making a strong commitment to lose weight

[grammatron]

Great work south pacific!

[Dear You]

Man. This is like the millionth time I've told myself this, but I really gotta start exercising more. I feel like my weight just keeps climbing up slowly but surely. I think last night I weighed myself at a little under 225. So awful. I've also obviously noticed less and less of my clothes fitting. Mostly jeans. I guess now that I don't work, I should at least try and force myself to run on the weekends. And perhaps find wherever the fucking gym is on campus.

[badhat]

the facinating thing about caffeine is that its not really a performance enhancer, biomechanically. like... it wont make you capable of putting out more watts on a bike or lifting a heavier weight over the same reps or whatever... it just makes a given effort feel a little easier, which, if youre doing sub maximal efforts (which we mostly are) means we're more likely to complete sets or workouts.

theres actually some concern in elite level cyclists that caffeine use could in theory allow them to ignore hard limits to heart rate... since a big part of cycling training is basically teaching the mental game of enduring the pain of over exertion, and induce heart arhythmia or arrest...

[Milquetoaster Strudels]

The most disconcerting thing about lifting and working out to lose weight at the same time is static weight. There's no way that I haven't lost five lbs in the last week.

[badhat]

once youre down to a non-obese body shape, youre probably well served tracking your body fat composition (get a body fat scale) and how your clothes fit at least as diligently as you track your actual mass.

especially if youre lifting weight.

[Hideaway Lights]

Well, I'm through the first 3 weeks proper of p90x lean, although we dabbled for two weeks prior in about 3-4 of the workouts per week. In other words, effectively we've been fucking around with the program for about a month. Down from 6'1" 200 to 6'1" 192, but I have some muscle increase as well. I've never been so sore as I was after last friday, and I was a varsity athlete all through high school.

[Milquetoaster Strudels]

That's a good idea. I've been tracking how my clothes fit, and shirts that used to fit at 235 now are getting pressed by the gut.

[Milquetoaster Strudels]

Down from 6'1" 200 to 6'1" 192, but I have some muscle increase as well.

Were you expecting to drop an inch?

[coop]

it's been said before, but giving up soda/pop will really help you lose weight and just your overall health in general

http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/3-shocking-soda-facts

[carlperkins]

it's been said before, but giving up soda/pop will really help you lose weight and just your overall health in general

http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/3-shocking-soda-facts

yeah, i always thought it was cliche, but i actually did lose 8-9 lbs really quickly after cutting out soda

and i was only having 1 per day prior to that

[Buddy Glass]

I cut soda out last year but I'm still gaining weight slowly. I gained back the 12 pounds I lost overseas in October. I also don't drink outside a handful of occasions each year. I eat literally nothing but garbage, though, and I'm also fond of eating junk right before bed so it's not really surprising. Plus I never exercise.

Actually when I look at it that way my metabolism's probably pretty good because I'm just chubby, not morbidly obese.

The funny thing is I ate like an asshole during that month-long trip, but usually only one big meal a day, and I did a ton of walking. So maybe if I just walked more things might balance out okay. Ideally I want to lose like 30-40 pounds.

[Seamus]

I've only been the gym like 4 times this month but I've lost half a stone - pretty sure it's because I've completely cut out soda. Still having the occasional takeaway and had a few boozy nights, but I'm eating more fruit and a lot of the time I'm having muesli with greek yoghurt which is a pretty great alternative to the kind of shit I used to snack on

[Buddy Glass]

I've just about gotten myself to the point where I can eat a salad without gagging so that's progress, right?

[Seamus]

man fuck salad

[deep space]

i jog to the salad bar

[Dear You]

Yeah, I think after I finish off the little bit of Pepsi Max™ I have left, I'm gonna try and cut out soda entirely.

Then I need to work on eating better, obviously.

The hardest part will be trying to not drink so much. It's almost become a habit to have at least 1 beer like. Every day.

[j-ol]

how many of you dudes have incorporated yoga? i wouldn't go so far as to call it a panacea for body/weight woes, but it's about as close as you can possibly get. regular practice literally re-shaped my body at multiple levels: fat content, overall muscle tone, and posture. it's pretty satisfying to practice yoga for a month and then realize that your legs are no longer the familiar undifferentiated flesh pillars, but have turned into respectably-muscled stalks that you can imagine sketching in a notebook.

the best part of all is that once you've broken through, yoga feels downright amazing while you are doing it.

[beave]

making a strong commitment to knocking out this pizza nawmean

[captain]

j-ol, i was doing yoga for a while when i was dating the psycho yoga instructor and promptly stopped when that whole thing fell to shit

i've been lazy as fuck and eating like shit once finals began at the beginning of december, then through the holidays, and into the new year

a few weeks ago i noticed myself getting fatter so i cut out junk food, made sure my house was stocked with healthy stuff to eat, and got a blender

i've been consuming 1 or 2 smoothies a day and mostly salads, eggs, lean protein, and occasionally boiled or baked potatoes

i've been running the stairs in my apartment building which has been a fucking nightmare. i would do it a few times a week but it has been taking my legs 5 days to recover. i downloaded p90x the other day and am gonna start it tomorrow which will likely make me want to kill myself

i don't have a scale so i can't really track my weight... i would guess i'm somewhere between 200 and 210 right now. i don't feel like i have lost any weight yet, but i sure as fuck feel better. after having my morning smoothie, i don't even feel like i need coffee and haven't been drinking it. gets me pretty energized and feeling great and lasts pretty much all day.

luckily i don't have a sweet tooth so i don't have to worry about cutting out desserts and candy and all that crap, because i never eat that anyway. the hardest part will be cutting down my beer consumption because if it were up to me i'd probably drink 30 beers a week. oh and i love chips.

[captain]

if you live in an apartment building and find yourself with nowhere to exercise in these winter months, just run flights of stairs. based on how terrible i feel, it must be at least somewhat effective

[fresh]

this shit has all probably been said before but:

the best advice i can give is to do everything very gradually. cut out one shitty food/drink a week and replace it with something a little better. so trade the bag of chips you have at lunch with some nuts/fruit. instead of a candy bar eat a protein bar. instead of soda drink water or tea. after a few months your diet will be way better. start following food blogs and learn about nutrition and how to cook for yourself. start making breakfast every morning. then start cooking dinner for yourself a few nights a week. keep making marginal improvements until you're eating really well.

then start doing easy exercises 30 min a day three or four days a week. add a few minutes every week, or do higher intensity exercises, or add another day. after a few months you'll be way fitter. start running on a treadmill. get to the point where you can run a mile without stopping, and then start running outside. join a running club, then sign up for a 5k, then sign up for a 10k, then a half marathon. or pick some other exercise that's equally good for you and enjoyable and where you can progress like that.

or do those things in the opposite order. whatever. the idea is that it can be tough to make a really severe change in your habits, but if you do it step by step, it's way easier. you just kind of get used to eating well and exercising a lot and after six months or a year it starts to feel less like you're actively trying to lose weight and more like this is just who you are. and then you have no real desire to eat french fries and ice cream and all that nonsense, and you actually enjoy working out and look forward to it. it's a long process but doing it this way is so much better.

if a change a week feels like too much then take it slower. if after a few months you feel like ramping it up then give it a shot. you've got as much time as you need to make it happen. it's not a race. a year or two seems like a long time to wait to become thin and in shape but that's what it takes and if you do it this way you will get there eventually and it will be the motherfucking best thing ever.

[macseries]

i'll echo what badhat said about body shape. i haven't lost a pound in probably two months, but in the meantime i wore a shirt that i hadn't worn in a while (i got it in college) and it was real tight in the shoulders. i had a little spring in my step that day.

[captain]

i gotta say that making smoothies is just the best way to eat vegetables

as long as you don't put shitty stuff in there you're fine. make it with equal parts fruit and vegetables and it still tastes so good. really helps you get to your 8-10 servings a day.

[pellegrino viking essays]

I spent $50 on beer and $24 on girl scout cookies this weekend, how do you think it's going?

[staple]

last september i was right around 210, now im around 173. wanna drop about 10 more.

[staple]

fwiw im 5'10 so 210 was really fat

[Dinosauria We]

wow good work staple. for whatever reason i cant seem to lose anything. my eating is much better than it was last year. i mean, no ice cream ever. i'm basically eating cereal as my snack. i should probably start drinking more water.

what have you been eating?

[qwerty]

ive probably said it before in this thread, but i really miss being able to work out in the a.m. or during lunch. with my commute + having a kid the only realistic time i am able to work out is at like 8/8:30pm. i could do the a.m., but that means i'd have to get up no later than 5:30am so i can go work out and come back to help the wife w/ the kid and then get to the train station to head to work.

[grammatron]

Good job staple.

[transitive]

Working out during lunch has been really great for me in terms of getting me disciplined about going to the gym/working out. Don't know what I'll do if/when it stops being an option.