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Age: 30 Height: 6 Foot 4 inches Weight: 439 Gender: Male Location: Everett, Washington U.S.A. 1/1   3/5  E/N | Excuses I figured I would start off the post with how being overweight has effected me. To say it had changed my life would be an understatement, and my parents made sure of it since I was 8 years old. I was weighed and judged on it for every six months and watched my weight and height chart go completely off the way it should be. I was on a diet at age 9 and went to the gym every other day until my parents stopped caring around the time I was 13. I was heavy all through high school and into college. I don't have to tell you how it effected me then, but for the most part I was a lonely kid who either was called Hurricane <Axe-man> or just ignored. It wasn't until 2004 that I actually started a weight loss program and started getting into shape. I hit a plateau and hard, and subsequently my girlfriend at the time kicked me out when I stopped making progress. After a few months homeless, I started back again and this time went the opposite. Before I had been obese, but then it went into dangerous territory. It stayed there and was part of the reason I was disowned from my family in 2005. After that things just got worse, and from this time there are no pictures, I have no idea how high I got simply because I didn't have a scale that could measure me. This continued until about 3 years ago now. I got my eating under control and started working to fight against it. I got a girlfriend who at the time was supportive and helped me. That is when I finally weighed myself. After 3 months of work on a new diet, I was down to 486, and most likely had been 520ish at my worst. That was a year ago, and the diet I still do, but alas things have changed at home, and I need motivation and to keep it recorded. This last year I wasn't as diligent and due to life changes had not the support I had before. A year ago I was much lighter than I am now. Unlike some other people in this forum, I have never had a point in my life where I have even been near a normal weight. This is a life long struggle for me, and it has prevented me from having normal relationships with human beings such a massive way that at times I feel like an alien. TL;DR :I'm 30 now, I don't want to be fat anymore. My goal is to get to 280. I am going to achieve that by continuing my diet, which is vegetarian, I seem to have extremely good success with it and just doing the diet normally seems to start the weight loss process for me without exercise. Current here is the diet that seems to work so far. 2 weight loss shakes in the morning and afternoon. 180 calories each, supplemented by a banana. Followed by a healthy dinner, following this recipe, with rice instead of homemade flour and water pasta: http://pastebin.com/HN1gJWgV estimated calorie intake: 1056ish depending on how much oil you use. Water works just as well and then it is 696. If eaten exactly with a cup of rice. I am going to start walking about 3.5 miles 5 times a week. Challenges I have currently are mostly money and support related. To be specific, I don't have either. I am starting a new job on Jan 14, which will allow for more income for food selection and exercise opportunities, but I am welcome to advice. Another challenge I have is with my ankles, I have a lot of problems with them and my main form of exercise is walking, now through past experience I know I can walk through it, but it might reach a point where I need crutches to get around if I sit down for too long. I'm not sure if that will be effected by exercise or how, but it is a major issue that I worry about. For that, my only recourse is to get a bike, which I might be able to from my estranged parents. This is updated daily to check current status look at my spreadsheet  Currently Tracking it via this google doc: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...cTJpa240SVcyTnc Achieved First Goal 1/14/2013 (looped goal)- 2/11/2013 Total Weight lost: 20.8 Pounds   Clause I will lose at least 15 pounds by end of February. If not I would like a big red title, since that would motivate me more than an outright ban, which pretty much would do the opposite. Set this goal again. Total Weight lost: -53.8  15 pounds lost by the end of May, if I lose more than that, I will loop it and reset it.   Goal first achieved 04/01/20134/01 Loss -71.4 pounds  YOU LIKE CHARTS I GOT CHARTS! Current as 4/1 
Axe-man fucked around with this message at Apr 1, 2013 around 22:47 |
| # ? Jan 2, 2013 00:56 |
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| # ? May 26, 2013 09:20 |
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Good luck in your quest!! Sounds like you're off to a good start with your goals, walking is an awesome way to start getting active. Can I ask why you follow a vegetarian diet? By the looks of it, your diet is really lacking in protein. At this point you could add in protein shakes, cheese, greek yogurt, etc. I know you've got a lot of work ahead of you to get to your goal weight of 280, but a daily calorie count of ~1000 is going to work against you. That is way too low and I can't imagine that you won't go crazy after a few weeks of committing to that. According to the calorie goal calculator from http://dailyplate.com to lose 2 lbs per week with no exercise, you would need ~2000 cals/day. Do something closer to that. Do you plan on adding strength training to your routine in the future? That's an activity that shouldn't aggravate your ankles much.
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| # ? Jan 2, 2013 01:05 |
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You are two inches taller than Adaz, but he was heavier than you are now when you started. He's been making incredible progress and has an incredible work ethic. He's gone from 502 to 240 inside of 12 months. Read his log. You can do the same thing.
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| # ? Jan 2, 2013 01:08 |
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leverite where posted:Good luck in your quest!! Sounds like you're off to a good start with your goals, walking is an awesome way to start getting active. Thank you everyone for their support. I'll be quite honest, making this thread is most likely the hardest thing I've done in literally like 4 years concerning my weight. I am very use to being secretive about it at all times. As for the vegetarian diet, I've attempted to be a vegetarian since college really. I enjoy meat, but specifically tofu and the lifestyle in general is attractive to me. It helps that most of the non vegetarian foods I like are hideously bad for me. For the time being because of the expense of meat, I might have to stay vegetarian, but after I have work and a steady income again meat would be very well something to invest in. Protein shakes, cheese and greek yogurt are something I could easily add short term. Thank you very much for the advice. Note: About my food plan. Most of this was cobbled together by myself using the nutritional requirements and basically the fruits and veggies that I found complimented tofu well. For the short term, I've added a few carrots and a banana along with a little more rice to the current meal for tonight to up the total calorie to about 1815 which seems to me to be more sustainable short term. Either way, I'm kind of flying by the seat of my pants and really open to any advice or suggestions. On strength training, I have done it before and I liked it. I wasn't sure on if I could add that this soon or if I physically was in too poor of shape to keep it up. I don't have a gym membership so whatever I did do would have to be rather makeshift, and I haven't done it in years so not sure if I would lift right and possibly hurt myself. One of the reasons I settled on walking because it was one thing I know my limits very clearly, I can tell if the day is going to be a bad day for my ankle or not. It is kind of weird but it is like a bad knee. Thank you so much for the support and any and all advice I would really appreciate. edit: What are some good sources of protein for the short term? I know that a lot of them have drawbacks. Axe-man fucked around with this message at Jan 2, 2013 around 03:03 |
| # ? Jan 2, 2013 02:41 |
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Your courage to take on a healthier lifestyle is inspiring to me. I can't wait to see the progress you will be making. As others have stated, you have room for more calories in your diet. If you are too hungry too often you may burn out. You will find a nice balance eventually but remember, everyone is different. What are the weight loss shakes you are taking? Oh and as far as protein sources go, greek yogurt is becoming more and more popular due to its protein content and taste, you will find that it complements fruits well too. You can use low fat cottage cheese in the same way, I like it with grapes myself. If you don't like the texture of cottage cheese you can put it in a food processor and see what it is like. There are also relatively higher protein substitutes for starches. Beans are a good replacement for starches. The fiber will also help you stay full longer and beans have a lower glycemic index than other starches. Quinoa is also a good substitute. Vigilantly Vigorous fucked around with this message at Jan 2, 2013 around 03:17 |
| # ? Jan 2, 2013 03:09 |
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Axe-man posted:edit: What are some good sources of protein for the short term? I know that a lot of them have drawbacks. It's worth reading Vainglory's log as well. Not only did he start off at a similar weight to you, he also went through an amazing emotional journey as he lost the weight. I think he may have dealt with similar emotional issues about weight to the ones you have been dealing with.
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| # ? Jan 2, 2013 03:52 |
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Well, thank you for the suggestions. Beans are something I have on hand and are able to get a hold of easily. Cottage cheese is something that might also help. Thanks so much As for protein shakes I use the cheapest ones (for obvious reasons) Here is a link I'm not sure if they are the best at anything, but I had certain success with them before, which is what I'm going off of. slinkimalinki posted:Honestly, I can't think of any drawbacks except price for most sources of protein. Are you happy to eat eggs, or is that something you prefer not to do? Eggs are something I can get a hold of easily. I assume that just the egg whites are the part we want right? I'm trying to see how to incorporate this all into a meal plan as we speak. Axe-man fucked around with this message at Jan 2, 2013 around 04:04 |
| # ? Jan 2, 2013 04:01 |
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Well, certainly some people choose to eat only the egg whites as the yolk is high in fat. But I don't think you need to eliminate all fats from your diet: I tend to just eat the whole drat egg. The yolk is a good source of protein and B vitamins, so it really comes down to preference. You could also compromise and add say one yolk per three whites to recipes. Overall, if you're hitting your calorie targets and getting adequate protein, it doesn't seem too important whether the non-protein calories in your diet come from carbs or fat. People do have success with both very low carb diets and very low fat diets, but you can also be successful eating a moderate amount of each.
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| # ? Jan 2, 2013 04:21 |
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Axe-man posted:
Rather than purchasing ready to drink shakes, you may want to buy whey powder and make your own. Will be cheaper and provide more protein for less calories. Good luck in your endeavors noble goon, you can do this!!
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| # ? Jan 2, 2013 04:23 |
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You can do it.  I think bottled protein shakes don't taste very good. A large tub of Gold Standard Whey isn't terribly expensive and will last you a while. You'll get sick of 'diet shakes' quick. I buy a few flavors of protein powder, say chocolate and strawberry. Bananas taste good both in the chocolate shake and the strawberry one. However, you wouldn't want to put peanut butter in the strawberry. This way you can figure out what flavors you like and have variety! You don't mention if you know how to cook or not, but you'll be cooking a lot from here on out. I have a cookbook recommendation if you need it.
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| # ? Jan 2, 2013 04:26 |
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+1 again on using protein powder over the premade shakes. I think it may be cheaper too. You can also add your protein powder to your greek yogurt or cottage cheese.
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| # ? Jan 2, 2013 04:56 |
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Once again thank you so much for the support I like the idea of making my own shakes, seriously they are the bane of my existence. I don't mind the taste really, but then again I've had about a year or 2 to get adjusted to them. It is more the cans, the cans and lugging them around. I am going to look into getting some whey powder. I might hold off until I have more money though because it seems like the best bet is to get this gold standard stuff that comes in like 5 pound jars  Also a word on my diet. I make everything I can. I am not a great cook but I can cook. I haven't drunk soda in 3 years and consider it the absolute devil. I drink water, tea and beer. Beer more sparingly obviously than the others. I live right next to a pretty cool coop food place for veggies, and well, it is pretty amazing for local produce. I don't have any canned or frozen fruits and veggies. So yes, cookbook suggestions would be great!  Thank you so much
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| # ? Jan 2, 2013 05:08 |
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Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything.
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| # ? Jan 2, 2013 06:16 |
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Planet X posted:Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything. This is absolutely correct. You can do this, Axe-man. Eat ~1800-2000 cals/day, and at your size you should drop nearly 3 pounds a week even without the walking. (Do the walking anyway. It will make you happier.) A year ago, I was where you are. What you want is absolutely possible.
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| # ? Jan 2, 2013 12:57 |
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Vigilantly Vigorous posted:Your courage to take on a healthier lifestyle is inspiring to me. I can't wait to see the progress you will be making. Just watch out for salt intake as you start adding stuff. I love low-fat cottage cheese (add some honey, or fruit or just sprinkle in some pepper and you're golden) but was surprised by the salt it seems to have naturally. Best of luck. Oh and on the topic of shakes. Big bags of frozen fruit isn't too expensive, mix that with some orange juice or low-fat milk and you've got an awesome breakfast or snack. Especially if you throw in some whey. Good Luck Axeman you can totally do it. It's all about getting into a sustainable routine. 2k-ish calories and some walking and you're well on your way.
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| # ? Jan 2, 2013 21:29 |
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Day 2 - the walkening Trip report: Today I walked my 3.5 miles in 66 minutes. Honestly, I haven't walked this route since November, but I'm still not happy with the time or speed. 3.18 mph is okay, but I was on target for faster until I hit the final hill. Tomorrow going to do better. I have been adding bananas to the shakes mainly because they seem to really add to my mood and improve my resolve. I think I most likely am going to get blisters from this, but I walked has fast and as hard as possible. According to the calorie counting thing Here, I burned 956 Calories if that is to be believed.
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| # ? Jan 2, 2013 22:55 |
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You may get blisters, but your feet should adapt to walking pretty quickly. You'll probably just end up with some nice calluses. Also, according to this source, the calorie burn of walking a mile is 0.3 * (your bodyweight in pounds). That's 131.7 calories per mile for you. The other formulas they listed are pretty accurate in my experience (and I have an armband that counts how many calories I burn per day), so I'd say the other site is overestimating. Zugzwang fucked around with this message at Jan 2, 2013 around 23:04 |
| # ? Jan 2, 2013 23:00 |
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Zugzwang posted:You may get blisters, but your feet should adapt to walking pretty quickly. You'll probably just end up with some nice calluses. Yeah, I was suspecting that was not the case. I think right now repetition is my goal. I was suggested to focus on doing it more than the numbers and achievement, but that nagging voice in the back of my head still makes me want to do it... better.
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| # ? Jan 2, 2013 23:20 |
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Yep, getting it in as a routine is key. The numbers will improve in time. Make sure you get on acquiring that bike, as it'll be a good way to ease joint stress at your size and to mix it up a bit. Lots of cycling goons around, so we can help there too if you have questions.
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| # ? Jan 3, 2013 03:04 |
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Yesss, make sure you focus on just getting into a routine and you can dissect numbers later. Seriously 3.5 miles is pretty awesome, I'd be happy to just get that in any day
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| # ? Jan 3, 2013 08:54 |
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Thanks again, just got back from doing it again. Trip report: Oddly enough, but starting out was much much harder, but finishing was a lot easier. My blisters all broke but whatever, that is a minor thing. Did the exact same stats, though about 30 seconds slower, most likely to do with waiting for cars that I didn't the day before. Striving for consistency, this is pretty much on point.
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| # ? Jan 3, 2013 21:49 |
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Axe-man posted:Thanks again, just got back from doing it again. Yay! So proud of you Keep going! You're doing super great!
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| # ? Jan 3, 2013 22:47 |
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Rock on! I know it's really really addictive to wanna keep making progress you can see like "Today was faster than yesterday" but even with just aiming for consistency I promise you'll see improvements just happen naturally given time, and there'll be days where your legs are sore and you'll just need to resist going for another walk. That's totally okay -especially once you start lifting again  - just stick with your calorie goal and keep up the good work.
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| # ? Jan 4, 2013 01:13 |
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Going to follow this log. You have the potential to achieve Log Cabin stardom! Just be consistent, set limits, and stick to your plan.
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| # ? Jan 4, 2013 02:14 |
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I just want to say that, I honestly and truly touched by all your sentiment and support. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it, nor truly express it in words. Also  someone is following this log  .Trip report: Decided to go early today, before breakfast, a few errands pushed it back an hour or so, but it is cool, not feeling like starving. Today was amazing, and really, started off almost too easy. I mean sure there were sore feet and ankles, but about 20 minutes in, I just hit a stride. And well, even though I stopped to help a guy new to town with directions, I still came in at 65 minutes. A minute less than the other days when I had to push like rolling a stone uphill . There was a weird sense of euphoria the last like 30 minutes. Best of all, as I get to my door, it starts to snow. I guess today was about perfect incidental timing, huh?
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| # ? Jan 4, 2013 19:33 |
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Yes! Great job. Do you listen to music/podcasts on your walks?
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| # ? Jan 4, 2013 23:34 |
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Vigilantly Vigorous posted:Yes! Great job. Yes indeed. I listen to slacker while I walk. I normally just pick a station and hit the road. Axe-man fucked around with this message at Jan 5, 2013 around 02:07 |
| # ? Jan 4, 2013 23:36 |
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Just updating this to say I'm taking a rest day, to not push it too far. I can feel my feet and ankles strengthening but still sore. Tomorrow I will start up again and imagine there will be some bite to it, but I am prepared. Diet report: I'm doing great on it. I'm hungry but not starving, and managing to eat at the right times and the right things. I've also had a lot of success resisting breaking it in anyway. Everything i eat i check the calorie content, and that helps a lot. I'm really excited for weighing on monday, at the end of the week cycle
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| # ? Jan 6, 2013 02:08 |
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Axe-man posted:
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| # ? Jan 6, 2013 02:18 |
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Back to walking today, and today was the hardest. I didn't want to do it, it was freezing rain and well, my feet weren't happy. I did it anyway. I felt I wasn't pushing hard enough so I did it more. Then I felt like I was going to slow and had to make it up even more. So I went as fast as I could. Anyway, long story short time: 63 minutes. I feel like I won a battle
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| # ? Jan 7, 2013 01:19 |
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Noice. It takes a while to make fitness a habit, and you're right on track. Keep it up!
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| # ? Jan 7, 2013 01:45 |
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It takes a lot more willpower to commit to walking outside for an hour when the weather is poo poo (compared to driving to a gym and doing your routine inside). Good job!
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| # ? Jan 7, 2013 07:58 |
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Axe-man posted:I feel like I won a battle You did!
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| # ? Jan 7, 2013 08:10 |
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Axe-man posted:I feel like I won a battle This is the best feeling. Very proud, and very excited to follow this log! You can certainly do it! And extra props for powering through in lovely weather, before too long exercise won't be a chore - it'll be just part of your routine.
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| # ? Jan 7, 2013 18:01 |
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slinkimalinki posted:So are we! (Excited for your weigh-in, I mean) Well today is the day and I have the results. First, my walk today was the hardest so far, this is the first day that I've had an ankle be sore on me. I walked it off, but it shows in the time Today was 66 minutes and it was manageable certainly about the first 15 minutes were every step was a painful but after that it was just another day. Now I know this is what you are all waiting for. Today my weight was 425.6 pounds. I weighed myself 4 times as always. I'll be frank I'm disappointed, I was hoping to meet the goal in one week then set again, that however is the perfectionist in me. So 13.4 pounds lost week one. I hope week 2 is better
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| # ? Jan 7, 2013 21:39 |
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Axe-man posted:
Err, you do know that this is a spectacular amount of weight loss, right? Put it this way: adaz lost 260 pounds last year, which is amazing. Only once did he lose more than 13 pounds a week, and his weight loss was generally about seven pounds per week. Here's his weight loss chart for the year. adaz posted:
slinkimalinki fucked around with this message at Jan 7, 2013 around 22:12 |
| # ? Jan 7, 2013 22:00 |
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slinkimalinki posted:Err, you do know that this is a spectacular amount of weight loss, right? Seriously! Don't get all perfectionist-y about this. Any weight loss is awesome progress.
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| # ? Jan 7, 2013 22:12 |
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Axe-man posted:
Dude. 
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| # ? Jan 7, 2013 23:04 |
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That's Biggest Loser amounts of weight loss without the constant trainers & supervision, don't be disappointed. People will struggle for months to lose that number, you did it in a week. Pat yourself on the back dude, you did awesome e: removed kinda dickishness loco88 fucked around with this message at Jan 7, 2013 around 23:34 |
| # ? Jan 7, 2013 23:32 |
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| # ? May 26, 2013 09:20 |
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SharksBelow sent me into this thread! Actually I have never lost 13.5lbs in a week, ever. So congratulations at already beating me! The one week on there that says 14lbs was actually 2 weeks worth of loss if you look at the dates. 13.5lbs is an insane amount of weight loss. In reality most of that initial loss your first week is water as your body adjusts to the lower carb intake. But that's ok because it's still weight and who gives a gently caress how/what it is as long as it comes off. Expect that number to drop next week - which is ok! You can still lose an absolute ton of weight in a year! Here's the deal there is no magic super secret loss thing here, it's thermodynamics. Calories in/calories out. If you lost 13.5lbs of fat that is equal to 47,250 calories. Or, roughly, 47 large pizzas. Or about 100 pieces of pie. Or 80 some whoppers. Or it's a huge amount of exercise. Think of it in those terms, it helped me to adjust my expectations and to appreciate what I had accomplished. But listen man I hear ya my first week I was like motherfucker only 11lbs???? I was super discouraged, angry, and mad for like 3 days afterwords. It's OK, but I didn't have to be and neither do you. The thing is I was looking for ~instant gratification~ and in reality it takes awhile for the changes to build up. Try not to focus on the weight loss but the healthy changes you are undertaking. Ultimately one is sustainable the other isn't - people who chase numbers don't do well in lifestyle change. That and when you are facing what is going to be a substantial challenge looking too far in the future and figuring out ~how long until I get skinny~ overwhelms me especially that first week. I started adding up how many weeks of  only 11lbs lost it was going to take me to get to a somewhat reasonable weight and well I didn't like the answer that was coming back. Which is counterproductive and self defeating. I try to take it one day at a time nowadays.e: Perfectionism, by the by, is one of things folks who tend to have weight issues (and addiction issues actually) all have in common. There's a quote from someone but here - "Perfectionism is the enemy of progress" adaz fucked around with this message at Jan 8, 2013 around 00:13 |
| # ? Jan 8, 2013 00:04 |
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