Getting Back into Blues or Confessions of a Serial Overeater

Started by Майор Хаткевич, March 09, 2014, 06:51:41 AM

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The CyBorg is destroyed

Metabolism can be affected by many things.

Medication is a key culprit.

I currently take three different kinds of prescription medication.  I have been on meds of one sort or another since my 20's.

Up until then I was skinny as a proverbial beanpole.  I was anaemic as a child and was often underweight.

Ever since I have been on medication it's just been the opposite - and doctors have confirmed that as the culprit.

Exercising is nice, when I can, but I also have physical injuries (from a car wreck) which keep me from doing much beyond a 15-minute walk.  It's not too farfetched to say that within a decade I'll probably be using a cane.

I'm no mathematician, but I would say that the medication affects my metabolism to the proportion where I would probably have to spend an hour a day, every day, on an exercise bike just to "break even."

For those who can increase their metabolism, great...for the rest of us, we have to try to make do with portion control.
Exiled from GLR-MI-011

NIN

I don't want to put a crazy plug in here, but a few years ago I got a recumbent bike (not the exercise variety) for a really cheap price.

I ride that thing *everywhere* in the summer. Love it.

If walking/running is not an option due to undercarriage issues, try biking, and specifically, try a recumbent.  I won't go back to an upright bike. Ever.
Darin Ninness, Col, CAP
I have no responsibilities whatsoever
I like to have Difficult Adult Conversations™
The contents of this post are Copyright © 2007-2024 by NIN. All rights are reserved. Specific permission is given to quote this post here on CAP-Talk only.

The CyBorg is destroyed

That's the first I've ever heard of them.  I have seen them but I didn't know that was what they were called.
Exiled from GLR-MI-011

ol'fido

Lt. Col. Randy L. Mitchell
Historian, Group 1, IL-006


Walkman

As long as we're sharing success stories... This is my wife's transformation. She's currently training for her 2nd 1/2 Marathon and a full marathon planned for the fall.



(Don't tell her I posted this... >:D )

RiverAux

Quote from: HGjunkie on March 09, 2014, 10:21:44 PM
On a side note, I don't know if anyone's been keeping up with this new thing called Soylent (basically a purely liquid diet), but it would be interesting to see how it would work to manage weight loss/gain and keep people at healthy weight and nutrition levels.

I like the green version.

NIN

Quote from: Walkman on March 11, 2014, 02:24:22 AM
As long as we're sharing success stories... This is my wife's transformation. She's currently training for her 2nd 1/2 Marathon and a full marathon planned for the fall.



(Don't tell her I posted this... >:D )

Dude, she traded herself in for a new model.  You're lucky. BUT: You better keep up, or you'll get traded in, too! :)
Darin Ninness, Col, CAP
I have no responsibilities whatsoever
I like to have Difficult Adult Conversations™
The contents of this post are Copyright © 2007-2024 by NIN. All rights are reserved. Specific permission is given to quote this post here on CAP-Talk only.

Майор Хаткевич

Honestly, can't even tell that's the same person. Her face changed so much. Good on her!

Walkman

Quote from: NIN on March 11, 2014, 03:00:23 AM
...You better keep up, or you'll get traded in, too! :)

LOL! Yeah, she's working on me to start running.

Quote from: usafaux2004 on March 11, 2014, 03:42:13 AM
Honestly, can't even tell that's the same person. Her face changed so much. Good on her!

Thanks!

Майор Хаткевич


Майор Хаткевич

Quote from: Walkman on March 11, 2014, 01:18:36 PM
Quote from: NIN on March 11, 2014, 03:00:23 AM
...You better keep up, or you'll get traded in, too! :)

LOL! Yeah, she's working on me to start running.

Quote from: usafaux2004 on March 11, 2014, 03:42:13 AM
Honestly, can't even tell that's the same person. Her face changed so much. Good on her!

Thanks!

By the way, how long did it take?

Walkman


Spartan

Congratulations on the 9 lb weight loss since the 2nd.  Stay motivated for your goal of getting back into blues.  Also, stay motived for a healthier you.  A few things I didn't see, or overlooked.  There is a point in weight loss where your metabolism will not have caught up to your weight loss.  This causes your progress to plateau and you get diminishing returns for your effort.  This was the hardest point for some of my brethren in the overweight program in the Army I used to work out with.  Having a strong motivation helps with keeping on track to your goal, especially when the results are not coming as fast as you want, or you are sore from yesterday's workout.

Adipose (fat) cells are storage cells and require much less energy than other tissues to maintain their functions.  As you lose weight, you are not losing adipose cells.  You are reducing the stores of lipids inside of them.  It takes a quite a while for your body to realize it doesn't need those cells anymore.

I know Stonewall mentioned reducing carbohydrates.  I think it should be said again; don't reduce them the atkins way.  Your brain runs on glucose.  If you don't have enough carbohydrates, your brain does not work properly.  Your kidneys also have to work harder when more of your calories are coming from protein.  Complex carbs are where it's at.  They take longer for your body to break down.  This does two things that are good for you; reduces the spike of insulin that your blood stream gets from eating, which lower stress on your pancreas and insulin tolerance in your body, and it provides longer lasting energy.

Think about where your calories are coming from.  How much sugary, carbonated drinks to you consume each day.  For those of you who don't pay attention, 1 can of mountain dew is 170 calories.  That is 9% of the USDA recommended 2000 calories/day.  I know if I don't pay attention, I can go through a 6 pack (1020 calories) in a day of studying psychology.  The calories add up pretty quickly. 

To give you an idea of how much you can give yourself a pat on the back for those 9 lbs you've lost, each pound of fat that you burn is 3400 calories.  That means assuming you have burned fat and not shed water weight, you have burned 30,600 calories beyond what you have consumed.  That is a great start.

Make sure you stay hydrated.  I know it is beating a dead unicorn with a lawn gnome, but it is important.  Your joints will hurt less.  Your muscles will heal faster and you will ideally have fewer headaches.  It also helps control hunger in an interesting way.  A lot of people mistake their thirst mechanism for being hungry.

Very closely related to staying hydrated is your sodium intake.  The water goes where the sodium is.  The more sodium you consume, the more you will retain water.  There is a healthy level of sodium that is needed to be consumed to keep your body functioning properly.  Americans and people in post-industrial nations almost unanimously consume far more than they need.

If you are starting small, there are a few tips for increasing your low impact aerobic activity you might be interested in.  Park further from the store, restaurant, your place of employment, movies, CAP building, etc.  This forces you to walk more.  If you have a small number of floors to go up or down in a building, take the stairs.  At this point, if it is under 5 stories and I can take the stairs, I take the stairs rather than the elevator.  Make a point of going for a walk with your significant other regularly.  Spring is coming and you can accomplish two things at once; exercise and spending time with them.

Again, good luck and way to go on those 9 lbs.

DrKem

First, CONGRATULATIONS on your weight loss and on your motivation.  You have shown some real courage posting here and I am honored to read your words.  There is a lot of excellent information by other posters here.  It's always great to learn new knowledge. 

I am posting to offer a few additional bits of advice.  For over 10 years, I have worked with physical training programs and have seen many people plateau in their quest to lose weight.  These plateaus are, as many of you have already noted, discouraging.  Often people will give up at the first plateau.  Two vectors cause diet plateaus, first, your metabolism will change as you eat less and exercise more, and second, as you lose weight, you may not adjust the caloric input to suit your new weight.  When you weigh less, you need less food to maintain your weight.  In both cases, the number of calories your body absorbs must be less than the number of calories you expend to lose weight.  Once you plateau, a simple solution to kicking your body back into the weight loss mode is to reduce your caloric intake slightly, say by about 500 cal per day.  Alternately, you can increase your exercise by the same amount, 500 cal per day.  It may take your body a few days to a few weeks to start losing again, but it will.  Persist.

A second piece of advice.  The rate of weight loss is critical.  We don't gain 10 lbs of fat in a day and we can't lose 10 lbs of fat in a day.  I always recommend that a person lose no more than 2 lbs of fat per week through diet and exercise.  Note that I am talking fat loss, not water or muscle loss.  Whether you are increasing your exercise or decreasing your caloric input or both, you body needs time to adjust to the weight loss to stay healthy.  A person who weighs 350 lbs and is accustomed to consuming 4000 cal per day should probably not jump down to 1200 cal per day and start running 13 miles per day.  That would be unhealthy.  If you are consuming 4000 cal per day, reduce to 3500 until you plateau and then drop to 3000, etc.  If you are a couch potato, don't sign up for the Marine Corps Marathon, start with simple exercises and work up slowly. 

Finally, eat a variety of foods.  Living off of grapefruit, or only raw meat, or absolutely no carbohydrates is unhealthy.  While I'm a proponent of eating a variety of unprocessed foods, there are a number of ways to have a healthy diet.  The simplest thought on what to eat is to fall back on the old adage that a little of most foods is acceptable, don't eat any single food to excess.

Now that I have added my two bits, I'm going to have to hit re-evaluate my own diet and the deck for my morning PT!  I definitely have some inches to lose too.  Chuckle.

Again, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
Dr. Kem Fronabarger, Major CAP
SC Wing Director of Professional Development
Certificate of Proficiency, 13 Jul 1964
Amelia Earhart Award #1105, 11 Mar 1966