Looks like everyone is doing great…I’ll chime in with my stats and methods, just to share a different way of doing it. I started my “diet” in December, when my cholesterol numbers came back high. Specifically, my triglicerieds were above what the doctor liked. The office sent me a whole lot of paperwork, on what to not eat to lower it, but from what I could tell, I would have been eating nothing but steamed rice and broccoli for the rest of my life.
They set me up with a nutritionist, and she helped out on what to eat, not eat, and a way to gauge what was ok. Since according to them triglicerides come from saturated fats, the best method for me to use is a 3 grams of fat per 100 calories method. This lets me know instantly if something is borderline or ok to eat. And I cut out a lot of things permanently from my diet. No more fast food…ever. If for some reason, I absolutely have to grab something, then it’s a grilled chicken sandwich. No more French fries, no spicy chicken at Wendy’s. And the way I approach it is those things will never be a part of my diet again. Not “When I loose 40 lbs, I can have it again”, never again. Along with that, I changed my snacking habit. Since I hate veggies, instead I tried to pick snack foods that are just lower in fat and calories. And again, these changes are permanent. No more ruffles with French onion dip…no more Doritos, no more sour cream and onion lays chips…all gone. I have pretzels, fat free - sugar free frozen yogurt, baked Tostitos and salsa, fat free Pringles, or Wow! chips. Between all of these, I have enough to satisfy the craving for snacks. I used to skip breakfast totally, sometimes lunch…snack throughout the day, and eat a big dinner with snacking probably before and after. Now it’s one package of instant oatmeal in the morning, a Lean Cuisine for lunch, and about the same dinners as before, but with less snacking. We eat more Tuna, Pork, and Turkey than before, but it’s still all very good. Our dinners weren’t that bad before, so that doesn’t change much.
Along with that, I run every night, usually between 2 or 3 miles. Depending on if I’m trying to increase my speed or not. I’m working on upping that to 3 to 4 miles, but it’s a slow process. After the run, I do 2 sets of sit-ups and push-ups, alternating between them. I was making good process, then decided that I wasn’t doing them right, and went back and started going slower, and lower down. I switched from just crunches to full sit-ups, with my hands behind my head. The way everyone used to do them before the worry about neck strain came out. I found that even though once you go past the first little bit, you’re not supposed to be using your abs anymore, it’s a lot harder doing them this way.
I started out in January at 6’2" and 239lbs. Now I’m down to around 209. I only weigh myself one a week. The everyday tracking I think is actually a bit detrimental, it’s my overall lose that’s important. And while I think WW has helped a lot of people, I think it’s just as important that when you’re doing that, you look at the changes to your diet as permanent, not just something to do for a few months, or you’ll end up just gaining it all back. Anyway, just my 2 cents. Good luck everyone, and keep up the great work.
