4 ms·

Good for you. I haven't had as dramatic a change in weight, but it's been substantial (and on-going). You really hit the nail on the head, and it's hard to desc

by ohashi 14y ago

Good for you. I haven't had as dramatic a change in weight, but it's been substantial (and on-going). You really hit the nail on the head, and it's hard to describe unless you've been there. I don't honestly believe it was a willpower issue, but a lack of information/advice. The generic eat less, exercise more didn't do anything for me. On a side note, I'd love to hear what sort of issues you have with maintaining?

SoftwareMaven 14y ago
Thank you, and congrats to you as well. All the problems can be summed up with "crappy carbs". It's actually a long story about what started me down that path (dealing with health issues), but I've actually put back on some weight (around 40 pounds...it's easy to be blind to oneself :(). What I've found is that when I start eating carb-rich food, my ability to stop snacking on carb-rich foods goes to zero. So I've cycled between maintaining where I eat a low-glycemic diet and not doing that and gaining. When I spoke of "biological imperative", I mean me: when I eat carbs, I can't stop. I never get full. I'm sure I'd be a Type 2 diabetic in about 5 years if I didn't make this change. A few weeks ago, I dumped the crappy carbs again. I'm back full-on low-carb and have lost about half of that[1]. This time, I'm going to learn from my mistakes. :) I'm going to follow the Atkins notion of gradually increasing carbs until you find your "critical carbohydrate level". Since I've bounced back and forth, I figure realizing that fact will be helpful in my long-term maintenance. 1. Yes, a very large percentage of this is water. I'm OK with that. :)
- ohashi 14y ago
  That sounds very familiar from personal experience. Weight loss wasn't/hasn't been a straight down affair. Holidays, life, things get in the way and my experience mirrors yours quite closely from the sound of it. Even a couple days of bad carbs in a row I can see a scale jump 5, 8, 10 pounds (it seems insane, mostly water I am sure, but still insane to see that in a few days). I've been trying to learn and balance myself out and watch for those things. I do enjoy some of those bad carbs every once in a while. Figuring out how to have them occasionally and not ruin my health was/continues to be an interesting (and I feel life long) experience. It's nice to know I am not alone with those issues. Thanks for taking the time to talk about it so candidly, I really appreciate it. If you ever feel the need to reach out to someone and talk about it feel free, I would be happy to talk, learn and share.

by ohashi 14y ago

SoftwareMaven 14y ago

Thank you, and congrats to you as well. All the problems can be summed up with "crappy carbs". It's actually a long story about what started me down that path (dealing with health issues), but I've actually put back on some weight (around 40 pounds...it's easy to be blind to oneself :(). What I've found is that when I start eating carb-rich food, my ability to stop snacking on carb-rich foods goes to zero. So I've cycled between maintaining where I eat a low-glycemic diet and not doing that and gaining. When I spoke of "biological imperative", I mean me: when I eat carbs, I can't stop. I never get full. I'm sure I'd be a Type 2 diabetic in about 5 years if I didn't make this change. A few weeks ago, I dumped the crappy carbs again. I'm back full-on low-carb and have lost about half of that[1]. This time, I'm going to learn from my mistakes. :) I'm going to follow the Atkins notion of gradually increasing carbs until you find your "critical carbohydrate level". Since I've bounced back and forth, I figure realizing that fact will be helpful in my long-term maintenance. 1. Yes, a very large percentage of this is water. I'm OK with that. :)

ohashi 14y ago
That sounds very familiar from personal experience. Weight loss wasn't/hasn't been a straight down affair. Holidays, life, things get in the way and my experience mirrors yours quite closely from the sound of it. Even a couple days of bad carbs in a row I can see a scale jump 5, 8, 10 pounds (it seems insane, mostly water I am sure, but still insane to see that in a few days). I've been trying to learn and balance myself out and watch for those things. I do enjoy some of those bad carbs every once in a while. Figuring out how to have them occasionally and not ruin my health was/continues to be an interesting (and I feel life long) experience. It's nice to know I am not alone with those issues. Thanks for taking the time to talk about it so candidly, I really appreciate it. If you ever feel the need to reach out to someone and talk about it feel free, I would be happy to talk, learn and share.