My Fitness Pal (1 Viewer)

[beer 302]

Biggest things that worked for me:

1. My church started a forty day fast that coincided with a corporate challenge at work. That started the process. I typically fast sweets which if you've never tried it, is a lt harder than it sounds for 40 days. So my suggestion, pick something and give it up for a month whether it's alcohol, sweets, whatever. Pick something bad and give it a rest for a while.

2. Don't cheat. Don't "schedule" cheat days (they will happen on their own without your help). Don't cheat on the app by skipping entries, record everything! I chew a lot of gum as a former smoker, always have since I ave them up. 7 sticks of Extra sugar free bubble gum is 35 calories. I record them everyday & appreciate how hard it is to work off 35 calories.

3. Do something, anything. Even seemingly little things add up. Park farther away, take the steps instead of the elevator, take a walk around the building a couple of times a day. Try wearing a pedometer to see how far you walk in a day. If you can, get to a gym, cardio, cardio, cardio. Pounds melt off but and this is a central theme to everything I say in this thread YOU HAVE TO STICK WITH IT! Don't slack off! The first month or so sucks. You will hurt, you will want to sleep in, you will make up excuses not to go in your head and believe them. If you're really serious about not being a fatass anymore then you have to be equally as serious about training.

4. Find a group or a friend that wants to drop a few lbs too. This goes a lot easier if you are doing it with someone. This thread and the app are great resources but anybody can post stuff on the web. Harder to lie to the guys you see everyday.

5. I pretty much drink water, coffee & beer. Lots & lots of water, some coffee, occasional binge on beer.

There's probably more but everyone is different. What works for one won't for another. Don't get discouraged. Plateauing sucks but it will happen to you, don't let it stop you. Change something up and get back on track.

 

[Tiger Fan]

Can you guys that have had success share some tips specific to your situation? They don't have to be scientifically valid and they may only work for you but I am interested to read various ideas. Here are some of mine1). Drink near zero or zero calories. I don't drink alcohol so that was not an issue for me but I was a fruit juice junkie. I was using probably consuming more than 500 calories a day in just fruit juice. I replaced the fruit juice with crystal light. 2). Even if you feel like crap, get to the gym or your basement and exercise. Even if you burn off only 150 cals it is worth it. Your worst day at the gym is better than the best day on your couch with potato chips. 3). Tomato basil wraps have replaced both bread for sandwiches and tortillas for fajita's for me. The tomato basil wrap is the lowest cal bread like alternative I have found and saves a ton of calories. I can eat a lot more fajitas at the same calorie count now. 4). As a cook, I never measured my oil. Now I measure like crazy. I have found I can save a ton of cals by being careful with the oil and lose very very little flavor in the food5). I discovered pearl barley. . It is starting to replace rice and potatoes for me. It appears to fill me more per calorie than the other two starches. 6). As having full blooded Sicilian heritage, this has killed me but I have cut way way back on pasta and noodles. :( I really want to find a substitute for this. I may look into making my own pasta or trying spinach pasta.7). No matter how bad it hurts in the beginning exercise does get easier. Even at my relatively advanced age of 44 I was able to get cranking after a while. There is a nice snow ball effect. Not only does your wind and strength improve but as you lose weight you also are moving a lighter amount which makes exercising easier.

Good stuff here...I'd also like to add that Pam Olive Oil Cooking spray is very good. Zero calories, and I can't really tell a difference at all. Obviously, you can't use like 1/4 of a cup or more of it...but when you just need something as a base to start cooking with, it works great.

 

[beer 302]

slacker

 

[Ted Lange as your Bartender]

One thing I would add is make sure you eat breakfast - just something to get your metabolism started early in the day. even something small like a yogurt, some fruit, or a bowl of cereal, it's something.

 

[NewlyRetired]

One thing I would add is make sure you eat breakfast - just something to get your metabolism started early in the day. even something small like a yogurt, some fruit, or a bowl of cereal, it's something.

I think this makes a lot of sense. I just started doing this the last few days. I am never hungry in the morning but a serving size of cereal is so laughably small I could be full and it would be no issue to eat

 

[prosopis]

How tall are some of you guys that are dropping down into the 150s?ETA: About 3 years ago I weighed 155. At 5'10" that was not a good weight for me.

I am 5'7" and I am targeting 145-150

 

[matuski]

1) I stopped drinking calories.

2) I am back to being a gym rat... this was my biggest slack off over the last couple years. I lift 5 days a week, cardio/hoops 7 days a week. Huge improvements in how I feel.

3) I count calories, not carbs/protein/sugar/fat.... just calories. Seems to steer me effortlessly towards healthier food.

18 pounds down in 7 weeks-ish. The next 18 should be no problem at this rate.

 

[belljr]

How tall are some of you guys that are dropping down into the 150s?ETA: About 3 years ago I weighed 155. At 5'10" that was not a good weight for me.

I am 5'7" and I am targeting 145-150

That's nuts. If I ever get to 175 I'll be thrilled and that's at 5'8". I think I'd lose every ounce of muscle I have to drop to 150....

 

[Otis]

 

[jamny]

1). Drink near zero or zero calories. I don't drink alcohol so that was not an issue for me but I was a fruit juice junkie. I was using probably consuming more than 500 calories a day in just fruit juice. I replaced the fruit juice with crystal light.

Flavored seltzers. At first I didn't care for it because I was still hooked on the sweet taste of soda but now I love it. I like the Black Cherry and Wild Berry, etc but have been getting into the lemon-lime now too. Zero calories, zero anything. So far, Polar Seltzer is my favorite but it's not easy to find, especially in anything bigger than a liter bottle.

 

[NewlyRetired]

1). Drink near zero or zero calories. I don't drink alcohol so that was not an issue for me but I was a fruit juice junkie. I was using probably consuming more than 500 calories a day in just fruit juice. I replaced the fruit juice with crystal light.

Flavored seltzers. At first I didn't care for it because I was still hooked on the sweet taste of soda but now I love it. I like the Black Cherry and Wild Berry, etc but have been getting into the lemon-lime now too. Zero calories, zero anything. So far, Polar Seltzer is my favorite but it's not easy to find, especially in anything bigger than a liter bottle.

my wife drinks these and likes them too.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Instead if posting here why not just update your MFP? You have not logged into MFP even once in the last two weeks.

 

[Guest]

1) I stopped drinking calories.

2) I am back to being a gym rat... this was my biggest slack off over the last couple years. I lift 5 days a week, cardio/hoops 7 days a week. Huge improvements in how I feel.

3) I count calories, not carbs/protein/sugar/fat.... just calories. Seems to steer me effortlessly towards healthier food.

18 pounds down in 7 weeks-ish. The next 18 should be no problem at this rate.

This is pretty much me. I have had 1 soda in the last 5 weeks, and have cut my alcohol intake by 75%. I also only count calories and don't worry much about the other details.I have been doing something cardio 6 days a week. I couldn't get outside last night because it was raining, so I lifted hard instead. Damn I feel good today. If I can get myself out of bed I would like to start working out 2x per day. (cardio AM, weights PM).

~15 pounds in 5 weeks.

 

[SeveredHorseHeads]

Can you guys that have had success share some tips specific to your situation? They don't have to be scientifically valid and they may only work for you but I am interested to read various ideas.

I've lost about 12 pounds over the last 5 weeks or so. One thing that works week for me is that I make my lunch for the entire week on Sunday night. I'll get a recipe from Cooking Light, something like an asian noodle salad or barley salad, make it and divvy it up into 5 portions for the week. This does a couple of things for me: It's really easy for me to grab and go in the morning making it much more likely that I brown bag it. It also makes it easier for MFP because I don't have to waste a lot of time trying to figure out what I am actually eating on a daily basis.

 

[pacman_fl]

Down 2 more pounds and have 1 to go for the top end of my goal weight (and 25 total lost) - been a good 4 months so far. The 2 pounds DOES put my BMI in the healthy category for the first time in a long time.

As far as the tips being shared:

1. Breakfast - I haven't been a breakfast person most of my life. It's routine now and I couldn't do without.

2. I try logging my meals for the day early in the morning. This keeps me "on task" and let's me know how I can snack and is motivation to work out in the evening.

3. Losing weight with others. My wife is down over 30 pounds in the same 4 months and I haven't seen her this happy/motivated in years. Sharing healthy meals is great (especially when she complements me on what I cook).

4. I have started eating some comfort foods again over the last month. I won't make them until I figure out the calorie/nutrition values though and make sure I can stay below my daily goal with some good exercise. I started for cholesterol concerns so I can't go overboard on that either way.

5. WATER, WATER, WATER - living in the desert in the summer drives one to water naturally but I have doubled my old in-take (drink around 80-96 ounces per day)

6. As mentioned above - push myself to workout. I have days were I have ZERO desire to do that Those are my best workout days though. We have started to vary the type of workouts we do. That is important to me as well since I get bored.

LASTLY, thanks to this thread and everyone who has participated. I picked up some MFP buddies who inspire me and there is some awesome advice and encouragement being shared.

 

[phishphan]

I have no idea what my goal weight is. When I got married (14 years ago) I got down to around 215#, and had lost too much weight. People said I looked sickly in the face. But at that time I also had a lot more muscle mass than I do now. I guess for now I'm shooting for around 225# and then see what I think and go from there.

 

[shadyridr]

Can you guys that have had success share some tips specific to your situation? They don't have to be scientifically valid and they may only work for you but I am interested to read various ideas.

Here are some of mine

1). Drink near zero or zero calories. I don't drink alcohol so that was not an issue for me but I was a fruit juice junkie. I was using probably consuming more than 500 calories a day in just fruit juice. I replaced the fruit juice with crystal light.

Agree 100%. I have stopped drinking beer except nurse one or two on the weekend now.

2). Even if you feel like crap, get to the gym or your basement and exercise. Even if you burn off only 150 cals it is worth it. Your worst day at the gym is better than the best day on your couch with potato chips.

Yep, I even run on the weekends now just to burn that extra 300 calories. Going without exercise for a day is something I cant do anymore.

3). Tomato basil wraps have replaced both bread for sandwiches and tortillas for fajita's for me. The tomato basil wrap is the lowest cal bread like alternative I have found and saves a ton of calories. I can eat a lot more fajitas at the same calorie count now.

I basically stopped eating sandwiches for lunch

4). As a cook, I never measured my oil. Now I measure like crazy. I have found I can save a ton of cals by being careful with the oil and lose very very little flavor in the food

I stopped using oil. Now I use Pam spray.

5). I discovered pearl barley. . It is starting to replace rice and potatoes for me. It appears to fill me more per calorie than the other two starches.

I still eat rice, potatoes, or fries but stick to one serving which is usually only about 170 calories.

6). As having full blooded Sicilian heritage, this has killed me but I have cut way way back on pasta and noodles. :( I really want to find a substitute for this. I may look into making my own pasta or trying spinach pasta.

This is tough for me. I still eat pasta regularly but stick to one bowl instead of two now.

7). No matter how bad it hurts in the beginning exercise does get easier. Even at my relatively advanced age of 44 I was able to get cranking after a while. There is a nice snow ball effect. Not only does your wind and strength improve but as you lose weight you also are moving a lighter amount which makes exercising easier.

Exercise has never been a problem for me. Dieting has been the tough part.

Ill add:

1. drink plenty of water as it keeps you full.

2. Coffee is also a great appetite supressor. I often find myself wanting a snack at night and instead Ill have a cup of coffee. I dont take my coffee with sugar so its fairly low cal.

3. Learn to love greek yogurt. Tons of protein, keeps you full, I eat it every day.

4. I make my lunch on Sunday evenings and its enough to get me through the week. One thing is you cant mind eating the same thing everyday which I dont. I usually buy 2 packs of Perdue chicken tenderloins and bake them with whatever seasoning I want for two minutes. I eat 3 pieces a day for lunch.

 

[Tiger Fan]

Does greek yogurt taste more like Yoplait or like a yogurt I would get at a pinkberry?

 

[Guest]

Does greek yogurt taste more like Yoplait or like a yogurt I would get at a pinkberry?

You will have to give it a try. I love it, but I had my sister try it and she hated it. I did try eating a plain one that I picked up by mistake. I couldn't do it, it has to have fruit. The plain does taste a lot like sour cream though.

 

[belljr]

Does greek yogurt taste more like Yoplait or like a yogurt I would get at a pinkberry?

Never had pinkberry but it didn't tast like yoplait to me. Those I can almost tolerate.... Greek yogurt almost made me vomit

 

[NewlyRetired]

Can you guys that have had success share some tips specific to your situation? They don't have to be scientifically valid and they may only work for you but I am interested to read various ideas.

I've lost about 12 pounds over the last 5 weeks or so. One thing that works week for me is that I make my lunch for the entire week on Sunday night. I'll get a recipe from Cooking Light, something like an asian noodle salad or barley salad, make it and divvy it up into 5 portions for the week.

I found a couple of great recipes from Cooking Light including a chicken thigh and barely stew that is just awesome. I am going to look for more recipes from them as the time goes on.

 

[NewlyRetired]

LASTLY, thanks to this thread and everyone who has participated. I picked up some MFP buddies who inspire me and there is some awesome advice and encouragement being shared.

I concur. If it wasn't for this thread I would never have gotten off my ever increasing butt. It is just great to see so many people making progress.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I have no idea what my goal weight is. When I got married (14 years ago) I got down to around 215#, and had lost too much weight. People said I looked sickly in the face. But at that time I also had a lot more muscle mass than I do now. I guess for now I'm shooting for around 225# and then see what I think and go from there.

I am letting the mirror tell me. I simply chose 10% of my body weight to lose while also lifting at the same time to tone a bit. If/when I get to the 10% mark I will reevaluate based on how I look.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Off to the store to pick up some Pam Spray. Thank you for the advice on this. It should cut down on a few more calories on the meals I cook.

 

[beer 302]

Does greek yogurt taste more like Yoplait or like a yogurt I would get at a pinkberry?

You will have to give it a try. I love it, but I had my sister try it and she hated it. I did try eating a plain one that I picked up by mistake. I couldn't do it, it has to have fruit. The plain does taste a lot like sour cream though.

Eating some now, thanks to this thread btw. It's definitely different than regular yogurt, plain is bitter & sour, need to get some with fruit. I settled on the Dannon Oikos, good stuff. About 10-30 less calories per serving, it appears you get more and has some added extra "good stuff" in it i.e. more protein, potassium, etc. Good stuff guys, thanks for the recommendation

 

[Guest]

LASTLY, thanks to this thread and everyone who has participated. I picked up some MFP buddies who inspire me and there is some awesome advice and encouragement being shared.

I concur. If it wasn't for this thread I would never have gotten off my ever increasing butt. It is just great to see so many people making progress.

 

[Guest]

Any idea how many calories would be in homemade fresh salsa? I made up a batch the other night and have plenty of Roma tomatoes to make more.

Roma tomatoes

Jalapeño

Garlic

Onion

Corn

Black beans

Garlic salt

Cilantro

Lime Juice

Lemon Juice.

Opted for Tostitos Multigrain Scoops. Any healthier chip choices out there?

 

[beer 302]

Any idea how many calories would be in homemade fresh salsa? I made up a batch the other night and have plenty of Roma tomatoes to make more.Roma tomatoesJalapeñoGarlicOnionCornBlack beansGarlic saltLime JuiceLemon Juice.Opted for Tostitos Multigrain Scoops. Any healthier chip choices out there?

Other than the chips, next to nothing probably. Find out what a serving is and divide accordingly. Close counts in calories and grenades

 

[NewlyRetired]

Any idea how many calories would be in homemade fresh salsa? I made up a batch the other night and have plenty of Roma tomatoes to make more.Roma tomatoesJalapeñoGarlicOnionCornBlack beansGarlic saltCilantroLime JuiceLemon Juice.Opted for Tostitos Multigrain Scoops. Any healthier chip choices out there?

It should be next to nothing per serving with those ingredients ignoring the chips. Just plug it into MFP in the Create A Recipe section and you will get pretty good numbers. The lowest cal chips I have seen are the baked Tostitos.

 

[shadyridr]

Any idea how many calories would be in homemade fresh salsa? I made up a batch the other night and have plenty of Roma tomatoes to make more.Roma tomatoesJalapeñoGarlicOnionCornBlack beansGarlic saltCilantroLime JuiceLemon Juice.Opted for Tostitos Multigrain Scoops. Any healthier chip choices out there?

Store brand salsa has 10 calories per 2 tblsp. Add some calories for the corn & beans Im guessing like 30-40 calories per 2 tbspl

 

[RUSF18]

Does greek yogurt taste more like Yoplait or like a yogurt I would get at a pinkberry?

You will have to give it a try. I love it, but I had my sister try it and she hated it. I did try eating a plain one that I picked up by mistake. I couldn't do it, it has to have fruit. The plain does taste a lot like sour cream though.

Eating some now, thanks to this thread btw. It's definitely different than regular yogurt, plain is bitter & sour, need to get some with fruit. I settled on the Dannon Oikos, good stuff. About 10-30 less calories per serving, it appears you get more and has some added extra "good stuff" in it i.e. more protein, potassium, etc. Good stuff guys, thanks for the recommendation

I was able to eat the plain Greek yogurt by adding a packet of Splenda, Equal, etc.

 

[shadyridr]

Does greek yogurt taste more like Yoplait or like a yogurt I would get at a pinkberry?

You will have to give it a try. I love it, but I had my sister try it and she hated it. I did try eating a plain one that I picked up by mistake. I couldn't do it, it has to have fruit. The plain does taste a lot like sour cream though.

Eating some now, thanks to this thread btw. It's definitely different than regular yogurt, plain is bitter & sour, need to get some with fruit. I settled on the Dannon Oikos, good stuff. About 10-30 less calories per serving, it appears you get more and has some added extra "good stuff" in it i.e. more protein, potassium, etc. Good stuff guys, thanks for the recommendation

I was able to eat the plain Greek yogurt by adding a packet of Splenda, Equal, etc.

I eat plain Greek yogurt all the time. I love it.

 

[Tiger Fan]

Any idea how many calories would be in homemade fresh salsa? I made up a batch the other night and have plenty of Roma tomatoes to make more.Roma tomatoesJalapeñoGarlicOnionCornBlack beansGarlic saltCilantroLime JuiceLemon Juice.Opted for Tostitos Multigrain Scoops. Any healthier chip choices out there?

Store brand salsa has 10 calories per 2 tblsp. Add some calories for the corn & beans Im guessing like 30-40 calories per 2 tbspl

yeah blackbeans are like 230 calories per cup....very filling though. I cook them up with pam olive oil and cumin and some other spices.

 

[RUSF18]

Does greek yogurt taste more like Yoplait or like a yogurt I would get at a pinkberry?

You will have to give it a try. I love it, but I had my sister try it and she hated it. I did try eating a plain one that I picked up by mistake. I couldn't do it, it has to have fruit. The plain does taste a lot like sour cream though.

Eating some now, thanks to this thread btw. It's definitely different than regular yogurt, plain is bitter & sour, need to get some with fruit. I settled on the Dannon Oikos, good stuff. About 10-30 less calories per serving, it appears you get more and has some added extra "good stuff" in it i.e. more protein, potassium, etc. Good stuff guys, thanks for the recommendation

I was able to eat the plain Greek yogurt by adding a packet of Splenda, Equal, etc.

I eat plain Greek yogurt all the time. I love it.

I'm sure you do. It's a very successful product. Just giving a calorie-free suggestion to two guys said they couldn't eat it without adding fruit.

 

[Tiger Fan]

Pretty much consumed all of my calories during lunch today.

 

[walnutz]

I have lost 12.5 pounds in the past 5 weeks. I will echo some of the things that people have already said --

1) I stopped drinking soda. If I need a soda I will grab a diet coke. This is a very rare occasion though.

2) Drink lots of water.

3) Log everything. Don't get discouraged if you go over in a day. I look at it from a weekly perspective and if i am under, which i shoot for being several hundred calories under, then i am happy. I only count calories. I ignore the rest of it. Once i get to my target weight i will try to start correcting other things with my diet.

4) Eat breakfast. Something - I usually have a yogurt or some oatmeal these days.

5) I eat dinner off of a salad plate. I have not really changed my diet. All right, i cut out a LOT of fast food. I eat smaller portions of what i do eat though.

6) Exercise - do something. I run, some people walk, ride a bike. You have to do something to burn calories though. Start slow to avoid injuries though.

7) In general, i do not drink beer anymore. Occasionally i will have a glass of wine but not much else. You can loose weight and drink beer it is just harder to do.

Those are the basics of what has gotten me through.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I am comfort food maniac, especially in the winter, which I know is not great for losing weight

I was very happy to find out that my favorite comfort food, chili, is actually quite healthy. If you use very lean beef or switch to ground turkey, control the oil and cheese, it is a very nice meal health wise.

Now home made Mac and cheese is a whole nother story

 

[beer 302]

Pretty much consumed all of my calories during lunch today.

#### yea Weight loss, in it's simplest form is easy guys. Burn more than you take in.Thanks, I'm here all week

 

[KiddLattimer]

I am comfort food maniac, especially in the winter, which I know is not great for losing weight

I was very happy to find out that my favorite comfort food, chili, is actually quite healthy. If you use very lean beef or switch to ground turkey, control the oil and cheese, it is a very nice meal health wise.

Now home made Mac and cheese is a whole nother story

My wife makes the best mac and cheese too

 

[Arizona Ron]

Pretty much consumed all of my calories during lunch today.

#### yea Weight loss, in it's simplest form is easy guys. Burn more than you take in.Thanks, I'm here all week

This - I went out on Friday and drank about 1500 calories. The next day, I ran 3 miles and cycled for 30 minutes.

 

[Otis]

Back to logging. Just drank a beer on my train commute home, but still 900 calories left for dinner and wine. All good.

I'm bummed I went off the rails in the past few weeks. I was doing well. The big killer was weekends, killed all my motivation with some big meals out. Wife and I discussed this morning and decided we are not going to eat out regularly anymore. This should be a huge help this time.

 

[Maude]

Back to logging. Just drank a beer on my train commute home, but still 900 calories left for dinner and wine. All good. I'm bummed I went off the rails in the past few weeks. I was doing well. The big killer was weekends, killed all my motivation with some big meals out. Wife and I discussed this morning and decided we are not going to eat out regularly anymore. This should be a huge help this time.

Sup fatty?

 

[Tiger Fan]

Pretty much consumed all of my calories during lunch today.

#### yea Weight loss, in it's simplest form is easy guys. Burn more than you take in.Thanks, I'm here all week

This - I went out on Friday and drank about 1500 calories. The next day, I ran 3 miles and cycled for 30 minutes.

yeah, bout to go on a run

 

[shadyridr]

Back to logging. Just drank a beer on my train commute home, but still 900 calories left for dinner and wine. All good. I'm bummed I went off the rails in the past few weeks. I was doing well. The big killer was weekends, killed all my motivation with some big meals out. Wife and I discussed this morning and decided we are not going to eat out regularly anymore. This should be a huge help this time.

copy and paste one month from now

 

[shadyridr]

Hows this for motivation 0tis. In January I weighed 21 lbs more than you. Today I weigh at least 30 lbs less than you. Fatty

 

[Otis]

Hows this for motivation 0tis. In January I weighed 21 lbs more than you. Today I weigh at least 30 lbs less than you. Fatty

Holy crap. Congrats dude, that's pretty awesome.And yeah, I need the motivation. I'm a mess. Just had a long talk with the wife. Instead of going and boozing on the weekends, we're going to start hiking and doing random #### like that. We'll see.

 

[James Daulton]

Pretty much consumed all of my calories during lunch today.

#### yea Weight loss, in it's simplest form is easy guys. Burn more than you take in.Thanks, I'm here all week

This - I went out on Friday and drank about 1500 calories. The next day, I ran 3 miles and cycled for 30 minutes.

We have to be careful not to overstate the impact of exercise. Losing weight is 80% watching calories. For example, assuming you're 205lbs and both activities were vigorous, the exercise you listed above to offset the 1,500 calories the day before may have offset 900 of them. That still leaves you another 600 calories to deal with.

 

[Buddy Ball 2K3]

Went away on a fishing trip with the old man for 5 days and put on 6 lbs. Sitting on a boat, eating, drinking and bsing for 10-12 hours a day apparently does not assist in weight loss. Back to the grind stone.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Went away on a fishing trip with the old man for 5 days and put on 6 lbs. Sitting on a boat, eating, drinking and bsing for 10-12 hours a day apparently does not assist in weight loss. Back to the grind stone.

5 pounds for me would be devastating but at your size aren't you just one or two good dumps away from being even?

 

[beer 302]

Went away on a fishing trip with the old man for 5 days and put on 6 lbs. Sitting on a boat, eating, drinking and bsing for 10-12 hours a day apparently does not assist in weight loss. Back to the grind stone.

5 pounds for me would be devastating but at your size aren't you just one or two good dumps away from being even?