Posts by kokorozashi

I find the same thing tends to happen to me if I don't eat enough during the day (especially if I fail to eat breakfast -- I'll be ravenous all day without breakfast).

What's your daily calorie target?  How active are you?  Maybe you've set your target too low.  Mine was too low for the first week or two I was trying to lose weight, and I was always hungry.  I upticked it after a couple of days and found that a couple hundred calories made an enormous difference to my satiety, but didn't hurt my weight loss.  I've lost about 30 lbs this year thus far (and I can't even say I'm actually trying all that hard; most people on here put a lot more into it than I do).

Do you find that you crave any specific food group in the evenings (carbs? protein? fats?)?  That might say something about a missing piece in your diet.

OTOH, if you're eating enough, you might consider taking up some fairly-vigorous form of exercise (as long as you don't have medical problems that counterindicate it).  I've been sidelined for several months while recovering from a lung infection, but when I was training in Muay Thai, I found that the intense exercise really curbed my appetite (I'm hoping to get back to it soon). 

Running also does the trick for me, as does horseback riding, if I'm not just lazing around the trails at a walk.  I generally eat less on days I bike to work (though, again, skipping breakfast torpedoes that effect).  Exercising in the evening can also prevent boredom-eating (Britty made some other good suggestions).

I also think Judy's snack suggestions are great.  If I'm feeling snacky and really want something salty (because I'm a salt junkie), sometimes I'll have a few (and I do mean a few) chips or pretzels coupled with a bunch of chopped veggies or fruits.

Also, make sure you're getting enough sleep.  Sleep deprivation wreaks havoc on your brain's appetite controls, and if you haven't had adequate sleep, as fatigue creeps in during the evening, you can definitely transform into a werewolf.

I don't know if any of these suggestions will be your silver bullet, but I hope they help :)

Wow!  By the way, congrats to Findingmeagain2009 and ranyave -- you're both a real inspiration to me!

I'm trying to lose about 50 - 60 lbs total (I'm about halfway there), so I'm happy to see some folks who've actually done it!

Eek -- sorry I'm late again. 

Weight for this week: 183.6

My food weakness: Pizza.

First off, don't knock yourself too hard.  I think everyone has one of these areas -- at least food, as addictions go, isn't illegal and doesn't usually involve black-market transactions :)

Moreover, you're obviously doing a lot of things right in your life (you don't smoke, drink, or use drugs; you're working; you're aware that your eating habits are doing you harm). 

That strong will of yours can be a real asset even this area.  It's most likely a question of figuring out how to hitch it to this particular wagon.  I think the answer, more or less, boils down to conditioning -- you know, breaking down existing habits that aren't serving you well at this poitn and building new ones that will serve you better.

Many of us have grown up with this idea (conditioning -- a 'program,' if you will) that wasting food -- that is, leaving food on the plate -- is a cardinal sin, and that it's rude to turn down seconds if they're offered.  I suspect that, to some extent, the Super Size principle also comes into play when seconds are offered -- you know, that thing where most people will automatically accept an 'upgrade' to Super Size if it's offered. 

As adults, we may not necessarily think of it that way, but we continue to carry out the behaviors we learned as children, even if they no longer serve us.  Depending on the behaviors, this can be good -- brushing teeth twice a day, punctuality, etc. -- or bad -- 'cleaning your plate' when most American plates could better be put to use as serving platters, automatically accepting leftover sandwiches, snacking when bored.

Considering this kind of unspoken conditioning, it's really surprising not that we're as tubby as we are as a nation, but that we aren't twice as big as we are.

It also sounds like you may have some deprivation-related conditioning -- if not the kind that results from direct experience, than perhaps the kind inherited from the experiences of parents or grandparents who lived through some hard times.  When you refer to the 'survival gene,' I would guess that's part of the influence.

However, all that being said, I would guess that in your case, the 'why' may not be as important as the 'how.'

'Just saying no' from the get-go is, from what I've seen, kind of like heading to your first track practice expecting to clear 12' in the high-jump.  This seems especially true in the absence of that whole 'one day (or minute) at a time' concept that underpins many of the successful treatment programs for various forms of addiction.

When you turned down the leftover sandwich option, you did a great thing: you took the first step towards re-conditioning your food instincts.  At that moment, you did just say "No." 

Once you've done it even one time, the trick is to start increasing those moments, and eventually to string them together into days, then weeks, and so forth.  It's a lot easier to do this sort of thing if instead of dealing with this nebulous idea that you should just say "No," you deal with the specific idea that you should say no to this particular snack at this particular moment.

The trick is to keep stringing those moments together.  This means being aware of the inclination to say yes, and checking it before that yes comes out of your mouth.  This is surprisingly hard, because it means changing a behavior so deeply ingrained that it is nearly instinctual.

Likewise, it means training yourself to leave food on your plate, to reduce your portion sizes, and to recognize when you're full, so you don't eat the whole plate if the size is larger than it needs to be.

As for not eating when bored -- have you tried chewing sugar-free gum? 

I've fuond this helps me, primarily because when I have gum in my mouth, I don't want to put food in (and taking it out would mean wasting the gum, LOL).  Likewise, I have stopped bringing snacks to work.  My neighbor (who is also working on reducing his weight) and I used to maintain a departmental candy jar; we also nixed that -- and while I don't think of myself as much of a candy guy, I realized after it was gone that I'd been using it as an anti-boredom device.

Perhaps the most important idea for me, though, has been allowing myself the food I actually want. 

My basic diet isn't terrible (I eat a lot of fish, fresh veggies, and whole grains -- okay, and the occasional 6-oz sirloin), but I do like pizza or wings or a Blizzard now and then.  When I tried to cut them out entirely, I found myself thinking about them all the time (sign of a deep-seated rebellious streak, maybe?) -- so instead, I schedule treats into my daily calorie allowance.  For example: my roomie and I have pizza and wings every Wednesday, so I determined how much pizza and wings (2-3 slices and 4 wing pieces, btw) fits into the caloric slot for 'dinner.'  I put the two slices of pizza and the four wings on a plate, then eat in another room, where I can't see the remaining pizza (which becomes breakfast or lunch for several days) and therefore don't feel obligated to eat it.

Basically, if you temper the way you say "No" to food, it becomes easier.  It's like getting into really hot water -- do it a little a time, and before you know it, you're all the way in.

One more thing -- for me, it has also helped to supplement food as a source of pleasure with something else: in my case, Muay Thai (though I had pneumonia recently and am not quite back in training yet). 

When I first started training, I had no intention of altering my diet -- but as I got more serious about it, I found myself highly motivated to eat better food, and transitioned from a diet that was decent, but left room for improvement (you know, lots of home-made tacos and stuff like that; not as bad as fast-food-all-the-time, but not great) towards one that's really pretty stellar (fish, salads, veggies, fresh fruit for breakfast, etc).  I was also motivated to eat less because, quite frankly, if you're training hard in a physically-demanding sport, a full stomach is a liability (sometimes as much to those training with you as it is to you -- take my word on this one).

I've lost 25+ lbs since January, btw -- with pizza and wings once a week, Red Lobster once or twice a month, and Blizzards on a quasi-regular basis (maybe once every 4 - 6 weeks, when the inclination strikes).  I also eat ice cream, etc -- I just make a point of 'budgeting' calories for it, then controlling the portion size.

Okay, I'll bite ... well, so to speak :)

I've been on CC since January and I'm down around 25 lbs thus far.  My goal is another 30 lbs or so away.  I'd like to keep peeling off about a pound a week.

So, without further ado, general stats:
Height: 5'9"
Sex: M
Original CC starting weight: ~210 lbs
Goal Weight: 155 lbs

...And my stats for this challenge:
SW: 185

GW: 175

Happy birthday!

I would say the politest thing to do (and the kindest to yourself and others) is to take a small slice of cake.

Then, if others pressure you to take more, you can say, "Oh, no -- I want to make sure there's enough to go around!"  If your company permits, you can also leave any leftover cake in the break room with a sign reading, "Feel free to grab a slice!" or something along those lines.  That way, anyone who missed the party has a chance at a treat.

If you're worried about the calories, eat a smaller lunch, or a smaller dinner, or take a 30-minute jog in the evening (or go dancing, but skip the drinks!).

However, don't worry too much -- one little slice of cake (which probably weighs in at 200-300 calories max) isn't going to pack on the weight -- let alone enough to impact your appearance at the beach.  After all, it takes 3,500 extra calories to add a pound of fat!  (Eating the whole cake, on the other hand, might be a bit different.)

What this really boils down to is that different things work for different people.  Here's a basic overview of what works for me, with some additional thoughts.

Some of us need more carbs; some need more protein.  Some of us should eat 4 - 6 times a day; some of us do better with three squares.  Some people are lucky and can just do whatever's convenient.  Some people do 'cheat days,' some just factor in a treat now and then.  The key is always a combination of understanding your specific needs (without micromanaging, which makes most of us crazy) and allowing for pure 'wants' in moderation.

For me, a higher-protein diet is best; my roommate needs a diet with more carbs and less protein.  His diet would destabilize my blood sugar and render me anemic; mine would flat out kill him (he's one of those poor souls who could eat nothing at all and still wind up with high cholesterol).  He has high blood pressure and has to avoid salt; I have low blood pressure and I waste salt like crazy when I sweat, so if I avoided salt like he does, I would have problems (my sodium intake is usually ridiculously high, btw, and except for lung problems resulting from asthma, which isn't salt-related, I'm one of the healthiest people I know).

I don't log in advance, because -- for me -- logging in advance feels like obsessing.  It also irritates my powerful rebellious streak -- the minute I log my dinner in advance, I will feel compelled to eat something else, LOL.  Likewise, I don't obsess about food choices: while my diet is almost always about 30% fat, 30% protein, 40% carbs.  I didn't pick those numbers, then structure my diet around them.  Instead, I structured my diet around what works for me (e.g., what makes me feel satisfied and keeps me losing weight at a reasonable pace without making me lethargic or inciting reactive hypoglycemia), and when I log my food, that's where the numbers fall. 

They do vary -- frequently, my protein percentage will be higher and carbs lower; once in a while (like last night, when I decided to have a Blizzard at Dairy Queen for dinner, LOL), the protein percentage will be a bit lower and the carb percentage a bit higher.

The nice part about CC is that it breaks the numbers down for me, so I can get a sense of my dietary percentages, etc., without wanting to destroy something out of frustration.

To make a short story long, it sounds like you already have a sense of what does work for you.  If you do know, stick with it -- comparing it to what works for other people leads to old, tired analogies involving fresh produce.  Why compare apples and oranges, when you could just eat them instead?  :D

For the record, GI Jane's advice is just about always spot-on for almost everyone :D  So, if you have to pick just one of us to listen to, listen to her!

Wudy, it's definitely worth it.

Almost everyone I know is on some kind of diet or another, but I've lost more weight since January (when I started here at CC) than anyone I know -- and I eat whatever I want; I just keep it in moderation.  I'll have one or two Buffalo wings or pizza slices instead of six; one cup of pasta instead of two; four ounces of steak instead of six or eight :)

It just boils down to moderation.  I figure life is meant to be enjoyed -- so I just find a way to get small portions of the things I love in, stay within my limits, and pursue forms of exercise I love (fortunately for me, they also burn a lot of calories).

I do Muay Thai -- Thai kickboxing -- at a local gym that trains pro- and amateur fighters (okay, so right now I'm out of commission due to a recent bout with pneumonia }:|  I'll be back in training soon, though).  I started training in February, and dropped about 14 lbs in my first month without losing signficant muscle mass (in fact, my upper body strength is better than it has ever been).  I also used to do Tae Kwan Do, which was also excellent for cardiovascular fitness.

My experience has been that kickboxing is a fantastic, high-intensity full-body workout that tones and burns off weight like crazy.  My gym's Muay Thai conditioning class alone (1 hour, 3x/week -- the breakdown: 25% calistenics, 75% fast, high-intensity pounding on heavy bags) whips people in to shape fast.  The guys and gals who train 5-6 days a week are all exceptionally lean and fit.

Fitness kickboxing is usually like 'Muay Thai light,' from what I understand -- in other words, similar to Muay Thai, but sometimes with a bit less intensity, and nobody kicks you in the face :D  (At least, not on purpose.)  I've heard it's great exercise, and, theoretically, anyone who doesn't have extremely brittle bones or severe joint or back problems should be able to do it.  If it's really anything at all like Muay Thai, you'll get a great workout.

Amy Bento's videos get very good reviews -- In The Ring seems to be described as 'fairly advanced,' which might be something to keep in mind if you don't have any kickboxing experience yet.  I haven't tried any videos, either, but if you're not planning to compete, I see nothing at all wrong with just doing videos.  Who knows, you might like it and find yourself training for the ring some day!

If you can afford a large-ish one-time investment, a heavy bag or one of those Wavemaster thingies will add a lot to your workout.  You can get the basic Wavemaster for around $120, less if you can find one used.  They're free-standing, which is handy, because you don't have to buy and install a bunch of equipment to hang them.  Amazon has a 'cardio' model here: http://www.amazon.com/Century-101721-Aerobic- Wavemaster/dp/B000I6K2FE/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8& amp;s=sporting-goods&qid=1240419829&s r=8-10 for $109.  I would guess 'cardio' means it's not as heavy as the ones that are designed to develop striking power, or something.  I'm planning on buying one of these guys after I move in August, so I can train more effectively at home.

Hope this helps!

Edit: In case you're worried, I developed pneumonia because I contracted a resistant strain of strep.  Kickboxing will not cause you to become seriously ill :D

I'm going to second everyone who says, "Don't worry too much about the rapid initial loss."

People can go through periods with big losses like this; we also experience plateaus.  It will likely even out over time.

Now, if you keep this up for more than a month or so -- then I'd worry!

MadamQ -- Yeah, I've been lucky this time.  I was in bed for only about five days total (probably should've been longer, LOL, but I was being stupid); I'm still being treated now, and I still technically have pneumonia, but I'm in decent enough shape that I can go to work (my job is profoundly sedentary, and probably less demanding than staying home, since there are no stairs involved, though I do wish I could lie down).

The last time I had it, I was on strict bed rest for two weeks, then allowed very, very minimul excursions for a while ... I think I've done better this time because of the conditioning I've been putting in in my Muay Thai class and on my bike.  Last time, I was way out of shape.  I guess that makes me feel a little better :)

I will definitely take it easy!  That's the hardest thing for me, so I'm looking at this as an opportunity to learn.  Right now, it's self-reinforcing, LOL.  I have to sit down if I walk a block.  

Also, the 'plan on doing 1/4 of what you hope to' is good to know -- I had been feeling discouraged this weekend, because there was stuff I wanted to do and couldn't, but I believe I accomplished around 1/4 of what I wanted to, so I'm glad to know that's par for the course :)

Smwhipple -- thanks for all the specific input!  It seems like asthma and pneumonia kind of go hand in hand, doesn't it?

It gives me a good baseline to start from -- 5 push-ups, work up from there, etc.  I think that will help me keep from overdoing it.

The eating enough part seems to be a challenge right now -- I've dropped 9 pounds in the past 2 weeks, mainly because I just don't feel like eating.  I think that will resolve as my health improves, though. 

Sleep, on the other hand, I'm all over :D  I haven't slept this much, or this well, in years.

Do you think it would be a good idea to talk to my trainer at the gym about a program for working back into Muay Thai training?

Our classes are intense enough that I'm pretty sure it'll be at least three or four weeks before I'm up to handling a full class even once a week (though I might be able to do the conditioning class in a couple of weeks, if I keep the intensity low on the bag work and rope-jumping), but maybe he could let me do a modified class without impacting my fellow students' class time.  Maybe I'll give him a call or, better yet, drop him an email.  I know I can email Trey, who runs the conditioning class, at any rate.

"In my opinion, the toughest part is psychological. It is hard to go from being fit and active to barely being able to walk a mile."

You're not kidding, there.  I definitely have a history of pushing myself too hard :D  This has come back to bite me in the behind more than once.

It sounds like the key is mindfulness -- paying close attention to breathing and energy level -- especially at the outset.  I hear you about the 'not so much conditioning as not having pneumonia anymore' angle -- I think that's going to have to be my goal for the near future: first, recover from the actual illness.  Remain in the present (as opposed to the indefinite future, which will always result in thinking, "But I wanna be kicking butt NAO!" in my case). 

LOL, OTOH, I'm definitely looking forward to getting back to kicking arse (literally, since that's pretty much what Muay Thai is all about :D) -- but I'm trying to tell myself that pushing to hard now will only result in setbacks down the line and possibly permanent damage.

In a way, I think I can be grateful for this experience -- I think it's probably a good time in my life to learn to listen to my body, and know when to back down a little bit.  Learning to rest, recover, and sense my limits (even though the eventual goal is to transcend them) is definitely a good idea.

Oh, and thanks again, btw!

Hallo!  Thanks for the input.  You have a good point about cold and dry air -- I have trouble with them as well..

I've had pneumonia a couple of times before (I have a history of not taking care of my lungs too well, though this time it was less a question of not taking care of myself than simply of having a resistant bug -- ick!), so I concur about it taking months before you're back to 100%.

I think the start slow/start soon advice is good.  When you started back, how often were you walking, or did you start at one or two days and then build up?  There's a class at a gym near my work called 'gentle yoga,' so I think I'm going to start doing that once I get the go-ahead, maybe once a week to start, then building up.  Likewise, they've got every kind of strength training equipment in the book -- do you recommend any specific exercises?

I guess it'll be different for everyone, but I definitely want to avoid pushing too hard :)

Thanks again!

"Of all places I work for a biopharmeceutical company and they have this vending machine.  They fill it with all sorts of "bad-for-you" things and I am so addicted to the things in the machine."

If I were more paranoid, I would suspect a conspiracy to keep selling more biopharmaceutical products :)

Actually, I don't think it would be unreasonable to ask your friends not to lend you money -- that's part of what friends are for.  It's great to develop self-discipline, of course -- but it never hurts to have someone to back us up when we want to hit the vending machine/reach for that extra slice of pizza/skip the workout.  Besides, they might appreciate the vote of confidence.  When my friends ask things like that of me, it makes me feel good -- like I can 'give back' to them, I guess, and like they have faith in me.

Also, if you still have the cough after five weeks, you may want to have a doc check it out -- it sounds like it's disrupting your quality of life (getting in the way of working out), and it could be a sign of something serious going on (or something not-so-serious, but highly disruptive, like mild-to-moderate allergies).

Good luck, BTW!

I have noticed that if I go to bed too early (for my body's tastes, that is -- e.g., before 2 AM, LOL!), I have trouble falling asleep and wake up frequently.  Late exercise definitely exacerbates this problem.  Apparently, it also makes me more likely to do calisthenics in my sleep, LOL.

OTOH, Kaila, I don't think you're necessarily overtraining -- all marathoners have to do those long runs sooner or later.  As long as you're sticking to a reasonable training schedule and taking days off when you should, the exercise itself should be okay.

As for specific foods -- a lot of people say turkey is coma-inducing, and it does contain tryptophan or something along those lines (though medical types maintain that the amounts in question are too small to really have that much effect).  To be honest, though, I think it varies.  For me, pizza helps, LOL.  For other people, pizza before bed is a nightmare waiting to happen.

Also, I have to second ad786685 -- on Saturdays, when I train in the morning, I don't get that whole insomnia-exacerbation effect.