D$%m you Scott. Lost 10lbs so far.

[OldSkool]

Scott you are an inspiration my friend. I'm putting 10 miles in the stationary bike every night (takes me 30 minute) then weight training for another 30 minutes. I'm also watching the fat intake. I do not starve myself but eat only enough to get full. Seems to be working my friend. I'll post some pictures when I'm down to the weight I want to be at. :smt001

Thanks Mate for your encouragement and inspiration. :thumbsup:

 

[Summer Fun II]

+2, Scott kicked a few of us in the a$$ to start taking better care of our bodies & health. :thumbsup: . :thumbsup:

 

[Woody]

You guys talk of weight loss and a pic of Jillian shows up on the side bar.:lol: Keep up the good work guys. Starting the 1st of Jan I'm going to give it a shot myself. Don't have a lot to loose, mostly try to add some muscle. I used to have some...don't know where it went.:huh: This getting old thing is getting old.:smt089

 

[Woody]

+2, Scott kicked a few of us in the a$$ to start taking better care of our bodies & health. :thumbsup: . :thumbsup:

Did you quit smokin' and drinkin'.

 

[Summer Fun II]

Cut my smoking to almost none :smt001, I'll never give up drinking or being a internet troll. :grin: . :lol:

PS, Plus I have Dee watching over me now. :smt038

 

[HUMPH]

Mine starts next week as well. In the mean time I am loading up this weekend and not worrying about the intake of anything. I am putting a workout schedule in place as well as a plan for my diet. I don't have a dramatic amount to lose but I don't feel strong and that bothers me. I'll set my goal at 20 to 25lbs but another goal will be the fitness aspect. By the first club cruise that may be warm enough to cause me to go shirtless will hopefully not be embarrassing. I'm not used to carrying this extra weight so I hate exposing it...

 

[OldSkool]

I must admit I have ulterior motives. I’m going to Sweden in a couple weeks and I’m tired of hearing about us fat Americans. This is no joke. They have installed the heavy duty seat as standard equipment in our machines because we keep breaking them under or weight. The plant actually had to build a special test bench to test our seats. I personally know one operator that goes 400+ and drives every day.
I thought it might be a problem with our seats but at one location they have a bunch of broken seats from every manufacture they buy equipment from. Cat, Deere, Komatsu, Volvo, all lined up in a row with the back busted off.
This is not to take away from Scott’s inspiration. Like anything worth doing, someone needs to lead the way and Scott is my someone.

 

[OldSkool]

Mine starts next week as well. In the mean time I am loading up this weekend and not worrying about the intake of anything. I am putting a workout schedule in place as well as a plan for my diet. I don't have a dramatic amount to lose but I don't feel strong and that bothers me. I'll set my goal at 20 to 25lbs but another goal will be the fitness aspect. By the first club cruise that may be warm enough to cause me to go shirtless will hopefully not be embarrassing. I'm not used to carrying this extra weight so I hate exposing it...

I'm with you on the weight comment. If the weight is muscle and I feel strong then no worries. My goal is to either lose 20lbs off my gut or turn it into muscle.:smt001

 

[Chris R]

Forget worrying about your fat intake and concentrate on eating "clean" . In other words, processed food is a no-no. And, obviously fast food (duh). Pay attention to carbs, sodium, and added sugar. Read labels. The fewer ingredients the better. If you don't recognize a number of ingredients keep looking. Whatever you are eating from - plate, bag, cup, etc. it should have lots of color. Good rule of thumb is to steer clear of most white foods.

Regarding working out. Most of us regular gym goers dread this time of year. The gym fills with "resolutionists" who crowd equipment and don't follow gym etiquette. No offense, but we always look forward to late February when most give up and stop coming. You see, most people come in thinking they are going to transform their bodies by some date on the calendar (spring break, etc.). They come in and try to do 60 and 90 minute workouts after doing zero workouts for years.

If you want to succeed never let yourself get hungry. Keep some walnuts or sliced apples, etc. at close hand. Feel a bit of an urge grab some of this. Eat 5-6 times a day. Especially protein which keeps you feeling full. Eat or drink 20-30 grams right after your 30 minute workout. 30 minutes to start. Work your way to 45 minutes or so. If you are spending more than an hour in the gym, you are moving to slow. And, break up your work out into pushing and pulling moves. Pull one day, push the next. Or, go more days per week and do one body part per day. Finally, stretch, do core work (lower back, upper abs, OR lower abs - not all) and do some form of cardio every day. I promise you can do all of this in under and hour. If you limit the "number" of things you have to do in the gym, the less likely you will start dreading the act of going.

Starve yourself, workout too much, and changing everything because of a date on a calendar is the fastest way to fail. Start slow and be reasonable. You "should" be working to change your overall lifestyle.

 

[OldSkool]

Chris, Scott,
Great advice from both. I keep plenty of carrots, apples, cucumbers and the like on hand. I will ask if you think sets of 3 reps of 10 -15 each is a good plan including core work out? Is it too much at one time?

I'm doing 3 sets of 10-15 reps on weight using pushing and pulling technique then sit ups the same as weights. I bike on the stationary for 30 minutes every night too. the resistance is set fairly low right now as I'm looking to tone muscle more than build it.

Your thoughts?

 

[Chris R]

Well said said Scott. Like I said in my post, it's all about changing your lifestyle. It doesn't mean going crazy, it just means doing a few things different. I choose to work out 6 days a week. I do about 45 minutes each day. I'm 53, am 6'1 and weigh 205. I mostly do weight training, but still do 15-20 minutes of cardio out of that 45. I don't deprive myself of things I enjoy. I mean seriously, aren't boating and adult cocktails made for each other? Yet, when I fire up the grill on the boat, it's chicken instead of steak. It's simply a matter of making good choices. No matter how busy one is, they can find 45 to 60 minutes a day to do some form of exercise. And, being that we live in the land of plenty, the "right" food choices are easy.

 

[Chris R]

15 reps means you are going too light. Think 6 to 8 reps, but heavier. Use 10 reps on your warm up set. For example, if I am doing shoulder exercises, I am doing close to 12 sets. Back exercises and chest closer to 15 sets. Some sets may be 5 reps, but they are heavy. And, I do 3, 4, or 5 different exercises. All quick. I can do 12 sets in 20 minutes easily. For example, I will only do shoulders one day - except for abs and cardio, which I do everyday. Same for everthing else. On abs, I may do 4-5 sets of leg lifts one day and crunches the next. Mix it up on the things you do daily like abs and and cardio. I have found that working out during the work week, feels better. Saturdays too, unless something fun like boating is coming into play. Give your body a couple days off, minimum, each week. I am not a fan of 3 day per week workouts. I don't think it is enough; yet, starting out its ok. Long term, you will want to do more days per week.

 

[jason78]

Scott, do you eat those Weight Watchers meals as a part of your diet too? If so do they taste good? I have had some of the Lean Cuisine meals in the past that my wife bought and was not impressed, especially with the ones that had meat (or possibly meat substitute) in them.

I need to loose some weight too. I have a bad habit of not eating breakfast. Also, I am a midnight snacker which I know is not good. My metabolism slowed down first when I started an office job and again when I hit 25 so I gained a few extra pounds I could stand to loose back off for sure. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

 

[OldSkool]

Chris I do love my steak but grilled chicken garden salad with low cal Italian is my choice of food when I eat out. I'll still have the occasional steak but no longer a habit. Up until last year I was fasting one day a week just to feel cleansed. I would eat lite around 8 in the evening, work out afterwards go to bed at 11:30 then not eat all day until 8 the next evening. That way I wasn't going to bed hungry and I rewarded myself the next evening for not eating for 24 hrs. (no bingeing) Don’t know if there is anything to it for anyone else but I felt good doing it. My cholesterol level is 92 down from 132 two years ago. Blood PSI is 80/120 spot on every time.
Cardio is perfect according to recent stress test and MRI. I get a physical every year. Not the kind where the doc slaps you on the back and says your blood PSI is fine, see you next year.

 

[OldSkool]

Scott, I tried eating the smart meals but found I needed 2-3 to get full.:lol:

 

[Iprof]

Scott I have looked the amount of weight you have lost and the size of Waynes World and they work out to be one in the same.

That's a lot of weight good for you.

Ken

 

[Chris R]

Chris I do love my steak but grilled chicken garden salad with low cal Italian is my choice of food when I eat out. I'll still have the occasional steak but no longer a habit. Up until last year I was fasting one day a week just to feel cleansed. I would eat lite around 8 in the evening, work out afterwards go to bed at 11:30 then not eat all day until 8 the next evening. That way I wasn't going to bed hungry and I rewarded myself the next evening for not eating for 24 hrs. (no bingeing) Don’t know if there is anything to it for anyone else but I felt good doing it. My cholesterol level is 92 down from 132 two years ago. Blood PSI is 80/120 spot on every time.
Cardio is perfect according to recent stress test and MRI. I get a physical every year. Not the kind where the doc slaps you on the back and says your blood PSI is fine, see you next year.

Not pretending to be a doctor here, but not sure the fasting thing is what's keeping you're checkups clean. Unless you are binging similar to someone competing in a hot dog eating contest, fasting an entire day does nothing but slow your metabolism down. This is why you hear people say eat more times per day to lose weight. Not crap of course. I think your change in overall eating habits is what's making your checkups look good.

 

[Chris R]

Scott, I tried eating the smart meals but found I needed 2-3 to get full.:lol:

Again, if you never let yourself get really hungry, you won't need to "get full" . This, of course, is easier said than done. I'll come home from work, throw some skim milk, tablespoon of peanut butter, and protein powder in a blender and drink that. By 7:00ish (dinnerntime) I'm barely hungry. So, it's easier to eat "right"

 

[OldSkool]

I noticed that if I have half a peanut butter sandwich, no jelly or jam, I am satisfied for a couple hours. If I eat a whole meat sandwitch then a few minutes later I'm back in the fridge.
I have reduced my portion and can feel the difference. I have started eating maltomeal for breakfast and then a salad lunch then I'm not really that hungry at dinner. I never eat breakfast and then need to eat a bunch at lunch to fill up. I like the new diet cause I'm never hungry.