Weight Loss

[Giant Ninja Robot]

BTW anyone who's looking to feel way more aligned and impact other workouts better, doing this core (abs, chest, back, etc) routine has REALLY helped. Posture, back pain, stomach fat...

HIGHLY recommend it.

[newjacksm]

Argh. The last two days have sucked. I really need to work out. I worked out Sunday and it was really tiring and I've just been super tired, I think I need more sleep for this active lifestyle.

Argh. Adjustment is tough.

Sleep. Eat. Train.

Sleep: 7-8 hours/day
Eat: 5-6x/day every two hours in small quantities
Train. 45-90 mins.

Skip cardio, it's a waste of time unless you sprint.....

Your method is to build muscle, we're talking about losing weight. Lose weight is simple intake less calories and exercise and burn more calories more then you intake. Cardio ANY type of cardio is beneficial to losing weight. The heavier you are the faster the weight comes off in the beginning.

The more active you are the faster the metabolism works.

[AKammenzind]

This fast 5 diet has been working for me. It seemed a bit shady to eat only 5 hours a day, and completely goes against everything I learned while into weightlifting in highschool... but it's working, and I have more energy, and don't crave food at all during the day. I'm also building muscle back with minimal effort (though not as fast as if I were on a body-building diet, of course)

If anyone's like me and can't maintain a diet to save their lives... you should try this. It's easy to maintain, no food limitations, and I can see myself eating like this for years to come... just plain easier.

[bigvito]

Its been fun to read this thread, I did not bother to read it, but I read a couple of pages of it instead.
I was once
<h2 class="r">[b]275.577828 pounds[/b]</h2>and am now
<h2 class="r">[b]187.392923 pounds[/b]</h2>
which is a diff of
<h2 class="r">[b]88.1849049 pounds[/b]</h2>not bad, ey?
It's fun to see that some persons in society do not recognize food as a problem at all, and some struggle their heads off with it xD
Weird and doesn't make sense, I mean the plague took everyone (well it didn't, but nevermind), but obesity seems to pick its victims.
Anyways, what works for me is to eat once a day, skip breakfast and... Well you don't have it in your language, but it is known as nightfood or eveningfood here. It is usually a meal at 11 post meridiem. If I start with breakfast and such, I pack on weight fast.

I'm now trying a system where I eat 3-4k calories one day, and nothing but two eggs and some lowfat beef the other (about the weight of... well a tiny piece of beef by us standards anyways). Then I repeat that cycle. So far so good. Will see in the long run what happens, because crap food makes me feel sick of course, this should balance me out.
I usedta eat crap food every day, so maybe this will be satisfactory and keep me down in weight 4 life =)
I love not being fat anymore, though I am not beach material.

[Victim026]

This fast 5 diet has been working for me. It seemed a bit shady to eat only 5 hours a day, and completely goes against everything I learned while into weightlifting in highschool... but it's working, and I have more energy, and don't crave food at all during the day. I'm also building muscle back with minimal effort (though not as fast as if I were on a body-building diet, of course)

If anyone's like me and can't maintain a diet to save their lives... you should try this. It's easy to maintain, no food limitations, and I can see myself eating like this for years to come... just plain easier.

More info on this fast 5 thing? I have a real problem with making the committment to working out everyday and to eating right just due to my schedule and my picky palette.

[AKammenzind]

More info on this fast 5 thing? I have a real problem with making the committment to working out everyday and to eating right just due to my schedule and my picky palette.

http://www.fast-5.com/ They've got a PDF there, only takes maybe 20 mins to read through it and I found it convincing enough to give it a go. It's not terribly hard to get used to, but sometimes you get hungry just before your 5 hours and then when the time comes I go a little apeshit, but overall it seems to be working: it's been under 2 weeks and I've lost about 6 lbs.

[Giant Ninja Robot]

The 2nd official weigh in of the Trader Joes 674 biggest loser competition is tomorrow.

If I haven't been gaining so much muscle to replace the fat weight I'm losing, I'd prolly have gone from 5th polace to at least 2nd if not 1st, based on appearances of contestants.

Alas, I'm alright with looking studlier and losing the competition

I've lost only about 5-7 lbs in the last month but the physical transformation has been surreal. Hard to believe that only 1 month ago I was a flabby out of shape dude and with only a month of intense but doable cardio and weight training I'm well on my way to a new fit and sexy me.

Almost none of my pants fit me anymore and old clothes I've kept around for this time that I've put off for so long are starting to fit again.

I feel a million times better and am in the groove of things to where I WANT to work out. In fact I freakin love it. I'm really truly enjoying this experience and am glad that there are people who are willing to take some encouragement from my success story in the making!

Thanks Guys and Gals for joining me in bettering my life even if only by reading these mini-blogs.

On a sad note: My hookah collection has gone all but unused...I'm thinking that when I'm further into my new lifestyle it will be easier to smoke and feel ok about it but for now it's down to maybe 1 time a week or so. I'm okay with that as I'm def not giving up smoking but my body is saying no right now and I think I better listen.

[Doubon]

congrats gnr! loss for me has been slow,
since october ive lost ~25lbs (215-216).
havent had any time for the gym but im gonna try to fit it in about 30 minutes for cardio starting this week.

ive come to the realization that i lack the willpower to go on an actual diet and the only reason ive lost weight is due to a combo of stress from school, lack of food at home, and riding these http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeline_skates, which i got on winterbreak and use to around campus.

so once i get a real diet and exercise routine going again, i should be down to 185 in a few months(i hope)

anyways, mazel tov on your sucess

[Ebzen]

The only thing I've really found to work is to eat more :-P

Ye it sounds silly, but if you try to get something like minimum 4 meals in per day and a fruit every now and then, you'll keep your metabolism up which will cause you to loose weight. Also for your meals try to go with about 1/3 meat/fish, 1/3 bread/rice/pasta/potatoes and 1/3 salad. That should keep you going down in weight without having to count calories or buy expencive dieting shit from some silly tv shop.

Also, if you can stomach it, celeriac (sp?) is a wonderfull vegetable, in that that you consume more energy by eating it, than you actually get out of it. Have a recipe for a soup that does that too somewhere, I'll look for it if it is of any interest to anyone.

[fineout]

havent had time to read exactly the whole thread has said but i just started trying to work out and lose some weight because im really sick of having a gut. havent had time to go every day but ive cut all soda consumption down to zero always eat a salad and small meals, hoping to lose somewhere around 20lbs by summertime.

[Arcane]

ok....i'll throw in my two cents here and i apologize if I repeat anything anyone said earlier.

bottom line first: if you use more calories than you consume, you will lose weight. PERIOD.

Now, there are good ways and bad way to go about this. The best way is to change your lifestyle. If you're starting from scratch, just exercise more. The type doesn't matter - it's more work than you were doing before. Don't change your diet, that will come later. Just make sure you don't eat more to compenstate the hunger you're going to feel. Remember, your body is used to functioning on a certain amount of calories. When you reduce it, your mind will tell you "Hey, this isn't as much food as our body is used to....you're hungry - EAT!" Take a stand and resist that impulse. If you feel like you must eat, stick to low calorie snacks such as celery, fruits, or drink water.

After a month or two of exercising and you're seeing some results, start to alter your diet. Clean up the foods you eat. Cut out the soft drinks, limit candy, kick out the fast food, etc. When you do this, make sure you replace it with whole "clean" foods. Whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and fish. You'll have to eat more because the foods aren't as calorically dense as candy or fast food.

And finally, record your progress on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Take body measurements and weight. This will serve as your motivation. Progress is the biggest motivator.

That's a very very simple guide, but it will work as long as you commit to changing your lifestyle. There no big science to it either. Dedication, willpower and hard work. That'll get you results.

[arhutch]

ive dropped lots of weight just focusing on eating smaller meals, and cutting out all the in-between meal snacks. i always overate and didnt exercise very much. i feel much better compared to how i used to. thats something simple to do that doesnt cost anything.

[megidolaon]

Well, this is what I've been doing to lose weight and it works well...

1) Don't count calories. Use common sense when I eat. I don't stuff myself, I make sure I eat 3 meals a day and have two small snacks.

2) Eat a varied diet with lots of veggies and fruits. I don't eat much red meat, I stick to chicken/turkey and fish. I like soymilk for my milk, but I like my yogurts and cheeses. Need to make sure you get your calories from a variety of sources, and also make sure your vitamin intake from food is varied.

3) I drink a lot of water, and only water. Tea and coffee are alright for you (without extra sugar, milk, creamers, etc), but they're not necessary.

4) Don't stress about food honestly. Stress will cause you to gain weight, and there is enough crap in life to be stressed and worried over.

5) Get enough sleep at night. This helps reduce the stress hormones in your body, and you can lose weight more easily.

6) Do exercise that you enjoy. If you like walking do it to your hearts content, or if you like weightlifting do that, or both, or yoga, or pilates, or whatever it is that is enjoyable and fun to you. Expand and try new things as you go along. Make exercise a relaxing, invigorating, and enjoyable thing you look forward to.

7) Food is fuel, but it can be a tasty and enjoyable thing. The healthier you eat you might find you actually start craving healthier food choices.

8) Be happy Maintaining a good emotional/mental balance is just as important to losing weight as working out and eating right.

9) Give yourself plenty of time to ease into a workout routine, diet, etc. It is okay to make mistakes! If you're feeling icky one day it is okay to take a break. Just keep on with the progress... it takes time to develop new habits and for your body to adjust to them.

10) And again, cut down on the stress in your life. Burn incense, start reading a new book, pick up knitting for yourself/family/charity, pick up gardening, whatever. I found when I started making other positive changes in my life and developed other healthy/fun hobbies it made making changes in how I ate, worked out, and thought a lot easier as as well.

I probably sound like a complete idiot but I hope some of this advice is helpful, or at least back up some of the previous five pages I couldn't make it through (I read the first two!).

[mustang_steve]

My method, which has been working for me is calorie counting.

I get 1800 calories per day....after that, I'm outta luck...water or unsweet tea only.

I throw down an hour of cardio and an hour of weights per day, every day. Part of this is not diet related, but just because I have too much time on my hands from being unemployed...thes extra workout keeps me busy...if I don't fewll like I've done something for at least 4-5 hours in the day, I get loopy.

I've been losing an average of 5lbs a week like this. Given I started almost 130lbs overweight...close to twice what I should weight (160)...so these results won't be as drastic for those that are 20-30lbs over.

I tried to eat small, but what happened was I'd eat small more often, and end up eating MORE throughout the day...so i gained weight. By telling myself 1800 and no more, I now have to force myself to choose foods that will fill me, while still meeting that limitation. That works better for me.

[f22a4bandit]

Cardio, weights, water and sleep. I tend to find that if I keep a regular routine with working out, drinking water throughout the day and getting enough sleep getting the weight off is pretty easy. I actually find that I eat healthier purely because I work out. Not because I'm counting calories or am on a diet, just because my body responds positively to the change in my daily routine. Your body knows what is bad for you. We just tend to let ourselves go on the junk foods (I'm guilty, for sure!) because it tastes GOOD. It's fine to have some ice cream, candy, pizza, etc. every now and then. Don't beat yourself up if you make a mistake, it's GOING TO HAPPEN! Just have a positive outlook on your progress and record it. I agree that recoding your progress is the best thing you can do when you want to see results. Positive reinforcement is the way to go, not negative.

[DarkParade]

another thing that will help you is stay away from processed foods like bleached flower or anything that has preservatives in it. if you can have fresh over canned or frozen do it because your body will be able to make better use of it

[Giant Ninja Robot]

OK folks, so far the magic number is 20 lbs lost.

I've lost a little steam lately with the cardio since I'm sick as hell of riding that damnable excercise bike in the snowy weather, but I plan to suck it up and get back on it (only been slightly slacking for about a week).

My hip fat is almost all gone, I can see excess skin all over, which'll tighten up in time, and I'm down two pants sizes.

I've shed a ton of my face weight, and my legs are pretty muscular, the problem area that is my torso will take a little longer but with the upper body routine I've got going at least I'm losing proportionately.

Going to buy running shoes soon, and tune up the road bike for the impending spring.

So far I've got a date to cycle and bareknuckle box with a good friend, cycle with a cool gay dude I work with, cycle with another close friend, 2 other people want to run with me, and play ball with some friends as well. Also invited to weekly soccer meets with a saucy Irishman but I don't think soccer is really my game...

One of my favorite parts is that I've been hit on more in the last month than I have in the last 4-5 years combined. I forgot I'm a fairly attractive dude under all that fat and it feels great

Gotta keep movin' that's for real, cause baby ain't no standin' still...

[jellywerker]

Nice work man, keep it up.

[Hobbs]

Congratulations GNR, it sounds like you're maintaining quite well, my hats off to you for your dedication and desire.

[Tuscani]

Hats off to you GNR I personally know how great it feels to lose a massive amount of weight (over 100 lbs in my case) and it is an awesome feeling being hit on of course =P

[Synesthesia]

just count calories...you can eat whatever you want really, but you learn really fast that if you dont want to be hungry you'll choose healthier, bulkier foods that have less calories but fill you up better (say, a lean pork chop with veggies and a baked potato instead of a couple slices of pizza...same-ish calories, WAY more filling!)

it doesnt have to be boring or bland either, you just have to sub out higher calorie ingredients in recipes that you cook regularly, and be creative with sauces and seasonings. for example, for lower cal thin-crust homemade pizza, use a reduced carb lavash (if you can get joseph's brand, they are AWESOME...they have tortillas and pitas too) for the crust and load it up with veggies (roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, olives, ect) and use a low fat cheese (not fat free...grosssss). i used to eat a whole one of those for dinner for around 500 calories, sometimes with a side salad, and it was very filling.

i use www.thedailyplate.com to log calories daily.

you gotta just put in your weight, height, and how many lbs you want to lose per week (be healthy about it tho, no more than 2-2.5....towards the end i was only able to lose about a pound a week healthily) and it gives you a daily calorie intake to lose that weight. add in any excercise you do, and you can eat more calories. it has a HUGE database of food, including restaraunts which is good bc you mentioned you eat out once per week. also, take measurements and write them down each month (esp if you are exercising) sometimes the scale may SAY you arent losing weight, but if you take measurements you see that you really are.

i lost 55 pounds over the course of about 8-ish months. its really pretty easy to do when you are determined, esp when you can basically eat whatever (and its better than weight watchers bc you count calories which are readily available on labels, where with ww you have to do a formula to get the points value). i didnt exercise one bit, but obviously i could have lost the weight faster. its just that i didnt really have the time to, plus im a lazy ass. towards the end tho, i would take my dog for a short nightly walk. that stopped as soon as it started getting cold hahaha

the only really hard part is maintenance, which i am trying to do right now. losing weight is easy! keeping it off....not so much.....

[erufiku]

good to hear the news, hit me up if you want a killer abs routine

[TheSl0th]

I'm an avid biker and P90X-er. Just gotta squeeze in that exorcise in your busy schedule. Even if it's for 20 mins a day, you can aclimate into a more vigorous schedule. My pops works super full-time too and he still exorcises for 30-60 mins a day.

Cut off all crap (pop, candy, simple carb bullshit), eat lots of fruit,vegetables, whole grains and get the recommended allowence for lean proteins.

Just gotta eat a good diet (food pyramid or nutritionally efficient for you) and EXORCISE. If you really want results, seriously consider quitting smoking (I cut my smoking substantially).

I feel a ton better now too inside and out, it just took a very rough end of the summer to get me to care more about myself.

I guest I'm lucky being 5'11" 150lbs. Just found out today my BF% is 4%. Stupid fast metabolism.

-QM

hey qm im in the same boat as you, i was actually wondering about p90x. is i worth it, ive gotten seriously into rock/ice climbing and would like to build up some more strength, and whal im at it look a little more in shape. that program looks lagit. so we dont thread jack, pm me?

[Sylren]

Its simple math. You have to burn more calories that you eat. If you don't want to be starving yourself than getting rid of "hidden" calories is one of the best things you can do. Only drink water, no alcohol, no juice and no pop!!! And don't drink or eat anything with fake sweeteners. Those things are pure chemicals that your body doesn't know how to handle. And make sure to eat lots of vegetables and whole grains because if your going to be eating less you want to make sure everything your putting in is nutritious. You have to have willpower though. You have to make the choice between eating whatever you want and being fat, or taking the short term pain for long term gain. You can do it!

[contristo]

I apologize if this was already mentioned, but I have to recommend HIIT. I lost 60lbs in 7 months by doing this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensit...terval_training

Basically, intervals are key. I usually go 6mph for 30 seconds, 9mph for 30 seconds, and repeat. This really gets your heart going, so I would advise anyone with body fat over 16% to start out slower and build up.

this is a very good article that shows several options if 30/30 isn't what you want:
http://www.fitbuff.com/how-to-burn-more-fa...secret-to-hiit/

endurance is key here. if you can run this way, running a marathon should be next on your list. i went from being completely out of shape (5'9" 210lbs) to very healthy (5'9" 150lbs) and able to run literally anything that came my way.

this is in addition to a good diet, which is a lot more simple than people assume. delicious things like grilled chicken sandwiches (no mayo!), fruit, cereal, grains, pretzels, and maybe a piece of dark chocolate here and there can all be applied. there are so many healthy food that people are not aware of. even if you were FORCED to eat at a fast food joint by your girlfriend or something, grab a grilled chicken sandwich and a small parfait and you should be fine. also, as everyone else has said, soda is a no-no. having a diet soda here and there won't hurt, but drinking anything but water and fruit (smoothies, fruit juice, etc) is VERY detrimental. however, once per week or so, if you worked out 4-5 days earlier in the week, it really won't hurt to grab a burger or milkshake at your favorite restaurant. be very consistent with your workouts and eating habits, but treat yourself once in awhile. you are going through a major transition, but don't inflict yourself with depression because its so radical. you'll get used to it after a month or so, but working toward small things like a reward meal at the end of the week is always useful. JUST REMEMBER: don't let the reward meal become a daily thing.

oh, i also smoke hookah regularly, so i doubt many of you will have to cut back considerably. i would advise running in the morning or before any smoking sessions though, since your lung capacity decreases noticeably if you run a few hours before smoking (especially since HIIT can be so intense). so, just get the running out of the way in the morning or after work and smoke a relaxing hookah with a nice smoothie, some grilled chicken, and some fruit. it will be that much more rewarding.