Otis fad diet thread — yoga, fasting, and kevzilla walking on🚶‍♂️ (1 Viewer)

[Zow]

Said no one ever.

Blasphemy. They're outstanding. Top three easy. 

Oh, and I've gone to the gym every single day for the last 6 weeks. Still need to work on the whole diet thing (trying out Factor meals - though lunch hasn't historically been my downfall) but holy cow do I feel better. 

Note: with the passing of Prop 207 and educating myself on how to responsibility consume THC, I've also replaced a lot of my alcohol with like 3 mgs of THC and CBD after the kids go to bed at night. Noticing a difference there, too, but man the "munchies" are a real thing. Need to figure out how to handle. 

 

[Zow]

Every time I tell myself by X date I am going to get my #### together I tend to be wild and extra unhealthy from the time I set the date until the date arrives. 

Me too. I assume this is common. 

The real negative comes when you bail on the diet the fourth day in because the day was too stressful so, collectively, over like the two-week period you're now more unhealthy than you would have been on your standard unhealthy path.  

 

[Dickies]

Me too. I assume this is common. 

The real negative comes when you bail on the diet the fourth day in because the day was too stressful so, collectively, over like the two-week period you're now more unhealthy than you would have been on your standard unhealthy path.  

My wife will frequently say she is giving up alcohol for a couple weeks or a month, then within two days she is pouring herself a glass of wine and justifying it because she had a stressful day at work.  She is very good at limiting herself to a single glass though

 

[bostonfred]

85g protein

28g fiber

2814mg sodium

Under calories and no alcohol.  One week down.  39 days to Easter.  

 

[krista4]

My wife will frequently say she is giving up alcohol for a couple weeks or a month, then within two days she is pouring herself a glass of wine and justifying it because she had a stressful day at work.  She is very good at limiting herself to a single glass though

Speaking of which, my work day has been so ####ty that if the neighbor's gift bottle of wine gets through unopened tonight, it will be a miracle.

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

So this is like 100% against my nature, no one outside my immediate family has a clue I'm doing this at this point, but like Scoob -- I'm here most days, so...

I've known for awhile things had slipped away from me in the last ~10 years.  I was always active enough and could carry weight well enough that I could get away with murder nutritionally until... I wasn't and couldn't.  And then came two years of hellish stress eating to put the cherry on the proverbial sundae.

Decided it was time to get serious.  So on 1/15 I got on a scale for the first time in awhile.  Woof.

I'm down 13 pounds and 1.7 BMI points since then, but am looking to lose another 60 or so over the next year. 

I haven't really ramped up the exercise too much yet -- I've just cut back cals to something sustainable long-term, around 2000/day, and been good about sticking to it.  It hasn't felt onerous after the first few days. 

Main thing for me is avoiding the carb binges in the late afternoon. 

Few other things I've found that help a bunch:

• I've got a limited selection of stuff for b-fast and lunch that makes tracking really easy.  Like maybe 5 main options for each.  With some mixing and matching and doubling up the same thing for a couple days in a row here and there it's enough variety that I don't get tired of it.
  
• I bring fruit to my desk after breakfast.  I'm lazy enough that I'll eat that as a snack instead of going in search of other stuff.
  
• Saffron frozen Indian meals (seriously these are amazing for 300-400 cals).
  
• Taking virtually ZERO calories in through liquid.  I'm not a big drinker so this is probably easier for me than other people.  Other than a little milk in oatmeal, coffee or scrambled eggs, it's just coffee and water.
  
• I measure ####!  Mayo, butter, peanut butter, hummus, rice -- I take the time to measure it out so I have a more accurate read on what I'm actually eating.  It's really easy to underestimate the fats and they add up fast.  I'll probably buy a small scale for this reason too.
  
• Focusing on stuff I really want to eat and that tastes good, but is especially filling for the calories -- eggs, potato with limited butter, oatmeal, broccoli, pork tenderloin, shrimp, etc.  Some of these are dirt cheap calorie-wise and I like eating them.  This is a big one for me; not enjoying my food would really suck and I want to feel satisfied. 
  
• Not sweating 1800 vs 2200 cals.  I'm heavy enough right now that keeping it in that range means I'm going to lose weight.  And if I'm more active than normal on a particular day I don't give myself additional calories.  (If I started doing serious aerobic activity I'd probably have to change that.)
  
• I weigh myself every day and record each new low.  For me it's a way to keep my head in the game each morning.
  
• I'm planning that this will take at least a year.
  
• Accepting that there are going to be work dinners or vacations and etc where I'm just doing damage control and might go quite a few days without seeing a new low. 
  
• Also accepting that this is super hard.  I looked up the stats on how many people succeed at this kind of weight loss, and it's daunting.  I'm competitive, and use that as motivation.  "#### you - I can SO do this."
  
• Even on good days, I think about being disappointed in my progress and how I'm going to plow through that anyhow when it happens, and trust that in another 7 or 10 or whatever days I'll see the progress again.
  
• And kind of stupid, but I'm carrying around small things to give to people who notice I've lost weight.  Hasn't happened yet, but I figure that's a chance to celebrate. 
  
• Overall it seems to me like the psychological side of this is harder than the mechanics of it -- dealing with the setbacks and staying focused and not giving up when I mess up.  Every single time I go two or three days without improvement (let alone the week I lost after a weekend away), it's depressing and feels like I'm never going to get where I want to go.  That's why a bunch of the stuff up there is designed around being mentally resilient and trying to make it sustainable.
  

YMMV, but hopefully something there is useful to someone else!

 

[Dickies]

So this is like 100% against my nature, no one outside my immediate family has a clue I'm doing this at this point, but like Scoob -- I'm here most days, so...

I've known for awhile things had slipped away from me in the last ~10 years.  I was always active enough and could carry weight well enough that I could get away with murder nutritionally until... I wasn't and couldn't.  And then came two years of hellish stress eating to put the cherry on the proverbial sundae.

Decided it was time to get serious.  So on 1/15 I got on a scale for the first time in awhile.  Woof.

I'm down 13 pounds and 1.7 BMI points since then, but am looking to lose another 60 or so over the next year. 

I haven't really ramped up the exercise too much yet -- I've just cut back cals to something sustainable long-term, around 2000/day, and been good about sticking to it.  It hasn't felt onerous after the first few days. 

Main thing for me is avoiding the carb binges in the late afternoon. 

Few other things I've found that help a bunch:

• I've got a limited selection of stuff for b-fast and lunch that makes tracking really easy.  Like maybe 5 main options for each.  With some mixing and matching and doubling up the same thing for a couple days in a row here and there it's enough variety that I don't get tired of it.
  
• I bring fruit to my desk after breakfast.  I'm lazy enough that I'll eat that as a snack instead of going in search of other stuff.
  
• Saffron frozen Indian meals (seriously these are amazing for 300-400 cals).
  
• Taking virtually ZERO calories in through liquid.  I'm not a big drinker so this is probably easier for me than other people.  Other than a little milk in oatmeal, coffee or scrambled eggs, it's just coffee and water.
  
• I measure ####!  Mayo, butter, peanut butter, hummus, rice -- I take the time to measure it out so I have a more accurate read on what I'm actually eating.  It's really easy to underestimate the fats and they add up fast.  I'll probably buy a small scale for this reason too.
  
• Focusing on stuff I really want to eat and that tastes good, but is especially filling for the calories -- eggs, potato with limited butter, oatmeal, broccoli, pork tenderloin, shrimp, etc.  Some of these are dirt cheap calorie-wise and I like eating them.  This is a big one for me; not enjoying my food would really suck and I want to feel satisfied. 
  
• Not sweating 1800 vs 2200 cals.  I'm heavy enough right now that keeping it in that range means I'm going to lose weight.  And if I'm more active than normal on a particular day I don't give myself additional calories.  (If I started doing serious aerobic activity I'd probably have to change that.)
  
• I weigh myself every day and record each new low.  For me it's a way to keep my head in the game each morning.
  
• I'm planning that this will take at least a year.
  
• Accepting that there are going to be work dinners or vacations and etc where I'm just doing damage control and might go quite a few days without seeing a new low. 
  
• Also accepting that this is super hard.  I looked up the stats on how many people succeed at this kind of weight loss, and it's daunting.  I'm competitive, and use that as motivation.  "#### you - I can SO do this."
  
• Even on good days, I think about being disappointed in my progress and how I'm going to plow through that anyhow when it happens, and trust that in another 7 or 10 or whatever days I'll see the progress again.
  
• And kind of stupid, but I'm carrying around small things to give to people who notice I've lost weight.  Hasn't happened yet, but I figure that's a chance to celebrate. 
  
• Overall it seems to me like the psychological side of this is harder than the mechanics of it -- dealing with the setbacks and staying focused and not giving up when I mess up.  Every single time I go two or three days without improvement (let alone the week I lost after a weekend away), it's depressing and feels like I'm never going to get where I want to go.  That's why a bunch of the stuff up there is designed around being mentally resilient and trying to make it sustainable.
  

YMMV, but hopefully something there is useful to someone else!

Don’t get discouraged if you see your weight go up. I’m only weighing once per week and have had a couple weeks where my weight goes up, but the overall trend is downwards. 

 

[DA RAIDERS]

You're calling me no one!   

They are my #3, but they are Mr. krista's #1.

Those are similar to the ones found at your weird aunts house, in a metal tin. Correct?

 

[DA RAIDERS]

So this is like 100% against my nature, no one outside my immediate family has a clue I'm doing this at this point, but like Scoob -- I'm here most days, so...

I've known for awhile things had slipped away from me in the last ~10 years.  I was always active enough and could carry weight well enough that I could get away with murder nutritionally until... I wasn't and couldn't.  And then came two years of hellish stress eating to put the cherry on the proverbial sundae.

Decided it was time to get serious.  So on 1/15 I got on a scale for the first time in awhile.  Woof.

I'm down 13 pounds and 1.7 BMI points since then, but am looking to lose another 60 or so over the next year. 

I haven't really ramped up the exercise too much yet -- I've just cut back cals to something sustainable long-term, around 2000/day, and been good about sticking to it.  It hasn't felt onerous after the first few days. 

Main thing for me is avoiding the carb binges in the late afternoon. 

Few other things I've found that help a bunch:

• I've got a limited selection of stuff for b-fast and lunch that makes tracking really easy.  Like maybe 5 main options for each.  With some mixing and matching and doubling up the same thing for a couple days in a row here and there it's enough variety that I don't get tired of it.
  
• I bring fruit to my desk after breakfast.  I'm lazy enough that I'll eat that as a snack instead of going in search of other stuff.
  
• Saffron frozen Indian meals (seriously these are amazing for 300-400 cals).
  
• Taking virtually ZERO calories in through liquid.  I'm not a big drinker so this is probably easier for me than other people.  Other than a little milk in oatmeal, coffee or scrambled eggs, it's just coffee and water.
  
• I measure ####!  Mayo, butter, peanut butter, hummus, rice -- I take the time to measure it out so I have a more accurate read on what I'm actually eating.  It's really easy to underestimate the fats and they add up fast.  I'll probably buy a small scale for this reason too.
  
• Focusing on stuff I really want to eat and that tastes good, but is especially filling for the calories -- eggs, potato with limited butter, oatmeal, broccoli, pork tenderloin, shrimp, etc.  Some of these are dirt cheap calorie-wise and I like eating them.  This is a big one for me; not enjoying my food would really suck and I want to feel satisfied. 
  
• Not sweating 1800 vs 2200 cals.  I'm heavy enough right now that keeping it in that range means I'm going to lose weight.  And if I'm more active than normal on a particular day I don't give myself additional calories.  (If I started doing serious aerobic activity I'd probably have to change that.)
  
• I weigh myself every day and record each new low.  For me it's a way to keep my head in the game each morning.
  
• I'm planning that this will take at least a year.
  
• Accepting that there are going to be work dinners or vacations and etc where I'm just doing damage control and might go quite a few days without seeing a new low. 
  
• Also accepting that this is super hard.  I looked up the stats on how many people succeed at this kind of weight loss, and it's daunting.  I'm competitive, and use that as motivation.  "#### you - I can SO do this."
  
• Even on good days, I think about being disappointed in my progress and how I'm going to plow through that anyhow when it happens, and trust that in another 7 or 10 or whatever days I'll see the progress again.
  
• And kind of stupid, but I'm carrying around small things to give to people who notice I've lost weight.  Hasn't happened yet, but I figure that's a chance to celebrate. 
  
• Overall it seems to me like the psychological side of this is harder than the mechanics of it -- dealing with the setbacks and staying focused and not giving up when I mess up.  Every single time I go two or three days without improvement (let alone the week I lost after a weekend away), it's depressing and feels like I'm never going to get where I want to go.  That's why a bunch of the stuff up there is designed around being mentally resilient and trying to make it sustainable.
  

YMMV, but hopefully something there is useful to someone else!

Love it!  You’re amongst friends.   this is a safe place. .  For reals.
 

Take it slow and steady. Incorporate some super chill exercise into the mix. Maybe walk a mile, after dinner. And ramp it up from there. 

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Beers!  9 miles!  Winning?    

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

Love it!  You’re amongst friends.   this is a safe place. .  For reals.
 

Take it slow and steady. Incorporate some super chill exercise into the mix. Maybe walk a mile, after dinner. And ramp it up from there. 

We get some miles in each week walking the dog, and I mapped out a 3.25 mile course in our neighborhood and adjoining woods where the path never crosses or doubles back.  Just need to get audio books sorted out so I can handle the boredom.  I never got bored when I used to bike, even on long rides, but walking does me in. 

Also play some decent ping pong each week, which doesn't sound like much but is ~4.0mets (walking 3mph is 2.5).

Once I drop some more lbs I'll probably get back on the bike and see how things go.

 

[Poke_4_Life]

Ended up with over 10k steps yesterday.  I'm sure I was over calories due to cookies.  Baby steps.  Still no booze since Saturday.  

Did a 50-min full practice yoga session this morning. 

Plan to track food and walk the dog later.  And stay off the booze until Friday.  

Keep up the good work!

 

[kevzilla]

After we turn the clocks back this weekend, I'll be ready for the streets. However, if it's under 50 degrees or raining at all, I won't hesitate to get back on the treadmill.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

Have been religiously walking all week, but it's a cold rainy day and my treadmill is in the room with the litter box.  The true test of motivation.

Down 16 lbs since 2/27 at least.  Benefit of being absurdly obese is that the losses come quickly at first.  Fasting blood sugar also pretty consistently about 90 points below where it was tested from my physical, though still too high.  Best benefit so far has been for my mental health.  I had no idea how much just feeling exhausted (literally one of the two major symptoms of diabetes), was affecting my depression.  I'm still not a particularly happy person, but I'm not lying around all day incapable of taking on any physical or mental strain and feeling ####ty about myself. 

 

[kevzilla]

I often feel a strong urge to take a nap after work. Did I mention I work from home?

Sometimes I pass out in my chair with Jim Cramer yelling at me. 

 

[DA RAIDERS]

We get some miles in each week walking the dog, and I mapped out a 3.25 mile course in our neighborhood and adjoining woods where the path never crosses or doubles back.  Just need to get audio books sorted out so I can handle the boredom.  I never got bored when I used to bike, even on long rides, but walking does me in. 

Also play some decent ping pong each week, which doesn't sound like much but is ~4.0mets (walking 3mph is 2.5).

Once I drop some more lbs I'll probably get back on the bike and see how things go.

What is a met?  And I’m not knocking ping pong, but imho, walking will do more for you.

that being said, now I’m curious.  Gonna have my friend break out his ping pong table and see what kind of work out I get. 

 

[caustic]

Last week's nice weather gave way to 30 degrees with clouds again, so I've been walking on the treadmill each morning this week. I guess we're supposed to get 4-9 inches of snow tonight, too.   Cannot wait for spring to finally leave winter in the dust. 

A note about blood pressure measurement: I think the official guidance is to sit for 5 minutes before taking a reading, and this almost never happens at the doctor's office. At my appointment on Monday I got spooked by a 140/90 reading that was taken immediately after I sat down. Measured it at home last night after waiting for 5 minutes, 118/75.

 

[Poke_4_Life]

What is a met?  And I’m not knocking ping pong, but imho, walking will do more for you.

that being said, now I’m curious.  Gonna have my friend break out his ping pong table and see what kind of work out I get. 

I've played table tennis (not ping pong, they are adamant about that) with some serious players and it can definitely be a bit of a cardio workout.  

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

What is a met?  And I’m not knocking ping pong, but imho, walking will do more for you.

that being said, now I’m curious.  Gonna have my friend break out his ping pong table and see what kind of work out I get. 

A MET is a ratio of your working metabolic rate relative to your resting metabolic rate. Metabolic rate is the rate of energy expended per unit of time. It’s one way to describe the intensity of an exercise or activity.

One MET is the energy you spend sitting at rest — your resting or basal metabolic rate. So, an activity with a MET value of 4 means you’re exerting four times the energy than you would if you were sitting still.

To put it in perspective, a brisk walk at 3 or 4 miles per hour has a value of 4 METs. Jumping rope, which is a more vigorous activity, has a MET value of 12.3.

Says here brisk walking is equal to the ping pong number I quoted (4.0), so probably close a wash.

Also, we're decent ping-pong wise and the games might be a little more intense than you're picturing.  It's also full-body in that you're moving your arms around a lot and lunging too.

 

[bostonfred]

After we turn the clocks back this weekend, I'll be ready for the streets. However, if it's under 50 degrees or raining at all, I won't hesitate to get back on the treadmill.

Ready for the streets makes this sound so much more bad ### lol

 

[bostonfred]

my treadmill is in the room with the litter box.  

This sounds like the kind of innovation the guys in the ran a 10k thread could use.   Do you wipe or just kind of swish your butt around in a clean section when you're done? 

 

[DA RAIDERS]

I've played table tennis (not ping pong, they are adamant about that) with some serious players and it can definitely be a bit of a cardio workout.  

For sure.  I played every day, one summer in Mallorca.  I’ve played a few times recently. Always while drinking.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Says here brisk walking is equal to the ping pong number I quoted (4.0), so probably close a wash.

Also, we're decent ping-pong wise and the games might be a little more intense than you're picturing.  It's also full-body in that you're moving your arms around a lot and lunging too.

I play a vigorous ping pong game myself. I’m a big spin guy.    I get it. I’m usually drinking though. And am never playing any one game for 20 minutes non stop, let alone an hour. 

 

[Otis]

B@Otis let's do this together again 

I so need to do something, GB.  Otis lost at sea 

 

[bostonfred]

I so need to do something, GB.  Otis lost at sea 

I'm only a week back into it but I'm reminded how much better i feel when I'm not eating and drinking too much.  Every time you have gotten on track here, you've posted that you felt the same.   I've tried eating better but not committed to it and immediately slipped off track.  The day i started back this time I was committed to not drinking during lent so if I'm not drinking i might as well lose some weight.  Now that I'm committed to it I'm back in the mindset.   

That's all it takes.  You know you need to do this, you know it's not going to happen on its own and the longer you wait the harder it will be so just peel the band aid and commit.

No shame in being off track almost all of us are back in here doing the same thing and even picked up a few more.  

 

[krista4]

Despite my ####ty work day, I made it through last night without opening the neighbor's wine.  For the first two days I've been under points, and I incorporated yoga again starting yesterday and walking starting today.  Made a big pot of lentil soup last night that I nommed on for dinner and again for lunch today.

Monday I did an inventory of our freezers, and hoo-boy.  I blame Costco. 14 gigantic steaks that would feed two people, maybe more.  16 portioned pork loins and another 5+ pounds of pork tenderloin.  Eight pounds of giant prawns.  Salmon, cod, salt cod, mahi mahi, meatballs, kielbasa, brats, Hebrew National hot dogs, and what can only be described as a ####-ton of lobster carcasses.  I figure all I need to do for several weeks is walk to the farmstand or farmers market (which I just did today), and we're set for a while.  

 

[notoriousbill]

I am late to the party here but thought I'd pop in and add my experiences to this thread.

In August of last year I saw an old friend's son for the first time in over a year.  He was extremely overweight (360 lbs) and went to a ball game with he and my son (they were best friends growing up).  He lost 140 lbs.  I was so shocked I almost cried.  His dad was my best friend and had passed away.   He would have been so proud of his son.  His weight was always an issue growing up.  This gave me the inspiration to start my weight loss journey.  I got on the scale and saw the big three-zero-zero staring at me....  I was upset and shocked all at once.   I downloaded MFP (because I used it in the past to track food, exercise, um yeah right, etc).  I entered my information, had DW take the "start" picture and I was off.  This was August 8, I started watching everything I ate and drank on August 9.  I set the "goal" for 225 at 1.5 lbs/week weight loss.  At first it was easy.   I worried about Thanksgiving, Daughters Wedding and Christmas though.  Those occasions are easy diet killers.   I made it through the holidays and wedding "unscathed".  Early January I had lost 30 lbs.  That's almost exactly 1.5 lbs/week.   I was pretty happy considering I did very little to no exercise.  I walked 30 minutes/day a few days per week but nothing major....   I decided to bump it up to 2 lbs/week in early February.  I weighed in at 260 meaning I've lost 40 lbs.  Thing is, I really don't "do without" the foods I "want" to eat, I adjust accordingly....  I typically only eat 2 meals per day - lunch and dinner or breakfast and dinner.  I am anxious to see my bloodwork numbers to see how they improved.  I only take cholesterol medicine (atorvastatin 40 mg). 

I am 35 lbs away from my goal and can honestly tell a huge difference in the way I feel.   It's been 14+ years since I have been at this weight.  

I will check in here periodically for some encouragement/feel good stories on fellow FBG weight loss journeys.

Lastly, thanks everyone for sharing your stories and suggestions!

 

[krista4]

I've recommended this one before, but posting again for newbies or anyone else.  If any of you deal with neck or upper-back pain, this Yoga with Adriene has worked magic for me.  Years of way too much stress have made my neck in particular a complete mess.  I've tried chiropractic work (which helps but is a pain to go do), massage, about 1000 different pillows, etc.  Yoga in general has helped more than anything, but the first time I did this particular practice I was like a new woman.

Yesterday was the first day I'd done yoga in exactly a month, after having done it daily for over three months and almost daily for over a year.  That month of no yoga and bad eating/drinking wreaked havoc on my neck and my sleep, with the latter in turn wreaking yet more havoc on my neck.  I was in severe pain, so when I started back up yesterday I decided to do this one first.  It had an immediate effect that faded later in the day, but miraculous I woke up this morning and...no pain.  For good measure I did this one again today (along with another YWA) and can't recommend it highly enough.  It's short (25 min) and easy.

 

[bostonfred]

114g protein 

36g fiber 

2427mg sodium 

Under calories, no alcohol. Had an egg and a piece of Canadian bacon with my coffee, a chicken sandwich on a small sub roll for lunch, yogurt with berries and granola for snack, and a buffalo chicken breast, two potatoes worth of air fryer French fries and a big plate of veggies for dinner. Total 1843 calories but i went for a run tonight and did a couple consecutive miles at a slower/MAF pace as i work my way back to that 7 mile outdoor route i like.  That burned 348 calories so i netted under 1500 again today.  Giddyup.

 

[kevzilla]

Didn't go to sleep when I should have, felt lousy this morning. Dragged myself to the treadmill anyway, where my heart rate was 10 bpm higher than normal. Probably related. I will get in bed >6 hours before my alarm is set this time.

 

[Poke_4_Life]

Ended up right at my calories yesterday, even with having a glass of red wine.  Only one!  

Already did a yin yoga session this morning.  Dog may revolt today tho, as it is supposed to be 35 with strong North winds when I get home from the office.  Speaking of the office, I wonder what kind of treats we will get today?  Ugh.  

Keep up the good work!

 

[Dickies]

950 calories burned on the mountain bike and I PR’d a pretty brutal climb to the top of the hill by 30 seconds. 

 

[krista4]

Doing pretty well here.  Operation Clear These Freezers is underway.  Last night grilled some of the pork along with some beets and rabe I had picked up at the farmstand yesterday.  Delicious and very low in WW points, so I did add 1.5 glasses of the neighbor's wine and still stayed under points.

Working my way back up to more difficult yoga, but it's brutal.  Never take an entire month off.  My abs were so sore from yesterday that my cat-cows today were painful. 

Finished off the lentil soup for lunch, and then Mr. krista made a whole mess of chili for dinner using some flank steak from the freezer.  So delicious and also filling since we use beans in the chili - deal with it, Texans.  No wine tonight, but my stepmother had sent me a gift package that included a rack of Peeps, so I allowed myself two of those but remained under points for the day.

 

[bostonfred]

Stayed on track for calories until last night but got a fancy dinner with my wife for her birthday and have no idea how many calories. Definitely over but no alcohol.  Back at it today and no worries that I'm off the rails or anything, just decided to eat a nice meal with my wife on her birthday and not make her feel self conscious because i was dieting and she wasn't.  

I'm hoping i can get a good run in this afternoon, it's supposed to snow later so probably just treadmill but I'd like to bump my distance up another notch and see how i feel.  I've been cautious so far (and lazy) with a decent amount of run/ walking but I haven't felt like i was hitting my limit or anything.. so I might try to increase my mileage a bit more today even though i did my "long" run Wednesday. 

 

[Poke_4_Life]

Yesterday was a crap day for me.  In the office, so ate lots of crap.  Then had a family thing and ate poorly again and had a little bourbon too.  I'm not sure I even had a vegetable yesterday (other than french fries).  So many bad choices.  

Already did a 50-min full practice yoga session this morning.  It's snowing here, so I'll walk on the treadmill later while the dog gives me dirty looks.  I have some healthy menu options on the table today, probably will have some wine tonight.

Keep up the good work!

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Many miles, many beers.  All is well on the weight front. I NEED to do yoga. And yet I don’t.

 

[Otis]

I am late to the party here but thought I'd pop in and add my experiences to this thread.

In August of last year I saw an old friend's son for the first time in over a year.  He was extremely overweight (360 lbs) and went to a ball game with he and my son (they were best friends growing up).  He lost 140 lbs.  I was so shocked I almost cried.  His dad was my best friend and had passed away.   He would have been so proud of his son.  His weight was always an issue growing up.  This gave me the inspiration to start my weight loss journey.  I got on the scale and saw the big three-zero-zero staring at me....  I was upset and shocked all at once.   I downloaded MFP (because I used it in the past to track food, exercise, um yeah right, etc).  I entered my information, had DW take the "start" picture and I was off.  This was August 8, I started watching everything I ate and drank on August 9.  I set the "goal" for 225 at 1.5 lbs/week weight loss.  At first it was easy.   I worried about Thanksgiving, Daughters Wedding and Christmas though.  Those occasions are easy diet killers.   I made it through the holidays and wedding "unscathed".  Early January I had lost 30 lbs.  That's almost exactly 1.5 lbs/week.   I was pretty happy considering I did very little to no exercise.  I walked 30 minutes/day a few days per week but nothing major....   I decided to bump it up to 2 lbs/week in early February.  I weighed in at 260 meaning I've lost 40 lbs.  Thing is, I really don't "do without" the foods I "want" to eat, I adjust accordingly....  I typically only eat 2 meals per day - lunch and dinner or breakfast and dinner.  I am anxious to see my bloodwork numbers to see how they improved.  I only take cholesterol medicine (atorvastatin 40 mg). 

I am 35 lbs away from my goal and can honestly tell a huge difference in the way I feel.   It's been 14+ years since I have been at this weight.  

I will check in here periodically for some encouragement/feel good stories on fellow FBG weight loss journeys.

Lastly, thanks everyone for sharing your stories and suggestions!

Congratulations on your success.  So awesome.  Keep it up.

 

[Otis]

I'm only a week back into it but I'm reminded how much better i feel when I'm not eating and drinking too much.  Every time you have gotten on track here, you've posted that you felt the same.   I've tried eating better but not committed to it and immediately slipped off track.  The day i started back this time I was committed to not drinking during lent so if I'm not drinking i might as well lose some weight.  Now that I'm committed to it I'm back in the mindset.   

That's all it takes.  You know you need to do this, you know it's not going to happen on its own and the longer you wait the harder it will be so just peel the band aid and commit.

No shame in being off track almost all of us are back in here doing the same thing and even picked up a few more.  

Yup.  You're right.  I know it.  

 

[Dickies]

Many miles, many beers.  All is well on the weight front. I NEED to do yoga. And yet I don’t.

You take the plunge on a mtb yet?

I'm assuming the miles you're putting in is walking/running?

 

[DA RAIDERS]

You take the plunge on a mtb yet?

I'm assuming the miles you're putting in is walking/running?

not yet.  and you are correct.  if/when i do the mtb, you'll be notified.  

 

[kevzilla]

we use beans in the chili - deal with it, Texans.

You had lentil soup for lunch and bean soup for dinner? You do you. 

 

[caustic]

Took a rest day yesterday because of some knee soreness, but back at it today, putting in another 2.5 miles on the treadmill. No booze since Monday. Hope everyone else is doing well!

 

[fred_1_15301]

After 2 years of body combat and push-ups I finally conquered this challenge.  Sheer grit to get through  .45, 1.22 and 1.58 of that video.

Bring Sally Up Push-Up Challenge

No that guy isn't me........

 

[bostonfred]

86g protein 

38g fiber

1395mg sodium

Under calories, no alcohol and my best sodium day in a long time.  And I finished my "long" run of 25 minutes nonstop at 5mph. Not where I was a year ago but I've been a bit of an ####### to myself for a while and starting at square one is better than not starting. 

I feel like at this rate I have a good chance to be back to my 7 mile run by father's day if I want to, maybe a little earlier if I really want to push it.  Half a mile a week for 9 weeks would be mid may but I'd like to give myself a chance to plateau for a bit and take a rest week here or there.

 

[krista4]

starting at square one is better than not starting. 

Brilliant words I needed to hear.  I've been beating myself up over going a month without yoga and eating/drinking horribly for that month, but I try to remember that I was in a much worse spot three years ago and managed to get very thin and very healthy, ok maybe not "very" thin as that wouldn't be healthy, but healthy thin, and I can do that again and am starting at a much better spot than I did then and also that I just typed a bfred-esque run-on sentence.

 

[bostonfred]

Brilliant words I needed to hear.  I've been beating myself up over going a month without yoga and eating/drinking horribly for that month, but I try to remember that I was in a much worse spot three years ago and managed to get very thin and very healthy, ok maybe not "very" thin as that wouldn't be healthy, but healthy thin, and I can do that again and am starting at a much better spot than I did then and also that I just type a bfred-esque runon sentence.

I think part of the mental game for me is seeing myself as a fat guy who needs to lose weight, then seeing myself as a fat guy who got skinny on a lark, neither of which is a healthy self image. 

I need to start seeing myself as a healthy guy who made bad decisions for a while and i just need to work them back off. And i think I'm getting that mindset. This isn't a one time thing, and I'm not going to be setting personal bests, I'm just getting back to where i was, which is where I'm supposed to be.  

When i was putting weight back on I kept telling myself i can lose a few pounds no problem, I've done it before.  And that's true.  But i think the mindset needs to be that I'm not trying to lose weight, because it's not something you try to do any more than i try to drive to the store.   This is a task not an attempt.  And it's a task i brought on myself because I had too much wine and takeout.  

 

[krista4]

When i was putting weight back on I kept telling myself i can lose a few pounds no problem, I've done it before.  

Preach.  I fell into this, too.  After I lost a bunch, when I'd put on five pounds here or there I'd just lose them again...until I didn't.  "Healthy guy/gal who made some bad decisions for a while" it is!

 

[Otis]

I think part of the mental game for me is seeing myself as a fat guy who needs to lose weight, then seeing myself as a fat guy who got skinny on a lark, neither of which is a healthy self image. 

I need to start seeing myself as a healthy guy who made bad decisions for a while and i just need to work them back off. And i think I'm getting that mindset. This isn't a one time thing, and I'm not going to be setting personal bests, I'm just getting back to where i was, which is where I'm supposed to be.  

When i was putting weight back on I kept telling myself i can lose a few pounds no problem, I've done it before.  And that's true.  But i think the mindset needs to be that I'm not trying to lose weight, because it's not something you try to do any more than i try to drive to the store.   This is a task not an attempt.  And it's a task i brought on myself because I had too much wine and takeout.  

Truth.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

I love this thread. 
 

I would argue that most of the regulars in here are fairly healthy.  Some may want to lose a few pounds, but for the most part, simply giving a #### and focusing on their health, be it a desire to post nudes on the gram, or wanting to see your kids get married, puts one ahead of most of America.  
 

keep it up!

 

[bostonfred]

My kid wanted chick fil a for breakfast, but i live in New England, so we had to take a little road trip because the nearest one is half an hour away.  I probably spent more on gas than breakfast.  I got a sandwich and picked at some of his food, a chicken mini and a couple hash browns..  Logged everything and it was 600 calories and pretty much a disaster for protein/ fiber/ sodium. Ugh.  I really want to make sure my protein is good because sadly I'm a little sore from my run yesterday and I feel like it helps when i feed my sore muscles. But i don't have a ton of calories to play with because i want to take a rest day from running.  

So i did some yoga and had fresh fruit, yogurt and flax seed granola for lunch. 

Plugging dinner into myfitnesspal... chicken cutlet with vegetables should hit the rest of my macros, and I'll have just enough left over for a sweet potato so I'm going to try making sweet potato fries in the air fryer. 

The moral to the story is that big breakfasts kind of mess up my plans for the rest of the day but i can still work them in once in a while even on days i don't run.  Just need to plan ahead and for me the best way to do that is to log it in myfitnesspal before i eat it so there's no surprises where i eat dinner and find out i went over later.