Fitness and Weightloss
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I was a string bean my whole life, and then when I turned 30 and stopped getting exercise, I started putting on pounds. I went from being 120lbs with a 29" waist at age 22 to being 200lbs by 2014.
I had researched food and health for years, and actually tried to do things to help (eating less fast food and meat, and eating more fruit and vegetables), but I couldn't lose the weight at all, no matter how hard I tried.
In Oct/Nov of 2014, I decided I was going to be a gluten-free vegan. One of the reasons I made that decision is because I had thyroid issues for years, and was told that I would have to take medication for the rest of my life (gluten is just one of the things in food that can cause major issues for thyroid function because our bodies can't process gluten, so they create anti-bodies in an attempt to fight it off; but that ends up causing health issues for various organs in our bodies).
I started off by doing a "natural cleanse" for the first 3 days (all I ate was bananas; as many as 30 per day). Then after the cleanse, I started eating nothing but a plant-based diet.
I lost 25lbs the first month, and 20lbs the second month. The third month I shaved off an additional 5lbs and have been floating at 145-150lbs ever since (2.5 years now). Another thing that shocks most people about this progress is the fact that I don't exercise at all (other than casual 20 minutes walks at lunch now and then).
I have more energy than I've had in years, I don't take any medication since being a gluten-free vegan, and I feel great.
Granted, I'd really like to start exercising so I can tone up and add some muscle to my frame, but that's another level I'm not capable of reaching yet (I just became a father again after raising my first child for nearly 17 years).
UPDATE So, so sorry, I said 300Ibs instead of 200lbs, major typo on my part! 50-55lbs total weightloss all within the first 3 months -sorry about that.
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@Shuey said in Fitness and Weightloss:
I was a string bean my whole life, and then when I turned 30 and stopped getting exercise, I started putting on pounds. I went from being 120lbs with a 29" waist at age 22 to being 300lbs by 2014.
I had researched food and health for years, and actually tried to do things to help (eating less fast food and meat, and eating more fruit and vegetables), but I couldn't lose the weight at all, no matter how hard I tried.
In Oct/Nov of 2014, I decided I was going to be a gluten-free vegan. One of the reasons I made that decision is because I had thyroid issues for years, and was told that I would have to take medication for the rest of my life (gluten is just one of the things in food that can cause major issues for thyroid function because our bodies can't process gluten, so they create anti-bodies in an attempt to fight it off; but that ends up causing health issues for various organs in our bodies).
I started off by doing a "natural cleanse" for the first 3 days (all I ate was bananas; as many as 30 per day). Then after the cleanse, I started eating nothing but a plant-based diet.
I lost 25lbs the first month, and 20lbs the second month. The third month I shaved off an additional 5lbs and have been floating at 145-150lbs ever since (2.5 years now). Another thing that shocks most people about this progress is the fact that I don't exercise at all (other than casual 20 minutes walks at lunch now and then).
I have more energy than I've had in years, I don't take any medication since being a gluten-free vegan, and I feel great.
Granted, I'd really like to start exercising so I can tone up and add some muscle to my frame, but that's another level I'm not capable of reaching yet (I just became a father again after raising my first child for nearly 17 years).
That's effin awesome! Congratulations!
How's it going maintaining your current weight? Difficult? Don't have to think about it anymore?
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@Tim_G Thanks Tim! : ) It's honestly been super simple. Once I lost all the weight, I leveled off at around 145-150lbs and have been sitting there ever since month 3 of my journey. I never count calories or anything like that. I just eat every time I'm hungry, and I eat until I'm full. I didn't even think about losing weight, although I was sure I would, when I first started this journey. And since living this way, I've not tried to do anything other than eat "good" food (while trying to get organic as much as possible, and avoiding gluten and processed stuff). And as far as fresh vs processed goes, if I DO eat "processed", I try to eat things that I know are a much safer bet than the majority of the crap that you find in the boxed or freezer section at the grocery store (example: "Amy's Kitchen" gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan meals, like the Tofu Scramble, or something like the "All Natural 'Path of Life' Southwest Quinoa" freezer bag meal). One of the things I enjoy about this lifestyle is that I naturally HAVE to eat more often because my body is eating cleaner foods and able to process them more effectively, and that's a good thing for naturally maintaining a faster metabolism.
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I switched to using a standing desk tonight. So maybe this will help me stay more active all throughout the day in general. The only seat that I have for this desk is broken, so no way to sit down at all right now.
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@scottalanmiller said in Fitness and Weightloss:
I switched to using a standing desk tonight. So maybe this will help me stay more active all throughout the day in general. The only seat that I have for this desk is broken, so no way to sit down at all right now.
Ha that's less of "switched to" and more just "I'm not able to sit at my desk".
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@stacksofplates said in Fitness and Weightloss:
@scottalanmiller said in Fitness and Weightloss:
I switched to using a standing desk tonight. So maybe this will help me stay more active all throughout the day in general. The only seat that I have for this desk is broken, so no way to sit down at all right now.
Ha that's less of "switched to" and more just "I'm not able to sit at my desk".
Kinda
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@stacksofplates said in Fitness and Weightloss:
@scottalanmiller said in Fitness and Weightloss:
I switched to using a standing desk tonight. So maybe this will help me stay more active all throughout the day in general. The only seat that I have for this desk is broken, so no way to sit down at all right now.
Ha that's less of "switched to" and more just "I'm not able to sit at my desk".
Forced fitness!
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Just a few things reading back through this thread:
-It begins and ends with diet. You can workout as much as you want, but if your diet isn't on point, the pounds aren't going to come off as quick. I eat super clean during the week and splurge a little on the weekend, and it's a fine balance for me. Also, having healthy snacks around is key, especially when I take my....cough MEDICINE cough....
-High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is shown to burn calories and fat at a higher rate than typical cardio. So you run/elliptical/row as fast as you can for a 30-60 secs, then walk/jog/whatever at a slower pace for 60-90 secs, repeat for 10-20 mins. I prefer it because of the variety as compared to just jogging for a long time.
-If running or jogging is hard on your joints, go for the elliptical. Great alternative with low impact.
-If you can't afford a gym membership, bodyweight exercises and kettlebell exercises are great alternatives. Push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups and squats at a high volume can give you great results and a great cardio workout.
I held on to the high school mentality of being the biggest and strongest bro for too long, and now after a few injuries, I've reworked how I approach fitness and I'm in better shape at 31 than I ever was at 17.
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Here's a fun workout to do at home: Get a deck of playing cards, assign an exercise for each suit--- Pushups = Diamonds, Squats = Spades, Situps = Hearts, Jumping Jacks = Clubs
Shuffle the deck, and pull the top card. The number is the reps, the suit is the exercise. Pull a 6D = 6 push-ups.
Face cards are 15, Aces are 20.
Do the whole deck.
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@ChrisL said in Fitness and Weightloss:
Here's a fun workout to do at home: Get a deck of playing cards, assign an exercise for each suit--- Pushups = Diamonds, Squats = Spades, Situps = Hearts, Jumping Jacks = Clubs
Shuffle the deck, and pull the top card. The number is the reps, the suit is the exercise. Pull a 6D = 6 push-ups.
Face cards are 15, Aces are 20.
Do the whole deck.
6D - Ha,.. not able to do a single currently - Though any exercise can be tailored to the current state - A full pushup may not be doable,.. but a modified - 'half' pushup could be. Start by standing two feet from a wall and perform the push up that way....
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@gjacobse said in Fitness and Weightloss:
@ChrisL said in Fitness and Weightloss:
Here's a fun workout to do at home: Get a deck of playing cards, assign an exercise for each suit--- Pushups = Diamonds, Squats = Spades, Situps = Hearts, Jumping Jacks = Clubs
Shuffle the deck, and pull the top card. The number is the reps, the suit is the exercise. Pull a 6D = 6 push-ups.
Face cards are 15, Aces are 20.
Do the whole deck.
6D - Ha,.. not able to do a single currently - Though any exercise can be tailored to the current state - A full pushup may not be doable,.. but a modified - 'half' pushup could be. Start by standing two feet from a wall and perform the push up that way....
Any push-up counts as long as you're trying
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Fitness FTW!
Over the years I've had my ups and downs with weight, my highest being 285 lbs. Last summer I joined a gym and started to pay more attention to what I ate and how much I ate. Before I started this, I was 230-240 ish. I'm happy to say I'm a decent 197 lbs as of this morning (I'm 6' tall FWIW). It's great!
"Number-on-a-scale" wise I think I'm good. At this point I want to work on toning up a little. I've still got more fat around my mid section than I'd like (significantly less than in the past, though)...and I don't drink beer. My wife says that a good portion of it is loose skin. Hopefully I can improve on it.
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@scottalanmiller said in Fitness and Weightloss:
I switched to using a standing desk tonight. So maybe this will help me stay more active all throughout the day in general. The only seat that I have for this desk is broken, so no way to sit down at all right now.
here a question for everyone using a standing desk: I've been an automation guy for almost 10 years and I've coded on a number of different unhealty places/positions. Including stay stand up for 8+ hours coding.
while standing up is better than twist yourself under some strange position (like crouch on your knees for 2+ hours) , how can you deal with your concentration and productivity while standing up all the time: it was really energy consuming to me...
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@matteo-nunziati said in Fitness and Weightloss:
@scottalanmiller said in Fitness and Weightloss:
I switched to using a standing desk tonight. So maybe this will help me stay more active all throughout the day in general. The only seat that I have for this desk is broken, so no way to sit down at all right now.
here a question for everyone using a standing desk: I've been an automation guy for almost 10 years and I've coded on a number of different unhealty places/positions. Including stay stand up for 8+ hours coding.
while standing up is better than twist yourself under some strange position (like crouch on your knees for 2+ hours) , how can you deal with your concentration and productivity while standing up all the time: it was really energy consuming to me...
When doing hard core coding. I generally sit.
But that is a small part of my day.
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@matteo-nunziati said in Fitness and Weightloss:
@scottalanmiller said in Fitness and Weightloss:
I switched to using a standing desk tonight. So maybe this will help me stay more active all throughout the day in general. The only seat that I have for this desk is broken, so no way to sit down at all right now.
here a question for everyone using a standing desk: I've been an automation guy for almost 10 years and I've coded on a number of different unhealty places/positions. Including stay stand up for 8+ hours coding.
while standing up is better than twist yourself under some strange position (like crouch on your knees for 2+ hours) , how can you deal with your concentration and productivity while standing up all the time: it was really energy consuming to me...
Hopefully I can answer this question in a couple months. We're in the process of moving our main office (where IT resides) to a new location. Management decided to purchase adjustable desks for everyone. I'm curious to see how often I stand vs sit.
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Okay okay geez.... you guys made me get back on the healthy eating wagon. I have about 75 pounds to lose. I am getting about a mile walk in a night, even though it hurts. Orthopedic doctor wants to do surgery on my leg/back, once my weight gets down.
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Changed my walk yesterday to have a 30 second run/jog then walk, then run again..
I hurt this morning.
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@PenguinWrangler said in Fitness and Weightloss:
Okay okay geez.... you guys made me get back on the healthy eating wagon. I have about 75 pounds to lose. I am getting about a mile walk in a night, even though it hurts. Orthopedic doctor wants to do surgery on my leg/back, once my weight gets down.
I am not a doctor, nor do I pretend to be one. I simply have had back surgery, and several people in my family have as well and this is what I have seen. From my research back surgery to eliminate pain has a low success rate, but surgery to fix motor function is often a requirement. I was to the point I was loosing motor function in my left leg due to nerve damage. Best decision of my life. Everyone else I know that went to an orthopedic doctor for pain has been through multiple surgeries and left dependent on pain meds, and is still in pain, and often as bad or worse than they started. I encourage you to do your research first, and wait until you get the 75lbs off. You will feel a ton better from that alone. It is a long road, but you can do it.
