The RacerX weight loss thread

[mm2002]

Ron, good job man! You're inspiring me to exercise more. I made my first step tonight. I put the beer in the up-stairs fridge, so now I have to go up there every time I want one. I'm on my 7th beer now, and I haven't felt better in years!!

[horns666]

"My doctor says I have a peice of polish sausage lodged in the lining of my heart"..

Chris Farley..

I miss you Chris..

[Accept2]

I used to be pudgy. Now I look skinny as hell. I am 5'10" and weigh 230 pounds, but look skinny because I trimmed off all the crap. It takes along time to do it, but the things I did were:

1. A good treadmill infront of the tv or computer. Dont get a chepo one, get a really good one. Lots of gyms sell off their old ones from time to time. I got a good commercial one, and its much better to used than a chepo WalMart shitpiece. Just like guitars, skip the Chinese crap, but the American one. Wehn I started I couldnt run so I walked. Started with an episode of Seinfeld for length, worked up to an episode of Star Trek, or Babylon 5, then started running. Eventually I could run full tilt for about an hour and a half. The secret here is combining things that you have to do, with things that you like to do. You only have a about 4 hours of free time a night, so if you combine your workout with some of your liesure time, you dont think of the workout as robbing you of quality time.

2. Raw veggies and protein, and no more sugar. I eat raw veggies for lunch. I open the box at about 10:30 and munch until about 1 or 2pm at my desk. It keeps the body processing the whole time and doesnt make you full which makes you lazy. For protien its mostly fish. Be warned if you eat alot of junk this will shock your system for about a week or two, so you may actually get sick. As for sugar, cut down on the coke, and try going for some water. You wont be able to cut it out all at once, but you can gradually do it. Luckily you are in a sunny region so you wont have caffiene withdrawls as bad as people in the north when winter comes along. Eventually a constant steam of fish and veggies will really do good, but that takes time.

3. Hot tub. If you can afford one get one. They increase your bodies temperature to a point where your whole system starts working overtime. At 104 degrees 20 minutes will kick your system into overdrive. It will also allow you to sleep better, especially after your workout.

4. Sleep. You need it. If you dont get good sleep, you will never be ready or focused to run. You will get lazy. 8 hours should be your goal.

5. Training regiments with goals and changeups. Dont do the same workout over and over. Start with some good circuit training for a month, spend the next month on high reps low weight, then a month on low reps high weight. Then take a week break, but stay active. Do some swimming, or your girlie tennis. Dont plop in front of the couch. Keep with the treadmill though.

6. Muscle groups. The ideal is to work muscles in groups each day, so you work a different group each day. We arent pro bodybuilders so its not important to get too technical, but do an upper/lower phase, where one day you jog on the treadmill, then do upper body, the next day you really run, and you do lower body. This allows half the body to have active rest each day.

7. Stay away from shit like pills and needles, you know the stuff. Unless you really know what your doing, and I know you dont have an MD behind your name, stay away.

Get in good shape, then we'll become a tagteam in the WWE. We'll get rich and then get fat again, kicked out, and then start all over again. Good luck Ron...........

[RacerX]

OK I'm gonna try catching up on the replies...what color text should I use (if any)?

get a smaller car.. I recommend an Aveo.

Ron, I wish ya all the best.. btw.. your BP seems a little on the high side is it not? Good thing you are keeping track of your health.
I need to get a blood sugar level test done soon myself and see if I may be getting into diabetic zone

asking the Red Cross nurse about normal ranges, IIRC she said healthy diastolic numbers can range from 75 - 100. Wiki says normal is 120s/80d.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_pressure

I usually use the BP machines in grocery/drug stores, and while I have been told they aren't very accurate, I'll assume regular usage will at least inform me of directional changes. They also usually have more specific systolic/diastolic range charts printed on them, so I'll find one and report back here.

I'm pretty sure they state that systolic danger area is around 139+

On the store machines my systolic ranges from 138 - 144, diastolic from 78 - 83.

I don't get the car comment...maybe that was typical "charvelguy humor"? I need a big car for my long legs and big head

OK I got my BP checked at a store machine last night; it was 139 / 78

Here's the chart that was printed on the machine:

Systolic .................................................. ...Diastolic

Below 120................Normal......................... .Below 80

120-139..................PreHypertension.............. .80-89

140-159.................Hypertension Stage 1.........90-99

160-179.................Hypertension Stage 2.........100-109


I struck up a conversation with a lady pharmacist and she said the lower number is more important....anybody confirm this?

There's some great info here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertension

"Prehypertension is not a disease category; rather, it is a designation chosen to identify individuals at high risk of developing hypertension."

and that I should sit and relax for 5 minutes before testing. I'll do that next time and report back here.

And we would like to see you healtiher and sexier

In the immortal words of Bart Simpson: "EEP" :ROTF:

Let me know if you wanna do some bike rides on the Santa Ana River Trail

-a

Ha ha! You should see my bike! I have been hit on it, and before that, a car drove right through the crosswalk and ran over the back tire (while I jumped off). I will see about getting it repaired though...definitely let me know when you are biking up here again.

best of luck to you ron!
is it your dogs you're talking about btw? or did I get something wrong?
dogs are great to get your ass out of your house anyway... doesn't feel that stupid to just walk around when you got a dog around you. at least I experienced so...

keep it going and stay healthy!

Thanks, man, they're actually my aunt & uncle's dogs...they live about 5 miles away and I always walk them for 30-45 minutes every time I visit.

This is Foxy, the female lab mix:


The other one is a very rambunctious male Saluki

[RacerX]

Couple of advices:
Weight lifting is not the best way to lose weight. What you want is lower calories intake AND cardio exercises such as running, bike, swimming, etc.
You have to abserve both and NOT just one of them or you'll be dissapointed + be prepared to go long distance with it as you won't see that much results in short period of time (unles if you starve yourself or if you're very fat).

And this is why most people start this sort of thing, do it for a couple of months and then you never see them in the gym again.

I've been bodybuilding since late 1993.

Of course, if you don't want to goto gym, you can run outside but eventually going to the gym is good. That way, on the treadmill, you'll have to have a steady speed. Outside, you'll tend to slow down.

Just try to eat things like salad and fruit.

OK, I'm getting advice that weightlifting is the best thing, and advice that it's not. At this point I can't afford to join a gym, but when I do, I assure you I am NOT one of those folks who joins but does not go! As a huge cheapskate, I can't understand that, and I hear it's quite common. No, when I put out $$ for something, I get my money's worth! Remember when I dropped 65 pounds in 6-7 months? I started off 3-4 days a week -- By summertime I was in there every day for 2 hours minimum, and I was doing it all: cardio step classes with the ladies, weight machine circuit, basketball, racquetball, even a little bit of free weights. I even entered a Mr Muscle contest and won! $100!

Hey, I've not seen this post til now! That's why you ate salad yesterday!
Good luck dude!

Yep, I love my salads. It's my usual dinner. I should probably make a dedicated post just about my eating habits.

Best advice I can give is to eat six times a day, but small portions. This will speed up your metabolism. And as bad as you may hate it, you need 30 minutes of cardio workout daily. At your size, I recommend a fast paced walk. You're just asking for knee and ankle problems at your weight by playing tennis. Give the walking and low calorie consumption a chance before becoming too active.

Yes, I do the the 5-6 times a day, at the new job I don't get a huge break in the AM or the PM but I do try to eat something at regular intervals (7AM, 10AM, 12 is lunchtime - I get an hour, 3PM and dinner is 5:30 - 6 PM). At my old job I would eat 1 "TV dinner" at each break and lunch so that was 3 8oz meals right there. That position was nutritional supplement sales, and we would get educated about colon health among other things - I understand it is healthy to have 1 bowel movement for each meal, so you should go 3 - 5 times per day!

I am getting 30 minutes minimum of exercise!

Re: tennis I appreciate your concern, and it is a valid one, but I have been playing tennis regularly for 2 years now and I really enjoy it! It gives me a great workout and I don't hustle too hard (I am careful with my knees & ankles - they are in good shape) - still, I get a good sweat & elevated heart rate going.

s.com

It's got some really great information on accomplishing what you've set out to achieve.

Also, don't forget the 3 "biggies" (sorry for the pun) of weight loss. In a VERY specific order:

1.) Nutrition
2.) Weight/Resistance Training
3.) Cardio

You need to focus on all three (but particularly the first two) in order to have a successful weight loss regime.

Again, read up on the johnstonefitness.com website and good luck!

I will check that out later, thanks! Again, regarding weight training, I can't afford a gym and I don't have weights currently. I know muscle mass helps increase your metabolic rate and also increases weight (muscle weighs more than fat)

You might want to gear more towards bicycling than walking until you get some of the weight off. It's similar exertion but lower impact oin your joints. If you hurt a knee, ankle or even a hip that will stop the exercise cold.

See above reply to HoWheels about my poor bike! Another concern is the dense suburban city I live in...the times that I have ridden the bike around here were very dangerous, with many near-misses from inattentive car drivers....About 18 months ago I was riding across Beach Bl. in a crosswalk and some dude drove around the corner (on the green) - I saw him out the corner of my eye and jumped off the bike which kept going and he ran over the rear tire, and of course he kept going...I got his license & called the popo but they said I should have been walking the bike in the crosswalk, not riding it. Then a few months later I was riding on the sidewalk and this doofus in a Toyota came flying out of a gas station without looking and hit me, that fu**er! I flew off the bike and landed right in the gutter - Oof! He stopped and started pulling out money. I got his info and I almost got $100 but his daughter stopped him...I did get $20 out of him, but I never followed up on getting the bike repaired...cuz I'm lazy, and I got tired of risking my health by riding a bicycle! I have his address & phone # around here somewhere. I didn't call the wonderful popo because I was riding on the sidewalk.

Alright Ron! You can do it!!!!! You should weigh just a little less than me since you're 1 inch shorter, and I'm at around 225, so 220 is a realistic goal. Good luck bro, keep us updated.

Well, we're all different. I wanna make short term goals, let's concentrate on getting to 300, then 275, etc.

Couple that with the fact that I would also regularly eat McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell, KFC, or whatever, and it's not very healthy. Now my lunch consists of a can of tuna, or a salad. For dinner, I'll have broiled, skinless chicken breast, or pork chop, with steamed veggies or rice. I know it sounds kinda boring, but there are tons of spices, and low calorie sauces that make a huge difference. In the last 3 weeks, I have lost 15 pounds, and everyone says I look better already.

Excellent, Paul! OK you mentioned fast food...I will make a detailed post about what I eat & don't eat anymore but....there are lots of FF places around here...I don't eat regularly at any of them, except for El Pollo Loco
http://elpolloloco.com/ their menu is fairly healthy, and I usually eat the BRC Burrito, which is only a buck. I remember lerxstcat telling me that they're really good for diabetics, and luckily they taste good also.

This fine advice by seegermany needs a bump here. If you're 325 and a heavy computer/JCF nerd, don't start running 30-40 minutes a day. Do that much later in your Weight Loss Plan.

Right, I was never into running, right now I feel I can start out by walking (as I have done so over the last couple weeks) 30 - 60 minutes a day. I haven't got into things like measuring heart rates, or getting a pedometer yet...just want to concentrate of getting in the habit of moving somehow on a regular basis.

[fett]

Not to rain on your parade, but now you have to do this exercise thing for the rest of your life.

[Inearthed]

After delaying for a couple months I kicked my ass enough today to get out and join a gym. Just gotta get a routine going and I'll be back on track to where I want to be in no time.

[RacerX]

I'm with you, Ron, only I'm 5'7", 325.

I suck at life. :/

Good Luck Ron. Same here I'm 6ft. 2in. 270lbs. The Doctor says if I lose 50lbs, I probably won't need High Blood Pressure medication.

Wow, guys! What are your blood pressure & glucose readings?

Try and cut sugar,caffienne, and as much salt out of your diet as possible. Always have a good breakfast and smaller meals throughout the day.Take it slow and start with walking and maybe some bike riding. You will see results in about 90 days. I went from 210 to 175 this way.

I stopped eating certain things a long time ago, dude. Salt, red meat, margarine, and coffee are just 4 things that I never eat and havent for a long time. I usually have a good-sized breakfast, even if it's just cold cereal w/ fat free milk (which is what it usually is).

[horns666]

Caffiene, Red Meat, Sugar, and Butter is the spice of life guys..that's why God made that shit..

It lubricates the arteries and intenstines..this is fact..because I have the shitz sometimes,..and ya need that!!

Vanilla Birthday cake frosting made with Crisco and sugar..now that's Da Bomb!

Ron take a couple of twinkies with you on your next walk ..in case you get hungry..that's what I do..

I'm kidding...I MUST!!

[El_Kabong]

2 words bro: COFFEE ENEMAS!

[Thrust]

LOL! I remember posting this thread

http://www.jcfonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56667&highlight=steak

right before I started my "transformation." I do miss those big ol' steaks!

[horns666]

2 words bro: COFFEE ENEMAS!

Dude!!

I Did THAT!!!!!!

Didn't work tho,..Phillups Milk of Magnesia..cherry flavor..that's like Liquid Plumber for your guts..opened me ritght up..that was nice..ONLY thing that worked..and lots of water.

ONE WEEK without Poopin'..that's not right...must add more butter to my diet to "lube "the digestive" system..

I was all plugged up last Christmas because I was taking mucho Vicodins..Holy shit..and I mean that!

I'm glad I can be of service here..

Topday I'm sick and I can't stop poopin'..

Bill

[mattsmusiccenter]

If you want to look into a great workout program that doesn't require a gym (although it's helpful), check out www.crossfit.com... the workouts are tough but you can adjust them to your own pace easily. I do these workouts 4 times a week and have never been in better shape my entire life.

[horns666]

I'm up to 228 now!!!!!

My goal is 450 or "Fo fitty" to some of you guys ..as long as I can still do ONE push-up at that weight..I'm cool.!!!

[Thrust]

New personal "low" this morning

198

Was 252lbs. in July.