ON3M4N's Wake Up Call

[ON3M4N]

Background

I'm currently 29yr old (be 30yr old in 5 days) 5'9 and at my max I was just over 280lb. I spent most of my 20's in the car business and for anyone who hasn't been in that business, your day consists of eating from vending machines/fast food and sitting on your ass all day making phone calls. To top it all off you typically work 12+ hour days and don't have much time for anything. This past November I finally got the opportunity to leave and put my Master degree to use in the medical device industry. Shortly after leaving the car business I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea (stop breathing 30+ times an hour) and had to be put on a machine at night. My doctor said one of my biggest factors was my weight and my neck size, which was pushing 19"...YIKES!!! What really started to eat at me and finally pushed me over the edge was a lot of my cloths were too tight. I had 4-5 shirts that I wore all the time and I was always worried about how my clothes made me look and how big I looked in family pictures.

It was around the time of being diagnosed with severe sleep apnea that I decided I had had enough, there was no more excuses to not get back to the gym and get my weight/health in check.

The Goal

I looked all over the internet trying to find what my ideal weight should be or a weight that I felt like was comfortable. In high school I was around 210lb and thought I'd like to really push myself and get under 200lb. I decided on 195lb. for a weight goal and gave myself 2017 to get it done. I know its cliche to have a new years resolution, but this wasn't a new years resolution for me. I didn't want to just get to 195lb and call it a day, I wanted to live an overall healthier life.

The Plan

I had worked with a nutritionist in 2015 and lost about 15lb-20lb just solely on eating better over a 3 month span. I felt like I had the food part down, my issue was the gym. Luckily my company has an onsite gym and puts a lot of emphasis on health (makes since being a medical device company), but my issues was where to start, how to start and what to do at the gym. I decided to reach out to an old high school friend to see if he had any advice. After leaving the military he had become a personal trainer and competed nationally in physique competitions, so he had to know something right lol.

I met with him during the holiday break and we talked about my goals as well as his company which helps Veterans with suicide prevention/overall mental & physical health. I left blown away, not only did he hook me up with some great gear for a great cause off his SuicideGrip.Vet website, but he was going to remote train me (we live about 4 hours apart) at no charge. After him and I spoke I felt even more determined that I was going to do this and not just quit like I had in previous years.

Where I'm at Now

To date I've lost almost 25lb and nearly 13" around my body. Most notability in my chest, waist and hips. For the first time in a long time my wife is able to hug me and touch her wrist. I'm using the same meal plan that my nutritionist gave me in 2015 and go to the gym 2-3 times a week for about an hour. My workouts vary and typically my buddy at SuicideGrip sends me my session the day of.

What is This Journal About?

I may post a few of my favorite workouts, but mostly I just want to give anyone whose trying to lose weight/live a healthier life style inspiration that you can. Its never to late to start and its a lot easier than you think. I started this journey with limited to no knowledge about nutrition or fitness, but I'm slowly learning more each day. I'll leave my opening post with this quote that I've found helpful so far in my first 11 weeks....

"Don’t think about what can happen in a month. Don’t think about what can happen in a year. Just focus on the 24 hours in front of you and do what you can to get closer to where you want to be."

[ON3M4N]

As of this morning I'm at 251lb and just the thought of getting under 250lb has me excited. The last time I remember being under 250lb was when I first moved to CT to live with my now wife 7 years ago. I Did have a little bit of a rough day yesterday with some extra eating, but you have those days every once in a while. My nutritionist said it best when he and I first started working together. If you eat 5 times a day 7 days a week that's 35 times you're eating. If you have 1 bad meal of the 35 times you eat, its not the end of the world.

For me I used to try dieting and the moment I'd screw up I'd give up. With the though process my nutritionist has help instill in me, I don't have the massive urge to eat unhealthy (fast food) because I know if I do its not a big deal. Just the other night my wifes family went out to Friendly's for dinner. I wasn't going to go but when your 2 year old nephew says he wants you to come because he misses you, you go. Anyway, I met up with them after my workout but told them I wasn't getting dinner because I wanted to eat what I had at home. I did however grab an ice cream when they ordered desert because it had been a while and again it was 1 of 35 times I eat for the week. Dieting me would have freaked out, mentally quit and gone back to pounding a bag of Tostito's and eating peanut butter by the spoonful. I'm so happy that me is gone.

[ON3M4N]

Now I'll be honest, my favorite work outs are shoulders and legs. I've always like the look of large traps, its just a powerful look IMO. As for legs, well I've always had strong legs (probably from carry my extra weight) and being I like to skate (hockey) I've always put emphasis on legs. Anyway, here's today's workout:

Shrugs & Calves - 2x20
Reverse lunges - x20
Walkouts - x10
Deadlift - 3x10
Pulldowns - 3x12
Shrugs & Calves - 2x20
Front upright row - 3x13
Reverse flies - 2x20
Max Plank

[ON3M4N]

May have overdone it this past weekend on my Birthday. After eating clean for 3 months I decided to let myself have a weekend off from my meal plan. Long story short, I ate a lot of food (especially sweet and salty foods) and this morning the scale said I had gained 8lb YIKES!! Now I have to think that I didn't actually gain 8lb of fat because that would require close to 34,000 calories in two days. I'll get back on track today and we'll see if 2-3 days of my normal eating balances things back out. I do think I'll have a few lbs of of fat when all is said and done, but man do I feel like crap this morning.

[ON3M4N]

Well my body is slowly starting to balance out after a weekend of binge eating. I'm down 3lb since jumping on the scale Monday, but still 5-6 lb off from where I was. Went to the gym yesterday and did a full body workout (little rough on the knees), so hopefully that'll be a nice boost. Big challenge for me coming up as I'm heading to see my parents for a week and my meal plans kind of go out the window. As long as I try and stay close to what I typically eat I think I'll be good.

[lukepeter]

Hey man.

Congrats on progress so far, and on the continuation of the process.

As much as it sucks to see the scale number climb when you are used to seeing it dip one weekend of excess does not a diet break I am sure you are aware of the relationship between glycogen storage and water retention - if you eat more carbs than usual, you body stores a lot of water along with it - it should normalize in 3-5 days. The important thing is getting back on the straight and narrow - which you have done just fine

Subbed for progress, work hard!

[ON3M4N]

Hey man.

Congrats on progress so far, and on the continuation of the process.

As much as it sucks to see the scale number climb when you are used to seeing it dip one weekend of excess does not a diet break I am sure you are aware of the relationship between glycogen storage and water retention - if you eat more carbs than usual, you body stores a lot of water along with it - it should normalize in 3-5 days. The important thing is getting back on the straight and narrow - which you have done just fine

Subbed for progress, work hard!

Thanks! Its been a good journey so far and I can't wait to see where it takes me. I've had so many people recently tell me that I look a lot thinner and then they ask what diet am I doing and how I like it. Most people look perplexed when I tell them that I'm not on a diet and just make healthier food choices. I think the healthier life style mentality has been huge for me. Before when I'd diet I felt so restricted and would thinking to myself "how long do I have to diet for?" More times than not I was always hungry and it would derail my diet within weeks. I've also noticed that when you eat healthier, you crave healthier foods. Just the other day my wife wanted fried chicken for lunch...I wanted a salad lol.

I will say I don't know much about glycogen storage, I may need to research that a little bit more.

[Imp81318]

Thanks! Its been a good journey so far and I can't wait to see where it takes me. I've had so many people recently tell me that I look a lot thinner and then they ask what diet am I doing and how I like it. Most people look perplexed when I tell them that I'm not on a diet and just make healthier food choices. I think the healthier life style mentality has been huge for me. Before when I'd diet I felt so restricted and would thinking to myself "how long do I have to diet for?" More times than not I was always hungry and it would derail my diet within weeks. I've also noticed that when you eat healthier, you crave healthier foods. Just the other day my wife wanted fried chicken for lunch...I wanted a salad lol.

I will say I don't know much about glycogen storage, I may need to research that a little bit more.

I agree fully with both of the ideas bolded. I am continuously amazed that I am losing weight with as much food as I eat some days. I've even specifically asked my wife to start making extra food (protein) for me at dinner. I feel almost like I'm "getting away" with something when I reach for an extra chicken breast or cut a second chunk of steak for myself.

And on the cravings... just this morning, I was halfway through making my normal grilled chicken salad for lunch when I spotted some stir fry leftovers with rice in the fridge. I thought about the dinners my wife had planned out for the week, and realized that today was my best chance to fit the rice into my daily macros, so I put the salad away and grabbed the leftovers- not terribly unhealthy, but I was really looking forward to that salad today...

Nice to know that I'm not the only one developing these "wrong" tendencies...haha...

Subbed for progress. You're making great gains, man!

[ON3M4N]

I agree fully with both of the ideas bolded. I am continuously amazed that I am losing weight with as much food as I eat some days. I've even specifically asked my wife to start making extra food (protein) for me at dinner. I feel almost like I'm "getting away" with something when I reach for an extra chicken breast or cut a second chunk of steak for myself.

And on the cravings... just this morning, I was halfway through making my normal grilled chicken salad for lunch when I spotted some stir fry leftovers with rice in the fridge. I thought about the dinners my wife had planned out for the week, and realized that today was my best chance to fit the rice into my daily macros, so I put the salad away and grabbed the leftovers- not terribly unhealthy, but I was really looking forward to that salad today...

Nice to know that I'm not the only one developing these "wrong" tendencies...haha...

Subbed for progress. You're making great gains, man!

I've had days recently where I have more food to eat for my meal plan and I'm not even hungry. Its crazy because I've always been someone who will eat and eat and eat.

[ON3M4N]

Today was my official weight and measurement day. The bad news is the binge eat netted me a few extra pounds, the good news is I still managed to lose some inches around my neck and hips. These next 9 days will be interesting since I'll be away visiting family and my mom loves to cook. If I stick as close to as my meal plan as possible though, I should be alright. Being at the 3 month mark I thought I'd list out my total loss in weight and measurements.

Weight - Lost 20lb
Neck - down 1"
Biceps - up .75"
Chest - down 3"
Waist - down 3.75"
Hips - down 4.75"
Thighs - down .5"

All in all I'm pretty happy after my first 3 months. I would have loved to be down 30lb, but a few bad choice did allow that to happen (live and learn).

[jss937]

Today was my official weight and measurement day. The bad news is the binge eat netted me a few extra pounds, the good news is I still managed to lose some inches around my neck and hips. These next 9 days will be interesting since I'll be away visiting family and my mom loves to cook. If I stick as close to as my meal plan as possible though, I should be alright. Being at the 3 month mark I thought I'd list out my total loss in weight and measurements.

Weight - Lost 20lb
Neck - down 1"
Biceps - up .75"
Chest - down 3"
Waist - down 3.75"
Hips - down 4.75"
Thighs - down .5"

All in all I'm pretty happy after my first 3 months. I would have loved to be down 30lb, but a few bad choice did allow that to happen (live and learn).

Keep up the great work! subbed

[ON3M4N]

Been up in the great state of NH since 3/31 to visit family. I've been lax with my meal plan (as I mentioned in my previous post) and lax might be an understatement. I've been eating a lot more salty foods, less veggies and I've been eating later at night. The good news is I haven't gained any weight and I've actually lost a few pounds. I'm hoovering around 252lb right now and if I manage to go home at that weight or less I'll be happy. While I've been eating less healthy foods, I haven't been eating nearly as much, which may explain why I haven't gained weight.

I've also started putting a few tsp of apple cider vinegar in my morning glass of water. I've read some interesting things about it health benefits, so I'm interested to see if/how it aids me in my weight loss.

[ON3M4N]

My week off was pretty good. I got to see some family and meet up with my trainer/buddy over a SuicideGrip and talk about the plan going forward. Its the 2nd day back from vacation and back to my meal plan. Yesterday was pretty good for the most part, although I did feel hungrier than normal between lunch and dinner. I don't do a weigh in until early next week, so I wont have any numbers to post till then. Unofficially though I came back home around the 252lb mark and for as poor as I ate I'll take it.

The good news is I don't have any major social events for about a month and even that is only for a weekend.

[OneManMatrix]

Nice work man, keep it up!

I had a bad day yesterday and binged on some ridiculous number of calories... I'm feeling pretty bad today both physically, mentally and emotionally but trying not to let it get me down and just move forward. This thread has helped a lot, thank you and keep it up!

[ON3M4N]

Nice work man, keep it up!

I had a bad day yesterday and binged on some ridiculous number of calories... I'm feeling pretty bad today both physically, mentally and emotionally but trying not to let it get me down and just move forward. This thread has helped a lot, thank you and keep it up!

Thanks man.

My biggest thing is feeling physically bad. If I get too off track, my body just feels out of whack and it affects my whole day. I guess I feel bad mentally, but that's more me just beating myself up over making bad choices from time to time. The toughest thing for me about trying to live a healthier lifestyle is accepting that there are going to be bad days or rough spots. From how I used to eat and take care of myself, its a whole new mind set.

[chubbymcgee]

Hey man, congrats on the weight loss up to this point. I just started my own log (weight loss - take 100). Binging is the worst feeling, both physically and psychologically. I've lost the same weight over and over and a binge is what usually gets me off track. The fact that you binged a while ago and reset and kept posting shows your initiative. I hope to be able to not let a mess up screw me over in the long run.

Social events are the worst for me. I recently moved to Florida and now all of my wife's and I's family are coming down over the next few months to visit. When they come they want to do things and go out to eat. I know it's going to be hard, but I'm going to rely on these logs to keep me on track.

Again, congrats on the progress so far, and I'll be sure to keep up on your log!

[PhantomEater]

Hi mate
Great progress so far, don't beat yourself up to much if you slip you're making positive movements, the weight trend is downwards and you're making great steps towards changing your life, Real life happens and we can't get away from it, I understand psychologically it may get you down when you have a bad day of eating but that's just one day and I'm sure you'll have many more great days ahead! Great progress so far

Subbed and ready to follow your journey

[ON3M4N]

Hey man, congrats on the weight loss up to this point. I just started my own log (weight loss - take 100). Binging is the worst feeling, both physically and psychologically. I've lost the same weight over and over and a binge is what usually gets me off track. The fact that you binged a while ago and reset and kept posting shows your initiative. I hope to be able to not let a mess up screw me over in the long run.

Social events are the worst for me. I recently moved to Florida and now all of my wife's and I's family are coming down over the next few months to visit. When they come they want to do things and go out to eat. I know it's going to be hard, but I'm going to rely on these logs to keep me on track.

Again, congrats on the progress so far, and I'll be sure to keep up on your log!

My family is very much like that lol. My mother in-law and sister in-law are on a similar meal plan as we have the same nutritionist, but they tend to start it for a few weeks and then fall off. It makes it tough when we get together when they are off the plan because them being an Italian family there is lots of foods...especially pasta, bread and pastries. Their pretty good though, they don't try to get me to go off my plan.

[ON3M4N]

Hi mate
Great progress so far, don't beat yourself up to much if you slip you're making positive movements, the weight trend is downwards and you're making great steps towards changing your life, Real life happens and we can't get away from it, I understand psychologically it may get you down when you have a bad day of eating but that's just one day and I'm sure you'll have many more great days ahead! Great progress so far

Subbed and ready to follow your journey

Thanks! now that my schedule is back to normal and I can get into the gym regularly again, I have a feeling things will get back on track. I'm keeping tabs on your progress, I wish I had been more serious about my health at 23yr old

[ON3M4N]

I felt like absolute crap yesterday. I was hot then cold, had a head ache and just felt awful. Part of me though maybe it was just the stress of being back from vacation, but part of me thought it was because I hadn't been to the gym in 2 weeks due to my schedule. On gym days I have one rule. No matter what I go to the gym, get dressed and then decide if I'm going to workout (never fails and I always workout). Anyways, it wasn't a crazy workout yesterday just a nice hour session working the whole body (props to my trainer for a good workout). Finished up got home, took a shower and wouldn't you know it I felt amazing. I felt so good my wife looked at me and asked where I got the jolt of energy from. It felt soooo good to get back in the gym and just lift.

My next weight in is next week, but as of this morning I was down about 2lb from when I got back from vacation. Could be water weight (didn't drink as much as usual on vacation), but when I get under 250lb it'll be a great feeling.

[ON3M4N]

Official weigh in is tomorrow and I'm pretty confident that I'll be under 250lb (first time in as long as I can remember). I hoping for a big week, but also a long and painful week lol. Typically I lift 2-3 times a week with 1-2 rest in between. After talking with my buddy at SuicideGrip, were going to a 5 day straight to shock my body. The good news is I should sleep well this week and hopefully the extra training will bring me back down to were I was before the binge eating on my birthday weekend.

[ON3M4N]

Came in at 249 even this morning, but for some reason I don't feel as good as I thought I would about it. I thought I was going to get a nice boost to the ego, but I just don't get that feeling. Anyways he're the measurements since I started back in January.

Weight - Lost 26.5lb
Neck - down 1"
Biceps - back even (was up about .75" previously)
Chest - down 3"
Waist - down 3.75"
Hips - down 5..25"
Thighs - down .5"

[Imp81318]

That's great progress, man! Just imagine walking around with a toddler hanging on your back all the time - that's what you've already lost! The mental reaction to milestones is tough to predict sometimes. The important thing is that you just keep sticking to the plan and know that you're making progress in the right direction.

[ON3M4N]

That's great progress, man! Just imagine walking around with a toddler hanging on your back all the time - that's what you've already lost! The mental reaction to milestones is tough to predict sometimes. The important thing is that you just keep sticking to the plan and know that you're making progress in the right direction.

You know when you put it like that, it actually is a bit of a boost. Thanks!

[lukepeter]

It sucks when the change becomes "just another kg", but like all things in the sphere of human experience, the novelty wears off.

Dig deep man - it is absolutely worth it to carry on, each kg or lb moving forward is not going to give the same dopamine boost as the first 10 or 20, but everything becomes just a little easier week on week, clothes fit better, its easier to move around/interact with family and kids, people look at you differently and treat you differently - pick other achievements as your performance metric, change what you measure for success from time to time to keep it fresh.

breaking the 250lbs is amazing, its a lot of mass you no longer have to lug around. Well done man.

[ON3M4N]

It sucks when the change becomes "just another kg", but like all things in the sphere of human experience, the novelty wears off.

Dig deep man - it is absolutely worth it to carry on, each kg or lb moving forward is not going to give the same dopamine boost as the first 10 or 20, but everything becomes just a little easier week on week, clothes fit better, its easier to move around/interact with family and kids, people look at you differently and treat you differently - pick other achievements as your performance metric, change what you measure for success from time to time to keep it fresh.

breaking the 250lbs is amazing, its a lot of mass you no longer have to lug around. Well done man.

I'm not too worried about losing the motivation which is a good thing. I think I just built up this idea in my head of how I'd feel when I got under 250lb and then when I finally did, it felt like just another day lol. I did go grab a 25lb dumbbell yesterday though to let it sink in just how much extra weight I'm not carrying around now.

[janivl]

Great progress man! I like your mindset and it motivates me to work hard as well. Keep it up!

[ON3M4N]

I'm on the 5th day of my 5-day straight gym sessions. I'm sore, but still feel good. I actually thought it was going to be harder to do 5-days straight. The one thing that puzzles me though is my weight is still at 249lb, the same as it was when I started the week. My meal plan didn't change and I was burning more calories, so in theory I should have a greater calorie deficiency and should see a loss. I have a weekend off from the gym, so we'll see on Monday how things look weight wise when I have my weigh-in

[ON3M4N]

Official weigh in was today. I didn't see the pounds drop like I hoped, but the measurements off-set things. Here are the numbers since my last weigh-in (about a week ago)

Weight - Down 2lb
Neck - down 0.5"
Biceps - down 0.25"
Chest - no change
Waist - down 0.50"
Hips - no change
Thighs - no change

Was pumped to see my neck finally go down again. My doctor says my biggest factor for my sleep apnea is my neck size. It'd be great if one day I got back down to the point where I didn't need a machine to sleep at night.

The grind continues though!! I got back to a normal workout schedule this week, but after going 5 days straight I kind of enjoyed it lol.

[ON3M4N]

End of the month weigh-in tomorrow should be interesting. As of this morning I was close to being at the 30lb lost mark.

My wife and I had to clean out our spare room because my sister is moving in for the summer. Since I use the spare room closet, I had to go through all my close and consolidate. Most of the cloths I never wore because I cycle the same 4-5 shirts and 3-4 pairs of pants. Anyways I was shocked to see how many shirts fit, maybe more shocking was hearing my wife tell me a shirt was too big and I needed to get rid of it. Hearing my wife tell me a shirt that I once wore a lot (because it hid my weight) was now to big was amazing. I actually ended up finally parting with a lot of clothes and plan on donating them to veterans.

Anyways, stay tuned and I'll post my April numbers tomorrow after weigh-in.