The 3SGTO Weight Loss Thread (Human not Automotive)

[SilverBullet]

I'm in. I was doing really well, getting up at 4:15am every morning and going to the gym. I did this for about 6 months, then I lost motivation for some reason.. I'm losing muscle and gaining fat back, I need to get back on track. My goal is additional muscle mass and less body fat.

I'm currently 6'4" and 215lbs. I started 7 months ago near 240 and the lowest I've been since was just under 210.

[SilverBullet]

Although it didn't help last night, I was watching the Biggest Loser finale (because there wasn't anything else on tv!! argh) and I was eating chocolate icing and M&M's.. haha

[FeaRpb]

I just went and took some christmas candy from my secretary. I am failing at this, I just love the way food tastes. I think I will either start waking up early and go running before work, or run after work.

[ABattaglia]

Went to my Doctor 11/17 and got some news that made me get in shape. High blood pressure at 24 yo. I am 6' 1 " 202 at the moment. In one month i have lost 30lbs from just changing my diet and drinking water only. I used to drink 2-3 energy drinks a day and about as 6 pack of dr pepper. I would go to fast food 1-2 times a day. You have to look at it as a life style change more than anything. Diets don't work in the long run. I hope to be 170-175 here in a few months. I just count my calories and make sure i am somewhere around 1750 and i lose all kinds of weight. Before i was eating and drinking around 5k a day. No exercise as of yet because my body is just shedding pounds too fast as it is. Caloriecount.com was a big help.

[FeaRpb]

What is your ideal calorie intake per meal?

[ABattaglia]

I eat around 400-500 calorie portions for meals and eat a couple 100-200 calories snacks in between meals. I drink around 100 ounces of water a day. My aunt is a personal trainer and she got me on a good healthy eating regiment. #1 thing i do is drink two glasses of water before every meal. Makes you feel more full when eating so you don't eat as much. I used to not eat breakfast and eat a huge dinner and even another meal towards bedtime. Worst thing you can do. You have to get your metabolism started in the morning with a good healthy breakfast and keep food (fuel) in your body when your active during the day. For dinner i eat a salad and have maybe a chicken breast or some turkey. Not eating after dinner is the key if you are not active in the evenings. I wake up hungry for breakfast when before i would never be hungry from the food sitting in my stomach all night. I have tried all kinds of diets for the past 5 years and none of them were effective. I feel great and have all kinds of energy compared to when i was eating In and Out twice a day.

[3KVT]

I've been working out for the past 3 years, cycling through different workouts, supplements, diets, and programs. I weighed 227 this past summer and I've cut that down to 198 (6'0"). My secret? Diet and a personal trainer. I visit the PT twice a week and do exercises that incorporate multiple muscle groups (aka compound exercises) and just eat the fat in my body up. The more muscles you use, the more calories you burn. So I'm essentially supplementing my bodybuilding routine with the PT sessions (so I get big and lean out at the same time). My diet has changed since I started visiting the PT drastically. I'm much more conscious of what I eat and WHEN I eat it. You'd be surprised at how much of a difference changing the time you eat can make on overall hunger and your body's ability to burn fat.
One crucial piece of advice was given to my by a nutritionist I visit who works with my PT. That advice is this: If you want results, you don't really diet. You make a lifestyle change. I adopted that attitude and it has helped tremendously with my hunger levels, and my willingness to eat slightly more "bland" foods rather than the horrible tasty stuff. It's not about eating only celery for a month and losing 10 lbs then going right back to cheeseburgers. It's about changing how you think and feel about foods and portions of those foods.

So here's what I'm doing currently. I do 3-4 exercises for each body group [chest, back, shoulders (including traps), arms, core, legs (including calves)]. Divide the groups up into 3 or 4 days (e.g. chest & back on monday, legs and core on tuesday, shoulders and arms on thursday) and do some interval training for cardio each day [e.g. 3 min warmup on elliptical, then 20 sec of full sprint followed by 10 sec of mild jog (repeat for 8 sets) then 3 min of cool down]. The two days I spend with the trainer are tuesday and thursday, so I usually do my own exercises on MWF. I eat between 2000 and 2300 calories a day, depending on how much I had the day before and how hard I'm going to lift that day. This includes off days! I still cycle calories between 2000 and 2300 even on the weekends, unless a party happens then it's probably closer to 3000, lol. I avoid processed foods, including white breads/pastas, anything with excessive sugar (natural fruit is the best source of sugar, but if you need something sweet, try to get something with sugar alcohol instead) and anything high in fat (minus peanut butter, and fish-->healthy fats). I can ramble on about this stuff for days as I'm training to be a PT soon. If you want or need any more info, feel free to ask.

[FeaRpb]

This is getting full of useful information. I drink roughly a gallon of water a day, tho the main reason im slowly gaining weight is because I sit behind a desk now instead of doing physical labor.

[Granny]

I can add some physical activity to my work day but I'm stuck behind a desk several hours.
I send all my print jobs to a copier in another room so I have to get up.

[skyrunner]

This is getting full of useful information. I drink roughly a gallon of water a day, tho the main reason im slowly gaining weight is because I sit behind a desk now instead of doing physical labor.

I can add some physical activity to my work day but I'm stuck behind a desk several hours.
I send all my print jobs to a copier in another room so I have to get up.

Make a conscious effort to get up from the desk. Try a 15 minute walk before or after your lunch don't pay attention to distance or speed, just walk comfortably. It will burn more calories than you would think if you stick with it. Cold outside? try walking stairs for 5-10 minutes. Just a little suggestion...

I am a computer programmer and behind a desk constantly, even when at home I usually have a computer on my lap or I am just lounging and watching tv. But I bike to work as often as possible (even in the winter) and I work out a lot for the average person. Because of this, I haven't ever had to watch what I eat... Until recently. We had a little girl (our first) 6 months ago and I have found it much more difficult to motivate myself to work out the same. I have options for daycare, so that isn't an excuse. Plus I usually like to workout early before work (and after...) so my wife is home and can watch our daughter. In the past six months I think I have gained some weight. I think I can see it on me in the stomach, but I might just be looking too closely as my wife claims she doesn't see anything. I never weigh myself so I really don't know, but I have to guess that considering my lack of a consistent workout schedule I have started to creep up...

I have recently decided that the reason for this lack of consistency in my workouts has been that I have no set goal. I know, weight loss, staying in shape, etc, etc. But I don't find those things as motivating as racing. I have been doing triathlons (and running and bike races) for 5 years now and I told my wife that I wouldn't sign up for any races until after we got a handle on being new parents. Well we have done that and I still don't find myself sticking to a schedule. The only real difference is that I have no races planned for 2011 atm. So to combat this, I have signed up for this: http://www.americantriple-t.com/events/oh/home and I have started to compete in a "virtual" competition put on by USAT for the months of December - February. The motivation is back. For the last two weeks, I have racked up more mileage than I put in for probably all of the time from June - December...

I know maybe not everyone is the same, but I just thought I would throw that out there. There are plenty of races of all types for anyone who is looking for something to compete in. 5K Run/Walks, Sprint Triathlons, Intramural Swim meets, Beginner Bike Races, at least where I am at (Eastern Iowa) and I would imagine most of you are in even more populated areas and have many more options. Don't be afraid to be the slowest, plenty of people will be there to cheer you on no matter what speed you go. Pick a buddy and train with them, or see if you can find a local club to join. It is always easier to train with a friend! Just train to finish some race the first time, and after that, make it an annual challenge to yourself and try to beat your previous time. Good luck to you all, keeping that motivation up to train is tough, but you might find it a little easier if you have a race to shoot for.