d_stilgar's three month weight loss.

[d_stilgar]

Alright, in another thread (http://thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22297) Zephik asked about a weight loss formula, which does and does not exist depending on who you ask. The bottom line is that no matter how you do it, weight loss is not easy, and it isn't fun (for the most part).

My offer stands that anyone that can lose 25+ lbs between today and June 1st will get a prize from me. Depending on how many of you accept the challenge, it will either be a big prize or a small prize (I'm not made of money you know). For now, I'm leaning toward a $10 Newegg gift certificate to anyone who can do this.

To qualify you must take a starting picture and then update with a weekly photograph and weight update.

The job of the TBCS community is to keep us motivated and accountable for our weight loss.

My Plan:

The first thing I'm going to do is quit eating garbage. I eat too much sugar. This will definitely be the hardest thing about this three months. No sugar based cereals, no candy, no ice cream, no pie. :/

The second part of the plan is P90X. The farthest I've ever made it in this program is the end of the first month. I can't do that anymore. I've got to stick to it and I need you guys to help me stay motivated. A protein shake chaser will help me bulk up fast.

The third thing I'm going to do is get a new bike and ride every weekend. There are tons of trails around where I live. My wife is going to get a bike too and then we can ride together, which will be great.

Some final details will include not consuming any calories after 9PM every night and being in bed before midnight. Healthy habits like these can make a huge difference in your overall health and well being. I haven't been doing so great lately and now is a good time to fix my sorry ways.

Day 1:

I just weighed myself on the bathroom scale. I weigh 206.2lbs. I'm 6'4". This makes my BMI 25.097. Crap! I'm overweight! I've never been overweight! I need to lose it and keep it off. My goal is 180lbs. I weighed 175 in high school, but I was really skinny and had little to no muscle mass. I should be able to hit 180, which will be 25lbs lost and should be less fat and more muscle than high school.

http://modsandends.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/img_1739_600x800.jpg

http://modsandends.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/img_1740_600x800.jpg

[Luke122]

Hrm.. I just calculated my BMI to be 33.7... yeah, I'm ashamed. Ok, I'm in for this too.

5'10, 235lbs atm.

1. I'm with you on the "eating garbage" thing. I'm bad also.. no more fast food or soda.
2. P90x? No thanks.. I tried that already.. I'm too out of shape. I'll start on P90. ;)
3. No calories after 7pm for me.
4. ???
5. Profit!

Jokes aside, I really do need to get into better shape. I think I'll wait on posting the before pics until I have a decent "after" pic to post with it. Yeah, I'm a bit ashamed. :P

[farlo]

im huge(6'1 350ish), and i need to do this too. working long days in an office doesn't go well with healthy behavior.

been trying to cut the garbage, switched to drinking water 90% of the time.
i really need to cut pre-prepared food completely out of my diet, and get more exercise than just playing in the yard with my kids.

[d_stilgar]

I just finished P90X for today. I did Chest and Back as directed by the workout guide. I'm somewhat nauseous and still need to do ab ripper x for today. I have my protein shake in hand and I'm trying to down it without triggering a vomit response. It's amazing how much you can feel it in your muscles even after one hard workout. They're bigger already! Haha.

[nevermind1534]

their ab ripper workout is a ***** (self-censored).

Good luck reaching your goal

[Drum Thumper]

I'll be watching this thread. As someone who went from a BMI of ~18.2 to 25.7 in the span of 8 months due to having one offending organ removed from my body, I have to say for once in my life I am relatively happy with my body, even if I am slightly overweight.

That said, the thought has crossed my mind to lose 10 to 15 pounds.

Good luck, and let us know how the P90X program is kicking your ass!

[Kayin]

I could do it rather quickly, but I'm underweight and fighting as it is.

Best of luck to you all!

[d_stilgar]

For anyone who wants to participate, but doesn't have 25lbs to lose. I'll try to figure out a smaller prize. I'm not completely sure what to get, but it would be pretty cheap.

[billygoat333]

I'll be joining in on this, will post up pics soon as I get off my lazy ass. I weighed myself this afternoon, 197lbs @ 5'11'' (clothes on, shoes off :P) so not looking good as of now. my target is ~170-175lbs. I have been going to the gym since the start of feb so I am forming the good habit of exercise, now the trick is to stay motivated.

lol lets do this people!

[d_stilgar]

Day 2

Today I did the P90X Plyometrics X workout. It's an hour long of jumps, squats, jump squats, squat jacks, leapfrog squats, lunges, Mary Katherines, and other stuff.

My back hurts from yesterday's workout so I took some drugs about 30 min before working out. Right after the workout I mixed up about 80g of protein in 1cup of milk. It was thick and not that great, but not horrible either. Tuesdays and Thursdays are going to be my harder days to workout because I'm out of the house from 9AM to 5PM. Tuesdays I have meetings after 5 as well, so it doesn't help. The good thing is that I never have homework due on Wednesday or Friday, so I can workout as my homework.

I don't get money from Beachbody for saying this, but P90X really is a great workout. The big motto is "do your best, forget the rest." Tony Horton is really good about getting you past your mental blocks to keep you motivated through the hour long workouts. They are also designed really well to warm you up (hard) for the first 20 minutes, kill you in the middle 20, and then ease up a little (still really tough) for the last 20 minutes to destroy whatever you have left. Tony is really good about telling you to just show up, just hit the play button and keep coming back every day. You don't have to perform like a star every day, all you have to do is your best and that is good enough. How could you expect any more than that anyway?

Finally, here is what I ate today.

90 Calorie cereal bar for breakfast.
Tuna sandwich
~15 lowfat pringles
The last slice of Pumpkin Pie (it was crowding the fridge):whistler:
A pork chop with apple sauce
Protein shake

[billygoat333]

Should I start my own thread for this? probably huh.

[d_stilgar]

Yeah. Anyone who wants to participate should start their own thread. I'm not going to be inclined to hand over a prize if we didn't see three months worth of hard work. Also, it's easy to cheat and not stick with it if you aren't being held accountable for making good decisions.

[billygoat333]

k after I work out today I will start my own thread. finally took (embarrassing!) before pictures. lol

[TheGreatSatan]

I'm over 260lbs. I'm fat, but after 11 years of being fit in the military I really don't care if I'm fat as a civilian

[diluzio91]

awesome idea, ill definatly be joining you now. thanks for the inspiration!

[Epidemic]

Well I'm glad that you are taking this step and actually waking up and decide to lose weight, Well I wanted to lose weight before but i failed at it many times, My idea of losing weight is cutting food. And thats it, And that is not healthy at all, I suggest working out and asking health professionals on how to lose that extra chunky meat.. It worked fine for me, I don't know in pounds but i lost around 10KG's and that is something. =]

[d_stilgar]

Day 3

Today's P90X workout was shoulders and arms. I was in a lot of pain before doing the workout, and even now the flexors in my elbows are killing. If one thing is true though, it's that working out sore muscles does nothing but make them feel better.

After looking at my food intake yesterday, I realized that I need to be eating more. This may seem strange, but it's true. If my muscles don't have the energy to work out, then this whole thing will be an uphill battle. On that note, this is what I ate today.

Two big bowls of Chex.
Three PB&J sandwiches (not super healthy)
A tuna sandwich (shoulda swithed out some of those PB&Js for more of these).
A protein shake with 80g of protein.

My wife made brownies for some people in our ward (church congregation) who just had a baby. I wanted to eat one, but decided that if I was going to I needed to weigh less than 200lbs. I will not say what my weight was, but I did not get to have a brownie. I attribute this to my calorie intake and the fact that I've been drinking a lot of water. I'm fine with it. I know that my daily, or even hourly weight does not change the fact that I've been eating better and working out.

Since diluzio91 posted (http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22356) some before-I-got-fat pictures I thought I should too. From my senior year. These show off just how thin I was, but also just how scrawny I was too. Despite being so thin I did not have a six pack. The over-the-hill moment for my fitness should not have been in high school. I gotta get in the best shape of my life now.

http://modsandends.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/campxtreme.jpg

[Waynio]

LOL, I 1st looked at the picture without reading, I thought that was you now & saying your fat lol, up to age 19 I was lanky 6 foot 3 @ 11 stone, good gust of wind and I'd probably fall over hehe.
I have no before I got fat pictures, was before digital cameras so I'd either have to get a scanner or take a picture of a picture, but have been told I didn't look fat at all even at 19 stone, but personally I know I had a beer barrel, not a six pack lol, too much beer & fast food.

Right now I'm 235lbs.

Count me in on this lose a bit of weight gig, don't want a prize though, the prize will be losing the jelly belly :D.
I want to lose a stone as it's all on my belly, nowhere else so it's time to stop having sugar in my coffee & only now & again have some junk food :), I'm on my 2nd coffee without sugar, yuck, already missing the sugar hehe, may as well take up herbal tea lol, but I'll get used to it, done it before, can do it again, I'll see how much fat that loses, I think that's all I'll have to do and carry on as normal with regular excercise & not over eating :up:.

[Liquid_Scope_99]

Im in too guys me and one of the guys at the hut lol. Have been talking about joining the 24hr Gym just a block or so away soon as i get a little extra cash im in in @ 5 10 215 now i would like to drop 50lbs but 25 would definitely help

[d_stilgar]

One Week Update

Alright so it has been one week. I think it is better to post weekly updates instead of daily. Thursday I got a bicycle and it was a very busy day anyway, so P90X just plain didn't happen. My wife and I went bowling with some friends that night as well and I had buffalo wings, which aren't bad as long as they aren't the deep fad fried version (they weren't). The bad thing was that I ate too many. I felt pretty gross after.

Friday I skipped P90X on account of my new bike and went riding instead. I love the feeling of your muscles getting hotter and hotter as you do a repetitive motion such as cycling. It's just so good.

I didn't do a proper workout Saturday either, but I went and played paintball for about five hours, so I don't feel bad at all.

Sunday is the day of rest, so that's exactly what I am going to do every Sunday. No work or workout for me. Just worship, meditation, relaxation, and family time.

Now for the results of one week of working out and eating better. I weighed myself again after doing P90X Chest and Back. 207.3! There are a few options for what is happening. One: I ate fish and rice for dinner. It's low fat, high protein food and I ate quite a bit. Two: While working out I try to drink plenty of water. I easily have a spare half gallon or more in my stomach when I weigh in. Three: I am replacing the fat with muscle. It's possible, although I don't really have faith that this is the case. Four: I am gaining muscle and keeping the fat. This is more likely, but unwanted. I would rather lose fat and gain no muscle if I had a choice between three and four. Five: I am just getting fatter. This one is also a possibility, although it is quite unlikely considering that I am doing a lot more activity and eating so much better.

When I weighed in earlier this week to see if I would be allowed to eat a brownie I was at 204, so I'm pretty sure this is just a full stomach sort of thing. It's still not very encouraging.

[Trace]

Always weigh yourself at the same time of day. Normally morning before breakfast works the best

[Outlaw]

Nice job. As long as you keep on yourself you should be good to go. I am in the same boat, 5'11" and 207 as of this morning. not to thread steal but I have been doing the pushups per a website (can i post it here? don't want to get flagged as advert) and have noticed a difference but haven't seen any weight loss.

My guess is I am gaining some muscle but not losing much of the fat. Might have to take you up on this challenge. Looking to join the Army and this would definitely help!

Good Luck!

PS- pmed you.

[d_stilgar]

Feel free to post anything that you think might help people. You definitely won't be stepping on my toes. Also, thanks for the PM. We'll see how things are in three months!

[Outlaw]

The site was http://hundredpushups.com/. They also have a link to two hundred situps and two hundred squats. I have only done the pushups so far and I am able to now do in the low to mid 20's in a row. Prior to starting I was barely able to do 10.

Don't forget to stay hydrated and take breaks if necessary. Overexerting yourself isn't going to help and an injury may put you back to where you started.

[d_stilgar]

Day 22

I forgot to update on day 15, but things were pretty much the same. P90X, some cycling. On Saturday the 13th Chelsea and I went shooting with some friends. We played a version of bump, but with shotguns. There were also lots of rifles and pistols of varying calibers. All in all there were about a dozen people out having a good time.

Last week was spring break, so instead of working extra hard on the dieting and exercise I took a break from P90X. On Monday I pretty much did nothing but clean the apartment. It needed to have a nice deep cleaning and I was happy to do it. That night we had the missionaries over for dinner and I invited some friends over as well. It was pretty fun and relaxing.

On Tuesday my friend Ken and I got on our bicycles and headed over to Pullman. We stopped at DQ and ate whatever we wanted. I had an Oreo Cheese-quake blizzard with Butterfinger, and a crispy flamethrower chicken sandwich. It tasted pretty darn good. The entire trip was about 21-22 miles and was a pretty good workout despite all the crappy food we ate at the midway point. That night Chelsea and I went over to Ken & Chelsie's place for burgers. We had brownies and ice cream for dessert. It was fun, but I was tired and felt a little bad. I don't think I was a great guest because I could feel my mind drifting off.

Wednesday through Friday I just sorta farted around the apartment and internet. I played a fair amount of computer games, which was nice. By Friday I was getting a little restless and I was feeling ready to do something like mod or program or something, but didn't. On Saturday Chelsea and I did a repeat of what Ken and I did on Tuesday. Again, another 21-22 miles on the bikes, and I ate the same thing I did on Tuesday at DQ.

Today I weighed myself. 204.8 lbs. Not awful considering all the crap I ate and the fact I was pretty inactive for the week, but I'm not losing weight and the first month is getting close to being over. It's also not enough of a loss to be confirmed as fat. It could just be water. Darn. I gotta recommit myself. I fall out of my routine so easily. I guess the thing I gotta do it just get back on it.

I didn't do P90X today. My last class got out at 12:20, and there were "first come first serve" interviews in Pullman for summer jobs on the WSU campus starting at 1:30. About 11 miles and one hour later I got to the building. There was a large line forming already, but I filled out an application and had three interviews for different positions on campus. I'm about 99% sure that I have a job maintaining the grounds during the summer. If I don't get that then I'm almost positive that I'll get a custodial position. After the interviews I headed to Chelsea's work and she gave me a ride home. My total biking distance was 12.8 miles. Nice!

[blueonblack]

I just wanted to chime in with some encouragement here, this is a hard thing to do. Keep it up.

Add my vote to always weighing at the same time of day. Also, you may not want to weigh very often. Not seeing the gains (or losses) you want can be discouraging.

[Waynio]

I lost 15lbs at 2 weeks after my last post on this thread just by having no sugar in my coffee, it was not nice at first though, but got used to it & managed 2 weeks, weighing myself morning & night at the same times then went back but only 1 sugar instead of 2 or 3 & my weight has stayed the same, a good bit of the flab has melted away too :), not been exercising neither, I could do a bit more to get rid of the flab completely but not just yet, I have slipped up & pigged out on junk food a couple of times lol but got the ballance back pretty fast, thanks for starting this d_stilgar :):up:.

I remember when I reached 19 stone & got back down to 14 & felt like I could do crazy aerial maneuvers with the extra weight not being there :) it was a good feeling & wouldn't mind getting it back 8).

[Luke122]

I've cut out most processed sugars and sweets from my diet, cut down soda and coffee, and stepped up the raw foods. I'm down 12 lbs with very little additional exercising above the usual amount!

My bike is coming out of the shed tonight.. I've been meaning to pull it out for a few weeks, but I've just been too busy. Tonight..... I ride.

[d_stilgar]

I've been eating some sugars lately and again I'm not going to make it to phase 2 of P90X. It is so hard to stay motivated with that. I really need to make some permanent changes to my sleeping habits. Food has been better in general though. More good stuff, less bad.

I'm also riding my bike to and from school every day. I love that. I'm debating whether or not I'll ride to work over the summer. They job is very early in the morning and it's about 11 miles from my apartment, so to be on the safe side I'll have to give myself a little more than an hour to get there, especially if it's windy.

That said I'm almost down to 200 from the 209 max I had there when working out and trying to eat right. My wife is also going on a trip for a week and a half and I want to see if I can do a "biggest loser" 10lb loss while she's gone. I'm going to do a Brad Pitt diet and work out. It should be good. I lost an average of 1lb a day when I did it before, and there is so much food you eat.

[Outlaw]

Looks like your doing pretty good. Any updates?

Also, I started drinking a lot more water and really haven't exercised like I should be, but I am now down to 202-204 depending on the day. I used the below links and it has helped me. I know a lot of people say "oh you can't eat this or that" but I still eat the same things.. just have to portion yourself and not go overboard. I noticed my biggest loss after drinking my 3 litre jug of water a day (4lbs in 3 days).

SHOULD BE USED AS A GUIDE
http://nutrition.about.com/library/blwatercalculator.htm

and

http://www.shapeupshop.com/weightloss/water-weight-loss.html

[chaksq]

Cool, project. I think losing that much weight would kill me, so I can't join. But I'm rooting for everyone involved.

[Zephik]

Just a personal update. I'm down to 242. Started at possibly 259, but I think it might of been 255. The scale is sometimes 4 pounds off, which I didn't realize right away. But 255 to be safe, so I've lost 13 pounds. I even look thinner too, which is pretty damn encouraging. Just gotta make sure I weigh myself repeatedly to get an accurate reading.

Just keep at it, people! You can definitely do it with just a bit of resolve.

(I'm eating less @ about 800 to 1200 calories per day. I'm also walking a lot too. Between 40 minutes to 120 minutes per day. Eat less. Eat healthy. Exercise. It suprisingly works! Lol...)

[d_stilgar]

I'm doing alright. I'm pretty stagnant at 200lbs. I need to make a big push. I did 20 miles on my bike today. Diet part hasn't been great. I do alright until my wife asks me to buy something sweet, then I eat it all.

[Zephik]

I'm doing alright. I'm pretty stagnant at 200lbs. I need to make a big push. I did 20 miles on my bike today. Diet part hasn't been great. I do alright until my wife asks me to buy something sweet, then I eat it all.

I've been pretty strict about that. Replace sweets with sugarless, low calorie ones.

In the past two months I've had one two liter of sugarless, zero calorie fizzy drink, a couple doughnuts annnddd... Hmmm. That might be it actually. I eat a lot of fruit which keeps me satisfied. Blend a lot of it. Makes a yummy drink.

If you do eat something loaded with calories, like sugary snacks, go for a run and burn off some energy that way your body doesn't have enough extra to store (aka fat). It works for me anyways. It's just a pain in the ass. lol

[d_stilgar]

I like those water drinking articles. I'm going to make a point to drink more water.