Ben's Weight Loss Journal

B

BenL

New member
I'm not entirely sure how I should start this thing. I guess with some background information.

My name is Ben and I live in Chicago, home of the deep dish pizza. I'm 19 years old and on my last Birthday(August 20th 2008) I realized that I had almost exactly one year before I would be leaving for college. I'm going to the U of Michigan after going to community college at home for a year. One of the things that has got me really excited about going out of state for school is that I won't know anyone there. It's a real chance at fresh start, which are rare. That night after my birthday party I jumped on to the scale out of pure curiosity and was shocked to find that I was 293 lbs. 7 pounds from 300! I guess you could call that a wake up call. I had never thought of myself as someone who weighed 300 pounds. And going over the pictures the next day of the party I decided that this would be the perfect time to lose the weight that had defined me for so long. And next year when I meet all those new people they'll be able to see me for who I really am and not instantly judge me for being obese.

So I began my diet on August 21st 2008 at 6'0 and 297 and while exercising wasn't new to me, having had been on the Football and track teams in high school. A lot of the work outs programs I knew were more about gaining strength and not about slimming down. Since i was broke i couldn't afford any of the gyms around were i lived so the only piece of fitness equipment i had was a ratty old treadmill.

It's been nearly seven months now and as of this morning I'm a lean mean 253. Which oddly enough is the weight I used to tell people I was. I have just over 20 something weeks to get down to my goal weight of 199.

I'll update all of you as often as i can remember. And will probably be posting some picture fairly soon. Reading all your success stories and looking at your Before and After pictures were really a great way for me to stay motivated. So for anyone reading this who is wavering or is starting to think about quitting: You can do it! You have this entire community behind you!

Thanks for reading, Talk to you soon.
 
First off welcome to the site.

Secondly, congrats on getting down to 253.

You'll find alot of support here. I know I have. Keep it up.
 
Welcome to the forums! Congratulations on losing 40 pounds already-- say it: FORTY POUNDS! That's amazing! If you keep it up, I'm sure you'll be down to your goal in no time.
 
Update 3/12

So, I was absent mindlessly googling "Double Cheese burger" and decide that updating my weight loss diary would be a WAY more productive use of my time.

First of all, Thanks to all of you who took the time to read my first entry I really appreciate it. It's been about two days since my last post, and i've been pretty good. I ate around 1500 calories both days and was able to get in a quick 2 mile run yesterday. Also since my last post I've gone down to 252. It might seem dumb but i still get excited over every pound i lose. So....yay!

The next few days are gonna be huge for me. My buddy is getting married on Saturday which means not only dinner that night but the rehearsal dinner the night before. So i have to make sure i stay in check and don't over eat and find some time to get a work out or two in.

Luckily after that i get 10 days off for spring break. In which I plan to really turn up my work outs and maybe even start doing some abs exercises which I've been trying to get around to doing.

So yea, I'll let you all know how the wedding went on Monday and anymore progress I've made. And again thanks for all the views and comments!
 
Update 3/14

Arggg! I ate really poorly yesterday, I had nearly 3000 calories. And this morning when I woke up I had ballooned up from 251 to 253! But it's alright one bad day isn't a big deal as long as I don't allow it to snowball. I ate much better today but didn't get a chance to exercise for the 3rd day in a row! Luckily I have spring break all next week which will really give me a chance to hit the thread mill hard. Hopefully by the time i get back to school I'll be in the 240s!

In other news, one of my best friends got married today. Great for her, bad for my diet. I should have pictures from the event tomorrow and I'll post them along with some older ones when I was around 293.

I'm really tired so, I'm gonna head to bed. And again Thanks for reading and leaving all the comments. It's great to know that I'm not in this weight loss/life style change alone.
 
Dude congrats on the loss so far... I was over 300 when i started. I've had some minor slips, but nothing too bad. Once you learn about the necessary mental changes you need to make, and learn about calories, and energy balance, you become a little more conscious of what you're eating, and what it will mean in the long run.

But enjoy the rare social things, such as the wedding, or birthdays, or things like that, those or only but a small percentage of your life, focus on the of 99.99% of the days and make sure you're hitting you inter day goals on those days and it will all fall into place.
 
Update 3/17

Haven't really updated in a couple of days, but nothing really new happened. Still hovering around 250-252. It seems like I've been in the 250s for years now. :banghead: I wish the 250s were more like the 280s, I zoomed right past the 280s. The day I step on the scale and see 249 I'm going to do a back flip....Well maybe not a back flip but I'll probably do a quick celebration dance or something.

It's been a pretty chill day today. I got my workout in early in the morning (ran 2.5 Miles and did half an hour of abs) and have been pretty much hanging around the house since then. I also tried on some old clothes from my sophomore year of high school and they were kind of loose on me!

Wish I had something more interesting to write about, but right now my life is kinda boring, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Hopefully tomorrow the scale reads 249, so i can start to complain about how long I've been in the 240s. Till then thanks for reading. :leaving:
 
congrats on the weight loss so far!! you'll get to the 240s soon enough, stop watching the scale so much, ha. and if you're bored, go for a walk...not as intense as the running/abs or gym workout, but burns calories none the less. that's what i do if i'm bored during the day or in the evening...then i pray the scale goes down the following morning when i weight myself. :)
 
Update 3/18

Saw this survey and thought It would be fun to fill out...

______________________________________________________



1. What is your current height and weight?
6"0 250lbs.

2. If you were at an ideal weight now, what would that weight be?
185lbs

3. At what weight would you like to be at four months from now?
202lbs.

4. Why do you want to lose weight?
The main reasons would have to be, because I want to be more confident.

5. Do you want to lose weight for a specific life event such as wedding or reunion? If so, when is that event?
Yes, I leave for college sometime in late August.

6. What obstacles could get between you and your weight loss goals?
I could fall back into my old eating habits. Since I can't cook fast food is a cheap, covenant, delicious, and quick option for me.

7. Why do you think that you now have a weight problem?
Bad food choices, being in denial about how big i really was, telling myself that it wasn't a bid deal amongst other things.

8. What lifestyle changes do you think would help you lose weight?
Just being conscious of what I'm eating, and how much of it I'm eating. Cutting out fast food and soda and drinking more water.

9. Have you lost weight in the past? If so, what has worked in the past to help you lose weight?
Yes, over the past 6 months I've lost 43lbs with regular exercise and a much healthier diet.

10. Why do you believe that you did not lose weight or you gained the weight back?
I haven't gained any of it back.

11. What, if anything, has not worked for you in the past in helping you to lose weight? Why do you think it did not work?
I used to work out a lot in high school. I was on the football team and we'd weight train 5 days a week. Even though i gained a lot of muscle i still ate like crap and ended up gaining weight.

12. Would you try writing down all food and drink consumed for a given period of time?
Yes, I did so when I began my diet.

13. Do you cook at home often? If so, what do you cook?
Depends on your definition of cook, if something like making a turkey sandwich is cooking then yes i do.

14. How often do you go out to eat? Where do you go?
About twice a week mostly to subway where i get a 6 inch turkey.

15. What are your three favorite foods?
Pizza, burgers, anything with cheese really.

16. What are your three favorite restaurants?
McDonald's, White castle, anywhere that has pizza.

17. What are three things you can do differently when it comes to food?
I don't think there is anything i could do different with food right now.

18. If you woke up tomorrow and your body was exactly the way you want it, what would be different?
I'd be much more confident and just be generally happier.

19. Do you eat when you are not hungry?
Used to.

20. Do you binge eat (large amounts at a time)?
Used to.

21. Do you hide your food or eat in secret?
Used to.

22. Do you eat when you are sad, nervous, or depressed?
Still do.

23. Do you eat as a reward?
Used to.

24. Do you eat while watching TV or using the computer?
Yes.

25. What do you normally eat for a meal?
It varies. Usually cereal for breakfast, some sort of sandwich for lunch, dinner is kinda random.

26. What type of snacks do you eat?
Fruit, mostly bananas and oranges.

27. In terms of exercise, what, if anything, are you currently doing?
I run 2 to 4 miles a day. Pick up basketball and I also just started doing ab workouts.

28. Where do you go for exercise? A local public gym? School/work gym? Home?
Home

29. What, if anything, are your three favorite types of exercise?
I enjoyed weight lifting but can't afford a gym membership. I really like running because it gives me time to think, listen to some music, just be alone.

30. What is your daily/weekly/monthly/yearly motivation to move towards your goals?
A lot of little things, this diary, a picture of me at 293, seeing the changes in my body so far, imagining myself at under 200lbs.

31. Do you have rewards for certain goals?
Losing the weight is reward enough.
__________________
 
Update 3/21

:rant:

I was really skinny kid till about age 8. Now, at age 19, I look at pictures of myself from back then and barely recognize myself. Now I look in the mirror and see that kids face peeking out at me from behind this fat suit I've put him in. And that's what keeps me going. Through this fucking plateau that's been going on for what seems like an eternity. Through the hundreds of miles ran and the hundreds of miles I will run. Through the the 43 lbs. lost and the and the 50 pounds I have yet to lose. That's what keeps me going, freeing him from that prison.

:rant:
 
Update 3/23

Arg! I've been in this plateau for almost two weeks now! So I'm gonna start posting a daily food log along with how much exersice I did that day. Hopefully some of you will be able to tell me what I'm doing right and wrong.

Food
______________

Breakfast​

Trader Joe's Honey Almond & Flax Cereal - 1 Cup - 190 Calories
Milk - 150 calories
1 Banana - 121 calories

TOTAL : 461 calories

Lunch​

Large Fruit Salad
-2 Apples- 144 calories
-2 Bananas - 242 calories
-1 Orange - 70 calories calories
-5 Strawberries - 30 calories

TOTAL: 486

Dinner​

Chicken Noodle Soup - 1 Cup - 120
1 Slice Multi-Grain Bread 110
5 Crackers - 60

TOTAL 390

Snacks​

Trader Joe's Honey Almond & Flax Cereal - 1/2 Cup - 100 Calories
Milk - 1/2 Cup - 75 Calories

Total : 175


Total for the day: 1512​

Along with this I ran 2 Miles on the treadmill and did half an hour of ab exercises. Any help would be appreciated, I've been stuck at 250 for two weeks now and only have 22 more weeks till I have to hit my goal weight of 199!
 
First off - good work so far, and keep it up. :) I know that whole plateau business is lame. I guess my best ideas, as far as what has worked for me in the past (seeing as I am just restarting...) is to mix up the exercising a bit. Try running stairs for ten minutes instead of doing the two mile run. Or jump rope. Or do an interval style run, where you sprint for a specified amount of time then jog (or if you're me and in not-so-hot shape, walk) until you have moderately recovered, then sprint again. Just a few ideas to mix up the exercising... Your diet looks pretty solid calorie-wise, but it may be a bit more nutritionally balanced to either add some veggies or swap something out for some veggies. And now I defer to the more experienced and knowledgeable people here, and go back to just offering my impressed congrats so far. :hurray:
 
Update 3/24

Amarillo - Thanks for the advice. Plateau's are lame! I'm def. gonna try mixing up my workouts.

Arg! Another day stuck at 250, it's been more than two weeks now. Here is my food log for the second straight day. Busy day so I didn't have a lot of time to make a proper meal. Seriously if anyone has any reason why I'm no longer losing weight, let me know.

Breakfast​

Trader Joe's Honey, Almond & Flax - 1 cup - 190 calories
Skim Milk - 1 Cup - 80 calories
Banana - 1 Large - 121 calories

Lunch​

Steak Sandwich
-Steak - 208
-Whole Grain Bread - 180
-Onions - 32
-Green Pepper - 8
-Avocado - 50
-Swiss Cheese - 110
-Haverati Cheese - 120
-Tomato - 4

Dinner​

Skipped

Snacks​

Kellogg's Strawberry Nutragrain Bar - 2 Bars - 260
Milk - 150
Orange - 50

TOTAL: 1,533​
 
Update 3/25

Big News!

I stepped on the scale today and it finally went down! Helloooo 249. Alright I know my scale is accurate within +/- 2 lbs and chances are tomorrow I'll be back at 250 but who cares. 249!! :party:

Anyway I'll post what I ate today later when I'm done eating for today. See ya then.
 
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