2008 STR Weight-Loss Challenge (official thread)

[Waldo]

Is it wrong that I'm reading this while eating Girl Scout cookies?

[Jordansrealm]

Not in the contest but I lost 8lbs in the past 3 days from the surgery. Just go have some teeth pulled!

[DBD]

Originally Posted by Waldo

Is it wrong that I'm reading this while eating Girl Scout cookies?

Only if they are thin mints but if they are the new Lemon cookies your are good to go.

[Big Guy]

after a short period on the dark side, I am still at 265.

[Shu]

Sure seems like a lot of contestants dropped out and gave into the all mighty great tastng food or is everyone just forgetting to weigh in and post?

[Big Guy]

Originally Posted by Shu

Sure seems like a lot of contestants dropped out and gave into the all mighty great tastng food or is everyone just forgetting to weigh in and post?

better chance for us!

[freedom44]

I know it’s been awhile since I posted but I – ___________ crashed, got sick, am working hard, am hardly working, can’t type, can’t spell (both true)… (pick one you like to fill in the blank)

But on the real side I seem to be stuck at about 200, need to get committed again and get off the fence.

[surlygal]

Okay so this is a very frustrating post for me!

I'm not gonna post my weight but,

Progress: it's been weeks. I was doing really good, really good! Lost 7 real quick and was loosing 1 - 2 for serveral weeks. Not tracking much just changing my eating, doing more than getting back on the computer on I get home from work (I work short days so have to work from home also) and exercising.
My clothes were fitting better all was well.

So I thought i'd step on the scale this am - To my surprise I've gained it all back and then some

What the Heck?????

I need to re-evalute my weight loss plan!!

Frustrating is all I can say..

[DBD]

Hey surlygal, if the clothes are fitting better you might want to gauge your progress with measurements an NOT weight, at least for a month or so more 'cause it could just be you added a bit of muscle which is a good thing.

[ohyeah89]

Originally Posted by surlygal

Okay so this is a very frustrating post for me!

I'm not gonna post my weight but,

Progress: it's been weeks. I was doing really good, really good! Lost 7 real quick and was loosing 1 - 2 for serveral weeks. Not tracking much just changing my eating, doing more than getting back on the computer on I get home from work (I work short days so have to work from home also) and exercising.
My clothes were fitting better all was well.

So I thought i'd step on the scale this am - To my surprise I've gained it all back and then some

What the Heck?????

I need to re-evalute my weight loss plan!!

Frustrating is all I can say..

How long since you were losing slowly? If it's only been a week or two it could be water weight... or well, for me, certain times of the month I weigh A LOT more than I do other times... Don't get discouraged! Are your clothes still fitting better? If so, focus on that rather than the stupid number on the scale (despite this contest). I know when I get fustrated, that's usually when I lose it and just stop caring (haha counter-intutive, I know) and eat back all the lbs I previously lost, so just try to focus on the positive, maybe its just a hydration/electrolyte situation. Good luck!

Edit: DBD beat me to it, ha. Do what he says =)

[tkblazer]

Originally Posted by surlygal

Okay so this is a very frustrating post for me!

I'm not gonna post my weight but,

Progress: it's been weeks. I was doing really good, really good! Lost 7 real quick and was loosing 1 - 2 for serveral weeks. Not tracking much just changing my eating, doing more than getting back on the computer on I get home from work (I work short days so have to work from home also) and exercising.
My clothes were fitting better all was well.

So I thought i'd step on the scale this am - To my surprise I've gained it all back and then some

What the Heck?????

I need to re-evalute my weight loss plan!!

Frustrating is all I can say..

maybe its all muscle from all that SS'ing at SRP

[allison]

Sorry, this became really long winded!!



I guess I will go ahead and post specifics, but I was up around 148lbs last August. I've been weighing ~ 131lbs this past week.

In August we were commuting to work and I was just getting back into lifting weights in the gym. For me, I feel like the best way to keep my weight off (and lose it) is to lift and do cardio. My body seems to need the lean muscle mass to burn calories all day, otherwise I'd have to be riding a LOT more than I currently am.

To be honest, though, I think a large portion of the weight loss was when I quit taking a prescription medication. So, if you're on any meds definitely find out if they could be affecting weight (sometimes there are alternatives that don't have weight gain as a side effect). What I was taking was useful, but ultimately not necessary, and for whatever reason I just couldn't lose weight while taking it (and it was probably why I gained so much). Even cutting my prescription in half made no difference!

Aside from that... we thought we were eating pretty healthy, but even now we could (especially me) be doing better.

We eat either oatmeal (yeah it's instant and has added sugar, but we only it eat it a few times a week) or whole grain cereal (Justin eats Bran Flakes and I eat Cheerios) with skim milk. If on sale we'll add blue berries to the cereal.

I eat whole grain white bread with sandwiches (should be whole grain wheat, but I just can't do it, have tried) and only have turkey lunch meat and cheese. No PB&J.

Cut back on refined carbs. I thought eating the baked lay's and reduced fat cookies were at least better than regular, but they still aren't doing any favors. I replaced stuff like that with veggies. For awhile we were doing raw broccoli with ranch dressing. Decided to cut that out, so I started steaming the broccoli (Ziploc's Zip & Steam new bags are awesome). I also will bring cauliflower sometimes instead. Fresh is way better tasting than the frozen, but either will do (frozen is quicker and cheaper).

You can get edamame/soy beans also. At costco a big container is like $4. I put the last one in the freezer so they wouldn't go bad. Put them in a ziploc container (not bag) and heat them up before lunch (20 seconds). Full of protein, fiber, etc. and very low calories/fat (same with any veggies).

Dinner, have a big salad (with reduced fat/light dressing either separate - dip your fork then get salad - or just lightly dusted) of lettuce/spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers before hand. If you give yourself about 10-15 minutes after your salad before dinner you will feel pretty full before you even start eating.

Then we usually have boneless/skinless chicken breasts and a veggie, turkey chili, or Barilla pasta plus with ground lean turkey (additional protein and really healthy).

For snacks during the day I usually have regular yogurt (more fat, but no aspartame) and string cheese (when I remember to buy it). Yes, dairy products do have fat, but we don't get much fat from anything else, and it's full of calcium and protein. I'm willing to to sacrifice I also usually have an apple in the afternoon. I need to buy more fruit, actually. I really enjoy also eating bananas, grapes, oranges, etc. with lunch and for snacks.

Just look at what you are eating and find out where you can cut out any carbs that don't come from fruit or veggies.

If I did a fitday thing every day I'm sure I am still eating too many carbs, but what else do I cut out?

I hit the gym 3 days a week and do a quick work out. Tuesday is usually legs/shoulders, Wednesday is chest/tricep, and Thursday is back/bicep. We ride both days on the weekend.

This week I did 2 30 minute bike trainer workouts (intervals).

Next week I think Justin and I will start bike commuting a few days a week and maybe riding at lunch, so I probably won't do the trainer and will just ride instead. Commute is about 15 minutes each way (incl traffic lights) and hopefully we can get in about 30-40 minutes at lunch 1-2 days a week.

Anyway, that is really all I have done. One other thing to note is that we do NOT eat out at lunch. Ever. We haven't gone out for lunch in probably 2 months. My dad does take us out to dinner sometimes once every 2 weeks. I try to have him over instead, but that doesn't usually work out (he isn't into the healthy food we eat). Every other weekend we also have been eating Subway for lunch (at SRC) - I get the Sub Club with cheese, no oil, and usually stay away from the chips - and then will eat Mexican/Italian for dinner. I am horrible at making good choices when we go out to eat. I don't want to save half, I don't want to share. I LOVE eating huge dinners. So, that is really my biggest weakness.

Anyway, may not work for everyone, but it has worked for me so far. I hope I can maintain a weight near this. I'd like to continue to lose fat and gain muscle, but ultimately I don't know what will happen. I know for my goals this year I'd like to ride more miles (off and on road) and climb more. I want to continue to get better at XC racing, but also need to learn some DH skills as well. I'd really like to do better at endurance stuff, but we'll see. Needless to say, all this leads to me needing to ride more, and the more I ride during the week, the more calories I'm burning!

I know it's probably hard, but find an exercise schedule that works and stick to it.

I took last week off from weights for VQ. I knew if I didn't get in a full week at the gym that next week I'd be more than likely to blow it off as well and get in a pattern of not working out at all.

It's tough when Justin isn't busy at home after work cause he wants to eat right when we get home, so there's no time to hit the bike trainer. Hopefully with the time change we can get out and go climb a hill before eating now

[surlygal]

Originally Posted by tkblazer

maybe its all muscle from all that SS'ing at SRP

Don't get me started

[Bellvis]

Ohhh man I wish I was in this competition. I weighed in yesterday at my dr's at 203. So ive lost 26lbs since Jan. 18th.

[craig z]

Originally Posted by Bellvis

Ohhh man I wish I was in this competition. I weighed in yesterday at my dr's at 203. So ive lost 26lbs since Jan. 18th.

Jeez, that's FAST! how are you doing it?

I've lost 18 since Jan 1. 181 now, hoping for a healthy 160-165.

[Bellvis]

Originally Posted by craig z

Jeez, that's FAST! how are you doing it?

I've lost 18 since Jan 1. 181 now, hoping for a healthy 160-165.

Im doing these special Dr. prescribed shakes 3 x a day, limiting myself to 1500 calories daily and exercising. Ive also been eating a lot healthier and cut my beer intake way down. The first week was really hard but I lost 8lbs in 9 days. I also do not eat past 7pm. I think I only have 3 more weeks on these shakes and then its on me to keep it up.

I have friends that fight UFC and kick-boxing and ive been training with them also, not fighting, just working out.

[tkblazer]

i guess working out helps in losing weight eh? i've bumped up my riding from 2x a week to 4x a week and i feel great!

[surlygal]

Originally Posted by tkblazer

i feel great!

Are you sure it's not those afternoon naps your taking

all kidding aside, i've heard Nam has takin to climbing hills on that new rig of his

[tkblazer]

Originally Posted by surlygal

Are you sure it's not those afternoon naps your taking

all kidding aside, i've heard Nam has takin to climbing hills on that new rig of his

where do you get off spreading these lies about me.... i don't like climbing =, but i do enjoy an afternoon nap