AHB Biggest Loser Challenge!

[mje1980]

I need to eat dead animals though.

 

[Liam_snorkel]

does it count if they eat the plants first?

 

[mje1980]

does it count if they eat the plants first?

I like the way you think

 

[edschache]

I can't handle the idea of a diet but I enjoy exercise when I have the time (it's actually more a case of finding the time, it's there somewhere).

I got put onto http://www.strava.com by a workmate. Basically you track your run/ride/whatever with GPS and upload it - nothing new there. They also have mobile apps for iPhone/Android so you don't even need dedicated hardware if you've already got a phone with GPS.

It helps having a group of mates on there to spur you on. We now have half of our office (20 of us) on there and hold monthly comps. There's also official strava comps http://www.strava.com/challenges

You can watch how your times improve not only for whole activities but also chunks referred to as "segments". Once you're following a few mates and see their times riding up a hill near your place you can't help but go out and try to beat their time. Basically it makes exercise more addictive than heroine.

I started in mid-September and have lost about 7kg while eating/drinking whatever I want. To achieve that I've done about 140 hours of exercise ranging from a casual cruise on the bike to sprinting up steep hills (like I said, segments are addictive).

Get some mates together (ideally ones that live/work near you, are about your age/weight/capabilities or a bit faster) and get competitive.

 

[brettprevans]

Couch to 5k app is worth using fellas to get back into exercise. I was using it until I busted knee amd ankle. Wont be using it for a while as I have an ankle reconstruction coming up soon. Best of luck all.

 

[argon]

Alright I’ll post what’s been happening last couple of years.

Probably my major reason for not being as active as I used to be on the forums is due to me changing my lifestyle and losing weight.

Back in October 2011 I was 120kg, drinking around 5 pints a night, every night. Feeling like **** every morning only to repeat every night. Border line alcoholic. Lethargic, apathetic unfocussed on work and family life. Very few items of clothing fit me. Was always just generally uncomfortable.

At the christening of my second son in Oct 11, decided I’d had enough. Was in public on a hot day dressed up in clothes that didn’t fit and looked like crap. Mum came and said to me, I needed to lose weight for my family. I was unhealthy and looking it. Nobody had ever been so honest with me. My wife didn’t want to approach the subject in hope I’d wake up to myself… which to that point I hadn’t.

Lost a few kilos over the next few months through a little bit of diet and some exercise. Only managed to drop about 6kg in 6 months. Was still drinking too much. Not as much as before but less.

Got a new job. A few colleagues commuted in by bike. Looked into it and thought that the 12km every day might be a bit much, especially at my current fitness level. Decided to buy a bike, a good one, a decent road bike. First time I rode to work I drove half way, parked and rode in via dedicated bike ways. 6km in 6km out, with what felt like a few big hills in the way. Did that for a couple of weeks, gradually parking a little further away every week. After a month, tried riding the whole way. 12km in 12km back a couple of days a week. Exhausted and still felt like **** in the morning from the drinking, which made me feel even worse when on the bike.

Then the bug hit. I was free from the bus, free from the traffic. I could come and go at my own leisure and I didn’t have to rely on anyone to come and go from work. I started drinking less and less because it made me perform better and feel better on the bike. I was riding everyday day, Monday to Friday… 120km a week.

The more I rode, the less I drank and the better I ate. That’s when the weight just started dropping off. I started losing weight fast. I started riding longer routes into work, getting fitter and gaining more energy. I was being more active with the kids and loving it.

2 years on, I ride 200-300km a week and love it. Mountain bike when I can, but mostly fast kays on the road, with at least one pain session each week and hill repeats. I’m fitter than I’ve ever been in my life. I’m much more active with the family and have even motivated others to lose weight for the health benefits. I’m now lighter and stronger than I was when I was 18. I’ve gone from having no clothes that fit me for being too fat, to having no clothes that fit me for being thin. I only drink 2 or 3 beers in a typical week. I rarely brew, only once this year, but that’s enough to keep me in supply as I need it. My current diet is not the best, but it’s reasonably balanced, if I wanted to be disciplined again I could probably shed another 5kg. I can just about eat anything I want now, as I burn it off via my activity levels anyway. But I seek out food that makes me feel good and allows me to perform as I need to.

Losing the weight has also changed the way I look quite a bit. I'm no longer squeezing into clothes that fit improperly or a specifically made larger which end up looking a bit weird anyway. I take more pride in my appearance now and my general outlook has improved also. Losing weight off my face was a bit of a surprise and I think people treat me differently in a professional environment due to the way I now present myself.

Losing the weight was hard in the beginning, but once I integrated my activity levels into my lifestyle it's become routine and a part of who I am. I really hope I never return to the way I was. In hindsight I was border alcoholic and depressed. I'm now pretty happy with life, I'm healthy and fit and he people around me have noticed my outlook has improved.

If you've ever considered making a change. Do it. It'll be difficult but worth it.

Age 35
Height 198cm

October 2011 120.0kg
April 2012 108.7kg
May 2012 106.2kg
June 2012 105.5kg
July 2012 103.8kg
August 2012 101.7kg
September 2012 99.9kg
October 2012 97.8kg
November 2012 97.3kg
December 2012 97.3kg
January 2013 96.3kg
February 2013 93.3kg
March 2013 94.1kg
April 2013 92.0kg
May 2013 93.0kg
June 2013 94.5kg
July 2013 92.0kg
August 2013 93.5kg
September 2013 94.0kg
October 2013 95.0kg
November 2013 94.2kg
December 2013 93.0kg

Overall Goal 89.0kg

TLDR; Started 120kg now 93.0kg, coz I ride a bike and don’t drink as much booze. Now much happier.

 

[Dave70]

does it count if they eat the plants first?

Not surprisingly, very much so.

A British and Irish inquiry into BSE concluded the epizootic was caused by cattle, which are normally herbivores, being fed the remains of other cattle in the form of meat and bone meal

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovine_spongiform_encephalopathy

 

[Liam_snorkel]

Not surprisingly, very much so.

A British and Irish inquiry into BSE concluded the epizootic was caused by cattle, which are normally herbivores, being fed the remains of other cattle in the form of meat and bone meal

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovine_spongiform_encephalopathy

Mate that's ******, & I'd guess has an effect on the nutritional balance of the beef a la the grass-fed Vs grain fed-thing.

 

[edschache]

Great work argon! Commuting to work on a bike or running/walking if you're within range is certainly a good way of finding the time.

I've used the "drive halfway and ride" trick before. I lasted about a fortnight before giving up and riding the whole way despite having a ute I could just throw the bike in. This time around I caught the ferry one morning with my bike, that afternoon I decided to see if I could make it the long way home and haven't looked back.

Ed

 

[Snow]

It's not for everyone, and certainly has its detractors, but I got a lot of success from a "paleo" style approach to my food choices (note I don't say i was on a diet). December last year, I was 102kg (171cm tall), pre diabetes, high cholesterol, hypothyroid, high PSA, despite eating what I thought of as "healthy" foods, rode a bike to work most days and went for 5km jogs twice a week.

Then my doctor told me I was going to get worse and it would be bad. So I read a heap of literature, web sites, blogs, research papers, books, etc and spoke to a few people in the know. A key book I read was "Primal Body, Primal Mind" by Nora Gedgaudas, which really explained to me how my metabolism works and how nutrition works in modern humans. This led me to cut down most sugar and carbs out of my diet (no potatoes, rice, pasta, bread, wheat, flour, grains, legumes, etc) and eat more good fat (avocado, olive oil, coconut, animal fats, etc), moderate protein and heaps of veges. I still drink the same amount of beer (hey - it's not a religion!) and have awesome breakfasts (yesterday I had bacon and eggs, mushrooms, tomato, avocado, all cooked in duck fat!).

Exercise wise, I swapped the long runs for very short bursts of high intensity interval training (3 x 30 secs each on a rowing machine and stationary bike - yes literally only 3 mins of exercise with 1 min break in between bursts) twice a week, with a bit of core strength to fix my back and a few free-weights for bone density. Still ride to work about 3-4 days a week. I stick to all the above most of the week and have the occasional blow-out (gotta love a few Thursday night IPAs, a packet of chips followed by a couple of whiskys :kooi: )
Now I am 76kg, all my health markers have returned to normal, my body fat percentage has gone from 34% to 22% and I feel better, sleep better, look better and have dropped clothes size from XL to M.

Like i said, it won't suit everyone, but once you research the reasons you are unhealthy and understand how your body will respond to certain changes, i found it doesn't take an iron will, just consistency and perseverance.

Cheers - Snow

 

[Snow]

Argon, that's a great story, mate. Full credit for making the change - you and your family are reaping the benefits!

I went through the same process when I was in my early thirties - 115kgs, took up cycling, dropped to 78kgs. But then my metabolism slowed as I hit my mid thirties and despite all the cycling, I got back up to 102kgs. Healthy food choices in addition to exercise is now what works for me.

Cheers - Snow.

 

[argon]

Good tip mate. I really do need a shake up in the diet department. I like the sound if what you wrote above. I'll look into the paleo diet... sounds tasty

Heading to the states in a couple of weeks in what I reckon will be a carb fest and a very sloppy diet inclusive of excessive amounts of IPA.

2014 will have to be the time I tighten up the food intake and get down in the mid to high 80s.

 

[Dave70]

Mate that's ******, & I'd guess has an effect on the nutritional balance of the beef a la the grass-fed Vs grain fed-thing.

They go on about the omega 6 (lot fed, not so good) vs omega 3 (grass fed, good) ratio of beef, but the take home message is basically just don't eat to much of it and try as best you can to consume animals that lived on they're natural diets.

In the event of some form of zombie apocalypse, of should cannibalism become socially acceptable, I'd definitely start with vegan prey.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

If anything we should be eating more Kangaroo. Very lean and full of iron and protein. One of the healthiest meats available.

 

[shaunous]

Piss all the crazy diets and different health things off. I gotta lose weight and have started this week, got hit by a car and have been laying around eating **** all day and mixing beer with meds, so now im allowed to walk I've had a long hard look and I've put on over 10kg in 3 months.

Rules of losing weight, so not frills approach, used this coupla years ago, was 116kg and got down to 93kg(about the lowest i'll ever get being 2m tall), still drank beer, average one a day and binged weekends.

If it wasn't around 200 years ago, DONT EAT IT.
Eat Protein, turkey(lowest cals), beef, chicken, beef jerky(made without sugar), steak and vege
Get rid of carbs like bread and so forth
If your feeling hungry and its not time for a proper meal yet, keep boiled eggs, they do fill you up and contain only 70cal
work out your calorie allowable intake, worked mine out a coupla years ago and I have to eat around 1200cal a day to loose a kilo+ a week.
I don't exercise, but I dont work in an office either.
don't use sauces, oils, marg or butter

If you want to drink a beer, allow yourself room for calories at the end of the day

I found boiled eggs were the best filler for me, they keep changing how many your meant to have a day, but I have 2-4 a day and that's not bad, not everyday either.

Anyway I know my post is all over the shop, but the simple way of losing weight, and any doctor or scientist will tell you, you want less energy in, then energy out. There is calorie calculators on the net, figure out what your daily should be, then make sure your well below it every day, find the calories of food you eat and calorie count, don't have to write it down in books, just know in your head your under your allowable.

 

[Snow]

If anything we should be eating more Kangaroo. Very lean and full of iron and protein. One of the healthiest meats available.

Yeah I personally love kangaroo and cook with it often, but I find its almost too lean and I feel hungry soon after eating it. It's nice if you combine it with some nice fatty lamb in a curry.

- Snow

 

[shaunous]

If anything we should be eating more Kangaroo. Very lean and full of iron and protein. One of the healthiest meats available.

Eat it and love it, Mmmmmmmmmmmm.

 

[pcmfisher]

If it wasn't around 200 years ago, DONT EAT IT.

That alone would probably shed lots of weight of most people.

 

[shaunous]

That alone would probably shed lots of weight of most people.

Best piece of advice I was told, as it's real.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Makes a lot of sense.

200 yrs ago they drank beer because it was safer than water.

I still uphold that theory.