I recommended against doing intervals on the regular exercise bikes, just for guys–it can be quite a jarring experience.
Spin bikes are built differently, and apparently don’t cause quite the same problem.
Another “chearleader” checking in 
Congrats everyone! Esp. Zev, you have to stick around afterwards!
Way to go Zev, Deadly, Dante, DaToad, and MeanJoe!!
HOORAY FOR YOU!
Ahh, I see!
Sign me up for whatever…I seriously need to lose about 10-15 pounds. You know which ones I’m talking about here, the HARD ones!
OK, a story to share. I used to do WW. I know it’s wildly successful for a lot of people (go Zev). But it wasn’t so great for me. I’m not blaming their program, it’s just that it always seemed like such a struggle for me personally to follow it, so I cheated quite a bit, so I didn’t lose weight very fast (IIRC, it took me about 6 months to lose 30 pounds, which on my current plan I’ve lost said 30 pounds in about 10 weeks). Well, yesterday, I got a postcard from them promising me a FREE meeting if I come back. Picture of Fergie on the front. She looks great! So, last night as we were sitting down to a dinner of stuffed pork chops with gravy, glazed strawberries and buttered peas, I showed the post card to hubby. “Why in the world”, I asked him, “would I want to go back to WW when I can sit here with a meal like this and lose weight twice as fast?”
“Indeed.” He replied. “Why would you?”
Honestly, the plan I’ve constructed for myself is perfect for me. I can’t remember ever having lost weight so easily. And I’ve lost enough now that people are starting to notice, which really rocks!
It’s only been a week for me but I just have to say that I stared down a tray of pastry at work, several slices of leftover birthday cake at home, not to mention the sugar frosted flakes at breakfast (they’re greeeaaat!) and I just said NO. And you know what, it wasn’t so bad. I didn’t feel deprived, I just felt like I’d made a healthy decision for myself and I was sticking to it.
Last night when I wanted something sweet I had a frango mint (mmmmm, frango mints!) and one was enough. Saying no has always been a problem for me, but I’m using Wonder Woman as a role model–“Great Hera, I’ve slain the Sugar Beast!”
More power to us all!
Laura
P.S. I’m weighing-in today and my nervousness at the prospect must have cost me at least a pound in flop sweat.
You are correct, sir! I misattributed the quote, as ultrafilter pointed out and clarified. A thousand pardons and congratulations on your weight loss!
Quasi
All right you little heathens,** POST**, godammit! S
JK, but I do check in here a lot, so let us hear from you, okay?
Love
Q
Based on what we know about each other so far, who’s gonna be the “BABE/HUNK”(On SDMB) you’re most gonna wanna be with, when we all finish losing the weight we wanna drop?
I will disqualify myself at the outset, because I am just such a KRAUT sonofabitch, no woman would have me anyway! S
But I will admit that I have always had a crush on a certain Fairy Tale Mom, whose name will not be mentioned in this post, thank you!
Smirk
Q
I gotta say, since my wife is doing this too and having GREAT results I have to choose her. She is looking fan-tab-ulous! She was always, in my opinion, very sexy and definitely not over-weight but she has shed a few pounds now but more importantly toned up incredibly and I’m just finding her… well a BABE!
Besides, I hear Kirsten Dunst is involved with someone else now anyway…
I’ve been debating about posting to this thread but I figure, what the hell? I need to lose weight and I can’t do it on my own so maybe a little support group will help.
I’m around 220 right now (too scared to step on the scale to find out) and I’d like to get down to about 180 and see how things go from there. I’ve gained about 15lbs since August (and I blame it all on Patrick) and I know I need to get that under control.
I joined the gym on Friday and I plan on going at least 3-5 times a week so that takes care of the physical side of things. Now I just need to get the eating side under control. Food is the bane of my existance. I can’t turn it own. It’s my only addiction. I don’t smoke, I don’t drink (well, very, very rarely), I don’t do drugs and I’m (now) physically active. I’m debating about joining weight watchers online since there aren’t any meetings near me that fit my schedule. I figure if I spend the money on it I’ll be more determined to go through with it so I won’t feel like I wasted my money on something. And seein’ as how I don’t have much money to begin with I’ll see to it that it won’t be wasted.
Sorry for all the rambling. I think I’m trying to gear myself up for this (I’m notorious for backsliding before I even begin). I really want to go through with this. I want to start feeling better about myself, how I look and I’d really like to get down a few sizes so I won’t have to spend an arm and a leg trying to buy clothes that fit me. Not to mention it’d be nice to be able to do more physical activity and not get winded after about five minutes.
Good luck to everybody else and I hope I can keep up with you guys!
fizzestothtetop, perhaps a little trick I used for myself might be of help to you, so I’ll tell you. Instead of diving in to this weight-loss thing head first, like I always have in the past (one day I’m not dieting, the next day, bam, I am), I did lots of pre-planning. I set a date to start, which was about three weeks from when I decided to do it. I wrote lots of stuff out: meal plans, things I could distract myself with while I was having cravings, reasons I wanted to lose the weight, all kinds of stuff. And I started playing a little game with myself. At any restaurant or any social gathering, I’d say to myself “what would I eat here if I were already following the plan?” Also, a lot of investigation on the internet about pursuing a sugar-free lifestyle. All of this advance prep really helped get me in the right mind-set, I think. And since the first of the year, I haven’t slipped, and I haven’t looked back.
Good luck!
Quasi, I am so far past the point of ever being a “babe” that we don’t even have to go there! Even at my heaviest, hubby considered me sexy, because he knows what I’m capable of! Being happily married, I’m not interested in a “hunk” either, although if circumstances were different, I’d have to say Meatros is positively adorable!
Thanks for the advice norinew. I’ll keep that in mind. At this point I’m willing to try almost anything (save for getting rid of carbs, I simply couldn’t give up my rice and potatoes. Cutting out the chocolate would be easier for me) to lose the weight.
Grr, that was me. I accidentally posted in Netscape instead of IE.
The reason this wouldn’t work for me is that eating the rice and potatoes would keep me craving the sweets. I can live without the “white carbs”, but I could NOT live with cravings day in and day out! But I do understand that not everyone has the same addiction that I do, so it’s quite possible that you could give up chocolate and see results. But, the real point of my post was not so much about the plan I’m following as much as fincing the determination to follow whatever plan you decide on.
BTW, I looked, and couldn’t find your first post in this thread. Somehow I never pictured you as overweight. How much do you want to lose? (Just curious, cuz I always picture you as being tall and gangly)
The ones just in this thread, or the whole of the SDMB?
The weight loss thread of course! There is something about courage that just turns me on!
Q
Yea!!! I weighed myself for the first time today. I’m down to 227 from 233. That’s about what I was planning on, 2 lbs a week.
Good job everyone!
I’ll join in!
I’ve been on WW for six weeks (this time - I lost 45 lbs two years ago, and have regained 20 because of a horse back riding accident this past summer), and have lost a total of…ta-da…4.6 lbs. Grrr…I know the fault is mine, because I haven’t exactly been good. But as of Thursday, I decided that I am sick of this and there is no excuse for me NOT being on the program 24/7. I have been very good since Thursday, and of course, the true test will be this coming weekend when I go to visit friends in NYC - but I can do it. I WILL do it.
I need to lose 30 lbs. My goal is to get down to 115, and I at least want to be at 130 by my brother’s wedding late June. I’ll be checking back in here with everyone - I need others to keep me motivated!
Ava