Do you have the stereotypical DnD "body type".

[ForceUser]

I'm overweight. 6' 290 lbs. or so. I could drop 100 lbs and still be 10 lbs over what the Navy told me my ideal body weight was. Funny thing is, I don't feel obese. Running is kind of hard on the knees though. If anyone has any advice for dropping pounds I'm all ears.

 

[The Serge]

If anyone has any advice for dropping pounds I'm all ears.

Change you're eating habits and exercise. That's all I did.

For the first month or so, I changed how and when I was eating. I dropped carbs after 5 P.M., ate a heavy-fiber/low fat breakfast every morning (bran flakes with skim milk), ate at least two snacks between meals (usually a piece of fruit or two), ate a low-fat lunch (although I hate Subway, it's one of the best options for lunch), and ate a low-fat dinner (bonelss, skinless chicken breast and broccolli or corn). If I was hungry at night, I'd eat a piece of fruit (grapes, apple, etc) or I'd drink about 16 oz of water.

Eat when you're hungry! And eat small to medium meals. This keeps your metabolism going, which helps burn calories, which reduces the amount of fat your body creates/stores. After about four to six weeks, slowly reintroduce a little more fat to your diet, but otherwise maintain the eating habits. A treat day, when you eat anything you want, is always good (what's great about it is that as you continue to lose weight, you'll be more and more hesitant to eat anything that's unhealthy).

For working out, start slow. Instead of running, walk for about a mile to a mile and a half. Do this in the morning since this increases your metabolism for the rest of the day. Walk fast and slowly increase your speed over time. Make sure you stretch before and after your walk. You should walk for at least 20 to 30 minutes (so you may have to add additional distance).

I know a lot of guys hate this sort of thing, but after you're tired of walking (it took me about four weeks) buy work out tapes or DVDs, particularly those that claim to burn fat. High low interval training and low impact aerobics are great. It took me about two weeks before I could do the entire thing without feeling like I was going to die. Always stretch before and after.

After about six weeks of that, I started running. I can now run 2/3 of a mile, a real achievement for someone who couldn't do that ever before. I've also incorporated weight lifting. This will spike another bout of weight loss as you replace fat with muscle and burn more calories.

One thing that really helped me was a bet I made with a co-worker/associate. We bet that we would lose 20 pounds in 2 1/2 months. If one person failed, he paid the other a $50 gift certificate to Best Buy. If both people failed, each would give the other a $50 check to a charity of the other's choosing. If both succeed, we'd party. We both made it and neither of us have partied because we both want to lose at least another 10 pounds!

Additionally, having people look at me is great motivation. I've always been handsome, but now the attention I receive is significantly improved because I'm trimmer and more desirable (because I look healthy)!

It can be done, it just requires you wanting it badly enough. You can do it.

Good luck!

 

[Seule]

The Serge, although I don't exactly follow what you laid out, what I'm doing is pretty close in concept. I eat every 2-3 hours, small meals with protein and some carb. I make sure to get lots of veggies and fruit. I drink a lot of water. I haven't gotten to the exercise yet, but I am (and always have been) quite capable of walking fast for reasonable distances, as I take the bus everywhere. I've got about 100 pounds to lose still, but I'm 70 pounds into my loss, and it's all good so far.

--Seule

 

[olethros]

stats

5'9" and 174 lbs.
I was a college athlete and I still work out 5-6 days a week. Unfortunately, I still have the college eating habits. <urp>


My weight does tend to fluctuate +/- about 5-7 lbs on a weekly basis. Does this happen to anyone else?

 

[Mach2.5]

5'8" and 150, give or take 10 pounds (I fluctuate alot depending on my workouts and my eating for the week). I'm definately not a powerbuild, but well defined and muscular non-the-less. I've no intentions of ever getting bigger (I would hate to have lats so huge that I can't put my arms down). I've often been told that I have an underestimated build. As for the rest, my hair is light red and hits my waiste easily after a trim. Skintone is average, not tanned but definately not a typical redheads white either. Eyes are pale green.

Oh yeah, 27 years and no back hair!

 

[dave_o]

I'm built almost exactly like Johnny Knoxville from Jackass.

Meaning, I'm the lean, strong boxer type with uberabs.

Given that I'm in a punk band, and dress way punk rock - no one ever guesses that I'm a gamer.

 

[Taren Nighteyes]

I'm about 5'7" and 160. Most people guess my weight at 145-150. I guess I carry it well

My wife is 5'8" and 120. She carries herself very well

Taren Nighteyes

 

[Sixchan]

Most of us UK gamers tend to be on the scrawny side, not so many 'Comic Store Guy' types here. Different lifestyle I guess, and no free refills.

Agreed. Scrawny and Pale, but you can call me Screech under absolutely no circumstances.

 

[Amrynn Moonshadow]

not the average gamer . . .

firstly, visible minority (parents from india)

secondly, because of stupid circumstances, i HAVE to work out and look presentable (the wife unit is a model), lest i embarras her outside the house or invite her to have an affair . . .

thirdly i don't really do gamer things, or wear 'gamer clothes' all the time, so much so that when i go to my neighbourhood gaming store they treat me like an outcast, eventhough i'm a regular customer. it almost makes me just want to switch to pdf files on the net for good . . .

5'8 (avg/tall for a hindu guy), 156 lb. no ripped abs, but i'm strong enough, though my age related lowered metabolism has made me barrell chested. which is very odd to say the least. played football (american) and rugby competitively during my days in highschool, now just play hockey and basketball. i do love running cross country though the knees (knee injury and operation due to contact sports) don't share that love.

I DO love few things more than just watching tv in bed while eating chips though. occasionally i get to let myself go (when she's visiting her parents), and i don't cut my hair, or shave, or frankly change my clothes for like 3 days straight. then i start to resemble a sasquatch or wookie, which for the record, i have no problems with at all.

i'm a hairy guy, and well, that's how god made me. i have hairy arms, and hands, and feet, and chest, and of course, back. if i was at a nude beach i'd be kick out for apparently wearing a sweater.

feel free to gwak (sp?) at these headshots of me . . . (my personal favorite is my 'kevin garnett' face in my med scrubs)

 

[Agback]

If anyone has any advice for dropping pounds I'm all ears.

I have had really good results with a low-carbohydrate diet. Not high-protein: low-carbohydrate. I recommend Protein Power by Dr. Mary D Eades (MD) and Dr Michael R Eades (MD) as setting out a good program, but the book is rather badly organised.

Three years ago I walked three miles every day, but I weighed 127 kg (280 lb). It helps that my shoulders in a business suit brush both sides of a standard-width doorway, but I had a forty-seven inch waist. I bought a dog and added forty minutes to an hour every day of walking the dog, and started being more sensible about what I ate (in a conventional low-fat high complex-carbs sort of way). I was often hungry, always craved sweet or starchy foods, and tended to get distracted and crabby coming up on mealtimes. I lost about a pound a month for two years, and then gained four pounds by just thinking about Christmas.

So at the beginning of the year I weighed 117 kg (257 lb) and was feeling discouraged. Noting that a lot of people seemed to be having success with low-carb dieting I picked up Protein Power by Eades and Eades.

I eat ham and eggs for breakfast every morning, cold meat, cheese and a very mixed salad with French dressing for lunch, and have grilled, baked, pan-fried or stewed meat, poultry, or offal, steamed vegetables (not starchy ones, but green leafies, cauliflower, broccoli, pumpkin, zucchini etc) dressed with butter, and a glass of wine for dinner every night. (You could add in seafood as well: I don't because I don't like the taste.) I use only olive oil, peanut oil, butter, bacon fat, and beef dripping for cooking, and olive oil for making dressing. I no longer eat any cereal, pasta, bread, cake, rice, potatoes, bananas etc.

I'm eating things I like, and all I want of them. My blood pressure, pulse rate, cholesterol, LDL, and elevated liver enzymes are all back down in the range they were in when I was high school swimming champion. I'm down to 5 kg above recommended weight for height, and will make recommended before the beach season starts in October. I plan to be back in 32" jeans by Christmas.

So try low-carbing. It's easy and it works. It isn't expensive either. I eat less cheap starchy staples these days, but I more than recoup my expenses because I no longer buy much prepared food. Instead I buy greengroceries (which are cheap, even in the drought) and prepare them myself.

In case after all this anyone interested in knowing what my build is like is still reading, I am 5' 10.5" tall, have a 49" chest, 38" waist, 38" hips, 18" neck, 15" bicepses, and 24" thighs (pure, well-defined muscle). I span 6'4" and I'm 22" across the shoulders. Random strangers start up conversations on the assumption that I used to play Rugby. I weigh 96 kg (210 lb), of which 21% is fat (ideal for men my age is 16% fat). You can judge my probable back hair from the fact that the 'Ag' in my nick is the chemical symbol for silver.

Regards,


Agback