Something's gotta give

Discussion in 'Survival of the Fittest' started by DarkLight, Aug 21, 2016.


  1. DarkLight

    DarkLight Live Long and Prosper - On Hiatus

    In preparation for the new job I went shoe and clothes shopping. I did not like what I saw in the fitting room mirror.

    Typically I dress in the closet as I don't need to check myself in the mirror. I'm in IT and the last job and this current one both allow me to wear jeans to work even in the corporate portion. Polo shirts or button down but jeans and nice shoes are fine...so I dress in the closet or in the bedroom.

    I know I've "let myself go" but straight out of the shower is one thing...dunlop is another and I got to actually see dunlop in the changing room and while it was depressing, it wasn't debilitating. It pissed me off.

    I'm 44 years old, 6' 6.5" (that .5 inch makes one hell of a difference on the BMI charts people!) and I weigh between 235 and 238. I'm not huge by any stretch but according to the BMI charts I am in fact overweight and according to my eyes and the mirror, I'm fat. I'm up to a 38" waist in pants (was a 32" when I got married 21 years ago) and something has got to change.

    In fact, depending on the BMI chart you use, the most I can weigh and not be "overweight" by medical standards is 218 lbs. Interestingly, according to those same charts, I would still be "normal" if I weighed 163 lbs (at 6' 6.5")...um, no.

    Moving on though, I need to do something and getting down to the sub 220 range is a start. No, weight is not everything. I would like to be much more lean muscle and far less fat. I want a 32-33 inch waist. I want to have to get new shirts for the upper chest. I would love to be able to hike a half marathon (that's the goal this year, 13.1 miles hiking in one day at the Whitewater Center) without the upper thighs chaffing, because I'm a lard ass, and I'm up to 7 miles in 2 hours so the mileage will happen even if I'm raw by the time I'm done (yes, I know about Gold Bond, that's not what this is about though and maybe I need to suffer because I'm fat).

    And so rather than resurrect my aborted attempt at Primal from 4 pages ago I figured I would throw up something new, especially since I'm starting over.

    It's going to be baby steps, and as far as food goes it's going to be me picking and choosing what I eat from the meals that are being prepared since we don't have the budget to shop twice and cook two sets of meals. The wife is on board to the point that I will be cooking on the weekends and the weekend meal budget is mine so it's going to be veggie and meat heavy (NO grains and very few starches) and she's okay with me not eating the rice that has been a staple of 3+ meals a week. I will say that I will miss Jasmine rice. That may have to be cold turkey.

    What have I already started doing?
    • At work, I take the stairs. Yes, the building is only three stories but I take the stairs instead of the elevator. The old job couldn't/wouldn't allow it and I won't get into the reasons (and yes, I wanted to go up 20 flights in the morning and at lunch but they refused).
    • I hike several miles on the weekends.
    • I drink much less alcohol. I don't drink that much to begin with but I do like a good wheat beer or hard cider (occasionally a mixed drink...rye vodka is my hard liquor of choice) but it's empty calories. I don't have more than one drink a night and usually no more than 3 nights a week but that's down to 1 in the last week.
    • Cut out the "crap" cereal I was having for breakfast. The only thing "special" about Special K is the price. I've switched to Oikos Greek Yogurt, the black label "for men" (still not fantastic but better) with granola mixed in. That's changing this week as well. Dropping the granola.
    • Drinking a LOT more water and NO soda any more, not even diet.
    • No more grain snacks. I love popcorn, so this has been hard, but it's gone for the time being. I'll also eat an entire bag of "Pirate's Booty" puffed whatever or Quaker Popped if given half a chance. No more.
    • Today I've had two salads with bacon bits, a little cheese (Parmesan) w/olive oil and red wine vinegar, garlic salt and pepper. No "bottled" dressing".
    More exercise. Less sitting around. More water. More protein and fat (good fat), like primal/paleo in general. Lower % of carbs in the diet.

    I'll try to keep updated every couple of days or at least once a week with how I'm doing. It's going to be slow but I have to change because while I'm happy about a number of things in my life (new job, big plus, very happy with the change), I'm not happy about this part and it really should be something I have control over.

    I can't promise that there will be meal updates or menus or anything but the plan tomorrow will be:
    Breakfast:
    Hard Boiled Eggs (2) w/salt & pepper
    Yogurt

    Lunch:
    Dunno, meeting a friend at...a brewery...sheesh

    Dinner:
    Chicken (not sure what kind, there will be seasoning, won't be breading)
    Salad
     
    Gator 45/70, 3M-TA3, Bandit99 and 7 others like this.
  2. Witch Doctor 01

    Witch Doctor 01 Mojo Maker

    Be careful removing all grains/carbs rom you diet... apparently they help you keep the body hydrated... (this from my nutritionist at cardiac rehab)...
     
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2016
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  3. DarkLight

    DarkLight Live Long and Prosper - On Hiatus

    @Witch Doctor 01 - Thank you. Realistically I won't be dropping all grains. They will be minimized though. Good point and well taken.
     
  4. TXKajun

    TXKajun Monkey+++

    Definitely drink lots more water and cut out sodas, including diet sodas. Next is keep the faith.....in God and yourself, to be able to be all He wants you to be. One simple thing....every night, just before going to bed, get down on the floor and do as many push-ups and crunches as you can. Don't try to kill yourself, just as many as you comfortably can. In the morning, before you get out of bed, crunches again...and hold the last one for a count of however many total crunches you did. Then, out of bed, push-ups again and go about your day. This will take 6-8 weeks before you notice any difference, but that's going to be true of whatever you do and this is soooo easy. Watch what you eat.

    Good luck and keep us informed.

    Kajun
     
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  5. Oltymer

    Oltymer Monkey++

    I'm 6'1" and lost 50 lbs. in 2012, went from 220 to 170 in a 12 month period, aimed at 1 lb. loss per week. 4 years later and I'm 180, and can drop 10 in a couple of months if I want. I'm the same size I was when I graduated High School in 1972, and wearing 32 jeans again.

    Basically, I ate oatmeal with cayenne pepperfor breakfast, all I wanted till full, drank lots of water during the day, lunch was packed and stayed basically the same, then I cut back a little on supper, nighttime snacks were carrots, as many as I wanted. I alternated 10 miles on a bicycle 3x a week with walking 3 miles 3x a week, both took about an hour a day to complete.

    Good luck with your effort! Give it a few weeks to really kick in, and don't be discouraged if you initially gain weight as it will soon burn off and take it's brethren with it.
     
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2016
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  6. Ganado

    Ganado Monkey+++

    [winkthumb][clp] rooting for ya!
     
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  7. Cruisin Sloth

    Cruisin Sloth Special & Slow

    DO a change as YOU have , & move slowly , if the stairs are a pain now , in 3 months it's a challenge plus on speed .

    REMEMBER ONE THING , AND LEARN .: Things Take Time ! TTT
    Your on a better track than I .
     
    Last edited: Aug 22, 2016
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  8. Motomom34

    Motomom34 Monkey+++

    Good Luck @DarkLight you are on the right path. Just by cutting out soda and cutting back on alcohol you are reducing a lot of calories. I like your realistic approach.
     
  9. Dont

    Dont Just another old gray Jarhead Monkey

    Cheering you on @DarkLight ! May I recommend small protein centred meals and more frequent, about every three hours..
    Along with a good workout habit..
     
    DarkLight likes this.
  10. DarkLight

    DarkLight Live Long and Prosper - On Hiatus

    Okay, so earlier this week (Sunday/Monday) I was down to 229.8 (yes, I'm watching those decimals...every little bit matters here folks).

    By Monday I was back to 231.6 but Thursday/Friday was at 231.4. Things are moving and I think it's going to be consistent.

    Little history. Back when we were shopping for the new job, I was lamenting my lack of cargo shorts (I really like cargo shorts...don't know why, just do), so we bought a couple of pairs. I deliberately chose 36" waist. They weren't really snug or anything and the 38" waist pants I have a just a little large so I was confident, after looking in the mirror earlier, that I could get down that low.

    Today, I put on one of the pairs of cargo shorts and realized "Hey, I really need to wear a belt with these". So I put on the appropriate colored belt (grey shorts, black belt) and lo and behold...I'm on the last hole on the belt. I am truly down to a 36" waist. My "pooch" or daddy belly (or beer belly...fine!) is still there, but my waist is to the point that the shorts (and my jeans) will darned near drop off over the hips now without a belt...that can't go any tighter!

    I haven't been a 36" waist in almost 5 years. Again, I don't like the belly but my pants don't ride at my belly, they ride at the waist and this is huge for me.

    I'm deliberately not weighing myself until Tuesday morning (and if I continue to eat, or not eat, like I did today, that should get me pretty comfortably under 230). If that's the case then I'll be down, let's call it 5lbs since I started almost a month ago.

    ***Heads up, I had a VERY stiff drink (the first in several months and the first alcohol in 3 weeks with the exception of one beer), so if I misspelled anything I apologize***
     
    Last edited: Sep 5, 2016
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  11. Dunerunner

    Dunerunner Brewery Monkey Moderator

    Hang in there and periodic shifts in weight are probably water related. Don't forget to get enough protein, and walking, biking and calisthenics (especially push ups), are great exercise.

    I'm with you brother!! [winkthumb]
     
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  12. Gator 45/70

    Gator 45/70 Monkey+++

    Walk
    Work up to 5 miles a day, Walk fast.
    Cut the sodas and fried foods,Including Tatar tots!
    Drink coffee when you walk in the morning!
     
  13. Ganado

    Ganado Monkey+++

    Being female and living in the desert I can fluctuate 5-7 lbs in a day from water difference. Your measurements are more indicative of change than the darn scales.

    So don't worry about scales. my ex husband was a very normal size guy 5' 9' no belly. He use to amaze me eating huge meals one week and the next week not being hungry for a few days. His weight barely fluctuated 10 lbs. Everyone is different so you have to go with what you know works for you

    You are doing awesome! gratz!
     
  14. Motomom34

    Motomom34 Monkey+++

    @DarkLight Congrats on your progress, sounds like you will have to go belt shopping soon. [touchdown]
     
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  15. DarkLight

    DarkLight Live Long and Prosper - On Hiatus

    @Motomom34 mentioned in @3M-TA3's thread about feeling lethargic after eating high grain carbs (I'm learning the difference between grain carbs and veggie carbs). Anywho, a week or so ago I was stuck with a few meals that were heavy on the grain carbs for both dinner and leftovers for lunch. I found a couple of things:
    • Lethargy - I was dragging and got cold in the office and needed to walk around a lot to wake up. I felt heavy in the gut as well.
    • HUNGRY - I was much hungrier in general and hungrier sooner. I was looking for some sort of snack it seemed like all day long (I gotta say, those sour patch kids were looking so yummy!).
    For the last several days I have had very minimal grain carbs. In fact, the sum total came from the panko breading on the chicken nuggets I made for dinner last night and lunch today (leftovers). I had starch too in the form of a few mini tater tots. Yes, I know those were horrible for me regardless of what my diet is. Point being, I'm really not hungry and I've had, so far today:
    • 2 large hard boiled eggs for breakfast
    • 6 nuggets and some tater tots for lunch
    • 6 yellow squash "sticks" - about the equivalent of 1/2 of a yellow squash
    • 1 small apple &
    • 3 slices of cheese with 6 slices of ham (thin, Hillshire Farm sammich ham)
    • Water
    That's it, and I'm not really hungry right now. Now, don't get me wrong, a lot of things sound good, or at least desirable but I'm not sitting here thinking I need to eat RIGHT NOW!

    I think the grain carbs just go right through you and make you want to eat again sooner.

    Salad - Sticks with me
    Veggies - Stick with me
    Meat - Sticks with me
    Fruit (in moderation) sticks with me, more than a little and I find myself in the same hunger place
    Nuts (in moderation) stick with me

    The rest (below), I'm hungry again in an hour, regardless of how much I eat.
    Microwave Popcorn - I could eat multiple bags
    Puffed corn whatever - I could eat an entire family size bag
    Corn chips - Ditto
    Heck, even Ramen doesn't keep me filled up

    Just my observation over the last couple of weeks. It hasn't been easy but it's getting easier. I love cinnamon bears (big gummy bears that taste like red hots). But I know that they won't stick with me and at this point, I'm not sure that they would taste all that good. Ditto the rest of the "crap".
     
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  16. DarkLight

    DarkLight Live Long and Prosper - On Hiatus

    The last two mornings I have been at 227. Just need to keep on keeping on.

    Yesterday I did a 4 mile hike in just over an hour. Nothing today so far but will probably go for a good walk tonight, may start working out at work (on site "fitness" room).
     
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  17. 3M-TA3

    3M-TA3 Cold Wet Monkey

    I'll agree with that. Grain carbs are so concentrated compared to fruit that they aren't in the same league. Also, fruit is full of nice dietary fiber. This weekend was my once a month "free weekend". I was feeling so good and not having any cravings I needed to put to bed so I decided to skip it, but my wife had already gotten some special foods, so I played along. The ice cream gave me a headache, then the next morning we had pancakes. Immediate sluggishness on a day that needed more from me so I had to fight it all day long. Not only did it make me sluggish but the other effects a day later were not appreciated. Not worth it and not again unless due to survival.
     
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  18. DarkLight

    DarkLight Live Long and Prosper - On Hiatus

    I made the kids Pancakes for dinner and my son wasn't going to let me not eat. I had to finally tell him that no, I really, seriously don't want any. I made them for you and I'll have something else.

    I am noticing that I just don't feel the same the next day when I eat a lot of the grains so I'm going to back burner them as much as possible. My wife still isn't 100% on board with the no grains. She's still convinced that there are "good" grains, and yes, some are less bad but I'm noticing that I don't like any. Not brown rice, not quinoa, not oats. The "whole grain" bread gives me a headache just thinking about it.

    To keep peace I partake a little bit but mostly no. Pizza crust is the one exception (monday nights) but that's going to have to be a once a week thing max or go away completely.
     
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  19. DarkLight

    DarkLight Live Long and Prosper - On Hiatus

    Pants fitting a little looser and I've been consistently under 227 for several days. (y)
     
  20. Motomom34

    Motomom34 Monkey+++

    Good for you @DarkLight. 227 is just a number but the pants getting looser is a great sign. Muscle weighs more then fat correct? I have seen some women freak out because they focus only on the number and not how their clothes are feeling.

    [clp]
     
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