Anyone else trying to lose weight?

[SoulBiter]

LOL

As Im sure you know, you will need to up the exercise to keep the weight off. Walking is a great start and will go a long way toward helping but you will need to do some light jogging (1 mile to start every other day and then up that to 2 when you can). And of course some strength training for your bones, and muscles.

You will never be able to eat very much and keep weight off without adding some more exercise. I look at exercise as a way to eat 'some' of the things I wouldnt be able to eat without it. Plus my doctor says that after 40 you have to look at your body as a used car. If you dont keep putting maintenance in it, it starts to break down all too often. Maintenance is the key.

My wife and I run (jog) 3.5 miles every other day and that was enough to finally throw her into weight loss mode. She has lost about 20lbs since we started running more. We ran our first 5K together a couple of weeks ago.

[DukkhaWaynhim]

I don't know what I would do without running. It's a shame that I took so long to learn how to run.

Now I run a little over 4 miles, 3-4 times each week. I use these runs as warmup for my weights routine.

Thinking about training up my running to do the Indy 500 Festival Mini. Thinking about it...

dw

[aliantha]

Didn't mean to let this go so long....

I appreciate that you guys love running. I do. It's great that you've found an exercise you like and will stick with.

But I gotta tell ya, I have *never* been interested in running or jogging. Does not interest me in the least. And while I've heard about people who take up running in their 50s, I am pretty sure it would be wiser for me to do something that's a little kinder on my joints.

Now swimming -- *that* interests me. At one time, I was swimming half a mile to a mile, two or three times a week, and I loved it. But I'm whiny -- I don't like to go when it's crowded because I *hate* sharing a lane. I need to find a pool and a good time to go (*not* the buttcrack of dawn, because I'm also a night person). I think maybe that will be my personal challenge for next week....

[Zarathustra]

Well, I stopped the low-carb diet. After the first week, I stalled out and couldn't lose any more on it, even staying at the 20 gram limit religiously. I even gained a little back (granted, that could have been muscle gain). I read that other people have had similar results, that the first time they try the low-carb diet it really works, but then each time they try it after that, the results are worse. Looks like that's the end of the low-carb experience for me.

So after three weeks, I switched to the same routine that has always worked for me, slowly but consistently: counting calories and exercising. Weights + cardio. I've lost 12 pounds in 9 1/2 weeks, eating whatever the hell I want, in limited portions. Five more pounds to go--though ten would put in into the 6-pack abs range. It would be nice to get totally ripped again before I turn 40, but I'll settle for "in shape."

This is the first year I've exercised this hard so late in the season. Usually when cold weather and the holidays come around, I slack off until New Year's, and pack on all the weight that I spend the rest of the year trying to lose again. Not this time. I'm going to start next year at my ideal weight, no flab, and then just concentrate on putting on muscle mass, staying limber, being active.

I can't wait to start eating my maintenance level of calories again, rather than this restricted amount (1600/week). 500-700 extra calories a day is going to feel like luxury! I really don't mind the exercising. In fact, I enjoy being strong and active. Weights and jogging are like meditation, for me. I don't think about anything else while I'm doing it. I even like sore ache of my muscles rebuilding. I find myself stretching a lot during the day--something I don't do enough of when I'm not exercising. So I need to remind myself that it's a hell of a lot easier to keep the pounds off than it is to lose them in the first place. Getting complacent is the problem. It has to be a lifestyle.

[MsMary]

How's everyone's weight loss programs going?

[hue of fuzzpaws]

I keep losing about 1-2 lbs each week. No down to 182 lbs

[Orlion]

I need to actually observe my weight But I've been eating smaller portions... the problem is I've become re-addicted to sodas...

[MsMary]

Would switching to diet sodas help?

I rarely drink soda, cause all that sugar content scares me away.

But when I do drink soda, it's generally a sugar-free soda.


Hue of bone, congratulations on being able to maintain your weight loss! (Do I know you, btw? Name change, perhaps? I can't keep up with everyone's name changes! )

[Orlion]

So long as one of the Coke Zeros is around or diet Dr. Pepper... the others suck... good news is that I'm actually starting to prefer Coke Zero to regular Coke.

[Worm of Despite]

Ever since I muscled up I eat more than I ever did when obese. I actually have to gorge on food after dinner just so I don't lose too much weight.

In your face.

[Vraith]

Would switching to diet sodas help?

I rarely drink soda, cause all that sugar content scares me away.

But when I do drink soda, it's generally a sugar-free soda.


Hue of bone, congratulations on being able to maintain your weight loss! (Do I know you, btw? Name change, perhaps? I can't keep up with everyone's name changes! )

there's lots of weird data/correlations out there on diet sodas...[including a number that show weight GAIN in people drinking the diet ones.]
Water and or low-sodium vegetable juices are what you want to drink.

[MsMary]

Yeah, I have heard some of that, Vraith.

Better to avoid sodas altogether, which is why I rarely drink them. Juices tend to have quite a bit of sugar, too.

I like water or flavored seltzer. Sometimes I add a little juice to a lot of seltzer and make myself a spritzer.

[Orlion]

Ever since I muscled up I eat more than I ever did when obese. I actually have to gorge on food after dinner just so I don't lose too much weight.

In your face.

That's because the stuff you eat is full of filler. I eat real food. Soooo... quit eating those ten bowls of corn flakes when you can get all your nutrients from one bowl of Total

[Vraith]

Ever since I muscled up I eat more than I ever did when obese. I actually have to gorge on food after dinner just so I don't lose too much weight.

In your face.

That's because the stuff you eat is full of filler. I eat real food. Soooo... quit eating those ten bowls of corn flakes when you can get all your nutrients from one bowl of Total

And don't forget your Colon Blow....twice the fiber of raw twine

And Ms...yes, but as long as they don't have added/refined sugars [or corn derived], the calories matter less...though I don't know what the effects of 2 liters of tomato juice a day would be...

[MsMary]

And Ms...yes, but as long as they don't have added/refined sugars [or corn derived], the calories matter less...though I don't know what the effects of 2 liters of tomato juice a day would be...

Not necessarily. Depends on how much natural sugar is in a given type of juice. Even no sugar added juices can add unnecessary calories, though fruit juices are probably more of a problem than veggie juices, since fruits are inherently sweeter.


It's better to eat the veggie or fruit than to drink the juice, in the long run, as the fiber makes you feel fuller and changes the way you metabolize the natural sugar in the fruit or veggie.

I often eat veggies of various types as a snack in order to avoid a more caloric snack.

[Worm of Despite]

Ever since I muscled up I eat more than I ever did when obese. I actually have to gorge on food after dinner just so I don't lose too much weight.

In your face.

That's because the stuff you eat is full of filler. I eat real food. Soooo... quit eating those ten bowls of corn flakes when you can get all your nutrients from one bowl of Total

Are you writing the biography on me? Cause it would be full of inaccuracies (never mind the omission of spending a single moment with me!). I eat hamburgers, meat, protein-infested goods, etc., and there's no way one could live off cornflakes and bench over 225 Lbs as I do. I rock.

[Zarathustra]

I lost a little over a pound a week from August through December. 20 pounds for that stretch, 25 for the entire year. Now I've maintained for two months (on a higher calorie intake), but I'm hitting the weights harder this year now that I've lost most of the fat that I wanted to lose, so my measurements are increasing. My before and after photos are night and day.

LF, what's your routine? How often/long do you lift? Are you drinking a lot of protein shakes? I've increased my protein intake dramatically (sometimes 5 shakes a day, 120-130 grams protein), and it's really showing with the tape measure. I'd like to pack on a lot of muscle this year. I'm not a very large guy--5'7", 150 pounds. If I could put on 10-20 pounds of muscle, that would be nice.

I've got to say, I'm really enjoying running. I used to see those "freaks" running in 40 degree weather, and think they were crazy. Now I'm one of those freaks. I love running in the cold. I get really hot when I workout, and can end up covered in sweat even in 40 degrees. I bought all the cool workout clothes with the high-tech fabrics that whisk away sweat, and now I'm really dreading running in hot weather. It hit the 60s here the other day, and I was too hot in shorts and a tank.

[DukkhaWaynhim]

I'm now within five pounds of what I think my ideal weight is, 170lbs, (I'm a hair over 6'1") so I'm not interested in losing any more weight. I do, however, want to lower my bf%, which means I want to put on muscle. So, I'm switching gears, going from primarily cardio with just enough weights for toning into lower cardio along with a progressive weights routine -- and it's really hard.
This sounds silly, but I got really good at cardio fat-loss, combined with a mostly Atkins diet. Now I essentially have to plan and execute a completely new workout regimen, because my goal is completely different now.
To complicate things, I damaged my foot while running -- just by stepping wrong? -- a few weeks ago, resulting in a large bruise along the base of my toes, combined with arch pain: I wonder if I didn't give myself a compression fracture. I stayed off it for a while, nursed it back, and then ran on it yesterday, and it was fine, so maybe I just stepped wrong?

Anyway, running is wonderful -- but screw that crazy outside stuff. Treadmill all the way, baby.

dw

[Zarathustra]

I use a treadmill when it hits the 10s-20s. But I did manage to run outside in both beginning of December and then again in late January. Treadmill running just isn't the same. There's something about moving your mass through real space that can never be duplicated. After jogging for months outside, the treadmill actually made me dizzy at first--like my body couldn't make sense of inertial difference.

I've also got a stand that converts my mountain bike to a stationary bike. Again, just not the same thing! I can't wait to hit the trails.

[Orlion]

Ever since I muscled up I eat more than I ever did when obese. I actually have to gorge on food after dinner just so I don't lose too much weight.

In your face.

That's because the stuff you eat is full of filler. I eat real food. Soooo... quit eating those ten bowls of corn flakes when you can get all your nutrients from one bowl of Total

Are you writing the biography on me? Cause it would be full of inaccuracies (never mind the omission of spending a single moment with me!). I eat hamburgers, meat, protein-infested goods, etc., and there's no way one could live off cornflakes and bench over 225 Lbs as I do. I rock.

Once upon a time, some guy took upon himself the name of an immortal who continually failed to defeat a measly leper....