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Community => Watto's Junk Yard => Topic started by: speedermike on November 25, 2010, 01:29 PM
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I was recently involved with shooting a reality TV show for a major network that will air in February. I was on camera for about 12 hours. I saw some stills from the shoot, and I was horrified. I knew that I had gained weight over the years, but jeez...I looked like Jabba.
I need to lose weight. I'm going to start on Monday and wonder if anyone wants to join along. I am not gong for stunt weight loss, but a healty 2 pounds a week. I will be working out about 5 times a week and cutting out all crap from my diet. Recently, I have gone a few weeks at at ime without sweets, but I need to give them up completely. I've never done drugs, and I've only ever drank socially, but I am addicted to choclate and diet Pepsi.
I've always been big, and know that I look strong and healty around 200 lbs. When I got married in 2003, I was 210. Between then and now I have completed my masters degree, worked four years as a full time highschool teacher in NYC, had two kids, bought and fixed up a house, written and illustrated nine children's books and ate terribly.
Right now I'm 242. So, 40 lbs is my first goal.
I've seen weight loss threads out here in the past, and thought it might be a way to do this with a supportive group. All I'm asking is that we check every day or so, and discuss what were trying to do.
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I was up the high once. Now I'm down to 195. The trick is to give up fast food and soda completely. There is far to much fat and sugar in them. Also start walking for at least 1/2 hour to 1 hour a day during lunch at work. Bring lunch with you from home. Don't go out to eat. You will save money and you will lose weight. You will be amazed how fast it drops off.
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I've been pretty disgusted with how I've let myself go over the last several years. I've been hovering at the 220 mark for a while now and really need to get back to 185-190 (pre-marriage and kids weight). Between the herniated disks in my back and the multiple knee surgeries, losing weight is really going to help me out long term. I cut out the soda this year and it really has helped a lot, but I'm a sweet addict. That's the part that's going to be hard for me.
I'm travelling for business next week but plan on starting everything fresh the first full week of December. Because of the bad knee and back, I can't really run any more, so I'm going to hit the stationary bike and elliptical for cardio. I also plan to starting lifting weights again, more for definition than bulk. Lastly, once I start shedding some of the pounds, I'm going to try to start back up with my Tae Kwon Do work outs. I was in the best shape of my life when I was taking classes and I think it would really help me out again. Long term I'd like to get to the point where I can start instructing my kids. It would be a fun thing that we can do as a family, and it would give me a really good reason to maintain my weight so I can continue to teach them.
Count me in Mike! What were your thoughts? Weekly weigh-ins, before and after pictures, train for a 5k/half-marathon/iron man? Hopefully we'll get a few more to join us.
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My advice is not to cut anything out completely. Just moderate your intake. Then step up your exercise. I lost 15 lbs in 6 weeks by cutting the amount of coke I drink, eating granola bars instead of peanut butter m&m's and doing 50 push ups before bed every night. I hit a bit of a wall in regards to weight after that because I gained muscle in addition to losing fat but it didn't really bother me.
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Soda is a surrisingly large part of it. I had my wisdom teeth removed this Summer and couldn't eat a lot of solid food for a couple of weeks. I abandoned soda and had a loft of "soft meals" like Soup, Yogurt, Jello, Ice Cream just because it hurt to bite down hard on more solid foods. Anyway, as a side benefit I lost 6 pounds the first week with just the change in diet (I worked out regularly before the surgery, but did not work out for a couple of months afterwards). I proceeded to lose another 4 pounds over the course of the next two weeks as I increased my solid food intake, but still avoided any soda.
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I'm not really worried about losing weight. I've been between 205-215 for about 8 years and I'm pretty happy with it. I wouldn't mind getting my weight down to 195 or so though. However, I'm a lifter and have been going on 14 years now, so for the most part the weight is fine with me provided it's good weight. I got up to a very chunky 220 or so when I was in college and got tired of feeling lazy and not feeling good about myself. So I had a change in my eating habits.
I'll be happy to offer advice to people who might want it. I'll offer words of wisdom I've gained over the years in the gym and watching others struggle with weight if anyone wants it. I would never, ever suggest any kind of fad diet at all. Once you are "off" of it, people usually go back to the way they used to be. Think of weight loss as a change in lifestyle. My biggest suggestion is to eat in moderation. Don't go overboard and from time to time enjoy the "good stuff." It won't kill you. However, be mindful of what you are putting in. If you are person who eats fast food and that's just the way it is, let me help you with some common sense stuff. Have your meal dry or with mustard. Cut the mayo, cut the cheese, and any other dressings that are offered. Get grilled food whenever possible, especially chicken. If you have to have fries, go small, or try to substitute fruit or something else. Or just go with the entree and skip the sides completely. Drink water when possible. If you don't like the non-taste of water, then get some kind of powder you can pour into your water and flavor it.
I try to stick with this kind of common sense plan. I do fall of the wagon from time to time though. However, I make up for some of it because I run anywhere from 10-20 miles a week and lift moderate to heavy weights 3-5 times a week.
Common sense, moderation, motivation, and will power are your best friends in the weight loss battle.
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This past April I ended up joining weight watchers since I wasn't happy with my weight. So far I have lost 19.6 lbs on their point plans. I still have a long way to go and need to start walking so that I can keep on losing. Good luck with reaching your goal.
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I was doing P90X for about 5 weeks 2 months ago. Then I got sick for a few weeks and just got done moving to a new house this week. Anyway, that program was definately helping me. I am about to start up again on 12/1. The routines are hard if you are not in some sort of physical shape though.
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Hey guys, thanks for all of the support...
I am Sith...I was just thinking of checking in every few days...talk about what you are doing, or not doing...you can share your weight, but you don't have to.
I imagine it like a weight-watchers meeting, without all of the skinny 60 year old women who are upset because they can't lose 2 pounds and that had a piece of cake (!) at a party!
---I got out for an hours walk yesterday, no sweets, no soda, good dinner.
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Another thing to look at is your carb intake. Cutting back on the carbs helps a lot. It also helps if you have high triglycerides (20% of your triglycerides is part of your total cholesterol count). I have had high cholesterol in the past and using a diet to cut out fat lowered my bad cholesterol, but my triglycerides stayed pretty much the same. Once I cut back the carbs, they went down drastically. I'm 5'-9" and am now pushing 185-190 lbs again since I've fallen off the wagon. Last time, I started at 198 lbs. and got down to about 165 lbs. over a year with diet and walking 40-50 minutes five or six times a week. For the carbs, my dietitian said I should have 12 carb choices a day. Each carb choice is 15 g of carbs. Another useful item she taught was about food labels. Besides the portion part (where even small items might actually contain one and a half to two servings per container) is how you can look at the total calories, carbs, fat etc. Her advice was to avoid anything that had more than 5 g of fat per serving. However, if you have a TV dinner that contains say chicken and pasta and has a total fat balance of 7 g, you are still ok since you have two different items, therefore, you can divide the total by two.
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I'm travelling for business next week but plan on starting everything fresh the first full week of December.
So I wan't able to start working out when I planned to due to work commitments and the holidays. Just started up about a week ago. Weighed in at 220.2 when I started and am at 217.7 as of today. Goal #1 is to be down to 200 or less by my birthday in March. Goal #2 is to be down to 185 by Memorial Day. While that's a lot of weight to lose (IMO), I think they are realistic goals.
I recently ran into a high school friend and found out he joined a local 'Biggest Loser' competition over the summer and fall. He ended up winning by losing 75lbs (about 22% of his original weigh in). It was really motivating to listen to his story and hear how happy he was to get back in shape after all these years.
Did you start working out Mike?
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I wish you luck Sith. Losing 35lbs in 4-5 months is going to be tough IMO. If you completely change your diet and exercise, it's doable, but I'd give yourself more time than that. I lost about 10lbs over the course of 2 months last Fall when I had my wisdom teeth removed. My diet was mostly liquid and I worked out cardio & weights 1-2 times per week. Just 2 months later through the holidays, I managed to put the 10 lbs right back on. :P
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I wish you luck Sith. Losing 35lbs in 4-5 months is going to be tough IMO.
That's not even 2 pounds a week. Totally doable with some focus and discipline.
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I wish you luck Sith. Losing 35lbs in 4-5 months is going to be tough IMO.
That's not even 2 pounds a week. Totally doable with some focus and discipline.
You get all A's for Math Rob, but a sustained 2lbs per week is tougher than it sounds. If you ever watch Biggest Loser, there are always weeks where someone doesn't lose weight or even regains a few pounds. And that's with constant dieting and exercise, with a personal trainer, away from the demands of "real life." I hope you can do it - I just don't think you should feel bad if you can't reach your 185 goal that quickly because I do think it's aggressive.
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I hope you can do it - I just don't think you should feel bad if you can't reach your 185 goal that quickly because I do think it's aggressive.
I appreciate the well wishes. I realize it's an aggressive goal, and I'm confident that I can get there with a little discipline but I won't be disappointed if I don't hit the second goal. I'll update my progress periodically (probably every other week or longer so I don't bore people to death).
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I have been dieting/exercising for about 1 year and a half now. I started my journey because I was in a buddies wedding as his best man. While I looked like his bodyguard up there in the tux, I looked like pretty darn thick - weighing in at about 268.
Fast forward through a year and a half of running on my elliptical while watching shows streaming through my X-Box 360 via Netflix, eating a 100 cal yogurt and banana for breakfast, a turkey and cheese roll up with the occasional veggies (lettuce tomatoes) thrown in when I had them in the fridge for lunch along with another yogurt and either 2 little oranges, an apple or another banana, and for dinner trying to cook healthy meals for my family of 4.
So - no pop, no cookies, no desserts, no mayo, no bread (even rolls at dinner). I tried earlier on to drown myself in water by drinking so much - in need to get back to doing that.
Doing all of the above - getting up to running typically 2.5-4 miles on my elliptical, with some push ups and 40 lb curls per arm arm and other weight exercises - I dropped to 225 in a year and a half and kept it off.
Everything was all fine and dandy til the holiday season this year - I went buck wild on all of the cookies and sweets in the house - I gained 10 lbs!!! My sister in law made us this huge basket of cookies of all varieties - they were so freaking good!
Well, when the cookies were gone I started to feel the destruction they had caused on my body. I am a teacher and was on my 2 week winter break and I really didn't work out at all, got off my schedule, and off my diet. So at the end of the 2 weeks I weighed my self and saw the bad news.
I think a lot of it was me retaining water like a buffalo. So I started up on my diet/elliptical routine. Day 1 went fine. Then on day 2 my elliptical that I had owned for 2.5 years snapped at one of the welding joints! I called Schwinn and they are sending me out a new piece for only $21 shipped - pretty happy about that considering the size and weight of the piece that broke. So, on day 3 without the elliptical to use my wife and I did this Jillian Michaels 30 day shred DVD - man oh man did that whip my ass!
Anyway - weighed myself this morning and the extra 10 lbs are magically gone - and I am back down to 225. I am still shooting for 200 - and that is what I am going to keep working towards in 2011.
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speaking of losing weight. My feet were killing me last night during that DVD.
It was very timely for me to find this deal http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?sduid=1152470&t=2542467
got a pair of awesome running shoes plus a free bag you can add to your cart during checkout for $64.
just wanted to share.
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Wow. Great story. I've been pretty crappy about getting anything going. I have cut my junkfood intake drastically, but haven't been getting out and moving enough...tom'w...tom'w...
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Great thread speedermike,
If you don't mind, I'd like to crash your thread and keep up with your progress and share my own progress. I think posting here would help motivate me to avoid skipping workouts or indulging too much on bad foods.
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Wow. Great story. I've been pretty crappy about getting anything going. I have cut my junkfood intake drastically, but haven't been getting out and moving enough...tom'w...tom'w...
thanks!
still waiting on that part for my elliptical, and the running shoes I believe are supposed to be here today. Hopefully they will be like Forrest Gump and be "mah magic shoes" because lately my feet have been hurting.
As for progress? I have done that Jillian Michales 30 lb Shred video with my wife for the past 3 days and I am sore - but I love it! I can feel my body shrinking in areas and pushing myself to do workouts I have never done - I will be keeping it up. The first 3 days really tore me up - but today I am feeling a whole lot less sore. I think when I get my elliptical fixed I will incorporate the running into either a warm up or cool down.
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I finally smartened up just under a year ago and lost about 35 pounds, using a combination of eating right (better balance of more protein, less carbs and less fat) and exercising (mostly walking/hiking).
But about 10 pounds has slowly crept back on during the last 3 months. So I have to stop that now! I was guilty of going back to some older bad habits but have been doing better getting out and walking again. Unfortunately, I hurt my knee a few days ago and it's definitely slowed me down.
Anyway, has anyone tried that P90X program? I'm not sure I'm in good enough shape to tackle it, but shmash's mention of that Jillian Michaels video has me thinking about it again.
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P90X can be very challenging if you are not used to that kind of training. There is another program from the same company that I highly recommend. It is called Power 90 and it was the predecessor to P90X. You can find it at a decent price on ebay and craigslist.
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So how is everyone doin here? ;D
not so great myself ::)
I have probably put on a few lbs. nothing too terrible - I am sure I could shed them right back off once I get in my groove, but I have been extremely busy and stressed at work so I have been putting off working out.
Since the start of the year I have had my elliptical break twice in 2 different spots so I have been having to wait on Nautilus to send me replacement parts (fyi their customer service really is great - no joke). But even though it has been broke I could have done that work out DVD - which still whips my ass - but the motivation for that just hasn't been there from all the stress.
hopefully you all have better news 8)
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I'm 5'7", 165lbs at the moment.
Might not seem like much, but I have felt "fat" since I eclipsed 150lbs about 6-7 years ago. In high school, I weighed about 175 lbs and felt really fat. I dropped 35lbs in one summer before college, which was really hard but at age 18 that's a lot easier to do than it is now that I'm in my 30s.
The past 18 months, I've been going to the gym about twice a week, I lift for about 30 minutes then do a 3 mile run in about 23.5 minutes. I started out at 170lbs when I started back in the gym routine, and really haven't lost that much weight because that really hasn't been my goal, but am lifting a lot more weight than I ever could and a lot stronger.
However, I've still got a bit of a gut... I blame my eating habits. I love fast food (though it's usually roast beef or grilled chicken sandwiches), and I have this awful habit of eating chips at night right before bedtime. I can easily eat half a bag of Doritos 3-4 nights a week - if not for that, I think I'd be able to drop down to 150 pretty easily, or even down to 140 if I wanted to. At one time I dropped down to 125 in college, when I was running 5 miles at a time several times per week. But I know I can't do that anymore, I just don't have the time. Plus it seems like every couple months I am getting sick with something that sets me back and I miss a week at the gym... heck, I've had two bouts with pneumonia since November - it really makes it harder to run like I was and I've actually cut back to 2 miles at a time most days now because I just can't handle more at the pace I like to run.
Anyways, my goal is by June to be down to 150 lbs. If I don't get there I won't be too upset, but I should get close... I have always believed that the way is to eat less (and better), but stay active.
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I'm 5'7", 165lbs at the moment.
Might not seem like much, but I have felt "fat" since I eclipsed 150lbs about 6-7 years ago. In high school, I weighed about 175 lbs and felt really fat. I dropped 35lbs in one summer before college, which was really hard but at age 18 that's a lot easier to do than it is now that I'm in my 30s.
The past 18 months, I've been going to the gym about twice a week, I lift for about 30 minutes then do a 3 mile run in about 23.5 minutes. I started out at 170lbs when I started back in the gym routine, and really haven't lost that much weight because that really hasn't been my goal, but am lifting a lot more weight than I ever could and a lot stronger.
However, I've still got a bit of a gut... I blame my eating habits. I love fast food (though it's usually roast beef or grilled chicken sandwiches), and I have this awful habit of eating chips at night right before bedtime. I can easily eat half a bag of Doritos 3-4 nights a week - if not for that, I think I'd be able to drop down to 150 pretty easily, or even down to 140 if I wanted to. At one time I dropped down to 125 in college, when I was running 5 miles at a time several times per week. But I know I can't do that anymore, I just don't have the time. Plus it seems like every couple months I am getting sick with something that sets me back and I miss a week at the gym... heck, I've had two bouts with pneumonia since November - it really makes it harder to run like I was and I've actually cut back to 2 miles at a time most days now because I just can't handle more at the pace I like to run.
Anyways, my goal is by June to be down to 150 lbs. If I don't get there I won't be too upset, but I should get close... I have always believed that the way is to eat less (and better), but stay active.
As you probably already know, fast food is a killer, even the "healthier" items. Check out the nutrition on Arby's page for their roast beef and deli sandwiches. As I recall, they weren't too much different than a Big Mac. As for the chips, part of that is the eating before you go to sleep. One thing you might want to look for is the fat free or nearly fat free versions. They can be a bit hard to find depending on the grocery store. They have Ruffles, Lays, Doritos and Tostidos. The Ruffles and Lays are fat free, I can't remember if the other ones are completely fat free or were 1 gram of fat per serving. They actually very close in flavor to the full fat versions. Just look for bags that are white on the bottom and light blue on the top.
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update for kicks in an attempt to bring people back to the discussion:
Nautilus sent me the new part I needed and it didn't fit. :-\ The diameter of the hole in the connection piece was too small - I could file it down but I am looking for them to fix the problem. They had no problems with sending me another replacement part, so right now I am waiting for that. All in all though, I still say their customer service department is great.
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So unfortunately I didn't meet my first goal of getting to 200lbs by my birthday. All I have are excuses on my part though. Work has been extremely busy the last three months and my workout regime has been in flux because of it. At one point in February I had gotten down to 205lbs and thought I was still going to be able to hit my goal. Unfortunately I went the other direction. So now I'm sitting at 211lbs (still down from where I started).
I'm hoping that with Spring about to happen at some point in the Midwest, I'll be able to get more active outside if nothing else. Between walks around the block with the boys and yard work, I'll at least be in motion more than I am now. I'm still working out when I can find the time and the eating habits have improved.
At this point in time, I don't think that the ultimate goal of 185lbs by Memorial Day will be in hand, but I'm at least still doing everything I can to get there. More to come, but just thought I'd give an update.
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So it's been a while since anyone has posted, so I figured I'd give a short update. After my last post things didn't change much. I actully went back up to 217. I finally got fed up with myself and started hitting the elliptical and weights every night after the boys went to bed. I was also able to get my wife to workout with me too, so I have extra motivation. It's been about three weeks and I'm back down below 210. I'm hoping to get to 200 by the middle to end of July.
So anyone else still plugging away on their workouts?
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I'm down about 26 pounds in the past 12 to 13 weeks. We had a contest at work that ran 10 weeks. I believe some major cheating went on since everyone was on teams of four and there were prizes for the top three teams and also for the top three individuals that weren't on a winning team. The top two individuals lost 22% and 18.5% and were on the same team. However, there team was fifth (out of 101 teams). Essentially means the other two members on their team lost NOTHING. Don't see how that happens unless the other two didn't weigh in at the end and they just split the top prize money four ways...essentially it would have been $100 per person than if they were the second place team. Not sure how you lose that much weight in 10 weeks. At 200 pounds, that is over four pounds a week. Seems like Biggest Loser numbers to me...don't see where you have that kind of time to workout with a full time job.
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I figured I'd give this a bump again to see if anyone is working out.
I ended up getting back down to about 205 at one point last year. However, the second half of last year was not very kind to me and I ended up going right back to where I started. I'm finally finishing up my Masters and things are getting a little better at work, so I've been hitting the workouts again for the last several weeks. I'm only at about 210, but I've gotten into a groove. I ended up getting a mountain bike for Christmas so with the weather being nice for the last week or so, I've been out biking with the family. I'm also able to get on the elliptical on a regular basis and lift almost every night. I'm going to set my sights on 200 again list last year, but hopefully I'll actually get there this time.
If I can get to my goal weight and start feeling somewhat healthy again, I'm actually considering trying something like P90X. However, I'm curious, is there anyone on the boards who has tried this and is also almost 40? I don't want to spend the money on something like this if there's no way I'm actually going to be able to do the workout. Please let me know your experiences so I can make an informed decision. Thanks.
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If I can get to my goal weight and start feeling somewhat healthy again, I'm actually considering trying something like P90X. However, I'm curious, is there anyone on the boards who has tried this and is also almost 40? I don't want to spend the money on something like this if there's no way I'm actually going to be able to do the workout. Please let me know your experiences so I can make an informed decision. Thanks.
Well, I'm 38 and just got the P90X materials a few weeks ago from a friend. I haven't tried it yet, but do have friends that swear by it (around a similar age). Like anything, it just requires you to start and stick with it. Despite a New Year's resolution to lose 10-15 pounds by the Summer, I have yet to dedicate any time to working out this year. I have been trying to avoid soda outside of eating out once in a while and very long afternoons at work. Just that shift to more water/less soda (and always taking the stairs at work) has knocked about 5lbs off since the start of the year. That's what I'm attributing it to anyway - maybe I'm jsut shrinking in my old age.
Will try to let you know how P90X works for me if I can ever get going on it.
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I dropped 15 lbs since December, but I don't recommend my route: seasonal depression. :(
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I tore my ACL skiing earlier this winter, so I've done a piss poor job with my weight. It keeps creeping back on. But I had a custom knee brace made this week and I think it's going to help a lot with getting active again, I sure miss it! 8)
I dropped 15 lbs since December, but I don't recommend my route: seasonal depression. :(
That usually causes me to eat more, rather than less. :-\
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... I had a custom knee brace made this week and I think it's going to help a lot with getting active again...
Jesse, did you end up getting a Donjoy brace? I tore my patella tendon in HS but my Ortho said I didn't need a brace after I went through PT. I continued to play sports for about another decade (baseball, volleyball) until I tore my ACL in the same knee. After I went through PT for the ACL surgery, I had a Donjoy brace made. I wore it for everything I played at first, but found that the straps that go across the back of the hamstrings were very restrictive so I stopped wearing it on a regular basis. It's a great brace and would definitely recommend it to people, I'm just curious to hear what your experience will be once you get yours.
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I dropped 15 lbs since December, but I don't recommend my route: seasonal depression. :(
I guess I should say that the depression's the only cause. I've dropped soda pretty much from my diet (I don't have it at home) and only have it at a restaurant. I'm eating less fast food and never eat after 9. So far it's been pretty steady and it's not like I need to lose weight (those that know me would agree), but I'd like to get back to around where I was before my daughter was born. I essentially gained 20 pounds in 2 years. :-\