new thread
Hi Hairy People,
This thread will be completely off-topic; but I felt like talking about it, anyway. Here goes...
As an early Christmas present (either that, or else a VERY late birthday one), my brother and sister-in-law have made me an offer that I couldn't refuse: they want to treat me to going away to a nice health spa / weight loss center (AKA "Fat Farm") in South Carolina, all expenses paid, for 2 weeks, starting 4 days from now....
I told them I'd accept their offer only if they can guarantee that I'll look EXACTLY like Orlando Bloom when I come back home... They wouldn't promise me that; but I decided to take them up on their offer, anyway -- with the understanding that if I will at least look like Johnny Depp or the aging Tom Cruise after 2 weeks there, that would be OK enough for me. (LOL)
This place is rather expensive -- so all kidding aside, I feel very lucky and very grateful for this gift! My sister-in-law was there last year for 6 months, and she lost a total of 50 lbs. during that time. I'm trying to approach this opportunity as a way to hopefully help me "jump start" my way back into better eating & exercising habits... We'll see, as only time will tell!
Anyway, just thought I'd share, since I will be away from this board for over 2 weeks, wasting away, getting skinnier and skinnier (or at least running away from the crocodiles every time I cheat and eat a pizza - LOL)....
I'm always amazed at how most longhairs I know and/or see are usually quite slim; but occasionally I'll meet up with another chunky one like me. The important thing in life is to try your best to be and stay healthy; so to all of you reading this, I hope you are doing as much as you can in that direction, whether preventatively, or to return again to better fitness & health. In any case... Later, 'gator!
- Ken
Ken
Best of luck to you. I hope everything goes well. Not sure what part of S.C. you'll be in, but I'm about 7 miles from the S.C. border. Would love to hear about how things went when you get back. Be safe and perhaps you'll inspire some other gents to grow out their hair.
Brian
Good for you, and best of luck in your endeavor. I had a bit of a self crisis in mid 2009 and was at the heaviest weight of my life when I decided I was tired of it and joined weight watchers. Over eight months time I lost 100lbs+, and was at the lowest weight I had been since I 14yo. Since then I lost my resolve and gained some of it back, but I'm still lighter then I was and I just need to bite the bullet and get back at it.
I'm sure you will benefit from your time at the camp, and the biggest hurdle you will face is your own battle in your mind. This may not make since to some, but anyone who has struggled with their weight will understand. The most difficult part of weight loss is taking that first step and doing it and you have already won half the battle.
Also I can't believe she couldn't promise you won't look like Orlando Bloom as I often make that mistake already when I see you avatar. The resemblance is uncanny.
Regards,
Jeremy
Hi Ken,
Wow,that was quite a generous offer from your brother and sister in law but really it can be considered a gift of life!Also its a nice change of scenery as even though SF is a beautiful place we all need to get away from time to time.Just to break away from our everyday humdrum schedule.Too bad your destination wasn't closer to me for a visit but I imagine you will be busy the entire time since you are there for a reason.Well I'm certainly cheering for you and hope you achieve success while there.Then when you get back home you can go shopping for those skinny jeans:)lol.Anyway if you do have time during your trip it would be great to call you if that is allowed there.At least we'll be in the same time zone.So give it "Hell" Ken and take advantage of this great opportunity.Catch ya later my friend:)
Mark
Fantastic oppertunity Ken. Enjoy every moment. Look forward to the before and after shots! Ian
Go for it! Like Mark said, then you can go shopping for some skinny jeans. And if you want the Orlando Bloom/Johnny Depp/Pirates of the Caribbean look you can still wear your baggy shirts with them ... like I do (see pic)! :)
I decided to get my act together about two years ago. Growing long hair was only one part of my new look; I also lost a lot of excess weight. Basically, I just cut out some of the crap I was eating and walked a lot. I feel SO much better!
Damon
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Oh yeah ... got carried away with my vanity pic there (!) but I meant to add ...
I think that's exactly the right approach. The fat farm is a start but *maintaining* fitness demands a whole change in lifestyle *after* you leave. It's really just a matter of changing your routines. If you change your habits those habits become instinctive after a while.
I set myself EASY habits - because easy habits are more likely to happen.
I still eat quite a lot but I now eat far more *healthy* foods - lots of fruit and veg - and far less *unhealthy* foods. I still eat lovely crap - big cream cakes, chocolate, etc. - but only now and then instead of all the time!
I HATE gyms but I LOVE walking, dancing, running - so that is what I do for exercise - stuff I actually ENJOY. That way, I know I will continue to exercise - because I enjoy it instead of it being a chore.
Damon
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*grin* After some pushing (by women) I have some pants that, if not "skinny" are well fitting. So...I suppose I ought to be offended, but getting whistled at by someone half my age, I'll just take the compliment.
Yup, find something that works, that you don't have to concentrate and act on every moment. The biggest part of mine was moving "trashy but yummy" food into the treat area from the regular food area. Also, if I have a craving for (say, Ben and Jerrys) I have to go to their store and buy a cone rather than buying a pint at the corner and eating the whole thing.
This!
Also, as the weight comes off, the exercise becomes more pleasant.
Also, if I have a craving for (say, Ben and Jerrys) I have to go to their store and buy a cone rather than buying a pint at the corner and eating the whole thing.
The best way to handle cravings is to not have it in the house.
Buf if you still want it, you can have it, just do so in
moderation. And do stuff like walk to the store to get it,
walk a little extra to compensate for it.
The best way to loose weight is to be careful what you eat and
to get plenty of excercize. When you go to the store park in the far end of the parking lot, it keeps your car from
getting dinged and gives you the added excercize of walking
furhter. After I lost 60 pounds I continued my routine
of walking alot. Try to get at least an hour of more of
excercize each day.
My main excercize is walking, did running years ago (got up to about ten miles a day) but it was hard on the knees.
Better still ... don't use a car at all! I lost mine a few months ago (couldn't afford the repairs) and now I get the train, bus or walk everywhere.
I dreaded it at first but now I realise it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I walk many miles every day (and I'm a FAST walker - thus my heart rate increases). The weight just disappeared off me in no time. I can eat huge mounds of total junk food (though I seldom do!) and I lose it within minutes. (Yeah, the women in my office hate me for that!)
Now I realise doing without a car is not always feasible (rural areas, etc.) but I live in a large city and I've never felt so healthy as I do now!
If you can avoid using a car, then avoid it. Never ever use a car (or a bus or a train) when you can walk or use a bicycle for the same journey. Cars can be a curse - and can considerably shorten your lifespan!
Damon
Hi Damon,
Had to comment as you look great and I like your shirt with the skinny jeans:)
I never understood the fascination with those baggy jeans really. I just went my
own direction during that craze and stuck with jeans that actually fit and look good! I have what many would feel is a HUGE wordrobe of skinny jeans in all styles and brands.To get the really good fit I had to buy expensive designer brands but it was worth it to me:)Anyway skinny jeans + longhair rocks!lol
Cheers my friend.
Mark
Hey, thanks, Mark! I figure those big ruffled poet shirts look perfect with skinny jeans and a wide belt. Brings out my romantic side. Just wondering where I mislaid my rapier ... :)
I bought my first pair of skinny jeans a year ago. Now I practically live in skinnies. Regular jeans just feel wrong now.
I buy mine mostly from River Island (large high-street chain in the UK) and they fit me fine - which is just as well coz I couldn't afford designer labels. My lastest pair (28" waist super-skinnies) cost only £25 and fit me like a glove (which is worrying coz they're supposed to fit me like jeans! :).
All my skinnies are either dark denim or black. I'd be happy to try some bright colours but people are so used to seeing me dressed as a gloomy goth it might look a little strange! Don't wanna give them a heart attack! :)
Damon
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look a little strange! Don't wanna give them a heart attack! :)
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Hey Damon, well just to pass along some skinny jean knowledge, if your skinnies
fit you "like a glove" as you suggested chances are they have a small percentage
of either spandex or Lycra in the fabric.If they are 100% cotton they will seem more like jeans:) So it depends if you like the glove feel or not which I personally do:) Anyway just thought I'd pass that along for you my friend.Cheers
Mark
Hey, Mark. I was just kidding about the glove/jeans thing - making fun of taking the metaphor literally. Brit humour doesn't always translate very well to the other side of the pond. ;)
Yeah, my new super-skinnies are 1% "elastane" (lycra or spandex). They do "fit like a glove" (yeah, LOVE that feeling too!) but they're definitely jeans, even though much tighter than 100% cotton skinny jeans.
Damon
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Damon (a.k.a. Swashbuckler Extraordinaire),
I commented to Mark (Hairball) under AndyBeta's thread "A thought about being 'stylish'", which is probably halfway down the page by now. Some of it joking about his action figures, but some real info about jeans.
I would like to add, since you are interested in adding colored jeans to your collection, but still want them to be dark: consider overdyed jeans. I have a pair that is (first) yarn dyed black, then (second) overdyed red. The result is a very cool, textural-looking, dark red with some black coming through. You could do this with a deep green, mahogany brown, or rust color too, over black. That way you could add color to your wardrobe without it being too bright for your liking.
And mind where you swing that rapier! :)
Laura,
I always loved your posts even when I was just an invisible lurker. They always made sense! Awesome to get replies from you!
Yeah, I read it - this one: http://www.mlhh.org/messages/286906.html
I'll feel really smug next time I talk to someone about jeans now I'm armed with all that knowledge! Wow! I will now sneer at any jeans that aren't 'overdyed' or at least 'yarn dyed'!
I might take the plunge and start off with some fairly neutral-coloured skinnies (and maybe even work my way up to lime green or tangerine orange as my confidence grows - or maybe not!).
Sorry about that rapier but you know what us swashbucklers are like - we tend to get all excited when we spot a damsel!
Damon
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Now I on the other hand when i'm not wearing shorts much of the year often wears baggy jeans (JNCOs or loose fitting levis.)
I have exactly zero skinny jeans.
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Well everyone likes something different when it comes to the clothes
we wear the same as how long we like to keep our hair. I know if I wore
regular loose jeans I'd save myself a lot of time and money in the process.
However I like the look and feel of skinny jeans and they work with my physique even
though I'm not a youngster anymore.So that's cool if you are happy with what
you wear and I'm sure you look nice in them too.
Poor Ken as we are turning his thread into The Clothing Channel!lol.Cheers
Mark
True but I think Ken will humour us.
It's great to have a board dedicated to long hair but the members of any board like to interact and get to know each other. And if coversation was always restricted to ONLY our hair, that interaction would be incredibly shallow! Imagine a club in real life like that: "Hi Mark, nice hair. Yes, I know there's more to you than hair but we're not allowed to talk about anything else."
Besides ... long hair IS related to other aspects of our personalities and our appearance. It would sometimes be pointless discussing hair without knowing other things about the person - their tastes in things such as social preferences, music, sports, activities ... and yes ... clothes.
So long as we keep the main focus on hair, I think *occasionally* exploring a few other things about us will only enrich the experience of the board.
Damon
Hey Damon,
Yes,you hit the nail on the head my friend:)Obviously this board is about men with longhair and the support of such but there is more to the longhair than .....just hair!LOL.I actually enjoy learning the likes and dislikes we as longhairs have with each other.So I found it cool you were into the skinny jean thing and who knows what else might be of common interest.As a rule the newbies should stick to the main topic but once established then venturing off into other interests is fine.I thank you for bring up the subject:)Cheers
Mark
Off topic posts among regulars are specifically okayed in the rules, and for the reasons you guys say:
Are posts on ''off topic'' subjects permitted?
Bill
Not to certain If I could carry off the true "skinny Jeans" look. At 60 ,it might be too much, However, I do wear cowboy cut slimfit Wrangler jeans. Quite comfortable and work well with my 30inch inseam and 34/36 inch inseam (36 if wearing boots) I am only 5'9" in height, therefore, I am "All Legs" Boots, slim fit jeans,and a "polo" shirt in warm/hot weather, or a button down shirt (long sleeve) with a corduroy or leather jacket in cooler weather, has been my "look" since High School. I figure, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Not to certain If I could carry off the true "skinny Jeans" look. At 60 ,it might be too much, However, I do wear cowboy cut slimfit Wrangler jeans. Quite comfortable and work well with my 30inch waist and 34/36 inch inseam (36 if wearing boots) I am only 5'9" in height, therefore, I am "All Legs" Boots, slim fit jeans,and a "polo" shirt in warm/hot weather, or a button down shirt (long sleeve) with a corduroy or leather jacket in cooler weather, has been my "look" since High School. I figure, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Cheers, Ken, and congratulations on taking control of your health. I wish you the very best of luck... we want to keep you around for many healthy and happy decades to come!
--Val
Quite an interesting gift. Good luck with your new regimen. You may find that more energy comes with weight loss as well. which will hwlp you maintain. As stated elesewhere. We wish you success and amny years to enjoy your new look. Remember, Orlando Bloom or no. You will always be a sweetheart.
Complete waste of money.
I lost about 60 pounds the old fashioned way, I got more excercize each day, cut down on the calories, and made better
food choices.
Just be careful with the 60 pounds in six months thing. After the first week you should only loose about two pounds a week, any more and you loose muscle (the heart is a muscle.)
Rubbish. Your way worked for you, but isn't necessarily the most effective strategy for everyone. If this helps my friend get started on the path toward a healthier lifestyle, I'd say it's worth every penny.
--Val
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WHAT?!?!?!? You're NOT Orlando Bloom?!?!?!? Awww, man, I was hoping to get an autograph too!
KenGatorBloom,
Hoping this experience is good for not only your body, but your mind and spirit too! Sometimes we all need a little kickstart to get us going in the right direction. :) I am glad that this trip to the Health Center has been spurred by a gift, and not by a plummet in your health!! Best of luck in learning and integrating new stategies into your lifestyle, and thank you for reminding us all not to take our good health for granted!! :)
Hey Ken I'm happy for you and I'm sure you'll have a great time! I hope it inspires long-term changes in you. I weighed 280lbs at 20 years old (not good at 5'11) and was chubby all my life, now at 22 I'm down to about 190lbs, still have some fat to lose but most of it is off and I feel so much better and can move in ways I never could before! I think the key is to be realistic with yourself. I KNOW that I'm lazy and couldn't stick with a strict diet or exercise regimen, so what I did was keep eating the same stuff I already do, but I cut it in half. This was very hard for the first month or so but after awhile my stomach adjusted to the reduced intake (even though I was still very fat), and it didn't take nearly as much to feel full as it did before. Pretty soon I was eating half my normal food and still feeling completely stuffed. The other thing I did was stop drinking soda and other junk (I used to guzzle soda like nobody's business), I now drink only water (aside from rare occasions).
I lost that weight with very very minimal exercise. I really only tried to do pushups once a week or so. The loss was slow for me but steady and it's something I can STICK WITH, which is the most important thing. You have to do something you can keep doing and not give up on like a crash diet. Sure it took me 2 years and I'm still working it off slowly but surely, but hey I have my whole life ahead of me and so do you, who cares if it takes me 3 years or 3 months, as long as I get there and stay there? Anyway, at my peak weight I couldn't even do 1 pushup and could only last about 1 and a half minutes on an elliptical running machine (have a cheap rickety one at home that I don't use often). Now I can do 20 pushups quite easily and can go 30 minutes on the elliptical machine and still feel like I can do another 30 minutes but I'm usually sweaty and bored at that point and stop. Also over the last couple of months I've finally starting to see some definition in my torso, arms etc. and the first hintings of abs peeking through (couldn't see them through the fat before). As I said I still have some flab to lose but I'm confident that in another 2 years I'll be doing quite well! It's all about baby steps and going at a pace you can sustain. Sure some people work their butts off and lose what I lost in a 6 months but I know I couldn't keep up with that sort of routine. Best wishes Ken.
I guess what I mean to say is that I spent years piling on all of that weight, I had no illusions about losing it quickly. I'm glad that I've done it slowly though because I think that the gradual nature of it has helped me a lot. The thing I hope to do is lose the rest, sort of "reset" my body to a healthy state, and then try and avoid the mistakes and gluttony that led me to being fat in the first place. In this way I won't have to work too hard to maintain my reduced weight. It's losing it that is a little bit harder but if you just use a little self-control and are incredibly patient then it's not so bad.
What a wonderful gift!
You will not only feel better and be able to do more now, but if you get ill at some point, not having extra weight to haul around will make a huge difference. As you know, I've been quite weak at times the last few years, and not being overweight has meant the difference between getting out and doing stuff, and being confined to the house.
Just be persistent but take it easy on the pace, as others have said. If you take on more effort than you can live with daily from now on, you will abandon the project and all will be for naught. You gained the weight over time in baby steps - a cookie here, a soda there - and it is in baby steps that you will take it off. The turtle, not the hare, is the one that wins in this race.
You have no car and your work requires you be on your feet, so you get quite a bit of exercise already. This means you will have to concentrate on eating less. Being a chef, you are surrounded by food, and of course men in that line of work really like food. But what you have going for you is that you are a hard worker, so you should be a hard worker when it comes to reining in your diet.
Good luck!
Bill
Hey Ken! :-)
What a wonderful and generous gift and I guarantee you that you will be feeling much better as you shed the extra lbs. In fact, inside you will most likely be feeling very happy about yourself.
So little known to most everyone, but to lose is not really hard at all "if" one were to follow the diet of a Diabetic. And, the person is NOT feeling hunger either. (In the 1st week you will shed a full 5lbs, and this most all sodium which has retained water in the body. After that the lbs go down at about 2-3 a week and finally slow to 1 lb a week as you near your "set point." In no way is the Diabetic diet unreasonable as I can attest to that. But I can also attest to the fact that the average person has absolutely no idea of the poison(s) they are eating daily despite being marked with all kinds of lofty praises on the labels in the grocery stores. It is really horrible the amount of Sodium thrown in just about everything.
I think the whole thing comes down to just a very basic "eat what is natural to the land" and not all of these processed foods. Humans were not designed by Mother Nature to be eating these things. Yikes! Buy a can of Chicken noodle soup and the ingredients read like a chemical lab! The body is not suppose to be ingesting this garbage.
Again Ken, I can assure you that you will not have not a single regret, and after a year of losing (my best guess probably 62 lbs) when done correctly and gradually, just lift that amount of weight and try to carry it around. OMG, and to think that this is what one has been carrying around on a daily basis trapped in the body!
I am very happy that you received this wonderful gift Ken.
Take care-
Justin~
Ken, I wish you good luck in the process, hope it makes you feel better! If you can, keep us informed on you progress, I'm eager to see the results.
A big hug and go for it =)
Hi Ken,
This is wonderful news, and I am so happy for you that you will have this opportunity! Of course I will be rooting for you in your journey, and good luck wishes are going your way.
Take care,
David
Hey, you're quite handsome. Who wants to look like Johnny Depp? In all seriousness, I hope you have a good time in So. Carolina.
I'm going through a chunky period right now, due to a back injury, (not getting exercise and such). There aren't a lot of chunky longhairs. But I'll follow your lead. When the doctor clears me to work out again next week, I'm back to the gym.
Good luck and send us pics!
Never trust a thin chef!
Not sure which career you were focussing on now, whether you had dropped the gardening for the cooking or vicea versa?