Weight Loss, Dieting and Exercise.

[Hammerfestus | 3,863]

21 minutes ago, Gloves said:

I almost wonder if it might help to have a little VGS weight loss group or something. Maybe a club or just a thread where we're incentivized somehow to post weekly or even daily about our progress, whether we did the thing we set out to do, stuff like that. 

I’d sign up for that.  I hate running but we bought the peloton at the start of the year and it was pretty great but shit got busy and the workouts stopped.  Need some motivation to get started again.  

[Jeevan | 8,914]

28 minutes ago, Hammerfestus said:

I’d sign up for that.  I hate running but we bought the peloton at the start of the year and it was pretty great but shit got busy and the workouts stopped.  Need some motivation to get started again.  

stop werewolfing  

[Jeevan | 8,914]

I've lost over 60 lbs, mainly to diet changing, u ain't getting pictures either unless you visit my jeeves only fans page!  freeloaders

[Jeevan | 8,914]

I started in March btw, dropped all that weight and hitting a wall a bit, but plan on changing a thing or two up, gonna see if I can hit my 95lb mark by February or so.....

[G-type | 2,483]

I totally fell off and undid all my progress.

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

id give anything that might restore my motivation a shot.

idk the pandemic was my "Excuse" and then when everything started getting back to normal i still couldnt bring myself to do anything. 

[Link | 2,715]

38 minutes ago, Jeevan said:

I've lost over 60 lbs, mainly to diet changing

This is what it took for me. I walk and bike almost everywhere, always take the stairs at work (4th floor) and elsewhere, I was still gaining weight. Even if I would walk 6 miles or bike 16 in a day.

(And I can't run. My feet are flat. After a couple of incidents while running to catch the bus or something, I went to a podiatrist and she said yeah, you really shouldn't.)

So for me it was food. I started weighing myself every morning and I noticed changing food habits had an effect. I was gaining a pound or two every day. When I stopped eating eggs (I had picked up eating 2 per day from my ex) I suddenly lost 10 lbs in a week. I pack lunches for work and pasta was a big go-to; I cut that out and that made a difference too. Thirdly, I stopped stupid snacking so much.

I'm now 10 pounds more than my lightest which I maintained for about a year. I'd like to get and keep at least 5 of that off again. I know it doesn't sound like much, but piling one "no big deal" on top of another is how I got to not liking what I saw in the mirror. So I want to be vigilant and strict. 

[Link | 2,715]

4 minutes ago, CodysGameRoom said:

id give anything that might restore my motivation a shot.

idk the pandemic was my "Excuse" and then when everything started getting back to normal i still couldnt bring myself to do anything. 

Do you watch much TV?

[a3quit4s | 4,107]

10 minutes ago, CodysGameRoom said:

id give anything that might restore my motivation a shot.

idk the pandemic was my "Excuse" and then when everything started getting back to normal i still couldnt bring myself to do anything. 

Start a little at a time. Go out for a walk, turn it into a short run, head to the gym, lift a weight. It isn’t a sprint. Reward yourself. If you go out to dinner or lunch, tell yourself you need to put in X amount of work to get that. Want a new game? Buy it after you complete 10 miles. People think motivation is all you need, but discipline and willpower are just as important. 

also depends on your goals, weight loss starts in the kitchen, fitness starts at the gym. 
 

[Richardhead | 2,813]

1 minute ago, a3quit4s said:

Start a little at a time. Go out for a walk, turn it into a short run, head to the gym, lift a weight. It isn’t a sprint. Reward yourself. If you go out to dinner or lunch, tell yourself you need to put in X amount of work to get that. Want a new game? Buy it after you complete 10 miles. People think motivation is all you need, but discipline and willpower are just as important. 

also depends on your goals, weight loss starts in the kitchen, fitness starts at the gym. 
 

Instead of deep diving into video games the last 7 years. I have gone all out in researching the food we put into our bodies. I have learned a ton and it has made me a better person physically and mentally.

if anyone is interested in the power or food. I’d be more than happy to share what I’ve learned. 
There are so many misconceptions about what we consume on a day to day basis. 
I hate hate hate fad diets like keto and carnivore. 
I’m not certified to give health advice, but I am more than willing to share what I’ve learned. Based solely on what I’ve done to better my health.

 

[a3quit4s | 4,107]

9 minutes ago, Richardhead said:

Instead of deep diving into video games the last 7 years. I have gone all out in researching the food we put into our bodies. I have learned a ton and it has made me a better person physically and mentally.

if anyone is interested in the power or food. I’d be more than happy to share what I’ve learned. 
There are so many misconceptions about what we consume on a day to day basis. 
I hate hate hate fad diets like keto and carnivore. 
I’m not certified to give health advice, but I am more than willing to share what I’ve learned. Based solely on what I’ve done to better my health.

 

All diets have the same thing in common, eat less lmao

seriously though stay away from sugar. It’s the enemy and is constantly being used to get you unknowingly addicted to shit. I’m guilty of eating sugar but it’s really the only thing I’m crazy about eating less of

Edited July 19, 2023 by a3quit4s

[Link | 2,715]

13 minutes ago, a3quit4s said:

seriously though stay away from sugar. It’s the enemy and is constantly being used to get you unknowingly addicted to shit. I’m guilty of eating sugar but it’s really the only thing I’m crazy about eating less of

Yeah this is huge. Sugar is in all kinds of places it has no business being, like tomato sauce, "healthy" cereal like Cheerios and Rice Krispies, peanut butter, mayonnaise, fucking vegetable broth. Not saying I never have a candy bar, but I look at ingredients and got rid of sugar in those kinds of products. They really taste better once you get used to it, too. 

29 minutes ago, Richardhead said:

if anyone is interested in the power or food. I’d be more than happy to share what I’ve learned. 

Share away imo, I love talking about this stuff.

[Mega Tank | 967]

2 hours ago, Richardhead said:

I have learned a ton and it has made me a better person physically and mentally.

 

Did you include that in your resume?

[fcgamer | 4,730]

5 hours ago, Gloves said:

I almost wonder if it might help to have a little VGS weight loss group or something. Maybe a club or just a thread where we're incentivized somehow to post weekly or even daily about our progress, whether we did the thing we set out to do, stuff like that. 

It's funny that you mention this, as I had been thinking about starting a thread or something for this too. 

From my personal experience, it helps a lot to have others to talk with and discuss your setbacks, your goals, your accomplishments, tips and advice, etc.

A common story I see in a lot of folks, which rings true for myself as well, is not really such a hatred for exercise or eating properly, rather time constraints or being in a situation where you get into a bad habit or out of a good one, ultimately getting everything thrown off. Adding some accountability really helps, imo.

[fcgamer | 4,730]

3 hours ago, CodysGameRoom said:

id give anything that might restore my motivation a shot.

idk the pandemic was my "Excuse" and then when everything started getting back to normal i still couldnt bring myself to do anything. 

I started doing an intense weightlifting program for a few months, but then as soon as the pandemic hit Taiwan and I was off work indefinitely, my sleep schedule went to crap, and so did my diet - then, inevitably, the lifting stopped and I never went back to it.

[G-type | 2,483]

Dieting or cutting out foods doesn’t work because as soon as you go back to “normal” eating you gain it all back. 
The only thing that will work is if you make a change you can stick with permanently.

[Code Monkey | 2,011]

Wow, that's pretty incredible, you should be proud of yourself. I had an aunt that was about 350 pounds and got down around 200 without surgery. She joined Weight Watchers and just kept track of every calorie, learning which foods were good for her and which bad. I'm looking forward to more updates, have you seen the documentary of the Anthony guy on Amazon Prime? I forget the name.

For everyone talking about diets and workout routines, that's never going to work. You need a permanent change in your life or else you'll just go back to your current weight as soon as you stop the diet / workout. I blew up to 202 pounds about 15 years ago and decided to make some life changes as follows:

Bread - I switched to multigrain or brown bread but generally I try not to eat bread at all since it's very high in sugar. I mean.....what do you think they feed the yeast to get it to activate?

Ketchup - I stopped eating it mainly because I don't like the taste but it's also very high in sugar.

Peanut butter - I looked at a jar of Skippy one day and I saw icing sugar listed as one of the ingredients. Icing sugar? What the fuck? I have now switched to one that is literally just blended peanuts and nothing extra. I don't mind mixing the oils when I first open it.

Milk - Adult mammals shouldn't drink milk at all, can you think of any other animal that drinks milk after it's a year old? It's not good for you but if you do drink it, make sure it contains at least some fat so your body can digest it. The human body can't digest lactids at all without some fat present which is why most milk contains some percentage of fat. Never drink skim milk unless you're eating something else that contains fat for digestion.

Margarine - Don't eat it at all, the body can't digest it. My girlfriend is a physician and worked on cadavers in medical school. She told me horror stories of cutting open dead bodies and there was a life's worth of margarine globs just sitting inside there. Yuck.

Butter - I don't really like the taste of it but if cooking calls for it, there's usually a substitute. I would bet you $100 you wouldn't tell the difference if I made you a grilled cheese with Miracle Whip instead of butter.

Sour cream - substitute Greek yogurt instead, you'll never tell the difference. I feed my guests Greek yogurt with nachos and nobody has noticed yet. It tastes exactly the same.

Coffee - Read what your body's maximum daily caffeine intake is, it varies by body weight. People generally drink too much for your body to process and it affects your sleep patterns which will disturb your metabolism

Water - Drink a full glass of water with every meal. The better your body can digest the food, the easier it will be to metabolize it.

Meat - I've never been a fan of pork and I think bacon is disgusting so I guess that helps. Also coincidentally, my girlfriend is deathly allergic to pork so I can't even have it in the house. After cutting out pork I realized I didn't really like any meat that much so I don't really eat it anymore. I prefer vegetable pizza with flavourful, crunchy toppings rather than that sweaty, soggy, salty meat. Gross.

Salad dressing - Salads are delicious and I know they're better when you use a creamy dressing but what do you think makes it creamy? If any food is creamy, it's generally made with fat so use a vinagrette with your salad and save yourself the fat and calories.

Beer - This is basically liquid bread, it's equally as bad for you. You're better off cutting it out or switching to liquor if you're worried about your weight. If you complain it's not as much drink for your money, try getting a single shot in a large glass of mix so it looks like a double but it's just a single.

Soft drinks - I used to drink 3 cans of Coke every day for over 10 years. Now I drink about 2 cans a year and I can hardly stomach how sticky it is. My dad used to mix Pepsi drinks in the plant and he told m the stories of how much sugar goes into the vats when mixing this stuff, it's like a recipe for diabetes. Don't drink this stuff at all, it's literally just flavoured sugar water. I'm not sure how I don't have diabetes after that.

Ice cream - switch to frozen yogurt. Probably only moderately better for you but still not as much fat and I can't tell the difference.

Fast food - Don't do it, it's disgusting. A group of people I was with wanted A&W a few years ago and I reluctantly agreed to get something with them. I had to shit 6 times that day, the food is terrible for you and if you spend long enough eating healthy, your body will be even less likely to process it. Don't suck down Dairy Queen and then tell people you don't know why you're fat. Spend more money and get proper food if you care what goes into your body., my monthly grocery bill is almost as much as my mortgage and I don't have kids. 

Protein - Do you find yourself eating breakfast and you're starving before lunch? You're not getting those pains because you're hungry, it's your body lacking protein specifically. Add a scoop of protein to your breakfast or just put it into some water to drink and you won't feel so hungry before lunch. As long as your body has the protein it needs, it won't give you those awful pains.

I was 202 pounds at my heaviest and now I'm 165 without any diet and no workout routine. If you're just conscious about the nutritional value of what you're putting into your body, you'll have a much easier time with your weight management. Also be sure to stretch often and be mindful of your circulation. Your body uses your blood stream to maintain your metabolism so the better your flow of blood, the better your body's ability to regulate weight. 

[fcgamer | 4,730]

1 hour ago, Code Monkey said:

I was 202 pounds at my heaviest and now I'm 165 without any diet and no workout routine.

Right, and that's not healthy. Let me say it for everyone, it is imperative that one remains active, i.e. exercising.

Working out is equally important to being healthy, I know a ton of Asians who are thin as fuck but they just pick at fried chicken squares and pastries all day

[fcgamer | 4,730]

1 hour ago, Code Monkey said:

I would bet you $100 you wouldn't tell the difference if I made you a grilled cheese with Miracle Whip instead of butter.

Disagree. Miracle Whip is processed to eff and tastes nasty, definitely shouldn't be eating that as part of a healthy diet.

[fcgamer | 4,730]

I've talked at length to people about the very topic of weight loss, working out, and diet, and also have done research into the matter myself. As has been highlighted here by everyone's differing opinions, I think the one thing we all can agree on is that there are a lot of studies that contradict each other, and no matter what we choose to do or believe, sticking with it is one of the most important aspects - if we go gangbusters for a month then start fressing like there's no tomorrow, it doesn't really matter how much we lost initially.

One of my good friends used to be a professional bodybuilder, and I've spoken to him at length. Here are some points for consideration:

1. Fermented foods are king. Kimchi, sauerkraut, stinky tofu, natto, etc. These foods really help with our gut flora and digestion.

2. Water is king.

3. Tea has a lot of beneficial properties, despite the caffeine. It generally will not mess up sleep cycles due to other components that help offset the caffeine.

4. Apple cider vinegar is also good for digestion and weight loss.

5. Of all alcohol, sake is likely the most healthful, though wine is also quite healthful in moderate amounts. These are also the most natural of the alcohols.

6. Cardio and weight training are both important aspects of exercise. Aim for just three or four times a week for cardio, two or three times for weights. Stronger muscles burn more calories.

7. Lean meats (chicken) and fish are an important source of protein. Despite what vegetarians may want people to believe, tofu is not nearly as good of a source of protein when it comes to building muscle. I specifically inquired about this once when I was training as it's a lot easier and cheaper for me to prepare tofu sandwiches than to cook chicken and fish.

8. Nix the sugar, drink your coffee black.

9. Eat a bit of dark chocolate before bed.

10. Most importantly, keep eating throughout the day. A few months back, I lost about ten pounds in a week and a half and all I did differently was that I was walking, and also that I ate smaller meals, but was literally nibbling on something every hour or so. 

11. If smaller meals isn't for you, then go the opposite direction and fast for 16 hours some days. I will often fast from 17:00 to breakfast the next day.

12. Sleep is also very, very important.

13. Finally, get rid of all the processed stuff, go natural. No reason not to make pasta sauce from scratch, for example.

 

Edited July 20, 2023 by fcgamer

[Jeevan | 8,914]

7 hours ago, G-type said:

Dieting or cutting out foods doesn’t work because as soon as you go back to “normal” eating you gain it all back. 
The only thing that will work is if you make a change you can stick with permanently.

true.  Working out and becoming active has become a part of the routine for me.  I also helped myself by eating "normal" portions instead of eating whatever, whenever.  

I started off with my boss telling me he wanted to get healthy, same boss who was in hospital for a month in a coma cuz of covid, almost died, woke up Christmas morning that year.  

Anyway, he told me about an app he was using to keep track of his eating etc.  I dled the app, started tracking and exercising and just cut back portions to not overeat and now I feel full on a normal portion and I'm good.  sometimes you can splurge, but do it in moderation just like everything else. 

All in all, I have lost like 62lbs and feel so much better.  It really does help to have someone to talk to as well because you can keep yourselves motivated, and sometimes you need a pick me up from someone going through the same thing as you.  Keep at it and you will get there, whoever needed to hear that.  never in my life did I think I would be somewhat healthy again, and was getting depressed about it, but here I am with a little motivation from my boss, who has lost over 70lbs btw, we keep each other going and it has worked.  I have even refused some of the best pizza here in indiana because I have got my head in the game!!!! 

[Hammerfestus | 3,863]

[G-type | 2,483]

1 hour ago, Jeevan said:

I have even refused some of the best pizza here in indiana because I have got my head in the game!!!! 

That's good that you're highly motivated now, but motivation doesn't follow a straight line, its got peaks and valleys. Its important to make healthy things become habit, so you do them even when you're head is not in the game.

[Jeevan | 8,914]

5 minutes ago, G-type said:

That's good that you're highly motivated now, but motivation doesn't follow a straight line, its got peaks and valleys. Its important to make healthy things become habit, so you do them even when you're head is not in the game.

100% I'm there as there have been plenty of days I didn't want to do it, but did anyway.  Motivation definitely has peaks and valleys.  been there plenty already haha.  

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

15 hours ago, Link said:

Do you watch much TV?

No, but I do work in an office setting, so I'm sitting all day unless I motivate myself not to.

To reiterate, I know what to do. I lost 50 points in 2018 through working out, cutting my diet, motivation and discipline. No issues with knowing what to do. It's just getting motivated to do it.