Fitness/ Weight loss check in!

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Summerof79

2,500+ Posts
I know there were several folks interested in trying to change their ways for the coming year and I was wondering what sort of success (or failure) you have been having?

As for myself I have been pretty religious about the exercise and sticking to my modest goals. Usually I aim at something like a triathlon, train like a maniac for 6 months, complete the race... then go back slowly to my old habits. This go round I decided to try and lose 6-7 pounds a month and simply make sure I break a sweat every day (the Matthew McConaughey method). Since I was so fat I wanted to be very gradual in my approach so as not to injure myself and watch the effort go right down the rat hole.

So since early January I have lost a little over 12 pounds conservatively, in that my "bounce up" weight is about 12 pounds less than my starting point. Got a physical, and blood work done which surprisingly wasn't as bad as I thought. With only slightly elevated (110) LDL Cholesterol, but low on the HDL... My triglycerides were 156 with normal range at 150. most importantly my glucose was within range which I (and my wife) was worried about. Mainly as my weight is all in my gut for the most part and that is often a symptom of potential pre-diabetes situation. But I was close to the upper range...

Anyhow I have been making sure I exercise for an hour a day, started off walking 20 min, then 45 then an hour a day after the first week. Now I was really good at first on the diet during the week and not horrible on the weekends. Mostly just trying to make better choices and stay away from most anything fried. However unlike in the past I don't fret over "setbacks" where I have a little too much to drink on the weekend, meet somebody for happy hour or whatever. Since my goals are modest, I know that hiccups are not going to deter the overall goal.

My real goal is fitness! I already feel MUCH better than I did a month ago, on my hour walks I now run every other quarter mile on miles 2 and 3, averaging 4 miles a day in about an hour. Started swimming and lifting about two weeks ago and can definitely feel the difference in the gradual firming up of the upper body. Still fat as ****, but underneath the fat I can feel my fitness improving. More importantly outside of the top of my right foot no nagging discomfort, and the foot isn't bad.

Anyhow after just less than a month down 12+ pounds, and the body fat percentage and the muscle percentage are about to cross paths in the next month. Not quite time to buy new jeans yet, but it's nice to put my old jeans on after washing them and not feeling like they need to "stretch out" a bit before they are comfortable. Not they are barely snug when I put them on.

My goals are still very modest and if I hold my pace I am going to be in fine shape by June. I want to gradually ramp up the percentage of running in my walking routine over the next two months but I am not going to push it. Just stick to a plan of gradual increases in my training that are easily absorbed and actually enjoyable. Started out right at 245, and the scale said 128.9 this AM, and I can't wait to work out! even thinking about signing up for the Capital 10K as a long training day on the list, and perhapa a triathlon in late Summer! Still the goal of ripping on the slalom ski this Summer looks to be on target.

So how is your fitenss/weight loss coming?
 
Took me 3 weeks to lose two pounds, then gained 6 over this weekend... But I'm getting skinnier... I hope I am trading evenly here...
 
It's not the wieght it's the body composition. Losing size and staying the same weight means you are adding muscle and reducing the fat. Which is GREAT!
 
I've mostly just tried to avoid eating out on weeknights (and week lunches) and excercise at least 4 times a week. I am not doing anything extreme because a. I'm not in bad shape and b. I enjoy my weekends and don't want to be that person drinking water and eating lettuce while everyone else has beer and wings.
It seems to be working, I've lost about 4 lbs so far, and I was stuck at the same weight for over a year. (this is significant for me, I was stuck at 120 so 4 lbs is a big enough amount to talk about).

Glad you all are doing well, keep it up!
 
I have lost about 10-15 pounds in the last month-and-a-half or so. I wasn't that overweight, but I have a thin frame, so it definitely showed.

I am doing 45-60 min of cardio five times a week and three-four days of weights. I also stopped eating like I wanted a heart attack at 35 and have really paid attention to what goes in.

Aside from dropping most of the gut, I feel so much better and energized now.
 
219 to 190 between mid Sept and xmas. After the holiday, 192 to 185. The frequency of falling off the wagon is much increasing, I gotta say. Last weekend while in Austin we had tex mex twice with muy margaritas.

I keep telling myself its not about the weight (or the body composition) but just sticking with the behaviors I'm shooting for. Month after month. I'm sure those behaviors will stabilize with a certain percentage of compromises.

Sticking with the exercise has been a key.

Still, its nice to be making progress.
 
215 to 200 from September to January. I've been at 200 for a while. I started eating poorly, but I've been hitting the gym 5 times a week and working out hard...

I know I would start dropping serious lbs if I stopped stuffing my face.
 
I didn't start in January. Last summer I was around 250; I was exercising but not as consistently as I had been in the past. In September, I did two things: I began exercising more faithfully a bit more frequently, and began keeping track of what I ate and drank. I didn't eliminate anything from my diet.

Like the original poster, I didn't want to yo-yo between events, so I'm trying to schedule some events to keep me motivated to keep exercising at a certain level.

On Sept 10 I was 245; last Friday I was 206. I ran the 1/2 marathon last week and it was honestly very easy.

I also had another body composition scan last month, which was interesting, compared to one five years ago.
 
205 2 weeks ago. 197 now. I expect it to fall off as I went from eating terribly with dessert for every meal, to eating well and getting back into my routine.

I do cardio for 20-25 mintues on either the bike or row. Then I lift for 1-2 hours. Then I run 3 miles. My body is already responding favorable. I should be curling 50's in 2 weeks.
 
Lent begins today. 194.8, with 20.3 percent body fat. Goal is 179 by easter.

Giving up alcohol, red and white meat, all glutens and sweets. It's fruits, veggies and fish, all the time.
 
I'm on the Lent bandwagon also. The main thing I'm doing is journaling everything I eat using Fitday.com, and eliminating sodas.

Holy ****. I hit 900 calories before lunch. PoF is right.

(I was also going to give up swearing. Heh.)
 
I lost quite a bit of muscle mass due to a shoulder surgery. During that time I could not lift I controlled my diet very rigorously. I lost somethign like 30 pounds that I really did not want to lose. I am now trying to build it all back. At my age it goes away exponentially faster than it comes on. I was 217 with about 8% body fat before surgery. I fell to 184 and have now gotten back to about 200. I have a long way back still, but it is slowly getting there. Good luck to everyone trying to lose fat/weight, etc.
 
I am pretty jealous. I can't seem to lose weight. I exercise and limit my calories to under 2000 and I am still not going anywhere. I don't get it. I'm 27 now but for most of my life I've had the ability to lose weight rather easily if I tried. Now I am stuck.

I guess I am going to have to cut my calories even more. I really don't think that I am supposed to though. Maybe I'm just screwed?
 
Shot Gun I woudl focus more on how you look than "losing weight". At one point in my mid 20's I was close to 245-250 and it was not a good 245 in any way whatsoever. I went on Atkins and lost weight down to 195. I was thin, but looked like ****. Since that time I have undergone a pretty regimented weight training program and I really no longer care how much I weigh. I kind of use the wife test. If I take my shirt off does she get excited, or does she want me to put on a bra? At 195 10 years ago she wanted me to put on a bra. 10 years later at 217 she is ready for action. See what I mean? Focus on body composition not necessarily weight. If you are only doing cardio training thinking that will burn lots of calories then you are never going to get there. Start weight and strength training. This will build muscle that will burn tons of calories and fat long after you have stopped the exercise for the day. This does not happen with cardio. Once you stop the body stops too. It takes time but this will change your body along with a healthy diet. Stay at it, be positive and you will get there!
 
shotgun- while the weight is an indicator you should be as 007 said thinking more about your body composition. I will also say that eating 5 or 6 smaller meals a day will keep your metabolism at a higher level than 3 meals a day. Basically the science is that a diabetic diet works. A good breakfast is key to getting the engine going. Muscle is roughly 20% less volumous than fat, but more importnatly muscle is the source of caloric burn rate.

So you want to add muscle to lose weight, so lifting weights is an important part of any weight loss program. the cardio provides the burn by exercising the muscles, the weightlifting increases the muscle volume. Once you ahve the greater muscle mass volume your cardio work will simply burn more calories because of the greater muscle volume. See I KNOW all about what to do... it's just not doing it that has me still sitting here a fat ***. Shrinking and becoming more fit fat ***, but still a fat ***. The acceptance of this fact and the acceptance that I am not going to try to change what took years to do overnight has sort of set me free to some degree. I am NOT going to be the water/lettuce guy! However, I can be the guy that doesn't eat chips at the Tex Mex joint, the guy that still has his margaritas, but always subs black beans for refried... Tex Mex is the killer for me in that it is something that we are NEVER going to give up, so making better choices within the "margarita consumption framework" is key for me! As I am sure it is for many of you.

Good to hear so many of you are are doing well!
 
I really appreciate the input. I'm kind of wondering if I need to go get my blood done at the doctors. I haven't done it in a couple of years but it was fine back then. I'm wondering if maybe I have an issue with insulin or something because from what I understand, when your insulin spikes you tend to retain belly weight, which is where most of my problem is.

I might try the carb reduction thing also. It couldn't hurt. Maybe I just need to work out harder. I would be a lot more motivated if I would see results. I'm actually a pretty muscular guy so I would think that I would have an easier time taking off fat than I have been. I am 6'1 and in the 230-235 range so I think that 2000 calories is a good mark. It is possible that I am taking in more calories than I think. The reason that it is so frustrating is that 7 months ago I was eating like crap and not working out and drinking wine/beer on a daily basis. For 7 months now I am working out, only drinking 2 or so nights a week and eating a whole lot better and haven't seen a real improvement in my mid section.

Anybody have more input? Should I cut out caffeine? Maybe switch over from a weight lifting concentration to cardio one? What about something like the Abs Diet?
 
I have cut out caffeine for the most part... ave diet coke with Jack.....

shotgun- I would probably get my blood work done, if for nothing else than a benchmark. Insulin levels effect how your bodies processes it's fuel sources. Carbs convert to sugars more quickly than proteins for instance. Scientific studies show that your protein also turns off hunger much better than carbs. I can get by a LOT longer on a little protien than a big bowl of Wheaties for instance. The smaller more frequent meals keeps your insulin levels in ine so they don't spike.

Another thing about exercise that is sort of an inconvenient fact that exercise during the day will burn more calories than atn evening workout. The reason being is that if you do an hour of cardio your metabolism is going to run higher than normal for the next few hours. It's a gradually falling elevation over the next several hours. So if you are awake and active those next 4-6 hours your "extra burn" is a percentage of a higher hourly calorie burn rate. If you go to bed 2-1/2 hours after your cardio your "extra burn" rate is reduced because your metabolism is its' lowest when you are at rest. Hope that makes sense!!!!

Shotgun you might bet one of those scales that measures your body composition. I got one at Costco and it's pretty cool. You put in your age, height and weight and an electrical current measures resistance and give you your body composition of fat, bone, water and muscle. Seems at least halfway accurate, if nothing else gives you a benchmark to guage against. It's nice to see your muscle to fat ration changing when the raw weight number isn't that week.
 
Well, rather than guessing about a lot of these things you could get an assessment from exercise physiologists, measure your body fat and lean, and measure your daily caloric expenditure. F.I.T.
Or you could heed advice from a bunch of jokers on the internet that have never met you. (Me included.)
Your choice.
 
i stopped drinking soda for the most part about 3 months ago. went from around 4 cans per day to probably 2 per week. have lost around 10 lbs so far with that being the only change to my diet. and these were diet drinks with zero calories. not sure what it was, maybe the carbonated water intake but something has definitely changed the way my body processes food.
 
I weighed in on Wednesday. I'm 210 at 6'2", so it is not too bad. I want to lose about 15 (or swap 15 of fat for 15 muscle) by river season come April.

I must be making progress because I benched more on Wednesday than I ever have in my life.
 
I'm down from 251 on January 1 to 240 today. But that was probably a fat 251, and a reasonably lean 240. I've reclaimed two or three notches on the belt, and my fat guy (size 40) jeans no longer fit. I'm going to need to go buy new jeans in a few weeks if this continues, since I won't be able even to fit into my 38's, which are now also becoming loose.
 
Got down to 156 as of today. Been trying to just watch more of what I eat, although today I ate a crappy high calorie lunch after seeing the scale. 148 Ibs is the goal.
 
I started a bootcamp at Townlake at 5am, January 7th...and am still doing it. The bootcamp is MWF and in March will be TTH.

I have signed up to continue the bootcamp and train for the capital 10k at the end of March.

I am hoping this will keep me motivated to get up in the morning and go workout.

I have completely changed my diet.

Before the change I would eat fast food 3-7 times a week and drink alot. I never worked out and it was beginning to show. I had a few people tell me I was getting big, but when my grandma came in and said it and my dad / stepmom said it, I knew it was time to make a change.

So I am a little over a month in and I started at 6'1 1/2 weighing in at 216 1/2. That was the most I ever have weighed.

Today I woke up and I am 203 1/2, a drop of 13 pounds.
Here is how I did it, I think...

First, water intake. I went out and bought one of those big jugs you can refill and drink about 1 1/2 of them a day. It is well over the alloted intake you need of water per day

I also drink an Emergen - C packet every morning. I am not sure if it does anything but thought I would mention it.

I went grocery shopping and the trick is:
a) don't go to the grocery store hungry
b) Only shop the perimeter of the store, all of the junk is in the middle isles...if you stick with the fruits / veggies and a few other healthy things sprinkled in...it will go a long way

I don't eat whole meals anymore: I eat little bits of food throughout the day.

(Example) Yesterday's food intake:

Whole Wheat English Muffinn w/ organic peanut butter
Emergen - C packet
Whole Harvest granola bar
pre cut bag of apples
string cheese
handful of dried apricots
handful of baked lays chips
piece of think chicken on the stove top...little olive oil / white wine and light cheese.
Green beans

This food was eaten from 5am - 10pm.

My goal is to reach 180-185 by the end of March, I am well on my way and am about to get up and go run at town lake with my pup.

Good luck to you all and if you have any further advice please let me know!.
-RC
 
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