For the first time in at least a year, possibly four, I’m tipping the scales at less than 180 pounds. I’ve been as high as 190 as recently as December. For most of the last year I’ve been unsuccessfully experimenting with diet and exercise regimes, but most of them have only resulted in a maintenance diet rather than any sort of fat loss. Since January, however, I’ve gone back to my old stand-by and eschewed carbohydrates. I’m feeling great, and I’m down ten pounds from my all-time high.
My diet includes:
low-carb pizzas, homemade with Mission “carb balance” tortillas (baked dry and crispy on a griddle) and good cheeses
Fresh, crisp Fuji apples (one a day, maybe two if I’m munchy)
Uncooked instant oatmeal packets with some milk (treat food, once every couple of days maybe)
Good cheese. Blue, Havarti, sharp Cheddar, spiced Jack, Brie… all used for small snacks.
Lettuce-wrapped burgers at Carl’s Jr (maybe two per week)
Fresh broccoli with some blue cheese dressing
Assorted “oh, I might as well have what you’re having” meals in moderation, one every couple of days, max.
12oz cans of Muscle Milk, but only right after a trip to the gym.
Assorted sugar-free beverages, some carbonated, some not. Some caffeinated, some not.
I’ve also been doing the olive oil trick from Freakonomics. Sometimes I’ll skip a meal, and I’ll just have a sip of extra virgin olive oil instead. It comes out to about 100 calories, and it shuts down my appetite for a few hours. As long as I take it easy with the next meal this trick allows me to almost effortlessly shave as much as 1000 calories off of my day. As an added benefit that’s one more meal I don’t have to spend time preparing, so I get more work done.
I’m thrilled to be looking at the one-seventies on the scale. My goal is to get myself at LEAST down to 165, with my stretch goal being 155. I still have a long way to go, but this diet feels maintainable.
Will have to try that Olive Earl trick.
I’ve been going between 197 and 218 the last 3 years. Doc would really like for me to get down to 185 (6′). Really need to get the metabolism back up, though. Took a desk job last year and it’s really made the fight difficult.
A 20-lb yo-yo is a LOT. Wow.
The olive oil trick supposedly works because it 1) provides slow-burn calories, and 2) tastes awful. The result is that it fools your body into thinking that there’s no food available.
“Ick! We’re eating the tree-bark again! Well… okay, I’ll shut down the appetite so we don’t poison ourselves with ravenous abandon, but please, go kill an antelope or something…”
Will have to try that Olive Earl trick.
I’ve been going between 197 and 218 the last 3 years. Doc would really like for me to get down to 185 (6′). Really need to get the metabolism back up, though. Took a desk job last year and it’s really made the fight difficult.
A 20-lb yo-yo is a LOT. Wow.
The olive oil trick supposedly works because it 1) provides slow-burn calories, and 2) tastes awful. The result is that it fools your body into thinking that there’s no food available.
“Ick! We’re eating the tree-bark again! Well… okay, I’ll shut down the appetite so we don’t poison ourselves with ravenous abandon, but please, go kill an antelope or something…”
Following a similar regimen, between November 2007 and September 2008, I lost probably (because many scales don’t go over 300) 50-60lbs, down to about 290. I’ve been as low as about 284 (verified at a doctor’s office), but have bounced back up after having NO discipline between late October and mid-Feburary.
Inches have gone down, no idea what I actually weigh right now. But I do know that I need to spend more time in the gym. I’m looking (assming I’m 285-290 right now) to lose another 40lbs of fat. Less actual weight if I put on more muscle.
For those of us that live well on a reduced carb diet, (I didn’t say low or no), it’s very effective and the health benefits are medically measurable, and not just on the scale.
Unlike you, I don’t think I could ever do the olive oil thing. For a similar number of calories, I can eat a protein bar from AdvantEdge, Pure Protein, or Atkins and be just fine.
Following a similar regimen, between November 2007 and September 2008, I lost probably (because many scales don’t go over 300) 50-60lbs, down to about 290. I’ve been as low as about 284 (verified at a doctor’s office), but have bounced back up after having NO discipline between late October and mid-Feburary.
Inches have gone down, no idea what I actually weigh right now. But I do know that I need to spend more time in the gym. I’m looking (assming I’m 285-290 right now) to lose another 40lbs of fat. Less actual weight if I put on more muscle.
For those of us that live well on a reduced carb diet, (I didn’t say low or no), it’s very effective and the health benefits are medically measurable, and not just on the scale.
Unlike you, I don’t think I could ever do the olive oil thing. For a similar number of calories, I can eat a protein bar from AdvantEdge, Pure Protein, or Atkins and be just fine.
I am right there with you, man. It’s a brilliant diet that I think we’ve both come to completely independently – combination of south beach, atkins, and the “Shangri La” diet. I’ve been between 199 and 185 for the last 10 years, and in the last 2 years, i’ve very gradually shed nearly 20 of those lbs, simply by doing something very similar to what you describe.
The olive oil trick, by the way, comes from a diet called the Shangri La diet, which talks about the exact mechanism you describe related to the “no food available” syndrome. There are other ways to trigger the effect that involve extreme flavor variation and, of all things, sugar water. The sugar water trick works for some people, but the oil trick is better for low carbers and works for more people anyway.
I don’t actually try to use the appetite suppressant effect anymore, however – I’ve found that if I control my carbs effectively, I can watch the scale drift up or down by tiny increments. i spent most of december blowing up on chocalate and sugar wherever I could find it, but I’ve found that once i’m done with the sugar rush at the end of the holidays, i can trigger my body to stop having the sugar cravings by plowing low-carb with wild abandon for about 3 days, and then my cravings vanish. it’s hard to have a carb craving with a 20oz porterhouse in you. This is rooted in the recent studies that say you can’t suppress all of your desires at once – when you are concentrating on one thing, it will make it harder to resist something else.
It’s wonderful to see people get on top of their diet and be able to tune their body effectively. Perhaps one day soon we won’t have to choose between the poor starving and the rich dying of fatness.
I am right there with you, man. It’s a brilliant diet that I think we’ve both come to completely independently – combination of south beach, atkins, and the “Shangri La” diet. I’ve been between 199 and 185 for the last 10 years, and in the last 2 years, i’ve very gradually shed nearly 20 of those lbs, simply by doing something very similar to what you describe.
The olive oil trick, by the way, comes from a diet called the Shangri La diet, which talks about the exact mechanism you describe related to the “no food available” syndrome. There are other ways to trigger the effect that involve extreme flavor variation and, of all things, sugar water. The sugar water trick works for some people, but the oil trick is better for low carbers and works for more people anyway.
I don’t actually try to use the appetite suppressant effect anymore, however – I’ve found that if I control my carbs effectively, I can watch the scale drift up or down by tiny increments. i spent most of december blowing up on chocalate and sugar wherever I could find it, but I’ve found that once i’m done with the sugar rush at the end of the holidays, i can trigger my body to stop having the sugar cravings by plowing low-carb with wild abandon for about 3 days, and then my cravings vanish. it’s hard to have a carb craving with a 20oz porterhouse in you. This is rooted in the recent studies that say you can’t suppress all of your desires at once – when you are concentrating on one thing, it will make it harder to resist something else.
It’s wonderful to see people get on top of their diet and be able to tune their body effectively. Perhaps one day soon we won’t have to choose between the poor starving and the rich dying of fatness.
Doing great there. I wish I could incororate oatmeal, I love that stuff. I’ll have to wait until I’ve lost this stubborn “last ten pounds”.
Some people on the low carb board where I hang out swear by coconut oil for that spoonful of oil thing. Some of them add it to shakes and even coffee too. I haven’t tried it yet myself.
As an added benefit that’s one more meal I don’t have to spend time preparing, so I get more work done.
Well quite! I did the Slimfast for a couple of months once and apart from the small problem of it not working at all I loved all the extra time it gave me.
I’m doing a bit of an experiment next week, swapping dinner and breakfast. So it will be meat and veggies type meal for breakfast and just some scrambled eggs or whatever for dinner. I’ll see how that goes for a couple of weeks. I get the feeling it will mean cutting calories too without really noticing. Heck, even when making my shopping list based on next week’s meal plan it seemed like less food all around.
Doing great there. I wish I could incororate oatmeal, I love that stuff. I’ll have to wait until I’ve lost this stubborn “last ten pounds”.
Some people on the low carb board where I hang out swear by coconut oil for that spoonful of oil thing. Some of them add it to shakes and even coffee too. I haven’t tried it yet myself.
As an added benefit that’s one more meal I don’t have to spend time preparing, so I get more work done.
Well quite! I did the Slimfast for a couple of months once and apart from the small problem of it not working at all I loved all the extra time it gave me.
I’m doing a bit of an experiment next week, swapping dinner and breakfast. So it will be meat and veggies type meal for breakfast and just some scrambled eggs or whatever for dinner. I’ll see how that goes for a couple of weeks. I get the feeling it will mean cutting calories too without really noticing. Heck, even when making my shopping list based on next week’s meal plan it seemed like less food all around.
Congrats!
Congrats, Howard. It makes me happy to hear about your weight success because that means you’re healthier, and that means that my Schlock Mercenary source is assured for even longer! (*grin*)
I’m 5’9″, and I bounce around 165 and 170 with 155 as a stretch goal. I use Weight Watcher’s flex plan. I’ve been as low as 158, but that takes a lot of rigor to maintain.
Best of luck to you and all of your readers in achieving their goals!
Congrats!
Congrats, Howard. It makes me happy to hear about your weight success because that means you’re healthier, and that means that my Schlock Mercenary source is assured for even longer! (*grin*)
I’m 5’9″, and I bounce around 165 and 170 with 155 as a stretch goal. I use Weight Watcher’s flex plan. I’ve been as low as 158, but that takes a lot of rigor to maintain.
Best of luck to you and all of your readers in achieving their goals!
That’s awesome! Congratulations.
That’s awesome! Congratulations.