Motivated Dads....Need your help!

DasGootz

Well, I guess from anyone to be honest. I'm lucky enough to be called 'daddy' by my 3 year old son and 15 month old daughter. I've been fighting with my weight my whole life, and I have two of the biggest reasons to lose weight right in front of me. I've been trying to keep myself accountable, and for the most part it works. But then I slip, fall into a lull and go back to my old eating habits and not tracking my food/exercise. It's always nice to hear from and be encouraged and be able to check in with like-minded folks who can help me stay accountable through my journey.

Time to man up...for me, and for my family.

RavenLibra

Well it seems you have all the motivation you need...ever heard of "S.M.A.R.T" goals? Specific...measurable...achievable...realistic...timely... YOU can apply the principles to all facets of your life... BUT in context of your desire to achieve a healthier fitter lifestyle... understand that it is NOT going to be about a temporary fix...it isn't about dieting... or entering ONE Race...it is about creating a balance in your lifestyle where the calories in.. equal the calories out (at some point) down the road. At the moment only a caloric deficit will help you achieve your goal... you can reduce what you intake and not exercise... you can reduce what you eat AND exercise... you can eat the same and exercise more... lots of variations will get you to the same endpoint... BUT is it.. will the tactic you adopt be sustainable...

I framed it like this for myself... I look at myself as being about 40 lbs over... probably a bit more than that but...I visualize myself carrying 2, 20 lb bags of flour with me everywhere I go... that takes some strength... so when I decided to lose weight I decided to try and adopt a tactic where I wouldn't lose that strength... in fact I wanted to increase my strength... and increase my energy... ever got to the top of a set of stairs and be all out of breath? NO wonder.. you are carrying how many bags of flour? imagine if that little "in shape guy" had to load up those same bags of flour and climb those stairs??? How out of breath would he be???

So job one for me... was to amp up my ability to carry those 2 bags of flour... and to do that... reducing the amount of food I ate was not an option... WHAT was an option was to maintain the amount.. .bu tto alter the composition... no more greasy fast food... more nutrient dense veggies, fruit... and protein... and of course bacon... not as much as I used to.. BUT what is life if you can't enjoy what you know you CAN enjoy?

then I altered my thought processes to understand that I am a living breathing biological machine... that food is fuel... an dhow AI chose to fuel it.. .will determine how well the machine works... not just physically, but emotionally as well... and that in order for the machine to function the way it was designed to it was necessary to emulate the work it was designed for... BUT since hunting and gathering or spending 12 hours a day in a field farming would get in the way of making a living...I have embarked on an exercise regime... that has two parts... cardio... and strength...

those are my basics... and finally... this one thing... schedule it... and do it... if you find the time to sit in front of a TV... playing video games, or in front of a computer playing poker.. YOU have time to schedule exercise...

some of my short term goals... burn 2000 calories on cardio/week... so far I am hitting about 1200-1500

burn at least 100 calories /-10 minutes of cardio ( elliptical)...

I tore a bicep last summer so it kind of set me back on the strength training... but long term... bench 225, squat 250, overhead press 180...20x3 sets pull ups... 50 x 3 sets push ups... run a 10k in less than 40 minutes...

thgis is not about finding external motivations... this is between you and your maker finding the will to BE more than you have been so that you can look in the mirror with your own sense of pride...

add me as a frined if you like

Spliner1969

My personal motivation was my 3 daughters and my 5 (soon to be 6) grandchildren. All three of my daughters have had a rough go of it (with men mostly) and I spend a lot of time/effort/money helping them with my grandchildren. I've also fought with my weight most of my life. I was skinny in grade school, then in middle school to early high school I was overweight. In late high school and in early college I managed to lose all the extra weight (beer/Zips diet lol!) but after I was married and had my first child the weight started to pile on slowly. Then, I quit smoking and BAM tons of extra weight. At the beginning of this year (this was 5 years post quitting smoking) I was weighing slightly more than 305, had severely high blood pressure, more back and knee problems (I was told arthritis) and was in pain almost all the time. Something had to give, for a while I thought it would be me. So on Valentines day I promised the wife I would change and thus began my journey.

It's been rough to say the least. I started walking 2 miles a day (as fast as I could stand, about 3.5mph) to burn calories, but managed somewhere late summer to blow out a disc in my back (it had previously been repaired). I managed to recover from that and did it again in early fall. I'm now recovered for the 2nd time and have switched walking to an elliptical-like machine (Bowflex Max Trainer) because it has no impact at all. The journey has been full of pain (more than I want to think about), but I've managed to lose and keep off 90 lbs so far. It took determination to say the least to get where I am now. I simply made myself a promise that by the time I hit 50 (I'm 46 now) I would be in the best physical shape of my life. I figure if I keep up doing what I'm doing I will be there long before I'm 50, but that's still my goal.

Feel free to add me if you want. If I can help motivate you I will. I will agree with RavenLibra, when I look in the mirror I want to be happy with what I see. That is a VERY strong motivator, and it's the true measurement of my accomplishment. I look much much better than I did, but I'm not there yet. I have more work to do and won't give up.

knolan147

I'm on the same road. It's really a battle and you can use all the support you can get. Being a dad means being an example for your kids. That's not easy. Feel free to add me.

pliler

I got five kids and I care for my ill wife...It all depends how bad you want it and how a busy lifestyle can fit with your own goals. Calories in vs calories out bud!