Help a fat guy out

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daveymac1
daveymac1 Posts: 784 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey folks, I understand the principles of weight loss, working out, and all that good stuff. But what do some of you do for esercise during the week, and what do you eat during the day. I do quite a bit of exercise, and I eat pretty healthy, but I just can't seem to lose weight, or inches.
The more ideas you can give, the better I will be. Thanks all!

Replies

  • pinballmuscle
    pinballmuscle Posts: 1
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    I know the feeling man. I've had trouble keeping my weight down for the better part of my life. What I found helps me the most is to focus mostly on cardiovascular training. I usually go for a light warmup walk on the treadmill (20 mins) before I start my workout. After I'm done with my strength training, I get back on the treadmill for about another 30 minutes and push myself. It tires me out, but man I feel better afterwards. I also find that eating some kind of snack right after I work out helps me with cravings as well; I prefer beef jerky.
    I tend to eat a lot of fresh fruits as snacks throughout the day, while fresh vegetables make up the largest portion of my lunch and dinner meals. This style of eating habit helps keep me fuller longer and really does help me resist the doughnut/chocolate/ice cream cravings that we all have. I do treat myself a couple of times a week (read 2) and I'm more than fine with that. The most helpful tip that I can personally give you is to eat as soon as you wake up, to avoid overeating later in the day. Also, keep a thorough account of what you eat daily; it still surprises me when I look back at how I do throughout the week. Hope this helps in some way man!
  • sbro32
    sbro32 Posts: 130 Member
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    It's just hard sometimes, isn't it?! I went through 2 weeks in a row recently where I did everything right and actually gained. But I stuck with my plan and dropped 3 the next week. Seems to be all about finding the combination of calories and exercise that works for you. I seem to lose the most consistently when I only eat back a portion of the exercise calories I gain.

    As for exercise, I like running. I'm not great at it. Not very fast. But it makes me feel strong and gives me something to work towards. Joining a running group has helped me to actually keep my word that I will run through the week. I know it's been said a million times, but it always helps to do something you actually enjoy doing.

    Well, best of luck to you!
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
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    Your diary is empty. Eating "healthy" isn't good enough. You need to control your caloric intake.
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
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    In order to lose weight you have to burn more than you take in.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    That would be a good place to start.
  • DynamitePink
    DynamitePink Posts: 6 Member
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    Change your workout routine! Do cardio first &then burn with weights or visa versa. The point is to make your body think you are doing something entirely new. As for your food, try eating 6X's @ day Of course small meals. If your schedule allows try eating your largest meal during lunch or smaller meal for dinner. Your body is used to your routine, change it. Good luck to you!
  • jessalon
    jessalon Posts: 12 Member
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    Get a fitbit and eat strictly paleo. It's working for me.
  • Dyann_Alvarez
    Dyann_Alvarez Posts: 61 Member
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    Track everything... Your dairy has nothing right now. Have you not eaten? (I'd be dead.) That will make a big difference if you measure, weigh and keep track of EVERYTHING you put in your wittle mouth! DO IT, no exceptions! My dairy is open and you can see what I eat and do for exercise. This profile is new but I've been on here for a little while now (Jan 2011). Good luck!
  • moustache_flavored_lube
    moustache_flavored_lube Posts: 849 Member
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    Log exactly what you eat and count everything (measure the portion sizes)

    Do enough exercise to create a calorie deficit (enough to lose 1.5 -2 lbs per week). Include both strength and cardio.
    BE Consistent!!! trying occasionally and free for all sometimes does not yield long term results.

    Do these things, be patient and you will loose weight
  • moustache_flavored_lube
    moustache_flavored_lube Posts: 849 Member
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    Change your workout routine! Do cardio first &then burn with weights or visa versa. The point is to make your body think you are doing something entirely new. As for your food, try eating 6X's @ day Of course small meals. If your schedule allows try eating your largest meal during lunch or smaller meal for dinner. Your body is used to your routine, change it. Good luck to you!

    Meal size and frequency do not impact fat loss. It may impact your feeling of satiety and help you control portions better
  • faceoff4
    faceoff4 Posts: 1,599 Member
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    I would not only focus on fitness but nutrition in connection with that. For fitness I would do a good mix of cardio and weight training. Most people think that you have to sweat buckets to lose weight, but most will tell you that strength training will really increase your fat burn and metabolism. So definitely get a good mix of both.

    For nutrition try to find the right calories needed for your daily intake to lose the weight you have for your goals. Everyone is different so test and see what works for you. And it just isnt about calories in and calories out. Its also about mix. Really focus on reducing your bad carbs, cut out processed sugar and increase your lean protein intake. It will make a big difference and immediate impact. The nice thing about MFP is if you log everything every day you will learn over time what mix of food and amounts work best for you. Hope this helps!
  • Diary_Queen
    Diary_Queen Posts: 1,314 Member
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    I checked back through your diary and saw some pretty high exercise cal numbers.... so i went through your exercise diary. I see you have a linked FitBit, so kudos for that if that's a helpful tool for you (I'm a FitBit user as well, but currently unlinked). How do you calculate these burned calories? Do you use an HRM? If you're just using stock info from MFP, I would say that your numbers on calories burned are off and therefore you may be eating back too many calories. I track my burns by a Polar FT4 HRM. Just a thought :flowerforyou:
  • roughneckswife
    roughneckswife Posts: 341 Member
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    Water, water, water!!! Salad and a protein for lunch, protein and veggie for dinner! Cut out your sugar, soda, junk all together! If you need snacks during the day, have a fruit or nuts. Just watch the caloric intake!!
    30 day shred is an awesome workout and it's GREAT for this time of year. It's only 27 minutes and it's free on you tube.
  • celinac11
    celinac11 Posts: 2 Member
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    Sounds like you have hit a plateau. The best thing to do is make an adjustment to your workout routine and make sure you are sticking to your calorie intake. Sometimes if you don't eat enough you can gain weight as well because you're metabolism adjusts when you don't eat enough it will slow down and preserve your fat storage and eat your muscle. The best thing to do is interval training. Do a 15 minute warm up of cardio, bike, elliptical, run, jumprope anything to get your heart rate up. Then lift some weights either free weights or the weight machines, if you do the machines pick 3 do 2-3 sets of 10 reps then after the 3 machines, go back to cardio get your heart rate up do about 5-10 minutes then pick 3 more weight machines do 2-3 sets of 10 reps. Do a little more cardio to round it out and do ab crunches either standing or lying down. If you don't have a gym membership.... Planks are very good, push ups, burpees, jumping jacks, crunches, running, squats, lunges can all be done anywhere. Also, you might want to increase your water/electrolytes intake as well. I hope this helps. Keep up the good work!!
  • Christy175
    Christy175 Posts: 60 Member
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    I do martial arts 5-6 hours a week, and strength training (weights and resistance) 3-4 times/week. I also try to walk and climb stairs every chance I get during the day, I have a fitbit <3. My diary is open if you want to look. I try to make sure I eat a lot of protein because I exercise a lot. However I eat mostly vegetarian when I have the chance. I make sure to include healthy carbs (whole grains) when I know I will need energy. Iron and Multivitamins are a must!

    I feel very good, that is my secret. I adjust my physical activity and food consumption to make sure I have strength and energy.
  • Brendajo510
    Brendajo510 Posts: 153
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    My current workout plan is 30 Day Shred.
    When it was warmer, I was doing C25K which I plan to go back to when it warms up.

    Eating wise? I try to stay within my calorie goal set up by MFP but I normally go over it by around 100 calories. I typically only drink one can of soda a day because the sodium seems to get to me if I drink more.

    Personally, I tried working out (on my own) before joining MFP and that didn't work for weight loss. On MFP, when I don't work out, I still lose weight because I eat within or around my calories goal. To lose weight, I think eating the right amount of calories is more important than the workout.

    However, working out is very good for you and will tone your body.
  • daveymac1
    daveymac1 Posts: 784 Member
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    Thanks all! I did keep a journal, but I think it was just pissing me off because my caloric intake was less than what I was expending. But I am not weighing myself for 2 months. Instead, I am measuring to see if any inches were lost. To all that replied to me, thank you muchly!
  • poedunk65
    poedunk65 Posts: 1,336 Member
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    3 words of wisdom.....Forks over Knives. read or watch it. I too was working out 3-4 days a week and actually gaining weight. It IS what and how you are eating.

    read the book and then friend me if you want, I will support and help you anyway i can.
  • tif83
    tif83 Posts: 85 Member
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    Hey folks, I understand the principles of weight loss, working out, and all that good stuff. But what do some of you do for esercise during the week, and what do you eat during the day. I do quite a bit of exercise, and I eat pretty healthy, but I just can't seem to lose weight, or inches.
    The more ideas you can give, the better I will be. Thanks all!

    Hi there :) From my heaviest last Jan I lost 40 lbs last year but I stalled out around Fall, and just maintained my weight loss the remainder of the year. So, I joined a gym again in Dec, but I still wasn't losing weight. Here's what I did:

    I go to the gym like 6 days a wk, generally am and pm M-F and I have a goal of at least 4mi/day on the treadmill (per my personal trainer, who i see 2/wk.) This wk I also just started spinning 2/wk as well- ouch! LOL

    My calorie goal for the day is 1200, and while I have been over that stil (BOO) i try not to net out my calories in my head and am working on sticking to the 1200 (hopefully today!) or at least be as close as possible. Then I just joined fitbit.com this wk and bought a zip wireless activity tracker. My trainer (and a Dr previously) told me to do at least 10,000 steps/day- yest I did over 12,000, and I'm working up to 12,500/day and then 15,000/day.

    It's a lot of work, but this wk i finally dropped a couple lbs for the first time in MONTHS. Just step it up, keep pushing and challenging yourself, and you will get there and see it start to come off! Waiting and staying motivated is the worst part! PS- I truly think fitbit was the best thing I've ever done for myself, and it's so encouraging for my personally. I also bought the Aria scale this wk after i bought the tracker and I'm utterly addicted!!! You might want to ck it out if you haven't before.

    *BEST OF LUCK TO YOU!!!*

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