onefatsurfer
New member
Hey everyone!
I'm new here and figured I'd make an introduction post. I'm in my mid 20's, and have been battling my weight since I was about 12. I've been fluctuating between 220 and 240 for the last 8 years or so, and last month, I hit a high of ~250 lbs and decided enough is enough. I'm now trying to do things "the right way" in that I am exercising, eating less, and striving to get into better shape. My thoughts/system that I'm doing are this:
1. I'm eating less, and trying to think about everything that I eat. It's not crazy, or rocket science. If I want to eat something, I'll look at it and say "is this what someone that's healthy would eat?" if not, I'll say "how can I make this less fattening?"
2. I'm not 100% restricting myself. If I want a burrito from the burrito joint, I'll eat a burrito. But I'll ask for it with 1/2 as much rice as they usually put, no cheese, and I'll get veggies or chicken instead of steak or pork. If I want pizza, I'll have a slice of pizza, but I'll get peppers and onions on it instead of pepperoni or extra cheese. Simple things that are a no-brainer - don't eat as much fattening crap. This is where all my previous attempts failed, I tried to completely cut out unhealthy foods, where now I just don't eat as much of them. It makes a big difference to my morale.
3. I'm exercising, but having fun with it. I learned over the years that going to the gym doesn't work for me. I can't get motivated to get in the car, drive to the gym, work out, drive home, shower, etc. etc. It takes too much time. Now, I lift dumbbells in my basement, hit the heavy bag in my basement, do situps, and do everything FAST. I hate exercising outside (running, biking, etc) and cardio feels like it takes too much time. I don't want to spend all my time running, so I do my weight lifting/heavy bag hitting/situps fast, and I don't take any breaks. I finish my routine in about 30-40 minutes, and at the end, I'm exhausted. I do something until I feel like if I do one more I'm going to fall on the floor, then I'll switch to something else.
4. I try to eat a lot of snacks during the day. I'll eat breakfast at 7:30, then a snack at 9, lunch at 11:30, a snack at 2:30, a snack at 4:30, dinner at 6:30, and sometimes a snack at 8:30(only if i'm planning on staying up past 11 PM) It helps me to not binge eat when I eat my meals, so I can eat healthier at my meals instead of heaping on the mashed potatoes at dinner, or eating all the bread on my sandwich at lunch. This is huge for me.
5. I haven't been down on myself if I screw up. Everyone makes mistakes, and there's no point in giving up because I ate a big cheeseburger with fries. If I give up, I'll never lose the weight and then what's the point in that? If I mess up, I just try to not mess up the next day. Thanksgiving is going to be a major challenge for me, but I think I can handle it. I am going to eat stuffing, and mashed potatoes, and turkey. I'm just going to try not to eat a ton of it, and I'm not going to eat it 3 days in a row like I usually do.
6. I've been clothes shopping every few weeks, and buying at least one outfit each time. This is another big one for me, since the bigger clothes I own hide the lost weight. When I come to work with a new outfit that's a size smaller, people notice.
How have my results been? ASTOUNDING. It'll have been one month this coming Friday since I started this. I've lost 20 lbs (this morning I weighed 230) and am SO MUCH STRONGER. I started doing 20 situps during my routine, curling 10 lb dumbbells, benching 40 lbs, hitting the heavy bag for 2 minutes, and being DEAD at the end of that. Yesterday, I did 100 situps. I can comfortably curl 25 lb dumbbells, and I'm benching 75. I can hit the heavy bag for at least 8 minutes, but lately, I've been hitting the heavy bag while holding 5 lb dumbbells in each hand. I can do that for 2 minutes at a time. My pants size has dropped from a 40 to a 36/38. I am a size L shirt now, rather than XL. I actually bought a size M shirt the other day (although I think it was sized a little large for a M). It's now at the point where I can see a difference in how I look, and that's the most rewarding factor.
I took "before" photos so that I could use them to motivate me if I have a rough day, and I've yet to look at them. Maybe in another month I'll take a peek. Anyway, hi everyone!
Good luck on all your dieting and exercise endeavors and try to keep your chin up!
I'm new here and figured I'd make an introduction post. I'm in my mid 20's, and have been battling my weight since I was about 12. I've been fluctuating between 220 and 240 for the last 8 years or so, and last month, I hit a high of ~250 lbs and decided enough is enough. I'm now trying to do things "the right way" in that I am exercising, eating less, and striving to get into better shape. My thoughts/system that I'm doing are this:
1. I'm eating less, and trying to think about everything that I eat. It's not crazy, or rocket science. If I want to eat something, I'll look at it and say "is this what someone that's healthy would eat?" if not, I'll say "how can I make this less fattening?"
2. I'm not 100% restricting myself. If I want a burrito from the burrito joint, I'll eat a burrito. But I'll ask for it with 1/2 as much rice as they usually put, no cheese, and I'll get veggies or chicken instead of steak or pork. If I want pizza, I'll have a slice of pizza, but I'll get peppers and onions on it instead of pepperoni or extra cheese. Simple things that are a no-brainer - don't eat as much fattening crap. This is where all my previous attempts failed, I tried to completely cut out unhealthy foods, where now I just don't eat as much of them. It makes a big difference to my morale.
3. I'm exercising, but having fun with it. I learned over the years that going to the gym doesn't work for me. I can't get motivated to get in the car, drive to the gym, work out, drive home, shower, etc. etc. It takes too much time. Now, I lift dumbbells in my basement, hit the heavy bag in my basement, do situps, and do everything FAST. I hate exercising outside (running, biking, etc) and cardio feels like it takes too much time. I don't want to spend all my time running, so I do my weight lifting/heavy bag hitting/situps fast, and I don't take any breaks. I finish my routine in about 30-40 minutes, and at the end, I'm exhausted. I do something until I feel like if I do one more I'm going to fall on the floor, then I'll switch to something else.
4. I try to eat a lot of snacks during the day. I'll eat breakfast at 7:30, then a snack at 9, lunch at 11:30, a snack at 2:30, a snack at 4:30, dinner at 6:30, and sometimes a snack at 8:30(only if i'm planning on staying up past 11 PM) It helps me to not binge eat when I eat my meals, so I can eat healthier at my meals instead of heaping on the mashed potatoes at dinner, or eating all the bread on my sandwich at lunch. This is huge for me.
5. I haven't been down on myself if I screw up. Everyone makes mistakes, and there's no point in giving up because I ate a big cheeseburger with fries. If I give up, I'll never lose the weight and then what's the point in that? If I mess up, I just try to not mess up the next day. Thanksgiving is going to be a major challenge for me, but I think I can handle it. I am going to eat stuffing, and mashed potatoes, and turkey. I'm just going to try not to eat a ton of it, and I'm not going to eat it 3 days in a row like I usually do.
6. I've been clothes shopping every few weeks, and buying at least one outfit each time. This is another big one for me, since the bigger clothes I own hide the lost weight. When I come to work with a new outfit that's a size smaller, people notice.
How have my results been? ASTOUNDING. It'll have been one month this coming Friday since I started this. I've lost 20 lbs (this morning I weighed 230) and am SO MUCH STRONGER. I started doing 20 situps during my routine, curling 10 lb dumbbells, benching 40 lbs, hitting the heavy bag for 2 minutes, and being DEAD at the end of that. Yesterday, I did 100 situps. I can comfortably curl 25 lb dumbbells, and I'm benching 75. I can hit the heavy bag for at least 8 minutes, but lately, I've been hitting the heavy bag while holding 5 lb dumbbells in each hand. I can do that for 2 minutes at a time. My pants size has dropped from a 40 to a 36/38. I am a size L shirt now, rather than XL. I actually bought a size M shirt the other day (although I think it was sized a little large for a M). It's now at the point where I can see a difference in how I look, and that's the most rewarding factor.
I took "before" photos so that I could use them to motivate me if I have a rough day, and I've yet to look at them. Maybe in another month I'll take a peek. Anyway, hi everyone!
Good luck on all your dieting and exercise endeavors and try to keep your chin up!