One of my goals for this year is to be healthier. With the knowledge that I was turning 27 this year, was weighing in at just over 300 lbs., and have a family history of numerous health issues, I knew it was time to make a change in my life. While I was relatively happy with most things, my fitness level was hindering my ability to live life to its fullest.
So, I set out on a journey to improve my quality of life. There have been moments when I wanted to write about this journey, but I never felt it was the right time. Being a teacher is part of my nature. I don’t want to simply share my journey with you. I want to teach you how to improve your fitness. Without all the facts, data, and real-world experience to back anything up, teaching was out of the question.
Now that I’ve completed a 22-week journey, it’s time to share my experience with others, maybe even helping a few people change their lives.
This article is the first of many I hope to write. Rather than doing too much teaching this time around, allow me to celebrate what I’ve accomplished thus far.
My story
In January, I weighed in at exactly 303 lbs. I knew I was fat at that point. Fortunately, I’m 6’2 and have a large frame, so I was able to hide fat better than most people. Unfortunately, that also meant that I had a bit of a false outlook on my health. At 303 though, there isn’t much you can do to hide fat, even from yourself.
Therefore, I made a plan that started at the beginning of February and ended at the end of June. My goal weight was to get myself down to 215 lbs. I knew that was a lofty goal and something that I wouldn’t reach in 22 weeks, at least not without cutting some health corners (not advisable). I didn’t come anywhere near my goal weight in those weeks, but that was perfectly fine with me. It provided me with a new goal to achieve in the future.
After 22 grueling weeks of performing resistance training, doing cardio, and eating nutritious foods, I hit 255 lbs. For the math illiterate, that’s a 48-lb. drop.
Could I have lost more? Certainly. I once lost 17 lbs. on a tomato soup diet for overweight heart surgery patients in just a week. That’s not exactly healthy though and definitely isn’t something I plan on sharing.
My goals were not simply about losing weight. I wanted to feel healthier. Wanted to walk up a hill without giving out of breath. To throw a football with my little brother for more than five minutes. Bounce out of bed in the morning and rejoice that a new day has arrived. And, I wanted to do them all without sacrificing some other facet of my health.
I’m proud to say that I’ve reached those goals. They are worth more than 48 lbs. could ever be worth.
This will be the year
It’s not all about health. Who doesn’t want to show off six-pack abs at the beach?
I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that I simply want to be healthier. There is a little vanity involved. I’d love to walk around with washboard abs and rock-hard muscles. I am only human, after all.
Now that I’ve reached 255 lbs., I’ve got about another 40 lbs. or so before there’s the possibility of abs. I’ve got to get my body-fat percentage down under about 10%, which is something I’ve never achieved before.
I hope you will join me on this journey and continue reading the posts, sharing your experiences, and learning from my ups-and-downs along the way.
What do you think? Six-pack abs before the end of the year?
Congrats on the weight loss Justin. You’re an inspiration. I’m at 250 now and need to lose some weight for health reasons. Hope I can do as well as you have already!
Thanks, Jeff. You can definitely do as well as I have thus far. Just get out there and start walking if you’re not already doing some form of exercise. Just going for a morning walk a few times a week is always a good start.
I plan on sharing more of my experiences though, so stay tuned into the blog.
Keep up the good work Justin. Some pointers that you may or may not know about. Drink water religiously and minimize the sugary drinks. Also when possible, walk everywhere. I lost 40lbs at one point, on tons of water and walking all the time. Sadly I gained it all back at some point, but that’s a story for my own blog.
I drink at least 10 bottles (20 oz.) of water every day, so I think I’ve got that covered. I haven’t had anything other than water, milk, and juice for 22 weeks now either. I even limit milk and juice to the weekends.
Great job so far! From seeing your avatar on here and around the web I would have never guessed you were anywhere close to 300lbs….though maybe that is an older pic when you weighed less.
I think you have a chance at seeing some abs by the end of the year if you can keep up with the current weight loss you’ve already achieved. I’m 6’4″ and about 190lbs, I’d classify my body type as fit (not huge muscles but in shape) but back when I was about 180lbs I had some definition in the abs but nowhere near the definition that I was looking for.
Did you happen to take photos of when you first started to now? It can be quite impressive to see the transformation that some people make when they put forth real effort when it comes to weight loss and getting healthier.
My avatar was taken when I was at about 225 lbs. or so. It’s a little outdated and I’m a little lazy with getting new photos.
I don’t have any photos of when I first started on my program. I have some from last year when I was at about 290 though. I’ll probably share those once my transformation is complete.
I can’t imagine ever weighing under 200 lbs. myself. My body structure and muscle size is probably a bit too big for that.
Good luck Justin,
I have a full time job and a summer seasonal business (starts cleanup in March).. but I go to the gym from Sept through Feb. Although the cleanup in the spring is work (slightly strenuous), the summer is not, but it is busy enough to keep me from a real workout for 3 months.
I can tell that I did not put in as much effort last winter, so I have a goal to build muscle and work on the abs. I’ll be working on it, right there with you, but in another 2 months!
Good luck on your journey as well.
Great article Justin,
I have just begun my journey as well, I found this truly motivational!
Thanks,
Awesome. I too want to lose weight too and I have done in the past. I used the Nike+ running system with ipod and I found it to be a great motivator. The next part will be harder but if you can keep your routine you can do it. I think the important thing is to choose a routine that you can continue for life as it is easy to regain weight otherwise.
The next part shouldn’t be too much harder. I’ll be pushing myself harder, but I’m at least physically able to do so at this point. The first few weeks were the toughest, especially as out of shape as I had gotten. Everything’s smooth-sailing now.
I’ve gotten the routine down though, which was the biggest challenge with the way I work.
Justin,
I read all of you rss feeds and enjoy them. Being 60 years old and no longer working, I found myself eating less and less while still feeling good. Three major back surgeries over the past 5 years tended to slow me down a lot and with that came additional weight. I had only gotten up to 225, but on my continually shortening back ( lost 2.5″ in the past 7 years) it was too much. My new regiment of eating less, and now getting more exercise has gotten me down to just over 200 lbs. and I feel much better.
Keep up the good work. there is lite at the end of that tunnel.
Jim
Congrats on your lifestyle change. Just eating better and exercising regularly makes a world of difference doesn’t it?
Keep it up Justin, congrats on the lost weight man!!
You are definitely going about it the right way. Just losing weight doesn’t do the trick. Sure, you could probably have reached 215 in 22 weeks, but not only would that not have been healthy, the likelihood that you’d put most of that weight back on would be sky high.
Slow and steady wins the race. Plus, it’ll help to get and keep you in the habit of eating right and staying healthy.
Congrats, Justin!
“Habit” is probably the best word to describe moving into a lifestyle change. It’s all about the habits you let go and the new habits you create. I have an entire blog post in mind about this.
I have never thought about getting into abs (or six-pack). But, I’ve always thought about maintaining the health. You’ve done a great job on getting the health back. It is not something that everyone does or even tries.
The hardest thing for me is discipline so having accountability is crucial. A couple friends and I worked out together almost every day for 3 months this spring with the goal of running a half marathon. Without those guys I would never had made it more than a mile, but for the first time in 10 years I did, lost some weight, and gained some muscle at the same time.
With me, you, and Ptah (he’s prepping for a boxing match), DevPress might be on its way to being the fittest WP developer team out there.
Having a support group is key though. My housemate and I hit the weights four days a week and never let each other slack off. It’s all-out, balls-to-the-wall lifting when we’re together.
Hi Justin,
Great story .. congratulations on setting a goal, and really going out and achieving something significant. Just based on your progress so far, if I was a betting man, smart money would say that there will eventually be a picture of your 6 pack abs right here on this blog. Thanks for the inspiring story.
Good going!
I’m in week 3 on a diet. At 5’6 and 150 pounds, I just need to lose 12-14 pounds. Which is not much, but the hardest to lose
I knew that any diet I would get on would involve me eating more actual food: I’m a sweettooth and would eat a smaller meal to get right to dessert.
I’d never stuck on a diet for longer than a few days before (probably because I’d never taken it seriously). Am currently trying out the “slow-carb diet” proposed by Tim Ferris in “The 4 Hour Body.”
I’m feeling much much better (no more of those highs and lows after eating too much pasta or sugary foods). Definitely recommend it.
Anyways, keep it up Justin and good luck
Ha, another person doing the 4HB diet. I started about 3 months ago. 20lbs gone, 30 to go!
Thanks for sharing Justin! I’ve just started trying to get rid of my spare tire as well. Back in 2008 I dropped from 240lbs to 198. That was awesome, I felt great! Then I was in a severe motorcycle accident. Spent 6 months in medical facilities…. completely immobile. It’s pretty easy to gain weight like that. I can’t really exercise much, which is a downer. But I found myself creeping on the 250lb mark and just wasn’t cool with that! So I started eating better, and cut the beer and bourbon out of my diet. It’s a long road, but making a plan, setting goals, and staying committed is the way to do it!
Good luck to you!!
Congrats on eliminating the extra weight Justin! (BTW.. it’s not a loss… if you lose something you may try to find it again).
My girlfriend and I eliminated 20 lbs each this year as well. We attended a truly transformational program last year that his changed our lives radically in all 12 major categories of our life ( http://www.mylifebook.com ).
I highly recommend you check it out and if you’re interested in attending, let me know… We can maybe barter it out and get some of your help with the online version of this we’re building on WP.
If you and your housemate get tired of the weights, may I suggest cycling? It’s addictive and social and joyful. It’s also responsible for making 50lbs of me disappear.
I get about an hour of riding my bike in on Thursday afternoons and try to go out for a while on the weekends. It’s definitely an enjoyable experience though. For me, I just like getting out of the house, having the wind blowing in my face, and enjoying the weather.
My grandmother and aunt got me the bike for my birthday on May 1, so I’ve had it for just over a couple of months. It’s my favorite birthday gift.
I used Billy Blanks Tae Bo DVDS. I know that sounds cheesy but it works and its fun. Haha
I know a few people that use them or similar programs. I’ve never really been able to get into them. I like to design my own program though.
Who’d have thought you would like to * design your own program *.
Thanks for Justin, i wish i can have a nice life experience as yours.
i also want to lose weight, and this is my yearly plan. I want to travel to some favorite countries as well in the near future. I am working hard to earn money for this~ LOL.
Hi there,
Nice post. But doesn’t make any sense because of lbs reference.
Is it possible to translate it in something that most people in the world can understand (you know something like kgs)?
Then it will be definitely something than can be truly shared with the rest of the planet (at least who lives with international norms)…
It’s not really too tough to convert pounds to other forms of measurement. Just search “pounds to kilograms” in your favorite search engine. If more than 90% of my readers were not from the United States, I’d probably convert it myself.
I have a tip on losing weight: only eat what you cook. Soon you get thin as a stick lol
I would get fatter using that method.
exercise regularly one hour a day walking at least then walk faster everyday dont need gym or any thing athletic walk 4-5 miles a day .reduce intake of carbohydrates and and don’t eat junk food eat a bit of everything ,but the real trick is EXERCISE buy a beautiful ipod and listen to your favorite songs while exercising ,everyday for the first 4 -5 months ,then you can do it 3 4 times a week
and of course dont eat ice cream desserts sugar ,and moderate use of alcohol NO SODA NO CHIPS well no garbage:)
Your article is interesting and touched me. So far I’ve never been ‘big’ but in April I had surgery on Achilles tendon. I stayed lying down for a month. I gained weight as never before. Today I still can not run and I feel bad. I hope to follow your example as soon as I can run again. We must give ourselves the means to achieve our desires. This is true for losing weight like the rest I think.
This might be a good opportunity to get into the gym and hit the weights, especially with upper-body work. Once you’re able, you can start jumping into some lower-body workouts and running again.
Inspirational words Justin, thanks! I’ve been in the mindset that I need to shed some weight myself, and hearing that you’ve dropped 48 in 22 weeks is motivating, as I would like to shed about 30-40 myself to get down to a total of 190-200 in a 6 foot frame!
Keep up the good work!
That’s definitely doable. If you shoot for an average of a 2 lb. drop every week, you can get there in about 20 weeks. I wouldn’t try for anything more than that to minimize muscle loss and still be able to eat good.
I can heartily recommend following the Stronglifts 5×5 plan from stronglifts.com. Maybe muscle gain is not in your plans but I’ve been following the 5×5 for a little while now and it doesn’t just add muscle, I also lost belly-fat too.
All the info you need is in the blog, so it’s all free. I’m not affiliated with the site at all, just someone who tried the plan and really got great benefits from it.
Doing the full-body exercises like Squats and Deaflifts has helped to get the start of some abs definition. No six-pack for me yet though!
SL5x5 is an excellent program. I’m moving in that direction with my new workout program — focus on compound, core movements that build strength rather doing a complex split with tons of isolation lifts.
No matter what anyone says, there’s no better lifts for building muscle, losing fat, and getting stronger than squats and deadlifts. There’s simply no substitute.
Hi
what are you doing exactly to improve your health, lifestyle and getting better weight? some special diet? or just excercises?
It’s a combination of diet, resistance training, and cardio. I’ll be going into more depth with future blog posts, so stay tuned.
Hey Justin,
Great work, what sort of training are you doing?
I had a similar epiphany earlier this year and at a similar point in my life. I’m turning 27 next month and saw older friends starting to lose shape around 30. I thought it’s easier to stay fit and healthy by getting into good habits early so decided to take up gym. I’m actually working on an online site for training using Wordpress and some of your plugins, so stay tuned.
Tristan
Congrats justin, I have no doubts that you’ll reach your goal. Just put the same spirit into your lifestyle decisions as you do into your passion about teaching and WordPress.
I too had succumb to the tendencies of the carbaholic as many others have. I am 5’11″ and was at about 237lbs for a few years.
Depression got the best of me for a good while, which made me eat more. I finally kicked the habit and used a friends Wight Watchers calorie calculator to help myself count calories. Now it’s second nature. I now sit at about 182 – 185 and am happy with my weight. I have no problems bounding up a few flights of stairs now.
Consequently, no luck on the six pack for me either. Although I haven’t done sit-ups in a few years. Thought they might still be under the flab.
Another thing you might want to try, for fun, is some sort of martial art. You dont have to kick the crap out of anyone, but it’s a fantastic form of exercise and you’ll learn to defend yourself at the same time. Jujitsu, Akido or Hapkido is excellent for someone of your stature.
I highly recommend doing the Couch-to-5K program.
I’m actually on my second week of Couch-to-5K. It’s the cardio part of my training program for the next three months. I’ve got three sisters who have been asking me for ages to start training for a 5K run, so I finally gave in.
Week 1 was super easy, but my first day of week 2 was quite a bit tougher. My breathing is fine, but I’m starting to get shin and calf pains. Mostly, I just need a new pair of running shoes, which is on my to-do list this week.
I’m 24, 6’2″ and 300 lbs. with a big, Nordic frame that hides it well.
My gut is finally getting to the point that its making some of my favorite shirts uncomfortably tight, though. I think it’s about time I turned this train around.
Fifty pounds in six months? Challenge accepted.
I look forward to hearing about your progress.
amazing. you know – it will take quite time and efforts
good luck to you and all the best wishes with aiming to target
Congo on the weight loss Justin. You rocks…!!!
cheers..!!
Congrats on the weight loss Justin. You can reach your goal
After years of being overweight I made the decision to live a more healthier life. I’ve lost 15lbs but I’m doing it slow and steady because all that crash dieting never helped a damn.
I just need to up the intensity on my cardio. It’s a great feeling to be able to go more than 10 minutes running without feeling like you’re going to collapse!
“It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” I remember that line from somewhere. I don’t know who said it though.
Slow and steady is always the best bet though. Crash dieting means you have to drastically change your lifestyle all at once, which often leads back to where you started. With the slow and steady approach, you can always make your program better fit your lifestyle and go at your own pace.
I been running 2 miles a day, I feel healthier than I was 18, going on 25 now. Exercise makes life better
I definitely eat better than I did at 18. I’m not in the same physical condition yet though. Considering I was involved in several sports (football, basketball, track and field, golf, powerlifting), it’ll be tough to get to that point. But, I’m working on it.
Good Job !!!
Great result. Every year seems to be the year of the six pack for me but it hasn’t happened yet. Though an increase in exercise and a reduction in chocolate has seen a few pounds drop off. I’ll keep going and slowly but surely I’ll get to a flat stomach, though a six pack is just a dream!
As you struggle to reach your goal, remember that six-pack abs might not be where you’re the happiest as a person, and still be relatively fit. As we get older, not all of our bodies respond the same, and the end picture of yourself might not look like the one you planned to have, but might be just as satisfying. Good luck!
That’s always good advice. To me though, the details of the goal don’t matter so much. What matters is having a goal and seeing it through. It provides something to work toward.
Justin,
You’ve already been an inspiration on many levels. One thing that has helped me tremendously in keeping the weight off is STOP BEING HUNGRY.
Sure, we snack at the computer and have nervous energy binges, but I could mostly resist that with willpower. What killed my progress was getting so hungry that I ate whatever I found and definitely too much of it.
The other thing was the old adage, you can’t change what you don’t track (or something like that). I got an iOS app called Calorie Counter and was AMAZED at how many calories I consumer vs. burned. Now, I know exactly how I’m doing and because it’s on my phone and iPad and desktop, it’s easy to track.
Stopping from being hungry was harder. I learned that if I ate a good solid low-carb breakfast (e.g. eggs, bacon, toast), I could stave off hunger easily with water for 3 hours. I keep that up every three hours with 400-500 calorie mini meals and then have some 100-200 calories snacks. I’m eating more often, but never go over 2000 calories which I can burn off easily.
I’m rarely hungry, save money (dividing portions) and I’m losing the weight easy.
That’s some of the best advice ever and is definitely something I live by now. I never let myself get hungry. That path leads to danger.
Most people going on “diets” don’t understand that you have to feed the body. I eat 5 – 6 times a day and eat whatever my heart desires on the weekends. At this moment, my heart desires lean hamburgers on whole grain buns, so that’s my “cheat meal(s)” on weekends.
Keeping track is definitely a priority, especially when you hit plateaus. My housemate never keeps track of his food and exercise. Yet, he’s been on about a two-month plateau and doesn’t know what to adjust because he doesn’t have any data on hand.
Hello Justin,
Congratulations so far. I’m no good at sticking to the gym regime. I like to mix two activities together, where one involves fitness.
Gardening is a great activity for me. Digging is good for your arm, leg and back muscles. So, I keep the garden looking good and keep fit.
Our daughter likes to be outside. I take her on the bike to the local lake and back again. So, our daughter gets lots of fresh air and I keep fit.
If we run out of milk, bread or yoghurt then I’ll walk with our daughter to the local supermarket to pick up these items. This keeps me fit, gives our daughter fresh air and cuts down on bad fuel economy for short car journeys.
I wish I had a local supermarket to walk to. The advice is good though. Finding ways outside of the gym to keep fit and integrating those things into your daily life is a big plus. It all comes down to enjoying yourself.
I love the gym, but I only go three days/week for one hour/day. I’m a big believer in the power of resistance training to make for a healthier lifestyle. Of course, resistance training doesn’t have to come in the form of weights.
Well done on your journey. This is only the start to the rest of your life. Richard Stallman should look at what you are doing.
However for those days when you feel you just cannot ( this can help your house mate) the EFT technique of tapping on your acupressure points will help push you through.
I am also concerned that you have not gone to a nutritionist to check what foods are good for your body type. Something you could look into is Ben’s blood/body typing. If you are interested I can get the web address for you.
In South Africa we are using the EFT/Energy Practices to help people come off hard drugs and chronic pain management.
This just shows you can use EFT on anything, even programming. I know I do. But you are a better programmer than I am.
As that old adage said, an apple a day – & n0, not a mac.
Hi, Justin. I really appreciate your determination and effort. I can imagine how handsome you are. I will always support you. And I like this sentence just as you said, it was time to make a change in my life. Come on! I am now working hard on writing my posts, I won’t give up.
Congratulations on your determination to just get it done, specially while you are young.
I finally started my own on July 5th with juicing leafy greens, alfalfa, and other vegetables to replace my morning meal. A salad and fruit for the rest of the day. I have added walking, but not a habit like the juicing yet. The weight is shedding off and I have twice the amount of energy.
Stick with it, there are many people wanting you to reach your goals.
Hello!
I’m new to this site. Me myself has good experience with eating low-carb food. Have you tried it?
Congratulations about your progress though, keep it up!
Congratulations on your progress so far, Justin. My story is very similar and hopefully your ending is similar to mine. At the start of 2010, I was almost 300 lbs… 400 days later, I broke 200. I wrote up some of my notes here: http://elshaddaie.com/tag/weight-loss/. Basically, lots of cardio, cut the evening carbs and add protein throughout the day… good luck!
Thanks for sharing your story. The more I read stories like this from others, the more I realize that one thing holds true for all of us: commitment. It’s the one thing you can’t do without.
For everyone else, I highly encourage you to read the articles ElShaddai linked to.
Interesting article Justin – it is a good ambition to get a six-pack. I also need to loose some weight and I will follow your story with interest!
Cheers!
Hey Justin,
That is awesome that you were able to lose that much weight. At 6’2″ you could look good at 225.
I have found that with losing weight it started off for me to remove somethings in my life that were causing discomfort like relationships for example.
I was once 30 pounds overweight but I have been able to keep my weight at 190 for at least 5 years. I am 5’10″ btw.
Wow Justin, this is very interesting from your experience, I also weigh more, and sometimes felt embarrassed by everyone when hanging out with them, hopefully I can follow your trail to lose my weight, thank you for your share.
justin’ Go !! ahead…
I can feel your emotion,Justin.because I was also 480pds and everyone wanted ti make fun of me.Then I decided to lose some weight and be fit and after 6 months,my dieting and exercise helped me lose 230 pds.At that time,everyone was surprised to see me.
I have a similar experience with this one, due to weight problems and heart problems as well (and I am even younger than you).
I had been consuming tons of junk food with morning coffee, bottles of coca-cola and energy drinks as well. First of all the lack of movement led to increased weight which was wrong. However I reduced the coca-cola only and started doing “Zone Diet” which is a food strategy to eat equal proportions of proteins and carbohydrates on a regular basis. I have reduced 20 lbs for a month with eating chicken stacks and salads.
This helped a lot but the increased pressure at work and the regular energy drinks and coffee accelerated my heart rate and led to breathing complications. I was way scared when I was hardly able to breathe. I took few days off, I started drinking some herbal menthol-Valerian pills to drop the pressure off. Later I entirely rejected energy drinks and fat food with 1 or 2 meals a week (which is appropriate) and I’m way better now.
I’m trying to keep the balance of my life, I actually did a presentation on balance for a local TEDx conference and I admitted there that the only thing I’m not satisfied of is the sport-food relation. I hope I’ll be able to find more time for sports and have healthier lifestyle at the end.
Hey Justin, I just came across your website after searching for wordpress shortcodes. Congrats on all the weight you’ve lost so far. Impressive. I was a 200lb finance analyst on Wall Street with 20% body fat. I ended up getting down to less than 5% body fat (yes, really low) and rocking a six pack despite working 80 hours per week sitting on my butt.
I started a website http://www.BuiltLean.com where I’ve written over 100 articles and produced 25 videos. I also created an 8 week fitness program for busy guys that requires only 3 workouts per week for 45 minutes and is sustainable (the exercise and nutrition principles last a lifetime).
Feel free to use me as a resource. I help people all day long get leaner and improve their health, so happy to be helpful!
What your health is, depends on what you eats… keep eating healthy you’ll see the benefits when you turn 40.
I can get a lot of useful ideas from here. student loan. Im a Filipino student . I got some school assignment regards on obesity and weight. Will be sure to come back again and bookmark.
hey justin , good job. now just chill & be alert for your weight. thanks.
You have great plans to reach your goal, to lose your weight. That’s so awesome. Congrats for you.
Congrats on the weight loss. I find it very hard but i try to exercise as much as possible and I stay off the alcohol as much as possible.
Keep it up and remember we can do anything when we put our minds to it.
Congratulation on your weight loss. It is such a change to go from being obese to good shape. Your absolutely right in the key being able to do everyday things such as throw a football with your brother or walk up a hill without being tired. I myself lost over 40 lbs. and dropped my cholesterol tremendously. I didn’t follow a trendy diet and ate small meals 4 times a day, I ate Cholesterol Good Foods to help me drop raise my hdl level from 39 to 59 in just over 18 months. It is hard work, but well worth it.
Congrats on seeing success with your plan. Any active person knows how hard these gains can be. Keep up the hard work!
Commitment is key, but also understanding what foods and drinks are healthy. Since moving to Japan, I have seen how much foreigners eat compared to Asians. It’s one reason why many Asians are thinner. However, since moving here, I have also begun to see how many Asians are beginning to gain weight and become fat thanks to the importing and use of junk food, processed high fatty foods.
Just like keeping the code of a theme or plugin down to the basics as not to overload a server or slowdown the loading of a page, so too is the issue with food. The more we eat, the slower our bodies perform. We actually run better on fewer calories…not too few, but fewer than when we overeat and fail to get exercise.
So anyone reading this that wishes to lose weight has to organize their life by committing to stick to a healthy eating and exercise lifestyle. It doesn’t take as much effort as most people believe though. It only takes a little planning and implementing it.
One way I have kept weight off is by only eating one bowl of rice instead of two or three. Japanese rice is delicious! I began gaining weight right after moving to Japan because I began eating more rice. Now that I have cut down and ride my bicycle more, I have gotten back to my playing weight! Do this, and you too will get back to a healthy weight.
Hope this helps you Justin and anyone else that visits your site! Getting off the computer once in a while also helps a lot!
Great job Justin!
Hey,
Forget the 6 pack. Drop down to 180, get 20 of muscle and be happy. There ain’t no way in hell that u will get a 6 pack after spending 27 years not giving a shit about your body and being tall and wide on top of that.
I am 6 foot and was on a quest for the 6 pack for 3 years; and i got down to 144. Skin was tight around my skull, but i still had a belly. Seems like every last gram of fat all went to hide the 6 pack.
My friend has a 6 pack but he been an athlete since 5 years old (while i spend my youth exercising my ass on the computer chair); If this kid just drinks a couple of beers, bye bye 6-pack. That 6 pack of his is like the most high maintenance girlfriend of all times, demanding constant, endless attention, or it disappears.
Just get in shape so u don’t give yourself a heart attack looking in the mirror after a shower, and leave the 6-packs for liquor stores.
Good luck, -Nick
I haven’t spent 27 years not caring. It was only about three or four. I was an all-state athlete in high school and had several scholarship offers for football. But, I’ve seen plenty of folks get a six-pack after no training in their life and in worst shape than me.
It’d probably be near impossible for me to get down to 180 lbs. though without being seriously ill for a few months in the hospital.
Hi Justin
Not easy to get good abs.
You need to have the muscle and… you need to get rid of the fat in order to see the muscle.
I bought a bench / rack and a few weights in order to put on a bit of muscle but it’s been slow progress.
I’m a fair bit older than you so you will add muscle quicker than me, but still not easy.
Stick with it and let us know how it goes – perhaps a few photos of those abs. LOL
Hi Justin,
Any tips for someone trying to go through the same battle?
I have reduced my carbs and increase lean protein but it seems that progression towards my goal has slowed, something that i did expect as i hit the harder to move fat but still knocks me a little.
It’s hard to say without more info on your current eating habits, body weight, build, height, age, workout routine, and more.
As far as weight loss itself is concerned, always follow the simplest rule of all: calories in vs. calories out. If you eat fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight. If you eat more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. Heck, you could eat Burger King every day and lose weight as long as you kept the calories in check. Of course, that’s not very healthy.
I’m not a big advocate of counting calories, but occasionally, it’s helpful to look at your BMR and the result of your stats using the HBE. It’ll help you see where you’re at in terms of how many calories you need to consume daily.
You have to be your own guinea pig. Experiment with healthy foods you love; eat non-American portion sizes; and get a good mix of carbs, proteins, and fats (40/40/20 and 35/35/30 are good ratios).
One thing you need to do every so often is reevaluate how much you’re eating. You probably don’t need as many calories when you’re at 250 lbs. as you did when you were 300 lbs. unless you’re burning those extra calories through more intense workouts.
Also, most important, enjoy yourself. If you’re eating things you don’t enjoy, the whole thing will backfire eventually.
I’ve got tons of other tips and advice too. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Hi Justin,
keep up that good work, many greetings from Germany.
Gunther
It’s a good result. Even though only 48 lbs lost, I know you can do it to get down to 215 lbs.
Would love to hear a week’s long sample menu that you are using…is it strict? Or just healthier….
First of all, congratulations on your achievement. You have the capacity to achieve your goal. On December last year, I made me a promise to go to the gym and regain the 6 pack abs I once had. Sadly, I couldn’t fulfill, but since June, I’m doing almost every morning 2 sets of abs exercises, that are helping me a lot. And until December, I hope I will have my visit to the gym. Best of luck!
with all the weight lost and look fitter spree it would have been a great idea to post a recent picture of yourself too, well done with the weight loss.