Fellow losers... hop in and shoot me some advice...

OleBallcoach35

Kinda long, but will give you an idea of who and where i am.

I played multiple sports in high school, was very active. Once i left HS, the sports went away, however the eating did not. I gained a great deal of weight rather quickly. Needless to say, i went from 190 pounds in high school to a disgusting 326 pounds post college. I quickly gained a job as a PE teacher (awful i know) in another state. I moved and realized rather quickly that i was unhappy. I was single and tried to work out a great deal, but wouldnt lose weight. I got dejected and maintained that weight for a few years.

Fast forward a few years... I got married in NOvember of 2007. Shortly after this, My mom was diagnosed with rectal cancer. They missed it on her colonoscopy. IT really shook me as i was a huge momma's boy. I talked to my mom daily, even as an adult. For the next year or so, i was shook, i was depressed, and my eating was not what you would call healthy. I decided that since i was losing weight, i would start exercising. So i did... i started doing the insanity program in 2008, running and making an effort to be healthier. So after a years time, I had lost right around 106 pounds. I went from not being able to run 100m without nearly dieing, to running multiple miles at a time. I was in the best shape i had been in since high school.

Fast forward two more years... my wife and i gave birth to our beautiful little girl.... my mom was having issues with after effects of her radiation from her cancer treatment... she had fallen and it caused a great deal of issues with her... needless to say, after months of issues, my mother died in December of 2012... I was hoping my little girl would grow up knowing her grandmother... however she didnt. AFter that day, my life was upside down... i had tried to mentally prepare for it, and i think that helped, but i can honestly say, i did not get to a point that i could talk about it or think about it without melting down until late 2013. During this time, my weight went up slightly... returned to about 245 or so.

Then-Current: I have tried multiple times to get on a regimen of running/insanity/etc with a healthy diet, but i cannot stick with it. I will lose down to about 237 and ill slowly regain back to 245 or so. I started coaching high school football and my fall season is nearly non existent. I goto work at 7 and get home at 7. That leaves roughly about 2 hours time to spend with my little girl and wife. To add to the mess, i got identified for health coaching from my insurance company... my bmi is too high. My blood pressure, etc is great, but BMI has kicked me to this list. IT was like a kick in the head... It saddened me.

I desperately want to get my weight down so that my BMI is 25% or less. That way i do not make the BMI list again and can go about my life. However, i am struggling getting started again... I am unsure if its due to fear of failure, concerns about what to do and how to do it...I do know that i want to get my weight down so that I am not embarrassed to look into the mirror.

I am sure you kind folks will be seeing a great deal of me the next year or so. I am truly hoping that i can gain some information from you and you can guide me with some wisdom and ideas. Please feel free to post to this message with encouragement, ideas, etc.

Thank you all so much....

OldBallCoach35

ZBuffBod

Welcome! You are on the right path!

Here are some links with really good information that will get you started on your way to healthy. (Edited to add the 'so you're new here' link).

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819925-the-basics-don-t-complicate-it

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/931670-bmr-and-tdee-explained-for-those-needing-a-guide

tibby531

I would say to ease into this.

start by just logging what you're eating on a daily basis. get an idea of what kind of macros you're meeting, currently. knowing is half the battle.

and maybe try parking towards the back of the stores; take a few more steps when you can.

you can do this. it's not going to happen overnight, but you're worth it, and so is your family.

best of luck! :flowerforyou:

hearthwood

Welcome,it looks like you know all the ins and outs of weight gain and loss. And it also looks like you know how to keep yourself in good shape.

Weight loss doesn't require killing yourself via exercise to lose weight, in fact it doesn't require that you exercise at all.

Weight loss is simply calories in versus calories out. If you're consuming more calories than what you're burning via normal (BMR) function of your body and without exercising you're going to gain weight. The opposite (weight loss) happens when you're burning more than you consume. Meaning couch potatoes can lose weight simply by eating less.

Albeit exercise is great to keep you in shape, and if course will speed up your weight loss, if you're not eating back exercise calories.

Anyway good luck and welcome!

CoachJen71

I understand so much of what you have been through. I have lost both of my parents and it just shakes up your whole world!

I haven't been here long, but what works for me is pre-planning my food. Winging it just seems to pile up the calories. And I got a fitbit to help me keep in motion.

Something that helped me when my kids were younger was taking nice long walks with the stroller. It's something the whole family can enjoy. :^)

CindyMarcuzAdams

You sure are in the right place for reaching your goals. My advise is to log in every day. If you bite it, write it. Every little crumb that passes between your teeth needs to get logged. Even if you are going to be going over your calories, log it. Even prelog things like your regular bedtime snack. That way you can plan ahead. Drink plenty of fluids. My unwritten rule is for every cup of caffeine coffee I have I drink 500ml of something non caffeine like water or crystal lite.
Another bit of advise is dont be shy. If you are having a bad day or a bad snack attack, reach out to your friends. Make friends, be active, learn the skills and you will have success.

Cindy

JennInTx

You have taken the first step by coming to this site. I came here... read... read... asked for friends. I can truly say that being honest to myself and charting everything was eye-opening for me. I realized that I was not eating as healthy as I thought and I realized I was taking in way too many calories a day. Once I cut back and then realized my trigger foods, I was able to really focus on getting the weight off and finding a new way of living.

You can do it.

Feel free to add me as a friend if you want. I don't post a bunch, but I'm here every day.

Jenn

stevenlcopeland

Being a football player from way back and to this day still love the game, as a coach what is one of the fundamental principles you coach your team ? Self discipline. You need to look in the mirror and wonder how you team views you as a coach. Do you practice what you preach. Do you hold yourself to the same standard as your team when it comes to self discipline. You have the gift being a football coach to better yourself with what you truly believe in and at the same time watch your team benefit also. I know you are putting in long hours away from your loved ones but remember you have to be accountable to yourself before you can be accountable to others. Good luck and I know as a coach you have never given up on your team. Don't give up on yourself. Too many people rely on you.

colors_fade

No idea how tall you are, but your numbers sound similar to mine when I was your age (35).

At my heaviest, I was 255 and realized I was mathematically close to 300 than 200. It has taken me a long time to learn the basics and see progress, but now that I know what to do, it's fairly easy.

As other suggest, start slow. Part of this process is learning how to create better habits. Habits are how we go through life day-to-day. They are our foundation for our behaviors. You will not re-train your foundation overnight; it will take time and repetition (as a coach, you understand the value of reps).

Losing weight is a simple matter of calories in vs. calories out. That's the easy math of it. The hard part, of course, is behaving in a way that makes the formula work. Consistency is the key. In order to be consistent, we have to develop proper habits.

Start by logging your food. Accurately. Get a scale so you can weigh everything that you cannot count directly. Example: It is easy to read the calorie content on the side of a pre-packaged meal, but not so easy to read the contents of a chicken breast. So weigh your food for accuracy. Mis-reporting your calories is one of the most common mistakes people make on a weight loss plan. Be accurate.

Figure out what your daily caloric requirements are. MFP should be able to give you a good daily requirement, but if you don't trust that, there are also calculators like these: http://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html

For me, 2,000 calories per day is maintenance. I try and eat slightly under that. However, some days I go over, and on those days I add exercise so I can maintain a calorie deficit.

For exercise: start simple. Walking works. You can get pedometer if you want (I have a FitBit Zip and love it). I log 10K steps per day. To do that, most days, since I work from home (thus I am very sedentary), I usually go for a walk in the morning and another after dinner. Some days I just do the whole thing at once, which usually takes me a little over an hour.

As you lose weight, you're going to lose muscle mass. The way to prevent this is to lift weights - heavy weights. You're an ex-footballer, you know your way around a weight room. There are great programs out there like StrongLifts 5x5 that you can do to help maintain your muscle mass while you're losing weight. If you have access to a gym, as a coach, 30-45 minutes 3x per week would do wonders to prevent lean muscle loss for you. At this stage you're not going to be building muscle; just maintaining what you have while you lose fat.

It's a long, slow road. And that's the steady road that leads to real fat loss. It's not fast and sexy, but it's the right way to do it. Take the long view. Realize this will take some time. Take it one day at a time, and form good habits. Every meal you eat responsibly, every day you exercise, you are forming a good habit.

Finally - I am a strong advocate of not doing anything crazy with your diet. Eat foods you enjoy, within caloric budget. This will help keep you from feeling denied, having cravings, binge-eating, etc. A weight loss plan only works if you can stick with it. Don't cut foods out; just eat foods within a calorie budget.

You can do this.

shadowloss

I'm not about to tell you what you should do or need to do. Based on your story, you know what is necessary. Is all you have to to is implement what you already know.

Don't start slow, don't ease into it, just start. I started by telling myself no more "Soda" even though it was always diet, and no more french fies. I go out to lunch daily with my peers and that was a hard one, but it was only "1". As you progress you will get it. I have NO room to coach you or tell you what works, I'm into this 35 days. But read through the success stories, read through the fact other people have done it. Look for others that look like you and have made it to look like you want! It is absolutely possible and absolutely doable, you just have to put in the effort.

I get that you have been through a hard time, I've gone through my own personal struggles, which is why I'm here, but you have one of the greatest opportunities to succeed. You can lift with your team, you can run with your team. Give them motivation. When I was watching as my son was playing, I would sprint along side him and ask him why an old fat guy was beating him! They loved it and the team pushed harder. Use what you have been given and put it into action. Then come back here in 6 months, and tell the rest of us how it's done!

crzdirector

OBC, first of all nice shout out to Spurrier, even though he wore out UGA all these years he's a great coach and highly entertaining

As far as your schedule and goals, I have the same advice I give to everyone. You have to plan out your days. Otherwise you'll be eating coaching crap all the time. I get caught eating baseball dad crap all the time while my boy is playing, it requires a little discipline but truly it is just having good stuff with you so you don't have to grub on pizza and wings.

Have a good season...good luck with everything...enjoy the little one, they don't stay little long.

ZBuffBod

Oh, one other thing...buy a food scale. It will help with ensuring you are not eating more than you think. This YouTube video details why a food scale is so important. Good luck.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGcdyfDM3oQ