Weight Loss and Diet

Last Fall and Winter, I was probably the heaviest I've ever been. I have a stocky, muscular frame overall, so even when my BMI is far above what it should be, I can carry a lot of weight and not look 'fat'. But I could feel the added pounds, and I've always sworn I would not be one of those guys who let himself go in his later years. And then of course, there's that whole 'not wanting to drop dead of an MI' thing

Since that time I have dropped about 15 lbs before plateauing. I occasionally will gain up to 5 lbs, but have been able to quickly drop back down to my baseline weight. Other than walking a lot at work and golfing (either range work or actual rounds), I am not really exercising. Almost all of my weight loss has been accomplished with food choices.

I primarily have been doing the South Beach program in terms of food options. I did a full 2 weeks of that program initially (meaning zero sugar of any kind - not even fruit, almost entirely protein, and low to no carb vegetables). That basically means eating lean meats, eggs, cottage cheese, and some veggies exclusively. I don't miss sugar and I'm not a bread guy. But I do love fruit and potatoes and rice. And of course - beer/alcohol is off limits in phase 1. I have no problem forgoing it (I guess I'm not an alcoholic), but man - I do miss my beer. When I have had a stretch where I've regained a few lbs, I basically just go back to the strict phase 1 diet for a week or so and I literally can drop 5-7 lbs in a week.

Biggest challenge for me is two fold. The food choices in phase 1 get boring pretty quickly. Supposedly, once you move to the maintenance phases of South Beach, you are supposed to continue to lose weight. My target goal was a good 15-20 lbs of additional weight loss, but I have found I pretty much plateau at that 15 lb original weight loss. I know that I could do 1 of 2 things to break through that plateau. Eliminate beer/alcohol from my diet, and/or start doing some daily rigorous exercise like biking as I have previously. I enjoy my beer too much to eliminate it entirely, but I probably do need to get back on the bike.

Anyone else doing Keto, South Beach, or some other style of 'diet' (I prefer to think of it as making alternative food choices)?

I have a build very similar to what you describe.

I have been doing 'lazy Keto'. Basically I avoid simple carbs, fried food, etc. Also do cardio every day and some weights during the week.

Dropped 65 lbs since March. Feel great and look forward to the next 35.

btfoom said:

I have a build very similar to what you describe.

I have been doing 'lazy Keto'. Basically I avoid simple carbs, fried food, etc. Also do cardio every day and some weights during the week.

Dropped 65 lbs since March. Feel great and look forward to the next 35.

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That's awesome brother - inspiring! Love your signature btw...

I have been on/off a low carb diet. Lose weight fast. Then, every two weeks, I pig out for a day and a half. In truth, I don't really like the diet. One can eat only so many different variations on salads and egg dishes. Hated all the substitutes like cauliflower rice.

Can eat lots of meats thought....just nothing with the meats that I like (rice, corn, potatoes).

Ugh! So in September it will be 2 years since I ruptured my achilles, I had just lost 35 pounds to get down to 245 when it happened from the heaviest point in my life, 280.

After surgery, I sat for 6 weeks in a cast. I could do nothing. I started physical therapy but there wasn't much involved as far as cardio, so I was not burning away what I used to while eating the same foods...mostly meats, veggies, nuts, dairy...with some occasional desserts, but like fan, got bored with that diet and reverted to cheeseburgers and pizza.

I ballooned up to 305 pounds. I can carry 225 like Boone mentioned, but 305 was ridiculous!

After going past the one year mark, and not progressing from the achilles tear, I finally got the newest MRI results in January of this year. So I have a broken bone in my heel, the doc thought it was bone spurs at first, but it looks like I chipped the heal bone carrying so much weight, walking on my heel, because I was so paranoid I'd rupture the tendon again if I challenged it.

The tendon is as strong as ever, but I'm dealing with a fractured heal bone, and need to have surgery again to remove the achilles where the fracture is, shave it down, and reattach the achilles. The recovery time? The same as when I first has surgery for the rupture...6 weeks. So since I started my own business, the news could not have come at a worse time...there is no way I can take 6 weeks off from work until after Thanksgiving.

So, I realized that I need to change my diet because walking any distance over 1/2 mile is a challenge. Some days when I have a lot of work, I can do nothing when I get home until I have iced my foot, and relaxed for at least an hour.

By May, I had lost 35 pounds working hard on a mostly keto style diet. Essentially I cut sugar, bread, pasta, and most grains out of my diet like I did when I'd lost the weight before.

Unfortunately, like fan discussed, I bore so easily with those diets, and fall for the cheeseburger, or in this case a Skooch from my favorite Italian deli n Baltimore's Little Italy. F**K!!! Then I get the taste for those salty, fatty foods and I'm off to the races!

In just 7 weeks, I am back to nearly 300.

It is so damned difficult, especially being handicapped by the pain of walking I experience every friggin day!

I am currently in the worst shape of my life.

Worst part? I cannot hike with the boy, and he misses it. It is even painful to sit in the canoe with him for more than an hour fishing. He's missing out because my physical issues and it sucks!

If you guys have the discipline that keto diet f'n works! In a nutshell you're slashing carbs like a mofo. For me the toughest is bread/noodles, I love me some bread in any form. Sugars gotta go as well so if you're a soda or energy drinker like me that's tough.

Portion control is a massive % of a healthy diet too. Cutting my usual intake in half is what got my metabolism jump started, maintaining at 210 for the moment. Was 250 @ 5'10" last year, that was brutal on the knees and back.

Edit: El do you have a decent enough place to take your horse dog on walks?

Wow El - that sounds rough and I'm sorry to hear you are going through that. A 2nd surgery? Is it a displaced fracture? Seems like they could cast it if not and not have to mess with the Achilles but what do I know?

I will say this... I've never known a surgeon who didn't want to operate and always leaned that way... have you thought about getting a 2nd opinion?


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The wife and I are back doing the low carb diet. For about 3 months now. We're not doing the full on Atkins. Though she is much more stringent than I am. But we remember most of it, and therefore it's easier for me to estimate portion sizes, good/bad carbs, etc... (She still has to measure)

Even though I'm not being as detailed about it as in the past, I still lose weight much faster than the Mrs. Part of the reason I haven't been so strict with it, is because the weight falls off of me, which can be a little depressing for her. Even with all that, I've lost 20+ lbs. She's still stuck at around 6-7 pounds.


I miss potato's the most. She misses rice the most. We share a longing for pasta. But most of the low carb/no carb foods are right up my alley. So I don't get that bored with the diet.

As for my beer, I recently discovered Corona's new Premier. 90 cals. Under 3 carbs. Without losing the alcohol content.

Now, the following is the best, sure fire, without a doubt weight loss program I've ever heard of.

While exiting a local gym, an overweight gentlemen was approached by a young woman handing out business cards.
LOSE ALL THE WEIGHT YOU WANT
$1 PER POUND, was all that it said. Along with an address.

Desperate to lose some weight, the man reluctantly went to the address given, knowing that it was probably too good to be true. The lady at the desk welcomed him, and got right down to business. "How much weight would you like to lose today", she asked.
"Well", he said, "let's just go for 5lbs to start".
She collected his $5 and instructed him to go through the door to his left, and remove all his clothing.
When he walked in, the room was dark. The door closed and locked itself be hind him. After stripping, the lights came on. He was in a big, round room. Slowly, a different door opened up, and out walked a fairly attractive blonde. Naked as a jaybird.
"If you catch me, you can **** me", she said.

Well, it took him a while to finally catch her. After which, they both enjoyed a vigorous session of "Escaped Convict & The Warden's Wife".
After dressing, he exited the room where was greeted by the receptionist. She directed him to a scale, and sure enough, he had dropped 5.3lbs.

A couple days later, he returned. "How much weight do we want to lose today", she asked.
"10lbs", he replied.
After entering the round room again, the other door opened and there stood a gorgeous redhead. Fit, toned, and curvy. Mouth watering.
"If you catch me, you can **** me" she said. Well, she was in much better shape than the 1st girl. So it took much longer to run her down. After a zesty round of Sexual Olympics, he again exited the room and got on the scales. BAMN! 10.5lbs gone.

This is fantastic, he thought. After giving himself a couple days to recuperate, the man returned with an excitement hard to describe. Finally, a weight loss program that work as advertised. $1 per pound. And, great sex too!

The receptionist asked, "And how much weight do we want to lose today"

"50lbs", he happily boasted. He raced into the dark round room, stripped, and waited for the other door to open.





The door opened, and out walked a giant of a man. 6'6" 270 all muscle, with a Johnson that hung lower than his knees.

"If I catch you, I'm gonna **** you"

Im sorry to hear of your set-back and your travails.

I can help, Brian, and im ready, willing and able to do so.

For me, it was finally finding something that I can stay with long time. If lowering carbs doesn't do it for you, find something else. If you like to eat whatever, look into intermittent fasting. Like carbs, go with a low fat diet. There's even just cutting calories.

The other thing that has helped me is to keep a daily journal of my weight and my work-outs. In the beginning, it seemed stupid that I put a calendar on the wall and put a check-mark on days that I did cardio and another for weights. I even wrote my weight on a daily basis. After a couple of weeks, I WANTED to get those check marks on the calendar. 5 months later, the calendar looks like a red/green "Pre-Christmas" decoration, but it motivates me. Seeing the numbers decrease over time helps too.

I still drink too much beer from time to time, but most of the other carb cravings have gone away.

The biggest thing is to keep the focus on the future. Losing one pound today means you are closer to your goal than yesterday/last week. Keep it up, folks.

Think of it like this, if you lose ONE pound a week, by the time the Skins kick off the regular season, you will be down 7 pounds. When they play the Vikings mid season, you will be down 14 pounds. When they have their first playoff game, you will be down almost 25 pounds. Think how great that will feel.

Keep it up everybody!!!

ps @Boone - thanks for starting this. Appreciate the part about my signature.

Tracking your efforts goes a long way towards keeping you motivated.

Chris said:

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Tracking your efforts goes a long way towards keeping you motivated.

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I want to hear more about those sticks


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One word, my men: drywall. It's kept me at a svelte 245 for the past twenty years....

I am currently south beaching/ketoing it and it kind of sucks.

As I've said before, keto is right up my alley. The foods are most of my favorites, anyway.

Yeah, I still miss potatoes and pasta. But it's not really hard for me to not have them.

When I want beer, it's Corona Premier. Have been able to have 6-8 on gameday without being knocked out of ketosis for more than a day.
Bourbon has zero carbs. Body burns off the alcohol pretty quick.

What sucks the worst, for you, Boone?

I'm like you to an extent Ax. I eat a lot of protein ordinarily and am not a big carb guy. I don't hate bread but don't eat it often. I love potatoes but I don't crave them so I can forego those pretty easily. Beer is probably the big one. I am pretty much going NO carb right now - I usually do that for a week or two to drop some lbs quick and then I'll scale it back. As far as food goes, not being able to eat rice is what I miss the most. I love rice - and I usually do fried rice on a weekly basis but of course, that's out for now. I generally abstain from alcohol completely when I'm keto-ing but you got me thinking about bourbon so I may grab a bottle of Eagle Rare today

It has been widely reported (though not completely scientifically proven to my knowledge) that beer increases estrogen in the body, mainly from the hops, and that leads to an increase of body fat storage in the lower abdominal area. Plus, even the low carb beers are still pretty high carb.

I owned a bar for decades and near the end I had many beer ‘enthusiasts’ switch from beer to hard seltzers and lost significant belly fat with only that change. Generally 1-2 carbs per can and a higher alcohol % than commercial beers is an added bonus.

Plus, if you keep it to yourself you can avoid the social shame that your ‘real man’ friends will heap on you.

I love beer too much to give it up (although I'm also a bourbon fan). I have zero problem going on an alcohol vacation when I need to. The big difference for me of late has been not exercising. I've found when I'm on the bike consistently I can pretty much do what I want in terms of diet. When I'm sedentary that's not a good approach. My challenge is sustaining an exercise program - I've been on the 'yo yo' train for a couple decades unfortunately. Need to get my shit together though because as I am aging, I cannot get away with what I used to be able to.

Amen to that. I have a fitbit that I love. I am very competitive with myself and pushing my limits on my body as much as possible. I've tried to average 10K steps a day before this, and i was able to crush that most days. Now, i am lucky to get 5-6.

I have decided that have to change that. I need to pace the house or whatever to get them in.

If anyone would like a simple, equipment free, training plan that you can do from home that takes about 30 minutes...

PM me an email address and I’ll send you a simplified version that I have created for my paid clientele. If you have a pull-up bar lmk. If not, no big deal.