BORN TO LOSE!

[mgager]

Hi everyone, i figured i might as well start a journal here so here goes

My name is Mike i am 31, 6'5" and i have what some may call, a weight problem

luckily for me being so tall i dont seem to be as big as one would think for a person of my weight.

I currently weigh right around 350 lbs.

i have been big all my life. i remember being the biggest kid every year in school all the way to high school. i was 6 ft tall in the 6th grade. even in kindergarden i was a head taller then all the other kids.

on top of big tall i also carry a lot of weight around. i cant really change being tall but i can control my weight. but as most of you know thats not always easy!

4 years ago i discovered atkins low carb diets and thought "man eat meat and get thin?" shoot that sounds easy. so i tried it and sure enough it WAS easy. i lost 130lbs in about a year dropping from 381 to around 250lbs. the problem wasnt LOSING the weight, it was sticking with the diet and keeping the weight off. sure enough i went back to my old ways and gained all the weight back plus an additional 11 lbs to 392 lbs. eating taco bell, mcdonalds, pizza and dairy queen 5+ days a week really takes its toll!

i started having some major medical problems. mostly intestional problems. doctors said it was IBS. basically painful bloating/gas. also diagnosed with sleep apnea.

i came to a point about 2 months ago that i just said screw this! im gonna lose this weight again and this time im gonna keep it off. i went back on the low carb thing and all my stomach problems have pretty much disappeared. what was a daily reoccurring problem hasnt happened since the day i went back low carb. i honestly believe i may have some problems with starchy foods as they seemed to cause the most problems

anyways 2 months down and im 40lbs lighter. but now im gonna get serious. tomorrow i am starting the Meat and Eggs diet and im dropping my carb intake from the 30-40 carbs a day im averaging now to less then 5

after reading the posts in the 50 lbs in 50 days thread ive decided i can lose that no problem. this will be my journal on my progress and available for all to witness. wish me luck!

[Luvmykidz]

Congratulations on your progress so far!

You have already proved you can lose the weight on LC, so now its just a matter of doing what you know will work.

Have you looked into probiotic supps for your intestinal troubles? You may also lack the proper digestive enzymes to be able to handle carbs ( I'm not a doctor, or anything,it was just a thought)

Good luck, and I hope you find the boards a useful tool in your journey.

[indogia]

wishing you the very best.

YES YOU CAN!!!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[indogia]

wishing you the very best.

YES YOU CAN!!!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[mgager]

ok just a quick note here

today is the first day for me on 50 in 50 and my official weigh in is 352lbs

i will likely post this evening if i have time to tell how the first day went. (probably wont be much different then any other day lol)

[mgager]

ok first day done and so far 1 lb gone. i am down to 351 this morning

total carb intake yesterday was "4" so doing pretty good so far

[mgager]

second day was another 4 carb day and the results are starting to show

i am down another 4 lbs! for a total weight loss of 45lbs to 347!

[Luvmykidz]

[mgager]

wow went to the gym tonight and didnt do anything different then i have been doing for the last 2 months but i got a real bad feeling like i was going to faint or something. im not sure if its something to do with the lower carb intake im doing now or not eating before going (i never do) or what. i feel better now but man i was really worried there for awhile

[indogia]

might be good idea to have a couple of bananas before you work out?

works for me!

[mgager]

well im doing the m/e diet so cant have any of those i think i will try eating before i go to the gym next time and see if that helps

im down another 2 lbs today for a total of 47 lbs

yesterday was a 0 carb day

[GetSkinny]

WAY TO GO!!! Your weight lose is amazing!! Good for you and keep it going!!!

[Luvmykidz]

Originally Posted by mgager

well im doing the m/e diet so cant have any of those i think i will try eating before i go to the gym next time and see if that helps

im down another 2 lbs today for a total of 47 lbs

yesterday was a 0 carb day

Empty stomach could definitely have affected you. Maybe you could try a whey protein shake--They are light on the stomach but give you some energy and muscle supporting protein for your workout. Many brands carry minimal carb versions.

I don't think eating a few carbs just before working out will hurt your diet efforts. Especially since you are regularly coming in well below Atkins induction levels. Eating 10 or so carbs within a half hour of your workout might give you a bit of an energy boost, as well. And if you are a fairly heavy exerciser, you should burn them off pretty quickly.

Don't mind me, though--I just like to be sure people know of their options

Congratulations on your continued loss!

[mgager]

heh no i think you are absolutly right some carbs before exercise would defenitely help im sure. i consider my workout to be moderate, i do the eliptical machine for 30 minutes and then 30 minutes of weight training. the only thing i did different yesterday was i did the leg extension machine and i noticed i really struggled on it. i dont know if i had to much weight on it or if i was already starting to get sick when i started it but i could barely do the weight and then about 2 minutes later is when i felt like i was gonna faint

at any rate i dont mind the help from you at all, i like the attention im the same way though, always trying to help people see the different ways to get something done. usually they dont listen though haha

OH BTW i didnt work today so i went back to bed after weighing in this morning. i havent ate breakfast yet so i figured id weigh i again. im down ANOTHER pound to 344! should i count that for today or wait for tomorrow?

[Luvmykidz]

OH BTW i didnt work today so i went back to bed after weighing in this morning. i havent ate breakfast yet so i figured id weigh i again. im down ANOTHER pound to 344! should i count that for today or wait for tomorrow?
__________________

Wow! I would be tempted to count it. although if you're the type who would be devastated to see 'no' scale change tomorrow, you might wait. If it sticks tomorrow, claim it!

A couple of times I dropped 2 pounds overnight, and then gained one back the next day and held steady for 2 weeks. I don't like to have to report a gain, so I try to wait a day before reporting a new number if I seem to be losing really quickly.

[emijan]

Just stopping to say 'Hi' and WTG you are doing great, you've done it before so you know you can do it again!

[mgager]

well should have known it would happen but theres no loss today, still at 344. i should have waited to count that 1 lb lol

not sure what may have caused it. i know i probably didnt drink enough water yesterday so that may have had something to do with it. at any rate ill get enough today and see what happens

[Luvmykidz]

Could be the water. Also, it may be that M/E has just about done its thing for you. Very low carb is a good jump start, and can sometimes be used to break a stall, but for a lot of people, the weight loss will level off again, same as induction. Then, a slower pace of a couple of pounds a week will set in.

I don't say this to try to discourage you or anything. But I have noticed some people get very frustrated when the wight loss drops back to a more normal level after a successful m/e or induction week or two and then

M/e and strict, extended induction have sometimes been promoted as the 'quickest, easiest' way to drop all the weight, but it isn't always true. When you cut out your carbs, you will lose some water weight initially. And, how much you lose depends on how much water you have been storing. Larger people have more body mass to be able to store more water and so will usually lose more water weight initially. When you do extended m/e fast or kimmers or Atkins induction, you become bored with the food choices and often will severely restrict your food intake just because the thought of another hard boiled egg nauseates you so badly. So, you also get a caloric deficit, but some people will only be eating 900 calories a day!!!!! Way to low for an active male, IMO.

I get people mad at me for saying stuff like this, but I really do get nervous for people's long term health. Yes, I'm nosey. And a mom. Bad combo, I guess.

Anyway, hope this doesn't offend. You can certainly do whatever you feel is best. I was only hoping to make you feel better about the lack of a scale drop this morning. (Strange way to go about it, I know! )

Sorry for hogging up so much of your personal space. When you get sick of me, just give me the boot and I'm gone!

[mgager]

no heather i apprieciate the advice and support. i do hear what you are saying though. i often wonder about the long term effects of the low carb diet. although theres so much evidence it is healthy i have to wonder why so many people are still against it.

as far as the weight loss goes, again you are probably right. im sure i was over on my carbs before so the first few days was my body catching up. i guess time will tell if it was just a fluke or if perhaps it was just an off day.

maybe i should just weigh in once a week?

[Luvmykidz]

After the first week or so, it might be a good idea to weigh once or twice a week.

But, I still weigh daily, even though I don't see a change for a couple weeks at a time. i prefer to use a measuring tape, because it can show a loss when the scale won't budge.

I believe if your body is suited to LC, you can only be doing it good on the program. Many people have insulin issues and cutting out the carbs helps normalize their body functions.

Some people honestly do not do well on the lower carb/higher fat programs. These would probably be the people who are held up as 'evidence' that LC can be harmful. We have been told for so long that high carb/low fat is the only way to be healthy, I think the mainstream medical establishment is facing huge embarrassment to have to admit that a lot of people thrive on LC.

The tricky part of the whole diet thing is to figure out what you personally need. Seems I need to switch up my own program every few months in order to keep the weight heading down, where a few years ago, I could do the same thing over and over and still get good results. You just have to listen to your body.

You are doing great, so far! Keep on with what is working for you, with your long term health in mind. I expect you will do fine!

Say, have you met up with any of the other guys on the board? You might find some helpful support with them, as they do not seem to have some of the 'issues' that we girls do.

[mgager]

no i havent, i actually thought about making a post asking if there was any other guys on the board. i assume there is but havent seen any post, or at least only a couple

as far as health is concerned, excepting out the issue i had the other day, which i think may have been just because i hadnt eaten, i feel much better on low carb then i do eating "normal" food.

my doctor recommended that i lose weight and said the low carb diets were an excellent choice. i have another doctor appointment on oct 10 so im looking forward to showing him how much i have lost since my last visit (july 18th)

[Luvmykidz]

That is great that your doc recognizes LC as a valid option!!!! I expect he will be impressed by your progress.

[mgager]

he specified south beach because of the fruits and vegetables but i dont like to eat those anyways lol

[Luvmykidz]

he specified south beach because of the fruits and vegetables but i dont like to eat those anyways lol

Atkins induction and m/e seem to appeal to a lot of vegephobes.

Oh, a few of the men around here are Kajundc (amazing transformation!) who now does BFFM and seems to spend most of his time in M. Lobby or Exercise Board.

Doughboy is around, and has been visiting our Colonix thread (colon cleansing, so I don't know if that would appeal--). And another guy joined us over there who goes by ceb. I am thinking he is pretty new as well. Kevinpa and Scott123 hang out in the recipe section. If you do any real cooking, they could probably help with LCing a fave dish. Kevinpa usually adds pics which look as good as the 'real' thing.

There are some long timers who hang around the Playground a lot, but I don't think you quite have privileges there yet. You have to be a member for a certain number of days and have made a certain number of posts and I cannot remember what they are. There are several new guys around as well. I think, Anthony and Dudethecat are on sometimes. You just have to look, but it might be worth it to have an oasis in the midst of Hormoneville

[mgager]

thanks heather i will look those guys up and see if i can get some advice.

i just cooked some pork chops in the oven broiler, first time ive tried to do that. they turned out really yummy

one cool thing about low carb is its making me experiment at cooking. so far ive had pretty good luck with everything ive tried. my biggest problem is knowing exactly when something is done though, i think i overcook most of the time. i got a meat thermometer but i dont think it works very well. oh well its still good

[YoYoGirl]

mgager...you are doing fantastic! As Luv my kids said... initially you will have a big whoosh on Atkins...then it will drop off to maybe 2 pounds a week. (maybe more for you) ---Just don't get discouraged. I was this past month and was recently whining about it and then ....I had a whoosh...lost 4 lbs. in a week! Atkins Induction is what I will probably stick with for awhile longer ...until I get closer to goal, then I need to up my carbs (ongoing weight loss and premaintenance) using the carb ladder. Like you,I lost 45 pounds six years ago on Atkins and gained it all back, plus some. Last time, I got to goal and didn't heed the adding good carbs in --thing. This time, I'm going to AND am going to explore some other plans...BFFM ...comes to mind. --Educate yourself as to what's out there...Luv my kids is a great mentor. I read lots of her posts and she is always reading about different healthy options.
Best wishes for you!

[mgager]

i apprieciate the advice but just so you know i have been doing low carb for over 2 months now, i lost 40lbs before starting the meat and eggs diet and starting this journal. this wouldnt be the first whoosh ive had as i lost 7 lbs the first week when i started back in july

at any rate im down another lb today to 343

[Luvmykidz]

at any rate im down another lb today to 343