Posts by maelwys

Once or twice a year I go to a friend's cabin up in the Appalachian mountains and get away from it all. No cell phones. No internet. No cable TV. Just good food, walks in the woods and mountains, starry nights, playing games, talking, watching movies, and relaxing. It's my recharge time.

So my ideal vacation would be that, traveling to a new relatively secluded place each week, starting with the Isle of Skye, Scotland.

I lost 30 lbs in 4 months with a calorie limit of 1800 per day doing 1 hour of strength training and/or cardio 6 times a week and drinking at least 8 cups of water per day. This is what I would recommend to you as well. Unless you are under strict supervision from a nutritionist, eating less than 1500 calories forces your body to retain fat. You will lose weight, yes, but you will primarily be losing muscle and bone, especially if you're under 25 and still growing. That's problem #1.

Problem #2 is that if you lose enough muscle, your metabolism and MBR slows - your body doesn't burn as many calories any more (because you trained it to do that by starving yourself). So when you get to a goal weight and start eating normally again, you gain the weight back quickly because your body simply isn't equipped any more to burn it as effectively.

Bottom line is that healthy weight loss is not simply about eating less, it's about eating right and doing exercise. If you skimp on the right way to do it, you're just hurting your chances at future success.

Good luck!

I lost 30 lbs in about 4 months which I think was quite fast but still healthy. I was able to get there by doing everything needed: limiting my days to 1800 calories 90% of the time, upping protein intake to about 1g/kg, drinking at least 8 cups of water per day, and doing weights / cardio for ~1 hour 6 times per week. Then I took a break for a few months and now I'm back to lose the last 15-20 lbs I want to lose.

I really don't see that it can be done any faster unless you are significantly overweight and under the close supervision of a medical professional and nutritionist (i.e. Biggest Loser style). Or by losing a limb. Which I don't think is a healthy way to lose weight.

Besides fruits and veggies, I second the recommendation for unprocessed nuts (almonds and pecans are my favorite). I also keep a bunch of Probar Fruition bars handy (160 calories each, excellent nutritional balance, all natural and vegan). Some folks also swear by natural popcorn (minimal butter or salt) as a healthy snack you can nuke in the office and make your coworkers suffer.

Original Post by dynacat:

I think people have a mental image of you that doesn't match with what you look like now.  I get this a lot as well.  I haven't lost anything in the past 7 months but people are still telling me I look like I'm still losing.  When they think of you, they see the 220lb you. Then they see you in person and it is so severely out of sync with the mental image that they assume there must be something wrong with you.

^this.

I know I've been guilty of it myself a number of times, and the last thing I want is to de-rail someone's attempts at weight loss. A friend of mine lost ~100 lbs over the course of a year but I only saw him a few times during his journey. When I saw him after he hit is goal weight, I was shocked at how (to my mind) sick and unhealthy he looked. Fact was, it was my own bias getting in the way - I was just too used to how he looked previously, and when he was finally in shape, it took me a while to adjust. Now he looks normal.

My advise is to just shrug it off and go on about your business. As long as you're practicing healthy habits, how you look is up to you, and not up to the rabble around you. Yes, I just called your doctor 'rabble'.

Actually I expect it'll be pretty tasty. And awful for you. Might be worth getting one for the gimmick though.

... listening to good music.

Original Post by mjsophia:

speaking of making your own:

Pizza Bagels

• 1 bagel, sliced in half
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce (not prego or ragu...real stuff)
• garlic powder 
• pinch of salt
• pepper
• oregano...tons of oregano
• 1/4 cup mozzarella
• 1 cup diced veggies or whatever topping you want

Simmer sauce, pepper, garlic, salt, oregano until warm. place bagel on cookie sheet, add sauce, cheese and topping, bake for 10 minutes at 350, or until cheese has melted.

If you don't want to wait for the oven, toast bagel in toaster, add sauce, toppings and microwave for 30 to melt cheese.

Quick and easy, without the grease!

 

^ Do something like this.

I know exactly where you're coming from - I used to think nothing of ripping through a large pepperoni pizza and eating half to 3/4 of it in a sitting. I've managed to cut that way back - I only have 2 slices of a large anymore but it took some willpower to do it. How I started was I began making my own personal mini pizzas out of naan bread and low fat mozzarella. They're still 500 calories a pop, but that's a heck of a lot better than 1500 to 2000 calories. Plus, you can control the toppings and try some new things. Now, my stomach has gotten to the point where if I tried to eat half a large pizza I'd probably explode. Crazy how used to binging we can become.

Good luck!

Ugh, that sucks about credit scores and rates. When I bought they were giving away mortgages to anyone who would sign on the dotted line - the landscape has definitely changed in that regard.

Sadly, PMI is a necessary evil for most new home buyers. Definitely borrow the money if you have the source available. Paying back your family at 5% interest is much more preferable to paying back a bank who is going to be a PITA and charge you 7-8%.

One caveat to getting loans from family - don't tell anyone that it is a loan. It's a gift, regardless of what terms you've worked out with family. If you say it's a loan, they'll factor that into your mortgage application and then banks start to get real nervous. Also, if you're going to get money from family, do it now so it becomes part of your cash reserve. Don't do it when you need it when it will look suspicious. You can always get it and then give it back if you end up not using it.

Original Post by mjsophia:
That's what I'm thinking. With rates so low, wouldn't it be a better option for us to get a 2nd mortgage, where some of our principle would be paid, instead of risking PMI dragging on for years? I do not foresee us paying the loan earlier, either...which I think is an important factor.

Over 10 years, our PMI cost could be 10K+ (if it took 10 years to get 22% equity; which it could since mostly interest is paid in the first several years on a mortgage).

While, if we paid 5% for 15 years on a $25k 2nd mortgage, we'd still pay $10K+/-, but it's a better tax deduction then PMI, right?

ETA: armandounc, I never heard of him, but I'll check him out...thanks!

Yeah, a lot will depend on your ability to pay additional principal into the loan. Moving from a 15 to 10 year plan will increase payments by $50-70 per month and bring your total interest to somewhere in the $6500 range @ 5%. That would be a lot better than having to pay ~$10K in PMI.

Also, I would check the terms on the second loan. I believe they are usually put together as HELOCs, which do provide a tax benefit but are also ARM mortgages with no fixed term, so if interest rates start moving in the next few years, it could get messy.