My weight loss story so far - any help and tips appreciated!

[Xpiex66x]

Hey everybody -

I don't know what is compelling me to write this right now, but I feel like I need to and could get all the help I can get. I think I am just looking for a little motivation and maybe hear from people who have struggled with this as well.

I am now 23 years old and trying my hardest to lose weight - I'm actually terrified of scales and don't know my present weight.

I just want to thank you for taking time out of your day to read this, it may take a while for me to get to the point so skip ahead if you want

Background - The worst day in my life is when I got cut from my university football team 3 years ago. They told me I was not fast/agile enough to stick (Canadian football, so it hurts more lol.), I knew this was coming but never knew it would still bother me to this day. Mind you my diet was awful and I spent most of my free time playing computer games, but I never did anything about it. I've always been a big guy, love sweets and junk food like any fat guy - also was a big fan of eating late at night. Last May, I weighed in at 394 pounds at my doctors (Just went in for a check up, not a health related problem), I knew I was heavy but didn't know it was THAT bad. I told myself that i've had enough, and its time to take action. Fast forward one year, after being in the gym quite often and changing my eating habits slightly I was down to 360. This sucked too, all that work (at the gym) and I barely lost anything. A month later I revisited my doctor and I was at 345, my biggest leap yet even he was surprised. Through out the summer I worked outdoors and tried to get to the gym everyday, while eating a little better. As of today I haven't weighed myself since I tipped the scale at 345, but I can actually notice a difference now. For starters I never ever used a belt until now I have to or else my pants fall down. I've gotten tons of compliments from people I haven't seen in a while and man let me tell you it feels good. For the last month I have been eating super healthy (by my standards) and want to start tracking everything I eat/pills I take/what I do at the gym ect. I also plan on getting on the scale for the first time in months Monday morning. Keep in mind I have a bad knee, I had reconstructive surgery to fix my ACL/MCL years ago.

Present eating habits - I work 7-3:30, Monday - Friday. So this is what i've been eating for the past 3-4 weeks.

Fluids - I (think) drink alot of water, i'd say between 4-5 litres a day. If I have a soda it's usually diet and I don't have many. Chocolate milk is probably my kryptonite when it comes to sugary drinks, I don't have it that often.

*Through the day - Every week I fill up a container with almonds and dried fruits (raisins, cranberries, apricots ect). I started with salted/favored almonds but now I just use regular unsalted onces. Whenever I get picky I just eat some between break times.

6AM - 1/2 eggs on a English muffin with whatever meat is leftover from the night before (steak/chicken/ground beef mostly). I usually eat a banana on the drive to work too. Sometimes I will make a shake out of kale and some raw beats (thanks Joe Rogan) it's disgusting but i've heard its really good for you.

9AM - Some sort of deli meat, be it (mostly) turkey/chicken and sometimes roast beef slices and some sort of fruit.

12PM - Most of the time its roasted chicken (breast/thigh serving size), if not more of the same deli meats and a container of raw broccoli.

3:30PM - Usually pick at the trail mix I made on the way home if I am hungry.

Dinner (6-8PM) - Whatever is made (lol) four out of five times its some sort of roasted meat, mostly chicken. I (usually) avoid any sort of rice or bread, but will eat some if there is not enough meat.

I usually don't eat anything past 9PM. If anything it's maybe a small bowl of pretzels or something like that.

WEEKENDS - This is where I need to really improve, if i'm out with my friends i'll just give in and buy whatever - pizza, mcdonalds, ect. I've gotten alot better with it but sometimes I still give in. I feel like a idiot afterwards but what is done is done. Other than that I try to stick by what I eat regularly.

In the Gym -

I usually get to the gym between 4-4:30PM and stay to 6PM.

Cardio: I often start with 20 minutes on the treadmill 10 minutes walking 10 minutes running, it brings me to a good sweat. After my workout i'll cool down with another 10 minutes on the treadmill or on the bike.

As far as weights go I just do "regular things" - Bench, curls, tricep pull downs, shoulder press ect ect, nothing crazy. Although recently i've been back to doing cleans/deadlifts/squats, was way to lazy to do anything like those before. I use to be a lot stronger than I am now but I just keep doing the same stuff over and over again. I know I need to change it up but I can't bring myself to do anything foreign. I keep looking for a program for big fat guys like myself to shred weight quickly but most of them cater to lean people. I don't have set days to do certain things, I just do what I feel like really.

After the gym I often use a infrared sauna at home for 20-30 minutes at 140 Fahrenheit.

Supplements - I have been taking N0-explode for the past 2 weeks before my workout. I also take fish oil daily and MAGNUM ACID fat burner from time to time (Usually when i'm really tired for work) I will also have a protein shake if i'm really sore after the gym.

In the past i've taken ephedrine and even clenbuterol, but I get scared after a week and stop.

Final Thoughts -

Sorry about my writing format, as you can probably tell I suck at writing essays or anything lol. I've thought about writing something like this 1000's of times to ask for help but never got around to it. I think the main reason now is because I am going away for a trip in 75 days and want to look half decent. I can honestly say i'm not lying about a thing on here, even though it would be lying to myself. Hell, I have never told anyone I was cut from my team, let alone the whole internet now. I know there is no fast solution to anything, but I think for once i'm ready to actually give it all I got, I wouldn't be writing this if I was just going to start another "whatever" diet. As you can see, I don't have a set plan or anything down on paper. I guess that's why i'm writing this and asking for help!

I would just like to say thanks again for reading this and helping me out if applicable. If anyone could share some sort of routine they once did or special diet I would really appreciate it. If this gets any sort of feed back I plan on posting what I weigh in at Monday morning.

Thanks so much -
JM

PS: I am reading all the forum sticky's and posts, so don't think I am just posting this without looking around

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[Stryder917]

Hey! congrats on your progress thus far! It seems you're doing a great thing for yourself, and you will thank yourself like crazy as you watch the fat come off.

I saw, though, that you are eating deli meats, do you mean like packaged lunch meats? if so, try to cut back on those, but if you really like them, go for true deli meats.. like go to the deli... packaged meats are very, very high in sodium, and are often made of "junk meat" like hot dogs are.

Make sure you read up ESPECIALLY well on the macronutrients sections, and there's a video on here in one of the threads called "demystifying fat loss" it's in the losing fat category, but i'm too tired to scour the web for it, if i find it, i'll post back after i'm done with this. however, this is a good video, gives you pretty solid information.

As far as water goes to keep you hydrated, take your bodyweight, (which by the way, is a really good thing to know.. weigh yourself in the morning after you take a pizz when yo uget up) and devide it in half.. that's APPROX. how much water you should be taking in per day.

Now.. Cardio.. cardio isn't terribly necessary for fat loss, it may help put you more in a deficit than you are... but when it comes down to it.. if you're eating in a surplus.. and running... you're still gunna gain weight. It's a great tool to use if your diet is in check! but walking is actually one of the best fat burners because it can be done at a steady pace for a longer period of time, but like i said... it's going to be next to useless (other than cardiovascular health OBV.) if your diet is out of whack. Weight training in a tried and true program... (check out 5x5 for example?)... will help you to perserve muscle mass, this is important when trying to lose fat, because muscle burns calories while you're just sitting around at your job, which assists you with being in more of a deficit...

nearly anyone on this forum will suggest to you to buy a food scale and measuring cups... they are GREAT GREAT tools to measure how many calories you actually take in... and you should find out your BMR as well, to keep yourself in a caloric deficit, so you can lose the fat you want to.

and now.. the part about ephedrine.. don't do it... yet. Get yourself into better shape first... if a person who isn't in shape, takes an ephedrine/caffeine stack, and does cardio... they're asking for some dangerous possibilities.. read up on it... (ephedrine by itself is really not going to affect you one way or another.

Other than this.. i may be forgetting a bunch of stuff, and for that i do apologize, i'm very tired, but basically, man, stay motivated.. you got this! Keep us posted on your progress, we'd love to see you progress, best wishes.

[Stryder917]

forum.bodybuildingcom/showthread.php?t=148126803

Here's the video!

(just add a period between building and com... i don't have a high enough post count to post links.. someone could embed this for me if they'd like, if not, i think you can figure it out)

[LyssieDoll88]

Hey there! First and most important congrats on the work youve done so far! ! Losing a significant amount if weight is really hard. It's not as easy as just "put down the fork" you have to change actual habits and lifestyle. Be patient and give yourself time. Try to change one bad behavior at a time to avoid putting your system into total shock (crash dieting) then you are avoiding going back to bad behavior. When I was first losing weight (former 320lb.) My goal was to work my way to an 80/20 plan meaning I would eat 80 % clean and 20% the things I enjoyed (in moderation and NO fast food). Listen to your body! What works for other people (keto, paleo, IF) may or may not work for you. Like I said...small steps you have to crawl before you can run. Keep progress photos for motivation. Youre on the right track and thats determination! Keep it up and best of luck! I hope this small novel helps lol

[z71kris]

Good job so far, To help you continue you weight loss, I would invest in calorie tracking via myfitnesspal.com, or livestrong.com, or fatsecret.com, they are free, and as stryder said get a food scale to weight your foods to track things properly. Also you need learn what your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure)is, that is you BMR + your activity level, spend some time reading the stickies in this forum to learn how to figure that out, then eat less than that. Then lastly keep lifting weights, and do cardio as you can help with heart and lung health...

[TexasHeadHunter]

Congrats - first off - on your initial weight loss. Losing 60lbs in a year isn't easy and just like you didn't get to 390lbs overnight, it's not going to come off overnight.

First thing I would do is get measured - weight, BF%, waist/height/chest/hips, etc and figure out where your caloric intake needs to be.
Second thing would be to start counting calories. You wouldn't live long if you didn't balance a checkbook and know your income and expenses each month - same goes for your body. If you're just throwing food in and not paying attention, it's very easy to overeat.
Third - lift heavy and often, stick with it, and only remeasure everything once every 2 weeks to a month. Every 6 months recalculate your numbers and adjust your intake accordingly.

Best of luck on your journey