Hey guys.  I just started taking Alli this morning.  I currently weigh 245 and would really like to get below 200.   I'm 42 years old, have a wife and 2 kids.  I started Alli because my doctor told me I really need to get rid of some of this weight.  I have slightly high blood pressure and slightly elevated cholesterol.  He said if I get rid of the weight, the bp problems will go away.  Plus getting rid of the weight and going low-fat will take care of the cholesterol problem also.  So it looks like loosing some weight will definitely get me started to a healthier life.  Anyway, glad to be here.

 Hi,

I am just 6 days in, so a newbie too. I started at 250, and aim to reach 200 like you.

I am 48, married, with two grown kids.

I am charged to report that in the 6 days on alli, keeping to the programme, I've lost 7 pounds. That is a helluva start for me. The rest won't come off as easy, I know, but I will do it.

Good luck to you.

Hi fellas, I started 3 days ago, so I guess we are all in this together. So far so good. I weigh 260, and my long term goal is 200 (which is where i was 4 years ago). I am 39 yrs old and have osteoarthritis in my knees, which really sucks. My short term goal is to reduce the load on my joints. My long term goal is to fit in my 33 inch waist Levi's I have in my closet. I wish you guys the best and be sure to take things one day at a time. Glad to be in the battle with you guys.  

 Welcome everyone,

I am into week number 4 and i find my self asking why did i put this off for so long. I had 84 to lose at the start of the year to get to that magic number of 200 also. Tired of the pants that start with a 4 and end in any number after that. Was ready to go up to 44's, yeah a 34 would be nice. Well i have 63 to go now and it has been pretty easy so far. The key for me is planning out the meals and sticking to it. Use the journal and log everything, everything you eat. you will see how the calories add up and what foods you can indulge on and not feel guilty. I am less tempted by the foods that got me here and i dont have the late night cravings now that i am working out and exercising almost every night. I go to bed earlier and so i dont sit around and have a half a bag of chips or snacks or cracker or, or,or well you get the picture.  Any way the site is good and everyone is very supportive, there will be lulls and challenges and we will help each other to get through  them.   Lets keep this string going strong for the guys.

That's great!

While we each may be starting from slightly different places, we are all headed to the same destination: 200 lbs.

Dare we dub this the 200 Club?

wwwgolfnut - how are you tracking what you eat? I am using www.fitday, a site I saw Betty Kovacs (moderator on here) recomend. Its free and highly functional. It racks exercise too.

I have two of my three meals (breakfast and Lunch) out of home. I am not following the meal plan but am being very careful in what I choose to eat. However, I had a holiday function at the weekend (yes, I know, late January?). It was a very nice hot buffet. I 'behaved' until I succumbed to a slice of cake with icing. I didn't really enjoy it, and when I logged my food intake on fitday and saw what it did to my 1800 calorie target, I was really not happy - almost 500 calories. Now in my life before alli, I'd probably have had seconds of everything, including the cake.

Good luck guys.

Post here with how you are managing things....

Brian

 "While we each may be starting from slightly different places, we are all headed to the same destination: 200 lbs

Dare we dub this the 200 Club?"

That's funny, I'll second that!  I'm lucky in a way, I don't need a lot of variety in my diet to happy, so I have about four or five breakfast meals I choose from, for lunch I might eat half a turkey sub sandwich on a wheat roll with cheese but no mayo, or a hearty soup with chicken, or choose from a variety of Weight Watchers and other frozen meals, and sometimes leftovers from the previous night's dinner.  The key so far has been watching the size of my portions, especially at dinner, while making better choices for snacks throughout the day.  I'll pack baby carrots and cherry tomatoes, a serving of Sun Chips or crackers, a low fat, no sugar yogurt (Dannon brand), and a couple of fruits to snack on throughout the day or to eat with my lunch.  For dinner, I've asked my wife to cook with Smart Balance spread instead of butter, which is lower in sat. fats and has no trans fats, for which she's been very supportive.  She's also trying to lose weight, but she luckily only needs to lose about 15 lbs compared to the 38 lbs I am going to lose.  I also will have a Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich a couple times a week for an after dinner snack.  There not Baskin-Robbins good, but when I'm eating healthy, they taste pretty good and satisfy a craving for ice cream or chocolate.

That is so true Brian about the seconds for everything, it has to be astonishng the amount of calories I was consuming in a typical day.  Understanding how many calories/fats/carbs/protien are in the stuff I consume has really helped me make better choices, and as I've been measuring some of the items I eat, I now understand what a reasonable portion is for a meal.  For exampe, when we have spaghetti for dinner (wheat or whole grain pasta), I don't fill up my plate three inches high, I serve myself about a quarter of that and have added salads to my dinner.  So, I don't know the exact calories of what I'm eating, but I know it's within my "budgeted" dinner calories and haven't been having any "TEs".  So far, I've only had two bad meals since I started on 1/10 and have only had the "treatment effect" once after I ate at Olive Garden, lessoned learned.  I've been around birthday cakes, doughnuts, going to BR or DQ with the family, and haven't cheated yet.

Hope you all are still making strides towards your goals.

SW: 233   1/25 wt: 223   TW: 195

The 200 Club , sounds good. The thought of what i was consuming before starting this program is almost embarrassing. For the last 4 weeks I have been logging my activity from the log provided on this website as well as the journal for my daily intake. I have been fixing the smoothie for my snack at night, instead of the bags of chips or rows of cookies i used to consume. Frozen fruit, with some non fat milk and non fat vanilla flavored yogurt, usually makes enough for two nights. I am taking meals and planning everything out for the entire day, i get in at 6am and get home at around 7 almost every day so having the snacks around is key so i am not starving by the time i get home for dinner. I already find my self asking do you really need that, and the answer has been no. I want it but i sure as heck dont need it. At least not any more. Keep it up guys. 

wwwgolfnut:

The 200 Club , sounds good. The thought of what i was consuming before starting this program is almost embarrassing. For the last 4 weeks I have been logging my activity from the log provided on this website as well as the journal for my daily intake. I have been fixing the smoothie for my snack at night, instead of the bags of chips or rows of cookies i used to consume. Frozen fruit, with some non fat milk and non fat vanilla flavored yogurt, usually makes enough for two nights. I am taking meals and planning everything out for the entire day, i get in at 6am and get home at around 7 almost every day so having the snacks around is key so i am not starving by the time i get home for dinner. I already find my self asking do you really need that, and the answer has been no. I want it but i sure as heck dont need it. At least not any more. Keep it up guys. 

Golfnut,

Dude,  have this so organized, I'm really inspired.

One the 200 club, I think we could start a new thread with a shout out invitation. We may connect with a few more guys headed for 200. Worth a shot.

Cheers, all.

Brian

 I am just starting today.  Have a LONG ways to go to hit that magic 200. 

Congratulations on getting started, if you've been reading this forum, you can see there are quite a few of us who have started the program since Jan 1st, and more joining in every week.  No one is here to judge, only to support each other achieve our goals.  And don't worry, we all have to start somewhere, some will get to their goals sooner than others (Spike, if you're reading this, that would be you), but it's not just about losing the weight, it's more about a lifestyle change so that weight will stay off for the rest of our lives, and maybe we'll all learn something about ourselves we didn't think, or know, existed.  For example, I would have never believed I could get up early enough to workout in the morning, I'm simply not a morning person, in the past I always exercised in the evening.  But I'm finding myself looking forward to my next a.m. workout, and feel good about being done before the rest of my day starts.  Another is visiting Baskin-Robbins three times with the kids since I've started, not once have I purchased something for myself.  I've NEVER had the will power to do that, and the last visit (two days ago), I didn't even crave anything.  Ice cream didn't sound bad or anything, just wasn't interested.  Now, I know I'll have a craving for it sometimes, but it certainly won't be as often as it used too be.

Set your goal and don't let anything stop you from achieving it, but realize no one is perfect, we all have setbacks, just have to pick yourself up and get back on the program, don't dwell on what you did, move on and start fresh the next day.  Don't let a bad day or week stop you from losing sight of your goal.  You can do it, willy, Brian, and many others over in the 200 lb thread have some great advice, and there are some a lot of good guys trying to overcome a lot bad habits we've built up over the years, so know we're all in this together.  Hope you'll share your story with us over there, so welcome to club!

Brad