Finally, I did it.

[return to the red]

congrats, It's great to hear stories of people taking it upon themselves to have a healthy lifestyle.

Myself, I'm 6'0 and according to the scale at the gym I weigh in at 182. I use to be under that but since I started weight training i've actually gone up a few pounds.

How exactly do you calculate your body fat percentage? and what exactly should you be at. Reason I ask is my wife says I'm a little too fluffy but I keep arguing that I'm where I should be for a 27 year old guy

[Flames_Gimp]

Originally Posted by fotze

Donate some fat to me.

ya, you need it

[Antithesis]

Congratulations, what a great accomplishment. I hope you're able to keep it off and enjoy your new lifestyle.

[Buff]

Way to go Caramon!

I'm trying to lose weight too. I'm 6'3" and I was 265 lbs at my peak. In September I got sick and I dropped down to 240 lbs. I'm now hovering between 245 and 250 lbs, I just can't get my weight to drop anymore. My problem isn't finding out how to lose weight, my problem is finding the motivation to get serious about losing weight. I need to eat less portions and get more exercise. I could also stand to drink less pop and eat less chips. My goal is to be between 205 and 215

[SeeGeeWhy]

Originally Posted by return to the red

congrats, It's great to hear stories of people taking it upon themselves to have a healthy lifestyle.

Myself, I'm 6'0 and according to the scale at the gym I weigh in at 182. I use to be under that but since I started weight training i've actually gone up a few pounds.

How exactly do you calculate your body fat percentage? and what exactly should you be at. Reason I ask is my wife says I'm a little too fluffy but I keep arguing that I'm where I should be for a 27 year old guy

There's a bunch of different ways, but you could always just get a scale that also measures your electric potential and back-calculates how much fat is in your body. My wife got a step counter for xmas that does the same thing.

[jam26]

Congrats, Caramon. It's a tough thing to do.
If anyone is taking up running as part of their weight loss strategy, here's a great site I found the other day that allows you to accurately measure your route: www.runningmap.com.

[Deelow]

Originally Posted by Buff

Way to go Caramon!

I'm trying to lose weight too. I'm 6'3" and I was 265 lbs at my peak. In September I got sick and I dropped down to 240 lbs. I'm now hovering between 245 and 250 lbs, I just can't get my weight to drop anymore. My problem isn't finding out how to lose weight, my problem is finding the motivation to get serious about losing weight. I need to eat less portions and get more exercise. I could also stand to drink less pop and eat less chips. My goal is to be between 205 and 215

I'm the same way. I dropped 50 or more pounds close to 5 years ago with a lot of time at the gym and the original Hydroxycut. A couple lifestyle changes and I'm right back where I used to be though...but now I'm 5 years older which makes it that much more difficult to get rid of the weight. When results come slower it sure isn't as easy to keep motivated.
One thing that really worked well for me was swimming. Just get in a pool and tread water for 45 minutes a couple times a week. It's actually sort of relaxing.

[J pold]

Very impressive, congrats my new year’s resolution was to get back into the gym, I am not that over weight and I am not looking to bulk up but when you get in there, you always feel better more energy

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Deelow

When results come slower it sure isn't as easy to keep motivated. One thing that really worked well for me was swimming. Just get in a pool and tread water for 45 minutes a couple times a week. It's actually sort of relaxing.

I know the feeling on the motivation. The tough part is developing a routine. I used to swim laps during the winter months but didn't have much sucess in taking off the pounds. Now I do an hour a day on the treadmill and slowly but surely it's coming off. The trick is finding some type of exercise you enjoy and the time.

[REDVAN]

Glad to hear you reached your goal!

On a side note, I have a question for everyone. In Shoppers Drug mart you can buy these pills that are called calorie burners, and are supposed to give you energy and burn energy. I am not overweight, but I have a bit of a gut growing and I want to trim it down. Would these pills be harmful? What about those energy pills that claim to give you more energy than a coffee and lasts for 14 hours?

[Red Mile Style]

Hey congrats! It's a harder battle than most people think.

When I was in elementary school I was a little pudgy. I swam competitively and I was the chubbiest girl on the team.

Strolling down memory lane is depressing me... Oh man, where's the ice cream?!?!?!

But seriously, my parents took me to a nutritionist and helped me live a healthier lifestyle. I slipped up a bit my first year of university... meh, the freshman fifteen, but then I started training for triathalons and that balanced out the beer and pizza diet.

I find moderation is key. You can't deprive yourself of the things you love and over-indulging obviously is not healthy either. It's both excercise and diet together and focusing just on one or the other will make it more difficult. I used to think that if I just don't eat anything, it'll be okay, but I'ld rather run an extra mile than not eat. I also found that while routine plays a huge roll in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, it's also important to try different things so you don't get bored with your routine. Sometimes I take dance classes, boxing, touch football, baseball, yoga, whatever. Plus, if you have friends/family that are willing to do these activities with you, it totally helps. While in university my buddy and I would go to the gym together and that motivated me to go more often, because she would more or less make me when I wasn't in the mood, and vice versa.

When it comes down to it, you yourself need to have the want to change, or it will not work. Nobody can force you to do it, you have to make the commitment to yourself. For me the catalyst was getting back my swim team pictures in grade 6, and while looking back now, I was kind of a cute chubby kid, but I don't even want to think about the path I could've taken.

[V]

Originally Posted by return to the red

congrats, It's great to hear stories of people taking it upon themselves to have a healthy lifestyle.

Myself, I'm 6'0 and according to the scale at the gym I weigh in at 182. I use to be under that but since I started weight training i've actually gone up a few pounds.

How exactly do you calculate your body fat percentage? and what exactly should you be at. Reason I ask is my wife says I'm a little too fluffy but I keep arguing that I'm where I should be for a 27 year old guy

That's crazy. I'm 6'3" and I weigh about 175, and I'm all bone. I don't see how 6' and 180 can be considered 'fluffy'.

[Clarkey]

Holy smokes, good job man!

[boobaloo]

Way to go! Inspires me to lose the 50 I need to.

[NSFL]

Originally Posted by CaramonLS

(and this would even be considered slightly overweight given Normal weight for Height, I am 6'4)

You're 6'4"? That would explain why you tower...You look quite fit by the way, would have never guessed that you've struggled with your weight.

[Phanuthier]

I'm willing to take donations too. I've lost 20lbs since the start of the school year and almost got blown away by the wind today.

[RedHot25]

Originally Posted by V

That's crazy. I'm 6'3" and I weigh about 175, and I'm all bone. I don't see how 6' and 180 can be considered 'fluffy'.

Yah, I am ~ 6'3" and weigh usually somewhere in the late 170s to late 180s, and I agree....I've never considered either of these above weights "fluffy".

[Frank the Tank]

Wow this is an awesome thread. My wife and I are starting the South Beach diet and just finished writing out all the recipes, so we just have to do a shop and we are good to go. We've already cut out pop and refined sugar. I use some sort of faux sugar for my coffee now and I can't really tell the difference. Also picked up a conversion kit for our kiddie bike trailer so we can use it as a stroller/jogging thing.

I think I am like a lot of guys on this board. I've always been a really big guy, but my saving grace is that I have been incredibly athletic my whole life. I've been worried lately though because my weight is creeping up on 270, and my senior year of football at University I was 280. Only difference was I was 280 pounds of mostly muscle that could run a 4.9 sec 40.

[SpecialK12]

Originally Posted by V

That's crazy. I'm 6'3" and I weigh about 175, and I'm all bone. I don't see how 6' and 180 can be considered 'fluffy'.

the number on the scale does not tell the whole story. You may have alot more lean mass where as "fluffy's" body composition might be made up more of body fat.

[Wolfwood]

Congrats.

That is a tough battle.

I've also over the past couple years lost about 120 pounds. I started off at about 300 and am now at about 180 (which is about right for 6'). To lose it I just started off walking at work every day and then turned to running. Now I run pretty much 3 miles a day and my body feels bad if I don't. Once I started running is when the weight really started to drop off. It helps having people at work who go out there everyday at lunch. (Especially of the pretty girl variety.)

I also just wasn't able to eat as much once I started getting in better shape. That combined with trying to basically cut out pop and eat a little bit healthier in general really helped.

I'm really glad I managed to do this before it became a problem for me with effects it could have had in the future.

Way too go on the weight loss. It's always good reading stories of people who managed to such a difficult thing.