About six months ago I came to no longer accept my fatness. I'm 6'1" and weighed in at about 250. My waist was a heavy 40" and probably should have been more like a 42". The weight was fat and not muscle. At a minimum I had 25 - 30% body fat. My cholesterol level was 171.
I decided that I needed to make a conscious effort to do something about it as I was not happy with how I looked, felt or how little stamina that I had. It had taken me a couple of years to get to the weight and frankly I had gotten used to it. For the most part I still saw a thin man in the mirror. Denial was a big part of it.
At any rate the first thing that I did was spend five days fasting. During that time took some vitamins, but mainly drank water. I wanted to clean out and shrink my stomach. It was a bit hard for the first two days, but afterwards it got easier and easier. I stayed very well hydrated during this period as I wanted to make sure my organs were well lubed.
Prior to the fast, I had devised a plan for the first month. I would essentially become a vegitarian. I wanted to concentrate my diet on fresh veggies and fruit. Protein came in the form of tofu and protein powder. I completely cut out starch and processed sugar. I allowed myself to drink as much organic juice as I wanted, but the general drink of choice was water. I would use this to fill my stomach to give me the nice content feeling that only lots of carbs can do.
What I found was that I lost weight - between 2 - 3 lbs per week. My energy increased and I had less aches and pains. After the first month, I started to add one portion of meat to my diet per day. I still cut out carbs and sugar and kept my diet about 80% veggies and fruit.
Excercise was not in the plan. I wanted to get down to a low weight to know where my body should be in it's present muscular form. I figured it to be around 190 -195 lbs for my build. I also hate to excercise for the reason of excercising. Having been an athlete for a good portion of my life, I also didn't want the frustration of being physically inept.
About 2 months ago I dropped to 205 lbs or down nearly 50 lbs in five months. At that time I started skiing a couple times per week, for fun and as a bit of excercise. It has built some muscle in my legs and raised my endurance a lot.
Recently I found myself in Colorado. The hotel that I was staying in had a gym and I decided that since I hadn't gotten any excercise at all in a few days, that I would try out thread mill. I ran 3 miles at a 7.5 minute mile pace and I was at 8500' above sea level. I wasn't winded though I had built up a sweat. In otherwords a good cardio workout. While in Colorado, I was careful about my diet until dinner. Then I splurged. Since I was skiing every day, I still managed to lose a few pounds.
As of today I'm down almost 60 lbs. I am exercising three times a week - light running and lower back and abs workout. To be at my optimum weight I should drop another 8 lbs or so, but this will have to be tempered by the muscle weight I'm adding.
Bottom line what worked for me:
1. A diet mainly of fruits and veggies with a small amount of protein.
2. Cutting out most starches. I now allow one portion of starch per day.
3. Cutting out processed sugar. Now, I'll allow myself something sweet every now and again.
4. Cutting back on all fat. I use only olive oil to cook with and don't eat deep fried anything.
5. My large meal is lunch. Fruit, coffee and occasionally a muffin for breakfast. Dinner is much smaller than it used to be.
6. Making my portions much smaller - about 1/4 the size when I was a FOB - Fat old B*st@%&.
7. Excercise is a welcome stress reliever now.
Here is a shot of me 60 lbs ago.
I decided that I needed to make a conscious effort to do something about it as I was not happy with how I looked, felt or how little stamina that I had. It had taken me a couple of years to get to the weight and frankly I had gotten used to it. For the most part I still saw a thin man in the mirror. Denial was a big part of it.
At any rate the first thing that I did was spend five days fasting. During that time took some vitamins, but mainly drank water. I wanted to clean out and shrink my stomach. It was a bit hard for the first two days, but afterwards it got easier and easier. I stayed very well hydrated during this period as I wanted to make sure my organs were well lubed.
Prior to the fast, I had devised a plan for the first month. I would essentially become a vegitarian. I wanted to concentrate my diet on fresh veggies and fruit. Protein came in the form of tofu and protein powder. I completely cut out starch and processed sugar. I allowed myself to drink as much organic juice as I wanted, but the general drink of choice was water. I would use this to fill my stomach to give me the nice content feeling that only lots of carbs can do.
What I found was that I lost weight - between 2 - 3 lbs per week. My energy increased and I had less aches and pains. After the first month, I started to add one portion of meat to my diet per day. I still cut out carbs and sugar and kept my diet about 80% veggies and fruit.
Excercise was not in the plan. I wanted to get down to a low weight to know where my body should be in it's present muscular form. I figured it to be around 190 -195 lbs for my build. I also hate to excercise for the reason of excercising. Having been an athlete for a good portion of my life, I also didn't want the frustration of being physically inept.
About 2 months ago I dropped to 205 lbs or down nearly 50 lbs in five months. At that time I started skiing a couple times per week, for fun and as a bit of excercise. It has built some muscle in my legs and raised my endurance a lot.
Recently I found myself in Colorado. The hotel that I was staying in had a gym and I decided that since I hadn't gotten any excercise at all in a few days, that I would try out thread mill. I ran 3 miles at a 7.5 minute mile pace and I was at 8500' above sea level. I wasn't winded though I had built up a sweat. In otherwords a good cardio workout. While in Colorado, I was careful about my diet until dinner. Then I splurged. Since I was skiing every day, I still managed to lose a few pounds.
As of today I'm down almost 60 lbs. I am exercising three times a week - light running and lower back and abs workout. To be at my optimum weight I should drop another 8 lbs or so, but this will have to be tempered by the muscle weight I'm adding.
Bottom line what worked for me:
1. A diet mainly of fruits and veggies with a small amount of protein.
2. Cutting out most starches. I now allow one portion of starch per day.
3. Cutting out processed sugar. Now, I'll allow myself something sweet every now and again.
4. Cutting back on all fat. I use only olive oil to cook with and don't eat deep fried anything.
5. My large meal is lunch. Fruit, coffee and occasionally a muffin for breakfast. Dinner is much smaller than it used to be.
6. Making my portions much smaller - about 1/4 the size when I was a FOB - Fat old B*st@%&.
7. Excercise is a welcome stress reliever now.
Here is a shot of me 60 lbs ago.
if I went on a fast. I need to kick the sugar/carb and caffeine habit but don't think I have the willpower. 
