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Weight Loss Before/After Thread! (with pics)

LosDaddie

Banned
I cheat once a month. The problem is when I cheat, I can't control myself. Cheat Days usually include about 10k calories.


That's why they're called Cheat Days. I don't even try to count the calories, or carbs, during my Cheat Day. I just eat whatever I want, when I want.



I had my first cheat day in a while on sunday.. felt sick after it. And dissapointed in myself, like I just kept thinking what is the point in this? I'd rather just stick to occasionaly having a cheat meal then a whole day of cheating but it just made me sick and disgusted in myself. Felt so lazy, didnt even want to take a shower, didnt want to work out or do my work for exams. Just a bad day overall lol.

Other than feeling full all day, I love my Cheat Days. Never feel sick, or tired....just happy that I'm eating/drinking the food/drinks I love. :)

And why did you feel disappointed in yourself? Did you not make any weight loss progress during the week? I view my Cheat Days as my reward for doing good all week. Now if I wasn't making any progress, then I might not have a Cheat Day.
 
Hummus is awesome.

I bought a big, fatty salmon steak from the fishmarkets last week and I've just been eating that raw with some red onions and cucumber. So good.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
Found my new go to lunch.

Tuna mixed with hot sauce and a 1/4 cup of almonds, hummus and baby carrots and a hardboiled egg.

That sounds pretty damn good.

I just moved into a place with much higher rent then before, so I'm trying to make some changes to offset that cost. One thing I'm looking to change is spending $5 - $7 per day on lunch. I just need to come up with some simple options that I can make at home and take to work with me.
 

Keylime

ÏÎ¯Î»Ï á¼Î¾ÎµÏÎγλοÏÏον καί ÏεÏδολÏγον οá½Îº εἰÏÏν
My lunch is the same everyday, and I'd be screwed if my cafeteria didn't exist. They've got the most rockin salad bar that allows me to put together a huge ass salad packed with everything I could want every day.

About 7 - 10 bucks a day, though...depending on how crazy I go.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
My lunch is the same everyday, and I'd be screwed if my cafeteria didn't exist. They've got the most rockin salad bar that allows me to put together a huge ass salad packed with everything I could want every day.

About 7 - 10 bucks a day, though...depending on how crazy I go.

Yeah, I tend to hit up a salad bar style place every day. I usually get between 0.7 and 1 lbs. of food which costs something like $4.5 - $7. It's nice and convenient, but it really adds up over a month.
 

Keylime

ÏÎ¯Î»Ï á¼Î¾ÎµÏÎγλοÏÏον καί ÏεÏδολÏγον οá½Îº εἰÏÏν
Yeah, I tend to hit up a salad bar style place every day. I usually get between 0.7 and 1 lbs. of food which costs something like $4.5 - $7. It's nice and convenient, but it really adds up over a month.

That it does...

I'm actually trying to consciously spend more money on food as weird as that sounds. Instead of trying to pinch pennies buying more convenient and processed food, I'm trying to be as fresh and organic as I possibly can to get the best nutrient value.

This translates to buying more grass fed or grass finished beef. Buying organic vegetables. Buying a fresh salad everyday at work. Buying organic berries. Buying high quality olive oils.

The only pre-packaged thing I eat at this point are my chicken sausages I eat for breakfast. They're made with all natural ingredients, but are definitely a bit high on the sodium side and a shortcut I'm taking. I need to find an easier breakfast alternative to replace them before I take them out.
 

SeanR1221

Member
I spend about 3-5.00 a day to eat.

I'll have to type up my normal order with prices to give you an idea. I buy everything in bulk.

I'm not sure of the exact sizes so you'll have to wait till I get home tonight.
 

Deadly Cyclone

Pride of Iowa State
That it does...

I'm actually trying to consciously spend more money on food as weird as that sounds. Instead of trying to pinch pennies buying more convenient and processed food, I'm trying to be as fresh and organic as I possibly can to get the best nutrient value.

This translates to buying more grass fed or grass finished beef. Buying organic vegetables. Buying a fresh salad everyday at work. Buying organic berries. Buying high quality olive oils.

The only pre-packaged thing I eat at this point are my chicken sausages I eat for breakfast. They're made with all natural ingredients, but are definitely a bit high on the sodium side and a shortcut I'm taking. I need to find an easier breakfast alternative to replace them before I take them out.

It's so much more expensive to eat healthy! :p

I have been doing the same, buying more fresh stuff. I have trouble figuring out what to actually make with it though.

Made Italian Wedding soup for the week on Sunday for lunches, it's usually between salad and soup for lunch at work for me. For breakfast I get turkey kielbasa and cut it down to portions. Healthy and high protein.
 
ok rubxqub tell me if i'm doing this right.

As we speak I'm preparing boiled cauliflower and mixed vegetables with some baked chicken breast. Im going to sprinkle some shredded cheddar cheese over the cauliflower and veggies assuming that it'll melt pretty fast. This is good? I'm using today as a cheat day because normally I wouldn't all this for dinner.(under 1000 cal diet.)
 

Keylime

ÏÎ¯Î»Ï á¼Î¾ÎµÏÎγλοÏÏον καί ÏεÏδολÏγον οá½Îº εἰÏÏν
ok rubxqub tell me if i'm doing this right.

As we speak I'm preparing boiled cauliflower and mixed vegetables with some baked chicken breast. Im going to sprinkle some shredded cheddar cheese over the cauliflower and veggies assuming that it'll melt pretty fast. This is good? I'm using today as a cheat day because normally I wouldn't all this for dinner.(under 1000 cal diet.)

Looks good to me! :p
 

Keylime

ÏÎ¯Î»Ï á¼Î¾ÎµÏÎγλοÏÏον καί ÏεÏδολÏγον οá½Îº εἰÏÏν
under 1000 cal?! jeez man how are you surving? I'd actually like to see what your daily diet routine is.

Honestly I probably ate well under 1000 calories when I first started dieting. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone now that I know better, but you can survive and function on 1000 calories without much problem.

I can't imagine there is much exercise going on, though. I had to up my food intake to survive my workouts, but I lost 50 pounds before I even started working out in the first place!
 

man of science

Neo Member
I have a question about low carb. I'm using myfitnesspal to track what I eat and I would love to set a guidelines for carbs. What I want to know is, how low is low? In the diet doctor link he said 5 out of every 100g of food, so should I set it to 5% of my calories from carbs?

Some info: male, 28, 6 feet tall, 209 lbs, lightly active but now working out with P90 6 days a week.

I used the zone diet before to some success, but that is 40:30:30 carb:protein:fat, which doesn't seem low enough in light of new research.
 

Keylime

ÏÎ¯Î»Ï á¼Î¾ÎµÏÎγλοÏÏον καί ÏεÏδολÏγον οá½Îº εἰÏÏν
Typically low carb is about getting your body to enter a state of ketosis, meaning that your body is using fat as your primary fuel source.

Generally the recommendation I've seen is to keep it at or under 50 carbs a day to stay in or enter ketosis. I don't think how much you eat really plays into the equation since 50g of carbs is basically not enough for your body to keep fueling itself on carbs and starts breaking down fat for fuel in the form of ketones.
 

Deadly Cyclone

Pride of Iowa State
So then, those of you that work, what do you take for breakfast, lunch, and snacks? I need something healthy, easy, and good. Right now it rotates between canned soup (Progresso or Healthy Choice) or the all-in-one salad mixes that i can portion out depending on what is cheaper.

Breakfast is 1/3rd of a turkey kielbasa and a greek yogurt.

Any ideas, suggestions? What do you all take?
 
Typically low carb is about getting your body to enter a state of ketosis, meaning that your body is using fat as your primary fuel source.

Generally the recommendation I've seen is to keep it at or under 50 carbs a day to stay in or enter ketosis. I don't think how much you eat really plays into the equation since 50g of carbs is basically not enough for your body to keep fueling itself on carbs and starts breaking down fat for fuel in the form of ketones.

I keep my carbs under or on 20g a day.
 
That's why they're called Cheat Days. I don't even try to count the calories, or carbs, during my Cheat Day. I just eat whatever I want, when I want.


Other than feeling full all day, I love my Cheat Days. Never feel sick, or tired....just happy that I'm eating/drinking the food/drinks I love. :)

And why did you feel disappointed in yourself? Did you not make any weight loss progress during the week? I view my Cheat Days as my reward for doing good all week. Now if I wasn't making any progress, then I might not have a Cheat Day.

Back in 2003 I made the lifestyle change that keeps my weight where I want. I have a cheat day once a month. And since they're only once a month, I eat EVERYTHING that I want in sight. My friends have come to call them Heroic Eating Days, cause they're really on a heroic level. I only feel full as well, and I'm happy.

Now I'm only maintaining my weight. After a cheat day I choose not to weigh myself for about a week and a half. Why? Cause when I've weighed in the day after, I've seen up to a 27 pound difference in weight. But I know that any difference is mostly going to be the weight of the food/liquid and of course I will gain some. It's just caloric math really. And I know It'll be gone in about a week and half.

My point was, there is absolutely no way that one day, even on heroic proportions like that will undo all the work that you've done. If I didn't come to this realization, I'd feel disappointment. Plus I also treat it as a reward for being absolutely perfect the entire month.
 

OG Kush

Member
So then, those of you that work, what do you take for breakfast, lunch, and snacks? I need something healthy, easy, and good. Right now it rotates between canned soup (Progresso or Healthy Choice) or the all-in-one salad mixes that i can portion out depending on what is cheaper.

Breakfast is 1/3rd of a turkey kielbasa and a greek yogurt.

Any ideas, suggestions? What do you all take?

Chicken breasts, make them before hand. Also tuna is good to mix with the salad or by itself (i like it either way but some people don't like tuna just on its own). snacks:
cottage cheese
cheese strings
nuts
carrots, cucumbers, celery
fruits (not much though, I probably have an apple a day)
cold cut deli slices.
hummus
you can add all of these as sides to your main meals as well. Also eggs! eggs are great. Anyway you like. can mix a lot of different stuff into omelettes. btw these are all low-carb options. If you're not doing low-carb then then theres much greater variety.
And why did you feel disappointed in yourself? Did you not make any weight loss progress during the week? I view my Cheat Days as my reward for doing good all week. Now if I wasn't making any progress, then I might not have a Cheat Day.
No I made a good progress, but I don't know I just felt like why should I take a cheat day when every day kind of counts. Maybe its just a personal thing as I said before that I don't mind cheating but only in short amounts, like the occasional mean. Me, just personally, am not a fan of a whole day of cheating.
 

Miutsu

Member
Hi weight loss GAF! I come to join you.

Been lurking this thread many months ago and even started a low carb diet based around all the advises here... managed to lose around 20 kg from september 2010 to december 2010 but then christmas came.. and then a birthday, then another birthday, and well you know the story, never got back on track until now.

I haven't weighted myself again but I'm sure I got back all the weight that I lost and maybe even some more. I'm back on track again as of yesterday and when I get serious almost nothing can stop me :p

The only downside is that where I live it can be troublesome finding some kind of food (even basic stuff like veggies or meat for patties) but I can manage.
 

dralla

Member
I have a question about low carb. I'm using myfitnesspal to track what I eat and I would love to set a guidelines for carbs. What I want to know is, how low is low? In the diet doctor link he said 5 out of every 100g of food, so should I set it to 5% of my calories from carbs?

Some info: male, 28, 6 feet tall, 209 lbs, lightly active but now working out with P90 6 days a week.

I used the zone diet before to some success, but that is 40:30:30 carb:protein:fat, which doesn't seem low enough in light of new research.

There are no specific numbers that define "low" or "moderate" amounts of carbs. From what I have seen, 100g and under is considered low and is also recommended for "rapid weight loss". 150g is considered moderate. Ketogenic diets can be as low as 20g per day for some people. Above all else you just have to find what works for you.
 

omgkitty

Member
I cooked a bunch of bacon earlier and saved the grease and decided to put a little bit on my green beans when I cooked them. Yay or nay?
 

entremet

Member
I find Cheat Days too much. As you get used eating healthier, I tend to feel terrible after going nuts on a cheat day. I do cheat meals instead these days. Mostly a dinner on the weekend or so.

Plus as your cooking skills improve, you notice that healthy food can be delicious as well.
 

Duffyside

Banned
All right, I've been reading this thread for like an hour now and there is one question that I keep saying I need to ask, but feel it's too dumb to do so. But fuck it, I can't sleep without asking, so here goes:

WHERE DO YOU GUYS FIND GOOD BACON!?!? Every time I've ever tried to make bacon it's never that crispy, meaty awesome stuff I'm seeing in pictures.

I'm currently in August in the thread, so this question is coming from the thread being all low-carb crazy. I apologize if sometime in November someone posted a link proving that the low-carb stuff was a sham perpetrated by the Big Meat Lobby and now everyone's eating grass.

... Six months until the Big Grass Lobby scandal bubbles to the surface.
 

TheExodu5

Banned
Cooking your bacon in the oven helps.

Anyways, I seriously need to turn shit around. I turned my holiday vacation into a cheat marathon. I drank two cans of Coke tonight and ate a chocolate bar tonight, as well as having downed a bag of popcorn. I should feel disgusting. I really need to find the motivation that had me going in the first place.
 

Miutsu

Member
Btw, what are good snacks in a low carb diet? I went to bed a moment ago but i was hungry so I heated a sausage and ate some jam slices
 

dantehemi

Member
Day 2 in the books, feels good. I know it sounds stupid but I swear I can feel a few pounds gone in 2 days...probably in my head. It's gonna be awhile before I can actually get on a scale, all the scales I seen are 350lbs max, and I'm gonna say I'm 30 pounds away from that.

I decided to make goal number 1 for myself be something I did way back, I called it getting into the 2 and 3's....meaning have my weight start with the number 2 and my jeans be a size that starts with a 3. My end goal for now is 250lbs (believe it or not I look damn good at that weight) although I have to lift weights also to make it effective. I have a big frame, about 8 years ago I went as lo as 220 and people said I started to look like I was sick. I'm 6'2" and am built thick (it sounds stupid to say, or maybe is completey wrong) but I am not built to be skinny, I am a line backer type build naturally (or so I have been told)
 

dantehemi

Member
Btw, what are good snacks in a low carb diet? I went to bed a moment ago but i was hungry so I heated a sausage and ate some jam slices

I really like peanut butter and celery sticks. So good and easy to make fast.
And string cheese with a handfull of almonds.

Both of these have been my go to snack
 

Miutsu

Member
I really like peanut butter and celery sticks. So good and easy to make fast.
And string cheese with a handfull of almonds.

Both of these have been my go to snack

Heh, never really tried to eat unchopped celery sticks, will have to look for the peanut butter since it isnt produced here (but they do sell it in some places, no idea about price >o<).

Sometimes I eat walnuts when I have but I was thinking in trying almonds too.

Edit: this is my day 2 too :D *high five*
 
El Pollo Loco is a lifesaver when I come home from work too tired to cook. I'll usually grab the 8 piece legs and thighs for 10 bucks, make a quick salad at home, and bam I've got dinner.

I just finished the P90X Chest and Back workout, then hungrily scarfed down 6 pieces and a Cherry Coke Zero (I know diet soda isn't good for you, but I needed it tonight). So good. I guess the only thing I need to worry about are burnt parts on the chicken and sodium, but 8 pieces of chicken only come out to 1234 mg of sodium. I barely eat any sodium during the day, so I'm still consuming less than the normal dietary guideline of less than 2300 mg.

I also find KFC's grilled chicken to be extremely tasty, but it isn't a surprise when you look at their ingredient list. Here are a few noteworthy ones: Maltodextrin (type of sugar), Bleached Wheat Flour, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and Cottonseed Oil.

Despite some searching I was unable to find an ingredient list for El Pollo Loco's chicken marinade outside of a few vague claims that they're marinaded in a natural mix of citrus juices and seasonings. It certainly looks and tastes like a simple marinade.
 

_Isaac

Member
I also find KFC's grilled chicken to be extremely tasty, but it isn't a surprise when you look at their ingredient list. Here are a few noteworthy ones: Maltodextrin (type of sugar), Bleached Wheat Flour, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and Cottonseed Oil.

So these were the top secret ingredients everybody was going crazy about?
 
So these were the top secret ingredients everybody was going crazy about?

Haha I guess. It doesn't bother me that much because whatever coating that is on top of the skin is a thin one..healthier than the original recipe or extra crunchy that's for sure.

El Pollo Loco even created a commercial to ridicule KFC's use of beef powder and beef fat in their marinade. Gotta admire those food scientists, they know how to make things taste good.
 

dantehemi

Member
How's Tzatziki Sauce as a dip? I was looking at some nutrition info and it has 8.6 carbs per 100 grams. Is that acceptable on a low carb diet?
 

Keylime

ÏÎ¯Î»Ï á¼Î¾ÎµÏÎγλοÏÏον καί ÏεÏδολÏγον οá½Îº εἰÏÏν
179.5 on the scale this morning. Broke through that 180 barrier...but still have a bit of a stomach I need to toss! This stomach fat is the most stubborn thing ever.

It's funny how throughout my weight loss I had such terrible estimations of where I should be bodyweight wise.

When I was 250 I thought I just needed to get to 230 to look OK.
When I was 230 I thought I needed to get to 200 to look OK.
When I was 200 I thought I needed to get to 185 to look OK.
When I was 185 I thought I needed to get to 175 to look OK.

...well being 4 pounds away from 175, I can almost guarantee that 175 won't be it.

The problem with the scale is that I don't know how my body composition actually looks through all of this. Since I'm continually working out, I know my weight loss has dramatically slowed because I'm putting on muscle while taking off fat. I suspect that sometime soon I won't even lose weight anymore and I'll just change shape...but then I won't be able to use my scale to measure progress!

It's like I need a personal BodPod machine in my house so I can do a daily measurement of my body composition instead :p

Either way, 179.5 is a great benchmark to hit for me. I'm just wondering when the scale becomes completely useless to me. I'm already measuring my waist and stomach once a week to gauge progress and it seems like I lose about a quarter of an inch every week. Right now my waist comes in at 35.5 inches.

The insanely fit guys I see online seem to have close to 32 inch waists, so perhaps I've got another 3 months required to really get the body I'm after.

Best part about all of this is that I don't view my current progress as a band-aid to my body situation. I just view it as how I will live the rest of my life. Eating well and working out should be staples of my life going forward...so I'll definitely get the body I want.

...I'm just impatient :p
 

omgkitty

Member
When I was 250 I thought I just needed to get to 230 to look OK.
When I was 230 I thought I needed to get to 200 to look OK.
When I was 200 I thought I needed to get to 185 to look OK.
When I was 185 I thought I needed to get to 175 to look OK.

Shit don't tell me that haha
 

OG Kush

Member
It's funny how throughout my weight loss I had such terrible estimations of where I should be bodyweight wise.

When I was 250 I thought I just needed to get to 230 to look OK.
When I was 230 I thought I needed to get to 200 to look OK.
When I was 200 I thought I needed to get to 185 to look OK.
When I was 185 I thought I needed to get to 175 to look OK.

...well being 4 pounds away from 175, I can almost guarantee that 175 won't be it.

Haha the way I see is that until I get visible abs, I won;t stop!
 

Keylime

ÏÎ¯Î»Ï á¼Î¾ÎµÏÎγλοÏÏον καί ÏεÏδολÏγον οá½Îº εἰÏÏν
Shit don't tell me that haha
The good news is that I looked great with my clothes on around 190. It's just my goals are to look great naked!

Haha the way I see is that until I get visible abs, I won;t stop!

Yep, I want my stomach fat to go away forever. I want them abs, man! I know they're under that layer of fat I've got left. If I lean back I can see bits of them trying to peak out...I know they're under there!
 

omgkitty

Member
The good news is that I looked great with my clothes on around 190. It's just my goals are to look great naked!

I don't think I've ever looked good naked. I'm around 350 right now so I am hoping my goal weight will be around 250 seeing as I'm 6'5 and have a large frame in general. I will never be one of those people who will be tall and skinny.
 

man of science

Neo Member
I'm also on day 2 of LCHF, second week of P90.

Yesterday I came home to Turkey burgers (good), rice, mashed potatoes and boiled green plantain, but instead had it with cabbage, red pepper and some gouda. Felt nice and full.
 

Keylime

ÏÎ¯Î»Ï á¼Î¾ÎµÏÎγλοÏÏον καί ÏεÏδολÏγον οá½Îº εἰÏÏν
You could try one of the handheld body fat calculators. There not super accurate, but they should give you an idea.

I don't trust the "run a current through your body" things, because my friend has a scale that does this and it says he's 13% bodyfat right now.

...he's not 13% bodyfat. He's doing really well, but 13% bodyfat is fairly visible muscle definition. I'd be shocked if I was even at 15% right now.
 
So it seems that getting older, hours of college studies, and an 8-4 desk job are taking their toll on me and I'm getting a bit of that stomach flab. My initial instinct is to start doing a bunch of stomach crunches in addition to normal jogging and lifting, but I thought I'd ask here - what's the best way to get rid of this stuff?

(If there's a general fitness thread I haven't seen it, feel free to point me there if this isn't the right place.)
 
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