My complete transformation!

SteelyDanJalapeno · 21-07-2010 3:52pm #1

Hey guys,

Hope this is the right place for this thread,

I've recently ended a long term relationship, and found myself with a lot of spare time on my hands, and a general downhearted feeling,

Anyway decided to use this constructively! So i started my change in diets bout 3 weeks ago, and a program to get back to generally good fitness,

Weighed myself 2 weeks ago and i was 248 lbs quite overweight! i'm now down to 235 lbs, and losing more every day

, I do have a few concerns, thats one of the reasons i'm posting here, i'm also looking for any tips or advice in the area of diet, nutrition and fitness,

So on the diet, I decided to irridicate Carbs! from reading alot of these threads, they seem to be the worst group to be consuming when trying to lose weight, i was the prime carb offender, i'd have white bread for breakfat, lunch, with maybe noodles, and potatoes for dinner! so thats all changed now, i'm intaking mostly protein in the form of eggs for breakfast, Nuts for snacks, meat for dinner, with as many high fibre vegetables as possible.

On the fitness side of things, after breakfast i try do a full body strech, then 4 days of the week, round 12, i play squash for 45 - 60 mins, if its a short game like under 45 mins, i'll try jog for 15 - 30 mins, but my fitness is quite low so that involves a bit of walking,

After lunch then i'll try fit in some weights, 15 - 20 mins, with some streches, in the evening then i'll bring the dog on a 3-4 mile walk, roughly an hour,

I also started back soccer training last night, so thats gonna be 2hr sessions by 2 nights a week, found that quite difficult to keep up with the pace last night as my fitness is quite low, as said,

So one of my worries is, i can only run maybe a 1km or 2 before getting tired, would this be a result of the low carb intake?

any other tips on weight loss, building fitness, etc are more than welcome,

Thanks.

Dixie Chick · 21-07-2010 4:39pm

Hello

Well done on making the decision to get serious about your weight! If you are doing as much exercise as you have listed then i think it would be no harm to get in a few really good carbs, like porridge in the morning and maybe some really good quality wholemeal/ rye bread. You will need fuel to get through the day especially the days where there is a lot of exercise happening.

There are lots more qualified than me to answer here but thats my 2c

SteelyDanJalapeno · 21-07-2010 4:58pm

Thanks for the reply,

my biggest concern is that when i take the carbs in, wont my body burn them instead of burning any fatty tissue? making the workout pointless?

Dixie Chick · 21-07-2010 5:15pm

My understanding is that if you go too severe on not eating carbs your body will think its going into famine mode and cling to fat. I think thats actually for too little calories as well. All i know is that personally i eat two carbs a day and 3 the days i have a very heavy exercise load and its the lack of junk food that has caused me to lose.

Edited to add, a workout is never pointless ! :-)

SteelyDanJalapeno · 21-07-2010 5:55pm

I dont think i will increase my carb intake for now, for the 1st week after kicking the carbs I had big cravings for them, the cravings have now passed, and hopefully the vegetables i'm eating have sufficient amounts of carbs to keep me going,

its pretty hard to go back on them, after such changes after 2 weeks,

El_Dangeroso · 21-07-2010 8:15pm

You could use coconut oil, it releases energy very quickly so acts sort of like a carb. I add coconut milk into protein shakes myself, keeps me going for ages.

SteelyDanJalapeno · 21-07-2010 9:01pm

Temple_Grandin wrote: »

You could use coconut oil, it releases energy very quickly so acts sort of like a carb. I add coconut milk into protein shakes myself, keeps me going for ages.

Again wont this stop my body burning fat?

El_Dangeroso · 21-07-2010 11:45pm

Horgan wrote: »

Again wont this stop my body burning fat?

You don't do much of the fat burning when you're exercising, you burn the fat when resting, if you are doing the kind of exercise that lowers the body-fat set point that is.

Getwellsoon · 24-07-2010 11:03am

Well done on changing your diet! Looks like you've made the change over to a sensible diet really well, as it looks great and very well balanced

Also good that you are exercising and having fun while doing it. It will pay off and in time you WILL get slimmer and fitter, it just takes a while and you will see your fitness begin to improve - Good luck!

catthinkin · 24-07-2010 11:09am

if you are gaining muscle by weight training your body will need food to create and maintain this . keep training and take it easy you should be eating protein more than carbs and fat and well done !

SteelyDanJalapeno · 28-07-2010 10:02am

Alright so,

Time for a bit of an update, weigh in this morning was 232 lbs, the last 7 days have been slower to lose weight despite not changing my diet, still high in protein at least 50% and carbs under 20%,

Still soccer training, my squash partner has found work, so thats hampered that a bit, but i'm running instead now, but i dont think thats burning as much calories.

as an aside, some things i've notice since i've changed my lifestyle :

I'm very tired in the morning, it seems to be extra hard to get out of bed!

My sleeps are kinda restless, i awake at least once for around a 1/2 hour some nights,

My fitness has improved 200-300%!!

The belt is down 2 notches, and a couple of people have asked me have i lost weight!

SteelyDanJalapeno · 10-08-2010 5:51pm

Time for another update so,

current weight is now 228lbs, so thats about 4 lb lose since my last update, ive been doing a nice bit of weight training so hopefully i've put on some muscle mass.

Soccer training twice a week, squash at least twice a week, running if theres no squash or soccer on that day, and as i said nice bit of weight training.

as i mentioned in my last update i'm very tired in the mornings, could do with 9 hours sleep, i think is any number of issues, possibly not enough calories being taken in, or the extra exercise im doing, i also think my sleep is quite restless so its probably related to any of them,

apart from that thou, Feeling good!

koHd · 10-08-2010 8:23pm

Horgan wrote: »

as i mentioned in my last update i'm very tired in the mornings, could do with 9 hours sleep, i think is any number of issues, possibly not enough calories being taken in, or the extra exercise im doing, i also think my sleep is quite restless so its probably related to any of them,

I've had similar days like that. Sometimes ten hours sleep and it's still hard to pull myself outta bed.

I'm starting to keep a note of what days it's happening from now. I already have a food and fitness journal online, so I'll be checking what I'm doing and eating the days before I have a hard time waking up/hard time sleeping properly. Maybe try that out to help you find the source of the problem?

Lantus · 11-08-2010 1:15pm

Carbs, where to start....... they are the 21st century equivilant of the bad boy fat that we told not to eat in the 80's that spawned a whole range of low and no fat foods. But it didn't work because that generation has become pretty big!

Today carbs are getting the bad knock and already food manufacturers are lining up to sell us low carb foods as part of the new craze.

Moderation is always the key to anything successful. 20% of your total calories from carbs is too low and will leave you feeling tired and run down. The best place to start is around 35/50/15 Protein/complex carbs/ good fats. You could then reduce the carbs over time if your not losing weight with the exercise.

Remember if it took you years to put that weight on it will take just as long to get rid of it all. Don't wory about trying to run, in fact I'd suggest you don't. Walking burns just as many calories (you just have to do it a little longer, but a mile walk and run burn all in all the same.)

Scale back your carb intake in the evening as you become more sedentary then but don't fear goodcomplex carbs in the morning or lunchtime as this is when your most active and will burn them off.

El_Dangeroso · 11-08-2010 7:05pm

Lantus wrote: »

Carbs, where to start....... they are the 21st century equivilant of the bad boy fat that we told not to eat in the 80's that spawned a whole range of low and no fat foods. But it didn't work because that generation has become pretty big!

Today carbs are getting the bad knock and already food manufacturers are lining up to sell us low carb foods as part of the new craze.

Moderation is always the key to anything successful. 20% of your total calories from carbs is too low and will leave you feeling tired and run down. The best place to start is around 35/50/15 Protein/complex carbs/ good fats. You could then reduce the carbs over time if your not losing weight with the exercise.

Remember if it took you years to put that weight on it will take just as long to get rid of it all. Don't wory about trying to run, in fact I'd suggest you don't. Walking burns just as many calories (you just have to do it a little longer, but a mile walk and run burn all in all the same.)

Scale back your carb intake in the evening as you become more sedentary then but don't fear goodcomplex carbs in the morning or lunchtime as this is when your most active and will burn them off.

I'm pretty sure the low-carb 'craze' ended back in 2004. There's little to no low-carb processed food in mainstream supermarkets anymore (though I agree that they were a terrible idea), most supermarket products boast about the low-fat percentage.

15% fat IS low fat by the way, no-one in the world eats a natural diet that low in fat, except fat people funnily. Plus just because a carb is 'complex' doesn't automatically give it a halo of health. Loads of complex carbs are complete junk. There are also simple carbs that ain't too bad either.

SteelyDanJalapeno · 18-08-2010 1:42pm

224 lbs now,

Gonna set a target now as i dont wanna go off the rails as such, i'm thinking somewhere between 190 - 200lbs would be my ideal weight, i'm about 6 ft with quite broad shoulders, if i'm wrong about my ideal weight please do tell,

I take on board what a couple of you are saying bout the carbs, but i'm gonna keep em pretty low for now as i'm still seeing plenty of results without any negative side effects, except maybe needing another hours sleep each night,

exercise hasn't changed, bout 2 hrs squash, 5-6 hrs cardio, 2 hrs weights per week, i'll gladly take any advice on my exercise pattern, tips or criticism.

Cheers

SteelyDanJalapeno · 16-09-2010 12:57pm

Long due update!

Weighed in this morning at 220.4lbs, so thats roughly 1 lb/week loss which i'm happy with.

Exercise has been cut down a bit now as i'm back in College, bout 5 hrs cardio per week, and 2 hrs weight training, no squash anymore

, havent got the time.

Edit just read my original post there, i was 248lbs at the start of july, so total loss of 28 lbs!

SteelyDanJalapeno · 28-09-2010 4:11pm

218 lbs now, another solid 1lb per week loss,

decided yesterday to up the intensity a bit for the next 2 weeks, gonna try push the body into Ketosis, Carbs are gonna be kept below 30g ish, and exercise is up for the next 2 weeks, just kinda wanna see what affect it will have.

I've starting using the Fitday tracker, it seems to be very good.

gonna log here every couple of days for the next 2 weeks,

SteelyDanJalapeno · 28-09-2010 4:15pm

Monday,

Calorie intake was 1800 - 2000 cals,

Calories expended was between 3500 - 3700 cals,

Exercise: 6km medium pace jog,
25mins weight training( upper body)

SteelyDanJalapeno · 28-09-2010 9:15pm

Tuesday,

Cal intake 2000c ± 200

Cal Expend 4000 ± 200

Exercise:
Squash 40 min, high intensity
Weight 25 mins

Blatter · 30-09-2010 8:36pm

Woah man, calm down.. if the figures for your last 2 days are accurate, you've lost 1 pound in 2 days, not healthy. This most definetely would not be a full pound of fat, and much of it is muscle. Go easy and aim for a steady loss of 1-2 Ibs of fat a week. If you want to up the intensity of your work out, make sure you up your calorie intake.

Btw, well done on your weight loss so far.

SteelyDanJalapeno · 30-09-2010 9:23pm

The figures are accurate, but my weight hasn't changed, i have up'd the calorie intake a bit in the last 2 days,

exercise is out for a couple of days now, after getting a stupid chest infection! so 5 days antibiotics, not happy.

Frogdog · 01-10-2010 12:16am

Hi OP,

Just an observation on your exercise (I know you say it's out for the next five days - no problem) if that's ok?

With regard to weights, I see that you do roughly 2 hours a week of weights and I've also seen that it's upper body stuff. A couple of points on that. Could you maybe up that a bit to 3 hours a week? Say on days 1, 3 and 5 do weights and on days 2, 4, 6 and 7 take a rest from them? The reason I say this is because lifting weights (and by this I mean lifting heavy, free weights, not light weights or machine weights) will burn calories off your body for anything up to 24 hours after you've stopped lifting them. Whereas with cardio you generally only burn calories during the time you're actually doing the cardio (bar what I'm going to get to soon). As for the upper body stuff, try do some lower body stuff also - your lower body has bigger muscles and therefore burn more calories than your upper body ones. And if you could stick to a good beginner's weights program like Starting Strength then you'd be on the right track:

http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/Starting_Strength_Wiki

Ok, that's weights out of the way, now for cardio. Have you tried any interval training? For example, run as fast as you can for say 30 seconds and then jog to recover for 90 seconds and then repeat this a certain number of times? It's the best way to burn fat as again, you'll be burning calories after you've finished your run. You could substitute running for swimming or cycling or rowing or whatever. It'll also get you fit as hell so that the next time you step onto the squash court or soccer pitch you'll be sprinting up and down and then taking a rest (as anyone would normally do in those sports).

And as for diet, well I guess there's a mine of information in the stickies here in the Nutrition & Diet forum as well as the Fitness forum. It'll tell you everything you need to know about Carbs, Proteins and Fats.

All the best, hope I've helped.

SteelyDanJalapeno · 16-02-2012 12:33pm

Super duper late update! current weight 203 lbs! total loss = 45 lbs.....

in the last 12 months I have realized that I am Gluten and wheat intolerant and have completely removed them out of my diet. This has made a drastic change to my health, mindset, well being, energy and mood, literally a changed person i'd love to suggest you should being examined to see are you too reacting badly to these.

Weight has slowly been dropping off over the last year and i've been putting muscle on a bit, it's been a long 18 months to get to where I nearly wanna be which is probably sub 200lbs but where I am right now aint too bad either. As someone previously mentioned in the thread, there isn't any sure quickfire fix to lose weight, it takes time to put it on and it will take time and hard work to get it off, but its very much so worth it.

Love life

eimear10 · 16-02-2012 12:50pm

Wow well done, I want to be the next you!! U should post ur dinner recipes up

Ilyana · 16-02-2012 1:36pm

Wow you've done so well with the lifestyle change, congratulations! Reading this thread has made me super-motivated to get the last half a stone off

SteelyDanJalapeno · 16-02-2012 3:08pm

eimear10 wrote: »

Wow well done, I want to be the next you!! U should post ur dinner recipes up

EmilyO wrote: »

Wow you've done so well with the lifestyle change, congratulations! Reading this thread has made me super-motivated to get the last half a stone off

Cheers lads, you can definitely do it with a bit of hard work,

Eimear, I wouldn't have any personal recipes really, but most my meals consist of high amounts of protein and fat.

A typical day for me, lets say yesterday,

I woke at 7 : 30 A.M.

3 scrambled eggs, black pepper, salt and real butter when cooked.

150mls of Coconut milk with about 40 grams of mixed linseed, gojiberries, blueberries, almonds and some other nut ( this mix is bought in a packet ready to go from Aldi, full of healthy fats, its about 3 euro for a 300gram packet) I mix this with the Cocunut milk and this pretty much boosts my fat intake for the day.

also pop some supplements, Vitamin c dis solvable, Vitamin B, 3 cod liver oil capsules, and some vitamin D

1 P.M.

I'm usually still not hungry at lunch after such a filling breakfast, I brought the left over chicken from the previous days dinner and picked away at that.

5 P.M.

usually try have some red meat or fatty meat at this stage, yesterday I had a few chicken wings covered in Franks red hot sauce cooked until crispy! nom.

But what I usually do for dinner is make enough for 2 days so its usually curry of some sort or bolognese, loads of mushrooms, peppers, onions, tomatoes in each.

I tend not to snack much anymore, but if i do its usually a handful of some sort of nuts or a spoon of peanut butter.

anyway, just a taste of my average day!

edit note, its high in fat only because its very low in carbs, if you eat high amounts of both, you will probably put on weight

SteelyDanJalapeno · 16-02-2012 3:21pm

Frogdog wrote: »

Hi OP,

Just an observation on your exercise (I know you say it's out for the next five days - no problem) if that's ok?

With regard to weights, I see that you do roughly 2 hours a week of weights and I've also seen that it's upper body stuff. A couple of points on that. Could you maybe up that a bit to 3 hours a week? Say on days 1, 3 and 5 do weights and on days 2, 4, 6 and 7 take a rest from them? The reason I say this is because lifting weights (and by this I mean lifting heavy, free weights, not light weights or machine weights) will burn calories off your body for anything up to 24 hours after you've stopped lifting them. Whereas with cardio you generally only burn calories during the time you're actually doing the cardio (bar what I'm going to get to soon). As for the upper body stuff, try do some lower body stuff also - your lower body has bigger muscles and therefore burn more calories than your upper body ones. And if you could stick to a good beginner's weights program like Starting Strength then you'd be on the right track:

http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/Starting_Strength_Wiki

Ok, that's weights out of the way, now for cardio. Have you tried any interval training? For example, run as fast as you can for say 30 seconds and then jog to recover for 90 seconds and then repeat this a certain number of times? It's the best way to burn fat as again, you'll be burning calories after you've finished your run. You could substitute running for swimming or cycling or rowing or whatever. It'll also get you fit as hell so that the next time you step onto the squash court or soccer pitch you'll be sprinting up and down and then taking a rest (as anyone would normally do in those sports).

And as for diet, well I guess there's a mine of information in the stickies here in the Nutrition & Diet forum as well as the Fitness forum. It'll tell you everything you need to know about Carbs, Proteins and Fats.

All the best, hope I've helped.

You've helped a bunch,

This is pretty much the approach i've adapted over the previous 12 months, i've spent countless hours researching muscle development and gains. Started focusing more so full body core exercises, Squats, Dips, Sit ups, Press ups, Pull ups and chin ups, still can blast out many pull ups but i'm getting there! it makes much more sense to build a fundamentally strong core or foundation before adding the definition.

Cardio too, i've gotten into hiit twice a week, sprinting up hills and backwards, the pain is something else, I enjoy it at this stage. I still do lengthy runs when I can I love a challenge and thats trying to beat my last time so i'll keep at that too for another while.

Thanks for your input.

Transform · 16-02-2012 3:38pm

Gret work. Inpirational and the honest truth

SteelyDanJalapeno · 16-02-2012 3:41pm

Transform wrote: »

Gret work. Inpirational and the honest truth

You get some of the credit, your videos are great, keep it up

Dotcomdolly · 16-02-2012 3:43pm

A great story of how it should be done. Well done.

My complete transformation!

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