Let's lose some weight in 2021. Back to the grind... who else is in? (8 Viewers)

Major said:

Haha.  I feel you on the pantry. I love having all different types of flavors for my coffee, baking and smoothie needs.    And yes, Muscle Milk's macros are terrible and the protein quality poor.  You can definitely find better and cheaper.  Look for isolates and high quality blends with little to no filler.  Quest Protein and Isopure are my favorites with 100 or so calories for 25g protein.  Syntha 6 Edge for more of a dessert (tastes better than Muscle Milk)  with 150 cals per 25g protein.

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DocHolliday said:

Big fan of Dymatize ISO and Dymatize Elite.  Mixes easily with water and tastes good.  25 grams of protein and around 120 calories helps with keeping cals low while getting that protein.   

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bostonfred said:

Some searching seems like some people love it and some thought it was scammy.  Checked glassdoor and reddit for reviews among other places.. One mentioned that they were asked to sign a contract saying that they would keep paying until they hit their goal weight which sounds sketchy as all get out. Whether that's true or not I don't know but it would certainly incentivize bogus promises.  Also saw someone claim they were pushed to sell their expensive food or pills or 250 dollar plans and blame customers if they didn't lose weight because they didn't stick to the plan then try to sell more to them. There were also claims that it helped. It's hard to know whether these are angry disgruntled ex employees or unsuccessful customers leaving bad reviews or paid shills giving good reviews.

What does the program look like besides low carb medium fat medium protein and walking?

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dhockster said:

SOTA weight loss. They are located in Dallas and started out working with the Cowboys and Mavericks. They have been marketing in Houston (where I live) for the last several months. I meet via phone or zoom with a nutritionist each week. It is basically a modified Keto diet. Low Carb, medium fat, medium protein. Visit their website and tell me what you think. I have been regularly walking on the diet and have just started doing more intense cardio and feel really good.

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dhockster said:

For me, the program works because I am a rule follower and they make it pretty easy to follow their rules. 

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culdeus said:

It's 100% a scam.  They lock you into a contract that says, when you hit maintenance you don't pay, but they find ways to keep you paying past that point.  Trying to break out of this contract is exceptionally hard, to the point people have to file cease/desist lawsuits.

SOTA makes me want to start up my own weight loss plan, for every week you aren't at your goal weight I kick you square in the balls.   They (SOTA) simply take a massive wad of cash from you each week you can't hit your goal weight.  Accountability, is proven to be effective here, but I mean the fees are variable (mostly based on what they think they can scam you for), it can cost upwards of $20k a year.  

At that rate, just get WLS, seriously.  

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dhockster said:

Have you done the program?

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bostonfred said:

I'm a little concerned after reading what he said and what you said about pre paying up front for losing all that weight and then you get money back for your two weeks if you hit your goal weight before that date. Does your contract allow them to keep charging you after the two weeks if you dont hit that weight?

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dhockster said:

No, it does not. That is why I am asking him if he did the program.

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bostonfred said:

I'm not asking you what they told you, I'm asking if you read the contract thoroughly 

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dhockster said:

Have you done the program?

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culdeus said:

I'm in Dallas and know people that had to retain lawyers just to get SOTA to stop contacting them after being more than 10 pounds under their goal weight, they advertised very hard in this area and got a large client base.  My aunt ended up having to get a restraining order, based, with and I #### you not a doctor saying that her weight was so low she would need to be treated for anorexia if this continued and what they were doing bordered on tortuous harassment.  

The slippery part of the contract is how "maintenance" is defined.  It is an extremely hard target to hit, one would say impossible.  SOTA controls this towards the end game, and their objective is for you to continue paying into maintenance or be monitored to prove you've fallen out and then owe them more money.  

I'm sure there are people affiliated with SOTA that are fine, it's like crossfit.  They get a network of nutritionists, then pay them huge commissions to get people to stay in the program.  Everything runs seamlessly until you hit maintenance.  Then the war starts.  Get ready.

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dhockster said:

I have not experienced any of that, but I am not, of course, at the maintenance stage. I will let you know if that happens. 

How long ago did this happen with your Aunt? 

From a marketing standpoint, their approach would seem to be counterproductive, as their best advocates would be those that had completed the weight loss program and were able to maintain that weight loss. Hounding those people would only encourage them NOT to market their product.

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• Date         |  Weight   |   Chg From Start  |   Weekly Loss   |   Calories
  
• Nov 27         226.1                                           
  
• Dec 24         212.9                -13.2                                          Avg daily calories during period: 1523
  
• NEW START DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS TO VALENTINES DAY
  
• Dec 26         213.1               -13.0                                          Avg daily calories during period: 1510       
  
• Jan 1           211.2                -14.9                  -1.9                  Avg daily calories during period: 1983
  
• Jan 8           210.3                -15.8                  -0.9                  Avg daily calories during period: 1546
  
• Jan 15         207.0                -19.1                  -3.3                  Avg daily calories during period: 1524
  
• Jan 22         205.4                -20.7                  -1.6                  Avg daily calories during period: 1513
  
• Jan 29         203.0                -23.1                  -2.4                  Avg daily calories during period: 1521
  
• Jan 30         202.1                -24.0                                          1650
  
• Jan 31         202.3                -23.8                                          2000 - Hard to know for this one, estimate only
  
• Feb 1          202.1                -24.0                                          1390
  
• Feb 2          201.5                -24.6                                          1580
  
• Feb 3          201.9                -24.2
  

culdeus said:

This was 2018 timeframe.  

She cut an insane amount of weight.  Far too fast imo.  She's probably halfway back at this point.  Maybe went 280->130->180 or something like that.  

If the structure now is all up front payment, and not weekly/monthly, perhaps that's a move in the right direction.  It's still vastly more expensive than any other similar option out there.  

From looking thru the docs back in 2018, the people that did it were a splinter group off of a program called Harris Fast that wanted to turn it into a subscription model: https://www.hmrprogram.com/  It's possible HMR and SOTA are somehow related, but that wasn't made abundantly clear.  The programs look extremely similar to me though, except for the revenue model.

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dhockster said:

So did your aunt do Sota or a different but similar plan, or you are not sure?

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culdeus said:

No 100% she went with SOTA.  The people that run/operate SOTA as best we could tell either were owned by or were part of that Harris group and split off to do their own thing, as best we could figure out.   That operation is super slippery.  I used to post on a forum called the UnTicket which is for fans of a radio station they advertise on in Dallas, I told her story there and they tried to get my contact info from the site to I suppose sue me for defamation or something.  I will spend the rest of my life #### talking them to anyone I can.  

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dhockster said:

Well, hopefully Sota changed the way they operate when that splinter group left to do their own thing. I appreciate your input and will let you know how everything turns out. As of now, per my contract, I have purchased a set number of weeks on the program for a set price. There is nothing in there that says I am obligated to buy more weeks if I don't reach the goal weight.

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culdeus said:

This was 2018 timeframe.  

She cut an insane amount of weight.  Far too fast imo.  She's probably halfway back at this point.  Maybe went 280->130->180 or something like that.  

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BassNBrew said:

Finally figured out the secret...eating boring.

1340 cal, 15 g protein, 28 g fat, 107 g carbs.  Fiber was low at 14 g so it may take a while to crap out the cardboard I ate.

No weigh-in number today.  Scale either finally said uncle to my fat ### or I'm on the Sota program because it read 6.5 lbs. 

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Protein: Why Athletes Struggle to Get The Right Amount

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By Chris Carmichael, inspired by Renee Eastman

This blog post was entirely inspired by CTS Coach Renee Eastman, who recently completed her National Academy of Sports Medicine Nutrition Coach certification. In social media posts and a series of emails, Renee reminded me of one of the biggest challenges we see athletes face when it comes to consuming enough protein. It’s not that they don’t know they need more protein than their sedentary counterparts; it’s that athletes have misconceptions about how much protein they’re actually getting from ‘high protein’ foods.

First, some basics on protein. I’m going to keep it brief for the sake of this article, but I encourage you to read this or this if you need a deeper dive into the role of protein for athletes. The recommended daily intake of protein is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends 1.2-2.0 gram/kg for athletes, depending on training focus. Generally, that breaks down to 1.2-1.6 for endurance athletes and 1.4-2.0 for strength/power athletes. Female athletes in intermittent-intensity sports, which generally includes cycling, running, and triathlon, have a higher protein requirement than men, at the higher end of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ 1.2-2.0 g/kg range (Wooding 2017). Aging athletes (50+ years old) benefit from increased daily protein intake (1.6-2.0 g/kg) and larger amounts of protein per feeding (40 grams/meal rather than 20 grams/meal) for muscle protein synthesis, recovery, and long-term training adaptations (Doering 2016). And rather than concentrating protein consumption in one or two large feedings each day, it is better to consume 20-30 grams at a time during feedings throughout the day.

Considering that most overlapping ranges for recommended protein intake across different athlete groups, I’m going to use 1.8 g/kg per day as the target amount for a theoretical 75-kilogram (165 pound) masters athlete. Provided that this athlete is meeting their total daily energy requirement (protein requirements increase even further during caloric restriction), the daily target for protein would be 135 grams.

This is where the practical considerations get tricky for some athletes. How do you combine protein sources to cumulatively consume 135 grams of protein? Many athletes are familiar with lists of protein-rich foods but tend to over- or underestimate the amount of protein per serving in those foods.

Coach Renee Eastman illustrated this point very well in an Instagram post I have quoted below.

“Eggs are good sources of protein, sure, but how many do you need to eat to get a decent serving (25 grams of protein)? That’s 4 eggs (290 calories).” Thankfully, the nutrition recommendations for eggs have moved away from restricting consumption to one-per-day to reduce cholesterol intake, but I find a lot of athletes have lingering hesitations about eating more eggs.

“Also, 25 grams of protein is about 1 cup (size of my fist, or about 3-4 ounces) of chicken breast (150 calories).” Meat, poultry, and fish have a high protein content by weight, meaning you can get a significant amount of protein from a relatively small portion. Protein from animal sources also has high bioavailability, meaning more of the protein in the food is absorbed into the body compared to protein in plant-based foods. While this is good news for athletes who eat meat, it does not mean vegetarians and vegans are at significant risk of protein deficiency. Athletes on plant-based diets can absolutely consume adequate protein to support performance training and competition.

“About one cup of 0% fat Greek yogurt or 2% fat cottage cheese has 25 grams (130 and 180 calories).” For athletes who consume dairy products, Greek yogurt and cottage cheese are good sources of protein, just be conscious of the amount of added sugar there can be in flavored versions.

“Beans have protein… about 25 g in this entire can (385 calories).” A lot of athletes rely on beans and legumes for a significant amount of their protein intake, but don’t realize how many beans – either in terms of portion size or the number of times you eat them per day – it takes to get the job done. Beans are high in fiber, so they are filling. For athletes trying to manage bodyweight, high fiber foods can be a good way to feel full sooner and reduce caloric intake from a meal or an entire day.

“And finally, the one I love to hear about is peanut butter. Yes, it has protein, about 25 grams in half a cup (7 tablespoons). I’d love to eat that much peanut butter   It would also be nearly half my calories for the day at 685 calories!” Now, it should be said that Renee is a very fit and strong athlete who is also small, so a total daily caloric intake of around 1400 calories is appropriate for her. One of the challenges smaller athletes face is that calories in energy-dense foods add up really quickly, so you have to be careful with portion sizes.

In practical terms, you’re not likely to rely on one protein source for an entire 25-gram serving. You might eat two eggs with breakfast and two hardboiled eggs as an afternoon snack. A few tablespoons of peanut butter can contribute to your daily intake without having to fulfill an entire 25-gram serving. And so on. But I think Renee’s comparison is a good way to get a better idea of how protein sources relate to each other; how much of these different sources is required to consume an equal amount of protein.

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• 12/28 221.6
  
• 12/29 220.4
  
• 12/30 219.8
  
• 1/1 218.6
  
• 1/4 220.2
  
• 1/5 219.6
  
• 1/6 218.4
  
• 1/7 218.0
  
• 1/9 218.0
  
• 1/15 216.8
  
• 1/21 215.4
  
• 1/29 214.8
  
• 2/4  213.6
  

belljr said:

Hit 225 at one point

Start 223 somewhere for this...

• 12/28 221.6
  
• 12/29 220.4
  
• 12/30 219.8
  
• 1/1 218.6
  
• 1/4 220.2
  
• 1/5 219.6
  
• 1/6 218.4
  
• 1/7 218.0
  
• 1/9 218.0
  
• 1/15 216.8
  
• 1/21 215.4
  
• 1/29 214.8
  
• 2/4  213.6
  

I'll feel a lot better when i get that 209 intermediate goal

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bostonfred said:

Is it breaking 210 or a bmi thing?  

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belljr said:

breaking 210.   Even when I get to my goal weight - I'll still be over weight.

WHen I graduated college - I was in extremely great shape and was considered overweight by bmi calculations

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bostonfred said:

Raspberries are absolutely loaded with fiber for the calories.  Other berries aren't even close but do have other benefits. Add them to some Greek yogurt or skyr and you get a ton of fiber and protein in one shot and it tastes good. 

Thomas's light multi grain english muffins are only 100 calories and have 8g fiber and 4g protein, throw a couple eggs on it and some cheese and/or meat and you get your protein and some fiber for 240 to 350 calories. 

I'm all about broccoli cauliflower and carrots with some kind of sauce like a sesame shoyu or sweet chili.  Adds about 150 to 165 calories for a whole microwavable 4 cup bag which is filling and tastes good at least to me. Add a boring chicken breast or some plain shrimp and let the vegetables drive for a change. That bag costs like 3 bucks so I probably need to not do that but I love it. 

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modogg said:

this intermittent fasting app i am working with seems to be working great. i got the myfitness app too which worked well for me before, and combining both seems to be a pretty solid way to lose weight. Still working from home has cut out most of the exercise i hope to be on once this pandemic loosens, but still hitting goals well:

SW-255

1.75 months later - 239.

I am positive i will be hitting some plateaus at some point where i can go 2-3 weeks without losing a pound, but if i eat healthy for the week i can lose like up to 4-5 pounds in that week. my weight loss is more gradual because the best thing about this intermittent fasting is that it doesn't have choke hold on what you can actually eat. so i don't feel constrained with no more pizza, etc. And best part of it is that when i do eat pizza i can no longer wolf down a whole large pizza by myself, but actually can eat close to like a normal person. 

Best thing about this is that i don't feel like it is a diet fad, and feels more like something i can do long-term that isn't impacting me a ton. i think once i hit my target goal (190, which when i was in college and got my body fat measured i was 185 and 5% body fat). i can ease off it a bit, and if i see i get closer to 200 i can do a few intermittent fastings in a week or 2 to slow it back down. 

Right now i am trying to figure out what is the best way to do these. I do 16:8 with an 18:6 or 20:4 once/twice a week. i hear a bunch about the 2-3 day fast, and wondering if i want to try that at some point

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madshot31 said:

Another good option for people out there are Mission brand carb balance tortillas. I'm a huge fan of breakfast burritos and they come in at 70 calories 19 carbs, 15 fiber, and 5 protein a pop. Surprised me on the fiber and they aren't terrible, not the best, but compared to normal tortillas its a steal on the macros.

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madshot31 said:

What app are you using? Just wondering. I haven't looked into IF that much, does morning coffee count against the fast?

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fred_1_15301 said:

Those of you who are also on the low sodium kick but still enjoy taste, "Mrs. Dash seasoning blends variety pack" seems to be a good option.  I'm about to pull the trigger and will update after I've tried them out.  

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bostonfred said:

Yes love these

Eggs black beans a little salsa or fresh halved cherry tomatoes and avocado/guacamole with a pinch of shredded cheese on one of these... delicious and all kinds of healthy 

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Doug B said:

I have the original Ms. Dash at home. So far, only used it on eggs and greens. I like it, finding it to have a strong citrus note -- there are many spices present, but the citrus comes through strongest for me.

I will say that I don't really find Ms. Dash -- or any other spice combo I've tried -- to be a replacement for salt. That's just not what they do tastewise. Not an issue ... just can't go in expecting something saltish.

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bostonfred said:

My understanding is that black coffee or a little cream does not but my sugar bomb would. 

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bostonfred said:

I'm 5'10" and 208.8 is my magic number for going from obese bmi to overweight for the first time in so long.  Coming down from 284.6 that seemed impossible at one point and believe me every time I've gone down that second digit has been a good day. I touched 219.8 at the end of October and now I'm back to low 220s, so my short term goal is just breaking new ground.  But then 208.8 (Not obese anymore!), 199.anythjng (Onederland), 184.6 (100 down), and maybe 173.8 (normal bmi) will be my big moments. 

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Doug B said:

Don't like the taste of artificial sweeteners, or avoiding for other reasons?

I grew up with a mom in TOPS and thus Sweet & Low was always in the house. It ain't great by itself, but combined with either a smidge of sugar or some Splenda ... the saccharin aftertaste goes away for me and it's 90% of the way tasting like pure sugar. But I have learned that sugar substitutes taste different to different people.

I have also learned that people who hate sugar substitutes can sometimes be surprised by the way combos taste (e.g. saccharine + sucralose, saccharine + aspartame, saccharine + sugar, etc.).

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fred_1_15301 said:

Thanks - I may dip my toes in and try the Southwest Chipotle flavor on my eggs.  May also try sprinkling it on my shrimp. 

I've noticed that I haven't really missed the taste of salt.  I made a turkey burger (using lean ground turkey) yesterday with simply italian seasoning, paprika and provolone cheese and it was awesome.  I use the same seasoning on my salmon (sans the cheese) and it tastes great.  

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fred_1_15301 said:

Those of you who are also on the low sodium kick but still enjoy taste, "Mrs. Dash seasoning blends variety pack" seems to be a good option.  I'm about to pull the trigger and will update after I've tried them out.  

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belljr said:

Luckily I never got that heavy. 225 was my highest ever and that's when I decided enough. I'm 5'9".  I think 203 gets me back overweight.  But like I said I was 185 with like 10% body fat when I graduated 25 years ago...oof.... so I won't look the same when I get there but I don't care if Im considered "overweight"

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Doug B said:

Don't like the taste of artificial sweeteners, or avoiding for other reasons?

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fred_1_15301 said:

Thanks - I may dip my toes in and try the Southwest Chipotle flavor on my eggs.  May also try sprinkling it on my shrimp. 

I've noticed that I haven't really missed the taste of salt.  I made a turkey burger (using lean ground turkey) yesterday with simply italian seasoning, paprika and provolone cheese and it was awesome.  I use the same seasoning on my salmon (sans the cheese) and it tastes great.  

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