I lost 55 Ibs in 4-5 months

  • Thread starter TheMagicianOfPrecision
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TheMagicianOfPrecision

Guest
...and finally i feel really good again on court!

The beginning was the hardest part then it just went automatically.

Feel free to ask anything :)
 

pepka

Professional
Pics or it didn't happen ;-) Good job mate, keep up "the healthy ways" and enjoy your "new life".
 
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TheMagicianOfPrecision

Guest
Thanx, ill try to post some playing videos later this week
 

r2473

G.O.A.T.
Nice. Are you where you want to be now or do you have further to go?

Do you want to give us your "secret" :wink:
 
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TheMagicianOfPrecision

Guest
Nice. Are you where you want to be now or do you have further to go?

Do you want to give us your "secret" :wink:

Im at 210 Ibs, when i hit 200 Ibs then Im done. Im 6`1.

There`s no secret, spent a lot of time on court and in the gym :)
 

r2473

G.O.A.T.
Im at 210 Ibs, when i hit 200 Ibs then Im done. Im 6`1.

There`s no secret, spent a lot of time on court and in the gym :)

Wait, you exercised? And lost weight? Say it isn't so :)

I have an identical story to yours. Went from ~260 to 210 in about the same time span as you did a little over a year ago. I'm also the same height as you.

My body seemed to "settle" at 210 (which is between 16% and 17% bodyfat for me). I got down to 200, but my body didn't want to stay there. It has no trouble at all staying at 210. So, that's where I stay.

Anyway, congrats. Life is much better at 210 than 260, that's for sure.
 

mikeler

Moderator
Wait, you exercised? And lost weight? Say it isn't so :)

I have an identical story to yours. Went from ~260 to 210 in about the same time span as you did a little over a year ago. I'm also the same height as you.

My body seemed to "settle" at 210 (which is between 16% and 17% bodyfat for me). I got down to 200, but my body didn't want to stay there. It has no trouble at all staying at 210. So, that's where I stay.

Anyway, congrats. Life is much better at 210 than 260, that's for sure.


About 11 years ago, my wife got a profile picture of me on one of the last days of our Alaskan cruise. I thought her camera had to be defective. I could not believe I was that fat.

I'm 5'-8" and I weighed myself at 212 pounds. I went low carb and started biking (why I didn't think about tennis back then I'll never know). I dropped about 2 pounds per week until I hit 180 pounds. For 2 months I tried, but my body just would not drop below 180.

Now I try and eat smart but do need carbs for my tennis. I'm listless on the court without them. I also lift weights and have added muscle so now it seems like 190 is that magical floor that is hard to break.
 

r2473

G.O.A.T.
^^ Perfect. Sounds like a healthy weight.

I am going to try to get down to 200 over the course of the next year. I think my body will accept a bit lower weight if I "introduce" it slowly enough. (Well, I guess I'll see if that's true). I'm going to try to go ~2 lbs at a time and then just hold there for a while before losing the next 2 lbs.

Breaking the "floor" is hard. Your body does just seem to settle at a certain weight and won't go any lower (especially if you are a bit older.....I'm 39). I can "break" the floor, but it doesn't do me any good if my body won't stay there when I go back to eating normally (and obviously I'm not going to be on a diet all my life).
 
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mikeler

Moderator
^^ Perfect. Sounds like a healthy weight.

I am going to try to get down to 200 over the course of the next year. I think my body will accept a bit lower weight if I "introduce" it slowly enough. (Well, I guess I'll see if that's true). I'm going to try to go ~2 lbs at a time and then just hold there for a while before losing the next 2 lbs.

Breaking the "floor" is hard. Your body does just seem to settle at a certain weight and won't go any lower (especially if you are a bit older.....I'm 39). I can "break" the floor, but it doesn't do me any good if my body won't stay there when I go back to eating normally (and obviously I'm not going to be on a diet all my life).


We are the exact same age. I knew that keeping my weight near the floor would be very difficult as well. At least we both found out what that number is. I'm a big fan of losing weight slowly. Most people who try to lose weight quickly tend to gain it back even faster.
 

jimanuel12

Semi-Pro
About 11 years ago, my wife got a profile picture of me on one of the last days of our Alaskan cruise. I thought her camera had to be defective. I could not believe I was that fat.

I'm 5'-8" and I weighed myself at 212 pounds. I went low carb and started biking (why I didn't think about tennis back then I'll never know). I dropped about 2 pounds per week until I hit 180 pounds. For 2 months I tried, but my body just would not drop below 180.

Now I try and eat smart but do need carbs for my tennis. I'm listless on the court without them. I also lift weights and have added muscle so now it seems like 190 is that magical floor that is hard to break.

at one time i was 217 lbs at 6'3" now i am 178 lbs - i feel so much better being skinny than fat. i am now back into my 34 jeans again. i was pushing a size 40 when i lost the weight.:)
i just cut down on the amount of food i eat - no dieting for me - i just got used to eating less and i feel so much better.
 

usta2050

Rookie
We are the exact same age. I knew that keeping my weight near the floor would be very difficult as well. At least we both found out what that number is. I'm a big fan of losing weight slowly. Most people who try to lose weight quickly tend to gain it back even faster.

my friend broke the barrier by doing spinning and pilates... i have yet to try it myself. but i know the floor is not an easy challenge.
 

limitup

Professional
^^ Perfect. Sounds like a healthy weight.

You think 190 lbs at 5'8" is a "healthy weight" ? It's certainly better than 212 but it's far from ideal.

Don't give up Mikeler - there's more to lose and you'll feel even better than you do now!

The last 10-20 lbs is the hardest and you're right, it's slow going to lose that last bit of weight unless you just starve yourself which you can't really do if you're active.
 
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maggmaster

Hall of Fame
I am 5' 8" and I have been as heavy as 185 in college with a decently low body fat( 14%) 190 is not bad if he lifts weights and has a healthy bodyfat. Right now I stay around 155 because it is comfortable and easy to maintain.
 

Fuji

Legend
Awesome job TMoP!!! :D Can't wait to see your videos!

I'm 6'0 and I hover at around 180lbs. I'm a bit big for my height, as I am still a bit out of shape from the winter. I usually am at about 170-175 for my normal weight when working out normally!

-Fuji
 

scotus

G.O.A.T.
You think 190 lbs at 5'8" is a "healthy weight" ? It's certainly better than 212 but it's far from ideal.

Don't give up Mikeler - there's more to lose and you'll feel even better than you do now!

The last 10-20 lbs is the hardest and you're right, it's slow going to lose that last bit of weight unless you just starve yourself which you can't really do if you're active.

But you haven't seen Mikeler.

He is 190 lbs of pure muscles, a mini Arnold.
 

r2473

G.O.A.T.
You think 190 lbs at 5'8" is a "healthy weight" ? It's certainly better than 212 but it's far from ideal.

No, not ideal, but probably fairly healthy in terms of health risks associated with obesity. Especially if he exercises regularly (which I'm sure he does).

At 40 years old, I'm sure Mikeler isn't going to have six pack abs at the top of his priority list.
 

floridatennisdude

Hall of Fame
at one time i was 217 lbs at 6'3" now i am 178 lbs - i feel so much better being skinny than fat. i am now back into my 34 jeans again. i was pushing a size 40 when i lost the weight.:)
i just cut down on the amount of food i eat - no dieting for me - i just got used to eating less and i feel so much better.

Hey! I'm 6'3" and around 210. The last thing I consider myself is fat. I'm in size 34-35 pants!

Excellent point about portion control. Caloric intake is the only ingredient in weight gain or loss. Unless you are pulling off Michael Phelps types of 10000 calorie workouts, you can only drop weight if you reduce calories. Anyone see "Weight of a Nation" on hbo a couple weeks ago?

Playing a 2 hour tennis match probably only burns 1000-1500 calories. Doesn't take much to eat that afterwards.
 

Posture Guy

Professional
Congratulations to the OP! Would love to hear more about what dietary modifications you made.

It's funny how we get 'floors' that are hard to break through, as mikeler points out. Mine is around 180. I'm 6'0", 51 years old, relatively lean but would love to get rid of some belly fat. Have about a 34" waist, would like to get that down to 32-33".

Took a vacation and just ate however I wanted and got (for me) really heavy, and could feel it. Bounced up to 188, yikes. Just cut back on carbs on non-playing days and after a week am at 184. In another week I'll be back around 180. Will take a little more effort to get through that to the 175-180 target.
 
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TheMagicianOfPrecision

Guest
Thanx for the replies guys!

Very interesting discussion going on

My life style was terrible for the last 3-4 years, i worked out once a week in the gym, played 2-3 hours of tennis and walked my dog 2 hours a day- But on top of that i had bacon sausages and egg for breakfast- Loads of pasta and meat , pizza, burgers for dinner ,and snacks, lots of snacks in between and late at night. I had 6-7 beers a week and 5-6 litres of coca cola.

One day i just had enough, seeing myself in videos woke me up, I didnt recognize myself.

So...

I now eat oat meal and/or some healthy bread and boiled eggs and drink cofee for breakfast.

I don`t drink coca cola anymore, 8 weeks since my last coca cola. I still have 2-3 beers a week.

And i have much smaller portions ! I still eat pasta, potatoes and rice but probably less than half the portions compared to before.
I also added lots of fruit and vegetables, i eat lots of carrots, apples, pears and bananas while i work out.

I also added some hours to my workout, now i practice tennis 5-6 hours a week, walk my dog 3 hours a day and run with him.

Once i got going it felt like really small adjustments but boy did they help!!
 

Posture Guy

Professional
You walk your dog 3 hours a day? Wow!

Your story is great. So many people looking for the magic bullet, but time and again, the same recipe works:

- move more
- eat better
- eat less

Thanks for sharing and congratulations!
 

jimanuel12

Semi-Pro
Hey! I'm 6'3" and around 210. The last thing I consider myself is fat. I'm in size 34-35 pants!

Excellent point about portion control. Caloric intake is the only ingredient in weight gain or loss. Unless you are pulling off Michael Phelps types of 10000 calorie workouts, you can only drop weight if you reduce calories. Anyone see "Weight of a Nation" on hbo a couple weeks ago?

Playing a 2 hour tennis match probably only burns 1000-1500 calories. Doesn't take much to eat that afterwards.

no offense meant, but 217 was fat for me. but like i said i feel better at my weight now.
if you are in 34-35 at 210 that is great for you but i looked a pot bellied pig at 217 and a waist size 40.
but as mentioned the best way for me was smaller portions - worked for me.:)
 

Posture Guy

Professional
To me, for a guy, waist size is a better indicator of appropriate weight/body composition than simply the number on the scale.

I think regardless of your weight, if you're at 34" waist size or below, you're probably ok.
 

limitup

Professional
I would tend to agree, but I'm not so sure that would apply to everyone or even most people. I'm 5'11" and currently around 175 lbs and just dropped to a size 32. At a size 34 I was 195-200 lbs and looked like a pig and was technically obese at 26-28% body fat. Even now at 175 and wearing size 32 I'm still 16% bodyfat and barely have abs showing.
 

Posture Guy

Professional
Wow, you're 5'11" and weighed almost 200 lbs and still had a 34" waist? If I weighed that much, no way I'd fit into size 34" jeans.
 

LeeD

Bionic Poster
I don't get it. What else is new?
I'm 5'11", weigh right at 150, consider myself a little pudgy by 15 lbs., and I measured my waist resting at 33". How can you guys be skinnier?
 

OTMPut

Hall of Fame
Congrats OP. Whatever the method, it was a step in the right direction and battling old and bad habits is not easy. Good stuff.

I have a thread somewhere. I dropped about 30 lbs in a out 2 months and i have kept that way effortlessly over the last 4 months. Moved from a 34" CK jeans to a 29" jeans. I am 5'10" and weigh about 156 now.

All i did was to cut out grains and sugar. Never felt hungry and never worked out more than 15 min a day (mostly body weight stuff). I play tennis twice a week and work a 12h a day desk job 5 days a week.

Sounds a little boastful though. What the heck, i see painful souls running mad on treadmill to shed a few pounds and i feel very lucky.
 

Ronaldo

Bionic Poster
Congrats OP. Whatever the method, it was a step in the right direction and battling old and bad habits is not easy. Good stuff.

I have a thread somewhere. I dropped about 30 lbs in a out 2 months and i have kept that way effortlessly over the last 4 months. Moved from a 34" CK jeans to a 29" jeans. I am 5'10" and weigh about 156 now.

All i did was to cut out grains and sugar. Never felt hungry and never worked out more than 15 min a day (mostly body weight stuff). I play tennis twice a week and work a 12h a day desk job 5 days a week.

Sounds a little boastful though. What the heck, i see painful souls running mad on treadmill to shed a few pounds and i feel very lucky.

Never mentioned your age
 

GarryClarke

Semi-Pro
i like your story and sounds a bit like mine

before i started tennis a year ago i was 252lb,s and am 6ft2.
im an ex bodybuilder and after a few injurys i packed it in as age wasnt on my side,
and as anybody knows all that muscle turns to fat and goes south if you dont keep up some sort of fitness which i didint.
my waist went from a 36 to a 44,i fooled myself that i looked ok but deep down i wasnt happy but to lazy to do anythiny as being overweight does that to you.

last summer my partner put a video up of us on facebook in the lounge messing about,i didnt have a top on and after seeing it i realised how fat i was and had to do something about it,
i spoke to my work mate who still does bodybuilding and no,s that i didnt want to go back to that,
we used to play tennis 25yrs ago and said come on lets have a knock about like we used to,so off we went and god did i strugle,i couldnt run for more than 5 seconds and i was doubled over trying to get my breath,i think we did an hour and i couldnt walk for days after but for some reason i wanted to play again as we had such a laugh.
well over the weeks we kept going and of course i still struggled with my breathing/knee,s but i couldnt get enough of tennis even though it was killing me lol
by chance i started to speak to a coach for some tips and he mentioned mixed doubles and group tuition,i thought right do it.

a year down the line im a healthy 224lbs (remember im a big guy)
a 34 waist and can run around like a nutter for 2-3 hours.
i still suffer from patella tendion problems but wear the straps to support them but they still get stiff after,but nothing a bit of ice cant fix.
my tennis has improved so much and i also mix in with the big boys and i can hold my own:)

the moral of this story is if i can do it anyone can and now i cant ever see me not playing tennis as im well and truely bitten by it and long may it continue

thanks garry
 

floridatennisdude

Hall of Fame
^^^im not as big of a guy as you, but when I was in my early 20s I was into weights and had a bench press over 300 and squats near 400 for a 6'3" guy that weighed 230-240 with a good beach body.

I let that go around age 26 and it certainly crept south. Tennis inspired me to get slimmer, longer, and lighter. My body type won't let me get under 200, so I float around 205-215 depending on how much I eat and drink on the weekends. I feel good in this range, but I certainly move better on the court when I am near 205.
 

r2473

G.O.A.T.
I don't get it. What else is new?
I'm 5'11", weigh right at 150, consider myself a little pudgy by 15 lbs., and I measured my waist resting at 33". How can you guys be skinnier?

I think you are right LeeD.

It all depends on how you measure waist size LeeD. Most people "know" they are a 32". They also wear 32" jeans (uh, have you ever measured the actual size of your "32" jeans lol). If you ever go to BB forums you have 5' 10" guys that are over 200 lbs., swear they have never touched steroids, and claim to be single digit bodyfat. There is a guy on this forum (FastFreddy) that routinely makes these claims.

I suspect many people would be rather surprised by their ACTUAL bf% if they had an accurate test done. Bod Pod or Dexa for example.

Not that it matters.

The bod pod testers at the university where I get tested have told me pretty funny stories about people getting pretty angry at how "inaccurate" their test is lol. Because the person getting tested "knows" their bf% is MUCH lower than what that stupid machine says.

Again, it doesn't really matter. But if you have ever wondered how muscle "turns to fat" (uh, WTF??), this is usually the explanation.
 
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limitup

Professional
LeeD - you're 5'11", you weigh 150 and you think you're "pudgy" ???

I'm 5'11" and if I was 150 I would have about 3% bodyfat!
 
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forthegame

Hall of Fame
Congrats OP. Whatever the method, it was a step in the right direction and battling old and bad habits is not easy. Good stuff.

I have a thread somewhere. I dropped about 30 lbs in a out 2 months and i have kept that way effortlessly over the last 4 months. Moved from a 34" CK jeans to a 29" jeans. I am 5'10" and weigh about 156 now.

All i did was to cut out grains and sugar. Never felt hungry and never worked out more than 15 min a day (mostly body weight stuff). I play tennis twice a week and work a 12h a day desk job 5 days a week.

Sounds a little boastful though. What the heck, i see painful souls running mad on treadmill to shed a few pounds and i feel very lucky.

This is what's stopping me from losing the belly flab. I love my sweet tea and sweet coffee. Tried to cut out sugar by changing to "honey" cereal - fooling myself into thinking it's not sugar!

Grains? I love grains, I think it makes for a healthy digestive system. Will look into that.

Someone said it best earlier on: "move more, eat less, eat better".
 

FastFreddy

Semi-Pro
Dam

Congratulations to the OP! Would love to hear more about what dietary modifications you made.

It's funny how we get 'floors' that are hard to break through, as mikeler points out. Mine is around 180. I'm 6'0", 51 years old, relatively lean but would love to get rid of some belly fat. Have about a 34" waist, would like to get that down to 32-33".

Took a vacation and just ate however I wanted and got (for me) really heavy, and could feel it. Bounced up to 188, yikes. Just cut back on carbs on non-playing days and after a week am at 184. In another week I'll be back around 180. Will take a little more effort to get through that to the 175-180 target.

Wow, a 34 waist 6ft @180 seems like alot. Iam 5'10 3/4 209lbs and have a 33 waist and wear 34 jeans and have a 48 chest. When I was 180 I had a 31 waist and wore 32 waist jeans with a 44 chest. Sounds like u need some lipo haha. PS: what's your current body fat?
 

GarryClarke

Semi-Pro
^^^im not as big of a guy as you, but when I was in my early 20s I was into weights and had a bench press over 300 and squats near 400 for a 6'3" guy that weighed 230-240 with a good beach body.

I let that go around age 26 and it certainly crept south. Tennis inspired me to get slimmer, longer, and lighter. My body type won't let me get under 200, so I float around 205-215 depending on how much I eat and drink on the weekends. I feel good in this range, but I certainly move better on the court when I am near 205.

thats bloody good weights for being so young/tall so you had natural strength like myself!!!!!!

i could still do with loosing a few more pounds but its hard enough keeping what ive already lost off.

the biggest shock i had seeing myself so overweight was my "man boobs" lol

i was a 54 chest and now a 46 which makes finding shirts/t-shirts a nightmare as im right in the middle of sizes,i wear xxl on the court as i like baggy stuff but dont look stipid!!!!

i admire anyone who gets off there arse when being very overweight and take up a sport like tennis.
 

codyjames14

New User
This thread is awesome! It's nice to see all of these success stories, gives me some hope haha. Now I'm not unbelievably overweight (6'3" 220) but I'd like to get rid of this spare tire of mine ;-) If I could just cut out the pop in my diet, I'd probably drop a lb or two a week! In high school, which was only four years ago, I weighed in around 175-180 which was fantastic.... now if I could only get down to 190...
 

GarryClarke

Semi-Pro
This thread is awesome! It's nice to see all of these success stories, gives me some hope haha. Now I'm not unbelievably overweight (6'3" 220) but I'd like to get rid of this spare tire of mine ;-) If I could just cut out the pop in my diet, I'd probably drop a lb or two a week! In high school, which was only four years ago, I weighed in around 175-180 which was fantastic.... now if I could only get down to 190...

glad it can or maybe inspire you like it has me and others to loose those unwanted pounds and get healthy

just cutting out a few things like candy/pop/chips can make a big difference with anyone at any age.

i was eating dinners enough for 3 people plus icecream/snickers bars by the dozen lol
my worst time was at night watching tv,i just couldnt stop eating.

now i eat fruit/grapes or a bowl of bran cereal at night if im peckish:)
 

Posture Guy

Professional
Wow, a 34 waist 6ft @180 seems like alot. Iam 5'10 3/4 209lbs and have a 33 waist and wear 34 jeans and have a 48 chest. When I was 180 I had a 31 waist and wore 32 waist jeans with a 44 chest. Sounds like u need some lipo haha. PS: what's your current body fat?

We all continue to stand in awe of your awesomeness.

Lipo is on the list, but first I'm going for calf implants and a nose job. But maybe in 2013!
 

BMC9670

Hall of Fame
Interesting thread. One "thread within a thread" I noticed reading it is the idea that the body has a particular weight it "likes". I have had a similar experience and wonder why this is.

I'm 41, 6' and 175. Now, I feel best at 165 - quicker and just more fit, but I have a hard time staying at that weight. I bounce around between 168-175. Recently I've been relocated for work and lost my fitness and diet routine and thought/felt like I was 180-190. But low and behold 173! Even after 6 months of NO activity with shoulder surgery I never weighed over 175. Just can't hold 165, though. Not complaining, just wonder why this is.
 
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mctennis

Legend
...and finally i feel really good again on court!

The beginning was the hardest part then it just went automatically.

Feel free to ask anything :)

Congratulations. I'm glad you've lost the weight. That gives me inspiration to lose some weight as well. It is always another excuse for me. Seeing this makes me willing to give it a good start. I've been suffering greatly the last year trying to play. It feels like is all weight related. Two lengthy injuries and 5 years off of playing tennis gets you that way. Then another injury in November I'm still nursing. Time to lose it now. Thanks for posting this.
 
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floridatennisdude

Hall of Fame
This thread is awesome! It's nice to see all of these success stories, gives me some hope haha. Now I'm not unbelievably overweight (6'3" 220) but I'd like to get rid of this spare tire of mine ;-) If I could just cut out the pop in my diet, I'd probably drop a lb or two a week! In high school, which was only four years ago, I weighed in around 175-180 which was fantastic.... now if I could only get down to 190...

Cut the following things: soda, juice, chips/fries

And replace with: water, fruit, and vegetables

It will be amazing what these simple caloric reductions do. That was my biggest weight loss process. Juice has soooo many calories and really is just sugar with the fruits natural fiber stripped away.
 

Satch

Hall of Fame
Cut the following things: soda, juice, chips/fries

And replace with: water, fruit, and vegetables

It will be amazing what these simple caloric reductions do. That was my biggest weight loss process. Juice has soooo many calories and really is just sugar with the fruits natural fiber stripped away.

Its really amazing how some really small changes in eating habits can show some positive results.

BTW its ok to drink juice or coke once in a while (lets say once a week/2weeks), but not every day for sure. Just stay away from fat and red meat.
 

r2473

G.O.A.T.
Interesting thread. One "thread within a thread" I noticed reading it is the idea that the body has a particular weight it "likes". I have had a similar experience and wonder why this is.

I'm 41, 6' and 175. Now, I feel best at 165 - quicker and just more fit, but I have a hard time staying at that weight. I bounce around between 168-175. Recently I've been relocated for work and lost my fitness and diet routine and thought/felt like I was 180-190. But low and behold 173! Even after 6 months of NO activity with shoulder surgery I never weighed over 175. Just can't hold 165, though. Not complaining, just wonder why this is.

You are the same age as Mickler and I. Just a few years ago, I could achieve and hold sub 10% (bod pod verified). But now, it seems to be impossible.

I guess this is just what happens as we age.

But, holding a "healthy" weight still seems very doable.

In some many ways, I'm in better shape now than I was when I got down to 10%.
 
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