I'm getting back in to shape, here's how I plan on doing that

[SIG_Fiend]

Well, I decided to go ahead and post this. I've really let myself go the past few years. I've come up with lots of excuses like "Oh I'm too busy with work", "Oh I don't have any time to go to the gym", "Oh I'll do it next week", etc etc. Eventually putting things off a few days and a few weeks, several years later I've let myself get significantly overweight and I just can't have that any more. I'm posting this thread to try and force myself outside of my comfort level. Lately I've tried a few things, however I usually lapse back into my old habits because no one is really watching so it doesn't make much difference. Now I have no excuse as I'm sure some of you will never let me here the end of it if I lapse like that again. I'll be replying with updates as I progress. I'm forcing myself to think of it as only a matter of when I get into shape as opposed to "trying". Trying is for pansies, I'm all about doing.

To start off with, I will be starting out this "project" with nothing except a pure water fast for a yet to be determined amount of time. Many people don't know much about fasting and/or water fasting. Some people incorrectly think it is some form of starvation, which is incorrect. There are several forms of fasting. Some are "juice" fasting, which as the name implies means you fast with juice and of course water. The whole purpose behind fasting (as I understand it anyways) is to allow your digestive system to shut down (since you aren't putting any solid food or fiber in) and your body starts to sort of "heal" itself from the inside. Your body will start digesting and burning up old stores of fat, toxins, and other built up crap that has accumulated over the years. One downside to this is since your body begins feeding off of this less than desirable crap, there are supposedly periods of time during the fast where you can feel physically bad. Think about eating crappy food and how it can affect the way you feel, and I hear it can be similar to that. Despite many misconceptions, the human body can last for an extremely long period of time without food, provided enough water is consumed daily. The general consensus seems to be that starvation mode usually doesn't kick in until roughly 50-75 days of pure water fasting. I've never actually heard of anyone going that long (voluntarily at least) anyways. Many people water fast for 10, 15, 20, and sometimes even 30-40 days.

Ultimately I'd like to do a pure water fast for 30 days. Initially, I'm going to aim for 10 days and see how I'm doing before making a decision whether to proceed or take a break. The reason I'm choosing to start off on this fasting route is a friend of mine has done this and it has worked incredibly well. He has fasted a handful of times (maybe 4-5 different times) anywhere from 5-12 days in length spread throughout this past year. That combined with weight lifting, he has managed to lose 60lbs while gaining a decent amount of muscle in that time period. Needless to say I was impressed.

So here's the specs (I shudder to even type these lol):

Current Weight = 250lbs
Body Fat Percentage = roughly 28.9% according to multiple online calculators
Height = 6' 2"
Waist = 44"
Age = 25y/o


Judging by modern principles I've seen from various sources and professionals, it seems the advised amount of daily water consumption is take: body weight / 2 = number of ounces to drink daily Now with more physical exertion like weight lifting, cardio, etc this number is supposed to go up. For me during the fast and under a regular level of physical activity it's 250/2 = 125 ounces, so about 1 gallon a day. This amount of water applies even if you're not fasting. So far, I have been consuming roughly 3/4 gallon to 1 gallon a day for the past 4-5 months. In the last 3 months I've been drinking about that much water coupled with significantly improving the quality of my diet. I've cut out 80-90% of fast food from my diet, eat more vegetables and fruits, and try to avoid anything with any artificial crap, artificial sweeteners, etc. Basically, if I can't read the ingredients on the label and if there are more than 5 or so than I don't eat it! I mean why does stuff like bread or peanut butter need 45 ingredients anyways?! lol I usually buy true organic food where possible, though it's tough to find that stuff in any regular grocery store so the choices are limited until I find a local health food store. Doing just those things alone, and fasting 1-3 days a week every few weeks, in the last 3 months I've lost 17 lbs already as I did weigh ~267lbs 3 months ago!

I'm trying to take this thing in stages. My first stage is of course fasting. I figure it's a good idea to allow my body to clean itself out from the inside so that I will be starting from a better and more healthy baseline once I move on to the cardio and weights stuff. I did take some before pics, however I don't think I'm going to post them until I look a little better. lol I'll say this much, I look pretty bad. At this point I'd much rather post them at the end as incentive to never turn back. I'm not quite sure on my exact weight goal and muscle gain goal. I don't want to be ripped like Arnold or anything. I do know that I want to drop my body fat percentage to somewhere between 10-15%, which I know will definitely take some effort. I'm thinking a goal weight of around 190-200lbs coupled with a gain in.....I dunno.....10lbs in muscle? So far I'm not really sure how much muscle mass it will take to look like I want.

"

 

[Hoji]

The organic food route is ok but before you do anything drastic consult a MD or at least a nutritionist. You did not put the weight on in a month so dont expect to lose what you want in a month.

Try just eating less and walking. Take what you would normally fix for yourself, and remove half , wrap in foil, and eat later.

You have met me. At 6'4" and 280 I am in really good shape. BP is 168/70
pulse rate is 57. I have no idea what my BMI is and do not care. There is a ton of evidence to show that if you have a few extra pounds you are much more likely to survive a heart attack. I also walk about 4-5 miles a day{well I did before the achilles tendon problems}

Dont do anything drastic{yes fasting is drastic} without talking to a doctor.

Good luck with it.

 

[Texas1911]

You've heard my side of it, and I'll give it again ... :P

Fasting does not remove anything from your system, that you cant eliminate through normal bodily function. It causes your body to enter a catabolism state which will reduce your lean mass before it starts to reduce fat. Hence the large loss in weight, since lean mass weighs approx. 3 times as much.

The huge reduction in calories, fiber, and overall intake is like slamming your metabolism into park doing 80 on the highway. You probably won't feel hungry after about the 2nd day since your metabolism will be in starvation mode.

Nevermind the repercussions of removing all dietary enzymes, proteins, amino acids, and the complex chemical nutrients found in food.

I hold that hard work, and a solid diet is the way to go for any long term plan. You may not get "instant" results, but they are results done the right way. To me, fasting seems to gimmicky, and it's loved by Vegans and Liberals alike as some spiritual fiesta.

Hell I lost 40 lbs. by just not eating fast food, and you know how "active" I was in that time frame.

I vote you use that gym in your house, eat good protein, stick with your fruits / veggies, get more good fats, and maintain around 1800 - 2000 calories a day. I guarantee in a two weeks time you will look, feel, and be better off.

 

[onecoolpilot]

I know nothing about fasting, so I'm not knocking your plan. On the other hand, it doesn't sound like something I would do.

About this time last year, was at 5'9", 300lbs. After going to three different stores to find shorts that fit, I had had enough. The first thing I did was change the way I eat. I cut out sodas and snacks, ate at home rather than fast food, I cut my calories way back, and I split my daily caloric intake into 6 small meals. I also stopped eating a few hours before bed.

I lost 15 pounds in just a few months, then joined a gym. I am now at 240-245. I haven't been to the gym regularly in about 7 months, but I certainly feel better (and lighter) than before.

It sounds like you are already on the right track, drinking lots of water, eating better....how many times a day do you eat?

 

[SIG_Fiend]

Alan, I've said this before. Your body does not go into a state of catabolism for a loooong time, like after 30 days or so. It doesn't happen immediately.

I should probably state that I wouldn't recommend anyone just go do fasting. There are plenty of people with issues like hypoglycemia, diabetes, etc that can have serious problems or possibly even death from doing this. My whole life I've always been healthy, never had allergies, don't have any kind of special health conditions or anything. I just have a lot of extra weight.

I would highly recommend people do some research into fasting before just knocking it as a "starvation diet". Trust me, there is more that goes on with your body during one than the body simply self destructing and eating all your muscle.

BTW Alan, that "friend" of mine that you know, he's lost 60lbs in the last year and still benches 280lbs. In fact, on day 10 of his last fast a few days ago, his friend said he'd be too weak to do it and he proved him wrong by benching 280lbs several times. Laugh about it all you want, I'll let the results speak for themselves in a month or so. BTW, this one is called the South Beach, Ethiopian edition diet. lol j/k

 

[htxred]

i think you're wrong on the topic that your body does not go into a catabolic mode immediately, it sure as hell isnt in an anabolic or metabolic mode once you cut off energy supply. Your body will not burn fat as energy unless you're in a state of ketosis and even that is crap IMO.

For the most part people generally lose weight by starving the fat cells. Carbs are a must in any diet, 40/40/20 is the staple and has proven itself over and over again. Bottom line to lose FAT, you have to work at it. anyone can dry out and lose however so many lbs of water, but that is not the point here is it? im pretty sure im correct when i say people want to get in shape to look good naked. thats it. the fatter people do it for their health, but ultimately everyone wants to look good naked.

I would like to suggest a few..

early morning workouts, best time to get some cardio in if thats your style. Something as simple as a 10 min jump rope session or 15 minutes on a heavy bag will do wonders.

one excerise that all fat people in generally neglect are squats. you are going to burn the MOST calories doing squats, it does NOT just work out your legs, but your core and ultimately every single muscle in your body will be under stress. The non sense that "my legs are strong already" is bullshit. everyone who wants to be able to show off a six pack NEEDS TO SQUAT!

and of course i think you know that changing your lifestyle is the most important move you can make. its hard to look good and takes LOADS of blood sweat and tears, the amount of dedication is unbelievable. but it all pays off in the end because you'll be apart of the small percentage that actually did something rather then just talk. what i try to tell everyone who asks for advise is that you basically need to build a good foundation, good amount of fat burning muscle. and from that point on, keep your body in an anabolic stage and eat as if you're trying to maintain. your body wont grow if the calories are not there. not only is this platform stable physically, but it is also mentally.

and yes i know what im talking about, went from 262 in sept 2005 to 157 in sept 2006, hit my prime in march of 2007and then got married in nov of 07and well, yea.

here are some befores.. lol
http://tinypic.com/dlqble.jpg

heres a split from 200lbs to 165lbs
http://tinypic.com/fjktog.jpg

some prime achievements..
http://tinypic.com/iwmdfr.jpg
http://i1.tinypic.com/nxtg1h.jpg


but then every "body" is different and different things will work for different people. but the staple of it, the basics, are the lifestyle change and squats. lol.

 

[htxred]

i think you under estimate your mind and how much of a rule it plays in these kind of lifestyles. the mental aspect of it is why most generally fail.

 

[SIG_Fiend]

Damn dude! Excellent job, you've made a remarkable improvement! Oh, believe me I realize it is a complete lifestyle change, and I am more than happy to do it. I really dislike the term "diet", as too many people use it thinking they can just temporarily change to some healthy and bland diet, get back into shape, and then they can go right back to eating the same unhealthy crap and they'll be okay. I realize that couldn't be further from the truth. I actually want to permanently start eating healthy, permanently start working out and exercising properly, etc etc.

While it may be true that fasting might not be as beneficial to someone that is already in shape, for someone like myself, I have a ton of built up fat. Well before you reach starvation mode, it is my understanding that the body "wants" to burn fat and will do so. It will also burn a small amount of muscle but the primary focus is fat. I don't have a PHD however from the research I've done it appears that your body naturally wants to burn fat, and only when this just isn't cutting it any more, that's when your body goes into a catabolic state and starts digesting damaged and dead muscle cells. The thing is, I've seen some research that suggests it's not nearly as bad in someone obese like myself as I have a ridiculous amount of stored fat. Ultimately there will be some muscle loss, however it is my understanding that the muscle loss will be relegated to dead and damaged cells and that once the fast is over and exercise begins that the lost muscle can be built back up more easily. Extreme catabolism really only seems to happen after months of no caloric intake, basically once you are already in starvation mode. I'm still trying to decide on the interval I'm going to fast. I may end up only fasting for 7 days at a time, and do that a few times a year spread out appropriately. Maybe it's not all it's cracked up to be, but I figured I would try it at least. From the times I have done it between 1-3 days several times within the last 6 months, I've felt significantly better and I feel "cleaner". Hard to describe but my body just feels better and I've had more energy.

Don't worry, all this fasting stuff isn't making me miss the real important subjects, namely nutrition and exercise. I just figured I'd fast beforehand before jumping head first into those 2 things. Best case it "cleans" my body out a bit and makes nutrition and exercise that much more effective. Worst case I lose a little muscle mass and have to work just a bit harder to gain it back. Either way, I WILL get there no matter how long it takes. Thanks for posting those pics Ngoc! It's cool to see very successful before and after stuff like that. Keep up the great work man.

 

[htxred]

im guilty of falling back into my old habbits but when life hits you in the face like it did me, you sort of rearrange your priorities, and suddenly looking good naked isnt as important anymore. lol.

The research and logs and books i've read, the body wants to naturally burn carbs first. primarary fuel tanks are of course proteins carbs and fats. the body does not generally burn fat or use it as energy, as i said it only does that in a ketosis state, which again, is crap to me. lol. for the most part, people generally pull it off by starving the fat cells. creating an anabolic environment will force your body to tend to muscle repair rather then feeding your fat cells. you can feed or starve your fat cells, either way your body will continue to operate. but when your muscles are damaged, your body will do what it can to repair it, regenerate it so that you can continue to operate. the body cannot run without its carbs. glycogen levels get too low and the body starts to enter a catabolic state. usually fatigue and burncing sensation from the lactic acid are signs of this, although i've read new literature that states lactic acid is actually a good thing when it comes to building muscle. in which i think the point im trying to get at is rather then setting a goal to lose weight/fat, shift your focus tos etting a goal to buildign muscle. ultimately thats what is going to cause your weight loss. now there is a huge difference between building muscle and buildign strength, they MAY go hand in hand but both require totally different approaches, workouts and even calories. muscle requires more calories to maintain then fat, thus most if not all your clean calories will be devoted to repairing and regenerating your body, thus starving your fat cells, causing them to shrink. of all the literature out there, very few of them focus on fat cells. from what i remember, its not possible to destroy or "get rid of" fat cells, they'll always be there, they just shrink or grow.. theres been talk of topical rubs that can kill fat cells but are still in the early stages of being banned by the FDA if you know what i mean. (which is why some go the route of liposuction)

other things to keep in mind is that you dont want to rush the process or else your skinw ill not have time to regenerate and snap back itself. i ran into this problem, losing the weight way too fast, and had a problem with loose skin. i didnt give a damn, but mentally it plays a role in how you see yourself.

you also want to keep in mind what might happen after you stop the liquids and switch to whole foods. and if you want to clense your body, go the antioxidants route. how do you plan to have your macronutrient intake? is this going to be pure h2o consumption? what about your salt/electrolyte levels? how do you think you'll handle all liquid no whole food mentally?

 

[Cyfer]

I didn't really read the whole thread, but I'll put this out there anyways. Forgive me if I'm wrong or off topic with the thread.

We're trying the P90X program. It's not for everyone and I could barely make it through one of the videos when I first started. And like stated above, it has alot to do with mental strength and dedication. I used to put myself through a civilian Navy Seal bootcamp here in Houston that was run and instructed by Navy Seals/Force Recon/Rangers/etc.. (Not one of those "My dad's a Navy Seal") just to prove to myself that I was still mentally strong enough to make it through the 2-3week program. I was in class #98 & #102 in case any other members have been through it. http://www.sealptcourse.com/

 

[htxred]

p90 and body by life are great, my sister and brother in law get shit from them all the time. they break the meals down for you and the workouts are intense for being on dvd. not too sure i like how he checks out other guy's "firm butt muscles" though lol.

 

[SIG_Fiend]

I've eased myself into fasting over the past few days by slowly moving to "softer" foods like fruits and vegetables as opposed to meat and dairy products. I also plan on breaking the fast in the same manner. From what I've heard and judging by what my friend said, I know what to expect and it will be a gradual process of a few days before and after. As far as what to expect during the fast, my main issue so far has been boredom. I've become so used to constantly eating, when I'm not I feel like I should be doing something. I plan on replacing this feeling with an activity during the fast like reading, or very light physical activity (walking), etc basically replace it with something more healthy.

Just curious Ngoc but, what type of stuff do you have in your regular diet and what would you recommend? I'm trying to come up with a good diet ahead of time so once I do stop this fast I can start off with an excellent diet. I've been learning a lot about nutrition lately. The one prevalent factor it seems is that a large percentage of foods and liquids commonly available at the average grocery store are highly processed, have tons of artificial contents, and many times have lots of chemicals or ingredients that really aren't conducive to a healthy diet. One, for example, is high fructose corn syrup. That stuff is put in nearly every damn thing you can buy in the grocery store (bread, cereal, soda, crackers, etc etc). I've read some studies in the past that suggested that a characteristic of high fructose corn syrup is it slows down your metabolism. Anyways, as it is now these are the things I'm planning on doing towards my regular diet:

-Drink plenty of water
-Cut out almost all soda from my diet (already do, maybe only have 1 or 2 cups a month if that, some months none at all)
-Cut out anything with artificial crap, artificial sweeteners, etc etc
-Eat more fruits and vegetables
-Eat more lean meats (turkey, chicken, fish)
-Use protein shakes sparingly while weight lifting
-No junk food
-Almost no fast food (I only maybe go to a restaraunt 1 or 2 times a month if that, sometimes not at all)

So far I've actually been following that diet for the past few months, though here and there I've had fast food and soda a few times more than once or twice a month, so I still need improvement. I think the big issue with me right now is I am usually kind of disorganized. I really need to build my diet and exercise routine into a specific structure so I'm not just winging it day to day. Normally I wing it and end up not quite eating enough times in a day, sometimes not drinking enough water, etc etc. Consistency is the key I guess.

I've seen plenty of stuff about all sorts of supplements, protein shakes, etc etc. However, I'm really trying not to get caught up in any of that. While I realize there are some supplements that can work and work well, it seems a lot of health, diet, and supplement related stuff actually has ingredients that can sometimes be counterproductive. I'm really trying to keep myself from getting fixated on any wonder supplement, wonder drug, wonder pill, etc etc etc as I think it's too easy for some people to get caught up thinking that one drug, pill, etc is going to just do it all for them.

Sorry if any of this sounds like illegible rambling. I'm partially typing this stuff out for future reference and to force myself to be more structured about it.

 

[htxred]

knowing what to expect and experiencing it first hand is awesome. looks and sounds like you really thought this out and i hoep you the best, im eager to read your status along the journey.

My life was roller coasters when i was still in the zone. My social life wasnt really there for a while until a few friends of mine started to share the same interest, then it was easier to stay on track. Once i started becoming eye candy, it was just another means for me to get what i want, which was the attention. Staying focused comes after the hard work but staying dedicate seems to be challenging because of the up and down moments.

Foods were repeatative, I ate a lot of spaghetti, i mean A LOT. i used wheat pasta and then switched to this certain pasta that was recommended for diabetics, i forget the name but its a black box, basically has a molucule attached to it to help your body not absorb, took lots of shits. i generally used to use jenni-o turkey meat but started buying the honeysuckle ground turkey from walmart, cheaper. a lot of rotisarry chickens from sam's club, and of course vegies and yams/sweet potato. i went on my streeks where i ate red meat, top sirloin on the foreman grill then i would cut it up and heat it on a pan with brown rice and frozen vegies. that was my version of fried rice. I was never 100% clean, i did my once a week cheat DAYS. yes i ate bad the whole day but i made sure i got my protein in. but id idnt over do it unless it was a pizza craving. egg whites in the morning and cottage cheese with naturally jelly at night. shakes were a must after workouts and usually consisted of ice, 1 cup milk, 1 banana, 2 scoops wpi and some oatmeal followed by a meat meal afterwards. its hard to find time to eat cause you always want to stay active but i squared up with around 6 to 8 times a day eating. it was easy when i went anabolic, i was always hungry, and i tried to squat twice a week, which mentally justified me eating more. towards the end of my streek i realized that the body needs time to recover and i cannot just make up for loss rest by eating more. i always stood by the words of "you dont overtrain, you under eat" but i noticed better results when i did a mon-thurs with a fri/sunday off, saturday was active rest, which usually meant i hit the gym that night for some power cleans before i went out so my veins were poppin. lol.

but it was structured as follows. 5 or 6am was a light workout, boxing or jump rope.
meal 1. shake
meal 2. egg whites oatmeal toast cup of milk
meal 3. spaghetti or sandwich
meal 4. spaghetti or rice and meat or subway
meal 5. snack
workout
meal 6. shake
meal 7. dinner (something along the lines of meal 4
meal 8. depending on the time, cottage cheese with jelly or nothing.
always tried to get 7 to 8 hrs of sleep. which seems impossible now. and id miss a workout before i missed a meal. if i ever did miss a workout, id make it up on fri or sunday. saturday was usually active rest, play tennis, rock climbing, walking around town, or i did power moves that utilized the core at the gym.

brings back memories. lol.

 

[htxred]

and if you generally stay on the perimeter of the grocery store, thats usually where all the whole foods are. in the isles is where you find most of the boxed foods. was never really into the organic craze but to each their own.

 

[Texas1911]

Alan, I've said this before. Your body does not go into a state of catabolism for a loooong time, like after 30 days or so. It doesn't happen immediately.

Your body goes into catabolism the moment it runs out of steady glucose in the blood. That's in a matter of 10 - 12 hours.

In 30 days you will have consumed approx. 60,000 calories. You don't have 60,000 calories worth of energy stored in the form of glucose.

When people do high endurance activities they will lose 5 - 10 lbs. in muscle weight alone due to catabolism.

I would highly recommend people do some research into fasting before just knocking it as a "starvation diet". Trust me, there is more that goes on with your body during one than the body simply self destructing and eating all your muscle.

What makes it not a starvation diet... LOL. You are purposely not eating anything for the sake of losing weight.

BTW Alan, that "friend" of mine that you know, he's lost 60lbs in the last year and still benches 280lbs. In fact, on day 10 of his last fast a few days ago, his friend said he'd be too weak to do it and he proved him wrong by benching 280lbs several times. Laugh about it all you want, I'll let the results speak for themselves in a month or so. BTW, this one is called the South Beach, Ethiopian edition diet. lol j/k

I'm not laughing about it. You will lose weight, I'm just arguing it's not the correct way to do it.

60 lbs. in one year isn't some overnight success. Angell doesn't bench 280 lbs. because of fasting either. There is alot you are omitting from the equation here.

I'll let the results speak for themselves in a month or so. BTW, this one is called the South Beach, Ethiopian edition diet. lol j/k

I'll race you to 200 lbs.? Loser has to eat a Dan's Large Double with Cheese and Bacon.

 

[htxred]

damn, large double with cheese and bacon sounds goooooood

 

[Texas1911]

damn, large double with cheese and bacon sounds goooooood

I had to toss that in there, why eat crow when you can eat a Dan's Double Large w/ Cheese and Bacon?

Hell I might just lose for the sake of it.

 

[htxred]

one of the regulars i would eat was that big burger from bennigans, forget what its called but 2 big ol patties. yum. of course with just lettuce and tomoatoes, fries went in the trash.

 

[Texas1911]

one of the regulars i would eat was that big burger from bennigans, forget what its called but 2 big ol patties. yum. of course with just lettuce and tomoatoes, fries went in the trash.

:sign0101:

You are a wild man. I know I love a Chili's Bacon Burger.

 

[Texas1911]

And, let the games begin. We kicked it off with a trip to Whataburger... LOL.