Oh god the Tabata stuff I tried it, and it made me want to puke my lungs. I just recently ran 6 miles in an hour so I thought I could handle it...
Not going to give up on it, but going to save it for part of the day when I can lie down afterwards for an hour, at least until I can take it. Maybe try it with a different exercise
I am down to around 262 now -- since the holidays are over I have started to drop a few more pounds.
OrganizedChaos: I used to have that same issue. I have been sort of doing the leangains.com stuff, of mostly fasting in the morning, and saving my carbs for after a workout. I try not to get too fixated on sticking to a strict diet, and I will sometimes have some cake or fries for dinner before the craving gets too bad. The main thing is to cut out habitual carb eating, like always eating bread, pasta, rice or potatos with every meal. I don't even miss that stuff most of the time anymore.
Ninjas - Tabatas always make we want to vomit, but they're seriously the most effective fat loss program I've tried. Takes a few weeks to get to the point where you don't feel like passing out by the 5th or 6th set. Best part is is you can mix up exercises and do a few sets per day targeting different body parts, and keep the intensity up. Really kicks your metabolism up a notch
My weight loss has slowed down to about 0.3 kg a week now, a lot less tubby than when I started though.
so around when i posted my last milestone of 188.5, i was just in that weight area and had worked for the past few weeks to maintain it. the belly off diet going for about 3-4 weeks helped me stay at an average of 190, without going over 191 max. Then my brother started a diet called the Engine 2 diet. this diet is more of a challenge than anything, since its only meant to be for 28 days. its a vegan diet, with sort of an added bit to it.. no oils. so its a lot of eating fruits veggies and grains.
i was turned off by it at first.. the thought of giving up meat, dairy, and especially oils (you would be surprised how many things you would find oil in) was just something i didnt think i would be able to do. so i stayed with my diet and my brother went with his. my brother started his diet at 213lbs. after his first week.. he weighed in at 203 lbs. after his third, he weighed in at 195. after seeing his results, i gave it a shot.
i started last wednesday at 190lbs, and today my official weigh in.. im 185. this diet is excellent. i was able to get over not eating meat after a few days or so. i still have cravings for milk and cheese every now and then, but there are some replacements.
if any of you feel adventurous and want to check it out, you can get all the info you need at
alriiiiiight! well im still at it. kinda ditched the engine 2 diet after almost 3 weeks (1 week shy of completion). i know thats bad but i couldnt do without meat or dairy anymore. for the full length of being on the diet however, i lost 10lbs.
so year to date i believe that its a total of 20lbs ive lost. so now im 180lbs. havent been like this since high school. still goin for about 10-15 more. i feel great. im finally getting back to the gym, and im still sticking with the Belly Off! diet, while maintaining some of the habits i had during the engine 2 diet.
I was really hoping that starting this thread would help me keep with it, but I fell off the wagon very quickly. I started at about 273 or something, when starting this thread. Last monday, after a weekend of doing nothing but eating and drinking (girlfriends birthday weekend. her family dinner 1 night, friends dinner the next. my family dinner the next), I weighed in at 300lbs.... Which is my heaviest, and seeing a 3 at the start of the number made me extremely sad and I felt like absolute ass.
Well, something had to be done, so I decided to cut out pop all together, even diet. I drink alot of diet coke, cause my mom always brings it home. So I`ve switched to water, while having crystal light singles when I need flavour. Apparently, your body treats diet pop the same as regular. It doesnt know what to do with all the aspertane and stuff, so it stores it as fat.
Anyhoo, just switching to water and not havin any pop (or beer... this week), even while eating left over cake and chips and stuff through the week (in moderation), I lost 7 lbs this week. I only did physical stuff on Saturday, for the whole day, helping my sister renovate her new house. Good start, which made me happy. Lets see if I can keep at it.
On a side note, a friend of mine, in the last year, has lost 112lbs. woo.
yea cutting out soda definitely did help. One thing ive sort of been doing to slowly replace it is drinking flavored seltzer. It gets that carbonation fix (especially if you mix it with juice) and its not AS bad as soda. But ultimately ive been trying to switch from soda to iced tea. Instead of having 2+ cans of soda a day, ill have maybe half a can of iced tea at the end of the day with dinner.
for water, those crystal light things are good but there's these liquid flavor things called Mio, that ive found to taste a bit better. my brother and i will go through those a lot. makes you kind of want to drink water with all the different flavors you can have.
awesome. keep it up. in regards to your eating habits, do you eat smaller portions multiple times a day? (i.e. 5 small meals), or just whenever you eat its less than you normally would.
Little bit of both. Ive been having snacks more often now. And this week, i started eating breakfast for the first time in like 20 years. so that should help too. But ya, smaller portions for dinner, and my snacks are no longer chips and candy, but granola bars, or cashews, apples, oranges, cantaloupe. healthier stuff.
Well. Something odds happening. I haven't been to the gym very much in the last month, sometimes only once a week. So I expected that I would have put on weight. But I've actually dropped 1.9kg somehow! Which is far more than I've lost in any 1 month period. Only thing I can think of is that the diet I started about 6 months ago is starting to kick in and I'm having some kind of accerated weight loss. Or that because I haven't been to the gym so much I'm actually losing muscle weight.
Anyone know if thats normal?
anyhoo.
weight down 1.9kg (84.6!)
29 secs off 3k p.b. = 15.40secs (NEW PB!)
It can happen. I did P90x a couple of years ago, didn't lost anything for the first month or so, then start losing. Finished and didn't do exercise for awhile but still kept losing some weight.
Apparently, your body treats diet pop the same as regular. It doesnt know what to do with all the aspertane and stuff, so it stores it as fat.
Just saw this. Diet sodas don't contain anything with caloric content, so there's nothing to turn into fat. It's essentially just flavored water, completely free of the carbohydrates in regular colas, so it's not possible to gain weight purely from the soda itself.
What people speculate is that your insulin DOES spike when you drink a diet soda similarly to how it does when consuming real sugar, and that insulin surge causes your body to take whatever you're eating along with the soda to be stored as fat. Another theory is that the sodas somehow promote hunger (or just a lack of being sated by your meals), prompting diet drinkers to eat more food than they realize, or graze more often, etc. A third theory (and the one I think is most accurate) is that people sometimes feel since they're drinking diet sodas rather than sugary ones, they're taking one positive step towards health/weight loss and thus can slack a little more in other areas. It's a diet Coke rather than regular, so a bag of chips can't hurt, etc.
I lost a lot of weight while drinking 1-2 20oz diet sodas a day, a habit I continue to this day. I personally haven't had any problem with it, but I put a lot of effort into sticking with my diet.
Not sure if anyone's heard of this program but its pretty awesome and gets you sweating buckets! My bro linked it to me and I've been doing it for a couple of weeks now, definitely recommend checking it out.
Well, after months of hovering between 290 - 302, I finally joined a gym last week. The way this gym works is you go in for a "fitness test" which is just taking your blood pressure /heart rate and body fat % and doing a 3 minute 3 stair up and down, then taking your blood pressure and heart rate again. Talk about your goals and all that. Then, you come back for a second time a few days later and they create a workout program for you, based on your goals, to follow on your own. You get a sheet with the workout on it that lets you track your progress and stuff.
So, Last Tuesday, June 26th 2012, I went for my fitness test. In the morning I weighed in at 298. Although the highest I saw on the scale was 302 (that really hit home for me. Great wake up call), I'm going by the first day of the gym. so 298.
I had my last day of beach volleyball on the Wednesday, then on Thursday went for the second part where they walk me through the workout. It was a great workout for sure. Friday, right after work, I went to a cottage till monday where I drank all weekend, but I stayed to vodka and 20cal gaterade, instead of beer. I went to the gym on Tuesday, weighed myself wednesday morning and had lost 6lbs despite the weekend of drinking.
My goal is to go to the gym every day after work, on the way home, so I dont get comfortable and not want to leave my house. Every day. No excuses. monday, wed, friday I will do full body weights with 30 minutes of cardio. Tuesday and thursday, an hour of cardio. Since this week is only 4 days, its a little different, and my body is still getting use to it, so times may vary a little. I am super sore today because I really pushed myself on my walk / run (treadmill, 4 minutes of walking, 1 minute of 6mph running, repeat for an hour), but Im going to go anyways. Do a nice light walk instead for 30 minutes. Why? Because even though I'll be going slow, Ill still be lapping everyone on the couch. Saturday and Sunday will be my rest days. I know I need them.
In the past, I've always sort of looked at working out as a side project, which always results in it falling to the side. I have finally come to make it a priority by going on the way home from work. I have told my family and friends that I am unavailable until 730 each weekday. Also, in the past, I never liked going to the gym alone for fear of judgement or what have you. But, I realized this week, no one ACTUALLY cares. And if they do, I don't... One guy was lookin at me a little funny for using weights that were 1/3 the size of his for my freeweight stuff (bicep curls and lat raises), but I don't care. For once, I don't care. I'm just starting out, but the point is, I'm finally doing it. I actually feel GOOD walking into the gym after work. Even if Im tired at first, I feel great walking out after a great workout. Not gonna lie, having a half soaked tshirt from sweat is the greatest feeling.... Just looking at it knowing I am pushing myself.
Just discovered this thread! Awesome stuff all. Keep at it!
I too have recently decided (about 2 months ago) that I needed to do something about my weight. This job can really get to ya sometimes... I was at 216lbs when I decided to do something about it. I just want to say that for the most part I have not been able to exercise at all, I have not joined a gym or anything like that. So what have I been doing you ask?
As much leafy green veggies as possible! (I'm down to 197 as I write this.)
Breakfast =
Spinach shake: 1 banana, 3/4 handfuls of spinach, 2 handfuls of ice and 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder. - Or - Fresh carrot juice - Or - Green juice shot: lettuce/1apple/beets/spinich or kale/broccoli/tomato.
Lunch = Large salad or occasionally cheating and getting something like subway or a burrito.
Dinner = Whatever my wife makes/going out/ sometimes we do another Green Juice shot or have a light dinner.
(We also cut out all soda and fast food besides subway at the start of the year)
So there you have it... I highly recommend this lifestyle change. At first you can feel sorta sick from it as your body adjusts but if you stick with it past the first week or so you really get a ton of energy and start to feel great. (after pulling an all nighter at work during crunch my wife brought me a large cup of green juice the next morning, not only did my bloodshot eyes go away 30 minutes after drinking it but I was able to work the rest of the day as well without being tired until around 4:30 or so.
Moral of the story? Go buy yourself a juicer or a good blender and use it daily, you wont regret it!!!
Warning: Juiced greens taste nasty until your taste buds get used to it, so prepare yourself...
Ya, I've tried juicing before, artquest. But, I didnt do it right. I did it in the way of a diet, rather than a life style change. I've started eating healthier over all. I don't plan my my meals, or have a set list of what I eat, but I am far more conscious about my choices. I've been sticking to subway for the most part for the past few months, but even that, I was going to a few times a week for lunch at work. Or on the way home from work. But, honestly, even subway isn't the greatest choice. Yes, its FAR better than mcdonalds or something, but it's still a LOT of carbs, and some of the sauces are not good for you at all. My favourite ones, too. Go figure.
But, this week, I found out there is a grocery store about the same distance from work than subway (we're in the middle of no where). So, I've started going there to get their made daily whole wheat wraps, or their freshly cut fruit. Today, I got a large thing of mixed melon chunks. Cut daily, so it's all fresh. Far better for you than traditional fast food, or even subway. And just as fast.
Thing with my body though. I can not change my eating and still lose a crap ton of weight just by working out. It's how I lost 50lbs before. Didnt change my eating too much. But, now I actually WANT to change it. Change my life style over all and start looking out for me. Other people can wait. And if they dont like what I am eating, who cares.
im still maintaining my 180-183lb weight that i reached after my "vegan" diet. sort of feel like im in a rut. Ill work out between 2-3 times a week during my lunch hour at work.. either going to the park to run and do calisthenics, or going to a gym to lift weights. either way i dont see it as a bad thing that im still my same weight, but i do want to lose more. preferably get down to about 165. i try eating healthy when i can, but i do slack still sometimes. i think the biggest thing though that has helped me to not overeat is eating when im supposed to (breakfast at 8, etc) and having healthy snacks handy at work. i tried almonds a few weeks ago and they're great! never been a fan but now i keep a bag by my desk and have 1 serving a day. i may try mixing in a bit more of what i learned from the Engine 2 diet into what im doing now, but ill have to write down things to eat and not to eat, etc.
Overall ive learned that eating processed foods is a big thing that keeps me from losing weight, so sticking to fresh/unprocessed foods may be a route to go. it requires a bit more effort, is a bit more limiting, and can be a bit more expensive, but i think that after getting used to it, it may be worth it.
Ya, I've tried juicing before, artquest. But, I didnt do it right. I did it in the way of a diet, rather than a life style change. I've started eating healthier over all. I don't plan my my meals, or have a set list of what I eat, but I am far more conscious about my choices. I've been sticking to subway for the most part for the past few months, but even that, I was going to a few times a week for lunch at work. Or on the way home from work. But, honestly, even subway isn't the greatest choice. Yes, its FAR better than mcdonalds or something, but it's still a LOT of carbs, and some of the sauces are not good for you at all. My favourite ones, too. Go figure.
But, this week, I found out there is a grocery store about the same distance from work than subway (we're in the middle of no where). So, I've started going there to get their made daily whole wheat wraps, or their freshly cut fruit. Today, I got a large thing of mixed melon chunks. Cut daily, so it's all fresh. Far better for you than traditional fast food, or even subway. And just as fast.
Thing with my body though. I can not change my eating and still lose a crap ton of weight just by working out. It's how I lost 50lbs before. Didnt change my eating too much. But, now I actually WANT to change it. Change my life style over all and start looking out for me. Other people can wait. And if they dont like what I am eating, who cares.
Awesome, yeah thats the way to do it for sure. I've recently been watching some food documentaries on my netflix account. I never even knew how bad most of what we call "food" really is for our bodies. It's cool that there's a thread for this here on polycount.
btw I forgot to mention that I got my spinach shake recipe from Fit2fat2fit. It's an awesome resource for learning about health and whatnots.
Sorry Stinger but that is the dumbest article I have ever read on weight loss. There is no shortcut period. First of all 1600 is SUPER low for males (I am cutting on 2600 cals, offcourse this depends on each persons metabolism). To keep it simple eat protein, carbs and good fats in every meal. Protein helps curve your sweet tooth btw Crystel. There is a lot of math involved in this but I will give you the short version. If you are 200 lbs then eat 1g/lb of body weight of protein and carbs, so that is 200g of protein and 200g of carbs and rest into fats. Each gram of protein is 4 calories, same with carbs and fats is 9 calories per gram.
in may i started losing weight after some overcheezed pizza and resulting gall pain
after a week i was about 135kg, now i have 124kg
still alot of weight to loose
Great job, arrangemonk! Im glad you rezzed the thread!
A little update on my end. Today is my 6 week weigh in. I am down 19lbs (8.6kg). Im pretty happy about it. I'm 6lbs away from being at the weight I started this thread with, but that shouldnt take very long. People are starting to notice it as well. I notice a difference in some areas, but not in others. It will be interesting to see the before and after pictures. I plan to take pics every 3 months.
How have I done it? I stuck with my plan from page 13. I go to the gym every day on the way home from work so I don't get home and get comfy and not want to leave. I make healthier choices while eating. I try and drink vodka instead of beer, but I still have beer on the patio and while golfing and stuff. I still eat shitty food. Cake, cookies, chips. But my portion control is waaay better now. I use to open a bag of chips and eat the entire bag. Now I just have a small bowl and dont get seconds. My birthday was last week, so cake. I still have some left. I have little slices (ice cream cake), but i take my time and enjoy it. Before, I would have 1/6 of the cake per slice. But, I eat a lot of fruit (melon, mostly), and salad. I usually have a greek yogurt cup for breakfast, which is better than nothing. Diets do not work. They just don't. And lots of people will say you shouldn't have have that junk that i still eat. But the thing is, you shouldnt find something that works. Find something that works for you. And for me, still having the bad stuff in moderation keeps me away from having huge food binges. I dont crave stuff.
Really, I've just completely changed my lifestyle. It wasnt nearly as hard as I thought it would be. Once you make something a priority in your life, it becomes pretty easy.
so... about 3 months ago i started going to a local gym. the first month my training was 1 hour a day, 4 days a week. and went pretty much like this:
10 mins - stairmaster
10 mins - cycling
40 mins - weights.
i should mention the "weights", were those machines, i'm not sure what their names are... but they target a specific muscle group per machine, you sit there, do the exercise, move to the next machine.
my weight loss was... alright i guess? nothing spectacular. my starting weight was 283lbs (128kg), and in that first month i lost ~5lbs (2kg).
but then i convinced a couple of my friends to join up, one of them plays rugby pretty much all year and is as lean as it gets, but wanted to bulk up. my other friend is doing his personal trainer qualifications and also wanted to bulk up. he's ~6'5" tall, and weighs ~112lbs (50kg)... severely underweight, but not due to diet or anything, just has no muscle at all.
so anyway, he worked out a routine of doing a 3 day split, over 4 days (sounds weird i know). i wanted to work out 4 days a week, mon, tues, thurs, fri. so he built a routine.
day 1 - upper body
day 2 - lower body
day 3 - core
it worked out like this; week 1:
mon - day 1
tues - day 2
thurs - day 3
fri - day 1
week 2:
mon - day 2
tues - day 3
thurs - day 1
fri - day 2
week 3:
mon - day 3
tues - day 1
thurs - day 2
fri - day 3
so by the end of 3 weeks, you've done each "day" twice. i'm happy to report that in the last 8 weeks since we started this, i'm now down to 255lbs (115kg) for a total weight loss of 28lbs (13kg).
i've found i'm starting to plateau on the weightloss now though, it seems as though the fat is still burning off, albeit at a slower rate than it was previously. but i'm also putting on muscle, which is slowing visible weightloss (muscle is heavier than fat).
i do feel a hell of a lot better though, i'm more active, simple things like getting out of bed (don't laugh) and walking up/down stairs has been a lot easier, i don't get out of breath anymore.
i've also cut down on portion sizes on food, and cut chocolate out of my diet entirely. that's the only big change to my diet... i tried doing everything all at once... changing everything i eat, portion sizes, etc. and it just didn't work. but removing JUST chocolate was so easy, and it's worked so well. my energy levels don't feel like they're up and down all the time anymore.
so yeah! hopefully by Eurogamer Expo, the regular london polycounters might notice a difference to my body shape!
Damn, gir. So that's what? 23lbs in 8 weeks? Since you lost 5 the first month? That's fantastic! And now, Im going to try and beat you. haha. I have 2 weeks to lose more than 4lbs. Challenge... ACCEPTED.
I guess I should throw in my workout, eh?
Monday - Weights and cardio (30 min each)
Tuesday - Cardio (40 - 60 minutes. depending how I am feeling, or what I have to do that night)
Wednesday - Weights and cardio (30 min each)
Thursday - Cardio (40 - 60)
Friday - Weights and cardio (30 min each)
My weight workout is this.
2x15 Machine - Seatied Press
2x15 MAchine - Cybex pulldown
2x15 Machine - Leg Press
{2x15 - Db Alternate Curl
{2x15 - Db Lateral Raise
So, the ones with { infront, I do them back to back. So 15 of each with no break, then a small breather then 15 of each again. Where as the others, I do 15, breather, 15.
My cardio is usually walking the Hill setting on the treadmill. Usually on a average setting of 12, STarting at a speed of 2.8mph, and by the end, Im usually around 3.7mph
Gir, you beat me. haha. 22 lbs in 8 weeks. This last week, I only lost one because I injured my neck and couldnt be active or go to the gym for most of it. Oh well. Still happy
man, there is NOTHING to be unhappy about with that result, seriously!
i've not been to the gym in the last couple of weeks due to girlfriend not deciding whether she's having our baby or not, and then finally having her, and now looking after her and trying to work at the same time...
arrangemonk: Awesome man! just keep going. Also how are you losing weight? diet, sports or both?
slipsius: Your dedication is inspiring! Great that you`re seeing good results
Gir: great work. ive always had trouble with sticking to going to the gym.
I`m still at a 90 kilos since losing 40kilos,
pretty funny story.
My scale i use weighs me 10 kilos less than the actual weight.
I`ve always been using the same scale and i thought i weight 120kg before i started the weightloss.
So i came to a point where i lost 40kg and thought i was at 80kg until i tried my parents new scale...
See when i moved earlier this year i took that broken scale with me and my parents had to buy a new one.
It wasn't until i went to my parents house over the weekend that i noticed i gained 10 kilos in a day 0_0.
So i ran over to my sisters house to see if it was the new scales fault or mine and it turned out my scale was wrong all along
Cant say it was really motivating when i came to that conclusion but i do want to lose another 10 kilo now.
I`m still jogging, even though it isn`t a 4/5x a week deal anymore i still run a minimum of 2x a week and those are 12 kilometers a run
about 2 months back i managed to run 35kilometers and i would love to go for the full marathon so i know what to aim for
Anyway since the beginning of this week i`m back in my weightloss mindset going for that 80 kilo mark
I've been working out harder then ever now that my cross country season has started. Some intense cardio/weight training going on. Figured I should share some of the stuff that I've done and maybe one of you could mimic some of my workouts or morph them into something your comfortable with.
The most important thing is obviously the cardio. The cardio and mileage is the base that gets built upon with speed. Most people solely train in mileage and base so I'll just talk about those workouts.
First off, you're actually going to need to run a particular pace on these runs. For the most part, anything slower then 10 minute pace is a wasted run in a lot of cases. Of course in extreme cases maybe not. As the runs start to get easier at certain paces once you build up your fitness, fiddle around with the pace until you get down to about 8 minute pace. This will take a while if you starting at 10 minute pace. But again if 8 minute pace feels easy go lower and lower if you can.
Next, you need to know how to prep for a run. Firstly you should have some fuel in your body. You should eat something about an hour and a half to an hour before you run, preferably something with a high amount of complex carbs. They don't give as much energy as simple sugars, but the energy lasts longer and there's no crash. You should also be well hydrated. Hydration can make a run that would've been awful amazing. You will simply have more endurance if you're better hydrated. And don't run with a water bottle, train yourself not to rely on it, plus, the extra weight can wreck your form, and when your form gets wrecked, so does your body.
For hydration, you should start a couple hours before your run, and just take light sips every so often, never chug, that's what causes cramps. I go through about four water bottles before my long runs. Don't drink the half hour before the run so you have time to piss, and then take one last sip before you head out.
The next step for preparation is perhaps the most important because this is the one that prevents injury: stretching. Regular static stretching has been getting a lot of flack lately, as its been proven that static stretching (reaching down to you toes, pressing you foot against a wall, etc) actually tightens the muscle and causes tension and weakness, and will inevitably lead to injury. This information is out there and yet so many people still stretch statically, or they don't stretch at all which is just as bad. If you're going to strech, which I of course suggest you do, visit www.whartonperformace.com . This is the site of stretching guru Jim Wharton, who goes over his dynamic flexibility routine, which is proven to lengthen and release the muscle for optimal running performance.
Now for runs, here's the schedule.
mond: 60 min
tues: 90 min
wed: 60 min
thurs: 65 min
fri: 4 X mile at tempo pace (about a minute and a half faster then your run pace) with a minutes rest in between intervals.
sat: 70 min
sun: rest day
Ok, so thats my routine, feel free to edit it around if you want, this is a pretty extreme schedule.
Next is recovering from a run. Every run, your muscle deteriorate a little bit. Your bones get a little bit weaker, and because a lot of casual runners don't recover properly, they get problems in their joints, most commonly the knee. This also has to do with muscle strengthening but I won't get into that hehe.
Recovery involves three, maybe four things depending on how hardcore you are. The first two mandatory ones are food, stretching and a recovery jog. You need to get some food into your system within twenty minutes of the run for it to have the desired muscle rebuilding effect. The food should be a good 4 to 1 carb to protein ratio. The best food for this is a banana with two tablespoons of peanut butter, natural of course. I went over stretching above and your recovery jog should be at piss pace for about 5 to ten minutes. That's just for flushing wastes out of your legs. Now the third thing would be ice bathes. Ice bathes are great for soothing and cooling the muscles down. If you can, find a giant container big enough to hold you, and then simply fill it with cold water and ice, and sit in it at least up to you belly button for about 10 minutes. If you don't want to go this route, you can simply ice problem areas as they arise, but I suggest ice bathes .
Well, that's all I'm going to share for now, I hope some of you found this helpful or at least found some of it interesting enough to try, it does take a lot of effort and time, but once you get into it, it becomes a part of your routine and you will feel stronger and healthier.
Oh and uh I've gotten all of this info from the man I talked about Jim Wharton the stretching and health guru and my coach, who is highly regarded in the northeast area so I'm not talking out of my ass .
If anyone is looking for an easy way to track calories
I've been using http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ to input my meals
The layout is by far the best I've seen
I have been using myfitnesspal as well. I use both the site and the iPhone app. Its great.
With the help of myfitness pal, and jogging every day I have lost almost 40lbs
Just started swimming today. First 200m was really terrible. After the initial effort, things started to get more interesting. I'd have to say its a great exercise, in replacement to running (my knee is injuried, I can't run for a while). I recomend. You can burn until 600 cal in a hour of training.
JR - do you get just the one knee botching up? I had the same thing but only in the right knee, I never get issues with my left. I hate having to rest it and miss out on training XO
Yeah, the right knee. Left leg never gave me problem. With right I've already had problems with Achilles tendon, other feet tendons and now the knee. Orthopedists always said to me that my footstep with the right leg is not good. This is the origin of this problem.
By now, as I simply can't stand resting, I'm going to the gym, and now swimming, until my knee recover.
so after ~10 weeks of not going to the gym, and putting weight back on, i've started going again. baby is in a proper routine now, so i can actually leave the house without all hell breaking loose hahaha!
have left the weights blank so you can use the sheets if you like. idea behind them is pretty much the standard isolation routine, but every day has some core at the end of it.
I found an effective yet terrible shortcut for losing weight. I was an undiagnosed diabetic for about 6+ months. My body basically stopped absorbing carbs. I went from 230 to 150. This also percipitated a heart attack, but I was the skinniest guys in the cardiac ward.
Now I've fixed my diet and barely need insulin. 45-50 carbs per meal, and the pounds are staying off.
BTW no heart disease, just clogged plumbing with is now clear.
well my diet from last year went to hell, lost the weight too fast got pissed off and put it back on.
back down to 236 pounds, lost about 24 pounds. Its really hard work at times.
prior to gaining weight I had always been thin, right through childhood, right up till I was around 30 years old so it's quite annoying to be a fat git:0
I am aiming for around 196 pounds as a target weight.
DavePhipps that's terrible, hope you feel better now.
After come back from holiday then not being able to exercise for a few weeks due to an annoyingly persistent cough, I've started up again. I'd been doing Rushfit so hadn't done heavy lifting for awhile, so decided to go back to basics.
I highly recommend Mark Ripptoes' 'Starting Strength', even if you don't follow the workout plan, just the breakdown of the main lifts is worth reading. It goes into great detail on form such as foot position, grip, breathing, the mechanics of the joint etc. and I've found it's already made noticeable improvements to my form and thus feel safer too.
I second Starting Strength, or the derivative Stronglifts.com workouts. Well performed compound exercises are the best for strength gain and weight loss, plus I just find squats and deadlifts extremely fun.
And then it's christmas again... how to avoid eating like a crazy and gain some extra pounds, after fighting through all the year to lose them? Or eat without feeling guilt, thinking in lose them later?
Replies
Not going to give up on it, but going to save it for part of the day when I can lie down afterwards for an hour, at least until I can take it. Maybe try it with a different exercise
I am down to around 262 now -- since the holidays are over I have started to drop a few more pounds.
OrganizedChaos: I used to have that same issue. I have been sort of doing the leangains.com stuff, of mostly fasting in the morning, and saving my carbs for after a workout. I try not to get too fixated on sticking to a strict diet, and I will sometimes have some cake or fries for dinner before the craving gets too bad. The main thing is to cut out habitual carb eating, like always eating bread, pasta, rice or potatos with every meal. I don't even miss that stuff most of the time anymore.
I was doing some aerobics, and noticed my foot is still kind of messed up, which is a bummer, but not so bad since It doesn't stop me from jogging.
I hit the 80Kg mark today, which means i lost 40Kg (88 pounds) aka 1/3th of my original weight ^^.
Ninjas - Tabatas always make we want to vomit, but they're seriously the most effective fat loss program I've tried. Takes a few weeks to get to the point where you don't feel like passing out by the 5th or 6th set. Best part is is you can mix up exercises and do a few sets per day targeting different body parts, and keep the intensity up. Really kicks your metabolism up a notch
My weight loss has slowed down to about 0.3 kg a week now, a lot less tubby than when I started though.
i was turned off by it at first.. the thought of giving up meat, dairy, and especially oils (you would be surprised how many things you would find oil in) was just something i didnt think i would be able to do. so i stayed with my diet and my brother went with his. my brother started his diet at 213lbs. after his first week.. he weighed in at 203 lbs. after his third, he weighed in at 195. after seeing his results, i gave it a shot.
i started last wednesday at 190lbs, and today my official weigh in.. im 185. this diet is excellent. i was able to get over not eating meat after a few days or so. i still have cravings for milk and cheese every now and then, but there are some replacements.
if any of you feel adventurous and want to check it out, you can get all the info you need at
http://engine2diet.com/
so year to date i believe that its a total of 20lbs ive lost. so now im 180lbs. havent been like this since high school. still goin for about 10-15 more.
I was really hoping that starting this thread would help me keep with it, but I fell off the wagon very quickly. I started at about 273 or something, when starting this thread. Last monday, after a weekend of doing nothing but eating and drinking (girlfriends birthday weekend. her family dinner 1 night, friends dinner the next. my family dinner the next), I weighed in at 300lbs.... Which is my heaviest, and seeing a 3 at the start of the number made me extremely sad and I felt like absolute ass.
Well, something had to be done, so I decided to cut out pop all together, even diet. I drink alot of diet coke, cause my mom always brings it home. So I`ve switched to water, while having crystal light singles when I need flavour. Apparently, your body treats diet pop the same as regular. It doesnt know what to do with all the aspertane and stuff, so it stores it as fat.
Anyhoo, just switching to water and not havin any pop (or beer... this week), even while eating left over cake and chips and stuff through the week (in moderation), I lost 7 lbs this week. I only did physical stuff on Saturday, for the whole day, helping my sister renovate her new house. Good start, which made me happy. Lets see if I can keep at it.
On a side note, a friend of mine, in the last year, has lost 112lbs. woo.
for water, those crystal light things are good but there's these liquid flavor things called Mio, that ive found to taste a bit better. my brother and i will go through those a lot. makes you kind of want to drink water with all the different flavors you can have.
Still motivated!
Anyone know if thats normal?
anyhoo.
weight down 1.9kg (84.6!)
29 secs off 3k p.b. = 15.40secs (NEW PB!)
PS. Grats
Also, you can lose weight just by eating less calories, so if you`re on a diet, like you said you are, then that would be natural for sure.
Losing muscle mass can happen. But not that quickly. Especially if you`re still going once a week.
Hell, you can lose a few pounds just from water weight.
Just saw this. Diet sodas don't contain anything with caloric content, so there's nothing to turn into fat. It's essentially just flavored water, completely free of the carbohydrates in regular colas, so it's not possible to gain weight purely from the soda itself.
What people speculate is that your insulin DOES spike when you drink a diet soda similarly to how it does when consuming real sugar, and that insulin surge causes your body to take whatever you're eating along with the soda to be stored as fat. Another theory is that the sodas somehow promote hunger (or just a lack of being sated by your meals), prompting diet drinkers to eat more food than they realize, or graze more often, etc. A third theory (and the one I think is most accurate) is that people sometimes feel since they're drinking diet sodas rather than sugary ones, they're taking one positive step towards health/weight loss and thus can slack a little more in other areas. It's a diet Coke rather than regular, so a bag of chips can't hurt, etc.
I lost a lot of weight while drinking 1-2 20oz diet sodas a day, a habit I continue to this day. I personally haven't had any problem with it, but I put a lot of effort into sticking with my diet.
[ame="
Not sure if anyone's heard of this program but its pretty awesome and gets you sweating buckets! My bro linked it to me and I've been doing it for a couple of weeks now, definitely recommend checking it out.
So, Last Tuesday, June 26th 2012, I went for my fitness test. In the morning I weighed in at 298. Although the highest I saw on the scale was 302 (that really hit home for me. Great wake up call), I'm going by the first day of the gym. so 298.
I had my last day of beach volleyball on the Wednesday, then on Thursday went for the second part where they walk me through the workout. It was a great workout for sure. Friday, right after work, I went to a cottage till monday where I drank all weekend, but I stayed to vodka and 20cal gaterade, instead of beer. I went to the gym on Tuesday, weighed myself wednesday morning and had lost 6lbs despite the weekend of drinking.
My goal is to go to the gym every day after work, on the way home, so I dont get comfortable and not want to leave my house. Every day. No excuses. monday, wed, friday I will do full body weights with 30 minutes of cardio. Tuesday and thursday, an hour of cardio. Since this week is only 4 days, its a little different, and my body is still getting use to it, so times may vary a little. I am super sore today because I really pushed myself on my walk / run (treadmill, 4 minutes of walking, 1 minute of 6mph running, repeat for an hour), but Im going to go anyways. Do a nice light walk instead for 30 minutes. Why? Because even though I'll be going slow, Ill still be lapping everyone on the couch. Saturday and Sunday will be my rest days. I know I need them.
In the past, I've always sort of looked at working out as a side project, which always results in it falling to the side. I have finally come to make it a priority by going on the way home from work. I have told my family and friends that I am unavailable until 730 each weekday. Also, in the past, I never liked going to the gym alone for fear of judgement or what have you. But, I realized this week, no one ACTUALLY cares. And if they do, I don't... One guy was lookin at me a little funny for using weights that were 1/3 the size of his for my freeweight stuff (bicep curls and lat raises), but I don't care. For once, I don't care. I'm just starting out, but the point is, I'm finally doing it. I actually feel GOOD walking into the gym after work. Even if Im tired at first, I feel great walking out after a great workout. Not gonna lie, having a half soaked tshirt from sweat is the greatest feeling.... Just looking at it knowing I am pushing myself.
Anywas, yup. That's my update.
I too have recently decided (about 2 months ago) that I needed to do something about my weight. This job can really get to ya sometimes... I was at 216lbs when I decided to do something about it. I just want to say that for the most part I have not been able to exercise at all, I have not joined a gym or anything like that. So what have I been doing you ask?
As much leafy green veggies as possible! (I'm down to 197 as I write this.)
Breakfast =
Spinach shake: 1 banana, 3/4 handfuls of spinach, 2 handfuls of ice and 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder. - Or - Fresh carrot juice - Or - Green juice shot: lettuce/1apple/beets/spinich or kale/broccoli/tomato.
Lunch = Large salad or occasionally cheating and getting something like subway or a burrito.
Dinner = Whatever my wife makes/going out/ sometimes we do another Green Juice shot or have a light dinner.
(We also cut out all soda and fast food besides subway at the start of the year)
So there you have it... I highly recommend this lifestyle change. At first you can feel sorta sick from it as your body adjusts but if you stick with it past the first week or so you really get a ton of energy and start to feel great. (after pulling an all nighter at work during crunch my wife brought me a large cup of green juice the next morning, not only did my bloodshot eyes go away 30 minutes after drinking it but I was able to work the rest of the day as well without being tired until around 4:30 or so.
Moral of the story? Go buy yourself a juicer or a good blender and use it daily, you wont regret it!!!
Warning: Juiced greens taste nasty until your taste buds get used to it, so prepare yourself...
Ya, I've tried juicing before, artquest. But, I didnt do it right. I did it in the way of a diet, rather than a life style change. I've started eating healthier over all. I don't plan my my meals, or have a set list of what I eat, but I am far more conscious about my choices. I've been sticking to subway for the most part for the past few months, but even that, I was going to a few times a week for lunch at work. Or on the way home from work. But, honestly, even subway isn't the greatest choice. Yes, its FAR better than mcdonalds or something, but it's still a LOT of carbs, and some of the sauces are not good for you at all. My favourite ones, too. Go figure.
But, this week, I found out there is a grocery store about the same distance from work than subway (we're in the middle of no where). So, I've started going there to get their made daily whole wheat wraps, or their freshly cut fruit. Today, I got a large thing of mixed melon chunks. Cut daily, so it's all fresh. Far better for you than traditional fast food, or even subway. And just as fast.
Thing with my body though. I can not change my eating and still lose a crap ton of weight just by working out. It's how I lost 50lbs before. Didnt change my eating too much. But, now I actually WANT to change it. Change my life style over all and start looking out for me. Other people can wait. And if they dont like what I am eating, who cares.
im still maintaining my 180-183lb weight that i reached after my "vegan" diet. sort of feel like im in a rut. Ill work out between 2-3 times a week during my lunch hour at work.. either going to the park to run and do calisthenics, or going to a gym to lift weights. either way i dont see it as a bad thing that im still my same weight, but i do want to lose more. preferably get down to about 165. i try eating healthy when i can, but i do slack still sometimes. i think the biggest thing though that has helped me to not overeat is eating when im supposed to (breakfast at 8, etc) and having healthy snacks handy at work. i tried almonds a few weeks ago and they're great! never been a fan but now i keep a bag by my desk and have 1 serving a day. i may try mixing in a bit more of what i learned from the Engine 2 diet into what im doing now, but ill have to write down things to eat and not to eat, etc.
Overall ive learned that eating processed foods is a big thing that keeps me from losing weight, so sticking to fresh/unprocessed foods may be a route to go. it requires a bit more effort, is a bit more limiting, and can be a bit more expensive, but i think that after getting used to it, it may be worth it.
keep up the progress everyone.
Awesome, yeah thats the way to do it for sure.
btw I forgot to mention that I got my spinach shake recipe from Fit2fat2fit. It's an awesome resource for learning about health and whatnots.
after a week i was about 135kg, now i have 124kg
still alot of weight to loose
A little update on my end. Today is my 6 week weigh in. I am down 19lbs (8.6kg). Im pretty happy about it. I'm 6lbs away from being at the weight I started this thread with, but that shouldnt take very long. People are starting to notice it as well. I notice a difference in some areas, but not in others. It will be interesting to see the before and after pictures. I plan to take pics every 3 months.
How have I done it? I stuck with my plan from page 13. I go to the gym every day on the way home from work so I don't get home and get comfy and not want to leave. I make healthier choices while eating. I try and drink vodka instead of beer, but I still have beer on the patio and while golfing and stuff. I still eat shitty food. Cake, cookies, chips. But my portion control is waaay better now. I use to open a bag of chips and eat the entire bag. Now I just have a small bowl and dont get seconds. My birthday was last week, so cake. I still have some left. I have little slices (ice cream cake), but i take my time and enjoy it. Before, I would have 1/6 of the cake per slice. But, I eat a lot of fruit (melon, mostly), and salad. I usually have a greek yogurt cup for breakfast, which is better than nothing. Diets do not work. They just don't. And lots of people will say you shouldn't have have that junk that i still eat. But the thing is, you shouldnt find something that works. Find something that works for you. And for me, still having the bad stuff in moderation keeps me away from having huge food binges. I dont crave stuff.
Really, I've just completely changed my lifestyle. It wasnt nearly as hard as I thought it would be. Once you make something a priority in your life, it becomes pretty easy.
10 mins - stairmaster
10 mins - cycling
40 mins - weights.
i should mention the "weights", were those machines, i'm not sure what their names are... but they target a specific muscle group per machine, you sit there, do the exercise, move to the next machine.
my weight loss was... alright i guess? nothing spectacular. my starting weight was 283lbs (128kg), and in that first month i lost ~5lbs (2kg).
but then i convinced a couple of my friends to join up, one of them plays rugby pretty much all year and is as lean as it gets, but wanted to bulk up. my other friend is doing his personal trainer qualifications and also wanted to bulk up. he's ~6'5" tall, and weighs ~112lbs (50kg)... severely underweight, but not due to diet or anything, just has no muscle at all.
so anyway, he worked out a routine of doing a 3 day split, over 4 days (sounds weird i know). i wanted to work out 4 days a week, mon, tues, thurs, fri. so he built a routine.
day 1 - upper body
day 2 - lower body
day 3 - core
it worked out like this; week 1:
mon - day 1
tues - day 2
thurs - day 3
fri - day 1
week 2:
mon - day 2
tues - day 3
thurs - day 1
fri - day 2
week 3:
mon - day 3
tues - day 1
thurs - day 2
fri - day 3
so by the end of 3 weeks, you've done each "day" twice. i'm happy to report that in the last 8 weeks since we started this, i'm now down to 255lbs (115kg) for a total weight loss of 28lbs (13kg).
i've found i'm starting to plateau on the weightloss now though, it seems as though the fat is still burning off, albeit at a slower rate than it was previously. but i'm also putting on muscle, which is slowing visible weightloss (muscle is heavier than fat).
i do feel a hell of a lot better though, i'm more active, simple things like getting out of bed (don't laugh) and walking up/down stairs has been a lot easier, i don't get out of breath anymore.
i've also cut down on portion sizes on food, and cut chocolate out of my diet entirely. that's the only big change to my diet... i tried doing everything all at once... changing everything i eat, portion sizes, etc. and it just didn't work. but removing JUST chocolate was so easy, and it's worked so well. my energy levels don't feel like they're up and down all the time anymore.
so yeah! hopefully by Eurogamer Expo, the regular london polycounters might notice a difference to my body shape!
I guess I should throw in my workout, eh?
Monday - Weights and cardio (30 min each)
Tuesday - Cardio (40 - 60 minutes. depending how I am feeling, or what I have to do that night)
Wednesday - Weights and cardio (30 min each)
Thursday - Cardio (40 - 60)
Friday - Weights and cardio (30 min each)
My weight workout is this.
2x15 Machine - Seatied Press
2x15 MAchine - Cybex pulldown
2x15 Machine - Leg Press
{2x15 - Db Alternate Curl
{2x15 - Db Lateral Raise
{2x15 - woodchop Cable
{2x15 - Tricep Extension Cable
2x15 - Machine - Ab crunch
2x15 - Machine - Back Extension
So, the ones with { infront, I do them back to back. So 15 of each with no break, then a small breather then 15 of each again. Where as the others, I do 15, breather, 15.
My cardio is usually walking the Hill setting on the treadmill. Usually on a average setting of 12, STarting at a speed of 2.8mph, and by the end, Im usually around 3.7mph
[ame="
i've not been to the gym in the last couple of weeks due to girlfriend not deciding whether she's having our baby or not, and then finally having her, and now looking after her and trying to work at the same time...
going again next week though.
slipsius: Your dedication is inspiring! Great that you`re seeing good results
Gir: great work. ive always had trouble with sticking to going to the gym.
I`m still at a 90 kilos since losing 40kilos,
pretty funny story.
My scale i use weighs me 10 kilos less than the actual weight.
I`ve always been using the same scale and i thought i weight 120kg before i started the weightloss.
So i came to a point where i lost 40kg and thought i was at 80kg until i tried my parents new scale...
See when i moved earlier this year i took that broken scale with me and my parents had to buy a new one.
It wasn't until i went to my parents house over the weekend that i noticed i gained 10 kilos in a day 0_0.
So i ran over to my sisters house to see if it was the new scales fault or mine and it turned out my scale was wrong all along
Cant say it was really motivating when i came to that conclusion but i do want to lose another 10 kilo now.
I`m still jogging, even though it isn`t a 4/5x a week deal anymore i still run a minimum of 2x a week and those are 12 kilometers a run
about 2 months back i managed to run 35kilometers and i would love to go for the full marathon so i know what to aim for
Anyway since the beginning of this week i`m back in my weightloss mindset going for that 80 kilo mark
The most important thing is obviously the cardio. The cardio and mileage is the base that gets built upon with speed. Most people solely train in mileage and base so I'll just talk about those workouts.
First off, you're actually going to need to run a particular pace on these runs. For the most part, anything slower then 10 minute pace is a wasted run in a lot of cases. Of course in extreme cases maybe not. As the runs start to get easier at certain paces once you build up your fitness, fiddle around with the pace until you get down to about 8 minute pace. This will take a while if you starting at 10 minute pace. But again if 8 minute pace feels easy go lower and lower if you can.
Next, you need to know how to prep for a run. Firstly you should have some fuel in your body. You should eat something about an hour and a half to an hour before you run, preferably something with a high amount of complex carbs. They don't give as much energy as simple sugars, but the energy lasts longer and there's no crash. You should also be well hydrated. Hydration can make a run that would've been awful amazing. You will simply have more endurance if you're better hydrated. And don't run with a water bottle, train yourself not to rely on it, plus, the extra weight can wreck your form, and when your form gets wrecked, so does your body.
For hydration, you should start a couple hours before your run, and just take light sips every so often, never chug, that's what causes cramps. I go through about four water bottles before my long runs. Don't drink the half hour before the run so you have time to piss, and then take one last sip before you head out.
The next step for preparation is perhaps the most important because this is the one that prevents injury: stretching. Regular static stretching has been getting a lot of flack lately, as its been proven that static stretching (reaching down to you toes, pressing you foot against a wall, etc) actually tightens the muscle and causes tension and weakness, and will inevitably lead to injury. This information is out there and yet so many people still stretch statically, or they don't stretch at all which is just as bad. If you're going to strech, which I of course suggest you do, visit www.whartonperformace.com . This is the site of stretching guru Jim Wharton, who goes over his dynamic flexibility routine, which is proven to lengthen and release the muscle for optimal running performance.
Now for runs, here's the schedule.
mond: 60 min
tues: 90 min
wed: 60 min
thurs: 65 min
fri: 4 X mile at tempo pace (about a minute and a half faster then your run pace) with a minutes rest in between intervals.
sat: 70 min
sun: rest day
Ok, so thats my routine, feel free to edit it around if you want, this is a pretty extreme schedule.
Next is recovering from a run. Every run, your muscle deteriorate a little bit. Your bones get a little bit weaker, and because a lot of casual runners don't recover properly, they get problems in their joints, most commonly the knee. This also has to do with muscle strengthening but I won't get into that hehe.
Recovery involves three, maybe four things depending on how hardcore you are. The first two mandatory ones are food, stretching and a recovery jog. You need to get some food into your system within twenty minutes of the run for it to have the desired muscle rebuilding effect. The food should be a good 4 to 1 carb to protein ratio. The best food for this is a banana with two tablespoons of peanut butter, natural of course. I went over stretching above and your recovery jog should be at piss pace for about 5 to ten minutes. That's just for flushing wastes out of your legs. Now the third thing would be ice bathes. Ice bathes are great for soothing and cooling the muscles down. If you can, find a giant container big enough to hold you, and then simply fill it with cold water and ice, and sit in it at least up to you belly button for about 10 minutes. If you don't want to go this route, you can simply ice problem areas as they arise, but I suggest ice bathes
Well, that's all I'm going to share for now, I hope some of you found this helpful or at least found some of it interesting enough to try, it does take a lot of effort and time, but once you get into it, it becomes a part of your routine and you will feel stronger and healthier.
Oh and uh I've gotten all of this info from the man I talked about Jim Wharton the stretching and health guru and my coach, who is highly regarded in the northeast area so I'm not talking out of my ass
I've been using http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ to input my meals
The layout is by far the best I've seen
With the help of myfitness pal, and jogging every day I have lost almost 40lbs
[ame="
By now, as I simply can't stand resting, I'm going to the gym, and now swimming, until my knee recover.
my new workout goes like this!
Monday
Tuesday
Thursday
Friday
have left the weights blank so you can use the sheets if you like. idea behind them is pretty much the standard isolation routine, but every day has some core at the end of it.
it's gnarly.
Now I've fixed my diet and barely need insulin. 45-50 carbs per meal, and the pounds are staying off.
BTW no heart disease, just clogged plumbing with is now clear.
i get the tonsils removed on 19.11
hope the illness stuff goes away then and i can do sports properly again
back down to 236 pounds, lost about 24 pounds. Its really hard work at times.
prior to gaining weight I had always been thin, right through childhood, right up till I was around 30 years old so it's quite annoying to be a fat git:0
I am aiming for around 196 pounds as a target weight.
DavePhipps that's terrible, hope you feel better now.
I highly recommend Mark Ripptoes' 'Starting Strength', even if you don't follow the workout plan, just the breakdown of the main lifts is worth reading. It goes into great detail on form such as foot position, grip, breathing, the mechanics of the joint etc. and I've found it's already made noticeable improvements to my form and thus feel safer too.