Obese to FIT (22stone +)

Sirsok

Denerick wrote: »

Well done chief, very inspiring.

Did you have problems with loose skin or does that take care of itself eventually? My ideal scenario will see me around 13:7 but built.

Thanks very much.

No real problem, I have a few stretch marks on my stomach and under my arms that are only reallt noticable if i pull my skin....a tatoo on my arm is also a bit stretched and will have to get it filled in again.

A mate of mine from work had an amazing transformation. His mother passed away so he decided he needed to take action himself....he's a powerlifter now...heres his vid

df1985

great thread!! some very inspiring stories and motivating advice.

Ill give my story: I was always very overweight as a child and teen, lost a load of weight when i was 17 but then I went to college - too much booze, bad eating etc and I had piled on the weight to where I was approx 17 stone back in 2009 or so. I went shopping for my "xmas clothes" as they say, and thats when I had that moment where you realise something has to change. stood in river island dressing room on grafton st struggling to close jeans. new year came and I joined a gym. From then to august I lost about 3 stone. very gradual progress, down a bit, sometimes back up a little bit but in general making progress.

August 2010 then and my mother passed away. this little mammys boy who couldnt cook all of a sudden was living alone....chippers and dominos business boomed. (it was comfort eating too in a sense, had some dark days where I didnt want to get out of bed, never mind be concerned about diet or training etc). This continued pretty much until Febuary 2011 and then I decided to sort my head out. the gym is a huge factor in this - self esteem and self confidence really increases with it. im down to just under 13 stone now, the goal is 12 stone by xmas 12 and a half at least anyway.

I dont do any drastic diets or anything,its all about moderation and making more "sensible" choices. I have my cheat days, but where before I would get down about it, fall off the wagon and binge, now I just decide tomorrow ill "fix" it. e.g I was out last night, hungover today and got a pizza. not concerned though, ill be in the gym tomorrow after work.

Getting in shape and using the gym was the best thing I ever did and I cant imagine my daily routine now without training. I actually attribute it to other parts of my life too, it kept my mind focused and motivated - i then went from unemployed to now in a permanent job. healthy body = healthy mind.

Beefy78

I'm really getting into walking at the moment. Did 12 miles yesterday which took me to more than 40 miles in four days. It was only supposed to be ten miles but I'd not realised how far away from home I was when I turned back in to head back! I'm going to take a rest today because the trainers I wore yesterday I'd never worn on a long walk before and they hurt my feet but am determined to get back out there tomorrow.

I downloaded one of those apps which tracks your distance when you're out walking or jogging. I'd no idea how many calories a good walk can burn off. Very motivating.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

played my first game of squash in 15 years tonight, expecting to be very very sore tomorrow but was good to get out and do a bit of running about

hopefully get me out jogging or even just walking a bit more during the week to try and get fit enough to avoid the pain

--edit

3 hours later and i'm feeling disturbingly good after all that running around.

MrStuffins

Just back from a 10 mile walk.

Have been hovering around 196-198 the last few weeks because of different reasons but have been lucky to have not put anything substantial on.

I'm 198 now and will aim to be 195 by next week. Gotta get back in the swing!

COH

For anyone looking for inspiration this is an article about a very good friend of mine Eric. I remember the first day I met him - depressed, unhealthy and at close to his heaviest bodyweight. This coming Monday he's running the Dublin marathon having dropped over 15 stone...

Check it out

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/new-man-i-was-35-stone-and-depressed-now-im-running-the-dublin-city-marathon-3269632.html

MrStuffins

So how's everybody doing?

Beefy78

I'm doing alright. I hit my target (which i think I mentioned in an earlier post) of being able to comfortably fit into the shirt I wanted to wear this last weekend, which I was pleased about. I didn't end up wearing it in the end but it's my birthday this weekend so will wear it there instead. I'm finding clothes to be a great motivational tool, far more so than numbers on a scale would be.

Had company this weekend so didn't get to go out walking but got back on it last night and still reckon I'm averaging six long walks per week. In fact just checking the phone app I use to track it and since Friday 19th October I've done 140.8 miles and that's on top of my three mile round trip to work every day. Just hope the weather holds up because I don't fancy it in the snow.

Spiritual

Down from 17 Stone to 14 stone in 5 months of cardio mixed with a good diet. Nice thread and fair play to all.

MrStuffins

Beefy78 wrote: »

I'm doing alright. I hit my target (which i think I mentioned in an earlier post) of being able to comfortably fit into the shirt I wanted to wear this last weekend, which I was pleased about. I didn't end up wearing it in the end but it's my birthday this weekend so will wear it there instead. I'm finding clothes to be a great motivational tool, far more so than numbers on a scale would be.

Had company this weekend so didn't get to go out walking but got back on it last night and still reckon I'm averaging six long walks per week. In fact just checking the phone app I use to track it and since Friday 19th October I've done 140.8 miles and that's on top of my three mile round trip to work every day. Just hope the weather holds up because I don't fancy it in the snow.

Holy sh*t :eek:

Fair play man.

Clothes are great for measuring. I had a pair of jeas on the other day and before I could put my belt on the fell down. All the way down. And they were closed!

MrStuffins

Spiritual wrote: »

Down from 17 Stone to 14 stone in 5 months of cardio mixed with a good diet. Nice thread and fair play to all.

Jeez, congratulations man. Great news!

Denerick

Really noticing it on my clothes at the moment. My old work trousers are comically large on me now - they were always generous with space, but now they look like something a clown would wear. My old belt, which was at the second notch, can now only attempt to keep my trousers in place as they invariably make their way down to my knees.

Its. F*cking. Great.

Having a bit more success with the ladies these days too

MrStuffins

Denerick wrote: »

Really noticing it on my clothes at the moment. My old work trousers are comically large on me now - they were always generous with space, but now they look like something a clown would wear. My old belt, which was at the second notch, can now only attempt to keep my trousers in place as they invariably make their way down to my knees.

Its. F*cking. Great.

Having a bit more success with the ladies these days too

BOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!

WHIP IT!

Denerick wrote: »

Really noticing it on my clothes at the moment. My old work trousers are comically large on me now - they were always generous with space, but now they look like something a clown would wear. My old belt, which was at the second notch, can now only attempt to keep my trousers in place as they invariably make their way down to my knees.

Its. F*cking. Great.

Having a bit more success with the ladies these days too

I read somewhere that the ones ya meet in the gym will even helpfully tell ya right away whether they're single or not :pac:

Denerick

WHIP IT! wrote: »

I read somewhere that the ones ya meet in the gym will even helpfully tell ya right away whether they're single or not :pac:

Not sure the girls in the gym would be overly impressed by my mad attempts to lift 25kg barbells (Beside some Polish guy half my size easily lifting 60...) but anyway...

Sirsok

Denerick wrote: »

Not sure the girls in the gym would be overly impressed by my mad attempts to lift 25kg barbells (Beside some Polish guy half my size easily lifting 60...) but anyway...

Low weight but high reps....there well impressed!

MrStuffins

So, Christmas is coming, the Goose is getting fat............

How is everyone doing? We still losing weight?

Beefy78

Had a bad ten days or so with Birthday drinks and Christmas chocolates everywhere I look at work at the minute. Office Christmas party coming up on Friday so Saturday will likely be a write-off as well.

The important thing I'm trying to remember at these times is that this is a long-term thing. Try to be as good as possible, but I've got to live my life so I just need to get back on the horse every time I fall off of it.

seamus

Beefy78 wrote: »

The important thing I'm trying to remember at these times is that this is a long-term thing. Try to be as good as possible, but I've got to live my life

Absolutely, this is essential. Most people find December quite bad, but just remember that provided that you don't eat and drink like it's Xmas for 12 months of the year, you can only do a limited amount of damage over that period.
You're working on your weight in order to enjoy yourself without guilt. So enjoy yourself and don't feel guilty.

MrStuffins

Beefy78 wrote: »

The important thing I'm trying to remember at these times is that this is a long-term thing. Try to be as good as possible, but I've got to live my life so I just need to get back on the horse every time I fall off of it.

Nail on head!

I had been pre-empting Christmas. Trying to get down to a decent weight before Christmas before I take it easy over the holidays and don't worry too much about weight loss.

Although, having said that, I think i've finished my journey. Well, the first half of it!

Started off at 229lbs. Weighed in this morning at 189lbs.

My overall target was 182lbs but I was just guessing at that. Now that i'm 189lbs I think I want to concentrate on getting fit and strong.

I've started Couch to 5K and am on week 3. I am also begining a weight program this week.

You wouldn't believe the difference lads. Seriously, keep up the good work because I actually look at myself in the mirror now and I really like what I see.

And a new gym is opening right across from my work in the New Year so i'm gonna try get fitter and fitter instead of thinner and thinner

Denerick

I'm looking forward to when I reach the point that I feel I need to bulk up more with muscle, not lose more weight with diet! What a luxury that must be...

MrStuffins

Denerick wrote: »

I'm looking forward to when I reach the point that I feel I need to bulk up more with muscle, not lose more weight with diet! What a luxury that must be...

Well I far fron NEED to bulk up. I'm actually 25 BMI which is on the borderline of Overweight.

I won't necessarily be "bulking up". What I aim for is to get stronger and put a bit of shape on me. More muscles mean more calories burned naturally and in between i'll be looking to get fit and run as much as I can (I'm aiming for next year's Dublin Marathon..... i'm only 3 weeks into Couch to 5K so that's a long way off)

_Bella_

I haven't posted in a while. To be honest I fell completely off the bandwagon for the month of October, slipping back into all my old food habits. Somehow magically during that time I managed to lose two pounds. November was much better andI weighed in today at 178 pounds which means I have moved from obese to overweight. Obviously I need to now get down to a healthy weight but its nice to not have to consider myself obese anymore!

Denerick

_Bella_ wrote: »

I haven't posted in a while. To be honest I fell completely off the bandwagon for the month of October, slipping back into all my old food habits. Somehow magically during that time I managed to lose two pounds. November was much better andI weighed in today at 178 pounds which means I have moved from obese to overweight. Obviously I need to now get down to a healthy weight but its nice to not have to consider myself obese anymore!

Don't feel too bad. I went to the gym this morning, felt great, then evening came and I decided 'feck it, I'll have a 125g bag of crisps for dinner this evening'. And thats what I'm doing. Refuse to feel bad about it! Just remember that tomorrow is another day, get back on the wagon then.

tink8587

I'm a Canadian female roughly 268 pounds - by my google calculations that makes me 19 1/2 stone? I'm in between diets/lifestyle changes at the moment, considering my next move. I'd love to join in the conversation if nobody else minds. Share my trials and tribulations - offer advice and encouragement!

MrStuffins

tink8587 wrote: »

I'm a Canadian female roughly 268 pounds - by my google calculations that makes me 19 1/2 stone? I'm in between diets/lifestyle changes at the moment, considering my next move. I'd love to join in the conversation if nobody else minds. Share my trials and tribulations - offer advice and encouragement!

Hi Tink!

Of course! The more the merrier

What are your plans?

tinner777

welcome tink

kind of crashed the wagon whilst on nights, back on days and straight back on track, i'm finding running hard and although i completed the couch to 5 km and can run for 30 mins, i feel i was getting more out of the thirty mins on the heavy bag boxing. Anyone else find swapping exercise has held them back?

Strawberry Fields

I was 90.2 kgs when I started in the gym been going daily since September doing 40-50 minutes cardio between treadmill, cross trainer and bike. Down to 82.6 kgs today. That's just over a stone, one more to go and I'll be nearer an optimum weight.

Beefy78

I think my biggest challenge at the moment is the weather. A huge chunk of my strategy to lose weight is going for a 90-120 minute walk every evening after work and then more than that every weekend. But it's soooooo cold out there.

Plan B is the exercise bike I've got at home, but I've never really been able to get on with that too much.

seamus

tinner777 wrote: »

Anyone else find swapping exercise has held them back?

It shouldn't, really. If anything it should help. A lot of athletes cross-train, especially in the off season.
I cycle a lot and found myself at a plateau. I added in a small amount of running (about 90 minutes) a week and lost 10kg. My theory is that cross-training challenges your body more and so burns more calories. Sticking to the same type of exercise lets your body adapt to it, becoming more efficient and so burning less calories per minute.

Beefy78 wrote: »

I think my biggest challenge at the moment is the weather. A huge chunk of my strategy to lose weight is going for a 90-120 minute walk every evening after work and then more than that every weekend. But it's soooooo cold out there.

15 minutes. That's all it takes really to warm up. Get out there, earphones in, warm clothes on and push yourself for the first 15 minutes. It's kind of horrible actually, but once you push past it you're toasty warm and considering shedding layers.
Edit:
Actually just thinking about that, a 2 hour walk after work is a pretty big commitment, no wonder you're hesitating. Any chance you could walk in and out of work, or even part thereof? That is, if you walked 45 minutes each way to work, you'd have your 90 minutes walk per day covered, and you'll have a tonne more free time at home.