# SDMB Weight Loss Club, December **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 30, 2007, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-weight-loss-club-december/428297 "2007-11-30T13:12:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![velvetjones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5f9b8f/32.png) [@velvetjones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velvetjones)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-weight-loss-club-december/428297/41 "2007-12-03T17:51:32Z")
Hey **Ginger** that’s great! 165.5 woot! I’m a bit envious. Hey **CaveMike** welcome! Sounds like you’re well on your way. We’re happy to have you here, the more the merrier and all that… but if you don’t share your “secret weight-loss weapon” I’m very afraid that bad things might happen. Very bad things. I weighed in at 170.5 today. Still working on shedding that Thanksgiving stuffing. My average weight is 171.2. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-weight-loss-club-december/428297/42 "2007-12-03T19:00:12Z")
Hi, all! I may have posted in a similar thread quite a while ago, but the New Me[sup]TM[/sup] is back. I’d been exercising with a trainer for over a year, but only holding steady. About a month ago I started exercising three times a week, and I reduced my non-diet pop drinking to one can or bottle a day from three or four. I made no other changes to my actual diet. In the past month, I have lost six pounds\*! I’m down to 206-ish from 210-211-ish. I’ve noticed that my weight goes up and down by a couple of pounds each day; I presume much of that is due simply to eating, drinking and excreting. My BMI has also started to decrease; it went from 31 to 30. Fitness tests I have taken say that my ideal weight should be around 185 (I’m medium-tall and fairly bulky in build). The only other dietary thing I’ve done, in the past week, is to curb my late-night appetite by chugging a spoonful of flax seeds with three or four glasses of water. This is another thing from my trainer, who says that eating before sleep tends to result ijn more weight gain that eating the same thing at other times of day. He says that the seeds simply absorb water, take up space, and pass on through, thus making me feel full, and so I won’t eat other things that do result in weight gain. My trainer also stretches me, and I have become much more flexible, especially about the pelvic area. I have a long way to go, but I can see improvements. I’m becomeing stronger too. I regularly do sets of 100 crunches or pelvic lifts, and my overhead lifting, my weakest thing, is increasing. I knew something was up when my gym shorts started to become loose. 🙂 [sub]\*Yes, pounds; though I live in an allegedly-metric country, all our exercise equipment is calibrated in pounds. And don’t get me started on the whole “calorie” thing… or the measurement of building materials. But I digress.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-weight-loss-club-december/428297/43 "2007-12-03T19:17:38Z")
I’m holding steady right around 189. Since I started out at 335, I’m not unhappy with that! I was proud of myself at the grocery store today. See, I have a “thing” about chocolate covered cherries; not just _any_ chocolate covered cherries, but _dark_ chocolate covered cherries. And I found a box! (Yes, I went looking for them; why do I do this to myself??) And I looked at the nutrition information on the back: Two pieces had 150 calories, only 25 of which were from fat, and no protein. Now, my usual rule for “junk food” is that it has to get _at least_ half of it’s calories from fat/protein. So this was _way off_ base. But, I thought, I’ll just eat two pieces, and let the rest of the family eat the rest. At worst, that’s 125 calories that I’ll fully absorb. Not bad. But just before I got to the checkout, I thought “Who am I kidding? The rest of the family will _never_ see these chocolate covered cherries; and they don’t need them, anyway!” and I put them back! Yay, me! ---
**Author:** ![Ceejaytee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ceejaytee/32/2956_2.png) [@Ceejaytee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ceejaytee)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-weight-loss-club-december/428297/44 "2007-12-03T19:27:57Z")
I lost 2 pounds this week, down from my all-time high of 236 to 234. I’m not sure if it’s the weaning off of my meds or just water weight, but I’ll take it. I’m getting an elliptical cross-trainer for Chrismakwanzaakah, so I’m going to cancel my gym membership (that’s really the only machine I use there anyway) as soon as it arrives. It should save me some time too–I spend about an hour and a half going to the gym at lunch for only a half hour workout. It will also save me walks in the rain and snow on days I telecommute. I’m very psyched about it. Exercise has become such a habit, I barely even think about it anymore. I just do it. It’s great. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-weight-loss-club-december/428297/45 "2007-12-03T19:35:57Z")
WTG, **Ceejaytee**! And, happy birthday, **Khadaji**! You are just about three weeks younger than me; I celebrated my 46th birthday November 10th. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-weight-loss-club-december/428297/46 "2007-12-03T19:42:06Z")
[QUOTE=Meyer6] Ooo - **CaveMike** , what’s the secret weapon. Please don’t let it be ‘tapeworm’! [/QUOTE] Ha! Great minds think alike! That was always my joke answer in college when I ate like a pig, but only weighed 140. I had given my imaginary tapeworm a name, Tapey, and would gross people out with stories of him rearing his ugly head while I slept. I wouldn’t recommend my true secret weapon. I found out a few weeks ago that I don’t have a right kidney – never had one. So my doctor put me on a renal diet which seems to mean that I can’t eat anything worth eating. So I have to give up a lot of the healthy stuff that I have been eating: oatmeal, whole grains, sweet potatoes, brown rice. I also have to give up the unhealthy stuff like beer, chocolate, and cheese. I knew the diet would be bad when the dietician mentioned that even vegetarians have a hard time with it. Anyway, thanks for the warm welcome **Meyer** , **Khadaji** , and **velvetjones**! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-weight-loss-club-december/428297/47 "2007-12-03T20:05:31Z")
[QUOTE=norinew] And, happy birthday, **Khadaji**! You are just about three weeks younger than me; I celebrated my 46th birthday November 10th. 🙂 [/QUOTE] Get off of my lawn and turn down that damned noise, you punk. You have no idea what it’s like to be my age, that is, nine days older than you. So **CaveMike** , what are your restrictions? I know that bananas and tomatoes are a bad idea. Do sweet potatoes have a lot of potassium or something? I once dated someone who was on peritoneal dialysis, and she could eat most anything. When she got her aunt’s kidney, they were both on an unrestricted diet. So I guess I don’t understand why you are so limited. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-weight-loss-club-december/428297/48 "2007-12-03T20:41:59Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] So **CaveMike** , what are your restrictions? I know that bananas and tomatoes are a bad idea. Do sweet potatoes have a lot of potassium or something? I once dated someone who was on peritoneal dialysis, and she could eat most anything. When she got her aunt’s kidney, they were both on an unrestricted diet. So I guess I don’t understand why you are so limited. [/QUOTE] My restrictions are: 72g protein, 2000 mg sodium, 2000 mg potassium (IIRC), and 800 mg phosphates. The dietician thought that was fairly liberal for a renal diet. Looks like sweet potatoes are high in potassium (~ 400 mg per serving). I’ve only had one appointment with the specialist, so maybe my diet will relax more if my test results are good. Although I’m trying not to get my hopes up. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-weight-loss-club-december/428297/49 "2007-12-03T20:56:37Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > You have no idea what it’s like to be my age, that is, nine days older than you. 😛 Whenever my husband makes reference to my “advancing age”, I remind him that no matter how old I get, I’ll never be as old as _him_. (He’s a year and a half older than me. 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-weight-loss-club-december/428297/50 "2007-12-03T22:53:29Z")
[QUOTE=norinew] 😛 Whenever my husband makes reference to my “advancing age”, I remind him that no matter how old I get, I’ll never be as old as _him_. (He’s a year and a half older than me. 😉 ) [/QUOTE] My age, to within a small amount. (47 end of last May.) 🙂 Meanwhile: 247, down 2 from last week and 41 from ten weeks ago. A nice brown on the outside, red in the middle piece of steak for tea tonight, with a mixed salad and a few oven chips (like French fried, only very lightly oiled and oven-baked). Still looking for under 238 by year end as that’s a significant break point in English measure: 17 stone. I’m tentatively planning for 16 stone by Valentine’s Day, 15 by the end of March, 14 by my birthday and 13 by our summer holiday (late August). Today I treated the office to sultana sponge fingers, and didn’t have any. I can now discipline myself to one teaspoonful of Bombay mix or a single sweet out of a tin. Mind you, I did have a couple of mince pies last night, but it was in lieu of tea. Mrs M seems to be catching the bug, though she won’t tell me what she weighs. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-weight-loss-club-december/428297/51 "2007-12-04T01:41:36Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > My age, to within a small amount. (47 end of last May.) Yep. He was 47 middle of last May. So you’re just a week or two younger than him. You’re doing great, too! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-weight-loss-club-december/428297/52 "2007-12-06T13:21:31Z")
I seem to have a groin pull. Dunno how or when I did it. It isn’t severe, but I notice it when I try to get in and out of my car. It has been around for a few weeks and I suppose it isn’t going to get better unless I stop working the elliptical. Kinda pisses me off, 'cause this is a bad time of year to stop. ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-weight-loss-club-december/428297/53 "2007-12-06T15:31:27Z")
Still slow but steady. I’ve lost my appetite for the past two days (it’s a normal cold symptom for me) so I’ve been eating sparsely and healthily through the day, and then binging at night when I realize how little I’ve eaten (because it’s not good for me - 8 points before 8 pm last night). So I’m not certain my weigh in reflects my ‘actual’ weight or if it’s more about some left over from dinner last night. Still, down .4 pounds for a total of 8.2 pounds now. ---
**Author:** ![Contrary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/db5fbb/32.png) [@Contrary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrary)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-weight-loss-club-december/428297/54 "2007-12-06T15:55:42Z")
[QUOTE=Khadaji] I seem to have a groin pull. Dunno how or when I did it. It isn’t severe, but I notice it when I try to get in and out of my car. It has been around for a few weeks and I suppose it isn’t going to get better unless I stop working the elliptical. Kinda pisses me off, 'cause this is a bad time of year to stop. [/QUOTE] In a similar vein, I just found out on Tuesday that I tore scar tissue away from the mesh used in my hernia repair. Besides being in a lot of pain, my surgeon gave me the news that I really should stop doing yoga for six to eight weeks. I think I’ll be insane in about two weeks, that’s a MAJOR stress reliever for me in addition to being a kick ass workout. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-weight-loss-club-december/428297/55 "2007-12-06T17:26:05Z")
[QUOTE=Helen’s Eidolon] Still slow but steady. I’ve lost my appetite for the past two days (it’s a normal cold symptom for me) so I’ve been eating sparsely and healthily through the day…\ [/QUOTE] I’m having similar issues, minus the making up points at night. I had my appendix out a week and a half ago, and my appetite has taken a nosedive. I think part of it is psychological at this point—i.e., _why not try to parlay this into a big loss?_—but it doesn’t seem to be working that way. I don’t have a scale at home and haven’t been to the gym since this all started, but I can tell by looking at myself in the mirror that I’m not suddenly at goal weight just because I haven’t been eating. So, my challenge is to gently raise my points to where I can start getting some activity in and try to get back that way. ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-weight-loss-club-december/428297/56 "2007-12-07T01:20:45Z")
:eek: Sounds like it’s the week for illness and injuries. Hope you all feel better soon. And you people better not jinx me; I don’t have any more sick time this year! 😉 This week’s Official Weigh In: 201.2 pounds. 1.2 pound loss since last week. I think I’m gonna make it to 200 before New Year’s! ---
**Author:** ![velvetjones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5f9b8f/32.png) [@velvetjones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velvetjones)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-weight-loss-club-december/428297/57 "2007-12-07T17:36:59Z")
I had a weird visit with the scale this morning. I weighed myself when I got up and was amazed, and astounded to see 168. I did a little happy dance and put on my walking clothes. Did the short (3 mile) walk since I needed to be at work earlyier than usual. After the walk and coffee I got in the shower but after I undressed I decided to weigh mysel again just to revel in that nice number. No such luck. I weighed 171 when I stepped on the scale. That’s right, just waking up, walking for 45 minutes and drinking a large coffee I gained 3 lbs. :rolleyes: I must be special. I’m going to assume that the 168 was some kind of fluke because 171 is where I’ve been for a couple of weeks. Can’t seem to shake that Thanksgiving fat. In other news SDMB is now blocked at my office. I’m logging on with my personal laptop but seem to be reading and posting much less than before. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-weight-loss-club-december/428297/58 "2007-12-07T17:53:20Z")
**velvetjones** , it is not at all unreasonable that the amount of fluid in your body would equal 3 pounds more at the end of \*up, walk, coffee \* than when you woke up. Did you drink any water with your exercise? Remeber the saying: _a pint’s a pound the world around_? It is actually true. Your first weight of the morning (after morning ablutions) is generally the most accurate. As for me, I am back at work today. This is the first day that I have put on real clothing, and my jeans do feel a little looser. I’m hoping to make it back to the Y this weekend, both to get some exercise and to see if I’ve lost at all. This weekend is gingerbread-house-making with my kids, sister,a nd niece. That’s a lot of mini candies to resist! I think I’ll be buying myself a pack of gum prior to going. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-weight-loss-club-december/428297/59 "2007-12-07T18:29:14Z")
I’ve been watching my weight for some time, and I’ve noticed that it bounces up and down by around two pounds depending on where I am in my day. It’s the longer-term trends that are more important. [QUOTE=lorene] Remeber the saying: _a pint’s a pound the world around_? It is actually true. [/QUOTE] \ Er, no it isn’t. US dry pints, US wet pints, and Imperial pints are different. From [here](http://gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/units/volume.htm), a little more than halfway down: > [@](#): > > Another correspondent quoted a saying that he learned as a kid, “A pint a pound, the world around.” This is not strictly true. It IS true to say that 1 ml of water is 1 gram, because it’s defined as so. A pound is 454 grams. An American wet pint is 471 grams, which is approximately the same. A British pint is 567 grams, which is definitely more. But this is only talking about water. Since the same amount of different materials will weigh different amounts, this can only be regarded as an extremely approximate conversion. Interestingly enough, the Americans have 16 fluid oz to a pint, while the British have 20 fluid oz to the pint. It turns out that an American dry pint is close to a British pint, while an American fluid oz (wet) is close to the British fluid oz. I don’t know if this has any historical significance in the origins of the units! > However, another correspondent, reading the above, says “As I learned this rhyme it is ‘A pint’s a pound the world around.’ This is a mnemonic to help remember the number of ounces in a pint. That is, there are the same number of liquid ounces in a pint as there are (weight) ounces in a pound – i.e. 16. It is not about the weight of a pint of anything. I suppose people found it easier to remember ounces in a pound.” However, it doesn’t explain why it’s “the world round” since the British pint has 20 ounces! Also it’s not a very good mnemonic, since it seems that people misunderstand it. This is one of my major pet peeves. We should be using metric; there is only one litre, one gram, one newton, one joule the world around. (I won’t get into the horrible mess of the calorie, ironically one of the few old-school metric units the US does use, even though it’s been deprecated in the modern metric system.) Body-mass index is simple if you measure yourself in kilograms. The diet, nutririon, and exercise industries should get their act together and go metric.\ ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-weight-loss-club-december/428297/60 "2007-12-07T19:17:17Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] This is one of my major pet peeves. We should be using metric; there is only one litre, one gram, one newton, one joule the world around. (I won’t get into the horrible mess of the calorie, ironically one of the few old-school metric units the US does use, even though it’s been deprecated in the modern metric system.) [/QUOTE] Sure, and it wouldn’t be the Dope if we didn’t get that pedantic every now and then. And I find that interesting. But at the end of the day, it’s still a meh moment for me. If I weigh myself and I find that I’m a pound over where I think I should be, and I remember that I’d just drunk around 16-20 ounces of water, then I’m not going to worry about it. The mnemonic is close enough for purposes of this thread. But from one pedant to another, thank you. That’s cool knowledge. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-weight-loss-club-december/428297.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-weight-loss-club-december/428297.md?page=4)