CoG Weight Loss Club

[civil_dead]

Lose It rocks. Adhere to it strictly and it will work--I lost an annoying 25 lbs on it and the friends I have turned on to it have also lost weight...one friend over 70 lbs! Good luck with it, just remember to record *everything*. That is key.

Also, their CEO is awesome. I was in on the Android beta, sent some feedback and he replied every time, even with stuff I was being nit-picky about.

Hope it works for you!


- - -

Sent from a computational device that has no spellcheck, so cut me some slack!

[Ink Asylum]

Lose It! downloaded. I've got 10-15 pounds I'd like to get rid of and keep off this year.

Anyone using the friends feature on the app? Feel free to add me with my e-mail: inkasylum dot inc at gmail dot com

[Karak]

So is anyone else doing or have done Leangains? So far it shredded what I had gained and removed a good deal of weight.
I am keeping to heavy lifts for the workouts as usual, and doing running for cardio. Got to 12 miles every other day. But I had been doing that before without much luck getting the last couple pounds down and leaned up.

Leangains seems to have worked for me. I am somewhat hypoglycemic so I was a bit worried but in fact, as they state on the website, some people with that issue react very well to it. I did. Man I love the program.

[Dualshotty23]

Any reason lose it seems to be favored over fat secrets calorie counter?

Sent from my GT-i9100 using Tapatalk

[Psykoboy2]

Down 8 pounds since last Sunday. As for the lose it thing...I have no idea. I used the app a long time ago and just had so I used it again. Not sure of any others or advantages either.

[Camel]

Any reason lose it seems to be favored over fat secrets calorie counter?

Sent from my GT-i9100 using Tapatalk
I used to use Dailyplate. It had a lot more options when it came to tracking food when compared to Lose It, but no Android app. I just started using it because I saw people mention it here.

[Dualshotty23]

Down 8 pounds since last Sunday. As for the lose it thing...I have no idea. I used the app a long time ago and just had so I used it again. Not sure of any others or advantages either.

Nice job!

Sent from my GT-i9100 using Tapatalk

[Purple Santa]

I meant to update for my end of the year progress but missed my own update. I lost a total of 80 lbs in 2011. I not only lost the most i've ever lost but more importantly finally figured out how to keep it off. I'm hoping by early summer to have lost all the weight I want to lose.

[Karak]

I meant to update for my end of the year progress but missed my own update. I lost a total of 80 lbs in 2011. I not only lost the most i've ever lost but more importantly finally figured out how to keep it off. I'm hoping by early summer to have lost all the weight I want to lose.

Awesome possum!
When you get to your normal weight, we will need to fight old school style like Kickboxer with JCVD. Class on our knuckles.

[Dark Prince]

Using that Lose It! app since the beginning of the year and so far I've already lost 4 lbs and still loosing. Recording everything is definitely the key to making it work. It's surprising to see the calories of some of the things I've eaten.

Also, been adding in working out with Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012 as well and its been helping a lot.

[pronounconnoun]

Lose It rocks. Adhere to it strictly and it will work--I lost an annoying 25 lbs on it and the friends I have turned on to it have also lost weight...one friend over 70 lbs! Good luck with it, just remember to record *everything*. That is key.


Thanks for the suggestion. I downloaded Lose It and it seems pretty easy to use and straightforward.

UPDATE:
I got P90X. I still need to get a pull up bar and a few more sets of weights. I currently have 30 lbs and I was told I might need to drop that down a bit for some of the exercises.

After I "plateaued" I admittedly haven't worked out much, but I've been a consistent weight and my muscle mass has not gone down. The past few months at least proved I can "maintain" a consistent weight, somewhat. Hopefully I can say goodby the the excess 20+ pounds by summertime.

[Psykoboy2]

Another good one is MyFitnessPal. It works like Lose It! but seems to be more of a coach than just a calorie counter. I mean, it still does that, but after a day's log it will tell you how well you did that day with your food intake.

[Slack3r78]

I've generally tended toward eating fewer carbs than most, and decided to give full-blown keto a try for a few months a couple weeks ago. Dropped about 6lbs in the first week, which is going to be almost entirely water weight, and have been steadily dropping since then.

It's almost disconcerting just plain not getting hungry on 1000-1500 calories a day when maintenance for my size and activity level is in the range of 3200-3600.

[pronounconnoun]

My calorie intake is set to 2500 which is much higher than my last calorie counter which thought I should be eating around 1800. I feel like I snacked like a mo-fo last night and I still landed within my recommended intake. I might adjust it to 2000 calories a day.

I need to start running again as well. I've been waking up at 5:00 a.m. lately and instead of getting up to go for a run, I've been rolling over and sleeping until 7:00. The hardest part is getting started.

[Purple Santa]

Awesome possum!
When you get to your normal weight, we will need to fight old school style like Kickboxer with JCVD. Class on our knuckles.

Ha. Deal. I'm hoping when I meet up with the CoG NYC meet-up i'll be close to my normal weight. Then i'll show my fat pic and feel proud :D

[Angie7F]

Hi! I hope its not too late to join.
Let me preface this by saying that i got anorexic at 14, and have been uncomfortable around food ever since.
I am now eating healthy, but I threw out my scales because I don't want to be obsessed about numbers anymore.


1. Your goal(s).
TO fit into a size M no problem, maybe even a S.
Not relapse my eating disorder in anyway.

2. What you're going to do to get to this goal.
Eat healthy, but eat plenty.
No snacks, so sodas, eat whole food than processed food.
Cook my own food!

3. What could stop you from meeting this goal.
Hormones, stress... But not many external factors.

4. How often will you check in with your progress.
Since I will not weigh myself, its hard to check in, but I will come atleast every 3 days :)

[evilgoodwin]

Hi! I hope its not too late to join.
Let me preface this by saying that i got anorexic at 14, and have been uncomfortable around food ever since.
I am now eating healthy, but I threw out my scales because I don't want to be obsessed about numbers anymore.


1. Your goal(s).
TO fit into a size M no problem, maybe even a S.
Not relapse my eating disorder in anyway.

2. What you're going to do to get to this goal.
Eat healthy, but eat plenty.
No snacks, so sodas, eat whole food than processed food.
Cook my own food!

3. What could stop you from meeting this goal.
Hormones, stress... But not many external factors.

4. How often will you check in with your progress.
Since I will not weigh myself, its hard to check in, but I will come atleast every 3 days :)

Good luck. I recently had to give up the lie that I'm a size "Medium." I'm honestly a "Large" with my frame, but I refused to believe it, so for years I wore clothes that looked like I was turning into the hulk and bursting out of. After a recent shopping trip, I facepalm at how comfortable these new clothes that actually fit are. :P

[Slack3r78]

Good luck. I recently had to give up the lie that I'm a size "Medium." I'm honestly a "Large" with my frame, but I refused to believe it, so for years I wore clothes that looked like I was turning into the hulk and bursting out of. After a recent shopping trip, I facepalm at how comfortable these new clothes that actually fit are. :P

opposite problem. I've deflated to the point where my clothes are huge on me. And I hate going clothes shopping, so I haven't gotten around to buying new clothes that are more fitting.

[Xerxes]

Noom on Android.

[PathMaster]

Noom on Android.

I grabbed this, and at first glance there is a ton of stuff, but then I noticed a lot of it was PRO version only. And my ideal weight is scary thin for me. It would require me to drop around 60 pounds. At forty pounds I am wafer thin..

Still I may stick with it and see how well it does.

[Ink Asylum]

Just by using the Lose It! app to set a goal and help me stay aware of how many calories I've been taking in, I've managed to lose eight pounds since the New Year.

[Xerxes]

I just watched this infomercial on Netflix called Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. Dude when on a all juice (with the help of a juicer) fast for 60 days and was just losing weight and getting off medications. Then this fatter guy did it for 10 days, then 30, then 60, and he ended up losing 200 pounds of the span of 10 months.

I say infomercial, as the juicer was prominent and they did let up off this all juice challenge. There was even a scene that displayed how easy it is to use and how you only spend $420 a month on juicing fruits and vegetables vs other food.

[TheFlyingOrc]

I just watched this infomercial on Netflix called Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. Dude when on a all juice (with the help of a juicer) fast for 60 days and was just losing weight and getting off medications. Then this fatter guy did it for 10 days, then 30, then 60, and he ended up losing 200 pounds of the span of 10 months.

I say infomercial, as the juicer was prominent and they did let up off this all juice challenge. There was even a scene that displayed how easy it is to use and how you only spend $420 a month on juicing fruits and vegetables vs other food.

If you're losing weight at that rate, you really need to be doing it under a doctor's supervision.

I gained a bunch over the holidays, went back on my crazy diet and I'm down 10+ pounds, probably somewhere around 205. My end goal is 190 (or 185, both are good), which would have me under the middle of the healthy range.

[Xerxes]

If you're losing weight at that rate, you really need to be doing it under a doctor's supervision.

I gained a bunch over the holidays, went back on my crazy diet and I'm down 10+ pounds, probably somewhere around 205. My end goal is 190 (or 185, both are good), which would have me under the middle of the healthy range.

Of course this infomercial had doctors! And he said to do that constantly! Anything to move juicers! :D

[Slack3r78]

I just watched this infomercial on Netflix called Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. Dude when on a all juice (with the help of a juicer) fast for 60 days and was just losing weight and getting off medications. Then this fatter guy did it for 10 days, then 30, then 60, and he ended up losing 200 pounds of the span of 10 months.

I say infomercial, as the juicer was prominent and they did let up off this all juice challenge. There was even a scene that displayed how easy it is to use and how you only spend $420 a month on juicing fruits and vegetables vs other food.

I watched that a few months ago. It was entertaining even though I thought the nutrition behind it was bunk. They do have the guy check in with a doc, FWIW, TFO.

I was 275-280 when I started keto, depending on day of the week. I'm now consistently down to the 260-265 range. My weight's always fluctuated dramatically day to day, so I don't worry so much about daily weight so much as general trend. Shooting for 220-240 then back to being less strict about the whole carb intake thing. Mostly making up for years of beer calorie surplus at the moment.

At 6'3" with a relatively large frame, I always feel like I start looking sickly skinny anything under that. I look like a stick at my "ideal" 180ish range.

[Karak]

I watched that a few months ago. It was entertaining even though I thought the nutrition behind it was bunk. They do have the guy check in with a doc, FWIW, TFO.

I was 275-280 when I started keto, depending on day of the week. I'm now consistently down to the 260-265 range. My weight's always fluctuated dramatically day to day, so I don't worry so much about daily weight so much as general trend. Shooting for 220-240 then back to being less strict about the whole carb intake thing. Mostly making up for years of beer calorie surplus at the moment.

At 6'3" with a relatively large frame, I always feel like I start looking sickly skinny anything under that. I look like a stick at my "ideal" 180ish range.

You sound exactly like me. Atkins helped me drop a good deal and when I got to 198 I was noticing just how poor I looked. Just a basis of body style, height, and dress style uhg.

As for me I have been doing it for 6 years and always been in great health because of it. I switched off to do leangains with a friends from work to see how that works. So far leangains has helped me lose 5 more pounds but eat an excellent mix of foods. Both are restrictive in some way but I also like both for different reasons. I can see switching back and for a couple times.

[Slack3r78]

Just a basis of body style, height, and dress style uhg.
I think body composition is a lot of it, too. I put on fat pretty uniformly across my body, so I never look as heavy as I actually am. A lot of my weight goes to my chest and legs, so I don't really get as pronounced a gut as many people do. I still got big, it was just more of an overall ballooning than anything.

I can see switching back and for a couple times.
Cyclical keto has actually been pretty common among serious lifters for decades. Carb-heavy, high calorie diet to gain strength, then keto to cut the excess fat you pick up because of it. The fact that I'd like to start lifting again is a lot of why I'm only planning to stick with strict keto for a few months before introducing more carbs back into my diet.

[JayVe]

Haven't been in this thread in years. Not since I was on my Wii Fit kick.

I don't have any weight loss goals, but I have been losing weight. Moved to India where I eat mostly veg, walk a lot, and dance all weekend. I don't eat factory-food or processed stuff, mostly fresh foods. No soda, lots of water.

I don't know how much weight I've lost, but I realize it in my clothes. I used to wear a 34 pants... sometimes a 32. Now I wear a 30-32, depending on the pants. I went shopping with some girls here and they convinced me to try on a pair of skinny jeans in 30, and I look GOOD in them!

What the hell. This is something I never expected. My shirt sizes also changed. I'm now wearing a 39-40 instead of a 42-44. Having clothes that fit well makes a HUGE difference in my self-esteem!

Atop it all, I feel GOOD! I have energy, and the girls want to dance with me. Good lifestyle change and it is CHEAP to eat well here. :D

[Ink Asylum]

Although I have the benefit of not needing to lose a lot of weight, I'm wary of odd gimmick diets. Although I have yet to read his books, I try to remember Michael Pollan's (author of The Omnivore's Dilemma) advice daily: "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants."

Generally, when I'm making a bad decision about my diet, it's because I'm breaking one of those three rules.

[Karak]

I think body composition is a lot of it, too. I put on fat pretty uniformly across my body, so I never look as heavy as I actually am. A lot of my weight goes to my chest and legs, so I don't really get as pronounced a gut as many people do. I still got big, it was just more of an overall ballooning than anything.


Cyclical keto has actually been pretty common among serious lifters for decades. Carb-heavy, high calorie diet to gain strength, then keto to cut the excess fat you pick up because of it. The fact that I'd like to start lifting again is a lot of why I'm only planning to stick with strict keto for a few months before introducing more carbs back into my diet.

Correct. Thats what I meant when I said bodystyle. Body composition is the same thing and its how you put on weight. Pear, V and so on.

Yep cyclical keto has been around forever. I have used it since I was 19 and am 37 now. Its always worked, especially when I was powerlifting(keto helped me versus carbs strangely). I have never went carb heavy though. I don't react well at all to excess carbs. Makes me feel like shit, and the energy boost isn't worth it for what I do. I frankly just feel amazing when keeping carbs incredibly low.

[Karak]

Although I have the benefit of not needing to lose a lot of weight, I'm wary of odd gimmick diets. Although I have yet to read his books, I try to remember Michael Pollan's (author of The Omnivore's Dilemma) advice daily: "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants."

Generally, when I'm making a bad decision about my diet, it's because I'm breaking one of those three rules.

I think that works for SURE for maybe 75% of people. The remaining 25% have all kinds of varying factors that require, demand, or work better with unique diets. I mean I am not a juice only fan, but for some people if that works, and they are smart and able to roll into a better eating habit afterwards, then thats fine. When I teach students we discuss diet a great deal and a good majority, even while working out very hard 2-3 hours a day, have specific problems that cause weight to cling to them. Its strange really. I feel bad for some people with that cloying 20-40 pounds that they can't work off. Its so true that working out doesn't just fix things and sadly even eating healthy and working out doesn't work for a smaller subset of people.

I can see why many gather around the next big thing.

[Ink Asylum]

I'm speaking from very limited personal experience and certainly sympathize with people who need more demanding diets.

I think your 25% number is a bit high, but that's just my opinion. I think we both agree, though, that a significant number of people who try special diets would be just fine following simple rules like the ones I mentioned.

[Karak]

I'm speaking from very limited personal experience and certainly sympathize with people who need more demanding diets.

I think your 25% number is a bit high, but that's just my opinion. I think we both agree, though, that a significant number of people who try special diets would be just fine following simple rules like the ones I mentioned.

Only my numbers but a bit of data:

When I train I track due to specific goals that need to be met for those in class some of them financial, some personal goals, and others restrictions in weight classes. This is an online log and personal website for every practitioner.

So currently I have had 411 people I have had in classes since starting logging a couple years ago. 278 were not losing weight at their caloric deficit limit and of those 99 were medically puzzling to the point that we took the normal dietary logs and drilled down to the point of sugar free gum, sleep patterns, workout specific times, and body matrix.
Workouts included 3 hours of wrestling, kick-boxing, or running every other day with alternate sunday's off.

I can only say that every other trainer I have been involved with, trained with, or collaborated with, has stated the same thing. Exercise, and diet have so drastically changed, that a growing set of people no longer fit any kind of caloric model.

I am not saying thats right, or 100% limit and control bound. But this is an aspect of what I do and things for people, the very chemistry of people is changing. Blame that on food, environment effects, or internal changes, I am not sure. But there are huge changes occurring.

My own personal log is crazy. While working out for 2.5 hours a day during contact practice(preparing for our own internal competitions) I was taking in 2200 calories. After calculations during weight ins I should have been dropping a specific amount of weight in those cutting phases. I tracked every single thing I ever put in my mouth and every single thing that I did when it came to exercise. And it still wasn't coming off.

After a trip to a doctor and specific testing we found that my digestion was slower than the average person by almost 20%. Allowing for the food to stay in the intestines longer and for it to allow even more calories and such to be absorbed. I also found out that diets low in fat caused me migraine headaches, another chemical factor that we could never track down as I wasn't eating anything different, just less than before. I switched back to atkins and the weight came back under control almost magically. Not that Atkins was a fad then, it was pretty popular. Call it carb restricting or Keto or whatever but I just call it was it was at the time.

Anyway just my own bits of personal experience. My firm belief is that the rules in the past for weight loss are changing as we speak. Something pretty drastic is occurring and it can't all be explained by lazy.
And I am the first to think someone is lazy but after so many experiences it seems pretty profound that a massive change is occurring and that a growing number of people are having difficulty not just explained away by eating less, or eating better.

I am also not talking about morbidly obese people. Yes eating less and better will ALWAYS assist someone in that category as they are obviously taking in a caloric surplus. Yet there are clear points where it is found that even their expected weight loss can be less than expected if you try to run the system in a caloric in/out matrix.

[Purple Santa]

Hi! I hope its not too late to join.
Let me preface this by saying that i got anorexic at 14, and have been uncomfortable around food ever since.
I am now eating healthy, but I threw out my scales because I don't want to be obsessed about numbers anymore.


1. Your goal(s).
TO fit into a size M no problem, maybe even a S.
Not relapse my eating disorder in anyway.

2. What you're going to do to get to this goal.
Eat healthy, but eat plenty.
No snacks, so sodas, eat whole food than processed food.
Cook my own food!

3. What could stop you from meeting this goal.
Hormones, stress... But not many external factors.

4. How often will you check in with your progress.
Since I will not weigh myself, its hard to check in, but I will come atleast every 3 days :)
Wow, you don't kid with your posts do you :D This isn't my field of expertise (i'm a therapist but not with eating disorders) but I would suggest you talk to someone about how to keep healthy. I like goals 2 and 3. Goal one is the one I really feel you need to talk to someone who knows how to respond to this. It's great you felt comfortable enough to let us in on your background but i'm being honest here...we aren't or shouldn't be advising on this. But updates on how you are doing is always welcome :D
Only my numbers but a bit of data:

When I train I track due to specific goals that need to be met for those in class some of them financial, some personal goals, and others restrictions in weight classes. This is an online log and personal website for every practitioner.

So currently I have had 411 people I have had in classes since starting logging a couple years ago. 278 were not losing weight at their caloric deficit limit and of those 99 were medically puzzling to the point that we took the normal dietary logs and drilled down to the point of sugar free gum, sleep patterns, workout specific times, and body matrix.
Workouts included 3 hours of wrestling, kick-boxing, or running every other day with alternate sunday's off.

I can only say that every other trainer I have been involved with, trained with, or collaborated with, has stated the same thing. Exercise, and diet have so drastically changed, that a growing set of people no longer fit any kind of caloric model.

I am not saying thats right, or 100% limit and control bound. But this is an aspect of what I do and things for people, the very chemistry of people is changing. Blame that on food, environment effects, or internal changes, I am not sure. But there are huge changes occurring.

My own personal log is crazy. While working out for 2.5 hours a day during contact practice(preparing for our own internal competitions) I was taking in 2200 calories. After calculations during weight ins I should have been dropping a specific amount of weight in those cutting phases. I tracked every single thing I ever put in my mouth and every single thing that I did when it came to exercise. And it still wasn't coming off.

After a trip to a doctor and specific testing we found that my digestion was slower than the average person by almost 20%. Allowing for the food to stay in the intestines longer and for it to allow even more calories and such to be absorbed. I also found out that diets low in fat caused me migraine headaches, another chemical factor that we could never track down as I wasn't eating anything different, just less than before. I switched back to atkins and the weight came back under control almost magically. Not that Atkins was a fad then, it was pretty popular. Call it carb restricting or Keto or whatever but I just call it was it was at the time.

Anyway just my own bits of personal experience. My firm belief is that the rules in the past for weight loss are changing as we speak. Something pretty drastic is occurring and it can't all be explained by lazy.
And I am the first to think someone is lazy but after so many experiences it seems pretty profound that a massive change is occurring and that a growing number of people are having difficulty not just explained away by eating less, or eating better.

I am also not talking about morbidly obese people. Yes eating less and better will ALWAYS assist someone in that category as they are obviously taking in a caloric surplus. Yet there are clear points where it is found that even their expected weight loss can be less than expected if you try to run the system in a caloric in/out matrix.

You are awesome. As usual.

[Slack3r78]

So, stopped in the cafeteria at work today as usual to grab a Coke Zero (I need my caffeine fix since I don't drink coffee. I hate most diet drinks but I've found Coke Zero and Monster Absolute Zero to be tolerable) and the cashier randomly asked me "so, how much have you lost?"

Must be doing something right.

[Purple Santa]

So, stopped in the cafeteria at work today as usual to grab a Coke Zero (I need my caffeine fix since I don't drink coffee. I hate most diet drinks but I've found Coke Zero and Monster Absolute Zero to be tolerable) and the cashier randomly asked me "so, how much have you lost?"

Must be doing something right.

I want to try Monster Absolute Zero. How does it taste?

[Karak]

I want to try Monster Absolute Zero. How does it taste?

Its great! The Monsters are some of the best diet drinks available. Of course they are diet so they do lack a bit.
IMHO.
Which is right.
Don't argue...just drink one.

[Slack3r78]

Its great! The Monsters are some of the best diet drinks available. Of course they are diet so they do lack a bit.
IMHO.
Which is right.
Don't argue...just drink one.

More or less this. If anything it's a hair on the sweet side for me. I rarely actually finish a can. But yeah, Monster makes some great diet energy drinks.

Rockstar Recovery is another favorite of mine. It's a lemonade with a metric fuckton of caffeine and very few calories/carbs.

[Karak]

More or less this. If anything it's a hair on the sweet side for me. I rarely actually finish a can. But yeah, Monster makes some great diet energy drinks.

Rockstar Recovery is another favorite of mine. It's a lemonade with a metric fuckton of caffeine and very few calories/carbs.

Actually that is something you don't hear often but does happen to me. Some of the monster drinks are actually a bit on the sweet side and don't have any chemical taste they leave behind or taste that they are trying to hide. They just are indeed sweet. So at points when I want a good sweet drink there is a particular white canned monster I drink(the name escapes), and at all other times I stick to one that tastes a bit like cranberryes and...awesome.

Hahaha Recovery has a lot of caffeine and that's coming from me. Who should be immune to its effects but damn...

[Purple Santa]

Its great! The Monsters are some of the best diet drinks available. Of course they are diet so they do lack a bit.
IMHO.
Which is right.
Don't argue...just drink one.

I've just recently (for the hell of it, no other better reason) tried Monster's energy drinks. Well 2 or 3 of the non-diet. I agree they are sweet. That's what surprised me. I'll definitely try the non-diet.

R* recovery is awesome. It was the first energy drink I ever tried. I think that is what started all of this exploration.

[Xerxes]

More or less this. If anything it's a hair on the sweet side for me. I rarely actually finish a can. But yeah, Monster makes some great diet energy drinks.

Rockstar Recovery is another favorite of mine. It's a lemonade with a metric fuckton of caffeine and very few calories/carbs.

I might give this a try. I've been drinking 8oz sugar free red bull. 10 calories a can.

[Karak]

I might give this a try. I've been drinking 8oz sugar free red bull. 10 calories a can.

Honestly Xerx thay aint bad.
Speaking of that I haven't seen you on steam to chat up in a while. Have you even been playing games lately?

[Xerxes]

I'm on steam all the time. Absolute zero, isn't bad. Taste exactly like regular Monster almost.

[Psykoboy2]

Today I hit my first goal weight. In fact, I dropped through it by 3 pounds. Since I started at the first of the year today makes 20 pounds lost so far. I've re-adjusted my goal (another 50 pounds) and calorie intake.

Onward and downward as it were.

[Ink Asylum]

Congrats! Well done!

[PathMaster]

Looking for some basic advice on starting out here.

Quick background, close to 6'4", around 255 at the moment. Not huge, but I would very much prefer to lose some weight and get more fit. I grabbed the Noom app that Xerxes mentioned. And while it is okay, in most aspects, the way it generalizes the caloric intake made me take a double take. I was honestly surprised by how much I was taking in, and I think I was being on the lower side of things.

I have been looking for exercise equipment for awhile, but I am looking for something that I can do while watching TV and or play video games, but maybe works more of my body than my legs. My lower half is in fair shape, in the middle section that needs work tbh. I think I will at least start out doing some exercises in the morning, crunches at least. Will check with work to see if we have any gym membership benefits.

Have to determine a good food plan as well.

Any ideas on exercises, equipment, food, will be well thanked!

I do limit my soda intake, although I can do better. I take water with me to work and sip on it all day. I do throw in some flavoring with MIO, or the generic brand version.

[Slack3r78]

I played with noom for about 5 minutes before deleting it with prejudice.

It's pretty clearly designed entirely with low-fat starve yourself diets in mind. It slags egg yolks as being unhealthy. Fuck that. I'm really unimpressed by the black box method of food info I saw too. I care about macronutrient levels and I don't see that in noom.

I'm still using Fat Secret's Calorie Counter largely because it's so flexible and open to different diet approaches. The food database is fairly complete, and you get full nutritional info for the things you look up. It's all presented in a straight-forward, unbiased manner. Give me the data and let me get on with it.

I still need to play with Lose It. It'd have to be pretty phenomenal for me to switch though. The only complaints I have about Fat Secret is that the UI is still a little dinky and their weight trending is hilariously shoddy. It seems to only do a linear plot between your last two weigh-ins which sometimes leads to hilarious results - e.g., I went out for drinks with a friend last night. I lost 2+ lbs in alcohol dehydration overnight and Calorie Counter freaked the fuck out and popped up with a warning that I'm losing 15.4lbs/week and I am I sure I entered things correctly! :)

[Camel]

After using Lose It for the last three weeks, I have to say it kind of sucks. Very limited in the food options that you can enter. The only thing it really has going for it that I like is that there's an Android app for it. I'm going back to MyPlate (http://www.livestrong.com/myplate/), even though their app apparently stinks (I didn't even know it existed until looking it up right now).

I think it might be a geographical thing...I haven't heard of most of the brands that pop up when I enter food.

[Cactaur]

I find it irritating that all these apps require a calorie entry for custom foods. FFS I just want something simple to log my preset meals instead of plain old pen n paper.

[Camel]

I find it irritating that all these apps require a calorie entry for custom foods. FFS I just want something simple to log my preset meals instead of plain old pen n paper.
That's one reason I like MyPlate. Most of the time I was able to find something at least similar to what I ate and move on.

It also has entries for food from Sheetz, which is probably the only fast food I eat nowadays. :D

[PathMaster]

I played with noom for about 5 minutes before deleting it with prejudice.

It's pretty clearly designed entirely with low-fat starve yourself diets in mind. It slags egg yolks as being unhealthy. Fuck that. I'm really unimpressed by the black box method of food info I saw too. I care about macronutrient levels and I don't see that in noom.

I'm still using Fat Secret's Calorie Counter largely because it's so flexible and open to different diet approaches. The food database is fairly complete, and you get full nutritional info for the things you look up. It's all presented in a straight-forward, unbiased manner. Give me the data and let me get on with it.

I still need to play with Lose It. It'd have to be pretty phenomenal for me to switch though. The only complaints I have about Fat Secret is that the UI is still a little dinky and their weight trending is hilariously shoddy. It seems to only do a linear plot between your last two weigh-ins which sometimes leads to hilarious results - e.g., I went out for drinks with a friend last night. I lost 2+ lbs in alcohol dehydration overnight and Calorie Counter freaked the fuck out and popped up with a warning that I'm losing 15.4lbs/week and I am I sure I entered things correctly! :)

I grabbed Fat Secret's CC and I think I had this at one point before, but never used it. Set myself up with it and logged this morning's meal. SOOO much better. It actually had Bagel thins IN the DB. So much easier. BYE BYE NOOM!

[Karak]

Stuff.
I am different then most in how I play games. But here is my own personal game workout.

Every loading screen I do something while it loads:
First Loading screen, Burpies or squats
Second Situps
Third Pushups
4th Jumping jacks.

I do that for every game. Sadly at times I have done it when friends are there ha. I take working out and games seriously so I have no qualms with doing workouts so that I can play.
If you get a game with no loading screens, you can do it during cut scenes. Or on specific time-frames where there may be some downtime.

Or if you can't do that.
Take those four things and divide the playing time by 1/4th and do those exercise for 1/4 the time after playing the game. If I play for around 100 minutes I work out for 25. Doing alternating sets above with less than 20 second breaks between.

As for work out equipment. Extra strength workout bands can be purchased from Amazon for cheap. I use them for squats, I use them for boxing, I use them in whatever way I can and wherever I can. Resistence movement is great for game based workouts.

I have a Kinect. It has probably shaved off another 10 hard to lose pounds. Due to the way it works and the whole body workouts it burns a shitload of calories.

Diet:

Start with small changes. I don't ever ever ever eat after 6. One of my best diet choices ever. Literally keeps so much weight off. Keep eating what you do, but cut the portions down by 10-20% per week until you are at a level where you feel safe weight is coming off but not too fast.

For example
Breakfast Current: Breakfast burrito.
Breakfast Change: 3/4ths breakfast burrito

Lunch Current: 12 inch subway sandwich any kind
Lunch Change: 4inches of the sub removed. Save for a snack or for later

Dinner Current: Steak (12 ounces), Potatoes 2 huge scoopes, Drink
Dinner Change: Steak (8 ounces), Potatoes 1 3/4ths scoopes, drink(same size)

This is NOT what I eat. Just an example of what I mean.

Currently I am doing leangains, but that is a serious diet change. It does have benifits but the above is probably a better beginner idea.

[Slack3r78]

So today it complained at me that I was gaining 7lbs/week. :)

http://i.imgur.com/BhLcN.png

The sudden drop at the very beginning is because the last time I'd bothered to weigh in was about a year before. The orange line is "starting weight" but isn't accurate; that's just when I told Fat Secret I was doing keto and it wouldn't let me back-date it. Actual starting point was mid-late December, which is kind of clear from the trend on the graph.

Started at 275-280, weighed in under 260 the last three days so I'm comfortable calling my weight sub 260 at this point.

[PathMaster]

I am different then most in how I play games. But here is my own personal game workout.

Every loading screen I do something while it loads:
First Loading screen, Burpies or squats
Second Situps
Third Pushups
4th Jumping jacks.

I do that for every game. Sadly at times I have done it when friends are there ha. I take working out and games seriously so I have no qualms with doing workouts so that I can play.
If you get a game with no loading screens, you can do it during cut scenes. Or on specific time-frames where there may be some downtime.

Or if you can't do that.
Take those four things and divide the playing time by 1/4th and do those exercise for 1/4 the time after playing the game. If I play for around 100 minutes I work out for 25. Doing alternating sets above with less than 20 second breaks between.

As for work out equipment. Extra strength workout bands can be purchased from Amazon for cheap. I use them for squats, I use them for boxing, I use them in whatever way I can and wherever I can. Resistence movement is great for game based workouts.

I have a Kinect. It has probably shaved off another 10 hard to lose pounds. Due to the way it works and the whole body workouts it burns a shitload of calories.

Diet:

Start with small changes. I don't ever ever ever eat after 6. One of my best diet choices ever. Literally keeps so much weight off. Keep eating what you do, but cut the portions down by 10-20% per week until you are at a level where you feel safe weight is coming off but not too fast.

For example
Breakfast Current: Breakfast burrito.
Breakfast Change: 3/4ths breakfast burrito

Lunch Current: 12 inch subway sandwich any kind
Lunch Change: 4inches of the sub removed. Save for a snack or for later

Dinner Current: Steak (12 ounces), Potatoes 2 huge scoopes, Drink
Dinner Change: Steak (8 ounces), Potatoes 1 3/4ths scoopes, drink(same size)

This is NOT what I eat. Just an example of what I mean.

Currently I am doing leangains, but that is a serious diet change. It does have benifits but the above is probably a better beginner idea.

Burpees, (had to look up what they actually are), ugh. My body for some reason has a severe disconnect when doing that. I had to do them for a Corrections Officer Exam and while I accomplished the rest ok, those I did not. I do like the idea of throwing in some exercises with gaming, when I get a chance to game.

Resistance bands may be helpful. I assume something like this set. (http://www.amazon.com/Black-Mountain-Products-Resistance-Exercise/dp/7245456313/)

I try to make small changes and not frequently. I cut a lot of soda out a while ago and while I have vacillated some, for the most part drink very little soda now. Maybe a can or two a week. I have tried not to eat past 6, but that rarely works time wise, or stomach wise. Around 9 or 10 I get hungry again. I know one issue I have is portion control. I may chow down 5 slices of pizza before I fill up. I am far better than what I have been and continue to work on it.

I don't think I need to do anything crazy diet wise. Just be mindful and actually exercise. When I was walking around ten miles a day due to work, I plateaued around 240, I will see what regular exercise can do with that number.

[Karak]

Lots
Sadly Burpies are amazing for body workouts. Also they are hard because it requires full body movement...thus dexterity which no one is born with and has to be learned, even for a new exercise. Keep at it.

Those bands are perfect.

Well if you can't do time, change the portions and don't go crazy cutting down. But you WILL notice results quickly, at the very minimum a shrinking of your stomachs ability to handle THAT MUCH PIZZA.

Eating Late...The Hungering

Eating late is a bitch. If you get hungry at 9 or 10 have a very small snack but frankly there are tons of studies that show a huge issue with eating late. Even if you stay up late in contrast. Digestion does not work as well during those late night hours as during the day. Plus you may feel active but you are probably less active even if just playing games.

All I can say is I have been 290 and all the way down to 180. And the 3 changes for me were.

No eating late
Leangains or portion control
Atkins(various reasons but I perform like shit with even a normal amount of carbs.) I just don't digest them well.

So for you just start with portion control until you get to the point where eating before 6 means getting hungry at 9 but getting BARELY hungry because your stomach shrank and you body doesn't require the same amount of food to stave off hunger.

I have also found that working out during games keeps me more mentality alert and high twitch games I perform far better at when moving around and such then when just sitting. Not sure why.
Keep it up though. Its possible, just a bit difficult at first.

[Ink Asylum]

Probably the best diet change I did was cutting out practically all non-water drinks. I have a single-serving of OJ for breakfast and from that point on I have either seltzer or straight water.

It certainly helps that I enjoy a nice cold glass of water. It's been a month since I had a soda or any other drink with calories other than my morning OJ. Even if I hadn't cut down on the food I eat that's a lot of calories reduced.

[Xerxes]

I'm such a dope. I bought a juicer.

[JayVe]

I'm on a diet of south Indian filtered coffee, alcohol, cigarettes, and work. Lots of work.

The other reason one loses weight here is cause you have no idea when you are gonna eat something completely evil that flushes your system for 24+ hours.

[Slack3r78]

So I just realized that Fat Secret will calculate net carbs for you. Awesome.

EDIT:

Also, I'm almost disturbed how stupid easy this has become for me.

http://i.imgur.com/Fkgnw.png

That's absurdly close to the 65/30/5 ratio generally recommended for keto and I wasn't really putting any conscious effort into it.

[PathMaster]

I like the app, but damn is it flaky. Or at least the widget is. Constantly is giving me errors. Maybe it just does not like the wifi here?

And where did you find that breakdown?

[Karak]

So I just realized that Fat Secret will calculate net carbs for you. Awesome.

EDIT:

Also, I'm almost disturbed how stupid easy this has become for me.

http://i.imgur.com/Fkgnw.png

That's absurdly close to the 65/30/5 ratio generally recommended for keto and I wasn't really putting any conscious effort into it.

Very cool little app there. Especially for us doing Keto!

[Slack3r78]

I like the app, but damn is it flaky. Or at least the widget is. Constantly is giving me errors. Maybe it just does not like the wifi here?

And where did you find that breakdown?

Oh, the graphs and what not I've been getting from the Fat Secret website. I use both the site and the app; the site has a lot more fine-grained stuff like that. (Though it does still give you raw macro numbers on the food entry page in the app).

I don't use the widget so I can't comment on it.

[PathMaster]

Hmm, I did not see it on their site either, but I only have two days of values in.

[Slack3r78]

It's at the bottom of the food entry page for any given day.

[PathMaster]

Ahh thanks. And my ratio is:

Carbs: 50%
Fat: 40%
Protein: 10%

Not the exact numbers but very close....

[Vandabo]

I'm such a dope. I bought a juicer.

So, have you juiced yet? I'm curious as to what it's like.

Personally I've been starting to make a lot of fruit and vegetable smoothies to try and get some more of that stuff in my diet. I'm still trying to dial in some good mixtures though...

[Xerxes]

Made my first juice. One small clove of garlic is stronger than first thought. O_o

OVERALL: Still pretty good it's a fruit, leafy green mix. With a clove of garlic in it. It tastes like a thin soup though cause of the garlic. I think next time I might shoot for more fruity. Or maybe one of these mean green juices I keep seeing.

The juice I got has a froth remover. That use to be a hang up of mines when I tried juicing as a youngster. Probably the main reason I quit.

[resikel]

Hey Karak,

I need a recommendation/suggestion. I've mention that I use Optimum Nutrition Amino Energy for pre-workout and just for the caffeine kick and I had an Amazon subscription to it that was only costing me about $13.50 a bottle. Since then, they no longer offer Optimum Nutrition in their subscription plan and the price have risen to over $22 bucks (still a great bargain considering GNC is selling them for $30 bucks!).

Each bottle is 30 servings and I've sometimes take 2 servings a day. So cost wise, I went from .90 cents to a probable $1.47 per day. That's a 61% increase in about a 3-4 months span.

I'm looking for a cheaper alternative if you have one.

[Xerxes]

I made a mean green juice and it's kind spicy. Not bad tasting though. Going to have to try a full day of juicing.

[resikel]

About 3+ years ago I got hit with gout for the first time; that shit was painful, like 24 hours of constant pain for a month. I had to go on a mostly liquid diet to flush out all of that uric acid.

So much juicing for about 3 months...lucky my sister was into the juicing so she greatly helped during that painful period.

[Xerxes]

I have to say cleaning a juicer is no fun.

[JayVe]

I have to say cleaning a juicer is no fun.

All the ladies I know disagree.

[Xerxes]

Har har! Blueberries suck the most to clean. Tonight I'm going to juice all the shit I bought last week. It's still good but can't be that fresh just sitting there. Tomorrow, we dine on juice. O_o

[PathMaster]

Have to tell us how it works for you. I know someone who did that for months on end. And while she slimmed down it was not a lot, she did look healthier though. She was doing some weird juicing/cleanse thing though.

Hah, maintained my weight through nearly 20 wings and 1 pizza over Superbowl weekend.

[Slack3r78]

A quick grocery store run quickly escalated into $80 of delicious.

2.5lbs ground beef
taco seasoning and sauce
low-carb whole wheat tortillas
1lb mesquite marinated pork tenderloin
bacon
huge bag of breakfast sausage patties
chorizo
zuchinni
eggplant
mozzarella
marinara
pepperoni
italian sausage bits
broccoli
celery
okra
giant romaine heart
blue cheese
a couple of cans of sardines because I've never tried them before and they're a dollar
24 pack of coke zero

I <3 my diet so much. My weigh-in this morning was exactly 15 pounds down from Jan 7. I can deal with a half-pound a day of loss.

I have a 1lb bag of almond flour coming this week. There was an awesome looking recipe for pizza dough based on it over at /r/keto and I wanted to try, hence all the pizza toppings. Will report back on awesomeness later this week.

[Xerxes]

#juicing #mutagen

https://p.twimg.com/AlJvxuWCEAAEx53.jpg

[PathMaster]

I see an unfinished crossword. You must exercise your mind too!!

Ugh...nasty looking. The person I know who did it, frequently used Kale in her drinks..Lots of ugly green in there.

[Xerxes]

It looked very gross pouring it. Not all the greens liquids melded. Some dark green patches flowed into the container. I used Kale as well. I think the lemon and kiwi makes it much more drinkable. I bought most this stuff last week and I figured, just juice it all before it starts getting unfresh.

All and all, it isn't as bad as it looks.

[Karak]

All and all, it isn't as bad as it looks.

That's good.
Because I wouldn't feed what I am seeing in that pic to a war criminal.

[Xerxes]

That's good.
Because I wouldn't feed what I am seeing in that pic to a war criminal.

You give your war criminals gruel with little to no nutrients. Save this massive infusion of pure power up for yourself. :o

[PathMaster]

Try some raspberries. Better color and taste.

[Karak]

You give your war criminals gruel with little to no nutrients. Save this massive infusion of pure power up for yourself. :o

Hahahaha. Copy that!

[Xerxes]

Try some raspberries. Better color and taste.

Well now, everything I read says GREEN! So, I think this is mission accomplished. Even used a green fruit.

My fruit juice was much better. Didn't have any raspberries though. Had blueberries.

[PathMaster]

I have to say, I am liking Fat Secret. It is an excellent program and web service. I love that I can just scan jut about everything I need to into it, and other things I can just search and get a very close match to what I need. It seems to be helping me SEE where some of my issues are. Such as the late night snacks of Oreos and milk, those calories add up quickly. This way I get to address some of the issue such as portion control by actually seeing what the meal means overall. Need to start experiencing so I can add that in and see how it all works together.

I am even going so far as to prepare my meals the night before sometimes, adding it to the app for tomorrow and seeing how much it is totaling up to.

Plus I love that my tuna, avocado, cream cheese, celery, cucumber, mix is so filling and not so big on the calorie hit.

[Xerxes]

Made it greener. Like a Donatello green though.

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Xerionus/20120216_125619.jpg

[Vandabo]

Hows it working for you? Feeling any benefits yet?

[Xerxes]

I haven't juiced like daily or anything. I make em when I make them. They do go through your system differently. I find 3 kiwi and 1 lemon helps keep a standard taste. The 32 ounce jug I keep taking pictures of last me the 8 hours at work. Feels you up, and you gas it out.

I'm not Catholic, but for the period of Lent I "plan" to go meatless. Which should mean way more juicing. Granola, nuts, and I suppose eating more fruits and veggies. I was thinking about pure juicing but I can't wrap my head around it.

[Vanthar]

I'm not Catholic, but for the period of Lent I "plan" to go meatless. Which should mean way more juicing. Granola, nuts, and I suppose eating more fruits and veggies. I was thinking about pure juicing but I can't wrap my head around it.

Careful with the nuts, most are very energy dense. I find I can eat a huge portion of them without really noticing as well.

[Xerxes]

I have this snack baggy I sometimes make for lunch. 2 handful of cashews, 8 granola nut clusters, and a handful of this healthy bird food trail mix. Has almonds and sunflower seeds. I also throw in 6 pecan clusters as well. And 4 dried mango slices.

[Vigil80]

I'm not Catholic, but for the period of Lent I "plan" to go meatless. Which should mean way more juicing. Granola, nuts, and I suppose eating more fruits and veggies. I was thinking about pure juicing but I can't wrap my head around it.
Is there really a benefit to that, particularly for just a period? If so, I might try something along those lines myself. I've been thinking more about my diet lately.

[Vanthar]

I have this snack baggy I sometimes make for lunch. 2 handful of cashews, 8 granola nut clusters, and a handful of this healthy bird food trail mix. Has almonds and sunflower seeds. I also throw in 6 pecan clusters as well. And 4 dried mango slices.

This might make you sad...

Nuts, protein bars and dried fruit

Nuts in all their various forms are the most overrated and overhyped foods in the “health conscious” community. Just because it’s a natural food doesn’t mean it’s all that diet friendly or even healthy for that matter.
Packing a higher calorie density than chocolate, it’s no big mystery that people easily overdo it with nuts. Some people rationalize a high nut consumption by saying it’s a healthy and natural snack, but this is wrong. Nuts contain an incomplete amino acid profile and consist mostly of plant fats. The westernized diet is already highly unbalanced in the omega 3: omega 6-ratio—the polyunsaturated fats from nuts certainly won’t help.
Optimize the fat composition of your diet by kicking nuts to the curb and add more fish, that’s my recommendation. You’ll be more satiated and healthier to boot.
A protein bar is nothing more than a chocolate bar with slightly higher protein content and crappier taste. A whopping 300 calories for a bar that you’ll gulf down in a few minutes is crazy. For most women that amount makes up about ¼-1/5 of the daily total calorie intake needed to lose fat efficiently. Besides that, eating protein bars to up your protein intake isn’t a great strategy as a bar’s protein content makes up only about 30-40% of its calories. You could down half a Snickers bar and a protein shake, and end up consuming fewer calories with a better nutritional breakdown than having your typical protein bar. Protein bars are nothing more than glamorized candy. And you don’t eat candy on a regular basis if you want to optimize fat loss and diet adherence.
Unprocessed fruit is good, but dried fruit including dried apricots, dates and raisins are just sugar lumps with some extra fiber. These snacks have high calorie density and tend to stimulate hunger rather than quench it. Out of the three popular snacks discussed here, dried fruit may just be the worst of the lot. You don’t want or need them on a fat loss diet.

Scorch Through Your Fat Loss Plateau (http://fitnessblackbook.com/diet-tips/martin-berkhan-scorch-through-your-fat-loss-plateau/)

To be clear, he is a super low body fat guy. Eating some nuts and dried fruit isn't going to kill you as long as you manage your portions well, which I think you are. I also think the actual calorie count would surprise you on your trail mix bag.

[civil_dead]

Yeah, I was gonna say Xerxes: that "healthy" snack you described screams hundreds and hundreds of calories for just one snack. Depending on what you determine is a handful, just the cashews alone can be in the hundreds of calories (just one ounce, which isn't a handful by most people's standards) is about 160 calories. Thrown in the clusters and whatnot and you might as well drink one of your Frapuccinos.

Granola in particular has a super-high calorie count for the amount of food you eat. Most will give you ~200 calories for 1/4 - 1/2 cup. If you think that sounds like plenty, measure that shit out. It's not.

Sorry to shit on your parade, my man. But if you're trying to lose weight start off by getting to know portion sizes vs. calories (read every label) and find out what are good foods for a balanced lifestyle. For example, I've been eating 3 organic dried Turkish figs (which are fucking delicious) every day as part of lunch. They are dense (and thus filling), have all kinds of nutritional value and are full of fiber, which keeps the shit flowing. All this for 150 calories.

Okay, I'll shut up now. I say this out of love! :o

[Xerxes]

This might make you sad...



Scorch Through Your Fat Loss Plateau (http://fitnessblackbook.com/diet-tips/martin-berkhan-scorch-through-your-fat-loss-plateau/)

To be clear, he is a super low body fat guy. Eating some nuts and dried fruit isn't going to kill you as long as you manage your portions well, which I think you are. I also think the actual calorie count would surprise you on your trail mix bag.

The completed bag I make is about 400-600 calories based on the serving sizes and I find it does a few things. Doesn't surprise me at all cause I read the packaging. Personally, snacking on all that tires the jaw. The bag lasts almost an hour if not more. Sometimes it lasts all of lunch. All that chewing gets my jaws tights. Don't feel like eating much afterwards. Also, it's pretty tasty for what it is. And can we say upping the regularity? That's a plus. It's also filling.

As far as protein bars. I'm partial to those 80 cal Fiber one bars. Not really protein and more cereal bars I reackon. 35% Fiber in each bar. I use to include of these in my lunch pack too. I also use to have one mid day workout. I haven't had mid day workout in a while.

As you can see the diet change should result and me pumping out 6 courics (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=couric) daily. :p

PLUS that dude rips breakfast. I bet he could trash juicing too. He's a prime example of different strokes for different folks guy. :)


Vigil80, I really don't know. I know when I meat out, things get weird body wise. Sticks with you longer and stuff of that nature. This sort of a dialing back. I'll still be eating fish so there is that. Mostly tuna, maybe some salmon. This also cuts out fried stuff by default for me.

The guy with the 60 days of nothing but juicing is madness to me. (Sparta doesn't understand juicing!) He did make one point that stuck with me. I eat more meat and junk than I ever eat veggies and fruit. So to quote Leon Black "I'm gonna topsy turvy that bitch. Flip it around on em."

It's a short period. If anything it's a test in discipline.

[Xerxes]

Yeah, I was gonna say Xerxes: that "healthy" snack you described screams hundreds and hundreds of calories for just one snack. Depending on what you determine is a handful, just the cashews alone can be in the hundreds of calories (just one ounce, which isn't a handful by most people's standards) is about 160 calories. Thrown in the clusters and whatnot and you might as well drink one of your Frapuccinos.

Granola in particular has a super-high calorie count for the amount of food you eat. Most will give you ~200 calories for 1/4 - 1/2 cup. If you think that sounds like plenty, measure that shit out. It's not.

Sorry to shit on your parade, my man. But if you're trying to lose weight start off by getting to know portion sizes vs. calories (read every label) and find out what are good foods for a balanced lifestyle. For example, I've been eating 3 organic dried Turkish figs (which are fucking delicious) every day as part of lunch. They are dense (and thus filling), have all kinds of nutritional value and are full of fiber, which keeps the shit flowing. All this for 150 calories.

Okay, I'll shut up now. I say this out of love! :o

It's ok guy, I know where you coming from. I calorie count though. That baggy is probably the heaviest hitter of the day, but I snack on it for at least a hour. Sometimes it's last me about 4 hours at work. :)

It's been a while since I made one. I'll do so tonight and calculate it up. But I was losing last time I was showing more discipline. And this was a staple of the diet. Which was at roughly 1700-1900 calories. I was walking 5 miles 5 and working out 5 times a week then too though. O_O

[Xerxes]

160 calories - 1 serving of cashew (I have to reach my hand in twice since the 2 handfuls. :))
150 calories - 1 serving of granola clusters actually 5 clusters, not 8
130 calories - 1 serving of Back to Nature Nantucket Blend (Almonds, Cranberry, Cherry, Raisin and Pistachio)
100 calories - 3 clusters of True North Almond Pecan Cashew cluster
65 calories - 3 slices of dried mango

So yeah a little over 600 calories. I could see if this was something I ate in 15 minutes, but this baggy last at least over and is normally slow snacking. Doesn't bother me.

I need to figure out the caloric intake of these juices though. Not even sure how to begin. I can juice a lions share of fruit and veggies and only get 32 oz. :confused:

[civil_dead]

To put it in perspective the average person should eat roughly 2000 calories/day, depending on their lifestyle (frankly desk-jockeys should eat less). Now if you're trying to lose weight you should drop that to ~1500 calories/day. So even without trying to lose weight that snack of yours is taking up roughly 1/3 of your daily caloric intake. IMHO, that is way out of snack range and into full-blown meal range. Which, if that is all you eat during lunch is okay. But if it's just a snack...well, that weight ain't gonna fall off by itself!

I totally agree that too much food has been marketed as "healthy" when it's not. Drop the processed clusters and go for organic dried fruit. Also, are you sure about that mango? I eat tons of dried mango and three slices seems like it'd be more than 65 calories. Are you eating the hippie shit, without any sulfides/sugar? That's what I eat and I could have sworn it was like 150 calories/ounce. But I will admit I have no idea what size your slices are.

Heh. "size of your slices". Heh.


EDIT: Nope, I was off it seems (http://nuts.com/driedfruit/mango/organic.html). I can see where three slices would be 65 calories.

[Slack3r78]

To put it in perspective the average person should eat roughly 2000 calories/day, depending on their lifestyle (frankly desk-jockeys should eat less). Now if you're trying to lose weight you should drop that to ~1500 calories/day. So even without trying to lose weight that snack of yours is taking up roughly 1/3 of your daily caloric intake. IMHO, that is way out of snack range and into full-blown meal range. Which, if that is all you eat during lunch is okay. But if it's just a snack...well, that weight ain't gonna fall off by itself!

I totally agree that too much food has been marketed as "healthy" when it's not. Drop the processed clusters and go for organic dried fruit. Also, are you sure about that mango? I eat tons of dried mango and three slices seems like it'd be more than 65 calories. Are you eating the hippie shit, without any sulfides/sugar? That's what I eat and I could have sworn it was like 150 calories/ounce. But I will admit I have no idea what size your slices are.

Heh. "size of your slices". Heh.


EDIT: Nope, I was off it seems (http://nuts.com/driedfruit/mango/organic.html). I can see where three slices would be 65 calories.

Caloric needs vary wildly based on size. Find a BMR calculator online; this will give you a rough baseline number. It's roughly the number of calories you'd burn in a coma. Sedentary burn is about 1.2x that. Goes up from there depending on activity level.

For example, my intake for *maintenance* is around 3600/day. For a 5'3 female, half that could be too much. The info's out there. No point shooting in the dark.

Oh and EDIT for nitpick:

2000 cal/day is FDA RDI for the average female; for males it's 2400/day.

[Slack3r78]

Oh, also: a bag of cashews or almonds from the cafeteria is lunch for me at work a lot of days.

[Xerxes]

When I say snack, I mean I'm not just taking a break and pigging on bag. I eat it while I work. I don't take lunches. I go in and do exactly 8 hours. Not hour break. Fuck that. >_<

[Slack3r78]

Lol and this made me go recalculate my BMR. My maintenance point has dropped to 3100 since I looked last. I'm usually under half that, but goes to show how far off things can be without doing the math yourself.

[Xerxes]

See that daily calories was high for me versus the 1700-1900 I was making do with. Grrr... Need to get back into that. I used the calculator here (http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/).

When I was active 4689 calories were needed to maintain.
Now being a lazy bum, 3630 are needed to maintain.

Now I know this construct probably isn't the most accurate system, but what is? It's more so about guidelines right? That BodyMedia monitor I use to put me at over 5000 calories a few time.

[Vanthar]

When I say snack, I mean I'm not just taking a break and pigging on bag. I eat it while I work. I don't take lunches. I go in and do exactly 8 hours. Not hour break. Fuck that. >_<

If this is basically a meal for you, then yeah 600 is really no big deal.

See that daily calories was high for me versus the 1700-1900 I was making do with. Grrr... Need to get back into that. I used the calculator here (http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/).

When I was active 4689 calories were needed to maintain.
Now being a lazy bum, 3630 are needed to maintain.

Now I know this construct probably isn't the most accurate system, but what is? It's more so about guidelines right? That BodyMedia monitor I use to put me at over 5000 calories a few time.

These guidelines must be taken as best case scenarios for your BMR. The key thing is to take that number to 'maintain' and drop it as much as you reasonably can while still maintaining your diet. I'm not sure about your personal weight loss/body composition goals, but if all you wanted was to cut weight I would shoot for 2500 or so based on that BMR. You're probably at the point where you can still lose with more calories per day, but you're going to be able to see results much faster with a lower intake.

I would recommend finding some way to categorize your fruits/veggies that you're juicing to get a reasonable estimation of the cals in your juice. Typically though, the more vegetables you include rather than fruits the better. They'll have substantially more fiber and less cals. I personally only take liquid cals from alcohol cuz I refuse to give that up.

[Krispy]

I hit an all time high body weight of 138 lbs. Oh yeah.

[Slack3r78]

One pound of fat is roughly 3500 calories. Therefore 1000 cal/day deficit should result in around 2lbs/week of loss. Decent barometer of the reality of a BMR estimate.

EDIT:

Id also tend toward using the BMR number rather than the activity-adjusted one since activity is so hard to gauge accurately. Consider the extra deficit a bonus.

[Karak]

See that daily calories was high for me versus the 1700-1900 I was making do with. Grrr... Need to get back into that. I used the calculator here (http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/).

When I was active 4689 calories were needed to maintain.
Now being a lazy bum, 3630 are needed to maintain.

Now I know this construct probably isn't the most accurate system, but what is? It's more so about guidelines right? That BodyMedia monitor I use to put me at over 5000 calories a few time.

Xerxes weight loss is a pyramid of calories in, exercise(energy output), and time. You don't just drop calories suddenly and never ever drop more than 1/3rd of your daily allowance unless your an expert and understand your own body. Your energy base is going to completely fall off the scale and your going to get a rebound that impacts your daily output of energy which causes a feedback loop to your daily requirements. Drop no more than 500 calories from your daily intake per week. That means if you started this new diet on Monday.

Examples based on a daily 3500 calories diet

Weight loss plan-
Week 1 Monday-Sunday 3000 calories a day
Week 2 Monday-Sunday 2500 calories a day
Week 3 Monday-Sunday 2000 calories a day

Personally if I was setting up a client's weight-loss plan for long term weight loss it would be at 2 weeks per tiered change.

If you go dropping more than that have a high chance of encountering an energy loss rebound that could show up in many ways. Feeling like shit, not able to exercise or work out as much, and so forth. In addition this is an actual long term plan that pares you down slowly to a realistic caloric goal and works better for the "real man" trying to make a long term successful change that feels natural versus crash diets or Biggest Loser bullshit.

You need a calendar, drive to succeed, and a basic understanding of math and you can do it.

[Xerxes]

Sorry, but I think it's a misconception. A managed 1700-2000 calories for me is an improvement.

I am fat, but I'm don't eat that much daily. I meet this "maintain weight" amount of calories daily rarely. Sometimes it might be south of 1700-2000. Although that could happen in one sitting depending how hungry I end up filling at the end of a day. Bad habits like this. Blown meals, junk food, and other poor habits are my bag. Oh and the root of all evil was me drinking most of my calories. Soda too early and too often. And when I got a job and had my own soda money? 2 liters of Sprite a night. Couldn't couldn't the 20oz bottles during the day.

I have shit energy levels now.

So going back to this month, I was showing some discipline and making strides with 1900 calories. Some items maybe calorie dense dense for ya'll but it's actually just the trick for me. I was doing 3 meals and 3 snacks a day. I walked in the morning, and did a little yourself fitness. I lost like 25 pounds and I was doing great. My energy was rising that month. and like the cool kids say, listen to your body. And it was saying this is "bitching".

I just hit a slump. Not physically. Mentally. Think that was the first month my boss changed my schedule. I tried to adjust but the environment I was moved to... just threw me off my game. Haven't been able to get back on it since. Last two years were kind of hard. No more excuses though.

[Karak]

Sorry, but I think it's a misconception. A managed 1700-2000 calories for me is an improvement.
Who are you talking to Xerxes?

Also always remember that mental energy is directly connected to caloric intake. It doesn't come from magic:) Sounds like the typical mental rebound that happens to people who drastically cut and don't have professionals there to motivate them or understand the signs of mental fatigue(calorie cutting cloud). Trainers, or training partners and so forth. And life can just get you down:(

Wish you luck!

[Xerxes]

Who are you talking to Xerxes?

Also always remember that mental energy is directly connected to caloric intake. It doesn't come from magic:) Sounds like the typical mental rebound that happens to people who drastically cut and don't have professionals there to motivate them or understand the signs of mental fatigue(calorie cutting cloud). Trainers, or training partners and so forth.

Wish you luck!

I was just talking aloud more or less, but parts address your concerns. I think miscommunication is the word I may have been going for, partly. You keep saying I'm calorie cutting too much. I was establishing that I don't consume that much already and it will actually be a increase. Or at least a stable constant.

I think misconception came to mind as maybe I give off the image of fat guy eating whoppers morning, noon, and night with diet cokes. There is no pyramid to go down from. I would jump it up all the way to eating 3000 and slowly breaking it down. Also went for calorie dense folks.

And maybe it was, but I didn't think it was a rebound. A professional would of just been someone to hate and avoid. I don't know. You have your fair share of issues at work. But at that point in time they had stuck me in a computer lab which was like overseeing a Chucky Cheese for college kids. And my student employees were flakes who didn't show up. With the schedule change, instead of trying to get earlier with less sleep, I just folded.

[Karak]

I was just talking aloud more or less, but parts address your concerns. I think miscommunication is the word I may have been going for, partly. You keep saying I'm calorie cutting too much. I was establishing that I don't consume that much already and it will actually be a increase. Or at least a stable constant.

I think misconception came to mind as maybe I give off the image of fat guy eating whoppers morning, noon, and night with diet cokes. There is no pyramid to go down from. I would jump it up all the way to eating 3000 and slowly breaking it down. Also went for calorie dense folks.

And maybe it was, but I didn't think it was a rebound. A professional would of just been someone to hate and avoid. I don't know. You have your fair share of issues at work. But at that point in time they had stuck me in a computer lab which was like overseeing a Chucky Cheese for college kids. And my student employees were flakes who didn't show up. With the schedule change, instead of trying to get earlier with less sleep, I just folded.

Understood ya the word messed me up:)
Well keep up the attempts man. It will work it just takes time sir!

[Psykoboy2]

Dropped 5 pounds in two days thanks to a nasty stomach bug that had me running fever and throwing up. Already in recovery I've gained back 3 of those pounds. Which is fine and expected really.

I recently hit another 10 pounds down and have reached the 30lb mark. This is all done by keeping my calories low and exercising. Currently, I try to stay under the 1400 calorie mark, but above the 800, as I believe that's my number for when my body goes into starvation mode.

[PathMaster]

According to Fat Secret's Calorie Counter I should be around 2600 calories. I assumed that was high but I have been going with it. Usually going under, but now I am unsure..

[Vanthar]

Dropped 5 pounds in two days thanks to a nasty stomach bug that had me running fever and throwing up. Already in recovery I've gained back 3 of those pounds. Which is fine and expected really.

I recently hit another 10 pounds down and have reached the 30lb mark. This is all done by keeping my calories low and exercising. Currently, I try to stay under the 1400 calorie mark, but above the 800, as I believe that's my number for when my body goes into starvation mode.

Whoa 1400? That's a crazy low number. Are you counting the negatives from exercising or do you only eat 1400? I would hate my life if I got that low.

EDIT: I guess you could be substantially shorter than me. That would make quite a bit more sense.

[Slack3r78]

Whoa 1400? That's a crazy low number. Are you counting the negatives from exercising or do you only eat 1400? I would hate my life if I got that low.

EDIT: I guess you could be substantially shorter than me. That would make quite a bit more sense.

I'm routinely between 800-1500 at 6'3". Not really a concious thing, just the appetite suppresing aspect of keto at work.

[Purple Santa]

Whoa 1400? That's a crazy low number. Are you counting the negatives from exercising or do you only eat 1400? I would hate my life if I got that low.

EDIT: I guess you could be substantially shorter than me. That would make quite a bit more sense.

I used a 1200 calorie program. It worked for me but I can see how many wouldn't like it. It does force you to change your diet/way of eating completely. I lost over a 100 lbs and have kept it off for the first time ever in my life. I'm also short so that helps :D

[Vanthar]

If you guys can maintain that more power to you. I would cut too much weight if I went that low, and I don't think I could maintain it anyway.

I'm routinely between 800-1500 at 6'3". Not really a concious thing, just the appetite suppresing aspect of keto at work.

I do 16/8 IF right now and it's basically an extension of something I've always preferred anyway. I just like food too much to ever hit numbers that low. 1800ish on lazy days is about as low as I can tolerate. I think I'd end up going to bed hungry that low (something I hate).

Seriously though, good on you guys.

[PathMaster]

Yea, that would be incredibly low for me as well. Carbs of late seem to actually slow me down and they are my main source of calories at the moment. The Tuna lunches I have been packing have been terrific.

[Slack3r78]

http://i.imgur.com/Dsm3h.png

This is a real food heavy day for me. I just ate that wrap for dinner and I'm stuffed.

Overshot my net carb target for the day, but, eh. Whatever.

[Psykoboy2]

Guys....I'm 6'1 and weigh over 300 pounds. The calorie counter I use only lets me lose 2lbs per week. At that setting, they want me to take in around 2400 calories per day. That's just WAY too much for me right now. At that rate, I wasn't seeing ANY change, so I deviated from the plan and found where I would lose the weight. That happened to be around the 1400 calorie mark, so I'm sticking to it until another change in plans need to take place (and they will eventually).

[BigJonno]

See that daily calories was high for me versus the 1700-1900 I was making do with. Grrr... Need to get back into that. I used the calculator here (http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/).

When I was active 4689 calories were needed to maintain.
Now being a lazy bum, 3630 are needed to maintain.

Now I know this construct probably isn't the most accurate system, but what is? It's more so about guidelines right? That BodyMedia monitor I use to put me at over 5000 calories a few time.

I just ran my figures through all the stuff on that site and got some interesting results. Being conservative on the BMR multiplier I got a maintain intake of a little over 3900. I'm going to drop that down to around 2400 and aim for losing three pounds a week. I'm not surprised that I had difficulties with calories controlled diets before when I brought myself down to 1500 a day.

What threw me was the body fat percentage chart. According to their figures, I'm just shy of 22% body fat which is apparently acceptable. Having spent years of every metric yelling "You're obese and you're going to die, you fat fuck!" at me, it was weird not being way past the limits of a chart for a change.

[Cactaur]

Karak is right about the rebound. Good progress at 1700 intake and got impatient and tried for 1200. Dinner rebound ugh.

Late nights and the attendant snacking also really throw speed bumps along the way. Have to try and wind down by 11pm

[Psykoboy2]

Late nights and the attendant snacking also really throw speed bumps along the way. Have to try and wind down by 11pm

Everyone has different schedules for things, but I try not to eat past 8pm at the latest. I'm usually done eating by 7pm normally.

[destoo]

Wife wanted to get and elliptical thingie, so It might motivate me do, like, exercise.
Plus I'm starting a new job monday morning, with easy access to a gym (at the military base). I just need to kick myself into eating right (or eating less) and might start to get fit.

I was at around 205 last year, but I'm back to 220 now. I'm 6', so I'm just bordering on 29-30 bmi.

Last time I lost that 15 pounds, all I needed to do was log all I was eating into Livestrong, took a shake instead of two meals twice per week, and not skip any meal or snack.

Very unhyped for this, so this will probably be my doom, but hey. Might do me good.

[PathMaster]

Friggin BMI. Hate that system. Currently puts me around 30 BMI, and even if I lose the twenty pounds to around 225, is still calls me overweight at my 6'4". At 215, still overweight. Finally at 205 am I in normal range. For my frame, I look very very unhealthy at that weight.

BMR system is interesting. Similar to what Fat Secret, BMR is 100-200 calories more. I prefer to go under that, but first I think I need a better scale. Just realized this morning, multiple attempts weigh ins results in differences of several pounds.

[Xerxes]

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-HmW-yDQuX1Q/T0abI6wa9RI/AAAAAAAAAp0/b4xDSnvbZYM/h301/12%2B-%2B1

Grapefruit is gross.

[Karak]

Karak is right about the rebound. Good progress at 1700 intake and got impatient and tried for 1200. Dinner rebound ugh.

Late nights and the attendant snacking also really throw speed bumps along the way. Have to try and wind down by 11pm

Ya rebounds a bitch and you hear rebound as a word bandied around a good deal but not always in these contexts and I think thats a disservice as many aren't prepared at all for that kind of rebound.

For me I found that eating after 6 set my diet back a good deal. So I just don't. Also Keto is such an amazing amazing almost life changing appetite suppressant that I can't go on about it enough.

Good job on all your guys. Keep up the good work!

[Psykoboy2]

This Keto thing...should I wait until I have lost more before trying that or is it something that can be done for any amount of weight loss.

Not sure I've worded that right, but yeah.

[Karak]

This Keto thing...should I wait until I have lost more before trying that or is it something that can be done for any amount of weight loss.

Not sure I've worded that right, but yeah.

Well if what you are doing is working for you. DO NOT go to keto. No reason to switch what is working and Keto is an actual scientific change to body chemistry that occurs and yes it works. But if you are losing now stick with it till you plateau.

If it is not working now, Keto may help. The nice thing about Keto is it has a tendency to return the patient or person involved to something a bit more scientific that works. There is less gray area in Keto than other diets. As long as you don't have hidden carbs and don't fall into the fiber fallacy, you will lose on keto. That is pretty much a scientific given. Compare that to people who are dieting all the time and can't seem to lose and the absolute frustration it causes.

Keto also has an 'almost' magical ability to remove hunger. I can't describe it but talk to someone on Keto and they will all say the same thing. It removes hunger. It removes it to the point that I have to REMEMBER to eat. It is one of the best broken chains of my life. To remove the desire for food or cravings is something that really can not be described until you have it occur to you. It really allows you to focus on so many other things.

However Keto comes with its negatives for some people.

Imagine the second wind you get when playing basketball. That 5-10 minute of fatigue then the slow burn long endurance energy. Keto energy is that slow and long burn of energy. Most people don't get the BURST that they get while taking in heavy carbs(the first 10 minutes of basketball. SO if your a sprinter, Keto may not be best. But if you are like me who likes to work out for a long period of time at a good intensity its perfect.

Keto can also cause you to not get the vitamins you need unless you are really smart. It requires vitamins unless you are really good. Just a daily will easily suffice.

Keto, if done wrong, can be harder on the kidneys than normal diets. Not Tylenol hard, not drinking heavily hard, but harder. Actual studies haven't shown much of a true impact but good science indicates extra pressure. The line to hold is. If you are in kidney failure. Don't try keto or Atkins. If you are NOT currently dying...you will be fine. And long term impacts seem to be at 0. This is if you already have an impaired kidney and keep your carbs at say, 20 or lower for months on end. Which would not only be difficult for many, but is not needed even when following the diet to the letter.

I will say this. I have been on it longer than 2 decades coming up in 4 months. The doctor, my family doc, discusses it with me every time and is always amazed at how excellent all my numbers are for blood tests and so forth. My kidney values and tests are lower than even his healthiest clients. He is the one asking me about it. Keto, if done right, is no more harmful on you than any other diet, it just effects different body parts. You just have to be smart and understand what it will feel like and what you have to do, vitamins and so forth.

Keto also effects sleep for many people. As in you get less. You feel energized but there is not a good deal of complex or simple carbs being burned and there is little to no Thanksgiving day sleepy-time that occurs in the normal day to day of most people's lives. Frankly you just have more energy. Case closed on that one.

I was 299 when I started and am now 201, which is about 10 pounds less than I would like to be now. It has kept me low since I started. Given me insane amounts of energy, really helps me keep 100% mental clarity(to hold onto my hate:) and has so many other benefits its insane. It is not for everyone, for various reasons, like any diet. But if you can try it, its a wonder to behold.

[Karak]

Also a bit about the fiber fallacy for keto.

Current arguments in the diet go between fiber allowing you to take in more carbs, or it having no effect on carbs. This revolves around how it is digested and how it spikes or does not spike blood sugar.

After 2 decades and actually studying up on body chemistry, and keeping in touch with those still on the diet who showed me how to start keto, I can say that I personally have seen 0 actual proof that fiber allows you to take in more carbs. However, the number of crashed diets I have seen due to people trying to sneak in carbs after downing a ton of fiber are in the hundreds. It MAY let you take in a slightly smaller amount. MAY. But when you are in the first 2 weeks of Keto induction(less than 20 carbs a day), stay away from it. Then over time slowly introduce fiber and carbs back into your diet and check to see what happens.

Do you continue to lose at the same speed? If so than you are not at your carb limit and you are doing well.

Do you lose slower? You are getting close to being out of keto.

Do you stop losing or gain? You went over and keto takes anywhere from 1-4 weeks to get into so drop back down to less than 20 grams and start over.

I personally can take in 34 carbs a day and still lose. 40 and maintain. 41 or more and I am out of keto and I can feel hypoglycemic symptoms begin to crop up. First is thirst, and then cravings for food.

Each person's limit will be slightly different. I know some long distance runners who can eat around 80 as long as they time it right and run that day. These people have been doing keto for enough years that various body chemistries have slightly altered and digesting, quickly, carbs because less efficient anyway. Plus a long slow workout has a tendency to kickstart Keto anyway. My opinion on this is that long distance or long intensity workouts drop the efficiency of the intestine to digest carbs. But even 80 carbs is low so it is not some magical pill.

Also you can cheat on Keto, you just have to understand that you need to go back onto induction(low carbs like 20 or less) to get weightloss moving again. For me induction takes 2 weeks on the nose. I know people who can somehow get into it, in 3 days. Fuckers! But for me if I cheat on say Christmas(eggnog) I just know that I have to drop back to induction level carbs.

Regardless Keto usually shrinks the stomach as less food is eaten even if it is of higher fat and caloric amounts. That has a rebound effect and causes the person to want less, which makes them eat less, which allows them to burn easier, and also allows for more activity, and then they want even less. Less time at the dinner table or shoving food into your pasty fat gullet the better. It continues in this cycle until you sort of level out at a number you like. That is the best part about keto. I can pick a number and hit it perfectly. I can't say that about any other diet.

A bit of reading about net carbs(fiber)
It's all about blood glucose. The whole idea of a low carb diet is that we are eating in a way to keep our blood glucose from spiking up. And it turns out that some ingredients that, while classified by the FDA as carbohydrates, don't cause as much of a blood sugar rise as pure starch or sugar. Unfortunately, however, it's not so straightforward as the manufacturers would like as to think. Some of the ingredients are better than others, and probably all of them vary according to the individual. So when you see that "Net Carb" label, it should be a sign that you'd best get out your magnifying glass and read the REST of the label very carefully. Here are some of the things you might see:
Fiber
Fiber is the most straightforward. The idea of subtracting fiber from the total carbohydrate when figuring out the carb count of a food came from the authors of the Protein Power books over 10 years ago, and it makes good sense. By definition, fiber isn't digested in the small intestine and so isn't broken down into glucose and absorbed into the blood.

This is true for any natural fiber that is eaten as part of a plant. But what about manufactured ingredients that have the chemical structure of fiber? I think the jury is still out on some of these ingredients. When I see "oligofructose syrup" I have to wonder if this ingredient acts the same way in the body as oligofructose which naturally occurs in a plant, even though these molecules can be regarded as fiber in most ways.

[Xerxes]

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-HmW-yDQuX1Q/T0abI6wa9RI/AAAAAAAAAp0/b4xDSnvbZYM/h301/12%2B-%2B1

Grapefruit is gross.

Ok, having finished this off, I think I safely came I created organic yet artificial stomach acid. Is there a need for that?

Lemon
Huge Grapefruit
Celery
Parsley
Carrots
Celery
Kale
Spinach
Small piece of ginger

[Karak]

Ok, having finished this off, I think I safely came I created organic yet artificial stomach acid. Is there a need for that?

Lemon
Huge Grapefruit
Celery
Parsley
Carrots
Celery
Kale
Spinach
Small piece of ginger

It is like you ran a "Random nasty ingredient" program...

[Xerxes]

It is like you ran a "Random nasty ingredient" program...

Maybe. Swap grapefruit for 3 kiwifruits and it's tasty.

[Slack3r78]

/r/keto on reddit is the single best resource I've seen for people interested in the diet.

[Karak]

Maybe. Swap grapefruit for 3 kiwifruits and it's tasty.

Probably. But I can't stand ginger. Probably the only food that makes me puke instantly. I hate that stuff.

[PathMaster]

Maybe this will help (http://lifehacker.com/5887614/hack-your-brain-to-use-cravings-to-your-advantage)some.

And here is another tip: Get a scale that works correctly.
Quick story: I would get different weights with consecutive weigh ins. Nothing crazy, maybe 2-3 pounds. I ended up getting a new scale and apparently that scale was off by far more. Looks like it was off by around eight pounds. Changes things...

The Keto diet sounds interesting. I would have to look far more deeply into it, but 20g of carbs sounds surprisingly low. Have to read more into it.

[Karak]

Maybe this will help (http://lifehacker.com/5887614/hack-your-brain-to-use-cravings-to-your-advantage)some.

And here is another tip: Get a scale that works correctly.
Quick story: I would get different weights with consecutive weigh ins. Nothing crazy, maybe 2-3 pounds. I ended up getting a new scale and apparently that scale was off by far more. Looks like it was off by around eight pounds. Changes things...

The Keto diet sounds interesting. I would have to look far more deeply into it, but 20g of carbs sounds surprisingly low. Have to read more into it.

Low doesn't last forever. Its the original start then carbs go up somewhat. It is surprising how low you can go in carbs by cutting out many things you already should or at the very least most people get far too much of like tons of bread and so forth.

Also 100% agreed on the scale! I hate that shit and most scales are poor even from the day they come off the manufacturing line.

[PathMaster]

I ended up with one of the EatSmart ones that have a ton of reviews and good reviews on Amazon. Seemed like a safe bet. Tested out a number of objects with their weight posted and I have to say, it looks like it is on target, or very close.

Huh, doing a quick read on sounds reads kind of the opposite of what I would expect. Or at least the article on wiki was a failure. Basically said to eat cream instead of vegetables. Yes, that is a gross over simplification, but kind of odd still.

[Karak]

I ended up with one of the EatSmart ones that have a ton of reviews and good reviews on Amazon. Seemed like a safe bet. Tested out a number of objects with their weight posted and I have to say, it looks like it is on target, or very close.

Huh, doing a quick read on sounds reads kind of the opposite of what I would expect. Or at least the article on wiki was a failure. Basically said to eat cream instead of vegetables. Yes, that is a gross over simplification, but kind of odd still.

You are missing a word somewhere. You did a read on what?

EDIT: Oh I read that as Ice Cream. I bet your talking about Keto.

I follow Atkins which is a modified Keto, which is a modified diet to restrict bloodsugar levels and seizures, with 4 branches now of varying type. To modify caloric intake, to uptake the amount of vegetables, to get weight-loss started and another that makes no sense to me because it allows unlimited fiber and unlimited carbs at the same time. But those are the 7 most popular variations.

A link with general data and the rungs, Induction and so forth to get an idea. It's also nice because it covers some of the urban myths about how the diet works, what you can eat, what you SHOULD eat, and when.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atkins_diet

[Cactaur]

I'm on Primal plus a bit of dairy, allowance is up to 100g carbs which I think is more reasonable. I don't want to be paranoid about staying below 30g and wondering if the handful of almonds will push me over.

Also have a cheat day but will probably drop that since I don't make full use of it to go and binge.

[Karak]

I'm on Primal plus a bit of dairy, allowance is up to 100g carbs which I think is more reasonable. I don't want to be paranoid about staying below 30g and wondering if the handful of almonds will push me over.

Also have a cheat day but will probably drop that since I don't make full use of it to go and binge.

Congrats! How much have you lost?
I know a couple people who did Primal but their main concern was what you actually like. To them more carbs was TOO many and they quickly found that counting up random carbs through the day and the extra leeway, but still having to watch carb counts was getting them over their limit and since there was no changes in liver and kidney chemistry they didn't get the positives like lowered appetite and the change from carb to fat burning for fuel. So in essence they never got to a point where Keto works to remove the drive for carbs, which in turn caused them to eat more carbs...GOD DAMN life is a viscous cycle:)

Since its doesn't actually work on ketosis I would be interested in knowing what changes it causes to make it work more than a restriction diet of old. With the level 2 sugars being introduced at a high enough level to be out of Ketosis you then run into the same problems a normal diet has. The whole carb protein dilemma and the health issues associated with it. Or as some say, never mix the two evils:) I have tried to look up the information but its just sort of...this works for some people. But not chemistry changes like a Keto diet.

FYI though, Keto actually isn't 20 or even 30 that's induction for 2 weeks then never again unless you break your diet. It depends on the person but some sustain with as high as 80carbs, others on the net have said 120. I think 80 is more feasible and it was personal contacts. Can't believe everything on the Internet so someone saying 120 could be full of shit.

Its interesting but like a weird puzzle to me:) But I personally think that no matter what, if something works keep doing it! The body is an amazing thing and being on a restricted diet as long as you get nutrition and vitamins most likely won't kill ya! I am a bit more flexible in what I think people can and can't do than others. I think a Primal, Atkins, Nurogenic, Leangains, are all acceptable or possibly efficient diets.

[Karak]

Maybe. Swap grapefruit for 3 kiwifruits and it's tasty.

Have you tried to sweeten it up with something like apple juice or sliced apples or something. I keep thinking the spinach must be...unique tasting.

[Xerxes]

Have you tried to sweeten it up with something like apple juice or sliced apples or something. I keep thinking the spinach must be...unique tasting.

All the veggies don't really have a strong taste. Not that I could tell. It's not "good" but it's not bad. Apple doesn't really seem all that strong either. I may not be adding enough in. I think the most were 2-3 small apples. Pineapple, kiwi, lemon, garlic, ginger, so far are things that pop. And regretfully grapefruit dominated.

[Cactaur]

Started with slo carb diet early jan but dropped the legumes starting feb. Weight wise 4.5 lbs down from the start of primal (feb) so that's about a lb a week.

I got some ketostix to monitor keto. So far so good, but I panicked a bit one day when the color went all the way to the last one. A brownie fixed that. Fail.

I haven't heard about keto specifically suppressing carb craving. Isn't it part of the overall reduced appetite thing?

[Karak]

Started with slo carb diet early jan but dropped the legumes starting feb. Weight wise 4.5 lbs down from the start of primal (feb) so that's about a lb a week.

I got some ketostix to monitor keto. So far so good, but I panicked a bit one day when the color went all the way to the last one. A brownie fixed that. Fail.

I haven't heard about keto specifically suppressing carb craving. Isn't it part of the overall reduced appetite thing?

You are doing well. FUCKING AWESOME!

No keto hits in 3 specific areas, and in a 4th(supposedly) the actual taste buds receptors to sweets and dulls them. But we will ignore that one, for a second, because...I personally think it has more to do with the main issues below.

Keto actually reduces carb cravings because the overdose of ketons in the system causes the body to signal that energy is in abundance...not in short supply as all other diets do. It is the only true chemical change that occurs when adjusting the foot intake pyramid. If you swung over to carbs ONLY, the same thing wouldn't happen. It only happens when moving from carbs or protein to fat. No one knows why but it does seem odd that the body switches to burning so efficiently and so quickly. Some simply assume its the starvation facilities of the body turning on. But only 3-4 things occur while in Keto that mimic starvation and none of them bad. Which also seems strange.

Also because you are in technically in a "second wind" situation, hunger is reduced. Just like it would be during the sport that requires a second wind. Now hunger will come up afterwards but it is more in line with actual body requirements and not cravings. Which is why you hear so many people on Atkins or a Keto diet say "I have to remember to eat"

That is one of the main benefits of ketosis as a chemical change in the body. So though you are now burning fat and low in carbs, your body takes it as a sign of an overabundance of both because the ketons get burned in replacement for the carbohydrates but the end pathways of the body can't tell which is being burned. So you don't get a negative feedback loop like you would if you suddenly started dosing testosterone so your body releases estrogen to counteract it. There is literally no counteraction. Its really pretty spectacular. And that also aids in the lack of carbs being craved because the body isn't sending signals saying "I am missing these" it is, for the most part saying I have a need for energy, I see this fat here and the chemicals to burn it are now being produced so burn fat. Also because the main energy being burned and the chemical changes in the kidney's, as well as the chemical receptors that say what is being burned, carbs don't physically become desired. Fat continues to take its place.

This is not taking into the psychological impact of going without a normal amount of carbs. That effects almost everyone in one way or another during induction.

It is also why people with particular tastes for sweets find that on binges(holidays and such) after being on ketosis, sweets can taste dull when first eaten. The receptor can turn back on in minutes to hours and sweets will return to normal but the first couple bites of a sweet, many times to someone breaking ketosis, causes some disappointment when the sugar doesn't taste like it would if say you just didn't have sweets for the most part for a couple days.

Some call it "sour mouth", or "carb tongue", or "just fucking weird", but many report that it takes a bit for the receptors to active. I am sure there are some that this doesn't happen to, but for the most part its just another weirdness that you come to expect. I can only describe it as plugging my nose when I take the first couple bites of a sweet. Versus the almost tangible mouth-gasmn that occurs with a sweet if you are not in ketosis and take a bite of a cookie for example.

This information also ignores the already known issues that Keto has on glucose and why that also reduces cravings due to blood sugar and its connected sensitivity being returned to normal. As that is pretty much how it all got started in the very first place.

[Slack3r78]

Odd. I've found that I've become more sensitive to sweet things. I've always preferred more savory flavors, but on keto sugary things just taste sickly sweet to me.


This information also ignores the already known issues that Keto has on glucose and why that also reduces cravings due to blood sugar and its connected sensitivity being returned to normal. As that is pretty much how it all got started in the very first place.

Was gonna say, the tl;dr of all that to my understanding is that blood sugar levels are far more constant on keto. :p

[PathMaster]

Just looking at my breakfast, which was Raspberry Greek yogurt, it had 22g of carbs. That right there would be my day during induction correct?

I guess I am just having a hard time wrapping my head around such a small carb number. I think I can appreciate what it would do for me though.

[Karak]

Odd. I've found that I've become more sensitive to sweet things. I've always preferred more savory flavors, but on keto sugary things just taste sickly sweet to me.

Was gonna say, the tl;dr of all that to my understanding is that blood sugar levels are far more constant on keto. :p

I honestly wish Keto would do that for me. For example when I break Keto during Christmas(eggnog again), the first cup and for a couple hours nothing sweet really tastes...sweet. So eggnog doesn't give me that AHHHHHH feeling.

I think that each person is different and also the sweet you eat probably changes what I said above to. I mean I usually break for creamy sweet. So perhaps a sour/sweet, or a cookie sweet reacts differently. But for the most part usually some aspect of sour mouth occurs when breaking Keto.

[Borthcollective]

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-HmW-yDQuX1Q/T0abI6wa9RI/AAAAAAAAAp0/b4xDSnvbZYM/h301/12%2B-%2B1

Grapefruit is gross.

It is, and if you are on blood pressure meds, it can mess you up.

[Karak]

Just looking at my breakfast, which was Raspberry Greek yogurt, it had 22g of carbs. That right there would be my day during induction correct?

I guess I am just having a hard time wrapping my head around such a small carb number. I think I can appreciate what it would do for me though.

Yes correct. Basically it requires a high protein high fat 2 weeks to get into induction. Then that yogurt would be fine. Each week you can introduce more foods. If you are doing long workouts with normal intensity it seems like Keto is safe with slightly higher carbs than a person who say works out super hard for a very short time.

For example a breakfast for me would be
Coffee or pop
2-3 scrambled eggs or a cheese omelette's with any low carb veggies

Lunch
Chicken breast with cheese melt, or cheese and bacon melt
Some low carb veggies
I love onions and

Dinner
Steak with any sauces that are creamy and don't have hidden sugars and so forth.

Then I introduce more carbs after the 2 weeks.

Also if you like strange things like me you can really branch out. I love nachos and I found some very hot and spicy porkrinds and made nachos just like I normally would but replaced the dorities chips with porkrinds. Now, even among my non Atkins friends, that is how we eat nachos.

Low carb veggie list
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/whattoeat/a/whatveg.htm

[Karak]

It is, and if you are on blood pressure meds, it can mess you up.

Any meds. Grapefruits reaction to medications is known industry wide. Not just BP. That's why it is also glorious! Because if you utilize its unique properties you can get a boon from taking less meds than you normally would.

[PathMaster]

I think I read the wrong wiki last night, ketogenesis. The atkins link explained things in a far better way.

How well does it mesh with a sedentary job as well as very little exercise?

[Vanthar]

It's exceptionally difficult to predict the serum levels of medications with varying grapefruit intake levels. If you take any medications, you should avoid grapefruit altogether.

I thought this was common knowledge. So Xerxes if you're on any meds, there's another excuse to stop putting grapefruit in there.

[Xerxes]

Did not know that. ack!

All kidding aside, I hadn't been taking my meds as much as advised. I think my last dose was Monday? I looked up interactions and it seems the stuff I'm on might be ok. Don't have to worry about me and grapefruit again.

It's just that these meds makes you pee so fucking often. One day I went to pee and I shit you not by time I got back to my desk, I bounced right back up to go pee. -_-

[Karak]

I think I read the wrong wiki last night, ketogenesis. The atkins link explained things in a far better way.

How well does it mesh with a sedentary job as well as very little exercise?

Keto will work regardless of the workout as long as you keep carbs down. Because you are actually changing the burning process to burn fat. This also helps because it doesn't cause wasting like a lot fat diet would(removal of muscle).

The first time I did it I was working a deskjob and still losing pounds a week. The nice thing about the diet is it gives you more energy though.

[Slack3r78]

I'm again gonna pimp /r/keto. Their FAQ is far better than the wiki pages on any of this stuff (which tend to be stubs).

http://www.reddit.com/help/faqs/keto

http://reddit.com/r/keto

[Karak]

Did not know that. ack!

All kidding aside, I hadn't been taking my meds as much as advised. I think my last dose was Monday? I looked up interactions and it seems the stuff I'm on might be ok. Don't have to worry about me and grapefruit again.

It's just that these meds makes you pee so fucking often. One day I went to pee and I shit you not by time I got back to my desk, I bounced right back up to go pee. -_-

Don't you die on us Xerxes.

As for peeing often. I was taking some meds recently that made me pee like every 14 minutes. I already pee often. But god damn. My legs hurt by the end of the day from getting up. I probably peed 50 times:) Lost like 2 pounds though haahahaha.

[Karak]

It's exceptionally difficult to predict the serum levels of medications with varying grapefruit intake levels. If you take any medications, you should avoid grapefruit altogether.

I thought this was common knowledge. So Xerxes if you're on any meds, there's another excuse to stop putting grapefruit in there.

I have watched a couple friends get shipped to the hospital just due to the grapefruit juice and its reactions. Such an odd thing to occur. But it has some amazing medical qualities.

[Karak]

I ended up with one of the EatSmart ones that have a ton of reviews and good reviews on Amazon. Seemed like a safe bet. Tested out a number of objects with their weight posted and I have to say, it looks like it is on target, or very close.


Shit I missed this.

I will need to check those out. I haven't found a great one since my last one died. Dog pissed on it and for some reason it either fried it, or did something else too it but it stopped working.

I am currently using a digital. But I hate them. I like to see the needle and know that actual mechanics are being used:) I am that kind of person.

As for scales being wrong sometimes. We had 2 in our house at one time and they were off by a wopping 7 pounds. That right there is a full MMa!weight class.

What do you think about this one?

http://www.amazon.com/Eatsmart-Precision-Bathroom-Technology-440-Pounds/dp/B0032TNPOE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1330105560&sr=8-3

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41y%2B5W9ER9L._SL500_AA300_.jpg

[PathMaster]

Shit I missed this.

I will need to check those out. I haven't found a great one since my last one died. Dog pissed on it and for some reason it either fried it, or did something else too it but it stopped working.

I am currently using a digital. But I hate them. I like to see the needle and know that actual mechanics are being used:) I am that kind of person.

As for scales being wrong sometimes. We had 2 in our house at one time and they were off by a wopping 7 pounds. That right there is a full MMa!weight class.

What do you think about this one?

http://www.amazon.com/Eatsmart-Precision-Bathroom-Technology-440-Pounds/dp/B0032TNPOE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1330105560&sr=8-3

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41y%2B5W9ER9L._SL500_AA300_.jpg

Yea I got the wide one. I am a big guy and I wanted to make sure my foot actually fit on it front to back. That ones seemed like it would fit fine and it does. Honestly I questioned whether the I needed the wide one or not, but after getting it. It is kind of nice not just stepping on it and not worrying about getting my feet just right. I also went with that one because, reading the reviews, it looks like the company is very proactive about making sure their units work and are not defective.

I have tested it out with a box of dog food as well as some water bottles. It looks to be dead on. If I had some actual weight I would try that as well.

[Karak]

Yea I got the wide one. I am a big guy and I wanted to make sure my foot actually fit on it front to back. That ones seemed like it would fit fine and it does. Honestly I questioned whether the I needed the wide one or not, but after getting it. It is kind of nice not just stepping on it and not worrying about getting my feet just right. I also went with that one because, reading the reviews, it looks like the company is very proactive about making sure their units work and are not defective.

I have tested it out with a box of dog food as well as some water bottles. It looks to be dead on. If I had some actual weight I would try that as well.

Oh excellent. Just ordered it. I, for some odd reason, never thought of using weights to test it. Which I do have. Most excellent idea sir!

[PathMaster]

Mine was a bit off at first, but that may have had something to do with it being out in the cold all day. After it warmed up and I re-calibrated it, it seemed to work excellent. And just to be sure, I have weighed myself in a variety of positions and each one provides the same weight, which is great.

[Karak]

Mine was a bit off at first, but that may have had something to do with it being out in the cold all day. After it warmed up and I re-calibrated it, it seemed to work excellent. And just to be sure, I have weighed myself in a variety of positions and each one provides the same weight, which is great.

Ok I will do it and report back. That thing got amazing reviews.

[Psykoboy2]

I'm using it as well. Needed something that went well over 350 pounds at the time and that did the trick. Turned it on to a couple people at work who now own one as well.

[Slack3r78]

Dinner tonight: Burgers with blue cheese crumbles mixed in, topped with mayo, prusciotto, and eggs over easy.

I have a hard time imagining a more awesome way to lose weight.

[PathMaster]

Dinner tonight: Burgers with blue cheese crumbles mixed in, topped with mayo, prusciotto, and eggs over easy.

I have a hard time imagining a more awesome way to lose weight.

That does sound quite delicious.

[Karak]

I'm using it as well. Needed something that went well over 350 pounds at the time and that did the trick. Turned it on to a couple people at work who now own one as well.

Ah blessed be. Nice scale too. Works like a charm and is indeed accurate to .1 punds from 20 pounds up to 110(all I could safely pile onto the scale) via my plates from my bench-press without worrying about damaging the scale.

[Slack3r78]

249.2 on a Monday.

[Karak]

249.2 on a Monday.

Congrats! Excellent work for sure.

[PathMaster]

Started the Couch to 5k program this morning, now that the weather is warm enough. Man did it burn, but I feel great after day one. I think I will need some better music as well as a way to not have to hold my phone, and maybe ear buds...

I am eating healthier by watching what I eat, but that only went so far, I reached the familiar plateau for me around 240-245lbs. I just need to stick with this, I think and once I see results I will be better off.

[Bone]

Result of restricting my diet, using Lose It! to track calories, not exercising as much as I'd like, and coming up on 4 months without cigarettes: I haven't gained or lost an appreciable amount. I think I'm OK with that.

Just had my blood work done, and everything including cholesterol looks great, except my fasting blood sugar is 104. So I need to cut even more carbs and exercise more.

[Matthias]

Okay guys, I've been seeing a nutritionist and trying to watch what I eat. I've gone from a 275 to a 263 back to a 270 in the past nine months.

My girlfriend has promised me that, should I get down to a not-yet-determined reasonable goal weight (the term I used was "a weight at which I could pull this look off"), she has agreed to let me dress as the tenth Doctor at our wedding. I doubt I'd make her go through with it, but I want to be able to wave it over her head in the most loving way possible. I think I'd need to be at or under 200 to pull this off.

A friend of mine has asked me to run in a 5k with her in June. I have not run regularly in over a year, but used to run 30min 5ks. I ran one tonight in 53min of 2/2 intervals. I'd like to get my time down to 20 minutes.

SO LET'S DO THIS!!!!

[KamaItachi]

Started the Couch to 5k program this morning, now that the weather is warm enough. Man did it burn, but I feel great after day one. I think I will need some better music as well as a way to not have to hold my phone, and maybe ear buds...

I am eating healthier by watching what I eat, but that only went so far, I reached the familiar plateau for me around 240-245lbs. I just need to stick with this, I think and once I see results I will be better off.

I'm just finishing C2K. Got one more full week. I'll probably maintain that for a month, work on speed, then move on to one of the 5-10K programmes.

One thing I found invaluable, silly as it sounds, is a good music collection. Something you can tune out to helps you get into the rhythm an awful lot easier.

[evilgoodwin]

A friend of mine claims I've lost weight and look great.

All thanks to. . .

. . . nothing. I've done nothing different. I mean, I'm eating less, but not by much. I've even been breaking my "no food after midnight" rule.

I think it's just because winter's over and I'm not wearing my jacket every day now.

[PathMaster]

I'm just finishing C2K. Got one more full week. I'll probably maintain that for a month, work on speed, then move on to one of the 5-10K programmes.

One thing I found invaluable, silly as it sounds, is a good music collection. Something you can tune out to helps you get into the rhythm an awful lot easier.

After doing it again this morning, it would help I think. I also need to find a way not to have to hold my phone. Not so much worried about the road itself, as I have been doing the program partly on a big road, but then I switch over to a logging trail. That may or may not continue though.

[Bone]

I got one of those armbands from Academy for about 10 bucks. Phone slides in and has a capacitive plastic window to change songs or whatever. You can hear the Couch to 5K announcer very clearly, and it makes a big difference to not be holding your phone the whole time (not to mention, it's much safer when running to have both hands readily available for a fall. Ask my girlfriend's scarred knee!).

[PathMaster]

Thanks, went with the Tune Belt that would fit my Droid X and Otterbox case. Didn't even think about that until I looked at Academy's site. Thanks again!

[Slack3r78]

244.8.

After initial water weight loss, I've been holding steady at a very consistent 10lbs/month since I started keto.

[PathMaster]

Any suggestions on Couch to 5k programs?

I have been using C25K Pro, and I just grabbed RunDouble.

[Bone]

There were a few called Couch to 5k for awhile. The one I liked the most changed their name to Ease Into 5k. Best feature set and music player I found.

[Narradisall]

Damn, I just started shedding some pounds, thought I'd look here for some info and it's like half of you speak some other language, couch to 5k? Some sort of running scheme?

Maybe I'll just stop eating too much shit instead...

[Slack3r78]

I'm planning on dropping strict keto in the near future and shifting over to CKD or TKD and adding weights to my routine. At low 240s from an all-time high of 335, I'm getting to the point that I need to start adding mass rather than just losing it so I don't turn into a big floppy bag of skin.

Found a nice bench+squat rack on Craigslist for cheaper than I could buy it from a retailer. Gonna try to get with the people this weekend to see about getting it. Then I need to get myself an Olympic bar and some plates. The way I looked at it, it'll cost me around $500-600 to get set up to do free weights at home whereas the nearest gym to my house is $150 sign up, $30/month, and almost exclusively machines (I want nothing to do with machines). Plus, it might force me to interact with strangers, and fuck that noise. Home gym it is.

Damn, I just started shedding some pounds, thought I'd look here for some info and it's like half of you speak some other language, couch to 5k? Some sort of running scheme?

Google it. It's basically a program that eases you into running. I haven't done C25K, but I've used similar programs in the past. They work. It's amazing how quickly your body can build endurance.

[Narradisall]

I think I'll check it out. I'm looking more towards building up some stamina and endurance since I don't get my exercise in my life. Don't need to look at shedding too much weight since I'm 160lb already, but some general shaping up could be good.

[Slack3r78]

I'm looking more towards building up some stamina and endurance since I don't get my exercise in my life.

Do C25K then. That's the biggest benefit you'll see from running.

[Bone]

Yeah, it helps avoid the "I'm gonna start working out today, HARD!" and then overworking and quitting after a few days. Following the program makes you feel like less of a wuss for doing walk/jog cycles and then fairly quickly ramps you up.

[aVaKus]

So I haven't really posted much in this thread but I figured I'd report my progress anyway. Starting mid-late I gave up eating out, seriously started watching what I ate, started running again, and continued lifting at least 3 times a week. I'm not sure what happened but I think seeing 237 lbs on the scale made me snap a little bit.

The first week was torture. I was really hungry all the time (especially at bed time) and I had to constantly stop and take little breaks when running. Now I'm almost never hungry and while winded after a run my recovery time til I'm breathing normally is less than 30 seconds. I am running 6 days a week, 2-3 miles each day.

This week I started using the iphone app Zombies, Run. I gotta say it's a lot of fun and does a really good job at making you feel like you are in a cheesy zombie movie. It's also kicking my ass. The zombies are fast! I would be at a full on sprint and they were still gaining on me. Luckily, the chases last no more than a minute. After my first time with it I had ran 3.5 miles and didn't even realize it.

So I've been at this just about a month and I am pretty proud of myself. This morning the scale read 225. :)

[evilgoodwin]

Talked to my friend again. She and another girl both say I've lost weight. Makes me wish I had a working scale.

Also, makes me wish I knew wtf I was doing.

[Slack3r78]

Yeah, it helps avoid the "I'm gonna start working out today, HARD!" and then overworking and quitting after a few days. Following the program makes you feel like less of a wuss for doing walk/jog cycles and then fairly quickly ramps you up.

Yup. I actually like the way the Team Oregon Starting a Running Program (http://www.teamoregon.com/publication/online/) article lays things out better than C25K, personally, but you need a 400M track to really take advantage of it. I used it when I lived 1/4 mile from a park with such a track and it was perfect. Walk to the park for my warmup, run, walk back home.

[KamaItachi]

So I haven't really posted much in this thread but I figured I'd report my progress anyway. Starting mid-late I gave up eating out, seriously started watching what I ate, started running again, and continued lifting at least 3 times a week. I'm not sure what happened but I think seeing 237 lbs on the scale made me snap a little bit.

The first week was torture. I was really hungry all the time (especially at bed time) and I had to constantly stop and take little breaks when running. Now I'm almost never hungry and while winded after a run my recovery time til I'm breathing normally is less than 30 seconds. I am running 6 days a week, 2-3 miles each day.

This week I started using the iphone app Zombies, Run. I gotta say it's a lot of fun and does a really good job at making you feel like you are in a cheesy zombie movie. It's also kicking my ass. The zombies are fast! I would be at a full on sprint and they were still gaining on me. Luckily, the chases last no more than a minute. After my first time with it I had ran 3.5 miles and didn't even realize it.

So I've been at this just about a month and I am pretty proud of myself. This morning the scale read 225. :)

I saw that the other day and considered asking I anyone had any experience with it. It's a bit pricy to grab willy-nilly but your experience makes it sound like a fun alternative for a few weeks before shifting up to 10K.

On that topic, has anyone done the 5-10K programs? It sounds like a significant step up from C25.

[Matthias]

Well that was fast; I killed myself on an hour-long 5k on Tuesday, then ran w4d1 of C2K, with the addition of a five minute top-speed push before the cooldown. It felt great. I only hit 2 miles in 30 minutes, but I was specifically pacing myself to avoid biting off too much. I got off the treadmill and made it about two minutes before I decided that I had another 15 minutes in me at the very least. I didn't take it, but I'm glad to know my stamina's increasing so quickly. I'll do another long run on Saturday :D

[Dualshotty23]

Anyone use or have experience with a body bug? they are on a pretty decent sale and I have been considering getting one.

[Slack3r78]

Anyone use or have experience with a body bug? they are on a pretty decent sale and I have been considering getting one.

I'm not quite sure I get the point of them if you have a smartphone, to be honest. There are tons of apps that let you track calorie intake for free, and the estimated calories burned thing is so iffy that I don't see any reason to bother with it, personally.

[Dualshotty23]

I do use apps currently but I am unsure of the accuracy of estimating calories burned by human averages vs. personally monitoring persperation, body temperature, pedometer readings, and heart rate. Just wondering if anyone had one and saw much of a difference in calorie reading between the bb and the apps.

[Narradisall]

Whats a good way to keep up energy levels when dieting and working out?

My biggest problem I find is by the end of a day, the last thing I have the energy to do is going running. My diet isn't bad, I eat fruit, drink healthy etc, but man I feel drained. So I must be needing something!

[Entropy]

Have you tried running in the morning?

[Vanthar]

I do use apps currently but I am unsure of the accuracy of estimating calories burned by human averages vs. personally monitoring persperation, body temperature, pedometer readings, and heart rate. Just wondering if anyone had one and saw much of a difference in calorie reading between the bb and the apps.

I read their website and it sounds like a lot of marketing and pseudoscience when you can pretty accurately estimate calories burned with height, weight, and activity. I would continue with a free calorie counting system and just underestimate calories burned with both BMR calculators and activity calculators. I find people always tend to overestimate both of these two things, but the bodybugg is just another method of estimating except with a price tag.

[Matthias]

I'd personally go with the cheaper Fitbit Ultra. It only gathers pedometer activity (and altimeter data to track floors climbed), but you track your weight and optionally body composition online, then record different types of exercise and it can do a pretty decent calorie calculation--certainly with enough precision to be useful, since we pretty much think in increments of 100 calories.

[BigJonno]

Can anyone recommend a good free food diary?

[Psykoboy2]

Food diary? I use My Fitness Pal on my phone to count calories so it does log the food you eat. Not sure if that's what you meant or something else.

[PathMaster]

FatSecret website does well. Calorie Counter for Android goes with that site. Great for Barcode scanning.

[bstiff]

Finally got tired of looking like a fat tub and started watching what I eat again. I was between 200-205 when I started and a little under 3 weeks later, Im 190. My problem isn't really how much I was eating, it was that what I was eating was crap. I was going to start jogging again then fell down my stairs 6 weeks ago and tore some ligaments in my ankle. Ankle is still a bitch to walk on although Im on my feet and walking 10-12 hours a day. probably will have to go for an mri soon.

[Karak]

Whats a good way to keep up energy levels when dieting and working out?

My biggest problem I find is by the end of a day, the last thing I have the energy to do is going running. My diet isn't bad, I eat fruit, drink healthy etc, but man I feel drained. So I must be needing something!

Honestly you may have cut your calories too low for running. That can easily happen. Also people go in various energy/lull loops throughout the day.
Check the calories for the day and see if that is it. If not maybe check your running time.

For me I workout at 345 only 15 minutes after work because I absolutely have to work out then I lose a good amount of energy after that.

[PathMaster]

I have been doing the running in the AM, for me it seems to give me energy afterward. Too cold this AM though, 18 degrees is just to cold, especially when I was running in the 60s last week.

[Karak]

I have been doing the running in the AM, for me it seems to give me energy afterward. Too cold this AM though, 18 degrees is just to cold, especially when I was running in the 60s last week.

I have ALWAYS envied those who can continually run in the morning. I can sometimes but...just doesn't sink in well for me and makes me feel weird during the day.

[PathMaster]

Hah, I am trying to get more into the habit of running. My morning schedule has been odd the past week so I have not had a chance to exercise consistently and this morning was just way too cold. But when I do run, I basically roll out of bed, get changed, grab my cell, walk outside, stretch (learned that the hard way), and start. I try not to give myself a chance to second guess that choice. If I can get outside I am good to go.

It actually does seem to energize me for the morning. And gives me a chance to do something in the evening if I get a chance.

[Karak]

Hah, I am trying to get more into the habit of running. My morning schedule has been odd the past week so I have not had a chance to exercise consistently and this morning was just way too cold. But when I do run, I basically roll out of bed, get changed, grab my cell, walk outside, stretch (learned that the hard way), and start. I try not to give myself a chance to second guess that choice. If I can get outside I am good to go.

It actually does seem to energize me for the morning. And gives me a chance to do something in the evening if I get a chance.

I run right when I get home and it makes me sleep:) And I so wish I could run in the morning for exactly the reason you mention.

[Slack3r78]

239.6.

Got the weight bench this weekend. Now I need a bar and plates.

[civil_dead]

Slacker, that's amazing news. As someone who lost 100 pounds on Atkins (similar in concept) and has kept it off I do want to stress that you should commit to this lifestyle for at least 3 years, IMO. I lost the weight during the Atkins craze, which meant that many other people around me were going through the same thing. Time and time again I saw friends and colleagues rebound back to their weight (sometimes gaining more than they lost) because once they reached their goal they assumed they could "go back to normal", as it were.

I kept stressing that it wasn't a diet, it was a lifestyle change. I maintained the lifestyle for a little over 5 years and as I said I have successfully kept it off. I hope this doesn't come across as discouraging, I really want to stress that the plan works if you live it past the goal, if that makes sense.

Also, have you been to see a doctor? Despite all the bad press about eating meat and cheese (which if you follow the plan is far from the truth) my doctor was blown away by my health. Both my cholesterol and blood pressure dropped (though they were never in a dangerous place). His advice was to basically keep on keeping on, whatever I was doing. If you were at a doctor before beginning K you should see where you are now for comparison.

Anyway, good luck man. That's awesome that you've taken control of your weight.

[Slack3r78]

Slacker, that's amazing news. As someone who lost 100 pounds on Atkins (similar in concept) and has kept it off I do want to stress that you should commit to this lifestyle for at least 3 years, IMO. I lost the weight during the Atkins craze, which meant that many other people around me were going through the same thing. Time and time again I saw friends and colleagues rebound back to their weight (sometimes gaining more than they lost) because once they reached their goal they assumed they could "go back to normal", as it were.

Thanks, civil. I agree entirely. I think the way I think about nutrition in general has changed fundamentally in the last couple of years, with this experiment with keto cementing a lot of what I'd come to suspect.

I intend to go CKD/TKD when I start lifting because I know that when I lifted before doing low carb that getting some carbs down ahead of a workout had a significant effect on the amount of iron I was able to push up. I essentially look at it as a more targeted hack of the body's metabolism, which appeals to the nerd in me.

I kept stressing that it wasn't a diet, it was a lifestyle change. I maintained the lifestyle for a little over 5 years and as I said I have successfully kept it off. I hope this doesn't come across as discouraging, I really want to stress that the plan works if you live it past the goal, if that makes sense.

Long term, I'll probably shift over to something a bit more like a modified paleo. I don't believe carbs are inherently evil, but I have become suspicious of gluten and I'm not a fan of high-GI carbs in general. At the same time, I don't have the paleo crowd's disdain for dairy or a blanket hatred for processed foods*.

Also, have you been to see a doctor? Despite all the bad press about eating meat and cheese (which if you follow the plan is far from the truth) my doctor was blown away by my health. Both my cholesterol and blood pressure dropped (though they were never in a dangerous place). His advice was to basically keep on keeping on, whatever I was doing. If you were at a doctor before beginning K you should see where you are now for comparison.

I really wish I had recent bloodwork, but I don't. I started this largely on a whim, not really expecting much and ended up at "holy shit this really worked" much faster than I'd have guessed. I do want to get a work up done some time in the next few months mostly to sate my own curiosity about it.

I actually had this come up on Facebook last week. I posted a picture of a typical lunch -- a burger with mayo topped with an egg over-easy and a couple of strips of bacon -- specifically because I've had so many so many people ask about how I've managed to drop all the weight. One of the first responses I got was somebody freaking out about the amount of cholesterol in the meal.

All I could do was explain that the link between dietary and serum cholesterol is tenuous at best given current research. And at any rate, there's zero doubt in my mind that I'm far healthier at 240lbs than I was at 335lbs.


EDIT:

I will say that the oddest side effect of keto for me? My skin has cleared up massively. Even at 27, I'd still get the occasional breakout of acne around my body, and that's largely gone away on keto. My face just doesn't get greasy like it used to and I don't get random zits on my back and legs near as often as before. When I have had breakouts, it's been almost immediately after a cheat.

What's really interesting is that Googling around, I've found reports of others like me, but I've also found reports from people that experienced the exact opposite effect. There's no accounting for individual body chemistry.

[Karak]

Slacker, that's amazing news. As someone who lost 100 pounds on Atkins (similar in concept) and has kept it off I do want to stress that you should commit to this lifestyle for at least 3 years, IMO. I lost the weight during the Atkins craze, which meant that many other people around me were going through the same thing. Time and time again I saw friends and colleagues rebound back to their weight (sometimes gaining more than they lost) because once they reached their goal they assumed they could "go back to normal", as it were.

I kept stressing that it wasn't a diet, it was a lifestyle change. I maintained the lifestyle for a little over 5 years and as I said I have successfully kept it off. I hope this doesn't come across as discouraging, I really want to stress that the plan works if you live it past the goal, if that makes sense.

Also, have you been to see a doctor? Despite all the bad press about eating meat and cheese (which if you follow the plan is far from the truth) my doctor was blown away by my health. Both my cholesterol and blood pressure dropped (though they were never in a dangerous place). His advice was to basically keep on keeping on, whatever I was doing. If you were at a doctor before beginning K you should see where you are now for comparison.

Anyway, good luck man. That's awesome that you've taken control of your weight.

It is nice to see someone else go into the doctor on this kind of diet and have them be amazed. My doc still can't figure out how all my bloodwork is as good as it is on Atkins.

[BigJonno]

I've got the first real workout high I've had in years and I've got to say that it feels bloody fantastic. I'm not doing anything drastic, just keeping my daily calorie intake below 2000 and walking to and from work every day (4.2 miles a day, five days a week) but today we decided to walk over to Epping Forest and have a sword training session. An hour of that flew by and we've decided to get in 2-3 sessions a week. As long as I can avoid getting into a depressed funk and going on a junk food binge, I reckon I can keep this up.

[Psykoboy2]

Today I reached the mark of 50 pounds lost since I started taking control of my weight in January. I've been counting my calories, taking vitamins (and the supplements that make you poop - gotta be done), eating no later than 7:30 at night (though I'm usually done before 7 at all - earlier on the weekends), and exercising (my first two months were doing about 5 miles on the elliptical for 5 to 6 days per week and in this third month I have moved to riding a bike around the neighborhood at about 6 miles per ride for about 6 days per week).

I've gone from 368 to 318 in a period of 3 months. For most, dropping 50 pounds is pretty awesome, and I don't deny it as something spectacular even for me, but I'm not really satisfied as probably most others would be. For me, it was the tiniest of hills on this mountain I am already climbing. Obviously 100 pounds lost will be the biggest of my milestones and yet at 268, it still won't be where I should be for my build and age and whatnot. Regardless, I don't really look that far up the mountain. Rather now I focus on losing 19 pounds to get me below the 300 mark. Then we'll go from there.

The best thing for me in this has been to not have a longterm goal. I mean, I do. My longterm goal is to lose weight and be healthy, but I don't have an end goal or a specific date to lose this weight by. Previous diets have been done on bets to see who loses the most in a certain time or whatever. Once done, it was done and I never kept going. My previous attempts, by the way, have all lasted 3 months, so going further this time is a real big deal for me.

There is no end to this. It is forever, for the rest of my life. It has to be.

[KamaItachi]

Have a quick question; I finished off my C25K programme last night... I'm wondering about the next step

1) maintain it for a month while I work on other excercises (planning on starting a strength/gymnastics based programme)

2) just go straight to the graduate 5-10k setups while I have the momentum.

[evilgoodwin]

Today I reached the mark of 50 pounds lost since I started taking control of my weight in January. I've been counting my calories, taking vitamins (and the supplements that make you poop - gotta be done), eating no later than 7:30 at night (though I'm usually done before 7 at all - earlier on the weekends), and exercising (my first two months were doing about 5 miles on the elliptical for 5 to 6 days per week and in this third month I have moved to riding a bike around the neighborhood at about 6 miles per ride for about 6 days per week).

I've gone from 368 to 318 in a period of 3 months. For most, dropping 50 pounds is pretty awesome, and I don't deny it as something spectacular even for me, but I'm not really satisfied as probably most others would be. For me, it was the tiniest of hills on this mountain I am already climbing. Obviously 100 pounds lost will be the biggest of my milestones and yet at 268, it still won't be where I should be for my build and age and whatnot. Regardless, I don't really look that far up the mountain. Rather now I focus on losing 19 pounds to get me below the 300 mark. Then we'll go from there.

The best thing for me in this has been to not have a longterm goal. I mean, I do. My longterm goal is to lose weight and be healthy, but I don't have an end goal or a specific date to lose this weight by. Previous diets have been done on bets to see who loses the most in a certain time or whatever. Once done, it was done and I never kept going. My previous attempts, by the way, have all lasted 3 months, so going further this time is a real big deal for me.

There is no end to this. It is forever, for the rest of my life. It has to be.

You're doing well. Once you alter your diet and stick with it, you will find it hard to even remember how you even enjoyed your previous diet. Future loss may slow down, but keep at it. It'll continue dropping. Stick with it.

I continue to slim down, according to random women I haven't seen in months who congratulate my weight loss. Whatever I'm doing is working. Whatever it is. I still have no clue what I'm doing, but I might be close to pinpointing it. I may be unintentionally dieting. I'm not seeking a goal to eat less or better, but I've dropped down to a small meal per day. One. I don't crave much food lately, if at all. So I'm probably doing the wrong thing and starving myself, where my weight loss is actually the result of malnutrition and fasting. But I'm just not hungry lately. Anyone else ever deal with "Oh, I'm just not hungry" periods that have lasted for a while? Am I on the road to tragedy?

But, if anything, I look damn good in that one shirt I bought.

[Xerxes]

Today I reached the mark of 50 pounds lost since I started taking control of my weight in January. I've been counting my calories, taking vitamins (and the supplements that make you poop - gotta be done), eating no later than 7:30 at night (though I'm usually done before 7 at all - earlier on the weekends), and exercising (my first two months were doing about 5 miles on the elliptical for 5 to 6 days per week and in this third month I have moved to riding a bike around the neighborhood at about 6 miles per ride for about 6 days per week).

I've gone from 368 to 318 in a period of 3 months. For most, dropping 50 pounds is pretty awesome, and I don't deny it as something spectacular even for me, but I'm not really satisfied as probably most others would be. For me, it was the tiniest of hills on this mountain I am already climbing. Obviously 100 pounds lost will be the biggest of my milestones and yet at 268, it still won't be where I should be for my build and age and whatnot. Regardless, I don't really look that far up the mountain. Rather now I focus on losing 19 pounds to get me below the 300 mark. Then we'll go from there.

The best thing for me in this has been to not have a longterm goal. I mean, I do. My longterm goal is to lose weight and be healthy, but I don't have an end goal or a specific date to lose this weight by. Previous diets have been done on bets to see who loses the most in a certain time or whatever. Once done, it was done and I never kept going. My previous attempts, by the way, have all lasted 3 months, so going further this time is a real big deal for me.

There is no end to this. It is forever, for the rest of my life. It has to be.

Way to go Scott.

[Purple Santa]

Today I reached the mark of 50 pounds lost since I started taking control of my weight in January. I've been counting my calories, taking vitamins (and the supplements that make you poop - gotta be done), eating no later than 7:30 at night (though I'm usually done before 7 at all - earlier on the weekends), and exercising (my first two months were doing about 5 miles on the elliptical for 5 to 6 days per week and in this third month I have moved to riding a bike around the neighborhood at about 6 miles per ride for about 6 days per week).

I've gone from 368 to 318 in a period of 3 months. For most, dropping 50 pounds is pretty awesome, and I don't deny it as something spectacular even for me, but I'm not really satisfied as probably most others would be. For me, it was the tiniest of hills on this mountain I am already climbing. Obviously 100 pounds lost will be the biggest of my milestones and yet at 268, it still won't be where I should be for my build and age and whatnot. Regardless, I don't really look that far up the mountain. Rather now I focus on losing 19 pounds to get me below the 300 mark. Then we'll go from there.

The best thing for me in this has been to not have a longterm goal. I mean, I do. My longterm goal is to lose weight and be healthy, but I don't have an end goal or a specific date to lose this weight by. Previous diets have been done on bets to see who loses the most in a certain time or whatever. Once done, it was done and I never kept going. My previous attempts, by the way, have all lasted 3 months, so going further this time is a real big deal for me.

There is no end to this. It is forever, for the rest of my life. It has to be.

This sounds a lot like me when I started in 2010. I was 240, had lost various amounts of weight each year only to gain it back. When I lost "only" 50 lbs that is how I felt. The exercise regimen was exactly like mine. 5-6 days a week on the elliptical machine. That really is the key. Keep the exercise going, the weight will keep coming off and you will start really feeling even more positive about your goals. The weight you lost is a good amount. It's easy to look ahead and say to yourself so much more to go. What I would tell myself, is to look back. Look back at where you were. You aren't there any longer and each day is another day away from "that". Each day you know you aren't gaining then you are losing. Or staying the same. As is is always better than gaining. I've lost 100 lbs and although I need to still lose more, i've kept it off for the first time in my life. Very much the reason I did was keeping myself aware of the good I was doing, not focusing on the unachieved yet. Is it always easy? No. Those positive talks to yourself sometimes is lost among the thoughts of "fuck you i'm still fat" but in the end you have to shout back about what you have accomplished.

Congrats on the weight loss. Keep it up.

[resikel]

Just got back from Target. I picked up 2 Blender Bottles 28oz version; they were $6.99 each.

Protein shakes on the go!!!

http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxccrfdlvU1qarlq8o1_500.png

[Psykoboy2]

So 6 miles a day on a bike or 5 miles a day on an elliptical - shit got nothing on doing yard work in the blazing hot sun!

I really thought this exercising thing would help me not to get tired like fat guys do, but ho-lee shit!

I was outside for 4 and a half hours chainsawing mimosa tress (the cockroach of the plant world) and trimming hedges. It kicked my ass. I lost 2 and a half pounds in that amount of time.

I fucking hate yard work.

[Bone]

NO shit, I spent most of a recent Sunday trying to uproot 1.5 ft weeds, clover patches, and wildflowers. Using a glorified hand tool with a long handle. I ended up basically tilling the whole yard by hand and my entire body has been angry since then.

[Borthcollective]

Today I reached the mark of 50 pounds lost since I started taking control of my weight in January. I've been counting my calories, taking vitamins (and the supplements that make you poop - gotta be done), eating no later than 7:30 at night (though I'm usually done before 7 at all - earlier on the weekends), and exercising (my first two months were doing about 5 miles on the elliptical for 5 to 6 days per week and in this third month I have moved to riding a bike around the neighborhood at about 6 miles per ride for about 6 days per week).

I've gone from 368 to 318 in a period of 3 months. For most, dropping 50 pounds is pretty awesome, and I don't deny it as something spectacular even for me, but I'm not really satisfied as probably most others would be. For me, it was the tiniest of hills on this mountain I am already climbing. Obviously 100 pounds lost will be the biggest of my milestones and yet at 268, it still won't be where I should be for my build and age and whatnot. Regardless, I don't really look that far up the mountain. Rather now I focus on losing 19 pounds to get me below the 300 mark. Then we'll go from there.

The best thing for me in this has been to not have a longterm goal. I mean, I do. My longterm goal is to lose weight and be healthy, but I don't have an end goal or a specific date to lose this weight by. Previous diets have been done on bets to see who loses the most in a certain time or whatever. Once done, it was done and I never kept going. My previous attempts, by the way, have all lasted 3 months, so going further this time is a real big deal for me.

There is no end to this. It is forever, for the rest of my life. It has to be.

Congratulations on the hard work.

[PathMaster]

Yes congrats! My exercise plans have slowed to a grinding and very painful halt. I was unable to all last week get out and run, it was either raining or cold as hell, weekend looked better, so I figured I would start with running Friday night. Never got that far.

Was walking to a different building at work and somehow rolled my ankle, and a very loud POP was heard. I did not think much of it at the exact moment, just limped to the building, under some pain. But after about fifty feet, my head was swimming, luckily I was near my destination and a chair was open. I then realized I was in tremendous pain and could not keep my body still at all. It took me holding my right wrist to even let my right hand use a mouse..

Skipping ahead, I did the typical male thing and did not go to the doctor yet. I instead, kept it elevated most of the weekend and iced it as well. I can now walk mostly normal, but the ankle is bruised, and I will go see someone soon, most likely to have them tell me to do the same thing I have been doing.

[Cactaur]

First time is the worst. After than you can usually walk off a rolled ankle.

[PathMaster]

Even today, my gait is not normal, but it is far better. Although, different parts of my foot are varying shades of purple now.

I used to be able to essentially walk on my ankles when I was younger. I would not dare try that now.

[evilgoodwin]

Somehow figured out that my weight loss is because of stress. Super. Time to fix that.

Oh, I can't fix the stress. But I can eat more than once a day now.

[TheFlyingOrc]

Great job, Psyko.

I'm maintaining right around 200-205 (my highest was 268). I'm hoping to get to 190 someday. I think I recovered the water weight I had lost while dieting, so I'm hoping I'm still losing fat bit by bit. I'm sure I can get to the weight I want if I'd just get to the gym enough.

[Karak]

I have been teaching Ronin and my wife martial arts for the past 6 weeks, slowly developing basic boxing and workout skills and later planning on rolling out actual form to them.

My wife lost 8 pounds so far. A little more than a pound a week which is exactly what we scoped out to the pound. She is doing well, especially for how grueling the workouts are. You know its bad when someone says, I would rather do p90x:(

However, even more exciting...she has now adopted the family trait of punching someone in the gut when they stretch. I do not know how members in my family began this but if your stretching with your hands above your head, one of the family will try to gut shot you. Unsuspectingly I was in the kitchen felt an awesome stretch, hands over my head, and the wife leaps forward and lands a wicked gut punch.

Magic.

[evilgoodwin]

I have been teaching Ronin and my wife martial arts for the past 6 weeks, slowly developing basic boxing and workout skills and later planning on rolling out actual form to them.

My wife lost 8 pounds so far. A little more than a pound a week which is exactly what we scoped out to the pound. She is doing well, especially for how grueling the workouts are. You know its bad when someone says, I would rather do p90x:(

However, even more exciting...she has now adopted the family trait of punching someone in the gut when they stretch. I do not know how members in my family began this but if your stretching with your hands above your head, one of the family will try to gut shot you. Unsuspectingly I was in the kitchen felt an awesome stretch, hands over my head, and the wife leaps forward and lands a wicked gut punch.

Magic.

Now, if you can get her to yell out a nonsense name describing the gut punch.

"Lemming Fist!" *PUNCH*

Friend of mine told me to just start doing push-ups until I can't anymore. Just every day, do push ups, as many as possible. I think I'm just going to start doing that and see where I wind up.

Also, congrats to everyone's progress so far.

[Karak]

Now, if you can get her to yell out a nonsense name describing the gut punch.

"Lemming Fist!" *PUNCH*

Friend of mine told me to just start doing push-ups until I can't anymore. Just every day, do push ups, as many as possible. I think I'm just going to start doing that and see where I wind up.

Also, congrats to everyone's progress so far.

Hahaha. I would not put it past her. EDIT: I asked her. She said the term will be Popcorn Strike!

The pushup thing...uhm not the best idea. The joining muscle fiber and tendons all around the pec, around the armpit and into the depth of the armpit can get tore doing repetitive motion like that. Which can lead to a long term injury where lifting your arms up to your sides hurts your shoulders like a strange pin effect at the top and bottom of the shoulder. Just an FYI. A good number of martial arts students have it because for a long period of time that's how alot of schools would have kids build up strength quickly. They also did it with closed fists, to push kids into keeping a flat fist for punching.

What you could do is do about half the max reps, lets say that is 15.
Then the next day add+1. I have been doing this for over 3 years.

This puts stress on that workout in a longer fashion and the +1 method, again starting at about half your max reps, has shown to do wonders. Its how I worked up to 300 situps and over 150 pushups.
FYI even the +1 method has 2-3 rest days a week. Some will respond differently and can do it with only 1-2 days rest but when you get to high numbers that can be pretty harsh on the body.

[evilgoodwin]

Hahaha. I would not put it past her. EDIT: I asked her. She said the term will be Popcorn Strike!

The pushup thing...uhm not the best idea. The joining muscle fiber and tendons all around the pec, around the armpit and into the depth of the armpit can get tore doing repetitive motion like that. Which can lead to a long term injury where lifting your arms up to your sides hurts your shoulders like a strange pin effect at the top and bottom of the shoulder. Just an FYI. A good number of martial arts students have it because for a long period of time that's how alot of schools would have kids build up strength quickly. They also did it with closed fists, to push kids into keeping a flat fist for punching.

What you could do is do about half the max reps, lets say that is 15.
Then the next day add+1. I have been doing this for over 3 years.

This puts stress on that workout in a longer fashion and the +1 method, again starting at about half your max reps, has shown to do wonders. Its how I worked up to 300 situps and over 150 pushups.
FYI even the +1 method has 2-3 rest days a week. Some will respond differently and can do it with only 1-2 days rest but when you get to high numbers that can be pretty harsh on the body.

Ha! Popcorn strike!

So... you do 1000 pushups a day? O_O

:P

Fair advice. So, if I just pick 15 (assuming that's half my max) and do that and +1 every other day, it might be better for me? Skipping weekends? So next week might be "Monday: 15. Wednesday: 16. Friday: 17. etc."

[Karak]

Ha! Popcorn strike!

So... you do 1000 pushups a day? O_O

:P

Fair advice. So, if I just pick 15 (assuming that's half my max) and do that and +1 every other day, it might be better for me? Skipping weekends? So next week might be "Monday: 15. Wednesday: 16. Friday: 17. etc."

Hahaha:) No way. I stop around that number because thats what fits into my workout schedule. I do it before martial arts then practice for 2 hours then move to the situps and finish with a stretch. Also after a certain point I don't gain anything and begin to lose heavier lifting power.

Here is a typical +1 setup

Test your max and lets say its 30
Wait a day or two and start-
Monday 15
Tuesday 16
Wednesday 17
Thursday 18
Friday 19
Saturday off
Sunday off
Monday 20
and so on.
It will take you 14+ days to get to your max reps that you would have started on if you had done it the other way. This allows for those muscles to get the rebuild they need for such a high rep exercise, gets the tendons and so forth accustomed to the work, and basically just primes the pump in a less extreme way.
One thing to remember, pec injuries are freakishly high as are shoulder injuries. The muscle can withstand an insane amount of pressure but just like anything it needs rest periods and build periods and more importantly the ligaments and tendons and all the other working bits need that as well.

The body is capable of amazing things, but that doesn't mean we should treat it like a shitty commute car and never perform maintenance. That's what the rest period does.

POPCORN!

[Slack3r78]

Sears was clearing out a bunch of clothes at $5-10, so I stocked up some since I thought I'd shrunk from 2X to XL.

Went to put on one of the dress shirts before work, realized I'd accidentally bought a L. It fits. Really well. Awesome.

[Borthcollective]

Very Awesome indeed.

[Purple Santa]

I've been cruising on my 100 lbs lost last year. I was pretty happy when my birthday passed, I realized I had kept the weight off which is a first for me ever. But now to get serious again. I've been going to the gym but not as often as I would like. I moved so my gym was 30 minutes away. I was getting up at 3 a.m. to go the gym. But that was because I loved my old gym. I was a member for 8 yrs. Now I joined one that is 2 minutes from my house. I'm back to the gym 2x a day. 6 miles on the elliptical in the a.m. and in the p.m. i'm working on running on the treadmill. Tonight was the first night for some walk/running. I did 20 minutes of running which isn't bad since I haven't run on a treadmill in a few years.

[evilgoodwin]

1 week of +1 pushups later, I'm getting better at them. My form is improving. Still not great, but getting better.

I've also been following them with +1 elevated pushups against a door as well to try and build my arm strength. It's helping.

Any advice on killing a gut? +1 crunches? Or are they bad for your back?

[Karak]

1 week of +1 pushups later, I'm getting better at them. My form is improving. Still not great, but getting better.

I've also been following them with +1 elevated pushups against a door as well to try and build my arm strength. It's helping.

Any advice on killing a gut? +1 crunches? Or are they bad for your back?

First congrats on the pushups glad they are working.

Crunches can or can not be bad on your back. It depends. Tons of people do them fine, others no.

Honestly killing a gut is a combo of strong back work, strong stomach work, good cardio(caloric burn) and perhaps negating any possible high levels of cortisol(stress hormone).
Stomach should never be worked alone though you need to make sure that the trunk is strong not just the front. Its like doing just biceps work, its ridiculously bad if you arn't working on triceps and shoulders.

Many people find that boxing improves their guts due to the intense upper body work that trims the sides, back and stomach. If you can find something that works like that you would be good. Also dancing works for the stomach as well.

[TheFlyingOrc]

Any advice on killing a gut? +1 crunches? Or are they bad for your back?
Man belly is basically a question of % body fat. :(

[Bone]

Ab work does the least for calorie burning, from what I understand. Lowering your body fat with higher calorie-burning workouts is more beneficial to making your gut "shape" better.

[Karak]

Ab work does the least for calorie burning, from what I understand. Lowering your body fat with higher calorie-burning workouts is more beneficial to making your gut "shape" better.

Yep correct. Calorie burning, de-stressing, and trunk work INCLUDING the back and lower shoulders all work to straighten a stomach and let it be seen.

[Bone]

Oh yeah, I read somewhere it was the big muscles that do the most good. So back, shoulders, and thighs move a lot of blood and oxygen. I started running again today at lunch... my damn ankles are pissed off, but I ran for about 30 minutes and walked 30 in total.

[Karak]

Oh yeah, I read somewhere it was the big muscles that do the most good. So back, shoulders, and thighs move a lot of blood and oxygen. I started running again today at lunch... my damn ankles are pissed off, but I ran for about 30 minutes and walked 30 in total.

Thats not bad running for just starting out again. Not bad at all.

I guess while we are talking about workouts my current one is 3 times a week with a 4th and 5th with the wife and Ronin.

My own workout.
10 minutes stretch
45 minutes boxing and martial arts on alternating heavy bags
10 minutes stretch

This workout puts me in a horrible mood though. Not ill or anything but...very very aggressive. Not sure if its causing some kind of adrenal thing or what. But I spend the next 3-4 hours agitated.

My workout with the wife and Ronin and is 2 or 3 times a week depending on my wifes soccor schedule(15 second rest between sets and 30 after every boxing set)

5 minutes boxing
3 minutes jumping jacks
2 minutes burpies
2 minutes pushups/chest pulls
5 minutes boxing
3 minutes crap burpies
5 minutes boxing
3 minutes jumping jacks
5 minutes boxing
3 minutes squat leaps with 4 kick combo in between
5 minutes boxing
3 minutes crab burpies.
10 minute stretch warmdown.

Strangely this one doesn't put me in the same shitty ass mood as the other one. Just makes me really tired and in the words that Ronin put, "I really really don't want to come back tomorrow!" Hahahaha,

[Bone]

It was perhaps too much, too soon. But my 4.5 months of no smoking had finally started to take its toll on my fat content, and I felt up to it. Almost puked.

[Karak]

It was perhaps too much, too soon. But my 4.5 months of no smoking had finally started to take its toll on my fat content, and I felt up to it. Almost puked.

Ya probably shouldn't feel like puking. I am not sure if you are jogging or more of a military hump. But my wife hates running so when we go she goes for more of a slower military hump style run. Works for her and she builds her wind back up.

Still most people who hadn't run in a long time wouldn't be able to put up 30 minutes of speed walking let alone running.

[evilgoodwin]

This workout puts me in a horrible mood though. Not ill or anything but...very very aggressive. Not sure if its causing some kind of adrenal thing or what. But I spend the next 3-4 hours agitated.


Maybe you just need a different workout soundtrack.

1SUzcDUERLo

That should help. :D

[Bone]

Ya probably shouldn't feel like puking. I am not sure if you are jogging or more of a military hump. But my wife hates running so when we go she goes for more of a slower military hump style run. Works for her and she builds her wind back up.

Still most people who hadn't run in a long time wouldn't be able to put up 30 minutes of speed walking let alone running.
I started out running, and it turned into a hump, then later, a fast stagger! :)

[evilgoodwin]

I guess I could start hiking again. I'm moving to a more rural area in a few months, so there should be some decent bike trails. Might be fun as running is rough on my knees, but hiking is something I used to do.

[Bone]

Rural? Where you movin'?

[evilgoodwin]

Rural? Where you movin'?

Taking over brother's condo: 620/2222.

[Bone]

Nice! I used to live over there. Don't get eaten by coyotes.

[evilgoodwin]

Nice! I used to live over there. Don't get eaten by coyotes.

It's ok, I'll just carry some ACME catalogs to distract them with.

[Karak]

Maybe you just need a different workout soundtrack.

1SUzcDUERLo

That should help. :D
No way! No music used. I am usually teaching them as we go. BUT FYI you did just pick the best workout music ever though.

Something interesting about that. If you have ever run in snow you know how hard it is. That workout with the run to the top of the mountain...literally insane. And when they asked Stallone about it he said something to the effect of "Ya I ran all the way to the top because I didn't know what part I wanted in the movie so...I just kept running."

He just kept running...up a fucking mountain...in the snow. No way in solid gold hell man. The dude, drugs or not, has a willpower that is second to none:)

I will stick with my workout. Tonights was pretty good. Poor Ronin did not fare very well. He smashed his nose pretty hard. He was tired, hit the water bag, didn't rebound quick enough and it slapped the ever loving shit out of him. You could hear it over the other people boxing. The dude is doing so well though. He has never been built for martial arts or boxing or anything and we really put together a workout package that I thought would introduce him to it in a way he would find interesting and keep him into it. Pretty fucking proud of that dude.

He does have one amazing talent which I have seen him do on a couple occasions.
He gets on an exercise bike, turns it to the highest setting possible and petals for 45 minutes. I shit you not. A fast power petal. Its like watching a fucking machine when he gets on an exercise bike its legendary. When we would go to the rec center people would just sit and watch him because you could hear that fucking machine whining under the strain of a 290 pound man pedaling it at full speed on 10 difficulty. Dude has legs of granite.

[Karak]

I have now watch that rocky video 11 times...Fucking so sweet.

[evilgoodwin]

I have now watch that rocky video 11 times...Fucking so sweet.

See? I might have a good point :D

And you can power the stereo playing it with Ronin's biking!