Diary of a Big Fat Man

L

Lee2

New member
I decided to start up a diary to keep me motivated and keep track of whats going on with my new way of life. I'm 353lbs and have a goal to get down to 200lbs one day but for now I'm just looking to get out of the 300's and start feeling better.

I plan on trying to drop 2lbs a week so I'm looking at around a year and a half to hit 200lbs. I've changed my diet and it's been a few day's without the junk food and I feel better. I know I need to start exercising but have trouble doing more than 15 min at a time so I've been trying to do my 15 min of exercise 4 to 6 times a day.

I've been on diets before and always seem to get derailed but to me this time it's not a diet it's more of a change in habits and lifestyle. I have family support this time so maybe I'll actually make it however one thing I did discover is I get discouraged easy by the numbers on the scales so I'm only going to weigh myself once a month so I keep my motivation up.

Feel free to comment if you like or if you have any advice I'm all ears.
 
As a fellow fat man (320), I can tell you it won't be easy. It will suck. It will be very hard. You'll have points where you'll want to say fuck it. That is all very normal.

Sometimes you won't be able to resist temptation. That's okay. You'll have slip ups. You'll fail, but remember, you can lose a battle, but still win the war.

Keep up your diary and remember why you are making these sacrifices. We are all in it together!

Best of luck!!!
 
Lee, I'm finally under 300 now. It has been a tremendously arduous journey, but it can be done. I started at 389lbs, so... yeah, been there, done that...

Not as many men in here as ladies it seems most of the time (although that makes some of the conversations kind of interesting sometimes :D)

Good for starting a journal. The big guys need to stick together.
 
Hi, Lee, and welcome.

Looks like you have some solid ideas - it's a lifestyle/habit change, not a diet; realistic goals and timetable. These are good keys to success.

Your food and diet are critical. I suggest tracking your caloric and nutrient intake using a free site like FitDay.com - it can really help you monitor your food intake.

As far as exercise goes - start slow. Try walking - you can probably walk for a lot longer than you can do something more vigorous. Your ability and desire to do more will increase rapidly. Then you can ramp up into something more intense.

Look around the site - read the stickies at the top of the various sections. Lots of good stuff in there.
 
Lee, BTW, doing cardio for shorter blocks of time, ie 10 -15 minutes at a time, 3 or more times daily is a pretty effective means of getting teh exercise in as well. Don't fret about it if you don't feel like you can hang at first. You'll adapt very quickly, and movement is movement, it all adds up.

Lissa, at the top of every index topic is be a button marked something like start thread. Use this to open your new topic. I would suggest either starting a diary, or introducing yourself in the newcomer topic.
 
I went to the park today to get some exercise and actually found something that let me move around more and maybe get more exercise. I took a basketball and everytime I made a basket I had to go to the other baseline and back. I was able to do this for over an hour which is an accomplishment for me because usually just standing for a half hour will make my feet and back hurt. I think the thing that helped me was the shooting baskets distracted my mind enough to make this a little fun for me.

As far as diet goes I've been really good vegetables and fruits make up most of my diet. I also haven't had any "junk" food in over a week and whats weird is I have yet to have a craving. So I hope this time I'm really going to do it.
 
I'm a fat guy (285 pounds) and wish you well- My advice is be wary of the portions you eat- I have the habit of eating ginormous portions- If you can cut portions down, that's half the battle.....

And don't dwell only on losing a certian ammount of weight, focus on changing exercise and eating habits- You may notice the positive side effect is weight loss..

Watching the scale is like watching the kettle, and we all know that a watched kettle never boils...
 
Good day today more energy and did more exercise (because I made it fun) Been pretty good about keeping track of what I eat and avoiding what's bad for me. I actually feel lighter on my feet today so I'm happy...
 
Lee said:
Good day today more energy and did more exercise (because I made it fun) Been pretty good about keeping track of what I eat and avoiding what's bad for me. I actually feel lighter on my feet today so I'm happy...
Click to expand...

One of the great things is that once you become accustomed to it, you really do start to adapt and feel lighter, with more energy etc. I'm an exercise addict now. I really can't go more than a couple of days without a good workout of some kind because otherwise I feel like I'm slipping.
 
Decided to weigh myself and down 17lbs so I'm happy. I know a lot is water weight but still the scale is going the right way :)
 
Joined the gym which is a huge leap of faith for me but I know I'm going to start using it and it will pay off
 
Hi Lee, welcome to the forum and congrats on your 'lifestyle change' One step at a time is what you are doing and that is the best way to go. Joining the gym is a huuuuge step, so way to go. I have a gym membership that i have been ignoring for quite some time. Well..it is being brushed off *lil dusty* and it *and I* will be put to work.
 
Been working out at the gym everyday so far and feeling good. However I did get a little discouraged when I weighed myself only to see I gained 2lbs. I'm not going to dwell on it because the scale is just a number and I'm more concerned with overall health.

My food intake has been exactly followed for going on 2 weeks now and I'm really proud of that. I've had many opportunities to cheat but the funny thing is the foods and drinks I once loved and couldn't go without now make me sick to see or even smell.

I'm going to beat this and refuse to give up! I've been reading other people's diaries and found that the success of others really motivate me to keep this going and actually do it.
 
Congrats on the weight loss, Lee! I know what you mean about eating healthy. I love all the veggies and chicken I eat now! I weigh myself daily and used to let it get me down sometimes. But now I only focus on the weekly numbers and the general downward direction.

Weekly weigh-ins and weekly calorie counts helped me greatly. That way I don't have to do great every day, but every week must be solid.
 
Lee, if I may, a couple points of advice?

I used to work out every day. I was an addict, sort of OCD with regard to work outs. It's easy to burn out that way. Make sure you take at least1, maybe 2 days where you don't do an organized intense work out. You, know go for a walk ofr something, but don't push yourself. You need recovery time.

the scale, especially if you are in the early stages, is a strange animal. Don't look at it much. If you are pretty new to workin gout, you will pick up soem muscle very quickly, and it will offset some of your fat loss in weight. that is a good thing, you're still losing fat.

Read lots of diaries, and please, post in them too. You can have just as much of an inspirational effect on other people as they do on you. Even if you're not feeling very inspirational on any given day, pop in and post in a friend's diary, sometimes just being supportive to someone else, helps remind you of why you're here and helps put you back on track.
 
Thanks for the advice and I totally understand about the burning out that's why instead of the gym tomorrow I'm going to be playing basketball with my friends and on Sunday I'll probably just go bike riding. My thing is I just need to do more than just sit at the computer everyday even if it's just going for a walk. However I just love going to the gym it's so fun...

I'm going back to my original plan of weighing myself just once a month so that it won't derail me and as long as I'm staying active and eating good I should see some loss each time I weigh in. Thanks for the tips...
 
hey lee. I think what cabbie was saying is that you need to take a day off period. think of it like a bank certificate of deposit. You put it in (workout) and you let it mature (rest). If you take it out and put it back in everyday (like working out everyday) you never give it time to grow. Workouts are the catalyst that gets your body to transform. The fastest way for it to transform is to do it while resting. Nothing can rebuild if you care constantly breaking it down, which will but you more at risk for injury. I started my journey january of this year at 330 lbs. here we are 43 weeks later and i weighed in this morning at 224. I started out doing the everyday thing and i got injured. I took one day off and i still got burned out. now with five days i have found a happy middle ground where i never feel worn down with life due to working out and working and such. I know it feels like if you don't workout you are gaining, but believe me, you body needs the rest. Anyone who has read my journal knows that i work out HARD, so i'm here to tell you that you are on the right track, but make sure you let your work mature.
 
I see what your saying and I guess I had overlooked that and need to schedule in some off days. Thanks for the tips..
 
Hello Lee!

I am new myself, and I understand the difficulties of weight loss (231 and heading down). I am envious and jealous that you have joined a gym. Congrats to you! that is a tough jump on its own. I have struggled with Gym's.
You are motiviating me to finally take the plunge. I feel uncomfortable at the gym; I dont put my mind into the workout; at least I never have. I seem to be worrying about who is looking at me and when I will look like her.
I have noticed that my energy level has increased to the more exercise that I make time for in my day. Thanks for writing your diary.

Maybe I will make a goal to check out the local 24 hour gym and give myself a perscription of 45 minutes at the gym everyday.
 
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