Diet-Fitness-General Wellness Your Thoughts?

[DubCoffman62]

 

[jlb1705]

Just had my yearly physical. Since last year's my weight is down 27 pounds and while my LDL is still on the high side, it's down 12 points. Blood pressure went from 120/94 to 110/70.

Bought some new jeans last week, down a size for the second time. I hope that I completely wasted my money. My plan is to wear them for a few weeks, put them away for shorts once the weather turns around, then have to replace them with a smaller size by the time the weather cools back down again in the fall.

My plan with the jeans didn't quite work. I'm down another size already. I've lost 35 lbs. from my all-time high now.

I had done pretty well for much of last year - at one point I had lost nearly thirty pounds. Then I went on vacation, work got really busy, the holidays, etc... gained back about twelve pounds of it as of the end of the year. I got one of those Fitbits for Christmas and it has done it's job for the most part. It tracks things automatically so I don't have to. It served as an ever-present reminder on my wrist to be more active - even if it was something as simple as parking further away from my office or taking the long way to walk somewhere. Throughout the month of January I was more active than I had been even when I was losing weight last year, but was making no progress. I'd go up and down within about a five pound range.

A little over two weeks ago I decided to hit the reset button. Here are the changes I've tried to make lately:

• I realized I had gotten away from drinking enough water. I hadn't gone back to soda or anything like that, but I was about 32-48 oz. a day under what I had been drinking when I was doing well. I cut back on beer.
• Craft beer has become more and more of a hobby for me. I know beer is full of empty calories, but I wasn't aware of just how many are packed into a pint, bottle, snifter, or even a 5oz. taster of the high-gravity good stuff. I also remember reading in this thread how alcohol is prioritized ahead of fats, carbs, protiens, etc. and the implications of that for weight gain. Thanks for that tip to the people who contributed it - that one has stuck with me. I had been drinking a beer or two up to four times a week. I'm now cutting that back to twice a week, never on consecutive days, and never on days where I don't hit my goals for exercise and water consumption.
• I've made some changes in my diet. This goes hand-in-hand with water consumption. I'm trying to incorporate more foods that make me feel full on fewer calories. For breakfast and lunch I'm incorporating more fiber and lean protien - going for things like oatmeal, apples, egg whites, fish, chicken breasts, etc. If I have enough fiber, protein and water before 5PM that day, then I allow myself to eat whatever I want that evening. So far that has worked out well - It doesn't feel like a diet to me, I have less of an urge to snack and when I do eat "whatever I want" I end up eating less of it.
• In addition to the walking for exercise that I was already doing I've started to incorporate some selected body weight exercises and stretches to slowly build strength and flexibility. I am joining a golf league this year and in the past when I've subbed in that league I've had to ride in a cart because walking the course caused me to have pain in my bum knee for days after playing. My goal is to be in good enough shape overall and especially in that knee to be able to walk the course every week. I have a little over a month to go before we tee off.

As of this past Friday I had quickly lost eight pounds and had a lot of momentum. Then I got sick this weekend, and while I hardly ate during that time I was also unable to exercise and my progress stalled. I've been getting back into the swing of things the last couple days and am hoping to get my weight graph back on a downward trend.

I'm down 17 lbs. the point where I described "hitting the reset button" in the above post, just under two months ago. Many of the changes are small, but they've made a big difference in reprogramming my appetite.

 

[exhawg]

My plan with the jeans didn't quite work. I'm down another size already. I've lost 35 lbs. from my all-time high now.

I found a belt to be my best friend. I started at a 44 and now am a 38. I can still get away with most of my 40's and even some of my 42's in a pinch as long as I make sure they don't get bunched up in one spot. Good work.

 

[Bucknut24]

so close to a major milestone...

I'm 2 lbs away from losing 100lbs...pretty sure I've shared my story on here before, but when I get below it, i'll share some more

I'll also post a before and current pic of me

 

[AKAK]

so close to a major milestone...

I'm 2 lbs away from losing 100lbs...pretty sure I've shared my story on here before, but when I get below it, i'll share some more

I'll also post a before and current pic of me

Man, I'd just go run around with a garbage bag on for a while until I got the scale to say what i wanted. Awesome job, man.

I'm on 24, I'm not all that amped for 25, so I'm not cheating... 30 on the other hand.. . (and that's my "official number" its probably a lot bigger, I just, for whatever reason started up before I weighed myself to get that easy/fake 12 or 10 of water weight gone...)

Really awesome.

 

[jlb1705]

I lied about my weight when I got my driver's license renewed back in November. This morning I weighed exactly that amount.

I found a belt to be my best friend. I started at a 44 and now am a 38. I can still get away with most of my 40's and even some of my 42's in a pinch as long as I make sure they don't get bunched up in one spot. Good work.

I hear ya, and good work to you too. The thing for me is, I'm below average height. Going down a size in the waist has also meant going down a size on the inseam as well. For the first time in my life I'm wearing jeans that I don't step on or have to pay to get altered.

 

[Dryden]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/12/us-usa-kroger-chicken-lawsuit-idUSBREA1B1XJ20140212

Kroger accused of being not-so-honest in 'Simple Truth' chicken labels

(Reuters) - Kroger Co, the biggest U.S. supermarket operator, faces a lawsuit claiming it deceived consumers by marketing a store brand as humanely raised chicken products when the animals were raised under standard commercial farming.

The complaint, filed late Tuesday in Superior Court of California in Los Angeles County, is seeking class-action status against Kroger for allegedly misleading California consumers with claims about the grocer's "Simple Truth" premium-priced store brand of chicken.

The "Simple Truth" chicken products are packaged with labeling that stated the animals were raised "in a humane environment" and "cage free," according to the lawsuit.

However, standard industry practice for broiler chickens is to house them inside large buildings, not cages, according to industry experts. The "Simple Truth" chicken products are produced by Perdue Farms, which has followed industry practices such as electric stunning birds prior to slaughter, according to the lawsuit.

Kroger spokesman Keith Dailey said Wednesday that the company had not seen a copy of the complaint and had no comment on the case.

The case highlights the growing tension between food retailers and U.S. consumers, who have become more vocal over how food is produced and marketed to the public.

"Looking to profit from growing consumer awareness of, and concern with, the treatment of farm animals raised for meat production, Kroger engaged in a deceptive and misleading marketing scheme to promote its 'Simple Truth' store brand chicken as having been sourced from chickens raised 'cage free in a humane environment'," according to the complaint.

"In fact, Simple Truth chickens are treated no differently than other mass-produced chickens on the market."

Cont'd ...

 

[exhawg]

Man, I'd just go run around with a garbage bag on for a while until I got the scale to say what i wanted. Awesome job, man.

I'm on 24, I'm not all that amped for 25, so I'm not cheating... 30 on the other hand.. . (and that's my "official number" its probably a lot bigger, I just, for whatever reason started up before I weighed myself to get that easy/fake 12 or 10 of water weight gone...)

Really awesome.

Seriously. Whenever I need to weigh in for something I'll do P90X Plyo or an Insanity workout in sweats and it takes off 4-5 lbs. About a year and a half ago I got down to 237 for a weight loss competition at work when I probably actually weighed 242ish. I've been fighting to get back there ever since. 245 now, but probably less fat than I was back then. I'd like to get down under 230 by July when I go on vacation. So far this year I turned $75 into $170 on dietbet.com so that has provided a little extra motivation.

 

[buxfan4life]

My son turns 17 this year. He used to play soccer every year from 6 years old until he was 15, so he was getting some exercise for at least part of the year, but he never really got into any other sports. Well, he joined the HS ROTC program this school year, and has also discovered that he is more interested in girls than he is in video games now (YES!!!! **fist pump**). So, now that he is coming of age, he decided to start going with his mother (my ex) to the gym every morning. She is a personal trainer, and yesterday made the kid puke for the first time doing cardio and she felt horrible until he cleaned himself up and said to her "OK, mom, what's next?"

 

[Bucknut24]

it's official, stepped on the scale, 230

100 lbs have been shed

 

[jlb1705]

Been walking the golf course in my league pain-free so far this year. Part of it is thanks to weight loss, part of it thanks to the leg work I've been doing lately, and part of it thanks to the knee brace I've been wearing. I have one more pain-free round to go before I can reward myself with the new push cart that I promised myself.

Things have been going so well that I decided to start running a little bit earlier than I had planned. That has worked out well so far. I was sore earlier in the week, but my knee felt perfect. Most days I walk on a track, and so now I've started running a lap for every two I walk. That has worked out well and I'm think about dialing that up a notch for next week. I don't think I'm near my limits from a respiratory standpoint yet, which came as a surprise to me. Even when I was younger and less out of shape I was never much of a runner and couldn't keep my breath.

I saw a picture of myself from three years ago yesterday. I was so fucking fat - even just in my face. I still have a long way to go to get to where I want to be, but it's nice to see an evident change in appearance like that.

 

[THEWOOD]

Anyone here do the OSU triathlon yesterday?

 

[jlb1705]

Did the BTN 5K in Chicago this morning. It's the first time I ran a race completely - no stopping, no walking, no intervals. I killed it, too - new PR for pace. I've been building toward this for a couple months and it feels good to accomplish it. Now I need to figure out what to work toward next.

Also, I won Cubs tickets in a raffle after the race. I guess I'll be coming back at some point in the next couple months.

 

[Bucknut24]

bought me a nutribullet the other day for only $45

need good recipes now

 

[Buckeneye]

Did the BTN 5K in Chicago this morning. It's the first time I ran a race completely - no stopping, no walking, no intervals. I killed it, too - new PR for pace. I've been building toward this for a couple months and it feels good to accomplish it. Now I need to figure out what to work toward next.

Also, I won Cubs tickets in a raffle after the race. I guess I'll be coming back at some point in the next couple months.

That's a fine accomplishment. Especially the PR, awesome job. Sorry about the Cubby tickets though