Gutless Man (with pics)

GREAT! Just Great!! Congratulations.! I am with the others.. would love to hear any tips/tricks that helped you reach your goal.

Thanks for all the kind words.

Below is the abridged version of my fitness program. I’ve written it in a preachy fashion only because it was easier to write it that way. It worked for me but I do not wish to push it on anyone nor do I consider myself an expert.

General Philosophy –

Work into everything slowly. An injury takes you out of the game and failing to control food intake will do the same. The MFP nutritional guidelines are excellent (but I keep track in my head and tend to go a bit over what MFP recommends)

Exercise –

Slowly work up to a minimum of 30 minutes of cardio every other day. Use a heart rate monitor, start at 75% max for your age, after a few weeks you’ll know the heart rate that is best for you. By the way, walking the dog may be excellent cardio for some while others may have to run or use an exercise machine (elliptical, stationary bike, etc) to get the heart rate up.
Strength train once you feel up to it. I decided to take off some of the fat before starting the strength training. Again, work into it slowly. Pushing to the max on the first day will screw up your program for months.

Food –

Copious amounts of fruits and vegetables (I stick with the lower calorie items). Lettuce, tomatoes, peaches, strawberries, blueberries, watermelon, peppers, apples, oranges, carrots, etc.

Meats – minimize the fatty meats, maximize the lean meats.
Breads, potatoes, carbs in general – keep it balanced, you need the stuff but there are tons of calories in there. I use sandwich thins instead of bread which cuts 100 cals off my sandwich

Dairy – ½ fat items, greek yogurt, skinny cow cheeses, no cal spray butter (it’s not that bad). Most nonfat items are yucky to me.
Deserts – Skinny cow anything, ½ fat items, stay away from birthday cake (or eat small amounts). Eat at least one desert item every day.

Splurge – go ahead a splurge once in a while but keep it reasonable. Example – 1/2 slice of cheese cake (I splurge about once a week).

Exercise Calories – I never ate all of them back, usually 25% of them.

Wow!!!! Bet your wife is chasing you around! Congrats for all the hard work.

Well, we chase each other. And we are both better able to. She has lost 80 lbs so far and looks great!