Thanks Chillen for the title, this was originally posted in "women's health" so I moved it here since I'm a dude last time I checked

So I decided to start my diary to track my progress, and hopefully the boos or cheers from here will help motivate me.

I've already lost 5 lbs since I signed up for these forums a week ago!

I went to the doctor yesterday, and remembered that they weigh me every time. Since I've been really bad about tracking my own weight, I asked him for the samplings from other visits in the past (spider bite, bronchitis, checkups). Here is what he gave me:


December: 331
February: 329
May: 319
August 28: 290

Obviously over the summer there has been some real progress. I will keep tracking it from here! I dont have a really good goal yet, I'm a naturally heavy set guy, I'm 6'1" with a large frame, so going for a good BMI would require starving myself. I'll never be 160 lbs, and I dont want to. But I'm thinking 220-230 is probably a good goal for me for the next 5 or 6 months. Maybe sooner. I did lose 5 this week (Though I rode and ran every day this week and ate really well).

Wish me luck.

Sept 2: 285
Sept 9: 280



I'm noticing some steady weight loss, about 5 a week almost exactly. Last week I signed up at the gym, so I started stepping up my cardio.

Unfortunately for me, either through dumb luck or overdoing it, on thursday I injured my foot, I'm thinking pulled tendon, so the next week may be no loss, as I wont be doing a lot of running or biking. But I'll still be eating good, so there may be a loss.

I'd like to point out, like Chillen says "the food is the fat burner". While I do drink some green tea (mostly for taste and health) and I take a protien shake before any strength training, the real fat burner for me has been a calorie deficit with the food I eat.

I've tried to keep my calories around 1800-2000, if I go too low I notice a larg e difference in my energy if the calories are too low, so I've found 2000 or so to be my minimum. I try to burn around 500-1000 calories a day exercising, so there is a big deficit here.

You have just learned the "Combination to Unlock the CodeMonkey!" ROCK IT!

I think I gave you information on diet before (correct me if I am wrong). If I did, what did your plan turn out to be? And, What sort of weight training program are you or have you developed? GREAT JOB on losing the 5 lbs! ROCK ON with Unlocking the CodeMonkey!.......

The CodeMonkey:

With much Glee, I See Thee with the Key to the CodeMonkey. Gee, CodeMonkey, this is gonna set you Free!

Good luck with the journal!

Naturally, going from 329 in december to 280 something now, a lot of people have been asking me "whats the secret".

I know they want to hear "_____ diet pills" or the "____ diet" or something silly like that. But I don't have any magic bullet, I do have some rules for myself that I follow about 95% of the time. It's all stuff I found on the internet, read here, or got from a personal trainer or other pro.

Codemonkey's rules that are working for me:

1. Eat smaller meals more times per day. I set a reminder on my cell phone to let me know it's time to eat. I don't eat as much as I usually would.

2. Chew your food a lot. I try to chew around 20 times or so. This helps digestion, and slows down your eating so you feel full faster. A lot of people eat until they feel full, there is a delay there, so they end up overeating every time. I try to avoid doing that.

3. Eat Better. This one is a given. Keeping the carbs and calories down. Much of what I eat is tuna fish, chicken, and the occasional beef as far as meats go, and lots of fresh fruit and veggies. I use calorie calculators and try to keep my intake around 1800-2000 calories. You must create a calorie deficit to lose weight!

4. Water Water Water. I drink more than the 8 glasses per day. When I'm working, i have water next to me and drink it, when I'm working out, I consume it by the pile. I don't do gatorade or anything like that, but thats just a personal preference. Water is key!

5. Dont eat before going to bed. I try not to eat around 4-5 hours before I go to bed, especially fatty foods. It just builds fat.

6. Exercise! Yet another "given". I break up my exercise, and rather than really push it hard 3 days a week, I try to do moderate stuff 5-7 days a week. My recently hurt foot might be a reason to stop that. But personally, here is the minimum routine so far:


25 pushups (sometimes I need a break, sometimes continuous)
20 sit ups (10 straight, then 5 in each direction twisting).
Jump rope 30 secs to one minute in between.

Then one or both of the following:

Run/Jog 1-2 miles (I really listen to my body on this one as I'm just starting out, I dont want to over do it) keeping my heart rate in the 150-160 range the entire time. Sometimes I need to slow it down, sometimes speed it up. Recently I've replaced real ground with the treadmill.

Bike for 10-15 miles. I do two "warmup miles" on my favorite trail, then ride hard for around 10 miles, at a good speed (15mph+) keeping my HR 150-160, then do a 2 mile "warm down" procedure. My particular trail has some nice hills and curves, so it ends up being a great workout. When weather changes, I'll have to change this to a stationary.

Sometimes while running and biking I take my jump rope, and take "breaks" to build up some sweat.


7. Staying strong. This is by far the hardest part, and I wont lie to you and say it's easy for me either. But you have to stay strong. Being able to walk down the cookie aisle without grabbing them, or resisting a good double cheeseburger is really tough. Most of the time I really look forward to exercise, but there are some days I do have to force myself to start. Once I do, I'm glad I did. But overall, I have to keep asking myself "how bad do you want this?" and I remember the momentum I've got going and stick with it.

Beed a few days, how is codemonkey?

You still the master unlocker?


COME ON!...........ROCK IT!

I'm doing well! I started stepping up my routine a little, I had some more time this week. I did 100 sit ups yesterday, (2 sets of 50) and spent a lot more time in the weight room, doing a variety of exercises on different machines.

Today I focused a little more on cardio, and did 50 situps, 40 reps targeting obliques (I have no idea what the machine or excerise is called) various lifts, and ran 3 miles.

So far, doing well! I did undereat a little today, and as we all know thats not good either, but I'll make up for it tomorrow doing the fresh veggie thing and snack on peaches!

So far everything is going great, and I have a feeling next summer I should be looking pretty damn good. I know I feel great!

Really good advice all around. I've been lucky on the 'stay strong' aspect as most of the snacks/fast food choices my friends love, I go 'meh' too. I'd be in a much different position if they were all about the cookies and icecream!

An impressive loss, too. Good going. I'm sure you're bound to get heaps of people asking questions and giving you encouragement.

I hope you haven't had any 'saboteurs' who go out of their way to offer treats you love that they would never think of offering otherwise.

so far,

9/23: 276


My weight loss isnt going as fast as it was, (though I am doing more exersize). However, it doesn't discourage me, I understand this isn't an exact science and there will be plateau points that I can't do anything about.

I will hit my goals though! I started changing up my routine, that should help a lot.

10/08 - 275

I have no idea what's going on here, but I am assuming that I just need to change up my routines, and eat a little less. I'll keep you all posted!

Codemonkey, Unlock your current diet plan.........by displaying this in your journal. This way we could possibly find the cause of your lack of weight loss.



Best wishes



Chillen

Well, I think I was just at a plateau there. I have been super busy, but as of today I am 20 pounds lighter than my last post.

12/13/07 - 255

My diet isn't really anything specific, I eat red meats about 2 times a week, the rest is chicken or tuna, I do tend to go for higher carbs than I should, but I keep a pretty reasonable diet. I also need to stick to eating more times per day.

Congrats on the 20 pounds, man! You are truely rocken the socks off your goal, baby! If you stick to some basics of dieting for the "bulk" of your weight loss, you wont do yourself any harm and will stay on track. Carbs will not do you any harm. The main thing is to make sure your calorie deficits are met in conjunction with what you do, and you will keep rocken


Glad to see you posting again. I saw that you had posted in your journal and had to say something since no one else had yet. I hope you can try to post more as time allows.


I couldnt wish you more luck in what you do!



Best wishes to you!


ROCK ON!



Chillen

I haven't updated this for a while.. but I recently had a very bad back injury, and didn't exercise for 4 months, and gained quite a bit back. But in the last 2 months, I've been able to shed it all off, and am now progressing downward again. My current weight:

245

Currently the loss is around 2lbs a week, which I think is pretty reasonable. I'm happy with my results, but certainly noticing the lighter you get, the slower it comes off!

I'm sorry, this is so off topic... but...

Codemonkey like fritos! Codemonkey like tab and mountain dew! Codemonkey very simple man! Big warm fuzzy secret heart. Codemonkey like you!

I'm sorry. I really am. But I couldn't look at your name without that song running through my head. I just couldn't.

I had no idea what you were talking about, so I googled it.

That was hilarious! thanks!