Welcome to the Group

Welcome! We would love get to know you, so please tell us a little bit about yourself. You can choose any format you'd like, but most of us here share some or all of the following details:

1. History with weight loss:
2. History with Calorie Count:
3. Reason for joining this group:
4. Some interesting details about yourself, such as your job, your family, your pets and your interests:

And now just go ahead and make that first post!

Hi All,

Steve from Central IL. I'm 39 years old and have steadily gained weight since my daughter was born (about 12 years ago). 

History with weight loss -I lost 30 lbs with weight watchers about 5 years ago.  Now I've gained it all back plus a little more.  My highest was 253 in May and I've been steadily losing since them. Need to get healthier so I can apply for a different medical insurance plan and want to set a good example for my family.

History with Calorie Count - found it in July.

Reason - so much of weight loss information is slanted toward females, just looking for some male input and support.

Interests - work in insurance and teach high school part-time, married with 2 kids, 3 dogs, and 2 cats ( I feel like I live in a zoo most days). I've been walking/jogging since May and I'm going to run my first 5 k next month. I also cook and read and run my kids to different activities.

Right now I'm stuck on a plateau.  I had been losing weight every week, but I went on vacation 3 weeks ago and gained 4 lbs.  I've lost the four pounds but have been stuck for about a week now.

Hi everyone,

I am Steve from NE Ohio. 45 years old and have just joined. My daughter told me about this site. She raved about it and so I am here to try it out. I need to lose about 40 lbs. I have fought this battle all my life. I feel like the white, male version of Oprah sometimes when I look at old photos of myself. I hope this site will be an easy way to track my intake and motivate me enough to stick with it. 

Hello,

My name is Nick and I just started with caloriecount.

1. Sometime around my Junior year in high school I managed to reach my highest weight of 270lbs. After hitting that point I got on the Atkins diet, initially making my way down to 240lbs. I took about a year hiatus from Atkins however, and gained 10lbs, but fortunately shortly after this I entered college and managed to lose 50lbs in my first two years, bringing me to my lowest weight of 199lbs. After my second year of college I moved off campus and adopted a less active lifestyle, which has caused me to gain 20lbs over the past two years.

2. About a month ago I began some serious physical training and have recently become frustrated with the lack of any weight loss, so last night I started hunting around for ways to help me count calories. I came across this website, which suggested the goal of losing 20lbs by December (though I'm hoping I can manage sooner).

3. CalorieCount suggested it to me, and I figured it would be fun.

4. Though I've half-assedly tried to lose weight over the past two years, it's only been recently that I've put any serious effort into it. After graduating from college, I couldn't find work and had to move home. Though I continued to search for a job, I found nothing and thus decided to apply for an officers position in the United States Marine Corps. Though I've been making very gradual progress towards being physically fit enough to meet their requirements, I haven't made any advancements as far as weight loss. I'm really hoping caloriecount can help!

Sup homies, -lol-

 Manuel is the name, yeah i know.. typical spanish name yay me. 23yrs as of 3 weeks ago, god.. time does fly.

  Well it all started when i was about 10 years old... and mc'donald came along with his happy ass clown and ruined my internal karma. Ah well that aside i was always the big kid, you know.. the guy you wanted to block your ass when you were quarterback. yep well at about 16 i was at 260lbs 6'1, and noone dared bring up my weight other than my women, god bless them. Anyways i was used to the lifestyle of eating junk every other day then midway thru my 16 years of age one of my friends was shot and killed infront of me. Went into a big depression, stopped going out with friends ..cut them off completely actually. Anyways i basically stayed in my basement playing MMO's (*cough* world of warcraft *cough*)

Anyways at 18 i hit 320lbs 6'2...started thinking about what life meant to me and what i should be doing, got a job... got into a tech school, things only got worse though. So there i was 21 almost 22 years of age 350-360lbs, juggling my weight. Then bam , wake up call mother ****** . Had chest aches , not the normal heart burn i was use to. Never went to the doctor , though it made me think.. is this how i want my legacy to end... my 2 little brothers who were walking in my footsteps, of course they were im the man of the house.

I decided then to join the military.. went to a recruiter for info. He actually helped me begin, printed out a list of exercises to start off. I believe he probably thought i wouldnt lose anything on my own. But this time i was serious, then i came upon all these websites , CC being one of them ;). So i started of wrong anyways in my haste to lose weight , yes yes 1200 calories .. first 3 months i lost alot of weight and also muscle sadly then i incorporated some weight lifting. Bad move on my part but i kept on,then i slowly started to rise my calories up. 1400-1600-1800. (Had to buy an expensive treadmill for my damn weight ). Yeah then i went through that struggle you guys know too well, exercise 2 hours on the daily. Started p90x 6 months in, blasted alot of fat and my cardio rose, so now after about a year and 1 month i have 6 months of p90x under my belt + walking then jogging and now running, i currently weigh in at 192 lbs. Still working on my push ups and pull ups- sit ups- nearly perfect score for the running part of the physical test.. working on that, last time i tested myself i did 2miles in 14:01 , almost there, 13min perfect score. Oh and i ran half a marathon on my treadmill xD (ate like a dumptruck , oh yeah).  Next time ill try to run a full marathon just to test myself ;D~ Back on point , focus, So my goal weight is 185 but i feel so good now, i dont stress it anymore. Ive been loosing about .5 a week eating 2600-2900. So now that im out of depression ive only got regrets~ But im happy though, my brothers of course watching me, wanted in on the action.. they lost mega weight as well, we do boxing drills together. Now they wont lose any years like me. Well err ill shut up now ;p.

Hi. My name is David. I'll be 50 this Oct. The men in my family carry the "Thomas Curse". Before the age of 32 we can eat anything in any amount and not gain an oz. (three lb bag of Doritos for a late night snack, no problem). I weighed 135 when I graduated college. 145 at age 30. At 32 I spiked to 160 and have gained steadily each year since. I've  lost 40 lbs. twice so far to get back down to 170 but have put it back on both times over about 5 years.

I took up martial arts (TKD) with my 14 yr old son two years ago hoping to control the weight without crash dieting but put on 10 lbs. instead (muscle weighs more than fat they say). Last May I tore my left knee ACL at a TKD tournament and put on another 10 while I was waiting for surgery (puts me at my highest weight, 230lbs. and the extra weight could be a factor in tearing the ACL). Surgery on 7/22 and recovery is going well but will be Feb 2010 before I can get back to martial arts. 1 hour rehabs three times a week still gives me a good workout plus 30 min a day on the stationary bike. Thought it was time to drop the weight the right way so have started counting calories. CCs calculator targets 1850 for me, I try for a range between 1600 and 2000.

Hope to be down to 180 in time for a week SCUBA trip to the Caribbean in January. CCs calculators says my ideal weight is 153 which I should be able to hit by next April.

Got my finger crossed!

David 

Hi my name is Gordon and I am 56 years old. I have been obese most of my life and i have tried diet after diet with a small amount of success. Sadly my wife died suddenly last year and i started to think about my own health, and not being there for my children. So i decided its not to late so here I am. I joined this group so I can talk to people who are going through the same as me, and I hope to gain inspiration and maybe give inspiration to others on the site

Hope thats enough for now

Gordon

Hi Gary here, Have been a yo-yo dieter all my life ( comin' up on 60). True to what they say everytime I'd go to a new high before saying Enough! Three years ago I started eating right, running and hitting the gym and dropped from 245 to 180. I felt great and kept it there for over a year; then some **** stuff happened in my life. I quit working out, drank too much and ate because it made me "feel better" . Went back up to 235 my triglycerides were off the chart.  A few months ago I started working my program again and am down to 218 I'm an analytical type so the calorie counter helps and I've always enjoyed cooking so I'm lovin' the recipe analyzer. I wish you all the best on your personal goals and hope to be around a long time.  Gary

Hello, my name is chris and i started trying to lose weight for real last october (08) after an embarrassing incident at an amusement park. I wouldn't fit on the ride and had to do the walk of shame with kids letting me know that I was a fat man that wouldn't fit.... ohhh kids will be kids i guess. That was me at 435 pounds!! Now, about 11 months have passed and I just weighed in yesterday at the ymca. I'm down to 358! i guess thats about 77 pounds. Thats a 5th grader! HAH! Well most of that was with the adkins approach, but I felt stifled and read a lot about the problems with kidney function and so forth due to the high level of protein i was eating. So for the last two weeks I have been counting. I found this site when I was looking for the calorie count of my morning breakfast of Oatmeal, nonfat yogurt and raisins. This is a HUUUGE help! So I am afraid that this way of eating will cause me to gain weight... im working really hard at it though and thought this group would make a difference! OH, I'm 30. I have no diseases (yet) and I am wayyyy outta shape. I just started the YMCA this week though and am very sore from a one hour kickboxing class that rocked my world..

Hi,  I'm Marvin.  Just about to turn 41 and weighed in the other day at 310.  Just moved my family from Oklahoma to a farm in Wisconsin and looking forward to losing about 130 pounds over the next couple of years using this site. 

Anyone else near Eau Claire Wisconsin - I'd love to get in touch.

 

1. History with weight loss: Tried low carb, tried counting calories

2. History with Calorie Count:tried calorie counting a few years ago here and did great, started about 250 and got all the way down to 190, changed careers and could not count everything and got back up to 230. Currently am laid off and joined the YMCA to help get me back into shape for when I go back to work.

3.Reason for joining this group: want to see what other men can accomplish to help motivate me
4. Some interesting details about yourself, such as your job, your family, your pets and your interests: work is plumbers apprentice (laid off currently), have two dogs, three cats, two birds, two rodents, and a few fish, love muscle cars (have 71 nova).

And now just go ahead and make that first post!

done!

Name is Tom, From Milwaukee, WI

Im new to losing weight.  I am big by nature I played football in HS. but now I need to lose weight because I kept eating and not working out.  I just started a 1800 calorie count diet which I was put on by my health care prof.  Due to bad trends (High Cholesterol and a High Blood Pressure)

I just found this site so Im excited to try it all out I just started counting things on Tuesday and Im rocking it out.

Im in college so it get tough, but I hope to find recipes and such cause I love to cook.

 

Hi, my name is Ian and I am from the UK. I hit 40 this year, and since giving up smoking nearly four years ago, I have steadily piled on the pounds :( Enough is enough and it is time to regain my former glory! (albeit a slightly older and more seditary version!)

 

I found this site by accident, whilst searching for a calorie counter.

Ian,

  I've also recently hit the age of 40 and this was my primary motivation for becoming healthier.  Good Luck to both of us.

I just turned 40 this year and have never been successful at controlling my weight or dieting for that matter.  In the past year I've added 30lbs and for the first time ever I hit 230+ Lbs.

I've got two great kids that are only 6 and 8 and I want to be around a long time for them.  My dad passed a couple days before his 56th birthday primarily due to his weight.  He weighed in excess of 400-500 lbs.  My mom just died last month due to a stroke and not taking care of herself.  I refuse to repeat their mistakes.

So when some co-workers decided on having a Biggest Loser style of contest I decided to give it a try.  This is how I found CC.

I've only been at it for about 2 1/2 weeks but for the first time EVER I am actually losing weight.

Hopefully I can stick to it but I have some challenges working against me in the fact that I have a bipolar mood disorder.  I hate excuses so I plan on this being different.

Steve

PS - Nice to see other guys on this site. 

Great to see you here Steve, like you I am fourty and the Father of a young child, I can relate to your reasons for losing the pounds! Best tip I can give you is use the food log, since I have been tracking what I eat, I have been really strict with myself! Good luck and keep up the good work.

 

ATB

 

Ian

Original Post by airassisted:

Great to see you here Steve, like you I am fourty and the Father of a young child, I can relate to your reasons for losing the pounds! Best tip I can give you is use the food log, since I have been tracking what I eat, I have been really strict with myself! Good luck and keep up the good work.

 

Yeah, I really like the Food Log.  I never counted calories seriously before and I am amazed by how much junk I really eat and how fast the calories can add up. 

No wonder I kept on putting on weight thru the years! 

 

 

 

1. History with weight loss: I've always been a bit heavy, but only a bit. As such, my attempts at weight loss were never very sincere. I only took weight loss seriously when I realized that I had gained a lot of weight. Midway through my third year of university I stepped on the scale and discovered I was 230 lbs. Over the past two years I've been working my way down. My initial goal was 180, and my goal now is 160. I am 5 lbs away from my goal.

2. History with Calorie Count: Started here in september when I got curious about tracking my calorie consumption. This came about after I achieved my initial goal of 180. I knew the loss from 180 to 160 wouldn't be as easy as my previous weight loss.

3. Reason for joining this group: I'm a guy, and I was beginning to think I was the only guy on this site. It's also comforting to know I'm not the only guy in the world who tries to control his weight. It seems the attitude of most people is that only women should care about their weight.

4. Some interesting details about yourself, such as your job, your family, your pets and your interests: I'm in my final year of Electrical Engineering degree. I have 4 months of school left. I plan to join the navy once I graduate.

Original Post by mucombeze:

3. Reason for joining this group: I'm a guy, and I was beginning to think I was the only guy on this site. It's also comforting to know I'm not the only guy in the world who tries to control his weight. It seems the attitude of most people is that only women should care about their weight.

Definitely agreed there.  It's like there's this mentality that if a man is watching what he eats and is concerned about his intake, then the only possible reason is that he's an athlete or competing in some athletic event.  We can't just try to be healthy for the sake of being healthy.

Even here at CC, it's tough to find posts from and by men that aren't full of machismo and "you need to do this, that, and the other thing," like we tend to do.  Encouragement isn't nearly as "masculine" as instruction or competition, it seems.

Most of the Fitness forum posts are by women, so it's hard to relate.

Hello everyone! My name is John. I have always had a problem with taking the weight off but never had the problam of maintaining it until 3 yrs ago when my wife got pregnant with our first son. With the midnight cravings and eatin and goin to bed and not doin enough excersize i went from 205 to 285 in 9 months. I have been trying to get it back off ever since. Having our second son didnt help at all. Now i am down to 257 and would like to get back to 200. I figured the best way to do that would be to join calorie count with my wife.  We both have goals and we are hopin this will be a good way to keep us focused on them. I am married to a wonderful woman named kayla. We have 2 beautiful boys. Axyl who is 3 and Wyatt who is 10 months. I would like to be healthy enough to play with my boys everyday the way they like it without running out of air. My family is my biggest reason for wanting to lose weight and staying focused on my goal. I am a carpenter and a resturant manager. I hope to meet interesting people that can help me with my goals and keep me focused!

Welcome aboard, and good luck, John!  The main thing to keep in mind is that you're doing this for YOU.  You have to hold yourself accountable and while this site provides excellent advice and very good tools to keep track of your food intake and activities, you have to be the one to log on every day and make use of that info and the utilities, and then go do it.

Just like a piece of wood isn't going to saw itself into a new deck, so to speak ;)

This site can help, but you're the only one who can change yourself, and if you maintain the right outlook, you CAN do it!