I'll start. I'm not on any specific diet, yet, but trying to reduce sugar/carbs for health reasons. I've recently started walking to add a little bit of exercise to my daily routine. I've been really bad about any type of exercise for years. Hopefully I can start out small, build up a routine, and go from there.

I need to start a exercise routine with the stuff I'm doing at physical therapy but I put it off 'cause work is tiring.

I spent like 10 minutes writing something up that kind of turned into rambling nonsense that no one would care about, so I'll just say this. I lost 120 pounds in less than a year by counting calories and walking, at first only 5 minutes but gradually I'd walk up to 2 hours a day. I would use those frozen meals like Lean Cuisine and all that, limit myself to 4 300-calorie meals a day with 2 50-calorie snacks, usually pudding or a small granola bar. I used those frozen meals because they were extremely helpful in getting me to eat proper portions rather than everything that I could fit on my plate. I also was able to control my social anxiety(since a huge part of it was my weight and my image of myself, though the anxiety is still there in some extent today) and get a job. So yeah, what I'm saying is, walking is an extremely helpful thing to do, as is counting calories.

^Also I know that my weight loss was too fast in too little of a time, but I was really, really determined to lose it once I got started. And it's been six years and I'm fine, so.

Originally posted by AsheMan:

Are you currently dieting?

Sort of. I decided to cut back on a lot of things lately, mostly just eating half.. and eating less cheese and more vegetables.

Originally posted by AsheMan:

Recommend a successful diet?

3 Step program:

Step 1:
Cook your food yourself, all of it, with as little processed materials as possible. This means, learn how to make a roux, learn how bake a bread. Its not that hard. Cooking the things with as fresh as possible reduces your sugar intake. Many of the processed foods and drinks contain added sugar, because there is this thing called the sweet spot, which they reach by adding a little bit sugar to enhance the flavor. Of course refined sugar is bad for you.. matter of fact.. to much sugar and salt are bad for you. You shouldn't consume more than a table spoon of salt per day, and ideally no added sugar. If you want something sweet, then eating a fruit is a better idea, due to the fiber than eating some honey.

Step 2:
Buy vegetables that are in season and can be bought from the local farmers market. Or buy frozen vegetables. Either buying the vegetables locally, having them in your own garden or buying them frozen ensures maximum freshness and nutritional value. Most of the "fresh" vegetables and fruit in your super markets have been harvested prematurely before they were ripe, to have them ripen on the way to the supermarkets, where as frozen vegetables are harvest at peak ripeness and flash frozen to preserve as much as possible.

So if you cannot get it from a local farmer fresh off the field... or frozen, it might not be a bad idea to plan another dish. However, that being said... 'fresh' vegetables and fruits from your grocery store still beats processed food with their added sugars, salts and other chemicals to increase "flavor" and taste.

Step 3:
Eat only a pound of meat (including fish) per week. Doing this will force you to eat more vegetables, which will automatically increase your intake of fibers, vitamins and all the good stuff. To many people have a diet that is way to heavy on meat and carbonhydrates.

Originally posted by AsheMan:

What's your exercise routine like?

Currently its to hot... but i started to do 20 push ups (against the wall), 20 squats and 20 toe touches each time i got up to the bathroom. Takes about a minute to do.

Doesn't exactly replace going to the gym for 4 hours during the week, but turning it into a habit certainly meant i got a workout in... on average the human body takes a piss about 7ish times a day. (5 to 10 is normal depending on how much you drink)... which means you'll do about 140 repetitions a day. You'll feel it the next day, i promise. And if you keep doing it every day.. you eventually can increase the difficulty of the workout.

It is easier to trick yourself into doing these quick workouts than getting yourself into the gym for an hour. "Its just a minute" is a much more compelling argument to do the workout than "i have to get dressed, my gym clothes ready and then drive there for half an hour.. then work out an hour.. and what will i wear?!"

Originally posted by AsheMan:

Have you recently made any diet/exercise related accomplishments you want to share?

I am working out more and my diet is improving... to the point where i feel like i am making slow progress... and i think that is better than none.

I am on the frozen dinner and poverty diet.

Originally posted by Espresso:

I am on the frozen dinner and poverty diet.

One more reason why you should properly cook. I bought dinner for 2 people, for the entire week, for 40 bucks.

For example: A cabbage head, which is easily the bulk of 3-4 meals, costs about 2 bucks this time of the year.


A salad head.. 50 cents.. I can feed myself on 20 bucks a week. In comparison... a frozen pizza costs like 3 bucks. For those 3 bucks i'll buy canned tomatoes for tomato sauce, flour, salt and a topping of choice and have enough for 4-5 pizzas.

Originally posted by Hamster Gutz:

I lost 120 pounds in less than a year by counting calories and walking, at first only 5 minutes but gradually I'd walk up to 2 hours a day.

You are a true inspiration. I need to lose that kind of weight and it just seems insurmountable so why even try? But I am trying...

Originally posted by AsheMan:

Originally posted by Hamster Gutz:

I lost 120 pounds in less than a year by counting calories and walking, at first only 5 minutes but gradually I'd walk up to 2 hours a day.

You are a true inspiration. I need to lose that kind of weight and it just seems insurmountable so why even try? But I am trying...

I pretty much just woke up one day and was like...enough's enough. I had graduated high school a few months earlier and was literally doing nothing because my social anxiety(of which my weight was partially a symptom, if that makes sense) was keeping me from moving on, getting a job, etc. I started by looking at the calories of things I'd normally eat, and on a regular day it turned out I'd eat around 3500 calories , which is made even worse considering my phyiscal activity was nearly nonexistant. So I basically cut that amount in half and it kinda sorta worked for a couple weeks until I went with what I described in my earlier comment. I should admit though that part of the reason it worked was because my dad was willing to spend the money on my diet(was costing around $60 a week, those frozen meals aren't cheap O_O) and because I literally had a year where I did nothing but the diet and walking and playing on my laptop. Also, this might just be me, but I NEVER had a cheat day, despite some people saying I should. I didn't trust myself to be able to eat delivery pizza or something and not eat the entire thing and ruin my whole diet(as that would start a snowball effect of oh maybe I'll just eat some ice cream or some more pizza or blah blah blah until I'm back where I started).

I've been able to keep my weight at a reasonable level(was 170 at the end of my diet, now 190 due to gaining some muscle :cool:) because of my fairly physically demanding job, I probably walk even more now than I did when I was walking 2 hours straight. Plus lifting pallets and all that stuff enables me to burn calories and all that. I do eat more now than when I was actually on the diet because if I didn't I'd probably be starving due to all the physical activity at work, I eat around 1800-2000 calories. Also I don't eat the frozen meals anymore(well sometimes I do :P, but not nearly as much), they are basically a stepping stone to proper eating if you don't know portions and stuff like I didn't.

Oh I left out one MAJOR thing, I would always always always wait at least 2 hours between meals. I'd eat a 300 calorie meal, wait 2 hours and IF I'm hungy, I'd have a snack, then wait another 2 hours and IF I'm hungry have a meal, etc. It's very important, at least the way I did it, to do that. Also, if you think you MIGHT be hungry, take a drink of water and wait a few minutes. If you're still hungry after that, you're probably actually hungry and not just wanting to eat, if that makes sense.

Originally posted by AsheMan:

I need to lose that kind of weight and it just seems insurmountable so why even try?

That is where the whole "start small" idea comes from... of doing workouts in 5 minute segments. You are more likely to do them than you are likely to go ahead and put on your workout gear and hit the gym.

I do a fair amount of physical activity. I cycle at least ten miles every day during autumn/spring/summer, and I lift weights every other day (when I'm not working late). Cycling saves me a lot of money getting to and from work. I cycle to the next town over, store my bike and catch a bus for the rest of the way. It doesn't take much time out of my schedule at all.

I'm a bit relaxed when it comes to healthy/unhealthy food choices. I don't particularly like the sensation of being too full with food; much prefer small portions, just so I feel refreshed. And I am a bit finicky with food, as you all know.

Originally posted by Hamster Gutz:

^Also I know that my weight loss was too fast in too little of a time, but I was really, really determined to lose it once I got started. And it's been six years and I'm fine, so.

There does seem to be a bit of criticism with that, but like you mentioned, it seems to be about determination. My dad lost about 60kg in about two years. That's just more than one whole Lady_Shrub in weight! He's been able to keep it off just fine, too. I guess once a routine has been made, it gets easier to stick to.

Kudos for the weight loss, Hammy!

Originally posted by AsheMan:

You are a true inspiration. I need to lose that kind of weight and it just seems insurmountable so why even try? But I am trying...

My dad started off with very small changes in his diet and activities. Like, he would park his car a mile or so from work, and walk. After a few weeks, he bought a bike and would park even further away from work. Once he got fitter, it got easier for him to lose weight. It was like a snowball effect, really. Now he just cycles straight to work. These things seem to take plenty of time, and it's best not to rush into it.

Was a ~80kg large lad for the longest time (I'm only a 160cm~5.3ft dwarf, so it was noticeable..), decided to do something about it one day a few years back and started counting calories/exercise properly, filling out a myfitnesspal log etc.

I don't go so far as to bake my own bread or churn my butter but I do still cook all my own meals, eat more fruits veggies and yogurt then I used to, cut down on my ludicrous amounts of coffees per day and the like (Ok That last one is a lie, I'm still a caffeine addict but I've learned to enjoy a black or atleast a mug with fewer sugars)

I'm always talking about wanting needing things to watch in the TV thread - that's because I find working out on its own incredibly boring and a hard thing to maintain with discipline; whereas my current setup at home of my Exercise Bike/Dumbbells/Floor mat and equipment etc. all right in front of my telly makes it infinitely more easier to get motivated and do a daily 45~60 minute mish mash of a set in sync with an episode of something.
I live fairly close to my CBD and walk the 30 minutes or so to work each day also, which has the added benefit of saving money as an aside. (Yay for paid parking being introduced in my area recently..) This is where all those podcasts come in handy too :)

Dropped a significant amount of flab over the course of a few months and am much happier and healthier nowdays :D

Originally posted by Ishan451:

Currently its to hot... but i started to do 20 push ups (against the wall), 20 squats and 20 toe touches each time i got up to the bathroom. Takes about a minute to do.

Doesn't exactly replace going to the gym for 4 hours during the week, but turning it into a habit certainly meant i got a workout in... on average the human body takes a piss about 7ish times a day. (5 to 10 is normal depending on how much you drink)... which means you'll do about 140 repetitions a day. You'll feel it the next day, i promise. And if you keep doing it every day.. you eventually can increase the difficulty of the workout.

Oooooh, that's a good idea! I'm going to do that with pushups/planking.

Originally posted by Toasted Sandvich Maker:

I'm going to do that with pushups/planking.

I started doing them in a 45° angle against the wall... meanwhile i moved to the push ups from a chair.

I saw the math involving it, in terms of the weight you push and off a chair is only marginally less effective (like 15% or so) compared to getting down onto the floor.

The workouts i selected for myself to do this, are selected based on me being lazy. If i had to crawl onto the floor each time, i don't think i'd do them. Doing if against the door frame/ wall or off a chair or table, might be a little less workout, but you can just do 5 or 10 more repetitions to balance that.

Tricking myself into doing it, is more important to me than difficulty of the workout :)


Edit:
Push Ups Math:

https://caloriebee.com/workout-routines/How-Much-Weight-Do-You-Actually-Push-Up-During-a-Pushup

Regular Pushups use 56% of your bodyweight
Push Ups off a chair use 42% of your weight
Off the Wall uses 36% of your weight.

Added a couple blocks to round out my walk at one full mile this morning. Baby steps.

Originally posted by AsheMan:

Added a couple blocks to round out my walk at one full mile this morning. Baby steps. :zombierunner:

Nice. When I was walking I pretty much ended up exploring everything eventually. I'd walked everywhere within like a 6 mile radius of my house, lol.