[gdwriter]

I wouldn't call you fat, Bill, but then I'm not exactly svelte myself. My weight has held steady at ~215 for probably 10 years now. Doesn't seem to matter if I exercise or not. I'm trying to eat healthier, but again, it doesn't seem to make much difference.

As long as it doesn't go further up, I'm OK with how things are. But good for you for making the effort.

 

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

As long as we're on this discussion, I'll share my story.

As many of you know, I'm quite slender, and both my parents' families are quite slender as well. We don't eat especially well, and we're not health nuts, but I guess you could just say it's good genes. From about 15 years of age to 23, I've been 5'6", 135-140 lbs. No matter what I'd do or eat, it wouldn't change. Now that I've moved out though, I've gained about 10 lbs. It went right up from 137-145 and stayed there, but now I'm getting close to 150 and staying there consistently. This isn't where I want to be at all, and all the weight is going to my gut, nowhere else. I eat out too much with my friends. It seems like whenever I meet with any of my friends, it's over a burger and a beer, so I need to cut down a lot on that. I'm not a good cook, so whenever I go out for food, I know I'm getting something better than I would be at home. And now that I'm living by myself, I'm eating meals meant for than just one person, and that's not helping at all either. So now I've gotta stop eating everything I cook and throw some away or refrigerate it for the next day.

And once spring FINALLY comes around, I'll start running 5-10 miles a week again.

 

[Sevillian273]

A couple years ago I had 2 wisdom teeth pulled and couldnt eat solid. I didnt slip once in fear of getting a dry socket so for 2 weeks I ate only KFC mashed potatos(FTW!) and soup. That, plus the appetite-killing pain pills I got from it lost me 20lbs. I feel guilty cause it was nearly effortless! :hide:

 

[OffThaHorseCEO]

As long as we're on this discussion, I'll share my story.

As many of you know, I'm quite slender, and both my parents' families are quite slender as well. We don't eat especially well, and we're not health nuts, but I guess you could just say it's good genes. From about 15 years of age to 23, I've been 5'6", 135-140 lbs. No matter what I'd do or eat, it wouldn't change. Now that I've moved out though, I've gained about 10 lbs. It went right up from 137-145 and stayed there, but now I'm getting close to 150 and staying there consistently. This isn't where I want to be at all, and all the weight is going to my gut, nowhere else. I eat out too much with my friends. It seems like whenever I meet with any of my friends, it's over a burger and a beer, so I need to cut down a lot on that. I'm not a good cook, so whenever I go out for food, I know I'm getting something better than I would be at home. And now that I'm living by myself, I'm eating meals meant for than just one person, and that's not helping at all either. So now I've gotta stop eating everything I cook and throw some away or refrigerate it for the next day.

And once spring FINALLY comes around, I'll start running 5-10 miles a week again.

This is my story to the t Chad. I was the guy everyone told "if you keep eating like that its gonna catch up to you". And id say "hasnt caught up to me yet!"

Well it caught up. I hate it. It used to be impossible for me to put on weight, now i have a gut and went from a 33 to a 35-36. I have stopped most of my fast food habits, mostly given up sodas, and have started light exercising. Hopefully it will help.

The bad thing is, it seems like it started after i exercised alot for a while, then i stopped due to time constraints. Before my short time exercising, i couldnt put on weight to save my life. now...

 

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

That may be the same with me..because I work Monday nights and Thursday nights, my time to go running after work has dwindled greatly.

 

[gary88]

Send some lbs my way, I'm 6'2" 165 and it takes forever for me to gain any weight.

 

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

I forget, but is Pasta & sauce (carbs & carbs) good for keeping the weight down or is it terrible?

 

[orconn]

Send some lbs my way, I'm 6'2" 165 and it takes forever for me to gain any weight.

Be careful what you wish for! You may get it sooner than you think!

 

[gdwriter]

I was 6'0' and ~150 when I graduated from high school 27 years ago. My weight gradually went up in my 20s, but nothing major, and it was actually an improvement since I no longer looked like a matchstick. But when I hit 30 — BOOM — the weight just suddenly soared to my current ~210-215 without me changing my eating habits at all. At least it has stayed there and not gone up any further.

Chad, it's not hard to learn how to cook, and I usually make enough that I can save the leftovers for dinner another night, which both saves time and doesn't waste the food. Go to Barnes & Noble and ask for some basic cookbook for the beginner, a Cooking for Dummies-type book. Hell, there might be one called that.

 

[orconn]

Learning to cook has a lot more advantages than just the simple ability to feed yourself. In our family the ability of the men to cook from necessity ...... the women in the family had commitments outside the home which prevented them from providing all the meals. My mother was a professional who from my teenage years held an executive position, my father being raised during his teenage years in Arizona learned to cook while on extended mountain lion hunts with the ranch hands. In my own home I cooked most of the evening meals, both because I worked on NYC time while living in L.A. and thus was done work by 3-4 o'clock and the fact that I enjoyed cooking as a way to relax and be creative! My son learned to cook so he could take care of himself when his mom or dad were not able to.

Aside from being able to boil water, cook an egg or make a sandwich so that you don't starve, being able to cook on a more advance level will always mean you can find a place on a fun outing like a sailing cruise or a hiking trip or RV adventure. While today many more men know how to cook than in the past, it is still a skill that is valued.

There are those who would say that I am an accomplished cook. While I already knew the rudiments of cooking I really applied myself to cooking after I returned from overseas in the 1970's. Unlike today when there are many ethnic restaurants in communities (and certainly cities) around the country, restaurants preparing the ethnic dishes were non existent. Having tasted and enjoyed many dishes unique to their cultures, I started to try to duplicate these foods and recipes for my own enjoyment. Friends also seemed to enjoy the things I was making, and dinners involving Sukiyaki, Zigny, Genghis Khan, not to mention Steak Diane and Feijoada became a sought after invitation. I I also got to crew on many island cruise both on the mainland and Hawaii. My son also became sought after for his ability to cook, as he was needed for hiking rips in the Sierras and Appalachians.

So, Chad I highly recommend your getting to know you way around a kitchen. I am sure several members here (Hueterm, GaryD and others) will glad to share recipes. Bet Sub and Dkoz have some interesting specialties too!

 

[ben.gators]

So here is my story.... I am 5'10'' and just 145 lbs, no matter what or how much I eat! I used to be even less, around 140 or 138 lbs, but could bring it up to 148 lbs as I started to do some workout... But I gave up going to gym because of school and much more important my own laziness... Now it is about one month that I started going to gym again, but this time I have a personal trainer to kick my ass. 160 lbs is my goal!

 

[drewsdeville]

Same story as most here. Back in the day, could do anything I wanted with no weight change for better or for worse. Cross country runner in HS, couldn't get me to sit down in my free time.

Went to college, worked a lot of ours, free time disappeared. Drank a lot of beer, ate lots of fast food, still not much of a change.

Started working full time in the shipping industry and "bulked up" a little with all of the manual labor.

Then, suddenly, maybe two years ago, my poor eating habits and reduced free time for activity began to show. Average about 185lbs at 6'0". I can tell it's caught up to me because of the fluctuations: the difference between the nice weather seasons when I use my bicycle as transportation and less-active winter is about 15lbs

 

[Sevillian273]

I hate cooking. It's like taking chemistry class in high school - nothing comes out right and things explode.