My weight loss has come pretty easily for me. I have not been on any kind of diet...though I have been eating more fresh fruits and veggies and cutting back on junk (sodas, chips, cookies). Right now, in fact, I am eating some Corinthians....tube shaped cookie things filled with chocolate....I pretty much eat what I want to....just in moderation. The key to my weight loss is movement....lots and lots of physical activity. Not exercise....no running, no yoga, no aerobics....just plain old fashion work....lifting and moving and dumping and packing and stacking of tons and tons of fresh fruit and veggies for hours and hours each day.....it's my job....inspecting and packing produce for super markets and restaurants.
On average, I would say that I consume between 1000 and 1500 calories of food each day....which really isn't that much food...but enough to keep me going. How many calories do I burn off each day....I have no idea, but it is clearly a lot more than I take in. Here's an example of what I do on a day to day basis.....Friday I was assigned to line 5 as the dumper....taking boxes of produce off the pallets and dumping it onto the sloped inspection and packing table...the rear edge of the table is just about shoulder height on me and slopes forward so that the produce rolls forward so the inspectors and packers and reach it. We had our monthly safety and procedures training from 7 to 7:30. Started work at 7:30. From 7:30 to 9:30 break time....I handled over 7000 pounds of green pears. From 9:40 until lunch at noon, I handled around 8500 pounds of cucumbers and 3500 pounds of squash. If a person spends 5 hours or so handling 30 to 75 pound boxes of produce, sometimes lifting from just above floor level, carrying them 4 or 5 feet, hoisting them up over his head and dumping them...then tearing down the empty box, slamming it onto a pile, then zooming back to grab another full box of produce....it's a crap load of calorie burning activity.
Would I see additional weight loss and muscle toning from hitting the gym 3 or 4 times a week to do a full body aerobic and resistance training routine....yeah.....but I am too tired most days to do so.
Tips for losing weight:
Consume a lot more low starch veggies such as lettuce, cabbage, cucumbers, snap peas, green beans, garden greens (kale, turnip, mustard, spinach)
Consume fewer starchy veggies, such a potatoes, pinto beans, kidney beans.
Consume less fatty cuts of meat and go for leaner cuts of meat.
Cut out sodas, milk, most fruit juices.....calorie packed and high in sugars and acids.
Reduce all dairy products in your diet....fat fat fat and cholesterol!!!!!! I have only drank 2 gallons of milk in the last 2 months....as opposed to the 2 gallons I used to drink in 2 weeks.
Increase your water intake.....drink lots and lots of water!
And don't forget to treat yourself to a bowl of ice cream or a pizza from time to time.....depriving yourself of the fun foods makes it so much harder to stick to a healthier diet. A bowl of ice cream ever couple of weeks is not going to kill you. A few slices of pizza on a Friday night will not set you back in your weight loss goals. But having those things from time to time will add the pleasure to your diet that will help keep you mentally happy.....
Tim
damn fine job Obio...congrats...i need to do something myself,but my pain levels are so high and the fact im not very ambulatory anymore is a huge factor..but congrats to you once again....
