Quasi, Way cool!!! Can I ask your height?
I am wondering what my 4 year goal should be and I was thinking 175. This year’s Goal is 199.
Good luck all and enjoy the 4th.
Arrrgh. Didn’t lose any weight this week, even though I’ve now been doing some aerobics in my living room this week, for about an average of 30-45 minutes each morning before work (Carmen Electra’s aerobic striptease, if you must know 
).
That said, it’s been a little under two months now, and I’ve had pretty substantial weight losses almost all the way through. I guess we’re looking at about time for the plateau to start. But still. Grr.
I need to get a gym sorted out, I get way more exercising done in a structured environment. But no money right now.
I dropped my morning 30 minute walk and replaced it with a 40 minute session on the exercise bike. This works better because I do the bike at home, before everyone wakes up, and I was doing the walk at work (since it’s right next to the trail). With school out, traffic patterns have changed, and it’s just too hard getting to work 45 minutes before our morning meetings start.
I’m still doing my hour walk on the trail at lunch. I’m now doing 3.75 mi in 1:04, down from about 1:10. There are three streets I have to cross, which accounts for about a minute of that time. I figure I’m going about 3.5 mi/h. My goal over the next month or two is to increase the distance to 4.25 mi, and speed to 4 mi/h. For any dopers that use Steven’s Creek Trail, if you see a fat guy wearing a Tilley hat, a camelbak, with a stopwatch, feel free to say hi.
I’m also doing a second 40 minute @ 200W session on the exercise bike in the evening. I’m really pleased with my progress on the bike. I used to ride competitively some ~18 years ago, and my legs and cardio system are quickly remembering what it’s like/what to do. In the next month or two, I expect to be doing 2 60 minute @ 250W sessions.
Unfortunately, I got rid of my road bike ~10 years ago. I’m looking at replacing it soon. A co-worker commutes a few days a week from San Francisco to Mountain View (~40 mi), and I think I’ll be able to join him by November or December.
Report Card:
May: 295? -> 279 (-16)
June: 279 -> 260 (-19)
Well I’m kind of proud of myself today. There weren’t any aerobics so instead I started the weight training program. Did it for an hour and a half. I forgot to weigh myself today but I know last week I had lost 2 lbs just from doing aerobics. Maybe I’ll stick w/this since I’m paying to go to the gym.
That’s a really good plan, because muscle burns more calories, even in resting mode, than fat does. However, if you start weight training on a regular basis, don’t be surprised if your weight loss slows down, stops, or if you even pick up a couple of pounds, because muscle also weighs more than fat. Does your gym have a way to measure your body fat percentage? That’s a more accurate indicator of your success, especially when you’re weight training.
I saw something in a couple of threads that has me a little worried. People have mentioned you should not lose more than 2 or 2.5 lbs per week.
I started my diet May 15th and as of July 5th I have lost 28 lbs. That is in only 44 days or 3.84 lbs per week. I started at 239.5 and this morning I was 211.5 lbs.
**Am I harming myself? **
I have been dieting by low fat intake and exercise. I do not have low energy or stomach problems, in fact I have more energy and my stomach has been much better than any time in the last 18 months. I had acid reflux and irritable bowel syndrome going on.
I seem to have more wind and higher tolerance for heat currently than I have had for a while. Should I be worried, I am not scheduled to see my Physician until August 8th?
I feel like everything is okay. I have been pleased with my progress.
I put on a pair of shorts I bought in late 1999 and they were a little loose. I have not been able to wear them for several years. I still hope to increase my exercise regimen, as I do not believe any weight loss can be sustained without exercise to keep it off and I wish to firm my flab up.
Thank you ahead of time,
Jim
I did post once back in May (I think it was May) but have been lurking all year and following everyones progress.
I have lost 29 pounds since the beginning of the year. I have not been exercising (I suck) but have been eating much healthier. My weight loss has slowed recently and I know that exercise would help but if I can lose a little each week or at least maintain for now I am happy. I do plan on losing 10 more pounds which would put me at a weight that I haven’t been at for about 10 years and also well into a healthy weight/BMI range.
Something that has been very motivational to me is to remember the good things that have happened since I have started losing weight. Some examples would be dropping 2 sizes in jeans, a slimmer face, squating to pick something off the floor without needing to use a hand to balance myself, feeling sassier, having more confidence, more muscle definition (I have a GREAT pair of legs!) and when clothes shopping knowing that everything I try on will fit. Also compliments from others are a bonus, especially when they are just “You look great!”.
Great work everyone!
By the way, job interview tomorrow resulted in me polishing a whole bag of chips.
I must learn that food is not the answer to stress.
I am not a doctor. However, I don’t believe you are harming yourself. All the experts that I have read indicate that people who lose 1-2 lbs a week are more likely to keep it off than those who lose a large amount in a very short time. This is partly because a gradual loss is indicative of life-style changes. Ask your doc when you see him.
Cool, thanks for the reply. I will definitely ask my Doctor when I see him.
Quasimodal, I know what you mean about eating to handle stress, this has always been my biggest problem. I am trying to grab a bag of carrots now instead of a bag of chips. If I overindulge on carrots, not too much harm.
Jim
Weighed in yesterday at the Y; 218 lbs.
These last 20 are going to be agonizingly slow to lose…
I think we all have (and need!) weeks like that. I started my diet about two weeks ago - just one week before I visited my parents. Mom loves to cook, and of course I have to sample her new recipes. I told myself that I’ll have smaller amounts of Mom’s cooking and try to keep up with my exercise.
You’ll get back to your routine in no time, What Exit? Don’t stress about this too much. 
Yes, but don’t you remember a time when you used to wish you “only” had 20 lbs. to lose?
First off: congrats on the rapid progress!
I am the originator of one such thread you mention – similar to you, I found myself losing weight at about 3+ lbs. a week (I started out at 240 lbs. on 5/16 and found myself at 220 after “just” 6 weeks), and got worried that this was actually too fast based on traditional guidelines.
I’ve done some research, and the primary reason this rule of thumb exists is to warn you of the possibility that you are losing protein (lean, or muscle) mass in addition to fat, or even losing mostly lean mass instead of fat. This means your calorie deficit is too great (or has been sustained at too high a level for too long) and your body has gone into “starvation mode”, where it tries to ration out the fat in your system for a famine scenario (as fat is the more efficiently burning fuel) by sacrificing lean mass first.
This is bad because really it’s having a high body fat percentage that is unhealthy, not body weight per se. Also, muscle burns more calories than fat, so if you “go off” your diet/training regimen you will not only gain back the weight more rapidly (since you’re burning less of it due to the lower lean mass), but end up with a higher body fat percent than when you started if you end up at the same weight!
However, the “1-2 pounds per week” is only a rule of thumb. Different people have different metabolisms, and if you are a very big person (i.e., very tall, fairly muscular under that fat, or very overweight), you will likely lose a lot more pounds of fat a week than 1-2 pounds, particularly in the early going.
The easiest way to determine if you are going OK is to monitor your body fat along with your weight loss. Do the math and make sure most if not all of your weight is coming off the fat.
I’ve done this for the past several weeks and I’m now confident that my current 3+ pound a week rate is OK:
Three weeks ago (6/13) – 227.5 lbs., 27.3% body fat
As of this morning (7/06) – 217.5 lbs., 23.5% body fat
So I’ve lost 10 lbs. over 3 weeks (using a regimen similar to yours), which is a potentially dangerous rate by rule-of-thumb guidelines, but three weeks ago my “lean mass” was about 165.4 lbs. (yes, I know pounds are not a unit of mass but I don’t think in kilos), and now it is 165.5 – unchanged within the tolerance for measurement error.
I’m using a Tanita scale that definitely has a margin of error for the BF measurement, but the fact that the figure is so steady gives me comfort that I’m losing pretty much only fat. I’ve tried using the AccuMeasure calipers but I can’t get consistent readings, and am happy with the Tanita scale so far.
Finally, if you do find yourself losing lean mass, your choices are simple: either exercise less, or eat more. Eating more and continuing to exercise at the same level is actually the better choice, as exercise builds/maintains muscle mass and raises your metabolism. Eating regularly (4 or 5 small-to-medium meals, as opposed to 2 or 3 big whopper meals) also helps to keep your metabolism high (and to keep hunger away!).
So feel good about your weight loss, and good luck going forward!
PS - It has also been anecdotally proven to help weight loss if you give up rooting for the Y@nkee$ and become a Mets fan!
Aaaaaaaahhhhh! I am jonesing bad for sweets! Luckily there is nothing in the house that fits the bill. But it isn’t going away. I have had a small snack of something healthy, but it isn’t going away. It has been an hour.
Ah well, keep on trucking.
Thank you for the detailed and very informative reply. My wife and I are going to order a Tanita BF679W Duo Scale Plus Body Fat Monitor with Body Water (even qualifies for free shipping 
)
Khadaji, I do not know if this will help, but when I need a sweet, I find a Low Calorie Ice pop (15 cals & no fat) work well or a 60 cal fudgesicle. If you have more time and like root beer, you can chop ice up small, pack it into a cup or coffee mug and pour some A&W or Mug diet root beer over it for a treat.
Jim {The Yankees are in my blood, I could no sooner give up rooting for the Yanks than to give up breathing. 
}
'Grats all!
We just finished the 8-week “Freedom From Fat Weight Loss Challenge*” at work, I swept the thing with a total of 8.9% of body weight lost over eight weeks, $160 in my pocket and I’m going to get some more tattoo work done to celebrate :).
So far I’m down a total of 60+ pounds and feeling great.
*AKA [Nurse’s Name] Campaign of Terror
Yay, the scale has finally budged a bit! At my class tonight, I showed a 2.5 lb. loss this week, and I’ve reached a new low weight, officially exactly 30 pounds lost. This is ridiculous considering it took me 3 months to lose 8 pounds of it, but I’m happy to have gotten the nudge downward once again after the long plateau. This is my 24th week, 6 months in all so far. I’m now taking yoga twice a week, doing cardio at the gym almost every day, upper body weight work, walking, and core strength exercise. I won’t give up. I still have 20 pounds to go.
Well, I only indulged a little. Not great, but not as bad as it could have been. On the brighter side of that we have this: Today is payday, which means that I take out my usual two-week budget cash. As it happens, I have a surplus from last payday. In the past when this occured, I would usually stop and get donuts or some other treat for the office. This was done in the spirit of “team building” or whatever. In reality it was done to indulge my sweet tooth. Today I gave it serious thought and in the end realised that I didn’t even want any. I wasn’t even tempted today. This is real progress. It means that I am getting better in small ways. Yes, I may have been bad last night, but the pattern didn’t continue today - and in the past it probably would have.