DaDude waffles on his weightloss
Background info:
All my life was a skinny lanky kid, had to wear slim jeans etc. Through high school i averaged 5-6 hours of sports (basketball, american football, and senior year lacrosse)/day during the week, with 3-4 games on the weekends. I ate a TON of crap and drank an ok amount, but being so active/being young it didn't matter. graduated in 08 and took a year at belgian university just to learn french, wasn't serious, before starting my studies in america. joined a belgian fraternity and ended up averaging 90-100 beers/week. I was doing absolutly no sport, eating disgusting food when i was drunk, and waking up lazy and eating crap because i wasn't motivated to make good meals and had never cooked for myself. Did this for a year, then went to america. I had alot of problems with a depression problem I've had all my life, was quite unmotivated, no workingout/physical activity gained more weight, and left college after the first semester despite having a B+ average without working whatsoever. I moved home for a semester jan 2010 and my uncle got me motivated we started lifting together 5 days, i saw all the people at lifetime playing pickup basketball and finally got the courage one day to go play. Started out once or twice a week, and by the end my daily routine was wake up 5 am, lifetime 5:30-8 pickup ball, go home eat/sleep, lifetime pickup ball 11am-1pm and lifting with uncle over his work break 1-2 and then work 4-10pm. I went from my top (225 maybe even 230 lbs, which at 5'10 was pretty bad...) to i think my lowest was around 195 maybe 190, after 3-4 months, no real diet just tried to eat less bad stuff and more healthy stuff, and not overeat, and worked ok. But july 2010 tore my miniscus playing ball at lifetime, they repaired it so it was like 2.5 months without putting any weight on it, didn't do my exercises so even after the 2.5 months my muscles were all atrophied, finally started running and in january 2011 went to the gym to shoot around, ended up playing a pickup game when i knew i shouldn't, I was out of shape and hadn't kept up with my physical therapy, but i missed basketball so much, and there was an old guy and a girl playing, and half court so what bad could happen, just one night. played for a bout 3 hours and boom other acl torn. couldn't get surgery til may, ended up being behidn on physical therapy again. I'm back at school in belgium, too much beer again.
tldr got carried away cliffs
-super active in high school
-took a gap year in belgium gained alot of weight 2008-2009
-got my **** together started getting in shape
-2 knee surgerys july 2010 and may 2011
So I have 4 main goals,
1) 10 mile run at school on march 23rd
2) be able to play on a crappy club basketball team starting next fall
3) lift regularly
4) Weight loss
1) Have started running the last 2 months or so (however maybe average 1 time/week) Starting not being able to complete a mile I can now run about 2 miles without stopping however its tough and im incredibly slow. Me and my gf have decided we wanted to work to be able to run this 10 mile race in march, will be alot of work and I don't have an exact plan, I think I'm just going to run 3-4 times/week and try to add a half mile or so every couple runs.
2) I just emailed my middle school basketball coach who was my best friends dad, he played college, shortly in the NBA and then was a harlem globetrotter, for some workouts for basketball, when I get his response i will work on these workouts for, well im out of shape i need everything. Agility, shooting, ball handling, endurance will mostly be taken care of in running i guess, but some sprints i guess, we'll see what he says.
3) I have the lifting schedule i did with my uncle, not sure how good it is please feel free to critique, i personally have no idea.
Day 1) Arms/light bench
bench warm up 2x8,
more weight 2x5,
more weight 2x3
close bench- 2x8
Straight bar curls(bench bar)- 2x8
nazis (lay on bench, dumbell in one hand straight up, other hand with pinky in inside of elbow, thumb pointed down, hold your arm still and bring weight down to opposite shoulder and back up.. triceps)- 2x8
close straight bar curls- 2x8
kickbacks- 2x8
wide straight bar curls- 2x8
tricep pulldown machine- 2x8
dips- max
Day 2) Legs, back, abs
seated row- 2x8
leg press- 2x8
lat pulldown (in front and behind head) 2x8
calf raises 2x(try to go up every week)
kind of row exercise- on stomach on a bench thats pretty high with a bench bar underneath you, pull up to chest- 2x8
hamstring curls- 2x8
on your stomach, your ankles are under a support, bend at the waist towards the ground 90 degrees then pull yourself horizontal, 2x (try to go up every week)
dips-max
abs- 90x ab extreme whatever the f its called
day 3) Shoulders light bench
bench warm up 2x8,
more weight 2x5,
more weight 2x3
frontals- 2x8
salt and pepper (2 dumbells start together infront of you at your waist, arms at a bit more than 90 degrees, keeping the angle the same moving the dumbells outside and up until on top of your head like your'e pouring salt on it)- 2x8
shrugs- 2x8
upward row- 2x8
dips- max
day 4) legs back abs
seated row- 2x8
leg press- 2x8
lat pulldown (in front and behind head) 2x8
calf raises 2x(try to go up every week)
kind of row exercise- on stomach on a bench thats pretty high with a bench bar underneath you, pull up to chest- 2x8
hamstring curls- 2x8
on your stomach, your ankles are under a support, bend at the waist towards the ground 90 degrees then pull yourself horizontal, 2x (try to go up every week)
dips-max
abs- 90x ab extreme whatever the f its called
day 5) chest
bench 2x8
more weight 2x5
more weight 2x3
dumbell flys 2x8
incline bench 2x8
incline dumbell flys- 2x8
decline dumbell bench (no decline bench at our gym)- 2x8
decline flys- 2x8
pec flys machine- 2x8
dips- max
4) I'm not going to do a crazy diet, try to eat better overall, less crap, better food if i want a snack, less beer, and dont overeat. I think if i just think like that, and do enough activity I'll lose weight like I did 2 years ago.
huge tldr not sure if anyone will be interested in this at all but it'll be a journal for me and keep me motivated, first 2-3 weeks are hardest, then it becomes hard to not workout
18 Replies
Pretty depressing to look back on this. To think I was disgusted with myself at most of these points through history and so much worse now.
I got down to mid 240's before getting hurt. Since then I've just yoyo-'d back and forth.
I've lost 20-30 lbs more times than I can count. Usually getting sick or hurt throws me off course.
Hurt my knee again, I think somethings torn. Waiting to get in for an appointment to get it looked at. Recently I've ballooned up... I saw 299.8 on the scale a couple weeks ago, and I never want to see 300.
I'm going to try to start tracking here again to help hold myself accountable.
Goals for this week:
[ ] 2000 calories a day
[ ] no late night snacking
[ ] 4 workouts (need to figure out a workout or just start old one really easily)
[ ] walk every day
I need to find a way to make this sustainable, instead of just a sprint where I end up burning out after a month or two. Any kind of a goal weight seems so far away it doesn't even seem possible.
Starting: 295.1 lbs, 38.8% bf
Oof. Well, perhaps seeing almost 300 can be that big push to get to a sustainable place that ends up much lower.
I'm also sorry to hear that, but hopefully this is the first step to getting healthier in a sustainable way.
Subscribed. You are David Goggins waiting to happen.
Yeah I'm hoping too. Everytime I get a couple months in to where I'm not sore, I'm not hungry constantly, things feel more of a habit, I think I feel like I succeeded in some goal in some way, or I won. And then I'm not sure if it feels like I finished? Or if maybe I deserved a break or a treat/cheat day. Then once the habit gets disrupted I just lose it.
I think another part may be, when at a "bottom turning point", I'm usually pretty mad at myself. And at that point where things are going well I start to feel like I'm proud/happy with myself, then I start being more outgoing, and doing more social things, and that usually leads to calories/missing workouts.
It's hard to explain, and I'm just trying to write it down to think through it/understand myself. To try to avoid it again in the future.
Maybe I just need to get some professional help or something.
😀 This made me smile!
The weeks felt rough so far. I've stuck to the book, no cheating on calories and I've cut out the diet soda/fake sugar water enhancers etc. Not sure if carbonated waters like La Croix's have any bad impact. I'm feeling hungry a lot and just low energy, and a bit crabby.
Monday
1 mile walk
Tuesday
Couple came over for dinner. They love snacks/drinks/appetizers and somehow weigh like 100 and 150lbs. So that was tough, but I stayed good with diet.
1.5 mile walk
First day back at the gym was brutal and depressing/humiliating. The pushups/situps really hurt (mentally I mean)
Bench - 95lbs: 3x8
Incline DB Bench - 40lbs 3x8
Pushups - 5, 4, 4
Situps - 8, 6, 5
Tricep Pulldown - 30lbs 12, 10, 10
Wednesday
1.5 mile walk
Leg Press - 160lbs 5x8
Pull Up Assist - 90lbs 5x2
Lat Pulldown - 90lbx 3x8
Curls - EZ bar + 20lbs: 4x8
Back Flys - 30lbs 4x8
Schedule got changed, and I had to go to the gym after kids went to bed. I'd already had all my calories for the day, and after I got back just wanted to eat something.
Thursday
1 mile walk
Went to friends for dinner. Stayed under my calorie limit, but some of it was junk and I'm feeling really hungry tonight now.
The way you describe your eating habits sounds like you gain weight, go on a restrictive diet, make some progress, and then go off your diet and revert to baseline. Rinse and repeat ad infinitum.
Maybe treat your "diet" like a permanent lifestyle change, not a temporary half measure to lose a few pounds. Just tell yourself that this is how I eat now and focus on making good choices for yourself on the daily without focusing on an ultimate end point. That mindset helped me anyway. Good luck.
Yeah I have to figure out how to do that sustainably.
Here's how February worked out.
Feb 1st at 299.8lbs
Feb 28th at 292.7lbs
Pretty proud, we did something with friends Friday Saturday and Sunday. Every day with people drinking some and a lot of junk food around. I stayed under my calories every day. Worked out Friday and Saturday with a walk today!
Friday
1.5 mile walk
Bench - 95lbs: 3x8
OH Press - 65lbs 8, 6, 6
Pushups - 5, 5, 5
Situps - 8, 8, 5
Tricep Pulldown - 30lbs 12, 12, 10
Saturday
1.5 mile walk
Leg Press - 160lbs 5x8
Seated Row - 100lbs 5x6
Barbell Row - 75lbx 3x8
Curls - EZ bar + 20lbs: 4x8
Back Flys - 30lbs 4x8
Sunday
1.8 mile walk
Goals for this week:
[x] 2000 calories a day
[x] no late night snacking
[x] 4 workouts (need to figure out a workout or just start old one really easily)
[x] walk every day
Starting: 295.1 lbs, 38.8% bf
Got all the goals! Finished the week at 292.9lbs and 38.6% bf.
So -2.2 lbs. I think I'll try to go for 2lbs a week as long as that is sustainable!
Hungers been fine past 2-3 days, I think originally was probably just some sugar and/or caffeine withdrawals.
A bit basic, but I think just want to stick with the same goals this week:
Goals for this week:
[] 2000 calories a day
[] no late night snacking
[] 4 workouts
[] walk every day
Monday
1.5 mile walk
Bench
45lbs - 8
95lbs - 5
135lbs - 5
155lbs - 5
175lbs - 3
Incline DB Bench - 40lbs 3x8
Pushups - 8,6,4
Situps - 8,8,7
Tricep Pulldown - 30lbs 12, 12, 12
Had a buddy there so tried to find my 5 rep max. Guess I'm going to start at 165 next week.
Hit my calories for the day
Basic is good. Basic is your bread and butter. Do basic.
Your 5 rep max matters less than you think. Just get in some 7-8 RPE efforts (3-2 left in the tank) and you're good. Don't worry about ever going above that and if you're a bit below, that's fine too.
Basic is good. Basic is your bread and butter. Do basic.
Your 5 rep max matters less than you think. Just get in some 7-8 RPE efforts (3-2 left in the tank) and you're good. Don't worry about ever going above that and if you're a bit below, that's fine too.
Perfect, that's what I was thinking. Taking just those 4 basic goals and making it habit over a couple months, to just have some simple sustained discipline would be a huge win I think.
I was heading back to old workout, where Monday would be a 5rep max bench day, and then thursday is 5x5 at some % of that 5 rep max (I have to look back to remember), that df2 had me do so many years ago.
Workout sounds fine although I wouldn't worry about actually maxing anything. Or even overthinking it too much. Lifting consistently will be a big win on any decent program and there's no need to create unnecessary fatigue from it.
(Going heavy/hard is fine, just no need to go heavy like everyone used to recommend back in the day)
I . . . agree with Yugo? Good thing I'm sitting down.
Well that's scary!
Workout sounds fine although I wouldn't worry about actually maxing anything. Or even overthinking it too much. Lifting consistently will be a big win on any decent program and there's no need to create unnecessary fatigue from it.
(Going heavy/hard is fine, just no need to go heavy like everyone used to recommend back in the day)
Yeah fair enough. I'm probably in the overmotivated early stages still, and should just make sure the focus is on making this sustainable/consistent, and not getting hurt!
On good news, under 290 this morning, officially over 10lbs down.
Tuesday
1.5 mile walk
Leg Press - 180lbs 5x8
Pull Up Assist - 75lbs 4x2, 1x1
Lat Pulldown - 100lbx 3x8
Curls - EZ bar + 30lbs: 4x8
Back Flys - 25lbs 8,8,6,6
Wednesday
1 mile walk
Thursday
1.5 mile walk
Bench - 135lbs: 5x5
OH Press - 65lbs 8, 8, 8
Pushups - 8, 5, 4
Situps - 8, 8, 8
Tricep Pulldown - 30lbs 12, 12, 12
Friday
1.5 mile walk
Leg Press - 180lbs 5x8
Seated Row - 120lbs 5x6
Barbell Row - 85lbs 3x8
Curls - EZ bar + 30lbs: 4x8
Back Flys - 25lbs 4x8
Saturday
1 mile walk
Sunday
Ran around with kids and neighbor kids outside for like 3 hours. Didn't have watch on, but wore me out.
Got all the goals! Finished the week at 292.9lbs and 38.6% bf.
Goals for this week:
[] 2000 calories a day
[] no late night snacking
[] 4 workouts
[] walk every day
289.2lbs so -3.7lbs this week. (I'm guessing a bit of a low waterweight day or something, was a 1lb drop overnight).
I stuck to 2000 calories a day on average. I was about 500 over on Saturday, but made up for that with being a bit under on Friday/Sunday.
Achieved all the goals. Let's run it back another week!
Let's go!
All goals except no walk on Sunday. Did a lot of work around the house, and then just a lazy day after. A lot of social things again, everyone got sitters and had a day/night out for a birthday on Saturday. I sober cabbed so helped with alcohol calories, and kept it reasonable at restaurants.
Weight went up slowly over the first couple days of the week then dropped back down pretty hard the last 3-4 days.
287.2lbs, so exactly -2.0 lbs last week. What we like to see! Will go with same goals this week, and finally had insurance come through so trying to get into see doctor for knee.
Monday
1.5 mile walk
Bench - 135lbs 5x5
Incline DB Bench - 45lbs 3x8
Pushups - 6, 6, 6
Situps - 10, 6, 6
Tricep Pulldown - 30lbs 3x12
Tuesday
1.5 mile walk
Leg Press - 200lbs 5x8
Pull Up Assist - 75lbs 5x2
Lat Pulldown - 110lbs 8,6,6
Curls - EZ bar + 40lbs: 8,8,6,6
Back Flys - 25lbs 4x8
Wednesday
1 mile walk
Thursday
1.5 mile walk
Bench - 135lbs: 5x5
OH Press - 65lbs 8, 8, 8
Pushups - 8, 6, 6
Situps - 10,8,8
Tricep Pulldown - 30lbs 3x12
Friday
1.5 mile walk
Leg Press - 200lbs 5x8
Seated Row - 130lbs 5x6
Barbell Row - 85lbs 3x8
Curls - EZ bar + 40lbs: 8,8,6,6
Back Flys - 25lbs 4x8
Saturday
2 mile walk
Sunday
nothing - lazy ass
