ChefChiTown's Rebirth: I'm Back, BABY!!! (In More Ways Than One)...
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ChefChiTown
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So, I can fix my bike. I just need to buy a new crankset and install it. They're not too terribly expensive and, although I've never done it before, they don't seem too difficult to install. Once I find a set I like (that's reasonable in price), I'll go ahead and order it. That way I can get back on my bike.
I've decided to do something a little different. I have a big problem when it comes to "cheat days." Do I think cheat days are a good thing? Yes, absolutely. If a person is mentally (or physically) in need of some comfort, and that comfort just happens to come in the form of food, I don't see a problem with having a cheat day every once in a while when you're working on losing weight. A reasonable cheat day can easily help a person regain their mental composure when they're feeling weak which can ultimately lead to better success in the future - a clear head leads to good decisions. For that reason, I think cheat days are a good thing. However, I also think they can be devastating...especially when you are someone like me.
See, if I work hard for a couple of weeks my body gets tired and my mind gets frustrated. I need food to make my body feel better, but I also need it to ease my mind. So, I always cave and have a cheat day. And, it always makes me feel better. But, it also always makes me feel worse. Why? Because, that one cheat days leads to two cheat days. Then, three cheat days. Then, four. Five. Six. A week. Two weeks. Aaaaand, at some point I just give up and stop working to lose weight altogether. So, FOR ME, cheat days are bad. I can't control myself enough to have one. Hell, that's why I'm fat and unhealthy in the first place - I have no control when it comes to food.
The Olympics starts in just under 100 days. I am going to do something positive for my health each and every day until the start of the Olympics. I'll go for a run, ride my bike (once it's fixed), eat very healthy, lift some weights, whatever - every day I will take a step in the right direction. That's all I'm going to do. However, I will NOT have any cheat days. If I start craving carbs (like I always do), then I'm just going to eat some carbs. I won't hold back for two weeks and then completely unload my bottled up urge to eat like shit by gulping down a bunch of shit that's bad for me and drinking a bunch of beer. That's what gets me into trouble - I can't keep it to just ONE cheat day...ever. So, no more cheat days. Instead, every day will be a step in the right direction.
By the time the Olympics begin (August 5th), I want to be damn near my goal weight. I have about 40 lbs to go until I get there. If I can lose 30 lbs in the next 100 days (which is just about 2 lbs per week) then I'll be happy. I always give up once I start getting closer to my goal weight...but not this time.
I've decided to do something a little different. I have a big problem when it comes to "cheat days." Do I think cheat days are a good thing? Yes, absolutely. If a person is mentally (or physically) in need of some comfort, and that comfort just happens to come in the form of food, I don't see a problem with having a cheat day every once in a while when you're working on losing weight. A reasonable cheat day can easily help a person regain their mental composure when they're feeling weak which can ultimately lead to better success in the future - a clear head leads to good decisions. For that reason, I think cheat days are a good thing. However, I also think they can be devastating...especially when you are someone like me.
See, if I work hard for a couple of weeks my body gets tired and my mind gets frustrated. I need food to make my body feel better, but I also need it to ease my mind. So, I always cave and have a cheat day. And, it always makes me feel better. But, it also always makes me feel worse. Why? Because, that one cheat days leads to two cheat days. Then, three cheat days. Then, four. Five. Six. A week. Two weeks. Aaaaand, at some point I just give up and stop working to lose weight altogether. So, FOR ME, cheat days are bad. I can't control myself enough to have one. Hell, that's why I'm fat and unhealthy in the first place - I have no control when it comes to food.
The Olympics starts in just under 100 days. I am going to do something positive for my health each and every day until the start of the Olympics. I'll go for a run, ride my bike (once it's fixed), eat very healthy, lift some weights, whatever - every day I will take a step in the right direction. That's all I'm going to do. However, I will NOT have any cheat days. If I start craving carbs (like I always do), then I'm just going to eat some carbs. I won't hold back for two weeks and then completely unload my bottled up urge to eat like shit by gulping down a bunch of shit that's bad for me and drinking a bunch of beer. That's what gets me into trouble - I can't keep it to just ONE cheat day...ever. So, no more cheat days. Instead, every day will be a step in the right direction.
By the time the Olympics begin (August 5th), I want to be damn near my goal weight. I have about 40 lbs to go until I get there. If I can lose 30 lbs in the next 100 days (which is just about 2 lbs per week) then I'll be happy. I always give up once I start getting closer to my goal weight...but not this time.
Cate
Long term member
That's why I don't have a cheat day either chef (& LaMa).
Your plan sounds like a good one.
ChefChiTown
New member
I just read an interesting article Cate posted in her journal (I suggest you check it out) and it got me thinking about my personal weight loss journey and the struggles I've encountered. The article discusses research on people who have lost a significant amount of weight and how their metabolism and leptin levels changed over the course of the years after they lost their weight. Basically, the research found that the subjects' metabolism and leptin levels significantly decreased, creating a biological enemy that made it nearly impossible for the subjects to maintain their newly-acquired healthy weight.
Is that part of what happened to me? I say 'PART of what happened to me' because the choices I have made are what has made me heavy, but I can't help but think maybe there's more to it than that.
A few years ago (when I first joined this forum) I weighed nearly 300 lbs and lost about 80 lbs over the course of a few months. I was happy, I was healthy, I felt great, I looked great. Then, I gained nearly all my weight back. Ever since then, I've struggled to lose weight and maintain it. There have been plenty of times where I have lost weight (15 lbs here, 20 lbs there), but I have ALWAYS managed to gain it all back...and then some. As I mentioned before, choices I have made certainly contributed to this (eating like shit and drinking will make a person gain weight), but when I look back at my weight loss journey I see a pattern I just can't ignore...
If I'm good for a few weeks ('good' meaning I eat right and exercise) I always lose weight. Sometimes I'll drop three or four pounds a week, sometimes I'll drop more. Then, my body starts to get tired. I get hungry. I get cranky. I get weak. So, I eat. I have what we all call a 'cheat day.' Then, I gain ALL of my weight back. Weeks of hard work are eliminated by one or two days where I don't live on the straight and narrow. The math just doesn't add up. Eating some pizza, drinking some beers and eating ice cream shouldn't add 10 lbs to my body...but it always DOES.
Is it my metabolism? I've never had good metabolism to begin with, but what if my former weight loss affected it on some level? What if I'm fighting more than just temptation and cravings? What if I'm fighting my own body?
Is that part of what happened to me? I say 'PART of what happened to me' because the choices I have made are what has made me heavy, but I can't help but think maybe there's more to it than that.
A few years ago (when I first joined this forum) I weighed nearly 300 lbs and lost about 80 lbs over the course of a few months. I was happy, I was healthy, I felt great, I looked great. Then, I gained nearly all my weight back. Ever since then, I've struggled to lose weight and maintain it. There have been plenty of times where I have lost weight (15 lbs here, 20 lbs there), but I have ALWAYS managed to gain it all back...and then some. As I mentioned before, choices I have made certainly contributed to this (eating like shit and drinking will make a person gain weight), but when I look back at my weight loss journey I see a pattern I just can't ignore...
If I'm good for a few weeks ('good' meaning I eat right and exercise) I always lose weight. Sometimes I'll drop three or four pounds a week, sometimes I'll drop more. Then, my body starts to get tired. I get hungry. I get cranky. I get weak. So, I eat. I have what we all call a 'cheat day.' Then, I gain ALL of my weight back. Weeks of hard work are eliminated by one or two days where I don't live on the straight and narrow. The math just doesn't add up. Eating some pizza, drinking some beers and eating ice cream shouldn't add 10 lbs to my body...but it always DOES.
Is it my metabolism? I've never had good metabolism to begin with, but what if my former weight loss affected it on some level? What if I'm fighting more than just temptation and cravings? What if I'm fighting my own body?
kaplooie
New member
google search leptin reset. It's an interesting concept. And I'm with you on the its not fair that we struggle to shift a few lbs in a month and one bad food day and all the weight is back. I got down to 207 in February and then a few days wining and dining in Seattle and when I got home I had gained 8 lbs and it was not easy to lose again. It was REAL weight, not poop or water bloat...it was awful.
ChefChiTown
New member
HAHAHA "not poop"
StacyH
New member
Hubby has a small fan that mounts on wall above him which is pointed directly down at him and then there is a box fan next to him on table.
June will make 23 years of marriage like this and I'm used to the noise and can't sleep without it! lol
...Do not like the fact I practically have to go to bed w/hair pinned to top of head and goggles on due to the wind shear!!
ChefChiTown
New member
Guess who is going to pick up their brand new home gym tomoooooorroooooow? WE ARE!!!
Apparently it will take me about four or five HOURS to put it together, but after that I'll be able to get in a serious workout whenever I want.
Apparently it will take me about four or five HOURS to put it together, but after that I'll be able to get in a serious workout whenever I want.
Awesome!!!!!
ChefChiTown
New member
Well, it happened. I got sick. I haven't been sick in a looooong time, but I can't say that anymore. I woke up in the middle of the night last night and I was freezing cold, my body had zero energy and my throat felt like I had swallowed and angry baby porcupine.
I spent all day in bed yesterday. Well, I came out of bed every once in a while for like a half hour but the trip from the bed to the couch was so exhausting I would end up going right back to bed to sleep. So, needless to say, I couldn't really sleep tonight. Hell, I slept all day yesterday so I'm not surprised. I'm up now because my back hurts like hell. Lying in bed all day will do that. My throat feels a tiny bit better but my body still has NO energy. I have honestly not been this exhausted in a long, long time.
Other than that, we went and picked up our gym. I planned on putting it together yesterday buuuuut my body had other plans. Maybe I'll feel up to putting it together today at some point. I'd really like to be able to use it on Monday and get a good start to the week. I'd also like to breathe without my face hurting, but beggars can't be choosers.
I spent all day in bed yesterday. Well, I came out of bed every once in a while for like a half hour but the trip from the bed to the couch was so exhausting I would end up going right back to bed to sleep. So, needless to say, I couldn't really sleep tonight. Hell, I slept all day yesterday so I'm not surprised. I'm up now because my back hurts like hell. Lying in bed all day will do that. My throat feels a tiny bit better but my body still has NO energy. I have honestly not been this exhausted in a long, long time.
Other than that, we went and picked up our gym. I planned on putting it together yesterday buuuuut my body had other plans. Maybe I'll feel up to putting it together today at some point. I'd really like to be able to use it on Monday and get a good start to the week. I'd also like to breathe without my face hurting, but beggars can't be choosers.
Little John
New member
I like assembling things, I could see myself hiding in my basement with some moderately-interesting movies/tv shows on while I do the assembly work.
Guess I need to look up Cate's article and leptin. All too familiar with that swing. When I first joined the forum, I went from 3-something down to 299. Then it was Thanksgiving. Then I kept struggling, and giving up, and resetting, and getting frustrated, and trying new methods, and saying "fuggit, I can just be fat," and... well, you get the point...
ChefChiTown
New member
This morning...
Me: (opens son's bedroom door and flips on the light) Mornin', buddy!!! Time to get up!!!
Son: (groans as he gets out of bed and starts to get dressed) Oooookaaaaay.
Me: (goes and sits back down on the couch)
A minute later he comes out of his room, fully dressed, and then heads into the bathroom to brush his teeth, comb his hair and get ready for school. When he finishes he goes back into his room. Meanwhile, our daughter gets up, pours herself a bowl of cereal and sits at the kitchen table eating. A little while goes by and I notice our son hasn't come out of his room again yet.
Me: What is he doing in there?
Daughter: I don't know, but it's really quiet.
Me: Yeah, you're right. I don't hear anything.
I get up and go open his door to see what he was doing. His light was turned back off, he's lying in bed, BACK in his pajamas, sleeping.
Me: BUDDY!!!
Son: (wakes up confused) Whaaat?
Me: Dude, what are you doing?!?!?!
Son: Sorry, sorry. Sorry. I'm sorry. Sorry.
Then, he gets up, gets dressed (AGAIN) and goes into the bathroom to brush his teeth and get ready for school (AGAIN).
As much as I try, I just don't understand kids. Not at all.
That's me. I do good for a little bit, then struggle and give up. Reset. Do good for a little bit, then struggle and give up. And, so on.
I have a new approach this time around though. Instead of doing good until the point of struggle, then giving up by saying "F-it, I'm going to have a cheat day" (which ultimately leads to way more than A cheat day), I'm going to do good and, when and if I start to struggle, I will do nothing more than ease my hardcore cravings at that moment and that moment alone by eating what my body craves. If I've been good for two weeks and start to crave a bunch of carbs? I'll eat some bread or potatoes and leave it at that. If I've been good for a while and start to crave something sweet? I'll have a little bowl of ice cream and leave it at that. No more of this, "Weeeeell, I HAVE been good for a while, so I DESERVE a cheat day, right?" No more of that. That always leads me back to failure.
Me: (opens son's bedroom door and flips on the light) Mornin', buddy!!! Time to get up!!!
Son: (groans as he gets out of bed and starts to get dressed) Oooookaaaaay.
Me: (goes and sits back down on the couch)
A minute later he comes out of his room, fully dressed, and then heads into the bathroom to brush his teeth, comb his hair and get ready for school. When he finishes he goes back into his room. Meanwhile, our daughter gets up, pours herself a bowl of cereal and sits at the kitchen table eating. A little while goes by and I notice our son hasn't come out of his room again yet.
Me: What is he doing in there?
Daughter: I don't know, but it's really quiet.
Me: Yeah, you're right. I don't hear anything.
I get up and go open his door to see what he was doing. His light was turned back off, he's lying in bed, BACK in his pajamas, sleeping.
Me: BUDDY!!!
Son: (wakes up confused) Whaaat?
Me: Dude, what are you doing?!?!?!
Son: Sorry, sorry. Sorry. I'm sorry. Sorry.
Then, he gets up, gets dressed (AGAIN) and goes into the bathroom to brush his teeth and get ready for school (AGAIN).
As much as I try, I just don't understand kids. Not at all.
That's me. I do good for a little bit, then struggle and give up. Reset. Do good for a little bit, then struggle and give up. And, so on.
I have a new approach this time around though. Instead of doing good until the point of struggle, then giving up by saying "F-it, I'm going to have a cheat day" (which ultimately leads to way more than A cheat day), I'm going to do good and, when and if I start to struggle, I will do nothing more than ease my hardcore cravings at that moment and that moment alone by eating what my body craves. If I've been good for two weeks and start to crave a bunch of carbs? I'll eat some bread or potatoes and leave it at that. If I've been good for a while and start to crave something sweet? I'll have a little bowl of ice cream and leave it at that. No more of this, "Weeeeell, I HAVE been good for a while, so I DESERVE a cheat day, right?" No more of that. That always leads me back to failure.
Cate
Long term member
Your new plan has lots of merit chef. A little bit of what you're craving is fine. I now do the same. You don't feel like you're depriving yourself & you don't any damage. The more I tell myself I can have a little of something if I like, the less I want it. Humans are weird.
Delsid
New member
Potatoes (if not covered in butter or fried) are not evil at all
I LOVE bread too and grew up eating loads of it (staple food in Poland, together with potatoes and cabbage haha) so I totally know your pain. Like you say though, some bread, when you crave it is ok, it's not gonna suddenly undo all the good stuff. GOOD!!!!
ChefChiTown
New member
I haven't posted in a while so here's an update...
Jen and I have both had two solid weeks of eating right and exercising. I began lifting weights this past Monday and I worked out every day this week. I have not had a single drink, nor have I partaken in a cheat day. However, we have allowed ourselves a little freedom (when needed) in our diet. For instance, we went out to dinner for Jen's birthday last week and we were a LITTLE bad - I repeat, a LITTLE bad (our meals were healthy and fit into our diet, but we shared a small portion of an appetizer and a small portion of a dessert sampler - nothing horrible). And, we went out today and had lunch at Ruby Tuesday (I had a healthy meal and we shared a dessert), and we got home pretty late so we had McDonald's for dinner.
Now, I'm not saying McDonald's is a healthy choice - because it's totally fucking not - but, that is the first fast food we have eaten in two weeks. And, we left it at that. We didn't go to the store and bring snacks home, nor did we get any drinks. We had McDonald's and cut ourselves off at that.
That's one thing we agreed would work for us - when we need a cheat meal we are going to go out to eat it. That way, we eat at the restaurant and, when we're done, everything bad STAYS at the restaurant. There's no more going to the store, buying a bunch of bad shit to make for dinner, not to mention the inevitable snacks and drinks that would be purchased as well, and then having 'leftovers' the next day that tempt us to say, "Wow, that's a lot of bad shit...we need to eat the rest of that shit so we don't get tempted to eat it tomorrow." You know, because THAT mentality makes sense. Anyway, we don't bring bad food into the house anymore. And, it seems to be working.
Jen's lost weight (WOO HOO!!!). I'm sure I have, but I'm not weighing myself. At least not yet. I plan on giving it a few weeks before I start to focus on the numbers. For now, I'm focusing on how I feel. I'm also focusing on the work I'm putting into this portion of my weight loss journey. Once I feel comfortable and pleased with my newly formed healthier habits, I will go ahead and weigh myself. But, for now, I'm just focusing on the way I feel.
Oh, we've also been buying a lot of new clothes. We hardly ever buy clothes for ourselves, so we started buying some new stuff - some of which is for now, some of which is for later when we lose the weight we want to lose and have the bodies we want to have. Like, I currently wear XL clothes, but I've been buying L shirts for later. No, I can't fit into them now, but in a few months I'll be able to get into them...which gives me something to work toward.
Jen and I have both had two solid weeks of eating right and exercising. I began lifting weights this past Monday and I worked out every day this week. I have not had a single drink, nor have I partaken in a cheat day. However, we have allowed ourselves a little freedom (when needed) in our diet. For instance, we went out to dinner for Jen's birthday last week and we were a LITTLE bad - I repeat, a LITTLE bad (our meals were healthy and fit into our diet, but we shared a small portion of an appetizer and a small portion of a dessert sampler - nothing horrible). And, we went out today and had lunch at Ruby Tuesday (I had a healthy meal and we shared a dessert), and we got home pretty late so we had McDonald's for dinner.
Now, I'm not saying McDonald's is a healthy choice - because it's totally fucking not - but, that is the first fast food we have eaten in two weeks. And, we left it at that. We didn't go to the store and bring snacks home, nor did we get any drinks. We had McDonald's and cut ourselves off at that.
That's one thing we agreed would work for us - when we need a cheat meal we are going to go out to eat it. That way, we eat at the restaurant and, when we're done, everything bad STAYS at the restaurant. There's no more going to the store, buying a bunch of bad shit to make for dinner, not to mention the inevitable snacks and drinks that would be purchased as well, and then having 'leftovers' the next day that tempt us to say, "Wow, that's a lot of bad shit...we need to eat the rest of that shit so we don't get tempted to eat it tomorrow." You know, because THAT mentality makes sense. Anyway, we don't bring bad food into the house anymore. And, it seems to be working.
Jen's lost weight (WOO HOO!!!). I'm sure I have, but I'm not weighing myself. At least not yet. I plan on giving it a few weeks before I start to focus on the numbers. For now, I'm focusing on how I feel. I'm also focusing on the work I'm putting into this portion of my weight loss journey. Once I feel comfortable and pleased with my newly formed healthier habits, I will go ahead and weigh myself. But, for now, I'm just focusing on the way I feel.
Oh, we've also been buying a lot of new clothes. We hardly ever buy clothes for ourselves, so we started buying some new stuff - some of which is for now, some of which is for later when we lose the weight we want to lose and have the bodies we want to have. Like, I currently wear XL clothes, but I've been buying L shirts for later. No, I can't fit into them now, but in a few months I'll be able to get into them...which gives me something to work toward.
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