Need Motivation To Lose Weight?!

[Eternaldarkness]

Re: Pics of me, need to start working out!

I took a few pics today, as my "before pics," and now I've started my journey to a much improved body, and to slim down my huge bubble butt lol! I have quite a bit of knowledge when it comes to health and physiology, so I know I have the knowledge to get in shape and stay in shape. I don't starve myself and I exercise reasonably. I have never had a six pack, (maybe when I was 11 or 12), so I really want to see if I can do it. I only have a 5'6 frame, so I may never have the long lean body I want, who knows?

I consider myself to have a mesomorphic body, and believe it has potential to look MUCH better than it does. I have a way to go as for building muscle. Like I said, I'm out of shape, so it's going to be a lot of work. If and when I get to my desired level of fitness (and that six pack by getting rid of that stubborn fat),
I will post the "after" pics. Any personal tips, or stories/pics are welcomed too!!

Don't you worry. I do not not have the perfect body frame as desired too. So what!? If we can lose the weight, then we can get that long lean body too.

These pictures are great! I want to post mine up too, but unfortunately I haven't taken any pictures of myself before. Right now I am in the "during" process, but I'll take some now.

When you exercise and burn the fat, your body will automatically show the muscles. You can build the muscles but don't neccessary needs to.

For myself, right now I am focusing on losing the fat by running and jogging and playing tennis for my exercise. I've began to notice that I have a more defined body than before.

My goal is to lose all this fat first, then start building more muscles after (for example: chest, biceps, killer abs.)

Focus on whole body exercise instead of just the stomach area. The body is funny, when you lose weight, everything seem to get smaller at the same time.

 

[Eternaldarkness]

okay, so I decided to use the body fat estimator found at:
http://www.he.net/~zone/prothd2.html

This is my results so far. 156 lbs, 25.1 BMI, and 14% Body fat.

When I first started to exercise which was in November of last year, I was 185 lbs. By just eating lesser meals and exercising frequently, I have lost over 30 lbs in 6 months.

I know I can exercise more but I am just very lazy. There is so much more that I can do to lose even more.

That is why, if you try, you will succeed. I am still very lazy and I have almost to no free time. Yet, I am sure a lot of you guys here can do better...and ofcourse, will have even more greater results!

Trust yourself! That is one key to losing weight.

 

[Kirbster]

Re: Pics of me, need to start working out!

I took a few pics today, as my "before pics," and now I've started my journey to a much improved body, and to slim down my huge bubble butt lol! I have quite a bit of knowledge when it comes to health and physiology, so I know I have the knowledge to get in shape and stay in shape. I don't starve myself and I exercise reasonably. I have never had a six pack, (maybe when I was 11 or 12), so I really want to see if I can do it. I only have a 5'6 frame, so I may never have the long lean body I want, who knows?

I consider myself to have a mesomorphic body, and believe it has potential to look MUCH better than it does. I have a way to go as for building muscle. Like I said, I'm out of shape, so it's going to be a lot of work. If and when I get to my desired level of fitness (and that six pack by getting rid of that stubborn fat),
I will post the "after" pics. Any personal tips, or stories/pics are welcomed too!!

Damn, I've never looked as good as you do already! But watch out...give me 6 months to a year, and I'll try to catch up to you! I'm working at it. Can't wait to post after pics here (there are some before pics somewhere in the bear forum...I can't abide to look at them anymore!).

 

[Eternaldarkness]

BearCubVA, I totally understand what you mean.

I can't abide to look at my before pictures too. Sometimes when I ran across an ugly fat picture of myself before, I usually will blame it on the camera angle or the clothing. I still do that all the time.

Even though I haven't reached my goal yet, I am actually much more comfortable to show others my new pictures.

I just checked out your profile and read this:
I'm now on the border between "chubby" and just a large build. I've lost over 66# and counting. I'll always be a beefy guy, but I'm aiming towards no longer being considered "fat"!!!

CONGRATULATION!!!!

I am so glad for you, with that positive attitude of yours, you will be able to transform into a new person very soon. How has the lifting weight been doing for you?

 

[SexyGuy]

Well, here's a small update. I am considering a gym membership (along with a personal trainer) from Gold's Gym or Balley Fitness Centre. I don't know how much it is (yet), but I will find out tomorrow...Oh, and I have been slacking in the exercise department. Again. I wanted to run today, but I kept putting it off because of the weather (it was 84ºF and was super muggy) and school is almost over for me (yay!). I have been to excited about graduation and stuff to exercise... But that is going to change, very soon.

 

[snapcat]

What a great thread!

Congratulations to everyone!

 

[snapcat]

^ Way to go! That's incredible!

Thanks for sharing!

 

[bostonboy20]

Just read this thread tonight and think it's a great idea!! I could def use some help getting motivated!

Here's my little story...haha:
I've never been really fat...but i've never been stick skinny either...kinda always have been average. I've never really exercised....I used to play soccer throughout elementary school and high school but that was really all my exercise. My sophomore year of college I got really sick with a blockage in my small intestine...didn't recognize that I was getting sick until one of my professors that I hadn't seen in awhile asked me if I was losing weight and I went home and noticed I had dropped down almost 20 lbs. For some reason I wasn't noticing that I wasn't eating, I was going to the bathroom more often. And then one fateful night I started vomiting for about 7hours until I finally had my friend drive me to the emergency room. 3 hospitals in one day later I find out that i have a blockage and I need to have surgery to remove part of my small intestine and that I have Chron's Disease. So I lost 20 lbs before and then the 9 days in the hospital after surgery I lost another 10lbs being fed only through IV. So I was down to about 120 lbs and looked sickly obviously.

After I got out I had to put the weight back on so I was pretty much just drinking ensure and carnation instant breakfasts and tons of stuff like that. And I ended up putting on 20 additional lbs while I was doing that. I had wanted to work out while I was doing this but I was still sore from the surgery for a few weeks and couldn't do much....and depression kinda sank in so I just kinda let it happen.

Well now i'm out of college and want to get the lbs off! I started towards the end of last year thinking I need to lose the poundage and I ended up getting down from 178ish to 168ish( I fluccuate now from my lowest in the past few months 162 and about 170)

I'm sick of having a double chin in pictures...sick of my man boobs making me look bad in my shirts and sick of my little gut.

I would love to get down into the 150's again and just get fit. I think it will help me a lot in my life to get the lbs off cause I think it will have a huge effect on my self esteem as well, which can be quite low at times.

Here are my stats now:
5ft9in
166lbs
32waist

I got the first 10 lbs off doing the treadclimber that I have at my house...I love running but every time I run outside my knees kill....treadmills don't hurt me for some reason. I started getting kinda bored just doing that so I decided to tap into my mom's endless library of exercise dvds. I picked out the Biggest Loser 2 Workout DVD and I really liked it...did it for about 2 weeks and started getting bored with it even though I was switching up the workouts they had on there...but that was my first real taste of weight training and I liked it cause it made me feel good. After I got bored with that I moved to a Yoga dvd she has called "Fat Blasting Yoga"....I had never done yoga either and really enjoyed it...but only have done it twice so far cause I kinda got into a funk(i'm looking for fulltime work now after school and it's really weighing down on me mentally...it sucks) But I think I really wanna continue with the yoga....cause I feel like that will give me the body that I ultimately want.

Food wise...I'm pretty good with food...I've never ate a lot and I've never really ate that bad with the exception of a few years ago where my job during school had me on the road constantly and I was always hitting up fast food which is prob where some of that 20 lbs came from. Now i'm really trying to eat healthy...it's tough living with my parents cause though I'm really willing to change my diet they aren't all that willing(my dad doesn't really need to change anything he drops weight like it's nothing...a day out in the yard he's down like 10 lbs...my mom hates him for that ...haha) But they constantly have like snack foods all around the house and that's hard to not eat them. But i've been cooking a lot more for dinners and i'm really trying to get healthy stuff in there(though because of my Chron's I can't eat nuts, seeds, popcorn, or ruffage...which is lettuce or raw veggies)

ok this is long enough now...basically I'm gonna start tomorrow with the yoga again...and maybe also add in like a half hour on the treadclimber. I'd love to be at least in the high 150's by the end of the month cause I'll be up in Vermont with all my friends for the weekend and I'd like to not be self concious taking off my shirt in front of them!

 

[Eternaldarkness]

SexyGuy, have you started your gym membership yet?
84 F degree is quite hot but it will actually better. You sweat more and burn more.
When are you graduating?

 

[Eternaldarkness]

snap cat, thank you for being so generous and encouraging. What is your story? Feel free to tell us. I am so glad you've checked out this thread more than once, it means a lot to me. Thank you.

 

[Eternaldarkness]

bostonboy20, I know it is hard for you to live with your parents and eat well if there is snack everywhere! You just have to believe in yourself and train yourself to not pick up that snack. I was actually grocery shopping with my mother (I live alone but we go together most of the time) and we stop by the evil "CHIPS" section. My mother ofcourse grabbed so much for my younger sister to snack on, my sister and dad is like your father..they don't gain weight too much and lose weight just like that. I was trying my best not to think about the food. I did once pick up tortillas but as soon as I look at the calories in the back, it reminded me of my goal and I put it back. I am so glad I do not live with my parents anymore. Infact, that was my reason to move out. I was gaining to much weight and really needed the privacy of my own so I can eat better and snack less.

Fat burning yoga sounds very fun. I have never tried yoga before, even though I do like to stretch a lot before any exercise, if that counts. You are 5 ft 9 and at 166 pound is very ideal already! I know what you mean, you still need to work off those pounds and fat. You should never give up, keep trying your best. I know you can do it. Doing the treadmill will help alot and if you really wanted to reach your goal by the end of this month, you should try even harder.

A key to exercising more and feeling less tired is drinking a lot of water before, and then also drinking after. The more water you drink, the more you sweat. Water hydrates you more so you can go longer. Water after will soothe your tiring body and rest you down.

 

[Eternaldarkness]

Travisevian, you can gain more weight by eating more protein and lifting weight. I am not a weight lifter myself, as my goal is to lose weight, but I do know that lifting weight correctly can help you lose or help you gain.

I totally understand what you mean in the last post. For myself, I was a skinny kid all the way until I was teenager. I was tall and skinny and it really did not helped me. I began to eat more and became lazier, less to none exercise, and snack to gain more weight. Gaining weight became a habit, as I realize later that in one month I had gained 30 lbs. I started trying to lose weight then, but because my habit of being lazy cannot be changed, I was gaining more and more.

When I was 18 I'd promised to return back to where I use to live before to meet up with my friends. For that whole summer I honestly starved myself and was taking pills to lose weight. I did lose a lot of weight. From 175lb I was down to 155 in one month. Then I was very sick from a long flu and lost another 10 lbs. After my sickness, I began my obsession with bulimia. I was down to 145 in three months. I was green and ugly but at that time I loved it.

When I went to visit my friends in Chicago, I intentionally starve myself again and eat very little. We constantly go everywhere so exercising was no problem. I went downhill to 130 in one month. In four months I was 175 to a 135. At that time I was happy with my look and love it but was constantly and easily becoming ill.

I realize my mistake afterward and started eating more to gain my weight back. My ideal weight was 160 at the time but I went overboard once again and gain to 185..then one day 190 lb.

That was when I decided to move out and live on my own and immediately started eating less and exercising constantly. Tennis became my ultimate favorite activity and running was my other. I am now back to 160 lb and I think I am at the ideal weight for my body type.

That doesn't mean I will stop exercising, that was a mistake that I had learned. I am still now exercising and aiming to lose weight. I don't know how much I want to lose but until I see my *dream* six pack abs then I will stop. Right now my eating is the same so I am not starving myself. The weights are comming off from exercising only.

We had a similar story, ofcourse yours was more intense and serious. Even though you are trying to gain weight and for myself I am trying to lose weight, but that doesn't matter.

Even though this thread was titled "motivation to lose weight" but it can also be "motivation to get your dream body" so gaining or losing doesn't matter as long as we are getting there.

I am glad you shared your story. It will be a lesson learn from you.

WE ARE TRYING TO LOSE WEIGHT, but we must be realistic.

 

[snapcat]

snap cat, thank you for being so generous and encouraging. What is your story? Feel free to tell us. I am so glad you've checked out this thread more than once, it means a lot to me. Thank you.

Thank you for your valuable contribution here! And I want to thank Travis for sharing his story. Learning of other people's successes, and how they achieved them, is a valuable tool for all of us.

For me, my personal story started on January 27, 2005. It was a cold morning, well below freezing, so I went outside to warm up the truck before going to work.

As I started up the truck, I felt the most profound pain I've ever known. I knew right away it was a heart attack.

I was fortunate in that situation. My partner called an ambulance right away, and within the hour I was in surgury. I had a medicated stent implanted.

I had the choice of continuing my same lifestyle, and risking future heart attacks, or making a significant life change. And I chose the later.

Aside from the various medications, the biggest challenge to me was changing my diet. As a good old Southern Boy who just loves biscuits and gravy, it was very challenging to change what I eat.

I'd say my first year after the heart attack was mainly spent trying to develop new strategies to eat different foods.

And in time, I found the right path. I've added a lot of fresh fish to my diet. I've developed techniques of breading the fish so that it "looks fried" even though it's not fried. And I don't buy cheap fish, I'll always have haddock, cod, sole, flounder, tilapia or salman in my kitchen all the time.

I eat lean meats, including beef. If I buy ground beef it will be Laura's Lean beef, either 94 or 96 percent fat-free. No ground chuck, no ground round, and certainly no generic ground beef.

I eat more turkey. And although I have never been able to embrace ground turkey, I've found many ways to incorporate turkey breast into my diet.

I don't drink soda pop. I will drink an Italian Soda. That's just fruit juice and sparkling water.

I'll always have blueberry and/or pomegranite juice in my kitchen. Add that to sparkling water and that's my soda.

I've found that there are some vegetables that I enjoy eating. For instance, diced zucchini will always be in my marinara. I might not eat zucchini as a standalone dish, but I do enjoy it with pasta.

When buying cooking oil, I spend the money to get a good healthful cooking oil. I'll always have EVOO on hand, along with Canola Oil, but you'll also find hazlenut oil, coconut oil, and others that actually are healthy for you.

I've adopted a no additive philosophy for my food. I buy organic and natural products whenever possible. And I extend that to products other than food. I use a natural shampoo with no added chemicals. A while back when i stayed at a hotel and had to use the mass market shampoo, I noticed that it burned my scalp.

And my diet change, along with my medication, has enabled me to lower my cholesterol to only 94.

My next big challenge is to lose weight. Even though my cholesterol and triglycerides are good, I still need to lose weight. Since I'm also diabetic, weight has been a constant struggle with me. And for many diabetics, it's particularly challenging to lose weight.

So, I'm refocusing my energy to developing a strategy to lose weight, now.

So, that's my story. I'll check back here often and let you know how that goes for me. And I look forward to reading everyone else's journey!

 

[Eternaldarkness]

snap cat, I am so happy for you. Your decision was a very wise choice. Eating healthy is a very great thing. I am glad you could lower your cholestrol down to 94. I am also very glad that you have included such tips to eating healthier, from what food to buy to what cooking oil to use, those are very helpful. I am sure most of us here will need that information very much. Thank you.

Losing weight is hard and it takes dedication and perseverance. I know it is challenging for you to lose weight but you do not need to think negative. You can start out exercising little. It takes a long time for anyone to lose weight. It took me 6 months to lose 30 lbs. Right now it is even worse, it has been over a month already but I'm stuck. I finally started my night jogging again and just managed to lose a pound or two over the past week.

Take your time. Devise a plan for you to lose weight. Make sure it is something you can enjoy. Do not try to overdo it. It is better to do it more often than forcing yourself to do it all at the same time. Like eating small portions, do small exercising activities. Something I suggest for your condition is walking more. You can even do a little walking and jogging. Like take a long walk for an hour a day. Walk 10 minutes, jog 5..walk 10..jog 5 more. I find it is much easier if you mix those two than trying to run/jog first. When you get use to it and have trained your body, you can then do more.

One of the sport activities that I keep on mentioning up here is playing Tennis. Unlike the other sports that required you to run more, tennis does not. You will feel less tired and will play longer. When you are first starting out, however, you will run a lot trying to hit the ball or picking them up..hehehe.. Don't worry, after you are able to aim better, you will actually be able to play by moving very less. When I play, my friend and I can play for over an hour atleast but most of the time standing at the same spot. You do burn a lot of calories though, do not mistaken this. Your whole upper body is involve in this sport.

I do not know what you like to do, so its up for you to decide. Tennis is just my interest but its not to others. Everyone else have their own strategy. When you have developed a strategy to lose weight then you can alway come back here to share it with us. hehe.

 

[Eternaldarkness]

I took several pictures with my webcam tonight and they are in my galleries right now. I recently just gained 5 lbs from being lazy and had been trying to run off those pounds. I just came back from running 2 miles in 20 minutes and for some ood reason was so happy and brave enough to take these tonight.

Even though I still need to lose atleast another 20 pounds or more to get rid of all the fat still on my body and start lifting weight to get a muscular body, I feel it is time I can show others my results so far.

Like I said, I've been very lazy with exercising myself. If I don't take these pictures now, who knows...I might gain another 5 lbs by next week and then I'll regret it.

Nothing is impossible. I use to think I can never look like myself again. Now that I am actually trying, I am starting to look like the person I've been dreaming to be. At least this time I know that I am doing this the right way and not starving myself to get sickly thin.

I'll search for a suitable before picture soon so you can see what I use to look like just last November when I weigh over 185 lbs to almost 190 lbs.

 

[SexyGuy]

Well. I have some bad news. I cannot work out for a week or two (I think) because of a bad hacking cough that my sister gave me. I think I have a cold or flu bug, but all I have symptoms-wise includes a runny nose, and that deep hacking dry cough that leaves me gasping for air. So, everything is being put on hold for the moment so that I can recover...

 

[Luminox]

Wow...nice thread, EternalDarkness !! I can't believe I hadn't clicked on it yet !! I always jumped straight to the Hot Topics or Entertainment threads...

Here's my little story :

I come from a family (from my mother's side) with bad genes when it comes to weight. Almost all of us are naturally fat (including me), with a tendency to obesity, diabetes and heart problems.I've been fat all of my life without eating sweets or "bad"/unhealthy food (my parents had me under constant supervision to make sure I didn't eat any bad stuff to make me even fatter !) until about 3 years ago. I guess it just kinda started happening because I hit pubery full-on, cos I started losing weight very slowly but gradually...I DID exercise though, but so did I when I was younger, and then it didn't really help much...when I exercised I was fat and when I didn't I just became fatter ! But at about 15 or so the exercising slowly started paying off and I started losing weight...

I got to average in terms of weight (for my height) but I still looked really "jello"-like and saggy and out of shape. I wanted to look more firm and trained cos I exercised a lot and yet you still couldn't see it really ! I just wasn't FAT fat anymore...just kinda medium but outta shape-looking etc...(still with a bit of a belly and mansboobs...not huge tits but...)

Last December (s0, 6 months ago) I turned 18, and my mum (who's a trainer) said I could finally risk working out harder and doing stuff like yoga and pilates and heavier weigths(which underage kids shouldn't really do, especially not pilates...don't ask me why ! She tried to explain to me but...anyway, it somehow may mess with/stunts some growth hormones or something like that..I don't understand all of the weird lingo she uses !). So I got into a new workout schedule which was far more strenuous than my previous forms of exercise (mainly sports like volleyball, martial arts, running track etc), containing weight exercises, yoga, pilates and -of course- some running/jogging.

Since January '07 (cos I started after the holidays, lol!) I've undergone quite the transformation ! I've lost 18 pounds, going from 175lbs (of which mostly fat) to 157 (of which mostly muscle now !), and from being all soft and mushy/flabby to being tighter and firmer (not RIPPED like a supermodel or anything but definitely way more healthy-looking)...I dropped about 3 sizes (at least ! At some clothes even 4), lost a good 3" off my waist (not a huge difference but before it was 33" and flabby and now 30" and flat & harder), gone from a Medium to a Small, and I feel T E R R I F F I C !

Of course, this may not sound like much in numbers, but in reality I'm like a new person now ! Everybody keeps telling me that I have visibly lost "a lot of weight" (which I did cos 18lbs compared to 175lbs is quite a chunk I guess, but the main reason for my all new "look" is not just the weight LOSS...it's the remaining weight and what it consists of and how it's distributed ! ), and I'm sure a lot of people have lost way more weight in 5 months or 18lbs in much a shorter period of time but as said, that hereditary metabolism problem I have makes my body fight VERY hard for each ounce of fat !! I lose weight much slower than "normal" people...(and put it back on in a split second if I'm not careful, lol !).

I have changed myself recently, got a new look and a new outlook on life, I feel healthier and more confident, I don't need to be afraid of having heart/health problems for the time being (and if I can keep it up, for wuite a few years to come too, hopefully !), I have much more energy and I'm usually in a good mood now as in comporison to the always grumpy fat kid I used to be !

So anyone who's gone through this knows how I feel...If I with MY genes and crappy metabolism problem can do it, anyone can (especially if your excess weight isn't due to bad genes but to an unhealthy lifestyle )! Don't get discouraged people, and keep up the good work !

Kisses !

 

[Eternaldarkness]

Luminox, that was such a great story. Your story really reminded me of my own. My family is almost the same as yours, everyone is naturally fat, well except my father...who can never gain or lose weight and stays at an alarming 125lb for his height (5 feet 6).

When I was little everyone said I looked like him and will grow up to be skinny. Then all of a sudden puberty came and I gained like a waterballon.

Congratulation on your weight loss! Trust me, to others, the numbers are small but for most who comes to this thread, the numbers you said above meant a lot to us.

How I wish I can lose a couple of more inches off my waist size!

 

[Eternaldarkness]

SexyGuy, I had that harsh coughing for the past month and a half already. I did not had the runny nose or the flu like symptoms but all of a sudden I started coughing last month. It started out as a dry throat that turned into a constant coughing state.

hehehe, unlike you I forced myself to play tennis every night and went jogging so much that the coughing did not go away.

Finally just last week my tennis partner went on a vacation so I stopped playing tennis and stopped coughing. (tennis court is like right next the ocean, I play afterwork at night, so it gets cold with ocean breeze and I cough even worse there.) No, I did not go to the doctor. Stubborn as I am, I will never go unless I am in serious condition...hehehe.. I know I'm bad, spank me!

That constant coughing was so much for me and no medication helped. I finally found out that if I stopped working out for a few weeks I stopped coughing. It has been over a week now and my coughing had went away.

Anyway, I hope you can get well sooner. Do not be as stubborn like me, rest more and you'll recover sooner. One medication I take to recover faster is night time ZICAM that comes with a plastic spoon so you can mix it with your favorite drinks. Hope to see you soon with better news!~

 

[Eternaldarkness]

By the way, I won't be online for the next 3 days. I'll be taking a vacation to the BIG island of hawaii, where the volcano with active lava flowing is located. I'll try to do my hiking and swimming and tanning there for the next three days. Hopefully I can gain more beauty and lose more fat.

hehehe, talking about that, I'm about to fly in 3 hours and I haven't packed or sleep. got to go now. see ya!