I don't drink soda that often - i defintely don't buy it for myself, it's more when I'm out somewhere and its there.
But when I do, I avoid the diet - i'd think the chemicals and junk that is in there to make it 0 calories is probably worse for you than the normal version.

Originally Posted by jbuck138 Stupid question: Since diet soda is zero calories (Coke zero) can I lose additional weight by just drinking water? Or are you talking about all the lovely chemicals in it?

Studies are starting to show that diet soda actually promotes weight gain. Strokes and heart attacks too! They don't know for sure but all of those chemicals just can't be good for you...

I've also been drinking water for so long that all soda tastes disgusting to me now.

Originally Posted by Ellahjay88 I have really been looking all over the place for a workout buddy of some sort, a motivator, or someone to be able to talk to while I work out. This has been since last summer of course, which I ended up buying a nike+ thing to track my exercise progress, however I never found anyone, so I guess I have just been using that as my excuse..

The hardest part is getting into the gym. Once I'm there and see a ton of people sweating and working out, it gives me all the motivation I need. I would suggest joining a gym as you won't feel as "alone" as you would when running on your own. I typically find that having a workout buddy only slows you down from an efficient workout because you spend a lot of time talking.

Once the pounds start dropping and the compliments start coming in, your motivation will increase exponentially.

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Forgot to mention I had a large Papa John's all to myself yesterday for lunch as my cheat meal of the week. It was only $8.50 for a specialty pie since it was 50% off due to the Giants win.

280 calories times 7 slices = 1960 calories. After work I ended up running four 8 minute miles and burned a little over 500 calories which barely made a dent, but the pizza was so worth it.

Originally Posted by Kendro The hardest part is getting into the gym. Once I'm there and see a ton of people sweating and working out, it gives me all the motivation I need. I would suggest joining a gym as you won't feel as "alone" as you would when running on your own. I typically find that having a workout buddy only slows you down from an efficient workout because you spend a lot of time talking. Once the pounds start dropping and the compliments start coming in, your motivation will increase exponentially.

I couldn't agree more. Running/exercising and dieting by yourself is so much harder. Once you get to a gym and start seeing other people there and get to know them you will feel some accountability if you skip a day or two. When I was getting started if I missed a day I always got "what happened to you yesterday" and it made me less likely to skip for no reason.

The motivation definitely ramps up too when you look at everyone else. The ones just starting and struggling motivate you to never look/feel like that again and the ones who are in better shape give you something to aspire to.

Originally Posted by Kendro Forgot to mention I had a large Papa John's all to myself yesterday for lunch as my cheat meal of the week. It was only $8.50 for a specialty pie since it was 50% off due to the Giants win. 280 calories times 7 slices = 1960 calories. After work I ended up running four 8 minute miles and burned a little over 500 calories which barely made a dent, but the pizza was so worth it.

Damn that's a fatty lunch! Where were they giving 50% off for the Giants? I didn't think there were any Papa John's in the area because you can get a real slice of pizza every 100 yards. I had 2 slices of pizza (with chicken parm on top - mmmm) while watching the game on Sunday - so worth it.

Originally Posted by Javery Damn that's a fatty lunch! Where were they giving 50% off for the Giants? I didn't think there were any Papa John's in the area because you can get a real slice of pizza every 100 yards. I had 2 slices of pizza (with chicken parm on top - mmmm) while watching the game on Sunday - so worth it.

Since cheat meals are so far and few between, I don't like to waste them on something like Dominos or other fast food restaurants. But the Papa John's deal was too good to pass up.

In NYC, if the Giants or Jets (not anymore) win which includes playoff wins, they offer 50% off your entire order on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. Just order online and use the code WIN50. A few of my coworkers ordered wings and cheesy bread and it is a great sight to see that $50 tab drop to $25.

I only drink diet soda if I'm mixing it with rum.

Otherwise water and coffee for me.

What motivates me to get to the gym? I look up pictures of the overweight people on my Facebook. Always pushes me to go.

If anyone wants more motivational type stuff, check out the body transformation articles on BodyBuilding.com.

Seeing other people who have done what you're trying to do usually helps, IMO.

Originally Posted by seanr1221 What motivates me to get to the gym? I look up pictures of the overweight people on my Facebook. Always pushes me to go.

LOL. Overweight people are definitely a good motivator as sad as that sounds.

Originally Posted by blindinglights Seeing other people who have done what you're trying to do usually helps, IMO.

Definitely. If someone else can do it, so can I.

Got my first compliment since starting my diet from someone that stopped me in the hall and asked me if I was losing weight...Feels good. Definately motivating!

Originally Posted by Number83 Got my first compliment since starting my diet from someone that stopped me in the hall and asked me if I was losing weight...Feels good. Definately motivating!

Nice. That will keep you going.

Friday weigh-in:

Age: 37
Height: 6'-0"

Last week's weight: 181.6 lbs.
Current weight: 181.4 lbs.
Goal weight: 175.0
So annoying. These last 6-7 lbs. are freaking tough.

Hello, all. I have been looking to lose a lot of weight myself, and reading your stories has really touched me. I have no excuse after seeing what some of you are going through, so I'm giving it my best effort.

Age: 24
Height: 6'1"
Current weight: 263.6 lbs
Goal weight: 220 lbs

Welcome to all the people just signing in! I definitely get motivated by visiting this thread and seeing all you guys going at it week by week. I also look at the before and afters in the myfitnesspal forums and seeing people drop 100 pounds + is a big motivation.

Can anyone recommend some CHEAP protein powder? I was just at GNC and I'm not paying $70 for a month's supply. That's 3X my gym membership. Crazy. I've psyched myself up to start the Insanity workout on Monday with the goal being to finish by my fantasy baseball draft in late March but I'd like to keep some muscle if possible which is why I'm thinking about also taking some protein supplement.

The Body Fortress stuff they sell at Walmart isn't that bad if you're on a budget. I think it's $13 a tub. So it comes out to about $1.09 per 2-scoop serving (270 calories, 52g protein, 4g fat, 15g carbs). I also think there's some creatine in it, but not sure if it's enough to amount to anything. Vanilla tastes alright, chocolate is pretty good, the other ones taste like shit. Always use a blender or mixer, otherwise it clumps pretty bad, but I've noticed that happens with most powders.

New to the thread, but motivated by my wedding at the end of the year and a half-marathon in September.

I'm trying to change my diet - I've cut soda completely since the beginning of the year, and have switched almost exclusively to water & iced tea. I picked up a few Steaz cans (natural green tea & lemonade, 0 carbs/0 calories/filtered water & green tea) to keep things interesting. Trying the Whole 9/Whole 30 diet plan now (no to low carb, high protein with emphasis on lean meats and veggies) and running a treadmill whenever I can (usually 1-2 miles twice-thrice a week). I'm currently at 177 lbs, 5'11", and 29 years old (mostly trying to lose my gut before I start adding muscle).

Originally Posted by blindinglights The Body Fortress stuff they sell at Walmart isn't that bad if you're on a budget. I think it's $13 a tub. So it comes out to about $1.09 per 2-scoop serving (270 calories, 52g protein, 4g fat, 15g carbs). I also think there's some creatine in it, but not sure if it's enough to amount to anything. Vanilla tastes alright, chocolate is pretty good, the other ones taste like shit. Always use a blender or mixer, otherwise it clumps pretty bad, but I've noticed that happens with most powders.

I use this, and it works pretty well. I agree: chocolate is good. I think you can get it even cheaper from Walmart.com.

I usually throw two scoops of chocolate, two tbsp of (natural) peanut butter and a cup of Silk in the blender...such a tasty shake!

Originally Posted by Javery Did you just pass out while typing this? How did you lose 70lbs.? That is a ton of weight - you must be skinny as hell at 3" taller than me but only 5lbs. heavier. Just eat more protein and start a weight-lifting routine and you should pack on the pounds.

lol i kickbox lmao i can gain and loose 15-20 in two days . ill post a before and current pic

this is from 4 years ago i was 230


me testing madden in 2010 at ea orlando




notice my belly

my fat face



me last year when i started to train again this time last year



me now 6'3 192 will weigh 185 when i have my fight late march


TODAY



I plan on working on my chest and lower waist these next 6 weeks of training . mind you its been many years to get back in this shape .

i work out 3 times a week (kids) run atleast 5-8 miles every morning even in snow. i smoke weed believe it or not it raises your systems to fight fat faster since thc is stored in fat cells it attacks those first weird but true atleast for me . i also will swear by 5 hour energy extra strength even on the bottle it says diet supliment . and then dont eat after 7pm , its a must you have three meals a day if you have to skip, skip dinner . i also sleep in two sweat suits it takes time to get used to but again i do this to get in shape for my fights . anyhow this is what i do . it might not work , i also have a couple other things i eat but those are only if you can get through this .

I hope you're not cutting weight like that on the regular. Those are big numbers.

Saw this thread. I guess I should finally post my weight loss story somewhere so here it goes. I lost 30lbs in this past year, most weight loss was around ~35lbs (hovered there quite a bit). This time last year I was 180lbs. I am now 150lbs. I'm 22 years old and 5'7". My lowest before my weight loss was 170lbs in high school, and that was my goal: to lose 10lbs. What triggered me to lose weight was: meeting a girl (easy motivation that drove me, even though I never pursued/it was only a simple friendship) and realizing I may be at risk for hypertension (measured my BP a year ago and it was around 140/90. It also runs in my family. Probably wasn't serious at the time but I still wanted to do something about it).

Exercise
Before my weight loss, the most physical activity I would get was playing basketball once or twice a month. I like sports and I used to play basketball a lot more. I used to run but never did I do it regularly. I didn't look huge by any means, I was just a little chubby. I bought running shoes (pretty big motivator) and began to run regularly around the block (15min sessions, about 1.5 miles) every other day including weekends. That later expanded to 30min sessions, about 3 miles. I did this for about six months and when summer hit I alternated running with pick-up basketball at the park. Also during summer I started hiking, biking, and other physical activities on certain days. Then I took a small vacation to Michigan to visit family. My cousin and uncle both did P90x and Insanity and invited me to workout with them. Since they were done with both programs they would just do random workout videos from those series. I did this during my vacation and when I went back home I included it into my workout as a substitution for running/basketball. I stopped doing the P90x/Insanity videos and stuck with more basketball, almost every weekday. That ended mid-Nov when I sprained my ankle. I started Starting Strength mid-Dec and since then gained 5lbs.

Diet
The only bad thing about my previous diet was that my portions were too big and I didn't eat a lot of veggies. Technically, I probably didn't take a good approach to my diet. I, more or less, eyeballed it. Rice was a big part of my diet and I was used to cutting it out during Lent so I did that and substituted it with whole wheat bread/sandwiches (with turkey/ham/or tuna + spinach, no condiments-- pretty bland). My snacks were now restricted to granola bars, yogurt, or fruit/bananas. And for dinner I'd just have whatever was on the table (usually a Filipino dish or chicken) and eat it with whole wheat bread. My veggy of choice is spinach and I'd put it in my sandwich or just eat it along with whatever, just making sure I had some veggies for the day. My previous diet I rarely ate fast food or drink soda so there was nothing to fix there. Just drank lots of water and sometimes diet soda. I would drink alcohol occasionally as well as have cheat meals, but I'd try to double my exercise the week of cause I felt guilty. I started being more lenient probably after six months. Now that I'm doing SS, I'm trying to eat a lot more so my diet has changed a lot but again, I'm pretty much eyeballing everything. I bet if I actually tracked what I ate and such, I'd see some very different progress and results, but I'm happy where I am. Trying to adjust from losing weight to gaining weight, personally, has been weird for me. I feel like I can eat anything and not gain a pound, which is definitely annoying when you are trying to gain weight.

Body
I guess for most guys looking to lose weight, you're more concerned about looking slim and having a six-pack and defined muscles. I ended up only looking slim, which I expected because I didn't do a lot of weight lifting. My tight shirts aren't as tight anymore nor are they as revealing (my tight shirts would stick to some fat areas) and my regular-sized shirts look big on me. My waist size went down a few from 34 to at least a 32 (actually haven't bought a lot of new clothes so I'm not sure how much it went down). Maybe after two months, a lot of people started to notice the weight loss only around my face. Then after that people said I look a lot skinnier than usual. Very encouraging. I could see slight indentations (is that the right word? Iunno) of my ribs and if I sucked in my gut a little, indentations of where my six pack/"V" is supposed to be. So I know if I continued exercising and dieting more, I could get there. I know SS doesn't emphasize how you look cosmetically but since I started SS, my shoulders are more defined/bigger.

I plan on doing SS for either 3 months or 6 months, depending on the improvement I see (or lack thereof). Then back to other activities and basketball. =D Hope this story motivates people.