Fed up with being "That Fat Guy"

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And today, I'm starting to change it!

Back story, I'm a 5"11" tall male, 313 lbs (heaviest of my life), but I'm not your average 300+ person. I'm actually active. From the time I was 14, I have always worked physically demanding jobs, from farming to construction and even heavy metal fabrication. I have a large frame, even when I wasn't overweight I had to wear XL shirts, and I'm not fat all over either... arms and legs are fine, muscular. I carry all my weight in the torso, from my arm pits to above my groin.

I know what my problems are...

1. I LOVE TO EAT!!! And not a salad either. I eat like a MAN. Meat, chicken, pork, fish, potato's, bread and cheese. I cannot eat veggies due to my ADD causing me to have food hypersensitivity . I love the FLAVOR of peppers, onions, ect, I even cook with them. But I have to remove them before eating because the texture makes me gag to the point of vomiting. I drink V8 and take vitamins to gain the missing nutrients.

2. I EAT WHEN BORED!!! If I stay busy from waking up til going to sleep, I won't eat. BUT, if I sit around, I'll smash a whole frozen pizza and still be hungry.

3. LACK OF MOTIVATION!!! I give 110% at work, so when I get home the motivation to exercise isn't there because the energy isn't there.

4. Medical: I had my gallbladder removed a few months ago. That, combined with smoking secession (cancer scare), has caused me to balloon upwards in the past year and a half to the tune of 60+ pounds. Not sure if this makes a difference, but I also have a chronic inflammatory disease (sarcoidosis) along with histoplasmosis from living and working ground in the Ohio River Valley.

A friend of mine gave me his Insanity set a few weeks ago and wants me to lose weight/fat like he did. He was 6'2 and around 240 when he started and now he's at 200 and ripped.

This is me, in a nutshell. Fat, and looking for motivation. So.... hi.

Replies

  • cally69
    cally69 Posts: 182 Member
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    Hi
    You'll find this site very supportive. We're all here to better ourselves so well done on taking that first step. Suggest you read up on the 'must reads' the forum has to offer. Persistence is the key, it does work if you stick with it.
    Wishing you the best in your journey!
    X
  • thatsillyshana
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    Hello!!!! You made the first step and now you just gotta go for it! YOU CAN DO IT!
  • dorkyhippy
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    Hey~ it's wonderful to hear how determined and clear you are. It shows you are ready! Best of luck to you!
  • MFPBrandy
    MFPBrandy Posts: 564 Member
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    Random note: if you get an immersion/stick blender, you can make some great veggie soups, then blend it all up and add spicy turkey sausage, lentils, potatoes... (kale, too, if you can handle it) -- makes a delicious soup. Then you have all the nutrition of real veggies without the texture. Just a thought.
  • klacount77
    klacount77 Posts: 270 Member
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    Hi!!!!

    You know GI Joe says that knowing is half the battle. ;)

    Glad you're here. Feel free to add me if you want another friend to encourage and motivate you!
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    i love to eat too. and one of the things that has helped me is intermittent fasting. basically, you skip breakfast, and have the same amount of calories for the day. from the time you finish dinner, you wait about 16 hours until you eat lunch.

    it takes some getting used to, but after a while, you'll feel good. it has helped control my appetite, and shed the pounds.
  • goobalicious2k
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    Thanks for the welcome guys! Feel free to add me.

    Brandy, I'll try that, thanks!
  • herrtom1
    herrtom1 Posts: 1 Member
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    Hi, Welcome. I can actually identify with your plight. I've had the same problems. What has helped me most on this site is not the ability to track daily my food intake. It wasnt until I paid strict attention to the volume of water I consumed in a day that the appetite diminished and the weight began to come down. Good Luck to you.
  • goobalicious2k
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    We have a Culligan cooler here at the house, and I need to start drinking more water again. With working construction again, I can keep water cool just by setting it outside LOL.
  • gaylynn35
    gaylynn35 Posts: 854 Member
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    You can also make smoothies to add more fruits and vegetables to your diet. You can put strawberries, kale, spinach, bananas, apples, yogurt, almond milk, raspberries, carrots, etc. You won't even taste the vegetables if you use enough fruit.

    Good Luck to you!!!
  • vcferlita1
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    I've been the fat guy all my life so I can relate. Good luck to you.
  • clobercow
    clobercow Posts: 337 Member
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    And today, I'm starting to change it!

    Back story, I'm a 5"11" tall male, 313 lbs (heaviest of my life), but I'm not your average 300+ person. I'm actually active. From the time I was 14, I have always worked physically demanding jobs, from farming to construction and even heavy metal fabrication. I have a large frame, even when I wasn't overweight I had to wear XL shirts, and I'm not fat all over either... arms and legs are fine, muscular. I carry all my weight in the torso, from my arm pits to above my groin.

    I know what my problems are...

    1. I LOVE TO EAT!!! And not a salad either. I eat like a MAN. Meat, chicken, pork, fish, potato's, bread and cheese. I cannot eat veggies due to my ADD causing me to have food hypersensitivity . I love the FLAVOR of peppers, onions, ect, I even cook with them. But I have to remove them before eating because the texture makes me gag to the point of vomiting. I drink V8 and take vitamins to gain the missing nutrients.

    2. I EAT WHEN BORED!!! If I stay busy from waking up til going to sleep, I won't eat. BUT, if I sit around, I'll smash a whole frozen pizza and still be hungry.

    3. LACK OF MOTIVATION!!! I give 110% at work, so when I get home the motivation to exercise isn't there because the energy isn't there.

    4. Medical: I had my gallbladder removed a few months ago. That, combined with smoking secession (cancer scare), has caused me to balloon upwards in the past year and a half to the tune of 60+ pounds. Not sure if this makes a difference, but I also have a chronic inflammatory disease (sarcoidosis) along with histoplasmosis from living and working ground in the Ohio River Valley.

    A friend of mine gave me his Insanity set a few weeks ago and wants me to lose weight/fat like he did. He was 6'2 and around 240 when he started and now he's at 200 and ripped.

    This is me, in a nutshell. Fat, and looking for motivation. So.... hi.

    1: Keto, Paleo, or generally low carb

    2: Low carb helps to greatly reduce food cravings like that and it helps keep you feeling full.

    3: You don't need to exercise at all to lose the fat.

    4: Low carb/keto and Paleo is low inflammatory and I would guess that it would help improve your health greatly. (it has for me)

    Intermittent fasting along with lowcarb/keto or paleo is even better, but not a requirement. However, it did come naturally for me.

    PM me if you want some help to get started. You sound just like me when I first started out. I'm now 80lbs down and still going strong.

    Also, people tend to flame or bash low carb, paleo, and intermittent fasting. I don't count calories or weight my food. I just lose fat. It's that easy.
  • goobalicious2k
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    Clobercow, I'll add you and research Keto and Paleo.

    Thanks again for the support guys, my phone has been going nonstop since I posted with friends requests and messages of motivation.
  • lrose50
    lrose50 Posts: 58 Member
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    Random note: if you get an immersion/stick blender, you can make some great veggie soups, then blend it all up and add spicy turkey sausage, lentils, potatoes... (kale, too, if you can handle it) -- makes a delicious soup. Then you have all the nutrition of real veggies without the texture. Just a thought.
    [/quote
    This is a agreat idea I think I will try this as well

    And good luck on your journey this is a very motivational site.

    ]
  • laura30188
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    Hi... I too have medical issues that have caused me to gain weight and finding motivation is hard. I talked my boyfriend into joining this with me. From the sounds of it he is built a lot like you. He has been having trouble losing too. His job is very physical. So we found a park near by to walk at that has a playground the kids can play at while we walk. I have also moved the stationary bike into the livingroom and while we watch the hr or so of tv we watch at night , I ride the bike. I have alos looked at the exersice database and found that some of the things that I do weekly are on there and didnt not know it. SO you might check it out. I have also found that if you look in the food database there are foods that you can eat the have very few calories, fat and carbs. These are just some things you can check out... good luck... add me if you want.
  • cmcollins001
    cmcollins001 Posts: 3,472 Member
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    Here's the thing, you're going to get a lot...let me emphasize that..A LOT of different opinions and suggestions, different diet ideas, fads, "lifestyles" and a multitude of other advice. It going to be up to you to read, research, and learn what is worth your time and effort and what's going to get you results. Basically, in a nutshell, what you're willing to do for the rest of your life.

    Here are some facts: No, you don't need exercise to lose weight...but it helps in body composition. You can just weigh less or you can weigh less and look good naked.

    Weight loss is simply eating less calories than you burn everyday. This is known as a calorie deficit. There are many ideas about how to get to the correct deficit, some of which involve your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). Personally, I've been fine with what myfitnesspal gives me, while others like to use custom settings. Counting calories and working out for me, and many, many, many others, but if you want to try other things, that's your choice. Just stick with something for a while before you either say it's successful or not successful. This isn't something that's going to happen fast, everyone will lose weight on ANY diet or "lifestyle" at first...it's the long term that you're looking for. Ask yourself if you can eat this way, work out this way, or whatever for the long term. People usually gain back lost weight because they lost the weight in a way that they couldn't sustain for the long term.

    The forums are going to be made up of every kind of person you can think of, which means a multitude of opinions, attitudes, personalities..well, you get the idea...expect people to be different and you won't be surprised.

    Welcome, sit back, grab some coffee or water, grab some popcorn, and enjoy the show.