great to have another jump on board. Welcome and it is odd, when i started on new years day i thought i was the only gut (oops i mean guy) from the NW. As much as the other forums are good i prefer to share amongst my own kind. My next weigh in is on monday and that will be after my first full month. This was tough to make the changes but i asked myself how bad do i want it. I really want to enjoy the boat this year and be on the back without getting harpooned. I hated taking my shirt off just to put on the life jacket that almost didnt fit me all the way out. Well all i can say that this place has been very supportive and motivating. I enjoy the new comments and or concerns and seeing that i am not alone and not the only one going through this process. Well i would like to stay but i am off to the elliptical machine.

 Golfnut,

I know exactly what you mean. Last year, I don't think I once took my shirt off outdoors. Its going to be different this year!

Good luck with your One Month Milestone. Let us know how you get on.

Brian

brucer26:

To my fellow Washingtonians, I too hail from this great state we live in. I am representing Kent,Wa. I have been on the alli program for 6 days now. I am supposed to weigh in tomm. I have been very solid with my diet so far and have had no treatment effects. I have averaged 1700 cal. for the week and I find it is getting easier to do everyday. I have noticed I have more energy now and I feel good about what I am trying to accomplish here. I am 6'4" and weighed 260 when I started a week ago. I will log my results tomm. (I dont own a scale yet). You guys are inspiring me to fight the good fight and make my goals come true. Heck yeah, I want to be in the 200 lb. Lets do this!

Bruce

 'Let's Do This!' is right Bruce.

I'm finding 1800 calories a little tough, so credit to you for hitting 1700. The Prize is worth it: we're going to feel so different when we hit 200lbs.  I'm trying to be more active all day, not just at the gym. I've been taking the stairs at work instead of the elevator. In my marches to other floors, I've been imagining how much easier this will be when I'm packing 50 lbs less, and how I can quantify what 50lbs is like....how about this: 6 gallon containers (that milk comes in) filled with water! Imagine that?  For you, it'll be 7 containers. Picture that on your shoulders, as you climb stairs, then imagine tossing it all to to one side...as a 200 lb man.

I tell you what: we'll feel great!

...not to mention...blood pressure down.....cholesterol better...... trglycerides in better shape....as well as looking so much better too.

To paraphrase something I read on another thread here:

Nothing could taste as good as being thinner feels!

spike112303:

 Awesome..   I'll join..

I'm 36, 216, and heading for under 200...... Goal is to lose the 16 pounds in the next month..

Possible?..   hope so.   I've been on the diet for several days, and today I started with the Alli pill.

Staying home today.. (just in case)..

Good luck everyone.  Mike

 Hopefully Mike, you've avoided any TEs. As Brad noted, you can be a 200 lb man before February is done. I'm using Fitday.com to track my intake and exercise. If you are able to keep to the plan, you might be surprised how quick it can come off.

 One thing not discussed too much on here, compared to fat /carbohydrate/protein consumed is alcohol.

I realise now, tracking every mouthful in fitday.com, that my alcohol consumption is incompatible with my 200 lb goal. I grew up in the UK where there is culturally a more relaxed attitude to drinking, and I had come to enjoy a glass of wine or three.

So, I see that I have another dimension to my challenge here: adopting this new lifestyle isn't just about food and exercise; for me its also about drinking, wine specifically, that has been a valued pleasure.

How are you guys doing on the drinking front, be it beer, wine or liquor?

Brian

 Is anyone using photography as an encouragement?

I took a picture of myself (front and side view) on the fateful day I hit 250 lbs and began this life-changing program.

I have taken a picture of myself each day now, for about a week. I have the camera set up on a little tripod in my bedroom and take a snap before I get dressed each day.

I am amazed to say that changes are already quite apparent ... perhaps from the exercising more than the fat-loss, at this point. That things can improve so quickly, is very motivating for me. My gut is smaller, my man-boobs are smaller, I have more definition generally.

My wife tells me my face is thinner and looks younger. Whoo Hoo! Wait till I've dropped the fifty. It'll be like Dorian Gray's portrait.

Good luck all,

Brian

 "I really want to enjoy the boat this year and be on the back without getting harpooned. I hated taking my shirt off just to put on the life jacket that almost didnt fit me all the way out. Well all i can say that this place has been very supportive and motivating."

lol!  Can totally relate to this, and the last sentence is spot on, it's nice to know you're taking this long, sometimes challenging journey alone.  Add to your picture on the back of your boat a lot of white skin, and you've got me, there was no way I was taking my shirt off this past summer!  I have to come clean, I had a "TE" this morning, but I'm not sure why.  The meal I ate was one that I've eaten a few times already, although it puts me right at 18 g of fat, I guess I'll have to use even less peanut butter to be safe, had to throw away my boxers.  Other than that, things still going good, looking forward to my weigh-in on Sunday. 

Brian, thanks for the visual on how much fat I might be losing!  A few years ago when my daughter was younger and I knew I needed to lose 35-40 lbs, I always thought about the extra lard I was carrying as being comparable to carrying my daughter around with me all day.  Yikes!

As for alcohol, I like to have one or two beers (Alaskan Amber or Black Butte Porter are my favorites) on the weekend during the summer, but otherwise I don't drink that often.  Once our kids became old enough to be aware, I became very conscious about what message I want to send to them, but I've never been a big drinker anyway, could never aquire a taste for wine or other liquor.  But I can understand how that would be a tough pleasure to curtail, maybe try slowly cutting back every couple of weeks or so, although I don't think you have to totally eliminate it, just factor the calories into your daily allotment on the days you have a glass or two (although I have no idea how many calories are in a glass of wine).

I have pictures of myself that I took a few years ago at 235 lbs, front, back, and side, so I'm glad you brought this up, I'll have to see if I can find them on my computer and print them since that is basically where I started.  I think I'll take another picture at four weeks and compare them, great idea Brian!  Glad to hear your seeing results from your hard work.  My wife came walking out of the bathroom this morning to tell me she can tell my gut is getting smaller (she noticed as I walked by the bathroom when I got up), I love that kind of feedback.

Healthy eating, and for those exercising, keep pushing yourself a little further each week (I'll be joining you this weekend)!

Brad

Hey Brian, 

I've been on these forums months ago, coming back now... but this is not the easiest "tool" to navigate... is there a particular way to "subscribe" to this thing? 

Or maybe I'm just an IT guy and it is too simple? 

IDK ? 

LOL 

JLH 

I think if you are responding then you must be doing something right. As far the alcohol topic. You know i think everything in moderation. I am not a big drinker but i do enjoy a glass of wine or a amber ale or a margarita as much as the next. I think of my lighter days as far as calories and pull the trigger. Keep in mind you can choose to hold off on the pill if you think you are going to be bad and go over. Then get back on to your routine and work out a little extra the next few days.  This is day 30 and i have not had one TE, i have ahd the occassional drink and have lost 21 pounds since the first. 63 to go for that magic number. I cant wait. Keep it up everyone. 

I'm going to make the 200 Club gys my 'Circle'. You can see more easily then when one of us posts (here or anywhere else on the alli message boards. Maybe you can bookmark 'Guys on alli'? I'll check.

21 lost ..... and 63 to go.   By my math....you are one quarter of the way on your journey to 200 lbs!

Great news.

Also... you can hit the favorite button (next to reply on any posted message) and make this forum a favorite. I'm not sure how it then gets flagged, but see which way works best. I have created a 'Guys on alli' browser favorite, and that brings me right in to this section. From there I pick up the 200 Club thread.

 great suggestions, i have added to my favorites and i just added you to my circle. I go through the string and added everyone else too. I think the super bowl will be a slight test, but i can only imagine what i would have consumed had i not started this plan. After this first month i feel like i am weight i should have been starting from, so now it is time to get serious. I know i lost more this month than i will in most months in the future. my goal is 1-2 or 2-3 pounds a week, kick up the exercise a little more.  I think they should market some bumper stickers for us to buy at a online store, With our goal weight  200 or bust printed on it. Have a contest for a couple of slogans or catch phrases to choose from.  Go cardinals, even though i am a seahwak fan.

Golfnut,

Like you, a superbowl before this programme and I would have eaten enough for a week. None of it healthy, either.

I plan on a longer-than-usual workout this morning to make room for a couple of beers. I'm visiting friends and I'll take some 'healthier' chips and stuff, and probably miss my alli out this evening, just in case.

Go Steelers!, even though I'm an Eagles fan......

 Good idea on leaving out the pill, better safe than uh oh! I am going to make some of my household famous salsa, already have some hummus, veggies too. Then throwing some chilli together, just making sure no 1/2 brick of cheddar or sour cream for starters.