From >450 to <160 lb by 2022
- Thread starter Err2
- Start date
alligatorob
Respected Member
I have a similar problem, got it x-rayed and the doctor said it was arthritis. I found leg weight training really helps, actually it was the doctor's suggestion and it is what got me started with the weight training. Just making the leg muscles stronger made the knee work better. Of course I am a lot older than you, so more likely to have arthritis...
That happened very much to me, and I think it is still down. I don't follow mine as well as you do yours, but according to the myfitnesspal app I used to log food and exercise I should have lost weight consistently over the past 2 months, and I have not. I put it down to a slower metabolism.
Good for you doing the running, that is great, hope you can keep it up. But take care of that knee.
I wouldn't discount getting better running shoes - they do make a difference. I think if you're serious about this, they are well worth the investment.
I think a few twinges are quite normal when you start using muscles and limbs in a new way - unless the pain is really bad, I would stick to the plan. Another bit of time in stage 2 is no harm anyway.
I think a few twinges are quite normal when you start using muscles and limbs in a new way - unless the pain is really bad, I would stick to the plan. Another bit of time in stage 2 is no harm anyway.
Err2
New member
Another belated Saturday progress report:
Week ________ Weight __ BF ___ Calories
Sept 20-26: ____ 287.5 _ 41.8% __ 1412
Sep 27-Oct 03: _ 284.7 _ 40.0% __ 1439
October 04-10: _ 279.2 _ 39.3% __ 1483
October 11-17: _ 277.6 _ 38.7% __ 1472
October 18-24: _ 274.2 _ 38.0% __ 1506
1 week weight loss: 1.24% and body fat loss: 0.7%
2 week weight loss: 1.81% and body fat loss: 1.3%
3 week weight loss: 3.70% and body fat loss: 1.9%
4 week weight loss: 4.63% and body fat loss: 3.8%
Since my 4 week weight loss (along with 1 and 3 week) is above the scheduled 1% per week I have increased my baseline calorie target to 1500 (still 40% protein, 40% carbs, 20% fat). Hopefully this will prevent some of the overeating urges I have recently had.
Running is progressing on schedule and I'm now on "stage 3" (alternating between 4 minutes of walking and 2 minutes of running for ~30 minutes). To prevent over training I'm only going once a day now and I'm really focusing on having good posture & gait. So far that seems to be keeping the knee happy and I haven't had any shin discomfort or side stitches either.
I ordered a bunch of discounted New Balance running shoes on Amazon Prime Day(s) and they should be here this week. I'll return whichever ones don't fit and hopefully will just be able to order the size I like going forward. Apparently it is good to rotate between running shoes so alongside the NB running shoes I'll also use my nearly new cross trainers for running, the month-old cross trainers for walking, and retire the comfy old broken-down pair.
I'm also up to 4 solid push-ups now so I think I should be able to do 5 by Halloween. I'm also supposed to do a moonlight hike to the top of a modest mountain that evening - the same hike that gave me horrendous DOMS in July when I was 50 lb heavier. Hopefully it'll go a bit easier at 275lbs - it is supposed to be a 4-6 hour roundtrip hike and I needed 8 last time...
Week ________ Weight __ BF ___ Calories
Sept 20-26: ____ 287.5 _ 41.8% __ 1412
Sep 27-Oct 03: _ 284.7 _ 40.0% __ 1439
October 04-10: _ 279.2 _ 39.3% __ 1483
October 11-17: _ 277.6 _ 38.7% __ 1472
October 18-24: _ 274.2 _ 38.0% __ 1506
1 week weight loss: 1.24% and body fat loss: 0.7%
2 week weight loss: 1.81% and body fat loss: 1.3%
3 week weight loss: 3.70% and body fat loss: 1.9%
4 week weight loss: 4.63% and body fat loss: 3.8%
Since my 4 week weight loss (along with 1 and 3 week) is above the scheduled 1% per week I have increased my baseline calorie target to 1500 (still 40% protein, 40% carbs, 20% fat). Hopefully this will prevent some of the overeating urges I have recently had.
Running is progressing on schedule and I'm now on "stage 3" (alternating between 4 minutes of walking and 2 minutes of running for ~30 minutes). To prevent over training I'm only going once a day now and I'm really focusing on having good posture & gait. So far that seems to be keeping the knee happy and I haven't had any shin discomfort or side stitches either.
I ordered a bunch of discounted New Balance running shoes on Amazon Prime Day(s) and they should be here this week. I'll return whichever ones don't fit and hopefully will just be able to order the size I like going forward. Apparently it is good to rotate between running shoes so alongside the NB running shoes I'll also use my nearly new cross trainers for running, the month-old cross trainers for walking, and retire the comfy old broken-down pair.
I'm also up to 4 solid push-ups now so I think I should be able to do 5 by Halloween. I'm also supposed to do a moonlight hike to the top of a modest mountain that evening - the same hike that gave me horrendous DOMS in July when I was 50 lb heavier. Hopefully it'll go a bit easier at 275lbs - it is supposed to be a 4-6 hour roundtrip hike and I needed 8 last time...
Right on, Err! Like the others have said, it's great that you're listening to your body and dialing back, but not stopping either. I love checking in with your progress because it instantly pumps me up. I'm not sure if it's the facts and figures or just the energy of your determination that seeps through all the "Greek to me" stuff hehe Keep up that great work and you've got that 5th push up!!
Err2
New member
Oh, I almost forgot - I had another non-scale victory today: I fit into a 2XL shirt. I'd prefer a 2XLT variant so I don't flash my belly when raising my hands, but this shirt's length wasn't too bad and I can't remember the last time I was able to fit into a $10 tee shirt...
I also filled out my first online dating profile this week, but the experience has been pretty soul-crushing so far. Half of local women want a man who is at least 6' tall (only 16% of men are) and I just can't bring myself to message someone claiming to be 35 with "1980" in their username
That doesn't leave a big percentage and I'm definitely not everyone's cup of tea so it is hard to be optimistic...
I also filled out my first online dating profile this week, but the experience has been pretty soul-crushing so far. Half of local women want a man who is at least 6' tall (only 16% of men are) and I just can't bring myself to message someone claiming to be 35 with "1980" in their username
That doesn't leave a big percentage and I'm definitely not everyone's cup of tea so it is hard to be optimistic...I don't have a goal time, but I'd like to take no more than 4 breaks on the 2.5 miles up and 2 breaks on the way down. I think I had to stop and let my heart rate settle every 2-5 minutes last time...
Online dating is soul-crushing for everyone who takes it seriously. The problems may be different for men and women but it's grim all around. I still think the principle is sound (a chance to get to know more people than you would irl) but the implementation leaves a lot to be desired. And I don't know how to change it, which is a shame.
The problem is actually what you stated.. A lot of people are shallow. A guy doesn't need to be 6 foot to be a great person.
And honestly...I get that women do lie at a certain point about their age..but I don't understand why..
Anyway, hang in there. Take some time away from it if it bothers you too much, but congrats on putting yourself out there (that's really brave) and for getting into a 2xl shirt.
And honestly...I get that women do lie at a certain point about their age..but I don't understand why..
Anyway, hang in there. Take some time away from it if it bothers you too much, but congrats on putting yourself out there (that's really brave) and for getting into a 2xl shirt.
I'm all about the NSVs of late so congrats, Err!
For the record, I consider your foray into the online dating pool is a NSV as well. Try to take it with a grain of salt and just see what happens. You're a great person and are bound to find your match along your journey. If someone can't see past your height just remember that you probably don't want to be with anyone that superficial anyway, as Steph said.
For the record, I consider your foray into the online dating pool is a NSV as well. Try to take it with a grain of salt and just see what happens. You're a great person and are bound to find your match along your journey. If someone can't see past your height just remember that you probably don't want to be with anyone that superficial anyway, as Steph said.
Great to hear of the continued progress with the running Err. Sounds like you are finding all the right tweaks to make it comfy and fun.
The moonlight hike sounds wonderful. 4-6 hours sounds very challenging but i guess you know what you're in for if you've done it before!
Nice work on getting started on the online dating too. You sound like you're doing super well all round!
The moonlight hike sounds wonderful. 4-6 hours sounds very challenging but i guess you know what you're in for if you've done it before!
Nice work on getting started on the online dating too. You sound like you're doing super well all round!
Cate
Long term member
You are doing really well Err. Well done on signing up for online dating. It's ridiculous to expect someone over 6' tall. I'm not sure my husband & I would have chosen one another from a dating app. How compatible you are has nothing to do with height. (I'm about an inch taller than my husband btw.) Well done on fitting into the 2XL 
Err2
New member
Thanks everyone. I have been single for over a decade and haven't even tried dating in that time so my relationship/emotional development is probably pretty stunted. I'm expecting lots of awkwardness and misunderstandings, but am trying to stay positive and push aside all the nagging thoughts to just sit on the sidelines...
In other news, I was playing with my spreadsheet and thought this graph was interesting:
Grams of daily protein (blue) uses the right axis, while pounds of lean mass (red) uses the left axis.
July is when I started to look more closely at (and track) body composition. I was alarmed at the rate at which I was losing lean mass and one of the suggestions from academia was to increase protein intake to as high as ~2 g per kg lean mass (roughly 1g per lb of lean mass). So at the end of July I increased my minimum protein goal from 100g/day to ~150g/day and it seems to have helped maintain -or possibly even slightly increase- my lean mass.
Unfortunately (from a scientific/experimental perspective), protein was not the only variable I changed: I also started doing more low-rep strength training in addition to my cardio. So I can't say for sure that protein was responsible, but the overall changes I made sure seem to have been worth it. I'd be tickled if I could maintain 165-170 lb of lean mass and just lose excess fat alone, but the literature says that's not possible. I recognize that, but still intend to try...
In other news, I was playing with my spreadsheet and thought this graph was interesting:
Grams of daily protein (blue) uses the right axis, while pounds of lean mass (red) uses the left axis.
July is when I started to look more closely at (and track) body composition. I was alarmed at the rate at which I was losing lean mass and one of the suggestions from academia was to increase protein intake to as high as ~2 g per kg lean mass (roughly 1g per lb of lean mass). So at the end of July I increased my minimum protein goal from 100g/day to ~150g/day and it seems to have helped maintain -or possibly even slightly increase- my lean mass.
Unfortunately (from a scientific/experimental perspective), protein was not the only variable I changed: I also started doing more low-rep strength training in addition to my cardio. So I can't say for sure that protein was responsible, but the overall changes I made sure seem to have been worth it. I'd be tickled if I could maintain 165-170 lb of lean mass and just lose excess fat alone, but the literature says that's not possible. I recognize that, but still intend to try...
Ive been single for about that same amount of time... But boy dont i have a lot of fun hobbies to show for it!
Lingwo
Active member
Great chart.
I think I said this once before here, but about 10 years ago I lost around 70lbs (230 to 160) without training or caring too much about protein intake and I wasn't happy with the end result. I lost too much lean mass and didn't think I looked good.
I definitely think 1g of protein per lb of lean body mass is a good call, I'm eating 1.1g just to be sure.
I think I said this once before here, but about 10 years ago I lost around 70lbs (230 to 160) without training or caring too much about protein intake and I wasn't happy with the end result. I lost too much lean mass and didn't think I looked good.
I definitely think 1g of protein per lb of lean body mass is a good call, I'm eating 1.1g just to be sure.