The Viffer Gets the Blame

I am by no means an expert nor have I ever really had an overweight problem, I did loose a few pounds just by moving more and eating less. I agree that diets are not the way to do it, but changing your eating and exercising habits is. Although it might be tough on your knee, walking is probably one of the best exercises and it's free! Before I got my dog, I was gaining a bit of weight, but after getting the dog and having to walk him three times a day, I lost nearly 15lbs. Although I don't walk him as often now, my weight has been pretty steady due to diet (how much and often I eat). My wife has been a big part of this as she is so afraid of gaining weight that she keeps an eye on our food menu. As long as my palette is satisfied, I usually find that I don't need a "large" plate of food all of the time, but I do find that I usually clean my plate.

One key I have found to maintaining a successful weight loss "program" is not too quit any food cold turkey, but rather make it a "treat". For instance, the wife and I have cut our soda consumption to only on the weekends, for her it's a great treat for being good all week. It's funny how use to less of something your body gets, I sometimes find it hard to drink a 12oz. can of soda now, as we have been buying the 7/8oz. cans of Coke and just those few extra ounces is hard for me to consume, and soda has got to be one of the worse contributor of weight gain IMO. Most of the contestants on the program Biggest Loser (wife use to watch it when it first aired) were huge soda drinkers, one contestant used to drink a 2 liter a day!

Good luck with you goal!

 

Lots of good advise here. So if I may add some more. Set yourself up for success. Make it hard to fail by setting lower targets. This way, you see the benefits of your toll or your eating. Once you have attained your goal, just enjoy your accomplishment. Then set a whole new set of goals, again small easily attainable ones. Keep this up and eventually you should be able to get yourself to a point where you are content. This really applies not only to exercise but moderating your food as well. As an example, say you put a heaping teaspoon of sugar in your morning coffee. If you suddenly stop putting sugar in, you are likely going to gag and return to the sugar. But by slowly reducing the sugar over a fairly long period of time, you will develop the taste for coffee with reduced sugar or even go black. I haven't got to the black stage but the amount of sugar I put in was reduced over several years to where it is acceptable, being diabetic and all.

Now I need to go out there and start following my own advise.

 

Have you tried to "lay her down", I've read somewhere that it's popular with real bikers. Just joking of course, can't help myself sometimes. Seriously though........yoga........strength, flexibility, it's the fountain of youth.

 

I wanted to thank everyone for all the good advice. I have been watching my dad get weaker over the last few weeks. I do not know what is in store for him but it has made me aware of my own lifestyle and habits. My dad has always been a tall but thin man. He eats right and sparingly and gets a modicum of exercise (or he used to.) I have been looking at the other gentlemen around him and there are zero fat men or women. It's pretty telling.

Yoga? Interesting. I think I would feel like an idiot with my mat, my water bottle and my belling hanging over my yoga pants! All kidding aside I do have a self image problem when I exercise. I see so many people that like to dress the part. Since I was never athletic I feel like a fraud in workout clothes. It's like the guys around here that dress up like cowboys (and they do.) I have owned more cattle than most of them but I have never been tempted to play dress up. (Kind of like the Harley crowd dressing like pirates.) I wouldn't mind yoga but it's the whole yoga lifestyle thing I have trouble with.

All I know is I have to do something. I think for now a regimen of light free weights to start and a gradual cutting of caloric intake. My biggest downfall is at night. I eat because I am bore. I want to be able to enjoy my VFR for years to come and I don't want to ever have to resort to a three wheeled trike or a scooter around Wal-Mart.

 

Big Jim, I got started when I got tired of being fat. No seriously, one day I was out clothes shopping for pants and I couldn't find a size big enough to fit me. That was it! All the years that I had been DENYING to myself that I had a weight problem and chose to ignore it and instead just take the humiliation, pain, discomfort, and the doctor prescribed pills, it all just came crashing down! That day I decided enough was enough. I decided to do WHATEVER it takes to get to my ideal weight. WHATEVER it takes!

I started with riding my bicycle because it was an activity that I enjoyed. I rode it 5x a week for an hour. Yup. I was driven. I also decided to gradually cut down on the carbohydrate intake (white rice, white bread, corn, potatoes, pasta, pizza, anything with high sugar content). I substituted vegetables for typical carbohydrates. I also cut down on the portions. Then I made sure I did NOT skip ANY meals or snacks. Yeah. Eat less but eat often and don't skip meals. But the most, absolutely most important thing: Do NOT give up on your goals. If your goal is to weigh 180-190 lbs., then post that number up on your fridge and go there! It may take you a year, or longer. But however long it takes, every step forward gets you closer to your goal. And every time you get close to your goal it will become easier to ride your VFR800. The best part, I guarantee you that most, if not all your other healthy issues, will go away. It simply is the most amazing thing you can do for yourself and it's FREE! BTW, when you get lighter, your VFR's suspension works better! Like I said, it's all win-win all around. Go for it! It's the best gift you can give to yourself and it's a gift that will keep on giving.

 

Big Jim, don't let your self get hungry. Eat a snack BEFORE you go to bed. A healthy snack that is, nothing with a lot of sugar.

Sugar (and anything that is converted to sugar like carbs) is your enemy. Putting sugar into your body makes your body produce Insulin. Insulin tells your body to store fat and NOT burn it. So in essence, you want to minimize any food that will make your body produce insulin.

 

What Speeder's been saying, A+. I'd hit a "like" button if I could find one.

If yoga is something you'd like to do, no need to try to look the part, just like your cowboy story or BB's pirate story. I wear baggy shorts and tee shirts and drink water when It's over, but I do double up the mats, us bigger guys can get lbs/sq in. pain durning certain poses. It's a great compliment to cardio and gets the bod moving with a greater range of motion, and everything is connected, so when it comes to specific pain, like a knee, overall flexibility will help.

I got to my goal a few years ago and got pole vaulting again, unfortunately I fell off the wagon last Spring and have along way to go again before I get over any bars.

Best of luck Jim, shedding pounds gives you the feeling of shedding years.

Cheers

 

I am 53 years old. I am too young to feel like a slug. I want to do some dirt bike riding and quite frankly I am afraid of falling in the condition I am in. My weight combined with my lack of condition almost guarantees serious injury. It also hard to ride the VFR well with a gut rubbing the tank.

 

Stretching is a very important part of any exercise routine. It prevents injury and also warms the muscle for all workouts, regardless of what they are. It also targets many of your core muscles which may not do anything to make you look like Stalone, they do support the muscles that do. Stretching also allows the muscles to cool down properly after a workout. So in addition to nutrition, and exercises, don't forget the stretch. In other words, yoga. Just about every stretch I have seen is a yoga move. No one realizes this other than those who knowingly practice yoga and they sure are not going to complain of negatively comment. This will also help with joint pain by building the support around the joint. I think it would be well worth the money spent, to go book a couple sessions with a Kinesiologist who specializes in sports medicine. He will go over your joint pain with you and come up with a plan to follow best suited for you.

BTW. When you come up with a program, write it down and bring it with you to the gym so you will follow it. While you are at it, keep a book to track your successes. I don't know why, but writing things down seems to aid in the reaching of goals. Probably the main reason successful diabetics write things down.

 

Gut rubbing against sport bike tank is very annoying. It was another big reason I decided to change my life. Riding a sport bike is simply one of the biggest joys of my life. I wasn't going to let being overweight stop me or at the very least hinder my enjoyment of it.

 

I feel the same way with the admission that I will never feel comfortable riding a cruiser. I can see why the pull back riding style of the cruiser is more comfortable for people with guts but I just cannot bring myself to ride a bike with my feet out in front of me and my head way way back.

This is the first day of the rest of my life. I am back on the salad bar!