Archives for May 2011

I’ve Now Lost 10% Of My Starting Weight Using Weight Watchers

About 4 months ago I mentioned on this site that I was going to be joining Weight Watchers with my wife. At the time I really didn’t want to do it as I had a preconceived notion that the Weight Watchers program was mainly helpful for women – a program where women get together at meetings every week and talk about their feelings, and why they struggled to lose weight.

I know that notion wasn’t really a true one, but I think a lot of guys have that idea in their head. Even Weight Watchers corporate has admitted as much in their new set of commercials in which they have several men who have been through the program talk about how they’ve been made fun of for joining what has traditionally been a female focused program, but how they don’t care cause they’re looking better now.

We joined the program at the end of January, and we’ve been attending weekly meetings for about 16 weeks now. In that time I’ve lost an average of 1.7 pounds per week, coming out to a total weight loss so far of 27.2 lbs, see my weight loss graph in the sidebar. (Disclaimer: People following the Weight Watchers plan can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week). At the meetings every week they recognize members who have reached goals that they’ve set. One of the goals you start the program with is losing 5%, then 10% of your starting weight. Since I reached that goal last night, as well as completing 16 weeks of meetings, I got recognized last night with my 10% weight loss keychain and 16 week commitment charm.

Now that I’ve reached that goal I’m setting another goal of another 5% of my starting weight loss – or another 13.5 lbs. My ultimate goal is to weigh in at 200lbs. I know I can do it, but we’ll see how long it takes. If I continue losing at the current rate, it’ll take about 6-7 more months. I think I can handle that. It took years to build it up, to lose it in less than a year is a good thing.

How Did I Lose Weight (So Far)?

So how have I lose the 27.2 lbs that I’ve lost so far?

Portion control: I’ve cut back my portion sizes to more manageable healthier sized meals. I’ve become more aware of what a good portion size is, and let me tell you, it’s a lot smaller than you think. We’ve been conditioned by the food industry and restaurants to think a healthy meal size is mega – when in reality you could probably share an average meal with 2-3 people.
Healthier eating: While I still struggle with this one to a degree ( I like my sweets!), I’m more apt to eat an apple or banana, or eat a salad than I was before. I’m making better eating decisions.
Being more active: I’ve been more active over the past few months, especially using my Xbox Kinect and the fitness video games that I’ve bought.
More portion control: Ok, I’m mentioning this one twice because this has been the biggest piece of the puzzle for me. Before I would sit down and eat the whole bag of chips. Now I’ll measure out a healthy portion size and eat that instead. I’m still finding that I’m satisfied, but I’m eating a lot less, and actually losing.

Ok, so losing weight truly isn’t rocket science. It really comes down to eating healthier (smaller portions, healthier foods), and getting some activity worked into your daily plan. That’s it. The progress isn’t always super fast, but if you do those things you will lose weight.

I for one have become a Weight Watchers convert having seen how it can work in my own life. It’s not just for the ladies, guys!

So now it’s onwards and upwards to my next goal – 15% of my body weight loss!

Are you trying to lose weight currently – and if so, how are you doing it? Tell us about your progress as well!

Read my review of the Weight Watchers program

Disclaimer: This site is an advertising partner with Weight Watchers. I will receive compensation if a new member signs up through one of the links above. Please know that this review does discuss my true feelings of the program and how it has worked for me.

Weight Loss Continues On A Steady Pace: What I’ve Learned So Far

By Peter 3 Comments

A few weeks ago I mentioned how I had decided to start eating healthier again, working out on a regular basis and using some supplements in order to help build muscle while dropping fat. At the time I was doing it mainly because my wife encouraged me to do it – to be her accountability partner and keep her motivated as well. Since we started, however, I’ve become pretty invested in the whole process, and have jumped in with both feed.

We ended up joining Weight Watchers at the end of January, and we’ve been attending meetings and doing the program ever since. I’ve lost almost 25 lbs now, and feeling a lot healthier. We’ve both learned quite a few things through the program, some of which I thought I’d share here.

Things I’ve Learned While Losing Weight

Exercise is important, but so is healthy eating: I’ve always understood how important exercise was to a healthy lifestyle, but pooh-poohed healthy eating to a degree. Now that I’m actually eating healthier and seeing even better results, I’m convinced how important both exercise and healthy eating are.
Portion control can be a big problem: One of my biggest problems before that caused me to gain weight was no sense of portion control. I’ve learned very quickly how to limit my portions and food intake without feeling deprived.
Moderation is key: I’ve learned that you don’t have to deprive yourself, and you can still lose weight. On the whole I’ve been eating healthier, but sometimes I’ll treat myself – and not feel guilty about it. It only becomes a problem when you go overboard.
Finding exercise you enjoy is important: I’ve learned that you won’t be able to stick to an exercise regimen unless you’re doing exercise you enjoy. For me that means playing Your Shape Fitness for Xbox Kinect, riding my mountain bike and running.
Staying consistent despite setbacks is important: You’re not going to have a good week every week no matter what you think. The important thing is to stay consistent over the long haul. That’s how you put weight on, and that’s how you take it off. Slow but sure.
Tracking what you eat can be an eye opening exercise: One thing I’ve learned is that I eat a whole lot more on a daily basis as far as calories, fat and so forth than I realize. By tracking I was able to keep this in check – and really appreciate how I got where I was.

So there are a few things that I’ve learned. What are some things you’ve learned while either losing weight or getting fit? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!

How To Burn Fat While Keeping the Muscle

By Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

For many people it’s difficult putting down the fork. The problems with obesity in America are at near epidemic levels and the healthcare industry is having a hard time educating and motivating the general public on the most effective way to combat this issue. It seems that more people too often take drastic measures to lose weight and often end up doing damage to their body. Often times the damage done isn’t apparent until later on in life. Crash diets can be really bad for the body and it’s important to know how to diet and lose weight while not losing muscle mass.

Muscle mass doesn’t just mean the tissue on your arms and legs. A lot of people don’t realize that the heart is a muscle as well and losing too much muscle mass and affect the strength of your heart and spell long-term effects on your heart and your health. There are many tips and exercises that will help you lose weight while keeping on the muscle lbs.

Stay Hydrated

Around seventy percent of the body is made up of water and it’s an essential component to living. People often see liquid deprivation as a positive in losing weight. This is a big mistake and common misconception. When you get dehydrated, you’ll not only be shrinking fat but muscle as well. Keeping hydrated will allow essential nutrients to your body while shuttling waste material out. It’s also the mechanism that allows the brain to differentiate between your body’s need for food and its need for water. It also ensures that when you eat, it’s because you’re hungry and not because you’re thirsty.

High Protein Diets

Many studies have concluded that when a person goes on a high soy protein diet that it increases the body’s ability to burn fat while maintaining muscle. The essential part of this diet was the low fat intake. Protein is what allows the body’s ability to build muscle but some high protein foods are also high in fat. Soy is not one of these. That’s why increasing your intake will allow you to reduce your waistline in short order and not sacrifice your body’s health.

Remember, just because you’re losing weight doesn’t mean that it’s a good thing. You may be throwing away important tissue that’s essential to your health. These are two good tips to getting into shape the right way. Not every method of weight loss mean a positive and sometimes, even if the number on the scale is going down, you’re actually doing more harm to your body than if you were to just stay heavier.

The Dumbest And Weirdest Diets

By Guest Contributor 1 Comment

The weight loss industry is one of the largest in the world. It caters to people, mainly in the West, who are desperate and willing to do almost anything to shed a couple of pounds. It’s the same in every language, whether the word is salud, gesundheit, or health, everyone’s after the same results: losing weight.

America leads the world in obesity rates, which has much to do with our increasingly sedentary lifestyle and propensity to drive everywhere. This has created a niche market and every few months a new fad diet pops up and promises the world. It’s usually a parrot of “total results with little or no effort”. For some reason people will believe anything and, as P.T. Barnum said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” It’s so very important to recognize predatory diets that play to our collective ego.

Fad or craze diets can appear like a great idea and some may even deliver real results at first but it’s also important to recognize how harmful some of them are. At any given time there’s something on the market touting it’s revolutionary technique that you’d be crazy not to try. For example,

The HCG Diet: This is a hormone that your body produces when a woman is pregnant. People are taking this hormone for 26 days while eating only 500 to 700 calories a day. You’re also not allowed to exercise whatsoever. This is one of the most extreme diets out there right now and, though you will loose weight, you’re likely to do some serious damage to your body. It should be enough of a red flag when the diet tells you to take hormone injections and you’re encouraged to not exercise. The body isn’t meant to sustain that level of change without having side affects.

There are other diets out there that are just as, if not more, harmful to the body but this hasn’t slowed down their popularity.

The Cleansing Diet and the Paleo Diet are another two perfect examples of a bad idea put into action. Everyone remembers the Atkins craze that swept up the nation several years back. It was popular for a while and then people learned that it was terrible for your body.

Back in 2009 CNN reported on a history of fad diets and some of the are bizarre to say the least. Some of the examples include the parasite diet that was hugely popular in the early 20th century. The nicotine diet was another plan that was devised by cigarette companies in order to sell more product There’s no limit to what people will believe and these are just a couple examples.

The past is strewn with examples just like the ones above. People are tricked, or convince themselves, that somehow there’s a new approach to an old idea. Nothing can supplant the efficacy of good diet and exercise and there’s nothing that’s better and more natural for your body than eating healthy and partaking in physical activity.