Fage is the best of the most popular Greek yogurt brands IMO. What do you think is better?

I've got an awesome local brand I can get certain health stores and a farmers market, but it's $3/6 oz, so pretty steep. I can find Fage on sale pretty frequently for $1 or $1.25/5 oz.

Also re: the potatoes

Why don't you try roasting them? Far superior to boiling and you can add seasoning/herbs/couple tsp of olive oil.

I'm a big fan of roasted sweet potatoes with just a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, and cayenne/chili powder.

Another solid diet day yesterday. Treated myself to an evening beer. Took a day off from exercise.

A couple more things.

i) There's a play I really want to see. The world's greatest stage actor is in it and the reviews are amazing. It's sold out but same day tickets occasionally come on tap, normally standing tickets. The play is 2 hours & there's no break, I won't buy standing tickets. It would be too tough on my body. This is undoubtedly linked to my extreme blubberiness.

ii) A hidden, but very real motivation for losing weight is my parents. Not that it would make them extremely happy (because it would), but because they need to lose weight. My mum is I guess a fairly standard weight for her age. Which means plenty of excess fat. I'd love to see her lose weight for health but mostly because she's very 'proud' & it would make her happy. My dad is bigger than me (although it's scarily close right now). He's been obese all my life.

They both walk a lot for their age, if something is 1KM away they'll think nothing of walking there and back. But I really want them, and specifically my dad, to lose weight. Their knowledge of diet is awful. For example, they think that a bread and cheese sandwich is a healthy light lunch. When I ask if pizza is healthy they tell me not to be stupid. When people ask my dad if he wants to go out for pizza he says no because pizza is just grilled cheese on toast. Go figure.

This is in contrast to me, who has good knowledge of diet but doesn't always choose to apply it. But what can I do at my current size? I already have a huge huge huge huge problem getting my parents to ever listen to and respect me when my opinion differs from theirs ... or to accept they might be ignorant on something (like most people they think they're way more knowledgeable than they are). How can say super fatass like me hope to get them to listen to me? I can't. But if I drop 70 lbs, they might listen (emphasis on might because I honestly think they'll still try to claim they're more expert than me).

They sort of remind me of early ytf ... a totally unwilling to accept that they're wrong. This especially revolves around foundstuffs, e.g my mum's norms for the amount of time to cook a protein ... let's not go in to it now but it's incredibly frustrating ... or their insistence on cooking potatoes, onions, tomatoes, ketchup etc. in the fridge & then using this as a reason for why they never have any fresh veggies ("we don't have room"). No amount of linking them to culinary and medical advice that potatoes shouldn't be kept in the fridge, or asking them to google it ... they're just so stubborn. So I'd like to drop a bunch of weight and have another go. They still might not listen, that's the most likely outcome, but at least I'd know that I'd tried.

Days without crisps: eight.

Another good diet day and 45 minutes of walking. Would like to do other exercise but I find walking relaxing and the weather is so damn nice.

A couple more things:

- I used to have a triathlon thread in this forum. I want to get back in to triathlons. I haven't done one in almost three years and I miss them. They're fun. I miss the adrenalin of waiting in the lake for the race to start. I miss going on 30 mile bike rides in the countryside to train. I miss the craziness of the transition areas. I want to do many more triathlons. I want to do them in faster times. There's no point in training for one when I am so overweight. I need to drop at least 30 lbs before starting to dream. Even then I'd be 5 months from doing a triathlon. Mark my words this thread will contain me kicking epic quantites of butt and completing a triathlon in record time in 2016.

- I've been overweight for so long that I don't even know what I want to weigh. 185 was my standard weight in college, I looked OK at it, noone would call me fat just some love handles ... I remember a girl telling me she was actually surprised that when I took off my top I had fat ... take that for what you will. Probably I would have gotten rid of the belly/looked good in a tight shirt at 170, and been shredded at 155, something like that. Now I'm 10 years older, more muscle, you could probably bump all those numbers up by 10 lbs. So 180 for looking good in a tight shirt, 165 for a six pack. But who knows?

- When I was reminiscing about the above it struck me how easier game was. On my day I'm quite comfortable talking to strangers and can make a very good impression, but being overweight makes thing way tougher. And being as overweight as I am now? Back in the day girls would come up to me and start talking ... they'd start flirting 20 seconds in to the conversation when I'd just said my name ... that sees like another life ... having that happen again would be very nice indeed, both in its own merits and for the sense of accomplishment it would give me. Long way off, but it's a goal. And it's definitely reasonable one for the March wedding I mentioned.

- I've never had a sixpack. Never had a body that looks great on the beach. Longterm I think it would be way too much work (especially now I'm 32), but I'd like to have a 6 pack one summer. Way way off right now but I wanted it on the record.

- I'm very happy/proud of my discipline so far. Three more weeks and the results should be visible.

I'm going to buy a beautiful cigar tomorrow.

Days without crisps: nine.

I can't see you mentioning your height in the thread, but the answer to "how much do I need to weigh to have a six pack" is always "much less than you think", though your numbers seem pretty realistic unless you're short. I reckon you've been lifting since you have more muscle now?

Also being 32 is barely a hindrance, certainly not something to even care about. But an actual great looking body takes a ton of work, depending on your definition of great looking.

Enjoy reading your log, glgl

I'm 5'9. I don't care if I never have a six pack. If I reach my 'real' goals (32 inch jeans, 15% body fat, decent muscle base, I might embark on a gruelling 6 to 8 week cut and rock a 6 pack one summer. Theoretically. Not something I'm thinking about too much right now

Since my 'default' pair of jeans shrunk I tried on another one, wow, not even close, couldn't even pull the trousers all the way up and over my arse, was not expecting that. Scary!!!

Friend I haven't seen in months is in town in early August. Pressure is on to look semi respectable for him. I'd love to get in to those jeans but 2 months is too ambitious. I'll get in to those babies by the end of August.

Good mindset imo

Agree. Setting a goal, reaching it, and eating at maintenance for some non-trivial length of time to give yourself a break from being on a deficit is very, very helpful. Our own RustyBrooks did something like this when losing a significant amount of weight (~100 lbs I think) -- there were a number of decently long plateaus mixed in. As he says, this is a change in your lifestyle that should last the rest of your life -- taking an extra 6-12 months to get there isn't a huge deal.

My Temporary Trouser Trouble (TTT) necessitated a visit to a local charity shop. I purchased a nice pair of light coloured 40 inch waist 31 inch length jeans for a very reasonable price. Excellent condition.

Tried them on at home and they don't fit!

i) They might be 'small 40s' since they're only slightly bigger than my 36s.
ii) They are still 40s. That I can not fit in to. This is not good enough. It's very disturbing.

And so I have my first short term goal. I want to fit in those trousers by the first of July. A gut-sucking, muscle-straining fit counts. This will be tough. I won't beat myself up if I don't make it but if I can't fit by the middle of July I will.

Are they Japanese? Japanese jeans, especially the expensive ones, run super small for some reason. I buy 32 waist pants/jeans for all but Japanese jeans. I have to buy 35" waist for Japanese jeans.

They appear to be these: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Straight-Leg.../dp/B00D4OUU40.

TTT update: went to local store, bought a pair of 40 inch jeans, they fit fine. 39 inch jeans would probably fit me better. No idea why clothing manufacturers do this, unlike 'large', 40 inches is a fixed constant, why is one pair slightly loose on me while another doesn't fit? I guess this pair will be getting a lot of wear for the next couple of months, after which I intend to donate it to charity.

Calorie intake was good again today ... one skinless chicken breast, a grapefruit, spinach, beetroot, plus a cylinder of ramen noodles. A ready meal which ~400kcal. Oh, I officially earned my cigar! Haven't bought it yet but I'm looking forward to smoking it.

Dieting is mentally exhausting. 2 lbs a week is 1000 kcal/day, or ~30% less than your body tells you to eat to maintain. I'm hungry. It sucks. I seem to always forget just how much it sucks, if I only I could remember I'd stop getting fat again I'm going to try and plow through to August, depending on how I'm progressing I may give myself one week off the diet.

Tomorrow I am buying that cigar. I wish I had it now. I want go outside and smoke. I think I'll also treat myself to some food. Load up on veggies in the morning then have a pizza or burger or something in the evening.

I've stopped craving crisps. I walk past them in a store without blinking. This is good. Now, if you put a bunch of pringles in front of me I'd find it very difficult to resist. And I could definitely eat a whole bunch of them and I'd thoroughly enjoy it. But buying crisps is no longer part of my daily routine. Need to ensure I don't substitute something in their place.

Days without crisps: ten.

Dean,

I'm rooting for you!

Have been on a pretty similar path to what you're starting. I don't know the details because I didn't step on a scale for a while, but I was at 265 a couple years ago. Bought a scale a couple months ago and was pleasantly surprised that it said 236. Now I'm at 227. I think the vast majority of that weight has been lost in the last 4 months through a combination of cutting out a lot of the obviously bad **** and playing more soccer. I haven't been tracking calories but should probably start because it's been tough now that I'm under 230. My weakness by far is beer at this point.

If you want a tracking buddy, I'll start with you.

Man, I am in a serious food coma. Feels so good.

One skinless chicken breast + a bunch of brussels for breakfast. One egg cress sandwich for lunch. So far so good.

Dinner was

Padron green peppers
Grilled octopus
Spanish meatballs
Chorizo cooked in cider
Pork belly
2 pints of beer

Thankfully the food was tapas so it's not as bad as it seems. I had a half price deal so was tempted to order a sixth tapas (probably cod croquettes) but I was full. 4 tapas would have been better, I was a little stuffed.

Took the subway home, the beer made me really hungry. Walked past a McDonalds and used serious willpower to avoid going in. Next shop was gelato and I was past it too ... then I thought, **** it, this is my treat day and I want some ****ing ice cream, so I got two scoops. Mmm tasty.

Probably wasn't too bad of a disaster dietwise, apart from dinner I hardly ate anything, plus I walked about 4 miles. Sitting on the subway is uncomfortable if there's someone next to me ... plus I noticed people avoiding sitting next to me (a positive practical side effect if not the greatest psychological one). Also I caught myself in a full body mirror and was totally disgusted, rolls of fat everywhere. You know when someone walks in a room and the first thing you think is 'what a fatty!' - well, that's me right now.

I thoroughly enjoyed the dinner, plus the cigar. Good stuff. The downside is it reminded me how tasty food is. I don't mind a nice grilled chicken salad, I really don't, but it just doesn't compare to meatballs. And while I don't drink much, a couple of summery beers on a warm evening - can't beat that. Ice cream isn't something I crave much but it's certainly tasty, I'd never turn it down if calories didn't matter.

It's tempting just to chuck the diet in and enjoy myself. Eating is fun. I like food. But I hate being fat. If I weighed 180lb, if I could run 5 miles as a regular thing, if I looked good in clothes and had girls chase after me ... I would be very very happy. And if I weighed 180lbs I could treat myself a couple of weeks and maintain my weight.

Oh, when I go to a coffee shop I always buy crisps. Always. Not today. I did want to buy one and if I wasn't for this thread I would have. But I didn't.

Back to the grind tomorrow. I'll treat myself on the 20th. Long way to go but any indulgements before will taste of guilt.

Days without crisps: eleven.

I'm in the kind of mood where I'd sometimes order a pizza and put a large chunk of it away, instead I'm going to bed, gn!

Guys - calorie check.

Padron green peppers



Grilled octopus (20% smalled than photo)



Spanish meatballs



Chorizo cooked in cider



Pork belly (50% smaller than photo)



2 pints of beer



2 scoops of ice cream

Hard to say without seeing the size of the tapas

I'd say 2400 or so.

My guesstimate was 2400-2600. Tapas were very much the size in the photos apart from the octopus which was slightly smaller and the pork belly which was about half the size (difficult to just since it was braised and not in 'big chunks').

1200 kcal by 1 p.m. Aiming for 1800-2000 per day. Hungry already.

Have another cigar? That's a good hour without eating.

3000ish

I think this is closer. Might even go 3300-3500. The chorizo and pork belly put it way up there. The pulpo looks like its floating in oil. The beer is 400+ itself and the ice cream another 300. But dat pork belly.