Chendo's Diary

chendo

chendo

New member
Greetings!

First time I have ever written a public journal/diary! They always say there is a first for everything...

Where should I start?!?- Well, as most of you know, I am 6ft4in Tall, my current weight is 230lbs (I just bought a new body fat scale)--- I started coming to this board last Sunday 3/11/07 and weighed in @ 238.

The reason I started coming to this board was because I was looking for success stories. I did a google search for "weight loss success stories" and one link that came up was for here- I read a few stories and saw pictures and I was hooked!

I graduated from Culinary school back in 2000 and was at my top weight of 289lbs. I eventually got down to 205lbs. and then the past 2 years I started to shoot back up because of a prescription drug I was put on for anxiety... well, I guess the more I think about it, the more I really have to blame myself than the drug. I was the one that let myself gain the weight. I am sure if I was cautious, I would not have gained so much weight back- I guess I am just using the pill as an excuse and I need to stop. About a year ago I was over 250lbs and that was when I changed a couple of my habits and thankfully got back down to the 230's. Now, I am going for my goal of 205lbs again... In fact, I want to get below 200lbs (something I've never done before) however, I am not sure how it would look on me; meaning, I don't know if I would look right because I am a big guy and I do not want to look "sick" or "anorexic"...

Now- I have a couple of questions for a couple of people on here. I've been reading a lot of posts and a lot of people have been replying to my threads. I like the people around here!

One person I would like to ask a couple of questions is Steve- from PA- where I am from---- for those of you that are not from the USA and do not know what PA means, It is short for Pennsylvania- a state in the US.

Steve- I work the 2nd shift at my job. I am an IT Manager. I work from 3pm until 1-2 or sometimes 3am. I do not have time to go to the gym. The closest gym is about 20minutes from me. and you know during the winter months, it can be a pain in the ass driving there. In fact yesterday we got a big storm, so I wouldn't be able to drive there too easily.=== But not only the drive but the motivation. I lack it. I joined one 2 years ago and after about a month of going, I stopped going because I was not into it, I didn't like going, I was only doing 2 or 3 different machines and that was it. Yes, I was going alone. I did not have somebody with me to 'spot' me or to workout with me. in fact, I like doing it that way because I feel more free and relaxed... another issue is when other people are there and you see them lifting these weights and stuff and I don't want to start doing something and have my form wrong or end up doing it wrong in front of other people... I guess I am not a gym person...
I used to have a weight bench here at my house, but I got sick of it sitting there collecting dust, so I gave it away and replaced it with a pool table. I still have dumbells here though. I have 5 and 10 lb plates. Maybe I can start using them?!?!
Also, for what ever reason- when I would bench press, I was only able to press 50lbs. yes, I know, it is sad. I think I got up to 60 once but my shoulders started to hurt. I think I was doing it wrong or something. But I do not understand why I was only able to press such a little amount. I mean, my God, that is pathetic. I am a big guy, I should be able to do more than that.

So Steve and anybody else that would like to give me advice, what would you suggest? What can I do to motivate myself to work out? (even its just the dumbells.) I just can not get into it.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments!
 
Hi Chendo,
Welcome to the WLF and to your journal (I won't call it a diary in here) ;)

I'm not Steve (and don't play him on TV) but to answer your question regarding what you can do to motivate yourself to work out, I'll simply say - Just Do It.

The more you do it - the better you feel. The better you feel the more you'll see improvments. Success feeds on itself and is what truly gets the ball rolling.

You've done an amazing job dropping down from your heighest weight, and you CAN reach your goal!

Glad to have you here,
 
Howdy Chendo,
Welcome and goodluck to ya! Steve is pretty good with
helpful info. Have a nice night,Tammy
 
Thank you for all the welcomes! I greatly appreciate it!
First time I've been compared with Justin Timberlake... I am starting to see a patern on this forum with FIRST times for me...

I should not have directed my question to just one person. This is an open forum and my question should be directed to everybody- So please, if you have any suggestions or tips or stories or comparisions- Please feel free to leave them.

By the way M2M, I did try that philosophy in the past "Just do it"- but I just couldn't do it. For whatever reason, It felt as though I did not belong there. Just like I do not belong here in PA- I belong in California (but I better start working on my body before I get out there!!)
 
well, the most important thing that you gotta have is drive, its not going to work unless you really truly want it. thats what will help you get up 30 mins earlier to squeeze your work out it, that drive will help you choose between a good food and bad, that drive is what will push you to do one more rep.

Afraid to say no one can give that to you, its gotta come from you.

for some its wanting to look better,
some want to feel better,
Some realize the dangers of being overweight and want to avoid future problems.
plus many more reasons.

in regards to your lifting, im far from an expert, but what i can tell you is that form is everything. If you've never learned proper form and going to the gym is not something you want to do, the internet is a wonderful place to look things up, and although not as good as an experienced person helping you with it, it is better than nothing.

Bodyweight excercises will be better than nothing at all, at least i think i so... pushups, pullups, etc. just to prevent you from saying... i'll start when i get a gym membership, or i'll start when i get some weights.
 
oh... and a site you might want to check out (found it reading one of steves posts) . i been reading articles there and its slowly been helping me clear up a lot of misconceptions that i had.
 
Thank you RJAZ!

I have the drive to lose weight. That is something that I will do- but the drive to get muscle definition, it isn't there and I don't know why. I WANT to be toned like I used to be, but for whatever reason the drive is not there.

As for Testosterone Nation- I was directed over there earlier today and I guess what turns me off about that site is the HUGE muscles on both the Males and Females. That is a huge turn off- I do not like the big, buff people who eat, drink and sleep in the gym. Don't get me wrong, they have good info, but my life does not and probably will not revolve around the gym like theirs does.

I've been a subscriber to Mens Health for the past 8 years and I love the advice they give...

I guess it is a matter of preference...
An each to their own
 
i see your point... and can understand that you may not want to go that route. but undertand that getting HUGE like that takes years. it doesnt just happen simply by lifting.

however they are very good at losing fat while maintaining muscle... those would be the articles to look at. because you do want to retain the muscle that you do have because it plays a part in your metabolic rate. Tahts should be your key goal... losing weight while keeping as much muscle that you already have as possible.
 
hi chendo :D glad to see you opened your diary...this way you'll get much more info, but most of all support.
as for that drive...did you think about what's holding you back? before i started this change i was actually really scared to lose weight and i would sabotage myself all the time. now i have those things under control. for most parts. but the truth is you need to move...going to aerobics and now to the gym fulfills me so much. after a great workout i just feel like flying and wanna do more hehe. so all you have to do is start.
maybe you can find some other type of exercise, jogging, playing soccer, tennis...swimming etc.
anyway...enough from me hehe. have a great sunday :D
Lena
 
1. I could write a book on motivational techniques. I used to try and force them upon my clients but the bottom line is, if you don't really want it, I can't make you do it. Some time, certainly not today, maybe I will type up something about motivation; things I use for myself, and a few techniques I have used with success with others.

2. Testosterone Nation: Don't judge the site by the pictures. The writers of the articles don't even get to pick what pictures get scattered throughout their articles most of the time. The articles section is backed by hardcore science. Some of them are doctors, and all of them are the best in the business when it comes to nutrition, physiology, and all other sciences dealing with the body. I could care less if you go to the site or not. But I don't want you to be turned off of it just b/c of stupid pictures. The content is top notch and that should be the real reason you go to any site, not b/c of aesthetics.

3. You say you can't get into weights b/c you don't really care about muscle tone.... you are really only concerned with weight loss. If you have read any of my posts, you should know by now that I will tear this concept up. Hear me when I say this: I don't think there is any weight loss program that is optimum that does not include weights. Put differently, I think any weight loss program is shit if it doesn't include resistance training as part of the regimen.

In order to lose weight, you must be in a caloric deficit. While in a deficit, you are going to do nothing but lose tissue, muscle and fat. You are not going to build it, or "tone" it as you put it. Muscle is either build or it isn't. There is no such thing as toning.

So why should you lift weights?

I wrote this post in my journal that I suggest you read:

If you are eating in a hypercaloric state, meaning above maintenance, this means you have excess energy. If things are set up properly, this excess energy can be utilized to facilitate muscle growth. The key to remember is, you need this excess energy. While dieting you don't have it. Rather, you have a diminished pool of energy.

In the hypercaloric state, you can afford to train intensely across the various rep ranges, which all btw, serve a specific function. Pure strength training (1-2) reps serves to facilitate CNS efficiency and improve motor unit recruitment and rate coding which simply means, you get stronger without hypertrophy (muscle growth). Than there is intensive training (4-6 reps) which serves to stimulate hypertrophy of the contractile components of your muscle. This is where you actually experience hypertrophy of your muscle fibers, giving you the solid look. Then there is extensive training (8-15 reps) which facilitates hypertrophy of the other components of the muscle (non-contractile components) such as sacroplasm, glycogen, etc.

You can break this down even further, but you get the idea. You can lift really heavy shit and get strong due to neural adaptations. You can lift mildly heavy shit and get strong and make your muscle grow. And you can lift relatively light shit and still trigger some growth, but this is minute.

While energy intake is high, I believe all of these forms of training serve an important function, and should be utilized.

While in a caloric deficit though, you need to be very wise with your choices. Remember, you are running on a low tank of fuel. Would you drive 30 miles out of the way if your "low fuel" light was on in your car? Probably not.

Same goes for training. The idea is to get in the gym, train briefly and efficiently using heavy weights. Reason being: You are not going to be building any new muscle due to the lack of calories. So weight lifting serves the function of muscle maintenance. The only thing you need to use if for is to ward off catabolism (muscle breakdown). By training heavy and efficiently, you send all the right biochemical signals to aid in muscle maintenance. If you were to go beyond this, and train like you were for anabolism (hypertrophy) without the right amount of fuel to aid this process, you would be doing more harm than good.

Lengthy, but I was due for an informational post. Follow me?

In short, resistance training while dieting allows you to keep the muscle that you do have. Without it, losing muscle is a huge possibility, not that it's not if diet is not set up properly anyhow. Meaning, if you diet is not dialed in, even if you are resistance training, you could still lose a lot of muscle.

It seems to me that you think lifting weights is only about your muscles, and making them big. Resistance training is the most overlooked health activity out there. Put it this way.... if I could only do one form of exercise for the rest of life, and I tell you, my care is not only how I look, but also my health and the way I feel..... that one form of exercise would be lifting weights.

And the little amount of weight that you do have is not going to do you much good for any appreciable amount of time. As you get stronger, which you will, you will grow out of the small amount of weights that you have. So, if you are going to be serious about this you either have to find time for the gym or furnish your home with the right stuff.

For now, I would be sticking with a good flexibility program and some bodyweight exercises until you decide what you want to do.
 
Steve let me give an answer to your answers...

First of all- everybody is different. You can not have a basic plan for everybody and expect it to work.

Second of all- I would like to lift weights but I don't have the drive or the motivation. I know what lifting does. I know how it helps- but I can not get into it. Have you ever not gotten into something?

Third- I run. I like running.

Fourth- I have 8 plates of 10lbs and 10 plates of 5 lbs. - I am sure that is More than enough weight to get me started.


Please re-read my posts and you will see where I am looking for motivation and why I do not have it.
 
chendo said:
Steve let me give an answer to your answers...

First of all- everybody is different. You can not have a basic plan for everybody and expect it to work.

Second of all- I would like to lift weights but I don't have the drive or the motivation. I know what lifting does. I know how it helps- but I can not get into it. Have you ever not gotten into something?

Third- I run. I like running.

Fourth- I have 8 plates of 10lbs and 10 plates of 5 lbs. - I am sure that is More than enough weight to get me started.


Please re-read my posts and you will see where I am looking for motivation and why I do not have it.
Click to expand...

I don't know why, but I am going to be truthful with you.... this response really turned me off from helping you.

You said:

First of all- everybody is different. You can not have a basic plan for everybody and expect it to work.

Why? Why did you tell me this? I have never followed a basic plan myself, and I have certainly not handed out any cookie cutter approaches to any of my paying clients.

I don't think I ever said we aren't each unique. This said though, there are a host of physiological variables that hold constant across the board no matter who you are. These variables are what I base most of my general advice that I give on forums such as these. Everything I said in my post DOES apply to you, individually. ;)

If you have something of substance or scientific weighting to dispute any piece of advice that I handed you, or anyone else on this forum with regards to how my advice was inaccurate or didn't apply to the intended user, by all means, please show me.

Then you said:

Second of all- I would like to lift weights but I don't have the drive or the motivation. I know what lifting does. I know how it helps- but I can not get into it. Have you ever not gotten into something?

I don't get into anything that I don't want to. This said, not everything I do is something I love. Sometimes doing things now, pay off in the end. For instance, I don't necessarily like to read. I love outdoors, I swear I have ADD, and I have a terrible time trying to sit still for more than 5 minutes. However, I still read on average, a book per week. Why? It translates to more success in my ultimate goals, mainly being to be extremely competent in the field of exercise science.

Same goes for cardio. I hate cardio. But I still do it because of how it corresponds to my ultimate goals.

Not sure if this is making sense, but if you TRULY want to improve your physique from where it stands today, then you would do what it takes to make it happen.

I am not saying you can't lose weight w/o resistance training. I am speaking of optimal results. You could lose weight with absolutely zero exercise. Does that mean you are going to look good once you reach your desired weight goal? Of course "looking good" is relative to the eye of the beholder, but chances are, the end result of this route would be no, you don't look good through the eyes of the vast majority.

You asked for my advice, and I gave it to you. If you don't like what I had to say, don't listen. Not trying to be heartless, but I am at the point where I am answering 25+ questions per day on here in detail. I am in no need of "subjects" to help. Those who like what I have to say stick around. Those who don't, don't. No skin off my back, KWIM?

Last thing I care to comment on is this statement:

Please re-read my posts and you will see where I am looking for motivation and why I do not have it.

What part specifically do you want me to read? Because I did read your posts, and responded as I saw fit.

Are you asking me, "How can I be motivated to do what has to be done?"

Is that what you want?

If so, I am not much of a hand-holder around forums, not that this is what you are asking for.

If you are having a hard time doing what has to be done to reach your goals, either change your goals or start focusing on your mental "self talk." Things like, what are you thinking when you cross a bridge that you don't want to cross, such as weight training.

All of us act based on what we link pain and pleasure to. We will do everything in our power to avoid pain, and go through pretty much to experience pleasure.

If you have nothing but pain linked to resistance training, chances are pretty high that you aren't going to find the will to do it. However, if you can find a way to see pleasure in the act of resistance training, chances are a lot better that you will be able to adhere to a plan.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Motivation is a very personal issue.
 
Steve, Your responses are often heard by people you might not be referring to...

"You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Steve again."
 
i was just thinking the same thing deb :D
i guess i gotta start spreading lol

hope you find your motivation chendo :)

Lena
 
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