Jan 19 2010
Less of Me
I was just reading older posts looking for one that described how I measure my weight and got to reading this one: Weigh In.
The bad news is that I went back up to 300 lbs after that. The good news is that it’s been coming down in the last 5 months. And since the 1st of the year I’m down 10 lbs to 275 lbs.
How I did it is the most basic formula for weight loss. Move more, eat less, burn more calories than you eat. I’ve started taking Taekwando classes 3-4 times a week and getting on the recumbent exercise bike for 45 minutes 5-7 times a week. And probably most significantly, I’ve drastically controlled my eating.
The eating is the hardest part. Now I have one slice of bread with a low calorie yogurt based spread for breakfast with a cup of decaf (artificial sweetener, but I’m cutting down on that too) - 165 calories. Lunch is 2.5 oz. of tuna mixed with 2 tsp of salsa (all natural, really good stuff, Green Mountain Gringo) and 4 tortilla chips - 190 calories. Now even if I add some fudge room to those numbers I’m under 400 calories for breakfast and lunch combined. For dinner I have whatever I cooked. I’m cooking fairly healthy, but I know I can do better. The key at dinner is that I use a tiny plate and don’t fill it. And I eat only a tiny portion of ice or potatoes, probably the size of a matchbox, the rest being vegetables and meat. And I have a salad before every dinner with 2 tsp of low fat vinaigrette dressing. I don’t have a good way to gauge the calorie count for dinner, but I don’t think it’s more than 1000. So for the day, I’m under 1500 calories, at least. I really think I’m closer to 1200. But that’s just week days. And I forgot about my treat. In order to curb cravings for candy and chips and chocolate, I get a single piece of See’s Candy chocolate at the end of the day, they run anywhere from 50 - 120 calories. And I usually have a piece of fruit and some carrots, too. So lets call it an even 1500.
And it’s working. 10 lbs in19 days. I don’t think I can keep that rate up for more than a month or two. It will slow down, but I’m ready for that. I think I can achieve an average weight lose of 2 lbs a week from now until June 1st. If I do that I’ll have dropped an additional 38 lbs, putting me at 237 lbs. Damn near to my goal of 220.
The key for me is not getting off track. I do this regularly where I get something good going, one little bump in the road derails me and I never get back on. The last time it was a cold. I got sick for a week or two and never went back to exercising. Don’t know how I’m going to combat that. I think this time I’ll keep exercising, no matter the circumstances. Even if it’s a feeble slow crawl on the bike, if I stay in the routine of getting on it every day I think that will help.
And back to what started this post, the way I measure my weight: I weigh myself everyday, when I’ve been at or below a particular 5 lb weight range for 7 days, I consider myself to have achieved that weight. So for instance. I got down to 275 on the 1/12 and stayed at or below there until the 1/18, so I now weigh 275.
Wish me luck for today. I believe I’ll be at 270.
It’s been fun reading about you going through this. I’ve been on the same track for a while. I was at ~250lbs a few years ago and found out that it was destroying my liver. High blood pressure was involved too. I got down to 215 after about a year, and everything got better. Blood pressure dropped to good levels, and my liver enzymes went back to normal. Since then, I have bounced from 210-220.
I had another full physical in November, and it was all good news. Still, I decided after Christmas to tone up and get down to 195. My methods are similar. 90% = don’t eat it, 10% = exercise. I’ve been using Lose it! (loseit.com) on my ipod for the last month to track weight and calories. It has one of the most detailed dictionaries (including restaurant menus) for food that I have seen. They have a great web interface too.
I follow the same method for weighing myself that you use. I weigh in every morning, after my shower and before I eat. When I cross a 5lb line, and stay under it for 5 days, I credit myself as having achieved it.
My doctor passed on 5 rules when I started this process that have proven quite helpful:
1 - No carbonated beverages.
2 - Avoid HFCS, especially in beverages.
3 - A serving of meat is the size of a deck of cards. Have 2 per day.
4 - If it’s white, you should probably avoid it. (rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, ect.) I do bad with this one. He recommends the whole grain versions, where it applies.
5 - 2,000 calorie per day limit. I commend you for the 1500/day calorie limit. I couldn’t do that. I fight for 2,000, and don’t always win.
I know it’s nothing new or Earth-shaking, but it helped me a lot.
Oh yeah, I give myself one rule free day per week. Friday is take-out and movie night. All told, when I am diligent, I lose about 1 lbs per week.
Keep up the good work!!
Yeah, very similar. I’m finding that cutting out the carbs is not as hard as I’d expected. My achilles heal is sweets. But I think I’ve got that under control as well.
I let my self indulge also, I just stretch it by making one day a lunch and the other a dinner.
My ideal weight is somewhere between 220 and 230, I think. If I attain that I might look at 210. I was 210 when I got out of the Army, so it’d be a real challenge. I was 180 after boot camp, that wont be happening again.
Congrats on the good health!
Excellent to hear, but makes me feel like crap because I just can’t seem to stick to anything. I’m not way overweight, in fact I don’t even know what my weight is, but I *feel* overweight.
I have issues mostly because I spend so much time at home and by myself. With our new dog Julie, I was hoping to get out more often, but we’ll see. I have a tendency to eat when I’m stressed, and I stress a lot.
Anyway, good job and keep it up!
Yeah, time at home alone is part of my problem. I fixed it by never ever buying any bad food for the house. I do the groceries, so I can do that.
It means Rowen doesn’t have as many snacks as she would otherwise, but she’ll survive. And anyway, when I was getting her snacks I was eating them before she could. I do need to get her some stuff for her lunch. Will have to see if I have the willpower to resist or if we have to work out a scheme where she keeps it hidden for herself.
Julie is beautiful, BTW. And looks like she’d take you for a real ride on those walks.
The fight is 10 times harder at home. I doubt I would have made it if I were not going to the office everyday. I am a horrible snack eater at home.