The Unfat Challenge.

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Originally Posted by shmoesmith

I DESPISE formalized working out, and I don't have time to do daily stuff like hiking or bike riding due to my work schedule (in to work before the sun comes up, and out of work after the sun goes down)..therefore the gym, which I hate, is the only solid option for a workout.

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I'm sorry, but I have to say this. Here's the deal with you peeps that don't like the gym. You have a career that keeps you inside all day. If you like your career and your paycheck, you have a choice: be fat or don't be fat. If you want to not be fat, work out at the gym when you can't work out outside. It's that simple. No one said it's easy or even fun most of the time. I have a desk job. I work out in a gym most days of the work week. I'm super active outside on the weekends. I'm not fat. Gym or career change if you want to lose weight. Your choice.

Also...night hikes. Look into it. No need for HIDs or other crazy gear.

expanding on tradygirl's comment - while I said I despise gyms, I absolutely love rock-climbing gyms. Maybe a non-traditional gym is the way to go..


I just cooked shrimp scampi and then sauteed vegetables in the shrimp's butter, then poured everything over egg noodles, for my family and a guest.
I set the table, called everyone to dinner, and came in here to hang out on TGR. I don't mind cooking it, but to sit there and watch everyone eat it is borderline torture.

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Originally Posted by steve

I just cooked shrimp scampi and then sauteed vegetables in the shrimp's butter, then poured everything over egg noodles, for my family and a guest.
I set the table, called everyone to dinner, and came in here to hang out on TGR. I don't mind cooking it, but to sit there and watch everyone eat it is borderline torture.

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That there's willpower. Way to go Steve! I don't think I could have resisted.

I ate a cup of yogurt and a banana for dinner. I just try to eat a decent breakfast, a smaller lunch and an even smaller dinner. I think the saying goes "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like aristocracy, and dinner like a pauper".

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Originally Posted by tradygirl

I'm sorry, but I have to say this. Here's the deal with you peeps that don't like the gym. You have a career that keeps you inside all day. If you like your career and your paycheck, you have a choice: be fat or don't be fat. If you want to not be fat, work out at the gym when you can't work out outside. It's that simple. No one said it's easy or even fun most of the time. I have a desk job. I work out in a gym most days of the work week. I'm super active outside on the weekends. I'm not fat. Gym or career change if you want to lose weight. Your choice.

Also...night hikes. Look into it. No need for HIDs or other crazy gear.

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I appreciate what you're trying to say, but your view of many of our lives is rather simplistic. It isn't just our career choices that limit our workout time. Many of us in here have a multitude of additional factors at play. Things such as home ownership chores and kids. Coming home from work and going to a gym isn't an options for a lot of folks cause once work is over, it's time to pick the kids up from daycare or after school activities, then get them fed and down for the night. In my house, by the time the kids are down, it's already 9pm usually. Weekends are spent doing laundry, running errands, and playing with the kids.

Other options: bike or walk or jog to work (distance permitting, of course)...jumping rope in the backyard at night...or bundle up and go for long-ass walks late at night (a fave of mine) or super-early in the a.m.

Rock-gym sounds neat. Never tried it...be a good new thing to add to the mix.

Yoga classes are also a good indoorsy thing.

Good to read all the lost poundage here. I'm doing a weigh-in manana.

to comment on the night hikes and other nightly alternatives to going to the gym, that might work where you guys are from, but around here you could end up dead. maybe im just paranoid, but walking around the forest at night around these parts isnt the safest option out there...unfortunately.

im not a fan of the gym either, but sometimes you just gotta bite the bullet if you really want to stay in shape (and i mean the general "you" not you specifically). i decided i was getting way too out of shape and didnt like it, so i started going to the gym 3 weeks ago. until the pool opens im gonna row every day. and for a single dude like me you find perks to going to the gym...like every single girl that comes in and walks on the treadmill seems to have an awesome ass and they all wear tight pants. :FIREdevil awesome. haha

climbing gyms are also great, but theres none around here...so not very convenient for me. running is out of the question for me because first i hate it and second my knees are pretty bad so i want the least impactful workout possible.

anyway, what im saying is if youre motivated enough, youll suck it up. one way to make the gym a more pleasant experience is to go later at night...less people around then.

I moved to CO from AK in December, going from an office job to a field-going job. I weighed myself today and discovered that I am down to 195 from 230. More exercise and less job stress have made a huge difference. I go to the gym occasionally. I still eat like a pig and drink beer like my avatar. For me, it's all about working outside.

What tradygirl said. I absolutely despised the gym, hated it...but it has changed my life and the way I look. I can't really ride outside during the winter, go for a trail run...etc. I mainly go for the spin classes and to strength train, but if I just don't have time to do something outside, I get to the gym. When bike season is in full swing, I'm still in the gym to lift weights.

I always have good tunes on my ipod and I make sure to mix things up, that is a sure fire way NOT to get bored.

Nice job on being unfat guys, you're doing awesome!

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Originally Posted by snow_slider

I appreciate what you're trying to say, but your view of many of our lives is rather simplistic.

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The bottom line is if you want to lose weight you need to stop making excuses about why you don't have time to workout. Probably not what you want to hear, but that's reality.

Two words: Abs Diet. I hav'nt read the read the rest of the thread, im drunk so it doesnt matter, and ill prob delete this by tomorrow. So get my two words of advice and take it with no grains of advice

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Originally Posted by tradygirl

I'm sorry, but I have to say this. Here's the deal with you peeps that don't like the gym. You have a career that keeps you inside all day. If you like your career and your paycheck, you have a choice: be fat or don't be fat. If you want to not be fat, work out at the gym when you can't work out outside. It's that simple. No one said it's easy or even fun most of the time. I have a desk job. I work out in a gym most days of the work week. I'm super active outside on the weekends. I'm not fat. Gym or career change if you want to lose weight. Your choice.

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FKNA!

That was my life in Denver as a software developer. I had a house, kid, everything. So I looked at every day as three chances to go to the gym: before, during(lunch), and after work. If I made one of them I would be doing fine. Lunchtime was usually yoga and I made that two or three times a week.

On the weekends I went skiing or gardened/played tennis in the summer.

Now I'm outside all day, every day - high in the mountains. It rules. Last summer I started doing some yoga again and realized how important it is. Hope to get going again soon.

I'm really proud of everyone that is getting off their ass and making the right choices for themselves! It's inspiring. In two weeks Keystone closes and I'll go over to A Basin. My plan is to skin up every morning and get some cardio in. I've really been letting that go this winter.

reached a pretty cool milestone today..

fat mass: 99lbs. It's the first time I've cleared 100. BACK IN DOUBLE DIGITS, BABY! YEEEAH!

Weight: 309.8 (*300 is a major milestone for me, a cause for celebration.)
Bodyfat: 31.9%

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Originally Posted by The AD

The bottom line is if you want to lose weight you need to stop making excuses about why you don't have time to workout. Probably not what you want to hear, but that's reality.

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Ummm, I'm not making excuses for anyone. In fact, I'm down 13 pounds now. I am just pointing out that teenagers or twenty somethings who make statements like "Gym or career change if you want to lose weight. Your choice." have no fucking idea what they are talking about. The ignorance or youth is wonderful. Embrace it. But know that it WILL in fact come back to bite you in the ass. Trust me.

I have a family, a house and all the responsibilities that come with both, yet I manage to find time to exercise. It's tough, but I manage to do it. I just find folks who think it as easy as "it's easy, just doing it...your choice" have a very limited view of the realities of adulthood. Time is a limited commodity when you have kids. VERY limited.


Probably not what YOU want to hear, but that's reality.

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Originally Posted by snow_slider

Ummm, I'm not making excuses for anyone. In fact, I'm down 13 pounds now.

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That's great, but the fact you're proud of your weight loss shows you were heavier than you wanted to be before. I don't want to single you out in particular, but it seems like when anyone suggests ways to fit in a workout someone else says, "yeah, well that may be easy for you, but I don't have the free time."

But, hey, the whole point of this contest is for people who want to make a positive change in their life. I think a lot of you are doing it and that's great. Congrats!

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Originally Posted by The AD

But, hey, the whole point of this contest is for people who want to make a positive change in their life. I think a lot of you are doing it and that's great. Congrats!

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Agreed, and I don't want to thrunt this thread up. It's supposed to be a positive thread to encourage those of us who want to make some changes.

That said, I'm down to 190.5 as of this morning. Knocked a full minute off my 6 mile run yesterday and 4 minutes off my 35 mile ride. I can definitely feel the difference that dropping almost 14 pounds makes.

Gotta keep increasing that power to weight ratio!

How is everybody else doing?

First weigh-in for me (I jumped into this party late):

4 lbs lost over the past 10 days. I was damned surprised to see a loss, actually; I figured the first two weeks would be all about changing habits gradually, and I'd actually felt like I might've gained weight (due to healthier food choices, but not controlling portions very well yet).

My goal is to lose 2 lbs/week on average, so I am right about there. Given that some of the weight loss can probably be attributed to "girl stuff," I'm not gonna dislocate my shoulder patting myself on the back.

I'm in this thing for the long haul -- the long-term behavioral and lifestyle change -- so any measurable loss is icing on the cake right now.

Things I need to keep improving:

--extend my moving-around time (long walks so far for me)
--add in yoga
--figure out a strategy for better portion control (cook smaller batches of food? Duh!)
--drink more good old h20
--take the vitamins and omegas

A few thoughts on the recent discussion on excuses, etc.

My take is this: people are simply describing their circumstances, and the factors in their daily lives that they need to work around. And that is a necessary step to problem-solving. First, you define the problem; then, you find solutions.

So, I didn't read those posts as people trying to excuse their way out of anything.

Some ideas on how to get more movement-time in:

For those with kiddies:

I got to thinking about how my mom would get her outdoors-exercise in while raising her brood. I'd completely forgotten that she used to take a few of us down to the high-school track at night, which was lit up and open to the public. We'd have these long family walks, which as a kid, I loved. We'd take turns walking with mom (in between goofing around on the bleachers, etc.), and having that alone-time with mom was golden. She got her exercise; we got her attention; and it also got us into the mindset as kids of getting out and moving around, vs. being tv slugs.

Not sure it that would work with today's busy-ass lifestyle (kids seem to be constantly all booked up, schedule wise), but back in the day, it was great.

For those with desk-jobs:

The last two "real" jobs I had, the companies were pretty cool about trying to get us to be healthy. They brought in a yoga instructor once a week, and gave people the option of taking a free yoga class the last 75 minutes of the workday (paid)...or just working as usual (surfing TGR and snarfing candy). ;)

We also had informal walking groups -- people who would go out for walks on lunch break, or after work -- and that was super motivating. You might be feeling like blowing off that after-work walk, but get motivated by the other people, etc.

Point being, you might have some opportunities at your workplace to get some activity happening, even if it means starting something up yourself.

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Originally Posted by snow_slider

How is everybody else doing?

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307.2 this morning. I've lost almost 9 lbs in the last week alone, 33 lbs overall (23 of which count for this contest.)

I can fit into a few pairs of size-42 pants, my mountain hardwear jacket, am noticeably better skier with more endurance, and I feel pretty good, too. I am actually very optimistic that, by this time next week, I'll have broken that elusive 300 pound barrier (I was about this close to it 7 years ago) - i'm going to push very hard to blow through that barrier in the next few days.

250lbs in two months? who knows?

i also discovered i like edamame as a snack, more than i like cookies...

-steve

p.s. I completed my writeup on the 1000 calorie diet and why i'm doing it - it's in my blog (link in sig). hopefully that'll be the last word on the subject.

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Originally Posted by WhiteLight

OK, speaking of bevvies:

What do you people know about diet sodas, and their role in inhibiting weight loss? I've heard people say that the artificial sweeteners jack with your body's sense of satiety, and triggers something that makes you feel still-hungry. (Sorry for the lack of hard knowledge, here.)

I know, I know; the best choice would be to just stop drinking those things. Because they fill some dumb emotional-crutch role for me right now, I think I need to find recipes for a healthy substitute: basically, something with caffeine, fizz, and just a hint of sweetness. Maybe just lob an espresso shot into a glass of mineral water, and throw in a teaspoon of real sugar?

Suggestions?

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Try naturally flavored water such as Talking Rain. Or you could also try diluted Gatorade, use the powdered kind of course.

i havent been on a scale in a week and i have been pretty good diet wise on this trip and skiing full days every day. I just put on a pair of size 42 jeans and they wont stay up at all and look ridiculous on me. So I cant wait to weigh in on Sunday.

way to go snow slider.

i hit a bit of a speed bump this week, started feeling really tired after work on wednesday, so i thought id take wed. off and make it up on the weekend. then woke up thursday morning and realized i was sick. my whole body ached the whole day and im sneezing and runny nose the whole day. so i thought id try to get well instead of going to the gym today. getting all sweaty and walking out into this cold spell were going through isnt the smartest thing to do when sick. so that kinda sucks.

but as for the positives of the week, on tuesday i had my best times and distances. i rowed 10k meters in 46:50ish (got in under 47) and i ended up with 13,080m in an hour, which is also my best distance for the hour. so im very happy with that.

im definitely feeling much better now that im exercising, and noticing some roomyness in my pants again. now i just gotta get over this bug and get back into my workout regiment.

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Originally Posted by tradygirl

Gym or career change if you want to lose weight. Your choice.

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Another choice: I just had a serious ski accident. What with not being able to move at all for 4 weeks and the ensuing muscle atropy/poor hospital food I lost at least 33lbs in 4 weeks. :D:D

Of course i was already skinny to begin with:confused:

down to 139 as of yesterday.

w00t! mayhap I will make my goal of dropping my excess baggage before tackling the rock at the Owens River Gorge again.

Started running in the a.m. this week. Its fokkin dark at 5:30am. But the sunrise is SO worth it. Want to do some yoga to get some more stretching in because my legs are feeling all tight and stiff cause I'm a slackass when it comes to stretching. boo.

just a little over a month til race-day. (http://www.camppendletonraces.com/mwtc.html)

I gotta get in gear or its gonna be ugly. :eek:

Was down 3 pounds a week ago. Got to FL and found the bike I was planning to ride was a POS. :cussing: Went on a few morning walks for exercise, tried to eat less, but found the 3 pounds again. Net loss .5 lbs in the past month.
Not good. Not happy.

Have you guys found this yet?

(just found this thread, sorry if you've seen it)

www.fitday.com

A friend of mine recommended this and it's great. Has a cool calorie calculator for food and for activities and has a series of reports that show you where you're making progress and where you can find improvement.

I started the big diet/workout a couple of weeks ago, primarily to get back in shape after spending most of last year laid up with an injury. I need to get a little lighter and reduce body fat % to make climbing a little easier on my shoulder.

I've only lost a couple of lbs but the fat is coming off - can fit into a skirt I haven't been able to wear comfortably for a couple of years now.