Weight loss and perseverance

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I guess common sense ain't all that common anymore.
Yep. No wonder fad diets and instant weight loss supplements still find followers willing to spend their money on them.

Of course, it isn’t new...it has been like that since the mid 70s with Pritikin, Atkin, grapefruit, South Beach, Keto and a dozen other diet plans...all of which only achieve results by changing energy balance despite what they claim otherwise.

The equation remains simple, just like it always has.

People just seem to be drawn to magical claims...and choose to ignore basic science along the way.
 
Well, 10 days into the month and I have lost another lb. My weight now is 252 lbs. Trying to hit 250 by the end of the month...but my real goal is to be under 250 by Christmas. 249 lbs. or less is where I want to be by Christmas Day.

The next goal is to get to 245 lbs by Feb 1 so I can post here that one year after I started this thread that I have lost 70 lbs since I started my weight loss program. It’s a stretch goal, not sure I can get all the way there...but I intend to get close! :)
 
Ugh! I woke up today with a sinus bug starting.

I immediately suspended the caloric reduction and went back to equal calorie intake vs. burn.

This is an important part of my weight loss plan, never let your body be deprived of the nutrition and the nutrients it needs.

Going back to even for a while to give my body what it needs to fight the bug is the only smart thing to do. It just delays the continued weight loss for a short time while my body fights the bug with all the ammunition it needs.

I learned the hard way a long time ago not to try to push restricted caloric intake while sick. It just results in a more aggressive infection that is harder to fight. I once tried 35 years ago to power through and ended up in the hospital for a week. It was a bad choice, and I was a lot younger then.

Battling a bug is kinda like war, never let the front lines fall short of the supplies they require to win the fight.

Hopefully, in a few days I will be back on track.
 
Get well soon!
Thanks, I haven’t been really sick with a bug in more than 2 years. This one caught me by surprise and I’m still not sure it’s going to try to turn into much of anything more...but I’m not taking any chances.

At the moment, I feel like crap...hopefully tomorrow will be better.
 
Thanks, I haven’t been really sick with a bug in more than 2 years. This one caught me by surprise and I’m still not sure it’s going to try to turn into much of anything more...but I’m not taking any chances.

At the moment, I feel like crap...hopefully tomorrow will be better.
Hopefully ,hang in there.
 
Well, I’m 5 days into having this sinus bug and while it hasn’t gotten much worse...it hasn’t gotten better either. I’m holding my caloric balance at even and my weight hasn’t changed.

Maybe in a few days I will be past it and can get back on track. I’m ok with the delay, it’s just a blip on the path to my ultimate goal.

I can tell you that eating to maintain caloric balance has left me feeling stuffed...and that a good thing!
 
It seems now that I am over my sinus bug and can get back on track. Somehow, I still lost another half pound even while I was eating more to try to maintain caloric balance while sick.

I guess my body was using more energy to fight the bug than I thought.

That’s OK, I’m better now and losing a little bit of weight along the way is just fine with me!
 
As of today, I’m down 64 lbs from where I started.

64 lbs is like having this strapped to me 24/7. Seems almost hard to believe now that I have lost it.

815D6160-544C-4133-977C-F5CEB0C8BE8E.jpeg
 
The stunning (and somewhat sobering) thing is that I still have that same amount yet to lose to reach my goal.

Sometimes I wonder how I allowed myself to get to where I was...but other times I know I have to ignore that and get about accomplishing my goal.

Water under the bridge can’t be reclaimed...but I sure as hell can reverse what it caused.

Perhaps the journey is really the most important part of life after all.
 
The cool thing is, you're losing it slow enough to be permanent, yet MUCH faster than you put it on.
 
The cool thing is, you're losing it slow enough to be permanent, yet MUCH faster than you put it on.
Thanks, I created this plan and I will see it through. It’s a lot easier to see the goal now that I’m half way there and the changes I feel in my body and spirit have increased my drive to get there exponentially.

Perseverance and staying on plan pays off. There is no doubt in my mind anymore that I can get to where I want to be.

It’s just a matter of time and patience. :)
 
Yep. No wonder fad diets and instant weight loss supplements still find followers willing to spend their money on them.

Of course, it isn’t new...it has been like that since the mid 70s with Pritikin, Atkin, grapefruit, South Beach, Keto and a dozen other diet plans...all of which only achieve results by changing energy balance despite what they claim otherwise.

The equation remains simple, just like it always has.

People just seem to be drawn to magical claims...and choose to ignore basic science along the way.
Great job on the weight loss!

Not all of these diets that you have listed are NOT science based NOR ineffective. To throw them altogether as magical is misleading, incorrect, and ignorant.

Although I will admit KETOSIS/ATKINS really is a slooow way to kill your self, I have seen sailors combine that diet with exercise and lose 64 pounds in a three month deployment. Meat and vegetables, no bread, no sugar, nearly two gallons of water a day, 3000-5000 calories burned on stationary bike/elliptical/treadmill (we were on a submarine, deployed) his friend lost 50, I lost 26 pounds.
You have to be monitored by a doctor, but scientifically proven to burn your own body fat.
This is one of the most effective diets for females in their late fifties or older. It has also been known to moderate the symptoms of children with refractory epilepsy. For obese or significantly overweight people ketosis has been found safe in several studies.


Vitamins and lots of water required, and there is a transition day or three where you feel like you have the flu. During that transition the individual feels fatigue. There are drawbacks like the individual must exercise to fend off muscle loss, quantity of fats in that are increased in the arteries, and this diet is hard on the kidneys and liver.

Ketosis is designed for for significant, initial weight loss, and is considered short term.
This information comes from YEARS of SCIENTIFIC study-not magic nor fad.

Even dieting and keto do not work effectively on a few type of people whose ancestors survived in harsh climates (?Pima Indians of New Mexico/Arizona, indigenous people of northern Russia {Siberia}) where fat deposits saved people through years of famine. Those people’s metabolisms genetically changed significantly from the general population.
 
I have seen sailors combine that diet with exercise and lose 64 pounds in a three month deployment. Meat and vegetables, no bread, no sugar, nearly two gallons of water a day, 3000-5000 calories burned on stationary bike/elliptical/treadmill (we were on a submarine, deployed) his friend lost 50, I lost 26 pounds.

If they were burning 3,000-5,000 calories per day exercising, I'm pretty sure it wasn't the diet that made them lose weight. Calories in < calories burned = weight loss. The equation holds true no matter what the calories are from.
 
If they were burning 3,000-5,000 calories per day exercising, I'm pretty sure it wasn't the diet that made them lose weight. Calories in < calories burned = weight loss. The equation holds true no matter what the calories are from.
I honestly don’t remember the number (64 pound loss guy’s name was Michael Carroll-he was the only one of us that could push him self that hard; the 50-54 pound guy’s name was James something-he probably Road the stationary bicycle twice a week)
Of calories to one pound of fat-3500?
Here:”a pound of body fat may contain anywhere from 3,436 to 3,752 calories. However, it is a myth that just eating 500 fewer calories per day (3,500 per week) causes weight loss of one pound.”
-from How Many Calories Are in a Pound of Body Fat?

Now you can convince yourself that the weight loss was all due to exercise but we (all 3) exercised the same amount each deployment with less than half the weight loss results from exercise.
Those two typically lost about 20 pounds a deployment and after aging I was down to losing 12-16 pounds a deployment.
If you really care @mopowers you have to consider that everything they fed us underwater was coated in oil (all vegetables) or laced with sugar, and overloaded with preservatives. Lettuce stopped 2 weeks after we left the pier.
We substituted with peanuts, almonds and I taught the other two just to scrape the tops off of the pizza on Saturday midnight rations (no dough).

They have a sugar free candy and it is a dangerous poison. Here are some reviews from the internet because too many caused immediate diarrhea.:
“What came out of me felt like someone tried to funnel Niagara Falls through a coffee straw. I swear my sphincters were screaming. It felt like my delicate starfish was a gaping maw projectile vomiting a torrential flood of toxic waste. 100% liquid. Flammable liquid. NAPALM."

“Be sure to also buy a tub of Oxyclean with this to get the blood and diarrhea stains out of your underwear, clothes, furniture, pets, loved ones, ceiling fans."

“I saw the product reviews and told some coworkers, so we bought a bag {OF HARIBO GUMMY BEARS} (because who doesn't want to spend the workday on the toilet AND get paid, right??). Brought them in yesterday morning and a bunch of the guys immediately downed a handful each. Within half an hour they were in the bathroom. Best moment of the day was when one of them (who had been in the bathroom for half an hour by that point) texted one of the others. 'If you think it's a fart....it's NOT.' hahhaaaaaa"

“The cramping started about an hour later, and soon enough I was as bloated as a balloon in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. When the rumbling started I sprinted down the hallway and made it to the bathroom just in time for the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to stampede from my backside, laying waste to my home's septic system AND my will to live. After three hours of a pelvis-shaking Gummy Bear assault, I was spongy and weak, surprised that I had any bones left. I cursed Haribo with the little strength I could muster."
 
Great job on the weight loss!

Not all of these diets that you have listed are NOT science based NOR ineffective. To throw them altogether as magical is misleading, incorrect, and ignorant.

Although I will admit KETOSIS/ATKINS really is a slooow way to kill your self, I have seen sailors combine that diet with exercise and lose 64 pounds in a three month deployment. Meat and vegetables, no bread, no sugar, nearly two gallons of water a day, 3000-5000 calories burned on stationary bike/elliptical/treadmill (we were on a submarine, deployed) his friend lost 50, I lost 26 pounds.
You have to be monitored by a doctor, but scientifically proven to burn your own body fat.
This is one of the most effective diets for females in their late fifties or older. It has also been known to moderate the symptoms of children with refractory epilepsy. For obese or significantly overweight people ketosis has been found safe in several studies.


Vitamins and lots of water required, and there is a transition day or three where you feel like you have the flu. During that transition the individual feels fatigue. There are drawbacks like the individual must exercise to fend off muscle loss, quantity of fats in that are increased in the arteries, and this diet is hard on the kidneys and liver.

Ketosis is designed for for significant, initial weight loss, and is considered short term.
This information comes from YEARS of SCIENTIFIC study-not magic nor fad.

Even dieting and keto do not work effectively on a few type of people whose ancestors survived in harsh climates (?Pima Indians of New Mexico/Arizona, indigenous people of northern Russia {Siberia}) where fat deposits saved people through years of famine. Those people’s metabolisms genetically changed significantly from the general population.
I am a Pharmaceutical Development Scientist currently working with 2 registered licensed Ph.D Dieticians and a registered licensed Ph.D. nutritionist. I fully understand the science of what the Keto diet was originally developed to do back in 1921 and what it has been used for in controlled science since. No ignorance here.

Today, the Keto diet is being touted as a modern miracle and is being used as a fad diet with magical claims around it. That makes it like all the other fad diets that gained popularity over the decades and were all eventually found to be unsustainable...and really only worked by simple energy balance over the long term.

Like I said in that post, people generally want to believe in magic and quick fixes...but choose to ignore the basic science.

Long term success can only be achieved by controlling energy balance. Calories consumed and calories burned. If one is more that the other, the mass balance moves to that side of the equation.

It is that simple.
 
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I am a Pharmaceutical Development Scientist currently working with 2 registered licensed Ph.D Dieticians and a registered licensed Ph.D. nutritionist. I fully understand the science of what the Keto diet was originally developed to do back in 1921 and what it has been used for in controlled science since. No ignorance here.

Today, the Keto diet is being touted as a modern miracle and is being used as a fad diet with magical claims around it. That makes it like all the other fad diets that gained popularity over the decades and were all eventually found to be unsustainable...and really only worked by simple energy balance over the long term.

Like I said in that post, people generally want to believe in magic and quick fixes...but choose ignore the basic science.

Long term success can only be achieved by controlling energy balance. Calories consumed and calories burned. If one is more that the other, the mass balance moves to that side of the equation.
Like I said, and the science says it is not sustainable- are we arguing in circles?
If it is effective, and it is, why construe that as a fad? ‘Temporary weight loss for Obese people.’
 
Like I said, and the science says it is not sustainable- are we arguing in circles?
If it is effective, and it is, why construe that as a fad? ‘Temporary weight loss for Obese people.’
How it is currently being used by the general public and touted as being able to deliver is the fad...the science of what it is effective for short term weight loss remains.

The problem is (like always) when people latch onto it as magic that will somehow achieve quick results that will sustain their long term goals. That is what defines a “Fad Diet”.
 
First day of December and I am solidly under 251 lbs. I will call it at 251 lbs with my sights on Christmas and finally weighing in the 240s for the first time in 24 years. Goal is 248, but anything under 250 is a big victory as far as I am concerned.

I have also lost another 2” off my waist and 1” off my thighs since September. My waist is now 42” and 14” less than when I started.

Once I am under 250 lbs, I will begin a daily full-body stretching routine that I have been working on. Once below 240 lbs, the weight training begins in addition to the stretching. I want to get my High School Football body back.

I fully intend to look something like this when I get to 185 lbs...and I am completely serious about it.

C8B270BE-5029-4DC0-96C2-32DEA799A07E.jpeg
 
First day of December and I am solidly under 251 lbs. I will call it at 251 lbs with my sights on Christmas and finally weighing in the 240s for the first time in 24 years. Goal is 248, but anything under 250 is a big victory as far as I am concerned.

I have also lost another 2” off my waist and 1” off my thighs since September. My waist is now 42” and 14” less than when I started.

Once I am under 250 lbs, I will begin a daily full-body stretching routine that I have been working on. Once below 240 lbs, the weight training begins in addition to the stretching. I want to get my High School Football body back.

I fully intend to look something like this when I get to 185 lbs...and I am completely serious about it.

View attachment 1715431538
Go Charles Atlas!
 
Go Charles Atlas!
Yessir! I am using him as my model of what I want to look like. I am also using some of his dynamic tension exercises as a part of my fitness program just like I did when I was playing football back in high school. They really do work well.
 
Here is something I hadn’t really thought about until today when I found an picture of my hand from when I was given my father’s wedding ring 3 years ago before I started this weight loss plan.

I took an identical photo of my hand today after nearly 65 lbs of weight loss and was surprised at how much it showed the difference in my hand. You can see how tight the ring is in the first pic and how loose it is in the second. It seems I have been shrinking all over!

BB4C479F-75F2-49A1-ABEE-448AD7A99E3A.jpeg
 
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