K so I've gained at least forty lbs since starting T and its not only cause I eat the worst ->-bleeped-<- in the world cause its convenient at the time but also cause i don't work out cause i'm either too tired or cause i work a ->-bleeped-<- ton and i cant create a schedule cause mine is as fluid as some peoples gender. I need some help not only motivating myself but i need some tips to lose weight, build muscle and quit smoking finally. Or i'm gonna wind up even more obese and sickly.

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Weight: 178 (maybe 180ish by now)
Height: 5'3"-5'4"
Age: 20
BMI: 31.5

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GOAL Weight: 130
GOAL BMI: 23.0

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PLEASE HELP!

You have taken the first step by deciding to do something.

My son is FtM ( why have a normal family?? ) and been through the same thing, less the smoking.  He basically made sure he ate a lot of fruit and veg;  cut out the simple carbs, that is all sorts of sugar; but kept the complex ones such as rice, potatoes (skin on, full of Vitamin C), and pretty much cut out any saturated fat especially in prepared foods. Olive oil and avocados for instance are okay.

The other side of the equation is exercise.  If you can't get time to go to a gym you could try simple things like going for a walk at lunch time or before work.  Exercises like push-ups, sit-ups etc don't require any equipment.
Maybe walk or ride a bike to work even just a couple of days a week, depending on where you are.

If you record your progress like my son did you have an incentive to keep it up, and a record of progress.  One thing he did say was that he made sure he only weighed himself once a week, because he would get disappointed at daily fluctuations.

Hope that is a help.  Karen.

Hey man, speaking from experience, you're not gonna start working out until you find a way to motivate yourself. If you hate exercising (as I do) then your first step absolutely has to be to change your diet. I gained 50 pounds when I first quit playing sports bc I was eating tons of crap that I wasn't compensating for with daily workouts for basketball. So first things first, if you drink soda STOP. Start paying attention to the amount of empty calories you have in your diet. Next find a type of cardio you enjoy. Start by walking and slowly build up to jogging/running. Find people to play pickup with (basketball, soccer, football, any sport that keeps you distracted while you move). Start doing pushups every day, max sets spread throughout the day. If your max is under 20, do 100 pushups a day. 25-35 do 200 a day. More than that do 300 a day. When you hate exercising you have to trick yourself into it. Good luck!

Well as already said, you could change your diet to consist of more produce, you generally burn more calories struggling with them before eating them than you gain actually eating them.

Also, look into the master cleanse... It is hard, but also easy.  Physically easy, emotionally hard I guess.  You just drink a lemon juice water concentrate with agave nectar and cayenne pepper mixed in, and drink a particularly fiber rich natural laxative type tea, this way you can still poop.... This is ALL you do, no food what so ever, for 10 days.  You apparently lose a pound a day, not to mention that it also pretty much cleanses your body of all things 'toxic' that you have accrued over the years of eating junk food.  If interested, google how to do it, do not take my advice.  I have never done it.

Height and weight charts not withstanding, I don't know that 130 is a realistic expectation.  Being on T, you are going to invariably expect to add muscle, and that bulk comes with some added weight.  And since you are discussing wanting to add muscle anyhow, I would guess that closer to 150 is going to be a better target... 

As far as schedules go, if you can at all manage it, find a 24/7 gym.  Because of commitments to clients, there are some days where I don't get out of the office until well after 8PM some nights (and I may be on the road by 5AM some days).  I still try to make time to get to a gym every other day (at a minimum) to get the cardio work done as well as spend some time on resistance machines.  That combined with a few changes to diet (I am NEVER going to really be considered a healthy eater) has resulted in roughly ten pounds in less than three weeks having gone by the wayside... 

Cannot help with the quitting smoking since that was never a habit/addiction I ever had to deal with...

I have gained and lost alot of weight, basically all I did was make sure the calories I had were less than what I spend, I did so by using a "food diary" and trying to keep a reasonable idea of my Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) so I could decide how many calories I should be allowed to have.

For your health it is nice to watch what you eat, but I didn't avoid anything, though I will say I really have to think twice about a McDonald's double cheeseburger, I mean it isn't particularly filling being a small thing, and it takes up a huge amount of calories for that day, so if I didn't want to be hungry I would eat things that have a good size to calorie ratio, things like collard greens or Brussels sprouts for example are very low calories per ounce, same with most fish, whereas foods like pork tend to be pretty high calorie per ounce.

Basically the worst foods for me, where the ones that added very little to me feeling full, ironically most of these are things with lots of simple carbs, such as sugary drinks (tea, soda, coffee, etc) or junk food in general (candy bars, etc).

I'm trying to lose weight around my midsection..  Start by drinking a ton of water!  I carry a 32 oz Nalgene around and fill it up twice during the day.  It has helped me so much, especially with my energy level/bloating.  Once I was feeling better because I was properly hydrated, it was easier to get up a bit earlier and run before work and school.  I have been at it for a little over a week and I am noticing a difference.  The little things make a bigger difference than you would expect.  Good luck!

Do you want to lose weight or do you want to have a healthier lifestyle?

There is a difference. You could fast for a week, drinking only water and lose weight pretty quick but be extremely unhealthy, probably low on all sorts of minerals that your body needs, etc. or you can try to eat better and do small things to make yourself healthier like parking your car further away, maybe lifting weights, etc.

Quote from: Nygeel on July 07, 2011, 09:05:25 PM
Do you want to lose weight or do you want to have a healthier lifestyle?

There is a difference. You could fast for a week, drinking only water and lose weight pretty quick but be extremely unhealthy, probably low on all sorts of minerals that your body needs, etc. or you can try to eat better and do small things to make yourself healthier like parking your car further away, maybe lifting weights, etc.

not sure if you were responding in general or in relation to me (because above your post, I said I had been drinking a lot of water and it was helping me lose weight) - I was not suggesting at all to drink only water for a week, I was saying that drinking more water helped kick-start me into exercising more and eating healthier.  I don't eat meat (except tuna and salmon occasionally) or any processed foods besides bread and like...hummus and soy milk..so I know exactly what is going into my body and it's actually quite healthy.  I didn't mention that in my first post because the OP mentioned convenience and time being an issue and preparing all of your food fresh isn't exactly conducive to that.

I'm on the 'Don't Be Foolish Diet.'  (that's not really what I called it but I'm being polite)

Soda Pop = Foolish

French Fries = Foolish

Anything fried = Foolish

Not eating fruits and veggies = Foolish

Candy Bar = Foolish

Mindless snacking = Foolish

To many carbs = Foolish

Fast Food = Foolish

There's more I'm not thinking of but they are common sense.  Drop those habits like they are hot.  Remember the momentary pleasure is not worth the long term pain of being unable happy with yourself. 

Look at that Big Mac and say "Yeah maybe you'll taste good while I eat you.  That special sauce really is pretty special.  However later I'm going to feel guilty and miserable and sick and sluggish and awful.  It is just not worth it.  So you can go off yourself Mr. Mac.  I'm going to have an apple because it makes me feel good.  It makes me feel proud of myself knowing that I'm moving closer to my goals."   

Then go get yourself a punching bag and a pair of gloves.  Everlast has a reflex bag which is only about $50 and worth every penny.  Mad at yourself?  Mad at the world?  Good.  Punch that bag.  Put your feelings into your fists.  Run around the bag and dodge and duck and punch that thing.  It is what is stopping you.  This block you can't quite break free from.  So punch it like you mean it.  5 minutes later you'll check the clock and realize 45 minutes have passed.  It's a fantastic workout and great therapy.   

Don't overcomplicate it because that's doomed to fail.  It's just common sense and a punching bag.  That's what you need.

i don't know what your past or future plans are, but you MUST stop smoking in order to have top surgery (and i would assume bottom surgery). that's all it took for me to kick the habit forever. in my mind i would say "is this cigarette worth me having to be/look like a woman forever?".

anyone know if having pcos before t will doom you to obesity while on t? do you have to be fat if you have pcos?
is there anyone with pcos here that is not overwieght and is on t?
just need some hope here...

Quote from: Squirrel698 on July 08, 2011, 06:24:49 PM
To many carbs = Foolish

?

Carbs are the body's quickest and best source of energy that powers it and faciliates it in burning body fat.

Potatoes are a great food () as are veg and legumes of course.

Losing weight is not complicated. It just takes determination, commitment and time. The more you lean towards a low-fat plant-based diet the healthier you'll feel and the faster you will lose weight.

What about diet pop? That is my biggest weakness hahah.

Really though, as my aunt says when you are tempted to eat something unhealthy ask yourself 'do I want to wear this? do I want to carry this fat I am going to eat?' because that's what will end up happening.

I was big on soda (or pop) and have really decreased my cravings a lot by using flavored water.  I use Mio liquid in my water and it keeps me from drinking any soda or any other unhealthy drinks.  Helps me decrease my sugars too.  Guess because my mind thinks its a sugar drink?

I am in the same boat where I need to loose weight also.  I would love to shed a good bit before surgery next month.  I have always been told I need to eat 5 small meals, but I have a hard enough time trying to eat 3.  I just don't care about eating anymore really and most of the time force myself to eat.

I can say that personally, my biggest problem before was portion control.  It is amazing how much over eating I was doing without even knowing.  I thought I was eating a smaller portion until I started to measure things out.  Makes a huge difference.  So if you don't think about the portions now, try looking at that also.

Quote from: Slasherations on July 12, 2011, 02:59:16 PM
anyone know if having pcos before t will doom you to obesity while on t? do you have to be fat if you have pcos?
is there anyone with pcos here that is not overwieght and is on t?
just need some hope here...

I've had PCOS for years, and I was only fat when I was eating horrible things and living a sedentary lifestyle.  I lost about 115 pounds since 2009, but if anything, my PCOS symptoms got worse after losing the weight.  I've still got a few pounds I'd like to shed around my butt, hips, and thighs, but I'm pretty damn trim really, 5'5" and 138 pounds with a 27" waist.   I'm between 10-11% body fat currently, although my goal is 6-8%.

I've been on T for a bit over 3 months, and if anything I've lost more fat and picked up muscle, but I also work out a lot and eat a low-carb, high protein diet.  I'm sure there's cases of people doing everything right and still gaining weight with PCOS taking T, but mostly, I think people don't realize that they're eating more (T made me ravenous at first!), don't exercise, and then blame the hormones or disorder for the resulting weight gain.

i know people who have lost weight by eating food that's rich in protein for breakfast (and cutting down on fast carbs). working out much isn't really necessary for loosing weight as long as you watch your diet, though it is for building muscle and stamina

Basically calories in<calories out. You need to burn more than you eat. I find the best way to do this is to track what you eat and measure your portions. Even if it's just one day a week, it really, really helps. I've lost 60 lbs over 15 months doing this.

Exercise is important too, but it can really be as simple as going for a 20 minute walk 5 days a week at first. When I first started trying to lose weight, I couldn't get around the block without a rescue inhaler, so guess what? I walked halfway. Then I built up from there. Every little bit of exercise helped.

If your schedule fluctuates, then on a day where you do have time, go to the grocery store, buy yourself some proteins, fruits and veggies, and pack them up into meal portions. Hey presto, convenient lunches.

Here are my favorite convenient meals:

1. Cook up a couple of pounds of ground lean meat or meat substitute sometime when you have 30 minutes to spare. Freeze in 4-oz portions. When you're hungry, zap a portion in the microwave with 1 cup of some marinara/spaghetti sauce from a jar (like Classico or whatever) and a big handful of fresh spinach until the spinach is soft and everything's nice and hot (you can easily do this in a frying pan too). Eat alone or with 2 oz (dry weight) of a boiled whole-grain pasta or some steamed/baked potatoes.

2. Cook up wholegrain pancakes and freeze, separated by layers of waxed paper. Have one with 2 tbsp peanutbutter, some plain greek yogurt, a tablespoon or two of sweetener, and as much chopped fruit as you like

3. Take a great big handful of fresh spinach and cook it in a frying pan for a few minutes until wilted. Add a couple of eggs and some low-fat cheese and scramble.

4. Get one of those pre-cooked rotisserie chickens and tear all the meat off. Freeze in 4-oz portions. For a filling salad, thaw one portion of meat and add it to two big handfuls of salad greens, 1/2 an avocado, 1 orange/mango/handful of strawberries (or any fruit you like), and maybe a handful of broccoli slaw or shredded carrot.  Add 2 tbsp vinaigrette dressing (I like Annie's personally).

These are just some ideas. I'm gluten intolerant, so my suggestions come from that standpoint. You could also try packing healthy sandwiches, pitas, etc. if you can eat gluten.