bluebunny27's Daily Check In

Counting carbs/calories is a drag. Obsessive scale stepping is a recipe for despair. If you want to count something, "days on habit" is a much better metric. Checking off days on a calendar would do just fine, but if you do it here you get accountability and support. Here's how. Start a new topic in this forum called (say) "Your Name Daily Check In." Then every N day post a "reply" to that topic as to whether you stayed on habit. A simple "<font color="green">SUCCESS</font>" or "<font color="red">FAILURE</font>" (or your preferred euphemism if that's too harsh) is sufficient, but obviously you're welcome to write more if you want. On S-days just register that you're taking an S-day. You don't have to do this forever, just until you're confident you've built the habit. Feel free to check in weekly or monthly or sporadically instead of daily. Feel free also to track other habits besides No-s (I'm keeping this forum under No-s because that's what the vast majority are using it for). See also my <a href="/habitcal/">HabitCal</a> tool for another more formal (and perhaps complementary) way to track habits.

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bluebunny27
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Post by bluebunny27 » Wed Jan 20, 2010 5:25 am

Thanks KCCC ! Yeah, I've been sick for almost 2 weeks straight now, which is rare for me ... I'm usually never ill ... the only positive thing is I am losing a lot of weight without even trying at all ... ;-)

Update : I've lost some more ...

Pre-sickness weight : January 7th : 197.6 pounds

Post-sickness weight : January 19th : 183 pounds

Total loss : 14.6 pounds

Crazy numbers, I know. I am doing much better now though. I am almost done with this stupid flu.

I still struggle to eat normally though since I am never really hungry, I only eat 1,800-2,000 calories per day right now ... no training at all, I was too weak and sick to even think about training anyway...

It's insane too cos' with this illness I am close to losing 100 pounds in all compared to my heaviest weight in nov. 2008.
100 pounds .... I didn't think I'd achieve that ...

Once I am done with this illness I'll try to hang around 178-183
long term ... my BMI will be really close to 25 then ... which was one thing that bothered me ... that I was still in the OVERWEIGHT category despite losing 90 pounds before (BMI over 25 means OVERWEIGHT) ... if I go down to 180 I'll be right there with an almost 'Normal' BMI finally (Thanks to this long illness, only positive thing about this, really, cos' I've been pretty miserable for a long while now.)

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

37 Years Old. 5'10" Tall.
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Jan. 19th. 2010 : 183 Pounds

(1 Year 2 Months 19 Days : - 97 Pounds)

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bluebunny27
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Post by bluebunny27 » Tue Jan 26, 2010 7:09 am

Update : I'm better now since the past 3 days but I should remain in the low 180's since I like it there, I haven't gained any weight back since I have been feeling better so it's all good ! I'm back eating approx 2,500 calories now and not gaining weight back so I think I can hang out there long term ....

I also like being very close to a 100 pound weight loss, nice round number. Getting my BMI closer to 25 @ the same time which was something I wanted to do anyway, it just happened quicker due to my illness.

I also cut down on the booze due to the illness and I see this helps me to keep my weight under control more easily so I'll cut down on the alcohol 50% from now on, I'll just have a few cold ones once a week as a treat if I have been behavin' of course ... Sometimes I was doing it twice a week, going out with buddies, things like that ... I'll be more careful from now on.

Tonight I was working on my calories, my plan ... I cut down a lil' bit on there too, I'll only eat 2,550 instead of 2,700 per day from now on. I was cutting calories left and right when I was ill because I was not hungry of course, so I saw I was not in mortal danger doing that either ... I don't need as many calories anyway since I weigh 13-14 pounds less now than I did 2 and a half weeks ago and I'm not as active (because I wasn't training when I was sick...)

I'll also start training again, probably tomorrow ... but it'll be moderate at first since I can't go full on right from the get go of course, I'll probably only do 20-25 minute sessions for a lil' while ... I am weaker now due to the flu ... I was doing some planks earlier tonight to test myself, simple exercise ... I was struggling to do 3 X 60 sec. and before my illness I was doing 6 X 70 seconds easily ... so I've definitely lost some endurance there ... I'll have to work my way back up slowly in all the dept., cardio, weight training, isometric exercises, etc.

Anyway I see that the food intake is really the key to lose weight or to maintain, I was not training at all for 16 days straight when I was ill and I lost at least 13-14 pounds (I was probably only eating 1,500-1,800 calories most days when I was very ill)

Exercise is good of course, I'm not trashing it since it helped me a lot to lose weight ... but even if I only do 20-25 minutes per day now, (at least 5 times a week) I should be alright as long as I am very precise in the kitchen/dining room ... it's really about maintaining for me now anyway, I've lost enough already. I'm not trying to go under 180 pounds in any case. Some people have noticed I have lost a lot of weight in the past couple of weeks and were worried about it too saying I was getting too thin now, heh.
;-)

By now I can ballpark just about anything so I can tell how many calories I am eating, the size of the portions I should have all
that ... I am definitely planning on being lean and mean long term ... many years. It's not something I did for a while and then gaining 20-40 pounds right back within a year ... I don't want to start over any time soon so I plan on doing what I have to do to remain there in the low-mid 180's ... that would be ideal 4-me.

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

37 Years Old. 5'10" Tall.
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Jan. 25th. 2010 : 183 Pounds

(1 Year, 2 Months, 25 Days : - 97 Pounds)

mrsj
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Location: Denmark

Post by mrsj » Tue Jan 26, 2010 9:17 am

Glad to hear that you're better. Take it easy retraining so you don't injure yourself.

Your posts are always an inspiration to me. Now, if only I could do the same as you... How about a kick in the behind, please?
Nothing is impossible-only improbable.

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~reneew
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Post by ~reneew » Tue Jan 26, 2010 4:19 pm

keep going Marc! :wink:
I guess this doesn't work unless you actually do it.
Please pray for me

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bluebunny27
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Post by bluebunny27 » Wed Jan 27, 2010 2:14 am

Hey, thanks to all the Rock N' Roll'ers. ;-)

Yeah, I've been doing better now ... I'm 95% well now ... and I know everything I have to do as well ... isn't it nice when you have huh ... knowledge. ;-)

I'm never ill usually ... no, really ... I don't think I've been this ill ever : 2 weeks straight ?? Plus combined with the weight loss I didn't really know what to expect once I was done with the health issues ... I'm glad I can remain at my new weight fairly easily too, not gaining all those pounds back within a week or two. My lowest weight when I was ill was 182.4 and this morning after feeling better and eating normally for 3-4 days I weighed 182.8 so it's basically the same, remaining stable.

I'll try to have very recent pictures taken soon since I've lost more weight ... the before and after pics should be more impressive hopefully. :-) Yeah, I know I promised pics before ... I'm such a slacker, heh.

I've adjusted some things, eating a lil' bit less now, not training too long either at the moment ... things like that. It should make it easier to maintain long term which is my main objective right now. I was using 'FitDay' (The software) to figure things out, great tool to use if you want to count calories or just figure out how many calories you are having on a typical day, make adjustments, etc. I've used it a few times since sept. 2009 and it helped me a lot. You can also use their website but I find the software more convenient.

http://www.fitday.com/

I trained for the first time tonight too after not doing any exercise for 16 days straight and being ill for a long while ... it was pretty *HARD* too, I only trained for 20 minutes but it was harder than when I was healthy and training for 35-40 minutes non stop.

My heart was in maximum overdrive too, I calculated 150-155 bpm (beats per minute) while I was doing my cardio. When I used to train before the hiatus it was rare it would go over 135-140 so I was definitely working really hard ... it was a struggle even doing just 20 minutes, heh. Nice to work out again though, it helps to keep the LARD away from my belly.
;-)

I guess I'll have to keep doing those shorter 20 minutes sessions for a while until I get back into shape and I can make 'em a bit longer. It surprises me how quickly you can become less efficient actually. 2 week illness combined with no exercise and everything is much harder now compared to before .... oh well.

Thanks again for your support and good luck with your own journeys. Yeah, it takes a lot of hard work, hundreds of hours required, more than a year now so it doesn't happen overnight, you have to apply yourself but once you start seeing good results you know you can't stop until you get there ... reaching your ultimate goal !

Correction, I see on my HabitCal that I didn't train for18 days in a row ... not 16. It was even worse than I thought ! :-) Time to get goin' again now that I'm feeling much better, no excuse to sit on the couch instead of training. I like training anyway, it makes you feel gooooooooood about yourself once you are done with the work out (Endorphines !) and it prevents you from cheating on your diet too since you don't want to ruin your exercise session by overeating, win-win situation. I'm not too upset about skipping 18 days though because I've lost 13-14 pounds anyway during that time so that's positive at least. I'd be more annoyed if I had gained weight instead.

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

37 Years Old. 5'10" Tall.
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Jan. 25th. 2010 : 183 Pounds

(1 Year, 2 Months, 25 Days : - 97 Pounds)

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Post by StrawberryRoan » Wed Jan 27, 2010 12:09 pm

Glad to hear you are on the mend, Marc.

Go easy with the training, you know how gung-ho you can be!

Berry 8)

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Post by bluebunny27 » Thu Jan 28, 2010 4:49 pm

Thanks, lil' Berry. :-)

Yeah, it's usually all or nothing with me ... but I have to take it easy now ... no choice. I can't really do more than 20 minute sessions at the moment (+ planks for 4 minutes earlier in the
day)

I trained 2 days in a row now (in the evening) and it was pretty hard even if I only worked out for 20 minutes ... feels good to train again at least. The good thing is it doesn't last for too long so it's hard to find an excuse not to do it ... ;-)

I am careful not to cheat on my diet though because I was reading about this last night and when you are ill, not eating a lot and not training at all for 2 weeks straight your metabolism can slow down quite a bit so it is easier to gain some weight back if you are not careful. I am eating normally at the moment : about 2,500 calories per day and since I started training again it should help out as well.

I have to get used to be in the low-mid 180's instead of the low-mid 190's now. My weight is stable now though, 183.0 pounds this morning, same as yesterday.

1-26 : 182.8
1-27 : 183.0
1-28 : 183.0

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

37 Years Old. 5'10" Tall.
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Jan. 28th. 2010 : 183 Pounds

(1 Year, 2 Months, 28 Days : - 97 Pounds)

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Post by bluebunny27 » Wed Feb 17, 2010 1:27 am

Ok, time for an update. I've gained approx. 4 pounds since my last message ... boo ! Well, when I was sick it probably messed things up so it wasn't real weight loss. I'm happy between 185 and 190 so from now on 190 is my new ceiling. It's a real ceiling though, no joke. I am too used to the 180's now really. :-)

I was working on fighting cravings too since I slipped up a few times lately leading to that 4 pound gain... I started eating a bit more daily : 2,700 calories instead of 2,500 ... better to eat 200 calories more daily instead of having issues.

I stopped buying ice cream since I can't resist eating it, lol ! Bagels too, they're out. I am POWER LESS when it comes to bagels...

...

Tips to fight cravings/hunger ! ;-)

To solve craving/hunger problems :

Try to spread your calories more throughout the day.

I eat 6 times during the day, every 2 to 3 hours. Not huge meals, small ones.
2,600-2,700 calories total (I work out hard 4-5 times per week too so I need all those calories) ... This helps me a lot since the next mini-meal is never too far away. I am glad I can train normally again too, the sickness made me weaker for a while but now I'm almost back, endurance and whatnot.


Drink plenty of water.

If you must eat something, it's important to choose items that don't have a lot of calories
of course : All vegetables are fine, you can have a big plate of carrots, celery, cucumber, etc.
and it'll only have 200 calories ... the same plate with cookies and ice cream : 2,000 calories so the
choice is simple. Plus the veggies fill you up so you are not hungry again 20 minutes later
which always happens with cookies, chocolate, ice cream ... avoid processed foods, heh.

To avoid eating, you can try brushing your teeth and using mouthwash as well.
It prevents you from eating for a good 20-30 minutes, enough time to get you
through a craving, at least it works for me ! ;-)

Also, you can try sucking on a hard candy, adds 20-25 calories sure but again they last
10-15-20 minutes - - you get a taste of the sugar but hardly any calories and after
that your craving is gone too since you waited.

I like plain air popped pop corn too, not a lot of calories and it fills you up especially if you drink water right after.

Drink coffee (decaf if it's late at night) or tea, it curbs the appetite and fills you up. No cream in there of course, just a lil' bit of Sugar Twin and low fat milk, mix.

Cocoa powder, great for your health : lowers blood pressure, helps with the cholesterol, anti-oxidants, etc. You put a tbsp. of cocoa powder in a cup.
add hot water, a lil' bit of Sugar Twin and low fat milk, mix.

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

37 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 187 Pounds

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Post by ~reneew » Wed Feb 17, 2010 1:33 pm

glad to see you're still with it! Stay well too. :wink:
I guess this doesn't work unless you actually do it.
Please pray for me

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bluebunny27
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Post by bluebunny27 » Thu Feb 18, 2010 7:05 am

Thank you, Renee !

Yep, I've been doing alright. I'm happy the way things
have been going, especially in the past few days.

I lost 15 pounds within 2 weeks when I was ill ... then I gained back about 5 in the past 3 weeks so it's still a minus 10 overall - - and now I'm maintaining in the high 180's (fairly) easily and I set a 190 hard ceiling I'm not supposed to go over.

As soon as I start going a bit in the low 190's I behave like an angel and within a couple of days I am back in the 180's, feels pretty good there too.

I wrote down my list of tips to stop cravings too as I've been looking into that ... that's right, more tweaking ... but maybe one day I'll get it just right ! ;-)

Hopefully it'll help some people here too.

There's really 101 different things you can tweak in a program, diet, exercise, everything ... It's changing on a regular basis. I like it actually, finding ways to improve my program and making it easier on myself to maintain just by changing a few details here and there related to the diet & the exercise. This is really long long term though, I know if I quit my good habits I'll start gaining weight again so ............ I feel good when I look in the mirror at least. :-)

I've made 4-5 small changes in the past week and I've noticed an improvement already compared to the way I was feeling before. 80% of my program remains the same really, it's the last 20% I'm toyin' with ... minor adjustments.

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

37 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 188 Pounds

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bluebunny27
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Post by bluebunny27 » Thu Feb 25, 2010 5:50 pm

I changed 4 lil' things in my program so I figured I would post
that here. It's a follow up to my previous message, ways to curb hunger and whatnot ... how to behave like a civilized person, keeping the good habits ... :-)

- Big change no. 1, I don't weigh daily anymore. I weigh weekly.
I think I was getting too obsessed with the daily numbers.
Since I've stopped weighing daily, I seem more in control ... it just seems easier to be good
and avoid hunger/cravings. Mood swings too cos' when I was having a bad day and gained 2-3 pounds
on the scale the next morning I would be in a foul mood the whole day after that. Also if I had been good
for 2 days in a row for example and not losing any weight I would be frustrated, etc. Not sure why I was doing it
now actually since it seems a lot easier not to bother with that every day.
I only weigh once a week now, I still keep the record of course so I can see the +/- difference
from time to time. I focus more on the habits than the number now. Anyway if I am good with the habits
then the number on the scale gets lower, makes more sense that way.

- Small change no. 2 - Green tea
I read it was good for my health so now I drink one big mug daily. Good to curb hunger
as well. The taste is not that bad actually, you get used to it. ;-) I still prefer
coffee of course but a mug of green tea daily won't hurt me, contains flavonoids
and whatnot (whatever they are called !!) They say those flavs are : "potent antioxidant compounds"
so that sounds pretty impressive. :-)

- Small change 3 - Meals earlier. If I get a craving I just have my next mini-meal earlier.
I used to struggle and try to wait it out or something, then I get really hungry and it can lead
to binge eating. So instead of doing that self destructing behavior I just have my mini meal right away,
this way I don't get too ravenous and I figure it doesn't make a big difference. I am more in control
since I have been doing that, not worrying about the meal times anymore, more flexible.

- Change no. 4 : "Crime & punishment" : When I have been behaving badly, I would punish myself by not doing
something I like, delaying it one day or more, etc. I find this helps me to be good with my habits.
If I am bad I have to suffer the consequences, so why not be good instead ? Again, something else
that seems to help ... keeping my good habits. It's all psychological anyway, the habits !! :-)

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

37 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 190 Pounds

StrawberryRoan
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Location: United States

Post by StrawberryRoan » Sat Mar 06, 2010 12:16 am

Very interesting reading. Thanks.

I think you could turn this journal into a book (or two).

You're doing great, holding steady.

That's always been my downfall, I lose - gain (knowing I can lose it again), etc. Luckily, I stay in a ten, fifteen, twenty pound range as I don't want to invest in an all new wardrobe. :D

Berry

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bluebunny27
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Post by bluebunny27 » Sun Mar 21, 2010 6:18 am

Hey, thanks, lil' Berry.

Sorry for the delay replying, I guess I had missed your message previously. :-(

Yeah, I've developed many tips and TRICKS over the past few weeks/months. I'm definitely planning on not gaining all that weight back. I often use those TRICKS to avoid failing and they actually work most of the times. It's not as annoying as always gaining and losing the same 5-7 pounds, I prefer to remain around 189-191 pounds at the moment, 2-3 pounds range, fine.

I am REALLY annoyed even gaining just 5-7 pounds as I did during the Holidays ... (luckily I was ILL after that in early january so I lost all that extra weight quickly, heh !) ;-)

Just today I was thinking I am the exact same weight now as I was on nov. 1st 2009 when I ended my weight loss journey ... not one pound more ... so I was proud of that, maintaining for nearly 5 months now.

Plus now with the temperatures going up I am able to start doing my cycling and my sprinting intervals again at the local soccer field, makes it easier to work out. Nice change from exercising inside ... that's what I have been doing since november ...

Good luck and feel free to ask me any question, alright ?

Marc ;-)

37 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 190 Pounds

mrsj
Posts: 491
Joined: Fri Nov 20, 2009 10:06 am
Location: Denmark

Post by mrsj » Mon Mar 22, 2010 7:18 am

Congratulations on your maintence! Your posts are always an inspiration to me and I need all the help I can get!

I do have a question for you. I've been under the weather for the past 8 days. No appetite-living on O.J and H2Orange. Fever and the whole 9 yards. Crawled on the scale this morning and am 3 KILOS lighter. Am feeling a little better, but weak as a kitten and still no appetite. My question is, how can I maintain this shrinkage and hopefully shrink more when my appetite returns?

I'm forcing myself to urban range, but I kind of see funny spots in front of my eyes. Doggie still needs to go out though, so I HAVE to! Tried to shovelglove with my shovel, but had to give up. I am on the mend, so I am persevering.

Any help and advice is really appreciated, and don't be afraid of saying things right out!
Nothing is impossible-only improbable.

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Post by bluebunny27 » Tue Mar 23, 2010 6:44 pm

Hi there ! Wow, thanks for your nice words, MrsJ !
I am blushing, heh. ;-)

Good thing I checked up here cos' often I can go a week or more without visiting the site ... since I don't update my daily check in too often your question could have been sitting here for a few days ...

My personal e-mail address is :

bluebunny27@yahoo.com

bluebunny27 @ yahoo . com (remove spaces)

I would get a personal message/question quicker there.

...

Ok, as you read already I did lose some weight after being ill
in early january.

Before that, I gained some weight during the holidays, went from 190 to 198 from dec. 20th to jan. 4th. Then I was ill for at least 3 weeks in a row, no exercise, not eating much, feeling weak, etc. I went down to
182.5 really fast without even trying (Losing approx. 16 pounds). Some of that was probably water because the first day I was ill I lost 4 pounds (I was still weighing daily back then)

I was thinking I should be able to maintain that weight loss but when I started eating normally again
I went back to 190-192 within a couple of weeks.

I have been maintaining there since then. I am not unhappy though, when I was getting closer to 180.0
people were starting to tell me I was getting too thin and whatnot, lol ! It was a lil' annoying. ;-)

I thought I could really remain there
in the low 180's but I think that wasn't a REAL weight loss ... the slow and steady one is real, not the quick and easy. You can't really expect not to gain anything back if you lose 6-7 pounds in a week due to an illness.

I am happy I only gained half of the weight back at least. 8 pounds out of 16. To do that I kept my good habits basically.
Training hard at least 25 minutes 5 times per week and eating properly. I have been rock solid lately too, only 2 red days
during the past 26 days. I see this has helped me to remain more stable too, no big ups and downs anymore and generally making me feel pretty
good instead of always gaining back 4-5 pounds, then struggling to lose 'em and then doing it again the week after that.

Concentrating on the habits more instead of on the weight on the scale (I only weigh every 6-7 days now usually) has helped me
recently as well. I just make sure I am good most of the time and then I don't have to worry about the number on the scale, I know it'll be a good result if I behaved at least 70-80% of the time.

My last few weigh ins :

3-5 191.2
3-11 191.0
3-17 190.2
3-23 190.2 (That was this morning, I wanted to be back in the 180's actually, grrr !) I know I had a big plate of spaghetti last night, probably too much, oh well. ;-)

Ok, my advice not to gain all the weight back, only half ... is to make sure you get back to your routine
as soon as possible once you are healthy again ... that way you can keep at least
some of the weight off, better half than nothing, right ? ;-)

The work outs : you have to take it a lil' easier when you are starting again. I didn't train for 17-18
days in a row when I was ill. It took me 5-7 days of only doing 25 minute sessions before I was able to do a longer 35-40 minute one.

I was definitely weaker the first 5-7
days after I started working out so make sure not to over eat during that time in particular or you
could gain some weight back quickly. I was pushing hard even doing 25 minutes though, I was still weak at the time so even doing 25 minutes then was tougher than doing 35-40 now.

Good luck on your journey. You can find many of my tips and TRICKS up there in my check in as well. How to avoid hunger/cravings, all that good stuff helps me to maintain on a daily basis.

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

37 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 190 Pounds

mrsj
Posts: 491
Joined: Fri Nov 20, 2009 10:06 am
Location: Denmark

Post by mrsj » Thu Mar 25, 2010 1:20 pm

Thanks so much for your advice! I'm forceing myself to move more. Thankfully my appetite is still kind of shaky, so overeating isn't a problem.
I'm eating very low-cal healthy foods and not nearly as much as befor I got sick. Maybe my stomache sac has shrunk? No need to stretch it out again!
Nothing is impossible-only improbable.

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bluebunny27
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Location: Montreal, Canada

Post by bluebunny27 » Sun May 16, 2010 9:50 pm

http://twitter.com/bluebunny27

Hey, quick word ... I'm on TWITTER now ... good tool.
There's plenty of information, everything you want to know, nutrition, health, all that good stuff ...

Here's my account name if you want to follow me. I'll give lil' tips regularly ... about this and that. I like it a lot actually.

http://twitter.com/bluebunny27

194.2 pounds this morning (it was my weekly official weigh in) ... slowly but surely, getting there. I was hoping I would be in the 193's but it wasn't *MEANT TO BE* ... ;-)

Better luck next time...

http://twitter.com/

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 194 Pounds

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bluebunny27
Posts: 831
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Location: Montreal, Canada

Post by bluebunny27 » Sat Jun 05, 2010 3:43 pm

I've been doing quite good for the past 7 days out of 8, nice streak ... now down to the 194's since this morning was my official weigh in. It's harder to go down down down now, maybe I've gained some muscles from all that training, heh.

I should really have something to measure my body fat % actually, I don't care if I am a lil' heavier if my body fat % is going down, that's good .. it means I'm getting lean and mean so that's an improvement. ;-) Maybe I should get one of those FAT CALIPERS they use to pinch and measure the fat in gym classes, I know I can get those pretty easily. Then I could PINCH THE FAT any time I want. I could measure it too, and then note the result down... ;-)

I've noticed my calves, quads, shoulders, arms have more definition ... I'm just 4 pounds heavier now than I was when I ended my journey in nov. 2009 but since then I've been training hard 5-6 times per week for 7 months in a row, maybe I did add a lil' bit of muscles and lost some fat (especially since I interval train regularly and that's good to melt the fat of course) That could be the reason why I'm having a hard time going back to the low 190's now (although if I did apply myself for 2 weeks straight non stop I'm sure I would make it !) ;-)

2 things new I started lately. I started doing PUSH UPS more often. Yeah, yeah, I hate 'em but the push up is a great total upper body exercise, basically if you only have to do one exercise for the upper body, it's the push up ... for the abs, it would be the planks and for the legs, the squats ... ;-)

I want to improve my upper body so I get stronger ... to do that I'll use the same method as I used for my abs with great success. (9 months ago I started doing planks nearly every day, just 5-7 minutes per day but those minutes add up big time after a while. Now I can do planks in sets of 100 seconds straight, no problem and when I started I could only hold the position for 35-40 seconds top so that's a big improvement right there over 9 months. I'd be pleased to do the same with the total number of push ups I can do as well.

Cardio, I do my exercises all the time, no problem there. My legs are already very strong from all the squatting, jumping jacks, cycling and sprinting I have been doing for a year and 7 months ... so later I worked on my abs and now they are stronger ... the only part I think I could improve more at the moment is the upper body. I think doing push up nearly every day, even just a few sets at a time for months and months in a row could produce the same results I had with my abs using the planks so I just started doing that regularly.

That's really all you have to do ... 5-6 times per week : 5 minutes lower body, squats ... 5 minutes, abs : planks, 5 minutes upper body, push ups, circuit training ... so you go from one exercise to the next + Cardio, 20 minutes at least, 30 is better if you are trying to lose weight ... high intensity cardio 4-5 times a week.

Imagine doing that for months and months in a row, how many minutes of training ?? It adds up quickly when you are relentless. That's much better than only training once or twice a week for 2 hours in a row ... that's when you see the improvements you've made, 35-55 minutes required nearly every day (and eating well of course, but that's a no brainer !)

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 194 Pounds

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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Sat Jun 05, 2010 6:39 pm

Hey Marc, I just wanted to congratulate you on how well you have been doing :)
Also, I came by to ask you about planks, and I see you have been doing fantastically with them! I tried to do them last year when Richie was doing them in school as part of his cross country track and field team training, and i was absolutely shaking from how difficult they were at the time.. I can't believe you can hold them for so long! That's awesome :)
I really wanna start doing these now. do you have any good site that describes (and maybe with pics?) how to do planks properly? :)
Thanks
8) Debs
There is no Wisdom greater than Kindness

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bluebunny27
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Post by bluebunny27 » Sat Jun 05, 2010 7:20 pm

Hey, thanks Debs ! You have a good attitude, that's important to be successful.

Planks are hard for beginners, it's true ! Reminds me the other day I was watching this fitness show on TV and a few young women were trying to do planks and they were shaking like crazy after only 15-20 seconds, rolling on the floor, exhausted (That made me laugh actually, I guess they had never trained that way before even though they looked like they were not in such bad shape but CORE training is often something people neglect !) Practice makes perfect ! :-)

I actually like doing planks now, especially because I see how much I have improved ... 250% improvement on my time over 9 months ?? Once I am able to do planks 2 min. straight 3 times (Resting 1 minute in between reps) I'll work on making them more challenging, elevating my feet, doing side planks, etc. This is a long term project, it takes months, years (which is good, you improve slowly but surely it doesn't happen overnight) - - but I always challenge myself, it has to be hard if you want to make progress. You have to be shaking a lil' bit when you get near the end of your plank. Keep your body straight in line, contracting the abs to have a good position. (Like the trainer in the clip below, there's a link .)

People who are really fit could do those for 5 minutes straight really so they would laugh at my 1 min. 40 sec. but I'm not in the Olympic athlete category .. more in the Average Joe category, still fine of course. :-)

The main thing is to challenge yourself each time you do 'em ... you do your best and that's fine. The next step is to work to improve your best performance so it's a challenge against yourself.

I would suggest 3 to 5 planks ... resting 1 minute in between each one (I use an old digital watch I have so I know the time).

It's not a problem if you can only do 20 sec. really .. that's your baseline ... you do that for 2 weeks, a month straight (5-6 times per week) and then you realize, wow .. this is getting too easy now !! So you add more seconds ... 25 seconds for each plank then 30 seconds a month later and so on ... I'm sure if you do this regularly you can improve a lot as I did.

It's the best way to train specific areas because the work out is so short, I mean it lasts only minutes so there's really no excuse not to do it, right ? I often do mine while watching TV in the evening... ;-)

Basic front planks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ar2iRusnnc
Good short clip there, 1:21 ... The trainer explains how to make
an easier version of the plank too, well done. (I like her accent too, possibly from Australia ?) ;-)

Planks - Variations
http://bit.ly/bxewai

Side planks
http://bit.ly/bCFOTO

Thanks again for your kind words and I wish you the best of luck.

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 194 Pounds

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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Sun Jun 06, 2010 8:28 pm

Thanks Marc, I'm one of those people who starts shaking after a few seconds, but that's cos I'm 240 lbs and haven't done abdominal exercises for years, and planks are hard!!! But I am tired of having a 42 inch stomach, and a back that often feels tight and weak as a result of slack abs..
I'm really stoked to start with these tomorrow, and plan on doing them as part of my daily N day exercise.. i will do what you suggest.. find my baseline seconds and just stick with that for a while till it becomes too easy... I may even give them a whirl tonight :)
I also kinda hope this helps to tone my arms a bit.. I imagine it might do something for them as well.
Thanks for the links :)
8) Debs
There is no Wisdom greater than Kindness

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Post by Grammy G » Mon Jun 07, 2010 1:16 pm

marc... love to see how excited you are about exercise!! I hope you keep that attitude into old age!! My hubby has always been one to put exercise first and he is 72 and in great shape! He had both his knees replaced 2 1/2 years ago..five days apart and his rehab trainer could not believe he was 72. At one point, the trainer attached a huge bungee to his truck and to hubby and told him to side-walk as far as he could..adding jokingly "to see if you can move the truck"..hubby said "OK!" this on new knees..the trainer had to stop him before the bungee snapped! He climbed to Grinnell(sp) Glacier in Glacier NP the summer after the replacements..his 10th climb there in 50 years! (and sadly said the glacier would be gone in 5 years)
i think there is a difference in male and female mentality when it comes to exercise. I cannot bring myself to put exercise first unless I am paying a trainer and have a scheduled time at the gym!! I hear so many women say this!! We put our household and social obligations before the time at the weight bench. We do it to ourselves. I am going to try to break that because you have been an inspiration... even though you are younger than my youngest child!!! Old dogs can learn new tricks!!! :wink:
"If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think another negative thought."
Peace Pilgrim

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Post by bluebunny27 » Wed Jun 09, 2010 7:16 am

I thought my upper body was WEAK but I can do 45 push ups non stop so it puts me in the 'Fit' category according to an article I read. :-) I was always joking that my arms were like linguinis but they turn out to be fit and muscular, well, almost, lol !

I would love to do at least 80 push ups non stop within 6-9 months and then 100+ non stop would be my next goal. (I regret not starting this program sooner actually, I should have started months ago, 5 minutes a day, I mean come on ! I would be a lot stronger now already. :-(

I was focusing more on my legs, core/abs and cardio, not so much on the upper body in the past few months. It was like a mental block, the same one that prevented me from working on my abs more (I didn't work on my abs at all until the last part of my journey, I only started when I was almost done losing weight) Then I do the exercise and I see that I was not weak at all, it was just my imagination. I can do the planks and now the push ups just fine, better than a lot of people in fact, working out non stop for a year and 7 months does that to you, heh. ;-)

Here's the article on push ups. http://bit.ly/cXoFu6 Wow, I didn't expect to be in the EXCELLENT category. I thought I was weak, I'm surprised ! ;-)

I've been getting excited about push ups lately - - I do proper ones too, I know the technique is important (!) ... so I keep my body straight, going down low and then back up.

It's a great exercise and I am looking forward to getting even stronger by adding a few push ups more every week or so until I reach my goal. Then I can flex my muscular arms, heh. ;-)

I can't do push ups almost daily as I do with planks though, you need to take a bit more rest so I can do those 4 times per week, still pretty good. Takes only 5-6 minutes so that's a bonus. Tough 5 minutes though. ;-)

Awesome anecdote about your husband, Grammy, that's definitely inspiring, wow !! Oh, I'm always getting excited about this and that ... these days I'm excited about push ups - - strange. It's positive though, It's the first week I've been doing those on a regular basis and I want to keep this up long term, months - at least, same as the planks.

I was even thinking about adding squats so it would be like a total body work out, a short one ... 15 minutes extra, maybe not even that if I don't do the squats and the push ups every day.

Remember the big 3 (Tree). Push ups for the upper body, planks for the core/abs and squats for the legs. The big 3. The 3 best exercises you can do, really ... If you can only do 3 exercises, those would be the best. + Walking/jogging/sprinting for the cardio, depending on your fitness. I was interval sprinting earlier today at the soccer field and it was actually pretty tough. not sure why but even if I had rested the day before I was struggling even one third into the work out I was wondering if I would make it. My legs were like jelly donuts and I still had 2/3's of the workout to go (!) I still pushed as hard as I could do.

I could easily have stopped there, but I didn't ... that's what it takes too to make it, you have to push yourself cos' it would be so easy to stop, right ?? You keep at it and then once you are REALLY done you feel a lot better, you didn't quit, you persisted, fighting through adversity, I was proud I did that today.

Great ideas, Debs. You see when it's a challenge against yourself it's really a great motivation tool. You're not competing with anyone else, just *YOU* .. and when you improve you are really proud ... just earlier tonight I was doing my 100 second planks and then I actually thought they were getting too easy now and I should move to 105 seconds next time ...

That felt good because just a week or two ago those 100 second planks were really tough but today I thought they were easier to handle so this means I am improving. 5 minutes per day, that's all it takes, but you have to be persistent and do that at least 5 times per week, if you only do those one day and then none at all for an entire week it won't create a big change (only a small one !)

Note, down to the 193's now, getting closer .. I was even in the 192's on sunday morning but then it was my nephew's big day so I was going over there, had some cake and whatnot so I gained back a pound. A few of the people there at the party had not seen me in many months, maybe a year (2 years ?) and they kept commenting how I had MELTED since they had last seen me ... that was nice but also a lil' embarrassing since it was such a big deal and discussed out loud in front of everybody. I prefer when it's more private, not discussed out loud with everybody commenting. It's nice to get compliments but it also makes it sounds like I was a really fat boy before. Ok, I was fat but not 350 pounds, geesh. I am proud because for the past 2 weeks I have had a lot of stress but I have handled all that really well, almost no stress or emotional eating so this explains why I'm getting closer to my goal now. Low 190's.

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 193 Pounds

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Post by Grammy G » Wed Jun 09, 2010 11:59 am

Great job, Marc!!! That side benefit of stress relief sometimes is better than the main reason for the exercise!! I am very proud of you! Look what you have accomplished! :D
"If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think another negative thought."
Peace Pilgrim

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bluebunny27
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Post by bluebunny27 » Mon Jun 14, 2010 6:15 pm

Thank you, Grammy ! Yes, it's a good feeling when you are exercising, sweating hard and completing your work out. I'll have to train inside today because it's raining - - first time in several weeks I am not able to train outside, usually even if there's a lil' rain I can still train outside because it dries quickly so even a couple of hours after a light rain I can go ... but today it's a light rain that keep falling and no sun either.

Update, Pushups. I do those on a semi daily basis, about 4-5 times per week. 4 sets, 25 to 30 reps each time, trying to maintain good form of course. It made me laugh yesterday I was watching this clip of a girl doing pushups and her form was awful, I wouldn't have counted half of those as proper pushups. She did 50 in a minute but half were embarrassing ones, hardly bending her arms, leaning toward the ground, etc. It was painful to watch.

Remember, it's not the number, it's the form. You can do 40 bad pushups and it won't be as effective as if you did 20 proper ones.
My advice, do your 20 properly then get stronger and slowly increase the number. Soon you'll be able to do 40 proper ones and you'll REALLY be stronger.

Planks, rock n' rollin' ... I think it's my longest streak ever ... I've done my planks in the evening for about 16 days in a row now.
3 X 105 sec. @ the moment. 1 min. rest in between reps.

Side note.

I had my picture taken a couple of days ago so I should be able to post before-and-after pictures soon ... actually it's before and during - - there's no after. I have to keep going in order to keep my weight stable.

I know if I go back to my old ways, eating too much and not exercising I would gain many pounds back quickly, that's why maintaining your weight is actually not that easy and less than 5-10% make it long term (Over 5 years)

You can see pics from nov. 2008, when I weighed 280 pounds vs now, weighing 192.

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 192 Pounds

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bluebunny27
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The Big Salad

Post by bluebunny27 » Wed Jun 16, 2010 7:02 am

The Big Salad. I usually have a big salad for lunch every day. I make it myself, a huge salad with all sorts of chopped veggies, adding a bit of protein
too of course : egg, salmon, tuna, sardines or chopped ham. I also add some brown rice, bulgur, barley or couscous ...

It's a huge bowl of chopped veggies mixed with some protein & grains. I also add many different types of spices and a tbsp. of olive oil as well at the last minute (good to absorb all the nutrient from the raw veggies) : Paprika, pepper, coriander, chili flakes, cumin, curry powder, celery seeds, mustard powder ... A very small quantity of each one of course, less than half a tsp. This adds a lot of taste, each bite tastes a bit different too. I sprinkle all those spices
on top. + 1 tbsp. of salad dressing, 1 tbsp of bread crumbs, 1 tbsp. of Dijon mustard on the side. A piece of toast.

Fills me up for a long long time too. Just today as I was eating my big salad I was thinking it really tasted great so I am not bored of this routine at all. I've been doing it for a long time now. It's rare that I don't have my big salad for lunch, 90% of the time or more that's what I like eating for lunch.

I usually prepare 3 big salads I put in Tupperware type containers in the fridge. This way I only have to prepare my salads once every 3 days.
I eat one container per day for lunch and then I prepare more.

Veggies I like to eat : Carrot, celery, turnip, green onion, broccoli, spinach, radishes, tomato, lettuce, potato, cucumber,
bell pepper, mushrooms, cauliflower, corn, peas ... any other veggies available at the time. I pick several in the list,
different ones each week.

...

I know it's hard to maintain because I have been doing it for 7 and a half months now. If I stopped watching what I eat and didn't exercise I'd put weight back on in a NY minute, really ... I know I would gain 40-50 pounds back within a couple of years if I did that so I have keep goin', no doubt.

I guess I will be alright long term since I have kept all my good habits. That's what I learned to do during the year I was losing weight. Diet, eating well, watching the calories, eating good food + Exercise, 5-6 times per week, high intensity @ all times. Monitoring my weight on a weekly basis, etc.

I think I will be alright long term, making it in the 10-20% of the people who don't gain the weight back after losing more than 50 pounds (especially since I freak out if I am more than 5-6 pounds over my original goal weight, 190)

Good luck on your journey everyone and remember you have to change your lifestyle, you can't think of this as something you do for a while and then you stop ... that can only lead to gaining most if not all of the weight back as many people have experienced.

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 192 Pounds

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Post by bluebunny27 » Sun Jun 20, 2010 12:16 am

Alright, I know it took me several months ... :-) ... but finally, here are my before and after pictures.
The pictures where I am heavier were all taken in late 2008 ... august, sept. oct. 2008.
I weighed 280 pounds when I started my journey on nov. 1st 2008. I ended up at 190 pounds
on oct. 23rd 2009, just shy of a year later and I have been maintaining since then. (Nearly 8 months ago)

I was surprised actually looking at the pictures side by side ... Took a lot of work to get there so I don't want
to gain any of that weight back, well, at least not more than 5 pounds, heh. Besides I am working out 5-6 times per week,
eating well, so maybe I have more muscles now and less fat than when I ended my journey. (Good explanation !!) ;-)

The pictures where I am thinner were all taken just last week, june 12 2010, I weighed around 192
pounds at the time. Note, I blacked out my eyes since I don't want my face to appear on the internet.
I prefer to be more anonymous. :-)

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/9e3ca303c8.jpg

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/a2ea36f656.jpg

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/6689c50516.jpg

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/04f1da3a7b.jpg

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/0adfeffe5c.jpg

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/49f5cf195d.jpg


(Remove spaces in the links if necessary)

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 193 Pounds

joasia
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Post by joasia » Tue Jun 29, 2010 2:00 pm

Just curious about the disclaimer. What are you doing that makes your plan a more strict version of nos?

thanks,
joanna
The destiny of nations depends on the manner in which they feed themselves. Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

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bluebunny27
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Post by bluebunny27 » Wed Jun 30, 2010 7:01 am

Oh, I haven't used the disclaimer in a long time ... My experience is really not typical. Basically I didn't take too many breaks from the program, no planned day offs, and I was training hard 5-6 days per week too. I wanted to lose weight faster so I had to change a few of the rules to make it happen. It was pretty hard sometimes but I wanted to be done with my weight loss in a year at the most.

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 193 Pounds

oolala53
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Post by oolala53 » Wed Jun 30, 2010 4:07 pm

I'd forgotten that you had changed the basic plan. When you say you didn't take breaks, do you mean you didn't use S days? And you didn't find that it made you go a little crazy when you did use them?

I went to Overeaters Anonymous meetings about 20 years ago. The plan recommended at the time was 3 moderate meals a day, no eating in between. I don't think I ever even made it 3 days back then, but I was pretty much at the effect of all my emotions and whims--delayed adolescence.

I'm still not wanting to let go of wild eating on S days, or at least one a week. ((Perhaps I haven't outgrown adolescence!) But it has me fluctuating up and down the same 3-4 lbs. I love my N days so it's rather paradoxical. But maybe it's just a matter of motivation. I know motivation was a big part of being able to surrender to N days.

Anyway, I like your story and am so glad a success story of someone who got there without excessive planning and counting calories is online to counter balance the plethora of other styles available. They all have their successes. And you are one of ours.
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

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Post by bluebunny27 » Wed Jun 30, 2010 4:28 pm

oolala : "I'd forgotten that you had changed the basic plan. When you say you didn't take breaks, do you mean you didn't use S days? And you didn't find that it made you go a little crazy when you did use them?"



*********** Hum, I was already *CRAZY* before I started so I didn't notice any difference at all, lol ! Well, it was one part of the plan I changed right away, of course it still happened, maybe once a week I would overeat on average but I would make sure not to do it twice in a row. Only twice during that whole year did I have 2 'S' days in a row. The problem with taking too many days off is it sets you back and then you have to start all over again - - I wanted to lose weight faster so I had to limit those days to a minimum. Yes, it was quite hard sometimes but that's what it takes to lose big numbers quickly though. Also, the snacks, I prefer to eat smaller meals but more often, this works for me better, especially since I train, I have to eat something before and after my work outs ... so I eat 6 times per day, just smaller meals.




oolala : I'm still not wanting to let go of wild eating on S days, or at least one a week. ((Perhaps I haven't outgrown adolescence!) But it has me fluctuating up and down the same 3-4 lbs. I love my N days so it's rather paradoxical. But maybe it's just a matter of motivation. I know motivation was a big part of being able to surrender to N days.



********** I am always really active, training a lot, so maybe that helps too to erase the mistakes when I am failing with the diet. If you are having problems you could cut down a lil' bit on the 'wild eating' and increase your exercise routine as well, just a few more minutes daily or with a higher intensity, that would create big results. I was overeating once a week but since I was training a lot I did lose weight each and every month for 12 months straight. I wouldn't recommend this for most people of course. I just needed to be done with it quickly, I didn't want to take 2-3-4 years to lose the weight, I wanted to be done within a year. You have to be 100% motivated though, also once I start something I don't quit, it's not an option. I am working hard daily now so that I don't have to do this again ever too because I think it would be silly to have done all this work and then be stuck with the same problem in 2-3 years.




oolala : Anyway, I like your story and am so glad a success story of someone who got there without excessive planning and counting calories is online to counter balance the plethora of other styles available. They all have their successes. And you are one of ours.
_______________




********** Wow, thanks, You are very kind !! :-) Actually there was a lot of planning, researching a lot of things on the internet too, diet & nutrition, training methods, etc. There was planning though and I didn't deviate from my plan, from day 1 my goal was 90 pounds within a year and I did that with a lil' bit of time to spare, one week early. Good luck on your journey !

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 193 Pounds

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bluebunny27
Posts: 831
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Location: Montreal, Canada

Post by bluebunny27 » Sat Jul 03, 2010 7:28 am

I've been testing my lil' body lately .... ;-)

I want to know how many repetitions I can do, Maximum, 1 set ... to FAILURE - - on various exercises (The big 3 : Squats, Pushups, Planks) ...

I like doing that plus it usually proves that I am not that bad at all.
My arms, legs and abs are not like linguinis @ all. I usually end up in the Fit, Excellent, Above average categories instead ... makes me happy since I've been training really hard for a long time now ! (Nov. 1st 2008 until now) It feels good to be in the top fitness categories. :-)

I have to do all the tests again though because the numbers below were done on days where I had worked out previously ... so I was a bit tired.

I had not rested over 24 hours before taking the tests. I noted it down, One day where I am not working out, I can just do the 3 different tests to see what my real numbers would be.

Max. pushups : I did 53 the other day, but that was after I had worked out previously and had also done 3 sets of 28 pushups not too long before (I do 3 sets, 28 .. and then the 4th one, I go to 'Failure', Resting one minute in between sets) ... on just one set, completely rested, I think I could do 60 probably, maybe more, 65 ?? Anyway I use proper form at all times, I don't cheat on the technique on any of the exercises to have big numbers by the way. It's no good if you're cheatin' ... :-(

Max. Squats. Earlier tonight I did 75 but I had sprinted a few hours earlier, also cycled, high intensity .. so my legs were a bit sore even before I started. I would estimate on a day where I have been resting completely I could do at least 85-90, maybe
more ... 100 ??

Max. Planks ... that would be interesting to see. This could be quite long too. I have been training using sets of 100 seconds for a lil' while now, I started in oct. 2009 with 35 sec. planks back then and I've been doing planks 5-6 times per week in the evenings, Takes 5-7 minutes.

I usually do 3 sets, resting one minute in between, sometimes less ... I could probably do at least 3 minutes non stop if I only did one and went to 'Failure' ... but this is a really wild guess, I could do 3-4-5 minutes straight, no idea ... but I would guess at least 3 minutes straight.

Side note, I saw my dad today and he told me : "Have you lost more weight ??" I told him No, I'm the exact same weight now as I was 6 months ago, about 192 pounds... I think it's my body fat percentage that went down recently and my muscles are more developed too since I've been training my upper body more ...

I do pushups 5-6 times per week too now, I can definitely tell my arms are stronger now even if it's been less than a month ... 5 minutes a day, that's what it takes to get stronger, arms, legs, abs ... 5 minutes each - - but you have to work HARD, those are tough minutes. That's a minimum, if you can do 10 minutes of each, even better of course ... but I also do my cardio so ... I'm very patient in any case. ;-)

That was exactly my plan really on the year after losing weight. My goal after that year was to get more fit, lower fat %, more muscles, weight remaining approx. the same (give or take a couple of pounds of course) but still improving by getting stronger and fitter,. :-)

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 192 Pounds

oolala53
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Post by oolala53 » Sun Jul 04, 2010 2:30 am

Next year's pics with your shirt off.
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

joasia
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Post by joasia » Sun Jul 04, 2010 4:28 pm

Thank you for your answer. That has always been my concern with this program: that is isn't strict enough. I always thought that in order to speed things up, you would have to be a little more proactive.
The destiny of nations depends on the manner in which they feed themselves. Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

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bluebunny27
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Post by bluebunny27 » Mon Jul 05, 2010 8:37 pm

Oolala, no shirt, are you crazy !!?? ;-) I am too shy ... even with a black bar on my eyes, lol !

milczar, you are correct ... it depends on what you want to do too, if you are not in a hurry, you can follow the basic principles and it'll work out for you ... but to lose 90 pounds I didn't want to take 3-4 years, I wanted to be done within a year, that's why I changed the plan to make it more strict, not 100% strict though or else I would have lost 90 within 6 months but a year seemed long enough for me.

Now, during the following years I will try to remain around 190-195 pounds but get more muscles and lose fat at the same time so I get REALLY fit, strong, all that good stuff.

Sunday I did not work out because I wanted to test myself properly today, monday ... My max 1 rep. I talked about the other day. I did the BIG 3 - - performing TO FAILURE on each of the exercises.

Push ups, max 1 set. TO FAILURE : 60 reps I would have liked a few more but that's still pretty good, I read somewhere an average NAVY SEAL can do 100 within 2 minutes ... I think within 2-3 months of training I would be able to do 70 in a minute and then rest 20-30 sec. and then do 30 more right away ... so I'd be at least an AVERAGE NAVY SEAL, lol ! ;-) I wish IU had started training with push ups on a regular basis earlier actually, I only started less than a month ago.

http://www.topendsports.com/testing/hometest.htm
According to this site if I can do more than 41, I'm in the 'Excellent' category.

Max. Squats. TO FAILURE : 90 reps. I was pleased actually. Proper form all the way, my legs were definitely burning by the end too. I was a lil' bit wobbly on my feet for a few seconds once I was done so I had put in the effort. I know my legs must be pretty strong from all the sprinting, jumping jacks and cycling I've been doing non stop for a long time now.

http://www.topendsports.com/testing/hometest.htm
According to this site if I can do more than 41, I'm in the 'Excellent' category.

Max. Plank ... TO FAILURE. 3 min. 30 secs. straight. Oh yes. Those were long minutes, heh. Training to failure is actually pretty hard MENTALLY because you know when you get close to the end you've had it and you really want to quit but you have to push yourself to get a few more seconds or reps in there ...

I read somewhere, 2 min. to 2:30 is excellent for the front plank exercise. I've been training nearly every day with those for 9-10 months though so I am not surprised I performed well there.

I plan on testing myself that way, similar conditions, with a day of rest before every 3 months probably.

My long term goal would be 100 push ups straight instead of 60 ... 125-135 squats instead of 90 ... 4:30/5 minute plank instead of 3:30 ... ;-) Remember, it has to be HARD if you want to make progress, I definitely experienced that training TO FAILURE just now.

The next thing I could test would be the cardio ... trying to find a site where they would say how fast you should be running a mile or something ... I like doing those tests now because I'm performing well no matter what the exercise is so I am pleased.

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 192 Pounds

Strawberry Roan
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Post by Strawberry Roan » Tue Jul 06, 2010 11:11 pm

Hey Marc,

Guess who's back?

Me - Berry 8)

Missed you guys, lots going on - you are still going strong and doing great.

Way to go !

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bluebunny27
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Post by bluebunny27 » Thu Jul 08, 2010 7:01 am

Oh, you mean ... Lil' Berry of course. ;-)

Well, well, apparently lil' berry is a bit bigger now ... unfortunately !
;-(

Hopefully you can turn it around, don't give up ... and you said you feel comfortable at 145 pounds so you shouldn't try to go lower as you did before ... You're not that far, 13-15 pounds to go ... you have to fight through adversity.

Same with me, I'm comfortable between 190 and 195.
I'd rather remain at that weight now and work on being fitter, leaner and more muscular rather than losing more weight and muscles, being stick thin and weighing 175 trying to get my BMI down to 25 to get out of the OVERWEIGHT division. I'd rather be built like a sprinter than a marathon runner, not that I'm even close to being an Olympian Sprinter now of course.

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 192 Pounds

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bluebunny27
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Location: Montreal, Canada

Post by bluebunny27 » Fri Jul 16, 2010 2:54 pm

Ok, I just developed a new concept to avoid craving issues ...

Lately I have had a few problems. Not with the training, I'm always spot on, training hard all that but I have failed a few times with my diet. The problem is I train super hard and then I get home and I eat too much for reasons unknown. I was thinking maybe I am training so hard that I am not eating enough, maybe leading to feeling more hungry than usual ?

(Plus I have been dealing with more stress lately, this often makes it harder on me, leading to eating sweets.)

So I was thinking of a way to prevent this. I came up with a new concept to put good snacks for me inside a box in the fridge so if I get too hungry in between meals I can just go to my EMERGENCY BOX (I always come up with good names for my new concepts !! ;-) ) instead of having things that are not good for me like crackers, cookies and ice cream. This way I curb my hunger until the next meal and I don't add 1,000 calories pigging out on sweets and wiping out my work out basically.

Inside the box I put an apple, a carrot, some celery and a small bottle of water so now when I feel very hungry I go straight to my box and I know I can eat & drink what's in there, no problems, it won't RUIN my whole day @ all so there's no reason to feel guilty about it, it's not called an EMERGENCY BOX for no reason ... ;-)

Once I am done I feel satisfied and I can last an hour or two until the next meal or just to prevent overeating on sweet things. Then I replace the items I ate for the next time I feel ravenous.

I call it the 'Emergency box' and it helped me out a couple of times already. It's all ready to use too, convenient. I know if I get too hungry I go get the box, I don't stand in front of the cupboards looking for something to eat and ending up with a bunch of cookies that are no good to curb hunger long term.

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 194 Pounds

oolala53
Posts: 10059
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Location: San Diego, CA USA

Post by oolala53 » Fri Jul 16, 2010 3:51 pm

I am wondering why you don't keep some juice or milk in the box rather than solid food...
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

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bluebunny27
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Post by bluebunny27 » Fri Jul 16, 2010 6:03 pm

Oh, I rarely drink juice ... it's not really that good for you, plenty of sugar, etc. You are better off eating the fruit itself than drinking any juice. Fills you up more and you don't get the extra sugar and whatnot ...

Milk or yogurt, I thought about that too ... I could add those in the future ... to mix it up. The main thing is the items have to be filling, low calories and they can remain in the EMERGENCY BOX long term so if I don't need to use the box for a week to 10 days there's no problem really ...

Any vegetables or fruits would be good though, I picked carrots and apples now ... also drinking water at the same time, that's why it's convenient to keep everything in the box - - I just have to get my box instead of thinking of having something else that might not be as good for me and that would contain 5 times more calories.

I am prepared in advance now so I don't have to think about it too much once I get a bit hungry. I've noticed it happened a couple of times in the evening recently. I am still in good shape now but approx. 4-5 pounds over my ideal weight... nothing that can't be corrected. I think having this emergency box will help me - - something new I just came up with the other day (Required a lot of thinking !!) ;-)

I was thinking the other day with all the interval training I do maybe I am not eating enough calories ... I mean I train 6 days per week, really hard each time - - as soon as I have 3 good days in a row, training and following my diet, I drop pounds easily... so my metabolism is basically in the maximum overdrive mode @ all times, burning calories, fat...

Maybe I should eat a few more calories each day instead of having problems keeping it low and then overeating on a single day, rinse and repeat ... something I was considering. Just 200 calories per day more, 2,850 instead of 2,650 ... Not being so restrictive, it would take a bit more time to lose the weight but at least I wouldn't have problems overeating on certain days and then trying to catch up (I'll stick with the emergency box for now until I figure things out !)

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 194 Pounds

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bluebunny27
Posts: 831
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Location: Montreal, Canada

Post by bluebunny27 » Sun Jul 18, 2010 4:53 pm

Ok, my EMERGENCY BOX system seems to be working out well. I am happy about this new concept. Saved me a couple of times. I've been super good 4 days in a row now and I am close to my fighting weight again.

192.6 pounds this morning.

I only weigh about once a week in any case.

Exercise, Diet ... how come sometimes it's so easy and other times it's a struggle ?? This is a mystery. I've been doing the BIG 3 exercises regularly in the evenings ...

Planks + Either Squats or Pushups (I alternate those 2 moves not to do the same exercise two days in a row) - - and of course my regular cardio sessions. As soon as I am good with the diet part I'm losing weight quite rapidly, only 3-4 good days in arow required to make it back to 192-193, the main thing is to be good in the kitchen really cos' with the exercise I am kicking it old school and training really hard 5-6 days per week.

Now to get to my main goal, 190 - - I would have to be good a few more days, lol !

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 193 Pounds

oolala53
Posts: 10059
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 1:46 am
Location: San Diego, CA USA

Post by oolala53 » Sun Jul 18, 2010 9:22 pm

So you do planks every day?
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

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bluebunny27
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Post by bluebunny27 » Mon Jul 19, 2010 1:12 am

Yes, Planks every day ... almost. I usually only take one day completely off per week. One day where I don't exercise at all.

A typical day I would cardio train 30 to 40 minutes in the early evening, sometimes earlier if I can or if it's supposed to rain later. Cycling and sprinting (Intervals) during the summer season, as hard as I can. I don't train for hours so I need to do that to get the benefits, pushing hard. During the winter season, I can do calisthenics, Jumping jacks, etc. It's more traditional body weight exercises.

Later I can do my planks, 3 sets ... and either Squats or push ups, 4 sets, only the last one is 'To failure' (I alternate not to do the same exercise two days in a row) ... so that another 15 minutes including the short breaks in between sets. Total for the day, 45 to 55 minutes in all.

I am getting in really good shape now actually. I was just thinking that looking at myself in the mirror, good sign. More muscles, less fat. Even if my weight is not going down, I am 'leaner and meaner' now ... well at least better than before ! I'm almost the same weight as when I ended my journey in nov. 2009 but I've been training non stop since then, except for 3 weeks in january 2010 when I was ill.

I have a t-shirt that used to be tight and now I can put it on, no problem despite being at the same weight as when I first tried it on a few months ago ... so I think I lost a bit of fat, gained some muscles lately.

I am really happy I've started doing push ups too, I should have started sooner, months ago. I can do 60, even 65 in a row now, (max. 1 set), good form. When I started doing those regularly 7 weeks ago I could only do 45 ... I have noticed in my day to day life that my arms are stronger than before too. I improved the number of push ups over 40% within just a few weeks.

Front Planks, 105 sec. X 3

Push ups, 30-30-30-60
Squats, 45-45-45-90
Always good form of course. Usually one minute rest
in between sets, sometimes I take 2 before doing the last set )
To failure)

I alternate between the planks and the other exercise so I would do :

Squat - plank - squat - plank - squat - plank - Squat ... ;-)
It's like a short work out I added later in the evenings, still tough of course, but it doesn't last long, 15 minutes and I'm done.

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 193 Pounds
Last edited by bluebunny27 on Mon Jul 19, 2010 1:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

oolala53
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Post by oolala53 » Mon Jul 19, 2010 1:27 am

Go, Tiger!
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

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bluebunny27
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Post by bluebunny27 » Fri Jul 23, 2010 1:29 am

I just weighed this morning even if it was not scheduled ... I was just too curious !! ;-) ... and I had a feeling there would be great news...

191.8, my lowest weight since early june ... Normally I should have waited until saturday morning to step on the scale so that gives me 2 days more to go down a lil' bit more before my REAL official weigh in. ;-)

Since I started my 'Emergency Box' concept I have been rock n' rollin' ... Diet, exercise, basically spot on, except for a minor glitch the other day but it wasn't even a huge slip up, just a minor one. I had about 500 extra calories one day, nothing to worry about.

I just have to avoid the big mistakes : the days where I overeat by 1,000 calories or more and I'm alright in the long run. With all the training I do if I make sure to avoid those 1,000 calories extra days I am losing weight, no problem. Seems like I've learned my lesson now and this new 'Emergency box' concept is really paying off.

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 191 Pounds

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bluebunny27
Posts: 831
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Location: Montreal, Canada

Post by bluebunny27 » Tue Jul 27, 2010 5:40 pm

189.6 this morning. Doing well. Wow, this is my lowest weight since Feb. 2010. I behaved like an angel 11 out of the past 12 days. ;-) I was a lil' surprised actually, I wasn't expecting to be in the 180's this time .. 190-191, I would have been happy with that too. I'm not GREEDY !! ;-)

I've been leading a monastic lifestyle lately and this definitely helped to get my weight down, back in the 180's now, plus my emergency box concept to avoid big slip ups, certainly an improvement ...

I'm really focused at the moment, wish it was this easy all the time ! ;-) I mean there are cookies in the cupboards, ice cream in the freezer, chocolate, name it .. and I'm not even hungry or tempted at all ... eating salads and whatnot instead, unbelievable.

Cauliflower vs .............. chocolate ?? ... and Cauliflower wins ??? :-)

I also started taking one day off training per week, mandatory .. this is a day where I don't do ANY exercise at all, which is actually pretty hard, I took my day off yesterday and all day I was tempted to sneak in some exercise ...

I have to behave and rest sometimes cos' I could get an injury training really hard 12-14-16 days in a row as I am used to doing (My longest streak is probably 35 days in a row in may-june last year when I was trying hard to lose weight, insanity.)

At least 1 day completely off per week now, that's my new 'goal' ... ;-) If you get an injury and you can't train for weeks it's not really positive either so I'll enjoy my 'day off', in the future.

Latest *official* weigh ins :

6-27 196.2 lbs
7-3 193.0
7-8 193.4
7-19 192.0
7-27 189.6

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 190 Pounds

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bluebunny27
Posts: 831
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Location: Montreal, Canada

Post by bluebunny27 » Thu Aug 26, 2010 12:05 am

Geesh, been a while since I CHECKED in ... I was on 'Page 2' ... (hangin' my head down in shame !!) ;-)

Ok, quick update.

Right after I posted my previous update I had issues ... in late july, early august ... due to stress and babysitting my nephew regularly while my sister and her husband were away, I gained a few pounds.

Stress leads to overeating and then babysitting my nephew messed with my usual training schedule .. plus I had to help out planting flowers somewhere, trees, digging holes, took a few days ... Ok, that was good to make me tired but it didn't really count as exercise. It was making me tired so I couldn't train, bla-bla. Plus watching my nephew, also making me tired ... there was some drama when he was hit in the face with a ball, got stung by a bee, fell down, every day there was something new and different ... crying ... and of course his parents are thousands of miles away so ... I'm 100% responsible for everything that goes on.

Geesh no wonder I was stressed out, I was tired 24/7 at that time. Also my nephew needs to lose a few pounds, 15 would probably be enough so not only did I have to watch my diet, now I have to watch someone else's and he was often asking for sweets and things he's not supposed to have ... adding stress.
;-)

The doctor said he was a bit on the heavy side. Not a lil' BALL OF FAT of course but he could lose a few pounds. Better to lose a lil' weight early than a lot later, right. When you're 10 years old they put you on a diet now, heh. Ok, he's really active but he'll probably have issues in a few years when he slows down, not being as active ... mainly because he eats too much and too many things that aren't really good for him either, typical I suppose. It's hard to always watch someone else though, and to have to deal with all those demands for sweets and eating between meals ... I try to tell him about my tips and tricks, lol !

The other day he checked my driver's licence where I still have a FAT picture of course (2 more years until they take a new one !) and he was sayin' he liked the skinnier version better, made me laugh.

OK, back to my update. The bottom line is I gained 7-8 pounds within 2, 2 1/2 weeks. (Last week of july, first 2 weeks of august)

As usual I came back to my senses after that and I am working on losing those last few pounds again, same ol' story, the first half of the new weight is easier and then it gets tougher with the 2nd half so I have to attack the fat head on to make it ... :-)

I lost a few already in the past 2 weeks. I'm almost there really ...
I gained 7-8 and now I've lost about 5 ... so it leaves 2-3 pounds to go. Then I'll work on avoiding those problems, I think it's the 3rd time it happens since I started maintaining in oct. 2009 ...

It happened in Dec. 2009, March 2010 and now August 2010 ... all goes well and then I gain weight quickly 5 pounds in a week or worse this last time, 7-8 pounds over 2 weeks + , something like that. I should work on remaining more stable (Maybe Dec. 2009 was normal though, with the Holidays !) easier said then done. I should learn from my mistakes in the future. :-) I don't freak out though, I know as soon as I go back to my good habits I can lose the last few pounds again.

I am doing well in the past 2 weeks though. Eating really well lately, exercising every day almost ... I should cut down actually I was checking my Habitcal and I have worked out 18 out of the past 19 days ... so that's too much, especially the way I train, with the pedal to the metal @ all times : sprinting intervals, calisthenics, cycling and whatnot. I'll probably take a day off tomorrow, thursday to rest, I wouldn't want to get injured. That can happen when you train too much, esp. high intensity.

I wanted to take a mandatory day off per week but I had to put that on hold since I was trying to lose the NEW WEIGHT I gained ... I should take it a bit easier now that most of the work has been done and take a day off once in a while as I was planning ...

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 193 Pounds

Strawberry Roan
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Joined: Tue Jul 06, 2010 10:51 pm

Post by Strawberry Roan » Thu Aug 26, 2010 12:53 am

So good to hear from you Marc, wondered about you but thought you might be on an extended vacation or something.

Sounds like you have been having quite some babysitting adventures. I am sure he will remember the time you guys spend together. Hopefully he will see that you are concerned about what you eat and how you exercise, he can perhaps share your journey with you and be inspired. You are so right that if one can gain the knowledge needed to control their weight early on in life it will save them a lot of heartache.

Sounds like you are back on track, that is the key - don't get too far astray. Spoken from one who knows.

You'll be fine.

Trust me, doesn't this look like an honest face to you? :roll:
Berry

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Post by bluebunny27 » Thu Aug 26, 2010 2:51 am

Hi Berry !

Vacation .. hum .. no !! I think I would like to take a vacation FROM MYSELF though ... ;-)

I was just busy correcting my mistakes .. again ... lol ! Ok, it's not that bad, I'm down to the last 3 pounds (broken record) ... and then I'll try to stick around 190 for longer than 24 hours this time. ;-)

Yes, "Adventures in babysitting", that was pretty interesting. It derailed my normal routine a lil' bit ... there were good times but of course it was hard too as well. I'm not used to babysitting many days in a row, it was like a marathon. I'm used to sprints, not marathons ! ;-)

Since my lil' nephew plays hard he gets injured often. Ball to the chin, falling down here and there, screwdriver to the thumb, getting stung by a bee, etc. One day after the other, drama on multiple occasions, crying ... It was stressful too since his parents were far away so I was trying hard for him not to get hurt and having their vacation ruined but every day there was something new ... oh well. Nothing major in the end.

I'm sure he'll say it was HELL actually, all those accidents, injuries and always having to beg for sweets ... hehe ! ;-)

I'm trying to give him good advice so he can lose a bit of fat. I was sayin' it wasn't that much earlier but when you think about it, 15 pounds for him who weighs just around 100 pounds, it's not that easy ... 15% of your body weight ... that can take a year or more. He is very tall at least, the doctor says he'll be around 6'2" or 6'3" when he's older. 10 years old and he's taller than kids 2-3 years older than him.

It's more about the FAT though because he is still growing so it's normal he can gain weight that way too. My sister weighed him before going on vacation and when they got back and he hadn't gained anything, so he was proud. ;-)

The problem is mostly with the diet, he is quite active but he still wants sweets and often eats too much in between meals. I think if I counted all his calories he eats more than me during a typical day and I'm almost twice his weight ... so that's a bit too much. I cut down on the sweets a lot, also the popcorn and other salty treats.

I try to help him out ... but it's not a rush either, it can take a long time to lose 15% of your body weight.

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 193 Pounds

oolala53
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Location: San Diego, CA USA

Post by oolala53 » Thu Aug 26, 2010 11:33 am

Marc, you've done great, but your workout schedule sounds pretty demanding. I know it feels good when you're doing it, though.

Now you know why mothers are so tired, right? It is especially wearing when you are continually opposed. The few times things go really well with my lower-ability students, I can't believe how much fresher I feel at the end of an hour. I would imagine it's tiring for them, too, but they don't know it.
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

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Post by bluebunny27 » Thu Aug 26, 2010 2:50 pm

Hi oolala ! ;-)

Babysitting is definitely hard. Hard to imagine doing this for a long time, weeks/months, .. or having to deal with more than one kid at a time .. wow ! Kudos to the mothers/babysitters/teachers, you are right. ;-) It's harder on the diet and also the training so I can see why it would be a lot harder to lose weight when you have kids around, especially during the summer months when they are not in school, or if they are too young to go to school ...
;-)

I definitely need a break now. It's rare that I have a day where it's scheduled from the get go that I am not training too .. Even on days where I don't train usually it's not something planned in advance ... it just happens because I am tired so I decide at the last minute to skip the work out, etc. It's rare that I don't train and it's a planned thing from the day before ...

It's like an addiction really because even this morning I was thinking .. 'Maybe I should work out anyway today ...' ... Trying to find an excuse. ;-) Nah, I think I'll sit this one out. It's really a habit now that's why it feels weird not to do it. It's the same as if I went to a fast food joint and started eating burgers, fries, ice cream - - that would be pretty strange. I wouldn't even enjoy it anyway since I'd be thinking about how many calories are in those burgers ... ;-)

Reminds me when I was losing weight and I was thinking once I would be done, months later, I would go to a fast food place and have delicious burgers, just once ... never happened ! Oops.
Yeah, I could do it - - it's strange that I'm not even tempted really.

I saw this program the other day. It was about a woman who would exercise for hours and hours, I forget the details now but I think she was exercising at least 5-6 hours per day, every day ... she was obsessed with it. Always walking fast around the neighborhood or on a treadmill ... she had 3 treadmills in her house, one in the basement, the living room, the bedroom ... she was walking on the treadmill while people were eating and celebrating Thanksgiving at the dinner table ...

Anyway this was weird cos' the psychiatrist there told her she could only exercise for 30 minutes and then stop and she was like an addict when she had to stop and sit down.

She was almost stick thin anyway so it was a mental disorder obviously, working out for several hours daily not to gain weight. I don't obsess as much of course, when you go to extremes it'S really not very healthy, watching everything you eat like a hawk and training hours daily.

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 193 Pounds

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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Fri Aug 27, 2010 6:00 am

bluebunny27 wrote: Reminds me when I was losing weight and I was thinking once I would be done, months later, I would go to a fast food place and have delicious burgers, just once ... never happened ! Oops.
Yeah, I could do it - - it's strange that I'm not even tempted really.
That's really great Marc! Good for you! :)
There is no Wisdom greater than Kindness

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Post by bluebunny27 » Mon Aug 30, 2010 7:40 pm

Thanks, Deb ... Hey, Deb !! ;-)

Have you started doing push ups, planks and/or squats regularly ?? ;-) Remember, THE BIG 3, good for 'ya !

I work on those 4-5 times per week on top of my regular cardio exercises of course.

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 192 Pounds

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Post by bluebunny27 » Tue Sep 14, 2010 5:43 pm

http://bit.ly/7yqLtS

Good home work out ideas here. No equipment. I noted a few things down related to interval training and whatnot. ;-)

Been doing mostly good, up a couple of pounds, then down, then up 5, then down 3 ... rinse and repeat, heh. It's all good though always in the same 10 pound range for a year now (188-198).

I'm working on my habits. Gaining muscles and losing fat so I look 'slimmer' and more muscular ... that doesn't give me a lower number on the scale but it doesn't really matter if I'm 3 pounds heavier or not, no big deal as long as I try to stick to my HABITS ... Almost a year of (NEAR) maintenance now ... woo hoo. ;-)

I was reading it's super easy to put weight back on after losing a lot of weight and I believe it too. 80% + who lost 50 pounds won't make it over 5 years, maybe even 90%, yikes. You definitely have to stick to your habits, remember ... or else it probably won't stick unfortunately. You have to fight through adversity long term, discipline required cos' it would be way too easy to eat junk food and sit down on the couch instead of eating well and exercising hard.

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 194 Pounds

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Post by oolala53 » Tue Sep 14, 2010 11:09 pm

You are so right about the failure rate, but when you think of it, it makes sense. Most of us have built up the overeating habit over a long time. It makes sense that it would take a long time of being on habit to reduce the danger of relapse. I think I'll start a thread on this. I'm always tellling newcomers to resist the urge to think everything is supposed to work and be easy, and that they'll have it all figured out in a few weeks. That's another reason why diets don't work. They don't allow for the flexibility to figure out what foods and amounts satisfy a person, and they are meant for the short term. Of course, you dove in pretty seriously from the beginning and I think you had weight loss to match, right? you're a bit of an anomaly in that you exercise like a fiend, which isn't supposed to be part of it, but it works for you, right? Does it ever scare you to think you'll have to keep up the pace forever? Or do you think you'll be able to do less in the future? I have a friend who was working out 6 days a week, lifting a tremendous amount of weight. He's able to maintain with about half the effort now.
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Post by bluebunny27 » Wed Sep 15, 2010 7:25 am

Hi !! Thanks for your input, oolala ! It helps me out to put those things below in writing actually ... figuring things out. ;-)

Yeah, I did lose weight once before, in my early 20's ... but it wasn't as extreme, I lost 35 pounds within 100 days. I don't remember it being as hard to maintain later on back then as it is now ...

I guess I am 16-17 years older now so maybe that's why it seems to be harder, I have better training techniques now though, doing interval training boosts my metabolism a lot that's why as soon as I have 5-6 good days in a row both with my diet/exercise I lose 3-4 pounds quickly ... the new weight doesn't stick because I am so active, I guess.

Interval training boosts your metabolism for hours later on after the work out too, so those extra calories are burned. (Also weight training, getting more muscles means more calories required as well.) A few times I tried training less to see if it would help me not to cheat on my diet, it worked for a while but not in the long run.

Maintaining is not impossible of course but I have to work at it. I'd say it's almost as hard as when you are trying to lose ... when I was losing I was thinking it would be really easy to maintain later on... I am just a bit too STREAKY now, I haven't found the correct balance yet. Yeah, it takes a loooooooooong time, almost a year ...

For example these days I would be good for 10-15 days in a row, then I misbehave 4-6 days in a row and gain a few pounds, I switch to being good again ... lose the extra weight and then I fail again, repeat a couple of months later. It's like a miniature rollercoaster ride where I gain and lose the last few pounds over and over, heh.

It's just annoying to have those STREAKS sometimes ... I am trying a few different things to avoid the ups and downs. It's getting better now though ... instead of having a 10 pound range, I am really closer to 5-6 pounds now when I compare my weight after a 'bad streak' and then a couple of weeks later after a 'good streak' ... I'd like to only have a 3-4 pound range up or down from week to week in an IDEAL world so I wouldn't be always in the gaining and then losing mode ... that would make it easier to just be more or less stable instead.

For me it's the diet that is tougher to handle, I can go 10-15-20 days in a row, training each and every day, high intensity. (I try to take at least one day completely off per week now though) no problem ... but with the diet it's a lot easier to fail because of all the temptations out there, plus going places, meeting people who are serving food you are not supposed
to have and then of course once you've had a slice of pizza it gets easier and easier and you end up having 4 big slices, ice cream,
cookies, cake, etc. and your whole week is ruined basically making it easier to cheat again the next day ... I try not to keep as many temptations close by now though but it's hard to avoid them at all times, different locations...

That's something I adjusted lately too, adding a few calories so it's not as restrictive as before ... maybe it could explain some of my previous failures, if I am too restrictive it makes it harder to stick with the program especially if I am more muscular and training a lot, I need more calories than when I was a FAT BOY with hardly any toned muscles except my JAW ... ;-)

I cut my calories down and then I gained some muscles and lost fat so it's not too surprising I would feel hungry later when I had not adjusted my calories...

Exercise helps a lot to correct mistakes though and usually I am good
at getting back on track quickly after a few days where I wasn't doing what I'm supposed to.

Sometimes too
I am bad one day, overeating and then of course I try to restrict more in the next couple of days, and then this causes me to get
ravenous, so I cheat again, bla-bla ...

That's one thing I shouldn't do, try to restrict my calories after a bad day. This leads me to have a few more 'red days' in a row instead of a single one if I had eaten more normally the day after I was bad the 1st time ... it's pretty complicated really, lol ! Trying to be perfect makes it harder too probably, easing up a bit and not trying to always be perfect would probably help to maintain
in the long run. Allowing a lil' bit more 'freedom' to avoid feeling deprived, that sort of thing.

I have improved lately though as I said ... Adding a bit more calories daily helped me out.

Maybe it's harder because I lost all that weight quicker too ... no time to adjust (Yes, it was quick right from the get go, 46 pounds within the first 4 months ... 58 within 6 months ...) ;-)

Also I was a lil' scared in january when I got sick and it took me about 3 weeks to get back, 100%, I think losing all that weight so quickly affected my immune system so I caught the flu and then it wouldn't go away.

I exercise a lot now but I could do less ... I have to keep working out harder than I should
because of the occasional cheating on my diet ... if I didn't have those bad streaks where I cheat
I wouldn't have to exercise as much, it's like a vicious circle ... ;-)

The main thing to avoid for me is those bad streaks
with my diet, just a day or two in a row, no problem erasing those but if I am bad 5 days in a row it
gets much harder and then I feel the 'pressure' to work out more too. If I was better at following
my diet I could work out half as much as I do probably, no injuries at least. Touching wood.
I'm in a GOOD streak now at least ... ;-)

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 194 Pounds

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Post by kccc » Wed Sep 15, 2010 6:41 pm

Excerpts from what you wrote...
bluebunny27 wrote:
Maintaining is not impossible of course but I have to work at it. I'd say it's almost as hard as when you are trying to lose ... when I was losing I was thinking it would be really easy to maintain later on... I am just a bit too STREAKY now, I haven't found the correct balance yet. Yeah, it takes a loooooooooong time, almost a year ...

For example these days I would be good for 10-15 days in a row, then I misbehave 4-6 days in a row and gain a few pounds, I switch to being good again ... lose the extra weight and then I fail again, repeat a couple of months later. It's like a miniature rollercoaster ride where I gain and lose the last few pounds over and over, heh.

It's just annoying to have those STREAKS sometimes ... I am trying a few different things to avoid the ups and downs. It's getting better now though ... instead of having a 10 pound range, I am really closer to 5-6 pounds now when I compare my weight after a 'bad streak' and then a couple of weeks later after a 'good streak' ... I'd like to only have a 3-4 pound range up or down from week to week in an IDEAL world so I wouldn't be always in the gaining and then losing mode ... that would make it easier to just be more or less stable instead.
....

That's something I adjusted lately too, adding a few calories so it's not as restrictive as before ... maybe it could explain some of my previous failures, if I am too restrictive it makes it harder to stick with the program
...

Sometimes too
I am bad one day, overeating and then of course I try to restrict more in the next couple of days, and then this causes me to get
ravenous, so I cheat again, bla-bla ...

That's one thing I shouldn't do, try to restrict my calories after a bad day. This leads me to have a few more 'red days' in a row instead of a single one if I had eaten more normally the day after I was bad the 1st time ... it's pretty complicated really, lol ! Trying to be perfect makes it harder too probably, easing up a bit and not trying to always be perfect would probably help to maintain
in the long run. Allowing a lil' bit more 'freedom' to avoid feeling deprived, that sort of thing.

...
Maybe it's harder because I lost all that weight quicker too ... no time to adjust (Yes, it was quick right from the get go, 46 pounds within the first 4 months ... 58 within 6 months ...) ;-)

..
The main thing to avoid for me is those bad streaks
with my diet, just a day or two in a row, no problem erasing those but if I am bad 5 days in a row it
gets much harder and then I feel the 'pressure' to work out more too. If I was better at following
my diet I could work out half as much as I do probably, no injuries at least.
Mark, it sounds as if your maintenance plan might be drifting toward something closely resembling Vanilla No-S! Even though you didn't really follow it to lose weight initially, from what you're saying now it sounds as if it might be just the ticket. The No-S structure limits your "bad" days to 1-2, which you say are easy to erase (and I agree), and you don't restrict after, which you say causes problems for you anyway (and I agree)...

Or maybe not Vanilla, but something close. The "habit-based" aspect really is key to long-term maintenance, and it does take time to build.

Good luck.

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Post by oolala53 » Wed Sep 15, 2010 7:06 pm

I know some people on No S have brought up Eat Stop Eat (Brad Pilon) and intermittant fasting before. I bring it up only because he questions a lot the idea that body building demands frequent eating. I get the sense that even when he's eating, which is most days of the week, he doesn't necessarily eat 5-6 meals a day, but he trains hard. However, he's not a big proponent of cardio, claiming it's more efficient to eat less. He believes it's easier to eat 300 fewer calories than work them off, especially when they represent less than a tenth of a pound, or a little over an ounce of fat. I wonder if your eating is more a habit that seems to be linked to freqent training? Maybe if you trained less, you could actually be satisfied with three meals a day? There might be a transition time. Pilon is also not a proponent of pre- and post training eating. But, heck, who am I to say? I haven't lost 90 lbs. and kept them off for a year. I did weigh over 190 for quite a period of time about 10 years ago, and went up to 200 for a short time. I've gone through periods of being very active, but never as consistent as you.

Anyway keep up the good work, both mental and physical.
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

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Post by nlb » Wed Sep 15, 2010 8:15 pm

Hi Marc,

I tried No S 3 diff times and was not successful, and I think it was a lot to do with what you are struggling with - maintenance, however, wanted to lose those last 5# too. While flwg I always read your input with great interest. Your cont'd wt loss was awesome!

Eating 3X/day = too much food (FOR ME). I studied both ESE and Fast-5, went with F-5 most days, somedays practice F-8. Now I eat 2X/day, one break fast meal (usually cereal & fruit or fruit & cheesestick) and regular dinner. Fasting not only made my wt go down, it took off inches. I got down to 113 (goal-112 or a little less to allow for normal fluctuation.) It is 3:00p now, have not yet eaten & plan to lift some wts and walk a couple more miles, then break my fast, then have substantial dinner.

This is not starvation, after all you eat everyday. And maybe for those who used to eat 5-6X/day; eating just 3 makes them lose just fine. No S can establish great habits; it just wasn't enough of a kick in the butt for me. Admittedly, I do consume wine calories almost everyday which is fine on both No S and F-5, just not too much.

All the best,
nlb

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Post by bluebunny27 » Thu Sep 16, 2010 4:58 pm

Kccc : "Mark, it sounds as if your maintenance plan might be drifting toward something closely resembling Vanilla No-S! Even though you didn't really follow it to lose weight initially, from what you're saying now it sounds as if it might be just the ticket. The No-S structure limits your "bad" days to 1-2, which you say are easy to erase (and I agree), and you don't restrict after, which you say causes problems for you anyway (and I agree)...
Or maybe not Vanilla, but something close. The "habit-based" aspect really is key to long-term maintenance, and it does take time to build.
Good luck."



********* Thanks for the tip, KCCC. Wow, it makes me laugh - - because it's true ! I didn't realize it at the time ... this sounds more like
Vanilla No-S than what I was doing before ... so maybe for me the best to lose weight was to do my own more restrictive plan but
to maintain going 'Vanilla' would probably help. Good advice ! Oh, I'm doing really well by the way, I weighed myself this morning
and I'm in the 192's now so I'm close to my comfortable range really ... 189-193, that would be the best for me. A few days in a row being good
and I bounce back to the low 190's ...




Oolala53
"I know some people on No S have brought up Eat Stop Eat (Brad Pilon) and intermittant fasting before. I bring it up only because he questions a lot the idea that body building demands frequent eating. I get the sense that even when he's eating, which is most days of the week, he doesn't necessarily eat 5-6 meals a day, but he trains hard. However, he's not a big proponent of cardio, claiming it's more efficient to eat less. He believes it's easier to eat 300 fewer calories than work them off, especially when they represent less than a tenth of a pound, or a little over an ounce of fat. I wonder if your eating is more a habit that seems to be linked to freqent training? Maybe if you trained less, you could actually be satisfied with three meals a day? There might be a transition time. Pilon is also not a proponent of pre- and post training eating. But, heck, who am I to say? I haven't lost 90 lbs. and kept them off for a year. I did weigh over 190 for quite a period of time about 10 years ago, and went up to 200 for a short time. I've gone through periods of being very active, but never as consistent as you.
Anyway keep up the good work, both mental and physical."




********* Good point oolala53. Since I train a lot I need more calories than a lot of people of course ... but when I take a day off
and I'm not training I try to cut a few calories, nothing excessive though ... I would cut 300 calories (out of 2,700-2,800) Less than 10%
This is not a precise science of course, I'm just ballparking it. I usually have 3 main meals and 3 small snacks too ... if you try not to snack
it can lead you to become ravenous and then overeat extensively so I'm really against the no snacking rule (You have to snack on something good
for you of course, not ice cream .... yogurt, fruit, raw veggies, etc. Just a small snack, not a meal !) I have found out lately that it's easier for me to be good when I eat a lil' bit more and train a lil' bit less so I'll check into that. It's worth it to eat 100-200 extra calories daily and train 5 minutes less (on average)
if it keeps me from overeating many days in a row if I am too deprived the way I operate now. This way I avoid gaining 4-6 pounds quickly and then scrambling
to lose those right away of course. I usually have a snack right after a work out, often yogurt, fruit, milk ... it's good to build MUSCLES
from what I read but of course there are a lot of theories out there.





NLB
"Hi Marc,

I tried No S 3 diff times and was not successful, and I think it was a lot to do with what you are struggling with - maintenance, however, wanted to lose those last 5# too. While flwg I always read your input with great interest. Your cont'd wt loss was awesome!

Eating 3X/day = too much food (FOR ME). I studied both ESE and Fast-5, went with F-5 most days, somedays practice F-8. Now I eat 2X/day, one break fast meal (usually cereal & fruit or fruit & cheesestick) and regular dinner. Fasting not only made my wt go down, it took off inches. I got down to 113 (goal-112 or a little less to allow for normal fluctuation.) It is 3:00p now, have not yet eaten & plan to lift some wts and walk a couple more miles, then break my fast, then have substantial dinner.

This is not starvation, after all you eat everyday. And maybe for those who used to eat 5-6X/day; eating just 3 makes them lose just fine. No S can establish great habits; it just wasn't enough of a kick in the butt for me. Admittedly, I do consume wine calories almost everyday which is fine on both No S and F-5, just not too much.

All the best,
nlb"




********* Thanks, NLB ! I think eating only twice per day would be really hard for me ... most experts say you should eat 5-6 times per day (not huge portions each time, 3 meals and small snacks !) . This is supposed to keep your metabolism up too because your body doesn't go into starvation mode waiting many hours for a meal ... so it's trying to conserve the fat to make it through. My advice would be to spread your calories throughout the day as much as you can and also drink plenty of water. If you must cheat try to have things that don't have a lot of calories and are satisfying, like oatmeal for example. (Plus that's quite
inexpensive too) Hum, what you are describing is really the opposite but I'm not knockin' it either because if it works for you, it's all good ...
I know the way I work out, high intensity, often using interval training, it would be tough to do that on an empty stomach, yikes. ;-) It's a good idea to work out
HARD and FAST if you can of course, this way you can get everything done, even just 20 minutes HARD is excellent if you do that 3-5 times per week ... better and more efficient than
a longer work out where you're hardly sweating at all. Hum, yes, I do like to have a few glasses of wine and beers once a week,
it's a treat ! I was doing that even when I was losing weight so it didn't affect me too much. On those days I try to save a few calories
from food, I eat 300-400 less calories and this saves a few for the booze, heh. You need discipline though because when you have
had a few it is really easy to overeat on various things that are not good for you. It's not a tragedy if you cheat of course, all hope is not lost
because you cheat one day, or even one week ... just get back to your good habits and try not to do it again too soon. Problem solved.
Good luck !

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 192 Pounds

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Post by bluebunny27 » Fri Oct 01, 2010 3:29 pm

Official weigh in for me this morning. 190.4 lbs. woo hoo !

I was very pleased by that result. I was really goooooooooood all week long (except for tuesday, but it wasn't a major issue, just prevented me from going down to the high 180's)

I was afraid I would gain weight going on that small vacation last week end, eating at restaurants many times, not being able to train much except for a long walk ... but I still made it. That definitely required discipline so I am proud and happy about that.

My vinegar trick seems to be paying off too ... avoiding those cheating incidents ... makes it a lot easier to maintain and even lose a few pounds.

Last official weigh ins :

9-17 : 193 pounds
9-22 : 191 pounds
10-1 : 190.4 pounds (1st weigh in after 'Trip')

Side note, on 10-22-2010 my first official year of maintenance will be over. 10-22-2009, that was the first day I was under 190 late last year. I would be very curious to know my body fat % a year ago compared to now ... I am at the same weight but with all the training I've been doing all year long I am certainly more huh ... muscular. ;-) That was my goal really ... remaining at the same weight while losing fat and gaining muscles ...

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 190 Pounds

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Post by oolala53 » Fri Oct 01, 2010 5:49 pm

Have you ever used the calipers for determining bodyfat? They aren't very expensive. Even if you didn't think the percentage is accurate, you could at least go by the direct caliper measurement to compare. Personally, I don't even want to look at mine now because I know what it was a few years ago and I know it is so much higher now, though I am only about 10 lbs. up from where I was. I don't want to face it because I have knee problems which so limit what I can push myself doing that I know there is only so much I can do about it without starving. No need to torture myself.

So glad for you, though. Almost a year of maintenance! Happy dance!
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

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Post by bluebunny27 » Sat Oct 02, 2010 9:47 pm

Yeah, I could get those ... I know they aren't 100% precise though .. not like those systems they have, where they DUNK you in a big pool of water and measure the fat % ... lol ! I'd like to get DUNKED on a regular basis. ;-)

Unbelievable, I must really in super shape : I am just watching
an interval training video and I see the trainer half assin' it ... in the interval training demonstration.

I work out much harder than he does and he's supposed to be the trainer ... Plus he only does the sprinting intervals for 20 minutes - - I usually do 25 or more, sometimes 35 or more. It looks like he's half assin' the whole work out to me, barely moving at all. His work out looks like RESTING to me.
He looks wiped out after 5 minutes, dragging his feet ... man. ;-)

The other day I measured my resting heart rate and I think it was 45 or sumthin' ... that's quite low. Sometimes I have problems seeing myself as an athlete because I was too used to being a FAT BOY but when I compare with other people online, training videos and whatnot, what they are doing seems really easy to me. I guess it's because I've been training hard 5-6 times per week for almost 2 years now so ... I'm sure I would get awesome results running on a treadmill with all sorts of tubes and machines hooked up to me in a lab setting where they test you properly.

I was checking it out just to make sure, when I am doing intervals I hit 165bpm at the end of the sprint and then going back to the start line ... my heart rate goes down to 125 ... then I start sprinting again. That's the way you get results, when your heart rate goes up and down, up and down ...

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 190 Pounds

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Post by bluebunny27 » Sun Oct 03, 2010 3:27 pm

I was thinking about it later on ... cos' it just seemed really strange that a guy who looks fit would get tired so easily .... I mean the guy did look like an athlete, muscular, etc. A good explanation could be that he just never/rarely trains using cardio exercises ... always weight training, so the guy looks fit, muscular, like an athlete but once he starts running he gets tired really quickly ... About 80% of my training is doing cardio exercises during the summer months so it's not a surprise I would be able to do my intervals longer, more intensity...

I thought that could make sense. I thought maybe I had made a mistake, that it was not because he was half assin' it that he slowed down so much, just that he could not move faster at all, he was done after 5 minutes and by the end of the 20 minute work out I think my grandmother could have moved faster. ;-)

Reminds me of this boxing match I saw once where one of the boxer looked really muscular but he was so tired after the 5th or 6th round they had to stop the fight. He looked like he had a lot more muscles than his opponent but his cardio was not up there so he was wiped half way through the boxing match.
There's a reason why boxer jogs so much, heh.

Side note, I tried a different method yesterday, running very short intervals instead of longer ones, that's basically football training, running hard but only short distances, then changing directions ... this must have used different muscles because this morning I am really sore, lol ! My legs are like jelly donuts basically. I'll be alright soon though ... ;-)

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 190 Pounds

oolala53
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Post by oolala53 » Sun Oct 03, 2010 4:36 pm

Kind of depends on what you're after. Who is more of an athlete, a power lifter, a sprinter or a long distance runner? None could compete on the other's turf. But they typically look very different. Runners and sprinters are relatively (by societal standards) lean, but the sprinters still have their muscle mass without quite as much definition. I once knew a bodybuilder who decided he wanted to become a triathlete. He purposely did a lot of cardio to wear off the muscle on his body. (Still looked awesome, btw.) I don't think serious athletes are very concerned with their appearance but more with performance. The ones who feel more muscles aids them in their performance will do resistance work to add it, and many do, even in sports that have a high cardio component, such as basketball players.

Also, a person has to look and ask, Am I eating to train or training to eat?
Although you say you want definition, I think you are also very happy to feel very athletic and fit. I think you should feel optimistic about your prospects either way, though, because, though I'm not an expert, I think you could achieve a look you like with less workout time. But maybe your bike time is shorter than I think? No matter what, you have a lot of options when you're willing to work out hard. (The triathlete and his friends' highest praise for an athlete was, "He's a machine!" I think nowadays, it's being a "beast." Accept which one you like the best, as I'd say it's official for you!)

I'm not known for my diplomacy, so if I have said anything that seems judgmental or offensive, please don't take it that way because I am just trying to be part of the discussion with a success story!
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
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9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
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Post by bluebunny27 » Mon Oct 04, 2010 3:53 am

Hey thanks, don't worry about it, I like to have discussions, heh. Plus I am usually the one making so-called 'offensive' comments .. Mr. Cranky. ;-)

Oh, I don't train so long every day really ... less than an hour most days ... high intensity though. Often I would split my work outs in 2 as well.

For example I could do 15 minutes, interval cycling + 25 minutes interval sprinting. Then I wait a few hours and I do 20 min. bodyweight exercises ... and that wouldn't happen every day ...
I would do that 3 days in a row then take a day off or have a couple of days where I only do 20 minutes bodyweight, no cardio and then no bodyweight training, only cardio the next day ... etc.

Accoridng to my training calendar, I exercise about 900 - 1,000 minutes in a typical month ... so that's 30-33 min. per day on average. Not counting the warm up and stretching time of course...

The past 5 days I've worked out a lot and for me that was 240 min. total. (I have a file in the pc, so I know how many minutes I did, which exercise, etc.) I always try to work out as hard as I can though, so those minutes really count, it's not as if I am not pushing at all. I prefer harder work outs that are short over looooooooong ones where you don't push yourself too much, interval sprinting over slow jogging, you see.

Yeah, that guy could have kicked my butt in the weight room for sure ... but I would have been much better on the track ... ;-) It's true. I usually do 70-80% cardio and 20-30% bodyweight training, that seems like a good ratio to me but everyone works differently. I know someone who is losing a lot of weight now doing 90% weight training and 10% cardio only too. (He lost about 35 pounds within 4 months, something like that so you can get great results using different methods.)

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 190 Pounds

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Post by oolala53 » Mon Oct 04, 2010 5:17 pm

Geesh, when you look at your average, it does seem like it's not much to ask. Yet I still haven't had five days of 14 minutes compliance! On that note, here I go!
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
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1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
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Post by bluebunny27 » Tue Oct 05, 2010 1:35 am

It's usually a pretty good sign when you have to punch a new hole in your belt because the last one there does not make the belt tight enough anymore ... ;-)

I just did that, heh. ;-)

Ok, 30-33 minutes average per day may not sound like much but remember if you skip one day - - you have to do 60-66 minutes the next day to make up - - or 2 days off in a row - - 90-99 minutes ... Yikes. If you skip a whole week without working out at all, your daily average is going to go way down in a hurry.

So my secret to have a good average is not to take too many completely off days - - usually only once per week would I do absolutely no training at all. Sometimes I take a half day off, I only do either cardio or body weight training, or I do both but a lil' bit less time for each one ... etc.

If you have problems with 14 minutes straight, you can try to split your work outs as I do (I like to make one session longer though, so I do 30-40 and then the 2nd session is just 15-20) ... For you, 7 + 7 is good to ... or even 5-5-4. ;-)

I was even reading about a man who lost a lot of weight using 3 minute work outs ... His secret was he was training hard, but only 3 minutes straight 12-15 times a day, once per hour ... so he would wake up at 8am for example, train hard 3 minutes. stop. Go on with his normal day. Then an hour later, another 3 minutes training. stop. Repeating that until 8-9pm...

That would actually be super effective because your metabolism would be in high gear all day long ... you exercise hard so there's a boost and then you stop but your body keeps on being in the maximum overdrive state for a few minutes longer ... you repeat that 12-15 times a day so in the end it's pretty effective I'm sure. 15X3 min. + Bonus points with the metabolism in high gear much longer.

So there's really no excuse not to work out, heh ? 3 minutes at a time even. Any activity is good, going up and down stairs, jumping jacks, walking fast, jogging ... as long as you are challenging yourself, it's all good.

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 191 Pounds

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Post by oolala53 » Tue Oct 05, 2010 6:43 am

I don't have any trouble with 14 minutes once I start!
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

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Post by mrsj » Wed Oct 06, 2010 7:02 am

Thanks for mentioning that 3 minute workout. I'll give it a try. The very thought of excersizing for even 14 minutes gives me a panic attack! But, I can endure 3 minutes!
Nothing is impossible-only improbable.

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Post by bluebunny27 » Wed Oct 06, 2010 2:10 pm

Good work, Mrs J.

You can change this is various ways too .. if you don't like the idea of exercising every hour, you could do 6 minutes every 2 hours for example ... or 4 minutes 30 sec. every 1 hour and a half !
I just thought it was a good idea for people who don't like to exercise or who are not used to training a lot.

I'm sure it would still be quite effective ... even 2 min. every hour as long as you are pushing yourself hard of course. It goes by so fast you really don't have any excuses not to do it, heh. ;-)

Ok, official weigh in for me this morning ...

I was almost spot on many days in a row ... just a minor glitch monday night where I had about 500 cals. extra ... (2 pita breads with butter and a tbsp. of peanut butter, but that was really not an awful day !) Training almost every day, today I shouldn't do any cardio exercises, just some bodyweight training ...

My last official weigh ins :

9-17-2010 193
9-22-2010 191
10-1-2010 190.4
10-6-2010 189.8

It's always nice when you put in the work, you train .. you diet ... and then you get a good result on the scale too. ;-) I was pleased seeing the '8' as the 2nd number. Avoiding cheating on my diet lately really helped me to get my weight down ....

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 190 Pounds

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Post by bluebunny27 » Mon Oct 11, 2010 3:55 pm

I was at a party last night and it would have been really easy to pig out on various tasty and fattening things : Pizza, sausages, fancy cheeses ... not to mention all the wine(s) but I was good all evening long.

189.4 pounds this morning, even better than I expected. I am really pleased with this result. (Down from 189.8 the other week)

I was very reasonable and I didn't skip my training session either. Sweating bullets. This lead me to have this good result this morning so I'm happy.

My weight is super stable recently so I am pleased. I like that a lot better than the rollercoaster ride I was on before where I would gain 4 pounds one week, lose it ... gain it back again, etc.

My last official weigh ins :

9-22 : 191
10-1 : 190.4
10-6 : 189.8
10-11 : 189.4

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 189 Pounds

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Post by oolala53 » Mon Oct 11, 2010 6:35 pm

Congrats on your stability! and for not going for overeating just because the food was available. Our teaching staff just got back to work after two weeks off. (we start our school year in the middle of the summer.) There was a welcome table of cookies, little muffins (the sugary kind), and fruit. I took one cookie and one lemon muffin to freeze for the weekend, and some fruit, which I will eat with my lunch. I wasn't expecting the food--I don't think many of us were--, or I might not have had breakfast, but my breakfast was better food choices anyway: I try to include some "clean" protein with every meal. There was lot of food left over on that table. I think that is a good sign. When will they learn not to keep offering people such refined and sugary foods? I'd rather have cottage cheese, hard-boiled eggs, and whole grain offerings, plus a little fruit. I'm sure they could do it for about the same money.
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

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Post by MerryKat » Tue Oct 12, 2010 12:50 pm

Congratulations on the stable results and resisting the temptation.
Hugs from Sunny South Africa
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Post by bluebunny27 » Wed Oct 13, 2010 2:44 pm

Thanks Oolala & MerryKat !

Yes, it would be nice if they would offer items that are better for you ... when there are too many tempting things around it is really hard to resist.

I had issues last night actually. I was ravenous all evening long despite eating well ... I failed around 11pm, ate egg salad sandwiches, crackers, cookies, I haven't weighed this morning but I probably gained 2-3 pounds ... most of it being temporary weight but still ... Oh well .. it hadn't happened in a while and they say once a week or two it is a good thing to eat more actually (Wait, maybe I just made that up !!) ;-)

Anyway my next official weigh in is on Saturday morning, a bit of time left to correct the situation but I may be back in the low 190's instead of the high 180's ... not a tragedy at this point.

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 189 Pounds

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Post by oolala53 » Wed Oct 13, 2010 4:23 pm

It is puzzling why we can have an empty feeling even after eating. It's different from the urge to eat I used to get after meals. In that case, I felt full but still wanted to eat. In these cases, it's almost as if I feel hollow. I have withstood it a few times when it's actually gone away. Whew!

I'm sure you'll be back on track today.
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

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Post by bluebunny27 » Wed Nov 10, 2010 11:21 pm

It's the season to be jolly - - tra-la-lla-al-al-al-llallal la la !!! ;-)

Ok, enough bad singing.

:-|


Just a quick word to bounce my check in back up. Been doing alright ... still hanging out between 190 and 195 ... working out hard, dieting, behaving most of the time ...

I'm done with my one year of near maintenance and I was successful, hooray !

My goal is always the same now. Remaining at the same weight, 190-195, while losing fat and gaining muscles. Been doing pretty well, my legs, arms, shoulders - - are quite muscular now. Just today I was looking at my shoulders and I thought I could see more definition in the MUSCLES - - that was a good feeling.

I started doing isometric exercises regularly too and now I can do more push ups and squats than before ... I'd say I've improved 10%, more power, since I have been doing those (about 2-3 weeks) I was surprised actually, how effective they were to make me stronger overnight almost.

Gotta run now. (literally ????)

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 193 Pounds

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Post by bluebunny27 » Mon Dec 13, 2010 5:50 pm

Wow, it's been over a month since I updated my check in ... :-)

Ok, all is well ... still hanging out in the low 190's.

I really think I have gained muscles and lost some fat cos' I find it hard to get back to 190-191 pounds now ... but it's not because I am cheating, not training hard 5-6 times per week or getting fatter.

My last official weigh in I thought ... ok, I've been good for 2 weeks straight now, hardly any cheating .. training like crazy ... I've got to have a good number this time .. and then I step on the scale and it says .. 194 ... I was yelling ... "This s*cks !!!"

Later, I was looking in the mirror and I was thinking, wow, I am starting to look quite muscular now ... I think I look more muscular and my body fat % must be lower - - so I'm not worried too much about the number on the scale. I just concentrate more on my habits. I'll worry more about the mirror than the number on the scale. :-)

I have noticed since I started doing isometric and plyometric exercises regularly a couple of months ago I have more power too when I do my push ups, squats, etc. ... maybe this is why I have a harder time lowering my weight - those harder exercises are good to develop your muscles but those stronger muscles weigh more as well ! ;-)

The other day I was testing myself and I did 70 push up straight, proper form ... according to my log just a couple of months ago I could only do 60 straight, so that's an improvement. :-)

I mean I've been doing really well lately, hardly cheating at all and working out hard as usual and it doesn't really show on the scale, 2-3 pounds heavier than my IDEAL weight. I wouldn't be too surprised if I gained muscles there as I look leaner in the mirror, more muscle definition but my weight is a lil' bit up - -
I won't complain about 2-3 pounds though, if I get this extra weight from muscles, it's all good.

Exercise update, I started doing more squat jumps lately .. those are HARD to do ... which is what I want now. Regular jumping jacks were getting too easy and I could only get my heart rate in the 130's even doing them hard and fast ... I needed an exercise that would get my heart rate at least in the 150's - maybe even the 160's ... so I could do my cardio interval training inside since I can't cycle or sprint outside at the moment.

I was searching hard to find something else I could do, without any equipment, to get my heart rate up ... I'll be jumping around - - Bounding is also a good way to get your bpm up.

Plyometrics, heh. Those exercices are HARD to do but that's what I want as well.

Squat jumps : Here's a good short clip : 2 min.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZZc18uX-q8

Bounding, 45 sec. clip. You can do those in a gym or if you have a large basement, it'll do as well !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nL4UWBuFH0Y

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 194 Pounds

oolala53
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Post by oolala53 » Mon Dec 13, 2010 10:23 pm

Awesome progress, Mark. What about your waist measurement? If that's going down while your weight goes up, I'd call that a win.

Have you heard of the Adonis Index? The proponents say the most important metric for a man is his waist-to-shoulder circumference ratio. They say it should be 1:1.6. This modest V shape gives a man a psychological leg up over his peers because both men and women are subconsciously impressed with the shape. Ancillary to that is that they say his optimal waist measurement should be about 44% of his height, but that is less important than waist to shoulder. Knock youself out torturing yourself with that one!

If it's any consolation, the recommendation for a woman is for her waist to be 39% of her height. I'd need to get to 26" down from 34". My waist was not 26" when I was 26. Or 16, I don't think.

Or forget all this and just keep feeling the greater energy and pizzazz!
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

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Post by bluebunny27 » Wed Dec 15, 2010 5:19 pm

Thanks, Oolala ! ;-) Yes, it's a long term project so I'm not freaking out over a few pounds. Gives me something to do anyway, and it's good to have goals, heh !

My goal is actually not to gain 10 pounds this year during the holidays (Last year I had issues at the end of the year, from dec. 22nd to early january I didn't work out at all and I was overeating so I gained 8-10 pounds) I hope this doesn't happen this year. :-)

Then in january 2010 I was ill for 3 weeks straight so I wasn't training and eating like a bird so I lost the extra pounds plus another 5 ... geesh !

Hopefully it'll be calmer this year ... not a rollercoaster ride that lasts over a month.

I think my measurements are about the same, I don't measure very often ... once every 6 months or so ... I hadn't heard of this Adonis concept before, sounds pretty good ! :-) I'll try to find more info online about all this ...

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 195 Pounds

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Post by Strawberry Roan » Tue Dec 28, 2010 10:48 pm

Hey there, just checking in to see how you're doing... 8)
Berry

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Post by bluebunny27 » Mon Jan 10, 2011 8:10 pm

I gained 5 pounds during the Holidays this year. (Dec. 23rd to january 8th) Not too bad. Last year I had more issues because I didn't train at all for 2 weeks straight. This year my problem wasn't with the exercise, I trained more often than last year but I had a few bad days with my diet. I am already working on losing the extra weight now and I have been quite good since january 5th at least so that shouldn't be a long term problem. :-)

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 197 Pounds

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4 month struggle

Post by bluebunny27 » Thu Mar 10, 2011 8:32 pm

It's been a long time since I updated this, heh. When I don't have good news I usually get more quiet. ;-)

I struggled a bit in nov.-dec. - jan. (Gaining 8 pounds total) and a LOT in feb. ... I probably gained 10 pounds in Feb. alone, my worst month ever !

I was getting really annoyed in late feb. due to my multiple failures. It was getting me depressed gaining that much weight back. Almost 18-20 pounds out of the 90 I lost. I wasn't bad all the time but I would have 4 good days, 4 bad ones ... rinse and repeat.

I had a lot of tension, pressure and this lead me to overeat and skip a few work outs as well. I have to learn not to overeat when something bad happens in particular. I get upset, angry and then I overeat, emotional eating is my problem. I am trying new things not to be an emotional eater ... I have such a long list of things to do, hehe.

I weighed around 210-211 on feb. 28th and I thought : That sucks !! I gained 18-20 pounds within the past 4 months (probably 10 in feb. alone) !!

... So I made a resolution that I would get back on track and would have an awesome month of march. So far, so good ... I only misbehaved slightly on one day, nothing too bad though ...

I only weigh myself once a month now too, I was getting too obsessed with the scale again, I would be good for 3 days in a row, step on the scale, see I had lost 0.4 pound, this would get me upset thinking I should have lost a lot more and I'd overeat again, arrrrrrgh. I'm better off not knowing exactly most of the time ... I just concentrate on my diet, training, my habits ... instead of a number.

I can have unofficial weigh ins once in a while though (since I am too curious sometimes !) but it's nothing that is planned in advance and it's not on a regular basis either, once a week or less ... but they are all unofficial weigh ins, it's just to give me an idea if I should work harder or if I'm doing alright.

Last time I checked was about 2 days ago, march. 8th and I weighed 204 pounds. Funny, just 2-3 months ago I would have thought 204 pounds was terrible but that day it actually made me feel good to see that number since I knew I had lost about 6 pounds within 8 days due to my monastic lifestyle. ;-)

I've been good since then too so I probably weigh 202-203 now ... not bad. I know when I apply myself I can drop many pounds pretty quickly. I can drop 12 pounds within a month if I get serious (crazy ?).

Today it snowed like crazy too so that was a lot of exercise plowing heavy snow for nearly an hour. I thought it was good though, exercising hard again. I was plowing with someone else and he kept stopping and taking breaks so I did the bulk of the work, maybe 75% ... he was surprised I could handle it too ... I am still in pretty good shape from all that training. He was believin' it when I said I can do 65-70 push ups in a row, proper form, no problem. ;-)

When I train hard it makes me want to stick to my diet too because I don't want to ruin my efforts so ... that's another one of my tricks right there, exercising instead of sitting around overeating. ;-)

I trained hard every day this month so this helped me boost my metabolism and burn more calories too of course.

It sucks when you fail and you struggle though ... since november I have had more issues ... so that was 4 bad months in a row. nov.-dec.-jan.feb. .... I went from around 191-193 to 211, gaining 18-20 pounds, but now I lost about 6 in just 8 days (or even 8 within 10 days !) so I have some confidence I'll be able to go back to around 195 within a month or two hopefully, that would be fine for me.

I was struggling for 4 months straight though, ups and downs, I can definitely see how someone might gain a lot of weight back too, if you are not careful, it can happen quite rapidly, especially if you are an emotional eater.

One new thing I am doing lately is chewing sugar free gum when I feel hungry ... helped me a few times already. It doesn't add calories and it keeps me chewing for 20 minutes, that's long enough for the craving to go away usually ... if it doesn't work, I drink a 1 L. bottle of ice cold water once I am done chewing. I also try not to buy things that make it hard for me to stick to my diet, fancy cookies for example.

Don't forget to :

1- Make a resolution. It helped me a lot, I said to myself, march 1st. That's the day. I'll have an awesome month, no excuse, cheating cut to a minimum, training hard almost every day (I did it 10 days in a row now.)

2- Train hard really often, every day if you can ... so you burn a lot of calories even when you're sitting down. Remember hard and fast ... that's better !! It's better to train 30 minutes pushing yourself hard then 60 minutes hardly moving at all ... well, if you can handle it.

3- Chew sugar free gum, Exercise hard, Drink water ! ;-)

Ok, next time I post here I should be in the high 190's again ...

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : Around 202-203 Pounds

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Post by Starla » Fri Mar 11, 2011 2:01 pm

I hope you are really proud of yourself, Marc. You've worked so hard for your incredible success, and I'm sure it was devastating to see it start to slip away. Congratulations for reversing that slide! It sounds like you've found a plan that will work for you in getting back to your acceptable weight range. You know you can do this; you've done it before. Good luck!

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Post by bluebunny27 » Fri Mar 11, 2011 3:46 pm

Thank you Starla ! ;-)

Oh yes, things are much better now ... I'm behaving like an angel since march 1st ... not sure if it's the resolution I made : "To have an awesome month of march" ... maybe it's PSYCHOLOGICAL but I've been rock n' rollin' since that day.
Spot on with the diet, exercising hard every day, not letting things get to me and overeating when I am upset, etc.

It's good to see that when I apply myself pounds are coming off too. I have already noticed I am more 'in shape' now since I started being serious again (march 1st.) When I get really focused I can really lose those pounds. Plus it was depressing to have gained weight back too.

I'm almost half way there now in any case... Gained 18-20 pounds over 4 months and now I lost around 8-9 pounds since march 1st. I think training every day helps a lot, my metabolism must be sky high with all the hard training I do so the minute I start sticking to my diet I am losing several pounds. It's not like I'm starving either, I eat around 3,000 calories daily.

My plan is not to rest and have as few failures as possible until I weigh 195 or lower ... and this will have taught me a lesson too at the same time. It's not that far .... I lose 7 more pounds now and I'm *there*, really ...

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 202-203 Pounds

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Post by reinhard » Fri Mar 11, 2011 3:51 pm

When I don't have good news I usually get more quiet.
I think this is true for most people :-)

Good to see you back here and making noise!

There's no question in my mind that you'll get back on your old awesome track again.

Best of luck doing that and looking forward to seeing you around here regularly again,

Reinhard

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NoSRocks
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Post by NoSRocks » Fri Mar 11, 2011 5:12 pm

Marc, that's FABULOUS! Well done on getting back on the wagon again with No S! I can empathize with the weight anxiety part also - I think weighing every day can make one obsessive. I'm kinda going through a stage like this at the moment - weighing myself one day and finding I'm 4 or 5 lbs up, then back down the next - and perhaps a few lbs below the day after! It kinda messes with your head and I feel like my day's eating is being influenced by the scale reading (NOT in a good way!)

Anyway - its absolutely wonderful reading your latest post and sensing your happiness and its like the weight has been (literally!) lifted off of your shoulders. CONGRATULATIONS !! and as my latest catchphrase
goes :"Keep on Keeping On!!" :) :)

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Post by Strawberry Roan » Sat Mar 12, 2011 2:12 pm

Hey, I was wondering what Marc was up to. I am SO glad to see you back. I can well relate to what you posted and agree, just climb back on board the No S train. :D It's a journey we are all on together.

Since finding this wonderful board a couple of years ago, I have been

158 (too heavy)
132 (too thin)

145 (just right)

and everywhere in between.

For me, losing weight is easy as I just buckle down and am very strict.

Gaining is, of course, easy because well, because.

Maintaining for me is the hardest.

But I feel much better when I eat right and exercise and that is my goal. To FEEL better each day and live a long, productive, independent life.

I have missed you, Marc
Berry

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Post by BrightAngel » Sat Mar 12, 2011 2:45 pm

Image It's good to hear that you are doing well in Maintenance.
BrightAngel - (Dr. Collins)
See: DietHobby. com

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bluebunny27
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Post by bluebunny27 » Sat Mar 12, 2011 4:49 pm

Wow ... loooooooooooove is in the air here !! :-)

Thanks, everyone ! Awesome support, you are too nice. *blushing*

@Reinhard Yes, it's true maybe I should do the opposite, when it gets harder I should post more ... this gets me motivated to turn things around. I have been doing great this month though ... I'm close to 90%, compliance to my habits ... (using my own personal scoring system, which is actually pretty hard to explain, hehe !) Basically I get 'units' every day when I exercise and stick to my diet too ... different levels, different units, based on how well I did, how many minutes I trained, all that ... In comparison in february, my worst month since I started losing weight in nov. 2008, I didn't even have 50% compliance to my habits .... hence my unusual weight gain. (almost 10 pounds in feb.) Almost 90% compliance, I am losing 10 pounds in 2 weeks at the moment. Normally 70-75% is good enough to maintain. It's based on the HabitCal, but I made my own file on the PC to monitor all this and calculate my percentages, etc. It's all automated.

@No S Rocks. I am not 100% No S though ... I have my own personal variations. The basic concept is there but I do snack personally. I have 3 meals, 3 snacks ... most personal trainers and whatnot they say to keep your metabolism up you have to eat more often. I believe more in the total number of calories for the day. For me that would be 3,000 ... and I can munch all day long if I want to, as long as I am not eating too many calories, it's fine. Eating more often also avoids blood sugar drops that can lead to overeating - - if I had to wait many hours in between meals it would be harder for me since I would be tempted to overeat more often. Well, that works for me, it's fine if others are finding it easier to be No-S purists. I've tried many methods, weighing once a month, once every 2 weeks, once a week, every 3 days ... daily ... lol ! I've changed that about 20 times probably ... I think the best for me is not knowing too precisely, I know when I'm doing well or not anyway. I'll stick to what I'm doing now probably long term : Once a month, official weigh in and sometimes I can check my weight if I want to, unofficial weigh ins ... but not too often, once a week or less, just to see if I need to step it up.

@Berry and BrightAngel, Maintaining is HARD, that's for sure. When I was losing weight I was thinking maintaining would be easy, really ... but it's a daily struggle to make it. It's not too surprising that 85-90% of the people who lose a lot of weight (50 pounds or more) gain some back, maybe even all of it within a few years ... it's too easy to go back to your bad habits, etc.

Also you have fat cells all ready there, waiting for you to overeat and not train. They can get bigger again quickly if you are not careful. Learning that the hard way now but at least I am pleased I have been doing very well this month ... nearly perfect during the first 11 days, if I can keep this up the whole month it'll be fantastic. I trained 11 days in a row, stuck to my diet except for one day where I may have had around 1,000 calories extra but that wasn't a big deal. Easy to correct that small mistake. You feel good when you are behavin', you feel proud, so that's better than the temporary satisfaction of eating a huge piece of cake sitting on the couch of course.

Note, I highly recommend the sugar free gum trick ... it helped me last night as I was struggling near midnight. I was feeling quite hungry so I had 2 pieces of sugar free gum. Kept me busy for 20 minutes, then drank some water and I was fine. I have a lot of determination these days to correct this situation and go back to the mid 190's. Remember to pick up sugar free gum at the store ... in case of an emergency ... :-)
Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 202 Pounds

oolala53
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Post by oolala53 » Sun Mar 27, 2011 5:40 pm

I'm late to seeing that you're back, but congrats on getting your second No S wind.
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

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bluebunny27
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Post by bluebunny27 » Wed Apr 13, 2011 12:18 am

Alright, time to update ... ;-)

I did well the first half of the month of march and then the 2nd half was so-so ... so that was a set back, not a huge one ... but I gained a few pounds ...

Now, 1st half (almost) of april I am doing really well again ... I should be able to do it all the way now and have the really awesome month I wanted ... it's pretty hard to have an awesome month and I need 2-3 in a row now since I want to be back in the mid 190's ASAP, heh.

I weigh around 203 pounds now ... but I'm on the way down for sure. Strangely in the past few days I am not eating as much and I am not really that hungry so that helps. Cutting down on my portions a bit and not being tempted, that makes it easier. My goal for the month of april is to be back under 200 pounds again by the end of the month.

I'll definitely be more careful in the future now (especially during the colder months when I can't train outside, November to march) since I see it's quite easy to gain weight back if you are not careful.

Good thing I turned things around quickly because I weighed 212-214-216 pounds not too long ago so I could easily have given up and gained more weight back and then I get to 225-230 and I'm annoyed/depressed/angry/frustrated, etc. ... and this leads me to eat more sweets of course !

Instead I started training harder and making sure I would eat well and especially not overeat badly with my my trigger foods, cookies in particular. I haven't had a bad day in april so far so I'm doing alright.

Sloooooooooooowly but surely ... I'll get there. It helps now that I can train outside again too, I already interval trained 3 times in the past 5 days and that's the way to burn more fat and lose more weight ... so I was sprinting at the baseball field (on grass) and using my bicycle as well. Interval training, I missed it even if it's tough to do.

Bad news though, I learned recently that the baseball field will be no more within a year or two. The library, across the street will move there (There will be a parking lot where I am running often .... in the outfield, I suppose the library building will be in the INFIELD !!!) so I'll have to use the soccer field or the gravel track a lil' further away or I'll try to find another place ... I prefer to run on grass because it is easier ... so ... I need to find a place where I can run on grass, even 2-3 different places so I can alternate depending if there's a game going on, etc. The soccer field next to the baseball field is ok too but if there's a game going on there I can't train of course. That's why I like to have 2-3-4 different options ...

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 203 Pounds

oolala53
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Post by oolala53 » Wed Apr 13, 2011 1:23 am

Thanks for keeping us informed of your journey, which is basically pretty darn successful.
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

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bluebunny27
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Post by bluebunny27 » Fri Jul 22, 2011 3:40 pm

Quick update for the citizens of EveryDay systems. ;-)

Weight, well, I weigh about the same now as I did the last time I updated... 204-205 pounds ... yarn !

Seems like I've been hanging out at that weight for a loooooooong time now (Between 200 and 210 for the most part !) ... I have been doing well in general though especially in the past few days I have been eating well, super motivated, training hard, etc.

If I can keep this up for a while, 3-4 good weeks in a row - I should go back under 200 pounds again, which would be a long term goal for me.

I wasn't 100% successful at maintaining since I gained about 15-17 pounds back from the original 90 that I lost but it's a work in progress. I was highly successful at maintaining for a year or more (Nov. 2009 to Feb. 2011) but in Feb.-Mar.-Apr. 2011 I had issues and that's when I gained 15-17 pounds back, you see.

It surprised me that it was hard to maintain actually, seems it was easier to lose the original weight, 90 pounds within a year ... than it is to maintain the loss ! I am not too depressed about the 15-17 pounds I gained back though, at least I'm not gaining more, heh. :-) .... I am stronger now so part of that extra weight must be muscles ! (Yeah, right !!) :-)

...

Side note once a year on a day where I am not doing any intense cardio training I test myself by
seeing how many push ups and how many squats I can do in a row without stopping.
I did that yesterday, improved both numbers so I am pleased.


Here are the results, 2010 vs 2011 ...


5 Jul. 2010 : Max Push Ups = 60, 1 Set
Max Squats = 90, 1 Set
PROPER FORM.

21 Jul. 2011 : Max Push Ups = 75, 1 Set
Max Squats = 120, 1 Set
PROPER FORM.


I still do my push ups, planks and squats almost daily ... cardio training, cycling, sprinting 4-5 times per week at least, maybe 6 times per week even ... the dieting part is definitely harder for me than the training so I have to be careful not to overeat or else I gain weight no matter how hard I am exercising. ;-(

My resting heart rate is crazy low too now from all the training I've been doing since nov. 2008 ... Last time I checked it was about 46-48bpm so my heart must be quite strong. A nurse would freak out checking my heart rate, no doubt. She would think I am about to faint or something ... but no, it's the interval trainin' !

Marc ;-)

39 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 204-205 Pounds

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Post by Strawberry Roan » Fri Jul 22, 2011 5:33 pm

Hey, Marc, so good to see you. I started a thread looking for you about a month ago.

I SO agree, maintaining is the hard part. You are doing great, still motivated and a work in progress - aren't we all? 8)

Glad you are posting again...
Berry

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bluebunny27
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Post by bluebunny27 » Fri Jul 22, 2011 5:49 pm

Yes, I know, I am bad about updating here recently, I've been really busy ...

I should really get involved a bit more since it helps me out too ... It helps to stay motivated and keep my good habits !

Maybe that's why it's harder to maintain than to lose weight, I was visiting the site a lot more back when I was losing weight each and every month, 12 in a row !

Wow, a thread looking for me ?? I am famous now, yes !!
:-) I should check it out.


Marc ;-)

39 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 year : -90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 204-205 Pounds

oolala53
Posts: 10059
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 1:46 am
Location: San Diego, CA USA

Post by oolala53 » Sat Jul 23, 2011 3:01 am

I thought maybe I wasn't getting the updates of your daily check in. Glad you're doing more than reasonably well.

It's typical for people who lose a lot of weight to stable a bit higher than their lowest weight. Only you can tell if it's worth the extra vigilance.
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

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mimi
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Location: The Shenandoah Valley of Virginia

Post by mimi » Sat Jul 23, 2011 12:03 pm

Good to see you here again Marc! Even better to learn that you have maintained the majority of your 90-pound loss...not an easy accomplishment by far, and one that most people never quite attain. Way to go, you!

Mimi :D
Discovered NoS: April 16, 2007
Restarted once again: July 14, 2011
Quitting is not an option...
If you start to slip, tie a knot and hang on!
Remember that good enough is... good enough.
Strive for progress, not perfection!

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bluebunny27
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Post by bluebunny27 » Wed Jul 27, 2011 9:17 pm

Thank you, oolala & Mimi !

Yes, I shouldn't be too hard on myself but I can't help it. I need to be Mr. Perfect or else I am not satisfied, heh. I'll work on
that !

I am happy I maintained most of the weight loss long term at least ... that's pretty good.

Side note, oolala, I see you are from San Diego well ... my sister may visit SAN DIEGO in january 2012 actually ... she won 2 free plane tickets round trip, anywhere in North America ... the other day she was sayin' San Diego could be the city she'll select. Hopefully it'll be niiiiiiiiiiiiice !! ;-)


Marc ;-)

39 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Lbs
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Lbs
(1 year : -90 Lbs)

Current Weight : 204-205 Lbs

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NoSRocks
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Post by NoSRocks » Thu Jul 28, 2011 1:09 am

GOOD LUCK Marc - great to see you back. I don't believe I've posted on your thread before. However, been following the No S Plan off and on since late 2009 and have been reading your posts. Welcome Back! You are indeed an inspiration!!
No S-er since December 2009
Streamlined S Days: 6/25/12
SW: 170 /CW: 127
Weight loss to date: 43 lbs

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