Should it be this easy? :)

Hey guys,

Just wanted to share my success to keep some motivated (including myself).  I started my diet & exercise regimen in the first week of July, and I've already lost 16 lbs!

I quit smoking 1.5 years ago (cold turkey!) and let myself balloon out to a surprisingly somewhat healthy and agile 275 lbs... (I'm 35yo and 5'8") and today (3 weeks into it) the scale showed 258(x1) & 259(x2)... I've had to cinch my belt one hole tighter, I have more energy throughout the day, and I feel better about what goes into my body. 

Nothing specific triggered my aha! moment per say, but I did wake up on the 30th of June and just knew that things had to change... and they did, cold turkey, just like my smoking so long ago.

So far I haven't had any trouble eating right and losing weight.  I haven't been hungry at all even though I've decreased my calories to an avg 1775 per day.   I've been able to go out with friends and order calorie friendly meals, even at fast food joints.  (I'm pretty stubborn, so I am able to rid myself of the mindset that I want those foods I used to love... at least for now while this diet is still 'fresh'). 

Some of the food/lifestyle changes I've made are:

-No more red meats (at least for a couple months... until I get to my first goal weight of 200lbs)... now the meats I eat are turkey and chicken (never fried) - [edit] oh, and fish.

-No more fast food or fried foods (greasy burgers, fries, etc).

-No more sweets (chocolate, cookies, ice cream, etc).

-TONS of fruits & vegetables (I found I love tomatoes, carrots, pickles & olives in moderation, and Low Sodium V8). 

-I eat cereal every day (1 cup Special K Red Berries or Vanilla Almond + 1/2cup Skim Milk).  One snack between breakfast & lunch as well as between lunch and dinner (usually an apple or banana) and one snack after dinner before bed (usually yogurt, pretzels, or veggies).

-I also drink 1 glass of Skim Milk with every dinner. 

-I snack on fruits/veggies, or 1cup Dannon Light Vanilla yogurt + 1/2cup granola.  Sometimes I'll eat a handful (100 cals) of Pretzel Nibblers, or some other 100 calorie snackpack or some such.

-I've also signed up for a gym membership.  I've maintained 3-5 times per week for 1 hour at a time... usually 20 minutes on the stationary bike at a sustained 150bpm, and 40 minutes lifting weights.  Sometimes I'll spend 30 minutes in the pool during my lunch break from work as well.

This site has really helped me track and maintain my calories.  I don't even want to think about what my caloric intake used to be, and what grade I would've gotten.  YIKES!    I've averaged a B rating with the foods I eat since coming here.  I always look up foods before eating if the label isn't easily accessible and plan meals accordingly. 

Again, I haven't been hungry once while on this 'diet'... I've noticed I have more energy throughout the day and the pounds just keep dropping away.  So far this is just too easy.  :)

Awesome, keep up the good work! I love reading stuff like this, it helps me stay focused on what I need to keep doing as well.

Wow!  Congratulations on the loss.  It took me 5 months to lose 16 pounds, although I'm short and female with a bit less to lose.  Seeing the numbers on the scale dropping so quickly must be really motivating.  And clearly, feeling healthier is its own reward. 

I do want to say that in the first few weeks it's OK to lose weight so quickly.  Some of it is fat, and some of it is water weight.  However, a healthy rate of weight loss is 1% of your body weight per week, so between 1 and 3 pounds for you.  If you lose faster than that, you're bound to lose some muscle in the process, and you don't want that.

Also, it's great that you've made such healthy changes to your diet, but I want to say that it's not cheating if once in awhile, you let yourself have a treat that you really want.  In fact, many people have found that it's helpful for weight loss, as odd as that sounds.  Plus, it keeps you from going batty when you're just like, "Damn it!  I just want a slice of birthday cake!"

Original Post by dolphinclick:

I do want to say that in the first few weeks it's OK to lose weight so quickly.  Some of it is fat, and some of it is water weight. 

Yeah, I had a lot of excess to shed. I know it is going to get harder as the weeks progress, and I'm ok with 1-2 lbs per week.  I just didn't know that I would ditch so much within 1 month. 

My goals are to get to 215 lbs by this Christmas and to 175 by July 2010.

I just realized that my starting weight was 275 at the gym in the early evening with my workout clothes on, and now I weigh myself in the morning (after potty/before shower) with no clothes on... so there is a bit of a fluctuation there.  My weightloss is probably not entirely accurate to the pound, but I'm still going to count the start weight at 275 and the 100lb/1 year weightloss goal of 175.

Last night was another night to mark down as "this was too easy" for eating right and working out btw.  More of the same tonight I'm sure.  :)

That's excellent. 16 lbs gone in the first few weeks.

I had the same thing happen to me in the beginning where I lost 20 lbs in the first month. But I knew at least half of that was water weight. So now it's leveled off to about 10 lbs a month.

I think the same will happen for you. Keep it up that's an excellent start to an amazing future.

Hi Well done mate, I started 1st of July, 5'10 245llb, Cut out a lot of rubbish from the diet and averaging about 1700 cals a day. Not as energetic with the exersise though. Half hour walk in my lunch wour, half hour walk home and 10 - 30 mins on an exercise bike in evening ( time dependent on how close to my target of a 800 cal daily deficit) so far losing a steady 2 - 3 llb s (1 Kg) per week. My wife is a bit peeved cause she isnt losing as much as me.

Like you I would hate to think what my calorie intake used to be.

all the best mate keep it up.