Time to finally get this done

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ManofWar55

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I've never really considered doing something like this, but I figured now was as good a time as any. I am 18. I've been big all of my life; almost since coming from the womb. I've tried so hard all my life to lose weight with diet, exercise, and all that jazz, but I could just never get it off. I was hoping some of you could help.

First I'll tell you a bit about myself I guess. The most important thing about me is probably that I love music. I am a singer/songwriter, and playing music has been one of the most important things in my life. I am constantly listening to music, singing, and generally enjoying life.

More about my weight...this summer I decided to get serious about losing. I started running with a friend everyday, managed to get up to 4 miles total (about 3/4 jogging, 1/4 walking), but didn't lost a whole lotta weight. I have been on a "diet" since I can remember, but I feel like maybe I'm dieting with the wrong things. Some real motivation would always be great as well.

I guess I'm not exactly sure what I should be eating and staying away from (minus the obvious stuff like staying away from fried foods and eating vegetables), so any help there would be great. I'd really like to lose most of the weight with dieting. I run about 1.2 miles three days and week and do 125 crunches and about 50 pushups everyday.


I honestly don't care about a specific "number" to which I'd like to get down, I just want to look better, feel better, and have more confidence in myself. Hopefully you guys can help!
 
Sure. Um, it might help if we knew your height. I'm assuming you're a student (either HS or Freshman in college), do you work part time? I'm assuming you're male based on your screen name, but you could be a sea creature or a champion race horse. :)

The easiest way to lose weight on a diet is to track your food in some way. Counting calories tends to be the preferred method, because it sometimes its easier following a hard and fast rule rather than trying to guess at how your diet is working. But there are other ways too.

I'm a big believer of losing weight by eating what you like to eat, but less of it.
 
MrVee said:
Sure. Um, it might help if we knew your height. I'm assuming you're a student (either HS or Freshman in college), do you work part time? I'm assuming you're male based on your screen name, but you could be a sea creature or a champion race horse. :)

The easiest way to lose weight on a diet is to track your food in some way. Counting calories tends to be the preferred method, because it sometimes its easier following a hard and fast rule rather than trying to guess at how your diet is working. But there are other ways too.

I'm a big believer of losing weight by eating what you like to eat, but less of it.
Click to expand...

I'm about 6'3. I'd honestly like to drop about 100 pounds. I'm around 320 right now, I carry it well, as I used to be very into sports and stuff, but I'd like to drop it off. I am a Freshman in college now at Penn State. I think it would be better for me to have a set diet of dos and don'ts with food rather than the whole "smaller portions of whatever I want".
 
Hi Manofwar ,

I'm glad to see that you decided to get serious about your weight now- ...not fooling around & struggling with it until middle-age like I did ( I am 51 & finally on the right road now)...

- I'm glad you found this site - great place - there is so much excellent information here - and most is un-biased, no-hype , just everyday folks sharing their own success(and failures)- you will learn lots here, & get much support and sharing. :)

Calorie restriction is a good and effective way to lose, but also do keep up your exercise ( helps to maintain muscle mass and keep up metabolism while on reduced calories & trying to lose weight) ( losing just with exercise is really tuff - you'd have to work out an awful lot to get loss with just exercise - it is a good choice to lose with diet...and keep some exercise going as add-on calorie burn,metabolism boost, muscle preservation).

For a daily calorie total to go for-- you can try this on-line calculator :

... you enter your age, activity level you'd like to do , how quickly you'd like to lose the weight - and it gives you a daily calorie goal/exercise level for achieving your loss.- I did this calculator - (it's actually MrVee that recommended it) (smart guy) ....and the daily calorie/exercise goal it gives me ( 1,400cals+60mins exercise) does work ! (when I stick to it - ....but ...often life gets busy & I get lax on the cals sometimes... but the math/plan does works if you stick to it ! )...

- for food - there are a lot of different approaches to try and reduce/control calories - some folks have success cutting out all sugar items ( baking, pop ) , some cut-out processed foods ( chips, fast-food ) , some cut-out high- fat food ( fries , burgers etc.)- , some increase/set goal of lots of fresh fruit/veggies ( if you are full of celery and apples)-don't have as much room for fries and burgers... basically - cutting out any group of food-type will help reduce your daily calories - as you are eliminating some food choice options.

- Dr.Katahn's rotation diet is a good book on healthy choice/low fat/low cal foods - while the foods he recommends are good choices,the calorie amounts on his plan are really low - most folks do find they end up following the types of food he recommends, but increasing the serving sizes ( to a calorie total closer to the IBM body weight simulator.)

- I don't know if you have access to a dietician or nutritionist there on campus- but if student health has access to dieticians - likely worth a visit with them - they can give you lots of ideas for weight-loss/ healthy eating food choices.

- one further thing I have used - recordings I bought on-line - Dr.Roberta Temes - Enjoying weight loss - I have found a big part of understanding my weight issue is not just about the food choices, but getting my head around why I crave all the bad stuff , and why some folks don't seem to have any issues at all with weight, while some of us really have to work hard Not to gain... her recordings are labelled "hypnosis.... I was a bit leary about that- but I find they are just relaxing 15-20minute recordings - with positive reinforcement for healthy eating & healthy self-insight into eating behavior.- at any rate, they helped me.

- another good resource- Fat2Fit Radio - these are podcasts (on-line) - some are free, some you need to pay for - 2 guys with tons of advice/and experience on weight loss ( including their own loss)- they have really practical, no-hype advice , ideas, resources... I downloaded their talks ( most are about 30mins. long ) & listen to them while on my walks or treadmill - good info - helps inspire & keep ya on the weight-loss track.

- myself - I have cut-out most sugar from my diet - no baked goods, no pop ( diet or sugar- it's just too full of calories & chemicals- not good for anyone)(missed em for the first few days- now -no problem- I just go for an apple when I start thinking about a cookie ) , pretty limited booze - maybe 1 drink a week( if that) (alcohol can really mess with metabolism-slow weight loss), I try to avoid fast-food- if I'm in a hurry- I go for something NOT deep-fried - ie. subway sandwhich (not fries, not kentucy chick etc) , coffees- I love Starbucks-but those "flavored" coffees are full of sugar, fat , calories - so I enjoy my coffee more "traditional" these days...just good coffee with only a bit of cream/milk - NO flavours, No whip cream etc- .I try NOT to have any bad foods in my house - so my grocery shopping is all fresh veg, fresh fruit, lean meats, cheese,dairy ...if it's not in the house - I'm not tempted- that way-when late nite munchies hit -and no potatoe chips in the house - you are stuck having an apple...and , eventually- you get to actually prefer and like the apples - and not really miss the chips...
- my loss has been pretty slow ( 16lbs. over 4 months)...but I am middle-age .& female..ladies & older folks tend to lose slower, and I am finding the 1,400cals day/1hr exercise is achieveable for me on most days...and something that I can live with , ....you are much younger, male , and sounds like fairly good muscle - so you should be able to lose a lot more than my 1 pound / week - a goal of 1-2 pounds loss/week is fairly achievable and healthy - anything faster than that is not too great for a person health-wise.

- one thing that did suprise me as I started making these healthy choices was the mental "lift" I felt with finally doing something good for myself , I didn't realize how much guilt I was carrying everyday- eating junk food that I knew really wasn't good for me...it really DOES feel good to chose an apple over Fries - that "happy" from fries only lasts about 5 minutes--- but the "happy" from the apple you had stays with you - and everytime the scale shows a lower number - you know U did what was really right for you.... nothing can beat that feeling- ...

..and remember -(as another member on this site is always reminding me)..... it's a Journey- not a RACE - the fast "fixes" usually end up in failure- a person just can't stick to them long-term- better to take a more moderate approach- lose the weight slow but steady, learn good habits that you can keep up for your lifetime & get healthy - cruising on a good-road to success - :driving:

cheers,
maryann C. View attachment 19324
 
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Well, I'd say 2500 calories is about right for you (depending on how much exercise you're getting). You're young and tall and so you're going to burn calories, though everyone is different in that regard. But 2500 is enough of a deficit where you'll lose weight regardless, it's just a matter of how fast.

Now if you don't want to count calories, and many folks don't, it becomes a little tricky and it requires a little extra discipline. As a general rule, proteins and fats satiate hunger and carbs feed it, but carbs also provide energy and fiber carbs do any number of good things. Carbs also tend to have a number of nutrients that you have to work hard to find in other ways.

The big way people who don't count calories try and attack it is by eating lots of lean proteins like skinless chicken breasts and some cuts of pork and eggs, and complex carbohydrates like fruits and vegetables and whole grains. The reason for this is that supposedly you feel much fuller on fewer calories when you eat stuff like this, than when you eat lots of sugars. I found such an approach too restrictive for me, but everyone's different.

Step number one is probably that if you're eating french fries or bags of chips regularly, you need to stop. Those specifically are calorie factory number 1. Next to watch out for are calories by drinking them: non-diet sodas or beers (which you being 18 wouldn't even know how to get). You can do it, but only very moderately (no more than three cans a day and even that might be too much). After that it's a little more tricky.
 
Thanks a lot for the tips guys. I'm honestly not getting a ton of exercise. I walk about 2 miles a day just by getting to and from classes (I looked it up for shits and giggles one time) and I do 125 crunches and 50 pushups, but that's about all I have time to do.

I don't eat that badly I don't think. No fried foods, no chips or anything like that, no fast food, etc. I think I just eat too much of things that are okay in smaller portions. The calorie counter is actually going to help me out a lot I think, as it's good to have a cap. Thanks a lot for all the help.

I'm really glad I found this site too, seems like a great resource.
 
You may need an applet or something. Anyway the 2500 I came up with was from that simulator anyway. It gives that number for losing 100 pounds in 365 days.

And Maryannc, thanks for the compliment, but I guess if I was really smart I wouldn't have let myself weigh 375 pounds. :)
 
Hi ManofWar- glad you found some of the tips helpful,

for the Body wt simulator- sorry it's not co-operating for ya .... I tried the open-page just now-
it does require Java and ok for the applet.. (.see below the prompts from the opening page on the site)- I find once I clicked "OK" when asked if ok to run...it worked for me- but software/PCs /firewalls so complicated these days...& I am definately NOt very computer saavy... hope you have luck...it is a neat tool...if no luck - there are also Basal metabolic caculators here on the WLF site( under Forum-5th section down- Miscellaneous- 4th item- tools & calculators ... BMR - that will also give you a calorie amount for weight maintenance and eating anything below that = weight loss....

- huh...I also spotted a "Comics" box(2nd menu-bar down on the tools page)( this link has some cute weight-loss & exercise cartoons - ...I've been on this site for 4+ months & just noticed it now...funny.... this site is huge... )

~ Happy "LOSING" dude !! :hat: ...welcome !

The first time the simulator is launched on your computer, your web browser will request that the applet be given access to your computer. This is required so that simulation results can be cut and pasted from the tabulated data.

The simulator requires that Java is installed to run. Please download the free installer.

If you have problems using the simulator try updating Java on your computer.

The Body Weight Simulator application has been validated to run in the following environments: Windows 7 operating system using IE 8.0 and 9.0, Firefox 12.0, and Google Chrome 19.0
Windows XP PRO operating system using IE 7.0, Firefox 12.0, and Google Chrome 19.0
Mac OS X v10.6.8 (Lion) using Firefox 12.0 and Safari 5.1.4
 
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I would highly recommend the my fitness pal app and website. I started using it a month ago and lost 7 lbs and gained a ton of motivation. I have been on my journey for a year and was struggling a bit. The app lets you easily track your calories and also has a forum that is full of advice, info, and motivation. I still check in here about once a week since this is where I started a year ago and there are great people here as well. No matter what you decide to do, commit to it. Tracking calories is a great way for me to hold myself accountable. I didn't do that for a long time and slowly put the pounds on. Now I'm slowly taking them off and never plan to see them again! In case you join my fitness pal feel free to add me. My name on there is cheshire29. Best of luck to you!
 
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