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My Weight Loss Journey

JR

JR

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I thought about posting in the excellent 5-10-15 thread that Grey and Kellybo have started, but chose not to, because of the simple fact that the amount of weight I need to lose is much, much greater.

I have been morbidly obese all of my life. As such, I have put myself at great risk for health problems, especially regarding the fact that my family has a history of such problems. People have told me I need to lose weight, and trust me, I know it, but I have just not been able to gather up the will power to give it a serious try.

I am going to be completely honest in this thread. I will report wheather or not I have gained, or lost.

As a part of this honesty, I will tell you, so that my friends here may grasp the gravity of my situation, my weight. Very few know this.

I weigh 315 lbs. I am only 5'8".

Through the last two years, my weight has stabalized, not fluctuating from that point. This is probably due to the training I go through for football. The goal now is to get the needle moving in the other direction.

I have asked my parents to allow me to attend the 2012 outing as a Senior Trip, coinciding with my graduation from high school. I figure a one year time frame is perfect for this purpose. I have decided, as motivation, that the outing will be my reward for achieving my goal weight.

Interstingly enough, my birthday is the 14th of this month. This thread will span from today, until the 14th of January, 2012, when I turn 18. Fitting, it seems, that I start with a tabula rasa, a clean slate, as I enter adulthood.

My goal weight is 220 lbs, or around 2 lbs a week.I have chosen this as a goal, because I believe it is safe, but challenging at the same time. If I do not achieve this goal weight, I will force myself to postpone attending the outing for one more year. I am hoping this will force me to stay on point with this project.

I would appreciate any advise my friends here could offer. I work out every weekday, and starting ASAP, will start doing cardio daily. Any tips on foods that are good for dieting or simple recipes are greatly appreciated. I will post weekly updates. Thank you all for your support, and wish me luck.
 
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Best of luck to you dude. I think you are going about it in smart way as well. Erica was a nutrition/dietician major in college and I'm sure I can get you some good info if you need it. She's also huge into fitness. If your knees are ok, the best exercise you can do is running.
 
Thanks a lot Hawk, I may need to take you up on that offer, because, in reality, I am going in blind here.
Hawk said:
Best of luck to you dude. I think you are going about it in smart way as well. Erica was a nutrition/dietician major in college and I'm sure I can get you some good info if you need it. She's also huge into fitness. If your knees are ok, the best exercise you can do is running.
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The fad diets are tough to stick with since they are so limiting, ie Atkins, South Beach, etc. One thing that we do is make things from scratch instead of using box foods or packets. For example, we season tacos on our own and use a flour tortilla instead of boxed shells. Have one larger taco with a flour or low carb tortilla instead of 3-4 smaller ones with a hard shell.

Little things can add unneeded calories. Two pieces of bread can be 200 calories alone. A big way to reduce calories is to eat healthier carbs and cut out the bad ones. There are plenty of low cal/low carb bread options out there. Snack foods that are carbs like chips, crackers are bad news.
 
Okay.

See, the thing is, fat or not, I am still an athlete, who has to be able to train effectively and build muscle, while losing fat. I have to have some food energy, or else I will basically not be able to do my workouts. If you ever get the opportunity, if she does not mind, could you ask her some things she would suggest?

Hawk said:
The fad diets are tough to stick with since they are so limiting, ie Atkins, South Beach, etc. One thing that we do is make things from scratch instead of using box foods or packets. For example, we season tacos on our own and use a flour tortilla instead of boxed shells. Have one larger taco with a flour or low carb tortilla instead of 3-4 smaller ones with a hard shell.

Little things can add unneeded calories. Two pieces of bread can be 200 calories alone. A big way to reduce calories is to eat healthier carbs and cut out the bad ones. There are plenty of low cal/low carb bread options out there. Snack foods that are carbs like chips, crackers are bad news.
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Good post aggro and I wish you all the success in the world dude! First of all it takes a real man to own up to and face a problem head on and defeat it. During your journey you will have some weak periods which we all have so don't let that break your goals/focus. I am proud of your decision to tackle this health issue while you are young. The older you get your metabolism slows down and trust me, it's harder to burn the calories. It still can be done but you have to be dedicated and love exercise. I know you can do it man and I look forward to following this thread and we all are pulling for ya.
 
Thanks KB!

The outing is still in the planning stages, of course. The parents think it is very odd that I want to go play golf with people I have never met. I can honestly think of no way to tell them that they are wrong, hehe.
 
Thanks for the support, Grey.
Ole Gray said:
Good post aggro and I wish you all the success in the world dude! First of all it takes a real man to own up to and face a problem head on and defeat it. During your journey you will have some weak periods which we all have so don't let that break your goals/focus. I am proud of your decision to tackle this health issue while you are young. The older you get your metabolism slows down and trust me, it's harder to burn the calories. It still can be done but you have to be dedicated and love exercise. I know you can do it man and I look forward to following this thread and we all are pulling for ya.
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Aggro,

I love the way that you are approaching this- and 2 lbs a week is a very safe goal. Losing more than that quickly really isn't a great idea, despite what the commercials tell you. Keep with it and keep this thread alive. I don't have a ton of experience losing weight, but what I can tell you from a "self-improvement" standpoint is that you need an accountability partner who will ask you how you are doing, encourage you when you want to give up, and will celebrate you when you succeed.

I think you'll also find that you are a MUCH better football player when you get down to 280 and less, despite giving up the weight. You'll be a much faster, much more athletic, BEAST!

Best of luck buddy!
 
You've got my admiration for your honesty on here first off. Takes guts to open up like that to anyone, much less a bunch of people. It's a great start.

I wish you all the luck and willpower in the world. I'm looking forward to keeping up with this thread. Hope the excellent support on here helps you stay motivated.
 
Good luck with your journey. Your life will improve tremendously by reaching your goals.
 
Great goals Aggro. Really a brave thing you did putting yourself out there. I have some experience I can share as I battle with some of the same things as you.

Hawk is 100% right with the diets. They do work for some but as you said yourself, you're playing football and really need all the nutrition you can get. There are formulas out there that will calculate amount of calories per day, that take into consideration your goals and your physical activity level. It's important to get enough good calories. A big thing most overlook. I figure you know this but I'm a rambler.

Couple of tips in the meantime to go along with Hawk's:

Try to eat 5-6x a day. 2-3 of those meals will be snacks. Portion size is the most important part. It's also the hardest. But after a few weeks your stomach will get used to it. At first it will feel like a lot, then too little, then a lot.. then just right.

- Whole grains!!!!!!!!!!! From what I understand most of the nutrients are sucked out of the enriched products, so I was avoiding those most of the time. Even some "whole wheat" products aren't very good for you. I got used to reading labels real quick.

- Carbs are good but good carbs are what works as Hawk said. Veggies are a great replacement for a lot of the bread type carbs out there.

I'm not an expert by any means but I had a great amount of success with just following a plan and moderation was the key. I'm back to a program similar and it's paying dividends. You're gonna eat out of your plan every now and then, that's ok! Just remember noone perfect and there will be some misteps. It's just important to get back on track and not beat yourself up over it. Good luck man!!!! I really will be sending good vibes your way. You will a lot of support here.
 
Good luck aggro, you already took the first step by setting yourself an objective and a reward, you'll have plenty of support here. Good on ya to start now and make change in your lifestyle!
 
This is an extremely courageous thing to do. You have the support and admiration of all of us here and we are all here to help you in anyway we can. Whether it's words of encouragement, accountability or tips and tricks for healthy eating and exercise we are all here for you. Good luck on your journey!
 
GolferGal said:
This is an extremely courageous thing to do. You have the support and admiration of all of us here and we are all here to help you in anyway we can. Whether it's words of encouragement, accountability or tips and tricks for healthy eating and exercise we are all here for you. Good luck on your journey!
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+1 You can do it man.
 
Best of luck bro, I know a lot of people will be pulling for you
 
Good luck, I'm pulling for you. As a few others have said, this is a laudable goal and one that can be attained.

One thing I would suggest is getting your body-fat percentage checked as a starting point and regularly along your journey. Decreasing your body-fat percentage and losing weight can and should go hand in hand. During those times when you hit a weight loss plateau, a drop in the body-fat percentage can keep you motivated.

Looking forward to following your progress.
 
rhinogolfer said:
Good luck, I'm pulling for you. As a few others have said, this is a laudable goal and one that can be attained.

One thing I would suggest is getting your body-fat percentage checked as a starting point and regularly along your journey. Decreasing your body-fat percentage and losing weight can and should go hand in hand. During those times when you hit a weight loss plateau, a drop in the body-fat percentage can keep you motivated.

Looking forward to following your progress.
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The point about body fat is so true and that is great advice! Sometimes you might not be losing any weight because you are gaining muscle but you will still see a decrease in body fat and that's the most important thing. Great point RG.
 
GolferGal said:
This is an extremely courageous thing to do. You have the support and admiration of all of us here and we are all here to help you in anyway we can. Whether it's words of encouragement, accountability or tips and tricks for healthy eating and exercise we are all here for you. Good luck on your journey!
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Thanks, GG. This is why I posted here, so many great members willing to offer support

ripper said:
Best of luck bro, I know a lot of people will be pulling for you
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Thanks ripper!

rhinogolfer said:
Good luck, I'm pulling for you. As a few others have said, this is a laudable goal and one that can be attained.

One thing I would suggest is getting your body-fat percentage checked as a starting point and regularly along your journey. Decreasing your body-fat percentage and losing weight can and should go hand in hand. During those times when you hit a weight loss plateau, a drop in the body-fat percentage can keep you motivated.

Looking forward to following your progress.
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I wish this was possible, but unfortunately, the closest place I could get this done is a LONG way off.
 
Good luck aggro! It took a lot of courage to post this thread as a stand alone thread. You have already done a huge thing is making changes. We'll be cheering for you.
 
Best of luck pal, as someone who needs to lose 70lb myself I know where you are coming from. Very brave thing to do and glad you are going about it the sensible way. One way which worked for me in the past was swimming, that way the joints don't get pounded. Jogging is probably the best way to lose weight but a lot of people fail to understand is that when you are a bit bigger the jogging hurts the joints,personally I can't jog very well until around the 220 mark.
Anyhow keep us posted and good luck.
 
aggro said:
I wish this was possible, but unfortunately, the closest place I could get this done is a LONG way off.
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Just checked a map and see your dilemma. Hmmm...check with the coaches in the PE department or maybe a local gym. I just checked online and there are several websites that can help calculate (probably an estimate) based on some measurements you can take at home. Just do a google search for checking body fat percentage.
 
First day sucks, but its not so bad. Trying to get used to the idea of drinking only water. Naturally, mother has decided to cook something unhealthy for supper. I guess moderation will be key.

The roads have been frozen, so I am hoping to be able to get back to school tomorrow, where I can work out. Gonna try and pack my own lunch, as per some of Hawk's suggestions (thanks buddy). I have some flour tortillas here, going to do a wrap of some sort. Probably an egg white omelette for breakfast, with veggies. Hopefully I can eat a salad or something for supper, as it doesn't seem like the rest of the family is on the diet train (although they could use it), and it is something I can make independantly, without Mom fussing of me not eating what she cooked.

Found out water is a terrific hunger suppressant.
 
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