the tfp weight watchers thread

[DonovanDuVal]

Is the jury still out on whether the hope that Pandora released from her box was a good thing or a bad thing? Last week I hoped to loose two more pounds by this very day. This very day has rolled round and I am still 14st exactly.

Hmm, nice to see that some of the old faces are still around. Given the time lapse between my last entry and the preceding one, I was afraid that I would be only one still on this quest of weight loss.

Memories of the fat asthmatic kid who came last in cross country came flooding back to me. It felt for a moment there as though everyone else had crossed the finish line.

I know it's not a race, but it did feel a little lonely for a second there.

[Mister Coaster]

Well, so far so good... sort of.

After professing I'd get back on the wagon (at 224), I had a particularly bad weekend, and managed to gain even more weight, up to 229. Damn. But I turned the boat around and was 225 this morning. Bad habbits are so easy to fall into.

For the life of me, I don't understand how some people can stay at the same weight without doing anything. I'm either gaining or losing weight all the time. That perfect balance still eludes me.

[DonovanDuVal]

13st 12lbs which means that I am down this week by two whole pounds. So yay me and all that, as well as hopes (there's that word again) that there will be another 2lbs shed by this day next week.

Oh and for the record Mister Coaster I know exactly what you are talking about. If I don't pay attention to my weight it changes while I'm not watching, and usually up as well. I've come to the conclusion that the only way to maintain weight is to monitor it.

I wonder if that will prove to be different if I reach my target weight.

[tokaok]

Nov 22, 245lbs
lost 10 in the last 3 weeks by primarily cutting down my white rice portion at dinner in half, walking home from train station each workday(12 min walk), and doing 2 hours of yoga per week.

Hope to keep this up.

im 5'10" and bmi says i should be around 175, but im aiming at 185 cause i know i have a larger frame than most,(my shoulder span is about 20% wider than my friend that is the same height)

[saltfish]

Originally Posted by saltfish

July 10th 2006: 214 lbs

September 4th 2006: 221 lbs

No, I'm not sliding back, all of the mass that was put back on was in muscle. You guys are really great motivators!

November 24th, day after Thanksgiving: 214lbs

Still more muscle and less bodyfat. Doing cardio 30 min/day and weights for 1 hr per day.

Pictures available upon request.

[magictoy]

This thread rocks.

First, the history: I was athletic in high school, and I enjoyed exercising. At 6' and 185, I was pretty muscular. Time and two jobs crept up on me though, and over many years I crept up to 220. Hey, it was only 2 pounds a year over eighteen years.

What I didn't realize over the next few years was that I have sleep apnea. I ballooned up to 249. Then came a high school reunion. I went on Jenny Craig for three months, learned portion control, and got down to 227 or so.

However, the sleep apnea was still around. All it took was a few days where I had to burn the midnight oil with work, and my workout routine was shot. Plus, if you're tired and sleepy all of the time, you don't go to the gym--you just kind of doze off after eating dinner. Then my physician died at about age 43. I think it might have been sleep apnea.

This year, maybe because of the deaths of Reggie White, my physician, and some others, I decided to get the physical I'd been skipping since my physician died. First, I did a sleep study. I pay my own health insurance, so to make the high deductible work for me, I crammed everything into this year. The sleep study alone was $3600 --no problem hitting my deductible.

Then came all of the blood work. And an EKG, since my physician mentioned that sleep apnea can give you right side heart failure. The EKG was fine.

Conclusions: I'm pre-everything. In general, carrying weight around the middle is hazardous for men. At 249, my BP was 140/90, blood sugar 107, and I forget what my cholesterol was, but it was too high (over 200), and the good cholesterol level sucked. In short:

Get the BP down, or I'm risking a stroke in a few years. The physician wants me on a blood pressure medication, but I think that's just masking the problem, which is too much weight.

Get the cholesterol down, or I'm risking heart attack down the road.

Get the blood sugar down, or I'm risking diabetes down the road.

It's amazing that modern medicine can give you warnings like these. I'm not the type of person who has to be hit over the head with something to get the message. The weight has to come off.

So I've been working out more, both with weights and cardio exercise. I rejoined Jenny Craig, with a longer-term obligation. My goal is to lose 50 pounds over the next year.

Some may fault Jenny Craig, but it's the type of thing I need. You have a list of what you're to eat that day, and it's already prepared for you. My schedule is busy enough that I will eat whatever is fast and handy, so my plan is to make sure the proper food is readily accessible. If you don't know, the other thing involved in their plan is something called "free foods." I can eat all the salad (but not dressing) that I want. All the broccoli I want. All the sugar-free jello I want. Since I like all three, I can usually get enough of a feeling of fullness from them to be satisfied with the meals from Jenny, which seem to total only about 1000 calories a day. If you've done it before, it wouldn't be hard at all to follow their guidelines without buying their food, but I want the obligation to go once a week for weigh-in. Otherwise, I might backslide. Besides, their food actually tastes pretty good, and there is a lot of variety.

I didn't want to mess around with half-assed measures on the sleep apnea, so I jumped right to a CPAP. For those who don't know, it provides room air under pressure through a nasal mask. The appropriate pressure for me, according to the sleep study, was on the high end of low, if that makes any sense. It has helped quite a bit. My hope is that the CPAP will no longer be necessary if I lose the 50.

My home scales today said I weigh 241, but the one at the gym said 244. One week ago, at Jenny (with clothes on--it's not THAT much of a fun place) their scale said 249. It will be interesting to see what theirs says tomorrow.

I hardly drink, so that's not a factor. I only slightly splurged for Thanksgiving--no sense in being so hardcore you don't enjoy it.

This is going to be for the long haul. One or two pounds a week is my goal; I'm considering this a year-long project. If it happens faster, great.

It was nice to spot this thread after it got bumped. Putting it in writing gives me more motivation.

One other thing: I don't think my physician thinks I can do it, so I have a little more motivation to prove him wrong. I'm to see him again in three months.

Stay tuned.

[DonovanDuVal]

Interesting post magictoy and welcome to the thread. Good luck with the goal, let's hope that you prove your physician wrong.

My own loss this week has been one pound. I am down to 13st 11lbs, which is nice. Another 15lbs to go.

[magictoy]

My scale says 237 today. Hunger (between meals) is assuaged by salads and jello. It's becoming obvious that I do habit eating, so veggies and jello are consumed then. I'm working out at least every other day.

So far, so good.

[Mister Coaster]

Thanksgiving x 2 = Bad for the diet.

233 this morning, I'm going back to my hard-core, low-fat, no beer/liquor, no samples (I work at a grocery store), diet. No excuses, no exceptions. I REFUSE to buy larger pants despite the 36's being tight. Excersize will be tough because it's supposed to be butt-cold here in Denver for the next week or so. I'll have to run in place or something.

Give me some encouragement...

[maleficent]

disco dancing in your skivvies is good exercise - and it's good entertainment for the missus coaster do a strip tease for her

Don't deprive yourself too much - that can lead to binging.. moderation is your friend

/me dusts off her pompoms and shakes tham at Mister Coaster - you can do this!!

[magictoy]

236 at Jenny yesterday (that's with clothes), 234 on my home scale, nekkid.

Don't make me be the only one to post here!

[Mister Coaster]

Down to 226. Yeah for me, 7 lb. loss.

[DonovanDuVal]

From 13st 11lbs down to 13st 10lbs. Another one down, which will do me.

Just out of interest do you people weigh yourselves in the nip? I do every Saturday morning. I like to think that it brightens up the day of the people waiting for a train.

Only joking, and a pointless joke to all those who don't remember when there used to be weighing machines at train stations.

[magictoy]

230 this morning, in the buff.

Wonder if there will be more contributions after New Year's.

[tokaok]

229lbs this morning, compared to 245 2 months ago.

still on track

[Moonduck]

Not a terribly active thread, but I'll toss a post here.

April of last year I was diagnosed with Hypertension. Not surprising, considering I weighed 316lbs (at 5'11") and was almost entirely sedentary. The hypertension was bad enough that the doc slapped me on meds and told me not to exercise. Seems that I was in danger of a BP spike causing a stroke. Yay.

Needless to say, that whole not-wanting-to-die thing was a moivator. Since then, I've lost about 80lbs. the first half was through diet alone. I basically went on Atkins, with some modifiers. I did not believe the hoopla about all sorts of fats being okay, so I made sure that I concentrated on healthier fats, and ate way more fiber tha suggested (I'm a nut for salads). It works. I dropped weight like crazy.

When my weight and BP were more stabilised, I bought a mountain bike and took up biking, generally 3-4 days a week. I preferred trail to road, but did whichever I could, given time constraints.

A combination of things caused me to back off of cycling. While it mad eme lose weight, I realised that I was also losing some muscle. I really don't want to be weak, so I took up weightlifting again. I did it way back in High School and enjoyed it then. Got out of it for stupid reasons, and am kicking myself, as I'd forgotten how much I enjoy it. I now train 3-4 days a week and catch the odd trail ride once a month or so (though it is WAY too cold right now).

My weight, perhaps unfortunately, has stabilised. I'm pretty solidly stuck fluctating between 233lbs and 241lbs. It goes up and down. Right now, I think it is going up because of muscle gain. This doesn't bother too awful much, as gain due to muscle is good, but I would still like to drop more body fat.

I'd set a goal to be under 220lbs, but I'm starting to think that it ain't gonna happen. So I am contemplating a new goal solely based on body composition, and ignoring the scale. I've been tracking my waist, and thus my body fat, and paying more attention to that. Add that in to my goals vis a vis weightlifting, and I have some solid metrics to track success.

And that is really the core of my experience. The big thing I've learned is to set goals and drive for them HARD! I attack the trails when I ride and assault the weights when I lift. I look at food as fuel, and choose things that will help me to go faster, harder, and longer. It has been an eye-opener for me, and I've realised some stupendous gains from it.

April '06
Weight: 316lbs
Body fat: somewhere appraoching 40%

February '07
Weight 239lbs
Body fat: somewhere around 20%

October '06 (when I started lifting)
Bench Press: 135lbs
Deadlift: 220lbs

February '07
Bench press: 230lbs (I manage to still suck at the bench, but I've made huge improvements)
Deadlift: 410lbs

Set goals; strive for them.

Throw out all the bad food in your house; don't buy any more bad food.

Don't drink empty calories (soda, alcohol).

Don't eat empty calories (bread, pasta, sweets)

Move. That's it, get up and move around, preferably while moving heavy shit.

Cheat, every once in a while. A Monster Burger once in three months won't kill you, and it may well keep you sane.

You can do it. Here's hoping I can continue to do it =)

[magictoy]

Nice post, Moonduck. We're of similar philosophies, although I don't bike.

If you read my prior post, on Nov. 17 I was 249.

This morning, I was 217. I'm getting compliments. My BP was 123/79.

A note of encouragement, and a note of caution: You've done very well so far, but at 5'11", very few people are "large-framed" enough to carry 220. Keep pushing for the weight loss. Diet and exercise will definitely do it. Also, unless steroids are involved, depending on your age, 5 lbs of muscle in a year is a very significant gain. I like your attitude on body composition, but it's unlikely that muscle gain is keeping your weight up much. Much more probable is that your body has hit a plateau, and you just have to break through it.

And be careful with the dead lifting! An injury can really throw you off track.

Kudos on a job well done so far.

[Moonduck]

Thanks for the feedback.

I'm thinking it is a plateau as well, as I've been sitting at it for a while now (almost two months, very frustrating). I mentioned muscle gain because that is a recent change and is tracking along with some serious strength gains (FrEx, I hit 245lbs on the bench last night, up 15lbs from two weeks ago). When the weight goes up, but the pants fit the same, I call it muscle gain. Could be wrong, I could just be finding new and interesting ways to depost fat *shrug*

As to 220, again *shrug*. I weighed about 220# throughout muc of high school, and I was rather seriously active then, as well as having a lower body fat % overall. I have slightly in excess of 8" wrists, and that is a damned good sign that I can honestly claim to be "big-boned".

The problem with the plateau is that i worry that I've dieted too long and I've gone into a protracted metabolic slow-down. I say that largely because my cold tolerance is almost entirely gone. I complain about chilly temps nearly as much as my chronically low BP wife. I've read more than a few articles that say that extended caloric deprivation can cause said slow-downs as an autonomic defense mechanism. A slow metabolism is actively counterproductive at this point, so I need to figure out ways to ramp it back up.

And deadlifting is very safe when done correctly. I make sure that I don't lift to failure, or eve to exhaustion. High weight sets are done to low reps and with solid rest periods in between. Injuries happen when you get sloppy, and exhaustion is the leading cause of sloppy lifts. My back and knees feel better than they have in ten years, and I can honestly say that smart lifting is the reason.

The next experiment in metabolism-boosting will be short, intense workouts added in on otherwise non-lifting days, consisting of barbell complexes. These are well known to ramp up metabolism, frequently for hours afterwards, so I'm going to give it a shot for a few weeks and see how it does. For now, I'm only going to add in one extra workout a week like this, as I don't want to stress the system too much.

[magictoy]

Sounds like you've got a very good handle on things. Perhaps a change in eating habits would help as well. It's difficult (timewise) to eat 5-6 small meals a day, but that is supposed to help with the metabolic problem you describe.

[magictoy]

I don't want this thread to die, so even if this bump goes into my last post, I'm making it anyway.

Comparison of 11/17/06 to today, 2/16/07:

BP                     140/90                  130/80
Glucose                 107                      101
Total Cholesterol       225                      149
Triglycerides           151                       84
HDL                      36                       36
LDL                     159                       96
Chol/HDL                6.3                      4.1
Weight                  249                      216

I'm not finished, but I was very pleasantly surprised about the cholesterol. Not bad for someone over 50.

[P-Naughty]

20 months, 200 pounds. The first 180 took about 14 months. The rest has been a bitch.

But anyways, 445 to 245

BEFORE:
Spring break 05



AFTER:
December 06


Halloween 06

[Moonduck]

Bravo! That's some serious body comp change!

On my own front, I have been working on the metabolism. Both by increase in NEPA (Non-Exercise Physical Activity) and an increase in calories. While it has caused my weight to creep up a bit more, my cold tolerance has gotten way better. The barbell complexes on off days turned into a recovery nightmare, so I cut those back. I did up my training days slightly, but I still need more rest than I am getting.

I am possibly going to undergo a major sea change in my training. We'll see this weekend. I found an oly lifting club local enough to me to be realistically doable. The coach is a professional, with serious programs, requirements, etc. As oly lifting is something I really dig, I may join this club. If I do, I expect a change in workouts, GPP, etc.

Even if I don't, I picked up John Berardi's Precision Nutrition, and my wife and I are going to give that program a serious go. I'll report how it runs and how it works.

[magictoy]

Amazing work, naughty.

I'm slowing down. I think my body needs a shakeup. Can't seem to drop below 215, although I'm in much better shape now.

Any tips for breaking through those plateaus?

P.S. How tall are you? You certainly don't look like you're 245 in your "after" pictures.

[Mister Coaster]

BUMP: Because I need it!

Brief history... In 2005 I went on a diet. (all chronicled in this topic) Lost 112 lbs. That took me to 198, as of yesterday morning, after yo-yo-ing for several months, I have gained HALF of it back and was 254. Very drpressing, yet motivating at the same time.

I started up the weight loss machine yesterday and will keep y'all posted weekly, others who are trying to do the same, please jump in.

[Mister Coaster]

So it's been a week, and here's my weigh-in... 245 That's a 9 pound loss in a week. I think this is pretty typical of someone just starting a diet after falling into the bad habbits, then doing a 180. I'm sure it will slow down again once my body adjusts to what I'm putting into it again.

Come on folks, I know there are more of you out there on a diet!

[snowy]

Starting weight: 195 lbs. (January, 2007)
Current weight: 147 lbs. (August, 2007)
Goal weight: 135 lbs.
Starting body fat percentage: 42%
Current body fat percentage: 35%
Goal body fat percentage: 20%
Starting pants size: 14
Current pants size: 8

12 pounds to go, and with those 12 pounds I've been focusing more on improving my body composition.

The last ones are always the hardest, supposedly, so wish me luck!

[Mister Coaster]

Way to go, snowy. And I don't mean to pry, but when we met up in Seattle about a year ago, what were you then, because you cretianly didn't look anywhere near the 190's.

[maleficent]

impressive loss there, snowy... really well done...

[Strange Famous]

Im the exact same weight I was when I made this post...

ach.

[maleficent]

well you didn't gain any so you could take that as a positive

[snowy]

Originally Posted by Mister Coaster

Way to go, snowy. And I don't mean to pry, but when we met up in Seattle about a year ago, what were you then, because you cretianly didn't look anywhere near the 190's.

Well, I was probably between 180-185 when we met up. I can be pretty heavy and still not look terribly chubby--I have a large chest and I'm tall, so that helps. But I look very different now.

[Strange Famous]

Im gonna start going to diet classes this week... I have a reason / motivation beyond the general "its a lot healthier" stuff... we'll see if it works.

My start weight will be about 315 lbs... (and I'm 5 10)

[Nimbletoe]

Starting Weight: 338 Pounds (June 7th, 2007)
Current Weight: 301 Pounds (August 22nd, 2007)

I'm 22, and when I stepped on that scale and saw 338 at the doctors, followed by getting test results indicating I was at super high risk for things like diabetes, it pretty much scared the shit out of me. That, and I am tired of not having a social life... or at least, the kind of one I'd like to have.

I started out just modifying my diet. Then I slowly added in working out. I got busy with work over the past few weeks, so my progress slowed down since I couldn't make it to the gym much, but that's over with so now I can make it 5 times a week, so things should pick up again.

I'm 1 pound (curses!) from my first goal, getting to 300. I just started lifting this week along with the cardio as well, so I'm excited.

[Mister Coaster]

I suppose some people would consider going under the knife and being forced to eat essentially nothing for a few days to be cheating, but that (as the title of this board suggests) is life.

As of this morning I'm down to 232, a 22 lb. loss, 32 to go.

[snowy]

146...1 pound in a week, sounds a little slow but I'll take it!

I broke my nose last week and so I've been waiting for it to heal before I resume working out--I broke so many blood vessels in my nose I've been afraid to blow another one. Needless to say, I won't be playing contact sports for a while.

[Nimbletoe]

Bump! I was updating pictures on my myspace page just now, and saw for the first time what a drastic difference a loss of 61 pounds makes.

May 07
Fatme!.jpg

October 07
Thinme!.jpg

Thinking about the differences in my life in those two pictures is pretty insane. In the first one, I was depressed, living in the middle of nowhere away from everyone I cared about... basically hopeless. Now though, I feel a LOT better about myself in many ways, live in a much better situation, and things seem to just be coming together.

I still have a long ways to go (around 100 pounds is my estimate), but I just wanted to thank everyone here for the encouraging stories and great advice. I know I'm mostly a lurker, but everyone that has contributed to this forum has helped a great deal. Here's to the next 60!

EDIT: The same facial expression on the two pictures was a complete coincidence, and something I just noticed. Perhaps I should try smiling?

[LadySin]

Wow, I like this thread. I just got done with my daily routine I started about a week ago. So I suppose I will start here too.

Current Weight: 220lbs
Goal Weight: Unknown
Current Size: 18
Goal Size: 14

I have only lost about 5 lbs in the last few weeks, but thats better than nothing. I quit smoking and drinking over a month ago. I haven't had a soda in 2 months. And Im trying to eat healthier as well. But I am a snack lover. Anyone got any suggestions for some low fat snacks? (Other than the obvious veggies and fruit)

And mass congratulations to everyone on here losing all those pounds!! At least now I know it can really be done. You guys look awesome!

Oh and Nimbletoe... yes, you could smile. *grin*

[pejay1]

I agree, this is a great thread. My wife and I started an exercise routine at the local YMCA. We do different aerobics classes 3-4 times daily.

My motivation, having horrible cholesterol and I am in my early 30's.

Starting Weight = 235 lbs
Current Weight = 225 lbs

I would love it if I could get down to 200 lbs.

[Strange Famous]

Well

I started dieting again just before Xmas

on Dec 15th I was 320 lbs

Today Im 304 lbs

And today... 300.5 lbs

[Ustwo]

Since this thread started I went....

Down 15, down 5, down 10, up 12, up 10, down 5 (each period was a time where I was actively weighing myself or noting I got fat and paying attention).

I'm hoping to lose about 10 more again, 205 is where I wanna be.