Aiming to lose 20# by 12/31/09 (started 11/20/09)

[Dirty Hazy]

[orange]*(edit: retitled thread per latest, possibly more realistic goal)*[/orange]

Started about a week ago(on the 15th) weighing in at 250 lbs.

Currently down to between 242.8 & 244.2.

Basically around Nov 15th I decided to aim for 235 by end of November, so 15 lbs in 15 days. So far, pretty much on target if I break 15 days into 3 five day increments. By late Wed/early Thursday I need to be down to 240. If I hit that, I should be on par for 235 by month's end.

So, I figure if that works for November, I am gonna double that and drop 30 in December. So hopefully starting at 235 and drop that to 210-220. Ideally 200 before the new year, but that might be a tad optimistic.

How am I doing it?

-Attempting cardio 4+ times/week
-Crunches
-On days of or non-gm days I plan to walk 3 laps of my block, takes >20mins(if I walk it, less if I jog) and is approx. 1mile. Gonna try this once every three hours, or may just do one lap(1/3 mile) every hour(takes about 6-7 minutes max if I walk it)
-Little to no snacking, and when I must, trying to make it canned Pineapple Chunks and water. Used to always be "chips & cola". -Also, way less pizza and as I've been doing for a while now, smaller portions. Used to always plow thru a 12 inch frozen or carryout, now usually only cook up a 10 inch unless I am sharing it or if it is on sale, then I try to not eat 100% of it. I gotta learn to be cool with "wasting" some of it(I don't usually do leftovers).

Well, that's my plan, how I am doing so far, and how I am doing it. Maybe by sharing this, it will encourage me to keep up with it and push myself a little bit more. When I think of it, I will try to share my meals and snacks and what I did for the day so you can help keep me on track in a supportive non-judgmental non-mean spirited way.

So is dropping about 45 lbs in 45 days insane? Is it achievable or likely? Should I post a before pic of my torso to show my progress?(don't worry I'd make you click to view it, lol) I could update it maybe 3x/month... would be fun for me to notice subtle changes, and like I said you wouldn't have to click it if you didn't want to.

Anyone have any questions, comments, concerns, or something to say to me about this? To paraphrase as best I can, a popular meme around here, your feedback is now only encouraged... it's allowed! ;D

[Koda, Master Crunchyroller]

If you accomplish your goal, I'll prepare you a 50 pound feast.

[TripleMerc]

Nov 23, 2009 4:28:23 GMT -5 Dirty Hazy said:

-Crunches

This might build muscle. It'll certainly make you healthier, but not make you LIGHTER. I still recommend it, but maybe alter your goals to drop X% of body fat instead of straight-up pounds.

-Little to no snacking, and when I must, trying to make it canned Pineapple Chunks and water. Used to always be "chips & cola". -Also, way less pizza and as I've been doing for a while now, smaller portions. Used to always plow thru a 12 inch frozen or carryout, now usually only cook up a 10 inch unless I am sharing it or if it is on sale, then I try to not eat 100% of it. I gotta learn to be cool with "wasting" some of it(I don't usually do leftovers).

Good idea on the better nutrition, but try to snack not necessarily less, just right. Eat smaller meals, but more of them, it'll boost your metabolism and make weight loss just that much easier.

[default]

Yeah, snacking isn't bad if you can control what you eat both for snacking and meals.

Also, if you don't mind eating it try some plain oatmeal. It sticks to your ribs and cleans you out.

[Dirty Hazy]

Nov 23, 2009 5:16:08 GMT -5 TripleMerc said:

Nov 23, 2009 4:28:23 GMT -5 Dirty Hazy said:

-Crunches

This might build muscle. It'll certainly make you healthier, but not make you LIGHTER. I still recommend it, but maybe alter your goals to drop X% of body fat instead of straight-up pounds.

-Little to no snacking, and when I must, trying to make it canned Pineapple Chunks and water. Used to always be "chips & cola". -Also, way less pizza and as I've been doing for a while now, smaller portions. Used to always plow thru a 12 inch frozen or carryout, now usually only cook up a 10 inch unless I am sharing it or if it is on sale, then I try to not eat 100% of it. I gotta learn to be cool with "wasting" some of it(I don't usually do leftovers).

Good idea on the better nutrition, but try to snack not necessarily less, just right. Eat smaller meals, but more of them, it'll boost your metabolism and make weight loss just that much easier.

Well I doubt I am doing enough crunches to slow me down, and if I am, well I'm ultimately more focused on reducing the size of my gut than the number of pounds.

I have to look it up again, but I think for my height of approx 5'11"/6' my ideal BMI weight is like 180-190 somewhere. Or was it 175? I forget, but at least it gives me a rough final target of SOME kind.

[Dave at the Movies]

Nov 23, 2009 5:46:25 GMT -5 Dirty Hazy said:

Nov 23, 2009 5:16:08 GMT -5 TripleMerc said:

This might build muscle. It'll certainly make you healthier, but not make you LIGHTER. I still recommend it, but maybe alter your goals to drop X% of body fat instead of straight-up pounds.



Good idea on the better nutrition, but try to snack not necessarily less, just right. Eat smaller meals, but more of them, it'll boost your metabolism and make weight loss just that much easier.

Well I doubt I am doing enough crunches to slow me down, and if I am, well I'm ultimately more focused on reducing the size of my gut than the number of pounds.

I have to look it up again, but I think for my height of approx 5'11"/6' my ideal BMI weight is like 180-190 somewhere. Or was it 175? I forget, but at least it gives me a rough final target of SOME kind.

I believe that height is 170-180 for BMI but word of advice........don't pay attention to the BMI at all. It is very flawed and does not take into account any muscle weight.

Also for some people crunches can actually expand their stomach instead of actually sculpting it. It'll still be hard but scuplting your abs is really hard especially if you are trying to lose weight.

there is a new ab machine thing where you get on your knees on it and go side to side. I don't remember the name of it but it is especially for reducing your waistline.



Once you get down to about 205-215 I would suggest weight lifting but also keep your cardio going so you can try and stay lean.

[Dirty Hazy]

Hmm, maybe I will drop doing excessive crunches and just do a few for the sake of it.

Today's 12:30-2am workout consisted of...

4 miles treadmill split in 2 segments. 2.33 miles 450 calories first, then 5-10 minutes later another 1.67 miles and another 325 calories burned. Did a few bicep curls 50 crunches, and worked my back a little with a pull down machine, forget which kind. Also did a row machine for a few sets to work my back that way as well. I forget the time spent on the treadmill, I was busy talking the entire time with my best friend. We workout together whenever we can so as to help push one another to actually make the continued effort. Thought now that I've been doing it, I am feeling pretty motivated regardless!

edit: BTW, I am not regarding the BMI chart as the 11th Commandment or anything, more of like a "projected approximate goal". Like I said, ultimately 180-190 would likely be fine as I've never been too muscular anyway, but I do want to have nicer abs and biceps when the majority of the fat is gone. My only problem area is my belly/gut and my butt. My legs have always been all muscle and my calves look great-dare I say no fat?. Arms appearto be untoned muscle, don't look fatty, and certainly not "flappy", lol.

[Ghostorm]

Couple of things you can do, that ive done with great success when it comes to trimming down after gaining weight due to building mass.

1. eat every 3 hours religiously, not a huge meal and not small, the consistent eating actually boosts your metabolism over time.

2. do not eat within 3 hours before going to sleep. Going to sleep on a full stomach isnt the best thing to do. seeing that your metabolism slows while sleeping and the food you ate wont be processed the best way. Drinking a large glass of water will help with the craving......... but you may wake up more than once to use the facilities. ;D

[Dave at the Movies]

Nov 23, 2009 6:13:07 GMT -5 Dirty Hazy said:

Hmm, maybe I will drop doing excessive crunches and just do a few for the sake of it.

Today's 12:30-2am workout consisted of...

4 miles treadmill split in 2 segments. 2.33 miles 450 calories first, then 5-10 minutes later another 1.67 miles and another 325 calories burned. Did a few bicep curls 50 crunches, and worked my back a little with a pull down machine, forget which kind. Also did a row machine for a few sets to work my back that way as well. I forget the time spent on the treadmill, I was busy talking the entire time with my best friend. We workout together whenever we can so as to help push one another to actually make the continued effort. Thought now that I've been doing it, I am feeling pretty motivated regardless!

edit: BTW, I am not regarding the BMI chart as the 11th Commandment or anything, more of like a "projected approximate goal". Like I said, ultimately 180-190 would likely be fine as I've never been too muscular anyway, but I do want to have nicer abs and biceps when the majority of the fat is gone. My only problem area is my belly/gut and my butt. My legs have always been all muscle and my calves look great-dare I say no fat?. Arms appearto be untoned muscle, don't look fatty, and certainly not "flappy", lol.

Yeah from the description you don't seem to be that bad off at all. The stomach and the butt are what most people(even people considered healthy) have the most problems with because that is where the majority of fat goes.

Do you do crunches on a machine or just on the ground? That can make a huge difference. Just doing them on the ground can be really hard on your back depending on how your back is built(not muscle wise but some people have bigger and wider back. I myself have a back that curves in a bit so it is hard for me to do crunches just on the ground without hurting it).


Also sometihng I forgot to say on the last post is don't exercise too much. Cardio every day is completely fine but if you start really weight lifting be very moderate in doing that because if you don't let muscle relax every one or two days then you just end up breaking them down without letting them build.

You probably know everything I just put in this post but I really try to help when people are working hard to get in shape. There are just a lot of small mistakes(such as weight lifting every day) people can make working out and realize they aren't getting very far.

I myself right now weigh about 200 and just 8 months ago weight about 180 without working out at all for most of that time. I just now started working out again and have realized that it is really hard to lose fat in your upper body and lower body. It takes way longer than it does putting it on.

[dabossftw]

One bit of advice I can offer is to vary what you do for cardio. Try swimming, for example.

[markdown474]

Overall sounds like a good plan but don't get discouraged or surprised if your weight loss slows down after you've been working out for a couple weeks. When you start a new program, it's not unusual to drop a lot the first week or two (like you did having lost 6 to 8 lbs) but once your body adjusts to your new program, dropping weight can become much tougher. They say dropping 1 or 2 lbs a week is much healthier and will leave you less susceptible to regaining the weight once you've reached your goal. Don't sacrifice long-term results in favor of fast results! Sounds like you've done a good job adjusting your eating, but you probably want to make sure you're still eating about 2000 calories a day.

[Red Impact]

You're not going to be able to do anything to lose weight in a specific spot of your body. Crunches will help you build muscle, but as you lose weight, you'll lose it all over, including places you didn't even know you had built it up, and not just in your stomach. That said, do them and build muscle. Every pound of lean muscle you build will only help you burn more calories throughout your day and help you lose weight.

Like Markdown said, don't get discouraged if you reach a plateau partway through. For a lot of people, the first weeks have the greatest results because they aren't used to working out. You lose all the water weight and think you're making good progress, then find the next week that they lost half a pound.

Finally, in the whole BMI thing, BMI is better for estimating the overall health of a larger group of people, but not so much for individuals. It tends to read high for people with large musculature and low for older individuals. If you can, try to go to a fitness store and invest in a body-fat percentage measuring device. They have two hands with metal plates that send a small current through your body and measure it. It will give you the best picture.

[Dave at the Movies]

Nov 23, 2009 9:23:36 GMT -5 Red Impact said:

You're not going to be able to do anything to lose weight in a specific spot of your body. Crunches will help you build muscle, but as you lose weight, you'll lose it all over, including places you didn't even know you had built it up, and not just in your stomach. That said, do them and build muscle. Every pound of lean muscle you build will only help you burn more calories throughout your day and help you lose weight.

Like Markdown said, don't get discouraged if you reach a plateau partway through. For a lot of people, the first weeks have the greatest results because they aren't used to working out. You lose all the water weight and think you're making good progress, then find the next week that they lost half a pound.

Finally, in the whole BMI thing, BMI is better for estimating the overall health of a larger group of people, but not so much for individuals. It tends to read high for people with large musculature and low for older individuals. If you can, try to go to a fitness store and invest in a body-fat percentage measuring device. They have two hands with metal plates that send a small current through your body and measure it. It will give you the best picture.

Those electronic body fat measure things aren't bad but they aren't exactly accurate either. It is flawed just like the BMI system.

[RI Richmark]

Good for you Hazy

I've just joined Weight Watchers myself. Right now me immediate goal is to get down to 285 from 300 by mid December. I hope to be down to 250 by Spring then go from there.

[RI Richmark]

One more thing Hazy. If by chance you don't make your goal don't give up. Sometimes these things take time. Especially over the holidays.

[bob]

good luck man.......I've tried doing things like that in the past but I always come up short

[MainManOfCCW]

How's it going bro?

[Red Impact]

Nov 23, 2009 11:56:07 GMT -5 Dave at the Movies said:

Nov 23, 2009 9:23:36 GMT -5 Red Impact said:

You're not going to be able to do anything to lose weight in a specific spot of your body. Crunches will help you build muscle, but as you lose weight, you'll lose it all over, including places you didn't even know you had built it up, and not just in your stomach. That said, do them and build muscle. Every pound of lean muscle you build will only help you burn more calories throughout your day and help you lose weight.

Like Markdown said, don't get discouraged if you reach a plateau partway through. For a lot of people, the first weeks have the greatest results because they aren't used to working out. You lose all the water weight and think you're making good progress, then find the next week that they lost half a pound.

Finally, in the whole BMI thing, BMI is better for estimating the overall health of a larger group of people, but not so much for individuals. It tends to read high for people with large musculature and low for older individuals. If you can, try to go to a fitness store and invest in a body-fat percentage measuring device. They have two hands with metal plates that send a small current through your body and measure it. It will give you the best picture.

Those electronic body fat measure things aren't bad but they aren't exactly accurate either. It is flawed just like the BMI system.

They're not perfect, but they're more likely to provide useful information than BMI is, in my experience.

[Dave at the Movies]

Nov 23, 2009 13:25:33 GMT -5 RI Richmark said:

Good for you Hazy

I've just joined Weight Watchers myself. Right now me immediate goal is to get down to 285 from 300 by mid December. I hope to be down to 250 by Spring then go from there.

Weight Watchers is an excellent program for the most part but once you reach your goal be careful. I've seen people do really well but once they start slacking off after they reach their goal they plunge right back into eating badly and shoot right back up to where they were when they started.

[H-Fist]

There is some pretty solid information in this thread already. I think I can add a bit to it.

Let me start with a bit of info about me to give some background. I joined my gym the first week of November in 2008. I have worked out religiously this past year. I am between 5'10 and 5'11 and weighed about 220 lbs then. For a couple reasons (including depression doing a 3-month number on my metabolism and my adding muscle) I stayed around 215 until about March. I am now just under 195 lbs and wearing a 33 waist for the first time in my life. I also have maxed out my squat at 295 and bench at 225 (i.e., I have done strength/hypertrophy programs as well as fat loss and have added ~10# of lean muscle).

I think that you are taking the best mental approach to getting in shape: if you like how you look and feel compared to how you felt the last time you thought about it, you are making progress. If your clothes are looser and you feel better, then you are doing the right thing. Beyond initial water weight, though, losing more than 1-2 pounds per week (depending on the individual) isn't healthy and isn't very realistic. People CAN do it, but eating well and burning fat without atrophying muscle/lean tissue is a better way, even if it means you spend 5 months on it instead of 2. If you know you are eating right and staying active, then you should avoid weighing in more than once or twice a week. AND ALWAYS WEIGH YOURSELF AT THE SAME TIME OF DAY AND IN THE SAME RELATION TO MEALS AND BOWEL MOVEMENTS. Pick one time (probably shortly after you get up, before you eat) and always and ONLY weigh yourself then. Your body weight fluctuates depending on your hydration, meals, digestion...don't get yourself overly excited because you didn't drink water last night and lost an extra pound.

Core work is absolutely important. A solid core allows you to do a lot more in terms of both cardio and strength training, both of which are very important for well-planned weight loss. Core training, though, is more than just crunches. Crunches work the rectus abdominis - the 6-pack muscle. That one is important, but your obliques and erectors spinae need love too.

Learn to love PLANKS. Planks are these:

Hold that position for 60 seconds. Keep your back in its natural arch: don't bend at the waist, pull your toes inward, push up with your arms, or let your lower body sag. Keep steady. An iPod with the backlight on will let you time yourself.

You will feel it in your abs, obliques, erectors, and probably upper back. One of those is worth more than a set of crunches.

In addition to regular planks, do side planks:

When you first try them, keep the upper arm on your body. Aim for 30 seconds on each side, and build up to a minute. The pressure between your elbow and shoulder joints is likely going to be the limiting factor. Make sure you keep the straight line between feet, hips, and head; don't tilt your neck, either (letting your head be at 30^o from horizontal takes some getting used to.

Get the form right, and then add to the degree of difficulty as necessary (extend arm, dumbbell in extended arm, raised non-support leg).

This will again help strengthen the entire core.

I also highly recommend a Swiss ball (big bouncy thing - they are very useful for crunches, push-ups, leg curls, and lots of other killer good stuff to strengthen your whole body. A medicine ball - probably an 8-pounder - is really useful, as well. A good core workout - incorporating planks and high reps of other exercises with minimal rest - will raise your heart rate and help burn calories while augmenting an aerobic/cardio-heavy overall regimen.

I'm not looking to tone my still-insulated gut, but I found a Men's Health gimmick core workout that has helped me a ton on "off days" when I'm between lifting programs or throwing in a cardio-core day rather than heavy lifting. Combine this with some planks and you'll develop a solid core in no time. It is necessary to have that solid and stable and balanced core. Here's a video of some guy demonstrating the 10 exercises involved in the workout:

Yes, it is Men's Health (more gimmicks than Ed Leslie, I know). But this is solid stuff.

Other than core work, there are 5 major movements that weightlifting encompass:
1. Squat (squats, front squats, leg press)
2. Deadlift (deadlift, Romanian deadlift, good morning, hip extension)
3. Lunge (lunge variations, split squats, step-ups)
4. Push (chest presh, shoulder press, push-up, dip)
5. Pull (lat machine, seated cable row, dumbbell/barbell row, pull-ups/chin-ups)

Find yourself a book like Schuler's and Cosgrove's New Rules of Lifting for a very interesting approach to designing programs around building muscle, getting stronger, or burning fat.

_---------------------_

As far as nutrition goes, the above posts advocating smaller and more frequent meals are generally useful. In terms of what you eat, there are a few things you can do, most of which don't require you to screw with your food budget:

1) Meal Plan. Take an hour over your weekend and plan out some actual meals for the following week. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and the 2 snacks you know you'll want.

2) Organize Your Kitchen. Take another hour and look at how your kitchen is organized. How do you keep your fridge, freezer, and cupboards laid out? What is always 'in stock'? What foods do you have but know you shouldn't? How can you make simpler use of the space?

3) Make a Shopping List... You have your meal plan. Now compare that plan to what is on hand. This is like a high school term paper the first few times. Write down, as a draft, all the things you'll need to make the meal plan work. Check off the ingredients you have and note the things you blow through and need more of. Then go back over this list and estimate quantities (bananas, hmm, I can eat a few this week...I'll go 3-4; apples...god, I love apples...2# of em...I want a burger; I'll go to the meat case and get a half-pound exactly rather than a package 1.5). Now you make the final draft. The trick is: Organize it by area in the store. Produce, Meat, Deli, Cold/Freezer, Packaged, Cleaning/Paper.

4) And Stick To It. It takes a little extra time now, but you can get in and out of the store in no time if you know where you're going, exactly what you're getting, and have a pen to strike through everything you already have. If you have a list to focus on, you teach yourself to make the choices before you get to the store and it becomes easier to eat well. Something you will discover through making a list and sticking to it is the next step.

5) Shop Primarily Along the Edges of the Store. Where is the best food a store has to offer? Usually near the walls. Produce, fresh meat, and dairy are almost always on the walls. You'll want to focus your diet here, as well. Packaged goods will become less and less a part of your life. You won't be making bread or anything, but you'll neither want nor need much of the pre-packaged crap masquerading as food. If you don't know how to cook, though, what good will a meal plan do you? Good question. Answer?

6) Learn to cook more and better. Master a few hearty soups, learn a couple vinaigrettes, and get to know some seasonings better. Learn how to transform the unhealthy foods you are accustomed to into healthy options by taking over the flavor profile. Fatty pork Italian sausage a favorite of yours? Season lean ground meat with coriander, garlic, oregano, paprika, and fennel seed. Make a burger out of it in a nonstick with Pam spray. You just saved yourself 10 grams of fat (90 calories) minimum.

7) Last but not least, ask questions. This applies in the gym, too, but it is really helpful to get food ideas from people who eat healthy without living on b/s chicken breasts, brocolli, and 1% milk.