Man counted calories, watched the pounds go
Story Highlights

* Sujit Bhattacharya, 39, lost 40 pounds in six months

* He ate 1,500 calories per day in the form of six small meals

* Dietitians say they would recommend his method, but check with doctor
first

* iReport.com: Share your weight-loss success story

By Elizabeth Landau
CNN
(CNN) -- Sujit Bhattacharya knew he felt sluggish and had trouble putting
on his socks and shoes. One day, when he tried on a pair of size 30 shorts,
his wife pointed out that they fit only under his belly.

Yet Bhattacharya, of Coppell, Texas, never paid attention to his weight
problem until his doctor told him he had high cholesterol in summer 2006.
His friends also told him that he had become heavy and needed to do
something about it.

The feedback was upsetting, he acknowledged, but the combination of his
friends' prodding and the cholesterol numbers motivated him to start
trimming down his 193-pound frame.

"I needed some tough love: things I didn't want to hear but needed to
hear," Bhattacharya said.

He researched how to lose weight extensively on the Internet, including
CNN.com's health section. He learned that 3,500 calories add up to one
pound of weight and tried to figure out how to eat to decrease his daily
caloric intake.

Instead of eating a few large meals every day, he ate six small meals,
keeping track of how many calories he consumed. He had been eating more
than 2,500 calories a day, perhaps 3,000, so he cut this down to 1,500
calories a day. That meant losing a pound every two or three days.

"As long as you know how many calories you need and how many calories you
eat, it's just math," he said.

He also included more fruits and vegetables in his diet and ate fewer fatty
meats. For exercise, he changed his routine from three days a week of
limited cardio and heavy weights to six days a week with the same heavy
weights but increased cardio.

In six months, he lost 40 pounds. Since then, he's put on about 5 pounds of
"good" or muscle weight but has otherwise sustained his new physique
through diet and exercise.

Today, at age 39, he said he's starting to look more like when he was in
high school.

Losing weight has improved Bhattacharya's overall frame of mind, he said.
He also noticed that he doesn't get colds or the flu and fights off
infections faster than before.

Sometimes Bhattacharya wonders why he didn't start losing weight earlier
and can say only that he felt "fat, dumb and happy."

"I didn't understand what I was doing was hurting me," he said.

He actively encourages friends to try his weight loss method. One friend
lost 20 pounds following his advice. See more photos of weight loss success
stories from iReport.com »

"What I tell friends is: You've got to have a burning platform, something
to make you start, a goal or desire," he said. "For me, it was the bad
cholesterol test and friends. Someone else may want to fit into a bikini in
the summer."

Dietitians say they would encourage others to follow Bhattacharya's example
of reducing calories and spreading them more throughout the day instead of
eating big meals.

If you try it, make sure you have enough energy, feel good while doing it
and eat foods you enjoy so you can stick to it long-term, said Dawn Jackson
Blatner, a registered dietitian and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic
Association.

In fact, Bhattacharya did twice as well as the average person in a weight
loss program, Blatner said. He lost 20 percent of his body weight in six
months, beating the national average of 10 percent.

Tara Gidus, ADA spokeswoman and team dietitian for the NBA's Orlando Magic,
recommends that women never eat fewer than 1,200 calories and men no fewer
than 1,500 calories per day.

She typically does not recommend cutting out 1,000 calories at a time, "but
if someone is really motivated to lose weight and they eat snacks that are
filling in between meals, then they can cut a significant number of
calories, lose weight and not feel overly hungry," she said.

Blatner said she would also encourage anyone who wants a drastic diet
change to consult a doctor.

Bhattacharya emphasizes that anyone can shed unwanted pounds as long as he
or she compares the number of calories needed to maintain weight and the
number of calories he or she eats.

"I firmly believe it is not hard to lose weight," he said.

1. What is Lady Veteran's real name?
2. What does Lady Veteran look like?
3. Are Lady Veteran's teeth really that brown?
4. Lady Veteran will claim that picture was altered.  What say you?
5. Did Lady Veteran have her car repossessed?
6. Is Lady Veteran really a serial beggar?
7. Does Lady Veteran use pay day loans?
8. What is Lady Veteran's height and weight?
9. What is Lady Veteran built like?
10. Is Lady Veteran a lesbian?
11. Does Lady Veteran have her own newsgroups?
12. Did Lady Veteran really live in a cheap, extended stay motel?
13. Does Lady Veteran take things to real life with people who disagree
with her?
14. Was Lady Veteran turned down to foster chihauhaus?
15. Is Lady Veteran so broke that she could not fix her computer for
over 3 months when it crashed?
16. Is Lady Veteran really diseased?
17. Why was Lady Veteran kicked out of the Army?
18. Is Lady Veteran a racist?
19. What does Lady Veteran think of Air Force pilots?
20. Is Lady Veteran, despite being a lesbian, homophobic?
21. Lady Veteran is a net loon.  Is she also insane in real life?
22. Was Lady Veteran forging Jean C?
23. Where does Lady Veteran work?
24.  Was Lady Veteran evicted from her apartment?
25. Lady Veteran is barely literate.  Was she trying to sell writing
services under the alias of 'Wordsmith'?
26. Is Lady Veteran a neo Nazi?
27. Lady Veteran contacted Google not to archive her posts, yet she
brands those who use "no archive" headers as "cowards".  Is this
hypocritical?
28. Did Lady Veteran receive her degree from a "diploma mill"?
29.  Why does Lady Veteran have such a difficult time composing a
coherent sentence, especially since she runs a business called "The
Wordsmith"?
30. Is Lady Veteran a spammer?
31. Has Lady Veteran won Usenet's coveted 'Kook of the Month' award?
32. How can I get in contact with Lady Veteran?

1. What is Lady Veteran's real name?

Bobbi Sanchez

2. What does Lady Veteran look like?

http://fatreality.netfirms.com/blobbi.htm

3. Are Lady Veteran's teeth really that brown?

Yes.

4. Lady Veteran will claim that picture was altered.  What say you?

LV will claim that the picture was altered, but only the name tag was
added.  LV used to have the original picture posted on her personal web
site at http://profiles.yahoo.com/lady_veteran .  It was taken down
after a dentist was shocked by the color of her teeth (Message-ID:
<43ms20p62nc280ro3q88en4h3vugdaf...@4ax.com> ).  LV subsequently
replaced the picture to avoid further embarrassment.

5. Did Lady Veteran have her car repossessed?

Yes.  Message-ID:
<38C814E536AE9844.15B8C70F1948AFC3.F2AA7341D7E8B...@lp.airnews.net>#1/1

From: Lady Veteran <army...@bigfoot.com>
Subject: Re: A question
Date: Sat, 02 Dec 2006 17:19:38 -0600
Message-ID: <fj14n210qe47ge5g69nm5poqvl5vqk0...@4ax.com>
Newsgroups: soc.support.fat-acceptance

In a legal newsgroup seeking legal advise...you left out that part.

6. Is Lady Veteran really a serial beggar?

Yes.  Not only did she beg a priest for money to pay her rent
(Message-ID:
<33FBD47F044F1402.9414A74F8938BCC8.AA82604960F75...@lp.airnews.net>#1/1)
, she also posted a message on NAAFA's web board and created a
Geocities web site for the sole purpose of begging for money for her
war on trolls.

7. Does Lady Veteran use pay day loans?

Yes.  Message-ID:
<AFDA5075017A206D.9F8B3834FF2B162D.2BCF533C17527...@lp.airnews.net>#1/1

8. What is Lady Veteran's height and weight?

5' 6 1/2", 240 pounds.

Message-ID: <em98lso2rg326hfelsrc10crvqjt143...@4ax.com>
Message-ID: <5utfctkamapne0sqh0v8c0gp3qhjon2...@4ax.com>

9. What is Lady Veteran built like?

Like a wrestler, according to LV herself.  

Message-ID: <ubfbqs4r0koopeg7fa86or27b9mpcmf...@4ax.com>

10. Is Lady Veteran a lesbian?

Apart from her unfeminine looks and Usenet behavior, LV admits to
wearing men's pants ( Message-ID:
<0spvlskkdg305qpeibhltspl04qv12i...@4ax.com>#1/1).

11. Does Lady Veteran have her own newsgroups?

Yes.  

alt.blobbi.veteran-cunt
alt.fan.boar-semen.blobbi-sanchez
alt.fan.boar-semen.blobbi-sanchez.aka
alt.fan.boar-semen.blobbi-sanchez.aka.aka.lady-veteran

12. Did Lady Veteran really live in a cheap, extended stay motel?

Yes.  Note her personal profile posted at
http://www.bestjobsus.com/bt-empd-armyvet.htm .  This address is for
the Budget Suites of America.

From: Lady Veteran <army...@bigfoot.com>
Subject: Re: CNN: Tired of slights, embarrassment, man sheds 87 pounds
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2007 20:48:22 -0600
Message-ID: <l2okj39m70on27jn0nms22j8jb4hdd7...@4ax.com>
Newsgroups:
soc.support.fat-acceptance,misc.fitness.weights,alt.support.diet,alt.sup
port.diet.low-carb

Er, no. I was living in a one-bedroom suite owned by the hotel. Not
homeless, fuckwit. People who live in hotels live in a home of their
own making and you cannot change that.

<end quote>

13. Does Lady Veteran take things to real life with people who disagree
with her?

Yes.  As financially distressed as she is, LV paid a private
investigator $500 to track down a 20 year old Canadian named Marty who
was besting her with their every encounter.  LV later took things to
real life with Jim Dutton and contacted his employer.  LV's mission is
to take things to real life with anyone who disagrees with her,
assuming she can track the person down.

LV re-affirms that she will continue to stalk people who post from work
as she did with Jim Dutton.

From: Lady Veteran <army...@bigfoot.com>
Subject: Re: Bobbi, Robin, others=read.
Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2007 20:42:36 -0600
Message-ID: <5rq3m31c5dci477cf7r5idtfk209ho0...@4ax.com>
Newsgroups:
soc.support.fat-acceptance,alt.fucknozzles,soc.singles,alt.usenet.kooks,
alt.troll

<end quote>

14. Was Lady Veteran turned down to foster chihauhaus?

Yes.  Message-ID: <0humj0d03gj1qr6karknuucc29ngtql...@4ax.com>

Barbara Richardson the so-called moderator of DFW Cares just denied me
for a member because she said I lied about not getting a home visit
from Chihuahua Rescue. I have been waiting for a home for going on two
years now so I can foster Chihuahuas. I am still waiting.

Apparently The moderator has her own notions about what is right and
wrong and doesn't bother to check facts!

<end quote>

15. Is Lady Veteran so broke that she could not fix her computer for
over 3 months when it crashed?

Yes.  Message-ID: <010d01c265d6$9467ea00$18ea3040@MAIN>

16. Is Lady Veteran really diseased?

Yes.  She suffers from lupus and boils.  LV probably has some
co-morbidities associated with obesity as well.

17. Why was Lady Veteran kicked out of the Army?

Speculation surrounds her lesbianism.

18. Is Lady Veteran a racist?

Yes.  Quoting from Message-ID:
<svebc0h9nbj6955bsurqic2bhck2e05...@4ax.com> :

The lower half of 1 black man is worth 10 complete white men. When
I fuck I like MEN, not little sissyboys that have to talk from
behind their mommy's skirt.

I lova da bothas:-)

<end quote>

Quoting from Message-ID:
<news:32593110AEB31ACC.AE57CF2C8A1A20A9.F0DCF962F6552859@lp.airnews.net>

You talk about the Asian is very gifted. You should follow their
 example by being polite,

 AND QUIET!!!!!!!!!!

<end quote>

Quoting from Message-ID: <rdk191lcntvrmhi0nldfn6mfvi9170g...@4ax.com>

<end quote>

Quoting from Message-ID:  <polc61hsggatd6mo6rlfj29tbtib1uv...@4ax.com>

Unfortunately most of the idiots here happen to male Anglo-Saxon
idiots.

<end quote>

From: Lady Veteran <army...@bigfoot.com>
Subject: Re: Invitation for Bobbi
Date: Mon, 01 Jan 2007 22:25:09 -0600
Message-ID: <89njp2h10bh09so5vtr175ad5lgd8mn...@4ax.com>
Newsgroups: soc.support.fat-acceptance

Yes 9 out 10 idiots are Caucasian males between 13 and 25. That is the
very group that will triple auto insurance rates for the rest of us
when they reach 16.

<end quote>

From: Lady Veteran <army...@bigfoot.com>
Subject: Re: How many of the readers her ...
Date: Thu, 04 Jan 2007 18:24:44 -0600
Message-ID: <bg6rp2hcbb33h23s07cr7jttiltsrnr...@4ax.com>
Newsgroups: soc.support.fat-acceptance

They screwed it up anyway. I said that most if the idiots bothering me
are white Caucasians who are between 13 and 25.

I am willing to wager that males in that other age group belonging to
other racial families have better things to do.

<end quote>

From: Lady Veteran <army...@bigfoot.com>
Subject: Re: Why Are American Women So Fat And Ugly?
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2007 19:58:48 -0500
Message-ID: <g787c3petbk44blv5dijcuqklcu323s...@4ax.com>
Newsgroups:
soc.men,soc.support.fat-acceptance,alt.support.divorce,alt.support.marri
age,soc.culture.jewish

Awwww, you say that like it is a bad thing.  I bet you are jealous as
hell and are in some third world idiocracy calling the USA the great
Satan.

Your turban is WAAAAAY to tight.

LV

<end quote>

From: Lady Veteran <army...@bigfoot.com>
Subject: Re: MSN Money: What if no one were fat?
Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 19:30:43 -0500 ...

read more »

Compare with the above.

Seth
--
Wow! This math stuff works.  -- Tom Morley

40 pounds, at 1 pound every 2.5 days, would take 100 days.
6 months, at 30 days per month, is 180 days.

Looks like a reporter failed basic math.

He was losing 1 pound every 4.5 days.

Good catch.

The reporter is simply reporting Sujit's reasoning.

It's Sujit's reasoning about energy balance which is naive.

The reason is that the metabolism compensates for changes in intake by
adjusting expenditure. Consequently weight can be maintained on a range of
caloric intake.

If you're maintaining at 3000 calories per day, and then drop the intake to
1500, this doesn't naively translate to a 1500 calorie deficit, because your
caloric expenditure will change in response to the intake drop. And the
metabolism demonstrates both short-term and long-term adaptations.

Also, a given fat loss rate cannot be sustained all the way until you have no
fat left, otherwise every successful dieter could get completely ``shredded''
just by continuing with the same program for a while longer.

If you have a large amount of body fat, then a deficit of X calories quite
neatly translates to the corresponding amount of fat lost, even when X is quite
a large daily figure.  Not so for the lean individual. The lean individual who
wants to get leaner faces an increasingly slow fat loss rate.  The only way to
accelerate it is drugs, intense exercise or surgical intervention. A naive
increase in the caloric deficit will simply cause wasting of lean mass.