Aggie95 said:

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That's my next goal. 51 years old and losing any weight at all has been VERY difficult. I walk/exercise about 3 times per week and eat pretty well, but nothing is budging. I am going to try to cut calories and food intake substantially to see if it works. Tired of being 30+ lbs overweight.

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Exercise is making you hungry and you're eating more than your body needs. Drink a bunch of milk and eat once a day. Meat and veggies. Quit bread.

You're welcome.

I'm 6' and was 175-185 lbs from age 16-45. I ran 3-8 miles a day, went to the gym 4 times a week, and ate whatever I wanted. In 2015, I injured my back helping my neighbor throw old railroad ties in his truck. I stopped running, stopped going to the gym, but kept eating like I was still working out regularly. Move forward 10 years, in February, I got diagnosed with type-2 diabetes, tachycardia, and found myself 60lbs overweight. I looked and felt absolutely terrible.

Doc put me on metformin for a few months then added Mounjaro. Eating way less now, added 2-mile walks to the daily routine, changed diet completely to meat, veggies, water, tea, coffee exclusively - cutting starches and sugars out completely. Blood sugar is back in a normal range, no more tachycardia, and lost 15lbs so far. I think the Mounjaro stuff is a great med to help get people back in a healthy range. It shouldn't be a long term medication though.

I will say I had to fight like hell with my health insurance company for several months to get the Mounjaro approved though. They did not want to pay for it. They kept denying and rejecting claims and appeals; sending letters to me that my doctor and healthcare team were not sending in clinical notes or lab results. I called my doctor, that I've known since we were 12, and asked if they were sending everything into the insurance company. He stated that they were and provided proof. The insurance company was flat out lying.

After fighting with them, I can "almost" sympathize with the fellow that took his anger out on that healthcare CEO. There is some shady BS going on with health insurance. They have no problem taking years of premiums from you but, when you actually need the care, some do everything in their power to deny or reject your claims.

track your calories / macros. it seems like it will be a hassle but if you get a good app it takes 30 seconds per meal. that is the biggest behavioral aid.

macrofactor is the best app i've found. worth the monthly fee for the food log alone but also does macro planning, weight and steps tracking, etc for you.

Carbs are not your enemy. They are critical if you are exercising (and actually pushing it).

Carbs must be monitored as they are easy to overeat and are readily available.

bigfooticus said:

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Was walking into a building in Willis a week ago and a 500+ lb guy was already on the path. He would take a few steps then his friend would move a chair for him to rest in before he took more steps. He looked about 50 and As I passed him by, he mentioned that 'it was hell getting older'. I just said 'yeah'

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It beats:

"I am appalled that someone would allow themselves to be abused in such a way."

PS: Oatmeal is your friend. Zero sugar.

If you ate nothing but 1000 calories of table sugar a day for two weeks you'd lose weight.

Tex117 said:

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Carbs are not your enemy. They are critical if you are exercising (and actually pushing it).

Carbs must be monitored as they are easy to overeat and are readily available.

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Carbs

It's a good thing I'm a former short distance runner and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, so I can chase down stuff and subdue it with my bare hands.

I don't think running causes any more injuries than any other sport. Between being a competitive gymnast for 12 years and 17 years of wrestling/BJJ, I've broken, sprained, dislocated far more stuff than I ever have running.

Sweep4-2 said:

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It's a good thing I'm a former short distance runner and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, so I can chase down stuff and subdue it with my bare hands.

I don't think running causes any more injuries than any other sport. Between being a competitive gymnast for 12 years and 17 years of wrestling/BJJ, I've broken, sprained, dislocated far more stuff than I ever have running.

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Ahem...." African-American belt", TYVM!!!!1

Teslag said:

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If you ate nothing but 1000 calories of table sugar a day for two weeks you'd lose weight.

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Yup.

Terrible for you otherwise, but you would lose weight

Got me! Gotta brush up on my PC training haha!!!

Food doesn't make people fat.

Consuming more calories than you burn makes people fat.

Riding in cars to get places, sitting at desks staring at screens for 8 hours a day, and relaxing in recliners when you get home is making people fat.

The human body is designed to spend 16 hours a day hunting and gathering. But most people spend 16 hours a day sitting on padded chairs staring at screens.

But keep telling yourself RFK jr is gonna fix that. See how that works out.

Quote:

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Riding in cars to get places, sitting at desks staring at screens for 8 hours a day, and relaxing in recliners when you get home is making people fat.

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You can do all this and eat a normal amount of calories and never gain weight.

It's always how much we eat.

Sweep4-2 said:

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It's a good thing I'm a former short distance runner and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, so I can chase down stuff and subdue it with my bare hands.

I don't think running causes any more injuries than any other sport. Between being a competitive gymnast for 12 years and 17 years of wrestling/BJJ, I've broken, sprained, dislocated far more stuff than I ever have running.

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I was a middle distance runner for 25 years and never had anything worse than nuisance injuries. I know we all make fun of soccer and the flopping those guys do, but I got more effed up and injured playing soccer than any other sport, including football. Fullbacks would kick the crap out of me instead of the ball.

It's not hard to figure out how there's is so much obesity "in these here parts". The food is too damn good. Watching these kids, who typically drink black tea without sugar, try southern iced tea loaded is sugar is like watching someone snort a line of cocaine. Additionally, all those kids look thin. Move them here and their BMIs will skyrocket.

Quote:

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What I was taught in the late 90s in medical school was 100% wrong and many docs and adults still practice the low fat diet with substitute margarine and such which has not been helpful at all.

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I think this kind of thing is an issue, especially for people 40+. Larry North, a Dallas area fitness and diet "guru," had a radio show in the '90s proclaiming everything low fat. While he had some good ideas in general, the basis of what he was saying, as you say here, was bunk. However, people still buy in to the low-fat myth.

Today's bunk, in my opinion (and its been going on for a while) is the counting calories nonsense and equating so many calories to a certain amount of weight. Which means, of course, that if we eat what amounts to one pound less a week in calories than what we THINK our body metabolizes, a 150 man will disappear in 3 years.

Let me know when that happens.

The point is that few, if anyone, really knows what to do anymore. The simple plan is meat, vegis, occasional fruits, and daily exercise. Everything else in moderation -- as you get older, EXTREME moderation. (And someone PLEASE come up with a cure for us bread-aholics!).

Obesity in Britain is about 27% of the population and getting higher every year. Much of Europe is now also facing obesity rates soaring as well. Last time I was in Germany I noticed a lot of fat Germans.

CheeseSndwch said:

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I think I've mentioned it before but when I'm living/working abroad I maintain my regular workout routine and eating habits and I lose weight without even trying (avg .5 lbs/day) but within days of being stateside my weight starts creeping back up.

Ever been on a long vacation in Europe and terrified you'll gain weight from eating all the decadent food but some how you either lose or maintain your weight? That can't all be attributable to walking.

There is something wrong with our food/water supply.

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Less fast food in Europe and restaurant meals are just straight up smaller than America. Food selection is less too. Having lived in Europe for a while, you come back to the States and realize that it really is simply a consumption issue and what people consider a 'full' meal.

Just do drinks after work with European colleagues for example. 2-4 pints is a dinner replacement for most of them. If they drink during the week, they just don't eat. If you did that in America, you'd be considered an alcoholic or a weirdo.

Sweep4-2 said:

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It's a good thing I'm a former short distance runner and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, so I can chase down stuff and subdue it with my bare hands.

I don't think running causes any more injuries than any other sport. Between being a competitive gymnast for 12 years and 17 years of wrestling/BJJ, I've broken, sprained, dislocated far more stuff than I ever have running.

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I think short distance sprint is one of the best exercises out there. As we humans needed to do it to survive. On the contrary, long distance running has a much higher prevalence of training related wear and tear injuries even up to 70% of the runners. We just weren't meant to run and pound our knees for 26 miles. There were never any good reasons for humans to do so.

Now with your BJJ.. Those are acute force injuries.. And no I ain't fighting you and your cauliflower ears.

FIDO95 said:

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It's not hard to figure out how there's is so much obesity "in these here parts". The food is too damn good. Watching these kids, who typically drink black tea without sugar, try southern iced tea loaded is sugar is like watching someone snort a line of cocaine. Additionally, all those kids look thin. Move them here and their BMIs will skyrocket.

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It's fun watching Brits try some solid Texas BBQ for the first time. Or some gooey Tex Mex. Hell, the margaritas are insanely sweet and tart compared to what they are used to drinking.

Has anyone heard of the effects on the human body from overloading on carbs and then using drugs, like Ozempic, to lose the weight? Rinse, recycle, repeat. I can't believe there are no costs to the human body for all this BS.

i guess since I started this thread, I should weigh in (pun intended).

You cannot outrun a bad diet. You gotta fix how you eat first. Processed sugar is the devil. Learn portion control.

I eat like a caveman, but you gotta pick whatever works for you.

At 62, I'm in the best health of my life. Use the new year to focus on yourself first. And here's the proof I know of what I speak - before and alters from when Yahoo News did an article on me.

I used to run marathons in my early 30's and never lost weight. Since my mid 30's (51 now) I've been steadily ratcheting up in weight and my activity level has dropped. Every so often I'll get tired of it and "get serious" about weight loss for a month or two. I can usually lose about 10 lbs., and that's it, no matter how healthy I eat or how much I exercise (I could afford to lose a lot more).

Granted, I feel better for a while, but the weight never really drops. Eventually I get tired of whatever diet hoops I had to jump through just for that minimal result, and it's back to the old routine of too much processed food and too little exercise. It's easy to say lifestyle change, but when you go months eating foods you supposedly should want to eat the rest of your life with minimal results, it's easy to ask "why bother?"

I'm not sure if its genetic, or environmental, or what. All I know is how much I enjoy hearing from people who have always been skinny tell me how easy it is, as if they were granted some willpower gene that the rest of us weren't.

When I was in Marine Corps boot camp in '85, we had 10 or so "diet Privates" in our platoon. These poor souls showed up to boot camp overweight and were put on rations. They had special name tags that clearly identified them to let the DIs know exactly who to watch during chow time. They would go thru the cafeteria line and then have to go in front of a DI who would tell them what they could and could not eat. Over 13 weeks every single guy lost at least 35 lbs.

Obviously it's much easier to lose a bunch of weight when you're 18 yrs old and going thru the hardships of boot camp, with a DI as your diet "coach". I honestly don't know how they functioned on so little food. I gorged myself three times a day and went from 150 lbs to 165 at graduation.

thelaw4 said:

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TexasAGGIEinAR said:

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They're just bulking up before they start jabbing themselves with Wegovy and Ozempic needles. Real shocker that big pharma has found a way to profit big while making folks not even have to put forth effort to shed weight.

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Most people aren't losing weight because of all the junk in our food and the fact that we have a culture dependent on sitting in front of a computer all day. Not to mention the mental health issues that are often left untreated due to our country's atrocious health care policies. It's not about the lack of"effort", it's policy failures on almost every front. because too many calories are going in vs going out.

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I can most certainly eat "junk food" and the "junk in our food"………in moderation. People are too stupid and/or lazy to figure it out.

fc2112 said:

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i guess since I started this thread, I should weigh in (pun intended).

You cannot outrun a bad diet. You gotta fix how you eat first. Processed sugar is the devil. Learn portion control.

I eat like a caveman, but you gotta pick whatever works for you.

At 62, I'm in the best health of my life. Use the new year to focus on yourself first. And here's the proof I know of what I speak - before and alters from when Yahoo News did an article on me.

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This is awesome man.

91AggieLawyer said:

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Quote:

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What I was taught in the late 90s in medical school was 100% wrong and many docs and adults still practice the low fat diet with substitute margarine and such which has not been helpful at all.

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I think this kind of thing is an issue, especially for people 40+. Larry North, a Dallas area fitness and diet "guru," had a radio show in the '90s proclaiming everything low fat. While he had some good ideas in general, the basis of what he was saying, as you say here, was bunk. However, people still buy in to the low-fat myth.

Today's bunk, in my opinion (and its been going on for a while) is the counting calories nonsense and equating so many calories to a certain amount of weight. Which means, of course, that if we eat what amounts to one pound less a week in calories than what we THINK our body metabolizes, a 150 man will disappear in 3 years.

Let me know when that happens.

The point is that few, if anyone, really knows what to do anymore. The simple plan is meat, vegis, occasional fruits, and daily exercise. Everything else in moderation -- as you get older, EXTREME moderation. (And someone PLEASE come up with a cure for us bread-aholics!).

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A few things. It still is only calories in v calories out. At some point either (a) your body only needs a very low calorie and things equal or or (b) you die.

There is actually nothing wrong with a low fat diet. In fact, I would argue that that is the better option for people that are exercising really hard. Carbs fuel workouts. Protein builds muscle. You need some fat, but its not as metabolically critical as the other two.

In the end. Eat balanced. About 1/4 plate of protein, about 1/4 plate of carbs, and about 1/2 veggies. (All give or take). You will be fine.

96AgGrad said:

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I used to run marathons in my early 30's and never lost weight. Since my mid 30's (51 now) I've been steadily ratcheting up in weight and my activity level has dropped. Every so often I'll get tired of it and "get serious" about weight loss for a month or two. I can usually lose about 10 lbs., and that's it, no matter how healthy I eat or how much I exercise (I could afford to lose a lot more).

Granted, I feel better for a while, but the weight never really drops. Eventually I get tired of whatever diet hoops I had to jump through just for that minimal result, and it's back to the old routine of too much processed food and too little exercise. It's easy to say lifestyle change, but when you go months eating foods you supposedly should want to eat the rest of your life with minimal results, it's easy to ask "why bother?"

I'm not sure if its genetic, or environmental, or what. All I know is how much I enjoy hearing from people who have always been skinny tell me how easy it is, as if they were granted some willpower gene that the rest of us weren't.

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me to a T. Except instead of losing 10lbs like I could 10 years ago....it might only be 3 to 5 and then plateau.

our country's atrocious health care policies

You can thank Obamacare for most of that.

Flatton the corve.

GeorgiAg said:

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Tex117 said:

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Carbs are not your enemy. They are critical if you are exercising (and actually pushing it).

Carbs must be monitored as they are easy to overeat and are readily available.

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Carbs

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What's currently on the pit.

I might die young. I will die young eating what I love.

Nothing wrong with ribs. Cavemen ate ribs..

there is a theory out there that people have a metabolic setpoint and once you hit it your body tries to maintain. for example some people will carry 12% body fat "normally" and others 18% and once you hit that, it is a lot harder to cut. but no one has a metabolic setpoint of >25% body fat which is where most americans are walking around.

a normal healthy cut is 0.5-1% of body weight per week. if you're leaner it will be slower. 10 lbs in a month or two is good, but the unfortunate thing is it just takes longer to have an effect, and you have to stick with it.

the other thing is that your scale can lie because of water weight, and if you restrict a lot of calories without enough protein intake your body will consume muscle instead of fat. could explain some of the plateau.

cant stress enough that tracking your calories and macronutrients will help, if only to help understand what calories come from what portion size and what foods have which nutrients.

for example a 6' male at 225 lbs has a resting metabolic rate of around 2000 calories per day. if you have a mostly sedentary lifestyle your maintenance rate is around 2350 calories per day. a "normal" cut would be 80% of that, around 1900 calories.

you'd want something like 1900 calories, 175g of protein, 80g of fat, 120g of carbs.

for reference a patty melt with a side of medium fries is 1340 calories with 54g of protein, 82g of fat and 96g of carbs. so you can have that and a small breakfast, and that's it. and that would be all the calories but wayyyy too little protein.

if the person i described did that 80% cut he'd lose 1 lb per week. to get to a normal BMI is 185 lbs at 6'. gotta stick with that calorie restriction for the better part of a year! and the calorie needs change as the weight comes off... you could wind up needing to eat even less as you go, because your maintenance can drop.

or just get macrofactor and let it do all the calcs for you, stick to it, and a year later you'll look like a different person.

no magic, no secret. just hit your macros and do some weights, and it just works.

This is the diet I used to follow.