Being less fat RMFO!

[Widescreen]

As of today, I've lost 40 lbs since 1/9. I've still got 20 lbs to go to get to my target weight though. :(

[Fugue]

less fat, spek.

[colleyvillesooner]

What's your secret?

[jk the sooner fan]

dude, thats awesome

how did you do it

[NormanPride]

No kidding! I'm working out a lot more now, but haven't had NEARLY that success. That's bordering on dangerous. ;)

[Jimminy Crimson]

tapeworm? ;)

[ChickSoonerFan]

You gonna change your screen name to flatscreen? :D

[Howzit]

http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/products/front/my-stapler.jpg

;)

[Widescreen]

Flatscreen would be good. If I was a woman, not so much. :P

A little background: I've always kind of scoffed at most of the diet plans out there because it always seemed to me that weight gain/loss should really be a simple function of calorie intake vs. calorie burning. However, this didn't give me motivation to do anything about it. I donated blood last spring and found out my cholesterol was at 255, which I knew was way out of line. Still, it took seeing pictures of me at various holiday events to realize I looked like a 50% Robert Allen. A weird phenomenon I've noticed about myself is that if I look at myself in the mirror, I think I look OK but when I see video or photos, I'm shocked at what I see. So after the holidays I decided I was finally going to do something about it.

Previously I sat at a desk all day and then went home and did nothing. I usually ate a large lunch and a large dinner plus some snacks. This wasn't a good recipe for weight management. So on 1/9, I started with the following simple plan:

1. For lunch, eat a small salad with oil dressing. This typically only included lettuce, some broccoli, a little cheese and a part of a hard-boiled egg for protein. When I describe the salad as 'small', I mean roughly the size of my fist. And yes, it is pretty bland with oil dressing but being serious about losing weight this time and the fact that the weight keeps coming off keeps me motivated. For dinner, I basically eat what my family eats, but a small portion. Usually this consists of some kind of meat and some kind of vegetable and/or fruit. If I eat breakfast at all (and many days I don't), it's a fruit smoothie. I'm not taking any additional vitamin supplements although that would probably be a good thing to start doing.

2. The only snack I've had is some pretzels. They're a low cholesterol food and are fairly filling. I don't worry too much about the salt because of #3.

3. Treadmill every single day. I've worked my way up to 4-5 miles of fast walk/jog every day. This has probably been the least pleasant part of it because jogging and treadmilling are some of the most boring things I've ever done. Fortunately the treadmill is in our theater so I can watch TV/movies while I do it. Typically this all translates into an hour or so a night on the treadmill.

That's it. I've basically gone from eating whatever I wanted whenever I wanted, and eating as much as I wanted and not exercizing at all, to the above steps. As I mentioned above, the progress in the weight loss is a huge motivator for me. My goal is to get down to my target weight as quickly as I can so I can start living my life a bit more normally. I'll never go back to the way I was (at least I hope not) but I plan on watching my weight and if I gain a few pounds, spend a few days working it back down again rather than ignoring it and ballooning up.

By the way, after 4 weeks I donated blood and found out my cholesterol was at 188. :D

Edit: My family's reaction has been funny. Every time they see me they're kind of in shock, although they're very complimentary. All except my wife. She told me last night that it's ****ing her off because she always thought she was better than me and I'm making her look bad. :D

[Widescreen]

http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/products/front/my-stapler.jpg

;)
That would've been the easier way, for sure!

[achiro]

What are you eating for breakfast and dinner? Any other meals during the day? Are you eating/taking anything with any nutritional content besides the broccoli?

[Widescreen]

Good point. I forgot to mention the rest of my meals. I'll update my post above.

[NormanPride]

Flatscreen would be good. If I was a woman, not so much. :P

A little background: I've always kind of scoffed at most of the diet plans out there because it always seemed to me that weight gain/loss should really be a simple function of calorie intake vs. calorie burning. However, this didn't give me motivation to do anything about it. I donated blood last spring and found out my cholesterol was at 255, which I knew was way out of line. Still, it took seeing pictures of me at various holiday events to realize I looked like a 50% Robert Allen. A weird phenomenon I've noticed about myself is that if I look at myself in the mirror, I think I look OK but when I see video or photos, I'm shocked at what I see. So after the holidays I decided I was finally going to do something about it.

Previously I sat at a desk all day and then went home and did nothing. I usually ate a large lunch and a large dinner plus some snacks. This wasn't a good recipe for weight management. So on 1/9, I started with the following simple plan:

1. For lunch, eat a small salad with oil dressing. This typically only included lettuce, some broccoli, a little cheese and a part of a hard-boiled egg for protein. When I describe the salad as 'small', I mean roughly the size of my fist. And yes, it is pretty bland with oil dressing but being serious about losing weight this time and the fact that the weight keeps coming off keeps me motivated.

2. The only snack I've had is some pretzels. They're a low cholesterol food and are fairly filling. I don't worry too much about the salt because of #3.

3. Treadmill every single day. I've worked my way up to 4-5 miles of fast walk/jog every day. This has probably been the least pleasant part of it because jogging and treadmilling are some of the most boring things I've ever done. Fortunately the treadmill is in our theater so I can watch TV/movies while I do it. Typically this all translates into an hour or so a night on the treadmill.

That's it. I've basically gone from eating whatever I wanted whenever I wanted, and eating as much as I wanted and not exercizing at all, to the above steps. As I mentioned above, the progress in the weight loss is a huge motivator for me. My goal is to get down to my target weight as quickly as I can so I can start living my life a bit more normally. I'll never go back to the way I was (at least I hope not) but I plan on watching my weight and if I gain a few pounds, spend a few days working it back down again rather than ignoring it and ballooning up.

By the way, after 4 weeks I donated blood and found out my cholesterol was at 188. :D

Edit: My family's reaction has been funny. Every time they see me they're kind of in shock, although they're very complimentary. All except my wife. She told me last night that it's ****ing her off because she always thought she was better than me and I'm making her look bad. :D

Sounds like you're doing it the right way! Do you just take the salad to work in a little tupperware container, or what?

Oh, and if you really want to keep the weight off, you've gotta maintain the small lunch/treadmill regimen for the rest of time. Otherwise it'll all come back...

[Widescreen]

Sounds like you're doing it the right way! Do you just take the salad to work in a little tupperware container, or what?
We have a cafeteria at work with a salad bar. So I just build my salad here. It usually costs between $1.00 and $1.30.


Oh, and if you really want to keep the weight off, you've gotta maintain the small lunch/treadmill regimen for the rest of time. Otherwise it'll all come back...
Well, I'm hoping to be able to bounce around in a 10lb window for the rest of my life where I eat more of the things I want to eat and then back off again. I anticipate continuing to exercise from now out but maybe not every single day like I've been doing. I'm sure it will be trial-and-error as I move forward. Right now I'm still in massive weight-loss mode and I will be for another 20lbs or so.

Incidentally, my son is about 52lbs. It's going to be weird when I hit that point and I realize I just stripped a 6 year old kid's worth of weight off my body. :eek:

[Widescreen]

Alright Beyonces, I'm up to 60 lbs lost. I'm basically at my target weight but I want to convert some remaining flab into mussels. W00t!

[GottaHavePride]

Mix up the workouts. swim laps instead of the treadmill.

[BlondeSoonerGirl]

WTG, you!!!!

[handcrafted]

Just call him SlimScreen. :D

[Howzit]

Nice going, K. Great commitment.

[Dio]

Good jorb, Widescreen.

[OU4LIFE]

60 lbs would rock.

I'm currently at 17 lbs and counting.

[BlondeSoonerGirl]

60 lbs would rock.

I'm currently at 17 lbs and counting.


'...I don't think you applyin' yourself, Smokey...'

[Howzit]

60 lbs would rock.

I'm currently at 17 lbs and counting.

And that's prolly just water weight from crying when you bit your tongue.

[12]

60 lbs would rock.

I'm currently at 17 lbs and counting.

You can clear 17 lbs EASY with a shave.

[Widescreen]

Thanks everyone. I can honestly say I haven't felt this good since college. While I'm sleepy when I go to bed, I'm not physically exhausted - which is a huge improvement. My cholesterol is down in the 130's and my BP is in the 120/75 range.

Now I just need Hoozit to give me some pointers on how to look awesome in those little revealing jogging shorts things.

Edit: My wife reminded me the other day that our 20 year high school reunion is this summer. Just like in high school, I'm going to have to explain to all the ladies that I'm off-limits. And by that, I mean I'll feel good if they say 'hi' to me.

[FaninAma]

Good job. BTW, if you have a spouse and kids get them involved with a family weight control program.

[sooneron]

You're saying that you've lost about 60 lbs this year!!!

THAT IS SICK!

[Widescreen]

Good job. BTW, if you have a spouse and kids get them involved with a family weight control program.
What's that?

[mrowl]

Congrats Widescreen!

Its amazing what eating less and exercising does!