I Weigh 340 Pounds

Training
22

[quote]cremaster wrote:
BrunoVaughn wrote:
I got this from my sister’s weight watchers stuff. It’s their core foods. Does this pretty much line up with what ya’ll eat?

Vegetables and fruits
Soups (non-creamy)
Whole Wheat Pasta, Brown Rice, Potatoes and Grains
High Fiber and other cereals without added sugar
Lean Meats, poultry, fish and eggs
Fat-Free Milk Products
Healthy Oils
Condiments
Coffee, Tea and sugar-free beverages

Try this:
Vegetables
Lean Meats, poultry, fish and eggs
Healthy Oils
Condiments
Coffee, Tea and sugar-free beverages.

[/quote]

Note that the difference is the lack of grains, potatoes and starches. People trying to lose fat have no business eating this stuff. Fill up on vegetables.

Also, avoid artificial surgar substitutes. In the long run they encourage fat gain.

Stu

23

Thanks guys

24

Here’s a great site for all the healthy foods you should be consuming:

25

[quote]stuward wrote:

Note that the difference is the lack of grains, potatoes and starches. People trying to lose fat have no business eating this stuff. Fill up on vegetables.

Also, avoid artificial surgar substitutes. In the long run they encourage fat gain.

Stu[/quote]

I don’t mean to Hi-Jack this thread, but how do artificial sweetners encourage fat gain?? (I use em everyday with my oatmeal and Tea)

26

I looked this up earlier today. It has to do with when your taste buds recognize the sweetness, no matter if it is from sugar or artificial sugar, it tells the brain or whatever to start producing some chemical, maybe insulin, which stops you from losing fat. Kind of an automatic response type thing. I’m sure the more experienced people can clarify more.

27

[quote]BrunoVaughn wrote:
Also, my apartment complex has a small gym here. I own a pair of 25 lb dumbbells and live not too far from a 3 mile walking/running trail.[/quote]

Sounds like you have all the resources you need at your disposal. Make sure you use them.

Train hard,

Conor

28

340, that’s maybe 4 months of work if that. I was pushing almost 380 and I gained almost 150 in a year then lost it in 7 months. Very easy to lose if you really want to no matter what anyone tells you including yourself.

The link to that thread.

http://www.T-Nation.com/tmagnum/readTopic.do?id=939149&pageNo=0

29
  1. Start walking for at least an hour a day.
  2. Clean up your diet.
  3. Progress picture in a month!
30

The rest of the advice looks good at first glance, but I’d throw in a bit more:

  1. Try for baby steps. You’re going to have to eventually change what you eat, how much you eat, and how active you are. But just try it in baby steps for now.

The lifestyle needed for a healthy body is a dramatically different lifestyle from the one you’ve been living. The key is getting it all changed permanently (how much to eat, what to eat, and activity level), not getting it all changed immediately.

Focus right now on eating less and walking more. Once that is habit, try making better food choices and familiarizing yourself with weight training. Then try to dial in a specific diet and working on a program… so on and so forth.

  1. Be consistent. This can’t be two weeks on, two weeks off, or worse.

This is why I recommend baby steps. Get in the habit of consistently doing something, anything first, then worry about doing something better later.

But keep a realistic time frame, which leads to point #3.

  1. It took you ten years to put the weight on. It’s not going to take you nearly that long to take it off, but it’s not going to happen in eight weeks either. It’ll take awhile.

Remember that it’s not a race; you’re hopefully going to be doing this for the rest of your life.

So make it stick! Don’t worry about any time frames. I wouldn’t think “I’ll be lifting four times a week by March 15th!” or
“I’ll lose twenty pounds in a month!”.

Just take baby steps, let it happen at whatever pace it’s going to happen, and the weight will come off.

Finally,

  1. Effort trumps everything. You don’t need the perfect program/diet/routine/etc. You just need honest effort in the gym and in the kitchen.

You already know it deep down, but it bears saying out loud (kind of, I guess): The more effort you put in, the more results you’ll get. Period.

Baby steps.
Consistency.
Patience.
Effort.

That’s what you need right now. The lifestyle it takes is vastly different from the lifestyle you’ve got, so take an approach that’s going to make that change stick forever rather than trying to change it all at once.

31

[quote]BrunoVaughn wrote:
I got this from my sister’s weight watchers stuff. It’s their core foods. Does this pretty much line up with what ya’ll eat?

Vegetables and fruits
Soups (non-creamy)
Whole Wheat Pasta, Brown Rice, Potatoes and Grains
High Fiber and other cereals without added sugar
Lean Meats, poultry, fish and eggs
Fat-Free Milk Products
Healthy Oils
Condiments
Coffee, Tea and sugar-free beverages
[/quote]

I’m quoting Charles Poliquin out of context here, but you need to limit your carb consumption to ten licks of a dried prune once per day. In other words, you don’t need them.

Again, quoting Poliquin out of context, you shouldn’t eat anything that doesn’t swim in the water, fly in the air, run in the field or is green. THAT’S IT!

It’s really simple, so I’ll repeat it:

-swim in the water (fish, ummm, squid, nasty shit like that)
-fly in the air (chicken, turkey, duck, game hens, etc)
-run in the field (beef, pork, mutton, lamb, etc)
-is green (leafy vegetables, avocado, GREEN onions, cabbage, zuccini, etc.) - NO POTATOS, CORN, RICE, THEY’RE NOT GREEN!

32

Hey Bruno,

You just took the 1st step to make a change. In this thread you’ve received some terrific feedback. I too am a big guy weighing in at 340 during the first week of January 2008. I’m down to about 305 right now and heading lower. The advise to you of changing your diet hit the nail on the head. This is critical to you successfully loosing weight. I had to make huge changes. And honestly, once i made up my mind to make these changes, it was rather simple. I went from eating 2-3 meals a day at restaurants and fast food with a caloric intake I estimate between 5-8,000 calories a day. I now eat tasty, healthy food, mainly at home.

One of the other posters mentioned the Men’s Health site to get access to a diet. Ironically, the ABS Diet, is what started me on my new way of eating. I saw an article in Men’s Health Mag late last year and went out and bought the book. I recommend you do that becuase the book is easy reading and it explains all of the dietary issues relating to fat loss, nutrition information, and micro-nutrient factors. Plus the book also goes in depth into food types, easy meal preparation, and the importance of eating, a lot. Yes i said a lot. you need to eat 6-7 times a day, but probably not like your used to eating. As you’ll see once you get into a proper diet routine, it feels like your eating from the time you get up on down the the time you go to bed. The ABS diet is an A, B, C, type of book. There is also a small add on book with menu’s and recepies, etc., I’d recommend this book as well. You can probably check out both from your local library if this is more convenient.

I’d like to add to that my objective is not purely weight loss, I want to drop body fat, in addition to adding muscle. This will not happen with diet alone

I have a thread in this beginners section and the nice folks surfing this section in T-Nation posted helpful articles for me to review. I am reposting them for your review. The link to the excersize library is great.

Refined Physique Transformation
http://www.T-Nation.com/...nsformation&cr=

Training for Newbies, Part 1 and 2
http://www.T-Nation.com/...bies_part_1&cr=
http://www.T-Nation.com/...bies_part_2&cr=

Nutrition for Newbies, Part 1 and 2
http://www.T-Nation.com/...bies_part_1&cr=
http://www.T-Nation.com/...bies_part_2&cr=

And here’s a link to an exercise library that should help you figure out what an exercise is supposed to look like.

Although I started dieting at the beginning of January I didnt start working out until the beginning of February. I started simple to build some strenght, bench press, dumbell excersizes, bicep and tricep dumbell workouts, and I went heavy on the cardio the first month with a vigorious stationary bike ride between 30-45 minutes. I do sit ups on a reclining bench starting slowly with 50 my 1st day, now i do 600 per week with 200 in one workout.

I worked out every day alternating between body sections 5/6 days a week this first month. Now that my strengh is at a comfortable level i just started a new training program suggested by one of the T-Nation members. The training program is called HIIT Hight Impact Intensity Training. This is a full body weight workout. I can’t due the entire reps in the first excesize yet but will work up to this soon. HIIT is and ass kicker! I’ve just completed my third day (every other day) session and i think i can feel my body melting away. Here’s a link -
http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1589833

The article has videos in it to show you how to due all of the excersizes. If you are working from your gym downstairs and dont have the equipment to do some of the excersizes then substitute a similar body weight excersize. If you dont know what that might be then post on T-Nation and you’ll get an answer.

I don’t know if i agree with the poster who said to go to a regular gym. If you want to do something then go due it. It shouldnt matter whether its downstairs, down the street or across town. I personally paid for a gym membership to the best high end gym in Orange County for 12 years and never used it while I gained 175 lbs. I now workout in my garage. I have bought inexpensive high quality equipment (Play it again/Craigslist) and workout regularly. I dropped my gym membership last month. You started, now its time to get to it. Keep your site on the objective. You wont see daily, or even weekly changes. You wont see them, but you will feel them which makes it a little easier. Before you know it you’ll start to see the effects of your diet and workouts. Best of Luck

33

Great post, Sailorchris.

OP, you’ve allready seen some conflicting advice here, because people go about things differently. The KEY POINTS that they all have in common though is:

  • Clean up your diet. Look up for conorh’s post, those and eggs and that’s it. No bread or french fries or hot dogs or any of that. Meat, eggs, vegetables and not much else.

  • Move more. Start wherever you’re comfortable. If walking is all you’re prepared to do for now, then walk as much as you can manage. If you want to try weightlifting, go ahead and try it. For now, anything will have a positive effect.

  • Realize that this is a change for the rest of your life, and not a “diet” where you will go back to old habits after you’ve lost weight. You have to make those healthier choices stick.

I’d encourage you to post progess photos here. Visible progress is a huge motivational factor. Also, put together a food log and post it here, and we’ll tell you what you can keep and what needs to go - and what you can replace it with.

34

[quote]G-men27 wrote:
stuward wrote:

Note that the difference is the lack of grains, potatoes and starches. People trying to lose fat have no business eating this stuff. Fill up on vegetables.

Also, avoid artificial surgar substitutes. In the long run they encourage fat gain.

Stu

I don’t mean to Hi-Jack this thread, but how do artificial sweetners encourage fat gain?? (I use em everyday with my oatmeal and Tea)[/quote]

http://www.arthurdevany.com/?p=940

35

Oh yeah…I’ve read this study before, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say “Avoid Sweetners”.

I’d rather use a sweetner in my coffee than sugar.

The only thing a sweetner does or doesn’t do is fill you up. It may leave you hungry…but if you eat clean foods alongside it, it should not be a problem. (But I agree not to purchase the reduced fat or fat free items that contain sweetners at the grocery store, because as mentionned they will not leave you satisfied!!)

But to bring this thread back to Bruno’s Plan of action, I’d say keep it simple:

Step 1 - Only Drink Water or Green Tea
Step 2 - Stay away from anything White (ie:flour and sugar) Only Whole Wheat is allowed.
Step 3 - never eat anything out of a box, pour it into a bowl so you know what you are consuming!
If you have a sweet tooth eat an apple…it is your new dessert! (go for the Pink Ladies, they’re amazing!)

Good luck Bruno and keep us posted!!

You should create a Log on here to keep yourself accountable!!

36

I’m wondering the same thing about artificial sweeteners. I am hearing this more and more. Are there any studies (using people) to back this up?

37

rodzilla, read the link in my previous post.

g-man27, Perhaps “avoid” is too strong a word. Minimize should be better. Even whey powder has artificial sweeteners in it. The problem is the sweet taste. The OP should be weening himself off sweetness.

BTW, I “sweeten” my oatmeal with raisins and I put just enough sugar in my coffee to dull the bitterness. I find eating anything that is actually sweet just makes me want to eat more.

38

[quote]conorh wrote:
BrunoVaughn wrote:
I got this from my sister’s weight watchers stuff. It’s their core foods. Does this pretty much line up with what ya’ll eat?

Vegetables and fruits
Soups (non-creamy)
Whole Wheat Pasta, Brown Rice, Potatoes and Grains
High Fiber and other cereals without added sugar
Lean Meats, poultry, fish and eggs
Fat-Free Milk Products
Healthy Oils
Condiments
Coffee, Tea and sugar-free beverages

I’m quoting Charles Poliquin out of context here, but you need to limit your carb consumption to ten licks of a dried prune once per day. In other words, you don’t need them.

Again, quoting Poliquin out of context, you shouldn’t eat anything that doesn’t swim in the water, fly in the air, run in the field or is green. THAT’S IT!

It’s really simple, so I’ll repeat it:

-swim in the water (fish, ummm, squid, nasty shit like that)
-fly in the air (chicken, turkey, duck, game hens, etc)
-run in the field (beef, pork, mutton, lamb, etc)
-is green (leafy vegetables, avocado, GREEN onions, cabbage, zuccini, etc.) - NO POTATOS, CORN, RICE, THEY’RE NOT GREEN![/quote]

Too extreme for him. That diet was probably recommended to more advanced persons who have been dieting for a while. Believe it or not you can have quite a variety of foods while dieting as long as you keep portion sizes in mind and nutrient timing.

Rice or pasta before bed? No, but as part of a pre workout meal assuming he starts training on some sort of program; absolutely. The reason most people fail is they don’t have the discipline right off the bat which is no big deal, like most things in life it has to be learned over time.

So you can’t assume he has the discipline to just cut out 90% of his current food choices and not fall off the wagon within the first week.

39

Okaz is right. You need to create a food log otherwise its to easy to lose your way. There is a very good free food log you can start with at fitday.com you can also use it to track and monitor your excersize regimen. Check it out this program shows you metabolism burn, meals eaten vs daily calorie burn, etc.

Raisins and cut up bananas & apples are the best sweetner replacement for food items. Drink your coffee black w/o anything. And drink lots, and lots, and lots of water. When you get tired of water then drink some more, and then maybe some green tea.

40

wake up in the morning, and before you do anything besides take a leak, go for a walk. you want a pace that would make it hard to talk while walking. shoot for 30 minutes to start and work towards an hour.

just doing that will help a lot

Like Stu and cremaster said. avoid carbs except those that come from fruits and veggies.

6 meals a day:

at each meal have protein and a green veggie.
don’t drink your calories.

that’ll be a good start.

41

I think you should start eating right, then switch to a little more inmtense “no grains, non green vegetables” Aquiring a taste for grain and wheat breads, veggies and fruits in general are a good long term thing to have. Yet again, take baby steps