Phatkid - Losing the Phat..still a kid

[Phatkid]

Your choice to attend the Gym on a Saturday night shows your dedication to your goals. As you enter the domain of sweat and hard work, you notice a rather portly man over in a corner. He obviously has headphones on as he is not only bobbing his head but pumping his fist and doing little dances between supersets. You chuckle to yourself and think way to stay motivated my friend; as you see him going beast mode on some chest exercises. As you are prepping your own bestial display he finishes up his set and walks next to you to grab his water. You inspect him as he is standing there. You notice:

 

Name: Rob

Nickname: Phats

Height: 5'6

Weight: 257

Max Encumbrance: 314(2/2/13)

Age: 32

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Black

Facial Hair: One hell of a sexy goatee

Current Attire: Some running shoes and a Black Reebok Gym shirt and shorts

Neck: 17 1/2

Chest: 47 3/4

Arms: 14

Waist: 50

Hips: 49

Legs: 28 1/4

 introduces himself:

 

How ya doin!? My name is Rob but most of my friends call me Phats, so you can as well. I've been working out and on a diet since February. So far I have lost 57lbs! I have hit a brick wall with my weight loss and need a different kind of motivation to get me through to my goal which is 235lbs by January 11th. I have decided to embark on a 6 week quest of domination and weight loss! Would you like to keep me motivated?

 

Please Choose One

> Yes

   No

 

(choice === 'Yes') ? continue: return;

 

AWESOME! Glad to have you with me! Let me tell you a little bit about my quests!

 

Main quest

My ultimate goal is to be as healthy a person as I can possibly be, I want to be healthy in both my mind and my body. I am currently attending Univeristy of Phoenix and am 5 classes away from receiving my bachelors degree in Information Technology with a focus on Software engineering. On 2/2/13 I decided to start my weight loss journey. I was 314lbs when they weighed me that day and I have been sliding ever since. My main goal is to reach 235lbs by January 11th, 2014. The reason for this specific goal is that is what my drivers license says, for the last 12 years when someone asks me if anyone has changed on my drivers license I said no, so through all these years my weight said 235 while I ballooned up. This is my goal for starters. 

 

Why NerdFitness?

I wish I would have found this place earlier! I found it on a random search on intermittent fasting and have not left the site since. Once I saw the challenges and the fun people were having with the weight loss and keeping each other motivated...I had to do it!

 

The goals

1. Reach 245 by October 27th. This will be a combination of diet and exercise.  I have a personal trainer that I see once a week. 

 

Grading

A: 245lbs

B: 247lbs

C: 249lbs.

D: 250lbs

F: >250lbs

 

2. Lose 8 inches in total body measurements by October 27th. This will be accomplished through cardio and just working out. 

Grading

A: >=5

B: 4.

C: 3

D: 2

F: 0

 

3. Visit the Gym AT LEAST 3 times a week

Grading

A: 0 weeks missed

B: 1 Week without 3 visits

C: 2 Week without 3 visits

D: 3 Week without 3 visits

F: 4 Week without 3 visits

 

Bonus quests

Never leave the gym with less than 1000 calories burned. As tracked by the Polar FT4.

Must keep record of daily caloric intake and calories burned using MyFitnessPal.

I will also sign up for a Squad.

 

Side quest

1. Get an A(4.0) in my current and next VB.NET Classes

       Reward: +1 Intellect

2. Complete the Hudepohl 7k(4.5miles) in an hour and 10 minutes or less

      Reward: +2 Stamina

3. Complete the Ohio Zombie Run for your life obstacle course in under an hour

      Reward: +1 Str, +2 Stamina

 

My motivation

I want to be healthy and be able to wake up every morning feeling energized. I also want to look and feel good about being who I am and what I look like.

 

Thank you for joining my quest. Please come back for further updates!

 

Update 9/26

Updated my measurements as of yesterday. Given my decrease from the time before I've lowered my inches lost goal to be attainable.

[nattybee]

Good luck in your quest! I love that you have a specific grading system for how often you go to the gym. Also, I'm on myftinesspal (my username is nataliemarta) if you're looking for friends there.

[Phatkid]

Thanks!....I'm fairly motivated but could use some place for some accountability...so I figured what the hell I'll just make it open!

 

Apparently you can't add people on MFP by just their usernames...that or I'm blind and can't figure it out! I'm robhammonds on there if you can figure it out....shoot me a request....I'm always look for friends!

[JenniferStark]

Great write up Rob!  Congrats on your success since February and best of luck going forward.

[Bekah]

Your weight loss so far is impressive I am a little concerned with your weight loss and inches goals/grading though, to be honest. Not saying its not doable, but maybe rather than grading on the number on the scale + inches lost, use something like "go down a notch in my belt" or "lose 1% body fat" to make a more overall achievement focus that will change with effort regardless, where the weight numbers may stay the same or go up if you gain muscle mass, and then you fail when there were positive gains. I LOVE your Zombie Run Side Quest!!! :D That goal in itself could replace your weight loss or inches goal, then just tweak the other one a bit and you're on your way to an ass kicker of a challenge!

Other than that, your goals look great and Welcome to the Rebellion My name is Bekah and I'm the resident Assassin cheerleader

You can definitely do this, and do it well :)

[dinogirl]

Congrats on how far you've already come, that's really inspiring. I totally relate to the license thing. I have a state ID cause I don't drive so its the one I've had since highschool, and it was about thirty pounds under my actual weight up until very very recently. Fortunately no one said anything, but I'm so glad I don't have to think "if only" every time I see it.

 

I really like the quote in your signature.

[Nght_RideA]

Awesome stuff man keep it up.

[ycce5123]

Awesome job so far!  Hope to hear that you slayed your goals in six weeks.

[Phatkid]

@JenniferStark

 

Thanks!..I've realized that it's always going to be a work in progress...I will never settle anymore. I will always want to be toner or thinner...

 

@Bekah

 

I totally get what you are saying and I probably should lower my expectations a little specifically with the inches. Because if I do gain in my arms due to building muscle mass I should at least take that into account. The weight loss I really have to stick too. My goal of 235 by January 11th is fast approaching and am worried I will not make it..especially with the wall I have hit. I seem to be slowly working my way through it but I wanted to give myself something concrete to really strive for. It's only 12lbs at this point which is a 2 a week. That should be attainable. After that it's only 10lbs to go! Keep up the cheerleading!!

 

@Dino

I knew I wanted to lose weight this year...last year I quit smoking after about 8-10 years of regular smoking of pipe tobacco cigars. For some reason I had my wallet out and saw my weight and that I needed to renew next year...So it was like everything clicked and I decided then to make that my goal. I did get started a little late. I should have started immediately from the beginning of the year..but I waited until February..Have been at it ever since. Thanks for the response!

 

@Ngt_RideA

Thanks dude....Your avatar is bad ass!

 

@ycce5123

Slay I shall my friend...Slay I shall

[Dragoness]

Woot woot! Way to stay motivated, love this energy! Keep killing week 1!

[Batwoman]

I'm in love with the intro to this challenge. It's like choose your own adventure and isn't life just one big choose your own adventure? Right everyone?!

 

Do you strength train or more cardio? And what kind of meal plan do you stick to?

 

Congrats on your success. I look forward to seeing more.

[Bekah]

So how's the week progressing??

I wish a steady 2lb a week was realistic for me....it's soooo not!

however,

Sooooo let's kill this one!!! k? k.

[Phatkid]

So tonight was my first workout of this challenge. I didn't get my measurements due to them moving the files into the main office and my trainer not having access..

 

This was essentially Day 1 for me...

 

I kept track of my meals like I wanted...

 

My food intake was 1677/1900..A little low but I might have a snack in an hour or two before bed.

 

I also went to the gym and burned 1003 calories...I kind of figured up what it will take to burn that many calories!..About 45 minutes of good interval cardio and an intensive 30-40 minute work out...Not bad...but more than I've been doing so that's a positive!

 

@Dragoness

Thanks for the encouragement...Kill it I shall! I am generally a high energy guy..it's just a matter of getting it channeled in the right place lol...

 

@Batwoman

Well stay tuned...I was planning on keeping the thing rolling throughout...I've always wanted to play DND and stuff...never found a group...so I'll just make up my own little fitness adventure LOL...Maybe if I make it more fun for myself I can actually get reinvigorated to work out as much as I need too and stick to my diet!

 

@Bekah

I'm going to have to REALLY push myself to maintain that 2lbs a week. It's a tall order given how much I've already lost...I do have a game plan..I'm thinking no cheat meals for the 6 weeks and working out 3 times a week with some cardio or maybe the BBWWO on the off days...something to get my blood pumping and at least some calories burned!

 

Btw...Everyone's responding is AWESOME..keeps me on my toes and having fun! Thank you!

[Batwoman]

It sounds like you are doing great.

 

I too have to keep my brain interested in things in order to stick to them. That is why I'm trying to make this 6-week challenge like a mini-creative-project and weaving it through all the nerdy things I enjoy. This place is really brilliant.

 

If you are looking for a DND group I suggest seeing if you have a local comic book store not far from you. You may not be into comic books, but comic book stores tend to be a nerdery hub. I just found a new one by me (and yes I love me some comics) but they do tons of events... board game nights, DND, Magic the Gathering, movie nights, zombie pub crawl. So maybe you can find something like that near you.

[JessFit]

Ok so I really like the way your goals are written! You're a very good writer and seem like a fun person. Your weight loss is impressive and your goals more so, I really hope you achieve all of them. It looks like you're off to a great start.

[Phatkid]

@Batwoman

At this point it's more about not having time(2 jobs and school)....but thanks for the heads up...if I ever get an opportunity I'm going to try it...I need a hobby something fierce.

 

@JessFit

Thanks for the encouragement...I'll get there...What do they say...just by writing down your goals you are 33% more likely to achieve them! 

http://toddrhoades.com/what-happens-if-you-just-write-down-your-goal/

At first I thought it was 70....

[Phatkid]

Day 2

 

Today was an off day for me for the most part...I did keep my food log as I intended and actually went over my 1900 allotment by around 85...weird because I didn't really eat that much more. Although I did add another piece of turkey to my sammich...it was the last one...

 

I find myself enjoying the community even more and browse it pretty much all day...this could be good and bad...

 

I think I need to stop looking at the scale...I have a BAD habit of weighing myself way too much. I even weigh myself at night before bed to get an estimate of what I should weigh in the morning...THEN I weigh myself in the morning too! I should cut back to once everyone couple of days or once a week. I'm just worried that if I don't pay attention to it I will never know how I'm doing until a week later and I've gain 3lbs...

Oh well food for thought...

 

Laters!

[Batwoman]

 

I find myself enjoying the community even more and browse it pretty much all day...this could be good and bad...

 

 

I hear you. This place is addicting. I think I need to schedule a time during the day to be on... a time which isn't all day long.

[Phatkid]

Hey Everyone! So I haven't updated since Thursday...BAD NERD...I have not decided my punishment yet...watching a full episode of teen mom 2 or extra time at the gym.

 

Friday(Day 3)

I managed to keep track of my calories that day and did pretty good. I went over by like 200 calories but that was the first overage in a week and a half so I felt this was ok...plus it was Whole wheat spaghetti with turkey meatballs..it was delish! I went to the gym and did strength training for about 40 minutes. I did not do any cardio because of the wogging I was planning on doing the next morning and I wanted my legs to be fresh. So overall I would say I did pretty good...

 

Saturday(Day 4)

I could have been Ice Cube on Saturday because "it was a good day". On the way to the 7K we got stuck in some major traffic. They basically shut down the interstate and we were sitting still or crawling for 40 minutes. We were a half hour late getting to the start line. So we're not with the pack and it kind of sucks. To make a long story short as I'm wogging because I'm so far behind I see people picking up cones not thinking they were for the race because they generally have people directing you...I just keep going. WRONG...I end up in a dead end and finally rejoin the race cutting about 2 miles out of the middle. So my goal was a pretty much a failure at this point so I just had some fun and jogged when I could...met up with the people from work and we had a good walk.

 

After the walk is when things went down hill. They had FREE BEER...Now how can you say no to free beer. Well that started a spiral effect into alcohol consumption. I had 5-6 beers and 2.5 martini's(Never had one until yesterday...not bad)..then with dinner I had 2 whiskey's on the rocks. I ate fairly well except for lunch but even that wasn't bad because I didn't eat all of this AMAZING dish call Angry Mac and Cheese(it had shrimp and hot mett with jalapeno cheese sauce...YUMMY). 

 

So the bad part...I shouldn't have consumed quite so much alcohol and I did not jog as much as I wanted to in the race...I think I'm going to follow the C25K training method like now. I WANT to be able to run and I have to train outside and not in the gym. Other than the Mac and Cheese I did eat well. I did not keep track of my calories so my bonus goals for this day were kind of shot.

 

Today(Day 4)

I behaved today. I did drink two powerade zero's instead of concentrating on getting re hydrated from the alcohol. I did not keep track of my water intake today but did keep track of my calories. I'm pretty much right on target for today(65 cal to go...but I'll probably eat a snack). We had a small grill out for dinner and I didn't eat any of the bread and just a small scoop of mac and cheese(I love that stuff). 

 

Good News:

 

I did make it to the gym Friday and Today. That means I have gone 3/3 for my first week.of training. So I'm happy I had fun yesterday and glad I didn't gain any weight(stayed the same)...

 

Angry I let myself drink and didn't keep track of my calories. 

 

I will do better...here are the befores!

 

I was unable to hook up with my trainer to get my measurements but I did take some selfies for my comparison pictures later.

 

[Phatkid]

Side Note...

 

Has anyone ever told you that you inspire them? I have had two people tell me that...One beat breast cancer! It feels weird to have these people tell you that your meager weight loss project inspires them. I guess I do not view what I'm doing as inspiring. To me it's more of a get your shit together or you're going to die or have a very miserable existence later on in life because you're too fat to move. Just something that popped in my head while reading some of these other threads. I guess that is why we are all here to begin with is that we need some sort of inspiration in a way and we just gravitated towards our own nerdy kind.

 

Second Side Note...

 

I have changed my workout routine to kind of match what my brother does...My trainer does full body work outs and I am RARELY sore anymore...but I listen to him because he obviously knows what he is talking about so I just let him mold me the way her wants. However, my brother does more focused workouts on 4 machines/weights at a time with very focused areas. He does 3 rounds at each machine of 12, 10, 8 reps and repeats that cycle three times. May I just say...THAT makes you sore...

 

Hope everyone has a good week!! Let's kick some ass and take names!

[Bekah]

That whole "you inspire me" bit baffles me too, but it feels awesome...so its totally cool!!   I love my nerds   I definitely don't feel inspiring most of them. I'm just totally real, which scares the shit out of me actually, but I try not to let everyone see that part too much. Vulnerability is like, the hardest thing ever, I think thats why its inspiring maybe? Not so much what we do, but how we discuss what we do? Hmm...? 

Good luck with the C25K, I tried to die...but next time I will not push so much and maybe make it through 1/2 rather than just 3 intervals, because I think a slower pace would have been smarter...but when Im trying to kill emotions, Im not quite as smart as I usually am

Sorry Saturday was so bad in some ways. Alcohol can be a real struggle, especially the less you have to lose, because its such a calorie sink. 

[Batwoman]

Most people lack the motivation to change and better themselves. It's really hard work to do what you (we) are doing to become healthier versions of ourselves.

 

So kudos on your great work so far. Continue to be a super hero and inspire those around you to take control of their health.

[Phatkid]

@Bekah
I could have done better but I chose to drink. I should not have let myself but really enjoy it especially when I am around fun people. We just have too good of a time and laugh and cut up and drinking is just a part of that. I'm paying for it though and my body weight saw a spike this morning(NOT HAPPY)...I have to figure out why I cannot drop weight. I was down to 255 last Thrusday and I'm back at 259 this morning...It's like I hit 255 and my body just said no and started going back up...Granted..I've been working out a little harder and my muscles are more sore so it's probably muscle mass but I still have so much to lose..
 
@Batwoman
I never thought about it like that but it makes total sense. We are doing some pretty awesome stuff and I agree with that...just never thought of myself as inspiring. Thanks for the complement!

[JessFit]

Drinking is a lot of empty calories, it isn't very good for you in other ways, but it will also do a number on your weight loss. Avoiding liquid calories of any kind is a smart idea for weight loss, but alcoholic and sugar liquid calories are really evil

[Phatkid]

@Jess

I know...and I shouldn't have drank but I couldn't help myself LoL...It's like so much part of the social thing that I just want it that bad...