anyway nevermind. people can probably survive a month w/o food.
Lost 50 pounds five years ago and have kept about 40 of it off. I lost it by fencing at least twice a week, pumping iron at least three times a week, walking a mile or so five days a week, and cutting out added fats except for a bit of cream in coffee every morning. Absolutely vital: Getting enough sleep.
Kept it off by some means or another–specifically not sitting on my backside all day long and not going nuts on the rich foods.
I was around 205 pounds seven years ago. That was after my freshman year of college when the only activity I would get was walking to and from class. I lost some weight by giving up fast food and regular soda and by taking up smoking which brought me down to 185 where I stayed for a few years.
In the fall of 2000 I started running because I wanted to learn how to snowboard, but my endurance was terrible. I started running on a treadmill four times a week, starting at one mile and increasing the distance by ten percent a week. I kept that up until I was at around five miles per session. My weight crept down while I was doing this, but I stayed between 165 and 175. I felt much better and gained muscle from the exercise.
I was still a smoker then, but the ten minutes of hacking after running was one of my motivations to quit, which I did the next summer (mostly - at the bar doesn’t count, right?).
Running became boring in itself, so I started competing in local road races to give myself goals to run towards. Last year, I started cycling and swimming and competed in a few sprint distance and one middle distance triathlons. This year, my goal race is a half iron man in September.
My diet hasn’t changed much, I eat a lot, but now those calories are going to power the ten workouts I do each week. I eat a peanut butter covered bagel and a bowl of cereal for breakfast with coffee and OJ. For lunch and dinner, I’ll eat whatever I bought that week at the grocery store, usually a big plate of pasta, veggies and some meat. I still snack at my desk at work, usually candy or chips from the vending machine. I should probably bring better food with me from home, but I haven’t bothered.
I don’t focus on my weight now; before last week I hadn’t stepped on a scale for several months. Now I focus on my times and improving them. But since this thread in about weight, I’ll share that last week the scale said I was 145. That’ll probably go back up a little, 5 to 10 pounds, after the race season is over and I go into the recovery mode of my training schedule, but that’ll give me more energy for when my training starts again.