Billy's Mission - To Lose 80 lbs.

Billy Shears1

Billy Shears1

New member
Starting Weight: 260 lbs
Goal Weight: 180 lbs
Total Weight Loss: 80lbs
BMI: 33.8 - Obese

When I tell people my goal is to lose 80 lbs, they think I'm being excessive. What they don't realize is how fat I actually am! I'm 6 foot 1 and a half inches tall. With a weight of 260 lbs, I'm 30 pounds well into the obese category. Getting down to 180 will simply put me near the top range of 'normal weight.'

I don't look obese, by the way. I guess I carry it well. The weight tends to gather through my stomach and mid section with my face, arms, legs and behind still looking relatively okay. (I'm lucky in that sense, I guess.) But my BMI doesn't lie.

The last time I was 180 was when I was 27. I'm 41 now. Five years ago, I was 205 lbs. And then I quit smoking. I ballooned to 260 within a matter of 18 months and I've been hovering around that mark ever since.

As I start this journal, I am near the end of a 10 day fast: The Master Cleanse diet. (I'm sure many of you have heard about it).

I've done it before and like many, I lose the weight but it just comes back on. This time is going to be different. Why? Because I'm using the cleanse as a platform to change my dietary habits. The cleanse is great for getting rid of bad cravings and for starting anew so I'm going to take advantage of it.

The reason I'm obese is because of the obvious factors:
Bad Diet.
Poor Exercise.
Simple as that.

My work is sedentary and doesn't require much physical activity.
And I haven't been exercising regularly at the gym.
But most of all - my dietary habits are rather appalling.

I live on a steady diet of Chinese, Mexican, Thai, Indian, Japanese and West Indian. When I cook at home, it's usually a tin of chilli on a mound of white rice. I don't eat many vegetables at home at all - and while I like salads, I just can't seem to get into making them. But one of my biggest culprits is the buckets of coffee I drink, loaded with cream and sugar.

BUT - that's all gonna change following this cleanse. I swear.

Today, I weighed myself and I was 249.6 lbs. That's a total of 10.4 lbs so far on the cleanse. It's nice to drop from the 260 ranges, fall rapidly right through the 250's and land firmly at the top of the 240's. I am not going to hit 250 again!

I will be breaking the cleanse in a few days and going on a steady diet of vegetable soup for a couple of days and then I'll start to work in the food.

The idea this time is to eat at home more frequently with a focus on whole, natural foods. That's right. I'm learning how to make salads and low calorie, delicious meals at home. I've always wanted to get into cooking and now's my chance! I'm also giving up the coffee and replacing it with fresh juice. Plus, I'm beginning an exercise regimen.

So that's the plan. And the goal? Lose 80 lbs! You think I can do it?
Well, tune into this space to find out. (But I'll tell you right now, that's exactly what I'm gonna do!)

Wish me luck!

Starting Weight: 260 lbs
Current Weight: 249.6 lbs
Weight Loss so far: 10.4 lbs
Current BMI: 32.5 (Obese)
Goal Weight: 180 lbs
Weight left to lose: 69.6 lbs
 
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Hey congratulations on the weight loss so far!
Cooking helped me big time in loosing weight since you can actually see what your putting into your food. Also it made me more adventurous and I ended up loving vegetables!

Good luck :) Your off to a great start!
 
Look! It's the one and only Billy Shears!

Hi Billy.

Good for you to make the decision to actually do something permanent about your health.

Cooking your own healthy food is definitely the way to go.

Be careful about that fruit juice, though. Fruit juice has just as much sugar (and therefore calories) as soda. It's just better for you.

Drink a lot of water. Try unsweetened tea, or black coffee instead of loading it with cream and sugar.

You've already done your cleans so I won't bother advising against it. :)

Excellent that you have quit smoking.

Good luck, and I'm sure you can reach your goal if you work hard and stick with it.
 
Hey Billy
Thanks for visiting my diary! And I'll totally race you to 180! ;) What does the winner get???? LOL!

Sounds like you have a great plan!! And awesome success so far!!!

Kitty! :D
 
KittyRN said:
Hey Billy
Thanks for visiting my diary! And I'll totally race you to 180! ;) What does the winner get???? LOL!
Click to expand...

I'm tempted to say a tub of ice cream but I have to stop thinking I can reward myself with such things!

My mini-goal is to first catch up with where you are on the scale.....
10 pounds to go! ;)
 
Good lucky buddy. Good to see somebody about the same height as me!

Once you are through with this fasting thing, start making healthy choices that are going to last, don't BS yourself.

Exercise regularly, not insanely!

Eat healthy food with healthy portions. And enjoy some of your favorite foods once in awhile.
 
Starting Weight: 260 lbs
Current Weight: 246.6 lbs
Weight Loss so far: 13.4 lbs
Current BMI: 32.1 (Obese)
Goal Weight: 180 lbs
Weight left to lose: 66.6 lbs

Great news when I hit the scales today....
I'm down to 246.6 lbs.
Of course, I'm currently fasting (the master cleanse) so when I resume eating, some weight will return - but I am determined not to hit 250 again. Of course, if I keep on my proposed plan, the weight loss should continue, albeit at a slower rate.

Also, I see there's an ominous number now under the 'weight left to lose' category. I like that! ;)
 
GuiltyGear44 said:
Once you are through with this fasting thing, start making healthy choices that are going to last, don't BS yourself.

Exercise regularly, not insanely!

Eat healthy food with healthy portions. And enjoy some of your favorite foods once in awhile.
Click to expand...

That's eat. You've just hit upon the utter simplicity of the situation. What you propose is exactly what I'm going to attempt to do!

Thanks for the encouragement.
 
Sound like you are determined to succeed. you say your beginning to exercise, how is it going and what are you doing ?
 
Congrats on the journey! I definitely second the whole cooking at home thing. I love to cook though, but it helps immensely since I can actually eat just as much food as I'd get eating out, but at half the calories. When I do go out I do a lot of subway.

I'm trying to get out of that reward yourself with food mentality, too.

Best of luck, and be sure to keep us updated.
 
I shall work hard too

Congrats that you able to lose weight to reach the healtier level. I also looking forward to lose weight for 20kgs. It's not only to lose weight, I am looking forward to get more healthier.

Cooking at home is a best choice to lose weight, now I am follow the low GI food recipe. It helps too !
 
Thanks everyone for your encouragement.

Trusylver said:
Sound like you are determined to succeed. you say your beginning to exercise, how is it going and what are you doing ?
Click to expand...

I'm currently at the tail-end of a cleanse and I haven't started y regimen yet. But, I will start this coming week. I plan to start off rather easily, 30 mins on the elliptical machines and then a program of weights.

I was on a program at my local gym earlier this year so I'm simply starting where I left off. I'll keep an update as to how things are going.
 
I really like Arc Trainers for machines at the gym.

It took me 3.5 years to get where I am. I only recently really started to watch my "diet". I lost 80 pounds with exercise alone, but it took 3 years. I could have got to where I am a lot faster, but I may not have stuck with all of my changes I made to my life.

It is good to be excited and ready to rock and roll with the new helathy life style. But I think over doing it can cause a lot of people to fall off the wagon.
 
Starting Weight: 260 lbs
Current Weight: 247 lbs
Weight Loss so far: 13 lbs
Current BMI: 32.1 (Obese)
Goal Weight: 180 lbs
Weight left to lose: 67 lbs

I'm on the last day of my cleanse. Weirdly, I was up .4 of a lb today - so I hit the scales at an even 247 lbs.

It's no big deal, I've simply plateaued. I'm sure there'll be more weight loss tomorrow.

Tomorrow I'm drinking mostly orange juice all day. And then on Wed, I start introducing foods, beginning with veg broth and then veg soup.

I have all my recipes selected for my first week back on food so it's going to be an experience in buying fresh produce and learning how to cook some of these delicious recipes. That's going to be my main mission following this cleanse (along with starting up at the gym which will happen at some point this week too.)

I can't wait to resume the world of food....
 
Hi there Billy, I am learning that understanding how your body uses food for fuel (while also making it taste good) is so important for a successful transition to a healthy lifestyle. *of course this is along with exercise*
Im trying so hard to 'get' it in my brain what food makes me feel healthy good and what food is only an emotional stimulant. lol.. *still on my learning curve, but its getting there*
I want to give you two huge thumbs up for your determination. :)
Michelle :)
 
brazenlysasse said:
Hi there Billy, I am learning that understanding how your body uses food for fuel (while also making it taste good) is so important for a successful transition to a healthy lifestyle.
Click to expand...


That's what I'm learning more about.

I've been reading some great books on this cleanse.

First of all, Juicing For Life.

Juicing for life - Google Books

It's all about the healing properties of fresh juice with great info about various diseases and the nutritional needs of the body.

Secondly, The Master Cleanse book (which is the basis for the fast that I'm on.)

http://healthandlight.com/TheMasterCleanse.pdf

Thirdly, a vegan cookbook called Refresh. It's the cookbook for a small chain of vegan restaurants in Canada that make really incredible meals. I'm not vegan but I love the food at fresh. Everytime I have it, I think, "Wow. If I could eat like this all the time, I'd be really healthy and still really enjoy my food."

Amazon.com: reFresh: Contemporary Vegan Recipes From the Award Winning Fresh Restaurants (9780470840849): Ruth Tal, Jennifer Houston: Books

And fourthly, I'm reading Cook With Jamie. It's a Jamie Oliver basic course on cooking. It's essentially the program he uses to train the apprentice chefs at his 15 chain of restaurants.

Amazon.com: Cook with Jamie: My Guide to Making You a Better Cook (9781401322335): Jamie Oliver: Books

So I'm learning all sorts of new things about the body and its nutrient needs. And with the help of Jamie, I plan on turning myself into a decent little cook. I've already alerted my friends that they're gonna be invited over to be guinea pigs for my various concoctions.

518OVq-SXqL._SS500_.jpg
 
Starting Weight: 260 lbs
Current Weight: 245.4 lbs
Weight Loss so far: 14.6 lbs
Current BMI: 31.9 (Obese)
Goal Weight: 180 lbs
Weight left to lose: 65.4 lbs

Weigh in today: 245.4 lbs! Yippee!
Today I start to break my cleanse, although I'm only drinking orange juice and fresh juice all day, so in a sense, I'm still essentially fasting. Starting tomorrow, I can work in the veg broth and the veg soup.

But I'm made-up I landed smack in the middle of the 240's. The truth is, when I resume regular eating, my weight will move up. That's unavoidable. But given that I landed square in the 240's gives me a bit of a buffer zone. My immediate goal is to stay in the 240's as I resume a regular eating schedule and do whatever's within my power to avoid hitting 250 again.

I have a very busy schedule for the next few days so I may not be working in the gym routine for a couple of days yet but I'm taking that one day at a time.
 
Starting Weight: 260 lbs
Current Weight: 247.6 lbs
Weight Loss so far: 12.4 lbs
Current BMI: 32.2 (Obese)
Goal Weight: 180 lbs
Weight left to lose: 67.6 lbs

I broke my cleanse yesterday with fresh squeezed orange juice and pea soup later that night.

I'm up two pounds today!
That's understandable. Weight bounces back very quickly following a cleanse. The trick is, to immediately adopt a sensible diet (and exercise.)

I'm on vegetable soup for the next couple of days just to help gently coax my system back and then it's off and running with a bunch of healthy and nutritious recipes that I've picked out.
 
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