Exercise & Diet Plans?

[tonyo919]

So I started the diet and exercising on Thursday October 15th. As of a week later on Thursday the 22nd, I was already down 5 pounds.

I have been tracking all of my food intake with the My Fitness Pal app and I have been keeping my calories under the 1,850 I am allowed. I've also been to the gym just about every day doing 45 minutes of cardio and about an hour of weight training.

My problem is that every minute of every day I am hungry. And most people say they get endorphin's pumping at the gym, but not me. haha

Any of you on the app?

[Baltspeed]

I started something like a diet about 2 years ago. When I joined a gym I wanted to gain more muscles and replace body-fat to come better in shape and to get more endurance. So I added more egg-white, more fruits and cereals. But all of it wasn't that successfull I hoped for. Maybe I did something wrong or made some mistakes in combination with training-units and other sports like cycling and swimming. So I turned back to quite normal nutrition. This is not a very large difference to my "diet" before, but it is only more comfortable to do. I eat only when I am hungry, less meat and fat and I'm looking not to exceed the calories allowed for my weight.
Some time later I felt that the success was not the very large addition of mass, but the replacement of body-fat by muscles. I even lost 2 kg of mass but I think it was only fat. Now I am better in shape and I have less body-fat than never before and the training-units, including gym, swimming and cycling, are the most easy ones in my life. So I want to keep as long as I can.
Diets are only something for the business to make money, I think. The normal nutrition with less sugar and fat can be kept by most people that are healthy. But it is essential to watch the amount of the calories and to keep in motion with sports or work. Then staying in shape will come nearly automatically.

[swimmy]

Well put, Baltspeed. I think you've learned it the same way I did. I like how you describe the term "diet" as a noun, a thing that costs money. To me it is a verb, an action that I perform. What I eat and how much and when depends on my activity. My weight can actually go up and down six pounds in four days.
Wait till you guys hit fifty, it gets impossible to be fit and lean unless you have gotten this figured out. I think I'm doing pretty good, I don't know anyone my age in nearly as good as shape as me. Maybe it's rare or unusual, I don't know.

[diveguy]

Wait till you guys hit fifty, it gets impossible to be fit and lean unless you have gotten this figured out. I think I'm doing pretty good, I don't know anyone my age in nearly as good as shape as me. Maybe it's rare or unusual, I don't know.

I'm 53. I'm 6-0 tall and have weighed a consistent 170 - 175 for years. I've always been a skinny guy. Over the past two decades I would spend a shitload of time in the gym and not be able to bulk up much. I haven't done any working out in at least 8 years. The thing that kills me the most is a pregnant looking belly that pooches out. It looks like one of those distended bellies that the poor unfortunate starving 3rd world children have. That's what keeps me from posting pics and long ago, I made a vow that I would never allow myself to buy another new speedo as long as my stomach looked like it does. And now I'm truly fed up with it, and I vow to do something about it. Either diet and exercise alone, or diet, exercise and some sort of liposuction or cool sculpting or whatever, but I don't give a fuck what it takes, I want it to flatten out and harden up. Most likely not a six pack, just not loose and round, and no love handles. Otherwise, I think I'm in pretty good physical condition. I just wish I could bulk up some.

I've noticed the past couple years that my arms have gotten slightly bigger just through the physical activity I do in everyday life. Maybe my metabolism is changing. I'm going to give working out another go. I haven't started doing any exercising yet. I'm in the process of clearing out one room of existing furniture and setting up a home gym. Any time I spend online from then on, or watching sports on TV, will be spent while riding a stationary bike or working out with the home gym equipment. I feel this is my last chance in life to get closer to my ideal body image that I've always wanted, before I get so old that it's basically unrealistic to even pretend that it's achievable. I want to see some results by next summer. We'll see how it goes. I'm actually pretty excited about giving it another try with equipment here at home without having to drive out to a gym and wipe some other person's sweat off of things.

BTW, in the past few weeks, I've severely cut down on the amount of bread (which I love) and baked goods (which I love) that I consume. Maybe it's just psychological, but it sure seems like that alone is making the love handles on the sides feel a bit less loose.

[rmf]

Tonoy919:
It's good to hear you are making progress. I am always fascinated about body transformation. A couple of my buddies did the before and after pics and while it is hard to see the change as it is happening, it's amazing when you compare the two pics. If it is just for yourself, do take some before and after pics. It's great motivation to keep it going.

As for always being hungry:
Yes, folks here have opinions about fad diets and such but as I mentioned earlier in the string, straight calorie counting doesn't always work in the long run. I like and have used My Fitness Pal but I see it can be limiting. While I am not a huge fan of Weight Watchers, their point system has really good quality. On WW, you don't get 'points' or 'penalized' for eating most fresh fruits and vegetables. Again, this is because the concept of eating right is more of a lifestyle change and not how much you eat (regarding certain types of food). When I am trying to drop a few pounds and I am hungry all the time, I get myself a bag carrots, celery or something similar and eat as much as I felt I needed to keep myself from eating "bad" foods. When I get board of it, I make some simple dips with olive oil and spices. While you are increasing your straight caloric intake, it is off set by the fiber. You don't gain wait from eating fresh vegetables - it's from the other stuff.

Swimmy & Diveguy:
Man what you said really hits home for me. I have been 'skinny' my whole life. I was a stick in HS and in college, I was on the skinny side but I *proudly* earned myself a beer gut along with my degree. While I was still pretty thin by all means (5' 6" , 30 waist, 125lbs), I wasn't fit at all. I could not run a mile without falling over. It wasn't until I went into the service did I really start to see my body change. I was 23 and within a year, I finally started to gain some muscle and build up bulk on my body. I gained about 15 lbs, my waist size actually went down a size and my beer gut was completely gone. I was very active in swimming, surfing and diving during this time and my body showed it. My body looked as good as the photos you all post here on the board (unfortunately, I don't have a photo of myself sporting speedos during that time). I left the service - I kept eating as I did pretty much my whole life, continue to drink as I did when I was in college and service but I didn't keep up the fitness. Fast forward 20 yrs, I am in my mid 40's, two kids, office job and I am kicking myself thinking WTF did I do??? When I finally decided to get off my butt to get back to where I was then, I had the rude awaking and realized how hard it has become now that I am older. You hit 30 and you sort of feel it. Come 40 and it's like a brick wall smacks you in the face. It's suddenly a lot hard to get where you want to be body wise if you aren't already 90% there. I swim several times a week, I am very active with my kids, I eat pretty good (but Halloween time candy is my weakness as I type this with a few candy wrappers on the floor snagged from my kid's huge stash), I consume less booze but for the life of me, I can't get rid of the layer of fat right around my belly button. It's pudge that will not go away. So both of you are right, if you don't have a handle on it when you are young, it triples in difficulty as you get older....

I live in a college town and I see a lot of young 20 yrs olds, out of shape and with huge beer guts and I think to myself.... if there is one thing I would tell you, it wouldn't be anything about career advice... it would be to get a handle on your health now while it is easy....

My hat's off to anyone trying to get to the point where you want to be... I know it is not easy....

[PNWGuy]

Diveguy, I'm nearly 10 years ahead of you. Like you, I've always been thin. But a few years ago, after too many miles on the road and too many fast food meals, I'd gained about 20 pounds over where I felt like I should be. I cut most bread, pasta, and other carbs from my diet and over three years got back to what I think is my "good weight" of 138 lbs at 5'6". There's still some fat, but I feel pretty good for 61.

[diveguy]

Diveguy, I'm nearly 10 years ahead of you. Like you, I've always been thin. But a few years ago, after too many miles on the road and too many fast food meals, I'd gained about 20 pounds over where I felt like I should be. I cut most bread, pasta, and other carbs from my diet and over three years got back to what I think is my "good weight" of 138 lbs at 5'6". There's still some fat, but I feel pretty good for 61.

And based on your avatar and other pics you've posted, you look pretty damn good, too. I'm taking your post as words of encouragement. Thanks!