Nick's Diary

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MotivatedNick22

MotivatedNick22

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Hi all!
Today officially marks the one-week mark of my journey to lose weight and get fit.
I am an almost 20 year old male and have decided it is time to take control of my health and fitness to not only lead a healthier lifestyle, but to become more comfortable and confident with my body. I have never really been the type to make a point in exercising, however, I am not completely sedentary as I am typically on my feet throughout the day.

How much weight do you want to lose? I'd like to get to around 150lbs.
What is the timeframe for reaching your target weight? Nothing specific, but the sooner the better :)
How do you want to accomplish your goal (what methods do you want to use)? Dieting and working out.
Who or what can support you in reaching your goal? Friends, family, you guys, and Noom.
How realistic is your goal? I am motivated to get there and think I can!
When will you start? I already have.
What obstacles could get between you and your weight loss goals? Not being able to go to a gym due to lockdowns.

Last Monday, I weighed in at 178.4lbs and this morning, weighed in at 174.2lbs. My lowest weight throughout this week was 172.4lbs, but I understand that the weight will be changing from day to day. I am 5'9".

I have been using the free trial of the Noom program and have found it quite helpful in eating healthier and staying motivated to workout a little bit each day.
My main goals are to get to a healthier weight and to lose the excess fat I have around my body, specifically my belly fat, excess fat on my chest (man boobs), and the love handles.

I plan to update here at least once a week.

Please feel free to leave any of your own advice, inspiration, success, or anything you feel would be relevant to this journey.

Thank you and I can't wait to chat with you and see where this goes!!
-Nick
 
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Welcome to the diary section of the forum, Nick. What you eat is most important for weight-loss, but exercise makes you feel better about yourself. I think you are off to a great start!
 
Hey Nick, welcome to the forum!

I understand your frustration with the current gym situation, what can you do at home? Walking can be good exercise, and I have been doing a kind of makeshift home workout. There should be something. And as Cate says what you eat is most important for weight loss.

I am looking forward to following your progress!
 
Hey alligatorob and aiminglow!
Really nice to meet you!
I do have a treadmill at home and have been using that everyday as well as going on walks. I've also started some workouts without weights like crunches, leg lifts, lunges, etc.
And aiminglow, I can't wait to work on making it to the 160s together! :)
 
Looks like you´re making the best of a bad situation. That´s great! It´s also what´ll get you to your goal weight :)
 
Hi all!
This morning I weighed in and it seems like I am stabilizing at around 174.2lbs, which is okay! It's going to take time to actually get to the number I want.
Last night, I found some High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workouts and made a workout calendar to keep me on track while being stuck at home. I really wish I was able to go to the gym right now, but I will make do with what I have!
The only downside to this dieting and exercising is that I've found myself feeling hungry much more often than before. I can eat my lunch or dinner and start feeling hungry again maybe 30 minutes after. On top of that, it's difficult because I've already reached my calorie limits for those meals. Any tips on what to eat that will be filling but not hurting my diet?
 
Hey Nick, sounds like you are off to a great start. On weighing I do it every day, it has taught me how much up and down to expect, and it can be a lot. 2 to 4 lbs is not unusual. What matters is the trend, and eating right will make the trend down. What I call my "official" weight is a kind of 3 day rolling average I post once a week. It helps take some, but not all of the variability out of things. You will figure it out, I am sure.
MotivatedNick22 said:
The only downside to this dieting and exercising is that I've found myself feeling hungry much more often than before
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I will give you my non-expert opinion on this, its based on my own experience, nothing more. Some of that is your body adjusting to a new normal, that should not last too long, a few weeks at most. There are some things you can do to help, here are some I do:
  • Eat frequent low calorie snacks, these need to be planned into your calorie intake but can really help.
  • Eat more foods that are bulky and filling but low calorie. I eat a lot of lettuce and broccoli, other vegetables work as well. Over the past 11 months I have learned what foods do a better job of making me feel full.
  • I put a lot of hot sauce on much of my food. I find this kind of numbs my stomach and makes it feel fuller. There appears to be some scientific basis for this. My favorite is Tabasco, but others work well also and cost less. I usually use a cayenne pepper based liquid sauce.
  • Sometimes I find exercising when I feel hungry helps, but I don't exercise on an empty stomach.
Best of luck with it, you will figure things out, it just takes a little time.
 
Lots of veggies, mostly non-starchy varieties. Starting your meals with a low-cal veggie soup (preferably blended) or large salad (with low-cal or no dressing) can really help you to feel full quickly and to stay full longer. Plus of course making sure your main course has both protein and fat.
 
I would definitely make sure each meal has protein & healthy fat. Do you like avocados? I eat lots of veggies, but not much of the starchy stuff.
 
Today was an okay day!
Fitness and health wise, I feel I did a really good job. However, I am starting to feel the emotional tolls of quarantine and uncertainty surrounding the events around the world.
I used the treadmill for 40 minutes to follow a HIIT workout that consisted of a 3 minute warm-up and then alternating between 2 minute intervals of speed-walking at 4.0mph and jogging at 6.0mph. I also stayed under my calorie budget and made some really healthy choices for meals. My family wanted to order out tonight, but I went with a healthy option and had the grilled chicken sandwich.
I am definitely still in the learning process, but it feels great to be eating healthy and staying active.
As a way of motivation, I signed up for a run-a-thon to raise money for the American Diabetes Association since both my father and uncle have been diagnosed with the illness. It's really nice since I can go at my own pace and just need to run/walk/bike 250 miles before May 31. Some of our family and friends have made small pledges as support and that is really keeping me motivated as well!
That's basically it for today!
Stay safe and healthy friends!
 
I think we all get down days in this strange time but for me staying active really helps so that run-a-thon sounds like a great idea to me. Diabetes is no joke and knowing it runs in your family makes your current choices and changes even more important.
 
LaMaria said:
I think we all get down days in this strange time but for me staying active really helps so that run-a-thon sounds like a great idea to me. Diabetes is no joke and knowing it runs in your family makes your current choices and changes even more important.
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Exactly! They were both diagnosed later in life so I am hoping that by taking this opportunity, I can avoid it and be able to lead a healthy life! :D
 
MotivatedNick22 said:
However, I am starting to feel the emotional tolls of quarantine and uncertainty surrounding the events around the world.
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I think most of us are, Nick.
It would be good to come out the other end of this healthier than when it all started though. How is your hunger, Nick? Have you increased your protein a little?
 
Cate said:
I think most of us are, Nick.
It would be good to come out the other end of this healthier than when it all started though. How is your hunger, Nick? Have you increased your protein a little?
Click to expand...

I agree! And my hunger has been getting better. I have been trying to eat more higher protein foods, but it is difficult given our limited ability to go to the supermarket. I think my body is also adapting to eating a little lighter as well as the increase in exercise.
 
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