Roderick’s post encouraged me to work on my overweight problem AS FROM TODAY. I weighed myself just now = 107kg. My ideal weight is 95kg, so I want to shed 12kg and my target date is 15th of October. I’m on a low GI diet and I’ve already lost 2kg since I started 2 weeks ago. I’ve also started training again on my stationary bike and will start riding my road bike as from Monday. Now I want to ask all members who also want to get in shape, to please join the “club”. If possible, and if the moderators and other members don’t mind, I would like us to build up a support group. Members who would like to participate can post their goals/targets here and we can then report back on our progress once a week. We can also share tips of what to do when the cravings start etc. What do you think about this?
Well, I really want to lose weight, and improve my health. I have metabolic syndrome, wich is similar to diabetes, with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar… and in the obese range. I’ll weigh myself today, my usual weight has been in the 230’s in pounds, but my clothes are already more loose now since I started this approach on Monday. My goal is 180. My food strategy is what I call the “no crack plan”, as what affects my conditions is the refined carbs, so I am eliminating bread, pasta, sugar, as well as starchy veges like potatos. Mainly eating meat, and some low-GI veges. I do drink coffee and diet sodas. I’ve been battling my weight/health for years, but usually fail due to my addiction to these hi-GI carbs, which I need to break, and de-insulinate my body. I also don’t want to have to take a boat load of medications and have endless doctor bills, while my health, vision, gums, etc deteriorate from excess insulin from eating hi-GI carbs.
I’ve been doing the treadmill 3-4 times/week for 30 minutes since November, cutting back on starches/carbs (everything white…no racial overtones intended), and have lost about 10 lbs and an inch off my waistline since the first of the year. Like smoking, I find snuff use actually curbs my appetite to a degree. But eating less is not good because the body will begin to store fat if it thinks it is not getting enough nutrition. Increasing metabolism through excercise and eating properly is the way to go.
Well for breakfast I had a boiled egg, and 3 sausage links. For lunch I had 2 hot dogs cut down the middle with some canned chili dog sauce, with jalapenos and shredded cheese, and dinner is baked unbreaded fish, and sauteed zuchini and mushrooms, a couple of diet sodas, some water, coffee this morning, and some pork rinds as a snack.
I’m really bad when it comes to drinking water. I enjoy many cups of coffee per day but never any water. I’m not feeling well today because I ate 10 samoosas for lunch yesterday! I had some toast with Marmite and Rooibos tea now and I’m going to call it a day. I don’t even feel like snuffing, so it’s really bad. Needless to say, I had no chocolates or other sweets either.
95kg optimal? Holy cow,how tall are you Pieter?
I’m 1.84m and well built. I’ve been cycling for ages and because of that, my legs are, well…thick! I have quite a large bone structure with big hands and thick arms. People normally don’t believe me when I tell them my weight because I don’t really look fat. Problem is I’ve developed a “tube” around my belly which is not very “beneficial” for riding a road bike!! To be taller than 6 foot and weigh a shade over 200lbs is not so bad or what do you think!!!
Well, I’m 5’7" and 230ish pounds(last I weighed). I wanna get around 180 lbs. Sorry I don’t know metric.
Sounds like your pretty fit to me pieter.
Yeah you sound like your in a good weight bracket their Pieter, I’m between 6’ 4" & 6’ 5" and weigh between 240-250. Yeah I’m ‘fat’ but it doesn’t bother me.
You can carry it when you are tall. I’m 5’8" and 15 stone which makes me roughly the shape of a beach ball. Im also far too lazy to do the slightest thing about it so have reconciled myself to dropping dead in the next couple of years. Now where did I put that doughnut…
I have gotten as high as 250 lbs, and of course was in the 240’s, but generally I’d hover in the 230’s. My last recorded weight I wrote on a calendar was 230.5, last night I weighed and I was 227.5. For breakfast today I had 3 sausage links, and 2 fried eggs, and coffee. For lunch I brough to chili cheese dogs with jalopenos and no bread, and a diet soda. For dinner, I may try and make some salmon patties with no bread, maybe mix in some egg and onion and fry it, with some salad. Also bought a jar of spicey hot pickled okra, and those are great!
Hi Tom, what is pickled okra?? I had Weet Bix and coffee for breakfast and low GI bread with cheddar cheese for lunch. Tonight I’m going to enjoy fish curry!! I ordered this from an Indian lady and she told me to never confuse pickled fish with fish curry. Pickled fish = baked fish covered with a layer of curried onions. I’m not keen on this one Fish curry = fish which is cooked in a curry/onion sauce. I’m crazy about this one! I weighed in at 106kg this morning. As from now on, I’m only going to weigh myself on Fridays. One usually eat a bit more during weekends and gain some weight. I don’t want to know about this! If I stick to my diet during the week, I will lose some fat and it will show on Friday. So I might go up again over the weekend but it will be gone, plus some more, by Friday. This is just to prevent me from being discouraged at the start of the week.
Some ideas that work for me. Muscle burns calories even when resting. Weight training builds muscle. Leg muscles are the biggest muscles in the body. Muscles grow when resting, not when working. My weight training has leaned more towards the legs and core, but not omitting the upper body. It is impossible to become bulky like the terminator without intense full-time training and diet, not something I would want anyway. Steady state cardio training is boring, and although burns calories, the body can become conditioned to it, thus reducing effect. Over-training in cardio reduces muscle mass. I always try to vary the workout by doing intervals, sprints, random loads, etc, as well as changing up the activity. The idea being to keep the body from knowing what is coming next. Sometimes I take a whole week or two off, then hit it hard the next, or increase and decrease effort, change emphasis on upper or lower body, change emphasis on weights or cardio, like that, keep it different each time. I usually try to combine weight training with cardio, weights first in split training or circuit training, followed by an 30-60 minutes of variable cardio. 1 to 4 times per week. Eating smaller amounts 5 to 6 times a day is better than eating big meals. Complex carbs good, simple carbs bad. Fast food bad. Water is good. Waking up hungry is good. Snuff tastes especially fine after a workout.
Well, everyone will come up with their own approach and accepted theories. All I can say, is try what one thinks is best for them. I am more aiming towards a carnivore diet, with some low-GI veges, but focusing on trying to eat mainly protein foods. I plan to add exercise starting next week, and I am not a big fan of exercise, though I was always a fan of bodybuilding, and did weight lift for myself at times. I will probably start using these dumbells I have, since I don’t have a gym or exercise room, and they are 25 lbs each, which I can get a good workout with, even full body, and I may even incorporate the “super-slow” method, esp for arms and shoulders. I believe body transformation is 99% diet, but can be changed to 80/20 with a proper exercise routine. I think snuff, having nicotine, should have some thermogenic effects like caffine and ephedrine does. As such may also have an appetite supressive aspect as well. I may weight myself on Mondays, as I don’t plan to eat off-plan on the weekends are at all. I am at a time in my life, where I don’t want to be a diabetic, and my blood test has been in that range, nor do I want heart disease, nor do I want to be fat and feeling bad, have a bunch of medications, and the irritating doctor bills, and harrassing collection agencies from bills I may neglect. So, I feel I must become well, fanatical about it. I’ve been “on the wagon” many times, but fell off many more, just for a fix of pizza or other body-poison(to me), which prevented any real progress, and created the state of lesser health I came to.
I have developed a craving for “normal” snuff like SP’s over the last 12 hours. Maybe I’ve taken to much sweet stuff. I’m also, sort of, craving menthol although I’m not a big menthol fan.
The occasional menthol craving happens to me as well. The Toque Blueberry Menthol is a perfect one to cure it, the level of menthol is just right.
I came to work today with 2 non-menthols, and I am craving some menthol. I can’t wait till I get home. I think I’ll open the Toque Menthol, which is very good.
No matter what I bring to work, I wish I would have brought something else.