Posts by doomie

Thanks for all the positive feedback everyone!  There were periods where I felt like I wasn't making any progress and wanted to give up, but my friends here kept me going.  Looking back at the overall big picture, I can't even really see those times that felt like MAJOR setbacks at the time.  I'm happy to close the chapter on weight loss and I'm now gearing up to refocus my efforts on body composition.

Sign me up too!  I'd love to pick up some good tips for this stage of my journey.  Losing the weight was easy for me, making it look good is hard!  I'm 5'9" and 145lbs with a body fat calculated around 18-19% (I'm male).  I don't have any fat on my arms or legs, but my core is a soft mess.  After losing the weight I stayed locked into my calorie goals, but got lazy and took in more fat and less protein than I wanted to.  I'm refocused on where my calories are coming from and looking for the right set of exercise routines to tighten up my core to match my limbs.

Original Post by aaron719:

I was wondering about the diet, I wasn't quite sure if I really needed to follow the diet exactly.  Thanks for the insight...

I just wrapped up week 5 and I tried to follow the diet plan, but there was no way I could realistically get 50% of my calories from protein.  I shot for 40% and I'm somewhere around 31% for the month.  The workouts seem long at first, but once you get in the groove it almost becomes a habit and they go by fast.  For weight loss, I don't know that following the diet is all that critical.  I mean, you're working out for about an hour almost every day, it's bound to make some changes!  I lost my weight on CC by diet alone and started P90X to build muscle and tone up.  Looking back I wish I would have incorporated an exercise plan while I was losing the weight.  Good luck with the program!

Original Post by apnc:

anyone else here on P90X. I love it I'm  into week 8 and have lost 30lbs and am stronger than I have ever been in my life

Today marks the end of week #1 for me on P90X.  It's kicking my butt, but I love it!  I lost 55 pounds here on CC and decided to start P90X to help tone and build some muscle.  I'm hoping to stay around the same weight, but to decrease my body fat %.

If have a BF% function on my scale.  I know it's not all that accurate, but it can give you a decent relative figure if you measure it consistently under the right conditions.  It seems to have a variation of 2% in either direction at any given time, but it measured in the high 20's when I started down to 16.5% today.  I don't formally track mine, but I do check on it every week or so just to get an idea.

Maybe somebody can chime in on the overall weight, but I believe it's fat + lean muscle mass + water + bones + organs.  AFAIK, overall weight * BF% should equal the weight of your fat only.

Thanks all!  I re-weighed myself twice this morning because I wasn't sure how I gained that weight so quick, none of the usual triggers like alcohol, but I'm keeping my eye on the ball and pretending it didn't happen while sticking to the plan as always!

Name:  Scott

BMI: 24.9

Holiday pitfall:  Cookies, mom's homemade rolls, cookies, rolls, Jack Daniels!  I was always one to lose weight over the holidays because it was about the only healthy meals I'd ever eat!  Not the usual fried crap that was the staple of my diet for the longest time.  I know this year it's gonna be hard to stay away from all the good cookies and my mom's rolls though.  They're these monster things w/ butter all over them.  I'm still eating them, I'll just pace myself!

Bonus Tip!  If you look at my weight loss trends, I've been losing LESS weight every month... pretty normal.  But in October I lost MORE than I lost even in the beginning!  How?  I completely cut out alcohol.  I enjoy my Jack with friends, but I completely cut it out to see what would happen.  Can't say I'll stick to that plan through the holidays, but it was a pretty telling experiment for me.

Wow, what a tool!  As the previous posters pointed out, isn't portion control really the act of counting calories anyway???  And eating crap all day and burning it off... hmmm... sounds like counting calories in and calories out to me!  Basically he said what you're doing is correct, but being informed and tracking it is bad?

Sure, maybe there will come a day when I get so used to what I'm eating that I'll no longer have to log it, but you have to gain that knowledge from somewhere in the first place!  I've heard the same comments from people (although not my doc, she is extremely supportive!) and they've been successful, but I like the knowledge I'm gaining from this as well as the data I can look back on for motivation.

Greeting from Akron!

Go BUCKS!  Go ZIPS!  Vote for Zippy!!!

I weigh myself daily and keep the mental toughness to deal with the fluctuations!  I'm a data freak though and like to track as much info as possible, spot trends, etc.

I had a bunch of really cool shirts I bought over the past few years (XL and 2X) that no longer fit.  They look ridiculous on me now.  So now I'm starting a collection in size M!

I'm a huge number snob.  I can look at my own pictures to see that I'm changing, but numbers help me to set goals and work towards accomplishing them.  I get a sense of satisfaction when I set a goal and then reach it.  I have several spreadsheets I use to track my weight, spot trends, and even validate the data that I've entered.  I guess that makes me sort of a number pimp?

Seriously, there's nothing wrong with setting a tangible accomplishment as long as it's a healthy one.  My goal is 160 and I'm currently at 168.  Am I a failure because I haven't reached 160 yet?  NO!  I'm feeling really good about the progress I've made.  It's just a number that I'm working towards.

Is everybody gearing up for mid-terms?  I have a monster one tonight, and hopefully a much easier one next week.

I should have clarified my fast food comment.  If I'm at home and hungry, I'll almost always make something.  But at work I'll go grab something for lunch every day and we'll usually get take-out once on the weekends for dinner.  I can't stand hanging around my office during lunch, I need to get out for my mental health!  I'm strange, but glad that I don't like cheese or mayo, so those aren't even options.  I guess I feel like I'm getting away with something because I'm getting 5 lunches per week from a drive-thru, gas station, or bar!  Granted, it's usually some variation of grilled chicken, but still.  I guess that's the beauty of CC, there's no set menu, just pick what works for you.