Introduction

[Trogothehunter]

Good afternoon.

 

I have been lurking on this web site for a while now. I had previously tried to register on my phone, however for some reason it did not work. The crush I felt from this defeat pushed me into the darker depths of myself and thus I gave up trying to register for two weeks... Then today while soul searching and trying to figure out exactly what It was I was going to do with myself I decided to use my PC, and not to my surprise it worked!

 

So here I am- 32, 195(ish) LBS, at probably the best shape I've been at ever in my life (which is not that good a shape at all) and desperately searching for a community to help me talk-out my goals.

 

My story begins in 2012, January. I am not one to take up new years resolutions, their often hollow socially prescribed masturbation. The "lose some weight" goal adopted by most around the new year always gets me thinking however and this year was no different. At the time I was 281 LBS (though I did not know it at the time), a candidate for a host of health problems and had never stepped foot into a gym my whole life.

 

One day something snapped.

 

I can say with some certainty it was some of the new years propaganda, but also my asthma was getting worse. I felt uncomfortable in my own skin and was starting to struggle to get into size 42 pants which until this time was the biggest I've ever fit into. A friend of mine was using My Fitness Pal on her phone and needed a buddy, so I joined to be a pal and help her out.

 

I dove into an obsessive spiral.

 

Obsessive spiral sounds negative, and it was in a way. I became stupidly obsessed with calories and eating habits (specifically how any times a day). I became hyper aware of my own weigh and could not help but micromanage everything. It was a little scary at first. I got little to no support from all but a few of my friends. My best friend to this day still believes that that kind of discipline was a waste of energy (despite my victories) which was a whole other struggle all together. I ignore him mostly, now, because obviously I was right and he was wrong-well-to a point.

 

I started to lose weight pretty fast. The most was in the beginning, 8-10 LBS a week. This was obviously water and stuff, not real weight, but until I hit 200 honestly I always saw at least a 3-5 LBS drop. I realized at some point, about 6 months in that I was losing weight a little too fast. I ended up adjusting my caloric intake from the stupidly small 1400 to a solid 1600 (soft cap) to 1800 (hard cap). The weight gain slowed a little but I felt less lethargic. In fact my energy levels boosted significantly. By the way, this whole time I was avoiding bread like a disease. That is another thing I still do but don't really do. I realized I was addicted to wheat, and took steps to remedy this. It was really hard but I managed it mostly. I could never completely come away from starches. I started to see a problem with this plan when I was "sneaking" bread or potatoes (another thing, starch, I was avoiding). I started to weigh the merits of cutting carbs versus being smart about carbs and about 7 months in, which was also when I started to go to the gym, I allowed myself a balanced diet which included starches. Wheat is not gone but greatly greatly reduced.

 

The gym was a whole other story. I still suck at the gym. But damnit if I don't still go three to four times a week, lol. I used one of the stock 12 week programs from Bodybuilding.com to keep myself going and motivated and it actually worked pretty well. I got through a whole 12 week program and saw some pretty nice changes. Now, however, I find myself at a crossroad. I have a good amount of lose skin and some access fat around my belly and on my back. I am getting really frustrated because it just wont go away. I also have plateaued a but as far as my strength, I think. I just feel like I hit a wall and can't quite figure out how to move forward.

 

I need some motivation to really start chugging again.

 

So that fragmented mess above is my story. I look forward to meeting you all and being an active participant on this forum.

 

Comments suggestions?

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

At your age, the loose skin and flab should gradually reabsorb with exercise and a sensible diet.  It just takes time and persistence 

 

If you want more accountability, I do recommend the 6-week challenges.  During these challenges, you pick a few goals to work on that will help you improve your life.  6 weeks is usually enough time to let you decide if the new activities are helpful and work for you .... or not. And that's long enough to establish new habits that you can turn into a healthier lifestyle.

 

The next challenge starts June 9th.  You'd start as a Level 1 Rebel (http://rebellion.ner...level-1-rebels/) .... which is where you LEARN about all of the stats, guilds, rpg character, and so on.  You still get to adopt what works for you, and you can ignore the rest.  Some very successful NF people never bother with classes or stat points or race or so on.  They just hang out in the guild that suits their goals best.

 

Even MOAR accountability?  We have accountability groups of 6 or so people who check up on each other frequently during a challenge.  Plus lots of other, optional fun and help with getting over these barriers.

 

What type of exercises are you doing?
 

[Trogothehunter]

The easiest way to see what workouts I'm doing is to check out Kris Gethin's 12 week plan on bodybuilding.com. I don't follow it to a tee tho. Since I've already done it once now I march through the plan as a way to keep a schedule but often change up the routines; specifically machines I switch to free-weights. I have a four day work-out week: back/bicep, chest/tricep, legs, shoulders/calves, with core sprinkled around. I actually hate doing abdominal stuff so that's a huge challenge to actually get me to do it.

 

I have been kicking around the idea to work on my ability to do a pull-up, my squats (at this point in time, form is my biggest priority, not so much weight) and dead lifts (again we're at the from stage not so much weight). I do a lot of this on my own so I am finding that being able to get the form right is taking longer than I imagine it would take if I had a partner. I wont have a partner though (I suppose I don't really want one, I prefer to lift solo), so I am just dealing with that.

 

I can almost do a pull-up. I can do it easier underhand than over hand, which is true for 99% of people. I can just get my head to the bar but not quite my chin.

 

I'll check out the 6 week challenge. Maybe I can talk my roommate/best friend into doing it with me. Despite what I said above if I could get him to work out with me that would be awesome (though, he wont).

[Silverwind]

Hey Trogo,

 

Sounds like you've had quite the lifestyle change the last 2+ years! I'll be jumping into the upcoming 6 week challenge, as well as a whole bunch of other new recruits, so if you can't find a buddy IRL, don't be afraid to post stuff for us to see.

 

Are the free weight workouts you're doing progressive loading? (i.e., do you strive to add weight to the bar every workout or every week regularly). Even if you just tried adding 10lbs a week to your squat you can add 60lbs in the next challenge. I actually found that my squat and deadlift form corrected itself once I put a little more weight on the bar.

[Trogothehunter]

Yes always. My mantra is: always add weight, always lift to failure.