Chiff & Fipple Diet Club

JessieK · Post by **JessieK** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 12:40 pm

Yes, exercise. I am far too lazy. In a couple of years, I'll be chasing Joey around. But right now, I don't really do any formal exercise. Oh well.

tubafor · Post by **tubafor** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 12:51 pm

I mentioned my journey on the other thread, but I'll give the basics again... On April 1st, I began a 12 week fast, followed by 5 weeks of transition back to food - medically monitored, with nothing but their supplements for that time.

Here I am at week 15, in my third week of transition, and although my journey has just begun, I'm beginning to believe I can follow this path.

I started the program at 486.6 lbs, and as of last week have lost 81.4 lbs. Starting to eat food again has been scary, but the center that I'm going to for the program has some superb tools for changing lifestyle, so things are alright for the present.

The most helpful thing I've been using is a program for my Palm called Calorie King - it's my food journal, as well as a database of thousands of foods, including fast food and restaurants, and it's been so helpful in keeping track of calories.

I'm at between 1000-1200 calories right now, and we'll see what my final program is Thursday. After the end of transition, I can continue to attend classes and such at the clinic, so the support will still be there for me to carry on.

What's my goal? Well, I'd like to get below 250 lbs, but I know it will take a while. That's alright - I'd rather take it slow and make it a permanent change. The other goal is to avoid bariatric surgery - which before this program seemed to be the only hope for me. It's been amazing to learn that I can actually take control of my diet, and I'm excited to see what lies ahead.

Big hugs to all of you on this path - it's a tough one, but well worth the effort!

Cal

Jerry Freeman · Post by **Jerry Freeman** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 1:05 pm

Nevermind.

Flyingcursor · Post by **Flyingcursor** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 1:11 pm

I'll join since it's so far been uncontaminated.

I'm 45, 5' 11", 200 lbs. I seem to have extra weight all over and not just one spot. That's good in that proportionally I don't look ridiculous but it's bad in that it's decieving.

Between 35 and 37 I had dropped from 210 to 170. I held that until about 40 then it came back. I am not sure what I'm doing different. I never tried to lose all that weight back then. I just noticed my watch was slipping around my arm.

I also don't know how it got back up. I have yet to really come up with a plan and stick to it. Changing lifestyle and habit is very difficult.
Excercise? HA HA HA. Unless you count clicking a mouse button.

That's my tale. This is sort of like Canterbury tales isn't it?

And to everyone else:

Good luck Jessie. Glad to see progreess.

Byll, I hope whatever plan you adopt will help with those creaking joints. Maybe you can yell at me and make me be more active.

jbarter, best of luck to continue your morris dancing, something I'd like to learn more about.

sbruyette, That sounds familiar. I always eat more on weekends and nights. Great job on the 14 pounds.

RonKiley. I'm glad to see you survived your heart attack. How much of the artery did they have to replace? Must have been terrifying. Congratulations on the 40 lbs.

tubafor. I greatly admire your perserverance. I'll be anxious to hear how it goes.

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 1:14 pm

OK...here's my story:

I've battled my weight since I was a little kid. I am a compulsive eater, and that doesn't help matters at all. When I was in college, I finally was successful at losing weight and keeping it off...unfortunately, this "success" came in the form of anorexia nervosa and, later, bulemia.

After "hitting bottom" when I lived in San Francisco, I gradually got a handle on my eating disorders. I was on a pretty even keel through most of my young adulthood. My healthiest period was in my late 20s, when I was studying karate...I weighed 120 pounds, most of it muscle, and was the fittest I've ever been in my life.

Something went screwy after my daughter was born in 1993. Since then, no matter what I do, I CAN'T lose weight. I have to work out like a demon and severely restrict calories just to maintain my weight...if I fall off the wagon even for a brief period (say, while I'm on vacation), my weight shoots upward...and stays up. Whether this is related to my earlier anorexia or to childbirth, I don't know. One thing I can tell you (and which my doctors don't believe) is that I DO know HOW to lose weight...there's no expert like a recovering anorexic, let me tell you! Every time I go into my doctor's office and she hands me those sheets telling me that if I'll just cut out red meat and walk 30 minutes a day I'll lose weight, I want to strangle someone.

I gave up smoking one year ago July 1, and things have been even worse since then. Despite a walking program and caloric restriction, I've ballooned to nearly 200 pounds...the heaviest I've ever been! And, having fought whatever this is for 11 years now, I have no confidence that it will ever come off. But I have to keep trying...I hate myself like this. I hate having to explain over and over that I DON'T overeat, and I DO exercise and that yes...I have had thyroid testing and its all come back negative. To make matters worse, I'm now officially "insulin resistant/pre-diabetic." I don't know how to fix all this, but I definitely could use non-judgemental support. I can't even talk about weight on the vegetarian boards I frequent...sadly, the vegetarian community is among the most judgemental I've ever come across, and discussing the issue there is depressing. I hope my fellow musicians will be more supportive...God knows, we C&F-ers have shown time and time again how supportive we can be!

I hope this fits within the context of this thread...if not, feel free to delete, and no harm done.

Redwolf

John S · Post by **John S** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 1:34 pm

Hi folks, I've gone from 16.5 stone to 14 in about 2 years, my target weight is 12 stone.
Here's what I've found out about loosing weight.
The only way to loose weight is to expend more energy than you consume (kind of obvious this one)
That gives you 2 options 1 do more aerobic exercise, or 2 consume less Calories.
Losing weight too quickly is a bad idea in most cases, so make PERMINANT small changes to your lifestyle to loose weight slowly. You probably put the pounds on slowly, I loose about 1/2 a pound a week.
I exercise by brisk walking I probably average about 45 minutes a day but I do it as and when I feel like it and find it very enjoyable.
Here's a useful physiological trick, when you first start doing Aerobic exercise your body burns Carbohydrate for non-athletes it take about an hour for your body to switch to burning fat alone (as you get fitter this time will reduce), but fortunately a modest amount of Caffeine prier to exercise reduces this time dramatically to about 1/4 of an hour. Have a cup of coffee before exercise.
Why do people on the Atkins diet lose weight? Answer they eat less calories. A high ratio of protein to carbohydrate suppresses the appetite, but don't eliminate all carbs.
Whenever you eat a meal your metabolic rate increases, the greatest increase occurs after eating breakfast, so don't miss this meal.
Eat good food, lots of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Don't count calories, and don't weigh yourself to often.

Good luck

John S

JessieK · Post by **JessieK** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 1:36 pm

Wow, thank you for your stories.

Redwolf, here's a ton of support in a hug: {{{Redwolf}}}

Cal, congratulations on such a huge start!

RonKiley · Post by **RonKiley** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 2:52 pm

In answer to the one question my left anterior descending artery was by passed in 2 places.

Red wolf congratulations on quitting smoking. That was one of the best things you could do for your health. Hang in there. We can all do this sooner or later.

Ron

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 3:31 pm

I also dropped off the other thread. Here's my story again.

When I met my 110 pound wife, I weighed about 200 pounds. That was a healthy weight for me. I have always fluctuated with my weight. Like many of you contributing to this thread It has been a very frustrating battle for me.

Over the last 6 years I really poured the weight on. I finally saw a picture of my self on St. Patrick's Day 2003 at 270 pounds and I decided to do something about it. I managed to lose about 40 pounds last year with diet change and exercise. I levelled off there for about a year and I only gained 6 back. I'm very pleased with those results (so is Cindy) but I really need to lose 30 or so more. BTW, since the last thread I did manage to lose 4 pounds.

Tubafor, What you've done is nothing short of amazing. You've really taken control of your situation and you should be proud of yourself.

By all means, Redwolf, don't give up!!! You'll find something that works. If you can quit smoking, you can do anything.

This thread is going to be really helpful. Good on ye Chuck! And on Jessie for coming up with the idea in the first place.

Good luck, Everyone!
-Paul

Monster · Post by **Monster** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 4:23 pm

Ok, I'd like to be in the club too! I will admit to being a downer to the original thread, as I said something to the effect that I thought maybe the thread wouldn't be too helpful. Sorry about that, I do feel a bit bad about saying that..

Like Byll I need to lose about 15 lbs or so, maybe I'm having a rough time getting really serious about it since the amount does not seem that great. I've been trying the exercise/ diet route to weight loss and in the last week I've finally begun to see some real progress, my 34" waist pants are starting to fit better, so I must be making some progress, I don't really feel like weighing myself yet, maybe I will though, and try like Jessie to do it once a week after that.

I started going to the gym about 9 months ago and it seemed as if nothing were really happening. Well in the last couple of weeks I began to really push while at the gym, I mean real sweat, and feelings of actual muscle fatique, how horrible. Not really

seems like some sweat and fatique on a continuous basis, along with sensible eating is what it's gong to take.

Thanks for all the stories everyone! And now I'm off for a semi-healthy snack of and apple, with a bit of peanut butter, yum. I could easily eat a bag of cookies instead so compared to that the apple is very healthy!

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 5:24 pm

Paul wrote:
By all means, Redwolf, don't give up!!! You'll find something that works. If you can quit smoking, you can do anything.

This thread is going to be really helpful. Good on ye Chuck! And on Jessie for coming up with the idea in the first place.

Good luck, Everyone!
-Paul

The downside for me, Paul, is what I have to do to lose even a half-pound of fat is, essentially, not eat. At all. And even then, and even with exercise, that's about all I'll lose, and it will come back if I relax for even a day. That's been the story of my life for 11 years now. I CAN do just about anything, but if my body won't cooperate, or if I'm going to have to live with severe restrictions for the rest of my life just to keep from ballooning completely out of control, I'm not sure it's worth it. It's particularly depressing to go into the doctors' offices, because they flat DON'T believe me...they're convinced I'm eating on the sly, or that I don't really realize how much I'm eating (or how many calories, how many fat grams, how many "bad carbs" or whatever the diet trend of the day is), and that's just not the case. Very frustrating.

Redwolf

Chuck_Clark · Post by **Chuck_Clark** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 6:38 pm

Going to various diet meetings (Weight Watchers, liquid, etc.) over the years, I recall often looking at people who were there and wondering what the heck they were doing there. Some seemed to be at or even below normal weights, others not THAT far overweight. In retrospect, it almost seems like some sort of reverse prejudice on my part. After all, I was probably 100 pounds or more over 'normal' at those times, so what business did 'they' have dieting.

If nothing else, I've learned what a ludicrous attitude this was. Thirty pounds over to a supermodel may well be as catastrophic as 100 pounds is to a salesman or lawyer. As far as things like Weight watchers, we may see the 'thin' person - what we can't see is the person they were, the hard work they did to get there or the ongoing effort they put into staying there. To categorize people by whether they look 'fat' or not, or by how much they want to lose, is as silly as categorizing the by how dark their skin is or how thick an accent they might have.

The important thing, there and here, is that we cannot hope to see any more than the most superficial part of a person, and have no understanding of their personal struggle. All we can see is another human being who feels a need, in this case to lose weight. All we can DO is to be supportive when it is asked of us. I applaud everyone who has chosen to join in this endeavor. Together, who knows how much we can accomplish.

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 7:28 pm

That's a really good point, Chuck. When I was struggling with bulemia in SF, I went to a few Overeaters Anonymous meetings, but stopped going because people treated me like I didn't have a right to be there because I was, at the time, pretty darned skinny (too skinny, really...about 94 pounds). Of course, my problem at the time wasn't being overweight...it was an obsessive/compulsive relationship with food that caused me to either starve myself or eat until I couldn't hold anymore and then purge...but it was hard for anyone to see past the bony physique.

Redwolf

jonharl · Post by **jonharl** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 8:34 pm

At the beginning of this year I lost 60 lbs. Alas I gained 30 lbs back on the rebound. I got cocky and thought I could just fudge a little and it would be OK. Currently I weigh 418 lbs and I would like to weigh 245 lbs. I really want to get healthy again. The number one problem I have is Type 2 Diabetes. Which the Doctor says will come under control as I lose my weight. I'm reading a book called the Midlife Miracle Diet it seems to have some good ideas that I'm willing to follow. I've started watching everything I eat, making sure I'm carb careful. I've been reluctant to paticipate in this thread and the one before. People are very prejudiced towards overweight people. I think it's the last prejudice that's acceptable. It's just not who I am, I mean this fat guy that can't control myself or is a loser. But I could sure use the support of you guys and a place to report progress.

Chuck_Clark · Post by **Chuck_Clark** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 11:41 pm

jonharl wrote:I've been reluctant to paticipate in this thread and the one before. People are very prejudiced towards overweight people. I think it's the last prejudice that's acceptable. It's just not who I am, I mean this fat guy that can't control myself or is a loser. But I could sure use the support of you guys and a place to report progress.

Then by all means, join us. I'm going to go a little farther than I thought and give my starting size. At 5'3" my current weight is right at 300 lbs. My goal is 10 percent, or 30 pounds because that's the policy of the behavior mod group I just joined, although of course 140-150 is obviously what I really need to lose.

I'm not a loser. Neither are you or anyone else here. I quit smoking in one day because it interfered with my racquetball game. But for whatever reason - and there are many- I have simply not been successfl at keeping weight off. Maybe that can change. I'm going to try, with the help of this group. Lean on us when you need to, give your own shoulder to others to lean on and by all means let us know how things are going.