Help! I'm Horrible at Losing Weight is the latest installment of the "Help! I'm Horrible" series
FLUTTER KICK
SDK
SPEED
Many of us want to be thinner. One of the first tips in Swim Faster Faster is:
LUG LESS LARD, the positive way to say this is: Be a slimmer swimmer.
The fact is, when we swim, we have to drag our bodies through the water and if we have less mass and resistance, we're likely to swim faster.
Many of us want to lose weight or have lost weight, some of us kept it off while others lost then gain it all back. The problem with losing weight is I often find it after I lost it.
This thread is for us to discuss this issue and act in this arena
What works and doesn't?
Why do we self sabotage?
What's your story?
What else?
The 4 word DIET from the book "Four Word Self Help: Simple Wisdom for Complex Lives" by Patti Digh is:
"EAT LESS MOVE MORE "
Losing weight takes
a goal / intention, a plan, and action.
it takes constant focus and effort. It takes discipline. It takes some being hungry and suffering. We lose weight by burning more than we consume.
There's a catch 22
If we starve ourselves and lose weight too quickly our bodies become more efficient at storing fat.
It's an emotional area, it's diffucult, it can seem overwhelming,
some resort to expensive and possibly dangerous surgery and or plastic surgery.
Food is a difficult area, we need it to survive, for energy and repair, but if we eat too much, we store up the excess in the form of fat.
If you're a bit too heavy you might benefit from being a slimmer swimmer.
You might be healthier and fitter.
Use this thread to
declare your intention, goal and gain some support.
There's many books, methods and programs out there.
I'm not offering anyone any sure fire solution here.
there's No "lose 20 pounds in 20 days for 20 bucks" scam
Many methods work.
The simple solutions are:
EAT LESS MOVE MORE,
Anything we do and measure improves.
Anything we focus on improves.
Appropriate action and smart choices work
Sometimes we perform better with support
Increase your resting metabolic rate.
Be sensible.
Become a fat burning biofurnace.
Stop procrastinating, start now
you can offer advice, share your story, share your current situation and goal.
you can participate or lurk
we can celebrate achievement and progress
console failure, set backs and disappointment
ARE YOU IN?
if so please share:
name
age
height
weight
situation
goal
plan and
post your progress and updates
What else?
consider weekly pictures or updates
chart your journey from before to after.
Forgive yourself for mistakes.
It took years to put it on, it's likely to take months or years to take it off.
Stop procrastinating, start now, don't wait for Monday or some made up starting point.
Most importantly: Always always work with your doctor and professionals
I hope we go from horrible to excellent, from where we are to optimal.
It's fun to be fit fast and healthy.
Good luck, Namaste
Ande
Although weight loss seems simple (eat less calories than you burn), and a calorie is a calorie, losing weight and keeping it off seem dependent on many other circumstances like age, socioeconomics, surroundings, male or female, heredity, physical and mental condition, job, past eating habits, nutrition, and probably other factors that make simple difficult. See this NPR posted article on obesity and brain changes: www.npr.org/.../could-obesity-change-the-brain.
“Now some provocative research suggests that a part of the problem might be that obesity could change the area of the brain that helps control appetite and body weight.
And those changes might start within a day of eating a high-fat meal, according to scientists who are trying to figure out why it's so hard to lose weight. They report seeing changes in the brain after just one day on a fatty diet.”
Your brain is constantly changing; your body is aging, and thus there’s a moving target for weight loss and dietary plans even within an individual. What does that say about diet plans for large groups of people?
I’m 5’-9”, age 62, male, work in an office, kids are grown, weighed about 215 lbs. in July 2011 (my highest weight ever), with too much belly fat, out of shape, and possibly pre-diabetic. This didn’t happen overnight, but really accelerated in my mid to late 50s, when my metabolism took a nose dive and coasting became convenient. It was much easier before age 50 to lose weight and shape up. I'd gained about 1 lb. per year (35 lbs. in 35 years) after age 20, and then about 30 lbs. in about 7 years after reaching age 55.
I started motivated swimming again in July 2011 as a way to lose weight and shape up – it’s always been my main sport and it led me to USMS and a first meet in November 2011 :banana:. I’ve combined swimming with biking and spinning (like spinning cause of the music), running (toughest for me, but best for weight loss), and some weights -- all help with weight loss, shaping up, and provide diversification. My weekly workouts are about 5-6 times per week for 1-2 hours each, including swimming about 3-4 of those sessions. Triathlon training guides have led me to age-related diet requirements for muscle retention, and a number of swimming guides, including the USMS discussion forums and web site, which have helped provide a better understanding of training, muscle development, and how to swim faster faster. My plan is to continue this unless the weight loss stops; then will check calories and nutrient input and adjust the program.
I’ve lost about 20 lbs. in 6 months (3 lbs. per month) and am down to 195 lbs. and shaping up. My goal is to reach a weight of 170-175 by July 2012 (ultimately I’d like to reach 160-165). However, my goal isn’t just to lose weight; I want to build muscle and get in shape too and needed to make both diet and life-style changes, believing these will help keep the weight off and provide a better quality life as I age. Basically, I’ve shifted my diet from eating and drinking whatever/whenever I felt like it :chug:, to a diet with more fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and low glycemic index carbs. When hungry, I eat good foods, avoiding hollow calories.
The FLOG provides a way to keep track of training efforts; I noted there are no calorie counting features in the FLOG. So far I’ve only checked calories and nutrient intake vs. output once over the past 6 months for a 3-4 day period. USA swimming posted yesterday on Facebook a link to their nutrition center on the web: www.usaswimming.org/DesktopDefault.aspx . It has a nutrition tracker feature that I haven’t logged into yet to check it out.
Will provide updates on progress – not sure you really want to see pics. Encouragement :applaud: and suggestions :2cents: are welcome .
Although weight loss seems simple (eat less calories than you burn), and a calorie is a calorie, losing weight and keeping it off seem dependent on many other circumstances like age, socioeconomics, surroundings, male or female, heredity, physical and mental condition, job, past eating habits, nutrition, and probably other factors that make simple difficult. See this NPR posted article on obesity and brain changes: www.npr.org/.../could-obesity-change-the-brain.
“Now some provocative research suggests that a part of the problem might be that obesity could change the area of the brain that helps control appetite and body weight.
And those changes might start within a day of eating a high-fat meal, according to scientists who are trying to figure out why it's so hard to lose weight. They report seeing changes in the brain after just one day on a fatty diet.”
Your brain is constantly changing; your body is aging, and thus there’s a moving target for weight loss and dietary plans even within an individual. What does that say about diet plans for large groups of people?
I’m 5’-9”, age 62, male, work in an office, kids are grown, weighed about 215 lbs. in July 2011 (my highest weight ever), with too much belly fat, out of shape, and possibly pre-diabetic. This didn’t happen overnight, but really accelerated in my mid to late 50s, when my metabolism took a nose dive and coasting became convenient. It was much easier before age 50 to lose weight and shape up. I'd gained about 1 lb. per year (35 lbs. in 35 years) after age 20, and then about 30 lbs. in about 7 years after reaching age 55.
I started motivated swimming again in July 2011 as a way to lose weight and shape up – it’s always been my main sport and it led me to USMS and a first meet in November 2011 :banana:. I’ve combined swimming with biking and spinning (like spinning cause of the music), running (toughest for me, but best for weight loss), and some weights -- all help with weight loss, shaping up, and provide diversification. My weekly workouts are about 5-6 times per week for 1-2 hours each, including swimming about 3-4 of those sessions. Triathlon training guides have led me to age-related diet requirements for muscle retention, and a number of swimming guides, including the USMS discussion forums and web site, which have helped provide a better understanding of training, muscle development, and how to swim faster faster. My plan is to continue this unless the weight loss stops; then will check calories and nutrient input and adjust the program.
I’ve lost about 20 lbs. in 6 months (3 lbs. per month) and am down to 195 lbs. and shaping up. My goal is to reach a weight of 170-175 by July 2012 (ultimately I’d like to reach 160-165). However, my goal isn’t just to lose weight; I want to build muscle and get in shape too and needed to make both diet and life-style changes, believing these will help keep the weight off and provide a better quality life as I age. Basically, I’ve shifted my diet from eating and drinking whatever/whenever I felt like it :chug:, to a diet with more fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and low glycemic index carbs. When hungry, I eat good foods, avoiding hollow calories.
The FLOG provides a way to keep track of training efforts; I noted there are no calorie counting features in the FLOG. So far I’ve only checked calories and nutrient intake vs. output once over the past 6 months for a 3-4 day period. USA swimming posted yesterday on Facebook a link to their nutrition center on the web: www.usaswimming.org/DesktopDefault.aspx . It has a nutrition tracker feature that I haven’t logged into yet to check it out.
Will provide updates on progress – not sure you really want to see pics. Encouragement :applaud: and suggestions :2cents: are welcome .
