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

After I recent health scare, I visited a doctor and a nutritionist and have been cleaning my diet for the last two weeks and going for 1 hour+ walks, I'm currently 5 pounds down from my initial goal set by my nutritionist of 15 pounds.
 
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I usually play football once to twice a week but haven't been able to go for three weeks because of life stuff. Going again tonight and very excited to get back into it but at the same time I just know I'm going to be super sore tomorrow.
 
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I’ve started doing a little weight lifting and light exercising from home. Naturally pretty skinny so want to try and build some muscle and more general fitness. My main concern at the moment is even though I find each exercise difficult at the time I don’t always feel like I’m feeling it enough by the end. Makes me feel like I’m doing something wrong or not doing enough.
 
I’ve started doing a little weight lifting and light exercising from home. Naturally pretty skinny so want to try and build some muscle and more general fitness. My main concern at the moment is even though I find each exercise difficult at the time I don’t always feel like I’m feeling it enough by the end. Makes me feel like I’m doing something wrong or not doing enough.

You don't have to become sore in order to gain muscle, but if you really want to feel the effort in your body then you could try lifting weights more explosively. So instead of a slow pump you do a intense pump and let the weight come down slowly again.

This way, if you would do 3 sets of say... 15 reps with weights that are moderately heavy taking a break of 60 seconds between sets for one specific exercise you will feel that muscle burn!

Also, for MAXIMUM gains you try to continue pumping while you feel becoming sore during the exercise, as those pumps count the most but in the end it's all about the volume and the quality. It's better to do 3x20 good form reps of 10 kg (volume being 600kg) then 3x10 reps of 20kg (volume also 600kg) with bad form.

Also, the most important to grow is your food intake and the quality of proteins from what you eat and the amount of calories you need. In order to grow muscle you will need to eat (at least) in a caloric surplus of about 200 calories.

Hope you manage to find the motivation and discipline to continue!
 
I’ve started doing a little weight lifting and light exercising from home. Naturally pretty skinny so want to try and build some muscle and more general fitness. My main concern at the moment is even though I find each exercise difficult at the time I don’t always feel like I’m feeling it enough by the end. Makes me feel like I’m doing something wrong or not doing enough.

You don't have to become sore in order to gain muscle, but if you really want to feel the effort in your body then you could try lifting weights more explosively. So instead of a slow pump you do a intense pump and let the weight come down slowly again.

This way, if you would do 3 sets of say... 15 reps with weights that are moderately heavy taking a break of 60 seconds between sets for one specific exercise you will feel that muscle burn!

Also, for MAXIMUM gains you try to continue pumping while you feel becoming sore during the exercise, as those pumps count the most but in the end it's all about the volume and the quality. It's better to do 3x20 good form reps of 10 kg (volume being 600kg) then 3x10 reps of 20kg (volume also 600kg) with bad form.

Also, the most important to grow is your food intake and the quality of proteins from what you eat and the amount of calories you need. In order to grow muscle you will need to eat (at least) in a caloric surplus of about 200 calories.

Hope you manage to find the motivation and discipline to continue!

More of an aerobic person (long-distance running + football) than weight-lifting person but I sometimes do gym sessions during off-season / heavy winter or when I've been injured; and to add onto Yavga's great post, if you lift until you physically cannot do another rep with good form, your muscle has sustained the microtears you want to induce for rebuilding with your calorie surplus - regardless of whether you feel sore afterwards or not. Just make sure you keep good form and stop when your body tells you to stop so you don't sustain an injury. It's better to get slower, more moderate results over a longer time period than overdoing it and burning out or injuring yourself. :)
 
You don't have to become sore in order to gain muscle, but if you really want to feel the effort in your body then you could try lifting weights more explosively. So instead of a slow pump you do a intense pump and let the weight come down slowly again.

This way, if you would do 3 sets of say... 15 reps with weights that are moderately heavy taking a break of 60 seconds between sets for one specific exercise you will feel that muscle burn!

Also, for MAXIMUM gains you try to continue pumping while you feel becoming sore during the exercise, as those pumps count the most but in the end it's all about the volume and the quality. It's better to do 3x20 good form reps of 10 kg (volume being 600kg) then 3x10 reps of 20kg (volume also 600kg) with bad form.

Also, the most important to grow is your food intake and the quality of proteins from what you eat and the amount of calories you need. In order to grow muscle you will need to eat (at least) in a caloric surplus of about 200 calories.

Hope you manage to find the motivation and discipline to continue!
More of an aerobic person (long-distance running + football) than weight-lifting person but I sometimes do gym sessions during off-season / heavy winter or when I've been injured; and to add onto Yavga's great post, if you lift until you physically cannot do another rep with good form, your muscle has sustained the microtears you want to induce for rebuilding with your calorie surplus - regardless of whether you feel sore afterwards or not. Just make sure you keep good form and stop when your body tells you to stop so you don't sustain an injury. It's better to get slower, more moderate results over a longer time period than overdoing it and burning out or injuring yourself. :)
Yeah, one of the things I'm trying to focus on is making sure I have good form but I'll try going for a little lower weight and higher reps. Thanks for the advice guys.
 
So I recently started an attempt to be more active throughout the day, as both my job and my primary hobbies involve a lot of sitting around. And with me being a bit of a lazy bum, it definitely shows.

However, in the short time since, I already started feeling a bit better. I am not as tired throughout the day as I used to be, and I even started losing some weight. Baby steps.
 
Baby steps are the best steps, slow and steady progression. No need to rush success, working towards your goal and feeling that you are steadily making progress 'however small' is worth a lot more than the end goal.

While at the gym I have now met several people that tell me they have semi-permanent injuries just because they wanted to get fit/big and rushed things, only to wish that they had done things differently in retroperspective.
 
Did a track run yesterday, that was very nice. Now I need to try to get running into a daily routine on days where I don't have football. I can feel that I'm losing shape that I get tired from pressing much quicker, so I need to try and keep that stamina up.
 
How is it going sport fami?

Not doing so hot myself at the moment. While I have been riding a high for the past years working towards my goals and shaping up my body, more and more people tell me that I look like I am ill, that I don't look fit and initially I didn't care but it kinda makes me sad now. It feels as if all the hard works doesn't pay off and that people only think I am an idiot. Extra painful when a week ago I looked in the mirror and really admired myself for the first time, seeing a toned body instead of a lazy pile of fat.
 
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I'm starting to get serious about getting back in shape. I've gained quite a bit over the last few years, and I feel I've just reached a boiling point of not being happy with how I look and mustering the will to do something about that.

My eating habits are not great, but I've found in the past that I'm more motivated to address those when I am in a fitness routine because I otherwise feel I'm expending all that effort for nothing. So here goes, I guess...

Unfortunately the weather is turning poor where I am, so walking to work and going for runs aren't really options. I do have Ring Fit (I used to do it religiously) and a spin bike at home, but I'm also contemplating joining a gym with my partner.
 
Found out today my gym fired the personal trainer I had been working with for the last few months. I'm still on contract for 2.5 more months, but I probably won't renew for personal training, I think I've got a decent foundation on how to proceed going forward, and while I've put on muscle, I haven't lost too much body fat in the last few months, which was more my goal.
 
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20 pounds down since starting my weight loss journey!
 
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So, my story so far.

My low point when it comes to weight was in 2019. I'm not tall (1,80cm or 5,9f) but my weight back then was 100kg (around 225 pounds?) - almost 40% of body fat. So I started going to the gym because my look was really bothering me. but soon COVID lockdown struck and everything was closed (gyms were closed for over a year in Brazil). The alternative I found was... running or walking on the street.

In the beginning, it was really hard for me to run. Everything was hurting: knee, ankle, shin, back. I felt like before I even got tired from running I had to stop because everything just started to hurt so much to the point where I could barely walk afterward.

But I kept trying and after a couple of months, I was being able to run 5km (~3 mi), and later in 2020, I was running 10km (6 mi) almost non-stop. These small improvements are really nice. In the process, I lost almost 20kg but I didn't like the result that much because It looked like I was sick or something. The right thing to do was to work out to transform that fat into muscle but gyms were closed and working out at home can only help so much.

I kept only running until mid-2021 when gyms reopened. As soon as I covid vaccinated I started going to the gym again.

And that's when I started to look better and started to really feel good when looking in the mirror. I know it sucks to say this, but as someone with historically really low self-esteem, the idea of taking off my shirt and looking nice to other people (yeah I know... but it is what it is) was a new thing in my life and I really liked that feeling. Of course, working out is good for your health but to be honest, the aesthetic side was the important part for me at that moment because I was already in good weight and eating better.

Anyway, nowadays my weight stays between 80 to 83kg (180 pounds?), and my body fat sits around 10 to 15% depending on how focused I am.

I eat a lot better too. Almost no sugar, no ultra-processed food, I try to eat a lot of fish and chicken (white meat), eggs, and fruits - a lot of fruits.
 
So, my story so far.

My low point when it comes to weight was in 2019. I'm not tall (1,80cm or 5,9f) but my weight back then was 100kg (around 225 pounds?) - almost 40% of body fat. So I started going to the gym because my look was really bothering me. but soon COVID lockdown struck and everything was closed (gyms were closed for over a year in Brazil). The alternative I found was... running or walking on the street.

In the beginning, it was really hard for me to run. Everything was hurting: knee, ankle, shin, back. I felt like before I even got tired from running I had to stop because everything just started to hurt so much to the point where I could barely walk afterward.

But I kept trying and after a couple of months, I was being able to run 5km (~3 mi), and later in 2020, I was running 10km (6 mi) almost non-stop. These small improvements are really nice. In the process, I lost almost 20kg but I didn't like the result that much because It looked like I was sick or something. The right thing to do was to work out to transform that fat into muscle but gyms were closed and working out at home can only help so much.

I kept only running until mid-2021 when gyms reopened. As soon as I covid vaccinated I started going to the gym again.

And that's when I started to look better and started to really feel good when looking in the mirror. I know it sucks to say this, but as someone with historically really low self-esteem, the idea of taking off my shirt and looking nice to other people (yeah I know... but it is what it is) was a new thing in my life and I really liked that feeling. Of course, working out is good for your health but to be honest, the aesthetic side was the important part for me at that moment because I was already in good weight and eating better.

Anyway, nowadays my weight stays between 80 to 83kg (180 pounds?), and my body fat sits around 10 to 15% depending on how focused I am.

I eat a lot better too. Almost no sugar, no ultra-processed food, I try to eat a lot of fish and chicken (white meat), eggs, and fruits - a lot of fruits.

Wow! That's a great succes story 😁 congratulations!

I had a path similar to yours, running distance and everything up to losing 20+ kgs but I now find difficulty in gaining weight, as in: I'm too afraid to get fatter again and keep my intake too low. So I don't feel like I am making much progress in the gym at all. I think I look alright but I really want to become stronger and gain more muscle mass. How did you overcome this fear or did you not think about it and just started eating more again?

(Currently 1,68m; 62 kgs at 15% bf)
 
Wow! That's a great succes story 😁 congratulations!

I had a path similar to yours, running distance and everything up to losing 20+ kgs but I now find difficulty in gaining weight, as in: I'm too afraid to get fatter again and keep my intake too low. So I don't feel like I am making much progress in the gym at all. I think I look alright but I really want to become stronger and gain more muscle mass. How did you overcome this fear or did you not think about it and just started eating more again?

(Currently 1,68m; 62 kgs at 15% bf)

at a certain point, you have to focus more on the way you look and less on your weight because 1kg of muscle is completely different than 1kg of pure fat. So as long as you eat healthy food (and by that, I mean real food with low calories) you don't have to worry.

you'll gain weight but that will be a good thing.

when I was 100kg the problem wasn't the 100kg itself, the problem was the fat percentage (40%).
 
For those of you who took up running, do you have any advice for establishing and maintaining good form? I know my form is poor, and my Galaxy Watch actually has a really cool run analysis feature, but I'm just not sure how to correct it. I've watched YouTube videos showing the "right" way to run (cycling the force from impact into lifting off your toes), but I'm just not sure how to achieve it. It's hard to tell if things feel right.

For now I think I'm going to focus more on spin to avoid damaging my knees by running incorrectly and do short spurts of running on the treadmill. I joined a gym this week and have gone once. I was planning to go again tomorrow, but there's a big snow storm headed my way, so I might have to adjust.
 
For those of you who took up running, do you have any advice for establishing and maintaining good form? I know my form is poor, and my Galaxy Watch actually has a really cool run analysis feature, but I'm just not sure how to correct it. I've watched YouTube videos showing the "right" way to run (cycling the force from impact into lifting off your toes), but I'm just not sure how to achieve it. It's hard to tell if things feel right.

For now I think I'm going to focus more on spin to avoid damaging my knees by running incorrectly and do short spurts of running on the treadmill. I joined a gym this week and have gone once. I was planning to go again tomorrow, but there's a big snow storm headed my way, so I might have to adjust.

Buying the right shoes helped me a lot! Stores who specialize in running shoes can help you with your posture and measure all kind of things.
 
Weight hasn't gone down that much lately but now I'm able to run 5k without wishing to die.
 
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Nice to see this thread bumped. I haven’t gone down much in weight, but I have increased muscle mass a bit, which is nice. Haven’t decided yet if I’ll reup my personal training or not.
 
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I started doing barbell squats for the first time, I think I really like them. My legs and traps are pretty sore but it’s one of the more rewarding lifts I’ve done. Just starting out, so only lifting a max of 175 lbs currently, but if I can get up to 225 or so in the next few months, I’ll feel pretty good about it.
 
Hope everyone is doing well with their goals! I’ve been pretty motivated lately.

I started doing barbell squats for the first time, I think I really like them. My legs and traps are pretty sore but it’s one of the more rewarding lifts I’ve done. Just starting out, so only lifting a max of 175 lbs currently, but if I can get up to 225 or so in the next few months, I’ll feel pretty good about it.
I’ve done 225 now and could probably go higher for my 1RM, but haven’t tested yet. Currently doing 180 pounds in 4 sets of 6 reps, three times a week. It definitely feels like my legs are firming up. I haven’t focused on any other lifts yet, and try to just work in some chest and arm work on the machines when I’m in the gym for squats. Still haven’t made too much progress overall on weight loss, but even if I’m maintaining, the muscle growth has implied some fat loss.

Anyway, how are your workouts going, Famiboards?
 
So, I wanna talk a little bit about my experience because my weight loss has been a long-term struggle and partially onset due to addiction to sugary soft drinks, notable Coca Cola. Because of this, for years, I would sit around 230-240lbs for my weight, where I'm about 5'5". I also had terrible dental care, among hygiene issues.

I've long struggled a lot with over-drinking it as a primary means to consume some level of liquids in my diet. I'd drink anywhere from 3 to 5 regular sized cokes a day, sometimes more. Last year, around between February to April, after an exposure to COVID, I started developing some... stomach pains. They weren't much, but they were some bad days and bouts of hours-upon-hours of stomach problems. I wasn't sure of the triggers at the time, but they'd come and go. But then, around July-or-so, the issues became increasing unmanageable, and to the point August is where it was completely unbearable. Hours of being up, sometimes 12-14 hours of excruciating pain, and it was just absolutely awful.

I then started to pin-point the causes of it: It was something acid reflux related, because the weird "gas" I was experinece in my throat. I started to narrow things down a bit, but it didn't go away. Acidic foods, coca cola, etc., would trigger it, but I also started to experience another issue: My issues with lactose have gotten even worse over the years to the point I can barely drink anything without potential serious issues. I can't drink milk anymore, just... can't, though cheeses to a degree are fine. But Ice Cream can even trigger it, too.

Then came December, after seeing a doctor and nurse practitioner about my issues, we started medication, got some stuff scheduled (had to cancel and reschedule the one procedure recently due to illness, so hopefully I won't have any issues come July), but then right before Christmas, I had one of the worst absolute attacks I've ever had. Despite the fact I had significantly reduced the amount of coca cola to a really small 8oz can, even that amount was too much for my stomach. I finally quit. I didn't touch one since then.

Since then, I was hanging around 210-220lbs, and my weight began to drop quite a bit since then. On top of this, I've been trying to find what foods and drinks trigger my symptoms, reduce, limit, or cut things out. I keep Tums on me almost at all times to help manage it (thankfully recently I've hardly had to take any, but was taking them almost daily for a bit). My diet has been reduced a fair bit, too, and trying to eat as healthy as I can with the limited foods (I still eat some level of pork and hamburgers, but largely consume paltry as my primary meats, even for hotdogs and burgers).

As of today (April 29, 2023), I am now about 165lbs (with clothing on, it's 170-171), which is quite the transformation of what I was dealing with. I'm also trying to get stuff situated with my anxiety, waiting to get called for my dental work situated, and I'm "hoping" there won't be anything "too serious" they find out on the two upcoming procedures (CT Scan in just over a week from now and the endo/colonoscopy in July). There's a lot I'm planning on and once the weather gets a little bit better, I'm planning to go for more walks and also exercise more. I'm also planning to check out the gym sometime soon, but that might be for next year due to various circumstances don't wanna get into (this is a good thing, so hopefully I can talk about it in the future).

I am dealing with some weird shoulder pains and neck tension right now and I can't tell if it's because of Buspar I'm on or just poor posture (could be both, honestly). So will probably call the nurses office to check on that.

I will note I'm not attack free with my issues (which they are treating it as GERD, since I think I forgot to mention this), and still have problems. In fact, had a really bad bout of it not even quite a month ago. One thing I know that helps a bit is trying to reduce the stress, as if I have a bad day, especially for stress, it makes it a lot worse. I can still feel "gerdy", as I like to call it, but it doesn't seem to affect me as badly as other days.

There's more I could get into but that's just the general "gist" of things. One thing since I've lost so much weight, I've been having issues with my pants fitting me, because they're way, way, way too big for me now, haha.
 
Things are going relatively well for me. I’ve had some costochondritis problems resurfacing, which is always a big scare even if I know that I’m susceptible to it, because you don’t fuck around with those symptoms, especially if you have been grappling with a smoking habit since early adolescence, like I have. The flip side is that these instances allow you to take a decent look at your health. So, steady heartbeat, strong pulse, 98% oxygen saturation (which is very good considering the aforementioned tobacco problem), and electrocardiogram shows no problems in the cardiovascular system. So fit as a fiddle really, just some inflamed cartilage.

I’ve decided to use the opportunity, though, to get a preventative medical done. In June I’ll be having a full check-up and getting scanned for any signs of early cardiovascular or neural diseases, risk factors for cancer etc. I’ve felt extremely aware of my own mortality ever since I became a father, having never paid that much thought before, so it’ll be some good peace of mind if everything turns out normal.

Exercising is going well, although I almost never get 5 runs in every week like I want to due to just… the business of being a working parent. I do try to supplement with some Ring Fit Adventure exercising when I don’t have time for longer exercise, and I’m still enjoying that quite a bit: it’s a good change of pace.

I’m very consistent about showing up to football at least once a week, though. It’s been going well and my stamina feels as good as it’s ever been, so I usually feel like I can go on longer when time is up. This has allowed me to press consistently throughout games, which always pays off eventually when the opponent slips up. I’ve even found myself a bit of a goal scoring record, which was never my forte. I did play as a winger as a kid but even then I would always want to look for passes in, so I don’t know where this is coming from, but I’m not complaining!

So, I wanna talk a little bit about my experience because my weight loss has been a long-term struggle and partially onset due to addiction to sugary soft drinks, notable Coca Cola. Because of this, for years, I would sit around 230-240lbs for my weight, where I'm about 5'5". I also had terrible dental care, among hygiene issues.

I've long struggled a lot with over-drinking it as a primary means to consume some level of liquids in my diet. I'd drink anywhere from 3 to 5 regular sized cokes a day, sometimes more. Last year, around between February to April, after an exposure to COVID, I started developing some... stomach pains. They weren't much, but they were some bad days and bouts of hours-upon-hours of stomach problems. I wasn't sure of the triggers at the time, but they'd come and go. But then, around July-or-so, the issues became increasing unmanageable, and to the point August is where it was completely unbearable. Hours of being up, sometimes 12-14 hours of excruciating pain, and it was just absolutely awful.

I then started to pin-point the causes of it: It was something acid reflux related, because the weird "gas" I was experinece in my throat. I started to narrow things down a bit, but it didn't go away. Acidic foods, coca cola, etc., would trigger it, but I also started to experience another issue: My issues with lactose have gotten even worse over the years to the point I can barely drink anything without potential serious issues. I can't drink milk anymore, just... can't, though cheeses to a degree are fine. But Ice Cream can even trigger it, too.

Then came December, after seeing a doctor and nurse practitioner about my issues, we started medication, got some stuff scheduled (had to cancel and reschedule the one procedure recently due to illness, so hopefully I won't have any issues come July), but then right before Christmas, I had one of the worst absolute attacks I've ever had. Despite the fact I had significantly reduced the amount of coca cola to a really small 8oz can, even that amount was too much for my stomach. I finally quit. I didn't touch one since then.

Since then, I was hanging around 210-220lbs, and my weight began to drop quite a bit since then. On top of this, I've been trying to find what foods and drinks trigger my symptoms, reduce, limit, or cut things out. I keep Tums on me almost at all times to help manage it (thankfully recently I've hardly had to take any, but was taking them almost daily for a bit). My diet has been reduced a fair bit, too, and trying to eat as healthy as I can with the limited foods (I still eat some level of pork and hamburgers, but largely consume paltry as my primary meats, even for hotdogs and burgers).

As of today (April 29, 2023), I am now about 165lbs (with clothing on, it's 170-171), which is quite the transformation of what I was dealing with. I'm also trying to get stuff situated with my anxiety, waiting to get called for my dental work situated, and I'm "hoping" there won't be anything "too serious" they find out on the two upcoming procedures (CT Scan in just over a week from now and the endo/colonoscopy in July). There's a lot I'm planning on and once the weather gets a little bit better, I'm planning to go for more walks and also exercise more. I'm also planning to check out the gym sometime soon, but that might be for next year due to various circumstances don't wanna get into (this is a good thing, so hopefully I can talk about it in the future).

I am dealing with some weird shoulder pains and neck tension right now and I can't tell if it's because of Buspar I'm on or just poor posture (could be both, honestly). So will probably call the nurses office to check on that.

I will note I'm not attack free with my issues (which they are treating it as GERD, since I think I forgot to mention this), and still have problems. In fact, had a really bad bout of it not even quite a month ago. One thing I know that helps a bit is trying to reduce the stress, as if I have a bad day, especially for stress, it makes it a lot worse. I can still feel "gerdy", as I like to call it, but it doesn't seem to affect me as badly as other days.

There's more I could get into but that's just the general "gist" of things. One thing since I've lost so much weight, I've been having issues with my pants fitting me, because they're way, way, way too big for me now, haha.

Thanks for sharing and good luck with your health! I think you’re so much better off without the sugary drinks. I still remember how a cousin of mine’s health problems improved massively in just a matter of weeks when he managed to quit a similar Coca-Cola habit in his teens. The transformation really was nothing short of amazing. Sugary sodas really are horrible for your health (and I think it’s even worse for people where they use high-fructose corn syrup, but that’s off-topic here I suppose).
 
Hope everyone is doing well with their goals! I’ve been pretty motivated lately.


I’ve done 225 now and could probably go higher for my 1RM, but haven’t tested yet. Currently doing 180 pounds in 4 sets of 6 reps, three times a week. It definitely feels like my legs are firming up. I haven’t focused on any other lifts yet, and try to just work in some chest and arm work on the machines when I’m in the gym for squats. Still haven’t made too much progress overall on weight loss, but even if I’m maintaining, the muscle growth has implied some fat loss.

Anyway, how are your workouts going, Famiboards?
Pushed it yesterday, and hit a personal best of 245 lb for my 1RM on a barbell squat! It will probably be a couple months before I attempt a higher personal best, but that at least feels like I'm beginning to actually lift some decent weight! Going to continue on with what I've been doing with 180 pounds, and maybe work my way up to 190 soon.
I've tried a bit of benching, but I really only have availability to try it once a week or so since I need a spotter, and it's currently pretty far below my squat. I'm probably going to stick with machines and dumbbells for the time being when I do chest work outs. Might look into trying deadlifts soon too, as I've never attempted one.
So, I wanna talk a little bit about my experience because my weight loss has been a long-term struggle and partially onset due to addiction to sugary soft drinks, notable Coca Cola. Because of this, for years, I would sit around 230-240lbs for my weight, where I'm about 5'5". I also had terrible dental care, among hygiene issues.

I've long struggled a lot with over-drinking it as a primary means to consume some level of liquids in my diet. I'd drink anywhere from 3 to 5 regular sized cokes a day, sometimes more. Last year, around between February to April, after an exposure to COVID, I started developing some... stomach pains. They weren't much, but they were some bad days and bouts of hours-upon-hours of stomach problems. I wasn't sure of the triggers at the time, but they'd come and go. But then, around July-or-so, the issues became increasing unmanageable, and to the point August is where it was completely unbearable. Hours of being up, sometimes 12-14 hours of excruciating pain, and it was just absolutely awful.

I then started to pin-point the causes of it: It was something acid reflux related, because the weird "gas" I was experinece in my throat. I started to narrow things down a bit, but it didn't go away. Acidic foods, coca cola, etc., would trigger it, but I also started to experience another issue: My issues with lactose have gotten even worse over the years to the point I can barely drink anything without potential serious issues. I can't drink milk anymore, just... can't, though cheeses to a degree are fine. But Ice Cream can even trigger it, too.

Then came December, after seeing a doctor and nurse practitioner about my issues, we started medication, got some stuff scheduled (had to cancel and reschedule the one procedure recently due to illness, so hopefully I won't have any issues come July), but then right before Christmas, I had one of the worst absolute attacks I've ever had. Despite the fact I had significantly reduced the amount of coca cola to a really small 8oz can, even that amount was too much for my stomach. I finally quit. I didn't touch one since then.

Since then, I was hanging around 210-220lbs, and my weight began to drop quite a bit since then. On top of this, I've been trying to find what foods and drinks trigger my symptoms, reduce, limit, or cut things out. I keep Tums on me almost at all times to help manage it (thankfully recently I've hardly had to take any, but was taking them almost daily for a bit). My diet has been reduced a fair bit, too, and trying to eat as healthy as I can with the limited foods (I still eat some level of pork and hamburgers, but largely consume paltry as my primary meats, even for hotdogs and burgers).

As of today (April 29, 2023), I am now about 165lbs (with clothing on, it's 170-171), which is quite the transformation of what I was dealing with. I'm also trying to get stuff situated with my anxiety, waiting to get called for my dental work situated, and I'm "hoping" there won't be anything "too serious" they find out on the two upcoming procedures (CT Scan in just over a week from now and the endo/colonoscopy in July). There's a lot I'm planning on and once the weather gets a little bit better, I'm planning to go for more walks and also exercise more. I'm also planning to check out the gym sometime soon, but that might be for next year due to various circumstances don't wanna get into (this is a good thing, so hopefully I can talk about it in the future).

I am dealing with some weird shoulder pains and neck tension right now and I can't tell if it's because of Buspar I'm on or just poor posture (could be both, honestly). So will probably call the nurses office to check on that.

I will note I'm not attack free with my issues (which they are treating it as GERD, since I think I forgot to mention this), and still have problems. In fact, had a really bad bout of it not even quite a month ago. One thing I know that helps a bit is trying to reduce the stress, as if I have a bad day, especially for stress, it makes it a lot worse. I can still feel "gerdy", as I like to call it, but it doesn't seem to affect me as badly as other days.

There's more I could get into but that's just the general "gist" of things. One thing since I've lost so much weight, I've been having issues with my pants fitting me, because they're way, way, way too big for me now, haha.
Yeah, Soda can be a killer. I think I had a pretty bad soda addiction during college, and it ended up making me sick enough one night that I cut it out cold turkey, and have basically stuck to it since, only really drinking it on occasion at like parties or other events. If you're planning to check out gyms but aren't ready for it, I'd definitely recommend prepping with exercises you can do at home pretty easily. Ring Fit Adventure is a surprisingly great workout tool, but even doing say 20 bodyweight squats and doing 10 pushups (if you aren't comfortable with pushups, start with knee pushups, or box-pushups) twice a week and working up from there as they become easier to handle will help get you on a good track.

Things are going relatively well for me. I’ve had some costochondritis problems resurfacing, which is always a big scare even if I know that I’m susceptible to it, because you don’t fuck around with those symptoms, especially if you have been grappling with a smoking habit since early adolescence, like I have. The flip side is that these instances allow you to take a decent look at your health. So, steady heartbeat, strong pulse, 98% oxygen saturation (which is very good considering the aforementioned tobacco problem), and electrocardiogram shows no problems in the cardiovascular system. So fit as a fiddle really, just some inflamed cartilage.

I’ve decided to use the opportunity, though, to get a preventative medical done. In June I’ll be having a full check-up and getting scanned for any signs of early cardiovascular or neural diseases, risk factors for cancer etc. I’ve felt extremely aware of my own mortality ever since I became a father, having never paid that much thought before, so it’ll be some good peace of mind if everything turns out normal.

Exercising is going well, although I almost never get 5 runs in every week like I want to due to just… the business of being a working parent. I do try to supplement with some Ring Fit Adventure exercising when I don’t have time for longer exercise, and I’m still enjoying that quite a bit: it’s a good change of pace.

I’m very consistent about showing up to football at least once a week, though. It’s been going well and my stamina feels as good as it’s ever been, so I usually feel like I can go on longer when time is up. This has allowed me to press consistently throughout games, which always pays off eventually when the opponent slips up. I’ve even found myself a bit of a goal scoring record, which was never my forte. I did play as a winger as a kid but even then I would always want to look for passes in, so I don’t know where this is coming from, but I’m not complaining!
Sounds like you're doing great! It's definitely true that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so hope everything comes out well with those checkups! I've never been one for playing team sports, but I've been thinking of getting back into racquetball, which I played a good amount of in college. Finding a court near me isn't as easy though.
 
I was looking for this thread because I injured myself today when I hit the gym trying to do some pull-ups. Warm up decently and work on your form, folks. It really is worth it.
 
Glad this thread exists because I need some accountability! In the past Ive struggled a bit with weight. I managed to get down to a got weight every time but something always comes up that resets the clock and destroys my routine.

This time it was covid. I was in extremely good shape before covid, but indoor exercise was not something I could keep going for 2 years, with limited space and my tv next to a window overlooking a busy street. Ringfit helped, but I fell off.

So now Im back at it! Attempting to start up my regular training regiment again. 3/4 times a week to the gym across the street, eating well, and paying more attention to my body. Routine is everything to me so I hope it sticks again.

My goals: losing about 20 pounds and bench pressing 120kg. That still gives me a BMI thats considered overweight, but I'm really pretty muscular and tall and that scale doensnt really apply to me. I'm pretty lean at that weight. 120kg was my old record and I'd like to get there again.

This week Ive already gone to the gym once for strenght training. Today my goal is to go there and do some cardio for about 45 min.

No idea what my weight is now so I'll post that in an update.
 
Glad this thread exists because I need some accountability! In the past Ive struggled a bit with weight. I managed to get down to a got weight every time but something always comes up that resets the clock and destroys my routine.

This time it was covid. I was in extremely good shape before covid, but indoor exercise was not something I could keep going for 2 years, with limited space and my tv next to a window overlooking a busy street. Ringfit helped, but I fell off.

So now Im back at it! Attempting to start up my regular training regiment again. 3/4 times a week to the gym across the street, eating well, and paying more attention to my body. Routine is everything to me so I hope it sticks again.

My goals: losing about 20 pounds and bench pressing 120kg. That still gives me a BMI thats considered overweight, but I'm really pretty muscular and tall and that scale doensnt really apply to me. I'm pretty lean at that weight. 120kg was my old record and I'd like to get there again.

This week Ive already gone to the gym once for strenght training. Today my goal is to go there and do some cardio for about 45 min.

No idea what my weight is now so I'll post that in an update.
Wow, go you! That sounds really good to me, big goals. I am already happy if I can bench 60kg 10 times per set for 4 sets. You already reached 120kg before so go for it champ, muscle memory and all that must make it a relatively easy goal even. Hope you achieve your goal and may runner's high bless you as well.
 
Wow, go you! That sounds really good to me, big goals. I am already happy if I can bench 60kg 10 times per set for 4 sets. You already reached 120kg before so go for it champ, muscle memory and all that must make it a relatively easy goal even. Hope you achieve your goal and may runner's high bless you as well.

60kg is a lot for that number of reps! Yeah I hope I’ll get my strength back relatively quickly but it’s kind of shocking to see how much you lose 😅
 
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Should you work-out "till you drop" (like "train to failure" or when you can't do anymore)?

Or can you spread out the work-out through out the day and stop whenever you want?

Because I don't want to work-out or exercise unless I'm doing it "right," you know?

Maybe I'm over-thinking it...
 
Should you work-out "till you drop" (like "train to failure" or when you can't do anymore)?

Or can you spread out the work-out through out the day and stop whenever you want?

Because I don't want to work-out or exercise unless I'm doing it "right," you know?

Maybe I'm over-thinking it...

The way I understand it right now is that total volume (amount of weight moved in total for each muscle group) is king, but in the end you should go for the reps that 'really take effort' because those count for progress in muscle growth, and with "really take effort" meaning about at least 80% of your pr.

Like, If you do 4 sets of 12 reps make the last ones in each set feel as if your muscles burn, but don't overdo it (go for 80%) because else this might happen:

Example 1: You go for MAX and you manage to use a barbell weighing 100 kg 5 times. Your muscles are tired so with this weight your next sets suck and you manage to do another 3, 2 and finally... 1 rep. For a total volume of 11 x 100kg = 1100KG

Example 2: You go for 80% and you manage to use a barbell weighing 80 kg 10 times. Your muscles are still OK so your next sets are still fresh and you manage to do another 10, 8, and finally... 5 reps.
For a total volume of 33 x 80kg = 2640 KG

Example 2 is better.


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Then there's the beginner gains which mean that when you are in your first year(s) of training basically everything makes your muscles grow and you shouldn't overthink it.

Then there's the thing that when you are training for a while already, you naturally shift towards gathering as much knowledge as possible for the sport anyway so the best way to begin is basically do whatever feels good, you'll learn what's right and what's not down the road eventually anyway.
 
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I'm down about 13 lbs or so since May 1. My mental health has not been in a good state in a while. Something weird happened in April, and I decided I needed to be kinder to myself. I realized (again, really) that my mental health was not going to improve if my physical health didn't as well.

The best diet is the one that works for you. I've done keto in the past and dropped a ton of weight quickly. Ultimately, it wasn't sustainable for me. This time I'm doing straight CICO. While I've consciously avoided getting into ketosis, I've adopted some keto dietary practices. Cutting carbs helped chip away calories to get to a ~1000 calorie deficit. As someone who can't completely give up the pastry-life, I found a recipe for keto-friendly chocolate chip walnut cookies that have been satisfying my sweet tooth.

Otherwise, I'm making much healthier choices and cooking more. For example, I can't have eggs as often due to the cholesterol so I've been making tofu scrambles with sweet peppers and spinach for extra texture. Nuts, seeds, or hummus for snacks. I switched to diet iced tea which is still not good, but it's good for now and certainly better than regular iced tea. That goes for a lot of dietary changes like the aforementioned cookies. So many things taste just a little worse yet still good enough.

One significant change I've made during this round of weight loss has been a conscious choice to listen to my cravings. If I really want a specific food, I allow myself to have it so I don't binge two months later due to depriving myself of whatever I originally wanted. This is part of the reason I knew I couldn't do keto. I'd be falling out of ketosis a lot.

I haven't done a ton of exercising so far, only some outdoor walks and not as often as I should. I tried running again last summer, but the extra weight was murdering my knees. This time, there are certain benchmarks I want to reach before I slowly introduce more exercise. At the second benchmark, I'm literally just adding a play-through of Ring Fit Adventure. I was weight lifting three to four times a week pre-pandemic, but I don't want to reintroduce that until I reach my fat loss goal since I'd have to significantly adjust my calorie intake and actually pay attention to my macros. It's better for me to focus on one thing at a time.

I gave myself a very generous end of 2023 weight loss goal of 160 lbs. with a goal of 140 lbs. before I start weight lifting again. At a ~2 lb. per week weight loss rate, best case scenario is I hit 140 lbs. around the end of November. My ultimate goal weight is 150 lbs. after some muscle gains. I'm not trying to have six-pack abs here. The body fat percentage I'd need to get to is not worth the time or effort. The endgame is to be sustainably mentally and physically healthier.
 
Should you work-out "till you drop" (like "train to failure" or when you can't do anymore)?

Or can you spread out the work-out through out the day and stop whenever you want?

Because I don't want to work-out or exercise unless I'm doing it "right," you know?

Maybe I'm over-thinking it...

It depends on what you are going for, AFAIK.

So more sets with lower weights for muscle volume, fewer sets with higher weights for strength.

If you want to lose weight, do compound excercises with lower weights to keep your heart rate up and end with a bit of cardio.

If youre a beginner or train like 2 times a week, do full body excercises. People who are more trained usually do certain muscle groups on a certain day to be able to train other muscles the next day.

I highly recommend training with someone with experience in the beginning or hiring a PT a few times to learn basic posture and help set up a training schedule with a limited amount of excercises.
 
Should you work-out "till you drop" (like "train to failure" or when you can't do anymore)?

Or can you spread out the work-out through out the day and stop whenever you want?

Because I don't want to work-out or exercise unless I'm doing it "right," you know?

Maybe I'm over-thinking it...
Yes, but you should but get your friend or someone in the gym to help spotting for you with the failure sets, since it can go wrong way more often during these sets
 


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