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  • dustyspal
    dustyspal Posts: 835 Member
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    Hi all. Thought I'd join in. I have been gaining and losing weight for over 30 years. I'm sure I've lost and gained close to 1000 pounds over the years. I reached my highest in 2012 at 343 pounds. I got down to 191, and the stress took over. I hit 313 this summer. Then decided that I don't want to be this heavy when I turn 50 (next April) so here I am again. It's now or never. I've been tracking since July 24 and have lost 42 lbs. My goal is to get to 160, but that may change when I get in the ballpark. I used to be an athlete, and I want to be more active. I used to love jogging I hope to be back at it by Christmas. Right now I'm just walking, but I'm up to 4 to 4 1/2 miles (when it's not too hot).
    I'm not on a special plan, I just track and try to keep the calories in check and make sure I'm at a deficit every day. Thanks for letting me join and I look forward to hearing about everyone.
  • merph518
    merph518 Posts: 702 Member
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    @dustyspal Welcome to LL! 42 lbs since the end of July is pretty impressive. Hopefully you're eating enough and not keeping too harsh of a deficit, which can cause health issues.

    Best of luck to you getting back into jogging. I've been doing that myself with the Couch to 5k program. I highly recommend it.

    Feel free to jump into the conversation threads here or start your own. Looking forward to hearing more from you as you continue kicking butt with your weight loss.
  • MatthewRuch
    MatthewRuch Posts: 165 Member
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    Hey there! My name is Matt and I am 40 and started at 356 lbs on 4 August 19, and am currently 323. I have gone through a total mental transformation. This isn't a diet for me, it is a lifestyle change.

    I am achieving this change through a combination of many disciplines, DDP Yoga, Strength Training with a personal trainer, Aquatic Aerobic classes and walking at every chance I get. On the mental side of the house, I do meditation daily and am always posting daily motivational things on MFP. I am very active, track everything I eat good or bad.

    I have earned the nickname of the Accountability Tyrant among my MFP friends because I accept NO excuses for myself and try to help all those around me to truly commit to their goals as I have. Because of that commitment, there are no off days, no cheat days for a couple of reasons. 1. You can't cheat on a lifestyle and 2. I love the grind. The grind knows what you do no matter what we say, and it gives you nothing that you haven't worked for!

    Looking to surround myself with positive, committed people who want to have a symbiotic friendship where we all push each other to new heights greater than those we can achieve on our own!
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
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    dustyspal wrote: »
    Hi all. Thought I'd join in. I have been gaining and losing weight for over 30 years. I'm sure I've lost and gained close to 1000 pounds over the years. I reached my highest in 2012 at 343 pounds. I got down to 191, and the stress took over. I hit 313 this summer. Then decided that I don't want to be this heavy when I turn 50 (next April) so here I am again. It's now or never. I've been tracking since July 24 and have lost 42 lbs. My goal is to get to 160, but that may change when I get in the ballpark. I used to be an athlete, and I want to be more active. I used to love jogging I hope to be back at it by Christmas. Right now I'm just walking, but I'm up to 4 to 4 1/2 miles (when it's not too hot).
    I'm not on a special plan, I just track and try to keep the calories in check and make sure I'm at a deficit every day. Thanks for letting me join and I look forward to hearing about everyone.

    Hi @dustyspal,

    Welcome.

    You have lost 42 pounds in 71 days. That means you are averaging 4.14 pounds per week. This assumes that you did not lose any water weight at the beginning and you probably did. In another couple of weeks I will be happy to help you crunch your numbers again with your weight starting after the first 2 weeks. This will help guide you and make sure you are losing weight at an appropriate rate of loss for yourself.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    edited October 2019
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    Hey there! My name is Matt and I am 40 and started at 356 lbs on 4 August 19, and am currently 323. I have gone through a total mental transformation. This isn't a diet for me, it is a lifestyle change.

    I am achieving this change through a combination of many disciplines, DDP Yoga, Strength Training with a personal trainer, Aquatic Aerobic classes and walking at every chance I get. On the mental side of the house, I do meditation daily and am always posting daily motivational things on MFP. I am very active, track everything I eat good or bad.

    I have earned the nickname of the Accountability Tyrant among my MFP friends because I accept NO excuses for myself and try to help all those around me to truly commit to their goals as I have. Because of that commitment, there are no off days, no cheat days for a couple of reasons. 1. You can't cheat on a lifestyle and 2. I love the grind. The grind knows what you do no matter what we say, and it gives you nothing that you haven't worked for!

    Looking to surround myself with positive, committed people who want to have a symbiotic friendship where we all push each other to new heights greater than those we can achieve on our own!

    Hi @MatthewRuch,

    You are saying lifestyle but I read it as a diet or it would be for me. The reason is my life hasn't stopped because I began losing weight. I still have social gatherings, family events, holidays, vacations, etc. I believe that weight management is driven by the majority of days while the minority is for having fun. I don't want to be "on" everyday for the rest of my life. This is how I want to live my life and thus it is my lifestyle.

    In my first year of weight loss I dropped 158 pounds. In my first year of weight loss there were also about 6 weeks of time I was eating my maintenance calories or above for some of the reasons I mentioned above. I could have lost a little more weight if I had sat in the corner on Thanksgiving munching on celery sticks instead of piling food on my plate but that is not the life I want.

    I do not believe in cheat days. I do agree that you can't cheat on your life. I do have planned days of more food but I usually set a limit to how much that will be.

    Everything I do is part of my plan which means I never have a reason to quit. Even when I make a big dumb mistake and think I am eating 350 calories and I am actually eating 700 that is part of my plan because I will make mistakes in my life.

    I don't like to use the word lifestyle that much but I did it for this reply. I prefer to think of what I do as my new normal. I am shifting my normal away from the guy that gained the weight to the guy who loses it and keeps it off. I am not done shifting yet but I am making great strides.
  • MatthewRuch
    MatthewRuch Posts: 165 Member
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    Good morning @NovusDies!

    Thanks for the kind words. I don't call it a diet because I restrict myself of nothing and the fun days are indistinguishable from the training days. My always open diary attests to that! Every day is monday to me.

    For me that works. For me being in control of my mind and and having empirical data on what my body is doing on a day to day, month to month basis is important so I can adjust in realtime to the what life puts in front of me :)

    For example my current weight chart

    82hfyygnbdp0.jpg

    I know that the swings and semi plateau coincide with my start of serious strength training and subsequent work with the dietician to get my calorie intake to where it needs to be with the added activity :)

    Also, cannot wait for my next InBody report on tuesday, it will be need to see what has changed from my baseline last month.

    n8rjltux0wmh.jpg

    Will type more later but have a trainer appointment in 30 minutes!

    Have a great day!
  • smat52
    smat52 Posts: 36 Member
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    Hi everyone! Joining MFP again. Lost 30 lbs last year and I need to lose 100 more! This sounds like the group for me 🤗
  • dustyspal
    dustyspal Posts: 835 Member
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    smat52 wrote: »
    Hi everyone! Joining MFP again. Lost 30 lbs last year and I need to lose 100 more! This sounds like the group for me 🤗

    Hi @smat52 .I'm new here too.
  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
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    It’s a good group of “ Losers” and very supportive!.....I have been a member for a couple of months...I really enjoy all of the posts!
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
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    smat52 wrote: »
    Hi everyone! Joining MFP again. Lost 30 lbs last year and I need to lose 100 more! This sounds like the group for me 🤗

    Hi @smat52,

    Welcome to LL. Losing 30 pounds and keeping it off since last year is fantastic.

    We look forward to you contributing.
  • wannabeskinnycat
    wannabeskinnycat Posts: 205 Member
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    Welcome to everyone! This gaff is so comfy. No judging, lots of cheerleading and great advice. And the best part? Everyone understands :smiley:
  • hansep0012
    hansep0012 Posts: 385 Member
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    @dustyspal welcome! Your avatar picture is wonderful; I really enjoy dogs (current pack is comprised of three dogs: A Beagle, a Poodle, and a Cockapoo). You mentioned you were an athlete, was there a particular sport or activity that you enjoyed?
  • hansep0012
    hansep0012 Posts: 385 Member
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    @smat52 welcome! Just curiosity on my part, would you mind sharing how you found the LL group? I am always impressed with the sheer volume of information available on this site and wonder how folks happen to join.
  • hansep0012
    hansep0012 Posts: 385 Member
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    @MatthewRuch welcome! Your charts and graphs are very thorough - good job! I like data and your posts impressed me.
  • dustyspal
    dustyspal Posts: 835 Member
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    @hansep0012. Hi. Well, several lifetimes ago, when in HS and college, I played basketball and softball, then later, tennis. It seems so long ago.
  • smat52
    smat52 Posts: 36 Member
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    @hansep0012 message board. 300+ lbs and Looking For More Fabulous Friends
  • hansep0012
    hansep0012 Posts: 385 Member
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    @dustyspal ah, yes, I think of my life in phases - HS and college were phase 1.5 because I wasn't a kid - I had a job, transportation and a great deal of freedom, and yet it wasn't phase 2 because I was single and had no children.

    Right now, I am in phase 4, mainly because phase 3 was my divorce / single parent phase. I gotta tell you, I love me some phase 4 because it is similar to being open to experiences with minimal responsibility - although my husband just smiles as I take up old sports and new ones, too! My old sports include tennis and my tennis partner is a backboard, lol. I am learning to play golf and making new friends as well as having lessons with a golf pro. I am back to swimming laps and my new twist is to participate in water aerobics. Hmmmm. What else? Oh, yes, the gym, and my trusty treadmill work out with the new feature of weight machines.

    Old sports and new ones, yes, it was very long ago for me and I am hoping that I can capture some of that joy of movement and skill from long ago. The social aspect is also a really nice bonus as I am attempting to build my phase 5 retirement life around fun and friends and family.

    Pam
  • hansep0012
    hansep0012 Posts: 385 Member
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    @smat52 Good job finding the group through the message boards. I did some searching, didn't find anything to my liking and decided to start a group. The group did not "take off" as I had hoped so I ended it and went back to reading the message boards.

    @NovusDies had regular posts on many of the boards I frequented and his replies resonated with me on a variety of topics. Lo and behold, he posted a link to this group and I joined in. LL has been a great influence on me because of the members and their wisdom, humor, insights, and willingness to share.

    Pam
  • smat52
    smat52 Posts: 36 Member
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    Hi everyone! When I was on MFP years ago, you could request friends for support. I notice now that everyone's profile is private. Just wondered if people friend each other anymore, or do people just keep in contact through groups and message board?
    Thanks!
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
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    smat52 wrote: »
    Hi everyone! When I was on MFP years ago, you could request friends for support. I notice now that everyone's profile is private. Just wondered if people friend each other anymore, or do people just keep in contact through groups and message board?
    Thanks!

    You have to click on the username and then when the next screen comes up you click on the username again. The following screen allows you to send friend requests.

    I think the MFP news feed is quite terrible and so I mostly ignore it. As such I suck at being an MFP "friend". I like this group setting better.