Health Related

[MichaelM]

I'll fess up to being a card carrying member of the out of shape club. At 5'11" (on a good day) my 275 lbs is way to much to be lugging around. I'm also using my fitness pal and have begun walking since the weather changed and we are no longer encased in ice. For me the exercise is most important. I can go on the strictest diet and maintain my weight if I don't burn some extra calories with exercise. It is inspiring to see so many others committing to getting back in shape. Thanks for that!
Mike.

 

[flytyer]

Good for you Growley. Last year I started to work out with kettle bells and stayed on a healthy diet, although I didn't count calories I was able to drop 40 pounds in about 7 weeks. I think the key was finding the work out and the diet that was best for me, and I found out that healthy food doesn't have to be boring and taste bland. I use an app call Fooducate, it helps you make healthier choices when shopping for food. The half hour kettle bell workouts are intense and also fit into my schedule.

 

[Growley]

Good for you Growley. Last year I started to work out with kettle bells and stayed on a healthy diet, although I didn't count calories I was able to drop 40 pounds in about 7 weeks. I think the key was finding the work out and the diet that was best for me, and I found out that healthy food doesn't have to be boring and taste bland. I use an app call Fooducate, it helps you make healthier choices when shopping for food. The half hour kettle bell workouts are intense and also fit into my schedule.

40 lbs in 7 weeks is crazy. I'll have to look at the Fooducate app. Thanks for the tip.

 

[flytyer]

I know the healthy eating helped alot , but I think the workout program was the real difference for me it was called Kettle Worx.

 

[KevinM]

That's a great story. I hope your lost pounds stay off. Before the winter from heck arrived, I did three miles just about daily, which helped keep weight off if I laid off baked goods. (I'm a slow runner, tho. A certain young mother pushing a pram used to pass me regularly.) Now that spring seems to be arriving, I am in deep trouble because my daughter the nurse has had great success slimming her hubby down by 20 pounds and now has me in her sights. I told her my hip hurts from shoveling snow. She replied: a) "You have no business owning a snow shovel," and b) "The pain will pass as weight comes off." Yes, dear. If I had more women helping me, I'd probably be dead by now, not just chubby in places.

 

[gkhanna74]

I have battled my weight ever since was in the my early twenties. I'm 39 now, 5' '10" and 200 lbs
This is despite running six miles, four days a week and walking a lot.

In December, I had a routine physical and learned I was pre diabetic. So for three months, I watched what I ate etc, lost ten pounds and my blood sugar was normal. Well fast forward, I'm back where I was in December. For me, it is all about the eating, especially late at night, and grazing mindless calories in the afternoon

I find comfort knowing many of my fellow BoBs share the same fight and are winning. It inspires me to start in earnest again today and try to sustain the better habits

Thanks

 

[KevinM]

Follow up -- So in the spring my MD said my blood sugar was "out of control" (she tends to be hyperbolic) and I needed to go on meds. I declined and said I'd do this job with diet and exercise. In three months I dropped 25 lbs and nearly four a1c points. I'm comfortably in the normal range. She said I was the only one of her patients that ever did that. My secret was my charming albeit bossy daughter the nurse who gave me a book by Dee McCaffrey, "The Science of Skinny." In short McCaffrey recommends: regular exercise ... a whole food diet ... avoid processed food ... eat more Veggies and greens .. learn to read ingedient and nutrition labels critically ... watch portion size ... eat healthy, don't worry about calories. Along the way she answers such questions as: "Why is it that after a half cup serving of ice cream, I want moremoremore, but the same isn't true after a half cup serving of broccoli?" She isn't a calorie counter and doesn't like non-fat foods. (Because if the process removes the fat they will generally add sugar for taste). I read the part of the book on reading labels and noticed that the baked beans which were a regular feature of my beloved barbecues had almost exactly the same calories as the same serving size as the ice cream I liked for dessert. Those sneaky emeffers) I also learned a good trick for restaurants: When I order I ask for the take home containers and then immediately put half the serving aside for another meal. So I never walk away from the table feeling like I swallowed a football. My ever helpful missus complains that I've gone from a chubby old guy to a skinny old guy in baggy pants. I have lots of responses to such female attempts at wit, but at this point I'm no longer fighting in her weight class

 

[RDPipes]

Follow up -- So in the spring my MD said my blood sugar was "out of control" (she tends to be hyperbolic) and I needed to go on meds. I declined and said I'd do this job with diet and exercise. In three months I dropped 25 lbs and nearly four a1c points. I'm comfortably in the normal range. She said I was the only one of her patients that ever did that.  My secret was my charming albeit bossy daughter the nurse who gave me a book by Dee McCaffrey, "The Science of Skinny." In short McCaffrey recommends: regular exercise ... a whole food diet ... avoid processed food ...  eat more Veggies and greens .. learn to read ingedient and nutrition labels critically ... watch portion size ... eat healthy, don't worry about calories.  Along the way she answers such questions as: "Why is it that after a half cup serving of ice cream, I want moremoremore, but the same isn't true after a half cup serving of broccoli?" She isn't a calorie counter and doesn't like non-fat foods. (Because if the process removes the fat they will generally add sugar for taste). I read the part of the book on reading labels and noticed that the baked beans which were a regular feature of my beloved barbecues had almost exactly the same calories as the same serving size as the ice cream I liked for dessert. Those sneaky emeffers) I also learned a good trick for restaurants:  When I order I ask for the take home containers and then immediately put half the serving aside for another meal. So I never walk away from the table feeling like I swallowed a football. My ever helpful missus complains that I've gone from a chubby old guy to a skinny old guy in baggy pants. I have lots of responses to such female attempts at wit, but at this point I'm no longer fighting in her weight class

Good for you sir, that's great.
Now if I could loose these 5 maybe 8 stinking pounds of fat and find the muscle it replaced I'd be happier then a pig in poo.

 

[gkhanna74]

That is inspiring and a better formula than the purge diets that I can never stick to

 

[KevinM]

That is inspiring and a better formula than the purge diets that I can never stick to

Agree. A basic understanding of what your body needs to run properly has some built in motivation going for it, I'd say. But a purge diet that has the lmited goal of losing weight contains the self-defeating idea that when you hit the target weight you can go back to stuffing yourself with junk food. If you're on a sensible food plan you'll feel better and shed the excess weight.

 

[gkhanna74]

The hardest part for me is being more proactive about meals...not letting myself get to the point of of excess hunger, and then eating whatever is in front of me. That is where I tend to lose. Lame excuse but true

 

[KevinM]

The hardest part for me is being more proactive about meals...not letting myself get to the point of of excess hunger, and then eating whatever is in front of me.  That is where I tend to lose.  Lame excuse but true

I feel your (hunger) pain. A tactic that works for me: I buy a rotissirie (sp?) chicken early in the week plus some ready mixed greens and salad-component veggies. If I get the munchies, there's a readily available sandwich, drumstick or salad readily available in the fridge. It's a better alternative than half a dozen Oreos plus a glass of low-fat milk at bedtime Good luck.

 

[gkhanna74]

Sage advice. Thanks--- I will try it

 

[monbla256]

Been reading thru all the various "plans" as far as diet that have been offered and thought I'd offer what I've had to learn after being diagnosed with Diabetes 20 years ago. First YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT !! I have been following the ADA ( American Diabetes Assoc.) eating plan since I was diagnosed and over that time I've lost and maintained the loss of 80 lbs following it! In maintaining my bodies "set point" weight wise I have been able to keep my Diabetes under control though it has been something I have to think about and act on daily. I have been single for this length of time so have the mental aspect of doing it ALL as a singular person which can be somewhat of a detriment to success. Having to daily fix three meals w/ two snacks within a set range of dietary parameters to aid in the control of this disease can become somewhat overwhelming at times ! Hang in there Brian, IT CAN BE DONE  :twisted: :twisted: 

 

[dshpipes]

It's awesome to hear about all this weight loss and healthy habit building! I'm working on the same thing right now. For all of my adult life I've fluctuated between 240 and 285. This is after I lost 100lbs in 6 months in college dieting and playing Raquetball for 2 hours a day for six months. For that journey, I started at 340lbs at 6'2" and ended at 240 when the design work I was doing at the time uprooted me and I completely lost momentum.

My wife, Bonnie, and I moved to Durham, NC at the very end of June and have each lost 20lbs exercising, eating right, and tracking using the MyFitnessPal app since we arrived. I'm "uberhuberman" on MyFitnessPal if anyone wants to find me. I find having friends to encourage this kind of journey is a really positive way to stay on track.

Brian and Jessie, if you're still using it, friend me!