In this thread, you help NattyBo lose weight

[NattyBo]

Well guys its pretty obvious to us all that I have a weight problem, no?

So I decided that I need to get off my lazy ass and do something about it.

In this thread, you can do many things. Encourage me, make fun of me, talk about DC United, talk about fatties that played soccer in the past, whatever you want! Im just going to read the thread every day for inspiration and I hope you guys will call me out at the tailgate if you see me eating junk there (although I will still of course be partaking of Gods gift to man, beer..hey, everyone should be able to cut loose one day every couple of weeks).

I also will try and keep this thread updated with pictures after the season ends so that you can still keep track of my progress..hopefully Ill be a little more presentable by opening day next year :D


In case anyone is interested how Im planning on/doing this, I have started working out and eating basically only chicken like twice a day. So far Ive lost about 5 lbs(just a drop in the large, fatty bucket, I know) but thats basically water weight anyway. Speaking of water I am drinking a metric ********ton a day and that is making a world of difference as well.


Anyway hopefully this thread will help keep my spirits up and willpower strong..see you all in Lot 8 next weekend (damn its been a long time since the last home game)

[EdTheRed]

Good luck man. Get plenty of exercise and stay away from prepared foods (like anything from restaurants or that's totally pre-packaged). You'd be amazed at how difficult it is to actually cook something yourself that's even remotely close to being as bad for you as typical restaurant fare (for starters, most people don't use butter by the quarter pound when cooking at home). If you find yourself short on time in the evenings, and/or too lazy to actually cook anything, keeping a freezer full of veggie burgers and a cabinet full of hot sauce (to make said veggie burgers palatable) works pretty well.

[andrewt14]

Good luck with the weight loss. I thought you might enjoy a NattyBoh moment I had last week.

I went to a friend's family's restaurant in Myrtle Beach and was surprised to see NattyBoh on the menu. We both grew up near Baltimore. I was pleased to learn that a special trip is made to B.more every week or two by an employee of their restaurant just to pick up several cases of Natty Boh.

Here's a link to a pic of a serious lover of the beer
http://www.nationalbohemian.com/archives/tattoo/DSC00895.JPG

[NattyBo]

Let me be the first to say that is ********ing SWEET! (the Natty tattoo, that is :D )

[BBBulldog]

Takes balls to come out and say it.

Not sure about reasoning behind eating 2x day. You're basically telling your body that you're under danger of starving and to store energy as fat. People (aside from 0.00001% that have genetic excuse) get fat because they don't get enough exercise and eat colossal meals worthy of elephants.

You need to eat smaller portions, many times a day. I eat 6-7 meals. I take 3 lunches to work. Sounds weird at first but you get used to it :) I'm just so practiced with it now it's no problem. Usually eat at 10am, 12, 2, 5, 7, 9. I do that because that way I feed my metabolism throughout the day instead of having big spikes and valleys that you'll see with people that eat 2-3 large meals a day.

I eat about 40% good carbs (brown rice, oatmeal, wheat bread, apples, etc), about 40% protein (egg whites, cottage cheese, bit of veggie burger stuff - less selection since I'm vegetarian, but chicken and tune would go in there too). About 20% is fats. I try to get good fats (ETAs) in from salmon (only meat I eat) and oil in my salads. I eat lots of vegetables too.

I drink about 1.5-2 gallons of water a day, water's good. Basically all I drink is water. Once or twice a month I drink beer, it seemes to happen when DCU plays :D

Exercisewise I lift 4 times a weak. I used to also do cardio (usually running) 3 times a week but I stoped it because I couldn't gain any weight.

Free day once a week is good. It shakes your routine and keeps you from going insane. For me it's Saturday since I do most stuff then, I wouldn't drink or eat out other days for example (besides beer lowers testosterone levels). Just carefull not to binge or extend the day :)

If you're serious it's no problem doing it. Unfortunatelly being commited and serious is hardest part too :)

If you want more advice or questions I'd be glad to help aside from stream of consciousness. Tho anything I say will just be standard stuff that athletes have been doing forever. Second worst thing (first would be doing nothing) you can do is go with fatkins or some such mickey mouse diet. I mean you'd think that one look at Dr Fatkins would make people not want to look that way, but it doesn't seem to help.

[CHICO13]

Good sound advice from the BBBulldog Natty. The main thing is to stay active. Go for a long walk after dinner, work your way into shooting some hoops, lift some weights...etc. You're a young guy, you can do it. Once you get to be an old fart like me it gets 10 times harder. I'll be checking in on you bro. Stay with it.....

[Begbie]

Good sound advice from the BBBulldog Natty. The main thing is to stay active. Go for a long walk after dinner, work your way into shooting some hoops, lift some weights...etc. You're a young guy, you can do it. Once you get to be an old fart like me it gets 10 times harder. I'll be checking in on you bro. Stay with it.....

I'm not the best role model because I've still got a bit of midsection chub.
But this tends to work for me. Eat lots of sushi, drink lots of water, eat cheerios, wheat bread only, mountain bike like hell, avoid pre-made boxed food, avoid fast food, and or course chase my 1 1/2 year old son around the house.
This counter balances amost of the bad stuff I do at United games. Try not to drink on weekdays too. Drink hard stuff not beer if you need a buzz. Key is to stay active doing some thing you like. As my amigo Chico says it gets harder to shed the chub later.
I was pretty fit until I left the Army in 1995 and hit my 30s.
Basic training is always a fun option for shedding pounds. :eek: Good luck.

[BBBulldog]

hehe what Chico said, when I was 20 it was no problem staying in shape, at 30 I have to work on it more :D Guess we just have a lot more ways of staying active when younger

PS ******** elevators, take stairs :D

[NattyBo]

Yeah I figure I better lose it now while Im young rather than wait till Im older and the weight wont drop off so quickly :]

My apartment is on the third floor so I get plenty of stairs ;)

[caliban]

And don't forget, your Barra membership allows access to exercise equipment at the tailgates. :D

http://www.barra-brava.com/images/gallery/DSCN5889v.jpg

[Calexico77]

I have no idea what your normal diet is, but one thing that I know changed my life was to simply stop drinking soda all together.

Do NOT fall into the trap of drinking Diet sodas. They've been found to contain a chemical that triggers hunger.

So, replacing a soda with a glass or so of water can help people lose 5-10 pounds right off the bat (i've seen it happen).

Good Luck!!!

[NattyBo]

Yes soda is completly out of the diet too.

Water and chicken and multivitamins :p

[CHICO13]

A piece of ass burns more calories than walking to McDonalds....


:D

[BBBulldog]

replace fat with muscle, muscle burns energy all the time, fat just sits there trying to look cool :cool:

[fidlerre]

You need to eat smaller portions, many times a day. I eat 6-7 meals. I take 3 lunches to work. Sounds weird at first but you get used to it :) I'm just so practiced with it now it's no problem. Usually eat at 10am, 12, 2, 5, 7, 9. I do that because that way I feed my metabolism throughout the day instead of having big spikes and valleys that you'll see with people that eat 2-3 large meals a day.

Bulldog.

Can you explain what you eat each day, like a typical menu? I am attempting to eat smaller "meals" every few hours like you explained but for the life of me I cannot figure out what to eat and when. I have trouble because I used to be one of those people who ate 2 large meals a day.

[Th4119]

BBulldog is right, what you're eating now is NOT the right way to go.

In theory, you want to eat 4 or 5 small meals per day, depending on how long you are up. The easiest way to figure out how much you personally need to eat is this: If you're hungry before 4 hours have gone by since your last meal, then you didn't eat enough. If it takes longer than 4 hours to get hungry again, you ate too much. Eventually you'll figure out just about what your body needs.

Another important thing is your meal composition. Really, you can go to McDonald's and if you order the right stuff, you can boost your metabolism, the first step in the significant weight loss process. What you need to do is divy up your meal into 6 parts. Each meal should consist of 3 parts (1/2) carbs, 2 parts (1/3) protein, and 1 part (1/6) of fat. The biggest problem with fad diets is that they usually say things like "no carbs" and while your body compensates for awhile, the loss is always temporary because you NEED these things as a building block for health. The main reason is that your body craves each of these when they're not there. So if you sit around saying "no fat no fat no fat" and don't have any fat, you'll lose some weight initially but since you keep getting hungry from not having a little bit of junk you keep eating and gain weight the other way. Listen to your body, it knows what it's talking about.

The easiest way to start doing this is to think of a classic Italian meal, Chicken Parm. If you get this at a restaurant, think about how it is divided usually. You've got your chicken with some dressing or cheese or sauce on top of it. This takes up about half the plate, and gives you your 2 parts of protein along with your one part of fat. Then the rest of the plate is usually spaghetti or pasta, giving you your 3 parts of carbs. Remember, it's all about calories and proportions. Eat a balanced diet that consists of 4 or 5 meals (once every 4 or 5 hours) and you'll be onto a great start.

Next, the exercise. The most important thing is the cardio. This gets your heart going which burns the most fat. Ideally, you want to get your heart rate up to 85% of it's maximum for 20 minutes. Given your age that is probably between 170-180 beats per minute. A real easy way to count how fast your heart is pounding is by counting the number of beats over a 6 second period and then adding a zero to the end of that. That will be your beats per minute. There are lots of easy ways to get your heart rate going, running, jogging on a treadmill, riding a bike, doing the stairclimber etc. Initially obviously you won't be able to get your heart going that fast for that long, but work up to it gradually. If you do 20 minutes on a treadmill at 60% of your heart rate, it will still do a great job, but only for those 20 minutes. The main benefit of doing an 85% workout is that your body keeps burning fat for up to 24-48 hours after you finish working out. So if you half ass a 20 minute work out you get fat burned for 20 minutes, still a good start, but if you go hard for 20 minutes you can burn fat for another day or two afterwards, even while you're sitting on your butt watching United fail on corner kicks on the road.

Next you get into your lifting. I put it backwards in here because of importance, but if you're going to do both in one day, ALWAYS lift and then run, it's so much better for you. I'm not going to get too much into lifting and techniques, I'm sure others can get you going on a good workout plan, but there are a lot of important things about lifting. Obviously, if you stick with it, it's going to get you stronger. But it will also make you thinner. Keep in mind I said thinner, not necessarily lighter. Everyone knows that muscle weighs more than fat, but it is also leaner. In other words, if you've got two people who weigh 185 pounds, one who has 5% body fat and the other who has 35%, all other things being the same, the 5% body fat person will be much skinnier despite weighing the exact same amount.

I would reccomend working out at least 3 times a week, and every other day is a good habit to get into if you can. That way you would get 4 days some weeks and 3 on others. Remember, it all starts with what you eat. This will begin to improve your body composition and at the same time give you more energy for your workouts. Always lift before you run, but if you only have time to do one of the two, your cardio is much more important. Work steadily at improving your heart strength so that you can sustain a higher intensity for a longer amount of time, and you'll be set.

Most importantly, don't get discouraged. If at first you can only jog on the treadmill or outside for 5 minutes and then have to walk for the last 15, don't worry about it. Eventually you will be able to jog for a minute or two longer each time, and soon you'll be up to 20 minutes. Then and only then can you worry about going harder and faster for that time. Don't worry about killing yourself in the beginning, it's a long process if you do it right, but it works if you do it right.

Stretch too, because I bet you're going to be sore.

[McOwen]

Hey Natty!

Way to go amigo. Its great to see you taking this on. As you can tell the Barra isnt so large these days so we want to keep you around for as long as possible. :D

--Corner Adele next time we are all there I am sure she would LOVE to talk to you about this stuff. She works part time as a health instructor and loves to help people out.

I think the best advice I can give you is try to keep the workouts relatively fun. I know I always hated simply running, so I like to use a cross training machine (for cardio) while watching soccer games on TV. Or when jogging at the park I like to kick a ball along as I do it. I have never been a fan of the rat in a treadmill routine so this seems to work for me.

Stick to it bro! LAY OFF THE BEER :D

[McOwen]

While we are at it, for the rest of us out there...

What is the health conscious opinion of drinking?

--Now I am not being retarded. I know drinking is bad in all forms for all kinds of health reasons. BUT if one were to drink... (which we all will...) What would be the best way of doing it? Is liquor less fattening (as a lot of us assume) or are the calories from whiskey or rum (for ex.) pretty close to a beer? I have always thought that beer was the main culprit for the multitude of beer guts, but have heard people say otherwise.

I would guess that liquor is less fattening simply for the reason that a person would have to drink much less of it to get there then if one chooses to drink beer. (Meaning i willdrink 2-3 mixed drinks at a tailgate to equal 6-8 beers.)

[BBBulldog]

Bulldog.

Can you explain what you eat each day, like a typical menu? I am attempting to eat smaller "meals" every few hours like you explained but for the life of me I cannot figure out what to eat and when. I have trouble because I used to be one of those people who ate 2 large meals a day.

Sure, as long as you keep in mind that I'm trying to gain weight with my meals so I eat well above my maintenance rate. I also eat a lot of protein, normal maintnance rate would be about gram per pound of bodyweight, i eat around 1.5g/pound. Both of those are higher than what government food agency (whetever they're called) recomends, however government recomendations are based on sedentary individuals.

This is what I ate/will eat today

9 egg whites/bowl of oat meal

chocolate myoplex - that's meal replacement shake with ton of protein/carbs/vitamins. You could substitite something else, but I like myoplex cos I get it online for 50% off and I like $1 meals. Also it's much easier to mix 2 for work since I already take most space in our fridge :)

brown rice/veggie links/salad with safflower oil

choc myoplex #2

nuked potato/salmon/carrots or yellow pepper

apple and cottage cheese

I drink water all the time, I have plastic 1 liter bottle at work that I go through constatantly. It was bit weird to drink a lot at first but now it's like breathing.

As you can see I'm not very gourmet minded, I eat anything. All I care about is that I can make it fast and that it contains good carbs and protein. My girlfriend eats same way as me (smaller portions tho) but she likes to cook so I know it's possible to make tasty stuff too :)

If you want a book I would recomend "body for life" by bill phillips that you can get off ebay for $10 or so, that explains it much simpler and is based on decades of sports nutrition and exercise. Go to bookstore and thumb through it and see if you like it, it's nothing revolutionary but it's sound, science based principles and written in layman's terms. I got my best friend, gf, mom and about 10 other people into working out through it. He also has another book, eating for life, that my girlfriend likes cos it has receipes and stuff.. as I said I'm fine with cottage cheese and potato so I could care less about that one ;)
If you're looking for more of a scientific approach my favorite link is http://www.hussman.org/fitness/ but good Dr will basically say same thing :) Good read tho.

[BBBulldog]

what Thamlin said, never compete with anyone else. All you should want to beat is what you did day before. I work out at home so I don't need to deal with meathead puppets at the gym tho :)

I'd disagree with cardio and lifting on same day, at least for me, if I do one I'm too beat to do the other as long as I put my 100% into it. I'd put at least 10-12 hours in between to rest, I do 24 hours. But I've heard both ways so it could be personal preference.

Oh, another thing, for fat loss best time to work out is first thing in the morning before you eating first time. Just get nice 8 hours of sleep, that's one of hardest parts for me :D