Sugar is sneaky bad....

[TallDude]

Tuesday small OJ and Banana for breakfast, Salad for lunch, Hamburger and Fries for dinner.
Wednesday same breakfast, similar lunch, 4 tacos and bowl of chips and salsa and a beer.
Thursday same breakfast, 2 tacos and a bowl of chips and salsa for lunch, Bucket of Clams, Salmon and BBQ Shrimp with rice and 2 beers.
This morning Still losing weight and eating everything I want. No sweet drinks and no desserts.

[RideTheGlide]

The scale has nudged a little lower the last few days. It's too quick to be true body mass (fat) loss; just less in the gut and not as hydrated doing the low sugar/carbs. After the first 3 days, I did allow myself a little sugar, mostly fruit, and some carbs. The plan starts easing them back in.

I have pretty much bottomed out weight wise. This morning I was 151. I might go to 149 just to see that on the scale; I don't think I have been under 150 for 40 years. I am over 70 pounds below what I was a couple of years ago. Anyway, this is a good weight for 5'8" - low 150s. 151 is a BMI of 23.

[ukgm]

Good podcast this on fasting and some research backing it up:

http://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/4/b/8/4b80f9e705028310/John_Hawley_271.mp3?c_id=35248394&cs_id=35248394&expiration=1551988047&hwt=d6c9c04d9fcc7d3d02e64607f1e69d2a

[TallDude]

Update:  My weight loss seems to have reached a plateau. Holding steady at 225- 226 lbs. I dropped a waist size+ which has me back in my old board shorts. All my pants are a little baggy with the belt cinched. My feet don't hurt anymore after standing for hours. My knees feel better too. At the peak of my SUP racing 7 or 8 years ago, I weighed 225 lbs. I was also paddling almost 50 miles a week. I paddled every day, but I ate all the high sugar crap I wanted. Also drank a lot more then. Now, I'm in a steady eating routine with low sugar being the only focus. No restrictions on what I eat other than being aware of the sugar content. No more cokes, sweet teas, sweeten lemonades, concentrated juices, jams, coffee creamers, any sweet drinks, cookies, donuts, cakes, brownies, ice cream, yogurt, bagels, cereals, milk, flavored chips, flavored crackers, or candy. That's it. And that rules out almost every aisle of the grocery store. Now it's Meats, Fish, Eggs, Cheese, Potato's, Bread, Vegetables, Fruit (2 a day), Low sugar peanut butter, an occasional beer or wine, and Lucy's brand 'dark chocolate with almonds' bars sweetened with Stevia. I always drink water only at meals.
It's the way I eat now. Professional and college basketball players that are my height, weigh about my weight or more. I would have to start counting calories, and restricting carbs to go lower. I don't think I could sustain that kind of diet. I would alienate myself from what my family eats. That would be very difficult. The only time I weighed less than 220 lbs was when I was less than 20 years old.     

I'm getting my blood work / labs drawn tomorrow. My doctor hasn't seen me for 6 months. He's going to be impressed when he see's my labs, not to mention my weight loss. I'm sure he'll give me the, "that looks good. We'll see if you stay good six months from now?" He keeps me on my toes.     

[pdxmike]

TallDude, sounds like your "plateau" is a pretty good place to be.

It seems like each person has a weight they can achieve with some effort, but if they try to go below that, the effort intensifies greatly and even if they drop below it, it's only temporary.

Straying from the sugar topic, I have a theory....Some people are genetically gifted with the various physical characteristics associated with being healthy--trim, athletic, low body fat, etc.  Others are less so.  And while anyone should avoid weighing more than what's ideal for them, the idea is wrong that if you get to "pretty good", you'll be healthier if you get to "great" in terms of the statistics.  Some people will reach the "ideal" statistics easily, others may be able to but that doesn't mean they'll be healthier for it, and others won't come very close.  Those people won't be as healthy as the healthiest people, but that's life, and they're never going to match the health of the healthiest by pursuing achieving the same physical characteristics as those healthiest people.

I'd compare it to financial wealth.  A characteristic of wealthier people may be they drive more expensive cars or live in more expensive neighborhoods on average than other people.  But buying a more expensive car or house won't make you wealthier, even though it does mean you're matching some of the characteristics of those with more wealth.  So for example, while having a low body fat percentage is a characteristic of people who are very fit, that doesn't mean trying to have that characteristic for yourself will make you fitter. 

[TallDude]

Did lose a little more this month. My belly finally flattened out and my board shorts when from a 40 to a 36. I just bought new jeans and shorts too. All my old ones were falling off and looked baggy. My ankles and knees don't pop anymore either.

[eastbound]

i was going to ask td, but didnt want to salt your wounds, in case youd fallen off the wagon

ive been wearing baggy slovenly pants since i became a cheating vegan 2 years ago--with me, the minute i size down ill start eating like a slob again....

kinda like yoga--i find a class, i like it much, i buy a 10 class discount book--i cease attending........

[Califoilia]

Did lose a little more this month. My belly finally flattened out and my board shorts when from a 40 to a 36. I just bought new jeans and shorts too. All my old ones were falling off and looked baggy. My ankles and knees don't pop anymore either.

Wow! Great work Dude, hope I recognize you now when I see you down at the Patch.

--with me, the minute i size down ill start eating like a slob again....

Must be something in our "jeans"...mine cause me the exact same problem.  So now I just start pigging out again when mine start getting loose to save money on what's inevitably only going to be a temporary wardrobe replacement anyway. 36's FTW!

[RideTheGlide]

Must be something in our "jeans"...mine cause me the exact same problem.  So now I just start pigging out again when mine start getting loose to save money on what's inevitably only going to be a temporary wardrobe replacement anyway. 36's FTW!

I was wearing 38s and they were getting snug, now have a couple of pairs of 30s but mostly 32. Got rid of everything over 32 so it would be a major "admit defeat" event. I am going with the mindset that it is not temporary. Over 14 months, actually more like 16 from when I could wear 32 but not as loose as they are now, and no regain. Still requires some maintenance effort.

[TallDude]

Seeing my weight reduction had slowed over the past few months, I decided to make another minor adjustment to my current 'eating what I want' (just no sugar) routine. For a week I just ate salads or half a sandwich for lunch. Still eating whatever for dinner. I actually dropped more weight and the 36 waist (was 40) is just right now. I haven't been below 220 lbs since I was in my twenties. I even fit in the trendy Quicksilver and Billabong button-down shirts. Maybe a lower volume board is in reach now?

[Admin]

I am over 70 pounds below what I was a couple of years ago.

That is remarkable.  When you think of body fat as storing ~ 3,500 calories per pound and your likely daily burn somewhere around 2500 (?) you were holding an extra 245,000 calories or 98 days of surplus energy in reserve. 

[eastbound]

td--i assume youve checked the dark mole/freckle on top of your left foot--prolly nuttin, but tops of feet are common melanoma sites--sorry to buzzkill, but just sayin


find em early and cut em out, nbd--ignore them at small risk of big trouble

[RideTheGlide]

td--i assume youve checked the dark mole/freckle on top of your left foot--prolly nuttin, but tops of feet are common melanoma sites--sorry to buzzkill, but just sayin


find em early and cut em out, nbd--ignore them at small risk of big trouble

I see my dermatologist once a year. For a while it was every 6 months because he was finding a few every visit, but now it's one or two a year. his batting average is pretty high; nearly all of them come back with that "not cancer but trending that way" diagnosis. Anyway, I am often surprised by which are and are not a concern. Neither dark nor light is as suspect as a mix of both, especially if the light color is around the edges and it's a funky shape.

[TallDude]

td--i assume youve checked the dark mole/freckle on top of your left foot--prolly nuttin, but tops of feet are common melanoma sites--sorry to buzzkill, but just sayin


find em early and cut em out, nbd--ignore them at small risk of big trouble

My dermatologist has been looking at me head to toe for years now. I see him probably 4 times a year. From being on the water a lot, being on the snow a lot, working outdoors for a good part of my life, and being of northern European descent I've had lots of skin removed. Had MOHS proceedure on my left temple two years ago. I just got a tube of Flourouracil topical chemo cream that I'm going to put on my arms and face to see if any Basal cell shows up. I'll do that every 5 years or so.

BTW, I've had that mole for my whole life, and it looks the same. If it changes, I'll definitely have it looked at. 

Still at 218 - 219 lbs. I'm now going to buy new 36 waist pants. I've been cranking the belt down to keep all my pants up.

[eastbound]

good td--obvi you are top of skin issues

im still walking around in baggie pants i dont unbutton to put on or take off--belt cinched up tight or theyd just fall to the ground