Man to Man: A Support System for Men (part 2)

ccgisme

I was thinking of starting a 4 week challenge for men as I am going to need both a challenge (I am a competitive kind of guy) and encouragement. Anyone interested?

The Man to Man Forum is always up to a challenge. What did you have in mind? :huh:

@jruizuk1 - You're leaving us hanging mate, what's your idea for a challenge?

CaptainJim157

Hello Guys!

Just wanted to see how everyone is doing. :happy:
I have a busy schedule this week, so hopefully it'll be easy still to stick with logging stuff in, (have lots of app. and such)
Anyways, I've noticed since I lost the weight so far (only about 8 lbs, but hey, better than nothing!) that my TS & anxiety disorder have been improving, and I also found out today that I enjoy bike rides, I mean, REALLY enjoy them, I went for a 30 min one about an hour ago, and burned 311 cal! That was really neat to see how many I burned, and that I actually like to do it too, I think I found my new exercise to do
Anyways, hope everyone is well! Cheers! ^^

Umpire57

Well, Maybe I have found my "happy medium"

Up 2 pounds this week to where I was 2 weeks ago. So far in the past 4 weeks I have just been gaining and losing that same 2 pounds

With that said, even after my modified 300 today, I did my normal hour on the elliptical and got the best distance I have ever achieved at 6.38! So even though my weight went up slightly, I still achieved a good milestone.

My 300 for today (I hope I do not annoy everyone with my check-ins but it helps me stay accountable):
25 Bodyweight Rows
25 24" Bench Jumps
25 Push-ups
15 each arm 35lb Dumbbell Clean and Press
25 Floor Wipers
25 Bodyweight Rows
25 Bodyweight Squats
2 Pullups
2 sets of 15 @ 150lbs on Nautilus Ab Machine
then 1 hour Elliptical (Distance - 6.38)

ccgisme

@Umpire57

I hope I do not annoy everyone with my check-ins but it helps me stay accountable

Not at all. I think holding each other accountable was in Gr8dad's charter for the forum!

Your check ins are also a nice prod to remind me I need to be more consistent with strength training and not so focused on cardio. Keep up the good work!

onebeer

Hi all

Think I have hit another plateau, (190) - can get 3 below to 3 above on any given day. Problem is motivation is waning slightly - hence typing it up on here to try and get myself going again. Still cycling 3-4 days a week, but have cut back on using the x-trainer on the other days so much. Keep finding other things to do to stop me from going on it. Not sure how the kids summer holidays are going to affect this, but am in need of a real kick us the *kitten*!

Really got to get back on it - half marathon planned in October, but I havent ran for a month, not too good - but, am looking for a 100 mile bike ride to do.

Anyways, have fun all

gr8dad1975

@Umpire57

I hope I do not annoy everyone with my check-ins but it helps me stay accountable

Not at all. I think holding each other accountable was in Gr8dad's charter for the forum!

Your check ins are also a nice prod to remind me I need to be more consistent with strength training and not so focused on cardio. Keep up the good work!

@ gale_c

You make me proud brother!!!

roylawrence87

I just found this posting and figured I'd stop in for a quick peek. Needless to say I think I'll be staying. Everyone needs a little support. Nice to see all the dudes helping each other. I am currently on week 4 of P90X. Tough one. I completed Power 90 series before I started P90X. No way was I going to jump right into P90X. I went from sedentary to P90X in 6 months. 265lbs down to 215 and dropping. P90X, I hate it, but I love it! Hope to get to know you guys!

CasperO

Took down my ticker, tired of looking at it.

I'm on maintenance now, working on fitness when I can, mostly concentrating on other stuff nowadays. I still weigh every morning, and I still get a start if the scale creeps above 205 - but I seem to be able to knock it back down pretty easily. Lifelong process,,,

I'm still here. Still logging most of my chow and using MFP to keep myself honest. Usually log in the first 3/4 of the day, so I fix supper knowing I have 800 left or whatever and then just cook & eat accordingly but I don't bother to log back in. If the scale ever says 210 again I know what to do and how to do it.

Not leaving, I'll still be around and posting etc.etc. Just a little less religious about the program, and not exercising so much right now. Maybe this fall I'll get busy again. I guess I'm taking a semi-break.

Endeavour to persevere gentlemen.

Umpire57

I still want to lose some but like Casper said, I am just watching it and really trying to hit my fitness goals. I am between seasons on officiating and my sister said she is wanting to walk in the afternoons so I am going to try that this afternoon. We did 4 miles Sunday afternoon which was good because I had a bad weekend food-wise and I normally skip Sundays.

I think I like the idea of fitness goals now instead of weight goals.

FORKDOWN

JUst a quick howdy. I am busier than a puppy with 2 peckers but just wanted to check in.

:drinker:

ccgisme

I still want to lose some but like Casper said, I am just watching it and really trying to hit my fitness goals. I am between seasons on officiating and my sister said she is wanting to walk in the afternoons so I am going to try that this afternoon. We did 4 miles Sunday afternoon which was good because I had a bad weekend food-wise and I normally skip Sundays.

I think I like the idea of fitness goals now instead of weight goals.

First off - congrats to both of you. You've both done a LOT of work to get where you are and you have both been regular sources of inspiration for me.

I'm going to give a vote for the two of you staying active members of this forum. The weight loss phase is just the first step - maintenance is the part where most people fail. If you are willing to share your successes and struggles, the rest of us will benefit.

Again, my hat is off to both of you! I'm about half-way to my weight goal and I look forward to the day I can go into maintenance mode with you! :bigsmile:

Umpire57

Planning on it. Still got to complete the 300 as designed. Wish this game would end and NL win so I can get to bed. I have to go workout in the morning

Umpire57

Got to bed a little late (WORTH IT - National League Wins Finally!!) but still was able to get up in time to hit gym:

Today's 300:
25 Bodyweight Rows
25 Pushups
25 24" Bench Jumps
25 Floor Wipers
20 Each Arm 35lb Dumbbell Clean and Press
25 Bodyweight Squats
15 Pushups
1 Pullup (My arms are dead at this point)
Time: Just under 9 minutes
Then 2 sets of 15 at 150 on Nautilus Ab Machine & 1 hour on Elliptical

whyflysouth

I'm back. Sry to be missing from the forums for some time. Been focussing heavily on lifting heavy and eating enough so I build muscle and not just stall. It's official, when it comes to weight/fat loss, I'm at maintenance for the time being. I'm actually hoping to gain weight as long as it's muscle so the hard thing has been reminding myself to eat more, more meat, more cottage cheese, more chicken, allot of broccoli, then heavy lifting. Wake up at 5:30am take a protein shake, and hit the gym, get back for breakfast at 7am and eat.

Umpire - nice idea to focus on fitness more at this point, you're weight's at a good place for the moment, given your height, and it's more about body composition for you now. Also, doing the same thing (cutting) for too long loses it's luster after a while, it's fun to change things up.

Casper- Happy birthday man! With ever year you grow older, your body gets younger!

Guy w/ the DOMS in the legs- yeah, the legs get it pretty bad at first. When I started my routine my legs were dreadfully sore for literally a week, worked out ok b/c I do the leg workouts once a week anyways, so right when they got better I hit em hard and they were sore for another 5 days afterwards, the next week it went done to 4 days and was easier - it gets easier but for some reason the legs really take a beating with the squats and deadlifts. Don't worry about it, one thing you can try is Ibuprofen as that will decrease the inflammation, but yeah it's kept me away from cardio as I wait for my legs to come back to normal.

CreativeRedhead

How's the guys doing? Just checking in to see all the positive progress. Have a great weekend you guys!!!

cameron_en

Hey guys [and CreativeRedhead, I'm doing well thanks, how do you do?], just wanted to say I'm actually enjoying counting calories and exercising on a daily basis now thanks to this site. It seems to have turned weight loss into some sort of game, which as a man, is AWESOME!

So yeah, I'm always up for a game of competitive weight-loss if that's what you're into. But I'm not willing to go as far as the starvation diet...

Just a quick question, what do you guys intend to do once you reach your target weight? Would you try to maintain it, would you be a general fitness freak or would you bulk up? [Or would you binge eat to return to your original weight?]

Nice to meet you~ I need friends on here so add me!

ccgisme

Hey guys [and CreativeRedhead, I'm doing well thanks, how do you do?], just wanted to say I'm actually enjoying counting calories and exercising on a daily basis now thanks to this site. It seems to have turned weight loss into some sort of game, which as a man, is AWESOME!

So yeah, I'm always up for a game of competitive weight-loss if that's what you're into. But I'm not willing to go as far as the starvation diet...

Just a quick question, what do you guys intend to do once you reach your target weight? Would you try to maintain it, would you be a general fitness freak or would you bulk up? [Or would you binge eat to return to your original weight?]

Nice to meet you~ I need friends on here so add me!

I'm living like I'm at my goal weight now even though I am only about 1/2 way there. I'm doing new things - flag football, hiking,swimming, etc. - and stepping things up in my aikido training.

A lot of the guys here seem to want to bulk up, as someone who's been overweight for most of my life, I want lean, functional muscle - the ability to do pull ups, the ability to run a 10 K or half-marathon, the endurance and core strength to function in any situation.

What do you plan to do once you reach your goal weight?

Umpire57

Like gale, I want to just be on the best shape possible. It has nothing to do with bulking up.

labreemike

at last i tried to start my own and theres only 2 of us. now the question thats bothering me i'm currently 244 my daily goal is aprox 2200 cals i'm adding nearly 1000 through exercise 3200 cals a day and i'm still gonna lose 1-2 lbs a week. i dont buy it. whats the least i can eat. i've heard the women say 1200 minimum i'm hitting 1500-2000.

ccgisme

I'm not a doctor (and I don't play one on TV), but you are roughly my size and I wouldn't go below 1800/day on a regular basis. I have had some luck with calorie cycling - taking the total weekly calories (for me that's 2070 x 7 = 14,490 calories per week) and then divvying them up in increments of roughly 1800, 2000, 2200 even 2500 some days. I still net my calorie intake for the week, but my body does not become accustomed to one specific level of caloric intake.

The women eating 1200/day have very different caloric needs than the guys.

I've seen a few guys eat ultra low amounts of calories - 1,200 per day - on a regular basis. They've all disappeared from MFP.

I hope this helps.

CasperO

I've seen a few guys eat ultra low amounts of calories - 1,200 per day - on a regular basis. They've all disappeared from MFP.

I hope this helps.

Yep, same here - I've noticed that too. The guys that try to rush the process don't seem to last.

I ate what MFP calc'ed for me, plus half to most of my ex calories, and I dropped the first 55 pounds like water and went from close to 40% bodyfat to the teens in about 6 or 7 months. That quit working when I got to about 15% and I had to eat more to progress. Now pretty much on maintenance, I log enough to keep myself honest, exercise when I can, and I'm maintaining weight with no problems. The good habits I built while reducing make maintenance easy.

cameron_en

Hey guys [and CreativeRedhead, I'm doing well thanks, how do you do?], just wanted to say I'm actually enjoying counting calories and exercising on a daily basis now thanks to this site. It seems to have turned weight loss into some sort of game, which as a man, is AWESOME!

So yeah, I'm always up for a game of competitive weight-loss if that's what you're into. But I'm not willing to go as far as the starvation diet...

Just a quick question, what do you guys intend to do once you reach your target weight? Would you try to maintain it, would you be a general fitness freak or would you bulk up? [Or would you binge eat to return to your original weight?]

Nice to meet you~ I need friends on here so add me!

I'm living like I'm at my goal weight now even though I am only about 1/2 way there. I'm doing new things - flag football, hiking,swimming, etc. - and stepping things up in my aikido training.

A lot of the guys here seem to want to bulk up, as someone who's been overweight for most of my life, I want lean, functional muscle - the ability to do pull ups, the ability to run a 10 K or half-marathon, the endurance and core strength to function in any situation.

What do you plan to do once you reach your goal weight?

That sounds like the best way to go for me too. I planned on running in a Fun Run (12km) this September, although I've always been a bit of a runner, It'd be great to one day be able to run a full marathon. I would not want to bulk up, it wouldn't match my personality to have really huge muscles.

I'm unsure if my goal weight (in my signature) is even the weight I want to be at, so once I get there I'll decide if I want to lose a bit more weight or not.

gr8dad1975

Hey Guys

Just wanted to stop by to tell everyone to keep up the good work. I am feeling a whole better these days and getting stronger with each day. For those of you who have ever been sidelined by illness, you know the struggle that it takes to get back. But the feeling that you get when you know that you are better is awesome. I have learned a little more patience however, and this is a good thing. Sometimes we can get so focused and driven on the big goals, that we forget to enjoy the small accomplishments that we have made.

Well, I got the point! Life is beautiful whether I loss a pound or stayed the same. Word to wise: MFP is a wonderful tool to help us, but it is not the only measurement of the successes that we have in our lives.

You men are doing an awesome job....so don't forget to take time that acknowledge that!!!

ccgisme

@cameron_en - I'm doing the same thing with my goal weight. I'm basing the current goal on a body fat percentage that I kind of trust. When I get there, if I see room for improvement, I'll modify it.

@gr8dad1975 - I agree completely - MFP is a tool for tracking our progress and it can tell us whether or not we're on track. The accomplishments we've made are worthy of praise, but we're not doing them to make MFP happy - we're doing the hard work of eating less and exercising more in order to live kick *kitten* lives - however we define that for ourselves. I have gained immense confidence in my daily interactions with people. Instead of going out in public and focusing on how fat I feel, I feel confident and that feeling allows me to notice how big the people around me are (Michigan is not the healthiest state in our union on many levels).

@ All - I'm going to propose another CHALLENGE for us: report in your total weight loss as of today. That will give us a total man to man forum weight loss. Then I say we try to lose 10% of that weight in 8 weeks. So, if we'd lost a total of 500 lbs we'd collectively need to lose 50 lbs in 8 weeks. I like this idea because it's both individual and group focused. Let me know what you all think!

dinos

I have gained immense confidence in my daily interactions with people. Instead of going out in public and focusing on how fat I feel, I feel confident and that feeling allows me to notice how big the people around me are

@ All - I'm going to propose another CHALLENGE for us: report in your total weight loss as of today. That will give us a total man to man forum weight loss. Then I say we try to lose 10% of that weight in 8 weeks. So, if we'd lost a total of 500 lbs we'd collectively need to lose 50 lbs in 8 weeks. I like this idea because it's both individual and group focused. Let me know what you all think!

I notice how big people around me AND that some girls are checking me out - which was not the case before losing the extra weight. I'm in for the challenge, I've lost 31 pounds so far.

TabiHerbalifeCoach

Hey guys, I know its a girl in the mens locker room LOL...I just wanted to say I think this is amazing!!! I know so often in the main threads we don't really address men calorie needs or other men issues- This is awesome .. KEEP IT UP!!!

scott24

Glad to see a men's topic on here. I've just jumped on some of the mildly relative ones from the home page but this was a must-needed read. I'm relatively new in the whole journey but seeing good results thus far. I think I'll tag along for a while!

whyflysouth

on the topic about eating 1200 cals for a guy... When I first started with 22 lbs to lose I tried that for about 2-3 weeks, it was really rough, I was basically eating salad & chicken breast for every meal and that was it. I was also drinking tea w/ stevia the rest of the time to keep my appetite suppressed. I lost about 8 lbs going that route, so it worked even for someone that didn't have too much to lose, but after that I had to up my intake before I could lose anymore.

One nice thing about it was that that period of extreme dieting sort of shrunk my appetite dramatically so eating at 1600 calories afterwards was rather easy to maintain.

@gale_c: I don't know if should join you guys in your 10% challenge, I think I already gained back 10% of my lost weight at last I checked I'm at 152 (+2 lbs). Hoping it's water or muscle mass.

It's strange, I used to see forum posts all the time from guys looking to bulk and put on muscle, but know that I'm in the same boat as them there's none around, lol. It's good that the Man-to-Man forum is still running though!

I'm kinda experimenting with this, but I'm gonna try to bulk for another 4 weeks (putting in 8 weeks bulking total), then I'm gonna try to cut again for 4 weeks while maintaining my lifting regimen just cutting calories, the idea being that I break below 14% body fat and get to 12%, I'll then rinse and repeat until I'm at 10%.

summersmi

whyflysouth,
I am at a point where I am starting to look at putting on some muscle mass. It wont be the first time in my life I have done this. So let me know how it is going for you and if you need any help or encouragement (or maybe just info) let me know. Anyway good luck, remember good intentions minus effort equals zero.

CasperO

<<snip>>I'm kinda experimenting with this, but I'm gonna try to bulk for another 4 weeks (putting in 8 weeks bulking total), then I'm gonna try to cut again for 4 weeks while maintaining my lifting regimen just cutting calories, the idea being that I break below 14% body fat and get to 12%, I'll then rinse and repeat until I'm at 10%.

Sounds about right. What are you eating? Are you supplementing at all?

I posted this elsewhere, but it should probably go here too.

""I recently had something interesting happen in my world as a result of my fitness efforts. Here's the story.

I work with a married couple. Nice people, friendly. My wife and I have been to their house several times for picnics and to play music etc. etc. We know their kids. Just wonderful folks, love them to death. Neither of them is overweight.

I've always had a playful little flirtation with the lady of this couple. It's been ongoing for years and nobody has ever had a problem with it. I was raised in the south by doting women - I adore women and I'm an insufferable charmer and flirt. I mean nothing by it,,, there's no sexual component to it,,, if one of the women I flirt with ever actually tried to seduce me I'd run terrified to my wife and hide behind her skirt,,, . The guy of this couple is a stiff yankee country boy and has never flirted with my wife, much to her chagrin.

So a couple days ago I went to the main office where this couple both work. I was there, doing my thing and getting some things I needed and talking to this dear lady friend. Her hubs walked in,,, and maybe it's all in my head (I don't think so), but I swear I think I picked up just a hint of jealousy/hostility!?!?! I defused it pretty quickly by turning the convo to a favored topic, but I know what I felt for a minute there.

When I was a jolly santa claus with a big belly and the sex appeal of a wildebeest, this was never an issue. Now that I'm a little trimmer I find that I'm not always treated with the same friendly dismisal that I used to enjoy. I'm even being a little careful with this stuff now. I've been meeting hostility since about the time the 32 waist jeans started fitting. ""


Imagine your wife has a working lunch with Norm from Cheers... would you care? Now imagine she has a working lunch with George Clooney - care now don'tcha sparky? :laugh: (I'm certainly not GC, but you get my point). If you've been,,, less appealing(?) for a long time as most of us have, this might be a whole new deal for you. It's something to be aware of.