Weight Loss

[jonesy0924]

I am gonna start to diet and work out because I wanna lose weight so I can perform better at work. I would like to start a thread with other people who are doing the same and want to post there start weights and their progression on here. Also any tips or diets or workouts you are using or have used. I think this would be great. Alittle about me I am a career firefighter in Florida with 2 kids and am weighing in at about 286 and I have decided for my kids and job I want to lose weight. Lets do it together.

[Hawksonfire]

Two of us from our crew decided to participate in a 6 week fit challenge at our gym. About 50 started the challenge and 30 finished. We motivated each other at the gym and eating while on duty which is why we did so well. Between the two of us we lost 43 pounds. I averaged 3 1/2 to 4 pounds a week lost for the 6 weeks. I started by changing my diet and eating 5 smaller meals/day. The first couple of weeks are the hardest because I was always hungry but your body gets used to it. Along with my diet and exercise I took a thermogenic (weight loss pill), multi vitamin and an Omega3,6,9 supplement. I did about 40 minutes of cardio 5 days a week along with my usual weight training except I started super setting my exercises to keep my heart rate up. We have both noticed improvements on the job. I cut "white foods" like rice, potatoes and white breads from my diet and pounded protein shakes along with chicken, fish etc. for protein. That is our success story, now maintenance and building more lean muscle is our ongoing goal. That is how we managed to get the weight off and there are a lot of other ways too. If you can get someone to do it with you (maybe another co-worker) it'll keep you motivated. Good luck with your program!!

[scubasky]

I am 6'4 326 currently I was 255a year ago. I got moved to "the eatin' station" and have let myself go. I am also a skydiver, and since my weight gain have stopped until I loose weight. I will post my results here once a week. My plan is to eat 1750 calories a day and only 27 grams of fat.

[pvfire424]

6'2" 295 pounds here.

I started back to working out the week before Christmas. Right now I am concentrating on cardio. First week every other day on the elliptical, I could do between 15-20 before it was too much. Now we are in the first week of January, I still weigh the same, but I can do 30+ on the elliptical, with an increasing workload.

I did a ride-along the week after Christmas, and worked out with the crew. They introduced me to clean & press ( or power clean). I found that excersize kept my heart rate up while working many muscle groups ( I was sore in some akward areas the next day).

I feel better and the body is starting to "firm up". Once I feel like I am in "good enough" shape, I will start to look at losing the extra pounds.


Good luck to all !!



Kampy out!

[lvwrench]

I am 6'3" and weighed 240. I started with a personal trainer about 6 weeks ago and now I am at 219. I cut the starchy stuff like potatoes, pasta and breads. I have added a lot of vegetables and restricted the red meats. My trainer told me to add a lot of apples to my daytime eating but not to eat them at night. He has me working on both the weight loss and muscle building on an alternating basis.So far so good. I decided that at age 59 I'd like to try and get into some of the shape I was at 21.Good luck.

[MarcusKspn]

5'10, 270 pounds here, looking to get in shape for my health, my wife, and to get on with a career department after passing the physical test. Starting today, doing exercise, watching my food. I will post my update next monday. 1/16/06 today.

[UTFFEMT]

Good Job people. I started out about 6 or so weeks ago at Age 41. 6 feet tall and Weight of 278. I am now 251 and goen for about 220.

I just watch what I comsume a little better and Run every day about 3 plus miles and workout with wieghts for another 30 minutes. even if ive been up all night running calls.

[FiftyOnePride]

I am going to be starting a regiment soon.

6'0 280.

Getting healthy for my own health/career opportunities when I get out of college.

At school there is a big circle I hope to run a few times a day, I think two laps is a mile at least; I'm not sure how many laps I am going to do. Up the water intake, down the bad fried college food.

I need motivation and more help to do excersizes that are time effecient and don't require a lot of equip. because it's terribly hard to get a good spot in the gym.

[pvfire424]

Weighed in at 290 on Tuesday afternoon.

[paris04]

Not necessarily trying to lose weight (but it wouldn't hurt). My goal for the New Year is to be healthier and get in shape, and if losing weight comes along with it, then fine.

Volunteer firefighter and hoping to go to paramedic school later this year, so being in shape would definitely help me out.

Just found out last night that I have to take the Level 1 and if I fail, I am out of the fire department.

I bought an elliptical trainer in early December and it was a great investment, I love it.

[zcam630]

Hey all, 26yrs old, 6'0 235lbs.
My desire is to loose around 30-40 lbs and to gain strength.
I slacked off this past fall on training, but now I have a couple of CPAT tests coming up. My overall goal is to get my self in a routine of good eating habits and staying in shape. By big fall is keeping motivated. Any ideas would be great.

Keep safe

[ewelk33]

I am 6' 225 lbs.

I am following the abs diet which so far has been exactly what I was looking for. I have been following it for 5 weeks and have lost 23 lbs. Good nutrition info and you never go hungry. The book focuses on eating the right kinds of foods over six meals a day to keep that metabolism burning. Its easy to follow and theres no calorie or points counting, no carb cutting, and no starving. The hardest part about it is trying to eat healthy at the firehouse!

I had been lifting weights and doing cardio for quite a long time but my weight would never drop and my body fat stayed the same. I finally decided to get my nutrition in line with my workouts and I am finally losing fat. I am supplementing with protein powders to build and keep the muscle that I have.

[Sue6162]

This is a great idea!
I'm not really trying to lose weight so much as change my fitness level for my new assignment. I moved from an engine crew to supervising a wildland fire handcrew. Not as much brute strength and a lot of cardio.
I am 42, 5'4" 158
My goal is to Hike 2x per week with 1 steep rock scramble of at least 1 hr.
Then 2 lap swims at home on my days off.
The standard hike will be Greenriver which I can do now in 51 min with full gear and My goal is 41 min. with full gear.

[BD6413]

Wish I would've seen this when it started.....But let's keep it going if we can.

At 35 5'9 and 280lbs. it's pretty obvious I need to shed a few pounds. - Like most I've tried the diets, the drinks, shakes, and pills only to discover they really don't work. I try to excercise on shift but the interuptions always seem to come during PT. I still manage some weight training.

Recentley I started walking about 2 miles on my days off {I work a 2-2-3-2 schedule 2 on 2 off 3 on and 2 off} Question Is it possible to make progress this way to shed say about 20-30lbs ? Cutting out the foods I love is the hardest but I've read that you still need to eat almost 2500 calories a day if not more to produce fuel to burn. Any ideas for a brother on how to continue - Hoping for a trimmer me by Christmas.

[fitnezman]

I think that it is great that all of you have decided to take responsibility for your own health and lives into your own hands. That is the first step on a very rewarding journey. I wanted to offer you all a few tips and words of encouragement from my company, a professional fitness service that works with hundreds of firefighters and police officers to design health and wellness programs custom made for them.

The first thing we tell people is don't go over the deep end with changes to the diet. This is the number one reason why people end up dropping their plans for shaping up. The shakeup is too great. We instead implement the UNICUS 4 Laws of Meal Timing. Here they are:

1) Never go longer than 1 hour without eating something upon rising in the morning. Going longer than this causes the body to enter what is called The Starvation Mode. This is something that has been with humans since the beginning of time. It recognizes food as only fuel, not as a reason to celebrate, to make us happy or because we are bored or all the other reasons why people eat. If no fuel is introduced into the system upon rising,The Starvation Mode is turned on. This means the next time any type of fuel is introduced into the system, it will be held onto the body in the form that has saved it for many years. This form is body fat. Your body is smart. It will not give up something that you are not giving it, so if you don't introduce fuel into the system, it sure as heck is not going to give it up easily.

2) Never eat anything solid two hours before your natural bedtime. Now this doesn't count when you are on duty and get a call, but when you are on your off times. Two hours before your body starts to shut down, the utilization of any new fuel is at a minimum. So the body will then start to store everything in the manner it knows how. One exception is a form of liquid protein for anyone who is trying to build some muscle. Having a liquid form of protein at night before bed will counteract the effects of a long night without fuel and help with muscle sparing.

3) Never go longer than 1 hour without having something to eat after your workout. When you workout, your body is like a dried sponge. This is the time to have the biggest meal of your day, so long as it is not at night before bedtime. Ideally your workout would be in the morning, with midafternoon being the next most optimal time. But if you wait longer than that hour, then the Starvation Mode is turned on and you already know that is not a good thing. People think "I don't want to eat anything, I just burned 500 calories!" This is the worst thinking and tells me they know nothing about how the human body works. That is the most important time to have something with both protein and carbohydrates to replenish your lost fuel and delay the Starvation Mode effect.

4) Never go longer than 4 waking hours without eating something. Longer than this and the Starvation Mode again kicks in. This is for the people that say" I eat good. I only eat around 2 meals per day. Once in the morning and then at night. So why can't I lose weight?" Again, this is someone that doesn't have clue to how their body works and they think it is like a simple machine. The Starvation Mode has been with humans since the beginning of time and you cannot discount it even though we have cars and elevators and all the other amenitys of an advanced society. Break up your meals so that you get at least 4 feedings a day, with 5 to 6 being optimal for advanced fat loss.


You don't have to switch to egg whites and oatmeal. Eat the same foods that you have been eating. Just split them in half and don't have the whole thing. Cleaning your plate and having seconds are a relic of the '50s. Eating till you are 3/4 full has to be the norm. When you go out to eat, tell the waiter to box half of your food before it gets to the table. This way you don't see it and won't be tempted. It also means that you can have a normal meal and not some crazy 'salad only' diet. That won't work in the real world of firefighters.

Only after you have mastered the 4 Laws of Meal Timing for a period of 60 days, do we then start to look at the "What" you are eating. Without the "When" in place, you are doomed to repeat the same mistakes that thousands of other people make in their quest to get in shape and lose a few pounds.

Hope this helps some of you and know that we will be rooting for all of you to do your best.


Fitnezman
www.unicuspt.com

[lvwrench]

I have reached my original goal and have moved on to muscle building. I have gone from 6' 3" and 243lbs to 198lbs. I will be going for 195 or maybe 190 in weight but add more muscle. Not too bad for only 7months of work. I actually lost 8lbs while on vacation.

[LFD1MICHAEL]

Fitnezman has it. I do weight loss with clients 40 hours a week. Everything he said is right on. I would like to add one thing.

Its the calories, calories are energy. Energy balance means that you burn as many calories as you eat.
Energy surplus means you have extra and store it as fat or use them to build muscle.
Energy deficit means there is a shortage and you must take calories from somewhere (read FAT STORES) to make up the deficit.

If your car gets 20 mpg and everyday you put a gallon more in the tank than you burn, you will end up with extra fuel at the end of the day.
Read labels, get a calorie book or go on line. Total your calories for the day to understand the amount of fuel you are consuming. How many calories do I need? Go on line and Google "calorie calulator or mypyramid". Make sure you can find one with height, weight, age, and activity levels. Idealy you want to create a deficit of around 500 calories a day from your "weight maintanence calorie estimation" you need 3,500 to gain or lose a pound. 500 a day x 7 days = 3,500 = 1 pound a week. 1 pound from diet, 1 pound from exercise and you are on your way to long term success! Also see "mypyramid" below!

For all the people that say they are cutting out the starches or eating apples and extra protiens or cabbage soup WHATEVER. Go to mypyramid.gov for all the answers to a REALISTIC LONG TERM PLAN FOR HEALTHY EATING. All the above mentioned "tricks, fads" only make you miss what you enjoy to eat. When you miss them then you want to "cheat" this is the fastest path to regaining the weight you have just lost.
Lastly: here is your new mind set "FOOD IS FUEL" food is not a reward for winning the game or getting good grades. Going out to celebrate a special night with your spouse is about the time together and the night not what goes in your mouth. Pizza party at the hall or with the kids is great, we all like pizza. How much to pizza-fuel do I need today.

Lasting weight loss is not is not easy, just ask 67 % of America. However it's not hard once you know what to do.
Good luck and keep up the thread.

[OSD122]

I lost 21 pounds on the Nutrisystem diet.

[FireBuffR1L2E3]

I'm 5'7, still growing, and have about 215 pounds of me. I want to shave it to 160.

I've been trying hard for 2 years now, on diet for the first year, and now have been doing rigorus workout routines for about 6 months now. Over the summer i have been doing a hard, and sweat filled workout, for 4 days a week, 1-2 hours a day. Over the school year it's been cut down to half of that. 2 days for the same amount of hours. They give us a sheet, and u check each set after u do it. (Example: Benchpress 8x, then overhand pullups 9x.)

Mike

[LFD1MICHAEL]

I'm 5'7, still growing, and have about 215 pounds of me. I want to shave it to 160.

I've been trying hard for 2 years now, on diet for the first year, and now have been doing rigorus workout routines for about 6 months now. Over the summer i have been doing a hard, and sweat filled workout, for 4 days a week, 1-2 hours a day. Over the school year it's been cut down to half of that. 2 days for the same amount of hours. They give us a sheet, and u check each set after u do it. (Example: Benchpress 8x, then overhand pullups 9x.)

Mike

Mike, how much weight have you lost in 2 years? The above sounds like a hard core program, with proper diet and hard work a young guy should be able to lose 2# a week consistently. If you are working hard and not having consistent weight loss IT IS YOUR INTAKE. See the above posts for dietary inf. or get back here.

michael