Inkwolf

Way to go, DJ and Denver! Dramatic the difference steady exercise can make, eh?

I see that now that I'm getting more proteins (lean meats and fat-free cottage cheese, mostly) and cut down some on bread and pasta (which I think I was overdoing) my weight does seem to be going down slowly but steadily. I think that by the end of the week, I'll have hit the 30-pound mark for the summer.

Today I had a growing-into session, where I got out some of the old clothes I outgrew and checked how they fit now. I've gained some shirts!

To express my weight loss in sizes: in March I wore a 3X tee and too-tight size-24 jeans. Now I can wear XL's and I can take off my 24's without unbuttoning them. 22's are loose and comfy, and my single pair of size-20's is perfectly wearable. (And my experimental size-18's can be pulled all the way up now! But not buttoned.) Weird to be stretched out over 4 jeans sizes.

The second-hand "extra-large" (yeah right) biking shorts I got off Ebay, which I could formerly only pull up to my knees, are now almost wearable. In another month or two, I may be able to wear real biking shorts!

oceanrider

Good luck on your hi-pro low carb diets you guys.

My son moved back in a week before I went in for my knee surgery and brought his bad eating habits with him which were unfortunately acquired by me. Then I was off my feet pretty much totally for a few days and of course I ate and noshed and pigged out. Then I had to eat cheap because of a general money shortage in the house. Cheap translates to junk food in bags and boxes. Today is the two week anniversary of the surgery and I went back on the program of eating healthy foods. I gained 8 lbs. Disgusting but doing 5 miles a day on the bike and improving.

bpherson

Wow!! Every one is on the ball!

What a relief to know that I'm not the only one who is struggling with weight and loves to ride.

I have posted in a couple of other areas, but I started riding about a year and a half ago and have dropped 130 lbs. I still haver I did it with a strict diet(counting calories, fat and carbs. and limiting each) and by riding as much as I can, as well as doing some weight training 3 x's a week.

It gets tough to find the time to do any thing with two kids, (one teen and one 2), as well as wrok and going to school. But I have really fallen in love with riding and feel great after a good ride.

It's great to read so many success stories. It gives me a little more motovation and inspiration.

Congrats to every one!!

Brad

Inkwolf

Wow, Brad, that's fantastic, especially with your busy life! Bet your family is proud of you, too!

Gary W. Graley

Wow that is like having a little person riding along side you!
Very nice! I'm at a plateau right at 180, dropped down to 178 but drift up to 183, so I'm bumping up my distance riding during lunch to try and get in at least 8 to 10 miles in the hour, that's counting stops to the bank/post office and dvd rental place, as I do all my errands on the bike, makes life more enjoyable!

I'm going to be getting a new to me bike soon to keep at home to ride at night and on the weekends so that should get me down a little more, mainly want to fit into size 32 pants again! right now I'm close, wearing size 33 Columbia Roc pants, just a little more! A lot better than the size 40s I was sporting a little over a year a go this month!!

Keep it up everyone!
G2

webist

I certainly agree that seeing muscle without fat is neat. My initial excitement though came from being able to see my feet without bending forward.

Love the bike!

Carl

Inkwolf

I backslid terribly this week. Some types of stress just seem to demand chocolate and fast food. Oh, well.... back to the bike, and time to hit the veggies.

Thought you might be interested in something I read: I'm readinh A Woman's Guide to Cycling by Susan Weaver, and she mentions someone named Adrienne Rifkind.....she checked into a clinic weighing 425 pounds and barely able to walk. She used a stationary bike and diet to start out. A year and a half later, at the age of 37, she was down to 295 pounds and taking part in triathlons.

Keep pushing the pedals!

webist

I guess I've lost weight. I had more than a size taken out of my wedding ring this weekend. I kept falling off in the shower.

Carl

DnvrFox

Yeah. I have trouble standing on my ring in the shower. also!!

webist

Good catch!

Corrected copy: It kept falling off in the shower

Carl

DnvrFox

Some SUCCESS!!!

Just came back from the doc - for my "annual" (once every 3-4 years) physical.

When I got on the scale, the nurse kept pushing the little weight lower - much lower than I expected, before it balanced. Turns out I have lost 15 pounds since my last visit (not for a physical - about 4 mo's ago).

HEY, I said. I'll TAKE that weight.

Oh, the doc also said I had EXCELLENT circulation in my legs and feet. Chalk one up for bike riding. He said a whole lot of folks my age (almost 63) have extremely poor circulation in their legs and feet. He said he could tell because I was growing hair on my feet, and you can't do that with poor circulation.

I knew there was a reason I don't shave my legs!!

bpherson

Way togo DnvrFox!

I hope that I am in such great shape( and not pear) when I get to my 60's.

Brad

monte

Well, i am 5'6" and I was around 200 lbs as of May, I am now down to 160, and close to my goal of 150. I'm a vegitarian which makes it a bit easier. For the first 2 months I kept at 1000 calories a day, while working and riding 25-40 miles a day plus softball twice aweek. That part was quite unpleasant, but now I'm up to around 1500 cal. a day, and I plan to start some weight training to shape my body back to something that doesn't suck. 10 years of neglect takes some time to fix.

brian

Gary W. Graley

Good Brian!
Sounds like Deja Vu all over again! I'm 5' 6 1/2" very important that 1/2"

I was at 225! now I'm down to just under 180, my goal though is to fit into size 32 pants and riding is a big part of my work to get there, along with eating a little more proper and NOT over eating!

Great to hear success stories!
G2

wabbit

I should point out that I'm not overweight, but over the past couple of years I'd gained about 12-15 lbs which I'd been unable to lose. It doesn't sound like much, I know, but I'm not a big person and don't have a big frame, and it wasn't so much the weight. It was that I had no idea how i'd gained it and why I was unable to lose it. I thought it was stress, or getting older, but it certainly wasn't from neglect. I didn't overeat and wasn't inactive. It turns out I'm hypothyroid, which uis treatable by medication- once you are on medication you lose weight. However, I'm not medicated yet- only being monitored, which means blood tests. I was diagnosed this winter, but I'd probably had the condition for a couple of years.

So I started the season hoping that the cycling would help. At the beginning of the season I was still going to the gym as well, so I lost a few pounds, but since then I've lost about 8. And I've lost inches! I have done nearly 3200k so far, and it's really made a difference. I started noticing that my pants are loose on me and that stuff which didn't fit me last year, now fits me. I tried on a dress that I hadn't been able to wear since before I gained all that weight- nearly 2 years. I thought I'd never be able to wear it again. I didn't think I'd made that much of a difference until I tried on that dress and it fit. I haven't gone on a diet, but I hardly ever eat sweets or junk food anyways and actually have always been on a pretty low-fat diet. Apparently, most of the weight people gain from thyroid conditions is fluid, not fat, but I've lost more inches than weight, and that's from burning fat.

I know it seems kind of a small victory and I sound like a vain person who obsesses about being fat! But really, when you have this kind of condition it's essential to exercise to keep your weight down, because it makes it hard to lose weight once you gain it. I guess cycling is ideal! I now have new additions to my wardrobe because all this stuff fits me. Awesome!

DnvrFox

Congrats!!

I also have a whole wardrobe one size smaller awaiting me and my weight loss. Not there yet, but getting closer. It is a great way to actually see physically your weight loss.

Inkwolf

Congrats, Wabbit!

Always good to know if you have hypothyroidism. My sister kept going to her doctor and asking to be tested, and he kept telling her no, it was just a matter of dieting and exercise. By the time she dumped him and got another doctor, she was over 400 pounds! Now she's on medication, and has lost about 75.

(I got myself tested, too....nope, all my fat's natural. Darn.)

wabbit

Well, I doubt that all that weight gain could have been from thyroid, although I don't know anything about your sister's lifestyle (exercise ,diet etc). Apparently, most people with underactive thyroids only gain about 10-15 lbs, and most of that is actually fluid. That's about what I gained. Anything else is probably due to diet or lifestyle. However, it's good that your sister was treated. People walk around with thyroid disease for years and don't know they have it. Weight gain is just one of the symptoms.

Brainiac

My weight loss has been an interesting story. Last October I was at 212 lb, which is fairly overweight for a guy of 5'7". I also had high blood pressure. I made a decision to get healthy, drop 50 pounds, and get back to 160-165. I stopped eating junk food and cut down on portions. I joined the Y, and worked out 5 days a week. I did 3 days of cardio and 2 days of resistance (Nautilus) training. By April I had managed to drop about 25 pounds. I had an annual physical, where I felt pleased with my weight loss, but annoyed that I felt horrible and wasn't toning up. The doctor did some blood work, and found that I had low testosterone! After checking for pituitary tumors and such, I was diagnosed with secondary hypogonadism put on replacement testosterone. My exercise continued, and I bought a bike. My riding every day helped me to lose more weight, getting me down by a total of 35 pounds. However, the testosterone started kicking in and instead of just losing fat I started also gaining muscle mass. So, 10 months after I started I'm down by 35 pounds, riding regularly and working out at the Y (when not riding). I'm getting leaner, but haven't lost an ounce in 2-3 months. I guess I should be happy that I'm not gaining. But, at 45 I feel great. I even had to buy new smaller clothes, my old stuff was getting too baggy! Now, if I could only lose that last 15 pounds.

Rick

IowaParamedic

Brainiac, I am with you! I have been weighing in over the past serveral weeks. Not one pound has left my body. I have worked out consistantly since last November with weight training, walking, since april cycling.

I have tightened my belt one hole, and everyone asks how much weight I have lost.

Hopefully, when I start losing, it will come off all at once.

rockymtn_girl

Way to go Rick! I've always found that what the scale says doesn't necessarily reflect how you look or feel. Muscle weighs more than fat so even though you haven't lost an ounce in 2-3 months, I'll bet you've lost a considerable amount of fat which is ultimately what you want.

bpherson

Rick,

Awesome job on the weight loss. I too have dropped a few pounds in the last year and a half. And just like you after dropping some good weight I havn't really lost any in the past 2 months.

But, just like you I have lost a few belt sizes and feel great. And as rockymtn-girl said, muscle weighs more than fat. As long as you are burning fat and increasing muscle, you may even go up a pound or two. I know that my fat percentage has dropped quite a bit, but I have gained alot of muscle tone.

One other point, some times you plateu with weight loss. Your body just has to adjust to its new size and it may take a week,,or a few weeks, for your matabolism to kick back into high gear and you'll lose more weight and that last 15 pounds will melt off before you know it.

Good luck and great job,

Brad

technogirl

Hi! It's good to see everyone out there is being more careful about what they eat, and exercising. I lost about 10 lbs several months ago--I know that doesn't sound like much, but the weight loss was mainly due to me being sick for a month or two, and eating better. I always thought I was healthy, but I was kind of stressed out at work, and not eating as well as I had thought. I had some bad stomach pains, and then it got worse. I found out that I had diverticulitis (inflammation of the diverticulum--a abnormal pouch in the intestine), so I had to be on a liquid diet for a few days. Ugh!

Anyway, I've been reading up on how to prevent that from happening, and mainly it's that I have to eat more fruits and vegetables (fiber), not a great deal of processed foods like cakes, cookies, drink more water, and just eat better! People say that you should stay away from seeds, but I haven't had that problem. My doctor says there's no real proof that that will cause diverticulitis, but he has patients that tell him otherwise. Go fig.

I've been eating healthier, and cut back on a LOT of junk which doesn't mean that I don't eat it. I just don't pig out and go crazy on stuff every other day.

Also, I feel a LOT healthier eating better, and I don't have any problems with my stomach any more.

It really sucks to be sick, by years of eating poorly! So, remember good health is important, too! Eat right and exercise, and the pounds will SLOWLY come off.

ChipRGW

I have two VERY important words to say about weight loss...

WEIGHT WATCHERS

I have been on WW for a year and a half. At the beginning of 2001, I had decided that enough was enough. I joined. I weighed in that first night at a whopping 424 pounds.
Yes, I said four hundred twenty four. I was honestly close to being disabled at 35 years old. It was disgusting. I still have quite a way to go, but I have lost close to 120 pounds, and I feel great. My wife has lost over 80 and she LOOKS ooohh lala! I'm quite worried she'll dump my ugly butt now.
The WW plan is the easiest to follow.
You eat what you want.
No silly fad diets.
Just what nutritionists have been saying for years. Watch what you eat, drink plenty of fluids, make sure you get plenty of fiber, and EXERSIZE!!!
We recently read a study, I can locate it again if anyone really wants it, that looked at successful weight loss. They interviewed a large number of people that lost weight using a commercialized diet plan and kept it off for more than 5 years. The VAST majority, like 80% were WW members.
It works for me, that's proof enough.

ChipRGW!!

tmayder

Wow, Chip! You go, boy! Great!! Congrats to the wife too!

There isn't a Weight Watchers where I live. Ya know what frustrates me? No matter what diet plan you do, there is always somebody who says it isn't healthy. Even for the pyramid nutrition charts. I can't recall ever hearing bad things about the WW plan.

Congratulations on the results of your hard work!

Cheers!
Linda