It's Wednesday weigh ins! 2007-2022

[simple girl]

The weight seems to be maintaining, but I'm having a little problem keeping the blood sugar down. I've got a doctor's appointment in the beginning of Nov, and I'm trying to kick ass diet-wise to try to avoid getting put on meds.

Are you watching the type of carbs you are eating? If you eat more whole wheat breads/pastas vs. white breads/pastas, this is supposed to help with spiking of blood sugars. I think. It's been a while since I read about it, but that's what I remember off the top of my head.

Well, I'm sure beer drinking doesn't help, but any advice from me on that would be like the pot calling the kettle black, LOL.

 

[Kronk]

Sarah, Alan, and simple girl, thanks for the well-wishes.

As it turns out, I'm able to do a bit more than I thought I might. I taught Tae Kwon Do last night and felt well enough to take part in most of the advanced class following the one I taught. So I got a bit of exercise in, and it felt good to be throwing kicks again.

I hurt it by being stupid, and attempting something that I didn't remember quite as well as I thought I did. I set up my uke (partner) incorrectly, and ended up going up and over, falling on my shoulder with my weight and some of his. Sometimes stupidity is immediately punished, and this was one of those times.

 

[Alan]

Kronk,
Thanks for the update - good to hear that you can still exercise.

I hope you'll continue to post each week - no slacking

 

[Rambler]

Are you watching the type of carbs you are eating? If you eat more whole wheat breads/pastas vs. white breads/pastas, this is supposed to help with spiking of blood sugars. I think. It's been a while since I read about it, but that's what I remember off the top of my head.

Well, I'm sure beer drinking doesn't help, but any advice from me on that would be like the pot calling the kettle black, LOL.

Yeah Harley, hope you don't have to go on meds. One thought: adding legumes to your meals adds fiber, slows the flow of carb/sugar to your blood, and thus your insulin response is slower and steadier...reducing sugar highs and hypoglycemic crashes. Ya gotta cut some other calories though if you add beans. I add them to 1-2 meals a day, about 1/2 cup each meal, tossed on a salad, as a side dish, whatever. I do it for the fiber for digestive purposes, but I'm going to get a follow-up blood test in a couple weeks to see where my blood sugar, LDL, HDL, Tri-Gs and blood proteins are. Six months off my last blood test and I'm betting that adding the beans and exercise will have improved the blood counts a lot.

R

 

[Rambler]

Oh, by the way, down to 232 now... I think that's a whole pound since I posted here last a couple weeks ago (and 25+ miles jogged and 35+ miles walked). But, with all the exercise I get, I'm feeling pretty good. It seems the exercise does wonders for the mood. In my case, it seems to help me be more decisive as well. Two notches down on the belt, even though the scale says not much weight loss yet.

R

 

[Alan]

Oh, by the way, down to 232 now... I think that's a whole pound since I posted here last a couple weeks ago (and 25+ miles jogged and 35+ miles walked). But, with all the exercise I get, I'm feeling pretty good. It seems the exercise does wonders for the mood. In my case, it seems to help me be more decisive as well. Two notches down on the belt, even though the scale says not much weight loss yet.

R

I never really believed the 'feel good' factor story about exercising until I experienced it myself, and now I'm a true believer.

In particular if we've able to exercise outdoors, either biking, hiking, tennis or walking. Get back exhausted sometimes, but feel absolutely 'high' for ages afterwards.

3 weeks ago while visiting our son I played tennis with an old friend. We are well matched and played for about 90 minutes, gamed ended 5-7, 7-5. Then I played a set with my son. I wish I could do that every week.

 

[harley]

Are you watching the type of carbs you are eating? If you eat more whole wheat breads/pastas vs. white breads/pastas, this is supposed to help with spiking of blood sugars.

Yeah Harley, hope you don't have to go on meds. One thought: adding legumes to your meals adds fiber, slows the flow of carb/sugar to your blood, and thus your insulin response is slower and steadier...reducing sugar highs and hypoglycemic crashes. Ya gotta cut some other calories though if you add beans.

Thanks for the concern, all. Yeah, I'm eating like a good little boy. Whole grains, veggies, salad out the yazoo, some lean meats, no processed white stuff (bread, rice, sugar, potatoes). When I started testing again a few months ago after "forgetting" for about 3 years, my fasting blood sugar was over 400. I've got it down to the 150-175 range, and I should feel pretty good about that. But just like happens with weight loss, I've hit a plateau. Want to get down under 130, but it won't be happening before the doc gets hold of me.

I never really believed the 'feel good' factor story about exercising until I experienced it myself, and now I'm a true believer.

In particular if we've able to exercise outdoors, either biking, hiking, tennis or walking. Get back exhausted sometimes, but feel absolutely 'high' for ages afterwards.

3 weeks ago while visiting our son I played tennis with an old friend. We are well matched and played for about 90 minutes, gamed ended 5-7, 7-5. Then I played a set with my son. I wish I could do that every week.

DW and I have been walking our neighborhood loop, 1 3/4 miles, usually twice and sometimes 3 times/day. It has been making us both feel great, more energized, less hungry, and less desire for a nap. I never bought into the theory about endorphins, but I think it was because I was running, which I hate. I love to walk, especially with DW, and the endorphins are running instead.

 

[Alan]

DW and I have been walking our neighborhood loop, 1 3/4 miles, usually twice and sometimes 3 times/day. It has been making us both feel great, more energized, less hungry, and less desire for a nap. I never bought into the theory about endorphins, but I think it was because I was running, which I hate. I love to walk, especially with DW, and the endorphins are running instead.

We are soooo looking forwad to RE when we can start going on holiday to places where we can get in plenty of walking. We love hills and coastal areas with cliff tops that you can walk along. Next holiday is 3 weeks in England in April and this time we are not even hiring a car. Going to be getting everywhere via train, bus and shank's pony. (by foot).

 

[LeatherneckPA]

OK, surprised this is still here, since I haven't surfed FIRE in a while. guess I'll start back in again. I had a couple of really bad years and rebounded WAY up there. Near as I can tell from the above I am the high weight champion in this thread. Pretty sure that is not a good thing.

50 yrs old, 74" tall, goal weight of 225
10/15 - 368.2

 

[Sarah in SC]

Never fear, Leathernecker, I'm falling off the wagon all the time.
You need to chase those chickens around some more now that you are retired!

156 right now but I know it is the beer. I'm not kidding anybody at this point. I gotta drop at least 10 lbs -- I am going to buy a full length mirror tonight based on advice I got here and I'm hoping that will keep me out of the refrigerator at night.

My daughter has been taking pole dancing classes for about a year now and is 'addicted' to the 'sport'....
she bought a pole and stage for her dining room area and set up a full length mirror to watch herself do the moves.
She doesn't eat much...

 

[Khan]

Never fear, Leathernecker, I'm falling off the wagon all the time.
You need to chase those chickens around some more now that you are retired!

156 right now but I know it is the beer. I'm not kidding anybody at this point. I gotta drop at least 10 lbs -- I am going to buy a full length mirror tonight based on advice I got here and I'm hoping that will keep me out of the refrigerator at night.

You could put the mirror on or next to the refrigerator door.

 

[LeatherneckPA]

Sarah, buy one of the cheap ones at W$$-Mart and take it out of the frame. Then use carpet tape to stick it to the front door of the fridge. THAT should do it!!

 

[simple girl]

Holding steady at 125#.

I don't expect a good weigh-in next week. We are going away to Gulf Shores, AL for a long weekend with friends for the National Shrimp Festival. I plan to fully indulge in food and drink

I promise to stay away from the balcony. We're beachfront on the 14th floor.

129#

Yikes! I gained 4# in 5 days!

Do you think it could have been the drinking or the food? (see attached pics)

How about both? We did have a blast, though! Thank goodness I actually worked out 2 of the 5 days, or it would have been much worse!

 

[Alan]

6' 1" Target range 170 - 175

07/31 - 174.5 10/15 - 176.5
08/06 - 177
08/13 - 176.5
08/20 - 177
08/27 - n/a
09/03 - 176
09/10 - 179
09/17 - 175.5
09/24 - 177
10/01 - 174.5
10/08 - 176

Still floating around the top of my target range.

Welcome Leatherneck, good to have you posting here. I look forward to seeing your progress.

Looking at photos I can see how SG fell off the rails. Just remember that it is not falling that counts, it's what you do when you pick yourself up.

 

[Sarah in SC]

What a fun trip, SG! That bar top is impressive--I love rum as well and it looks like you were well represented in that department.

That is a great idea about putting it on the front of the fridge, since putting my weight chart on there didn't deter me at all! Maybe I need to put up a mirror in our favorite booth at the Mexican restaurant as well!

 

[Khan]

musings on weight loss & stress

If a moderator wants to move this, feel free.

I have mentioned that after retiring I slowly lost weight: 1/2 pound per week for 3 years = 80#.

I recall reading something (MS Magazine?) many years ago, that part of the reason women (don't know if this applies to men) are fat is that on some level your emotions want you to be fat. That 'set point' is emotional. That fat is a barrier against something.

In my case, my 'set point' went from 215 to 135 with little conscious effort after retirement and after withdrawal from all those people and all their stimulus and interactions.

In my case, it seems the fat went away simply because I didn't 'need' it any more.

YMMV

 

[Sarah in SC]

What an interesting way to describe your experience, Khan. I remembered you mentioning this before now, and I fervently hoped that the same thing would happen to some of the rest of us weary dieters!

But this is the first time I've seen you articulate why you think the weight went away--that you didn't need it to cope with all that human interaction anymore. I can see that very clearly with all the stress at work right now, we are all reaching for comfort foods because we are talking 8 hours a day to dreadfully unhappy people and it is exhausting. Being introverted, I can manage talking to folks, but it takes all of my energy reserves to do so. I could totally see that once I don't have to talk to people, that my need for food that makes me fat would melt away as yours did.

Thank you very much for sharing this--and this is a perfect place to put such comments!

 

[Alan]

Very interesting Khan, excellent perspective. Thanks very much for sharing your thoughts on this.

 

[harley]

All time high - 262 (2005)
Recent high - 242 (last April)
07/08/08 - 238.4
07/15/08 - 237.2
07/22/08 - 237.4
07/29/08 - 234.4
08/06/08 - 234.4
08/13/08 - 233.0
08/20/08 - skipped
08/27/08 - 234.4
09/03/08 - 232.2
09/10/08 - 231.0
09/17/08 - 229.2
09/25/08 - 10/1/08 - skipped due to travel
10/08/08 - 229.8
10/15/08 - 229.2

First goal - 220
Ultimate goal - 200

Hmm, seem to be plateaued. We've been on the road a lot, eating out. At least I'm maintaining. But I am looking forward to dropping those last two lbs. to move from obese to overweight. It's a relatively meaningless goal, but I take what I can get.

I won't lose it this week. Going camping. Lots of hiking, but lots of sitting around the fire drinking beer too. It will be well worth it. Then 2 weeks of monastic dieting to get ready to see the [-]executioner [/-] doctor. Have a great weekend, all.

 

[Rambler]

Harley - I think you are doing great...you've actually lost. I'm stuck on 231, and the darn scale won't budge...seems the needle got superglued in place or something. Someone, I think it was Alan, suggested I check my caloric intake...I haven't done that yet by journaling, but I have been watching what I eat even closer, as well as how much I exercise.

Yesterday, for example, I ran on the treadmill for 4.5 miles...I had to break it up a bit because I still can't run that far without a breather, but 1-2 miles at a whack anyway. Then I walked nearly 3 more miles. Total exercise expenditure was over 1100 cal. Breakfast was an Atkins bar (170 cal), lunch was a couple small pieces of boneless chicken, didn't have time to make lunch and buying it around here means no veggies. No rice. Dinner was a small piece of leftover roast, about a cup of cooked spinach, and about 1/2 cup of rice. Thats it.

Today was endurance day for me at the gym, ran 3.5 miles at about a 10:30 pace (slow, I know...but faster and further than I could have gone two months ago). Walked another three miles...900 cal tallied to the exercise column. Breakfast was about 300 cal worth of fiber crackers, lunch was fat free ham and a slice of Kraft cheese on part-wheat bread with a thin scrape of mayo and mustard. We'll see what dinner brings, but usually its a small piece of chicken or meat, a nice pile of veggies, usually 1/2 cup of some kind of legume and sugar-free punch.

These are more or less normal exercise days, and I am trying to push faster and further (want to get up to 6 miles running at about a 9-9:30 pace...doing it by alternating higher speed/shorter consecutive miles and repeat, then a day of slower/longer distance. I do this usually five days a week, sometimes four, sometimes six...try to keep it to five though because I have found that I need the rest/recovery to be able to perform to my most recent standard.

Anyway, I'm just going to keep plugging away at it. I may go on Nazi Atkins for a couple weeks (in about 2 weeks after a trip I have to take) to see if I can jump start the loss part. With all the pain in the market lately, the exercise has helped me keep my mind focused on losing something other than money.

And, I'm trying to: Find Joy in the Journey!

R

 

[harley]

Rambler, I think you might be overdoing it. I'm far from an expert, but I've heard that if you reduce calories and increase exercise too far your body goes into shutdown or starvation mode, where it quits burning calories or maybe goes anaerobic or something. I assume you can force our way through it, but I'm not sure if it's healthy or not.

I'm not sure how fast you're trying to lose, but I read that if you calculate your maintenance calories, and then decrease them and increase your exercise burn by a total of 500 calories/day you'll lose 1 lb/week. That's all I'm shooting for. Good luck.

 

[Rambler]

Thanks Harley, I usually know if I'm undereating...my body lets me know pretty quickly when that happens, both in the stomach as well as in my ability to function. I think I might have a bit of a high resistance to losing weight...maybe its like Khan explained earlier...I dunno. I would really like to lose the weight, but more than that, I really like how I feel most of the time with a good dose of exercise in the morning. I can get thru the little physical exertions now that used to cause me to get out of breath very quickly. A friend who is diabetic explained that when his doc put him on a diet and exercise plan, he ate less, exercised vigourously, but didn't lose much for weeks, then it began melting off. Scientifically I understand what you are saying, but I guess things work a little different for everyone. When I did Atkins 5-6 years ago, it really did melt off. Trying what I believed to be a more balanced approach this time, but perhaps I just haven't reached my own "melting point" just yet.

As far as the weight goes, I'm not so self conscious that I feel like I need to lose weight to be attractive...DW seems to like me the way I am, but would like a skinnier me if she could have one. On the weight front, what concerns me most is being able to get health insurance when I FIRE. I'm about 2 BMI points into obese, and would like to get down to "marginally overweight", at least...but don't mind taking my time getting there, since FIRE keeps getting pushed back by the markets anyway.

Thanks, R

 

[Alan]

Rambler,

It sounds like you are doing all the rights things and I would stick with what you are doing and eating now for a few more weeks yet as you may well start seeing the benefits on the weight front eventually as well as continuing to feel much better in your overall health.

Interestingly enough, 7 years ago, it was a medical I did for life insurance that got me determined to lose weight. I'm 6'1" and at the time I weighed in at 215 but for the first time my blood pressure was elevated and borderline. The nurse took it 3 times and on both arms to get the lowest result so she did try to help. I remember that the high figure was 139. My first target was to improve my health and started measuring my bp on the machine at work every week. Within 3 months it was right back down to normal and the weight came down at no more than a pound or 2 per week but fortunately continued at that rate of loss for 9 months.

Your concerns about cost of health insurance are probably justified so that is a really good incentive. Everyone is different so do keep us posted on how you get on.

 

[Alan]

Rambler, I think you might be overdoing it. I'm far from an expert, but I've heard that if you reduce calories and increase exercise too far your body goes into shutdown or starvation mode, where it quits burning calories or maybe goes anaerobic or something. I assume you can force our way through it, but I'm not sure if it's healthy or not.

I believe Harley is correct here. When I write everything down during the periods I need to lose weight there is a minimum at which you should not go below as your body thinks it is entering a period of starvation and starts storing up fat for the long "winter" ahead.

 

[simple girl]

I believe Harley is correct here. When I write everything down during the periods I need to lose weight there is a minimum at which you should not go below as your body thinks it is entering a period of starvation and starts storing up fat for the long "winter" ahead.

I really believe this is true. I had a really hard time losing weight and keeping it off when I went on a 1200 cal diet. When I switched to 1400 cal (and exercised more since I had more energy), I was able to lose weight a little easier.

Now of course if you go too far in the other direction you will gain weight, LOL!

There are calculators on line that will give you an idea of how many calories you should be at to lose weight (for your height and exercise level).