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Battle of the Bulge

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Hi Bob!
I know the rebirth of this thread was over a heart issue, so ASK YOUR DOCTOR if a little HIIT (high impact interval training) style cardio would be okay. Basically trying to peak your heart rate a little during your walks. And by "peak" I mean just picking up the pace, trying to walk 4 mph rather than 2.5-3.0 for 1-2 minutes, then backing off to a comfortable pace. HIIT can extend your fat-burning window, and just a few "sprints" in your walks can make a difference.. It really helped me to add a few sprints or hill climbs into my riding routine. Again, check with DR. I noticed that as I became comfortable with an activity, I quit losing weight at a noticeable rate. I was no longer pushing or exerting myself and my body reacted by settling in.

We are retraining ourselves to eat and live better. Losing weight the right way increases the likelihood of keeping it off. It will be easier to strike that balance later if you (we) do it right today. Almost a year before I started (2012-13) I had a neighbor that did an extreme program (something with shakes and huge calorie deficits), losing about 100 pounds in less than a year. By the end summer 2014 he was heavier than when he started. He boomerang-ed (I guess) because you can't live on shakes and starvation, and he did not retrain himself...

Also, +1 on the previous post... scrutinize what you are eating. I had almost completely quit eating cooked vegetables and opted for salads or uncooked veggies. If I cooked, it was just lightly steamed, never soggy. Not too sure why (if) that made a difference but I was never really hungry and felt like I got a lot more energy from the foods.

Everyone is different, I just wanted to share something that worked for me. Keep up the good work!
 
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mine has slowed, too, but not giving up. 221.0# this morning.
Last night was my fast night for 5:2. From about an hour around 6:30-8p, I could eat the door handles off the fridge, then it goes away. Interestingly enough, when I wake up, I'm not hungry at all and have been tempted to wait and see when hunger really kicks in again.
 
Maybe try the 4:3 or the 3:4 diet. I've tried the "eat a lot less diet" with marginal success.

A woman in my office lost over 100lbs on weight watchers and has kept it off for 10 years. Its really not a diet, its a lifestyle change.

I keep seeing on Facebook about "go ruck". Maybe try putting some weight in the backpack and walk with it.
 
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Well, I'm still making progress and still losing weight, but now instead of losing pounds I'm losing ounces. An ounce hear and an ounce there. I would prefer to go back to seeing a few pounds lost every time I step on the scale, but I will just have to be happy with smaller weight losses. I'm not discouraged, but I do realize that the easy weight has been lost and from hear out the battle gets tougher. I am working to step up the pace.

I continue my daily walks, frequently with a weighted backpack and have now started to incorporate a little high intensity interval training (as was previously suggested). Basically I jog for as long as I can stand it (which is not long), then go back to walking until I have recovered and caught my breath' then jog again. This is a new practice so it is too soon to see positive results. Additionally, I try to get in 20 min of strength exercises a three or more days a week. Gold's gym has a special class designed for seniors for building streangth. I'm going to try that tomorrow and see if I can keep up with the old folk.

I am also still doing the 5/2 diet and am not yet seeing the need to increase the frequency of the fast days. I'm still making progress (although slowly) and I feel good.

On a side note, but related, I have been having a lot of trouble getting enough sleep especially since my heart attack. I am thinking this may be a form of PTSD related to the trauma of having a heart attack and being zapped after I arrested twice. This was a vary traumatic experience for me and it is constantly on my mind. I spoke with my doctor about it and she had me go to a sleep study lab. They hook a bunch of wires to you and monitor you while you sleep. In the morning I was giving the news. "Congratulations, you have sleep apnea and now need to wear a gas mask looking thing (CPAT) while you sleep!" Oh boy, lucky me! I don't get hooked up with this new device until Monday and I am not looking forward to it. I already have enough trouble sleeping and now I'm supposed to have some noisy contraption hooked up to me while I try to sleep.

Obviously I have become more informed about sleep apnea and have determined this is a very unfair ailment. A major cause of sleep apnea is obesity and a major cause of obesity is sleep apnea. One can't seem to catch a break.

I'm wondering if this CPAT machine is a life long sentence. Can I cure myself of the need? If I lose enough weight can I discontinue use of this contraption.

Onward and forward. The battle continues and I will win.
 
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"Onward and forward" indeed! We could all use a little of this great attitude.

Keep it up, Bob. :thumb:
 
Bob, I've been on a CPAP now for almost 3 yrs. The first 2 nights, I thought, "this just ain't gonna work". What I noticed is I didn't doze off as much and I just felt more refreshed in the morning when I got up. I struggled on long drives to stay awake, but not at all after using the CPAP. I use mine religiously, daily. Sleep apnea is a big factor in stroke and heart disease.
 
BeemerlessBob said:
On a side note, but related, I have been having a lot of trouble getting enough sleep especially since my heart attack. I am thinking this may be a form of PTSD related to the trauma of having a heart attack and being zapped after I arrested twice. This was a vary traumatic experience for me and it is constantly on my mind.

Onward and forward. The battle continues and I will win.
Click to expand...

Bob,
You may want to consider taking a Vipassana meditation course or the like. Directed thought, the ability to determine and control what is on your mind, is a skill that is learned and strengthened akin to weight lifting. While it is at it's core a Buddhist practice, common courses in the states are generally nonsectarian. In fact my first teacher is a serious lay Catholic who uses it as to augment contemplative prayer.

Anyway, the point is, with practice Vipassana will teach you how calm your mind and fall asleep most any time as long as there is not some chemical stimulant like caffeine or alcohol in the system. Congratulations on your success so far and best wishes on your continued success.

m
 
BeemerlessBob said:
Well, I'm still making progress and still losing weight, but now instead of losing pounds I'm losing ounces. An ounce hear and an ounce there. I would prefer to go back to seeing a few pounds lost every time I step on the scale, but I will just have to be happy with smaller weight losses. I'm not discouraged, but I do realize that the easy weight has been lost and from hear out the battle gets tougher. I am working to step up the pace.

I continue my daily walks, frequently with a weighted backpack and have now started to incorporate a little high intensity interval training (as was previously suggested). Basically I jog for as long as I can stand it (which is not long), then go back to walking until I have recovered and caught my breath' then jog again. This is a new practice so it is too soon to see positive results. Additionally, I try to get in 20 min of strength exercises a three or more days a week. Gold's gym has a special class designed for seniors for building streangth. I'm going to try that tomorrow and see if I can keep up with the old folk.

I am also still doing the 5/2 diet and am not yet seeing the need to increase the frequency of the fast days. I'm still making progress (although slowly) and I feel good.

On a side note, but related, I have been having a lot of trouble getting enough sleep especially since my heart attack. I am thinking this may be a form of PTSD related to the trauma of having a heart attack and being zapped after I arrested twice. This was a vary traumatic experience for me and it is constantly on my mind. I spoke with my doctor about it and she had me go to a sleep study lab. They hook a bunch of wires to you and monitor you while you sleep. In the morning I was giving the news. "Congratulations, you have sleep apnea and now need to wear a gas mask looking thing (CPAT) while you sleep!" Oh boy, lucky me! I don't get hooked up with this new device until Monday and I am not looking forward to it. I already have enough trouble sleeping and now I'm supposed to have some noisy contraption hooked up to me while I try to sleep.

Obviously I have become more informed about sleep apnea and have determined this is a very unfair ailment. A major cause of sleep apnea is obesity and a major cause of obesity is sleep apnea. One can't seem to catch a break.

I'm wondering if this CPAT machine is a life long sentence. Can I cure myself of the need? If I lose enough weight can I discontinue use of this contraption.

Onward and forward. The battle continues and I will win.
Click to expand...

Here is some unsolicited advice that is worth every penny you paid for it (none).

- You might try changing the days you fast. Your body is geared through millions of years of evolution to resist losing weight, so if you're fasting on the same days, your body will quickly get used to using less energy those days thereby limiting the weight loss.

- I'm doing weight watchers online (I don't go to a meeting) and I've discovered many of the things I like to eat had UNBELIEVABLE amount of calories in them. So be sure to track the stuff you're eating 7 days a week. You can easily undo 2 good days of fasting by 5 days of unwise choices.

- I use a CPAP and I like it. I originally thought it was going to be a pain in the ***, but its not. I use the Fisher and Paykel ICON automatic model I purchased from CPAP.com. The company is based in the Houston area, so the stuff gets to you fast. Many people try it and discontinue the use of it, but it helps me. Getting better sleep MAY help with losing weight.

Good luck and continued good success.
 
FAT MAN STILL AT IT

2/6/2017 - 284 lbs
2/26/2017 - 275 lbs
3/3/2017 - 270 lbs
3/7/2017 - 265 lbs
3/17/2017 - 260 lbs
4/5/2017 - 255 lbs
4/13/2017 - 250 lbs

e1eb9acbf21ec09bffbb037710385f00.jpg




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
BeemerlessBob said:
FAT MAN STILL AT IT

2/6/2017 - 284 lbs
2/26/2017 - 275 lbs
3/3/2017 - 270 lbs
3/7/2017 - 265 lbs
3/17/2017 - 260 lbs
4/5/2017 - 255 lbs
4/13/2017 - 250 lbs

e1eb9acbf21ec09bffbb037710385f00.jpg




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Good Job! Keep up the good work!

Whose that skinny guy in the photo? :mrgreen:
 
Bob, keep up the good work . I believe the cpap machine for me is a life long sentence. I got mine when I weighed about 275. The lightest I've been is about 238 and I still needed it.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
 
Way to go Bob-o!
Your rockin it!



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Well I'm still here. I'm still fighting the good fight, but it seems that it's two steps forward and 1 step back. By body really wants to stay at 250. I'll drop a little, but it comes back.

The CPAP from h&ll is not going any better. If I can finally get to sleep with it, I am woken with face farts.

The machine starts at a low pressure then slowly increases. As the pressure increases, the seal on the mask breaks and it makes these farting noises and the air escapes. Hence a "face fart". That combined with the uncomfortableness of the silly thing, I was becoming even more sleep deprived, so I discontinued its use. I have made a new appt to be evaluated for a different mask.

But I push forward....

How goes the fight with some of you other plump folks?
 
Getting the right mask for your face is key. It took several tries before my mom got one that worked and she could live-err-I mean SLEEP with.

Here's a shred of hope for you maybe--she no longer needs the cpap at all. Her apnea seems to have "cleared up". She even did another sleep study--restless leg syndrome but no apnea.

Hang in there, Bob--we're rootin' for ya!
 
BeemerlessBob said:
Well I'm still here. I'm still fighting the good fight, but it seems that it's two steps forward and 1 step back. By body really wants to stay at 250. I'll drop a little, but it comes back.
Click to expand...

Don't sweat it, just stay the course. Your body has a lot of evolution built into it that resists losing weight. While our ancestors benefited from this when food was scarce, it's a curse to us.

BeemerlessBob said:
The CPAP from h&ll is not going any better. If I can finally get to sleep with it, I am woken with face farts.

The machine starts at a low pressure then slowly increases. As the pressure increases, the seal on the mask breaks and it makes these farting noises and the air escapes. Hence a "face fart". That combined with the uncomfortableness of the silly thing, I was becoming even more sleep deprived, so I discontinued its use. I have made a new appt to be evaluated for a different mask.

But I push forward....
Click to expand...

I know of more people who do not use their CPAP than those that do. Mostly the people that don't use it have lower pressure settings. Those with higher pressure settings seem to benefit more and therefore will put up with the hassle.

BeemerlessBob said:
How goes the fight with some of you other plump folks?
Click to expand...

Well, I'm down 40 lbs since 2/14 when I visited my doctor. 30 lbs of that is from being sick with an undiagnosed illness. The remaining 10 is from weight watchers.
 
Keep up the effort Bob! I was obese from 18 years old to 44 years old. (FDA says I'm still overweight on BMI but I will live with that one) You may feel like your body wants to stay at 250 because you may have weighed that for a long time, and even with activity levels and current diet, it can easily stay that way.

Whenever I plateaued I switched up my routine to jump start (shock) my body again. The change in routine was also helpful to my morale. I went from doing cardio in the afternoons to the morning on an empty stomach. The mornings were not as intense because I was starting with little "ready" energy, but fat burning seemed to be accelerated because my body needed the resources. Then, eventually back to afternoons. I would mix in a little more HIIT. I adjusted my diet, not cutting calories, but experimenting with alternate nutrients. That was how I met my friend tofu :)

At these times I also paid extra attention to the calorie / diet log (My Fitness Pal) looking for "phantom" calories that were really adding up. I never logged my morning coffee, but neglected to account for the fat free creamer (35 cal per cup X 4 to 6 = about a Hershey bar!), every day. Bread became more fish or lean chicken or beans. I ate more salads and less steamed or cooked veggies. I would STOP eating any food I did not prepare myself. Bye bye dairy. Food really became fuel for exercise. Crackers and Hummus are now carrot sticks and hummus. For me, It was always the carbs (chips, crackers, bread) sneaking their way back into my diet.

I struggle these days too, but training for a bike race seems to be a little helpful. Working at a brewery, not so much. Lately, I confine (as much as possible) my drinking to my brewery job related activities like our tastings and pint nights. Occupational hazard, but a pleasant one :)

Anyway, I addressed the plateau like a problem (Break-down?) that needed a back-country solution or a fix. You have a Ural, so I know you can relate to this. Start experimenting to see what happens.

Anyway, sorry for the long-winded attempt at morale boosting.
 
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