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What's Your Edge
jeff218's Poker Blog Back in November I stepped on a scale for the first time in well over a year. I did not really look at what it said, only glancing long enough to see the red needle was beyond the number 235.
That's a lot.
Jeff is a pussy hair short of 5' 9" and have a very stout natural build (yeah, I just used 3rd person, deal with it). I am guesstimating that if I was around 175 I'd be in very good shape body fat wise. As I said to my wife, if I was wrestling, I'd be in the 152 lb class (I wrestled for 13 years. My senior year of high school, 12 years ago, I was at 135). If that is the case, 170-175 seems like a good walking around weight.
My last known accurate weight was about 195. That was in late 2006. I was, ummm, husky, and could def have lost 20lbs. Since then I've worked jobs where I sit basically 8-12 hours a day, 5-6 days a week. I ate a lot of fast food and got very little exercise. I also like to booze a bit and 4th meal was standard.
All that being said, as of this morning I am under 220 for probably the first time in well over a year. The most amazing part is that I've done it in about 8 weeks....without working out.....or giving up everything good to eat. I know it has only been a couple pounds a week, but this is the RIGHT way to lose weight. I am not dieting, I am changing my lifestyle.
I'll explain:
-had pizza exactly once
-not had a single burger
-only had french fries once
-basically zero fried foods
-had 1 bowl of shitty cereal (froot loops, this morning)
-drank almost no beer and very little hard alcohol
-stopped eating in restaurants almost entirely
-Lots and lots of fish and chicken.
-ZERO junk food
-fruit for desert - no candy or baked goods
-much more veggies
-snacking often on not terrible for you things, so I stay full because....
-cutting my portions (one of my biggest problems)
-almost completely sworn off red meat
I should also note that I have not gone on a fad diet or turned to shakes, protein bars, atkins stuff, or pills (food pyramid baby). So what is next?
-Monday I start p90x. I'm not looking forward to this at all, but I think it will more than double my weight loss. I want to be at 200 on April 1, on my way to a goal of 175 (hopefully by summers end). Actually, I am looking forward to it, just not the first week of immense pain and soreness.
-increase consumption of salmon and tuna (protein and omega-3's baby)
-double amount of veggies I eat
-have at least 3 pieces of fruit daily
-ALWAYS FUCKING EAT BREAKFAST (I am REALLY bad at this)
-cut way down on sodium intake
-increase water intake by like 8x
-reduce the amount of unnecessary starches in my diet
Aside from feeling better about myself, feeling less tired on very little sleep (standard), and hearing things like, "have you lost weight?", the best part of this deal is that I don't have the chronic heartburn I suffered through for three years. Basically, I was on Prilosec nearly every day just to keep from being miserable at night. I've sworn off the stuff and have had nary a day of the burn since I stopped eating fried foods.
I really hope getting on a workout plan will speed things up and accelerate results. So far the big key has been the purchase of a scale. It is like a competition to me now. Every day I want to be a bit lower than the day before. Every week I want to see results. Now whenever I have a temptation to eat poorly, I think of that $35 scale sitting in my bathroom.
The real moral here is that if I can do this, freaking anybody can. I have felt like shit about myself for years. No matter what clothes I buy/try on I look like shit (not that I am a male model, but you know what I mean). I don't like going places where I have to dress nice because I feel self conscious. I just hate it. Plus my family has a long history of heart issues and diabetes. Despite all this it took me basically 10 years of steady weight gain to finally do something about it. That is really sad. All you damn kids all over this site: Don't be me. Lose the 10 lbs now, it is way easier than losing 60 later...TRUST ME.
So how did I go from eating like an idiot to losing 15+ lbs just by changing my diet? It was easy! All I did was take all of the shitty food, and I mean ALL of it, out of my house. I could not eat poorly if I wanted to (I guess I could drink come crisco or something). After a couple of weeks, it became normal, and now I don't even want the shit.
It really is just that easy.
I have a couple more things in mind for blogging. I'll be back soon, I promise.
xoxo
-Jeff
Jan 22, 10 01:33:34
gl on p90x im rounding week 4.... its fucking tough but well worth it
Jan 22, 10 03:32:09
Nice blog - I turn 30 in 2 months and bought p90x...thinking about kicking it into high gear soon! Once you get in a routine of working out and eating healthy its so much easier!
Jan 22, 10 08:31:25
u have it right. Only want to lose a couple pounds a week and can do it with just cutting ur calories by no more than 500 a day. Even with no exercise at all. If u do cardio and or wegiht training that would allow u to eat more freely though. But great job keep it up!!!
Jan 22, 10 08:56:25
Congratz Jeff that is awesome. I definately need to push myself to lose that 60 lbs as well. GL keep it up.
Jan 22, 10 09:44:51
Waterfall -
I am doing under 2k calories a day, down from probably close to 4k. I've also cut fat intake to under 30 grams, and usually less than 20. 90% of the fat in my diet nowadays is from oily/fatty fish or olive oil. I really do miss butter though....a lot.
Jan 22, 10 12:29:36
GL Jeff....sounds like you are off to an amazing start! If you think you are feeling awesome now just wait till you add exercise into the equation. I promise you will just start to feel better and better. Exercise is key for not just weight loss but happiness and self-confidence! Keep crushing. :)
Jan 22, 10 13:28:18
I am going be such a bad boy all weekend. Two parties to attend, including an all you can eat and drink deal at a local bar. I could be 240 on Monday...
Jan 22, 10 16:47:56
very inspiring! you must not be using joy of cooking cause the one recipe i've tried so far was pretty fatty. :(
start the cardio imo!
Jan 22, 10 17:04:30
You're going to hate me. I lost 50 lbs between May and Dec. Never counted a calorie, ate Red meat, bacon, no "low" fat stuff, cream in my coffee too. Oh, and I didn't exercise. Went from ~233 to now at 182. I'm 6' tall. My cholesterol was down 20% in the first 6 weeks, and i get the results next week to see where it is now.
Jan 22, 10 17:10:06
I don't hate you - I honestly don't mind my diet. Substitute salmon for steak? Sounds ok with me.
But I am curious how you pulled it off. Tons of exercise I assume?
Jan 22, 10 21:17:10
Hey Jeff, awesome that you are gonna start P90x, Im on day 22nd, and yes, it will hurt a bit this first week :)
You might actually need to increase your calories, if you do start p90x, since you will be burning a lot of them, so you basically need a 500 calorie deficit at least for the first month of p90x.
GabetheKid and I, belong to this p90x forum, once you get on your way, and need some extra info, let me know and Ill give you the name...Gl!
Jan 22, 10 21:30:38
Honestly, I didn't leave the couch (not that I'm proud of not exercising, though it worked).
I followed the Atkins plan. Now I'm figuring out the maintenance and ongoing plan for me.
Hope things keep working for you, hardest part for me was staying on it. I had a friend at work and we both did it, so that made it easier.
Jan 23, 10 14:07:38
I really have strong negative feelings about the Atkins diet.The concept that carbs are bad is really not a healthy one in the least. I am not a doctor/nutritionist, but I do know that your nervous system (aka brain) operates best when using glucose as a fuel. If you don't take in enough carbs to operate your brain, your body is forced to convert protein into glucose. Apparently this is very hard on a couple key organs (liver, pancreas). Cutting down on carbs, fat, etc is not a bad thing. But eliminating ANYTHING out of your diet entirely is not healthy.
/rant
Jan 23, 10 19:00:15
any time ive lost substantial weight its been by cutting complex cards..no bread, starches, chips, fried food, etc or anything like that. I allow myself bbq sauce and ketchup to go with all of the chicken and eggs I end up eating. It makes you cut out snacks and only eat meals. I also don't eat any nuts, i know they are allowed but I end up eating way too many of them it defeats everything. glgl. Working out with a high protein low carb diet also builds muscle quickly.
Jan 26, 10 14:54:32
I lost 50 lbs using Atkins about 6 years ago. It was the most healthly I ever felt. I have since gained 20 back, slowly because of bad habits, not overnight like you may hear.
I tried it again 4 1/2 years later and it didn't work. I researched and discovered on a low carb diet you get "one golden shot". It won't work a 2nd time. Dammit
There was nothing like a big hamburger smothed in cheese with bacon on the side (no bun of course) being part of your diet. The only downside was no booze, which I somehow was able to do for almost 6 months.
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jeff218
Aberdeen, South Dakota
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