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I dug up some numbers from 5 years ago, the 2011 weight loss thread (only because the earlier ones are obviously gone). Pretty interesting.
I woke up today at 153 lbs, down 63 lbs from 5 years ago. I've been between 151-155 for the last 3 months because of the strict diet I'm on (No sugar, and almost zero processed food, mostly homemade) I have zero cravings for sugar now, and almost zero cravings for snacks, but not quite.
When I was 216 lbs, you couldn't have convinced me I'd be close to 150 in a few years, in the best shape of my life. At the time, I had just quit drinking alcohol, and I was drinking 2-4 litres of coke zero per day (for my calorie counting, ha!) and I was eating 3-4 chocolate bars, 5-6 bags of chips, 2-3 bags of sugar candy, every single week, and surviving mainly on cereal and cheap processed meat for food... and I was tracking all of my calories! I was also usually going into these weight loss threads with an attack plan. (Calorie counting, lifting weights, running/walking, drinking excessive water) Although it felt good, every year losing 10-30 lbs, it didn't help me over the long haul. Every year I'd come back heavier.
Interestingly, after being a landscaper for the last 10 years, where I'd lose weight during the summer and gain it back the next winter, I've now completely stopped exercising over the past 6 months. I was heavier and in worse shape when I was running 15-25 miles every week. It's 100% about the food, as my only exercise now is healthy eating.
Here's a week of meals for me from last week, since I track all of my food intake now:
4 x double-size smoothie: Milk, banana, strawberry, white chia seeds, hemp protein, maple syrup, matcha powder
6 x rolled oats w/ black chia seeds, blueberries, banana, maple syrup, milk
3 x salads (nice salads, with some fruit or squash for sweetness, plus maple syrup sweetens my Maple Ginger kale salad, so it tastes quite rich)
1 x frozen black bean burrito
2 x chickpea scramble with red peppers, red onion, potatoes, and fresh dill.
3 x brown rice bowl with broc + sweet potatoe fries, tofu, and gravy
4 x giant beet burgers with buns (brown rice, beets, almond butter, spices... I've been amazed by these! New regular in rotation.)
3 x chips (avg. 150 grams)
2 x homemade ice cream (coconut milk/sw. potato base with cinnamon and candied walnuts, sweetened with maple syrup)
Does it look painfully strict or unsatisfying? All of the dinner meals, I stuff myself, given that I'm only usually eating 3 meals a day. I eat my rice bowls out of a salad bowl, usually with 3/4 head of broc.
One thing it is, is time-consuming, but I never regret the time spent cooking something great from scratch.
I was forcibly dragged kicking and screaming into this. I didn't ever want to eat healthy, and I would have dismissed this entire rant 5 years ago, as I was too strongly addicted to sugar and junk food to ever see a way out of it.
Good luck to everybody still working on things, as we are bombarded and surrounded by unhealthy food. I wanted to provide the exact opposite perspective from Frae, as I've gotten into my best shape without exercising at all. Running marathons and flipping giant tires (Biggest Loser style) just isn't going to work for most people (and it'll actually injure a lot of overweight people), and counting calories is not a sustainable lifestyle, so if you want to earn your weight loss with diet optimization instead of running marathons, there's another way to achieve significantly improved health.
I'm still working on things too. Now that my stomach issues are starting to go away (only pain/bleeding once or twice a week now, if I cheat with restricted foods... fingers crossed I can figure it out completely by the end of 2016), I'm able to take on more physically. Started weight lifting again yesterday after 6 months off, and was shocked that I actually held some of my gains from last year! Can't wait for the snow to melt, and start bike riding again!
virgonomic 259.8 / 246.4 / 240
Judge Jude 202.4 / 197.2 / 185
heyelander 211 / 206 / 195
In the Corn 269 / 262.6 / 250
Teenwolf 216 / 220 / 190
Fielding Melish 253 / 241 / 230
Papa Deuce 285 / / 260
jefeboy 287 / 280.6 / 250
wombat104 262 / / 210
fuhrdog 228.5 / 225 / 210
GwynnInTheHall 200 / 181 / 165
Judge Jude 202.4 / 197.2 / 185
heyelander 211 / 206 / 195
In the Corn 269 / 262.6 / 250
Teenwolf 216 / 220 / 190
Fielding Melish 253 / 241 / 230
Papa Deuce 285 / / 260
jefeboy 287 / 280.6 / 250
wombat104 262 / / 210
fuhrdog 228.5 / 225 / 210
GwynnInTheHall 200 / 181 / 165
When I was 216 lbs, you couldn't have convinced me I'd be close to 150 in a few years, in the best shape of my life. At the time, I had just quit drinking alcohol, and I was drinking 2-4 litres of coke zero per day (for my calorie counting, ha!) and I was eating 3-4 chocolate bars, 5-6 bags of chips, 2-3 bags of sugar candy, every single week, and surviving mainly on cereal and cheap processed meat for food... and I was tracking all of my calories! I was also usually going into these weight loss threads with an attack plan. (Calorie counting, lifting weights, running/walking, drinking excessive water) Although it felt good, every year losing 10-30 lbs, it didn't help me over the long haul. Every year I'd come back heavier.
Interestingly, after being a landscaper for the last 10 years, where I'd lose weight during the summer and gain it back the next winter, I've now completely stopped exercising over the past 6 months. I was heavier and in worse shape when I was running 15-25 miles every week. It's 100% about the food, as my only exercise now is healthy eating.
Here's a week of meals for me from last week, since I track all of my food intake now:
4 x double-size smoothie: Milk, banana, strawberry, white chia seeds, hemp protein, maple syrup, matcha powder
6 x rolled oats w/ black chia seeds, blueberries, banana, maple syrup, milk
3 x salads (nice salads, with some fruit or squash for sweetness, plus maple syrup sweetens my Maple Ginger kale salad, so it tastes quite rich)
1 x frozen black bean burrito
2 x chickpea scramble with red peppers, red onion, potatoes, and fresh dill.
3 x brown rice bowl with broc + sweet potatoe fries, tofu, and gravy
4 x giant beet burgers with buns (brown rice, beets, almond butter, spices... I've been amazed by these! New regular in rotation.)
3 x chips (avg. 150 grams)
2 x homemade ice cream (coconut milk/sw. potato base with cinnamon and candied walnuts, sweetened with maple syrup)
Does it look painfully strict or unsatisfying? All of the dinner meals, I stuff myself, given that I'm only usually eating 3 meals a day. I eat my rice bowls out of a salad bowl, usually with 3/4 head of broc.
One thing it is, is time-consuming, but I never regret the time spent cooking something great from scratch.
I was forcibly dragged kicking and screaming into this. I didn't ever want to eat healthy, and I would have dismissed this entire rant 5 years ago, as I was too strongly addicted to sugar and junk food to ever see a way out of it.
Good luck to everybody still working on things, as we are bombarded and surrounded by unhealthy food. I wanted to provide the exact opposite perspective from Frae, as I've gotten into my best shape without exercising at all. Running marathons and flipping giant tires (Biggest Loser style) just isn't going to work for most people (and it'll actually injure a lot of overweight people), and counting calories is not a sustainable lifestyle, so if you want to earn your weight loss with diet optimization instead of running marathons, there's another way to achieve significantly improved health.
I'm still working on things too. Now that my stomach issues are starting to go away (only pain/bleeding once or twice a week now, if I cheat with restricted foods... fingers crossed I can figure it out completely by the end of 2016), I'm able to take on more physically. Started weight lifting again yesterday after 6 months off, and was shocked that I actually held some of my gains from last year! Can't wait for the snow to melt, and start bike riding again!
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