My diet/exercise motivation thread

[Captain tycho]

All right, I'll admit it: I'm a major fatty. I'm lazy and don't exercise much, and I eat more than I should. And I admit I have zero willpower when it comes to buying food.
The thing is, I've been like this most of my life. After being knocked on my ass during my early teen years due to an illness, I basically laid around the house in pain/exhaustion. Once I recovered, though, I continued the same habits. Sit around and do nothing except read, watch TV, and play video games.

I lost some weight in college, but afterwards I fell into my old habits again and ballooned up to 240 pounds and a size 40 waist. I've been at this weight for probably a year now, and quite frankly, I'm sick of it and scared of the health consequences.

So I talked with a dietician and my wife (who is a nurse and knows at least more than your average Joe about nutrition and exercise) and I've put together this little plan. Its sort of rough, but I'm just outlining the basic ideas and will refine them further on in.

Diet:
-No soda of any kind (The killer for me, sometimes I'll have 5 cans of coke a day)
-No fast food (Not really a problem since I rarely eat out)
-No dessert foods (Again, nothing big; never ate much of the stuff anyways)
-less grains and carbs (Another killer because I'm used to snacking alot)
-Lots more water
-More meat, more veggies, the standard stuff
Exercise:
-Brisk walk/jog every day for 20-30 minutes (I fucking hate running.)
-Swim hard and fast for as long as possible 5-6 days a week (I don't want to set any lap limits/etc until I know my endurance, but I will be swimming alot as it is something I used to really enjoy, and still do. Plus it won't put nearly as much stress on my joints as running will)
-Weightlifting 3 days a week
-Various cardio workouts at the gym

I'm not too worried about the diet part; as long as I don't do the grocery shopping I won't miss anything. Its only when that food is in the house that I get cravings.

But the exercise part concerns me. I have a chronic lack of energy, especially in the mornings, even if I get a full night's sleep. I'm worried that when the time comes to get out of bed and head to the gym/pool I'll feel so tired that I'll end up dropping out. And due to my schedule, morning is the only steady time I could exercise. So either I'll end up either changing my schedule (unlikely) or finding some way to get more energy in the morning.

Well, thats that. I'll keep this thread updated every so often, and I'll probably even post some before and after pics if you can stand hideous man-flab.

I hope to lose at least 50 pounds and go down from a 40 to a 32 or 34 by this time next year, but we'll see how it goes. Heres hoping I don't quit after 2 weeks.

[Count Dooku]

Woohoo! Good luck!

[Faram]

Do not try to hard in the begining, start slow and adjust to a better lifestile.

[Genii Lodus]

Your lack of energy is probably because of your quite poor diet. If you eat crap you will feel like crap.

Like Faram's said don't go from from no exercise to everything you've got on your list in one week. You need to gradually up your exercise or youll probably be so exhausted that you'll give up.

Yeh as long as your wife doesn't buy any junk food, and I'm sure if she's supporting you she won't, it's easy to avoid eating junk food.

Good luck, keep us up to date on how you get on.

[salm]

I´m not quite sure, but your exercise program seems ridicolously much.

You won´t manage 30 minutes running, swimming, weightlifting and gym in one day.

I suggest you go running one day, the next day swimming the next day you visit the gym. Then you restart with running and so on.

Remember to get on or two days a week for recovery.

After a while you can go to more workout, but if you start with too much of a workload you´ll most likely quit.

Start slowly

[dragon]

Ok some advice from a previous fatty. I used to weight 125kg (about 275lbs) and I am only 5 ft 4in. When I first got serious about losing weight I switched from regular soda to diet and started walking about 30 minutes each day with 30min of light weights. With in 1 month I lost almost 15kg. If you think about 1 can of soda is about 150 calories and if you drink 5 of them a day that 750 calories a day or 5250 a week or 21000 a month. One lb of fat is 3500 calories so eliminating those 5 sodas a day is 6lbs a month. Now you factor in a light work out and you'll lose more.

Now as you progress and loss weight and get better in shape you can add more to your work out. Now as you lose weight you notice it is harder to lose weight. For example I am now 185 lbs and need 2200 calories to maintian my weight due to my work out program but if I wanted to lose weight I need about 1500 to 1800. My wife on the other hand is still a big girl and eats about 3000 a day and stays the same. So it is easier for her to lose wieght than I.

This is fairly normal as everyone tends to shed the first few pounds fairly easy especailly if you are overweight by a large amount. Also don't try to hard or to much as its easy to get hurt if you are not used to it and it is easy for you to put what you lost back on and then some.

[Mrs Kendall]

Good luck Tycho!
The others have addressed all my concerns about your exercise plans. So I guess I'll just say one thing...

Not to be rude and no offence is intended but there is a Weight loss thread stickied at the top of this very forum. I'm assuming you already knew that but posted your own thread so you got more reponses and I can understand wanting to do that. I'm not saying you were wrong. But if you want to keep people updated without searching for and necroing your thread then the best way to do that is ask a mod to merge this thread into the Weight Watchers thread once you get the responses you want

Anyways, good going, it takes guts to admit this stuff to people you normally chat with and, you can do it!

[Bertie Wooster]

I wouldn't try to impliment such a ambitious excercise regime all at once, but follow a gradual schedule. Maybe for the first month just walk every day and swim 6 times a week. The reason why is because when I start lifting weight and even doing intense cardio workouts after a a couple of months of not doing any excercise, my appetite sky-rockets and I can't help but having craving for high-protein foods which usually ends up being high-fat too. I also wouldn't give up all meats. I would eat chicken at least.

[Ghost Rider]

Okay as for the plan:

Diet:
-No soda of any kind (The killer for me, sometimes I'll have 5 cans of coke a day)

Then lower it, with eventually cutting completely. Going cold turkey on sodas is like cigarettes. Doesn't always work and the temptaion is always around you. Literally limit yourself one per two days, then week, then month, then finally quitting.

-No fast food (Not really a problem since I rarely eat out)
-No dessert foods (Again, nothing big; never ate much of the stuff anyways)

If no temptation, then all good.

-less grains and carbs (Another killer because I'm used to snacking alot)
-Lots more water
-More meat, more veggies, the standard stuff

Snacking is the same as soda...same routine literally. For water, find how you like it, and then literally devote yourself to always drinking a bottle for every meal. You eventually get used to it.

Exercise:
-Brisk walk/jog every day for 20-30 minutes (I fucking hate running.)

Good.

-Swim hard and fast for as long as possible 5-6 days a week (I don't want to set any lap limits/etc until I know my endurance, but I will be swimming alot as it is something I used to really enjoy, and still do. Plus it won't put nearly as much stress on my joints as running will)

Find your limit first. Because just beating yourself into the ground will burn you out and make you quit because it's painful.

-Weightlifting 3 days a week
-Various cardio workouts at the gym

Same as above.

The key to losing weight is being used to less amounts of food and more exercise, not trying to burn as quickly as possible.

[Darth Wong]

The psychological difficulty of going "cold turkey" on so many items at once may be somewhat alleviated by having one "cheat day" per week, just so long as you only eat the way you used to normally eat on that "cheat day" rather than binging like crazy.

[Mrs Kendall]

I find that "cheat days" don't work for me, but it could work for you... Afterall they do say that it's easier for men to lose weight faster than it is for women

The main thing that Weight Watchers teaches is that you are not on a "diet" it's a lifestyle change. If you don't do this slowly enough to get used to it all and make it a lifestyle change then you'll only gain the weight back when you get to your goal weight cause you'll say oh I can eat junk again cause I'm back down to my goal weight.
Do it slowly and don't punish yourself for giving in once in a while.

If you have any extra income (and I know you do from previous conversations ) you should really join Weight Watchers, they teach you sooo much and they give you awesome tools to calculate points which is much easier than counting calories. These points keep you within your ideal calorie range for your weight and height and as you lose the weight you lose points so you can continue to lose the weight. It's an awesome program that I highly recommend.

[Ubiquitous]

The psychological difficulty of going "cold turkey" on so many items at once may be somewhat alleviated by having one "cheat day" per week, just so long as you only eat the way you used to normally eat on that "cheat day" rather than binging like crazy.

This man is wise. When I went on a diet at the start of the year I made sure that saturday was my day to have anything I wanted [within reason of course, lest the whole weeks work be wasted]. It made the boring food I ate during the week easier to swallow because I knew come saturday it would be luxury cookies, not veg, that I would be stuffing in my mouth.

I'd also empathise the importance of the diet over the gym work. I did the gym work but not the diet for around a year and noticed no difference whatsoever [indeed if anything I gained weight, particually when I was dating] however once I combined a serious diet with the gym the weight literally dripped off me. I was losing literally 5lb per week, sustained, for over a month. This was six months ago now and I have severely cut back on the gym work and diet, yet have maintained my new weight of 147lb as opposed to the 175lb I was weighing at the start of the year.

[Captain tycho]

I'm not giving it up all at once and starting all my exercise at once. Both my dietician and my wife warned against it, and from past experience I agree with them. That list was just a rough draft; I'll start finding my limits first and work from there.
Thanks for the positive replies though. Next week I'll post an exercise/diet log, so you can cajole me about following it.
Edit: Also, Mrs K, I'll look into Weight Watchers and see if I like it.

[Mrs Kendall]

I'm not giving it up all at once and starting all my exercise at once. Both my dietician and my wife warned against it, and from past experience I agree with them. That list was just a rough draft; I'll start finding my limits first and work from there.
Thanks for the positive replies though. Next week I'll post an exercise/diet log, so you can cajole me about following it.
Edit: Also, Mrs K, I'll look into Weight Watchers and see if I like it.

You most certainly will, as long as you don't mind sitting in a room full of women trying to lose weight Even if you just go to get weighed in and don't stay for the meetings it will help. You generally just need the materials to calculate points. They say that there is a 80% better chance of people losing weight if they stay for the meetings cause it kinda makes you sit there and think about what you've done wrong and you also get a lot of support and encoragment to continue. It sounds dumb but the rewards you get -the 10 pond ribbon, the 5 pound stars, the 10% weight loss gift- really mean something and they really make you try harder.

[Korvan]

Good luck! Best I've done is drop from 210 and tight size 38 down to 180 and a loose 36. Took around 6 months. What did the trick for me was to cut down on portion sizes. Instead of bbqing up two burgers, I'd just make one and have a little extra salad. I still ate what I wanted, just a little less of it.

[Darth Servo]

Your diet sounds like you were inspired by Lloyd Bridges' character on Airplane

"looks like I picked the wrong week to quit smoking"

"looks like I picked the wrong week to quit drinking"

"looks like I picked the wrong week to quit amphetamines"

"looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue"

[Mrs Kendall]

Good luck! Best I've done is drop from 210 and tight size 38 down to 180 and a loose 36. Took around 6 months. What did the trick for me was to cut down on portion sizes. Instead of bbqing up two burgers, I'd just make one and have a little extra salad. I still ate what I wanted, just a little less of it.

That's the idea actually, they say that we all eat way too much these days and never eat one portion at a time, it's always two portions or more. Our plates, bowls etc.. have gotten bigger and that's what makes us think we're eating less when really we're eating more. Just look at the plate sizes in restaurants these days, and they're filled with food, sometimes even piled up so high. It's gross when you really think about it.

[YT300000]

Be careful with running after having not much activity for a while, you can easily hurt yourself. Run twice the first week, and not at all the second. Resume running several times a week in the 3rd and onwards. The break gives your legs (especially the ligaments in the knees) time to adjust to the ramped-up activity, and mostly allows you to avoid tearing anything.

[Noble Ire]

I recently started a similar program, and the dietary portion seems to be going well; the trick is to ease into it, and for me, drinking a lot of water, as you pointed out. It really helps with certain cravings. Exercise is a bit more difficult, although what you're planning looks to be a good program, if a bit too much too fast, as other have noted. Indeed, having a gym and place to swim should make it easier for you; I'm pretty much limited to running and walking where I live, which becomes rather tedious after awhile.

Actually, I should ask; what sort of home exercises would help facilitate a slimming program like the one above?

[Kathryn]

Yeah, I lost like 10 lbs just by not having any soda one summer. What you have to do is tell yourself that you hate it and then you eventually will. Or at least think about the consequences. The last time I had soda was like a year ago.

It's all about will power.

One thing that might help, I know these people that were trying to lose weight, took a picture of themselves in bathing-suits and put it on their refrigerator. So everytime they felt like opening the refrigerator door they had to see themselves in their bathing suits. It actually didn't help out too much, but it did serve as a little reminder. lol...

I guess as another simple suggestion that has helped me, is eating with smaller bites. So maybe using a smaller spoon when eating. It might help you slow down. For me, I usually tend to eat really fast, so a smaller spoon helps me slow down my intake.

[Natorgator]

I think the cheat day really helps, and in fact I dropped about 15 lbs a couple years ago doing that method. Supposedly it keeps your body from slowing down its metabolism while you're dieting, but whether that's really true or not I don't know.

[Miles Teg]

-No fast food (Not really a problem since I rarely eat out)

Fast food is ok as long as you stick to the sane places, like Subway that don't fry everything.

-Brisk walk/jog every day for 20-30 minutes (I fucking hate running.)
-Swim hard and fast for as long as possible 5-6 days a week (I don't want to set any lap limits/etc until I know my endurance, but I will be swimming alot as it is something I used to really enjoy, and still do. Plus it won't put nearly as much stress on my joints as running will)
-Weightlifting 3 days a week
-Various cardio workouts at the gym

For fat loss exercise, the #1 mistake is overdoing it. If you overdo things you body actually stops buring fat and starts burning muscle. This plan is way overdoing it (at least at first). The simple fact is you cannot healthily lose more than 2-3 lbs/week.

Also, realize that if you are weight lifting (and really exercising in general) that you are not going to loose as much weight (you'll lose fat, but gain heavier muscle). I say this because what you need to do is *never* stand on a scale again. What you need to aim for is a physique (smaller waste, less flab, etc.) Being a slave to a scale is the surest way to devistate your morale.

But the exercise part concerns me. I have a chronic lack of energy, especially in the mornings, even if I get a full night's sleep. I'm worried that when the time comes to get out of bed and head to the gym/pool I'll feel so tired that I'll end up dropping out.

The #1 way to gain energy is to exercise. As long as you ease yourself into it, you'll soon find you have far more energy all day long. Of course, the flipsite is that exercise is the #1 way to make your appetite increase manyfold. Don't be concerned about that. You'll need to eat more, just make sure it's healthy eating.

And due to my schedule, morning is the only steady time I could exercise. So either I'll end up either changing my schedule (unlikely) or finding some way to get more energy in the morning.

The morning is the best time, hands down, to exercise. When you exercise first thing, you raise your metabolism for the rest of the day (which increases the fat buring "payoff" of the exercise significantly). When you exercise close to the time you go to sleep, you lose that advantage.

Well, thats that. I'll keep this thread updated every so often, and I'll probably even post some before and after pics if you can stand hideous man-flab. I hope to lose at least 50 pounds and go down from a 40 to a 32 or 34 by this time next year, but we'll see how it goes. Heres hoping I don't quit after 2 weeks.

Good luck!
Miles Teg

[theski]

-No fast food (Not really a problem since I rarely eat out)

Fast food is ok as long as you stick to the sane places, like Subway that don't fry everything.

-Brisk walk/jog every day for 20-30 minutes (I fucking hate running.)
-Swim hard and fast for as long as possible 5-6 days a week (I don't want to set any lap limits/etc until I know my endurance, but I will be swimming alot as it is something I used to really enjoy, and still do. Plus it won't put nearly as much stress on my joints as running will)
-Weightlifting 3 days a week
-Various cardio workouts at the gym

For fat loss exercise, the #1 mistake is overdoing it. If you overdo things you body actually stops buring fat and starts burning muscle. This plan is way overdoing it (at least at first). The simple fact is you cannot healthily lose more than 2-3 lbs/week.

Also, realize that if you are weight lifting (and really exercising in general) that you are not going to loose as much weight (you'll lose fat, but gain heavier muscle). I say this because what you need to do is *never* stand on a scale again. What you need to aim for is a physique (smaller waste, less flab, etc.) Being a slave to a scale is the surest way to devistate your morale.

But the exercise part concerns me. I have a chronic lack of energy, especially in the mornings, even if I get a full night's sleep. I'm worried that when the time comes to get out of bed and head to the gym/pool I'll feel so tired that I'll end up dropping out.

The #1 way to gain energy is to exercise. As long as you ease yourself into it, you'll soon find you have far more energy all day long. Of course, the flipsite is that exercise is the #1 way to make your appetite increase manyfold. Don't be concerned about that. You'll need to eat more, just make sure it's healthy eating.

And due to my schedule, morning is the only steady time I could exercise. So either I'll end up either changing my schedule (unlikely) or finding some way to get more energy in the morning.

The morning is the best time, hands down, to exercise. When you exercise first thing, you raise your metabolism for the rest of the day (which increases the fat buring "payoff" of the exercise significantly). When you exercise close to the time you go to sleep, you lose that advantage.

Well, thats that. I'll keep this thread updated every so often, and I'll probably even post some before and after pics if you can stand hideous man-flab. I hope to lose at least 50 pounds and go down from a 40 to a 32 or 34 by this time next year, but we'll see how it goes. Heres hoping I don't quit after 2 weeks.

Good luck!
Miles Teg

Sorry.. but WTF .. a pound is a pound.. and BTW: Muscle burns more calories at rest. its a win win ganing muscle

[Darth Wong]

Weightlifters won't necessarily lose weight (they may gain it) but they lose fat, which is the important thing.

[Mrs Kendall]

One thing that might help, I know these people that were trying to lose weight, took a picture of themselves in bathing-suits and put it on their refrigerator. So everytime they felt like opening the refrigerator door they had to see themselves in their bathing suits. It actually didn't help out too much, but it did serve as a little reminder. lol...

This reminded me oif something the Weight Watchers meeting facilitator keeps saying. If you're an emotional eater, put a note on the fridge door that sais "It's not in here" Whatever you're looking for to make you feel better is not in the fridge Silly thing is when I'm all depressed and sad I wanna eat chips, which are not in the fridge So in that case put another note on the cupboard doors.

I guess as another simple suggestion that has helped me, is eating with smaller bites. So maybe using a smaller spoon when eating. It might help you slow down. For me, I usually tend to eat really fast, so a smaller spoon helps me slow down my intake.

Smaller bites, smaller plates, even when you can, use a cereal bowl to eat out of, you'll eat less but won't feel like you're missing anything cause you can fill the bowl whereas if you fill a full sized dinner plate you'll be stuffed by the time you're done and you'll have eaten twice as much. Also the general rule, chew your food 20 times and breathe while you eat, also put your fork, spoon etc... down between bites. It takes 20 minutes for your stomach to tell your brain that you're full, or satisfied. So take your time.