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Weight Loss Before/After Thread! (with pics)

acksman

Member
I have had this thread subscribed for a while and it has been a big motivation to finally do something about my weight.

I have never really worked out with weights, have tried Atkins once which worked, but gained it back and more. I am hypoglycemic and have a really tough time with carbs and weight. I don't drink sodas, just coffee, tea, water for the past 6 years and my refined sugar intake is next to nothing. Still I weighed around 330 pounds.

Did some research through this thread and others and decided on a modified Paleo diet. Mainly no dairy and next to nothing on carbs (I added beans which I feel is a good carb just in moderation)

The next thing was a workout, had no clue so I hired a personal trainer. I searched for one that would be more kinesthetic for weight loss and tone. I played football in high school and a big frame guy as it is.
__

Fast forward two weeks on Paleo and I am already down to 318 just walking. Did my first session with the trainer today and oh my body hates me right now. The main thing is my energy level has spiked a good 50 percent and I feel like doing things again and not just sitting around like a blob.

This is going to take about a year to drop 100lbs, but it will be worth it.
 

Sethos

Banned
I'm on my diet, doing 'okay' with over 10 pounds in the last 1,5 months or so. I exercise an hour a day on my exercise bike on a high tension level and then usually a bit of light weight lifting ( That usually takes it to 1,5 hours ) and in a few weeks my new bike will arrive which will up that to 2 - 2,5 hours a day. So it's all going swimmingly.

Now I have a quick question. I noticed my morning oatmeal has a lot of carbs which I'm trying to avoid as much as possible. Obviously complex carbs but carbs nonetheless. So is that considered 'good' or should I find a replacement breakfast to cut down on the carbs further?

I completely cut out pasta, haven't touched potatoes in a long time but I do get some dark rybread every day at lunch, a piece or two.
 
Sethos said:
I'm on my diet, doing 'okay' with over 10 pounds in the last 1,5 months or so. I exercise an hour a day on my exercise bike on a high tension level and then usually a bit of light weight lifting ( That usually takes it to 1,5 hours ) and in a few weeks my new bike will arrive which will up that to 2 - 2,5 hours a day. So it's all going swimmingly.

Now I have a quick question. I noticed my morning oatmeal has a lot of carbs which I'm trying to avoid as much as possible. Obviously complex carbs but carbs nonetheless. So is that considered 'good' or should I find a replacement breakfast to cut down on the carbs further?

I completely cut out pasta, haven't touched potatoes in a long time but I do get some dark rybread every day at lunch, a piece or two.

Probably the least carbs you can eat in a day without making yourself miserable. If that means ~100 grams per day then fine. If you can go 50 or less, even better. Have bacon and eggs for breakfast, if you have the time, or other high fat/protein foods.
Make it a choice you can live with for the long haul. Going low carb has benefits other than weight loss.
 

W1SSY

Member
Einbroch said:
Just so we're all clear here, fiber doesn't count towards your carbs, right?
I'm not an expert but from what I understand, humans cannot digest fiber so it just goes through the body.
 

harSon

Banned
Einbroch said:
Just so we're all clear here, fiber doesn't count towards your carbs, right?

Correct. Also, if something has carbs within it (within the United States at least (?) ), you subtract the fiber from the total carb count to get your net carbs. I believe you can also subtract sugar alcohol if your food contains some as well.
 
harSon said:
Correct. Also, if something has carbs within it (within the United States at least (?) ), you subtract the fiber from the total carb count to get your net carbs. I believe you can also subtract sugar alcohol if your food contains some as well.


Not exactly. Sugar alcohol is more like half a carb or so. It's processed differently than regular sugar.
 
W1SSY said:
I'm not an expert but from what I understand, humans cannot digest fiber so it just goes through the body.

Certain types of soluble fiber act as food for our gut flora, who digest the stuff and give us some sweet short chain fatty acids in return. So while "we" aren't technically digesting it, it is being digested and we are deriving energy from it.
 

harSon

Banned
AceBandage said:
Not exactly. Sugar alcohol is more like half a carb or so. It's processed differently than regular sugar.

Can I have further input? I've seen everything from it it doesn't count, to it counts as half, to it counts as a whole carb.
 
Kind of varies from person to person.
Sugar Alcohol is converted slower than regular sugar and may not cause a spike in insulin in some people, however, it might in others.
 

Shaneus

Member
harSon said:
Can I have further input? I've seen everything from it it doesn't count, to it counts as half, to it counts as a whole carb.
To be safe, avoid them. If only so that if you happen to devour half a bag of "sugar free" lollies, you know you're spending the rest of the day on the toilet.
 

kikanny

Member
I'm sort of confused. I'm trying to reduce my BF under 10%. For the last 4 weeks, my diet everyday has been oatmeal, salad with chicken or tuna, chicken breast, stir fry vegetables, fruits, greek yogurt and 2 scoops of whey protein. I do strength training 5 days a week and some cardio as well. I've gone down in weight significantly (130 lbs now) but my belly fat seems the same. I'm wondering if my diet is wrong? Should I start doing a keto diet? Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
Thought I'd put myself out there. Here are my before and after pics. 250 lbs before, alot less after. New pic was actually taken a while ago, I'm about 25-20 lbs lighter than that one even. 7.5% bodyfat now. Eating healthy, balanced Zone diet meals with normal portions and exercising.

Before:
Old_Darrel.jpg


After:
New_Darrel.jpg
 
kikanny said:
I'm sort of confused. I'm trying to reduce my BF under 10%. For the last 4 weeks, my diet everyday has been oatmeal, salad with chicken or tuna, chicken breast, stir fry vegetables, fruits, greek yogurt and 2 scoops of whey protein. I do strength training 5 days a week and some cardio as well. I've gone down in weight significantly (130 lbs now) but my belly fat seems the same. I'm wondering if my diet is wrong? Should I start doing a keto diet? Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!


Cut the oatmeal and fruits and any other starches.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
Bearded Dudebro said:
Thought I'd put myself out there. Here are my before and after pics. 250 lbs before, alot less after. New pic was actually taken a while ago, I'm about 25-20 lbs lighter than that one even. 7.5% bodyfat now. Eating healthy, balanced Zone diet meals with normal portions and exercising.

Wha? You're at 7.5% body fat in that second picture? Seriously?
 

Noirulus

Member
Does anybody know at what weight you can start P90X? I feel like giving it a try. I'm 6'0 and weight about 230 at the moment (Mostly fat, though :(...)
 
Noirulus said:
Does anybody know at what weight you can start P90X? I feel like giving it a try.
Any?
I mean, it's basically just an intense cardio work out, which you can do at any time (given you don't have heart issues).
 

Morn

Banned
I need to drop about 42 pounds pretty quickly so I'm on a strict 1200 calorie diet and exercising at the gym twice a day. Same exact diet/plan my Marine pals did to drop their weight quickly, so I should be at my goal in about a month and a half.
 

Noirulus

Member
AceBandage said:
Any?
I mean, it's basically just an intense cardio work out, which you can do at any time (given you don't have heart issues).

Cool. I've always been wanting to try it as some of my friends have turned their life around with it.

Edit: Is there anyone here who actually started the program at a substantial weight? I'd like to hear your story :)
 

NomarTyme

Member
Morn said:
I need to drop about 42 pounds pretty quickly so I'm on a strict 1200 calorie diet and exercising at the gym twice a day. Same exact diet/plan my Marine pals did to drop their weight quickly, so I should be at my goal in about a month and a half.
ok...
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
Bearded Dudebro said:
Nah, that picture was about 6 months ago. I'm @ 7.5% now, 25-20 lbs lighter than than the second picture.

Oops, I need to learn how to read the entire post before commenting, haha.
 
2 lbs loss a week is considered the healthy maximum.

Morn said:
I need to drop about 42 pounds pretty quickly so I'm on a strict 1200 calorie diet and exercising at the gym twice a day. Same exact diet/plan my Marine pals did to drop their weight quickly, so I should be at my goal in about a month and a half.
 

All Hail C-Webb

Hailing from the Chill-Web
I guess I'll tell my story, and hopefully it'll help motivate someone else.

In April 2007 I was 22, still living at home and weighed a whopping 340 pounds (I'm 6'3). I decided that it was time to change my life, despite the fact that I was enjoying it immensely (I actually got a lot of play for a guy my size, but wanted better).

I lost 30 pounds over the next 2 months, and then went down to Florida for the Summer with my only goal being to lose weight and get in shape. My diet consisted of a joint and 2 toasts or a breakfast bar each morning, a Grande Frappacino (light variety) for lunch, and a Lean Cuisine frozen meal for dinner. I would have another joint and a Lean Cusine (or Weight Watchers) dessert at around 7, and be done for the night. I would do that for 3-4 days (around 1000 - 1200 calories), and then go out to a restaurant for whatever I wanted on my break days. I would also swim every day, and either play tennis or basketball. By doing that, I lost another 70 pounds in 3 months.

I returned home weighing 240 pounds, but with all the loose skin, I felt like I looked worse naked than I did prior to losing the weight. I got my own place though, and thought I'd continue toward my eventual goal of out adonissing Adonis. Unfortunately, it's much harder to lose weight and work out when you have to work to pay bills. Also, Florida provides much more opportunity for non gym workouts than Manhattan.

3 years later and I'm down to 215, and in the best shape of my life. I weighed less a year ago (200), but had a serious bad run with injuries, and fell off the wagon a bit. I'm back to working out again, and want to reach 195 by September 15th, and have visible abs.

Despite thinking I was happy before, the difference that losing weight has made on my confidence and day to day life has been monumental. Going to bed hungry doesn't necessarily feel good, but the feeling the next morning, and when you get to fuck gorgeous women more than makes up for it. My only regret is that I allowed myself to get so fat in the first place, and then waited so long to remedy it.

Now it's on to the fitness thread.


Morn said:
I need to drop about 42 pounds pretty quickly so I'm on a strict 1200 calorie diet and exercising at the gym twice a day. Same exact diet/plan my Marine pals did to drop their weight quickly, so I should be at my goal in about a month and a half.

I posted on GAF before my weight loss adventure and got similar responses to what you're receiving now. It might not be the healthiest way to do it, but if you have the desire, it's not even that hard.
 
Morn said:
I need to drop about 42 pounds pretty quickly so I'm on a strict 1200 calorie diet and exercising at the gym twice a day. Same exact diet/plan my Marine pals did to drop their weight quickly, so I should be at my goal in about a month and a half.

How long ago did your Marine pals do that, and has the weight stayed off for them?
 

Sarye

Member
Morn said:
I need to drop about 42 pounds pretty quickly so I'm on a strict 1200 calorie diet and exercising at the gym twice a day. Same exact diet/plan my Marine pals did to drop their weight quickly, so I should be at my goal in about a month and a half.
This is a terrible plan and you should not be doing this. The only reason why your marine pals did it is because they needed to pass some sort of test quickly and this is the only way they can do it.

Eating such a low amount of calories will lower your metabolism and send your body into starvation mode and most of the weight loss will also be from muscle.

Bearded Dudebro is correct in that 2lb a week is generally the accepted max amount of weight you should lose healthily.

Remember, it's not a sprint. It's a marathon. Why are you in a rush?
 

Einbroch

Banned
Ugh. I'm home for the next year or so to save some money while I find a permanent job with my mom and my two brothers. My mother is obese (not morbidly) and cooks some not-so-healthy meals. Nothing terrible, but not really caring about carbs or fat or anything. She cooks dinner for us every night she doesn't work. She is an AMAZING cook. My brother is obese too. He doesn't give a crap and just eats and eats. Like right now (at 1:00 AM) he just made himself a footlong sub with cheese, meat, and mayo and is devouring it right behind me.

It's so disgusting, but it makes me crave the bad stuff. Anyone have any pick-me-ups right now or any tips for a low-carber living with unhealthy family? Anyone been in the same situation?
 

Domino Theory

Crystal Dynamics
Einbroch said:
It's so disgusting, but it makes me crave the bad stuff. Anyone have any pick-me-ups right now or any tips for a low-carber living with unhealthy family? Anyone been in the same situation?

If you want to take the time, make some scrambled eggs. If you want a snack, have smoked gouda cheese or pepperoni pieces. Mmmm.

Anyways, how long does it take for the sugar in milk/sugar in general to be absorbed?
 
How long is considered 'safe' to be in Keto? I've been eating <20g carbs a day for almost five weeks now and have lost about 17lb. The first two and a half weeks I avoided booze and had no cheat days but since then have had a couple of evenings out that involved beer and curry.

Think I probably want to lose maybe another 7 - 14lbs and would then aim for less than 150g a day as a permanent thing.

Would it be ok to stay in keto until I shed the rest?

Thanks.
 

raiot

Member
J Tourettes said:
How long is considered 'safe' to be in Keto? I've been eating <20g carbs a day for almost five weeks now and have lost about 17lb. The first two and a half weeks I avoided booze and had no cheat days but since then have had a couple of evenings out that involved beer and curry.

Think I probably want to lose maybe another 7 - 14lbs and would then aim for less than 150g a day as a permanent thing.

Would it be ok to stay in keto until I shed the rest?

Thanks.

I'm constantly in ketosis since 5. January 2010 safe 5-6 days and I'm still feeling fine!
Like you i eat around 20g carbs a day. Sometimes under 10, sometimes 30, depending how much vegetables i eat.
I also have a log of my daily intake since then, but the last 1 year i was too lazy to write it down saturday and sunday morning.
I have to write down my story here the next few days, but at the moment I'm to busy.
And I still have to loose around 8kg!
 

kikanny

Member
raiot said:
I'm constantly in ketosis since 5. January 2010 safe 5-6 days and I'm still feeling fine!
Like you i eat around 20g carbs a day. Sometimes under 10, sometimes 30, depending how much vegetables i eat.
I also have a log of my daily intake since then, but the last 1 year i was too lazy to write it down saturday and sunday morning.
I have to write down my story here the next few days, but at the moment I'm to busy.
And I still have to loose around 8kg!
When you're in keto, how bad is the breath smell? I kinda wanna do keto...but the possibility that I can get smelly breath is really putting me off.
 

raiot

Member
At first it was noticable but not too bad. Now I do not have it anymore although I'm still in ketosis. At first I thought that I just don't notice it anymore but I asked other people and they can't smell it neither...
 
Ugh...so after getting quite close to my goal of 180 lbs (got to 190), I got off track and went back to my old habits. I stopped exercising and pretty much ate pure shit for for 2 months straight. Now I'm up to 204 lb.

This is, I believe, the 4th time I have done this now. It's like I can only stay focused on eating healthy and exercising for a few months at a time...then I just revert back to my old ways. I know this is common, but fuck...it's so damn depressing.

Does anyone have any advice on how to NOT go back to your old shitty habits? Every time I get back into healthy lifestyle mode I tell myself that there's no way in hell I'm ever going back to my old ways, but it happens again and again.
 

kikanny

Member
raiot said:
At first it was noticable but not too bad. Now I do not have it anymore although I'm still in ketosis. At first I thought that I just don't notice it anymore but I asked other people and they can't smell it neither...
I'm sorry but one last question. How long did the smell last? 2 weeks or so? I'm starting a new job in a month and I don't wanna go there having a smelly breath haha.
 

raiot

Member
Hm, ok, this might seem like a letdown but i think it lasted around half a year?
But don't worry, its only noticable if someone gets really close to your mouth. And its not that bad after all. Its not foul smelling and you can easily hide it with chewing gum.
That said, don't let your job dictate your diet! If someone asks you about it, just tell them the truth!
 

Einbroch

Banned
kikanny said:
I'm sorry but one last question. How long did the smell last? 2 weeks or so? I'm starting a new job in a month and I don't wanna go there having a smelly breath haha.
I've been in Ketosis for 2 weeks and I haven't noticed any bad breath. I point-black asked my girlfriend and she said she didn't smell anything but steak breath (had a steak for dinner about 3 hours prior).
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
ArachosiA 78 said:
Ugh...so after getting quite close to my goal of 180 lbs (got to 190), I got off track and went back to my old habits. I stopped exercising and pretty much ate pure shit for for 2 months straight. Now I'm up to 204 lb.

This is, I believe, the 4th time I have done this now. It's like I can only stay focused on eating healthy and exercising for a few months at a time...then I just revert back to my old ways. I know this is common, but fuck...it's so damn depressing.

Does anyone have any advice on how to NOT go back to your old shitty habits? Every time I get back into healthy lifestyle mode I tell myself that there's no way in hell I'm ever going back to my old ways, but it happens again and again.

I might start by asking what your idea of a healthy lifestyle is. If it's another one of those starvation level calorie-restricted diets with plenty of exercise, then I can see why you keep falling off. It's got to be a permanent life change. Something easy that you can keep up every day without much effort.
 
9:00 feeding was a salad of chicken cubes (fried in lard), lettuce and ranch dressing... a small batch of whipped cream mixed with vanilla whey... and a flax muffin with peanut butter.

I love low carb!
 

Phobophile

A scientist and gentleman in the manner of Batman.
Getting my P90X stuff in via FedEx tomorrow. Gonna try it out to get from 230 lbs. down to 200 lbs. or leaner. Can't wait to try it out!
 
Zefah said:
I might start by asking what your idea of a healthy lifestyle is. If it's another one of those starvation level calorie-restricted diets with plenty of exercise, then I can see why you keep falling off. It's got to be a permanent life change. Something easy that you can keep up every day without much effort.

My diet consisted of 50% protein, 30% carbs, and 20% fat. All natural foods...no fast food, no sugar. Protein was mainly chicken breasts, turkey, and protein powder. Carb was mainly sweet potatoes. For fats I ate a variety of raw nuts. And I consumed around 2,200 calories per day (I'm 6' and started at 210 lbs).

For exercise I did P90X...which is 6 days a week of pretty intense weight lifting and cardio. I'll admit, there's no way I could keep doing this for the rest of my life. But I can do a few months at a time.
 
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