The Losers Club: Share your Progress!!

[Dagwoodz]

Now, this is primarily aimed at those, like myself, who are trying to lose weight, but I think that anyone who is trying to improve their fitness has a place in this. I've always benefited from having other people to talk to about my progress, and have seen others benefit from being able to talk about their journeys as well. Everyone's goals are going to be different, from increasing aerobic or anaerobic capacity, just straight weight loss, strength, speed, body fat percentage, etc...Share it!

So, the last time I was out here, I went on a weight loss adventure myself. Starting at about month 4, I finished off a 12 month rotation having lost approximately 70 lbs; starting about 265 and ending at about 195. I've since gained that weight back in the 8 years since, and have begun another weight loss journey. At the present time, I'm not doing much exercise aside from a 2-4 mile brisk (16 min mile pace) walk 3-4 times weekly after work. Eventually that will increase to a bit of a jog, then some running, biking, and some body weight work. Diet wise, I'm doing some intermittent fasting, and trying to keep my carb and sugar intake to an absolute minimum. The hardest part is about to start, where I cut my coffee intake out and replace it with unsweetened green and oolong tea. I'll go deeper into my actual diet strategy later on.

On my last weight loss journey, I've found that having a place to give encouragement, tips, and share your frustrations was one of the biggest helps to me, and I think it would be helpful to others trying to accomplish the same goal. This time around, I started at about 268, and am currently down to about 248. My goal is that by the end of this month to be down to about 240. I'll probably post updates once to twice a week here...scale watching daily can be counter productive, but seeing progress over a period of a couple days or a week can be extremely motivating!

Josh's stats as of 7/1/2018:

Starting Weight: 268
Current weight: 248
Weight loss to date: 20 lbs

Short term goal: 240 lbs by 23 July
Long term goal: 190 lbs by April 2019

 

[Dave in KY]

Good for you Josh. Due to some health things I'm being more careful on food choices verses an actual diet and trying to be more active then my work alone which can be physical. So I'm working towards a healthier way and seeing if thay moves the needle any first and will go from there. Here to support though for sure. Sounds like you been down this road successfully before and know what you're doing. Congrats

 

[CBLindsay]

Good idea. I’m a loser at being a loser but I’m a winner when it comes to eat’n a big dinner. I have lost some weight after gaining late in 2017, but I’ve got some ways to go. I tell you getting older makes those little tricks that used to work a lot less effective. I think the one idea that tends to work consistently is the intermittent fasting. Something as simple as having an early dinner/late lunch then nothing until late morning or lunch every couple days can keep the weight off and even help drop a few pounds. I’m hoping I can alter my schedule to allow me to consistently have a much earlier dinner every day ...this tends to help me feel better physically even when weight loss is slow. Of course eating low carb no sugar makes me feel better too and USED to be a home run for weight loss and maintaining. I would love to think the keto lifestyle would work for me but with my wife and kids...I eventually get into a position where I break form. Breaking form often while “eating keto” is nothing more than a high fat disaster.
My stats are similar to Dags ...except for my hight, I’m several inches (feet?) shorter. ...I’m not overweight, I’m undertall.

 

[dangerousdon]

This will be a great thread Josh! And kudos for getting going on this. No time better than the present. I will make my own post later but wanted to comment on yours. I have tried the intermittent fasting thing but I wasn't too keen on it. Though I am likely going to give a try again. There is a lot of science behind it and Louisiana State University's Pennington Biomedical Center just concluded some research on time restricted eating.

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/entertainment_life/health_fitness/article_8c772d5e-584c-11e8-a47b-9383ec6f0833.html

They don't specify a specific diet in this, but the fact there there are healthy benefits with intermittent fasting with almost any kind of diet is amazing.

For me, I really believe that lowering your carbohydrate intake, especially Grains and Sugar, is the key to weight loss and healthy living. I'm not saying getting rid of them all is the answer for everyone, but is hugely beneficial.

You are a bigger man than me for getting rid of the coffee. Though there are studies out there that say coffee is good for you...there are studies that say coffee is bad for you.

What can be taken away from just about anyone's weight loss and get healthy journey is that in order to accomplish these goals...you just have to do something! Anything is better than nothing. This goes for exercise and diet. And when I say diet...I mean dietary lifestyle changes.

Great thread Josh!

 

[Spider]

I had reached a breaking point with my weight and the way I was feeling around the beginning of the year. I stumbled on the idea of a Ketogenic way of eating and became curious.

I knew Don had been having success with keto and he had a thread on another forum about it, so I reached out to him to learn more. He suggested 2 documentaries. “The magic pill” and “Fathead (Directors Cut)”. I watched them both immediately and was instantly pissed off at the way I had been eating. I thought I was eating healthy and making big good choices, but it was all a lie. Right then and there, I knew keto was for me.

I started the Keto way of eating on March 1st. I started off at 215 lbs on a 5’ 8” frame.

Today, July 1st, I’m down to 185. 30 lbs lost in 4 months. My highest weight in college was 185. Now, my body composition is still different than back then. A little bit more fat, and less muscle than back then, but not by much. I’ve always been a little chunky.

Im slowly incorporating weight lifting into my routine, to try to change that aspect as well.

But for me, the biggest benefit of cutting sugars and carbs, and eating a high fat diet, is how I feel. I feel amazing. I have a ton more energy, and just overall feel healthier.

I do look at the scale every day, just as a guage of how I did the day before. If I’m eating right, the scale will usually go down a few tenths every day, unless I’m on a stall. So, if I stay the same or go up, then I try to think if I did anything wrong, ate too many carbs or what. I know that’s not the best thing, and as I put on muscle the scale isn’t going to be a judge of fat loss. But it’s working ok so far.

Ill update with my progress as I go. Great idea Josh.

 

[Cvargo]

This is a great thread. I will post my background here.

So I have technically been on weight watchers for 24 months. I started out at 330 pounds, I am 6'3". Weight Watchers is free at work and that is why I signed up. It assigns a point value to every food and then you stay with in your points. So it looks at calories, saturated fats, protein, sugar, and carbs and uses a formula to create a point value. I don't know the formula I just type it into the app and boom point value assigned. Some things are zero points like fruits, veggies, chicken breast, fish, turkey breast, and eggs. Those are my favorites but there are over 100 zero point foods.

Anyways I started out doing great dropped 40 pounds quickly. But then my wife got pregnant with my daughter. Having a pregnant wife in the house makes it very difficult to eat differently. But I never quit and and kept weighing in. I gained 15 pounds back. But after she was born I started taking it very seriously. I now weigh in at 238 pounds! My goal is to be right around 200. One thing that I have started doing on top of Weight Watchers is intermittent fasting, it seems to really help quite a bit.

What I love about Weight Watchers is that I can eat what I want either with my daily or weekly points and still lose each week. So if I want to order pizza I save my points for pizza. I would recommend that you look into this program if you want, it is sustainable and you cook and eat your own food. There is no buying special food programs, or mail orders here.

 

[Spider]

There are a couple guys at work doing WW and it’s working for them.

 

[dangerousdon]

I know most of you are tired of me posting about my weight loss and all. I'm sorry...I just can't stop talking about it! Anyway...I have been sitting at about 268 270 for several months now...but I am keeping on...keeping on. While I haven't been losing weight per se, my pants are getting looser, and the sizes I am wearing are getting smaller. My phone is a Google Pixel 2 and with it comes the the Google Assistant. Anyway...GA does things from time to time like make slide shows and picture comparisons. This morning this popped up on my phone. The pic on the left was from December this last year. The one on the left was from this morning. Needless to say...my jaw dropped!

 

[Dave in KY]

Wow, congrats on seeing it thru buddy. You SHOULD be proud

 

[ShawnF]

Looking good Don!

Chad.... I'm reading a 92 pound loss so far. If you loose about 59 more pounds, you will have lost me...

Great job though!

 

[Cvargo]

Thanks Shawn. I am loving it.

Started at 330 pounds size 42 pants and XXXL shirt. Now at 235 pounds Size 34 pants and size L shirt.

 

[ShawnF]

Very nice!
I'm probably up to what most of you guys were in Jr high.... I'm 5'8" and right at 155ish, but wear a 29 inch waist jeans.... I think I weighed 115 with a 27 inch waist when I graduated....

 

[dangerousdon]

I think I was in the eighth grade when I was last in a 28 or 29 inch waist!

 

[Dave in KY]

Very nice!
I'm probably up to what most of you guys were in Jr high.... I'm 5'8" and right at 155ish, but wear a 29 inch waist jeans.... I think I weighed 115 with a 27 inch waist when I graduated....

I was 120 lbs and 6'1" with a 27 inch waist when I graduated. Only thing still the same is my height

 

[DocHoliday0831]

I and SWMBO are going to begin to try and healthy up a bit starting tomorrow. Nothing super special diet wise but I am going to attempt to make better choices higher protein and lower carb. And then do some more exercise than the none that I do now.

 

[ShawnF]

I and SWMBO are going to begin to try and healthy up a bit starting tomorrow. Nothing super special diet wise but I am going to attempt to make better choices higher protein and lower carb. And then do some more exercise than the none that I do now.

I need a striker. You can come stand in front of the forge and swing the 8 pound hammer for me all day.

 

[DocHoliday0831]

I need a striker. You can come stand in front of the forge and swing the 8 pound hammer for me all day.

If you were closer I probably would take you up on that. I’ve always wanted to learn forging. I am a fair fabrication guy already as I worked as a isolation/clean room builder before taking the job at the place I am in now.

 

[dangerousdon]

I and SWMBO are going to begin to try and healthy up a bit starting tomorrow. Nothing super special diet wise but I am going to attempt to make better choices higher protein and lower carb. And then do some more exercise than the none that I do now.

Solid decision TJ! It doesn't take drastic changes to make healthy choices!

 

[DocHoliday0831]

Hopped on the scales this morning and my starting weight is 195.5

goal 1 = 170 by end of Dec

 

[Spider]

Hopped on the scales this morning and my starting weight is 195.5

goal 1 = 170 by end of Dec

Nice goal TJ, good luck. Just also keep in mind, it’s not all about the scale. If you are lifting weights at all you’ll add weight as you gain muscle. Muscle is more dense and weighs more than fat. I’m currently not losing weight, but I’m still slimming.