The BLF Get-in-Shape Thread: (formerly, "A Newer, Thinner Rusty" Thread)....

Off-topic Chatter
35

Congratulations!

There is a widespread misunderstanding that loosing weight is only a good thing when you also eat healthier. In reality it is only about eating less calories and nothing else. If that works by eating healthier food, all the better, but if it works for someone by with eating one big mac a day and nothing else, sure he will loose weight all the same.

And the health improvement of any lost weight is way way larger than anything healthy that you can eat.

So, if the one meal a day way works for you, that's the way to go. Very well done!

36

Wow Rusty, big change, really impressive! Good info for anyone interested in doing the same thing. You’ve mentioned a couple of times that the struggle now is to shovel in enough energy in one meal to last you all day and maintain your weight. Are you concerned that two meals could slowly but easily turn into too much food, or is there some other reason you are adamant about sticking with a single meal?

Again, GJ and it’s a really impressive change!

37

A Big Mac a day keeps the Dr away?

I reckon if you lost weight that way, youd be dead in under a year.

38

I’m on a relatively high dose of adderall, so the opposite is true for me, but I can still appreciate a good weight loss.

39

Congrats Rusty! That is some serious dedication there.

40

Wow, that is an amazing transformation. Good for you!! My best friend of 35 years just recently got to the 120 pound lost mark, and I know how much of a struggle it was in the beginning for him, I thought for sure he was going to quit or give up.

41

That and Id guess there would also be the aspect of coming to terms with hunger too. By eating once a day the idea of eating at the first sign of feeling peckish is addressed too.

Im also aware that if you eat near bedtime that turns to fat (sugars anyway) so if you time it away from sleep times then you shouldnt be able to store much of what you eat as fat (again, regarding sugars, Im not sure about fats). By eating then moving about you burn the sugars.

42

There is a thing called “hunger high” and it is basically the coming to terms with - and learning to function in - a state of mild to moderate hunger (not starvation, mind you, but hunger). Your body gets used to this deprivation and begins to burn what is ON your stomach instead of IN your stomach. Once you get comfortable burning fat instead of sugars, that’s when the big, big changes happen.

And, this is why, after some time, you start to want to eat healthier because you lack nutrients and your body instinctively calls for them. If you told me a year ago that I’d be eating wild blackberries, oranges, strawberries, and tons of veggies as the biggest portions of my meals, I’d say get lost and laugh at you! But it has become a reality! Nonetheless, I still have days where I go for Popeyes or whatever is less than optimal and enjoy it…well, somewhat enjoy it (not like I used to, though). It doesn’t really matter once you’ve obtained balance. You can enjoy your life and move on.

I don’t care for being full. I really don’t. I love running on…“me”…lol. Now that I’ve advanced my caloric intake, I can run hotter and harder for longer and I have great workouts—and I don’t feel so drained post-workout. It is amazing how your body can learn to ration its power. And this somehow does worlds for strength training. No shaky workouts, no early fatigue…just amazing.

The first week is especially tough, and the next 3 weeks continue to demand discipline, but when you get to that moment when you start to say to yourself: “I can keep doing this!”, then you’ve won. At times, you need to remind yourself why you must keep on (at first, anyway)…

1) You will only get worse if you go off it.
2) You will be feeling better.
3) You will save on food expenses.
4) You will have more time and be more productive during the day.

etc.

It happens NOT to be true that if you eat late you will gain weight. It doesn’t matter when or at which meal you eat. It is your calories-in/calories-out quota that determines weight gain or loss. Only in excess of your daily caloric needs does frequent napping enhance fat storage (sumo wrestlers do that to gain before competitions).

43

Rusty, its awesome, I admire your dedication, glad to see that you changed your life for the better, Id say for the best :)!

44

Congrats Rusty :slight_smile:

45

Congratulations Rusty! What an accomplishment!

-Garry

46

Well Rusty, you inspired me. I started your program Sunday after reading this thread. So far, it hasn't been too bad yet. I've had a few moments when I really wanted to eat something. But they passed. It's way early on, but I do feel better already. I sometimes take the stairs up to the 8th floor of the building I work in. They were much easier today.

I know I'm not supposed to weigh myself for a week, but I was down almost 9 pounds this morning (Started at 295lbs, I'm 6'1"). I imagine the loss is almost all water.

Started monitoring my blood sugar this morning. It was high at 107 and then before lunch today it was 112. I only get that high if I eat badly (not counting couple hours after a meal). Not sure what to think of that. Maybe my body is burning fat and conserving the glucose?

Whatever the cause, I will be monitoring my blood sugar closely. I imagine it will take a bit for it to stabilize.

47

That’s no easy accomplishment. Well Done!

48

PMing you.

49

Same here…full 24hrs done…not as bad as I had thought

Not a diet…going to change how I eat, I have tried EVERYTHING and failed, lets see if just eating once a day instead of snacking, meals, munching and crunching will have any effect on my metabolism (if you call it that…I can think of cake and gain 5 pounds!)

I have increased my water consumption…any time I feel a hunger pang I slug at least 12oz of water…it helps

50

Oh it will work. It can’t not work because of simple physics. Just don’t get talked or psyched out of it. Remember to include teas and coffees, especially teas. They literally promote fat burn and supress appetite.

51

Great job Rusty! I’ve lost 50 myself, but mostly doing maintenance weight training, hikes and decreasing processed food intake, more fresh food, higher protein ratios. Definitely not a fan of one meal per day, but to each his own, whatever works on your quest is golden. Flashlights have actually helped me in this quest a lot: this is actually how I started into LED flashlights, I use them to allow me to walk my dogs at night, so when other activities take up my daylight hours, its no excuse not to be active still. Plus, I get to play with all my cool lights. :wink:

52

Great job Rusty Joe, that’s awesome.

53

Great to have someone (In addition to our leader Rusty) with me WarHawk. Like you, I have tried most of the different approaches without long term success.

My blood sugar was better this morning 98. It actually did pretty good yesterday after such a big meal. 123 2 hours after eating. Normally, that much food would elevate my blood sugar quite a bit. Only lost a pound from yesterday. I know, I know, not supposed to weigh daily.

Hunger has not been an issue. I get hungry an hour or two before eating. I find myself "wanting" to eat at times, but I can now differentiate between hunger and wanting. The worst time for me is after work when I get home. I just pretend there is no food around to eat and get busy on something.

A nice surprise is that I feel like I have been freed to certain degree. Didn't realize how much of my life centered around eating regularly. Energy is definitely higher too. It's a big lifestyle change. So far so good.

EDIT: Congrats on pulling off 50 lbs B42. Before this I was down about 40 pounds from my peak, but stuck.

54

Trying it starting today. Had a big breakfast, not particularly healthy, and don't plan to eat again until tomorrow morning.

I think a window of eating, from 8 to 12 is good... can't function without a breakfast/lunch, but skipping dinner shouldn't be as hard.