Let's lose a tractor!

[Uncle Doug]

I am a long time lurker but a new poster. I just found this thread today.

It seems I gained 10 pounds a year every years since I got out of high school. I have been over 300 pounds for well over 20 years. My peak weight was 345 last summer. I am 52 and over the years the weight starts to wear on you. I have had 4 hernia surgeries over the past 2 years. My doctor says the only way to keep them form happening was to loose weight. I lost 20 pounds since the summer but had another hernia surgery (#4) in November. So I have been off work since before Thanksgiving and due to the number of them my employer agreed to let me take 3 months this time to heal. The first time they gave me 7 days.

I did manage not to put on any more weight during the holidays but was getting no where fast. Not wanting to go the surgery weight loss method I was refered to a local weight loss doctor. After all the blood work and everything, I am a somewhat healthy but overweight male. My BMI was over 40.

My weight Jan 5 was 325 the first day of the very strict diet. Only 6 units of protien a day. In the first week I lost 13 pounds. and have lost a few more since then. My BMI had dropped below 40 after the first week.

My goal is to be at or below 250, that would be a 75 pound weight loss from the first of the year. 225 would be better but I don't want any unrealistic goals. My current goal is to be below 300 which I have not seen in 20 years.

Good luck to all, even with visits to the wight loss doctor twice a week it is not an easy task.

 

[Nissan197]

So far I have lost five pounds. I have been jogging for 30 minutes 3 -4 days a week. Sort have been watching what I have been eating. The Girl Scout cookies arrived a couple of days ago and I am trying to eat them as quick as possible to get rid of them

 

[Iplayfarmer]

My goal is to be at or below 250, that would be a 75 pound weight loss from the first of the year. 225 would be better but I don't want any unrealistic goals. My current goal is to be below 300 which I have not seen in 20 years.

Good luck to all, even with visits to the wight loss doctor twice a week it is not an easy task.

It's good to have you on board! I'll put you down for 75 pounds, but be sure to post when you go below 300 so that we can all celebrate the first step with you.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Weigh in time again!

I hate to admit it, but I haven't changed at all from last week. I guess I need to get out of bed in the morning and exercise to get to my goal.

I look forward to seeing some progress from others in this thread. Any newcomers feel free to join in too.

 

[George2615]

Weighed in at 228 today. Down another 2 lb.

 

[Uncle Doug]

I went to my midweek doctors apt and am down another 3 1/2 pounds. every little bit helps. That put me down 16 1/2 pounds since Jan 5.

You don't realize how much revolves around eating or snacking. Even at church we usally have a half hour of mix and mingle that include dougnuts. I will need to learn to avoid them.

 

[WBWI]

No change since I joined in last week - still at 203#

 

[milkman]

The last couple of times I've weighed, I've been stuck at 240, that makes 8.6 lost so far, rebounded 1 from my lowest. I have got to do better with the eating late.

 

[dooleysm]

Me and 5 other buddies started a weight loss competition on 12/17. We decided to make it cooperative, so as a group we're shooting for 100 pounds by 4/4. We're each kicking in $40 and if we meet our goal by 4/4 the guy that lost the highest percentage gets to pick what to do with the money. If we don't make it we're giving the money to another guy that stopped hanging around with us as much to go back to school. We haven't and don't plan to tell him about that part. We're just going to mail him a check out of the blue if we don't succeed.

Anyway, I started at 239 on 12/17. I'm down to 229 as of this morning. My goal is 220 by 4/4. I'm 6'4" and was at 265 when I graduated college back in 2000. By mid-2003 I was down to 208 as my all time low. I was playing basketball 4-5 days a week for an hour at lunch, lifting weights 4 days a week for about 2 hours after work, and playing in 2 basketball leagues at night. I occassionally jogged other evenings. That was the best shape I've ever been in. Since then I've gotten married and had 2 (with another on the way) kids. Most of my free time that was spent working out has turned into family time. Good for the soul, but bad for the waistline.

 

[jinman]

Uncle Doug, welcome aboard. You have the ability to be an inspiration to the whole group. Those of us who have gained and lost weight all of our lives know just how hard it is to get started on a diet. I use each day's successes as motivation for the next day. I tell myself each day that I've gone too far to mess it all up. Somehow, that gives me a little extra edge.

As I mentioned, I've been up and down all my life. At 15, I weighed 245. I decided that I did not want to go to high school at that weight. On a bet from a cousin, I went on a diet and started my 10th grade year down at 190. Before I graduated, I was down to 180 and holding steady.

After I got married, I maintained my weight until I joined the U.S. Navy. The first two years of my Navy career, I did nothing but go to specialized technical schools. Sitting in class was just too much for me. The boredom led me to pick up eating and smoking. When I graduated and went aboard ship, I was back up to 215.

I again took my weight on and dieted down to the lowest I can remember in my adult life, 158 pounds. Boy, was I skinny. I really worked hard at keeping my weight down and was able to maintain my weight between 165 and 175 until I retired from the Navy. Even when I was going through my divorce, I didn't really have a problem with my weight.

Since I retired, I've had a couple of times I let my weight slip up, but nothing quite as high as now that I am again remarried. My wife is a great cook and we also enjoy going out to a restaurant a couple of times per week. My weight has slowly crept up over the 3+ years we have been married.

The advantage I have is that I have a history of losing weight and know that I can do it. I know how I have to severly limit my diet and I also know how good I feel when the weight comes off. My diet is working and I know I'll be successful. You can do it too.

This week's weigh-in is not so dramatic as last weeks. I've only lost 4 more pounds, but I've broken the 250 lb barrier. Today, I weigh 249. I've not slipped up once on my diet. Fruit for breakfast and a small snack in the afternoon only if needed to make it to dinner. For dinner, I can tell you that there are hundreds of ways to fix stewed tomatoes, spinach, beans, sauerkraut, broccoli and rice, mixed vegetables, and salads. I have not had one bite of bread nor one teaspoon of sugar in two weeks.

Even as hard as it is to lose weight, I still think the hardest thing I ever did was to quit smoking. In my usual hard-headed fashion, I just put down the pack and quit cold turkey. The next month was pure agony, but my resolve won out. This January 8th was my 11-year anniversary of quitting. I consider this diet a walk in the park compared to that.