-- Let's talk about counting calories & routine

[Simply Red]

Hi Guys,

I'm up to a 36 waist - thanks to Del Taco and a few others. As well as eating pretty poorly over the last year, or so.

I'm on a strict regimen now and doing a three week diet and then merging it into a new way of life. I have a history of eating well (normally) - but, again; have been quite clumsy over the past year or so.

My plan is to limit myself to 1100 calories a day the first week, then up to 1200 the second week, and then stay on or around 1500 calories as the norm, with one cheat day per week.

After the third week - I'll get back into some sort of exercise, which too will be part of the new 'way of life'

In this thread I'd like to discuss food ideas for assisting myself (& others) with weight loss.

Since Monday I've not gone above 1100 calories/daily - I have eaten oatmeal, oranges, bananas, hard-boiled eggs and in closing, in the evening - I'll eat one of the Chick Fil A Spicy, grilled chicken wraps w/o dressing (350 cals)

I'm open to ideas - but the goal is - finding items that are a little less common and more creative.

Please assist at your leisure - anyone else need assistance or interested in jumping aboard, I welcome it.

Thanks again

[Simply Red]

I'm 6 1

[wazu]

Originally Posted by Simply Red

I'm holding at 226.2 - I have no idea why I'm not losing - it'll be two weeks on Monday since I've eclipsed 1,300 calories - most days have been sub 1,200 - I guess it's being over 40 in age?

This has really bummed me out. I may as well eat other things at this point.

Ughh - I guess I'll start my fitness on Saturday and ****ing do it everyday - I was wanting to wait one more week. I should have lost more weight than one ****ing pound.

It’s a grind after 40, man. Keep the faith and make it more about process and habits than results. Don’t give up!

[Renegade]

Originally Posted by Simply Red

I'm holding at 226.2 - I have no idea why I'm not losing - it'll be two weeks on Monday since I've eclipsed 1,300 calories - most days have been sub 1,200 - I guess it's being over 40 in age?

This has really bummed me out. I may as well eat other things at this point.

Ughh - I guess I'll start my fitness on Saturday and ****ing do it everyday - I was wanting to wait one more week. I should have lost more weight than one ****ing pound.

This happens a lot to me. Don't get discouraged and stay the course. Weight loss for me is a marathon not a sprint. I usually lose 4-8 pounds the first couple of weeks. Once my body gets used to the diet, I may go weeks either not losing or maybe losing a pound, or even worse put some back on. One week the metabolism will kick in, then I start losing again. Ebbs and flow of weight. Look at where you come from, and how much better you feel already.

[Simply Red]

Thanks guys. Not giving up.

[Frosty]

It was a bit of a struggle to get to the 2500 target today. I only ended up with 2080 calories today and I am still pretty full from dinner. I've had a lot of energy today too, which has been a nice change. Even took Dog for a walk after work today.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by wazu

It’s a grind after 40, man. Keep the faith and make it more about process and habits than results. Don’t give up!

I’m past 50. It’s a lot harder and you have to work at it harder than when your 25 but it’s doable. And l agree, it’s the habits that kept me on track, so far.

[AssEaterChief]

Originally Posted by wazu

It’s a grind after 40, man. Keep the faith and make it more about process and habits than results. Don’t give up!

I keep hearing this....I am 37 and maybe it is just different for me?

I have people in their early 30's at basketball saying the same thing all the time "oh man once you hit 30 it is downhill..."

I feel as good as I did when I was in my 20's

As good as I have ever felt in fact. I don't believe it will magically change by some arbitrary number..

[Frosty]

218.8 lbs this morning. It's a 500 cal down day today. I have a few calories leftover from yesterday if I need them but I am hoping not to and just using that as a bonus deficit.

[scho63]

This thread is very similar to the long running Health and Fitness thread.

I saw someone post a while back say that you can gain weight if you take in LESS calories that you BURN if the food is bad.

THIS IS 100% FACTUALLY WRONG!

If you burn more calories than you ingest, you WILL LOSE weight 100% of the time.

You can develop high cholesterol or high blood pressure if you eat all fried foods with high sodium for your calories. Also low vital vitamin levels if you neglect fruit and vegetables or too much water/caffeine that flushes out important minerals.

I've lose 75 pounds so far in the last 12 1/2 months from burning more calories than I ingest, exercising appropriately and controlling how much alcohol I drink and bad food I eat. I'm about to go under 200 pounds for the first time in 18 years. I now take NO MEDICATIONS! No blood pressure meds, no cholesterol pills and no Protonix antacid pill for GERD as my heartburn is gone.

There is no magic pill, hidden diet or other special thing you can do.

It is really simple! 99.9% of the time it boils down to one thing: Sacrifice with commitment.

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by scho63

This thread is very similar to the long running Health and Fitness thread.

I like this thread because it's specifically about counting calories and isn't full of ketards or other bullshit diet advice. I'm not saying the Health and Fitness thread is as I haven't read it but most diet threads tend to devolve into woo woo bullshit like you mentioned.

[KCrockaholic]

Originally Posted by scho63

This thread is very similar to the long running Health and Fitness thread.

I saw someone post a while back say that you can gain weight if you take in LESS calories that you BURN if the food is bad.

THIS IS 100% FACTUALLY WRONG!

If you burn more calories than you ingest, you WILL LOSE weight 100% of the time.

You can develop high cholesterol or high blood pressure if you eat all fried foods with high sodium for your calories. Also low vital vitamin levels if you neglect fruit and vegetables or too much water/caffeine that flushes out important minerals.

I've lose 75 pounds so far in the last 12 1/2 months from burning more calories than I ingest, exercising appropriately and controlling how much alcohol I drink and bad food I eat. I'm about to go under 200 pounds for the first time in 18 years. I now take NO MEDICATIONS! No blood pressure meds, no cholesterol pills and no Protonix antacid pill for GERD as my heartburn is gone.

There is no magic pill, hidden diet or other special thing you can do.

It is really simple! 99.9% of the time it boils down to one thing: Sacrifice with commitment.

I know a few people that don't even believe in calories which is interesting. I know for myself, tracking calories and macros always got me where I wanted.

[wazu]

Originally Posted by AssEaterChief

I keep hearing this....I am 37 and maybe it is just different for me?

I have people in their early 30's at basketball saying the same thing all the time "oh man once you hit 30 it is downhill..."

I feel as good as I did when I was in my 20's

As good as I have ever felt in fact. I don't believe it will magically change by some arbitrary number..

All I can tell you is my own experience. Before 40 I could lose weight fast with a few good behaviors. After 40 it’s way more stubborn. And if I’m not getting after it the penalty is much steeper. I wasn’t expecting this drop-off at 40, but couldn’t help but notice and correlate it. Was probably 41 or so when I made the connection.

All that said, I have used it as a reason to work harder, not throw up my hands. Letting myself go physically is not how I want to grow old.

[Mr. Plow]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

well that sucks.

The anniversary of my Moms death a couple of months ago raised up all those feelings. So been there done that. I know how you feel. Sounds like your moving on. That’s good. Just be prepared for when something triggers those “Mom” feelings.

They come and go. Anniversary of her death (Feb. 14th) & leading up to it were rough on everyone. It's a big reason I started working out in January.

But, she wouldn't want me sitting around on my ass feeling sorry that she's not here.

[Frosty]

By the way, if anyone is interested in the Alternate Day Fasting that I'm doing, here is a pretty comprehensive article explaining how it works with links to the relevant studies.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition...-fasting-guide

It's all about the calories but this is the main reason I do ADF versus just daily calorie restriction:

When you severely restrict your calories, your body starts conserving energy by reducing the amount of calories it burns. It can make you stop losing weight and feel miserable (56).

However, ADF does not seem to cause this drop in metabolic rate.

One study compared the effects of standard calorie restriction and ADF for eight weeks.

The results showed that continuous calorie restriction significantly decreased resting metabolic rate by 6%, while ADF only caused an insignificant 1% reduction (16).

What's more, after 24 unsupervised weeks, the calorie restriction group still had a 4.5% lower resting metabolic rate than at the beginning of the study. Meanwhile, the ADF participants maintained their original metabolic rate.

[SuperBowl4]

fruits and vegetables