Help! I'm Fat - *** Official Exercise and Weight Thread ***

[clonechemist]

Mentioned upthread that I got 'off track' the last half of 2024. I'm sometimes hesitant to set specific goals (failing to meet a goal can be discouraging!), but I'll go ahead and throw down a few for myself here:

1.) Aim to lose 1 pound per week from now until August 17th (currently at 265; that would put me at 235 going into our summer beach vacation)
2.) Aim to get 2 cardio workouts and1 lifting session per week
3.) Aiming to keep my current 'healthy-ish' breakfast+lunch habit that gets me to dinner at 1200-1400 calories
4.) Aim to avoid eating anything after 7:30pm. If necessary (ie to keep my brain functioning for evening work) keep it reasonable like 1 granola bar or 1 yogurt
5.) If all goals above are met, re-evaluate weight loss, exercise, and behavior goals after summer vacation

To stay accountable I'll check in here once a month

 

[BoxsterCy]

Spent the day slothing in my chair watching basketball games and just remembered Monday is MLK Day. Gym will be crowded with HS kids with the day off so need to pop over right now and setup a Sun/Tue/Thurs week and not my planned Mon/Wed/Fri.

And -3 out so will be wearing long sleeves in the gym, it's not that hot in there on really cold days.

 

[cycloner29]

Stepped on the scale Dec 26th and it read 230. Forward to this morning, stepped on same scale at it was at 222. I have cut out alcohol, pop, limited snacking to carrots, celery, and almonds. Went from stationary biking all the time to weight machine work outs 3 days a week and biking 30 minutes two days a week. I keep thinking it’s the scale that is off. I will check again in the morning when I go.

 

[BoxsterCy]

The cookie season is here. Stay strong.

 

[cycloner29]

Stepped on the scale Dec 26th and it read 230. Forward to this morning, stepped on same scale at it was at 222. I have cut out alcohol, pop, limited snacking to carrots, celery, and almonds. Went from stationary biking all the time to weight machine work outs 3 days a week and biking 30 minutes two days a week. I keep thinking it’s the scale that is off. I will check again in the morning when I go.

Scale said 226 this morning!

 

[clonechemist]

Scale said 226 this morning!

If you started at 230 on Dec 26th and then were at 226, and if that's 'real' body mass loss (not just water weight), you're losing over a pound a week, which is close to the maximum sustainable weight loss.

If weighing at random times is going to stress you out, why not just weigh every day and track your moving 3-day, 5-day, or 7-day average? You will rapidly see how 'noisy' your weight can be. And if you hit a sticking point where you're not losing any weight for multiple weeks, you can try to adjust your output.

And, in addition to weight, you should really also be tracking your fitness on your stationary bike and weight machines. You may find that you hit periods where you're getting noticeably more fit (ie able to move more weight, or move the same weight for more reps more easily, or going faster on the bike) - if that is happening you really don't need to worry about weight loss in those periods, since the increased fitness shows you're getting healthier and likely losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time.

 

[MJ29]

Scale said 226 this morning!

If you're wanting to lose weight, the only real way is via calorie defecit. Exercising is a very small part of that (and don't trust devices that say you burned xx amount of calories during a workout). You can use the TDEE calculator on the internet to help you figure out your maintenance calories and then do a cut from there. I only cut about 200 calories from my maintenance. Progress is slower, but it's more sustainable because I don't get hungry and then overeat.

 

[cycloner29]

I guess my main point is never get too caught up on what the scale reads. I donate plasma so they weigh you when before you donate. I never ask since I have heavier clothes on when I go there during the winter months vs the summer months. My main goal is to stay the course, watch what I eat, drink plenty of water (donating plasma twice a week, you have to watch your hematocrit and protein levels as they have levels you must maintain to donate, along with with a low BP), keep my cardio work out up due to BP meds (on the lowest level) which is the bike and maintain/build strength levels.

 

[KnappShack]

If you're wanting to lose weight, the only real way is via calorie defecit. Exercising is a very small part of that (and don't trust devices that say you burned xx amount of calories during a workout). You can use the TDEE calculator on the internet to help you figure out your maintenance calories and then do a cut from there. I only cut about 200 calories from my maintenance. Progress is slower, but it's more sustainable because I don't get hungry and then overeat.

I dropped over 50 lbs a few years ago.

Being completely dialed into the diet is the quickest way. Cardio and activity helps. For sure.

But a consistent and hard cap on the calories is what got my weight in line.

Then we had kid 2 and blew the **** out of my rigid routine.

 

[RagingCloner]

Struggling this week myself. Gotten back into a healthy routine over the last few weeks, lifting and exercising, hardcore tracking of macros and calories, caloric deficit, and just not seeing the scale move the way i want it too. I have a goal of losing another 80 pounds, and i know its not a quick process, but damn this is disheartening

 

[KnappShack]

Struggling this week myself. Gotten back into a healthy routine over the last few weeks, lifting and exercising, and just not seeing the scale move the way i want it too. I have a goal of losing another 80 pounds, and i know its not a quick process, but damn this is disheartening

It happens in waves. A steady 1-2 pounds a week sounds great but I found it was more of a - gain 2 - lose 1 - hold steady - lose 3 deal

Keep swinging

 

[clonechemist]

Mentioned upthread that I got 'off track' the last half of 2024. I'm sometimes hesitant to set specific goals (failing to meet a goal can be discouraging!), but I'll go ahead and throw down a few for myself here:

1.) Aim to lose 1 pound per week from now until August 17th (currently at 265; that would put me at 235 going into our summer beach vacation)
2.) Aim to get 2 cardio workouts and1 lifting session per week
3.) Aiming to keep my current 'healthy-ish' breakfast+lunch habit that gets me to dinner at 1200-1400 calories
4.) Aim to avoid eating anything after 7:30pm. If necessary (ie to keep my brain functioning for evening work) keep it reasonable like 1 granola bar or 1 yogurt
5.) If all goals above are met, re-evaluate weight loss, exercise, and behavior goals after summer vacation

To stay accountable I'll check in here once a month

Checking in today:

All good on eating behavior and exercise goals (really enjoying getting back into consistent cycling and lifting!!)

I should've written out as an explicit goal to go to bed by 9:30-10PM every night. I've been OK there but had a few slip-ups. It makes an incredible difference on how I feel and function.

Weight this morning is 260 pounds. It always feels great to see the scale move and it's a good sign, but I know this first 10 pound loss is the easiest (largely water/glycogen weight).

I haven't strictly tracked calories, but I'm pretty good at estimating (it helps that breakfast and lunch are very consistent), and I've been consuming roughly 2300-3000 per day. Will try to keep in that range, and will roughly adjust if sustained weight loss over the next ~2 months is too slow (<1 lb/week) or fast (>2 lbs/week)

January is over, and with it the temporary boost in motivation and mindfulness that many of us experience after the holiday and New Year. February and March is time to grind, stay strong everybody!

 

[cyclone4L]

Checking in today:

All good on eating behavior and exercise goals (really enjoying getting back into consistent cycling and lifting!!)

I should've written out as an explicit goal to go to bed by 9:30-10PM every night. I've been OK there but had a few slip-ups. It makes an incredible difference on how I feel and function.

Weight this morning is 260 pounds. It always feels great to see the scale move and it's a good sign, but I know this first 10 pound loss is the easiest (largely water/glycogen weight).

I haven't strictly tracked calories, but I'm pretty good at estimating (it helps that breakfast and lunch are very consistent), and I've been consuming roughly 2300-3000 per day. Will try to keep in that range, and will roughly adjust if sustained weight loss over the next ~2 months is too slow (<1 lb/week) or fast (>2 lbs/week)

January is over, and with it the temporary boost in motivation and mindfulness that many of us experience after the holiday and New Year. February and March is time to grind, stay strong everybody!

How often do you weigh-in?

 

[clonechemist]

How often do you weigh-in?

About 4 times per day hahahahaha.

But I'm actually tracking my daily morning weight (weigh myself first thing in the morning after peeing)

 

[clonechemist]

How often do you weigh-in?

PS how has your healthy/weight/exercise/diet been recently? It's been inspiring to re-read much of this thread over the last 6 weeks.

I don't know about your experience, but for me I've lost a lot of weight in the past, and I think 'maintenance' is just as hard as cutting. For me I think it's all about healthy routines/habits and stress. My lowest healthy adult weight was ~195 pounds, maintained that for about 2 years. For about 15 years after college, I maintained somewhere between 200-230 pounds. Just in the last 3-4 I really fattened up to 270.

 

[cyclone4L]

About 4 times per day hahahahaha.

But I'm actually tracking my daily morning weight (weigh myself first thing in the morning after peeing)

That's basically what I did.

 

[cyclone4L]

PS how has your healthy/weight/exercise/diet been recently? It's been inspiring to re-read much of this thread over the last 6 weeks.

I don't know about your experience, but for me I've lost a lot of weight in the past, and I think 'maintenance' is just as hard as cutting. For me I think it's all about healthy routines/habits and stress. My lowest healthy adult weight was ~195 pounds, maintained that for about 2 years. For about 15 years after college, I maintained somewhere between 200-230 pounds. Just in the last 3-4 I really fattened up to 270.

I've maintained my goal weight l that I reached in September. My biggest deviation was about 4 lbs around Christmas, but I've already gotten rid of it.

I was never focused on the result, but the routine. I can only control the routine. With a controlled routine, the results will come. I'll never break the routine for the rest of my life.

 

[clonechemist]

I've maintained my goal weight l that I reached in September. My biggest deviation was about 4 lbs around Christmas, but I've already gotten rid of it.

I was never focused on the result, but the routine. I can only control the routine. With a controlled routine, the results will come. I'll never break the routine for the rest of my life.

Congrats and well-done on the maintenance! Your philosophy is spot on.

For me the biggest disruption (that triggered going from 230-270) was a combination of a 2nd kid and a career change that added stress and decreased daily activity. Steer clear of stress and kids and you should be golden

 

[cymate]

Currently a soft 280 5'10.

Started my first 10 week session at farrells. My biggest challenge will be eating clean and staying off the booze.

Goal weight is to be 220lbs.

Wish me luck.

.
Halfway through 10 weeks at Farrell's, so I figured it’s a good time to check in and keep myself accountable! Weighed in yesterday at 269—down 12 pounds! I’ve also lost 3 inches off my hips and 1 inch off my belly. Arms and chest measurements have stayed the same, but I'm feeling stronger and more motivated to keep pushing forward

 

[RagingCloner]

.
Halfway through 10 weeks at Farrell's, so I figured it’s a good time to check in and keep myself accountable! Weighed in yesterday at 269—down 12 pounds! I’ve also lost 3 inches off my hips and 1 inch off my belly. Arms and chest measurements have stayed the same, but I'm feeling stronger and more motivated to keep pushing forward

Fantastic progress, congratulations!