FA+
Shop
Something I've wanted to talk about for awhile
14 years ago
So. Uhm.
I've been pretty much overweight my entire life. Ever since I was diagnosed with asthma when I was 5. Or that's what I told myself, anyway. That I was fat because running, walking or even just being outside on a cold day left me struggling to breathe. That was pretty rough in grade school. They couldn't risk the possibility of being sued because some kid OD'd on his prescription medicine, so I wasn't allowed to carry an inhaler with me. And this was when the health craze phase really started kicking into high gear. Every week we'd congregate in the assembly hall and watch a video about why all your excuses for being fat are bullshit, and then go off to walk several laps on the track field.
When I was older I went on a couple of diets. Diet Center and South Beach. Lost about 40 pounds each time, then gained back more than I had lost. They were fast, they were effective, and they were brutal. The reason their advertised results are "not typical" is because almost nobody stays on them for more than a few months. Lose a few pounds, gain them back, repeat ad nauseum. I remember once going to a store and becoming irrationally angry because being on a diet meant I couldn't eat a tube of raw cookie dough. That's not something I'd ever do normally, but these diets deprive you so much that you start to go crazy.
Well. I didn't get my asthma under control until a few years ago. Now that I could breathe, I took the opportunity to join a gym. I got pretty good on the elliptical. Eventually got to the point where I could run for half an hour, burning 400 calories in the process, or so the machine told me.
In two years, I never lost a pound.
So this has always been in the back of my mind. Always thinking about it, about what I could do. I'd been following r/loseit on Reddit for awhile, just kind of browsing, seeing what other people had to say, when I saw a link to an article on some webpage called Nerd Fitness.
http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/01.....actually-suck/
The Reddit submission that linked to this didn't get many upvotes. People there don't seem to like Nerd Fitness too much. But that article really resonated with me for some reason. Got me fired up. I did some more research, on the paleo diet and bodyweight exercises. Figured I could give up cereal without any problem and replace it with eggs. Started keeping a food journal, followed the instructional workout videos on Nerd Fitness and started keeping a workout journal.
Almost considered cancelling my gym membership, but then discovered r/fitness on Reddit. Researched barbell exercises, researched Starting Strength, started doing weighted squats, overhead presses, bench presses, dead lifts and power cleans. Felt ridiculously strong.
This all started in January. As of last Friday I've lost 27 pounds and gained a lot of muscle. That's hardly a success story; it averages out to less than a pound a week. But it's sustainable. It's a lifestyle change. I'm not depriving myself. It hasn't been easy - I've given myself minor injuries during weightlifting a couple of times, and the slow rate of progress is frustrating at points - but, well ... it's working.
So yeah. That's my story. Maybe I can inspire someone else. That'd be neat.
I've been pretty much overweight my entire life. Ever since I was diagnosed with asthma when I was 5. Or that's what I told myself, anyway. That I was fat because running, walking or even just being outside on a cold day left me struggling to breathe. That was pretty rough in grade school. They couldn't risk the possibility of being sued because some kid OD'd on his prescription medicine, so I wasn't allowed to carry an inhaler with me. And this was when the health craze phase really started kicking into high gear. Every week we'd congregate in the assembly hall and watch a video about why all your excuses for being fat are bullshit, and then go off to walk several laps on the track field.
When I was older I went on a couple of diets. Diet Center and South Beach. Lost about 40 pounds each time, then gained back more than I had lost. They were fast, they were effective, and they were brutal. The reason their advertised results are "not typical" is because almost nobody stays on them for more than a few months. Lose a few pounds, gain them back, repeat ad nauseum. I remember once going to a store and becoming irrationally angry because being on a diet meant I couldn't eat a tube of raw cookie dough. That's not something I'd ever do normally, but these diets deprive you so much that you start to go crazy.
Well. I didn't get my asthma under control until a few years ago. Now that I could breathe, I took the opportunity to join a gym. I got pretty good on the elliptical. Eventually got to the point where I could run for half an hour, burning 400 calories in the process, or so the machine told me.
In two years, I never lost a pound.
So this has always been in the back of my mind. Always thinking about it, about what I could do. I'd been following r/loseit on Reddit for awhile, just kind of browsing, seeing what other people had to say, when I saw a link to an article on some webpage called Nerd Fitness.
http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/01.....actually-suck/
The Reddit submission that linked to this didn't get many upvotes. People there don't seem to like Nerd Fitness too much. But that article really resonated with me for some reason. Got me fired up. I did some more research, on the paleo diet and bodyweight exercises. Figured I could give up cereal without any problem and replace it with eggs. Started keeping a food journal, followed the instructional workout videos on Nerd Fitness and started keeping a workout journal.
Almost considered cancelling my gym membership, but then discovered r/fitness on Reddit. Researched barbell exercises, researched Starting Strength, started doing weighted squats, overhead presses, bench presses, dead lifts and power cleans. Felt ridiculously strong.
This all started in January. As of last Friday I've lost 27 pounds and gained a lot of muscle. That's hardly a success story; it averages out to less than a pound a week. But it's sustainable. It's a lifestyle change. I'm not depriving myself. It hasn't been easy - I've given myself minor injuries during weightlifting a couple of times, and the slow rate of progress is frustrating at points - but, well ... it's working.
So yeah. That's my story. Maybe I can inspire someone else. That'd be neat.
I've been there, kept pushing myself for about three years and now I'm happy with it.
Also, getting and staying in shape is all about finding the activities you love and sticking with them. Don't let anyone ever tell you different.
Glad it's working for you, sir. Been doing the weights m'self, for a while. It's always the food that's the hard part for me. Eating crap is so... easy.
...Yes, this did just happen to me tonight. The best cardio is 'Get home or get shivved' cardio.
Jewel
260-300, how tall are you? (IDK if your fursona doesn't match).
The other thing that works for me is to start grazing. Eat all the time. Fruits and raw veggies. Cook up lean pork and chicken on the grill and snack on it too. Get the metabolism fired up and it will start burning the calories on it's own.
Best of luck to ya. I think your doing great!
I have never been severely overweight, just somewhat - but always been just a bit pudgey (around 20lbs overweight) I have tried different diets/workouts too, never stuck with them long enough though. I tended to loose the most weight by starvation or one meal a day but that wasn't very healthy and I probably lost muscle too, also I recall when I stopped drinking soda and dropped 12lbs within 4 months. Anyways I probably could do better if I just stuck to it, problem is I just don't :s.
I once managed to lose about a pound a week at one point, just with some mild exercise and limiting my calorie intake to 1800-2000 per day. Then I sprained my knee and life got busier and more stressful and I gained it all back.
The main thing that has gotten in my way is that there's nothing easy. And I like tasty foods.
Y'know, I really haven't changed my diet that much. My original plan was to ease into a paleo diet, but all I've really changed is cutting out cereal and replacing it with either an egg or peanut butter on multi-grain toast. I'll sometimes eat a spinach salad for lunch, I try not to eat before bed, and I keep a simple food journal. No calorie counting.
I think the journal was the most important thing. Just putting what you eat in the forefront of your consciousness helps to cut down on mindless snacking.
That said, I know that being overweight can be a negative thing for the self-image. But really the most important thing is your physical health when it comes to weight. In fact it sickens me that anything not pole-thin for girls and buff for guys is regarded as ugly.
And as for the whole 'lose weight, gain it back' thing you are correct - this is because fat cells multiply when you gain weight, but when you lose weight not only do you not lose those cells and instead they merely shrink, but your body also thinks that you are starving and begins to slow down your metabolism. Vicious, eh?
Anyway, sorry for that rant. It seems to me though that this is what you want and you are accomplishing your goals, which is great! Setting up a goal and meeting it is very admirable - I wish I could say the same... I'm really too apathetic to get anything done. I'm terribly out of shape myself as I live a sedentary lifstyle... but I tend to just not care.
But hey, like, almost thirty pounds since you started hitting the gym a lot? That's good stuff. Have you tried boxing? Best workout there is. I figure, with regular exercises, you get all tired and start slowing down and essentially go easy on yourself... but if you're trying really hard to not get the shit beat out of you, it forces you to keep going at your maximum. Also, the coffee helps, if you aren't already drinking as much as I do. Apart from the obvious excessive-pooping it causes (it's like bolemia... with your butt!) it also totally kills a person's appetite... or at least, it kills MY appetite. I drink some coffee and then later in the day I find myself thinking, "Man, I haven't eaten in a while.. and I think I'm hungry.. but I don't WANT any food... .. oh well, back to games."
AND THEN! And then you almost fail a dead lift, your grip just can't quite keep a hold of the bar, so you unload for awhile, take off 20 pounds, work on your form, get back up to your old weight and suddenly you realize you're lifting five pounds more than your old maximum and it's REALLY EASY and you're like HYAAAAAARGH FUCK YEAH and then everyone else in the gym looks at you all weird.
=I
COFFEE, ay? I'll keep that in mind. Maybe I'll just make a whole pot for myself instead of using the little plastic cup filter, hurrhurr.
About exceeding personal hurdles and whatnot... maan you should have seen me when I first joined this gym. I literally was throwing up just about every day. From like, just the warm-ups. That's how weak and out of shape my body used to be. Also I didn't know how to throw a punch right.
Thanks for the tips! and glad you found your solution ^^
Personally i was hoping i would start losing weight with my job but it's been the opposite so far. Does not help that i'm rather picky with food too. :<
Actually, it's weird too, ever since I started lifting weights I've noticed that women in popular media have no muscle tone. Like, at all. I'm not even talking about the bulimic ones without an ounce of fat. Even the women at a healthy weight have no muscle to back it up. It's DISTRESSING. EVERYONE SHOULD LIFT WEIGHTS =V
Don't be hard on yourself! The less free time you have, the harder it is. What you gotta do is find a good healthy go-to meal that's easy to prepare and that you won't get sick of. For me it's a plate of spinach with kippered herring and a little balsamic vinegar. I've been eating that crap for eight months and I still love it.
=V
For better health i heared onces you should do about 10.000 steps a day.
Anything between half a pound and two pounds per week is normal, healthy progress. You shouldn't feel discouraged if you're averaging less than a pound per week as long as your overall progress is a downward trend. Losing more than 2 pounds per week starts to put people into risk categories.
youve inspired me atleast. Thank you.
Diets should be taken progressively (one step at a time, rather than refusing several foods and working out 3 hours a day suddenly, start with getting one food at a time out of your diet and slowly working out longer as you feel that you can)
This is how I did it, and the gradual shift into a very healthy lifestyle is much easier... It is like getting into a pool, if you dive in all at once, it feels freezing, but if you slip in at your own comfort level, things are different! It is also easier to become adjusted this way, so you don't end up reverting back to being unhealthy.
I have been on a very strict diet for years and it started with cutting out foods one at a time that I knew were bad for me, when I was ready to stop eating them. You know I can help you further with any diet or exercise questions you might have, I will do my best.
These days I do as you do. And the trick is to eat food that's been processed as little as possible. I eat mostly meat and greens, and natural yoghurt and cheese and such things. And the weight comes off, slowly. It didn't go on in a week so it won't come off in a week. But I've been working on it for a while and the clothes are starting to get looser. No extra muscle in my case since my exercise is mostly walking, not working out, though the grad school does have a gym and so I might go and see if there's someone there who could help.
By the way, I'm sure you know that muscle tissue is heavier than fat, so you're probably losing fat but replacing it with muscle, so the "weight loss" is more than you think.
Nice to meet someone in a similar position to myself, and taking a similar way out. Thank you for posting.
Amazing man amazing!