Wanted: Fat Sailors

[MarkJ]

Dunno why I am floating into this thread.... but....


just go sailing.

On any of our passages of 2 weeks or more we shed heaps of blubber. And we stuff our faces!

So my advice is to stick Jenny Craig where the sun don't shine and cast off your lines for a 1 month tour of the closest ocean. You will come back looking like a beanpole and feeloing great


Mark

[s/v Beth]

Wish I could Mark. But I am writing you from work (sigh). Been 214.4 for 3 days. Hit my first wall....

[SaucySailoress]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Dunno why I am floating into this thread.... but....

just go sailing.

On any of our passages of 2 weeks or more we shed heaps of blubber. And we stuff our faces!

Mark

How sweet - as usual. But, for once I'm thinking of taking your advice and going sailing. But apart from the beachcat racing on Friday evenings, we can't go far on the when it's knocking 50C at noon!

Not gonna get far on our yacht - It still has a big hole in foredeck where chain plate ripped it up... Never mind - on the lookout for crewing positions - although even they don't seem to be easy to get.

[TEE]

Hey, just load up on freeze dried vegetables, and portioned food, cast off from the states, and don't stop until you lose what you want. You should be just about arriving in Grenada.

[High Heels]

Hi Kate,

You are inspiring me. Let me say I know it is not simple. I come from a long line of diabetics and heart patients on one side of my family, and while I know some of that was what they ate, some of it was genetic. Some of the heart issues were congenital.

I know for some it seems like a no-brainer, just a mathematical equation. These people are not wired to crave food or they have a diet that does not expose them to chemicals and preservatives in their food that set them up for addiction to that food.

I was raised with someone in my family who used food as a salve for anxiety. I watched everyday as a bag of some kind of chip was downed all on his own to deal with his pain and fear. Not a good example when you are a five year old. It makes me sad just to write this thinking about him.

I know fast food is laced with chemicals that I really believe set us up for wanting more of the junk. I never was a big fast food person but of late when we are traveling to and from our boat and I don't have time to pack something we find ourselves in the clutches of those evil empires of the fried domain. I try to make healthy choices but even the so-called healthy choices at these places are not good.

I was a sailor and rower in college. I ran at least four times a week. I was a fit 140 at 5' 10'' - I am not now. I reached my all time high weight ten years ago and then joined e-diets when they first started. In six months I had lost forty lbs. and was feeling and looking good. I maintained this for a year and a half but then it crept up again.

About six months after it crept up again I got very sick with tick borne illness that went undiagnosed for six months. Nothing I ate stayed with me, I was constantly nauseous and was lucky if one meal a day would stay down...lost fifty lbs. in six months. That was actually scary and I swore to myself that I would never complain about my weight again if I could just be well again.

Well, flash forward five years from then and I am complaining about my weight again. I had to drastically change my diet for three years while being treated. Nothing but water and herbal tea. No added sugar, no junk, no chocolate...etc...

I could barely walk up the stairs, had no energy, so there was no exercise. Now that I am back, I am having to start exercising from scratch. It is not fun. I didn't realize how competitive I was with myself. I would get on my rowing machine and pull like a banchie. I was strong, and it enabled me to relate to my less than petite physique from a place of power. I had always wanted to be cute and small, well that was not the body I was given. I think I was born 5'10" ;0) Anyway, it was not until college that I really found the sport I was good at, and started to love my body for how powerful and strong it was.

So now, after a chronic illness to get on my ergometer (rowing machine) and not be able to feel this power my body once had is downright frustrating and makes me sad. I have stopped exercising regularly. I know I should be grateful I can even still row, and I know others that have much bigger challenges physically, but it is my reality and at times, yes, I feel sorry for myself.

I am a licensed massage therapist and bodyworker. The lessons I have learned about how the spirit and body work together have been amazing. Seeing clients I have and their challenges in regards to relating to their bodies are illuminating and amazing. For many people fighting weight is not a simple equation. When humans have trauma in their lives from accidents, emotional/physical abuse, addictions, and life circumstance it can manifest in such a way that food, which is our sustenance and survival, gets wrapped up with the emotional realm. It can get very confusing and it is no longer just simply eating, but it can be medicating.

Sorry to ramble Kate. I just want you to know that I wish you luck with the weight loss. I would love to commit to losing with you, but right now as my Life is changing rapidly and we are getting ready to sell it all and go cruising, I am not sure I am strong enough to work on giving up coffee, red wine, and creamer in my coffee ;0) I am banking on the long passages diet that others have referred to here.

I will tell you that as I pack up our house and get it ready for the market I tried motivating myself with M&Ms this weekend. That was not a good plan at all. I felt horrible after eating them, sluggish, my blood sugar was affected...it was not a good scene.

The next day while feverishly working around the house I decided to reward myself with good music and playing cards during my breaks - I felt a whole lot more motivated, sharp minded, and I was more productive.

I vote for ditching the toffee popcorn and getting a massage once a month each time you are closer to your goal. Massage is an awesome reward. It will help you be more mindful, relaxed, and in-tune with your body. I actually wrote a paper on research they have done with recovering alcoholics and massage and how it literally helped them with detox from a biochemical level.

Take care Kate!

[s/v Beth]

213.6 today. Its working....

[High Heels]

Meant to wish you luck too Newt! Congrats on the loss!

I have been trying by simply eating considerably less than I have in the past. Trying that eat until your 80% rule...

Maybe I will jump on that ergometer before the weeks over!

You two are getting me a little fired up to lose too. I think when I see my friends tottlers and they tell me how much they weigh and then I think, gosh, I am carrying one of them around as fat on my body, it is enough to make me drink black coffee and eat quinoa for breakfast everyday ;0)

Keep up the good work!

[SaucySailoress]

Originally Posted by High Heels

I just want you to know that I wish you luck with the weight loss. I would love to commit to losing with you, but right now as my Life is changing rapidly and we are getting ready to sell it all and go cruising, I am not sure I am strong enough to work on giving up coffee, red wine, and creamer in my coffee ;0) I am banking on the long passages diet that others have referred to here.

Take care Kate!

I'm very jealous - that would be my preferred strategy. Bither that work/money thing.....

Thank you very much for your sincerity. I remember the pride I felt when I was down to 62kg, and the pride in holding it off for a few years.... And then it crept back on over a few years, and I chose to ignore it. But the explosion around my waist since the accident a year ago is beyond a joke...

Originally Posted by s/v Beth

213.6 today. Its working....

YIPPEE!!!!! Congratulations!!!!

[SaucySailoress]

As for the giving up popcorn suggestion I ran a nutrition report- an evening meal of chicken satay followed by a bag of popcorn compared to an evening meal at the sushi bar. The results were awesome. Get this:

- The evening meal and popcorn combined, contains less than 1/3 of the calories that the sushi meal contains!!

- Similar stats for other nutrients - proportions of carbs, protein, fat etc very similar; except for the tempura - which bumped the fat up massively!

- One bag of popcorn = one california roll (calories & fat)

- One bag of popcorn = one shrimp tempura (calories only. Way less carbs & fat) Darn, and I had 5 in the portion!!

So - I see more need to give up the sushi, I think, rather than a healthy balanced meal followed by yummy popcorn!!

That would help us fit better into our sailing budget as well!!

[High Heels]

That is crazy about the sushi being so high in calories. I guess it is the white rice a lot of times. It probably has a high glycemic index too. Bummer, I do love the sushi!

Well, I am hoping cruising is the experience of a lifetime...don't be too jealous of me yet Kate...right now with our first agent visit tonight looming over my head this evening, and having to deal with 20 years of 'stuff' to part with, this part of the life change is about as fun as I imagine being poked in the eyes with hot skewers probably is...

When I did the ediets plan it really worked. It was at least five days of an hour cardio each day and twenty minutes free weights, and then following their meal plans, and journaling everything I ate and inches I lost as I went. No juice, no creamer in the coffee, no mayo, no super sugary fruits...it really worked, though the regimented formulaic eating kind of got old. It was nice though because they provided a shopping list you could print out and just go shop.

The lyme disease and coinfections diet, while not at all enjoyable, was easy...apparently it just required I go outside and hike, pick up an infected tick, and wha-la fifteen lbs. in three weeks gone, and another 35 in six months. I looked like walking death though, wouldn't recommend that route.

Well keep on keeping on! I know you enjoy your toffee popcorn ;0) I enjoy my chocolate...it was just interesting how when I was required to go off sugar completely while on antibiotic therapy for Lyme, Inc. my sugar cravings were insane the first three weeks, and then by the fourth week they virtually went away. I ate hardly any sugar for a year and a half. It was amazing when I started eating it again, how super sugary everything tasted like it had never before. I had literally been desensitized to it. All it took was that first sugary treat though and the addiction started all over again.

I think if I am ever going to lose weight I have to get off the sugar rollercoaster, and it is in so much, including wine...so eek!

Alright, enough of my ramblings...

[s/v Beth]

First of all, thank you so much for your encouragements. It makes a difference for someone to notice what you are working so hard for. All you can eat sushi is becoming big here, and like you- I love sushi! But I am staying away for right now. Sugar is easy and I feel off the wagon last night with some chocolate covered raisins, but I am back today and as determined as ever...No processed foods!
It seems like water is really important right now too- if I decrease my intake I eat food instead.
I'm going to reward myself in 2 weeks with a sailing trip with my son- and maybe some (not all you can eat) sushi. (If I am below 200) 212.8 today.

[dacust]

Originally Posted by s/v Beth

First of all, thank you so much for your encouragements. It makes a difference for someone to notice what you are working so hard for. All you can eat sushi is becoming big here, and like you- I love sushi! But I am staying away for right now. Sugar is easy and I feel off the wagon last night with some chocolate covered raisins, but I am back today and as determined as ever...No processed foods!
It seems like water is really important right now too- if I decrease my intake I eat food instead.
I'm going to reward myself in 2 weeks with a sailing trip with my son- and maybe some (not all you can eat) sushi. (If I am below 200) 212.8 today.

Years ago we had a new hire that liked sushi. Since I now had someone to go with me, he and I started eating sushi for lunch almost every day. In two months I lost about 15 lbs.

Then I got my credit card bill. Yikes.

Weight went back up.

But, my take is that eating sushi is better than eating red meat, fried food, sweets, etc. It's actually extremely healthy. Just that the rice is starch.

-dan

[mintyspilot]

Originally Posted by Aaza Dana

- The evening meal and popcorn combined, contains less than 1/3 of the calories that the sushi meal contains!!

Kate,

Some time ago (about the time of your popcorn revelations) I related a story of when I was stuck in an office with 52 women. I think the time has now come for an additional instalment of that story - my last day in that office.

I had omitted to bring lunch with with so I went out of the building and there was a chippy opposite so I bought a fish supper which I then brought back to my desk to eat (I had nowhere else to sit). As the scent of lunch pervaded the room, I became aware that all the women where staring at me, so I asked what was the matter (I was unaware that a lot of these women were on near-starvation diets) and I was asked "Do you know how many calories are in that?". I said that I did not and was told it was 700 calories. I then asked how many calories was I "allowed" and was told that for a man of my age it was 2500 per day.

It was here that I made my mistake. As I said, I never realised how much some women are prepared to starve themselves or some of the "fad diets" they will try. To me, such ideas are as alien as Klingons.

I replied "So, I can eat this three times a day and still be on diet?". The silence was deafening. Later that day I was moved to a different floor of the building that had a small kitchen attached where, I was informed, I would eat lunch in future. Apparently the smell of my lunch lingered all day...

Anyway, the point of this ramble is this - obviously "good" foods and obviously "bad" foods are not as obvious as you think, just like your sushi or my fish supper. It really is a case of *knowing* the figures.

That means I'll have to apologise to Kate for ordering her to chuck the popcorn. Sorry Kate.

And stay off that sushi - it's bad for you!

[Ex-Calif]

Newt - Excellent results - Keep it up. I am not posting my weights as I am traveling and I have learned that changing scales for each weigh in is a really bad idea. Being on a trip is really tough as there is lot's of exposure to eating out. I have really tried though and think I have maintained rather than gain which is usually the case on a trip.

Mintys - Reminds me of when I went to survival school. They said I could bring 5 pounds of geear for a 3 day survival. I reckoned I could bring 20 quarter poiunders and breeze right through...

[mintyspilot]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

Mintys - Reminds me of when I went to survival school. They said I could bring 5 pounds of geear for a 3 day survival. I reckoned I could bring 20 quarter poiunders and breeze right through...

Sounds like my kind of plan.....