Billy Halleck gets Thinner

BillyHalleck

BillyHalleck

New member
Journal entry 1

This will be my daily journal thread.

Right now I weigh 300 pounds (5'10"). Some people say I carry it well.
I just want to get down to a point where my size is not even brought up in conversation. I don't want to be called "big guy" any more. I would like to shred off this fat costume that has been stereotyped into boxes like Oliver Hardy, Baby Huey, generic school yard bullies, and Lenny from Mice and Men.

So right now the weight i am looking forward to is 250.

I am 29 years old. I turn 30 in November and I want to live long enough to see
80.

To start this off here is the stuff I've been able to stick to for the last 5 days.

•*Being Vegetarian: Getting plenty of protein, Eating lots of veggies.
•*Taking 45 minute/ 4 mile walks during my lunch break at work.
• Bought a floor matt and working out each evening with a half hour of aerobic exercise and ab work, burning a minimum of 300 calories
• Spending my evenings painting instead of bingeing and watching tv.
• Keeping my caloric intake below 2400.

so far so good i guess?

I am going to make a point to add more activity to what i have here like riding my cruiser bike on the weekends down at the beach and taking jogs at the park.
 
Ok here's the suggested Q&A part.

-- How much weight do you want to lose?
Target right now: 50 lbs
Overall: 100+ lbs

-- What is the timeframe for reaching your target weight?
1 year from now.

-- How do you want to accomplish your goal (what methods do you want to use)?
Frequent/Daily exercise, healthy diet/calorie counting, hobbies/activities to replace "boredom eating"

-- Who or what can support you in reaching your goal?
This board so far has been great. And friends.

-- How realistic is your goal?
99%?

-- When will you start?
5 days ago.

What is your current height and weight?
300lbs 5'10"

If you were at an ideal weight now, what would that weight be?
185-200lbs

At what weight would you like to be at four months from now?
270ish

Why do you want to lose weight?
boost self esteem, health, decrease depression/self loathing

What obstacles could get between you and your weight loss goals?
Based on past health detours: depression, alcohol, work, travel, death.

Why do you think that you now have a weight problem?
depression, alcohol, genes, bad eating habits, lazyness, stress

What lifestyle changes do you think would help you lose weight?
replacing alcohol consumption with water, not going out to eat as much, exercise a little each day. and a lot on some days.

Have you lost weight in the past? If so, what has worked in the past to help you lose weight?
Yes. Had a support system of going to the gym with a friend. This forums seems good for peer motivation.

Why do you believe that you did not lose weight or you gained the weight back?
Friend moved and I slacked off and also couldn't afford the gym membership anymore as well.
Workdays became longer along with general lazyness and depression...

Would you try writing down all food and drink consumed for a given period of time?
Maybe

Do you cook at home often? If so, what do you cook?
Aside from the recent change i would cook pasta because it is cheap and microwave steam veggies. But i am trying to really not eat high amounts of carbs and eat more raw vegetables .
This past week i have been eating a Banana for Breakfast, Tofurky Sandwich for lunch and rice and broccoli/mushrooms for dinner.

How often do you go out to eat? Where do you go?
Not too ofter..but it's usually horrible bar food.

What are your three favorite foods?
Pizza, Pasta, Pickles

What are three things you can do differently when it comes to food?
Eat smaller portions, Eat more raw veggies, less butter/salt/condiments

If you woke up tomorrow and your body was exactly the way you want it, what would be different?
I would go swimming every chance i could. I wouldn't wear overshirts over t-shirts, I would look forward to shopping for clothes and not try to hunt for the size 42's at the bottom of the jeans piles at department stores. I wouldn't cuss into the mirror everytime i get ready to take a shower, I would probably cuss a lot less in general. i could go on but i'll save it for the rest of the journal entries

Do you eat when you are not hungry?
yeah

Do you binge eat (large amounts at a time)?
yeah

Do you hide your food or eat in secret?
Sometimes

Do you eat when you are sad, nervous, or depressed?
yeah

Do you eat as a reward?
yeah

Do you eat while watching TV or using the computer?
yeah

What do you normally eat for a meal?
Bread/Pasta/high carb stuff...with a little veggie

What type of snacks do you eat?
Chips, pickles/pickled stuff, High sodium crap

In terms of exercise, what, if anything, are you currently doing?
45 minute brisk walking during the day, 10 minute aerobics/10 minutes worth of situps at night

Where do you go for exercise? A local public gym? School/work gym? Home?
A steep 2 mile hill near work/Home

What, if anything, are your three favorite types of exercise?
Elliptical, Cruiser Bike at the beach, Walking

What is your daily/weekly/monthly/yearly motivation to move towards your goals?
Daily: To feel good about the day and mark off the calendar
Monthly: To enjoy the summer weather by getting out into it and being active.
Yearly: To look back on a year of accomplishment and change my habits.

Do you have rewards for certain goals?
I will spend a week on a beach in a tropical location with my shirt off 80% of the time if i reach my final goal
 
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Hi Billy. Hopefully there are no gypsy curses involved in this case. :D

Looks like you've got a good plan going. One thing I'd suggest is reducing the ab work - it's really not all that useful in the long run - and substituting some good quality full-body core work. Things like planks, squats, and lunges are great for your whole core, not just isolating your abs the way crunches do.

Also if you can pick up some hand weights to use at home in maybe 10# or 15# sizes, you can do a whole lot more - all kinds of presses and curls and lifts that will work your upper body, back, and abs and build stability.
 
Welcome to your diary Billy! Sounds like you have the perfect plan going and I can just smell your success!

I've found crunches to be quite helpful in giving me a muscular stomach, though the fat on it somewhat hides them. Make sure you do straight crunches AND also to the sides to work your obliques. Make sure your form is right, maybe check out a video online or something if you're not familiar, so you dont injure your back. As you get more advanced, you could lift your legs straight up in the air and do your crunches that way. I feel planks may be a tad difficult at your size, I dunno.. At any rate, 15 minutes of ab work a couple of times a week will probably be sufficient to increase your strength in that area. Most other forms of weights exercises work your abs indirectly as you must always hold your abs very tight and firm when you do ANY exercise, whether on the bench or standing up.
 
Yeah, abs (situps) have always been something that I have struggled at doing.

It was the first workout that I have early memories of always wondering if I was doing it correctly and getting a multitude of conflicting answers from gym instructors. Any suggestions for standing ab exercises would be helpful.

How many (reps?) is a good amount to start with for a guy my size that isn't yet accustomed to a high amount of flexibility and situp endurance?
 
Journal 2

Yesterday was almost a complete bust for exercise due to a full day of errands but I had some time right before bed for some situps and push ups. 25 of each. Went over to my buddy's house and played gutiar for about an hour too. Probably burned at least 75-100 calories right there.

Also weighed myself last night before bed (3 times to be sure): 294

I am assuming this is mostly just water weight, or some beginning fluctuation from the diet change. But I'll take whatever i can get.

Overall sunny day of light exercise and a new number to work on chipping away at.
 
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Hey hey Billy! Water weight IS weight and its not so easy to come off..unless you're doing the right things so yeah, this is very good news and you're off to a great start. What types of foods are you eating?

As to your routine, note that crunches and sit ups are very different. Sit ups are old school and supposedly not so great for us. However, crunches must be done properly or back injury can easily occur. How about finding a crunches instruction video online to make sure you're doing it properly? Also be sure to work your sides (obliques) as well (by doing crunches to the side for example).

Hope this message finds you well :).
 
Thanks for the tip.

Since I am actually doing the vegetarian thing right this time I've been starting my mornings off with a banana and a black coffee. Lunch is a tofurky sandwich, a piece of romaine, and a slice of cheddar. Putting away about 1 1/2 -2 liters of water throughout the day/night and then I boil brown rice w/ some lentils and microwaved side broccoli/asparagus after work. On some off days i have substituted the sandwich with a small salad and an apple. Surprisingly my appetite hasn't been bugging me for too much snacking but I kind of expect that to kick in soon.

I'm pretty sure my "sit-ups" are a lot closer to crunches, but I have also been trying to work in a set of clams and crunch twists also. If i can get coordinated enough I'll work on bicycle kicks. It's all pretty hard for me right now but I will watch some videos online tonight for any further tips. The hour-long 3-mile uphill walks I've been taking help a lot to.
 
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Hey Billy.

You might want to add some food to your diet. It doesn't look like you're eating enough to maintain a healthy metabolism at your weight. If you eat too little, you'll drop your metabolism so fast and so far that you'll stall yourself out.

I'd add some protein to your breakfast for sure - either yogurt or eggs or oats, something like that.

Also buff up your lunch some with some more veggies or an apple or even a can of v8 juice (low sodium kind preferably)

At your current weight you really need to be taking in at least 2500 calories a day and preferably more like 3000.
 
Noted. Money has been tight this week. Lack of food has definitely not been completely by choice. Once grocery shopping time comes around this weekend I'll be able to throw in a spicy V8 and a couple pieces of fruit for the day and have and add a boiled egg or some yogurt in the morning.

Being broke stinks but I do what I can.

Thanks for the info on the consequences of not getting enough calories.
I need to keep that in mind even for times when I don't feel like eating.
 
I totally understand budget constraints. :) Cooking cheap and healthy is not always easy.

And the spicy V8 is my favorite, too! :)
 
Journal 3

Let's see. Yesterday.
Started morning with Coffee and banana
worked, water, worked, water, worked.
Ate a tofurky sandwich at 10:30
worked, water, worked

•Went for about a 2 mile uphill brisk walk in the hot sun.
Broke a good sweat, but am realizing that I need better walking shoes.

worked, water, worked.
Got home and made 1 cup brown rice.
Sauteed about half cup of some mushrooms and onions in veggie oil with a tablespoon of garlic salt and a tablespoon of pepper. Mixed with rice
Half chopped cucumber, whole chopped tomato for side. and a glass of V8.

Did dishes then painted for a couple hours while listening to music.
water, water, water
Checked out some videos online of crunches.

•30 stomach crunches in 10 rep intervals
•60 side crunches (30 left/30 right) in 10 rep intervals
•40 bike kicks/crunches (20 left/20 right) in 10 rep intervals

shower, teeth, bed.
 
Journal 4

Yesterday,"...was such an easy game to play"
Yesterday the weather was awesome again. But unfortunately my workplace decided not to observe the holiday during the week so i didn't have it off like a lot of people. lamesauce

6:30a: coffee, banana for breakfast.
worked, water, worked
Tofurky Sandwhich with slice of cheddar and a tpsn spicy mustard at 10am

•noon: Went for about a 2 mile uphill brisk walk in the hot sun again.
Broke a great sweat, but am STILL realizing that I need better walking shoes.

worked, water, worked, water.
6:00p Got home and made 1 cup brown rice.
Grilled up some chopped asparagus with portobello mushrooms in veggie oil with a tablespoon of garlic salt and a tablespoon of pepper. Mixed with brown rice
1 whole chopped tomato for a side, a cup of veggie baked beans (a little sugary but delicious, and a small glass of V8.

Did dishes then sat on my porch and read some comics and another chapter of "Smile, You're Traveling!" by Henry Rollins for an hour while listening to music in the background.
water, water, water
Clean up the apartment a little

•30 stomach crunches in 10 rep intervals
•60 side crunches (30 left/30 right) in 10 rep intervals
•40 bike kicks/crunches (20 left/20 right) in 10 rep intervals

shower, teeth, bed...early at 9:45p so I could get up at 6:00a for a bike ride.
 
Journal 5

4th of July, 2009 Independence Day.

6:30a: coffee, banana for breakfast.
water, water, shower

Packed bike into car and drove it down to the beach.
•Arrived 7:30a and rode it for about a 2 hours down the boardwalk.
Best thing I did all day. packed it back up and drove home. 9:30a

10a - Got home and made a gardenburger portobello sandwich with some sliced tomatoes, a small glass of spicy V8.
11:30a-2:30p - Went and helped a friend load his old patio furniture into his truck which he gave to me. Awesome! Hand-me-down-town!

3p - read a couple more chapters of "Smile, You're Travelling" by Henry Rollins sitting in my new furniture.

4p - Friend came over and brought over some Guinness....since it is the 4th
Restrained myself well and just had 1 since those things run at least 200 calories a pint.

5:00p - Went over to friends house to hang an watch some fireworks.
Much snacking of various sorts. Luckily they are vegans and eat pretty healthy so there wasn't toooo much crap to indulge on. pretty good job keeping it in check.
let's see:
• Handful of Triscuits (plain, no dip or topping)
• 3 vegan tacos
• some Trader Joe's dark chocolate covered peanuts, dark chocolate covered raisins.
• A gin and tonic
• Pea snaps with light peanut dipping sauce.

got home around 12:30a
Completely tired. brushed teeth went right to bed.

Overall:
-Riding my bike around was the ultimate highlight of the day.
-Got some FREE hand-me-down patio furniture!
-Drank more alcohol then I would have liked for the day but was pretty good keeping it in check and also got to enjoy some fireworks alongside some very good vegan food and friends.
-regret not fitting in time for more extra exercise.
 
Journal 6

Sunday

Coffee, dry multigrain toast.
•Went for ANOTHER bike ride down at beach boardwalk which was awesome.
About 2 hours in the hot sun.

Got home did housework pretty much all day.
water, water, water
Did a bit of painting.

around 5pm went to friends house and hung out.

got home round 11:30
•Did about 30 crunches and went to bed.


Monday

Woke up tired and a bit sore. A real drag going to work today.
Coffee, banana for breakfast

work, water, work
10:30a: Had a tofurky sandwich with cheddar and some spicy mustard.

Got home at 6p, boiled some rice noodles and crashed for a couple hours
Got up around 8:30 and cleaned up art room a bit then read a bit.

felt super lazy and miserable and just went to bed.


Overall:
Sunday, was good with some awesome morning activity
Monday, felt like crap most of the day and didn't do any real exercise.

Need to kick back up today with a walk at lunch with some good evening cardio tonight.
 
Billy - I'm willing to bet the reason you felt like crap is that .. well you're eating like crap. :) Sorry to be blunt, but I've been following your journal and I noticed that you rarely eat any veggies and you're still not eating ENOUGH to sustain the amount of work you're doing, much less just your daily caloric needs.

You're often doing 2+ hours of exercise or activity in the mornings with nothing more than a banana or a piece of dry toast to fuel your body. At this point, your body is probably in the stage that it's cannibalizing the lean muscle to get the nutrients it needs. If you lose weight eating what you're eating, you're losing as much muscle as fat.

I would *strongly* recommend you amp up your breakfast if you're going to continue like this. You need some protein especially. Add in a couple of eggs, or some cottage cheese, an orange or a can of tomato juice (or both).

You're going to continue to feel bad and not be able to exercise effectively if you keep eating the way you are.
 
I appreciate the concern. Like I said previously.. money is tight right now. At least until payday at the end of this week, I won't be able to have much of a variety of good food to choose from. I picked an awkward time to start this diet so I am doing the best I can with the resources I have currently. I didn't really want to wait until "the time was right" to start working on myself.

Normally, I do not eat this sparsely and I'm definitely aware of the implications of overworking oneself on little to no calories. But, nonetheless, I am tracking the reality of my days right now even if they are far from ideal.
I am also trying to keep my workouts relatively light this week to accommodate this lack of balanced nutrition.

I promise that when i get paid. These diary entries will begin to show some healthier routines in diet+exercise.

please bare with me.
 
I totally understand the constraints of a tight budget and I certainly don't mean to jump all over you ... but I would seriously recommend cutting back on your exercise until you can eat more.

I know that you don't want to delay making healthy changes and I totally get that too. You want to harness the motivation you've got and run with it. But right now if you can't eat more, you really do need to ease back a bit. When you start to feel fatigued and weak, it's time to reassess.

Is there any way you can afford at least maybe a dozen eggs and a gallon of low fat milk? Just adding those things to your diet will really help you regain some energy.
 
Dry beans, cooked of course, are very cheap and healthy (several meals worth for under $1). So is brown rice. So maybe when you get paid you can get some of those staples just to have around when you're running low. Also, fruit is really cheap right now. I got 3 canteloupes for $5 (that's cheap for my area at any rate..), 3 pints of blueberries for $5 and 3 pints of cherry tomatoes for $5. You wont believe how much more energy you have when you add the fruits and veggies. I made the mistake of not focusing on that, rather on total calories and protein, and it really hindered my progress. My cravings are diminished and I feel more energetic on less calories. Well, keep up the great work Billy!
 
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