Kevdogg's inspirational Weight Loss thread

"If you want something you have never had, you must be willing to do something you have never done."
-Dr. Shaun Marler

Kevdogg. I am coming down from 450 lbs and currently weigh 300 lbs. I proved that I could lose hundreds of pounds over many years following much of the advice you have been given above. And those pounds always came back with a vengeance. As a last resort, I sought surgery and had that done 17 months ago.what the surgery does is reverse years of training that you have given your body that drasticly increases the volume of your stomach. It now makes overeating uncomfortable, just like a normal weight person. But even that DID NOT solve the problem of my desire to overeat. Just like an alcoholic, I needed to deal with those desires. And the surgery CANNOT deal with that. I can only tell you what I had to do differently in order yo accomplish the thing I had never accomplished before. I cannot tell you what it is that might need to change but I encourage you to STOP doing the same things over and over again. There are literally hundreds of ways to reduce food intake and increase energy expenditure. But only you can decide when it is just doing another "flavor" of the same things.

Kevin, I wish you all the best and hope you can tackle this successfully. But first you have to accept the facts and not be in denial.

Denials in red, excuses in green. Reasons in Black

kevdogg329 said:

] its literally taking my life away from me.

I want to lose weight but I struggle with sticking to a routine and cannot afford to join a gym.

whenever I start any type of weight loss I go good for about a week, then it all falls apart.

I am not going to be around too much longer if I do not do something dramatic soon.

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kevdogg329 said:

which keeps the doc visits to a minimum of when I am sick and need meds for healing.

but I don't know if I have the 'why' yet.

I do not know how to cook many items, and those things I know how to cook are bad for me

Also my wife likes to have dinner waiting on me, however I never was taught to eat healthy, so I struggle with liking healthy food.

I do not do a lot of the grocery shopping, so I have access to what my wife gets at the store.

It does not help when the bad food is cheap and the good food is expensive.

I stopped tracking as I was getting disappointed at how much of a pig I really was, and always gave in to my food desires.

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While you can certainly start with baby steps, or you can make dramatic changes, the only way you will meet your goal is if you have the will to do it. If you go into anything at half-committed you will fail.
Read the items in green, ask yourself why these need to be so.
Read the lines in red, ask yourself who you are trying to kid?
Read the lines in black. Make more lines in black. Convince yourself you are going to do this. Engage with your wife. Convince her you are going to do this. If she is making your meals she needs to be making you better healthier meals.

I apologize if this comes across as mean. I hope you can see that is not the intent at all! I needed the same conversation with myself on quitting smoking. I need the same conversation with myself on losing weight.

Good luck and please keep us updated on your progress!

Haggises said:

Kevin, I wish you all the best and hope you can tackle this successfully. But first you have to accept the facts and not be in denial.

Denials in red, excuses in green. Reasons in Black

While you can certainly start with baby steps, or you can make dramatic changes, the only way you will meet your goal is if you have the will to do it. If you go into anything at half-committed you will fail.
Read the items in green, ask yourself why these need to be so.
Read the lines in red, ask yourself who you are trying to kid?
Read the lines in black. Make more lines in black. Convince yourself you are going to do this. Engage with your wife. Convince her you are going to do this. If she is making your meals she needs to be making you better healthier meals.

I apologize if this comes across as mean. I hope you can see that is not the intent at all! I needed the same conversation with myself on quitting smoking. I need the same conversation with myself on losing weight.

Good luck and please keep us updated on your progress!

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This is GREAT advice (denials, excuses, reasons) that I think anyone can use with almost any problem they are facing in life.

Thanks for the post, Haggises!

Haggises said:

Kevin, I wish you all the best and hope you can tackle this successfully. But first you have to accept the facts and not be in denial.

Denials in red, excuses in green. Reasons in Black





While you can certainly start with baby steps, or you can make dramatic changes, the only way you will meet your goal is if you have the will to do it. If you go into anything at half-committed you will fail.
Read the items in green, ask yourself why these need to be so.
Read the lines in red, ask yourself who you are trying to kid?
Read the lines in black. Make more lines in black. Convince yourself you are going to do this. Engage with your wife. Convince her you are going to do this. If she is making your meals she needs to be making you better healthier meals.

I apologize if this comes across as mean. I hope you can see that is not the intent at all! I needed the same conversation with myself on quitting smoking. I need the same conversation with myself on losing weight.

Good luck and please keep us updated on your progress!

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You did not come across as mean at all. I really appreciate you being brutally honest with me.

Also I just re-downloaded the MyFitnessPal onto my phone and am going to start to track my food intake.

Phew
Good luck, kev. Get your mind around it first - your body will follow.

Haggises said:

Phew
Good luck, kev. Get your mind around it first - your body will follow.

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And that is going to be the biggest part of this battle. I have 30 years of un-programming to do

You have a massive support group here, keep us posted.

Parjay said:

You have a massive support group here, keep us posted.

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And that is greatly appreciated!!! I can not walk down this road by myself.

This is what has worked for my wife and I.

You need to get everyone in your household onto this otherwise you will fail. Everyone must be on the same thought plain so that you get support.

Modified alternate day fasting.

What this means is every other day you restrict your caloric intake to between 600 and 800 calories. 1 boiled egg for breakfast or a bowl of cold cereal with skim milk or 1/2 serving of oat meal. Lunch, half a serving (8 to 10) of tree nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashews, etc) and one piece of fresh fruit (apple, banana, mango, mix it up). Dinner a fresh raw veg salad (not a lot of typical salad makings but sliced carrot, chopped broccoli, sliced celery, sliced mushrooms, sliced onion) with 1 tbl of oil/vinegar for a dressing OR a small bowl of home made veg soup.

For the ON day. Eat what every is normal for you, just don't gorge yourself. The hardest thing we had to learn was that "every day is not a banquet / feast day".

Never eat anything past 7 PM (that was hard as we were late night snackers).

We started this about 6 months ago when I weighed in at 225 lbs (5'10" so chubby). Weigh loss was VERY gradual but for the past months I have been at 180 lbs (which is 5 lb over my top MBI). I am satisfied at this weight as I know I will need to either exercise MORE or eat less, neither of which I am willing to do for 5 lbs.

Here is some reading on the benefits of alternate day fasting (true alternate day means nothing on the off days.... This was way too difficult for us but there are off days where I do not eat anything, hard to do when the wife eats though).

This is kinda dry reading but if you want more than statistical medical reports just google for "alternate day fasting"

http://www.nutritionj.com/content/12/1/146

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/81/1/69.full

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/86/1/7.full

http://www.jdmdonline.com/content/12/1/4

http://www.ahs.uic.edu/kn/news/title,10771,en.html

http://www.scientificamerican.com/a...ng-might-help-you-live-longer-healthier-life/

Good luck with your endeavor. It is worth it in the long run no matter what you decide to do.


This is something that both of us can stick with and that is what counts. Radical weight loss followed by radical weigh gain is the worst thing you can do to your body and healthy.

Find something that WORKS and STICK WITH IT for the rest of your life. Make it part of your life style. I can tell you when we go to bed at night on the off days we talk about what we will eat the next day which is very different conversion than we used to have at night

I agree with Haggises.

I've battled weight issues all my life ... nowhere near the extent of yours, mind you, but hopefully my experience still transfers over ... due to me liking to eat. Resisting temptation is ... darned hard.

Get the bad food out of the house. If it ain't there, you won't eat it. If it's there, you will either eat it, or burn up what willpower reserves you have fighting the urge (and then probably eat it anyhow, in a moment of weakness.)

Get your wife & family on board, with healthy eating and with your weight-loss project. Just like the family of an alcoholic needs to all commit to a "dry household" for him to kick the habit, they need to commit to a healthy-food household.

I personally have found lots of good nutrition advice in Men's Health magasine, most of the best of which is distilled into this book: https://secure.rodale.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/OaeEntryPage?storeId=10057&mktOfferId=HLH46010

kevdogg329 said:

And that is going to be the biggest part of this battle. I have 30 years of un-programming to do

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I wish you well kevdogg, it's not easy but it is doable. I lost a tad over 100lbs in about one year, I didn't do any exercise other than what I get in my daily activities. The biggest reason for my weight loss was due to what many have suggested here, your diet, it's extremely important that you realize, you are what you eat.

Hippocrates said it much better, Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food. True that! It's also cheaper in the long run as you'll be healthy and not in need of a doctor most of the time.

Now, I had been trying for at least 15 years to lose the extra weight but it always ended up like a yo-yo, lose weight than gain it back, a viscous cycle that had to be broken.

I was able to use cannabis to break the evil addiction my current diet had placed on me, drinking several soda's a day, eating large amounts of grains, cereal, bread, doughnuts, cakes, you name it, they all had an evil hold on me and I had no self control. I was able to do this on my own and without the help of the family, they still bought and ate what they wanted, I just didn't care for it anymore. You may not be as fortunate, not knowing the laws in Maryland, but there is an alternative, vitamin C.

Google how to make your own liposomal vitamin C and watch the video. Vitamin C is a powerful addiction breaker and is found in most raw vegetables as well, like broccoli. I wouldn't juice, you need the fiber as well to feel full, maybe smoothies or something of that nature. I also supplement with many vitamins and minerals that I don't get through my diet, the main ones being vitamin D, vitamin C, vitamin B, magnesium, boron, zinc, iron and iodine.

Anyway it's been almost 4 years and I've been able to keep it off, I don't get tempted like I used to, my wife and grown children still have a lot of the foods I quit eating in the house. I was the only one who was way over weight though.

I have started taking a Vitamin C pill, and a multi-vitamin lately to start to get some energy back and it has helped some. Back last fall, I was so lethargic it was scary.

Toasty said:

I was able to use cannabis to break the evil addiction my current diet had placed on me, drinking several soda's a day, eating large amounts of grains, cereal, bread, doughnuts, cakes, you name it, they all had an evil hold on me and I had no self control.

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Replacing an insatiable hunger for food with The Munchies seems a bit ... odd.

But congratulations on reaching your goal.

Here is a quote to ponder:

"Regimen is superior to medicine."(Voltaire)

Over the past 2 1/2 years, I have lost about 50 pounds--not much compared to your goals--by changing habits. Here are a few thoughts. Some of it might sound harsh, but I'm really on your side.

You are going to die soon if you don't do something.

You should see a doctor for a complete physical exam as a first step. You may have serious medical problems connected with your weight. Unconventional diets and some kinds of exercise could be very dangerous for you. The doctor might recommend a strict weight-loss plan that takes account of your immediate problems and needs without jeopardizing your nutrition.

If you can afford the food you have been eating, you can afford a visit to a doctor. Don't blame Obamacare or anything else for failing to take this first step. And your insurance probably will cover a major part of this expense. If you would see a doctor for an injury or illness, this is potentially more important and urgent.

Use MyFitnessPal every day. You have access to some kind of a computer, so you don't need an iPhone or anything else, other than what you use for B&B. I started with a pen and paper journal, recording everything I ate every day and every kind of exercise or activity. It took less than five minutes. Psychologically, this made me pause every time I ate something to ask myself "Do you really want to have to write this down tonight?" MyFitnessPal has the added advantage of estimating the calories and nutrients.

One key to my success was to pretend that I was not trying to lose weight. Instead, I concentrated on not eating crap. Everyone knows what that means. Start with sugary drinks. There is no reason to ever drink a soda. If you are accustomed to drinking a few or more every day, that will eliminate hundreds of calories every day, maybe a thousand or more. Boom! Now you weigh less. Chips, candy, ice cream, pizza, etc. all taste great and bring us pleasure. Drastically reduce or eliminate them.

If you eat the wrong kind of food one day, forget about it. One day won't spoil your plan. Get back on the horse tomorrow.

Drink a glass of water immediately before each meal. There will be less room in your stomach for food.

Foods with protein will fill you up and keep you feeling full much longer than carbs.

Even if you do everything right, there will be days and weeks when you will not lose any pounds. That's normal. Be patient and stick to it. Same goes double for looking at the mirror. You won't look thin for a long time. Be patient and stick to it.

If your doctor says it's OK, do some kind of serious exercise at least six days a week. This might be limited to walking around the block or less when you get started. As you get healthier, exercise even more. But diet is the most effective way to lose pounds.

This will pay off. You won't believe how good you will feel after you get rid of those pounds.

Never seen people lose weight as quickly as they do when they begin to count carbohydrates...not necessarily calories but that also helps a lot. Easy way to enter into the battle is just to pay attention to the nutrition tables and start reading labels. I guarantee you will be surprised.

Good luck Kevin! I don't have much to add. I've been struggling with weight most of my adult life. I would normally get involved in a forum, things would go great for a while, then I'd fall away. I finally figured out I was doing most of it for other people, not myself. This time, I didn't join a forum, I'm not publishing my foods, I'm not posting a cooking blog, I'm not trying this or that new idea. All of those things are good, but rely on other people's responses to keep me encouraged. This time it's just me and my wife. Getting her buy-in is key for this to work. It won't work if she doesn't support you and keeps cooking the same foods as always. You both have to realize that if things stay the way they are, that you will die and if one of you isn't supporting your lifestyle change, they are contributing to your health going down hill.

I know what works and I just needed to do it and do it for myself and my family. My wife and I have started again this past Jan and I'm down 21 pounds so far. That's without being able to exercise much at all. With my bad back, hips, and leg that goes numb, there isn't a lot I can do right now. I do have a ways to go yet, but it is a good start. I've started by drinking 90% water and maybe 10% unsweetened coffee or tea. I'm also eating 90% whole foods. Fresh meats, veggies, fruit, a bit of dairy, and minimal boxed/canned foods. Yes, it does take longer to cook, but the food tastes better. And yes, it may be a bit more expensive, but for me, it's more important than cable TV, faster internet, a data plan for my cell phone, and many other things that I chose to give up.

Also, as far as not cooking. You can learn. I had never cooked anything besides sloppy joes or Chili and I've learned to be decent in the kitchen over the last few years. Below is a cooking blog that I used to keep up. It's not great and nothing too advanced, but there may be some good low-sugar ideas for you. http://cookingwithchef-jeff.blogspot.com/


Good luck and keep on plugging away. You don't fail when you go off track. You fail when you don't get back on track.

jazzman said:

You should see a doctor for a complete physical exam as a first step. You may have serious medical problems connected with your weight. Unconventional diets and some kinds of exercise could be very dangerous for you. The doctor might recommend a strict weight-loss plan that takes account of your immediate problems and needs without jeopardizing your nutrition.

If you can afford the food you have been eating, you can afford a visit to a doctor.

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I concur.

kevdogg329 said:

I have started taking a Vitamin C pill, and a multi-vitamin lately to start to get some energy back and it has helped some. Back last fall, I was so lethargic it was scary.

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That's a good start, but in reality, multi-vitamins are too small and in no way have enough of what we need. To begin with, the current recommendations are way too low, but you really should do your own research so you'll get a better understanding, don't hesitate to ask any questions.

For example, how much vitamin C do you take daily? I have been taking liposomal vitamin C for a little over a year now and the amounts are in the mega dose range every day without any diarrhea or upset stomach or reaching of bowel tolerance. So, approximately 24oz of liposomal vitamin C = 17,000 mg encapsulated, over 100,000 mg equivalent due to bowel tolerance issues. USRDA is only a measly 75mg.

I can't say the same for pills or other forms of vitamin C, I always get to bowel tolerance on even as little as 5 grams of vitamin C. Here is the video on youtube on how to make it at home. If you try this, I recommend Non-gmo vitamin C and lecithin.



From what I've read, you can confirm this in your own searches, the oral pills need to pass through the digestive tract and what does get into your bloodstream may only like 3-9% as bio available.

The Vit C IV's a tad better at 19-20% bioavailablity, and thats from an IV direct to the blood stream.

Now we have this liposomal form of Vit C. The vitamin C is coated in a lipid which allows it to bypass the digestive tract, making it over 90% bio-available. Wow, that's amazing!

Give it a shot, you'll likely have more energy and will power too. I make approximately 48oz every 4 days, sometimes twice that amount if there are colds or the flu going around. My Mom, step Dad, son, nephew and myself use it daily, about 2oz in the morning and 2oz at night. Also, vitamin C is most excellent against allergies and viruses, it's top notch in every way. I don't even suffer with arthritis anymore since doing the liposomal vitamin C and a friend hasn't had any episodes of gout since starting the vitamin C a little over a year ago.

But, I digress, I can get carried away sometimes.

Doc4 said:

Replacing an insatiable hunger for food with The Munchies seems a bit ... odd.

But congratulations on reaching your goal.

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That, I believe is the difference between recreational use and medicinal use. I used to get the munchies all the time prior to getting my medical card and then when I did finally get my medical card, the usage went way up. 1/8th used to last me over a month, I smoke twice that amount in one day now. What a life saver it's been.