My Unbuild Thread. Or, becoming less of a man.

+1 on talking to your doctor. I worked with a nutritionist and we've nailed down that to lose weight at a reasonable clip I should consume 1800 calories  (5'10, 170, average build, sedentary job). If I'm consistently at that magic 1800 calorie number, I'll typically lose 1-2 lbs per week.

I use MyFitnessPal along with Garmin Connect to track my steps, sleep, and activity. The combination gives me a pretty good read on how many extra calories I burned off with physical activity in a day, and I typically eat those extra calories.

I find that to lose weight, I need to be a little hungry when I go to bed. I'm not starving, mind you, but I'd also say I never feel completely full if I'm dieting.

In reply to dj06482 (Forum Supporter) :

Great advice. I agree with you on the being a little hungry. When I lost 70lbs out of college, I was hungry/had cravings for a year.

The thing I oddly miss when I'm dieting is what made me feel the most worthless when eating poorly - being full. 

I'm hungry if I don't include a wee bit of meat in my meals.  Doesn't take much, but I want it.  An apple or banana at 10:00 and 3:00 helps through the day, but I need meat.

Also: Kraft Zesty Italian Lime salad dressing.  Fresh and lighter than a white dressing.

As a member of the 70+lb lost club, the single most valuable learning tool I had in my weightloss journey was to do 'Whole 30'.  It was invaluable in reframing what 'healthy food' really was.  I lost 15lb in 30 days and it completely reshaped my shopping/eating/snacking habits.  As a tangential bonus, it also showed me that I'm moderately lactose intolerant, which definitely was not helping my weightloss goals. 

I'm not telling you to do it, but researching it at the very least may prove to be enlightening for you. 

Also. Don't get discouraged.  
 

this is not a linear journey.  Many turns and twists along the way but just embrace it. (Easier said than done)

In reply to Fueled by Caffeine :

Fully agreed.  Since you're still at the beginning, take photos of yourself so you can look back and see how far you've come on those days that are discouraging. 

Since you look at yourself everyday, you may not see the changes, but the camera doesn't lie. 

Here is another one - 

As you drop the LBs, and you will with this group's support, get rid of your "size fat" clothes ASAP.  Dont put them in the back of the closet or continue to wear them.

Yeah it sucks to rebuy new Carthartts every few months but it sure beats the alternative and keeps that 90s skater aesthetitic out of your wardrobe.  

If you don't have any of your "size fat" clothes, you can't wear them again and its a good check yoself before you wreck yoself moment when you fall off the wagon, which you will.  

In reply to 93gsxturbo :

That is good advice. It is funny how many people here have ridden this train. I have had clothes for every weight of me from 195 to 265 over the last 10 years. Letting go of the clothes that don't fit anymore is hard emotionally in both directions and it can be expensive too but it is good advice. 

I hopped onto the ride with you when you started this thread, also on MFP but using the free version like I always have. Started at 1/8 T + ~1 Stone, down 8 lbs. 

This thread is giving my some motivation so thanks, I hope it is keeping you motivated too.

In reply to 93gsxturbo :

Yeah, that's going to be a little irritating. I had a visitation and funeral yesterday and today for a friends father. I just spent $100 on shirts that I hopefully won't be able to wear in 2-3 months. Finding 4xlt shirts isn't easy or cheap.

The good news is I have 6 pairs of brand new pants I ordered a couple of years ago that are one size too small. I should get those back about the time I can't wear the shirts as well as all the shirts that I can't fit in now. 

On a slightly related note, Cronometer > MyFitnessPal.  Way better.  I say this as someone who has used MFP on and off for years.

Toyman! said:

In reply to 93gsxturbo :

Yeah, that's going to be a little irritating. I had a visitation and funeral yesterday and today for a friends father. I just spent $100 on shirts that I hopefully won't be able to wear in 2-3 months. Finding 4xlt shirts isn't easy or cheap.

The good news is I have 6 pairs of brand new pants I ordered a couple of years ago that are one size too small. I should get those back about the time I can't wear the shirts as well as all the shirts that I can't fit in now. 

 

I get it.  I donated a few multi-hundred dollar jackets ASAP on my slim-down adventure and had to rebuy a complete set of work clothes twice.  

But (and here is the big but - no pun intended)  I shifted my mindset to be like "I would gladly spend $100 every few months for the benefits of being at a healthy weight" and consider it the cost of doing business.  Besides, there will be enough of a savings on Church's Chicken that you could buy $100 worth of new shirts every week and still be money positive.

One other thing I did that I didn't see super mentioned on here is I got a smart scale and a Garmin watch.  A pretty fancy one of both.  My buddy  who lost a ton of weight and kept it off for 10+ years now did the scale thing and tracked his weight every single day.  The accountability was key to his success.  I like the accountability, but for me there is some guilt in buying something and not using it.  If I have a fancy one, I am more likely to use it, since it cost more.  Of course, YMMV, its 100% phsychology and what works for me wont work for you.   All I can offer is encouragement and anecdotes.  

ProDarwin said:

On a slightly related note, Cronometer > MyFitnessPal.  Way better.  I say this as someone who has used MFP on and off for years.

For free apps Cronometer or MyNetDiary seem to be the best recommendations. For paid apps there is better.

In reply to 93gsxturbo :

The Garmin watch delivers this afternoon. 

And I greatly appreciate the encouragement and anecdotes. 

TheGloriousW said:

ProDarwin said:

On a slightly related note, Cronometer > MyFitnessPal.  Way better.  I say this as someone who has used MFP on and off for years.

For free apps Cronometer or MyNetDiary seem to be the best recommendations. For paid apps there is better.

Yeah I haven't tried the paid version.  MFP is overly complex and a pain in the ass (and buggy), then they gutted the free version.  Cronometer Free is pretty damn good.

This am I'm down to 350.8 pounds. That's almost 10 pounds down in 11 days. It's probably about time for the loss to slow down. 

I got the watch set up and tied into the MFP app. As I exercise, it's adding calories to my daily intake. After being busy in the shop yesterday I ended the day 1700 calories under. Is that the way this is supposed to work or should I set the app up to where it doesn't add the calories to the day? 

10lbs down is an awesome start! How are you liking your Garmin? I had a low end Fitbit but it died and I am considering switching.

Congrats on the first 10!  As others have stated, as a husky gentleman , you can lose quite a bit just by existing.  It takes a fair bit of energy to move 350 lbs around on a daily basis, so dropping from 4500 calories to 1500 calories a day will have you right in the hunt on a sustained 1lb/day weight loss.  If you had a pretty decent food journal or enough of habitual eating prior to starting this journey, you could math it out and figure exactly how much you are truly losing vs water weight from eating less sodium and processed foods.  Unfortunately your body is a real son of a bitch and just like Colin Chapman noticed when he was busy simplifying and adding lightness, as you simplify and add lightness, the daily feeding demands go down so you end up losing less per day even maintaining the same diet.  At some point on an infinite timeline you would end up being 145 lbs and then that 1500 calories is maintenance.  

This gets into my second point regarding the Garmin calories.  Consider the Garmin calories a "gimme" toward meeting your goals, or *maybe* enough that you can enjoy a reasonable dessert like a pudding cup or a piece of chocolate or a beer or 2 that night.  For the sake of your success, don't consider the Garmin calories to be "oh I burned 1700 kcal today, I can swing thru Mac Dons on the way home."  The boost in calorie burn from some additional activity will keep weight loss more linear as you drop mass (gaining efficiency) and slip back into a few old habits.  

Lastly, Garmin overestimates calories burned by about 1/4 to 1/3 compared to actual calories burned from a bike with a power meter that measures watts and converts to calories.   It seems this overcalculation is pretty consistent with all Garmin activities.  If you eat to the Garmin calcs, you will gain weight.  

I always delete my activity calories that it imports from my Apple Watch. If I am doing real exercise then I enter it in MFP as activity and reap the benefits. I don't want to take credit for walking into the grocery store but if I go for a mile walk and gain 60 calories of activity I think a little leeway is fair. 

Toyman! said:

This am I'm down to 350.8 pounds. That's almost 10 pounds down in 11 days. It's probably about time for the loss to slow down. 

I got the watch set up and tied into the MFP app. As I exercise, it's adding calories to my daily intake. After being busy in the shop yesterday I ended the day 1700 calories under. Is that the way this is supposed to work or should I set the app up to where it doesn't add the calories to the day? 

 

Good job! Keep going. One day - one step - at a time. Get through the next day.

How do you feel?

If you're feeling pretty good, but maybe a bit hungry or not fully sated, I would suggest you keep doing what you're doing.

If you're feeling sick, drained, lethargic or otherwise like something is off beyond your stomach not being as full as you're used to - you should probably adjust calories up to maybe like... add on 50% of what you burn doing active exercise.

You really should talk to a dietitian or other medical expert for best advice.

Slight change of topic: Are you doing any strength training? Although it won't help you lose weight (which is your primary goal) it can help you feel like you're getting bigger results as your body 'recompositions'. You maintain a healthy weight loss rate, but lose fat faster because you're building muscle.

Couple other advantages of this: You already have bigger muscles that are used to hefting 350 lbs up stairs. You can easily *maintain* that extra strength.

Studies have compared just dieting, to just exercise, to dieting *and* exercise. The results are pretty conclusive. Dieting is really what takes weight off. Adding a solid exercise regime is then what *keeps* that weight off once you've lost it, instead of yo-yo'ing.

In reply to MrJoshua :

The Garmin is replacing a Fitbit Versa 2 that died. 

So far I like the Garmin much better so far. For one, I've been wearing it for 3 days and still have 13 days left on the battery. 

The Garmin app also seems to work better than the Fitbit app. The Fitbit app wouldn't work on my phone unless the GPS was turned on. That killed the phone battery too fast so mostly I just lived without the app and used the watch as a watch. I guess the Garmin has the GPS built into the watch. 

In reply to Toyman! :

What Garmin did you end up with? I've had my second (and last) FitBit die on me, this time a just barely out of warranty Charge 5. Looking for something longer lived.

In reply to Beer Baron :

I'm actually feeling pretty good. Energy levels seem to be up a little. 

I have not started any kind of strength training. That is something I have considered. I have a set of resistance bands and kettlebells I can use to start. I need to get anchors mounted for the bands. That and as you said, just hauling my fat ass around does a fair amount of strength training all by itself. 

In reply to dculberson :

I ended up with the Fenix 6 Pro. It seemed to be pretty capable without getting into the super expensive watches.

Toyman! said:

In reply to Beer Baron :

I'm actually feeling pretty good. Energy levels seem to be up a little. 

Then you probably don't need to add on extra calories. Again, talk to a weight loss physician or dietician.d

I have not started any kind of strength training. That is something I have considered. I have a set of resistance bands and kettlebells I can use to start. I need to get anchors mounted for the bands. That and as you said, just hauling my fat ass around does a fair amount of strength training all by itself. 

Yup. Resistance training is good.

One step at a time, and don't overload yourself. This is probably not something you need to worry too much about yet while focusing on other things. But hold it in your mind to work into your routine as what you're currently doing becomes more normal.

My suggestion would be that, as the ass you're hauling around becomes less fat, replace that fat with artificial resistance to keep that same level of muscle. This will probably also help with future weight loss, because your body can and will cannibalize muscle as a source of energy if it doesn't need it anymore.

I'm a fan of barbell resistance training (squat, bench, deadlift, overhead press, row, etc.). It offers the most opportunity for variable weight on the most exercises with the minimum equipment/expense. That said, I also know it can take up quite a bit of space.

Depending on what motivates you, weight lifting tends to be a highly rewarding exercise for heavier people because mass moves mass. You will start out putting up bigger numbers than a skinny novice, as opposed to a cardio class where you might feel like you're struggling to keep up.

For less space and money, maybe look into TRX Straps or gymnastics rings, and eventually a weight vest.

Use Straps/Rings for push ups and rows for upper body workout. Lower the angle as you lose weight to increase the intensity. Eventually adding a weighted vest.

For lower body: climb stairs, do bodyweight squats, and walking lunges. As you lose weight, add weight onto a vest and continue with the same exercises.

For inspiration, here's the actor/comedian Ethan Suplee talking about his process of his body transformation.

I am a big fan of this theory: Eat food that is identifiable as the plant or animal that it is. The more its changed from the plant/animal, the less you should eat. Oatmeal still kind of looks like the plant, but bread doesnt look like anything. 

I also dont do the word "diet". I just dont eat certain things. Smaller dinner plates actually helps.