Big goal achieved yesterday. BEFORE/AFTER PICS ADDED 12/11/09

Reply #30 – November 13, 2009, 02:06:44 PM

Very nicely done. I've already taken the before pics, just gotta start losing weight and get some after pics. Lol.

Big goal achieved yesterday. BEFORE/AFTER PICS ADDED 12/11/09

Reply #31 – November 13, 2009, 04:05:49 PM

Amazing!!! I would imagine you feel alot better/healthier.

Big goal achieved yesterday. BEFORE/AFTER PICS ADDED 12/11/09

Reply #32 – November 13, 2009, 08:12:34 PM

The difference in the way I feel is incredible. I have far, far more energy. I can zip up and down the stairs repeatedly with no breathlessness. I haven't touched my athsma puffer since starting the diet.

That brings up another few benefits of losing the weight. First, the athsma. I was at the point that I would have an athsma attack at the slightest physical exertion, especially in cold weather, and even worse if there was the slightest hint of smoke in the air. It was this issue that caused me to get the handicapped permit: Walking through a parking lot on a cold day and getting a sniff of exhaust smoke would send me into a thermonuclear athsma attack. I was convinced, and my doctor was leaning that way also, that I had COPD. Turns out I was just really, REALLY out of shape. I lost most of the weight and did most of the exercises in warm weather, and by doing so I made my heart and lungs that much healthier that I don't have athsma attacks at all anymore, even in the cold and with wood smoke thick in the air. I probably still have athsma, but I've yet to trigger an attack, even when jogging. And the jogging: I had never, EVER jogged, even when I was a kid. I walked a lot, and rode bicycles a lot (even into adulthood), but never jogged. A few weeks ago I started jogging and have been getting better and better. I went two miles yesterday in minus ten (celsius) weather, running at 5.5-6 MPH (according to my GPS) and didn't kill myself. Six months ago I'd have killed myself just by thinking about jogging two miles.

Another health benefit: My digestive system is actually working. Before I started eating better I washiznitting the shiznitter 5-6 times a day, and when I went it was urgent. My doctor thought I might have colitis, as I'd been like that for years (even before putting the weight on). Turns out it was just that I was eating too many really, really bad foods (something I did before getting fat, too, just smaller portions). Now I'm eating better I have been quite... um... regular (there's a sign of age, talking about regularity). Before, even the slightest urge for a BM quickly turned into a frantic search for a shiznitter, quite literally so fast I'd have to break a sentence off. Now I can hold it in all day.

Dougy Fresh:

My "Before" diet on a typical day would have been like this:

Breakfast: 4 eggs (no yolks, I can't eat egg yolks), 1/4 pound bacon, a toasted english in, a can of grape or orange soda, and a half dozen chocolate chip cookies. Often before even getting out of bed I'd polish off the last bit of the 8-ounce bag of chips I'd started on before bed.

Between breakfast and lunch I'd just constantly eat: Cookies, chips, candy, chocolate bars, etc. A few more cans of soda.

Lunch: A full box of K-D

Between lunch and supper I'd constantly snack again

Supper: depended on my mood, but quantities were very large. For example, if I ate tacos it'd be a half dozen of 'em. Sloppy Joes would be a half dozen. Hamburgers, I'd eat two, with a huge plate of fries. If it was pork chop night I'd eat three. T-bone steaks? Two 16-ouncers. If I went fast food it'd be a 4-piece KFC meal with fries, gravy, and soda or a Baconator combo from Wendys. Pizza, I'd eat half to 3/4 of a 16" pie PLUS a half a 12" garlic fingers. You'll note vegetables are not mentioned here. I ate very few vegetables.

Dessert would depend on what was handy. Apple pies, pound cakes, cookies, etc.

A few hours after supper I'd be foraging again, usually doing something stupid like tossing two pounds of chicken wings into the deep fat frier or driving to a fast food joint for a Big Mac meal or something equally gross. A few hours after that I'd toss back the better part of an 8-ounce bag of chips (the remainder would be finished before breakfast tomorrow morning).

The next day I'd do it all again. Cripes, I think I just gained eight pounds typing that out.

The diet days would go like this:

Breakfast: A bowl of Mini Wheats, or Shreddies, or something similar. Maybe, on a weekend, I'd have a couple of yokless eggs, a few slices of lean ham, and an english in. A can or glass of fruit juice.

Dinner: One pork chop, or one small T-bone, or one extra-lean hamburger. Some corn or carrots, and a "Noodles & Sauce" side dish. Bowl of garden salad. Once a week I'd treat myself to a sub (rarely Subway, usually Quiznos or a local deli). Even less frequently I'd sneak into a KFC for a chicken sandwich (not a combo, just the sandwich). I figured as long as I was having junk as a meal it wasn't as bad as having it for a snack.

That's it. I completely cut out ALL between meal snacks, desserts, and soda. When I say ALL snacks, I mean ALL. Not even "low-cal" or "low fat". This was just as much about kicking the snacking habit as it was losing weight. The only sugary drinks I had were juice, which has just as many calories as soda but at least the "juice" calories bring some vitamins to the party, whereas soda is like drinking malted battery acid. I also drink about a million bottles of water a day.

You'll note i did not starve myself. I merely cut out all extraneous food. That was the key to my weight loss. You may also note I skipped lunch. That's because before I got the job I wouldn't roll out of bed until 10:30 or so anyway, and had supper at about 3:30 to 4:00. When I started working it coincided with my getting near my goal, so I added lunch to the daily routine (a sandwich, or homemade sub, or frozen Lean Cuisine thing, plus an apple or orange). I added the extra meal becaue A) I was burning more calories and B) I wanted to gently glide into my goal weight, not crash into it. Simply put, I didn't want to keep losing weight at the rate I'd been losing it, for fear I'd keep losing it. You can actually see in the chart in my original post how the slope leveled off toward the end - that was on purpose. Now you'll see it continue to drop slowly until I hit the middle of my target range (I will update it weekly, on Mondays or Tuesdays), then it will fluctuate for awhile as I try to find my "sweet spot", food intake wise.

Once I do, I will continue to monitor my weight and catch any potential problem as it starts, instead of letting it get out of hand and then trying to undo the damage. As God is my witness, I'll never be fat again...

Big goal achieved yesterday. BEFORE/AFTER PICS ADDED 12/11/09

Reply #33 – November 13, 2009, 08:42:03 PM

Good for you man, it sounds like you have put alot of thought into it. It defenately sounds like you'll be able to keep it off. Sometimes that's as hard as losing the weight in the first place.

Big goal achieved yesterday. BEFORE/AFTER PICS ADDED 12/11/09

Reply #34 – November 13, 2009, 09:35:09 PM

man, thats awesome. i had to crash change my diet 4 years ago when i found i was type 2 diabetic. went cold turkey on the pop. same with fast food. never was much on candy sugary stuff but i had enough weak moments. i eat alot better than what i did but not as good as i should. sweets/treats are kept at a minumum so as to guide my 4 year old in the right direction. most snacks are fruit or yogurt. sometimes fruit chews or he'll share a fresh tomato with me. milk, juice (cut with water) or water is what he gets to drink. ZERO pop/soda for him. i was thin all thru highschool then slowly balloned up when i could eat/drink whatever i wanted being on my own. beer and junk food built the gut then junk maintained it. went from 180 in hs (1985) to 300 about 10 years ago. i thank god for being laid off permamnent from my "desk" job and going full time on my feet all day. i could go on and on but CONGRATS!

Big goal achieved yesterday. BEFORE/AFTER PICS ADDED 12/11/09

Reply #35 – November 13, 2009, 11:25:08 PM

How are you liking the new job? What you've done is something I don't think I could do. I used to weigh around 245, but at 6'4" that still isn't bad. The doctor at my last physical said I should weigh at least 215. Right now I'm around 185 and before I got fired from my last job I was at 155.

Big goal achieved yesterday. BEFORE/AFTER PICS ADDED 12/11/09

Reply #36 – November 14, 2009, 12:06:57 PM

Quote from: Thunder Chicken;298717

Cripes, I think I just gained eight pounds typing that out.