Fat, Drunk and Stupid is no way to go through life...

[Cheese]

I have been somewhat absentee here lately and I am sorry for that. Internet forums have positively formed a lot of the last 5 years of my life and I am thankful for that. Many of you have helped me have experiences that were importantly formative. As much as I malign it, there is good in communities like this of people who may never meet.

So, some may recognize the quote from Animal House. I have been trying to live by that for a while and have lapsed with stress/scheduling/lack of discipline. Briefly, I was a big kid and big kids are told to stay big and play football. As a Junior in High School I played football at 330-335. I was fluffy, trimmed to a greasy 300 as a senior and went to college as a bit more solid 300. Since then I have stopped eating whole pieces, drinking multiple pitchers of beer in an evening and moved to Colorado to be outside more.

That, combined with my lumberjacking got me down to 260 and then 250. This summer, after training harder and being sick, I was as low as 240. That is almost 100 pounds in the last 10 years. I would like to make it an even 100 as I think at 6'5" I can hold 230-235 while being strong and not looking starved. Since I swung back to 260, I can see it in pictures and am embarrassed.

This thread will have weigh-ins, thoughts and failures. As of this morning I am 263. I am aiming for 235 and no belly for the 15th of March. That is our first Spring competition and a chance to win another shot at the series. This morning I had a piece of pecan pie, a quart of water, an orange and a grapefruit. No more chips, 4-5 small meals and more biking/hiking. Thanks for the outlet guys, I appreciate it.

[Good Times]

cheese, the sheer fact of going from 330-335 to 240 is a pretty amazing feat. I must say I'd like to lose a fraction of that and I'm honestly not sure how I can even accomplish that.

Good call on the lots of small meals. That looks to be the winning ticket because it'll keep your metabolism up. The addition of exercising will definitely help you trim down to your target goal.

How about some before and after pix? It's always fun to pick on the before pix ;) Btw this thread is pretty similar to the UY challenge that Chris made. Except I think you've prob beat everyone just from the rough figures :D

[AxleIke]

I think this is a great goal, and certainly attainable.

I'll offer what support I can here, or, should you wish, I love to hike. Happy to meet up if you want company.

Good luck!

[neliconcept]

big goal but is achievable, hope it goes well for ya.

my dad was an OLine RT in college at 298, granted this was back in the early 70s and he was huge for an olinemen then, hes now 255, but did get down to 211, just slackin i think.

discipline is key, and i know you have it.

good luck

[Cheese]

Thanks guys.

As for pictures, this reminds me I let my montypics expire, gotta get back to that.

Most of the big cut was easy, I had always been working out for football, but eating huge meals and working on being big obviously doesn't make a guy smaller. Since then, I have been active, and eating reasonably. I have a list of things skinny people do on the fridge. This is not a diet, it is a conscious change. Not even that revolutionary of one, but a necessary one.

Back in the 70's, being at or around 3 bills was common. Now that is a lot of high school kids and most college linemen.

Biking has been better and I like hiking. I am a firm believer that people over 200 pounds should not run distances greater than 3 miles.

The other thing is water. It is getting cooler here so it is harder to feel thirsty, but being hydrated always makes me feel better.

[RunnerUp]

back in highschool i was a 200# DE and was considered small, i was pretty quick but was still about 10-20# lighter than they wanted me... now im 235 (6 years later) and want to get back down to 240ish. i think the eating smaller/more meals will help a lot more than you think, i am on my own workout plan and hope to hit my target weight of 220 before i start lifting again.

im 6'3" so i dont think that 230 and 6'5" is a reasonable goal for not looking starved, however, everyone is differeent, and only you will be able to know what you feel comfortable at, either way, best of luck to you, and go GATORS!

[fustercluck]

I was going to start a thread like this, but I had doughnut glaze all over my fingers...

[Cheese]

No good pictures yet.

There have been some fortunate changes in my personal life that should add extra drive to this.

I finished up the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers here, that is temptation that is good to be gone.

Some times I get up in the morning and think, "Hey, you don't like being fat, make good decisions today." It often works, but yesterday I ate a piece of pecan pie with lunch and then had another at 10. That is not good.

More water, less temptations around the house. I don't have cookies or chocolates, now the pie is gone. Some times I eat ice cream, which is fine.

Anyway, back to it. The weather has turned here, only activity was 3 hours of splitting wood. There is the couple miles to campus and back, but that is not really exercise, just decompression time.

Thanks.

[NC994Run]

I''m 6'4 and about 215 lbs, and about 14% body fat (going for around 8%)and don't look starved. I would focus more on leaning out muscle/ muscle % to body fat% rather than weight alone. Especially if you work out at all, or bike, you're going to be replacing the fat with more dense muscle, as you may know.

[tacoclimber]

I have nothing worthwhile to add to the discussion of achieving your goal, Cheese. I'm a relatively skinny little punk.

All I'm gonna say is, good luck, and God speed. You have my prayers and admiration.

[Cheese]

I am a big guy and have almost always been a big guy. No way to tell about 215. I used to think 250 was skinny then I saw what I looked like at that weight and knew I could take out 20 or so pounds of grease reasonably.

In Philosophy, we talk about second order volitions. Either you want to do something or you want to want to do something. I want to want to be skinnier. I want to want to eat good food in small quantities at reasonable time spacings. I want to want to take my clothes off and run around naked when it gets warm again. So keep an eye out for the Bigfoot sightings in Colorado.

Beyond long term health, there is a chance to be a professional lumberjack, that alone should keep the fire under me. That is why I almost died today running in the snow.

Mostly this is a good outlet and support thing. I bought a bag of Cheetos at the store yesterday. After noon feeding, I ate a bunch. I closed the bag and will not open it again to eat that many.

Really, thanks guys.

[fustercluck]

In an act of supreme irony, may I offer a point of observation on this topic...

It seems in the several posts you've shared, that you have "slipped" and eaten something you should avoid or have regretted eating in excess. You can't tell by contemplating my physique now, but I did body building before I got married. When I was involved in the life, I found that "slipping" or feeling bad about it to discouragement was a primary reason others evetually abandoned a new dietary regimen.

What helped me was to understand that this new effort was life long and that progress was incremental. As long as my over-all fat percentage intake for the week remained within a predetermined parameter, I considered the week to be a success. I calculated my nutrition daily, but assessed my progress weekly. It also helped to measure with a tape my waist etc. in the morning. The fact is that I was never concerned about my weight as long as my gains were there and my waist remained within tolerances.

It is normal to slip. Just don't reward progress with food or types of food. Find something else gratifying and reward yourself with that. There is more, but given my current state of debauchery, it seems hypocritical to discuss it publicly. Hehe.

[Cheese]

You make a good point.

As a fat little kid, I am not sure I was awarded with food, but assessing why I eat has been a big deal. I know that that this time of the term, if I can make it hot and put it in my mouth, I am pretty happy. Doing that too much makes Jack a fat boy!

Eating pie is not a big deal, eating a whole pie is.

For perspective, in high school, it was not a big deal to hit up Culver's for a double butter burger deluxe, family order of onion rings and a large shake. That is just not reasonable. In college, it was a whole large pizza and more than a case of beer, often.

[fustercluck]

Yup, as we age, the eating habits and appetites we developed while we were young, return to cause us grief. I refer to the period between gluttonous abandon and a more appropriate refined diet as 'The de-tox phase'. For me, it takes two weeks to begin to shed the cravings for simple sugars, refined flours and fats. After awhile I can agian enjoy the natural flavors of fresh veggies and fruits absent added sugar. I can eat a piece of whole wheat bread without butter or jam and savor it's considerable substance. I'm satisfied and refreshed with just water while the caffeine addiction has been discarded. Chicken, tuna and other lean meats become seasoning rather than the entrée. And beans......oh the beans......

Of course any diet sans a three fold workout discipline will statistically fail. 'Three fold' references aerobic, anaerobic and flexibility training. The fact is that were one to be so determined to combine a naturalized diet with the three fold physical course, he could return to his best shape regardless of age (except geriatrics) within a year, though I would get a full physical first...

[Small_words]

Ah the fun of getting older...it sucks. My LDL is low (cool), and my HDL is really low (not cool). Last night I had lentil soup with salad. I'm with ya Cheese. I'm having a hard time doing what Fuster is talking about, but I'm there with ya every bit.

[neliconcept]

You make a good point.

As a fat little kid, I am not sure I was awarded with food, but assessing why I eat has been a big deal. I know that that this time of the term, if I can make it hot and put it in my mouth, I am pretty happy. Doing that too much makes Jack a fat boy!

Eating pie is not a big deal, eating a whole pie is.

For perspective, in high school, it was not a big deal to hit up Culver's for a double butter burger deluxe, family order of onion rings and a large shake. That is just not reasonable. In college, it was a whole large pizza and more than a case of beer, often.


during my younger years I was really short and fat, i had a problem that surgery had to fix and i higschool i went from 5 foot 2 straight to 5'11 in a year and was skinny as all get out. But my dads side of the family was real southern, big meals on sundays, lots of fat, and i was tempted to eat, later on we stopped having them due to animosity. Im starting to get a stomach on me again that I need to get rid of.

Lets say Im lucky that just walking to the marta station ( a mile) each day is keeping me in a respective range, but for some people that isnt enough.

hope to hear some great progress Adrian!

[Cheese]

I was looking at some oldish and some not so old pictures in the last couple of days and I know I can be 230 and look solid. That sort of thing is embarrassing.

Been snowing here, so it has been a couple of hikes and a few days with the splitting maul on cottonwood.

Lots of water, usually wheat waffles, a banana and milk for breakfast, yogurt and granola snack, Cliff bar early afternoon, turkey and cheese on wheat crackers, some times hummus on pitas. So far so good. Trying to limit mistakes and examine long term.

[Cheese]

Up 7 over the holidays. Home cooking and too much celebration do that.

Kettlebell work every day since Christmas which makes me feel like a beast if nothing else.

Ran 3 miles yesterday and got an hour on the bike today. Otherwise wood splitting a couple hours a day when the weather holds.

The small meal thing is good, so is getting up from the table when I am full instead of sitting and feeding for a prolonged period and in excess.

Hope y'all are well. Still working on pictures.

Also, the rock crawler now has two working lockers and a wired winch. It has been a long time since that has happened. Hopefully that bodes well for the spring.

[AxleIke]

Also, the rock crawler now has two working lockers and a wired winch. It has been a long time since that has happened. Hopefully that bodes well for the spring.


While I'm very stoked for your renewed exercise routine, the statement above is ****ing AWESOME. I am so excited.

Sorry for the OT.

[Bob98SR5]

adrian,

kettelbell: is it all that its cracked up to be? Ive been reading a bit on it and it seems promising.

[sschaefer3]

OMG! You ARE alive.

Call me you sexy thing.

:tongueout:

[Bob98SR5]

crikey, we should be saying that about YOU, steve :flipoff: :D

[Cheese]

Isaac, thanks. I fixed the locker wiring about 6 weeks or so ago in a fit of enthusiasm. We may need to go and bust snow or something like that. Still no trailer and that rig drives neither very far or vary fast on the highway.

Bob, I think they are. When I was a football person I thought each muscle should be done alone. That made for good weightroom performance but not as much game performance. Full body Olympic exercises train speed and work the whole body, doing them one handed works stabilizers effectively. If nothing else, I find it the most fun of any weight training I have done. I do not want to be enormous again, just explosive and tight. Give me a couple more months.

Steve, I was retelling a story about the girl who looked like the lady in Cold Case. I am alive and will give you a shout shortly.