Serious weight loss

[Ducky]

I've decided to see what I can do about seriously dropping weight, and since part of my problem is what I eat I'm trying some meal replacement shakes instead. After shopping different brands, and rejecting most for being too high in calories, fat, cholesterol, sodium, or other reasons, I landed on GNC Total Lean - Lean Shake. 180 calories, cold water mix, convenient. Supposedly designed to support lean muscle mass, metabolism, and healthy cholesterol levels (vital for me, genetics sometimes suck.) I got a couple of trial packs of the Swiss Chocolate flavor, and at least taste wise it could have been worse. Not really bold flavor or overly sweet, so it didn't feel like I was drinking dessert. It instantly killed my hunger, and two hours later I still feel full, so yay! As overall I'm looking to shed an embarrassing amount of weight, any little thing that helps is welcome. I hope that by doing this, and actually USING my gym membership, that I'll get back to looking like I think I should as well as living longer. My dad died when he was only 10 years older than I am now, I'd like to beat that.

Anyone else on a similar path? What are you doing to achieve your goals?

[Wolven]

Well...good for you..support available here 24hrs a day...although if you call me at 2am on a work night...you may not get a great conversation. lol

I am working on it too...trying to eat healthier and get out more...run mostly...off and on...getting older and the knee surgery last year slowed me way down for awhile.

I cant do shakes...I would die...and although they may help you lose weight in the first place...they are not teaching you or retraining you rather on eating on a day to day basis....which would be my only worry.

I wish you luck....too bad you werent closer...we could go to the gym together

[Wolven]

Oh and may I recommend roasting veggies?

I am obsessed...asparagus, brussell sprouts, broccoli etc...works with frozen veggies thawed too...

sprinkle with a small amt of olive oil (good for you), toss, sprinkle with salt and pepper or garlic powder (or flavor of your choice), bake at 375 degrees til done. YUM

[Ducky]

Oh and may I recommend roasting veggies?

I am obsessed...asparagus, brussell sprouts, broccoli etc...works with frozen veggies thawed too...

sprinkle with a small amt of olive oil (good for you), toss, sprinkle with salt and pepper or garlic powder (or flavor of your choice), bake at 375 degrees til done. YUM

Do that already, with whatever happens to be in season.

I spent an hour at a good walk on the treadmill, and then a half hour on the exercise bike. I'm trying to take it slowly enough where I wind up hating it and not wanting to go back. Plus having a heart attack on the treadmill isn't the way I really want to go.

[iso607]

Working on that myself, and having pretty good results with what I'm doing. I know a lot of people don't agree with taking diet pills, but that's what I've been doing since Feb. 25th. My weight started at 303 lbs and as of yesterday morning, when I weighed at the gym, I'm down to 263 lbs. I've gone from 44 inch waist to 39 which does suck because none of my clothes, including work uniforms, fit me right anymore. Waiting to get a little closer to my desired weight before spending the money for new clothes and having the Dept. order new uniforms so I don't have to do it but once. For those that don't know, I'm 6'1" tall. My desired weight is around the 225-230 range.

What I'm taking was prescribed by my family doctor. It's called Phentermine 37.5 mg. On the bottle it says it is generic for Adipex-P 37.5 mg. Even though she did not need to loose near the weight as me, my wife also got on the pills and has had pretty good results. Neither of us have had any side effects, no dry mouth, nausea, light headed, etc. I was worried when I first started taking them that it would only be a temporary fix and after I got to my desired weight, and stopped taking the meds, I would gain the weight back. I don't feel that way anymore because I have forgotten to take the meds several times and once was for three days in a row, and I still didn't have the desire to eat like I use to on those days. I think that my problem was my eating habits were just that..a bad habit. The pills assisted me in getting use to the strict diet by soothing my hunger. My wife hasn't been able to take hers for the last three weeks, due to her having surgery today to remove her wisdom teeth, yet she has continued to loose weight at an equal rate as when she was taking them. I believe she is at around 17 lbs lost in the same time period as me. Like I said though, she didn't have it as bad as me. She'd probably kill me if she could see this, but her starting weight was around 142 lbs. Her boss and boss's daughter are also on the same pills and diet and have had similar results. They started about a month before my wife and me and the daughter has already reached her goal and stopped taking the pills. She has been able to maintain her desired weight with no problems.

Along with taking the pills, my diet is 1200 cal a day, no more that 32 g of fat, at least 64 oz of water and at least 45 min. of exercise 4-5 days a week. He also prescribed me a multivitamin to take, but the one he prescribed didn't work out with me. He swapped me to the over the counter Centrum as a result. My wife's diet is similar, except her calorie intake is 900, 26 g of fat and at least 48 oz of water a day. Also her pill is less mg than mine, but I'm not sure the exact amount. She's had no issues with the multivitamin the doctor prescribed. Both the diet pill and the vitamin are once a day. Diet pill at least 45 minutes before your first meal and vitamin after eating your largest meal. We have to go back to the doctor every 28 days, for check up, weigh in and counseling.

I don't feel like I'm starving myself. I still eat pretty much what I want. Had a good ribeye steak last night. I'm sure I go over that 1200 cal on some days but have stopped eating the extra meals. Main thing is no more regular soda's, chips, salad dressing, etc. I still drink diet soda sometimes with my meals and have probably tried all the diet soda's out there. I've found a few that I actually like, which surprised me. Use to hate drinking water, but have gotten use to it and that is mostly all I drink while at work. I love ice cream and found some of the weight watchers or similar brands that I still treat myself to at times.

I let myself go for way too long. Tried exercise alone and changing my eating habits on my own to no avail for about a year before I started this diet. Overall I'm pretty proud of what I have accomplished so far. I still have a ways to go, but I'm confident I'll reach my goals. I often joke with my wife that I'm bringing sexy back.

I hope that whatever you decide to do to loose the extra weight goes well. Good luck and you have my number if you need the support.

[ex401mp]

I am going to the docs soon and try this also ^^^. I am so sick and tired of being this damn fat. Just dieting does not work for me, so hopefully this will get me the boost I need to get the fat off. I am not really so worried about the weight, just the fat. I still lift (just started back a month ago because of a shoulder injury), so I dont want to lose that.

[213th]

Hannah and I have both been losing weight since february. We're both down a little over 20 pounds. The big thing is exercise along with the diet. We both walk or run daily, usually about 4 miles. Hannah has been attending weight watchers, and then applies that to both of us (mostly, I'm not as rigid as she but she makes most of my meals) In the past I had some success with slim-fast as a way to help control the hunger. Right now, I just don't bring any money when I leave the house.

If you have insurance, check and see if they offer any discounts or rebates for using your gym membership or a discount on the membership. I know mine does for a few different places. Exercise is definetly a big part of it. I lost some weight just through changing what I eat, but once I stepped up my exercise it really made a difference

[Ducky]

I did the Phentermine thing a few years back, and after several months took myself off. I did lose a bit of weight but I had a lot of side effects and an incredibly nasty attitude to boot. The only thing I can equate it to would be PMS 24/7.

I think if I can get back into the groove of exercise that I had once upon a time, then I'll be ok. It's just incredibly depressing to me to see pics of myself from back in the day. I keep wondering where the hot chick went and who the blimp is in current pics.

[2 Blue 4 U]

I did the Phentermine thing a few years back, and after several months took myself off. I did lose a bit of weight but I had a lot of side effects and an incredibly nasty attitude to boot. The only thing I can equate it to would be PMS 24/7.

Same here, felt like I could feel the blood moving thru my veins. Careful with those pills, I know it is only half of the diet pill cocktail, Phen Phen, where there were cases of heart valve problems. As long as you are under doctors care it should be fine.

Another good meal replacement diet is the cookie diet, especially good for those who do not tolerate shakes so well or soy based products. Smart for Life cookies are not bad and do fill you up.

Cookie Diet by Smart for Life is Best Cookie Diet Available.

[Buttercup]

Good luck to you, Ducky!

There's a workout plan I've been following, and if I followed it faithfully I'd see results a bit faster, lol.

[JSO85360]

It really all depends on what you want to do. I go to the gym at least 3-4 times a week, eat about six times a day, and have gone from a 40" waist to 36", and from about 245lb to 230lb, but alot more muscle mass. I started out with an hour of cardio, then about 45 minutes weight training. Now I do very little cardio, and about 1 1/2 to 2 hours of weights. At just 6'0", I feel 100% better, and when I go hands on, I very rarely have any resistance. I do chest & shoulders on Monday, Legs on Wednesday, and Arms and back on Thursday, with a mix on Friday. The cardio was actually prohibiting my muscle gains. I've brought my bench and squats up to unreal amounts for someone my age. At 53, I'm feeling better than I did at 35. My eating habits were the hardest part to change. Now, it's just natural for me to eat healthy. I take in about 3000 calories a day, and continue to get leaner and more muscular. My doctor has me on TRT, which has added the ability to really excel. Once you look good and feel good, your whole outlook on life will change, and you will want to stay focused. Best of luck to you, as you know you can succeed if you set your mind to it.

[pgg]

[Ducky]

If you went for two hours without food, you'd look like a walking skeleton. Fucker.

I vote that all of us that want to lose weight should somehow manage to give it to pgg.

[pgg]

If you went for two hours without food, you'd look like a walking skeleton. Fucker.

I vote that all of us that want to lose weight should somehow manage to give it to pgg.

If I went 2 hours without food I would starve to death

As for the other. I would burn it off pretty quickly. Of course to do that I would have to charge a fee for the service

[pharmer]

Good luck to you all! I lost about 40 lbs myself about 8 years or so ago now and have kept it off. (Ask Five-0) What is good for one, may not work for another, but I lost it with cutting WAY down on carbs (not hardcore Adkins, but close) and running and phasing in working out. Being biased, I would recommend going that route... hitting the weights pretty hard right off the bat can make it difficult to watch what you eat. I know for me, I'm starving when I get done.
As far as keeping it off, I've kept a regular workout and cardio schedule and made my eating a "lifestyle" change, NOT a diet!
Keep everybody updated on your progress, it helps with motivation. Five-0 started a thread "Daily Journal" a while back under what is now "The gymnasium"
I'm not a fitness expert and can only tell you what little I've picked up and what works for me, but feel free to hit me up with any questions
Again... GOOD LUCK!!!

[pharmer]

After shopping different brands, and rejecting most for being too high in calories, fat, cholesterol, sodium, or other reasons, I landed on GNC Total Lean - Lean Shake. 180 calories, cold water mix, convenient. Supposedly designed to support lean muscle mass, metabolism, and healthy cholesterol levels (vital for me, genetics sometimes suck.)

I would take a real good look on line at some sites... GNC is typically quite pricey comparatively. I don't have any affiliation with them, but I use supplementwarhouse.com I've looked around and they're about the best deal out there. My personal choice for shakes is Myoplex by EAS and they do have a Lite...

[Hannah87]

Like Jake said, I'm attending weight watchers. I started at the end of January and since then i've lost about 22 pounds. I find the meetings and routine and writing down what I eat to be an extremely good motivation. It was hard in the beginning but I've got the hang of it now. Also, the cool thing is you can eat whatever you want, in moderation. If you wanna consider this I suggest going to their website or you can ask me as well. Hope you find something that works girl!

[Local]

I lost a significant amount of weight several years ago on the Slim4Life (now Slimgenics) program. The key to my success was increased protein and veggies, decreased sodium and carbs. At the time, I lost all the weight without exercising. So the diet worked.

A few tips:

1) Don't go out to eat. Even salads at restaurants can be detrimentally unhealthy. You have much more control of your caloric intake when you make your own meals.
2) Make protein the largest part of every meal.
3) Eat veggies, and lots of them. If you are eating canned veggies, make sure you get the kind with no sodium. They taste disgusting, but you gotta do what you gotta do. If you insist on adding sodium, buy Morton's Light Salt.
4) Make cardiovascular exercises a big part of your workout regimen. Make sure that since you are working out, you are eating more than you otherwise would. Your body needs more energy.
5) Snacks: It's okay to have a snack once or twice a day, but I would recommend protein bars, instead of candy bars.
6) The most significant thing I learned from my weight loss program was this: Count your calories! There are online calculators that will allow you to input your age, height, weight and activity level, and be able to tell you how many calories you should be limiting yourself to in a day. Some foods may seem harmless, but contain an astronomical amount of calories. Make sure you are always aware of the nutritional value of the foods you intake. To this day, I count calories and ask myself "Is it worth it?" when grocery shopping.

It will be a frustrating journey, but so fulfilling when you reach your goal. Good luck to you!

[Five-0]

I stopped my workout journal, but I am now keeping that and my diet journal on my smartphone. You can use the app on your PC also. I have it set to lose about a lb a week and I'm not getting close to the calorie count either. Here is my page:

Sign In

Yesterday for example I still had 420 calories to spare and I made myself get that close:
Five0's food diary for 23 Jul 10

[Jenna]

3) Eat veggies, and lots of them. If you are eating canned veggies, make sure you get the kind with no sodium. They taste disgusting, but you gotta do what you gotta do.