Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Awesome job, Ian!:tu
You're on a roll here the past two weeks!

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Did pretty well yesterday. I'm down to 242 this morning, but it's not an official weigh-in.

Todays meals:
Breakfast - Eggo Waffle (plain) ( pts)
Lunch - Garlic chicken w/ noodles (5pt?)
Dinner - not sure yet, but I know it involves chicken.

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

I went overboard on Friday. I ate way too much pizza and wings. My willpower disappears whenever I drink. :(

Saturday and Sunday weren't as bad, but I didn't eat great either.
Gotta see if I can't pull off some hardwork the next two days and drop some weight this week.

Todays meals:
Breakfast - Strawberry protein shake
Lunch - leftover spaghetti
Dinner - chicken of some sort

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

I did the same thing =( Wings and beer thursday then pizza and beer saturday. Up 3lbs from the last time i stepped on the scale. Gonna try to add in some double cardio days this week and do some skating in the evenings

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

I'm afraid of the scale this week.

Was at the Casino Sunday/Monday, and we hit the Buffet for breakfast today.





It's going to take a couple of days to clear the internal-debris out before I get a realistic measure...
That's my story, and I'm stickin to it.

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Good advice. I took you up on that. Did two rounds of basketball yesterday.



I think I did quite well yesterday; got in both my exercise and good intake.


Today's meals:
Breakfast: Strawberry protein shake
Lunch: leftover lemon pepper chicken, rice, and potatoes.
Dinner: Unsure, probably chicken of some sort


Exercise: basketball

Tomorrow is weigh-in day. Gotta look sharp today and get good results tomorrow.

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Yesterday's weigh in: 243. No change.


That's not bad, but not great either. Was hoping to see some of that gain come back off. But I didn't really follow a strict plan this week to push those numbers down.

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

No work for me today, so I have a nice long weekend to look forward to. About to have steak and eggs for breakfast.

I'm down to 232.0 this week, but I don't know how much trust I have in it. I'm likely a bit dehydrated. In any case I haven't been that low in a year so, I'll take that victory for now.

Climbing again this evening, but this afternoon I'm going to sit my ass in a movie theater and watch Wolverine.:tu I'll skip the movie popcorn.

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Awesome! You have been on a roll as of late.:tu

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Things have not gone well the past two weeks. Today I am up to 247 (not an official weigh-in). Willpower has faded greatly and dedication has faded as well. Yesterday (after overeating big time - 55pts) I decided to do something about it. I found a new site that will help me track my progress on a daily basis. I am placing more emphasis and focus on the exercise part of this diet. I have been very slack and lazy as of late and it has affected my weight dearly. I was sitting at 238 three weeks ago, now I'm almost ten pounds heavier. I guess it takes a loss to get a win sometimes.

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

I am actually pretty lean for my age 33 and eat good and bad. For the most part a lot of it for me is genetics. That said I did work with a diet a while back that allowed me to loose a lot of fat weight when I was on my get a six pack craze. I am posting this cause my wife and I went back on this diet today. I want to loose a little fat and she just had our third child and wants to loose 20-30lbs.

Some people call it a paleo diet.
Basically you eat lean meat and green leafies with extremely minimal carbs during the day. This is not atkins. You dont eat fatty foods. By limiting carbs to 25 grams in the morning and 25 grams of carbs at lunch you force your body into ketosis where your liver converts fats for energy. The carbs must be low glycemic index.

I will say that fat is not really your enemy. I know people that do this with a fatty diet and it works as well. The Key is limiting the carbs to under 60-70 for the day. My wife gave me crap about the diet till she tried it and had to eat her words. Helped my buddy at work with this diet and he has lost 40lbs in about 6 months. That said he is also in the gym every day.

Anyway guys if you are intrested shoot me a PM and I can walk you through it. its not the funnest diet, but you do get a cheat day once a week and it works.

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Got room for one more in here? :o

My belt is about 2 burgers away from not fitting, and I feel like crap. Luckily(?) I've been here before, and know I'll feel fine again if I can just get the weight off.

I just went to the gym last night for the first time in probably 6 months, though I've not been on any real exercise schedule for a good 4 years. I'm hoping that 'having' to report in to this thread will motivate me to actually keep with it this time :tu

I've gone from 230 down to 160 once before, and managed to stay there for about 4 years until I got married (to a wife who can cook!) and had a couple of life events that made it easy to be lazy.

Tomorrow is a herf night and I *need* the full stomach and sugar to keep from turning green and passing out (and I know better than to pass out at a herf! :ss), so tomorrow night's probably going to hurt. Guess I'll just have to work out extra hard the rest of the week.

Not quite sure what I'm at right now, probably near the 220 range. I was 160 5 years ago and really want to be back there. I'll update tonight with a proper starting weight, but for now: S: 220?/C: 220?/G: 160

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Were you doing resistance training while on this diet? I am fighting to lose the last 10-15lbs of fat on the gut and waist, but I worry that gym performance might suffer without the carb energy

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Yes I was.
It will take you about 2-3 weeks for your body to get used to this. Mainly your brain. After that you will be fine. Your lifts will suffer a little for the first 2 weeks. I will say when cutting like this I am not lifting heavy. Thats to be expected though.

Like I said I didnt go into depth with this diet in the post. Your PWO shake does not factor into the carb count. This is because your body is so depleted. All the reading I did and my own experience showed the carbs in the shake post workout dont count.

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

If I wasn't already committed to a diet, I'd try it out. Still interested in the specifics of this diet.
Welcome aboard! The more the merrier:tu

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

If anybody's interested in tracking their progress online, this is a great place to do so: http://www.weightcommander.com/dot.html

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

There's always room for more people!
Welcome to the party, and keep us informed.

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Thanks guys!

Looks like my official weigh in will be at 222lbs.

So far so good, I managed to hit the gym a little this afternoon (I only got in 13 minutes of cardio before my wife called it quits, but I'm just glad to see her going!). I had a couple chicken breasts and a big bowl of steamed carrots for dinner along with a weight watchers ice cream bar.

My usual breakfast is 2 peices of buttered white toast with jam, and a big glass of stawberry milk... I think I'm going to have to re-think that ;)

I rarely do lunch, so I guess I have to fix that too...

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Thats not a good start.
You are eating high glycemic carbs from the processed white bread and carbs/sugar from the fruit. The milk has protien but also carbs and sugar. Add in the sugar from the strawberry flavor and you have a lot of sugar consumption to start your day. This equals an insulin spike. For weight loss you want to avoid this

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Agreed! What I was trying to say is that the dinner (chicken / carrots), and the gym were a good start, but I knew I needed to fix my past breakfast habits (the toast & jam with strawberry milk). :D

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Well looks like I'm late to the party but I have lost 24 pounds in the last month and a half. Mostly by just giving up a whole lot of the carbs i was consuming everyday.

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Awesome job:tu That's a lot of weight to drop in that short amount of time.

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

I had a decent day yesterday. My daily points allowance is 28. I made it to exactly 28.
The main thing that I'm excited about was that I actually got in some quality exercise. I did some situps and pushups at work during lunch break and when I got home I did 45min. of Tae-Bo (don't laugh, it works). I plan on doing this from now on, on a daily basis. Yesterday, after a bad weekend of binge eating, I was up to 247. Today I'm down to 245. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be back at 243 so I won't have to scratch the week out for a loss.

Today's meals:
Breakfast - Nutri-Grain bar: Apple Cinnamon (2pts)
Lunch - leftover pesto chicken w/ marinara sauce over linguine (7pts)
Snack - string cheese (?pts)
Dinner - not sure yet, but it's probably chicken.

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Yeah and I cant believe how much better I feel. I just want to keep losing and losing

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Just don't try to keep that pace. It would be unhealthy for 'natural' weight loss.


Yes, I skipped weigh in last week, as I knew I had failed miserably. Trying to be better this week - time will tell.

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Although my weigh-in didn't show it, I had a decent week. Friday, Saturday, And Sunday were awful (binge eating), but turnaround on Monday and Tuesday. Did another round of Tae-Bo yesterday. I'm sore today... Dinner yesterday was two grilled breasts from KFC, two sides of potatoes and gravy, and a biscuit (all added up to 17pts).

Today's Meals:
breakfast - nutri-grain bar (2pts)
lunch - 2 nutri-grain bars (4pts)
Dinner - 12" sub and chips (no more than 17pts)

I had a gain this week, but I'm optimistic, focused, and determined.

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Yesterday (Herf day!) was not a good food day... we shall not talk about it :cool:


Today's starting much better. 1 whole egg, 2 egg whites, and about 2 cups of cantaloupe for breakfast.

After taking a look around the kitchen it looks like I'm going to need to go grocery shopping soon to fix what's on hand. Lots of good food, not much good for me. Luckily my wife's just as serious about making a lifestyle change.

What can you tell me about protein shakes? At first glance it seems like an easy breakfast which is what I'm looking for since I don't usually do breakfast at all.

Also, I have to admit I haven't read the whole thread, how often are people weighing in?

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Protein shakes that I make are simple:
fat-free milk
berries/fruit/ or whatever you want to put in, I like peanut butter and bananas from time to time
two table spoons of fiber one powder
one scoop of whey/protein powder
two packets of sweetener




As far as the weigh in is concerned, I weigh in once a week officially, but I check it on a daily basis. Some people say pick a set day and weigh in, others say weigh in everyday. The majority of participants in this thread weigh in on a weekly basis (whenever possible). It really doesn't matter IMHO, whatever you are comfortable with:2. Different diets also call for different methods too. I'm on WW, and they reccommend a once a week weigh-in.

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Mg kick the cantelope and insert 1/2 cup of oatmeal and you have a rock solid breakfast. The oatmeal will also help not give you a sugar spike and will take the body longer to process so you wont be as hungry as quickly as you will be with the eggs and cantalope. Hell you could add in another egg white and be just fine.

As to breakfast shakes, it sounds to me like you are refering to a MRPs meal replacement shake. This is a good option if time is an issue and you want to get it right. That said a balanced meal is a better option. I am not a trainer but have more than a few buddies who are. Here is a list of MRPs
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/mrps.html

I dont want to be anyones downer. I see some things that should be changed. That said I dont want to force my opinions on anyone. One area I dont see being discussed is beverages with meals. I am scared to think what some are drinking and not realizing its effects on diets. Fruit juices and fruits can be your enemy on a diet.

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Water is your friend:tu

I drink milk once in a while, but I normally stick with water and zero calorie drinks.

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

I am back down to 243 today. Took yesterday off from exercise b/c I felt drained when I got home. Full day at school, then children's group at church was a lot. Went under on my points again, had 2 leftover again.

This afternoon I'm going to complete another round of Tae-Bo.

Today's meals:
Breakfast: Two Nutri-Grain bars (4pts)
Lunch: two turkey and spinach wraps with pesto (4pts)
Dinner: ?

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Wow...I can't believe I've never checked out this thread until now.

I am the KING of low carb! :D

I am 5'9", medium build. Used to weigh 195 and eat Rolaids like they were candy. Since going low carb, I've lost 30 lbs and kept it off, and the only time I ever need antacids now is when I "break my diet".

I am not super strict. I eat fruit semi-regularly, a lot of black beans, an occasional ear or 2 of corn, etc. What I really kicked was plain sugar. Stopped drinking Pepsi, switched to sugar free chocolate, stopped the 3 donut breakfast...you get the idea.

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Yup, that's basically what I was shooting for. More often than not I'm rushed in the morning and I wanted something quick and easy. Adding protein seemed like a good bonus for those days I don't have time to make something. I picked up a small container of Muscle Milk last night before I even got saw your message, and it looks like it fits the bill.

I welcome advice from anybody... if there are parts I don't agree with or dont fit my lifestyle I may not follow through, but it never hurts to learn :tu. I'm also realistic and know I can't easily change everything at once.

As far as drinking, water is my friend. I've got a 2.3L bottle at work that I usually finish by mid afternoon, and then have to fill up a 32oz bottle at home a couple of times at night. I used to drink 5+ sodas a day, a year or so back cut down to about 3x a day and diet sodas, but now have pretty much just eleminated them altogether as a daily habit.

I'm starting to use an application I found last time I lost weight that keeps track of what I eat, and lets me track all sorts of useful information about the food (calories, fiber, protein, fat, sodium, etc). Last time it really helped to make sure I was eating enough of the right things.

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Another good day yesterday! Had an extra point leftover yesterday again. Got in another round of Tae-Bo. Dinner last night was broiled chicken, rice-a-roni, and corn on the cob. Filling and healthy.

Today's meals:
Breakfast: 2 turkey sausage links (2pts)
Lunch: leftovers from supper (7pts)
Dinner: ? (as always)

I weighed in back at 245 this morning, but i know that I'm on track now. I'm expecting a good loss for next week's weigh-in.




Kris, What application are you using to track your diet?

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Hey Andy,

Does that include your bonus points? I don't mean to get preachy, but try to avoiding coming under too often. Although it may help for a little extra short-term loss, it can also lead to more cravings. Also make sure you count back in your activity accurately. The Plan is supposed to give you enough energy/nutrition on a daily basis so that you use a little more than you consume resulting a a net take of the extra energy from your body. If you consistently take too much from your body it may rebound on you.

My sister in law lost over 100lbs in a year using WW. But she was eating less, and exercising way more than she was telling anyone. She lost the weight, but eventually cracked under the extra pressure she was putting herself under. She gained it all back again. Now she's trying a more balanced approach.

I'll stop nagging now.:tu

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

I'm using the old version where you can "bank" points for each day and save them for a later date in the week. The newer version just gives you a set bonus for the week. I'm going old school and earning my bonus points.

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Just to offer a flip side perspective to this.. Once I adjusted to the dieting, I was under on points almost every day, sometimes by as much as 5 points. And I also very rarely used my 35 weekly points.. those I pretty much allocated to the drinking nights a few times a month. I averaged about 2lbs a week lose while doing the diet, and have kept it off since I lost it. It may be important to add that I did this as a 25yr old guy that is now fairly fit and active at the gym.. so circumstances may very well be different.

I guess my point is, as long as you are not leaving yourself hungry or energy drained while your cutting more points, I don't think you should be concerned with using them all.

edit: guess i missed your reply Andy. That is a good approach I think

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

The one I'm using is called Food And Exercise Diary. It's pretty full featured and works well for me, the trick is being disciplined about putting in the information about what you eat and how much you exercise (and optionally things like body fat %, and body measurements).

I find I do way better if I'm using something like this that lets me chart overall progress, and see at a glance where I sit for any given day.

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

:tu

The one I'm using does not allow me to track exercise. I think being able to track exercise and calorie burn would be a great tool.

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Thinking about doing this as well, but when I drink it makes me hungry and lose all sense of willpower.

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Cool. I get that. I guess it comes down to finding a balanced approach that works for you.

I haven't really been tracking my food intake lately, but trying to be "good" most of the time. My active job has been a big part of my success lately, but that's over as of yesterday.

I'm down one more pound this week. Next week I'll be weighing in on Thursday, and from home (my real home). After that it's going to be more sporadic as I have a busy summer coming up with lot's of time away from the house. Fortunately it's going to be a more active summer than last year with lot's of kayaking. Now I just have to keep on eye on what I eat and keep active in between my paddling excursions.

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

I agree with the underlined portion.


Congrats Ian, on another pound loss. If this were a contest, you would be in the lead as of late.:tu

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

So far so good :D

I switched scales to one that I trust to be consistent based on past use and gives me body fat and other measurements (not sure how accurate those measurements are, but they do seem to be consistent).

On the new scale I'm down to 217 from 222. Going forward I'll keep using the new scale to know how much is weight loss verses scale difference.

My meals are much healthier than before, and I found time for a 2.5 mile walk at lunch yesterday, and another 2.5 miles on the elliptical machine at the gym last night.

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Sounds like you are coming along just fine, Kris:tu

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

I am down to 260 from a high of 287. I'm dropping weight a lot slower now then in the beginning, but thats just fine with me. I have gotten so used to eating healthier i dont even crave the bad food anymore.

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

How was everyone's weekend?

I didn't do too bad. Didn't get much exercise in, but I did walk at least 5 miles while I was at Darlington on Saturday evening. Went over on points both Saturday and Sunday, but I didn't pig out by any means. Weighed in today at 243 still...


Meals today:
Breakfast - turkey and spinach wrap (2pts)
Lunch - chicken and spinach brat (5pts)
Dinner - either a leftover hamburger or spaghetti (somewhere between 6-10pts)

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Went over on points yesterday too. No exercise either. And tomorrow is weigh-in day. Going to do good today both with meals and exercise and end the week on a good note.

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Back to 243 this week. I should have done better, but I'll take the 2 pound loss. Fell off the exercise wagon the latter half of the week. Focus seems to be dwindling. Gotta force myself to exercise.

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

I hit my panic weight of 190 a few weeks ago so I started mentally tracking points again for the past few weeks. Its amazing how much closer you watch portions and meals in general when you are actively holding yourself accountable for your calorie intake. Hopped on the scale this morning and I was back down to 184. Pretty nice to have the reminder that being strict with the plan does indeed work.

I think I might try to stick with the dieting for a month or so now too see if I cant cut some of the leftover beer gut out. I don't really want to lose any lbs, but if I follow a nice high protein diet, and stick to my regular gym schedule, I hope to be able to lose/ turn into muscle, the remaining 10ish lbs of fat that rings the waist.

Good job everyone else with trying to renew efforts. It certainly gets tough when there are bad weeks, but thats also when its most important to not give up with your efforts. Ive plugged it a few times before.. but I honestly think its still worth plugging some more. A great work routine that can be done easily at home and only takes about 20 minutes to get thru. http://www.menshealth.com/cda/articl...0013281eac____

Re: Losing Weight with Andysutherland
 

Thanks for the link, Dan:tu Congrats on your positive and focused effort too:tu


I weighed in at 242 today. Seems like this is the lowest that I can get over the past few weeks. No exercise routine last night, but I did manage to play a lot of active games with the kids at church for about an hour. Freeze tag for 15 minutes wore me out.

Good news from Dan, I had moderate results this week, where's everybody else? I hope somebody else did well also.