Getting back in shape

[bassh8er]

I’m 36, 5’9” and weighed 239 2 Julys ago.  I lost a total of 64 lbs and am down to 175 now.

 

I’m now trying to get more lean but would call it more vanity lbs / muscle tone that I’m looking for.

 

I started trying to run a mile a day, everyday, and progressed from there; I ran 31 miles last week.

 

What worked for me:

 

Quit drinking beers during the week.

 

Meal prep - I mostly eat grilled chicken, eggs/egg whites and veggies 

 

Track your calories

 

Don’t do cheat days or take days off working out

 

Weigh yourself every day.  I got addicted to seeing the scale go down every morning.  When I had a less disciplined weekend and would see the scale Monday morning, it made those weekend choices easier to make going forward.

 

Good luck.

[txchaser]

Some random stuff that came up for me reading the thread, this is just my personal experience on going from peak athlete to desk jockey and trying to get back to athlete.

 

On exercise, what worked for me was figuring out what worked for me. By that I mean I kept trying to do cardio and as it turns out, I really hate long-duration cardio while I'm doing it, and I don't feel great after. But when I lift, I feel really good when I do it and really good after. Which gave me some momentum. 

 

For me, I spend almost 100% of the time on compound lifts - the ones that work lots of muscles at once and generally move in natural ways. Examples - deadlift, pullups, benchpress, or getups and swings with a kettlebell. Shoulder press and squats if you have more time. You can add accessory lifts like curls and calf presses if you are having a bunch of fun and have the time to do it. I can't/won't workout every day, so no space for the extra stuff. 

 

Some days all I can commit to is making it through the front door of the gym. They are often the best days. My inside whiner has a bunch of excuses, and I can at least overpower it through that door. 

 

I only signed up (to myself) to do what I knew I could keep up no matter what. Tired? Too bad, lift. Busy? Too bad, lift. Out of town all week? Too bad, lift on the weekend. I only signed up to go twice per week, but the trade is I can't miss it. Now I often get a third day in but no stress if I don't make the third day, it's a bonus. 

 

For me, I don't do stuff that has significant risk of injury. Broke my arm once and it put me out of the gym for months, and I had to recover from a tiny gross baby arm. Heavy doesn't mean risk, but there are some movements that are higher risk than others - I've had two friends roll up a bicep doing heavy and deep benchpress, for example.

 

The no carbs thing worked for me, trading bread but I can still eat bacon was a huge win. "I don't eat that" works far better for me than cheat days. Eventually it all stabilized where I don't worry so much about what's being served if I'm out or at someone's house, but I try really hard to eat just the way I want at home. 

 

For a while, my ego really hated that I wasn't anywhere near the shape I was in before I drove a desk for 15 years. Almost enough to keep me from doing the workouts sometimes. Brain plays funny tricks on me sometimes. 

 

My wife cheering me on just a smidge can be helpful; more important is the buy-in for whatever it is you are trying to accomplish, some decisions your spouse makes it easier or harder on the margin. 

[A-Jay]

6 hours ago, txchaser said:

Some random stuff that came up for me reading the thread, this is just my personal experience on going from peak athlete to desk jockey and trying to get back to athlete.

 

On exercise, what worked for me was figuring out what worked for me. By that I mean I kept trying to do cardio and as it turns out, I really hate long-duration cardio while I'm doing it, and I don't feel great after. But when I lift, I feel really good when I do it and really good after. Which gave me some momentum. 

 

For me, I spend almost 100% of the time on compound lifts - the ones that work lots of muscles at once and generally move in natural ways. Examples - deadlift, pullups, benchpress, or getups and swings with a kettlebell. Shoulder press and squats if you have more time. You can add accessory lifts like curls and calf presses if you are having a bunch of fun and have the time to do it. I can't/won't workout every day, so no space for the extra stuff. 

 

Some days all I can commit to is making it through the front door of the gym. They are often the best days. My inside whiner has a bunch of excuses, and I can at least overpower it through that door. 

 

I only signed up (to myself) to do what I knew I could keep up no matter what. Tired? Too bad, lift. Busy? Too bad, lift. Out of town all week? Too bad, lift on the weekend. I only signed up to go twice per week, but the trade is I can't miss it. Now I often get a third day in but no stress if I don't make the third day, it's a bonus. 

 

For me, I don't do stuff that has significant risk of injury. Broke my arm once and it put me out of the gym for months, and I had to recover from a tiny gross baby arm. Heavy doesn't mean risk, but there are some movements that are higher risk than others - I've had two friends roll up a bicep doing heavy and deep benchpress, for example.

 

The no carbs thing worked for me, trading bread but I can still eat bacon was a huge win. "I don't eat that" works far better for me than cheat days. Eventually it all stabilized where I don't worry so much about what's being served if I'm out or at someone's house, but I try really hard to eat just the way I want at home. 

 

For a while, my ego really hated that I wasn't anywhere near the shape I was in before I drove a desk for 15 years. Almost enough to keep me from doing the workouts sometimes. Brain plays funny tricks on me sometimes. 

 

My wife cheering me on just a smidge can be helpful; more important is the buy-in for whatever it is you are trying to accomplish, some decisions your spouse makes it easier or harder on the margin. 

Nicely Done Sir ~

I can relate to the spousal support as well.

Can't be over looked or under estimated IMO.

Leg Day for me this morning . . . .

Stay Strong . . . .

A-Jay

[Jigfishn10]

7 hours ago, txchaser said:

For me, I spend almost 100% of the time on compound lifts - the ones that work lots of muscles at once and generally move in natural ways. Examples - deadlift, pullups, benchpress, or getups and swings with a kettlebell. Shoulder press and squats if you have more time. You can add accessory lifts like curls and calf presses if you are having a bunch of fun and have the time to do it. I can't/won't workout every day, so no space for the extra stuff. 

Kettlebells have been an amazing tool for me. It's a shame it's so under utilized and under estimated. It's been a big part of my fitness journey.

 

Nice post.

[A-Jay]

7 minutes ago, Jigfishn10 said:

Kettlebells have been an amazing tool for me. It's a shame it's so under utilized and under estimated. It's been a big part of my fitness journey.

 

Nice post.

I can say the same thing about Resistance Bands.

For Years, I believed they would not be an effective tool in my training,

despite never really trying them.

I could not have been more off base.

Now the bands are part of Every  pre-workout Warm up, 

as well as being used in several different applications of the training itself.

Done with purpose, they get the job done while being super safe.

Something I can totally appreciate, especially as a 'veteran trainer'

Who Knew ?

A-Jay

[RB 77]

Just posted in the hypertension thread that I'm a pitiful 60 lbs overweight! My back has also been bothering me lately. I ran, weight trained and surfed my entire young adult life and was always in tip top shape. Over the last X amount of years, not so much. I hope the threat of heart disease is serious enough for me to finally get my butt in gear! Good luck to every one else in there weight loss journey. 

[DitchPanda]

2 hours ago, RB 77 said:

Just posted in the hypertension thread that I'm a pitiful 60 lbs overweight! My back has also been bothering me lately. I ran, weight trained and surfed my entire young adult life and was always in tip top shape. Over the last X amount of years, not so much. I hope the threat of heart disease is serious enough for me to finally get my butt in gear! Good luck to every one else in there weight loss journey. 

Good luck to you I hope you find your motivation. Mine was simply I was tired of being 38 and feeling like crap all the time. I've got a long journey ahead of me to get where I want and a lifelong new to keep it there...but I'm making progress.

[soflabasser]

On 2/13/2022 at 11:04 AM, A-Jay said:

Work with what you've got.

As long as you can push yourself away from the dinner table a bit sooner

and stay out of the frig, you could be well on your way. 

A-Jay

Excellent advice @A-Jay. The hardest part of a healthy lifestyle is the diet, working out is the easiest part. This I know from experience. It is best to eat for good health and limit junk food to 1-2 meals a week. This might sound too hard for most but it is what it takes for most people to achieve their goal. Some people can eat junk food all day and they don't gain a pound of fat, I am not one of those people. I am not as lean as you but my abs are clearly visible and I have a muscular, well balanced physique at this moment in time.

 

I have been overweight in the past, I did not like it so I changed my eating habits. I do the best with what I got, I workout when I can, and I eat as healthy as possible. I have not drank soda or eaten fast food in over 2 years. I eat mostly whole foods that my Wife and I cook. We prepare our meals in advance and have these meals in a freezer for our prepared meals. I stay away from processed foods as much as possible. Every once in a while I have some cookies or ice cream to reward myself since I earned it. Anything that is worth having in life is worth working hard to achieve.

[A-Jay]

21 minutes ago, soflabasser said:

Excellent advice @A-Jay. The hardest part of a healthy lifestyle is the diet, working out is the easiest part. This I know from experience. It is best to eat for good health and limit junk food to 1-2 meals a week. This might sound too hard for most but it is what it takes for most people to achieve their goal. Some people can eat junk food all day and they don't gain a pound of fat, I am not one of those people. I am not as lean as you but my abs are clearly visible and I have a muscular, well balanced physique at this moment in time.

 

I have been overweight in the past, I did not like it so I changed my eating habits. I do the best with what I got, I workout when I can, and I eat as healthy as possible. I have not drank soda or eaten fast food in over 2 years. I eat mostly whole foods that my Wife and I cook. We prepare our meals in advance and have these meals in a freezer for our prepared meals. I stay away from processed foods as much as possible. Every once in a while I have some cookies or ice cream to reward myself since I earned it. Anything that is worth having in life is worth working hard to achieve.

 

Moderation in all things might be key ~ 

Think portion control.

However leaning well into the 'healthy side' more often than not can set us up for success in the long run.  "Staying in shape" for me is considerably less arduous, than getting super soft and having to 'fix it'.  So I'm very happy doing whatever I need to do to support that deal.

Besides,  NOTHING tastes as good as being Fit & Lean feels.  

#confidencerules

A-Jay

[soflabasser]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

 

Moderation in all things might be key ~ 

Think portion control.

However leaning well into the 'healthy side' more often than not can set us up for success in the long run.  "Staying in shape" for me is considerably less arduous, than getting super soft and having to 'fix it'.  So I'm very happy doing whatever I need to do to support that deal.

Besides,  NOTHING tastes as good as being Fit & Lean feels.  

#confidencerules

A-Jay

Portion control is very important, especially for those that gain weight easily. I mentioned earlier that some people can eat all the junk food they want and not gain weight, these people will never understand the sacrifice one has to make to eat a healthy diet and keep the junk food to a minimum. You cannot compare a naturally thin person to a person that gains weight easily just like you cannot compare a person that gains muscle easily to someone that has a hard time gaining muscle. One has to do the best they can with what they have. It is much easier to stay lean than to gain weight and then lose it again, that is for sure. There is something that feels much better than being fit and lean, that is never taking a performance enhancing drug and achieving a body and fitness level most cannot obtain without cheating. With that said performance enhancing drugs do more harm than good in the long run so it is best to stay natural.

On 2/13/2022 at 10:38 PM, TnRiver46 said:

Good for you! That doesn’t mean it’s not difficult for others 

 

selling carbs probably accounts for hundreds of billions of dollars each year, if everyone could quit easily they would 

It is not easy eating a healthy diet but it is worth the effort. It is ok to have 1-2 cheat meals a week. Moderation is very important when it comes to nutrition.

[A-Jay]

7 minutes ago, soflabasser said:

 There is something that feels much better than being fit and lean, that is never taking a performance enhancing drug and achieving a body and fitness level most cannot obtain without cheating. With that said performance enhancing drugs do more harm than good in the long run so it is best to stay natural.

 

This all I know

What another human can or can not achieve has zero bearing on my life. 

A-Jay

 

[TnRiver46]

My two favorite food groups are pie and bratwurst…….

 

something tells me those aren’t the best 

[Jigfishn10]

2 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

My two favorite food groups are pie and bratwurst…….

 

something tells me those aren’t the best 

I'm a sucker for a good pie. 

 

[A-Jay]

On 2/12/2022 at 8:57 PM, DitchPanda said:

 So this year I've decided to buckle down and finally work on my health. Here's to improving everyday!

 What's the latest ?

Hope you're still going strong.

A-Jay

[DitchPanda]

43 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

 What's the latest ?

Hope you're still going strong.

A-Jay

Yep doing my best to eat better...I had one week.in there where I ate like total crap and even gained a pound but outside of that I've stuck to it. My first post a month a go I was down 17.5lbs...now I'm down about 22 lbs so I've actually lost 6lbs if you count the week I gained. Back and knees are still feeling better. Best thing is my girlfriend was hugging me the other night and I could tell she could actually get her arms all the way around me..so she said wow look at you skinny!...makes a man feel good.

[A-Jay]

44 minutes ago, DitchPanda said:

Yep doing my best to eat better...I had one week.in there where I ate like total crap and even gained a pound but outside of that I've stuck to it. My first post a month a go I was down 17.5lbs...now I'm down about 22 lbs so I've actually lost 6lbs if you count the week I gained. Back and knees are still feeling better. Best thing is my girlfriend was hugging me the other night and I could tell she could actually get her arms all the way around me..so she said wow look at you skinny!...makes a man feel good.

Great to hear !

Here's to continued success. 

A-Jay