Ever feel like you're stuck in a rut?...........dumb question, don't answer.

I signed up for a weight loss program yesterday at the University where I work. I did it 4 years ago and went from 210 lbs to 170, then stabilized at 180-185, and stayed there right up until my accident. Now I'm back up to 192 and I'm ready for a refresher and re-enforcement. In the program you're a research guinea pig, but there's also a huge benefit for you. What they try to do is teach individuals to keep the weight off. I have type 2 diabetes and with what I learned in this program I have been able to manage it solely with diet, exercise, and a small dose of metformin.

Anyway one of the requirements is that you cut down or quit alcohol for the first 8 weeks, and that's part of the reason I want to do it again. I think AF days are easier when you have a plan, and I feel like the time is right to bust my lifestyle rut. The program has a lot of measurement and personal accountability, and for me that's a good motivator. Heck just writing this down for my fellow TSMers is a good motivation.

I'm also going to follow Guapo's advice and look into Moderation Management. I have gone over their website and found a meeting near me. I'll just have to see how that goes, but I know that there are two sides to my coin, physical and psychological. I have a lot of faith that TSM will bring me to a cure on the one side, but I still have to deal with the other, and I'm hoping some face to face time with the MM folks will, if nothing else, broaden my perspective and maybe shed some light.

So my weight program starts with baseline testing January 6th, at which point I'll be starting my 3rd month of TSM

So there's my plan for busting my gut and (my lifestyle rut). Hopefully I'll come out on the other end more not less in one piece.

all41...I've heard from quite a few people that were able to drop numerous pounds simply by quitting drinking, so that in itself is a powerful weight loss plan. However, if you at all have an ascetic streak, I can't recommend intermittent fasting enough. It's popular with the paleo / crossfit crowd (of which I'm neither) and has very strong science behind it. There are many forms. The most popular (and the one I've been doing for 5+ months) is basically an "16:8." It's very simple. You have a 16 hour fasting window (zero, repeat zero, calories), followed by an 8 hour feeding period, during which you consume all your calories for the day. Most people eat their last meal at 2000, and then don't eat again until 1200 the next day. If you mix this with some cardio and HEAVY weight lifting (4-6 reps, 9-11 sets, progressively heavier), you can't help but quickly move to your ideal lean weight. This time last year I was a very soft 164 or so. This morning, I weighed in at a very lean 147 (my daughter says I looked "jacked," which is pretty cool in your mid-40s). This was with pretty lame workouts and eating all sorts of crap -- pizza, McDonald's, icing, ice cream, giant meals, etc... When January rolls around (which is always my "strong" time in the year cycle), I plan on switching over to a more clean diet during my feeding times (i.e. no regular junk food, but I'm still able to eat whatever I want if the occassion arises). I think I've been eating so much high fat food since I started because I was afraid I was going to lose too much weight and be a bean pole. I'm confident now that I won't be, and can still gain muscle over the next few months. Oh, and the whole process has given me way more self-control and swagger.

P.S. It's actually good for Diabetes because it gives you ideal insulin levels. Just a tip, research more online. A good starting point is www.leangains.com, which explores some of the diet myths that abound (e.g. "You need to eat six small meals a day to keep your metabolism high.").

Good sources for men's self-improvement (and there are many, many out there) = leangain, boldanddetermined.com, The Art of Manliness.com, Rational Male by Rollo Tomassi, bodybuilding.com, and of course marriedmansexlife.com (which completely turned my life around, sexist or not).

Barry, and you can pull that off doing night shifts ?

I would think you'd get ravenous about 4 AM

I'll check those links out Barry, thanks.

The program I signed up for puts you through periodic Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) scans so we get really accurate feedback on body comp. When I got down to 170 my body fat was 9% which was really too lean for me (I'm 55). At 180-85 I was exercising around 300 minutes a week and could have said I was in really good shape if it weren't for the alcohol. Unfortunately I tore a cartilage in my hip (among other problems) when I had my accident and had to slow way down......exercised less got depressed drank more gained weight lost muscle got more depressed drank some more before I finally found TSM and said f$ck it dude, snap the hell out of it and get your sh$t together.

Anyhow, I have to do what they say diet-wise for the 6 months I'm in the program. The study group will be randomized into two groups, one will receive cognitive training in addition to the going through the weight loss regimen, and the other will just go through the weight loss. The researchers are looking for differences in physiological and psychological outcomes by taking blood draws and looking at different hormone markers. Interesting stuff really, and there's an upside for the lab rats. This time around I'd like to be in great shape after the six months with little or no alcohol in my life.

"with little or no alcohol in my life" -- no alcohol is much simpler and easier, IMO. Anyway, sounds interesting. Being part of a study would actually motivate me to behave, I'm sure.

Good for you All41! I also want to try and lose some weight in the New Year - as well as hopefully start reaping the benefits of TSM.

I'm presuming it's the Naltrexone (I actually take Selincro), but I have really lost my appetite in since I started TSM. I haven't lost much weight (only about 4lbs) but I find that I get full really quickly and most night's I'm unable to finish my meal.

Maybe we should start a weight tracker thread here too - at least it might give us something else to think about!!

I'll throw a cat in amongst the pigeons now.

Whenever I'm AF my eating disorder takes over, and apart from a short period at the beginning of TSM, my addictive behaviour with food has returned. I'm doing psychological stuff and really digging deep, but it's still there. By following a strict diet I can keep my weight under control, but the urges are still there.

I feel it's all the same thing and that taking alcohol out of the equation didn't fix the underlying reasons, sure it put me off alcohol, but didn't change me as a person!

I will however continue to work on myself and on this!

Well I'm into the 1st week of my weight management program and (just my luck) got randomized into the cognitive training research group LOL.

Daily exercise, daily brain training, lots of AF days, HOOOOOO BOY, gonna be a rewired man by the time all this is said and done

Thought I'd give an update on this post I started a couple of months back

I weighed 197 when I started and I'm down now to 180. I exercise almost every day, and I'm back to doing my yoga classes which feels great. I'm sure this isn't true for everyone but I feel SO MUCH better when I exercise, both physically and mentally. Sometimes I think the benefits are synergistic, and that combining healthy lifestyle changes with TSM is probably a good idea, and that they can feed on each other.

Anyway, for some of you guys just getting started, remember that it's important to (somewhere along the line) start substituting healthy choices for bad ones. That's right out of Eskapa's book, and I'm convinced he's correct.

Very nice all41. It's so nice to feel good, isn't it? Congrats on your journey. Keep the course. Applause