Time for some change
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Billy213
Posts: 31 Member
I've recently decided to turn my life around and sort my self out.. although this was only last week and should of been done about 8 years ago. Better late than never, right? I'm 23, 6' 2" and 335lb.
I've got the food side of things going pretty well so far. MFP makes that bit easy; I just weigh it and cook it. My only concern is that I'm about 400 calories a day below my target intake on average. Should that really be a problem this early on? I've not felt any hunger or tiredness. If someone could take a look at my diary and make some recommendations that would be great.
I've also bought an exercise bike which is delivered soon. As my exercise increases, I'm assuming it want to increase my calorie intake to maintain a reasonable calorific deficit?
Would it also be beneficial for me to start doing basic weight training? I've been looking at various full body workouts using dumbbells and my own body weight to get things going.
I've got the food side of things going pretty well so far. MFP makes that bit easy; I just weigh it and cook it. My only concern is that I'm about 400 calories a day below my target intake on average. Should that really be a problem this early on? I've not felt any hunger or tiredness. If someone could take a look at my diary and make some recommendations that would be great.
I've also bought an exercise bike which is delivered soon. As my exercise increases, I'm assuming it want to increase my calorie intake to maintain a reasonable calorific deficit?
Would it also be beneficial for me to start doing basic weight training? I've been looking at various full body workouts using dumbbells and my own body weight to get things going.
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That's great that you've decided to make a change. It's not going to be easy but you can do it if you're consistent and persistent. You don't have to change everything at once, but get the logging and weighing down and you'll start seeing great results.
This is some excellent advice that another user has put together.
1. Enter stats into MFP and set for x amount of weight loss. (In your case 2/wk is more than achievable)
2. Eat to the number that MFP gives you.
3. get a food scale and weigh all solid foods, and as many liquids as possible.
4. log everything
5. make sure that you are using correct MFP database entries
6. realize that there are no bad foods and that while the majority of foods should come from nutrient dense sources, there is nothing wrong with having pizza, ice cream, cookies, etc, as long as ones micro and macro needs are met.
7. macro setting are typically .85 grams of protein per pound of body weight; .45 grams of fat per pound of body weight; fill in rest with carbs.
8. find a form of exercise that you like and do it < not necessary for weight loss, but is for overall health and body comp.
couple stickies I would recommend:
Calorie Counting 101
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1
sidesteels guide:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
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I doubt that the 400 calorie difference would matter, but I'm not a doctor, much less your doctor, so I don't know.
Exercise is huge help to me. I wouldn't lose without it. I rarely eat the extra calories I get for doing it because:
- It's just too much food. I can't eat all that.
- I feel healthy, strong, vibrant and am not hungry or dizzy
- I got an OK to skip or eat them as I please.
Some days, I get really hungry and will hit or exceed that day's calories. If you're hungry or feel like you can't give your all to your bicycling or weight lifting (which Heck, Yeah, Do it if you're cleared for it!), eat more.
It's a long, long, longlonglong road. It comes off really fast at first and then slows down. Stick with it. Be patient. Don't give up, every when you feel like quitting.
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400 cal seems like a bit to be under. Have something for the hell of it.
Assuming your logging is accurate being under will mean you lose weight faster which may lead to some lose skin and extra muscle loss.
Doing strength training can be bad. Help you hold onto muscle mass so what your losing is mostly fat.0 -
I rarely eat the extra calories I get for doing it because:
- It's just too much food. I can't eat all that.
- I feel healthy, strong, vibrant and am not hungry or dizzy
........
Some days, I get really hungry and will hit or exceed that day's calories. If you're hungry or feel like you can't give your all to your bicycling or weight lifting (which Heck, Yeah, Do it if you're cleared for it!), eat more.
That's the thing I'm finding at the moment. I'm eating plentiful and regularly and feeling great for it. Also for all those days that i'm under, there will always be days where I'm over or fancy indulging in something which can make up for it in some respects.flyingtanuki wrote: »- Lifting (or other resistance training is a great idea as it helps to preserve muscle mass) Maybe check out Stronglifts 5X5 (internet search). It's a free program targeted to beginners.
- As you indicated that you have an interest in body weight training, you might want to search for videos by Al Kavadlo. The book "Convict Conditioning" on Amazon is another good resource. (I do bootcamp workouts at my local gym. You might look into a gym or recreational center near you.)
Thanks for those, I'll definitely have a look. With regards to the gym.. If I joined one at this stage I would never go. My confidence isn't great and the gym would not be a place I'd enjoy going to. It is however one of my goals. I've invested in the exercise bike and dumbbells as a stepping stone to being confident enough to join a gym and get out on a proper bike.400 cal seems like a bit to be under. Have something for the hell of it.
Assuming your logging is accurate being under will mean you lose weight faster which may lead to some lose skin and extra muscle loss.
Doing strength training can be bad. Help you hold onto muscle mass so what your losing is mostly fat.
My logging has been very precise so far. Everything gets written down as I go then added to MFP and I'm not eating anything that I don't know it's exact quantities or brand etc. Holding onto the muscle mass I have is quite important to me, as much as losing the weight it important, I'd hate to lose the muscle with it.
Thanks for all your help so far. It's one week tomorrow and I've been fighting off the urge to step on the scales. I know three weeks is recommended but I can't resist.
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You are doing great.I rarely eat the extra calories I get for doing it because:
- It's just too much food. I can't eat all that.
- I feel healthy, strong, vibrant and am not hungry or dizzy
........
Some days, I get really hungry and will hit or exceed that day's calories. If you're hungry or feel like you can't give your all to your bicycling or weight lifting (which Heck, Yeah, Do it if you're cleared for it!), eat more.
That's the thing I'm finding at the moment. I'm eating plentiful and regularly and feeling great for it. Also for all those days that i'm under, there will always be days where I'm over or fancy indulging in something which can make up for it in some respects.flyingtanuki wrote: »- Lifting (or other resistance training is a great idea as it helps to preserve muscle mass) Maybe check out Stronglifts 5X5 (internet search). It's a free program targeted to beginners.
- As you indicated that you have an interest in body weight training, you might want to search for videos by Al Kavadlo. The book "Convict Conditioning" on Amazon is another good resource. (I do bootcamp workouts at my local gym. You might look into a gym or recreational center near you.)
Thanks for those, I'll definitely have a look. With regards to the gym.. If I joined one at this stage I would never go. My confidence isn't great and the gym would not be a place I'd enjoy going to. It is however one of my goals. I've invested in the exercise bike and dumbbells as a stepping stone to being confident enough to join a gym and get out on a proper bike.400 cal seems like a bit to be under. Have something for the hell of it.
Assuming your logging is accurate being under will mean you lose weight faster which may lead to some lose skin and extra muscle loss.
Doing strength training can be bad. Help you hold onto muscle mass so what your losing is mostly fat.
My logging has been very precise so far. Everything gets written down as I go then added to MFP and I'm not eating anything that I don't know it's exact quantities or brand etc. Holding onto the muscle mass I have is quite important to me, as much as losing the weight it important, I'd hate to lose the muscle with it.
Thanks for all your help so far. It's one week tomorrow and I've been fighting off the urge to step on the scales. I know three weeks is recommended but I can't resist.
Go ahead and weigh yourself once a week. Usually people lose weight the first week. It will be nice to see some success.
Use the dumb bells so that you can retain some upper body muscle mass.0 -
Your likely to lose muscle mass, just part of the weight loss process. But strength training is good to limit it as much as possible, same for getting enough protein.0
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My exercise bike and weights arrived and naturally, I built in and took it for a spin.. without actually setting up the calorie counter/units/etc.
The chest strap heart rate monitor seems to be fairly consistent so I'll take that as gospel just for the sake of calorie calculations. Do I want to enter a net or gross burn? I'm assuming net, as MFP already takes in to account my BMR. Felt like a successful first go, too. Average heart rate of 168bpm, 40 minutes at an average speed on 14.47mph.Your likely to lose muscle mass, just part of the weight loss process. But strength training is good to limit it as much as possible, same for getting enough protein.
I'm maintaining a consistent intake of everything ATM, apart from being down on the calories. I'm not differentiating too much with the food I eat each day just so I can get into a routine of weighing and prep. Don't want to go too extravagant and get snowed under.
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GOOD JOB!! Keep it up. But promise me this:
(1) you have regular annual visits with a doctor to get your physical/blood work
(2) if you EVER feel like you aren't physically energetic or mentally functioning as you were before (I mean one day of "blah" is one thing, but if day after day you're just always tired or something), add back in some more calories. Full fat dairy and dark chicken meat instead of white meat are two easy ways to add calories without drastically changing what you're eating.
(3) Once you're about 70-80 lbs from your goal, make sure you don't eat at a huge deficit like this any more.
Deal?0 -
GOOD JOB!! Keep it up. But promise me this:
(1) you have regular annual visits with a doctor to get your physical/blood work
(2) if you EVER feel like you aren't physically energetic or mentally functioning as you were before (I mean one day of "blah" is one thing, but if day after day you're just always tired or something), add back in some more calories. Full fat dairy and dark chicken meat instead of white meat are two easy ways to add calories without drastically changing what you're eating.
(3) Once you're about 70-80 lbs from your goal, make sure you don't eat at a huge deficit like this any more.
Deal?
My work bring in people for a yearly medical for all staff which is handy. They're pretty good and will always recommened seeing a doctor if they see anything abnormal. My last proper doctors visit was about three months ago and another medical should be done before the end of the year.
I do need a go to food which is high in calories that will sustain me. I work 12 hour shifts days/nights and I can't leave site so having something I can keep in a cupboard to feast on if I do ever feel unwell is important.
With regards to my current deficit, this is definitely not something permanent. Once I get better and managing routines, portion control and prep along with the exercise I'll be aiming to hit my targets. I think that a couple weeks with a higher deficit will give me the morale boost for me to keep going. After that I aim for a steady and maintainable weight loss.
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I started when I was almost 30 (2 months before my birthday, so yes better late than never
That is a very smart thing to do. My first week I just increased my general walking, just to get used to the idea of limiting and logging (being accountable) for my food. I started exercising after 10 days, and only focused on light cardio and a lot of stretching, because I knew that if I start to get sore muscles too often that will definitely demotivate me.I'm maintaining a consistent intake of everything ATM, apart from being down on the calories. I'm not differentiating too much with the food I eat each day just so I can get into a routine of weighing and prep. Don't want to go too extravagant and get snowed under.Would it also be beneficial for me to start doing basic weight training? I've been looking at various full body workouts using dumbbells and my own body weight to get things going.
I set some goal posts as when to focus on other aspect of my health; for example I only started checking my macros after a month, my micros after 3 months, muscle focus after 5 months. It helped adding new challenges slowly and only once existing ones became habit.
As for eating my exercise calories back that was very important to motivate me to exercise everyday, as when I don't exercise I feel like I am being punished by having to eat less
I had a look at your diary! bravo! very healthy! I also love how you are distributing almost equally between the three meals!
I have noticed that you are not logging exercise? are you logging it elsewhere?
Also that your are adding ingredients directly, just in case you haven noticed, mfp has option to create recipes (that you can keep private).0 -
I have noticed that you are not logging exercise? are you logging it elsewhere?
Also that your are adding ingredients directly, just in case you haven noticed, mfp has option to create recipes (that you can keep private).
Today is my first day of logged exercise which was on the exercise bike. Managed a solid 40 minutes which I was chuffed with. I'll maintain that 40 minutes a day and hopefully I'll see my mileage increase over time.
I will make recipes for proper meals when I step up to them but for now I pretty much have a look in the cupboards and throw some random stuff together. Eggs are my current go to food for easy calories at lunch. Most dinners are a basic meat and pasta/rice combination with some veg.
I also add everything I know I'm going to eat at the begining of the day. 50g of mixed nuts for example. I've had a couple days off work so I haven't had to worry about forward planning so much. Back tomorrow so I'm currently working on making plans for lunch and dinner.
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My go to foods are nuts. I have blood pressure issues, so I usually go for raw unsalted almonds. I weigh out servings in plastic baggies and tuck them in my back pack. Beef Jerky is good if you can tolerate the salt. Breakfast cookies made from mashed banana and oatmeal. I think I saw the recipe in an MFP post.0
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IMO, if you're feeling okay from it, I wouldn't worry about your intake. When you get smaller and your deficit drops, you'll want to make sure you're eating over 1500 a day (net), but for now, why force yourself to eat when you're not hungry? Do whatever is more sustainable to you and allows you to live with an adequate deficit. That's the important part.
Good luck! And like others have mentioned, you'll find that you lose a ton of weight in the beginning and then slow way down or even stop for a little while. This is normal (a lot of what you lose in the beginning is glycogen and water). Trudge through that period and you'll start losing again and this time, it'll be a good helping of bodyfat.0 -
Your fat stores can provide in the neighborhood of 4000 calories a day. 400 short isn't the end of the world. I'm a bit taller, but also started at 335. The normal recommendations don't apply very well when you have scores and scores and scores of pounds of fat to lose.0
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daniwilford wrote: »My go to foods are nuts. I have blood pressure issues, so I usually go for raw unsalted almonds. I weigh out servings in plastic baggies and tuck them in my back pack. Beef Jerky is good if you can tolerate the salt. Breakfast cookies made from mashed banana and oatmeal. I think I saw the recipe in an MFP post.
I'm going to look at making some nut butter flapjacks I think. I already do 50g of nuts a day and, like you, have got em ready and separated so I can just grab and go.ManiacalLaugh wrote: »IMO, if you're feeling okay from it, I wouldn't worry about your intake. When you get smaller and your deficit drops, you'll want to make sure you're eating over 1500 a day (net), but for now, why force yourself to eat when you're not hungry?
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Good luck! And like others have mentioned, you'll find that you lose a ton of weight in the beginning and then slow way down or even stop for a little while.
That's definitely my plan. I'm feeling good right now. I think I'll save my first weigh in for Saturday morning when I get up and hopefully all will be positive and I can progress from there.DeguelloTex wrote: »Your fat stores can provide in the neighborhood of 4000 calories a day. 400 short isn't the end of the world. I'm a bit taller, but also started at 335. The normal recommendations don't apply very well when you have scores and scores and scores of pounds of fat to lose.
That was my original thinking, I've got a lot more to lose. I hit my calorie intake for today but my 40 minutes on the excise bike gave me another 730. By the time I had dinner there was no way I could eat any more so I don't see that being a problem.
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Yes, lift weights ASAP as it helps maintain muscle mass while you're losing. Great start!0
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Just pay close attention to what your body is telling you. If you start feeling wiped out or sluggish up your calories a bit. I did 1200 calories for the first 30 days and had no problem doing that. But as you lose body fat it becomes increasingly harder to maintain such a deficit. So I added a 100 calories here.... a 100 calories there and really watched to ensure I was still on my same schedule of weightloss. Your goal should be to eat as many calories as you can and still be losing weight at the rate you are looking for.0
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Just thought I'd report back after my first week and my first weigh in.. 325lb so a 11lb loss in 9 days which has got me pretty happy as you could imagine.It's a fair amount but with everything that was talked about above I'm not too concerned about it being excessive in these early stages.
I'm also finding it easier to get closer to my calorie intake for the day, but struggling to keep up with extra burned by exercise. I genuinely don't think I can eat any more haha. You don't realise just how much you can eat of the right foods until you start to weigh and note everything down; it's really surprising!0 -
Just thought I'd report back after my first week and my first weigh in.. 325lb so a 11lb loss in 9 days which has got me pretty happy as you could imagine.It's a fair amount but with everything that was talked about above I'm not too concerned about it being excessive in these early stages.
I'm also finding it easier to get closer to my calorie intake for the day, but struggling to keep up with extra burned by exercise. I genuinely don't think I can eat any more haha. You don't realise just how much you can eat of the right foods until you start to weigh and note everything down; it's really surprising!
Great going!0
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