New MFPer getting started, NoVA

erictank1

Like the sign says, new to the site as of yesterday, and I've more or less gotten religion about watching what I eat and actually exercising on something resembling a consistent basis. One of those "better late than never" kind of things - I'm currently 42, and among other things I recently came to the conclusion that it would be a fine thing to be able to say next year, "I'm 43, and in the best shape of my life." Starting from ~270 lbs at 6'1" on a largish frame (latest weight 271.2, IIRC, from a few days ago - we'll go with that for starters), and while I know a fair amount about what I need to do thanks to previous attempts and from being in the Navy back in the day (91-97, and for a while I was actually working out at a real gym and everything!), my resolve has been... lacking. Without getting into too much detail, that's changed.

I got started working on this back in early October, and have already lost several pounds, though I've somehow managed to put a few back on, annoyingly enough. Over the long term, say the past two years, I came down from a near-all-time-high of 286 into the upper 270s (I hit 295 several years ago, but my "stable" weight has ranged from 275-285 over the last 10 years), and am now on my way down. In the last 4 weeks, I've gotten to the point that it's... well, I won't say it's necessarily been EASY to maintain a healthy(-ier) diet, but it certainly has been easier than I'd expected. As I said, weight went back up, about 4 pounds (was 267 last week, lowest in a couple of years), this week - buckling down on my logging of every single thing I eat and drink to make sure I understand why.

Exercise is more of an issue, but that's getting easier too, as I've been walking and doing brief high-intensity bodyweight exercises - I'm currently using the Max Capacity app for Android, and appear to have broken past the "so sore afterwards that I can't think about doing the next scheduled workout" phase. The last two I've done, after a couple of weeks of one or two workouts a week, I've been sore afterwards but able and willing to move on with the next workout 2 days after (3 workouts a week, skip a day between, and weekends off). Already showing moderate improvements in strength/rep count, which means that sooner rather than later, I'm going to need more than just bodyweight to keep the high-intensity part of things going. My work hours suck, 12-hour rotating shifts (days one week, nights the next, on a 4 week rotation to cover each day and night shift), so there is little opportunity for me to make use of a gym membership - Bally's pretty well hosed me over anyways, after I paid off my nationwide contract with them back while I was in the Navy and maintained it since without using their facilities, they decided without warning to transfer my membership to a small regional chain (One Life Fitness) where the closest facility I'd be authorized to use was 150 miles away. They have one within 15 miles or so, but when I checked, they said they couldn't authorize me to use that one - so, yeah, screw them too. Guess they don't actually want my money after all, I can stop that recurring payment now. So my exercise routine is home-based, and at the moment exclusively bodyweight (which to be fair is a substantial challenge at my weight!). I have a number of apps I'm checking out for longer-duration programs, and at some point in the past I bought some of the Tony Horton stuff - Power 90 and P90X programs, along with the resistance bands needed to do them, so I've got stuff to keep me going when I do hit the diminishing-returns wall on Max Capacity (which is all of 16 minutes per workout). No pullup bar, but I haven't been able to do a pullup in over 15 years, probably. Need to do something about that.

I guess my goals center around health and functional strength mostly - I have no interest in bodybuilding, though like most I would certainly like to look good naked, which should be quite adequately taken care of by getting healthy and strong. Ripped? Might be nice, but I honestly don't know if that's something I'm willing to put in the effort for, and I'm pretty sure that my family's physical traits would make that harder than it is for most (but if a famine hits, I'm all set!). My long-term goal is to lose 70+ pounds of fat, and at least tone and improve strength in the muscle I have; losing more fat and building more muscle is certainly on the table, but at this point in my life I don't know if getting <200 pounds is a realistic goal for me. It might be, but I figure I can at the very least make it to that neighborhood, and I can re-evaluate my goals from there. And honestly, I'd look pretty good at ~200 pounds. The government's health charts say I ought to be somewhere between ~150-~190 pounds - yeah, I don't know about THAT, I'd be a skeleton at 150. Last time I was in the 180s was fresh out of boot camp, and my family walked right past me in the airport without recognizing me when I came home on boot leave. OTOH - that means that I've done it once before... Stretch goal, maybe.

And I think that's everything.

FattyFatsoMcTubby

Welcome aboard! I started with MFP last week, but I started my weight loss journey 12 weeks ago at 324 pounds. As of yesterday, I'm at 265. I didn't know about MFP, so I created my own spreadsheet to track calories consumed and burned. I use Endomondo to track my calories burned. Having a tool like my spreadsheet or MFP really helps me keep track of where I am versus my goal each day. My spreadsheet does a better job of looking at how I'm doing by week or month (netting great days against bad days), but whatever tool you use to keep track, you need to use religiously, every day.

Having my wife, who doesn't need to lose nearly as much as I do, on the program really helps to.

Good luck!