stroutman81 Member

You're welcome @babysaffy! Thanks for reading.

Thanks man! Love your profile picture.

Thanks for keeping this thread alive, guys!

For some people in certain situations, this can work like magic. No doubt about that. The biggest challenge in these cases is the psychological mind eff letting go of some of your core beliefs about what you "have to do" in order to succeed.

I neglect this thread far too much. I'm sorry. Are you still around? Figured I'd check before I go replying to this post.

Welcome to MFP! Competitive sail boat racer, huh? That's pretty awesome. I like that you selected a sane amount of weight to lose over a reasonable period of time. You could certainly lose 10 lbs over the next 2 months. If you don't mind me masking a suggestion, I'd build process-goals in behind this desired outcome goal.…

Hey there, it sounds like you're getting pretty worried about continued progress. Rightfully so. A very challenging year from a health standpoint. Stagnation in weight. Your support group falling off. I respect the heck out of you, not only for the progress you've made, but your resiliency in the face of such headwinds.…

Ditto the above. Be mindful of rigid boundaries you're building around your food choices. I understand why you're asking this question. A lot of the messaging in today's media is very sensationalized, binary, and extreme. But when push comes to shove, if you're covering some pretty basic groundwork, individual food choices…

Glad you found it useful! Thanks for bumping it.

While there are a lot of ways to skin this cat... in an ideal world, I wouldn't delay lifting until after the fat is lost. It's one of the primary tools in our toolbox to give our bodies the signal to hold onto muscle in the face of a caloric deficit. Not that your muscles are going to fall off if you don't eat enough. But…

Your hubby is aok in my book! Long ago I gave up my pursuit for forever abs. I've had very visible abs. I've been very lean. The tradeoffs simply weren't worth it for me. I was consumed by food nuances. I was low on energy. My joints hurt. I was weak in the gym. I was distracted from things that really matter to me... like…

Thanks for the clarifications. A couple of random thoughts for you... 1) Our bodies are definitely equipped with truly remarkable systems that help to regulate food intake. I mean hunger, alone, and all of the complexities involved in it... from hormones and neurochemicals to stomach expansion and gut microbiome. Even with…

I think there are some really good questions in here. Before sharing my thoughts... question or two for you. 1) What about a set schedule way of eating do you think might be hurting you? 2) It sounds like this set schedule worked for you previously. What about now has changed that? 3) What does a "set schedule" look like…

Welcome aboard and feel free to add me!

Welcome aboard! Definitely some quality links up there.

That sounds very reasonable! Love hearing from people new to the lifestyle who aren't taking extreme measures. Most people you can tell are going to burn out long before they reach any sort of meaningful goal. So kudos to you.

Wholeheartedly agree with everything @sardelsa said! Great post. And to answer your question... you do not need to lift weights in order to get stronger and/or grow muscle. You simply need what's referred to tension overload using sufficient volume. Put simply, your muscles need to be forced to contract under loads that…

That's really great progress! You should be proud. How sustainable do you feel your current approach is?

Why so sad?

Awesome progress! What would you say is the biggest thing you learned so far?

I agree with @kommodevaran Most people seem to snack in an attempt to take the edge off hunger. I find that most people fair better by consolidating their calories more... meaning pushing what would be snack calories into their actual meals. This way they're getting to eat full, satiating meals throughout the day and…

That it is. Of course the fitness industry wants you to believe it's simpler than this. That there are easy fixes that you can pay for. But intrinsic change is ultimately what's going to drive the sort of change most of us are after. Ya know... the forever kind. And that's why I much prefer to perceive this as a giant…

Great awareness and management!

That's pretty much the name of the game... always and forever. Most people know what to do. It's the whole, "getting yourself to do it consistently" bit that alludes most people, though. And that's where connecting the dots and lots of introspection come into play. Lots of big ideas in there! While there isn't an "off…

Phew, that's a powerful reflection right there! What about positive comments about your physique makes you feel this way?

The way I frame questions mostly stems from the art of motivational interviewing. It's part of the foundation of how I communicate. Thanks for noticing! Get out of here! That's crazy. Not much to do in the town of Pottstown itself. I don't hang out there too often... it's pretty rundown. But I live out in the burbs. Love…

Phew, so brute force willpower it sounds. I think that likely created the space to interrupt the pattern enough times so that the call to impulsively food seek dampened a bit. Of course it's still there so some degree... but it sounds like you've done a good job at weakening it. Are you suggesting that you typically eat…

Heck, impulsiveness is embedded in our DNA. Our brains outsource a lot of what we do to its older centers. Executive function, impulse control, and a lot of what goes on in the prefrontal cortex is relatively new in terms of the spectrum of brain development. New = weaker in some regards. At least that serves the purpose…

@ronjsteele1 Well thanks. But no official schooling in psych. At least not directly. I had a track in behavioral finance which shined a light on some of this stuff. More importantly, though, for the past 12 years or so I've dedicated most of my personal study to the psych side of being a fitness coach. I've spend a lot of…

Awesome awareness, learning, and adjusting! It takes courage to look at yourself and your behavior through these sort of growth oriented lens so good on you.