Thread: Back Again - Round 2

hey guys,

some of you may remember me from the last failed attempt I had to turn my life around. I'm back again and have made some new progress.

Stats

Height: 6 foot 2
Weight (current): 100.1kg

Last time I tried this I got great results, but I don't believe they were very sustainable and they happened way too fast. I went from 104.6kg to 98kg in the space of about 2 - 3 weeks. I was doing cardio 4 days a week, for an hour at a time and only eating meat and veg (100 - 200g meat and 100g veg) 6 meals a day, 7 days a week.

I recently read the book, "The Body Coach" and have implemented his philosophy if you will. I regained weight and got up to a disgusting 106.2kg and decided enough is enough - for good.

Now the body coach's recommendations are probably not quite what some of you might recommend, but they're getting me results. I haven't started any sort of training as of yet, but I have been continuing to play tennis. I have been following the diet for approximately a month and am happy with the 6.1kg loss over that time.

My diet (as suggested by the body coach) is extremely sustainable (i love all of the foods I get to eat and I'm not feeling too hungry at all). It is:

7am - half 425g can of baked beans + 1 piece of wholemeal toast
10am - 30g dry roasted almonds
1pm - 2 slices wholemeal bread as a sandwich with 100g lean meat, spinach leaves, 50 - 100g cottage cheese and tomato
4pm - 30g BSc Hydroxyburn Pro with 300ml water + 10 almonds + banana (blended)
7pm - chicken breast + cos lettuce, avocado, tomato, cottage cheese and light balsamic vinegar

I rotate my 7am meal with 2 scrambled eggs. Sometimes my 1pm meal will be a 6 inch roast chicken subway with all veg, no sauce or cheese and if i feel like it sometimes it will just be a small chicken salad. Dinner also alternates with turkey steaks and the occasional red meat and I sometimes have vegies instead of salad.

So this is all basically to keep me accountable.

As above, my current weigh in as of today is 100.1kg. Aiming for 95kg to start with, hoping to get down to at least 85kg.

Any ideas on workouts I should be starting out with? Going to aim for 3 times a week (Monday - Wednesday - Friday) at first and see how I go / results. I'm fairly "fit" in the way that an hours cardio is easily achievable and I have played tennis at a semi-professional level.

Thanks guys - wish me luck :)

Congratulations on restarting.
I've put on what I lost when I got down to 94kg, sucks but motivation is coming back.

Good luck on your journey. And remember, have fun while you're dieting, and you'll be more motivated. :)

Originally Posted by GymDiet

I was doing cardio 4 days a week, for an hour at a time and only eating meat and veg (100 - 200g meat and 100g veg) 6 meals a day, 7 days a week.

My diet (as suggested by the body coach) is extremely sustainable (i love all of the foods I get to eat and I'm not feeling too hungry at all).

Therein lies the problem with 'diets'

Through my journey I have experienced and witnessed MANY failed attempts. The only reason why you fail is because you have to do something you will not keep up for the rest of your life. Can someone say Tony Fergurson or Optislim, low carbohydrate out loud?

If you feel what you are doing now you can continue to live on without falling off the wagon so to speak it's been my experience that you will enjoy long term success as I have, be far happier and realise that you don't need to go to the extremes as suggested to achieve great results.

Good luck with your journey and I wish you the upmost success.

Adam

Therein lies the problem with 'diets'

Through my journey I have experienced and witnessed MANY failed attempts. The only reason why you fail is because you have to do something you will not keep up for the rest of your life. Can someone say Tony Fergurson or Optislim, low carbohydrate out loud?

If you feel what you are doing now you can continue to live on without falling off the wagon so to speak it's been my experience that you will enjoy long term success as I have, be far happier and realise that you don't need to go to the extremes as suggested to achieve great results.

Good luck with your journey and I wish you the upmost success.

Awesome post Adam!

And welcome (again) to you GymDiet! Really true...anyone can lose weight quickly by adopting 'hardcore' methods. For me now it has become about choosing this as a lifestyle. I want to be healthy, choose good foods, keep my body strong and fit...and look good for my partner. Having the right attitude and doing it the right way, regardless f how slow the results might be, will mean that you are healthier and look better but have a balanced attitude to life as well.

Really should be encouraged for not giving up! That's what separates successful people from unsuccessful people. Good on you and good luck!

I have definitely been through all of this before. At my biggest I got to 116kg and at my lowest I have been 87 - 88kg. I always find a mid ground between 100 - 105 though. I must say, people would never ever think I'm over 100kg, I don't look it. My girlfriend is very slim and pretty fit and I don't think she believes I'm a kilo over 90. But this time it's for me. No one else. I feel so much better already, I'm not in the slightest bit worried about my eating because I know when I'm eating and what I'll be eating. Bought some 150g portions of roo steak today - can't wait to throw them on the new BBQ :)

I'm going out tonight for a boys night with my mates from school but I'm still not worried. I've eaten plenty of the right foods, I'm on the no carb beers with no additives or preservatives and tomorrow I hop straight back on the bandwagon. This time I will reach my goals.

I will try and weigh in only on Fridays. I have a habit of waking up and going to the toilet and jumping on the scales every day.

Thanks for the kind words already :) Hopefully in a few months I will be asking you all for advice on how to eat to get big and ripped :p

PS. My problem has never been not eating good foods. I grew up on meat, veg and salad, wholemeal breads, low fat milk etc etc. My family kitchen houses NOTHING that could ever be considered bad for you. My problem is portion sizes and not eating at regular intervals. I use to often get up late, have a big lunch (couple of sandwiches) then polish off a couple of chicken breasts and a tonne of salad or a big bowl of pasta for dinner.

Originally Posted by GymDiet

PS. My problem has never been not eating good foods. I grew up on meat, veg and salad, wholemeal breads, low fat milk etc etc. My family kitchen houses NOTHING that could ever be considered bad for you. My problem is portion sizes and not eating at regular intervals. I use to often get up late, have a big lunch (couple of sandwiches) then polish off a couple of chicken breasts and a tonne of salad or a big bowl of pasta for dinner.

I have struggled with such things in the past also. After you portion your food long enough your body gets used to eating a certain amount. I have found it quite amazing that I can go out, eat a properly portioned meal without making a pig of myself and automatically know when to stop.

I will be able to and have already proved to myself that I am able to do that also. I went to a function at Movieworld (for the GC17 AFL Team) and had rolls, sandwiches and pasta salads available to me all day. Not to mention the abundance of Gatorade sports drinks and other soft drinks. Managed to only consume water and had a tuna salad wrap every 3 hours as necessary. Was completely fine.

I am used to what I'm eating now. Although my dinner meat portions are probably slightly too big (250 - 300g), I haven't seen any negative effects from this and continue to lose weight. I just cooked the Kangaroo steaks (two steaks totaling 226g) and they were delicious. Going to have these twice a week to mix it up with some green beans and broccoli. Although I probably should have kept the size to 150g, the two steaks still only totaled less than 300kcal, hardly any fat and 50g plus of protein. Every day I get more enthusiastic about this process :)

I wouldn't reduce the portions of the evening meal, it wont make a difference epsecially if what you're doing is working. If you're fat loss stalls you can be assured that it wont be the extra 10g protein you're overshooting a day from the extra large roo steak.

Yeah I agree, thanks for confirming that for me mate.

Looking forward to getting in the gym next week and seeing what results I can achieve.

Going to start with 3 days a week including:

30min. Treadmill - 6.5km/hr 15% incline
20min. Bike - 8 resistance
10min. row

thoughts?

Maybe make the row challenging and see how fast you can do the 2000m? Then try and beat it next time round

OK. OK. OK. OK. OK. OK. OK. OK. OK.!!!!!!!

I can't stand it. Someone besides me gotta say something. Anyone?

Ok.

Baked beans and toast? WTF!!!!

So you go half a day with zero protein, two meals down. That is, what, about 24 hours without any protein in your diet? And this is gonna be a long time "successful" diet? Did you not learn anything last time round?

This kinda reminds me of the Seinfeld episode called "The Competition". What can I say.

At 100kg I doubt very much that this diet is going to do you any good and you may need to buy an extra pillow for when you fall "off 'da wagonz".

There are lots of great diets out there that work. The principles outlined in the Tom Venuto "burn the fat" diet is common to most of them. Some of Fadi's diet suggestions have the same principles and are free to read on this forum. Skip the cardio for a day and do some research. It will get you where you want a lot faster than riding a bike and eating toast.

OK Wow, wasn't really looking for that reaction... Maybe next time just say it instead of making the big song and dance first?

Baked beans are a good source of fibre and that is why they're mentioned in the body coach's book. You obviously didn't read my whole post, because I also mentioned that I alternate that meal with scrambled eggs (2 eggs mixed with cottage cheese and chicken).

I don't know what you're getting at by saying I may need to buy an extra pillow, but why would I "fall off 'da wagonz" with this diet. Did you not read the part where I said I'm enjoying everything I'm eating and have seen results. If anything, my weight loss may stall and then I re-evaluate, but no idea where you got that comment from.

Maybe this thread should be kept constructive? :) I appreciate the suggestion at the end of your post though, so thank you.

I think Hogan's point is that it would be more helpful to try for a bit more protein at breakfast. Baked beans are a healthy food, but your protein content doesn't really kick in until afternoon.


You could try porridge (oats) and whey protein for an easy brekkie - either separate if you are in a rush, or if you are more taste oriented, you can get a bit tricky - i often make up the oats with water, then get vanilla whey protein, mix it with a bit of milk and plain yogurt so it's creamy, and pour over the oats with some cinnamon and berries or grated apple. Tastes yum and 30g protein to get you set for the day.


good luck with it and let us know how you go!

What an interesting thread.... so much resonates with me.

Mate, it seems pretty simple to me: if it's working (in your view) then go for it. You'll get diet advice, no doubt about that, and it's probably right, from a broader perspective.

You've read the posts from adz? For mine? He's on the money. There are a stack of ways to get to the end; but using the one that best suits you, is sustainable, can become a way of life, will get you there too. His story impresses the crap out of me; perhaps yours will achieve the same results.

I certainly hope so.

Cheers