Starting weight loss & better eating

[kyzen]

So, I'm 24, going on 25, and realized that I'm seriously f*cking up my body, in a bad way.

10 years ago I was the typical skinny teenager, riding my bike everywhere, and eating all the junk food I wanted. 5 years ago I wasn't 'fat', but I was no longer skinny. Some flab had built up, and my diet hadn't changed much since I was a teen. I was still somewhat active, I rock climbed indoors almost daily, but there was little cardio involved, and I wasn't really challenged, as I didn't trust my rock climbing buddies to belay me outdoors without killing me (an 8 foot fall in the gym didn't help).

Last year I began drinking energy drinks. First for the kick, then for the taste. To date there's nothing I love more than the taste of Red Bull. However, over the last few months it's gotten bad. 2 weeks ago I realized that I was frequently downing 4 servings of Red Bull a day, sometimes as many as 8. Some days I'd go without, like weekends, but I'd still be averaging 20+ servings a week. I went to Hawaii in July with some friends, and didn't take my shirt off to swim at any point during the trip. I hadn't stepped on a scale in 2 years; the last time I had I was a rather uncomfortable 220 lbs.

Now, I'm 277. I wouldn't say I get winded going up stairs, but I definitely feel something. My boobs are almost the size of my girlfriends (who isn't horribly well endowed in that area, but you get the idea). And I can't find pants when I go shopping as few stores seem to stock size 44.

So, about a week ago, I decided I need a change.

It's now been 9 days since my last Red Bull. In the last week, I've had 2 sodas while eating out, and a free "Ice Vemon" energy shot that I got in the mail. So I haven't succeeded in going cold-turkey off the sugary, caffeinated drinks, but it's a far cry from what I used to be doing to my body.

I've been on walks around the neighborhood twice, and got my ass handed to me on the treadmill last night walking 3mph for 15 minutes, where my heart hit 160bpm in the first 2 minutes. It's a rocky start, but still a start.

Going forward I plan to further refine my diet. When my girlfriend and I eat at home, we usually eat fairly well (could cut some more fat out of the diet), but my problem is neither of us are often in the mood to cook, and thus we don't often eat at home.

It's going to be a pretty rough change, but it's high time I started.

My goals:
-Deposit $100 per week normally spent on Red Bull and eating out into a savings account
-Cut 10 lbs by my birthday, November 1st
-Cut 20 lbs by the end of the year
-Some day dip back below 200 lbs, and evaluate a healthy target weight once I know what it's like to not be this fat anymore.


Not sure why I'm posting this here, guess I just needed to get it out somewhere. I've read a lot of great, inspirational posts here by others, hopefully in many months time I'll be the next guy posting a success story.

I think I have the mechanics down, between the stickies and other threads here, but any advice anybody has on staying motivated would be wonderful.

Progress Log

9/14/09
277.2 lbs
20 minutes treadmill
No eating habits tracked

9/15/09
277 lbs
20 minutes treadmill
20 minutes stationary bike
No eating habits tracked
Think I've discovered the beginnings of an ingrown toenail. Awesome.
Bought a fancy iPod Nano 5g with the built-in pedometer. Some initial testing indicates it's not totally accurate, but at least it under counts rather than over counting.

9/16/09
277 lbs
No workout
No eating habits tracked; food scale ordered
Signed up @ 24 Hour Fitness

9/17/09
277 lbs
~20 minute light walk outside
Bad, bad eating. Stupid birthday parties (still no soda though, go me)

9/18/09
275.6 lbs (likely all water weight, but woot!)
35 minutes treadmill
8 minute elliptical-ish-thing
Some light weights

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Congrats on taking charge of your life. That money saved is gonna be the first thing you'll notice, then it will be the waistband. The most important thing in losing weight is not where the calories come from, but how many calories are coming in. If you've read the sticky, you know what's up. I just wanted to mention that eating well without tracking calories is sub-optimal (if you were doing that). If not, then awesome - more power to ya. We've had several people on here do this and they've done relatively well. If we can find them, I'm sure they'll post. Best of luck, man. Again, congrats on making the change.

 

[Pantlegz]

I can vouch for the sticky, and most advice SC gives. I was 260+ at the start of the year down to 220 and still going strong my goal is 200 by the end of the year. Between cutting 95% of the processed food(and soda) out of my diet and counting calories made a huge impact. I just got back into the gym a month ago which obviously helps create a calorie deficit which in turn is all thats required to lose weight. try to keep the protein intake to 1g/lb of lean body mass to stop muscle loss. The most important thing to keep in mind is it doesn't happen over night track progress by the month not daily or weekly.

If you're looking at getting in the the gym I strongly suggest the strong lifts routine. It's basic, not too time consuming and it works

 

[darkdiablo]

Props to you, have a journal of your diet and workouts here, and we'll all support you.

 

[SP33Demon]

Good luck man. If I were you, I'd do it in two phases: First, fix your diet. I'd focus all energy to counting calories to make sure you're around BMR... you will lose weight no matter what at that point. After that's under control, then ramp up to a real workout program for phase 2. If you can fit in time to exercise, then that's just icing on the cake. By just starting with your diet, it's more likely that you'll stay committed to it because you won't be overwhelmed by pressure to work out which isn't essential to losing weight when you first start out.

Last, I'd check out the fitday.com online journal for food, it really helped me track my % carb/fat/protein breakdown of what I'm eating. Dailyplate.com is also awesome, has a little larger database.

 

[kyzen]

Thanks for the advice and support so far. I'll have to check out some of those calorie counters; that'll probably be one of the hardest things starting out. I'm so used to grabbing a bowl of chips or crackers and sitting down at the computer, mindlessly eating.

I'm also kind of amazed at how I feel now about 10 days since dropping the Red Bull. I'm not tired, my girlfriend seems to think I'm less crabby, and my sleep schedule is way different. I used to go to bed around midnight-1, and get up around 8-8:30, groggy as hell. I went to bed the usual time the last few nights, but have been waking up between 6 and 7, not tired at all.

 

[kyzen]

Spent another 20 minutes on the treadmill last night, left just as tired as the first time. Looking forward to the first time I can make it an hour.

Keeping track of the food I eat throughout the day is definitely going to be the hardest thing to force myself to do :-/

Also bought a fancy scale to better track my progress in different areas.

 

[fleshconsumed]

One thing I will say, your progress will be slow. It will take you a lot of time before you can last an hour on treadmill. Don't be discouraged though, just remember if it took you years to put that weight on, it won't come off in a few months. If you keep at it, you will succeed.

 

[Titan]

I've been trying to figure out how to reply to this thread. I'm a lot like the OP in that I was fairly athletic as a teenager and then got fat, mainly from drinking soda and sitting on my arse at a desk job.

The short of my story is this: I learned how to diet once, I rebounded slowly for emotional reasons and now I'm back on track and getting the weight off for good.

The biggest thing I can tell the OP is diet is so much more huge than exercise. I had to have this beaten into my head the hard way since I was an intense martial arts guy. I just figured I could exercise the weight off. It took me breaking a toe and then throwing my back out very bad (after walking 2 miles) for me to try a diet. And I did a good one (the fat flush plan) and lost 40 pounds in 35 days. I couldn't believe it. It's called the plan, and not a diet because it's really a guidebook on how to eat right. Lots of good stuff there.

So really, you need to post your diet so we can help. You say you eat fairly well, but there are some guidelines for you to follow. The fat loss sticky is a great place to start. Make sure you're getting enough fresh veggies, protein and fiber, and avoid processed foods. Especially added sugar. One tip is to buy a food scale if there is a chance you are overeating.

I do recommend cutting carbs back or even out entirely. If you cut the carbs for a week and feel much more clear-headed you probably don't have a metabolic type that can handle loads of carbs easily. Another thing to try is cutting out gluten (from all wheat products) and see how you feel. Make a potato or brown rice the carb for your meal and see if you feel any different than when eating bread or pasta.

As for motivational tip I will say this. You are doomed to fail if you can't find the root cause of your compulsive behavior. It might just be that Red Bull commercials work well on you. Make sure you don't engage in an unhealthy habit in response to an emotional trigger. because if you do, your willpower will fail and you'll be back to it again. It's like stress eating. I still fight with myself to this day to not drink soda because I associate it with work so much. It was my stress response. So if you have bad habits because of work, try to address them in a healthy way and don't look for an addictive coping mechanism.

So in summary, exercise is good for making you feel good. But diet is where it's at for weight loss.

 

[damage424]

Good job on taking the first step to a better quality of life!

I can tell you from personal experience, no matter how much you work out you will not lose substantial weight if you do not have a proper diet. In college I use to run the brooklyn bridge and eventually the manhattan bridge all at once. I altered my diet a tiny bit back then and I thought eating whole wheat bread at subway and stuff like that will help me. I didn't lost much weight at all.

Now, with my emphasis on my diet, as well as working out (certainly not brooklyn + manhattan bridge status) I have shed off tons of weight. Just remember, it all starts with your diet! Cardio and weightlifting is also requirer but your main emphasis should be what you are putting into your body and having small frequent meals throughout the day.

Goodluck with your program. This is a great place to get advice and as I have learned the people here are very helpful.

 

[kyzen]

Thanks, again

I pilfered a small notebook from the supply cabinet on the way out of work, and am going to try to remember to write down everything I eat/drink over the next week or so. I've already found a suitable replacement (I think...) for sodas: Sparkling Water, with light lemon/lime flavorings. The only item on the nutrition info label over "0" is the 15mg of sodium per can. I've been plowing through these like crazy, whenever the craving for a Red Bull strikes.

Currently, the food that I tend to eat the most of (not including the fast food, and other junk food that I'm cutting out):

• Chicken, sometimes lightly breaded with ground up cheezits or corn chex

• Broccoli, carrots, green beans

• Potatoes with cheese & soy-based bacon bits

• Salmon w/ butter and lemon

• Wraps, with spinach, shredded cheese, chicken, broccoli, and sometimes cream cheese (yeah, the cheeses need to go on that one)

• various pastas

• Lots of gum, so I have something to chew on at my desk

We also used to eat steak/beef, but I've been cutting down on that lately too.

Haven't eaten out at all since Saturday, and it's almost a little foreign to have this extra, unplanned cash in my checking account. Considering buying an iPod Nano or something to make the walks/workouts less boring.

 

[Jinru]

Your diet looks great health wise. Just make sure you have an idea of how much calories your consuming so you know you're not over eating. Take your time with the diet and cardio until you feel you have a grasp on what you're doing, then maybe look into joining a gym and implementing weight lifting into your regimen.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: Jinru
Your diet looks great health wise. Just make sure you have an idea of how much calories your consuming so you know you're not over eating. Take your time with the diet and cardio until you feel you have a grasp on what you're doing, then maybe look into joining a gym and implementing weight lifting into your regimen.

For now, it's sufficient. However, I don't feel like you should say his diet is great. It has a way to go, but it's definitely better than previously. We take steps. Never stop striving to hone your diet in.

 

[kyzen]

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged

For now, it's sufficient. However, I don't feel like you should say his diet is great. It has a way to go, but it's definitely better than previously. We take steps. Never stop striving to hone your diet in.

What changes would you suggest?

 

[SP33Demon]

This is the kitchen scale I use.

I also use some a plastic liquid measuring cup for liquids like milk for cereal.

Measure your foods in grams and do the math with a calculator to convert the calories. Google the food + "nutritional information" and dailyplate should have the label for it. I use fitday.com to "create a custom food" and then I will enter the data in PER GRAM.

If you choose to use fitday.com, here's how the math works "per gram" which will save you some time. If you've eaten 85 grams of chicken, then you simply divide everything by 85 on the label. If fat is 3g, 3/85. Sodium is 220, then 220/85. Carbs 5, then 5/85. Input all of these values into fitday.com when you create your custom food. Then instead of 1 serving, input 85 and choose grams from the dropdown. It will multiply everything by 85, and you can reuse those "per gram" values for your next chicken meal. It's a little work up front but totally worth it IMO.

If you don't know what your calorie threshold is, then here is a link. Record everything with calories that you eat in your fitday journal and you should automatically lose weight (a half a lb or more a week depending on your fat %).

 

[Titan]

Originally posted by: SP33Demon
This is the kitchen scale I use.

I also use some a plastic liquid measuring cup for liquids like milk for cereal.

Measure your foods in grams and do the math with a calculator to convert the calories. Google the food + "nutritional information" and dailyplate should have the label for it. I use fitday.com to "create a custom food" and then I will enter the data in PER GRAM.

If you choose to use fitday.com, here's how the math works "per gram" which will save you some time. If you've eaten 85 grams of chicken, then you simply divide everything by 85 on the label. If fat is 3g, 3/85. Sodium is 220, then 220/85. Carbs 5, then 5/85. Input all of these values into fitday.com when you create your custom food. Then instead of 1 serving, input 85 and choose grams from the dropdown. It will multiply everything by 85, and you can reuse those "per gram" values for your next chicken meal. It's a little work up front but totally worth it IMO.

If you don't know what your calorie threshold is, then here is a link. Record everything with calories that you eat in your fitday journal and you should automatically lose weight (a half a lb or more a week depending on your fat %).

I have the same scale, it's good.

I use it to determine the rough caloric ballpark of certain things I eat, so I don't weigh everything. To me, that gets tedious. For concentrated things like nuts and seeds, I see how much a scoop of them weighs and use the scoop. For example, I used my scale to determine 2 scoops o my chia seeds equals one ounce, so I just use the scoop and take 2 scoops when I eat them

If you prepare your own foods you can learn to eyeball. While of course that's not exact science, it may save your sanity in the long run. I used to measure my flax oils out in scoops before I would use them in a shake, but now I can just eyeball it. So if you're not a weighing fiend, use the scale to see what a class of milk you're drinking looks like, then just get a feel. I do weigh out my almonds and pre-bag them as 1oz is 120 calories.

I'm not big on tracking my meals either, but I stick to routine well. And routine can be bad, it's good to change out food choices to keep your body guessing. Which is why the occasional cheat can have a physiological benefit.

If you think you can count calories with one of those sites, then by all means go for it. But if you're the disorganized type like me, just use those tools to get a feel. I often reference nutritiondata.com for my caloric data.

Instead of focusing on things I eat, I focus on times I eat, that helps me a lot more. That gives me one approach that works for both exercise and diet. Here's what my current schedule looks like. That way I can tweak and improve things without changing the times.

6:30 - eat - wake up, water, chia seeds, cran-water. workout - 25 minutes stretching routine
7:00 workout - AM routine
8:00 water, breakfast 2 egg omelet
10:30 1st work snack - orange and 1 oz almonds
12:30 home lunch 1 pound (before cooking) meat and veggies, begin with chia seeds
2-3:30 2nd work snack orange, apple, 1 oz almonds
5:30 home stretch routine again
6:00 gym workout, PM set
7:00 dinner meat and veggies like lunch, add a carrot
10:00 pre-bed: water, chia seeds, cran-water.

So focusing on the timing of things allows me to stay consistent and adapt. We are so impatient in this country and we think of time as a quantity. How much time something will take. If you instead realize that timing of events is so much more important than viewing time as a quantity, you will go a long way to coming up with a plan that will a last. and you don't have to be afraid to adjust it.

 

[damage424]

Originally posted by: kyzen

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged

For now, it's sufficient. However, I don't feel like you should say his diet is great. It has a way to go, but it's definitely better than previously. We take steps. Never stop striving to hone your diet in.

What changes would you suggest?

One good change would be to start eating your food 'clean'. Meaning, don't add any unnecessary things to your food. Prepare your chicken without lightly breaded with ground up cheezits or corn chex. Adding things like cheezits or anything is not eating clean. Another example would be preparing your potatoes with bacon bits. Again, that is not eating clean. Getting rid of these add-ons would be a great boost to your diet. Eventually, you can get rid of your butter, oil, and salt intake too. But just remember to not rush yourself. You already made some big changes, and if you want to keep going on the good path, you'll keep making changes. Again, goodluck on your diet and don't by shy asking questions.

 

[kyzen]

What's a good option for lunch, when going home isn't feasible, and the only microwave available is just as likely to completely burn food as it is to properly cook it? Looking for some ideas that can last in a bag for a few hours through the day, and preferably won't have to reheat here.

 

[KingGheedora]

Pretty much anything depending on how picky you are about eating cold food. I bag my lunch to work and even though we have a microwave i don't bother heating food up most of the time, except if I bring something frozen like burritos.

Chicken breasts, chicken cutlets, chicken salads, tuna, pretty much any kind of sandwich you can think of. hard boiled eggs. ground turkey/beef patties.

 

[SP33Demon]

I baked a crapload of boneless/skinless chicken and just keep it in a big container at work. I eat it cold with a pita bread (whole wheat), some salsa and cheese (all weighed & recorded on my kitchen scale). Other days I bring low sodium lunchmeat or a premade tuna sandwich.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: kyzen

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged

For now, it's sufficient. However, I don't feel like you should say his diet is great. It has a way to go, but it's definitely better than previously. We take steps. Never stop striving to hone your diet in.

What changes would you suggest?

Some slight changes would be good. Like damage424 said, nix the breading. However, I don't agree with his bacon statement; BUT I think it should be real bacon instead of some processed soy product. Bacon's not that bad for you, especially if you're only using it as bacon bits. I eat bacon every day and am very healthy.

On top of that, I would start incorporating more healthy fats - olive oil, nuts, seeds, etc. This will keep your HDLs up (good cholesterol) and will be a good source of omega-3s. I would also replace any sort of pasta with beans (my personal preference) or some form of brown rice, quinoa, etc. I personally add fruit on top of these things as well.

Originally posted by: kyzen
What's a good option for lunch, when going home isn't feasible, and the only microwave available is just as likely to completely burn food as it is to properly cook it? Looking for some ideas that can last in a bag for a few hours through the day, and preferably won't have to reheat here.

Well, you have some options. I like to eat tuna on cucumber slices with spinach leaves on top of them plus some fruit as a light lunch. It's really tasty, requires no microwave, and is great for you. I do also typically like mixing some sort of ground meat or seared fish with a meal of kidney/black beans and peas. Those are good sources of both nutrition, calories, AND fiber.

Good job so far though. Asking questions is a good sign.

 

[kyzen]

Thanks for the lunch tips. When you guys say Tuna, I assume you're not mixing it with mayo or anything, correct?

 

[KingGheedora]

Originally posted by: kyzen
Thanks for the lunch tips. When you guys say Tuna, I assume you're not mixing it with mayo or anything, correct?

I was actually thinking about this today. I have a bunch of cans of tuna that I plan to start eating soon. But since I started trying to eat non-processed foods only, i was trying to think of what to mix in with the tuna to make it taste better. I can just eat it out of the can but if there's a way to make it taste better that'd be, well, better.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: KingGheedora

Originally posted by: kyzen
Thanks for the lunch tips. When you guys say Tuna, I assume you're not mixing it with mayo or anything, correct?

I was actually thinking about this today. I have a bunch of cans of tuna that I plan to start eating soon. But since I started trying to eat non-processed foods only, i was trying to think of what to mix in with the tuna to make it taste better. I can just eat it out of the can but if there's a way to make it taste better that'd be, well, better.

I make my own mayo. It's fine for you if you make it. All it consists of is egg yolks, olive oil, lemon juice, and seasonings It lasts about a week I've heard. I usually make small portions and finish it before it goes bad.

 

[Titan]

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged

Originally posted by: KingGheedora

Originally posted by: kyzen
Thanks for the lunch tips. When you guys say Tuna, I assume you're not mixing it with mayo or anything, correct?

I was actually thinking about this today. I have a bunch of cans of tuna that I plan to start eating soon. But since I started trying to eat non-processed foods only, i was trying to think of what to mix in with the tuna to make it taste better. I can just eat it out of the can but if there's a way to make it taste better that'd be, well, better.

I make my own mayo. It's fine for you if you make it. All it consists of is egg yolks, olive oil, lemon juice, and seasonings It lasts about a week I've heard. I usually make small portions and finish it before it goes bad.

I gotta try that sometime.

I just keep it simple. For lunch yesterday I had 2 cans of tuna with about 4 Tablespoons of hemp seed oil. I've used flax before too. Olive works too. Tuna is just dry by itself.