1 hour ago, rjs4470 said:

I don't know if its as bad as cocaine, but I've come to believe that sugar is addictive. I quit caffeine about 15 months ago which was also really hard to kick, and came with some pretty rough side affects, mostly just feeling awful, drained and headaches (which I rarely get). I've cut way back on sugar and processed foods since March and am now almost under 200 (I played college baseball at 190-195). It's still really tough because I still have a sweet tooth, so instead of processed sugars, I've been eating fruit (oranges, apples, berries) to get something sweet into my system, usually 2-3 servings per day. I also usually add a low carb, zero sugar protein shake before dinner to make me feel full and be able to eat sensibly and not crave some dessert. High fiber fruits help minimize any blood sugar spikes for me, so that's an added bonus.

I cut way back on caffeine recently and some days I don't consume any.  Some days one 12oz soft drink and some days maybe a couple of Bourbon and Coke/Pepsi.  More fruit for me too, I just bought some strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries.  

1 hour ago, TCR said:

That makes sense that sugar could be compared to something so addictive. Even right now, I have been slowly sipping on a large coca cola from Chick Fil-A. It's right around 30 points on Weight Watchers (I get 57 in a day) but honestly if I were able to drop that I could almost eat what I wanted and still lose lol. 

I did wake up at 338.8 today which was a nice surprise, as I had mentioned toggling back between 339 and 341, lately having been more toward 341 on my weigh-ins. 299 may be a better year end goal. Especially since Weight Watchers encourages a slow, steady loss of 1-2 pounds per week.

I think when you frame it like that (30 of your 57 points) and the benefits you will get from eating healthy foods it seems like a no brainer to kick the coke habit.  With that said, I prefer a Pepsi or Coke over an actual dessert, they taste that good to me.

I also agree with Weight Watchers and others on the 1-2 pounds per week goal. 

17 minutes ago, theguru said:

I think when you frame it like that (30 of your 57 points) and the benefits you will get from eating healthy foods it seems like a no brainer to kick the coke habit.  With that said, I prefer a Pepsi or Coke over an actual dessert, they taste that good to me.

I also agree with Weight Watchers and others on the 1-2 pounds per week goal. 

Yeah, usually where it kicks in is that they have a TON of zero point foods when they modified the program recently. Certain items, even grilled chicken, salmon, certain forms are meat are zero. Until this year even a plain baked potato was zero. You can have all the fruits and vegetables you want. The logic behind it is, which are you more likely to gorge on - five cookies or five grilled chicken breasts?

I have tried to incorporate a form of intermittent fasting, cutting it to two meals per day and eliminating snacking. That has helped make it easier to wake up and feel lighter. One of the meals (Usually the early one) is where I get a vast majority of the points. Then in the evening I'll have salmon or grilled chicken with some vegetables and berries. I might use a couple points for BBQ sauce and/or breading. Panko bread crumbs are pretty friendly.

And this is where things can get real interesting. The more you lose weight, like for example when I went down to 345 my daily point intake went from 58 to 57 - and that will continue to go down. You also get extra weekly points (Right now for me that's 28) that can be used at any time. Those go down too as you lose weight. So even though right now I can have that pop, eventually there will have to be some kind of change made to either cut it significantly or kick the habit. That being said, you also get get an easy two points per day for walking 3,000 steps. Saturday I walked 10,000 and picked up 6.

It's interesting reading about the journeys on this thread and the success stories. They are highly encouraging!

One reason this thread is so awesome is the accountability. Struggled a couple times this week - I have a bad tendency on the last day of the work week to go somewhere (For me, Backyard Pizza) and didn't do well. Then the next day had a meeting with a couple of announcers to talk about the upcoming football season. At another place (Texas Roadhouse) that I struggle at.

But once again, I bounced back which hasn't been done historically. I just drank water the rest of the day. I don't believe in skipping meals but wanted to give my stomach a breather. Today doing much better, eating some high fiber oatmeal, berries like G mentioned getting (Those can so underrated!) and lettuce.

This week the focus lies heavily in the thinking, "How does this meal I'm eating align with my goal?"

52 minutes ago, TCR said:

One reason this thread is so awesome is the accountability. Struggled a couple times this week - I have a bad tendency on the last day of the work week to go somewhere (For me, Backyard Pizza) and didn't do well. Then the next day had a meeting with a couple of announcers to talk about the upcoming football season. At another place (Texas Roadhouse) that I struggle at.

But once again, I bounced back which hasn't been done historically. I just drank water the rest of the day. I don't believe in skipping meals but wanted to give my stomach a breather. Today doing much better, eating some high fiber oatmeal, berries like G mentioned getting (Those can so underrated!) and lettuce.

This week the focus lies heavily in the thinking, "How does this meal I'm eating align with my goal?"

It really is a daily struggle, and an occasional slip isn't the end of the world. I've been pretty clean for about 2.5 months, but I have a vacation coming up in a couple of weeks and two cruises planned this winter...that's where the challenge will be, because I know I will not be eating clean those weeks.

23 hours ago, rjs4470 said:

It really is a daily struggle, and an occasional slip isn't the end of the world. I've been pretty clean for about 2.5 months, but I have a vacation coming up in a couple of weeks and two cruises planned this winter...that's where the challenge will be, because I know I will not be eating clean those weeks.

Congratulations on your success these past 2.5 months! That's 2.5 months longer than most people can stick to. You have a vacation coming up, and two cruises and honestly in your situation, I wouldn't focus as much on what you get on the cruises but bouncing back afterward. Really in ways similar to my situation with going to Backyard Pizza and Texas Roadhouse this weekend, then bouncing back.

 

BIG win today! The plateau is broken! 336.8 - actually a 4.8 pound drop from last week as I was floating between 339 and 341 for three weeks.

And it was a BGP idea that, I think, helped pave the way. Reading @Rebel's idea on drinking the zero sodas helped out. I was drinking a ton of lemonade every night with stevia that also had erythritol in it and if I'm honest with myself, I was putting way too much stevia in the lemonade. After the tough days of Thursday and Friday discussed earlier I stuck with drinking 64 ounces of water and over the weekend made that adjustment to drink the caffeine-free diet coke while sticking to my points. I tend to drink pop slower, and I sipped on that diet coke over the day while still getting the 64 ounces of water with my meals. Sunday I drank a 20 ounce mountain dew but as part of the plan.

Every meal I keep that thought going: "How is this meal going to help my goal?" 

My biggest weigh in was 363 in January. With this, it's a big win. Going to keep attacking! Appreciate all the support on this thread.

Down 3 more on the official weigh in! Down to 333.8. Three pounds from the last week, but eight in the last 11 days since switching out the stevia lemonade which I'll admit, I was using too much stevia on.

Utilizing the Rebel method has worked. Drinking the four glasses of water per day, having my regular pop which is in the points range and slurping on diet caffeine free coke. I maybe drink 8 ounces of day when it comes to that. 

We're on a roll with this! The non-scale wins have been countless as well.

I made it through our 1 week at the Beach on vacation in Murrells Inlet and to my amazement I only gained .4 lbs.  We did skip lunch most days after a nice breakfast at Dead Dog Saloon.  I did eat a lot of salads along with grilled salmon or steak.  Very minimal bread, but I did taste the delicious hush puppies at dinner a couple of times.  Oh, and I only had 2 beers (Yuengling Flight) once.  Only 1 beer per day on the others.  I'm back at it now and riding the recumbent bike and eating smaller portions.  I'm at 187.4 now.  Down 72.6 lbs since late November 2023.  

1 hour ago, jvdfc said:

I made it through our 1 week at the Beach on vacation in Murrells Inlet and to my amazement I only gained .4 lbs.  We did skip lunch most days after a nice breakfast at Dead Dog Saloon.  I did eat a lot of salads along with grilled salmon or steak.  Very minimal bread, but I did taste the delicious hush puppies at dinner a couple of times.  Oh, and I only had 2 beers (Yuengling Flight) once.  Only 1 beer per day on the others.  I'm back at it now and riding the recumbent bike and eating smaller portions.  I'm at 187.4 now.  Down 72.6 lbs since late November 2023.  

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!! Way to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On 7/4/2024 at 2:31 PM, TCR said:

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!! Way to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you sir!  I'm cheering you on as well.  We both know it's a tough battle and we just have to be consistent in our pursuit.  

19 hours ago, jvdfc said:

Thank you sir!  I'm cheering you on as well.  We both know it's a tough battle and we just have to be consistent in our pursuit.  

Right on brother! That's really the key to it, is the consistency part.

I'll say, I had a major slip up over the past couple of weeks. I had two weekends of calling games and knowing that if I stayed under control, I could probably drop a few more there just given all the walking and sweating. Unfortunately, at the accounting firm I work for we had a tragedy losing one of our leaders, the tax leader who has been one of my mentors. I let it slow me down some. But after a good conversation with my life coach Wednesday got right back on it on the 4th.

My lowest since starting was at 329.6 and right now I'm at 333.4. But I'm right back on it and hoping to continue hacking away. 50 is in sight. My start was 363. 

Keep up the excellent work!

It's been a while since I have updated. It has been a crazy month. I'm starting to gain again unfortunately. When I felt like I hit the right medicine with to help my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, I had multiple times that I would have a tough day eating but then get right back on the next. Which was something that never happened before.

Then a big blow came at work, when a coworker passed due to liver cancer. Although there were some health issues, the cancer was in its early stages and it was unexpected. I found out coming to the office on a Thursday that I took off to print off my stat sheets for a basketball event that I was going to call over the weekend. This coworker was somebody I had worked with from the beginning of my accounting career. If you were to picture a sports team, think of him as the heart of the organization, that gritty veteran that provides leadership. Normally when I call games on these trips I stop at a restaurant I like on the way up. This year I was determined not to do that and didn't feel there would be anything that would stop me - until I got to the office and got the text of him passing right as I got out of my car. Immediately I went to eat out, then to make matters worse I went by a gas station and picked up a milkshake.

The basketball event, which spanned two separate weekends, I was hoping to do a great job at but instead I struggled in terms of eating. Fortunately I was super busy and got a lot of walking in. My hope originally was that my eating would hold through and that all the walking (The first day I had 5,000 steps by the time the event even started!) would help me drop a couple extra pounds. Instead I got consumed with food, went to Burger King when the event ended each day and have not been the same since coming back from that event but I also know that I'm not where I originally started at 363. I'm pushing 340 though and I know that if I can get the strength to rebound I'll be right back where I was at 330 and can continue to push back.

My discipline has been shot as well. Like I haven't stuck to my ab routine which is very simple, haven't drank water like I have been and overall I'm feeling worse. I don't say that for any kind of sympathy, but you would think I wouldn't want to feel bad and it seems like this whole thing just has me in a funk right now. 3,000 steps doesn't seem like a lot (Just look at the steps thread in this same forum) daily and I haven't even committed to that so right now it's just finding the ability to get back to what I was doing in terms of the weight loss. Some of it could be with the trip, even without the tragedy happening as it threw my schedule off in general.

I'm now down a total of 35 lbs since the end of March. Only about 10lbs away from my college weight of 185, which has been my goal weight since starting this. I've been able to get off one medicine for blood sugar, and have halved one of my blood pressure meds. I've maintained a pretty healthy eating plan, and have been able to eat a few sweet treats once or twice a week, although they are just very small portions, and didn't allow my vacation in July to knock me off track. The hardest part is watching and keeping a lower protein intake to protect my kidneys, only 70-80 grams per day. I've been mostly a hardcore carnivore. I've tried a couple of the plant based proteins, but they just don't do the trick for me. Still having some shoulder pain, so haven't been doing much in terms of weight training, but just got a new set of bands and hoping to start upping the resistance training soon.

On 8/3/2024 at 4:49 PM, rjs4470 said:

I'm now down a total of 35 lbs since the end of March. Only about 10lbs away from my college weight of 185, which has been my goal weight since starting this. I've been able to get off one medicine for blood sugar, and have halved one of my blood pressure meds. I've maintained a pretty healthy eating plan, and have been able to eat a few sweet treats once or twice a week, although they are just very small portions, and didn't allow my vacation in July to knock me off track. The hardest part is watching and keeping a lower protein intake to protect my kidneys, only 70-80 grams per day. I've been mostly a hardcore carnivore. I've tried a couple of the plant based proteins, but they just don't do the trick for me. Still having some shoulder pain, so haven't been doing much in terms of weight training, but just got a new set of bands and hoping to start upping the resistance training soon.

Congratulations!!! That is not an easy thing to do. Keep up the excellent work!!!!