Hello from Ilias

Hi,

I never thought I'd find myself in a place like this, but here I am.

I am a man, will be 59 in January and, as of 10 minutes ago, weighed 97.6 kg (214.75 pounds). I am 6' 2" (188.25 cm) tall.

I am aiming to reach 80 kg (by next spring).Probably about half of my target loss is concentrated in my belly and waist, while the rest of me is pretty much okay.

I gather I need about 2,500 calories a day to maintain my weight, and I am targeting a daily intake of 1,950-2,000. I am eating almost no sweets and I am heavily oriented toward fish, vegetables, fruits and grains, with olive oil. That said I will eat some red meat, chicken and pork every week.

I have quit drinking beer altogether and reduced the remainder of my daily alcohol consumption to an average of two large glasses of red wine and about 3 shots of Scotch.

I have a brisk half hour walk every day, and do Tai Chi two or three times a week.

That's about all I can say for myself.

I would be most grateful to hear from anyone with success stories about getting rid of the gut.

All the best,

Ilias

Hi Ilias,

If you are drinking about 16 ounces of red wine and 3 ounces of scotch per day, your additional calorie intake is over 600 additional calories.

If you could drop the alcohol consumption to half you should lose an additional pound per 12 days or a kilogram every 26 days.

A person would need to walk about 1.5 hours in order to burn the 600 calories you are getting from the adult beverages. As they say, a drink is a drink.

I am turning 56 this month. I have lost about 100 pounds over the past four years. I am 5' 10", 195 pounds with a 34" waist. I am still losing weight, but have not been as intense as I was since I now have only about 15% body fat.

I lost some weight originally from portion control. I got down from about 300 pounds to about 260 pounds doing this over 2.5 years. Then I started counting the calories and lost about 11 pounds. Then I added walking 45 to 60 minutes per day and started losing 2.5 pounds per week. I was at a maintenance calorie intake of 2,700, but cut the calories to 1,300 to 1,900 calories per day to get the 2.5 pounds per week result. I used the fat-free cooking sprays and ate salads, low fat meats and plenty of vegetables. Logging calories is a good way to see how much you are actually consuming which is what I did. I use olive oil for cooking and eat a lot of fruit and vegetables.

An important thing to do is to start off your day with a breakfast that includes some protein. I generally have hot green tea, a two egg bell pepper and mushroom omelet with a little cheese and some yogurt with granola.

For exercise I do yoga, walking and calisthenics including 40 to 50 push-ups and crunches.

Best of Luck