Weight loss journey.

[Atomic Wedgy]

There is some good advice above. I echo the "dont go all out for a month" sentiment. You'll burn your self out and get pissed off with it all. Newf mentioned a fitness app and I highly recommend that. I use the UP app with my phone. I started using it just to track what I was eating. I was surprised how many calories I was eating. Knowing what you are eating really helps. After I was using it for a while I started tracking my steps as well. I was shocked by how few steps I was taking, so I started paying attention to it and making sure that I was walking more. The best car park is not the closest one... Now I actually park down the road a bit. haha Little things help a lot if you do enough of them. I am now consistently making 12k steps a day. Walking 4-5 kms home from work everyday helps. My weight loss has not been dramatic, but that is not my goal. My goal is to become more active and live a healthier lifestyle. The byproduct is the weight loss. I've lost about 20 pounds since July. The important thing for me is that the changes I made are sustainable and I know the weight will eventually come off as a result.

[dooley89]

Good on ya for making this thread, respect.

Disclaimer: This may require a pretty big shift in your current eating/exercise regimen but here is some info (based on what I would recommend)

Great goals, 70% of your success will be based on your diet.
1,500 calories is NOT even close to enough, you won't see results if you aren't eating enough.

I'm not a big believer in low carbs, you need to eat good carbs, protein and fat as well.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/macr...calculator.htm

Based on this I think you should probably aim for macros in a
CARBS: 275 G PER DAY.
PROTEIN: 275 G PER DAY.
FATS: 61 G PER DAY.

CALORIES: 2500-3000 PER DAY.

The tough part now, not tough actually, time-consuming potentially, is figuring out what foods will lead you to those macronutrient goals.
I essentially eat this when I am really focusing on meal-prep and stuff like that, but here is an example:

Breakfast: 5 Eggs, 2 Toast, 2 Oatmeal Servings
960 Cal, 110 Carbs, 77 Protein, 44 Fat

Lunch: 2 Cups Chicken, Salad
512 Cal, 10 Carbs, 89 Protein, 11 Fat

Dinner: 2 Cups Chicken, 1 Cup Rice, 2 Cups Veg
878 Cal, 92 Carbs, 107 Protein, 12 Fat

Snack: 1/2 Cup Vector, 1 Cup Yogurt
410 Cal, 45 Carbs, 32 Protein, 14 Fat

Post Workout Protein Shake
120 Cal, 6 Carbs, 22 Protein, 1 Fat

This gets you to approximately 2800 calories and pretty close to the suggested macros, a little bit over on protein and fat, little but under on carbs which is not bad at all in my opinion, you are eating good fats, good carbs (some may argue the bread at breakfast) and lots of protein.

That covers your nutrition, as far as working out, lots depends on where you are at right now!

[Daydream Nation]

I found that eating better and the proper portions always trumped a hard workout. For years, I worked out hard and ate whatever and however much I wanted. I'd run a 10 K and then eat half a quart of ice cream. When the time finally came to lose some weight, I cut out all sweets and had my last meal before 6 PM every night. I also changed to Miller 64 (watery crap) when I drank beer on the weekends. I was so busy with work that I dramatically slowed down my workouts. I lost nearly 20 lbs in 4 months without much effort (190 to 171). I actually had to buy new jeans since I was swimming in my old ones. I actually lost too much. Coworkers thought I was sick or having marriage problems. I have settled into the 175-177 lb range.

I would try to make small changes and gradual shifts. Eat more fruits and vegetables and cut out the obvious high calorie foods. If you have a bad day, don't give up. I have actually started allowing myself to eat sweets every Sunday. My daughter calls it ODD Day (old daddy day). Water with a slice of lemon seemed to help as an evening snack. Good luck.

[StuntMan12]

Thanks for the feedback. Its always easier to do something when people are helping you and you guys are helping a lot by showing some support like this. Appreciate it.

[The Comish]

Good luck man. Find what works for you and do your best to stick with it. Definitely smart to do this when you are relatively young. The longer you carry extra weight, the more difficult it is to shed - I know from experience. I have a friend who's golf advice is good advice for those of us trying to lose weight. His thing was, don't have two bad shots in a row. If you have a bad day, say you ate more than you should have, make sure the next day is a good one. Never have two bad days in a row. More good days than bad will get you to your goal.

[StuntMan12]

Good luck man. Find what works for you and do your best to stick with it. Definitely smart to do this when you are relatively young. The longer you carry extra weight, the more difficult it is to shed - I know from experience. I have a friend who's golf advice is good advice for those of us trying to lose weight. His thing was, don't have two bad shots in a row. If you have a bad day, say you ate more than you should have, make sure the next day is a good one. Never have two bad days in a row. More good days than bad will get you to your goal.

Ha thats a great way to look at it. Many times Ill have a bad day and then be hard on myself for overeating that day. I found that lately I just wanted to eat because I felt stressed and food was the only thing that made me feel better. Im less stressed because im not at my old job and dealing with all the drama and politics so today has been going well. Man I feel relieved really. Didnt realize what it was doing to me physically

[Nikerato]

Good for you!

It's never too late to change your life.

I'm someone that takes health very seriously, and perhaps the best advice I can give you is to ignore the numbers. It doesn't matter how much you weigh.

What matters more, to an infinitely greater degree, is for you to internalize the idea that healthy living is a lifestyle, and not a short term fix. To me, a healthy lifestyle includes a healthy diet, only water, regular physical activity (not necessarily exercise, although exercise is great!), lots of sleep, and a positive mental outlook. That last part is why the numbers are not important at all. You just need to feel great about yourself.

As for diet, it doesn't matter how much you eat, so long as 95% of what you consume are vegetables (and some fruit). I went vegan a couple years ago - for many reasons - and it's the best decision I've ever made. Trust me when I say you can get all you need from the plant kingdom. Plant based dishes are also really easy to prepare and take far less time to cook. The one caveat is that nuts and seeds tend to be pretty expensive (ie. almonds/cashews), and they are used a lot in vegan cooking; but they aren't more expensive than meat! You might not save as much money as you thought, but you'll save time.

Good luck and take care!

[Call of Doughty]

I have a background in phys.ed/kinesiology and one of my professors always said "eat to live, don't live to eat"....and it kinda stuck with me.

My advice would be work at this in moderation. Small steps. Moderate your carb/fat in-take and start with medium-high aerobic activities like hiking, walking, swimming, some stationary bike......give it a month and watch the pds drop.....~220pds kick it up a notch....longer lasting aerobic activities, weights....push harder, sweat more....maintain a healthy diet but load a tad more on healthy carbs....sweet potatoes, long grain rice, whole wheat breads...and yes lots and lots of ICY water.....body warms the water first before it diffuses...xtra calories burned right there....

......buy groceries AFTER a meal.....you'll be less inclined to buy the bad stuff or go home with fried chicken and salads lol.....full stomach = less impulse buys.....i try and buy mine after 7pm, post meal, and i typically stick to my lists......after work, that's a different story..

a buddy of mine dropped about 25+ pds this summer by cutting the carbs completely and walking 40 minutes a day....nothing else but that...

good luck, keep us updated...
COD

[Big Ev]

As for diet, it doesn't matter how much you eat, so long as 95% of what you consume are vegetables (and some fruit). I went vegan a couple years ago - for many reasons - and it's the best decision I've ever made. Trust me when I say you can get all you need from the plant kingdom. Plant based dishes are also really easy to prepare and take far less time to cook. The one caveat is that nuts and seeds tend to be pretty expensive (ie. almonds/cashews), and they are used a lot in vegan cooking; but they aren't more expensive than meat! You might not save as much money as you thought, but you'll save time.

Good luck and take care!

Lol, please don't feed us with bullshit.

You say it doesn't matter what you eat, then you go on to say don't eat meat. 95% vegetables is unrealistic and not necessary for the regular person.

[forumname]

Lol, please don't feed us with bullshit.

You say it doesn't matter what you eat, then you go on to say don't eat meat. 95% vegetables is unrealistic and not necessary for the regular person.

I don't think vegans are allowed to eat bullshit...

[Nikerato]

Lol, please don't feed us with bullshit.

You say it doesn't matter what you eat, then you go on to say don't eat meat. 95% vegetables is unrealistic and not necessary for the regular person.

Yes, well I could have elaborated but that figure does include grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, and fruit.

"...so long as..." is usually a well understood conditional statement. If you wanna pump yourself full of meat, then by all means, die early.

[StuntMan12]

"eat to live, don't live to eat"

That is a great quote. I will remember that one for sure. Man it's crazy, what made me rethink how I live and how I eat is looking back when I was 20 I had plans to do something about it (back then I was 220) and now its 7 years later and things have gotten worse. Its like I woke up BOOM 7 years have gone by like nothing. Even 5 years ago I look back at 2010 and think if I started back then I could be shredded right now. Things in my life started spiraling lately, stress from work, I started getting vertigo as a result, working nights the past 2 years probably doesnt help much either. Some people might think leaving this job now is a mistake but when its effecting my health to the point where im missing work half the time Im drawing the line and focusing on my health and to better myself overall. I know in the short term my finances are going to suck but for the long term I think this is the right choice and like Alex Anthopolus im going to "own this decision" lol

[Big Ev]

Yes, well I could have elaborated but that figure does include grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, and fruit.

"...so long as..." is usually a well understood conditional statement. If you wanna pump yourself full of meat, then by all means, die early.

So naive. Do you post on hfboards sens? Couple of nut jobs on there who think meat will kill you too.

You can choose to be vegan but again don't feed people with your bullshit to try to brainwash them

[StuntMan12]

Yes, well I could have elaborated but that figure does include grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, and fruit.

"...so long as..." is usually a well understood conditional statement. If you wanna pump yourself full of meat, then by all means, die early.

Lol I couldnt help but laugh when I read this part. Its true though, I need to eat more veggies and fruit because my diet was basically all meat, bread, coffee. Probably not the greatest mix and not as complete as it should be.

[The Comish]

"...so long as..." is usually a well understood conditional statement. If you wanna pump yourself full of meat, then by all means, die early.

If this were true, my ex-wife would be long dead by now...if ya know what I mean...couldn't...resist...the...gutter...