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Weight Loss Before/After Thread! (with pics)

S

Srsly

Banned
TheGoldenGunman said:
@Majik. Many of us in this thread have been in that same place you've been. You've already taken the first step of committing to making a change, and posting here (especially with the pictures) is a great first step. Also quitting your job will really help you as it will free up so much time that losing weight should be a lot easier.

First up, before looking into any exercise routines, look at your diet. Starting right now, get a notepad out and record everything you eat for the next week. I'm pretty sure that when you look at it you'll feel pretty ashamed at what you are eating, especially when you work out the calorific content of what you are eating. This is what I did, and just looking at that information really made me think long and hard about my lifestyle. You'll figure out how to change your diet so that its more manageable without killing yourself over the next few months, but this is the most important first step, IMO.

In terms of exercise, right now you should start taking on high-impact cardio activities such as running and swimming. Both of these will be *really* hard for you right now, but both will turbo-charge your metabolism. Right now, you feel tired and sedentary because of your lifestyle. Sitting down all day makes your body change and it gets used to burning very few calories because you are basically doing nothing all day. After a few weeks of running / swimming, you'll actually start losing weight even when doing nothing as your metabolic rate will start increasing.

Most people hate running, and I can totally understand that. I used to hate it too! But I brought myself an iPod and that really helped. Now I really like running as I can put on my tunes and get an adrenalin rush as I zone out and run to my music. I actually find it really therapeutic and enjoyable as a result. However, if you really cannot bear to run, start cycling. That's also a pretty good form of exercise that also has the advantage of being fun. I always like riding up high hills / mountains simply because going downhill on the other side makes me feel like a big kid again!

I'm sure everyone else in here will offer you plenty of advice, so keep chiming in. One piece of advice I an give you is to tell the people closest to you about your plans to lose weight. Keeping motivated can be the biggest brick wall when it comes to losing weight, so having others keep on pushing you and complimenting you when you do well will really help. As I started losing weight, I often found that when someone said something nice to me, it would just make me even more motivated the next day at the gym. So it's important to be able to get that effect from someone / somewhere.

Anyway, best of luck, I'm sure you'll pull it off!
Click to expand...

lol, "high impact" running is one of the things that kept me failing over and over when I first started trying to lose weight. It does not boost your metabolism significantly, contrary to popular belief and for most people with a lot of weight to lose, it will only over-stress those people, which leads to loss of appetite control and fatigue. It's much better for a significantly overweight person to do low level cardio combined with short periods of intense activity (I.E. weight lifting).

Oops, meant to say loss of appetite control, not loss of appetite
 
B

borghe

Loves the Greater Toronto Area
Srsly is 100% correct. Long distance High impact cardio is unquestionably the LEAST efficient form of exercise you can do, second only to sitting around and doing nothing. Also for reference, swimming is not high impact cardio. It technically falls somewhere between cardio and compound resistance training.

For someone obese and out of shape, do 30 second intervals running (run a s fast as you can for 30 secs, then walk for 30 secs). Start out with one set each day, and every week or two add another set. Adding one set a week you will be running only 2 minutes a day by the end of the month and already in significantly better shape. Then the second month start adding on two sets a week. By the end of that second month you will be up to 12 minutes of activity a day and running for 6 minutes.

This combined with redoing your diet and I promise you will see the weight come off and start feeling healthier immediately.

Edit - srsly, IMHO lifting weights for people who are significantly overweight is unnecessary. You have to remember that their body is already moving around more weight that it was built to handle, and once you put that in motion either through intervals or body weight calisthenics, you'll find that that is way more than enough to start revving up their metabolism. IMHO lifting weights shouldn't even be a concern until losing weight/fat is no longer your primary goal. Most folks 30lbs or more overweight already have a huge amount of lean body mass/muscle. Adding further resistance to their training probably won't stop them from losing some of that lean body mass and like you said about running, will just add stress and unnecessary difficulty.
 
T

Toki767

Member
I just had what might have been a 10-12oz grilled chicken breast with garlic and herbs for lunch. I hope I'm not overdoing it with this eating a lot of protein thing.
 
S

Srsly

Banned
borghe said:
Srsly is 100% correct. Long distance High impact cardio is unquestionably the LEAST efficient form of exercise you can do, second only to sitting around and doing nothing. Also for reference, swimming is not high impact cardio. It technically falls somewhere between cardio and compound resistance training.

For someone obese and out of shape, do 30 second intervals running (run a s fast as you can for 30 secs, then walk for 30 secs). Start out with one set each day, and every week or two add another set. Adding one set a week you will be running only 2 minutes a day by the end of the month and already in significantly better shape. Then the second month start adding on two sets a week. By the end of that second month you will be up to 12 minutes of activity a day and running for 6 minutes.

This combined with redoing your diet and I promise you will see the weight come off and start feeling healthier immediately.

Edit - srsly, IMHO lifting weights for people who are significantly overweight is unnecessary. You have to remember that their body is already moving around more weight that it was built to handle, and once you put that in motion either through intervals or body weight calisthenics, you'll find that that is way more than enough to start revving up their metabolism. IMHO lifting weights shouldn't even be a concern until losing weight/fat is no longer your primary goal. Most folks 30lbs or more overweight already have a huge amount of lean body mass/muscle. Adding further resistance to their training probably won't stop them from losing some of that lean body mass and like you said about running, will just add stress and unnecessary difficulty.
Click to expand...

Ah, yeah, I used weights as an example of something short and intense, but calisthenics would be good too. I actually lifted quite a bit before I put on all my weight, perhaps that's why I was able to handle lifting weights intensely from the start of my weight loss program.

I'm not sure I agree with you about most overweight people having lots of lean mass. Doug McGuff pointed out that after looking at hundreds of MRIs of overweight patients, he noticed that almost all of them had below average musculature. He postulated that always carrying around excess weight hinders recovery, it's catabolic, thus despite overweight people having to do more "lifting", their muscles are never given time to recover. Insulin resistance, which primarily afflicts overweight people, also plays a role. Muscles tend to starve when insulin can't get glucose into them.
 
E

Einbroch

Banned
dJsoh.jpg


Just made a batch of delicious garlic cheese buscuits. They take just like the Red Lobster kind. Only 3g net carbs per biscuit! So good.
 
E

Einbroch

Banned
arab said:
WHAT IS THE SECRET? holy fuck those look so good
Click to expand...
Get yourself some CarbQuik. It's basically BisQuick but only 2g net carbs per biscuit. Not from Amazon, though. They charge too much.

Then...

Red Lobster’s Cheddar Biscuits

If you’ve eaten at Red Lobster, you’ll know how good these can be. The recipe on the Carbquik box is okay, but I found one that that blows it away thanks to Top Secret Recipes.

Ingredients:
2½ cups Carbquik
3 fl. oz of heavy cream
3 fl. oz of water
4 tbsp. cold butter (½ stick)
¼ tsp. garlic powder
1 heaping cup grated cheddar cheese

Bush on Top:
4 tbsp. butter, melted
¼ tsp. dried parsley flakes
½ tsp. garlic powder
pinch salt

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine Carbquik with cold butter in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter or a large fork. You don’t want to mix too thoroughly. There should be small chunks of butter in there that are about the size of peas. Add cheddar cheese, heavy cream, water, and ¼ teaspoon garlic. Mix by hand until combined, but don’t over mix.
3. Drop approximately ¼-cup portions of the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet using an ice cream scoop.
4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown.
5. When you take the biscuits out of the oven, melt 4 tablespoons butter is a small bowl in your microwave. Stir in ½ teaspoon garlic powder and the dried parsley flakes. Use a brush to spread this garlic butter over the tops of all the biscuits. Use up all of the butter. Makes one dozen biscuits.

Recipe courtesy of Todd Wilbur, "Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2," Plume Books and SomethingAwful.

It's not even that bad calorie-wise. Like 170 calories a biscuit. Eat two as a side and it's perfect, or one a snack.
 
D

Deadly Cyclone

Pride of Iowa State
Do you guys feel like you are losing 3 lbs a week? I know it's an odd question but I have been eating much healthier and running 3x a week for a few weeks now and think I have lost some weight just by looking in the mirror, but I don't feel like it is happening quickly at all. I'd be surprised if I've lost 1lb a week.

Run tonight, Couch to 5K, and its 95 degrees with like 90% humidity. :p
 
A

AceBandage

Banned
Deadly Cyclone said:
Do you guys feel like you are losing 3 lbs a week? I know it's an odd question but I have been eating much healthier and running 3x a week for a few weeks now and think I have lost some weight just by looking in the mirror, but I don't feel like it is happening quickly at all. I'd be surprised if I've lost 1lb a week.

Run tonight, Couch to 5K, and its 95 degrees with like 90% humidity. :p
Click to expand...

Try doing a morning weigh in.
But any weight loss is good weight loss when you're trying to lose. So don't get discouraged.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
Deadly Cyclone said:
Do you guys feel like you are losing 3 lbs a week? I know it's an odd question but I have been eating much healthier and running 3x a week for a few weeks now and think I have lost some weight just by looking in the mirror, but I don't feel like it is happening quickly at all. I'd be surprised if I've lost 1lb a week.

Run tonight, Couch to 5K, and its 95 degrees with like 90% humidity. :p
Click to expand...

Weight isn't the best indicator for fitness and health. If you're putting on muscle mass at the same time, you won't be losing much weight, but your body will certainly look a lot better.
 
D

Deleted member 8095

Unconfirmed Member
Alright, I weighed in today at 250.6. I guess 50.6 will be my goal from now until April. My plan is to really watch what I eat and basically reduce sugar and carbs. So far my plan is to do an hour of cario on Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun and a half hour of cardio and a half hour of weights on Tues, Thurs, Sat. I will weigh in every Friday morning and keep this thread updated on my progress. I started working out on Tuesday and I feel I can really stick to this plan. Oh yeah, I'm also eliminating carbs after 4pm every day.
 
T

TheExodu5

Banned
WinoMcCougarstein said:
Alright, I weighed in today at 250.6. I guess 50.6 will be my goal from now until April. My plan is to really watch what I eat and basically reduce sugar and carbs. So far my plan is to do an hour of cario on Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun and a half hour of cardio and a half hour of weights on Tues, Thurs, Sat. I will weigh in every Friday morning and keep this thread updated on my progress. I started working out on Tuesday and I feel I can really stick to this plan. Oh yeah, I'm also eliminating carbs after 4pm every day.
Click to expand...

I look forward to hearing about your progress!
 
A

AceBandage

Banned
WinoMcCougarstein said:
Alright, I weighed in today at 250.6. I guess 50.6 will be my goal from now until April. My plan is to really watch what I eat and basically reduce sugar and carbs. So far my plan is to do an hour of cario on Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun and a half hour of cardio and a half hour of weights on Tues, Thurs, Sat. I will weigh in every Friday morning and keep this thread updated on my progress. I started working out on Tuesday and I feel I can really stick to this plan. Oh yeah, I'm also eliminating carbs after 4pm every day.
Click to expand...


Good luck! 50 pounds is a life changing amount.
:D
 
E

elrechazado

Banned
WinoMcCougarstein said:
Alright, I weighed in today at 250.6. I guess 50.6 will be my goal from now until April. My plan is to really watch what I eat and basically reduce sugar and carbs. So far my plan is to do an hour of cario on Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun and a half hour of cardio and a half hour of weights on Tues, Thurs, Sat. I will weigh in every Friday morning and keep this thread updated on my progress. I started working out on Tuesday and I feel I can really stick to this plan. Oh yeah, I'm also eliminating carbs after 4pm every day.
Click to expand...
Good luck, many of us have done it, you can too.
 
D

Deleted member 8095

Unconfirmed Member
I used to weigh 280 and got down to 208 at one point but I've put some if back on. I really need to make a lifestyle change this time or I'll just end up putting it back on again. I really want to keep it off this time though, I'm pretty damn motivated. I really do appreciate the support though, you guys are great!
 
A

AceBandage

Banned
Remember, the key isn't to deprive yourself, it's to control yourself.
This is why most meal plans (I refuse to call them diets) fail.
Learning why you get hungry and how to fix that hunger is the biggest weapon you have.
 
A

Akim

Banned
AceBandage said:
Remember, the key isn't to deprive yourself, it's to control yourself.
This is why most meal plans (I refuse to call them diets) fail.
Learning why you get hungry and how to fix that hunger is the biggest weapon you have.
Click to expand...

why I get hungry: I'm bored and depressed

what I do: cry
 
T

TheExodu5

Banned
I was frying some left over streak strips. Normally I'd put on some barbeque sauce for that nice caramelized flavor, but I figured I'd try something that wouldn't add lots of sugar to my meal. I used soy sauce, garlic, Frank's red hot, a bunch of Dijon mustard. Pretty tasty!
 
D

Deleted member 8095

Unconfirmed Member
Buffalo Wild Wings spicy garlic sauce is very low carb too. It's AWESOME.
 
D

Domino Theory

Crystal Dynamics
WinoMcCougarstein said:
Alright, I weighed in today at 250.6. I guess 50.6 will be my goal from now until April. My plan is to really watch what I eat and basically reduce sugar and carbs. So far my plan is to do an hour of cario on Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun and a half hour of cardio and a half hour of weights on Tues, Thurs, Sat. I will weigh in every Friday morning and keep this thread updated on my progress. I started working out on Tuesday and I feel I can really stick to this plan. Oh yeah, I'm also eliminating carbs after 4pm every day.
Click to expand...

I wish you nothing but the best, but don't overdo the cardio. You're doing cardio on days that your muscles need to rest and repair itself so make sure that hour is reduced or that it's low intensity. Both, preferably.

But seriously, good luck. Cutting carbs will make you lose those 50 pounds by next April, no doubt about it.
 
G

GodfatherX

Member
so about 2 weeks i stepped on the scale and what i saw hurt..298 lbs, ive been gaining weight steadily since early 2008. At that time I was around 205lb to 210lb, after losing roughly 85-90lbs from 2001-2003. Have been extremely stressed at work and eating fast food twice a day pretty much monday - friday.

In the last 2 weeks I have nearly eliminated fast food completely from my diet and have lost 10 lbs. My goal is 210, with the hope to eventually hit 180
 
A

AceBandage

Banned
GodfatherX said:
so about 2 weeks i stepped on the scale and what i saw hurt..298 lbs, ive been gaining weight steadily since early 2008. At that time I was around 205lb to 210lb, after losing roughly 85-90lbs from 2001-2003. Have been extremely stressed at work and eating fast food twice a day pretty much monday - friday.

In the last 2 weeks I have nearly eliminated fast food completely from my diet and have lost 10 lbs. My goal is 210, with the hope to eventually hit 180
Click to expand...


You're already over the biggest hurdle. Just stick too it!
 
O

oatmeal

Banned
I'm losing about 1 lb per week. I run every morning, steadily increasing the distance (around 2 miles now).

Been going well. I don't feel like I'm even dieting that hard. I watch what I eat using MyFitnessPal, I am given 1760 calories a day, and am usually satisfied as long as I don't go over on the Sugar Carbs.
 
S

SamuraiX-

Member
I'm about 5'7" and around mid-May I was weighing somewhere between 185-190.

I've been dieting for two months now and trying to go to the gym as often as I can. I'm trying my best not to starve myself, but sometimes my Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays are too hectic that all I have time for is breakfast and dinner.

This morning I was weighing 168.7 lbs. I don't think my weight has been this low for about 7 or 8 years. My target weight is 160 lbs and I'm hoping to be able to reach it sometime around the time when my Fall semester starts in September.

I dropped to around the low 170s pretty quickly, but I was stuck at around 170 lb for a couple of weeks until I played about 2 hours of basketball last night. At this point it seems like it's gonna be crucial to combine cardio and dieting.

Feels good, GAF! :D
 
S

SeigO

Banned
So does anyone have advice for what my goal weight should be? I'm 6'2 with a medium frame and I've gone from about 208->190 since April 1st.

I feel sort of satisfied with my current weight, but I'm not sure if I should keep going or stop my diet and stick to exercising to look better at my current weight.

Maybe I'll add some pictures later I don't feel like I look very different yet.
 
A

AceBandage

Banned
SeigO said:
So does anyone have advice for what my goal weight should be? I'm 6'2 with a medium frame and I've gone from about 208->190 since April 1st.

I feel sort of satisfied with my current weight, but I'm not sure if I should keep going or stop my diet and stick to exercising to look better at my current weight.

Maybe I'll add some pictures later I don't feel like I look very different yet.
Click to expand...


At 6'2, you're probably at a good weight.
Try and get your Body Fat Percentage and go from there.
Get it around 10% with more exercise, particularly lifting.
 
ipukespiders

ipukespiders

Member
SeigO said:
So does anyone have advice for what my goal weight should be? I'm 6'2 with a medium frame and I've gone from about 208->190 since April 1st.

I feel sort of satisfied with my current weight, but I'm not sure if I should keep going or stop my diet and stick to exercising to look better at my current weight.

Maybe I'll add some pictures later I don't feel like I look very different yet.
Click to expand...

Stand in front of a mirror naked. Do you like what you see? Don't worry too much what the scale says.
 
T

tuna on toast

Banned
I don't think I'm going to do cheat meals anymore. I'm not overweight - I'm just trying to get really lean. Recently, I went about 40 days eating well with no cheating at all. I felt really good the whole time - no cravings or anything. Then I decided to eat a ton of cake and ice cream one day.

I really didn't get much pleasure from it. I only enjoyed it for the first few minutes while I was eating it. After I was full, I regretted it and it made me feel like crap for a couple of days. From now on, I think I'll just have a couple of little bites of dessert every now and then instead of going crazy.
 
jfoul

jfoul

Member
Well, figured I would drop in on my one year anniversary. When I started this journey I was extremely overweight with a 7cm disc herniation at the center of my L5. I was sore everyday, unhappy and I fell into depression. I started to get heart palpitations with numbness in my hands and feet. After an eye opening visit to the doctor I decided to take my life back.

I started off simple going to the park to jog and changing my diet, but I pushed myself too hard and got a stress fracture in my left foot. I wasn't going to give up, the next day I got a gym membership and used an elliptical until my foot recovered. I started going to the gym six days a week, highly motivated and angry.

Eventually my new lifestyle became a routine and the anger was replaced by happiness as I started to repair other things in my life as well.


One year ago: 295 pounds
This morning: 202 pounds
 
D

dmag1223

Member
I recently started cutting carbs and sugars out of my diet, mostly by eliminating cereal, soft drinks, sugary drinks of any kind, fast food, and cutting way back on bread. Even though I have only been doing this for roughly a week, The results have been incredible. I feel like I have much,much more energy, and just feel better and happier. All this was done by simply eating between 50-100 grams of carbs, and running every other day. So far the best decision I have made in years. I just have one question for you guys:

When going on cheat days, how many carbs should I eat? I don't want to ruin any progress I have been making.
 
F

FallingEdge

Member
Depending on your diet and routine, carb ups are perfectly acceptable and encouraged.

It really comes down to your weight but anywhere from 150-300g is fine.
 
H

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
I had an unplanned cheat day and ate about 1.5 cups of rice + 2 cookies.
I'm pretty sure this killed off ketosis as ketones dropped massively the day after, but then picked up 2 days again.

Basically does eating 150g of carbs kill off ketosis for just a day or what?
*I've been having under 50g of carbs and ketosis has kept up so I'm pretty happy about that. Very manageable.
 
D

dmag1223

Member
Shaneus said:
Why cheat?
Click to expand...
Oh, Im not planning on going on one anytime soon, but I'm sure ill have a craving or two within the next few weeks, and was just making sure if I have some bread or something I won't ruin my progress.
 
S

Shaneus

Member
dmag1223 said:
Oh, Im not planning on going on one anytime soon, but I'm sure ill have a craving or two within the next few weeks, and was just making sure if I have some bread or something I won't ruin my progress.
Click to expand...
For cravings, someone suggested sweet potato. I think because it's low fat or something, I can't remember exactly. But as far as carbs go, they're the best you can get.

I think.
 
A

AceBandage

Banned
jfoul said:
Well, figured I would drop in on my one year anniversary. When I started this journey I was extremely overweight with a 7cm disc herniation at the center of my L5. I was sore everyday, unhappy and I fell into depression. I started to get heart palpitations with numbness in my hands and feet. After an eye opening visit to the doctor I decided to take my life back.

I started off simple going to the park to jog and changing my diet, but I pushed myself too hard and got a stress fracture in my left foot. I wasn't going to give up, the next day I got a gym membership and used an elliptical until my foot recovered. I started going to the gym six days a week, highly motivated and angry.

Eventually my new lifestyle became a routine and the anger was replaced by happiness as I started to repair other things in my life as well.


One year ago: 295 pounds
This morning: 202 pounds
Click to expand...


Awesome job, man!
Shaneus said:
For cravings, someone suggested sweet potato. I think because it's low fat or something, I can't remember exactly. But as far as carbs go, they're the best you can get.

I think.
Click to expand...

Not just low fat, virtually fat free. Also low sugar, honestly. They have a good number of carbs (a large sweet potato is about 40carbs), about a fourth of which is fiber. They're also full of nutrients, vitamins and have really good quality protein.

Basically, they're the perfect candy.

You can also try beets. Just bake some beet slices with a bit of cinnamon. Just be warned if you have too many... they change the color of things.
 
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