Looking for motivation!!

[Viking]

Hey all, in about bang on 6 months time I'm jetting off to the caribbean to get married to the mug I managed to dupe......sorry I mean the girlfriend!! 

Just jumped on the scales and I'm sat at bang on 20 stone (127kgs for the Australians, 280lbs for the Americans), so yeah I have 6 months to do something about it, I know I'm not gonna get skinny I don't want to be, I just want to be less fat so i can enjoy the trip more!!

So I'm asking for those who've shed the weight for some motivation, what sort of results do you achieve in your first six months?

I really have no idea how much would be achieveable from 6 months of healthy diet and say 1 hour exercise a day. I know there is no exact equation of "x" amount of diet + "y" amount of exercise = "z" amount of weight loss.

I have a figure in my head of loosing 3 stone (19.5kg/42lbs) in 6 months, is that realistic?

[slymyke]

Hey Gearhead.  I just noticed you posted an avatar.  I like the look.   Congratulations on the upcoming wedding and good luck with the weight loss.  I don't have any great advice, but wanted to wish you well.

[OzSly]

G'Day Gearhead mate,

Firstly, congrats on your upcoming wedding mate.

I lost 29 kgs (64 lbs) in under 6 months after being diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in May last year. I started eating healthy and exercising 30 minutes a day (mainly walking or on the treadmill). So from the start of June to December I lost the weight. I am still losing weight. I weighed 149 kgs (328 lbs) when I was first diagnosed after 6 months I was down to 120 kgs (264lbs).

So Gearhead mate the 3 stone you want to lose in 6 months is very realistic, as long as you are prepare to give it a fair dinkum go, then you will have no problems reaching your goal. You have a great motivation for losing the weight.

Good luck Gearhead mate.

[benlen]

I don't attempt to pressure anyone to try vegan diets, but if you're really looking to lose weight fast, they are a great means of doing so. Check ForksOverKnives.com

[Viking]

Thanks for the good wishes.

OzSly: You've done great by the sound of it, it's great for motivation to know it is doable if I commit to it fully.

Benlen: Randomly my girlfriend is currently making us a vegan meal, we've done a couple of weeks vegan before but found the whole thing far too much effort!! But yeah, I hope to add a few veggie or vegan meals into the recipe bank!!

[Mr Jules]

I have a figure in my head of loosing 3 stone (19.5kg/42lbs) in 6 months, is that realistic?

Yes, it is realistic.

From own experience: cut out crisps, pizza, fizzy drinks, chocolate, cakes and biscuits. Make sure you eat your 5 fruit and veg per day. Porridge for breakfast. Replace red meat with fish. And cycle to work, if you can.

[Viking]

From own experience: cut out crisps, pizza, fizzy drinks, chocolate, cakes and biscuits.

But then what will I eat??? 

[Mr Jules]

From own experience: cut out crisps, pizza, fizzy drinks, chocolate, cakes and biscuits.

But then what will I eat??? 
[/quote]

LOL.

Changing your diet is no fun. Give it time, and you will fill better for it. Good luck !

BTW, great beard.

[benlen]

Like Mr Jules said, cutting those foods will be hard in terms of resisting the temptation, but since you'll feel so much better, it'll be worth the effort!

[mrzed]

My chiropractor has a diet for jumpstarting your weight loss.  It's not a long term or fad diet, but works by eliminating 'leptin' resistance so that you can lose weight.  You may eat all you want. You eliminate sugar and things that turn to sugar quickly. You add health oils (genuine olive oil, coconut oil, butter, and grapeseed oil), and limit fruits to low glycemic index choices.

PM me if you want more details.  You get most of your foods from organic sources to minimize toxic content and chemical additives, etc.

[Beardman]

Hey bro. I think you've got some great motivation already.

I sat down with my GP the other day and did a bit of mate, and we worked out, that I lost an average of 2kgs a month over the 2 years I was losing weight. Realistically though some months I was literally able to lose 5kgs a month, but I'm not going to lie that was being completely dedicated to the cause. That was training for 1.5hrs (not solidly unless it was a cardio night weights nights was rotating with 3 people) 6 nights a week. 3 weights, 3 cardio.

As said before, no crisps, fizzy drinks, fast food, sugary treats, that kind of thing. We've chatted about this before 

You don't have to do the boring meat and 3 veg every night. you can mix it up, make casseroles, stir fries, meat and veg curries, that kind of thing and you'll always have something fun and different to eat.

Are you still leading that hectic work schedule that sees you home well after 8? Because I completely squashed eating after 8pm too (other then protein after the gym), because that is when your metabolism starts to slow down.

I think we are all willing to help you any way we can to meet your goals. I'd love to see you drop the 3 stone for your wedding, I think it'd be awesome, and is completely doable.

Another way to get motivated is to find a mate that might be looking to lose weight, or someone that is already training and train with them. That way you feel obligated to work out. Oh or, how about teaming up with your girlfriend, I'm sure she wouldn't mind being a little fitter for her wedding day, maybe she would like to work out with you? Make it a team effort. Just be very careful how you word it, or you might not have to worry about losing that weight 

If you need any help with anything at all let me know mate, and I'll do my best. If you were local to me I'd be dragging you sorry a$$ with me to the gym, no excuses! haha.

[Viking]

Cheers mate.

Yeah it's the eating at night thing I need to sort out, I don't finish work till 9pm so often aren't home till 10pm and often that meal is the only time I get to spend with the GF as she works 8-5 so is usually in bed not long after I get in. I work from my car so it's tricky to have a proper meal on the go.

On the plus side, just done a sesh on the exercise bike and feel good after it, hope to improve on that and combine some weights into the equation soon. Now I'm off to work!

[Beardman]

Congrats bro, that's a great start. 

Yeah, I thought you might still be working those silly hours, unfortunately as you said, there isn't really much of a work around for that. Maybe you could have a smaller dinner, and a bigger lunch.

As for proper meals, thats a pretty easy part to do in your car. You could either do the salad sandwich thing, with meat, cheese, lettuce, etc, etc. or another thing I love to do, provided it doesn't require reheating the next day, is left overs. anywhere from 3-5 days a week I will take left overs to work and eat them for my lunch.

Then pack yourself some apples or bananas, or whatever fruit is in season to get you through the day. Another awesome thing I found was nuts. I'd normally have 2-3 handfuls of nuts through out the day.

You already know it'll take you some time to get sorted, but as long as you have the will power to say no, and keep going. You'll be set for life man. If you fall off the horse, dust yourself off and get straight back on it, don't stress. Just reset. It's as simple as that.

Oh and don't forget, you can totally have 1 day a week where you have a bit of junk food, if you feel you need too. After a while you will probably not get the urge, but it is still nice to know you can if you want too, just as long as you eat the junk in moderation.

[Kevin G]

You might want to look into Clarence Bass.  He is a fitness writer who is over 70 years old.  He frequently gets himself tested at the Cooper Clinic and is constantly rated at being healthier then most people much younger then himself.

Here is a link to a brief outline of what he believes-

http://www.cbass.com/PHILOSOP.HTM

I personally own this book Lean for Life http://www.cbass.com/PROD03.HTM and can not say enough good things about it.

If you are looking for some good dietary info that would be easy to follow, this would be a good place to start in my opinion.

[Le Samourai]

If you will forgive the self-promotion, I wrote a post on my blog about cutting my body fat nearly in half in 18 months. Hopefully you will find it useful.

http://www.agentintraining.com/2013/01/how-i-nearly-halved-my-body-fat-in-18.html