We need to get this party started!

Options
RespiratoryScot
RespiratoryScot Posts: 32 Member
Is there a men's board that is more active than this? I have to think that there are lots of guys out there trying to lose weight, and serious about doing so (I know so - I see y'all posting on other boards!).

I hit 60 days strong a few days ago. Okay, I know that doesn't sound like much, but after multiple attempts at becoming healthier, this is the most successful I've ever been. I have lost over 20 pounds, gone from relative inactivity to running 8-10 miles/week, and feel better than I've felt in some time.

I have the distinct honor of being able to give a keynote address in (gulp!) two weeks at a major medical conference on Obesity and Breathing/Sleep and will be able to proudly say that I am personally moving in the right direction to decreasing the effects of obesity on the body.

Thanks for listening . . . if there's anyone out there :)

Replies

  • 58Rock
    58Rock Posts: 176 Member
    Options
    Way to keep at at. 60 days is a great start and you should be proud of the work you've done so far. Good luck on your speech. I have given a few talks in my life, but never really been that good at it.
  • RespiratoryScot
    RespiratoryScot Posts: 32 Member
    Options
    Thanks! :)
  • daleweideman
    daleweideman Posts: 85 Member
    Options
    Great idea - I know I need to get back to posting more. Gotta keep the focus up.

    Hope your talk goes well. Thanks to eating better, exercising more, and the MFP community, I lost over 40 pounds and my quality of life is way better. My doctor was so impressed. Blood pressure is doing better, cholesterol is good, I know I am a ton healthier. I don't want statins or diabetes pills - and all those side effects - I want to be healthy, and if that means skipping bread and rice and potatoes and eating vegetables instead, I'm all in.

    Keep up the focus and the progress and you'll only keep feeling better and better!
  • TheMMan
    TheMMan Posts: 124 Member
    Options
    I'm out here listening! We're definitely in the minority on MFP! Congrats on your accomplishments. I lost 20 lbs before winter and held even duuring that time. Now that the weather's allegedly going to break soon, I'm hoping to start losing again. I'm already at my goal weight by there's easily more to go. 5-7 more will put me at the weight when I was 11 or 12!
  • RespiratoryScot
    RespiratoryScot Posts: 32 Member
    Options
    Awesome - you guys are making great progress overall!
  • jtrack3d
    jtrack3d Posts: 91
    Options
    I'm still here... still treading and still slowly moving toward my own goals. I have been finding resources to make me think more about taking care of myself. Things like... dressing better, better grooming (looks at balding head), etc... all to encourage me to feel and act younger. I know I'm not in the spring of life, but I definitely shouldn't be planning my retirement just yet!

    Been looking at upwave.com and askmen.com for ideas... while I know some sites are just to advertise, I don't want my daughter telling me that I have been wearing that same sweater for 20 years and now it's in style again.
  • pncooper
    pncooper Posts: 10 Member
    Options
    This party didn't last very long LOL. I'm new here and thought I would check in and see what was going on.
  • daybehavior
    daybehavior Posts: 1,319 Member
    Options
    This party didn't last very long LOL.

    LOL! Right. Hmm well you guys can add me if you need help. I'm on everyday and I'm quite supportive/motivational.
  • dubikr
    dubikr Posts: 3 Member
    Options
    The party started, then stopped, then started again, etc. I would like to lose 40 pounds, and so far I've lost 10 pounds. I am very good at tracking breakfast and lunch, and do very well from a nutrition and calorie point of view for those meals. When I leave work and go home, I lack the willpower to hop on the treadmill, like I promised myself I would. While preparing dinner, I may have a snack, and even if I stay within my allotment of calories for the meal, I can't resist eating something else before bedtime. I know it's a bad habit to break, and I could kick myself every time I do it. How can I trick myself into some new healthy habits?
  • jtrack3d
    jtrack3d Posts: 91
    Options
    My thoughts would be that you are a creature of habit. You are set in your ways and your evening ritual is defined as something like... get home and rest a few minutes, then eat a snack and watch a little channel XYZ TV and then start making dinner... where you keep your snacks as you are cooking, etc.

    My suggestion would be to change the plan, completely. Set up the day when your willpower is strongest... AFTER you have eaten and not before while you are hungry.

    As an example. Before you leave in the morning, set out your gym clothes for the treadmill and sit them right on the couch where you watch XYZ TV first. That's your reminder to skip the news (there isn't anything to watch anyhow).

    Open a container and place in it what you are allowed as a snack for the day and put it in your log. For example, I will put a 80 cal yogurt and maybe some carrot sticks... or perhaps some pita chips and a little hummus. But that's your snack, you don't eat anything except what's in that container for the day.

    Every time you eat something, immediately put it in MFP... I find the guilt of putting it in MFP stops me from eating sometimes.

    I guess what I am saying is you need to change your evening schedule and do things differently because the schedule, routine, needs to be different or you will just go through the same routine again.
  • markja
    markja Posts: 270 Member
    Options
    OK, party. I've been getting down since March and rocking steady. I'm down 25lb so far, 90 to go. I had a nice little NSV this morning, I wore size 44 jeans to work. The cool part is that they were buried in a drawer 4 years ago, just waiting for today. Well, today is the day! I wrote size 44 jeans! CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? I really did put them on without a fight, zipped them up easy and went to work. I'm giving away my size 48's tomorrow.

    Party on Dudes!
  • dward59
    dward59 Posts: 731 Member
    Options
    Well done Markja!

    I did the same, sort of. I went from 50's to a 46 that is comfortable, not tight at all. I've been stalling a bit. Too many carbs creeping back into my routine, and I find I'm starting on the stress munching again. I have to put the brakes on that pronto!

    jtrack3d, so right you are. When I am really successful, it is by packing the lunch box and filling in MFP, with all that goes in the lunchbox, first thing in the morning, while posting breakfast. Then at then end of the day, when I get home from work, I remove anything I do not eat from my posts. Seeing the calorie intake drop is a great lift for the evening. It usually spurs me to have a healthy dinner, but can also give me a bit more freedom to add a few calories if dinner gets a bit more complex than protein and a salad.

    dubiker - jtrack3d is correct. Mix things up, getting in a rut gets comfortable and it is easy to get complacent. If there is a TV in front of the treadmill, allow yourself to watch TV only if you start with an hour watched while you are walking there. It always comes down to choices and planning. Plan how you are going to change. Keep it small, one change at a time for a week or maybe even two, get used to that change and then start your next change. Just be careful, drop back into that comfortable rut and it gets very easy to lose those changes!
  • Chevy_Quest
    Chevy_Quest Posts: 2,012 Member
    Options
    Howdy!

    I have been on MFP off and on about 1 year now and I am in some groups and they are women dominated. And.. since I am a family guy I am here just to get fit and not "wander" if you know what I mean.

    I have been looking for a "regular guys" group for a while.

    I am very serious about getting my bodyfat down from 30%+ to 15% and getting fit. I don't care about my "rate" of weight loss and I have a range for the scale (I am 5'7" and I think that I will meet my goal between 155 and 170)

    Party On!