Losing weight, trimming up?

[simbrooks]

Although i have been on and off doing some stuff for fitness in the last few years, i really want to get fitter, trim up and lose a little weight! Now starting to try out a regime of weights a few times a week (3 hopefully) and jogging most other days, with weekends for diving or other activities (biking and kayaking in particular) - the odd other exercise on other days (tennis, raquetball and swimming).

The reason i want to do this? I moved over here just over 2 years ago, since then i have sat behind my desk all day, driven to work/grocery store each day and had larger portions of food (due to economy in restaurants). All in all, that has led to me gaining about 30#, from previously about 220 to now around 250 - most of that seemed to come along in the first 6 months as my activity decreased. I am only 6'3" and am sure that my BMI is around 31, which clinically obese, with a waist of 36" (used to be 34"). What i used to do, cycle or walk to work or school from my house (about 2 miles for any of those single trips), playing football (soccer) or rugby all the time - all those have gone now.

So my plan is to lose some of those waistline inches, and drop between 20-30# back to where i used to be with weights and cardio through the week.

Who's with me in trying to do similiar stuff?

 

[oversea]

That sounds good. I unlike you, have never been athletic, I hate sports. I try to run on the treadmill, but don't have much time for that. What is working exceptionally well for me is the atkins diet. I'm down 17 lbs in just over 3 weeks. Just my $.02

 

[diverrick]

17 lbs in three weeks! now that's weight loss!
I have also been on the Atkins diet, but have not had those kind of results, but I also cheat a bit, so maybe I should call it the "modified" Atkins diet. I have lost 19 lbs to date, started the day after Thanksgiving. I am shooting for 30 Lbs. I am only 5'4" and I was at 190! I saw a photo of myself at work, and could not believe I was that fat. That did it. I did use our treadmill a everyday for the induction phase of the diet, but now that spring is here, I find enough exercise just working around my ranch. My wife calls it the caveman diet, and complains about my breath at times, but I ask her if she'd rather have a fat husband with sweet breath, or a slim on with occaisional maloderous piehole. also I hope to lose some off the old weightbelt as a result of the weight loss.

 

[simbrooks]

I will say that i lost 48# over the first 3 months i first went to college, i got on the anti-Atkins diet or plenty of pasta etc and was swimming every day with the college team, but that all came back on again when i was told to eat a more varied diet by my family!

I am not planning on losing any weight on a faddy diet plan, just cutting back a little more on how much i eat and getting the same kind of balance i do now, BUT doing more exercise to shift the weight. I hope to accomplish two things in my diving due to this, one is getting rid of more weight off the belt due to less fatty tissue and the other is to improve my CV workout to improve my SAC.

 

[Mo2vation]

Who's with me in trying to do similiar stuff?

I was 203 at 5'7... not good. My Body Fat was at about 30, and I was just shockingly big for me. I was a 3 sport varsity letterman in HS, so getting to this point 23 years later was pretty sick.

My boss got the book by Jim Karas, "Business Plan for the Body." It started working for him. I got interested - I read it a few times, it made sense. Simply by eating better, eating more frequently (5 times a day as opposed to the once-a-day I was) acquiring caloric awareness and monitoring my progress (no gym work, no working out) I went from 203 / 30 to about 180 / 23 in about 6 months, and held that for about a year.

Until I found Scubaboard, and the fundies book - and the whole fitness tie to diving made sense. I committed to a fitness program last February before DIR/F. I'm currently at 174 / 19 and have been holding for about 5 months now.

I want to push through to crack 170, but its probably not going to happen unless I really, really step things up...and I'm just not that motivated. I have a very nice elliptical at home, and work on that 3 - 4 times a week. I used to go to the gym 3 times a week for weights and stretching, but since last summer I do all that at home these days.

While I'm very active in many things (Music, diving, home remodeling, even sitting I'm active) anyone who knows me knows I'm by no means a ripped, shredded, cut kinda guy. I got a fat neck, and still a little soft in the middle now. I'm a 40-something guy whos sort of squigy and blocky - I just don't have the Adonis genes. And I'm OK with that. Its sick the stuff that gets foisted off on us as the fitness ideal.

BUT, as a result of my improved fitness, my SAC has dropped dramatically, I'm not dying coming up long flights of stairs on the rare beach dive, I can schlep all my own gear, I don't get sore anymore after a 3 day trip and I'm enjoying a better quality of life.

Of course, I may drop dead tomorrow - that stuff's not in my hands, but I haven't felt this good in the 25 years since HS - and as cheezy as it sounds, it was really cool to go bring all my suits and slacks in to be taken in and altered to a SMALLER size.

K

 

[kelpmermaid]

I was just thinking about this on the elliptical this morning. Last year, I hit a shocking (to me) weight level. It wasn't just about the number, it was about the wardrobe of clothes that didn't fit so well anymore. My muscle tone was non-existent, and I felt I was on the verge of middle-aged spread. I never had to watch what what I ate before my 41st birthday, and it was as if my body had betrayed me. I became disgusted and joined a gym, working with a trainer for a while to get an idea of what I needed to do. Recently, I am starting to see some payoff from these efforts. I have lost a few pounds (maybe 8, but I'm only 5'4") and am starting to see some toning. Best of all, my old clothes fit again. I go to the gym now 5-6 days a week, doing cardio 3 days and weights 2, with a yoga class here and there. I don't do much, but I think the key is to keep at it, even if the results aren't immediate.

 

[Wendy]

Ok the first picture was taken back in May 2003 during the first weekend of my diet.

The sendin picture was taken last week. (Sorry that it is sideways)

I'm down 40 lbs and 4-6 sizes (depending on what store I buy from).

If I can get back into shape anybody can.

Wouls also like to mention that I have always been fairly active on the weekends, so duringmy diet I didn't do any more exercise than I normally did, I just changed my eating habits.

http://www.scubaboard.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=2489

 

[scubajen]

I have been walking on my treadmill and outdoors when it is nice about 3-4 times a week. I also just started doing some weight training,trying to get my arms in shape. Tired of having saggy arms! Plus need to build up my muscles so I
don't have to rely on my husband to carry my scuba tank for me every time. I have a desk job, so I have to be active after work hours. With not eating fast food for lunch much anymore and not eating out on the weekends all of the time, I have found it easier to keep the weight off, plus I feel a whole lot better. I find that when I eat out it is hard to make good healthy choices. Even salads have a lot of fat!
Then the question is do you do low fat or low carb!????
I just try moderation.

 

[JimC]

I would be very warry of the Atkins diet and the "low carb" crazy BS that is running though North America these days. They are a great way to get type2 diabietes, insane cholestoral counts, cloged arteries and all sorts of other fun stuff. Esecialy with the crap we call meat that we find in the supermarket.


And a real cave man didn't eat like that. A real cave man, or hunter/gatherers diet consisted of about 4 pounds of fresh produce a day, mostly leafy greens but includeing large amounts of fruit, tubers, roots and other vegetables. Add to that an assortment of seeds, nuts, ultra-lean wild game and fish which composed about 25-30% of there caloric intake.

If your serious about looseing weight, and willing to change your diet and lifestyle for LIFE, regular exercise, masive quanitites of produce and eating only the best meat (organic free range chicken breast or something you hunted) and fish is the way to do it. It also means no more sugar, wheat, potatos or corn - in almost any form that you'll find in the supermarket.


Atkins isn't for life, unless you want a short one, and I know not a single person who has managed to keep the weight off after they stop the diet.

 

[Wendy]

I would be very warry of the Atkins diet and the "low carb" crazy BS that is running though North America these days. They are a great way to get type2 diabietes, insane cholestoral counts, cloged arteries and all sorts of other fun stuff. Esecialy with the crap we call meat that we find in the supermarket.


And a real cave man didn't eat like that. A real cave man, or hunter/gatherers diet consisted of about 4 pounds of fresh produce a day, mostly leafy greens but includeing large amounts of fruit, tubers, roots and other vegetables. Add to that an assortment of seeds, nuts, ultra-lean wild game and fish which composed about 25-30% of there caloric intake.

If your serious about looseing weight, and willing to change your diet and lifestyle for LIFE, regular exercise, masive quanitites of produce and eating only the best meat (organic free range chicken breast or something you hunted) and fish is the way to do it. It also means no more sugar, wheat, potatos or corn - in almost any form that you'll find in the supermarket.


Atkins isn't for life, unless you want a short one, and I know not a single person who has managed to keep the weight off after they stop the diet.

Atkins is also bad for children, as they need the carbs to grow.