The Weight Loss Club Thread (No tomfoolery)

I wouldn't do my 12+ mile training walks back to back, I need at least 3 days for the soreness to die down. I do do exercise in between, though.

I'm kinda sorta thinking of joining a fitness club, but...EVERTHING ABOUT SPORT IS ALIEN AND CONFUSING. Most clubs' websites are absolutely terrible, they don't always write down the prices and I'm scared to bring my chubby ass there only to realize their prices are too freaking high, go pale, blush, and awkwardly leave while the receptionist stares at me. JUDGING.

*stop ranting and goes back to her healthy cooking*

A well earned that's what she said. You get a pass on this wretched joke.

My work here is done!

One person's "medium intensity cardio" can be another's weight lifting and physical therapy, so I hesitate to draw such a fine line...

Since my knee surgery in December I lost well more than half the strength in my right thigh, and what would once have been a cardio workout is now exhausting enough I need a break.

Prepay for three months with a credit card. Any reputable gym will let you do this. It will cost about $150, which is more than you'll pay if you sign a contract, but you won't be signing a contract. After the three months, you renew it or not. Don't let them keep your credit card on file, either. If they insist, go to another gym.

You can probably scrounge up $150 for your health.

I've decided to try changing from Runkeeper to Runtastic. Both have apps for multiple platforms (iPhone, Android, Blackberry) that tie into tracking websites. But Runtastic looks to have some better features, including one I find both adorable and useful: a power song. You tell it at the beginning of your workout what you want your power song to be, and when your energy starts flagging you push the button and it plays the song you picked. So, you know, if I start to get worn out, I can have emergency Daft Punk as needed.

It also connects to MyFitnessPal, so you don't have to enter in a workout twice. I'll use it next time I exercise outdoors, which will be a couple of days from now thanks to a blister.

If anyone's already using Runtastic and wants to be friends, the site has dubbed me alex-o-14.

I'm so happy! For the first time in 10 years I'm wearing jeans :D We went shopping today and I saw some cheap jeans. I was looking at them so my husband said I should just try them on. I didn't want to first of all, thinking they'd be too small. I tried the size 18 (UK size), they were a bit big so I had to try 16! 16 is a bit too small still (they did close though, jay me) so I went for the size 18 with a belt. I almost cried in the changing rooms because I was so happy! Now I've got 2 pairs of jeans!

Getting new clothes in "not that one pair at the end of the rack that might be left because it is a big size" is a wonderful feeling. For years I bought things that either cost extra due to the size or just didn't get anything because that one pair in my size was gone. Great job Mirriam !!

Exactly Walter! I kept wearing the same tired old clothes because it was impossible to find clothes that fitted right and didn't look utterly horrible without spending a fortune.
It was just so nice today to be able to buy a normal pair of jeans that just fitted, and a belt too. For the first time in years clothes shopping wasn't a soul-crushing horrifying experience. Best feeling in the world!

I've just finished reading through the entire thread, and I wish to take a moment to tell you all that you are wonderful people and a great motivator for doing something - it's so inspiring to see what has been achieved and the atmosphere of support is so pleasant to observe. Thus, I figured, I might as well throw in my own experience:

I used to be fairly heavy some years ago (a max of roughly 105kg / 231lb back in 2008), which was a result mostly of my teenage years being spent in a depression where I didn't have the energy to care about anything and certainly not my health. The first push I received was when my former employer started a fitness program for the department with some health consultation and healthy snacks and so on - and at roughly the same time one of my friends convinced me to start going to the gym.
This did eventually, within a year or so, bring me down to around 90 kg / 198lb, but at that point I didn't care too much as it didn't feel like I was progressing further and I was happy with what I had achieved.

Fast forward a few years to now and me starting to read this thread out of interest; it made me realize just how unhealthy I have become lately - to the point where I don't really care at all about what I eat. It also motivated towards trying to improve my situation again. So I registered for MFP and it sure is interesting! I've never really monitored what I ate, not in any kind of detail at least, and it's simply fascinating to see what kind of energy is in the food that you eat. I only started it a few days ago, so I'm still getting into the routine, but so far it is fun. I also took the plunge and ordered a bathroom weight (this one) that can measure fat percentage as well - I can't wait to start some graphs!

I would consider, despite how my diet has been lately, in fairly good shape. I use my bicycle roughly 100km / week and go to the gym once or twice - I'd like to increase the amount of times for that though.
Currently at 85 kg / 187lb - but I have no clue what my fat percentage is, so that can vary from being pretty good to pretty bad depending on how it is distributed. (My height is 183 cm / 6 ft)

I think what I would really like is to get rid of the amount of fat I have on my stomach and back, but I realize that that will be a rather difficult. I set my goal weight to 75 kg / 165 lb, but I don't really know how it is going to turn out yet. I mean, my weight hasn't even arrived yet.

Uh, that got a little long. Anyway, thank you all, it is great to be a part of this.

TO CELEBRATE VALENTINE'S DAY

I AM ATTACKING MY LOVE HANDLES.

with a small butcher's knife

Dislike!
Don't do it MulMizu

DON'T TRY TO STOP ME aughhhh so much cardio.
I feel like I should be doing more strength training, but it all seems to make my bones pop if it's not based around my abdomen. Elbows, knees, everything is kind of just a wreck of POPS.

mum we have a group on MFP, and if you want you (and anyone else) can add me, I'm SorchaRavenlock there.

I'm NyimaR (to be original!)

I was sewing some clothes before Christmas and measured my waist. I noticed today that my usually tight out of the drier pants were actually loose so I measured my waist again. I've lost about four inches off of it! \o/

Not only have I not done anything remotely resembling exercise this past week, twice this week I've had a big, fat, greasy Triple O's Double Double burger (weighing in at over 1200 calories) with sweet potato fries + chipotle mayo dipping sauce (well over 650 calories). Add in the Coke, and that's 2000 calories in a single goddamned meal. TWICE.

Boo!

Now that Valentine's is over, I'm joining this thread. I'm about 5'8" and I clocked in last night at 76kg and a shocking 27% body fat! My "normal" weight was about 65kg which I was able to get up to about 73 or 74kg while working out constantly more than 8 years ago. I've somehow gained about 7kg since last July when I had my last health checkup and I'd like to get back down to at least that before my next one. I hope posting here will help keep me on track!

Oh, I forgot to mention -- I saw my doctor for my every-4-months bloodwork followup. Everything was perfectly fine except for slightly high cholesterol (which is caused by my meds). He gently suggested I'd have less of a problem with that if I lost 15-20 pounds, and I laughed because I'm aiming for quite a bit more than that.

Even with my birthday brownies and champagne, I still only went 230 calories over my limit yesterday. Woo!

So. Today is my 1 year anniversary of my new life. On February 15 2012, I had my first full physical in 10 years. I was told in no uncertain terms that at any second I was going to have a stroke and be that guy that was here just a minute ago. My blood pressure was through the roof, my cholesterol was dangerously high, I was pre-diabetic and I looked like an overgrown Pillsbury Dough boy. I snored, I had migraines, I had acid reflux, sleep apnea, you name it.

I walked out of that office determined to change. Now one year later, I dropped just over 75 pounds, my cholesterol is normal, my blood sugar is good, I don’t snore or have headaches and I feel fantastic. My diet changed from dude you are gonna die eating that stuff to no bread, limited carbs, no meat, no salt, no processed food, no sugar, no dairy, nothing out of a can or a jar-pretty much chicken, fish, fish and vegetables.

My first day on my bike, I could barely get up my driveway and go around the block once. I can now do 12.5 miles on the hills and I know that I can bust out 25 no problem on a flat ride. I wear normal clothes again. I can go to the beach and actually feel good (yeah it may not look all that great but hey I am not that fat dude under the umbrella anymore!).So for next year my plan is to lose 10 more pounds, to actually do 20+ miles of hills in one shot on my bike and continue to eat as I do now- unfortunately that change is here to stay. I do cheat now- I get a beer when I want, I eat a steak (rarely) but a “normal” sized filet, and I am looking forward to that first pizza that has been calling me for a year

I can never go back to eating the way I was. I can never go back to not exercising. But most importunely I can never go back to the way I was-things are so much better now that going back would just be silly. So I can eat donuts again? Meh, they are overrated anyway. Although I think I will have that beer tonight, with my fish

Oh and just to be clear-both the wife and kid were and continue to be a huge part of my success…although I am not sure that Emily blowing bacon and chocolate pancake breath at me and giggling hysterically helps…:)

Apropos of nothing, wanted to share the breakfast I've been having for the past few months. High protein (20g), low calorie (MFP says 285 calories), low glycemic, satisfying, really gets me going for the day.

Cup of Fage 2% Greek yogurt (the individual serving packs are usually $1 each at the grocery store)
Cup of frozen berries (actually I do this by weight, 140g)
Tablespoon of flax seeds (this is not necessary but I wanted the fiber. Trader Joe's sells roasted flax seeds that are really good.)

Put the berries in a bowl in the fridge overnight to thaw. In the morning, dump in the yogurt and flax seeds, and mix if desired. Done. It's a lower calorie version of those yogurt parfaits you can get at coffee shops these days.

Fage is amazing. Normally, I can't put yogurt in my mouth without gagging, but those are amazing.
And really filling!

I managed to nudge the scale down farther this week, despite Valentine's Day. However, today was my last day at my current job. I'm moving to another job at the same institution, so my unit gave me a send-off. I had 2 pieces of cake. Also, lunch at a restaurant, dinner out, and a beer. Diet got blown to hell in a handbasket.

Tomorrow, I'll be watching my caloric intake, and Sunday bodes to be pretty sparse as well. I cannot believe how many veggies I'm consuming as a result of this diet. I'll weigh myself in a week and see what's going on.

My older sister and mother have been doing this diet as well. My mom hadn't gained as much weight, and is now where she wants to be. She's sent me her clothes, which are all appropriate work clothes for my new position. I have to dress like a grown-up for the new job, since it's supervisory. I now own several jackets, a suit, a black skirt, and about a half a dozen dress trousers. I desperately need blouses and shells that fit. I also have to go through all my fat clothes to send to my sister, who is now where I was (she's always been heavier.

The HR person for our department came in to see me yesterday and said, "you've lost weight. Is it deliberate?" This is a weird question, until you realize that our department has been beset by people who've been battling serious illness. Then today at the departmental party for me, the departmental budget person mentioned that I'd lost weight and now was all slim. It felt really good, though I have to say that I have another 20 lbs to go before I'm where I was around 2001, when I started all the weight gain.

I reset my goals on MFP. I told it I want to lose 1.5 pounds a week (baseline of 1850 calories a day) instead of just 1 pound (2050 calories a day), because with the exercise I've been doing I just can't eat 2400 calories in a day without involving donuts and candy bars. I want to eat healthy and be full, not have to cram myself with junk food at night just to meet a goal. Crazy shit. so better to make a harder goal and eat the right amount of food for me.

I liked what I did this morning. woke up, took pills, put on workout clothes, did the bike, then showered. Nice way to start the day. Really should add in some strength training though.

Well, you don't *have* to eat the calories you've been allotted, just as long as you don't go below 1200 in a day. Those days I do 2500 calories in a long hike, there's no way I can eat those back, so I just ignore em.

Dammit! I was at or under my calorie limit every day this week. I exercised 5 out of 7 days. Why am I two pounds heavier this morning than last Sunday? bjhsaghdjhkdjf

I should mention that I held steady this week, and considering that I indulged myself at the movies one day, and ate a chunk of King Cake another day, I consider that a success.

It's most likely water weight. If you just started working out, or have worked out a lot more then usual, your body retains water to repair the muscles. It will go in a few days :)

Same here, I've stayed the same. But after 3 days of indulging due to my daughter's birthday it's no big surprise. Besides that I'm still far too happy about being able to wear jeans to let this knock me down!

The other thing could be salt content -- you can eat low calorie foods but sometimes they're full of salt, and that'll make you gain weight. Also could be related to your monthy cycle, I know that I personally tend to retain more water weight (and lose less weight/plateau) about mid-cycle.

Well, I don't have a monthly cycle -- I don't ovulate unless I'm on BC pills -- but I did have a bit of frozen pizza last night...

And we have a winner!

ETA- turns out yesterday was Pizza day!

I just looked: Jesus, 1440 of sodium. O.o

Just drink a load of water and it'll go. :)

Sorry, my bad!

It's okay, Athryn. Most female-bodied people in their thirties do ovulate, so it's a perfectly normal assumption. Don't feel bad!

In happy news, my bad knee hasn’t given me even a twinge of pain since I started exercising again, even though most of the exercise has been biking. I’m pleased.

In spite of my gross (yet oh so delicious) lunches this week, I'm sitting at 244 lbs., down 2 lbs from my last update. Hooray.

Good knee news always makes me hand out kisses gratuitously. Yaaaay, happy to hear about it, yay! <33

I've decided to tone down the DDR after this morning's events. I'm thinking that I might go ahead and try doing strength exercises, even though I'm kind of afraid of getting muscle. I feel like it would just push out my already chunky chunkiness and then I'll be beefy. ;A;

Since I've started doing more strength work I've slimmed down rather than beefing up. Unless you're on steroids or testosterone you should be fine!