Obesity Discussion Forums

[Groundhog]

Hi everyone,

I am a 43yo male from Liverpool in the UK. I am totally new to this dieting / healthy eating but I have got to give it my best shot.

I quit smoking (20 a day man) two months ago. I was already considered grossly obese but I must have put another 20lb on. I have finally decided enough is enough.

I am 4 weeks into my weight loss program. To date I have lost 25lb through diet alone.

I intend to join a gym this week to help me continue to shed the pounds.

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Hi everyone,

I am a 43yo male from Liverpool in the UK. I am totally new to this dieting / healthy eating but I have got to give it my best shot.

I quit smoking (20 a day man) two months ago. I was already considered grossly obese but put must have put another 20 lb on so I have finally decided enough is enough.

I am 4 weeks into my weight loss program. To date I have lost 25lb in 4 weeks through diet alone.

I lost 10lb in week 1, 7lb week 2, 5lb in week 3 & 4lb this week.

I intend to join a gym this week to help shed the pounds.

Congratulations on your weight loss and being able to kick your smoking habit!

Going to a gym will make a big difference, especially if you hadn't been exercising much.

Just curious, what did you change in your eating habits from before?

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by Obesity Discussion

Just curious, what did you change in your eating habits from before?

I work 12 hour shifts (nights & days) in an office and for years we have been ordering curries & kebabs from takeaways.

I have 3 young kids (twins 12 & one 9 y/o) so their are always goodies in the house (chocolate, crisps etc..) and I used to help myself to them all the time. I always bought large meals when treating the kids at Macdonalds, KFC etc.

My wife has always given me large food portions. I ate all of my meals from a steak plate!

The one good thing I suppose (apart from quitting smoking) is that I drink very little alcohol. I may have a drink with friends once every 4 to 6 weeks.

Basically, I lived a life of excess. I ate what I wanted, when I wanted it.

Since starting my diet I have been eating very healthy foods....

Breakfast: Boiled egg on 1 piece of dry weightwatchers bread, fresh fruit with low fat yogurt, serial with skimmed milk.

Lunch: Low calorie meal (around 350). A sandwich on low calorie bread (no butter). Small Pitta bread with tuna & sweetcorn.

Dinner: Low calorie meal, Baked potatoe with healthy filling, Boiled potatoes with fresh veg & pork steaks. Salad.

I have almost quit all tea & coffe. I may have one cup of tea a day with skimmed milk. Instead, I now drink water.

Any meat that I eat has all of the fat cut off.

As I say, I am new to all of this but I am watching the calories & fat content of all the foods I am eating.

I have only just found this web site and I haven't had a chance to have a good look around yet but I am sure their is a huge amount of useful information. I just thought that I would register & post some info 1st.

Kenny

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

I work 12 hour shifts (nights & days) in an office and for years we have been ordering curries & kebabs from takeaways.

I have 3 young kids (twins 12 & one 9 y/o) so their is always goodies in the house (chocolate, crisps etc..) and I used to help myself to them all the time. I always bought large meals at Macdonalds, KFC etc.

My wife has always given me large food portions. I ate all of my meals from a steak plate!

The one good thing I suppose (apart from quitting smoking) is that I drink very little alcohol. I may have a drink with friends once every 4 to 6 weeks.

Basically, I lived a life of excess. I ate what I wanted, when I wanted it.

Since starting my diet I have been eating very healthy foods....

Breakfast: Boiled egg on 1 piece of dry weightwatchers bread, fresh fruit with low fat yogurt, serial with skimmed milk.

Lunch: Low calorie meal (around 350). A sandwich on low calorie bread (no butter). Small Pitta bread with tuna & sweetcorn.

Dinner: Low calorie meal, Baked potatoe with healthy filling, Boiled potatoes with fresh veg & pork steaks. Salad.

I have almost quit all tea & coffe. I may have one cup of tea a day with skimmed milk. Instead, I now drink water.

Any meat that I eat has all of the fat cut off.

As I say, I am new to all of this but I am watching the calories & fat content of all the foods I am eating.

I have only just found this web site and I haven't had a chance to have a good look around yet but I am sure their is a huge amount of useful information. I just thought that I would register & post some info 1st.

Kenny

Fast foods and sweets are killers, no doubt! Getting that out of your diet was one of the smartest things you could have done. It appears that you have drastically reduced your calorie intake, which is the main reason for your weight loss success! You have shown a lot of willpower so far, and I'm sure you will be able to reach your goals!

[sass63]

Welcome to the boards sounds like you are off to a great start!

[William Wallace]

You are off to a great start, it looks like you understand and are controlling the eating aspect. You are taking all the right steps with calorie consumption and exercise. Definitely ahead of the game for sure.

Welcome !!!!

[Groundhog]

Well, I finally bit the bullet. I went to the doctors this morning for a check-up. I just wanted checking over before joining a gym. The doc gave me the all clear !

Anyway, I am now a member of Total Fitness gymnasium. I haven't been near a gym in twenty odd years. It didn't come cheap though (£450 / $850 PA) but if I can get into a routine it will definately be money well spent.

I also invested in a heart monitor (a Polar F11). This product came highly recommended by a friend.

I only spent 30 minutes working out in the gym. I still have to do my induction but couldn't wait so I jumped on an exercise bike . My induction is tomorrow afternoon.

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Well, I finally bit the bullet. I went to the doctors this morning for a check-up. I just wanted checking over before joining a gym. The doc gave me the all clear !

Anyway, I am now a member of Total Fitness gymnasium. I haven't been near a gym in twenty odd years. It didn't come cheap though (£450 / $850 PA) but if I can get into a routine it will definately be money well spent.

I also invested in a heart monitor (a Polar F11). This product came highly recommended by a friend.

I only spent 30 minutes working out in the gym. I still have to do my induction but couldn't wait so I jumped on an exercise bike . My induction is tomorrow afternoon.

Excellent! Congratulations on your gym membership! Remember you cannot put a price on your health. Is that price for a year's worth of being able to go to the gym?

That heart monitor will be great to keep track of your target heart rate!

[sass63]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Well, I finally bit the bullet. I went to the doctors this morning for a check-up. I just wanted checking over before joining a gym. The doc gave me the all clear !

Anyway, I am now a member of Total Fitness gymnasium. I haven't been near a gym in twenty odd years. It didn't come cheap though (£450 / $850 PA) but if I can get into a routine it will definately be money well spent.

I also invested in a heart monitor (a Polar F11). This product came highly recommended by a friend.

I only spent 30 minutes working out in the gym. I still have to do my induction but couldn't wait so I jumped on an exercise bike . My induction is tomorrow afternoon.

Congrats on the all clear and the gym membership we will look forward to updates.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by Obesity Discussion

Is that price for a year's worth of being able to go to the gym?

Yes, that is for full unlimited membership for 12 months.

Considering the facilities available, that is a very good price.

I even got a discount through my employer !

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Yes, that is for full unlimited membership for 12 months.

Considering the facilities available, that is a very good price.

I even got a discount through my employer !

Good deal then!

[Groundhog]

I just got back from the gym and I am chuffed!

I worked very hard this week on the diet and the gym.

I normally get weighed on a Monday but I am on 0600 - 1800 tomorrow so I thought I would do it a day early.

I am now officially 250lb. An amazing loss of 11lb in 6 days!!

[Audrey]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

I just got back from the gym and I am chuffed!

I worked very hard this week on the diet and the gym.

I normally get weighed on a Monday but I am on 0600 - 1800 tomorrow so I thought I would do it a day early.

I am now officially 250lb. An amazing loss of 11lb in 6 days!!

That's amazing! Just shy of two lbs a day.

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

I just got back from the gym and I am chuffed!

I worked very hard this week on the diet and the gym.

I normally get weighed on a Monday but I am on 0600 - 1800 tomorrow so I thought I would do it a day early.

I am now officially 250lb. An amazing loss of 11lb in 6 days!!

Nothing to it, right? Great job/commitment

[Groundhog]

I just got back from the gym & I weighed in at 248lb.

That is a loss of 2lb on last week but I was expecting more. I really worked my butt off. I worked out every day on cardio, a total of just over 9 hours, burning up 5505 calories.

I think I could do with some advice. I could really do with a personal trainer but I'm afraid by budget won't stretch to that at present.

I think the problem may be that I am putting muscle on my legs due to my workout routine? This is my workout generally.....

I warm up on the treadmill for about 5 minutes (walking @ 6.5 mph). I then start to increase the incline at 0.5m increments every minute until I get to the max (15m). I then bring it down at 30 second intervals.

I do this twice and this geneally takes around an hour. It really gets my heart going (to about 160 bpm) and gives me a great workout but it is very hard on the legs.

I then jump on the exercise bike for 15 - 20 minutes to finish off.

I have an idea that I should probably be doing some work with the weights??

your comments / advice please....

Kenny

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

I just got back from the gym & I weighed in at 248lb.

That is a loss of 2lb on last week but I was expecting more. I really worked my butt off. I worked out every day on cardio, a total of just over 9 hours, burning up 5505 calories.

I think I could do with some advice. I could really do with a personal trainer but I'm afraid by budget won't stretch to that at present.

I think the problem may be that I am putting muscle on my legs due to my workout routine? This is my workout generally.....

I warm up on the treadmill for about 5 minutes (walking @ 6.5 mph). I then start to increase the incline at 0.5m increments every minute until I get to the max (15m). I then bring it down at 30 second intervals.

I do this twice and this geneally takes around an hour. It really gets my heart going (to about 160 bpm) and gives me a great workout but it is very hard on the legs.

I then jump on the exercise bike for 15 - 20 minutes to finish off.

I have an idea that I should probably be doing some work with the weights??

your comments / advice please....

Kenny

I completely agree that you should be doing work with the weights. When you create a calorie deficit in an attempt to lose weight (consuming less calories than your body uses), your body will not only lose fat, but could lose some muscle as well. Lifting weights helps prevent muscle loss, and allows you to better maintain the muscle you have while losing the weight. I highly recommend it through this process.

Also, since you are working out your legs, you could very well be putting on a smidgen of muscle, which would skew your results a bit.

There's too many factors that can cause your weight to fluxuate on a short term basis, including when you last went to the bathroom, how bloated/dehydrated you are, time of day, when you last ate, etc.... You lost 2lbs and that is great. Remember, each pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories. So if you burned 5505 calories on the gym, that's (more or less) a pound and a half of fat that you just burned, and you still lost 2 pounds!

Unfortunately, the only completely accurate way to measure progress is through hydrostatic body fat testing (water dunk tank). Just jumping on a scale isn't going to give you the most accurate progress report. Regardless, you're dropping weight, and should also be looking in the mirror, seeing how clothes fit you now, and maybe even taking measurements around your waist, etc.

Great job so far, you're on the right track. Normally 2lbs a week is considered a maximum safe weight loss threshold.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by Obesity Discussion

I completely agree that you should be doing work with the weights. When you create a calorie deficit in an attempt to lose weight (consuming less calories than your body uses), your body will not only lose fat, but could lose some muscle as well. Lifting weights helps prevent muscle loss, and allows you to better maintain the muscle you have while losing the weight. I highly recommend it through this process.

I will talk with one of the trainers in the gym & see if they can work out a weight programme for me.

Originally Posted by Obesity Discussion

You lost 2lbs and that is great. Remember, each pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories. So if you burned 5505 calories on the gym, that's (more or less) a pound and a half of fat that you just burned, and you still lost 2 pounds!

I didn't realise that 1 lb of fat is equal to 3500 calories. :eek4:

Originally Posted by Obesity Discussion

Unfortunately, the only completely accurate way to measure progress is through hydrostatic body fat testing (water dunk tank).

That sounds downright pure nasty. I think I will stick to the scale

Originally Posted by Obesity Discussion

Regardless, you're dropping weight, and should also be looking in the mirror, seeing how clothes fit you now, and maybe even taking measurements around your waist, etc.

Great job so far, you're on the right track. Normally 2lbs a week is considered a maximum safe weight loss threshold.

You are right of course, I know that I have done really well in quite a short stretch of time. In fact, better than I could have ever imagined.

I have lost two clothes sizes since I started and that is just so cool. I have had to buy two new suits for work already

As I said earlier in the thread, I'm pretty new to this and appreciate all of the support and free advice very much.

Thank you !!

[Groundhog]

Weigh day today. I lost another 2lb.

I am still working out at the gym every day I can ( 6 days last week) and although the weight loss is slow, it is comming off and I feel GREAT!!

[Groundhog]

I was bored today in work and found this site....

http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph

and produced this graph...