Feeling Fat

GETTING FIT

Step By Step

For those of you that know me, you know that I have been both very large on the weight scale, and last year I was below 200 lbs - which was an accomplishment. At the time, it was really more out of a desire to win a competition. My wife and I attended a gym and they had a competition. The winner won a large volume of money so I found the motivation there. 

In order to win, I had to lose the highest volume of body fat percentage based on a scale and then it went to votes for overall most change. At the time, I felt like my body really wasn't changing much, although I did notice that I had some clothes fit much better. 

Since then (about a year ago) I have had another child and I have really let go of all of the things that I should be doing. I am using this blog post as a starting point. I am jumping back on the train this week, and I will update this in a few weeks, but here are some of the things that I learned. 

During that time I went from weighing 269 lbs to 195 in 90 days. Here are the tips I have:

1. DON'T JUST WORK OUT - VARY YOUR WORKOUTS

So the first thing to know is that you absolutely need to be working out. Sure there are diets, but the important thing to know is that the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn in your resting metabolic rate (RMR). That means, even when you're lounging on the couch, having more muscle will help you lose more weight. The way to get muscle is to work out.

You need to vary your workouts in several levels. Not only do you need to change what you are doing day to day, but after 3-4 weeks you want to change what your weekly order looks like. Your body is an amazing adapter and will adapt to your strategy.

My suggestion:

1. Get some index cards - write out what your workouts are on them
1. Each index card should be labeled on one side with a cagegory (cardio, biceps/back, triceps/shoulders/chest, core, quads/calves/glutes, circuit training, endurance training, stretching, etc.)
2. On the back side of each card should be a specific work out. 
2. Each category of workouts should be grouped together (all cardio goes in a stack, etc) and the categories are assigned to days of the week and rotated bi-weekly
3. When you are on any 1 given day, you shuffle the cards in that category, pick out cards until your workout is done. If you are doubling up, then you do so in rotation. (if you couple core every two days or cardio every two days, then you want to change which goes first each time)

This will help you switch up your workout routine and you can always add other cards in to your exercise routine.

2. EAT HEALTHY FOODS

So there are a million diets out there. Here is what I know. I've tried the "low fat" stuff, and it didn't work for me. I don't have much an issue with portion control, but I have always been a big boy. It wasn't until I went to my gym last year that they helped me figure out the problem - carbs. 

So it's not a problem to eat carbs but, for me, the balance of carbohydrates in comparison to everything else that I ate was way out of control. I could eat a whole pizza myself and not blink. I still can. I love carbs. What they let me know is that there is a difference between fast/slow and simple/complex carbs. What you want to aim for with carbs is the stuff that I don't like so much. Fast and simple. Fruits, veggies, legumes, and such. 

What they informed me is that you want to aim for a higher protein than carb intake. 

My suggestion: 

Don't avoid what you like as if it were going to completely spoil you. The goal should be to aim for a 2:1 protein to carb ratio. If you eat 1 carb, you also need 2 proteins by the unit. 3g carbs = 6g protein. Really simple. This means, you can absolutely have the awesome cupcake at the wedding. You can have the delicious cookie that the gal brought into work. Just make sure that you have protein to go with it. 

Avoiding what you want will make you want it that more and will completely derail you when you "slip" - but really you should allow yourself a "cheat" object of the day or "cheat" meal of the week. Your body is, again, amazing at adapting, so having one bad meal isn't ruining your whole day. Enjoy that there is freedom in maintaining the balance. 

3. *WHELP* WEIGH YOURSELF DAILY

So here's the thing, weight is not the only indicator of your health. When you first start working out, your weight may just as well increase because of gaining muscle faster than losing fat. If you are building muscle faster than your fat is being burned, the weight will go up and you are going to look down and keep your head down all day. Don't be discouraged. 

Understand a few things. 

1. Your weight (based on water, food intake and a few other things) can fluctuate around 3-5 pounds throughout the day. 
2. Weight is only one element of your health - so is body fat percentage, flexibility, etc. 
3. Your body will always have some water weight

So knowing those things, you can make a plan on how to know what you are doing and rate your improvement/set goals, etc.

My suggestion:

Weigh yourself, and measure your arms/legs/and waist on the same scale at roughly the same time every day. It should probably be in the morning. Use a scale that can roughly estimate body fat %. It will not be perfectly accurate

You want to weigh in the same place with the same scale to remove the error of the scale itself. Then you can say, "this scale at this place said I was 55 pounds and now it says that I am 53 pounds." This is the win. You are down 2 pounds. If you go to the gym and that one says you are 54 pounds, you didn't lose 1 less pound. That scale would likely have originally measured 56 lbs assuming you were weighing there at the same time every day also. You want to use a body fat scale because (even though it's not entirely accurate) you can measure over time the overall average change and as long as body fat, weight, or inches are going down then you are moving toward your goal. 

SUMMARY

Work out, eat healthy, and keep track. I personally was doing 2x/day work outs when I lost the weight before. I won't be that intense this time, but your frequency of work out is up to you. Anything that is more than what you are currently doing will mean progress, but make sure you do take a rest day. It's important for your body to be allowed time to recoup from all of the restructuring you are aiming for. 

I'll post another blog like this in about six months, but for right now I am at 250 lbs again and...feeling fat...