Big Guy Starting To See The Light

jakesnake771

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**WARNING: BIG DETAILED WALL OF TEXT INCOMING. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. SKIP TO THE END IF YOU WAN'T TO SEE/ANSWER MY MAIN QUESTIONS.**

Hello everyone!

So here's the deal. I'm 6 foot, maybe 6 foot 1 on a good day, 345 pounds. I am going to be a senior in college and am currently working full time (8:30am-5:30PM) at an IT position. I sit at a desk and test software for a major corporation. This position is only for the summer, 10 weeks I believe.

I hate the taste of plain water, the lack of flavor makes me gag after a few sips. Until recently, my liquid diet consisted of skim milk and fruit juices. Obviously the fruit juices, which made up a decent portion of my caloric intake (maybe 400-600 calories a day), are not good and I have begun to curtail my consumption.

I have recently (since Monday the 24th) begun drinking 64 ounces of Propel a day. I bought a Nalgene water bottle and I fill it up two times a day, once in the morning when I get to work and once right after lunch. I dump in 2 of those powder packets, in each 32 oz bottle and get my water in that way. I know, it isn't the best, yes it has sugar (very little 8 g for the 64 oz's), yes it has calories (40 total) and yes it has carbs (12 grams total). The way I see it is that it is a BIG improvement over the calories and sugars and what not that was in the juice I was consuming and there are some vitamins in the propel.

Anyways, I know it may not be the best, but it is what I'm sticking with and for now, will not be convinced otherwise. My eating consists of a bagel or perhaps a turkey sausage and egg sandwich that I find in the freezer section (pretty reasonable at I believe 300 or less calories). I eat this either right before I leave or as I'm driving, between 7:30 and 8:00am.

I pack some carrots in my lunch that I usually bust out between 10 and 11. For lunch I eat a turkey/roast beef sandwich (conscious portion size) on whole grain bread with lettuce and a little bit of fat free, olive oil mayo. I also eat a proper portion of reduced fat Pringles and usually some grapes.

My other snacks throughout the day are a snack bag of oatmeal squares cereal (whole grain, I believe), a thing of string cheese and some sort of 100 calorie pack thing, though I usually don't eat it.

Like I said I get off work at 5:30pm and then drive over to the gym (YMCA) on my way home. I make sure I do it before I get home because, knowing me, once I get home and settle a bit, the computer/TV will call to me and I will lose motivation to go. So I go to the gym and for example, yesterday I did about 30 minutes of moderate to occasional intense basketball (shooting, sprinting, etc). I like to keep moving when I shoot around so I will simulate that I am in the paint trying to juke a defender to pop a shot (I know, lame). Also I will occasionally pretend I stole a ball and sprint to the other side (if no one's there).

I intend on maybe doing basketball twice a week and weights three times a week, alternating. For example, Monday - weights, Tuesday - basketball, Wednesday - weights, etc. I figure this gives me a good mix of weight training as well as cardio.

When I get home, I hit the shower and usually come down to a meal prepared. Typically my family eats decently healthy. Good portioned main entree, served always with a vegetable and sometimes with a starch or something to accompany it (sweet/baked potato, rice, sliced bread, etc). This might be the first time in the day when I have a glass of something other than propel, probably milk.

After dinner I usually watch some TV, or play computer games or hang with friends. In the past, hanging with friends might have included a fast food run, but I've told myself that I am cutting out fast food. I'm probably going to keep a stash of fruit & nut granola bars or something in the car, should I get a craving.

**MAIN QUESTIONS**
1. Do you have any ideas on different snacks I could bring?
2. Do you see any serious flaws with my eating/exercising?
3. Do you think I'm headed in the right track?
4. Do you have any general tips, tricks, ideas or suggestions?

If you made it to the end and read the whole thing, I commend you and appreciate your willingness to hear me out. I'm tired of being the "big guy". I want to change. I won't lie and say that some of it is motivated by others (friends, roomies, girls, family, etc), but I really want to do this for me; because in the end, it's me who's going to feel the results and deal with the consequences of my actions.
 

tigerbunny

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One thing you could do is try to keep records of the actual calories and grams of macros (fat/protien/carbs) you consume each day, It sounds like you have a pretty good idea of what you eat, but keeping a detailed log will allow you to have the actual numbers which will help you with any possible problems areas. Another thing you could do is up the cardio to 5x/week. Increasing the cardio and reducing food is your best bet if you really wanna loose the weight. The other thing you should do is track your progress. Weigh in at the same time every day and watch what your average weight is for the last 7 days. If that average is not trending downwards then you are eating too much, plain and simple. If you keep track of your food consumption as well as your weight progress it will be easy to identify if what you are doign is working for you, but without the numbers it will be more difficult to identify problem areas. It won't take too much of your time to make a spreadsheet to keep track of this stuff. As far as cravings and stuff go, the key for me is not keeping the junkfood around. I find that when I am trying to loose weight and one of my night time cravings hits me I will usually eat whatever it is I have around, so the key is to not keep crap around the house. I dunno if this is entirely possible in your living situation, but atleast try to keep something healthy like some fruit or veggies instead of going wild on chips or cereal or something.

Good luck.
 
JoHNnyNuTZ

JoHNnyNuTZ

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Well I feel you ARE headed on the right track for two reasons.
1: you realize that you have a bit of a weight problem
2: you are trying different things to address this.
OK now with that being said. I myself was/is a fatty. I was about 320-330. Im at 250 now, but i was down to 220ish. I really got into weightlifting and tried a bulk over winter. Anyhow, You doing this for you is important, but other motivation does help. Im hoping someone will chime in and help with your eating part. When I first lost a bunch of weight I was eating stuff I didnt like, for instance I would eat a can of tuna at lunch.Out of the can with a fork. I tried to stay away from white bread, bagels and that stuff. I started eating 2-3 fried eggs in the morning, along with some rolled oats. For snack I would eat a protein bar low in calories. After lunch snack was usually a yogurt, low fat kind. Dinner I ate whole bunch(as in almost everynight) of boneless chicken, with fresh vegetables(alot of broccolli and spinach) I tried not to eat too many fruits( I know they are good for your but they have sugar in them) I mean dont stay away from them, but I did for the first few months. I would throughout the day drink like a gallon of water. But, i love water. SO what you are doing is a step in the right direction. They do have zero calorie packets(that dont taste like chalk). I use one of those everyonce in a while when my gallon and a half of water gets"boring". I then would eat popcorn or fat free pretzels for snack. OK A trick I forced myself to do was, agfter every bit of food, I took a swig of water. Its a trick to get you fuller quicker, so you dont tend to over eat.
As far as exercise, something is better than nothing. Thats the way I always saw it, but the more you put in the more youll get out. Im in love with bodybuilding as a result.
For the weights Id stick with basic compound movements And I love dumbbells, they tend to recruit more muscle fibers.There are aton of exercises, im getting a little tired of typing all this, but if you need recommendations I should be on tomorrow. I hope this help, it sure helped for me. If nothing, its a damn good start to a beautiful life for you my man. Good luck, and God bless.
 
Killerkanadia

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First off, i commend you for wanting to change your whole life style. I've had a lot of big friends whom i've tried to encoruage to make healthy changes, i guess it's something people have to decide on their own.

I think you have a pretty good understanding of what you should eat and drink.

I'm going to have to disagree with the poster above me, in that i think when you do lift weights you ought to conduct circuit training. High intensity, high repetition weight lifting, which will help burn up fat and raise metabolism. I'm pretty sure you're not worried about strength training right now.

Have you considered any supplements to help you with your goals? Also, im not going to lie, meal replacements like Slim Fast can help. I don't know if people around here advocate them but in my experience, they can be serious help.
 
Killerkanadia

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Haters gonna hate, smokers gonna smoke. Try to sweat the THC back into your system on cardio days. :)
 
JoHNnyNuTZ

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^^^^I totally agree, thats why i was hoping someone else stepped in. I Actually just started incorporating circuit training into my life to burn fat(DOH). Dont know why I didnt suggest that. I think I was just recalling what I had started off with, my bad.
 

jakesnake771

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Thank you all so much for your responses. When I got the email stating I had a reply, I figured "ok, probably someone replied saying good luck, etc" but I was not expecting such good and diverse information.

In regards to the high impact, high rep circuit training. I guess I don't quite understand what this is. I know what HIIT is for cardio, but not so much for weight lifting.

If I had to guess, I would think that, for example, if it was an arms day, I would do an exercise with lower weight, at a higher rep (for the fat loss and toning). As soon as I was done with those sets, I would pick up a new arms exercise and head right into it. Am I wrong? As I type this I realize that maybe it is when you do a single set of every exercise you're gonna do in a row and then come back and repeat the cycle. Is that more like it?

Again, thanks for the outpour of responses. I really look forward to the changes that will come and I look forward to reading more responses and gaining more knowledge.
 
Killerkanadia

Killerkanadia

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Thank you all so much for your responses. When I got the email stating I had a reply, I figured "ok, probably someone replied saying good luck, etc" but I was not expecting such good and diverse information.

In regards to the high impact, high rep circuit training. I guess I don't quite understand what this is. I know what HIIT is for cardio, but not so much for weight lifting.

If I had to guess, I would think that, for example, if it was an arms day, I would do an exercise with lower weight, at a higher rep (for the fat loss and toning). As soon as I was done with those sets, I would pick up a new arms exercise and head right into it. Am I wrong? As I type this I realize that maybe it is when you do a single set of every exercise you're gonna do in a row and then come back and repeat the cycle. Is that more like it?

Again, thanks for the outpour of responses. I really look forward to the changes that will come and I look forward to reading more responses and gaining more knowledge.
Spot on with the circuit training. Basically the most important part is the intensity. Every workout should almost feel like a cardio workout if you put in max effort.

Say you're working arms, for example: Grab a 40 pound EZ bar. Start off with a set of curls as soon as your done move on to over head tricep extensions. Do one exercise and then the next. Maybe a 30-60 second break and then start the curls over again.

I feel like a **** quoting bb.com on here but it's the best resource i can find. Just pick out exercises you feel comfortable doing, and work your heart out.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/
 

jakesnake771

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Hey all. Thanks again for all the support and suggestions. Since writing this I'm down about 5 pounds. I hit the weights yesterday for the first time in a while, boy am I sore. Mostly in my left arm (did upper body) but a little in the right as well. I notice my back is a little more tightened up than usual i.e. doesn't hurt as usual.

I'm debating back and forth with myself on what is better, cardio or lifting weights. Obviously the choice is both, but if I had limited time to workout, what would get me the most benefit? I've read that muscle helps burn fat at a resting state and boosts metabolism. Cardio, though, is more for the heart and cleaning out your system, which from the damage I've done to it, would be greatly needed.

I notice that when I do my basketball workouts, I sweat a lot, which is good and all, but I imagine it is mostly water weight; weight that I will put back on once I replenish my body with some water.

I hope you all are doing well and I look forward to your responses!

-jakesnake771-

P.S. Now that I have a steady summer job and routine, I will give you guys a rundown of my diet. Feel free to critique.

Breakfast: Usually consists of either a bagel (smaller than regular, probably the size of an avocado if you flattened it a bit) or a Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage Egg and Cheese breakfast sandwich (270 calories if I recall correctly).
Mid-Morning Snack: Carrots and Hummus dip.
Lunch: Turkey sandwich on healthy bread (the kind that is 70 calories for 2 slices) with lettuce and a smidge of low-fat/fat-free mayo (when I say a smidge, I mean barely enough to cover one side of bread). Some sort of chips. In the past it was a serving of reduced-fat plain pringles but now I have moved onto sweet potato chips which are tasty. I also have a Light string cheese stick, a snack bag of red grapes and my propel water.
Mid-Afternoon Snacks: Oatmeal squares cereal, banana, 100 calorie pack and a pack of fruit snacks (80 cals).
Dinner: Whatever my parents make, but usually it is on the healthy to reasonable side. Never anything terrible, my parents are conscious about that kind of stuff.

Just a note: my snacks sometimes change, usually if I decide to eat something earlier in the morning, if I am hungry. Many times, I don't eat my cereal, fruit snacks or 100 calorie pack, but I put them in there just in case I have to work late or I get really hungry. Also, I am thinking of getting rid of the chips and the fruit snacks and replacing the two with a snack bag full of this dried fruit and nut mix my folks get at Costco. I figure it is healthier and gets me some good fats from the nuts, as well as some fiber and stuff from the fruit.
 
votum

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Diet looks pretty damn good man, and on your first post I was just thinkg about the pringles, glad to see you are not eating those anymore :) Only thing worse than pringles is bugles imo lol. That being said, I have never been overweight, but I've definitely been fat :D

If your time is limited, I would say do weight lifting for say, 20 minutes or 30 minutes each day and do cardio the rest of the time you have. I'm assuming you have at least an hour right?

I don't know how comfortable with running you are, but if you can run then run a lot. If you aren't then jack up the incline on a treadmill and walk your heart out. Cardio has to be around 30+ minutes to reap the benefits, and you want it lower intensity to burn the fat, but I am a huge proponent of running also.

It's been my experience, and I'm not taking a jab at you so don't take it that way, but there are VERY few people who can't find an hour or two every day to get to the gym or to go for a jog. When people say they are limited on time it means they are actually limited on willpower, because you can cut out some couch time, or tell your friends you are going for a run, etc.

But it looks like you are on the right track, and props for making the right decision!
 

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