So I was at 320... that seems to be the weight where I can eat more or less what ever I want, not work out, and the act of living keeps my weight steady... such is life as a programmer I guess.



I started again though, a week and a half ago, doing a low carb diet... down 12 pounds so far (I know most of that is water weight but it feels good to say it *grin*) and hoping to keep going...



How are you guys doing?

Is anybody still in this group? It seems to have gone stale... which is a pity because I'm still just over 300 pounds, but I hope to fall below it sometime next week... wish me luck!

Hey, I did the bernstien diet a couple years ago and lost 100 pounds... and then put it back on! YIKES! I seem to try and fail a lot, but I'm trying again anyway This "groups" thing is new to me, looks pretty cool



Wow Jamaica, you seem to struggle on both ends of the scale, sorry to hear that! This is a good place to get help though, lots of people just trying to get and stay healthy together, good luck

@Jeremiah



Wow, I never thought of using wasabi in the mix... worth a try

wow, that sounds good... I'll give that a try! Thanks Justin

Well it's certainly not sustainable, but it's not supposed to be It's designed to lose weight and lose it fast with loads of supervision. Once you're down to their goal weight they do a really good job of holding your hand into a nice sustainable diet that includes carbs etc... my problem is that I jumped off the wagon as soon as I got to my goal weight *grin*

Way to go Brandon

I've found myself wanting more from the UI in that area too... I like Ron's idea, just an empty or full envelope



BTW, I've been seeing little changes here and there based on some comments I've seen. Hats off to the Traineo Dev team, thanks for all the great work you guys do!

wow, that sounds great... thanks for sharing that!

WAY TO GO!!

Oh man... both Tao and the Cheesecake Factory in one city block... that's the devil's own work! *grin*



I'm not sure what diet you're on, but one of the great things about Vegas is the AMAZING variety! I'm a low carb/low fat diet kinda guy, so I try to stay away from carbs. If I'm going to cheat a bit, I make sure it's with things like protein that I know won't make me gain much weight. So my advice would be this: if you feel like you need to indulge a bit, then go ahead, but have a nice big steak, not a dozen donuts ;) Just relax a bit with the foods that you know are safe



Keeps us posted, let us know how it's going. Especially let us know how you're doing at the tables!



Good luck! (at the blackjack tables as well as the dinner tables)



BTW, my wife and I stayed at the MGM a couple years ago... what evil genius puts a 24/hr McDonalds right at the bottom of the guest elevator so it beckons to me all night long? DAMN YOU RONALD AND YOUR TASTY TREATS!



-Ry

While we're patting backs, I just read Joe Briefcase's "about" info when you mouse over his avatar... way to go Joe, you're nearly 80 pounds down!

CONGRATS MIKE! GREAT WORK!



Wow, 24 pounds makes a lot of difference in how you look and feel eh!



That's a good idea, taking before photos to compare to... I'm still very near my top end, so maybe I'll take some before photos to compare to later.



Thanks for the idea, and the inspiration! Here's hoping we can all do so well!



What's that you're holding in your after photo?

on the topic of vitamins, here's what I take (disclaimer: I have no idea what I'm doing, but this seems to work for me)



1 x super "Swiss One" 50

2 x Natures Harmony B-50 complex

4 x Jamieson Vitamin B6 (250mg)



I'm pretty sure that's way more B than my body can take in, but that's my goal... couple these vitamins with a strict low carb/low fat diet and you can get a really good ketosis burn going (use Ketostix to test).



I'm just starting up again but in the past I've lost nearly a pound a day (5-7 pounds a week) ... it's not a sustainable lifestyle diet, but it'll help get down fast... I'll worry about something sustainable once I'm down to 200 ... just 94 pounds to go! LOL



If anybody else wants to try this out just let me know, I'll send you a link to a list of foods that you can safely eat, as well as quantities etc.

I might as well weigh in here too... I never actually go to 300, but I've spent a lot of time at about 295, and that's where I am right now... I'm hoping to stay focused on the goal though... threads like this help, thanks guys!



uh.. Joe Briefcase... you'd better share your secret weapon with all of us!!

so don't keep us all in the dark here, how did you do?

wow nick, you're one heck of "silver lining" finder! LOL Thanks!

when I'm running I either like really fast stuff (front 242) to get the blood pumping or some trance/ambient (backini) to help get me in the zone.

@ Eric L.



The stonecutter??? Either I've already forgotten the story, or I never knew it to begin with ;)

I think that the best way is with calipers.



http://www.intense-workout.com/body_fat.html



<snip>

How do I measure my body fat percentage?



There are 2 usual ways people measure their body fat. However, only 1 way actually works and only 1 way is actually accurate. That first way is by using these online calculators that some web sites have. I'm going to recommend you avoid these online calculators because, at best, they just give far off estimates of what your body fat percentage really is. The point of measuring your body fat is so you can track your progress as accurately as possible, and a far off estimate is hardly accurate tracking. You might as well just use a scale then.



There is only one true way to get an accurate measurement of your body fat percentage, and that is by using something called body fat calipers. Calipers are a measurement device used to measure thickness. In this case, it will be the thickness of parts of your body. There are a few specific spots (referred to as "skinfolds") that you measure with the calipers, and then you do some basic math, and... that's it. Within seconds you will know your body fat percentage.

</snip>



I should add that I used to use these when I was a rower (several pounds ago *grin*) and if you use the calipers wrong you can really pinch yourself quite badly! LOL

I'm down 8 pounds in the last week



This is a great idea for a thread! thanks Colin!! I really enjoy reading about all your achievements!

http://www.drbdiet.com



I did it, it works. It's not cheap, but it works ;) They have a really good hand-holding maintenance program for when you've lost the weight too. Where I went wrong was in not following their maintenance program ;)



I just started trying to do the Dr. B diet on my own, not vitamin B injections, just taking vitamin B orally... we'll see how it goes ;)

The beef:

3 pounds beef, not ground. Some stores have very thinly sliced beef, that's best because it leaves little work for you do to ;)



The marinade:

2/3 cup of soya sauce

1/3 cup of worcestershire sauce

1/3 cup of tobasco sauce

1 tsp of fresh ground pepper

2 tsp of salt



I read that you want at LEAST one tsp of salt per every pound of beef to keep the surface bacterea to a minimum... I figure that between the soya sauce and the 2 tsps of salt, I've got it covered



You want to cut the beef in about 1/4 inch thick slices. I bought my beef in thin steak-ette type slices anyway, so all I had to do was cut this into strips.



Combine your marinade in no particualr order and dump it all into a large freezer ziplock bag... you want the freezer ones because they're much thicker. The last thing you want is 1 1/3 cups of this stuff all over the floor! LOL



Put your slice up beef in the marinade and let it sit for a few hours, I left mine for 4 hours.



Then put your beef in your dehydrator and turn the bad boy on.



Every dehydrator is different, but mine calls for about 7 hours for beef jerky. If you're in the market for a dehydrator then I'd suggest mine, it's good for beginners, smartly designed, and works fast. I got mine at Walmart for about $50 Canadian. Here's a link so you can check it out. (http://www.nesco.com/products/?category=300&subca t=100&id=42)



Anyway, the beef jerky is great, I may cut down on the worcestershire sauce and up the tobasco sauce next time... what can I say, some like it hot

Maybe I'm mistaken, but I've heard from nurses that eating only one large meal a day for a sustained amount of time puts you at risk for Diabetes... is there any validity to that?



Other than that, I've tried enough diets in my life to agree with the "don't knock it 'til you try it" line I say, if it's working for you and you feel good, keep it up!

I agree with what Ron and Andy are saying. A little over a year ago I lost about 100 lbs on the Dr. Bernstein diet plan. It works well, but once I was "thin" I felt like I could do no wrong and snapped back to my old habits... so here I am, back up at nearly 300 lbs! I'm doing the diet again, on my own this time (trying to save the $600 per month)... it's basically a low carb/fat high protien diet... taking lots of Vitamin B and testing my "burn" with Ketostix urin test strips... the pounds DROP off (you can expect 3-7 lbs loss per week), but like Ron said, unless there's a transition into a healthy diet, bouncing back is a real risk :/