The AM Forum

Hola,

The other day a close Vietnamese friend of mine axed me, "Tom Vu, last year you fat as pig. No wonder they call you ham. Now you thin like monkey. What is your secret?"

Yes, it is true. Last spring Tom Vu weighed in at a staggering 205 pounds. My stomach hung out like watermelon. My old 1970 high school weight was 160. I'm now down to a leaner 163 pounds for a loss of 43 pounds. (5' 10" tall)  I want to give my secrets (for flee) since most of us struggle as we age to keep weight off, especially the stomach. If only one ham loses weight, it will make more elbow room on the bands... :-)  That is a worthy goal....


Here are the Top-Ten Tom Vu diet-plan rules for 2009:

1) You can eat everything you eat now, but cut it by 1/2.  ie, If you now eat a full plate at a sitting, carefully fill the plate with 50% less and then stop eating. Your stomach needs to shrink. The first week or so is the hardest cuz the stomach isn't full and will complain. After a while, it will shrink and make it difficult to eat a full portion as before.

2) Better yet, divide your day's meals into eight to ten smaller portions and eat small meals throughout the day. By eating small portions throughout the day, the body will burn it up quickly once it knows food is available regularly. There is a delay of about 2 days for this process to kick in. In contrast, starving yourself fools the body into lowering its metabolism and storing fat for hard times - the opposite of what you want to lose weight.   Starving yourself is NG!

3) Start closely watching what you eat. Look at the calorie content on the labels per serving. After a while, you will realize that eating certain foods is like running in the mud. Even cashews are OK, but only a few - a bowl full will push you over the 1000 calorie mark quickly. 

4) To lose weight, look to eat maybe 1500 calories each day. It all depends on how much energy you burn and your metabolism, so adjust accordingly.  To drop up to 5 pounds a week is fine, but no more. Losing weight too fast has other consequences. Do it gradually.

5) Watch out for the weight plateaus. When I was at 205, my gut hung out and I could barely get into size 42 pants. It was like wearing a 43 pound backpack everywhere I went. Dropping the first ten pounds felt like magic. But then I stayed around 195 pounds for 2 weeks. Then it dropped quickly to 185 and got stuck there for a few weeks no matter what I did. Many people give up at these points, but we need to have faith that doing the right things will eventually work out.

6) Get interested in a hobby that requires physical effort on a regular basis. I fell into kayaking and canoeing. Hiking is good too. As older gents, we need something that will work the stomach muscles too.

7) We cannot tell the body WHERE to take off the weight. It will come off in places you may not like, like the face and reduces muscles somewhat. My face is definately thinner and I am not as strong as before, but maybe by only 15% or so.  You will feel colder in winter and need more clothes layers. The stomach will need toning to remove the last few pounds of fat. You will probably never get a "six pacK,' but you will see the faint outline of one if you do sit ups each day.  Find a big rock or chair and do a few rounds of inclined push-ups each day. These are the easier push-ups where you lean forward maybe 45 degrees. Toning is important to tell the fat where to leave and also to maintain strength.

8) Think thin. After awhile, you will find it very easy to pass on desserts and other fat crap foods. Eating large salads, cereal grains, lots of fruits or whatever you like in small portions will become second nature.

9) This is one of the biggest benefits: I'm not really much into how I look - it's how I feel and how easily I can get around. I had 19 pairs of really nice casual jeans/pants hanging in my closet, almost unused. They were mostly sizes 32-36. What a waste for the last 2 years. I was wearing out my 40-42 pants until they were thread-bare. It was such a pleasure to pull out all these thinner pants and zip 'em up. I can even get into size 32 now. It's been since 1970 that I could do that. It makes it all worth it.

10) Benefit: You will feel younger and have much more energy and endurance when at your "designed" weight. The digestive system works better, heart and blood disease risk is reduced as well as a host of back and skeletal problems.


Amendment: 11)  If we fall off the wagon and pig out one day, it doesn't mean we have failed and destined to a life of tears and misery. Just get back on the wagon and start the diet back up again the next day - no problem. We're all human and will probably do it again... :-)   The cumulative effect of generally doing things right over time will prevail in the end.


This plan can be done in a leisurely way. It's mostly psychological and requires only a small physical effort.  It's really about how much food we take in vs: what gets burned up or sent out. For example, if we spent 2 months lost in the wilderness with barely enough food to survive, do you think we would lose weight? How about 30 pounds? It takes a tremendous effort to maintain a body weight like I had at 205, 42 pounds overweight. It cost money and a conscious effort at the supermarket to buy all the junk required. It's really a state of mind.

I hesitated to write this post, but after getting a number of questions from friends I figured maybe a few ham buddies would benefit too.  Hope someone finds it of value.

Best of the holidays to all!

73,
Tom, K1JJ
 

How about "before" and "after" pics?

W1AC

heheheh...  I made sure no one took any pics of me for the last year. The only record is in the gray matter of friends.. :-)

One benefit I didn't mention - the kayak sits higher in the water now -  and Yaz's 55 pound weight is nearly canceled out from before. The scupper drain holes used to shoot water up at times and fill the boat.

T

Tommy Vu,

Thanks for the intelesting information.  I always get a kick out of seeing the quote of needing 2000 - 2500 calories per day to survive.  I would be dead by now of obesity if I took that in.

Years ago I bought a calorie counter book for kicks and found that my average daily intake was 830 calories.  During periods of high intake, my impression is that the food passed through faster.  Obviously less nutrition per volume was extracted.  As the economy get worse, perhaps more people will realize how much less food they need to consume.  If you look at the advertising on TV and in magazines you see that pushing food on us is a big part of business and culture here.

Nicely done Tom. I am a big fan of portion control. You are absolutely right, you get used to less, and you simply don't miss the extra blob of mashed potatoes after two weeks or so. The biggest problem you'll have now is all the damn women who try to pick you up as you walk down the street. 

I agree.  Very nicely done Tom and constructively informative.
It looks like getting committed and seriously starting is the biggest hurdle.

 

That's really doing something, Mark!  Now that you are on a roll, the last 25 pounds should be easy.
Weightwatchers, or whatever it takes will work.  There's many, many ways to get there, it's just a matter of consuming less calories, simple as that.

BTW, last month I was stuck at 170 pounds for almost three weeks and wanted to hit 163.  I caught a bout of food poisoning from the local supermarket salad bar for five days. Probably salmanela. Threw up and had diarrhea and dropped the last 7 pounds like nothing... :-)  It was an easy way to lose weight, but a VERY tough way to do it... :-)   Since then, I'm feeling great.  Makes you appreciate good health and now I watch what I eat like a hawk.  No more public salad bars for me.  In fact, I'm splurging and ate some ice cream and pizza this week.  Weight stayed the same so far....


BTW, thanks for the comments, guys -

T

It is important not to over look the exercise portion of Vu's info. Just cutting back on your intake (especially if you cut back too much too quickly) will just slow your metabolism and your weight loss will slow or even stop. Exercise keeps your metabolism up or even increases it.

To keep from losing muscle, make some of your exercise weight or resistance based. Most people naturally lose musle as they age. So even if you don't have a weight problem, weight or resistance training is a good thing to do. Weight training also burns more calories than straight aerobic training. And the added muscle will help you move those boatanchors!

Very good points, Big Country!

You've inspired me start working out with light weights on my old Universal Gym machine that takes up half my bedroom. I do miss the slight reduction in strength and want to do something about it.

Thanks for the reminder, OM.

T

Muscle requires more calories than fat to maintain. So adding muscle actually allows you to eat a little more with no bad side effects. And the ladies like it too.

Great post and suggestions Tom!

Thanks OM, and congrats on your sucess.
Its hard, and even harder to stay thin, but you've got a plan.
You can't put a price on health and wellness.

Certainly an inspiration to all of us!

Excellent advice, Tom.   Since leaving the hossiple in 2004, I packed on about 30 lbs, currrently weighing 200.   I desperately need to get back to 170, or even 165.   I think I'll immediately start your  system.  My only problem is walking.   I have impeded circulation in my upper legs which causes me to get tired quickly when walking (my favorite excercise).   I get muscle burn in my upper thighs after about 5 minutes of walking.     I'll have to figure out a fix for that.

Tom Vu diet plan very good.
Losing weight is very good for health and happiness. (read that in a fortune cookie!)
Last January I weighed in at 287 pounds!
Very Very fat man.
Then I wound up having a quadruple by-pass operation. (Doctor caught it before I had the big one!)
After I recovered enough they put me in a cardiac rehab program where they taught me how to eat, avoid stress, and exercise.
Now I limit my intake, don't eat fatty foods, and exercise 4 or 5 times a week for an hour minimum at a time. I work out with weights, walk many miles, do exercycle etc.
Turkey burgers not bad and they told me to drink a glass of wine now and again.
So now I am at 203 pounds, have a cholesterol of only 126, LDL or 63, HDL of 49, almost no trigclicerides, and my blood sugar is now normal.
Much to be said for a healthy life style. Turkey burgers are not that boring!

Anyway here's wishing everyone here a happy and healthy new year.
Regards
Q

Thanks, Bruce -

I know you were successful maybe 10 years ago? at dropping some weight, so you know the score.

Ed - Sounds like a plan.  Yes, it's so easy to pack on the weight sometimes. Time just flies and ya look in the mirror and gag, I know. Hopefully you can find a solution for the walking problem. Any excercise is better than none. Good luck, OM.


Q - Wow, that's a lot of serious weight dropped!  That's quite the excercise sked too, OM. Good for you. Sometimes it takes a shock like that to get us in gear. Sounds like you completely turned it all around, including healthy food, etc.  Interesting on drinking the wine - I've heard that and will read more about it. I decided to go vegetarian here, though it's not required to lose weight or be healthy. I just got tired of getting "chemical" headaches from the MSG, meat extenders and other steroid junk they put in meats. As a result, my bad cholesteral has plumeted to below the average level for the first time. Before it was getting in the danger zone. So, there's so many other benefits of losing weight and eating right.

Another "rule" I should have mentioned in the post above....  I violated it yesterday which reminded me.  If we fall off the wagon and pig out one day, it doesn't mean we have failed and destined to a life of tears and misery. Just get back on the wagon and start the diet back up again the next day - no problem. The cumulative effect of generally doing things right over time will prevail in the end.
Yesterday I pigged out and loaded up on too much chinese food and chocolate swirl ice cream, cashews, etc. But today, I'm back to being good and started working out with light weights again. HUZman suggested the weight training, so that's what I need to tone the final remaining stray fat off.

It's always interesting to hear these stories cuz we're all in the same boat, more or less.

Later -

Tom, K1JJ

That is exactly what the nutritionist and nurses said in Cardiac rehab.
They said it is ok to do it once in awhile, just not too much.
When my birthday came last April they asked me if I was gonna enjoy a steak. I told them no cause I was afraid of winding up back in the operating room. They said, "you have to live your life, enjoy your birthday, once won't hurt you".

Regards
Q
W1QWT

Hello TomVuSan,

Thanks for taking the time to share your secret of ridding oneself of the Hammie Radio paunch.

Have been kinna following this outline since leaving college.

For me,  the most important thing is to keep active -- cardio vascular exercise is very important.  Even if we have some little cronic issue with a knee,  back elbo  etc,  there is something that we can do for exercise for muscles AND heart/lungs.

Thanks again for sharing your experience and knowledge.
Best Wishes for the holidays to all and Happy New Year.   Vic

Dr. Vu! Dr. Vu!  One more  kwetchun....  You wrote,   I assume that the incline is with the head down? 

e-z poosh-oops: on knees... works the lower back and stomach better too...

can't walk long?
stationary bike... I can't do it without some serious uptempo hot rock-n-roll going at the same time, helps to time the session. I get bored easy. Riding outside, like I used to do was good because I was busy thinking about the scenery, that hot girl, cars going by, and not crashing... not to mention getting where I was going.

              _-_-bear

Why is it my cat can sleep 18 hours a day and look beautiful....Might be the no stress life style.
Getting enough sleep is also a big deal.

What, just get on your knees?   
I ought to try that.

Stationary bike, eh?   Hmmmmm...     b-o-o-o-ring!  I much prefer riding outside,where I'd be busy looking at the scenery, that hot girl, more hot girls...   stuff....  girls...

Vic,

Yes, the excercise keeps us in a good frame of mind too. Eating right and excercise is really a way of life. I was fortunate to get hooked on kayaking, canoeing and now canoe sailing. Transporting the crafts to and from,  paddling, hiking the islands with Yaz are so much fun that they don't seem like excercise. That's half the battle.  But the lakes had ice on them the last time I went out... all done 'til late March.


Ed,

I do the EZ push-ups. Simply stand and lean forward about 45 degrees onto something - so that your legs are on the ground and your head is up.  There was a time when I cud do 100 regular pushups, but they cause me shoulder pain if I do too many now. I like to do light reps of things now for toning.   In the past, a few years I worked out and built up muscles, but it took so much time and effort to maintain it I said the heck with it. Big muscles turn to fat if not kept up, plus I rarely went anywhere with no shirt to show it off to the babes, so why bother?... :-)  It might be different if I lived in FL or S. CALIF.


Bear,
Yes, biking is real fun. Nothing like it. My problem is taking Yaz with me. The street is outa the question and the long trails in the woods would overheat or overwork him. So, I stick to hiking and sailing with him.  He goes everywhere with me.

Frank,
Yes, the cat family does a lot of sleeping... :-)  I think lions spend 18 hours sleeping too. They are one unique animal to be able to pull it off and maintain their shape.


T

Another strategy that works (I've lost 20 pounds - 210 to 190- in the last 8 months) is the so called Paleo/Evolutionary lifestyle. Basic idea is to mimic the caveman.
 
Basically you eat what paleolithic (i.e., before agriculture) man ate on the theory that the paleo diet is what our bodies adapted to during the 2 million year paleolithic era and  we have not had enough time (only 10,000 years since the advent of agriculture) to adapt to the agriculturally based diet.

Diet is simple - meat, fish, fowl, eggs, vegetables (except potatoes & rice), nuts & seeds.  Another words what was available to eat during the 2 million year paleoithic era.

I have never watched calories.

In addition to losing 20 pounds (and counting) my lipid profile (HDL, LDL, Triglycerides) have improved greatly.

For exercise I do Crossfit style workouts. These are basically high intensity, short duration exercises, with continuous variety, using body weight only as well as weighted, functional (pushing, pulling squatting, lifting, running, climbing, swimming)  training. Average workout is 20- 30 minutes. The idea again is to mimic the caveman - chase animal, kill animal, haul animal home.

Today's workout was - walk 1/2 hour, sprint 50 yards x 5, 20 x 5 squats, 20 x 5 Hindu pushups & 20 x 5 walking lunges.

No food at all until 6:00PM - then salad with chicken, 3 eggs, handful of nuts & 2 glasses of red wine.

I feel the call of the wild.



 







 

 . 

Good stuff Tom.............here is a little test all can do. I know Im over weight but try to ignore it.
Take off all your clothes and stand in front of a FULL LENGTH mirror and evaluate what u see. If you like it.......no problem, but if you dont.....................its time to take action!!!!!!
Just a thought.........

Bill

Very intersting, Terry. I have always thought that imitating the caveman diet or even apes was a better idea than what we have evolved to.  But I do wonder if meat is our natural food or maybe the apes had it right with the fruits and veggies, I dunno.

BTW, why no potatoes or rice? Is it the carbohydrates or maybe the high calorie content?

Tom

heheheh - I do that, Bill, but in a more subtle way. When sitting on the throne, just look down and check out my stomach. That is probably the most unflattering view, when sitting. 

With men, it really comes down to stomach fat.  Nowadays I just have to pull up my shirt and look in the mirror. Even though the rest of the bod is lean, there is always some fat left in the mid section.  The real breakthrough was when I finally got some curve back in the waist again. Before that, it was the incredible blob.


T

Tom,

The anthropological data support the hypothesis that paleo man was a meat eater. The idea that he subsisted on veggies is a myth - not enough calories. numerous studies support this.Paleo man ate the brain & organ meats first as they were the highest in fat content.  Google: Loren Cordain. Also read Gary Taubes.

One caveat - eat grass fed/finished meat. It has an Omega 3/Omega 6 fat profile (very important) similar to wild game.

The Eskimos ate fish, elk & blubber but were vitrually free of cardiovascular disease for thousands of years until the introduction of  refined carbohydrate into their diet.

Processed and other high glycemic load carbs (rice, potatoes, pasta) are the enemy. They turn to sugar in the bloodstream almost immediately which in turn leads to high triglycerides & metabolic syndrome. Google: syndrome X.

Terry,

Interesting on the rice, potatoes and pasta. I didn't know that. I eat a lot of rice and will have to cut that out. Same for the pasta.  I've always found rice to add weight. TNX.

Yes, I had no doubt that cavemen ate lots of meat....  I just wasn't sure if that was the best diet compared to the apes. But 2 million years is a long enuff time to adapt.  Then again, I guess they didn't live past 35, but that's a whole different subject... :-)

OK on the Eskimos. At least their fish was reasonably free of the common chemicals we deal with today in our waters.

T

The result of early man eating meat was his brain grew and some actually got smarter

Tom

I'd like to see the evidence that supports this. It seems contrary to logic & science. Frequent eating would tend to increase blood sugar levels which would play havoc with triglycerides. Also the cells would never experience autophagy or self cleaning which slows the aging process. Intermittent fasts are very good for you & mimic the paleo experience (i.e., no game).

Terry,

I'm no dietician, just a hack when it comes to nutrition - I just read a lot on the web and use what works for me. But if you do a Google search for the words, "small meals throughout the day,"  you will find hundreds of pages on the subject. I copied and pasted a few below that talk about the pros and cons of small meals. There are probably some scientific studies in there if you look hard enuff.

I find there are many, many different opinions on dieting and ongoing debates that would argue both ways. I personally like eating small meals throughout the day and find to starve myself is both psychologically difficult and also tough on my stomach.

Whatever works, I guess.

Tom


-----------
Writings on eating small meals throughout the day:


When patients come to my office for nutritional and diet advice, one of the first things I tell them is to eat at least five small balanced meals throughout their day.  Inevitability, this dietary suggestion is met with groans and complaints of not enough time in the day to fulfill this request.  My response is one of education and empowerment, one which I will share with you now.


The real question here is not “How can I find the time in my day to eat five small balanced meals?” but really, “How can I NOT make the time to fuel my body properly with five small balanced meals throughout the day?”  This real question becomes apparent when you look at the “why” behind eating five small balanced meals per day.
 

When you eat food (recipes), your blood sugar or blood glucose levels rise.  Insulin is secreted by your body in response to food in the digestive system.  As time passes, insulin drives glucose into the body’s cells and out of the blood stream. Both insulin and glucose levels decrease.  This simplified version of the process takes place each time food in consumed and is considered to be a normal and healthy function of the digestive system.


This process can become unhealthy when an individual consumes 2 or 3 larger meals a day and fasts for four or more hours in between meals.  Eating in this manner, allows blood sugar and insulin levels to spike very high after the meal is consumed and drop very low after several hours of fasting.  This can result in hypoglycemia or low blood glucose levels.  Symptoms of hypoglycemia can be irritability, confusion, hunger, sweating, and palpitations to name a few.    Ideally, it is advantageous for insulin and glucose levels to remain relatively steady throughout the day.  Eating five smaller meals throughout the day minimizes the high spikes and low drops in glucose and insulin levels.  In addition to avoiding symptoms of hypoglycemia, smaller meals help to decrease cravings or mood swings.  Smaller meals also help you to avoid overeating at mealtim


Have you ever felt hungry on a calorie restrictive diet? Has being hungry led you to binge eating and falling off your diet? Did you regain the weight you lost while you were following the restrictive diet? You are not alone.

We are repeatedly told by diet after diet that you have to cut calories to lose weight. It is said that losing weight is about calories in verses calories out. Some diets take this to the extreme, allowing as little as 800-1,000 calories per day along with exercise to melt the fat. The problem is that when you follow a calorie restrictive diet you will actually stop your weight loss progress by slowing your metabolism. To burn fat, it is important to build muscle and increase your metabolic rate.


*****   Another way to boost your metabolism is to eat small frequent meals throughout the day. Eat every 2-3 hours tells your body that you are giving it energy and it does not need to store calories as fat. Skipping meals, however, will not result in weight loss because your body will store the fat. Eating frequently will make you feel full and keep hunger at bay.


Additionally, restrictive diets leave you feeling hungry, which often leads to periods of binge eating and can result in the frustration of yoyo dieting. Feeling hungry will not only slow your metabolism, it will also drain your energy and make you feel cranky. Experiencing these negative effects will likely cause you to quit the restrictive diet and regain any weight you’ve already lost. Frustrated and hungry, it is easier to reach for unhealthy choices.

Some things are sadly predictable. Extra winter poundage, for instance. Or the 3 o'clock slump, which sags before you like a hammock every afternoon. Here's a happier prediction: Eat more often- six meals a day instead of three--and you'll avoid all of those problems. Spreading six smaller meals across your day operates on the simple principle of satisfaction. Frequent meals tame the slavering beast of hunger. The secret? Each mini meal should blend protein and fiber-rich complex carbohydrates. "Protein and fiber give you that feeling of satiety and keep you from feeling hungry," says Tara Geise, R.D., a nutritionist in private practice in Orlando and a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association (ADA). Controlling hunger shrinks your gut. In a study published in the International Journal of Obesity, one group of overweight men was given five small meals, then was free to choose a sixth meal. A second group ate a single meal containing the same number of calories as the total of the other group's first five meals, then later had a free-choice second meal. The six-meal men ate 27 percent less food at their last meal than the two-meal men did at their second. Consistent eating will also keep your protein levels high, helping you build muscle. "Your body can metabolize only so much protein at one time," says Katherine Tallmadge, R.D., author of Diet Simple. "Protein is metabolized better when it's divided evenly." The challenge is keeping the mini meals mini. "It's critical that at the end of the day, the calorie content of your mini meals does not exceed what you would eat in three larger meals," says Jeannie Moloo, Ph.D., R.D., an ADA spokeswoman in Roseville, California. Most guys trying to lose weight should eat between 2000 and 2500 calories per day (for a precise figure on your own calorie count, go to MensHealth.com/caloriecalc and plug in your weight and activity level). With a suggested calorie count in hand, you can mix and match from the list of meals shown here. Yes, you can take two items from one meal list--if they're small.


http://www.realage.com/NutritionCenter/articles.aspx?aid=10483

Back to paleo-man, lot's of thought to weight and strength as a function of diet but how about life span as a function of diet?

Of course when you had to hunt you ran the risk of being hunted... both good calorie burners  ;D

Given that childhood mortality, disease prevention, hygene, modern medicine, etc. prolong modern mans' life, it's still fairly established that paleo-man, even in good health might have lived to 35 years of age. 

So it may be posited that overall health depends on a lot more than diet and excercise alone.   But I like the concept.  Evolution measured in human generations doesn't yield too much 'change time' since the paleolithic.

So maybe we ought to mimic how girls were captured while we're at it.  um,hm.

It is true that paleo man did not have the average lifespan of modern man but  most paleo deaths were related to the "accidents and trauma of a life spent living outdoors without modern medical care", not to the chronic degenerative diseases that afflict modern man. Studies of modern day stone age cultures such as the pre- westernized Inuit and the Kitavans show the elders to be free of high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke & diabetes (i.e. the diseases of civiliation) despite a diet extremely high in saturated fat.

I am also working hard on adopting the paleo girl capturing techniques. So far - I can report little success in this area but I continue to try.

OH, you bop them on the head and drag them home by the hair?

I'll add my 2 cents to this discussion.  About 12 years or so ago I weighed in at a maximum of 240.  I'm 6ft tall.  To say the least my body mass index was high and considered very overweight.  I developed health problems from the high pace lifestyle I was leading.  Diet was as bad as one could make it and I drank coca-cola by the gallon and drank a lot of beer too boot.  When the early indicators of poor health started I got my wake up call by my doctor. He told me to quit what I was doing point blank. So I had to make some changes.  Fast food was eliminated 100%.  No more soda pop.  No caffeine. No more alcohol except for special occasions and nowadays it's usually a good red wine. Everything eaten is now homemade.  No junk whatsoever.  At that time I got into stonewall building.  In 4 months with a drastic diet change and heavy laborious work I went from 240 to 180.  Went from a size 38 waist to 32.  Like JJ I was able to wear clothes I had not worn in years.

Today at 49, I hover between 175 and 185 and still maintain a 32 waist. 175 was my weight when I was 18.  My BMI is 24. Diet has not changed.  I eat what I want as long as it is in balance with other things and not crappy food and of course remain physically active, I don't exercise per sè but still do muscle work around the house on a fairly regular basis.  BP is normal as is cholesterol.

Don't know about anyone else but one thing I know, when I feel like I 'm putting on weight especially around the middle, my ability to sleep on my stomach becomes more difficult.

If one wants to lose weight, quit drinking soda. Not only will you lose the pounds you won't rot your teeth out or end up with diabetes.

Now if I could only find a way to exercise my eyes.

Brown rice and I loose weight.

A bunch depends on what else you eat, I suppose...

I suspect that the exercise is key to all this...

My problem is that I am now 56, gonnna be 57 in just a few months.
Was a very active (pretty good, I might add) tennis player... took some time off due to family issues... two winters ago I shoveled some snow. Used my legs, nothing heavy, nothing too long, all the right way. Damn if my lower back didn't go to hell. MRI said that I have two bulging discs. DRAT!

Completely screwed up my usual exercise - tennis - no can do.
Things are ok now, no surgery, no shots yet - but when it was acting up, IT HURT and it SUCKED. For a while I couldn't go between sitting and standing without extreme discomfort.

I gotta get back while I still can - my conditioning is turning into wet noodles - my weight is unchanged at ~195/6ft tall... tennis playing weight is like 183... not sure what to try to do. I hate stationary bikes, hate static weights, hate that stuff, too dull and boooorrring for my mind to get motivated about. Now beating the crap out of a yellow sphere? Yeah! Maybe I will go for swimming... flippers seemed to have solved my tendency to sputter and bog down the last time I tried them, all I need now is to find the time and the $$ to pay out for the privilege of doing so...

My friend Al, downstate retired from the PO. His health had gone to mud... on all sorts of blood meds, etc. Started to get back into riding his bike. Got up to 25mi/day... feeling good again! Some fool was in the wrong place on the bike path and he had to dump his bike. Not very hurt. Next day, can't use his right hand!

Be careful at our age(s) about getting into a vigorous exercise or work program, we not be so young and things screw up without notice. Wear body armor for outdoor activities, things that you used to get up and walk away from, you and I can not anymore...

                 _-_-bear

here I am close to 400 pounds.  ::)

both me and my wifey way too fat. I have some mitigating issues which you all know about, but she is ok - but we reinforce each others bad habits instead of the good ones.

Bear

Try this for bad back - I'm 61 - many years with bad back & they have helped me tremendously:
1) Hindu push ups - 3 sets x 10 x 4 days/week
2) Hindu squats: 2 x 20 x 4 days week
3) Back Extension: 2 x 10 x 4 days a week
4) L sit/hold: 3 x 10 seconds x 4 days week



Hindu push up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcW61Bb8uOo&feature=related

Hindu squat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPSVpo4mzNI

Back Extension: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubV2ISz_hCM

L sit/hold: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JQemOvlb4Q&feature=related

Derb

You may want to read this:
http://conditioningresearch.blogspot.com/2007/09/ketogenic-diet-and-cancerold-news.html

Further on the Paleo Diet

Evolutionary Fitness: the diet that really works
Bryan Appleyard thinks he has found a diet that really works:
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/diet_and_fitness/article4523487.ece

Bryan Appleyard Interview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-r0qys89io

Art Devany 71 year example of the diet/lifestyle:
http://www.arthurdevany.com/webstuff/images/RevisedEssay.pdf


 

Bear,
Doc who repaired my disk said you can pull them back in if you have a year to take at easy. Lay on your back and pull one knee at a time to your chin.
I still do that one.  sit on a chair and bend over and touch your toes. Suck your gut in when you walk.

A Crave Inverter that's what we need.   I asked my daughter, the cell biologist, to get cracking on it.  I mean how hard can it be?  Find those little cellular craving signals, proteins, whatever, and turn them upside down.

Chocolate?  Don't really care for it.   Brussel sprouts?  More, I want more, honey, more.   Pass the cauliflower.  Cheeseburger? No thanks.   

Hand over the tofu and nobody gets hurt.

I don't know if anyone is still reading this thread but there is also the Don't Think Diet.

Researchers at Stanford ran a little experiment.   Subjects were given individual numbers to memorize, 2 to 7 digits long.   Their sole task was to walk out of the room down the hall to another room and write the number down. But on the way they were met by a pleasant research assistant. "Thanks for participating in the study. Would you like a snack?  I have fruit and chocolate cake."   By a wide margin the people assigned the long numbers took the cake while the short number people didn't. 

Researchers concluded the little analytical part of your brain, the part that tells you, "cake tastes good but it's full of sugar and fat, you really shouldn't eat that" is easily overloaded leaving the sensory part at the controls. 

They didn't go on to propose a diet based on their conclusions.   That's my contribution to Nutritional Science. To lose weight, don't think.