It's time to do something - But what? I need to loose weight

robnybbq

That room has become a closet. Treadmill is folded up against he wall and no room to lay it down. Need to throw out all the junk in the house.

I was told to eat lean meats (stay away from most red meats) low fat and low carb by my doctor. At my height the fitness site says 1800/ day to loose 1-2lbs a week. She i used myfitnesspal and 1800 calories I was starving all day.

GA_Dawgs

Rob, do what Cali said. Measure your food until you get idea of what a serving size looks like. Myfitnesspal is good at giving you calorie counts for most all foods. I am also on an 1800 calorie a day limit. To give you an idea, here is what I ate today... Breakfast: Whole wheat English muffin with about 1 Tbsp almond butter and 1 tsp peach jam. Lunch: Lunch was the equivalent of 2 slices of smoked loney, and a couple pieces of French bread sliced thin and toasted with a total of 1 Tbsp ricotta cheese and some basil pesto on it. Dinner: 3/4 cup grilled asparagus, 4 oz grilled pork chops, a big salad and a small soft serve ice cream for desert. Snack was 1/2 of a Hershey's bar I went work a 2.5 mile jog/walk and my calorie count for the day nets at about 1327 including calories burned exercising. Once again I am 6'3" and 245 lbs and I feel satiated and ate healthy minus the chocolate and soft serve. I only drank water throughout the day to cut any unnecessary calories. Plus if I drink a lot of water it helps me feel full throughout the day. You can do it, just start with small changes and once you see progress it will help you make some bigger changes.

Doc_Eggerton

Dump all breads.  Drop, gasp, alcohol.  If you must just do white wine, and even better cut it with seltzer.

On edit, check out The Pink Method.  It is aimed at women, but I participated in support of The Spouse.  I lost 10 pounds, and she lost 30.  All the while we cooked on our Eggs.

http://www.pinkmethod.com/

Botch

Tomato season will be starting in a couple more months.  Every year I lose 10~15 lbs because I'm ravenous about raw, fresh tomatoes!  Then I gain it back.   :((  

I'm believing more and more that its the carbs that are the problem.  I can give up the spuds easily enough, but pasta, nooooo....  You actually shouldn't have to give up much on Egg food to lose weight.

Finally, I've heard a lot of positive buzz about this one:

Spaightlabs

Haven't seen anyone mention the building block of life - water.  Plain old water.  Gimme 96 ounces a day.  Most of the time when you think you are hungry, you are actualy just thirsty.  Drink 16 ounces and wait 10 minutes.  Hunger gone.

Salt.  knock it off.  Causes water retention and inflammation.

Soda?  Absolute empty worthless dangerous calories.  diet soda - still no good.

Biggest help is preparation and planning.  Gotta buy fresh and skip the processed.

Get at least 3 to 4 ounces of LEAN protein with each of your 5 meals.

Don't let other people's crappy habits determine how you eat.

Those free sandwiches at work?  Done.  You don't need 'em and they are killing you.

Don't have time to exercise? Excuse.  Take charge, it's your life and your health.

Good luck, fight for yourself.

Thatman

robnybbq at calorieking.com has a book that is very good at helping count calories it even tells you most of the major restaurants food.  Last I knew the price was about $10.00

 

TEggSun

Sorry for being an @sshole, but it boils down to your priorities.  Coming from a fat-ass (me), I have found that sustainable weight loss is driven by lifestyle changes.  I, too, have used every excuse in the books:  no time, bad taste, etc. I was on a lean protein, no carb diet on which I lost 11 pounds in the first week, and 45 in 6 months.  I also walked 4 miles per day.  I stopped both,and gained it all back.  My wife did the same diet and lost 45 pounds and now eats a balanced diet, with carbs, and has maintained her weight after more than a year.

In short, you will get out of your program what you are willing to put in.  No more, no less.  It is mathematics.  Lean protein, vegetables (low starch), exercise and patience.  It will pay off.

QDude

Whatever changes you do make, they must be something that you can do from this point forward.  Otherwise you will just put the weight back on very quickly.  Try to cut 250 calories from your diet each day and add in 250 calories of exercise.  At the end of the week, you will have lost one pound.  That is very easy to do if you set your mind to it.

Some changes that you can make that can make a difference:

1. Breakfast - Don't skip it!  Go with Kashi cereal with 1% milk.  This cereal has a high fiber content which keeps you full longer,  And it tastes great!  The 1% milk is better than I thought it would be.

2.  Snacks - Don't miss them.  Fruit, cheese sticks, yogurt, carrots, etc...  Nuts should be limited to 1/4 cup a day.

3.  Greek yogurt is good for a snack because it has high protein which keeps you full longer.

4.  Rolls and plain bread are empty calories - substitute with bread that is high in fiber.  There is some bread that is only 45 calories a slice and is tastes great.

5.  Turkey slices for sandwiches are much better for you than the standard beef or Italian style sandwiches.

I have been working with a dietitian for a few weeks because I needed to lose some weight.  She recommended a book called "The Small Change Diet".  It cost about $4 on Amazon which included the shipping.  Making some simple changes in your diet and a modest increase in exercise can make all of the difference in the world.  I have lost about 20 pounds over the last 5 months by doing this and I'm sure that you can do the same if you set your mind to it.

On a side note, I was at Laguna Beach over the Memorial Day weekend.  A really heavy guy died of a heart attack when we were on the beach.  Even though the lifeguards administered CPR immediately, he was gone and his wife was left alone.  We all need to take care of ourselves and prevent ourselves from getting to the "diseased" stage of life where medicine can only deal with the symptoms, but not cure the disease.

Good luck with your efforts.

Lowflyer

@robnybbq, not sure how old you are, but u might want to get checked for Low T, might give you the motivation to get started....

BOWHUNR

Hi Rob,

Don't take this wrong, but it sounds like you make a lot of excuses for someone that really wants to lose weight.  Trust me, I know what it's like as I have fought it all my life.  A little over two years ago high blood pressure caused my heart to go into A-Fib and that was my wake up call.  Don't let yourself get there.

I lost over 40 pounds with a change of diet and a little exercise.  No way around it, it sucks at first, but if you really want it, you will work at it and before long you'll forget about your old life style.  It's Summer time so no reason not to eat right when you get home and then go for a walk.  Clean that tread mill room out and get it ready for this Winter.

By cutting out the breads and pastas combined with just a little exercise you will be amazed.  Good luck!!  Trust me, if I can do it you can!!

Mike

Scottborasjr

The way I look at it you have to actually want it, if it doesn't taste good to you, look for a way to improve the flavor or get over it.  I'm still at a loss to explain to you how to cook skinless chicken on the Egg, I don't even put anything on boneless skinless chicken breasts and my wife devours them. I would love to eat cake and ice cream for every meal, but that doesn't work.

Walden Farms has a line of calorie free sauces and dressings that you can look into. I hear they are good.

Pasta is fine in small portions as long as you actually physically do something besides sitting in a chair.  If you are as big a fan of pasta as you say you are, time for some activity.

I really am not trying to be a prick, but if you want to make a change do it for your kids and your wife. Seriously, find something that works for you and roll with it.

SteveWPBFL

On the other hand .... you could cook like crazy on the Egg to get your Eggsercise . . . and we'll help you out by coming by to pick up the results. A win-win! Seriously, I have the same problem so the only thing is to decrease intake and increase burning it off, however that works out. Fundamentally, (hint hint) it's a game with yourself, you just do it, baby! If you win most of the time you'll stay even. You have to win a lot to lose. But as Pink sings (good song, btw), you gotta TRY! And you gotta keep on trying. It's just that way in the USA.

Acn

Some tricks, use smaller plates. Half of your plate should be filled with veggies. If you are going to have pasta, eat smaller portions and use a whole wheat pasta. If you only like vegetables with lots of sauce, try lighter ones, instead of covering the veggies in butter, try salsa (same with chicken breasts). Even better if you can make your own, to control the salt.

There are plenty of ways to sneak a bit more activity into your day. Don't circle the parking lot to find a close parking spot, take one far away. Return the shopping cart back to the store, not a close cart stall. Don't know where you work or live, but take stairs vs elevators. Use the bathroom furthest from you, instead of closest.

Work on making changes you can maintain.

hapster

When you are starting out

No breads, pasta, cake, sugar, etc... every time you do, it's starting over again.

There are so many ways to season veggies, grill them up, and enjoy them... Here is a link to the type of meal I'm talking about. Not self promotion, but a case of showing rather than talking about it...

http://egginwithedward.blogspot.com/2013/01/cave-man-burgers-going-primal.html

fishlessman

low carbs work but you never made it past the induction phase to get past the weakness. you probably did it wrong anyways aslean meats are not a priority, try thighs skin on if you dont like skinless breasts, bbq buffalo wings are as good cold as they are when served hot. eat eggs, lots of eggs and change them up, omelets, softboiled, fried, hardboiled for lunch, pickled. make sure to eat fat, dump bluecheese dressing on that salad. sneak a veggie in for breakfast, tomatoes with the bacon and eggs or peppers and onions in the ham and cheese omelet. terryaki chicken or steak from a takeout is better for weight loss than a sandwich with bread, get rid of the bread til you meet your goal. i hate any type of cardiovascular exercise but am finding weight lifting with dumbels to be ok twice a week while watching tv at home and drinking a gin and tonic.
) im down 50 since the fall, waiste on the pants down to a 29 from a 38 and holding at 180, still need to lose another 10 pounds or so

Little Steven

So fish, you break your butt to lose all this weight and you gotta go out and buy a new wardrobe? I'll buy all those 38 pants if you want to get rid of them ">

SaturdayFatterday

i used myfitnesspal and 1800 calories I was starving all day.

You have to force yourself to fight through that.  Your stomach is used to getting more food than it needs, and it will protest at first.  You need to push ahead - remember that you ARE getting enough food, it's just that your stomach wants more than is good for it.  You have to retrain it - the suggestion to drink water when you're hungry between meals is a good one.  I think you'll be surprised at how quickly 1800 calories starts to feel normal.

It's like quitting smoking.  You need to retrain yourself to go through your day without your cigarette breaks.  I quit almost two years ago - it was hard, and I felt like I was going to go crazy from the cravings, but I pushed through for my wife and for the sake of any kids we might have.  Same thing, here:  train your stomach to realize that it will be fine with the limits you're setting for it.  It will be hard, but you can do it.

Finally, some suggestions for vegetables that might give you flavors you like without ruining them, healthful-wise:

*Brussels sprouts - clean, halve, roast at 400 with a touch of olive oil, a tiny, tiny pinch of salt (I'm talking less than 1/8 tsp.), a healthy dose of pepper, and some red pepper flakes.  Alternatively, if you don't like spice, drizzle 'em with a little oil and 1/4 tsp of maple syrup - no more.

*Carrots - roast or steam and toss with cinnamon.

*Zucchini and squash - both of these go well, when roasted or steamed, with a touch of curry powder and some ground black pepper.

*If you like potatoes, try roasting or boiling and mashing rutabagas or turnips instead - their glycemic index rating is much more favorable, and I think the flavor is much better.  Remember to take the skins off.

*Make slow cooked greens.  Use highly nutrient-dense ones (kale, mustard greens, collards).  Make 'em in the slow cooker with hot peppers, black pepper, low-sodium chicken broth, a touch of oil, and 1/3 cup of cider vinegar.  Use almost no salt.  Then, and here's the key, serve 'em in the juices in the slow cooker, and make sure to eat the juices, too - that way you're getting the maximum amount of nutritional value.  I think greens are probably the most easily acquired "healthy" taste, because adding just a little jalapeno or serrano to the mix gives you a great flavor without all the salt that's in hot sauces.

pwg56

I also find weighing myself - once a day, at the same time each day - to be a great motivator and governor.  If I see I'm dropping weight it motivates me to keep doing what I'm doing because it is getting results.  If I slip a bit and I see the weigh jump up it reminds me I have to get back on track.

Griffin

I agree with some of the stuff that has been said here and disagree with others. I've been following the Primal Diet, which is similar to Paleo. Basically going back to what hunter/gatherers ate. Meat, veggies (most of them) and some fruit. No more carbs, no processed foods (chips, cookies, etc), no pasta, bread or flour. I've lost a good amount of weight and I'm never hungry and I don't count calories. Cabs are your enemy and will be your biggest challenge. If you bring your body into ketosis, your results will shock you. Once you get in ketosis, your body won't be burning carbs (since you aren't consuming them), but you will start burning fat. As long as you consume carbs, your body will burn those first and store the fat for later. You need to get your body burning fat. That is key. Don't worry about calories. The whole "burn more calories than you consume" doesn't work. It will leave you hungry and doesn't work because you will end up listening to your body and eat more. No, its what you eat that matters. And the whole food pyramid is garbage. Your body doesn't need all those grains. If you think about it, grains are a relatively new staple in human history and its something that our bodies don't need and really don't know how to handle. Eliminate them all together.

Sounds tough and it sounds harsh, but its not hard. Just takes pre-planning on your part. Throw away all that garbage food in your house and stock it with healthy options (and no, "healthy" cereal is not an option). No more processed foods or sodas ( I only have Coke with my bourbon, not giving that up). For me, the change of diet wasn't an option. At 36, I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes. 303 blood sugar level and 8.1 A1C. Happy to report that in 6 weeks I had brought it down to the 90s and my A1C was down in the 5s.

Look up Primal Diet, look up Paleo and look up a book called "Why we get fat and what to do about it" Good luck to you,

Oh....one last thing. Primal diet is 80 percent diet and 20 exercise and the exercise part isn't hard. I'm about to break 190 and down 2 pant sizes this year.

SWVABeanCounter

Hey Rob,

I'm going to jump on the no more excuses bandwagon.  You have to take responsibility for all your actions.  I read where you say you get no lunch break.  Have you spoken to your boss and told him you have health concerns?  I've been overweight and the first few months are no fun, but it took a long time to get into that condition so it will take a long time to fix it.  A few items I've seen here I would stress as important.  #1 Water.  Drink lots and drink it cold, on ice if possible.  #2 You really need to find time to exercise.  It not only helps phsically, but helps mentally as well.  #3  Experiment with spice.  Spice is the variety of life.  Keep trying and you're bound to find spices the whole family can live with.

Good Luck and keep us posted.  As you can see by all the responses, we all would like to help.

robnybbq

hapster said:

When you are starting out

No breads, pasta, cake, sugar, etc... every time you do, it's starting over again.

There are so many ways to season veggies, grill them up, and enjoy them... Here is a link to the type of meal I'm talking about. Not self promotion, but a case of showing rather than talking about it...

http://egginwithedward.blogspot.com/2013/01/cave-man-burgers-going-primal.html

That looks great!  No breads, pasta, cake - OK for a few weeks - I guess that means no beer/alcohol either?

hapster

No beer for sure... unless you are cheating

If you drink, stick with spirits, almost no carbs when neat. However, when you drink alcohol, it turns the diet off like a switch, until it's processed, you won't be burning fat. Once it's out the fat burning should resume relatively quickly.

If you want sweets, eat fresh fruit. You can also egg your fruit... I especially like peaches, half them, and then coat with some olive oil, cinnamon, and a touch of cyan pepper... they are tasty and healthy, I've done peaches, pineapple, pears..

SaturdayFatterday

A really important component of paleo/primal is regular exercise.  In addition, if you do it temporarily, the results will not last, either.  Just saying.

ReldtiCDN

Have you tried the all red meat diet no sauces or carbs just meat or proteins all meals my bro did it and lost 40lbs in 3 months and he ate well.

robnybbq

Appreciate the help guys.  I would like to go back to trying low/no carb for a while (yes I will deal without pasta for a while as we have cut back on that already).

Not a sweet person so I do not need cookies, cake, ice cream (once in a blue moon).

Cooking vegetables has always been an issue.  Will have to learn how.  And what to spice them up with.  I got a bunch of rubs but can not see them on veggies.  I like green/red peppers but only once in a while.  Tried cooking them on the Egg and same result.  dried out usually. 

I need to learn how to plan and make meals that I can bring to work with me as well.  That do not need to be reheated for the most part and not come out like dried cardboard.  For example if I cooked a steak on Sunday and brought it to work on Wednesday it will be dried out.  What would I have with it?  Lettuce without dressing?

I just know myself too much that if I get too aggravated I will stop trying.  Repeat cycle.  That is why I need to find a better way of doing this.

As for alcohol - I can do without beer as I like Vodka and scotch(once in a while).  I usually mix Vodka with crystal light (no carbs/calories) or club soda.


Diabetes is coming one day (Family history with not good with it). 

Age 41
Weight 245 (This morning)
Cholesterol 220
Triglycerides - 350
Sugar 91 - Do not know how
Blood Pressure 130/80

robnybbq

Say I cooked a pork loin.  What is a serving on no carb/paleo?

2 slices at 1/2 inch thick with a 1/2 cup of carrots?

hapster

I do all my veggies on the egg except for greens...

use a little oil and toss them with kosher salt, course ground black pepper, and garlic salt... they always turn out fantastic

fishlessman

Little Steven said:

So fish, you break your butt to lose all this weight and you gotta go out and buy a new wardrobe? I'll buy all those 38 pants if you want to get rid of them ">

my wardrobe consists of one pair of pants 38, one pair of pants 34, and one pair of pants 29
) im not a rich canadian

Little Steven

fishlessman said:

Little Steven said:

So fish, you break your butt to lose all this weight and you gotta go out and buy a new wardrobe? I'll buy all those 38 pants if you want to get rid of them ">

my wardrobe consists of one pair of pants 38, one pair of pants 34, and one pair of pants 29
) im not a rich canadian

Maybe not but you have the life of a millionaire

SaltySam

Approach weight loss the same way you approach temperature control on the egg.  Immediate drastic changes don't work well.  It's like steering a ship.  Make small, manageable changes to your life.  If you just swear off all foods you love, you begin to resent the "healthy" foods.  That typically leads to diet failure.

Don't think of it as a temporary thing.  Think of it as a permanent thing, a lifestyle change.  You're not going to be an Olympic athlete tomorrow, so don't hold yourself to those standards.  Above all, do what it takes to be happy.  Enjoy your life!