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BGO Gets Fit!!

Jugband McGillicuddy

The Pro Bowler
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Hey guys. As some of you might already know, I recently reached a pretty significant goal for myself of getting below 200 pounds. I started at nearly 270, and it took me almost two years, but it was a hell of an accomplishment if I do say so myself -- and I do!! :)

Today, a friend sent me a message and basically said, "hog, how did you do it?" And I decided that rather than message him back, it might be more helpful to start a thread, just in case there might be someone else out there that can use the information. (It also gives our resident fitness gurus a chance to offer tips and tricks as well, which I'm looking forward to myself!!)

Before we get started, here's the usual disclaimer. Before beginning this, or any other diet/exercise program, see your doctor. And while it sounds cliche and corny, please do it. I would feel like dog **** if someone read this, tried it, and it wasn't right for their situation.

With that out of the way, here's what I did.

I ate less, and exercised more. Your welcome everyone, good night!! :D

Just kidding. But seriously, that's the gist of it.

I chose to count calories. The method is simple, doesn't deprive you of any certain food or beverage, and it really works.

First, you need to find your basal metabolic rate. That is, the number of calories you would burn if you just laid in bed all day. A good approximation is your body weight times 10.

When I started, mine was 2700. That means I could eat 2700 calories a day, put forth no effort, and not gain any MORE weight. But that's not what I wanted to do. I wanted to LOSE weight.

It's not rocket science. To lose weight, I had to eat fewer than 2700 calories. In fact, to lose a pound a week with NO effort at all, all I had to do was limit myself to 2200. (There are 3500 calories in a pound of fat. So a 500-calorie deficit, 7 days a week, would shed 1 pound.)

Surprisingly, what you can eat and still stay under that number is pretty sweet. For instance, I could have an egg mcmuffin, hashbrown and black coffee for breakfast (450 calories), a double-cheeseburger and medium coke for lunch (650 calories), and two pieces of your average large pepperoni pizza for dinner (900 calories.) And guess what? I'm still only at 2000!

I don't recommend the example above as a daily menu obviously, I just wanted to show you what you CAN eat using this method, and still lose weight. (I know what you're thinking. FYI, the average light beer has between 85-100 calories per can. But alcohol can slow weight loss sometimes because your body will work to metabolize the alcohol first, before burning anything else. It didn't stop me though. If I wanted a few beers, and had the calories available, I drank them!)

There are a few reasons why I like this method better than some other plans that are out there.

1) You can eat WHATEVER you want.
2) This prevents cravings that occur when you deprive yourself of certain foods.
3) Low-carb plans like Atkins really start to work after about 4 days, when your body enters ketosis. Screw up and accidentally over-do the carbs, and its another 4 days. If you count calories, and go over, get back on it the next day, and you start losing weight again IMMEDIATELY!!
4) This one is the most important....It's really simple to eat whatever the hell I want for the rest of my life!! :laugh:

OK, so, now you know your BMR. You know how many calories you can eat and still lose weight. What happens if you go over? Well, I'm sorry to tell you, but you may actually have to un-ass the couch for a few minutes. :)

But it really could be just a few minutes. At 270, walking just 3 MPH, I would burn nearly 270 calories. And obviously, the more vigorous the effort, or longer the duration, the more I burned.

So as you can see, it really is a guilt-free, deprivation-free, fail-safe plan, that requires minimal effort.

If you're like me though, once you start seeing results, you'll become anxious to do whatever you can to speed the process. Well, that's easy enough. What kind of activities do you like? Hiking? Jogging? Skiing? Sex? (Yes, there really are calculators out there that will tell you how many calories you burn banging.) And you have the added bonus of being able to say, "Let's go to the bedroom babe. It's for my health!" How can she say no to that? :laugh:

If you're interested in pursuing any of this, I highly recommend www.livestrong.com There are great tools there to help you keep track of what you eat (though it'll quickly become something you do in your head), what exercise you do, and how your calories-in match up with your calories-out.

I don't claim to be a fitness guru by any stretch. I have no formal health/nutrition education. I just did a lot of research, and found something that worked for me. So I figured I'd share it with all of you. I'm sure there are many members who know a lot more about this stuff than I, and I look forward to their input. Hopefully I'll be able to apply some of it myself.

I will say this. Quality of life is by far the greatest gift I've ever given myself. And if even one person reads any of this, and improves their life in any way, then it's been worth it.

Eat right, BGO. And DO WORK!!!!

hog
 
Good post, Hog! This essentially works the best. The equation is not as simple as calories in - calories out because (as you alluded to) your body processes different types of calories in different ways, but basically that's how it works.

They also say its important to track your progress. Track what? Anything; I forget the percentage, but people who track their progress in any way are a significant percentage more successful than those who don't. Calories are one example of things you can track fairly easily.

The most important thing is finding something you can stick to. The problem most people have when dieting is that they stop and go back to what they were doing before for whatever reason. You can't diet, it has to be a lifestyle change. Personally, I love the Paleo diet. Its "low carb," but only starches and things like this. You can eat a bucket full of spinach and broccoli if you wanted to! I'm on a modified paleo diet called the "Slow-carb" diet, and I'm having good success. (Note: Paleo-style diets are not calorie-counting diets).

Tip: cinnamon blunts the glycemic index of a meal. I put it in my coffee throughout the day. :)
 
I see Henry in here. And I keep checking back to see if he's posted. I have a feeling there's a whole lotta knowledge about to be dispensed. *fingers crossed*
 
Im wondering why Im not insulted by that. lol

Because you know me well enough to know that it was a sincere compliment. Yeah, sure, you like your beverage. But you work hard too. Now, if you DIDN'T do the exercise you do, well then, you'd look like I used to, only taller. :laugh:

MikeSr619 said:
seriously though, i know if i just cut out beer the weight would come right off. but then i go to a brewery and this guy says "I have this incredible bourbon barrel aged stout for you" and thats 1000 calories right there. what do I do, say no? HA!

Hulk no say no.

Hulk smart. :D
 
One other simple tip: drink water, and drink lots of it (especially first thing in the morning). I've heard different amounts, but generally I try to drink 150-200 ounces a day.
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I see Henry in here. And I keep checking back to see if he's posted. I have a feeling there's a whole lotta knowledge about to be dispensed. *fingers crossed*

Dude, I've been trying to think of something to add but your post was so good I can't think of anything useful to say. If I think of something I'll be sure to post it. :)

I've been struggling to keep running regularly lately. For some reason it's just been a real slog since August. The only advice I can give to those who might consider exercise is just do it one workout at a time. Don't worry about how much weight you have to lose or how much you suck or whatever. Just get out the damn door, just for today. Just do this one run and worry about tomorrow's run tomorrow. I've really had to remind myself of this but it's keeping me from throwing in the towel lately.

And that's true of dieting too (or changing your diet ... whatever :) ). A commitment is a choice you make over and over again. If you look too long at the big picture it can be overwhelming.

That's about all I've got for now. GREAT post Hog. Great post.
 
HH, thank you for posting this, this is a great thread idea. Let me ask this, how do you find out how many calories things have? I just had a chicken gyro with avocado tsatziki sauce (that was AWESOME, btw). So if I am eating out, and it's not fast food (which I am sure is easy to research), how does one discover calories?

Does Livestrong have calorie burning counts for exercising as well? Ie, how much will I burn running, etc.?
 
I love... Lanky.

Yeah, I bet him a sig bet for a week that Torain wouldn't be on the Final 53. Oops.
 
HH, thank you for posting this, this is a great thread idea. Let me ask this, how do you find out how many calories things have? I just had a chicken gyro with avocado tsatziki sauce (that was AWESOME, btw). So if I am eating out, and it's not fast food (which I am sure is easy to research), how does one discover calories?

Does Livestrong have calorie burning counts for exercising as well? Ie, how much will I burn running, etc.?

My pleasure. :cheers:

Most chain restaurants have their calorie counts online. And most of them are on livestrong. Once you register (just an email address) look under "my plate." It also lists home-cooked foods, just be a little careful. You have to be honest with yourself about your portion sizes.

Don't be intimidated by the count. It seems like work at first, but before long, you'll have a good idea how many calories are in certain foods, and keep the running tab in your head.

And yes, they do have calculators for exercise. Just about everything you could do is listed in there. Plus there are groups, challenges, success stories. I found it to be a one-stop shop. Good luck!!!
 
Dude, I've been trying to think of something to add but your post was so good I can't think of anything useful to say. If I think of something I'll be sure to post it. :)

I've been struggling to keep running regularly lately. For some reason it's just been a real slog since August. The only advice I can give to those who might consider exercise is just do it one workout at a time. Don't worry about how much weight you have to lose or how much you suck or whatever. Just get out the damn door, just for today. Just do this one run and worry about tomorrow's run tomorrow. I've really had to remind myself of this but it's keeping me from throwing in the towel lately.

And that's true of dieting too (or changing your diet ... whatever :) ). A commitment is a choice you make over and over again. If you look too long at the big picture it can be overwhelming.

That's about all I've got for now. GREAT post Hog. Great post.

Thanks, H. Y'know, it's funny you say that about running. I hit the same kind of wall, right around the same time. Fortunately, I've found two friends at work to run with sometimes, and we do a pretty good job of keeping each other motivated. Even when we're not running together, we're kind of keeping each other "honest."

I've gotten better at figuring out what different states of "dead legs" mean too. I can now tell when I've hit a little wall that I can run through, and get my legs back; and when I actually need to back it down a little. But I'm not about to tell you about ANYTHING having to do with running. :laugh:
 
HH, thank you for posting this, this is a great thread idea. Let me ask this, how do you find out how many calories things have? I just had a chicken gyro with avocado tsatziki sauce (that was AWESOME, btw). So if I am eating out, and it's not fast food (which I am sure is easy to research), how does one discover calories?

Does Livestrong have calorie burning counts for exercising as well? Ie, how much will I burn running, etc.?

I find most caloric information can be readily found on the internet. :) I don't usually count calories unless I'm forced to eat fast food. I've developed a general knowledge of what meals at McDonald's, Wendy's and Popeyes have how much fat and how many calories and such, so I can minimize the damage.

I also know the basic foods I eat (an egg has 60 calories ... 6 slices of turkey have 50 ... that sort of thing) so I know more or less if I'm on target. I'm not religious about counting though.

I don't know about all forms of exercise, but I do know that in general, you burn 150 calories per mile (speed is irrelevant), or 45 minutes of Karate class, which are the two things I do. :)
 
Sex, Henry. I wanna know about sex. There's a form of exercise I can get behind!
 
HH, thank you for posting this, this is a great thread idea. Let me ask this, how do you find out how many calories things have? I just had a chicken gyro with avocado tsatziki sauce (that was AWESOME, btw). So if I am eating out, and it's not fast food (which I am sure is easy to research), how does one discover calories?

Does Livestrong have calorie burning counts for exercising as well? Ie, how much will I burn running, etc.?

There are a bunch of websites that will give you calorie counts on almost anything. My brain has blanked, but I used to know a really good one; I will remember it and post here later.

There's also several apps you can get on your phone to count calories (if you have a smart phone). They have databases with everything stored in them.
 
There are a bunch of websites that will give you calorie counts on almost anything. My brain has blanked, but I used to know a really good one; I will remember it and post here later.

There's also several apps you can get on your phone to count calories (if you have a smart phone). They have databases with everything stored in them.

I will check out the apps asap, that's a great idea. I do a fair amount of walking around on the job too, I suppose it wouldn't be a bad idea to get a step-counting-thingy to track my distances walked each day. I could then supplement with jogging or something in the morning or evening as much as possible.

Also, fantastic signature! ;)

Yeah yeah. Good thing I like you.
 
I will check out the apps asap, that's a great idea. I do a fair amount of walking around on the job too, I suppose it wouldn't be a bad idea to get a step-counting-thingy to track my distances walked each day. I could then supplement with jogging or something in the morning or evening as much as possible.

Check out MyFitnessPal - its easy to use and has a wide variety of stuff in it.

Yeah yeah. Good thing I like you.

You mean, there are people who DON'T??!?!?!?
 
I just want to throw in my 2cents about calories in vs calories out. In terms of losing pounds, it is that simple. But in terms of body composition it's not. I can eat 1200 calories (most of you should be eating more than that, btw :p) of doritos every day and I would lose weight no problem, but I would just end up skinny fat (and feeling like crap).

However, if I eat 1200 calories of a well balanced mix of proteins, carbs, and healthy fats, then I can end up lean, "toned", and feeling strong. Also, eating "right" makes a big difference in ensuring that you're not eating too much.

Proteins and healthy fats leave you feeling much more satiated than a candy bar and some soda. Of course, that's not to say that you can't have the candy bar and some soda, but I hope people see that it's a little more complex than just calories in vs calories out.

Also I agree with finding a website to track your diet. Honestly I don't think it matters what you're using, as long as you use it consistently so that if their numbers are off, you are still adjusting relative to the same thing. Once you track online for a few weeks, you should be able to go by feel.
 

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