A weight challenge

[APDrone]

No worries Rondar, I picked 1.4 lbs back up, too.

Not sure why, tho I suspect I spent more time in front of the computer culling through end-of-year HS sports pics, instead of outside getting yard work done.

Back on track, now.  Fall in!

[Bizman]

As GScholz said, the weight varies for natural reasons. One thing to be added to his list is salt. If you eat something that contains more salt than your usual diet, the beverages you've had don't come out. They gather in your cells as bodily fluid until your salt balance gets back to normal. It's very easy to get too much salt when eating out, restaurant cooks tend to use salt as their primary seasoning. Add to that some "pinch salt" which seems to be very popular and a couple of pints and poof, you're hyperhydrated!

Vice versa reducing the amount of salt in your food might give you a rocket start in losing weight. Common herbs can be used to substitute salt, such as basil, thyme, dill, chives, rosemary... In normal conditions you'd get all the salt/sodium your body needs as "hidden" salt. There's a lot of it even in cereals and bread, and even in sweet biscuits and cakes.

[Rondar]

Ha ha, great brown shark.  I wonder what one of these invertebrates weigh?  I may have to do some covert investigation.   

[GScholz]

The point is that people shouldn't worry to much about weight, and focus more on body fat percentage. If you're morbidly obese then weight (measured over time and averaged) is a good indicator, but as you get closer to a healthy BFP weight becomes more inaccurate as a measurement of BFP.

[BaldEagl]

Well, I seemed to have gained 1.8 lbs this last week.     I did look at another place where a guy kept track of his daily weight.  It was all over the place literally, but gradually came down.

Also, I wonder how accurate and consistent a home scale is?  I can get on and off a half dozen times and get several different weights.  The scale I use is a Camry brand.

As stated in an earlier post, I weight myself daily but as GScholz alluded to I make sure that my body's in the same state, therefore I generally weigh myself in the morning at about the same point in my eating. drinking coffee. going to the bathroom routine.  Even at that my weight can vary by up to two pounds per day or around 1.5% of my overall body weight.

[JimmyC]

Only just seen this thread and have not read it all
I gave up the booze (3 1/2 months now)
lost a stone in first month 14lbs
job done..
I think drinking lots of water helps.

[APDrone]

Welcome to the quest, Jimmy!

Yeah, booze is one of the first things I tossed out.  Motivationally, primarily.. new years resolution to drop 50lbs before drinking again.  28lbs down.. 22 to go.

I had kinda hit a wall with my normal routine until Rondar started this challenge.  Then the comments and suggestions from everybody really kicked in my motivation to actually do something. 

I had heard that sugar seems to be the primary root of evil, when it comes to the diet.. and so I gave that up.  I'm still a little unsettled as to the impact of that decision.  The things I've observed are rather fascinating, although, having been at this for .. what, 6 weeks, I'll probably check in with the DR. to make sure I'm not doing something stupid.

Last week I did partake of a small piece of birthday cake.. small being about 1"x2"x1".. chocolate mousse' .. I swear to you.. I could feel the sugar hit my blood stream.. made the skin on my arms tingle as it traveled from my elbows to wrists.  Freaky. It also seemed to interrupt the progress I had been making.. which, I believe, contributed to the bump in weight gain last week.

It's been over a week since that event and my body seems to be getting back on the steady loss path, again.

Not going to say that I'm invigorated with insane amounts of energy, because I'm not.  I do, however, find it a lot easier to move around, being less of me.  And my feet and knees are much more content.  Especially when getting off the floor.

I drink water and coffee, only.  No fruits. no breads.. maybe 30g carbs a day, mostly from munching on almonds and peanuts for snacks.  I eat a few ounces of meat and cheese for lunch, with a couple cups of raw vegetables.  Carrots, Broccoli ( vit. C ), Celery and Cauliflower.    I try to keep dinner to a minimum.   

I do get hungry, but not a panicky 'starving' type of hunger, more of a dull 'you need to eat' hunger.  Here, again, I think sugar is to blame for the 'starving' type.  I honestly think the body is more craving sugar than actually being hungry.   A lot of times hunger is more likely dehydration, so drinking water squelches that.

Having been raised in the era of the food pyramid, I'm thinking about a vitamin supplement, just to be sure the basics are covered, but I'm still need to research that a bit.

Anyway.. Thanks, Rondar, for getting this going. Brooke, if you have any confirmations or advice on what I'm experiencing, I'm open to your wisdom.

Now to burn off some more in yardwars.

[Brooke]

Drone, it sounds like things are going pretty well and back on track.

A multivitamin/mineral supplement won't hurt -- at worse, you'll just pee out what vitamins you don't need.

One thing I would recommend to folks (as long as they aren't allergic to fish and as long as they aren't on any blood thinners) is a teaspoon of good-quality fish oil each day.

I started doing that, then got my wife, kids, and parents doing it, and my Mom's arthritis got much better.  Like a multivitamin, it won't hurt you, so it is OK to give it a try (unless you are allergic to fish or are on blood thinners).

You need to get good, fresh fish oil, though, not the crappy stuff in capsules or low-end stuff that is processed poorly.  Nordic Naturals and Carlson are both good.  Get the bottled version, keep it in the fridge, and don't eat any fish oil that smells or tastes fishy.  The good stuff doesn't do that.  If it smells or tastes fishy -- it is rancid and no longer good for you.  This place has Carlson fish oil:
http://www.vitacost.com/carlson-the-very-finest-fish-oil-lemon-16-9-fl-oz-3

[zack1234]

I feel emotional

[Brooke]

I feel emotional

Fish oil is good for that. 

[zack1234]

Gibbering about weight 

Eat less and move about a bit

[Brooke]

There is always the all-pie diet.

[Rondar]

Zack, since you like to "move" about a bit, a couple tubs of Activia would be good motivation to "move".

[guncrasher]

I am up to 220 lbs.  my meds have something to do with it.  but mostly it's me.  really gotta start getting serious.  I want to lose 20 lbs by the end of june.


semp

[Bizman]

--- maybe 30g carbs a day, mostly from munching on almonds and peanuts for snacks. ---

Just today I read that a couple of handfuls of nuts contain as much calories as a light meal. They're a valuable source of omega-3, though.