Posts by ajr9000

Me too, I was 199.2 or was it 199.4 this morning also. It does feel great since I do not remember the last time I was under 200 pounds.

Congratulations on your milestone.

AJ

Original Post by danceswithforks:

I started getting 'german' and said I'm gonna make a sign and put it out there for all of them to read....and then I made up something and so hubby had to put down the phone AGAIN and clap.

So, I want to know what you all would do about this?

I seriously want to put it back on their door step. So rude.

 I would try one of these.

 james

I did not mean double the time.  I mean you need to work towards doubling the intensity.  Which you have indicated in your post.

AJ 

I do not believe in the plateau and/or starvation mode when you are overweight. I suspect that you have hit a balance between your calorie intake and expenditure. Remember, all of these tools are estimates and will be off.

I would try eating more vegetables prior to your main meals, make sure you cut off all visible fat from any meat you are going to eat and increase the intensity of your work outs. i.e. keep the time the same but increase your speed.

I started at 275 pounds on Oct 1, 2008 and I stopped eating fast foods, potato chips, and other junk foods. I started riding a stationary bike for 60 minutes 4 to 5 days per week. I still ride 60 minute; however, I push my self harder (700 calories per hour when I started to 1300 calories now) I do not think I burn any more calories now then I did then since I am in better shape.

I do not worry about minimum calories intake etc. I eat when I am hungry only and ensure that I pick healthy foods. I just weighed in at this morning at 212.6 pounds and have consistently lost 2 pounds per week since January 1, 2008.

My burn meter says I burn 2490 per day, I eat around 1700 calories per day (according to my counting) giving me a deficit of 790 calories or 5,530 per week. I ride my bike 4 to 5 times per week (assume 4) at 1300 calories/ride or 5,200 calories per week. This gives me a deficit according to CC of 10,730 which translates to 3.07 pounds (divided by 3,500). Since I am only losing two pounds per week I have a 50% (or 33% depending how you want to calculate it) error rate in my estimates above.

I suspect that my calorie intake is actually higher since I am using estimates,

I suspect that my bike is over estimating the calories burned,

I suspect that CC is over estimating my calories burned during the day.

I suspect that a pound of fat is +/- 3500 calories (maybe they are not created equal)

All of these issues add to the 50% error rate.

This is a great web site and it has helped me to get focused and understand the amount of calories in foods and get me to where I am now. Do not dwell on the fact you have not lost for a couple of weeks. Look at your eating and exercise habits and work harder and the weight will come off. I used to blame everything else for my weight gain/ inability to lose rather than looking at the real cause of my weight gain and inability to lose weight....ME! It is to easy to blame the plateau for not losing weight rather than your own habits.

I had tried dieting several times and have lost weigh; however, I never got below 220 pounds. I always assumed that I could not go any farther because of the plateau and would give up and gain the weight back. Now that I am looking at the foods I am eating and starting to understand the relationship between food/exercise/weight loss I easily broke the 220 pound mark and I am on my way to breaking the 200 pound mark.

Focus and you will get to your goal.

AJ

I am getting close too.  Started at 275 on October 1, 2007 and was exactly 214 this morning.  I have not been below 200 pounds for at least 20 to 25 years; therefore, I am looking forward to it also.

AJ 

    If you have a public pool near your home I would try swimming.  It is low impact and should not affect your shins.

AJ 

Original Post by eyespook:

It's so great to hear so many success stories. I appreciate everyone's time to let me know how this website has helped them. It's very motivational!

 

Thanks!

Since October 1, 2007 I have lost 56 pounds. 

AJ

I would increase the intensity of the cardio but keep the time frame the same.   If you are using an exercise machine that tracks calories burned try to burn an additional 100 calories each time you work out. 

 As mentioned in a previous thread, When I started my cardio on my bike I burned 700 calories in one hour.  I now burn 1200 to 1300 calories in an hour (according to the bike); however, I do not think I am burning 500 to 600 calories more since I am in better shape.  Once I can burn 1300 per hour consistently, I am going to push for 1400 calories.  

AJ

Original Post by danceswithforks:

I would say thank-you to the devil.

Hmm, Danceswithforks ... thank you to the devil???? Should we be worried??

But I digress, I would have to agree with you. If they ask for advice and it is provided then a thank you should be in order; however, this is the digital age.

AJ

This is why I posted this article earlier.  Too much water can be harmful.

http://caloriecount.about.com/forums/post/761 30.html

AJ

I am not a big believer in plateaus; however, if I hit one I may change my mind. I suspect that most plateaus are a result of over estimating exercise calories and under estimating eating calories and your body hits a balance between the two and the weight loss slows. For Example, I ride my stationary bike for one hour at least five days per week. When I started the bike said I burned 700 calories, four months later after pushing myself the bike says I burn 1200 calories. I am now working on getting this number to 1300 calories in one hour. To tell you the truth, I do not think that I burn 500-600 more calories now as I did then since I am in better shape. I use the calorie burn on my bike to make me work harder to maintain my calorie deficit not increase it. If I increased my calorie intake by 500 to 600 calories to offset theis perceived increase in exercise my weight loss would slow down or stop.

It appears from your post "I did exercise 3-4 times a week with 45minutes on an exercise bike but it's just so coldddd." that you stopped exercising therefore, this is the most likely reason why your weight loss slowed down. I would start again and increase the intensity of your workout but keep the time frame the same. Push your self and the weight will drop off. Do not forget to drink water during your workout and eat healthy.

I refuse to eat more just for the sake of eating if I am not hungry. Eating for the sake of eating when I wasn't really hungry is how I got to be overweight in the first place. I plan on trusting my body to tell me when I am hungry and when I am full.

I think this web site is great and the tools help to give you an idea of what you burn; however, they are based on a formula with several assumptions. these assumptions can be wrong because everyone is different; however, your body cannot.

I am sorry if I got off topic a little bit.

Good Luck,

AJ

PS

I want to repeat that I think this is a great web site. It helped me understand how much I was really eating and got me on track; however, I find it very hard to believe that a few mathematical formulas can beat millions of years of evolution. Please note that this is my opinion and I am not trying to Flame anyone. If you feel that my post can be interpreted in a good way or a bad way then it was meant in the good way Cheers. AJ

Try adding lemon juice to the water before you drink it.  It makes the water taste better.

AJ 

Original Post by ajr9000:

It is about -15F here with wind chills close to -40

 AJ

 Only 20F today; however, it going to drop again.

ouch

AJ 

I also weigh myself through out the day.  I have my evening weight and my morning weight.  My weight usually varies only by 2 to 3 pounds.

AJ 

Original Post by maciesmom:

I have my burn meter set at sedentary, then I go back and log ALL my daily activities (sleeping, dressing, driving, working behind a desk, exercise, etc). I always do the whole 1440 minutes in a day (24 hours). Does CC know to replace the "sedentary minutes" with the activities I added, or am I doubling up?

If you log the entire 1440 minutes of the day CC will not double count.  The system will replace the average burn per hour with an actual based on your logging.

My burn meter says 2590 calories, if I log 1440 mintes of sleeping at 92 calories per hour my burn meter caps at 2210 (24*92 calories).  

This could be a reason why some people stall since they use the average and not actual activity.  

AJ