My Journal

[TheKansan]

It wasn't that long ago (december 2006) and I literally was eating myself to death. Why did I decide to change? I had set my mind on many different goals throughout my life, from owning a nice car, to graduating college and I had succeeded, yet I still found myself unhappy. I needed more. I looked in the mirror and realized that all the problems in my life were linked to a single underlying problem. My out of control eating habits. I decided that 2007 would be the year when everything changed.

To tell the honest truth I had no clue when I started just how hard this would be. I looked back at several failed weight loss attempts in the past and decided that I needed to lay out some ground rules, or else I would face failure again. First of all I would create a journal of everything I ate and count the calories of everything. This way I would be sure I wasn't overeating. Second cardio exercise and resistance training would become part of my every day life. There would not be one day where I didn't exercise. Finally, I would not starve myself and I would eat healthier foods.

I started January 1st. The last time I weighed myself before that I weighed 475 pounds. I decided that I would not weigh myself for quite some time after that so as I would not be discouraged by some number on a scale. The only thing that was really important was how I felt, how my clothes fit, and that I did not give up.

Anyway fast forward to now and I finally did give in and start weighing myself. I joined this website so I could learn to build and maintain muscle. I have lost over 115 pounds, but I am ready to lose a lot more. At the same time I want to improve my lifting and become a better person overall. This journal will be similar to the written journal I keep at home in that it will list my daily food and supplement intake and my progress and thoughts on the whole thing so far.

[yioti]

good luck with everything dude i hope you see a lot of change
also....
at 6 foot 358 lbs you better be eating more then 3000 calories like youve stated in a previous thread big guy.

good luck....im subscribed

[zaxx19]

You must join my log...I started almost that weight.

REMEMBER- Slow and steady wins this race dont look for 10 lbs a week.

[ScottC]

Keep up the good work, Kansan!


What happened to the other thread? I thought it was your journal...???

[TheKansan]

This is my typical meal plan. I am trying to eat 2500 calories a day and 250g of protein. I am not on any keto diet so I don't think about macros.


Protein shake-440 calories
*banana
*4 strawberries
*1 cup milk
*2 scopps whey protein
*5 ice cubes

PB sandwich-300 calories
(2 slices whole grain bread and all natural PB)
orange-70 calories

2 turkey burgers-320 calories
2 whole wheat buns-220 calories
2 Tbs. Salsa-20 calories

3 skinless chicken legs-390 calories
mashed potatoes-180 calories
sauteed vegetables-110 calories

Protein shake-440 calories

total calories=2490
total protein=250g
total dietary fiber=25g
servings of fruit/vegetables-6


I don't eat the same thing every day ever. This is just what I ate, and am going to eat today. Just as an example.

Also the supplements I take are:

Whey protein powder
generic multivitamin
generic fish oil
creatine powder-workout days
creatine monohydrate capsules-non workout days

I am not going to list my entire exercise routine here, I have another thread dedicated to that
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=2417761

I will say that I do cardio seven days a week and that I do full body weightlifting workouts 3 days a week.

[yioti]

^^^^That is way to low man you are a big man. like myself im 100 pounds lighter than you and im eating almost 1000 calories more and still losing weight up your cals

[TheKansan]

I disagree yioti. You see I am not trying to lose 1-2 pounds a week here. I am trying to lose as fast as possible until I get down to 300 pounds. At that point I will slow down. Remember where I started, if I had to do this the slow way, it would mean 4-5 years of this, and to tell you the truth, that is not acceptable in my mind. Thanks anyway for the concern.

[SkinnyDip]

Good luck, you can do it.

[yioti]

why is iy not acceptable? doing it right and youll end up much more satisfied. i was 328 and 3 years later im 240 and i have much more muscle and look much better then some other people who lost almost 90 lbs in 8 months

[TheKansan]

why is iy not acceptable? doing it right and youll end up much more satisfied. i was 328 and 3 years later im 240 and i have much more muscle and look much better then some other people who lost almost 90 lbs in 8 months

Its not acceptable because i spent 20+ years of my life obese, and i want out of this situation ASAP. I'm not starving myself. Even now, i weigh a lot more than you ever did, so my situation is very different from yours. Like I said, i will slow down when i hit 300 pounds, but do you think that maintaining muscle is as important to me as living a normal life? Its not. If that means I lose some muscle mass while going from 475 pounds to 300 pounds, then so be it.

[yioti]

when you lose muscle mass once you get down to 300 pounds then getting any lower from there will be much more difficult. remember muscle burns calories which in turn reduces the amount of fat in your adipose tissue. your pretty much killing whats helping your cause. Save the whole I have been obese for years bit because A) i have been obese my whole life and B) i know that with the rapid weight loss i will never have the ability to have a six pack ever because of excess skin due to my skins inability to contract in the small time frame I have given it too. Dude i'm not arguing this for my own sake im just arguing this because i know the mistakes i have made along the way. Just because your going to be dropping weight rapidly does not make your "condition" off bieng overweight healthier. doing whats right for your body makes you healthy, going on a caloric deficit that is more then 500 calories per week is "unhealthy" to your body and will probobly get you on a diet thats pretty difficult to follow. this is the last i'm gonna post as i can see no one else is backing me up. Please don't let this ruin your new journal or anything cause I am truly trying to help but the facts are facts by eating 2500 calories as youve previously stated, these are possibilities that can negatively effect your fat loss
1) you lose muscle which speeds metabolism
2) you put your body in starvation mode
3) youll end up lookin like a popped baloon at the end

good luck

[TheKansan]

when you lose muscle mass once you get down to 300 pounds then getting any lower from there will be much more difficult. remember muscle burns calories which in turn reduces the amount of fat in your adipose tissue. your pretty much killing whats helping your cause. Save the whole I have been obese for years bit because A) i have been obese my whole life and B) i know that with the rapid weight loss i will never have the ability to have a six pack ever because of excess skin due to my skins inability to contract in the small time frame I have given it too. Dude i'm not arguing this for my own sake im just arguing this because i know the mistakes i have made along the way. Just because your going to be dropping weight rapidly does not make your "condition" off bieng overweight healthier. doing whats right for your body makes you healthy, going on a caloric deficit that is more then 500 calories per week is "unhealthy" to your body and will probobly get you on a diet thats pretty difficult to follow. this is the last i'm gonna post as i can see no one else is backing me up. Please don't let this ruin your new journal or anything cause I am truly trying to help but the facts are facts by eating 2500 calories as youve previously stated, these are possibilities that can negatively effect your fat loss
1) you lose muscle which speeds metabolism
2) you put your body in starvation mode
3) youll end up lookin like a popped baloon at the end

good luck

First of all you are assuming too much. You assume that your way is correct, and aren't willing to admit that for a person who is 250 pounds overweight and super morbidly obese, that it is possible to do things differently.

Will I lose muscle? Perhaps, but since I am only losing weight at a rapid speed until i hit 300 pounds, the muscle loss will be minimal because the body has so much fat to lose. Also helping me maintain muscle is the fact that I lift regularly, which you simply choose to ignore.

Will my body go into starvation mode? Personally I don't care, the effects to my metabolism will be short term, besides I refuse to believe that eating 2500 calories a day is unhealthy because after all I have the lean muscle mass of someone less than half my size.

Will i look like a popped balloon? Yes, no matter how slow or fast I lose the weight, I weighed 250+ pounds more than normal, there is almost no way to avoid loose skin when you are that heavy. You wouldn't know this because you have never been that heavy.

I don't feel like arguing, I am not going to change my routine.

[yioti]

First of all you are assuming too much. You assume that your way is correct, and aren't willing to admit that for a person who is 250 pounds overweight and super morbidly obese, that it is possible to do things differently.

Will I lose muscle? Perhaps, but since I am only losing weight at a rapid speed until i hit 300 pounds, the muscle loss will be minimal because the body has so much fat to lose. Also helping me maintain muscle is the fact that I lift regularly, which you simply choose to ignore.

Will my body go into starvation mode? Personally I don't care, the effects to my metabolism will be short term, besides I refuse to believe that eating 2500 calories a day is unhealthy because after all I have the lean muscle mass of someone less than half my size.

Will i look like a popped balloon? Yes, no matter how slow or fast I lose the weight, I weighed 250+ pounds more than normal, there is almost no way to avoid loose skin when you are that heavy. You wouldn't know this because you have never been that heavy.

I don't feel like arguing, I am not going to change my routine.

First of all you are assuming too much. You assume that your way is correct,

yes my way is correct as i HAVE lost 90 pounds

the muscle loss will be minimal because the body has so much fat to lose. Also helping me maintain muscle is the fact that I lift regularly, which you simply choose to ignore.

BS the body takes from fat AND muscle equally, whether your 10 pounds overweight or 300 pounds overweight doesn really matter IMO. your body is used to having the fat on you and believe it or not it doesnt want to give it up. what you fail to realize is that since you have been heavy most of your life you also have a lot of muscle to carry all the excess weight around.
also your other statement that your muscle will "suposedly" be less likely to deteriorate because your lifting is a complete oxymoran because lifting puts you in a catabolic state in itself. so without the proper fueling to your muscle with a sufficient amount of calories you WILL LOSE MUSCLE AND MOSTLY ALL MUSCLE. Not FAT READ THE GOD DAMN STICKYS ON LYPOLYSIS YOU WILL SEE THAT I AM RIGHT AND THAT YOU WILL NOT LOSE MUCH FAT AT ALL.

dude honestly i was 330 lbs and now im 240, 330 lbs not bieng that heavy? let me show you pictures hold on ill pull up my old progress pics thread. I'm telling you that you will have negative effects. you seem determined, now educate yourself and do things right. Think of it logically here bud, You have spent your whole entire life putting 450 lbs on. which is the safer route to go? buy losing it ASAP because you feel that your unhealthy or doing it the right way so your body can ADAPT to wtf is going on with itself. let me pull up my thread. it just seems like your going the fast way out but you will feel like ass all the time and be hungry ALL THE TIME>.

[yioti]

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=1975151

there ya go took me almost 3 years and as you can see I was OBESE.

[TheKansan]

^Like I said, I'm not arguing any more.


Today is a cardio only day, I am letting my muscles rest for the weekends. The fact that it is raining and crappy weather really didn't make me want to get up and go for a 1+ hour walk, but I did anyway.

[-Aaron-]

All I can say is, I'm rooting for ya Kansan!

[TheKansan]

All I can say is, I'm rooting for ya Kansan!

Thanks a lot Aaron.

[-Aaron-]

Thanks a lot Aaron.

No problem!

I didn't start out quite as big as you, no offense intended, but I do have the determination you have. I admire people, like yourself who strive to make themselves better.

People like you, ScottC, Boyscout, occasionally Kaaud make this forum great!

[T.Soprano]

This is why I joined - best of luck TK.

I was like you...I just finally got fed up and decided it was time to kick the ass of the fat.

Keep it up. I read this place each day and use everyone else's progress, as well as my own, for motivation.

[TheKansan]

This is why I joined - best of luck TK.

I was like you...I just finally got fed up and decided it was time to kick the ass of the fat.

Keep it up. I read this place each day and use everyone else's progress, as well as my own, for motivation.

Thanks a lot my friend. I have to do whatever it takes to succeed. Good luck to you on your journey as well.

[T.Soprano]

Thanks a lot my friend. I have to do whatever it takes to succeed. Good luck to you on your journey as well.

You got that right, man. Gotta do whatever it takes. The best thing about this, other than the weight loss thusfar, has been the overall change in my attitude. I am totally committed now. I started my "journey" on 03 March and since then I have been keeping focused on being skinny. I love going to the gym and actually enjoy making sure I eat clean now.

This place has been a total help for me.

[TheKansan]

Today i am back to lifting weights. I totally understand why it is necessary to take rests from lifting, however on days I don't lift I feel like I am not doing enough to change my life for the better. Especially on the weekend where I take two days off in a row. I still do cardio those days, but its not the same.

Here in Kansas City the weather has been crappy for three days straight, and since i do all of my cardio outside, I was less than thrilled to go trampling through the rain on a power walk today. I came home with wet shoes, socks, and pants, even though I was wearing a rain coat.

[Rc81]

Go to the mall and walk, make friend with an old person. Yeah it has been crappy here. Saturday was nice though.

Just to chime my worthless 2 cents in. There are alot of people on here who give some good advice. Listen to them, you will learn alot.

[zaxx19]

While I dont think it should take 4 years to lose your weight, I also think losing weight" as fast as I can" is perhaps the dumbest approach to longterm weightloss....

I cant celebrate you losing weight the wrong way but I will celebrate what is more important which is your passion to improve yourself physically and healthwise.


Patience is a virtue guys....IT SHOULD TAKE A YEAR OR MORE TO LOSE 100LBS OF FAT...if it doesnt take close to that long you are doing something VERY wrong.

OTOH, no need for it to take 3 years to lose 80 lbs and gain some muscle....I mean its ok if it does but no way it NECESSARILY needs to take that long.

Im a third of the way from going from 360-240....and have increased muscular strength, flexibility, endurance substantially already with a 2450 Kcal diet and ~200 grams of protein a day....I dont think large people necessarily need 3000-4000 kcal a day alot depends on how active they are all day over and above working out...

I, for example, lead a VERY sedentary lifestyle outside of working out...I run a business on the computer mostly from home....I use my car to go everywhere because I live in the burbs...im not at the moment much of an outdoorsy type...I dont have a kid to run around after..

So 2400-500 kcal might work for me but be underfeeding to someone on the go more throughout a typical day./

[zaxx19]

Today i am back to lifting weights. I totally understand why it is necessary to take rests from lifting, however on days I don't lift I feel like I am not doing enough to change my life for the better. Especially on the weekend where I take two days off in a row. I still do cardio those days, but its not the same.

Here in Kansas City the weather has been crappy for three days straight, and since i do all of my cardio outside, I was less than thrilled to go trampling through the rain on a power walk today. I came home with wet shoes, socks, and pants, even though I was wearing a rain coat.

Rest-
Exercise-
Diet-

All three play coequal and integral parts to getting healthy...

A day of rest is JUST AS IMPORTANT as a day working out...infact probably more important.

I take extra days off all the time like once a month when I dont feel fully recovered or rested or if I feel sick....its actually a positive effect on my progress.

[ScottC]

Here in Kansas City the weather has been crappy for three days straight, and since i do all of my cardio outside, I was less than thrilled to go trampling through the rain on a power walk today. I came home with wet shoes, socks, and pants, even though I was wearing a rain coat.

Hey Kansan...keep up the good work, even in the rain. That is determination!

PM me your address, and I'll send you one of these for when the weather doesn't want to cooperate.

[yioti]

OTOH, no need for it to take 3 years to lose 80 lbs and gain some muscle....I mean its ok if it does but no way it NECESSARILY needs to take that long.

ouch man that hurts lol

i do agree with you tho

[TheKansan]

Hey Kansan...keep up the good work, even in the rain. That is determination!

PM me your address, and I'll send you one of these for when the weather doesn't want to cooperate.

Uh.......

Rest-
Exercise-
Diet-

All three play coequal and integral parts to getting healthy...

A day of rest is JUST AS IMPORTANT as a day working out...infact probably more important.

I take extra days off all the time like once a month when I dont feel fully recovered or rested or if I feel sick....its actually a positive effect on my progress.

I've just been in this full mad rush mood lately, like if I am standing still, I am not satisfied. Today is my cardio day. I was thinking about adding ab exercises on cardio day since I am not doing anything else anyway. Probably just weighted crunches.

[martina92685]

Hey - good for you, you're on your way I'll be checking back, so make me proud!

[ScottC]

I've just been in this full mad rush mood lately, like if I am standing still, I am not satisfied. Today is my cardio day. I was thinking about adding ab exercises on cardio day since I am not doing anything else anyway. Probably just weighted crunches.

Part of your "mad rush mood" could be psychological. You may subconsciously be craving food and keeping busy is a much better alternative than eating off plan.

IMO, at your size, doing regular crunches will have enough weight. No need to add weights.