OldSchool76

Oh I agree. They all seem to taste like crap. I just have to remind myself that I am not drinking for pleasure. I have used Jack (three flavors), SuperPump and Crave. Jack seems to be the best.

Morning is very tough for me. I usually do a high Protein shake but try to do it no closer than an hour before the workout as I get 'BG" (Bubble gut as my trainer calls it). I also use a workout supplement but that is not for everyone. My workouts are pretty intense. There are a ton of them out there and they seem to work differently for different people. I use Jack3D. Tastes like crap but definitely keeps me up for my training session. Disclaimer: I am no medical professional and I know those supplements have ardent proponents and detractors. Simply saying what I do.

Thanks cazzy. The trainer is amazing. I know it can seem expensive (depending on your trainer) but it really is amazing to have someone who holds you accountable. Eventually, that transitions to you holding yourself accountable.

Hell no! I love my trainer. He has changed my outlook on fitness. It is powerful to have someone to keep you on track, text you in the morning, call you and make sure you are getting your backside to class. This all matters. Great move!

I do an ab circuit 5 times a week but I am two years out. Never had a problem.

OK, in February of 2011 I said I would get my ass back in gear. I had lost over 100 Pounds since getting my band and was doing great. Sadly I got comfortable. That means I learned things like: Sauces make things easier to eat Ice cream is easy to eat Alcohol is easy to drink Saving your fat guy clothes as you lose weight makes gaining weight back easier as you don't have to go outside naked So, after 18 months I bounced back up by about 30 pounds. Not horrific by my standards of weight loss but still pissed me off. I was still down net 70 but the direction had reversed. I had to do something. I schedule a check up and possible fill. I needed to do that. I had become too comfortable with my ability to cheat the tool. I need the restriction. I got a personal trainer and committed myself to it. I am now 6 weeks in. I have lost about 24 net pounds but need to track inches (stop it!) as I know that the workouts are changing my body more than the scale is reflecting. I am, for the first time in my life, planning my life around my workouts. I will drop a note when I have something really cool to report but for right now I am stoked about that exercise change. The diet side will lead to the weight loss most directly but the exercise will start to compound it. For those interested, I work out with a trainer on Monday and Wednesday for 1:15 minutes. We do a combination of cardio, weights and circuit training with a pretty significant focus on core. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays I do his Bootcamp which is: Tuesday: Sparticus Circuit. 10 exercises. 45 sec to 1 min on then move. Three sets followed by an ad circuit. Thursday: Sand day. Conditioning, sprinting and footwork all in a sand pit. Wrap with abdominal circuit and arms (Push Ups and Dips) Saturday: Mixed bag. This day can be running, ladder drills, circuits. It really depends on the weather. All the exercises can be modified for different levels of ability. It has been truly amazing to start to MISS workouts and try and plan work and vacation around them. If you can contact someone locally and work out a plan to start you really should. It took about 3 weeks for me to convert over to wanting to do it instead of having to but now that I have, I don't really want to stop. Anyway, wanted to get back into the swing of writing. Hope you are all well.

OK, so I am not someone who blames others for pretty much anything. That may not be fair, or accurate, but my arrogance about my own control over the world in which I live kind of allows me to move forward in life. So imagine my disappointment when, after a mere 7 months on the program I had hit 100 pounds lost only to wake up after the holidays and have gone only backwards! I was pissed! The funny part is that I knew who to be pissed at: Me. I know how to use this tool (the band) The tool itself, will work. The problem is that I have been cheating. I skipped the holidays on a conscious move and that was a HUGE mistake. I got back into bad habits that, thanks to the band, I could not slide too far into. That being said, instead of losing my 1-2 pounds per week, I have slowly gained 11 pounds. So the system I used is back as I come up on my one year anniversary. My weight loss is now average for the time invested and by god, I hate being average! I know the odds are against me as the second 100 pounds has got to be harder than the first, but I will be damned if my own laziness will sabotage me. I got a fill today (9.9/14 cc band) and have two days of fluids/mushies for a kickstart. I walked two miles at lunch and plan to do three more tonight. I have a chart on my office wall to track my total exercise and plan to go back to my solid meal planning. I write this as a public acknowledgement of my own (temporary) failure. I hope I can live up to my plan. I am the only one who can make that happen.

Yes. It works Lost 101 pounds so far BMI down from 60 to 46 Went from a 58 Waist (ish) to a 48 waist (ish) Started on 2/17 of this year.

Glad you liked it!

I do use multivitamins. Never been a big fruit and veggie guy (but I do understand their importance). Only real veggie serving is at dinner for me right now.

After my last blog post, I was asked to share what I have been eating and doing to get where I am now (which is still roughly 100 lbs away from where I need to be, but still a long way on a pretty rapid track). Now I am no expert but I follow instructions pretty well and consider myself a normal dude with normal needs/desires (around food). Breakfast My band is tight in the AM. I typically have a protein shake (Costco, Premier Nutrition - 160 cal and 30 g of Protein) If I am hungry later in the AM, I have a protein bar. This gets the lions share of my protein out of the way efficiently. I have tried about 6 different bars but think that the Zone bars, while higher in calories, offer the best flavor. Pure Protein are pretty good too. (Avg 190 Cal and 15 g of Protein) Lunch My staples at lunch are a tuna salad made with cream cheese, lemon juice and liquid smoke (4-6 oz) Chicken salad made with a Publix Rotisserie chicken, mayo, mustard, tarragon and kosher salt (same serving size). Both seem to average around 300 Cal and about 30g protein and pack a surprising punch to hunger as they are pretty dense but easy to digest. High Protein Chili Dinner My most normal meal, we usually have a basic protein (fish, chicken, beef) and a vegetable. Occasionally, I will have a starch, but they leave me hungry so I typically avoid them. The multigrain coated tilapia at Costco is nice and easy. I target 400 Calories at dinner and a quantity of 6-8 oz. Snack (One of these) Sugarfree pudding Coffee (with fancy creamer) Popsickle Couple of slices of protein (ham, turkey) I am pretty simple, so repetition does not bother me. I still enjoy a trip to Hooters (or Winghouse) but when I do, I usually get the fish (blackened) or Chili. I will have wings from time to time as I love them. I just try and watch it. Other tasty items are nuts and cocktail shrimp. If I wake up late enough, I find scrambled eggs very useful though harder to digest as I tend to eat them too quickly. Workout Despite my size, I have always been a fairly athletic guy. I knew that at this caloric intake I would need to force my body to use up fat stores. I try to walk at least 2 miles at least 4 times per week. I do this in my Sketchers Shape Ups which, while a little goofy at first, seem to really work. After I lost my first 50 lbs, I picked up a set of 10 lb leg weights. I alternate using them on my ankles and on my wrists. When I have them on my wrists, I typically do arm exercises throughout the walk (I do this at night as not to me arrested or ostracized). I have a weight machine and try to do 3 workouts per week. They are simple and fairly focused. I do bicep curls, tricep pushdowns, lateral pulldowns and seated row. I mix them up and try to chose 2 per workout, 3 sets of 11 reps each with increasing weights. This is AMAZINGLY unscientific and I am quite certain that I am not being efficient here. My rationale is something is better than nothing and while i have no need for more leg muscle (carrying 450 lbs around for decades has helped me build that on its own), upper body muscle is a need area. Last but not least, I try to throw in some anaerobic stuff like basketball, yardwork or any sport with my son. I hope this is useful. It is a mind dump but I figured it might be useful.

After my last blog post, I was asked to share what I have been eating and doing to get where I am now (which is still roughly 100 lbs away from where I need to be, but still a long way on a pretty rapid track). Now I am no expert but I follow instructions pretty well and consider myself a normal dude with normal needs/desires (around food). Breakfast My band is tight in the AM. I typically have a protein shake (Costco, Premier Nutrition - 160 cal and 30 g of Protein) If I am hungry later in the AM, I have a protein bar. This gets the lions share of my protein out of the way efficiently. I have tried about 6 different bars but think that the Zone bars, while higher in calories, offer the best flavor. Pure Protein are pretty good too. (Avg 190 Cal and 15 g of Protein) Lunch My staples at lunch are a tuna salad made with cream cheese, lemon juice and liquid smoke (4-6 oz) Chicken salad made with a Publix Rotisserie chicken, mayo, mustard, tarragon and kosher salt (same serving size). Both seem to average around 300 Cal and about 30g protein and pack a surprising punch to hunger as they are pretty dense but easy to digest. High Protein Chili Dinner My most normal meal, we usually have a basic protein (fish, chicken, beef) and a vegetable. Occasionally, I will have a starch, but they leave me hungry so I typically avoid them. The multigrain coated tilapia at Costco is nice and easy. I target 400 Calories at dinner and a quantity of 6-8 oz. Snack (One of these) Sugarfree pudding Coffee (with fancy creamer) Popsickle Couple of slices of protein (ham, turkey) I am pretty simple, so repetition does not bother me. I still enjoy a trip to Hooters (or Winghouse) but when I do, I usually get the fish (blackened) or Chili. I will have wings from time to time as I love them. I just try and watch it. Other tasty items are nuts and cocktail shrimp. If I wake up late enough, I find scrambled eggs very useful though harder to digest as I tend to eat them too quickly. Workout Despite my size, I have always been a fairly athletic guy. I knew that at this caloric intake I would need to force my body to use up fat stores. I try to walk at least 2 miles at least 4 times per week. I do this in my Sketchers Shape Ups which, while a little goofy at first, seem to really work. After I lost my first 50 lbs, I picked up a set of 10 lb leg weights. I alternate using them on my ankles and on my wrists. When I have them on my wrists, I typically do arm exercises throughout the walk (I do this at night as not to me arrested or ostracized). I have a weight machine and try to do 3 workouts per week. They are simple and fairly focused. I do bicep curls, tricep pushdowns, lateral pulldowns and seated row. I mix them up and try to chose 2 per workout, 3 sets of 11 reps each with increasing weights. This is AMAZINGLY unscientific and I am quite certain that I am not being efficient here. My rationale is something is better than nothing and while i have no need for more leg muscle (carrying 450 lbs around for decades has helped me build that on its own), upper body muscle is a need area. Last but not least, I try to throw in some anaerobic stuff like basketball, yardwork or any sport with my son. I hope this is useful. It is a mind dump but I figured it might be useful.