Thursday Weigh-in Weight Loss Strategies

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colby

Contributor
Messages
434
Reaction score
1
Location
Ottawa, Ontario
# of dives
50 - 99
OK, so here is what I have been doing:

Exercise:
Working out with a personal trainer for an hour two days a week on Mondays and Friday mornings. I try and exercise in the morning on an empty stomach as you burn stored calories rather than use food that you have just eaten. I also try and get to the gym on Wednesdays for another lighter weights/cardio workout. Other days during the summer I would dive or play ball, but in the winter I add in extra running.

Food:
This is where I really had my lifestyle change. My eating habits used to be horrible. Lots of pop, carbs and late night meals/snacks. My personal trainer got me onto www.fitday.com so I could track my eating and I was astounded to see how many calories I was eating and how they were distributed between carbs, protein and fat. I also started eating a good breakfast, and smaller meals throughout the day, trying to never let more than three hours go between eating. I also tried to keep to a maximum of 2000 calories in a day, although on Sundays I could eat what I wanted. However I found that I started thinking about eating healthy on Sunday too.

Results:
Although not as dramatic as Almity, since January 2006 I have gone from almost 260 pounds down to 215 at this time. I would like to see 200, but I'm not pushing too hard, I'm trying to maintain this weight in a healthy way that includes adequate exercise and good eating habits. I have gone from XL shirts to Large, and I am now wearing 34 or 36 waist pants down from 38 or 40s. I haven't weighed this since I graduated from high school in 1981. I am healthier than my family doctor has ever seen me, I've been going to this one for over 10 years, and I am feeling terriffic!

One thing I do know, is I am never going back!
 
Here's mine:

Exercise:
Mostly cardio (bike and elliptical at home) with some resistance training (squats, free weights, bowflex). I mix up the resistance training and cardio a bit, but try to do both 4 times a week, although it usually works out to 3 times a week. I try to burn at least 1500 calories per week as calculated by my Heart Rate Monitor, which I love.

Food:
I'm counting calories, not following any particular diet. I track what I eat on a website called SparkPeople. It gives me ranges for fat, cholesterol, sodium, etc and I try to stay in those ranges, but I usually fail. I have eating issues.

Results:
Well, based on my weight at the beginning of 2006 I've lost 17.5 lbs as of today. I'd like to lose 78 more and I imagine it's going to take a VERY LONG TIME based on my progress so far. I was doing really well for a while until I made a "mini-goal" of fitting into a dress for a wedding a while ago, then I fell off the wagon and have been paying for it. My primary goal now is to find a way to eat where I'm not always hungry, something I can sustain for a lifetime without resorting to feeling like a failure for "falling off the wagon" and bingeing my way back up the scale. It's a work in progress.
 
Food:
i put food first as for me, this is the BIGGEST change as i can just eat and eat and eat and eat and eat non stop and never get full.

In May i joined SureSlim, a weightloss centre that uses a blood test to determine what your body needs and what you should avoid. i see it as like weight watchers but its personal/one on one without the meetings. i was surprised to find out i cant have prawns or spinach and i loved these things but my thyroid problems (i had 97% of it removed due to Graves disease) means i have to avoid them.

PORTION control - i no longer pile my plate with everything and if im hungry i have more salad

99% of old is out and FRESH IS BEST. no drive thrus, no softdrinks, very rare takeaways (chinese & NO rice once per month), no rice, no pasta, no salad dressings, no fried foods, no creamy sauces, no breads except for rye bread (again, i thought soy & linseed was good but for my thyroid prob its bad) and ALOT of fresh & organic fruit and vegetables.

We basically no longer buy anything thats packaged or processed except for cans of red kidney beans or tuna

i dont mix my protiens so its easier for my body to digest. so if im having chicken i dont have cheese at the same time.

5hrs between breaks

2 liters of water per day min

PREPARED meal plans. i never use to have breakfast and i now have 3 meals per day plus a weekly dinner menu on the blackboard so i dont get caught out and bored.

im still having chocolate 3 times a week but again, portion control-i have one choc only. i find i have it at work as we have a snack machine where i dont think about it on weekends. in the old days i would skip breakfast and lunch and end up eating 3 choc bars and 2 cans of coke for the day meals.

CHANGE my mindset! for me this is not a 'diet' but my lifestyle so i can live a longer, healthier life.

i can go out - i just have to choose the better meals for me. yesterday i was out and chose the chilli chicken wrap no cheese, no fries and no coke... sounds boring but having too much fun got me in a bad place so i have to think long term.

Exercise:
i go to aquatic boot camp twice per week and try to get 2 X 40min walks per week up and down BBH (big ******* hill) to get my heartrate up and DIVING, in sydney, i do shore dives so hauling up hills and across beaches with gear is going to help get me there!

Results:
ive lost 90lbs so far and still have about 50lbs to go. ive found it quite easy as i really dont feel hungry and its the cravings that give me the biggest grief but again, im not denying myself chocolate so im not resentful about 'giving up everything'.

even if i do fall off the wagon - i have to get back on it as the alternative is diabeties for me and i dont want that AND if i do fall off the wagon, its ok as long as i acknowledge it and more on... beating yourself up is not going to help you/me/us suceed

WEEKLY weighins for me are a huge factor - i need it. even if i reach my goal weight im gonig to have to keep having weighins just so i can make myself accountable to me as its so easy to slide back into bad habits

whew - i wrote alot but im feeling so passionate about all the postives we are creating in our lives!!!

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