Starting at 300lbs/136kgs at 5'8/170cm tall - Tykes weight loss diary

[Tyke]

You're looking smaller already! I understand the impatience and I'm glad you'll be talking to a nurse.

Thankyou. I feel a bit better already, my clothes are slightly looser. Still, a loooong way to go yet.

 

[Skurgeon]

If it’s in your plan I would encourage the resistance training sooner rather than later. All those excess calories on your body can be used for fuel for your weight training.

 

[Tyke]

I am pretty sure I lost muscle as I lost my weight. Been trying to lift weights to build some back, but that is a slow process. I think if I had lost more slowly I would have lost less muscle. Listen to Trusylver, she is an expert on this, I am not.

Now being impatient is something I have real expertise with. All of us feel this way about losing weight and getting into shape, so don't feel along in this one. They way I try to manage it is just to set a goal of doing well today and not think too much about the longer term. If you can do well today the weight will come off.

Oh, and congrats on the great weight loss!

Yeh i will start to do light exercise in the not too distant future and may well increase my cals then. At the moment i'm just not that hungry, if anything i'm forgetting it's meal times rather than being hungry and very eager to eat. I suspect that'll change if i start some exercising.

Yeh i am a little impatient always have been (only with myself - not with others). I get bored quickly....and i really want a silly fast motorbike which i'll reward myself with if i'm successful.

 

[Tyke]

If it’s in your plan I would encourage the resistance training sooner rather than later. All those excess calories on your body can be used for fuel for your weight training.

You're totally correct...i may well buy some equipment in the very near future. I did price up a bench and dumbells just a couple of days ago....i may well pull the trigger. Thanks.

 

[alligatorob]

I will deffo within a few months buy a weights bench and a couple of light dumbells to do some exercises in my yard

From my experience the sooner the better, it will help limit your muscle loss. I did not start weight lifting until I had lost much of my weight, wish I had started sooner.

 

[Cate]

From my experience the sooner the better, it will help limit your muscle loss.

with skurgeon & Rob. I lost muscle mass & doing some strength training as I was losing would have helped with that. I wasn't up to much cardio at my highest weight, but some strength training would have been good. You don't have to go overboard. Just take it slowly.

 

[Tyke]

Hey thanks alligatorob and Cate. I need to free some space in my garage for a bench and dumbells to fit in before buying them. I cant do that this coming week but will do it the week after next so in about 2 weeks i'll be buying the equipment. Only light weights, i only wanna maintain or add a bit of muscle, what i stated earlier in this thread still holds true - i still don't wanna be "muscley", but toned would be great.

When i get my motorbike i want the best combined (me and the bike) power to weight ratio possible lol. Whilst I admire people like Skurgeons muscle mass, it's not something i strive for......not yet anyway lol...i've been down the weight training rabbit hole where whatever gains you make are never enough (they weren't for me anyway), don't really wanna go there again.

 

[Llama]

I was going to say don't worry sbout getting too muscly: that doesn't happen overnight or unintentionally. But if you have a history of obsession over it I understand your concern. One option would be to do a combination of hiking/biking/swimming/rowing to keep all your muscles nice and engaged without the emphasis on strength/bulk. (Careful with longer hikes at first: they'll be hard on the joints at your current weight.)

 

[Trusylver]

toned would be great.

"Toned" as far as building muscle is concerned is just a mis-used marketing buzzword, the toned appearance is a function of fat loss rather than muscle gain. The term “tone” refers to the tension in a muscle.

You highly unlikely to gaining muscle size in calorie deficit, There is a very small window where re-comp actually happens with the science showing 500 kcal · day prevented gains in lean Mass and individuals performing resistance training to preserve lean mass during weight loss should avoid energy deficits >500 kcal day. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/sms.14075

otherwise, starting some level of training is good for general health but it does not need to be resistance training to begin with if you have had problems in the past, simply choose a weight bearing activity you enjoy.

 

[Tyke]

Thanks Llama and Trusylver for the replies. Very interesting info, thx, if exercise just helps minimize muscle loss then it's worth it. I couldn't wait until i've cleared out space in my garage, i've just bought a bench, assorted weights, dumbells and barbell bar, they'll be here in 2 days. I'm really looking forward to doing some (gentle & light especially initially) exercises.

 

[Llama]

Starting out gentle and light is always the right thing to do with exercise. Go you!

 

[Tyke]

Thx Llama i've just done exactly that! 1st bout of exercise, about 15 mins in total, light weight and 12-15 reps (stopped before rep failure), 4 sets per muscle group (biceps and back). I felt out of breath afterwards but i feel that warm glow (endorphins?) that exercise can give. I am so unfit it's unreal, just putting the bench together got me out of breath, i'm in nearly the worst shape of my life (worst was when i started dieting about 5 weeks ago).

 

[Llama]

Awesome! Don't forget to work your legs as well: nice big muscles that help you burn more calories.

 

[Cate]

I am so unfit it's unreal, just putting the bench together got me out of breath, i'm in nearly the worst shape of my life (worst was when i started dieting about 5 weeks ago).

Instead of going on the way you were you have changed things around. Go you!

 

[Tyke]

Llama yes good call, I won't be forgetting my legs, I'll be doing squats tomorrow (today is chest and triceps). Even though i only did a little I am aching from yesterday. I'm just not used to it. With time and patience my body will adapt .

Quite right Cate, i'm on the right path right now, that's what's important, thankyou.

 

[Tyke]

well i've hit a wall in my weight loss so it seems (please see graph). i started doing a little weight training 25th may (diet day 35 on graph) and after that my weight loss has slowed right down, in fact it's more or less stopped. was not expecting that! diet is the same num of max cals per day (about 1000).



surely i can't be adding muscle on <1000 cals day? cals is nearly all from fat and protein. i'm pretty disappointed to see my losses disappear.

 

[Llama]

More importantly you wouldn't gain measurable muscle mass this quickly. More likely you're retaining water from the extra muscle strain. How's your waist looking? How do pants feel? Shirts?

 

[Tyke]

More importantly you wouldn't gain measurable muscle mass this quickly. More likely you're retaining water from the extra muscle strain. How's your waist looking? How do pants feel? Shirts?

ah right ok ty, training itself can make you hold water? didn't know that. pants are down another notch on my belt to 46inch down from 48inch a couple of weeks ago. so that's ok. shirts feel about the same as a couple of weeks ago.

was just not ready for this levelling off of weight loss. but if its from water retention due to exercise then that's not so bad i suppose. i'm gonna keep an eye on my waist measurement, surely as long as that's decreasing then it's fine.

Edit: i've tried to measure my waist with tape....it didn't go too well lol....there is that much belly fat and folds upon folds i couldn't find a good place to measure my waist (my waist is under too much fat). so i've bought body fat calipers which i'll use to measure my upper arm (tricep) fat.

 

[Llama]

As long as your pants keep getting looser you're doing just fine. But I know how frustrating it can be when the scale doesn't show it.

 

[alligatorob]

i've hit a wall in my weight loss so it seems

That is just the way weight loss works, mine does anyway. Comes more in spurts than regular loss on the scale. If you are in a calorie deficit you are losing fat, but water and other things can make a big difference in scale weight. For example I ate and exercised pretty much the same in April and May, lost no weight in April but then 8+ pounds in May. It just happens.

The hard part is accepting it and staying the course. I know you can do it!

As long as your pants keep getting looser you're doing just fine

Llama is right!