For BG fitness fanatics, a question..

[Cantih]

Post your height, weight, age, and calorie intake and people can give better advice.

Jugs of water will not be heavy enough, find a gym or buy a bar and some plates if you want to build muscle.

If you don't have enough stamina to do any aerobic exercise, just do less intense aerobic exercise. Start by walking or something, etc.

If you want to just keep dieting the weight off without exercise, kill off your carbs completely. Eat protein and fat only. If you're still stalling after 4 weeks, increase your calorie intake by 300-500calories/day.(assuming you are doing something ridiculously low like 800-900cal/day already)

5'8" / 210 pounds / 25 years old / 1,200 calories a day (I've been on 1.2k since I started the diet about six months ago, I was 255 pounds)
I'm not willing to go lower in calories or on a ketogenic diet without legitimate medical advice, which I do not have access to, so.

I can't afford a gym or real equipment either.
I just had the water jugs on hand, and figured If I needed more, well, they're only a dollar for eight pounds. Four across two shopping bags is 32 pounds, and I thought that would be enough. Another two for 48 might be a bit bulky, but it may work. Yes, the fact they aren't dumbbells limits what I can do, but I'm trying to work with what I got.

I never see any results from walking. My natural pace is 3mph, and I have no stamina issues at that, it does not get my heart rate up (walking and public transport are my only means of travel). Any faster, however, and I can't get far, and I can't seem to build it higher. Believe me, there is a string of primary school P.E. teachers who have attempted it on me.
I do it, I don't think of it as exercise because it takes no effort. And I only do it for the purpose of getting someplace. Walking just to walk is so mind numbingly boring I can't stand it.

I'll try upping my calories for a while, I guess, see if that works.

[Atreides]

ok not to sound like a dick, but sometimes I wonder if people see someone on tv say something like "1200 calories is the minimum you should ever eat" and then assume that's the ideal amount for a diet. 1200 is really, really low for someone your height and weight, especially if you're even a little active. You are probably starving yourself (but definitely inhibiting your potential progress with any exercise plan) eating anything less than 1800-2000, and if you're stalled out on weight loss it's most likely because of that.

But if the goal is weight/muscle/strength gain, you are going to need to up that to at least 2500-3000 if you're just working out at home.

[Cream Soda]

lol, I'm lucky to get a 1000 calories. I'm on a budget of $2-3 a day

[Cantih]

ok not to sound like a dick, but sometimes I wonder if people see someone on tv say something like "1200 calories is the minimum you should ever eat" and then assume that's the ideal amount for a diet. 1200 is really, really low for someone your height and weight, especially if you're even a little active. You are probably starving yourself (but definitely inhibiting your potential progress with any exercise plan) eating anything less than 1800-2000, and if you're stalled out on weight loss it's most likely because of that.

But if the goal is weight/muscle/strength gain, you are going to need to up that to at least 2500-3000 if you're just working out at home.

The goal wasn't weight or strength gain, but yes a bit of muscle to increase my resting metabolic rate. I do not WANT to be 210 pounds, I want to be 150/160.
And 2k calories is what got me back up to 255 over several years.

[Kuya]

And 2k calories is what got me back up to 255 over several years.

That can't possibly be true.

[Osede]

The goal wasn't weight or strength gain, but yes a bit of muscle to increase my resting metabolic rate. I do not WANT to be 210 pounds, I want to be 150/160.
And 2k calories is what got me back up to 255 over several years.

You may want to list out everything that you eat and drink the moment you get to 255 lbs. Yes, include drink too. Most of people never notice that some of the little snack, like a sausage with a bread, or like ice tea, beer, coffee with sugar will provide alot of calories too.

[Atreides]

if you want to be 150-160 you need to exercise and eat enough calories to lose weight without starving yourself, so 1800-2000. Just go run or even walk, do p90x or some body weight routine. I know you've said you don't like exercising and that's a problem, you are going to need to learn to like getting off your butt and deal with the discomfort/sweating/pain.

If you're starting from a long period of being sedentary (as a lot of us on this forum have) it's really tough getting started, but your body adapts and gets stronger pretty quickly, and it gets easier. But unless you start forcing yourself to exercise on a regular basis you're going to have a tough time reaching your fitness goal.

[Cantih]

I'm never going to be 255 ever again, every time I put pounds off that stay off, I lower the ceiling of what I'll ever let myself reach again, right now it's 220, and I wont hit that if I have any say in the matter.
What caused me to stop the diet the first time isn't going happen again, doing it for different reasons now.

Right now.
I have some waffles when I wake up, 200 calories.
I have a turkey sandwich for lunch, the the bread is 200, turkey is 100, a slice of cheese is 100. So 400 total.
Dinner is usually some macaroni and cheese, or cheese ravioli. I count out the ravioli to 400, or I measure out 300 calories of dry macaroni, and 100 calories of cheese sauce.
That's 1k. I also keep a stock of granola bars or puffed rice cakes in reserve to "snack" on if I get "damn I'm hungry but it's too early for X". If I don't get hungry, I usually have it shortly after lunch, to hit 1.2k. Or skip it and stick a chocolate milk in somewhere, which is 300-400 calories, so sometimes I'm at 1.4k.
Once or twice a month, I'll only have the waffles, then go to a restaurant with family, or order a pizza late in the day.

When I was off the diet, it would be about the same, but I'd also keep things like ice cream, chips, artisan breads, etc. in the house. But I know I never crossed 2k because I kept an eye on the maximum calories when I was grocery shopping. I would never keep more than 14k of food in the house each week between shopping trips.

I only drink water, or the occasional chocolate milk. Hate coffee & tea, I gave up soda years ago in the first diet, to save money, and diet tastes like shit. I don't drink any alcohol.

[takethistoyourgrave]

And 2k calories is what got me back up to 255 over several years.

No.

[Cantih]

Fine, nevermind.

[takethistoyourgrave]

What kind of waffles are you eating that are 200 calories and are you using any syrup? Seriously asking, I love waffles but I try not to eat them very often.

[Cantih]

Eggo Chocolate Chip, two waffles is 210 calories.
No syrup, no butter, no anything.

[takethistoyourgrave]

Gotcha. I dunno if I could do it without syrup or not. When I overhauled my diet for weight loss a few years ago, I basically started eating healthy cereals for breakfast every single day and five years later, I am incredibly sick of all of them.

[Cantih]

Yeah, that's what the chocolate is for. A plain waffle is like, fuck, who would do such a thing.

[Hushigoshi]

At 5'8", 210 lbs, 25 years old, (assuming male) It would take an estimated 2074 calories a day just to maintain your weight if all you did was wake up and lay in bed all day. The fact that you're already making an 800 calorie a day deficit, you should be losing 5600 calories worth of weight, or 1.6 pounds, a week. Factor in ANY activity you do for the day, you'll be making a 1k+ deficit for the day and your body is going to enter a starvation mode.

Also, three meals a day is retarded. 5-7 meals to keep your metabolism from entering a catabolic state, with most of your calorie consumption in the morning and early afternoon to provide you energy throughout the day. Also, no fruits, vegetables, or sources of natural protein in your diet is very "wtf?"

If your diet is exactly what you say (1.2k a day always) and you're really not losing weight, there is always the small chance you have Hypothyroidism. Only way to know is to go to a doctor.

[Atreides]

yea I agree, that diet has almost no protein in it whatsoever, just 100 calories of turkey 1x a day and whatever you get from cheese. You're pretty much eating all processed carbs, that's probably why you don't have enough energy to enjoy exercising.

Build your diet around lean protein, whole grain (brown rice and whole wheat), fruits and vegetables, and healthy fats (nuts and seeds). You'll feel a lot better and as long as you're eating enough you'll start losing weight again.

[Cantih]

At 5'8", 210 lbs, 25 years old, (assuming male) It would take an estimated 2074 calories a day just to maintain your weight if all you did was wake up and lay in bed all day. The fact that you're already making an 800 calorie a day deficit, you should be losing 5600 calories worth of weight, or 1.6 pounds, a week. Factor in ANY activity you do for the day, you'll be making a 1k+ deficit for the day and your body is going to enter a starvation mode.

Also, three meals a day is retarded. 5-7 meals to keep your metabolism from entering a catabolic state, with most of your calorie consumption in the morning and early afternoon to provide you energy throughout the day. Also, no fruits, vegetables, or sources of natural protein in your diet is very "wtf?"

Thing is though, wouldn't the deficit have been worse at 255? Yet I got down to 210.
But I'll take it up to 1.5k, see if it helps, that should also stick an extra meal in the day.

[Atreides]

probably still won't work but why not? just keep doing it wrong in case it works one day

[Cantih]

just keep doing it wrong in case it works one day

Yes, because being combative and sarcastic with me has worked wonders so far.

[Hushigoshi]

Thing is though, wouldn't the deficit have been worse at 255? Yet I got down to 210.
But I'll take it up to 1.5k, see if it helps, that should also stick an extra meal in the day.

To maintain 255 lbs, that would have been 2300 calories a day.

You starved your body down to that weight (210 pounds). 95% chance your body ate away what little muscle you had as well as adipose body fat to keep your energy levels high enough so you didn't (potentially) die. Hence why you have almost no muscular and cardiovascular endurance currently at the weight you are now.