Thread: Fastlane to Health - How I've Lost 42lbs in 77days!

Awesome job! Keeping the mindset to keep it off though is the majority of the battle!

Hey quick question, how tall are you?

6'4" - thus by the AMA definition I was considered "morbidly obese" and now I'm only "obese" as ideal weight for my height is around 195, however, you can see that I never really was either.

Those ratings never seem to be accurate for the times. Do you have / use fat calipers?

By the way your story is an inspiration to me as just over 2 years ago I was at around 206, but 6' tall but pretty close to solid (and my shoulders are pretty wide). Nowadays I put on around 60 lbs from my hermit type lifestyle with my insane focus on my trading.

Bike riding was an enjoyment for me too, but I don't really have winter riding wear and being in the mid-west has it's inhibitions.

The diet though I could really use a dialing in with! Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks

Awesome dude!!! I know how it feels to go from one thing to another. Except mine was in the opposite direction. Never thought of posting it here though. I hope you keep it up! What is your goal beyond this? weight training?

Nice work on the weight loss!
I am a little over 2/3's the way through P90X. It is pretty brutal at first, but it has got a easier. I have always "worked out" to some degree, but my eating habits eventually got the worst of me. My biggest was at 236. I ate better and got to 225. Then I started to really work hard and eat right, and eventually made it down to 206 last summer. I stayed away from sugars and bad carbs. Then I went to Europe on vacation and when I came back I got lazy and went up to 226. Now with P90X I am at 215. I plan to do another round of it after this session ends. My goal would be 190-200, and I'm 6'3".

Originally Posted by topherea

Those ratings never seem to be accurate for the times. Do you have / use fat calipers?

Nope, don't know what my Body Fat % is although I'm sure it's not as bad as my weight would show.

Originally Posted by topherea

Bike riding was an enjoyment for me too, but I don't really have winter riding wear and being in the mid-west has it's inhibitions.

There's three options- 1) get an indoor stationary bike, 2) get rollers for your bike so you can turn it into an indoor training bike, 3) do the winter wear I did- ski mask, beanie, leather motorcycle gloves, two pairs of socks, hoodie with hand warmers inside the gloves and toe warmers inside the sock, lol, I still did my 2 cold weather rides in Chicago before I left in shorts though

Originally Posted by topherea

The diet though I could really use a dialing in with! Do you have any suggestions?

Read the post

But in all seriousness, the diet I did was leans, greens and beans- so all meat is skinless and if it's pork or steak needs to end in "loin", green vegetables and any type of bean. Add to this fruits and cut out processed carbs and most "white" stuff like potatoes(red and sweet are ok) and onions(green and red are ok), etc.

Originally Posted by LightHouse

What is your goal beyond this? weight training?

Also listed in my post

Qualifying for the Boston Marathon, completing the Ironman Triathlon in Maui, running a marathon in every state and on every continent(including Antarctica- yes there is one there!) and trying out for a major league baseball team(thankfully there's 2 that have spring training in my backyard- Reds and Indians)

Originally Posted by JP66

Nice work on the weight loss!
I am a little over 2/3's the way through P90X. It is pretty brutal at first, but it has got a easier. I have always "worked out" to some degree, but my eating habits eventually got the worst of me. My biggest was at 236. I ate better and got to 225. Then I started to really work hard and eat right, and eventually made it down to 206 last summer. I stayed away from sugars and bad carbs. Then I went to Europe on vacation and when I came back I got lazy and went up to 226. Now with P90X I am at 215. I plan to do another round of it after this session ends. My goal would be 190-200, and I'm 6'3".

Sounds a lot like me, my previous high was 265 right before I ran my first marathon in Oct '08(did the running, but half-assed it and didn't diet worth a damn). I never weighed over 200lbs until I got to college in the Fall of '02 and haven't gotten under since.

This weight was also put on thanks in part to a trip to Europe for my honeymoon in June- 1 month in all(2 weeks in Tenerife, Canary Islands and 2 weeks in Sofia, Bulgaria- my wife's motherland) and despite all the walking the food there was too good to resist

Originally Posted by vr4playa

Read the post

actually I did read it. was trying to get some betty crocker recipes outta ya. heh heh. just kidding. ...but serious, if you have any...

Originally Posted by vr4playa

3) do the winter wear I did- ski mask, beanie, leather motorcycle gloves, two pairs of socks, hoodie with hand warmers inside the gloves and toe warmers inside the sock, lol, I still did my 2 cold weather rides in Chicago before I left in shorts though

this is my best option here and i'm just making excuses anyway! time to get up off my ass and git er done. when you ride, do you just hit the road and get lost somewhere, or do you have a few parks you like(d) to hit?
and, what kind of bike do you have? thanks

I had some nearby paths that I hit up, mostly I did a nice 1.5mi circle by us that turned into laps.

As far as long rides though I had 1 park district, 1 state path and my personal favorite- the Chicago Lakefront Path

Good work! Too many people are becoming over fed and under nourished due to poor food choices.

Clint,

I just read your post. Congratulations on utilizing good ole' discipline to reach your weight loss goal.

Anthony

Thanks Anthony! BTW what's up with the username- are you from Chicago too?

Wow, Vr4Playa!!!!! Congratulations on your weight loss!!!!

That was a wonderful blog post documenting your weight loss journey! I'm about to embark on one of my own in a couple of days. I have a domain that's been collecting dust for a couple of years. I'm going to dust that baby off and start blogging and documenting my weight loss journey. I really want to be consistent and follow my plan to the letter to get maximum results. If I'm able to accomplish my goal sooner or lose a significant amount of weight within a short period of time, I think I will create an info-product about how I did it and market it on my health, fitness and wellness blog.

My plan is to lose 50 lbs by July 2, 2011. I would like to lose 20 lbs in 20 days in order to add a "sexy hook" to my info-product. :-) However, having some serious back issues and sciatica has really hampered my ability to do a lot of exercising. Walking over 1 mile is even a problem for me now due to severe pain I get in my legs after standing for longer than 15 minutes. Running is completely out of the question!

I'm in search of a healthy eating plan that will work for reducing the calories but not leave me feeling hungry. And, I want to find something that works that I can continue without feeling deprived. I also plan to delve into yoga and pilates to help strengthen my back and stretch my muscles.

I wish you the best with your marathon and your ability to keep the weight off!

Thanks ijohnson!

If you're looking for the diet, check out that Tim Ferriss "Lose 20lbs in 30 days without doing exercise" - it's better than a diet because it's eating principles you can maintain such as "stay away from refined carbs", "only eat lean cuts of meat", "keep your fiber intake high" and "eat plenty of dark green veggies."

Best of luck on your journey! I've already lost about 53lbs on mine less than 4 months, however, I owe a great deal of that to daily exercise. Then again, I'm back to eating like a horse, however, I more than make up for it with exercise which can be dangerous as bad eating habits lead to diseases and disorders, namely heart disease and diabetes, even if you are "in shape".

Stay in tune with the blog, I'll be sure to post more progress updates, including a recap of my run tomorrow at the Rock N' Roll Arizona Half Marathon, which I'm expecting to be around 1:45 which extrapolates to about a 3:40 full marathon(factoring in added fatigue in the 2nd half) and a huge step towards my goal of dropping from 4:33 in '09 to a Boston Qualifier of 3:10 or less in the next year or two.

In response to your dieting, you might look at Jorge Cruz, Belly Fat Diet. You can find the book on Amazon. My wife has lost over 50 lbs on this diet, and she doesn't exercise much. It's a life changing event.