Gingerdave Posted July 6, 2012 Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 HI all, I’m Gingerdave and I am on my way to becoming a recovered fat man I wasn’t always fat but working in IT brings with it long hours and crappy food and lots and lots of caffeine in the form of Coke. I was drinking 1.5L (50.7 fl.oz) of full fat coke per working day and the rest of my diet wasn’t a whole lot better. This changed about a month ago when I got on the scales and it tipped at 18st 11lbs (263.1lbs/119.38kg) which is the heaviest I have ever been and changes needed to be made.I started with the coke, its gone and that was tough for the first week. Then I started cutting down my portion sizes and swapping sugary cereals for weeatbix and as of today I’ve lost 9lbs in the first month (down to 18st 3lbs/ 115.112kg / 253.8). More importantly I moved a notch inwards on my belt.My food habits still have a long way to go, I’m very prone to ordering take out after I get in after a 10 hour day in the office, but I’m trying to get better.I used to be reasonably fit and I’ve done about 10 years of martial arts in total along with various sints in gyms. None of my previous gym trips seemed to gell as I floated from one resistance machine to another without much in the way of a purpose. I did join a gym near me when I started this change and the same thing started to happen so I got a personal trainer and he has me doing big compound movements with very little time spent on the machines and fun torture with a core bag and medicine balls. My end goal is to have a high level of usable fitness, but for the moment I would be happy if my thighs didn’t touch all the way to my knees! Ook. Link to comment
tigersheart Posted July 6, 2012 Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 Welcome Dave!grats on joining up! and grats on working on your diet, it will go a very long way to helping you reach your goals.My personal opinion...get off the gym machines! Keep with the PT that keeps you off of them, and on to compound exercises!yes, I am biased, but look into the primal/paleo eating plan...it just makes it soooooooooooooooo easy once you get into it! Link to comment
Gingerdave Posted July 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 Thanks!I dont really like the machines, the only one I do like is the cable machine and I would do most of my worka out on there.Planning on sticking with the PT as he is working me hard so far. Will get the program changed up in 2 weeks. My girlfriend also wants to do some TRX training with the same guy so that might be fun. Ook. Link to comment
Nuala Posted July 6, 2012 Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 Compound movements sounds nice, the coach at my gym wanted me to do High rep/low weight in cycle on every machine available, it just doesn't sounds right to me! Good luck on your goals Nuala, level 13 Robot mistress of pain, Assassin Guild leader First journey: The Rise and fall of an Assassin #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13 Second journey: Crawling back #1 Link to comment
leadchipmunk Posted July 6, 2012 Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 My food habits still have a long way to go, I’m very prone to ordering take out after I get in after a 10 hour day in the office, but I’m trying to get better.One option to try is to do some batch cooking on the weekend (if you got a free weekend, I know how working IT can be). Make a big pot of stew or a roast or something and it will last you a while. When you get home from those long days, just reheat and eat. Or you could try getting meals ready to go (but uncooked) and freeze them. Depending on what you get ready, you can either toss it in the oven or microwave or boil it (if vacuum sealed) and have dinner in no time.On a side note, I too will vote for looking into paleo/primal eating. It can help immensely with the weight loss, and will generally make you feel better. Level 1 Woodwose STR 5 | DEX 2 | STA 1 | CON 2 | WIS 5 | CHA 4 WAR 0 | RNG 0 | SCT 0 | ASN 0 | MON 0 | DRU 0 | ADV 1 Current Challenge: Specialization is for Insects Previous Chapters: 1 Link to comment
Rhiarti Posted July 6, 2012 Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 My personal opinion...get off the gym machines! Keep with the PT that keeps you off of them, and on to compound exercises!yes, I am biased, but look into the primal/paleo eating plan...it just makes it soooooooooooooooo easy once you get into it!This! Whole worlds of this!Having worked in the games industry, I totally feel your pain on the diet front... fortunately I've never enjoyed fizzy drinks, so could easily ignore those, but oh man the endless parade of doughnuts and pizza! Really glad your PT put you onto free weights and compound movements. Excellent stuff! For what it's worth, sticking 100% to a higher fat primal diet has completely cured my games worker eating habits. With absolutely zero willpower or virtue on my part, I don't have the slightest interest in junk food now, so I'd definitely recommend giving it a try.Either way, welcome! Link to comment
Mike Pants Posted July 6, 2012 Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 Another suggestion for meals: keep ingredients handy for meals. If your fridge contains nothing but condiments and a Britta, takeout is terribly attractive. But a crisper full of kale and peppers and a couple of chicken thighs in a baggie means a meal in 15 minutes. Link to comment
Gingerdave Posted July 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 Thanks for all the suggestions and encoruagement. I'll have a look at the paleo/primal stuff. Ook. Link to comment
Gingerdave Posted January 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 I got hugely side tracked not long after posting this with some upheaval at work trying to remain employed. Free time was taken away and was replaced with studying for exams specified by work, any time I wasn't working or studying for work was spent with my girlfriend, fitness and healthy eating weren't a priority. Over the last 6 months or so I've put all the weight on that I had lost and am now back to 18st 10lbs (118.84kg/262lbs) which is as heavy as I have ever been. Life has calmed down slightly and I'm able to get back into more fitness and health related frame of mind. As part of my motivation I've agreed to run the last leg of a sprint triathlon in April which amounts to 5km run. Far further than I have previously ran. Ever, taking the old addage walk before you can run I've started walking into work (4.5km) and managed it fine through the snow this week. What I did notice however was huge chaffing of my thighs, so much so it caused me to bleed through my jeans on my right leg. Does anyone have any tips for avoiding this chaffing? I've already swapped the jeans out for some track suit bottoms and that's helped but I am still very aware of this problem. Thanks Ook. Link to comment
marybelle Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 I got hugely side tracked not long after posting this with some upheaval at work trying to remain employed. Free time was taken away and was replaced with studying for exams specified by work, any time I wasn't working or studying for work was spent with my girlfriend, fitness and healthy eating weren't a priority. Over the last 6 months or so I've put all the weight on that I had lost and am now back to 18st 10lbs (118.84kg/262lbs) which is as heavy as I have ever been. Life has calmed down slightly and I'm able to get back into more fitness and health related frame of mind. As part of my motivation I've agreed to run the last leg of a sprint triathlon in April which amounts to 5km run. Far further than I have previously ran. Ever, taking the old addage walk before you can run I've started walking into work (4.5km) and managed it fine through the snow this week. What I did notice however was huge chaffing of my thighs, so much so it caused me to bleed through my jeans on my right leg. Does anyone have any tips for avoiding this chaffing? I've already swapped the jeans out for some track suit bottoms and that's helped but I am still very aware of this problem. Thanks Congrats on getting back into it? When I run in shorts sometimes I get chaffing as well, they have this stuff called body glide that is supposed to help. I haven't tried it but I have friends who like it, and you can order it off Amazon or get it in any fitness store pretty much. Have you tried the couch to 5k program? That is what helped me start getting back into running. Its free a lot of places online and starts with just 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking, alternated for 20 minutes. It takes around 9 weeks to complete if you are diligent. As for meals, I don't know if you are a fan of chicken or fish, but what we often do is take some out the night before to defrost in the fridge, and then we get home saute it or bake it. The fish takes just a minute or two to prepare (I usually bake it with lemon or blacken it in a pan) and only about 6-10 minutes to cook. The chicken no more than 20ish, if cut in strips. Then if you have a sweet potato, and a pack of frozen veggies you can steam you are in business. I also highly recommend Steve's paleo spaghetti recipe. I love it, and it is easy to reheat and very filling. I have had success with the 80-95% paleo diet we are doing now, transitioning to full. So I second everyone else. Good luck, I wish you much success! Link to comment
Gingerdave Posted January 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 Thanks Marybelle! There is a 5K plan in the Rebel Running book which I am going to pick up come payday, if only to help keep this place running. I'll have a look at the body glide. Many thanks Ook. Link to comment
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