obesity epidemic... if you really care

LOL Well, I eat whatever I want too, but that includes white rice, white potatoes, white bread along with peanut butter that has more than peanuts in it.

 

My little piece of advice is to not try to change too much at one time, this is coming from experience. As someone who has both quit smoking and trimmed down I can tell you that is will be very tough to do both at the same time. Quitting smoking is very hard, people who have never smoked can't begin to imagine how hard it is. If it were me, I would conquer one of these bad habits at a time, not all together - you are asking your body to give up too much at one single time and personally I think it's a recipe for failing.

In any case, one major factor is helping to stop smoking is to occupy the mind to distract it from thinking about smoking. Unfortunately most people turned to eating, I gained 20 lbs in 2 years after quitting. Have plenty of healthy things to munch on - baby carrots and sugar free crewing gum work great. I can see in your situation that even more MD may be what ends up being the new vise to substitute for smoking. Personally I think that his is ok since it's usually a temporary thing until you can get over the cravings.

One more thing that I've noticed, this is an observation that you probably don't want to hear. Anyone who decides to quit smoking and picks a day in the future as the target date are trying to quit because they think they have to, not because they want to. If this is you, it will be much harder to quit. People who are truly ready to quit will give it up as soon as the decision is made to quit. By picking a target date, you are giving yourself more time to smoke before you "have" to quit. The only reason I say all this is that you need to take those remaining smoking days to mentally prepare yourself for the quitting day. Use them to get motivated - watch quit smoking videos on the internet, do some research on all the benefits of not smoking. Things like that will help you during the hard times.

I know a lot of people won't agree with the stepped process but I'd be willing to bet anyone who has quit smoking will.

Best of luck to you

 

Ok, my larger 2 cents worth to add to the opinions already given (which contain a lot of good advice).
You have to take all the information given and decide which things to pick and choose that you think will work for you, your personality and current lifestyle. Often times making a drastic 180 change can lead people to crash after a few weeks/months. Many do better with gradual change.
While I’m not 100% certain how physically demanding your job is, between that & your shed hunting, you seem to get a lot of walking in. That’s good, if there are times when you have a lull in activity, then increased walks, or other forms of cardio exercise are great. Pick one that is enjoyable for you and readily available. If you want to incorporate strength training, that is a good metabolism booster and can really help your overall health. Body weight exercises will do just fine, no need of a fancy gym.
Eating…this is probably most important aspect. It can be very easy, or amazingly difficult. Since you plan to quit smoking you are likely to go thru a big change with how foods taste & smell which can affect what you may or may not find palatable. I suggest just paying attention to what you eat in a day. Try and replace the high calorie/sugar dense empty calorie foods, with healthier options. Fruits, veggies, nuts, granola are some good alternatives. If you like eggs, you can hard boil a bunch on Sunday, then use them for small snacks/breakfast all week. Again you want to find things that are healthy & that you actually like. A lot of foods these days come under the marketing labels as healthy alternatives, but really aren’t. Your best bet is trying to stick with real whole foods, or products made with just a few ingredients. Also if you can spread out your eating during the day, you not to go overboard at dinner. Portion control is a huge help in cutting down calories. Embrace having leftovers. That’s why there are fridges & microwaves.
Be patient and let things happen gradually. Don’t worry about numbers on a scale. Judge things based on how you feel & look.

 

I second vito's breakdown on the food thing. Very similar to how I eat, except I do eat tons of fruit. It's just soooo good & tasty.

And also don't be afraid to still allow yourself "bad" things in small moderation. If 90% of your diet is awesome & you are working out, an indulgence is not going to hurt.

I eat ice cream probably 4 nights a week. I just eat small bowls of it, and know my runs give me some spare calories to use up (but I still can't go crazy just because I run a few miles)

 

Agreed. If you deny urges for too long it can lead to binging. See Hooker's 6 donuts as an example. "Cheating" is fine in moderation and not too frequently.

 

Let it be know Veto just fired a shot at Hook. Again the sugar. 46000 calories a month just from the Dew's. He could lose 13 pounds a month by just elimanating the damn Dew's.

 

I second the high fruit intake....it gives you a good natural sugar boost and will help you transition from drinking enough Dew to fuel 13, 13 year olds throughout the day, to a person who consumes an average amount of caffeine. I say slowly cut back until you are down to 2-3 Dews a day, then reassess yourself.

 

Not exactly. X doesn't always equal Y. I completely agree with you Chris in that cutting the MD is a big step towards Tim reaching his goal. But to just cut out MD doesn't not mean he will lose 13 pounds a month until he reaches his goal weight. There is more to it. He's already admitted he plans to give it up, so thats good. It will take other changes to ensure he loses the weight he wants, and keeps it off.

 

Well its obvious you are a bad person.



Now before you go all NYbowhunter on me, that was sarcastic.

 

When we play softball tourney's I can tell you which of our kids will play well second and third game of the day. By what they have as a snack and lunch.

The most out of shape person on the team has nachos with cheese, dew, and a cup cake or cookies.

Our most in shape kid has fruit, water and some nuts/protein item.

For breakfast I almost always have two eggs, two strips of bacon, and bowl of fruit. This will give you energy for the morning and not leaving you feeling hungry hour later.

 

But, I am not an obese person .

 

Then we can still be friends.


Wait, what is your effective bow range?

 

I just extended it to 84 yards. I hope I can kill something at that range. I might even use a crossbow.

 

An obese, non-disabled hunter, utilizing a crossbow to mowdown a deer at 84 yards!

 

I laughed long.

 

This changes everything.

 

If your joints are in bad shape swimming is a good workout.

 

I skip breakfast but then have a big lunch, and then soup or salad for dinner.

Have cut down to 2 meals a day, or more like 1 1/2. Not 3.

And I try to get outdoors as much as I can for exercise and fresh air.

This all culminates with my backpack hunts in the late summer and early fall.

But the killer is the holiday dinner get togethers. After thinning out all summer long, these can each add 5 lbs to anyone.

 

All's I can say is wow on the responses !! You guys stepped up to help and I really apperciate it. I am still digesting all the info from you since there is a lot but most of it is pretty straight forward which is good.

Tomorrow is the wife's trip to town to stock up on food.

White bread will be switched to whole wheat. Nuts and more fruits will be added to the list. She likes all the not so fun food to eat that you listed as does Britney so that is good. Treats are out as all the other junk food, not that there is a lot of that, but more then there should be.

I only eat two meals a day so adding breakfest is going to be different. Never been much of a fan of it. Monday I will probably have 1 sandwhich, carrots and a few unsalted peanuts for lunch. Flavered water is gross... I stick to just water.

Left the evening meal up to the wife and will just try to eat less.

I did fired up the stair stepper tonight to make sure it still worked. Didn't bother the knees and felt pretty good the few minutes I was on it. Probably dust off the weight set and bench tomorrow night to get everything setup.

Swimming is out... again the distance/time to drive. I actually wouldn't have minded that. You don't swim in the sloughs around here ! Well not on purpose anyways !!

I'll have to snap a picture of the 100' Tower ( grain leg ) at the farm. I plan on many trips up and down it for exercise plus it is a great vantage spot for glassing/scouting in the evenings after work.

Britney wants to get the bikes going this summer for longer trips. She rides hers daily. Mine needs to be dusted off. We will probably tie in evening scouting with the bikes towards the first of July. I can find enough things to do for the fitness part and fun incentive to do it.

Germ... buddy... putting pictures up of you for incentive... ya I'll get right on that !! You do look good... fitwise. :D

Thanks again everyone !! If you got anymore thoughts or ideas keep them coming !!

Tim

 

Great responses above, so take what I got with a grain of salt...some is repeating the same, but here goes...

Moderation is the key, some eat fruit, some eat veggies, some eat meat etc....but a mix of all them will get your sweet spot, and it's different for all.

Everyone is diffferent, so find what works for you. As Vito mentioned, eating correctly at the right times (not by a clock) will get you a good healthy weight loss. The only way to loose weight, is to burn more than you take in, and that is different for everyone. I have seen you post about your job in the past, and it seems very demanding. You may find simply adding a couple meals while you work, in smaller portions will drop the pounds very quickly.

I would not quit the dew cold turkey, especially when combined with smokes. You dont want to take on a whole new lifestyle and hate it from the start, it wont last that way. i think cutting caffeine, sugar and smokes at the same time will not make you glad for the change. Go to diet dew, and try to cut back. This helps with sugar, and does not take the caffeine away all at once.

You mentioned flavored water sucks, there are hundreds of options for that now, some taste awesome. Hawaiian punch makes a fruit punch that actually needs cut a time or 2 if you put it in a regular water bottle. Almost feels like cheating. I actually buy crystal light packages (makes 2 quarts/pre-sweetened), and mix a pack of kool aid with it. I then mix in some splenda and there is another option for dinner besides water. i will also drink diet coke at this time as well.

I could go on forever, and so could all the other people above. I agree with alot of what Hook and Rybo said, if you want something, eat it. Don't avoid it, because when you finally break down and get it later, you will binge. Moderation with the cravings also keeps a happy dude when you are eating "healthy" all the other times.

I "splurged" last night. Took the wife and kids for pizza at a local eatery. They make specialty pizzas. I went to the gym at 5AM, ate breakfast, small bowl of chicken and rice at break, no lunch, but i did have a very large apple around 2 and a cup of cottage cheese and blueberries around 5. We made it to the place around 7 and I ordered a buffalo chicken pizza for my half. I know it was a "bad" meal, but I kind of planned my day around it, same as hook with nthe doughnuts. I ate half a pizza, but never got stuffed, and it had a fair amount of protein in there. Had I eaten my regular meals I would have been sick from that.

One thing though, I am about to head to the gym now and i can tell I had all the grease, bread etc because I do not feel near as "ready" as I do going 3 hours earlier on the weekdays when I eat "right"...You will start to feel this as you get further along.

Best of luck hoss...hope to see you in a pink top like Germ in the near future