My (and your) big, fat ass
 

Actually, in my case my ass is still pretty buff, but the rest of me is enveloped by a carpet of fat that I was pretty fucking shocked to see in a recent photo of me at the beach. Fri-ten-ing.

I also have noticed what appears to be a pronounced gut developing. This is not how I want to spend the rest of my life. This morning my BIL and I went to the local diner for breakfast and I noticed that, at 6 feet and 220# I was by far the slimmest person in the diner. Every person in there, myself included was obese by any metric.

This has to stop now.

How do you eat and elephant? One bite at a time. Or a journey of 10,000 miles is taken a step at a time. (until you get to the airport and discover that the plane is on a tread mill, so instead while you are killing time waiting for another flight you go outside to do a bit of squirrel hunting...)

So, one bite at a time. I began thinking about this because it always made me feel defeated, even before I started, to hear things like "you just need to exercise" or "join a gym." All very effective, I'm sure, but vague-sounding, and in pst experinces I'd work my ass off at the gym only to discover that I hadn't even burned off one snickers bar. And the whole thing sucked.

Out of curiosity, I looked up just how many calories I need to burn to lose a pound. (3500) and I thought, well, I could certainly create a 3500 calorie a week deficit without even noticing it. Much. And if I could do that for 52 weeks, I would lose 52 pounds. In theory. I know there are adjustments to be made as weight comes off.

So that's my plan, to reduce just one pound per week, or 500 calorie deficit per day, by a) watching what I eat, and b) cycling an hour a day.

This will be my weekly check in page. I aim to keep it simple and achievable. At 220# (nearly 16 stone for you bog trotters) 60 minutes of cycling at 15mph avg equals about 1000 calories.

I'm looking at this as training for this ride, next year. I did it twice in my 20s

photos:http://100-200.org/2012Ride.htm

Leave my big fat ass outta this.

Foot, I highly recco myfitnesspal.com

You can plan, graph, count calories and see your results.

Friend me, ill try to get in on this with you.

Yeah, I used myfitnesspal.com too. It was really helpful.

I'd also recommend that if you're only a bit over weight, you'll probably drop most of it simply by knocking off carbs and fats for a while. Those are the killers. Just eat salad, veges and proteins mostly with the odd treat every now and then. It's usually a very effective way for men to lose weight and pretty quickly too.

Good luck with it. I'll be back on the treadmill as soon as this little alien pops out. :)

done

I had my annual physical last week. Doc says my cholesterol is the best its been since we started watching it 5 years ago. <w00t>

I've been getting 4 cardio workouts per week this summer 2 bike / 2 fence. My weight is okay as I've cut my portions a bit as well. Do it as simply as you can.

I went with the "bigger engine burns more fuel" approach. Slow start, but seems to be working now. They key is doing something , something that you can sustain. Me, I'm no good at dieting, but I can work out.

My weight is not where I want it either. Just that I want to gain some weight, not lose it. 180cms 68 kgs. 5'11" & 150# I've found a few things that have helped.

First is to get a set of digital scales accurate to 100 grams. I began weighing morning and night and found that the morning weights were more variable so I settled for evening weights. I write each evening's weight on a piece of paper and keep a running tally. If I did something notable, such as a big hike or missing lunch, I record that. This fairly quickly clued me in to what actually produces changes in weight, and I could focus on those behaviours. You have to be careful, though, not to mistake a bit of dehydration or a belly full of water for a weight change.

The other thing is to actually write down everything you eat for a few days, then analyse it to see how much protein, carbs, energy etc you're getting from each source. Most foods have this on the packet, but for fresh stuff, the internet has it all. Estimating portion size is a bit tricky. This allows you to target certain foods as being helpful and others as being unhelpful.

I'm just gonna throw this out here:

A Jewish mother was walking down the street and as she passed a bum he said to her, "Lady, I haven't eaten in three days." She looked down at him and said, "I wish I had your willpower."

Zen, if foot uses MFP as it's meant to be used, he'll be recording all his food anyway. It's an awesome tool which calculates your calories really well IMO. You can set it to tell you what you should be having depending on what level of carbs you want to intake etc, and you can adjust it depending on how you're going with achieving your goals. I found it to be a great tool.

I lol'd was just on FB and this made me laugh for some reason.

I just joined myfitnesspal and find it to be very cool. It made me realize I consume too many calories. :( Gotta exercise some more this afternoon to get more calorie allowance so I can eat dinner. :neutral: Anyways! Anyone who's still using this site? Let me know and I'll pm you for your screen name.

I really liked myfitnesspal -- used it a lot before I got pregnant. The iPhone app was great for making me accountable to myself for what I eat, as I seem to have a selective memory when it comes to snacking. I've been told not to worry about cutting calories right now while I'm breastfeeding, but I'll definitely join back up once I'm done!

I just got a tablet, making getting on the apps really easy. That's why I joined. I'm that lazy. Explains why I have excess fat. :p anyways, recording all my calorie intake explains my weight gain. Doh! I've ate and drank through my caloric allowance for the day by noon today. :-/ you'd think a piece of candy here, a sip of juice there is nothing. Wrong, you just consumed more than 200 calories. :(

Oh Lola, you aren't fat. Most women would kill for your figure. Plus, you eat like a bird

Sarge, that's because you haven't seen my figure lately. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE says I'm fat now. I gained 12 lbs. :( I could post my pix but why would I want to do that? :p

Tsk, tsk. What are you up to? Maybe 95 lbs? Girl that is the size of one of my thighs! Take the compliment. You know you are a beauty

^^^WHS^^^^

95 lbs. is where I want to be. Add 12lbs and that's where I am. :p

How tall are you, Lola?

4'9" ergo, my screen name on games :D

Very petite! I'm only 5' so I don't have much on you. :)

*bump*

I was going to start a new thread but this one is already here. I got cleared to work out again post-multiple-surgeries at the end of this week, and I worked out today for the first time. Hooray!!

Pretty pathetic, in that my cardio fitness has bitten the dust and my muscles are jelly after four months' idleness and I have to start with itty-bitty weights to avoid bringing on the dreaded lymphedema ... but. It felt so great!! Even though my cardio workout WAS pathetic, I have to start carefully because some of my chemo meds are cardiotoxic. So I'll start slow and go with what I can tolerate. Ditto for weights - I started with little weights today and will see how things go. I can't focus on what I used to do pre-surgery ... for one thing, one of my latissimus dorsi muscles is now wrapped around into totally the wrong place, lol! My surgeon sort of gasped when I showed her what happens when you do a lat flap reconstruction on someone who actually HAS a lat, and offered to cut the nerve ... which I declined. But I have to start with low weight, more reps.

I need to watch my diet carefully, too. The steroids are bad for weight; far from fading away to a shadow, I've gained a few pounds (less than ten, but still ...) since starting chemo. So I need to count the calories and fat grams etc.

Is anyone else actively working toward a goal right now? I don't need to compare weights and calorie counts, maybe just check in as an incentive to keep up with the plan and the healthy workouts. I don't have a specific goal like I did for last summer (my cowgirl weekend) but if I find something that'll change. Right now my goal is to get my fitness back. Then something concrete.

Anyone out there wanting to keep in touch, encourage each other?

good for you ortho!!! I laid on the couch for a year.

GOOD FOR YOU!

I'm trying to lose weight by eating 'better' which fluctuates from day to day. I'd love to eat fresh, local, organic healthy meals. The reality is a bit different. but I do try and I HAVE lost wt. since the chemo weight came on. My muscles/heart are damaged - my EF is down since the chemo and now I get a-fib AND I felt 90 years old during chemo but now I only feel 80 or so.

Keep working out. Don't quit and don't skip.

Hey thanks, Tril! Yes, the chemo can def damage your heart. I don't know if I even want to have a follow-up echo post-chemo ... and you had 'the red devil' which I don't, and I suspect that one is responsible for fatigue that's leagues worse than what I've had. I've talked to others who had it as well, and they all had your experience. I find that I'm out of commission for an entire week after each treatment but then I sort of clamber back onto the horse, or onto my feet, or whatever, and trudge on down the road. It doesn't sound like the red devil permits that. And I hear the recovery is equivalent - much longer, much harder after adriamycin. So I'm very fortunate to not have it in my particular cocktail and have a bit more energy in weeks 2 & 3.

I do plan to keep on keeping on - so excited to start working out again! Now I have to search around for a goal to work toward. My trainer back in smalltown was great at getting me ready for last summer, maybe he'll have some ideas ... or, does anyone else know of anything? I can walk, jog, ride horses :); I don't have a road bike but might be able to get a second-hand one; knees are okay but not the greatest (some arthritis on the left); I like hiking; would love to canoe or do a wilderness trip, although not experienced. Suggestions?

Ortho, you put me to shame. You're sick but here you are, you still pull your body out there to exercise.


Oh hell yeah! I need to lose 10 lbs by February but sooner is better. I'd exercise and eat right for a day or two, then I slack off. :neutral:

I've got no suggestions for you because I don't know anything about your condition to suggest. All I can say is that I've heard walking is good for you, no matter what age. *shrug* Anyways, thumbs up on exercising!

I'll be glad to check in every day re workouts and general diet, Lola. I especially tend to fall off my eating plan ... so having some accountability would be great! I won't bore you to tears with every little detail but if you want to lose weight and get more fit by Feb, so do I!

Let's do it! I like the canoe-ing idea but it's a bit cold for that now. rowing machine - or would that be too hard on the knees? you know what's great? water aerobics!

Water aerobics is (are?) awesome -- I love that it allows you to exert yourself without any high impact. Bicycling is really great low impact, too. I've seen a lot of bikes on sale for the holidays at the big box stores -- I just got a one-speed cruiser to replace the mountain bike I've had since I was 12.

Need to talk to Mum.
We both need water aerobics.
Money is no excuse. If'n I can find enough for booze or a takeaway (the former is verboten, the latter was a monthly treat) then I can find enough for aqua aerobics once a week.

And if I can get her onside we'll get a lift there & back!
YES. Walking would be betterer.
But it sure is a disincentive when it's dark...

Water aerobics would be fun, but I don't have access to that at the small fitness area in my apartment complex (I'm avoiding the student gym for the time being due to the virus palace thing). I was thinking of a canoe trip as a goal, although I'm not sure how that'd be with respect to lymphedema risk. I'm supposed to meet with a therapist sometime soon so will check.

Something like a horseback pack trip in Colorado stirs my blood, but maybe hiking a section of the Appalachian trail would also do ... still gathering info. A one-day event like my trainer did in September (a 26 mile superhike in PA) would also be very cool.

But for now, baby steps! :lol: It'll take a miracle to get me ready for a superhike or the equivalent ...

I joined myfitnesspal.com and set up today's food. I think that may be the most helpful way to put together a healthy diet and stick to it; I otherwise start the day well and then degenerate into snacking on this and that, nothing much in amount, but over the day it adds up to TOO MUCH. A written plan will keep me honest. :)

Once I get my hormones and sleep under control I will start. I joined MFP and couldn't understand it. I think I am getting dumber or something.

Ooh ooh me too! Need to get back to regular swimming, at least. Proper eating would be good but I suspect that'll be in January as we've rather stocked up on Christmas naughtiness :o

Sent by thought transference.

Okay, got my second workout in. 'Workout' is a bit generous as far as terms go, because I'm starting so slowly. I'm not letting my heart rate go past 110 in order not to stress it while on the cardiotoxic meds. And I did two sets today rather than one (yesterday), but will see - may not up it to three sets for another few days. I'm pretty much just going through range of motion for all the upper-body exercises at the moment, using 3 lb weights and focusing on range and proper form. I may not get back up to 25 lb with my right arm - depends on how the lymphedema goes. I may settle for closer to 10 lb with more reps, something like that - we'll see. For now I'm running through an upper body sequence, some upright and bent-over rows, and then some simple lower body stuff (there isn't much in the small fitness room, so basically squats, lunges, walking lunges, calf raises, side leg lifts). And abs ... yeah, have to get those back. Those I can do at home.

I found the MFP site somewhat similar to weight watchers' - not as slick, but not bad. It took me awhile to fill in a day's menu of foods, but then it says it'll keep those on a preferred list for future use. I wish the counts included fiber as well as carbs/protein/fat. I'm not sure how the site uses weight check-ins - weight watchers plots nice graphs for you. I don't see that happening with this site, but maybe I just haven't found it yet.

oh yeah, that's the part that gave me a headache in my eye, listing all the foods I eat. Given my eclectic hippy ethnic pan-a-vore diet I just gave up at that point.

I know what you mean - I gave up on trying to get the software to understand that I throw a few chopped walnuts in my oatmeal, not cupsful of them :facepalm:.

I can relate to the one-dish pan-a-vore diet, it's a staple. ;)
What's your ethnic slant? I used to live with grad students who turned everything into curry; years of Ukrainian and Mediterranean food have slanted my cooking in those directions. Although lately I've been enjoying Thai as well.

Hmm, Lately I've been getting more into French-ish cooking, but typically my defaults are Japanese (I studied with a Japanese chef briefly) Mexican, Indian, and hippy.

I've been reading this tantalizing Persian cookbook lately.

Mexican and Indian are more comfort foods, anything with thick gravies, really.

The stuff that Lola has been posting is what I'd love to be eating like.

If anyone is using MyFitnessPal, hit me up. User name of...

wait for it...

stormieweather :D

Just send me a friend request, we can do this together. I am trying everything to lose this last 20 pounds. It is sticking to me like glue however. Grrr.

I bought myself a tagine and a Moroccan cookbook when I moved this summer, hoping to experiment with some couscous and lamb dishes. At the moment I go for what's quick and simple to cook - energy is at a premium at times - but I'd love to be eating like Lola, too. Wish there were a similar co-op kitchen here.

I do enjoy Japanese cooking, and I just heard about a local place that people love and that does take-out. Maybe it'll become my version of Lola's kitchen for the next while! :p:

Done! I will do whatever it takes to regain control of my weight and fitness. Company is a good thing!

Well, what I'd do is look at the bag to make an educated guess and input that. For example, on the peanut jar, it says 1 oz. or about 1/4 cup is 170 calories. So, a few peanuts, hmm...let's 1/3 of that. If you can't find peanuts with similar calories, then add that as your food, then choose 1/3 portion of that 1/4 cup portion. Or you can go, what the hell, 170/3 = 56.6 calories. If you input your food, then it's recorded into the database so it'll be there for future use. What I also do sometimes is that I list the ingredients in the whole dish separately. Half cup white rice + 1 boiled egg + grilled chicken. The programs adds the calories for you.

As for my workout, I've been walking an hour each day. I've been too lazy to exercise, which explains my weight gain. What I've decided to do is join my mom. That's right, like a postman, "neither rain nor snow nor gloom of night can stay" my mom from her exercise. Unless it's 32 degrees, and we beg her to not walk for she may get sick, she would bundle up and go on her hour walk.

Anyways, I have myfitnesspal too. I'll add Stormie. Ortho, I'll pm you my username.

Ughhhhh......it was 22 C yesterday and now it's 7 C AND windy!! I just want to stay cozy, eat, and have some nice, warm coffee. I must go jogging though. Just realized I don't fit any of my warm clothing except for sweats. Hahaha.... Wait, I should cry instead. :p

Texas has metric weather?

We use Celsius. We also use both lunar and solar calendar. :D

The solar calendar is for the daytime and the lunar calendar is for at night, right?

;)

I feel ashamed that Ortho, as sick as she is, is trying to exercise. Here I am, healthy as an ox, am as lazy as a pig. So, I dragged my fat arse this morning to walk-and-jog for 35 mins. :D Ortho, thank you, my dear. :hug:

Any time :blush:
Now I have to drag myself to the fitness room this afternoon! But then, that's what this thread is for .. :)

No, at the same time like yin yang.

Be careful, Yin and Yang at the same time can beget the ten thousand things.

I was thinking for a witty response, but none...hehe. Ten thousand things?!!? The whole universe is already formed, that's more than 10 thousand things.

Hey, Foot, I never knew you're a Buddhist. How are you practicing? Which texts are you reading? Just curious. :)

As the Squirell, he mentioned something here. He'll have to tell you where he is at now.

I'll have to take a break from working out for a day or so ... have had a nasty right-sided chest pain for the past two days. Probably a pulled muscle or something to do with my lat transfer; have to get it checked out. Hopefully it's not a blood clot. Whatever it is, it interferes with sleep, moving, breathing ... ow ow ow.

Could my yin and yang be fighting? Maybe one of them needs to knock it off.

Sorry to hear about the pain, Ortho. Take it easy, don't overdo things. I hope it's nothing serious. As for me, yeah, haven't exercised for two days. :(

Myfitnesspal. I've recently loaded the app on my phone and I love it.

I intend lose weight, and like that elephant recipe in the OP, it's only done one bite at a time. f3, I'm sorry you were frustrated by the food part of the interface. I know what you mean, it is very tedious to enter all that information--BUT--totally, totally worth it, to me.

I've been using it for a couple weeks now and here's what I've learned. I LOVE food, well, I knew that before but anyhow. I love to eat. I USED to eat in response to certain stimuli, satiety be chief among them. I would wait to eat sometimes, then come to the kitchen *hungry*, and eat until I wasn't hungry anymore. This works great, for satisfying hunger; losing weight, not so much. I would also eat in response to stress, time of day (habit), boredom, etc. This is normal, I guess, but it wasn't producing good results--I've gained too much weight. Now I have a new parameter to guide my food intake.

To be sure, I still have the old habits, but they're not as strong, and my new awareness of just how much food that really is, specifically, just how many calories I'm putting into my body is sobering. No wonder I was gaining weight. NOW I know (only because I took the trouble to actually record it, let's face it, my body's "recording" it, right?) what I'm taking in, or about to take in and what that means for my greater goal of losing weight. I know now that that little snack has a cost. I know now the difference between two pieces of cheese pizza and three pieces. I agree with you that the data entry is fiddly--at the beginning. It does "remember" the foods you have entered and you usually only have to look it up once. It also has a very extensive library of foods available to you via scanning the UPC code (one really good reason for using it on your phone instead of on your desktop or laptop computer. you have it right there.)

Now I find myself looking at the number of calories "allotted" to me by the calculation of the program, and working within that number. That new parameter is one that made a difference before, but I was completely oblivious to it. Now I'm not. It slows me down, and that has a temporary negative effect on my race to satiety, boo fucking hoo. But it has a much greater positive effect on my efforts toward my greater goal of losing weight.

I was eating too much relative to the amount of calorie burning I was doing. This tool gives me a much better idea of what I'm eating giving me a chance to respond accordingly, not just to hunger, habit, boredom, stress, etc.

Additionally, it has an element to it that lets you record your physical activity "Cardiovascular", so it's not only about what you eat. Actually, I use a competing product to record my exercise, Noom Cardio Trainer, principally because it records maps of where I exercise. I don't belong to a gym, I ride my bike or walk or hike and it tracks where I go and overlays the track on a map. I like that. I then take the calories burned calculated by that app and plug in the activity and the calories into myfitnesspal.

I've been using it for a couple weeks now, erratically at first, especially with the food entry aspect, but now I'm much more consistent. I'm better at it, much of what I habitually eat is there already, I know the interface, etc etc. Absolutely worth the initially steep learning curve. Now that I've got some momentum on my fitness, I'm looking for some pals.

Youse guyz are my friends, right? (don't all shout at once). If you'd like to be myfitnesspal, please send me a PM, and we'll connect.

No, no Lutefisk. :vomitblu:

I have not been involved in MFP, at all, since I signed up. It took way too much of my over-scheduled brain to even deal with it, and it felt like yet another obligation that ultimately served only as fodder for my self-loathing.

So I've decided to spend my mental and emotional energy on more pressing matters. So MFP will have to wait for me in the wings.

I find it helpful for keeping track of calories. Scary how fast you get to (past) 1200 and I need less than that to lose weight. The only weight loss plan that has ever worked for me is: Stay Hungry.

Still haven't recovered from a workout 10 days ago. I think I hurt my cells.

I'm not a doctor, but I'd say your workouts ought to be scaled back to some gentle yoga and serious napping. ;) 1200 calories? I hope you are 5'-2" That's not so many calories. Hunger is good, though.

I like your workout prescription! Right about now I could win the World Napping Championship.

I'm 5'7". Just an easy keeper; I come from a line of skinny lowland Scots. I was one, until steroids :( .

Doesn't the steroid weight drop off after you've gone off them? And is it fat or just a whole bunch of fluid? Do the steroids slow down your metabolism or change your body's utilization of calories? (I think there's a difference between slow metabolism and conversion to fat rather than energy, or is it the same thing?)

What's an "easy keeper?"