tired of being fat / Deciding to change

You need to get your father a new doctor, that man's an idiot.

 

I'm very overweight...

( went from fat to fatter... over 62 years, I'm 6'5" so a lot of weight on a tall frame, that used to hide it)

... and have from time to time have lost weight ( even 20-30 lbs.) and reward myself, by eating!

But I will tell you one way to lose weight that actually works, and I will frame it in the actual first conversation I had with my wonderful and plain-spoken Kaiser-Permanente Dr.:

"You are very overweight Mr.Joseph ( my name is Joe), I will tell you what you can do.

-do not worry about exercise, as you are 60, and obviously, not exercising. Exercise is very good, but you do not need to do it to lose weight

- do not worry about going on a diet, as I do not think you would follow it, so do not worry about changing what you are eating. You do not need to go on a diet to lose weight.

- all you need to do is whatever you are eating, at any meal, snack. EAT HALF of what you are eating. You will not be hungry and you will lose weight. "

This sounds simplistic, but it actually works, if you try, and stick to it.

My Dr.s point was reduction of food ( even if eating bad food) is still reduction of sugar and calories- your metabolism improves with less intake, you burn fat, lose weight. Stomach shrinks, you crave less.

Of course he recommend a balanced nutritious diet and sent me to a Nutritionist for diet monitoring

But the " cut everything you are eating in half " is a way to get results, to at least begin...

 

For a long time I kept gaining weight. Well I didn't care I thought, eating is one of the greatest things in life.
Then in 2005 we had our photo ID's taken at work, I was 245 pounds. I'm 5' 6". I do not look like this I thought.
So then it was 2 meals a day, no snacks. Lots of hiking. No diet restrictions except calories. I'm a calorie guy, don't have any use for anything else.

I lost 50 pounds over the next year. Food became less important because honestly most of it is not worth eating
I continued to lose slowly down to 170 or so. Then , thanks to a paralyzing depression when I lost interest in everything I lost another 30 or so.
I've since rebounded to about 150, where I'm happy. Still have watch out and weigh myself often, not everyday, that will make you crazy.

 

I stopped drinking for a year. That's it, so far I've lost about 45lbs. When I'm not going to the fridge every 15 minutes for a beer I'm also skipping that handful of lunch meat and not grabbing that bag of chips. I'm also not eating all that greasy food to "get rid of this hangover" which never worked anyway.

Anyway, my point is, you have to fix your diet. You'll never exercise enough to eat poorly.

 

Biggest meal in the middle of the day.

Your main physical activity should be something that you really like - and gets your heart and respiration working.

You’re 29.

Your body should respond well to exercise and diet change at that age and - late 20’s/early 30’s can be your physical peak so why waste it being fat ?

Congrats and keep going .

I’m soon to be 57 and can’t wait to go on my 27 mi daily bike ride today in 37° weather.

(Ya gotta want it/love it. If eventually you still don’t look forward to it - do something else until you do)

 

For me about 5 years ago I made a drastic change in the way I eat. Not a diet, just a change. I never eat more than two meals a day, and rarely eat 2. I generally fast 24 hours between meals. Its easy to keep up with, I eat dinner really whatever I want with my wife daily. Never eat breakfast, just a black coffee. No soft drinks ever. Beer or wine at dinner only. Was super strict for 2 years, moved to drinking with the guys after a round of golf etc... But now I really am not hungry except once a day. You really cannot run/exercise off excess weight, you have to change the way you eat.

 

This thread is so good. I am way more overweight than just about all of you guys. I struggle with the discipline to keep myself from eating all the time. It's that same lack of discipline that makes me less of a guitar player than I should be. I will be following this one.

 

Just one day? No, that never happened to me.

I spent about eight years deciding to get sober. I spent parts of another year repeatedly being sober one day.

Be careful about this notion that it’ll just happen if you decide hard enough one day, and after that it’s all done.

I’ve been sober a long time now and just this year I did a lot of research and effort on the subject of changing habits. “You have to want it” is an absolutely true statement, as others offered, but for people who observe that just wanting to change isn’t enough, there is a whole set of specific things one can do to actualize the desire. I don’t mean that in a hipster Newagey way, I’m talking about what we do every day to defend the intention, support the action, eliminate pitfalls, and ensure compliance/success/transformation over the long haul.

For me, getting sober was a desperate matter of survival. It has been a lot harder for me to make changes in areas which don’t seem so dire. Nevertheless, they have made me just as unhappy and dissatisfied, with that same sickening and baffling “This isn’t what I’m really like!” mental experience.

So - you can do this, @Fretting out . I very much hope it’s as easy as deciding to change and just doing it. If it’s not, know that yes it can be done and Honest to goodness nothing’s impossible, you can find it in you to do what’s necessary to make it happen and keep it going over time.

Last comment: One of the key things seems to be about daring. I’m not projecting my own addict experience onto you, I don’t know you. But if you do find yourself wanting the change to happen but repeatedly failing to actually do the things you know you have to do to achieve it and maintain it, especially at the beginning when it’s hardest and scariest (maybe it won’t be, who knows), go daredevil mode and dare to do the hard uncomfortable thing. “But I feel so hungry, what will happen to me if I DON’T eat too many calories right now!”

Dare yourself to find out. Whatever your brain tells you is the worst that can happen by daring to stick to your guns instead of giving in “just this once. Really.”, it won’t be anywhere near as bad as your brain wants you to think. Actually ask it what it thinks the worst that can happen is. Dare to re train it - and it’ll stop sabotaging you with those uncomfortable, insecure thoughts.

Best wishes, friend! I hope it really is as easy as just making the decision. But just in case it turns out not to be - I hope you soldier on regardless and get where you want to be.

 

I was about 45 or so and tipping the scale at 250 lbs. I'd tried many things before. Then during an office weight loss challenge a diet plan appeared that worked ... for me. Nothing fancy, just a reduced calorie way of eating that had foods I could stick with. No exercise, just diet change.

Eventually I lost down to under 200 (about a year of the diet) and about that time my Dad retired and we started riding bicycles. This helped get a few more pounds off, but mostly got my cardio in shape. I got down to under 170. Next I took up running and still love to run. 2020 has not been good for my eating habits ... working from home and all ... I'm up over 180 now. After the holidays I gotta get back to eating right again.

 

OP, good luck... you can do it. Just remember that a lot of individual experience on this front isn't universally applicable. Your genes, your frame/body type, and attitudes about food all play equal roles in your weight and how your body will respond to changes.

That said, if it helps: I was always thin-ish (I'm 5'10"), but let myself go around age 45 and ballooned from 175 to 205 lbs by age 47 owing to a stressful job and too much dining out/drinking on travel for same. Seeing a picture of myself from around this time at my sister's wedding was a horrifying wake up call, as were the liver test #s I got just before starting that 2 year bender.

So in late 2017 I gave up drinking near entirely (for a time), stopped going to restaurants, reduced my portions, and made sure I got 7-8 hours sleep per night. Weight-wise (and according to annual bloodwork), I'm in the shape of my life at 50; thinner even than when I was distance running in my early 40s. I bought a Renpho tracking scale and haven't seen the north side of 170lbs in three years, staying close to 165, generally under that. For sake of comparison I was 168lbs when I left boot camp at age 19.

Haven't done a lick of real exercise, don't follow a diet, allow myself junk food occasionally... still the same. Go easy on yourself, remember you'll take some steps back here and there. GOOD LUCK!

 

It's the French fries and bread as well as bread coatings that will kill you. Stop that.

Also eat a packet of oatmeal every morning with blueberries. Then every time you get a phone call, walk around while you talk. This will knock off about 10 lbs in a few weeks. If it's a long call, go around the block.

Past all that, you gotta burn some calories daily, get a bike. When you feel hungry eat about half of what you normally would. It usually kills the hunger.

 

I go in cycles. I get in shape, then I get complacent and get fat. Right now I’m fat, which is pretty discouraging as I’ve exercised quite a bit more than usual this year. I’ve walked hundreds of miles, and ridden my bike about a thousand. But, this year being what it is, I’ve also spent any time I’m not doing those things sitting on my ass and eating my feelings. When things aren’t good for me, I have a sweet tooth that just won’t quit.

I need to make some changes, and I’m fully aware of what they are. Just gotta get “there” in my head.

I lost over 40 lbs last year and was feeling and looking fantastic. I started this year at 190 lbs. I got back up all the way to 219. Currently sitting at 211. I need to be back at 190. If for no other reason than I bought new clothes when I was 190, and got rid of my fat ones, and now most of what I own looks silly and feels uncomfortable. I’m not buying fat clothes again. I’m just not doing it.

 

For me the whole thing is about what work i'm doing.... 5 or 6 years ago I worked 3 months in a job where I was on my feet for 8 hours making timber frames for houses. I went from a 36" trouser to a 34" to a 32" trouser in those 3 months and I was eating more than I ever had done. I was taking 8 cheese and lettuce sandwiches to work by the end and ordering smaller waist pants every 4 weeks! . ... then I got an office job for a couple of years and gradually expanded my waist back to where it was. Now I work from home, so it's even harder to keep trim. For me sitting down for long periods of time is the worst thing for my weight.

 

I lost 60# doing the Keto diet. Not really a diet more of a lifestyle change. Some people call it a fad and not sustainable, but I am going on 3 years now.

For many people just cutting out sugar and processed food (which contains a lot of sugar) will go a long way.

Learn to read the back of a package. Lot's of "heath food" has a lot of sugar in it. Anything that comes in a package or box is designed by very smart people to make you want to eat more of it.

 

I need to lose weight and am tapering off on sugars and carbs ... sometimes

 

Good luck finding what works best for you. FWIW, going to the gym several days a week (spending 40 minutes on the treadmill, and other 45 on various Nautilus machines) and not eating between meals is my method of keeping weight off.

 

I'm definitely not trying to negate what you're saying, but I've not heard this yet. Do you have any links that support or explain this more deeply? I'm interested to know the science behind this.

 

Well, I'm trying to pay close attention here. I'm down from my highest ever weight by about 15 pounds but up from my recent minimum by about 20. I have two teenage sons whose dietary trends are just the opposite of what I need to be eating. If I were just by myself it would be way easier, although lonelier I suppose. Will power and snacking are my issues... been making efforts to keep fruit handy for those times.

This is maybe a little off topic, but I did sign up for weight watchers (but will have to cancel as I am not paying attention to it)... found a recipe which I think is OK.

It's
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup nonfat yogurt
1/2 cup applesauce
some cinnamon

They said "mix it up and put it in the fridge overnight". Well they didn't say WHY you should do that, but I found out. I mixed some up and tasted it, and thought, "I don't see why I shouldn't just eat this now". So I did. I think I did that three days in a row in fact. I'll spare you the details, entertaining though they might be, but let's just say that I suffered from the worst digestive "traffic jam" I have ever had, which lasted about a week. You have to let the oatmeal soak up the moisture ahead of time so it doesn't do that in your intestines.

Sorry about the TMI.

 

Fretting Out, I decided to change due to health concerns.

I lost 50 pounds and have kept it off for several years. In my early 60s, I'm back down to my high school weight.

1. Cut carbs! Especially empty carbs with little to know nutrition: chips, fries, white bread, etc.
2. Cut sugar. All refined sugar if possible. I stopped drinking soft drinks and lost 5 pounds the first week with that change alone.
3. Drink water. Occasionally hot tea. Especially between meals. Water not only keeps you hydrated but helps keep you from overeating.
4. Go for walks. Don't sit all day. Don't be sedentary.
5. Exercise. Free weights (dumbbells) are good. Slow stretches (not 'bouncy' stretches).
6. Avoid inflammatory foods, such as gluten.
7. Cut back on portion size.
8. Only healthy snacks between meals, such as a small handful of almonds and half an apple, with water.

You will feel better, think better, have more energy, and get sick less.

We eat no gluten, little grain, no sugar, and pretty much eat like kings. We eat only organic, and have balanced meals with protein and vegetables, either steamed or cooked in the cast iron skillet with the beef (grass fed), pork, turkey, or chicken. Instead of rice we use riced cauliflower. Broccoli, spinach, carrots, zucchini, summer squash, cauliflower, etc.

We have pancakes made with almond flower. Great omelets every Saturday with organic bell peppers, onions, Japanese sweet potato (half a small one), broccoli, spinach, cheese, and sausage.

We grill burgers with grass fed beef and gluten-fee buns. We also make pizzas, gluten-free of course. (I am not celiac or even gluten intolerant, but gluten is an inflammatory food, and USA wheat is different than, say, eastern European wheat.) When you see someone with a puffy face, or overly red cheeks, they very likely eat a lot of gluten.

We "occasionally" have desserts, such as low sugar ice cream, chocolates, gluten-free cakes or pies. We often have a glass of wine with dinner. Sometimes at lunch I have a Zevia soft drink - root beer/cola/creme soda - no sugar.

I've never eaten so well as in the last five years, and I feel better, think more clearly, and have more energy and better moods, and I have kept the 50 pound weight loss. It's a win-win-win situation.