I will send you a decent low calorie, low sugar cookie recipe. You can bake. Like a man. Dov's had them, he knows what's what. I'm back on the same track, too.

*insert joke about having Stacey's cookies here....I'm busy*

I'm blessed to have never had a weight problem. I do, however, have a huge "sitting on my ass" problem. Hang with it, Bobbo. I'm sure there are female motivations, now.

I walked up the four flights of stairs to my office this afternoon - after a sensible lunch of a chicken sandwich with no mayo, bacon, or cheese.

There are a lot of people in my building who can't do the first and have no intention of doing the second. You take that shit for granted and then it's gone.

I actually walk the stairs semi-often. I'd estimate it at 40% of the time - it all depends on time constraints, the temperature, and what that day's business entails.

Nothing worse than trudging up those 4 flights when it's roughly 90 degrees and 80 percent humidity while wearing a suit (which I learned the hard way about 2 years ago)

In the past year, I've started grinding all my red meat as well as making my own pork and veal sausages, cheese and bread.
I've never felt better.

i'd hate to see what i looked like if i didn't have a job where i walked around all day.

So, you're so hip you won't even eat pre-cut meat, or pasteurized cheese? That's truly some next level shit. I hope you remember to mush it all together so there's no fancy presentation.

i dont really agree with this. you can find gyms not that expensive (my l.a. fitness is like $35 or $40/month). and knowing that i'm spending money/month is motivation enough to go. also, being in a giant room with others exercising really influences you to get going. once i go, i get pretty obsessed with it to the point that if i miss one day i feel like i'm slacking.

really, even at your most tired, know that anything is better than nothing. so, start slow and even if its walking around the block, some time on the treadmill, doing weights, etc, doing 20 min is better than nothing at all. then you'll feel good and accomplished afterwards which should influence you to go the next day and the next.

also, drink a motherfucking fuckload of water all day every day

I can vouch for the water helping stave the appetite. Stress eating and probably beer are where I fail.

im sitting here trying to figure out what constitutes 4k-5k calories a day and just drawing a blank. it would probably kill me. however, my diet habits are probably as pansy as they come.

pack your own lunch if you're not already. it gets boring if you're having the same thing day in and day out (like me), but its certainly better than going out and eating burgers and fries everyday (and spend your saved money for a gym!). you can control what you're eating. my daily lunches go like this: salad with low-non fat dressing or a sandwich on whole wheat (careful with the carbs!), low fat greek yogurt, baby carrots, apple. that's embarrassing just typing it. but have you seen this girlish figure?

tonight i cooked up like 6 grilled chicken breasts. me and the lady ate one each tonight, then there are others for lunch. healthy.

never eat fast food. havent had mcdonalds or anything similar in probably 15 years.

ride bikes.

tennis like the senator said.

and dumpjack, cmon now w/ that "exercise is the healthiest thing you can undertake but ultimately it has very little impact on weight loss" thing. gotta speed up that metabolism, brah!

really, trying to lose weight by diet without exercise or exercise without diet will drive you nuts. you need both or else you are going to be very, very frustrated if and when you aren't seeing results as quickly as you'd like.

listen to robotboy.

thanks i needed a new sig

Agreed.
But you enjoy your amateur twenty-minute meals full of risotto, brussel sprouts and budget cuts. I don't give a fuck.

I can't drink two martinis while cooking a 20 minute meal - c'mon man.

It's not quite that simple nor is it borne out in evidence. The fact is, exercise has modest, at best, effects on weight loss. Weight loss just isn't "east less and burn more calories". It's a much more complicated situation. If it was, then we probably wouldn't be in the midst of an obesity epidemic. The solution can't just be East Less, Move More when dealing with obesity.

Is Exercise More About Calories In than Calories Out?

Why Diet and Exercise is Not a Treatment for Obesity

I lost 30 lbs when I moved back to FL about 12 years ago. I think the first 10 just melted off in summer, but the rest was mostly due to eating 1/4 as much, cutting out junk food and very little beer(which exacerbated the allergies anyhow). Now I have a general fluctuation of 5 lbs to get to that desired number. And, the exercise is good just because it makes you feel better.

One you get in the routine you will be upset when you fall off. Good on you for doing it!

I shouldn't sound so 100% about it when I say that, but I know a lot more people who have paid for gym memberships and not used them than people who went regularly. Also I fucking hated going to the gym the 2 times in my life when I tried to. Never lasted more than a few months, so that colors my perception of it. I don't like being in a gym, I don't like staring at tv's or the wall while I work out, I don't like having to gear up for going, etc. Nice girls' assess is about the only motivation, to be completely honest. But going to work/grocery store/homebrew place/friends houses by bike, the scenery is great and shit happens and there's progress and you didn't have to make time to do it and you didn't pay anyone for it. You can't get like BUFF that way, but buff isn't what I'm after. Just not fat.

But there are people for whom gyms work wonderfully - where it's a great fit. That population is a subset of the total number who go out and buy memberships, though. (That's why your gym is so cheap.)

As well it should be.

Congrats on the continued weight loss, Bobbo!

This also presumes that you 1) have a bike 2) live in a relatively flat place and is bikeable and 3) isn't 90+ degrees 3 months out of the year.

I'm a pro-gym guy. I've had a membership with LA Fitness for around 7 years now and probably haven't gone more than 3 weeks without going in that time (usually because it falls in that 3-4 weeks window when it's really nice out in the Spring and Fall and I'll run outside). For me, it's the having a place to go. If I go home after work, the minute I walk in the door my motivation drops by 50%. I like going after work and shedding the stress of the day. I also enjoy the variety. I get bored if I run all the time. I like to mix it up. I can swim laps (helpful for when I hurt my ankle), row, ride the stationary bike, take a spin class, or play hoops. All of which I've done. I find it motivational as well to be around people working hard. It's inspiring. Ultimately I go because it makes me feel better, sleep better, and give me more energy.

Oh, and like Stu, my achilles heel is beer and food. I like both too much.

thanks, dale

nice job with the running - any plans for a marathon down the road?