Well, I'm going to start a new thread.... the old one is long enough.

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I've been planning to join Weight Watchers for the last couple months, and dragging the wife and our friend along.
They griped that they needed someone to go with them, so now they have no excuse.

Last time we did this (several years ago), I lost quite a bit. So I am joining officially this time. I have a big challenge ahead.

I've never been bigger. I can't even find a scale for use at home, without ordering it.
So I've joined WW.

My goal? I could go with 50% weight loss, I'm that big now. That's a bit much, but we'll see.
I'm looking for 225 to 250. I think that will be comfortable, and feasible.
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I'm supposed to eat 71 points worth of food. Daily.

I have to say, the new Apps for use with WW are great. I'm tracking what I eat, and becoming more aware of the values. There's even a bar code scanner, to connect to the data as well.

So far, 3 days in and doing well. I haven't been able to use up all the points in a day, but I'm not seriously trying either.

We know we've been shorting ourselves on the veggies, but not any more!

Tonight's dinner was at Ruby Tuesday. I have the Seafood Trio and Salad Bar.
The salad was what I affectionately refer to as 'weed salad' (wild greens style), which I topped with a few pieces of tomoto, carrots, peas, a little bit of cheese, and Balsamic Vinegar.
I think I'm going to focus on the baked seafood more, when ever we go out. It was delicious. A decebt piece of Slamon, a crab cake, and 3 shrimp.

I just need to boost my water intake on weekends...
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Well week 1 went good, and I ended up being down 9 pounds!

I stayed with the high-fluids, and we have been including a lot of fruits and veggies, which weren't there before.


Week 2, wasn't so good.
Went to a NErf Memorial event, and grabbed a couple of BK burgers en-route. Just the burgers. And then again on Tuesday, as it was another long-day/late-night with work and school.

I also blame my watch, and the fact that I was wearing a long-sleeve shirt, to the fact that I gained weight in week two.
Up 0.6 pounds.....
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Congrats on taking on the challenge Dan! You should be very proud of yourself.

As of Saturday I have lost 70 pounds myself and Im six pounds away from my goal. With that said I recommend that

- Drink a LOT of water
- Increase your protein intake
- Due any sort of exercise as it will boost your metabolism and in my case my self esteem as well
- Spread your calorie intake. Dinner should not be your biggest meal
- Try not to eat past 6pm
- Lower your sodium intake
- Eat better, and avoid what everyone knows is bad (soda, fast food)
- Create an emergency low calorie menu in the case you have no choice but to go to a fast food joint. IE. know what is the healtheiest choices in the menus
- Track your daily calorie intake and exercise routine
- Contrary to popular belief, I weigh myself daily (i'm aware of fluctuations so I dont let it get to me, but by looking at the scale daily it keeps me focus)

Like I said, I started all this in late July and have shed 70 pounds. It can be done. You already took the hardest step which is commiting to doing so.

Great work Dan ! Keep me posted and I can be your online dieting partner.

Ed
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Hang in there! :-)
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Thanks guys.
My focus isn't a real issue... I have a goal to obtain, that will be a constant reminder for the next 6 months.

I'm actually try to play the rock for my lovely wife and our friend.
Guys can lose (and gain) weight in larger increments than the ladies. I am going to be helping them to stay on track, so they'll be comparing me all the time....
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Nice, good on you! Keep up the good work!

I've been trying to lean up a bit before our annual trip to Cancun with the kids for Spring Break....
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Soooooooo.... Week 3 weigh in (drum roll please!)...
Down another 6.2!
That's down 14.6 total

It was a CRAZY weekend, and I actually under-ate on both days. The Mrs was in the hospital.
We ended up going out to dinner on Monday after she got out, and I was creful for the entire day so that I could enjoy. (yes, she's fine)

My wife wore regular jeans (which are heavier than what she's worn before). That, plus being stuck/limited by the hospital trip.... she gained 1.2
Our friend was down a few more, and made her first 5# goal.
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I'll add one, if you weigh yourself every day (which I do when I go on gym kicks) do it in the morning and at the same time everyday.

I lost 90 lbs at one point, mostly doing cardio on an elliptical machine and swapping lunch for a chocolate protein shake *(put in the freezer for a few minutes before drinking so it was more like a frozen shake) and a package of crackers and cheese.

It gets so addicting losing weight, buying new clothes ... "normal clothes" I should say.

Congrats on your lose and keep up the battle!
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Thanks Ed, Dan, and E.J.; and Adam
As we're using Weight Watchers to re-train ourselves, there tools are a great added bonus.

From your suggestions above....
- Drink a LOT of water
=> That one I know, and am trying to get myself back there. With school and home, I've been 'off' lately on a few things.
- Increase your protein intake
=> I'm trying, but it's tough to do when I'm eating almost double that of my diet partners. But I do have more, and remind them of the difference as needed.
- Due any sort of exercise as it will boost your metabolism and in my case my self esteem as well
=> I'm just getting to there. I was taking the ladies for walks at the Mall or the like, but things were off this week. We're starting, but taking it small for now.
- Spread your calorie intake. Dinner should not be your biggest meal
=> This has been my biggest issue. I've been working on this, and Tracking with WW is helping a lot to balance this.
- Try not to eat past 6pm
=> That won't work. Twice a week are very late nights, and our WW meeting starts at 6 for a 3rd late dinner. I just need to watch my volume and values (caloric/WW-points) on those eves.
- Lower your sodium intake
=> Thankfully, I've always been a lower-sodium person. And now that we're not eating as much 'processed' or 'prepared' foods, it should help even more
- Eat better, and avoid what everyone knows is bad (soda, fast food)
=> Yep. LOTS MORE VEGGIES. Salads regularly, and Carrots as a snack.
- Create an emergency low calorie menu in the case you have no choice but to go to a fast food joint. IE. know what is the healtheiest choices in the menus
=> A big benefit of the WW plan, is access to their web-data for most area restaurants.
- Track your daily calorie intake and exercise routine
=> That's a definite. WW provides an e-tool for us to simplify it.
- Contrary to popular belief, I weigh myself daily (i'm aware of fluctuations so I dont let it get to me, but by looking at the scale daily it keeps me focus)
=> That's a goal, so to speak. I'm too big for most scales, without buying a 'specialty' scale... I'm figuring sometime in April for that, currently.
- if you weigh yourself every day (which I do when I go on gym kicks) do it in the morning and at the same time everyday.
=> That's the same thing I've been telling the ladies. Always good advice.

And thanks for all of those suggestions.
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I'm worse than that. I have a "first thing AM" weight, midday weight, and PM weight.
When they move "up" or "down" a pound, the three numbers will reflect that. A digital scale is a must, so if you see 240.9 then 241.1 you do not feel you gained a pound. Almost obsessive, but if I see an additional pound in the wrong direction I work a little harder the following day and it's gone.

I am almost 6-3" and was 240 , not bad, but I store fat in my gut. You may find like I did, starting with cutting back on the foods as above, as well as walk/jog 6 days a week, will drop your first lbs the fastest. I dropped 20 lbs in Jan that way.

I started a protein supplement two weeks ago and I feel it has helped too. But I have some weight training in with the cardio. You'll notice as you lose the lbs, the exercises gets easier, and you'll need to periodically move your goals forward. Good luck guys. Just do it and after a week you'll see it kind of just gets automatic. :-):-)
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I started Paleo about 3 months ago and I've lost 15lbs as of today. my size 36 jeans don't fit anymore and I'm on the last hole on my belt. I still need to loose about 20 more pounds but I'm super excited about the progress I've made so far. Here's a pic of me a few years ago and me last week.
Image
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Tomorrow night's weigh in will be the 4th, and I expect to be just under 20 myself. That goes with any/all goals. You have to make them close enough to feel the achievement, but still understand and be willing to to go the full distance. Congrats, and keep it up.
But dang... you's skinny already! I can't yet imagnine 36 jeans.
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WHERE'd that N come from ?!?! LOL!

Well, it's been a long week and it just keeps gettign longer.

I was up 0.8 pounds last week. That's a freakin' glass of water, for cryin-out-loud!

We did okay this week, with a couple of splurges too. My wife and I needed to fall off the wagon Thursday, and then had to join friends for a Friday birthday dinner. Thursday was 'off-the-wagon' and Friday's was a healthy selection from the restaurant.
We did (with our friends) a gluten-free vegetable lasagna of Sat night; and Fritatas on Sunday (second one was from WW and was wicked good, with a hashbrown base). We took a long walk for most of the afternoon, and fed the ducks at the local Park.

I think we did okay this week. Just need to keep the salt low low until weighin, so I'm not retaining extra...

How's everybody else doing?
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Maintaining right around the 185-190lb mark. I haven't been able to work out as much these last few months due to a neck issue. It's to the point now where I don't think it'll get much better, so I'm saying "screw it" and going running anyway.

I saw someone mention previously not eating past 6pm. In my case, I have to eat about an hour before I go to be, to help my blood sugar levels. Nothing big, but something higher in protein. Been doing that for nearly 2 years now and i'm keeping the weight off.
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Sorry to hear about neck issues, they can be tough to offset.

As for the 6PM comment, everybody (and every body, LOL) is different.
I take a pill before bed, and needto ingest something to keep it from tearing up my stomach, so I understand.

Take a walk, if you have to. If you're goingto run, plan a short lap, and repaet if you're up to it. Don't overdue the first trip out. Neck issues can be tough...
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Oh, I've been running for a while now. I was feeling like a sloth for not doing anything beyond the physical therapy. I guess I'd been using the neck as an excuse. It does hurt from time to time, but it's bearable now.

Good luck with your weight loss goals. It's not an easy road, but completely satisfying when you get there.
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Well, so far so good!
Was down another 4.6 pounds!

I am officially 3.3 pounds away from a 5% loss.
I'm hoping to break this ping-pong on the scale. I lose a bunch, then gain a smidge, lose a bunch, gain a smidge...
I lost this past week, and now it's feakin Easter....

Piled in the Veggies, and tried to stay aware of the fat/protien.
I think I did okay, overall. Still have points to work with for the day too.
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Great work Dan. Keep it up
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I finally made it back down to the 170s. I was 178 this morning. Hopefully I'll be in the 160s by this summer.
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