Weight Loss -- What works? And- Post your current weight/goals/progress- inspire!

I did a pretty serious diet in 09 when we got the boat, when from 305 to 245 in 5 months. Gained it all back over 1.5 years.

1 Year ago now i was back at 300.
Last Spring i started trying to eat better and hit the gym 3 to 4 times a week lost 30lbs. I have managed to hold this off for 6 months even after returning to night shift and workouts have slowed to only 2xs a week.

I think if i focus and really pay attention to what i eat, how much i eat, and snack only on veggies or fruit i can get to my below goals.

Currently im at 5/9 275 and my goal is to reach 225 by summer, 200 is my goal as when i weighed this back in 97 my doc said for my build and muscle mass i was about perfect.

I have started by eating veggies, fresh only, lower my meat intake, no going out to eat, no processed food at home.
Work out routine starting Thursday when i return to work is 30 minutes eliptical and or 30 minutes bike, + weights routine.

Years ago I did Nutrisystem and lost the 30 pounds a wanted. And gained it back in a couple years and then some. The problem with purchased prepared meals is that yo never really learn how to take care of yourself, even with their classes.

On Feb 14, 2010 I was 236 lbs at 5'10" - 54 years old - BMI charts said my max weight should be 179 so that was my goal.
I went to Slimgenics - it worked. I hit my goal in 3.5 months.
Why it worked:
1. It's expensive - They have some prepared snacks (not the meals) that you use as supplements 2 per day - that adds up - and teh cost of the program is high by many standards.
Why was expensive good? I balked at the cost, but once I committed I felt motivated to get my moneys worth.
2. They give you a list of what to eat - and only stuff on the list is allowed - but it is all grocery store food - so you get in the habit of buying the right stuff - and not buying the wrong stuff. It is kind of a protein oriented diet, 1200-1500 calories per day depending on your plan. Lots of veggies, minimal carbs. NO - booze, sugar pop, junk food. Also surprisingly some food you think would be OK is not on the list, not because it is bad, just to make the plan simple and to ensure they all work together to keep your metabolism working. Building good habits is important.
3. You can go in to the clininc as often as you want to get weighed and for moral support and advice if you are having problems.
4. During the diet there was only a 2 week time frame near the end where I got really hungry, but was able to get past it.
5. You record EVERYTHING you consume - you never lie to yourself. They review your food log - but they don't hassle you if you go off the plan, just help you deal with what you should do to adjust for the mistake.

They claim that on their plan you do not need to exercise at all - and I tend to believe them - in fact they almost increased my food plan when they found out I was excercising regularly.

Excercise -
1. Initially Elliptical for 30 minutes at level 5. By the end I was at 60 minutes at level 11-15.
2. After I had lost the first 15 lbs I started to include resistance training - mostly machines, some pullups and dips. I think resistance training is more important than I thought and probably should have included it earlier - for metabolic reasons.

What else helped?
1. I did not try to eat what the rest of the family had. I always made all of my own meals and did most of my own shopping.
2. I had a white board on the door to the garage with check boxes for every 5 lbs I wanted to lose. It was a reminder for me everythime I left the house, and it gave the family a way to participate, cheering for me each time I filled in a box. This is more importatn than you might think. I tried keeping a similar box score during maintenance but my wife got tired of looking at it and asked to take it down. Started gaining weight soon after that.
3. I had access to a cafeteria at work where I could build my own salad for reasonable price for lunch - that was a big help.
4. Stayed away from restaurants for the most part.

Did it last? I lost 56 lbs. I am back up about 20. Mainly due to junk food - my weakness.
The good news is that I have a record of all of the food that I ate to lose the weight the first time and plan on using that same log to start losing again this week.

The important things are:
1. Admit you need to loose. Look at yourself naked in the mirror. If you like what you see - you are done. If not - then there is work to do. But don't lie to yourself.
2. Keep accurate records. If your weight goes up - try to understand why and adjust.
3. Never go back for seconds
4. You will give up some thing forever..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by you da man

You should add high intensity interval training to you weight training. Walking around the rig is better than nothing but it's almost nothing. I know you have plenty of stairs around there you can use.

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like insanity? ive done that a few times but again, its boring as hell.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BensonWdby

Look at yourself naked in the mirror.

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This may be the only thing from the thread I go home and try :p

No David, no so much like insanity, but a workout something like this: 30 Seconds Brisk Walk, 30 Seconds Sprint, Repeat 7 More Times (8 Minutes Total)

That would be one session of HIIT cardio. The sky is the limit with the activities you can do, and it really tears you down to continue doing it.

On another note, a workout similar to this one is what my workout partner and I will be doing until the first weekend of April. This is designed to burn fat while maintaining the muscle that we put on over winter (not much since we pretty much took a break from September to now)
http://www.muscleandstrength.com/wor...-fat-loss.html

update 1-9
started on the 2nd.
down 2.5 to 205.5...

pretty happy so far. gave up almost all soda(had a coke at dinner sat night), only had beers a couple of nights and tried to cut out snacking. going through a lot of water. worked out 2x. goal this week is 4x..
first week is almost always the best. now it turns into a challenge..

anyone else???? :)

Hoping to get down to 190 but realistically I'd be happy with 195. Started at 215 a week ago and am now at 208.

I really watching processed carbs and fats. The P90X nutrition guide is very helpful and works well. I can ony take so much Tony Horton before I throw something so I've been mixing weights running and small doses of P90X. Thinking about the P90X2 for a change of pace. Haven't convinced myself I need to spend the money.

i got back on the rig jan 3rd and have worked out 5 days taking yesterday and today off cause every muscle in my body hurts. i stopped eating desert after every meal and i have no had a single coke since i have been out here. i also cut way back on my portion size at lunch and do not eat anything after 7 pm. ive dropped about 4 lbs so far but that is a pretty normal fluctuation for me. i once lost 6 lbs in 36 hours.

Reading about everyone trying to lose weight is so foreign to me cause all my life I've been a hard gainer meaning my metabolism is so fast I don't put on weight easily...not even fat. At 40yrs old and 6'00" I just busted 160lbs. I eat 3-4 sometimes 5 decent meals a day with 2 protein shakes in between there. I eat tuna straight out of the can daily, 3-4 boiled eggs (no yoke), plus a few basic workout supplement (creatine, glutamine, taurine, HMB, ZMA, and nitric oxide). I workout with weights 4 days a week and body pump twice a week. All this and I'm lucky to gain a pound a month...maybe 1.5 pounds. Losing weight is definitely much faster...I'm not saying easier but faster. It's a struggle for overweight people to manage their urges to cheat, to control their portions, and sometimes to exercise. For hard gainers it's hard to eat all the time (you almost stay full all the time) and actually it's hard to just prepare enough meals for that day and to sit down and eat. For me working-out is the easy part because I enjoy it.

Egg whites and tuna is a pretty lean meal. If you are trying to gain weight eat something fatty..