Trying to beat my old record...

[ark_ader]

Well a few moons ago I was a butterball and I had to lose a few pounds so I went on an Atkins diet and shed like 50 odd pounds in a month.  I figured most of that was water and muscle.

Well three weeks ago I was a butterball, and on the 3rd week of my Atkins and rigorous exercise plan I've nearly beat that record, by shedding 38 pounds in three weeks.  It has been a really painful ride getting to this point, but my coworkers, whom have weight issues, are impressed and think I'm totally crazy.

If I keep on the same track I'll hit that golden 210lbs target, and that should be in another two months, which will be a slower attempt by going on a water diet to get another 40lbs off - then I'll stop.  Hopefully by that time my skin will not be a saggy mess.   

I've lost three pant sizes already. 

Question is though, should I stop at 220lbs and start weight training?  Or wait for my body to recover?

[Benevolance]

Weight training can help prevent the saggy skin issue.

[hypernova]

The one thing you cannot do is keep the roller coaster going.  I've read that's even worse on the body than just maintaining a heavy weight itself.

[DaveMMR]

Well a few moons ago I was a butterball and I had to lose a few pounds so I went on an Atkins diet and shed like 50 odd pounds in a month.  I figured most of that was water and muscle.

Well three weeks ago I was a butterball, and on the 3rd week of my Atkins and rigorous exercise plan I've nearly beat that record, by shedding 38 pounds in three weeks.  It has been a really painful ride getting to this point, but my coworkers, whom have weight issues, are impressed and think I'm totally crazy.

If I keep on the same track I'll hit that golden 210lbs target, and that should be in another two months, which will be a slower attempt by going on a water diet to get another 40lbs off - then I'll stop.  Hopefully by that time my skin will not be a saggy mess.   

Disclosure: I'm not a doctor.  However, I'm currently in the process of getting myself in shape and eating better to reach a healthy goal of losing 1-2lbs a week.  This still includes eating regularly - just cutting down on the excess crap (sodas, fatty foods, fried foods, etc.) and increasing intakes of other foods.

At any rate,  I researched before I started and what I determined was that these fad diets you're going on is quite dangerous.  First of off, you're denying your body certain foods which may be beneficial.   Secondly, you're losing a large amount of weight too fast and you're going to gain it back because it is unlikely you can permanently maintain the radical change in eating habits (which is true of anyone; fad diets involve too much drastic, unrealistic changes to eating).  That's not good for your heart.

Do what you think is best but maybe you should speak to a doctor about a healthy diet and exercise regimen instead of buying into these fad diets that seem to do more harm than good.   Your heart will thank you for it.

[TOK]

Wow, that is too much weight too fast. You do lose muscle when you do that.
I lost 40 pounds in about 6 months and have managed to keep it off by cutting dairy, sugar and carbs. Still keep Saturday night as a throwaway night and scarf on pizza and beer.

Splenda, wheat bread, no soda and ditching most cheese will work, taking the weight off slow and steady without tons of exercise.

[eds1275]

Once upon a time I was 220 [5'7]. Now I'm 160 - I'll share my tips.

#1 this is the big one - don't eat because you are bored.
#2 Portion control
#3 find an active hobby

That's it. I sold my ---smurfy--- car and rode my bike to work [5 min ride to the bus, 30 minute bus ride, 10 min ride]. Played an ungodly amount of frisbee [which made me more social] and had lots of sex.

[Donkbaca]

Diet and exercise without lifting weights will just resulting a smaller version of a flabby you. Lifting weights builds muscle and raises your non-exercise metabolism. In short, start at least doing pushups, pull ups and squats

[Xiaou2]

I Agree with whats been said.

 The atkins diet is too dangerous and harmful to the system.

 Learn portion control, (it takes like 1/2 hr before your brain knows that your actually full)  And eat healthier. (cut the fried and high fat foods out, including most dairy).  Read food labels, see fat content and calorie count per serving. Stay away from salad dressings..  And dont drink from plastic cups: BPA's  (chemicals that leach into the system, which cause you to gain weight, among many other side effects)

 It appears you dont know how to eat well..  so start learning... else you will have to constantly destroy yourself to try to shed mass... and it will get worse and worse as you age, and the metabolism gets slower and slower.

 A small bit of muscle will burn through calories even when its not really active.  So start getting in shape. It has to burn bad, before its going to get better.

 Cardio is good too. (but Id start a little muscle building first)  I hear hours of DDR was making kids lose major weight.  Tae Kwan Do, Kickboxing..etc.. may be an excellent option.  Swimming is supposed to burn a lot too.

 Look to the Asians.  Very few fat Asians proportionately overseas.  Lots of veggies, a little meat, steamed rice (or sticky rice, or bean thread noodles...) and Tea. (obviously not the deep fried battered stuff)   The dishes are easy, fast to cook, delicious, and healthy.

 Asians dont eat much if any dairy, dont snack on high fat garbage like potato chips, dont eat too much sugar, and until only recently, had very little 'fast-food'.
Though sadly, things are changing for the worse, as they are now being much more subjected to, and poisoned, by the industry of crappy, cheap, high fat 'food?' .

 Native Asians also typically tend to look at least about 10yrs younger than the avg. American. I think that says a lot.

[pinballwizard79]

Atkins actually seems proper if you think about it, the only thing you deny yourself is processed food, fast food & junk food.

The factory made bread we eat, yes even that bogus 17 grain crap from Whole foods we buy from the hairy granola girl isnt something our species truly evolved into eating. If you look at the timeline of mankind you will see bread is very recent. Pizza, Chinese, beer, soda, chips, candy & etc are not on any diet fad or whatever our trustworthy government tells us. Isnt it odd a government agency tells us to eat government subsidized grains? We didnt evolve as a species that builds pyramids eating nutrigrain bars full of corn syrup each morning.

So guys whats that leave you dodging? Rice, pasta, potatoes & most fruits right? Well rice, pasta & potatoes have always been starches that respectable doctors tell you to avoid...especially if you are a diabetic.

As for fruit, once again look at the timeline of mankind & ask yourself how many humans had access to 29 types of fruit shipped & ripened in toxic gases 365 days a year. Fruits are very specific to geography & in the majority of areas are only available for a very short time. A friend of mine who is a personal trainer, professional body builder with trophies & all around much healthier person than myself sure put it quite well "Your body CANNOT tell the difference between a glass of orange juice vs a glass of soda".

Want to pretend OJ has nutrients? Nope! Pasteurization kills all enzymes & vitamins, yes even vitamin C. The healthy benefits associated with V8, OJ & etc are added back into the dead worthless product. You can do the same thing with a glass of water & a few pills, there is no difference.

So yeah salads, fish, veggies & meat is actually good for you. Cracklin oat bran cereal, antiobotic crammed milk, dead OJ, subway sandwiches, baked lays, rice & spaghetti/meatballs are not.

 

Excuse me, I have to drink a 6 pack & eat half a pizza however.... even though I know better I still cant stop

Edit: Xiaou any ethnicity will look younger than white people, we age like ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- bro. Look at black folks dude, Hollie Berry will be hot @ age 95 & the only thing we have is Demi Moore.... thats our one lol

[DaveMMR]

The reason I think Atkins, et. al. is crap is mainly because FAD DIETS DON'T WORK over the long term.  They all ask you to make major changes to the way you're used to eating.  Read: changing your eating habits gradually for the better instead of suddenly denying yourself entire categories gives you better long term results.  Add to that some strength training and basic cardio (a walk or a bike ride more often) and you'll lose weight that you'll keep off.

Re: Stregnth Training: I've actually gotten some good results from this little program: http://hundredpushups.com/.   It hasn't change my physique or anything but it has improved by strength in noticeable ways (i.e. I'm actually able to do more than 10 push-ups now).

[Malenko]

Look to the Asians.  Very few fat Asians proportionately overseas.  Lots of veggies, a little meat, steamed rice (or sticky rice, or bean thread noodles...) and Tea. (obviously not the deep fried battered stuff)   The dishes are easy, fast to cook, delicious, and healthy.

Sounds a little racist. lol

Asians dont eat much if any dairy, dont snack on high fat garbage like potato chips, dont eat too much sugar, and until only recently, had very little 'fast-food'.

You're kidding right?!!!?? I LOVE Japanese chips, both potato and corn chips. They've been popular in japan for decades (Calbees been around since 1950)! My "snack drawer" at work is laughable, the one at my house is worse.

[Malenko]

Ugh, please don't indulge him when he's between thorazine shots.  I only go to asian grocery stores on a weekly basis so maybe something's changed since last Wednesday, but at least half the aisles are snack food.  Extremely unhealthy snack food, some of it delicious.   

I went to Mitsuwa Marketplace in Edgewater, NJ yesterday after an on-site visit. Its like a mini japan, huge grocery store and 4 or 5 restaurants inside with AMAZING food. 1/2 of the market is Sake, Alcohol, and snacks. Almost all of it is delicious, even the Tuna Jerky. They even have an import toy store called MARS where you can buy a ton of japanese ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---, most of it is a bit pricey. Ive been to a ton of the Philippine markets in San Anotonio, my now ex fiancee loved the powdered candy stuff (I cant think of the name)

Now you have me missing Barbacoa =(

[ChadTower]

my now ex fiancee loved the powdered candy stuff (I cant think of the name)

[Mikezilla]

You gotta watch losing weight that fast though, like everyone else said. I did what you are doing and I lost about 90 pounds in a little less than a year, and starting working out a lot, gave myself freaking diabetes. I worked out so much, it wore out my pancreas because I was over exerting myself. My liver kept creating more glucose to compensate for my muscles using it all, and the pancreas just couldnt keep up. Youre going to have a lot of flabby skin if you lose it too fast.

And yeah, Im with Malenko, that was a little racist. Asians have a TON of unhealthy stuff. There are a million Filipinos here, have you seen the ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- they eat? Its disgusting, and loaded with fat. I forgot what its called, but they have some pork ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- that just floats in lard. Its kinda gross. I love me some lumpia though.

We have a Mitsuwa here too, its pretty cool, but they close too damn early. They have all kinds of treats, and most of them are unhealthy.

[CCM]

 Look to the Asians.  Very few fat Asians proportionately overseas.  Lots of veggies, a little meat, steamed rice (or sticky rice, or bean thread noodles...) and Tea. (obviously not the deep fried battered stuff)   

deep fried battered tea?

Asians dont eat much if any dairy, dont snack on high fat garbage like potato chips, dont eat too much sugar, and until only recently, had very little 'fast-food'.

First Kitchen... opened in 1977

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Kitchen


Mister Donut

In 1983, Duskin Co. Ltd. of Japan took an unprecedented step by acquiring the sales and trademark rights for Asia from Mister Donut of America. This gave Duskin control and paved the way for the introduction of new tastes as well as the streamlining of all Mister Donut stores, not only in Japan, but even in other countries in the Asia-Pacific. As a result, Mister Donut has grown to a chain of more 1,100 stores in Japan alone claiming the main  market share, with Dunkin Donuts bowing out of the market three years ago.


McDonalds has been in Japan since 1971.


Yoshinoya opened in 1899

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshinoya


Dipper Dan opened in 1972

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dipper_Dan

[Xiaou2]

I suppose I should have specified, my experience was with Chinese & Taiwanese.

 Ive been with a Chinese girl (in usa, moved here when she was like 9yrs old), as well as Taiwanese girl (Native in Taiwan), as well as chatted with others.   The Chinese girl & her family didnt go to eat fast food that I can ever recall, and Id been with her for 3yrs, hanging out with them often. They didnt have too many snacks around, and didnt eat too many sweet things.  Similar for the Taiwanese girl.

 The Chinese woman I chatted with (Native in China) also wasnt into sweets either.   Im a sweet-a-holic  heh

 Im a Caucasian btw, and Im no racist.

 Im merely stating the observations Ive had.  Im certain poor diet has a huge impact on health and longevity.  Most especially the masses eating junk food high fat diet.

 Id say that theres probably some things that people are eating that counteract the bad.  But excesses are going to outweigh the bad.  (The Taiwanese girl had ordered me a bowl of noodle soup, which had what appeared to be dandelion stems. Those didnt taste that good, but maybe it was good for me... Freshly made noodles 'on-the-spot', however, were out of this world)

 And while there are a lot of junk foods made in various Asian countries.. its not just the fact that they exist... but the frequency that they are bought and consumed.

 Btw - My ex loved that dried Seaweed stuff.  The smell of it turned my stomach. heh
However, I have had non-dried seaweed in a Japanese meal, that had some sort of dressing, and it was pretty good.

[javeryh]

Damn.  Now I could really go for some lumpia.  I agree with not doing fad diets.  Last October I was in the best shape of my life (marathon training) and then I got sick and just stopped working out cold.  Before I knew it the holidays had come and gone and it wasn't until February I decided to step on a scale and I had gained 30 lbs!  I hadn't changed anything other than the fact that I wasn't running and lifting weights 5 times a week. 

So in February I finally got the energy to get back on track and now about 15 weeks later I've lost over 30 lbs.  The difference this time is I finally found a diet and workout schedule that work for me.  I work out 4 times a week and I have been eating really healthy (lots of chicken, fish, fruits and vegetables) and I stopped drinking everything except for water.  It hasn't been that much effort - I'm never hungry, I have a ton of energy and I look and feel great (I'm about 200 lbs. now and 6' tall and I'm a pretty big dude).  I'm actually going to try and lose 15 more in the next 15-20 weeks.  I think 185lbs would be ideal but maybe a little too skinny but I haven't been that skinny in 10 years so what the heck.

[ark_ader]

Nope I have Bacon & Eggs in the morning then a small banana at break - in the afternoon  lettuce, 5 slices of cucumber, 2 mushrooms with small amount of olive oil & rice vinegar (shaken) in a salad for lunch with with two small sheets of crisp bread (for fibre) then nothing until dinner when I have two chicken breasts and 4 florets of cauliflower with melted cheese.  

For a treat I will have Philadelphia full fat on 3 celery sticks and I can have about 5 boiled eggs if the hunger pangs.  I drink about a litre of coffee (Starbuck black and straight ice cold) and water about three litres a day.  This time around I give myself 5 carbs a day, but I burn it right through when I walk to work each morning.

Exercise:  20 laps in the pool, body workout, each day and walk 25 miles a week.  No car.  

Eating is alright - getting rid is the difficult part....

[DaOld Man]

.....Played an ungodly amount of frisbee [which made me more social] and had lots of sex.

I take it you weren't married at that time..

All this talk about food makes me want pizza, breadsticks and 3 or 4 Dos Equis'.

[javeryh]

ark_ader - your diet is terrible!  You can't eat like that forever!  Celery sticks?  Slices of cucumber? Boiled eggs?  Jeez - that sounds like hell to me.  It may work in the short term but long-term I just don't see anyone keeping that up.  You would be better off just gradually changing your diet from crap food to healthy food instead of something so drastic.  You can still eat normal food and lose weight.

The exercise you are getting is great though and chicken for dinner is good.  Instead of bacon and eggs try egg whites in a bowl with slice of chopped ham or turkey - mix that together in a bowl and microwave for 90 seconds - it's delicious and really good for you.  That's what I eat in the mornings, I have a ham sandwich on rye with lettuce, tomato and honey mustard with a small bag of sunchips for lunch and then chicken or fish with sauteed peppers and onions for dinner.  I snack on fruit and nuts all day long and I drink a crap ton of water.  I'm never hungry and I rarely crave bad food - and when I do I just indulge a little.  Last weekend I had 2 slices of pizza for dinner one night and it didn't affect my weight loss for the week at all.

Just my $0.02 - it's a constant battle and I finally feel like I found the right solution (for me).   

[Malenko]

And while there are a lot of junk foods made in various Asian countries.. its not just the fact that they exist... but the frequency that they are bought and consumed.

So we show you the error of your previous post, and this is your retort? When I research and post the profits of the companies are you going to says its due to savvy businessmen? Just say "oops I didn't know Japan eats like pot heads" Being wrong isn't that big of a deal, just ask chad, he does it all the time.

@PBJ I remember going to at least 3, but that was over a decade ago. One was in a tiny strip mall, one was in a bigger strip mall, one was kinda by itself. The one in the tiny strip mall had a Chinese restaurant next to it, prolly the same one. I lived up near where Culebra and Grissom meet 410, you might just be in a different part of San An.   Man, now I'm reminiscing about Jim's and their Tortilla soup, sooooo goooood.

[ChadTower]

.....Played an ungodly amount of frisbee [which made me more social] and had lots of sex.

I take it you weren't married at that time..

First thing my wife did was throw away all my frisbees.

[RayB]

My GF went to Bejing couple years ago and she said they have a major obesity problem there that rivals the US.

The stereotype that "asians" have a magic diet that keeps them healthy stems from decades past when, yes, they were thin due to poverty and a lack of choice in foods. That's all changed.

[Xiaou2]

I dont mind being wrong, and I can admit it when its so.

 In the case of the post however, it was more of an misunderstanding, and a missed word I forgot to put in.

---
 dont snack on high fat garbage like potato chips *much*, dont eat too much sugar, and until only recently *see note* , had very little 'fast-food'.
---

 Note: 

 China's history is very long, and its taken many years for just a handful of fast food places to spring up.  McDonalds barged its way in fairly early, but the rest taking much longer. (McDonalds over there also serves different kinds of food too)

 And even after such places became available, it wasnt like today, where some people eat 2 to 4 times a week at such places... and the rest of the time, are eating other forms of trash thats similar in nature, as a main food staple, rather than an occasional indulgence.  Which is why  for example, on average, Americans, compared to people in Japan or China... tend to be much more overweight.

 And while China for ex, may have some dishes that are bad for them... I dont recall seeing much if any dairy. Few/no high fat cheese dishes, fatty salad dressings, mayonnaise (yuck), hotdogs?.  Yet these are the kinds of things that I see people here eat on a regular diet, in large quantities.

 Do these things exist today in China / Japan?  Probably so.  But I can pretty much say with certainty that their diets on Average tend to be much better.  (for now)

 Some of the stuff I see on the backs of packages here blows my mind.  I once saw one of these little MCdonald-like pies in a box, and it stated that it was like 70% of your daily saturated fat intake. Purely disgusting and completely unnecessary to put that much fat into a single serving snack.

 With McDonalds, they used a kid friendly mascot to draw them in, and hook them early on.  Getting kids hooked to the absolute worst quality food, and as grown ups, they gorge on the stuff without any thought to its contents.

 Fortunately, change is slowly starting to happen, as people are finally starting to realize the poison and damages of the crappy food we have been ingesting. Sadly, so much damage has already been done.

[Vigo]

When X2 is talking about the healthy asian food, i think it is specifically Traditional Imperial Chinese cooking, which is completely non-westernized. He is right about how it is good for you. That food is ridiculously, insanely healthy, and often delicious too. You can't even expect to find the real thing here either, mostly because for the dishes to be made properly, the food must all be 100% fresh, from ingredients that don't exist in this half of the world. Also culturally, food and medicine are one in the same. You have certain health problems, you base your diet around it and eat certain foods regularly. It works.

That being said, junk food and fast food is everywhere over Asia, and some of these unhealthy foods have been around over 100 years. Probably British influence. They eat it quite often, too. In East Asia, they will also easily eat 5 or more meals a day as well. It is just that most of the food they consume routinely is 100% fresh. Preservatives are not commonly found in their food. And their diets are just naturally balanced. You don't have to sit and eat salads to be healthy.

A lot of what keeps the fat down in east Asia is the culture. They have ridiculous standards on what thin is. When I was over there, I was considered a fat-ass American. I was a bit thinner then, too. I have the build of someone like Leonardo Dicaprio (I certainly don't look like him though  ) They will rip you apart to your core for being fat if you have a single ounce of meat on your bones. I'm not sure if they consider anorexia a bad thing over there. Also, when you grow up going to school every day from 7am - 8pm, you don't really have time to eat junk food and get fat either.

[Mikezilla]

You do know that most of the statistics that say Americans are fat are from the south right? Where mostly people are poor and they make do with what they have. Not to mention, China has over a BILLION PEOPLE of course the percentages are going to be skewed. As others have stated, China in particular has their fair of obesity, and also, mental disorders. They are attributing that to poor diet and bad conditions (pollution, quality of life etc). Of course they dont have dairy, they dont have any room for cows because there are so many people. Mayo is considered a sauce in Japan, they slather that ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- on everything.

Besides, nobody is forcing anyone to eat those little pies at mcdonalds anyway. Its there if you WANT them. Of course everyone knows fast food isnt good for you.

Mcdonalds is a treat, youre not supposed to eat it all the time. I hate how everyone bad mouths Mcdonalds, just because they are the biggest.

[Vigo]

Yes, it is insanely hard to just lump all of Asia in this sort of discussion. 1/3 the world land mass, and 1/2 the world population. Food ranges from "lard in bowl of oil soup" to fine Iron chef grade cuisine.

Besides, nobody is forcing anyone to eat those little pies at mcdonalds anyway. Its there if you WANT them. Of course everyone knows fast food isnt good for you.

Mcdonalds is a treat, youre not supposed to eat it all the time. I hate how everyone bad mouths Mcdonalds, just because they are the biggest.

It's amazing how many people try to point the fingers at everyone but themselves. Especially with McDonalds. Nobody is forced to eat mcdonalds, and Mcdonalds never pretended to be a healthy meal. Nobody is being duped here.

[Vigo]

True, but its not like I am going to touch their "oatmeal surprise" 

[Mikezilla]

Yes, it is insanely hard to just lump all of Asia in this sort of discussion. 1/3 the world land mass, and 1/2 the world population. Food ranges from "lard in bowl of oil soup" to fine Iron chef grade cuisine.

Besides, nobody is forcing anyone to eat those little pies at mcdonalds anyway. Its there if you WANT them. Of course everyone knows fast food isnt good for you.

Mcdonalds is a treat, youre not supposed to eat it all the time. I hate how everyone bad mouths Mcdonalds, just because they are the biggest.

It's amazing how many people try to point the fingers at everyone but themselves. Especially with McDonalds. Nobody is forced to eat mcdonalds, and Mcdonalds never pretended to be a healthy meal. Nobody is being duped here.

Vigo, as usual, knows what the hell is up. Exactly, Mcdonalds never markets itself as a healthy restaurant. Anyone that says they dont like Mcdonalds is a liar.

Their oatmeal is pretty good! Its not the usual tastless colorless sludge Im used to eating. It has fresh fruit in it!

  to PBJ. Everytime I type that it makes me want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich btw.

[ChadTower]

Anyone that says they dont like Mcdonalds is a liar.

I can't stand McDonald's.  The fries are decent but I can only eat maybe 10 of them before I am tired of the salt.  Lots of people just don't like heavily greasy food.

[Xiaou2]

McD has gotten better over the yrs., more than likely due to pressure put on them from people.

 I used to work in the mall, so food choices were very limited.  Most days it was Burgerking.   Which was dreadful.

 After a few yrs, my body started revolting.  It simply turned my stomach to eat from there.  Food I ate from there, seemed to pass right through me in less than an hour... denoting very little nutritional value.

 Luckily, there was a Japanese place there.  The Japanese place served a Teriyaki dish with lightly sauced stir fried meat (chicken / beef ), over steamed diced cabbage, carrots, & some other veggies.  It was excellent.  When they left, I had to try Chinese.   I stay away from the deep fried americanized stuff as Vigo states. 
 
 Mei Fun is really good (rice noodle dish), as is standard Beef & Broccoli.  Check out Moo Shu Beef (beef over shredded cabbage in sauce, which you wrap up in paper thin style tortilla wrap with special brown sauce).  For appetizer, look for "fresh spring roll".  Its a non-cooked roll of diced veggies in a thin translucent wrap, and made correct, its outa this world.

 

Anyone that says they dont like Mcdonalds is a liar.

 Sorry man, but I dont care for them anymore.  I dont think Ive been there 3 times in over the past 10 yrs, and the only times Ive been there was when I had little choice as was with others.

 If I have to stop at a 'fast' food joint, I opt for subway, or wendys. (and get the chicken. Not unknown meat parts-is-parts nuggets, nor battered oil drenched crap)

 I dont think I mentioned anything about MCD advertising being healthy.  Thats exactly my point however.   That its a bit difficult just to be out and about, and get some healthy food at times.  That initially, MCD was aimed at Children (clowns remember?)... and if your a parent, if anything... you Should be concerned at what kinds of junk your letting them consume.  Once the kids get a taste of that crap, they think its great, and dont want anything to do with Good food. They dont have any concept of clogging arteries and the effects of the future of obesity that they may have to endure later...

 But MCD is really just the tip of the Iceburg.  Over the course of even just my lifetime, Ive watched as food and junk food has really gotten shockingly bad and way out of hand.  Generally, eating habits have changed each generation, for the worse.

 This really isnt an argument about Asia.  Merely that they are still a tad bit behind compared to the corrupted crap thats available here, and that they at least used to have the superior diet.   Back over 100 yrs ago, Im sure our diets were much better here in Usa.

 If you really want to change your diet, work for Pizza Hut for a few months.  They use the worst quality high fat ingredients.   The pans are loaded with oil, the meats are oily, the cheese is fatty.. and when it comes out of the oven, theres about 3mm thick oil pool floating on top of the thing.  After a year of that, I couldnt eat another Pizza for some time.

 FYI, Pizza Hut is part of Yum brands corporation, which also owns KFC if im not mistaken.  KFC has gotten Huge over in Taiwan, probably China as well.  All the while, here, its starting to drop out of existence.

[eds1275]

.....Played an ungodly amount of frisbee [which made me more social] and had lots of sex.

I take it you weren't married at that time..

All this talk about food makes me want pizza, breadsticks and 3 or 4 Dos Equis'.

lol been with her for a little over ten years. Secret to having lots of sex: no cable TV. What else is there to do!?!?!!?

[ark_ader]

The other thing I experienced when trying to lose weight is the cost.

It is so expensive in my part of the world to get good produce and poultry.

Granted I am not spending £££ for Ben & Jerrys, but it is cheaper to eat unhealthy than to eat healthy.

Reduced fat products are full of sugar, and you have to read every label.

Maybe I should dig out the flower bed and plant veggies instead, and build a hen house in the shed.

My other brother has a ranch in Nevada, and he gets loads of eggs and chicken. 

I just have to get a little red stamp for the eggs.... 

I'm sure the neighbor's cats would love the idea

[ark_ader]

Today is the final day of my record breaking attempt.

I actually lost 8 pounds from last Wednesday, but I'm under that target of 50lbs.

I'm really stoked that I got this far without having severe stomach cramps, which I had to endure last time.

Still I have another three months of this induction to go before I'm done.  Then I can have a pizza.

I'm not impressed with that loose turkey skin look, but you cannot have all your own way. 

I was going to post an image, but I might upset some of you.

[DaveMMR]

I'm really stoked that I got this far without having severe stomach cramps, which I had to endure last time.
I'm not impressed with that loose turkey skin look, but you cannot have all your own way. 

From where I stand, cramps and loose skin are indications that you're doing it wrong.   Sorry dude, but you have nothing to be proud of - you are destroying your body.  And as far as appearance goes, loose skin looks 100 times worse than fat. 

And, by the way, this:

Still I have another three months of this induction to go before I'm done.  Then I can have a pizza.

is why you're going to gain the weight back. 

[ChadTower]

Cramps, yeah, not good.

Loose skin is a fact of life for people who lose a lot of weight.  It doesn't just shrink on its own.

[ChadTower]

Well, so is being able to see your own penis, so at least he's got that going for him.

fixt so that it's less oogy.

[DaveMMR]

Loose skin is a fact of life for people who lose a lot of weight.  It doesn't just shrink on its own.

Loosing weight at a slower, healthy rate (1-2 lbs a week) and muscle-building exercises does help curb excess loose skin.  Excess skin is a result of losing muscle in addition to fat as a result of "crash diets".    Again... doctor.. see one.     

[Vigo]

Loose skin is a fact of life for people who lose a lot of weight.  It doesn't just shrink on its own.

Loosing weight at a slower, healthy rate (1-2 lbs a week) and muscle-building exercises does help curb excess loose skin.  Excess skin is a result of losing muscle in addition to fat as a result of "crash diets".    Again... doctor.. see one.     

You got to look at the reality of it though. Someone who has 150 pounds or more to lose, at a rate of 1-2 pounds lost a week would require a diet that takes years. You are not going to find anyone with the will go on a diet for that long. It the person is going to lose the weight and will work to then keep it off, I say the crash diet is well worth it. Better than weaving in and out of diets and various weight changes for a course of many years simply trying to lose that initial body weight to begin with, without even getting to the maintaining a healthy body weight stage.

[Mikezilla]

Loose skin is a fact of life for people who lose a lot of weight.  It doesn't just shrink on its own.

Loosing weight at a slower, healthy rate (1-2 lbs a week) and muscle-building exercises does help curb excess loose skin.  Excess skin is a result of losing muscle in addition to fat as a result of "crash diets".    Again... doctor.. see one.     

You got to look at the reality of it though. Someone who has 150 pounds or more to lose, at a rate of 1-2 pounds lost a week would require a diet that takes years. You are not going to find anyone with the will go on a diet for that long. It the person is going to lose the weight and will work to then keep it off, I say the crash diet is well worth it. Better than weaving in and out of diets and various weight changes for a course of many years simply trying to lose that initial body weight to begin with, without even getting to the maintaining a healthy body weight stage.

As a person that lost a substantial amount of weight himself, Im with Vigo on this (as usual). Nobody wants to take that long to lose that much weight, but the diet he seems to be on is destroying his body. Thats TOO harsh. Your body is going to hang onto the weight too, because its going to think its starving, and when you actually do shock it into using the last bit of fat, when you eat normal again, your body is going to put the pounds back on because it feels the need to. Look at the guy that won the biggest loser a few years ago, he gained all his weight back in a year, and then some. Maintaining a healthy weight is a gradual thing, you cant just lose 100 lbs in 3 months. Thats crazy.