I'm fed up and I'm not gonna take it anymore!

EndersShadow

codyc1ark wrote: »

Good luck Dan, your girl will love the extra years with 'fit' dad!

Yup, both of em, thats why I am doing it.

For those of you not aware I have a medical condition called Crohns disease and I have a pretty severe case. I wont go into too much detail (and am not looking for sympathy), however it is relevant to the subject at hand as my digestive system is pretty screwed up so I cant just "eat more fiber" or "eat nuts for snacks" as the affects these things have on me are MUCH different than most people. This is not to say don't post those suggestions as honestly people looking at this thread may get good ideas to implement in their own lives, and by no means is my diet the best however. But for me changing my diet isn't as easy as the normal person with regards to many foods and I thought that might bear mentioning. Many foods that are high "residue" foods or have seeds, or are nuts are foods I need to avoid for digestive reasons.


I have used Crohns as a crutch as well and I need to get out of the mentality that "Well when I flare I drop like 50 lbs quick so I will just not care now and let my body drop the weight when I get sick" and change it to "I need to eat healthier, and stay somewhat fit regardless of what my body is doing".

One thing I will openly admit I struggle with is that normally as a result of Crohns and the meds I am on I don't have much of an appetite as a whole and dont normally really enjoy the taste of food. I simply eat 3 meals a day because I know I need to. I am a creature of habit as well which can bode both good and bad for me.

With that said, when I go on steroids I finally get to "ENJOY" the taste of food and I am hungry 24/7 so I try to keep feeding the beast and enjoying the flavors and taste foods give me during that time. Which normally results in overdoing things (like now).

Depending on how often I flare (which is normally when I go on steriods for a brief time) I can yo-yo quickly in weight which is not good.

I appreciate the suggestions/ideas/thoughts posted so far. Please keep them coming.

EndersShadow

rdb2001 wrote: »

Also dont judge yourself by lbs right off. Judge by inches and how your clothes fit. Muscle weighs more than fat and as you transform, you may not lose any weight but look and feel lighter.

I agree its not about the number but how you wear it. Most people at work joke about my goals as to them I dont look heavy but they also dont know how my body has looked for all 30 years, whereas I do, and I know I am carrying a bunch of weight that I shouldnt be.

I am focusing entirely on how my clothes fit and am planning on taking weekly measurements of my dimensions for comparison. But you obviously need to set a goal and so I choose to quantify my goal in lbs as that should at this point correlate to inches lost pretty good as well.

jeremymarcinko

Damn, that sucks. That said, we all have our hurdles. Obviously, have your doctor recommend a nutritionist, to design your meal plan. I have a nerve disease that really limits my weight training, but experimentation/research has been key to my "personal" success in bodybuilding. I see guys at the gym, with physical challenges, guys in wheelchairs, prosthetic hands and arms, doing all they can. And they are there all the time, getting ripped and making gains. I think its just awesome, very inspiring. Be the best version of "you" you can be.

EndersShadow

jeremymarcinko wrote: »

Damn, that sucks. That said, we all have our hurdles. Obviously, have your doctor recommend a nutritionist, to design your meal plan. I have a nerve disease that really limits my weight training, but experimentation/research has been key to my "personal" success in bodybuilding. I see guys at the gym, with physical challenges, guys in wheelchairs, prosthetic hands and arms, doing all they can. And they are there all the time, getting ripped and making gains. I think its just awesome, very inspiring. Be the best version of "you" you can be.

Yeah, I need to have him do that, just been putting it off. Time to make time to do it. Everyone can justify their reasons for not doing something, but like you said it can be overcome. I am not looking to use it as my excuse simply looking to put into context why some diet suggestions wont work in my particular situation.

GospelTruth

I had similar feelings before about where I was about a year and a half ago. I had always been one of those "skinny" kids growing up and in high school. I could eat whatever and never gain weight - not that I ate unhealthy, but I wasn't sitting around proactively trying to eat non-manufactured/processed food. Then I hit 41 and found that over the past 5 years, my belt had increasingly been moving out, and not staying in the same spot. My pant sizes were going up - not ridiculous, but going up non-the less. I was putting my "skinnier" clothes in boxes telling myself "someday you'll get fit again and wear those". Well, once again my pants were getting tight again and I thought, "I can either get in shape and get back into my older wardrobe or buy some jeans yet another size up".

That was my motivation. I realized if I didn't start then, when would I start? In another year? It was time to get in shape and back into the sizes I told myself I would wear again "someday". I had seen all the Beachbody ads for P90X, so I thought I would try that out. My reasoning is that I could do it in my home in the mornings before work - no driving to a gym. That first week was tough. I didn't ease my way back in, I jumped back into exercise. It was tough to get through for me, but I did it. I lost 25 lbs (mostly in the mid section), and gained muscle mass elsewhere else. I got back into a size 32" pants if you can believe that! Then I thought I had "arrived" and was good. I gained most of it back and then decided that I need to continue to do this as I will never just be able to "maintain". So I decided to do P90X2. I finished twice now and am in the process of going through it again. I feel so much better and can do so much more athletically than I could before.

This isn't a plug for Beachbody. I'm not going to say you should do a Beachbody routine just because it worked for me. I tried the Insanity program and it did not work as it caused me severe shin splints. So not everything works for everyone. The P90X systems worked for me because I can do it at home and for me it strike a good balance between strength training, weight loss and flexibility (don't get any more limber as you get older). I like doing the routines and seeing the results. And that is the key, that I like what I am doing. My advice is to get some exercise you like to do, get out and just do it. Once you start seeing results it helps with the motivation to continue to do it. Don't do something you hate just to get fit, you'll lose motivation and you won't be able to continue it as a lifestyle. Additionally, I love to snowboard, and we get out almost every weekend in the winter here in Tahoe and board. I love it and it gets me off the couch, in nature and exercising.

Sounds like you are on the start of something good. Keep it up and you'll see the results! By the way, I have family with crones - no fun at all. I wish you the best in working through that in your quest to become a healthier person.

jflail2

Good for you Dan. I like your attitude, and I like your realistic approach even more. You're not trying to hit the gym 6 days a week or anything else unrealistic. The walk after dinner can be a pleasant experience in and of itself, and is a great way to hit it on a regular basis. I like your weight loss goal as well. Keep it real buddy.

Gospel is preaching the gospel. Don't get into something you don't like; it'll never stick. I was also a super skinny kid (like 145-150 until I hit my early 30's), but the weight will eventually sneak up on most of us. I'm now at 205 or so, and am hoping I can stick to my BJJ classes for the next year at least, and see how I feel after that time period.

In regards to diet, don't try to go overboard there either. I tried to go balls to the wall on cleaning my diet up, and lost my motivation in a couple of weeks. Now I'm going about it a different way. Can I get through the day with 1 soda? How about no sodas? Let me try oatmeal 2-3x a week instead of my rather unhealthy breakfast burrito I eat each morning. So instead of blowing a couple hundred bucks at Whole Foods on stuff you'll probably never get around to eating, look for small ways to make incremental changes. Once you're used to not having sodas persay, then move on to trying to cut something else bad out. Baby steps. (That's what works for me anyway. YMMV.)

Edit: Didn't see the Chron's post. That makes the diet adjustment all the more challenging, but I still think baby steps will win the day.

Good luck sir!

EndersShadow

jflail2 wrote: »

Good for you Dan. I like your attitude, and I like your realistic approach even more. You're not trying to hit the gym 6 days a week or anything else unrealistic. The walk after dinner can be a pleasant experience in and of itself, and is a great way to hit it on a regular basis. I like your weight loss goal as well. Keep it real buddy.

Gospel is preaching the gospel. Don't get into something you don't like; it'll never stick. I was also a super skinny kid (like 145-150 until I hit my early 30's), but the weight will eventually sneak up on most of us. I'm now at 205 or so, and am hoping I can stick to my BJJ classes for the next year at least, and see how I feel after that time period.

In regards to diet, don't try to go overboard there either. I tried to go balls to the wall on cleaning my diet up, and lost my motivation in a couple of weeks. Now I'm going about it a different way. Can I get through the day with 1 soda? How about no sodas? Let me try oatmeal 2-3x a week instead of my rather unhealthy breakfast burrito I eat each morning. So instead of blowing a couple hundred bucks at Whole Foods on stuff you'll probably never get around to eating, look for small ways to make incremental changes. Once you're used to not having sodas persay, then move on to trying to cut something else bad out. Baby steps. (That's what works for me anyway. YMMV.)

Edit: Didn't see the Chron's post. That makes the diet adjustment all the more challenging, but I still think baby steps will win the day.

Good luck sir!

Thats how I am trying to go, I do better with incremental steps so that how I plan to start and continue. Others may just jump in, throw out everything bad, buy a bunch of weights and fitness CD's/DVD's and that works for them, but currently that approach just wont work for me or my lifestyle long enough to have an effect. No point in going all out and hating life until I make my goal weight as then I would just splurge again and be right back here.

Small changes to my diet over time. Adding in exercise slowly and only ones that dont feel like exercise so I enjoy them and start doing them more often.

jflail2

EndersShadow wrote: »

Thats how I am trying to go, I do better with incremental steps so that how I plan to start and continue. Others may just jump in, throw out everything bad, buy a bunch of weights and fitness CD's/DVD's and that works for them, but currently that approach just wont work for me or my lifestyle long enough to have an effect. No point in going all out and hating life until I make my goal weight as then I would just splurge again and be right back here.

Small changes to my diet over time. Adding in exercise slowly and only ones that dont feel like exercise so I enjoy them and start doing them more often.

There it is brother. That's what works for me as well. One tiny piece at a time. I actually did the Whole Foods thing, and threw away probably $100 worth of "earthy" food that, in retrospect, I'm not even sure why I bought to begin with.

It doesn't have to be dramatic change. The fact that your cognizant of the need, and are implementing those baby steps is an awesome start. Stick to it man!

jeremymarcinko

EndersShadow wrote: »

No point in going all out and hating life until I make my goal weight as then I would just splurge again and be right back here.

Small changes to my diet over time. Adding in exercise slowly and only ones that dont feel like exercise so I enjoy them and start doing them more often.

Sorry man, but thats not gonna work.

EndersShadow

jflail2 wrote: »

Stick to it man!

I just need to buy a house so I have a lawn to mow once a week to help with the cardio

scottyboy76

I wish you good luck.

I have fought a weight problem all my life, very successfully in my teen years to late 40s, when many many surgerys denied me the ability to garden, landscape and do carpentry work.

That, combined with no change in diet when my activity level decreased was a recipe for disaster, as well as type 2 diabetes, which affects me now.

I will share with you a couple things that always helped me.

One day a week for processed sugar, and i mean 7 days of spacing, not cake on sunday, then tuesday having that weeks sweets with the intent to not eat any the rest of that week.

Dont bring home sweets, Dont bring home sweets, Dont bring home sweets.

On your weekly sweets day, make it count, go get a big old slice of expensive restaurant made cake or an ice cream from dairy queen, or a big plate of pancakes with chocolate chips, make it count, dont just grab a bag of crap at the 7-11, Treat yourself.

If you dont feel like sweets on your allowed day, dont think about it, get your mind off of it.

Look at starches such as pasta and potatos as a very close relative to sweets, because it truly is, It should highlight your plate not be the main color in the painting.

Eat like a pauper not the king, lots of colored veggies, watch the starches, fill up on things you know are good for you when you sit down to the table, it will be easier to pass up the things you know you should not eat.

When you get down where you want to be weight wise, pay attention to your belt and your pants, if they start to get tight, change right away, lose that 5 pounds before you are looking at 25 pounds to lose.

Dont get down on yourself, if you miss a day of exercise, or have a bad day with your eating dont let it snowball.

All just simple things, but it really did help me for a long long time.

scottyboy76

EndersShadow wrote: »

I just need to buy a house so I have a lawn to mow once a week to help with the cardio

Dont joke, my late found love of gardening not only kept me strong and fit long after my days of working out were over, weight lifting and such, but also a degree in environmental horticulture,as well as a successful little business and all that comes with that.

jflail2

scottyboy76 wrote: »

Dont joke, my late found love of gardening not only kept me strong and fit long after my days of working out were over, weight lifting and such, but also a degree in environmental horticulture,as well as a successful little business and all that comes with that.

And you're welcome to come cut my grass anytime you're in VA

Toxis

Weight loss and the how-tos are more psychological than physical. What works for you won't work for everyone. You say he's already set up for failure because he keeps the last of his candy around? I say BS. Just because you have to quit cold turkey doesn't mean everyone has to as well. Maybe he wants to use it as a treat on a weekend after a great week of eating and exercise so he deserves a small and portion controlled prize? What if he needs to look at it to test and strengthen his willpower? All I'm saying is, if you go cold turkey, it might not work and some people have to make their lifestyle change a gradual amount at a time. Slow and steady wins the race some say. The only thing that's a definite is you need goals, determination and support. The support will be hard at first, especially if that person isn't wanting to change with you. That's the problem for my step mom. My father wants to be supportive in theory but he brings home a chocolate cake because he wanted one and he knows she can't stop herself from eating it. So he eats one piece and is happy so she eventually cracks and has to throw it away or she will eat it in the middle of the night. How and what works for one will not work for all unless you speak in generalities. "Eat clean, move your **** more."

dscheer

Oh! how I too have turned into a Couch Potato. I love sitting in my zero gravity chair listening to my favorite tunes, Like a potato I now have so many eyes that I can even see what's behind me.
I thought I was eating the right stuff, However, got some lab results last week and all the bad stuff is high all the good stuff is low.
I wrote down my weekly intake and Surprize! No wonder I'm so out of shape. I vow to eat more fresh veggies, But giving up the Jack Daniels,..Well!...well...I will cut back a bit on that too. Agree that a good brisk morning walk will do me good (Maybe with JD in my coffee).....Just Kidding.
Regards: Don Scheer

EndersShadow

So at the end of week one I was able to keep my average calorie intake per day to around 1400. I did have one day I blew it by a lot but I felt HORRIBLE (mentally, my body didnt complain about that much food ) after eating that much food so thats a good sign. I also made up that overage throughout the rest of the week in little pieces. I plan on having one day a week I can go over a bit if needed, but overall I plan to try my best to stick to 1400 calories a day.

By using the MyFitnessPal app I am learning a lot about what foods I can eat lots more of than I am (like marinated lean chicken) and others that I need to really watch (mac and cheese, lots of peanut butter, etc). Its been a very big learning experience.

Hotchpt21 added the MyFitnessPal to his phone and has been tracking things so shout out to him! Both he and Toxis are my "friends" on MyFitnessPal and I hope to lean on them when I really want to quit as its always good to have a support group (this forum is my audio support group :biggrin:) Thanks to both of you guys and hopefully we can all keep losing weight and making healthier choices

The gummy bears (candy) I kept talking about are fat free, but I haven't eaten any of them. In addition my wife and I walked every night we could for at least an hour and up to two hours. She wanted to contribute to my goals so for fathers day I got this (after going to 3 different Wal-Marts to find one):



My wife also got this bike as well so we can ride together.

Attachment not found.

Tomorrow we put Skye into the carrier and hopefully she fits nicely. We need to get her a helmet as well as ourselves. I am hoping that once I get comfortable with the kido in the carrier that I can put in about 30 mins when I get home with her each day (before I need to start prepping the grill for dinner) and then also maybe another hour or so after dinner with my wife.

I will weigh in tomorrow morning and report the results. I am going to start weighing in on Fridays but this time I wanted to wait till it had been about a week since I started tracking things.

mantis

I listen to the Beyond Diet Podcast. It's ran by a normal guy Dan and a Nutritionist in Keith Kline. They talk about real world topics and issues with being fit and healthy.
They start out with making a list of all the things you do wrong for yourself and talk about taking on one at a time. Small changes over time yields great results. This is the motto of the entire show. Whats really cool is they have people write in and talk about their issues and what has worked and what has failed. They explore these issues and questions deeply and really give you a good idea on how to overcome them.
Basically I would start with how you eat. Start learning what the best way for you to eat is and start working on getting that right first. It's the very hardest thing to do when all your life like me have been eating the wrong way. Even when I thought I was doing good , I wasn't as I would consume to many calories and fat. I had no balance.
I now have got my eating in somewhat control and have been changing my workouts to benefit my weight lose. Trust me this is not an easy thing to do at all. But I feel over time making permeant changes will allow me to live a better life.
Another thing you want to think about is not dieting. Dieting doesn't work at all. yeah you might lose some weight but just about everyone who diets , gain all or even more weight back. Yo Yo dieting is even worse for your body then just being overweight.
So if you want , check out the podcast "Beyond Diet", It's really helped me rethink my life.

EndersShadow

mantis wrote: »

I listen to the Beyond Diet Podcast. It's ran by a normal guy Dan and a Nutritionist in Keith Kline. They talk about real world topics and issues with being fit and healthy.
They start out with making a list of all the things you do wrong for yourself and talk about taking on one at a time. Small changes over time yields great results. This is the motto of the entire show. Whats really cool is they have people write in and talk about their issues and what has worked and what has failed. They explore these issues and questions deeply and really give you a good idea on how to overcome them.
Basically I would start with how you eat. Start learning what the best way for you to eat is and start working on getting that right first. It's the very hardest thing to do when all your life like me have been eating the wrong way. Even when I thought I was doing good , I wasn't as I would consume to many calories and fat. I had no balance.
I now have got my eating in somewhat control and have been changing my workouts to benefit my weight lose. Trust me this is not an easy thing to do at all. But I feel over time making permeant changes will allow me to live a better life.
Another thing you want to think about is not dieting. Dieting doesn't work at all. yeah you might lose some weight but just about everyone who diets , gain all or even more weight back. Yo Yo dieting is even worse for your body then just being overweight.
So if you want , check out the podcast "Beyond Diet", It's really helped me rethink my life.

I will check it out for sure Dan. Thanks!

While this is a "diet" I am hoping that by realizing what most things I eat actually are calorie wise that once I finally get down to what I want to weigh and its more about maintaining that I will be able to make healthier choices. I also hope to continue to keep exercise in my routine with my wife as its going to take a long time to lose the weight I want to so we will be in a routine of sorts when it finally happens.

So weighed in today and I am down 4.8 lbs however I ball-parked my original weight so that number is probably less than that. However its a good start and Friday I will get a better idea of how I am doing.

hochpt21

Hotchpt21 added the MyFitnessPal to his phone and has been tracking things so shout out to him! Both he and Toxis are my "friends" on MyFitnessPal and I hope to lean on them when I really want to quit

Thanks, Dan. It's been only three days, but I have gone all in so far. The big thing will be if I can keep it up.

I am a goal/point driven person, so the myfitnesspal site has been amazing for me. I will get towards the end of the day and see my calorie counts and then hop on the elliptical for awhile just to "bank" some points.

So far it has been very effective and I hope to continue.

EndersShadow

hochpt21 wrote: »

I am a goal/point driven person, so the myfitnesspal site has been amazing for me. I will get towards the end of the day and see my calorie counts and then hop on the elliptical for awhile just to "bank" some points.

Yup, I am the same, the app takes lots of the work and annoying part out of things (inputting the calories, fat, sugar, etc) which was one of the things stopping me from wanting to do this. I view our walks as banking points, and also a way to hopefully ensure I am under for the day calorie wise. Since we go after dinner I can see where I am at calorie wise and we just go on a hour long walk and normally that gets me close if not under my daily goal.

If I end up too far below then I know I can add a snack like red seedless grapes which are healthy and also pretty filling.

With the bikes I hope to burn more more calories in that hour to hour and half and keep netting extra calories a day.

ZLTFUL

One thing I will point out about cycling for excercise that most of the "noobs" tend to do, if you're not pedalin', you're not burnin'.
Can't count the number of people I know who gave up on this great form of excercise because they choose to ride the trails where they could coast the most and then complained about never losing any weight.

custopper30

Being a sports medicine major at a prestigious college, I can tell you that some of the biggest lies that people say about weight. Some of them you may already know and others you may not. I will just list a couple for you.
1. FATS dont make you FAT... don't buy "fat free" or "non fat" items. Those are actually proven to be unhealthier then the food with the fats in them. Your body needs the fat for producing energy. I won't get into all the ways it does that but just believe me.

2. Sugars are the main source that make humans FAT.... Simple sugars are by far the worst of them all. This is where your drinking of Diet MD is considered horrible. On average, a healthy male should consume no more than 45 grams of sugar. Which is pretty hard to do because a 20 oz bottle of mugs root beer has somewhere around 59 grams of sugar in it. Women should not consume more than 32 grams of sugar... Yes gender plays a role in this too.

3. Diet pop is not better then regular pop. Even though you can read the label and all, companies actually put in more harmful chemicals in diet pop that harms your body more then if you had regular pop. Try to start drinking 1 glass of water eat day in substitute of pop. You will see the difference of your body change greatly.

Those are just a few pointers. Hope those help out!

EndersShadow

Thanks for the pointers, I do appreciate them. I do however have one question for you from the quote below:

custopper30 wrote: »

2. Sugars are the main source that make humans FAT.... Simple sugars are by far the worst of them all. This is where your drinking of Diet MD is considered horrible. On average, a healthy male should consume no more than 45 grams of sugar. Which is pretty hard to do because a 20 oz bottle of mugs root beer has somewhere around 59 grams of sugar in it. Women should not consume more than 32 grams of sugar... Yes gender plays a role in this too.

Unless I read the label wrong Diet MD has no Sugar listed on its Nutrition facts, and no Calories as well. IIRC the main reason people suggest people dont drink diet is due to the aspartame in it which your body doesn't know how to digest as well (since its chemical composition isnt a natural one found in nature and is man made) as the sugar contained in regular soda.

custopper30 wrote: »

3. Diet pop is not better then regular pop. Even though you can read the label and all, companies actually put in more harmful chemicals in diet pop that harms your body more then if you had regular pop. Try to start drinking 1 glass of water eat day in substitute of pop. You will see the difference of your body change greatly.

Dont disagree there is all kinds of stuff in soda both diet and regular thats bad for you, but either one are a trade off. Aspartame and bad chemicals but no calories, or Calories & Sugar (too much regular MD causes me to get sick as well).

I have been trying to cut down on Diet MD and have at certain points in my life cut it out entirely, but for me its mostly a taste thing. I haven't found a substitute that I can drink that tastes as good. I have tried flavored water (didn't like the taste), the Crystal Light in individual packets, mix for large containers of water, and also the little squirt containers all of which had too much citric acid and caused me significant issues, Gatorade which has too much sugar and makes me sick, and a bunch of others.

Quiting Diet MD would be one of the last small changes I would make honestly despite knowing I should. I am going to simply limit my intake of it as that's the best compromise for me here.

dromunds

Some real good suggestions here. I haven't been to a fast food place in years. I avoid them like the plague. It's not just calories. Salt, sugar, fat. McDeathalds. Same with convenience stores, get gas there, don't eat breakfast there. So many people are in too big of a hurry, can't get up early enough to eat a decent breakfast. It's important to eat a healthy breakfast, that's what starts your day off. And these guys are right, what counts is perseverance, don't beat yourself up just keep at it. Habits will eventually fall away if you maintain intent. I also believe its very important to move away from soda. Newbie 308 is right, I too switched to ice tea, if you don't like to drink water. But don't add sugar to the ice tea. If you don't want to make tea, Lipton makes a really good bottled tea you can find in any grocery store, Starbucks has a really good shaken iced tea. Take a look at how much sugar is in a typical can of soda, its like a cup of sugar or something in each can, I mean its unbelievable. I know you drink diet soda, but its still really bad for you. And the value of exercise can't be understated. Like they said, swimming and biking, its summertime, take full advantage of it. Involvement in sports. And the abundance of fresh berries and all kinds of fruits and vegetables in the summer. You can do it. Keep at it. Try to make it a way of life.

EDUBAG

ok endershadow,

here is what I have learned (still learning) last October I was 265lbs (my highest point 293lbs), I am 6'1" and would consider myself a large frame type of body. according to the doctors my ideal weight to keep my body mass index (bmi) in normal levels is 215-220 lbs. prediabetic and taking blood pressure pills, my wife (we have 3 daughters) as an anniversary gift gave me a 1 month membership with a personal trainer (12 sessions, 3 a week). well that was an eye opener for me because for the first time in my life I was learning to deprogram myself and to eat again what would be considered better food for you.

currently I am 235 lbs and working on reducing my body fat index (bfi) instead of my body mass index, my bfi was 30% when I began training, that is considered obese. currently I am 23% bfi which is considered within the normal range (top is 26%). here is what I have learned so far, if you can apply it (it has worked for me).

1.- focus on body fat and not on weight. to reduce body fat you must change your eating habits to from hi carbs low protein diet to a low carb high protein diet. on the first month of my training this was a normal day for me:

breakfast - 5 eggs scrambled with vegetables (bell peppers onions and mushroom)

lunch - 16 oz of lean protein (chicken breast, or flap meat, or beef tenderloin), salad (lettuce tomatoes cucumber) no dressing but seasoned with olive oil (one serving) and vinager (usually balsamic) or instead of olive oil no dressing and added a serving of nuts (usually almonds).

snack - double protein shake (total of 50 grams of protein) with peanut or almond butter (1 serving). this is key to your diet since you can take a protein when you get home from the office 4:30pm - 5:00 pm and this will hold you up until your wife gets home.

dinner - 16 oz of protein (just like lunch) vegetables, 50 grams of complex carb (which are the natural kind) and can be 1 cup of white rice, or a medium size sweet potato, regular potato (no butter or sour cream).

as you can see dinner is the meal on the day which you can take carbs (limited amounts) and the thinking behind this is that is the most rewarding meal of the day and the one people tend to overeat anyways, this way you control your prize meal.

I did this for the first month along with 3 30 minute walks and in my case 3 weight sessions (trust me, not a lot of weight either) and lost 13pds on the first month. a neat perk about this is that in my program I had the right to a cheat meal a week, I usually did it on sunday nights (there is a mental clock that we use and reset on Mondays again). and usually chose what I wanted like a pizza (the whole thing) or risotto, or pasta or nachos or whatever along with dessert and the whole deal. this is very good for your mental health as well since it helps you reprogram youself to wait for sunday to enjoy whatever empty calories you want, and this helps keep the bad food control to one meal a day, no matter how it is.

about diet drinks, do not focus on calories only since they are empty calories but carbonated drinks in general make people retain water and also dehydrate (that is right) try to keep it under control to one can maybe two a day for the first month but honestly try to work on phasing it out of your system and do like maybe three a week with time, your body will thank you. up the water to 12 glasses a day (regular glasses no big gulp or what not) or 3 liters a day.

if you can do this you should be able to notice the changes within days, first of all you will pee a whole lot more :cheesygrin:, flour and sugar usually make you retain water and since you are cutting it out of your system the water will be running out taking fat with it, so it is very important to take the three liters of water, you will sleep better and you will have more energy during the day. remember and research but professionals say that 70% of your way to a healthy body and living is diet and 30% exercise. I truly believe that.

if you go on tweeter or instagram try to find fitmencook to find very good recipes based on low gluten carb diets and high protein. my trainers have an online program called bodyignition and they are also on instagram. bodyignition.com they helped me a lot, hopefully they can inspire you to get healthier and fitter.

sorry for this looooooong input but I have done so many diets and it has always been about up and downs in my case. I just wanted to share that calories is not the holy grail, or not the only one. a lot of people when they take calories away they lose more muscle than fat and that means less energy and it is a lot easier to gain back the weight.

if you need more help with information, I am no fitness expert by any means but will help you as much as I can with the info that I have and direct you where to get it. pm if need more info and good luck.

Eduardo
(Dominican republic)

EndersShadow

^Thanks for the tips, will see if I can incorporate them.

I agree calorie counting isnt the holy grail, and same with sticking to just numbers only. Right now I know that I have a high amount of fat from just overeating. I am going to start with calorie counting for a bit and see how things work, but the myfitnessapp also shows your weekly protein, carb and fat intake and I am working on increasing the protein and lowering the fat and carbs as well which is basically what you suggest so that should hopefully work.

I also am going to start measuring my waist, neck, and hips as myfitnesspal allows you to enter those items in. My goal is to get back to my old waist line and build and then hopefully just stay that lean regardless of the number it is on the scale. With that said in order to quantify your goal you need some sort of metric and I am using calories and overall weight loss to start.

custopper30

Hey endersShadow, so here is what I meant. Diet due isn't better then regular because of those chemicals. BUT this is another side saying that regular isn't good cause of the sugar. This is the double edge sword that comes with being more fit.

My suggestion, find another drink you like. I know you are having a problem with find what to have though. Try a drink called ICE. It tastes similar to Mt. Dew if you get the lemon lime flavor and it is healthier!!! And only like $1 too ahha

Let me know what you think!

EndersShadow

custopper30 wrote: »

Hey endersShadow, so here is what I meant. Diet due isn't better then regular because of those chemicals. BUT this is another side saying that regular isn't good cause of the sugar. This is the double edge sword that comes with being more fit.

My suggestion, find another drink you like. I know you are having a problem with find what to have though. Try a drink called ICE. It tastes similar to Mt. Dew if you get the lemon lime flavor and it is healthier!!! And only like $1 too ahha

Let me know what you think!

Will look for it. Got a pic of what it looks like (google doesnt really help here lol)

custopper30

here you go!

mantis

I basically just drink water with a few exceptions.
I have one 12 oz coffee in the morning which I like but could do without if I had to. I put 2 packs of sugar in it along with a splash of half n half. I like a beer on the weekends , I try not to drink anything during the week as a rule. I can make a 6 pack last 2 to 3 weeks. All other times I just drink water. I like it , its nice to have , I don't miss soda or any other kind of drink. Honestly once your off the soda , you don't miss it. I make to many other mistakes with my diet , I don't need drinking to be a part of it.
I gained about 25 lbs due to drinking Beer. I can't cut it out of my life as I love it , but I can limit it to the point where it doesn't effect my waist.