refusing to give up

john0804

Over the last 2-3 years I've been fighting to lose weight and tone up. I do well for a few months then life gets in the way and I lose my motivation. I weighed myself at the start of the month and was horrified to find I'd gone back up to 220lbs, my heaviest was 235lbs, lightest 195lbs.

This time I'm determined to get myself down to 160, currently 214lbs, I feel like I want to do this for myself but I need encouragement to stay the course I want my beach body lol.

This time I'm trying things differently I'm getting off the train one stop early forcing myself to walk anywhere from 2 miles up to 6 miles a day I'm also thinking of trying a juice detox to try and jump start things. I know at 5'9" 214 isn't exactly huge but I know that I can look better without my stomach and a stronger self image and self confidence that I felt when I was succeeding in my weight loss and better body image.

Cp731

Whats getting in the way?

katy_trail

I'm 4 1/2 inches shorter than you, and weighed the same. it's not about the number. it's not about how you look.

the juice detox or magic diet pills or anything that is at all a quick fix, is not the answer.
If you want to juice for convenience there's nothing wrong with that, just don't expect weightloss from it.
and log that as the whole food just like if you ate it as is, However, if you eat the whole fruit, it is much more filling.

I like the train idea. It's sustainable, fits with your current habits.
there are lots of little changes you can make like this.
Most of all you need to work with your current habits, interests, and fitness goals.
Decide what fitness goals are important to you?
fat loss, endurance, strength? you can't do everything at the same time.

then combine a strength training program, even if it's just body weight exercises,
and some cardio. Keep your workout schedule light. short enough that it fits in
with your schedule, and make it flexible so if you can't do the original workout, you have
a plan B.

this doesn't have to be complicated. weight loss and fat loss is about
creating a small calorie deficit. majority of that is through healthier eating choices.
you can't out train bad eating habits, but you can eat healthy most of the time,
leaving a little room in your day for something less healthy that you enjoy.

john0804

Chasinpavement- last time I got a new job and met someone so it was harder to get to the gym.

Katy_trail- that's what I thought, I know the juice detox isn't a quick fix, at the moment I'm more interested in losing fat, so I'm keeping the strength and muscle building to a minimum at the moment when I reach my goal weight I'll look at building the muscle, it's not like I have no muscle at all I'm just not that interested in being over ripped. Thank you for replying guys

I've so far given take away food and drinking sugary drinks, I've never been much of a chocolate fan, so it's not much of a stretch there. My self confidence is one of my biggest problems so that's where I need the most help I guess and the reason why I want to lose the weight.

cmeiron

If you're eating at a caloric deficit you won't build muscle or get ripped when you weight train. Rather, you'll retain lean body mass while you're losing fat, and you'll look better when you reach your goal weight. Besides, why wouldn't you want to be stronger?

john0804

At the moment I'm more interested in losing fat, when I reach my goal weight I'll look at improving my strength, I'm trying to concentrate on one goal at a time

dunkindonutmom

It's going to take time & everyone is different..but I am losing weight SO SLOWLY but it is happening..like we are talking snails pace..but the calorie counting & exercise & TDEE & all those being understood are helping too. .You can check out my food diary.. I am a pig..I want real food & do indulge but at smaller portions now..I will start Zumba next week,can't wait!! What you are doing with walking is fantastic!! Good luck & don't give up,you will do great!!!

john0804

Thank you a snail's pace is better than crash dieting though. We can do anything that we set our minds to right

castelluzzo99

If you decide to try a juice fast, I would recommend watching Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead first. In there, he explained that he was doing it to reboot the way he thought about food and hopefully be able to stick with a healthier diet when he finished. And it worked. If he had gone back to his old way of eating afterwards, it would have been for naught.

A word to the wise is sufficient, me thinks.

john0804

Thanks I'll check it out

katy_trail

Chasinpavement- last time I got a new job and met someone so it was harder to get to the gym.

Katy_trail- that's what I thought, I know the juice detox isn't a quick fix, at the moment I'm more interested in losing fat, so I'm keeping the strength and muscle building to a minimum at the moment when I reach my goal weight I'll look at building the muscle, it's not like I have no muscle at all I'm just not that interested in being over ripped. Thank you for replying guys

I've so far given take away food and drinking sugary drinks, I've never been much of a chocolate fan, so it's not much of a stretch there. My self confidence is one of my biggest problems so that's where I need the most help I guess and the reason why I want to lose the weight.

avoiding strength training is the worst idea. it makes losing weight harder.
and then when you get to your goal weight you've lost muscle mass.
doing strength training NOW, prevents that from happening. along with eating
sufficient protein along the way.

you won't be ripped or builky.
you won't build a significant amount of muscle.

to build muscle even men have to work many months eating extra calories and
working very hard in the gym for every shred of muscle they get.
it doesn't come easily, but it does atrophy or leave easily if we don't use it.

in fact. study after study has shown you CAN lose fat by doing strength training
and calorie deficit alone. 3 x a week, full body workouts, you're done.

katy_trail

also, don't base your goal weight on bmi.
the bmi is based literally on a bunch of old white guys.
lists and lists of people who died, ages, conditions, etc for the insurance companies years ago.
it doesn't consider: muscle, frame size, ethnicity,age,
only your height and scale weight which fluctuates very frequently.
i'm weight training and building my muscle and bone density.
am i supposed to think it's a bad thing if i'm higher on the bmi scale
now, bc i don't want osteoporosis?

instead, base your goal weight on previous experience, if you've been a
healthy weight as an adult. your measurements, your bf% and your goal bf%,
while keeping in mind it's all estimation, we need to reevaluate as we go,
and be completely honest with ourselves.

if you think this wouldn't be that much of a difference, think again.
my lean body mass is higher than average, a very good thing, and i want to keep it that way.
bc of this, my weight when i'm at a healthy 20 something bf% will be 20-40 pounds HIGHER
than the healthy bmi range for my weight. i'm not close enough to goal to say
more specifically how much it will be, but it's a huge difference.
and depending on what calculator i use, the weight could be as much as 50 pounds difference
from a healthy weight for my height on the bmi chart.
I'm not exaggerating. It makes a huge difference.

john0804

Yeah I'm choosing not to pay attention to bmi after I read an article that said Hugh Jackman was obese according to his bmi. I'll take your advice and the advice of others and start planning some strength training. I think I'm a bit naive to be honest and because I've gone it alone in the past this advice should help thank you

johned63

Good plan, I parked in the furthest assigned parking spot at work every day and found a lot of little things I could do during the day to get a little more distance in.

Life certainly does get in the way and I found I had to make my fitness/exercise a priority over some of those other things. That does not mean they still do not get in the way at times but it stays as a priority. I am on a few different online sites where you can earn points for exercise. The competition of that helps me to keep moving also. In the end it is all about priorities and once I decided my health was a high priority for me it really made a difference in letting life get in the way of it.

Good luck, you can do this!

katy_trail

Good plan, I parked in the furthest assigned parking spot at work every day and found a lot of little things I could do during the day to get a little more distance in.

Life certainly does get in the way and I found I had to make my fitness/exercise a priority over some of those other things. That does not mean they still do not get in the way at times but it stays as a priority. I am on a few different online sites where you can earn points for exercise. The competition of that helps me to keep moving also. In the end it is all about priorities and once I decided my health was a high priority for me it really made a difference in letting life get in the way of it.

Good luck, you can do this!

great, now if everyone else would just listen.

john0804

people should learn to take good advice I hope they do anyway

jwdieter

Good advice from katy_trail in this thread.

Would add a caution. Don't try to be above BMI normal just because BMI can be inaccurate. It can also provide a realistic goal weight.

SpartanEric

At the moment I'm more interested in losing fat, when I reach my goal weight I'll look at improving my strength, I'm trying to concentrate on one goal at a time

I think the point is that by strength training, you WILL lose fat.