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

[VeloClone]

Scary part was that it was around the same time.

A gallon of water weighs over 8 pounds. The average bladder can hold about two cups of urine relatively comfortably and as much as four cups at night. So whether or not you have peed recently can mean a pound right there. If you just took a drink or haven't drank recently can account for another pound either way

 

[CloniesForLife]

I need to figure out how the scale at the gym could read 225 one day and the next day it read 228?

Water consumption, sodium consumption, macro consumption (more carbs = more water weight), bowel movements.

There is a whole host of reasons that weight can fluctuate day to day. It sounds like your overall trend is on the downward though and that is all that matters. Don't worry too much about day to day fluctuation if you are doing what you need to do the fat will disappear over time. Nothing is perfectly linear as weight loss isn't always a perfect equation.

 

[madguy30]

The difference is water weight. You dont just stay one weight consistantly throught the day/days. Flucuating a few pounds is normal depending on time of day, what you ate, how much liquid you drank, etc. That's one reason that the recommendation is to weigh in at the same time of day/week if you want to compare or track your weight.

Haha, sometimes I'll be doing well on the weight, then eat only a pile of stirfired veggies and fruit like apples or bananas, which is a very good thing to have for dinner. However, it's likely about 4-5 lbs of food so at first it's a little confusing if I go lift afterward and check my weight out of habit.

2 apples is generally a pound.

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

I weigh myself in the morning right before I get in the shower.

 

[BoxsterCy]

The difference is water weight. You dont just stay one weight consistantly throught the day/days. Flucuating a few pounds is normal depending on time of day, what you ate, how much liquid you drank, etc. That's one reason that the recommendation is to weigh in at the same time of day/week if you want to compare or track your weight.

Or weighing yourself before or after taking a huge hawkeye.

 

[VeloClone]

Or weighing yourself before or after taking a huge hawkeye.

Who hasn't ever weighed yourself before and after taking a huge hawkeye? Come on, admit it.

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

Weighed myself this morning. Still sitting at 218

18 lbs to go to hit my original goal. I guess I need to step it up. Cutting back on alcohol calories would help immensely

Edit: I certainly didn't make any progress on cutting back alcohol calories this weekend

 

[cowgirl836]

I feel great! I have a ton more energy and my back and knees feel WAY better already.

I'm realizing that I kinda went about this all wrong. I tried to find different diet and workout regimens that I hear guys like Joe Rogan would do; it took me a few months to realize that I am not Joe Rogan. First of all, I have an addiction to fast food and soda; he doesn't. I also haven't been able to finish an intense workout since I was a freshman in college. Those "grand plans" weren't working for me.

The big epiphany came when I downloaded the underarmour fitness app. I tracks your weight, calories consumed and calories burned through steps and workout that you record; there's probably dozens of apps that do the same thing. I went to McDonald's one day (after I felt sorry for myself) and I decided to put my meal into the system. I was shocked. My meal (which is what I would usually get) was around 2,100 calories. ONE MEAL. OVER THE RECOMMENDED CALORIC INTAKE. I was floored, because I had already planned on going to Chipotle that night and making cookies for my wife (which I would have to eat a few).

I had no idea that I was eating THAT many calories.

So now the plan is just try to eat relative clean food from home and record everything I eat. I go workout after I've eaten everything I am going to eat that day just say I can't convince myself that a hard workout = eat trash.

We got this guys.

so I've already sort of made my spiel about diets in general (and would say that hearing the comments your family made and hints around emotional eating show there's probably some deeper stuff to work out to make this a sustainable change), HOWEVER, when I first got started many moons ago, MyFitnessPal was SO useful to me in seeing what was in the foods and serving sizes I would eat. Doesn't have to become restrictive but just knowing that yeah, that one meal is your daily caloric need is enough to make you think twice.

Great progress so far!

 

[cowgirl836]

maybe the thread for this.......my fitbit is dying on me and I don't think I want to replace it with another one though I like their tracking. Trialing a Samsung Galaxy Active 2 and a Garmin Venu. Think I like the Active 2 better though I don't think the tracking is as accurate and it needs more frequent charging. I'm really liking the smart features on the Active despite not thinking I'd use it much.

Anyone have something they really love?

 

[cycloner29]

I normally weigh myself right after I work out, before I drink water even. First thing in the morning is downing 10-12 oz of water. I am at the gym at 5 am. I was at 225 lbs again yesterday. I'm happy with that. Down 12 pounds from the same time 2 years ago.

Heart exercise rate of 154 that went down to 137 a minute after cool down. Resting heart rate ranges from 65-75 beats/min.

 

[BoxsterCy]

A lot of what I read here doesn't really seem sustainable over a lifetime. Seems to be a lot of extreme stuff here, both on the calorie side and workout side of things. Just an observation from a 60-something who's managed to stay in pretty decent shape since he got into "shape" at 30 when I started running and doing some weights*. Stuff like not drinking sodas and chowing down fast and junk food certainly is sustainable but not so sure about the extreme dietary stuff thrown out here. Sames with the crazy intense workouts everyday for the rest of your lives, not so much. Is this really going to work for decades?


* So long ago Nautilus circuits were all the rage. It's too bad it didn't last as it was a valid concept, one set for each machine in a series not resting between. Nice combo of weight training (not body building) with some tangible aerobic benefits. Problem was the free weight guys would sit their asses on some of the Nautilus machines for five or six sets waiting forever between them, pretty much killing any circuit routines. Still a pet peeve as now guys sit on machines dinking with their cell phones for several minutes between sets. They waste so much of everyone else's time.

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

I stepped on the scale this morning and I'm down 17 lbs since January 6th. Diet wise I'm not doing anything crazy other than monitoring my caloric intake. I've reduced portion sizes which was really hard at first and I've avoided grab and go type lunches. Cleaning up my lunches has probably been the biggest contributor to my weight loss. I work out Monday through Friday and allow myself to "cheat" on the weekends. I haven't completely cut out alcohol or unhealthy foods either. Everything is fine in moderation, you just have to find the right balance and I'm in a good groove right now. On top of my weight loss I've added noticeable muscle as well so the inches lost far outweigh the pounds. I know it's cliche but I feel amazing.

 

[WhoISthis]

A lot of what I read here doesn't really seem sustainable over a lifetime. Seems to be a lot of extreme stuff here, both on the calorie side and workout side of things. Just an observation from a 60-something who's managed to stay in pretty decent shape since he got into "shape" at 30 when I started running and doing some weights*. Stuff like not drinking sodas and chowing down fast and junk food certainly is sustainable but not so sure about the extreme dietary stuff thrown out here. Sames with the crazy intense workouts everyday for the rest of your lives, not so much. Is this really going to work for decades?


* So long ago Nautilus circuits were all the rage. It's too bad it didn't last as it was a valid concept, one set for each machine in a series not resting between. Nice combo of weight training (not body building) with some tangible aerobic benefits. Problem was the free weight guys would sit their asses on some of the Nautilus machines for five or six sets waiting forever between them, pretty much killing any circuit routines. Still a pet peeve as now guys sit on machines dinking with their cell phones for several minutes between sets. They waste so much of everyone else's time.

Wonderful post. Particularly the Nautilus circuit! These high-intensity, metcon workouts are all the rage now, but you have to pay $150/month for a CrossFit to avoid the amateur bodybuilders that sit on machines.

Perhaps these different approaches are sustainable and enriching for others, but it would not have facilitated a healthy, enjoyable life for me. Until my arthritis, I enjoyed my runs and gym trips, and just tried to make indulgences worth it.

I would say the diet portion was much easier then than it is in today’s society.

Good luck to all! I hope everyone finds a healthy lifestyle that makes them truly enjoy the process (aka, life) and it will be easy to stick with!

 

[jbindm]

A lot of what I read here doesn't really seem sustainable over a lifetime. Seems to be a lot of extreme stuff here, both on the calorie side and workout side of things. Just an observation from a 60-something who's managed to stay in pretty decent shape since he got into "shape" at 30 when I started running and doing some weights*. Stuff like not drinking sodas and chowing down fast and junk food certainly is sustainable but not so sure about the extreme dietary stuff thrown out here. Sames with the crazy intense workouts everyday for the rest of your lives, not so much. Is this really going to work for decades?


* So long ago Nautilus circuits were all the rage. It's too bad it didn't last as it was a valid concept, one set for each machine in a series not resting between. Nice combo of weight training (not body building) with some tangible aerobic benefits. Problem was the free weight guys would sit their asses on some of the Nautilus machines for five or six sets waiting forever between them, pretty much killing any circuit routines. Still a pet peeve as now guys sit on machines dinking with their cell phones for several minutes between sets. They waste so much of everyone else's time.

Fad diets have been around forever. They work for awhile but they're just not sustainable or healthy over a longer timeline. Like you said, the key is finding something that works for you for the long haul and that's different for everyone. The really intense stuff can be useful just in terms of kick starting some good diet and exercise habits, but you do have to ask yourself if it's something you can keep up for more than a few weeks or months.

 

[BCClone]

A lot of what I read here doesn't really seem sustainable over a lifetime. Seems to be a lot of extreme stuff here, both on the calorie side and workout side of things. Just an observation from a 60-something who's managed to stay in pretty decent shape since he got into "shape" at 30 when I started running and doing some weights*. Stuff like not drinking sodas and chowing down fast and junk food certainly is sustainable but not so sure about the extreme dietary stuff thrown out here. Sames with the crazy intense workouts everyday for the rest of your lives, not so much. Is this really going to work for decades?


* So long ago Nautilus circuits were all the rage. It's too bad it didn't last as it was a valid concept, one set for each machine in a series not resting between. Nice combo of weight training (not body building) with some tangible aerobic benefits. Problem was the free weight guys would sit their asses on some of the Nautilus machines for five or six sets waiting forever between them, pretty much killing any circuit routines. Still a pet peeve as now guys sit on machines dinking with their cell phones for several minutes between sets. They waste so much of everyone else's time.

Many of the free weight guys don't understand that if you spend more than 20-30 minutes on a weight training session, that you are just corralling the tadpole for awhile. If you don't have a lineup in front of you, you should take no more than 30 second rests between sets, find a guy who does the same amount of weight and you can set up two machines and switch with them afterwards so you get two hard devices in at once.

Best to do is find something that you can realistically and not step on the scale very often. I decided Wednesday that its time to get serious, so I have an excel spreadsheet on my computer tracking everything I eat and any workout I do. Studies have shown that you don't need the 90 minute workouts daily, that the 30 minute ones 3-5 days a week can speed up your metabolism another notch that just doing that will counter 50 pounds of gain or give you a loss of that.

 

[madguy30]

A lot of what I read here doesn't really seem sustainable over a lifetime. Seems to be a lot of extreme stuff here, both on the calorie side and workout side of things. Just an observation from a 60-something who's managed to stay in pretty decent shape since he got into "shape" at 30 when I started running and doing some weights*. Stuff like not drinking sodas and chowing down fast and junk food certainly is sustainable but not so sure about the extreme dietary stuff thrown out here. Sames with the crazy intense workouts everyday for the rest of your lives, not so much. Is this really going to work for decades?


* So long ago Nautilus circuits were all the rage. It's too bad it didn't last as it was a valid concept, one set for each machine in a series not resting between. Nice combo of weight training (not body building) with some tangible aerobic benefits. Problem was the free weight guys would sit their asses on some of the Nautilus machines for five or six sets waiting forever between them, pretty much killing any circuit routines. Still a pet peeve as now guys sit on machines dinking with their cell phones for several minutes between sets. They waste so much of everyone else's time.

Yeah someone on here talked about how they work out every morning and still eat the same...not sure what the age was but eventually at minimum the metabolism slows down and working out like that can become less frequent with 'gettin' old' type of injuries, alignment issues, etc.

For me it's about adjusting which can take some real time to figure out given the circumstances.

Currently I know that being able to run would help me with my weight, but that also means I'm slipping a bit.

 

[besserheimerphat]

Weighed myself this morning. Still sitting at 218

18 lbs to go to hit my original goal. I guess I need to step it up. Cutting back on alcohol calories would help immensely

You will have plateaus during weightloss. There are other changes going on internally that, once sorted out, will lead to further weightloss. If you've plateaued, give it a few weeks or a month to see if you start losing again. At that point you can think about making additional habit changes.

 

[besserheimerphat]

For you guys complaining about "bodybuilder types" hogging the machines, remember everyone has different goals. And achieving those different goals requires different approaches. You want general fitness - circuit style training is great for you. Some guys want to get huge - that requires higher intensity and volume, which necessitates longer rest periods. Some guys want to get maximize their strength - that requires even higher intensity and even longer rest periods. You could probably figure out a pretty good circuit that is all dumbell/barbell work, skipping all the machines (and hitting your core and stabilizers better). You could even do a bodyweight circuit - no more waiting for equipment ever.

 

[baller21]

For you guys complaining about "bodybuilder types" hogging the machines, remember everyone has different goals. And achieving those different goals requires different approaches. You want general fitness - circuit style training is great for you. Some guys want to get huge - that requires higher intensity and volume, which necessitates longer rest periods. Some guys want to get maximize their strength - that requires even higher intensity and even longer rest periods. You could probably figure out a pretty good circuit that is all dumbell/barbell work, skipping all the machines (and hitting your core and stabilizers better). You could even do a bodyweight circuit - no more waiting for equipment ever.

Yeah not everyone in the gym is trying to lose weight. Some are trying to gain muscle mass by lifting heavy with a couple minutes between sets. In my experience, most of the time, these guys are using free weights but if they are using the machines they will let you work In a set in between theirs if you ask.

 

[besserheimerphat]

Yeah not everyone in the gym is trying to lose weight. Some are trying to gain muscle mass by lifting heavy with a couple minutes between sets. In my experience, most of the time, these guys are using free weights but if they are using the machines they will let you work In a set in between theirs if you ask.

If I notice somebody lingering, I always ask if they want to work in. The only thing i don't like about sharing a machine is having to readjust it before each set. Not a big deal for something like lat pulls or rows, but on leg extensions or leg curls there are like 4 separate adjustments to make.