Self-consious in a wetsuit...

[countryboy]

Much of what Johnnythan said is working for me...

1. Cut down on the calories
2. Increase activity level

I am down 30 lbs so far.. NO DIET.. Just eating "better" and working out more.. If I really want something I eat it.. just in small quantities, and count the calories (grams of fat). I try to eat 5 - 6 times a day (time of day doesn't matter).

I am also using the Fitness Challenge (another area of Scubaboard) where we weigh in weekly. You can pick tuesday / thursday or start another one... You do not need to list your weight, just your progress, goals, etc. Will keep you honest if you KNOW you are going to post your weeks progress..

We can work through it together...

*Disclaimer* - I was on vacation for the past week, and elected to skip this weeks weigh in... The resort had 7 restaurants, and no Gym.. I was outnumbered...


Figure out your RMR / BMR and eat ~500 less caloires per day. (negative 500 calories for 7 days = 1 lb a week.. 1 lb of body fat equates to 3500 calories).
http://www.caloriesperhour.com/

Set small goals.... I am sure it took longer than 7 months to get where you are at.. so it will take time to get to the final destination.

Loose 5 lbs by Memorial day, 15 by the fourth of July, 25 by Labor day, etc...
Don't get upset if you miss a goal, it is just a milestone.. Look at what you did (activity) and what you eat (calories) and figure out where / when you can do better, and adjust the little goals as you go along.

There was a saying, and I am sure to mess it up....

What you weigh today is the result of what you did yesterday (in the past)..
You can't change that, but you can determine what you will weigh tomorrow by your actions today...

Good Luck, and keep us posted! YOU CAN DO IT!!

 

[erparamedic]

Countryboy...

I didn't even realize there was a fitness challenge thread on scubaboard. That's awesome. I'll have to check that out. Kewl!

Also gonna hit up that calories per hour site too.

Thanks for the great info!

 

[ZzzKing]

Okay, I only read the first four pages of the thread but, so far, no one has mentioned a workout buddy. And you call yourselves divers! Find a friend similarly motivated and get with them four times a week and swim, bicycle, whatever. On days that you're not really feeling up to it, your buddy will motivate you. You'll repay your buddy by motivating him or her.

Also, don't quit after a month, or six months for that matter. At six months, your body is just starting to wake up and realize it is supposed to be helping out in this plan also. Your stronger muscles will be able to work longer, burning fat and gaining in endurance and power. At 18 months, you'll be in great shape. At 3 years, you'll be a calorie burning machine!

 

[Bratface]

I gained weight after my thyroid crapped out 6 years ago. I lost it all but 10 pounds and have resigned myself to accepting my new body. I will admit, I wasn't real big to start with before I gained the 30+ pounds in a matter of months, but my new body image was bothering me. I took up walking and lifting weights again.

I don't think you should worry too much about how you look in your wetsuit. You are probably more concerned about it than others. I have one girlfriend who won't even try scuba in the pool because of how she thinks she will look. I told her the fish don't care.

Good luck on dropping the weight you want to lose.

 

[countryboy]

I have better luck with dive buddies...

 

[ItsBruce]

I invented this diet pill that really works. It is three (3) feet in diameter, nine (9) inches thick and made of concrete. You roll it around the block every evening after dinner. Unfortunately, they prohibitively expensive to ship, and heaven help you if it should fall over and you need to get it back on edge, or worse yet if it should get going down hill.

 

[JBowl0101]

think about this, you got no one to impress, right? Your husband loves you no matter what.

This gentlemen speaks the truth. I'm working out becuase I find the better shape I'm in, the more I enjoy life, including diving. If members of the opposite sex notice, fine, but I don't dive or excersise to impress girls.

 

[JBowl0101]

It is much easier to cut intake than increase the number of calories burned.

The plan is easy, execution gets tricky.

While I agree in principle, it doesn't work nearly as easily for women as it does for men. Their bodies throttle down the metabolism when "starving" much more readily than guys do, and they lose muscle mass if they aren't doing some sort of resistance training in parallel.

 

[blubberboy]

Take responsibility for your own well-being. Lots of good advice here and too much advice can be well, too much advice but I would say to you if there is one thing: cut down on the refined/processed foods/drinks.

You said you drink lots of coke in an earlier post, look at how much sugar is in a can of soft drink, or how much nutritional value in a slice of processed cheese. Avoid foods like these that are high energy, but low nutrition and get turned into fat by your body very easily.

I used to drink heaps of soft drink, cut it all out and mainly drink water with my meals now, it makes one hell of a difference. Make your own juice! Have a drink of water first thing in the morning it gets your metabolism up and running. It takes preparation, but it also saves you money if you organise your meals a few days in advance, with lots of fresh ingredients. Put in a veggie garden if you live in a house, or get a few herbs in pots if you're in an apartment - it's relaxing and promotes healthy eating of your own foods! Eg. Lettuce is dead easy to grow even in pots - so you'll make lots of fresh tasty salads that you can take with you to work and eat on the run that will be the envy of your friends and workmates!

Saves money + healthier eating + no quick fix = better (and safer) diving (and other fun sports that don't require clothes!)

Good luck to you! :luxhello:

 

[boulderjohn]

If you are including exercise, especially weight training of any kind, in your plan (as well you should), you should be very aware that it will become difficult to tell how well you are actually doing.

As you exercise, you will gain lean muscle mass. This is heavier than fat. So, at the same time that you are losing fat weight, you are gaining muscle weight. How this balances out depends upon how much you are exercising and how much you are eating. It is even possible to gain overall fitness and also gain weight.

That is why the famed Body Mass Index (BMI) is so very inaccurate for people who exercise. It starts with an "ideal" of a pretty thin individual and then interprets any additional weight as fat. Denver Bronco running back Tatum Bell, who is considered undersized for football and who succeeds primarily on the speed he is able to gather in his almost fat-free frame, is obese by the BMI standards.

For full details, go to an excellent Diver Alert article DAN published last summer, and check out my letter to the editor that prompted it. They concluded that the BMI is very deceptive for that very reason, and they went through a variety of alternative measures of fitness. In short, they found that those who exercise regularly have a hard time finding an objective measure of their progress.