routine?

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seantheking87
seantheking87 Posts: 52 Member
in Getting Started
Hey, started my new workout routine. Planning to lose about 60 lbs by summer (currently 266, 6'3).

My routine is currently around a 5 mile walk every morning, and sticking to 2000cal per day.

I'm taking photos every Friday (from the front and side) to check my progress and currently plan to weigh myself every fortnight.

How often do you all weigh yourself and why? I personally find it more encouraging waiting 2 weeks, as I find myself looking forward to weigh in date, but on the other hand if my weight loss is less than expected, it's more annoying and feels like 2 weeks wasted rather than just a day/week

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  • redfisher1974
    redfisher1974 Posts: 614 Member
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    Everyday for me, But log it once a week
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    Once a week. I never can tell what I am going to get. These days I seem to stay the same give or take a pound for about 3 weeks, and then POW, down I go four pounds. Go figure. I like the idea of recording the physical changes. Sometimes I notice my waist go down about a week before the weight goes off.
  • MelanieRBrace
    MelanieRBrace Posts: 245 Member
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    Sounds like you've got a plan - good luck on your journey. I weigh myself everyday - habit and keeps me accountable. I log approximately once per week - gains and losses because I can learn from the truth.
  • Ellencas1974
    Ellencas1974 Posts: 13 Member
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    Once a week... if I do it any more often the daily fluctuations just frustrate me.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    Ellencas1974 wrote: »
    Once a week... if I do it any more often the daily fluctuations just frustrate me.

    This.

  • Philp0718
    Philp0718 Posts: 136 Member
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    Every morning, BUT I only pay really attention to the trend. Some days are up, some days are down, it all depends on daily fluctuation (TOM, water retention, BM, ect.) and I feel that if I ddint weigh in every day I would be missing so much. If I lost my 1lb during the week and I weighed in on an "up" day, it could show no change, or even a gain and it may not necessarily be correct and I'd be discouraged. This I feel, works much better for me :smile:
  • Snow3y
    Snow3y Posts: 1,412 Member
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    It depends on my goals and when I've set them.. If i'm on a weight loss, I weight myself everyday for the first week to make sure I'm not losing too quickly, thereafter every week..

    If I'm trying to gain, the same..
  • JustSomeEm
    JustSomeEm Posts: 20,210 MFP Moderator
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    I weigh daily, but I'm in maintenance. The daily weigh-in helps keep me accountable to myself. For example, with all the holiday 'cheer' lately, I'm nearing my maintenance cap - which tells me I really need to be paying better attention to my snacking. :)

    Good luck - you're plan sounds very doable. :flowerforyou:
  • ewhip17
    ewhip17 Posts: 515 Member
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    redfisher1974 wrote: »
    Everyday for me, But log it once a week

    This for me. Helps me see trends and define any issues, but I only "count" my Wed AM weigh in.

  • dfranch
    dfranch Posts: 207 Member
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    2000 calories seems a little high. You have 6 months which means you need to lose 10 lbs a month. Are you really going to be able to do a 5 mile walk every single day? Cause on any days you don't, you're basically eating at maintenance. Also, the closer you get to your goal the slower the weight comes off. So while early on 10 lbs a month is possible, your weight loss will slow as you get coser to your goal, I wasn't prepared for that. You should think about weight training as well. More muscle means more calories burned.
  • JourneyToWonderWoman
    JourneyToWonderWoman Posts: 25 Member
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    I weigh myself once a week, I take photos of my face once a week, and I take photos of my front and side once a month. Its always helped me keep on track even if I get discouraged or have a moment of weakness.
  • seantheking87
    seantheking87 Posts: 52 Member
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    I think 2000 is pretty much on the money. It gives me a deficit of around 800, and with the 600-800 burned with my walk, itll be a little over 2lbs a week (I wont be walking at weekends). I'm fortunate that I have longish legs, and can maintain 4mph pace with relative ease.

    Even halfway towards my goal (lets say 230lbs) my calorie maintenance would still be around 2500. I think I could manage on less than 2000, but its early days and I'm reluctant to limit my intake too much.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,871 Member
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    dfranch wrote: »
    2000 calories seems a little high. You have 6 months which means you need to lose 10 lbs a month. Are you really going to be able to do a 5 mile walk every single day? Cause on any days you don't, you're basically eating at maintenance. Also, the closer you get to your goal the slower the weight comes off. So while early on 10 lbs a month is possible, your weight loss will slow as you get coser to your goal, I wasn't prepared for that. You should think about weight training as well. More muscle means more calories burned.

    Most adult males can lose pretty easily on 2000 calories per day, even if they're not doing much in the way of exercise. The average adult male will maintain on 2300 - 2500 calories per day with little in the way of deliberate exercise.

  • PwrLftr82
    PwrLftr82 Posts: 945 Member
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    Why no lifting , bro? If you add lifting to your routine you'll maintain more LBM and have a better body composition (ie look better naked) than if you just walk and eat in a deficit.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    edited November 2014
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    I understand what the scale is telling me, and what the fluctuations mean/indicate... so short term changes mean little me in the bigger picture. There are times I weigh myself multiple times per day out of curiosity (before and after a big workout, before and after a big meal, before and after a big poop, etc), but there are times where I don't weigh myself for a month.

    I care about long term trends in weight and what I see in the mirror. Today's weight compared to yesterday's or even last week's means nothing to me.

    On a side note, I've been at this long enough that I can usually guess within 1lb what I'm going to weigh on any given day.
  • seantheking87
    seantheking87 Posts: 52 Member
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    I'll probably shuffle weight training into the mix somewhere down the line. For the first month or so, I'm trying to mainly get my fitness levels back up and get into my routine. But yeah, one of my biggest fears about losing weight is that I'm inevitably going to shed some muscle along the way......I was fortunate enough to grow up with two similarly aged brothers, so daily fighting and wrassling insured i had decent strength, so will have to incorporate some sort of weight training along the way so I don't lose the guns along with the belly.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Daily and I've started logging daily too because I love seeing the fluctuations and trying to work out if there's a reason ( exercise, sodium, hormonal) or they just are
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,871 Member
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    I weigh myself pretty much daily but I only log my Thursday weigh-in to an app on my phone that spits out nifty graphs and whatnot. Basically, at this point it's just habit more than anything. I started out weighing daily just to have the data and to track fluctuations...I don't really need to do that anymore, but like i said...habit.

    If I were you, I'd add some resistance training sooner rather than later. It will help preserve your lean mass...muscle is a use it or lose it kind of thing and when you're dieting you inevitably lose some muscle mass along with the fat...but resistance training will mitigate those losses. When I started out I primarily did calisthenics but moved myself into the weight room after a few months.

    I also started out just doing a lot of walking. Early on, just going for a good long walk felt like a workout...but after a few weeks, not so much. I slowly but surely increased my intensity...added in some jogging, etc. You'll likely want to kick things up a notch within a matter of weeks.

    I took pictures early on...but basically just every 5-10 Lbs or so. I don't really take pictures anymore unless I'm doing something really cool...like a kick *kitten* clean and jerk or something. It's up to you, but I don't know that you're going to get a whole lot out of taking pictures weekly...in my experience, physical changes don't happen that quickly.

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