Anyone else trying to lose weight?

[Harbinger]

Had to see how many push ups I could do. 86. Couldn't get to the big 100. I haven't worked out in years, and I'm wearing freaking 34 waist pants now. I'm actually rotating very few shorts because I refuse to buy more fat clothes. I've got dozens of things I can't or won't wear right now. I'm thinking about trying a Michelina diet. You know, those cheap frozen meals that are a buck or two. They have like 300 calories and you just eat two or three of those a day with maybe a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. They're a little high in sodium, not a real problem if you drink a lot of water. I can drop weight fast if I'm motivated, but I'm just not that motivated lately. I should be, because I got an ink stain on the shorts I wear too many times per week right now. If I'd lose 15 lbs, I'd have a lot of clothes. How pathetic is that?

[DukkhaWaynhim]

Haven't posted in a long while, but I've been keeping to my regimen pretty well. My weight loss has tapered off dramatically, but:
1) I am today 56lbs lighter from my heaviest point a few years back.
2) Better than that, I can run up to 8miles at a time, and still have energy left to work or play all day afterwards.
3) Even better than that, I feel strong. not <STRONG>, but strong enough. And I'm still getting stronger. I like that.
4) Best of all, I am in the best shape of my life, and it is still getting better. I have energy, a better body image. I don't fear exertion. I don't shy away from food (though I now habitually and studiously avoid daily crap food - except for the occasional cheat days).

And I didn't do anything fancy, or even extreme, to my estimation. I didn't really need to. I just did what I did (exercised more, and ate better food while watching calories) more often than not. I am not an athlete, though I now think of myself as athletic. I just built the habit, and stuck to it. Though there was no magical to it, I feel transformed, and proud of myself.

You can, too.

Cov - you should not feel that bad after working out. There are still days that I wake up grumbly and loathe the trip to the gym -- but I almost always enjoy the trip home afterwards - for the euphoria, the sense of accomplishment, the satisfaction that I maintained what I know to be a very good habit. A great deal of that is psychological... but through the magic of the human body, the psychological nearly always translates into the physiological. Start with a small, measurable, attainable goal. I did not lose 50+ lbs.... instead I lost 5lbs, 10 times now and counting. The math's the same in the end, but the interim feelings are a lot less daunting.



D

[aliantha]

Dukkha!

[AjK]

Well said, DukkhaWaynhim!

I just built the habit, and stuck to it.

Huge key, IMO.

[Zarathustra]

So who here can do 40 push-ups? That's the Foul challenge--if you can't do 40 push-ups, you're in worse shape than Foul. Think on that, and be dismayed.

40? Sure. But I used to be able to do 70 . . even a few one arm push-ups.

If I did push-ups more regularly I think I'd be at 70 pretty easy after a few weeks. My grandfather, during his Army days, easily did 80 to 100. I think if a civilian can do 10 push-ups off the floor he's in better shape than 90% of America.

I'm up to 60.

I started out this year the worst shape I've been in since about 2001--back when inactivity was balanced by youth. No more. I won't even say how many pushups I could do in January. It's embarrassing. Never in my adult life have I been able to do so few.

I haven't touched the weights all year. Just pushups, situps, jogging, biking. I've lost about 20 pounds (gained 5 back on vacation, but that's slipping back off fast). I have maybe 10 more to lose. And I'd like to put on a bit more muscle with weight lifting. But at least I've been fairly consistent this year. This is the time of year when I usually stop exercising, after achieving my summer weight. But I'm gearing up and intend to do even more this fall and winter.

[AjK]

Well done, Malik!

[MsMary]

Time to bump this up for the New Year.

One of the advantages of having had knee surgery 11 months ago and the subsequent physical therapy is that I seem to have lost just a little weight.

Not as much as I hoped, though, so I am still working on it.

How 'bout everyone else?

[lorin]

I had a challenging holiday filled with emotional eating............ gained 5 lbs so I am back at it, fighting the fight. I was down 100 now I'm down 95 .....sigh.

trying to do more walking.

[Savor Dam]

Took a new job in December, which requires me to live away from home 5 days a week. Whereas I used to shop and cook for the family (and eat my own cooking), I now have little motivation to cook for just me during the week and tend to live mostly on portion-controlled nuke-box cuisine.

In seven weeks, I've lost about 15 pounds. This is good, as is making an income again after a long hiatus.

Now, if I could just figure out how to stabilize the effect my absence has on the family...

[aliantha]

Erm. Let's not talk about it.

[Savor Dam]

Was that TMI? Sorry, I did not intend to offend or make folks uncomfortable. Just a little venting among friends.

We'll say no more about it.

Back to weight loss...

[CovenantJr]

I've started putting weight back on. Time to up the exercise routine, I suppose. *sigh*

[MsMary]

I suspect she was talking about her weight.

[aliantha]

I suspect she was talking about her weight.

Yup. My scale doesn't seem to remember how to go down...

[DukkhaWaynhim]

That's ok, Ali! We still love ya! The numbers will start to go back the way you want them to. It's a new year.

[This positive message is *in spite of* the fact that our house was just burglarized last week, and thieves made off with most of our electronics - in the end, we are PO'd, feel a little less safe, are getting a security system, and have insurance claim crap to deal with, but in the end it was only stuff - we are all fine...... now back to our regularly-scheduled programming]

I was up ~5lbs because of Christmas and New Years, but then got food poisoning from a restaurant, which was a lovely 2-day technicolor, 360-degree GI reboot. So I'm back to my pre-holiday state -- but kids, this is not a recommended method.

We were using our new Wii and Wii Active game, to great and fun effect [until it was stolen]. We have not replaced it yet. <sigh>

Now that my wife and I are eating healthier, it's easier for us to realize that junk food is like a drug, as far as it's effect on the body.

We still struggle with portion control, since it's just the two of us, and we don't feed table scraps to our dogs. We have gotten better about simply throwing away food that is best not eaten, but it is against our natures to do so. I think it was the way we were brought up. That, and we are cooking some pretty tasty stuff these days!

Good luck to all on making, meeting, and maintaining realistic weight loss goals for 2010!

DW

[Cagliostro]

I've set a reasonable goal of losing 30 pounds by 2011. That would put me back to a typical weight for me, though I'd love to get below that. If only there wasn't free soda at work...

[MsMary]

I suspect she was talking about her weight.

Yup. My scale doesn't seem to remember how to go down...

I seem to be having that problem right now.

Spent the last week charting my eating on Spark People and feeling a bit hungrier than I'd like when I stay within their recommended limits.

And I didn't lose one ounce!!!

What are other people doing to lose weight?

I am seriously considering weight watchers. But I am only a little overweight, don't look it, and wonder if I'd feel out of place.

[caamora]

I figured I would bump this thread since I put myself on an exercise regimen 3 weeks ago and have lost 11 pounds.

Is anyone else interested in fitness? Working out?

I'm beginning P90X today. It is a great workout!

[hue of fuzzpaws]

Been losing some weight this year, mainly by following the regimen outlined in this book:

The New High Protein Diet: Lose Weight Quickly Easily and Permanently by Charles and Maureen Clarke.

I have also been doing about 6 miles a day (4 times a week) on the push bike as well.

When I get to a plateau it will be time to get the weights out again!

[Infelice]

Fulltime external study is not good for losing weight. I cant seem to find the time to get out and exercise. The other morning i went to the gym and felt guilty the whole time i was there thinking that I could be using the time for study.... how strange is that!!