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StarTopic The Famiboards Body Improvement Club [ST] My Body is Ready

WestEgg

King of the Krocs
Administrator
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Welcome one and all to the Famiboards Body Improvement Club! Here we will discuss tips, strategies, and success stories with one another on how to meet your fitness goals! The path to fitness can be a tough one to follow, and it is our hope that those who are looking for a place to start can find some valuable information here, and those who are just looking to talk with fellow fitness enthusiasts can give advice and motivational encouragement as well!

Please keep in mind that every person is different and there is no “one size fits all” path to good health. Anything you read in this thread should be taken as nonprofessional advice, and if anything discussed does interest you, please be sure to do your own research with sources you trust or consult with a health professional.

So, what are your health goals?

There is no strict measure of what is “healthy”. For some, it is having the energy to go about their day without getting exhausted. For others, it is chasing the desire to be faster and stronger than ever before. Some people want to find a way to alleviate or mitigate their own health issues, while others want to look good in their swimwear. Whatever goal you have for your own fitness, it is important to know where to focus your efforts.

Weight Loss

This is probably what a lot of people are looking to achieve when it comes to their own personal fitness. While being overweight or obese does not mean someone can’t otherwise be healthy, excess body fat does raise several health risk factors, including diabetes, blood pressure, and heart disease. Lower body fat is also desirable if you wish to have a more athletic body build, as it helps accentuate your muscles and make moving around in workouts easier. Because of these reasons, the diet and exercise industry has grown into a massive global industry, with tons of trendy diets and exercise programs popping up all the time.

As always, before trying out any kind of new weight loss strategy, you should take stock of what usually works for you personally, do research on what interests you, and consult with a health professional if available.

Diet

A piece of advice I once heard is that Diet and Exercise are like Batman and Robin. Both are good and work well together, but one of them (Batman/Diet) is clearly the more important factor in the overall outcome. Diet strategy can be tricky and there are many different, sometimes contradictory ways to approach what you should be eating. While you should find what works best for you, here are a few tips I do consider to be helpful and well supported enough that they make a good starting point in most diet plans:
  • Processed carbohydrates, most especially refined sugars, are very unhealthy for you when consumed in excess and should be limited wherever possible.
  • Fiber is an important nutrient that helps keep you satiated longer between meals and improves digestion.
  • Staying properly hydrated keeps your body functioning properly. An average person should aim to drink at least 64 ounces of water each day, but be careful as it is possible to over hydrate.
  • Fat in general is very calorically dense and should not be consumed in excess in most circumstances if your goal is weight loss, but it is also not inherently bad for you. In fact, many unsaturated fats are extremely beneficial, such as those found in nuts and fish.
  • Protein is essential for building and maintaining muscle. It is also generally more satiating than fat or carbohydrates. Meat is most often associated with protein in your diet, but dairy and eggs are important sources as well, and if you are vegan, there are plenty of options from beans and tofu to nuts, quinoa, and seeds.
A massive help in starting and sticking to a diet is the ability to cook for yourself. We live in an age where there are more resources than ever to learn basic to advanced cooking skills, be it from online guides to YouTube videos. Using your diet as an opportunity to expand your cooking repertoire can be extremely satisfying and motivating. If that’s not enough, check your spending on eating out and delivery each week, compare it to what you would spend on a home cooked meal, and you might be shocked at the difference it makes.

Exercise

Like diet, exercise is something that can be very difficult to get started on, and everyone has certain things that they may take to well, and certain things they may not. Motivation is going to be the most driving force behind your success with exercise, and for this reason, it will always be most effective to make your exercise fun rather than a chore. It’s also important to also determine what your exercise goals are, what your personal strengths and limitations are, and what resources you have available to you.

Some General Tips
  • It’s okay (necessary really) to start limited and gradually and build yourself up to your desired goal. You’ll never be able to lift hundreds of pounds if you don’t start with a smaller weight, and you’ll never run a marathon until you can sustain a jog comfortably.
  • Whenever starting a new exercise, do your research! There are techniques and strategies that are all about keeping you safe and making your workouts effective. Learn the risks and how to mitigate them going in. For example, running/sprinting can be dangerous if you are very overweight as it is a high impact exercise that can damage your joints, so walking is generally a more preferable alternative in the beginning stages.
  • Exercise does not need to cost you a lot! Yes, a gym membership will give you access to a lot of specialized equipment that can help you better plan and target your exercise goals, but there are plenty of ways to work your body that require little more than room to move around.
  • Don’t neglect stretching! Stretching helps to both warm your muscles up for activity ahead and to help limber your body after a workout to help prevent cramping. Cramps are often a sign that you didn’t sufficiently stretch before and after your workout, so make sure you treat those muscles well!
General Wellness

Your athleticism is only a piece of the picture when it comes to your overall physical health. Of course, in many ways, your physical and mental health are intertwined with one another, and there are many things you can do to help both.

Stress Management- Managing your stress is one of the most important things you can do for your overall well being. It’s important to have both self awareness and self truthfulness about what creates stress for you, so that you can better manage or avoid your stressors. Of course, it is impossible to fully avoid stress, but learning how to manage stress in your life will certainly empower you as a healthier individual. There are many practices that can help you lower stress, such as yoga, meditation, or if you practice a faith, prayer.

Hydration- The Mayo Clinic says that on average, adult men should consume around 124 ounces (3.7L) of water daily, while women should consume around 92 ounces (2.7L). Dehydration is a widespread problem for many people who rarely consider it in their day to day lives, and one that improves basically every facet of your health if managed properly. If you have trouble drinking that much, try spreading your intake out throughout your morning and the rest of your day.

Sleep- Getting enough sleep is another thing you can do to make sure all your other efforts for good health are as effective as they can be. It's important you set aside the proper time to sleep, and make sure you are free of distractions when you lie down, as stimuli such as your cell phone can keep your brain buzzing for a while after you intended to fall asleep. Try to have a quiet 30 minutes to an hour before bed free of screens or strenuous activity.

And last of all, be sure to have check ups with health professionals regularly. This includes your physician, dentist, and any specialist that your health situation may require. Preventative care is often the most powerful tool you have at your disposal for maintaining your long term health.

Well Fami, hopefully this is a good start to some great discussion about health. I want anyone who is interested to join in on the concersation, whether that be by sharing your own fitness journey, by giving motivation to others, or by sharing what you've learned. This is a positive place where we can all grow stronger together!

Excercise.png
 
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Hi everyone! So I've been wanting to make this thread for a while now, largely because I've been working towards my own fitness goals, and I thought the community might be a good place to talk about how it's going and how others might be doing on their own fitness goals.

So at around Christmas, I was quite a bit heavier than I would normally like to be, around 210 pounds. I decided it was time to get back in shape, and so I have since been doing a combination of walks when I can, taking the stairs at work (I'm on the sixth floor of my building), and practicing both Intermittent Fasting and a Ketogenic diet.

I'll explain a bit about my dieting strategy, but I want to be super clear that I seem to take better for IF and keto than most and that I am definitely no health expert, so please do not take this as an endorsement. But I have had limited success with both in the past and decided to really lean into it this time around. Since about December 28th or so,I have limited myself to only eating between 12:00 PM and 6:00 PM (but this can be flexible at times), while my diet has largely consisted of some form of nuts for lunch (usually a handful of walnuts or pecans) and a larger keto friendly dinner. The main stipulation of keto is that you need to keep your carb count fairly low so that your body switches to using ketones from broken down fat as its primary fuel source. This means limiting to around 25 grams or less of carbs (this is conservative, my actual limit is probably a bit higher) and trying to maximize healthy fats and moderate protein. I've been eating a lot of cauliflower-based dishes (cauliflower is high in fiber and fairly low in carbs), so a lot of cauliflower fried rice, a mushroom rissoto with cauliflower rice, and cauliflower mac and cheese, some taco salads with a lot of guacamole and homemade carnitas, and lots of eggs.

So far I'm down to about 185 pounds (so 25 lost so far), and am shooting for about 160 pounds as my goal. I'm planning to get more aggressive about lifting and maybe some running as well when it gets warmer.
 
Hey! Congrats on keeping up with your plans, that sounds amazing.

I'm in kind of a similar situation I guess. Have been trying to get out of my current weight for a while (about 200) and in general be more active, since constant WFH and stress eating easily take a toll on me.
Managed to work out consistently with my roommate for about 4 months last Summer, which was great. Didn't see much of a weight change if at all, but it really felt and looked like I was gaining some muscle and losing some weight which was good enough. We ended up stopping for several reasons... Then I went home for Christmas, so I really haven't been exercising regularly for a few months now. Although when I went home with family I actually ended up losing about 10 pounds, cause we would always go on long walks and eat healthily.
Since then I've gotten back to WFH and eating on my own, barely exercising, etc... and it shows, cause I'm back at 200ish lol.

So yeah definitely trying to get back into some healthy habits, although I recognize my biggest issue (as with everyone I guess) is motivation. I had a ton of luck with keto when I was younger (almost 6/7 years ago now? gulp) where I lost about 25ish pounds, but I've always had a hard time just keeping up with healthy habits long enough to stay in that happy state lol.

I always saw topics like this one in other forums like the other place but never really took part. Are there ways to keep each other motivated on a platform like this without it becoming stressful or demotivating? Happy to hear your stories :D
 
Hey! Congrats on keeping up with your plans, that sounds amazing.

I'm in kind of a similar situation I guess. Have been trying to get out of my current weight for a while (about 200) and in general be more active, since constant WFH and stress eating easily take a toll on me.
Managed to work out consistently with my roommate for about 4 months last Summer, which was great. Didn't see much of a weight change if at all, but it really felt and looked like I was gaining some muscle and losing some weight which was good enough. We ended up stopping for several reasons... Then I went home for Christmas, so I really haven't been exercising regularly for a few months now. Although when I went home with family I actually ended up losing about 10 pounds, cause we would always go on long walks and eat healthily.
Since then I've gotten back to WFH and eating on my own, barely exercising, etc... and it shows, cause I'm back at 200ish lol.

So yeah definitely trying to get back into some healthy habits, although I recognize my biggest issue (as with everyone I guess) is motivation. I had a ton of luck with keto when I was younger (almost 6/7 years ago now? gulp) where I lost about 25ish pounds, but I've always had a hard time just keeping up with healthy habits long enough to stay in that happy state lol.

I always saw topics like this one in other forums like the other place but never really took part. Are there ways to keep each other motivated on a platform like this without it becoming stressful or demotivating? Happy to hear your stories :D
I would definitely be open to some form of communal motivation or accountability system here if other people are willing!
 
For anyone who is interested, I’m going to be doing Sunday Morning weigh ins here in this thread to track weight loss progress. This will include overall change since last week, an analysis of what I did well and what I didn’t do well, and if I’m feeling fancy, charts with progress over time. If anyone else would like to get in on this, please feel free!
 
5'8, around 185 lbs right now, currently both building muscles and and cutting weights, main goal right now is getting to 170 lbs and maintaining it.
 
Unlike for many (from what I've heard), working from home has been really good for my diet. I've been able to eat with a better schedule and avoided getting too hungry and overeating at any time of the day, which was admittedly quite common for me at the office before. I haven't made any serious effort to make things better, it has just sort of naturally followed from basically having access to food at all times. It's not so much a weight loss thing either, although I have lost some, but just generally feeling better throughout the day.

What I'm less happy though is my lack of exercise. I used to go to the gym three times a week before Covid, and now with an additional life change of having a baby it's just not possible. I should start doing more exercise home instead, as that would not need as much time and would certainly help with my neck and back problems.
 
I've decided that I'd try and pick up home exercising again, been doing it on and off for a while but never was able to truly stick with it. Long-term I want to see myself reach the low 200s, maybe even slightly sub-200 (I'm 6'6", I don't think that's an unreasonable weight for me). Might have a look at a gym some time later but rn it's not a thing I can do for financial reasons.
 
I've decided that I'd try and pick up home exercising again, been doing it on and off for a while but never was able to truly stick with it. Long-term I want to see myself reach the low 200s, maybe even slightly sub-200 (I'm 6'6", I don't think that's an unreasonable weight for me). Might have a look at a gym some time later but rn it's not a thing I can do for financial reasons.
tbf if you strictly want to lose weights you could also stick with cardio only combined with diet, that was what I did when I was in university.
 
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March 6th, 2022 Update

Hello everyone! As promised, I will be making updates on my own progress every Sunday. If you would like to do something similar and help turn this into a more communal event, I would highly encourage it!

Current Major Fitness Goal: Weight Loss, targeting body weight of 160 pounds.

Current Strategy: I've been sticking to an intermittent fasting schedule (no eating at all except between 12:00 PM and 6:00 PM on most days), and a Ketogenic Diet. My lunch usually consists of a handful of walnuts or pecans, while dinner tends to be the major meal of the day, usually facilitated by meal prep during the weekend to ensure it is controlled and easy. In addition, I am doing limited but consistant low intensity exercise. I estimate that I typically walk around 3 miles on a work day, factoring in the walk from my parking garage to my office, and the walks I take during lunch breaks. I also work on the 6th floor of a 13 story building, and have been making efforts to take the stairs, and in the case of lunch breaks, climbing the full 13 flights of stairs and back down.

Plan for the week ahead: Continue dieting pattern, this week I'll be prepping cauliflower fried rice with egg and bacon as my main meal. This is one of my favorite recipes for Keto, it takes your standard fried rice recipe and substitutes the rice for riced cauliflower, which is low in carbohydrates and calories, but reasonably high in fiber. Using bacon both as a protein and the source of fat to fry the rice in gives it a nice flavor all around, which is helped by the egg. Green onion, peas and carrots (limit these a bit), garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, and some other dashes of seasoning help round this dish out nicely.
No real plans to change the exercise regiment for now, I believe the current plan fits well into my schedule. However, as the weather continues to get warmer, I will likely start making an effort to go on longer walks outside, so I may fit a few good evening walks into my routine, schedule permitting.

Current Body Weight as of March 6th, 2022: 182.6 lbs. (82.8 kg)
Progress since December 28th, 2022 (starting weight 205 pounds): 22.4 lbs. (10.16 kg)
Remaining Weight Loss Needed for Target Goal of 160 lbs.: 22.6 lbs. (10.25 kg)

Final Assessment: I am currently about halfway to my target weight and have been managing to keep up with my routine pretty well. The Ketogenic diet is fairly easy for me to stick with during the week when I mostly keep to my own devices, but when I have social activities with friends and family that involves food, it suddenly becomes a lot more restrictive. I will be hosting a St. Patrick's Day dinner for friends in a couple weeks and will likely need to suspend my diet for that event, which will impede progress, but that is really the only current threat I see on the horizon. Progress seems to be continuing well.
 
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Tbh I’m not a fan of meal skipping, it does way more harm than good, it’s all about spreading the meals scientifically
What works varies from person to person, but it's a strategy I've had success with. A lot of what got me into the idea was studies on how blood sugar and insulin regulate your body's propensity for fat storage, and fasting is intended as a method of controlling that. Three meals a day is largely a modern concept brought on by industrialization.
 
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sundayupdate-png.242


March 13th, 2022 Update

Current Body Weight as of March 13h, 2022: 179 lbs. (81.19 kg)
Progress since December 28th, 2022 (starting weight 205 pounds): 26 lbs. (11.79 kg)
Remaining Weight Loss Needed for Target Goal of 160 lbs.: 19lbs. (8.62 kg)

Capture.PNG


Observations on the previous week: So this ended up being a much more productive week than I had anticipated as far as my fitness goals go. As mentioned prior, I mostly stuck to the same diet as I planned (walnuts for lunch, cauliflower fried rice for dinner each night), though I did make an exception on Friday when I was spending time with friends and had a good amount of hot wings. Probably the biggest difference between prior weeks is that I increased the effort on my workplace stair climbing, deciding to go up and down the office stairs multiple times when I could fit it into my schedule. I estimate I averaged about 50 flights of stairs a day.

Looking ahead: Next week will be more challenging. My job is going to be transitioning to a hybrid work schedule, which, while good in many ways, means I will need to compensate for the lack of walking and stair climbing on days I'm not in the office. In addition to this, I will be hosting a party for friends on Saturday for St. Patrick's Day, and I've already made the decision to cheat on Keto for that day. Cheating on Keto shouldn't be done lightly, as it takes a while to get your body back in to ketosis, and you'll likely gain some short term water weight as your body tries to store the newly available glycogen. But It will be worth it I believe to have some Guiness and potatoes with friends. I'll be making cauliflower fried rice again his week, though I'll also have some corned beef and cabbage early in the week to practice my recipe for this Saturday.
 
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I want to get into shape again. I'm naturally skinny and eat well, so weight not a problem, but I'd like to be more fit, whether that's muscles or just feeling better overall. I used to do martial arts, would like to do that again but still wary due to pandemic.
 
Missed last week, but here's the new update, and it's an interesting one!

sundayupdate-png.242


March 27th, 2022 Update

Current Body Weight as of March 13h, 2022: 186.6 lbs. (84.64 kg)
Progress since December 28th, 2022 (starting weight 205 pounds): 18.4 lbs. (8.35 kg)
Remaining Weight Loss Needed for Target Goal of 160 lbs.: 26.6 lbs. (12.07 kg)

Capture.PNG


Observations on the previous two weeks: Yep, I gained about 8 pounds relatively quickly after hitting a record low. Why did this happen? Two reasons I believe. The first is that I decided to take a break from Keto. Because of how your body stores glycogen, it takes on more water weight as it readjusts to the standard way of fueling itself. The decision to stop Keto was also encouraged by the St. Patrick's Day party I had with friends, which involved some over consumption as well. The weather has also been relatively cold, preventing me from doing as much outside exercise as I would like. Based on the slight but present decline since last week, it seems like I am getting back on a downward trajectory, though at a slower rate than previously.

Looking ahead: This next week will really determine how effective I can continue a weight loss strategy without sticking to a Ketogenic diet. I'll admit that having broken the diet, I've been a bit less careful about what I've eaten and drank the last couple weeks, but I'm now recommitting to eating relatively healthy again, and will continue to avoid restaurants and junk food as I had previously. Exercise is a consideration as well, and the weather for this week is still looking relatively chilly. I may try to restart my Ring Fit Adventure workout to compensate.
 
0
View attachment 240

Welcome one and all to the Famiboards Body Improvement Club! Here we will discuss tips, strategies, and success stories with one another on how to meet your fitness goals! The path to fitness can be a tough one to follow, and it is our hope that those who are looking for a place to start can find some valuable information here, and those who are just looking to talk with fellow fitness enthusiasts can give advice and motivational encouragement as well!

Please keep in mind that every person is different and there is no “one size fits all” path to good health. Anything you read in this thread should be taken as nonprofessional advice, and if anything discussed does interest you, please be sure to do your own research with sources you trust or consult with a health professional.

So, what are your health goals?

There is no strict measure of what is “healthy”. For some, it is having the energy to go about their day without getting exhausted. For others, it is chasing the desire to be faster and stronger than ever before. Some people want to find a way to alleviate or mitigate their own health issues, while others want to look good in their swimwear. Whatever goal you have for your own fitness, it is important to know where to focus your efforts.

Weight Loss

This is probably what a lot of people are looking to achieve when it comes to their own personal fitness. While being overweight or obese does not mean someone can’t otherwise be healthy, excess body fat does raise several health risk factors, including diabetes, blood pressure, and heart disease. Lower body fat is also desirable if you wish to have a more athletic body build, as it helps accentuate your muscles and make moving around in workouts easier. Because of these reasons, the diet and exercise industry has grown into a massive global industry, with tons of trendy diets and exercise programs popping up all the time.

As always, before trying out any kind of new weight loss strategy, you should take stock of what usually works for you personally, do research on what interests you, and consult with a health professional if available.

Diet

A piece of advice I once heard is that Diet and Exercise are like Batman and Robin. Both are good and work well together, but one of them (Batman/Diet) is clearly the more important factor in the overall outcome. Diet strategy can be tricky and there are many different, sometimes contradictory ways to approach what you should be eating. While you should find what works best for you, here are a few tips I do consider to be helpful and well supported enough that they make a good starting point in most diet plans:
  • Processed carbohydrates, most especially refined sugars, are very unhealthy for you when consumed in excess and should be limited wherever possible.
  • Fiber is an important nutrient that helps keep you satiated longer between meals and improves digestion.
  • Staying properly hydrated keeps your body functioning properly. An average person should aim to drink at least 64 ounces of water each day, but be careful as it is possible to over hydrate.
  • Fat in general is very calorically dense and should not be consumed in excess in most circumstances if your goal is weight loss, but it is also not inherently bad for you. In fact, many unsaturated fats are extremely beneficial, such as those found in nuts and fish.
  • Protein is essential for building and maintaining muscle. It is also generally more satiating than fat or carbohydrates. Meat is most often associated with protein in your diet, but dairy and eggs are important sources as well, and if you are vegan, there are plenty of options from beans and tofu to nuts, quinoa, and seeds.
A massive help in starting and sticking to a diet is the ability to cook for yourself. We live in an age where there are more resources than ever to learn basic to advanced cooking skills, be it from online guides to YouTube videos. Using your diet as an opportunity to expand your cooking repertoire can be extremely satisfying and motivating. If that’s not enough, check your spending on eating out and delivery each week, compare it to what you would spend on a home cooked meal, and you might be shocked at the difference it makes.

Exercise

Like diet, exercise is something that can be very difficult to get started on, and everyone has certain things that they may take to well, and certain things they may not. Motivation is going to be the most driving force behind your success with exercise, and for this reason, it will always be most effective to make your exercise fun rather than a chore. It’s also important to also determine what your exercise goals are, what your personal strengths and limitations are, and what resources you have available to you.

Some General Tips
  • It’s okay (necessary really) to start limited and gradually and build yourself up to your desired goal. You’ll never be able to lift hundreds of pounds if you don’t start with a smaller weight, and you’ll never run a marathon until you can sustain a jog comfortably.
  • Whenever starting a new exercise, do your research! There are techniques and strategies that are all about keeping you safe and making your workouts effective. Learn the risks and how to mitigate them going in. For example, running/sprinting can be dangerous if you are very overweight as it is a high impact exercise that can damage your joints, so walking is generally a more preferable alternative in the beginning stages.
  • Exercise does not need to cost you a lot! Yes, a gym membership will give you access to a lot of specialized equipment that can help you better plan and target your exercise goals, but there are plenty of ways to work your body that require little more than room to move around.
  • Don’t neglect stretching! Stretching helps to both warm your muscles up for activity ahead and to help limber your body after a workout to help prevent cramping. Cramps are often a sign that you didn’t sufficiently stretch before and after your workout, so make sure you treat those muscles well!
General Wellness

Your athleticism is only a piece of the picture when it comes to your overall physical health. Of course, in many ways, your physical and mental health are intertwined with one another, and there are many things you can do to help both.

Stress Management- Managing your stress is one of the most important things you can do for your overall well being. It’s important to have both self awareness and self truthfulness about what creates stress for you, so that you can better manage or avoid your stressors. Of course, it is impossible to fully avoid stress, but learning how to manage stress in your life will certainly empower you as a healthier individual. There are many practices that can help you lower stress, such as yoga, meditation, or if you practice a faith, prayer.

Hydration- The Mayo Clinic says that on average, adult men should consume around 124 ounces (3.7L) of water daily, while women should consume around 92 ounces (2.7L). Dehydration is a widespread problem for many people who rarely consider it in their day to day lives, and one that improves basically every facet of your health if managed properly. If you have trouble drinking that much, try spreading your intake out throughout your morning and the rest of your day.

Sleep- Getting enough sleep is another thing you can do to make sure all your other efforts for good health are as effective as they can be. It's important you set aside the proper time to sleep, and make sure you are free of distractions when you lie down, as stimuli such as your cell phone can keep your brain buzzing for a while after you intended to fall asleep. Try to have a quiet 30 minutes to an hour before bed free of screens or strenuous activity.

And last of all, be sure to have check ups with health professionals regularly. This includes your physician, dentist, and any specialist that your health situation may require. Preventative care is often the most powerful tool you have at your disposal for maintaining your long term health.

Well Fami, hopefully this is a good start to some great discussion about health. I want anyone who is interested to join in on the concersation, whether that be by sharing your own fitness journey, by giving motivation to others, or by sharing what you've learned. This is a positive place where we can all grow stronger together!

View attachment 241
This is a great thread already.

I'm going to a gym workout and it's already the best thing I've ever done.
 
I need to shed 80 lbs. Currently at 220, target is 141. 5'9".
 
sundayupdate-png.242

April 3rd, 2022 Update

Current Body Weight as of March 13h, 2022: 186.2 lbs. (84.46 kg)
Progress since December 28th, 2022 (starting weight 205 pounds): 18.8 lbs. (8.53 kg)
Remaining Weight Loss Needed for Target Goal of 160 lbs.: 26.2 lbs. (11.88 kg)

403WI.png


Observations on the week: I had previously noted that this week would be an indicator on whether or not I could keep my momentum after stopping keto. Well, I did still post a net loss, but it was only a small one. Frankly, I kind of slacked this week. Coming off my diet made me really interested in cooking things I couldn't before, so I think this caused me to overeat a bit (I made a whole loaf of bread and ate it within 4 days). It was also a bit too cold still to exercise as much as I would have liked to. All in all, I'm honestly lucky to have been lower at all, and I think a lot of that can be attributed to me having a lighter day in general yesterday.

Looking ahead: I don't think my prior plan was flawed, I just need to do a better job of sticking to it next week. No unnecessary cooking, more exercise, keep making smart choices on food.
I want to get into shape again. I'm naturally skinny and eat well, so weight not a problem, but I'd like to be more fit, whether that's muscles or just feeling better overall. I used to do martial arts, would like to do that again but still wary due to pandemic.
I would honestly love it if a gym near me opened a racquetball court, I got heavily into it in college, and when you've got something like that to make the workout a ton of fun, it makes things way more motivating. Good luck, martial arts sounds like it would be a lot of fun!
This is a great thread already.

I'm going to a gym workout and it's already the best thing I've ever done.
Great to hear! Yeah, it really is hard to understate how good it actually feels to be in the exercise loop once you overcome the initial hurdles, I hope things keep going well for you!
I need to shed 80 lbs. Currently at 220, target is 141. 5'9".
It looks like you're on a similar path to me. I started somewhere around 205-210, but have gone as high as 220 (I'm 5'10"). My current goal is 160, but I may adjust lower if I think it's needed, though currently my thoughts are to shift more heavily into strength workouts once I reach that point. Anyway, I've had some success so far, so it's definitely doable if you have a plan! Good luck!
 
I don't think my prior plan was flawed, I just need to do a better job of sticking to it next week
I think the problem wasn't really the quality of the diet itself but how consistent you will do. Not eating anything at all for like 18 hours + keto diets is doable for a while but that's not something you could do long term.
 
I think the problem wasn't really the quality of the diet itself but how consistent you will do. Not eating anything at all for like 18 hours + keto diets is doable for a while but that's not something you could do long term.
I haven’t been on keto for a few weeks now (stoping is where the large spike upwards on my graph came from). The plan I was referring to was the one to work more exercise into my daily routine. It’s been steady but slower progress since I transitioned over to a standard calorie deficit strategy, but this coming week is looking a little more promising.
 
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I need to get myself together and start exercising again. My belly fat worries me every day, and I do nothing about that. I feel so lazy and ashamed because of that.
My therapist from https://www.cameronmch.com/services/pediatrics/ has already told me that it would be better to lose some fat and gain some muscle. It will make me look better and feel healthier. I am a young person and should use the best time of my life to be healthy and happy, but it does not work in my case for some reason. I always feel bad about this but never do anything. It is like a circle that I cannot break and get rid of this fat.
 
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I need to get myself together and start exercising again. My belly fat worries me every day, and I do nothing about that. I feel so lazy and ashamed because of that.
My therapist from https://www.cameronmch.com/services/pediatrics/ has already told me that it would be better to lose some fat and gain some muscle. It will make me look better and feel healthier. I am a young person and should use the best time of my life to be healthy and happy, but it does not work in my case for some reason. I always feel bad about this but never do anything. It is like a circle that I cannot break and get rid of this fat.
I’m in a similar situation. I’m very overweight, needing to lose at least 20 kg, and I understand very well what I should be eating and I should avoid or decrease. And I should be going to the gym or doing any exercise, but I just can’t bring myself to do it.

It’s like I’m having to battle my own mind and win against it to do anything to improve my health. I’m having severe sleep apnea, and even though my heart is fine for now (did exams recently), most of my fat is concentrated in my belly, and both my parents have high blood pressure, so the risks are too high. Yet, I just can’t bring myself to exercise or cook. I keep ordering food, and then I feel anxious about ordering too much and then I go for 10 hours without eating… it’s very unhealthy but I just feel very overwhelmed with all the health issues I have that I can’t bring myself to make a change and keep at it.

So, I’m gonna give this thread a go. I don’t have a scale, but last time I weighed I was 110kg (1,76m tall), and my goal is to reach the 80s. Hopefully next time I come to this thread, it will be with some progress.
 
Forgot about this thread until @Heruderu bumped it. Good timing, because my partner and I have created a fitness routine for the first time in our lives.

Our overall goal is to increase our stamina and flexibility. One of the first things we did this year of our lord 2022 was get imto the habit of doing yoga. Now we consistently do yoga two to three nights a week (and sometimes more).

We've started adding to that this summer. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, we do cardio — straight up workout videos in our living room with Youtube videos that we keep in a playlist. Tuesdays and Thursdays we do yoga. Saturdays are optional, but lately we've been feeling good about ourselves and doing miles on our bike as well as more yoga on Saturdays. I mandate that Sundays are our off days.

So far, we've noticed an increase in our stamina and flexibility. We're measuring based on how far we get into our workout videos and how tired we feel afterwards. We keep pushing ourselves, so we feel the same results after longer sessions. It's been... really nice.
 
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I’ve lately been trying to get into healthier habits. At least during the week and when not going out or having people over over the weekend. So yeah on a weekend I’ll go out to eat with wife or go out to the pub or even have a get together at my place, and I’ll drink my cocktails or beer, whatever. But that’s a once a week thing usually unless it’s holidays.

So I downloaded the lose it app so I can count my calories. Set it to 1,500 daily intake. Plus in the afternoon o go to the park down the street and walk the trail, sometimes alternating between a brisk walk and a jog or run in bursts.

Had to adjust the app however because I never weigh myself cause I have a fear of the scale lol I input 180 as my weight with a height of 5’9. Although my wife told me she would look at the scale for me while I closed my eyes. So she said okay not bad, I was way off what I guessed my weight to be lol I usually go by the clothes method and see how my clothes feel on me lol

So I was actually 160. So a bit of a relief cause I thought I was 180 lol Anyway, so been doing the counting calories for about 3 weeks now since. So seeing how it goes.
 
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I’ve fallen a bit off my routine since I kept this thread updated, but hopefully I can get back on track.
 
Started back at the gym about 3 weeks ago, and I am back to going five days a week. Also I have been eating healthier while keeping my calories in the 2000-2300 ballpark. Thats about where I need to be to burn fat while also building muscle based on my current daily activities. Currenlty at about 196/197 lbs, trying to get down to 190 in the next three weeks (bearing in mind I am building at the same time).
 
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Figure I'd write here, finally. As of today, I think I'm joining the club!

I feel like I have several reasons to do so. My overall energy levels and stamina are pretty bad. I work 4h days, and I'm exhausted when I'm coming home. While that has to do a lot with my psychiatric diagnoses, It's not like my lack of exercise isn't contributing. I'm also seeing an increase in weight since the start of the year. I maintained around 70-72 kg during all of 2021, but at the start of this year, it started to go up, and now I'm at 77-78 kg.

I mean, I've started going to the gym, but it hasn't been much trips. It has become "homework" for me, and I keep procrastinating. I'm just that exhausted after work, it becomes a cycle.

I'm also considering improving what I'm eating - I've already started doing this, but I think I can do better. I'm vegan, and my vitamin levels are fine, but I think I'm still eating too little protein. I eat a lot of carbon and fiber and I don't like fruit much.

Hope things are going better later.
 
I sprained my ankle a couple days ago, the first day trying out a new gym. Was shooting some baskets for fun, tried a jump shot, and came down on my ankle.

I’ve rested it up the last two days and am back to being able to walk without too much discomfort, but looks like I’ll be sticking to the elliptical or bike for the next month or two.
 
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I'm not apart of the club, but I've finally been catching up on the newer Mob Psycho season and I just realized the topic title is a reference.
 
Started working with a personal trainer today, signed up for once every two weeks for the next 6 months! Some early promising results, I apparently have decently strong legs and shoulders, just need more work on my core and chest. Hopefully all goes well!
 
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I'm not apart of the club, but I've finally been catching up on the newer Mob Psycho season and I just realized the topic title is a reference.
I started watching season 2 recently, but I'm not enjoying it much. I'm 3 eps in. I remember the first season got much better towards the end, but I'm just not liking the writing in this one, I find the dialogue is very on the nose. How are you liking it?

On topic, I'm 6'5" and I got down to my target of 202 lb earlier this year, but since then I've gone back up to 210lb and above. I do almost no exercise, even though I'm a member at a pretty nice sports club, and I eat a lot of snacks because I'm always trying to compensate for not getting enough sleep. I'm hoping to get more active and back to my proper weight before a trip I'm taking in October.

Any advice on a first step to improve my motivation would be really welcome!
 
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After some prodding from a friend I’ve signed myself up for a 10km run that’s happening in 2 weeks. It’s not a massive distance, but as someone who would generally run half that at the absolute max it’s looking pretty intimidating. Bit nervous now that’s it’s getting close but I’m excited that I’m challenging myself like this, especially as I really slacked off on working out last year and most of this year.
 
After some prodding from a friend I’ve signed myself up for a 10km run that’s happening in 2 weeks. It’s not a massive distance, but as someone who would generally run half that at the absolute max it’s looking pretty intimidating. Bit nervous now that’s it’s getting close but I’m excited that I’m challenging myself like this, especially as I really slacked off on working out last year and most of this year.
Very cool, good luck!
 
I fell off the wagon a few years back, but I'm trying to catch back up now. My end goal is kinda weird compared to what seems to be the average goal, I don't actually care about losing weight that much... what I really want is to get mistaken for a strongman. I don't want to be one, mind, I just want to be able to be mistaken for someone trying to actually be one.
 
I haven’t been able to lose weight since July, unfortunately, because I went back to ordering food and eating too much, specially at night.

But at least it’s been 3 weeks since I decided to pick 3 days of the week to go to the gym and try my best not to skip. This week I didn’t go once on the day I was supposed to, Wednesday, but then I went on Thursday and didn’t skip Friday, so it’s been 3 weeks that I’ve been going to the gym 3 times a week.

I’m feeling proud of myself and I wanna keep going. I’m using an app called Strong to register my workouts and the weights, and Tangerine to keep a streak of not skipping.

I really just need to control my eating habits… but I must celebrate I’m doing better than before.
 
I fell off the wagon a few years back, but I'm trying to catch back up now. My end goal is kinda weird compared to what seems to be the average goal, I don't actually care about losing weight that much... what I really want is to get mistaken for a strongman. I don't want to be one, mind, I just want to be able to be mistaken for someone trying to actually be one.
I respect this so much. Good luck getting big!
I haven’t been able to lose weight since July, unfortunately, because I went back to ordering food and eating too much, specially at night.

But at least it’s been 3 weeks since I decided to pick 3 days of the week to go to the gym and try my best not to skip. This week I didn’t go once on the day I was supposed to, Wednesday, but then I went on Thursday and didn’t skip Friday, so it’s been 3 weeks that I’ve been going to the gym 3 times a week.

I’m feeling proud of myself and I wanna keep going. I’m using an app called Strong to register my workouts and the weights, and Tangerine to keep a streak of not skipping.

I really just need to control my eating habits… but I must celebrate I’m doing better than before.
Yeah, diet is where I tend to falter as well, and I think I’m realizing more that going to the gym isn’t so much about the actual work out (though that’s obviously important) but to reinforce the point of the diet and provide motivation to stick to it. I mention this in the OP, but there’s a quote I like about how, when it comes to weight loss, diet is like Batman, and exercise is like Robin. They both work well together, but Diet/Batman are the more significant player here.
Congrats on the gym progress! Just getting into the routine helps so much.
 
2 years ago I felt like a pudding at 85 Kilograms (1M68) and I decided that if I wanted to change I had to do it myself and completely alone, I bought a threadmill and begun doing a lap of 5km everyday, which started out at 8 Km/h.

After a while I lost 5 Kilograms and I gained an appetite for running but because of all my fears (autism) I never managed to translate my running outside.

I kept telling people I would go outside to run someday until I actually believed I could and with newfound power started doing laps after 10PM outside in the dark.

At that point I felt like I could take on the world, I started changing everything else as well: eating healthy - maintaining macro's and eating 500 Kcalories less than my intake each day.

Fast forward 1 year and I decided I wanted more muscle so started lifting weights and doing callistenics in combination with my running.

I lost another ~20KG and am able to run a distance of 20KM at 12Km/h now.

I weight 62 Kilograms now and I look fit as hell, even though I should be really happy with what I achieved I really managed to turn it into an obsession, I cannot NOT sport now, eating a single candy gives me a huge feeling of shame.
So I can't say I really feel better now that I look better, in fact it gave me more doubts about myself in other areas. And at 32 years old I feel like I miss my youth, even though people think I look 20.

At least I am happy that I have proven to myself that when I set my mind to something I can achieve it.
 
2 years ago I felt like a pudding at 85 Kilograms (1M68) and I decided that if I wanted to change I had to do it myself and completely alone, I bought a threadmill and begun doing a lap of 5km everyday, which started out at 8 Km/h.

After a while I lost 5 Kilograms and I gained an appetite for running but because of all my fears (autism) I never managed to translate my running outside.

I kept telling people I would go outside to run someday until I actually believed I could and with newfound power started doing laps after 10PM outside in the dark.

At that point I felt like I could take on the world, I started changing everything else as well: eating healthy - maintaining macro's and eating 500 Kcalories less than my intake each day.

Fast forward 1 year and I decided I wanted more muscle so started lifting weights and doing callistenics in combination with my running.

I lost another ~20KG and am able to run a distance of 20KM at 12Km/h now.

I weight 62 Kilograms now and I look fit as hell, even though I should be really happy with what I achieved I really managed to turn it into an obsession, I cannot NOT sport now, eating a single candy gives me a huge feeling of shame.
So I can't say I really feel better now that I look better, in fact it gave me more doubts about myself in other areas. And at 32 years old I feel like I miss my youth, even though people think I look 20.

At least I am happy that I have proven to myself that when I set my mind to something I can achieve it.
Thanks for sharing both how your progressed, and the kind of baggage that can come with overhauling your sense of health. I do think it’s important to recognize that your body image can fuel insecurities, but even “fixing” your body image doesn’t make those insecurities vanish. I would take some sense of satisfaction though that regardless of whether your outlook has improved in your personal opinion, you likely are objectively healthier than you were previously and that you’ve likely bettered yourself in less tangible ways in the process.

Thanks again for sharing! I’m hoping we get more stories like this, not just “yay I’m starting to try” (though those are certainly still welcomed and encouraged), but more “here’s the experience and what I got out of it”. I’m hoping to write one of these myself someday.
 
Thanks for sharing both how your progressed, and the kind of baggage that can come with overhauling your sense of health. I do think it’s important to recognize that your body image can fuel insecurities, but even “fixing” your body image doesn’t make those insecurities vanish. I would take some sense of satisfaction though that regardless of whether your outlook has improved in your personal opinion, you likely are objectively healthier than you were previously and that you’ve likely bettered yourself in less tangible ways in the process.

Thanks again for sharing! I’m hoping we get more stories like this, not just “yay I’m starting to try” (though those are certainly still welcomed and encouraged), but more “here’s the experience and what I got out of it”. I’m hoping to write one of these myself someday.

If I look back on it all, I think the best motivation to start is really finding resolve within yourself no one can convince you to start you'll have to do it yourself.

Start to think of reasons why you would want to change and ask yourself how serious you want to take yourself in order to achieve it, visualize yourself at a moment when you've reached your goal and fight to achieve it.

Maybe you cannot see yourself changing right now because of 'x' reason but the hardest part is not reaching your target, it really is starting the change. If you've found a good flow after a while the remainder is maintaining that flow and challenging yourself to do better each and every time, but at that point it will come natural.

Believe change is possible at all times but be aware it takes effortefforteffort, find a reason to enjoy the effort, make it a mantra.

I hope you will achieve your target and that you will enjoy the process!
 
Was doing really well with my gym routine for months, even hit new highs...but fell off for three weeks. After literally pushing my body into shock a few days ago because I have no chill and wanted to keep up with where I left, I finally hit my stride again and got my endurance back while maintaining most of my strength from before.

Lesson for when you fall off, do not get discouraged about taking it slow for the first day or two (longer if several months off). Just go in and put in the work to get your endurance, while not pushing your absolute limits right away. This is a lesson sadly that I know too well, but never follow like I should.
 
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Made a club to accompany this thread!


Figure we can have more informal talk there like "great work out today" "this hurts, is that normal" "What are some good high protein meals" etc, and have more substantive posts here. We're still figuring out the whole club thing, but figured it couldn't hurt!
 
Maybe the possibility to add some pictures and stories would be nice, I have an itch to organise some kind of tournament where we to to get a streak going by doing 50 push-ups a day or something silly like that. Maybe add some progress pics for keeping each other motivated?
 
After some prodding from a friend I’ve signed myself up for a 10km run that’s happening in 2 weeks. It’s not a massive distance, but as someone who would generally run half that at the absolute max it’s looking pretty intimidating. Bit nervous now that’s it’s getting close but I’m excited that I’m challenging myself like this, especially as I really slacked off on working out last year and most of this year.
Good news: I did it! Felt pretty proud of myself after honestly, never thought I’d be able to run that far.

Bad news: Injured myself a week later in an unrelated, innocuous incident. Always a bit frustrating when an injury throws out your routine and rhythm that you’ve settled into, but not much I can do. At least it came after the run I was building to.
 
I ran half a marathon this summer after having not been able to do long runs properly for about 6 years after a foot injury. Also went through the whole football season without any injuries. Wonderful feeling to be back on track physically. However, this autumn has been very work-heavy though and I'm losing my shape again from being sedentary so much, so I'm going to start trying to do longer walks home after work to start off with. I go back on leave in December and can hopefully get some more regular exercise in then.
 
good news, I finally got my blood pressure to normal, 124/80 as of now, years of working out finally paid off
 
Been unable to do much this week because I have my in-laws visiting. Hoping to get more exercise in next week. Should probably revisit RFA at some point. Might be fun for the club to do a Fami tournament around it.
 
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I'm, err, back to doing gym workout. :cautious:

Though this time, it's going to be much more strenuous and long-lasting. The problem is that I only focused on cardio last time.
 
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Different kind of exercise last weekend as I spent it breaking down some old walls in my new flat with a crowbar. Hits different than running for sure. :LOL:
 


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