Weight loss---permanent plateau?

I prefer gym + diet to straight up diet. Mostly because my job is so sedentary (desk job, blah), so I need the extra physical activity. I also use it for mental therapy to alleviate stress. When I hit a "plateau" per say, I just change the routine for a few days. I've given up the 2-3 cans of pop per day in exchange for water. I've gone from white bread to wheat. Went from putting mayo on sandwiches to mustard. I'm also watching my sodium intake severely. I've cut 8lbs so far but started slow. I am slowly giving up more and more and more crap from my diet. I usually give myself a treat for food once a week or so but that's only for my sanity.
 
The gym is a great getaway, I go between 3 & 4 times a week now. When I start running I may still hit the gym once a week because I read about a program where you go to the gym and do 100 reps straight of each exercise. I still have to research that one a little more.
 
If you diet only and don't supplement with high levels of activity(gym, running, sports, ect), your loosing fat, water weight, AND muscle! You aren't getting stronger, you aren't increasing your metabalism by much, and your more likely to add the weight back on. Permanent weight loss is a lifestyle change.....not a temporary diet. To live and look healthy is more about activity and energy than the number on the scale.
 
Stick with a good diet. Take in less calories than you burn (exercise + BMR) and you will lose weight.

Last June I was 265ish, and WAY beyond unhealthy.

I tracked EVERYTHING I ate for 4 months, dropped caloric intake to 1500-1750 / day, and started running (C25K).
On Jan 1st this year, after eating like crap over the holidays, I weighted 195. I want to weigh between 195-200. I feel good being 'bigger'.

In the time from June to December, my running ability increased from being able to only go 1 city block (1 side!) to running a 10k on Halloween in less than an hour. On Dec 14th, I ran the last race of the year, Jingle Bell 5k in New Baltimore, in 26:30.

Now I'm training for a triatlon in June, and one or two half-marathons this year.

It was HARD to stop losing weight at first, but now I seem to have stabilized, and am holding steady.

In addition to running, I started doing some body weight exercises (pull ups and push ups) to keep muscle mass.
I could only do 1 pull up, and 8 push ups when I started, but now can do 5 pull ups, and 5 sets of 25-35 push ups.

I feel so much better now, and eating right is about 99% of it. I eat greek yogurt and kashi go-lean for breakfast (1cup ea), a banana about 2 hours later, an apple and a hand full of almonds at 10-10:30, lunch (750-1000 calories) at noon, a cereal bar (special k 90 calorie) at about 3, and dinner at 6 (500-750 calories). Some nights, if I am craving something sweet (terrible ice cream tooth) I'll have a skinny cow bar / sandwich (140 calories).

I had some health problems that have been remedied too by getting healthier:

Sleep Apnea - Gone
Snoring - Gone
Heartburn 99% of time - GONE - This is a big one, I was on Nexium for 5 years, every day. Now, I get heartburn about once a month, and a tums takes care of it.

Here is a before / after.

May 2011
May_2011.JPG

Jan 2012
Jan_2012.jpg
 
You look great, like a different man. Which half marathons will you do? I might add try one this year once I get some miles under my belt. Being in decent shape hasn't helped my sleep apnea. I may try to spread the food out like you do. My job makes it difficult at times to even get to food but I can at least try.
 
We should get a group to run a half marathon. I run
3 miles 5 days a week. I've been wanting to do some charity runs
Or something. With I could post my before and after pics
from my phone.
 
This race at the end of May is good, they added shorter races this year to go with the half marathon, shirts & medals are very good. The only thing I didn't like was the trail was very wet toward the beginning and my socks & shoes were wet for the last 8 miles. http://www.backtothebeachraces.com/
This race is in Lansing in September, they have race pacers to help you meet your goal.
http://www.ccriverrun.org/
 
The biggest boost in weight loss I've had is waking up and walking on an empty stomach just a slow walk it should allow you to just burn body fat and not lose any muscle. I think anyone thinking about a diet should watch "fat, sick, and nearly dead" it's on netflix.
 
hellian540 said:
The biggest boost in weight loss I've had is waking up and walking on an empty stomach just a slow walk it should allow you to just burn body fat and not lose any muscle. I think anyone thinking about a diet should watch "fat, sick, and nearly dead" it's on netflix.
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I've watched it. A diet like that would shrink all the muscle mass I've tried so hard over the years to put on.
 
hellian540 said:
The biggest boost in weight loss I've had is waking up and walking on an empty stomach just a slow walk it should allow you to just burn body fat and not lose any muscle. I think anyone thinking about a diet should watch "fat, sick, and nearly dead" it's on netflix.
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YEAH...iam abig fan of morning cardio right after waking up. (20 -30 LIGHT stationary biking) Then 15-20 minutes after being done I eat breakfast. I dont restrict calories to much...just eat clean in the offseason. I keep around 12-13% around 225-230 pds.
 
hellian540 said:
The biggest boost in weight loss I've had is waking up and walking on an empty stomach just a slow walk it should allow you to just burn body fat and not lose any muscle. I think anyone thinking about a diet should watch "fat, sick, and nearly dead" it's on netflix.
Click to expand...

A new trend that people are doing is 'intermittent fasting'. Basically you don't eat for 16 hours, and then you do a small meal, workout, and then eat two more meals before you go to bed. You have an 8-hour window to eat.

It's basically the opposite of people who cook a bunch of brown rice and chicken and carry it around in little 300-400 containers and pop one in the microwave every 3 hours so they can 'eat 6 times a day'. The idea is that your body isn't in 'digestion mode' 24 hours a day, and certain things in your body get triggered since you haven't ate in x amount of hours.
 
What about the 100 reps workout? I've been told it'll be more of a cardio workout and will help burn more calories that way, and to rotate whatever you're doing the 100 reps on for each workout.
 
Diet and exercise will vary for every individual. What works for one person may not for the next. You just have to pick a routine and stick to it for a while ( and more than just two weeks, before deciding it doesnt work) You are your own test subject. :)
 
I deffinetly wouldn't suggest the fat sick and dead type diet for most but it's a great movie. I remember what he said about putting his wealth before his health and I think that's true for many people.
 
robvas said:
A new trend that people are doing is 'intermittent fasting'. Basically you don't eat for 16 hours, and then you do a small meal, workout, and then eat two more meals before you go to bed. You have an 8-hour window to eat.

It's basically the opposite of people who cook a bunch of brown rice and chicken and carry it around in little 300-400 containers and pop one in the microwave every 3 hours so they can 'eat 6 times a day'. The idea is that your body isn't in 'digestion mode' 24 hours a day, and certain things in your body get triggered since you haven't ate in x amount of hours.
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More bad advice.
 
robvas said:
It's not advice, it's just what some people are doing, and it works for them
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I have a few bbr's friends doing this type of diet. They did drop Bodyfat for sure...one went from 17% to 5-6% BUT he lost A LOT of muscle. A lot....he went from looking like a bodybuilder to looking like a swimmer. He is back to a regular diet program.
 
LITTLEMAGS said:
I have a few bbr's friends doing this type of diet. They did drop Bodyfat for sure...one went from 17% to 5-6% BUT he lost A LOT of muscle. A lot....he went from looking like a bodybuilder to looking like a swimmer. He is back to a regular diet program.
Click to expand...

The title of the thread is 'weight loss', not who can have the biggest muscles.

I get a kick out of 'big' guys who can't do 7-8 pullups (or even one) or somehow can't do 50 push-ups. People get stuck on stuff like 'benching 400lbs' and end up basically still being 'fat' and not really in shape.

I know you're a body builder so it doesn't apply to you, but most people end up just eating too much food when they do '6 meals a day' because it takes quite a bit of work, people overestimate how much a 'small' meal is, and aren't disciplined enough to stick with it.

No matter what your diet it is you have to stick to something and you also have to work out. There's no food out there that's going to make you shredded just by eating it and I'm sure there are jacked guys out there who eat nothing but pizzas.

It's like how regular people thing 'If I drink muscle milk I'll be in amazing shape like so-and-so', but what they don't realize is that so-and-so has a pretty strict diet and workout program, it has nothing to do with the shakes.
 
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