I'm at 240 now after a high of 250 last year. Hard to belive that when I graduated from high school nearly 45 years ago, I weighed 120.

I now have arthritis in one knee, so getting more weight off is not going to be easy. But it is necessary.

I really just posted to be the grumpy old guy who tells the kids to not do what I did. Don't gain the weight to start with. Or if it's too late for that, lose it now, before your body completely rebels. It WILL NOT get easier.

Good luck to you all, and I'll go back to yelling at clouds now.

My initial weigh in was 253.4 Like the poster that said they put on weight like a show calf, I was 239 before Thanksgiving and just didn't give an F for a month.

My goal is to be sub 220.

I started in 2014 at a high of 292, and got down to a low of 232 before going to Africa. I have bounced around in the 240s and 250s since then. My goal is my high school football playing weight of 220.

Plan is mostly paleo or "whole foods" (e.g. fruits, vegetables and meat, not processed stuff and grains), Crossfit 3 times per week and cycling to work at least once a week... plus added active lifestyle activities (hiking, fishing, hunting, cycling, kayaking, etc) on top of exercise schedule.

I updated the spreadsheet this morning so we can add our goals and a total lost and % lost value. If you just update your weight weekly and set your goals, everything should update automatically.

I had a wrestling coach who simulated altitude by having us do sprints breathing through straws...

I'm sure one of those masks might help some too.

Fitbit invites sent to:
ajn142
dubi (if you don't see it, you can send one back to my profile's email)
waiting for TwoMarksHand

TwoMarksHand said:

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LoudestWHOOP! said:

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ajn142 said:

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I'm in, I'll get my info put in shortly. Anyone else using Fitbit or MyFitnessPal apps and wants to connect there and help keep each other accountable, let me know.

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Invite sent for FitBit

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What's yalls emails so I can add?

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It is in my profile now.

I just added myself to the spreadsheet. I try not to look too far into the future and take things day by day. Having said that, being around 240 on December 31, 2017 would be a great accomplishment. Started off the year at 319. Hoping to be under 300 by the end of February.

added myself as well. Should be a fun ride this year!

added you on fitbit

LoudestWHOOP! said:

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TwoMarksHand said:

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LoudestWHOOP! said:

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ajn142 said:

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I'm in, I'll get my info put in shortly. Anyone else using Fitbit or MyFitnessPal apps and wants to connect there and help keep each other accountable, let me know.

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Invite sent for FitBit

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What's yalls emails so I can add?

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It is in my profile now.

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Add you. Mine is tucker 6 5 9 1 @ gmail.com for any of you other folks that want to add

I'll join in. Gotta get some weight off for sure. I'd love to get off my cholesterol meds. Not sure I can every get off my BP meds as it runs in my family. My dad was in good shape but always had to take BP medicine. I would also like to get off the cpap machine. I'll weigh up this evening and join in.

I'm in.

SW 2016: 230

SW 2017: 216

Wanna get down to 200.

After the catered homestyle Mexican lunch I just had I probably weigh 3hundy right now.

But Heyzeus Christo it was delicious.

My doctor is not happy with me right now. I weighed in at 205 before Christmas. I need to get down to at least 185 and lower if possible. Right now I have until April to do so. Any suggestions on diet and exercise. I used to lift but think i will just keep it at light weights with more reps plus mucho cardio.

2ndChanceAg96 said:

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My doctor is not happy with me right now. I weighed in at 205 before Christmas. I need to get down to at least 185 and lower if possible. Right now I have until April to do so. Any suggestions on diet and exercise. I used to lift but think i will just keep it at light weights with more reps plus mucho cardio.

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do nothing but run

2ndChanceAg96 said:

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My doctor is not happy with me right now. I weighed in at 205 before Christmas. I need to get down to at least 185 and lower if possible. Right now I have until April to do so. Any suggestions on diet and exercise. I used to lift but think i will just keep it at light weights with more reps plus mucho cardio.

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What is he not happy about?

2ndChanceAg96 said:

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My doctor is not happy with me right now. I weighed in at 205 before Christmas. I need to get down to at least 185 and lower if possible. Right now I have until April to do so. Any suggestions on diet and exercise. I used to lift but think i will just keep it at light weights with more reps plus mucho cardio.

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How tall are you? M/F? Confused why a doctor has a number in mind or what specific health problems may be popping up - that will guide any exercise advice.

Limit carbs and track your macros (protein, fat, carbs). Fat loss is truly about calories in and calories out. Easier to do when you cook for yourself. Increase the calories out by building lean mass (lunges/squats and core exercises at a minimum).

Cardio should ramp up slowly if you've been inactive, but I have recently focused on high intensity things vs. long distance. Do whatever feels comfortable for you.

Buck Compton said:

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texAZtea said:

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I had a wrestling coach who simulated altitude by having us do sprints breathing through straws...

I'm sure one of those masks might help some too.

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Any help there is Placebo effect. Air contains the same oxygen levels everywhere, the pressure differential is what makes it seem like less. Your body generates additional red blood cells to compensate (which won't happen due to limiting volume of air to your lungs).

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yup. there was an article about this not long ago. the real positives of staying altitude are just that. staying and sleeping at altitude. if you had a hyperbaric chamber to sleep in, then you could get the actual benefits of a low oxygen environment.

the masks just make your lung muscles work harder. there is no definitive research yet that shows whether this is a good or bad thing.

This has been my issue. BEER/ALCOHOL. You can tell from my handle. I am cutting it way back. I currently walk at least 2 miles 4 - 5 days a week. I eat right for the most part. But the beer consumption prevents me from losing any weight. Haven't gained any lately but haven't lost any either. I'm gonna continue to walk, do some light weight training but will be cutting back on the beer/booze.

Na Zdrav 87 said:

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This has been my issue. BEER/ALCOHOL.

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Same. It's not like I'm pounding cases of Coors lights every day, but damn I love a good dark craft beer or two, and those are the worst for you.

So far this week I've hit new personal records on back squat, front squat, deadlift and bench press. Fitness related because we're talking about fitness goals. Outdoor related because sometimes I have to pick up stuff outside that is heavy.

Na Zdrav 87 said:

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This has been my issue. BEER/ALCOHOL. You can tell from my handle. I am cutting it way back. I currently walk at least 2 miles 4 - 5 days a week. I eat right for the most part. But the beer consumption prevents me from losing any weight. Haven't gained any lately but haven't lost any either. I'm gonna continue to walk, do some light weight training but will be cutting back on the beer/booze.

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As others have said, alcohol doesn't do you any favors. And all alcohol is the same, but the way you drink it isn't, and can have a big impact. Beer is just a little shy of sugary mixed drinks in calorie content for a given amount of alcohol. Maybe you need to go cold turkey, or maybe you're better of transitioning that habit to a different one that lets you enjoy your alcohol without the extra calories, like replacing a couple of beers at the end of a long day with a glass of nice whiskey or tequila. Dry wines are also pretty light on calories besides the alcohol, although that varies some from wine to wine, depending on exactly how dry they really are.

All this said as someone who enjoys a few drinks each 2-3 nights a week, and this far hasn't had to quit that habit, just adjust it.

I added my name to the sheet so I'll add my story here too. I'm going to be going the opposite direction as pretty much everybody here. I'm 5'10", so average height, but have a small frame and always been on the skinner side. I weighed about 135lbs when I started working out my junior year at A&M. I'm 30 now, weighing 176, and still trying to put muscle on my frame.

Unfortunately for my body type, I have to be at a massive calorie surplus to actually gain any significant amount of muscle. This comes with the unwanted side effect of additional body fat as well. So I take a 2 steps forward, 1 step back approach to gaining muscle. Every year in the fall/winter I eat my ass off and lift as heavy as I can in the gym in an effort to gain as much natural muscle as possible. Then in the spring/summer I switch to a "maintenance" diet and a quicker paced lifting routine, in an effort to keep the muscle I built but lose the extra fat I gained. It's a long slow process but so far has worked decently well over the long run.

That being said, I'm smack dab in the middle of my heavy bulk for the winter right now. Trying to get up into the mid 180s by April or so, then switch to cutting.

Tl;dr : I'm tying to gain not lose weight right now, so hopefully you see my numbers go up instead of down.

I've fallen into this category before as well and will give you an unsolicited piece of advice, or at least my experience. Your mileage may vary...

When I was younger my body just wanted to be at 200#. But my brain wanted to be at 225#. One of those, no matter how much I ate, etc. unless I was just lifting non-stop and limiting cardio I couldn't keep the 220#+ that I wanted in my mind.

What I learned over the years is that my joints simply couldn't sustain 225#. I had constant ankle/knee/shoulder/elbow issues at that weight. I looked good, and in my mind 6'4, 225 is what I was supposed to be, but when I made the drop to 205 I just felt SO much better. Yeah, I didn't lift as much, and I wasn't as big (FWIW, I've never been yoked up and ripped, nor really even wanted to - but at 205 I look "skinny"), but my body felt so much better. Long and lanky maybe, but just felt better.

I don't know if that'll happen to you, or if you do what that plateau will be but at least wanted to give you my experience and the injuries that I wish I hadn't battled off and on for 10 years.

I definitely appreciate the advice, so thank you. I always welcome advice from this board, even if unsolicited.

In regards to the joint issues, I definitely did have some in my early years of heavy lifting/gaining. Then I started taking a daily dose of fish oil, and a product called Tri Flex which has glucosamine, chondriton, and MSM in it. Also during the summer when I do cardio, I don't run and only do low impact machines (elliptical, rowing, fast walking on treadmill at an incline, etc). Both of those changes helped a ton and now days I occasionally get a random bout of joint pain that lasts for a couple days, but for the most part it is 98% gone.

I also "feel" great at my current weight so no issue there. I'm very active on weekends, ride dirt bikes, lots of yard work, chase around a 2 year old, etc, and I feel very mobile not "weighed down" so I think I'm ok there. That being said, I do have sort of an end goal on how much I want to gain. I think it's somewhere around 180-185 and 10-12% body fat. That's just a guess at this point though and could change based on how I "feel" like you were referring to.

Currently at 265. Doing Camp Gladiator. My short goal is to not get any higher. Eventually would like to get to 245 and reassess.

Being 6'6" covers many sins.

My email for Fitbit add is kyle97 at gmail

CW: 215
GW: 195

I'm also going soda free in 2017. mostly to reduce my sugar level. Used to drink cokes all afternoon at the office (they were free). I now have 2 diet cokes in the am to get me through the morning caffeine shakes. Drinking a couple of FUZE Ice Teas in the afternoon, which have a lot less sugar.