Losing weight in 2004

“Q's weight loss program part four:


Slap the wife on the ass and go to town for as long as you can. I'll bet you'll burn up (and lose!) TONS of calories!”

“Birch. Please don't apologize. i am enjoying going back and forth like this. I'm trying to learn new things all the time, and getting input from intelligent folks like yourself is what it's all about. The more I look at this Atkins thing, the more I see it as a road to moderation and , at the same time, maybe help my problem with the lipids. Once I am off the induction phase and have lost some weight, I intend to get back to some normalcy and balance in my diet. So, Atkins is being used as a stepping stone as opposed to treating it like gospel. I don't think this, or any diet like that, should be a strict, lifelong regimen. But, please. I encourage you to offer whatever viewpoints you desire to. I respect it and I will stand corrected if need be...”

“Had a late meeting, so no running, although I did get my usual quick weights workout in at the gym before lunch. Then, since picked up Cam kinda late, didn't feel like cooking, so had a huge burrito and a beer instead. Probably won't kill me, but I won't weigh any less tomorrow AM! Tomorrow, my 6.5-mile Hills of Death run!”

“Here is my "gym". The only thing that really motivates me is to get outside.

Sandia Crest

Who knows, maybe I'll be trail running at 10,000 feet by summer. ;-)”

“I fell off the wagon a bit last night. I had a sensible dinner before my workout. The problem came after my workout, when the doritos were calling my name. THen, the M&M's started callingn too. I really didn't need that stuff to go in my mouth after eating sensibly all day.

I did throw out a bunch of crap food last night, but wasn't willing to give up that bag of doritos just yet. I need to learn to eat 3 or 4 M&M's, instead of a handful....

Back on the wagon today. :)”

“I was served chocolate chip waffles for dinner. And sausage. I ate only two waffles two sausage links and a banana. I was still hungry. I wanted Rocky Road. I had hot chocolate with 2%. And some pretzels. And two servings of dried fruit.”

“I hate going to the gym, but I motivate myself by thinking that I can get in top shape for serious climbing. I work out after a book I have: climbing, training for peak performance.

This way I get in shape AND loose weight.

would be nice if I could go hike or climb in this area. I think that would be enough cardio. It's just boring to walk/run the same 6 miles every day.”

“Pathman, I am so jealous of your cross country skiing right out the door.

Smiley girl, buy some of those little carrots in a bag and eat them for snacks instead of Doritos. It works for me.

In general, does anyone else eat Wasa crackers? They are a dietary mainstay for me. Unrefined carbohydrates and the type of fiber that absorbs water and makes you feel full. Most people think they taste like carboard, but I eat them with an ounce of hard cheese and a pound of cherry tomatoes and it makes a wonderful lunch.”

“I"m eating carrots and broccoli as I type. I actually don't mind plain, raw broccoli.”

“wannabp, if we don't get snow up there, and none is forecast in the next week or so, I'm going to be hiking soon.”

“BTW, has anyone else noticed the diet and exercise ads Matt's put up?”

“Must be that time of year smiley girl”

“Matt thinks we're all fat...”

“In my case, he's right!”

“the ads pop up based on thread content...”

“So, if we post threads about erectile dysfunction, we will get bombarded with Viagra?”

“Then, how come I have never seen an ad for Gas-X on here before?”

“Don't know how it works, but google is watching us...”

“I mean, with all the fart threads and such... :)”

“wannabp I eat the wasa crackers. we have them in Germany, so when I found them here of course I bought them. we called them knackebrot. :)

They are good with whipped chive philiadelphia cheese. I wish they would make that stuff in light or fat free now. The salmon philiadephia is also good. Can't eat them with that stuff right now though because of the fat content.

I just eat them with light butter. They buttery stuff that has almost 0 cal. Doesn't even taste like butter. It's okay.”

“LMAO @ Treebeard! Holy crap, that was funny!”

“This is from a weight management text a nutritionist at my work loaned me. I like it because it keeps me focused on losing fat and keeping fit.

Vigorous physical activity (VPA) means 240 minutes/week for no < 3 months. No vigorous physical activity (NVPA) is anything less.

For men 17-26 years:
(upper arm inches X 3.7001) + (abdomen inches X 1.3122) MINUS (forearm inches X 5.4284) MINUS a constant of 10.2 if NVPA OR a constant of 14.2 if VPA = % body fat.

For men 27-50 years:
(buttocks inches X 1.0480) + (waist inches X 0.8953) MINUS forearm inches X 3.0025) MINUS a constant of 15.0 if NVPA OR a constant of 19.0 if VPA = % body fat.

For women 17-26:
(waist inches X 1.3365) + (thigh inches X 2.0806) MINUS (forearm inches X 4.3108) MINUS a constant of 19.6 if NVPA OR 22.6 if VPA = % body fat.

For women 27-50:
(waist inches X 1.1876) + (thigh inches X 1.2366) MINUS (calf inches X 1.4461) MINUS a constant of 18.4 if NVPA OR 21.4 if VPA = % body fat.

I'm outside the age ranges, but what the heck, I do the calculations anyway.

Ideally, men should be no > 15% fat and women should be no > 20% fat.”

“i'm wondering how a high fat diet is going to lower your triglyceride levels. did your doc explain this to you? i'm interested.”

“LMAO @ Treebeard! Holy crap, that was funny!"
smiley girl
11:23:35 AM
01/09/04

watch them *tricky* (Crap) words SG”

“Dang, I should have edited first......

For men 27-50: (waist inches X 0.8954) A change of 0.0001.”

“Whoops! I didn't even realize what I typed??”

“First off, the foods I am eating are not as high fat as you make it out to be. I eat a lot of fish, meat and salads (I don't use dressing. I think it's higher in protein than fats. Second, I asked him if I should go low fat and he told me that the carbs are what is needed to eliminate. I don't know any further explanation for it.”

“Correction. I shouldn't say eliminate. I mean to cut down...”

“Smiley, wouldn't it be funny if an ex-lax ad popped up? :)”

“i've always known the adkins diet for being a high fat diet.
if you happen to bring this up to your doc i'd love to hear about it.
im just curious is all. i know you burn a lot of body fat on a low carb diet, but i'm just wondering about it because one of the things you get is a ketone buildup. what i really want to know is what the difference(in terms of health concerns) is between these partially digested fats and the triglycerides. i can't seem to find any information in any of my books comparing the two. i may have to go to the library.”

“I have an appoinment with him on Monday night, so intend to ask some questions that I didn't address before. I will let you know Tuesday...”

“are high tg levels caused by holding onto fats instead of digesting or storing them right away? if so, and you might have even tried this already, would eating 6 meals a day do anything to help that? i know eating like this helps to suppress an enzyme i can't come up with the name for right now and helps to turn the body into a fat burning machine. it has something to do with the body always wanting to be prepared for a famine, and if it's constantly being fed small amounts it will kind of let go of this instinct a little. i don't know, just a thougt. i'll shut up now.”

“DT, thanks. I am going to write down some of these things and ask himto explain it to me in terms I can understand. Please, I welcome the input. I really want to know if I am doing the right thing here. I may just be wrong...”

“the Body for Life diet uses those small meals. a girl i work with was on it last year. she ate like 6 or 7 times a day.”

“I think I might eat 'bout 6 times a day. An apple before I run, breakfast after I run (protein shake and total cereal, with banana and honey on both), nutrition bar before I walk, dinner after I walk (anything goes here), then a late night snack an hour before I sleep (usually cottage cheese and pineapple, or sometimes cracklin oat bran).

Guess thats only 5 times. Need to add another meal. I gotta follow the lead of Homer Simpson, who somehow "discovered a meal between breakfast and brunch."”

“question: did any of you already lose weight since january 01st??

Isn't ketone the stuff that you are looking for in the urine while burning fat? I know they sell test stripes to test Ketone (I think) levels.

personally i think bodyfat 18% in a female is fine. I am at ahhh...ain't gonna tell. way too much.”

“I've lost 10lbs so far. I attribute most of that to contracting the flu on 1/3. I barely felt like living, much less eating.”

“awesome coop. i lost 3 lbs since this week. didn't loose anything before then, but I did realize that since this week I drink more water.

so drinking water is important.
I guess we'll see if my weight loss is only water or real fat!!”

“I lost the weight I gained over the holidays.
I also checked on when the gym opens in the morning (5:00 AM) to see if I can go more than I use to at night. My biggest problem will be getting up since I stay up till midnight. I wanted to try and go this morning but I started using my new bed mate (c-pap machine) and didn't sleep much at all last night.....grrrr”

“I know a few people that lost weight doing the Atkins diet. Whatever works I suppose, but I have a hard time believing that so many good things were put here without the intentions of us to eat them. There's so many great fruits, grains, greens, legumes ect. Rice has been a staple in Asia for centuries and how many fat Chinese farmers do you ever see. On TV the people I see look lean to me and meat isn't as available in much of the world like it is here.”

“I weighed in a pound less today than earlier this week. Could be a little dehydrated, though. I try to weigh myself often (at the same time of the day, just after getting up), then take a weekly average.”

“I'm only going to weigh myself once a week.”

“Yeah, Pathman- that way you get a truer idea of weight loss/gain. Somewhere I heard you are supposed to weight yourself at the same time of day also. I FEEL skinnier, I'll weigh in again on Monday morning. (last Sunday night after PORKING out ALLLLLL day I was 138, I think most of that was just crap (not literally!) in my stomach. In the morning I was at 132. Thats what I am using as my starting weight. (although Id like to use the 138- "hey look , I lost 6 pounds just THINKING about losing weight"- ah, if it were only that easy!!)”

“One thing about Atkins that you all have ignored is the number of studies that have come out this past year about the low carb way of eating. The medical establishment would love to prove the diets dangerous, but all the studies lately have shown otherwise. i.e. it works about the same as more balanced diets like weight watchers in the long run, both in terms of pounds lost and pounds regained a year later. I don't know why cholesterol levels drop on the diet, but studies have shown that they do.

BTW - you do add in carbs as the diet goes on - more veg, more fruit, etc. It's only the first two weeks that you cut way back, but that's true of South Beach and almost any other diet.

I think if you only have 5-10 lbs to lose, you would be better off just cutting back on intake and increasing exercise. But if you have a lot of weight to lose, then the 2-4 lbs a month plans just aren't going to cut it. Can you imagine telling yourself that you are only going to eat 1200 calories a day for the next 3 years? Starvation time. With low carb, you don't starve, and mostly you just aren't that hungry. But oh do you get tired of eggs and chicken!

Did any of you watch the Dateline program last week in which they compared 5 people who had done different weight loss programs. The guy on Atkins lost 108 lbs in less than a year.”

“Good points, Ginny, and if I may chime in on the low-carb diets:

In my experience, they

1. Make you lose appetite, making dieting easier to continue

2. allow you to eat tastier foods that seem more satisfying

3. make weight loss come quicker, allowing you to see results, and have a little encouragement.

Ductape, your arguments are all addressed in Atkins' book, though I have to qualify that by saying that I don't think he did the greatest amount of theoretical research on the subject. He worked mostly from a model that he identified and used on his patients, developing stats from them. The AMA hated his approach, and a good number of his findings were blasted without further study based on his bad methodology. The thing they couldn't argue with were his results, and the latest studies have been backing his findings up.

I've been on both low-fat and low-carb diets, and I have to say that the low-carb worked best for me. Everyone is different, but I would not recommend the standard high-carb, low fat diet for everyone, any more than I would recommend atkins for everyone.

Looking at low carb diets from an evolutionary standpoint, one might be able to imagine that humans have held to them in northern climates for millenia before the advent of agriculture and grain storage. That said, I predict that most of the studies that will come out in the next few years regarding low-carb diets will do a lot to alleviate the stigma of them in the eyes of the AMA.”

“I started Weight Watchers yesterday. Counting points should be easier for me than eliminating certain foods from my diet.”

“I'm not doing very well except the put everything in my mouth holiday thing has passed--I am no longer overeating but I won't lose any weight if I keep on the way I have been this last week.

I have some hard hikes this spring and a river trip and a class reunion --I really would like to slim down but I just can't seem to keep my mind on the subject.”

“dieting drives your metabolism into the ground, proven fact. eat less, and in a short time, your body will adjust and start conserving energy. the way to offset this is with exercise. lifting weights makes bigger muscles. bigger muscles means higher bmr. higher bmr means more pounds of fat lost.
here's where my beef comes in. how can you exercise to your highest potential on a carbohydrate(the body's preferred energy source) deficient diet.
5-6 balanced meals a day will not only boost your metabolism, but will also curb hunger feelings.
the extra protein you ingest on a low carb/no carb diet is processed in the body into a form of carbohydrate anyway.
like i said before, doing anything is good, but there's a better way. my attitude is why not lose weight and gain a higher bmr(meaning you can eat more and stay the same weight) versus lose weight and have a lower bmr, making it harder to maintain the new low weight. i'm an american, dammit, i want to eat a lot.”

“The idea is to condition your body to burn fat for fuel, since it is being deprived of a sufficient amount of carbs to use as a primary fuel source. Exercizing still gives all the benefits you describe, even on a low-carb diet.

Atkins describes a group of athletes on his low-carb diet as having slightly less endurance than when they were on a high-carb diet. Here's the journal abstract. Of course, this would be fairly insignificant for the average dieter.”

“Oh, by the way, other research contradicts that study, and says that there is no discernable difference in endurance, or that low-carb can be slightly better...

Actually, work done by Charles Gray, M.D., at the U.S. Naval Hospital in San Diego demonstrated that performance and endurance increase on a low-carbohydrate diet -- but only after a period of low carbohydrate adaptation has taken place. In other words, you can't carbo load one day, then go low carb and expect performance to be good. It takes a little time (usually a week or so) on a fairly strict low-carb diet for the body to generate the necessary enzymes to be able to efficiently access body fat as the fuel of choice. Once that happens, both performance and endurance actually increase. These same types of studies have been performed at many other research facilities with the same results. You've got to be careful in evaluating studies on low-carb dieting because so many of them are done on subjects that aren't low-carb adapted. Before this low carb adaptation takes place, perfomance and endurance may be reduced--and many studies that bash low-carb dieting have been undertaken during this pre-adapatation phase, when performance is impaired. In other words, subjects who have been carb loading, perform much better on a higher carb diet than they do--initially--on a lower carb diet. But after the same subjects have spent a week or two adapting to a low carb diet, their performance exceeds their performance when they were carb loading. In answer to the question about calories: In order to lose, you really do have to eat fewer calories that you burn. If all your energey needs are met by the calories in your diet, there is no reason to turn to your own fat stores for energy. However, on a diet higher in protein, your metabolic rate is higher and you burn more calories than on a low-fat, high-carb diet. In addition, people on low-carb diets tend to naturally consume fewer calories, even though they eat to satisfaction, because of the appetite sating effect of protein and fat.

Whatever the case, I would thik that, if a low-carb diet is significantly more dangerous than high-carb, we would be able to point to a number of chronic health problems caused by this diet in Inuit and other people living traditional lifestyles in the arctic.”