Help losing 20 lbs

[dgaddis]

I'm back on the bandwagon to drop some weight. I've put some back on and want to get easier-to-go-faster again.

6/29/15 - 170lbs

[TMB]

I am the heaviest I have ever been in my life. Losing 20 pounds would be heaven, 15 would be fabulous.

I feel like crap, all the time. i am not sleeping well which of course compounds the "feel like crap". Then because you feel like crap and are not sleeping, maybe alcohol will help - right? no, it doesn't.

It became obvious at the beginning of the year that my Mom was in a very bad way and so i spent the majority of the next 4.5 months driving to her place outside of Vancouver every weekend, and often as many as 2 more times during the week.

Last month we moved her to our place while we search for a home for her, this frankly didn't make it much easier because now you are always conscious of needing to spell each other off, for a break.

The good news is that last night I signed a lease on a new place for her in an assisted living facility and I am hopeful that once we get the moving part behind us, life will start returning to normal.

I have ridden my bike twice since I rode with BigBill in AZ in March. I have been to the gym 3 times in the last two months.

I have a bad feeling though, that at 55 now, the hardest part of this whole exercise may well be losing the excess weight I have packed on while sittting behind the steering wheel.

This has been a very interesting look into how people can "let it get away" in a very short space of time.

I will be madly trying to get of at least 15 and tighten up everywhere.

[mmoore]

Good on you brother for knowing that your time is here to do it.

It can be hard, but diet is first and foremost the biggest aspect of loosing weight. All the cardio in the world cant correct bad eating habits. Im guilty of that one myself.

[Greg Costello]

TMB, you can do it at 55. I lost 30 in about 4 months this year at 57, and the first 10 cam3 off in a month. Eating better - eliminated wheat, corn, dairy, fatty meats, alcohol - kale and green vegetables are your friend. Road twice a day - commuting to/from work -- nothing hard just moving and burning some calories. The hardest part is getting started and that first week. But I guarantee, after a week you will feel better and then its a question of keeping it up.

[Rayburn Shaun]

Hey Greg-

Would love to hear what you actually ate for B/L/D plus any snacks. Your list of things to eliminate sounds pretty familiar... =(

I'm a touch heavier (5-10#) than I'd like and I'd really love to fine tune things.

Thanks,
Tom

[Gattonero]

I've lost a good 6kg (nearly 1 stone) since last year.
Although I am strongly convinced that each one has a different body and things do work very different, here's what I've done.

-start immediately, "monday will be the beginning" doesn't work
-almost no beer or alcohol (yes)
-cut drastically bread and most of the carbs; reduce to a very little all the sweets
-check the calories of everything, although I do not make the maths I simply avoid food that's too high in calories (unless I really need to, say a long ride)
-no deep fried stuff, at all. Raw olive oil (with moderation) has been ok tho
-at least twice per week at the gym, working on the upper body/core
-saturday (whenever possible) or sunday's ride is on longer distance and more constant pace
-after every excercise (ride, gym, or simply riding back from work) one pint of semi-skimmed milk with soy protein. Cuts down hunger so you avoid looting the fridge before dinner
-salads, salads, salads and more salads. With beans, peas, or soy stuff; no silly dressings, or mayo.

[quickag]

Keto works for me.

[mmoore]

ride your bike.

don't overeat.

you'll loose weight.

[Greg Costello]

Hey Greg-

Would love to hear what you actually ate for B/L/D plus any snacks. Your list of things to eliminate sounds pretty familiar... =(

I'm a touch heavier (5-10#) than I'd like and I'd really love to fine tune things.

Thanks,
Tom

http://www.amazon.com/Anti-Inflammat.../dp/1570619336 This cook book has been a great guide. I'm fortunate in that my wife got on board with this and she does most of meal planning and cooking. It starts with 3 week elimination of most common food allergens: gluten, dairy, corn, soy, eggs, shellfish, alcohol, caffeine, fatty animal protein. The coffee prohibition lasted 3 days, screw that. Alcohol was easy to give up although the social pressure to drink was annoying. I found that I had the greatest craving for cheese - that was hard. Importantly, I never felt hungry and but for yearning for cheese and giving up on the coffee prohibition I didn't feel deprived. Since the initial period we will on occasion eat all of the previous eliminated foods as neither of us seem to have significant allergies. But it has totally changed our eating habits. We eat very little bread, corn, soy; dairy is limited to moderate amounts of cheese and the occasional ice cream, eggs are back on the menu. An occasional beer or drink, but rarely if ever more than one at a setting. We continue to eat many salads and entrees from the book referenced above.

Breakfast: typically oatmeal with coconut milk, fruit, nuts and honey

Lunch & Dinner: usually the same stuff. Lots of salads, amazing what all you can do with kale, lentils, beans of all types. Lean grass fed otherwise healthy lean animal protein - chicken, beef, fish (no soy protein). Reasonable amount of fruit. Only starchy carb - nonwhite rice.

Snacks - nuts (not peanuts - legume and common allergen), high quality beef jerky, modest amounts of fruit - bowl of berries is frequent night-time snack, black bean dip with jicama, dark chocolate.

I will say that I think working out 2x (riding to/from work) and getting into the gym a couple times a week made a huge difference as well.

[Michael Roy]

ride your bike.

don't overeat.

you'll loose weight.

What he said. As for your age, you can do it. 3 years ago, when I was 54, I went from 213.5 to 175 by riding more and eating less. And making good food choices (no fires/cheese.ice cream/other fatty foods. More veggies. Smaller portions. No between meal snacks, unless they're healthy and then you eat less at the meal.) Plus I used this forum. I posted my weight every day. People cheered me on. My goal was a 20 pound weight loss or so, to maybe 195, but then Tom Officer, a much better cyclist than me who is active (or was) on this forum, and who was my college cycling teammate, challenged me to get down to my college cycling weight, 175. I was pissed when he did that (I hadn't weighed that little since I graduated college), but I did it, and i wouldn't have if he hadn't challenged me. Rode my fastest century ever that fall.

Flash forward to late March 2015. Back up to 208.5. Today down to 189.5. (No longer posting my weight, but taking it every day and keeping an excel spreadsheet.) Not sure I'll go all the way to 175 again, but climbing hills at 189 is way better than it was at 208.

[mmoore]

What he said. As for your age, you can do it. 3 years ago, when I was 54, I went from 213.5 to 175 by riding more and eating less. And making good food choices (no fires/cheese.ice cream/other fatty foods. More veggies. Smaller portions. No between meal snacks, unless they're healthy and then you eat less at the meal.) Plus I used this forum. I posted my weight every day. People cheered me on. My goal was a 20 pound weight loss or so, to maybe 195, but then Tom Officer, a much better cyclist than me who is active (or was) on this forum, and who was my college cycling teammate, challenged me to get down to my college cycling weight, 175. I was pissed when he did that (I hadn't weighed that little since I graduated college), but I did it, and i wouldn't have if he hadn't challenged me. Rode my fastest century ever that fall.

Flash forward to late March 2015. Back up to 208.5. Today down to 189.5. (No longer posting my weight, but taking it every day and keeping an excel spreadsheet.) Not sure I'll go all the way to 175 again, but climbing hills at 189 is way better than it was at 208.

My hand-me-down "as seen on TV" Tony Little (LOL) electronic scale isn't working any more. There is very little chance that we will replace it. Scales are for numbers- we run on feelings.

That said, my last weigh in was ~182. Hoping to get into a 175ish feel by summers end while enjoying ourselves and the tastes we love. portion control is everything.

[TMB]

What he said. As for your age, you can do it. 3 years ago, when I was 54, I went from 213.5 to 175 by riding more and eating less. And making good food choices (no fires/cheese.ice cream/other fatty foods. More veggies. Smaller portions. No between meal snacks, unless they're healthy and then you eat less at the meal.) Plus I used this forum. I posted my weight every day. People cheered me on. My goal was a 20 pound weight loss or so, to maybe 195, but then Tom Officer, a much better cyclist than me who is active (or was) on this forum, and who was my college cycling teammate, challenged me to get down to my college cycling weight, 175. I was pissed when he did that (I hadn't weighed that little since I graduated college), but I did it, and i wouldn't have if he hadn't challenged me. Rode my fastest century ever that fall.

Flash forward to late March 2015. Back up to 208.5. Today down to 189.5. (No longer posting my weight, but taking it every day and keeping an excel spreadsheet.) Not sure I'll go all the way to 175 again, but climbing hills at 189 is way better than it was at 208.

Ain't this the truth!!!

[AntLockyer]

158 and 8.5%
I don't think I am going to get any lighter now.

That was 2nd Feb 2014

I've not really been weighing myself, certainly couldn't remember what that low number was.

Today I'm 171 and 12.7% and it shows in the mirror. I'm going to lose 10 lbs

[tiny]

After cycling stopped being enough to help me keep the pounds off I slowly transition to running instead (I was a lifelong running-hater, but I caught the bug for a few months earlier this year before getting shut-down my a tenacious URI). Was back up to 190 this spring after a winter of bad behavior, hovering around 164 now. So close to kicking the URI, hoping to get back to running soon.

[WayneJ]

After cycling stopped being enough to help me keep the pounds off I slowly transition to running instead (I was a lifelong running-hater, but I caught the bug for a few months earlier this year before getting shut-down my a tenacious URI). Was back up to 190 this spring after a winter of bad behavior, hovering around 164 now. So close to kicking the URI, hoping to get back to running soon.

Wow, congrats on getting down to 164 - that's impressive. That's my fighting weight and I'm about a stone away from getting there.

[e-RICHIE]

Wow, congrats on getting down to 164 - that's impressive. That's my fighting weight and I'm about a stone away from getting there.

No snacking until after Lincoln atmo.

[ron l edmiston]

--- ready to break 180 pounds.., fig newtons gone and those "lionel train night tracks to the refrig.."
170 is my goal.., with d2r2 complete 2016 prior to taps..

ronnie with a "i can & i will smile.."


****************************************

"it is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all------
in which case, you fail by default.." j.k.rowling

[WayneJ]

No snacking until after Lincoln atmo.

Yessir ! I hope to get my picture taken with Mr. September.

[TMB]

Bought a condo for the kids to live in in Vancouver while they go to school, spent the last 6 days down there doing repairs, assembling furniture and painting.

And eating every meal out.

Feel like a beached Beluga.

[mgurtzweiler]

180, 23%, 37 years old.

~150 is my racing weight

Just moved to Denver from DC and getting back on the bike. What has worked for me in the past in no snacking after dinner, no sweets, and no more than 3-4 beers a week. So I started 3 days ago. Massive cravings so far but they should go away in a few days.

Crossing my fingers.