Chittagong
Gold Member
That feel when you finally feel comfortable hanging the towel on the hip instead of jamming it around the waist, and not feeling like Randy from Trailer Park Boys
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Weight Loss Before/After Thread! (with pics)
- Thread starter lsslave
- Start date
*internet high five*
hip and waist kinda sound like the same thing.
Chittagong
Gold Member
Nope, for men hip is the lowest point where the towel can can hang, whereas waist is higher up, with towel up to your belly button. The latter obscures the bottom of your belly, the former lets it all hang out in plain sight. At gym locker room / sauna obviously.
Wafflecakes
Member
Sept 2011 - Today, total lost 137lbs, went from 312 to 175
I've been at my current weight since July of 2012 so I'm pretty happy that I've been able to do that.
Fucking awesome job!
Dead Prince
Banned
i just pretend my waist is also my hips. lets just pretend. no one will know.
Dayum. I was experimenting a bit with green shakes. Bought about half a kilo of fresh spinach and started blending it up with some fruit (an apple, orange, some frozen berries). Tastes good, fruit completely overrides the spinach. Fresh, at least... I tried the same with the same amount of frozen spinach and the taste of it was way stronger. Too bad, would've been easy to have frozen spinach at hand at all times, but the fresh stuff raw in a blend just tastes way better it seems.
Laughing Banana
Weeping Pickle
GAF, let's just say that if I walk every day for about 2 kilometers every day (and about half of it is walking ascending road), will it be enough to make me thinner?
Chittagong
Gold Member
First things first - weight loss is a combination of nutrition and sports. Nutrition is far more important than sports, because changing your daily calorie balance is much easier by eating just a tiny bit less. That said, any regular extra movement has multiple benefits for your health, so you definitely should do it.
Just to illustrate.
- Let's assume you are 220lb. 30 minutes of walking at 3mph will consume 150 calories.
- Let's assume your daily energy need is 2500 calories.
- In case you don't change anything in your diet, you will have now a 150 calories daily deficit
- In a week this adds up to 1050 calories
- To lose a pound of fat, you need to have a deficit of 3500 calories.
- At this speed, you would drop 2lbs (1kg) every 7 weeks. This is 14lbs / year (7kg)
Now the problem with this is that 150cal daily is such a small amount that it's easily undone, so the above calculation is highly theoretical. In real life you probably would not see such consistent loss.
For example, one 3dl glass of Tropicana is 140 calories. Dropping one of those each day will achieve the same as your 2km walk. If you drop the glass of juice AND do the walk, you'll double your speed of loss. Get where I'm going with this?
So definitely, walking is good - but combine it with good nutrition to see faster gains.
Laughing Banana
Weeping Pickle
Hmmm hmmm I see. Thanks.
So dropping unhealthy eating habits in the end carries much more benefits, huh. Hmm, alright, thanks
Horseticuffs
Full werewolf off the buckle
Of course, as you see, diet is king. I will say that I've managed in the last 12 months to lose 145 lbs and 99% of my exercise has been walking between 4.3 and 8.6 miles at least 5 times a week.
Currently I weigh 205.6 lbs and Runtastic tells me I burn around 503 calories per 4.3 mile trip to work, with a general pace of between 3-3.2 mph.
Since I started using Runtastic to log my walking in mid-october I've put in about 45,000 calories burned. Now, my research indicates that it takes burning 3,500 calories to lose a pound so if I had not changed my diet AT ALL my math tells me that I could reasonably expect to have lost almost 13 pounds since October by all that walking.
As you can see, the vast majority of my loss is thanks to diet. I do hope that science supports my reasoning and math here, there's so much to learn when it comes to nutrition and exercise.
I'm hoping to start a course this fall to advance at work where I'll be learning a ton more about clinical nutrition, but as of now I'm afraid large parts of it are a beautiful mystery to me.
Currently I weigh 205.6 lbs and Runtastic tells me I burn around 503 calories per 4.3 mile trip to work, with a general pace of between 3-3.2 mph.
Since I started using Runtastic to log my walking in mid-october I've put in about 45,000 calories burned. Now, my research indicates that it takes burning 3,500 calories to lose a pound so if I had not changed my diet AT ALL my math tells me that I could reasonably expect to have lost almost 13 pounds since October by all that walking.
As you can see, the vast majority of my loss is thanks to diet. I do hope that science supports my reasoning and math here, there's so much to learn when it comes to nutrition and exercise.
I'm hoping to start a course this fall to advance at work where I'll be learning a ton more about clinical nutrition, but as of now I'm afraid large parts of it are a beautiful mystery to me.
Evolved1
make sure the pudding isn't too soggy but that just ruins everything
You have a good attitude, in my humble opinion, a thing almost as important as the exercise and nutrition.
Horseticuffs
Full werewolf off the buckle
Thanks a ton for the kind words! This thread has been such an inspiration and wellspring of information for me I honestly think I would have never gotten anywhere without it.
Gaf and the eternal wisdom of Morgan Freeman telling me to get busy living or get busy dying have been my steadfast companions.
Another summary and weight loss check in:
As weird as it feels saying, I'm pretty much done trying to lose weight. I'll continue to put on muscle and cut down on remaining body fat, but my mission a few years ago to transform from obese to fit is pretty much complete at this point. I started out at 351 pounds, and as of this morning, I weigh 186 pounds (6'2") for a total of 165 pounds lost. I went from a 3XL shirt to a medium, and a 48inch waist to a 32inch waist.
My next update probably won't be until Summer once I've finished my bulk and cut!
And then a self taken picture of myself as of a few minutes ago:
As weird as it feels saying, I'm pretty much done trying to lose weight. I'll continue to put on muscle and cut down on remaining body fat, but my mission a few years ago to transform from obese to fit is pretty much complete at this point. I started out at 351 pounds, and as of this morning, I weigh 186 pounds (6'2") for a total of 165 pounds lost. I went from a 3XL shirt to a medium, and a 48inch waist to a 32inch waist.
My next update probably won't be until Summer once I've finished my bulk and cut!
MemoryHumanity
Member
I always remember your pictures sticking out from my lurking days. Fucking incredible achievement dude, seriously. You don't even look like the same person. You don't need to lose any more weight, you look great.
neojubei said:
You do. Seriously, dude, you do. Go for it!
You can. The only thing holding you back is a negative mindset.
Just start small, find out what changes can be incorporated into your life, and do it.
I can't speak for everyone, but I think its safe to say the one trait shared by all successful people in this thread is determination.
Horseticuffs
Full werewolf off the buckle
Looking awesome, man. I'm totally hoping to follow the same path once I reach my weight goal. Your pics have given all of us heart, man.
Dude, we all started out saying that. The awesome thing about weight loss is that once you make the commitment and get the basic idea down it takes just a little effort to continue the momentum.
You just need to start the ball rolling and keep at it, even in the face of a compete lack of results. Eventually it'll happen and when it starts you just keep rolling with it.
I'm pretty sure anyone who's lost a bunch thought at one point someone was going to have to knock a wall of their house down to get their corpse out someday.
I was literally resigned to that fate for a long time.
BigWeather
Member
To echo what others have said, you can do it! It won't happen all at once. A journey is made of thousands of steps. Try and make healthy choices here and there, and don't beat yourself up if you make an unhealthy choice. Just try to make the next step in the right direction. Doing anything puts you better off than you'd have otherwise been, and you can build on that.
I started my journey on January 2 at 337 pounds. I couldn't imagine enjoying life without sweet tea or coffee (with loads of sugar) or chicken fried steak or fries covered with gravy and cheese (yeah...).
But I made a hard and fast change and was unrelenting for the first month or so. Water, unsweetened tea, and a single glass of milk a day. Cut out breads and sweets as much as possible. Snacked on fruits (berries, the best kind). Eggs for breakfast, no cereal. That sort of thing.
I've kept all of that but allowed myself to have a very occasional sweet or bread. In many cases, I've discovered I've completely lost my taste for some of it. I had a donut the other day and found it sickly sweet. Not only do you find that you are enjoying stuff you used to love less but that you start noticing some of the natural flavors in your healthy food (turkey, for instance, is quite sweet) now that it isn't smothered in gravy and drowned out by that side of sweet tea.
You start seeing results, and you don't want to stop. Two months later I'm at 299, a loss of 38 pounds. And this is without starving myself or exercising any more than I used to.
Just start, try to take the right steps, and once you start seeing real progress you'll be amazed.
Horseticuffs
Full werewolf off the buckle
Awesome work, man. Just be sure to hit all your necessary nutrients and keep riding that momentum!
Evolved1
make sure the pudding isn't too soggy but that just ruins everything
Everyone is different, and what motivates one might even deter another, that said... what worked for me was weighing myself every morning (after taking a leak and before drinking or eating anything) and writing it down in a small notepad. And I would write down in that notepad everything I ate and all the exercise I did (or didn't do!) every day no matter what! Even if I had a bad day, or bad string of days, I would log it in the notebook. And every morning, without fail, I would weigh myself.
Then, the exercise. Here's the thing... you don't have to go crazy with it. It doesn't even have to be that hard. Like, walking, if you stick to it and are faithful, you can actually lose a bunch of weight just walking. And other basic fitness stuff... like pushups, pullups, core stuff, you can do just a little bit. It all adds up.
And, in the beginning it might be hard to stay motivated, feeling like you're not making any gains and, you know, what's the point... but the first time you get a nice loss on the scale (like in the course of some weeks or longer you lose 5-10 lbs -- not unheard of for people who have real high BMI) that is like the best motivator in the world.
It's actually not as hard as it seems, but you do have to do it... I mean you gotta get yourself over the hump. That's tough, for sure. But the secret is that you don't have to go "all out" to get going. It doesn't have to be some really difficult workout regiment and all that. Some people need that, and respond well to it, but it isn't necessary.
It just has to be something. I don't know if that comes off as patronizing or dumb, not my intent at all, I'm just trying to drop some zen on you.
You want to have underwear model body composition? That is hard work. Real hard work.
You want to be thinner? More healthy? Not anywhere near as "hard". It's still a challenge, but it's not like going to the gym and running/lifting until you feel your muscles burning away under your skin.
You need to get the right attitude, commit to it, and make good choices. Imo, to get started, the notebook was just really instrumental in keeping myself committed and focused, even when I wasn't focusing all that well... there was still the notebook. That was its purpose. haha
I'm in the same boat, but I've really made a big change in my diet and exercise routine recently due to this guy:
http://www.youtube.com/user/scooby1961?feature=watch
http://scoobysworkshop.com
He's in his early 50's, all natural and gives great, simple advice for free with no bull. He doesn't recommend much (no supplements really, apart from like caffeine pills) and is not interested in pushing you to buy expensive equipment or gimmicks. Just classic, solid fitness and nutrition advice. Also, he loves proper form and will show time and again bad form, why you should avoid it and just hammers it into your head repeatedly.
I hope I can stick with it but so far, I've gone to the gym more consistently and done more cardio than I ever have before. I'm still waiting for my weight to drop (I tend to have a nice long delayed reaction) but I'm definitely gaining in strength. A lot of what this guy recommends is perfectly doable at home (actually, its all home exercise). Watch his video on time management and setting goals to start off.
Chittagong
Gold Member
I wonder whether it'd be safe to drop my daily calories further, because my weight loss is at an absolute crawl at the moment.
I'm 189cm / 108kg / 27% bf. Here's what my typical week looks like. I am doing Intermittent Fasting on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Monday - Spinning - 700 kcal (IF day)
Tuesday - Spinning AM, Gym PM - 2200 kcal
Wednesday - Spinning AM, light Gym PM - 700 kcal (IF day)
Thursday - Spinning AM, Gym PM - 2300 kcal
Friday - Gym - 2300 kcal
Saturday - Spinning - 3000 kcal (party day)
Sunday - Rest, brisk walk - 2000 kcal
Get 150-200g protein each non-fast day. My weekly macros are 42% Carb / 30% Protein / 28% Fat
Currently both weight AND body fat are coming down really slow, so I will need to do some adjustments. I guess it wouldn't be too risky to cut calories a bit? I have kept them a bit high conscious of the sports I do.
I'm 189cm / 108kg / 27% bf. Here's what my typical week looks like. I am doing Intermittent Fasting on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Monday - Spinning - 700 kcal (IF day)
Tuesday - Spinning AM, Gym PM - 2200 kcal
Wednesday - Spinning AM, light Gym PM - 700 kcal (IF day)
Thursday - Spinning AM, Gym PM - 2300 kcal
Friday - Gym - 2300 kcal
Saturday - Spinning - 3000 kcal (party day)
Sunday - Rest, brisk walk - 2000 kcal
Get 150-200g protein each non-fast day. My weekly macros are 42% Carb / 30% Protein / 28% Fat
Currently both weight AND body fat are coming down really slow, so I will need to do some adjustments. I guess it wouldn't be too risky to cut calories a bit? I have kept them a bit high conscious of the sports I do.
How much are you losing and how long have you been stalling?
Chittagong
Gold Member
I am losing a pound a week or a bit less. Been a pretty consistent slope from January through February, down 4kg in two months. So not an actual stall just agonizingly slooooooow.
Deadly Cyclone
Pride of Iowa State
Trying the intermittent fasting this week (and the near future). I eat dinner around 7 then don't eat anything until noon the next day. Not sure if it's doing much, but we'll see when I weigh Monday.
vas_a_morir
Banned
Sweet shirt. The Pirates should incorporate red more often.
Shit, that's every day for me.
I haven't eaten since 4PM yesterday. Not intentional, I'm just not that hungry.
Deadly Cyclone
Pride of Iowa State
Ha, yeah, it's the norm on weekends for me since I sleep until lunch. During the week it's not though. We'll see if it does any good. I've been stuck at a plateau for like 4 weeks now, even while doing Insanity Asylum. The program has helped to tone, but I still have a tire around my midsection that just won't leave, and around 10 lbs left to lose.
Thanks for the compliments everyone, it truly means a lot!
Trust me man, you have it in you. Everyone thinks this at the beginning, and I'm definitely no exception, but you need to expel that mindset and dive head first into nutrition and working out. You'll be amazing at what you're capable of. Here's some tips I posted in another thread: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=48519724&postcount=2274 Have a look!
It's not even a real Pirates shirt (http://www.keepitthorough.com/product/pillagers-tee), but its relation to the team is definitely the reason I purchased it Lol
Trust me man, you have it in you. Everyone thinks this at the beginning, and I'm definitely no exception, but you need to expel that mindset and dive head first into nutrition and working out. You'll be amazing at what you're capable of. Here's some tips I posted in another thread: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=48519724&postcount=2274 Have a look!
It's not even a real Pirates shirt (http://www.keepitthorough.com/product/pillagers-tee), but its relation to the team is definitely the reason I purchased it Lol
MaximumFlipFlop
Banned
Well last summer I got in really great shape doing Insanity. Then in August I tore my rotator cuff, sort of got depressed, ate shitty and stopped working out as often. I put on about 10 lbs of fat since then.
Yesterday, my breville juicer arrived, and everything changes. Getting back into a normal fitness routine since my shoulder is feeling a little better and my mood is much improved. Going to do a 2 week juice fast that started today, then replace 2 meals a day with juice. The before pictures are ready, and my goal is to take the after pictures in mid May. I want to be in the best shape of my life by then, and I will work my ass of to get there.
Juice for this week.
Carrots
Cellery
Ginger
Cucumber
Fuji Apples
Yesterday, my breville juicer arrived, and everything changes. Getting back into a normal fitness routine since my shoulder is feeling a little better and my mood is much improved. Going to do a 2 week juice fast that started today, then replace 2 meals a day with juice. The before pictures are ready, and my goal is to take the after pictures in mid May. I want to be in the best shape of my life by then, and I will work my ass of to get there.
Juice for this week.
Carrots
Cellery
Ginger
Cucumber
Fuji Apples
We all have those times. To be honest, I think having breaks like this is good. You break up the routine, feel like crap from the crap food, put on some weight, and become overridden with guilt. As long as it doesn't last more than a week, you'll bounce back.
Don't let it become routine though! That's how we all got fat in the first place.
MemoryHumanity
Member
Right there with you, bro. Had some pretty noticeable weight gain recently, but hit the gym again today for the first time in weeks and still managed a 7.5km run. Felt good.
Same here. Something happened on Wednesday, and I decided to cope with my disappointment with some fast food.
Fuck you NATURE. Wanna lose a significant amount of weight? OH THAT MONTHS OF STRICT NUTRITION. Wanna gain significant amount of weight? LOL a couple of days of shit eating and you're done.
MemoryHumanity
Member
This, so much.
Omegasquash
Member
We have to train ourselves to get there, though. I remember that, right up until I got an office job, I ate whatever the hell I wanted and didn't gain a pound because I was physically active, and I also ate things like meat and veggies.
Then I started eating chex mix, drinking beer, and being stationary. It took me years, but I'm 185ish now, and when I started on this path I couldn't have been more than 130. If it takes me that long to get down there again, so be it. It'll suck, though.
Being active really smooths this sort of thing out for you.
Any tips of losing some of the flabby gut? I'm 80kg now and that's a little under my goal which was 83kg. I've lost 40kg(88lbs) but I'm really self conscious of my flabby stomach/muffin top area. I know I'll probably never have it ripped and have loose skin but what are the best ways to help focus on that area and at least cut it down some?
Work out 5 times a week. Doesn't do much when you have a shitty metabolism.
You can't. The only real option is to just lose weight and hope that your belly is one of the first areas to go. Usually though, the areas that tend to get a buildup of fat the fastest are the ones that take the longest to get rid of.
Yeah, as noted above, if you have a slow metabolism you're totally screwed.
I run 3 miles M, T, Th, F, and 4-6 miles on Saturday. I'll swap some bike/eliptical/rowing type cardio workouts in there to replace a day of running to reduce the strain on my joints, but my dog ensures that I stick to this.
I relaxed on my diet a bit after getting into the normal range of BMI, and put on an inch on my waist and 5 lbs. It wasn't anything gorge worthy either, as I can't even stomach some of the nasty stuff I used to eat. Probably ~2500 calories on 3 of the days instead of my normal 1500-1800. The other days it was more like 2000.
*edit* hit post before I finished writing
I've seen people do it though. Even harSon on this page, he was bigger than me and he looks pretty good around the stomach in those after photos.
Felix Lighter
Member
I really don't think you can target your fat loss. It burns off where it burns off, unfortunately. Some people get lucky and they lose fat in those areas more easily than others and some people can only lose the last bit of belly fat by getting their body fat percentage very very low.
And that's because he just lost weight overall, he didn't magically target his belly fat or something. Like I said the tendency to lose fat in certain areas tends to be tied to how fast you build fat in those areas. So if the belly is one of the fastest and earliest places of fat buildup for you, it will probably be one of the last areas to go down when losing weight, likewise if its one of the slowest or tends to build around other areas first than your belly fat is more than likely to be one of the first to go.
How did this happen? If you explain what went on we can give you advice on how to avoid slips like this.
Really, if you're a guy, there's no reason to go under 2,000 kcals. It seems that a lot of people with tanked metabolisms have spent a lot of time at ~1,500 kcals. This is pretty close to starvation. I believe the famous Minnesota semi-starvation study put men on 1,400 kcals/day and at the end some of them wanted to eat their own flesh. If you're a guy starting at over 200 lbs it should be easy to cut on between 2,200 and 2,500 kcals if you keep protein high and do some activity. I dropped fat like a rock at 250 lbs on 2,500 kcals, ~200g protein (lots of cottage cheese) and starting strength when I first started losing weight.