Weight Loss Progress - My story, share yours.

[javacontour]

OK, I'm a bit slow, as I started and stopped on this back in early 2010, or what that sometime in 2009.

Anyway, I've finally found what appears to work for me. My wife has joined Weight Watchers and is simply tracking what she eats, going for her weekly weigh-ins. Paying $10/week for the privilege to use their website, etc.

I've found that for $3.99 or something similar, I can own an App on my Droid phone that lets me track my eating and my progress. Plus I don't have to keep paying each week. It will also scan barcodes and look things up on line. I can also enter items in the database based on recipe nutritional information.

I can say that since 6/10/2011, I've gone from 267 pounds to this mornings weigh-in at 244.5

I've not really started exercise yet. I know that's coming as I doubt losing will be sustainable long term just by changing my eating habits.

So how does it work? They have a formula that determines how many points you get to each each day. Plus you get 49 bonus points each week. You can also earn activity points, so if I spend an hour cutting the lawn, I earn points to offset some food.

I started at 52 points/day and am down to 48. Foods have a point value based on their content of fat, protein, carbs and fiber. So for example, my breakfast of three slices of center cut bacon, 1/4 cup of egg whites, and a low fat, low calorie english muffin with low fat strawberry cream cheese was 11 points, leaving me 37 points for the remainder of the day.

At lunch, it was Panera. The you pick two, 1/2 Smoked Turkey Sandwich, no mayo, a cup of low fat chicken soup, an apple and a Strawberry Special K breakfast bar. That was only 9 points, leaving me with 28 points to use the rest of the day. We are going to a farewell dinner party tonight, so I'll probably use a larger share there.

By adopting this strategy of simply tracking what I do for activity and what I eat, I've been able to lose about 1/2 a day give or take. I even lost 1.5 pounds last week at Youth2011 on the campus of Purdue University.

Eating in the dining facility, making choices that avoided fried, fatty foods, or at least in moderation. (oilBabe and I split one biscuit and had a tablespoon of gravy over it instead of two or three biscuits with cups of gravy!)

I think the other biggest thing is almost halting my milk consumption. I would drink skim milk each day, thinking it's not too bad, it's skim milk after all.

Skim milk is about as calorie dense as soda. So that 1/2 gallon to gallon if skim milk each day was a huge volume of calories.

Pretty soon, my body will adjust to the change and the weight will come off more slowly. That will be time to take more measurements, such as neck, waist, chest, etc and start the workout routine, working up to what it was almost 20 years ago, an aerobic exercise 3 days a week. On three other days, weights, and taking Sundays off.

So far, this is working for me. There is not much I miss. I just have to have things in moderation, such as the 1/2 a biscuit and modest gravy.

Who else is doing something like this? What's working for you? What is your goal and your progress towards that goal?

My goal is to get down to my Army weight of 200#, so I have 44.5 pounds to go.

 

[Indydriver]

Atkins low carb has always worked great for me. All it costs is the purchase price of one book. You eat healthy natural foods, never go hungry and don't have to exercise to burn fat. My kind of diet.

 

[javacontour]

oilBabe made some Quinoa last night to go with the pork chops she made. A quarter cup of that was 4 points. I think she had a cup and a half on her plate. That's almost her complete allowance for a day.

The carbs and fat can sneak up on you.

I keep telling her, meat and vegetables. Leave out the rice, the potatoes and the pastas. But she keeps making them. So I put a tablespoon on my plate. Closer to the 1/4 cup serving size than her portion.

I think she got up and worked out extra hard this AM.

 

[JHZR2]

Glad you are doing this. I got a nice free app for my phone to do tracking, but I'm just too forgetful. The biggest thing to me is to just want, really want to be careful. People can say it all they want, but the key is real desire to cause lifestyle change when it is uncomfortable.

We are a "deserve it" society. Everyone deserves everything. Really all it gets us to deserve is debt and obesity.

Loosing weight is uncomfortable. I'll be the first to say that I'm not good at it because of that.

Curious how people deal with cravings... That is my weakness, I get severe cravings for things, causing me to overindulge...

 

[javacontour]

I also have some simple rules for picking foods like at the college cafeteria or at a party.

1. One plate, no bigger than both your hands.
2. Never eat more of anything than will fit in the palm of one hand.
3. When your plate is full, and I don't mean in danger of an avalanche, you've chosen all you are going to eat.

Even if you make "bad" choices, if you can live by those rules, you are probably doing better than most.

 

[javacontour]

The app I'm using is Ultimate Point Calculator Plus. It's only on the Droid for now. I looked for an iPhone/iPad version, but it's not out there.

oilBabe was jealous. But apparently the App from WW is serving her well. Even if it costs her $10/week. I know we are saving that much if not more just on my milk consumption. It would simply be nice to just get ahead and not have someone find a use for any money I manage to save

The thing about this is I can eat anything I want, until I run out of points. So if I'm craving a Thickburger at Hardees, I can have it. But I'm probably eating bunny food the rest of the day, or I have to work out to offset some food with activity points.

I was craving a slider from White Castle after a late night call out. So I ordered three. Boy was I shocked when I saw they were 5 points each when you have them with cheese. Don't even get me started on fries or onion rings. Those things are just loaded with calories.

But I can go to Hardees and have one of the Turkey burgers and a side salad for about 12 points.

My daughter saw Supersize me on Netflix and asked to watch it. What amazes me is how things have gotten bigger since I was a kid in the 70's. What you get for fries in the happy meal was the standard portion. The small drink we have today was the large when I was a kid, and so on.

So while I believe it ultimately comes down to making good choices, the options out there are not working in your favor. There are far more bad choices than good.

But if you look, you can find the Turkey burgers and side salads, or the Fresco Burritos at Taco Bell, and other choices.

Or you can bag it, and bring your own. Then you can pack what is good before you are hungry and tempted to choose things that are not so good in the quantities we tend to eat them.

I heard a guy on the radio talking about Hagen Dazs ice cream. Most folks think a serving is the entire pint. A serving is 1/2 cup. If you eat an entire 16 oz package, you've had four servings. If you eat the 28 oz package, you've had 7 servings.

Ditto for chips. If you sit down and eat the entire bag, you've likely had 10 servings of the product.

So you can have anything you want. You simply have to exercise control and know when to stop.

 

[callbay]

Great job, Java. If I can just offer one piece of advise for all reading this and wanting to loose weight. I have tried seven times and lost weight but it always comes back on till now. I have kept the weight off this this time.

Most diets fail because we reach our goal of down to a certain weight. When we reach that weight we go off the diet and think we can keep the weight off with some kind of "maintanence diet" but it almost never works.

The only way it works is to change the way you eat permenantly. It's not a diet its a life change. For the rest of your life. You have to find a way to eat less and excersise more from now on. Not for a specific time or until you reach a specific weight. It works.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Most people, 80-90% or more, are having problem with too much weight. My problem is opposite, I want to gain 10-15 lbs but could not do it for as long as I live so far. I'm at 5'7" and only 120-125 lbs, the ideal weight should be 135-140 lbs. I ate almost anything and somehow the body just burnt it all. Is there a weight gain program ?

 

[javacontour]

Originally Posted By: callbay
Great job, Java. If I can just offer one piece of advise for all reading this and wanting to loose weight. I have tried seven times and lost weight but it always comes back on till now. I have kept the weight off this this time.

Most diets fail because we reach our goal of down to a certain weight. When we reach that weight we go off the diet and think we can keep the weight off with some kind of "maintanence diet" but it almost never works.

The only way it works is to change the way you eat permenantly. It's not a diet its a life change. For the rest of your life. You have to find a way to eat less and excersise more from now on. Not for a specific time or until you reach a specific weight. It works.


That's why I think this works. If you stick with the points, even after you've reached your goal, you will maintain. It's a gradual process. Your points drop as you lose weight. They are determined by your age, weight, level of activity, etc. They adjust as you lose weight. So as you drop weight, you actually get fewer points, down to a floor (which I don't know.)

But if you do it gradually, and at my starting weight of 267, I'm doing it gradually at just under 1/2 pound a day or about 3 pounds a week, you can establish new habits.

But yes, you have to stick with them.

Just as I track what I spend, and I track car maintenence, this plan works for me because tracking the activity causes you to think about it.

Just as tracking your spending helps you avoid overspending, tracking what you eat helps you avoid overeating.

 

[Jim 5]

Originally Posted By: Indydriver
Atkins low carb has always worked great for me. All it costs is the purchase price of one book. You eat healthy natural foods, never go hungry and don't have to exercise to burn fat. My kind of diet.


I have been doing this for 5 years now without falling off the wagon.

What makes it sustainable is that I eat whatever I want every Saturday. That gives me a recurring chance to indulge and enables me to be very strict knowing that in a few days I can eat that "whatever". I credit this approach to my ability to have kept going on this for 5 years.

Also, it really helps to weigh yourself at least once a week. This way you can't lie to yourself about how you're doing, and if you're not doing well, you can't really wake up one morning having put on 20-30lbs. Makes it easier to nip weight gain or a lack of weight loss in the bud.

 

[JHZR2]

Serving size explosion is interesting.

I'm sure I'll not starve/die if I eat the "standard" portion. However it is much more fulfilling to eat until satisfied (which can be too many calories for daily activity which is the issue).

But it is a brain training thing as much as anything else. I'd love to go to fogo de chao every night. I'd be satisfied. But I would be better off to eat only the 4oz steak, but it wouldn't be as satisfying.

Say what you like about evolution, but the reality is that the body does adapt and addict. The portion thing has silently gotten most of us stuck on these big portions to fill our overstretched stomachs.

 

[callbay]

Jim5 you are so right about weighing often to catch it quick if you are gaining. I have found that weighing every morning before eating is best for me. My weight varies a little because of bathroon activities but I can still tell within a pound or so where I am. So I know if I am around 164 and the next day it says 166 I do some correcting quick. It also gives me a lot of incentive to eat less as I don't want to be disapointed in the morning.

 

[Steve S]

We gain weight because we eat too much so we eat the wrong diet. Then to loose weight we eat a lower calorie diet and when we have lost weight we go back eating the same diet that caused us to gain weight. Loosing is easy, eating proper to keep it off is the HARDEST part.

 

[NJC]

I'm trying to drink more water when I'm hungry, and exercise more. And EAT LESS. We have a great abundance of food and often don't need so much.

 

[Tom NJ]

Originally Posted By: Indydriver
Atkins low carb has always worked great for me. All it costs is the purchase price of one book. You eat healthy natural foods, never go hungry and don't have to exercise to burn fat. My kind of diet.

Fully agree. I've been on Atkins for over 8 years now and feel great. The weight fell off so fast when I first started that it was scary. I was never hungry and ate tasty real foods like meats, cheese, sausage, nuts, and veggies. After the first seven months I lost 43 pounds, my good cholesterol (HDL) rose 50% and my triglyceryides dropped 75%.

Tom NJ

 

[Jim 5]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Serving size explosion is interesting.

I'm sure I'll not starve/die if I eat the "standard" portion. However it is much more fulfilling to eat until satisfied (which can be too many calories for daily activity which is the issue).

But it is a brain training thing as much as anything else. I'd love to go to fogo de chao every night. I'd be satisfied. But I would be better off to eat only the 4oz steak, but it wouldn't be as satisfying.

Say what you like about evolution, but the reality is that the body does adapt and addict. The portion thing has silently gotten most of us stuck on these big portions to fill our overstretched stomachs.


I agree. When I started doing atkins, the calorically dense food took up far less space in my stomach. My stomach has shrunk significantly to the point that I can now only eat about 2 slices of pizza, maybe 3 where before I could eat nearly a whole large pizza. Shrinking the stomach back to a reasonable size is a good thing for portion control.

As you mention, you also have to recalibrate in your mind what it feels like to be "full". That used to mean a stretched stomach and having gone overboard on calories. It took me years to get used to the fact that what used to feel like "full" is really the feeling for "over-ate".

 

[fdcg27]

Java,
Changing your eating habits can have a dramatic effect.
Weight was added over time, and will fall off gradually and naturally over time if you just eat a little less each day.
I have lost fifty pounds over the past 2.5 years just by changing my eating habits.
I now weight what I did fifteen years ago.
Looking at it that way, I only added 3.4 pounds a year on average, which is nothing, but the cumulative effect is large.
I have always been pretty active, so that wasn't an issue.
Once you adjust to eating a little less, it becomes quite natural, and you never feel hungry.
I think that gradual weight loss is likely to be more lasting than a crash diet.
Finally, there have been documented studies showing that consuming more water really does result in more weight loss.
Something to consider.
I wish you success in your efforts.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Jim 5
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Serving size explosion is interesting.

I'm sure I'll not starve/die if I eat the "standard" portion. However it is much more fulfilling to eat until satisfied (which can be too many calories for daily activity which is the issue).

But it is a brain training thing as much as anything else. I'd love to go to fogo de chao every night. I'd be satisfied. But I would be better off to eat only the 4oz steak, but it wouldn't be as satisfying.

Say what you like about evolution, but the reality is that the body does adapt and addict. The portion thing has silently gotten most of us stuck on these big portions to fill our overstretched stomachs.


I agree. When I started doing atkins, the calorically dense food took up far less space in my stomach. My stomach has shrunk significantly to the point that I can now only eat about 2 slices of pizza, maybe 3 where before I could eat nearly a whole large pizza. Shrinking the stomach back to a reasonable size is a good thing for portion control.

As you mention, you also have to recalibrate in your mind what it feels like to be "full". That used to mean a stretched stomach and having gone overboard on calories. It took me years to get used to the fact that what used to feel like "full" is really the feeling for "over-ate".


Any tips? I used to be a relatively elite athlete. Because of the significant activity level, I ate a lot no big deal. Now that I'm far more sedentary, my body still wants to eat like that, while my physical output doesn't require it.

Makes for an issue...

Thanks!

 

[JOD]

Java, you know what really works well for losing weight: riding a bike

OK, bike rants aside, despite my skinny frame, performance and weight are inextricably-linked for bike racers, so I've become pretty much a professional at losing weight. There's no way to maintain race weight in the winter, and frankly it's not a healthy weight. It's basically like being a wrestler, with wheels.

Here are the very simple rules that help me get down to weight:

- I don't give up sweets (or my favorite foods) entirely. This just results in the binge/denial cycle. I eat dessert every night, I just keep it to 300 Cal

-I eat a big breakfast. This is probably the biggest help. not only does it kickstart your metabolism, but more importantly it gives me a sense of satiety through the day. "I'm too busy" isn't an excuse. I Make time. Otherwise, I find I'll get hungry mid-day and make bad choices.

-I stop eating after a certain time. For me, it's 6:00, with my dessert allowed at any time after that. Yeah, occasionally I'll go to bed hungry, but then I just wake up starving for my breakfast.

These 3 simple rules have worked great for me. That said, your plan seems to be working well for you, so good job and keep it up!

In an unrelated weightloss story, I have to give mad props to one of my cats. He's 12, and he's just dropped 2 pounds over the last 2 months!!(that's 18% of his body weight). This has been harder than you'd think, since his sisters are borderline skinny. The keys; diet and exercise. Go figure... I'm pretty thrilled, 'cause he's pretty much the best cat in the history of cats, and I want him to live a long time.

 

[kasedian]