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Soulive

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Ok, so as of now I'm cutting out sweets and only drinking beer on Fridays or Saturdays (but not both). Forgot to mention I wanna hit the gym at least 3 days per week. I'll probably go every other day or so. Let's get it goin!
 
180 in September, 160 now.

I stopped eating out for lunch everyday, stopped eating crap for dinner, stopped the constant snacking on weekends and try to make better choices during all meals. Still drink beer...about 1-2 a day. No exercise (well, I do walk about 4-6 hours a day at work).
 
in theory, i'm axing all junk food and fast food, and turning to more fruit and veggies, salads etc. i'll see where that takes me.

185 now, looking to be 165, but don't know how reasonable that is.
 
got a lot of weight to lose... was down a lot in 2006 but whacked it all back on when i started working in new york 3-4 days a week. too much temptation and way too much beer getting consumed.

new rules:

- healthier diet. less carbs, more fruit, more veg. less fat. i don't eat much junk food anyway (except pizza)
- drinking ONCE a week. i'll be honest with you, when i get in a drinking zone, i can put away a lot, so even once a week is probably more than i should drink, but it's better than 2-3 times a week
- exercise 4-5 times a week at the gym, cardio for the most part. also had this "walking away the pounds" DVD which aside from being some lasses workout nonsense, actually helped a lot in 2006

old rules:

- brewing will continue, hurrah!
 
Im going for the workout as much as possible and try to eat healthier approach. I am at about 205 now (only 5'6'' though) and trying to get down to 170 by May. No sweets or junk food for me, plus i guess i am going to have to cut down on the beer intake. Dang that is going to hurt!

SD
 
i'm at 266 as of last wed doc visit. need to drop back down to 210-220 just to feel better. looks like handlebars and pavement are back in my future. i already eat few snacks/sweets. just need to eat leaner meats now i guess
 
I'd like to shed around 15lbs or so, but more importantly, I need to just get into better shape. I've never had any real good stamina (just ask my wife ;)).

To me, it really comes down to being more active - either walking the dog or hitting the heavy bag EVERY day - and being more "respectful" towards meals. What I mean by that is basically treat food and cooking much like I treat my beermaking. I don't drink BMC; why eat quick, cheap, convenience foods? I'm working on getting to work earlier so I can get out earlier and have time to actually COOK at night, instead of just whipping together something in ten minutes.
 
1/4/2008
I currently jog/run 3 miles 2-5 days a week. I'd like to get it back up to 5-7 days, but we'll see. My big problem is I am now not eating enough (I used to do 5-6 "meals" a day, but I got out of that and now wind up snacking late, eating whatever bull **** is in the fridge/cabinets at night).

(Will EDIT weekly on Fridays)
1/4/2008 Weight: 230lbs
1/11/2008: 227lbs 28% bf (as per Tanita scale)
1/21/2008 226.5 (oops, I was late this week) - Kind of bummed, I just bought a treadmill and made it through 15 miles on it this week, was hoping for better, but I know better than to expect more.
2/4/2008 226.5 still.. grrr...
 
Well, I'm currently Holy Crap!! You weigh THAT much lbs, so I'm going to be working on it this year. Lost 70lbs in '06, but damaged a knee and never got back into working out after the surgery. Found all those lost pounds.

Treadmill for awhile, then a bicycle. Biggest problem is finding the time during a normal week. Leave for work around 5:15a, return around 7:30 to 8:30p. But I am off Fri/Sat/Sun, and hope to move closer to my work sometime this year (hour & fifteen minutes one way right now).

Rick
 
I noticed I don't see BierMuncher here. That guy puts away gallons of beer every night, plus pounds of trisquits, and yet is skinny as a rail.

It has to be genetics. Maybe I can get some of his stem cells...... :D
 
No diet here so you can all send me your treats and brews that you are dieting from. :rockin:

I am 5' 7" and weigh about 145-150 I was blessed with metabolism that doesn't quit. :ban:
 
Let's do this.

I am 257lbs and 6'1. I currently have no diet, no exercise, and have smoked for the past 8 years.

Step 1: I am quitting smoking today.
Step 2: SWMBO is back home next week, so we can start cooking dinner every night again. This means I take leftovers for lunch at work instead of going to fast food.
Step 3: I need to take my Visa cards out of my wallet. Then I CAN'T buy fast food.
Step 4: I need a bike. Don't own one. (I don't walk/jog because my knees are screwed up, need something gentler.)

Goal 1 is 227# by my wedding (6/8/08). Net weight loss 30 lbs.
Goal 2 is 200-ish# by ... sometime. Let's work on Goal 1 first.
 
EdWort said:
I noticed I don't see BierMuncher here. That guy puts away gallons of beer every night, plus pounds of trisquits, and yet is skinny as a rail.

It has to be genetics. Maybe I can get some of his stem cells...... :D

I have a spare 2 pounds I need to shed. :D

Actually, I used to be a “roundy”. 5’8” and 190.

I decided to make going to the gym part of my “BierMuncher” time and went 4-5 times per week. It’s also good for the mind.
I parsed out my meals so I could eat smaller portions every 2-3 hours and paid close attention to what I was eating.
Dropped 40 pounds in 5 months. That was 14 years ago.

Ever since, I still pack my lunch(es) every day.
Don’t care for sweets/treats.
Drink only diet soda.
I cook up about 10 pounds of chicken breasts for the week every Sunday.
Eat tons of broccoli, green beans and lettuce.
Avoid bread, potatoes, rice and other starches (and fried food) like the plague.

So from 6:00AM till about 7:00PM during the week, I’m a brown bag, portion control, lean protein eating fanatic.

Now…at 7:01PM? That’s a different story. :D

About 18 months ago, I stopped drinking beer altogether for about 6 weeks. Doing nothing else, I dropped 9 pounds and got down to about 140.

If I could give anyone some simple-to-do advice to get started:
Eat breakfast. (Not cereal…something with protein like a big batch of scrambled egg-beaters.)
Force yourself to eat “something” every 2-3 hours (Keep the furnace stoked with more frequent, smaller portions)
Drop as much in the way of starches as you can immediately.
Don’t snack after 8:00PM (except of course the occasional HB)
Drink a ton of water.
 
I am cutting down too. Only 2 beers before breakfast.
No more than 2 beers between breakfast and lunch (unless I am brewing, then 7 is OK)
No fast food whatsoever, except for Taco Bell, White Castles and Chic Filet.
No more than 27 beers in a given day, no matter what.
Eat peanuts on and off until dinner, make a huge extravagant dinner.
No desert except for mint chocolate chip ice cream.
Drink a gallon of water between dinner and bed.(in between beers).

5'10'' 153lbs of muscle!
 
BierMuncher said:
That's part of the "different story".

...but they sure beat the heck out of potato chips...

I have to say I switched to Triscuits for munching because of you. I like the advice up above but I can't get rid of potatoes from my meals. My Irish heritage just won't allow it...
 
I'm having trouble with the no-starch idea. My head is rejecting the idea. It's rebooting in fact. I think you crashed my brain.

I eat starches every single meal. I eat vegetables once... a week, maybe? I've never ever liked either fruit or veggies. As a kid, I threw fits nightly at the thought of eating either. The only "vegetable" I eat is potato. And carrot. Cooked with potato. Picture a big ol' roast, with carrots, potatoes, and onions. That's the only "good" veggie to me.

If I had a juicer, I might be able to do this. But the costs in fresh fruit would be astronomical, trying to get the vitamins I would by just eating them. I'd eat oranges if someone else sat there and peeled them for me. I just can't operate the peels.

The more I think about it, the more anxious I'm getting. I can't think of a single recipe that I cook regularly and like that has more than 3-4% veggies in it, and more importantly, doesn't rely on a starch as the basis of its being. Most of the meals SWMBO and I cook are either Hamburger Helper made with ground turkey for less fat, Chicken baked in a casserole with either potato, pasta, or stuffing as the "base" for the casserole, and Pasta. This is not good. This is gonna be hard.
 
i gained about 25 lbs after i hurt my back....got up to 196, heaviest i've ever been.

i lost 14 lbs in the last 2 months, just from not eating HUGE meals and cutting down a drinking a bit. there was a competition at werk...i won 240 bucks :)

i'm at 188 right now...i could stand to lose another 10-15 lbs.
 
I've got to jump on this bandwagon as well...

SWMBO and I went to the gym for the first time last night (in 3 months or so) and are planning on going at least 5 days a week.

Food intake won't be that hard. I rarely ever eat lunch just because I'm always busy with school or work durring that time. So, smoothy in the morning maybe an apple or something for a snack when I *should* be eating lunch and a decent meal for dinner. Our main problem is addressed by what The_Bird said, we just eat convienient fast crap bc we don't have the time to cook...thats the main thing to work on.

5' 11" 245LB on 1/4/08 LETS DO IT!

Oh and no way I'm cutting out the beer...1 or 2 a day. I can deffinatly cut down how many I drink with friends...thats the real problem when it comes to beer.
 
OK I am in on this too. Dropped 30 lbs in the fall of '05 only to put it back on when SWMBO got pregnant. Just entered into a bet with my friend. He put up 100 to my 40 he could lose more by march 1. I am starting at 215 he is starting at 202. When I dropped it last time it was on the weight watchers plan with SWMBO. Pretty much just portion control and paying attention to what you are actually putting into your body. Oh! and don't forget to get off your lazy @$$ too.
 
Yeah, folks, you have to exercise (whether it's on the job or not), and you have to be very reasonable about your diet. I'm 5'9"ish (maybe 5'10", but I don't know). At Thanksgiving, 2005, I weighed about 205. I decided that had to end. I lost about 20 pounds over the next couple months, and I was down to about 165ish by the next Thanksgiving.

I did, in part, it by exercising (a lot) during the week and weekends. I resolved to get SOMETHING done at least five days each week and set weekly time and calorie burning goals (which were set to be about as much as I could manage, and I increased them as I was able to do more). We're talking some hard cardio here, on an elliptical with resistance and upper body work, but nothing dangerous.

Of course, I also did it, in part, by watching my diet. Yep, I had to deny myself some things I wanted, and I had to live with some cravings. I also ate healthfully, with a lot of vegetables and a lot of water. Suppers were reasonable (i.e., I didn't stuff myself), as were lunches. I also, absolutely, eliminated snacking after supper. I had to sit there, hungry, many nights. However, I knew that the "hunger" was more craving and habit that I had to break. I was not actually starving myself, so I did not let myself buy into that "I only crave what my body needs" BS.

However, I was not a constant tyrant over myself, either. I gave myself one weekday lunch, one night, and one weekend day per week to do just about anything I wanted. I could spend those freedoms whenever I wanted, but I could not save them up. As time went on, it became easier to wait until the end of the week to enjoy it or to give up an indulgence over the week.

I also gave myself holidays to enjoy as I liked. However, once I saw how my plan was working, I had less desire to revert back to the old ways. It wasn't a matter of guilt or even fear of screwing up what I had accomplished. More, it was just that I didn't see the value of the excess. It seemed that I was going overboard on certain foods just for the sake of doing so. If I was just as happy with a half sized slice of pie, then why eat a full one? Did I just want to spend another 10 or 15 minutes on the elliptical, busting my ass because of it?

The whole time, though, I absolutely DID NOT make goals about losing a certain amount of weight in a certain amount of time. I didn't know how my body would react to the changes I made, and I wasn't going to set a goal that I wasn't sure I could reach. I knew I could measure, for example, at least five days each week of exercising and estimate burning at least 3000 calories. I knew that I could measure doing 100 crunches per day, three days per week. I also know if I ate reasonably each day. If I could check those boxes off each week, then I knew I was on the right track and that good things would happen. Would I lose two pounds that week, or would I lose 20 pounds by then end of March? I didn't know, and I couldn't hold myself to that. I set daily and weekly BEHAVIOR goals, not results goals. The results fell into place just by behaving properly.

Now that I've reached a point where I'm fairly happy, I've loosened up some of my behavior goals. Mostly, I eat and drink more of what I want when I want. Of course, as I mentioned above, I want less and I want it less often. I've kept up the exercise goals, though, increasing them all along. I now want to burn 5000 calories each week, instead of 3000. I look at it pseudo-economically. That's the amount I need to work to maintain the lifestyle I want. If I want to eat this stuff and drink all this beer, then I need to work that much to make it happen.

Chriso, I understand your dread, and you're right that it will be hard. If you have to, though, start with some smaller changes and then add to it. It's better to take a little longer to reach your goal than not reach it at all.

Good luck, guys! Have fun with this! Believe me, it won't be fun at first. However, when you start to see results, you'll want more.


TL
 
Thanks for the kind words, TL. Appreciate it. :)

I just have to find some creative way to replace starches with veggies. I'm sure all of this will feel less scary next week when SWMBO is back home, and we can actually start writing out meals for weeknights.

I think this is just one more thing in which Big Concepts scare me, but once I have a chance to actually work out the detailed specifications, my new understanding of it helps me fight my fear. I don't work well on a macroscopic level. I can't just accept that there is a sky until I've obsessed over whether that sky is blue or cyan or cerulean.
 
I'm paraphrasing some stats I heard on npr so grain of salt.

Michael Pollan, author of, "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto" said basically this on Talk of the Nation.

1950's percent of income spent on
Food 18%
Health Care 7%

Today's percent of income spent on
Food 9.5%
Health Care 16%

That the graph lines have crossed was attributed by the speaker to the growth of processed foods.

Three easy takeaways.

1)'Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.'
2)'Don't eat anything that your great-grandmother would not recognize as food.'
3)'Shop the outside aisles of the grocery store. Stay away from the interior canyons of processed food'
 
Okay guys I'm in. I am on a strict cleansing for one week, and then the diet gets a little easier. Here is what I believe to be the key to weight loss:

1. Eat every couple of hours, don't starve yourself your body will store fat.
2. Excercise moderately, you need to get your heart rate up for 30 min. a day.
3. calories in - calories out. learn how to count calories and know how many you burn during exercise. keep your net intake under 1000 cal. per day. Beer is expensive, so drink wisely!

sample daily eating:
8am - 8 oz. cranwater mixed with flaxseed
8 oz. warm lemon water

8am - 2 scrambled eggs
8oz. cranwater

10am - 1/2grapefruit
8 oz. cranwater

noon- 4 oz. grilled salmon/garlic
salad 1 tbl sp dressing
8 oz. cranwater

3 pm - apple
8 oz. cranwater

5-6pm - 4 oz. grilled chicken/garlic
salad 1 tbl sp dressing
8 oz. cranwater

Multivitamin 1 a day
evening primrose 1 a day

Free snacks any time of day:
cellery
carrots
hicama
cucumber
broccoli

I did this for 2 weeks and lost 15 pounds, only 30 min. of cardio per day.

I am going for it this time!!! I'm 277, my goal is 200 even.
 
In the beginning of 07 I lost 40. From 248 to 208 at 5'11"..Since I started homebrewing in September and maybe because of the holidays I've gained back 8. My goal is 199 by March. I don't want to be fat at the Atlantis in the Bahamas..I go to the gym everyday now, so i need to cut out the 1 to 3 beers a night and only drink on the weekends..It's the weekend right??Whoo Hoo!!!
 
Eastside, that's called the "Fat Flusher" diet, right? Do you use 100% cran juice, or do you buy the concentrate? Get that at a GNC? Local health food store?

I think I might try that. If I can make it through the 2 weeks, then I think I can do it.
 
Eastside

You barely have 1000 calories there. You are starving yourself.

2 eggs? thats it?

When I am cutting-

6 eggwhites
3 whole
2 pieces of whole grain toast
1 tab peanutbutter

8 oz Turkey sandwich
8 oz milk

8 oz steak
10 oz baked potato
10 oz vegatables

Post workout shake
50gm protien
50gm Dextros

2 6oz Chicken breast
1 8oz sweet potato
corn/beans

protein shake just before bed
45gm
Multi vitamins (somehting like Animal pak)

and usually I will wake up midnight ish and have
1 reheated chicken breast with 8-12oz milk

i usually switch to Skim when cutting as I drink about a gallon a day. On top of that I drink a min of 1 gallon of water if not 2 every day.

When Bulking I just add- 1 cup of rice or larger baked potato to every meal.
 
MikeFlynn74 said:
Eastside

You barely have 1000 calories there. You are starving yourself.

2 eggs? thats it?

When I am cutting-

6 eggwhites
3 whole
2 pieces of whole grain toast
1 tab peanutbutter

8 oz Turkey sandwich
8 oz milk

8 oz steak
10 oz baked potato
10 oz vegatables

Post workout shake
50gm protien
50gm Dextros

2 6oz Chicken breast
1 8oz sweet potato
corn/beans

protein shake just before bed
45gm
Multi vitamins (somehting like Animal pak)

and usually I will wake up midnight ish and have
1 reheated chicken breast with 8-12oz milk

i usually switch to Skim when cutting as I drink about a gallon a day. On top of that I drink a min of 1 gallon of water if not 2 every day.

When Bulking I just add- 1 cup of rice or larger baked potato to every meal.

Since you're talking cutting/bulking, I assume you're a lifter. It does not appear that Eastside is, therefore he doesn't need all the calories you do.

That said, I don't agree with crash diets....they are not sustainable, and you will gain the weight back. I lost about 42 lbs in 4 months by watching my diet, and exercising smartly. The first two months, I focused on running, and watching my calories. The last two months, I backed off on the cardio (just a little) and focused more on lifting. I adjusted my diet to high protein/moderate fat/low carb....I aimed for 1g of protein per lb of bodyweight. I put on muscle like crazy, and kept burning fat/losing weight. It's amazing what these adjustments will do for your metabolism. I attribute my success to two things: workout dicipline and keeping a close eye on the diet. It takes a significant lifestyle change.
 
Ok, time for me to jump in here also.

Stats:
Age - 38
Sex - Male
Height - 5'10"
Weight - 267
Body Fat - 26 %

The wife is convinced that I am going to die by the time I am 40.
I had two beers at a function that her company put on this evening,
between 6 and 8 pm. About 9 pm we were home, and I started to
pull a Winterhook out of the fridge, and that started a huge fight about
my weight/health. I know that she is right. I remember what it felt like
to be healthy and in shape. It is time to get there again. Back in 94 I
went from 240 to 175 by changing my eating habits and my work out
habits. It is time to do it again. I graduated high school at 190, and I
would like to be back around there. That is where I still have decent
muscle mass, but low body fat. When I get below 190, it is by also losing
a lot of muscle mass.

So, that being said, I like the idea of updating in here each week, like
someone said earlier.

01/04/2008 - 267.2 lbs and 26.0 % body fat
01/11/2008 - 262.6 lbs and 27.5 % body fat


Plus, when I can get to 190 and keep it there, she can't complain about
how much beer I drink :drunk:
 
rabidgerbil said:
Ok, time for me to jump in here also.

Stats:
Age - 38
Sex - Male
Height - 5'10"
Weight - 267
Body Fat - 26 %

The wife is convinced that I am going to die by the time I am 40.
I had two beers at a function that her company put on this evening,
between 6 and 8 pm. About 9 pm we were home, and I started to
pull a Winterhook out of the fridge, and that started a huge fight about
my weight/health. I know that she is right. I remember what it felt like
to be healthy and in shape. It is time to get there again. Back in 94 I
went from 240 to 175 by changing my eating habits and my work out
habits. It is time to do it again. I graduated high school at 190, and I
would like to be back around there. That is where I still have decent
muscle mass, but low body fat. When I get below 190, it is by also losing
a lot of muscle mass.

So, that being said, I like the idea of updating in here each week, like
someone said earlier.

1/4/2008 - 267 lbs and 26 % body fat


Plus, when I can get to 190 and keep it there, she can't complain about
how much beer I drink :drunk:

Get after it and let us know how it goes! :cool:
 
rabid

Good luck- You know you can do it.
My best shape was 255 @ 13% I am aiming for 248 @ 10% now.



sWami

While yes- I am a lifter I still do cardio as a stong body requires a strong heart.
 
I like the up front honesty of Rabidgerbil. (Even if I find his name somewhat disquieting.)

I'm jumping onboard the public scale. I was at my Dr's for a 5 year overdue physical just before Christmas and after I told him I wanted him to, he ***** slapped me for gaining as much weight as I have. I was at my all time high of 268. I've gained almost 70 lbs in about 3 years. My BP wasn't bad, but that's no excuse. I'm too freakin' fat. I'm about 5'9 and I'll be 49 in March. I need to lose weight. I know I can lose the weight, I've been almost this big before. I'm down to 261 as of last night and I'm hoping to be under 240 by the begining of Feb.

I can be pretty good at holding the line when I make up my mind to do so and I've been working towards steeling myself for a while. I'm onboard.
 
It's hard to be disciplined, that's for sure. I guess my words of encouragement are just to realize how damn good you feel when you're in shape. I sleep well, have tons of energy, and can outskate someone half my age. I haven't had a potato chip or soda in at least 5 years. I can't remember the last time I had a piece of cake or a doughnut- probably like 10 years, maybe more.

I LOVE good food, and just always tell myself that I'd rather have a very nice dinner every single night than to have a junk food meal once a week. We always have a nice dinner, complete with wine and candles, every single night. It's healthy stuff, and it is more of a treat than a stop at McDonald's anyway. And like OlllllO mentioned, I don't eat anything packaged or unrecognizable as food by my great- grandmother. I do drink too much beer, and so I'm a little heavier than I'd like to be, too.

So, there are ways to reward yourself that include food and beer! Just always think before you eat- no mindless eating. Especially in front of the TV- it's too easy to not even realize that you put away 800 calories!

Good luck all!
 
paulthenurse said:
Rabid,
What day do you want to do weigh ins and check in with each other? Do Saturday's work for you?
Paul

Paul - friday, saturday, what ever, it all works for me...
and I am happy to do what ever I can to help someone else stick to it,
and to have all the help I can get to help me stick to it...

as to my screen name, there is a thread about names and avatars...
here is my response to that one
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=500555&postcount=204
 
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