My Ongoing Fitness Journey - Enough was Enough (1 Viewer)

sheikh617

4 of a Kind
Supporter
Joined
Apr 15, 2019
Messages
5,529
Reaction score
14,020
Location
Boston, MA
On May 17, 2021 I decided enough was enough and that I needed to take better care of my health. I wanted to get back to the comfortable weight that I was in late 2013 which was around 200 pounds and pretty damn fit since I was an active powerlifter. I was at 295, very unhappy, and I felt like shit. Basic human things were becoming cumbersome. Putting my socks on sucked, bending over to pick something up sucked, hell.... even wiping my ass sucked. Sorry TMI. My doctor of course was worried about what the next 10 years might look like had I continued on my current path. My blood pressure was creeping into the medication territory, I had fatty liver from being overweight, and whatever other health risks that come with being morbidly obese. I've been overweight most of my life, had it under control only once which was back in 2013. I went from 251 to 200 in about 8ish months, but it was short lived as I ended up having some medical issues (non gym related) that made me lose my good routine I had going. So as the title said, enough was enough.

I decided to fire up some personal training to hold myself accountable. I know that if I did some other half assed approach that I would just fall off as there would be no consequences. So I started to pay a trainer $350~ bucks a month for life coaching and fitness services. It was all remote and nothing was being done in person. He personalized workouts for me and a nutrition plan that I would try and follow. The price to value was pretty meh, as I already knew most of what I needed from my previous weight loss, but I needed to pay the money to have something that kept me on track as I did not want to light $350 a month on fire. I did this for 5 months and it finished back in November.

The nutrition was pretty straightforward. Just a good old fashioned calorie deficit. When I started 7 months ago I was on a 2300 calorie plan and adjusting as the weight came down. Currently my daily intake is closer to 2000 and i normally burn 3-400 per workout, if not more. I use My Fitness Pal to count my calories. I was never overly concerned with my macros as anything nutrition change would have been enough for me to lose weight. My body was begging for it. I cut out sodas, chips, snacks, candies etc. For breakfast I was and am eating some form of eggs, a healthy carb and a piece of fruit everyday. Lunch I do a pre bottled protein shake, I found an amazing brand called Fairlife and it has 2g sugar, with almost no carbs and 30g protein for 150 calories. I'll also have a protein granola bar or some fruit. If I'm really hungry I can do a little tuna salad or grilled chicken as well. For dinner I stick some large portion of protein whether it is fish, chicken or lean steak. A solid portion of veggies and a healthy carb. Sometimes I'll do a 3-4 ounce serving of whole wheat pasta or some sweet potatoes. I bought a scale to measure and weigh all my foods so that I can track my calories the best I can.

The workouts for the first 5 months I was training were a combination of cardio (boring) and some resistance training. I bought some kettlebells, resistance bands, medicine balls, and a couple other fitness tools and put them in a spare room that we had in our basement. I also have a Bowflex Max Trainer M3 which is a stair climbing elliptical machine. The thing crushes calories so it's great and I had an old but functional treadmill which I mostly do power walking on. Not a huge fan of running as the padding is back so it's pretty high impact on my joints whereas the Bowflex is much lower impact. From November moving forward I decided that I wanted to start doing some power lifting again. I love golf and golf is one of the things that really made me want to get fit again. So I figured packing on some muscle and working on my flexibility would net me some yards when the season comes back in the Spring. I bought a squat rack and an adjustable bench. So now I'm able to do squats, deadlifts, rows, flat/incline bench press, overhead press, cleans, and all the other fun strength movements. I was decently strong back in 2013 for someone who only did it for fun and not competitively. I don't have a goal to get as strong as I previously was, but I enjoy lifting and it's a great supplement to my weight loss since losing fat and muscle happens together during weight loss. Now I can minimize/negate the muscle loss and shape my body nicely as well. The challenge also really stimulates me. I've been doing my own programming and it's going great. Down 7 pounds this month since Dec 1st. My end of year goal was 250 pounds. As of today I am down to 241 with 8 days left in the year. I will definitely hit 240 and break my goal by 10 pounds. My overall goal is to get to 200 again, but this time I'm thinking 190 is going to be my stretch goal, just to do something I haven't done in my adult life.

All in all its been a hell of a ride. It has required a lot of discipline and self sacrifice, but the amount of change I have made in 7 months compared to the years and years of abuse to my body has been amazing. I'm hoping to keep this is a lifestyle change. Being pretty fit again has made massive improvements on my quality of life. My confidence is improving and I'm just happier. Thanks for sticking with me if you read this whole thing. Please feel free to comment your personal stories and keep my motivation high. If you every find yourself slacking and need a boost I am also happy to be that friend! Also, if you are interested in my workouts or my food plan, I am happy to share that as well. I'm not a trainer or an expert. I've lost over 50 pounds twice and this time My goal is to get closer to 100 pounds off, so I can only offer advice for what has worked for me.

TL;DR - Started working out May 17, 2021 and I weighed 295. After about 7 months I weigh 241. End of year goal was 250. Overall goal is 200 but I'm going to push for 190.

This picture is two days before I started working out versus one week ago.
progress.JPG

weight.jpg

deadlift.JPG
squat.jpg
 
Congratulations Mo!
Losing weight and eating healthy can be really tough in regular life sometimes so props to you for making a life style change!

Ben and I did the weightloss challenge here on PCF last year and Ben also broke the 100lbs lost mark. I hope you continue to be successful and keep up the motivation and progress!

Personally I've struggled with self confidence with and weight my whole life, so I csn relate to those lows. The last 5 or so years I've maintained pretty well and not exceeded 160 lbs. My biggest was 180-190, I prefer to be 130-140. I eat alot of salads and miss having junk food sometimes. Anyways, I'm rambling, point is if you ever feel frustrated, needing a little motivational boost, or just want to chat about boring diets and living the good life always feel free to reach out! I enjoy supporting people towards their goals!!!

Keep on keepin on my friend! Still hoping to make it to a game at your place some day!!

Ps - lovin the hair!!
 
Last edited:
Thanks for sharing and awesome to hear you are focusing on your health. Not sure if it will help you or not but I found for myself that focussing on metrics other than a target weight was more beneficial long term especially when what we really need to change is our habits and the food we consume. I focussed on body fat % & waist circumference. I also set goals on how much activity I wanted to incorporate weekly as well as some fitness goals in terms of how long I wanted to be able to do different types of movements. There are some good guides & science around to help define some fitness goals that are known indicators to assess an individual's overall health.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/...Just-testing-quickly-chair-reveal-health.html

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/fitness/art-20046433
 
Congratulations Mo!
Losing weight and eating healthy can be really tough in regular life sometimes so props to you for making a life style change!

Ben and I did the weightloss challenge here on PCF last year and Ben also broke the 100lbs lost mark. I hope you continue to be successful and keep up the motivation and progress!

Personally I've struggled with self confidence with and weight my whole life, so I csn relate to those lows. The last 5 or so years I've maintained pretty well and not exceeded 160 lbs. My biggest was 180-190, I prefer to be 130-140. I eat alot of salads and miss having junk food sometimes. Anyways, I'm rambling, point is if you ever feel frustrated, needing a little motivational boost, or just want to chat about boring diets and living the good life always feel free to reach out! I enjoy supporting people towards their goals!!!

Keep on keepin on my friend! Still hoping to make it to a game at your place some day!!

Ps - lovin the hair!!
Congratulations Mo!
Losing weight and eating healthy can be really tough in regular life sometimes so props to you for making a life style change!

Ben and I did the weightloss challenge here on PCF last year and Ben also broke the 100lbs lost mark. I hope you continue to be successful and keep up the motivation and progress!

Personally I've struggled with self confidence with and weight my whole life, so I csn relate to those lows. The last 5 or so years I've maintained pretty well and not exceeded 160 lbs. My biggest was 180-190, I prefer to be 130-140. I eat alot of salads and miss having junk food sometimes. Anyways, I'm rambling, point is if you ever feel frustrated, needing a little motivational boost, or just want to chat about boring diets and living the good life always feel free to reach out! I enjoy supporting people towards their goals!!!

Keep on keepin on my friend! Still hoping to make it to a game at your place some day!!

Ps - lovin the hair!!
Thank you Brie! Always nothing but kindness from you and Ben, I appreciate it! Speaking of salads, I just had one haha. The best thing to come from this pandemic was my weight loss and my hair :LOL: :laugh:
 
Thanks for sharing and awesome to hear you are focusing on your health. Not sure if it will help you or not but I found for myself that focussing on metrics other than a target weight was more beneficial long term especially when what we really need to change is our habits and the food we consume. I focussed on body fat % & waist circumference. I also set goals on how much activity I wanted to incorporate weekly as well as some fitness goals in terms of how long I wanted to be able to do different types of movements. There are some good guides & science around to help define some fitness goals that are known indicators to assess an individual's overall health.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/...Just-testing-quickly-chair-reveal-health.html

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/fitness/art-20046433
Those are excellent points! The weight is always on my mind, but I have been thinking about BMI a lot and it’s a large reason why I wanted to bang weights again. I’d love to out on some muscle and offset the fat and at the same time it’ll make me appear smaller so the scale isn’t always the end all be all. I’ll definitely read both these links. I love learning whatever I can.
 
Those are excellent points! The weight is always on my mind, but I have been thinking about BMI a lot and it’s a large reason why I wanted to bang weights again. I’d love to out on some muscle and offset the fat and at the same time it’ll make me appear smaller so the scale isn’t always the end all be all. I’ll definitely read both these links. I love learning whatever I can.
Measuring tape and calipers / DEXA scans are your friends! Scales are the enemy!
 
Thank you Brie! Always nothing but kindness from you and Ben, I appreciate it! Speaking of salads, I just had one haha. The best thing to come from this pandemic was my weight loss and my hair :LOL: :laugh:
Most welcome!
I live on salads! Ben finds it hysterical, there's not much I wont put on a salad now :LOL: :laugh:
 
Finished the year at 238.4. Goal was 250, happy to say I crushed that. Originally I wanted to hit 200 by end of 2022 but I think the next 5-6 months will be plenty! Happy New Years everyone.
Fucking awesome bro. Doesn’t take a lot other than routine and focus (which can EASILY be left behind). Getting someone to be accountable to was probably the best thing you could’ve done. Great to hear you’re sticking with it! Happy new year brother!
 
Very well done !!
f*cking awesome bro. Doesn’t take a lot other than routine and focus (which can EASILY be left behind). Getting someone to be accountable to was probably the best thing you could’ve done. Great to hear you’re sticking with it! Happy new year brother!
You're the champ!
That’s guys! At a glance it’s not hard to build something that works the hard part is just getting by each day without imploding haha. But I’ve been happy and enjoying the habits I’ve built and the goal is to keep them long term. That’s the real challenge
 
On May 17, 2021 I decided enough was enough and that I needed to take better care of my health. I wanted to get back to the comfortable weight that I was in late 2013 which was around 200 pounds and pretty damn fit since I was an active powerlifter. I was at 295, very unhappy, and I felt like shit. Basic human things were becoming cumbersome. Putting my socks on sucked, bending over to pick something up sucked, hell.... even wiping my ass sucked. Sorry TMI. My doctor of course was worried about what the next 10 years might look like had I continued on my current path. My blood pressure was creeping into the medication territory, I had fatty liver from being overweight, and whatever other health risks that come with being morbidly obese. I've been overweight most of my life, had it under control only once which was back in 2013. I went from 251 to 200 in about 8ish months, but it was short lived as I ended up having some medical issues (non gym related) that made me lose my good routine I had going. So as the title said, enough was enough.

I decided to fire up some personal training to hold myself accountable. I know that if I did some other half assed approach that I would just fall off as there would be no consequences. So I started to pay a trainer $350~ bucks a month for life coaching and fitness services. It was all remote and nothing was being done in person. He personalized workouts for me and a nutrition plan that I would try and follow. The price to value was pretty meh, as I already knew most of what I needed from my previous weight loss, but I needed to pay the money to have something that kept me on track as I did not want to light $350 a month on fire. I did this for 5 months and it finished back in November.

The nutrition was pretty straightforward. Just a good old fashioned calorie deficit. When I started 7 months ago I was on a 2300 calorie plan and adjusting as the weight came down. Currently my daily intake is closer to 2000 and i normally burn 3-400 per workout, if not more. I use My Fitness Pal to count my calories. I was never overly concerned with my macros as anything nutrition change would have been enough for me to lose weight. My body was begging for it. I cut out sodas, chips, snacks, candies etc. For breakfast I was and am eating some form of eggs, a healthy carb and a piece of fruit everyday. Lunch I do a pre bottled protein shake, I found an amazing brand called Fairlife and it has 2g sugar, with almost no carbs and 30g protein for 150 calories. I'll also have a protein granola bar or some fruit. If I'm really hungry I can do a little tuna salad or grilled chicken as well. For dinner I stick some large portion of protein whether it is fish, chicken or lean steak. A solid portion of veggies and a healthy carb. Sometimes I'll do a 3-4 ounce serving of whole wheat pasta or some sweet potatoes. I bought a scale to measure and weigh all my foods so that I can track my calories the best I can.

The workouts for the first 5 months I was training were a combination of cardio (boring) and some resistance training. I bought some kettlebells, resistance bands, medicine balls, and a couple other fitness tools and put them in a spare room that we had in our basement. I also have a Bowflex Max Trainer M3 which is a stair climbing elliptical machine. The thing crushes calories so it's great and I had an old but functional treadmill which I mostly do power walking on. Not a huge fan of running as the padding is back so it's pretty high impact on my joints whereas the Bowflex is much lower impact. From November moving forward I decided that I wanted to start doing some power lifting again. I love golf and golf is one of the things that really made me want to get fit again. So I figured packing on some muscle and working on my flexibility would net me some yards when the season comes back in the Spring. I bought a squat rack and an adjustable bench. So now I'm able to do squats, deadlifts, rows, flat/incline bench press, overhead press, cleans, and all the other fun strength movements. I was decently strong back in 2013 for someone who only did it for fun and not competitively. I don't have a goal to get as strong as I previously was, but I enjoy lifting and it's a great supplement to my weight loss since losing fat and muscle happens together during weight loss. Now I can minimize/negate the muscle loss and shape my body nicely as well. The challenge also really stimulates me. I've been doing my own programming and it's going great. Down 7 pounds this month since Dec 1st. My end of year goal was 250 pounds. As of today I am down to 241 with 8 days left in the year. I will definitely hit 240 and break my goal by 10 pounds. My overall goal is to get to 200 again, but this time I'm thinking 190 is going to be my stretch goal, just to do something I haven't done in my adult life.

All in all its been a hell of a ride. It has required a lot of discipline and self sacrifice, but the amount of change I have made in 7 months compared to the years and years of abuse to my body has been amazing. I'm hoping to keep this is a lifestyle change. Being pretty fit again has made massive improvements on my quality of life. My confidence is improving and I'm just happier. Thanks for sticking with me if you read this whole thing. Please feel free to comment your personal stories and keep my motivation high. If you every find yourself slacking and need a boost I am also happy to be that friend! Also, if you are interested in my workouts or my food plan, I am happy to share that as well. I'm not a trainer or an expert. I've lost over 50 pounds twice and this time My goal is to get closer to 100 pounds off, so I can only offer advice for what has worked for me.

TL;DR - Started working out May 17, 2021 and I weighed 295. After about 7 months I weigh 241. End of year goal was 250. Overall goal is 200 but I'm going to push for 190.

This picture is two days before I started working out versus one week ago.
View attachment 834499
View attachment 834500
View attachment 834502View attachment 834501
Oh Jesus lord my back. I would snap in half if I did that. Like a pretzel...

Good work man.
 
Congratulations! I went through a 60lb. weight loss in 2013, and I managed to keep it off through lots of regular walking and bike riding. Wishing you the best!

john
 
Congratulations! I went through a 60lb. weight loss in 2013, and I managed to keep it off through lots of regular walking and bike riding. Wishing you the best!

john
Fuck yeah dude! That’s what I’m talking about. I’m trying to be like you :love:. I’m down 56. The goal is to lose the last 38 and a half. And try to maintain and work in my physique through nutrition and weight lifting. It’ll be a hell of a journey but I’m hoping to see it through.
 
Check in for those interested. February wasn’t a great month gave myself a mental break from the calorie deficit and I also slipped in my home and hurt my knee pretty bad which affected my work outs. Still making it work and down to 228. Hoping to have a good March.
 

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account and join our community. It's easy!

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Back
Top Bottom