Support NeoGAF

[-PXG-]

I started working out again, and will rev it up even more when I go back to school in the next few weeks. Congrats to ALL of you guys.

 

[Entropia]

I'm stuck in this rut, I've been ~225 since I started college at least(which would be like 6 years ago). In the past few years since I moved out west I've been a lot more active but I still can't seem to break under 220 lbs. I've changed my eating habits drastically and am eating healthier but still not getting anywhere.

Although, I think I might be 'cheating' on my diet too much. My short-term goal is to hit 200 lbs.

 

[Acid08]

I've been struggling with my weight since I was in elementary school. I'm 5'11" and around 250lbs. I really need to start exercising. Any tips on how to start out exercising? Like what would be most effective for burning fat? Also stretches I can do to make sure I don't fuck up any muscles?

I've tried a lot of other things in the past. When I was in middle school I went on Weight Watchers with my parents. I lost about 25 pounds, but plateaued after that. I got discouraged, mostly because my dad would go into rages every time I would report back from the scale with a gained pound, or no change in weight. So I quit doing that and jut kinda coasted for some years. During my las few years of high school I started just jogging around at night and lost 20 pounds. Plateaued once again though and got really discouraged and gave up. I finally feel like I'm ready to stick to something, but the plateau still scares me.

 

[Entropia]

Acid, one of the most important things is to look at yourself in the mirror before checking the scale. You may notice that your body is transforming into a slimmer appearance but have only lost 5-10 lbs.

I'd recommend you check out: http://www.absdiet.com/uof/absdiet/noemail/ it's kind of like the average joe's diet/exercise plan.

 

[RiskyChris]

I'm stuck in this rut, I've been ~225 since I started college at least(which would be like 6 years ago). In the past few years since I moved out west I've been a lot more active but I still can't seem to break under 220 lbs. I've changed my eating habits drastically and am eating healthier but still not getting anywhere.

Although, I think I might be 'cheating' on my diet too much. My short-term goal is to hit 200 lbs.

Think? Can you put that into words? What specifically are you cheating on?

It's incredibly easy to not lose weight or gain weight just by "barely" fucking up on your eating habits.

 

[CrushDance]

I've lost 6 pounds thus far as of today. So not to bad I guess...although I hear it's quick at first due to water weight I started on the 21 of July. I can run faster for longer, when i'm walking I feel like running, I have more energy and compliment my runs with small weight lifting and extensive sretches.

Anyway today I changed it up a bit and did the following:

1) I woke up at about 8:15 since I went to bed early last night.

2) I took my cellphone and set the alarm to go off at 9:30(It was 8:50 when I left the house)

3) I started running and stopped when I realized I didn't stretch, XD. So I stretched for about 5 minutes and reset the alarm on my cellphone to 8:32.

4) I started running down the park and stopped just shy of half of it. Caught my breath and ran the other half and I did this in total of about 4 laps around the park.

5) I then walked over to a school park and did 2 sets of shuffles around a baseball diamond. That was hard as hell...lmao.

6) I ran around the area used for the skating rink during the winter as some bitch ass crows squacked at me. After that my legs were pounding and my chest felt like exploding, I stumbled out of the gate, sweating like hell and crossed the street into another even bigger park:lol

7) Now this park is used for soccer/football games and has goal poles that made for perfect start/stop points. It took me a couple minutes to regain my composure from the previous runs. However I didn't let myself relax completely and as my ehart started to slow down I got up and sprinted hard across the field, jumped at the last second and grabbed the goal post. It hurt so bad ;_; I felt I could only do one more and turned around the facce the goal post I'd run from, sprinting back was even harder and as I jumped to touch the top of the goal post...my alram went off.

Today was increidbly hard since I'd been doing slow but longer runs and instead did hard sprints. The amount of sweat pouring down my face, into my eyes... ;_; I walked around for a while till I cooled down and noticed my alarm was still beeping:lol I sprinted two more times home and drnak a ton of water.

I think I'll workout in the mornings from now on

 

[Entropia]

Think? Can you put that into words? What specifically are you cheating on?

It's incredibly easy to not lose weight or gain weight just by "barely" fucking up on your eating habits.

Well I'll bring my lunch into work: Bagged salad with Tuna, String Cheese and a can of low sodium V8. And then my co-workers, "Hey, come out to lunch with us!". That or I will eat my lunch and feel like a chocolate bar so I go get KitKat from 7-11.

Then me and my roommates order pizza one night a week usually.

I just have a lack of willpower to avoid eating foods I know I shouldn't be. I know I'm supposed to indulge once a week, but fuck, I do it every other day. Doesn't help that my one roomate, who works as a chip delivery guy, brought back a huge box of chips. :lol Thankfully they're all gone.

Here's my typical workday meals:

7:20 AM: 2 Fried eggs with a glass of milk
10'ish AM: handful or two of almonds
12 Noon: Bagged salad mixed with canned tuna, string cheese and a small can of low sodium V8
Between 3-4 PM: An Apple
Between 6-7PM: Smoothie (Banana, frozen berries, chocolate whey powder, milk). Most times this is my dinner.

 

[PBY]

I've been struggling with my weight since I was in elementary school. I'm 5'11" and around 250lbs. I really need to start exercising. Any tips on how to start out exercising? Like what would be most effective for burning fat? Also stretches I can do to make sure I don't fuck up any muscles?

I've tried a lot of other things in the past. When I was in middle school I went on Weight Watchers with my parents. I lost about 25 pounds, but plateaued after that. I got discouraged, mostly because my dad would go into rages every time I would report back from the scale with a gained pound, or no change in weight. So I quit doing that and jut kinda coasted for some years. During my las few years of high school I started just jogging around at night and lost 20 pounds. Plateaued once again though and got really discouraged and gave up. I finally feel like I'm ready to stick to something, but the plateau still scares me.

Dude, listen to me- you need to get on an excercise program and change your diet. The simplest answer to me is p90X. I wouldn't recommend it for people who have good experience with powerlifting/excercise, but I think it would be perfect for you. Its expensive, but I'd say its definitely worth your health. On top of p90x, I'd say try jogging 1 mile a day. As for diet, p90x also comes with a pretty nice diet plan, not a bad place to start. As you read/learn more, you can modify it to your needs.

edit- I didn't really state why I thought p90x would be good for you specifically, but heres why: P90x espouses a theory of muscle confusion, that imo, is take it or leave it. But for a person like you who was previously exercising only by jogging, it provides a nice balance of structured strength training (some weights/bandwork/pushups/pullups) cardio, abs, and plyometrics.

 

[PBY]

Well I'll bring my lunch into work: Bagged salad with Tuna, String Cheese and a can of low sodium V8. And then my co-workers, "Hey, come out to lunch with us!". That or I will eat my lunch and feel like a chocolate bar so I go get KitKat from 7-11.

Then me and my roommates order pizza one night a week usually.

I just have a lack of willpower to avoid eating foods I know I shouldn't be. I know I'm supposed to indulge once a week, but fuck, I do it every other day. Doesn't help that my one roomate, who works as a chip delivery guy, brought back a huge box of chips. :lol Thankfully they're all gone.

Here's my typical workday meals:

7:20 AM: 2 Fried eggs with a glass of milk
10'ish AM: handful or two of almonds
12 Noon: Bagged salad mixed with canned tuna, string cheese and a small can of low sodium V8
Between 3-4 PM: An Apple
Between 6-7PM: Smoothie (Banana, frozen berries, chocolate whey powder, milk). Most times this is my dinner.

Dude, you can't cheat with chocolate bars and chips... If you're excercising, having one "cheat" meal a week, like the pizza you noted, isn't terrible- its okay once in a while (just know it isnt helping your cause, though)

 

[CrushDance]

lost about 88 pounds over the past year

on the right

Holy crap dude, good job!

 

[LosDaddie]

Then me and my roommates order pizza one night a week usually.

You can have a "CHEAT" day (where you eat whatever you want, whenver you want) when you're trying to lose weight. But only one day a week.

It helps keep you sane and prevents a relapse.

 

[VOOK]

Alright weightloss GAF, Since the middle of last year up until 11 weeks ago I was always tired, couldn't walk for ages without getting physicaly sore and tired. Fell asleep at work, in the car, on the computer, slept like shit no matter how long I did, some days dozed off mid conversation. I was a fucking train wreck and I had enough of being fat (obese even).

Now I know I still have a long long way to go but I am now down 26kgs / 57 pounds from where I was before. I now sleep better, never doze off, walk all the time, go to the gym three times a week and haven't look back. And I can drive without putting myself or others at risk.

I'll share more in the morning (on my phone atm) but thought I would share that and contribute to the good stories.

Good work to everyone else here too.

 

[RoryDropkick]

I just want to say reading this thread, probably like a lot of other people has made me really want to lose this weight.

I'm 5'5, and 237.. so a squat little fat nerd. This is my biggest I've been actually, and I used to be under 200lbs at least, but I got a girlfriend and ate poorly etc.. last year I did manage to lose about 15lbs, but put it back on because I got another girlfriend *lol*

So in turn, I just got back about 20 min ago from taking a walk outside, maybe not the smartest thing ,being noon, but I did manage to walk about a mile and a half. Tomorrow I think I'm going to go much earlier in the day. Workdays I need to go back to using the company gym, I used to do it when I had an earlier schedule, but getting off at 6pm always makes me feel too lazy to go. Gotta push and start eating right too, no more breakfast tacos and footlong subs from subway

 

[gcubed]

i concur with the other poster acid... dont use the scale as the full measurement of your success, you'll lose some fat pretty quickly, but as you put on muscle, you'll slow down on the loss, doesn't mean you arent losing more fat... (i didnt feel like looking it up, so i'm relatively sure, not 100%) it takes a few (2?) weeks to gain lasting muscle... if you stick with it through that period, you'll start losing weight again

 

[ProudClod]

I just want to say reading this thread, probably like a lot of other people has made me really want to lose this weight.

I'm 5'5, and 237.. so a squat little fat nerd. This is my biggest I've been actually, and I used to be under 200lbs at least, but I got a girlfriend and ate poorly etc.. last year I did manage to lose about 15lbs, but put it back on because I got another girlfriend *lol*

So in turn, I just got back about 20 min ago from taking a walk outside, maybe not the smartest thing ,being noon, but I did manage to walk about a mile and a half. Tomorrow I think I'm going to go much earlier in the day. Workdays I need to go back to using the company gym, I used to do it when I had an earlier schedule, but getting off at 6pm always makes me feel too lazy to go. Gotta push and start eating right too, no more breakfast tacos and footlong subs from subway

Walking is a great start, but it might not give any noticeable results. Just cutting back on tacos and footlong subs won't give you results. I'm telling you this right now, because I don't want you to get frustrated. I've seen a lot of people (including my dad) assume that walking once a day and sacrificing one or two things from their diet will net them the result they want. They try it out for a few weeks, and when they realize they haven't lost weight, they get discouraged and go back to eating whatever they want.

Losing weight is a combination of diet and exercise, as you have already surmised. Strict diet and exercise. Skipping workout sessions, and "treating" yourself more than once a week can negate A LOT OF WORK. This is why so many people give up. They're convinced they're eating properly, even though they have a few chocolate bars here and there, a peanut butter sandwich once or twice a week, and a few beers on friday. A lot of people try to eat "properly" without really knowing what "eating properly" entails.

Before you try to commit yourself to some kind of plan, make sure you research absolutely EVERYTHING very thoroughly. Understand why some things are good, and some are bad. Once you understand all the implications of losing weight, you have to FULLY COMMIT. Anything less than that might eventually end in you giving up.

Another good idea is to commit to an already constructed plan. P90X seems to be very popular on the forum. If you don't want to worry about doing all the research and planning yourself, get P90X.

 

[Kosma]

Nevermind not going to post pics of me losing 10/15 kilo when I see some of you guys REALLY lost weight.

props!

 

[RoryDropkick]

Walking is a great start, but it might not give any noticeable results. Just cutting back on tacos and footlong subs won't give you results. I'm telling you this right now, because I don't want you to get frustrated. I've seen a lot of people (including my dad) assume that walking once a day and sacrificing one or two things from their diet will net them the result they want. They try it out for a few weeks, and when they realize they haven't lost weight, they get discouraged and go back to eating whatever they want.

Losing weight is a combination of diet and exercise, as you have already surmised. Strict diet and exercise. Skipping workout sessions, and "treating" yourself more than once a week can negate A LOT OF WORK. This is why so many people give up. They're convinced they're eating properly, even though they have a few chocolate bars here and there, a peanut butter sandwich once or twice a week, and a few beers on friday. A lot of people try to eat "properly" without really knowing what "eating properly" entails.

Before you try to commit yourself to some kind of plan, make sure you research absolutely EVERYTHING very thoroughly. Understand why some things are good, and some are bad. Once you understand all the implications of losing weight, you have to FULLY COMMIT. Anything less than that might eventually end in you giving up.

Another good idea is to commit to an already constructed plan. P90X seems to be very popular on the forum. If you don't want to worry about doing all the research and planning yourself, get P90X.

I appreciate the advice.. you seem well versed in fitness/excercise, you should post pics of your personal results so we can see!

 

[ProudClod]

I appreciate the advice.. you seem well versed in fitness/excercise, you should post pics of your personal results so we can see!

No problem.

Most of my experience comes from the early years of highschool. I used to have a beer belly that tormented me to no end. All the kids my age ate pizza and big macs and god knows what, and never gained weight. For me, it went straight to my belly. I thought that cutting back on the pizza and big macs would suffice, so I ate frozen dinners and other shit I thought was healthy. In grade 10 I started to actually research and read into fitness and health. Started exercising and eating properly. Lost the belly very quickly, and have been keeping it off for years (I'm in my second year of university now).

Not sure if I have any pictures from that far back, but I'll check

If you're having trouble committing yourself to an exercise plan, sign up for some kind of class. Something that interests you. I'm doing Muay Thai now. The work out is an absolute killer, and I show up to every class because it's fun as hell. A friend of mine is doing kendo, and he's lost at least 10 pounds in the last month.

 

[jnaaw]

I went from 237.6 lbs to 202.4 lbs last summer. I'm quite tall so I guess I don't look heavy anymore but I still want to loose some more.

But it is the best thing you can do for yourself!

 

[Weapxn]

I know I probably shouldn't complain about this, but I've got the opposite problem. I'm too skinny. Hell, I don't think I've gained more than 5 lbs since I was in 8th grade...which was over 7 years ago. No matter how much I eat, I just can't gain a fucking thing.

 

[Fox1304]

Although, I think I might be 'cheating' on my diet too much.

Personnaly, in my past tries, cheating like you said could break the work of all a week, both for diet and exercice.
It's hard, but when you really want to lose weight, I think you really have to be strict with your diet. A small chocolate bar or pizza or anything can fuck up everything you've done.
That's what happenned several time to me.

I finally feel like I'm ready to stick to something, but the plateau still scares me.

You really have to be prepared to face a period where you won't lose weight, or even gain some back. Or several periods like this. It must not discourage you, that's a normal scheme, nearly unskippable, and when they'll be over you will start to lose weight again.

 

[_Alkaline_]

So many awesome stories in this thread.

 

[XandaPanda]

Oh wait ... wrong way.

 

[jvalioli]

I didn't work out today and I feel like I just gained 10 pounds. ffffffu

 

[Claymore]

Wow guys and girls! What an awesome thread, I haven't seen this one before so I read it form page 1 till now, great stuff (I'm being very productive today, my manager will be pleased)
I don't have to lose weight myself, but I deeply respect those that fight and succeed

But man, some transformations are just insane! What a world of difference a few (or a lot) pounds can make. Some of you really look like another person.

Stupid question: some of you have lost a lot of weight in a short time span, does that affect your skin?
do some of you have a problem with some form of "excessive skin?"

 

[Mii]

Weightloss-GAF, I need your help:

5'9", 185 lbs. I vary a ton in the year. By winter I'm 155 lbs, by summer I'm 185 lbs, no muscle at either time of the year. I'd like to remain around 160 lbs year-round. I have little to no muscle in the arms, and a good bit of flab in the thighs and now starting to invade the stomach region.

Before about 2 months ago I had almost no regular exercise in my schedule for years. I started going to company gym during an internship, but the internship has now wrapped up. During that time I started at first speedwalking/jogging at about 5 mph for 30 minutes at a slight incline on treadmill. I then moved to cycling at 15mph with some force against me. During this I'd also use some machines to do some sets for upper body muscle build. None of this resulted in any weight loss in this period, but I did feel like I had a bit more upper body strength.

I always feel like I have little endurance during exercising. I've noted that on treadmills and cycles my heartrate seems abnormally high from what should be rather normal tasks (160 BPM+ ). I sweat a TON and sometimes it looks like a rash breaks out on my skin. I don't know if this is due to dry skin or some other condition. Also I tend to need to drink a lot of water every day (far more than the normal person. Almost every time I go to a restaurant, the waiter ends up putting the pitcher on the table).

I have a bad habit of having carb heavy diets and not getting necessary nutrients. My diets tend to be starch heavy (breads, rices, chips), alot of complementary/useless filler.

I'm considering for the next month joining a gym before going back to school and using the school gym for the schoolyear.

Any recommended regimens to follow? Any proper way of structuring my plans? Any exercises that will help trim down the weight, and exercises that will build up muscle? I'm particularly interested in abs and arms. Any way to break my need for lots of water and prevent such large amounts of sweating? How do I build up endurance? What is causing the high BPM?

I asked previously in the weight-lifting thread, but no one helped. Please help!

 

[Myke Greywolf]

I'm 33 years old and 1.74m (5'7") tall. I've never been a slim guy, and in my adult age, my weight has varied between about 75kg (165lb) and 85kg (187lb).

Recently, because of having a child three years ago (lots of stress here), I've let myself go regarding my eating habits, and looking myself in the mirror about three weeks ago, I started to worry that I looked the fattest and heaviest that I remembered being throughout all of my life. Since I'm not a teenager anymore by any measure, I also worried how all of my fat could be detrimental to my overall health. I didn't weigh myself at that time because I was afraid of what I would see, but it was certainly more than 85kg - I was even afraid I had gone over the 90kg barrier.

So I decided to put a stop on it: I would put myself into a strict program until I reached my target weight of 75kg again, and after that, change my regular eating habits and control my weight so that I would never weigh more than 77kg again.

I started my program on July 12. It consists of:

- Cutting sugary foods and drinks off completely.
- A balanced diet with a daily intake of about 1000-1200 kcal, with normal lunches so I won't go crazy.
- Lots and lots of water, so I won't be fooled by waterweight loss.
- 45 straight minutes of a customized Dance Dance Revolution routine on "heavy" setting (great aerobic exercise), every single day.

After a few days, I finally gathered the courage to put myself on the scale, and was happy to see that I weighed somewhat less than I had expected - about 84.5 kg at that time. As of today, after 17 days on this program, I've gone down to 80.3 kg, and although I know that the weight loss rate will inevitably slow down, I'm still confident that I will reach my target much faster than I had originally expected.

My strictness has helped a lot in this endeavour, as I haven't cheated with the diet even once since I started, and I only skipped exercise one day (since I simply didn't have any free time that day).

 

[Carlisle]

I didn't work out today and I feel like I just gained 10 pounds. ffffffu

I know that feeling. I started dieting/exercising regularly about a month ago. I feel like shit if I skip a day now.

Here's my story, while I'm at it:

I started doing this when I hit 240 lbs at 6'3". I saw some pics of myself from a party and was like wow at how big I looked. WiiFit put me at like a pixel below the obese line. I was the heaviest I'd ever been in my life.

I cut out all sweets, sugars, and red meat. And I drastically reduced my dairy intake. The biggest thing was I started calorie-counting, though. Just being aware of what you put into your body helps tremendously. (Livestrong iPhone app is a godsend for this). I also started running a mile every couple days or so and now I'm up to 4 miles every morning, 5 days a week.

4 weeks later, I'm 20 lbs lighter. I'd still like to lose another 15 or so though by next month and I'm working hard at it. I've got to say the biggest motivator is when you actually see yourself losing the weight and watching your hard work pay off so well.

I know I haven't lost nearly as much as some other posters here, though. You guys are damn impressive. But I'm feeling really good about my progress so far so I thought I'd make a post. Before/after pics to follow after I get down another 15 lbs to my goal!

 

[nilbog21]

I know that feeling. I started dieting/exercising regularly about a month ago. I feel like shit if I skip a day now.

Here's my story, while I'm at it:

I started doing this when I hit 240 lbs at 6'3". I saw some pics of myself from a party and was like wow at how big I looked. WiiFit put me at like a pixel below the obese line. I was the heaviest I'd ever been in my life.

I cut out all sweets, sugars, and red meat. And I drastically reduced my dairy intake. The biggest thing was I started calorie-counting, though. Just being aware of what you put into your body helps tremendously. (Livestrong iPhone app is a godsend for this). I also started running a mile every couple days or so and now I'm up to 4 miles every morning, 5 days a week.

4 weeks later, I'm 20 lbs lighter. I'd still like to lose another 15 or so though by next month and I'm working hard at it. I've got to say the biggest motivator is when you actually see yourself losing the weight and watching your hard work pay off so well.

I know I haven't lost nearly as much as some other posters here, though. You guys are damn impressive. But I'm feeling really good about my progress so far so I thought I'd make a post. Before/after pics to follow after I get down another 15 lbs to my goal!

you run 4 miles every morning, 5 days a week, and are still 220 lbs?? I don't know if thats not big since you are 6"3
but im pretty sure if you ran 4 miles 5 days a week you could eat watever you want and still be ripped as fuck ;<

 

[Carlisle]

you run 4 miles every morning, 5 days a week, and are still 220 lbs?? I don't know if thats not big since you are 6"3
but im pretty sure if you ran 4 miles 5 days a week you could eat watever you want and still be ripped as fuck ;<

Yeah, sorry. I guess I should have been more specific. I only started this routine 4 weeks ago. And I've only acclimated to the 4 mile point last week. Before that it was 3 miles a day, and 2 miles before that, etc.

I think 20lbs in 4 weeks is a decent rate, though.

 

[nilbog21]

4 miles a day is really good 8D
props

 

[red shoe paul]

Went to the doctors today and I lost 19lbs since my last check-up.. (exactly 6 months ago) All I do is Skateboard and just eat smaller portions or bad foodnow.. :lol

 

[diddlyD]

Yeah, sorry. I guess I should have been more specific. I only started this routine 4 weeks ago. And I've only acclimated to the 4 mile point last week. Before that it was 3 miles a day, and 2 miles before that, etc.

I think 20lbs in 4 weeks is a decent rate, though.

5lbs a week weight loss is really considered to be extremely unhealthy by most health professionals unless you are grossly overweight to begin with. you would pretty much have to starve yourself the whole time to approach that. i would check to make sure your scale isn't being funny with the numbers, or rush to the doctor to make sure you don't have some crazy worm eating you from the inside out.

 

[Combine]

For the longest time I had a pretty crappy outlook on my life and life in general and just didn't care about myself or what happened. So that led me to becoming pretty much a sedentary slug that did nothing but play videogames.

One day back in March of this year however, for some reason I still can't figure out, something just switched inside my head and all of a sudden I became too aware of the time that I had wasted and the time that was going by and how any chance to do many things in life might soon pass me by completely. So, I vowed to try and change myself. I wish I had taken my weight at this time, but I'm sure I was over 190lbs (probably close to 200) which was pretty much all fat and zero muscle.

So, I made a regimen where I did some heavy cardio work every other day to burn fat, and also completely changed my diet. An example of which was, where previously, I used to eat lunches all the time at this market full of greasy asian food, now I only ate/eat soup and salad. I also completely stopped any proccessed foods or carb heavy drinks like soda.

And now, I weigh about 165lbs which seems to be a little fat and some muscle from all the leg muscle strengthening (for my knees), abdominal work and some upper body. It certainly was not an easy or simple road, but it is something I'm glad I did before age took me over.

Living healthier has definitely made a difference for me just feeling better about myself in regular situations. Still dealing with major confidence issues, but I'm hopefull those will also abate eventually.

 

[Domino Theory]

For those of you who are absolutely in LOVE with carbs and cannot diet unless you have carbs, do the low GI diet. I started the diet early July (weighting 295lbs), as of yesterday (August 16), I'm 286lbs. It would be a lot more if I would've added exercising and better portion control at the start of my diet instead of 3 weeks into it.

I've now gotten to the point where I lose 2lbs every week (second week in a row that this has happened) and I plan on keeping that ish up for good.

My old breakfast:

Nothing

My new breakfast:

Two servings of Honey Bunches of Oats w/ Fat free milk (1.5 cups)

My old snacks:

Cheez-Its
M&Ms
Resees Cups
Pay Day
Ice cream
White bread w/bologni
Chewy/Soft Chips-Ahoy cookies

My new snacks:

Smoked Almonds
2% Milk String Cheese
Blueberries
Strawberries
Whole Wheat/Whole Grain bread w/ turkey breast bologni (this is also sometimes my dinner so I add more veggies and content to it overall if it is my dinner)
Rasberries

My old lunch:

Burger King, Deep-fried chicken tenders from Safeway Deli (these are FUCKING delicious), Carls Jr., KFC (biggest portion size for Popcorn Chicken + Biscuits) or some take-out pasta. I pretty much lived off of fast food for every major meal.

My new lunch:

Oven Roasted Chicken Breast on Wheat bread from Subway. No salt, mustard, or any of those dressings added, only alittle olive oil and vinegar. Veggies are: Onions, Tomatoes, Lettuce and Jalapenos (nom nom) w/ bottle of Dasani Water.

Once a week I treat myself and that treat is a few pieces of the chicken tenders from Safeway's Deli (but the rest of that treat day is like any other diet day; only my lunch is the 'treat')

My old drinks:

Diet Pepsi
Diet Coke
Lemonade
Alittle water

My new drinks:

Water (95% of my drinking)
Trader Joe's Orange Juice (the 5% remaining)
Sometimes I'll have Diet Coke/Pepsi (once a week at the MOST)

You can still have pasta, rice, bread, etc. You just have to make sure the rice is brown, the breads are 100% whole wheat or whole grain (same goes for the pasta; Buckwheat is the best for pasta) and that you count the GI levels of every food.

Any food that has a GI level of 55 or BELOW, eat it and be happy, but watch the calories and portions, of course.

My supplements:

Two fish oil tablets a day (that equates to 2000mg of fish oil and 600mg of Omega 3 a day)
Calcium + Vitamin D tablet (once a day)

My old exercise routine:

Nothing

My new exercise routine:

1 hour of walking anytime I want to (I'm more inclined to do this almost everyday if I don't 'force' an exercise schedule on myself every week i.e. I have to walk for 1 hour at least 3 times a week. I just tell myself I can do it when I want and that ends up making me go an average of 4-6 times a week).

Life is starting to get better. I hope to have before and after pics to share with you just like the OP.

 

[Jill Sandwich]

I've made a goal to drop 50lbs by my birthday in January, so on average I need to lose 2lbs a week. I started last week and have lost 5lbs, which I know is mostly water weight, but it's a good start. My secondary goal is to to be able to fit into 38" waist jeans/trousers, because above that, your shopping options decrease rapidy (in the UK.)

 

[EzLink]

I'm right around the -20 lb mark since starting. Though, I started in May and it's mid August, so that rate isn't all that impressive. I've been very consistently inconsistent, but at least progress is being made. I'm planning on ramping the fuck up soon though... a friend of mine (around my size) is having a contest with me in september to see who can lose the most weight that month. Should be good for motivation. Not to mention school starting back up; seeing all the sexay bitches really helps too.

Just went clothes shopping today. Soooo close to being able to decently fit into size L

 

[Karish]

Before (I'm in the middle, obviously):

After:

4 years of hardwork and dedication = 75lbs lost and 5 inches off my waste.

 

[Decado]

Hmmm, I'm not sure how much help I need per say but some suggestions would be great. I currently have a potruding disc in my lower back and have been pretty much confined to my bed for the last 5 weeks (I can get out for *very* short periods). I've lost about 15 pounds. Water weight can make it a little difficult to be exact.

I'm 192cm tall (I think that's about 6'3") and 216 Lbs (down from my peak of 233 lbs earlier this year).

I figure as long as I'm in this unpleasent situation, I may as well get *something* out of it. Any suggestion for fairly filling, but low calorie snacks/meals? I pretty much need somethings that require no preparation, for even standing still few a few minutes is pretty damned painful. I've been eating a lot of sandwitches for meals along with take out Chinese. I'm getting bored with both.

thanks

 

[neojubei]

You don't need luck, you need to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you can do it. And, of course, you fucking can, so get your ass out there and get it done!

oh.

 

[Decado]

I've made a goal to drop 50lbs by my birthday in January, so on average I need to lose 2lbs a week. I started last week and have lost 5lbs, which I know is mostly water weight, but it's a good start. My secondary goal is to to be able to fit into 38" waist jeans/trousers, because above that, your shopping options decrease rapidy (in the UK.)

Really? Maybe we're all fatter here in BC, but I could find plenty of pants/shorts etc. at 40"+ when i looked.

 

[Kingpen]

I started back last Thanksgiving.... I went from 230-235 down to about 182 back in March....

Went from probably a 38-39 size jean to a 32. Managed to add a little muscle as well via weight training.

I had a very focused regiment and also a pretty strict diet cutting out all the crap.

Now I met an awesome girl that I'm in a relationship now and I think I've put on about 3-5 pounds back via beer drinking with her. Luckily I'm still very much into maintaining my work, and she is an athlete as well, so we both work out pretty regularly.

 

[Carlisle]

I seem to have hit a stand-still in my weight-loss. From the beginning I'd lose 3-5 lbs a week. But this last week I lost 0.2 lbs and I worked harder than any other week since. I think I hit one of those weight loss plateaus and it sucks. Super discouraging. But I hear I just gotta keep at it, change up my routine, etc... I'm 15 lbs away from my goal, so close!

Any other advice from anyone who's gotten over a plateau?

Edit: clarity

 

[The Abominable Snowman]

4 years of hardwork and dedication = 75lbs lost and 5 inches off my waste.

Jeesh. How big is your waste now? Mine barely is more than 5 inches now. You must have those long skinny ones.

I'm pretty much in the same boat as you as far as weight loss though.

 

[Deleted member 1159]

I seem to have hit a stand-still in my weight-loss. From the beginning I'd lose 3-5 lbs a week. But this last week I lost 0.2 lbs and I worked harder than any other week since. I think I hit one of those weight loss plateaus and it sucks. Super discouraging. But I hear I just gotta keep at it, change up my routine, etc... I'm 15 lbs away from my goal, so close!

Any other advice from anyone who's gotten over a plateau?

Edit: clarity

I was stuck around 220 for a while (several months) and I'm just now getting down to 200...it just takes dedication and sticking to it, regardless of what the scale says. If you go over a couple weeks without losing more than a couple pounds, it's time to change things up.

I've still got 10 pounds or so to lose and I'm kinda stuck at 200 again...Gonna have to change it up!

 

[Carlisle]

I was stuck around 220 for a while (several months) and I'm just now getting down to 200...it just takes dedication and sticking to it, regardless of what the scale says. If you go over a couple weeks without losing more than a couple pounds, it's time to change things up.

I've still got 10 pounds or so to lose and I'm kinda stuck at 200 again...Gonna have to change it up!

Hah! 220 is exactly what I'm stuck at now too. I'm hoping it won't last several months, I lost the first 20 lbs so quickly! I'm trying to get in shape for an event next month

 

[p2535748]

I've never been thin, but last year I went through a rough patch and gained a bunch of extra weight. By August, I was at 285. This is an old pic, but it's pretty much what I looked like:

I started seriously dieting and working out (mainly running). A year later, I'm down to 180:

I'm up to running 1/2 marathons (don't think I'll try for full ones). Also, in my experience, Thaedolus is right about plateauing. It just happens (at least to me it did). After a few weeks, the weight loss continues.

 

[gutterboy44]

I've been struggling with my weight since I was in elementary school. I'm 5'11" and around 250lbs. I really need to start exercising. Any tips on how to start out exercising? Like what would be most effective for burning fat? Also stretches I can do to make sure I don't fuck up any muscles?

I've tried a lot of other things in the past. When I was in middle school I went on Weight Watchers with my parents. I lost about 25 pounds, but plateaued after that. I got discouraged, mostly because my dad would go into rages every time I would report back from the scale with a gained pound, or no change in weight. So I quit doing that and jut kinda coasted for some years. During my las few years of high school I started just jogging around at night and lost 20 pounds. Plateaued once again though and got really discouraged and gave up. I finally feel like I'm ready to stick to something, but the plateau still scares me.

I think just the regular P90 program would be better for you. It is a really good program to start muscle development and burn fat. The P90X is more for people already in decent shape looking to take it to the next level. All you need for the P90 is a resistance band (or some dumbbells, band is cheaper) and a yoga mat for comfort. It is really easy to get into and escalate at your own pace. I am in the P90 right now and I really enjoy it. Once I am done with this I will try the P90X. Having seen the P90X vids, I can definitely see them being to intense and intimidating for someone who isn't in decent shape to start. There are lots of good result vids on youtube of ppl starting at P90 and then going to P90X afterward.

 

[aznpxdd]

I've never been thin, but last year I went through a rough patch and gained a bunch of extra weight. By August, I was at 285. This is an old pic, but it's pretty much what I looked like:

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa116/p2535748/pnichols.jpg[/IMG

I started seriously dieting and working out (mainly running). A year later, I'm down to 180:

[IMG]http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa116/p2535748/pnichols3.jpg[/IMG

I'm up to running 1/2 marathons (don't think I'll try for full ones). Also, in my experience, Thaedolus is right about plateauing. It just happens (at least to me it did). After a few weeks, the weight loss continues.[/QUOTE]

Nice!! Now that you've slimmed down, you ever thought about hitting the weights?

 

[p2535748]

Nice!! Now that you've slimmed down, you ever thought about hitting the weights?

Yeah, I have. Actually, I've been sporadically lifting over the past year, but never terribly seriously. I've got a half marathon race coming up next month, so I'm currently concentrating on running, but once I'm through with that, I'm going to do some more serious strength training.