Diet crap talk

[Unorthodox]

It's not right to keep cluttering the cooking thread and I don't want to sully my random one. 

So, I'm officially about where I was 4 years ago. 

Because the pants fit again.

I'm tempering any celebratory shenanigans however, as you really can't tell.  I don't really LOOK any different. 

I've more or less got the corn syrup habit kicked.  Other corn products/ingredients are more difficult to cut out just because of their ubiquity. 

The Simply _____________ products have really eased the soda problem.  Simply strawberry lemonade, or simply mixed berry, etc.  I was genuinely surprised how many of the orange and fruit juices had corn syrup.   A little juice glass curbs the soda crave most the time. 

Next on my list will be cutting down on sugar, however.  (not fructose, just sugar sugar)  with most the substitutes and allergy problem, we'll see how it goes.

[Lorizael]

I'm at just over 200 lbs, which is about 10 lbs less than my heaviest. I need to lose probably 20 lbs. Easiest way would be to cut down on mountain dew. I also need to lay off the snacks/candy and the muffin+juice for breakfast.

[Rusty Edge]

Corn starch and corn sweeteners are rather ubiquitous. But, if you can eliminate an allergen, it's usually worth it.

I find that managing sweets was a lot like when I had to manage salt. After about six weeks of determined effort to avoid it, my taste re-calibrated so that I prefer it without any added.  Also, cinnamon curbs a sugar craving.

[Unorthodox]

Yeah I’ve hit that point with corn syrup.  It just doesn’t taste right.

My biggest problem is the water at work sucks and I can’t conveniently pack some from home any more.  Meanwhile hydrating is key to the gall bladder issues. 

[Rusty Edge]

Quantitative- My last weigh-in was steady to a couple of tenths of a pound. Maybe I'm retaining water as the temperature increases again. Bought pants today. 4" less on the waistline than the last pair I remember buying ( and they were built to stretch, expecting further growth).

 
Qualitative- 1) I was trying to catch a cat under the bed. I could feel the end of my breast bone. I can't remember the last time that happened. 2) Also, I forgot to bring my CPAP machine. My wife insists I didn't snore. I slept through the night without waking up. I am, or was, the loudest snorer I have ever heard in my life. Two nights so far. 3) I can wear my belt buckle on the front of my pants without it digging in to my belly when I sit.


That's all well and good. Since I am fishing and I promised myself some exceptions to the rules I have been following with such rigor, I am also compensating with some extra physical activity/exercise. So while things are different, I hope to at least hold steady for the duration of the trip.

[E_T]

Have fun!!

[ColdWizard]

I lost 10 pounds from not sleeping and coughing up phlegm. A silver lining situation, but an opportunity to build off of.

[Geo]

Ironically, I kinda dropped *just* below 75 kilo's by switching from cookies/biscuits to ice cream.

[Rusty Edge]

I lost 10 pounds from not sleeping and coughing up phlegm. A silver lining situation, but an opportunity to build off of.

That's a great attitude. I reccommend that you rehydrate with unsweetened liquids.

[ColdWizard]

That's a great attitude. I reccommend that you rehydrate with unsweetened liquids.

I've been having some trouble with my usual large water containers and have resorted to pouring them into smaller cups, which I somehow find easier to drink. Still not as hydrated as I would like to be. Might have to get some watermelon or something.

[Rusty Edge]

Tomorrow will complete 4 months on my diet. I've lost about 49.5 pounds so far, I expect 50 at tomorrow's weigh-in. I've been adding exercise, but I haven't re-attempted sit-ups yet, maybe it's time to try again. I'm trying to stretch before walking a mile and 3/4ths every day.

I've started doing a few push-ups, adding one more each day. I guess my back and what-not is better. If it reaches a point where I can't do them all, I'll simply split it into two sessions. I may reach a point where I need to stop because of my joints. We'll see. I was at one push-up per year of age each day, back about the time I was married, but it overtaxed my elbow, so I quit. Whenever I go to the basement, I've also been doing some exercises with a boat anchor in each hand. They're not big, 17lbs-ish each. I'm surprised how often I make the trip- our freezers are down there, and so is the clothes line, for pants, mostly. Yesterday it was for a kitchen appliance. We have a number there which only get used a couple of times/year, if that.

The weight might be coming off faster than I expected overall, but I don't see any signs of wrinkled skin yet. I've been using a belt with a sort of bumper jack mechanism because it tightens in increments of about a quarter inch. Well, I reached the last notch in the track yesterday, so I removed the buckle/latch and cut about 5 inches from that end of the belt before re-attaching it. That's a great feeling.

So it's going well for my body. On another front, not so much.. I've been trying to find ways for my wife and I to eat the same meals, but she doesn't like any of the substitutions I've tried so far to make our meals diet-compliant. If it's not the taste, it's the texture. While I eat most vegetables and greens if they are fresh and not too mature, my wife only likes the high calorie ones I'm not supposed to eat cooked- potatoes, corn, carrots, beets, pumpkin, and peas. So I'm making two meals, and she was never much for left-overs. I always ate those. I guess I'll just have to learn to cook like a chef, plate by plate, but simultaneously.

[Spacy]

My addiction has come back with a ferocity this summer.

30 odd years ago, I was in the Peace Corps living in Ecuador.  Couldn't drink the water without boiling it first - and that tasted terribly funny, was expensive & time consuming (natural gas tanks to run the stove).  I started drinking Coke, Fanta & Sprite.  Within 6 months I was up to drinking 3-4 liters of soda per day.  I also was very high metabolism, and I weighted between 145-150 lbs the entire time.

Get back to USA, get a few years older, keep the same drinking habits even with water I could drink... next thing I know I am 27, have a crap ton of cavities, and non of the pants fit.... by the time I was 27.5, I went from 150 lbs to 220 lbs.  By the time I was 28, I was passing 300 lbs.  Tried cold turkey - was great at home, but as I was single and I am not a drinker (1 beer per month), and all my friend we bar hopping, I always ended up drinking cokes.  But, I did so kinda smart, just at those time.  Occasionally as a desert for myself (and very much used as a desert / special treat).  Went to a Dr., got on a diet and exercise plan.... but after eating frigging rabbit food for years and watching all the junk I ate, and exercised as much as I could (pins in knees), I had my weight settle in a 280-290, depending upon season. 

About 12 years ago now, I felt my metabolism change, again.  I dropped in 3 months from 285 to about 190.  I was scarred of cancer and all sorts of other crap.  This was right at the height of the housing crash - 2007 - when my stress went though the roof and I went through unemployment and damn near lost the house that I purchased 1 year earlier.  Found a new, good Dr., did a ton of blood work, and basically he came back with start eating a lot more protein.  As cheeseburger is my favorite ever, wasn't hard to do.  3 months later I was back up to 280, which is still too much, but better than where I was going.

I have been working to find a balance between cheeseburger and rabbit food ever since.  Then, about 2 years ago I think I found the right balance that worked for me.  I was down to about 225, steadily loosing but not loosing muscle mass, doing it healthy, little here, little there - then something hit me around x-mas.  About the time I got into the new house (and all sorts of other, minor medical things that are small individually, but add up quick), and was getting hell at work due to Mgmt having its head stuck up its backside and being clueless about the day to day realities we faced in the building; which disrupted all the habits I had carefully made for myself.  It dawned on me that I was no longer treating a coke as a special treat, but was using it to quench thirst... which it doesn't really do b/c of all the sugar.  In May, I realized I was going through a 12 pack of cans in a day.  1 large drink on the way into work for the caffeine to get going.  Another refill at lunch to eat the crap available.  Another on the way home from work.  Did the math - that was equivalent to 10 cans right there.  1 actual can with dinner while I cooked, and another while I ate and did whatever in the evening.  Rinse & repeat. 

So, back to the grind - getting myself back in order.  First key is always just being aware of it. 

[Rusty Edge]

So, back to the grind - getting myself back in order.  First key is always just being aware of it.

Isn't it though? That's true of all kinds of things- speech, breathing, balance, body odor, being a jerk...

[Rusty Edge]

"Tomorrow will complete 4 months on my diet. I've lost about 49.5 pounds so far, I expect 50 at tomorrow's weigh-in. I've been adding exercise, but I haven't re-attempted sit-ups yet, maybe it's time to try again. I'm trying to stretch before walking a mile and 3/4ths every day.

I've started doing a few push-ups, adding one more each day. I guess my back and what-not is better. If it reaches a point where I can't do them all, I'll simply split it into two sessions. I may reach a point where I need to stop because of my joints. We'll see. I was at one push-up per year of age each day, back about the time I was married, but it overtaxed my elbow, so I quit. Whenever I go to the basement, I've also been doing some exercises with a boat anchor in each hand. They're not big, 17lbs-ish each. I'm surprised how often I make the trip- our freezers are down there, and so is the clothes line, for pants, mostly."

Since I wrote this it got interesting. I crossed the fifty pounds lost barrier, as expected. Then I went out to eat Hibachi to celebrate. Broke the rules with a fru-fru drink.  I don't think that's a big deal considering it's the first time I broke the alcohol rules. I stuck to the rules about which foods I ate, but the problem was the salt. I absorbed water and gained a few pounds. Also, I had some beef broth last week, again a salt problem. Today I am back at a new low of 228.4 lbs.

There was another issue, lower back pain and stiffness, some of the worst continuous back pain of my life without an injury. Apparently the push-ups and weights were too much too soon, but at least my arm joints weren't the limiting factor. I had to stop the arm exercises, apply biofreeze a couple times a day, schedule a massage  and use the Aleve Direct Therapy TENS device frequently. I'm still walking, but only one mile half of the days, it's pretty hot and humid for my dog.

I'm planning to get back to normal walking distances this week, and try a little yard work again. If that goes okay, I'll start the arm exercises again from scratch the following week.

[Unorthodox]

I don’t have numbers. 

I’ve kinda plateaued a bit judging from pants and some struggling on the soda front. 

But I just cut my pants.  This puts me in a dilemma.  I’d hoped to make it to Black Friday as usual before buying new ones.

So. Pats wearing at start of diet are hilariously oversized now.  Nearly clown levels. Would need suspenders. Present pants are simply 2 sizes smaller same cut. They fit great right out of the wash but get loose by end of day.  Cut, not going to work anymore. My only other pair that “fits” is a size even smaller and different cut.  I can squeeze in out of the wash but they are tight but not crushing by days end. 

The goal was to be in that smaller size by thanksgiving.  Now I don’t know whether to suffer with the tight pants hoping to have them fit later or buy another of these hoping they won’t. 

Knees are noticing the weight loss.