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5'7, I used to eat less than 1600 calories a day but now I average around 1800-2000 (used to be healthy stuff like salads, only water, etc but I've eventually gone back to about a can of soda every 2-3 days and fast food about 2-3 times a week). No weight lifting, just cardio.

Not sure how I've never seen this thread. I'd definitely like to get back in shape, some of the stories I quickly read through here and actually pretty amazing. My (quick) story:

Many years ago I used to weigh 270 lb, so big boy haha. I guess it was 4 years now I went on a strict diet for a year and ended up losing over 80 pounds, and settling around 200. Well, I'm 21 now 5"10 240 lb, so it didn't work out exactly as planned, but it's my last year in college and I really want to go on a strict diet one more time and hopefully get back to the 200 lb I used to be, maybe even 190.

You definitely feel a lot more energy when you lose all that weight, but I also hate to lift (mostly cardio-treadmill), and idk something about going off to college made me gain a lot of weight quickly. Oh well, can't say I have too many regrets, but I'd like to get back to it. I meant that to be a short recap =/

I'll read more through the posts just to see what people are doing, but if anyone has any tips they want to throw at me feel free. It's only reading through this thread now that I feel a little guilt I kinda gave up . Ah well,vback to it. It's hard to get a consistent workout when I'm getting up at 5:30 for work and not getting back until around then in the afternoon, but hopefully in a few months I can start up a real diet again.

And to everyone whose lost a shit ton of weight, seriously congrats. For some people it's a surprisngly hard thing to do, and (clearly) sometimes harder to keep off.

TheRock88:

Did you have Christmas in a cold area? Thicker clothing? Or maybe you've since bought clothes that fit better than your old clothes?

No one started the "you look too skinny" stuff with me until I totally ditched all my fat clothes and started wearing clothes that actually fit properly.


the_punisher:

Only one tip that's really important: don't quit. There isn't a diet or routine out there that works when you stop doing it. Committing to a healthier and/or more active lifestyle is the hard part, once you get into that mentality following a strict diet or crazy exercise regiment isn't all that overwhelming.

Finished up an 8.2 mile run. A little faster than ten minute miles. Feels good.

The *one* problem I have is post-running; I eat a TON! Tonight I had: a peanut butter sandwich, my usual whey protein shake, a Clif bar and a few extra spoons of the peanut butter. :/ Prolly negated all the calories lost, heh. (Forget that. I surely took in a couple hundred cals!)

Really gotta work on that post-run eating...otherwise, things are good. Prolly gonna get ten miles in Friday.

Lifting is still the usual three nights a week. Closing back in on 170 pounds again.

Originally Posted by blindinglights TheRock88: Did you have Christmas in a cold area? Thicker clothing? Or maybe you've since bought clothes that fit better than your old clothes? No one started the "you look too skinny" stuff with me until I totally ditched all my fat clothes and started wearing clothes that actually fit properly.

I thought it would be something like that but I remember wearing pretty light stuff when I met them for the Christmas party (silk shirt with the same pants I normally wear when I was bigger, just had to poke a few extra holes on my belt). I still buy/wear all my clothes at the same size when I was bigger and it still fits pretty well, just the collar area seems to be a little loose.

the_punisher: Only one tip that's really important: don't quit. There isn't a diet or routine out there that works when you stop doing it. Committing to a healthier and/or more active lifestyle is the hard part, once you get into that mentality following a strict diet or crazy exercise regiment isn't all that overwhelming.

This so much. I'm the laziest person I know and people are amazed when I tell them that I used to weigh 180 and now am around 150. They automatically assume I had gone on some special diet or something fancy cause I'm so lazy. It was hard at the beginning but after the first month or so, I would get really pissed if I didnt exercise everyday or if I ate something really unhealthy. Once the pounds starts falling off, it does get kinda addicting.

I sprained my toe last week and am still pissed that I havent been able to do my cardio for a whole week. Still counting the days until I'll be able to do it with no problems.

Originally Posted by TheRock88 5'7, I used to eat less than 1600 calories a day but now I average around 1800-2000 (used to be healthy stuff like salads, only water, etc but I've eventually gone back to about a can of soda every 2-3 days and fast food about 2-3 times a week). No weight lifting, just cardio.

Honestly, you probably do look skinny. With a small diet like you have, and the only exercise you do being cardio (no weight training whatsoever) you probably look like a shrimp. I'm not saying this in a mean way, I just don't like to beat around the bush. Throw a day or two of lifting in your week and up your calories and protein those days (chicken works well) so you can recover a little quicker and you will start to gain mass. You don't have to become the hulk but you most likely lost a lot of muscle mass during your weightloss, which a lot of bikers and runners tend to do (calories are too low vs their activity level so the body tends to lose muscle, usually in the upper body).

Originally Posted by Rig Finished up an 8.2 mile run. A little faster than ten minute miles. Feels good. The *one* problem I have is post-running; I eat a TON! Tonight I had: a peanut butter sandwich, my usual whey protein shake, a Clif bar and a few extra spoons of the peanut butter. :/ Prolly negated all the calories lost, heh. (Forget that. I surely took in a couple hundred cals!) Really gotta work on that post-run eating...otherwise, things are good. Prolly gonna get ten miles in Friday. Lifting is still the usual three nights a week. Closing back in on 170 pounds again.

Absolutely nothing wrong with that. Your body needs fuel to recover, and as long as your aren't over eating your body will use that to start the rebuild process. I try to eat something before I workout or push myself on the bike, makes the after training cravings a little less crazy.

Originally Posted by the_punisher Not sure how I've never seen this thread. I'd definitely like to get back in shape, some of the stories I quickly read through here and actually pretty amazing. My (quick) story: Many years ago I used to weigh 270 lb, so big boy haha. I guess it was 4 years now I went on a strict diet for a year and ended up losing over 80 pounds, and settling around 200. Well, I'm 21 now 5"10 240 lb, so it didn't work out exactly as planned, but it's my last year in college and I really want to go on a strict diet one more time and hopefully get back to the 200 lb I used to be, maybe even 190. You definitely feel a lot more energy when you lose all that weight, but I also hate to lift (mostly cardio-treadmill), and idk something about going off to college made me gain a lot of weight quickly. Oh well, can't say I have too many regrets, but I'd like to get back to it. I meant that to be a short recap =/ I'll read more through the posts just to see what people are doing, but if anyone has any tips they want to throw at me feel free. It's only reading through this thread now that I feel a little guilt I kinda gave up . Ah well,vback to it. It's hard to get a consistent workout when I'm getting up at 5:30 for work and not getting back until around then in the afternoon, but hopefully in a few months I can start up a real diet again. And to everyone whose lost a shit ton of weight, seriously congrats. For some people it's a surprisngly hard thing to do, and (clearly) sometimes harder to keep off.

The biggest thing you can do right now is just start to watch your diet a little more. Put down the chips, the cookies, and the other junk food that is the staple of the college diet and try eating a bit healthier. The simpler you eat the easier it is to do. Eggs, toast, cereal that isn't loaded with sugar is perfect for breakfast. Peanut butter sandwiches (jelly if you really need it) on wheat, tuna sandwiches, bananas, carrots and that sort of thing for lunch. Dinner just stick with smaller portions and stay away from fast food / crap for you food restaurant chains. Also, drinking will make you gain weight and take away your gains very quickly.

The easiest exercise you can do is start walking. Walk to class, the grocery store, the cafeteria (if you eat there), etc. If you can just do those two things I guarantee you will start losing weight.

I was wearing the same thing I wore to the beach last year today and decided to do a comparison shot. Not a huge difference, but I see some gains.

Originally Posted by TheRock88 5'7, I used to eat less than 1600 calories a day but now I average around 1800-2000 (used to be healthy stuff like salads, only water, etc but I've eventually gone back to about a can of soda every 2-3 days and fast food about 2-3 times a week). No weight lifting, just cardio.

You just summed up the past 6 months of my life, so let me tell you how it was explained to me. Cardio burns muscle first then fat. Like you, I did absolutely no weight lifting, therefore when I lost 65 lbs, I probably burned 90% of all the muscle I had. I look like Tom Hanks in Phialdelphia, minus the sores. Right now, my BMI is normal (I fluctuate between 184-188) but I still get comments of how sickly I look. And I still have a slight belly, which is the most frustrating part of it.

You can definitely see the difference sean. Your neck, forearm and bicep look much bigger. You can also tell the difference in the size of your back (by looking at how your shirt pulls). You look good man (no homo).

Hey number83, I've never told you this before but uh, lift some weights! :P

Originally Posted by perdition(troy Hey number83, I've never told you this before but uh, lift some weights! :P

+1. Doesn't have to be a lot - just some light weights with high reps will do the trick.

So.... I'm back. Officially. School ended last week. Kids and wife are home and not having to get up for anything so I don't need to stay home in the morning. This morning I was back from the gym by 7:30 a.m. and the house was pretty much still asleep (everyone was up by 8 though). I should be able to keep this schedule until September at least which is awesome. I need some uninterrupted gym time because since May 21 when my daughter was born I've only been to the gym for a total of 1 week. That's 1 out of 5 after about 14 months straight. Ugh. This morning's insanity workout was damn near impossible but I feel good. By mid-July I should be back to where I was but it is annoying.

Had a six-mile trail run last night; thankfully no falls or pulled anythings. Was actually a great change of scenery (well, the bug bites sucked).

Weighed myself on our industrial scale at work when I was working on a manufacturing computer...169 pounds with clothes on, keys in the pocket and two cell phones.

Originally Posted by perdition(troy Hey number83, I've never told you this before but uh, lift some weights! :P

Originally Posted by Javery +1. Doesn't have to be a lot - just some light weights with high reps will do the trick.

Noted.

I actually have been doing some light weights...sort of. Ive been doing curls and shoulder work with resistance bands. Beleive it or not, that gives me a pretty good work out. I also do crunches with a 5lb Kettle Bell on my chest.

It's not a lot, but I feel like I'm toning up some.

My wife and I were watching Thor on Netflix and I said to her, "I'm cut like that now." to which she replied, "I (meaning her) wish!".

I do too...

Same weight as last weeks weigh in. Feel like I am just redistributing the weight into my legs as I bike more and more. I'll post a progress picture later today.

I timed myself for reals on my run this morning for the first time ever. I averaged an 8:07 mile over 5 miles. Not bad considering the terrain was anything but flat.

I don't think I'd be anywhere near that on average, heck running a ten minute mile would probably be hard for me. My favorite line about runners that I've heard is that "you can stop running now you lost whoever was chasing you".

I biked to work again today, I think three times in a week should be my limit lol. However, I do enjoy it a ton. That and it gets me to stop buying gas, and I hate that I was/am so reliant on it.

Yeah can't run like I used to. If I cut out squats and deadlifts I'm sure it would get better.

Walked 25 miles this week and stuck to the diet. Went down a few lbs again too.

Height: 6'2"
Starting Weight: 300lbs
First goal: 250lbs reached on 5/24/12
Next goal: 220 lbs.
Last week's weigh in: 241 lbs.
Current Weight: 238 lbs.

You guys would be surprised - I thought I was going to have trouble too but all that Insanity training plus the lost weight has really made me quick. It is still a big step down from the treadmill where I can run between 9 and 10 mph easily which is like a 6:XX mile.

Habbler - nice job man - keep at it!

Originally Posted by Habbler Walked 25 miles this week and stuck to the diet. Went down a few lbs again too. Height: 6'2" Starting Weight: 300lbs First goal: 250lbs reached on 5/24/12 Next goal: 220 lbs. Last week's weigh in: 241 lbs. Current Weight: 238 lbs.

Great job dude.

I started skating again and damn, my legs are WEAK. I can barely grind a 1ft ledge. LOLZ...I used to be able to grind shit that was at waist level.

Gonna work that shit hard next week.

Originally Posted by dohdough Great job dude. I started skating again and damn, my legs are WEAK. I can barely grind a 1ft ledge. LOLZ...I used to be able to grind shit that was at waist level. Gonna work that shit hard next week.

That sounds like a lot of fun. I used to have some Roces Majestic 12s when I was in highschool. I was a big kid back then too so I never really did much with them, but I loved following around the other kids and work the camcorder. I think I might have to buy some inline skates as a reward when I hit 220.