it has certainly helped keep me motivated and given me exercise ideas to incorporate into my fitness program. RJ cannot MAKE you lose weight... you gotta want it!
I think there are some people who I've become quite friendly with here on RJ who have helped me to stay motivated enough to lose 56 lbs since February and that is 56 lbs that I didn't think I would have lost on January 31st of this year. I've found eveyone here (including the 'young muscle twinks' - you know who you are!) to be supportive of me since I joined in April. Some of the advice given is sugar-coated... and then there are some folks who've taken a hard-line with me... and I appreciate both kinds of advice, because both are good, and both kinds keep me doing what's been working for me.
Every month our little group check in with each other to say "Hi" and how goes it.
That said RJ is not the ONLY place to gather a supportive community... I have also talked to men and women, straight and gay, at: http://caloriecount.about.com who have provided helpful advice and support. And then I also have a few close friends (straight and gay) who have provided encouragement when I see and talk to them.
Feel free to message me privately if you have other questions that I can be helpful with.
GuiltyGear said Since you dropped out of the program, you can't really dispute it's effectiveness.Why don't you try again andfinish this time.
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It was too hard, writing down everything you eat and drink. I would do it and then eat something I'm "not supposed to" and then say "the hell with this".
It was too hard, writing down everything you eat and drink. I would do it and then eat something I'm "not supposed to" and then say "the hell with this".
Yeah we remember the thread...
Dear RJ, I ordered a regular latte instead of a skinny latte, what should i do?
Oh to hell with it, plate of muffins over here
I'm not being sarcastic, I actually remember that thread
Of course taking the steps to lose weight and get in shape is harder than not doing so. If it wasn't, many, many fewer people would need to lose weight or gain muscle than do need to.
At the moment, the most hotlisted member of RJ is Steeler:
As such, I'm betting a lot of guys here would like to look more like him. And one of the major reasons they don't is that it's hard.
If you don't write down everything you eat and drink, you're not going to have an accurate view of your current diet. Or whether the changes you make are enough to meet your goals. Or whether you're actually eating healthier now than you were 3 weeks ago. Over the long term, weight loss is primarily a point of arithmetic. Consume less than you burn and your weight will go down. But the first step, before making changes to your diet, is to figure out what you're already consuming. As has been offered repeatedly in the past, do that for two weeks and I guarantee there are people here who will give you concrete, specific recommendations for changes you can make; you may not like me, but I'm one of them, and I'm sure there are others. But YOU have to take that first step, and YOU are the one responsible for the follow through.
Dude, to hell with your bitching. Seriously. You make forum posts about this stuff all the time, yet you flatly claim you won't do what it takes to lose weight, eat better, etc.
Losing weight takes effort. REAL FUCKING EFFORT. You have to do certain things to lose weight. Meaning, you have to watch what you eat. You have to work hard. I don't understand why you'd even be a member on a site like this. People have been so nice and encouraging to you, myself included, and all you do is sit there an complain.
For my part, I'm done. I don't know what to say to you. Life isn't going to change because you sit at your computer and kvetch about how you won't do anything to lose weight but just want to so badly. Get off your ass and do something for yourself!!
Writing down everything you eat and drink is too hard? Are you so out of shape that you can't lift a pencil or is it just that with all the eating you're doing there's not time to write it down?
I don't know his RJ name, but there is a member who I believe was contender for man of the day who I think has lost something like 200+ lbs. I don't know if it was through RJ, but he's done it entirely without surgery or drugs. If anyone knows who I'm talking about, please mention his screen name for OTWTM.
MSUBioNerd saidOf course taking the steps to lose weight and get in shape is harder than not doing so. If it wasn't, many, many fewer people would need to lose weight or gain muscle than do need to.
At the moment, the most hotlisted member of RJ is Steeler:
As such, I'm betting a lot of guys here would like to look more like him. And one of the major reasons they don't is that it's hard.
If you don't write down everything you eat and drink, you're not going to have an accurate view of your current diet. Or whether the changes you make are enough to meet your goals. Or whether you're actually eating healthier now than you were 3 weeks ago. Over the long term, weight loss is primarily a point of arithmetic. Consume less than you burn and your weight will go down. But the first step, before making changes to your diet, is to figure out what you're already consuming. As has been offered repeatedly in the past, do that for two weeks and I guarantee there are people here who will give you concrete, specific recommendations for changes you can make; you may not like me, but I'm one of them, and I'm sure there are others. But YOU have to take that first step, and YOU are the one responsible for the follow through.
outdoorjunkie saidDude, to hell with your bitching. Seriously. You make forum posts about this stuff all the time, yet you flatly claim you won't do what it takes to lose weight, eat better, etc.
Losing weight takes effort. REAL FUCKING EFFORT. You have to do certain things to lose weight. Meaning, you have to watch what you eat. You have to work hard. I don't understand why you'd even be a member on a site like this. People have been so nice and encouraging to you, myself included, and all you do is sit there an complain.
For my part, I'm done. I don't know what to say to you. Life isn't going to change because you sit at your computer and kvetch about how you won't do anything to lose weight but just want to so badly. Get off your ass and do something for yourself!!
'A' to the 'men' on that! Spends so much time posting and bitching but not a thought given to something along the lines of 'Gee, if I spent that half-hour walking or jogging that'd be more productive than posting and bitching'.
I've kept track of my eating habits over the past 10 weeks and I've lost around 20 pounds. I'm currently at around 175 with 15% bodyfat. Just bought a pair of 32x34 jeans, a size I haven't worn since college and they are still roomy.
One needn't exercise like a maniac either. Simply watch your calorie budget.
This post is not meant for the OP. He won't follow any advice, will make a new account and start posting and bitching again. Tigers rarely change their stripes.
Hopefully though, someone who cares about his health and believes in himself will read some of theese success stories, and will draw a line in the proverbial sand, take a stand, set some goals and make a plan to achieve them.
Once you have your complete intake for two weeks, either start a thread or send me (or anyone else who has volunteered if you'd rather have someone else's input) a message listing everything on there; what it is, how it was prepared, and how much of it you ate.
After that, we give you advice on what to change. You respond, within reason, whether certain things can be modified. Note the "within reason". It is totally acceptable to say something like "I hate broccoli, could I instead eat green beans?" or "I really want to be able to have a cup of hot chocolate; what do I have to not eat or what additional exercise do I have to do in order for that to be OK?" It is not reasonable to say "I won't eat vegetables other than potatoes and corn", or "I need pizza at least twice a week".
Then, the real stumbling block: you have to actually make the changes. When people tell you that you can only lose 1-2 pounds a week if you're going to sustain it over the long-haul, they know what they're talking about. When people tell you that a serving of chicken is 3 ounces, and that's roughly the size of a deck of playing cards, that means that a bucket of chicken from KFC is not what they're talking about when they suggest having a serving of chicken. And it means that when you make a mistake -- which EVERYONE does when they're trying to make changes in their routine -- you admit that it's a mistake and do your best to not make it again, not give up that it's hopeless to try and then wolf down a bag of potato chips.
It's probably not going to be a lot of fun at first, but if you're careful about what you eat and consistent with your exercise, over the course of many months the fat will slowly but steadily melt away.
Yeah there definitely is a learning curve. One day, I knew I was going to a pool party, so I ran a few extra miles, had a light breakfast and a light snack before the party. I slipped into old habits, had a bunch of beers, hotdogs and chips. I was still on my budget but I felt like crap. So, I got out, ran a few more miles so I could have a proper dinner and still remain on track. And, when I went to NYC, I ordered too much pizza and decided to eat it all instead of throwing it away. The next day, I ran a whole bunch and ate light. I felt a little odd, but was fine the next day.
One thing for guys to focus on should be (especially while re-learning how to eat properly): how am I doing on my weekly caloric budget? It's not unusual to go over on a given day. Not to worry though, simply make it up the next day so one's overall weekly caloric budget is on track.
People in this North American culture tend to simply eat too much. My daily caloric budget is: 1,560 calories.
GuiltyGear said Since you dropped out of the program, you can't really dispute it's effectiveness.Why don't you try again andfinish this time.
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It was too hard, writing down everything you eat and drink. I would do it and then eat something I'm "not supposed to" and then say "the hell with this".
Excuses, excuses. It's apparent that you obviously don't want to lose weight that bad. Less whining, more lifting.
Wear a shirt with a pocket, keep a memo pad and a pen in there, write down everything you eat good or bad...is that really hard?
However, this thread is again not so much about your flawed thinking, it's flawed, that's why you are here, but what I am willing to accept (or anyone else with the balls to speak up) your receiving from this forum.
I'm ok at the moment with giving you positivity again and again no matter how silly your excuses, some are coming at you with "tough Love" and that's not all together bad, but MSUBioNerd and I need to fight.
MSUBioNerd, what exactly is the point of posting a picture of a guy who is in a totally different position than ChaserPrize and comparing the two? Please, that guy can probably cheat like a john gosslin on his diet and it not make much difference and you for that matter could consume enough to be forcibly removed from a CICi's and not suffer from it the way Chaser Prize would. I don't understand the point of patronizing the man and inferring that it's hard for everyone when it's simply not. It's hard for HIM, no matter how many crazy excuses, his apathy, or his inertia. It's still hard, especially since he's got so much to loose not just maintain mostly god given traits so get real.
If anything, you could have referred to Ruggie@RealJock.com http://www.realjock.com/ruggie, someone who has lost a great deal of weight, looks great, and used to be in the same shoes as ChaserPrize. He lost it before RealJock and more since.
But that is my point, GuiltyGear: there are things when it comes to our bodies that are hard for everyone. How hard it is varies a lot from one person to the next, and so does what is hard, but virtually every one of us has to reach some sort of compromise between what they'd most want to look like and what effort they're willing to put in to do so. Basically all of us, if given the chance to wave a magic wand and have our ideal build, would change something about ourselves: less fat, bigger chest, more defined abs, bigger arms, a better V-shaped back, whatever. And all of us have different obstacles to getting there: time commitments, lack of knowledge, metabolisms that are slower or faster than those of others, weaknesses for certain foods, side effects of prescription drugs, dislikes of certain forms of exercise or unwillingness to give up some forms we really do enjoy, mothers that feel personally offended if we don't have second helpings of everything, etc. But, fundamentally, none of us will reliably get any closer to our own ideal unless we take stock of our current diet and exercise regimen, make a plan on how to modify it, and then follow through. And all of us will have to come to terms with whether we feel it's worth the effort to lose that last 5 pounds/gain that extra 5 pounds/be able to drop another 15 seconds from our mile run/bench press another 25 pounds.
I picked Steeler merely because he's the guy on the largest number of hotlists, so it's reasonable to assume that a lot of guys would like to look more like him than they do. It makes it more universal than putting up a picture of my personal ideal ( sorry, Steeler; I agree that you're hot, but my tastes run to a somewhat different build). I would find it incredibly, almost impossibly difficult to get a build like his; as you say, my personal struggle is not in losing weight, but managing to gain it. But putting a picture of the guy I think is the hottest here would be even less useful, as I'm not under the delusion that what I want is what everyone would; relying on the general consensus is the better route to making a universal point.
Also, I don't know if Steeler can cheat on his diet; I've not asked him. Maybe he just has incredible self-control. Just as people are too quick to judge the overweight as lazy based on their build, people are also too quick to assume that the incredibly hot just won the genetic lottery.
............................................................................... People HotList because they want to look like the guy? People HotList because they think the guy is hot or more to the point, desire the guy sexually. On a thread like this where the point is to motivate an overweight person, I don't understand how posting a pic of the most sexually desired guy on RealJock and comparing their lives is the most compassionate idea. I don't know if Steeler is genetically gifted, but he has probably never needed to lose 120 pounds either nor needed to write down everything he ate to lose weight. His body looks athletic I bet he plays a sport, but that's not the point.
I can speak on genetic gifts because I have them. Ask my mother, I had biceps when I was two and ask my dinner dates, I can eat anything. I CANNOT speak on massive weight loss and neither can your example. His hard is removing wayward obliques (more than likely) and not half a person. You cannot speak on massive weight loss either. The example I chose can.
I KNOW what Ruggie did because he told us. You won't motivate ChaserPrize with what ifs, but facts and examples he can follow. He doesn't know what to do by looking at a physique like Steelers. As he said, he can write down everything he eats and then what?
I'm sore with him because that is a start. He should start with that and then the next step. You make a point, there is no perfect road to a great body and it's hard for everyone in different ways. However, it is not the same intensity of hard, especially when it comes to massive weight loss, and that fact shouldn't be overlooked.
Well I think MSUBioNerd was just trying to get the OP to get a sense of where he is and where he wants to go.
This isn't rocket science, there's nothing to 'figure out', and it's all laid out pretty well.
Where are you now and where do you want to go? In a nutshell, what's your bodyfat percentage now and what would you like it to be in the future?
"Knowing your body fat percentage can also help you determine if your weight loss goals are realistic. Remember, weight loss doesn't always mean fat loss. For example:
Let's say you're a 130# woman with 23% body fat, and you goal is to "lose 20 pounds":
Initial body fat: 130# x 0.23 fat = 30 # body fat
Lean body mass: 130# total - 30# fat = 100# lean body mass (bones, organs and all else)
Goal: 130# - 20# = 110 pounds
As you can see, the goal of losing 20 pounds is not realistic or healthy. At 110 pounds, this woman still requires 100# of lean body mass (bones, organs, etc.), but would only be carrying 10#, or only 9% body fat. From the chart above, you can see that this is a dangerously low percentage.
A better goal might be for the woman to reduce her body fat from 23% to 18%. In this case:
130# x 0.18 = 23 # body fat
100# lean body mass + 23 # = 123# goal weight
So, for this individual to achieve a lean, but healthy 18% fat, she would need to lose only 7 pounds of fat, reducing her weight from her current 130 pounds to 123 pounds. Losing more than 7 pounds means losing lean body mass (usually metabolically-active muscle tissue), which is clearly not desirable.
So before you decide that you need to "lose weight", remember to consider that "weight" consists of both lean body mass and body fat. Try to keep your weight loss goals realistic, and remember, keep the calorie-burning muscle, and lose only the fat."
Then decide what your goal of bodyfat percentage is and set a caloric budget. Keep track of it however it is best for you. I use 'LoseIt!' which is an iPhone app: http://www.freshapps.com/lose-it/
I was wrong, he didn't lose 200 lbs, but he went from 400 to 250 and is still working hard (even though he looks pretty darn hot), so obviously it can be done. I think his determination should be an example for everyone to follow.
There's another one I was thinking of. I can't remember his screen name either, but he's lost a huge amount of weight. He's gone from around 350 to under 200. If I come across his profile I'll update this post.
Update: The one I was thinking of is Spinningguy. Look at his before and after pics.
One of my favorite authors, Anne Lammot, talks about her struggle with weight and addiction. She said she had to learn how to "feed herself" not just eat. I think the issue in this thread is relying on others(i.e. RJ) to do something for you. No one is going to help me drive to the gym. No one is going to grocery shop for me, or cook my meals, or pack my lunches. (Or clean my dishes, damn!) I need to take responsibility for my own goals. Weather it is losing weight, gaining weight, or washing the dishes. A website, meal plan, personal trainer will do nothing unless I make the first moves and keep myself accountable.
jomack saidOne of my favorite authors, Anne Lammot, talks about her struggle with weight and addiction. She said she had to learn how to "feed herself" not just eat. I think the issue in this thread is relying on others(i.e. RJ) to do something for you. No one is going to help me drive to the gym. No one is going to grocery shop for me, or cook my meals, or pack my lunches. (Or clean my dishes, damn!) I need to take responsibility for my own goals. Weather it is losing weight, gaining weight, or washing the dishes. A website, meal plan, personal trainer will do nothing unless I make the first moves and keep myself accountable.
Yeah that's a great point to add. Logically, losing weight should be no more different than other personal budgets. One can't go around spending money like its going out of style, then turn around and cry due to being poor. Emotionally though, there's a lot to eating that no program or person can 'solve'. One makes the decision to lose weight, all else flows from there.
I have recently hit 215lbs down from 312 at the end of december so down almost 100lbs (Down 165lbs since 2003). I have been making lots of donations to the goodwill and spending lots of money on new clothes. It is kind of nice to part with those 42"- 44" waist jeans and trade them for 33-34" ones the XL shirts have got to go and I'll have Mediums from now on. I have about 15-20 more lbs to go to get to my body fat precentage goal (which is to be under 10%) I am currently around 18%. feels nice to be in striking distance.
oh yeah and I am doing my first Half Marathon next sunday ! I am super excited!!!!
Like COjock I was on the last Weight loss Challenge. and came in not too far behind him and the winner DrJackl
I've stayed pretty consistent with my diet, and I'm happy to report that I'm still conistent on two trends: 1. Body Fat percentage going down (currently at 16% 3%) 2. Body weight (read adding muscle) going up. currently 225 4lbs (I'm guessing something to do with the 3-4 liters of water that I drink every day).
The best thing about the WLC for me was finding my 'secrets' to weight loss, and why it's been so hard in the past. The secrets are: 1. eating ENOUGH OF the right things every day. 2. a consistant daily workout.
For me the hardest is the consistant daily work out and not say burning off my average of 1100 calories at the gym, then blowing the whole week by going on a 10 - 14 mile round trip hike on the weekend (or mountain bike, kayaking or snowboarding extravaganza of similar time and callorie burn)
this summer has been awesome, I've been hiking 20-30 hours a week for work, and then, silly me, I go hiking or mountain biking on the weekend. So there end up beeing 4 or 5 days a week when i've burned up 6,000 calories during the day, and then a being a total slug the rest of the week.
I'm just shy of that apex where 34" pants are too loos around the waist and too tight through the thighs.
though it is great to be able to pretty much drink all the beer and eat all the pizza i want (one day a week) and still have my clothes kinda baggy!
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the XL shirts have got to go and I'll have Mediums from now on. I have about 15-20 more lbs to go to get to my body fat precentage goal (which is to be under 10%) I am currently around 18%. feels nice to be in striking distance.