[Tyson]

Just a sample of what I eat - tonight was pork and ham-hocks browned with onions and coconut oil before putting in a pressure cooker with garlic, white wine, large cut carrots, chopped celery, and collard greens.  Add some salt and pepper and YUM!

[Stu Pitt]

It seems like I haven't worked out in forever.  I was sick two weeks ago, thereby making my two workouts pretty much pointless, then my wife had gallbladder surgery last Tuesday, so I had to take care of our 4 month old daughter pretty much by myself all week.  Not that I'm complaining or upset about that one, she's so much fun!

I've been at 199 give or take a pound or two.  I'll be back at it on Monday!

[jackman]

Thanks Stu. Good luck with your weight lOSS goals and with your wife's recovery.  At least you haven't gained any weight. I had an awesome dinner at a friend's house. His wife is from Paris and is an amazing cook. I could not resist!

Cheers

J

[Stu Pitt]

Thanks to you too Jackman.

Everything in moderation.  There's nothing wrong with a great meal.  There's nothing wrong with a big meal every now and again either.  We've gotta live a little. 

[Tyson]

Breakfast - eggs & bacon.

Lunch - Rump roast with a bone stock, onions, garlic, orange pepper, collard greens, carrots, and celery.

Dinner - Orange Roughy w/ Asparagus sauteed in butter.

Weight - down to 166! 

[Tyson]

Oh, and cheating a bit right now w/a bourbon & coke - mexican coke, with real can sugar, not high fructose corn syrup.  Not any less calories or sugar, but much more tasty than the standard HFCS cokes!

[Merle]

Really, it's simple. Eat less, move more. Of course, I'm talking about eating the right stuff but you get the idea. Now the hard part. Knowing how to do it and actually doing it are two different things! I'm a large guy. Never going to be "small", I'm just not built that way. I'm 6'2" and am actually rather lean at around 230lbs or so. I can carry 250 and look fine. I'm 51 years old now. I got out of the service in 1980. I was 21 years old and a hard 225lbs. Like I said, I'm a big guy. Oh, smallest in my family by the way. Think about that! People generally are shocked when they find out what I weigh. A few years ago, I had ballooned up to around 315 - 320, depending on the day. I couldn't do the things I wanted to do at that weight and decided it was time to do something about it. I fixed my diet and took up hiking. Where I live, there is a lot of excellent hiking to be had. I went from 315 or so down to around 238 - 240 over the course of a summer. I both felt and looked better than I had in years. Then, in March of 2009, I had an accident. Compound breaks of both bones in both of my ankles [think of the movie Misery]. I couldn't so much as stand up for almost four months. I always tell people if your going to do this, do them one at a time! Anyway, it's been 2 years, one month and a week and a half since this happened [believe me, you tend to remember something like that!]. I still have problems with my legs and have since put ALMOST all of the weight back on. Probably hovering around 300 now. I just have not been able to get back on track. After the accident and since, my energy level is maybe 3 on a scale of 1 to 10, and that's a good day! Spring is here and I'm committed to getting back out in the woods. In fact, I walked a flat three miles or so with my Brother-in-Law yesterday. By far, the most I've gone since that day. It really wore me out and my legs are killing me but I know, at my age, it's pretty much now or never. My legs are as good as their going to get at this point. I can deal with the legs, it is what it is. MY problem is the energy. I just have not been able to get any back. If anyone has any advise on how to get some level of energy back, I'd be downright greatfull! Working a 9 to 10 hour day and then spinning the dog around around the block when I get home seems to be about all I can muster and then I'm whupped. Any advice?

[JohnR]

Merle, have you tried swimming? I've never been a swimmer - hated it in fact - but it's really working for me now. My knee works against running and/or long walking.

With regard to diet, my suggestion would be to simply stop eating meat - replace it with vegetables and fish. 3 weeks after I did I was already being told "you're losing weight." I have found responses to this suggestion to be rather curious, from some of them (not just online) you would think I was telling people to change religions. Despite all the rationalizations about this and that, all I can say is try it for a few weeks, what are you going to lose?

[jackman]

Merle,
I don't have any diet advice other than suggesting that buoy track your calories in versus calories burned. Eat a balanced diet and maybe join weight watchers.  John's swimming suggestion is great. It is a great low impact way to get in shape. I'd also suggest walking every day and maybe donsome cycling when you are able.

You've done it before and can do it again. Good luck to you.

J

[Tyson]

Update - today I'm down to 164!  I'm stoked cause I thought getting below 165 would be a real struggle, but I just breezed right past it.  Mainly just avoiding sugar and starches and focusing on lean meats, chicken, fish, veggies, eggs, nuts, a few berries, etc... And of course walking for 40 mins on most days.

[Badwater]

Merle,

The energy will come, you just have to be patient. You didn't get out of shape overnight and you aren't going to get in shape overnight. Keep plugging away at it.  I suggest short hikes 2-3 times per week for a month or so. Than add in a longer hike as you get stronger.  You will know when it is time.  if you keep after it your energy will be back sooner than you think. 

Take the long view of it and enjoy the journey.

Bill

[Tyson]

Down to 161 today!!  Dinner was Shrimp sauteed in olive oil with a tequila lime sauce with a bit of rice and roasted red & yellow peppers.  Yum!

Snacking now on a bit of cave-aged Gruyere cheese and California Cabernet, life is good

[John Casler]

My legs are as good as their going to get at this point. I can deal with the legs, it is what it is. MY problem is the energy. I just have not been able to get any back. If anyone has any advise on how to get some level of energy back, I'd be downright greatfull! Working a 9 to 10 hour day and then spinning the dog around around the block when I get home seems to be about all I can muster and then I'm whupped. Any advice?

Hi Merle,

ENERGY can mean a few things as you describe your condition.  It can be anywhere from having the motivation (mental) to train, to feeling physically tired or exhausted.

There are several things to consider, below are two:

1) SLEEP;  This is likely the reason for most ENERGY problems.  The old "wives tale" that adults somehow need less sleep is not true.  Fact is, if you don't get adequate sleep your health will fail, you'll age faster,  and you'll have reduced to NO ENERGY.  As well, you'll find weightloss is difficult if you don't get sufficient good quality sleep.
Try to get NO LESS than 8 hours of sleep and maybe even a quick 15-30 minute cat nap if you feel fatigued.

Also quality sleep is important.  Tossing and turning and sleep apnea can be problematic health wise.

2) NUTRITION;  You may need to make sure you are getting all the vitamins and minerals you need in a proper balance.  Deficiencies in B-12, and other vitamins can reduce physical energy levels.  You also may need to monitor your carb/sugar intake since this can affect blood sugar levels, which in turn affect percieved energy levels.

[Tyson]

John,
Controlling sugar is right!  Since I started eating to keep insulin low all the time, the weight just drops off.  For example, dinner tonight was pan seared scallop in butter, and sweet-potato oven fries with paprika, salt, pepper, and olive oil.  Man, I can't believe I can eat like this and still drop weight!  I almost don't miss the cupcakes, chocolate, bagels, pasta, cereal, bread, tortilla's, chips, etc....

[LadyDog]

We'll thankfully Tyson is losing enough weight for the both of us.  I've gone in reverse direction.  Work, travel, dinner and drinks with clients, "complete" lack of exercise.  Scared to get on a scale.

[Tyson]

I'm holding steady at 162....  I've gotten this low with just diet and daily walking.  I think its time to add in some moderate resistance exercises, ie pushups and pullups, and maybe weighted lunges (walking lunges w/my 4 year old daughter on my shoulders).  I used to do to-failure weight workouts with moderate reps and extremely heavy weights, but I'm convinced that the sheer stress of it contributed to my heart attack.  So, moderate reps and moderate intensity for me from now on....  Anyway, if I stay at this weight, but convert some fat and gain some muscle back, I'll be happy.

[low.pfile]

Great job Tyson.  Keep up the good work!

I am no candidate for the Biggest Loser, but I dropped 7 pounds this past month without any exercise--zero, nada, zilch. Though exercise is a prescribed component of a 21-day Cleanse program. I opted not to do any just to see how diet alone affected my well being and body. The intent was not weight loss but GI organ detoxification and balancing out my GI. It was a combo of the CLEAN program in Dr. Junger's book (not the shake mix version) and Crazy Sexy Diet(vegan).  Essentially the removal of all Gluten, dairy, eggs, red meats, and various sugars along with caffeine and alcohol and other know potential allergens.  So I hear you guys, sugar is so bad for us. End result, I'm very energetic and great sleep.  So if I add in exercise and continue to be conscious what I put in my body, I will trim down too. I started at 188lbs. Normally, I eat lots of organic vegetables and a variety of foods AND I don't drink soda, or eat fast/junk food at all and this cleanse diet still had a good effect on me as well a learned how to incorporate more vegan/vegetarian/raw dishes into my omnivore lifestyle. Check it out, though not a weight loss program.


Dr.Alejandro Junger CLEAN Program Video Overview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WFLYNFkW58
CLEAN Program site: http://www.everydiet.org/diet/clean-diet
CLEAN Support forum: http://my.cleanprogram.com/

Kris Carr Crazy Sexy Diet 21 day Adventure Cleanse Overview : http://crazysexylife.com/2011/kris-carr%E2%80%99s-21-day-crazy-sexy-cleanse/
Crazy Sexy Diet site: http://crazysexydiet.com/
CSD Support forum: http://my.crazysexylife.com/

[Yeah, CSD is really geared for the ladies--but the hay]

[rodge827]

Hey all,
This is a great thread. Lots of good info about nutrition and weight loss. My own story mirrors many of yours, except I've been very blessed not to have any serious health issues. Just the desire to drop 30lbs ( 1/2 way there) and eat better. My wife and I are working together at this and man is it great! Without the two of us checking up on each other I doubt that it would work so well.
We're both 46, she is an office manager and I'm a self employed paperhanger. Her day is spent mainly on her butt with the occasional walk around the office and I'm on my feet all day. When we were younger we kept ourselves in pretty good shape, but we allowed ourselves to fall into a nice cozy life of eating too much crap and enjoying a little too much booze. Not so much that we were loaded all the time just a little too often, splitting a bottle of wine at dinner 5 nights a week. Our energy levels dropped and the couch was becomming our best friend. Part of the deal was the slowing of the economy. Like most of us our income has gone down and using that nice HT system has been the norm since our entertainment budget had to be lowered, more like eliminated.
We're using the eat this not that approach to our weight loss. We love to cook and she is finding out some very inventive ways to reduce calories, lower fat, cut out processed foods, and processed sugar. For instance, dinner last night was bunless grilled Bison burgers with crumbled bleu cheese, crab stuffed portabella mushroom, and steamed asparagus with lemon and extra virgin olive oil . All of our meals are geared to the good low fat protien and more fiber approach. Oh and lots of H2O.
Great thread ,
Chris