"I want to lose weight!"

[Kryptonic]

About four years ago I really decided to drop the weight. I started off around 335 pounds and in about a year I had dropped down to 275 and I'm still 275. I kind of hit a wall I suppose during one particularly tough weight-lifting session and nearly passed out. Ever since then, I haven't really been able to lose weight, despite trying very hard, but I am in the best shape of my life and have been lifting and training again for the last 3-4 months, 4-6 days a week 1-2 hours a day. Beginning to see definition I'd never seen before. Getting stronger, leaner, and it feels good. I still need to drop another 30-40 pounds for my 6 ft. 4.5 in. height.

A lot of people try these diets and lose weight but quickly gain it back a few weeks later. It's a lifestyle change. You can't just eat salads for a few months, lose weight, and go back to eating fried chicken. You have to drop the bad stuff and eat the good stuff. It's very simple. That's why right now I'm a vegetarian. Have been for over a year and I'm healthier than I've ever been and kicking myself for not doing this earlier.

Here are a couple of truths I've found out about weight-loss:

Small meals - I personally dropped the bulk of my weight by eating small meals and snacks 5-6 times a day. This way your metabolism is constantly burning and continues to do so.

Oatmeal - The best breakfest you can eat. Not those instant packets, real old fashioned oatmeal. I mix it with skim milk, soy protein, raisins, and bananas. Occassionally I crumble up a third of a Detour Oatmeal Whey Protein bar and mix it in as well. Doing this I get about 35-40 grams of protein at about 450-500 calories and it keeps me going for the morning.

Walking - Best thing you can do. Uphill if you can do it to burn even more calories and get a good leg workout. Walking helps you lose weight, trim down, and feel better giving you more energy.

Freeweights - Machines are good, but freeweights are better...and harder. You'll get a better workout everytime using freeweights because your muscles and you have to work harder to stay balanced and coordinated instead of sitting on a plush seat letting a machine do half the work for you. You use your entire body with many freeweight workouts, which leads to better overall strength.

Ingredients - Read the ingredients on the foods you buy. If it has a name you can't pronounce, don't buy it. Don't buy anything with high fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated oils. Buy whole grain, organic, or 100%.

Juice - 100% juices are a great way to get vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. My favorites are Cranberry, Prune, and V8. Make sure there is no added sugar and they are 100%.

I also recommend Stallone's book Sly Moves. It's an excellent read full of useful tips, workouts, and good old fashioned common sense and is very motivational.

(Click the pic)

[tilallr1]

Well thanks for all the encouragement. I have been walking/jogging now everyday for about 2 1/2 weeks for about 30 mins. I have also added some floor exercises after. Mostly push-ups and ab crunches. I cut down on the bad stuff and increased eating the good stuff. I have lost almost 10 pounds already. Thats insane. Must have been all that pop. Still have a long way to go before I feel 100% and at the weight I want to be. But this is very encouraging.

[mikejet]

I took a break over the weekend but I'm gonna do Plyo X when I get home. I was so lazy over the weekend

[MyBlu-rayBrotherEd]

Originally Posted by tbizzle

Question for anyone who's done the P90X. My buddy's gonna give me the DVD set but he doesn't have the nutrition guide, calendar, etc. Are these pretty helpful when going through the program? I'm sure they're great, but are they necessary for the program? If so, I can find some used on ebay

Any other advice? Thanks

What you eat is essential to any fitness program. The meals in the guide are for the most part very tasty and I highly recommend them.

The calender can be found on the internet if you do a search.

[Kryptonic]

Originally Posted by tilallr1

Well thanks for all the encouragement. I have been walking/jogging now everyday for about 2 1/2 weeks for about 30 mins. I have also added some floor exercises after. Mostly push-ups and ab crunches. I cut down on the bad stuff and increased eating the good stuff. I have lost almost 10 pounds already. Thats insane. Must have been all that pop. Still have a long way to go before I feel 100% and at the weight I want to be. But this is very encouraging.

I remember when I dropped soda. I lost about 10 pounds in a very short period of time. I used to drink a 2 liter a day with ease. That was about 8 years ago. Haven't looked back. I have a fountain drink soda (the only ones that taste any good anyway) maybe a couple of times a month and usually only drink about 8 oz. or so. Everything in moderation. You can treat yourself from time to time. Give yourself about an 8 hour window one day a week to treat yourself and you'll stay sane.

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by ed4246

What you eat is essential to any fitness program. The meals in the guide are for the most part very tasty and I highly recommend them.

The calender can be found on the internet if you do a search.

Ok thanks. I eat pretty decently right now, but I'd love to make the program as effective as possible. Just ordered the set, can't wait to start kicking my ass

[DimebagCFH]

I've just started dieting I weigh 160 pounds and I am 6 foot 1. my goal is to lose 50 pounds before December any tips I am trying to limit my calories and have stopped drinking all sodas and have only been drinking mainly water.any tips to reach my goal?

[fatediesel]

Originally Posted by DimebagCFH

I've just started dieting I weigh 160 pounds and I am 6 foot 1. my goal is to lose 50 pounds before December any tips I am trying to limit my calories and have stopped drinking all sodas and have only been drinking mainly water.any tips to reach my goal?

I hope there's a typo in your post, because if you are 6 foot 1 and 160 you don't need to lose any weight and at 110 would be skin and bones.

[Kryptonic]

Originally Posted by DimebagCFH

I've just started dieting I weigh 160 pounds and I am 6 foot 1. my goal is to lose 50 pounds before December any tips I am trying to limit my calories and have stopped drinking all sodas and have only been drinking mainly water.any tips to reach my goal?

Do you mean 260 pounds? Because at 6'1 and 160 pounds, you're where you should be for sure.

[DimebagCFH]

yeah my bad I meant 260 I posted late last night and I was kinda tired

[Kryptonic]

Originally Posted by DimebagCFH

yeah my bad I meant 260 I posted late last night and I was kinda tired

Many tips in my post on the previous page will help you lose weight and gain muscle. If you're just interested in losing weight there's two key ingredients - water and walking. Drink at minimum a gallon of water a day and walk at least an hour, preferably two. And of course, no soda or sugary snacks. Replace soda with water and sugary snacks with fruits like oranges, apples, bananas, etc. Limit your amount of saturated fat as well, as that is the fat that really aids in weight gain. So no cheese. Sorry. And get plenty of lean protein. Nothing breaded, only grilled. And of course eat your veggies. I'm a big advocate of veggies. Some light resistance training will help as well if for instance it's raining outside or you just don't feel up to walking. Basically, just exercise an hour or two a day in some capacity.

[jono_0101]

Originally Posted by xtop

you really have to have some awesome willpower to work out around here

so glad we have the sunlight back again, makes the motivation level so much higher

you know what takes willpower? going to a gym that is 5 doors down from buffalo wild wings....there is also a sports bar right next door, a great sandwich shop next to BWW, and a chinese place in there too, the people that own the gym must really be evil, because they were the last place to go into that strip

but the good news is that since february when i actually got motivated to start going to the gym again, ive lost just over 20 lbs, im 6' 0" and went from 228 to 206 when i checked this morning, my goal is to get down to 190 (my college weight) then maybe start building muscle from the ground up and stop at about 200 even

[Aaron]

I was on nortriptyline (a tricyclic antidepressant) for a few months and I went from 215lbs to 235lbs. I had to stop taking it a few weeks ago because of a heart problem (not caused by the antidepressant, but it can make it worse), and I lost 15 lbs in the 3 weeks I've been off it. I want to lose about 20lbs, and that should be pretty easy since I can still take dextroamphetamine for ADHD. I also have to start a heart healthy diet and exercise program, lol. It's hard to exercise a lot though because of the tachycardia/chest pain.

[NARMAK]

Good to see you back on the boards Aaron. You look like you lost some weight from the last time i saw your pics. Keep it up!

Just stick to a good amount of excercise & balanced diet as well as following the tips many have posted & i'm sure you'll hit your goals in a good amount of time

[Aaron]

Originally Posted by NARMAK

Good to see you back on the boards Aaron. You look like you lost some weight from the last time i saw your pics. Keep it up!

Just stick to a good amount of excercise & balanced diet as well as following the tips many have posted & i'm sure you'll hit your goals in a good amount of time

I'm going to try to get down to 190 before July. Like I said...exercise is hard due to the chest pains, but I've been losing weight pretty quickly since I started eating less than 1500 calories a day. lol

[daysgoby]

i'm 5'11 and weighs 202 pounds
I'm not obese but I do consider myself to be overweight than i want to be..
I used to average around 184 pounds but last five years with gf.. been gaining weight!

so decided it was time to get started on healthy lifestyle..
I know eating habbits will be hard for me to change over night so i'm going slow at the moment. eating more fruits and smaller portion meals but bit more frequent.. i do get cravings for junk food and when I can't hold back no longer I just eat em.. but smaller portion.

too lazy to bus my ass to the gym but luckily have small gym at the apartment so go there for weight traning and also swimming pool as well. try to go once every two days and i usually take stairs back to my place which is 15 floors.

on top of that, when i have time mix in bit of shadow boxing at home plus bender ball which my gf got for herself but i also 'borrow' and push ups.

i'm in no rush to shed weight fast and i wanna have fun while i do these things so i try not to over do it.. for me this is more about changing lifestyle.

anyways been at it for bit longer than a month and i feel much better in every aspect. now I wanna push it bit further and do more cardio.. thinking about joining some sports club for the summer or something.

lastly I have tendinitis on my shoulder and sort of busted right wrist so i have to really be careful when doing weights so if you have any previous injuries, might wanna consult physio before doing anything and also take precaution when working out so you don't injure yourself. warm up and make sure you also stretch.

thinking about taking up yoga too

[TLeeTx2012]

I haven't weighed in a long time. It's always discouraging when you think you've lost weight but it doesn't show o the scale.

Well...I weighed the other day, & yes I'm a BIG guy...I am under 300. For the first time in a loooong time. I knew & felt like I had lost from both how I felt & how my clothes were fitting.

I've dropped to under 295 now & I'm down 2 pants sizes!

Yeah...feels good.

[wilky61]

Congratulations! There are a myriad of health benefits to be reaped by reducing unhealthy weight on your frame. Just remember the secret: Eat less. Do more. That's all there is to it.

Of course, the hardest part is keeping the weight off, which requires a lifestyle change going forward. Keep up the good work!

[TLeeTx2012]

Originally Posted by wilky61

Congratulations! There are a myriad of health benefits to be reaped by reducing unhealthy weight on your frame. Just remember the secret: Eat less. Do more. That's all there is to it.

Of course, the hardest part is keeping the weight off, which requires a lifestyle change going forward. Keep up the good work!

Thank you.

Yeah...I haven't lost it rapidly...it's been over time. I just stopped drinking soda & started eating better. There's no telling how much more I'd lose if I did more.

[MrFattBill]

I noticed I started losing weight by cutting back on soda as well. We actually were walking 2 miles every night until the sun decided to park itself 40' overhead

Bill