I dont want to die of a heart attack when Im 25.

by

Tony’s post speaks for itself.  Im honored to have him here and that he made time for us.  If you dont have his blog bookmarked yet you should.

Hi everyone. My name is Tony and I’ve been a fatty for a majority of my rather short life. I am a stressed out undergrad at the University of Minnesota, just trying to get my degree in communication studies. The light bulb sort of turned on for me this past April when I vowed to stop wasting my youth away playing World of Warcraft and eating too much pizza. So far, I’ve been pretty successful and have lost a total of 62.5 pounds. I’m doing everything in my power to get in shape because quite honestly, I Don’t Want to Die of a Heart Attack When I’m 25 (Yep. That’s the name of my blog, too!).

Junk Food Moderation

A few weeks ago, I went to Grumpy’s bar in Minneapolis to watch a concert with a friend. We got there a little early, so I decided to order something from the menu. Of course I had to get one of the worst possible appetizers ever imaginable: fried mac and cheese. I was going to take take a picture, but I totally forgot to when the food came. I was too busy munching away at the golden and crisp delight in front of me. Fortunately for me and my belly, I practiced moderation and had my friend help me eat half of the mac and cheese, cutting the calories in half.

I think implementing any sort of weight loss regime that doesn’t allow you to incorporate unhealthy foods that you love to eat will ultimately fail. With that being said, practicing moderation has been one of the hardest parts of losing weight for me. I’ve gotten better at it though, so I would like to share some of my, what I would like to call, “junk food moderation tips” for all of you people who want to lose weight in a realistic fashion.

1) Don’t buy junk food at the grocery store. Most unhealthy foods at the grocery store come in big packages that have many more servings than you need to satisfy your craving. If you really want some ice cream, don’t buy a half-gallon at the supermarket, instead by a small serving of it at your local ice cream shop. Believe me, it’s much harder to practice moderation when you still have 10 cookies out of a dozen staring at you after a long night studying.

2) Share your food with friends and family. Most restaurants serve outrageous portions of food that have way too many calories for any person trying to lose weight. Share your order of french fries with a friend. You will be able to satisfy your cravings without feeling guilty afterwards.

3) Eat a small portion and throw the rest away. Being the poor college student I am, I generally don’t like throwing food away. Not to mention, my parents always told me to finish my food and not let it go to waste…I think your physical health matters more though, so if there is no way for you to share you plate of buffalo wings, by all means, throw some of it away. If you really don’t like to waste food, take some of it home for the next day and perhaps the day after that (just don’t eat the rest of it later that night). This requires more willpower of course, but it certainly is doable.

4) Don’t go cold turkey. I think one of the biggest misconceptions about losing weight is that it’s all or nothing. This is simply not true. The problem with not ever treating yourself at all is that you could easily end up losing your sanity one day and binging on a bunch of junk food. You do not want that. And how crappy of an existence would it be without a slice of that vanilla bean cheesecake every once in a while. Losing weight does not have to be some sort of impossible endeavor. You can make it easier for yourself.

Alright, well that’s all the tips I have for you. If anyone else has any other ones, please share :).

You heard him, People.  Please to hit the Tony up in the comments.

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Comments

  1. thanks for the guest post.

    umm … guess i’m an early morning poster again…
    anyway, those are great points.

    i felt guilty about #3 for a long while (i love food! what a waste!) until it occurred to me that the food i purchased would not have gone to the starving people in country x anyway (plus if it’s a pie or something, how would that be nutritious or even filling to um, anyone?) , and would have instead possibly contributed to increased medical bills in the long term.

    and, #4 is definitely useful to keep in mind. i’m trying to reduce my sugar intake presently (it’s all cookies and cakes here lately …) and when i cut sugar out entirely it made me very cranky and unable to focus. so i had to find a happy medium which is imperfect though optimal.

  2. Good tips here, I’m definitely an advocate of slow and steady for a lifetstyle change. People forget that we should be implementing SUSTAINABLE new habits that work for us and we can keep for life. I don’t know if I could keep up healthy eating if I knew it meant I’d never have another slice of Cheesecake Ever Again.

    One more tip: make healthy eating FUN. Seriously, revamp the junk food favourite by swapping certain ingredients for lower calorie substitutes (use egg whites instead of whole eggs, apple sauce instead of sugar, wholemeal versions of the processed stuff etc etc). Hungry Girl has loads of great meal makeovers (and I’m pretty sure she’s cool with Hungry Guys making them too!).

    And find the healthy stuff you like the taste of. It IS out there, I promise you. Every morning my colleagues toast their fatty breakfast snacks and LUST over the smell of my chocolate coconut protein oatmeal. They don’t even suspect it’s healthy because it smells so goooood….

    TA x

  3. Love Tony and love my early am (I know, time zones but Im PRETENDING you are starting your days here :)) commenters.

    s? I needed to have that same ah ha! moment as well about the fact that the mashed potatoes I wasnt eating were NOT making their way to the third world or even the shelter down the street. it seems so obvious—-and yet it wasnt.

    and TA? that is 100% the key for me. loving what I eat. when Im out at restaurants with people they will remark (snark? it’s such a fine fine line…) that I have SO MUCH WILL POWER.

    nope. zero. I love what I eat.

  6. for me it is remembering that the stuff looks so fantastic and yet when I taste it it is just ok.

    I still finish it but I need to rememver all that before I even start.

  7. I.AM.NOT.SHARING.MY.FRENCH.FRIES. All the rest is totally golden! My husband and I tend to order one entree to split, and our own soup/salad. Soup really makes you feel full – so it’s a great diet food. Once when I was 25, and there were no mastadons I could catch, I ate soup for a month and lost a lot of weight. Hmmm…maybe I should do that again… Another thing I do is to drink an equal amount of water for every glass of wine or soda or whatever.

    We have ugly weather coming in – so I’m counting today as Friday! 🙂

  8. Hi Tony, I’m freezing my rear off up here, too! We do burn extra calories for that, you know…

    Miz, have you noticed that you have many, many fans in Minnesota? Come see us (in the summer:-)

    That part about “eat a small portion and throw the rest away” always gets to me too. Yes, the food is either going in my stomach or in the disposal (or, whenever possible back in the fridge for later). It’s money already spent no matter where it ends up.

    I also need to eat slower… sounds like the makings of a New Year’s resolution to me.

  9. I’m all over the “don’t keep it in the house” thing. I’d rather spend the money on a single serving of something than have it taunting me from across the house. That said, I did buy Hershey’s kisses in the mint and hot chocolate flavors to use for making some Xmas treats involving pretzels…I had one mint truffle…it was okay but I didn’t go back for another. That was intense moderation for me. (Plus I had a weigh in looming.)

    Make it a great day!

  10. Hey Miz – Thanks for Tony’s post!

    Tony I’m with you on the moderation part, it’s very hard to do. Great idea to go out for ice cream instead of bringing it home.

    I followed a very strict eating plan while I was doing a contest at my gym and I did great while I was on it, but when I came off it, look out . It’s taken me 2 1/2 months to get back onto WW a more doable plan for me. All or nothing is a horrible mentality to be in!

    You are doing a great job!! Thanks for the post. 🙂

  11. great advice!!!!! I have found that if I allow myself one-three bites of something I really don’t need………that’s about all it takes to satisfy me and then I don’t feel deprived. Most of the time, it wasn’t as great as I expected anyway 😉

  12. I go out for ice cream if I really, really want it…and even then, I try to remember to order a “child’s size” scoop at Ben & Jerrys, which is one scoop. BTW, when did one scoop become not a “small” but a “child”? Oh, and I say “I try” because I tend to lose my mind the second I step into a B&J’s!

    Good guest post – now to go read Tony’s blog!

  13. Ah Miz…I have so much WILL power. It’s the WON’T power that I need to work on. As in “I won’t eat the whole bag of chips because I’m hungry and too much of a lazy cow to go cook something, I won’t blow off the gym and say something else is more pressing because that won’t get my ass out of it’s own zip code… stuff like that. LOL

  14. Thanks, Tony, for the great practical advice.

    I’m a poor grad student, but yesterday I had to fight my greatest instinct (penny-pinching) to chuck the rest of a bag of cookies that I bought at the store. I had already eaten enough and I knew that, even though I already felt like a bloated cow after that serving, I would soon gorge on the rest. Saved my sanity and prevented me from hating myself for the rest of the day. It was well worth it!

  15. thinking about what you said, Shelley, I was out with the tornado yesterday and got a small (there wasnt a kids offering) and asked for it to be even SMALLER THAN SMALL as she has a tendency to wear half of it (read: trying to add levity with my request).

    in an ohsoclassicway the server got PISSY and gave me a TON (please to note I wasnt asking to PAY less) and you see where this is going.

    of course the tornado was having NONE of my tossing some out (if by OUT you mean in my piehole which I do) and she was a sticky mess when we left.

    stuff like that—when we’re not asking for special prices—never ceases to amaze me.

    rant over.

  16. I’m in full agreement with these tips and even add some from Sagan’s post on Monday. Keep yourself busy and learn what triggers your impulse to eat (not for fuel) in the first place. Just like a smoker may need to have a cigarette after a cup of coffee, there may be something that clicks that little light on in your head that makes the craving come out for food.

    Lastly, shop for groceries after you eat a meal instead of before. You’ll come home with a lot less junk that way.

  17. I am back after checking out Tonys blog and wanted to say THANK YOU MIZ for pointing him out.

    I don’t need a new blog to keep up with LOL but I like there are more men out there blogging.

    maybe I will start.

    Thanks Tony!

  19. 62 pounds! That’s incredible! Good for Tony.

    Since I am back on the eating healthy wagon, and I’ve been at this for fat too long, here are FGF’s tips:

    -THE FIRST BITE ALWAYS TASTES THE BEST. In a scientific study I did, 100% of the participants stated that the rest of the bites were equally as delicious but first was best. So think about it when faced with an entire piece of pie/cheesecake/etc. Do you need the WHOLE thing? Or just enough? If you want the whole thing, eat it and feel good b/c you had the choice!
    -LEAN ON YOUR FRIENDS/SUPPORTS! Personally, I can’t do this alone. I am returning to WW meetings and continuing to blog/stalk my healthy internet pals. I have some people to support me too. Enlist your friends to HELP you in your goals.
    -Break your plate up into 4. 2/4 gets veggies, 1/4 starch or carb and 1/4 protein. Or do it however you like. Have fun plates around, to make eating pretty (fun) for you. It makes a difference!

    Thats it. I am going back to bed. I’m on vacation afterall.

  20. Lots of great advice, Tony!

    Something I’ve only discovered recently, although I’ve certainly read it plenty of times, is that it takes quite a while for the stomach to feel fullness. If you sit down to a meal and eat until you’re not hungry anymore, you’re really eating far past that point. I’m instituting a new habit of having an appetizer before dinner – about 45 minutes before. I end up eating less overall, because my body has had time to realize I’m actually full. It’s working great for me because I don’t have to deprive myself; just by changing the timing of my eating I’m able to eat all I want – because that’s all I want!

  22. good tips! it is so hard to “waste” food, but i just try to think about how i’ll feel if i ate the whole thing. sometimes it works, sometimes not 🙂 but hey, it’s a gradual thing. moderation has definately been challenging me lately… most importantly, CONGRATS and making these changes, you’ve started the ball rolling, and lost 62 pounds!!

  23. Amen to the advice that Tony dished out! That’s basically my diet MO, and it works. You might not lose as fast as other people who go cold turkey (and then binge) but I’m still living my life, getting healthy, and enjoying food.

  25. Hi there MizFit! Thank you for checking in on me even though I haven’t been blogging in two months. You’re awesome!

    I’m a total believer in eating what you want, just finding the right portion size. I do struggle with this too, but keep trying. You just can’t give up especially when you fail.

    Heading over to Tony’s now.


  27. Tony Day?!

    Heading over to Tony’s now.

    that’s my favorite thing about you all (ok, next to your humor, snark, great taste in fashion, lovely hair, fantastic outlook on life, ability to find the silver lining in the grayest of clouds…):

    HOW MUCH YOU SUPPORT ONE ANOTHER.

    I love our Bumbling Band because we are a community of misfits.

    what more could one want in life?

  28. I’ve got a skeleton in my closet. OK, it’s much too large to be a skeleton, it’s more like an elephant.

    I’m talking about my 20 year old son, who spends hour upon hour in his room playing Warcraft and is probably 75-100 pounds overweight.

    I try not to blame myself, remembering what good eating habits my 17 year old daughter has. But still…when he was little, I actually thought that macaroni and cheese was a healthy meal if I cut down on the butter! I’m still trying to get him off of his dependence on starch as the main part of his diet.

    Tony, I’m sending him the link to your blog. If he actually shows up, knock some sense into him for me, will ya?

  29. Love the tips Tony! But even more, I love your healthy and positive attitude. Good luck with your health goals; I am sure you will be succesful! Great to see another Minnesotan on here!

  30. Another great guest post! Tony’s attitude is something it has taken me a lot of years to achieve! Moderation is the key to a happy healthy lifestyle. (Now, if only I could apply that to cocktail hour…….)

  31. What a great post!!
    I’m a huge believer of the “don’t buy anything you wouldn’t want to eat” school of thought. I don’t keep anything in my house that’s bad for me!
    Thanks Tony!

  33. Tony has the same outlook on food as I do – he must be brilliant seeing as he is probably about ten years younger than me! (It took me a while to get here – maybe I’m just slow?)
    😉

    And miz – I didn’t know that renman wasn’t part of the Tribe…. 🙂

  34. Excellent tips and thank you for the guest post.

    I’m not sure I’d be tempted by fried mac n cheese but then a giant plate of cheese fries could probably do it.

    But I agree that the first bite is really the one that is so yummy so stopping after a few bites really is great advice.

  35. Could Tony please talk to my World-of-Warcraft-Junkie Husband? Because I am worried about the heart attack thing but Husband won’t take me seriously. So if someone else could talk to him, that would be great. Thanks!

    Seriously – I try to feed him healthy foods, but I can’t control what he eats when I’m not around and I cannot get the man to exercise. He recently got on the scale and was quite disgusted with the number he saw, so said that he was going to ‘cut back’ and lose some of it, but so far I haven’t noticed much in the way of changes.

    Sigh. Sorry – did not mean to hi-jack post for my rant. Good going Tony, you are very smart to make these changes and congrats on the weight you have lost so far.

  36. Go, Tony! Great tips and good luck on your continued journey…I too have problems with moderation and the whole clean-your-plate mentality. I have to tell myself the money I save buying a pint of ice cream rather than a serving isn’t worth it– I’d rather pay a little more not to be overeating or putting so much sugar & fat into my body. But, oh, it’s hard to fight the voice saying “but sitting on the couch consuming a full pint of ice cream is the antidote to your long day that YOU DESERVE.” Silence, voice!

  37. Great post – nice, common sense points! I agree with not trying to go cold turky – rarely works.

    Fried mac and cheese would be a serious temptation for me!

  38. hijack away.

    My name is MizFit and, until a few months ago, I’d never heard of World of Warcraft.

  40. I saw the word “cheesecake” and got distracted.

    🙂 Thanks for these tips, Tony! You’ve really got it figured out here- how to be healthy and enjoy life at the same time. The way it SHOULD be.

    Your blog looks great, by the way!

  43. Wow Tony–I’m impressed. Those are great tips for someone so young and new to weight loss. It took me years to wise up and pan the gold nuggets of wisdom you shared here.

  44. Oh wow, another starving college student trying to lose weight?!? Well I’m here to tell ya, I’ll be 25 next year and I’m living proof you can do it. Here are some tips that helped me:
    ~ If you don’t have someone eating with you, get a to-go box with our order and go ahead and put half of it up. Not only do you not waste, you get 2 meals for the price of one!
    ~ Excessive alcohol is not your friend. That might not be your problem, but besides the excess calories, the “drunk munchies” were a huge contributor to my weight gain
    ~ Don’t compare what you’re eating/drinking/weighting to anyone elses. Once again, might not apply, but I found it only made me more depressed and since we’re all different, there’s no point in trying to model someone else.
    Keep it up Tony!

  45. Awesome post and congrats on all your successes so far, Tony! People like you and Emily (commenter #45) are proof that people can change and succeed in making healthy lifestyle changes!

  46. am writing this for the sake of a philosophical discussion. The other day I met up with an old friend after many years. It seemed that time and a life of bad habits had really gotten to him. At 27 he wheezed like Darth Vader, and almost filed up two seats. As we chatted away he commented on how lean I was looking, and I laid down in two sentences what my secret was. “HGH-inducing workouts 4-5 times a week, and a low-carbish diet consisting of veggies meats, and yummy fats” He went on to say that such a lifestyle seemed too stressful to follow. He concluded, ” You and I aren’t models, why deprive yourself?” I had no answer. I could tell him about health, wakefulness, longevity, feeling good looking good, but it really seemed like something egotistical at that moment. As we parted I walked around town looking at the people around me, and out of all the scrawny, flabby, or decrepit bodies there were only a handful of fit people, most of them younger than me. It made me wonder, I do not want to ever stop, but why am I doing it? Why take the time to lift weights or sprint? Why get down below 10% bodyfat? Why skip out on french fries and cake? Why look good? I know these seem like obvious questions, but I am trying to answer them from my friend’s perspective. Because in the end, is it not all for the sake of vanity?
    One of the primary reasons I do it is for health, but never forget about Patrick Swayze. 56, ripped, pancreatic cancer. We all know many seemingly healthy people who dropped dead from heart attacks and tumors. My uncle ate nothing but boiled fish and veggies for 20 years, but got a heart attack ( though he was skinny fat). Likewise if you look at most centenarians, not many look like Jack LaLanne, some of them don’t even eat that healthy. I would like tpo say that I feel more productive, but when I look at the great achievers, doctors, scientists, businessmen, artists, they are just as out of shape as anyone else. Frankly, I do not think that Andrew Carnegie, Trump, Einstein or Richard Dawkins missed anything because of a lack of a six-pack. I myself am an artist and animator, and when I look at my idols I see that they are out of shape. While one does become attractive to the opposite sex, I remember that the Master Pick Up Artists come in all shapes and sizes, and that personality is much more important than looks. Where I live, I see scrawny and skinny-fat blobs form a reltionship and even abuse beautiful women.Ron Jeremy is a short, fat, bald man with a jewfro but is the top pornstar. In a documentary, his lady co-stars preferred him over most generic bodybuilderish porn actors. As for women, I have seen enormous women get married to good-looking men. I guess there will always be chubby-chasers.
    Point being, I love the fact that I stay out of the doctor’s office, and will robably never need prescription medicine. I love looking in the mirror and seeing a nice lean body. But in the end is there really anything more to it? Is looking great really anything special. Moreover is it wrong? In light of the fat-acceptance movement, I would be considered vain, anorexic, and genetically blessed. I get weird looks for leaving out french fries, skipping desert or for ordering salad. By looking better than 90% of people, am I just some sort of elitist? Again, I want to be fit for the rest of my life, I am not knocking health and fitness in any way. I am simply questioning the overall philosophy.

  47. After going out for a family meal at iHop, where for 5 of us it cost over $60, and where my husband and I ordered the EXACT SAME THING and neither one of us ate it all, we finally starting putting number 2 in practice. We went to Carino’s a few nights ago (I LOVE Carino’s) and had a wonderful meal for a reasonable price without consuming too much. My boys shared a small pizza, my husband and I shared an entree, and we all shared one dessert (although that dessert was probably enough to feed about 10 people, and we left half of it).

    These are GREAT tips, and what a great success story. It’s so nice to see people doing what they can while they still can.

  48. Speaking for myself, JE, several years and 70 pounds ago I felt like crap. My back always ached, I had indigestion about half the time, and even if both of those problems weren’t acting up, I had no energy to do anything like go to the park or the beach with my family; it was just too much effort.

    Nowadays I bounce out of bed ready to take advantage of whatever life throws at me. That why I eat right and work out. The looking-good part is a side-effect.

  49. Thanks for the great new blog. I am bad about searching out new ones lately and thanks for the leg work.

    I love Fried Mac and Cheese, it’s the only way I can eat it. Can’t wait for the State Fair now!

  50. Great, sound advice for anyone watching their intake. I employ the ‘throwing food away’ usually by FLINGING it as far away from me as possible. I had to make cookies to send to my son in Hawaii and with the leftover cookies, I threw them as hard as I could at his twin brother. He caught them with his teeth. (Just like GWB caught that shoe.)

  52. Just another agreement on the “throw things away” part… for me, learning to leave food, and NOT eating the leftovers of (1) my kid (but he’s a teen now so there are no more leftovers, or (2) my husband, however much they will “go to waste” or it’s “only a little bit.” All those little bits add up.

    My bit of advice about this is, have a dog. 🙂 Especially a golden retriever. Food makes him SO happy. (In moderation for him, too!)

  56. I heart me some hotwings, so I get a HUGE salad to go with. Then I can’t eat all the wings.
    Also, I plan cheat days. I sometimes take an entire day to eat what I want when I want and not feel guilty about it. That includes NOT eating if I don’t wanna.

  58. Tony, it’s so great that you’re doing this NOW, and not ten or twenty years from now. It took me so long to figure out how much lovelier life could be when I loved and respected myself and my body enough to treat it right…

    These are great tips. And by doing this through moderation and not self-deprivation, you’re on a path that is so sustainable and truly a life change. I’m happy for you!

    JE…for me, it’s about quality of life. I’m capable of so much more when I take care of myself, and I feel so much better. It’s that simple. Will I live longer? Maybe. I know there are no guarantees. But by God, the years I DO have are going to be as filled with beauty and energy and positivity as I can make them! 🙂 That’s what it’s about, for me.

    V.

  59. Good points, all.

    I have to admit that I have been known to have junk food in the house. The way I keep from eating it all at one go is to buy the most EXPENSIVE junk food I can find. If I can find a pint of ice cream that costs $10, I buy that one. That way, when I’m gazing longingly into the depths of the ice cream container, I hear a little, cheap voice in the back of my head say, “Put that back! You spent TEN DOLLARS on that today, don’t you DARE eat ALL TEN DOLLARS tonight!!!!”

    And because I am cheap, it works. LOL

  60. Those are wondeful tips! I especially agree with his outlook on moderation. Would you really want to live without all junk food forever until you die? No? Then have a little now and then and just use moderation.

    Alas, I wish I could implement #2 more often. Most of my eating out is done with my boyfriend, who never wants to share. We don’t like the same foods and he can actually consume an entire huge entree on his own. So, I’ve gotten some practice at #3 (and yes it’s so hard!).

  61. runjess? same here on the boyfriend/husband and tastes. My husband is an avowed nosharer—-but usually Im not into what he’s eating anyway…

    and it does make for a lot of learning with regards to #3, huh?

  62. Splitting with friends when you go out is an awesome idea. When I meet up with my club, we usually go out afterwards and split an order of sweet potato fries at the local pub. I pony up my share of the bill, but don’t pony up in eating my share of the fries. I eat them slow and savor their yummieness. So, I get the social aspects and a bit of a taste. I also plan for it on club days.

    When you order a meal in a restaurant, ask for a doggie bag right away. Put half the meal off your plate and into the *to-go*. You won’t eat what you can’t see. If you ordered healthy, eat it the next day yourself, give it to a friend or someone you see who’s struggling.

    I believe in the controlled indulgence, too. It does keep a trainwreck at bay and is a strategy I’ve employed this go ’round.

  64. #3 is definitely my downfall – starving children in Africa, y’know.

    The last couple of weeks, something has really clicked for me, though.

    Thank you for sharing!

  66. Marste,

    As a fellow skin-flint, that sort of thing definitely works for me! That’s why as soon as I walk in the door with my beloved weekly El Patio burrito, I immediately cut it in two and wrap up a half for another meal. Six bucks for a single meal just sounds too decadent to me!

  67. wow, good stuff — just added your blog to my feed, tony — thanks! (and good luck on the job hunt! hope you find something more interesting!)

  70. WOW what a great story. I could not agree with your moderation idea. Being a Lifetime WW member that’s what life is all about, eating what you want but knowing when enough is enough. 🙂

    Great job Tony!

  71. Congrats on your weight loss, Tony!! And great tips, too. I struggle with #3. I can’t stand to throw food away. But I heard (and am still trying to cram it into my brain) that it either goes to “waste” or it goes to “waist”- which is worse?

    And here is my PSA for the day: please don’t feed your leftovers to your dog!! We did that for many years, and he ended up with diabetes and didn’t live as long a life as he could have (although I cherish a most adorable picture of him going to town on a pan of lasagna- once we were done with it, that is).

    About husbands who play WOW, I feel your pain. But luckily mine isn’t overweight (apparently he’s too busy on the computer to eat). He never rarely works out though, so he’s kind of “skinny fat” (really I’m just bitter because he currently weighs less than I do). But to give him some credit, he is one of those rare people who actually stops eating when he’s full- who does that?

  72. Man If I tried to go cold-turkey and never eat a cookie till I was at goal weight, I would wither and die. I completely agree with every tip that you posted!

    It’s not easy, but cutting out everything entirely would just be punishing yourself… when the whole point is to actually feel better about yourself. Success will come through trusting yourself enough to do it slow and steady, and allowing yourself the room to make mistakes and have rewards along the way.

    Also nice name 🙂

  73. I’ve been following Tony’s journey for a while and I think it’s great that you featured him on your blog. Wishing him all the luck and support…he rocks!

  74. I once had a boyfriend, who told me that I was disrespectful if I did not eat everything on the plate when we went out to eat. He said that it was a waste of his money. He was also a pretty horrible person to me (hopefully he has gotten therapy) and I broke up with him after 6 months of emotional/psychological abuse.

    My current boyfriend is very supportive of my weight loss and will eat off my plate for me.

  75. FGF that’s so…interesting (how is THAT for diplomatic :)).

    I will never forget going out to eat with Ren Man the first few times and noticing he often left his sides untouched.

    I finally asked him about that (visualizing all the ravenous kids in africa who longed fer his risotto) and he shrugged and said:

    sunk cost. already paid for it. why would I eat it if I dont want it?

    Id never though of it like that before…

  76. such good common sense sounding advice. I remember when I had a cousin who lost weight, and I asked him how he did it, and he shrugged his shoulders and said “I ate less.”

    I do feel guilty when I waste food…it’s really great when you can find people willing to split entrees. Maybe that could be the next match-up! MizFit Entree-splitting buddies.

  77. Great tips! I can’t think of any right now though.

    Oh wait: Snack. DOn’t let yourself get so hungry between meals that you throw yourself at food.

  79. ooh, #1 is the biggest for me.. I’m pretty good at ordering the small if I’m out, but if I have anything at home – it’s gone in short order no matter the size. Even “boxes of 100 calorie packs” are no good for me because I will just eat all 6 packs… So for me, it’s snack-size while I’m out, and if there are leftovers, they can’t come in the house either (thankfully the trashcan is near the backdoor where I usually come in), unless I specifically tell my husband they’re for him.

    You rock, Tony – get those habits ingrained now while you’re young! 🙂

  80. PS I totally agree with fatty gets fit – the first bite is the best. I call that “Rich’s Rule”, after the friend that first mentioned that to me (I disagreed at the time). Whenever I’m out and faced with a big fancy dessert (or any big, unhealthy food), I remind myself of Rich’s Rule. 9 times out of ten, by the fourth small bit my mouth is satisfied (and let’s face it – especially by the time dessert rolls around – the tummy isn’t what needs satisfaction).

  81. Wow! Thank you all for the wonderful compliments and support. I’ve been busy all day finishing up a final and driving my friend to the airport, but can gladly say that this semester is now a wrap.

    After reading all the comments, there are definitely some additional moderation tips that I could apply to my life. I especially like the one that Mary Meps and Emily brought up about getting a to-go box right away with your order.

    As for the World of Warcraft thing, I quit for a while but have started to play again. The funny thing is that the game is no longer nearly as addicting as it was before I started losing weight. It seems that after I got a handle on my eating habits, I was able to gain control over my computer game addiction as well. Dragonmama and Javachick, I definitely understand how you both feel about your loved ones being addicted to this game. If there is anything I could do to help, please talk to me.

    MizFit- Thank you so much for letting me contribute a guest post =).

  83. I agree with Tony, it’s great advice and very reasonable! 🙂 I definitely agree with the moderation method. It took me a long time to realize that weight loss and maintenance doesn’t have to be all or nothing, it just has to be balanced in favor of health most of the time.

    Jenn

  84. I think all Tony’s tips are great, and particularly the ‘don’t go cold turkey’. I’ve tried that approach a number of times and it doesn’t work. Now that I’m doing small steps I definitely feel more enthusiastic and I think increasing my exercise and being healthy is doable.

    And with eating a portion and throwing the rest, I don’t have to do that. I eat my portion and (no matter how much food it is) my husband eats it eventually, lol. He shouldn’t, but talking him about moderation is a lost cause.

  85. Great tips. Thanks Tony! The Don’t go cold turkey one really reasonated with me. I like to dive in full steam and then burn out just as fast 🙂 But I’m learning. The wasting food thing is hard for me too. Grandma always said. “G_d cries when you waste good food.” That has stayed with me, but it’s time to banish it and live the reality of my life…which is:that saying ain’t making my thighs any smaller, if you know what I mean!

  86. While I admit that I am not quite there in terms of making the better choices that I know I need to make for my health and for my kids, I know that I will find awesome inspiration by stopping in here.

    Great tips!

  87. I applaud you Tony! And your blog name really hits home with me — I distinctly remember being a little kid and seeing the rescue drive up to my best friend’s house across the street. Her dad had a fatal heart attack — at the age of 25!

    Another thing that hit home with me? “Eat a small portion and throw the rest away.” I grew up in a “we don’t waste food family,” but as an adult, I’ve learned that one of the worst situations I can put myself in is to be alone with a leftover cake. I’ve learned to eat, share, enjoy and dispose of…no guilt required.

    Keep up the great work of living healthy!

  88. I agree with everything that you’ve said, and I’ve taken a lot longer to learn it. Fortunately, as my eating evolves, most heavy greasy food isn’t so appealing to me. Still, sometimes fish and chips is all that will do, either because of mood or nothing else better, and it’s always nice to have a companion who can eat all of his food and then share your fries. I no longer buy junky food at the store, which doesn’t mean that occasionally on a hot day (months away, at this point), I won’t have an ice cream cone. I try not to throw food away, so I try to get smaller servings, or take it home. Occasionally I’ll cook something at home that’s inedible, and I may eat a bit of it, but won’t torture myself for a week with leftovers. I think what always threw me off in the past was the all or nothing attitude. At this point, since I have no hard and fast rules, by definition, I can’t screw up enough to throw it all away and binge. On certain occasions (Thanksgiving, e.g) I stuff myself until I feel sick, and have to spend the evening and the next two days walking it off and eating light, but I don’t really gain permanent weight from doing that occasionally, just a short-lived pound or two that comes off within the week.

  89. Wow. I read Tony’s intro paragraph and almost heard myself speaking.. er, typing. I ballooned up from an 2XL wearing 290 pounds or so in high school to a 4XL 440 pounds after I graduated college.

    I stopped doing ANYTHING atheletic or physically active, and instead hung out in my place, drank Dr. Pepper, ate fast food, and played City of Heroes (think a superhero version of World of Warcraft). It was disgusting, but I finally get fed up. Now, almost a year in, I’ve lost more than 125 pounds!

    A lot of what Tony said has been key for me, especially about not eating everything on your plate at restaurants. I just split it all in half, and have one meal there and another with leftovers. Past that, I stay way far away from those damnable free rolls and breadsticks. Nothing but trouble there.

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