Just an update - was 268 as of my first post, and am roughly 258 now. Am trying to tiptoe towards my goal. Living with a diabetic helps, as he isn't overly snacking much, and it encourages me to keep my own diet clean.
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A lot of outdoor activities are location specific, though. Surfing works only if you live near the coast. Hiking is an ideal alternative you can do well into your old age if you live anywhere near mountains or hills, since you can ramp up or down the intensity level pretty easy depending on the trail, and there's the bonus of getting into photography if you like.
Awesome, what are you doing as far as exercise and diet?
Motivation? Sure.
You will go extinct if you don't.
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Very light exercise so far - mainly just long walks every other day (1 or 2 miles). Am not eating a specific diet, just less of what I usually eat, and trying hard to not eat out more than once or twice a week.
Obviously, I plan on ramping this up before spring, because whenever I do lose weight, there's an initial drop, then I plateau.
When I was a lot heavier pushups were a big help. Started out with just a few at a time, maybe 5 or so, then gradually worked my way up. At a high body weight they're pretty intense so they don't take much time and you build some muscle to boot.
I'm late to this thread but one thing that has helped motivate me to lose/gain weight depending on my goals is to weigh myself every morning and track it in a spreadsheet. My spreadsheet has 3 columns:
3) 7-day rolling average weight
I then create a line graph of my 7-day average weight.
Weighing yourself every day can be confusing/demoralizing since your weight fluctuates very easily depending on yesterday's diet and hydration level. It's not uncommon to be 5 pounds different than the previous day. However the 7-day rolling average stabilizes pretty quickly.
Looking at the graph and seeing your progress can be very motivating because it can be tough to see the differences in the mirror sometimes. Also, you might notice that the graph trends downwards for awhile but then start flatlining. This would indicate that your daily caloric needs have dropped and so you can adjust your diet accordingly.
Weightlifting will burn more calories than light cardio, and turn fat into muscle on top of that.
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For me this was a very important factor in the process. I dont now, because my goal is to cultivate mass (its alway sunny reference) and lift heavy things... but I used to UBER meticulous about this when I had weight targets.
The myfitness pal app is owned by ((())) UA/ BLM folks so i would say dump them... but... use a good template/app ect and follow it.
Yes, but heavily overweight people should be careful with weightlifting -- the potential for injuries is much higher.
OP can do this, but should talk with a good personal trainer first.
If not weightlifting I really recommend cycling. Took that up recently. Burns the most calories with the lowest perceived effort in my experience. I'm actually worried about losing too much weight - I'm naturally stocky and I'd like to stay that way. Also cycling isn't bad for joints like running or bad weightlifting can be.
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Previously I fell prey to the OTT 'deze gainz need fuel' mindset after working out, & ridding myself of this has been something of a gamechanger.
Now i fast 18 hours, and do cardio at the end of it, every day. I eat overwhelmingly meat based diet, with eggs, salad & cheese. I avoid carbs from daily routine, without being obsessive about it.
I've leaned out and IMHO look better than when i was more focused on building mass. Honestly i think the gym-culture of the last couple of decades has become metrosexual & frankly gay in mindset.
Yes we should all be fit, healthy & strong, but there's so much focus on asthetics, it's often weird, at root insecure & obsessive.
Far better to base your fitness around a sport. My training is all related to boxing. From this i can defend myself, it keeps me lean, & efficient in body type (not hulking out, which is inefficient in the sport), fit in both cardio & agility sense, and builds stamina & discipline.
If not something like boxing, then climbing, hiking, or whatever. I just find the obsession with building show-muscles that so many have now weirdly unhealthy mentally.
Fasting is the gamechanger for sure. It's programming your mind to be fine with hunger that is the key. Do it daily for 30 days, and you'll never want to go back to breakfast or pre-workout meals.
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Not to be a contrarian... but fasting works for some and is impossible for others. If I fasted till 1200 I eat everything in site from 1201 to whenever I go to bed (I've weighed / calcuated it out and crushed 4500 kcal that way) ....vs eating 4 hard boiled eggs at 0800, 5 oz chicken/cup rice/veg (500 kcals)s at 1130/ same again at 1530/1600, then 1900, then work out at 2000/2100. and eat again at 2300 (roughly 3000 -3500 kcal)... which is my diet kcal goal to maintain. weight.
If I did the fasting thing, I'd eat a hobo's shoe before lunch. like literally go to jail for eating a stranger's foot...
But if it works for you and something you can follow follow it... Good luck brosieden.!!!
1. Admit to being fat and do not find excuses.
2. Do not focus on motivation, because that will go away, focus on discipline. You can have a 1 day break, but never 2.
3. Eat calorie-dense foods.
4. Do not only lift weights. Sure, that is good in the long run, but does not burn many calories. In my opinion, steady state cardio is the holy grail of fat loss. Have at least 3 walks every day. Don't follow one or the other camp. Cardio and weight-lifting are important!
5. Drink a lot of (water).
6. You can fast for 16 hours and only eat when hungry. Although it might be hard in your case as you clearly have a problem with binging and regulating mood through (pardon my words) stuffing your face. Additionally, your ghrelin might be up the creek.
7. Do not stress, if you weigh more than last week on the scales. It might be due to many factors.
8. If nothing else works, you should be counting calories. It seems obsessive, but it has always worked for me, when I was cutting.
9. Stop eating things excessively, like sushi or avocado, because they are supposed to be healthy. They are packed with calories you simply cannot afford, because your risk of cardiovascular health at your height and weight are quite high (again, not trying to discourage you and forgive me, if this might be harsh, but people need to hear it).
But it seems you are on a fairly good path. Probably COVID bs is getting to you, but your aim should be to be in a calorie deficit of at least 300 kcal to lose at least 2 pounds every 3 weeks.
(not hulking out, which is inefficient in the sport),
*Tyson Fury has entered the chat*
heh, it is though.
even Antony Joshua seems to have realised that, and taken some muscle off since Ruiz defeat in MSQ.
Try eating a meat / protein died, it's (another) gamechanger.
I used to always be an ardent porridge advocate as a fuel. I'd have it as breakfast every day, now i see it just as setting me up on the carb-fuel treadmill.
On a typical day i eat an open burger (ground beef, onion egg with spinach or some greens) post fasted cardio, around midday.
Then later i'll eat a big pork chop or similar, nothing else with it, around 5.
Then maybe a very light snack later in the evening of cheese or smoked fish, often only as accompanment to a glass of wine.
I dont really care about 'Ketosis' or adhering strictly to any dogma, i just find this incredibly efficient in not being hungry & staying lean.
But ultimately, as you say, whatever works is good.
Still slowly but steadily losing, am around 250 now.
Certain things have changed permanently. I'm used to intermittent fasting a few days a week, and don't really snack after dinner anymore.
This could be going a lot faster, but I want this to be forever this time. I'm fine with the pace I'm going at.
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Here is the snake diet channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_yUeH8TsG5pxqvkOxBtsFA
Buy the four chemicals or order the snake diet sachets to make 'snake juice', basically a sugar-free electrolyte drink. Find your own way after watching the videos (if it is your thing, is surely not for everyone..). You will also need Ketostix to measure your levels and a good digital scale which you probably have. The snake juice makes you feel a lot better than you would on water between meals. I've done a few 72 hour ones, but try to keep it to 24, 36 or 48 cause it disrupts life too much otherwise. You need extra clothing and blankets to stay warm if the weather is cold.
It's not the same as a 'keto' diet, as that does not enforce eating windows but instead enforces extremely low carbs. The pauses in eating are good for you, they talk of 'autophagy' which clears out damaged cells. Some people find it very hard to not eat for periods of time, I could not manage just eating steak, eggs etc and banning myself from say a potato or banana.
It is important to break each fast correctly, first with protein such as steak. At least not the complete opposite. I was tempted into some bad mistakes a few times breaking fasts, once with a bunch of waffles with jam, basically high glycaemic index carbs which completely ruined that fast, and once with red wine, which lead to violent sickness.
The moving to a new city thing might help, if you have like a clean slate and not the things which drive your towards food. At one point I was staying somewhere and fell into a one hamburger a day pattern, no fries, just at about 2pm every day, a hamburger. It is important that what you do eat is enjoyable, high fat content, good taste. Sometimes I would have one very small chocolate for desert after it then nothing till the next day. I've got an athletic build but have been trying to get more cut.
For breakfast I tend to eat complex carbs with eggs and maybe something like yogurt. A bowl full of steel cut oats (with a dusting of brown sugar) and a couple of hard boiled eggs are usually far more than enough to keep me full until dinner. Buckwheat is another I like, and a three-grain mix too (it's flax seeds, cracked rye and cracked wheat).
I like dinner to be my interesting meal of the day, and can eat the same thing over and over for breakfast. Although I might want to introduce more fruit into my diet (it's for now mostly meat, protein, whole grains, and veggies).