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Training/ Weight loss advice

Old 08-03-05, 02:07 PM
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Training/ Weight loss advice

So, I have always had trouble loosing weight (I am sure alot of that has to do with poor eating habits), but things really got bad for me after I got married and stopped excercizing. They got worse after I got my right leg amputated below the knee. At my fattest I was 250, I am now down to 205. My target is 130-140 (I am 5'10), although that is a subjective goal based on the fact that when I was 155, I still though I was chubby (although in retrospect I suppose I wasn't that bad).

What I am doing:
First I bought a bowflex. I have been working out 3x per week on that. I also have eliminated the following from my diet: Soda, alcohol, junk food, deserts, eating out. I have also switched from white rice to brown, white bread to whole wheat. My biggest problem was what I was eating. I would get up in the morning, have two hot pockets, go to work, eat some peanuts from the vending machine, go to lunch get a hot dog and a coke, come home drink a couple beers and have a steak.

Now I wake up, have some yogurt a few hours later I have a healthy snack of some sort, for lunch I have a turkey sandwich, with low fat cheese and tree pieces of thin sliced turkey. When I get home I have another meal usually one of the following : a low cal turkey soup w/ orzo in it or some sort of fish or chicken meal. I always have one portion of protein, one of veggies, and one carb. Then around 8ish I have a banana for my last meal of the day. I am drinking a ton of water. My average caloric intake is around 1600-1700/ day. I work out on the bowflex m/w/f. I just bought a trek 1000, and the plan is to ride as much as I can, limited (for now) to 30 min on workout days, 1 hour on non work out days, and at a relaxed pace on the weekends w/ my wife.

Is there anything you would do different? Thanks for your advice.
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Old 08-03-05, 02:51 PM
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be careful of your goal weight. It sounds mighty low for someone your height. Especially if you build muscle from working out on the bowflex. Other than that it sounds like you'r on the right track. Good luck!
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Old 08-03-05, 04:11 PM
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sounds like you are on a perfect track to reach your goal within the next 10-12 months. Remember to count all your calories(little stuff like condiments and salad dressing add up quickly), you have a great grasp on your goal and how to get there.
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Old 08-03-05, 05:50 PM
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Originally Posted by cheebahmunkey
be careful of your goal weight. It sounds mighty low for someone your height. Especially if you build muscle from working out on the bowflex. Other than that it sounds like you'r on the right track. Good luck!
Thanks for the replys guys! I know what you mean about goal weight. It is sort of a loose goal, not set in stone. I am basing it on how I looked when I was down to 155. There was still room to loose, but on the other hand, I was eating crappy things, and drinking lots of beer. I'm not really obsessed with the weight itself, I just want to look and feel good
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Old 08-03-05, 05:59 PM
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as someone who went from 240 to 140ish try not to get hung up on looks as even when you get down to that weight(if you choose to) you will most likley still see some stretched skin that will take time to go away
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Old 08-04-05, 08:49 AM
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Good luck with the weight loss. I would suggest keeping a food log it can be as detailed or as simple as you want. Just remember to include Calories, Fat, Carb & Protien. After keeping a food log you might notice that you are a. not getting enough calories which means your body is going to turn down the metabolism rate or b. You might still be eating to many calories. I found this website and it might help you it has some good info on it. https://www.fitday.com/WebFit/Index.html It has a food journal that is free and it will break down exactly what you have eaten for the day. Again, good luck
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Old 08-04-05, 09:27 AM
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How many calories should I be consuming to avoid slowing my metabolisim down?

I keep track of what I eat not through a journal, but mainly through the fact that the only meal that changes is my dinner (I eat different things, but always target 500 calories). So everything else is set in stone.
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Old 08-04-05, 10:10 AM
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Originally Posted by Goannaman
How many calories should I be consuming to avoid slowing my metabolisim down?

I keep track of what I eat not through a journal, but mainly through the fact that the only meal that changes is my dinner (I eat different things, but always target 500 calories). So everything else is set in stone.
hard to know. It changes from person to person. Go have your BMR (Base Metabolic Rate) or RMR (Resting MR) checked at a local fitness club. That should give you a better idea of how many your body needs to function.
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Old 08-04-05, 01:39 PM
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My 18 year old son is 5'10", not excess fat and is 145. Any thinner...and you become a pro cyclist! I saw a pic of Hamilton after his crash on the Tour, and he looked like an anorexic.
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Old 08-04-05, 02:01 PM
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How much muscle would you say you were carrying at 155? If you were really unhappy with your weight at 5'10" 155, as an adult male, I'm guessing it wasn't much.

If you just keep the weight training simple and try to progress every time (you won't always be able to progress, but you should always be pushing the limit even if only by a small amount) you might be surpised how muscular you end up; you may be a very different person when you reach 155 this time.
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Old 08-04-05, 02:44 PM
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If I read this correctly, you've had your leg amputated below the knee?


Given that, I'd actually speak with a doctor honestly.

140 doesn't sound bad if your an amputee, in my non-professional opinion.

I'd also look on the web and see if there is a weight chart for amputees as well.
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Old 08-04-05, 03:13 PM
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I wouldn't say I was unhappy with my weight. But I wasn't happy with it either. I was active all the time. I worked on my feet doing manual labor, when I wasn't at work I was either skating or playing hockey. Like I said though, there was still some flab there. If I think back on it, I was in good enough shape that women would hit on me in bars, so I couldn't have been that bad

Yes, Santaria, it was a bk amputation. I am not exactly sure how much my 2/3's of my shin and foot weighed, but probablly not alot more than my prosthesis (I weigh myself with it on).
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Old 08-04-05, 05:20 PM
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Basicly it comes down to diet. The biggest thing is that even if you eat the same thing everyday except for dinner which varies you should still keep a journal even if its only for a month that way you can see every thing you are eating. I understand that you eat the same thing but are you taking into account any little bits of food that you might snack on. I eat 6 meals a day they are very small portions but i know exactly how much calories, fat, carbs, protien i take in every day. If you were 155 and you still had flab then that is a good indication that you are taking in too much FAT in your diet. Sometimes it takes doing something else to get results try the journal it wont hurt. Or atleast add up all the foods you have eaten today and see what the count is you might be suprised.
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Old 08-05-05, 05:24 AM
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Originally Posted by mgolden
Basicly it comes down to diet. The biggest thing is that even if you eat the same thing everyday except for dinner which varies you should still keep a journal even if its only for a month that way you can see every thing you are eating. I understand that you eat the same thing but are you taking into account any little bits of food that you might snack on. I eat 6 meals a day they are very small portions but i know exactly how much calories, fat, carbs, protien i take in every day. If you were 155 and you still had flab then that is a good indication that you are taking in too much FAT in your diet. Sometimes it takes doing something else to get results try the journal it wont hurt. Or atleast add up all the foods you have eaten today and see what the count is you might be suprised.
I know exactly what I am eating now. Which is ~1300 calories +/- 50. I don't eat anything extra. Yogurt breakfast 250 cal. Clif bar @ 10am 200 cal Lunch @ 1pm 215 (sandwich, whole wheat bread, 1 slice lowfat chease 2 tsp mustard three slices 98% fat free turkey) cal Dinner @ 5:30pm ~ 500 cal (sometimes less sometimes more) Snack @ 7:50 pm 1 bannana 108 calories. Total calories: 1,273.

Nothing other than that goes in my mouth except for water, so there aren't any "little bits of food I might snack on". I don't drink anything but water, so no calories coming in there.

You are right though, I was eating really crappy food. High fat content, high sodium high cholesterol...I basically ate whatever I wanted. The only reason I weighed 155 was because I was constantly doing strenuous physical activity. My weight shot up, because I stopped the physical activity, but didn't moderate my eating. I said so in this post:
Thanks for the replys guys! I know what you mean about goal weight. It is sort of a loose goal, not set in stone. I am basing it on how I looked when I was down to 155. There was still room to loose, but on the other hand, I was eating crappy things, and drinking lots of beer. I'm not really obsessed with the weight itself, I just want to look and feel good
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Old 08-05-05, 06:29 AM
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Originally Posted by Goannaman
I know exactly what I am eating now. Which is ~1300 calories +/- 50. I don't eat anything extra. Yogurt breakfast 250 cal. Clif bar @ 10am 200 cal Lunch @ 1pm 215 (sandwich, whole wheat bread, 1 slice lowfat chease 2 tsp mustard three slices 98% fat free turkey) cal Dinner @ 5:30pm ~ 500 cal (sometimes less sometimes more) Snack @ 7:50 pm 1 bannana 108 calories. Total calories: 1,273.

Nothing other than that goes in my mouth except for water, so there aren't any "little bits of food I might snack on". I don't drink anything but water, so no calories coming in there.

You are right though, I was eating really crappy food. High fat content, high sodium high cholesterol...I basically ate whatever I wanted. The only reason I weighed 155 was because I was constantly doing strenuous physical activity. My weight shot up, because I stopped the physical activity, but didn't moderate my eating. I said so in this post:
woa, that really isn't enough calories. You should probably be eating at least 1500 a day to keep from tricking your body into thinking you're starving.
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Old 08-05-05, 06:46 AM
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Yeah, my goal is higher than that. I am just having a problem adding more (dont feel hungry enough). I think I will add another ~200 calorie snack btwn lunch and dinner. And make myself eat it whether I feel hungry or not.
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Old 08-05-05, 07:22 AM
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I see too problems - too few calories, and you're not eating breakfast soon enough. GOing too long without breakfast will cause muscle breakdown as your body turns to it for fuel. I don't know if you exercise in the morning or when, but it's best to have no more than a half hour of moderately paced exercise, then eat. Don't go much longer.

For calories...it depends on your metabolic rate. Never go less than 10 calories per pound of bodyweight. So for me that's 2020 cals/day. If you're active hat day it should be closer to 12-25 cals/pound. If you're carrying less than 30 pounds of extra fat, and you're losing more than 1-2 pounds a week, you're eating too little calories.
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Old 08-05-05, 08:09 AM
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I can only assume that you confused my breakfast time w/ my snack time. On m/w/f I work up @ 5 work out, shower and eat @ 5:40-6ish. On days I dont work out, I eat my breakfast around 6:15-6:30 (wake up @ 6) So I can't really eat breakfast much earlier than I do. My snack is then around 10:00 am

Edited to add:

Something that confused me about your advice was the 10 cal / lb of bodyweight. Isn't this the general goal for maintaining what I have? So wouldn't it in effect be supporting my excess fat? I thought that the trick is to eat just enough calories to keep the metabolisim from slowing down, while still consuming little enough calories that you have to burn fat stores to produce energy. Sort of walking the line so to speak. Am I wrong about that?
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Old 08-05-05, 10:23 AM
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Goannaman I am 205 also and my goal wieght is 170 but i am 6' 1" When i was a competative cyclist in Germany that was my competition wieght. I take in 2298 calories a day. I loose about 1lb to 1.5lbs a week. I weight lift 4 times a week and ride my bike 6 days a week. If you are looking for an extra 200 calories you might want to try a product called Biotest Classic Grow it containes cals-200, fat-3, carb-16, pro-27 anyway it sounds like your on the right track with your diet except for your cal intake you might not be getting enough cals and your body will defintily not want to relinquish any fat because it thinks you are starving.

"Something that confused me about your advice was the 10 cal / lb of bodyweight. Isn't this the general goal for maintaining what I have?"

If you were not doing any measured physical activity then yes this would be sufficent to maintain what you have now. As you increase your physical activity load the same amount of calories would allow you to lose wieght because you would be burning most of those calories. i expend roughly 800 - 1000 cals on a typical bike ride so if my intake is 2298 minus 800 for the bike ride that leaves me with 1498 and im not exactly sure how much i burn when in the weight room or how much i burn doing my job. so can you see where im going with this. you are strarting out with 1300 calories depending on how long a bike ride, run, walk, work, lift, etc... you may be starving your body. I hope this helps because i would like to someday read that you have obtained your goal weight and are in the shape you want to be in. What works for me may not work for you. Anyway have great day and keep up the good work
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