Weight problems
 

So anyway, we're bombarded with messages about being thin and looking fabulous and all that jazz. Well, I'm not exactly sure which side of the fence I come down on there. On the one hand, I'm not exactly a small person at 6'4 275+, and believe me, being gay and big aint for the most part a formula for romantic success. Although in my case I've been with Derek for about 15 months now. We're both big guys and happy with each other, so I got lucky in that sense. But I do worry about my health and Derek's, especially since he smokes. As far as feeling forced to be thin to LOOK good, I dont feel that pressure at all. It's more of a health thing for me. I dont exactly wanna be dropping dead at 40 of a heart attack, so I've got to figure out a way to change my eating habits. Perhaps some of you could share stories about this if you so desire and feel comfortable doing so.:)

Weight is a crazy, crazy thing. It's unfortunate for those people for whom weight yoyos...bounced up & down with little rhyme or reason.

The one good thing about weight is: if you feel sharp pains in your abdomen for a period of several months & it shows no signs of abating, if your weight is staying constant there's a really good chance you don't have cancer.

EDIT: Oops, forgot to answer your question. Here's my advice for altering diet:

Eat as close as possible to the natural state of the food item.

In other words, don't buy a can of carrots. Buy CARROTS in the raw. Don't buy potato chips. Buy POTATOES in the raw. You don't necessarily have to eat the raw carrots & raw potatoes as is---you can cook them at home. But YOU do the cooking. Don't buy them canned or otherwise packaged. Don't buy breaded fish sticks in a TV dinner. Buy raw FISH. Take it home & cook it yourself. Do this with as much food as you can manage without driving yourself absolutely crazy. By cutting back sharply on processed food, you will drastically reduce calories, sodium & saturated fats & you will drastically increase fiber, "good" fats (omega-3, for example), vitamins, potassium, & dozens of other things you need.

Over time, your taste buds will change too. You will reach the point at which you throw your own raw vegetables into a pot of water & make your own soup & it will taste GOOD, & thus opening up a can of store-bought soup & trying to eat it will be like trying to eat a salt tablet. You will grow to dislike MANY processed foods if you avoid them.

Good luck, & Godspeed.

My weight is deffinitely an issue, I yoyo a lot due to stress and other conditions around me and I hate it to be honest. Often when I am struck with a bout of depression I become fatigues and can't do anything so I put on weight and eat more.

I generally think the focus should be less on being thin and more about being healthy because that is what counts both physically and spiritually. I mean many of those twigs in Hollywood are hardly what you could call healthy by any standards.

Oh I know what you mean about depression and eating. That's a big reason I'm the way I am. Although now I'm on a good med, Selexa, that doesnt have too much of a weight side affect. But I'm not trying to blame McDonalds or anyone else for how much I weigh cause Ronald McDonald didnt shove that Big Mac in my mouth....:lol:

I'm only 5'5", so I can't really handle a lot of weight. I'm at 170 right now, which is at least 20 (and probably closer to 50) pounds more than where I should be. My waterloo is fast food burgers & fries. Those are my comfort foods, and anytime I experience any stress or emotional upset, I tend to find myself at the McDonald's or Wendy's drive-thru before I know what happened.

I'm attempting to stop with the fast food, but it's hard since I don't cook. It's either McDonald's or Lean Cuisine for me. And Lean Cuisine is okay, but I don't have to get out of my car for McDonald's. :)

mm A FISH sandwich sounds good right about now..:nod:

I hate fish. :lol:

The Fish Sandwich is ewww...McDonald's does seem to putting out a decent range of healthier foods now, at least in regards to fat content and I am no expert but apparently some of the other indicators are really high though.

I don't know if they have Wendy's in Australia, but I'm finding them to be a slightly healthier alternative. You can get things like chili and baked potatoes there, that you can't get at McDonald's.

Check out the sodium amounts in some of those "healthier" foods at the fast-food joints. Same with Lean Cuisine & other diet frozen meals. Sodium--which is already skyhigh in TV meals0--is compounded when some of the fat is removed to make up for the loss of flavor. If you have high blood pressure--& David might, since he's overweight & approaching 40--you're better off avoiding the TV dinner stuff entirely. I used to love those frozen lasagna things with the garlic bread. Then I checked out the sodium contents & my eyes popped out of my head.

So, David, have you had your BP & your cholesterol levels checked? If you've been overweight throughout adulthood, that's probably the first thing you want to know.

Great info, David. I TRY TRY TRY to do this. It's so hard! Or what I mean is, it's so much easier to open a bag of chips than peel a potato! :)

I do this not because of any weight issues, but just because I want to eat natural, unprocessed foods.

I do eat baby carrots every day, though. And my puppy gets a lot of those, too. She loves them.

DavidMn - best advice is moderation and exercise........exercise with a partners to stay motivated.... People say this all the time, but it really is true and the best way to do it.

I LOVE McDonald's fish. It's the best fish sandwich anywhere! With extra tarter sauce, too!
Yeah, I'm 25-30 lbs overweight. I'm 5'10", and weigh 185-190. I was down to 160, about 5 years ago. I had to workout 3-4 days a week, and never ate anything but Lean Cuisine. I was hungry ALL the time.
My body wants to be 180ish. Weighing less requires CONSTANT effort.
Life's too short.....f*ck it!:lol: :lol: :lol:

Getting healthy is my new years resolution, i'm cutting out on pop and processed foods and going for the sit ups hit and miss. but i'm doing lil things to like parking in the last spot at the stores and trying to put away things away more often up and down stairs hey its a start.
:]

Yup... what David said.

It has taken me almost a year to shed only 30 extra pounds. But those 30 were making me physically sick, so I was pretty motivated to lose it. I'm about Stevie's same build except I have bigger boobs. LOL! Sorry Stevie! The reason it has taken so long is because I let myself cheat now and then. I figured if I did that, over time, I would eventually adapt to a healthier way of eating for the long haul. And so far it has worked. The first step for me was staying away from the drive thru. Fast food was a major contributor to my 30 extra pounds, that and Ben and Jerry's on Saturday nights. And hey, I'm just as busy as the next person and not overly fond of cooking either. For my weight loss, I started by eating organic food and avoiding most animal products for the first several months. I saw the first 10 pounds go very quickly and was encouraged. After that I went back to regular food in much smaller portions than before, because organic is expensive. I'm not a snacker so that's not a problem. I also do a Weight Watchers thing where if I decide to cheat and have a hot fudge sundae one day that means the next day I eat light; yogurt and fruit for breakfast, salad for lunch and a small piece of chicken and some veggies for dinner. It's all about the trade offs. It really helps, you don't get as depressed about having to diet. I'm 5 pounds away from my goal and the only way that's going to come off is exercise. I decided not to tackle that until most of the weight was off just to make it easier. I HATE exercise. But it is easier now that I'm 25 pounds lighter. I've been working out at the gym 5 days a week for the last two weeks. Cardio twice a week and weights 3 times a week. I've lost a pound or two. But it's like that, you make a change and it takes your body about a month to adjust before you notice a positive difference. You just have to hang with it. At some point I will have to increase my daily caloric intake so I don't go too far the other direction and that will also be a strange thing to get used to.... eating MORE. My fitness coach said that doesn't mean donuts and hambugers, it means another chicken breast. :lol:

As for cooking, I learned to make things ahead. Think crock pot. I also cook things ahead and freeze the portions that can't be eaten soon enough. Sunday is generally cooking day for me. Just turn on the radio or put on a CD and have fun with it.

Speaking of such, I need to go throw a roast in the crock pot, so better get cracking. 5:30am comes all too quickly and my eyes are usually pretty bleary when I hit that treadmill at 6am in the morning.

Good luck to all who decide to start the new year with a diet.

Laura

I have found that the best motivation for losing weight is starting to work out. If you start to exercise regularly, you will see results. And that is a GREAT motivator to keep going. Really. Once you start noticing yuor clothes getting a little looser, you'll be like, wow - this is GREAT. MOTIVATION! When yuo start noticing muscle where you never knew you had it? MOTIVATION. And you'll probably be less inclined to ruin a good thing. Honestly, when I'm working out regularly (I run), I find it so easy NOT to eat crap - afterall, if I'm working out to be healthy, why would I want to negate my hard work by eating a cheeseburger? I don't - so, no desire. I eat really healthy - lots of fruits and veggies, lots of lean protein (chicken and fish), no sweets, no fried food. But my will power's not so good - so I buy nothing unhealthy. If it's not in my house, I can't eat it. That doesn't mean I don't indulge every so often - I love to go out for supper. And I go for drinks pretty often. But, when I eat out, I still choose healthy foods.

The right combo of exercise and eating healthy is the best and only way to lose weight. You don't need to begin with a marathon - start by walking a brisk 20 minutes everyday. You will see results, I guarantee. And the results will come even faster if you cut out fried foods, high fat foods, sweets, and too many carbs (like bread and rice and pasta). And then start building on your exercise. The equation is simple - if you don't burn off more calories than you eat, you will gain weight. Simple.

And one thought - remember it took you a long time to put ON the weight. It's going to take a long time to get it OFF. But hang in - you'll feel so much better and you will be so much healthier. Good luck. :)

Last week, I lost 3 pounds in 3 days, but I've put it all back on. Now I read that you're only supposed to lose 1-2 pounds a week! A ****ing week!

I find the hardest thing with my exercise is that I will go really really well for a while and then I will go on leave or away somewhere for a week and find it really hard to restart again, this is especially true if I have been sick which is a vicious cycle really:

I excercise because I am unhealthy,
I get sick because I am unhealthy
Therefore I can't exercise as well :laugh:

Wow thats a lot, I know my Dad was also doing 5-6 Kilos a week a few years ago but he was morbidly obese and the first kilos you put off are the easiest, it's the last 10 that the hardest.

Also you can find that the worst time to weigh yourself is after exercise because you lose so fluid and that is sometimes how you can get such a big reading sometimes.

Absolutely.

Speaking of which, I remember DavidMN telling us a few months ago that he had resolved to start power-walking. How's that going, David? Seen good results yet?

Don't be hard on yourself. Sticking to an exercise regime is hard. The key is to find something you like doing. I would fall out of it just as quickly if I wasn't really, really disciplined. And if I didn't really love running. I actually need to set a "rule" for myself: I must go for a run every other day. Otherwise, it gets too easy to roll over and turn the alarm off and sleep an extra hour. If I'm feeling up to it, I'll actually go everyday - and that's a great boost of a bonus. Every day I run, I feel really good - really proud of myself. Any day I run faster, run further, feel better, I feel really proud of myself. It does wonders for the ego! :laugh:

But seriously - I majorly injured myself last year, and my sports med specialist was like, ever thought about swimming? Ugh. Cycling? Even worse. So I was on crutches, and then did extensive physio for 6 months... just so I could run again. It was a slow road back. I honestly had doubts I'd ever be able to WALK again, nevermind run. So I feel so lucky to be able to do this again. You have to find something you feel passionately about. That you want to do - and do better at. I'm telling you, it's the best motivator. :nod:

I know the passion for me at the moment is being able to fit in to all the (really expensive) clothes I bought last summer because I had lost weight then I put it back on over the winter :laugh:

I used to be...
 

able to walk 5 miles daily (Hell, I even walked 5 miles the same day after I had throat surgery in June 2004), But since my health started to bite the dust starting summer 2004 I havent felt well enough to exercise.

As for my weight, I look pudgy in the middle due to weak abdominal wall muscles (Inherited from my Mother...Hell all 5 of us kidz suffer from that.), But people are surprised when I tell 'em that I weigh 235lbs (But I am 6'-2"...Kinda weird but when Deb & myself met in 1991 I was 5'-6" & 157lbs, I grew at a later age than most.)

My doctors don't think I have a weight issue whatsoever at 235lbs, But I am starting to change my eating habits for my own benefit, and hopefully this can possibly help to slow some the neurological BS that is currently attacking/affecting me.

Oh, I don't think I will ever be able to wear the 2001 Stevie Nicks TISL tour shirt I bought, It is a Large, I wear XL/XXL shirts (I have worn baggy shirts my entire life, I prefer to be comfortable...Thus the need for baggy shirts.)

i'm very thin, and keeping myself so is very important to me, it's getting harder with time because i'm getting older, i hate cooking and love snacks, i do my best to avoid any kind of physical activity, and due to my drug habits, i'm suffering from terrible munchies attacks.
to keep my weight, i do my best to keep my house clear of hazards like cakes, meats, and snacks; when i do my grocery shopping i do buy some of those hazards, but in measured portions, so they won't keep me in a state of constant temptation even at home.
first and foremost i am aware of everything i eat, for example i'll eat chocolate every day, but never as substitude for actual food, i'll have a Twix, but never will i dare buying a family pack, coz that's a disaster waiting to happen.
it goes without mention that i never set a foot at a mcdonald's. i'm very aware that you just can't eat 2000 calorie meals and keep thin, it's as simple as that.
despite all those efforts, i still gain around 4 kilos a year, which means i have to go on a short diet before the summer, or take the better alternative, which is flying to the orient for some time, where weight just comes off by itself.
i don't own a acale, my indication about my weight is my clothes, which i tend to buy while i'm thinner, i will NEVER shelf or throw away clothes that became too tight, their function is to lay there and remind me that i must regain my ability to fit them again.

I've struggled with my weight for most of my adult life. In 2002 I weighed 247lbs which was the heaviest I've ever been. I actually took pretty drastic steps and went on a liquid diet and got down to 147lbs and now just try to stick to healthy eating as much as I can. I still do pig out from time to time though but can't let myself relax about it too much

Pip

This is the best attitude to have... I ,ust admit I hop on the scales far too often but I do try to go by how my clothes are feeling. They are tight right now due to my over indulgence at Xmas so I'm trying to shift what I gained

Pip

Hey David. I've been heavy my whole life. I've tried diets, and cutting out every food considered "fattening" but the only thing that ever worked for me was regular exercise. I started going to the gym 3 days a week and had a regular routine that became second nature. I lost 40 pounds in 3 months, and I still ate all the foods I loved. I didn't eat as much because my stomach had gotten smaller, but I didn't struggle with a diet because I didn't give anything up. Oh, and I drank a ton of water. At one point I was losing about 5 pounds a week. Then I started to get lazy again and stoped going to the gym. I was still losing a few pounds a week because my metabolism was on full blast, but that quickly changed and since then I put the weight back on. I'm starting back at the gym this week. I really believe excercise is the only way to do it. It's good to eat healthy foods too of course, but I have found if you deny yourself specific "bad" foods that you love, you'll only end up eating a lot of something else, or binging on them eventually. Just stay positive and take it one day at a time. Good luck!

I have never had an issue with weight- I am 5'7" and weigh usually around 130 lbs. However, now that I've stopped smoking (3 weeks and one day, in case you're curious) I am eating SO much more and I know I'm gaining weight (I refuse to find out by stepping on a scale, though). Obviously since my original weight is 130, I'm not worried about getting fat, but I am worried about being uncomfortable and my clothes not fitting, etc.

I really want to exercise but at the same time, I loathe the idea of physical activity. I've tried i in spurts, but I guess never long enough to see any results. Despite my size, I am in horrible physical shape and I want to be healthy. I guess once I get over cigarettes and nicotine withdrawal (yes, at this late date I am still experiencing withdrawal), I'll try to get motivated to work out.

Does anyone here work out now but HATED it at one time? If so, how long did it take for you to like to exercise?

I almost started a thread like this earlier. My new year's resolution was to get back to the size I used to be when I started working at my present job about 4 years ago...which was a waist size of about 32-33. I am 5'7 and I'd say medium/average frame. What David has posted is so true and great advice. Nothing works better than watching your diet and portion and exercising. Since January 4 or so I've lost 10 pounds and notice a difference in my cloths already. I'm with the others that I don't really go by the scale, it's nice to see a number that represents your progression, but I judge by how my clothes fit and how I look. This is kind of what I do:

- drink at least 8 8oz glasses of water, no sodas at all (and I'm a big Diet Coke fan). If I want to spice it up I add a Crystal Light (Raspberry Ice is my fav) to the water or drink unsweet tea with Splenda.

- usually eat 1 packet of oatmeal or grits for breakfast, a salad (that has chicken or turkey in it) for lunch, an apple with fat free caramel sauce or a rice cake with peanut butter for a snack and chicken breast with brown rice, salad or soup for dinner. I don't really snack in between meals unless I'm feeling starved (which is usually around 3 pm and 9 pm). I keep myself busy...the more I do the less I have time to sit around and think about eating. Like David said, watch not only fat and calories but sodium and sugar. If you've ever done SomerSize you know how evil sugar is. My "off" day is usually Sunday. I don't overdo it though. No fast food...I can't stress enough how much of a difference this can make (and you'll save money too). If I have to eat at a fast food restaurant, I will get chicken nuggets and a salad or a big salad. I went 2 years without ever eating fast food before and I know if I can do it, anyone can cause I love me some quarter pounders.

- take a multivitamin

- I exercise 5-6 times a week. I do 30-45 mins on the treadmill, alternating the incline and speed. If I'm not feeling like cardio one day, I'll do yoga or some tone and sculpting. I almost always do strength training on Saturdays. I typically do 10 mins of weights every other day after the treadmill, I just want to tone up my arms a little and my shoulders. Crunches, I hate them, and I'm not even thinking about them right now, you have to be under 10% body fat to even show a six pack so why bother right now. Don't be discouraged if you start out at 2.0 speed or whatever...you're moving and before you know it, you'll be at 3.5 or 4.0.

- a personal trainer once told me it's not always a bad thing to be a little hungry while you are trying to lose weight...as you work on it, your stomach will become smaller and you'll want less and not have the hunger feelings as much and it's true...as long as you are eating (you must eat, don't starve) and eating well-balanced meals in the right portions, you're body will adapt. don't take stomach growls to mean you necessarily need to eat. remember that what food does is give you energy and nourish your body. give it what it needs. protein and vegetables with some carbs is kind of how I look at my meals. I try to keep fruits at a minimum because of the sugar.

You have to give all of this at least a month or two to really see some major results. Stick with it. I'm damned if I'm gonna let myself go and feel gross anymore.

Remember, nothing tastes as good as thin feels!!!

You've obviously never had my pot roast :cool:

lol. I love a slow-cooked pot roast.

I stoke and baste it all day and it is red and tender in the middle when I am done - in fact, the juice just flows out of it :wavey:

Seriously, it is one of my fav. things to make in the world. Sadly, I do not make it much anymore because I live alone and will eat the entire thing in one sitting :laugh: even though I know it is MOUNDS better to revisit the next day.

good gawd

sounds......wonderful

I lost weight in the summer because I went to a summer course for three weeks that tried to only really serve healthy foods and stuff. In my determination not to eat healthy soup, I ate little or nothing (mostly small bread rolls) and lost a lot of wight. I understand this was probably fairly unhealthy in itself, but it seemed to work!

I'm all over the place with eating. I comfort eat. But I also get sore throats and stomach upsets a lot. So one day I could eat twice or three times as much as another day.

I want to do some exercise to get a bit fitter, but I don't _like_ any. I like fencing, and there's only one club, which won't cover me with their insurance, and because of the possibility of losing an eye or something, I can't go. And I like archery. No club. And horseriding. Clubs twenty minutes drive away, too far. Why can't we do openly dangerous sports in school? We all get injured anyway, one girl's broken fingers about five times now.

Well, Thanksgiving 2004, I made a vow to lose weight...It started off that I wanted to lose about 20 pounds and that quickly changed. At that time I was weighing in at 255 pounds (and a 42 waist size) and my girlfriend only weighed in at 100 pounds. That was my major motivation right there! So, I started losing weight, and now, I'm down to 178 pounds and down to a 32 waist! I did this through MAJOR exercise daily, and just cutting back on the unhealthy food I was eating.

Like everyone else has been saying, MOTIVATION is key, and once you find that motivation, the pounds will shed off. Just keep your head up and remember that weight-loss is gradual. It wont disappear over night and can take years to shed.

I don't know whether to be hungry or horny. :laugh:

I've always struggled with my weight, I'm about 15 pounds overweight right now. The one thing that EVER worked for me was Weight Watchers' point system. I never actually joined, I just copied the info from my friend who was a member & lost it that way. I lost 14 pounds over about 2 months & kept it off for about 1&1/2 years; then I slowly regained about 8 of those pounds back over the course of 2 years or so. :( I need to get back on track.

David - have you spoken to a doctor about this? If not, you really need to see him or her before making any drastic changes since you are so overweight. Take it slow and BE CAREFUL! Don't believe all the fad diets & pills that are out there - they do no good and in some cases will harm you. Eat less & move more is what you need to do - easier said than done, I KNOW! :)

I'm trying to gain...like maybe 10.

Only 125 lbs here. :o

I am both :blob1:

My husband was really skinny like that until about 2 or 3 years ago. He's still thin, but he's more like 155 now as opposed to 135. :lol: He didn't really do much different, he eats more I guess. :shrug:

'Bout damn time you started posting.

Everyone, be nice to her. She's a good friend.... Type slow, she's not that smart...... :D