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Weight Loss Before/After Thread! (with pics)
- Thread starter lsslave
- Start date
drifter444
Member
1. One thing that helps is to keep a lot of healthy snacks nearby. Nuts, dried fruit, (if you are low carbing it pork rinds and string cheese). When the cravings come, go straight to your own snacks.
2. Self control is like a muscle, the more you work on it, the stronger you become. So keep at it!
3. If want to take the plunge, remove sugars completely from your diet! No juices or sodas, no candy, no desert. When you remove sugar from your diet, the cravings for sugary items goes away.
Has anyone else noticed an issue with keeping carbs under 100g while lifting? Over the past 5 weeks or so, I've noticed that if I keep them that low (except for Saturdays where I usually go to 200-300g), that I actually gain weight. This is a difference of +5 lbs as of today while eating at ~1k caloric deficit (not sure how much that really affects anything).
I'm doing a normal 3 day split (push/pull/legs) with one day off between each cycle. When my carbs were regularly hitting 150-200g, the weight was dropping off, but when I make an effort to hit under 100g, it's like I can't stop gaining weight. And the 150-200g and 300g weekends weren't exactly clean either.
Any thoughts?
I'm doing a normal 3 day split (push/pull/legs) with one day off between each cycle. When my carbs were regularly hitting 150-200g, the weight was dropping off, but when I make an effort to hit under 100g, it's like I can't stop gaining weight. And the 150-200g and 300g weekends weren't exactly clean either.
Any thoughts?
rocksteady1983
Member
Just thought I'd chime in on my progress. I'm 29, 6'5", really lanky. I got up to 240lbs and I didn't look overweight or anything but I had never gotten that heavy. I worked out 3 times a week for an hour but ate like crap.
Then in late December I was with my wife and she told me to quit sticking my gut out like I do sometimes trying to be funny, only this time I wasn't "sticking" my gut out
, that was just my gut. So that clicked something in my brain that I need to get back into it.
Fast forward to Monday and I eat better for the most part, workout harder but still only 3 days a week and I weighed in at 199.2. I've been under 210 for about a month or better but finally got under the 200lb mark. Don't really want to lose anymore weight, instead tone up better. I think I'm probably in the best shape of my life.
Then in late December I was with my wife and she told me to quit sticking my gut out like I do sometimes trying to be funny, only this time I wasn't "sticking" my gut out
, that was just my gut. So that clicked something in my brain that I need to get back into it.Fast forward to Monday and I eat better for the most part, workout harder but still only 3 days a week and I weighed in at 199.2. I've been under 210 for about a month or better but finally got under the 200lb mark. Don't really want to lose anymore weight, instead tone up better. I think I'm probably in the best shape of my life.
Just finish the whole pizza?
Not sure what you're referring to, but I said the exact same thing to myself all of yesterday. Went on a massive carb binge from morning to nighttime after I already had my cheat day on Sunday. I'm talking brownies, chips, poptarts, kool-aid, popcorn, pb&j sandwiches, ugh I was a disaster yesterday. I really do have to work on my self-control.
When I screw up like that, I try not to let it get me down and focus on doing better the next day and so far I have today. Planning to go hit the gym in about an hour.
Horseticuffs
Full werewolf off the buckle
Hey man, great progress! I can imagine that 240 is manageable on your height, but good on you for putting in the hard work.Just thought I'd chime in on my progress. I'm 29, 6'5", really lanky. I got up to 240lbs and I didn't look overweight or anything but I had never gotten that heavy. I worked out 3 times a week for an hour but ate like crap.
Then in late December I was with my wife and she told me to quit sticking my gut out like I do sometimes trying to be funny, only this time I wasn't "sticking" my gut out
Fast forward to Monday and I eat better for the most part, workout harder but still only 3 days a week and I weighed in at 199.2. I've been under 210 for about a month or better but finally got under the 200lb mark. Don't really want to lose anymore weight, instead tone up better. I think I'm probably in the best shape of my life.
Or rather, I've been fucking up. Haven't recovered from my binging crave since my buddy somehow convinced me to go to see the UFC fight at a bar. I didn't want to go because I was dieting at the time and knew that by going I would eat a ton of shit and would probably go on an eating binge the week following, especially so because 3 weeks back he convinced me to go to all you can eat wings while I was dieting and it caused me to eat shit for a week straight before going back to my diet. This was back in March and I still haven't recovered. Luckily my weight hasn't changed at all, mainly because I've been working out 4 -5 times a week for almost a month now(though, after the UFC fight in March, I stopped working out for a good month and a half).
So now Im at the point where I'm finally back on track with working out again, but I still haven't been able to get back on my diet, which has caused my weight to stay the same rather than go lower(I'm still at 250, which is where I was back in March when I was dieting and working out before that stupid fight)
I know that feel.
If you're trying to drop a good portion of that body mass, stop thinking in terms of a pejorative diet (as in, a period of time in which you reduce caloric intake/types of food compared to normal), and start thinking in terms of a lifestyle change.
It's not a transient phase, it's just how things work in your life now.
If you're trying to drop a good portion of that body mass, stop thinking in terms of a pejorative diet (as in, a period of time in which you reduce caloric intake/types of food compared to normal), and start thinking in terms of a lifestyle change.
It's not a transient phase, it's just how things work in your life now.
Why would you wanna be under 100g on lifting days? Stay @ 130-150 and you'll be fine. Your issue is that you're killing metabolism when you eat that little carbs per day. Bump it back up and keep it to 130-150g per day.
When I first started two years ago, I knew something was wrong with my carb count when I wasn't shitting as much. Now I know its not scientific proof but my weight always stalled when I wasn't on the toilet 2x a day. In the beginning, I was experimenting with every type of suggestion known to man(no carbs, low carb, etc.,).
Thanks! Accurate right down to the shitting, lol. I'm trying to get rid of another 20-25 lbs of fat, which is why I was keeping carbs low. The weight gain started about a week after I changed my split to 3 on/1 off. Before that when going 3x a week I was dropping very easily.
Stopped on the way back from the gym just now and grabbed some pre-cut fruit from RaceTrac. Thinking I'm going to add a good amount of fruit in as well as some sweet potatoes. Bro science says that the more tropical fruits have enzymes that help with protein absorption. I'll watch from today forward.
I knew exactly where you were coming from...You went into the "hey let me go low/no carb so that when I exercise my body will immediately attack my fat!" mode. Been there, done that, to little success. The only thing that did was make me work out worse.
Back on the horse again, this time for good. Wanting to be under 200 before my friends wedding later this summer. Adding more exercise and cutting booze out of the picture almost entirely. Still not sure if I'm going to go back to pure Keto but I did get some great results out of it last time I was on it.
BlueTsunami
there is joy in sucking dick
Maybe try out Carb Nite? Its keto but you do a big carb feed one day a week after 6pm. Suggest looking it up since I just stated it myself, I was backkloading before but that's more for bulking while maintaining body ft levels (instead of raising it).
My impression was the backloading did both: reduce BF and increase LM. Not the case for you?
BlueTsunami
there is joy in sucking dick
i should clarify that back loading does help drop weight if you have a lot of body fat but its slow going. Its essentially intermittent fasting. Typically back loading is good to do when your body fat is already fairly low (like 15%) and build lean mass. For those over 25% BF carb nite would be the place to start. I've been back loading for 5 months and have built good lean mass but still have a bit of body fat to burn through.
Thanks for the clarification.
Just a quick comparison pic. Left side was taken last year, and right side today. The original I think was 235-240, and today is 199. Still a long journey ahead, but the past three months I feel like I've made some decent progress. Started at about the same weight as the original picture back at the beginning of March.
Just a quick comparison pic. Left side was taken last year, and right side today. The original I think was 235-240, and today is 199. Still a long journey ahead, but the past three months I feel like I've made some decent progress. Started at about the same weight as the original picture back at the beginning of March.
Chittagong
Gold Member
A new progress pic from this morning on the right.
Left - December 2012 - 115kg / 253 lbs
Mid - March 2013 - 106kg / 233 lbs
Right - June 2013 - 98kg / 216 lbs
Still a lot work to do, my goal is 85 - 87 kg / 187 - 196 lbs @ 14% BF. I'm 6 feet 2 tall.
Quite happy in my ability to preserve and slightly increase muscle while dropping weight.
My program
- 24h fast twice a week
- 2000 kcal / day
- 200g protein / day minimum
- Clean foods
- Alcohol max 2 nights / week, Beer on max one of them
- Starting Strength 3 days / week
- 3-4 x Spinning 45 min / week
That's pretty much how I got here. I am now doing that one final push with Carb Nite, same metrics as above but less than 30g carbs a day.
Left - December 2012 - 115kg / 253 lbs
Mid - March 2013 - 106kg / 233 lbs
Right - June 2013 - 98kg / 216 lbs
Still a lot work to do, my goal is 85 - 87 kg / 187 - 196 lbs @ 14% BF. I'm 6 feet 2 tall.
Quite happy in my ability to preserve and slightly increase muscle while dropping weight.
My program
- 24h fast twice a week
- 2000 kcal / day
- 200g protein / day minimum
- Clean foods
- Alcohol max 2 nights / week, Beer on max one of them
- Starting Strength 3 days / week
- 3-4 x Spinning 45 min / week
That's pretty much how I got here. I am now doing that one final push with Carb Nite, same metrics as above but less than 30g carbs a day.
Horseticuffs
Full werewolf off the buckle
Lots of great progress pics of late, guys. Keep up the great work!
Dec 2012
Dec 2012
Feb 2013
June 2013 (Ugh, mortified at the wrinkly-assed shirt)
Bought this shirt about 3 months ago as I loved it, but it was just too tight to actually wear. We're talking buttons getting pulled on kind of tight. It was my incentive to keep it up a bit longer. I lost my way a bit and stagnated for about a month after getting sick, but got back on the wagon.
Size M slim fit success:
Size M slim fit success:
Keep it up! You'll slow down in weight loss as you move on to losing mass instead of mass and water weight, don't let that get to you though.
A new progress pic from this morning on the right.
Left - December 2012 - 115kg / 253 lbs
Mid - March 2013 - 106kg / 233 lbs
Right - June 2013 - 98kg / 216 lbs
Still a lot work to do, my goal is 85 - 87 kg / 187 - 196 lbs @ 14% BF. I'm 6 feet 2 tall.
Quite happy in my ability to preserve and slightly increase muscle while dropping weight.
My program
- 24h fast twice a week
- 2000 kcal / day
- 200g protein / day minimum
- Clean foods
- Alcohol max 2 nights / week, Beer on max one of them
- Starting Strength 3 days / week
- 3-4 x Spinning 45 min / week
That's pretty much how I got here. I am now doing that one final push with Carb Nite, same metrics as above but less than 30g carbs a day.
Nice! Everything is shrinking except your arms
Chittagong
Gold Member
Nice! Everything is shrinking except your arms
Thanks! Yeah arms not shrinking has been quite a relief. My PT commented on them yesterday.
I hope I will start seeing growth in my lats and shoulders to build that V shape, I think I need to add some barbell rows and chin ups on top of my SS program, and maybe boost protein even further.
Vascularity is the next milestone and the one I anticipate the most. I have never had it in my life so it's a really exciting prospect. I reckon I am still some 10kg away from that. I don't want anything bodybuilder crazy, just to see a wee bit of veins.
Horseticuffs
Full werewolf off the buckle
Good work, man!
drifter444
Member
I'm half way to my goal weight! Lost 35 pounds in 6 months. Was 200lbs at the beginning of January, now I'm at 165lbs.
Thanks GAF! Low carb works.
Thanks GAF! Low carb works.
Your goal is 130? I hope you're short...
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
There's a guy called Sam Feltham over at smashthefat.com who is doing an interesting 21 day experiment in which he consumes over 5,000 calories each day eating food that is primarily high in fat and protein but low in carbohydrate content.
Here's a good overview of it:
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/sam-feltham/my-5000-calorie-experiment_b_3350869.html
What he does in terms of exercise?
He just finished Day 18, which puts him at calorie surplus of 45,799, and according to conventional wisdom calories in/calories out formulas, he should be about 5-6kg heavier than he is right now.
His weight has fluctuated very little and his waist has actually shrunk over the past few weeks.
There's definitely some interesting information here for people who care about nutrition and fat loss.
Here's a good overview of it:
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/sam-feltham/my-5000-calorie-experiment_b_3350869.html
What he does in terms of exercise?
He just finished Day 18, which puts him at calorie surplus of 45,799, and according to conventional wisdom calories in/calories out formulas, he should be about 5-6kg heavier than he is right now.
His weight has fluctuated very little and his waist has actually shrunk over the past few weeks.
There's definitely some interesting information here for people who care about nutrition and fat loss.
Chittagong
Gold Member
I have been following the experiment, cool idea. While I believe in the power of low carb (I am on one now) there are some conceptual problems in making any conclusions from his current evidence
- he looks super lean as is, so his metabolism might be really fired up
- he should do the same thing half a year later with lots of fast carbs to rule out his metabolism
- half of his calories come from nuts which might not digest properly
- significant amount of his calories come from oil which might not digest properly
reggieandTFE
Member
You raise good points. The larger point would be that it is absolutely, absurdly hilarious for people to use one case as "important information."
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
All of that may have something to do with it, but all of it also helps to indicate that it's just not as simple as calories in/calories out.
If it it depends on the person and the type of foods consumed, then the calories in/calories out idea is useless. For it to be useful, it must be able to be applied universally. That's the whole point of the thing.
BigWeather
Member
Went clothes shopping for the first time since I began my weight loss efforts. Turns out I have gone from a 42 waist to a 36 and from a 3XLT shirt to a XLT. Feels so good. 6'5"/6'6" here, started January 1st at 336lbs, down to 263lbs or so now, hoping to lose another 50 - 75.
I can't believe how great I feel now. Thanks to everyone here for the inspiration and, for those just starting the journey, stick with it! It's worth it.
I can't believe how great I feel now. Thanks to everyone here for the inspiration and, for those just starting the journey, stick with it! It's worth it.
All Hail C-Webb
Hailing from the Chill-Web
A new progress pic from this morning on the right.
Left - December 2012 - 115kg / 253 lbs
Mid - March 2013 - 106kg / 233 lbs
Right - June 2013 - 98kg / 216 lbs
Still a lot work to do, my goal is 85 - 87 kg / 187 - 196 lbs @ 14% BF. I'm 6 feet 2 tall.
Quite happy in my ability to preserve and slightly increase muscle while dropping weight.
My program
- 24h fast twice a week
- 2000 kcal / day
- 200g protein / day minimum
- Clean foods
- Alcohol max 2 nights / week, Beer on max one of them
- Starting Strength 3 days / week
- 3-4 x Spinning 45 min / week
That's pretty much how I got here. I am now doing that one final push with Carb Nite, same metrics as above but less than 30g carbs a day.
That's fucking awesome. 6 months, and you look like a whole new person. Can't wait to see when you hit your goal.
I weighed 335 when I was 22, dropped down to 200 and stuck around there till last June. Had several things go wrong, and woke up on May 13th weighing 275. That woke me the fuck up, and now I'm fixing it. Hoping to have similar results to you, cause that would be incredible.
Hypereides
Member
There's a guy called Sam Feltham over at smashthefat.com who is doing an interesting 21 day experiment in which he consumes over 5,000 calories each day eating food that is primarily high in fat and protein but low in carbohydrate content.
Here's a good overview of it:
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/sam-feltham/my-5000-calorie-experiment_b_3350869.html
What he does in terms of exercise?
He just finished Day 18, which puts him at calorie surplus of 45,799, and according to conventional wisdom calories in/calories out formulas, he should be about 5-6kg heavier than he is right now.
His weight has fluctuated very little and his waist has actually shrunk over the past few weeks.
There's definitely some interesting information here for people who care about nutrition and fat loss.
That's very interesting. I too have noticed my waist hasn't gotten bigger despite eating a ton - healthy paleo diet mind you - on a daily basis.
I'm with Chittagong on the low carb. I didn't become a believer untill I tried it.
This got a huge chuckle out of me. Definitely read the whole thing, it's not a tl;dr informative piece.
http://www.nwedible.com/2012/08/tragedy-healthy-eater.html
http://www.nwedible.com/2012/08/tragedy-healthy-eater.html
^^
your not big worm
So I want to find some before pics I only have one from 2 years ago i was about 280-300 pounds as of 5/14 i was 206 (all my weight lost came with in the last 8 months or so) likely gained 5 of it back moving cross country. But as soon as a get a current pic ill post it. I can say I feel good, I look good and I feel like i can change my life.
at 280-300 I was wearing 46 pants at 206-210 im wearing 36 I maybe could squeeze in to a 34 I just have huge semi muscular thighs
Weight'd in today under 200 for the 1st time in 5 years. Still have 32 pounds tho Air Force recruiter told me told me today I need to be 167.
your not big worm
So I want to find some before pics I only have one from 2 years ago i was about 280-300 pounds as of 5/14 i was 206 (all my weight lost came with in the last 8 months or so) likely gained 5 of it back moving cross country. But as soon as a get a current pic ill post it. I can say I feel good, I look good and I feel like i can change my life.
at 280-300 I was wearing 46 pants at 206-210 im wearing 36 I maybe could squeeze in to a 34 I just have huge semi muscular thighs
Weight'd in today under 200 for the 1st time in 5 years. Still have 32 pounds tho Air Force recruiter told me told me today I need to be 167.
Horseticuffs
Full werewolf off the buckle
Awesome progress, Nakazato and BigWorm! Keep up the good work and pictures.
Chittagong
Gold Member
It definitely does. Pretty much all of the weight loss you see in my current pics were achieved with a combination of 5/2 fasting (two 24h periods a week) and on non-fast days a 2000-2300kcal / day.
HalfBakedProphet
Member
Update time
Feb 24-209 lbs
March 22-196 lbs
April 17-188 lbs
May 17-183 lbs
June 18-179 lbs
Losing about a pound a week, which im fine with. I'm really nearing the end of my weightloss phase, im going to focus more on building muscle and hitting the gym this fall. Needed to change up my diet a little, I'm eating more nuts and fruits now. Was getting burned out on the same shit for months on end. I have before and after pics but need to get them scanned and uploaded. It's on my to-do list this week
Feb 24-209 lbs
March 22-196 lbs
April 17-188 lbs
May 17-183 lbs
June 18-179 lbs
Losing about a pound a week, which im fine with. I'm really nearing the end of my weightloss phase, im going to focus more on building muscle and hitting the gym this fall. Needed to change up my diet a little, I'm eating more nuts and fruits now. Was getting burned out on the same shit for months on end. I have before and after pics but need to get them scanned and uploaded. It's on my to-do list this week
Horseticuffs
Full werewolf off the buckle
Hey man, awesome work! We're at the same weight and I think we've got pretty similar plans as well. Good luck with building muscle.
So... I think I may need some help?
I started a low carb diet on 15/5 when I was at 79kg. I'm now at 70 kg.
The thing that bothers me is that I feel I don't really know what I'm doing. I asked around here just before starting the diet and got some advice, and I've been listening to advice my friend (who did the same diet with great results) gives me, but I still feel like I have no idea what I'm doing overall since I only know the basics of this diet which is basically to say eat less calories than what the BMR calc said and don't eat food with a lot of carbs
This is what almost every day looks like for me -
Drink: 3 cups of coffee usually.
I drink water 99% of the time
Breakfast:
I don't eat one 95% of the time, but if I do it's usually an egg with some white cheese
Lunch:
chicken/chicken breast/chest(again, not sure what you call it ;p)/steak + salad OR half a cup of rice
Dinner:
two pieces of bread (the kind with less calories and carbs, not sure what you call it) with cottage on them
So, yeah... I don't know? I definitely made progress, but I feel like its only going to get harder from here.
I don't even know what I'm really asking of you guys.. maybe some advice? Could I add/change things to my menu? maybe some other tips or advice?
I started a low carb diet on 15/5 when I was at 79kg. I'm now at 70 kg.
The thing that bothers me is that I feel I don't really know what I'm doing. I asked around here just before starting the diet and got some advice, and I've been listening to advice my friend (who did the same diet with great results) gives me, but I still feel like I have no idea what I'm doing overall since I only know the basics of this diet which is basically to say eat less calories than what the BMR calc said and don't eat food with a lot of carbs
This is what almost every day looks like for me -
Drink: 3 cups of coffee usually.
I drink water 99% of the time
Breakfast:
I don't eat one 95% of the time, but if I do it's usually an egg with some white cheese
Lunch:
chicken/chicken breast/chest(again, not sure what you call it ;p)/steak + salad OR half a cup of rice
Dinner:
two pieces of bread (the kind with less calories and carbs, not sure what you call it) with cottage on them
So, yeah... I don't know? I definitely made progress, but I feel like its only going to get harder from here.
I don't even know what I'm really asking of you guys.. maybe some advice? Could I add/change things to my menu? maybe some other tips or advice?
Chittagong
Gold Member
Less calories and lower carbs is a good combination, as is skipping breakfast and postponing lunch. You have lost the first 9kg very fast so it's working, of course a few kg is water weight.
What I would next suggest is that you kick out the bread and add in some lovely Total Fage greek yogurt, it's godly with Stevia and Cinnamon. Also consider ensuring your protein is at least 150g a day (nutritional value). You will want to do resistance training the ensure you spare the muscle, otherwise you might end up skinny fat. So, in a nutshell
- Swap bread to greek yogurt
- Ensure you get 150g protein a day
- Do resistance training to spare muscle
Also try to get variety in so that you can live a little, otherwise you will get bored and drop out of it fast. Try omelettes, fish with remoulade sauce and steamed vegetables, antipasti, different cheeses etc.
Dear lord yes. This stuff is amazing. That's my (late) breakfast, keeps me filled until about 3pm. Though I do add banana.
I'm starting to become very skeptical of high fat/low carb. I've very effectively lost weight in the past with low fat, and while I have been lifting seriously and frequently the past two months, my weight has continued going up. I'm now at 7 pounds higher than I was at the end of April. Considering making the switch...
Since you have been lifting for two months, have you become flabbier or just more muscular?