Post # 10K - Help Redz Get in Shape

[Redz]

I eat veggies with hummus for a "game" snack, too...  Another thing that seems to help is oatmeal every day.  I cook enough for a couple days and then each morning heat a helping in the microwave.  I use old fashioned oats,add plenty of cinnamon cook them with blueberries, strawberries, apple slices (or apple sauce), dried cherries and whatever other fruit I have on hand, then follow  the cooking directions on the box.  You get your fruit and the oatmeal is good for lowering cloresterol and has lots of fiber.  Add skim milk and you are adding dairy...  It also helps you feel full and will get you through until lunch... Also making it up in advance will get you out the door quicker in the morning. Don't forget to drink plenty of water.

Sounds good.  Thanks TB!

This idea is so crazy it just might work. You run, clown! Run!

And yes, IP, I think it can work.  They say documenting everything you eat is a big part of the process.  Publishing on a public forum might be a bit over the top, but I feel pretty comfy with my fellow CB'ers. 

Whatever works...

If it gets the job done, it gets the job done. Someone doesn't like it, click somewhere else.  Good luck.

Now answer my evil clown question!! haha

hmm...didn't see that one Hoyo...will go check

[thirstyboots18]

Redz,

Another of my favorites...in place of ice cream!  I buy red grapes, wash them, pick off the stems and freeze them.  Whenever anyone is eating ice cream, pie, etc.  I grab a small bowl of the frozen grapes.  (Freezing them seems to bring out the sugar and I have a terrific sweet tooth.)  Don't eat these if you have diverticulitis, though, as the skin can be very hard to digest.  (They taste better than the oatmeal, I promise, ha ha ha.)

I have gained a lot of weight in the last year and am now ready to lose it,  so am going on your journey with you! This week I started by losing 10 lbs!   Good luck to us both!!!

[cdif911]

We recently stayed at a hotel, that had a scale, an accurate scale I believe - I wasn't super jazzed about the result - I'm on board with this thing, actually ordered a scale today and once my sinus infection clears up I'm going to start doing more than my normal one day of cardio... much easier now that its nice out (well except today) to go to the park, shoot hoops, etc.

[cdif911]

on the sidenote of scales, as someone who rarely weighs himself, do you all reccomend weighing daily, weekly, monthly...? bidaily?  trimonthly?  biannually? per millenia?  what's worked for you all?

[Big Ticket]

Redz... you might be interested in the website.  My girlfriend has been using it and I even started dabbling with it while in my golf workout period.

http://www.thedailyplate.com/

You can put in what you eat each day, what exercise you did, what your weight loss goals are, etc... and it guides you in terms of calories and other intake numbers.

[Redz]

Redz... you might be interested in the website.  My girlfriend has been using it and I even started dabbling with it while in my golf workout period.

http://www.thedailyplate.com/

You can put in what you eat each day, what exercise you did, what your weight loss goals are, etc... and it guides you in terms of calories and other intake numbers.

But then what would I do here? 

[fairweatherfan]

on the sidenote of scales, as someone who rarely weighs himself, do you all reccomend weighing daily, weekly, monthly...? bidaily?  trimonthly?  biannually? per millenia?  what's worked for you all?

Don't weigh yourself at all except out of idle curiosity.  Your criteria for success should be "do these pants fit better or worse than they did a month ago?", not a number on a scale.

The reason behind this is that especially with weight training, you may either lose weight relatively slowly (if you're heavier) or even gain weight (if you're average to underweight), even though you're steadily improving your fitness level.  Muscle is dense, and if you're adding it, the scale isn't a great metric of what you're actually accomplishing.

[Big Ticket]

Redz... you might be interested in the website.  My girlfriend has been using it and I even started dabbling with it while in my golf workout period.

http://www.thedailyplate.com/

You can put in what you eat each day, what exercise you did, what your weight loss goals are, etc... and it guides you in terms of calories and other intake numbers.

But then what would I do here? 

Well the forum would still be a good place for exercise ideas, food tips, etc... just like now!  That site just gives you an easy way to track it.

[fairweatherfan]

One more thing Redz - don't focus on eating perfectly every single day.  That will be such a radical change for you that it will take a lot of self-control, and eventually you will almost certainly backslide.  Instead, focus on eating more of the healthier foods you like (and trying a few more) and fewer unhealthy items.  For example, if you've been eating ice cream 3 times a week, don't cut it out entirely, but try to restrict it to once every 10 days or so, and maybe reduce the portion a bit. 

One of the most common traps people fall into with a new diet is seeing it as eating super-healthily (or barely at all) for a few months or so.  Inevitably, they either fall off the wagon, or reach their goals and go right back to the diet that made them heavy in the first place.  A good diet is not a temporary radical change, it's a long-term shift in intake to something you can sustain for years.  Focus on a long-term strategy of still being able to occasionally indulge, but upping the proportion of healthy foods dramatically.

[Redz]

Redz... you might be interested in the website.  My girlfriend has been using it and I even started dabbling with it while in my golf workout period.

http://www.thedailyplate.com/

You can put in what you eat each day, what exercise you did, what your weight loss goals are, etc... and it guides you in terms of calories and other intake numbers.

But then what would I do here? 

Well the forum would still be a good place for exercise ideas, food tips, etc... just like now!  That site just gives you an easy way to track it.

I Know...I checked it out, thanks for the link.

on the sidenote of scales, as someone who rarely weighs himself, do you all reccomend weighing daily, weekly, monthly...? bidaily?  trimonthly?  biannually? per millenia?  what's worked for you all?

Don't weigh yourself at all except out of idle curiosity.  Your criteria for success should be "do these pants fit better or worse than they did a month ago?", not a number on a scale.

The reason behind this is that especially with weight training, you may either lose weight relatively slowly (if you're heavier) or even gain weight (if you're average to underweight), even though you're steadily improving your fitness level.  Muscle is dense, and if you're adding it, the scale isn't a great metric of what you're actually accomplishing.

My philosophy is on losing weight/getting in shape in the past has been to just keep doing the right things and you'll feel better.  The weight will more than likely come off if you're eating well and exercising, but really I already feel better.

That said, the lure of the scale for an actual number is tough to resist - plus it gives you some conversational material for when people say, "Boy you look great, have you lost weight?" (by the way, I've always felt like this a polite way for someone to say, "Wow, you're really fat, but not as fat as you used to be."  )

[Redz]

Day 4:

Breakfast: Had a late breakfast, and was pretty starved.  Had an egg sandwich, with provolone, and a veggie patty on whole wheat toast.

Lunch:  Spinach salad  with roasted asparagus, a little avocado, sunflower seeds, and light vinaigrette

Dinner:  Chicken breast, mashed taters, and roasted peppers

Snacks: pecans, apple, light yogurt

Drinks: 2 cups of black coffee, 1 diet snapple, and a whole bunch of water

No gym today, but I'm headed there in the morning.

Feeling pretty hungry, but I'm getting used to it.  It reminds me what I'm doing.  I figure it's a good thing to not feel full all the time.

[Redz]

One more thing Redz - don't focus on eating perfectly every single day.  That will be such a radical change for you that it will take a lot of self-control, and eventually you will almost certainly backslide.  Instead, focus on eating more of the healthier foods you like (and trying a few more) and fewer unhealthy items.  For example, if you've been eating ice cream 3 times a week, don't cut it out entirely, but try to restrict it to once every 10 days or so, and maybe reduce the portion a bit. 

One of the most common traps people fall into with a new diet is seeing it as eating super-healthily (or barely at all) for a few months or so.  Inevitably, they either fall off the wagon, or reach their goals and go right back to the diet that made them heavy in the first place.  A good diet is not a temporary radical change, it's a long-term shift in intake to something you can sustain for years.  Focus on a long-term strategy of still being able to occasionally indulge, but upping the proportion of healthy foods dramatically.

Very true fairweatherfan.  Right now, it needs to be somewhat all or nothing, but I like food too much to give up all of the good stuff.  I'll just compensate in other areas if I indulge at some part of the day.

I feel like I did that today. 

[FanInTheSouth]

on the sidenote of scales, as someone who rarely weighs himself, do you all reccomend weighing daily, weekly, monthly...? bidaily?  trimonthly?  biannually? per millenia?  what's worked for you all?

Don't weigh yourself at all except out of idle curiosity.  Your criteria for success should be "do these pants fit better or worse than they did a month ago?", not a number on a scale.

The reason behind this is that especially with weight training, you may either lose weight relatively slowly (if you're heavier) or even gain weight (if you're average to underweight), even though you're steadily improving your fitness level.  Muscle is dense, and if you're adding it, the scale isn't a great metric of what you're actually accomplishing.

My philosophy is on losing weight/getting in shape in the past has been to just keep doing the right things and you'll feel better.  The weight will more than likely come off if you're eating well and exercising, but really I already feel better.

That said, the lure of the scale for an actual number is tough to resist - plus it gives you some conversational material for when people say, "Boy you look great, have you lost weight?" (by the way, I've always felt like this a polite way for someone to say, "Wow, you're really fat, but not as fat as you used to be."  )

Another thing to remember if you do want to weigh yourself, is to weigh yourself at the same time (I recommend in the morning when you first get up).  If you are only looking to lose weight, it's not a bad idea to weigh yourself everyday for a while so that you can monitor how different foods/activities can affect your weight and keep up with the ones that are positive. 

As was said before though, if you are using weights in your workout routine don't feel bad if you put on a little weight when you first start.  I always do when I get back into the gym after a couple months off. 

[Redz]

Day 5 Eatins':

Breakfast:  Cereal & Skim Milk

Lunch:  Bowl of Progresso Minestrone

Dinner:  Raviolis dry, with some carrot stick

Snacks: Apple, Banana, Pecans, M&M's (I bowl in a league on Tuesday nights, and part of my routine is the M&M's...I hadn't had any sweets since Friday, so I feel ok about them)

Drinks: Black coffee, lots of water, 2 Sam Adams (see above for bowling ritual)

Exercise:  Went to gym and went at a good pace on the treadmill for a half-hour.  I actually ran for 2 2-minute intervals. Worked up a good sweat.  Did 3 sets of 10 presses with 70 pounds on the nautilus machine to see how that felt. 

I definitely felt more limber tonight at bowling than I ever have.

[Redz]

OK, been over a week now.  I was in a very nice routine until tonight.  We had a family get together for Passover Seder.  My brother outdid himself preparing a great feast.  I ate a bunch of lamb, apps, dessert, whatever.  I'm not too bent out of shape about it, but it was definitely a huge aberration from the discipline I'd had all week.

...and tomorrow's Easter with my wife's family.

Anyhow, the good news is I lost 8 pounds already.  The gym's been going great.  I'm finding that I'm building stamina almost daily - and I love that feeling.