The Officialish FOFC Weight Loss Dynasty

[Dodgerchick]

Yup, that's me too. I can't just have 1 cookie or a small handful of chips, I want the whole bag. For me it's best not to have the stuff in the apt. or to have 1 taste or it's over.

Weight - 185.4
Goal Weight - 120
Exercise - Zumba and BodyCombat

Back-to-back Zumba and BodyCombat yesterday. Today's my recovery day and I'll do so by vedging in front of the tv watching football all day ;)

[Dodgerchick]

dola,

Just looked back at some of my old posts and the last time I was 185 was in December 2006... wow, almost 5 years ago. My goal to reach 170 by the end of the year is not gonna happen but I'll be happy if I'm 180 by years end.

[Dodgerchick]

Weight - 184.4

This is more like it:

[DaddyTorgo]

Nice...on the road for a week for business...come back and have a big dinner (didn't really eat all day), weigh myself shortly after dinner (dinner at 9:30 instead of the usual 7), and I was still 237lbs, which means I didn't put on basically any weight during the week of business-travel and no exercise.

Great news.

[RainMaker]

Still rolling along here. Been losing weight despite having a few cheat meals thrown in. When I have a cheat meal that is high in calories, I try to limit my foods in my other meals though so I'm guessing calories work out the same.

[Eaglesfan27]

I was out of town Sunday afternoon through Tuesday night for a job interview and I was home by mom and friends again. As a result, I was only able to workout 4 days this week and I ate so-so for 3 days. So, I was thrilled with my overall results.

Weight: 201 (-1 this week and -62 overall)

Diet: 4 days of 1400 calories or less. 3 days considerably more.

Exercise: 26-30 miles per day on the exercise bike along with pushups, crunches, and light weight work 4 days this past week. 3 days of only push-ups and sit-ups.

Next few weeks will be challenging as I can't do too much working out after this Monday when I'm having my gallbladder removed.

[DaddyTorgo]

JK - false alarm on the 237. Weighed myself this morning (think I'm going to move to morning weigh-ins), and I was 235. So I actually managed to lose some weight on my trip, which is AWESOME!

[DaddyTorgo]

234.2 - here we go again!!

maybe the week off of exercise was good, as it'll let me...jump-start things and get some good weight-loss going before I start the weightlifting segment of my working-out

[JediKooter]

Dang, everyone is doing pretty good here. I seem to have hit some weird plateau and am stuck on 255. It could be because I have been sick now for almost a week and have been drinking a lot of water. I only eat a salad for lunch and then for dinner, which has been mostly pork lately, maybe 800 calories. Whatever 2 medium sized porkchops would be, cooked with olive oil and then some pepper and garlic salt for seasoning.

[RainMaker]

How long have you been stuck for? If it's less than a week or two, it's likely just water weight you're retaining because of your illness.

[sabotai]

I've plateaued in weight for the last 2-3 weeks, but my fat and muscle percentages are heading in the right directions. If the numbers aren't lying, I've been losing a bit of fat but gaining a bit of muscle. Sounds good to me. I'll take it.

[JediKooter]

How long have you been stuck for? If it's less than a week or two, it's likely just water weight you're retaining because of your illness.

It's been about a week and a half now. Oh ok cool. Hopefully that's all it is. I was hoping to be in the 240s by the end of December.

[RainMaker]

It's been about a week and a half now. Oh ok cool. Hopefully that's all it is. I was hoping to be in the 240s by the end of December.
Water weight is usually always the culprit. Not sure if you're doing this, but try and weigh yourself at the same time each day. Usually first thing in the morning after you've gotten everything out of your system. That way your stomach and bowels are likely as empty as they'll be. You'll get a more accurate result on a weekly basis. It can fluctuate by a lot in people.

And if all you've had is 800 calories a day, there is literally no way you could possibly add any fat to your body. Your body at your weight likely needs 2500-3000 just to function without burning fat storage.

[RainMaker]

I've plateaued in weight for the last 2-3 weeks, but my fat and muscle percentages are heading in the right directions. If the numbers aren't lying, I've been losing a bit of fat but gaining a bit of muscle. Sounds good to me. I'll take it.
That's the way to go. Weight is sort of silly in the end, it's all about body fat %.

[DaddyTorgo]

232.8 this morning, which I was really happy to see.

But then I had a conference call at work that didn't get over till 8PM and I stopped at 5 Guys for dinner (stupid me) and feel like I ate too much.

Wish I could make myself throw it up.

Can't work out tomorrow either because I'm going to be in an offsite retreat all day. Well unless I wake up at the fucking crack of dawn, which I'm really not inclined to do.

[JediKooter]

Nice progress DT. I don't think 5 guys will hurt you much at all. I think it's different if you go there more than once a week, it will start to add up.

I'm thinking about starting the super model diet...cocaine and cigarettes.

[Dodgerchick]

My friend shared this video with me. I got all teary eyed watching it. Truly inspirational, take a look:

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[Dodgerchick]

dola,

Haven't weighed myself in several days. Frankly I don't wanna. I started a new job and there's food all over the damn place and I didn't have the discipline to say no. Going to the gym has been a little difficult, but I did manage to go on Tuesday for Zumba and Saturday did Zumba and BodyCombat. I get off at 5 and by the time I get home, eat and get ready, it's late and I have to fight through traffic to get to the gym. My schedule should change in a month so I'll be able to get off early and make it in time for the earlier classes.

[Eaglesfan27]

I haven't wanted to weigh myself for several days and I haven't liked what I've seen. I blew up to 205 after the surgery, but I'm now down to 203. Still can't work out yet, but at least I'm not taking pain pills anymore and therefore not needing to constantly keep my stomach coated.

[sabotai]

New low weight today: 232.4. I guess that officially puts me lower than I was at my lowest last year (in the 233.X range). It's a weekend weight, though, so it'll take a week or two for my during-the-week weights to catch up.

[DaddyTorgo]

New low weight today: 232.4. I guess that officially puts me lower than I was at my lowest last year (in the 233.X range). It's a weekend weight, though, so it'll take a week or two for my during-the-week weights to catch up.

Nice. I was 232-flat this morning.

Go us!!

[Icy]

Nice video Dodgerchick, got me in tears and it's not something easy to see, i have bookmarked it as inspiration and have also gone to the dude's blog (www.bendoeslife.com) to read more about it.

Amazing stuff he has accomplished, from being a depressed obese to end featured in a top running magazine after running a marathon, ironman and losing 120 pounds in less than two years.

I'm not even close to his starting point, i consider myself overweight at 207lbs 5'11" but my new weight machine said to me that i was obese (shut up motherfucker!) in September and since then i started running besides playing soccer once per week.

I'm going to post here updates too after the failure of my back into soccer dynasty that i have not updated for a while even when i'm still playing. Hope that writing just a few lines here will be easier that writing a full dynasty, where i lose motivation so fast.


Goals:
I have been running the since August, 2 days per week, around 3.7 miles in 40 minutes, that is slow pace. My goal is to run 10 miles in 1 hour 30 minutes that is still average pace, but it's more about the time running without stop.

My starting weight right now is: 207.2 pounds, my goal for June 1st is: 185 pounds.

I'm 35 years old and my height is: 5'11"

Eating:
During the week I heat pretty healthy, with lots of salads and vegetables, grilled chicken, fish and meat, etc but when we go out for dinner on weekends, i usually lose control and eat too much and unhealthy stuff like Pizza or hamburgers with fries, that leads to frustration as i can recover in 2 days what i lost in 5. I drink water or coke zero, maybe a non alcohol beer or two during weekends.

So besides weekends, my diet is good already and it's not that i can eat much less or more healthy, but a big problem i have is that i sit in my pc for around 14 hours per day so my calories intake should be pretty low, i think around 2000 max to keep weight or lose it if i add the workout. AS i can't change my diet a lot besides controlling myself on weekends, i need to add more workouts.


Workout:
I have been afraid of running more than 2 days per week (plus the weekly soccer match) because my knees and/or because i still feel soreness on my legs even when i don't feel specially tired after finishing my running workout, but i think i need to increase it now that i'm more in shape.

My new workout schedule from now until Feb 1 must be:

Sunday: Soccer match
Monday: rest as the soccer game leaves me so sore.
Tuesday: 20 minutes cycling machine + Workout (pushups, abs, weight lifting, etc in a circuit)
Wednesday: 40 minutes jogging
Thursday: 20 minutes cycling machine + Workout (pushups, abs, weight lifting, etc in a circuit)
Friday: 40 minutes jogging with some sprints in between.
Saturday: rest to get ready for soccer.

If one week i don't have soccer game (like now during holidays) i'll replace it with 1 hour jogging.

[DaddyTorgo]

231.4 this morning - new low.

Also - officially 31lbs lost! Another 45-50 to go...

[Poli]

Nice DT!

[Eaglesfan27]

I feel like I'm not doing too bad considering I haven't been allowed to work out for 10 days (due to the surgery) and last week I ate more than usual to coat my stomach before taking pain pills.

Wt: 203 (up 2 lbs since last official weigh in 2 weeks ago.)
Exercise: None (will be able to start biking next week, but no weight work for another 2-3 weeks per my surgeon.)
Diet: Sticking to mostly 1400 calories/day since Sunday, but above that from Weds to Saturday.)

[DaddyTorgo]

231.4 again today, which isi great. Don't mind being flat for a couple days in a row, as it usually means that the third day there will be a dropoff.

[Poli]

I finally started hitting the workouts hard again ten days ago. I'm down four pounds. Watching the food intake has been interesting to say the least, but I've been successful. I'll have some work to do over the next few days while I watch what I eat.

[Poli]

175.2 this morning!

[DaddyTorgo]

Down to 228.8 this morning. While I was at the gym today I talked to the owner about setting up a session with a personal trainer to get a weightlifting program going too, so that will help to "accelerate" things as i start into the 2nd phase of my weight-loss (down 34lbs since early Sept. when I kicked this off).

[Poli]

173.2! Very happy with my progress thus far considering I made it through the holidays!

[DaddyTorgo]

I seem to be like...stuck at 228. But I've slacked off on being a food-nazi lately - particularly with after-dinner snacks (nothing horrible - maybe a handful of goldfish or a couple handfuls of cheerios), and some holiday yummies (I had to go out and get myself a container of light eggnog...okay okay...2 containers).

That's alright though, because today, tomorrow and friday I'm seeing a personal trainer and getting a 3-day rotation of weight-lifting, which will kick-start my metabolism and lead back to increased weight-loss. I've also added more protien into my diet in anticipation, egg-beaters every morning (just 1/4 cup = 30 calories and like 12% of your day's protien)

So then my gym schedule will be "1 day cardio/ 1 day back+shoulders/ 1 day cardio/ 1 day core+arms/ 1 day anerobic cardio/1 day legs/ 1 day off"

I will get this next like...43lbs off. It will fucking happen. And for the first time in my life, it will fucking stay off!!

[JediKooter]

Looks like everyone is still kicking some ass here, even with the holiday stretch we all went through. I've finally reached the 240s. Last weight check was 249 yesterday.

[DaddyTorgo]

Looks like everyone is still kicking some ass here, even with the holiday stretch we all went through. I've finally reached the 240s. Last weight check was 249 yesterday.

Love that - breaking into a new territory is always so motivating!!

go Jedi!!

[DaddyTorgo]

My trainer today actually really enlighted me to the benefits of anerobic cardio versus aerobic cardio. Just short little bursts, one minute on and 2 minutes off for 20 minutes...the bursts of one minute will really increase the fat-burning. very very interesting. looking forward to it.

in other news - my back and shoulders are muy weak. i know it's all about repititions and doing them well and such, but i'm still going to enjoy being able to start increasing weights once i get to that point.

[JediKooter]

Love that - breaking into a new territory is always so motivating!!

go Jedi!!

I was surprised in a good way when I saw that as I wasn't really sticking to my diet when I was visiting my mom. I've got my eyes set on the 230s now. :)

Hmmm, so 1 minute on and 2 minutes off? That does sound interesting. Does it have to be a super intense 1 minute though?

[sabotai]

I've been in a holding pattern for about a month. Thanksgiving + Christmas = around too much food. I'm just happy I didn't gain any back.

[Sun Tzu]

Keep up the good work gentlemen (and ladies).

[Blackadar]

I was surprised in a good way when I saw that as I wasn't really sticking to my diet when I was visiting my mom. I've got my eyes set on the 230s now. :)

Hmmm, so 1 minute on and 2 minutes off? That does sound interesting. Does it have to be a super intense 1 minute though?

Yeah, it has to be 100% for that one minute. Totally gut-busting, heart-pounding. It's called HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) and it's been very much the rage the last couple of years (aka the Turbo Fire exercise program amongst others). Most of what I've seen is a minute on, a minute off. It sounds easy, but if you're really doing 100% for that minute, it's very difficult and tiring.

Another way is to build up to it with cardio for 3-5 minutes and then go hard for that one minute. Then you take a minute off to catch your breath and start off with your normal cardio for another 3-5 minutes. Then you blow it out for a minute and rest. Repeat until you puke. :)

[Dodgerchick]

Ain't done jack for 3 weeks. For shame. I'm +5 lbs. since Thanksgiving. Not too shabby considering.

[DaddyTorgo]

My trainer ditched me today...whoops on him. So I just did my usual cardio routine.

[RainMaker]

Ain't done jack for 3 weeks. For shame. I'm +5 lbs. since Thanksgiving. Not too shabby considering.
I'm in the same boat. Done pretty much nothing since a couple days before Christmas. Tomorrow I'm getting my ass focused and back on track.

While it sucks to be set back a couple weeks, the mental break was really good. Although we'll see how hard it is to get back on track.

[The Jackal]

In an effort to further motivate myself I think I'll join in on posting my efforts here. I'm about 6'2 and a half, weighed in at 215.2 this morning. After putting on a freshman 20-25 pounds seven (wow, already?) years ago, I immediately got back down to around 185 the following summer, but since then have steadily gained weight and I've been stuck between 210-230 for the past couple of years. Now with the new year rolling around, seems as good a time as any to kick myself into gear.

My main goal is to get back below 200 and maintain it - anything between 190-200 seems reasonable and healthy. I don't have a gym membership at the moment (and planning to move in the next few months) so this is all going to be done between my exercise bike, a collection of free weights, and my diet.

I run the bike on fluctuating resistance programs, not just a steady pace.

So here we are:
1/7 - 215.2
60 minutes on bike (16.68 miles)
three sets of zottman curls on each arm with 20 lb dumbells (my arms are weak, what can I say)

[Poli]

173.2! Very happy with my progress thus far considering I made it through the holidays!
170.6 this morning. Happy days are here! Nearly 10 pounds off in less than a month.

[Dodgerchick]

193.0

uh oh, it's going in the wrong direction. Went to BodyCombat on Monday.

[Dodgerchick]

hmm... gonna try the intense 1 minute and 2 minutes off thingy. That's how Couch-to-5K works... start off jogging for 60 seconds, walking for 90 until you build endurance and are able to run 5K.

Good stuff here, thanks. Hope you're all doing well, it's such a struggle.

[Icy]

Down to 203.9 (3.3 pounds loss since last update), 19 more for my goal until July.

This is the first time in the last 10 years that i lose weight instead of gaining it during the Christmas holidays.

I'm eating less than before, did not touch typical Christmas sweet stuff during the holidays and controlled myself a lot in the family/friends meals, but the main reason is that i'm working out like i haven't since i was in my twenties.

My initial plan 4 weeks ago was to run/workout at home 3 times per week plus my weekly soccer game, but as the weather is so cold and i was starting to get lazy about running outside, i decided to join a Gym 3 weeks ago. Since then i'm pushing myself harder and harder.

Three days a week (M,W,F) i run for 30 minutes in the running machine at the gym and then workout with weights for 45 minutes more. Then 15 minutes of abs.

Two days a week (T,T) i practice indoor cycling for 1 hour at the Gym in a class with a trainer, and this is so far the hardest thing. After a session i just want to go back home to go to sleep early.

Then on Saturdays i rest, and on Sundays i play a soccer match.

In just three weeks i'm seeing my body changing and getting more firm and my pants are starting to fall off to the point that i can take them out without loosening the buttons, so even when i have lost only 3.3 pounds, i have gained muscle, so the fat loss could even more. People around me is starting to notice it and to ask me if i have lost weight lately.

On top of that, i feel really well, in fact a bit over excited probably, as i have not feel like this for a long time, so my motivation is sky rocketing. Now i need to keep with it.

[Poli]

hmm... gonna try the intense 1 minute and 2 minutes off thingy. That's how Couch-to-5K works... start off jogging for 60 seconds, walking for 90 until you build endurance and are able to run 5K.

Good stuff here, thanks. Hope you're all doing well, it's such a struggle.
Missed this earlier. I've seen this in the past and I've had some success with it. The build up is nice and pretty fluid.

[Poli]

Hope we've had some progress here. Workouts are going great for me. I've been taking a supplement I'm really jazzed about. Keeps me energized all day. I'll share the info on it if there's interest.

[Poli]

Enjoying TBL workouts on Kinect as I've posted elsewhere. I've been plateaued for about two weeks now trying to get past 170...my weight floated back to 171 briefly...now I am down to 169.4, probably the lightest I've weighed in a year or so.

Weight watchers celebrated my 5% weight loss by giving me 8 more points to play with each day. I think they're trying to tell me to slow it down.

New goal of 10% weight loss puts me at 162.

[DaddyTorgo]

Down to 223.8 (this morning) after having been in the 224's the past couple weeks. I've started lifting weights 3x a week (1x shoulders+back, 1x arms, 1x legs), alternating that with 45 minutes of cardio (and taking Sundays off).

Immediately saw a drop down from that, but it's stagnated a little. I also added some additional protein into my diet at the same time though (40-50cal of EggBeaters replacing my old fruit-shake for breakfast), and I'm wondering if adding the protein was actually not the best idea, because my body is using that to build the muscle instead of eating my fat. So I may experiment without it here.

I also cheated a bit during the holiday season and did a glass of Light EggNog every couple of days...so sue me.

Of course I also need to start upping the starting weights that I was on now that I've gone a couple full cycles through to really start trying to build the muscles instead of just reawakening them.

I also stopped doing a full report from my scale every morning (just didn't feel like doing it and recording it everyday), but it's probably time since I'm lifting to pick that back up and track my muscle + body fat stuff again.

Go FOFC WeightLoss Team!!

[Poli]

Screwed up my workout routine apparently yesterday when it appears I didn't save my BL weigh in result. I was supposed to have a workout today with TBL, but instead it made me weigh in again. Bah.

Instead I did the high intensity workout on EA sports. I'm on workout 11 out of 20 of the 30 day challenge. Typically, I will do TBL for 30 minutes. I follow it with another 30 minutes or so with a light intensity workout on EA. I do add to the workout by lifting free weights during band exercises. I do the free weights without bothering with the controllers and then use the band and try to squeeze the muscles tight while using the much lighter band. It adds a little time to the workout but I am enjoying it.

On days I don't have one or the other I try to extend the workout of the other. Every so often I get the off day when they both have been scheduled off.

[Poli]

TBL changed my workout routine to light and 15 minutes 6x a week. Not sure I like that. Guess I'll bump up the EA to cover it.

I guess I'll wait and see on TBL's suggested workouts. If I don't like how it goes after this week I may have to manually set the workouts.

Figured out weight watchers screwed my points up. While it said I still had 7 pounds to lose, it was listing me as maintaining my weight. Once I changed that to losing, my 8 points went away. I was docked points I used Sunday as well.

Back to the drawing board. :)

[DaddyTorgo]

223.2 this morning after cardio yesterday. Maybe cutting the EggBeaters out was a really good idea. 2 straight days of good losses.

[MacroGuru]

Enjoying TBL workouts on Kinect as I've posted elsewhere. I've been plateaued for about two weeks now trying to get past 170...my weight floated back to 171 briefly...now I am down to 169.4, probably the lightest I've weighed in a year or so.

Weight watchers celebrated my 5% weight loss by giving me 8 more points to play with each day. I think they're trying to tell me to slow it down.

New goal of 10% weight loss puts me at 162.

Poli,

I noticed you are doing weight watchers...are you doing the online system? If so...how is it? Do you find it worth the cost?

I need to drop weight and get back into shape and feel more confident about myself...

[Poli]

I am doing it online. I really like it. I have the app on my phone and I use it all the time. It's handy for tracking my exercise and food. I love knowing immediately what I have and don't have left. I love the instant calculator. I keep my phone out the entire time I grocery shop. I've put more than one item back on the shelf or freezer after seeing the point value.

I started after the new points plus program started so I have no qualm with the way it's done now...because it's the only way I know. I enjoy it more than counting calories. A lot more. I feel the point system has helped me quite a bit more.

I don't do the forum/meeting stuff. My fiance keeps me grounded and motivated enough.

As for the cost, I paid for three months in December. I had some sort of deal then that kept my initial cost down. I believe I used an online coupon code to drop it further.

Essentially, at 169 pounds now I have 36 points a day. An hour work out a day nets me another 4-5 points. I also have 49 flex points to spend over the week. I weigh in on Sundays. Truthfully, I weigh every morning, but for WW purposes, I weigh on Sundays.

I typically spend 10-15 flex points on Sunday right out the gate. I've already weighed in, I splurge a bit that day because I can afford to. Monday's weight won't necessarily be pretty but I'll fend it off by the end of the week, and I have for over a month now.

I have never spent all of my flex points in any given week...and I tried my hardest to do so over Christmas. I mean, I held tight to my spare points for that day and ate a bunch that day...and I still couldn't knock them all of.

The points keep me portion minded. Breakfast is light. A cereal bar, some raisins. Lunch is most likely to include a salad of some sort. I can afford dinner to be larger...though I usually settle on a good Healthy Choice type frozen meal when I'm alone (or any of the other frozen type entrees, although there are a number out there that say "healthy" that aren't necessarily). With my fiance, I might actually push the limit and possibly go over...but again, I play it smart. I keep on top of what's going in.

I have tracked every food that has entered my body.

It gets tricky...particularly if you eat at a local place that isn't going to have fat/carb/protein information. For that, I try to find a suitable substitute in the system and budget an extra half portion for whatever it is. I hate doing that but I feel it forces me to pay a penalty for not really knowing...and I'd much rather over-estimate than under.

For example, today I had a large chef salad that was probably the worst chef salad ever for me. Dressing of some sort, two types of cheese, I can't even tell you what type of meats were in it. It was horrible for my diet. I know it wasn't over 4 cups, but I put 6.

Despite a very healthy WW dinner (fiance and I made WW recipe chicken, meatballs, and oven fries), I still managed to be over on points for the day. It's very possible I'm not as bad off as I look today, but I'm going to operate as if I was. Since it affects my flex points (it cost me 4 of them I believe), it has the potential to hit me in the long run.

If you have any other questions, just let me know. You might want to know about that supplement as well. I love it.

[Poli]

I love seeing the weight loss on my phone from the start till now. I'm happy it just logs it once a week because it's just been a steady drop. My biggest drop was nearly 3 pounds in a week...my lowest was a .6 loss.

[DaddyTorgo]

222.6 this morning.

That's 40lbs (well okay 39.8) since I began this journey back in September.

Anecdotal evidence is that the EggBeaters were definitely stalling my weight loss by adding too much protein into the diet, so they're gone. I've dropped like 2.5lbs over the last 3 days since I cut them out. Funny, because the portion was really nothing more than a 30-40 calorie portion, but it seems the results speak for themselves.

[Poli]

Sounds like what I've come across...that it's not necessarily the calories that should be counted.

[DaddyTorgo]

Sounds like what I've come across...that it's not necessarily the calories that should be counted.

Yeah. I was conscious of it from the beginning, but I wanted to make sure (and still want to make sure) that was the reason. But it makes sense...I'm lifting in order to build muscle so that the recovery will burn fat, if I add in more protein then the recovery uses that protein rather than the fat I want it to burn.

[Poli]

This 20 minute light workout is frustrating. I was pumped up and ready to go yesterday after I got home. I'd bought more of my thermogenic, some new protein powder...and barely broke a sweat as Bob had me doing yoga. Top it off, EA had me listed as an off day. I was not happy about that at all.

[DaddyTorgo]

220 this morning

down 42lbs

[Poli]

Like!

[Icy]

220 this morning

down 42lbs

Wow, 41lbs is awesome!

[Icy]

I'm down to 201.7 (2.2lbs since last update 18 days ago, 14lbs lost since the start, 16 more to reach my goal for the summer)

Lately it's going way slower than what i was expecting, but since i started to workout harder in the gym, i'm also gaining some muscle, so i guess it could explain it, but i must admit i have felt also the need to eat more since i started those new workouts, that leave me exhausted and while i have kept eating healthy, every calorie counts to lose fat, even if it's from protein.

This week i have started to reduce the calories even more, as i'm close to a psychological barrier that i want to break soon (90kg that is 198lbs), so i need to lose 2 lbs per week now to reach it as the pace i want.

I keep working out 6 days per week, 3 weights lifting, 2 indoor cycling and 1 soccer game.

The good news is that i feel really well, stronger, seeing my muscles growing and getting tighter and i can pull off my old pants with the buttons strapped on, plus the people around me is asking if i'm losing weight that is a good signal.

[DaddyTorgo]

Yeah - since I started working out I've definitely slowed down in my speedy losing, which is kinda disappointing to me (although i know i'm losing fat and gaining muscle)...I want to find a way to get back to losing ~2lbs/week again. Need to look at my cardio and adjusting it I guess.

[DaddyTorgo]

So I think I was lifting too much and not getting in enough cardio - I've scaled back the lifting (maybe I should alternate weeks or something?), and I'm back down to 220.4, which is as low as I've been this go-round, and I've dropped the couple of pounds in the last week or so without changing anythinge else.

I'm not averse to building muscle and all that, but I think I want to lose at least another 30-35lbs before I really start on doing that. Even if I'm losing belly fat (which the scale metrics show I have been) and getting healthier - I'd rather get the raw # down lower before the pace slows down.

Kinda scary how good I feel at 220 right now...can't wait to get down below 200 though!!

[Poli]

I'm with you, DT. I want to drop another 10-15 myself before building muscle back. Everyone seems to freak out when I say I want to get down to 155 or so...but it's not like I just want to sit at that weight. I'd love to be 170 or so and 10-15% body fat...not 19-20 where I am now.

[DaddyTorgo]

I'm with you, DT. I want to drop another 10-15 myself before building muscle back. Everyone seems to freak out when I say I want to get down to 155 or so...but it's not like I just want to sit at that weight. I'd love to be 170 or so and 10-15% body fat...not 19-20 where I am now.

Exactly! I mean not 155...i'm probably looking at like 180...but yeah. I can't build the muscle mass now...not the right time.

Good to hear I'm not alone in that thinking - this had me a bit confused for a little while as to what I should do.

[Poli]

Very good approach, actually. I'd just keep working the cardio with light weight lifting for now until you're ready to roll. I'd set that mark, say 180, for you and then go from there. Otherwise, you might say, 180? I bet I can do 170 before I focus on lifting...particularly if you're enjoying the concept of losing that weight.

Not that you'd be addicted, but you might convince yourself to lose X more pounds and never turn back to the lifting.

[DaddyTorgo]

Very good approach, actually. I'd just keep working the cardio with light weight lifting for now until you're ready to roll. I'd set that mark, say 180, for you and then go from there. Otherwise, you might say, 180? I bet I can do 170 before I focus on lifting...particularly if you're enjoying the concept of losing that weight.

Not that you'd be addicted, but you might convince yourself to lose X more pounds and never turn back to the lifting.

Yeah...exactly. Figure I'll alternate or something - or maybe just do lifting on the weekends, but I really need that 5 days of cardio (versus 3) in order to power the weight loss apparently.

[DaddyTorgo]

Down to 219.6 this morning. Good stuff.

[DaddyTorgo]

219 flat this morning. Still need to make an appointment with the nutritionist.

[Poli]

Good job!

[DaddyTorgo]

WOOO WOOO

Indeed. Slim n trim - well...slimmer and trimmer at least.

[Dodgerchick]

Down to 219.6 this morning. Good stuff.


YOu go with your bad self!!!

[Dodgerchick]

194.4

I was 196 yesterday, went for a 3.1 mile run and am 1.6 lbs down today. I'm planning on running a 5K on March 5th. I'm really focused on losing as much weight as I can before the event. I ran it in 46:06 last year and after my run yesterday, I shaved off 7 whole seconds, lol. I can't believe I was able to run the whole way cuz I haven't ran in a long long time, so pretty stoked about it.

I can never seem to drink enough water but I've been adding half a lemon to my 20 oz. container and it helped a lot. Yesterday I drank about 90 oz. of lemon water.

[JediKooter]

That's pretty good DC! Even when I was in decent shape, it was hard for me to run just a mile and a half. Sounds like you should have no problem with the 5K.

[sabotai]

Welp, I screwed up. I let the holidays get to me and then I did pretty much nothing in January. I didn't gain any weight, but I didn't lose any either.

Actually, scratch that. Looking over the thread, it seems I did lose a few pounds in the last month or two.

Week 1 Average weight: 246.2
Week 11 (Nov 16th - last update in the thread): 237.2
Week ?? (Feb 13th): 233.0

Got out of the habit of weighing myself and started the spreadsheet over on Jan 31st.

[Dodgerchick]

That's pretty good DC! Even when I was in decent shape, it was hard for me to run just a mile and a half. Sounds like you should have no problem with the 5K.


Thank you, I hope so too!

[Dodgerchick]

Welp, I screwed up. I let the holidays get to me and then I did pretty much nothing in January. I didn't gain any weight, but I didn't lose any either.

Actually, scratch that. Looking over the thread, it seems I did lose a few pounds in the last month or two.

Week 1 Average weight: 246.2
Week 11 (Nov 16th - last update in the thread): 237.2
Week ?? (Feb 13th): 233.0

Got out of the habit of weighing myself and started the spreadsheet over on Jan 31st.

That's good! Get right back on. Here... I made some room for ya ;)

[DaddyTorgo]

Haha

[DaddyTorgo]

218.6...

[jeff061]

Hmmmm. Just saw some pics that were taken of me recently. I've turned into a fat ass over the last year. Less exercise and more beer and pizza killed me. I had already cut out the pizza and beer, now I need to start exercising.

I'm 6'4", wide frame. 240 actually looks pretty good on me, which is where I was 2 years ago. I'm at 270 now. I had topped out at 310 6 years ago. Trimmed down by eating better, got into mountain biking and started lifting weights.

I'd love to get out and bike again, but it's more of a pain in the ass now(used to live a mile from a state forest). So I'm going to rely on weights, mostly dumbbells, and eating better.

May never post here again, but I'm just trying to motivate myself.

[MacroGuru]

So I need to hit the gym when on the road but I have basically knocked my Caloric intake to 2000 calories or below with one reward day a week.

I have made the shift from regular soda to diet and will be shifting to water only here.

I am close to a total weight loss of 10 pounds since I did this 2 weeks ago.

Goal is to hit 185 - 190.

[PackerFanatic]

I decided it's time to get my fat ass in shape...I looked into doing P90X, but it intimidated me just looking at the manual, so I figured I would start small with regular Power 90 and work my way up. Did my first day today and I am looking forward to kicking some ass over the next 90 days. I weighed in at 215 today, which for me is the most I've ever been, so on top of actually getting in shape, losing a little weight will be nice :)

[DaddyTorgo]

214.4 this morning.

48lbs down since September 2010. Looking forward to my "50 lb party" that my mother has promised me. And yes, there will be photos.

[GoldenEagle]

Great job DT. You are an inspiration to us all.

[JediKooter]

Awesome DT!

[DaddyTorgo]

Great job DT. You are an inspiration to us all.

Awesome DT!

Aww...thanks guys!! :D You all can do it too!

I look at pictures of myself from this summer and it's like night-and-day. Really a great feeling.

And it seems like after I plateaud there for a little bit that I've gotten back to a nice, sustainable 2 lbs/week type of loss, which is great news moving forward for the next 30lbs I'm going to lose.

Figure maybe my metabolism just needed to like "reset" to a lighter body weight there and that's what had me slowed/stalled? Because I haven't really changed my diet or exercise at all (although to be honest I did discover some extra carbs that had snuck back in in the form of pasta - what can i say, i'm a carb-fiend).

[JediKooter]

Aww...thanks guys!! :D You all can do it too!

I look at pictures of myself from this summer and it's like night-and-day. Really a great feeling.

And it seems like after I plateaud there for a little bit that I've gotten back to a nice, sustainable 2 lbs/week type of loss, which is great news moving forward for the next 30lbs I'm going to lose.

Figure maybe my metabolism just needed to like "reset" to a lighter body weight there and that's what had me slowed/stalled? Because I haven't really changed my diet or exercise at all (although to be honest I did discover some extra carbs that had snuck back in in the form of pasta - what can i say, i'm a carb-fiend).

Looking forward to seeing the transformation pictures. So you want to be down to 185ish?

I'm getting pissed that I'm stuck on 240. I wanted to be in the 230s by March.

[PackerFanatic]

Without looking back at previous posts, what are you doing on a regular basis in terms of exercise, DT? Or has it been more diet that has helped?

PS - congrats man!

[DaddyTorgo]

Looking forward to seeing the transformation pictures. So you want to be down to 185ish?

I'm getting pissed that I'm stuck on 240. I wanted to be in the 230s by March.

Yeah - somewhere in the 185 range. I was 178 when I went off to college and that was (realistically) too light for me. So I figure somewhere in the 185-190 range is probably about right for maintaining.

[DaddyTorgo]

Without looking back at previous posts, what are you doing on a regular basis in terms of exercise, DT? Or has it been more diet that has helped?

PS - congrats man!

It's been a lot of diet - but that's also helped by the fact that I'm a very routine-oriented person, so I'm real good at the diet part once I get into a routine with it. Typical day looks like this as far as diet.

Breakfast:
Light English Muffin (90 calories) with a bit of Can't Believe It's Not Butter - Light. (total of 150 calories or so TOPS)
Smoothie: 1 teaspoon of fat-free french vanilla yogurt, about 6oz of Trop50, 1 banana, approx. 1 cup of frozen fruit mix (strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, blueberry), skim milk (less than 1/4 cup, just to make it smooth enough to drink easily). No idea of the calories in this - haven't broken it down.

Lunch:
-Pepperidge Farm (or store-brand) "100 calorie deli flats" - whole weat or 7 grain, 1 slice of meat (~60 calories), 1 slice of cheese (~100 calories)
-4 reduced-fat nilla wafers (~70 calories)
-small handful of baked ruffles (less than the one serving on the bag, maybe 80 calories worth)
-2 fruits/veg (3 clementines, big bunch of grapes, big container of baby carrots, couple apples, etc)

Dinner:
Varies - I had been going too heavy on pasta for a bit and I think that slowed down my weight loss for a bit. 3 days a week I have 2 slices of pizza (Fri,Sat, Sun - of course Sat/Sun I usually only eat breakfast+snack+dinner), I've been trying to have a chicken ceasar salad w/ no dressing 2 nights a week, oftentimes I have a Healthy Choice frozen entree (just the entree not the full meal) which is between 200-270 calories, along with some green veg (frozen peas, fresh broccoli, etc). This is the piece of my day with variety.

After dinner:
Dessert - on many occasions it's fat-free, sugar-free jello pudding (chocolate is YUM good), sometimes it's 1 single small york peppermint patty (from the 6 packs they have...they're 50 calories each). Weight Watchers frozen desserts on special occasions only if I've been light on calories for the day (1 per week MAX)

Snacking (because I usually stay up till 2am):
-Max one serving of dry Cheerios per night if I'm really hungry
-Max one handful/one serving of Goldfish if I'm really hungry

Occasional snack:
100 calorie packs of healthy pop popcorn (on occasion on saturday/sunday when watching soccer games i'll have full bags)

That's about all you'll find in my apartment!

That's probably more detail than you were looking for. I did Weight Watchers before when I was a Senior in HS, so I guess that taught me how to eat healthy, and I've been really lucky so far with this 48lbs in that I haven't had to like...be a draconian calorie-counter yet. Just being aware of what I'm eating and making sensible changes (not eating 1/3 box of Goldfish at one sitting followed by a big bowl of ice cream eveyr night for example).

As far as excercise - I have absolutely been exercising.

I'm up to 43 mins/day on the elliptical on the "Weight Loss" program they have on it, with a starting incline of 4 (it goes up and down thru the program of course) and a resistance of 11. I could go for longer - I've done 56 minute stints on Saturday's more than once, but 43 minutes is all I can really take out of work every day. I do that 6 days per week.

I did flirt with some weight-lifting in January and earlier this month, but it also slowed down my weight loss (because I was doing 3 days/week of lifting and 3 days/week of cardio) and I don't really want to build a lot of muscle mass at the moment (plus, why change what's worked). I'll definitely go back to that when I get down to my target weight though.

[JediKooter]

Yeah - somewhere in the 185 range. I was 178 when I went off to college and that was (realistically) too light for me. So I figure somewhere in the 185-190 range is probably about right for maintaining.

Cool. How tall are you though? I think I was 178 when I went into the Air Force and was 190 when I got out 5 years later. It's amazing what a blown out knee will do to your regular exercise.

[DaddyTorgo]

Cool. How tall are you though? I think I was 178 when I went into the Air Force and was 190 when I got out 5 years later. It's amazing what a blown out knee will do to your regular exercise.

I'm 6ft even. I have a big frame though (broad shoulders, big bones, tendency to carry weight on my belly).

[Northwood_DK]

Guess I have to add my progress here.

I have now gone from 196,2 to 169,7 from 27 December until today.

In my diet I have cut out carbohydrates almost completely.

For training I have been running 5 days a week (4,5 mi) and played Volleyball as interval training twice a week.

The payoff besides feeling a lot better overall is 8 bottles of expensive red win from winning the bet with some co-workers.

[JediKooter]

I'm 6ft even. I have a big frame though (broad shoulders, big bones, tendency to carry weight on my belly).

Same height as me and sounds like you have the same build too. All my extra weight is in my gut and in my face.

[JediKooter]

Guess I have to add my progress here.

I have now gone from 196,2 to 169,7 from 27 December until today.

In my diet I have cut out carbohydrates almost completely.

For training I have been running 5 days a week (4,5 mi) and played Volleyball as interval training twice a week.

The payoff besides feeling a lot better overall is 8 bottles of expensive red win from winning the bet with some co-workers.

Almost 30 pounds in a little over 2 months is pretty awesome! Is there a weight you want to get to? How was the wine? :)

[PackerFanatic]

That's pretty awesome, DT. If I could get myself to stick to a diet, I could probably drop weight decently, but I am more concerned with just getting healthy in general, staying active, and getting some muscle tone. The weight loss will come with that.

[Northwood_DK]

Almost 30 pounds in a little over 2 months is pretty awesome! Is there a weight you want to get to? How was the wine? :)

According to my wife I need to go back up to 176 now when the competition is over but the plan is to run the Oslo half marathon in September.

I tell you about the win after the ”award-dinner” this Friday. :)

[Dodgerchick]

I'm still at 195something, lol. Diet is so-so, I notice I tend to eat bigger portions for dinner but do real well for breakfast and lunch. Exercise - I'm still training for the 5k event this Saturday. I've managed to shave off over 3 minutes from last Year's time. I tried Zumba last Tuesday and my feet hurt like hell, I had to keep rubbing them to dull the pain so I ended up leaving. Never had to do that before. My Zumba trainer said I'm wearing the wrong shoes. I've always worn these shoes though. Ever since I started running, I've been unable to enjoy Zumba cuz of foot pain. Real bummer.

[GoldenEagle]

It is probable that the padding has worn off on your shoes. If you run and do Zumba in them, I could see that happening fairly quickly.

[JediKooter]

According to my wife I need to go back up to 176 now when the competition is over but the plan is to run the Oslo half marathon in September.

I tell you about the win after the ”award-dinner” this Friday. :)

I would look like a stick figure if I was 176, haha. Good luck with the marathon, let us know how it goes.

Nice! I'm sure it will be a very tasty after dinner drink. :)

[Dodgerchick]

It is probable that the padding has worn off on your shoes. If you run and do Zumba in them, I could see that happening fairly quickly.

Yup, that's definitely what's happening. I'm thinking of getting some padding for my shoes (something like Dr. Scholls) and see if it helps.

I ran the 5K on Saturday and did it in 42:30 seconds which is an improvement of 3:26 from last year. Even though my goal was to finish in under 40:00, I'm okay with it... an improvement is an improvement and considering I trained for a month, I'll take it.

On the weight loss front, meh. 195.0 today

[DaddyTorgo]

WOOOO!!!

212.2 (-50.2)

[Mustang]

Grats DT.


I've tried to make a concious effort in the last 2 weeks to eat better. I hesitate to use the word diet because I'm not trying to lose weight as the goal, but rather just eat better/exercise and over the course of that I'll lose the excess weight that I want. (Trying to go from 167 to 155ish.. even after just 2 weeks I'm at 160).

My biggest issue was at work I was eating for crap mostly because I was eating from the cafeteria and their food is just awful for you. I just started to bring in my own meals which not only allows me to eat better, but I won't spend as much money in a week. Also, I generally need to be doing something at my desk when I have spurt of 'downtime'.. jobs running, waiting on a tape pull, etc. Because of that I had a habit of snacking alot. I've remedied that by eating sunflower seeds. (I'm in a corner, so not like alot of people see me spitting shells out into a cup). It take me a 3-5 days to go through one of those David 6 Ounce bags.. only accounts for around 100 calories for a day so, not bad.

[PackerFanatic]

My 2nd week of Power 90 has been stalled due to a nasty pain in my back. Hurts to even lift my arm, so I haven't messed with trying to lift weights (even small ones). I skipped Sunday and Monday and am going to try and at least stretch and see what happens today. I've had this pain in the same spot before (basically right under my right shoulder blade, almost feels like its on my bottom rib) and I have no idea what I did to it. Wasn't even doing anything strenuous when it happened, just rolling a ball to my daughter. I definitely hate having my workouts stalled because of it - but I also don't want to do serious damage.

[JediKooter]

WOOOO!!!

212.2 (-50)

Awesome DT!

Lorena, fix those shoes. :)

[DaddyTorgo]

Ummm...okay...210.6 (-51.8) this morning. And I did nothing different yesterday.

*shrug*

Embrace the loss baybee!!!! (Dickie V voice)

[JediKooter]

Sometimes doing nothing different is a good thing. :)

[DaddyTorgo]

Still 210. Projecting normal weekend weightloss I could be under 209 by the end of the weekend, which would be fantastic!

[JediKooter]

Still 210. Projecting normal weekend weightloss I could be under 209 by the end of the weekend, which would be fantastic!

Nice!!! I've probably missed it or just don't remember, but, what does your normal daily eating consist of?

[DaddyTorgo]

Nice!!! I've probably missed it or just don't remember, but, what does your normal daily eating consist of?

Yep - you just missed it. It's like 30 posts back or so (page 17 of 18 to me).

I'm a very routine-oriented person, so I'm real good at the diet part once I get into a routine with it. Typical day looks like this as far as diet.

Breakfast:
Light English Muffin (90 calories) with a bit of Can't Believe It's Not Butter - Light. (total of 150 calories or so TOPS)
Smoothie: 1 teaspoon of fat-free french vanilla yogurt, about 6oz of Trop50, 1 banana, approx. 1 cup of frozen fruit mix (strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, blueberry), skim milk (less than 1/4 cup, just to make it smooth enough to drink easily). No idea of the calories in this - haven't broken it down.

Lunch:
-Pepperidge Farm (or store-brand) "100 calorie deli flats" - whole weat or 7 grain, 1 slice of meat (~60 calories), 1 slice of cheese (~100 calories)
-4 reduced-fat nilla wafers (~70 calories)
-small handful of baked ruffles (less than the one serving on the bag, maybe 80 calories worth)
-2 fruits/veg (3 clementines, big bunch of grapes, big container of baby carrots, couple apples, etc)

Dinner:
Varies - I had been going too heavy on pasta for a bit and I think that slowed down my weight loss for a bit. 3 days a week I have 2 slices of pizza (Fri,Sat, Sun - of course Sat/Sun I usually only eat breakfast+snack+dinner), I've been trying to have a chicken ceasar salad w/ no dressing 2 nights a week, oftentimes I have a Healthy Choice frozen entree (just the entree not the full meal) which is between 200-270 calories, along with some green veg (frozen peas, fresh broccoli, etc). This is the piece of my day with variety.

After dinner:
Dessert - on many occasions it's fat-free, sugar-free jello pudding (chocolate is YUM good), sometimes it's 1 single small york peppermint patty (from the 6 packs they have...they're 50 calories each). Weight Watchers frozen desserts on special occasions only if I've been light on calories for the day (1 per week MAX)

Snacking (because I usually stay up till 2am):
-Max one serving of dry Cheerios per night if I'm really hungry
-Max one handful/one serving of Goldfish if I'm really hungry

Occasional snack:
100 calorie packs of Healthy Pop popcorn (on occasion on saturday/sunday when watching soccer games i'll have full bags)

That's about all you'll find in my apartment!

[DaddyTorgo]

I love that I haven't bought new clothes or really adjusted what I'm wearing, so my jeans look ridiculously big. In fact, if my belt isn't doubled-over in the loops and cinched tight, my jeans fall right down to the floor. It's awesome.

[JediKooter]

I love that I haven't bought new clothes or really adjusted what I'm wearing, so my jeans look ridiculously big. In fact, if my belt isn't doubled-over in the loops and cinched tight, my jeans fall right down to the floor. It's awesome.

Haha! That is awesome. Buy a smaller belt and that should take care of having to double it over. :)

Thanks for reposting your daily food items!

[CrimsonFox]

Hmmm, I think I'll jump on the bandwagon. I've become a lazy fat bastard again. ALthough this site does help me be more lazy . :) So let's see what good it can do.

Starting weight: 189.5

I don't really eat lettuce anymore because I'm tired of it going bad, but I never considered lettuce to have much in it anyway.

[JediKooter]

Finally below 240. I'm now 238/239ish. My scale is analog so, a precise reading is not possible.

[DaddyTorgo]

209.4 (-53.0)

Slow and steady, that's the name of the game now. 24 or so pounds to go. Actually I'd like to make it 27 just so I could say I lost 80lbs, but we'll see.

[The Jackal]

My main goal is to get back below 200 and maintain it

So here we are:
1/7 - 215.2


Just hit my first milestone!

3/16 - 199.8

I've biked 860.93 miles over that time and I've been watching my diet even more closely due to a high cholesterol reading in late February. Feels good!

[DaddyTorgo]

Just hit my first milestone!

3/16 - 199.8

I've biked 860.93 miles over that time and I've been watching my diet even more closely due to a high cholesterol reading in late February. Feels good!

whoa - great job jackal!!! congrats!!

[DaddyTorgo]

*cough*

208.2 (-54.2)

I'm all about that 1.2lbs in a day thing.

It seems like everytime I come out and say "slow and steady" I chop another big chunk off the next day. So that's going to be my mantra from now on.

25.8 pounds to go. Slow and steady.

[JediKooter]

*cough*

208.2 (-54.2)

I'm all about that 1.2lbs in a day thing.

It seems like everytime I come out and say "slow and steady" I chop another big chunk off the next day. So that's going to be my mantra from now on.

25.8 pounds to go. Slow and steady.

Slow and steady sounds like a good plan. You should be ready just in time for summer to wear that new bikini. ;)

[Mustang]

*cough*

208.2 (-54.2)

I'm all about that 1.2lbs in a day thing.


For a minute, I thought you had posted you were at 199 and then 208 the next day. Thought maybe you ate a whole turkey in a day to gain 9 lbs. :)

[TargetPractice6]

I'm going to jump in here and brag, but I also hope it might be a bit inspirational as well:

I came in first in my age group in a 5K this morning; the first time I've gotten any sort of placement award in a race. I grew up overweight and never really excelled at anything athletically even though I liked sports. So I started running five years ago when I began college. I was 250lbs (I'm 5'11") and couldn't even go a tenth of a mile without getting winded. I lost 50-60 pounds never running more than 2 miles.

About a year and a half ago, after a breakup, I really started to ramp up my mileage to help take my mind off what I was going through and got hooked. I never dreamed I'd actually win anything, but ended up losing another 10-20 pounds to get down to ~170 and now I seem to be somewhat competitive in my local area! So I'm feeling proud this morning and wanted to share with all of you who are on the same journey. Keep up the good work FOFC!

[Dodgerchick]

I'm going to jump in here and brag, but I also hope it might be a bit inspirational as well:

I came in first in my age group in a 5K this morning; the first time I've gotten any sort of placement award in a race. I grew up overweight and never really excelled at anything athletically even though I liked sports. So I started running five years ago when I began college. I was 250lbs (I'm 5'11") and couldn't even go a tenth of a mile without getting winded. I lost 50-60 pounds never running more than 2 miles.

About a year and a half ago, after a breakup, I really started to ramp up my mileage to help take my mind off what I was going through and got hooked. I never dreamed I'd actually win anything, but ended up losing another 10-20 pounds to get down to ~170 and now I seem to be somewhat competitive in my local area! So I'm feeling proud this morning and wanted to share with all of you who are on the same journey. Keep up the good work FOFC!

Freaking awesome... congrats! That's quite a feat :)

[Dodgerchick]

Diet, same ol'. Been to the gym 3 times this week, all Zumba. I really like the running thing but after 1 Zumba workout, I get hooked. I think next week I'm gonna ramp up my workouts to 4 times a week. Monday - running, Wednesday - BodyVibe, Thursday - Zumba, Saturday - Zumba and possibly BodyCombat, depends what we have going on.

[jeff061]

I'm going to jump in here and brag, but I also hope it might be a bit inspirational as well:

I came in first in my age group in a 5K this morning; the first time I've gotten any sort of placement award in a race. I grew up overweight and never really excelled at anything athletically even though I liked sports. So I started running five years ago when I began college. I was 250lbs (I'm 5'11") and couldn't even go a tenth of a mile without getting winded. I lost 50-60 pounds never running more than 2 miles.

About a year and a half ago, after a breakup, I really started to ramp up my mileage to help take my mind off what I was going through and got hooked. I never dreamed I'd actually win anything, but ended up losing another 10-20 pounds to get down to ~170 and now I seem to be somewhat competitive in my local area! So I'm feeling proud this morning and wanted to share with all of you who are on the same journey. Keep up the good work FOFC!

Nice job man.

[jeff061]

Lost about 15 pounds in the last month. Nothing but diet and not really even a diet. Just healthier eating altogether, something I can maintain once goals are achieved. Not much exercise, which needs to change, can't get motivated and/or energized. So I can't complain.

Just reminds me if I don't start putting down the pizza and beer it's easier for me to keep my weight down than a lot of other people, a thought process that guilts me into continually eating healthier.

Another 15 to go and then I really need to start lifting.

[saldana]

so the quest for 200 pounds is back on...i was down to 203 when winter started...put a couple back with all the holiday eating and drinking, was back up to 210.5

just spent an idiotic amount of money on a new bike, now all i need is for the stupid weather to cooperate so i can get out and ride it!

still working back into shape and did 10.5 and 13.1 miles on this past saturday and sunday...the workout schedule is going to be kind of complicated since i will only be able to ride one day a week every other week because of my custody arrangement.

[DaddyTorgo]

206.4 (-56.0)

[DaddyTorgo]

I'm going to jump in here and brag, but I also hope it might be a bit inspirational as well:

I came in first in my age group in a 5K this morning; the first time I've gotten any sort of placement award in a race. I grew up overweight and never really excelled at anything athletically even though I liked sports. So I started running five years ago when I began college. I was 250lbs (I'm 5'11") and couldn't even go a tenth of a mile without getting winded. I lost 50-60 pounds never running more than 2 miles.

About a year and a half ago, after a breakup, I really started to ramp up my mileage to help take my mind off what I was going through and got hooked. I never dreamed I'd actually win anything, but ended up losing another 10-20 pounds to get down to ~170 and now I seem to be somewhat competitive in my local area! So I'm feeling proud this morning and wanted to share with all of you who are on the same journey. Keep up the good work FOFC!

Whoops - I never logged in to say "awesome job!!" to this!!

[DaddyTorgo]

Lost about 15 pounds in the last month. Nothing but diet and not really even a diet. Just healthier eating altogether, something I can maintain once goals are achieved. Not much exercise, which needs to change, can't get motivated and/or energized. So I can't complain.

Just reminds me if I don't start putting down the pizza and beer it's easier for me to keep my weight down than a lot of other people, a thought process that guilts me into continually eating healthier.

Another 15 to go and then I really need to start lifting.

Nice! It's really amazing what just healthier eating can do isn't it?

[jeff061]

Yeah, but since I chronically avoid preparing my own meals(even a damned salad), I'm paying an embarrassing amount of money for prepared ones :D.

[DaddyTorgo]

Yeah, but since I chronically avoid preparing my own meals(even a damned salad), I'm paying an embarrassing amount of money for prepared ones :D.

I do this too. It's not that I can't cook...it's more two things I think:

1) Getting home at 7 or 7:30 I don't want to have to cook. If/when I get a new job and I'm home significantly before 7 it'll be different.
2) It's real easy to calorie-count if you're using something like those Healthy Choice (my fav) frozen entrees, or Lean Cuisine (the steamable ones are actually tasty). I can pull one out and go "220 calories for dinner...check" versus having to figure out how much chicken, how much rice, etc.

[DaddyTorgo]

*cough*

205.4 (-57)

20 more pounds to go (well okay...I might do 23 just so I can say I lost 80lbs).

Holy fuck. That means I'm 3/4 of the way there.

[JediKooter]

Awesome DT! At the rate you're going, it shouldn't take too long for that final 20 to drop off.

[DaddyTorgo]

Awesome DT! At the rate you're going, it shouldn't take too long for that final 20 to drop off.

Yeah...I figure another 2.5 months. So right in time for summer to really get here. Which is great.

[JediKooter]

Yeah...I figure another 2.5 months. So right in time for summer to really get here. Which is great.

Very cool. Looking forward to seeing you hit the 200 even mark.

[Dodgerchick]

*cough*

205.4 (-57)

20 more pounds to go (well okay...I might do 23 just so I can say I lost 80lbs).

Holy fuck. That means I'm 3/4 of the way there.

holy shit, freaking awesome!!

[Dodgerchick]

dola,

i'm addicted to zumba. went twice this week already and will probably go again on Saturday.

[Mustang]

Well, just by eating healthier and walking on the elliptical machine 4-5 times a week for 30 minutes, in 5 weeks I've gone from 167 to 153. My goal was 155, but eh.. I'll try for 150 now.

Looking forward to some warm weather so I can pull my bike out.

[CleBrownsfan]

Just was surfing around our forum and read pages 16-18 of this thread. You guys are all doing a f'n amazing job keeping up on the weight loss....

~that's all

[DaddyTorgo]

holy shit, freaking awesome!!

Thanks DC!

RE: Your post earlier about bigger portions at dinner...one thing I do occasionally that helps is to almost eat in two phases. Eat your veggies BEFORE you eat your protein and a lil starch or whatever. And I mean significantly before...30-45 minutes or so. That way you fill up more on the veggies which are better for you and have less room in your stomach for everything else.

[DaddyTorgo]

203.8 this morning.

Had a good day...but then decided on a whim to stop at 5 Guys and have a Lil Hamburger and some fries for dinner. Whoops.

[jeff061]

You can't get "some" fries at 5 Guys. That place is murder.

[DaddyTorgo]

You can't get "some" fries at 5 Guys. That place is murder.

LMAO...I know.

I only ate like...half the order of fries.

And self-guilt is a beautiful beautiful thing. I just went back to the gym here in my building and did another half hour on the elliptical, meaning I did like 166% of a normal day's working out today. So that should...counteract that hopefully.

[DaddyTorgo]

204.4 this morning :(. Thinking it's more of a natural bounce-up 0.6lbs though. It's got to be...

[DaddyTorgo]

Back to 203.8/204.

[Dodgerchick]

Shit, I went up to 199+, wtf? When I got off the scale I was disgusted, never wanna see 200 again. Having said that I lost a little over 6 lbs in 2 weeks. Tomorrow - Zumba.

http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc59/Dodgerchick74/d3989b95.jpg

[TargetPractice6]

I ran my second half marathon today and hit the lowest weight I've been at since I was probably 12 years old (169.6 lbs, which is over 80 lbs lost since October 2005). Here's the race report I wrote at dailymile.com (http://dailymile.com) if anyone is interested:

Run the Bluegrass Half-Marathon 13.1 mi, 01:51, 08:28 pace

Awesome race! Weather was perfect and the scenery was great. Definitely better than last year's washout. Speaking of last year, I took 26 minutes off my time and got under my two hour goal with plenty of cushion. My pace was only a few seconds slower than my target pace, which I thought was pretty ambitious beforehand.

Miles 1-3: It was crowded out of the gate and people were pushing some pretty good paces. I think I did a good job of reigning myself in and resisting the urge to run a faster pace than I could sustain.

Miles 4-6: More of the same. Tried to focus on taking short quick strides and conserving energy. Found some people running similar speeds to pace myself and draft when there was a headwind.

Miles 7-9: Got a bit of a side stitch around miles 6-7 so I slowed down and took some deep breaths. Got passed by several people, but found a surge near the turn around at Fasig Tipton and passed most of them back.

Miles 10-12: By far my best stretch. I stopped taking water after mile 10 because it took me out of my flow and it was tough to get restarted. Lots of runners were really hitting the wall here so I was steadily picking people off. Heard foot steps behind me so I kicked it up a notch heading into the campground and had my best split at mile 12.

Mile 13+: There were some tough hills in the last mile so I had to slow down a bit. I was passed by a couple people, but passed a few others so it was pretty much a wash. Spurred on by the crowd's encouragement I put what little I had left into a finish line dash.

All in all, I'm very proud of this performance: both as the culmination of the last three months of training and how I handled adversity in the race itself. I'm pretty beat up, and the side of my right foot is acting up like it did last year. Will probably need to take a week or two off to let it heal up but this race was definitely worth it. Can't wait for next year's edition!

My weight since I started training for this race:
http://www.runningahead.com/logs/08dffcf5faf44a81ba637697af2d8274/tools/graph?e12=36&zsm=12&zdg=2&x=12&y=80&t=2&r=1

[TargetPractice6]

204.4 this morning :(. Thinking it's more of a natural bounce-up 0.6lbs though. It's got to be...
If you're anything like me, daily weight fluctuations can get pretty frustrating. Some mornings I'm up two pounds even though I stayed disciplined the day before and sometimes I eat all day and drop a pound. Doesn't make much sense sometime. It's usually a bit more satisfying for me to average out weigh-ins over the course of the week (like the graph I posted it), which indicates more of a downward trend than my roller-coaster daily chart.

[DaddyTorgo]

If you're anything like me, daily weight fluctuations can get pretty frustrating. Some mornings I'm up two pounds even though I stayed disciplined the day before and sometimes I eat all day and drop a pound. Doesn't make much sense sometime. It's usually a bit more satisfying for me to average out weigh-ins over the course of the week (like the graph I posted it), which indicates more of a downward trend than my roller-coaster daily chart.

Oh I definitely tend to fluctuate. I know when my "weight loss days" seem to be though, so I usually don't get too worried unless I'm up on those calendar days (it used to be Sun/Mon, but now it's moved slightly to Tues/Weds) for a couple weeks.

I've actually been really bad about keeping a long-term graph of my progress...I meant to but then I stopped. But I'm cognizent of it.

Up to 205 now on this fluctuation. Which is aggrivating, because yesterday I ate fruit essentially all day. Fruit for breakfast (lil cheese + crackers), fruit + 100 calorie pack of lite popcorn for midafternoon snack, strawberries + fat free whipped cream for dessert.

But I guess if I hadn't done that it would have been worse.

Might be snacking a bit too much when I'm not really hungry hungry (lil handful of cheerios here or there). Might have to get all draconian on that.

[TargetPractice6]

Hmm, the only thing I can think of there is that fruit could be high in sugar if you're eating a lot of it. I eat bananas and cheerios like it's my job, though, and it tends to work out pretty well.

Usually when I have one of those bewildering weight gain days I just tell myself it's more room to drop the next day.

[DaddyTorgo]

Hmm, the only thing I can think of there is that fruit could be high in sugar if you're eating a lot of it. I eat bananas and cheerios like it's my job, though, and it tends to work out pretty well.

Usually when I have one of those bewildering weight gain days I just tell myself it's more room to drop the next day.

It could be fruit sugar yeah. But overall I think it's just random fluctuation, like you said.

I'm not really all that worried. If I plateau for a couple weeks then I'll start to worry. A good day today could have me back down in the low 204's or even high 203's, so no worries.

[JediKooter]

Well, I think I'm down to 235. I say 'I think', because when I lean forward to read the scale (it's analog) it says 238. When I lean back and stand up straight and lower my head to look, it says 235. Not sure why it would matter how I stand on the scale would make any difference since the same parts of my body are touching it.

[DaddyTorgo]

Oh I definitely tend to fluctuate. I know when my "weight loss days" seem to be though, so I usually don't get too worried unless I'm up on those calendar days (it used to be Sun/Mon, but now it's moved slightly to Tues/Weds) for a couple weeks.

I've actually been really bad about keeping a long-term graph of my progress...I meant to but then I stopped. But I'm cognizent of it.

Up to 205 now on this fluctuation. Which is aggrivating, because yesterday I ate fruit essentially all day. Fruit for breakfast (lil cheese + crackers), fruit + 100 calorie pack of lite popcorn for midafternoon snack, strawberries + fat free whipped cream for dessert.

But I guess if I hadn't done that it would have been worse.

Might be snacking a bit too much when I'm not really hungry hungry (lil handful of cheerios here or there). Might have to get all draconian on that.

203.2 (-59.0). It's eerie that I'm able to say that and then it happens.

It could be fruit sugar yeah. But overall I think it's just random fluctuation, like you said.

I'm not really all that worried. If I plateau for a couple weeks then I'll start to worry. A good day today could have me back down in the low 204's or even high 203's, so no worries.

Low 203's!!!

[TargetPractice6]

Well, I think I'm down to 235. I say 'I think', because when I lean forward to read the scale (it's analog) it says 238. When I lean back and stand up straight and lower my head to look, it says 235. Not sure why it would matter how I stand on the scale would make any difference since the same parts of my body are touching it.
You probably get some extra torque from gravity when you lean forward, like how it's easier to drive in a nail by swinging a hammer regularly than pounding it vertically. (At least this is my crude understanding of physics)

Low 203's!!!
Awesome, you're going to be breaking that 200 barrier in a week or so. Keep it up!

[DaddyTorgo]

You probably get some extra torque from gravity when you lean forward, like how it's easier to drive in a nail by swinging a hammer regularly than pounding it vertically. (At least this is my crude understanding of physics)


Awesome, you're going to be breaking that 200 barrier in a week or so. Keep it up!

That's the hope!!

[JediKooter]

You probably get some extra torque from gravity when you lean forward, like how it's easier to drive in a nail by swinging a hammer regularly than pounding it vertically. (At least this is my crude understanding of physics)

That could be it. All I know is, I'll be happy when I finally break the 220s torque or no torque. :D

[DaddyTorgo]

204.2 after dinner, so with any luck i'll be down 1.6-2lbs tonight into the 202's.

[hoopsguy]

Eh, might as well put some thoughts in here since I'm working on this on my own.

Hit 39 in early March, and decided that I wanted to pursue some weight loss goals over the next year.
3/2/2011 - 187.9 pounds
3/2/2012 - goal is 165 pounds, a weight I haven't seen since my freshman or sophomore year of college.

I'm 5'9", and felt like 170-175 was a good weight for me in my early post-college years when I was working out fairly regularly. But at this point, I'm not looking at having any significant muscle mass. I just want to reduce the fat that has collected on my waist, chin, and more or less everywhere else in larger portions than I would like. 189 is the most I've ever weighed, and I haven't seen 170 since my daughter arrived (she turns 4 in May).

March plans to lose weight - hit the treadmill we have at home, shed caffeine addiction.

March results - weighted in at 184.1 on April 1st, so lost 3.8 pounds on the month. Kicked caffeine addiction (Cokes, 3-6 per day) and associated headaches. Ran 30 miles on treadmill, including 5K for one session and 8 minute mile for another.

April goals - ramping up for start of outdoor soccer in May so will be mixing in some soccer practices. Starting to turn attention to diet a little bit, trying to eat regular breakfast (Raisin Bran is meal of choice) instead of getting food on way to morning appointment or hitting vending machines at some point during the day.

Challenge - first soccer practice I suffered a bruised heel right at the end of practice on Sunday. I can't put a ton of weight on it right now, will slow down my exercise for at least a week based on what I've seen over the last two days.

I'll likely update this every couple of weeks. I'm trying not to obsess over the scale, but instead focus on gradually improving my habits while keeping my eye on the long term goal (23 pounds in a year). I've got a few ideas on additional steps to take in coming months, but I don't have all 12 months charted out ... trying to make sure I'm hitting monthly goals before moving onto new challenges.

[DaddyTorgo]

202.6!

[DaddyTorgo]

203 this morning (random fluctuation up). And my dude at the gym where I go wouldn't let me do my cardio-only today, he strong-armed me into going back to my weight-lifting routine...so i don't know that I'll go down today (and yes I know that over time weight-lifting is better for weight loss than just straight cardio, but you also don't see the effects as consistently in the beginning...and for me so much of it is about momentum and positive vibes).

[TargetPractice6]

Down to 168.4 today. 25 pounds lost since the start of the new year!

After losing so much weight just to get down to the 190 range I started to think of myself as fit already and got complacent. I'm starting to see now, though, that the job was only half way done.

[DaddyTorgo]

*cough*

201.6

That is all.

[JediKooter]

Definitely at 235 now no matter how I look at the scale. I'd really really like to be in the 220s by the end of the month, if not sooner.

[DaddyTorgo]

Definitely at 235 now no matter how I look at the scale. I'd really really like to be in the 220s by the end of the month, if not sooner.
Awesome - way to go Kooter!!!

[Dodgerchick]

192.4

[Dodgerchick]

*cough*

201.6

That is all.

SUPERLIKE!!

[Dodgerchick]

Definitely at 235 now no matter how I look at the scale. I'd really really like to be in the 220s by the end of the month, if not sooner.

VERY COOL!

[sabotai]

Went through about a month long ordeal with almost daily migraines from Feb to March, which meant I could not work out and kept saying "Fuck it, I'm in pain" right before eating comfort food. Stayed in the 233 range during the whole period.

They finally calmed down in the middle of March and I've been dropping about a pound a week. This past week's average was 229.7, finally averaging under 230 pounds. My lowest day is 228.2 a few days ago.

[DaddyTorgo]

204 this morning.

I know that this whole "build muscle to eventually burn fat and loose weight faster" thing is scientifically-speaking the best way to go about it, but i don't like seeing that number climb at all, even in the short-term. Especially when I seemed to be on a good, consistent regime of losing using just cardio.

It's on a very very short leash - not sure how long I will stick with it.

Does anybody else have any experience in roughly how long it takes to start kicking in and driving weight loss if i'm working out each muscle group 2x a week?

edit: Okay so I spent a little time this morning with the Google and my conclusion is that I need to go back to my cardio (45mins/day), and if I do anything at all weight-wise at least keep 30mins of cardio and supplement with a little weights. It's just hard to find a weight-lifting circuit for my different muscle groups that can be done in say 20 minutes...I need to work on that I guess. Because the circuits I have for my different muscle groups are like full...45min+ cycles in and of themselves, and I can't take that much time out of the office each day.

[JediKooter]

Awesome - way to go Kooter!!!

Thank you DT. I had two beers this weekend to celebrate.


VERY COOL!

Yes indeed. I'm getting closer and closer to that bikini body.

[Dodgerchick]

204 this morning.

I know that this whole "build muscle to eventually burn fat and loose weight faster" thing is scientifically-speaking the best way to go about it, but i don't like seeing that number climb at all, even in the short-term. Especially when I seemed to be on a good, consistent regime of losing using just cardio.

It's on a very very short leash - not sure how long I will stick with it.

Does anybody else have any experience in roughly how long it takes to start kicking in and driving weight loss if i'm working out each muscle group 2x a week?

edit: Okay so I spent a little time this morning with the Google and my conclusion is that I need to go back to my cardio (45mins/day), and if I do anything at all weight-wise at least keep 30mins of cardio and supplement with a little weights. It's just hard to find a weight-lifting circuit for my different muscle groups that can be done in say 20 minutes...I need to work on that I guess. Because the circuits I have for my different muscle groups are like full...45min+ cycles in and of themselves, and I can't take that much time out of the office each day.


Have you seen Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred? It's great and designed for people who don't have a lot of time. Check it out, HIGHLY recommeded - Amazon.com: Jillian Michaels - 30 Day Shred: Jillian Michaels, Andrea Ambandos: Movies & TV (http://www.amazon.com/Jillian-Michaels-30-Day-Shred/dp/B00127RAJY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302541680&sr=8-1) If I remember correctly, there are 3 different levels. I got addicted to Zumba and BodyCombat and haven't had a chance to try levels 2 and 3 but I heard they're brutal.

[Dodgerchick]

dola,

I didn't do squat excercise-wise last week, for shame. I'm planning on going to BodyCombat tonight though.

[DaddyTorgo]

Have you seen Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred? It's great and designed for people who don't have a lot of time. Check it out, HIGHLY recommeded - Amazon.com: Jillian Michaels - 30 Day Shred: Jillian Michaels, Andrea Ambandos: Movies & TV (http://www.amazon.com/Jillian-Michaels-30-Day-Shred/dp/B00127RAJY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302541680&sr=8-1) If I remember correctly, there are 3 different levels. I got addicted to Zumba and BodyCombat and haven't had a chance to try levels 2 and 3 but I heard they're brutal.

Cool. Will check it out - thanks DC.

New plan today: 5 minutes of intense cardio on the elliptical followed by 30mins of weightlifting (alternating days between chest+back/arms/legs), followed by 28 minutes of cardio on the elliptical.

Did legs today, and let me tell you, the cardio at the end was intense.

I'm going to lose this last 20 fucking pounds.

[DaddyTorgo]

So I ate my full lunch (and I've eaten totally 100% normal for the day) and I'm still like starving. That tells me that workout was really really good.

Yay!

[Dodgerchick]

DT, you've been doing such a good job, I know you can do it!

[DaddyTorgo]

DT, you've been doing such a good job, I know you can do it!

Oh I totally will do it. I'm not even letting myself like...celebrate now. I tell my mother how much I've lost and she's like "that's so great...i'm so proud of you" and I'm like "proud of me? I'm only 75% of the way there. Be proud of me when I'm done." Failure is not an option.

Vigilence - that's the key. And healthy self-disgust. I still look at myself in the mirror and go "eh...how's it goin there fatty?"

That being said, am I happy that my belly is not as disgusting as it once was and I don't get winded walking up the stairs in the parking garage to my car...well of course yeah.

But if I start to think about slipping...I slap myself back with a firm hand.

[DaddyTorgo]

Started to feel really crappy...headache and stuff. Not sure if it was dehydration or eye-strain or lack of food, but I just addressed all of it and now I feel much better.

Just hope I didn't overeat...had an extra handful of goldfish while my dinner was heating up.

Silly yes, but that's how controlled I am, that I'm worried about that.

[DaddyTorgo]

204.8 this morning. Keeping a close eye on this - I'm all for the long-term, but I'm only like 2 months or so away from my end-goal in terms of a final number and I don't want to stretch that out because of the long-term at this point (I can always transition to weights+cardio as a maintenance thing once i get to my end goal)

[TargetPractice6]

DT, I think you're doing the right thing by continuing to get some strength training and listening to your body by eating when you're hungry. If you just do 100% cardio and starve yourself into calorie deficit all the time you'll continue to see "the number" go down but the weight you're losing could be up to 60% muscle.

I have a scale that gives me a body fat figure, and while I'm sure it's not too accurate, it does help a bit psychologically on days I'm up weight. Today for instance I'm up 3 pounds or so, but my body fat percentage didn't really change. I lifted yesterday and really ate about twice what I'd normally eat because I was just so hungry all day. Sometimes it also just feels nice to be full and makes the diet easier in the subsequent days.

[DaddyTorgo]

DT, I think you're doing the right thing by continuing to get some strength training and listening to your body by eating when you're hungry. If you just do 100% cardio and starve yourself into calorie deficit all the time you'll continue to see "the number" go down but the weight you're losing could be up to 60% muscle.

I have a scale that gives me a body fat figure, and while I'm sure it's not too accurate, it does help a bit psychologically on days I'm up weight. Today for instance I'm up 3 pounds or so, but my body fat percentage didn't really change. I lifted yesterday and really ate about twice what I'd normally eat because I was just so hungry all day. Sometimes it also just feels nice to be full and makes the diet easier in the subsequent days.

Yeah - I've got a fancy scale that does body fat and everything too. I was tracking all the numbers on a daily basis, but over time I got lazy and just look at the weight every morning.

You're right though that as long as I'm doing the strength training I should start looking at all that stuff again (including like my resting metabolism...be nice to watch that number go up as confirmation that I'm building the muscle too).

[DaddyTorgo]

204.8 this morning. So at least that's staying consistent the past couple days and not creeping up anymore.

Wonder how long it'll take to see actual weight lost and get back heading down with this new program...

[Mustang]

Lost enough weight where I had to go down 2 pants sizes so.. I'm happy.

DT, you mention goldfish, are you much of a rice cake person? The smallish flavored rice cakes (not the big coaster size ones) aren't half bad.. About 18 of them are the same serving size as around 24-25 goldfish. I was getting burned out on some of my usuals so, had to find something different.

[DaddyTorgo]

204 this morning. Might this be the start of a new downward trend? Or just a 0.8lb fluctuation?

Guess we'll see over the coming days.

[DaddyTorgo]

Lost enough weight where I had to go down 2 pants sizes so.. I'm happy.

DT, you mention goldfish, are you much of a rice cake person? The smallish flavored rice cakes (not the big coaster size ones) aren't half bad.. About 18 of them are the same serving size as around 24-25 goldfish. I was getting burned out on some of my usuals so, had to find something different.

Interesting. I've never really given rice cakes much of a try - perhaps I should pick up a pack when I'm at the store the next time. Certainly can't hurt.

[TargetPractice6]

Good idea with the rice cakes. I used to munch on those back in the day but kind of forgot about them.

I've been digging on those mini bags of popcorn when I want a salty snack lately. They're only 100 calories per bag and it at least seems like I'm getting to eat a lot, though I know it's mostly air. Sometimes I throw it some almonds and dried cranberries when it tastes a bit too plain.

[DaddyTorgo]

Yes - 100 calorie bags of popcorn are a good snack - the popcorn is very airy so I agree TP - it always seems to fill me up really well too.

203.2 this morning. Back-to-back 0.8lb days. Maybe the start of a new downward trend? I can only hope!

[hoopsguy]

Mid-month update:

The bruised heel has kept me from getting any exercise for a couple of weeks now. I'll be getting on the treadmill tomorrow, but it will have been 16 days without that burn.

So to counter that, I've gotten considerably more aware of portion control (did some last month, more this month) and making better choices for food. My family sent me to pick up food at Portillo's on Sunday night, and I got a caesar salad (only used half the dressing) instead of an italian beef sandwich + a piece of cake. I had heard the salads were good there, but the beef is awesome and I've never deviated from that as my order there over the past 10 years.

Down to 181.8 this morning, which is down 2.3 pounds. I would be thrilled to get down under 180 by the end of this month, but even if I keep it here it would be a pretty good month considering the loss of exercise time earlier in the month. I don't think I'm out of the woods with this injury just yet (feels pretty good without shoes, not so good with shoes) but I need to get back to exercising so will push it a bit tomorrow.

[DaddyTorgo]

Pretty discouraged about the whole "lift weights to lose weight" thing at the moment. Let me clarify that - I know that medically speaking it is the right way to go about things, and it's proven to work and everything, but it didn't have anything to do with my dropping 60lbs, and it hasn't worked for me yet, whereas consistent cardio still seems to work.

It's been ~ 3 weeks now and I haven't seen any consistent weight loss from it (I did go down a couple pounds, but then went right back up), and haven't seen any change in my metabolism or body fat %, or skeletal muscle % over the past week-plus.

Traveled on Wednesday all day so I couldn't work out. Worked from home yesterday. Hopped on the elliptical in the apartment building's workout-room for my old 45-minute stretch...down 2.2lbs this morning.

Small sample size and all that, but I'm really thinking I should just go back to straight-cardio to lose the last 20lbs (literally I have 20 more lbs to lose), and then transition over to weight-lifting for the maintenance. 20lbs is not that much. Maybe like 2.5 months. Means I could be basically done with my diet by the time my sister and nieces come to town this summer (and yes...my niece saying I looked like I was pregnant was pretty much the largest single motivator of my losing all this weight - I didn't want to be "the fat jolly uncle").

[DaddyTorgo]

Mid-month update:

The bruised heel has kept me from getting any exercise for a couple of weeks now. I'll be getting on the treadmill tomorrow, but it will have been 16 days without that burn.

So to counter that, I've gotten considerably more aware of portion control (did some last month, more this month) and making better choices for food. My family sent me to pick up food at Portillo's on Sunday night, and I got a caesar salad (only used half the dressing) instead of an italian beef sandwich + a piece of cake. I had heard the salads were good there, but the beef is awesome and I've never deviated from that as my order there over the past 10 years.

Down to 181.8 this morning, which is down 2.3 pounds. I would be thrilled to get down under 180 by the end of this month, but even if I keep it here it would be a pretty good month considering the loss of exercise time earlier in the month. I don't think I'm out of the woods with this injury just yet (feels pretty good without shoes, not so good with shoes) but I need to get back to exercising so will push it a bit tomorrow.

way to go hoops!!

Yeah - portion control is the #1 thing.

[TargetPractice6]

DT, depending on how tall you are, you might be surprised to find when you get to 180, especially on diet and cardio alone, that that 20lbs isn't all you can lose. Having such a hard and fast goal tends to have the effect that once you reach it there is a strong temptation to consider your weight loss journey as complete and relax on the good habits that got you there in the first place.

I still recommend finding a healthy routine (that includes some resistance training) that you can sustain indefinitely then let your weight end up wherever it may. That may be 180lbs, but unless you are 6'3"+ or have some significant musculature you'll probably still have some body fat you could lose. I'm about 6 foot and 180 was my original goal starting at 250, but even being below 170 currently I still feel I have 10lbs of body fat I could reasonably drop.

[TargetPractice6]

Dola,

I just want to clarify that I don't mean do a ton of resistance work if you hate it. The real trick is to do what you like and can sustain in the long run. However, say one 30 minute strength training session a week focusing on the muscle groups your cardio doesn't hit will help you perform better and reduce the risk of injury in your aerobic sessions.

[DaddyTorgo]

DT, depending on how tall you are, you might be surprised to find when you get to 180, especially on diet and cardio alone, that that 20lbs isn't all you can lose. Having such a hard and fast goal tends to have the effect that once you reach it there is a strong temptation to consider your weight loss journey as complete and relax on the good habits that got you there in the first place.

I still recommend finding a healthy routine (that includes some resistance training) that you can sustain indefinitely then let your weight end up wherever it may. That may be 180lbs, but unless you are 6'3"+ or have some significant musculature you'll probably still have some body fat you could lose. I'm about 6 foot and 180 was my original goal starting at 250, but even being below 170 currently I still feel I have 10lbs of body fat I could reasonably drop.

Well yes - I certainly hope that this is the case! But I figured 180 was a good like...MINIMUM goal.

I know...I know...I probably should find a routine that includes some resistance training...but I kind of want to wait until I get down around that 180 mark to do that, because then I'll feel like I've really accomplished something. Right now I just feel like I'm less disgustingly fat.

I had switched it up and was doing (everyday) 5 mins of cardio, then 30 mins of lifting (alternating between chest+back/arms/legs every 3 days), then 28 more minutes of cardio after the lifting, but I just wasn't seeing it having any effect...which, having come down from 260 and still having a ways to go, was not something that I'm willing to accept in the short term. Especially because it seems like with that level of resistance + cardio I ought to have been seeing SOMETHING happening.

Not that I'm addicted to losing the weight or whatever, but for psychological purposes I need to see the number going down consistently at least until I get around that 180 mark where then I can build in more weight training and "ease myself down" to my final end weight.

[DaddyTorgo]

Dola,

I just want to clarify that I don't mean do a ton of resistance work if you hate it. The real trick is to do what you like and can sustain in the long run. However, say one 30 minute strength training session a week focusing on the muscle groups your cardio doesn't hit will help you perform better and reduce the risk of injury in your aerobic sessions.

I don't mind the weights at all. I actually like them - I used to work out more back in my college days, and I always liked the weights more than the cardio actually.

[DaddyTorgo]

201.8 this morning.

Yay! New low!

[TargetPractice6]

Nice job!

I think I misunderstood just how much resistance training you're doing. In that case I totally agree that skewing more towards cardio would be better for weight loss. Giving your muscles a couple days to adapt after lifting would also help you get the full benefit from each workout. You'd probably be fine doing that 5+30+28 routine 2-3 times a week and 30-60 minutes of cardio 3-5 times a week.

Just for reference, my breakdown this year is about 87% cardio (mostly running and swimming) and 13% strength.

[DaddyTorgo]

Nice job!

I think I misunderstood just how much resistance training you're doing. In that case I totally agree that skewing more towards cardio would be better for weight loss. Giving your muscles a couple days to adapt after lifting would also help you get the full benefit from each workout. You'd probably be fine doing that 5+30+28 routine 2-3 times a week and 30-60 minutes of cardio 3-5 times a week.

Just for reference, my breakdown this year is about 87% cardio (mostly running and swimming) and 13% strength.

Aaah...cool. I guess I need to craft a strength-package that I can do 2-3 times a week and hit all the muscle groups then. Right now I have 3 different ones, so that's why I was doing them each 2x a week.

Goodstuff!

[TargetPractice6]

You could try doing each of them just once a week instead. I was doing P90X for couple months and it has pretty much that exact schedule: chest+back/arms/legs once a week, with the rest being cardio, yoga and shit.

[DaddyTorgo]

You could try doing each of them just once a week instead. I was doing P90X for couple months and it has pretty much that exact schedule: chest+back/arms/legs once a week, with the rest being cardio, yoga and shit.

I could do that. I thought that wasn't as effective for building the muscle though.

That is probably the easiest way that's for sure - half hour of strength training doesn't go very far in terms of # of exercises when you're doing 3 sets of 15 reps each.

[TargetPractice6]

Well, if you're trying to drop weight I think the goal should be just not to lose muscle for now. 90 minutes a week should be plenty for that I think. Like you were saying, when you get to 180 if you want to go for bulk you can go back to what you're doing currently.

[TargetPractice6]

Oh, forgot to add that I've read it can take up to 5 days for muscles to fully repair if you max out, so just working each group once a week helps get the most bang for your buck so to speak because you get the full benefit from each workout.

Lately, I've been doing three 30-minute full body workouts each week where I only do reps half my max. My only goal of lifting workouts is to make sure I don't lose muscle from running, but not wear me out too much for my running workouts.

[DaddyTorgo]

Cool - good thoughts TargetPractice.

[sabotai]

It's not just simply the act of resistance training that causes weight lose. You might not have seen results if you weren't lifting the right amount weight with the right amount of reps. Could have needed less weight but more reps, or heavier weight with few reps, or maybe more of both. I would imagine the right amount of weight/reps/sets (without hurting yourself) would take a bit of time. You're probably better off sticking to what works until you reach your goal or until you are comfortable enough to take the time to experiment with it to find the right balance that works for you.

Anyway, in other news, I hit 227.2 today. A new low for me.

[DaddyTorgo]

It's not just simply the act of resistance training that causes weight lose. You might not have seen results if you weren't lifting the right amount weight with the right amount of reps. Could have needed less weight but more reps, or heavier weight with few reps, or maybe more of both. I would imagine the right amount of weight/reps/sets (without hurting yourself) would take a bit of time. You're probably better off sticking to what works until you reach your goal or until you are comfortable enough to take the time to experiment with it to find the right balance that works for you.

Anyway, in other news, I hit 227.2 today. A new low for me.

Exactly my thought. Sticking with what works until I'm more comfortable taking the time to figure it out.

Hooray for new lows!!! Congrats!!:D

[sabotai]

I was looking over the thread from several months ago when I was losing 1-2 pounds a week steadily. Most of that was during the time I tried running. I was 240+ and my knees hurt when I upped the intensity and had to stop.....and then I stopped losing weight consistently. Now that I'm in the just under 230 area, I'm going to give it another go, but definitely will be taking it slow and easy and just start with 2 runs a week instead of 3, and doing a little less than Week 1 of C25K (Week 1 is run for 60 seconds, walk for 90. I'll do what I did before and do 30 seconds of running with 60 seconds of walking and see how that goes).

I hope my knees hold up because I actually like running in the park while listening to music on my iPod.

If I get the same problems in my knees, I'll push my social anxiety down and force myself to join a gym so I can use bikes and ellipticals. I used to have the self-discipline to work out at home every day, but I've become a pro at making excuses and if I'm paying for a gym, well then I'm pretty sure I'll use it. At least for awhile....

[DaddyTorgo]

200.4 MOTHAFUCKA!!!!! :party:

Eat shit fat. I'm coming for you!!

[DaddyTorgo]

If I get the same problems in my knees, I'll push my social anxiety down and force myself to join a gym so I can use bikes and ellipticals. I used to have the self-discipline to work out at home every day, but I've become a pro at making excuses and if I'm paying for a gym, well then I'm pretty sure I'll use it. At least for awhile....

Nothing like paying for something to make you use it! I've definitely found that to be true.

[DaddyTorgo]

200.2!!

Fuck this Mendoza-line bullshit.

[JediKooter]

200.2!!

Fuck this Mendoza-line bullshit.

Congrats man! You just need to start swinging for the fences like Dave Kingman and that should bring those numbers down.

[DaddyTorgo]

Congrats man! You just need to start swinging for the fences like Dave Kingman and that should bring those numbers down.

Thanks!!

:lol:

Nice one!!!

Weight at end of day (prior to dinner) 200.2.

So unless I absolutely blow this thing tonight (which given that I'm having a 230 calorie dinner will be hard to do), assuming I lose any weight at all tonight while I sleep, I should be under 200 in the morning.

I really want to go to bed right now so I can wake up thinner!!! :D

[JediKooter]

Thanks!!

:lol:

Nice one!!!

Weight at end of day (prior to dinner) 200.2.

So unless I absolutely blow this thing tonight (which given that I'm having a 230 calorie dinner will be hard to do), assuming I lose any weight at all tonight while I sleep, I should be under 200 in the morning.

I really want to go to bed right now so I can wake up thinner!!! :D

Haha! It's like Christmas eve.

[DaddyTorgo]

Haha! It's like Christmas eve.

Exactly! But better!!

Is that weird?

[DaddyTorgo]

199.0!! :party:

[JediKooter]

Not weird at all.

199!!! F-YEAH!!

[DaddyTorgo]

Hehe

[TargetPractice6]

Way to break that glass floor!

[hoopsguy]

Good job, DT. I know you've been chasing that number for some time now so congrats on the accomplishment ... even if it is just a pit stop on the way to your final destination.

[DaddyTorgo]

Good job, DT. I know you've been chasing that number for some time now so congrats on the accomplishment ... even if it is just a pit stop on the way to your final destination.

Thanks hoops!

198.8 this morning.

[DaddyTorgo]

blip up today.

199.6

[sabotai]

A little pick-me up for today. I tried on the suit I wore to my brother's wedding (15 years ago) maybe 4 or 5 years ago. Not even close to fitting. Today, I tried the pants on. They fit. The shirt is still a little too small, but size-wise, I'm almost back to what I was 15 years ago. (A lot higher in weight still, but I also have a lot more muscle now)

[DaddyTorgo]

A little pick-me up for today. I tried on the suit I wore to my brother's wedding (15 years ago) maybe 4 or 5 years ago. Not even close to fitting. Today, I tried the pants on. They fit. The shirt is still a little too small, but size-wise, I'm almost back to what I was 15 years ago. (A lot higher in weight still, but I also have a lot more muscle now)


whoa - nice pick me-up sab!!

[Dodgerchick]

A little pick-me up for today. I tried on the suit I wore to my brother's wedding (15 years ago) maybe 4 or 5 years ago. Not even close to fitting. Today, I tried the pants on. They fit. The shirt is still a little too small, but size-wise, I'm almost back to what I was 15 years ago. (A lot higher in weight still, but I also have a lot more muscle now)

Nice! Keep up the good work!

[Dodgerchick]

blip up today.

199.6

That's awesome DT, not sure if I've mentioned it but, you look great!

[Dodgerchick]

So last night, I went out with a couple of friends and ate a bunch of no-no food. We started talking about meeting up for Zumba and decided to text our Zumba instructor with the following text, "Hi Jamie, we need to know if you're gonna be there tomorrow. Trish, Lorena and I are sitting at a table with donuts, cupcakes, chips, and pie. Lorena just had some bourbon and soda... we need you there to whoop us into shape!" The following morning (today) we were in the middle of a song and she looks at me and says, "Were you eating cupcakes yesterday?" I laughed and said yes. lol Waita call me out, hahahaha. This is the same instructor that when I asked for diet advice I wrote it down on a Krispy Kreme hat. I have no shame.

So yeah, same stuff different day. I've been really lagging on both the diet and sadly the exercise front. Something about this hot ass weather that makes me not wanna do a thing.

[Dodgerchick]

triple dola,

So my friends talked me into taking a Body Pump class. It's a barbell class, check it out:

<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/j_rNm1uNW-M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I've only taken the class once and I was shaking and crying at the end. My galpals have been trying to talk me into it for months, but I've been scared. It's time to finally get rid of this fear.

[hoopsguy]

End of month update - weighed in at 180.5 this morning. That is down 3.6 for the month, almost identical to the 3.7 I lost in my first month of dieting.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with this given some of the challenges I had this month:
- messed up my heel on first Sunday of the month, wasn't able to work out for three weeks.
- very heavy work + personal life schedule this month hampered getting good sleep, working out as much as I wanted once I could work out again over last 1/3 of month.

I did have significantly more discipline with foods I ate, particularly over the past couple of weeks. I had hoped this would be a heavy exercise month and then start working on food/portion discipline this summer, but the injury slowed me down so I adjusted in order to avoid having a "fatty" month.

Just a little bummed that I didn't get down to 170-something. I weighed in at 180.3 a couple of days ago and never could get the number down 0.4 pounds. It doesn't matter at all in the long-term, but I thought it was a realistic goal for this month to cross that barrier.

I've got one shirt that I'm using as my weight loss measuring stick ... got it as a gift for Christmas and it was too tight but I liked the shirt and told myself that I could lose some weight rather than trying to return it. I first wore it at the start of March and then again at the end of April. I'm happy to report that it fits significantly better now than it did then (still a bit tighter through midsection, but not as much across the board), but I don't think it will really fit properly until I've gotten down to 165-170. I'll keep breaking that out once a month to gauge progress by something besides the scale.

[DaddyTorgo]

198.6

Lil bit pissed that I did the 20 mile Walk for Hunger on Sunday and it didn't result in burning off anymore weight. Then again, after doing it I was actually heavier yesterday, and just woke up today back under 200, so maybe there's still some excess hydration that's working its way out and I'll see a lil dip down from it. Regardless, 198.6 is back on track (only a smidge above my previous low), so it's all good.

[DaddyTorgo]

*cough* 196.8.

Weighed myself 3x because I could hardly believe it. First time was 197.0, 2nd time was 196.6 (based on where/how I was standing on the scale?) and third was 196.8. So since that's in the middle I'm going with that. It also felt like the stance that I most commonly use on the scale (then again so did all 3 of them).

[JediKooter]

Awesome Hoopsguy and DT!

I've been stuck on 235 for a few weeks now and I'm finally below that. Only 3 more pounds to go and I'm finally in the 220s.

[DaddyTorgo]

Awesome Hoopsguy and DT!

I've been stuck on 235 for a few weeks now and I'm finally below that. Only 3 more pounds to go and I'm finally in the 220s.


Hooray for milestones - and booo for plateaus!!

Keep up the hard work Jedi - you'll bust through it.

What are you doing for exercise? A 10% increase in your cardio can help to move the dial when you're stuck...

[JediKooter]

Hooray for milestones - and booo for plateaus!!

Keep up the hard work Jedi - you'll bust through it.

What are you doing for exercise? A 10% increase in your cardio can help to move the dial when you're stuck...

Thanks DT. In all honesty, I have been doing very little to no exercise. It's all been about my eating habits and portion control. I am ready now to start throwing in some exercise, but, I'm having a hard time doing it. Part of it's laziness and the other part is, I'd really like to join a softball team or basketball team but can't find diddly in the area that I live in. I'm not a gym person or a runner, I hate both of those things. I love playing sports and before I busted my knee, that's how I stayed somewhat fit.

[DaddyTorgo]

Thanks DT. In all honesty, I have been doing very little to no exercise. It's all been about my eating habits and portion control. I am ready now to start throwing in some exercise, but, I'm having a hard time doing it. Part of it's laziness and the other part is, I'd really like to join a softball team or basketball team but can't find diddly in the area that I live in. I'm not a gym person or a runner, I hate both of those things. I love playing sports and before I busted my knee, that's how I stayed somewhat fit.

Well hey - that's even more damn impressive then! Doing it with just eating habits + portion control I mean.

Well that sucks - what about other potential things that are high-energy...hmm. Will ponder that.

Home fitness stuff? PX90 or whatever? Have friends (well okay a friend) that thinks it's awesome.

[DaddyTorgo]

196.6 - so more-or-less flat from yesterday. Good stuff.

You guys are going to miss me when I drop the next 20 or so pounds and stop posting my weight in here daily, aren't you?

[JediKooter]

Well hey - that's even more damn impressive then! Doing it with just eating habits + portion control I mean.

Well that sucks - what about other potential things that are high-energy...hmm. Will ponder that.

Home fitness stuff? PX90 or whatever? Have friends (well okay a friend) that thinks it's awesome.

It's been hard, but, I felt that was the most important thing to change and get used to. Once I tackled that, then I wanted to throw in some exercise, however that has been more of a challenge than I thought it would be. I wanted to join a rec softball or basketball league, but, I just can not find any where I'm at. So the search continues. I think the P90 stuff requires weights and I don't have any.

EDIT: And going into the city (San Fran) is not an option for me. It may be 'only' 5 miles from where I live, but, with the bridge, traffic & lights, that 5 mile drive is usually a 30 to 40 minute excursion. Plus, this is something I'd do after work and I work up in San Rafael except for Thursdays.

196.6 - so more-or-less flat from yesterday. Good stuff.

You guys are going to miss me when I drop the next 20 or so pounds and stop posting my weight in here daily, aren't you?

Yes, we will.

[DaddyTorgo]

It's been hard, but, I felt that was the most important thing to change and get used to. Once I tackled that, then I wanted to throw in some exercise, however that has been more of a challenge than I thought it would be. I wanted to join a rec softball or basketball league, but, I just can not find any where I'm at. So the search continues. I think the P90 stuff requires weights and I don't have any.

EDIT: And going into the city (San Fran) is not an option for me. It may be 'only' 5 miles from where I live, but, with the bridge, traffic & lights, that 5 mile drive is usually a 30 to 40 minute excursion. Plus, this is something I'd do after work and I work up in San Rafael except for Thursdays.



You're right. Food is definitely the most important to change and get used to.

Could you work exercise into your commute somehow? Could you take an hour long walk after you get home (and gradually work up the intensity of it)?

I'm not sure what P90 requires...I honestly haven't looked into it myself. There's got to be something...hmmm

[Blackadar]

I've followed this thread, but rarely posted in it.

As of today, I weigh 215...down no less than 50 pounds from March, 2010. My 48" chest is back and my waist has gone from 44" to somewhere less than 36". :banana:


Oh yeah, P90 requires weights. P90X requires weights and a pull up bar. If you're at all in shape or just willing to work *really* hard, I'd strongly suggest going the P90X route.

[DaddyTorgo]

I've followed this thread, but rarely posted in it.

As of today, I weigh 215...down no less than 50 pounds from March, 2010. My 48" chest is back and my waist has gone from 44" to somewhere less than 36". :banana:


Oh yeah, P90 requires weights. P90X requires weights and a pull up bar. If you're at all in shape or just willing to work *really* hard, I'd strongly suggest going the P90X route.

Dude - that's great!! Congrats!!!

I know for me, tossing the old 40 pants and buying a pair of 36's (which are already starting to be a bit loose to be honest) was like...the best day ever!! I still have my 40's, and I wear them when I'm lounging around at home at night for fun, but literally when I stand up in them with no belt they fall straight to the floor like I'm not even in them. It's hilarious. Try it!

Can't wait to get down to like 34...hell...maybe even a roomy 32.

[hoopsguy]

Awesome, Blackadar. Really good work, and great to hear people are able to have that kind of success losing weight.

I'm planning to do P90X sometime in the next couple of months as one of the future steps in losing some weight. Right now my exercise is treadmill and outdoor soccer. But when soccer ends I'll need to keep the routine fresh and that is when I'm hoping to introduce the videos. Hopefully I'll be able to pick someone's brain around here about the program before getting started.

[Blackadar]

Awesome, Blackadar. Really good work, and great to hear people are able to have that kind of success losing weight.

I'm planning to do P90X sometime in the next couple of months as one of the future steps in losing some weight. Right now my exercise is treadmill and outdoor soccer. But when soccer ends I'll need to keep the routine fresh and that is when I'm hoping to introduce the videos. Hopefully I'll be able to pick someone's brain around here about the program before getting started.

I've done it before and I'm doing it again right now, so fire away with any questions.

[hoopsguy]

Got below 180 today after being in spitting distance for most of the last 10-14 days. 178.3!

I'm now hoping to be around 175 at the end of this month, which would be 5.5 pounds lost this month (was around 3.5 for each of last two months). Assuming I don't have any silly injuries playing soccer I think that should be very doable.

[JediKooter]

You're right. Food is definitely the most important to change and get used to.

Could you work exercise into your commute somehow? Could you take an hour long walk after you get home (and gradually work up the intensity of it)?

I'm not sure what P90 requires...I honestly haven't looked into it myself. There's got to be something...hmmm

I think I have the food part (excuse the pun), licked. Working exercise into my commute is not possible. I live too far away from work to ride a bike or something like that. Another thing I thought about, was taking some Kung Fu classes after work. There's a dojo about 3 blocks from my place.

The P90X thing doesn't seem to be what I need. I'm more interested in losing weight than building up any muscle at this stage in the game. When I'm below 200, then I'll think about the muscle part of it.

[Blackadar]

I think I have the food part (excuse the pun), licked. Working exercise into my commute is not possible. I live too far away from work to ride a bike or something like that. Another thing I thought about, was taking some Kung Fu classes after work. There's a dojo about 3 blocks from my place.

The P90X thing doesn't seem to be what I need. I'm more interested in losing weight than building up any muscle at this stage in the game. When I'm below 200, then I'll think about the muscle part of it.

You may want to rethink that. I'm not saying the dojo isn't a good idea, but simply put you burn more fat with muscle.

I figured I'd do the extreme cardio to lose weight before I started weightlifting. I'd been working out for a year consistently and wanted to ramp things up a bit. So I did Insanity - the ultimate cardio workouts - for 30 days and didn't lose a pound. I saw good endurance gains, but nothing from a weight standpoint and no real change in body shape. I worked my ass off doing it, too. It got a bit discouraging.

So rather than go 30 more days with Insanity, I switched to P90X for my weightlifting. I've lost over a pound per week for the 6 weeks I've been on this P90X rotation thus far. The physical changes are much more pronounced - the gut is getting noticeably smaller while my chest/back/arms are getting larger.

I'm not saying P90X is for everyone or that everyone will get the same results. But personally, I see better results in all aspects - muscle definition, strength, weight loss, etc. - when I work with weights combined with some cardio rather than going with a straight cardio routine. In fact, the results aren't even close.

Another option to P90X is Chalean Extreme. Those workouts are around 40 minutes each, with fairly heavy lifting as the focus of the workouts.

Yet another option is Supreme 90. You can find this occasionally at Walgreens, Targets, Bed/Bath/Beyond or online. It's a cheap P90X knockoff, but for only $20 for 10 workouts it's pretty decent. I'd suggest that anyone who does this be at least somewhat familiar on how to properly lift because the instruction isn't all that comprehensive.

[DaddyTorgo]

I'd say that everyone is different though, and you have to find what works for you.

I've lost 66lbs doing just cardio (5.2 miles/day at like 6.6mph on the elliptical) over the last 8 months.

I really think everyone's got to find what works for them both from a calories in vs. calories out standpoint, as well as from a motivational/psychological standpoint. Because so much of it is motivational/psychological - if you don't want to build weight you're going to work out less-hard psychologically, and thus reduce the benefits of it and all.

That being said - after I get down to my goal I'm definitely going to start hitting the weights and building muscle. And I have a friend who's been doing P90x along with serious biking (15+ miles each way to work everyday) and he swears by it.

So I dunno.

[JediKooter]

You may want to rethink that. I'm not saying the dojo isn't a good idea, but simply put you burn more fat with muscle.

I figured I'd do the extreme cardio to lose weight before I started weightlifting. I'd been working out for a year consistently and wanted to ramp things up a bit. So I did Insanity - the ultimate cardio workouts - for 30 days and didn't lose a pound. I saw good endurance gains, but nothing from a weight standpoint and no real change in body shape. I worked my ass off doing it, too. It got a bit discouraging.

So rather than go 30 more days with Insanity, I switched to P90X for my weightlifting. I've lost over a pound per week for the 6 weeks I've been on this P90X rotation thus far. The physical changes are much more pronounced - the gut is getting noticeably smaller while my chest/back/arms are getting larger.

I'm not saying P90X is for everyone or that everyone will get the same results. But personally, I see better results in all aspects - muscle definition, strength, weight loss, etc. - when I work with weights combined with some cardio rather than going with a straight cardio routine. In fact, the results aren't even close.

Another option to P90X is Chalean Extreme. Those workouts are around 40 minutes each, with fairly heavy lifting as the focus of the workouts.

Yet another option is Supreme 90. You can find this occasionally at Walgreens, Targets, Bed/Bath/Beyond or online. It's a cheap P90X knockoff, but for only $20 for 10 workouts it's pretty decent. I'd suggest that anyone who does this be at least somewhat familiar on how to properly lift because the instruction isn't all that comprehensive.

I'm just not a weight lifter. Tried it, never enjoyed it though. Another thing that makes me hesitant about lifting is, I have a bad shoulder (pulled it out of its socket) that gives me problems from time to time and don't want to make it worse. Running is another thing I try and stay away from, not only because of my right knee and having my ACL replaced, but, well, it's boring as hell. So, I'm trying to find something that still gives me a good workout, but, won't put too much strain on my shoulder or knee. That's also why I'm a bit wary of joining up for some Kung Fu.

I did just sign up for the gym here at work and hopefully will start going next week. I don't even know what they have in the gym, but, if there's a bike, I'll gladly jump on that. My normal way of staying fit was by playing sports and that just seems to be very hard to do where I live for some reason.

I'll look into the P90 stuff some more and see if there's some of it I can incorporate into my exercising. Just not sold on it. Maybe it's because of how it's marketed. I'm just really put off by EXTREME!! WORK!!! OUT!!! ROUTINE!!! type marketing. :)

[DaddyTorgo]

195.6 this morning. I don't lose weight on the weekends anymore typically, and I also ate dinner rather late last night (like 9pm), so that was a pleasant surprise.

[Dodgerchick]

wow you guys, great job! Very impressive with how much you all have lost.

I'm still the same weight. I just cannot get the food thing down, I can't. I went to the gym yesterday and saw this girl that was the same weight as I was a year ago. She was wearing a shirt that said, "Austin Marathon finisher (2010 date)". I was like... wtf? We were the same weight a year ago and she freiken ran a marathon already and looks great. It pissed me off to be honest, because I can do the exercise... piece of cake. But the food... the damn food is what's (pardon the pun) weighing me down. Ugh :mad: :banghead:

Edit to add - although as pissed as I am about it, my Zumba instructor's always telling me I look great and Ant keeps saying that my face looks thinner. It's all good but I don't see much change in my waist. My butt, yes, not my waist.

[Dodgerchick]

and yes DT, your posts will be missed :)

[DaddyTorgo]

wow you guys, great job! Very impressive with how much you all have lost.

I'm still the same weight. I just cannot get the food thing down, I can't. I went to the gym yesterday and saw this girl that was the same weight as I was a year ago. She was wearing a shirt that said, "Austin Marathon finisher (2010 date)". I was like... wtf? We were the same weight a year ago and she freiken ran a marathon already and looks great. It pissed me off to be honest, because I can do the exercise... piece of cake. But the food... the damn food is what's (pardon the pun) weighing me down. Ugh :mad: :banghead:

Edit to add - although as pissed as I am about it, my Zumba instructor's always telling me I look great and Ant keeps saying that my face looks thinner. It's all good but I don't see much change in my waist. My butt, yes, not my waist.

Once you get yourself through shrinking your stomach so that you need to eat less it's totally just a willpower thing DC. It's totally like "nah...I don't need a cupcake/donut/whatever." Also - filling up on healthy food before you go places where there will be bad food. That way you're not eating bad food out of hunger.

What's your specific weakness with food? Maybe we can help...