garystrickland357 Member

Congratulations for getting on the bike! It’s great, low impact exercise. I give a thumbs up for STRAVA as well.

Is it exhausting to log your food, or is your brain throwing a tantrum because you really want McDonald’s, pizza, and whatever? It’s easy to read “it’s a lifestyle change”, but harder to live. Once I came to grips with the fact that I had to change my way of eating that made me obese, life got easier. As far as the habit…

All my coworkers think I exercise to lose weight. I don’t. I exercise for stress relief and fitness. I’m an emotional eater. I can stand at the kitchen sink and eat a bag of chips while staring out the window stressing over something - or go knock out 25 miles on my bike. The exercise calories I get to eat back are just a…

I start by saying I haven’t done more than skim the previous responses. I can tell you though that overtraining is real because I did it. About ten years ago I was cycling and running - a lot. I pushed myself and was very goal oriented. Then one day - it was hot - I still remember exactly how I felt. I just couldn’t face…

That you have to relearn how to tie a necktie.

I applied months ago. I’ve lost 80 pounds and am now in full maintenance of that loss for 10 months. I have been past the 35 pound mark for 1 1/2 years. I have never received any response from them. Any ideas why?

I love cooking in our outdoor kitchen. I have two big green eggs and the wood oven. The brick structure on the left is an open hearth for grilling over coals. You can cook like this (BBQ) and lose weight. I cooked out there when I weighed 265 pounds. I cooked out there and lost 80 pounds. I cook out there now at 185 pounds.

You ask how we that have been successful keep it going - so remember my answer is the truth I discovered for myself... A lifestyle change has to be exactly that - a change in how you live. My truth is simple. When I’m “struggling” to lose a few pounds - there really isn’t a problem - I’m just eating to *kitten* much food.…

I need to have a day surgery soon (hernia repair). I was visiting with the nurse and she said, "Your weight is good and you are in great shape. You should have no problems and a quick recovery." That's why we start these journeys - to be healthy. I was pretty happy.

There is no easy answer. First, as has been pointed out weight loss is a function of diet mostly. That said, which exercise is better? I do both. In the winter I tend to run more because of the shorter amounts of daylight. I can get up and run in the dark. When the days are longer I tend to prefer cycling because I can go…

If you quit would you be happy? If this was the first time at this weight would you want to lose it? Why did you fail? Don't beat yourself up - it's already done. Learn from the mistakes. Begin again. Figure out a way of eating that you can sustain for the rest of your life. I'm not judging you. Stop judging yourself.

I'd say choose the one you think would be tasty. Just remember you don't have to eat ALL of it. If it fits in your daily goal that's fine - or if it's a big portion just eat part of it. Eat slowly and visit with the boss. I agree that a doggy bag might be odd with the boss so just leave food on the plate if needs be. As…

You should eat back your exercise calories. The trick is to be careful and have some confidence that the number of calories calculated for your exercise are reasonably accurate. For example: If some device or machine gives you "800 calories for 20 minutes of exercise ______" then don't believe it... Some machines and…

It's no fun when we come face-to-face with the reality of how our fitness has declined during a period of weight gain and inactivity. In our mind's eye we are still that strong healthy person that has just become a bit "fluffy" - when in reality there are some fundamental physiological consequences of our weight gain and…

As @runfiremamarun said, rest is important because that is when the body actually recovers from the stress of exercise. I'm 57 also and at our age unfortunately rest may be more important than when we were a bit younger. For myself, on rest days I simply don't do any structured exercise. I may lay on the couch. Then again…

Permanent results require permanent changes. You answered your own question - when you quit the habits that made you successful you gained back the weight. So this time continue to do the things that result in success.

It's easy to be overwhelmed in the beginning. Just take it easy at first - don't let this stress you out. Pick a meal and log the items in the meal. It may take a bit of time. I PROMISE though - it gets easier and faster over time. When you first learned to drive it took a lot of concentration, you over corrected, and were…

I'm 6 months into maintenance. So much wisdom above. During maintenance I enjoy the occasional doughnut or snack that I didn't have during the loss period, but I watch the scale with a trending app. When the weight creeps up a couple of pounds I tighten up and watch what I eat until I get back down. I think we all know…

As much as I am on the accurate logging bandwagon - the truth is I don't log accurately. Here's what I do - and it has worked for me to lose 80 pounds and maintain for over 7 months... I weigh and log MOST of my food. I'll weigh my breakfast because I'm home and it's easy. I can usually log lunch accurately because I can…

I drive 30 miles to a group ride once a week. Yes, I wear my kit to drive. I just change shoes when I get there. I usually carry a t-shirt to change into after the ride if I'm really sweaty. I've gone into the supermarket to pick up a couple of food items wearing my bibs too. Nobody cares.

I know that maintenance requires continued vigilance. What nobody tells you is that other people think that once you've lost weight you somehow don't need to worry about exercise and healthy eating. Your "diet" is over in their mind. It's frustrating because the same people that were understanding about diet and exercise…

Personal opinion is go with the Garmin estimates and watch what happens on the scale over a few weeks. YMMV

We should start a game. Every time you read a thread with “hate” and “running” in the same sentence you do a burpee - or have a drink of refreshing beverage (trying to stay in the rules around here). Sorry. Had to vent. This seemed like the place to do it. Back to your regularly scheduled banter...

Cycling is my zen. I’m blessed to live in a rural area with low traffic and courteous drivers. After a bad day at school I can go ride 25-45 miles and the world is good again when I get home.

This. I think if the truth were told many of us get sloppy at times - I do. I also think like you though we know that if we start to stall or have issues we know that one of the first steps is to tighten our logging and be more mindful about what we're doing.

In real life I have coworkers who have seen the amount of weight I've lost (and kept off) - and they see that I pretty much eat what I want. They ask how I do it. When I say I log my meals and watch the calories their eyes glaze over and it never fails that they tell me, "I don't have time for that." Here's the thing -…

I used to get lost in the "motivation" mindset. Stop - and have a reality check. Do you want to continue to lose weight? If the answer is yes - then what behaviors will lead to that success? Don't say, "I'll try harder, or I need to be better..." Define the actions you need to take and then make a choice to DO the things…

Do you remember when you first learned how to drive? You made over-corrections to the steering and swerved all over the road? Then after a while you learned to make small adjustments and can drive straight without too much thought? Weight maintenance is similar. I find that even on days I eat more it's not much more - and…

Another fan of weighing every day. Maintenance is for life - so there are days I have the extra cookie or the extra chips. But here's the thing - log it. Keep stepping on the scale. I like the trending apps. You know how to lose weight. If you see an upward weight trend take care of it when it's just a pound or two. Eat…

I keep canned soup and a couple of microwave frozen lunches at work. Usually the calories are reasonable and the nutrition won't derail anything you're doing. My daily go-to lunch is a simple sandwich ~ about 300 calories and I like them.