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Jamberoo - 04 Mar 2004 10:02 GMT

Hi

I am 39 and have just started the 3rd big diet of my life the first was when
I was 16 and went from 224 pounds to 154 pounds. The second was when I was
27 and went form 245 pounds to 133 pounds in 7 months. And now I'm 39 and
weigh 294 pounds and my target weight is 168 pounds.

Please can anybody suggest a way to keep this weight off. If I put it all
back on again I don't know how I will cope.

Regards

Jim

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Chris Braun - 04 Mar 2004 13:10 GMT

>Hi
>
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>Please can anybody suggest a way to keep this weight off. If I put it all
>back on again I don't know how I will cope.

Hi Jim,

Can you tell us more about a couple of things? How did you lose the
weight the other two times? What are you planning to do this time?
The other two times, when you regained, did it start as soon as you
reached the low weight or did you maintain for some time first? What
do you think made you start eating more? (I know this last isn't an
easy question, but it's one you need to examine.)

Losing 112 lbs. in 7 months is an extremely fast rate of weight loss.
That's good in some ways, but it probably means you were eating far
less than you wanted to keep on eating after you reached your goal.
The trouble with that is that it means you haven't adopted an eating
plan that you can continue with. If you go back to eating what you
want you are likely to regain. You need to change your eating habits
for life. If you lose on a more aggressive plan, you can change to
something more moderate after you reach goal, but it can't be like you
eat now.

Do you exercise? This is also a habit you should have for life.

I think you can really get some help from this group if you stick
around and participate, both with losing the weight and maintaining
the loss.

Chris
262/155/ (holding in 152-165 weight class)

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determined - 04 Mar 2004 13:21 GMT

> Hi
>
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> Please can anybody suggest a way to keep this weight off. If I put it all
> back on again I don't know how I will cope.

Don't start anymore diets. Seriously. You need to make permanent, forever
and ever changes in your way of eating. Gone are the days of endless sodas
and sugary drinks. Gone are the days of deep fried and fast foods. Gone
are the days of bottomless bowls of ice cream, bags of potato chips, mounds
of mashed potatoes, and platters of doughnuts. Here to stay is restrained
eating, good food choices, vegetables, lean proteins, healthy fats and
exercise. Here to say is, "no thank you". Here to stay is, "my health is
more important".

If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. It isn't easy. Even for those
of us who stay within 5-10 lbs of goal weight always. It's always in the
backs of our minds, like the little devil and the little angel sitting on
our shoulders - who ya gonna listen too?

No whining, excuses, etc. Just do it. You have to sweat, you have to make
some sacrifices, you can't eat everything you want, you have to get off your
a.s when you don't want to, you have to tell yourself NO when you want to
eat crap.

If you've lost great sums of weight before, you know it can be done. I'd
like to know your methods of weightloss, because I'm guessing it was drastic
and unsustainable and that's why you gained it back. These have to be
PERMANENT changes. And it takes sheer determination sometimes. But it does
get easier.

det

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Jamberoo - 04 Mar 2004 13:52 GMT

Both times I have lost weight before have been the same as I intend to do it
this time.

Almost every day

Breakfast
All Bran 56g 140 cals or porridge 180 cals
.24 pint semi skimmed milk 70 cals

Lunch

Diet Cuppa Soup 55 cals
Brown Bap 130 cals
1 tomatoe 20 cals
1 stalk celery 5 cals
4 slices cucumber

Dinner

120g boiled chicken without skin 130 cals every other day 180g boiled white
fish 155 cals
200g microwave potato with skin 136 cals
150g vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, peas, green beans) aprox
110 cals

200 cals for snacks ie stalk of celery, apple, orange, pickled beetroot, raw
mushrooms.

Thats it. About 1000 cals a day. I go on an exercise bike every other day
starting at 20 mins and the last time I built up to 1 and a half hours every
other day. I also play the drums which is guite a good work out. The last
time I also done quite alot of weight training and sit-ups building up to
over 200 sit-ups every other day. I am unable to do weight training anymore
due to a neck injury.

> Hi
>
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
> Version: 6.0.605 / Virus Database: 385 - Release Date: 01/03/2004

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Patricia Heil - 04 Mar 2004 16:15 GMT

You need more variety -- need to include other leafy greens
like spinach, kale, collards, mustard greens, turnip greens.

Just remember this is for life.

> Both times I have lost weight before have been the same as I intend to do it
> this time.
[quoted text clipped - 56 lines]
> Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
> Version: 6.0.611 / Virus Database: 391 - Release Date: 03/03/2004

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J.J. in WA State - 04 Mar 2004 19:44 GMT

Hark! I heard "Jamberoo" <j.banks@blueyonder.co.uk> say:

> Both times I have lost weight before have been the same as I intend to do it
> this time.

<snip>

> Thats it. About 1000 cals a day. I go on an exercise bike every other day
> starting at 20 mins and the last time I built up to 1 and a half hours every
> other day. I also play the drums which is guite a good work out. The last
> time I also done quite alot of weight training and sit-ups building up to
> over 200 sit-ups every other day. I am unable to do weight training anymore
> due to a neck injury.

I'm pretty new to this, but 1000 calories a day doesn't sound like
enough -- it seems you're going from one extreme to another and that's
going to be very hard to stick to for any amount of time. Years ago,
I lost 80 pounds by eating only 600-700 calories per day. The weight
came off fast, but I couldn't keep it off because I couldn't maintain
that kind of low cal living. Eventually, I gained it all back plus lots
more.

For the past month, I've been eating 1500 calories per day. I'm not
losing weight as fast (about 2 lbs per week right now), but this diet
has been easy to stick with. And when I'm done, I'll figure out how many
calories per day I need to maintain my goal weight (probably around
1800-1900, depending on my exercise level). IOW, not a huge change, but
something I can live with. And that's my 2 cents worth... :-)

Signature

J.J. in WA State
(251/245/150)

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Jayjay - 04 Mar 2004 21:05 GMT

>I'm pretty new to this, but 1000 calories a day doesn't sound like
>enough -- it seems you're going from one extreme to another and that's
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>that kind of low cal living. Eventually, I gained it all back plus lots
>more.

You have hit the nail on the head for "starvation" and "yo-yo"
dieting.

When you cut calories too low in an effort to lose weight, this is
what happens.

When you cut too low, your body goes into a primative state of
"starvation". It thinks you are going through a famine period,
therefore it treats the body as such.

Your body needs energy just to survive. When you don't provide
enough for long periods of time, your body turns on itself to get that
energy. First, it says to itself "there is not enough energy to keep
these muscles moving, and those fat stores take too long to convert to
energy for the cells, so, lets use the muscle, it converts protein to
energy quickly". So your body starts burning muscle for fuel.

What happens is, you lose weight. You lose some fat, and you lose
some muscle. The lower you cut your calories, the greater muscle
loss there is. Then you get down to your goal weight... BUT, you
are now less lean. You have reached a stage we refer to as "Skinny
fat". And at this stage since you have less muscle, it takes fewer
calories to maintain your weight.

The more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns. Muscle
is metabolically active (meaning, it burns calories). Fat is not
metabolically active (it burns some, but very little).

So, this means that at lower weights you have to eat very little just
to maintain your weight, and if you consume over maintenance, its much
easier to gain weight in the form of more fat.

The goal then would be to alter your diet, eat a bit more, and
exercise and lift weights to build and retain muscle. Feed your body
enough that it doesn't think it is starving. Keep the fat/muscle
loss ration in the Fat Loss favor. (losing more fat than muscle).

>For the past month, I've been eating 1500 calories per day. I'm not
>losing weight as fast (about 2 lbs per week right now), but this diet
>has been easy to stick with. And when I'm done, I'll figure out how many
>calories per day I need to maintain my goal weight (probably around
>1800-1900, depending on my exercise level). IOW, not a huge change, but
>something I can live with. And that's my 2 cents worth... :-)

The 1 to 2lbs per week is the ideal goal for weight loss. This is a
slow enough weight loss that your body tends to retain a higher ratio
of muscle. And like you said, its easier to stick to, as you don't
feel so hungry as if you were on a 1000 or less cal diet.

Its a healthier choice.

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janice - 04 Mar 2004 21:14 GMT

>>I'm pretty new to this, but 1000 calories a day doesn't sound like
>>enough -- it seems you're going from one extreme to another and that's
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>>that kind of low cal living. Eventually, I gained it all back plus lots
>>more.

This is very true. I can't remember if the OP said what age/height etc
they were, but I lose at a good steady rate at 1500 calories a day and
I'm a woman in my late 50s, so I would think very few people need to
go as low as 1000.
janice
233/177/133

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Chris Braun - 05 Mar 2004 02:19 GMT

>Both times I have lost weight before have been the same as I intend to do it
>this time.
[quoted text clipped - 30 lines]
>over 200 sit-ups every other day. I am unable to do weight training anymore
>due to a neck injury.

This is a very low calorie diet. These can be effective, but usually
only when done under medical supervision to ensure you are getting all
the nutrients you need. And they create the problem of not knowing
how to eat properly once you're done losing. Plainly, you don't want
to eat this diet for the rest of your life. So the risk is you'll do
what you have done twice before: go back to eating the wrong things or
too much of them, and gain the weight back. There's a lot to be said
for adopting a diet you can live with forever, even if it means losing
more slowly.

Also, your diet seems to have insufficient protein. There's very
little in your breakfast, and even less in your lunch (assuming a bap
is a roll, which is what I think but am not sure). You should at
minimum add in some chicken or tuna fish or some such to your lunch.

I'm sure you'll hear similar things from others :-).

Chris
262/155/ (holding in 152-165 weight class)

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Ignoramus9863 - 04 Mar 2004 14:19 GMT

> Hi
>
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> Please can anybody suggest a way to keep this weight off. If I put
> it all back on again I don't know how I will cope.

It is very easy to keep weight off. After you lose weight, watch how
much you are eating and continue exercising. If you see yourself
gaining weight, eat less. It's that simple.

A fat person such as yourself can only be in two stable weight states:
either fat, or on a diet. I am also a naturally fat person and I know
that I will start regaining the moment I stop watching how much I eat.

The idea that you "go on a diet" and then somehow magically, your
weight would stay off forever, is absurd.

i
223/175/180

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Patricia Heil - 04 Mar 2004 16:13 GMT

Make it a life long change of habits. Start an exercise program
including aerobics, and plan to eat moderate amounts of high-fiber
low fat food for the rest of your life. If you always regard these
activities as temporary fixes, they will be and you will put the
weight back on when you stop.

> Hi
>
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
> Version: 6.0.605 / Virus Database: 385 - Release Date: 01/03/2004

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Paul - 04 Mar 2004 18:49 GMT

Hello Jim,

I'm 39 too and losing weight from an all time high of 300 pounds. I'm
currently 210 pounds and have another 35 pounds to lose to reach my goal of
175. I've lost my weight so far through eating healthy foods and exercise.
All the replies that others have posted to you are great and true. Take
them to heart. The reason that diets fail is because people go back to the
old routine, and relearn their old behaviors of eating fattening foods. In
order to lose it and maintain it, you have to first set a goal, then apply
healthy eating and exercise to get there. Then you have to maintain it by
continuing the good behaviors you've learned.

I eat backed fish, chicken, vegetables, and fruit and find enough
varieties of food so that it doesn't get boring. I even have vegetable
pizza once in a while. Another important thing is portion control. Eat
till your content and not full. Drink a lot of water.

You can do it bro. We're in the same boat.

Paul
300/210/175

> Hi
>
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
> Version: 6.0.605 / Virus Database: 385 - Release Date: 01/03/2004

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Doug Freyburger - 04 Mar 2004 20:24 GMT

> Please can anybody suggest a way to keep this weight off.

Don't quit. *Ever*. Simple as that. Of course "simple" and "easy"
aren't the same things. You must find a plan that you *can* stay on
the rest of your life.

The result of quitting is gaining it all back. You've already
learned that. It doesn't matter in the least what plan you quit,
either. There's no such thing as a plan that leads to keeping the
weight off when you quit.

So right now take a *very* close look at your plan's maintenance
phase. If it does not have one, the time to change to a different
plan is a this hour. If you look at the maintenance phase and
realize there's no way you will be able to do that, start shopping
for a different plan today.

Whatever plan you pick, try it for at least 6 months. Less than
that and you just haven't given it enough time. Yes, this is an
extreme suggestion, shrug. But I've seen far too many people be
in week 3 and claim their plan stopped working and that's a load of
impatient crap.

Whatever plan you pick, follow the whole thing. It is certain that
you will be tempted to follow the most radical phase of it for as
long as possible. Don't do that. Your issue is *falling off* plans
not making them work. You've already made plans work. So don't
treat your plan as an all-or-nothing proposition. Far too often
all-or-nothing attitudes result in nothing. Move right on into the
milder phases of whatever plan you select. Do it for the longevity.

Oh right, so very biased stuff, too: Pick Atkins. I'm on Atkins and
I think it's great. So I want others to try Atkins. I'm biased
that way.

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