Help me unfatify myself

[dabuddha]

This might be long so I'll try to break it up into sections.

Background: I've been overweight for most of my life. I'm 5'10" and ~210lbs. I'm also a type 1 diabetic. Up until the end of last year, I had 2 primary goals health wise.

1. Get my sugar levels under control. I switched to a pump about a year ago and since then, my A1Cs have ranged from 5.7 - 6.0 (last one was 5.8). So I'm happy about that now.
2. Need to lose weight. This is my primary goal for this year.

What I've done so far (diet/activity wise):
I've drastically changed my diet/activity for the past month.

Diet: I've drastically cut the amount of calories/foods I intake. On an average day, I'll eat:

• Breakfast: cup of greek yogurt with some granola or a couple of hardboiled eggs (sometimes with a strip of bacon) with a cup or two of coffee
• Lunch: Either a salad or half a peanut butter sandwich
• Dinner: varies but usually it's pretty light. My goto meal is salmon filet baked with salsa and some seasoning with some steamed broccoli. We also do India food frequently but I tend to avoid rice/chapatis because of the carbs and eat the other stuff.
• Snacks: peanuts/almonds
• Pre-exercise food: a banana mainly to keep my sugars from dropping too low.

Food wise, I'm pretty happy with my diet and I don't feel hungry (though I'd love to find more low carb/calorie food/recipes I can consume). I've also cut down majorly on beer and drink it on occasion now.

Exercise:
For the first 2.5 weeks, I was walk/running (walking at a 3.0 speed and jogging/running at a 5.5-6.0 speed for 1 minute+ intervals) on the treadmill for 40 minutes a day in the evenings after work (mornings on weekends). I was averaging about 2.5-2.7 miles per run according to the treadmill. I've since cut that down to about 3 times a week because my ankles/knees started feeling sore and I didn't want to risk injuring myself. At the same time, I was starting the P90X workout series. My wife did it for 3 months and had amazing results so I figured it was a good starting point. For the first 2.5 weeks, I was just doing the stretch DVD because as my wife pointed out to me, my body doesn't stretch well Since then I've been starting the lean schedule but on alternate days because of time/"i hurt too much" constraints.

The main reason I like the P90x is alot of it is low impact. And doing it makes me feel less guilty/lazy about not running that day.

Summary/Goals:
So given all that, here is what I'm looking for. I'd like to drop about 30-40 lbs or so. Problem is, I'm not sure if I'm on the right path or if there are things I can tweak. Food wise, I think I'm ok or should I make changes. Exercise wise, I don't know what the heck I'm doing lol. My main thought was I need to move my body and sweat at least 30-40 minutes a day. That's all I've had to work with. I'd like to get some weights in there as well but only thing I have at home is a EZ curl bar and a couple of dumb bells.

Sorry for the rambling, hopefully it made sense and I didn't leave anything out


Cliffs:
5'10" 210lbs right now
Want to lose 30-40lbs
Need my diet analyzed/tweaked.
My workout routine is a mess as well.
Any help/tips would be greatly appreciated!


EDIT (03/29/2014):
So still at it. I did tweak my diet a bit and I'm consuming more calories. I'm trying to keep at about 1700 or so. Trying to eat as much protein as I can but I can't quite get there (200g of protein or so). I did buy some protein powder which I'll start mixing into my nutribullet concoction (spinach, cottage cheese, a danon greek light and fit yogurt, and a banana) I'm still doing a hybrid of a workout as well. I'm doing the p90x on some days, running on the treadmill on others, and this past weekend, I signed up for a membership at LA Fitness.

I haven't dropped much weight yet (about 2 pounds) but the belly is definitely smaller and my arms are a bit bigger. I know it'll take time so I'm not worried about that. Overall, I'm feeling good about my progress.

EDIT (04/21/2014):
So I had my first "crash" last Thursday. On my train ride home, I was feeling exhausted as all hell. Then on my 30-35 minute drive home, I could barely keep myself going. Got home and just crawled into bed for a 2 hour nap. When I woke up, I could barely walk down the stairs (no energy). Had some soup and went to bed in our guest room so I could get a whole nights sleep uninterrupted. Slept for almost 9+ hours and felt a bit better in the morning. That evening, I did the cardio X workout (only a 45 minute workout) so not too rough. Saturday (after another 9+ hours of sleep), I hit the gym and did nothing but weights. Felt a lot better.

I think part of the problem is I'm going extremely low carb in my diet (mostly cause I'm a T1 diabetic) and I think I have to make myself consume more carbs? For the most part, I've been holding pretty steady with the 40-50% protein, 30% carbs, 20% fat diet and 1600-1800 calories a day. Ends up being about 130grams of carbs a day though I tend to eat less than that.

I also bought a new scale from Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/EatSmart-Preci...dp/B001KXZ808/

I'm still at about 208. Belly fat is significantly less so I'm happy about that. Hopefully I'll start seeing some poundage drop away soon but I'm sticking to it. My insurance company sent me a weightloss kit in the mail that included a measuring tape (and some other extra crap which I don't really need). I'll start doing the measurements as well.

EDIT (05/28/2014):
So small update. I'm continuing on the diet/workout regimen. I had to take a week off last week (from working out) cause of a nasty cold one of my kids gave me but still sticking to the diet.

I went to my endo last week and my numbers are looking a lot better. From my February visit, I've dropped 12 pounds. My cholesterol went from 199 to 158 (LDL was 100, HDL was either 48 or 58, I can't recall). My A1C went from 5.8 down to 5.0 which was a huge thing for me.

For my working out, I've settled into the following:
Monday: core synergistics
Tuesday: Try to hit the gym after work. I do a whole set of weights (curls, triceps, leg curls, crunches, calves) and then about 40 minutes of raquetball
Wednesday: cardio x
Thursday: arms and shoulders
Friday: Gym again, same as tuesday but I might add 45 minutes on the treadmill
Saturday: Gym usually for cardio (no weights) or I'll do Kenpo X
Sunday: rest day normally

 

[muffintop]

I think you're on the right path. Avoid anything that tastes sweet on the tongue, including fruit (grapefruit is ok). Also, don't necessarily avoid things that sound that they are bad for you like peanut butter, the "good fat" in the food is the item that will make you feel satisfied. Try to eat alot of 'lean protein' on your plate and less carbs like potatoes. What I do is stuff myself with lean meat then have just a bit of the starch/carb. Eating well is more pricy. Avoid salads bought in restos, they are full of carbs in the sauce. Zero soda pop.. Instead get plain soda and add a bit of lemon and (sugar if you must). If you are a pop drinker, I can assure you'll lose weigh quickly if you just discontinue that.

 

[KidNiki1]

ready the sticky. tons of info there.

also, tracking your calories will help a lot. find out what bmr and all that is and make sure you are eating the right amount of calories.

also, lift.

 

[Zivic]

tracking your calories

also, lift.

this.. forget the cardio and P90x. They won't do anything if you eat too much

 

[highland145]

One day I'll track the lifting study down(or not)....but lift. Muscle burns calories just by being there. Kind of like a meth head on red bull....all day. Lift.

 

[dabuddha]

The calorie cut down ive got down. I think at this point I'm averaging about 1200-1500 calories a day with an occasional "cheat day" (maybe 1800 calories).

The only soda I do drink is diet on occasion (cause of the diabetes). Also cause of the diabeetus, I naturally avoid carbs so that helps me since I'm used to a low carb diet.
Any suggestions for a good lifting regimen I can use as a guide? I did a couple of BMR calculators and it came out to about 2100 calories to maintain this crap body . I'm thinking I can work in 3 days of lifting between the running/p90xing.
BTW thank you for the responses and suggestions!

 

[highland145]

Strong lifts 5x5 or starting strength.

Sum

The best training programs have elements of both aerobic and anaerobic training and the important factors for weight loss are: pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone (aka intensity), eating enough to recover (but not too much), and resting enough between your workouts. Balance these factors correctly and your metabolism will shift and the pounds will melt away.

 

[Raghu]

Look for videos by Richard Bernstein on youtube. Or maybe you can buy his book. He has been T1 for past ~60 years and has amazing insights into nutrition and health, particularly for T1D.

Why the sandwich for lunch? Anything that promotes insulin will also make you fatter.

 

[dabuddha]

Look for videos by Richard Bernstein on youtube. Or maybe you can buy his book. He has been T1 for past ~60 years and has amazing insights into nutrition and health, particularly for T1D.

Why the sandwich for lunch? Anything that promotes insulin will also make you fatter.

I'll check out the vids! As for the sandwich, it's the lowest carb quicky lunch I can make. The two slices of wheat bread have 16 grams of carbs with 6 grams of fiber and 2 tbs of peanut butter have 6 grams of carbs. And since I got my nutribullet, I've been making my own "peanut butter" by grinding up roasted peanuts in it. Tastes great and it doesn't have the added sugar/oil/etc added to it like the store bought stuff.

 

[norseamd]

The main reason I like the P90x is alot of it is low impact. And doing it makes me feel less guilty/lazy about not running that day.

p90x is low impact?

thought that was a nzai cardio regime that few out of shape people would ba able to do?

 

[z1ggy]

@ 210lb, 1200-1500 cals a day might actually be too little. You'll be sending signals to your body saying, "hey body, I am significantly cutting my cals, aka I am starving in the wild somewhere" which in turn will turn your metab. slower so you can conserve energy.

As others have said, find your BMR, then add in the extra cals for your daily activity level.

Just guessing, but at 210 + desk job + no exercise, your break even cals is probably in the ~2700 cal range per day. I'm basing this off me, which @ 190lb my break even given those same inputs is around 2400ish cals.

So to lose 1lb per week, you want to cut roughly 3500cals out per week. That's on average 500cals per day. It's going to be best to cut the 500 through eating, but if you are lifting and exercising (you should be..) then you could cut 400 by eating, and the next 100+ through gym time.

Depending how much time you have, your work outs may vary...But if you are limited on time, you can do something I do. I lift for 30 mins 5x a week. Each day is a different routine. Google MAX OT work out. That's what I do now. Recommended to me here by Zivic. Working great. I'm not doing ANY cardio other than my lifting and rec. sports and I'm down about 1% body fat in 8 weeks. Considering I wasn't really "fat" to begin with, I think that's pretty good.

If you had even more time, you could do MAX OT in the morning, then do a quick but intense cardio session 8-12hrs later.

 

[silicon]

This might be long so I'll try to break it up into sections.

Background: I've been overweight for most of my life. I'm 5'10" and ~210lbs. I'm also a type 1 diabetic. Up until the end of last year, I had 2 primary goals health wise.

1. Get my sugar levels under control. I switched to a pump about a year ago and since then, my A1Cs have ranged from 5.7 - 6.0 (last one was 5.8). So I'm happy about that now.
2. Need to lose weight. This is my primary goal for this year.

What I've done so far (diet/activity wise):
I've drastically changed my diet/activity for the past month.

Diet: I've drastically cut the amount of calories/foods I intake. On an average day, I'll eat:

• Breakfast: cup of greek yogurt with some granola or a couple of hardboiled eggs (sometimes with a strip of bacon) with a cup or two of coffee
• Lunch: Either a salad or half a peanut butter sandwich
• Dinner: varies but usually it's pretty light. My goto meal is salmon filet baked with salsa and some seasoning with some steamed broccoli. We also do India food frequently but I tend to avoid rice/chapatis because of the carbs and eat the other stuff.
• Snacks: peanuts/almonds
• Pre-exercise food: a banana mainly to keep my sugars from dropping too low.

Food wise, I'm pretty happy with my diet and I don't feel hungry (though I'd love to find more low carb/calorie food/recipes I can consume). I've also cut down majorly on beer and drink it on occasion now.

Exercise:
For the first 2.5 weeks, I was walk/running (walking at a 3.0 speed and jogging/running at a 5.5-6.0 speed for 1 minute+ intervals) on the treadmill for 40 minutes a day in the evenings after work (mornings on weekends). I was averaging about 2.5-2.7 miles per run according to the treadmill. I've since cut that down to about 3 times a week because my ankles/knees started feeling sore and I didn't want to risk injuring myself. At the same time, I was starting the P90X workout series. My wife did it for 3 months and had amazing results so I figured it was a good starting point. For the first 2.5 weeks, I was just doing the stretch DVD because as my wife pointed out to me, my body doesn't stretch well Since then I've been starting the lean schedule but on alternate days because of time/"i hurt too much" constraints.

The main reason I like the P90x is alot of it is low impact. And doing it makes me feel less guilty/lazy about not running that day.

Summary/Goals:
So given all that, here is what I'm looking for. I'd like to drop about 30-40 lbs or so. Problem is, I'm not sure if I'm on the right path or if there are things I can tweak. Food wise, I think I'm ok or should I make changes. Exercise wise, I don't know what the heck I'm doing lol. My main thought was I need to move my body and sweat at least 30-40 minutes a day. That's all I've had to work with. I'd like to get some weights in there as well but only thing I have at home is a EZ curl bar and a couple of dumb bells.

Sorry for the rambling, hopefully it made sense and I didn't leave anything out


Cliffs:
5'10" 210lbs right now
Want to lose 30-40lbs
Need my diet analyzed/tweaked.
My workout routine is a mess as well.
Any help/tips would be greatly appreciated!

I would recommend the purchase of a bicycle as riding a bike is good way to get fit and lose weight.

 

[dabuddha]

p90x is low impact?

thought that was a nzai cardio regime that few out of shape people would ba able to do?

Alot of it is. The upper body one and the core synergistic dvds were pretty easy. I haven't done the lower body one yet because of my sore knees/ankles. I want to give them time to "heal". I was also thinking of maybe buying a recumbent bike for "easy" cardio for days when I don't want to run.

 

[norseamd]

Alot of it is. The upper body one and the core synergistic dvds were pretty easy. I haven't done the lower body one yet because of my sore knees/ankles. I want to give them time to "heal". I was also thinking of maybe buying a recumbent bike for "easy" cardio for days when I don't want to run.

have you tried swimming?

can be low impact and a great workout at the same time. also body fat will give you more buoncey

 

[dabuddha]

@ 210lb, 1200-1500 cals a day might actually be too little. You'll be sending signals to your body saying, "hey body, I am significantly cutting my cals, aka I am starving in the wild somewhere" which in turn will turn your metab. slower so you can conserve energy.

As others have said, find your BMR, then add in the extra cals for your daily activity level.

Just guessing, but at 210 + desk job + no exercise, your break even cals is probably in the ~2700 cal range per day. I'm basing this off me, which @ 190lb my break even given those same inputs is around 2400ish cals.

So to lose 1lb per week, you want to cut roughly 3500cals out per week. That's on average 500cals per day. It's going to be best to cut the 500 through eating, but if you are lifting and exercising (you should be..) then you could cut 400 by eating, and the next 100+ through gym time.

Depending how much time you have, your work outs may vary...But if you are limited on time, you can do something I do. I lift for 30 mins 5x a week. Each day is a different routine. Google MAX OT work out. That's what I do now. Recommended to me here by Zivic. Working great. I'm not doing ANY cardio other than my lifting and rec. sports and I'm down about 1% body fat in 8 weeks. Considering I wasn't really "fat" to begin with, I think that's pretty good.

If you had even more time, you could do MAX OT in the morning, then do a quick but intense cardio session 8-12hrs later.

Time is one of my biggest issues. I have about 5 hours of commuting and a 9 hour day. Out of the house by 5 am and I don't get home till 7pm 4 days a week.

I do have to say though I really love lifting over running/p90xing. I dunno what it is about it but I get so much satisfaction while doing it.

 

[dabuddha]

have you tried swimming?

can be low impact and a great workout at the same time. also body fat will give you more buoncey

hmmm I haven't swam in years but I've always loved swimming. I could probably do so on the weekends but weekdays are pretty shot because of my long commute + 9 hour day. I don't get home till about 7pm and I help out with dinner and the kids.

 

[dabuddha]

I downloaded the myfitnesspal app to try to track my calories. All I can say is oh my!
My estimated intake was probably on the low end. From my breakfast and lunch today, I'm already at 752 calories. Might have to cut out the milk from my coffee and go straight black

 

[brad310]

Strong lifts 5x5 or starting strength.

I dont know why people preach this for someone trying to lose a significant amount of weight. One of the core ideas is to drink a gallon of milk a day outside of your other calories. The purpose of that program is to get strong, which puts you in caloric excess and you will add tissue, muscle and fat. Im not knocking SS at all, I love Rippetoe and what his program taught me...its just not a weight loss plan.

Ive had to lose weight before. I lost 75 lbs.

Ive wanted to get strong before. I did SS.

With SS, i did not lose any weight. I maintained for a while and gained weight. But i got strong.

When i lost my weight, i counted my calories and did only cardio for about the first 40 lbs and a mixture cardio/weights for the rest. My cardio consisted mostly of ellitpical and/or stairclimber.

If you want to lose weight, eat whole foods. Nothing processed. Lots of veggies. And WALK. JUST WALK. Counting your calories to give u a -500 deficit and walking, you will lose weight. You dont have to push a sled, or even lift. You can lose weight through diet alone...although its not the most efficient. If you can do more cardio than walking fine...but persistance is more important than intensity.

After you lose weight, change it up and do something different for maintenance.

 

[brad310]

p90x is low impact?

thought that was a nzai cardio regime that few out of shape people would ba able to do?

Having done both p90x and p90x3, i would suggest you lose most of your weight first. Or if you are already athletic and capable, then do the lean version, not classic.

You want to lose weight, do cardio. You want to get strong, lift. P90x is somewhat inbetween and you wont get strong from it, and you wont lose as much weight as you would with just diet and cardio. It is good, dont get me wrong, but IMHO it is geared towards people who are already in OK shape, but not for obese people.

 

[brad310]

I do have to say though I really love lifting over running/p90xing. I dunno what it is about it but I get so much satisfaction while doing it.

Just saw this. Look into mixing in barbell complexes or kettlebell complexes. You can totally smoke yourself in 20 minutes.

 

[z1ggy]

Time is one of my biggest issues. I have about 5 hours of commuting and a 9 hour day. Out of the house by 5 am and I don't get home till 7pm 4 days a week.

I do have to say though I really love lifting over running/p90xing. I dunno what it is about it but I get so much satisfaction while doing it.

Yikesssssssss. That life style really isn't conducive to being healthy and active unless your job is mainly outdoor manual labor.

If you have access to a real life (one with power rack, bench press, Dumbells up to 100lb) gym, I'd say join it if you haven't (sorry didn't read your OP really) already. If this is not an option, and you can afford some equipment, I'd suggest buying the Dumbells by Bowflex and a bench. You can do almost every major move and I believe each dumbell on their heavy set goes up to 75lb or so. I could be wrong, but it's enough for a beginner to use for a good 6-12 months.

 

[Pantlegz]

I dont know why people preach this for someone trying to lose a significant amount of weight. One of the core ideas is to drink a gallon of milk a day outside of your other calories. The purpose of that program is to get strong, which puts you in caloric excess and you will add tissue, muscle and fat. Im not knocking SS at all, I love Rippetoe and what his program taught me...its just not a weight loss plan.

Ive had to lose weight before. I lost 75 lbs.

Ive wanted to get strong before. I did SS.

With SS, i did not lose any weight. I maintained for a while and gained weight. But i got strong.

When i lost my weight, i counted my calories and did only cardio for about the first 40 lbs and a mixture cardio/weights for the rest. My cardio consisted mostly of ellitpical and/or stairclimber.

If you want to lose weight, eat whole foods. Nothing processed. Lots of veggies. And WALK. JUST WALK. Counting your calories to give u a -500 deficit and walking, you will lose weight. You dont have to push a sled, or even lift. You can lose weight through diet alone...although its not the most efficient. If you can do more cardio than walking fine...but persistance is more important than intensity.

After you lose weight, change it up and do something different for maintenance.

SS is a great platform to lose weight, I used SL which is very similar to go from 260+ down to ~215 (I have since intentionally bulked up to 250 again). You're completely wrong about drinking a gallon of milk a day being a core idea, it's for skinny guys who claim they can't gain weight no matter what they eat. Liquid calories are a very easy way to significantly increase your calorie intake. With that said, to lose some weight cut all calories from liquids or at least make them very limited, this includes milk and juice. Eat whole foods, follow a paleo type diet - you don't have to be a nazi about it, it's not a religion. Just follow the core concepts and give yourself some leniency. I do my best to follow it but if I want something that doesn't fit the mold I'll make it or I'll make a paleo meal then add cheese - the horror! 80% of your fat loss will come from your diet, remember that before you put anything in your mouth.

http://www.t-nation.com/training/regular-cardio-will-make-you-fat

cardio is the devil, at least traditional cardio is...

 

[dabuddha]

I was thinking of adding this + an olympic bar to my setup downstairs

this

I've already got a curl bar and 2 dumbbells with a bunch of weights. Caloric wise, I think I'm good with my daily workout thrown into the mess.

I tell you though, from all my googling and all the information I've read in these forums, the whole concept of trying to get healthy can be overwhelming. There's just so much information/concepts out there.

 

[z1ggy]

I was thinking of adding this + an olympic bar to my setup downstairs

this

I've already got a curl bar and 2 dumbbells with a bunch of weights. Caloric wise, I think I'm good with my daily workout thrown into the mess.

I tell you though, from all my googling and all the information I've read in these forums, the whole concept of trying to get healthy can be overwhelming. There's just so much information/concepts out there.

It's not hard once you get used to it. Key is find healthy, whole foods that you like the taste of. I'll give you a break down of what I eat. I eat this almost the same way, every single day. Yes it gets boring, yes it gets redundant, but I'm seeing results.

Bfast:
protein shake + 1cup almond milk

Snack1:
1/4 cup almonds

Snack2:
slimfast shake bottle

lunch:
~4-5oz chicken, 2-3oz steak, veggies, little marinara sauce

Snack 3:
1/4 cup pistashio & another protein shake w/ almond milk

Dinner:
4oz salmon with a touch of BBQ sauce

If I'm just super hungry, snack:
Few strawberries w a touch lite/fat free whip cream

Overall my daily meal plan puts me at 1800-1900 cals, with about ~180g protein, and the rest a mix of healthy fats and carbs. This is how I eat for fat loss. If I were to be eating for muscle gain, I'd keep everything roughly the same, but add in a more chicken and steak to my lunch, and add brown rice and yam to my dinner. Probably shoot closer to 2700 cals.

 

[highland145]

I dont know why people preach this for someone trying to lose a significant amount of weight.

snip

In a 12 week study of 3 groups: diet only, diet plus aerobics (5 times a week, progressing from 30 mins to 50 mins) and diet plus aerobics plus weight training. Diet group lost 14.6 pounds of fat, diet plus aerobics lost 15.6 pounds, and diet plus aerobics plus weights lost 21.1 pounds of fat (44% and 35% more than the other groups, respectively).
[SIZE=-1]Kramer, Volek et al. Influence of exercise training on physiological and performance changes with weight loss in men. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 31, No. 9, pp. 1320-1329, 1999.

[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]http://www.healthfitonline.com/resources/articles/Cardio_Is_Not_Your_Answer.php[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]
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