Going on a Diet

[animalcracker885]

I got a few responses to keep eveyone updated on my progress so i am going to start a thread so i can do so. My into copied from another thread:
On new years day I weighed myself for the last time just accepting that I was big. I weighed in at over 416lbs at 23 yrs old.. I vowed that this would be the last time. i have lost some weight before ~40lbs(320-280), only to gain back almost 140 in a period of about 4 years. Ive been huge for as long as i can remember, despite being an active child. i played baseball, football and wrestled as a teenager, i even wrestled my freshman year of college(when i lost the 40lbs). I have a huge frame and have pretty much tricked myself into thinking it cant be changed. I am going to the gym doing cardio for about 45-60 minutes a day about 5 days a week. i have drastically changed my eating habbits as well.
I used to drink close to 2 liters of coke a day, ate huge portions of some of the most fattening foods you could find. When i ordered chinese food, i would get a pupu platter for 2(of whihc most i ate), a hot and sour soup and more often than not a fried rice. if i had a sandwhich for lunch, i always had chips with it, and of course mayo on the sandwhich.
i have changed what and how much i eat dramatically. i am eating more fruits and vegetables than i ever have. when i went to a resteraunt and you got a choice of potatoe and veg i got fries and subbed my veg for rice. i am now eating roughly 1300-1700 calories a day depending on how hungry i am. i eat in the mornign which i never did but typically a piece of fruit or something small to start my metabolism.

my goal is to be somewhere around the 250lbs range, which i havent been in close to 7 years.

[animalcracker885]

Starting weight 1/1/07: 416.5 lbs
Goal weight: 250 lbs
Current Weight as of 1/17/06: 394 lbs
Amount needed to hit target: 144 lbs
Total amount lost: 22.5 lbs

[Lost Dog]

Strong start. Good work.

Are you lifting any weights? Think of how much muscle it takes to walk around. Lift some weights, do some resistance exercise and you'll keep most of that muscle. That's less fat that you have to lose to get to your target weight.

Lifting keeps your metabolism going, too.

[RacerBill]

You're off to a good start.

Excellent suggestion from LD -- exercise will make a big difference in not just losing the weight, but keeping it off.

[animalcracker885]

Starting weight 1/1/07: 416.5 lbs
Goal weight: 250 lbs
Current Weight as of 1/26/06: 384.5 lbs
Amount needed to hit target: 134.5 lbs
Total amount lost: 32 lbs


my origional short term goal was to be 380 by the end of january and this seems very much in reach if i keep focused. I broke my diet completely on sunday eating hot dogs buffalo wings cheese and crackers etc, and that set me back quite a bit. if not for that i would probably be even closer to the 380 mark. I gueess it was good though because it taught me that what i did eat wasnt worth it in the end because it took all that much more to lose. I may have cheat meals in the future(but even then with consideration) but not all out cheat days like last sunday turned out to be.

So far my routine of low calorie diet and exercise has been working. luckily for me i was an athlete for most of my life, so i had the ability to jump on an eliptcial machine for 45-60 minutes a day starting on day one, whihc im sure is not always the case for people in the 400+ lb category

[Lost Dog]

We all break stride. I did it yesterday evening. No good excuse, but I let myself get too hungry. Then, I ate the food that was easy. ...and kept on eating!

I was able to regroup and the next meal wasn't so bad, but I don't like when that happens. But, it felt good to get back on track, and today's been good.

[Phaedrus49er]

Good to see/hear the progress. No worries about the hiccup; just get back on the horse and keep going. Besides, when it comes to diet, we all need to cheat at some point. That's better than getting mentally beaten down and just giving up. If it means long-term success, one day/meal is worth the short-term setback (as long as it's sporadic).

When I'm really trying to focus on body composition, I'll still have a cheat day built into my week, but instead of the whole day, I'll make it one meal. Sure does make that one meal taste that much better.

Keep it up.

[James Newman]

Sounds like you are doing great AC885. Stick with it! We all have times when we don't do exactly how we planned to do but as everyone has said, just get back on the plan and you'll do fine. I have heard all kinds of stuff about dieting and cheat meals, cheat days etc. From my own personal experience, and what I have seen with others. A single cheat meal every now and then is more than all right. What is even better, is a cheat meal that you PLAN ahead of time.

Newman

[animalcracker885]

e realized how hard goin on a diet is. the temptations here temptations there, work dinners here, superbowl here. the past week hasnt exactly been the most focused for me, probably contributed to a heavy work load. i gave in to some chinese food on thursday, went out to dinner for work on saturday and superbowl on sunday. those 3 days were killer for me, but i managed to get back on track monday which is good. Ive also hit 40lbs lost which is a lot of success for me. ive lost about 25% of my goal which is huge.


Starting weight 12/5/06: 416.5 lbs
Goal weight: 250 lbs
Current Weight as of 2/8/07: 375.5 lbs
Amount needed to hit target: 125.5 lbs
Total amount lost: 41 lbs

[RobLL]

Looking good.

[RacerBill]

Nice progress! Good job getting back on track after the Superbowl.

[James Newman]

Outstanding man, keep up the good work and keep us posted.

[Phaedrus49er]

Good work, keep it up. Sometimes, you do just have to blow off the diet for a day or two. Super Bowl is one of those days, as is a good July 4 cookout or family get-together. A couple days throughout the year won't kill your overall progress. In fact, they might actually save your sanity that dieting has hammered

[James Newman]

Yo, Animal.... how's it going? Haven't heard from you in awhile, thought I would see what's up....

Newman

[Q.]

NEVER SAY DIET!!!


J/K, great start!!! I joke about Richard Simmons but one of the things he promotes (and I'm no RS expert) is to just keep yourself moving and working toward your goals. I admire anyone who works on that and encourages other along that path!

[James Newman]

Animal? You still out there?