One More Thread On Losing Weight.

I will preface this by saying I have been fighting the Battle of obesity for 20 years. Three times in my life I've lost over a hundred pounds only to gradually gaining it back again. I know this Probably sounds strange but I've always been very athletic, even my girlfriend finds this to be odd. But as big as I am I'm able to go underneath the trailer and check the fifth wheel, easily climb into a trailer to sweep it out... I've seen guys at deliveries that couldn't get into their trailer to take out their load locks . She always doubted me, she goes how could you do that? I did play football in college I'm sure that helps...I was overweight when I started training and then I gained 35 lb my first 6 months on the road. So my New Year's resolution was to lose the weight. First two months I lost 11 pounds but I was always cheating by hitting a buffet whether it be a Chinese or at a Petro. So then grumpy came along and was losing 5 lbs a week and the SOB really ****ed me off... LOL. So after my girlfriend threatened to get rid of me because she said I was a stroke waiting to happen I got in diet Nazi mode. Cut way down on the carbs, lots of protein and low carb veggies like broccoli cauliflower cucumbers avocados and salad. I have a microwave and refrigerator I also go to Walmart and buy hard boiled eggs and they also have a scrambled egg mixture in a quart container which I make omelettes from. I eat a lot of sausage and bacon and whenever I can I buy a couple of rotisserie chickens and portion them out into baggies for meals. I eat a lot of cheese and in the last two months I've lost 45 pounds. My goal was to lose a hundred pounds but since I'm more than halfway to that now I've upped it another 35 lbs that would put me back to high school weight. I'm charging Full Speed Ahead. I thought for a long time I could never get there again. But I was close before going to do it this time. It's all about being disciplined. I buy Atkins shakes and meal bars that I can eat while driving and I always keep a big bag of almonds next to me so when I get those hunger pangs I can low carb snack in a healthy way. Instead of chips and candy bars. So many drivers are obese, I wish I was a little more tech-savvy I would write a blog for obese Truckers. There are sites out there addressing this but all those guys look like rock climbers like the founder of this site... no offense Brett. But fat guys need somebody they can relate too...

I lost a bit of weight when I first got out on the road but since then gained about 15 pounds, but I should probably start looking into losing some weight.

One thing about eliminating sugar is the mental Clarity you have. I've always been one to wake up and hit the road running early. But when when I was eating badly I was also drinking a lot of diet Dew to get going in the morning. If I'm at a truck stop it's coffee. If I'm in a rest area or somewhere coffee isn't available I'm more than fine with just drinking water. I feel I'm a lot more alert now and though I still drink a diet Dew occasionally only other caffeine I take is from coffee. And I know this sounds strange but I love coffee so sometimes I just get decaf so I don't have the blood sugar rushes

I'll tell ya - I'm going through a bit of a renaissance myself lately. In recent months I switched to mostly a carnivore diet - meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. I lost weight easily and felt fantastic. But I still, as always, craved eating anytime I had a free moment, especially the fruit flavored yogurt and cottage cheese with fruit in it.

I decided I would try to cut out carbs pretty much completely and eliminated the yogurt and cottage cheese. I ate basically nothing but fatty meat like beef and chicken thighs, eggs, fish, and added some cheese - mostly sharp cheddar and pepper jack.

For the first time in my entire life all food cravings are gone. That is staggering to me. I've always had to fight off eating as much as possible, and did pretty well most of the time, but I could get away with eating more because I train so hard. But I was still heavier than I should have been and was constantly trying to resist eating more, especially that fruit flavored stuff.

Once I got away from carbs completely all cravings stopped completely.

Now I'm about the thinnest I've ever been and it's been effortless to stay this way. I really can't believe it took this long to figure out that the cravings weren't coming from food in general but from carbs and sugars specifically.

Now I'll warn anyone who has never tried a low carb diet - transition to it very slowly! The body uses a completely different process for burning carbs than it does for burning fats. It takes time to transition to the point where the body is comfortably burning fats well enough to fuel you properly. If you try to do it too quickly you will get what people refer to as the "carb flu" where you will feel super lethargic to the point you'll think you're sick. Some people even get nauseous from it. I've experienced this numerous times. You'll want to do nothing but sleep and you'll barely be able to get your head off the pillow. It's an easy fix though - just eat some carbs and you'll perk right up.

For anyone out there who is struggling with their weight and is having food cravings I challenge you to get away from carbs and eat a carnivorous diet consisting mostly of fatty meat, fish, eggs, and cheese. I'm telling you right now that this whole "eat your vegetables" thing is complete garbage. The fact that the base of the old food pyramid was "breads and grains" is borderline criminal. Nothing could've been further from the truth.

There is a ton of great information out there about the carnivorous diet. Believe me, I understand as well as anyone that this diet goes against every last bit of recommendation we've been given over the past 50 years, but I can assure you that once you get past that and make the switch it will be life changing in a major way.

Oh, by the way Junkyard Dog - almonds are not a low calorie snack. They're loaded with healthy fats, but there are a lot of calories in them. I like almonds but I buy them in those little 100 calorie snack packs so I don't just plow down 1,000 calories worth, which is shockingly easy to do. A 100 calorie snack of almonds fits easily in the palm of your hand with room to spare.

Kevin Stock has a ton of great information about the carnivore diet. I highly recommend starting there.

JYK9, thanks for keeping this critical discussion on the board. I think it's so important that it should be a continual topic of discussion.

I'm getting my weight down also. Went into school at 234, was at 238 about a month ago when I had to go in for another DOT physical and now I'm down to 230. Stagnating a little now since I'm home. I really should be at 200 or less. I've mentioned that I'm getting advice from a nutritionist. Some of his program for me differs from yours, but has many similarities. This guy does this stuff for a living and has a website. It costs $20 per year to join and get personal guidance. He does recommend certain supplements that I buy from him and take and he does make money from those, but he has to make a living too. When I follow his advice, I see definite improvement and when I slack off, I see just the opposite effect.

But as Brett recently pointed out, it's a combo of diet combined with increased exercise. What I'm doing for work this summer and fall will be much more strenuous than driving, so I hope to reach my goal before I return to driving.

I'm always interested in this nutrition and exercise information, especially as it relates to drivers. Anything I learn, I like to pass along. Always keep learning, never stop learning!

This guy does this stuff for a living and has a website. It costs $20 per year to join and get personal guidance. He does recommend certain supplements that I buy from him and take and he does make money from those, but he has to make a living too

Honestly, people put way too much faith in the word of others and not enough time evaluating things for themselves. We've listened to nutritionists for 100 years and the only thing they've proven to be time and time again is completely wrong.

Remember fats were really bad for you and would make you fat? Wrong.

Remember how cholesterol clogged the arteries and caused heart disease? Wrong.

Remember how a low fat diet was good for you and would keep you thin? Wrong.

Remember that the base of the food pyramid was breads and grains? Really, really wrong! Borderline criminal that they told people this.

Unfortunately most of the advice we get isn't objective advice aimed at helping us be more healthy. It's mostly propaganda with an agenda to either make money from a product or service, promote a certain ethical stance, or ensure the funding of future projects.

I highly encourage people to experiment for themselves and see what works. Trust me, you'll know it when you're eating right but just make sure you transition to the new type of eating slowly and give it enough time. I'm always floored when I read articles about how someone tried a certain type of diet for a week or two and decided it was no good. That's not nearly enough time to evaluate something. You need to choose how you want to eat and give yourself at least 30 days to transition to it and another 30 days of consistently eating it to know if it's working well or not.

I know nuts can be high in calories depending on which ones you eat, they can be very good as far as carbs. That's why I like to eat almonds macadamia nuts and pecans. Totally get what you're saying about the calories. Usually a handful is all it takes to knock off the cravings. And nutritious as far as snacks go. I bought a 40 oz bag of almonds at Sam's Club a month ago and I still have the bag. Also great for fiber which when you do low carb you have to search for fiber sources. I know what has worked for me in the past and what makes me feel good.

Brett, I know you're skeptical about getting nutritional advice because you don't really need it. And you give out some very valuable advice to boot. I've learned a lot from this guy because he has much more knowledge than me. I'm also going to check out the link to Kevin Stock to see what he has to say.

I like to have access to people who are more experienced and knowledgeable than me. That's why I hang around TT and make a pest out of myself!

Junkyard that's awesome keep up the great work! I've been dealing with my weight a bit lately too. My eating habits for the last 5 years or so have been terrible although it hasn't negatively impacted my weight due to jobs being physical labor. I've been at my current job for about 5 months now and the extent of my physical labor is unloading my truck with an electric pallet jack. In the first 3 months I gained 15 pounds and it's been much harder to drop it than it was to gain it. We got a YMCA membership that i use the 3 days I'm off a week but my problem is not eating the greatest, not sleeping enough when I work, and too much diet pop/soda. I'll definitely be using some of the advice in this thread.

Junkyard that's awesome keep up the great work! I've been dealing with my weight a bit lately too. My eating habits for the last 5 years or so have been terrible although it hasn't negatively impacted my weight due to jobs being physical labor. I've been at my current job for about 5 months now and the extent of my physical labor is unloading my truck with an electric pallet jack. In the first 3 months I gained 15 pounds and it's been much harder to drop it than it was to gain it. We got a YMCA membership that i use the 3 days I'm off a week but my problem is not eating the greatest, not sleeping enough when I work, and too much diet pop/soda. I'll definitely be using some of the advice in this thread.

I totally get what you're saying. I used to be a restaurant manager and I know the guys that brought the food in work their butts off. Up and down those ramps with hundreds of pounds of food. And working when there was Ice... You have no idea how much I admire those guys. Approaching my one year driving over the road and I'm starting to consider other options for more Hometime. I'm a lot older than you but I know I can do the job that you do with the pallet jacks. So it is something I'm considering. Just cut out the unnecessary carbs and sugar. You're much younger than me and that should make it easier for you to lose weight. At least it was for me when I was your age...