Fat old badger looking for moral support

OldHufflepuff

Me: Sedentary 54 year old desk-jockey. 5' tall, 211 lbs as of this morning (wearing nothing but skin).

Pre-diabetic.
Hypertension - on medication
High cholesterol

Also on medication for "low-functioning thyroid" - not sure if that affects anything or not.

Doc says I need to lose 50 lbs if I want to see my 60th birthday. I can't climb a flight of stairs without huffing and puffing like a steam-engine. So I'm here and reaching out for moral support as I start on this journey.

nick197785

You've come to the right place. Are you doing weight watchers or another plan of some kind?

OldHufflepuff

This all started last Thursday at a long-overdue "annual" exam (first one in 7 or 8 years). My doc has suggested that I start out by doing portion control rather than restricting what I eat. So no, not following any "plan" except eating less.

I am trying to make healthier choices about meals as well. Grilled chicken instead of fried, for example. 2 pieces instead of 3.

goldenfrisbee

Not that old. We are all on this forum to live an attainable lifestyle for the rest of our lives. Many came from Weight Watchers and others from all over. You've come to a group that is no bull, common sense and supportive. Stick around and read some old threads to get a feel for how this group interacts.
Me: 57 6' and 300 lbs. Down almost 30 and a long way to go, but I find a lot of encouragement and wisdom here. Welcome!!

podkey

Hey let us know how it goes. In my case I needed a little more specifics as to amount of foods since I eat way too fast and don't have a great "I am full" meter in my brain. Congrats on taking that first step.

OldHufflepuff

Thanks guys. Nice to be here. Feel free to poke me if you catch me not updating.

Philtex

Welcome Mr. Puff. Portion control is a great place to start. Many find it helpful to have a specific daily limit to stay under. In WW it is "points". My Fitness Pal (MFP) uses calories. Either can work if you weigh or measure everything. I suggest purchasing a food scale. You probably already have measuring cups. You can find calorie info online for most restaurants by searching for their nutritional info.

Don't go all "diety" on us. You didn't gain all that weight overnight and it won't come off fast either. Make gradual changes and think long-term. Any loss is a good loss at this point so don't get hung up on the scale reading. The number is not important, only the trend.

Good luck. I look forward to hearing about your progress.

88olds

You have to pick some kind of plan. As was noted, most of us are from WW. I got into WW because it had 2 things. 1) it counted stuff. WW counts points but its really just calorie counting in disguise. 2) I had to write down what I ate. I read somewhere that research showed that writing down what you eat is the #1 thing you can do to lose. I can recommend WW because it worked for me.

But whatever plan you follow, you will do better if you get in the habit of planning your meals in advance to stick with the plan. If you aren't getting anywhere, it means you need a better plan. As Phil said, try to make gradual changes. I tried to look at it as just trading a couple of bad habits for some good ones. And it's not a race. It's likely more helpful in the long run to lose slowly.

And one last thing. It can be done. I was 44 and weighed 285lbs, had high BP and a CPAP machine. I couldn't walk more than 2 blocks because of back pain. I'm 66 now and was shocked this morning that I am up to 184lbs, my WW goal weight. You will have ups and downs. Don't kick yourself. Conventional wisdom about weight loss is wrong. It's not about discipline or character or motivation, it's just about problem solving. It's a bunch of little problems to solve. Good luck.

misterhub

Welcome to the party!

OldHufflepuff

"don't go all diety" - this made me laugh. This is a long-term project, not a fad thing. I intend to see my 85th birthday at a minimum.

Meal planning: for the last 5 years, I've been eating lunch at the office cafeteria. For the record, there is literally no place else one can go for lunch and get back within the hour allotted. So those of us with bean-counting managers either skip lunch, brown bag it, or eat at the cafeteria.

So my current meal plan is something along the lines of: bring lunch from home at least 3 days of the week (and 5 would be better). To that end, I made a big batch of turkey stew on Sunday and took some for lunch today. Tonight on the way home from work, I stopped at the grocery and bought the wherewithal for tuna salad. So between the leftover stew (I have 4 lunches worth in the freezer) and the salad, I've got lunch covered for this week and part of next. I also bought apples and bananas and plan to take one to lunch every day.

Trying to plan meals for the week is ... challenging ... because my wife is a picky eater. She wants me to be healthy - but she doesn't want to eat tuna and turkey all the time. I'm going to HAVE to come up with some options. This is what I've got for this week, for example:

Tonight: Hummus with carrots and bell peppers.
Tuesday: Turkey stew
Wednesday: Fried egg sandwiches
Thursday: grilled steak with peas & carrots.
Friday: grilled salmon with corn on the cob.

Limiting myself to one serving of each entree (instead of my customary 2), and doubling up on the veggies.

Dinner's ready - more later.

minimyzeme

Welcome FOB! After a little adjustment, I realized I could still eat everything I used to eat, just a lot less of it. Doing that over about a year and a half, I lost 80 pounds. I mix it up often, eating plan-friendly stuff whenever it works (sometimes soup for breakfast, lean deli meat or steamed shrimp for snacks, and eggs for dinner). That said, there are are a few things that I have chosen not 'invest in' because they're just not worth it either in flavor or in minuscule serving size for the points / calories.

However you do it, I agree that measuring and tracking is key. It's also interesting to enter the food and quantities you used to eat into the tracker. Doing so will help provide context for your former and future intake.

Stick around and join in--the more the merrier here!

OldHufflepuff

Well tonight's dinner turned into a "clean out the fridge" dinner of the aforementioned hummus, bell pepper, and carrots - and added some about-to-go-bad guacamole and the end of a loaf of bread.

Rather pleased with the over-all results of the day. Too much sodium, and I need to work on that.

I walked (lumbered? gimped?) around the courtyard at work for about 15 minutes at lunch. I am now the proud owner of a blister the size of a Kennedy half-dollar. If I'm going to do that, I'm going to have to bring sneakers and change shoes for walking.

88olds

Good going. You know the saying "no pain, no gain?" It's BS. Don't do stuff that hurts, it's not necessary.

myallforjcbill

Welcome. Lots of good input here. I would start with tracking, and measuring & weighing everything. Old at 54, you got a lot of tread on those tires.

spospo1

I'll steal a great quote. "Eat less, move more, Repeat. And track, track track your food. Good luck.

Al_Howard

"Old"? BS! I'm 72, and not the oldest here. I was 335#, and the Dr. said "DIABETIC". Now kicking @245# (been lower, but...) Off the diabetes meds, and a lot less BP meds.
I don't get a lot of excersise (spinal stenosis and other stuff) bet shoot for 4000 steps on my fitbit, and some strethching excersises. You do what you can.
Welcome, and as we say, "Onward and Downwards".

DavidKuhnsSr

I agree with the suggestion to record what you eat. The idea of just eating less sounds good, but it doesn't work very well. You need a structure to follow. Join Weightwatchers, track here on MFP, or use one of the apps that are out there. The common thread is that they provide limits on intake, balanced with your activity level. This isn't easy. But if you discipline yourself to stay within the structured habits long enough, they become second nature.
I am 66. I joined WW seven years ago, when I, too, would get winded climbing a flight of stairs. I lost almost 60 lbs., exercised a lot and have kept that up. This summer I was able to take some awesome hikes in the mountains of Washington State. I even covered 29 miles in one long day on the trail. You can succeed. But experience has shown that you are not likely to succeed without following a plan better than "eating less."

OldHufflepuff

If I can When I shuck this weight, I'm pretty sure I'll feel better.

myallforjcbill

DavidKuhnsSr wrote: »

You can succeed. But experience has shown that you are not likely to succeed without following a plan better than "eating less."

Pretty basic truth

podkey

Yeah my long version is really like Dave's. Without an actual plan I didn't eat the best portions etc. I didn't really gain much on my "wishing my weight off" plan but didn't really lose either until I joined WW and did portion control and tracking.

Hey the good news is that you have taken the first step. Sometimes that's the hardest anyway.

OldHufflepuff

Hoooooo boy. I've just discovered how bad I am at eyeballing food. Recommendations for food scale, please?

Philtex

Any digital scale will do, IMO.
BTW, nice to see you around the board. You are doing great!

JimfromColumbia

Hey Puff... glad you made it here! Welcome.... I concur with all the comments but especially tracking and measuring.... Particularly measuring at the beginning, as you have already discovered your "portion eye" needs to be retrained, and the only way of doing that is repetition. I play a game with myself, I will take a portion of [fill in the blank], tell myself what it weighs, or what volume it is... (cup, tablespoon, whatever) and then actually measure it. After a while the eye comes back... you do need to tune it up from time to time. And I admit, when home I will generally weigh it or measure it anyway..... Good Luck, keep in touch with the board often... it helps and these are a bunch of really good guys....

Jimb376mfp

OldHufflepuff wrote: »

Me: Sedentary 54 year old desk-jockey. 5' tall, 211 lbs as of this morning (wearing nothing but skin)

I WISH I WAS ONLY 54!

As you can see we (GOADs) haven't had a Newbie ask for help in a while. The Newbies usually show up after Super Bowl is over. LoL

I began my latest (LAST!) WW journey at age 65 in Jan 2013 weighing 376#. It took little over a year to lose 100# and then I "relaxed" BUT I DIDNOT gain any back (a first for me). Jan 2016 I rebooted myself and have lost another 32#, so now at 236 and have lost -140#.

There are a million platitudes on losing weight, Motivation, etc so I will just give you one,

A goal without a plan is only a wish.

WW plan works, there are many diets but if you want to lose weight without going "on a diet" you will need to make some changes you can live with the rest of your life. Hummus, bell peppers and carrots for dinner? No thanks.

Jimb376mfp

@OldHufflepuff does "Badger" mean you're from Wisco?

podkey

I joined WW at age 62 and in my case was a lot better off 50 LB lighter and have kept it off for over 8 years now.

countcurt

Although many of us are WW 'refugees', we're here in this group because WW no longer offers a message board, not because the program isn't sound.

But you don't have to follow WW. It is ONE toolkit that has been very effective. This website offers some great tools as well. The key tools are the tracker, the food 'catalog' and the 'calculator' for assessing caloric goals. Tools for measuring your food (preferably by weight, but by volume if you can't weigh) are also essential, especially if you're new to calorie management.

Welcome.

imastar2

Welcome! glad your here.

OldHufflepuff

Jimb376mfp wrote: »

@OldHufflepuff does "Badger" mean you're from Wisco?

Nope, it's a Harry Potter reference.

Calvin2008Brian

OldHufflepuff wrote: »

Jimb376mfp wrote: »

@OldHufflepuff does "Badger" mean you're from Wisco?

Nope, it's a Harry Potter reference.

Thank goodness. ;-)

Richie2shoes

I'm old to MFP, new to this group. I was the same as you, only younger and didn't listen to my doc. Now that I've joined "the zipper club" I'm highly motivated to lose the weight. Even if you don't want to start a plan yet, write down everything you eat and I mean everything! After about a week you'll really be surprised by how much you are eating without realizing it.