Frustration!

[mcgwirefan37]

K here's what I'm facing.

When I had an operation when I was a kid to fix my underbite, doctor told me that I have no sinuses somewhere and he found that out when they had to jam tubes up my nose to keep me knocked out while I was knocked out.

When another doctor found that out, she explained that is likely the reason I dislike the foods I dislike. That a crazy as it may seem, smell effects taste in some cases.

So supposedly this is why I hate beans (in Chili I like beans, again, smell), peas and most veggies. Fruits are cool, I like apples and citrus fruits (just not grape fruit), grapes and stuff like that.

Anything spicy, zesty, italianish, some soul foods, sushi, certain asian foods, hamburgers, bratwursts, salty stuff, cheesy stuff, you get the picture. I like that stuff.

So I've been calorie counting and as far as I know I got it down to in worse case scenario a lil over 2000.

I have also discovered I like ice water which has helped obviously.

BUT! 3 or 4 weeks later after routinely (unless the damn weather is involved) draggin my ass a mile down and then back up a hill, I have had no noticeable loss in body fat. So needless to say I'm frustrated like hell.

I can't do the gym thing either (Yeah it gets better...) because some surgeon when I was a kid forgot to sew up one of my ear parts and that lead to an inner ear problem. The machines make me dizzy and I feel like a rat on a wheel in some cage.

But as frustrated as I am, I don't wanna quit. Just need real help with real results.

Some would likely say "Talk to your doctor." I've had bad experiences with doctors offices. Unless I'm in dire straights, I won't go. I feel they're overpaid anyway.

Most of my experiences are with the offices. Failure to bill the insurance companies properly due to insistent laziness and incompetency. Then they have the audacity to stick me with a bill because they don't want to file the paperwork properly. I'd rather die than see them get money that I should not be paying. Principle over "hush money".

But back on target I need answers. Someone needs to explain how the body burns fat. I don't need theories I need to know what is the truth. I don't have time for theories I wanna destroy this ****.

What I do know is this. The body breaks everything down into glucose. Meat, carbs, veggies, everything. Some things like meat take longer to break down.

Excess "fuel" is stored as fat. But from there, the mystery begins. No one explains how the body just whimsically decides "oh I think I'm gonna burn the fat today."

And I have some added confusion to it too. On top of that, supposedly if you don't eat enough, the body starts burning your own muscles because of the protein in them. What?! That kinna runs counter to the fat hangin off of the gut beggin to be burned doesn't it? You get the picture.

So what is the truth? Cuz I'm not paying to find out. I refuse to do that.

 

[davesfx]

I will not charge for this... but here is the secret.

You must burn more calories than you take in... this equals a calorie deficit in which your body will end up burning fat to make up the difference.

Find your BMR -- Do a google search for a calulator. multiply by 1.2 and then subtract 500 cals.

I find that reading your post, your have a lot of "refusal" already built up. Almost as if your defeated already. You seem very frustrated and well, all of this adds up to you not losing weight. Quit looking at a scale and start looking at your body. Quit making excuses because doing this is hard. Once you do it for a while, it will become a staple and a life style.

do a quick search for some of Rosie's post. She has it all down for you and thankfully for her, she doesn't charge you!!

Good Luck in your endeavors. Free your mind, body, soul and renew your life!!!!

 

[mcgwirefan37]

Quit making excuses because doing this is hard.

If I were making excuses I'd still be trying to jam junk food down my throat.

I'm explaining how my situation is a lil different than normal.

Not everyone fits into societies lil box. I'm not a brick, I am a stone. I am not meant to be of uniform thought, shape or purpose. Just like a stone.

I searched for Rosie's posts. A lot of it is very complex and more advanced than where I am. I need to keep it simple for now till I am ready for more advanced knowledge. I gotta go through 1st grade before I get to 12th.

 

[EasyEJL]

Something I have to say just on the surface of it is that at 179 at 6'0 you are inside of what is normal range. So i'm wondering how much fat you have to loose really.

also you said

Anything spicy, zesty, italianish, some soul foods, sushi, certain asian foods, hamburgers, bratwursts, salty stuff, cheesy stuff, you get the picture. I like that stuff.

for the most part what you are mentioning there are relatively fatty relatively unhealthy stuff. Maybe not quite junk, but not the greatest sources either. And unless you are meticulously measuring and making the things yourself, the 2000 calorie a day could be quite a bit off. It would be best for you to post a day of what you ate, what you actuially ate yesterday or todays is fine even if you don't have a good predetermined diet plan.

So as davesfx said, in the end WEIGHT loss is controlled primarily by calories in vs calories out. Fat loss basically comes along with weight loss, with appropriate eating the majority of weight lost will be fat.

As far as the gym goes, you say some of the machines make you dizzy, but I don't see how that relates. Sure as far as cardio only goes maybe, but I can't quite see how doing dumbbell presses, curls, even deadlifts or squats would make you dizzy and yet leave you able to deal at all with day to day life. So if you can expand on that, because if you have fairly minimal muscle (which I would guess at your height/weight) then adding some muscle would be a useful step.

 

[mcgwirefan37]

Something I have to say just on the surface of it is that at 179 at 6'0 you are inside of what is normal range. So i'm wondering how much fat you have to loose really.

Glad you asked. Those stats are actually not up to date. I did find the BMI for me and it says like 30 something on the lil calculator. However I don't look that bad but I'm weighing in at about 223 these days.

also you said
for the most part what you are mentioning there are relatively fatty relatively unhealthy stuff. Maybe not quite junk, but not the greatest sources either. And unless you are meticulously measuring and making the things yourself, the 2000 calorie a day could be quite a bit off. It would be best for you to post a day of what you ate, what you actuially ate yesterday or todays is fine even if you don't have a good predetermined diet plan.

I'm pretty sure you're right about that. That's been one of the really frustrating parts. The last time I tried to eat something healthier like green beans, it litterally produced a gag reflex. It's been frustrating trying to enjoy such healthier foods without having to add something to it that adds callories. I really wanna be able to eat it but I can't really taste the food like everyone else.

Salads have been some form of a breakthrough though. Lettuce is a lil more friendly to me. I'm tryin, just struggling.

So as davesfx said, in the end WEIGHT loss is controlled primarily by calories in vs calories out. Fat loss basically comes along with weight loss, with appropriate eating the majority of weight lost will be fat.

Yeah that's what I keep hearing but the more I "reasearch" the more I get conflicting info (like the whole, "you don't eat enough your body starts eating your muscles instead of your fat" thing.)

As far as the gym goes, you say some of the machines make you dizzy, but I don't see how that relates. Sure as far as cardio only goes maybe, but I can't quite see how doing dumbbell presses, curls, even deadlifts or squats would make you dizzy and yet leave you able to deal at all with day to day life. So if you can expand on that, because if you have fairly minimal muscle (which I would guess at your height/weight) then adding some muscle would be a useful step.

I actually have a lot of muscle to work with. But yeah what I was reffering to was the running type of machines, the tread mill, eliptical, machines like that. The other stuff you mention, yeah I can and did do all of that a lot.

Perhaps this will help you get a better idea of where I am physically.

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And to actually help understand how much muscle I have.

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This was prolly when I was in some kind of a better shape.

 

[davesfx]

Maybe it is a lil harder for the stone.. I apologize.

So 2 things to keep in mind. "keeping it simple"

Diet - Eat lean meats. Tuna, Chicken, lean red meats. Eat tons of Greens (Broccoli, green beans, leafs) Stay away from refined sugars, white flour, junk food!
--To aid your diet. find yourself a calorie counter program. I use myfitnesspal but there are tons for smartphones and if you dont have one Stone, they have many that are online. A simple search can find you one. You want a fairly large amount of protein each day along with good fats (nuts) to accommodate proportionae CHO Carbs.

Exercise -- Keep it simple. Grab a pair of dumbbells and do compound movements. Compound movements is simply working more than one muscle group at a time. I would elaborate as to why, but we will keep this simple. Do Squats and eat OATS!!!!!! But seriously all jokes aside, when working out your biceps with curls, extend your arm up and work your shoulders at the same time. The key is compound movements.

Also, do some CARDIO. You dont have to run 15 miles a day, get out and "walk". Again, we are keeping this simple.

the #1 most important thing here is your nutrition. Everything else is secondary.

If you find out that you need 2500 cals a day and you subtract 500 cals from this equation, you should be at 2000 cals. The reason why we do 500 cals is that each pound is roughly 3500 cals. If we take off 500 a day, this will equal a 1lb deficit each week. You can do more, but safe to say, 500 is good for most.

You are seeking a lifestyle change more than losing some weight/fat. Cleaning up your diet and actually counting the calories you put in, will make you very aware. In the end, you will recomp your body to something hopefully is more appealing to your eyes.

Losing weight is easy, but you can not cheat. You are 100% completely accountable for everything you do and get out of your body.

Hope all is well and best wishes on your endeavors

 

[davesfx]

Hey bud, a quick note on you doing research and finding conflicting reviews and wanting to know the truth.

Truth be told, is that its very easy to lose weight. Cals burned vs cals taken in.

Whether your diet is 5k cals with a burn of 4k cals cuz you spent all day in the gym.

Take a person that is 10% BF with a high BMI and stacked with muscle vs the average Joe that is 30%BF with a low BMI and stick arms. The buff guy burns more calories than the stick guy, just because of what it takes to survive and support the mass.

The buff guy will say eat 300 grams of protein, drink a glass of milk and eat 15 steaks to get pumped!!!

stick guy on the other hand will say, eat veggies, tuna and stay around 2k calories.

If both do it right, both will lose eight. Look around at a local book store (if they exist) and you will see 15 new diet fad books, 30 new strength books and a bunch of fake homeopathic HCG pill dropper bottles that everyone around you swear by but none actually work on you!!!

Its very understandable to be confused with all the knowledge out there and everybody swearing this works and that doesn't. But we try to keep it simple. Burn more than you take in. Plain and simple. Eat good, work hard and the weight will come off. If you aren't losing, I can almost garuntee that your diet is not in check. If it is, your proportions are not in check.

I personally use a 40/40/20 split. This works for me. I stay around 1800 cals, which again works for me.

My diet is simple (with little variation)

M-F I have a protein shake at 7am. 220 cals, 1 net carb, 3g F. ISOPURE
at 10 am I have greek yogurt (Blueberry or Strawberry) Brown Cow.
at 1pm I have another protein shake or a tuna sandwich (I sub mustard for half tbsp of mayo)
3pm I have Planters nutrition nutz or sometype of nutty snack

6pm I have a dinner. My dinner is very lax for the family. I tend to cook chicken a lot, but really, I cook for my family and have proportions that keep my inline with my 1800 cal diet.

To be honest, if I want an ice cream sandwich or a bite of something, I take it. This is my new lifestyle. I have done this for almost 70 days and I have dropped almost 40lbs. I have quite a bit of fat to take care of.. I life weights and jog fasted in the morning upon waking at 5am. I never eat past 7pm and I dont consume my first food until 7am. This gives me 12 hours of fasting per se

Call it what you want, it works and I am not losing any muscle during this. I continue to get stronger and people everywhere will critique and say your doing it wrong. In February I had a size 42-44 waist. I bought a pair of Levi's 36" waist and they buttoned fine last weekend!! Yes I did a silly happy dance

Again, best of luck with your new lifestyle. Listen to your body and quit listening to everyone around you!

Dave

 

[mcgwirefan37]

Maybe it is a lil harder for the stone.. I apologize.

It's all good.

Diet - Eat lean meats. Tuna, Chicken, lean red meats. Eat tons of Greens (Broccoli, green beans, leafs) Stay away from refined sugars, white flour, junk food!

So far I'm good on that. I've been trying to focus on a low cholesterol diet cuz my family has a history of cholesterol problems.

And I'm glad you mention white bread because I actually like the taste of Wheat and definitely Multi-grain bread better. So I'm good on that.

--To aid your diet. find yourself a calorie counter program. I use myfitnesspal but there are tons for smartphones and if you dont have one Stone, they have many that are online. A simple search can find you one. You want a fairly large amount of protein each day along with good fats (nuts) to accommodate proportionae CHO Carbs.

Yeah I've actually been using those. Problem is that certain foods or products sneak up that the programming doesn't always have the data for it. So I've been resorting to a calculator and snatching labels before they're thrown in the trash.

Exercise -- Keep it simple. Grab a pair of dumbbells and do compound movements. Compound movements is simply working more than one muscle group at a time. I would elaborate as to why, but we will keep this simple. Do Squats and eat OATS!!!!!! But seriously all jokes aside, when working out your biceps with curls, extend your arm up and work your shoulders at the same time. The key is compound movements.

I've been focusing on my back muscles because a therapist my mom had said she noticed that my pectorals were pulling my shoulders forward like a bulldog and I needed to fix that to get rid of some of the minor shoulder problems I was experiencing. So I've been doing a lot of saw motion exercises with dumbells to work on my back.

Also, do some CARDIO. You dont have to run 15 miles a day, get out and "walk". Again, we are keeping this simple.

I hear ya.

the #1 most important thing here is your nutrition. Everything else is secondary.

Yeah I've been trying to master that but it's been quite difficult for me.

If you find out that you need 2500 cals a day and you subtract 500 cals from this equation, you should be at 2000 cals. The reason why we do 500 cals is that each pound is roughly 3500 cals. If we take off 500 a day, this will equal a 1lb deficit each week. You can do more, but safe to say, 500 is good for most.

Ok I'll keep that in mind when I crunch the numbers and make the adjustments.

You are seeking a lifestyle change more than losing some weight/fat. Cleaning up your diet and actually counting the calories you put in, will make you very aware. In the end, you will recomp your body to something hopefully is more appealing to your eyes.

Yeah I hear ya. Gotta keep the darn doctors away as much as possible.

 

[StangBanger]

myfitnesspal.com /thread

oh and I am 6' and 174 and I still have a roll around my midsection so its possible to be fat at his height/weight.

 

[davesfx]

We all have frustrations, but use them as a tool to keep you motivated. A time for a shift or change up maybe needed.

Please dont let it discourage you.

You are on your way! Its a slow process. My changes are drastic, but there was a definate need to change my life drastically If your losing a lb a week and its fat (not water/waste) you WILL see a difference very soon!!!!! If you can do a 1k cal deficit, you could shoot for almost 2lbs of fat a week. But make sure you can live with your change. It does no good to put yourself in unrealistic situations. While you might succeed in a short interim, the long term is what we are striving for

I have friends a many that argue my diet. Some are for it, Some are against it. Some say, why do you cut your cals so low... why dont you exercise?

At the time I started, my will power was far greater to cut cals and deal with a little hunger and gain control over what I put in my mouth vs trying to exercise everyday. Now that I am lighter, I find that exercising is a lot more enjoyable. If your really heavy, keep your nutrition in line and just walk and use those weights. Fat will melt off you!

 

[davesfx]

myfitnesspal.com /thread

oh and I am 6' and 174 and I still have a roll around my midsection so its possible to be fat at his height/weight.

I love myfitnesspal and am really impressed with database of foods. I also enjoy the community on the website. When your set it up, the macros are set to 60/25/10 or something like that, so you have to go in and adjust it, but after that, its a wonderful tool

Keeps you aware!

 

[EasyEJL]

So far I'm good on that. I've been trying to focus on a low cholesterol diet cuz my family has a history of cholesterol problems.

Keep in mind dietary cholesterol has no effect on serum cholesterol (its the liver operating on saturated fats that does), and that there is no evidence that a lower cholesterol level results in increased lifespan. It does seem to reduce deaths due to heart disease, but interestingly other things like cancer crop up in place, leaving basically identical mortality rates and lifespans.

 

[mcgwirefan37]

Keep in mind dietary cholesterol has no effect on serum cholesterol (its the liver operating on saturated fats that does), and that there is no evidence that a lower cholesterol level results in increased lifespan. It does seem to reduce deaths due to heart disease, but interestingly other things like cancer crop up in place, leaving basically identical mortality rates and lifespans.

I've noticed that myself. Thankfully I don't do things that aggrivate the appearnce of cancer (Like smoking, I don't smoke).

What've been focusing on is like he meantioned, low fat meats and all the stuff that low cholesterol diet mentions.

 

[EasyEJL]

I've noticed that myself. Thankfully I don't do things that aggrivate the appearnce of cancer (Like smoking, I don't smoke).

What've been focusing on is like he meantioned, low fat meats and all the stuff that low cholesterol diet mentions.

well, my point though is that going too low in saturated fats in that quest for low cholesterol ruins your hormone cascade, lowering your testosterone levels. With a lower cholesterol showing no lifespan benefit I'm not sure its worth it (depending on how low you are going in saturated fats). So just don't go really low...

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[StangBanger]

I love myfitnesspal and am really impressed with database of foods. I also enjoy the community on the website. When your set it up, the macros are set to 60/25/10 or something like that, so you have to go in and adjust it, but after that, its a wonderful tool

Keeps you aware!

yes sir! I adjusted my macro's as well. Its so comprehensive that it does not consume any time at all to update it which is the best part.

 

[mcgwirefan37]

well, my point though is that going too low in saturated fats in that quest for low cholesterol ruins your hormone cascade, lowering your testosterone levels. With a lower cholesterol showing no lifespan benefit I'm not sure its worth it (depending on how low you are going in saturated fats). So just don't go really low...

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I hear ya. I dunno if it makes a difference but I like to have a "cheat day" as a reward so that I don't lose my mind. lol That would be the higher cholesterol day as I'm not a big fan for sugary stuff but a sucker for stuff that will make a doctor have a heart-attack for me. lol

And I prefer only 1 cheat day a week, otherwise I might relapse into a bad diet.

 

[davesfx]

I hear ya. I dunno if it makes a difference but I like to have a "cheat day" as a reward so that I don't lose my mind. lol That would be the higher cholesterol day as I'm not a big fan for sugary stuff but a sucker for stuff that will make a doctor have a heart-attack for me. lol

And I prefer only 1 cheat day a week, otherwise I might relapse into a bad diet.

Shoot for a cheat meal rather than a cheat day.

 

[mcgwirefan37]

Shoot for a cheat meal rather than a cheat day.

That's pretty much what I do. Usually it's dinner.

 

[mcgwirefan37]

Update: I'm up to jogging 1 mile in 18 minutes 6 seconds. That includes the break for water. Mom said she noticed I've been loosing body fat so I'll take a woman's word for it as much as they try to psychologically assassinate each other over that kinna thing.

I boosted my level of activity too. I have two rounds of this I'm doing and I'm now training to make the second round go a lil faster so I can get more stamina long term and keep my heart rate up a lil more over an extended period of time. So far so good, the help I got from a Navy Seal about doing this activity has helped greatly, those guys are real machines, the whole USSOCOM is to be honest.

Still not satisfied with my results, so I'm not done yet. Still givin it hell one day at a time.