Huh. It turns out eating less actually works. Who'd have thought?

[Taumpy]

Early in 2008 I lost my job, and spent about a month and half unemployed, and during that time I gained a lot of weight. I've always been overweight but I got way up there after that because I wasn't doing anything activity wise and basically only ate junk food.

After I got another job, I lost some of it just from working (I stock shelves, so there's a lot of movement there), but I kept on with the bad eating habits.

Anyway, the last month or so I finally decided to buckle down and get my act together, so I bought a scale and start counting my calories and gave up soda altogether (with a few slips here and there). And since I've started paying attention, I've lost nine pounds.

It's not much but I'm pretty excited about it. I fit back into the pants in the back of my closet!

[Oliveloaf]

This is news I never wanted to hear.

If anyone proves that drinking less reduces drunkeness, I will really be upset.

[jali]

Anyway, the last month or so I finally decided to buckle down and get my act together, so I bought a scale and start counting my calories and gave up soda altogether (with a few slips here and there). And since I've started paying attention, I've lost nine pounds.

It's not much but I'm pretty excited about it. I fit back into the pants in the back of my closet!

Great news! It's really hard to lose weight and I'm impressed! Nine pounds is a lot of weight in one month. Yay you!

[Sarahfeena]

I've been working on losing a bit of babyweight, and the eating less thing did help. The thing that really did it for me, though...drinking less Coca-Cola. Which pains me even more that the eating less thing, as I love the stuff. The one bad side effect: I don't like diet beverages, so I started drinking more coffee. I'm a bit thinner, and a lot more addicted to caffeine!

[Oliveloaf]

I've been working on losing a bit of babyweight, and the eating less thing did help. The thing that really did it for me, though...drinking less Coca-Cola. Which pains me even more that the eating less thing, as I love the stuff. The one bad side effect: I don't like diet beverages, so I started drinking more coffee. I'm a bit thinner, and a lot more addicted to caffeine!

Sweet Jesus, I do love a Coke poured by McDonald's. I too, felt compelled to give the magic elixir up, and have lost weight as a result.

It was easier being young.

[AllWalker]

Long ago, i resolved to get my caffeine through sources like green tea and dark chocolate. Some days I twitch the weight away.

[Taumpy]

Great news! It's really hard to lose weight and I'm impressed! Nine pounds is a lot of weight in one month. Yay you!

Thanks, jali. I really appreciate that.

[Jaglavak]

It turns out that hard work/play in really cold weather can peel off the pounds without eating less. Under those conditions a guy might burn more than 4000 calories a day.

Meanwhile back on earth, I can only make myself do stuff like that if I'm having fun. In fact if you were to add up all the willpower in my entire life, I might be able to keep up a routine like that for maybe a week.

And maybe not.

OK, back to eating less.

[Hatshepsut]

Congratulations Taumpy!

For all of you soda lovers upthread, I hate to add a depressing data point, but my husband lost a lot of weight when he stopped drinking sugared Coke. He loathed diet soda, but when he got fat he realized he had to make some changes, so he switched to diet. He lost 40 pounds, most of which he has kept off for the past 8 years. Cutting out Coke wasn't the only change he made, but he thinks it was a significant factor, especially in keeping the weight off after the initial push to diet ended.

I'm lucky - I can't stand sugary drinks and carbonation makes me ill. I put cream in my first cup of coffee in the morning, but other than that drink only calorie-free plain tea and coffee all day long. I am certain that's a big factor in why I've had fewer struggles with my weight than many of my peers.

[Fink-Nottle]

I have never understood giving up regular pop to drink diet pop (that's right I'm from Illinois and I say pop, dammit!). I love Coke, not carbonated crap. I particularly love when people tell me I'll get used to it. Why would I want to get used to that?? Why not just drink water?

And Taumpy that really is awesome! 9 pounds in a month is great!

[Taumpy]

Thanks.

I did the whole diet soda thing for a while myself, but it never lasted. I always ended up going back to regular. Better to just give it up entirely. And now that I'm over the caffeine withdrawal, I don't really miss it.

[Sarahfeena]

I heard Dr. Oz say once that diet sodas don't help that much anyway. He explained that the sweetness makes your body want to process sugar, and when there's no sugar to process, you get a craving for it. I remember he said that it turns a sweet tooth into a sweet fang, and that people often end up eating MORE sweet stuff because if it.

So, I stick with my regular Coca-Cola, but drink much less of it than I used to, and it really has helped hold back the middle-age spread!

[dread pirate jimbo]

I have NOT given up my Coke habit since I started counting calories back in late May. I discovered, much to my chagrin, that the Big Bad in my diet was the Doritos. Delicious, life-giving Doritos. Just thinking about them makes my mouth start to water... But I digress... Anyway, by being more disciplined about portion control (using an app on my iPod to track my calories) and not freaking myself out too much when I have a day here or there where I eat way too much, (and cutting the Doritos down to maybe a couple times a month, from alamost daily) I've dropped a little more than 17 lbs, which is about 3.5 lbs per month. I'm not gonna win any weight-loss competitions at this rate, but I am headed steadily towards my goal and I'm confident that this is sustainable over the long haul. Hopefully by this time next year I'll be back to the lean frame of a 12-year-old boy, like I was until my mid-20s.

Congrats, Taumpy!