Everyday Systems

http://tinyurl.com/clfe8s

I achieved one of my numerous goals this morning so I am pleased.

I am now down to 234 pounds. All on a (soft) 'No S' diet and exercising nearly everyday as well. (Shovelglovin' and cardio exercises)

I used to hate oatmeal and now I love it ... Fills you up and gives you plenty of energy too. I also notice how I am not as tired as I was before and I have more energy too. I can train for 50 minutes straight now and when I started training 4 months ago I could barely do 12-14 minutes.

Click on the link to see the graphic ... On no. 1st 2008 I weighed 280 pounds (5'11") ... I have lost 45 pounds since then.
(technically, 46, but I don't like being too close to the ceiling, I keep a margin of error of 1 pound !)

http://tinyurl.com/clfe8s

My goal when I started this was to lose 45 pounds during the first 4 months (achieved this morning) Another 30 pounds during the next 4 months ... and then to finish my 'year' ... another 15 pounds during the final 4 months. Total, 90 pounds in 12 months.

If you would like to create a graph online, it's easy on this site : http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/index.asp
You can change your numbers at will and you can see your progress easily that way ...

Marc

Great job Marc!!!!
Debs

Congratulations and kudos to you!
And thanks for the nifty graph.
Lori

Marc,

Congratulations! This is hugely impressive. Talk about "extreme" moderation! Not only did you lose more that I did (45 pounds vs 40) but you did so in a third of the time (and over the holidays!). Not, of course, that quick, spectacular results are the goal here, but it sure is nice when they happen. I'm psyched to hear that not only no-s and shovelglove, but also "optimize your oatmeal" was a contributing factor.

Best wishes towards the next of your "numerous goals" and looking forward to hearing more,

Reinhard

P.S. feel free to cross post this in the "testimonials" forum -- it DEFINITELY qualifies!

P.P.S thanks for the graphics link

****** Hey, thanks everyone for your kind words. Yeah, I'm definitely an extremist ...

The holidays, yes, that was hard, I definitely cheated a few times during that week ... it was impossible
not to do that ... slowed me down .. darn ! I was fighting through that period actually, cos' it's depressing
when you are cheating on your diet, but I was keeping on with the exercises anyway so it was not
affecting me too much in the end, plus I was making sure not to cheat 2 days in a row or not to skip
my exercises.

You have to fight through this, cos' it would be easier to give in of course, it's not fun
to be exercising on Dec. 24 at 4pm, when you know you won't be able to do it later that night, cos' ... well,
it's Christmas.

I did this once before too, when I was about 20 years old (I'm 36 now) I lost 35 pounds within
100 days. I had less weight to lose back then (Went from 205 to 170) ...

They also say guys can lose weight more quickly than gals. I plan to stick with it long term now,
so I don't take all the weight back on when I am done with my 'extreme' year. I'll eat in a more reasonable
way, exercise as well ... and I can weigh myself once a week to maintain my weight. 180 to 190 pounds
would be ideal for me, especially if I have more muscle than fat of course.

I am doing a No S diet hybrid ... I do the no seconds, but for the S days, I only have 2 per month
(I'd rather not have too many since it makes me feel guilty & depressed anyway) I like using the habitcal
to track all this ... I have 8 days where I can cheat a lil' bit too every month, if you call that cheating,
having one sandwich extra during the day for example ... but for the rest of the month, 20-21 days,
I am sticking to my plan. It's really not so bad when you are motivated.

No snacks, that's a bit flexible
for me, I can have a snack sometimes and I don't feel bad about it, as long as it's something good for me, or if I feel I need it before exercising
no problem. Since I exercise so much, , I could snack all the time and I would probably lose weight anyway.

Most days of the week
I would shovelglove 15 minutes in the morning and then in the evening do a bit of training with my dumbells and cardio exercises for about 50 minutes ... not to mention the times during the day when I do exercises as well, goin' up and down
stairs often, I even take the opportunity to go to the mailbox on foot instead of taking the car. I take the long way to the
mailbox, so that's an extra 10 minutes of jogging nearly everyday. I have already spotted a place nearby where
I can do some jogging as well, when the snow melts here in Canada. I have to do nearly all my exercises indoors now. This is regular, about 5 to 6 days a week.

It's worked out really well so far and I think of food as fuel to do
my exercises now, I am not even tempted by sweets or junk food, I like food that fills me up
and gives me energy instead, like oatmeal or bran fiber cereal, I add a bit of milk, unsalted nuts and raisins
and I actually like it a lot. When you combine the diet with exercises, the results can be really nice,
I even had to change my plan a couple of times already because I was losing weight too fast,
I was planning on being at 236.0 pounds on march 1st and when I stepped on the scale I was
at 234.0 ... just to make sure it wasn't a glitch I stepped on the scale again the next morning, 233.6 pounds.
I usually only weigh myself once a week.

It's nice to use the new technology now ... online graphic, you can check it from any computer.
Also lots of information on training and nutrition, back when I lost weight in the early 90's, there
wasn't any information like that available on the web, tellin' you what to do. Much easier to find out
what would be the best way to achieve your goals.

What decided me to lose weight this time. I was goin' to buy some clothes and nothing would really fit me well
in the store, I was depressed I would have to go to a 'heavy set people' store for clothes.
Why buy something that you don't like wearing. So I came back home and
I was all set to lose some weight, Nov. 1st 2008. The funny thing is now that I have lost some weight,
and will keep on losing, I won't have to buy new clothes anymore ... my old(er) clothes fit me now.
Good thing I didn't throw or give everything away 2-3-4 years ago.

Anyway, thanks for your site, Reinhard, it has been very helpful. Shovelglove, Exercises, HabitCal.
Lots of good information and tools here.

Marc

Great results! Keep up the good work

marcdesbiens wrote:http://tinyurl.com/clfe8s

I achieved one of my numerous goals this morning so I am pleased.

I am now down to 234 pounds. All on a (soft) 'No S' diet and exercising nearly everyday as well. (Shovelglovin' and cardio exercises)

I used to hate oatmeal and now I love it ... ...

Marc

Wow, that's really impressive! And inspirational.

What is a "soft" No S diet?

Oatmeal...yum...I've always loved that stuff. =)

Thanks Nichole & Madiantin

Madiantin, Soft No S ... it means I don't follow all the rules... I follow my own rules, Each month, 2-8-20 ... 2 red days where I am allowed to cheat a lil' more, 8 yellow days where I cheat but only a lil' bit and 20-21 green days where I am really good and not cheating at all ...

That's because I want to lose weight faster (90 pounds in a year's time ... I have lost 45 in the past 4 months, so there's another 45 to go during the next 8 months ...) Actually I think it'll be rather easy. The hardest part is to get started and then the first month or two ... when you see results it motivates you to keep your good habits. I put on pants I was wearing before losing 45 pounds the other day and they were falling off, without a belt they would be down to my ankles, that's how loose they are now and they used to be tight actually.

I have my own more restrictive rules and I train very hard at the same time cos' I don't want to take 3-4-5 years to lose 90 pounds. (Probably not recommended for most people, but I used to be in really good shape, it's only in the past few years that I have gained a lot of weight, 70 pounds over the past 5-6 years ...) Once I am down to 190, I can lose another 10 pounds during the following year, my long term goal is to remain between 180 and 190, but with more muscles.

Here's what I wrote up there in the thread earlier if you haven't seen it :

"I am doing a No S diet hybrid ... I do the no seconds, but for the S days, I only have 2 per month
(I'd rather not have too many since it makes me feel guilty & depressed anyway) I like using the habitcal
to track all this ... I have 8 days where I can cheat a lil' bit too every month, if you call that cheating,
having one sandwich extra during the day for example ... but for the rest of the month, 20-21 days,
I am sticking to my plan. It's really not so bad when you are motivated.

No snacks, that's a bit flexible
for me, I can have a snack sometimes and I don't feel bad about it, as long as it's something good for me, or if I feel I need it before exercising
no problem. Since I exercise so much, , I could snack all the time and I would probably lose weight anyway. "