The time is nigh!

[Zirkus]

My name is Randal and i am finally going to do this once and for all. I am currently 19 and at 240lbs, which i have never really had a problem with my weight. Ive slowly gained weight since a major breakup i had a little over 1 1/2 years ago. I just haven't really wanted to do anything after that, but lately i have been serious about getting in shape... preferably not round being the shape. What caused this was going on vacation with my family. At our hotel my family wanted to swimming, my trunks from last year that i had brought assuming they would fit, not even close. Went shopping and i can barely fit in a 38 now, and i refuse to go to a 40. I put all my clothing back and just went and sat in my car for a few thinking. I later went to the pool in my new trunks and just felt like Moby Dick the whole time and left after 15 minutes. My mother and father are both way over-weight which doesn't help me because i always just think of it as, "Hey, i'm a lot smaller than them.", which is definitely not how it should go.

I have a huge love of food. More than food, i love flavor. I can eat so much food without getting the slightest feeling of being full that it worries me anymore. I go out to eat with friends and ill be done well before anyone else finishes half and then i end up finishing what they don't want. Soft drinks are also my soft spot, especially Dr. Pepper, so that's killing me slowly as well. If i had worked out a day before the beginning of this week it was because i did it on accident. So this is where me being out of shape ends, and where me being able to not feel horrible about myself begins.

I do not have a major goal set at the moment. I would LOVE to hit 185 before the end of this year, but would be happy with anything under 200. As far as adjusting my diet for losing weight i just plan on halving the amount i eat. To supplement that change though i'm also going to cut out binging on two meals a day and do a few meals a day. Fast food, GONE. I know fast food is like throwing gas on a fire for fat, i am going to cook everything i eat from now until i feel i have a handle on this, except for special dinner occasions. Soft drinks are going to be saved for meals. I can drink water all day long, but when it comes to drinking it with food it makes me feel sick. Cutting down from a 2liter every two days to maybe 1 cup a day is a huge cut.

Athletically i for some reason am very good. I tend to be stronger than all my friends that workout regularly, and my friends that weigh similar to my weight tend to be rather flabbier than i am. I have the P90X set which i dabbled in once before for like a week. I was recently given Insanity which i was really happy about. Everyone i asked said that doing Insanity once a day made them sore and was as much as they could handle. I did a few last week just messing with the idea of getting in shape and was dripping with sweat at the end but i knew that i could easily do more. So i have decided to supplement in the upper body portions of P90X in everyday with the Insanity workout. I am not doing the leg sections of P90X as Insanity is very leg heavy and that would be too much in one area. I did this combo for the past two days and i really don't see this being an issue. I'm just the right amount of exhausted at the end of my set and excited to do it again and feel the burn the next day.

I feel that doing this level of exercise i should easily be able to make my goal of cutting weight. After i get to around 185, if i look like i want to size wise i will then start working on muscle size and growth. Keeping this updated on a daily basis will IMMENSELY help me keep on track and keep me going. I know i type a lot, but i just don't let my discontent out to my friends and family and this is my first time really talking/writing about it.

I put in some pictures i took Tuesday just to give a baseline for my size. I am a rather large fellow even if you take away the weight. Not tall, 5"11' but i am very bulky. If you notice i have those lovely stretch marks on my side that are just so appealing. I hope losing weight helps those dissipate as well. Any criticism/encouragement is appreciated <3

 

[JanaNanner]

My name is Randal and i am finally going to do this once and for all. I am currently 19 and at 240lbs, which i have never really had a problem with my weight. Ive slowly gained weight since a major breakup i had a little over 1 1/2 years ago. I just haven't really wanted to do anything after that, but lately i have been serious about getting in shape... preferably not round being the shape. What caused this was going on vacation with my family. At our hotel my family wanted to swimming, my trunks from last year that i had brought assuming they would fit, not even close. Went shopping and i can barely fit in a 38 now, and i refuse to go to a 40. I put all my clothing back and just went and sat in my car for a few thinking. I later went to the pool in my new trunks and just felt like Moby Dick the whole time and left after 15 minutes. My mother and father are both way over-weight which doesn't help me because i always just think of it as, "Hey, i'm a lot smaller than them.", which is definitely not how it should go.

I have a huge love of food. More than food, i love flavor. I can eat so much food without getting the slightest feeling of being full that it worries me anymore. I go out to eat with friends and ill be done well before anyone else finishes half and then i end up finishing what they don't want. Soft drinks are also my soft spot, especially Dr. Pepper, so that's killing me slowly as well. If i had worked out a day before the beginning of this week it was because i did it on accident. So this is where me being out of shape ends, and where me being able to not feel horrible about myself begins.

I do not have a major goal set at the moment. I would LOVE to hit 185 before the end of this year, but would be happy with anything under 200. As far as adjusting my diet for losing weight i just plan on halving the amount i eat. To supplement that change though i'm also going to cut out binging on two meals a day and do a few meals a day. Fast food, GONE. I know fast food is like throwing gas on a fire for fat, i am going to cook everything i eat from now until i feel i have a handle on this, except for special dinner occasions. Soft drinks are going to be saved for meals. I can drink water all day long, but when it comes to drinking it with food it makes me feel sick. Cutting down from a 2liter every two days to maybe 1 cup a day is a huge cut.

Athletically i for some reason am very good. I tend to be stronger than all my friends that workout regularly, and my friends that weigh similar to my weight tend to be rather flabbier than i am. I have the P90X set which i dabbled in once before for like a week. I was recently given Insanity which i was really happy about. Everyone i asked said that doing Insanity once a day made them sore and was as much as they could handle. I did a few last week just messing with the idea of getting in shape and was dripping with sweat at the end but i knew that i could easily do more. So i have decided to supplement in the upper body portions of P90X in everyday with the Insanity workout. I am not doing the leg sections of P90X as Insanity is very leg heavy and that would be too much in one area. I did this combo for the past two days and i really don't see this being an issue. I'm just the right amount of exhausted at the end of my set and excited to do it again and feel the burn the next day.

I feel that doing this level of exercise i should easily be able to make my goal of cutting weight. After i get to around 185, if i look like i want to size wise i will then start working on muscle size and growth. Keeping this updated on a daily basis will IMMENSELY help me keep on track and keep me going. I know i type a lot, but i just don't let my discontent out to my friends and family and this is my first time really talking/writing about it.

I put in some pictures i took Tuesday just to give a baseline for my size. I am a rather large fellow even if you take away the weight. Not tall, 5"11' but i am very bulky. If you notice i have those lovely stretch marks on my side that are just so appealing. I hope losing weight helps those dissipate as well. Any criticism/encouragement is appreciated <3

Hi there. Good job on making the decision to do this.

I read an article yesterday about how obesity is a socially contagious disease. Poor health choices in a social circle can spread and if one person is overweight in that circle, the others in it are more likely to be overweight and they think "Ah, I'm not as big as XYZ, so I'm okay." However, it works the other way around, as well. If you are an example to your circle of family and friends of healthy eating choices, you can influence those you know and care about to do the same. I'm proof of that. Since I started this, my Dad has lost 5 lbs without even trying just because he's been eating healthier too. We used to have pizza together every week and now he doesn't because I don't. So by doing this for yourself, you could also be doing your parents a big favor, as well.

I also wanted to make a suggestion as far as eating out for special occasions goes. Eating out on special occasions is fine if it is not done too often, but even sparingly it can be dangerous. Restaurant food is so, so incredibly unhealthy because health is cast aside in favor of flavor. One way I have found to make the best eating decisions possible is to only go to restaurants that post nutritional information on their website (and most chain restaurants do in the US, at least). I can make healthy choices ahead of time regarding what I am going to eat and not pick and choose blindly with only the menu and tempting pictures to guide me.

Good luck. You can do it.

 

[Zirkus]

Since I started this, my Dad has lost 5 lbs without even trying just because he's been eating healthier too. We used to have pizza together every week and now he doesn't because I don't. So by doing this for yourself, you could also be doing your parents a big favor, as well.

Thank you for chiming in! My parents have been trying to diet for about a month now. Both suffer from various health problems so its harder for them and thats another factor im trying to avoid. However i have inspired a few friends to start this working out as well. Making it a competition type thing i know will make a few of them go at it harder than if they just did it alone.

 

[Flumes]

Congrats on a fresh start!

Heres some suggestions. Find how many calories you need for your BMR.

BMR Calculator - Basal Metabolic Rate - Lean Body Mass - Caoloric Needs - Fitness: Exercises, Fitness & Nutrition, and Fitness Articles - Fitness: Exercises, Fitness & Nutrition, and Fitness Articles

Now to lose 1 pound a week, you need to cut 500 calories a day from your BMR. For 2 pounds, you need to cut 1000 calories from your BMR.

Next...your weight loss isn't going to happen overnight. Most failures is dieting come from high expectations. Especially after losing 10 lbs in the first few weeks....then it gets harder as your body becomes more efficient at not wasting fat/calories.

Lastly....exercise is great....but don't get overwhelmed by it. Dieting is going to be the biggest factor in your weight loss. Exercise will help, but it is alot easier to not eat a Snickers bar than run on a treadmill for 1/2 hour. Concentrate on getting your calories under control first...then put the icing on the cake so to speak with exercise.


Good luck and wish you all the best on your journey. Keep posting your progress!

Take care

 

[Zirkus]

Now to lose 1 pound a week, you need to cut 500 calories a day from your BMR. For 2 pounds, you need to cut 1000 calories from your BMR.

Next...your weight loss isn't going to happen overnight. Most failures is dieting come from high expectations. Especially after losing 10 lbs in the first few weeks....then it gets harder as your body becomes more efficient at not wasting fat/calories.

Lastly....exercise is great....but don't get overwhelmed by it. Dieting is going to be the biggest factor in your weight loss. Exercise will help, but it is alot easier to not eat a Snickers bar than run on a treadmill for 1/2 hour. Concentrate on getting your calories under control first...then put the icing on the cake so to speak with exercise.


Good luck and wish you all the best on your journey. Keep posting your progress!

Take care

Thank you for the link!

Yeah, i assumed it to go rather quickly at first and steadily drop off on how much i lose in a given time frame.

Food is definitely going to be my enemy in this quest to lose weight. I should be able to easily get this under control though. I am an avid cook and love trying new things, so new healthy recipes are very welcome in my cookbook. The exercise i am just going to stick to the P90X/Insanity mash-up that i have going so that i can just use the calendar given to me which gives me more time to make sure i keep my diet in order.

Thank you for your helpful words! Doing this and getting under 200-190 would definitely be the best Christmas present i could give myself.

 

[JanaNanner]

Thank you for the link!

Yeah, i assumed it to go rather quickly at first and steadily drop off on how much i lose in a given time frame.

Food is definitely going to be my enemy in this quest to lose weight. I should be able to easily get this under control though. I am an avid cook and love trying new things, so new healthy recipes are very welcome in my cookbook. The exercise i am just going to stick to the P90X/Insanity mash-up that i have going so that i can just use the calendar given to me which gives me more time to make sure i keep my diet in order.

Thank you for your helpful words! Doing this and getting under 200-190 would definitely be the best Christmas present i could give myself.

Ever since I began, I've really, really loved discovering new recipes and I've even been cooking so much more because of it. That's one of the really great, fun things about this... cooking new and surprisingly tasty, healthy meals. I really enjoy it.

Actually, I think that I've managed to turn food into my friend and it was much more so my enemy before I fully understood how it could hurt me.

 

[Zirkus]

Getting ready to do the Pure Cardio segment of Insanity and then go straight into P90X Ab Ripper X. Just doubted i would be back on tonight and not posting the first day i make this would not be starting a good habit.

Edit: Finished my Insanity workout and i must say that it's not my muscles im worried about being sore on this program, its my feet. My arches are burning and in pain by the twenty minute mark of the 45 minute videos. I must look into getting some shoes that negate this problem. Although a friend suggested i try doing them without shoes for a couple weeks and the pain should go away which i find reasonable to believe. I guess if i were my feet and had 240lbs which is increased exponentially when landing on me id hurt too. Now on to P90X. Going to do an arm section instead of abs. Upset stomach does not agree with ab workout.

 

[Zirkus]

Just ate what i am going to make my last junk food until Christmas morning where i shall indulge in bacon. That is if i make my desired weight area. Oh, Digiorno self-rising crust pizza how i will miss you for a bit, im sure i wont care for you by the time i am done. Off to the store today when they open to buy some fruit and such. Doing Ab Ripper X in 8-9 hours. One of the few videos i have done before and i am ready for the burn >=D

 

[Mrs.JohnMayer]

Digiorno pizza...Haha!

I'm Kristi, just read through a few of your entries and thought I'd say hey! I'm also one of the younger ones here (20), and I like to hear from people my age, so I thought you might feel the same! Any way, good luck with your weight loss! Keep up the lighthearted attitude!

 

[Zirkus]

Did chest and back of P90X and the Ab Ripper X after. Did not have the ability today to do Insanity because my room is too small to do some of the movements, and my sister has friends over so i can't use the living room. Overall i still got a crazy good workout. I noticed yesterday around 1pm that i had gained 4-5lbs since the last time i weighed. I thought it might be due from almost tripling my water intake everyday recently and what i found suggests that is highly possible. I went from drinking maybe 3pints of water a day. For the last 2 days i know ive drank at least 10pints and yesterday i greatly passed that. So we shall see how that goes. Peanut butter sandwich on wholewheat, and then a banana was all i had today. I just haven't been hungry really.

Digiorno pizza...Haha!

I'm Kristi, just read through a few of your entries and thought I'd say hey! I'm also one of the younger ones here (20), and I like to hear from people my age, so I thought you might feel the same! Any way, good luck with your weight loss! Keep up the lighthearted attitude!

Haha, well its nice to meet you Kristi! It's very nice to hear from people around my age as well, i'll be sure to keep an eye on your diary as well. Thank you for the kind words and i hope your journey is going just as well.

 

[jjjay]

Hey Randal, I'm Jay - great to see you here and congrats on making the hardest step - sitting down and thinking I SERIOUSLY WANT TO CHANGE THIS. That's the biggest battle done. The rest is hard work, but doable.

A couple of things that really worked for me. I never ever drink normal soft drinks/pop anymore - seriously, these things are like calories in a can. I couldn't believe how many calories I was consuming when I worked out how many times a week I'd have a can of coke or free refills in a restaurant - why do it when there are diet versions of so many of the brands out there. Ok, so they taste slightly different, but you get used to, ok so the artificial sweeteners aren't the best thing in the world, but its a step in a right direction. I am now to the point where I don't drink THAT many diet-soft drinks either but its taken a while.

Preparation is the key - either cook your own stuff, take a pack lunch out or have some reliable "low cal/low fat subsititutes" that you know you can pick up easily - i.e. for me, subway is always a port of call, and of the places that I usually go to eat with friends (Nandos, Wagamamas etc...) I have looked up what I think some of the options are calorie wise so I can make the right choices when I'm there - not always ideal choices, so stuff there is still a treat, but far better than I would have done a year ago. All too often I'd end up going "oh well I'm out and its meal time and I can't do anythign convenient other than pop into Burger King or McDonalds....not my fault"


Plus, look at what you are eating during the day - rather than starve, try and get a healthy balance. There's loads of theory as to whether massively dropping calorie levels helps or hinders weight loss and I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ANY OF THEM! hahaha what I do know is that I was struggling on like 1200 cals a day and not losing weight, then I upped it to 1400-1500 and threw in some extra protein, and found it easier - more energy for exercise etc... I suppose my point is, looking back on a day and realising you've just eaten one meal cos you weren't hungry, isn't a long term lifestyle plan And this has to be for long term (I learnt that one the hard way last time I lost some weight).

Anyhows, guess I'm rambling on here. One last thing I wanted to add, because I am the resident flirt around here - I think you are going to look REAL FIIIIIIINE when you get to your goal - you have a great face structure.

 

[Zirkus]

Couldn't get to sleep till around 4am but when i did it turned out to be a very good deep sleep. Slept till around 10:30am, then ate a banana and drank a glass of apple juice. Did some p90x to wake myself up. Around 3pm i'm going to do my insanity workout for the day, and going to have a veggie burger before i go out and have some fun tonight. My friends love weight lifting when we drink so ill probably get a good bi,tri, and delt workout in tonight as well. Taking an apple and grapes for when i need a snack so i don't feel tempted by beer bratwurst or chips.

Anyhows, guess I'm rambling on here. One last thing I wanted to add, because I am the resident flirt around here - I think you are going to look REAL FIIIIIIINE when you get to your goal - you have a great face structure.

Haha, thank you <3 I haven't been anywhere near what i consider "in shape" since 8th grade so i cant wait to see how the lost weight affects my appearance. Hope you have a wonderful day! ^_^

 

[Zirkus]

Sick today which killed my good eating for today. I had nothing here and i have not enough energy to go to the store so i had to eat a taco. I put all those nasty vegetables on it even though i hate vegetables. Oh well, going to try and workout later to help counteract that bad meal but until then im going to lay here and feel like death.

 

[Zirkus]

Really been going at it. I exercised yesterday till my body felt like i had people constantly smacking me with nerf bats. Was good to do strenuous work again. Slept from 7am-12pm woke up feeling amazing did more workouts, ate a salad, washed my dog which should be considered a workout. She doesn't like getting her beard wet, which is funny. Down to 234 on the dot. That was after i ate dinner of brown rice and baked chicken, so may be a tiny bit lower. Tomorrow is going to be one week, so its nice to already see just the beginning. Convinced my aunt to start losing weight with me. She had a kid a couple years ago and always talks about getting back in shape so i am her motivator.

 

[Zirkus]

Well, today is day 7 of losing weight andddd to be honest i can't tell you how much i lost. Not because im ashamed, but because my scale decided to go on the fritz yesterday. Ill get on it and itll read 234.6, step off and back on, 236.2, off and back on 234.0, off and on i kept getting rather varying results. In my guess however im set on that im around 234 seeing as thats what it was reading before it went crazy. Owell. 5lbs is a decent start. More so since im really new and struggling with this whole eating healthy stuff. Im holding strong and just going to keep going. Now off to the store to buy health food for this week.

 

[Zirkus]

8/55lbs down. Stretch marks on my arms and sides are going away so visible changes are present as well. waiting till i have 3weeks down to post any other pictures though. Just glad to be getting smaller.

 

[jjjay]

Congrats on the 8lbs!! Must be great to start seeing some physical changes - the motivation ball really gets moving when that happens and you gather momentum with being commited to the eating and exercise. Looking forward to the GREAT progress pics in three weeks.

 

[Zirkus]

Been tough the past couple of days. Ive been sick, tired, and just overall blah. Soldiering on though. Just stepped on the scale and it says 234.2 but i am not trusting the scale that i currently have as it seems to have a mind of its own. I ran a mile today despite cough my lungs out. Did my p90x just before that. I've been dealing with some psychological turmoil, but i would rather just keep that on the inside.

I have our families annual decoration about an hour from where i live. We usually go out to eat after, but thankfully i have grown to like salads over the past month. Hope anyone who reads this is having success with their journey to losing weight as well.

 

[jjjay]

Hey Zirkus, sorry to hear that you have been goign through some stuff - no need to spill it all on here if you don't want to, but wanted to say that making such a big change in your life and deciding to lost weight often seems to co-incide with some shit going on - either bizarrely co-incidental or giving you the push to do it all. Ithink I emabrked upon it all sub-consciously becuase my mum was diagnosed with cancer (thankfully all clear now)...and life felt too short to mess up my body like I was....consciously I'll tell you its because I met a guy I wanted to impress!!

Hope the eating out goes well and you get the chance to make some good choices about what you eat...if not..then tomorrow is another day

 

[Zirkus]

Hey Zirkus, sorry to hear that you have been goign through some stuff - no need to spill it all on here if you don't want to, but wanted to say that making such a big change in your life and deciding to lost weight often seems to co-incide with some shit going on - either bizarrely co-incidental or giving you the push to do it all. Ithink I emabrked upon it all sub-consciously becuase my mum was diagnosed with cancer (thankfully all clear now)...and life felt too short to mess up my body like I was....consciously I'll tell you its because I met a guy I wanted to impress!!

Hope the eating out goes well and you get the chance to make some good choices about what you eat...if not..then tomorrow is another day

I don't really mind posting stuff like that seeing as i am pretty much an open book, but i thought i would save the boring read. I've just been off and on depression meds for the past ~1 1/2 years and it's just not been a fun trip. Owell, guess that's what i get for ruining what i had, and to be honest i just miss her. Yup its over a girl, like every lame sappy movie.

So i cant sleep. Im starving but its 4am and i dont want to eat till later. All i ate yesterday was a grilled chicken salad and a yogurt, with water all day. May go grab an apple to suppress me for a bit. Guess i am going to find something to do, to get my mind of things before everyone wakes up.