Official HBT Weight loss thread

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Thanks for the encouragement guys. I saw a number for the first time in my life after the holidays. 300 may be a great movie, but I sure hope to never see it again on my scale. :)

Everybody stick with it!
 
My scale tops out at 260, and I started at 257. The day that it read "EEE" was the day I started to reconsider my eating habits. That was a very depressing day.

I forgot to update, by the way! I'm down to 253 so far, I've started just watching how MUCH I eat. Haven't changed WHAT I eat yet... that will come soon. But for now, when I go to the drive thru, I try to think about how hungry I TRULY am, and then order less than I would have otherwise. Also pumping up the water intake as much as possible. Not yet to 1 gal a day, but I'm getting close to 1/2 gal at least. Was at 0 oz.
 
chriso said:
Also pumping up the water intake as much as possible. Not yet to 1 gal a day, but I'm getting close to 1/2 gal at least. Was at 0 oz.
Click to expand...

I've done this as well. Wasn't drinking much water at all before. Now up to about a 1/2 gallon a day myself.
 
Was drinking >64oz per day of Dr Pepper though. In the rare event I let myself still drink it, I mix it 1/2 reg, 1/2 Diet Dr. P..... That's usually only when I'm driving between cities though. Carrying a water bottle at work helps SO much, normally I would spend $1.25 on a 20oz of Pepsi, and bought 2-3 per day at work.
 
Okay so I'm doing fat flush diet, I am on day 5 and I have lost 10 lbs. with no exercise! I still have a long way to go, but it's a great start. Next week I up my calorie intake and introduce light cardio and some light lifting. Started at 280 and my goal is 200 even as I am 6'. The first three days were Brutal, but now with the results, I am charged to keep going!! I hope to reach my goal by the end of May, we'll see. When I lose the next 10 lbs. I am going to have a pint!

Eastside
 
I've been 255lbs +/- 8 lbs for the last like 4 years. Seems like when I come back from a trip i'm 263ish, and then within a week back to 252-255. It may seem like a lot, but I'm 6'9" ;)
 
I used to road bike 1-2 hours a day, 5-6 times a week (1000-2000 cal workout per day). I was in the best shape of my life, and could basically eat anything I wanted. Since transferring schools and changing majors, I've been busy, and kind of let myself go. Up 30 pounds in the last 12 months, and I'm aiming to lose that. Today was the first time on the treadmill in a few months, and I struggled to run 2 miles, but I'm going to stick with it. I gotta start somewhere I guess.

Major props to everyone here who's seeing progress, and taking their health seriously.
 
Hey everyone...
I just wanted to let you know, for those that were interested, I am still going to build that tracking application for us, I just have been swamped getting beer ready for my brothers wedding tomorrow. He just showed up and picked it up to take to the reception hall. 2 cases of Bridgeport Blue Heron Clone, 2 cases of Outback Amber, 2 cases of Centennial Blonde, and 2 cases of Edwort's Haus Pale...
Bottled, labeled, and out the door. I was finishing up the bottling of the Haus Pale when he showed up. Once I get past the wedding, I will take some time and put the weight tracker together for us.

Looks like everyone is off to a good start. I am nervous to step on the scale again, been too much going on, have not been doing as well as I could have been.
 
Started around Thanksiving at 175 and decided to change my eating habits. I know better than to diet:D

Currently 170 basically doing nothing except not eating all the crap I never actually really liked deep down anyway. I also cut back my portions at meal time and now find I can't actually eat as much as I did before.

10 more lbs to go, hopefully without having to add in exercise:drunk: .
 
I guess this should be a wake up call for me. I'm 6'2" and 285. Not cool. you might say I'm getting pretty tired of holding my breath to tie my shoes.

I'm going to follow some of the advice on this thread & jump on the bandwagon.

I think 250 would be a great short term goal.

here we go,:cross:
bob
 
Ok, I just woke up and since it's Saturday I did my official weigh in.

A drum role please.




254. Not a bad start at all. I think I'll congradulate myself and eat and drink whatever I want today for the Pats game, then back on the horse tomorrow. 14 lbs down, 54 to go.

PTN
 
Has it been a steady increase over the 1 week? Did you weigh yourself everyday? The 2.5 lbs could very well be water weight. Don't sweat the small weight fluctuations. You should weigh yourself everyday, and only pay attention to the larger trends in weight change. Most of all, don't let this discourage you!

That principle actually applies to weight loss too. Those of you who have lost 10 pounds in the first week are most likely losing the water weight stored in your glycogen. This isn't meant to be discouraging. In fact, it should be encouraging news because that means it's working, and soon you'll be digging into those fat reserves and experiencing more permanent weight loss.

For those of you only dieting, I'd definitely encourage exercise also. In my experience, those who exercise along with a diet have much better success. It's horribly painful to start, but start small. Start embarrassingly small if you must. Run 1/4 mile a day for the first week. The next week, increase to 1/2 mile. Once you're up to 1-2 miles a day, increase your mileage by 10% a week. Don't go too hard too fast or you'll injure yourself, and end up having to spend a week healing on the couch. It's depressing, believe me. As for your choice of exercise, go with low to medium intensity aerobics such as jogging, the elliptical, swimming, etc. By low to medium intensity, I mean a slow to moderate pace, but for a long time (30min-2hours). This is the most effective for burning fat. Oh, and don't go on one run and then decide it's too much for you. As I said before, the first week will be painful, but it'll get easier, and soon you'll find yourself addicted to it. yes, addicted. I know it's hard to believe, but it's true.

One last thing. Quitting cold turkey isn't the most effective solution. Saying "I'm not going to drink beer this month" usually means "I'm going to try that, but actually what will happen is i'll break down in a week, binge drink, then undo all the progress i've achieved." I'm not saying that's true of all people, but for the majority of people weening yourself off trouble foods is a more effective solution. For example, if you're used to drinking 2 beers a day, cut that down to 1 beer a day for the first week. Then on the 2nd week, reduce that to 1 beer every other day, and so on. This will result in slower progress will lower your chances of relapse.

Anyway, I've been a health nut most of my life, but have been slacking recently. This thread has encouraged me to take it more seriously again so I thought I'd share some tips with you guys. I'm no doctor or dietitian, but I've spent a lot of my time reading about and living diet and exercise, so take my words for what they're worth.

But most of all good luck and don't get discouraged! It's not easy, but it's definitely worth it!
 
MikeFlynn74 said:
Bob I think 6'2" 230 is a very healthy goal. Shoudl be pretty easy to maintain
Click to expand...


230. That sounds like some kind of fantasy.:drunk:

It usually takes a 12 pack and a few nips of Jim Beam before I feel like I'm 230.
 
beala said:
Has it been a steady increase over the 1 week? Did you weigh yourself everyday? The 2.5 lbs could very well be water weight. Don't sweat the small weight fluctuations. You should weigh yourself everyday, and only pay attention to the larger trends in weight change. Most of all, don't let this discourage you!

That principle actually applies to weight loss too. Those of you who have lost 10 pounds in the first week are most likely losing the water weight stored in your glycogen. This isn't meant to be discouraging. In fact, it should be encouraging news because that means it's working, and soon you'll be digging into those fat reserves and experiencing more permanent weight loss.

For those of you only dieting, I'd definitely encourage exercise also. In my experience, those who exercise along with a diet have much better success. It's horribly painful to start, but start small. Start embarrassingly small if you must. Run 1/4 mile a day for the first week. The next week, increase to 1/2 mile. Once you're up to 1-2 miles a day, increase your mileage by 10% a week. Don't go too hard too fast or you'll injure yourself, and end up having to spend a week healing on the couch. It's depressing, believe me. As for your choice of exercise, go with low to medium intensity aerobics such as jogging, the elliptical, swimming, etc. By low to medium intensity, I mean a slow to moderate pace, but for a long time (30min-2hours). This is the most effective for burning fat. Oh, and don't go on one run and then decide it's too much for you. As I said before, the first week will be painful, but it'll get easier, and soon you'll find yourself addicted to it. yes, addicted. I know it's hard to believe, but it's true.

One last thing. Quitting cold turkey isn't the most effective solution. Saying "I'm not going to drink beer this month" usually means "I'm going to try that, but actually what will happen is i'll break down in a week, binge drink, then undo all the progress i've achieved." I'm not saying that's true of all people, but for the majority of people weening yourself off trouble foods is a more effective solution. For example, if you're used to drinking 2 beers a day, cut that down to 1 beer a day for the first week. Then on the 2nd week, reduce that to 1 beer every other day, and so on. This will result in slower progress will lower your chances of relapse.

Anyway, I've been a health nut most of my life, but have been slacking recently. This thread has encouraged me to take it more seriously again so I thought I'd share some tips with you guys. I'm no doctor or dietitian, but I've spent a lot of my time reading about and living diet and exercise, so take my words for what they're worth.

But most of all good luck and don't get discouraged! It's not easy, but it's definitely worth it!
Click to expand...

Thanks for burning your first post with some very sound advice.:mug:
 
I've gone from 215 in May '07 to 185 today. There are no gimmicks, just hard work. Starving yourself is not sustainable in the long term, most people gain back anything you lose by starving yourself. Apart from giving up pop and crap like fast food fries, I pretty much eat what I want. I didn't change my diet much, just started and have maintained an exercise routine that includes 30-90 minutes of cardio 6 days a week, and also weight training 3 days a week.

One thing that kept me away from home brewing for years was a nagging feeling that it wasn't a good hobby to take up if I wanted to lose weight. Now that I'm in an exercise routine where I'm burning a lot of calories I think I can handle a beer or two a day. We'll see!
 
As Beala pointed out, don't get hung up on your day-to-day weight. what is more important is the trend, or 'moving average'. Your weight on any given day is going to fluctuate.
 
So I am setting myself a goal of 3 lbs per week from here on out. I lost about 4.5 in the last week with out really trying very hard, no exercise at all, and just making some changes in HOW MUCH I am eating, not what I am eating. By maintaining 3 lbs a week of loss, I will be below 200 by my 39th birthday in June, and I will be to my goal of 190 by the end of June, when I have a convention for the national conference for our church that I am coordinating. It is a week of chaos, bad eating, no sleep, the whole nine yards, even more so for me, when I am the one that is handling all of the logistical issues. I also get to see friends at convention that I only see once or twice a year, and it will be awesome to have them see me at my goal weight. For some, it will be the first time that they have ever seen me at less than 250 lbs.

So the initial goal is under 200 by my birthday, and the final goal is 175 lbs and 10% body fat, and the final goal would happen right around my wifes birthday, which would be the best birthday present that I could ever give her, me being healthy so that she does not need to worry about that anymore.

That being said, not only am I posting my actual weight from here on out, I have posted my goal for each week, so that I can see if I am staying on track.

01/04/2008 est 267 - 26.0 % / act 267.2 and 26.0 % BF
01/11/2008 est 262 - 27.5 % / act 262.6 and 27.5 % BF
01/18/2008 est 259 - 27.0 % / act 266.4 and 25.5 % BF ( bad week :( )
01/25/2008 est 256 - 26.5 % / act
02/01/2008 est 253 - 26.0 % / act
02/08/2008 est 250 - 25.5 % / act
02/15/2008 est 247 - 25.0 % / act
02/22/2008 est 244 - 24.5 % / act
02/29/2008 est 241 - 24.0 % / act
03/07/2008 est 238 - 23.5 % / act
03/14/2008 est 235 - 23.0 % / act
03/21/2008 est 232 - 22.5 % / act
03/28/2008 est 229 - 22.0 % / act
04/04/2008 est 226 - 21.5 % / act
04/11/2008 est 223 - 21.0 % / act
04/18/2008 est 220 - 20.5 % / act
04/25/2008 est 217 - 20.0 % / act
05/02/2008 est 214 - 19.5 % / act
05/09/2008 est 211 - 19.0 % / act
05/16/2008 est 208 - 18.5 % / act
05/23/2008 est 205 - 18.0 % / act
05/30/2008 est 202 - 17.5 % / act
06/06/2008 est 199 - 17.0 % / act
06/13/2008 est 196 - 16.5 % / act
06/20/2008 est 193 - 16.0 % / act
06/27/2008 est 190 - 15.5 % / act
07/04/2008 est 187 - 15.0 % / act
07/11/2008 est 184 - 14.5 % / act
07/18/2008 est 181 - 14.0 % / act
07/25/2008 est 178 - 13.5 % / act
08/01/2008 est 175 - 13.0 % / act
08/08/2008 est 175 - 12.5 % / act
08/15/2008 est 175 - 12.0 % / act
08/22/2008 est 175 - 11.5 % / act
08/29/2008 est 175 - 11.0 % / act
09/05/2008 est 175 - 10.5 % / act
09/12/2008 est 175 - 10.0 % / act
 
Gerbil- I think 3 pounds a week is too much to lose. For your size, I'd say you should try to lose no more than 1.5-2 pounds per week. It'll come off faster at first, but once you lose 20 pounds or so, it'll come off slower. You want a nice slow and steady and healthy weight loss. That is easier to maintain, and you won't be disappointed when you have slower weeks.

I haven't been exercising for two weeks (injury) but I think I'm going back tonight to attempt to skate with my hockey team. I'm careful with my diet but I drink way too much beer to not exercise! Remember that exercise is a big part of maintaining fitness, even though most of us don't enjoy it at first. Find something you like- I found hockey and yoga, and stick with it!
 
YooperBrew said:
Gerbil- I think 3 pounds a week is too much to lose. For your size, I'd say you should try to lose no more than 1.5-2 pounds per week. It'll come off faster at first, but once you lose 20 pounds or so, it'll come off slower. You want a nice slow and steady and healthy weight loss. That is easier to maintain, and you won't be disappointed when you have slower weeks.

I haven't been exercising for two weeks (injury) but I think I'm going back tonight to attempt to skate with my hockey team. I'm careful with my diet but I drink way too much beer to not exercise! Remember that exercise is a big part of maintaining fitness, even though most of us don't enjoy it at first. Find something you like- I found hockey and yoga, and stick with it!
Click to expand...

I completely understand what you are saying, and to some degree, I completely agree with you also. I also appreciate your taking the time to express your concern, both for my benefit, and for the benefit of the others that are following this thread.

I also know me. I know my body, how it reacts to things, etc. If I felt like putting the time and energy into it, I can lose 5+ a week, but I agree, that is not healthy, and every time I have done that in the past, it came back, sooner or later. I am tired of being a yo-yo with my weight. I want to get it down and keep it down. With my genetic makeup, I can put on weight very easily, but I can also take it back off, not near as easily, but still, easily enough. My biggest problem now days is that I have WAY TOO MUCH to take off.

I also know my personality. I don't tend to go into things half way, much to my dear wife's frustration. I tend to be very obsessive about things that I want. Right now, what I want is to be healthy again. I am setting these goals, knowing that they might need to be changed a little. If it looks like I need to update the goals in a few weeks/months, I will, but for now, I am going to set the bar just a little bit higher than some might recommend.
 
For 90% of people who are over weight- The first 30% falls off. So the first 6 weeks or so may show large weight losses. It will slow down and by the time you hit your goal the long term avg should be 1-2lbs per week

But People need to forget the scale.

LET THE MIRROR tell you your progress.
 
3 lbs/week is too much. That's a deficit of like 10 Cal./week.

1-2 lbs/week max is more reasonable and realistic.
 
3 lbs/week is too much. That's a deficit of like 10 Cal./week.

1-2 lbs/week max is more reasonable and realistic.
Click to expand...

You are not taking into account-
Change in diet
Exercise addition
how far over weight

3lbs a week is perfectly fine given the right conditions,
 
Since the 3 lb number is being discussed because of me, let me throw my voice in here one more time. I am not just throwing this number out there for no reason. I have experience at this, I know what I am doing, I know that this number is a little bit high by some peoples standards, but the simple fact is, I could do, and have done in the past, more than this a week, and keep it going. I have dropped as much as 45 lbs in 9 weeks before, the problem is, I was not also changing my lifestyle, and it just slowly crept back on over the course of 10 years.

Yes, I am now 15 years older than I was then, so it will not be as easy, but I am also not trying to do the 5 per week that I did back then, and I am also reasonable, and will adjust my goals if necessary. I am not one to set low goals for myself. You don't reach the stars by aiming for the roof of the house. You shoot for the stars. Sometimes you don't make it, and you have to adjust things, and I am not saying that this philosophy works for everyone, but it works FOR ME... and I am only talking about me, I am not saying that ANYONE else in here should shoot for this goal.

I hind sight, I just should not have mentioned the goal at all, and let the numbers speak for themselves as the changes happen.
 
Rabidgerbal, you hit the nail on the head, do what works for you! Everybody on this thread has an opinion about weight loss, you have to take them with a grain of salt. I have set the bar high for myself too with this because I know my body, and I have done it in the past. There will be ebbs and flows to the process, one week you may drop 5 but then the next week you plateau and only drop 1 or 2. Lose what you can and be happy about it. I do believe it is a lifestyle change, and I am literally retraining myself how to eat, and exercise starts tomorrow. I can't wait! Tomorrow is my first official week 1 weigh in and measuremnents, I know I'm doing well. Keep up the good work!

Peace,

Eastside
 
BraeHaus said:
well so far, i've lost about 3 pounds, nothing to "whoo" over, but it's a start.
Click to expand...

I would disagree... you WHOOHOO about the first three... and the second three... and the third... and every other three that you have to do. It means you are doing something, and working toward your goal.
 
rabidgerbil said:
I would disagree... you WHOOHOO about the first three... and the second three... and the third... and every other three that you have to do. It means you are doing something, and working toward your goal.
Click to expand...

Well thank you, but I'm not sure if 3lbs is what your body normally fluctuates...

I've managed to loose 3 lbs just on diet change and drinking more water, I stay away from sweets and soft drinks and avoid heavy carbs... well I avoid eating lots of bread, avoid bagels, I avoid anything too filling like pasta and since i'm lactose-intolerant I'm staying away from too much dairy.

So far every morning I get up and have a cup of coffee (my weakness) and I force myself to eat some kind of breakfast, altho most of the time it ends up being a breakfast shake or banana or something fast and available.

For lunch I usually hit up Subway, they have great 6" subs that are somewhat better for you than just going to mickey d's, or I'll grab a salad... for the most part tho I don't change much about what I eat for lunch, I just avoid fast foods.

For dinner, my wife always makes sure we have veggies and lots of them, being pregnant she is watching what she eats and wants to eat more healthy conscience this time (I swear our daughter was going to be born with a Whopper in her hand). :D

My wife and I aren't fat, but we could use some weight loss, it's hard for her since she is pregnant so she is focusing on eating more healthy, rather than loosing weight... eating more healthy will only benefit me, so this is a good thing.

I begin my Fire Fighter I training in March and since I'm sure I'm going to be in the "older" crowd I want to make sure I'm physically ready and in much better health than I am in now.
 
I think you did great. You lost three lbs. Give yourself credit, you did it.

I made it thru the weekend without putting back on any of the weight, which was touch and go there on Saturday. SWMBO and I got up early and did a lot. I went out to a local farm and brought home 5 gallons of milk for her to make cheese with, then we drove inot the city to the Haymarket. Boston's haymarket is an outdoor market that goes every Friday and Saturday. 30 or so stalls consisting of tarps and tables made from crates, and lets just call the vendors 'crusty.' We picked up LOADS of vegies, SWMBO would probably just as soon be a vegitarian and not. Then we walked over to the North End and perused up and down thru all the old Italian markets. I can gain 5 lbs just walking past the pastry shops but she was a trooper and hip checked me when I turned towards Mikes. There was a cop standing there and I asked him to just handcuff her to a lightpole for a bit and I'd just pop into Mikes for a minute but he wouldn't cooperate. So I did really good up until gametime and even the we didn't go crazy. A big hunk of swordfish and brussel sprouts that we had picked up at the Haymarket, a bottle of wine and I worked alll that off on the couch cheering on the Pats. The tough part will be today and tomorrow. I don't go back to work till Wednesday night and she's at work now. Need to avoid the kitchen. The kitchen is bad. Bad kitchen.
 
Okay, so I don't know how everyone else is doing, but I think I'm doing pretty good just 12 days into my plan. I lost 15 pounds so far, I think the first 10 was all water weight, but I lost 3 inches off my stomach. I feel great, a lot more energy. I started exercising this week, I ride my bike 3 days a week approx. 12 miles up a hill. I have noticed that since I started exercising I gained a few pounds back, but the inches are still gone. I have a long way to go, but the weight loss has me motivated to keep going!

Eastside........
 
I'm still screwed up. SWMBO and I have been sick for almost a week, which means no gym. I think I'm down about 5lbs in the last 2 weeks just from less beer/food...
 
Eastside Brewer said:
Okay, so I don't know how everyone else is doing, but I think I'm doing pretty good just 12 days into my plan. I lost 15 pounds so far, I think the first 10 was all water weight, but I lost 3 inches off my stomach. I feel great, a lot more energy. I started exercising this week, I ride my bike 3 days a week approx. 12 miles up a hill. I have noticed that since I started exercising I gained a few pounds back, but the inches are still gone. I have a long way to go, but the weight loss has me motivated to keep going!

Eastside........
Click to expand...
nice job :mug:
 
I'm doing pretty good too, down to 278 from 285. I'm sure it's all water weight, but it still feels pretty good to see smaller #'s than normal. Everytime I want a snack, I drink a big ass glass of water. So far, so good:)
 
Eastside Brewer said:
Okay, so I don't know how everyone else is doing, but I think I'm doing pretty good just 12 days into my plan. I lost 15 pounds so far, I think the first 10 was all water weight, but I lost 3 inches off my stomach. I feel great, a lot more energy. I started exercising this week, I ride my bike 3 days a week approx. 12 miles up a hill. I have noticed that since I started exercising I gained a few pounds back, but the inches are still gone. I have a long way to go, but the weight loss has me motivated to keep going!

Eastside........
Click to expand...

Nice job! :mug:

I'm back down to where i started after gaining the 2.5 lbs at the start. I have started riding my bike every day and I do have a lot more energy now...
Off to ride the bike.:)
 
Still holding at 240 but SWMBO and I have been eating better (no fast food!) and hitting the gym M-F. We missed this Monday and Tuesday and I really felt weird, I'm getting to the point where I really like going.

Just stick with it everybody! :mug:
 
Just say this thread. SWMBO and I are trying to eat better and lose a little weight. Over the holidays I gained some up to 223#. So I'm trying to get back down. I'm aiming for 200# which would be my lowest since college. So far I've lost 5# but its somewhat hampered by my breaking a wrist between the holidays. I usually ride to work everyday on my bicycle, but I have had to drive or get a ride this month. I should be back on the bike by the end of the month, and I'm hoping that the 16miles a day and eating better will help me to achieve my goals.
Ofcourse I'm not giving up my beer. A beer a day is good for you and I intend to maintain that pace.
Craig
 

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