That’s not as bad as I was expecting! I am 37 days out and pretty under-trained so I’m starting to really sweat it. Not literally though, which is the problem.
Update here.
We are officially floating around ~217 lbs after starting at 250 lbs. The Noom app was very helpful in getting me started and in the right direction. Still have some work left to do but very happy with the progress and changes we are seeing. Also none of my shorts fight, which really sucks…
Just started a new lifting/training routine at a gym, so very excited for that.
Side note, what are peoples recommendations on training shoes. Was always a Nike guy growing up, but I have fat feet and those fit terrible. Was thinking New Balance…
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New Balance shoes are the only thing I wear including golf. I have high arches and the wide new balance shoes are the most comfortable for me in running/walking and golf shoes that I have been able to find for a reasonable price.
After fits, starts, and medication changes, I am finally starting to get my ducks firing in a row. Who armed the ducks? Fucked if I know.
The Problem:
Over the summer, I hit 325lbs, my highest ever weight. I also had high blood pressure and was inching toward pre-diabetes. I have now gotten the proper set of meds to get my blood pressure under control, and have upped the dosage of my ADHD meds in the hopes of getting my motivational systems better under control as well.
The Plan:
I have set the target of trying to lose 1% of my current bodyweight per week. I have done the thing I do best and thrown spreadsheets and math at the problem.
The Equation:
I use my current weight to set the next weeks target. Knowing that a pound of fat is 3500 calories, I set the spreadsheet to figure out the difference between this weeks weigh-in and next week’s target, and use that to calculate the needed calorie deficit for the week. I then divide that number by 7 to get my daily calorie deficit goal.
From there, I use the target weight for the week to calculate my end of week target BMR, subtract my daily calorie intake goals from that number (currently averaging 2000 per day), and that will give me my resting calorie deficit.
I subtract that guaranteed calorie burn remainder from my daily burn goal, and that gives me the amount I need to burn per day via activity. I use my apple watch to track calorie usage via steps and regular activity, and subtract that from the daily goal number, leaving me with the amount I need to burn via separate, targeted workouts.
So Far
I’ve just passed week one, and am at 317.4 as of this morning. For workouts I’m doing a short morning “wake up” workout and an afternoon workout, both DDP Yoga via their app. The nice thing about DDPY is that the workouts are bodyweight based and utilize a heart monitor to help calculate calorie burn.
I also am finally back at work teaching, which means a much greater amount of daily movement, including coaching boys soccer. For the sake of accountability, I plan to post here each week on friday to update how I’m doing.
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I think I just need to type this out for my own sanity/wellbeing.
I was never ripped growing up but I was an athlete. I played football and baseball and then played baseball in college. When I got to college my coach told me I needed to be 215 by the end of my freshman year and since I was at a D2 school with no nutritional person or support system, the beginnings of Google was my only resource. So I started taking creatine and eating 8-10 peanut butter sandwiches per day along with my other meals to bulk up. I worked out every day. Weight lifting. Cardio. Stretching. So I was burning off all those calories and building muscle.
Towards the end of my sophomore season I blew out my shoulder. I spent several weeks debating on whether to have surgery or try rehab. I finally decided on rehab because I knew that professional baseball wasn’t in the cards so I was just trying to get through college. Spoiler, rehab didn’t work. I couldn’t throw. By the time this sunk in, it was too late. I never stopped eating junk, and peanut butter sandwiches, and taking creatine, and drinking but I did stop working out. I went from 215 to 265 in less than 6 months.
I’ve not verbally told anyone this but depression set in. The one thing I could do well, the one thing I loved, was gone. My outlet for all of life was over and I didn’t know how to handle it. I was a 19 year old college student who had been a part of this masculine culture of baseball my entire life and being “soft” wasn’t an option. I didn’t think I was depressed and I didn’t want to talk to anyone about it. So I drank. A lot. To the point that by my senior year I set my class schedule up so I only had class 2 days per week so I could drink the other 5. The weight kept climbing.
Since I’ve graduated (2007) its kept climbing. I THINK my main issue is just overeating now. I get bored and I snack. I like sweets. I’ve started diets and failed. Keto. Intermittent Fasting. Noom. I’ve started workout plans and failed. What’s frustrating is that I genuinely love fruit and vegetables and chicken and salads and healthy foods but a lot of times I feel like I’m just too busy to adequately prepare for meals. My wife cooks dinner almost every night and cooks healthy meals but I’ll either eat too much or decide at 9pm that I want something sweet. And instead of choosing something good I’m choosing something easy.
And over the past 6-12 months I’ve noticed that I’m just tired, all the time. Not “go to bed tired” but “I don’t feel like doing anything” tired. Yesterday morning I got on the scale for the first time in 8 or 9 months and a number popped up that scared me. It made me realize that when Noom asks at the beginning what is your “Why” and I thought it was to be healthier, or be more active, or fit in clothes better but in actuality its “I don’t want to die and leave my daughter behind”. I think (hope?) it’s finally set in that something has to change.
So with all that said, I need help. I’ve going back to tracking my food. Not so much calories but the Noom system of green, yellow, red. I’ve set a goal to hit 10 strain on my Whoop 5 days per week. This shouldn’t be too difficult because as out of shape as I am, I hit 14 strain just going to a football game on Saturday and tailgating for 4 hours. But I’d like suggestions on apps or sites anyone has used for short, at-home workouts I can do at night. And any suggestions on what has worked for others. Real life stuff. Not “Better Home and Gardens suggests…” haha.
TL;DR: I’m fat. I think I’ve finally hit the wall on being complacent and need help. Any suggestions would be appreciated. And maybe this belongs in the mental health thread haha.
And queue up the I’m not reading all that meme.
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First and foremost: are you seeing someone or getting meds to address the depression? Do not underestimate the power of better living through (brain) chemistry.
I ask because your story is not that different from mine and it took years/decades before I recognized that treating my depression was essential to support my motivation and longevity of healthy physical habits.
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Not at this time. In my obviously unprofessional opinion, I think that bout of depression was limited to that timeframe. But who knows. I have restarted taking my medicine for ADHD which has helped with productivity and focus. But I probably should go see someone just to get checked out and make sure. Looking back on it, while I had a lot of fun those last 2 years of college, it was a lot of empty fun. And everything revolved around being drunk. Even as recently as a few years ago I was drinking on a nightly basis. Not necessarily getting drunk but I wasn’t sober. Now I just drink in social situations mainly on the weekends.
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Massive fan of Mindpump guys and their programs. The TLDR for them is spend time building as much muscle as you can before you try and “cut”, since that muscle will accelerate calorie burn. It’s a long term sustainable model, rather than trying to out-cardio your calorie intake, which works well at the beginning, but once you hit a wall your only options are to eat less or burn more calories, which isn’t viable long term.
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Not sure how it translate’s to whoop strain, but my wife and I have started doing yoga from youtube at night after our daugter goes to bed. It only takes 30 min, you dont need any special equipment, helps keep your body loose, and is a quick and easy 300-350 calorie burn at the end of the day is also helping me sleep better.
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Can anyone else elaborate on their experience with this drug? I’m seeing my doc today and going to ask about it. Never taken anything like this before but I’m at a point where I’ll try anything!
With regards to eating to lose weight, I’ve tried it all and it never works. I came across this site and book and for some reason, the lightbulb went off. I’ve been following this idea (I wouldn’t call it a diet) for a month and works. I’m down 20 lbs, other than the very early stages, it’s been really easy. I don’t crave sweets and carbs very often at all anymore. When I’m hungry, I eat a shitload of protein (200 g per day), keep the carbs down (50 g per day is my target) and mostly comprised of green veggies, and try to keep the fat under 50 g. Finally, intermittent fasting works - I eat between 12 and 8 (with some allowances for certain circumstances) and I rarely eat more than 1500 calories and am never hungry. It’s amazing. Nothing has ever worked for me before like this. Granted, part of it is that I want it now more than ever but the way I am eating feels sustainable and not like I’m forcing something that will never work long term.
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I highly recommend DDPYoga. The workouts are a mix of traditional yoga, dynamic resistance movement, and rehab exercises, and it integrates an app with a heart monitor to help you see your level of strain in real time and more accurately calculate calorie burn.
Before I caught COVID for the first time (and had long Covid), I was down 40+ lbs doing DDPY and had restored full mobility and stability in my right shoulder (which had been ripped out of its socket 20+ years prior). There is also lots of emphasis on back and ab flexibility and strength, which has improved my quality of life and golf swing.
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Weekly report-in!
{TW: anyone who finds discussion of weight numbers and/or calories difficult may want to skip this post.}
My week starts on Friday with a weigh-in and reassessment of goals. I’m definitely someone who needs feedback proximal to challenges very helpful, and the weekend here is ALWAYS a challenge. Starting my week now encourages better behavior on Saturday and Sunday.
Here is this week’s boards:
The daily goal is the amount I need to burn through any/all movement to reach my calorie deficit goals. “Minus average move” is the daily goal minus what I usually burn via non-workout activities according to my Apple Watch; this is what I need to burn via actual workouts.
The narrative:
I was doing well this last week with both my workouts and healthy eating until I was knocked flat by COVID on Tuesday. The week before my average workout calories per day had met my goal, but this week I fell well short. I may try to start doing some VERY basic things today, but I’m still coughing and running a light fever. There are a few DDPY workouts that are short stretching routines (meant as warm-ups) that I may try. I’m just getting to the point where my muscles “itch” due to a lack of use, which is likely a good sign.
The other challenge is that I seem to have lost my sense of smell (THANKS COVID). This makes cooking very weird, and also makes it hard to tell what will appeal. Without your sense of smell, all you have left is your major taste buds (salty, sweet, bitter, sour, umami) with little to no nuance. On one hand, it makes it less likely to overeat, since few things are actually pleasurable. On the other hand, it can make it so nothing is actually satisfying, which I worry will lead to eating more. I’ll have to see how this goes. It may take 3-6 weeks for the lack of smell to resolve.
Even with the health setbacks, I made my weekly weight loss goal, giving me a new goal of 311 for next week (1% of my weight). This week may be a struggle, but I’m going to try to balance being kind to myself with making healthy and smart choices.
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Hang in there. FYI, my taste returned after about 5 days so maybe yours will as well.
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According to my students, I have no taste, so I don’t know that there was ever hope there.
rimshot
But in all seriousness, thank you. I’m hopeful I will have a similar experience. It’s just kind of demoralizing.
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Week 1 was a focus on diet and getting back in to the habit of tracking intake. Down 9.6 pounds since Monday! I can already tell a difference in how I feel. Next week I’ll incorporate some workouts
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So I’m due for some new work shoes. I typically buy two pairs at a time, and rotate them each day (something I learned in my time as a mail carrier to help make them last longer and be more comfortable each day). My go to shoes have been Reebok Zigs, basically since they came out. I’ve probably owned 30+ pairs, both for work and leisure. The last two pairs I bought haven’t lasted very long, and some of the glued parts of the sole started coming apart just a couple weeks after I got them. This would bother me less if they weren’t $110 bucks a pair, even though I never pay full price for them.
I don’t wear a wide size, although maybe I should, and I also have pretty high arches. My job is a lot of manual labor and walking so I put a lot of wear into my shoes, so something with good cushion/support and comfort is most important. I haven’t really work any other brands of athletic shoes in a long time, so I could use some recommendations for what you guys have had good experiences with.
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I’ve had a couple pairs of Saucony Jazz that don’t die, even after they’ve rotated to “lawn work” status (I’m talking years in that status, and bounce back after a turn in the laundry).
They’re also not stupid expensive and are very comfortable (and wider set insole).
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while certainly not cheap, Hoka’s are the best walking shoe I have ever had. My most recent pair is the Bondi 7
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I have had incredible luck with New Balance. I’ve used their walking shoes for work purposes before, but they apparently have a work line now as well. I also use their golf shoes, and they have been phenomenal.
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