I recently found a health assessment from 1996. According to it, I weighed 167 and had a body fat percentage of 20%. I was running with Marty and Gary and I got into decent shape, running 4 miles three times a week. That lasted about a year.
A lot of time has passed and I am now 200 lbs and who knows what % body fat. Frankly, I will be very happy to lose any weight. I haven't been 190 in a few years, and I certainly haven't seen 180 in about 7 years. 165-170 would be a good range to shoot for. I'm only 5'7", so in theory I could get down to 150. I haven't seen 150 since college (about 17 years ago). I really enjoy playing volleyball and basketball and I'd obviously play much better (ok, my friends might say I would still suck) if I lost a bunch of weight.
I even have financial incentive. I pay $90 per month for life insurance because I'm so overweight that I'm in the same category as a smoker. It would only cost $30 per month if I lost 30 lbs. I could save $720 per year and buy my kids 3 more minutes at college.
Here's where you can help: Please read this blog and post comments. Trash talk, encouraging words, harassment, support, ridicule, advice, anything is fair game. I will post all my exercise and every single thing that I eat.
I have slightly improved over the last 6 months. I eat a huge salad for lunch a couple of days a week and I rarely eat breakfast from McDonald's. That might not sound like much of an achievement, but I was eating crap for breakfast a couple of times a week and crap for lunch every day. I've been playing volleyball once a week. I've gotten into the gym sporadically. We have a fitness center at work so there is no excuse. The guys also play basketball at lunch time several days a week, and I've felt like I needed to get into better shape to play, but no more excuses.
Here's the plan:
- Exercise at least 5 days a week.
- Use the stairs at work (I'm on the fourth floor).
- No fast food.
- Limited sweets.
- No junk food.
- Cut down on snacks on poker night.
- Eat yogurt, fruit, or granola bars for breakfast.
- Actually eat breakfast.
- Eat salads for lunch as much as possible.
- Eat more of the healthy stuff at dinner and less fattening food.
- Drink lots of water. I'm always dehydrated.
- Drink green tea.
- Cut back on beer.
This list is pretty funny. I'm on the 4th floor at work and in the first year, used the stairs once. I'm totally out of breath when I get to the 4th.
Before writing this post, after my conversation with Paul, I came home and jogged for 20 minutes. It was a nice cool night, about 58 degrees. It felt great (and awful). Then I drove my car to check the distance, and it was only 1.6 miles, so I tried to jog more, but I'd already drunk about a gallon of water, and only did 2 more minutes and .2 more miles. But that's farther than I've run in about 10 years, so it's a start. The total was 1.8 miles in 22 minutes.
I'll post my progress daily (except maybe on weekends) - if I don't, bug me!
- schneid
11 comments:
I lost weight by (a) going to grad school, which involves a lot of campus walking; (b) going to grad school, which involves a lot of poverty; (c) marrying someone 15 years ago who turned out to love cooking healthy things; and (d) eliminating Pop-Tarts, my food of choice for all-nighters. But there are a number of folks at school who have started running and playing and doing things I haven't done since I hurt my knee in '94.
I'm not ready to alter my physical activity (even if I should), but I will try to do some sympathy beverage avoidance with you. Not a beer drinker myself, but I easily consume 1-3 Cokes a day (for that super cold drink sensation and the need for caffeine to keep me awake). I'll try capping it at no more than 1 per day and see how that goes.
Mike - You might want to consider a program/book called Body for Life by Bill Phillips. It is a 12 week program that incorporates both an excercise and meal program. I lost 20 lbs in the 12 weeks. The best part, is that there is one "free" day every week, in which he encourages you to eat whatever you want. At the beginning of the program, I found myself going wild on these free days, by the end of the program, I might have a slice a pizza, but was under control, because it did not feel good to eat that much. I have the book if you want to borrow it.
Another hint: when playing cards, everytime you fold a hand, hop on the treadmill until the next hand starts.
Marc
I guess you are fat! I am 5'8", 185 lb and thinking I could lose aobut 20 lbs. So, I will do some friendly harrassing at TNP!
JT-TNP
Kevin,
I drink diet soda and the regular sugary stuff tastes to sweet to me now. But I've been trying to cut down even on the diet soda - all that acid isn't good for you. Now I drink one big cup of coffee in the morning (lots of antioxidants), one soda at lunch time, and one soda late in the afternoon. But sometimes "one soda" is 32 oz which is way too much. Good luck capping your soda intake. That will be hard. You might consider switching to diet - I know that regular soda drinkers hate diet, but try diet Dr. Pepper, that's pretty good.
- schneid
Marc,
Thanks, I'll take a look at that. Having one day (or at least one meal) a week where I can eat whatever I want would help a lot...something to look forward to. Please bring the book to TNP - but I won't be there until next week.
- schneid
Jim,
5'8"? That's questionable...maybe you are shrinking in your old age! When I get down below your weight, then I can start harassing you!
- schneid
I also got support by email from Paul J., John D., Bob H., and Westy. Thanks guys! Of course, I don't know how helpful Bob's comments were about how he is 6', 160 lbs but wants to get into shape. :)
- schneid
Mr. Schneider, I've done a little weight loss myself recently. In fact, my wife thinks I look like a sack of bones right now and feared for my health. Pending the blood tests and all which I should hear about next week, I think I know why I lost about 20 or so pounds over the past four months without trying specifically to do so.
First of all, it helps having a toddler who is really finding her legs. Aubrey is 18 months now, and my weight loss began, as far as we can figure, when she was about 14 months old. At that point, I was probably still close to what I am guessing was my 190 - 200 pound peak weight. I weigh 170 now, which feels much better on my 6' frame. (Did I mention that I measured 6'1 1/4" in high school? Where the hell did that extra 1 1/4" go?!?!)
Beyond a *slightly* less sedentary lifestyle (I moved in May and began walking a few blocks most evenings with my wife and daughter once we found ourselves in a neighborhood that was much friendlier than our old one), I also began eating smaller portions with my dinner and eating earlier (around 5:30 pm as opposed to 8:00 pm). These small changes, according to my doctor, are able to account for quite a bit.
I do want to HIGHLY DISSUADE you from counting your calories, however. Just don't do it unless you are chronically obese. But be aware of this: your salad dressing is something you should cut out completely. Try a chopped salad, where the juices of the vegetables actually make their own dressing quite nicely and calorie free - add a touch of balsamic dressing and *maybe* a drizzle of olive oil and you are golden. It might take a few bites to get used to the lack of creamy goodness, but it makes a huge difference in your healthy food intake.
And while you are at it, here are a few beverage suggestions. Stop drinking beer except for one on a day PRIOR to working out. Beer is great for exercise since it is loaded with good carbs, but it is hell on your body if you are sedentary. On the other hand, it is a diarrhetic, so you need one full glass of H2O for each beer you consume, plus one for each 20 minutes or so you are working out, all in addition to your regular water intake.
Which brings us to the need for water in weight loss. I knew a guy who lost about 200 pounds by drinking over a gallon a day and cutting out all carbs. Didn't seem like a healthy choice to me entirely, but he wanted really fast results. After he achieved his goal of being fiendishly skinny, he began eating more fruit and grains and such. High protein diets can be murder on your liver, so watch out for that, but the truth is that water flushes fat out of your system so if you consume more of it you should slim down faster. Don't drink too much that you are uncomfortable, though, because you can actually drink too much water, too. Doubt you have to worry about that, though.
As for sodas, replace them with bubbly water that contains fruit oil or fruit essence — do NOT allow any sugar or sugar substitute into your beverages and you will also see a difference. Diet sodas are a sham and are generally unhealthy for you, anyway, so please stop polluting your body. You should drink water with all your meals and only a small juice or milk to compliment them as needed. Anything else you drink is doing your body a disservice. A tasty disservice, perhaps, but that is another issue.
Bottom line:
Keep your foods as close to their natural state as possible. Eat reasonable portions earlier in the evening. Drink lots of water. Exercise regularly, even if only moderately. (Aggressive exercise does not equate weight loss, though it is probably good for your heart and looking more manly.)
Following the options above, I weigh what I did when I was in my most fit stage of my 20s and barely more than I did when I was 18, though I don't have quite the muscle definition I did at 25. I feel fantastic, certainly lighter on my feet, and have the best energy levels I have had in years. I do hope the same for you in your quest! I am sure if you want it, you'll get it. Walk whenever you get the chance, Mike! And always carry a water with you!
Congratulations on making the public leap. That will certainly help - it creates some amount of accountability. As if you are "reporting to" all your friends.
I recently lost some weight - 25 pounds in five months. I did not go on a specific diet, but did follow two basic rules. Eat in moderation and Exercise.
For me, eating in moderation means not eating when you're not hungry (as opposed to eating because it tastes so good). This usually meant not cleaning my plate, and not snacking because the bag of chips looked good. This was actually pretty easy with the exception of the bowl of ice cream I like to eat at night. Breaking that habit was the hardest. The moderation alone will make a big difference.
Exercise kind of goes without saying. I started pretty simple, however. I did roughly 100 situps and 100 pushups every day, and I gave up the elevator (I'm on the eighth floor). I didn''t obsess over the exercise if I had done those simple things during the day.
Some other things I did that helped...
1. Buy a scale. Weigh yourself every single day at the same time and write it down. This is both depressing and rewarding depending where you are (there will be long droughts so be prepared). I used a permanent marker and wrote the weights in a vertical column on my bathroom mirror. This drove Melissa crazy, but visual reminders help keep you motivated and make you feel better as you see the numbers drop. I also put it on a wiki my family uses. You could do something similar with your blog.
2. I didn't diet every day of the week. You clearly enjoy drinking and eating good food. Don't change your personality to make this happen. The solution is a compromise, and it worked well for me.
3. Write down the goal and the reward where you'll see it every day. My place was our wiki and the mirror.
BTW, your plan looks too aggressive to me. If you try to make drastic changes overnight, you may find yourself getting burned out. Ease into it, but kill the bad habits immediately - like drinking soda.
I really appreciate all the advice. I really agree with Greg - it's all about moderation and exercise. Diets are stupid, especially stuff like Atkins. I know Atkins works (I've done it), but it's not healthy. I am going to eat less, and eat more healthy foods. I'm going to exercise. Obviously consuming fewer calories and burning more calories will make me lose weight.
No salad dressing - no way. I can do a simple oil and vinegar. I can make a yummy ranch dressing with a packet of ranch and either yogurt, nonfat sour cream, or nonfat mayonnaise, which will only be about 40 calories per tbsp maximum. I can fit that into my diet. Otherwise, I will get sick of the salads.
As for beer, sure, it's good for your heart health and preventing strokes. But the sugar in beer is maltose and goes to the bloodstream faster than even sucrose. That's why you get a beer gut. And a beer immediately before exercise is not a good idea. Eating carbs puts your body into storage mode. You want to be in burning mode when you exercise. I've got lots of energy stored here in my body in about 40 lbs of excess fat.
The plan is a little aggressive but that's the only thing that will work for me. I've done it half-assed about 30 times before. My friend Paul lost 70 in 3 months, but he was working out twice a day. I'm really not looking for a specific timeline. If I can build better habits and lose 30-40 lbs eventually, I'll be happy. Hell, if I lose 20 lbs and can maintain it, I'll be happy. But I think I can do better.
Thanks for all the support!
- schneid
I think it's great that you're doing all these things for your health! Better now, when you can make the choices about what you want to change, rather than down the road with a cardiologist telling you to change it ALL. (My dad told me, "What's a cardiologist's diet advice?...If it tastes good, spit it out!")
One way to look at it is building lifetime habits (instead of a diet-gain-diet yo-yo). I have a friend who constantly goes on Atkins, loses 10 lbs., goes off it, gains it back, and on and on. I do better when I think in terms of choices and how I feel rather than as a DIET.
Things that help me: getting protein and 100% whole grain in the morning and getting 100% whole grain instead of refined white flour at at least one other meal. Eating the recommended number of servings of fruits and veg and enough water (it makes me too full to eat junk). I have a massive sweet tooth so I'm not always successful with this. Also, I never eat when I'm online (it's upstairs and I try to keep my home computer cleaner than my work computer). So doing things online, house chores, or going for walks at night help with the late evening urge to snack. I also have this strange aversion to having sugar before lunch, so I never have sugar in my breakfast cereal--I do cereal with dried fruit or oatmeal with apples and raisins. I've also read that getting the recommended daily allowance of calcium, especially via dairy (rather than supplements) can help with weight loss and appetite control. I also avoid trans fats like the plague. (If you need inspiration while you diet, watch Supersize Me. It will turn you off to fast food, no matter how yummy you think it is.)
Also, I've heard that there is a difference between high fructose corn syrup (in MANY snack and processed foods) and sugar--the body does not respond with fullness signals as well with high fructose corn syrup as it does with sugar, meaning that you can wind up eating more. It's also surprising how many things have MSG in them (Doritos, some canned soups, some ranch dressing, etc.)
I have a lot of co-workers (women and men alike) who lost a lot of weight with Weight Watchers, including two men who have kept off more than 30 lbs. I'm not much into plans like that, but they work for some.
If you're increasing your activity, remember to stretch well AFTER the activity and give your body some time off between really hard workouts so you don't get overuse injuries. Also make sure you have a good pair of running shoes. If they're not supporting your feet anymore, they're worn out, even if the soles still look good.
I'm not a big fan of daily weighings--some of the fluctuation from day to day can be water, plus it can be very easy to obsess about the number instead of how you feel. (Muscle weighs more and takes up less space, so the numbers on the scale don't always correspond to body composition.) I think Weight Watchers has people weigh once a week, at approx. the same time of day, wearing similar clothes.
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