2013 RJ Weight Loss Challenge - Jan 1 to Apr 1 (and beyond)

[Judge Jude]

ok, a little behind on this, but need to make this happen.

JAN 7 - 208.5

not quite my worst ever, but it's up there.
2012 was a HORRIBLE year on many levels, and glad to put it behind me.

feel free to kick off tomorrow, or post in a couple of weeks worth, or whatever. doesn't matter.

reverting to some usual staples:

- Cheerios and/or banana for breakfast. I don't get bored with either. find a couple of GOOD choices, and stick with them. sticking breakfast is verboten; you rarely can get back on the right track calorically for the day.

- mix of soups (some low sodium) and sensible portions of other items for lunch choices (one slice of pizza, ideally plain or with something productive on it, is ok. one-patty hamburger with NO fries is ok).

- some 100-calorie snack bags at work, fine as an indulgence once a day.

- have some sense of where you stand calorically as of dinner. if you've only had 400 calories to that point, have a hearty but not crazy dinner. don't go TOO low on calories - 1500 or so as a target, ymmv.

- virtually eliminate caloric soda, and cut way back on diet soda (still crap).

- less beer.

- WATER! Bring in 3-5 bottles to work each day, preferably with a lunch you bring (yes, you save money, too). h/t virgonomic

- stop eating after 8 pm. if you had breakfast, grazed thru day, and aren't way low on calories, you should not be physically hungry. yes, pschology, too, but easier to beat if that's the only issue.

- GET MOVING. RJ crowd getting old enough that checking in with doc beforehand important for more folks. walking is good. hiking is good. running is good if you have the knees for it. park in a crappy spot at the mall, to walk more. consider a gym, if you'll stick with it. maybe a free swimming pool in town. get creative.

I'm sure I'll think of more.

[hacko]

Im in Summer of the Divorce not good on the weight - Beginning weight 233 Lbs.

[virgonomic]

I'm in. Weight is about 263. Doc said I should be under 200.

Other ideas:
1. Gluten-free. My new lady is doing it as are several healthy friends. We made gluten-free pizzas Friday night and it they were decent. My sister said "you will drop weight like a mofo". You have to commit 100%, but there are many gluten free cereals and pastas, plus all rice. Read "Wheat Belly"! PM me for a digital copy.
2. Drink more water. I drink a couple big coffees in the am and it's difficult to recover from that in terms of hydration. But admitting you have a problem is the first step.

[Vecmizer]

1/14 193.2

[Judge Jude]

whew, confused virgonomic and vecmizer for a minute there!


JAN 7 - 208.5
JAN 14 - 204.5

"wind aided," as they say in track - a rare touch of a scratchy throat left me preferring to be beer-free on a divisional playoff weekend. score!

may have one more week beyond 2 left in me; after that, 2 a week would be the goal.....

[Steve]

Jan 14 - 221 pounds

The holidays added about 15 pounds this year. Rats.

[Judge Jude]

Jan 14 - 221 pounds

The holidays added about 15 pounds this year. Rats.

I always wondered what Otters ate as the main holiday entree.

[Teenwolf]

Proud to say that for the first ever RJ Weight Loss Challenge... I won't be signing up.

Last year's weight loss challenge really helped me change my lifestyle, getting into the best shape of my life and staying there.

Everybody is different, but here's some of the things I did to drop 50 lbs, going from 222.5 lbs at my peak 2 years ago (almost to the day) to my usual 165-170.

1 - Calorie Counting

This was fascinating to me. I spent about 2 months counting calories intake with minimal tracking of fat, carbs, etc. Month 1 was simply counting what I normally ate (4000 calories of pre-packaged garbage, mostly), and month 2 was when I actually started setting caloric limits, gradually paring down my 4000 to 2000-2500.

2 - Quitting Drinking

I know this won't appeal to most. But I had a bit of a problem with the amount of beer I was consuming. I would average 15 beers in a night of drinking, and averaged 2-3 nights out per week. Some weeks I would consume 100 beers. NOW, I have an extra 1.5 lbs per week (5000 calories) that I can consume in more enjoyable ways.

3 - Running/Walking

This is a difficult one. I became quite obsessed with running last winter, doing a 10 km (6 mile) run or more, 2-3 times a week for about 6 months. The end result was that I dropped weight like crazy, but banged up my feet from pounding the pavement. I've had problems with 2 of my toenails, and have a nerve problem in my right foot now called Morton's Neuroma, though it's getting better now that I've been off work. When I switched to taking long walks, doing the same 10-12 km walking over 3 hours, the health benefit was similar (it keeps the weight off) but I decided that I don't need to run so hard. I've got nobody to impress. Low impact only from here on out.

4 - Veganism

This was somewhat difficult and completely unintentional. I started dating a vegan girl in march, and slowly adapted to her way of eating. If I didn't have an amazing vegan cook helping me through it, the process would have been much more difficult. But it's been WAY easier than I expected. I can eat like a king now without worry, and most of what I eat tastes great! It sounds like a major sacrifice, but it's been quite the opposite for me. Food preparation has become so much easier now that I no longer have to worry about food safety. This made it much easier to learn how to cook, and experiment.

I also used to have a lot of health problems. Stomach issues (hospitalized regularly, with 7-8 stays in hospital over the last decade), acid reflux (went away once I kicked dairy), etc. I just feel internally like a million bucks. Like, if I was a stereo, and you took out all of my shitty 3 cent parts and replaced them with 10 cent ones. It's hard to describe.

Also, way down the list of vegan benefits for me is not spending on the meat industry. The biggest way to affect change is with your wallet, so fuck KFC and their brethren, trying to feed us their GMO animal garbage. Eat real food instead, cut out all the cancer causing crap that these greedy industries attempt to feed us. Just my opinion. Nothing against meat eaters. It's a free world. No judgement. It just feels great for me.

GOOD LUCK to everyone that's still in this. Weight is such a difficult stat line in our lives. You need to get to the roots of the problem (eating, exercise, personal expectations) if you want to actually make a change. I know that you guys work SO hard, every time one of these weight loss challenges happen. But I want to tell you that honestly, I don't work hard anymore on my weight. I haven't counted a calorie, or a carb, or a run time, or anything, in over 6 months. There are many reasons for the change, but I credit these RJ Weight Loss Challenges for a large part of my success.

Thanks, and again, good luck.

[heyelander]

1/7 212
1/14 210.5

I did really well at the start last year, dropping 2+lbs a week for the first month... then nothing for the next two months. Got discouraged and have made a decent bit of it back. I think I started last year around 214-216.

[Steve]

2/7 212
2/14 210.5

I did really well at the start last year, dropping 2+lbs a week for the first month... then nothing for the next two months. Got discouraged and have made a decent bit of it back. I think I started last year around 214-216.

How do you know what you will weigh in February?

[heyelander]

How do you know what you will weigh in February?

I plan to not change a thing about my diet.

[Judge Jude]

Teenwolf,

I'm not the only one here thrilled to hear about your success!

I know women like to gather in groups and bare their souls and cry on each other shoulders at Weight Watchers and all that, but well, we're wired a little different.

The first one of these in 2004 (I forget exactly how it started, but I do know I got really into it immediately), I was amazed that the key for me and many of us was.... accountability. Every Monday, as Bill Parcells almost said, you were what the scale said you were. no excuses.

It doesn't work for everyone, but it works for a LOT of people. And if anyone hasn't wandered in previously, not too late. Just post your opening weight (and no, nobody gives a crap if it's 160 or 360 - ok, if you're over 6 feet and 160, take it to another thread, lol. but otherwise....).

Once you do, you have one week to try to improve. Biology dictates that you may not have a 'win' each week, but you should lose an average of about 2 lbs a week typically if you do most things right. Lots of us have already offered amateur tips that - well, they're not Olympic athlete-level healthful, but they ARE realistic and mostly healthful. Then you're on to the next week, and another 'weigh-in.'

There's a cumulative effect, pretty quickly. I had one good week, and I hiked one modest mile today even though it was dreary and getting dark. Walked up my 4 flights home tonight. Neither is a big deal, but they add up.

P.S. If you're focused more on exercise than diet, and hit it hard, you will likely lose weight a bit slowly but you'll lose waist size quicker and have many other benefits. The weight loss will come, too, and the increasing looks you get in the gym are worth more than a couple of diet-focused extra pounds for sure....

[Roto Rooter]

Good luck to everyone doing it again this year i'll be cheering you guys on. Even you Eld. Thankfully like Teenwolf i do not need to participate this time around since i've kept off what i lost last year and some. I'm down to 214 which is a really nice sweet spot for me. I started last years weight loss thread at 295, so i'm down over 80 pounds. Once it clicks it's easy. My diet is pretty much just a lifestyle now and I can control any little fluctuation in poundage pretty easily. Almost daily exercise helps too.

[Steve]

Jan 14 - 221 pounds
Jan 21 - 220 pounds

[Judge Jude]

JAN 7 - 208.5
JAN 14 - 204.5
JAN 21 - 201.5

same formula as last week - still not quite healthy enough to exercise, but also didn't have a big appetite and kept my focus all week. These lbs were ones I've rarely had, though, so my body was more inclined to toss them away, I think. The harder part starts now, but at least I have some momentum!