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Moonduck · 02-06-2007, 07:11 PM

Not a terribly active thread, but I'll toss a post here.

April of last year I was diagnosed with Hypertension. Not surprising, considering I weighed 316lbs (at 5'11") and was almost entirely sedentary. The hypertension was bad enough that the doc slapped me on meds and told me not to exercise. Seems that I was in danger of a BP spike causing a stroke. Yay.

Needless to say, that whole not-wanting-to-die thing was a moivator. Since then, I've lost about 80lbs. the first half was through diet alone. I basically went on Atkins, with some modifiers. I did not believe the hoopla about all sorts of fats being okay, so I made sure that I concentrated on healthier fats, and ate way more fiber tha suggested (I'm a nut for salads). It works. I dropped weight like crazy.

When my weight and BP were more stabilised, I bought a mountain bike and took up biking, generally 3-4 days a week. I preferred trail to road, but did whichever I could, given time constraints.

A combination of things caused me to back off of cycling. While it mad eme lose weight, I realised that I was also losing some muscle. I really don't want to be weak, so I took up weightlifting again. I did it way back in High School and enjoyed it then. Got out of it for stupid reasons, and am kicking myself, as I'd forgotten how much I enjoy it. I now train 3-4 days a week and catch the odd trail ride once a month or so (though it is WAY too cold right now).

My weight, perhaps unfortunately, has stabilised. I'm pretty solidly stuck fluctating between 233lbs and 241lbs. It goes up and down. Right now, I think it is going up because of muscle gain. This doesn't bother too awful much, as gain due to muscle is good, but I would still like to drop more body fat.

I'd set a goal to be under 220lbs, but I'm starting to think that it ain't gonna happen. So I am contemplating a new goal solely based on body composition, and ignoring the scale. I've been tracking my waist, and thus my body fat, and paying more attention to that. Add that in to my goals vis a vis weightlifting, and I have some solid metrics to track success.

And that is really the core of my experience. The big thing I've learned is to set goals and drive for them HARD! I attack the trails when I ride and assault the weights when I lift. I look at food as fuel, and choose things that will help me to go faster, harder, and longer. It has been an eye-opener for me, and I've realised some stupendous gains from it.

April '06
Weight: 316lbs
Body fat: somewhere appraoching 40%

February '07
Weight 239lbs
Body fat: somewhere around 20%

October '06 (when I started lifting)
Bench Press: 135lbs
Deadlift: 220lbs

February '07
Bench press: 230lbs (I manage to still suck at the bench, but I've made huge improvements)
Deadlift: 410lbs

Set goals; strive for them.

Throw out all the bad food in your house; don't buy any more bad food.

Don't drink empty calories (soda, alcohol).

Don't eat empty calories (bread, pasta, sweets)

Move. That's it, get up and move around, preferably while moving heavy shit.

Cheat, every once in a while. A Monster Burger once in three months won't kill you, and it may well keep you sane.

You can do it. Here's hoping I can continue to do it =)

02-06-2007, 07:11 PM	#376 (permalink)
Moonduck Junkie Location: SE USA	Not a terribly active thread, but I'll toss a post here. April of last year I was diagnosed with Hypertension. Not surprising, considering I weighed 316lbs (at 5'11") and was almost entirely sedentary. The hypertension was bad enough that the doc slapped me on meds and told me not to exercise. Seems that I was in danger of a BP spike causing a stroke. Yay. Needless to say, that whole not-wanting-to-die thing was a moivator. Since then, I've lost about 80lbs. the first half was through diet alone. I basically went on Atkins, with some modifiers. I did not believe the hoopla about all sorts of fats being okay, so I made sure that I concentrated on healthier fats, and ate way more fiber tha suggested (I'm a nut for salads). It works. I dropped weight like crazy. When my weight and BP were more stabilised, I bought a mountain bike and took up biking, generally 3-4 days a week. I preferred trail to road, but did whichever I could, given time constraints. A combination of things caused me to back off of cycling. While it mad eme lose weight, I realised that I was also losing some muscle. I really don't want to be weak, so I took up weightlifting again. I did it way back in High School and enjoyed it then. Got out of it for stupid reasons, and am kicking myself, as I'd forgotten how much I enjoy it. I now train 3-4 days a week and catch the odd trail ride once a month or so (though it is WAY too cold right now). My weight, perhaps unfortunately, has stabilised. I'm pretty solidly stuck fluctating between 233lbs and 241lbs. It goes up and down. Right now, I think it is going up because of muscle gain. This doesn't bother too awful much, as gain due to muscle is good, but I would still like to drop more body fat. I'd set a goal to be under 220lbs, but I'm starting to think that it ain't gonna happen. So I am contemplating a new goal solely based on body composition, and ignoring the scale. I've been tracking my waist, and thus my body fat, and paying more attention to that. Add that in to my goals vis a vis weightlifting, and I have some solid metrics to track success. And that is really the core of my experience. The big thing I've learned is to set goals and drive for them HARD! I attack the trails when I ride and assault the weights when I lift. I look at food as fuel, and choose things that will help me to go faster, harder, and longer. It has been an eye-opener for me, and I've realised some stupendous gains from it. April '06 Weight: 316lbs Body fat: somewhere appraoching 40% February '07 Weight 239lbs Body fat: somewhere around 20% October '06 (when I started lifting) Bench Press: 135lbs Deadlift: 220lbs February '07 Bench press: 230lbs (I manage to still suck at the bench, but I've made huge improvements) Deadlift: 410lbs Set goals; strive for them. Throw out all the bad food in your house; don't buy any more bad food. Don't drink empty calories (soda, alcohol). Don't eat empty calories (bread, pasta, sweets) Move. That's it, get up and move around, preferably while moving heavy shit. Cheat, every once in a while. A Monster Burger once in three months won't kill you, and it may well keep you sane. You can do it. Here's hoping I can continue to do it =)