"ncasolowork2" (ncasolowork2)
10/20/2014 at 10:49 • Filed to: None
7
33|
"ncasolowork2" (ncasolowork2)
10/20/2014 at 10:49 • Filed to: None | 7
| 33 |
So all summer long I got to wear jeans to the office. In September I realized my khaki pants no longer fit. They were already 2" bigger than I had been wearing a few years out of college and I wasn't willing to buy new pants again. I'm down 12lbs in a month and it has been easy.
When I say easy I mean it. I'm still eating the same garbage I was before. I'm just eating less of it. Cook a frozen pizza for dinner? Half of that thing is 1150 calories. So instead I eat 1/3rd of it and then don't chase it with 4 cookies. I instead chase it with a 70 calorie pack of fruit snacks which I frequently ate anyhow.
So I'm eating the same stuff just less of it. And I'm walking a lot. For the most part instead of sitting around on my breaks at work I'm walking. I do more walking at home by simply being busier at night instead of sitting on the couch all night. In the end I'm burning about 750 calories per day and consuming about 2400. Believe me when I say 2400 calories is a lot and is easy to do. What's insane is I was probably on a diet of 4000 calories before.
Now I'm not particularly overweight. I started at 194 which is by far the most I've ever weighed but I am 6' tall. I'm down to 182.2 just 4 and a half weeks into it. My goal was 25lbs in a year. I'm on pace to do that in 2 months.
Oh... I did cut one thing out. All carbonated beverages. I stick mostly to water/milk/powerade now.
The other potential benefit is all my nice hoodies that no longer fit because my stomach got a bit of a beer belly going on is they may all fit again and that would be awesome.
Leon711
> ncasolowork2
10/20/2014 at 10:54 |
|
I lost a load of weight when I start my new job going from a reasonably physical job to a desk job. Reason? careful lunch planning and nowhere near work to buy shit.
|
ncasolowork2
> Leon711
10/20/2014 at 11:05 |
|
Yeah for a lot of people just cutting out fast food and replacing it with a sack lunch can drop a ton of weight. Except in your wallet. That kind of eating adds a lot of dough in your pocket.
44444444444
> ncasolowork2
10/20/2014 at 11:05 |
|
It's the first 50 that are easy... every pound after that is a fight... trust me. I used to weigh 260, and have been fighting to get to 175 for the last 2 years. I weigh 185 now. However, I gained a shit ton of muscle... I went from 5 pushups, 0 pullups and a 60lb benchpress to 60 pushups easy, 15 pullups, and a 185lb bench press.
Ducky
> ncasolowork2
10/20/2014 at 11:06 |
|
Careful, Powerade is worse than a lot of soda. You'd be better off with Diet Coke than Powerade
|
ncasolowork2
> Ducky
10/20/2014 at 11:06 |
|
yeah it is 200 calories and I'm sure a lot of sugar. I'm switching now to powerade zero.
Mattbob
> ncasolowork2
10/20/2014 at 11:07 |
|
haha, thats like what I've done recently. I've been trying to save money, so I severely reduced my food budget to the point where I have to think about what kinds of foods will let me be healthy and not have to eat a lot. I don't buy anything pre boxed or pre made, and no sweets or extras of any kind like pop. I save a TON of money, and am slightly below my target weight all while still feeling healthy.
|
Leon711
> ncasolowork2
10/20/2014 at 11:08 |
|
it sure does, it sure does.
|
ncasolowork2
> 44444444444
10/20/2014 at 11:09 |
|
Yeah I'm not gaining any muscle which will help me. I think my body would easily support dropping down to 150 despite my height. I weighed less than 130 in my early 20's. My goal isn't extravagant. I am shooting for 170 right now. If that comes easy I'll probably aim for 160. For me it should be easy to maintain too. It hasn't been about what i eat as much as how much I eat. Once my body gets used to eating less I figure it'll be easier to resist wanting to eat a sandwich with chips a granola bar and then wanting to raid the vending machines after.
jariten1781
> ncasolowork2
10/20/2014 at 11:10 |
|
Yup, I used the same method to go from 240 down to 136 (was a challenge to get to the underweight category on the BMI from a girl at work who didn't think I could do it). I now sit at a healthy ~160. I only eat ~1400 calories a day to maintain and my cholesterol/blood pressure are back in line even though my doctor told me it would be impossible without the drugs I refused to take (eat that medical science).
|
ncasolowork2
> Mattbob
10/20/2014 at 11:11 |
|
Frozen dinners are good for lunch at work if they're ~300 calorie smart ones or lean cuisines. Not the healthiest of choices, but considering my goals I'm OK with that. The other really good low calorie food that isn't expensive is soup. My recent favorite is mexican style chicken tortilla. 260 calories for an entire can of soup. Put a side of tortilla chips with that and you've got a pretty low calorie filling meal.
|
Mattbob
> ncasolowork2
10/20/2014 at 11:14 |
|
the only problem I have with those two, is the amount of sodium premade soups and frozen meals have to eat regularly. Don't get em wrong, I will eat the hell out of them, just not everyday. I've been doing a bit of rice with a bit of meat and a piece of fruit on the side. Or a salad. Once you get into the habit of setting aside some food for lunch the night before, it isn't bad. Just never rely on yourself to make one in the morning. I've put the condition on myself that if I forget to pack a lunch, I skip it. The hunger makes me remember the next time.
deekster_caddy
> ncasolowork2
10/20/2014 at 11:14 |
|
Eating right is surprisingly difficult. It's way way too easy to eat poorly. I'm down about 30 lbs this year and really need to lose another 20. This is where it gets hard though. The first 20 came off 'easy'. I've plateaued in my weight, from 260 down to 230 (I'm 6'4" so I don't look fat). I've started running again (I ran a marathon 12 years ago and went from 250 to 220 then, and it took about 2 years to creep back up to 250). I have always run off and on, but not enough to burn energy like marathon training.
I've done protien shakes and all kinds of things this year to get rid of the first 30. Now winter is coming so it's harder to get out and run, and I've got to figure something out, because I'm friggin hungry ALL THE TIME.
Good move to drop the carbonated stuff at least! Try to cut back or water down the powerade stuff too - there's a ton of sugar in that. Unless you are out in the heat at football practice or something...
|
deekster_caddy
> ncasolowork2
10/20/2014 at 11:19 |
|
It's not all about weight. Getting more exercise and converting that fat to muscle is really good for you too. I'm terribly overweight according to the charts, but my Dr. isn't too worried because I'm in decent shape overall.
|
ncasolowork2
> Mattbob
10/20/2014 at 11:27 |
|
Yeah there is a lot of sodium in those. I have really good cholestoral and blood pressure is actually low so a bit of sodium in my diet isn't too bad for me at lunch.
|
Mattbob
> ncasolowork2
10/20/2014 at 11:29 |
|
ahh, thats good. I have to watch out. My BP is good, but family history of heart problems. I just ate lunch. My GF made me lunch. It was the best. sandwich, carrots w/ ranch, grapes, and a piece of a chocolate muffin. Heck yes!
OPPOsaurus WRX
> ncasolowork2
10/20/2014 at 11:58 |
|
Good job. I started running 3 times a week and swapped out chinese lunches for salads and cut down of the beers a little. I lost about 25 lbs in 3 months. 205 down to 180
Burrito de EJ25
> ncasolowork2
10/20/2014 at 13:35 |
|
Weight is irrelevant when you're trying to slim down. If you're not building any muscle it's going to get increasingly hard to lose weight just with dieting. Increases muscle mass burns more calories.
JEM
> ncasolowork2
10/20/2014 at 16:12 |
|
If you want something hydrating that's low calorie and not full of crap like soda/sport drinks I recommend these:
You can get the tablets through amazon.
Frank Grimes
> ncasolowork2
10/20/2014 at 17:42 |
|
I mos def need to add more lightness. I am struggling with keeping motivated Its so easy for me to ignore little food choices and think they dont matter.
ranwhenparked
> ncasolowork2
10/20/2014 at 19:16 |
|
It is a pretty simple formula. Less eating + more activity = weight loss. I dropped 27 lbs in the first 6 months of this year, and so far, its been staying off. No stupid diets, no foods cut out, just eat less of whatever.
Haven't bought much new clothes though, but really should, because 3 inches of fabric bunched up under a belt isn't a good look.
The biggest things were mostly cutting out sodas, and I no longer work in an office setting, so there's no going out to lunch or ordering it in anymore. Damn Doylestown and its numerous awesome restaurants.
thebigbossyboss
> 44444444444
10/21/2014 at 08:03 |
|
You sir have hit on the law of diminishing returns. It's like a car. It's easy to make it hit 50 mph, almost any vehicle can do that, most can hit 100 mph, but it's nearly impossible for most cars to hit 200 mph. Every mph on the margin becomes harder and harder. Same with losing weight, first pounds are the easiest and last pounds are the hardest.
|
ncasolowork2
> Frank Grimes
10/21/2014 at 08:10 |
|
I have an app on my phone that does step counting and I can input my calories. Makes it easier when you're trying to beat your high score on steps or "win" at the game of calories.
|
ncasolowork2
> JEM
10/21/2014 at 08:13 |
|
I want something to drink that has any sort of flavor. Reason being is water doesn't fill me up. I end up being less hungry when I drink something other than water. So I'm open to ideas for the most part. Doesn't have to be an energy drink or anything like that.
Dr Emilio Lizardo
> ncasolowork2
10/21/2014 at 09:58 |
|
Eat less, exercise more. Always a good plan. I am of the belief that calories are more important than where they come from and that is backed up by research. The New England Journal published an editorial a couple years back which discussed that all diets work and the difference in weight loss from one to another is always less than a kilogram. That attitude tends to raise a lot of anger on various Gawker blogs, but so what. I just post the NEJM link and move on.
I don't think you can say that you are on pace to meet your goal in two months. Weight loss is usually not linear. You lose a little fast but then it is harder to lose the rest. So don't get discouraged if you lose less than 3 lb in a week. That is to be expected.
|
ncasolowork2
> Dr Emilio Lizardo
10/21/2014 at 10:14 |
|
Yeah I may not have actually lost 12lbs. My starting weight may be skewed by when it was taken. I had a Dr. visit in August and then a health screening at work. Both had me with my clothes on and during the day. When I weigh myself now it is on Sunday morning first thing with shorts and a T-Shirt. I may have been handed a 5lb head start. Still the last 3 weeks have consistently been 1.5lbs. I'm shooting for 2.5lbs this week by cutting about 600 calories and increasing my burn by about 150 calories. Burn 900 consume 1800 is the goal this week.
elisethestrange
> Dr Emilio Lizardo
10/21/2014 at 10:36 |
|
Uh... doc? I'm pretty sure it's been proven that paleo is the best. I read this on multiple very reputable blogs! Keep up!
|
Dr Emilio Lizardo
> elisethestrange
10/21/2014 at 12:21 |
|
|
elisethestrange
> Dr Emilio Lizardo
10/21/2014 at 12:29 |
|
So, jokes aside, what's the NEJM link? I'm interested in seeing it.
|
Dr Emilio Lizardo
> elisethestrange
10/21/2014 at 13:12 |
|
My google-fu is failing me. I can't find it and I don't have it saved on this computer. If I find it I will get it to you.
|
Dr Emilio Lizardo
> elisethestrange
10/21/2014 at 13:23 |
|
Found it. here is the editorial.
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.10…
Here is the relevant paragraph:
It is obvious by now that weight losses among participants in diet trials will at best average 3 to 4 kg after 2 to 4 years and that they will be less among people who are poor or uneducated, groups that are hit hardest by obesity. We do not need another diet trial; we need a change of paradigm.
Here is the study they are referencing.
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.10…
|
elisethestrange
> Dr Emilio Lizardo
10/21/2014 at 14:16 |
|
Thanks! I have kind of a stray thought about the paleo diet I'm curios whether you have an opinion on. I do know a fair number of people who claim that they were unable to lose weight with any diet until they tried paleo. I think one reason for this is that there are a lot of people walking around pre-diabetic or insulin resistant due to a combination of genetics and a lifetime of terrible eating, so of course a low-carb diet is going to be the ticket. The other is that people seem to stick to it really well, and I think that's because people just feel so cool and hip doing it, and have faith in the magic, love posting on facebook about it, etc. More power to them, but damn I hate when they get all righteous on me with it, which is kind of ridiculous considering I'm doing quite fine eating wheat for three meals a day.
|
Dr Emilio Lizardo
> elisethestrange
10/21/2014 at 14:53 |
|
I think the main reason any diet works for weight loss is because it gets people to actually pay attention to everything they eat. Those little nibbles throughout the day or the difference between 6 or 8 oz of something really add up and most people don't pay attention. So I tend to feel that any diet you can stick to is good, regardless of what it is based on.
Faz.Alam
> ncasolowork2
10/21/2014 at 15:52 |
|
Same thing happened to me. It's what my friends call the "It's about time you stopped eating like a goddamn dumpster and started eating like a human being" diet. At least that's they said when I started.
I've been making a graph of my progress. There have been some weeks where I completely lost my discipline over food, so it's been very up and down. It took a while for me to get used to the scales, I was standing on them on a whole different set of ways, making it looking like I was losing more weight than was possible.When I got my stance sorted out, the graph started looking more sensible.