Forty by 40 -- A Weight Loss Dynasty

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Kodos

This is great, Subby. I need to start my 40 pounds by 40 dynasty.

Originally Posted by Subby

Do it! That would be awesome. I am going to be 39 in February, so I am right on the precipice with you.

Okay, I've been kicking around the idea of giving this a try again. I turn 40 on July 1, 2010. I am probably 40 pounds over a good weight for someone with my height/frame. The problems that cause the excess weight are the same as I posted in my original attempt, so I will just bump that thread rather than type stuff out again. My goal is to lose 40 pounds by my 40th birthday. I plan to track my progress here, including an excel chart that will track my progress against the pace I need to keep up to lose 40 pounds in the allotted time.

Back in the late 80s, when I ran cross-country and track in high school, I could run a mile in 4 minutes and 45 seconds. Sometimes less than that. I believe my personal best was 4:38. I was even better at the 2 mile run, which I completed in 10:02 twice (ten minutes flat is the standard for a good two-miler in high school). I was the best two-miler at our school, and I won the district two mile my senior year. Standing 5'10", my weight was around 140 or 145 back then. I was skinny. In fact had trouble putting any extra weight on, no matter how much I ate. I would stuff myself just trying to put on some mass, because my scrawniness was embarrassing.

College came and I kept up with the running, though not as much in high school. My weight still hung around 145. That all changed the summer after my junior year. My weight went up to 180 or so. Suddenly, gaining weight was no longer a problem. Now I had a gut that wouldn't go away. After college, I lost track of my weight for while. Then one day, years later, I discovered that I had gone over 200. At first, I thought the scale must be broken.

In recent years, I've ranged anywhere from 190 (around the time of my wedding 5 years ago), to close to 220. Just now I weighed in at 216. Ugh. My lower back hurts too much to run anymore, probably because of the gut and bad posture. But I can certainly walk.

So today I'll start walking and trying to get more exercise. Currently, I have all sorts of bad habits. I drink a lot of soda. Sometimes Coke Zero, but often the regular stuff. I tend to drink water only at night, after dinner. I snack a lot on goldfish, crackers, pretzels, etc. Fruits and vegetables, not so much. I stay up too late and don't get nearly enough sleep. I snack after dinner. I often suffer from insomnia because I have a hard time shutting down after I lie down.

At least I've never been a smoker.

My goals are simple:
1. Get down to 180 by my 39th birthday (July 1)
2. Make soda a treat, not a standard part of my diet
3. Adopt a more healthy sleep pattern

I have the willpower of a gnat, so I'm hoping having a thread like this will give me motivation to keep things up. Accountability is always a good thing. Speaking of accountability, I'll probably post pictures of me every month because I hate how I look. Having to post pictures will be a good motivator for me.

Wish me luck! For now, I'll finish off my 20 oz bottle of cherry coke... Then I'll get a nice glass of ice water.

[Kodos]

Alright. I poured out the Cherry Coke and got a glass of water. I rock!

[Kodos]

I don't plan to detail everything I eat, but will include that from time to time.

Today's lunch:

Turkey sandwich
green beans
glass of ice water

I walked for 30 minutes at a good pace on hilly roads. Stupid calves didn't like it, but that's probably because I'm not properly hydrated. And miserably out of shape.

Back in high school, my cross country coach once told me I was the least physically flexible runner he had ever coached. So that probably doesn't help me either.

[Kodos]

Alright, so this picture is from earlier this summer, and it's particularly unflattering. Hopefully having to post pictures each month will provide motivation. So far, I've done crappy.

[finketr]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Alright, so this picture is from earlier this summer, and it's particularly unflattering. Hopefully having to post pictures each month will provide motivation. So far, I've done crappy.

I think i might start doing that myself on the way down to 270 first, then to 250, etc...

that would provide motivation!

thanks, kodos,

tim

[Kodos]

At least people are probably too dazzled by my tan to notice the gut.

[Qwikshot]

I thought you were green?!? Good luck...

[Kodos]

BIG BUMP.

Today I weighed in at 214 pounds, which is clearly too much for someone who is only 5'10". I do have a broad frame through the shoulders, so I figure a good weight for me would be 175 or so. To hit a nice round number, I'm aiming for 174 on 7/1/2010.

Things I need to do:

1. Stop drinking soda. I consume a lot of Coke/Cherry Coke daily. A big factor is that the caffeine is a mental crutch, because I only get 5 to 6 hours of sleep at night. Having an 11-month old baby who doesn't sleep through the night doesn't help. Since I can't see myself having the will to stop drinking soda forever, I think the rule will be I can only have soda when we are dining out. No soda in the house. I have no willpower, so the only way to not drink soda is to not have it in the house.

2. Get more sleep. Eight hours isn't realistic, but I could aim for 6.5 to 7. That'd be an improvement.

3. Eat better. I have added a lot of fruit to my diet in the form of fruit smoothies, but the problem there is portion control. My smoothies are BIG.

4. Exercise. I did manage to ride our stationary bike the other day for the first time. My wife bought it over a year ago, and that was the first time either of us used it. I plan to make it a regular habit at night after the kids go to bed. And I will try to walk when the weather allows me to.

5. I've developed an ugly Kit Kat habit in the past year. Gotta really cut back on those.

Wish me luck!

[Subby]

Too funny. It's amazing how you know of or about someone for a long time and have no idea how similar you are. You and I have extremely similar backgrounds. I am also a former high school track and cross country guy that is 5'10 and has let himself go. Fortunately I love running, so it's easy to get back into it...hopefully you can get back to the point (through weight loss and maybe some core strengthening) where you can run again. Nothing better for weight loss than being able to run.

Good luck man - I am on board!

[Kodos]

I love running too, but the legs took a beating back in the day. I think regularly riding a bike would be a better goal for me.

[chesapeake]

I have a 3 year-old and a 2 month old, so I know how necessary caffeine can be. I switched to a no calorie option -- Coke Zero in this case.

This is sort of like saving the earth by changing your light bulbs; if it were that easy we'd all be saved. But eliminating those empty calories from your diet will help.

[Kodos]

I've never really liked diet soda. I agree that Coke Zero is the best of the diet options, but I'd like to try to knock out the caffeine addiction and empty calories at the same time, if possible. I'm hoping that Crystal Light can help me as a substitute drink with flavor.

[Dodgerchick]

Good for you Kodos, I'll be following.

[Kodos]

Thanks. The first try was (of course) utter failure!

[Subby]

Be careful on the Crystal Light. That stuff gave me massive headaches and there are some factions that think artificial sweeteners prevent you from losing weight by effing with your insulin levels.

[Kodos]

D'oh. Any suggestions for a good alternative to Crystal Light? I need something with flavor to help replace the Coke cravings.

[Dodgerchick]

Glad you're steering away from the evils of Crystal Light, it didn't work well for me either. Not sure how you feel about adding water to juice but that's what works for me. Green tea is also great, especially now that it's getting cold.

[Kodos]

Unfortunately, I hate tea in any form. I put V-fusion juice in my fruit smoothies, but I don't really drink juice by itself all that much.

Baby steps. I've had nothing but water to drink since noon or so. I rode the stationary bike for 30 minutes plus warmup/warmdown time. It said I burned 300 calories. Wonder how accurate that is? Anyhow, I did okay today. No snacks this afternoon. Ate a reasonable amount at dinner. No snacks tonight.

Of course, my wife just asked me if I wanted chips and dip. Luckily, that's something I can resist easily.

I will declare the 1st day a success. Yay me. It'll be smoooooooooth sailing from here I'm sure.

[Subby]

My favorite low calorie water alternative is Vitamin Water 10. I also drink propel (I buy the packets and make it myself b/c the retail version is too sweet for my taste).

[path12]

I drink a ton of diet soda, but am trying to reduce my aspartame intake so find that the flavored Talking Rain water works well as an alternative. Love carbonation too much to give it up entirely.

[Kodos]

I'll give Vitamin Water 10 a try. I'm trying to avoid carbonated beverages, so we'll give the non-carbonated option a try first.

Today had some good, some bad. Had a much smaller sized fruit smoothie for breakfast, so a little portion control there. I did cave and have a bagel and some nuts for a snack, and ate a reasonable sized dinner. My biggest no-no was I let myself have one regular glass of Coke because I was getting a moderate headache (I'm prone to headaches in general, and I'm sure caffeine only exacerbates the problem). I rationalized it by telling myself that it's better to step down from caffeine rather than go totally cold turkey. On the plus side, it was just a regular glass--I usually have my soda in big plastic cups that hold probably 1.5 times as much as the regular glasses that we have.

After getting the kids to bed, I did another half hour on the bike at the next higher resistance level, plus warmup/warmdown.

Overall, I was pretty good today. I'll give myself a B- for the day. I've already done better than my last pathetic attempt at losing weight.

[Kodos]

I actually had gained weight when I weighed in again last night: 216. Not worried about it. I'm pretty sure 214 was an aberration, as I had recently weighed in around 220. Plus, I weighed in at a different time of day. I will switch to a regular weigh in time in the morning.

Oh, and I accidentally picked up Vitamin Water, not realizing it was different than Vitamin Water 10.

[Subby]

How did the weekend go? Those are always the hardest for me because the structure is so different.

[the_meanstrosity]

Good luck Kodos!

I gave up pop (coffee, tea, anything caffeine, etc) about seven years ago and after about a month had dropped almost ten pounds without doing anything else. So that should be a big help. Like you, I'll have the occasional pop when I go out, but normally I drink water, milk, or one of the V8 100% juice drinks (Acai Berry is my fav). I'm lucky in that I never had that crash that some people have when they kick caffeine.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Subby

How did the weekend go? Those are always the hardest for me because the structure is so different.

Yeah, the weekend didn't go well. It's tough to eat healthy at the mall when you're Christmas shopping with the whole family. Strangely, I did lose weight though. Down to 212 today from 216 at last weigh-in. And Sunday and Monday night are tough because of football (bike downstairs, high-def TV upstairs).

Today is my first full day with no soda. Feeling decent so far. Maybe the stepping down method was the way to go.

Anyhow, still going. I'll work up a weight loss chart with a bar that shows the pace I need to keep up soon.

[Kodos]

Day 2 of no soda/caffeine. Gotta say I'm dragging a bit. Hoping to get in a good bike workout tonight.

[Subby]

What's the reason for giving up caffeine?

[Kodos]

Well, the only source of caffeine that I like is soda. Don't like coffee or tea. Hate them, in fact. Plus, I'm prone to headaches (migraines), and my doctor said caffeine probably was part of that issue. My beverage of choice is unfortunately Cherry Coke. And I don't want to start drinking stuff with artificial sweeteners regularly, so it seems like dropping soda and caffeine altogether is my best option.

Also, my dad also has some heart issues that are exacerbated by caffeine, so I figured I'm probably at risk for some similar problems.

[Kodos]

Welp, the one thing I can pat myself on the back a little for lately is that I've now finished three straight days without soda. Baby steps...

I tried Vitamin Water 10 today. Not bad. A little light on flavor, but not too bad.

[RPI-Fan]

Great work, keep it up and keep updating!

[Kodos]

The giant snowstorm Saturday night forced me into quite the workout yesterday when I was shoveling over a foot of snow (probably a foot and a half), which is good, since I haven't managed to ride the bike recently. I keep forgetting to weigh myself, too. But I've done reasonably well eating - my no caffeinated soda streak continues. (I did have some Sprite one night when we did a quick dinner at Wendy's). I've been drinking just plain old water for the most part.

Overall, very mixed results. I'm doing crappy on the workouts, but doing alright in terms of portion control and not drinking soda. By far my biggest "achievement" has been staying away from caffeinated soda.

I've been suffering from insomnia recently, which definitely isn't helping the workouts. I'm constantly exhausted, but I have trouble shutting down at night.

[Kodos]

212 today. Proof positive that eating less isn't enough to lose weight. Need to get back on top of the exercise thingy again.

[Kodos]

Down to 210 today, so I've successfully navigated the holidays and lost a little weight in the process. I think what little I've lost can be attributed to my no longer drinking soda.

[Subby]

Sodas are evil. Congrats on getting this far.

Just getting through the holidays is a big accomplishment.

[Kodos]

Finally remembered to weigh myself this morning -- still at 210. I've been doing okay dietwise, but still need to get back on the bike. I'm definitely falling behind schedule for forty by 40...

Still doing well with the soda. I'll let myself get a coke if I'm at a restaurant, but I can't have a supply at home. That way, it can be an occasional treat, but not a regular part of my diet. Seems like a decent compromise.

A lot of guys report feeling better after they've been off soda for a while. Not so much for me. I'm usually tired during the day. Maybe that will improve when the baby finally sleeps through the night.

In general, I'm not kicking ass here, but I did manage to lose weight over the holidays (as opposed to the usual weight gain during that time), and I've been good at resisting caving on the no soda at home rule. Overall, I'd give myself a C at this point. At least I am still trying though. Usually by now I'm back to my bad habits. I have cut down my portions, and don't snack as much, especially at night.

[Subby]

Try and focus on food that will give you sustained fuel. A quarter cup of almonds works great. Or a banana. Stay away from refined sugar as much as you can. You are doing great without the soda. Don't fall back on that - you absolutely don't need it.

[Kodos]

Rode the stationary bike tonight. Yay for me!

[Kodos]

Pretty decent weekend for me. I rode the bike three days in a row, including an hour-long session on Saturday at a lower resistance but higher pace. I was down to 208 yesterday, which means I am roughly on pace. (I have an excel graph that I made that I'll start posting soon.)

Yesterday I decided to cut loose a bit and got a Cherry Coke to enjoy during football. I won't let it become a daily habit again.

[Kodos]

Didn't do well at the beginning of last week (was suffering from I don't want to diet-itis), but rebounded at the end of the week with some bike riding. Yesterday, I had a good hour long ride at 75-80 RPMs. I decided to add in some weightlifting with my dumbells, but went a little too gung ho. I have a REALLY sore right elbow/tricep today.

Still hanging around 208, as of yesterday. Though I keep falling off the horse, I've been able to keep getting back on. Baby steps!

[Kodos]

Sorry for the most boring dynasty on the planet. It helps keep me honest. Still hanging at 208 today. I was feeling sick last night, so I skipped the bike. Should be able to go tonight.

[Kodos]

The good news? I got a digital scale!

The bad news? It says I'm a half pound heavier than the old scale?

Back over the 210 mark, at 210.6. I've been doing poorly, so it's no wonder. Gonna have to really right the ship if I want to hit my goal.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Didn't do well at the beginning of last week (was suffering from I don't want to diet-itis), but rebounded at the end of the week with some bike riding. Yesterday, I had a good hour long ride at 75-80 RPMs. I decided to add in some weightlifting with my dumbells, but went a little too gung ho. I have a REALLY sore right elbow/tricep today.

Still hanging around 208, as of yesterday. Though I keep falling off the horse, I've been able to keep getting back on. Baby steps!

What does that equate to in MPH? I started biking again after the Holidays and am going at about a 12-14 mph pace, which surprisingly can get me pretty winded, depending on head winds, slope of the streets etc.

[BYU 14]

Dola, I am using Bill Romanowski's supplement Lean 1 Nutrition Supplements by Nutrition53 and really like it so far.

Costs about $33.00 a month if you join his VIP club, which is free, but gives you an automatic monthly delivery. For the quality it as really a pretty good value.

[Kodos]

I would never buy anything with Bill Romanowski's name on it.

Not sure what it translates into for MPH (I think I finished between 15 and 20 kilometers on the readout, but I could well be wrong on that). I put it at enough resistance so that momentum isn't carrying the pedals and I have to keep working to keep a sustained speed going.

This weekend didn't go well. We have visitors from out of town, a sick baby, and a birthday party. Baby got us up several times each night, including throwing up on me twice in volume. Super tired right now. Already having some Coke to help me through the day.

Things should pick back up after the in-laws go back home on Wednesday. Hopefully the baby is feeling better and sleeping for longer stretches.

[boberot]

Keep it up, man.

Similarly, I weighed 145 for years and years and used to be able to be able bike, swim, play basketball forever without even getting winded. Now 15 minutes of basketball has me ready to collapse.

I'm only up to about 180, but am trying like hell to get the conditioning and strength back.

Try to get yourself a routine, I find it helps a lot. [And my willpower is total shite, too, by the way.]

I find, for me, it's better to start with less intense stuff that I know I can actually maintain. I'm trying either 30 minutes on the treadmill or 15-20 minutes lifting / stretching.

[Kodos]

Thanks for your support. Today, despite incredible crappiness this weekend, I weighed in at 208.6. It seems like when I do the wrong things, I end up losing weight, and when I exercize, I gain. Anyhow, I plan to get back in the groove tomorrow, now that the wife's parents are heading back home. My elbow seems back to normal, so I can start lifting again -- this time, I will not be so gung ho and work my way into it better. Here is a chart of my progress versus the pace I need to keep to reach my goal. As you can see, I'm falling behind.

In my running days, I always started off slow, and then finished strong. Hopefully, things will go that way with my weight loss too.

[Kodos]

209 yesterday, 207.8 today. Lowest weight so far, especially when you factor in that the new scale adds about half a pound over the old one.

Road the bike for an hour last night, followed by a more moderate use of the dumbbells. Maintaining full and pain-free usage of both arms today is nice. Was very good about eating yesterday. Wanting to go buy a soda today, but holding out okay so far.

Thinking of posting a shirtless picture of myself on the wall that says something like "Fat Kodos says 'Go ahead, have a candy bar and a Coke'" or something like that to help my resolve when I feel like being bad.

[Kodos]

207.2 this morning. Baby steps!

[boberot]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Thinking of posting a shirtless picture of myself on the wall that says something like "Fat Kodos says 'Go ahead, have a candy bar and a Coke'" or something like that to help my resolve when I feel like being bad.

Fantastic.

Keep it up, man.

[Kodos]

Another weekend without exercise, as my wife was sick and out of commission, so I pretty much had the kids by myself all weekend. I did manage to stay at 207.2.