BooG690 Stops Being Fat

Yup, you read the title correctly. I'm finally going to get serious about losing the weight and I've chosen to actually blog it. So why the hell did I choose FTR to host this blog? Why didn't I choose some gay fitness site? Well, I don't necessarily want my blog to be read by randoms that I don't know. I feel more comfortable writing here. I've chosen to write a blog because I feel it's helped a bit with my poker and hopefully it will do the same for my attempt to stop being a fatass. Additionally, I chose to create an entirely new blog for this because I don't want to get my pokers and fitness all mixed up. If you have a problem with this, take it up with Courtie. She sayz I could doz whatever I wantz (well, not really, but I can do this).

I begin my conscious effort to lose the weight by getting a personal trainer. I had a consultation with a personal trainer today and he's perfect for the job. He's more than a personal trainer as he will help me put together meal plans with smart substitutes of crap I already eat. He seems real knowledgeable on how to get people to lose weight. He says I would be able to totally "transform" my body in four months. The idea of "transforming" my body got me pretty pumped. He also let me know that I have to help him help me. I can't just expect the sessions with him to do any good if I continue to be lazy and eat shit.

So obviously, I am going to change my eating habits altogether. A lot of carbs will be nerfed and some carbs that I eat will be substituted with healthier alternatives (this basically means white rice is now brown rice, everything else is gone). Any caffeine I choose to put into my body will come in the form of green tea. I only drink water so I don't have to worry about my beverage intake so much. I will stay away from sweets. I actually don't like sweets much...besides ice cream. That's basically my kryptonite. Unfortunately, there's always ice cream in my freezer due to my brother continuously buying it. I will use this as motivation and will look at it as the enemy whenever I open my freezer.

Today I had:
1) a turkey, ham, & cheese (cheese'll soon be substituted out) sandwich on 12-grain bread (bread may need to be nerfed).
2) steamed chicken & peapods with white rice (I forgot to ask for brown rice).
3) An orange and some random pieces of salami (yeah, I got hungry for a little something and took this down, salami is no bueno).

I have the next session with my trainer in the beginning of the week (depending on my work schedule). I think we're probably doing before/after pics...so that'll add to my motivation. Being that it's so cold out, I may just join the gym close to my house to do his recommended workouts on my own. I seriously plan to follow my trainer's plan to a T. I hope to not only change my body, but change the way I treat my body.

I'm not going to try to lose this weight...I WILL LOSE THIS WEIGHT.

Omg! Before and after pics in a banana hammock are a must sir! Good luck with this man, I'll need to do something like this soon methinks. Sitting around in a squad bay doing nothing and eating a lot of nasty chow hall food isnt as healthy as you might think.

If you want to change your attitude towards yourself and how your view yourself and your body you should do a lot of working out and running beside changing your diet. Work your way up to the point, where you can look in the mirror and realize that you´re looking really good and hard pays off, from there on you´ll be in no danger of falling back into old bad eating habits.

Good luck on that and in tough moments remember Kate Moss saying "Nothing tastes better than to know you´re looking good and thin"

*fat slaps booG. I cant stop eating

I am on a very similar path currently, so lemme know if you wanna chat it up. I do have one very insightful piece of information that I recently read:

One of the greatest struggles with doing something new, that you really wish to have success with, is hitting the "progress wall". In the beginning, things typically come easier to accomplish and your progress is often more drastic and immediate, but as we progress, our achievements appear to level off, when in fact we were just running good at the start and less good towards the middle. It is maintenance that is more difficult and more importance than progress. If you are using a good program, the results will come, so your job is just to consistently do what you need without much concern for immediate results. This has a very obvious and important parallel to this game we play. I'd equate constantly looking in the mirror and checking the scale to looking at AIEV and your W/L every day.

Kick ass and I completely understand the ice cream thing...mmm Chocolate Fudge Brownie.

GL, don't be afraid to ask if you have questions, I'm always around. 4 months is very doable to make huge changes. You only want enough carbs to fuel the workouts. If your not sweating a ton and working hard, keep the carbs down. Eat most of them around your workout.

Good luck man, I'll be following this.

GL Boog, you need to be in shape for the next WW anyway imo

WOOT. First update. I've been eating rather well. It really hasn't come that hard. I loves me some chicken breast. I've been throwing in some mushrooms in there and sweet potato.

I just ran a mile and biked three. Hopefully as this goes on, I can get myself up to running three miles in a single session. Also, I have my first session with my personal trainer tomorrow.

I've never felt so focused about this. It should have been done by now. My goal was to lose the weight by January...and it's sickening that it hasn't been done. Now this simply seems like a resolution. But fuck that, it's not a resolution for the new year. This is how I'm going to be living my life. My goal is to be in shape by the summer (ldo). Let's do it.

go Boog!

I had my fitness assessment today with my personal trainer. He assessed that I'm out of shape and need to get fit (obviously he assessed more than that, but you know).

I ate pretty well today. Gonna finish the night off with some kind of fruit. I'll be working on getting my sleep schedule back on track (it's so off right now). Maybe a midnight bedtime and a 8-9am wake-up. Hopefully I can do that. I have my first real session on Tuesday with the trainer. I also bought a heart rate monitor and will be doing cardio within my "zone." I'M FOCUSED MAN.

Update on 1/3/10 at 12:30AM - going to sleep now. Gym in the morning. EZGAME.

Once you´re on a regular work out schedule sleeping times will become much less of an issue.

Gogogogogo

I had an egg, turkey, ham, and cheese sandwich this morning. One slice of each meat, two slices of cheese (I know, too much cheese). Perhaps I'll try that low-fat cheese out? I finished it off with an apple and some green tea.

I just got back from the gym where I treadmilled (both walked and ran a bit) 1.5 miles and biked four miles. I came back home and made myself some stir fry (Why do they call it stir fry if it ain't fried?). I wanted to throw in more than one serving of chicken but restrained myself. I'm proud of myself for restraining. I'm also happy I didn't throw in that much chicken because I'm pretty full. Instead of throwing in the extra piece of chicken, I threw in an egg and extra vegetables. EZGAME.

P.S. I'll probably be washing this down with some more green tea soon.

exercise and diet => weight/body shape.
watch out for snacks, you;ll be in shape and it will be great.

So I just got back from my first personal training session. My personal trainer basically kicked my ass. We started with some basic cardio and I practiced staying within my heart rate zone. I did fine with that. Then we basically focused on my abs while keeping a cardio pace. I'm pretty fucking drained...but I like it. If I keep this up along with my trips to the gym, I really should lose the weight.

I'm still eating well. Today I had a cold cut sandwich and two protein shakes. In the end, it's probably not enough food. I'm not starving myself or anything...I simply wake up late and kind of miss breakfast. This is another reason I need to get my sleep schedule back on track. When school starts, it should all get better I guess.

I really do hope I keep this up. I've gone on runs like this before...and have stopped. I want to make it this time...and actually be in shape for the summer. Seriously, it would be nice. Therefore, I ask you guys at FTR to fill this blog up with good looking women. However, keep them practical. No porn stars or super models. Just your everyday girls. Also, keep them clothed (SFW), preferably bikinis. What motivates me is being able to get your everyday hotties at the bar, library, beach, whatever. Seeing these girls when I open this blog up would be positive imo.

Standard fatass trying to lose weight meal:



Chicken, frozen stir-fry vegetables from bag (no sodium), apples. Quick and easy. Done and ready to eat in thirty mintues, BAM!

I just got out of the showering off the sweat from my recent PT session. It's going very well. My stamina has increased dramatically. I'm doing my exercises quicker and am less tired after doing them. I'm also learning new exercises which is great (now I can do them on my own!). He's really concentrating on resistance training at a cardio pace which I think is great. My core is getting worked on hardcore. I know that is the first part of the body personal trainers usually do since everything else builds off that.

I've been under a lot of stress from poker which I will explain in my poker blog (click sexy George to go there!). We finished with a bit of boxing tonight and my throwing punches. In the middle of doing so, I remembered all the bullshit, bad beats, and coolers that put me on tilt and went to work. I turned up the heat and got all the stress out. I feel fucking GREAT!

Also, it was warm today and will be warm tomorrow in New York. I plan on going out for a jog which I haven't done in a while. Dranger called me a pussy for not running in the cold. This got me thinking: I probably am a pussy for not running in the cold. Maybe I'll give it a shot when it gets cold again. It can't be that bad. If anyone actually reads this that is fit or jogs or whatever, any tips for running in the cold weather? Kthx.

I'm still eating pretty damn well. I slipped a bit and ate Burger King on Sunday. I hadn't eaten all day, was starving, and it was the only thing open at the time. It was my first slip-up in half a month. I know that's no excuse though. To be quite honest, I felt like absolute shit the next day. I was guiltier than ever. I don't plan to ever eat that shit for a long, long time. I'm continuing with the generic chicken and vegetables meal which is still delicious (I'm not tired of it yet). When I'm done eating all the chicken, I will be asking for any ideas for good, healthy meals (maybe I'll try fish?)!

THIS LOSING WEIGHT SHIT IS EZ!

Boog, as far as slips go with nutrition you will be better to pick a time and pick your cheat. Instead of waiting until you snap figure out what you really want and reward yourself on Friday night or some night during the week. It will help you with the long term just knowing that you will have that junk when it's time and allow you to be more selective. I am sure you can come up with something you would rather have eaten for a 1000 cals than BK. Cheating is necessary and good, it helps the brian and kick starts the metabolism. Just don't use it as an excuse to slide backwards.

Originally Posted by jyms

Boog, as far as slips go with nutrition you will be better to pick a time and pick your cheat. Instead of waiting until you snap figure out what you really want and reward yourself on Friday night or some night during the week. It will help you with the long term just knowing that you will have that junk when it's time and allow you to be more selective. I am sure you can come up with something you would rather have eaten for a 1000 cals than BK. Cheating is necessary and good, it helps the brian and kick starts the metabolism. Just don't use it as an excuse to slide backwards.

I was going to send this as a PM but I figure this may help others out as well:

Thanks for the idea of "cheat days." I've actually heard about them but never liked the idea.

How do they work exactly (do I eat WHATEVER I want? How far in between are these cheat days?)? Also, how would my impulse eating BK be any worse (or different) than my cheating with BK? Thanks jyms.

Hey good luck to you sir. I have the exact opposite prob i cant seem to gain any sort of weight

I love the girl in your avatar dranger. FINE!

hey, when are we getting drinks in nyc? you better not be taking massive amounts of belgium beer out of your diet

There hasn't been much to update. Everything has been pretty standard. My personal trainer is still kicking my ass...but my body is doing a much better job at keeping up. I'm still eating relatively well. However, I'm my eye is starting to stray from the prize. My motivation was dwindling a bit in the beginning of the week. Luckily, no huge slip-ups.

I started getting my motivation back though. Summer is getting closer and closer each day. I don't want to be the fatter one when I go on vacations (it makes it a lot harder to get the bitch imo). So yeah, motivation is rising.

Additionally, I'm thinking of attending FTR Vegas 2010 this year. So yeah, another reason I gotta get my ass in shape (I wanna impress micro ldo). Anywho, that's it for now. Again, pictures of normal bitches or even vacation spots (beaches help) would help with the motivation.

Originally Posted by surviva316

hey, when are we getting drinks in nyc? you better not be taking massive amounts of belgium beer out of your diet

Get your ass back to NYC and I'll use a cheat day on your dumbass!

Are details being released about FTR Vegas 2010? i.e. dates.

keep it up buddy, you'll be a skinny mofo in no time

It'll all be worth it in the Summer. I must keep my eye on the prize.

Originally Posted by On Facebook, John Kwon

I need more skinny jeans. Down to 166 lbs now. ... I was 205 lbs this time last year.

Originally Posted by In reply, Aryan Jabbari

http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/forum/boog690-stops-being-fat-t91492.html
Share your secrets here, kthx.

So here I am. In a nutshell...
Very low carb, low saturated fat (poly/mono-unsat fats are good), low sodium, high protein, high fiber, lots of veggies, chicken, fish, daily aerobic exercise (walking my dog 2-3 miles/day or cycling on gym day), weight training every other day in gym, and calorie-shifting.

Jyms hinted at the gist of what calorie-shifting is ("cheat days"), and though I don't meticulously calculate calorie intake like in this example, I have been cooking most of my meals and reading all nutrition labels of ingredients I use long enough that I now have a general, almost-instinctual understanding of whether I'm going low-calorie or high-calorie on any given day:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4452835_shif...ight-real.html
The basic idea is that not all your days are low-calorie days indefinitely. Doing so will train your body to only burn the low calorie amount even on the rare days when you will slip, with the excess turning into fat. Throw in a high-calorie day every 4 days or so (after you've established healthy eating habits for several weeks). This will confuse your body into maintaining a high calorie-burning metabolism all the time, so even on your low-calorie days, your body is burning more calories. With a regular exercise routine (at least 30 minutes of aerobic daily with weight training at least 3 days a week), you will notice your metabolism skyrocketing -- you will be hungry a couple of hours after eating... all the time. This is a good sign, but you must maintain good eating habits.

As far as healthy eating habits...

I've learned to never eat until I'm completely full. I don't leave myself hungry, but I don't like to feel full anymore. I eat every 2 or 3 hours... healthy snacks or small meals. This means on the high-calorie days, your calorie intake is spread out through all the little meals during the day; don't gorge yourself in any single sitting just because it's "cheat day."

I keep what little carbs I do eat (including natural sugars like berries in my high-fiber cereal or apples and other citrus or low-sugar fruits; no high-sugar tropical fruits like bananas) relegated to the mornings or no later than mid-day. Virtually no carbs in late afternoon/dinner. Breads, pastas and other carbs are fine as far as carbs go, but ONLY if they're balanced with high fiber content, i.e., whole wheat & flax bread, whole wheat pasta. If you're going to eat carbs, do it before working out. After working out, eat lots of low-sat fat protein. Obviously, if you're out to dinner with friends, avoiding carbs is nearly impossible. Try to choose high-fiber carbs, if available, or just don't eat the white rice or potatoes; eat only the meat and vegetables.

Always drink lots of water. Water flushes out stuff, and helps with the high-fiber eating. But eat low-sodium foods because sodium promotes water weight gain. Be sure to take in electrolytes when working out (in the meal immediately after or in the form of pure coconut water while working out -- none of that high-sugar Gatorade crap or other "workout" drinks).

I try to never skip breakfast. If I'm going to skip any meal, it will be dinner. I've basically stopped eating after 7:00pm. I might slip occasionally and eat something as late as 8:00pm. I never eat any fruit in the evening (sugar).

I've developed some serious eating discipline. I haven't eaten any pizza since May of last year. I hadn't had a hot dog in that long, until just recently because I was at a NASCAR event and being it was a stadium and I hadn't had dinner, I didn't have a choice. I basically gave up cheese. I rarely eat potatoes (starch), but will have an occasional "cheat day" serving of french fries -- but not for dinner.

Finally, notice I never used the word "diet." This is not a diet. It is a lifestyle.

Originally Posted by XTR1000

Work your way up to the point, where you can look in the mirror and realize that you´re looking really good and hard pays off, from there on you´ll be in no danger of falling back into old bad eating habits.

This is very true. I wasn't as disciplined as I am now right off the bat. It took months to get to this point. But, after the initial 4 months of slowly working up to a much healthier overall lifestyle, I would see myself in the mirror, and be able to see below my belly, and that is where the motivation comes from. Now, I am completely addicted to seeing the changes in my body happen. Not just in weight lost, but in better physical tonality.


Best of luck to you, BooG!

Xianti commenting in a blog? Sicklife! Blows my blog with 18328503958 views out of the water. GG sir, gg.

lol... he personally asked me to, and on a subject that I know intimately. I was compelled to oblige.

Haha I'm just pokin' fun with BooG. Nw though Xianti, on dropping the 40lbs! I'm sure I'll be congratulating BooG on similar results over the next year.

This blog has officially become the SHIT now that Xianti has posted. Basically, this blog > all other blogs that Xianti has not posted in.

All kidding aside, I really appreciate you sharing what you've learned with me X. Thank you for the website on calorie-shifting. I will try to grasp, understand, and execute what is said on the website.

My diet has been getting better. I tried out that coconut water you recommended...it's goood. I don't drink much Gatorade and such anyway...but I can get used to having a nice coconut water after workouts. One question that I do have for Xianti, daven, jyms, etc.: what are some good ideas for snacks between meals? Xianti hinted that fruit may not be the best thing late at night (especially fruit that is high in sugar). I've been eating a lot of fruit throughout the day (even at night). What should I be replacing them with at night?

I've been all over breakfast and have been eating a shitload of oatmeal. I feel this has helped a lot to be honest.

As for my exercising, I've revved it up this past week. I don't have a car so getting to a gym (aside from my trainer) has been a real bitch. Also, the weather has been freezing so going for a jog outside has been a no-go. I've chosen to begin going to my school gym three times a week (in addition to my trainer twice a week). I really think this'll be the final push to get me to the promised land. I've worked out twice so far at the school gym and it's been great. However, I've been hungry as anything after workouts. I've heard protein bars are good for curbing this hunger (obviously the low-carb/calorie ones). Does anyone have a good suggestion? I have an hour before I'm able to get home to eat a home-cooked meal and a snack in between would be great.

Anywho, that's all for now. Thanks for everyone's support!

Nice, sounds like you're making some good progress - even getting Xianti to comment on this blog! 5 Spades

Boog, you would do best by not thinking about snacks in general. I don't know how much the trainer has talked to you about nutrition or what you are using for guidelines but it's best to know how much your supposed to eat in a day and have targets to hit. If your supposed to get, say 200 gms of protein a day and need to eat 5 times then you need to spread out your meals as fits your schedule. You should never be eating at any time of day without having protien. you should be eating most of your carbs (if you eat them) almost exclusively in the am and/or immediately post workout. I can tell you that when it comes to fitness and exercise, eating is 75%+ of any plan. You can do more with eating than you ever will achieve in the gym alone. Food is the key to muscle building, fat loss and energy levels. With the right meal plan and knowledge you can do in 3 months what may take you a year of trial and error. FWIW, I don't think fruit is a good thing for anyone trying to lose fat. There are better forms of carbohydrate for the body depending on why your eating it. As an example, you need high GI sugars for post workout to replace muscle glycogen and boost insulin for protein to help rebuild muscle. You need low GI carbs to burn slow and steady and keep the energy up and not spike insulin and stop fat loss all day. Stop thinking about carbs and focus on protein.

And no fucking protein bars. Drink protien, get a post workout type drink and plan one of your meals for an hour after that.

re: snacks between meals

As Jim said, I generally will only eat a low-sugar fruit in the morning, often just before working out -- if I eat any fruit at all in a given day. I don't eat too much fruit, though I eat a lot of veggies all day long. When I say "snack," I obviously don't mean typical junk-food snacks. What I mean is a protein-rich, low-carb, low-fat mini-meal. Eating small portions more frequently throughout the day (4 or 5 times daily) will keep your metabolism high, as opposed to larger, less frequent meals. And you WILL be hungry often enough to want to eat this frequently as you continue working out.

Some favorite such "snacks" of mine are smoked SOCKEYE salmon (has 1/2 the sodium as the more common smoked King salmon) on REDUCED FAT Triscuits -- I've looked at all "low-fat," high-fiber crackers commonly available at the supermarket and Reduced Fat Triscuits has the highest fiber/lowest carbs/lowest sodium... it's basically just toasted whole wheat -- sometimes with some fat-free cream cheese; low-sodium white tuna in water -- either just by itself or on same Triscuits; raw broccoli in hummus, guacamole or tatziki (Greek cucumber dip) -- all lowest-fat varieties I can find; Dolmas (Greek stuffed grape leaves; usually has some white rice, but not terribly high in carbs, if you eat just 3 or so); plain, pitted olives straight from the can (not the pickled kind; those are very high in sodium); low-fat or fat-free (vegetarian) refried beans with high-fiber/low-carb wheat tortillas.

Trader Joe's has most of these items. Most are high in protein. Some are simply good for you, i.e., olives are a great source of monounsaturated fats (good for you in moderation) with no saturated fats -- avoid sat. fats like the plague.

These are just some stuff off the top of my head. Just keep in mind the target levels of the key items you find on all nutrition labels and you'll be able to find foods you like that you can "snack" on.

Also, I don't consume protein bars or drinks. I was drinking low-fat protein drinks when I first started, but I think those were raising my triglycerides (blood fats). Most of that crap is high in sugar.

Just plan on eating a good high-protein meal after working out.

Also, I have a big jar of milled flax seeds that I always add to my low-sugar/high-fiber cereal in the mornings. Sometimes, I sprinkle a tablespoon-full in my veggie omelets or other home-made meals. Flax seeds are great for fiber and also have lots of the Omega fatty acids-- Omega-3, -6 and -9 -- which are also good for you. Got it at Trader Joe's, I think. Or maybe CVS Pharmacy.. don't remember.

flax is awesome. I make bread, muffins and pizza crust with it. Low car/high fat. I am not on a low fat diet but a lower calorie, low carb diet, think anabolic/keto type diet with carb ups. I mill my own ina coffee grinder Xianti. It's cheaper, they are always fresh and never have to be refrigerated. If I need a flour mixture I just grind the shit out of it, if I need it more course for substance i just give it a quick whip. The fats alone you get form flax seed can change your health. I add it to cottage cheese, meatloaf and salad.

Boog, if you have any questions on fixing that diet hit me up on MSN/AIM

Also Xianti, about protein drinks, some people are susceptible to insulin spikes from the fast absorption of whey. If there is any natural sugars in it they will surely fatten you up. I make my shakes for two meals a day, one with peanut butter/almond butter or some heavy cream to slow it down, and the other is right after my workouts when I need that quick infusion of proteins to start the process. It's very important to know what you actually expect and need from a protein supplement and get the right one. There is a huge difference int he macro set ups of most powders.

dude, i'm replying, but basically listen to Jyms and x-man ^^

I only have a few things to add
1) gym at school + trainer = all good, keep up the good work. Impressive stuff.
2) riding a bike. I'm not sure where you live vs where you go to school vs where your gym is. But if you're able to bike commute then you'll increase fitness/decrease fatness even more quickly. I get 10-20km of exercise each day simply servicing my caffeine addiction (although that is on hold for a few weeks, detox ftw)
3) keep drinking loads of water
4) Try not to snack much, but carrots make good snacks (i don't know much about glycaemic indexes etc - Jyms may have a comment on this, but they're tasty, mostly water, 0 fat, etc)
5) re flax - flax seed oil is good too.
6) oatmeal (cooked we call it porridge, guessing it's the same) is a great breakfast cos low in sugar, high in slow release energy, filling, no hunger for longer than most foods = less snacks. Cool.
7) dude, keep on keeping on. You've been running at this thing almost 8 weeks, that's commitment. Another 4 months and you'll be all over it.

bump cuz the new FTR format unsubscribed me

bump cuz boog690 is soon to be as skinny as m2m

Hey BooG690, a few years ago I decided to take a weight loss journey myself. I didn't really blog about it per se, but I did weigh myself daily and saved the results. After a year of losing weight, I posted a retrospective with what I learned along with my weight loss graph and data to that point.

There's probably no big secret there for losing weight, but it'll give you another person's perspective and might give you another push to your goal.

Hope it helps and good luck!

That's pretty impressive Jason!

Just wanted to add my support here Boog Healthy lifestyle = best way to live for both the physical, mental, and emotional benefits. I've done a ton of research and tried a lot of different weight training programs and exercises over the last couple years and am trying to compile a program right now. When I get it done maybe I'll post it somewhere.

Originally Posted by dranger7070

Chick is still soooo hawt.

So I haven't updated this blog in a while. It's really been the same thing as before. I'm working harder and harder each new week since each new week my body becomes stronger and stronger (and thus I can complete a more rigorous workout). I train with my trainer on Tuesdays & Thursdays and try to hit up my school gym on Monday & Wednesdays. My job is pretty labor intensive as well being that I have this huge bin (and cotton candy machine) I have to bring in.

I also eat rather well naturally now. I don't want the shit I used to eat...there's simply no urge for it. All in all, fast food and junk food are addicting. You have to treat it like a drug or alcohol and mindfully attempt to quit. You'll have urges that you have to contemplate and fight. If you logically think through the benefits and consequences of having, say, White Castle, you'll choose against it.

And as for an update on my weight and progress...I have no idea how much I weigh. I haven't weighed myself in about three months since I've chosen not to be results-oriented. BUT...I need new pants. Yup, I need new pants, my pants are getting a bit big on me. So I've lost inches on my waist but nothing much in my chest/face. Hopefully that'll be the next to go. Now if only I can pwn the pokerz to make enough money to buy new jeans...

I feel a bit guilty for not updating the blog since people have shown their support since my last post.

Originally Posted by Jason

Hey BooG690, a few years ago I decided to take a weight loss journey myself. I didn't really blog about it per se, but I did weigh myself daily and saved the results. After a year of losing weight, I posted a retrospective with what I learned along with my weight loss graph and data to that point.

There's probably no big secret there for losing weight, but it'll give you another person's perspective and might give you another push to your goal.

Hope it helps and good luck!

Jason, this is great. Congratulations on your transformation! I certainly agree with all your tips except for one: tip #8. Poker has taught me not to be results-oriented and I've taken that with me to weight loss. However, that is not to say tip #8 is wrong. It's right for you but it wouldn't work for me.

Tip #1 is certainly the most important one. I definitely fell in the category of eating out of boredom. Again, you must mindfully identify your urge to eat while bored and fight it. This falls into the category of fighting the urge to eat while at the movies, carnival, etc. Some people see movies and popcorn going hand-in-hand...I rarely ever ate at the movies (my mother never had the money to spend on popcorn) so I never developed that habit.

Well, that's all for now. I'll try to post more consistently on this blog. Later folks.

If you don't already know, Stacks, Kiwi, and I have a prop bet going. For full details, visit this link: Click me.

I'm pretty happy I joined up with Kiwi and Stacks to do this. First of all, it forces me to run when I'd just be lazy and choose not to. Today was a great example of this. I had to run before work to make sure I didn't have to cough up $20. I was real happy that I ran today too...it was a great run. The right songs came on the iPod and running isn't too hard anymore. Hopefully I will get to run my 5K soon enough by getting all this cardio in. More importantly, I hope that I continue to slim down to be able to look good in the summer.

Anywho, I just wanted to update this quickly to notify anybody that reads this that I am part of that prop bet as of last week. Later gaiz

your commitment is impressive

I'm turning into a lazy fat shit. I need to start working out a bit as well since the weather isn't sucking total moose balls and now theres no excuse.

I was lazy through all of yesterday and didn't do much. I had to do something for work last night and after that I chose to put in some hands last night as I hadn't played in days. It almost felt as if I've never played poker. I was almost clueless at the tables. Actually, it was as if I just didn't want to play poker anymore. It was quite pathetic. What was weird is that I sat at the tables and was almost already tilting. I knew that there was something on my mind stressing me...but I played anyway. Anywho, the point being that I had something stressing me (female frustration fwiw; every interesting girl I meet has a damn BF) and probably shouldn't have played at all.

So I knew that time was closing in on the day ending but I kept playing poker (though, again, my mind wasn't into it). Finally, I chose to sign off at about 11:20pm. However, I didn't get up to go running. I chose to fuck around on Facebook and at about 11:37pm, I IMed Stacks & Kiwi on Facebook and told them I'd be owing them $10 by the end of the week. Kiwi didn't answer (standard) but Stacks basically told me I was being lazy and that I really should run. I answered that I literally didn't have time today (if I began to run atm, I couldn't finish before midnight). Basically, Stacks could have taken my $10 or even rationalized being lazy himself. Instead, he made a deal with me. He would let me off the hook for $10 if I ran 45 minutes.

Simply seeing that he would offer such a thing instead of profiting pretty much inspired me to run. It slapped the laziness out of me. I couldn't say no to running as it would be pretty pathetic if I had. The run last night was pretty much dedicated to me getting the stress off my chest...and it worked quite well. I ran to 45 minutes straight of this. In all honesty, it was my best run ever. I wasn't tired at all and probably could have gone for a lot longer.

After my run, I felt a shitload better. I remember why running was the shit. The stress basically melted off and my mind was clear. I took a quick shower and got back to the poker tables. I played a lot better that session around and it felt great. I shall be going for a run in a few minutes as soon as I eat a bit, brush teeth, let it digest, etc. I will then be playing a session then heading to the library to study a bit. FWIW, I probably would have been lazy as shit without that run last night.

Thanks Stacks.

Yeah I'm pretty fucking awesome.

So this fitness prop bet requires me to run five times a week. This is basically the first time I've ever really been running at this frequency.

Three weeks into the prop bet and my endurance has shown huge improvements. I am easily able to run over forty minutes at this point. I'm very happy with the way this prop bet is going for me. WOOT WOOT.

I'll be in Tampa for most of next week. It'll be fun to see how the hot sun will affect my jogaments.

It'll sizzle the fat right off your midget ass imo.

Originally Posted by dranger7070

It'll sizzle the fat right off your midget ass imo.

qfmft

Tampa was great. The sun was amazing as usual. Instead of just wading around in the pool, I swam freestyle and breast-stroke laps. Swimming is so damn tiring! LOL.

Anyway, I just went out for a run. I just played some poker and botched a few hands. I could have won a lot more but I played rather poorly. I was a little upset at that. Additionally, I had pent up energy from sitting at home all day and writing. Lastly, I have work tomorrow. I really, really hate my job and Friday nights annoy me knowing I have to go to work in the morning. I chose to go out for a run and rid myself of this energy that was sure to turn into tilt if I didn't do much about it.

Holy shit, what a run. My pace was pretty fast (as compared to what I'm used to). All my energy and tilt/anger turned into me pwning the run. Rocky music just pumps the shit out of me. I just imagined the Summer being here already and everything I've been working towards. May needs to be a big month for me. I need to turn it on this month. This is MY MONTH.

So I KINDA turned a new leaf today...I think.

For those that are in IRC, they know that I was bitching and moaning last night about plateauing. A few jokes were made, I PMS'd, bitched Dranger out, and then we made out...I mean made up. Dranger and I spoke a bit and he said "All you have to do is eat well, do cardio, and lift weights," or something of that nature. Well shit, he makes a good point. Sadly though, I was only doing two out of those three things. I wasn't really lifting weights and I know that lifting turns your body into a fat furnace. Therefore, today, I started with the weight lifting.

I went to my school gym and started with 15 minutes of jogging to warm-up. I then entered the weights section of my school gym where I felt a bit lost. I'm a small kid and you can see that I'm blatantly out of place. Whatever, I shrugged that aside, went for the free weights (dumbells), and did some chest exercises using the bench. I also did the pec fly machine as well as some dips. I finished up with some ab exercises. However, I do not feel very sore or in pain. I almost feel like I did it wrong or didn't go hard enough since I'm not aching.

Anyway, I will be working weights into my exercises a lot more. I'm thinking 3-4 times per week. Again, I'm pretty new to the whole lifting thing so any links or information would be greatly appreciated. I did chest & triceps today and am looking to do back & biceps tomorrow or Friday. Are those the muscle groups I want to do together? When should I do shoulders? Again, any help would be appreciated.

I am also looking to get one of them shaker cups to put some protein powder in and drink after I've done my workouts (I've read that I should be getting protein directly after lifting).

That's really all for now. I sincerely hope the weights will jumpstart my metabolism and push me to lose more weight. Later fuckers.

Originally Posted by BooG690

Dranger and I spoke a bit and he said "All you have to do is eat well, do cardio, and lift weights," or something of that nature. Well shit, he makes a good point.

dude, all you need to do is eat well and do a DECENT amount of cardio - decent defined by duration AND intensity. Weights won't do any harm lfdo, but the lack of weights in your workouts aren't the cause of the plateau. Also, consider doing body resistance weights for a while - simple pressups, pull-ups, one leg squats, etc.
anys, when it comes to weights i should shut up, jyms or someone will probably provide a link or summary that provides all you need to know and more...

BooG isn't satisfied where he's at weight/body-wise and lifting weights really does amp up the metabolism and torches the fat off your body if you do it with any consistency and if you push yourself. Obviously, cardio does that too, but if he puts in a good 30-45 minutes of decent lifting, THEN goes for a jog, he's already burning fat from his weight lifting so its going to do that much more for him.

I'm not saying eating right and running won't make him (or anyone else) lose weight, but it definitely helps pick up the pace.

However, I do not feel very sore or in pain. I almost feel like I did it wrong or didn't go hard enough since I'm not aching.

How soon after doing the exercise were you writing this? My fitness class last night at karate was certainly hard work, but I didn't really feel a whole lot of burn or anything. Today, however, I can't even roll over in bed for aching abs.

All you have to do is eat well, do cardio, and lift weights...

AND SLEEP...rest if key to recovery.

The pain, and all the benefits, come from the eccentric part of the movement. It's all in how you lower the weights. Your tempo probably needs to be adjusted as well. Count to 2 on the lift and count to 4 on the down. Feel the weights stretch the muscle as you lower the weight, and go till you can barelly do another rep. And yes, eat protein right after you work out.

You probably plateaued from being a little stagnant. One thing about exercise is you need to keep pushing yourself. Doing cardio means you need to constantly be pushing to go farther, or faster. What happens with cardio is you train your VO2 max to get better and your body becomes good at utilizing oxygen and then you become properly trained for the distances your doing for exercise. Push yourself, get out of the zone you have trained to get to. Run farther, or faster over the same distance. Record everything so you know that every session is more than the last in some way. Weights are good for this because you can always do more reps, more weight and different exercises. You keep the body guessing and having to grow to adapt. Train for what your trying to do. If you want to lose weight and gain muscle then you need to do weights. If you want to run a marathon then run and only run.

Originally Posted by jyms

The pain, and all the benefits, come from the eccentric part of the movement. It's all in how you lower the weights. Your tempo probably needs to be adjusted as well. Count to 2 on the lift and count to 4 on the down. Feel the weights stretch the muscle as you lower the weight, and go till you can barelly do another rep. And yes, eat protein right after you work out.

You probably plateaued from being a little stagnant. One thing about exercise is you need to keep pushing yourself. Doing cardio means you need to constantly be pushing to go farther, or faster. What happens with cardio is you train your VO2 max to get better and your body becomes good at utilizing oxygen and then you become properly trained for the distances your doing for exercise. Push yourself, get out of the zone you have trained to get to. Run farther, or faster over the same distance. Record everything so you know that every session is more than the last in some way. Weights are good for this because you can always do more reps, more weight and different exercises. You keep the body guessing and having to grow to adapt. Train for what your trying to do. If you want to lose weight and gain muscle then you need to do weights. If you want to run a marathon then run and only run.

Thank you for this good sir. Needless to say, I'm sore as hell today (I just woke up). However, my tempo yesterday was probably a little fast. I'll be sure to take your advice next time I lift.

As for the cardio portion, I feel as do I've been pushing myself to go farther and faster each time. The intensity of my cardio workouts has been growing. However, I'm probably going to ask a friend of mine (who is a minor-leaguer for the Phillies) for some of the HIIT workouts his organization supplies him with. Again, this may be a good way to surprise my body and keep it guessing.

Originally Posted by CBAT

All you have to do is eat well, do cardio, and lift weights...

AND SLEEP...rest if key to recovery.

For some odd reason, I forgot to include this part. I've also decided to get to bed at a decent hour. I recently made a prop bet with Kiwi that would force me to give him $5 every time I go to sleep before 12:45am. This is a start, but not the ultimate goal. I plan on making that number somewhere between 11pm-12am real soon. I just have to get used to getting to bed at 12:45am first imo. Also, great strides have been made in I woke up early today (when it wasn't necessary). Hopefully I can use this time to be productive.

Please keep the help coming for I am a tardass when it comes to weights.

I've been frequenting my school gym for some time now. As some know, I recently started doing weights. There was some dude from my Computer Science class that was always there when I was. I saw him down in the locker room two days ago and we agreed to workout together. This dude bigger than me (muscle) so I figured it'd be great as I would probably learn something.

Yesterday was the first day we worked out together. We agreed to do abdominals followed by some cardio. For his cardio, he does stairs (I usually do treadmill) so I figured I'd try that out. We started with two abdominal exercises using weights. These were only "warm-up" (I thought they were pretty damn tough!). Then we went to work our abdominals like crazy with this Ab Ripper X he put me onto:

How to get a six pack through the Ab Ripper X workout (P90X) | eHow.com
YouTube - P90X Ab Ripper X pt 1
YouTube - p90x ab ripper part 2

For those of you not familiar with this, please watch and give it a shot. This is pretty amazing. It was rather difficult for me and I was nowhere close to completing all 25 reps for all exercises. These exercises kicked my ass and I really recommend it to anybody exercising frequently.

Afterwards, we did the stair climber. Holy shit, possibly the most I've ever sweat. That machine is a Godsend. The dude I workout with does thirty minutes of the stair climber. This is most likely what I will be doing when I workout with him. I've never been more tired in my life than after this workout.

A few months working out with this dude will be really good.

Quick question for all Davens and Jyms: What are good pre-workout meals/drinks/supplements/etc.? What does my body need? And post-workout? Thanks guys.

Thread title update required.

Oh and GL on thread.

Originally Posted by BankItDrew

Thread title update required.

Oh and GL on thread.

Lol I thought the exact same thing.

Originally Posted by BuFu690

Quick question for all Davens and Jyms: What are good pre-workout meals/drinks/supplements/etc.? What does my body need? And post-workout? Thanks guys.

hookers and blow. You'll be skinny in no time.

disclaimer - i don't do weights, nor do i incorporate any dietary stuff (beyond eating loads when i'm hungry) into any training regime when/if i'm training for something.

If you need fuel and protein and fat loss is not your only goal, first eat a regular meal about 2-3 hours before your workout then if your trying to gain significant muscle they recommend about 15-20 gms of protein mixed 4:1 with simple carbs (glucose) to be drank just before (1/2) and during the workout (sipping 2nd 1/2) but most of the results are found in trained and leaner people with higher metabolisms. If your still trying to lose fat, I would not eat or drink anything a couple hours before and just have the std 4:1 drink immediately after.

Bodybuilding.com Forums - View Single Post - Pre, During, & Postworkout Nutrition.

I find Alan Aragon to be the best for questions on nutrition. He's got a Bachelor and Master of Science in Nutrition with top honors and he's constantly referred to by universities, scientific community, major corps, Men's Health (only guy in that magazine that I listen to), etc. He also educates a bunch of national American boards of sports, exercise, nutrition and works with NHL and NBA players too.

But yeah, like jyms said, it depends on your goals (muscling up, losing fat, both). If you wanna do both, I suggest concentrating on muscling up and not worrying about losing fat at first. It's easier to lose fat when you're more muscular due to the higher metabolism rate.

Thanks for the session yesterday. Further helped my mindset to get to where it needs to be.

Oh yeah, I have this blog as well.

I started this Summer off by joining a local gym and going quite often. I slowly became disinterested in running (as I do with all hobbies I pick up). Running, stairs, and the sort just aren't my thing. I still enjoy lifting weights and do so every so often.

However, this does not mean I've stopped pushing myself. I joined a Muay-Thai spot by me and absolutely love it. I've always been good at fighting and I've taken Tae Kwon Do and boxing in the past; this seems to be a high-octane combination of the two. It's addicting and an amazing workout. As I leave one class, I am excited about the next. There has never been a gym session where I was genuinely excited to return the next day. I go into the classes tired from the last but I push through. I've never been happier about a decision I've made for myself.

However, yesterday I missed the bus and was unable to attend class. I found it pretty unacceptable to miss class because I depended on a bus. At that point, I made the decision to buy a bicycle to ride to and from class. I bought a very nice Marin mountain bike off of Craigslist (Dranger thinks it's ghetto, but what do country folk know about ghetto, NA'MEAN?). I rode it around both yesterday and today. Today, I recorded a total of approximately 8.5 miles on the bike (which I rode to my Muay-Thai class). This gives me an exercise schedule of riding 3.7 miles to Muay-Thai, Muay-Thai, and riding 3.7 miles back home. There is NO reason I should not be losing weight with a schedule like this.

With the introduction of Muay-Thai, I feel my metabolism has gone up. With this, my hunger has increased (as if I weren't hungry often enough). I'm doing well at controlling myself and moderating my eating. I've devised a system of eating something light and re-evaluating my hunger. I constantly do this until my evaluation leaves me satisfied.

This Summer, I've been eating out more than usual. However, the places I've been going to are not necessarily horrible healthwise. They've been ethnic restaurants more than anything. I promised myself to re-discover New York City and part of this is its restaurants. But again, I do not pig out and I still eat as smart as possible.

Since the beginning of this blog, I've lost seven pounds. My waist size has decreased an inch or two. However, I am still not satisfied. To be honest, I hope to never be satisfied. I get rather lazy whenever I become satisfied with anything. I will keep aiming for something higher, even if I get to a good weight.

I hope to update this blog more often. A monthly update sounds about right. I am hoping to look rather different by the end of the Summer just in time for school. Sadly, there are not many females in the Computer Science field. *grumbles*

Luhlz, no wimminz Comp Sci, everyone's a nerd.

Christ. I haven't updated this in forever.

I probably wouldn't have updated this today, but I promised myself to write at least two blog posts per week. The other will come later in the form of my poker blog.

Anywho, I'm still chubby. Yeah, it sucks, BUT, I have finally gotten a REGULAR running schedule down. I run three (sometimes four) times a week for more than 2.5 miles each time. I can run further without stopping and faster than I was ever able to. I'm looking to be able to complete a 5K without stopping by December 12th. I'm actually due for my first attempt to do so next week (I've been training to do so since mid-October). I'm now setting goals like that for myself to keep me interested in whatever I'm doing, in this case running. For instance, if I DO run a single mile, I'm looking to run it as fast or faster than I ran the last time. I found that challenging myself and/or setting goals is key for keeping my interest on something.

As for weight training, I'm doing mostly calisthenics with three weight exercises each session. I try to do weight training three times per week. I believe having this regular schedule set and me following it (and I've been doing rather well with following it for the past month and a half) is going to work wonders.

As for diet, my brother is finally on board with losing weight. He's not fat, but has suffered a back injury which makes it difficult for him to exercise. Therefore, he's going to stop eating shitty food and start eating healthier food. This is obviously great news for me since it was usually him that brought all the snacks home and such. YES.

As for the other aspects of my health, I'm looking to improve them this month. I have activities that I will look to accomplish each and every day of the month in hopes of them becoming a habit. For instance, I will be going to bed no later than 12am every weekday and will get more than seven hours of sleep every day. No fried foods will be consumed on any day of the month and pasta is only allowed once a week. I will be keeping track of these activities every day.

One last life update: I will be going to Costa Rica in January to get my TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate. It's always been a dream of mine to travel the world and getting this TEFL will be my key to doing so. I will be in Costa Rica for a month putting in 40 hours of week of both theory & practice (I get to try and teach Costa Ricans how to speak English. I will be staying in Samara, Costa Rica. Click the link and I'm sure you'll be crazy jealous.

That's really it. It's not much of an update as things haven't changed too much. Yes, I've lost a couple of pounds, but I'm still nowhere close to where I want to be. The most exciting thing is that I have a lot of traction right now and am on the right track.

Ya... but how much didn't you lose?















JKJKJKJKJKJK <3

Awesome man keep moving forward with your goals.

Costa Rica looks pretty sick I bet you're gonna have a blast while opening up some doors for the future with the TEFL. Good luck!

Yup, this blog is back. I've started a blog on BB.com and figured I'd cross-post it here. I will basically be copy & pasting what I wrote in my BB.com blog here. I will have some footnotes in this blog since some FTRers may not know WTF I'm talking about with some of the stuff I post. Anywho, here goes:

Last night, I was browsing BB.com and came across this thread. I became curious about IF and spent the next 1.5-2.5 hours reading up on it. I decided to give it a shot. Today, I will be quasi-starting my IF attempt. I say quasi because I don't have BCAA's just yet (ordered them online last night) and had to drink a protein shake (one full scoop in water) before my workout instead of BCAAs. Also, I will be having two scoops of NO-Xplode. I plan to fast for 16 hours and have an 8-hour eating window. I will be counting calories during this 8-hour eating window.

Today, I'm looking at a back/biceps workout. This usually consists of assisted pull-ups, dumbell rows, zottman curls, v-bar lat pulldowns, and back raises. It would be cool if some of you guys can recommend some of your fave workouts. I usually log all my workouts using iFitness. Yup, I'm pretty damn dependent on my phone, even during workouts.

After the gym, I am looking forward to a meal of fish, grilled vegetables, and perhaps some corn. Anywho, I'm out. Wish me luck.

FTR Footnotes: Here's a basic intro to IF: The Leangains Guide | Intermittent fasting diet for fat loss, muscle gain and health

You are going to learn to love protein fluff when your trying to cut. I am mixing IF with PSMF and have got down to 249 now but getting stronger not just losing weight. It's good to have a plan, just ride it out for 3 months straight as the plan says and then make decisions whether to continue. Some have tried and quit two weeks in saying it's not for them. Personally I like it.

Thanks Jyms. I was hoping to see you post here.

I've chatted with you on MSN before...but I rarely use that messenger. Do you have Skype? If so, mind shooting me a PM with your handle? Thanks. I'm curious to how your diet is going, what your workouts look like, and this protein fluff. I've seen a recipe for it but I am without a mixer so I X'd out and lost interest. LOL.