Underwear model

[therealmark]

****Warning: Chubby man in undies photo below***
(mods please let me know if this is inappropriate)

So unh yeah.

Someone took a pic of me the other day and I'm fat.

I tend to be focussed on the minutae of day to day life as a rule so sometimes I miss these things. But yeah, the love handles and the belly have ballooned in just over a year of doing a desk job.

I pulled the scale out and hopped on for the first time in probably six months.

174 lbs. Admittedly my ol' scale has always read a little high, but that's about as fat as I've ever been. I'm short, by the way (5'4") and pretty stocky genetically but I should be at least 25 lbs lighter. A few years back I was 147 lbs, wearing a comfortable size 30 and had the top two cubes of a six pack.

The short term plan is 13 months. Sept '08 I'll be going to my highschool reunion and I want to be in better shape than I was back then. Two pounds per month is the goal, 26 lbs total, with a generous gain in muscle mass hopefully. If all goes well, I'll have those top two cubes back by then.

The long term is to find the other four. I've never been light enough to see 'em, so I intend to get there, which I'd guess would be another ten pounds or so. I'd like to look like an underwear model.

Having lost nearly the amount of my short term goal once before (170 to 155 in about a year) I'm going to use some of things that worked for me then, such as squats and other "full body" weight training that uses large muscle groups and a ton of walking and cycling.

I'll supplement that with some of the things I've found lurking around the bb.com forums. A six time per day meal plan, some loose calorie counting, yerba mate and fish oil and a stricter diet, start into some HIIT when my base cardio fitness level is back to a spot I feel comfortable pushing myself without injury. As I read and learn more I'll post a more specific plan.

I'll end this with a compilation shot of me in underwear. It's surprisingly hard to do, because I'm ashamed of how I've let myself go lately. I'll be adding another gonch shot every month. In about two years I'm hoping I'll be proud to post rather than ashamed.




Ugh.

Wish me luck folks!

Mark

[quest-x]

You sound as if you have a good grasp on the basics of fat loss.

Looking forward to your progress!

[Hotmoltenlava]

Good luck! Long term plans have the best chance of success.

(maybe you should try boxers next time.....too much information....)

Have a good one.

[cawiau]

You seemed to have everything down.
I wish you the best of luck and keep going.
Don't give up!

(maybe you should try boxers next time.....too much information....)
.

I agree

[therealmark]

(maybe you should try boxers next time.....too much information....)

Photo edited for a "G" rating- sorry 'bout that folks.

M.

[cawiau]

Photo edited for a "G" rating- sorry 'bout that folks.

M.

It's all cool

[therealmark]

Li'l update.

Fat calipers and measuring tape ordered from BB.com.

Got a Polar HRM offa Craigslist for cheap. My cardio sucks bad currently, just puttering around the house before walking will put me above 50%. Dangerous! I'll be working cardio more than weight training initially just to build base fitness. I tend towards high blood pressure anyways so it's probably a good idea before I start aggressively hitting the weights or my heart will explode doing squats.

Starting to change the diet, eating way less carbs, almost no sugar, more protein, more veggies. Omega 3-6-9 supps 3x daily. Damn it was hard to lower intake amounts the first two days. I tended to eat two BIG meals per day before, so I constantly felt empty at first, but it's better now.

Today I walked to work, 4.5 km one way- gonna try and walk to and from about 3 times a week. I used the HRM so I stayed in the fat burning zone. Oddly enough, if I calculate the time it takes to get the car out of the garage, drive though bumper to bumper traffic and find a parking spot it takes about 25 minutes more to commute on foot. Stupid traffic.

Still haven't been to the gym. I have a membership at a gym I'm too distant from (I moved 60 blocks away in Feb) that I'm trying to cancel before joining the one by my new place. They're being recalcitrant about it though . I'm doing pushups, situps, planks, chinups etc though.

I checked the scale this weekend, I'm at 171. The first month or two I really don't care what the scale says to be honest... I'll be adding muscle and my water weight will be changing with added exercise and improved diet, so who knows if I'll be "losing weight". Plus it seems like it takes weeks before exercise and diet seem to "kick in" initially. The tape and calipers will be a better indicator.


That's where I stand currently.

M.

[quest-x]

Nice start!

If you're going to do frequent cardio sessions, I recommend doing them post-workout, after some protein and amino acids.

What's your daily food consumption look like now? Just a general idea.

Yeah, throw that scale away! I was 220 a few days ago, and I'm 215 now... and I'm not dieting!

Great start so far... Get access to a gym soon if you can!

[therealmark]

Hey, thanks.

today thus far...
two slices of multigrain toast with organic PB and allfruit spead,

vegetarian burrito, sub cheese for guacamole,

baby carrots for snacks,

coupla coffees and a tea, all black

'bout a 3/4 gallon of water.

I currently have a burger of the bbq , no cheese, 2 thin slices of bacon and I'll eat that with a side of field greens salad with a splash of balsamic vinegar.

I'll probably snack on some more carrots tonight and I'll finish off the night with a shot of good bourbon on the rocks.

this is a pretty average day for me of late...sub a chicken or turkey breast instead of a burger, a salmon sandwich instead of a burrito at lunch. I try to keep my bread consumption to a minimum as it seems to be the lions share of my carbs. Usually I have only one peice of toast, but I was starving today.

I also usually have yogurt (sweetened fruit stuff, my treat food for when the sugar cravings are driving me mad. I'll have about three spoonfuls and put it back in the fridge) but I forgot to pick some up on the way home tonight.

I'm still kinda stuck in "three meals" mode, slowly trying to head towards five. I have made meals smaller, and snacks larger in that direction. Really I need to spend more time premaking stuff because I can't just run out whenever at work.

lemme know if you see any areas I should be increasing/decreasing.

thanks!

M.

BTW I figured my cutting calories out to be around 1700, edging up to 2000-2100 as I become more active.

[FrostFox]

Nice to see you didn't wait until the last second to lose weight. Unlike other people, such as... myself...

Subbed.

[VitaminX]

Yeah, cutting down meal sizes and carbs is one of the hardest parts of dieting; it sounds like you have control over it so far. Just stopping by to wish you luck on your dieting adventure.

[therealmark]

Update:

Calipers and tape are here so I figured I'd better update my bodyspace and my weight. I'm intending to do this at the first of the month as a rule, but figured I'd better get some quantifiables down for August.

I'm 167lbs right now, weighed at about 10pm in the evening (my usual time). Seven pounds down from my first measurement. No, I'm not starving myself either... I assume the fluctuation is due to the beginnings of my lifestyle/diet change moreso than any dramatic fatloss.

I took about 50 caliper measurements (learning) and averaged out at around 20%, maybe a percent or two higher. Does that sound close or am I way off?

My diet has been excellent for the most part... not as strict as some members, but no fries or pop or any pure sugar thing... A LOT more greens than previous and generally no more than a couple of slices of bread or a bun on any given day. I'm still pretty loose with calories/mealtimes but trying to stay reasonable and I'm really focussing on keeping simple carbs low. I cut out my nightcap for the most part too (down to about 2-3 a week), which if you saw my liquor cabinet is no small feat

Exercise... well, I'm walking to and from work about two or three times a week now, which is a 9km (about 5.5 mile) round trip. I'm hoping to bring that up to a solid three to four days.

Still no gym membership. In my feeble defense, I've been working some redonkulous hours lately (16.5 hours Friday- whee!) so just getting the walking in and stealing a few minutes to do 30 pushups has been an accomplishment. I'm feeling guilty about it though and I think I'll be taking a weekday to deal with it and about fifty other things I've been putting off.

Anyways, that's where I'm sitting right now. I feel healthier and have slightly more energy, but damn I need a vacation

M.

[therealmark]

One month in. Weighed in at 166 lbs. I figure I'm about past the initial yo-yo weight thing now, and I'll not have anymore 8 pound weightloss months. I think I look a little skinnier. I've definitely lost a bit off my waist. My tight pants are back to being only a little tight and I had to wear a belt to keep my comfortable pants up.

This weekend was my first "falling of the wagon" moment too. Socializing is the greatest enemy to weightloss. Yesterday was a complete writeoff and there was a coupla other occasions where I ate worse and drank more than I really should have for losing weight. Wasn't like I ate three bags of Doritos and a gallon of ice cream, but still, not very proud of myself

Still, this stuff happens. You just carry on and try to make more good days than bad days. If I stress too much about it, I'll get frustrated and just quit. I think that's far worse than having french toast for breakfast once a month.

Been riding my bike some and walking a ton still. I'm STILL slacking on getting a gym membership. Accounting won't return my calls at the other gym- bastards. I'm gonna just say f*** it and get a three month plan at my local and pay for both. I've been reading a lot on the forums about Rippetoe's Starting Strength and I think that'll be the basis for my workout with a few "fun" exercises I like thrown in to keep me motivated.




Sorry my pics suck so bad. My camera has the worst autofocus ever.

M.

[FrostFox]

Rippetoe's is king, but don't go on it if your deficit is going to be more than 500 calories per day.
I definitely notice some changes.. your stomach isn't sticking out as much. Great work!

[therealmark]

Five second update.

My belt fits one notch tighter now! It's not been the best week but I'm still gymless (grr) but still pretty on track with other exercise and diet.
165 lbs, so I think this month should be on target for my 2lbs per month goal.

It's my birthday, so I'm gonna blow my diet a bit today. Go me!

M.

[therealmark]

These logs are great. It guilted me into getting my gym membership before posting.

I'm now spending $60 per month for two memberships, so if I don't go I'll also feel guilty on a financial level.

The last month. Hm... Definitely less exercise than I wanted. Definitely ate worse than I shoulda. Lack of protein is my nemesis... It's hard to get enough in a day when I'm busy. Going to try a protein powder, kinda leaning towards Muscle Milk... anyone have an opinion on which flavour sucks the least?

Weight- 164 lbs. Hit my 2lb goal... I was at 163 but put a little back on so I gotta up the exercise and tighten the diet again.

Anyways, just did my first day of Rippetoes... I'm not working to my max yet because I wanna get used to using weights again so I don't hurt myself or get so much DOMS I implode when I try to move my legs. Squats with 25lbs per side was bad enough for a first workout.




Looking thinner. Not necessarily any better yet, but thinner.

The upcoming month will be interesting. I'm guessing I might pull in even for October (0 lbs lost) because I'm introducing weight training into the fitness regime. I'm sure going to try not to though. RAR!



M.

[Goalie_Girl]

Good job, keep it up!

[FrostFox]

Muscle Milk tastes great... if you mix it with low fat milk (1%). The Chocolate milk flavor tastes almost like a real milkshake, and I have acquired quite a taste for it. I also tried a couple of sample packs of the vanilla, and it's definitely something I'll buy a tub of in the future.

The problem with Muscle Milk is that it's not a protein supplement, it's a meal replacement. Say you take two scoops of Muscle Milk powder mixed with 2 cups of low fat milk (the standard dosage)... well you're at 50g of protein (good) but 570 calories, 43g of carbs, and a whole lot of micros. This isn't "bad" of course, but if you're short on your 1g protein/pound of bodyweight per day and don't have much calorie space, you can't use Muscle Milk... too many cals, too many carbs. With water, it's still not calorie-wise.

I definitely recommend you buy a tub of muscle milk, put some 1% milk in the fridge at work and have a shake for lunch. But you definitely need a true protein supplement.

Here is the bad news: the real protein supplements, the ones with little/no carbs and no fat, taste absolutely terrible with water. Don't have them with milk, because then you'll take in too many calories - only take them with water. The good news is, stuff like ISO-Sensation 93 whey has 30g of protein per scoop, and only 130 calories. Two scoops of that in a cup of ice water and you've got 60g of protein for only 260 calories! You will have to take at least two scoops of the stuff per day (3 or 4 if you have aren't making enough effort to find natural sources of good-tasting protein... salmon, tuna, extra-lean ground beef, etc.) to meet your ~170g protein requirement.

The weight training regime will only accelerate the weight loss, given that you're burning a few hundred calories every workout, and you aren't eating enough to build new muscle. You may get stronger, but it is highly unlikely that you will bulk at the same time, especially on a strength training program like Rippetoes. If you don't lose any weight this month, I personally would consider it a huge step back. Somebody at your bodyfat level should be able to comfortably lose 4 to 6 pounds per month.

Good luck, and be sure to stop by more often and let us know how you're progressing!

[therealmark]

Thanks for the advice FF. I decided to do some more research and found a post on Muscle Milk that kinda scared me off. Link reposted here.

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do...31523&pageNo=0

I want to try a casein mix so I figure I'll go with ISS Micellar Matrix instead.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/iss/mic.html

Got some good taste reviews, way less carb calories, no glycocyamine to potentially kill my brain. Sounds like decent stuff and similar calories/protein to your suggested whey protein.

I'm interested to see how this stuff tastes... I haven't used a protein supp since I was in my teens and it was some crap Weider product that tasted like shredded cardboard at best. I think I had three shakes before I quit using it.

Got some pretty good DOMS going on today. I hate the soreness of the first few days in the gym.

Stuck at work, so I'll have to work out tomorrow instead of tonight. Grrr...

M.

[therealmark]

There comes a point you have to ask yourself "How much do I want this?"

My father died last week. I spent seven days in a small town in another province with awful food everywhere and away from my gym. I still kept basically to my diet (the day of the memorial was a write-off) and even managed to get some walking in.

Back home now, back in the gym Monday. Sitting at 163, on track.

So yeah, I WANT this.

RIP dad.

M.

[therealmark]

Wow, thanks for that round of indifference everyone.

I've been a little late in updating, but I've not given up in diet or gymwork.

Here's a pic I took at around the beginning of the month. Took me 'til tonight to edit it together, sorry.



I look like crap here. I couldn't tell you why- I just look bloated despite being lighter and stronger. Oh well... bad days, good days. Part of it is I think I'm in that twilight zone between being fat and being fit... My skin isn't fitting quite as tight and it'll need time to catch up. Six months from now I'll look better I'm sure.

Been hitting the gym about 2 days a week as a rule. Rippetoes is awesome thus far. Yesterday was two big ones... I'm deadlifting and squatting with more than my bodyweight now. I weighed 159lb on Sunday morning- 15lbs down from my first post, past halfway to my short term goals. On track.

Diet. Added protein powder into the mix, Micellar Matrix and Iso-Sensation 93, as suggested by FF. I'm pretty lax about my use though... I'll tend to skip if I've eaten too much or make a double if I haven't had time to make a meal. Still eating pretty clean really, but I could tighten up the diet a bit more.

But as I've mentioned before- I'm in this for the long haul... if I make it too strict I'll quit. If I make it reasonable, I'll slowly lose weight and continue at a maintenance level when I'm where I want to be.

I'm actually considering doing a bulk and another cut down farther once I've reached my short term goals. BB.com has it's claws into me now!

Anyways, despite the rocky times I've been through lately, I feel great physically... lot more energy, doing some different fun things too. For example, I got my license and bought an ol' motorcycle. Can't wait for summer now!

Anyways, that's where I is. I'll try to update around the first with a picture that looks better I hope

M.

[NJZ]

Can definitely see a lot of change in your love handles/stomach.

Good work!

[therealmark]

Been a long, long time since I updated my journal.

I lapsed a bit... Basically took two months kinda off. I say kinda because I still watched my diet but I had really hit the wall with work and personal stresses and basically I crashed. Over Christmas I pretty much sat on the couch for basically ten days, leaving the house only to eat and occasionally hang out... I didn't gorge myself more than once over the holidays, although I did occasionally cheat pretty good.

I'm blessed with a pretty good metabolism... I maintained 159lbs.

Anyways, I got my ass back in the gym early Feb and I'm almost back to the numbers I was lifting in November. I'm feeling stronger and I'm starting to walk into work again. Last night I was 157, so I'm making a dent in it.

I get my new orthotics next week and once I'm past the "Ouch" stage of initially wearing them (and two pounds lighter) I'll start running again.

I'll post up a picture or three (to everyone's chagrin) this weekend.

thanks all!

M.

[therealmark]

Anybody out there?



156lbs. Skipped a week in the gym because I was getting my motorcycle roadworthy 'til 1AM every night. Next week I'll be back at it though.

18 pounds down, 8 to go 'til my shortterm goal.

Diet has been slightly stricter, but not terribly so.

Orthotics are great and I'll be running once I'm one more pound down.

Starting to feel a little better about how I look with a shirt off but I think I'll have to drop a bunch past my short term goal to get cut... probably about ten pounds? Any guesstimates? That'd put me in the high 130s... I haven't been that weight since high school and I was made outta cookie dough back then.

Gonna shoot for 152 for april 1st! Wish me luck!

M.

[therealmark]

....


(sound of crickets in background)


....


This is what I get for lurking too much and not posting enough I guess. I'll try to be a little more vigilant.

Just got back from the gym. Still basically doing a Rippetoes plan but when I find I'm stuck on an exercise or just dreading it I'll mix it up some. I do "ass to ground" squats with around 150lbs now (was higher but taking it easy with the new orthotics- they change my balance point a little and I have some ankle issues) and deadlifted 175lbs for reps tonight. Not big numbers compared to some of the big boys on here, but finally approaching or exceeding my bodyweight on some exercises feels like an accomplishment.

I wish my bench press was that good. It's always been a weak point. I seem to be stuck at 120ish sorta pounds. I can't figure out why I have so much trouble gaining strength there. Sometimes I wonder if it's a leverage thing because of my height. It never really feel like I've worked my chest when finished either. More like shoulders and arms.

It kinda pissed me off thinking about it tonight so I did incline dumbbells instead. It actually felt good so maybe I'll switch to dumbbells for flat bench too.

My belt is another notch tighter. I had to buy new jeans and a coworker who was away for a month commented on how much weight I'd lost so I'm getting there.

I still stand by my "slow and steady wins the weighloss race" plan... I'm not dropping weight off like mad so I'm not crushed when I miss by a huge amount. I check the scale every few days and if I'm hovering around the same weight and not dropping a little I reevaluate my diet or bump up my exercise level.

I'm in this for the long haul though. I want to get fit and more importantly STAY fit. If I make unreasonable dietary changes that make me think "Damn I can't wait 'til this is over so I can have X again" I'll bloat right back up when I finish. I'd rather just add a few more snacks and things I like to an otherwise fairly enjoyable diet when I go from cutting to maintenance calories.



M.

[thumbbody]

I'm new here but there is a huge positive difference in your before and after pics. Keep up the great work you seem to be making teriffic progress.

[therealmark]

Thanks thumbbody. It's nice to get some positive reinforcement.

Gym again last night, 90 pounds for military press... new PR.
155 lbs for squats and feeling pretty strong. I think mixing up my routine a little is really helping kickstart my strength again. I think I'm going to start doing it more. As such I did dumbbell rows rather than pendlay rows.

Abs are getting stronger, I can do a coupla sets of "getsize" sit-ups on the ab board now. Actually ab strength has been a weak spot of mine for some time. I'm really going to work at getting more muscular strength rather than doing a zillion crunches.

Diet is about the same as always... no pop, no sugar in coffee, occasional cookie or something as a snack and I still have sweetened yogurt(albeit organic) from time to time. No fries, very low bread and pasta intake, more fruit than I should and less vegetables than I should. Rarely I'll have a protein shake, but I look at them as a meal replacement as I make 'em with milk and a banana rather than plain water. It tastes so much better and mixes so well, but adds like 250-300 calories to it so I can't do it often.

I need more cardio/aerobic. I always intend to walk to work but mornings are death to me. I'm a night person with a day job, and most days I'm coasting in ten minutes late even driving. I intend to make an effort this weekend, maybe walk the seawall or somesuch. Maybe even run!

I'm up one pound, but whatever- it'll come off.



M.

[therealmark]

Tonight I did deadlifts for reps with 200 lbs. new PR in two ways. Best deadlift and first time, EVER, in my life I've done reps with 200 lbs of free weight.

squats are 160 for reps now too so I'm over my bodyweight on ass to ground squats.

Bench still sucks, even with dumbells. like 40s, 45s and struggling, all in the arms too. I think I maybe need to finally introduce arms into my workouts.

I've been kinda avoiding the "standard gym jock" workout of 16 different variations of curls and maybe a bench press or two thrown in for good luck. I figured that while I was gaining strength on Rippetoes any "cosmetic" sorta workout would be taking away from the focus, but I think I'm at a point that I need more arm strength to bench better. I guess we'll see... I'll do some biceps/triceps sorta things Wednesday.

200 lbs! Boo-yah.

M.

[EvoSummer]

Well done. Make sure to up those veggies and halve the fruit (while they're great regardless of diet, too much can give you a little extra sugar).

[therealmark]

Thanks Evosummer. I've been working my ass off the last two weeks but I seem to have stuck at 157. Grr!

I shouldn't let it bother me but it does. I think that fat loss takes a bit of time to show up... ie the hard work I've done this week will pay dividends next week or the week after. I hope so. I'm attributing some of it to mass from newbie gains but I'm really hoping the scale will start playing nice.

Walked 9km today, 4.5km each way to and from work. One ankle's a little sore. Gym last night was good.

Gonna have to start measuring again I think to make sure I'm on track.



M.