Posted: 1/16/2013 7:28:49 PM EDT
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Edit: now 248.0 lbs.
As of tonight, I weigh 288.6 lbs. I have never been skinny - my torso is built like a barrel. However, I used to hang pretty consistently around 210 and had all kinds of stamina. I was never much of a runner, but I could hike up hill and down all day and all night. Years of sitting behind a desk have had a negative effect. I didn't realize how bad of an effect until I had to leave some gear behind during a hike on our property. (A block and tackle and 100' of rope in a small ruck). I just didn't feel like I had enough steam to pack it up this lung-buster hill. So, I started a new diet Monday. Nothing exotic, mainly cutting out any junk and keeping my calories at 2,000 or less. That should give me about a 2 lb a week loss starting out. About 4 years ago, I lost 30 lbs by just cutting out junk, HFCS, and most meat, eating whole foods (but no calorie control). I gained it back the next year when I started eating unhealthy again. I don't have as much time to focus on food quality right now, so I am focusing more on calories. I am looking for suggestions and helpful advice. I would like to get back to 210 lbs. 180 lbs would be awesome (I am 5'-10" with a large frame type), but I haven't seen that number since my teens. |
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IMO if you're going for overall health in addition to weight loss you should focus on quality (and quantity will usually fall into place if you aren't eating crap). Eating healthy doesn't have to take a lot of time, trust me. At the risk of sounding like a broken record I'm going to suggest going to a Primal diet. Good luck! |
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Quoted:
IMO if you're going for overall health in addition to weight loss you should focus on quality (and quantity will usually fall into place if you aren't eating crap). Eating healthy doesn't have to take a lot of time, trust me. At the risk of sounding like a broken record I'm going to suggest going to a Primal diet. Good luck! I was coming here to post that 
OP, I lost 80 lbs doing Atkins with a lot of exercise. Atkins isn't a sustainable diet, but Primal Blueprint certainly is. Couple of things. - Do not count on anyone else to motivate you. You can't count on arfcom to keep you honest, or anyone else. You need to keep yourself honest. Write down your goals. Every 3 months I re-read my goals from the last time and make comments about how I've failed and how I've succeeded. This isn't just about fitness, but every part of my life. I really recommend this as it's a quantifiable set of goals that you can accomplish. - Have a reason for doing what you're doing. Every time you're tempted to skip a workout or eat garbage you can remind yourself what you're working toward. Everything that does not take you closer to your goal takes your farther away from it. NEVER eat something with the rationalization that you'll just work it off later. Fuck that. If you don't eat that thing, you'll be that much closer to your goal when you've "worked it off." - Focusing on calories is bullshit. 2000 calories, while a nice easy target, is pretty meaningless in terms of overall health. Read the Primal Blueprint. 200 calories of refined sugar vs 200 calories of steak are two completely different things. I use a BodyMedia Fit to track my caloric exertion and most days I run a calorie deficit of at least 1000 calories (I'm still losing weight). Get over the concept of "eating fat makes you fat." - Possibly the most important thing you can do is cut out refined sugars, grains, and starches. - Mild (and occasionally extreme) ketosis is your friend - Lift heavy things (Starting Strength is great for this but you'll need someone who knows what they're doing to help you with your form) - Avoid extreme amounts of cardio (the author of Primal Blueprint calls this 'Chronic Cardio') - the upshot is that after a hard workout you will crave carb heavy foods. I don't entirely buy into this since as a rare sugar consumer (even when I was fatter than you) I have never craved carbs after a workout, but apparently most people do. |
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Ok, I wasn't very clear when I said I was focusing more on calories than quality this time.
When we ate really healthy four years ago, it was as organic, all natural, and un-processed as possible. And, it was awesome, expensive, and and somewhat time consuming for my wife to put together. I didn't even drink diet soda. That doesn't mean that cake, candy, and coke are part of my diet this go around. 
In particular, I would like to avoid processed sugar, HFCS, and excessive starches. However, we probably won't be buying any organic beef that was massaged daily by farm maidens and kept in a state of tranquility with constant Mozart background music. I will check out the primal stuff, but I also thought the book (can't think of the name of it at the moment) that explained how different people respond to starches and grains was pretty good. ETA: The book I was thinking of was probably "Why We Get Fat" by Gary Taubes. |
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Quoted:
Ok, I wasn't very clear when I said I was focusing more on calories than quality this time. When we ate really healthy four years ago, it was as organic, all natural, and un-processed as possible. And, it was awesome, expensive, and and somewhat time consuming for my wife to put together. I didn't even drink diet soda. That doesn't mean that cake, candy, and coke are part of my diet this go around.
In particular, I would like to avoid processed sugar, HFCS, and excessive starches. However, we probably won't be buying any organic beef that was massaged daily by farm maidens and kept in a state of tranquility with constant Mozart background music. I will check out the primal stuff, but I also thought the book (can't think of the name of it at the moment) that explained how different people respond to starches and grains was pretty good. ETA: The book I was thinking of was probably "Why We Get Fat" by Gary Taubes. I figured out what you meant. I just mean to say that you're not setting yourself up for success that way. Food quality is extremely important. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
IMO if you're going for overall health in addition to weight loss you should focus on quality (and quantity will usually fall into place if you aren't eating crap). Eating healthy doesn't have to take a lot of time, trust me. At the risk of sounding like a broken record I'm going to suggest going to a Primal diet. Good luck! I was coming here to post that
OP, I lost 80 lbs doing Atkins with a lot of exercise. Atkins isn't a sustainable diet, but Primal Blueprint certainly is. Couple of things. - Do not count on anyone else to motivate you. You can't count on arfcom to keep you honest, or anyone else. You need to keep yourself honest. Write down your goals. Every 3 months I re-read my goals from the last time and make comments about how I've failed and how I've succeeded. This isn't just about fitness, but every part of my life. I really recommend this as it's a quantifiable set of goals that you can accomplish. - Have a reason for doing what you're doing. Every time you're tempted to skip a workout or eat garbage you can remind yourself what you're working toward. Everything that does not take you closer to your goal takes your farther away from it. NEVER eat something with the rationalization that you'll just work it off later. Fuck that. If you don't eat that thing, you'll be that much closer to your goal when you've "worked it off." - Focusing on calories is bullshit. 2000 calories, while a nice easy target, is pretty meaningless in terms of overall health. Read the Primal Blueprint. 200 calories of refined sugar vs 200 calories of steak are two completely different things. I use a BodyMedia Fit to track my caloric exertion and most days I run a calorie deficit of at least 1000 calories (I'm still losing weight). Get over the concept of "eating fat makes you fat." - Possibly the most important thing you can do is cut out refined sugars, grains, and starches. - Mild (and occasionally extreme) ketosis is your friend - Lift heavy things (Starting Strength is great for this but you'll need someone who knows what they're doing to help you with your form) - Avoid extreme amounts of cardio (the author of Primal Blueprint calls this 'Chronic Cardio') - the upshot is that after a hard workout you will crave carb heavy foods. I don't entirely buy into this since as a rare sugar consumer (even when I was fatter than you) I have never craved carbs after a workout, but apparently most people do. Different things work for different people, there is a thread going with a guy who went from 344-178 with nothing but cardio and cutting calories. To say that your way is the only way someone can do this is just wrong no matter what you do. |
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Quoted:
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Quoted:
IMO if you're going for overall health in addition to weight loss you should focus on quality (and quantity will usually fall into place if you aren't eating crap). Eating healthy doesn't have to take a lot of time, trust me. At the risk of sounding like a broken record I'm going to suggest going to a Primal diet. Good luck! I was coming here to post that
OP, I lost 80 lbs doing Atkins with a lot of exercise. Atkins isn't a sustainable diet, but Primal Blueprint certainly is. Couple of things. - Do not count on anyone else to motivate you. You can't count on arfcom to keep you honest, or anyone else. You need to keep yourself honest. Write down your goals. Every 3 months I re-read my goals from the last time and make comments about how I've failed and how I've succeeded. This isn't just about fitness, but every part of my life. I really recommend this as it's a quantifiable set of goals that you can accomplish. - Have a reason for doing what you're doing. Every time you're tempted to skip a workout or eat garbage you can remind yourself what you're working toward. Everything that does not take you closer to your goal takes your farther away from it. NEVER eat something with the rationalization that you'll just work it off later. Fuck that. If you don't eat that thing, you'll be that much closer to your goal when you've "worked it off." - Focusing on calories is bullshit. 2000 calories, while a nice easy target, is pretty meaningless in terms of overall health. Read the Primal Blueprint. 200 calories of refined sugar vs 200 calories of steak are two completely different things. I use a BodyMedia Fit to track my caloric exertion and most days I run a calorie deficit of at least 1000 calories (I'm still losing weight). Get over the concept of "eating fat makes you fat." - Possibly the most important thing you can do is cut out refined sugars, grains, and starches. - Mild (and occasionally extreme) ketosis is your friend - Lift heavy things (Starting Strength is great for this but you'll need someone who knows what they're doing to help you with your form) - Avoid extreme amounts of cardio (the author of Primal Blueprint calls this 'Chronic Cardio') - the upshot is that after a hard workout you will crave carb heavy foods. I don't entirely buy into this since as a rare sugar consumer (even when I was fatter than you) I have never craved carbs after a workout, but apparently most people do. Different things work for different people, there is a thread going with a guy who went from 344-178 with nothing but cardio and cutting calories. To say that your way is the only way someone can do this is just wrong no matter what you do. Never said my way was the only way. Just listing what worked for me. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: IMO if you're going for overall health in addition to weight loss you should focus on quality (and quantity will usually fall into place if you aren't eating crap). Eating healthy doesn't have to take a lot of time, trust me. At the risk of sounding like a broken record I'm going to suggest going to a Primal diet. Good luck! I was coming here to post that OP, I lost 80 lbs doing Atkins with a lot of exercise. Atkins isn't a sustainable diet, but Primal Blueprint certainly is. Couple of things. - Do not count on anyone else to motivate you. You can't count on arfcom to keep you honest, or anyone else. You need to keep yourself honest. Write down your goals. Every 3 months I re-read my goals from the last time and make comments about how I've failed and how I've succeeded. This isn't just about fitness, but every part of my life. I really recommend this as it's a quantifiable set of goals that you can accomplish. - Have a reason for doing what you're doing. Every time you're tempted to skip a workout or eat garbage you can remind yourself what you're working toward. Everything that does not take you closer to your goal takes your farther away from it. NEVER eat something with the rationalization that you'll just work it off later. Fuck that. If you don't eat that thing, you'll be that much closer to your goal when you've "worked it off." - Focusing on calories is bullshit. 2000 calories, while a nice easy target, is pretty meaningless in terms of overall health. Read the Primal Blueprint. 200 calories of refined sugar vs 200 calories of steak are two completely different things. I use a BodyMedia Fit to track my caloric exertion and most days I run a calorie deficit of at least 1000 calories (I'm still losing weight). Get over the concept of "eating fat makes you fat." - Possibly the most important thing you can do is cut out refined sugars, grains, and starches. - Mild (and occasionally extreme) ketosis is your friend - Lift heavy things (Starting Strength is great for this but you'll need someone who knows what they're doing to help you with your form) - Avoid extreme amounts of cardio (the author of Primal Blueprint calls this 'Chronic Cardio') - the upshot is that after a hard workout you will crave carb heavy foods. I don't entirely buy into this since as a rare sugar consumer (even when I was fatter than you) I have never craved carbs after a workout, but apparently most people do. Different things work for different people, there is a thread going with a guy who went from 344-178 with nothing but cardio and cutting calories. To say that your way is the only way someone can do this is just wrong no matter what you do. Just to clarify, I never said his way wouldn't work- what I said is that if HEALTH is also a major concern then food quality is extremely important, probably more so than quantity. |
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Now 283.2 lbs (was 288.6 one week ago),
I wasn't trying to lose 5 lbs in the first week - it just happened. For breakfast, I have a cup of coffee, a can of tuna, and 4 crackers. (Except on the weekend I had pork sausage, eggs, and toast.) For lunch I have either a can of soup, a can of chili, or an avocado with 1/4 cup of almonds and a can of herring. Supper is whatever my wife prepares, but she breakout the calorie counts for me. |
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Now at 278.8.
Yesterday was the hardest day. I am down with a flu/cold bug and am craving hot comfort food. I could do some serious damage to a Chinese buffet. Not really getting in much exercise during the week, but I am getting in about 7 hours of remodeling work on Saturdays and Sundays. |
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Now at 278.8. Yesterday was the hardest day. I am down with a flu/cold bug and am craving hot comfort food. I could do some serious damage to a Chinese buffet. Not really getting in much exercise during the week, but I am getting in about 7 hours of remodeling work on Saturdays and Sundays. That I never got. Whenever I'm sick with flu/cold whatever virus, I have to struggle to drink. I drink a lot of fluids but eating? Fuck, maybe a week after I get over it I can eat again.
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I'm 36, 5'10", barrel chested with a wide frame.
Aug 6 I was 284.5, this morning I was 193.5. I was barely squeezing into size 42 pants and now I'm closing in on a 6 pack. I did most o this without working out at all (been exercising during the last 20 lbs) Paleo/primal made it easy for me. I've done low fat and low calorie diets before but they sucked. Too much hunger and mood swings and felt too restricted. Even if you can't do all grass fed beef or pastured chickens etc, the fat will still fall off. Just be strict about no grains or sugars but eat all the bacon/steak/eggs/fish/chicken you want with a big side of veggies. Keep the fat and protein high and you won't struggle much with hunger. Ymmv but I can't recommend trying it enough. |
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255.2 lbs.
Down 33.4 lbs. I have been wearing shirts that I haven't worn in years. Also found a nice pair of dress slacks that I had packed away several years ago. I also bought a new pair of pants and new belt. So now I have only 2 pair that are small enough to stay up. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Good work! Thank you. Trying to decide whether to pick a specific goal (210, 200) or just keep going until I turn into a shadow.  IMO weight is not as important as how you look, how you feel, or how strong you are (or athletic performance in general). Weight is just an arbitrary number |
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Good work! Thank you. Trying to decide whether to pick a specific goal (210, 200) or just keep going until I turn into a shadow.
Like RoG said wieght is just your interaction with gravity. You should base it on %body fat, the way you feel, how strong your are, or how you want to look not a number on a bathroom scale. |
but it's true. 
I started the last training cycle with trimming and shaving my luxurious beard into a decent set of mutton chops. I have already decided that I will only trim my beard once between here and my next meet, and that will only be to get the chin portion in line with the chops. then, no more trimming. Must have MOAR BEARD! |
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Now 248.0 lbs.
The past 4 weeks have not went well. Only 7 lbs lost for a 1.75 lb a week average. The death a friend and various other events resulted in less exercise and more food that was hard to quantify from a calorie standpoint. I shouldn't actually complain - my goal was 2 lbs a week. However, I like 2.5 lbs a week better.
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Dear diary, My gains were too impressive. I was swollin' up like Ahnold when I lifted weights once. I trimmed my beard and became tiny again. Drunk?
I wish 
Stomach was tore up today. If you wanna lose weight, apparently you just need to go on my "shit all day and eat nothing diet" that is if you don't mind feel like dying and having to work in an area with no bathroom. 
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Dear diary, My gains were too impressive. I was swollin' up like Ahnold when I lifted weights once. I trimmed my beard and became tiny again. Drunk?
I wish
Stomach was tore up today. If you wanna lose weight, apparently you just need to go on my "shit all day and eat nothing diet" that is if you don't mind feel like dying and having to work in an area with no bathroom. Friend of mine got really bad food poisoning. Lost like 30 lbs in a week. |
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Dear diary, My gains were too impressive. I was swollin' up like Ahnold when I lifted weights once. I trimmed my beard and became tiny again. Drunk?
I wish
Stomach was tore up today. If you wanna lose weight, apparently you just need to go on my "shit all day and eat nothing diet" that is if you don't mind feel like dying and having to work in an area with no bathroom. Friend of mine got really bad food poisoning. Lost like 30 lbs in a week. I was in the hospital for like 17 days once and laid up for a month or more after that I think i lost like 25 pounds. |
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Dear diary, My gains were too impressive. I was swollin' up like Ahnold when I lifted weights once. I trimmed my beard and became tiny again. Drunk?
I wish
Stomach was tore up today. If you wanna lose weight, apparently you just need to go on my "shit all day and eat nothing diet" that is if you don't mind feel like dying and having to work in an area with no bathroom. Friend of mine got really bad food poisoning. Lost like 30 lbs in a week. I ended up eating a whole sub last night. This morning I feel all tired all over my body. Grubbed on some eggs and sausage and gravy. Get some calories in me. Got a long drive ahead of me. My elbow has been throbbing now and then at random times. It concerns me especially when benching. So what do I do to take care of it? Well apparently I just smashed the shit out of it at this desk. Goddamnitfuckinshitfuckmotherfucker. |