Incredible Shrinking Reaper-ites

[tabascojunkie]

I'll jump in on this too. I just want to lose some gut. In November '06 I was down to 192 lbs. after my doctor put me on a diet to reduce my cholesterol and triglycerides. He gave me a list of good foods and bad foods, which I didn't strictly adhere to, mainly just avoiding the bad. Sugar is a bad one for me, I have a big time sweet tooth.

 

Anyway, in November '06 I had knee surgery, the holidays came up, and I had a whole lot of personal stress that started up at that time. All of that led to the return of the "When's it due?" jokes.

 

Yeah, I really need to get back into it.

[Kheprera]

OK, so what we need, I think, is for Reaper to commit to making and selling a special mini of each of us at this time next year. Completeley representative of what we look like, but wearing just our underwear. That I would get in _good_ shape for.

 

Great idea but having to lose an entire person in less than a year is nigh impossible. I can maybe go about 100 lbs, but will still have quite a bit before I'm ready for THAT kind of mini. For that I'll need 2-3 years.

 

 

My biggest issue is coming up with healthy meals that are acceptable by everyone in the family and that don't break the budget.

 

Eating healthy is expensive. So, bring on the budget conscious healthy meal recipes. I'll dig a few of mine up, as well as some healthy cooking tips.

 

 

#1 Healthy Cooking Tip: Grilling is better than even roasting since most of the fat drips off and away from the meat. In the oven the meat will still tend to sit in the juicy fat. On top of that, grilling outside during the summer can help lower your electric bill if you use gas or charcoal a couple of ways. You're not running the oven/stove, and your A/C is not working overtime to cool down your house while the oven is on. So, grilling is good. I wonder if I can get SD to grill more this summer if it's already near the triple digits.

[Star Drifter]

Or we can put a metal grill like object over the pan to let everything drip down.

 

5'7" and maybe a half, 224 pounds. If I can creep back under 200 and finish an entry for '09, I'll be very happy.

 

Forgive me Sophie, for I have sinned.

• I eat too much dinner, and follow it up with a fatty dessert
  
• I munch on Club crackers all day at work, and go through about a box a week. (Maybe it's time for Raisins again?)
  
• I don't move very much. More DDR, maybe some Wii Fit if I can find and afford it, and it's time to hit the weights again.
  
• I need to drink more water
  

I seem to have more muscle than the last time I hit this weight. The electronic scale is telling me that a smaller percentage is fat this time around. That should help.

 

Thankfully my stomach has taken to severely disagreeing with ice cream as of late. Maybe it's time for those diet frozen kool-aid sticks. The ones that look like plastic tubes of paint water.

[Enchantra]

This isn't about how we feel about ourselves. The discussion was that we all (all being defined as those who said so) wanted to lose some weight. So I started the thread as encouragement.

 

I think you missed my point, but that's fine. Encouragement is a great thing. I was trying to be encouraging as well, but it wasn't taken that way apparently.

 

So I have 30 more pounds to take off.

I already am practically attached at the hip to my water bottle at work.

I rarely drink soda (Except at Rcon where I drank lots)

Despite the fact I bake cakes etc I don't have a huge sweet tooth.

 

I do need to get back to going to the gym - haven't been there since my jobs flip-flopped back in March and that is having an effect on things.

 

Since weight drops off me slowly due to my wacked out metabolism, I'm giving myself a year to try to get at least 15 of the 30 pounds off. Ever watched a snail crawl along the ground? That's about how fast my body burns fat.

[Joe Kutz]

While I can't join in the fun (I could - but shouldn't) - I can offer a free weight loss technique that worked for me. Stand up. Right after I got out of the service I went to an office job where I sat down all day. My diet didn't change much and my life away from work remained the same - but I managed to put on about 30 lbs in 6 months. Got rid of my chair and the weight was gone in about 3 months...hasn't come back either.

 

Standing burns about 100 calories more per hour than sitting. If you can get away with standing at work as opposed to sitting - 800 calories without much work and little expense (I ended up having to get a standing desk for the keyboard...but other than that - Free).

[Kheprera]

I'd love to try that standing thing, but my back won't let me. Walking just from the car to my desk can cause spasms to the extent that I'm not always sure I'll make it to my desk.

 

No, I try to avoid painkillers. As I explained it to a co-worker: If I dull the pain then I'm more prone to over-extend myself. Pain has a reason, it's your body's way of telling you you're going too far. If I need to allow tendons and muscles to heal, then I need that pain to tell me I've done enough and go easy.

 

Some things have to start with baby steps. I'm hoping that losing the weight and moving more will help my back get better and take some weight off my knees so I can start doing some bike riding.

[paintminion]

Hey, I'll hook up with this group!

 

Background: Surgery and Cancer treatment the past year where I was under medical orders NOT to gain or lose weight was a pain in the, well, everywhere, but it took effort to eat on those bad days and thank god for anti-nausea meds, you know? Now I'm in remission and doing "maintenance" chemo every 3 months to keep me there. As of February I was given permission for limited excersise and worked with small weights on the arms and walking my stairs a bit more. The lack of stamina and strength was...daunting.

 

Currently: I gained four pounds since my last chemo treatment in February, some muscle---um, I hope. But I know I eat horribly as the family schedule goes haywire everyweek and lord knows I reach for the easy meal, rather than the healthy meal. We currently drink skim milk, Brummel and Brown butter, healthier sour cream ( I know I know), and cottage cheeae, healthier pastas and breads, and more fresh salmon added to our diets as my daughter now likes it. I have found a new store that sells cheaper fruits and veggies and we've added a lot more freshness into the diet as well. We drink limited soda only on weekends. There is none in the house.

 

Stats:

Weight - 255. Yep. Doctor confirmed every time I go in. I can tell the truth in public, I have nothing to hide. I may want to lose weight, but I'm not particularly unhappy with me as I am. I'm rather grateful to be alive and happy with my life, and my hubby loves me.

Height - 5' 2". Short.

Health - other than being in cancer remission, my cholesterol rose a bit this past year to over 200 and I'd like to get that back under control. Otherwise, all problems stem from chemotherapy now and building up my system to what it used to be. All bloodwork is now within sort of normal parameters and gets checked regulaly.

Other - Cannot have aspartame aka nutrasweet. Not only does it taste disgusting to me, but it acts as a mood altering chemical and you get Not Nice Sue. Do not feed me Nutrasweet if you want to live. Doc says there's about 10% of the population that reacts to aspartame in this way. Lucky me.

 

Goal:

Walk more. I work on the computer, I work at my paint desk, I watch tv. Until this past month, I needed naps during the day to make it through...a leftover from the chemotherapy. So walking a bit more outside, working on the weekends in the cottage garden, walking the stairs like my own private stairmaster...should all help improve the activity level in my life.

Eat healthier - this one is tuff, as I have to satisfy my family as well. More fresh fish, keep the portions reasonable, eat a varierty at each meal---not just the entre, but the entre, a salad, a fruit, a nice drink...variety will fill me up with good foods and keep the high calorie ones down.

Get back to meditation - I used to meditate every day as part of my life and I've gotten away from it. Just being busy and with all that's gone on in my life, I've let some things slide. No more. I need it and I've got to make room for ME in my day!

Sleep better - overlooked a lot, but not sleeping well sure affects me differently now. I would rather take meds to help me sleep than not get enough sleep and feel terrible to the point of blowing off all the good things I had planned--eating healthy, increased activity, no naps. That means getting to bed at a reasonable hour! Like, um, now! It's 10pm, and I have to get up at 5:30...and I am a 10 hour sleeper. My natural cycle is 10- hours of sleep is normal for me and I haven't seen that in ages. Silly school that makes us get my daughter off to school so early this year! No, I don't meen sleep meds...hate those as they always make me feel weird in the morning.

 

So...Taking a clue from my other hangout online "Chest of Colors", how about a thread entitled "What I did to lose weight today...?" thread that we should all post as regulaly/daily as possible on...just post what you did...walked that extra stair instead of the vator, changed your mind and ate a healthier snack, shopped and chose different products? Could be a good way to help keep us all motivated and find out how we each change our lives for the better!

[Kheprera]

Well, Sue, since you posted yours, I'll post mine...

 

Last time I weighed (and it has been a couple of months) I was at 305 lbs, 5'7".

 

My healtht BMI weight is around 140 lbs, so I have a nice, good, long way to go.

 

Today I brought not just my lunch but my breakfast as well. This will save me money since I won't be spending $9 at the cafeteria that cooks everything in NastyGrease™. Of course, this also means I don't walk down the stairs or do nearly as much walking as I would have to in order to get to the cafeteria. Since my ankle is still swollen and painful, this isn't a bad thing.

 

Tonight is grocery shopping night. I'm going to try and work up a healthier weekly menu that won't break our budget.

[Sharky]

OK, so what we need, I think, is for Reaper to commit to making and selling a special mini of each of us at this time next year. Completeley representative of what we look like, but wearing just our underwear. That I would get in _good_ shape for.

 

They already make one for me: http://www.reapermini.com/FigureFinder#detail/14038

 

...well, the gut and hairstyle are right.

 

I'm not in the group photo, but I could stand to lose about 30 pounds myself (at least), as I really love them sody-waters and sitting in front of the computer too much. I can "hide" some of my weight as I'm 6'5", but 285 lbs. tends to put a lot of strain on the old knees.

[Nanite]

I have a suit that I want to get back to. My waist used to be 32", it's up 36" with a proto-gut over that. It needs to GO!

 

I'll post pics in the suit as soon as I get back into it.

[Sharky]

I think I had a 32" waist in high school

[yani]

Eating healthy isn't as expensive as you think.

 

There are a lot of substitutions for every day items. Don't drown your vegetables in butter, salt, oil, etc. Steam them and have them without condiments. I know if vegetables are prepared in any other way other than steame, they taste really bland thus why all the additives are included. But it's a habit more than a necessity. I had ot teach my fiance this - steam vegetables actually taste good, you just have to wean yourself off the additives.

Instead of mashed potatoes, have boiled potatoes and make up a garlic butter/sauce to pour over instead. Or conversely, make the mashed potatoes with milk rather than butter.

Trim the fat off your meat.

Have wholegrain or wholewheat bread instead of white. White bread instantly turns to sugar in your stomach, as it's already been processed to the extreme. Wholegrain or Wholewheat have all the necessary fibre to cleanse your liver.

Ditch the soda. Obvious, but what a lot of people don't know is that soda is linked to osteoporosis in women. Flavoured ice tea works just as well. During summer, I make a jug of water, then drop a couple of slices of lemon in it. The lemon infuses the water and makes it a really refreshing drink.

 

Um... lessee. Risottos are really healthy. A risotto is a method for cooking rice where stock water is used to cook the rice. If you have the basics for risotto, you can add anything. My favourite is grilling some shrimp and throwing some peas in, or frying up some sweet potato and adding some chicken pieces. yum!

 

Use canola oil. Look at margarine blends rather than butter. My favourite is I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Mediterranean blend. So good.

 

Unsalted nuts and dried fruits are excellent as snack foods. I have a big tin of the nuts - I hate peanuts, so I take all the peanuts out of the blend and throw in pinenuts and macademia nuts. Whenever I'm feeling peckish, I'll munch on them.

 

Cut out a lot of dairy in your diet. If you need to have yoghurt, get the stuff that has acidophilus and bifidus in it, because they're excellent stomach bacteria. Soy milk tastes amazing. Cheese... well, there's no real substitute for cheese. I personally have never been a fan of cheese, so it's not difficult for me to not eat it.

 

 

Finally, don't ever trust anything that says low fat. The basics of losing weight is this: your intake of calories should be less than your use of calories. "low fat" an item may be, but it tends to make it up with a whole lot of other stff, like calories or sodium.

[Nanite]

I think I had a 32" waist in high school

 

I've really packed on the pounds in the last four years. I barely even existed in highschool.

[Rastl]

Just because I started this I should probably chime in with some personal details.

 

Short version, I need to lose half of me. My goal is to get 1/3 the way there by RCon next year. That's a healthy, reasonable goal. My plan is to actually add exercise into my day and cut back on the tasty but not so good for me foods. Note I said cut back. I need to change my lifestyle in ways I can maintain.

 

Moderation in all things. Well, not all things but in this.

[Nickel]

OK, so today I actually did what I planned to do yesterday (at least I'm started) by getting out and walking in teh sun over lunch. Got down to the river to take a look at how far they are coming on putting up the new bridge.

 

Yani - Thanks for the suggestions. You are absolutely right about steamed vegies having more flavor than most other types. My 10-year old "I hate everything green" even likes steamed broccoli - at least once in a while.

 

On that note, everyone, one other way to help keep eating healthy easier, not too expensive, and more fun is to remember to look to add color. The more variety of color in our vegie mixes (salads included) the better.