TLDR; Lost 70lbs over the last 5ish months by eating less and moving more progress comparison
Hey loseit,
I'll start by saying it's been a long road, even though this last go has been amazingly successful and the best run I've had yet. In 2011 I turned 30 and hit my highest weight, 360s. I'd been diagnosed with sleep apnea 2 years before, and then type 2 diabetes and hypertension (my BP was on the high range of normal, but diabetic put me in a different scale i guess?), and started taking metformin and lisinopril. I spent the next 6 years yo-yo'ing; I'd lose 20-30lbs in the spring, gain it back in the fall, repeat next year. This is pretty much how I looked from 2011-2016 though (annual mother's day cub's game)
2017, I admitted that I was hiding in alcohol way too much and cut back drinking. I went from bingeing 2-3 nights a week to maybe 1-2 drinks a week. Not being hung over so much let me get a tiny bit more consistent with my exercise, and I pretty much maintained 310 from summer 2017 to October 2018
April 2018 I moved from Illinois to Colorado for a new job, and spent the summer getting settled and learning the area. I moved by myself, and don't know anyone, and in the Fall the newness of the move had worn out and I was starting to get a little lonely and really felt like I was wasting a great chance out here, starting over. I always kind of thought to myself if I had no distractions, I'd have no problem losing weight. Well, here was my chance to prove it.
I took a picture 10-02-2018, and decided to give it another go.
So I knew from years and years of effort what worked for me, and what didn't, and tried to put it all together. I spent the last 7 years fighting against myself, so I wasn't going to anymore. Meal prep, tracking everything, restriction; doesn't work for me. I also wasn't interested in looking like a deflated balloon - I didn't want to lose simply through diet alone.
So I put together the "plan" below, and figured I'd give it a few months.
Activity:
Strength training - Total bro split, was way too fat for leg days. Went Lifted Mon/Tues/Thurs/Fri
Cardio - Daily - Row 10 minutes, ride 20 minutes on stationary bike
Weekends - 60min bike ride both days, attempt 1 new hiking trail each weekend
Diet:
I signed up for a food service, which took care of my dinners - each dinner was about 500-600 calories
Breakfast would be a quick breakfast sandwich - egg, bacon, whole grain muffin, or a cliff bar and banana
Lunch - eat out for work. This was my sanity/normal meal, however I'd just get the entree. If I was craving a spicy chicken from wendy's, that's what I got. No sides. Lunch/eating out is also when I'd get a diet soda - otherwise everything else was water (an occasional beers of course - living in the land of microbrews here!)
I didn't really track calories outside of a vague idea, but most days I stuck to this plan and probably averaged 1500-1700 calories.
This went well, I don't own a scale but knew this was working because my clothes started hanging on me. That shirt I'm wearing in the picture is a size too small, I just liked it and it fit me once like 2 years ago so I figured it'd be a good way to track loss. The day after Thanksgiving I went on a hike and hurt my foot; it felt like a slight sprain, but then I continued to walk, row, and work out on it for a fews before I literally almost couldn't walk and had to stop. Although I kept my diet up, I didn't exercise and rested it for about 3 weeks, almost all of December.
Late December I went in for my 6 month checkup and was down to 258. I hadn't seen a number under 300 in so long, it caught me by surprise and my ankle was just starting to feel better again so I decided to get back into the gym with some renewed life.
So December I started a new plan, which I've been following and plan to continue for the next 2 months at least:
Activity:
Strength Training - GZCL's LP - 4x a week every other day
Cardio - Strength training days warm up with 10min row @ 2:50 pace, attempting to lower pace each week (did 2:32 today) and 1 mile jog @ 13:00 pace (down to 11:32 today).
Non-strength training days - C25k (just completed W4 D1 yesterday), 45 minute interval training on rower
Weekends - Still working through those hiking and biking trails
Diet:
Added lunches to meal service, 4 of 7 lunches are one of the 500-600 calorie meals too
Added 2 scoops of protein per day (extra 480 calories), the activity level was draining me
And took a picture of myself today, weighed myself at the gym Sunday and was sitting at 240 even.
That's my story, where I'm at. Figure I'm about halfway, maybe a bit more. My "ideal" weight looks to be around 170s, but I figure I'll try to get to 190 and reevaluate. The biggest change I can really attribute to this is I'm focused on it this time - more focused than I've been on anything in a very, very long time. My lack of social calendar has helped, but I've still been out there trying. The biggest thing I feel this time around is I'm just not interested in other's opinions. I'm not worried if it looks weird that I'm at a super bowl watch party and I'm drinking water and munching sparingly on the veggie tray. I'm craving that snickers bar? "Fine fatty. Have it. Feel good now? That 300 calories did nothing, and now we have to work it off at some point. That wasn't smart, was it?" Oddly enough, the next time I'm craving something, I remember that dialogue and sometimes, not always, but sometimes it helps me crave it less. At the very least, it's stopped me from eating 3 more snickers bars and then stopping the gym for 3 weeks cuz screw it, we failed right? Heh.
I was just having one of those days today. Everything's been going well, but I'm looking at myself in the mirror and seeing how much further I have to go. How long it feels like it's taking, how little the day to day changes, and needed a little extra motivation this week. Maybe my middlin' progress can help you with yours. Good luck everyone, and thanks for all the motivation, inspiration, determination, and good habits you've helped me build.
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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2GER6oy
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