I'll lay it out here for anyone who's intersted. This worked for me and it will work- (geez, this sounds like a sales pitch... it's not, don't worry.)

Simple really, but just like survival, you have to have the "will". You have to follow all of these steps or it won't work (as well, at least).

1. Stop eating at night. Seriously, this was the hardest for me, but not eating after dinner makes the biggest difference.

2. No soft drinks. Tons of sugar. Just drink water.

3. Drink lots of water. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

4. Exercise. This sucks too, but all I do is walk pretty much as fast as I can, getting my heart rate up for 1/2 hour every day. I just walk briskly for a couple of miles during my lunch break at work. Easy.

5. Eat small meals every 2-3 hours. This is the "secret" (but you have to do all the steps.) You have to eat to lose weight. This is how you train your metabolism to work differently. If you starve yourself your body tries to hold on to everything it can. If you eat small amounts all through the day your body uses everything because it knows its getting more fuel in a couple hours.

Here's a sample menu for the day:

Breakfast is usually a piece of toast, or an egg and a piece of toast. Then a couple of hours later I eat an apple, or a banana... a piece of fruit. Then for lunch I'll eat a small PB&J. Couple hours later, a carrot. Couple hours later some string cheese. Then for dinner, something small. Whatever my wife's cooked up, but very little of it or failing that, a small bowl of cereal.

6. Don't skip breakfast.

Lastly, I don't smoke or drink alcohol, so I can't say how either will affect this "plan", so that's up to you to to find out how those things may affect it. My guess is not that much, but I don't know.

This has worked for me so I'm sticking with it. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

Seriously? For 10 bucks dude, what do you have to lose?

I'm going to Costco tomorrow. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

i have a large green jansport with a mess kit, tarp, few hanks of 550, plastic bag, and a pair or heat sheets- one's a blanket, one's a bag. far from complete, i just leave those things in there.

right beside the jansport is my versipac with the other things like mirror, whistle, first aid, and every day items like a tooth brush. i carry this bag pretty often so the contents change often.

i'm currently filling up my new otterbox with a few items and i'm going back to the old key fob/carabiner kits.

yeah, i was looking for wool socks yesterday online. i'm gettin some too.

that's what i was thinking, $10 for a pack of 4 is a great deal. i'm going back tomorrow to pick that up with a pair of inner gloves for my snowboarding gloves since they're starting to tear.

joe - good job with the weight lost, i try to live by those same rules, but the eating small meals every 2-3 hours has not been going well. also i use to run 3 miles almost every other day for last couple years, but lately my knees been hurting and swelling, no medical insurance to visit the doctors yet, so i've been swimming and biking for cardio

mag - good idea, since i graduated, i have a jansport with nothing in there, probably going to copy your jansport kit with some personal tweaks.

i just had two bowls of cereal in whole milk.


lucky i never liked soda!


check!


i'm at the gym daily and something's always sore during the week. if not, i feel shortchanged. missing a workout affects me physically and psychologically.


oddly, we who are trying to gain weight do the same thing.

the jansport is huge, green, and built tough. my gym bag's also a jansport and for such light weight bags, those things are extremely durable. i've gone right through other makes but these last.

also, in my saddle bags i have a few more items that i should remove since it's winter. poncho, assorted small tools, the main bivvy, and such.

We eat three times a day (when we wake, half way through the day and at the end of the day) because it's convenient and fits with our work schedule.

But that's not how we should eat.

Keeping a small stash of healthy food at work helps. I work at a desk and have a little college-boy fridge in my office. Not everyone can do that. But keeping some carrots and a couple apples in you EDC pack shouldn't be a hassle.

and i dunno about you guys but i hate an adjustable wrench, so i carry the full set in my toolbox. this black & decker looks like a good solution for the trunk/BOB.

I never lend out my tools now, but i have uncomplete sets from the past and it sucks.

Turning in. Thanks for the chat gentlemen.

You're all tops! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />