Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

You're correct Andy about the movie. It's an interesting watch if only to get you to question the status quo, even if you don't end up believing what he's trying say.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

what he's saying in that movie is factual, but the big thing is that everyone is different.

I'm on the road in Nunavut, and surprised to have found internet here. I've totally stuck to my gameplan but its been really hard cuz of the lack of food in general, but i brought cans of tuna and stuff and am making the best of what i can. Temptation everywhere, but i will not give in, i want to lose weight too badly now, and having no cravings since quitting carbs/sugar is making it easier (as ive said a thousand times) and keeping my motivated. :)

keep up the good work all!

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

That's just it for me, I don't know what to believe.
Should I be eating bacon in moderation or carbs?
I will admit that since I started dieting I do feel weaker and more lethargic, which I wasn't sure was possible.
But I am losing weight!
My walking has all but come to an end.
It started due to the poor weather we had,and now that it's nice I don't have the energy.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

if you lowered your fat intake, and are still eating carbs, thats why you're feeling tire and lethargic. Increase the fat and protein and get rid of the carbs and you'll feel better! There will be some initial withdrawl, but then you'll feel like a million bux.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

Dom, are you drinking a lot of regular soda? Just wondering if you could be crashing from the sugar/caffeine buzz.

Not to push you towards a lower/low carb lifestyle since it's a decision we need to make ourselves, but I agree with Myles. Since I've adopted a lower carb lifestyle my energy level has increased tremendously. When i say lower carb, I"m talking less than 150g a day, half of what the government says we should be taking in. Just to give you an idea of what I'm eating, here's what I had yesterday.

Breakfast
Dannon No Fat Greek Style Yogurt
Banana

Lunch
Mushroom burger with goat cheese and tomato on a toasted english muffin
100g of carrots
75g of yellow grape tomatoes

Midday snack
orange

Dinner
Eggplant Lasagna. Basically regular lasagna but half the pasta replaced with thin slices of eggplant.

Nighttime snack
100g smoked salmon
28g cashews

Based on the app on my phone, that was ~1600 calories with 139g net carbs, 28g of fiber, 97g of protein and 65g of fat.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

No Bob, I drink probably 60% water and 40% coffee with half and half and splenda.
Maybe 3 times a week I have a 20oz bottle of diet soda with lunch, but that's it for the day.

I think I like the idea of the low carbs, I just think keeping the calories down will be the challenge for me.
I'm still trying to find a way to track calories that works for me.
The apps and websites seem too tedious for me and I don't care for the interface.
I may just have to buck up, go old school, and get a book.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

I would keep the bacon in moderation. Eat plenty of meats, proteins and fats, but what the documentary didn't discuss was sodium intake. Sodium isn't good for you. Bacon, sausage, country ham... I would stick with mostly beef (hamburger and steaks) and poultry.
This. You have to have meat, good old red meat to survive, be healthy, and feel good. It's what the human body has survived off of since day one.

I'm with you on the tracking lately, but that's why I've failed the last three weeks. Tracking sucks and can be tedious, but it has to be done. If you've got the cash to spare, Weight Watchers is only about $20 a month and has the best tracking system I've found.

Nutrimirror is free, but it's even more tedious than Weight Watchers.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

I guess that's why people are different. I don't find the tracking tedious at all. If I miss a meal or even a few days like when I'm out of town, I"m ok with that. I'm to the point now though where I can guestimate portion sizes pretty good. And now that I get full sooner, I don't eat everything on the plate when I go out for a meal.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

I ate everything in the world yesterday. The wild fluctuations in the pressure have my muscles totally screwed up. This morning I had snakes crawling under my skin, a phenomenon I haven't had for about a year, controlled by meds. I'm getting almost instant "warm-up effect" which means I climb the steps and all my muscles go rock hard. I have no idea what I did, or if I have anything to do with it at all.
The tie-in is that with the constant working of muscles, it's like I'm doing a 24-7 cardio and I get starved, and I eat to catch up to it.
Today should be quite an adventure. :D

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

Congrats to you as well! That's awesome!

Thanks! Yeah, went off the deep end while living out of a hotel in 2010 while working in Chicago and still residing in St. Louis. No physical activity and eating out with no restrictions really took a toll on my weight.

A slim 225 Dave huh? :banger Gotta look good for your 4th of July Extravagana @ The Shack? :tu

I had all my suits and button down shirts tailored a couple of months back, it was amazing how loose they were. I can't lie, feels good to buy "L" instead of "XXL".

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

I"m not quite down to "L", but it was great going out this past weekend and buying "XL" shirts and having them fit perfect.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

Be careful with the guesstimating though. Do it too much, and your guesses started to get bigger and bigger (at least that's what I start to do over time)
I can fit into some XL shirts now too. Feels good.:tu

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

Walked a mile and a quarter today :) Back on the bike tomarrow.

I dont like to watch what I am eating to close either. But my husband was diagnosed with diabetes a couple months ago and that helped me to eat more vegitable and less carbs.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

I've been so out of this whole thing lately-need to get going and stick with this soon. What I really need is an accountability "partner" of sorts to stick with it.

Also had a recommendation for a prescription for phentermine for weight loss.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

Welcome back, Duane. I need an accountability partner too about now.

Haven't done much research on phentermine, but it looks to be about $3 for one pill. :sl Would your insurance cover it?

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

Dom, if you quit the carbs or cut them down significantly, you won't have to count calories and you'll lose fat.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

I had a cup of coffee and five or six cookies today. I'm not remotely hungry and Lisa is gonna make me eat dinner later. I'll still be way under for the day. That'll make up for yesterday. :D

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

Did 3.25 miles walking in ~45:15. I was hauling today. Thought the program on my phone was screwy saying I did my first mile in 14:00. figured the GPS tracking was off a bit. But then the 2nd and 3rd came in around the same time. Did feel good thought. Got a good hamstring/calf stretch in before I started, which I'm sure helped.

Stuffed myself on dinner though. A stirfry of some leftover ground turkey, onions, carrots, red bell peppers, garlic scapes, bulgur wheat with a bunch of hot seasonings added. Still only about 550 calories.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

That dinner sounds great, Bob. I saw you were digging the mushroom burgers, that's awesome. Next time I see my SIL Cathy, I'll ask if she's got any other good lo-cal vegetarian stuff like that.
Lisa just ran to the store or I'd ask if she had anymore recipes on that order.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

Thanks. I did like the mushroom burgers. I tweaked the recipe to bring the carb count down for me, but they still turned out good. Next time I need to use only one egg, the mix was too loose so I fried them instead of grilling. I'd definitely like any more recipes your wife or SIL will share. I'll never give up meat, but I'm incorporating more vegetarian recipes into my diet.

A friend shared this site with me the other day. http://www.rawmazing.com/ There's some really good looking dishes on there. I don't think I'll buy a dehyrdator and make things via that method, but I should be able to adapt some to a bit of cooking.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

Bob, you are just oozing with great info today!! :tu

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

I'm not very good at making a big deal out of cooking. I just have entirely too much other stuff to do. I need to make time for making good food, someday. :D

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

Thanks Dom. I'll start posting more recipes that I'm developing if it'll help give others ideas on things to make. Mostly I try to shoot for a carb count of less than 45g per serving. I tend to make them high in fiber too so they digest slower and fill you up.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

Here's a recipe for Chicken Pozole Verde. This made 3 servings. The sodium count is a little high, but you can mitigate that by making choosing low sodium versions of the salsa and chicken stock.

8oz chicken breast, cubed into 1" cubes
3oz onions, chopped
1 29oz can of hominy
10oz of tomatillo salsa
2 cloves garlic chopped
24oz chicken stock
3oz can of roasted green chiles
Cilantro chopped, to taste

Brown the chicken in a little bit of oil in a medium pot over med-high heat, about 5-6 minutes. You don't need to cook all the way through, it'll finish once you add the rest of the ingredients and continue cooking. About 2-3 minutes into cooking the chicken, add the onions garlic. Stir and continue browning. Once chicken has browned on all sides, add the rest of the ingredients except the cilantro. Bring to a low boil, turn down the heat, cover the pot and simmer for 30 minutes to let the flavors blend. Divide into three portions and garnish with the chopped cilantro (and a bit more raw chopped onion if you like). Maybe squeeze a little fresh lime over the top too. Enjoy.

Based on the info I could find online and off the packages I used, the nutritional info is as follows per serving.

310 cals, 3g fat, 0g sat fat, 0g trans fat, 48mg chol, 1373mg sodium, 44g carbs, 10g fiber, 5g sugar, 19g protein.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

On the can of hominy, drain and rinse it before adding to the pot. There's a lot of excess salt in the solution it's packed in.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

Finally headed downward again after 2 straight days of gain. Still debating whether I should do 1-2 days of strength per week to mix things up or continue to focus on the aerobic stuff for now to burn some calories.
Posted via Mobile Device

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

Weight training is always good-focus on lower weight, high reps. That way you're focused on toning and burning calories, not trying to necessarily trying to build muscle. As your overall % of muscle increases, so will your metabolism.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

Three pound drop since last Friday. Pretty happy- it's likely not water weight as I've been drinking like a fish. Mostly Crystal Light, have been drinking less carbonated stuff.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

Awesome Hugh! Keep up the good work.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

Keep on chugging, Hugh!!! :tu
I've been hopelessly addicted to Aquafina Grape water for a couple years now. I have no idea what's in it, but it truly satiates my appetite. It's freakin delicious, too.
I guess it's really called FlavorSplash. Hundreds of bottles drank and I had no clue. Wow. Anyways, here's a pic. They have lots of flavors, lemonade is excellent as well. I bet you'll love it if you try it, and I promise it'll work against your appetite. Everyone who has tried it has experienced the same phenomenon.

http://www.instablogsimages.com/imag...02/02/fw11.jpg

Here's a pic of other flavors...

http://collegelifestyles.org/wp-cont...avorSplash.jpg

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

being in nunavut was hard for sticking to the plan, but to the best of my ability i didn't stray. Now in yellowknife for the next few days before i go home, should be easier :)

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

I've only been doing the low carb thing for 2 days, but I do feel like I woke up with some pep in my step.
It may be that I'm excited to be heading out to herf, but whatever the reason, Saturday is usually crash day for me.

I decided to buck up and track my food carefully.
Yesterday I took in 1917 cal 73 carbs & 129 fat.
My question is, in what range should I keep my fat intake?
The app I have says 50-100 but it also says 250-400 carbs.
Just wondering if you guys can help.

Also Bob, what app are you using to track your walking?
Thanks guys! :D

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

That's awesome Dom that you're feeling better.

I try to keep my fat intake below 65g, but that's one of the harder ones to do. I love cheese way too much and the low/non fat versions suck horribly. If you can, try to stick with lower fat versions of your proteins. A big culprit too is lunch meats. They're usually high in fat and sodium, except for turkey. Surprisingly, Jimmie Johns roast beef is pretty low in fat. I get their Unwich (wrapped in lettuce) and it's only like 5g of fat, even with cheese. Also, go light on things like mayo. It's notoriously high in fat. Cutting it in half will still give you the taste but a lot less fat. Same for salad dressings if you're into salads. Most have a lot of oils and eggs in them. What I do is get it on the side and dip my fork in to get a small amount on it before taking a bite. You get the flavor but use no where near as much as if you just pour it on. I tend to use half the amount they give you.

The big thing is how much of that fat is saturated. If that number is still low, less than 25g a day, you should be ok. Oils like olive, canola have a lot of unsaturated fats that are good for you. Same for nuts, especially almonds and cashews. They're high in calories, but have a lot of the good fats. So just watch the portion size. 1oz is what I eat. It doesn't look like a lot but you'd be surprised at how it will fill you up and satiate your appetite.

I use this website a lot for tracking the nutrition of what I'm eating. http://nutritiondata.self.com/

I use Runkeeper to track my walking. It's free and very easy to use and it does a good job. It is only by GPS though. I tried one that used a pedometer too but it wasn't that good. Depending upon what type of phone you have there's plenty of other apps that do the same thing. Cardiotrainer is one a lot of friends of mine with Android phones use.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

Official weigh-in this morning was both good and bad. 229.6 which was up from earlier in the week, but per my scale, my body fat % was at 28.1, down somewhere in the mid 30's. Plus my hydration level was at 51% which is up from ~45%. So all the water intake is having it's effect and keeping me hydrated.

I did get out and put in 4.14 miles this morning. Felt good. My normal walking pace is close to a 14min mile now. The key for me is listening to faster paced songs. Keeps me going.

Weird thing happend to me today in the early afternoon. I was out weeding the garden/yard. When I'd stand up, I almost blacked out. The last time I finally called it quits after I went to my knees. I've had this happen before and it went away. Hopefully it does again, cuz it's a scary feeling. Especially when the world goes dark for a few minutes. I'm guessing it was from the blood rushing out of my head. So I'm taking it easy the rest of the weekend and drinking plenty of fluids. Tomorrow I go clothes shopping again. Need more shorts. I"m going to be in KC this week and they let you wear shorts in the plant. Unfortunately I can't wear any of my cargo shorts for some silly reason.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

Dom, depends wht plan you're following, atkins % is 65-30-5 fat-protein-carbs, other ones are different you gotta figure it out

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

Thanks for the info fellas! :tu

Had my weigh in today.
266.4 a nice start to Fathers Day :D
My goal of 260 on July 4th seems very attainable, and I'm happy about that!

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

Awesome Dom. Sounds very attainable.

I feel like a yo-yo. Back down to 227.6 this morning. I need to stop the daily checks.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

:tu

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

low blood sugar most likely.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

I stopped doing daily checks too, If I gained a pound, I would get angry, and if I lost a pound I would get lax.
I usually check once midweek and then my official on Sunday.
Although -2 pounds overnight would probably give me a chubby :D

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

I thought that too, but took my BS reading and it was 117. I had eaten lunch a bit before so that's about right with the way my BS has been running pre/post meals.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

I thought i'd join in this thread. 3 weeks and 4 days ago I started my weightloss journey. I started out at 241lbs. 6'0 tall.

Today I am hovering at 218. Major diet changes, and lots of exercise. I hope to get to 215 before I start lifting weights again vs just cardio. It'll be nice to hit my high school weight 11 years after I graduated. LOL

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

Welcome Eddie.

Hoping to wear a speedo to EPIC? :D

That's a hell of a loss for 3+ weeks.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

I pretty much did a hell week(s). :banger

And I started right before memorial day weekend. I have had no beer or alcohol since then....That is the roughest part! LOL


Its tapering now. I am only gonna be loosing about maybe 2/lbs a week now. However once I start lifting...I will be putting on weight but hopefully in the form of muscle and a lower body fat %

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

202.8 this morning. I had hoped to get under 200 by the weekend. It still may happen, but I'm not holding my breath.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

Awesome job Eddie. I'm hoping to start lifting once I get back in town next weekend. Too many "jiggly" parts.

You can do it Scott. I think with all the work putting that new deck, it'll help shed a couple lbs.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

Hmm- maybe like you said it was the quick movement! Something to keep an eye on, brother!

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

Yea, much better today. I think it was just all the physical excersion yesterday combined with being bent over picking weeds. When I'd stand up all the blood would rush from my head.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

Got the 2 lbs back off and still riding or walking every day. Working on changing the eating habits. So I am on the right track.

Re: Losing Weight with Starscream
 

This is called orthostatic hypotension. It gets more common as you get older (not saying you're old) and is a typical side effect of some medications, but it's just something you need to be leery of when standing up so you don't drop. My advice-stand up slowly and maybe have something to prop yourself up against momentarily while your blood pressure stabilizes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthostatic_hypotension