Weight loss anyone?

[scottb]

Everybody's down on carbs these days. It's all over the news.

Anyone have any weight loss stories? Here's mine.

About a month ago I stepped on the scale at work, which I did about weekly, and hit an all time high. Grant it that I was fully clothed and it was after lunch but I had no business weighing that much (about 30 lbs above my high school weight)

I had been in denial about my pants and even my suit coats getting a bit snug (you know how washing makes them shrink, right?) I even ignored the changing of my belt "settings." But seeing that number on the scale was more than I could ignore.

The next visit to the grocery store I decided to get some Special K cereal to replace my POP TARTS in the morning. A modest step in the right direction. On the box a claim to lose 6 pounds in 2 weeks with "The Special K diet" Basically eat Special K for 2 meals and eat your regular meal for the third. The Vanilla and Almond flavor is really pretty good. (Interestingly, Special K presents themselves as a diet cereal when actually it has as many calories as Fruity Pebbles, Frosted Flakes and Sugar Smacks. The difference for me is that it somehow fills me up better than those others.)

I had never dieted before. My attempts at weight loss were vague statements about "watching what I eat." In reality, very little change. But with the structure of this diet, I began to cut out all the snacking and desserts. If I was going to eat only cereal twice a day, I wasn't going to blow it by eating crap in between.

In 2 weeks I lost ten pounds! I'm now down 15 pounds and have put on muscle as a result of a 10 minute exercise regimen I do 3-4 times a week. (a few situps, pushups, dips, curls thats it.) Could've lost more but I usually don't follow the diet on weekends or when I have to work nights, which is about once a week and one weekend a month.

I feel better, my clothes fit better, I think I look better too.

Edited August 27, 2004 by scottb

[doubleM]

Good news! Special K-eep it up!

[wesbed]

I'm not a person who is overweight. However, I have caught myself, lately, weighing more than 'I' want to. I had the little hint from my Levi's fitting a bit tighter than they used to. Yeah, Levi's do shrink some, as they age, but... not as much as mine have.

I'm a 'runner.' However, I quit running about nine months ago... just got tired of it. Shit happens, I guess. My body & mind started talking to me, about three weeks ago, and I'm back on the road to growing my leg muscles and lung capacity. I'm ticked at myself for forgetting how much I used to enjoy exercise and being in better physical condition. How could I forget?

After a good run, food tastes better, music sounds crisper & deeper, books hold more meaning, and living is more enjoyable.

I'm looking forward to increasing my running mileage back to where it used to be (no matter how slow the process might seem!). When I'm exercising on a regular basis, I find it's easier to do the exercise than to avoid it.

[ADR]

From the end of August 2002 to January 2003 I lost about 50 pounds. I went from about 205 pounds to 155 (I'm about 6'0 with a slender build). I did it by just obsessively watching the amount of calories and fat grams I consumed every day. I tried to keep my fat grams below 15 grams/day and my calorie intake to about 1,750 to 2,000/day.

In order to make sure I stuck with this diet I allowed myself one meal a week where I ate whatever I wanted. It's what you do day in and day out that matters as far as weight loss/gain and that way I had an incentive - something to look forward to.

Since January of 2003 I have mostly maintained my weight loss although in the past 6 months I have slowly gained about 10 pounds back. I'm now about 165-170 - still well below my pre-weight loss high of 205-210 pounds.

[vibes]

I lost 75lbs last year in about 6-7 months, doing the Atkins diet. I went on and off the diet between August of last year and June of this year. By July of this year, I had gained back 40lbs. I got really sick in July and lost 8lbs in two days, and decided this would be a perfect place to start a diet again. That was July 11. Today is August 27, and I've lost a total of 38lbs since before I got sick. I'm doing the Atkins diet (very strictly, sticking to Phase 1) and I exercise for 45 minutes a day, six days a week. My weight loss is pretty extreme for such a short amount of time, and on occasion I do feel a little weak, but I'm very motivated and feel good. My weight is now very close to where it was when I lost my resolve last year, and I would like to lose as much as 20 more pounds from where I am right now, which would put me at 195lbs (I'm 6'3").

[ralphie_boy]

I've lost about 50 lbs over the past three years. I started off dieting and then exercising on a regular basis. Now I'm at the point where I exercise every day. At a mininum I do sit-ups and push-ups every day, cardio (running or stairmaster) 4-5 times a week and then some free weights 3 -4 times a week. It sucks! -I hate it, but I don't have to watch what I eat anymore.

[Shawn]

Well, put me in the "need to lose" category...

There was a time, at least 8 years ago, when I weighed around 150 pounds and wore size 29 waist jeans. Now I can barely squeeze into 34 waist jeans and I'm busting the scales at around 210 pounds. I'm NOT happy with the way that I look or feel. One of my "eye-openers" was digging through a box recently and finding an old driver's license. I looked at the picture and thought...wow, look how skinny my face was!

Now for the problem. Time for exercise isn't easy to find. Between work & my long commute I'm away from the house for 12 hours mon-fri. When I do make it home I'm so dog tired I'm lucky to have enough energy to cook dinner.

I'm looking for suggestions for a good (healthy) diet that isn't too hard to stick to. And I need suggestions for a simple exercise regimen (about 30 minutes a day) that will give me the most bang for my buck. I need to lose the weight and I REALLY need to work on toning up the "old spare tire".

Thanks in advance...yours truly..."Chubby".

P.S. - I'm absolutely clueless about calories, carbs, fat grams, etc.

Edited August 27, 2004 by Shawn

[7/4]

Well, put me in the "need to lose" category...

There was a time, at least 8 years ago, when I weighed around 150 pounds and wore size 29 waist jeans. Now I can barely squeeze into 34 waist jeans and I'm busting the scales at around 210 pounds. I'm NOT happy with the way that I look or feel. One of my "eye-openers" was digging through a box recently and finding an old driver's license. I looked at the picture and thought...wow, look how skinny my face was!

Now for the problem. Time for exercise isn't easy to find. Between work & my long commute I'm away from the house for 12 hours mon-fri. When I do make it home I'm so dog tired I'm lucky to have enough energy to cook dinner.

I'm looking for suggestions for a good (healthy) diet that isn't too hard to stick to. And I need suggestions for a simple exercise regimen (about 30 minutes a day) that will give me the most bang for my buck. I need to lose the weight and I REALLY need to work on toning up the "old spare tire".

Thanks in advance...yours truly..."Chubby".

P.S. - I'm absolutely clueless about calories, carbs, fat grams, etc.

Atkins Diet and walk as much as you can each day. Start with a mile and work your way up to two or three.

[BeBop]

As a retired professional athlete, a continuing semi-pro athlete, a coach to accomplished athletes and a person who cares a lot about EVERYone's health, please learn about nutrition before undertaking something like the Atkins diet.

Giving up carbohydrates (the only fuel for muscle and mind) is no more effective than giving up all foods containing the letter 'g'.

(Note, I've listed my credentials more for disclosure purposes than to build credibility; I am not a trained nutritionist.)

I'm sorry to get on the soapbox, but this really disturbs me.

I'll say no more in the public forum. Contact me privately, if you wish to discuss further.

I wish everyone all the best in achieving good health.

[jlhoots]

It's mostly about lifestyle.

Diets for the most part don't work long term.

What are the first 3 letters of the word diet?

BTW, I'm 5' 11", 63 years old, weigh 153 pounds, exercise almost every day.

[Dan Gould]

Ironic this should appear today, as this past weekend I became totally fed up with myself and have re-dedicated myself to what has to be done.

The keys for me are steady exercise and a weakness for snacking (what's the point of a small, healthy lunch if you pig out when you get home?). So:

#1, I've started to clear dollar bills out of my wallet before I go to work: No singles, no $$ for the vending machine.

#2, Each day, I'm going thirty minutes on the exercycle plus strength training as soon as I get home. This kills two birds with one stone: getting the exercise in, and doing it at a time I might otherwise be snacking. Now, once I get to dinner time, I'm good for the rest of the night.

I just wish I could find a tennis partner, as I think that would be far more effective a conditioning activity than the exercycle.

But if I don't, I am going to give serious consideration to an approach that worked great about ten years ago: Two-a-days. The question is, could I stand to trim fifteen more minutes from my sleep in order to do that, and will my legs hold up to the pounding? (the weight started creeping up when I stopped using a stairmaster, something that happened partially due to the development of severe leg fatigue. A strange thing, actually, since at one time I was easily going fourty five plus minutes on the stepper 4 or 5 times a week. Then suddenly my legs started protesting, and I cut back and cut back and so long as I was playing tennis you couldn't tell the difference, but now ...

[PHILLYQ]

I've been on Atkins for about a year, and I've lost about 40 pounds and got rid of a nasty snoring habit along with the weight. Fridays are my 'cheat' day, when I eat pizza for dinner(sometimes lunch, too!) and maybe even have a regular cookie. I have always walked a lot because I work in Manhattan and my neighborhood in Brooklyn lends itself to walking to a lot of places.

Whatever you do, though(Atkins is not for everybody), the key is to be disciplined and consistent but not to punish yourself. If you're starving yourself and thinking about food constantly you're not going to be successful in losing wieght. If you can work out a way to be good dietwise for 5 or 6 days a week, then you can indulge for a day and not feel deprived. Of course, you MUST get back on the track after the indulgence period. It is also easy to say but not so easy to do. Best of luck, and keep us posted on your progress.

For myself, I do feel so much better after losing the weight, and that certainly helps me to keep it off.

[DTMX]

I just hired a personal trainer/diet consultant yesterday. After reviewing my normal diet he said "Don't you eat ANYTHING healthy?". I said, "I had an apple a couple of weeks ago. That's healthy." He looked horrified. Hopefully this will keep me from putting on the pounds at the rate I've been doing for the past five years. If I keep up my current pace the only thing I'll fit into in a few years will be a tarp.

[connoisseur series500]

After a good run, food tastes better, music sounds crisper & deeper, books hold more meaning, and living is more enjoyable.

If this doesn't say it all, I don't know what does!!

Nice!

[Shawn]

Atkins Diet and walk as much as you can each day. Start with a mile and work your way up to two or three.

two or three miles?! That's going to be difficult considering that it's going to be dark when I get home here pretty soon. I live out in the country and there are no streetlights...but there are plenty of dogs and trigger-happy rednecks.

I'm looking for an exercise routine I can do at home.....

Also, what is the best place to get started with Atkins?

Thanks.

[JSngry]

I reaching the age where I'm prone to lose everything but weight.

Thankful for small favors, I suppose...

[7/4]

Atkins Diet and walk as much as you can each day. Start with a mile and work your way up to two or three.

two or three miles?! That's going to be difficult considering that it's going to be dark when I get home here pretty soon. I live out in the country and there are no streetlights...but there are plenty of dogs and trigger-happy rednecks.

I'm looking for an exercise routine I can do at home.....

Also, what is the best place to get started with Atkins?

Thanks.

I started with a book on the Atkins Diet. I rarely use the Atkins branded food.

When it's too hot or too cold to walk in the park, I go to the local recreation center and use the treadmills. I try to do this first thing in the morning I might not be so motivated in the later in the day

[wesbed]

I try to do this first thing in the morning I might not be so motivated in the later in the day

Interesting.

I always go running in the late evening, after the sun drops below the horizon. I'm not a morning person. After dealing with the activities of the day, I find it very relaxing to be out under cover of the night.

Part of my reason for running at night is that I live in Tucson. Unless you start your day at 5AM it's just too damned HOT to be doing much till after, say, 8:00PM. I do enjoy the night time so I continue my night running even through the winter months.

And... Uhhh... did I mention I'm not a morning person?

[vibes]

Atkins Diet and walk as much as you can each day. Start with a mile and work your way up to two or three.

two or three miles?! That's going to be difficult considering that it's going to be dark when I get home here pretty soon. I live out in the country and there are no streetlights...but there are plenty of dogs and trigger-happy rednecks.

I'm looking for an exercise routine I can do at home.....

Also, what is the best place to get started with Atkins?

Thanks.

I started with a book on the Atkins Diet. I rarely use the Atkins branded food.

When it's too hot or too cold to walk in the park, I go to the local recreation center and use the treadmills. I try to do this first thing in the morning I might not be so motivated in the later in the day

Starting with the book is the best thing you can do. In order for Atkins to really work, you need to know which foods are best for the phase of the diet you're in, as well as what to look forward to as you move through each phase.

I've only tried Atkins-branded food once, and that was just a snack bar. I find it best to stay away from anything that remotely resembles the food that got me into trouble in the first place...But that's just me - once you've read the book, do what works best for you.

[mgraham333]

I finally got tired of being too heavy. I'm 6'3" and was up to 250.

I dropped about 30 lbs. People noticed. I didn't really notice until I came across a photo and saw how full my face was.

I eat a decent lunch, drink plenty of water, cut out soft drinks (only the occasional diet dr. pepper) and for dinner, it's ususally just some fruit and cheese, sometimes a homemade smoothie with cut up, frozen bananas, milk and yogurt. And I also walk two miles every day.

It was tough to break the cycle of grabbing fast food on the way home from work, or ordering a pizza. I just went cold turkey. One day I just decided to "start" and dropped all the junk food.

No Atkins. I simply refused to jump on that bandwagon.

The light dinner and the walking did it for me. Still doing it after nearly 5 mos. Getting through the first week was the hardest. But now it's just part of the routine.