and so it begins.

[legoalex2000]

mark this day i start a diet.

just visited my new doctor (haven't seen a doctor in 3,4 years...) and i'm seriously overweight.

starting weight: 358 lbs.

target weight: 220-230 lbs.

(height: 6ft 1in.)

any advice to help me along would be nice. its gonna be a long battle resisting Chicago pizza, chunky monkey, and coca cola .

Ramos

[Felix/FFDS]

I'll tell you what ....  post - or PM - what you're doing.  I need to do the same.   I'm at 297 on a 6ft frame, so we're not that far off.  I would settle for 220-230, also.

[MWISimmer]

Good luck to you both, I've a very good friend who has been trying to "shed the weight" for years and has finally got near her target weight, all through sensible eating, exercise and willpower.
It can be done and don't give up  ;)

[Craig.]

In your position, start off with small steps. I've known far to many people who aim for major steps, only to not meet them quickly and give up ending up back where they started.
Best thing you can do is walking more. If it's close enough to walk (within a mile) then walk. Dont use drive throughs. Get out and walk into whatever building it may be.
Dont push to hard to start with, the worst thing you can do is get fed up and bored because it requires to much effort. Get into a routine thats easy to meet and build it up over time.

[legoalex2000]

ok so i absolutely hate walking, but i love bicycling. is that a good alternative?

ramos

[Craig.]

ok so i absolutely hate walking, but i love bicycling. is that a good alternative?

ramos

Of course. You just want to double whatever you would consider a long walk when using a bike.
Basically anything that involves working up a sweat a little.
A good person to talk to is Jimbo, he recently went through the same process. I know he's not around to often but it would be worth a private message asking for some tips.

[beaky]

Good luck to both of you guys!

I've never been more than just a little flabby, but I've gained weight and lost weight, and here's what i found: Do NOT starve yourself! Instead, eat smarter. Eat something nutritious for breakfast; it gets your body going and helps you properly digest lunch. Avoid pigging out at dinner, especially late dinners. And be smart about snacks, too... have a couple of carrots instead of potato chips, stuff like that. Drink water or real juice, not corn-syrup-loaded soft drinks or sports drinks loaded with salts and enzymes.

How you feel and how you look is much more important than your weight. Muscle weighs more than fat, another thing to remember. As you try to trim down, do yourself a favor before each time you step on the scale: stand in front of the mirror, have a look, and ask yourself how you feel. That is much more important than a number (once you're out of the "danger zone" for weight-to-height, that is).

And exercise... if you don't do something, anything, to boost your body's demand for energy from the food you eat, dieting won't work.

Cycling is a great weight-shedding exercise, and it morphs your metabolism... serious cyclists pig out on carbs, etc but are usually pretty trim.
At the peak of my interest in cycling, I was riding about 10 miles a day, and I was in fantastic shape. I was younger, but older than you are now. I got into it the last time I quit smoking, and I felt better than I had in years once I got into shape. Stamina, strength, sleep patterns all improved... and my eyes were bright and my coat very shiny.
Cycling is super-aerobic but low-impact, perfect if you're out of shape, but be careful that the bike is set up right for you and to not hurt your knees, back, or neck. Take it easy at first, but push yourself a little now and then. I did two solo tours with 25 lbs of camping gear thru the Adirondacks and Green Mountains- 700 miles the first time, 800+ the second- so I know from what I speak.

I think it's more fun than running... me, I don't run unless something's after me.
the uphills are rough, but for every uphill there is a downhill... speed is your reward.

But any old exercise is good: yoga, weights, swimming, calisthenics, walking, treadmill, whatever.

[Brett_Henderson]

We're, "Upper Paleolithic Hunter Gatherers" ...  so start off slow. If you cut your food WAY back, too quickly... you'll fool your body into thinking there's no food or game to be had.. and it will react by trying to conserve food-energy in the only way it knows how to do that.. (creating body fat).

Excersise (vigourous exercise) is key. It makes the body think that food is a plenty.. and will not only burn calories more quickly, the body will more readily part with its precious fat.

Then it's just mathematics. Burn off more calories than you take in....

[BAW0343]

And mark this day, the day he ends the diet.



Just kidding, I wish you luck and hope I take some advice from this, I'm be no means overweight but I have an extra layer on me I don't need plus I don't have that much stamina, just a simple workout would fix that for me but I lack the motivation lol. I hope you succeed and look forward to before and after photos.

Cycling sounds great and wish I could get back to doing that occasionally but a friend unintentionally broke my bike and its going to cost $100 to get it fixed... I don't have $100 lol

[Fozzer]

Aren't I lucky.......!

I prepare and cook amazing meals every day for Breakfast, Dinner, Tea, and Supper...
...never exercise, apart from walking around my house and the local Supermarket.

(I could never see the point in eating a nice meal, and then immediately having to rush around, and jump up and down to get rid if it!).... ...!

I'm 5' 7" tall, and I weigh 154 Lbs... [smiley=thumbsup.gif]...!

I put it down to eating "sensible" food containing no excess Fat, no Sugar, no extra Salt, and avoiding "fattening" alcohol......!

My body contains just sufficient fat for me to exist on for a day, (perhaps/maybe?), should the inclement weather prevent me from visiting my local shop to stock up on the days food fare...!

Whether your natural metabolism has any effect on contributing to excessive weight, I don't know...maybe I am just lucky that my Thyroid Gland, etc is working as it should... ...!

What I do know though, is that 154Lbs is an ideal weight for a Cessna 150 Pilot sat in the P1 seat... [smiley=thumbsup.gif]...!

Paul...G-BPLF... 8-)...!

...Interestingly, before I start one of my Sim Flights, I always insert my 154 Lbs weight in the Aircraft Weight/Loading Menu....Its amazing how much it shortens my take-off distance, and increases my air speed...(probably)...... ...!

[J.]

its a funny old thing weight loss... i come in at around 13stone 5ft 8 a bit of muscle a bit of fat all ballances out, when i eat healthy and exercise more (climbing, biking, hikeing) i put on weight!

my body fat is probably decreased but the weight still piles on

darn these muscles

kermit

[legoalex2000]

well i've only tried 2 other diets in my life... Atkins and Weight watchers (neither worked for me)

the reason why i stopped the Atkins diet is an interesting story.

one night it was my mom, my grandmother, and I watching tv, munching down on a heck of a lot of meat. we'd been at it for 3 months now, steadily losing weight. something must have snapped in me, cause I looked over at mom, and i thought she was eating chocolate. I lunge at her for the chocolate, turns out it was a hamburger patty. well it happened again the next week, and that moment we stopped, cause i was starting to have hallucinations.

weight watchers just plain sucked. the only thing i laughed about it was I had a total of 32 points per day to eat. this sandwich at a place called Schlotzsky's had a 68 point sandwich. one sandwich is 2 days worth of food.

anyway, thanks for the tips, its gonna be a long journey, and i plan to keep tabs here.

Ramos

[Fozzer]

Today for Dinner (1:00 PM) I prepared and cooked:

Chicken Breast, (fat-free!), roasted in my oven.
Boiled Potatoes.
Boiled Carrots, Parsnip, Cauliflower, Leek, sliced Red Pepper, Brussel Sprouts.
...and a lovely, tasty, Fozzers, home-made gravy Sauce!

With a glass of Water.

A BIG meal...with no fat... ...!

A typical daily dinner...

Paul...and still weighing 154 Lbs... [smiley=thumbsup.gif]...!

Home prepared, Balti Chicken Curry with Basmati Rice for Supper later tonight.......!

[BFMF]

[quote]We're, "Upper Paleolithic Hunter Gatherers" ...

[beaky]

We're, "Upper Paleolithic Hunter Gatherers" ...  so start off slow. If you cut your food WAY back, too quickly... you'll fool your body into thinking there's no food or game to be had.. and it will react by trying to conserve food-energy in the only way it knows how to do that.. (creating body fat).

Excersise (vigourous exercise) is key. It makes the body think that food is a plenty.. and will not only burn calories more quickly, the body will more readily part with its precious fat.

Then it's just mathematics. Burn off more calories than you take in....

For some odd reason, ever since I went overseas, I lost most of my appetite. Even though I've been home for a few months, I still don't eat much. What I don't understand is that my metabolism slowed way down, even though I excercise a lot. Before it started snowing, I was alternating between running and walking several miles a day. Not that the roads are covered in ice and snow, I havn't run much lately, but I still walk a few miles on most days. I'm not starving myself, but I just don't eat a lot. I only drink water, coffee, and a little tea, juice, and I rarely drink soda or other sugar stuff. I rarely eat fast food, and I avoid sugar, fried, and high calorie foods. I just can't seem to lose those 5-6 pounds I gained since I got back...

Probably still just adjusting... you practically came home from another planet, when you think about it. Stresses out the system. How are you sleeping these days?