Hunger Free Forever

To jump start this losing cycle I read Hunger Free Forever - Tame Your Appetite and Tune Your Metabolism for Lifelong Weight Control by Michael T. Murray, N.D. and Michael R. Lyon, M.D.

If they had just left out the product placement it would have been fine (eat right, exercise, eat lots of fiber) but it was ruined by them shilling PGX. It is essentially a fiber supplement to regulate blood sugar. It seems silly to spend an arm and a leg (this sucker ain't cheap) on a pill that will impede the absorption of nutrients so you have to take a vitamin as well.

I found a study done on rats that concluded it doesn't do any harm, but some of the makers of it have been charged with making false and unsubstantiated claims.

So other than that bit of annoyance, the parts of about diet and exercise were good, but nothing new.

Back to Work

My six weeks of maintaining are over so I need to get back to losing. My next goal is to hit 169 by November 27th. That is about a pound a week, so I feel confident I can do it. It also means I will be able to maintain over Christmas, which is nice.

Now for the progress, here are the pictures:

This is me, two years ago, September 2008:

Now:

It's like two different people.

Adaptations

As I look ahead to losing these last 30 pounds, I realize that I should make some adaptations to my system.

I have decided that I am going to give myself 6 weeks to maintain, instead of the normal month. Also, instead of doing losing 10% again, I am going to lose 10 pounds three times. I think that will be the best for me. So I'm going to start losing again after Labor Day.

On another matter, I came across this great open letter to the Fat Acceptance movement. I could get behind the ideology if they were all as well-reasoned as her. It crazy what a little sense can do.

Savage Love

I'm a big fan of Dan Savage's advice column so I while away the hours by reading the archives. I thought this column about a husband trying to deal with an overweight wife very interesting. Make sure to read the responses at the end.

Here is a follow up column.

And here is even more. Obviously it pushed a lot of buttons.

For the record, I am on the side of honesty.

Gooaaaaaaal!

It took me long enough, but I finally hit 179 (179.7 to precise). So I have now lost 120 pounds and according to my BMI I am no long obese.

I can now have sweets again while I maintain this weight for the next 30 days, while I consider my strategy for the remaining 30 pounds. (Only 30 pounds left! Un-fucking-believable!)

To celebrate a bought a cute LBD (That's Little Black Dress for the men out there).

Pictures to come...

Diet Myths That Keep Us Fat

I just finished reading Diet Myths That Keep Us Fat by Dr. Nancy Snyderman. It was surprisingly good. It was grounded in common sense and had lots of useful information. I really liked what she said about junk food, "Giving up junk food is easier than you think. Whole, fresh food offers sensual delights that fast food could never match. If you think about it, it's junk food that's tasteless, requiring large amounts of salt, corn syrup, and trans fat to make it palatable. If you forget about the war between fats and carbs and focus instead on nutritional value, you'll have a diet than is not only healthier but more delicious."

There are a few of my pet peeves in there. As I believe I have bemoaned before - so many of the books written by someone who has lost weight have only lost less than 50 pounds. If you have 50 pounds to lose you are probably in the overweight/low obese range. It is different when someone is morbidly obese. The least of which the time it takes to do it. But that is a subject for another post.

She is also promoting her "Treat Yourself Diet". That always annoys me. If you have a name for it it's a diet - not a lifestyle.

Regardless, I'll still give it 4 stars.

Overdue Update

As I had feared the big loss was not permanent. I have learned through the past 100+ pounds that I have to lose every pound at least twice. It sucks, but I'd rather lose it twice than not at all. So I am back to the post-vacation 183 and now I hope and get to that elusive 179 (for the first time, at least).