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2023 Fatass Thread of Dominance


Lurch

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In general the pandemic was not the best thing to happen to my body because it was a cold stop on weightlifting in early 2020, and while we eventually got some garage weights and then rejoined a gym, to this day my strength training regimen is not what it was. I actually went from about 190 (at 6'2"), and carrying it half-decently, to the low 180s over the course of 2020. I think part of that was loss of muscle mass. I've since gained that weight back, leveling out at about 190 - but carrying it worse - for a while in 2021-22, and then I managed to gain more. I went to put on a favorite shirt of mine for a holiday party last month and found I was giving the buttons as tough a workout as any I'd had in the past couple years. Tried not to think about it much over the holidays, but weighed myself Jan 2 and hit 200. Some of that was holiday bloat but I am still here in the mid to upper 190s.

So between the weight gain and reduced lifting, I figure I've put on a solid 15 pounds of bad weight over the past couple years. I'm shooting to reverse that and be sub-185, ideally by April 1, which lines up with the first of several weddings we have to attend this year (not sure my suits would fit real well right now, haven't had to wear one in almost a year) as well as my birthday a few days later. It's mostly diet, but I am also starting to work more consistent and thorough strength training back into the rotation (I have at least been hitting a couple cardo sessions a week even when lifting hasn't been consistent) and signed up for a rec basketball league.

I realize this is kind of the weight loss version of a first world problem when compared to an account like OP's - which is impressive as hell, by the way - but I can't help but think of my father, who died too young in no small part because he let himself go. I've seen pictures of him as a younger man and he was in pretty good shape, but I really only remember him being very heavy. I see myself having taken the first step on that path and feel like if I don't nip it in the bud now, it will just snowball.

 

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12 hours ago, gmr548 said:

In general the pandemic was not the best thing to happen to my body because it was a cold stop on weightlifting in early 2020, and while we eventually got some garage weights and then rejoined a gym, to this day my strength training regimen is not what it was. 

Sort of similar story. Went to the gym religiously before the pandemic, and then for the next two and a half years relied on some dumbbells a trainer friend loaned me and worked out at home. It kept myself decently in shape, but it wasn’t the same. 

I went back to the gym shortly before Labor Day weekend this past September and returned to my pre-pandemic work out routine. It’s been so much better for me, physically and psychologically. The fiancée has noticed, which is a nice ego boost for a guy in his late 40s.

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I posted in the other thread - I dropped 20 pounds between April and November, and checked in at my lowest weight since college at 154 prior to leaving for Europe on Thanksgiving Day.

I have been consistently yoyo-ing between 158 and 162 since I've been back, despite 5 days a week in the gym (2 lifting days with a trainer, 1 solo lifting day, 2 cardio days).  I stopped tracking calories in November.

I know at least 2 pounds is muscle growth, based on my InBody Test at the gym that my trainer reviewed.  I'm just constantly bloated..... (okay, that's my fault, I snack a bit at night from my edibles), but I'm keeping under 2k calories consistently (via mental math, since I don't track on My Fitness Pal anymore). 

Also trying to add in some other shit, like tennis, to supplement the gym + dog walks (30 min/day). 

I liked being at 154-55, but I guess I have to live with being closer to 160.  Better than 180 (post-COVID/moving back to Texas). 

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7 minutes ago, Js1 said:

I posted in the other thread - I dropped 20 pounds between April and November, and checked in at my lowest weight since college at 154 prior to leaving for Europe on Thanksgiving Day.

I have been consistently yoyo-ing between 158 and 162 since I've been back, despite 5 days a week in the gym (2 lifting days with a trainer, 1 solo lifting day, 2 cardio days).  I stopped tracking calories in November.

I know at least 2 pounds is muscle growth, based on my InBody Test at the gym that my trainer reviewed.  I'm just constantly bloated..... (okay, that's my fault, I snack a bit at night from my edibles), but I'm keeping under 2k calories consistently (via mental math, since I don't track on My Fitness Pal anymore). 

Also trying to add in some other shit, like tennis, to supplement the gym + dog walks (30 min/day). 

I liked being at 154-55, but I guess I have to live with being closer to 160.  Better than 180 (post-COVID/moving back to Texas). 

We're similar size (started the new year 170lb and working toward 155). You're probably aware, but if you're working out 5 days a week and not losing any weight, it just means your mental math is off and you're not consistently below 2k calories a day. Or forgetting to add those night time munchie snacks... :) 

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Just now, PantsTent said:

We're similar size (started the new year 170lb and working toward 155). You're probably aware, but if you're working out 5 days a week and not losing any weight, it just means your mental math is off and you're not consistently below 2k calories a day. Or forgetting to add those night time munchie snacks... :) 

Probably the latter, but my test did show my water weight was high.  He said I was bloated, which I feel.  I have to cut out the edibles, they're dangerous. 

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Still holding at 200, which is what I was in August.

Today is the anniversary of my first Peloton class, and I did 395 classes in a year.  I would have easily cracked 400 had I not been sick for 2 weeks in November, but that's how it goes.

I could lose more weight if I would alter my diet more, but I'm eating as much as I want, what I want, and staying at 200. However, I'd like to get to 190, so I need some dietary discipline.

Still, I beat my goal of getting to 205 by the end of December 2022 by months, and did it with very minimal changes.  

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Probably the latter, but my test did show my water weight was high.  He said I was bloated, which I feel.  I have to cut out the edibles, they're dangerous. 

Any alcohol? Also, maybe up your fiber intake throughout the day? A serving of broccoli with your lunch and maybe some asparagus at dinner for a few days in a row could be a fruitful experiment. If neither of those appeal to you, metamucil.
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9 hours ago, Herbie Hancock said:


Any alcohol? Also, maybe up your fiber intake throughout the day? A serving of broccoli with your lunch and maybe some asparagus at dinner for a few days in a row could be a fruitful experiment. If neither of those appeal to you, metamucil.

Dry January. Not a bad idea on the Metamucil 

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For what it’s worth I’ve found tracking my water ensures I drink an excessive amount every day and that seems to minimize water weight/bloating. I drink 120oz minimum and would guess I was maybe half that before tracking. I’d always see my weight jump after unusually heavy exercise days previously, presumably because of dehydration, and now it is noticeably more stable.

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Prior, would usually easily drink a bottle of wine/night.

Not saying this in a judgmental way, but that’s an enormous amount of alcohol consumption. Just eliminating or greatly reducing that is going to go a long way in terms of weight loss and just generally feeling better.
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On 1/13/2023 at 3:15 PM, Js1 said:

I posted in the other thread - I dropped 20 pounds between April and November, and checked in at my lowest weight since college at 154 prior to leaving for Europe on Thanksgiving Day.

I have been consistently yoyo-ing between 158 and 162 since I've been back, despite 5 days a week in the gym (2 lifting days with a trainer, 1 solo lifting day, 2 cardio days).  I stopped tracking calories in November.

I know at least 2 pounds is muscle growth, based on my InBody Test at the gym that my trainer reviewed.  I'm just constantly bloated..... (okay, that's my fault, I snack a bit at night from my edibles), but I'm keeping under 2k calories consistently (via mental math, since I don't track on My Fitness Pal anymore). 

Also trying to add in some other shit, like tennis, to supplement the gym + dog walks (30 min/day). 

I liked being at 154-55, but I guess I have to live with being closer to 160.  Better than 180 (post-COVID/moving back to Texas). 

I have no l clue about your age, but I'm in my 40s and have been various levels of in shape most of my adult life. In my 20s I was running 5-7 miles a day. In my early and mid 30's, it was crossfit. I'm 6'3", and spent most of those years around around 200-210. When my son was born, I'd quite working out for the most part entirely, and ballooned up to 250 a few years ago. During covid, I started logging my calories and was working out 5 days a week religiously. I got down to 220-225, but my body just stopped. Wouldn't lose more weight. 

Long story short, when you get older, your body gets stubborn about shedding weight, and at certain thresholds it just doesn't happen without massive change. In my case, after a a buddy of mine had success, I switched to keto. After about two weeks, the weight rolled off. And there's a fringe benefit that it cuts your water weight almost immediately. If you want to lose your water weight and tack on some weight loss, you might want to try keto. 

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37 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

I have no l clue about your age, but I'm in my 40s and have been various levels of in shape most of my adult life. In my 20s I was running 5-7 miles a day. In my early and mid 30's, it was crossfit. I'm 6'3", and spent most of those years around around 200-210. When my son was born, I'd quite working out for the most part entirely, and ballooned up to 250 a few years ago. During covid, I started logging my calories and was working out 5 days a week religiously. I got down to 220-225, but my body just stopped. Wouldn't lose more weight. 

Long story short, when you get older, your body gets stubborn about shedding weight, and at certain thresholds it just doesn't happen without massive change. In my case, after a a buddy of mine had success, I switched to keto. After about two weeks, the weight rolled off. And there's a fringe benefit that it cuts your water weight almost immediately. If you want to lose your water weight and tack on some weight loss, you might want to try keto. 

Major props to you. You can pry things like pasta, potatoes, bread, and pizza from my cold dead hands 

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The body can only be so stubborn. If you consume less than you burn, you will drop weight. Water weight fluctuation may “hide” weight loss for a few weeks, but actual body mass was still being reduced behind the scenes. This eventually shows up as a “miraculous” weight loss one morning, but if you chart your data religiously the trend-line eventually proves right. Laws of Thermodynamics and shit

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The body can only be so stubborn. If you consume less than you burn, you will drop weight. Water weight fluctuation may “hide” weight loss for a few weeks, but actual body mass was still being reduced behind the scenes. This eventually shows up as a “miraculous” weight loss one morning, but if you chart your data religiously the trend-line eventually proves right. Laws of Thermodynamics and shit

I’m dead-on my weekly calorie target every single week but look at this 4 week “plateau” (chart is of weekly weigh in averages, all with 7 weigh ins done at exact same time each morning). I’ve done this before, so I knew what to expect and don’t let it get to me, but I can see how it could easily wreck someone that doesn’t know WTF is happening. I’m sure it kills a ton of diets

Note the huge recovery that put it right back on schedule, though I didn’t make any changes to my intake or activities.

c62921a0fc0cd933a127fae6e4bf5e4a.png
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On 1/13/2023 at 3:15 PM, Js1 said:

I posted in the other thread - I dropped 20 pounds between April and November, and checked in at my lowest weight since college at 154 prior to leaving for Europe on Thanksgiving Day.

I have been consistently yoyo-ing between 158 and 162 since I've been back, despite 5 days a week in the gym (2 lifting days with a trainer, 1 solo lifting day, 2 cardio days).  I stopped tracking calories in November.

I know at least 2 pounds is muscle growth, based on my InBody Test at the gym that my trainer reviewed.  I'm just constantly bloated..... (okay, that's my fault, I snack a bit at night from my edibles), but I'm keeping under 2k calories consistently (via mental math, since I don't track on My Fitness Pal anymore). 

Also trying to add in some other shit, like tennis, to supplement the gym + dog walks (30 min/day). 

I liked being at 154-55, but I guess I have to live with being closer to 160.  Better than 180 (post-COVID/moving back to Texas). 

You are like 30- right?  How tall are you?  

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On 1/13/2023 at 3:15 PM, Js1 said:

I posted in the other thread....

I liked being at 154-55, but I guess I have to live with being closer to 160.  Better than 180 (post-COVID/moving back to Texas). 

Let me see if I can reincarnate my 9th grade self and let's rumble! 😉

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10 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

I think the last time I was 155 was 7th grade. 

I mean 155 was probably my college freshman year weight. So I’m back to that! I was probably around 180/185 when I started this in April. 

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1 hour ago, Wulaw Horn said:

I think the last time I was 155 was 7th grade. 

That's the goal here for the rest of the month. I only weigh in once a week and hit 157 last week so should be doable. I do weights Mon, Wed, Fri, and 30 min runs on the treadmill Tues and Thurs (3ish miles). I try to stick to 1800 calories and usually end up a pound or so down a week. It's amazing the results you can see with some consistency in weight training. I wish I had done it more than running years ago.

 

Also 34 but only 5'7

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On 1/16/2023 at 10:42 AM, Lurch said:

The body can only be so stubborn. If you consume less than you burn, you will drop weight. Water weight fluctuation may “hide” weight loss for a few weeks, but actual body mass was still being reduced behind the scenes. This eventually shows up as a “miraculous” weight loss one morning, but if you chart your data religiously the trend-line eventually proves right. Laws of Thermodynamics and shit

Oh you're right. The body will eventually capitulate when you're hitting it with diet, exercise, a full blown offensive all at once. But, in my experience, the second you slip up you're back up 10 lbs. 

19 hours ago, Js1 said:

Wow you’re like me. Same calorie goal, same weight lifting schedule but I do 10 miles on the stationary bike on Tu/Th (60 min)

It takes you 60 minutes to bike 10 miles? Is this for like, general mobility purposes? Is it entirely up a steep hill? If not, is that enough to even break a sweat?

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8 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

 

It takes you 60 minutes to bike 10 miles? Is this for like, general mobility purposes? Is it entirely up a steep hill? If not, is that enough to even break a sweat?

Just twice a week cardio.  And yes, it's usually a pretty hilly route on the stationary bike. Plenty of sweating

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1 hour ago, SydneyCarton said:

Oh you're right. The body will eventually capitulate when you're hitting it with diet, exercise, a full blown offensive all at once. But, in my experience, the second you slip up you're back up 10 lbs. 

Perhaps 3-4 lbs in water weight fluctuation could occur with a diet shift, but you’re not going to just slip up and accidentally eat the 35k surplus calories you’d need to add 10 lbs of body mass

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6'1" and hovering between 190-195.  Getting back down to 182-185 but as Sydney pointed out, at 48 it gets tough to drop it after a long hunting weekend of booze and junk food.  Physical tomorrow so let's see what the numbers are.  

I've cut most booze and upped the water to around 3 large Yeti tumblers a day plus whatever I drink while working out.  

Need to add yoga/pilates for some flexibility.  

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Sitting at 232. Goal is smaller waist - maybe 36”. No idea what weight will be but guessing around 205.

I was in the 40-42” range when I started this. Started wearing 38” comfortably somewhere around 240. I bought some 36” but, like you, guess it’s not realistic to wear them until that 200-210 range. I’d like to see 34” when I hit my final goal of 185

How do you plan on getting there?
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Down 7 lbs since 1/2. Almost back to a number starting with a 1. 200.8 when I got back from the gym this morning.  

Current goalposts:

197 by end of January.

193 by birthday in early March.

<190 by Memorial Day beach trip. 

I'm late 30's, 6'0, and with my build, mid to high 180's is a good weight for me. I'm not trying to drop down to a 32' waist or develop a six-pack. Just want to get back 190 or less for the first time in 4+ years. 

 

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I was in the 40-42” range when I started this. Started wearing 38” comfortably somewhere around 240. I bought some 36” but, like you, guess it’s not realistic to wear them until that 200-210 range. I’d like to see 34” when I hit my final goal of 185

How do you plan on getting there?

Stop eating really shitty food on the weekends. I’ve self sabotaged off and on forever on the weekends. I have a good workout plan. I have a good diet plan… I just have to stick with it.
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I'm back in the Sub 200 Club! 198.2 at this morning's weigh-in. Another 0.4 lbs and I'll be down a full 10 on the month. 

I’m about 10-11 weeks from joining the club with you. Should crack 220 any day now.

10 in a month is super strong. Nice work
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Turns out that at this age, all it takes is (i) daily exercise, (ii) abstain from alcohol, (iii) forego eating anything fun and get used to being hungry constantly. 
Piece of cake.

If you can find ways to exercise more, you can take ii and iii out of the equation. At this point, I’m finding anywhere from 800 to 1800 burned calories a day, which is allowing me to consume 1700 to 2700 **while still dropping 2 lbs per week**, which I find more than enough to rarely feel hungry.
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Yeah I’m in the 600-700 burned range between 5 days at the gym + walking the dog in the afternoon. Eating 1800-2100 calories per day and I was still like 3900 calories under for the week last week. I need to eat more, but I hate feeling so full.

Going to start adding a scoop of protein and milk with lunch and dinner I guess 

Also PR’d my sumo deadlifts today and I get it now. It’s a great feeling.  Walking on sunshine all day 

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On 1/16/2023 at 12:26 PM, Lurch said:


I’m dead-on my weekly calorie target every single week but look at this 4 week “plateau” (chart is of weekly weigh in averages, all with 7 weigh ins done at exact same time each morning). I’ve done this before, so I knew what to expect and don’t let it get to me, but I can see how it could easily wreck someone that doesn’t know WTF is happening. I’m sure it kills a ton of diets

Note the huge recovery that put it right back on schedule, though I didn’t make any changes to my intake or activities.

c62921a0fc0cd933a127fae6e4bf5e4a.png

That kind of looks like what happens to me as I get down into the mid/lower 180's lb range.  At 5'-11" (age 56) breaking into the 170's is damn near impossible.  I kind of think something has shifted in my body, because at age 52, I was in the upper 170's and felt very little difference from how I felt in my 30's even though I weighed about ten lbs less back then, which is saying something because I was able to run a sub 5:00 minute mile in my 30's.

 

A couple of years ago, I had gained some weight up to 200 lbs and I set out to lose weight by at what I thought would be a modest 2lbs per week goal.  I gave up alcohol, dedicated each day to walk an hour, and try to stick to one meal a day (a big salad) during the week. Weekends I  was free to eat sensibly.  To my surprise, my weight came off in a linear fashion to the tune of 4lbs/week until I got down to 184, at which point it predictably slowed.  At that point, being more than happy with things, my plan was to slow things down and get into the 170's with a less drastic approach, but that never materialized and i eventually gained the weight back.

Even though I know, eating is probably about 80% of losing weight, I think once a man gets under 20% body fat, that we need some kind of movement related motivational factor to keep things going.  That could be a race you want to do in a few month's, or a ski trip to get ready for, or some activity that you just want to get better at like cycling, or rock climbing, surfing, skiing etc.  However, as I have gotten older, doing those fun things has become more difficult.  There is a stiffness and struggle component there that was not there when I was just a few years younger.  Joints hurt more, mobility is less, minor injuries occur all the time from seemingly out of nowhere caused by the most minor and random of movements.  What was fairly easy to do just a few years prior has become something like pushing a rock up a hill.

It has been a major adjustment for me not having that extra motivational factor out there and within just a few month's reach.  I still think I can get there, but I have really had to slow my roll and adjust my timelines, which does not always work as your graph has pointed out.

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I've lost about 25 lbs in the last 50 days or so.  It's a pretty tough regimen though.  Start by having 2/3 of your esophagus surgically removed, along with 1/3 of your stomach.  Then go on a feeding tube diet exclusively for a month.  Then transition to some food, some feeding tube, the to all food.  You'll be regularly nauseous and puke periodically, but I've found it to be effective.  Some may call it extreme.  I call them pussies.  Of course the other benefit is I hopefully won't die from cancer anytime soon, so there's that.

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5 minutes ago, Sbbruin said:

I've lost about 25 lbs in the last 50 days or so.  It's a pretty tough regimen though.  Start by having 2/3 of your esophagus surgically removed, along with 1/3 of your stomach.  Then go on a feeding tube diet exclusively for a month.  Then transition to some food, some feeding tube, the to all food.  You'll be regularly nauseous and puke periodically, but I've found it to be effective.  Some may call it extreme.  I call them pussies.  Of course the other benefit is I hopefully won't die from cancer anytime soon, so there's that.

You can't even work in a cheat meal here or there?

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