Eoghan's perennial quest in Weight Loss!

[EoghanRyan]

Hey all, welcome, I guess, to my weight loss diary! I chose this title for my diary, because, at times, weight loss to me seemed perennial ; going on forever, eternal, with no results I've tried on numerous occasions to lose weight but always gave up hope or felt like I was getting nowhere, well now I'm back to trying again!


I'm 21 years old and from Ireland, last time I checked I weighed in at about 250 or so, I'll have to get a weight check done soon with my GP as I don't own a scales! I'm 6 feet tall. I'm tired of being chubby and feeling fat and useless. My weight holds back my true goals in life and doesn't allow me to do what I would like to do in life.


I started out by joining this site and reading bits and bobs here and there. I have made small changes over the last few weeks, I've made it my business to only drink water, I haven't touched any fizzy drinks, tea/coffee etc in the last few weeks and I'm making it my business to stop for the foreseeable future. I'm kinda at a loss as to what foods I should or shouldn't eat, I've just stopped eating junk and replacing junk with healthy stuff, but even then, I don't know if I'm getting enough calories, my biggest fear is exercising and eating healthy for a long time only to discover I've not been doing it right, or I haven't eaten enough calories, and that all that time had been for nothing, can anyone give me any advice on this?


I usually eat breakfast of toast, porridge and fruit. Lunch is usually a chicken sandwich with more fruit and or an egg or two. I don't really know if this is good, I just assume they are health foods and eat them, I'd hate to think I'm doing it wrong and wasting time and money. As far as my next meal goes it's usually dinner, and then I don't know what to eat! What's good what's bad? Potatoes are a huge staple here as part of our diet and I heard they are bad? Very lost After dinner I don't rly know what to eat cause I've pretty much exhausted all of my meal ideas snack ideas? :S


Kinda lost on the nutrition side, any tips appreciated


For exercise, I'm currently tackling the Couch to 5K programme, 3 days a week, Mon-Wed-Fri, I do a 30 min routine of Jogging/walking mix. The other 3 days, Tue-Thur-Sat, I plan on doing weights exercises incorporating a full body workout spread across three days. On these weight days I also plan on doing some form of cardio to interleave with my C25K cardio, but I'm not sure if cardio + weights on one day is overkill? I wanna get the right amount of exercise. Am I doing too little? Too much? Recommend I do more? Any input is highly apreciated!


Here are some pictures of me, no flattery













Thank you for reading my hopefully first of many diary posts

 

[MrVee]

I love all the Irish folks here. Makes me feel like a kid again with the O'Sullivans and Brosnans and Flynns and McHughs. Welcome aboard.


As for exercise, the best general rule is to listen to your body. At 21 it's willing to take a bit more abuse than at 41 or 51, but you still need to listen when muscles get sore. If there's a sport you used to play (football, gaelic football, rugby, hurling, basketball, whatever) maybe setting aside one day a week and getting back into it might help turn some of the exercise into something that's just fun. I realize a couple of those (the football ones) are pretty exhausting to undertake with any additional weight, so maybe set it as a goal for a month or two.


As for the potatoes, they can be a problem, particularly for someone on a low carb diet. On the other hand, it's hard to trust an Oirishman who doesn't eat potatoes. :biggrin: They're actually fairly nutritious foods (lots of fiber and vitamins, particularly in the skin) but the things we do to them to make them taste better often makes them bad diet foods. Chips are pretty much not good, but maybe slicing them up yourself in just a little bit of oil in a pan wouldn't be too bad as long as it's a smallish potato.


Diet is tricky and taking advice from someone weighing 313 pounds may not make much sense. The only thing that's really made sense to me so far is to make sure whatever you come up with is something you can live with doing for the rest of your life. People lose a bunch of weight and then say "yay! I can stop eating tree branch soup now and go back to eating Twinkies" and they gain the weight right back. Eat normal person food and eat a normal amount of it, and get in enough exercise to make you fitter without killing yourself and that's something you can actually keep doing long after the weight you want to lose is gone.


Of course I could just be full of #*&^, so maybe ignore me.

 

[Irishprincess]

Hey eoghan!!


So nice to see another irish person on here. This place is so great for motivation and support, and especially for a haven when u are stressed etc. Are you in college??


Well my only advice is that you need to be consistent when eating healthy and exercise. What i mean is, i have had lots of days where i have done 5 good days and then 4 bad days, this is so bad as it eliminates all the hard work u have done!! But if u slip up here, and there, ITS NO BIGGIE, just get back up on that horsie and do ur thang!!


I would recommend eating around 1200-1500 cals a day, consume alot of protein and water, and exercise,exercise Also constantly count cals, i do it on my drafts on my phone


If i had not done the above i would prob be a size 6 now, but thats life


Best of luck to ya, and cant wait to see your results each week. I KNOW YOU CAN DO THIS

 

[EoghanRyan]

Originally Posted by Irishprincess


Hey eoghan!!



So nice to see another irish person on here. This place is so great for motivation and support, and especially for a haven when u are stressed etc. Are you in college??



Well my only advice is that you need to be consistent when eating healthy and exercise. What i mean is, i have had lots of days where i have done 5 good days and then 4 bad days, this is so bad as it eliminates all the hard work u have done!! But if u slip up here, and there, ITS NO BIGGIE, just get back up on that horsie and do ur thang!!



I would recommend eating around 1200-1500 cals a day, consume alot of protein and water, and exercise,exercise Also constantly count cals, i do it on my drafts on my phone



If i had not done the above i would prob be a size 6 now, but thats life



Best of luck to ya, and cant wait to see your results each week. I KNOW YOU CAN DO THIS

Dia duit



I don't really count calories I just try and eat healthy, whenever I get peckish just have some fruit, my staple foods at the moment seem to be porridge for breakfast, fruits, veggies, pasta, brown rice, potatoes sometimes, sweetcorn, dried beans, lentils, for sandwhiches I try to use coleslaw/salad and turkey/chicken, hard boiled eggs, and water of course, lots of



If I don't count calories will it matter? If I just eat say 3 meals a day trying to get good nutrition in every meal, and snack sometimes, will I still do ok? This is my biggest concern and what I am scared of most/least aware of, would hate too eat healthy only to find I've not been doing it "right" yknow?



Unfortunately currently unemployed! Looking to go to college next year but for now got lots of time on my hands outside of job seeking and personal tasks around the house etc, no real excuse not to get healthy!

 

[Little John]

Hey Eoghan, welcome on-board. My wife and I went to your country for our honeymoon in '08, it's time to return (especially to Donegal) - where are you?


As for pointers, it seems you're opposed to it, but I'd really recommend counting calories, at least to get started on what you want to do. You'd be surprised how many calories are in "healthy foods", and what stuff can add up quickly, and what exercises do, too - for example, your 30-minute walk burns off your two eggs, but that's it. I've been using the LoseIt app on my iPhone to keep track of what I'm eating and what I'm burning, it can be a real eye-opener. Also, if you read some of the articles by Lyle McDonald (see the link my signature), it can give you some ideas on nutrition and health. Granted he's a bit extreme and a bit blunt, but there are some good nuggets in there.


Sláinte! (only Gaelic I know, but they sure loved me when I said it in the pubs!)

 

[Verobc1]

Hey Welcome to the forum


Like everyone said counting calories at least at the begining can be very helpfull that way you get an idea of how much you eat and how much you use. I count the calories on and off because I am a strong beleiver that you have to look at what you get for those calories, a pack of cookies containing only 100 cals is still only a pack of cookies what does it give you for a 100cals?

I try to stay away from any premade meals and premade snacks (not always posible) but when I was in WW a women who had lost over a 100lb told me that the secret of her success was buying90 % her groceries in the produces section, so fresh meats, fresh fruits and vegies, nothing frozen or processed or as little of it as possible. I eat raw veggies and fruit as snack but I also try to add raw seeds or nuts in small quantities to my snack so I get proteins out of it. I think everyone else gave you very good advice, stick with it, if you have a bad day brush yourself off and get back to your routine, drink plenty of water makes you less hungry and well hydrated, you are doing plenty of exercise good for you!!!

 

[MrVee]

Strictly speaking you don't have to count calories. Many of the popular low-carb diets avoid calorie counting simply by eating foods with lots of lean protein and most of the carbs are vegetables. There's a lot of reasons why this tends to work (for a while anyway, like most diets the recidivism rate on this is high), but the main one is that eating this way gets you very full without eating a whole lot of calories. The problem is that these types of diets are very controversial in that it's real easy to come up short of some essential nutrients this way.


That said most of the people on here are counting calories, at least to some extent. However if you're living with the 'P's and they're cooking the dinners, that can be tricky as you wind up annoying them with constant questions about 'how many calories are in this and that.'


One thing you could try is to eat about 85% of what's on your dinner plate. You're not nearly as overweight as it may seem right now; I'm climbing back from the absolute abyss. Eat less/move more should be enough to get the job done provided you can stick to it. Try and think of how much you were exercising and how much you were eating to get to this point, and try and increase the exercise and decrease the amount you eat a little. You should get slow steady results that way.

 

[Little John]

Vero, funny you mention the premade thing. The week I stopped buying frozen meals and making my own, I dropped 9-10 lbs. In one week (I did other smart things, too). Added bonus: my homemade frozen meals have much more food (more filling) and about the same calories.


Vee, you're right, you don't HAVE to count calories, but Eoghan doesn't seem to track anything he's eating. A beer and a baked potato is a low-fat meal, but it's probably 400-500 calories. It will be a pain to start figuring out the calorie count, but it's a learning process.


If you don't want to count calories, you can probably start by cutting your carbs and meats in half, and doubling your veggies. Add a green salad, light on the dressing, etc. Cut out or reduce your dessert.


Walk 6 times a day, not 3. If you're unemployed, you have time to walk more than 30 minutes, too, try 60, or try a hike. At your weight/age, you can definitely ease into jogging, too, and that will burn some calories!

 

[EoghanRyan]

Thanks for the all the answers guys, much appreciated

Originally Posted by Little John


Hey Eoghan, welcome on-board. My wife and I went to your country for our honeymoon in '08, it's time to return (especially to Donegal) - where are you?



As for pointers, it seems you're opposed to it, but I'd really recommend counting calories, at least to get started on what you want to do. You'd be surprised how many calories are in "healthy foods", and what stuff can add up quickly, and what exercises do, too - for example, your 30-minute walk burns off your two eggs, but that's it. I've been using the LoseIt app on my iPhone to keep track of what I'm eating and what I'm burning, it can be a real eye-opener. Also, if you read some of the articles by Lyle McDonald (see the link my signature), it can give you some ideas on nutrition and health. Granted he's a bit extreme and a bit blunt, but there are some good nuggets in there.



Sláinte! (only Gaelic I know, but they sure loved me when I said it in the pubs!)

Thanks for this Donegal is lovely and have been there on numerous occasions! I myself am located farther south in the centre of the country, a place called Westmeath

Originally Posted by MrVee


Strictly speaking you don't have to count calories. Many of the popular low-carb diets avoid calorie counting simply by eating foods with lots of lean protein and most of the carbs are vegetables. There's a lot of reasons why this tends to work (for a while anyway, like most diets the recidivism rate on this is high), but the main one is that eating this way gets you very full without eating a whole lot of calories. The problem is that these types of diets are very controversial in that it's real easy to come up short of some essential nutrients this way.



That said most of the people on here are counting calories, at least to some extent. However if you're living with the 'P's and they're cooking the dinners, that can be tricky as you wind up annoying them with constant questions about 'how many calories are in this and that.'



One thing you could try is to eat about 85% of what's on your dinner plate. You're not nearly as overweight as it may seem right now; I'm climbing back from the absolute abyss. Eat less/move more should be enough to get the job done provided you can stick to it. Try and think of how much you were exercising and how much you were eating to get to this point, and try and increase the exercise and decrease the amount you eat a little. You should get slow steady results that way.

Thanks for this, I've just been drinking water, eliminating bad foods and eating healthy, I seem to be doing fine so far


Just back from a 30 min jog/walk, feeling good Preparing dinner now and gonna do weights/core exercises later for another 30-40 min workout


Envisioning the results is so hard, even tho I'm only on day 3 I just want this weight gone I guess it's part of being human. Because I cannot see the effect of my lifestyle change immediately, it somehow brings me down and makes me feel like I'll NEVER get there When do results generally show? I FEEL better at least

 

[EoghanRyan]

Week's been going fairly good! Just back from a very succesful jog, can feel myself getting less tired (getting tired but just further into my jog!), which is a good sign! It's so goddamn cold outside!! Surprisingly enough it didn't seem to phase me, I was so focused on my routine that I kinda zoned out 0_0 xD

 

[MrVee]

Originally Posted by EoghanRyan
Envisioning the results is so hard, even tho I'm only on day 3 I just want this weight gone I guess it's part of being human. Because I cannot see the effect of my lifestyle change immediately, it somehow brings me down and makes me feel like I'll NEVER get there When do results generally show? I FEEL better at least

Here's a quote from me when I first signed up here after roughly three months into the diet:

One might think losing almost 40 pounds in three months is cause for celebration, but the knowledge of how much weight I've lost combined with the reality of how much more I still have to lose has kind of struck me funny today... I prepared myself from the outset that this was going to take a while, but that's not really making it any easier today. I started this because I was tired of being fat, and I'm not any less tired of being fat three months later.

So obviously that feeling is either completely normal or the two of us are completely abnormal. I'm hoping it's the former. :biggrin: That 40 pounds is now 65 pounds two months after I wrote that, but the feeling still hasn't changed all that much. You just have to ignore it as best as you can and be patient. Your road is likely a little shorter than mine, but 'shorter' doesn't mean 'short.'


Good work on the jogging and seeing the results in how you feel. If you make good changes the results eventually come from those changes. After that it's a question of whether you need to make a few more, or whether you are happy with where you are at.

 

[EoghanRyan]

It's been two weeks on this new weight loss plan and I don't see any differences I feel different but I'm just scared I'm doing something wrong? I try to exercise for 30m,in-1hr every day, and I haven't touched any junk. Just drank water and eaten healthy with little snacking. Any ideas what I can do to make sure I don't do all this for nothing? I feel like it just wont work for me

And here are some updated pics of me took today, beware these pics are ugly and graphic ><

View attachment 19275View attachment 19276View attachment 19277View attachment 19278View attachment 19279

Any help or motivation? Feeling like a fail

 

[EoghanRyan]

And here is me before all this..View attachment 19280

And here is me today

View attachment 19281


Difference?

 

[MrVee]

Well I can see a little bit. If it makes you feel any better I lost 60 pounds and really couldn't see much of a difference. We tend to be worse at judging ourselves on something like this than other people.

Here's mine after going from 375 to 315:

View attachment 19284

And that's 60 pounds.

The reality is that if you eat fewer calories and exercise more, you will lose weight and tone up your body shape. Now you might not become underwear model in shape but it should improve. It does take time though, roughly two pounds a week is the right pace for a few months and then slowly work down to one pound a week from there until your goal weight.

 

[XavierL]

Best of luck, just don't wreck your knees by running to hard. (I use the elliptical and will continue until around 200/205)