I have had enough, welcome to Day 1

[msi1337]

Hello everyone! I have been an active member of AT for years now. I used to be the go to person to buy/sell things from on here. I haven't really been doing much selling these days, but that isn't why I am here. I am here because I have a problem. Over the last 15 years I have let myself get more and more out of shape. I have done diets that have made matters worse (South Beach diet to lose 80 lbs and then put 105 back on after). The biggest problem is that I know better. I know some about diet, nutrition, and exercise but I never put that info into practice. I have read most of the threads in this section of AT and can practically recite sociallychallenged's lose the bulge document. I have a beautiful wife and 4 year old girl and I want to be the father/husband that they deserve. I work in IT and have a pretty sedentary lifestyle. I do have a membership to Gold's Gym, and plan to actually use it from now on. The breaking point I believe is that lately I have been feeling more run down with some episodes of angina/chest wall pain.
I am 35 years old, 5'8" tall, and I weigh 274 lbs. I hope to get down to around 165-170lbs with a body fat percentage around 18% or lower. I intend to take it slow in the beginning (especially with the chest wall pain). I would like to reach my fitness goals within 18 months. The hardest part for me will be changing my behaviors from what is convenient into what is necessary to reach these goals.

Thanks to any support and or suggestions, I welcome them all!

Day 1 (10-01-2013)
Weight: 274lbs
BMI: 40 (so sad)

Biggest things to overcome:
* Taking time at lunch to exercise at the gym
* doing Yoga with my wife in the mornings (weekdays)
* quitting fast food and diet soda

 

[KidNiki1]

i have lost 60 pounds so far and the things that have helped me are:

seriously tracking calories ( i use my fitnesspal, but just pick one you like, and be super diligent about it. you will be amazed at the calorie counts of some foods)

drinking water (and only water, no juice, no soda)

focusing on making my calories count more by eating healthier. making smarter choices means that i can actually eat a lot of food while staying at my daily calorie intake goal.

allowing myself to splurge once in a while. i still have candy, or cake, or pizza or any number of other 'bad' foods. i just make sure to track it as part of my daily calories and i don't eat as much of that as i used to. just enough to enjoy it.

stay positive!
i wish you the very best of luck!!

 

[blackdogdeek]

You can get most of the way toward your weight loss goal just by changing your diet.

 

[msi1337]

thanks very much for your input. I have a fitday account and started tracking food this morning.

I am trying to figure out the best way to make meal plans that fall into the 30/30/40 plan that Socially suggests. Or even a 35/35/30 (fat/protein/carb). Carbs are definetly a crutch for me and cutting them has yielded excellent results for me in the past.

blackdogdeek, I realize I could change my diet and reach my weight goals, but I do have some muscle mass which I would like to preserve throughout this process. When I was 17 I was 11% bodyfat, could bench 220 and was a wrestler for the team. I am stalky and have medium-large bone structure. I want to be fit but also have good muscle definition in this process.

 

[blackdogdeek]

thanks very much for your input. I have a fitday account and started tracking food this morning.

I am trying to figure out the best way to make meal plans that fall into the 30/30/40 plan that Socially suggests. Or even a 35/35/30 (fat/protein/carb). Carbs are definetly a crutch for me and cutting them has yielded excellent results for me in the past.

blackdogdeek, I realize I could change my diet and reach my weight goals, but I do have some muscle mass which I would like to preserve throughout this process. When I was 17 I was 11% bodyfat, could bench 220 and was a wrestler for the team. I am stalky and have medium-large bone structure. I want to be fit but also have good muscle definition in this process.

Understood. I wasn't trying to minimize the importance of staying fit. I was just trying to emphasize the importance of diet so that if you were having trouble getting to the gym or coming up with a good workout schedule you could still make significant progress toward your goals. Regarding keeping or even increasing muscle mass, have you looked into Starting Strength of Stronglifts 5x5? Those are the two most recommended beginner programs that I've seen.

 

[msi1337]

thanks blackdog.. I do have the 5x5 book (I purchased it a couple years ago). I am definetly interested in starting a squat/exercise routine, but I want to get my diet right for a couple weeks before I start one of those.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a good meal plan site?

 

[highland145]

Good luck and stick with it. My CSR's hubby was similar to your stats, got put on a diabetes medicine, freaked out, lost nearly 100lbs....2 years later, he's back at 250.



Niki, need new pics, please. TIA.

 

[RagingBITCH]

msi - congrats on recognizing the need to change - that's the first step!

Second - regardless of exercise plan or diet, it's more of a mental commitment - a lifestyle change. I tell people I coach all the time - diet is a noun and not a verb. IE, it's what you eat, not the action of eating better. It's something you have to mentally stop and say "I want to be better." It sound like you are there.

You can either jump cold turkey into it full bore, or gradually wean down. Either way, the key is consistency - being able to stick with it. The 3 step Nicotine patches exist b/c it's hard for a lot of folks to go cold turkey, so you have to see if that's a viable option first before going that path.

Either way, as others said - diet is the easiest way to do it. You can workout like a madman and not see results if you're still eating and drinking like crap. First thing is first - switch over to plain water. It's something I wasn't a huge fan of starting off, but now down b/t 1-2 gallons a day, depending on weather outside and exercise that day.

What and how much you eat makes a large difference too - try switching to the healthier alternatives - baked instead of fried chicken. Sweet potatoes vs mashed. So on and so forth.

I always tell people I coach this - track what you eat and drink in a daily log for 2 weeks. Log amount ate, calories, protein, carbs, fat, sugar. We evaluate after two weeks and see where you can make the biggest impact and what "harmful" foods you are eating that you may not think are that bad.

It's a test for two reasons: 1) to see what it is that they are eating and drinking for their regular diet, and 2) to see if they even have the patience and detail to track that stuff. If you can't do a simple task such as keeping track of that for two weeks, I sure as hell can bet you have zero ability to stick to a diet or exercise plan. (Or both)

So keep track of what you eat over the next two weeks. Try eating differently - see if you can stick with cold turkey, or need to gradually phase out the bad stuff. Make sure you are committed to this, or if this is just a knee jerk reaction. Also - if you have cravings for bad stuff (hey, we all do) - wait 5 minutes before caving in. Hit your stopwatch and force yourself to wait - go to the bathroom, go outside, do something to stay occupied. The trigger for impulsive behavior goes away after a few minutes minutes, so if it's something you still want, then go for it. Otherwise, your craving should pass, and you learned a new technique for self control.

All in all I guess I was somewhat vague in my answers, but it's more of a feeling out process than giving you a checklist of items that you may abandon in a week. I've lost 50lbs of college weight and weigh my high school weight now. Not as much as you are facing, but it was the same struggle to realize where I was at and where I wanted to be.


Melvin

 

[killster1]

throw away the gym pass.. unless its a must for work.. i cant imagine working out on a lunch as i would be red in the face and sweaty for a hour afterward even with a cold shower unless what work out for 10 mins?

here is my suggestion. Get a real nice 4-500$ weight bench on craiglist (like a smith machine with squat rack and everything) http://fresno.craigslist.org/spo/4047690282.html you will be able to use it anytime and still be around the family. i force my kids to share a room so i can use third bedroom to work out.

Second Diet. cut out all SAT fat if you can. like check out the back if it has fat cool. if it has sat fat nah pass on it (((( BUTTER/ SOUR CREAM/BACON/ ETC) .. lots non fat milk and some eggwhites, fishes , nonfat cottage cheese and in 3-5 months you will be fit and lean.
You can try what ever work out works for you and keep switching it up. Lifting weights will burn more fat than cardio and make you in the shape you want.

Here is waht i try to do as far as work out.. Day1 (Four hours lifting ) Day2 swim run lots sex or hike bike some kinda cardio) ... DAY2 (3-6 hours lifting) Day3 Good cardio or Squats/ leg lifts/ (if not done day prior if yes then just cardio) DAY4 (Lift 5 hours) Day 6 and 7 rest have fun / cardio fun.

With work school gf's kids everything can be hard to work out. can always do 5 sets of as much pushups as you can do (5x100 or what ever) At work now and going to put feet on the table and do decline pushups 5x however many i can do.. worked out all day so prob wont be much actually wonder how much i should be working out a day. i take 2 mins between sets watch tv clean smoke hang out with gf..

 

[killster1]

Also - if you have cravings for bad stuff (hey, we all do) - wait 5 minutes before caving in. Hit your stopwatch and force yourself to wait - go to the bathroom, go outside, do something to stay occupied.
Melvin

wish that worked and will try and see if it helps, thanks, but i constantly have cravings for food so i keep rice cakes and some non-fat milk and choclate protein powder to hopefully nab the hunger strike.

Otherwise its oatmeal cookies with peanut butter between them with giant cup whole milk and lays potato chips that i cant resist for free at work ;(

 

[shortylickens]

34
230

Tired.


And done feeling sorry for myself. Gonna hit the treadmill, then the road when I feel comfortable. Gonna eat better and stop friggen cheating all the time.

Good luck buddy! You will not be suffering alone.




ALSO:

 

[JBT]

Cardio is alright. But Build some muscle for longer lasting results.

I'm down 95lbs my self over the last two years. I personally did P90X, Insanity, and Body Beast at home because going to the gym takes up to much time for me.

Starting with food is the best choice. Its 80% of losing weight IMO. Do something you can live with for the rest of your life. I eventually cut out farm animals. I still eat things from the sea, and I'd eat hunted animals no problem just haven't had that opportunity yet . Get the food figured out and work up to increasing your intensity slowly. But once its time go for it. Intensity brings change.

 

[debian0001]

Walk for an hour every morning.

 

[Raghu]

Looks like the South Beach diet had worked in the past. Why did you quit? Will you try it again - was it hard to stick to it last time?

 

[msi1337]

the first 2 weeks were hard on south beach. Cutting carbs altogether left me shaky and extremely tired. After that it wasn't so bad.. I quit because sometimes you just need a slice of bread and some pasta!

No seriously, I felt like the diet was hard to maintain unless you just loved to eat those foods.

 

[Megatomic]

Welcome to the fold and good luck msi1337. Your story was mine back in 2006. I was 285lbs at 5'10" and was slowly dying (per my doctor). The first year was the toughest but in two years I got down to 162lbs.

Once you get to your target be prepared for "what now?". For me, I turned to endurance sports to keep the weight off and now it's a lifestyle. Use the time in between now and when you achieve your vision to figure out how you'll go on through the rest of your life in a healthy manner and put your newfound health and fitness to work for you.

 

[Zivic]

Once you get to your target be prepared for "what now?". .

more like 'if' - for me this meant time to eat and lift heavy and get strong. and I took it too far and ended up 260+. I think at my heaviest I saw 268. I weighed in this AM at 209 (this is about as light as I care to be). Lightest I have been in 12-13 yrs. You have to watch every single thing that enters your body every single moment of the day.

100 lbs is a lot of weight and will be a long road. don't lose focus

 

[Megatomic]

more like 'if' - for me this meant time to eat and lift heavy and get strong. and I took it too far and ended up 260+. I think at my heaviest I saw 268. I weighed in this AM at 209 (this is about as light as I care to be). Lightest I have been in 12-13 yrs. You have to watch every single thing that enters your body every single moment of the day.

100 lbs is a lot of weight and will be a long road. don't lose focus

I'm at 181lbs right now, lots more muscle mass than when I weighed 162lbs, I look better now (so the wife says). And you are right, you DO have to be vigilant about what you eat. But being an endurance junkie I can compensate for a slip-up with a few extra miles. It all balances out for me.

 

[Zivic]

I'm at 181lbs right now, lots more muscle mass than when I weighed 162lbs, I look better now (so the wife says). And you are right, you DO have to be vigilant about what you eat. But being an endurance junkie I can compensate for a slip-up with a few extra miles. It all balances out for me.

im definitely not that way. my body wants to get big. I can lose weight with cardio, but to really keep things under control, my diet has to be spot on 7 days a week.

if you are trying to lose any significant amount of weight, you have to have your diet in check. not 4-5 days a week... not 6 days, but 7 days week.

 

[Megatomic]

if you are trying to lose any significant amount of weight, you have to have your diet in check. not 4-5 days a week... not 6 days, but 7 days week.

I know I did. I have less pressure now in that regards, though I would like to lose a few (10) pounds over the next 3 months.

 

[msi1337]

I agree to the above, letting it slip is how I got into this mess. I generally ate pretty healthy, but then I would eat fast food 2-3 days a week and mess it all up.

Since yesterday morning I haven't eaten anything that was remotely bad for me. Its been all vegetables and good cards, and lots of protein (a little lowfat cottage cheese and lots of skinless boneless chicken breast). Yesterday I only took in about 1500 calories though, and I feel like that was probably too low. I was tired at the end of the day and a little shaky from lack of carbs/calories. Today I am at about 670 calories and have already eaten lunch.. I guess the issue is that I am limiting myself in what I can eat, and not finding enough of those foods to fill the gap. my BMR says that I need 2000 calories to just exist, so 2100 is probably the correct number.

 

[RagingBITCH]

wish that worked and will try and see if it helps, thanks, but i constantly have cravings for food so i keep rice cakes and some non-fat milk and choclate protein powder to hopefully nab the hunger strike.

Otherwise its oatmeal cookies with peanut butter between them with giant cup whole milk and lays potato chips that i cant resist for free at work ;(

It's certainly not easy - if it was, we'd all be skinny. Just have to learn to handle it in a way you can maintain. If having snacks on hand is it, go for it I have almonds and walnuts in my desk drawer for those cravings when (inevitably) free food pops up at work, which is pretty much daily.

 

[Drako]

Turn off the TV, and got out and exercise.

OR

Get a treadmill, and only watch TV from the treadmill.

I can tell you from works!

 

[msi1337]

Well, luckily I dont have a problem with that.. I really don't watch TV that often. The ocassional movie though. I do play some video games on pc/ps3 sometimes..but even that is probably a 5 hour a week type thing. Most of my time is spent taking care of my toddler, chores around the house, work, and sleep.

 

[Megatomic]

When I had my big "snap" I parted out my computer and have not played video games once since. Not even on a console. Those 5 hours you spend gaming, you could burn a pound of fat instead.