I need serious help... need to lose 60-70lbs!

[chubinthetub]

I need some serious help losing 60-70lbs. Here's my lowdown...

I am 43, 6' tall, currently 250lbs, 42" waist, and have a huge gut with some serious luv handles. This is the most I've ever weighed. Of course I blame it on piggin' out at the table and sittin' behind a desk 4 days a week and in a recliner the rest of the time. I know I must get active and start eating right and I can motivate myself to do it. I'd like to get down to 180-190. Back about 15 years ago I lost 40lbs quickly by starving myself and walking a good bit but I don't want to starve myself... I will have to start back eating at some point in time and when I do I'll go crazy eating again if I try to starve myself again like that.

I'm not lookin' to get muscular but I'd certainly like to get rid of most of the gut and get back into some 36-38" pants again. I don't think this is too much to ask of myself.

I started about a week ago beginning to eat somewhat better. Basically I was eating out 4-5 nights per week (fried chicken, hamburgers, etc.) and no excercise whatsoever. My wife does not cook and doesn't plan on starting.

I have never been a breakfast eater. For whatever reason I can't seem to make myself eat in the morning... unless it was the occasional donut.

I usually eat lunch and pig out although I use to go without lunch quite often back when I traveled a lot. It's one of those things that if I sit down and the food is placed in front of me I will eat it (this is at lunch).

Supper time is when I usually seem to be the most hungry. Although if I excercise before eating I fill up quicker and don't eat as much.

We went to Wal-Mart and bought up a bunch of Weight Watcher Smart One meals... surprisingly we love them and it's the best food I've had in years (for a week so far). The WW meals seem to be fairly low in calories and fat with respectable limits of carbs... and they actually taste good. If I'm gonna eat good food, this is about as close as it gonna get for me most likely. This also worked pretty well for her parents losing weight. They stayed below their recommended points and lost a lot of fat off their body. According to the plan (we are not members) I can eat about 30 points per day and so far I'm surviving off of 15-20 points.

So... my routine now is no breakfast, Slimfast for lunch, and a WW Smart One meal (along with a salad, steamed broccoli, cabbage) for sup. This weekend we did cook some shrimp on the grill along with some skinless chicken breast. I cheated a tad yesterday for Easter Sunday dinner with the in-laws. We all cheated a little, but I kept it at a limit even then.

We are just starting to walk... we walked 1 mile the other night and 2 miles tonight... both times before we ate sup. Our plan is to walk 3-4 times per week and walk at least 2 miles at a fairly fast pace. But if stationary bicycling is that much better then I'm all ears.

I CANNOT run... DON'T even begin to suggest it cause it ain't gonna happen. I smoked for 20 years and quit about a year ago... no breath. I can't run 50 yards without passing out. Terrible I know, but I am slowly changing my bad habits... smoking was first... now eating is next. Maybe slowly I can get my lungs back... over several years.

Bottom line is I'd like to get the weight off as quick as possible and then maintain it. I figure I'll be able to stay motivated for a shorter period of time, but we have already figured out we would have to at least quit eating out so much (and we realize how much $$$ we will save too)... so this should be something we can maintain from now on. It's just a solid long term commitment we are going to have to make.

I need recommendations on dropping the gut as fast as possible. Eating habits, etc... along with maybe something fairly inexpensive equipment wise that might be a good investment to shed the fat a little quicker. I considered the Ab Chair or Ab Lounger but read here that they were just fads, scams, etc. I'm afraid if I don't see some results quickly then I might get un-motivated.

I'm posting two pics of myself because I am this serious about it. Hey... I know I'm the real chub in the tub guy. It's what I've got to deal with...


Your comments, suggestions, help... is all appreciated dearly. I promise I will maintain an update of my progress.

Please help!

Thank you!

 

[Dax]

Step 1:

Eat breakfast. Make yourself. Force it down your throat. Yoghurt, toast, porridge, cereal (not Coco Pops). You need to make breakfast part of your routine. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts discovered that skipping breakfast leads to a 450% chance of gaining fat.

If that isn't incentive enough, I dunno what is.

 

[Fil]

Okay, I'll address things one-at-a-time then give you some extra advice:

Back about 15 years ago I lost 40lbs quickly by starving myself and walking a good bit but I don't want to starve myself... I will have to start back eating at some point in time and when I do I'll go crazy eating again if I try to starve myself again like that.

You'll be glad to know that we don't want you to starve yourself. If anything, you should eat 5 - 7 meals a day -- roughly every 2-3 hours. However, these meals are to be HEALTHY and SMALL. The average stomach (as in the organ) is only slighly larger than an adult fist, so try only to eat a little more than that amount.

Right now from overeating, your stomach is likely stretched, so it takes more and more food to get that full feeling. Step one is training yourself to feel full from normal sized meals again.

As far as WHAT to eat, you want to avoid foods high in fat and sugars. You want a lot more greens, a lot more fruit, a lot more fiber, and a lot more protein. Good things to look at: fish, poultry, beans, grains, wheat breads, any green vegetables, red vegetables.

Things to stay away from: fried foods (cut these out ENTIRELY when you can), cheese (there are exceptions, like ricotta and cottage), and overly processed foods (these are high in saturated/trans fats - fresh is best!). I can't stress avoiding fried foods enough: what makes a food fried? Answer: surrounding it with cooked fat.

To keep yourself sane, a common practice is to eat healthy all week, and then take one day out of each week (Saturdays or Sundays work well) where you can eat whatever you want. Don't go nuts though.

My wife does not cook and doesn't plan on starting.

You should be cooking for yourself. Fresh food can be better for you than packaged food (and almost always better than fast food), and when you prepare it yourself, you know what's going in it!

I have never been a breakfast eater. For whatever reason I can't seem to make myself eat in the morning... unless it was the occasional donut.

Dax covered this, but let me drive the point home: ALWAYS EAT BREAKFAST. Breakfast will get your body metabolizing good and early, and will take away the craving to have a big lunch. On top of that, it will give you energy in the morning that you can use throughout the rest of the day. My breakfast recommendations:

Plain oatmeal (add your own flavoring), egg whites (taste just like whole eggs, but better for you! You can buy them in cartons), cereal (the non-sugarey stuff), whole/multi grain bread, natural peanut butter (the kind where the only ingredient is "peanuts"!), fruit is always good, yogurt (healthier to mix plain yogurt with some jam than to buy it pre-flavored).

Stuff you DON'T want to eat are the breakfasts people get that are straight sugar like kids cereals, donuts, pancakes/waffles w/ syrup (there are exceptions to this one). Sugar, unlike more complex carbohydrates, will give you a jolt of energy that won't last very long. Also, again, NO FRIED FOODS. No bacons, no fried hams, no sausages.

I usually eat lunch and pig out although I use to go without lunch quite often back when I traveled a lot. It's one of those things that if I sit down and the food is placed in front of me I will eat it (this is at lunch).

One of the toughest things to learn where eating is concerned is when to stop. I used to be a tub, and the tough part for me was knowing when I was done. There's this restaurant near my house that I go to sometimes where the portions are huge, even by an over-eater's standards.

Remember how big you want your stomach to be, and train yourself to stop. The hard part is when you're having a good conversation and you want to pick at your food over the course of it, even though you're done with your mail mean. Best bet: set it aside and hope it gets carried away by a waitress!

Supper time is when I usually seem to be the most hungry. Although if I excercise before eating I fill up quicker and don't eat as much.

Dinner is when you want to eat the least! You're your most hungry because you've spent the day running on the fuel from lunch, and that's not nearly enough. However, since by dinnertime your day is winding down, you don't want to fill yourself with too much energy -- it'll just go to waste, or worse, get converted to fat!

If you must eat dinner, stick to proteins and green vegetables. Sugars and other simple carbs will definitely turn to fat (or give you a less restful sleep). So, a good dinner for example would be lemon chicken and string beans (what I had for dinner last night). The complex carbs in the string beans are slowly absorbed so I had enough energy to last me until bedtime, and the protein in the chicken is non-fattening, not readily used as an energy source, and when I sleep it will be used to rebuild my muscles.

As far as exercising before you eat supper, I recommend exercising in the mornings rather than evenings. They've shown that people who excercise in the mornings have better eating habits throughout the day -- and your body is in its best condition and highest energy level in the morning, so you get a better workout.

...If I'm gonna eat good food, this is about as close as it gonna get for me most likely...

That's a very negative approach to all this. If you really want to be healthy, you have to approach it willing to make a lifestyle change. Otherwise, why waste our time? You have to want to help yourself right, not just look for a miracle solution.

We are just starting to walk... we walked 1 mile the other night and 2 miles tonight... both times before we ate sup. Our plan is to walk 3-4 times per week and walk at least 2 miles at a fairly fast pace. But if stationary bicycling is that much better then I'm all ears.

Good, good, but eventually you'll want to start jogging. I know it sounds horrible now, but you have to be willing to suffer a little Getting fitter has a lot to do with intensity, and people who don't want to work for it aren't going to get the results they want (or, at least it will take years for them to be forthcoming).

Stationary bikes are alright, but it won't beat jogging. For quick, highly effective workouts, do a search for HIIT on these forums or go to the HIIT subforum. It doesn't sound like it's going to be your thing, but it's worth a shot.

I CANNOT run... DON'T even begin to suggest it cause it ain't gonna happen.

Again, why with the negativity? When you ask people for help, the last thing they want to hear is you refusing solutions. Running is good for you, and of course you can't run, you're not fit. But you WILL be able to run - the conditioning process can take 3 - 6 months to get comfortable, but if you base your ability to run on how well you can do it now, it's just foolishness.

You talk about your bad lung capacity - and there's no better way to improve it. Also, as you get older, your heart health is increasingly important. The fix? Running.

So you're walking now. Then move on to running for 50 yards, then walking for 200. Then switch to running for 100 yards, then walking for 100. See the pattern? It will work and you'll feel much better, and thinner, for it.

Bottom line is I'd like to get the weight off as quick as possible and then maintain it.

Then don't shut out the solutions. For getting it off quick, you want higher intensity cardio workouts. For maintaining it, you're going to need a lifestyle change above and beyond paying Weight Watchers to feed you.

It's really good, though, that you're enthusiastic about it. Hopefully you can use that to break down some of the mental roadblocks you've set up against getting healthy.

along with maybe something fairly inexpensive equipment wise that might be a good investment to shed the fat a little quicker. I considered the Ab Chair or Ab Lounger but read here that they were just fads, scams, etc. I'm afraid if I don't see some results quickly then I might get un-motivated.

I'm going to spoil your dreams a little bit and tell you that for your first month of training, you're not going to see results. This has nothing to do with the processes not being effectual, but the fact that your body has to undergo neuromuscular adaptations before changes really start to happen. This basically means that your body is going to clumsily figure out what it's supposed to do before it really starts doing it. Right now your systems are all telling you "eat more!", "only greasy foods are tasty!", "I don't want breakfast!", "You can't run!".

So your first month of working at it is going to be spent undoing these body messages that you've been living with all these years. Then you can start to expect gains - and the amount you get out depends on how much you put in. When I was 250 lbs, I was able to lose 6-10 lbs a month by eating right and working out regularly.

Here's a basic thing for you to know: THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS "SPOT TRAINING" FOR WEIGHT LOSS.

This means that you can't target a particular area for weight loss. If you used an ab lounger, or even just did a lot of crunches, all you're doing is making your ab muscles bigger. I.e., putting muscle behind the fat.

The only way to burn the fat is by doing enough exercise to bring your body to the point of burning fat. When you exercise intensely, the first 30 minutes of exercise is going to run on carbohydrates. The remainder of the exercise (assuming you're working out well enough to burn through your carbohydrates in this time) is going to burn fat. It will take the fat from different sources in your body - there's no way to ensure it will target a particular area first. Unfortunately for men, the spare tire is generally the last thing to go.

I'm afraid if I don't see some results quickly then I might get un-motivated.

Again, don't be negative. This is NOT a one-time thing: you're literally looking at changes that you want to keep with you for the rest of your life. It's not a question of losing the weight and then easing in to bad habits -- it's a matter of living a healthy lifestyle, with weight loss being one of the MANY benefits that come with it. You're lucky that you have a wife you can help you with these changes, so together you can learn to cook healthy, be active, and keep each other on track. Sometimes, if you can't motivate yourself, it's easier to motivate someone else. So let yourselves motivate each other.

Please help!

Finally, remember, all we can do is offer advice. YOU'RE doing the real work. So when you need help, after getting all our advice, you'll have to look inward and decide what you need to change or what it's going to take for you to stick to this plan.

In any case, best of luck! I suggest you share all these posts with your wife too so you can be on the same page and help each other maintain a healthy lifestyle.

 

[chubinthetub]

Wow Fil, thanks for the time you spent writing all this.

I can deal with the over eating fairly well. I can't begin to tell you how many times I've sat down at the table and gotten full only to go back and get another plate just because I could. I have already in the last week gotten to where I can eat less and feel full. I have had ZERO fried foods in the last seven days. They are already a thing of the past.

We decided after the first month, if we were doing well, we would then start to lightly splurge one night on the weekend. We did this last time we lost weight and we did well then. The only difference in then and now is we realize we can't starve ourselves like we did then... we realize we need to permanently change our eating habits to be healthier from here on out.

For example... last night we walked 2 miles, went home and microwaved one WW meal each and steamed a little bit of brocolli. I don't know if you've ever seen how much is in one of those WW Smart One meals but it ain't much. None the less, I was actually stuffed when I finished eating... and this was probably 1/3 of what I used to eat.

Concerning Weight Watchers... we are not members... we have just been eating a meal a day of their Smart Ones. From reading here and looking at their nutritional facts, they seem to be respectable meals. They cost less than $2.50 locally. Pretty cheap for almost a meal and in some cases a total meal.

This is the WW meal I ate last night:

Salsbury Steak with Macoroni & Cheese
Calories 260
Calories from Fat 50
Total Fat 6g
Sat Fat 3g
Poly Fat .5g
Mono Fat 2g
Cholesterol 30mg
Sodium 790mg
Total Carbs 25g
Dietary Fiber 4g
Sugars 4g
Protein 22g

Is this a bad meal? Average? Okay?

Maybe I should eat one of these for lunch too, instead of Slimfast Optima.

For breakfast... gee, I'll have to figure something out here. I like nothing you mentioned except cereal and then I have only ever liked Frosted Flakes. I don't like Oatmeal or Yogurt. Maybe some fruit of some kind or maybe an egg sandwich with the egg cooked in the microwave.

I think I can work out a better plan to eat more often throughout the day... I just have to figure out some things I like to eat.

We also like fish, chicken, and all sorts of greens like broc, cabbage, turnips, green beans, and I love salads with tomatoe's, onions, and a tad of dressing (I limit the dressing to mostly vinegar and a tad of oil with Italian seasoning). But then I only sprinkle a tad on the salad.

I'm a saltaholic... I salt everything way too much. I'm thinking about some NO SALT to help there.

The excercising... hmmm... I have to leave the house at 7:15am so I've been getting up at 6:30. If I'm gonna get in at least 30-60 minutes of excercise early in the morning then I'm gonna need to get up at 5:30am... OUCH! Man will that be a change in lifestyle. I've never been a morning person. Probably some sort of excercise at home is in order... not enough time to go that far into town to a gym. On Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays I have time for whatever (up until 9:00 on Sundays for church).

I really don't have a problem excercising morning and afternoon for a while if it will help knock off the fat quicker.

I appreciate the suggestions and advice. I will just have to start working my way into some of this and try to make it part of my lifestyle I suppose.

 

[Burn'n Melt]

Chubinthetub, I am going to repost some information that I gave Sebani, and Fil is very correct. Try to eat a balanced breakfast (complex corbohydrates, and some kind of low fat protein). Throughout the day you need to be eating small meals. The other thing is that you need to be incorporating weights into your exercise regime. The weight lifting will give you a longer lasting fat burning effect. Your muscles will attrophy and in effect your body will start to use your muscle tissue and not your fatty tissue, which if you're burning your fatty tissue it will be used as energy too. Back to the eating you should be eating every 3-5 hours, this will make your body more efficient. Watch your food measurements too.

For example your daily meals may look like this:

Breakfast- raw grainy cereal (oatmeal) (tightly closed fist), yogurt (little serving cup/portion) or whey protein (as recommended on directions).

Snack- yogurt or cheese, a piece of fruit (apple, banana)

Lunch- Tuna in a half whole wheat pita or flatbread (tortilla) wrap (don't be afraid to be creative with your tuna, easy with the mayo)

Snack- whey protein, yogurt

Dinner- Chicken or turkey (the size and thickness of your palm), vegetables (2 loosely closed fists)

Snack- yogurt or whey protein

Don't be afraid to eat, the more little meals, the more fat you will burn, you will see the results. The rule about food is that it should be as pure and unprocessed as possible. The reason for your food to be pure and raw is that your body is working to breaking it down and digest it, thus your body is doing a workout while it is digesting your food. Hydrogenated oils are your worst enemy. In fact avoid oils altogether. The way I think of processed foods is that do I want some stranger or machine preparing my foods. The other thing that is important to remember think brown (sugars and grains). Try to avoid eating fruits and carbohydrates in the afternoon. If you are hungry eat some more protein, and drink a lot of water.

The one thing that I would actually suggest that you avoid that was mentioned is the peanut butter, jam, and all forms of loaved breads. You mentioned that you are eating pastas (WW macaroni and cheese), quite honestly this is another food you will want to avoid. Grilling chicken is quite easy, throw it in a dry pan (no oils), and turn on the stove.

You will notice that if you train with both cardio and weights you will notice size reduction. PUT THE SCALE AWAY, hide it deep in the closet and do not hop on it for a good month or two. I am saying this because muscle weighs more than fat, although you may not see the results on the scale, you will notice it in the way your clothes are fitting. Also keep your goal in focus and do not lose sight of it. Think of how great and proud you will feel when you can finally put on your pants and need a belt to hold them up. Your clothes are your best progress meter. Remember this too exercise and fitness is fun and enjoyable, in fact it is more entertaining than the television.

 

[Fil]

I don't agree with the whole avoiding breads and pastas altogether. People tend to get more carbs than they really need, but with good, high fiber bread and wheat pasta, you're only absorbing a fraction of it (since fiber is *technically* a carbohydrate, but can't be absorbed by the body).

Here's a recent article I loved on the topic of bread:


It's true however that eating white bread (i.e., they bleached and denaturized the grain used in producing it) and large pasta meals (remember: you only need a small serving of carb sources, not a whole plate full) will give you an overabundance of carbohydrates that are likely to go unutilized and will be stored as fat.

Think of how great and proud you will feel when you can finally put on your pants and need a belt to hold them up.

I still remember when I had to gouge a new hole in my belt because it was way too big for how much thinner I'd become.

 

[Burn'n Melt]

I was simply saying that Chubinthetub should avoid the loaved breads (spongy gooey thick breads, rolls, and buns, etc.) I also did mention that whole wheat pitas and wholewheat flatbreads are a good replacement. As for pastas they are highly processed and they really have no positive nutritional value as far quickly burning fat is concerned (why not replace it with wild rice?). I have tried tested and found this to be very true. I have actually trained with Ian Walling who happens to be an award winning pro card holder for natural body building, and at that time I was not eating any breads, and I received a lot of my carbs from vegetables and fruits, and I quickly burned off a lot of my fat this way. I saw results very quickly too. This was in combination with weights and cardio.

 

[Fil]

I've heard of Ian Walling before. It's good advice, but as a lifestyle choice I don't think I could personally give those things up.

But hey, if you want to lose weight fast, might be worth a temporary change in this direction?

 

[Burn'n Melt]

Sometimes if you want to see results you have to make sacrifices.

 

[chubinthetub]

Thanks...

I have now began to eat a very small amount of cereal in the morning with minimal 2% milk, just to have eaten something early. Special K or Bunches of Oats... both are low in calories, carbs, and sugar.

I have apples and grapes at work and home now and have begin to munch on those between meals. I still need to figure out some type of protein munchy.

I committed just last night to a lady in our church who owns a fitness center. She has it furnished with quite an array of cardio machines and different types of weights. 25 bucks per month. We live in a small town and she does not have a tremendous amount of heavy users. My preacher and I are going to start training together at 5:30am on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. My mom is going to take our daughter to school for me on Tues, Weds, and Thurs, so this will free me up to work out a little longer than an hour if I choose to, which I probably will to start with. I am going to go on Wednesdays as well, and probably go back in some afternoons for extra cardio workouts. Lifting weights is definitely in the plans.

 

[Shar123]

Way to go...your on the right track and you'll be dropping the pounds in no time and feeling great about yourself...your inbetween snacks can be some veggies, do up some baggies ahead of time for easy access! sometimes when I make an awesome egg white omlette in the morning I'll have some extra and will just refrigerate for a snack later...or even have for dinner! mmmmmm!

 

[chubinthetub]

I haven't eaten any breads whatsoever in the last 9 days. NONE... NOTTA... ZERO. However, I plan on eventually fixing me a sandwich all along (turkey, mustard, lettuce on wheat) for lunch.

I have eaten a tad of pasta that comes in the WW meals but it was minimal.

Those WW Smart Ones are tiny meals. I noticed no one has really commented on those yet. Are they a huge problem?

They only have an average of 25g of carbs and are all low in calories, fat, with usually 20-30g of protein. As small of a meal as they are it would seem they should be okay. At least it gives me something I can eat that I like.... not everyday because I like to cook fish and chicken on the grill too... as well as I like salads.

I also noticed no one has commented on the Slimfast Optima...

180 Calories
5g Fat
1g Sat Fat
0g Trans Fat
.5g Poly Fat
3.5g Mono Fat
5mg Cholesterol
220mg Sodium
600mg Potassium
24g Carbs
5g Dietary Fiber
17g Sugar
10g Protein
Lots of Vitamins

 

[Burn'n Melt]

Slim Fast = BAD Whey = GOOD Microwave meals = BAD Try to make and cook your own meals and do some research online and at the library. Listen to people at your gym they know what they are talking about. Don't be afraid to ask questions at the gym. The reason I said that the micrwave meals are bad is b/c the sauces and seasonings may contain ingredients that you want. The organic health section of your grocery store is a good palce to shop too. Avoid the middle isles and the freezer section of your grocery store. I am not a big fan of microwave meals, they are expensive, and somewhat processed.

 

[shimmering]

i agree with the posters above and wanted to add a few comments also. 1st, definitely toss the slimfast, it's totally overprocessed crap. on your microwave dinners i dont see anything wrong with them, but dont eat them all the time. and definitely add some fresh veggies/salad to them as you mentioned you do. also, you mentioned certain things you dont like, a lot of those things you may get used to, may even like after awhile. i think people get so used to huge amounts of sugars, fats and salt, that their body starts to crave them & they erroneously believe they hate many foods that dont contain them. over time you'll lose a lot of that craving. my wife for instance had a terrible soda habit when we got started on this, now she rarely has one and almost never craves them.
and yeah, work your way up to some light running (with practice you'll get better & better at it) or maybe biking. & gyms are fine but you can get yourself in great shape without ever going to one - running, pushups, crunches, leg lifts, etc. if you feel you cant motivate yourself to do it on your own, though, then the gym might be the way to go - spin classes, that sort of thing. sometimes it helps to have someone else there like an instructor making sure you dont goldbrick it.

and hey you're off to a good start, keep your goals ahead of you & think of the body you want to have when you feel like "pigging out". also i think you will see some results in the 1st month, just not as dramatic as what will come later. good luck to you!

 

[spockafina]

Wow - these posts are so full of information, I don't think in my current state of mind I can process it all to post my own thoughts. However, everyone is giving you really good advice, Chub. And I think it's super that you are going to start working out - wow, $25/month!! What a deal!! Anyways, good luck, and keep posting whenever you have a question.

 

[spockafina]

Here's a recent article I loved on the topic of bread:


.

That article is stupendous!

 

[chubinthetub]

Thanks to everyone... I AM GOING TO DO THIS! I'm pretty strong willed when I want to be. I did it once before but this time it's got to be for good. Once I get it off I think maintaining it should definitely be easier.

I'll ditch the Slimfast and start eating regular stuff that's better for me.

My sister just told me about this organic gardening club she joined. They give you a box of organically grown veggies each week. She lives by herself and no way she can eat all they give her, so she is going to share with us. This should help some.

I'm willing to try some new things too... more than just once. Maybe I can get to liking some of it.

I really appreciate all the support and look forward to posting some more pics in a few months.

I AM GOING TO DO THIS!

I AM GOING TO DO THIS!

I AM GOING TO DO THIS!

I AM GOING TO DO THIS!

I AM GOING TO DO THIS!

I AM GOING TO DO THIS!

I AM GOING TO DO THIS!

I AM GOING TO DO THIS!

I AM GOING TO DO THIS!

I AM GOING TO DO THIS!

 

[Burn'n Melt]

Chubinthetub, I would like to commend you on your progress. Another thing I would suggest is that you detox your body so that it makes it easier on your cravings. The way to detox is by drinking gallons of water and start to eat very pure foods. Starting on Monday you might start to eat oatmeal for breakfast and switch your milk to 1%MF. I would then suggest that you start to eat more green veggies and ease up on the fruits as they are full of sugar (fructose). It is great that you are watching your carbs and calories. You should start to look at the sodium and fat content (don't be fooled by low fat foods) low fat usually indicates high sugars. Likewise low caloric foods indicate that there is a high fat content.

 

[Fil]

Ah yes, I always overlook that very important tip: water, water, water, water, water!

Don't do it all in one sitting or else you'll imbalance the electrolyte levels in your body and get sick

I work at a desk, so I try to keep a 1.89 liter jug of water with me (I drink straight out of it). Some people prefer to get up and get a new glass every time they finish theirs (just another way to keep active) but I find I just get lazy and go without the water if I try that.

I try to drink 2 of those jugs a day, when I can.

This detoxifies your system (toxins and waste get flushed out with your urine) and hydrates you giving you better workouts and a sharper mind. One of the recent articles on my site (it's still up on the homepage) is about some of the health benefits of water.

 

[chubinthetub]

I ate a 3" turkey, mustard, lettuce, dill pickle, onion, on wheat today and saved the other 3" for mid-afternoon snack. I was actually full after eating that little square of a sandwich. It's the first bread I've had in 10-11 days now. I really don't know if I'll even be able to eat the other 3" later today... I'm so full right now I could almost puke. Maybe I need to have the deli slice those 6" sandwiches into 3 sections.

I like water and drink quite a bit during the day and evening time. I go to the restroom about 7-10 times a day. I drink a couple of small cups of coffee early in the morning... black... caffiene free. I am going to try to wing that coffee eventually. It's one of those addictions.

My wife bought a big ole rack of ribs that one of her bosses stayed up all night cooking. I told her she was going to be cheating on me.

I WILL NOT EAT RIBS!

I WILL NOT EAT RIBS!

I WILL NOT EAT RIBS!

I WILL NOT EAT RIBS!

I WILL NOT EAT RIBS!

THERE IS NO WAY THAT I WILL EAT ANY OF THOSE RIBS!