Time to Take Weight Loss Seriously

[jeff540]

All great advice. My extra $0.02: find a physical activity you really enjoy and it won't be exercise. For me it's walking with coworkers at lunch (about 5 miles in 1.25 hours), and last year I installed a wood burning fireplace insert, so I'm splitting wood at the house regularly too.
Growing up on a small farm I became accustomed to home grown fruit and vegetables from a young age, and we never had sodas or junk food so those weren't weaknesses. Portion control, regular routine, and too much "road food" when working out of town the last few years took a toll.

 

[mso489]

Good for you, twiggy. Be real patient with yourself and as someone said, if you lapse here and there, get back to it and keep on. I'm always surprised when I'm outside the U.S. at how trim people are, so I think we have a culture where diet and inactivity are woven into our lives and we barely think about it. The automobile culture has almost forbidden walking, and pedestrians are continually on the defensive, even in the countryside. Europeans don't think about dieting so much, but they walk and some aren't attached to processed and fast food. twiggy, I'm taken with the irony of your user name!

 

[autumnfog]

I'm back to old training habits since a month ago and I absolutely love it.

Gym and long countryside walks, and always by myself.

I'm sort of a loner and like to focus _only_ on the training when I train.

No chit-chat, please.
For others it might be completely different; they prefer company when training and choose team sports.

How and why we train varies a lot but there is exercise forms for everyone.
Maybe I'll start with some martial arts as well since I find that interesting but at

the moment I'm in a more basic training routine to get my body back to shape.
Eating healthy is quite easy when it becomes habit.

I've made a rule for myself: simply don't shop junk food or anything unhealthy.

Once or twice a month I allow myself to eat whatever I want but not more often than that.
twiggy,

It's great that you're starting a more healthy life style!

As others said, don't be too hard on yourself in the beginning.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

@ Mso489, I believe You are correct again, especially when we're looking at those who live in the south EU region, Italy, Spain and Greece

 

[haparnold]

I confess I've never had to lose weight, so I can't speak from that perspective, but I follow a pretty disciplined diet and exercise routine, and my golden rule is this: don't start anything you can't imagine yourself doing forever.
What I mean is, don't do a crazy intense diet to start your weight loss with a boost. Don't commit to running seven days a week now if you don't want to be doing that ten years from now. Making incremental changes that can be sustained over the rest of your life is the key to maintaining weight and fitness over your lifecycle.
I've known a lot of people who say things like "I'm going to be vegan for 30 days to get these last pesky 10 pounds off" or something similar. And being vegan for 30 days will probably accomplish that. But as soon as you go back to your old routine, the weight comes back on.

 

[madox07]

I have some back issues that limits more physically demanding activities.

I have lower back problems myself ... the doc recommends swimming, which I keep up with twice a week when I can. It makes me feel great in as far as my back, and tonus, but the weight loosing problem cannot be solved unless you watch your diet.

 

[mso489]

I've always been a skinny kid and adult, but since mid-life, I've had some belly fat. So did my dad, though he was more successful as an athlete than I. Until I was in my thirties, I couldn't gain any needed weight. I was actually a gym rat and runner for a while. I thought Thanksgiving would do it, along with three substantial meals a day nearly always. But I didn't gain a pound. I guess I was hyperkinetic, and in those days, burning a lot of energy in my brain ... to not much avail. I hesitate to admit how much I weighed when I got out of the Navy, at about 5'11". You'd thought I'd been starved. The Navy had good food, which I nearly always enjoyed. Go figure. I did walk a huge amount, didn't own a car until I was 27, which in my generation was a rarity. So, twiggy, I can empathize, if from the "other end of the telescope."

 

[lordofthepiperings]

I lost 30lbs through portion control, increased water in take, and doing 2 walks for 20 minutes a day plus playing ice hockey 4 times a week.
For me the hardest part was the portion control. Took forever to down size the meals and feel full. Now it’s pretty common for me to go out to a bar cut the burger in half eat that and half the fries then take the rest home for lunch the next day.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I lose weight sitting on the couch. I've never seen 125 pounds and likely never will. My daily calorie intake minimum has to be 4000 just to stay where I'm at and drink a 24 pack of sodas per day to bolster the caloric intake. The opposite end of the weight spectrum sucks too.

 

[brooklynpiper]

I agree with what many have said above - stopping sodas is so essential. Let's get you off soda and Marilyn Manson and turn this life around!

 

[Chasing Embers]

Marilyn Manson

Some of my favorite music come from Manson and Reznor.

 

[dcon]

Keto worked (works) for me. I went from 240 to 170 in about a year’s time. I have been on “maintenance” for about 6 months and gained back a comfortable 10 lbs. Discipline and sugar reduction are the keys to any successful diet. Added exercise will speed your results but, it can be done with limited additional activity.

 

[elbert]

I can't believe how genuinely addictive I've found soda to be. I can smoke two or three cigarettes in a day, and then not notice or care if I don't smoke for another week. But the soda just tugs at my brain. I spent 14 years working in restaurants in one capacity or another, and so had free fountain soda all the time. Coupled with the high stress of fast-paced kitchen work, it's a recipe for dependency. I can't keep weight on regardless, but I'm very aware of what it's doing to my blood-sugar, bones, teeth, etc. Good luck to you!

 

[alsatmem]

I was at 196 pounds at 5 ft 6. Was drinking about a half gallon of sweet tea, either from Sonic or home brewed,over the course of my 10 1/2 hour work day and 5 hours at home. Hated the way I felt and looked. Convinced myself that unsweetened tea is okay 6 weeks ago and am down to 171 pounds. No other changes were made. My goal is to get down to about 160, my long ago fighting weight. That career will never revive thanks to arthritis, but I feel good around that weight. Sometimes it can be a simple single thing, but in excess, that can be monumental. I also have been able to drop blood pressure and cholesterol meds. So stay smart and some easy lifestyle changes can pay off huge! Best of luck to you!!

 

[disinformatique]

I am on Keto, fell down the wagon a lot. Still doing it, losing weight feels great.
Cheers,

Chris :puffpipe:

 

[danimalia]

All great advice. My extra $0.02: find a physical activity you really enjoy and it won't be exercise

Great advice, and something I struggle with.

All my life I go through healthy cycles and not so healthy cycles. The healthy cycles are usually much shorter than the unhealthy ones.

Ain't that the truth. About 3.5 years ago, I quit drinking and drugs. Food has been a challenge, though. I just love food, and get pleasure in it, and that's a problem. Like I've switched my booze calories to ice cream, lol.

 

[cshubhra]

I think auger is most addictive. The only diet I do is not to drink soda and watch deserts. I have recently started exercising and I walk (mostly) jog (a little) 3.7 miles in an hour, 3 times a week. My weight is mostly unchanged though ( lost 4 lb) but I look a little different.
I average eating 2400 calories a day and other than sugar/desert, don’t watch what I eat. I like oily/greasy food and that’s what I mostly eat. I run a calorie deficit of 200/300 calories a day on average.

 

[brian64]

Keto's the way to go, imo. Or at least low carb.
True Keto is difficult, because you're supposed to keep the daily carbs down around 20g...which is not easy.
But carbs are really the whole problem for most people. The average diet is loaded with them.
I can't say I'm doing true Keto, but my carb intake is a fraction of what it used to be and it's the only way I've been able to lose weight.

 

[tavol]

I lost close on 100lbs a few years back and I've managed to keep it off. I started off with a keto diet but after a few months hated it and switched to a practically vegan diet, which by it's very nature is high carb. I noticed no difference in weight loss.
Don't complicate dieting all you need to do is eat less calories than you need and you'll loose weight, it really is that simple. The trick is to do it day after day, something which is made easy by following a diet that is sustainable.

 

[brian64]

I lost close on 100lbs a few years back and I've managed to keep it off. I started off with a keto diet but after a few months hated it and switched to a practically vegan diet, which by it's very nature is high carb. I noticed no difference in weight loss.
Don't complicate dieting all you need to do is eat less calories than you need and you'll loose weight, it really is that simple. The trick is to do it day after day, something which is made easy by following a diet that is sustainable.

One size fits all doesn't work with dieting. Everyone is different...different metabolisms. It also changes dramatically as one gets older. I used to be able to eat whatever I wanted in almost any quantity without gaining much weight, but those days are long gone.
Just counting calories doesn't work well for me. The type of calories definitely matters (for me at least). When I eat carbs in any quantity it just makes me crave more. I enjoy "Keto" or low carb because I can eat enough to feel satisfied and still keep the weight down without the bloating and weighted down feeling I get from carbs.