cj opera viking
Joined May 2007
Posts
7
Following
3
Followers
4
Weight History

Start Weight
290.0 lb
Lost so far: 10.0 lb

Current Weight
280.0 lb
Performance: losing 3.5 lb a week

Goal Weight
240.0 lb
Still to go: 40.0 lb

cj opera viking's Weight History


Following

Reina Estrella
last weighin: losing 1.6 lb a week Down
 
phugg
last weighin: losing 1.4 lb a week Down
brashis
last weighin: losing 2.6 lb a week Down
   



cj opera viking's Latest Posts

Low carb at all costs, no.
I have a slight problem with the diet community surrounding me sometimes. The reality of life is that if you are here and on a diet, you either gain or lose weight, depending on life. If you eat too much and move too little, you gain. If you eat too little and move too much, you lose. All the while, you look across the office and see that smug coworker who never moves an inch on the scale, never exercises, and eats a big mac everyday for lunch-supersized-with a malt. This makes you feel awful and wonder why oh why you don't fit in the pantheon of "perfect" people. Well, it is my opinion that this is the divide. People who are "weight-sensitive" and people who aren't. Those of us who are, feel like we're the ones with a problem. Look at this biologically, though. If we were cold, we could gain weight. Weak, put on pounds and turn it to muscle. Starving, feed our bodies on the stores it saves. If we were stuck in the wilderness, our body would adapt and change, due to the influences our life and world inflict upon it. Resilience, no? So, what is the problem?...Clearly, we are the ones who's bodies actually work and flucuate and adapt. Is that not the way it's supposed to be? Look around the globe. The current popular "model" for human society is not a healthy one. We may actually be fortunate that we are more sensitive to this than others. Many species flucuate their weight incredibly. If we lived half the work filled lives they did, we would all look like fine physical specimans with healthy muscle tone. The problem is the lives we lead. Whether that be the culture or job or simply our choices, the fact is that we need to change our LIFESTYLE. This includes not only our intake/output of substance, but our intake/output of our other bodily functions. The pie has many slices. Food and physical activity are only two. Remember your life is many faceted and you are a complicated, very well built machine that has MANY needs. You can find a balance. WE are not broken and wrong. Just like any other fine machine, we need maintenance on all levels. We should be proud of who we are and remind ourselves once and awhile that maybe we should remember how lucky we are to have the ability to shape our bodies and lives more than some others.

I used to be a lineman in football. Due to life, some physical issues, and desires/wants, I can't do that anymore. I look back now and realize that many people could not have built the muscle that I did...I also have to realize that many people also could not build the fat too, so I need to work on it. We all have our stories. Don't be ashamed. Take control of your life and take advantage of the fact that you are primed for more success, not less.

That being said...I wanted to comment on the state of low carb dieting as I see it. I'm no guru, clearly, as I'm not nearly as healthy as I should be, and far from the physical and mental state I should be at to honor my body. At first, I lost nearly 60 pounds with a low carb approach, but I also gained a lot more control. I noticed my body was healthier on many levels. I had more energy, much better mental state, massively better digestion and better physique. I felt more in tune with the world, and was much more appreciative of what I ate. As many of you might have experienced, then I got complacent. Things we so much better that I felt invincible and fell back on what I knew. I slowly let my life's problems allow me to more and more return to the unhealthy lifestyle and food that our society is rife with. In 2-3 years I put back just over half of what I lost initially. Now, in some regards, that's a failure, but in others...I'm still better off than when I started...and I have a great appreciation for what it means to be "healthier." Now, I'm trying to regain not only the weight loss, but the control that I absolutely crave now. Even through "falling off the wagon" I kept many habits that I see now are common sense to being a healthier human being. This has made me appreciate even more what I really want to say here:

The low carb diet is not one of abandonment and seclusion. It should not teach you to hate food, to despise eating, or to constantly "trick" the system. It should bring you closer to an appreciation of what food can give you and what you can do with your body. It should teach you that one of your lifestyle problems was most likely REWARDING YOURSELF WITH HORRIBLE FOODS. Why do we celebrate success by reintroducing poison to our bodies? Go into a gas station while on the road and look at what there is to offer. Almost NOTHING in the store is good for you on any level. Even if you don't gain weight, most of the processed packaged food in our culture does nothing but wreak havoc on the overall health picture of our lives. It will catch up to us. Human beings were made to be masters of the earth, yes, but also stewards. What we have done is take everything naturally provided to us and turned it into cheetos and energy drinks. Even most of our water is chemically altered. We have a duty to ourselves to regain the pride in being stewards and using what the earth provides us. Waters, vegetables, meats, and yes, even grains. This is why I have a huge problem with the mental state of low carbers. Atkins Bars, low carb energy drinks, splenda rich (fake) foods are a stepping stone, not a destination. We use these things to ease our transition into eating more naturally. We've all heard the Atkins quote, but it's so true-the real goal is to basically eat foods you can get on the outside of the super market. Mostly natural foods-vegetables, meats, dairy, and yes, even grains. The super low carb portion of our diets are only the beggining of our process. Eventually we'll all realize that our body will function with carbs great, but only after we've let our body do what it needs with the calories we provide it. Atkins, South Beach, Blood type...many of the diets out there all started with one thing-health. Weight loss is the benefit, not the purpose.

So, after this novella, my point is, we must realize that we are in this for the long haul. We are here to regain our health and not play tricks. We all love some of the things provided-bars, drinks, sugar free candies, etc...but in the end we'll realize that we really want our whole foods and nutrients, and that's what will make this last. It doesn't matter how successful any of us are...if we eat a ton of sugary foods (even natural sugars)-breads, potatoes, snickers, chips, fiber robbed rice and pastas...we'll all suffer the negative effects at some point in our lives. It doesn't matter when that is or what weight we're at. We need to remember that this is for our health and lives. Bread is not evil, but some is way better than others. Potatoes are not the devil. Rice is a perfect food in nature-if your body requires a store house of energy and nutrients. It's all in a balance back to being natural stewards with this earth of ours. Many of us are at the beggining of our journey. Don't forget to keep the end in mind at all times. Low carb at all costs, no. We need to keep in mind at all times that we need to break our cycle and start enjoying the foods and activities provided to us in our lives, one monitored step at a time. If we can do this diligently-we'll all come out thinner, healthier, happier, and in control of our unjudgeable, natural selves.

Cory J. Renbarger
posted 05 May 2007, 14:53
Ketchup
All right. I refuse to go without ketchup. It is my favorite thing. My list used to include potatoes, and being a ND farm boy, that was a tough one to beat...but after awhile, potatoes were very easy to give up. My big thing is ketchup. Especially now that I'm sold on a high protein way of life. I even have ketchup with thanksgiving turkey. I sometimes get the low carb heinz, which uses splenda, but the consistency is a little different, so I just try to use less. Does anyone have any suggestions for some low carb ketchup products that they've found?
posted 02 May 2007, 21:21
Soya products
Soy milk can be great. Unsweetened soy milk is around 4 carbs for a glass. I think it's a little rough like that, but with a little splenda, it tastes way better than milk to me and doesn't leave me with lactose gut rot. Great low carb drink.
posted 02 May 2007, 16:15
flushing out my system
Yeah, seriously, if you just add a handful (literally-a few forkfuls) of lettuce to every meal, you'll feel WAY better. Also, make sure you're not doing this all meat. You need to keep some green going in, to, well, you know... Green beans are usually helpful too. If you just can't keep up with the natural approach, try what phugg said. Psyllium fiber pills can work well...you have to take about five a day though, at least...
posted 02 May 2007, 15:23
cj opera viking has submitted 4 posts

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