Andy's rise to the challenge

[Andy2]

Hi Andi, this is my first day on this forum, and eventhough I lost all my
unwanted body fat many years ago, I decided to join this forum to talk
to people that are going through what I went through when there were
no forums, and no one to help except the dieticians and the trainers in the
gyms. I want to say that weight training and cardio are 50% of the thing
that brings long term success, with proper nutrition, obviously being the
other half. You are on your way toward reaching your goal, and obvioulsy
you will make it, especially with your positive attitude, and the realization
how important it is to be as healthy as possible.

What are the biggest difficulties that you are experiencing in your weight loss
journey, and what do you think you could/should be doing differently?

Thanks for coming by! I'm very happy with my journey. I will say this though; the hardest part was picking one day, and starting. Well, I should rephrase, because I think I started my diet 20+ times. What I tell people, is to try and stick with a leaner, more active lifestyle for 2 weeks. Be disciplined. The natural momentum after those is so HUGE to build on. Snowballs from there, until it really affects your decision making.

As for biggest obstacles - the most glaring I see is apathy. There are good times, where I am firing on all cylinders, being super good with my diet and excercise. But then, later in the same week, its easy to get distracted and miss a few workouts, or have some of that cheesecake instead of sliced fruit ect ect.

On that note, I owe a lot of my success to the wonderful people that are on this sight. Hokey business aside, they have helped me change my life.

So thanks

 

[Andy2]

HELLLLLO everyone!

Made it through this week, super psyched by the effort I made. Riding a nice low weigh in right now, and I want to keep building on this instead of falling back a few steps like the weekends traditionally do. Took last night off from gym. Woke up still feeling slight DOMS in the chest. i think a quick warmup this afternoon will get the blood flowing and clear that out quick.

Going to a birthday tonight. At a bar. Thats going to be an interesting balancing act. I think I'll take it easy on cheat foods today, because I have a feeling that pale ale may stack up to a few extra unbudgeted Kcals. But thats what guilt-driven sunday workouts are for right? jkjk haha

I have a friend coming back home from Vienna in July. Sounds creeper, but its been a date I have kept in the back of my mind since she left in December. I really REALLY want to be under 250 by then. As of now, that goal is ABSOLUTLEY achieveable thanks to dedicated effort the past 5 months. On the other hand, weight loss has become a lot more conservative. So, I am going to push hard and have a kick ass June. Hoping for the best!

 

[AlexPlatups]

Andy, yes I understand about Apathy, when I weighed 285, and tried
to lose weight using ineffective approaches, I threw in the towel so many
times that I stopped counting after the 50th...lol

But, when I started focusing on exactly what I was doing in the present
moment, this is when everything changed in my life. This is something my
friend who is a psychologist suggested, and even though I read a lot of
self-help books and went to a few self-help seminars, nothing has been so
profound and so effective at helping me to create long-term results.

By focusing on what I wanted to accomplish in the future, and simultaneously
focusing where I was in the current reality I was able to turn my life around and
make proper nutrition and exercise habits in less than a year. And for 15 years,
this approach has been working really great. In my diary, I have written the
way I structured my goal chart that helped me to lose 110 pounds 15 years
ago, and that has helped me to maintain it ever since.

I am convinced that if you create something similar, it will really help you
to create "clarity" in your weight loss program and will make it so much easier
for you to move toward your major health goal. It really helps because it
stops that internal dialogue that makes us do all those things that we
shouldn't do. At the root of all problems it is this inner talk that causes us
to reach for the foods that we shouldn't eat, or to skip doing exercises, or
whatever else that causes us to fail to reach the results we desire for
ourselves.

 

[Andy2]

I absolutely agree with your explanation of current reality. It used to be a horrible habit. Somehow justifying that if you don't check on something, it will go away. However, 99% of the time, all you have accomplished is turning a minor inconvience into a genuine problem. Nowadays, everytime I catch myself putting off a problem, I look at what about it is uncomfortable, or scaring me, and I just "MAN UP" and deal with it. Sorry ladies, no sexism intended

However, I just considered this a step in a long process to change from the person I was to the person I want to be. Still have ways to go, but I am much better off than I was.

Everybody slips up. To err is to be human. The real strength is finding the tenacity to realized that you failed, and start working towards progress again. To quote Alta "We only fail if we quit".

 

[AlexPlatups]

Everybody slips up. To err is to be human. The real strength is finding the
tenacity to realized that you failed, and start working towards progress again.
To quote Alta "We only fail if we quit".

Andy, this is very true! In fact getting up, no matter how many times you fall
down is the key to creating permanent fat loss.

The way I handled, and still handle "cheat meals" for example, is I simply plan
ahead to enjoy the foods that I love at the best time for my body to burn off
the excess calories that might come from these foods.

For example, I love cheese cake and waffle cake with milk that has been boiled
for a long time and turns into a sweet brown delicious substance. I don't know
if there is such a thing in America. I currently live in Latvia, which is a small
European country, and here it is very popular, and people simply eat it with
a spoon. Obvioulsy it has massive calories and it is my favorite thing as far
as taste in the world.

Anyway, here is what I do. Three times per week, on Monday, Wednesday,
and Friday (these are my cardio days) for breakfast, I allow myself to have
two to three pieces of these two types of cake, or something else that my
wife has made or my mother-in-law has made for me.

My mother-in-law is always trying to make all kinds of food that she knows
that I love so that I will gain some weight, because she thinks I am too thin,
and should gain some weight. She knew me when I weighed 285 pounds,
because this was a year after I got married to her daughter, and she is still
having problems with my weight after 15 years of me weighing 175 pounds.

This shows how people are attached to the past, and allow their inner
dialogue to control their perceptions. This whole time I have been asking her
to stop making these sweets, and obviously she is not even thinking about it.

Not that I mind, because I always have something delicious to eat during
my three cheat meals every week.

Anyway, what I wanted to say, is that this approach has been really working
out quite well for 15 years, and I never crave delicious, high calorie foods
during the week. It has become a habit, and whenever a situation happens
in life with food that I only eat during my cheat meals, I have no problem
refusing to eat it, because I know that I have my deserts waiting for me,
today, or the next day!

 

[mizzie]

Andy... so many great things I don't know which to comment on first! Great job on your low weigh in! And that's so awesome that you can feel comfortable in the gym now. I know exactly the feeling you mean. I don't like people to see me exercising because I feel like they'll look at me and think "well, it's about time you got in here!" And it's too bad the lunch turned out to be more then your budgeted calories, but good for you for adjusting the rest of your day to work around it!!! That's the kind of thing that will help you keep it off in the end.

That's exciting that your friend is coming back next month. Does she know about your weight loss? I bet she'll be amazed to see you now.

I agree with you, the starting is the hardest part. Well, starting and then to keep going. But for years I'd tell myself that I'll start on Monday, or after the holidays or... But than the day would come and I wouldn't feel like it. 101 excuses, none of them valid. One day I just thought "this is enough!" I could whine the rest of my life that I'm fat and hate it, or I could do something about it. It finally mattered more to me than the crap food and sitting on my butt did.

 

[Andy2]

Andy... so many great things I don't know which to comment on first! Great job on your low weigh in! And that's so awesome that you can feel comfortable in the gym now. I know exactly the feeling you mean. I don't like people to see me exercising because I feel like they'll look at me and think "well, it's about time you got in here!" And it's too bad the lunch turned out to be more then your budgeted calories, but good for you for adjusting the rest of your day to work around it!!! That's the kind of thing that will help you keep it off in the end.

That's exciting that your friend is coming back next month. Does she know about your weight loss? I bet she'll be amazed to see you now.

I agree with you, the starting is the hardest part. Well, starting and then to keep going. But for years I'd tell myself that I'll start on Monday, or after the holidays or... But than the day would come and I wouldn't feel like it. 101 excuses, none of them valid. One day I just thought "this is enough!" I could whine the rest of my life that I'm fat and hate it, or I could do something about it. It finally mattered more to me than the crap food and sitting on my butt did.

Thanks Mizzie! I doubt that she knows about the weight loss. I don't really broadcast it, because its still an area that I'm not totally comfortable talking about publically. I keep telling myself I should have done this years ago haha. Better late than never right?

 

[Andy2]

Hello everyone! Had a really nice weekend! Have a lot of random comments, so try and follow my rambling haha.


Got in a really strong workout on Saturday. Felt good to really dig in and lift. Sometimes I think I don't budget enough time to get a really adequate work out in, so going forwards, I am going to try to get in the gym at 8:00 instead of 9:00, so I can leave when I want to, not when it closes and they kick me out

Did SUPER on the food front. Kept my cals in check, and didn't go over either day. Water intake lacked a bit, but I am satisifed with the rest. Even went out to a bday celebration at a bar, and kept my beer cals very reasonable. 2 tasty microbrews Also, started subbing in Greek yogurt for my reg yogurt. Its a lot better for me with the extra protein and lack of sugar, but the flavors are REALLY hit or miss. Plain tastes....awful. Peach and Blueberry and tasty. So, atm I am figuring out which ones I like.

I did take sunday off, because its sunday. Only noteable thing was watching the finale of LOST, and being (shocker) hugely dissapointed


Ok, so TODAY is monday. Already got my gallon of water staring back at me challengingly, so I'm going to knock it out by 5:00. Looking forward to my legs workout tonight. Still take it easy on the deep knee exercises, just enough to challenge the muscles. But I have no remorse for my calves Also hoping to get between 30-45 mins of cardio. Need to take advantage of the rest I had yesterday. Will post results tomorrow! Hope everyone survives Monday! LOL

 

[mizzie]

That's great that you got a good workout in on Saturday and good job keeping the calories in check. Especially with going to the bar!

I know what you mean about not really talking about losing weight. I've only told my hubby and a couple close friends. Oh, and a bunch of random people on the internet... ^_~ Sometimes people think they are being helpful or supportive when they really aren't, you know? And I don't need that. But I bet your friend will be shocked!

Have fun with your workout tonight. Show your legs no mercy!

 

[MissJellyBelly]

Way to go andy!!! Congratulations!! Our very own biggest loser winner!!!!


Way to take 1st place! So proud of you!!!

Keep on doing your thing and leading by example. I am happy to know you Andy!

 

[mizzie]

Grats Andy!

 

[Andy2]

Way to go andy!!! Congratulations!! Our very own biggest loser winner!!!!


Way to take 1st place! So proud of you!!!

Keep on doing your thing and leading by example. I am happy to know you Andy!

Thank you!!!!!!!

It couldnt have happened if you didn't set up the challenge. You are AWESOME!

 

[Andy2]

Ended up taking a much needed cat nap yesterday after work. Was feeling really sleepy, and I had DOMS from tuesday's workout, so I took the evening off. I think I am going to just try and stick to 3 days on, and a day or two off. I don't want to burn out, and really, 3 days is just the right amount right now. If it gets to me down the road, I can always re-adjust it. It just feels good right now.

On that note, I read some conflicting info online. I've been focusing on different muscle groups each day in order to allow time to heal, but I went on a lifting website and they recommended a full body compound workout, followed by a strict cardio day. Need to figure out what TruSylver does, because shes is the resident expert imo haha.

Lets see, still working on that stubborn hundred pound mark at 252.4. Still have about 5 pounds from tuesday, so I am really hoping to hit that within the next 2 weeks.

Also, I went back to my first post, just to check on the date. I have my 1 year anniversery at the end of June. I'm going to try and end that year strong!! Have a great LOOOOONG weekend everyone!

 

[MissJellyBelly]

On that note, I read some conflicting info online. I've been focusing on different muscle groups each day in order to allow time to heal, but I went on a lifting website and they recommended a full body compound workout, followed by a strict cardio day. Need to figure out what TruSylver does, because shes is the resident expert imo haha.

Let me know what you find out! I also wonder what the deal is with that. Trus is a good person to ask, she is a pro at weight training.

 

[chubbygirl]

Hey Andy - congrats on first place for the BL challenge!! Do you have progress pics posted? I'll have to go back and look. I'm also curious about the weight lifting because my new plan was to do Kettle Bell classes three times a week and running inbetween. I understand the rest inbetween classes but I was a little nervous to do so much cardio after an intense full body workout.
Have a great weekend and keep it up biggest loser!!

 

[Andy2]

Hey Andy - congrats on first place for the BL challenge!! Do you have progress pics posted? I'll have to go back and look. I'm also curious about the weight lifting because my new plan was to do Kettle Bell classes three times a week and running inbetween. I understand the rest inbetween classes but I was a little nervous to do so much cardio after an intense full body workout.
Have a great weekend and keep it up biggest loser!!

Thanks for the grats! I haven't taken the progress pics, because I really wanted to do them 50 pounds apart. I may take some now, just to mark the end of BL, and some when I hit those 5 pounds left, but I bet they look the same haha. Anyways, that means I have a pesky 5lbs left until I have achieved that goal and can put em up! 1.5 - 2 weeks I'm guessing.

As for the lifting question, I didn't get an answer yet. I'll ask a few of the trainers, and more importantly, I think ill ask some of the contacts I've made at the gym. I figure, they have proof that they know what works haha. Ill update as soon as I get some answers! Other than that, looking forward to the looooooong weekend! Stay healthy everyone!

 

[Andy2]

Phew! Needed that weekend! Here I am on a tuesday morning, which is also the first of the month, planning what my next step is going to be. I feel like I've been plateauing lately, which is a bit annoying. Came in this morning at 259.8, which is higher than I'd like it to be, but I did grab some drinks last night with some out of towners, along with a horrid diet weekend, so I'm not worried much about that being perm.

On that note, last tuesday my family and I went out to a really nice restaurant to celebrate my brother's graduation. I ended up eating a lot of bread, and one of the best steaks in my life. It brought up my water retention for a few days. That was edging down to normal, then saturday came. Dang, dropped the ball there. It was a friend's birthday, and the general plan was a fun BBQ/pool day at the house. Man, it turned into a 2 cheeseburger, 2 slices of pizza, bowls of doritos and a shameful amount of booze day. At least I had monday to get home and detox a little, try and clean up my act for the rest of the week. Forced myself to drink a gallon of water yesterday to level myself out. I can tell it started getting everything going again, so I am pleased with that. OH YEA, I found vegetables again. Steamed up a few heads of broccoli with a twist of lemon, and been adding a bowl of that to my dinners. I hope it sticks, because its doing wonders for both added carbs/fiber, and its keeping away that late night snack craving.

Shifted focus onto compound lifts instead of isolation lifting yesterday. From what I can tell, its going to make sure no muscle group gets accidently left out. I dont need super developed Chest/arms if my core and legs are going to be weak. Don't want to fall into the flamigo category

So far, I like it. In particular, I asked a trainer to go over some of the basic lift techniques. He showed me the correct form for squats, bench press, deadlifts, and military press. He also mentioned chin ups and body dips, but I am not sure if I am quite ready for those. So, thats something I want to try next time, at least at the assisted machine. Well, turns out I had been doing deadlifts all wrong and lifting with my back. I started out simple, just a 25lb at each end, because I was more worried about technique than maxing. This morning, I am FEELING the burn the my hammys.


Wow, sorry for the rambling marathon post! Today is going to be a cardio day. Plan on doing at least an hours worth, since I'm taking the day off of lifting. (and there isn't anything good on TV QQ) Have a good week everybody!

 

[Andy2]

Hump day! So nice when you have a monday off, and Wednesday comes on early! Lets see, I was pretty productive yesterday considering I had nothing interesting to watch on TV. Its for the best......right? RIGHT?

Got to the gym a bit later than usual, and started running again on the treadmill. I haven't done it in a while, a month or two maybe, but I feel like I wanted to switch up the cardio to keep it interesting. Pretty happy with the results! I had a little 2 min warm up walk just to stretch the legs and get into a rhythm, then I proceeded to do 30 mins of 1 min at 3.3 mph/3%incline and 2 mins of 5.2mph/3%incline. Powered through my first few sets pretty easy, and I was feeling like I had this thing kicked. But the last 10 minutes REALLY worked it. Felt like just walking the rest of it out, but toughed it out and got it down. Ended up taking about 5 mins of cooldown time, but I was gassed out. I was hoping to keep up the 1:2 set for 45 minutes, but it looks like that is something I need to build to.

In an effort to get more veggies in daily, I cooked up some vegetable stir fry last night. It was my first time, and in hindsight I missed a lot of goodies I could have added, but I ended up with a few tupperware containers full of broccoli and chopped carrots and sliced chicken. Realized I don't get nearly enough veggies daily. Typically only 1 serving, if that. Going to try and make that 2-3.

Other than that, been stuck on this discouraging, neverending plateau lately. I know a whoosh is right around the corner, and I shouldn't sweat it so much. I'm not sure how long I've been sitting here in this 257-260 range, but it seems like its been at least 2 weeks. The last time I got to 257, I really thought I had worked through it, but this weekend of indulgence really set me back. I'll need to remember that going forward. Came in this morning at 259.8/29.8%. I feel like I'm eating well under my maintainence cap, and even then its all clean, protein rich food. My only area of opportunity to tighten up is afternoon snacks, or maybe after dinner deserts. Which brings me to ANOTHER scary corner of my brain. Considering in months past I was losing a considerable amount of weight weekly, but I just recently starting hitting the weights hard, was the majority of that lean muscle I burned off? I'm still sitting at 30%. Way too high for my goals. Want to shave that down to 12%-16%. That means about 40 pounds of flubber.

OK, going forward, I am going to try and eat some veggies for at least part of my afternoon snack. I think the fiber will go a long way to keeping me sated until its dinner time. Also, going to reinact my old rule of dinner between 7-8, and no fridge raiding after 9:30, only water. Also, as I've said a MILLION times, gotta watch it on the weekends.

Alrighty - tenative plan is set. Lets stick to the gym workouts and food schedule, and evaluate in a weeks time. LETS DO IT.

 

[chubbygirl]

I agree - let's do it! I feel the same lately because I probably gain 1-2 pounds on the weekends and then work really hard on the work week to get it down but then it just feels like I'm working so hard but not seeing results. I just need to find my focus again and not kick the healthy lifestyle to the curb when the weekend hits - easier said than done.
I think long weekends get us all off track and it's going to take a few days to get back in business. I'm sure the scale will drop again soon - keep it up and it will come! One day at a time. Good work getting more veg in!! Also it might be a good idea to cut back the after dinner dessert - also easier said than done!!! Your doing great though Andy and should be really proud of how far you have come!!

 

[Andy2]

I agree - let's do it! I feel the same lately because I probably gain 1-2 pounds on the weekends and then work really hard on the work week to get it down but then it just feels like I'm working so hard but not seeing results. I just need to find my focus again and not kick the healthy lifestyle to the curb when the weekend hits - easier said than done.
I think long weekends get us all off track and it's going to take a few days to get back in business. I'm sure the scale will drop again soon - keep it up and it will come! One day at a time. Good work getting more veg in!! Also it might be a good idea to cut back the after dinner dessert - also easier said than done!!! Your doing great though Andy and should be really proud of how far you have come!!

Ah I know! The old 3 steps forward 2 steps back! Well, this weekend just going to focus on those 3 forward Thanks for the support!