like you need to read it; it just helps me think about how the week has gone in terms of dieting/exercising when I go into more detail.

[Ksyrup]

HA! I just weighed in for my Biggest Loser challenge, and I lost 5 POUNDS. I'm now down to 160.5. The 5 pounds is misleading, though, because I had 3 hours of exercise last night - a soccer game followed by a tennis match. I am in rough shape this morning. It was hot and the soccer game was at 6, and we only had 1 male sub so I played quite a bit of the game. We won 2-0. One of my teammates is also in my tennis league and our teams happened to be playing each other last night, so we just got there late and played each other. He beat me 6-1 in the first set, then I came back to have a 6-5 lead in the second set before he started cramping and had to quit. We were both dead. We looked (and played) like 85 year olds on the court.

So thanks to last night, I lost about 3 pounds in water weight...just in time for the weigh in.

[Sublime 2]

Updated Totals

Start Date - February 3rd
Start Weight - 281.0 lbs
Goal Weight - 240.0 lbs NEW GOAL 220.0 lbs
Current Weight - 237.0

Weight Loss
Feb - 12.0 lbs
Mar - 10.5 lbs
Apr - 4.0 lbs
May - 3.5 lbs
Jun - 10.5 lbs
Jul - 3.5 lbs

Total - 44.0 lbs


It's been a slow month, I finished my Nutrisystem order at the beginning of the month and have really let my eating habits decline. The last week has been much better eating wise and exercise wise.

I hadn't heard of the Couch-to-5k program until I saw sabotai mention it, so I looked into it and it intrigued me. I just started on Monday and have finished my first three workouts. It went relatively easy, I did it on the treadmill though. I increased the distance I ran each time from 1.05 miles to 1.12 miles to 1.28 miles. I'll probably do two more days of the intitial set, then on Monday I'll start the 2nd set of workouts.

I'm feeling great and lost 2.5 pounds this week! Doesn't say much for how I did the rest of the month, but my re-commitment to healthy eating and exercise is working.

I really shouldn't be running on my knee, but as far as I can tell I can't really do much more damage. I'm already due for a total knee replacement in a 5-10 years so oh well.

[Logan]

Nothing new to report this week, pretty much just more of the same. I'm going to make an effort to not drink as much on the nights I do go out...while it's a fun time, I think it's hurting me in my goals, and I since I'm happy with my eating and exercising, that's the only thing to change.

Start: 221.5 lbs (5/27/08)
Last week: 211 lbs (7/14/08)
Current: 208 lbs (7/22/08)
Goal: 190 lbs (12/6/08)

[Logan]

Well, I was really happy with everything this week. My eating was very good and I exercised a lot. I went out Friday night and was a bit more controlled. Anyway, I felt good going into the weigh-in and the results showed it:

Start: 221.5 lbs (5/27/08)
Last week: 208 lbs (7/22/08)
Current: 204 lbs (7/28/08)
Goal: 190 lbs (12/6/08)

I feel a big difference in my clothes, especially when I threw on some stuff I haven't worn since last winter. I think I'm going to have to add in more lifting as time goes on.

[RedKingGold]

Originally Posted by RedKingGold

I'll start a thread/dynasty once I get a little bit further, but I've so far lost 27 lbs in 25 days using Nutrisystem and consistent exercise (the real key). Nutrisystem helps with my biggest eating problem (controlling portion size) and it feels good to be exercising on a regular basis again.

Now up to 35 pounds lost in 39 days.

[Logan]

Just updating with progress since there was nothing major to report:

Start: 221.5 lbs (5/27/08)
Last week: 204 lbs (7/28/08)
Current: 202.5 lbs (8/3/08
Goal: 190 lbs (12/6/08)

[Radii]

Originally Posted by Radii

Now that I'm settled back in having moved up to North Carolina I got a gym membership to the local gym in town, and will yet again be back on the wagon here very soon, good to see others posting here too, GL!

haha, so by soon, I meant "this year sometime"

I've started back up on low carb after talking with my family doctor. My blood sugar and blood pressure are both high. I'm taking some meds for blood pressure, but for now I'm just recording my blood sugar twice a day(my mom is diabetic and has a glucometer... I think that's what its called ) and will go back to the doc in about 10 days and we'll decide if dieting is helping to regulate my blood sugar enough or if I need meds for that to help me lose weight too.

Good news, and bad news.

Starting weight: 349.0

The good news is that is still less than when I started trying to lose weight last year, so I have not gained much weight in the last 8 months. The bad is that its still a frighteningly high number.

I've been in and out of this thread 3 or 4 times now, which is a pretty accurate representation of my dieting habits over the last 5-7 years. I'm very happy and comfortable with my doctor here, and am once again committed to making a solid effort and not just disappearing from this thread, and from dieting, in a month

[Logan]

This past week was a challenge. I was down in DC for work, and when I go down there with a bunch of co-workers, it usually ends up with a lot of drinking and eating at good restaurants. There also tends to not be time to go to the gym. I was proud of myself though...I only grabbed a couple beers during two of the nights, and I went to the gym everyday. My eating was good. Toast/fruit for breakfast, turkey/grilled chicken sandwiches with no cheese for lunch, and differing dinners, none of which I'd say were close to unhealthy. That's pretty much as good as I eat when I'm home, so I can't complain.

Start: 221.5 lbs (5/27/08)
Last week: 202.5 lbs (8/3/08)
Current: 201 lbs (8/11/08)
Goal: 190 lbs (12/6/08)

I now weigh less than I have since I was probably 14 or 15 years old, which makes me feel pretty good. I think I'm at the point where I have to start incorporating more strength training into my workout, so that will be my goal this week.

[Radii]

Starting weight: 349.0 (8/6)
Current: 344.5 (8/13)


Had a pretty good first week, did a good job cooking for myself and keeping salad stuff in the house and snacks that won't tempt me to stray from my low carb ways. My doctor has asked me to check my blood sugar twice a day until my next appointment, when I wake up, and shortly after a meal, and the numbers have improved from the high of 140 when I was at the doctor's office last week, and 141 the first morning I was dieting, most readings since then have been in the 90-110 range. I go back to the doctor next Monday w/ these numbers and we'll review the rest of my bloodwork and decide if I should be on any meds for blood sugar until I drop some more weight.

As always, I need to exercise more, and hopefully will do even better in week #2.

[Logan]

Start: 221.5 lbs (5/27/08)
Last week: 201 lbs (8/11/08)
Current: 199 lbs (8/19/08)
Goal: 190 lbs (12/6/08)

Seeing that "1" to start my weight is a pretty solid motivator.