i think the best way to lose weight is to not "try" to lose weight..

i'm in my 40's. ate to much, drank too much, sat on my ass way to much.

before i knew it, i ballooned up to 233lbs. I love bowhunting, and it was getting to be a chore. hiking in after my friends was crushing. hauling out an elk in a packback..crushing. i had to make a change. i visited my doctor and she scared me. my bloodwork was like an S.O.S...blood sugar, cholesterol..you name it.

3-4 years ago, i made a change. i started exercising. i rode a bike. it sucked..i was slow. big hills killed me. slowly it got easier. i then started mtn biking..all over again..it sucked. big mountains left me wheezing. slowly it got easier. i bought running shoes..it sucked all over again....yada yada .

the biggest change for me was buying trail running shoes and hitting the off road runs. whoa!! big mountains still kill me. i cannot cleanly run a circuit without stopping to grab my knees. not yet..but i can run it. now i mix/match my workouts. if my knee is sore, i road bike. if i need more, mountain bike. my trail runs are usually 2 miles. 1.5 miles of all uphill. i QUIT eating fastfood and eating bought lunches at work. on my workdays, i eat steel cut oatmeal for breakfast (oats, walnuts, raisins). lunch is a green salad, lightly dressed. fruits and nuts for snacks. i get ZERO food comas. none. watching a stupid show like Diner-Drive in-and Dives, you realize how much fat a restaurant has to put into cooking to make it taste delicious. they ALL DO IT.

this past saturday, i did something almost impossible for myself. i woke up at 6:00am, drank a glass of water, strapped on my running shoes and jogged EIGHT MILES!! it wasnt that bad. my legs got tired, but my cardio system chugged along fine. i can still remember my first mile run, 4 years ago. i didnt make it. i had to stop like 15 times.!! i hope to do a long run every weekend.

i got on the scale saturday. i weighed 186.2. i am so surprised!! i still have mental issue where i look in the mirror and i still think i look fat. (i'm like a supermodel). the progress has been slow. so slow. my doctor has been watching me. my blood numbers are normal, and she is quietly monitoring me. bowhunting is funner. i can outhike my younger SWAT cop brother. i once ran with the SWAT team and i didnt come in last!! the trick was that this wasnt a diet. it was just a change. i didnt care that progress was slow. i just wanted to bowhunt more efficiently and have more fun doing it.

i still eat what i want. i want what i eat for lunch and breakfast..oatmeal and salads. it is the new normal. saturday dinner i had an awesome burger, fries and beer. moderation is key.

fucking diets dont work for me. fitness regimens piss me off. they dont work. i just had to reprogram my new regular life. i had to donate all my dress suits. they didnt fit.

sucks it took this long to rethink this.

 

Awesome to hear! Sounds like you have a plan you can stick with and will keep you doing the things you want to get out and do. Keep it up brother.

 

Here's a thing I wrote in the foodies forum that has a lot to do with what you said here. It's also how I manage to be in the basically the same sized jeans at 40 that I graduated high school with.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/foodies-bs-thread.151840/page-293#post-6895113

 

perfect!!

my wife is loving it!! she even "green-lighted" my plan to buy a new $4000 mountain bike because she knows i will use and enjoy it. haha.

i am gonna catch and pass those pesky high schoolers on their mama-bought thousand dollar rigs. Mahwuahahahhahaha those bastards are fast!!

 

Great to hear. As you have discovered, diets don't work. Unless you have something wrong, eating the right foods, with plenty fruits and veggies, avoiding processed foods and let your body tell you when you are hungry. And lastly, it's time to throw away the f'n scales. Your belt is more reliable about your weight. Oh, drink lots of water during the day....

 

Hey, I know that this is a few months old, but what a great read! Congrats on your progress, and for realizing that it's never to late to get out there and enjoy a healthy life. You don't have to be a 'fitness nut' or anything of the sort. You just have to do something!

Congrats again, and I hope all is well!

 

Amazing story. I personally am the opposite. I'm 17 years old. I'm 6'5 and weigh 150. I'm trying to gain weight because I hate being so small. I currently wear a size 32 waist and 38 length pants. It's impossible to find

 

i put on an obscene amount of weight this year...new office job after working on my feet for...well, as long as I've been working. The year prior, I was riding to and from work, and doing an additional hour-ish after work, so a good 8 - 10hrs of riding during the week, and at least one longer ride during the weekend...plus actually moving on my feet. Now? Office job and riding tanked (yea home ownership). Problem is I still ate like I was riding and moving. I've since chopped my caloric intake to something like 1800/day during the week, with lunch rides 3 - 4 times a week. I don't keep track on weekends, as that is usually when I get longer, 3 - 4hr rides in. This has been going on for about a month or so. I've dropped a little weight, but damn am I pissy.

I, too, avoid food comas now, which has been nice. Energy levels seem to have gone up, too. But still...super pissy. Once a week we go to a place called Souper Salad with our boys. I will mow through about 4 plates of spring mix and carrots. No food coma, though! Proteins can be kind of tough at times like this, and I find I need something like that to help maintain my satisfaction for more than half-an-hour.

 

We have all been there - your activity level changes all of the sudden, and your eating doesn't change to match it.

I had a situation similar to yours. I had one job where I was out all the time, and always moving. I switched to a cubicle bit for a year or so, and went from 175-205 in that year. I'm rebounding now and am back down to 185, but it's certainly been a learning curve. I'm just staying healthy, and am actually focusing on running this time around - half marathon next month.

Keep it up, man!

 

Thanks!! Bought a new suit. I was looking at 44's. The sales guys said, "no way are you a 44"

He grabbed me a 40!!! In "slim fit". Haha. It fit and I bought it. I now own a few skinny pants. Bizarro world.

Bonus!!!! My wife bought me a very costly mountain bike. Ha!!

 

WAH!!

Just wait. Milestones. 30 years old. I felt the wheels come off the wagon. . Haha.

(You. You are probably gonna be thin all your life. I hope so)

 

Nice!! I'm also thinking about getting into the biking gig - but more on the road side.

Let us know how things go!

 

I like your way of doing things.

I don't understand the gym membership fad. I have a mountain bike, kayak, snowshoes, and can always just do a plain old hike. The outdoors is much better than a gym. For the vast majority of people, a reasonable diet and some exercise will keep their weight in check.

I have the opposite problem--I'm 5'10" and 135 lbs. Can't gain anything more than that, and if I'm not careful it starts plummeting and it's hard to gain it back.

 

Woah!

At 5'10" and 135 lbs I thought I was thin!

 

I have no time for the outdoors lately. A gym is all I have basically. New baby, overstressed wife, heavy work hours, etc etc. I can barely find 40 minutes to do the gym let alone drive out to somewhere for a good hike.

Congrats OP. I did something similar about 3 years ago. I was 230 lbs and dropped down to 175 lbs just by swimming, jogging, and eating in moderation. Unfortunately once my life changed back to being married I gained all the weight back because I quit doing what I was doing. Now I'm back at the gym (it allows me enough time with my family not to drive the wife crazy) and try to eat better and I've dropped about 10 lbs. I don't think I'll ever get below 200 lbs again. I referee hockey and do some other things so my lower body is extremely well built, far beyond what it was 3 years ago, and you know what they say about muscle weight...

 

Yeah I come from a thin family. My dad is 6'4 and 190 but he's all solid muscle cause he works out every day cause he had diabetes. I may be an inch taller than him but he can still set me straight. He's a big dude

 

Yeah I'm skinny. It sucks but I can't really help it all that much

 

I bet everyone has decent eating habits too if everyone is thin and healthy. Working out and eating the right foods are both necessary for diabetes.

 

That's true

 

Days like this blow. Entire office went to lunch. I opted to stay the course with my home tossed salad.

I can't be trusted around French fries. The train derails easy.