I'm going to go for it

[Joe.]

Wow! I'm overwhelmed from the response her. Thank every single one of you. This makes me even more determined. I've done well so far today. I have drank about 500ml of water so far (i wasn't drinking any before), I haven't had any chocolate and had a packet of crisp that is better for you than the normal packets. I'm still yet to do my exercise but I will!

[Liminal Stranger]

You've got this man! Almond milk is pretty good, and if you dislike it then I'd suggest rice milk if you want to avoid soy. (Soy milk tastes like dry wall anyway imo)

Cutting gluten intake might help you a bunch, maybe if you eat sandwiches a lot try eating just the meat and other filling instead of a sandwich itself. If you can, look into alternatives like quinoa and buckwheat, which are awesome for your body. Dark leafy greens help, and most definitely don't touch those sodas, they're sweetened death in a can. As for exercise, the shower idea is good and I do that too. If you can wake up early enough, go for a brisk walk every morning to start the day, you'll be getting in a workout and feeling more awake. Supposedly walking quickly is as good for you as running, so you don't have to kill your muscles and lungs to get that exercise in. You could also look into getting a bar for your doorway, and take lots of pictures so you can see progress day by day. It'll serve as a motivator. Keep track of what you eat so you aren't tempted to get junk and feel self-empowered, and I bet weight will come off in no time.

Lean meats and leafy vegetables are your friends!

[Arch]

The shower exercises is another good idea. Thank you!

Careful you don't slip.

[Liminal Stranger]

Careful you don't slip.

Yeah, Arch does have a point- I used to have not tough feet as a little kid and almost died running into the sprinkler set in my park because some geniuses decided that slippery material is excellent to use for flooring in a sprinkler area where kids will be flying around. Anyway, be careful, and if you can find a bath mat or something. Or just walk around barefoot on hardwood floors all the time like me until your feet toughen up so they grip the floor 

[Jack_M]

Best of luck Joey!  You've got a lot of support egging you on here and any questions or concerns, just throw a post in here and I'm sure there's plenty of us guys that'll give you our 2 cents!

[Felix]

I agree with the very small changes advice. Whenever you can, take the stairs instead of the elevator. Bonus on that is you get to see cool parts of buildings and meet the kinds of people who take the stairs. If you drive, don't park too close to your destination. If there's a healthy food you wish you liked, start slow and move toward it. Introduce new habits gradually so they'll stick. Get as much sleep as you can so you don't make stupid health decisions while you're sleep deprived.

I disagree on the soy though. Phytoestrogens are not that powerful. I've seen more robust data about yoga suppressing androgens than anything with soy. If you're sensitive to it or just plain don't like it then it's relatively easy to keep it out of your diet, but if you like it you should go ahead and enjoy it.

Definitely allow yourself treats, avoid soda and other sugary liquids, and try to keep it where you like to eat what is in your diet. Take up cooking if you don't and maybe take it up a notch if you do. Sometimes that's enough to kinda naturally balance what you take in, as long as you don't focus too much on frying or any one ingredient.

Anyway, best of luck. I love how this brings out so much discussion in people. Food is a great topic.

[Joe.]

Its going well. I have had 2 chocolate bars since Sunday but that is it. I'm not being too hard on myself and making small changes and building it up. Thanks again for all your words of encouragement.

[DriftingCrow]

Its going well. I have had 2 chocolate bars since Sunday but that is it. I'm not being too hard on myself and making small changes and building it up. Thanks again for all your words of encouragement.

have you tried carob? It's delicious! I was raised vegetarian and I had to go to this vegetarian camp for a week or so in the summer once and we used to have carob ice-cream (though it was vegan). These carob bars are pretty easy to make and look quite good: http://www.foodiefiasco.com/healthy-homemade-chocolate/

[Liminal Stranger]

have you tried carob? It's delicious! I was raised vegetarian and I had to go to this vegetarian camp for a week or so in the summer once and we used to have carob ice-cream (though it was vegan). These carob bars are pretty easy to make and look quite good: http://www.foodiefiasco.com/healthy-homemade-chocolate/

Carob is also used in place of chocolate for dog treats. I've heard it's good, so it might be worth looking into.

[Joe.]

This has gone out the window. I'm really really stressed at the moment so I've been comfort eating again. People have been saying I'm fat and I don't have the energy to try and prove them that I'm better than that. I'm still not eating as bad as I used to, but it's still bad. Monday is a new week

[Simon]

People have been saying I'm fat and I don't have the energy to try and prove them that I'm better than that.

I have always thought it's stupid when people call someone fat. It's like they think the person isn't aware of that fact. Don't let them get to you.

I know it's hard when you're young but the sooner you can work on getting your heart off your sleeve the easier your life will be. I can promise you that. Just do your thing and screw what people say/think. Remember, in a few years those people will mean nothing to you and more than likely won't be any part of your life. Just keep working hard towards your goals and forget the rest.

[Devlyn]

What Simon just said. ^^^^^^^^

[DriftingCrow]

I Agree With Simon, But Don't Feel Bad About Getting Off Track. You've Identified The Problem And Now You'll Be More Aware Of It Next Time. You'll Do Better On Monday. (And Btw I Don't Think You Look Fat)

[Jamie D]

This has gone out the window. I'm really really stressed at the moment so I've been comfort eating again. People have been saying I'm fat and I don't have the energy to try and prove them that I'm better than that. I'm still not eating as bad as I used to, but it's still bad. Monday is a new week

I am proud of you, Joey, for making the effort.  As others have said here, the first thing you have to do is change your habits.  Little changes add up. 

The first thing is to start to eliminate sweet and salty from your diet.  Cut down on the starchy carbohydrates too.  What do I mean by that?  Well, processed foods are full of sugar and salt - they make you want to come back for more.  Even artificial sweeteners can keep you in that destructive cycle.



L - Junk foods  R - Guaranteed early death

Starchy stuff easily converts to simple sugars.  If you have your choice, avoid "white".  Don't eat white bread, eat whole grain wheat.   Don't eat white rice, eat brown rice.  Don't eat regular pasta, eat whole wheat pasta.  Stay away from regular potatoes.  Stay away from white flour.  Pancakes or waffles?  Try oatmeal instead.  And so on.

These food stuffs tax your pancreas, liver, kidneys, and digestive system.  The extra weight puts strain on your heart.  How do I know this?  I ate and drank like you for decades.  I had two angioplasties, trying to clear out my heart arteries.  I had a three-way bypass surgery.  Let me tell you what happens when you stay too fat for too long.

You can't run anymore.  Even walks become tiring.  Your chest hurts with physical exertion.  You easily lose your breath.  When the doctors diagnose the problem, you are already severely diseased.

What they did to me was shave my body, and "harvest" an artery from my left arm to re-plumb my heart.  (Sometimes they grab a vein from your leg.)  It left a scar from my wrist to the inside of my elbow.  Then they cut the skin down from the top of the sternum, just below your throat, to below your sternum.  After that, they take an electric bone saw and cut your sternum in half.  Then the use "spreaders" to pry open your ribcage (like opening closet doors) to get at your diseased heart.  You are hooked up to a machine to keep you alive.



L - chest spreader  C - surgery  R - incision sutures

If they are successful, your heart will be restarted, and when you wake up hours later, there will be tubes coming out of your throat, choking you, and drains emanating from your body.  The pain is incredible, even with morphine.  They all leave ugly scars.  And, of course, you take medications for the rest of your shortened lifetime.  That's pretty stressful too.  So is dying from obesity-related diseases.

Well, I guess those extra calories from the beer, and candy bars, and fatty-salty-sweet junk food was worth it, huh?  Now I spend three days a week at cardio-rehab, trying to recapture my health.  Want to join me?

[Arch]

You're right, next week is a new week. Everyone falls off the wagon at some point. Every time you get back on, you are training yourself in positive ways.

[DriftingCrow]

Joey, I recently tried this breakfast recipe and yum it's delicious, healthy, and super filling. It's super easy to make and if you make it in bulk, you'll have your entire breakfast for the week! The only cooking skills required is being able to boil water.  It's also pretty versatile and you can easily change the ingredients around (like berries for apple slices and raisins; pumpkin seeds for flax seeds, etc.)

Breakfast Coconut Quinoa (Recipe makes 1 serving, 537 calories, 22 g of fat)
Ingredients: 1/2 cup dry quinoa, 1 cup water, 1 pinch of sea salt, 1/4 cup canned coconut milk (amount of fat and calories listed above will go down if you use light coconut milk), 1 to 2 teaspoons of raw honey or agave syrup, 3/4 cup fresh berries, 1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds without shells

1. Rinse quinoa and place with water in saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and boil gently, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed.
2. Remove from heat; add coconut milk and mix well.
3. Place in serving bowl; top with honey, berries, and pumpkin seeds.

Easy and the bowl is so big, you won't have room to eat anything like toast on the side.

[Jamie D]

I like that.  Sounds good.

Do you eat it warm?  Or chill it before adding the berries, honey, and seeds.

I bet it is good with raw nuts too.

[Simon]

Joey, if you can get rid of processed foods it'll be a huge leap in the right direction. Shop on the outside on the grocery store and stay out of the aisles. Just get lean meats, fresh fruits/veggies, low fat milk, cheese, and greek yogurt. If you have to eat bread/pasta make sure it's whole grain. Oatmeal is good too but be careful about carbs. Be aware of salt and sugar in condiments as well.

I've been eating like that and it will make you feel better. When you feel better you'll feel like working out. When you eat junk, not only does it pack on the pounds it also makes you sluggish.

You can do it buddy. Everyone here has faith in you! Remember, you didn't gain the weight in a day and it's not going to come off in a day. I'm in the same boat and if I can do it so can you!

Oh, and one last thing. If you want to workout but just can't seem to get up and get started check out some of the "workout motivation" videos on YT. I know it sounds cheesy but they do help. I'm geeky but here is my favorite speech that gets me going (it's from the film "Rocky Balboa"). It could pertain to transition, weight loss, etc. When you don't have people in your life who truly care about you and your dad was a p.o.s. who never cared you tend to find motivation where you can.

[DriftingCrow]

I like that.  Sounds good.

Do you eat it warm?  Or chill it before adding the berries, honey, and seeds.

I bet it is good with raw nuts too.

Either Warm Or Chilled