The Unfat Challenge.

[mrryde]

231.5 this morning. I guess too much partying this weekend kept me in the 230's.

If I can drop 5 lbs by 7/12 i will have gone from 270 - 225 in 4 months and i am thrilled with that.

[steve]

294..

down almost 50 lbs total..
36 lbs officially, so far.

[Tunco]

Down to 159, lost 43 lbs. I am to the point where I don't want to loose much more.

[mrryde]

Down to 159, lost 43 lbs. I am to the point where I don't want to loose much more.

Holy Shit! Thats alot of weigh from a starting weight of 202

[snow_slider]

183.5 this morning. That chinese food I ate last night must be causing me to retain a lot of water. I should be a pound or two lighter. I'll weigh in again after my run today and see if I can sweat some of it out.

[AbsolutStoli]

i was 169 last friday...so im probably around 171-172 today after the weekend and my cousins b-day party last night.

i still have a month or so to meet my final goal, but im pretty happy with my progress thus far.

[Mrs Roo]

Thanks. That may explain my recent weight gain. I think I have the problem of altering my intake according to my activity levels also. I will stick to fresh fruit (apples, grapes, berries and the like) until my thesis hell has finished.

Anyway, my current status:

Weight: 149 lbs
Waist: 31.5 ''
Hips: 40 ''
Bust: (your joking if you think I'm sharing that!!)

I would like to get back to and maintain 144 lbs if poss.

When is the next weigh in?

I'm confused.

Weight: 150 lbs
Waist 31''
Hips 39''
Bust: Still there last time I looked

How can I gain a pound but lose inches? I think I may have some scale calibration issues that maybe related to which floor surface I'm on. I shall stick to the same spot and see how it goes. Still, I'm encouraged by the 1/2 inch of the waist, that's even with a week off exercise with the lurgy and a week away at a conference so interupting exercise shedule.

When is the next weigh in?

[The AD]

How can I gain a pound but lose inches?

Very easy if you're redistributing the weight you have. Have you been exercising a lot? You might be building muscle mass. The scale might not please you, but your body will look better.

[japollner]

I'm confused.

How can I gain a pound but lose inches?

Muscle weighs more than fat...When I was lifting consistently 2 years ago, I would lose inches on my waist, but I shot up to 280 from 260.


As of 3 weeks ago I was a fat 280...Im now at 260 and still losing.

[steve]

mrs roo, it could be a lot of things. i have a feeling you're on the right track, however, when you said it was an anomaly in your scale's reading. or you could have been in a high-point of your inter-day variations of weight (or an unusually low point when you weighed yourself last time.) It could also, of course, be that you've lost 2 lbs of fat and gained 3 lbs of muscle.

it's probably a combination of things. The smaller waistline is a much more reliable result than net weight on a scale, so don't let the extra lb bother you!

[MakersTeleMark]

I keep seeing this thread, but never clicked on it. I did, so I weighed myself.
137. I don't feel any different.

[sherpahigh]

175 as of yesterday.

Really slacked off this last month. Too many birthday parties and other events along with regular life and not logging my food. I'm happy to see the weight go down though over the month even if it's just a little. Shows me the changes I've made will allow me to maintain when I finally reach my goal.

[steve]

just weighed in at under 290!!

(289.8)

-steve

[snow_slider]

WAY TO GO STEVE!!!!!
That is amazing.

[AbsolutStoli]

168.4 this morning...

[Rideski]

I have not read any of this thread, but have seen it several times. I just read an article you may think was interesting although I cannot vouch for any facts within:

Exposing (and Evading) Grocery Store Fat Traps

By Shane Ellison, M.Sc.

My wife recently pigged out on beef jerky. What was supposed to be light, healthy snacking turned into an all-out eating binge. Her ravenous consumption of the stuff made me think it must be an especially good brand. I was in a hurry when I bought it at my local health food store - and that's where I messed up big time. Ignoring the label, I was caught by the number one grocery store fat trap - which was the cause of my wife's abnormal appetite.

A grocery store fat trap is nothing more than a scheme designed by food manufacturers to make you eat more of something that you think is healthy. These foods and food additives are fat fertilizer. They are great for a company's bottom line, but really bad for your "bottom."

Right before she threw her head back to dump the last crumbs of the beef jerky into her mouth, my wife turned the bag over to read the fine-print ingredients. She gasped, "Why the hell did you buy this! It's loaded with high-fructose corn syrup!"

High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is fat fertilizer on steroids. And she knows it. A very fit mom, she keeps her lean and muscular build by avoiding grocery store fat traps.

HFCS transforms people into eating machines. Once consumed, it sets into motion a chemical cascade that begins with spiked insulin and ends with feel-good molecules known as "endorphins." Intoxicated by artificial feel-good, the brain is unable to sense overeating and demands more, more, more - and the excess calories get stored in your body.

I've even heard of kids accidentally taking bites out of their fingers when under the influence of HFCS. Worse yet, many children who overindulge in Frankenfoods that contain HFCS and other sugars eventually become diabetic.

From beef jerky to bread and even spaghetti sauce, HFCS has infiltrated most processed foods and turned them into fat traps. Avoid this ingredient at all cost!

But that's not the only trap lurking in grocery stores.

"Fat-free" labels
These hoodwink millions of unsuspecting victims, and have been a goldmine for the food industry since 1993. The obese seek out this label in hopes of waking up skinny. It never happens - but that doesn't stop them from getting ensnared over and over again. I can hear the rationale: "It just seems so plausible. I'm fat, so I should eat fat-free foods." Wrong.

After the fat is removed, sugar is added. Sugar is great if you're at a birthday party, but that's it. Like HFCS, it is nothing more than fat fertilizer and a heart attack waiting to happen. Look for it listed as sucrose, dextrose, or cane sugar on the labels of your favorite foods. Then buy something else - like an all-natural food high in healthy fat.

Healthy fat - which you can find in grass-fed beef, seeds, nuts, avocados, and eggs - is essential for proper growth, development, and the maintenance of good health. It provides your body with vital energy, without causing you to gain weight. In sharp contrast to carbohydrates, sugar, and trans-fats, healthy fats tell your body to burn fat and make you feel fuller quicker. Add them to your grocery list.

Artificial sweeteners
This trap gets most weekend warriors. "Energy" bars, protein powders, and sugar-free goodies - each and every one of them is loaded with drugs disguised as sweeteners. The widespread belief that these nicely packaged foods and drinks are good for you is a perfect example of how marketing strategies supersede medical science and common sense.

Artificial sweeteners make your body lose its natural ability to count calories. If athletes cannot distinguish between proper eating and overeating caused by artificial flavors, they will never reach their fat-loss or muscle-building goals, period. Exercise becomes a waste of time. Artificial flavors include sucralose (Splenda), aspartame, acesulfame K, saccharin, and neotame.

MSG
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) has several aliases you should be on the lookout for, including hydrolyzed vegetable protein, hydrolyzed protein, hydrolyzed plant protein, plant protein extract, sodium caseinate, calcium caseinate, yeast extract, textured protein, autolyzed yeast, and hydrolyzed oat flour.

This white, crystalline amino acid is made in a lab and then added to meat products and most canned or packaged foods to "enhance flavor." One small problem: It doesn't have any flavor. It just enhances overeating - and the food manufacturer's bottom line.

Once consumed, this fat fertilizer not only spikes insulin, it also lowers the hormones that ward off obesity, premature aging, and diabetes: IGF-1 and human growth hormone. And if that's not enough to scare you off, it can be damaging to brain cells too.

Consider the shocking findings by German scientists who recently warned that their country should abandon the use of MSG at once. Why? They found that pregnant mothers consuming this fat trap were giving birth to children who were insulin-resistant.

Apparently, fetuses can be doomed to overeating for life, thanks to neuronal damage caused by Mom's MSG-eating habit. The damage was most prevalent in a specialized group of nerve cells in the medulla oblongata, thalamus, or hypothalamus - the areas of the brain that control proper eating and metabolism. This might be one explanation for the drastic increases in childhood obesity worldwide.

Some things are worth dying for. Fat traps are not. If you want to live thin and slim, be alert to these common grocery store fat traps. You might have to dedicate some extra time to carefully reading food labels... but you'll never fall victim to them again.

[Ed. Note: Shane "The People's Chemist" Ellison has an MS in organic chemistry and firsthand experience in drug design and synthesis. He is an internationally recognized authority on therapeutic nutrition. His AM-PM Fat Loss Discovery e-book shows how he personally beat obesity and insulin resistance in 90 days. To pick up your copy, click here.]

[GoldMember]

just weighed in at under 290!!

(289.8)

-steve

Dude, I saw your picture of the first beer in 2007. You must be tall 'cause you sure don't look like you could be 290 in that picture and I can't imagine you over 300. Congratulations on sticking to your convictions on the weight program. What's your target?

[steve]

Dude, I saw your picture of the first beer in 2007. You must be tall 'cause you sure don't look like you could be 290 in that picture and I can't imagine you over 300. Congratulations on sticking to your convictions on the weight program. What's your target?

Thanks! I'm 6'6". Target is between 200 and 240.

I once weighed 400 lbs, give or take. For those of you in Southern California, at the time I was a regular at the Claim Jumper in Laguna Hills. (for those of you not from SoCal, CJ has a reputation for very large portions.) I'm going to try to round up a picture of me at that weight..

In the photo that you're referring to:

At that point I weighed about 305, due to non-discipline during my 3½ week stay in california.

This is me from two weekends ago, at 295:


this is me about 360, give or take. November 2004.



right now, I am between 285 and 290.

[altachic]

Steve-you are so awesome!

I admire your motivation and continued weight loss! Before you know it you'll be at your goal. Good luck till the last weigh in!

[GoldMember]

Thanks! I'm 6'6". Target is between 200 and 240.

I once weighed 400 lbs, give or take. For those of you in Southern California, at the time I was a regular at the Claim Jumper in Laguna Hills. (for those of you not from SoCal, CJ has a reputation for very large portions.) I'm going to try to round up a picture of me at that weight.

So, I was right, you are tall. You're looking pretty fit in the bike photo and certainly not 290. Congratulations and keep it up. Once you've decided you're not on a diet but that you've changed your lifestyle, your new habits will be your norm and the bad stuff just isn't even that inviting any more. Well....at least not as much as before. Personally I found that once I turned 40, getting back in shape was too much work and pain so I decided to just keep in shape and life has been much easier. Whole milk, or even 2% tastes terrible to me and I haven't used salt in over 25 years. Once you hit your weight, don't go back to the old lifestyle. Great job!

[Nohillsnearby]

Once you hit your weight, don't go back to the old lifestyle.

This is where I'm at. 3 years ago, lost 30 lbs. Have let some creep back on. it's tougher to lose the lbs this time.

[AbsolutStoli]

i dont know if anyone has seen this already, but it blew my mind. if he can do that, then we can meet our goals too.

http://www.fishki.net/comment.php?id=22378 (NSFW due to ads on the page)

this is the rough translation of the russian on the page:

"this is simply a world record! in july of 2003 this guy weighed 268kg, now he weighs 100kg! in 4 years he dropped 186kg. he used to be able to walk almost 200(some) meters without any assistance, now he can walk the whole day if he wants to. in 2006 he had to go into surgery to remove the excess skin from the weight loss. after 2 operations they removed 10kg of excess skin. only thing remaining is to envy his strength of will."

[steve]

haha, check out those empty man-boobs.

[altachic]

bumping....

This has been my best friend for a while....The bodybugg is super cool, despite what ya'll may have heard about it. I can track almost to the tee how many calories I burn, 24 hours a day compared to what I eat, it's such a great tool to see and realize just what is happening with your body. It's awesome to see exactly what my calorie defeceit is each day. Oh, it also tracks how many steps I take, tracks every item of food I log, my how many minutes of physical activity I do and the graphs that they use on myapex.com are rad to see each day as well!

[snow_slider]

Final weigh in is at the end of this week. How is everybody doing?

I went on vacation for a week, then had knee issues, so I'm back up to around 185. I will go out for my first run on over two weeks today though. Hopefully, I can get back down to 182-183 by Friday.