Before and After Pictures! Bust Them Up!!!

Holy crap... how did you manage to lose that much weight in a month? Not eating?

Anyways, I've kinda slowed down on the whole gym thing. I'm not eating everything in sight anymore and starting to watch my carbs. I'm a hard gainer, and I'm a hard loser, so I've decided to start my summer cut now. I'm down to about 184ish... 10 more pounds (of fat) and I'll be a happy camper.

PS.. I discovered box squats and I'm in love. Hands down my favorite exercise right now.

 

Dang, that looks like one of those fake Mega Bulk 5000 ads. Good job!

 

I was in Colorado for 7 days snowboarding. Wasn't eating like I do here (not a lot either). Factor in my high metabolism and that's what happens. Not to mention my first week back to work following my vacation I only ate 3 times a day since I had no time to cook as I got in late Sunday night.

I also skipped the gym for a month because of my back.

 

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6'4", 235. Can't wait to start training again.
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I just noticed your post. Thanks, but I did not gain a single pound, I actually lost weight. As you have probably heard before "Abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym". I cleaned up my diet A LOT, and lost about 1-2lb a week. I took my time as I did not want to lose muscle, just fat.

 

Down 23 lbs. at 261

My energy levels are starting to feel much higher now.

My diet (I don't really think of it as such) is pretty basic
Total cereal breakfast
Sandwich, or Hamburger for lunch
Whole grain breads ONLY. Tastes far better than wheat, and white.
Chicken/ Hamburger for dinner

some fruits and vegtables in at least one meal

Banana shake after a workout with a little whea protein.

Generally smaller portions makes me less hungry through the day. I expect to see numbers I haven't seen in over two years in the next week (250's)

Once I'm below 220, I think I may need to start counting calories to make sure I continue losing... Right now, I'm just "generally" doing things.

My muscles are feeling tighter; but I don't think I'm seeing "improvement" in how I handle the same weight values; other than I'm not sore for a day or two.

 

Sitting at like 178 right now. Really funny looking at pictures from mid-October when I was 177-178ish and looking at myself in the mirror today. Completely different body composition. I'll post my next pic in a month.

 

You said you cut out most carbs. What were you mostly eating?

 

The last few weeks have been bouncing around. Eating well during the week, and a resturant or two during the weekend... and I'm not sure really in general, but I was fluctuating between 261-263. I weighed myself this morning at the lowest I've seen since late 2005; 257. 8 more lbs, and I'll post a photo

 

50 years old
5'10"
before weight loss = 278
present = 197
goal = 175
waist stared at 44 (under gut)...now 36...goal 34
pic is before and present
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Awesome!!!

How long did it take?

 

7 months to take off 84 pounds...used a dangerous medically supervised diet (actually starvation at only 300 cal /day)....that was two years ago...I initially gained 12 pounds of water/glycogen back after the ketogenic diet (typical) but since that I have kept it off with lifestyle change....now i am trying to lose another 20 or at least add muscle (so maybe no weight loss) to see how i can get my left over skin/fat in the belly off (everywhere else i am boney)...another thread suggested surgery may be the only answer and maybe so, but i have to do/try what i can now...In the last few weeks i have lost 2"off my gut but have added 2" of muscle in each of my upper arms (dumbbells for bicepts and tricepts) I walk alot and now with some arm training, I hope to lose weight safely without compromising muscle. I am also restricting inputs to 1500 cal per day.(my resting metabolic rate is 2200 per day...so I should be losing weight eventually despite adding muscle)...no one said this is easy at age 50...but i am going to do the best i can and maintain with a new exercise regimen and the nutritional lifestyle changes i implemented 2 years ago.

In the following pics, you can see me before and then after....so you can see from this angle fishing off the dock that i have some excess to trim one way (exercise) or another (surgery).
beev
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Very impressive... especially keeping it off!

300 cal/day is crazy! I can't even imagine doing that for more than a few days

 

I did one once that was 500cal/day. It was a liquid diet, also supervised (weekly visit, bi weekly blood test) and lost 40# in 5 weeks. I got to the point where I couldn't even take the 5 shakes per day and felt like food was no longer a part of my life.

The mind can be very powerful.

 

It was the hardest thing I have ever done...both physically and mentally...my doctor was against it...I did see a bariatric doctor once a week and a nurse three times a week to get vitamin B shots, specific multivitamins, bloodwork, potassium supplements and advice. I ended 20 pounds short of my goal due to a drastic drop in blood pressure (I have always had low BP) that ended me in emerg at the hospital = end of diet.

Now two years later i am determined to improve as much as is possible, only safer and slower this time... every pound shed improves my back and joint strain.

My ability to do the gymn thing like everyone else is very limited due to a systemic arthritic condition (ankylosing spondilitis) that prohibits strain on my back/pelvic joints/areas... for now i am just walking alot everyday and doing some dumb bell exercises for muscle tone. When the weather improves i will start swimming more.

beev

 

I may have started my new "life" per say at the right time... maybe in some ways too late. Back when I was 17, I tore a ligement in my left knee playing baseball. I didn't even realize it until about 4 hours later when my knee swelled to watermelon proportions. I hate the idea of going under the knife, so I've just worked through it... and compensated with extra strain on my right knee. Adding 100 lbs over the last 7 years didn't help the situation, and I started having a lot of pain in my right knee.

I guess that was the wake-up call... even if it was delayed, as I didn't start working out, and eating less for another 2.5 months after that. I'm def. not losing that fast; but I'm seeing some real muscle tone poking through the jelly-rolls now. It's kinda neat. I don't have a great workout strategy, but it is working for sure.

Congrats, and keep up the good work!

 

My wife is doing something similar, though its 900cal/day and its mix of solid and liquid. She goes once a week for weigh-in/vitamin shot and they go over what she is eating. She has lost 15lbs in 3wks, so it's not too rapid.

 

I started P90X this week. I am 6'2" and started at 202. Today, I was 198. I know, it was most likely water weight, but it feels motivating none the less.

I have not "really" worked out since college, (I'm 30) and I really plan to stick with this. It seems like a great program.

 

Yep, I started phase 3 of p90x this week. I will admit I haven't had the best results possible because I have cheated a bit on the meal plan and I have had to miss a few workouts. Having said that, I love it! Phase 3 is mixing the exercises form phases 1 and 2 and I am sore again after doing one of the phase 1 exercises that I haven't done in over a month. People are getting great results from it and I have to say that my wife has noticed I am more muscular now.

 

I dont have pics yet but Ive been eating healthy, hitting the treadmill and weight lifting consistently for 7 weeks now. For about 4 weeks before that I was on the 'heartbreak diet'.

I hadnt weighed myself in a long time so I was shocked to find I had hit 298lbs when I started in early February. Im down to 265 but Ive also added a lot of muscle so I have probably lost about 35+ lbs of fat.

Ive gone from a tight size 44 waist to a comfortable 40.

My goal is a 36 waist and about 225 lbs. Thats where I was about 5 years ago and its where I am most comfortable. Goal is to hit it by end of July

Im not really counting calories as much as avoiding bad foods and watching my portion sizes. I havent had anything fried or fast food since I began. Mostly eating chicken breast on corn tortillas, sometimes wheat bun. Lots of healthy soup. Salad with non fat dressing. I snack on non fat sugar free oatbran cookies when I get the urge. Not having tasted a real cookie in so long makes them taste better.

I do about 40 minutes on the treadmill every day though I only get to a brisk walk of 3.5 mph. Anything above that and my right ankle hurts too much. I go to about 6 degree incline.

I weight train every other day for about an hour. When I was younger I lifted a lot and I was shocked to find how weak I had become. But the muscle memory is true..its not taking that long to get back up to speed and everyone that sees me is definitely noticing.

Attached is a pic at my heaviest
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Great to hear Jerry.

Sounds like you've really found ways to keep yourself motivated and eating healthier. Keept it up!

By the way, have you ever appeared on tv? You look familiar.

 

Thanks

yeah I found a buddy who wanted to get into shape and that helps a lot. So he comes over every other day for our workout. Luckily neither of us have jobs we have to go to.

I have been on tv a lot. Lots of behind the scenes stuff on movie DVDs. Lots of interviews on my fx company and my toy company. Im in the Jenna Jameson true hollywood story.

 

A buddy is always a good thing to help with motivation. I signed up for the gym with a co-worker to get over my fear of actually going to the gym. It took 2 trips and I was over it. He quit after month, and I'm still going strong 2 years later. The biggest thing for me was after I had started going for about 3 months and had to take 2 weeks off for work and the sluggishness set in I realized how much it had changed my physical and mental being. That in and of itself has kept me going.

It's probably more than one show, but definitely the Jenna Jameson E! THS. I figured I have with all your FX work.

 

We all have ups and downs... but mine has been perhaps stupid.

The time has come to watch what I do on the weekends too... up through now, I've taken weekends as more "normal" old habbits. I think that is why the last 17ish lbs have taken so long. It's taken me sunday-thurs. (today) to get ahead of where I left off last Friday. This "two steps forward, one step back" approach is purely annoying now. Last weekend was probobly the worst example, as I try to be fairly active on weekends too. I had one of my favorite dinners at a resturant Friday night, and after a morning car show, slept just about the rest of the day ( long week). And did just about nothing Sunday too. I stepped on the scale Monday to see a gain in 4 lbs after just 2.5 days. Ridiculous! I know the inactivity was the biggest part of it.

The good news is this; the rest was well used, and I've upped my push-ups to 30 per set, and can curl more than I have ever been able to (I'm using a bar with weights, not not dumbells) I max out at 120 lbs... When I had tried back in early Feb, 90 was this tough. I think I would be doing better by now, but about 3 weeks, I had a lot of elbow pain that made curling very difficult.

Situps I've stunted at 60 per set since it just get's boring. I did a set of 100 last week, and could've done more.

Running/ walking "fast" combo... Trying to do at least 3 times a week; and that has made a bigger difference than anything I've changed as of late. I am currently doing a medium jog for about .3 of a mile, followed by a very fast run for 400-500 yards, followed by a recovery walk for 200-300 yards. Rince, repeat. It's getting faster each of the last three weeks.

I'm my lightest since Sept. 2006, and perhaps earlier. Photos are coming soon; I'm VERY close to my initial 40 lb. goal. Still looking to lose another 55ish lbs.

284 lb. start
247 lb. current.