It's time for a change (Phil's Diary)

D

Denzalo

New member
Hello all,

My name is Phil, I'm 30 and I've been overweight my entire life. I've tried on numerous occasions to lose weight, but I can never seem to stick to a plan. I was married 2 1/2 years ago and now my wife and I have decided that this is the time, let's get serious.

Now, I'm a little more serious than she is as I am obsessed now (Counting calories, etc). I have a very addictive personality and when I get on a kick, I stick with it very hard. My problem is that I either get bored or burnt out and I tend to stop doing said activity completely. This is something that I want to avoid completely, especially since this is my health that we're talking about.

Part of my worry is that my wife doesn't like to eat fish or rice very much, she told me that she doesn't like the idea of eating the same type of food all the time. I don't know if there's anything that I can do to convince her otherwise! She knows that we're doing this for our health, but after so many years of eating like garbage, it's a habit that's hard to break. She is serious, but I don't question her as it makes her upset. I don't want to do this alone and it feels silly, especially if I'm trying to eat well and she's not in to it.

Now, I have concerns for myself, especially since I want to start exercising regularly. I have sports induced asthma (Haven't worked out in at least 12 years so I'm not sure if this is still an issue), I smoke and I have a misshapen T11 vertebrae in my back (Dull constant back pain). I also have poor knees, possibly from being a baseball catcher in High School. Now, I know that I need to talk to my doctor before starting a workout regimen, but this still scares the hell out of me. I worry about blacking out, injuring myself or worse. I do feel though that if I start working out, this will help my issues. Losing weight off my stomach will take the pressure off my back and knees. I do worry about the asthma part, especially with smoking, but I will be quitting smoking as soon as I can replace it with something (exercise).

So that's a start of who I am and my fears :)

Now, the good stuff.

I started this last week weighing in at 268.4 lbs. I have a goal for myself of 185 and I'll see where I can go from there. I'm 5'10" and I have a stocky frame, I think 185 will carry quite well on me especially if I can build muscle around it. I do have a dream of being able to see my abs someday.

I'll keep this updated with what I am eating along with my weigh-ins, I'll start out with my first 5 days of food as that's all I have so far!

Week 1 - Starting weight 268.4lbs

Monday-

1 Can Diet Coke
"Breakfast" - Strawberry Special K Bar
Lunch - Grilled Chicken Sandwich on Wheat with Rice (Chili's)
Snack - Quaker Granola Bar
Dinner - Grilled Chicken Breast w/Mixed Veggies
Snack - 100cal Strawberry Cupcakes

Tuesday-

1 Can - Diet Coke
"Breakfast" - Strawberry Special K Bar
Lunch - (Subway) 6" Tuna Sub on Wheat (Lettuce, Onion, Pickles - Salt/Pepper), Baked Lays
Snack - Quaker Granola Bar
Dinner - Steak and Shrimp (Under 550cal menu at Applebees)
Snack - 10 BBQ Popchips

Wednesday-

1 Can Diet Coke
"Breakfast" - Strawberry Special K Bar
Lunch - Green Salad (Imitation Crab, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Onion, Beets, Light Ranch Dressing)
Snack - Quaker Granola Bar
Dinner - (Chipotle) Steak Burrito Bowl (Rice, Fajita Veg, Mild Salsa, Corn Salsa)

Thursday-

1 Can Diet Coke
"Breakfast" - Strawberry Special K Bar, Cherry Cobbler Light Yoplait Yogurt
Snack - 5 Peanut M&Ms - 100cal Almond pack
Lunch - Green Salad (Gyro Meat, Green Pepper, Tomato, Onion, Green Olives)
Snack - Quaker Granola Bar
Dinner - (Subway) 6" Tuna Sub on Wheat (Lettuce, Onion, Pickles - Salt/Pepper), Baked Lays
Snack - 150cal Mint Chocolate Chip Sundae (SmartOnes), Light Boston Cream Pie Yogurt

Friday-

Breakfast - Light Lemon Cream Pie Yogurt, SmartOnes 220cal Eggs and Ham
Snack - None
Dinner - (BD's Mongolian Grill) Chicken Stir Fry (Chicken, Shrimp, Broccoli, Onion, Mushroom, Egg, Snap Peas, Teriyaki Sauce), Brown Rice
Snack - 100cal Popcorn Bag


So that's where I'm at so far, I know it's not good. It's down quite a bit from the (easily) 4kcal I was doing a day before.

Tips and suggestions are more than welcome, I appreciate you all!
 
Hey Phil, welcome to the board and CONGRATS on your wife and you making the first important step = the decision to do something about it!

In terms of exercise - when you are heavy, and suffering from all the stuff that goes along with it, it seems completely scary and unbelievable that you'll be able to do sport and exercise at some stage in the future - i know...at 240lbs I had problems wheezing up a flight of stairs, I thought an old sports knee injury was never going to let me run or play sports competitively as all it did was hurt, and I got to the point where my feet would really really hurt when I got up in the mornings. Oh and I couldn't wear killer stilleto high heels! Not such a motivating factor for you I'm guessing, but heck it was a big deal for me!! However, I started off with walking, a bit of very breathless running when I'd dropped 30lbs or so, and now I have NONE of the old aches and pains or breathlessness - I can go for an hours run without stopping. Never ever ever would have thought it at the start of this journey, so small steps my friend. Cycling on an exercise bike and swimming are very good ways to start as your body isn't having to do exercise for the first time in ages AND carry its own weight. Walking EVERYWHERE is also a great plan.

Foodwise, as you said, great improvement on 4000cals a day - I'm sure the weight will start to fall off. However, the only thing I'd say immediately (and I'm not great shakes when it comes to balanced diet planning), but your breakfast seems very sparce. I used to skip or eat a little breakfast but now I make sure I have something carb and protein - often a bigger meal than lunch or dinner, and it just sets me up right for the day, stops the mid morning snacking cravings and gives me energy - might be worth rethinking?

Good luck to you both and hope we can offer lots of support on the board.
 
I do need to work on breakfast, that's something that I've always had an issue with as I like my sleep. But, I'm going to attempt to get up earlier now so I can have breakfast.

Today's food-

Breakfast-
Smart Ones Breakfast Sandwich
1/2 cup Skim Cottage Cheese

Lunch-
Wife and I decided since we've had a good week that it was time to spoil ourselves (This won't happen very often).
Orange Chicken w/Fried Rice from Leann Chin (Only ate half)

Snacks-
Chips and Salsa (Baked Scoops and Pace Salsa - Suggested serving size only, 140cal total)
Quaker Granola Bar

Plenty of water as well :)
 
Alright, next update..

So I weighed myself on Monday, 258.0. I was happy with the loss even though I still don't feel like I've lost anything. It's hard to keep motivated when I just feel like I'm still huge, even today I feel like I've gained weight for some reason even though I'm eating well.


Sunday-

Breakfast-
Breakfast Bowl (SmartOnes)
Light Cherry Yogurt

Dinner (Woke up late, so went right to dinner)-
1/2 grilled chicken sandwich, couple sweet potato fries

Snack-
Single serving of Cottage Cheese

Monday-

Breakfast-
Strawberry Special K Bar

Lunch-
Subway - 6" Turkey and Ham (Lettuce, Onion, Banana Pepper and a little Honey Mustard)

Snack-
100 cal Emerald Almonds

Dinner-
Smart Ones Fajita Rollups
Single serving Cottage Cheese
Yogurt for "dessert"

Tuesday-

Breakfast-
Strawberry Special K Bar

Lunch-
We got comped at Toby Keith's Bar and Grill so I had-
1/2 Turkey Club (No cheese, wheat bread) and a little coleslaw

Snack-
100 cal Emerald Almonds

Dinner-
Chipotle (Steak Fajita Bowl - Only Mild and Corn salsa on it)

Wednesday-

Breakfast-
Strawberry Special K Bar

Lunch-
Subway 6" Wheat Turkey and Ham (Lettuce, Onion, Banana Peppers, Honey Mustard) and Baked BBQ Lays

Snack-
100 cal Emerald Almonds

Dinner-
Baked Chicken Breast
Whole Wheat Pasta
Alfredo Sauce (Just a little)
2x Slice of 45cal Wheat Bread (Broiled in oven with a smidge of butter and garlic powder)


Anyways, I don't know what I can do... I feel tired all the time and I definitely feel like I'm not gaining any ground...

Any suggestions?
 
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