Trainers and dieticians should be in great shape...definitely. Their goal is to get you fit at your request, and they need to walk the walk.



Your doctor has a slightly different goal...to keep you functional. They are not necessarily concerned with tuning your body its optimum physical performance, because quite frankly, most people do not go to the doctor to get fit, but to make sure they don't die, and your health is a function of a lot of things...not just weight and fitness.



So no, I would not worry if your doctor is out of shape. It's their brains you need, not their bodies. A fit doctor would be great, but if you're having actual physical problems with your body, you want someone who knows their stuff.



That said, you may want to derive your *motivation* from a different source than an overweight doctor, but the information on your general health you get from a good doctor (even a fat one) is most likely sound.

I count slightly obsessively, but I also try to keep my calorie intake relatively non-restrictive, around 2500 (my approximate BMR at 295 pounds). And I plan to increase my calorie intake when regular exercise becomes easier for me.



My problem has always been portion size, and generally shoveling food in my body without regard for how much I'm eating. So I'm one of those people who really needs to count to keep my natural prediliction for over-eating in check.



There is a fair amount of talk on these boards about the need to keep feeding your body enough on a daily basis to keep your metabolism going strong, and I think there's a lot to that. So I use calorie counting as a tracking mechanism, to make sure that I'm eating a reasonable amount rather than counting to be too restrictive.

Tricia, I'll give you ten bucks if you're actually allergic to chocolate. I'm serious. Provide me with some kind of proof from an allergist that you're allergic to chocolate, and I'll send you a 10 dollar gift certificate code from Amazon. In fact, let's make it 20 bucks. Chocolate allergies are very rare.



If you're concerned about allergies, you need to consult a physician and ask for a referral to an allergist. There are simple skin tests to determine allergies. Do *not* believe a web site. Especially one that offers items for sale to help with the allergies that you self-diagnose.

Now *that's* evidence that I can get behind. Soy milk = bleah. And it's an experiment that you can try yourself, as long as you don't mind growing an extra ear or two ;)

I second that. If you look on the web, you can find loads of unsupported information on just about *anything*. Don't believe anything you hear without good science to back it up.

I'm going to need a source on that one. Where did you get your information?



To convince me of the evils of HFCS, there would have to be a credible study done that compared diets with high amounts of HFCS versus one with the same quantity of plain old sugar...where there was some significant detrimental effect.



I don't think there is nearly enough valid scientific evidence to condemn HFCS. It's sugar, and if you consume enough extra sugar , you gain weight.

BMI is not even based on medical research. It was created for some social experiments by a Dutch mathematician named Adolphe Quetelet, and was used only for statistical purposes to group people. It can't be trusted as a measure of health.

Slowing down the process doesn't mean you're going to be stopping. Even if you bring your calorie intake up considerably (depending on your BMR) and keep doing what you're doing, you're still going to lose weight...just more slowly. And if you keep going with 1000 calories, I think you'll see your body go into a self-preservation mode, and your progress is going to slow *way* down.



Eating more will actually goose your metabolism up to where it should be. And as long as you're on your way to your goal weight, it shouldn't matter much if you make it in 10 weeks or 10 months. What I've done is plot out a graph of my goals, day by day, in Excel. And as long as I'm below that goal line on my graph, I can do what I want.



Eat healthy foods, just eat more of them. Double up on things like Ryan suggests, or have another whole meal! You'll have the energy to exercise, and the pounds will still come off.

Can't argue with that . I only wanted to point out that being afraid of eating particular things is not necessary. Part of the joy of being human is eating, and the joy doesn't always come from vegetables. And I actually agree wholeheartedly with you that some foods definitely fill you up for longer, and those foods tend to be the healthy ones...very probably with a low glycemic index, and it never hurts to feel full when you're trying to be careful about your diet.



I'm learning too, and I can't deny that the comments made here make me feel like I should be avoiding sugar and and other cruddy foods more. No matter how much I moan about not wanting to give them up. A person probably could lose weight on a diet of nothing but McDonald's and ice cream...but nobody could argue that person would be doing themselves more harm than good.

I'm a big believer in "whatever works for you", so I don't want to pooh-pooh anyone's individual beliefs...but I still have not seen any sort of information here that supports the vilification of foods that I was talking about.



The glycemic index is a real thing, and foods vary in how sugars are absorbed by the body, but there is no evidence that the effect on diet is significant. I'm not just pulling that out of nowhere, that is the considered opinion of my in-house endocrinologist. The website that Martin references is impressive, but I would urge anyone who is interested in learning more to talk to a medical professional familiar with the research...I don't expect anyone to believe a overweight computer geek like me. Martin has a much more compelling picture on his profile.



That said, there's certainly nothing *remotely* wrong with focusing on avoiding processed foods and sugars...I'm only saying that they are not evil. If you only eat all natural foods, you are going to be healthier. But if you are more concerned with striking a balance in the real world and enjoying some foods that are considered bad for you, even on a regular basis, they can be part of a healthy diet. I really like Neesha's 80/20 rule.



Empty calories can be very satisfying as long as you don't let them take over your diet. I still eat a fair amount of crappy foods, and I've been losing weight steadily for six weeks. They get more infrequent, but I honestly don't want to live in a world without ice cream. And there's no reason to.

I've been reading a fair amount of comments on these forums about how foods like white flour, refined sugar, etc. are something you need to cut out of your diet. The skeptic in me dismisses the idea completely, but as I have been too lazy to research the subject thoroughly myself, I want to find out if there is any credible scientific research that supports these ideas.



What my considerable gut tells me is that refined sugar and white flour are *less* good for you than their unrefined alternatives, but that their relative badness is overstated. This opinion is not based on anything other than my very limited knowledge of the subject, and my aformentioned skeptical nature.



I think part of the problem comes from the fact that foods that are really bad for you are usually made from the refined ingredients, and foods that are good for you are usually made from the unrefined ingredients. For example, I do not think Spaghettios would not be any better for you if the pasta was made from whole grain flour. Cinnabons would not come in at any fewer calories if they were sweetened with evaporated cane juice instead of refined sugar.



So anyway, I'm skeptical of the claims that refined foods are bad in and of themselves. I think they get a bad rap from the company they keep, and the undeniable fact that the manufacturers of unhealthy food use them because they are cheap. It seems to me that a normal healthy diet can include them, and that the health benefits people see from cutting them out of their diets is a result of are the result of better eating in general...not that the ingredients themselves are bad or somehow toxic.



But it could be that I'm just trying to avoid switching to brown rice. I like *jasmine* rice. It's fragrant, tasty, and wonderful. Everything in moderation, you know.

I'm hoping to fall below three bills in the next couple of weeks as well, and would welcome some activity in this group. I just started at Traineo, so I haven't been active in it, but I think it's a great idea.

Well done! It's got to be a great feeling



For anyone who has to shop in the plus sizes, this is an incredibly meaningful milestone. I'm tacking "Buy a shirt and pants in the regular section of a department store" to my short list of goals.



Congratulations again, and keep up the good work. It's very inspiring!

I like your idea of visualizing the fat as boxes of butter. It seems like that would be very fitting for me!



Well done.

Portion control is a huge problem for me as well. My wife and I have started using something called Dream Dinners (or My Girlfriend's Kitchen) where you go and make prepped meals at their site, and then take home a bunch of meals in containers to freeze.



It's helped me because we both tend to cook large amounts of food, and with these pre-prepped meals they are ususally in 3 serving containers. There is good nutritional information on the meals available, and I try to save the third serving for lunch the next day.



It's more about the philosophy of only cooking a couple of servings for me. The food is good enough that I want to have it for lunch the next day, and there isn't a lot of extra sitting there tempting me after the first helping. That, combined with side dishes of fruit and vegetables help me keep on the straight and narrow.

I've found that it works pretty well. The only sticking point is the fact that it doesn't always have weights associated with the item. So if you're trying to weigh out portions, you have to enter the information in manually.



But that's a general beef that I have with FitDay as well. If you want to edit an exisiting item, you can't edit the measurements to add weight measurements to an item that is currently measured by cups, etc.



It's definitely a small beef, because I love FitDay otherwise...especially with their relationship with DietFacts and their huge database of restaurants and brand names.

Hi Christian,



I'm a "wanter" as well, and have a tough time restraining myself at dinner time. My wife and I have been using two places called Dream Dinners and My Girlfriend's Kitchen for dinners. We started mainly out of convenience, but I've found that it has helped with portion sizes because the food is essentially pre-packaged for 3 or 6 servings, and there is nutritional information on the web for all of the meals.



It sounded really expensive to me at the beginning, at about $15-20 per six serving meal, but that breaks down into around $3-4 per serving...which is less than someone like me would spend at McDonald's at a sitting. It's not for everyone, but it serves a couple of purposes for me.



First, it makes me cook...or at least feel like I'm cooking. The food is essentially prepped, but still needs to be cooked, and cooking makes me feel like I'm on the right track (as opposed to going out to eat, or popping frozen appetizers in the oven). Second, out of a three serving meal we eat two, and I eat the remaining one for lunch the next day. And third, there is an absolute limit to the amount of entree I prepare. Even if I go overboard and eat that second helping, that only doubles my intake...as opposed to making a big bowl of pasta and eating it until I burst.



I'm also one of those people who gets easily discouraged when I fall off the wagon and pig out. But I'm really trying to keep myself realistic about things now. The truth is that even if you have a really bad day, or weekend, as long as you can balance those bad days with a greater number of good days, you will do fine. I think a lot of us have times when we overeat, but the goal is to bounce back and get back on track.



I'm saying that as much for my benefit as yours, as I just had a bumpy weekend with cake and ice cream. One slip doesn't need to derail any of us.



--Jeff

Hi Kimberly,



I applaud your desire to bring your weight down, and definitely think that talking to a *good* nutritionist is the right way to go.



I'm only learning about diabetes at the moment, but I have some insight on getting the care you need that I think will be useful. I'm not any sort of medical professional, but I know a lot of doctors, and I've picked up a few things that might be helpful in a general sense. It's a lot about how to be a savvy consumer of medical services...they're providing a service, you're paying for that service, therefore you have a right to *good* service.



The first thing that I'd like to stress is that you never have to leave a doctor's or nurse's or nutritionist's office if you have unanswered questions. What I would recommend is writing down every question that you can think of, and bring that cheat sheet with you to your appointment. If there is something on that sheet that is not addressed, don't let the provider off the hook until your questions are answered to your satisfaction. It helps to do some research on what questions you're going to ask as well. The more informed you are, the better your questions will be.



When you are dealing with the nutritionist, you are fully within your rights to expect that they outline the basics of a nutrition plan for you (that's their job). Ask them if they have experience with diet plans for diabetics. If they don't, move on to someone else. Your best resource for finding a good nutritionist *should* be your endocrinologist...and you're also well within your rights to ask your endocrinologist for a different recommendation.



And here's something that you may not know. Depending on where you go for your care, there is probably a diabetes pager number that you can call 24 hours a day. If you are getting your care at a university hospital, you'll probably end up talking to a diabetes nurse during the day, and an endocrinology fellow at night. Fellows are the workhorses of any specialty, and are usually the real go-getters of the department. And they'll usually be very helpful about getting you seen by the proper people. They're also usually smart and well-informed...even though they're learning. I'm not sure how it works at a regular hospital, but that's usually how it's done in the teaching hospitals that I'm familiar with.



I took the liberty of looking at your area, and it looks like UT Chattanooga has a endocrinology program. So if you're not being seen there, it may be something to try. Just tell the person that you talk to that you talked to a nutritionist who told you to lose 45 pounds, but did not give you any direction. And voice your concern about keeping your blood sugar under control while losing weight.



The best thing for you will be to find an endocrinologist and nutritionist that will work with you. Don't let your caregivers off the hook. They are there to help you understand and deal with your diabetes, and they're really good at it...but sometimes you have to make your voice heard a little more forcefully if you've got unanswered questions. And if they still aren't helping, move on.



Once you find a nutritionist with some experience helping people with diabetes lose weight without throwing their blood sugar out of whack, you'll do just fine. They're out there.



Sorry for the book-length post, I hope it helps. And best of luck to you.

Thanks to all of you for the encouragement. Logging daily is going to be my goal for the time being. I've already been using a site called FitDay to track my food intake and exercise, and Traineo will be just one more step...and a very worthwhile step, I think.



Brian- It's great to hear from another dad that wants to keep fit for the kids. Even if I never lost the weight for myself, I would do just about anything for my little ones. It's all about the proper motivation. I haven't smoked in eight years because my new girlfriend eight years ago wouldn't kiss me if she smelled smoke...so WHAM, no cigarettes. The ban continues to this day, and has kept me smokeless.



Megan- My wife and I have very similar problems with food and exercise, so hopefully a change in my behavior will spark a change in hers, and we can go back and forth with that positive reinforcement until we're both 150 years old.



K- Hello from 2006 Your "before" profile looks *very* familiar. I hope to have as much success as you.



I highly recommend FitDay.com to anyone reading this, by the way. Especially in conjuction with a site called DietFacts. DietFacts has a huge database of foods that can be added to FitDay with the click of a button.



Thanks again, and I hope you see more from me and less *of* me in the coming months.

Hi Everyone.



This site appears to be exactly what I was looking for. Losing weight for me is relatively straightforward. As long as I keep my eating habits in check, and get a little bit of exercise, pounds come off.



That works great until I stop taking care of business and fall back into bad habits. So a site like this, where I can build up a network of people to be accountable to, sounds great.



I've been at 300+ for the whole of my thirties (I'm 38), and spent my late twenties surging towards 300. But now I've got two young kids (3 and 5)who are the picture of fitness, and who we make sure eat healthy. My wife is also trying to lose weight, and we try to keep each other motivated...but frankly, we've spent a lot of time over the past 8 years being bad for each other as far as food and exercise are concerned, so it may be helpful for me to look outside my marriage for motivation. I love her dearly, but it's too easy for her to look the other way while my waistline expands.



So, I'm trying to create a lifestyle change for myself so I can live a long and healthy life with my family.