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Need Advice Losing Weight - $10,000 contest

Need Advice Losing Weight - $10,000 contest

Old Mar 15, 2011, 3:02 pm
  #1  
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Need Advice Losing Weight - $10,000 contest

I'm in a 90-day weight loss contest through a restaurant, and there are 54 contestants across the country. I'm looking for advice on losing more weight, as I've hit a drastic plateau. I need ideas for getting another boost, speeding up my metabolism, burning more calories, whatever I need to do!

I lost 23 pounds in the first 23 days, now it's day 37 and I've lost 29lbs. After such a rapid loss, I slowed down CONSIDERABLY, and I've only lost 6 pounds in the last 2 weeks. My goal is to lose another 30 in the remaining 49 days.

I started at 243.6 lbs. on February 7th. This morning I was 214.4. My goal is to be under 187 by my May 4 weigh-in. I'm 5'9 and about 22% body fat.

Since hitting my slow down, I've inserted cardio in the morning (25-35 minutes on elliptical) and P90X at night (only a few times a week, as it takes a day or two to recover). It's helped to drop a few more pounds.

This has already changed my life. This isn't a diet, this has been an entire lifestyle change for me and it's barely been more than a month. I've bought a mountain bike to stay active and joined a softball league for the spring. The winner of the contest gets $10,000, so I would really appreciate any advice at getting back into my groove and losing more weight. Especially if there's anything I can do while I'm stuck at my 8-5 behind a computer.

The winner is selected 50% by weight loss, 25% is my social media activity (they monitor my twitter/facebook/blog/flickr/youtube postings), and 25% based on public votes.

If you wish to vote for me, it only takes about 20 seconds by signing up for a free meal on your birthday at http://gghealthkwest.squarespace.com/kwest-wall - Select #35 Brandon Sanders

I have to eat at the restaurant (Genghis Grill) once a day as part of the contest. It's similar to a Jarrod at Subway thing, but this is a campaign to bring attention to their healthy options. My meals are usually under 550 calories, under 5g fat, and mostly chicken, shrimp, and green veggies. I usually get brown rice with it. I'm eating every 2-3 hours, high protein and carbs, and almost no sugar or fat.


Male
27 years old
215 lbs. as of this morning
22-23% body fat prior to the competition when I weighed 235 #
BMI = 22
Waist: started at a 38" pant size, now I've lost 2.5 holes on my belt and wearing my size 34 pants.

Last edited by majikTib; Mar 16, 2011 at 12:18 pm
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Old Mar 15, 2011, 4:24 pm
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One of the interesting things I'm reading is just to stand instead of sitting.

Another piece of advice is to eat more. At least for a few days. Your metabolism may be shutting down or slowing down. You may be in starvation mode and your body is trying to keep you healthy. You might want to switch it up to a more Atkins approach, too.

Good luck!
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Old Mar 15, 2011, 4:28 pm
  #3  
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There's a FT travel health & fitness forum. You can't cross post in forums, but you might want to read some of the threads. It's a new forum; only been 'open' for a few weeks.

Cheers.
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Old Mar 15, 2011, 4:43 pm
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My non-expert advice would be to lift some weights and cut out the brown rice.

Weightlifting causes you to burn calories when you're not working out.

Replace the brown rice with sweet potatoes and some nuts. You need a little bit of fat in your diet. Healthy fat is better than high-carb.
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Old Mar 15, 2011, 4:52 pm
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Cardio is the way to burn the most calories in the least amount of time. If you can add more cardio everyday you will burn more calories. Weight lifting builds muscle which burns more calories at rest that fat does and is good for the long term. Cardio burn calories right away. For a healthy lifestyle change do both.
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Old Mar 15, 2011, 5:02 pm
  #6  
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How about trying a colonic? If you eat red meat etc it can be stuck for a long time.
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Old Mar 15, 2011, 5:21 pm
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setup a treadmill next to a tall table, move your computer there...and walk while using the computer. 8 hours of walking at 5mph will be a lot o calories.
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Old Mar 15, 2011, 7:29 pm
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Thanks for the Health & Fitness advice. I browsed quickly prior to posting here, but must have overlooked it.

1. I cut out red meat several weeks ago. It's been chicken, white fish, mahi mahi, shrimp, or calamari since.
2. For the last week I've ramped up my intake: 6-8oz. of chicken every 2.5 hours, and alternating 1cup of white rice depending on the day (high days 200g, low days 80g, and mid days mixed in). I did this for one week, doing it for one more to ramp up my metabolism. I'm (hopefully) shocking my body into thinking there's a ton of food and training it to burn more frequently. I'll be cutting out most carbs next week.

A normal day is 8oz. egg beaters and 1 cup of oatmeal for breakfast, the next 4 meals are chicken (rice is 1, 2, or 4x depending on the day). I have a protein shake late for my 6th meal. The carb cycling is to keep my body confused, and to trick it into thinking there's a ton of food to metabolize. The white rice is a simple carb and burns off quickly.

I'm going to look into a slow treadmill walk during lunch. I'm a professional, and while there's a gym at our office, no showers are provided. I don't want to get sweaty during my lunch break and meeting with VPs later in the day.

I'm afraid to lift weights. I love lifting weights and bulking up, but I can't afford to put on any muscle mass right now.

manneca - I think I was definitely in starvation mode for a while. I think I starved myself the first month, so now I'm trying to eat more and speed up my metabolism. ^

Thanks for all the suggestions - they're all appreciated. I'm going to look into standing while working, the colonic, and the Health and Fitness forum.
^^
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Old Mar 15, 2011, 7:30 pm
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If I wanted to lose pounds and win $10,000 I would drastically reduce my carb intake. If you can eat lots of meat and vegetables at this restaurant, seems like the perfect solution.
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Old Mar 15, 2011, 7:48 pm
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Hate me, but your goal is not at all realistic.

Have you sought out medical advice? A healthy rate of wight loss is half a pound to two pounds per week after the first two weeks of starting a new weight loss program (because you lose a ton of water weight etc in the first couple of weeks).

sixty pounds in ninety days is just plain crazy, and not at all healthy. Your body will start to reduce it's metabolic rate, making any further loss all that much harder, as you are starving it.

It takes an excess of 3,500 calories burned over those taken in over some period of time to lose a pound. It's impossible to do that every day for very long without some very unhealthy and potentially dangerous side effects.
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Old Mar 15, 2011, 8:04 pm
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Originally Posted by cordelli
Hate me, but your goal is not at all realistic.

Have you sought out medical advice? A healthy rate of wight loss is half a pound to two pounds per week after the first two weeks of starting a new weight loss program (because you lose a ton of water weight etc in the first couple of weeks).

sixty pounds in ninety days is just plain crazy, and not at all healthy. Your body will start to reduce it's metabolic rate, making any further loss all that much harder, as you are starving it.

It takes an excess of 3,500 calories burned over those taken in over some period of time to lose a pound. It's impossible to do that every day for very long without some very unhealthy and potentially dangerous side effects.
+1^

I hope the OP loses the weight he wants to, but it sounds very much like a binge diet and not at all like a "lifestyle change".
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Old Mar 15, 2011, 8:06 pm
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Originally Posted by ILuvParis
If I wanted to lose pounds and win $10,000 I would drastically reduce my carb intake. If you can eat lots of meat and vegetables at this restaurant, seems like the perfect solution.
+1

Carbs are the devil

I'd cut out all the rice and even those veggies higher in carbs (carrots, corn, etc). Get your body in Ketosis (you can buy pee sticks to measure your levels) and you'll start losing again.
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Old Mar 15, 2011, 8:15 pm
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Originally Posted by majikTib
Thanks for the Health & Fitness advice. I browsed quickly prior to posting here, but must have overlooked it.

1. I cut out red meat several weeks ago. It's been chicken, white fish, mahi mahi, shrimp, or calamari since.
2. For the last week I've ramped up my intake: 6-8oz. of chicken every 2.5 hours, and alternating 1cup of white rice depending on the day (high days 200g, low days 80g, and mid days mixed in). I did this for one week, doing it for one more to ramp up my metabolism. I'm (hopefully) shocking my body into thinking there's a ton of food and training it to burn more frequently. I'll be cutting out most carbs next week.

A normal day is 8oz. egg beaters and 1 cup of oatmeal for breakfast, the next 4 meals are chicken (rice is 1, 2, or 4x depending on the day). I have a protein shake late for my 6th meal. The carb cycling is to keep my body confused, and to trick it into thinking there's a ton of food to metabolize. The white rice is a simple carb and burns off quickly.

I'm going to look into a slow treadmill walk during lunch. I'm a professional, and while there's a gym at our office, no showers are provided. I don't want to get sweaty during my lunch break and meeting with VPs later in the day.

I'm afraid to lift weights. I love lifting weights and bulking up, but I can't afford to put on any muscle mass right now.

manneca - I think I was definitely in starvation mode for a while. I think I starved myself the first month, so now I'm trying to eat more and speed up my metabolism. ^

Thanks for all the suggestions - they're all appreciated. I'm going to look into standing while working, the colonic, and the Health and Fitness forum.
^^
Have you talked to a dietitian? Just reading your diet it almost sounds to me like you're eating too much, especially if the rice or oatmeal is measured pre-cooking.

I don't think you'll bulk up if you lift some weights, especially higher reps (15-20) provided you are not eating too much. P90X has strength training; are you skipping that? You will plateau if you only do cardio. And cardio is going to ignore your arms/chest/back (and no, don't tell me the elliptical works those, it does but not enough).
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Old Mar 15, 2011, 9:12 pm
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Originally Posted by whlinder
Have you talked to a dietitian?
I had posted this same comment before FT hiccuped earlier, and it didn't get posted. You need to see a dietician. They'll be best equipped to work with you and your metabolism. Of course, any respectable dietician doesn't respond well to 'I need to lose as much as possible in x time period'. It's just not healthy and sustainable.

Your body is telling you this. Your plateau, after a short, large weight loss is because your body thinks its starving and looks to preserve itself. If you want to continue to lose at an accelerated rate, you need to further reduce your caloric intake to the 800/day range and increase your physical output. Again, the catch is, as soon as you increase your cals and decrease your output, you'll be putting weight back on as your metabolism has been reset to a very low calorie diet.

Also, see a doctor!! Be honest as to what your doing and get some blood work done. These types of crash diets can kill you, literally. Probably not, but it's worth the trip to the doc to be sure.
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Old Mar 15, 2011, 9:40 pm
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I had a physical taken prior to the contest, and I have blood taken every 30 days to monitor glucose, cholesterol, and other factors. They have Medical City Hospital in Dallas monitoring the contestants.

I'm actually actively looking for a dietician/nutritionist locally. I've gathered information from two local GNC owners with background in nutrition and exercise science, I've talked with a few body builders I know for their insight, and I've talked with some students studying nutrition at the university level. I know, no real professional advice, but I'm trying to find anything I can.

60 lbs. in 90 days... I know it seems unlikely and improbable, and I realize The Biggest Loser includes a 24-hour controlled environment and isn't "reality", but I've also seen shows like "I Used To Be Fat" where people get exercise and nutrition plans and drop 90lbs in 90days. I see the before and after pictures of people who used P90X. I'm dedicated. I'm changing my habits and choices - I'm putting in way too much work into this just to gain it all back. I realize it isn't the healthiest way to go, but I haven't resorted to diet pills, thermogenics, water pills, bulimia, surgery, or any "easy" way out. I'm doing this as naturally as possible, putting my sweat into it and earning it. The only supplement I've used is protein powder, which I've used for years.

As far as my P90X, yes, I'm doing every session, even the Yoga (ugh). Before I started P90X, I was hitting the gym twice a day, 2 hours on Saturday mornings, and doing crunches/pull ups/hanging leg raises on my own at home. I've been active and athletic before, playing racquetball and basketball frequently and going to the gym, but still eating burgers and fries all the time. I've increased my activity, dropped my love of weight lifting and forced myself into the cardio I've always despised.

I've heard a lot people suggesting to cut out the rice - it's the most common response I hear. I also hear several warnings against doing that. Carbs feed your brain, and with the body builders I've talked to who go on no-carb diets right before competitions, they say it drastically affects your mood and brain activity. However... it does seem logical that eliminating carbs would be very helpful. I'm definitely going to cut it down a bit.

Just to reiterate - this is a life change for me. While I do want to be healthy, I'm at the point where I'm willing to do whatever it takes to lose an extra 10 pounds. $10,000 is a lot of money, and a big motivator, but the weight loss and changes I've seen to my body so far are the biggest motivation for me by far. I'm 27 years old and focused on getting my athletic form back.

Thank you for all the ideas. They're all very appreciated. I'm going to ask that this be relocated to the Travel Health and Fitness Forum where it belongs.

Last edited by majikTib; Mar 15, 2011 at 9:49 pm
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