2008 STR Weight-Loss Challenge (official thread)

[sauce]

Damn woman!! I'd be STARVING if that was my dinner! I'm getting hunger pangs just reading this!!

I eat a big breakfast though, b/c I am hungry in the morning. And I eat lunch late - like 2 or 3 pm. Going to bed with a bunch of food in the tummy is no good for me!

Allison is right about the wine in some sense. Yeah, if it's in addition to your regular calorie intake, then it'll put fat on you. But if you have it with a light dinner, then you'll just burn those sugars off right away. I can't give up alcohol. I love it. So I give up eating "bad carbs" and big deserts and big dinners. I have to admit - losing only 5 lbs a month isn't fast weight loss. But at least I'm not miserable while doing it! Which is why I've managed to keep to 10 lbs I lost off. Over the holidays I kinda plateaued, because I had some not-so-healthy food -

I'm such a sugar junky at heart! Ahhhh!

That brussel sprouts recipe sounded delicious!

[cbHarping]

I made curry lentil soup (with potato, carrots, onions, curry, and lentils of course) with a dollop of non-fat plain yogurt to tame the heat a bit. Yummmm!

I've been eating 4 smaller meals throughout the day. My stomach usually tells me when it's time to eat again.

My biggest issue with my diet is getting OFF the sugar. Have not been succeeding at that one! I try substituting fruit when I get a sweet craving but I quite often end up caving in for the sugar fix. Anybody else have that problem? What do you do to curb the sweets craving?

[sauce]

I made curry lentil soup (with potato, carrots, onions, curry, and lentils of course) with a dollop of non-fat plain yogurt to tame the heat a bit. Yummmm!

I've been eating 4 smaller meals throughout the day. My stomach usually tells me when it's time to eat again.

My biggest issue with my diet is getting OFF the sugar. Have not been succeeding at that one! I try substituting fruit when I get a sweet craving but I quite often end up caving in for the sugar fix. Anybody else have that problem? What do you do to curb the sweets craving?

I am the same way. I find that at each meal I have something sweet - in the morning it's my coffee (an au lait coffee of some sort with sugar-free syrup or sweetener curbs my craving). Then at lunch I have frozen yogurt (good protein, yogurt cultures and calcium in it, with not too much sugar). Then at dinner I have wine or beer or rum or something (antioxidents and blood thinning). I think as long as the sweet stuff is paired with other healthy food and slow-burning carbs, you won't get those sugar-highs and lows, and you'll feel satisfied and won't resent your diet. Give in a little, but don't give up the whole thing. This has been the hardest lesson for me to learn, since I see everything in black and white mostly.

[SKINNY]

here is my secret for killing cravings... dip a teaspoon in some 100% natural peanut butter... and stick it in your mouth.. put the spoon down and walk away.. lol.. too many spoons of pbutter bad...

[graves.z]

Something interesting regarding sugars; When my wife was pregnant with our daughter she had gestational diabetes (it went away after our daughter was born thankfully). As a way of controlling the blood sugar her doctor told her to go for a walk after meals if she ate foods that were higher in sugars.

Apparently this prompted the body to use energy which it apparently derived most quickly and easily from the sugars being digested at that time.

I don't see why this theory couldn't be applied to dieting for weight. Just make sure to do something active after dinner and a glass of wine or small dessert shouldn't have a bad impact.

Of course this may be taking the doctors advice out of context, and I could be wrong.

[Waldo]

There's a horrible omission here: I've read this entire thread, and I don't recall seeing a single recipe for chocolate fudge cake! How am I supposed to go on without chocolate fudge cake?!?

[JoeTruth]

Breakfast: Quaker Oats with a touch of honey (this stuff is magical. It's slow burning and very filling with great nutritional benefits) and a banana.

Lunch: skipped lunch...too busy with work stuff and wasn't really feeling all that hungry.

Dinner: I was doing work on the west side and I couldn't resist the temptation of one of my favorite Japanese Curry joints (Hurry Curry on Sawtelle). Anyways, ordered the chicken curry (no cutlet for me), spicy with vegetables and steamed rice. Took it to go and had an early dinner around 5:30, which is the way it should be. Simply put, SO DELICIOUS and full of great flavor!!! I love curry and I love good sushi/sashimi.
90 minutes later I had 2 oranges and a glass of water.

Also, I like and drink those Vitamin Waters. A little sugar but you get the water benefit plus tons of daily vitamins. I like it and see no problem with it. Of course, like anything else, with moderation. No more than one a day.

[ohyeah89]

Give in a little, but don't give up the whole thing. This has been the hardest lesson for me to learn, since I see everything in black and white mostly.

SOOO true! If you don't allow yourself to have a little bit of sugar or [insert your weakness here], you'll just get tired of restricting yourself and go crazy one day.

The hardest part is stopping at that "little bit." Once you have a sliver of cake/pie/cookie you're going to want more unless you have great self-restrain (I don't!).

What I do personally is allocate 200 calories of my daily 1500 towards any kind of indulgence I want, that way I don't feel like I'm restricting myself. I usually don't even end up using it most days or just using some of it.

Allocating is a good tool no matter if you're tracking calories, sugars, carbs, fat, fiber, etc and another helpful thing is those 100 calorie packs/preportioned snacks, so you'd have to physically open another bag/cup/package to have another one (can't just have "just a little bit more").

And if you still have the cravings after your allocated "cheat" then just think of that santa cruz frame or the 200(?) bucks for bike stuff! hehe

[Flat Broke]

A day late posting, but here is my starting point. The upside is that I've been this weight for about a year and a half. The down side is that I've been at this weight for a year and a half. I was still a chunky monkey before I broke my ankle, but that was the icing on the cake. My goal for the year is to drop 40-50lbs; so this contest will be a good start for that journey.

weight


Body Fat percentage


Hydration


Fugly Mug... and yeah, I did just wake up


My plan is just to ride a bunch of miles with my daughter in the trailer, cut back on soda, eat less overall, and eat smarter when I do eat.

Chris

[sdyeti]

I keep dark chocolate (as much as 70% cocoa) on hand and have a small square when I am craving chocolate. Much healthier than cake.

The last two weeks over the holidays, I did horribly on eating healthy. My jeans are tighter. I probably gained about 3 pounds. I hate not having ultimate control over my meals, etc.

Instead of frozen yogurt from the store, I buy organic vanilla whole milk yogurt (it has fat but enough to make me feel satisfied by a small quantity). Then, I put it in a 1/2 cup plastic container and throw it in the freezer when I get to work. It tastes great!

I am the same way. I find that at each meal I have something sweet - in the morning it's my coffee (an au lait coffee of some sort with sugar-free syrup or sweetener curbs my craving). Then at lunch I have frozen yogurt (good protein, yogurt cultures and calcium in it, with not too much sugar). Then at dinner I have wine or beer or rum or something (antioxidents and blood thinning). I think as long as the sweet stuff is paired with other healthy food and slow-burning carbs, you won't get those sugar-highs and lows, and you'll feel satisfied and won't resent your diet. Give in a little, but don't give up the whole thing. This has been the hardest lesson for me to learn, since I see everything in black and white mostly.

[Abui]

It's always nice to have reading material on the table.

[Singletrack Angel]

Ok.. i got to ask.. WTH is HEMP MILK? And.. how much THC does it have in it?

Hemp milk is a delicious alternative to soy milk, rice milk, etc. made from hemp seeds. Better tasting than soy milk (and you gotta watch out for soy - if you eat too much it's not good for you).

www.livingharvest.com

Available at health food stores (Whole Foods, Henrys, Mothers, etc.). Make sure you get Living Harvest - the other brand is nasty.

Each serving contains:700 mg Omega-3
2600 mg of Omega-6 with GLA
All 10 Essential Amino Acids
4 grams of Protein
Essential Vitamins A*, B12*, D*, E, Riboflavin* and Folic Acid
Essential Minerals Magnesium, Potassium, Phosphorus, Iron and Zinc
46% of RDA of Calcium

*Fortified

"Hemp seed is nutritious and contains more essential fatty acids than any other source, is second only to soybeans in complete protein (but is more digestible by humans), is high in B-vitamins, and is a good source of dietary fiber. Hemp seed is not psychoactive and cannot be used as a drug." (Sorry)

"Hemp seed contains all 10 Essential Amino Acids (EAA’s) – the building blocks of protein – and is rich in Omega 3 and Omega 6 Essential Fatty Acids (EFA’s) in the near perfect ratio of 1:3... Hemp Seeds are also the highest vegan source of edestin, a simple protein that is responsible for the natural and acquired immune system. Hemp is high in magnesium, with natural antioxidants like vitamin E and chlorophyll."

[SKINNY]

Hemp milk is a delicious alternative to soy milk, rice milk, etc. made from hemp seeds. Better tasting than soy milk (and you gotta watch of for soy - if you eat too much it's not good for you)...... "

Good info.. Thanks! I'll have to try it.

[Abui]

Hemp milk is a delicious alternative to soy milk, rice milk, etc. made from hemp seeds. Better tasting than soy milk (and you gotta watch of for soy - if you eat too much it's not good for you).

www.livingharvest.com

Very interesting. To me soy is scarier than the additives to coffee creamer. Google Soy

[Singletrack Angel]

Very interesting. To me soy is scarier than the additives to coffee creamer. Google Soy

It's very important to buy only organic soy products - soy is a major industrial crop and heavily treated with pesticides.

Also, almost all non-organic soy food products are GMO (genetically modified) - also canola, corn, dairy products and potatoes.

Here's an article by Dr. Andrew Weil about how soy isn't as terrible as claimed - not that he's the best source of info (he's a bit of a sell-out in my opinion), just another opinion on the subject.

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/id/QAA326575

[Red Hawk]

I have read a lot of these threads and there is great advise out here for people.

As for myself, I didn't think losing weight was possible until I decided one day to try and do it. I found it's harder to say that you want to lose 10, 20, 30+ so when I started I just changed my diet and of course I sucked at mountain biking, but I tried my hardest at it.

So I found by cutting down on red meat, to the point of only have it once a month maybe, and cutting down on other things like hot dogs, buffalo wings and other things I started to drop weight. I didn't own a scale at this point, but I felt healthier on my rides so I keep going. I started watching my fat intake count and the Items I bought would have the least possible amount of fat, like cheese can be a killer, and don't forget all things we like to put on our food, like ketchup can be bad for you too, (not that I'll personally ever give that one up) but dairy products like sour cream and cream cheese are probably the worse things you can put on your food.

Anyhow I could make a list of bad things that could go on forever, I do know that after cutting those things and mind you I still didn't own a scale until about the end of my total loss I found I had lost about 50 lbs and that was apparent when I went from a size 38 pants to a 32 pant size.

Now I'm determined to to cut 20 more pounds out, this time I have a number, well any less I might be admited to a hospital . I want to move to top of my age class when I race. I never thought I could lose the weight after I got out of high school, but I did it and I have never felt more healthier as I do now.

I'm 5' 11'' and 180 lbs currently.

[Fired Yo Momma]

I had two Hawwian Punches and three zingers (vanilla) for breakfest

Lunch: Phillycheese steak with chedder cheese fries with a diet coke, I got the diet coke because I am watching my weight. Ohh I did slip up a bit and had a mountain dew.

Dinner: I dunno maybe a nice juicey thick porterhouse steak, and a double baked patatoe a couple of beers and about four jack and Diet cokes (once again the Diet coke since I ma watching my weight)

I am only going to be alive for about another twenty years I am going to eat good.

[Big Guy]

The published prize group total weight: 4877.1lb (22 people)

it is 221.68lb average...

[graves.z]

The published prize group total weight: 4877.1lb (22 people)

it is 221.68lb average...

Yay!! I'm above average!.....Oh

[Pugz]

Right there with you Graves, we are the reason the bell curve goes high.