I'm now some distance into my journey, and I need to take a new heading...

[danmoran77]

Hi everyone! I just bought the RFG and RSG, and am looking forward to putting them to good use. I am hoping to get your advice on what the best way to continue would be for me. I say "continue" rather than "start" because I've already started re-shaping myself, and am trying to figure out the best way to level up again.

Here's my background. I'm almost 35 years old, and have been somewhat overweight my whole life. Not grossly obese, but I'm 5'9" and have worn size 36 pants for the last 5+ years. My weight usually hovered somewhere around 210. Not a good thing, but I somehow pushed it aside and convinced myself I was OK. After all, I have been reasonably active, and I didn't look *that* bad.

I tried lots of different things to get into better shape (Zone diet, P90X, etc.), and could usually lose 10-15 lbs., but that was it. And they would always come right back as soon as I relaxed even a little.

Well, about 4 months ago, I had hit 220 lbs, I only had 2 or 3 pairs of pants I could squeeze into (I refused to buy 38s), and I had just had enough. So, I took extreme measures. For 15 weeks now, I have been on Optifast (a medically supervised diet). For the first 12 weeks, I ate 800 calories a day in shakes and bars (occasional cheating aside), and for the last 3, I have slowly been reintroducing food. I now eat 1 or 2 small meals a day, and 2 or 3 meal replacements, and intend to transition back to 100% real food within the next 3-4 weeks. My weight is now 180 (lowest it has been since college), and I'm somewhere between size 32 and 33 pants. Woo hoo!

But this is not my desired end-point. If anything, I see myself as halfway there. I don't just want to be "not fat," I want to be fit! I don't just want to not be embarrassed with my shirt off, I want to be proud. I'm sure you know what I mean. So, in addition to my strict diet, I am now 4 weeks into P90X again. It worked well for me last time in that I saw substantial increases in strength and endurance, but I was carrying so much fat at the time that I didn't see too much change in the mirror. I have been hoping that this time would be different. After all, it is noteworthy that this is the first time in my adult life that I have had control of both diet and exercise at the same time.

So, I'm motivated, and (finally) I'm disciplined. But I'm not sure which way to go to get ideal results. Should I stick with P90X? Move to RFG workouts right away? Some combination? Right now I'm at 24% body fat, and I'd like to cut that in half. I'm also an avid skier, and really looking forward to how that will go minus the 40 lbs of excess weight, but of course more strength/endurance would take me even farther.

So, enough ranting... Where should I put my efforts? What's your advice?

Thanks in advance, everyone!

-Dan

[ebm1224]

Welcome to the community and congrats on all your progress already! What have u been doing in terms of exercise to this point? Ultimately you want to find something hour enjoy doing.

[ETFnerd]

we seem to have similar #s. i'm 5'9", was 255 now 160. i'm 41. it's all good. welcome to the middle-aged nerd halfway house. there is no dearth of ways to get to your goals. choose the one that appeals to you and go to town on it. good luck.

[CaptainCat]

If you want to be fit and strong, rather than just lighter, I would say you've gotta get your eating turned around before you lose all your muscle, you've dropped 30 lbs and are still at 24%, seems pretty high.

My opinion is you want to start concentrating more fully on strength programs and get your diet back up so you're not wasting away, being that far below your maintenance is going to make you drop muscle and fat simultaneously, when what you really want to do is drop fat while maintaining your muscle.

Your current story sounds like of like Saint's first stage, getting more active, eating less than you burn for weight loss, but what I'm guessing you want to do is turn the corner and start dropping fat quickly while keeping or growing your muscle.

whaddya think?

[danmoran77]

Hey everyone! Thanks for the responses! @ebm1224, I've been doing P90X (now 4 weeks in), and I think it's helping. I'm seeing progress in my workouts (heavier weights, more reps, etc.), but not really in the mirror. Of course, it's still early on. @ETFNerd, yes, it does sound similar... Any particular strategies that have worked for you? @captaincat, you hit the nail right on the head. I'd like to get the point where I'm focused on building strength and fitness, and appearance is the consequence of that. At the moment, however, I feel like too much of the time my focus is on not sliding back. I've made a lot of progress, but I'm always concerned about gaining weight back, to the point where even when I'm out with family or friends, I'm really worried about every bite I take.

Any specific advice? What should I eat and how much? Should I stick with P90X or move to something else?

Thanks a million, and happy holidays!

[ETFnerd]

Calculate your BMR on a site like myfitnesspal.com. That way you have an estimate of your weight-neutral calorie intake. Then just eat foods that are better for you within your calorie budget slowly over time. Logging your food helps you analize and keep track. Certainly I don't want my hard work to be for naught.

[danmoran77]

BMR = 1,800. Total current estimated expenditure (based on P90X + walking dogs + chasing a 2-year-old + life) = 3,100. I'm easing myself into paleo/primal, and I'd say I'm 80-90% compliant at this point.

[ETFnerd]

That's a lot of calories, and you should be eating that (3,100kcal/day) minus a caloric deficit (-200 to 300kcal/day) if you're trying to lose weight. Do some research on what foods will help or hinder your progress and stick to a program that will allow you to set measurable goals at set intervals.

MFP is not that accurate for everybody so track and calibrate until you are comfortable that you know where you should be eating, exercising, resting, etc.

A pound of fat, which is the most calorie-dense part of your body comp yields ~3,500kcal. So if you average a daily 250kcal/day deficit, you should be losing a lb of mass or more every 14 days or 2 weeks. Calibrate to that. The key is to be consistent within each 2wk period.

Good luck.