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Hoss to Boss

9,833 Views | 71 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by CharlieBrown17
Hoss
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3:14p, 11/27/23
AG
Or something like that. I'm copying the Fit Man to Fat Man thread.

47 years old
6'-1"
332.6 lbs
54.1% BF

Not gonna share my life story, but I got divorced about 8 years ago and since that time my commitment to being healthy and fit has gone downhill. I've gained weight and my blood sugar has reached type 2 diabetic levels (my doc hasn't officially diagnosed me but she probably will if I don't turn things around). Aside from that, I have joint pain and achilles tendonitis from carrying so much weight around. Time to make some changes.

I want to get down to around 225 or so. Having spent a lot of time on this forum in the past, it seemed like as good a place as any to share my progress and maybe get some accountability.

So, thanks for whatever role you want to play in this. More to come.
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Apache
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In reply to Hoss • 4:46p, 11/27/23
AG
Get after it! You got this!!
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AggieOO
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5:08p, 11/27/23
i could be wrong...its been many years...but weren't you one of us folks who posed on the General Board's daily workout thread way back in the day, which is what ultimately resulted in the H&F board being created?
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bam02
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7:38p, 11/27/23
AG
Way to go keeping yourself accountable!
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Hoss
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In reply to AggieOO • 7:55p, 11/27/23
AG
AggieOO said:
i could be wrong...its been many years...but weren't you one of us folks who posed on the General Board's daily workout thread way back in the day, which is what ultimately resulted in the H&F board being created?


I've been on and off of TexAgs since 2001 but I mostly posted in Outdoors and H&F. I don't remember a daily workout thread in General, so probably not, but it's possible.
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Matsui
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In reply to Hoss • 8:15p, 11/27/23
AG
You can do it. Start stacking days
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PascalsWager
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8:19p, 11/27/23
AG
Good luck!

As far as being held accountable, tell us what the plan is!
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Hoss
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5:50a, 11/28/23
AG
We're gonna say a starting point of 332.6 with 54.1% according to my little smart scale. A long way from what I want but gotta start somewhere.
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Hoss
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In reply to PascalsWager • 5:50a, 11/28/23
AG
PascalsWager said:
Good luck!

As far as being held accountable, tell us what the plan is!


Thanks! More on the plan later today.
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Hoss
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In reply to Matsui • 5:50a, 11/28/23
AG
Matsui said:
You can do it. Start stacking days


Explain stacking days, please.
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bam02
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In reply to Hoss • 6:43a, 11/28/23
AG
He just means progress is slow and cumulative. One day at a time.
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Hoss
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In reply to PascalsWager • 8:35a, 11/28/23
AG
PascalsWager said:
Good luck!

As far as being held accountable, tell us what the plan is!


THE PLAN

I know that at least 80-90% of this is nutrition, so that's where I'm really trying to put my focus. To that end, I'm making a great effort to make sure that 80-90% of what I eat is whole unprocessed foods with an emphasis on protein and keeping carbs very low (very little fruit and limited starchy veggies). For the time being, I intend to combine that with intermittent fasting (16:8).

In addition to fat loss, I obviously need to rebuild both muscle and endurance. For muscle I'm starting with a modified version of StrongLifts three nights a week. There are probably better programs out there, but I just want to spend the first 12 weeks or so rebuilding my base strength.

For endurance I'm starting with a 9 week Couch to 5K program, except that instead of running I'm going use my Assault bike. I already have some ankle pain and achilles tendonitis so I don't want to make that worse by trying to run at 300+ pounds. That will also be three nights a week.

I'm also walking for 30 minutes first thing in the morning (5 days a week). This is really less about exercise and more about just starting my day with some movement and fresh air.

So, that's the plan for now.
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bam02
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8:47a, 11/28/23
AG
Sounds like a solid and very practical plan! It will work if you follow it.
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Matsui
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In reply to Hoss • 8:53a, 11/28/23
AG
Sounds like a plan. Get going!
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Pantera
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In reply to Hoss • 9:03a, 11/28/23
AG
Excited for your new start!
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CC09LawAg
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In reply to Hoss • 9:14a, 11/28/23
This sounds almost exactly like what I did when I started back up, minus the assault bike.

Don't get discouraged if you can't do all of that every day, every week. You'll need some recovery time. I'm not sure how you're modifying Stronglifts, but squatting 3x a week can get pretty rough after a few months. I prioritized my strength training as my #1 goal, since that has an easy, objective, measurable way to track your progress (going up in weight on your lifts). Then I tried to walk every day and then do whatever else I felt like on off days, time and energy permitting.

If you stick to that plan, you'll lose weight for sure!
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Milwaukees Best Light
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9:30a, 11/28/23
AG
This is not for everyone, but getting a big dog helped me. I have to walk him every day or he is a real Ahole in the evening. The dog keeps me accountable. Not sure how this will change as he gets older, but 2 years in and he needs his walks. Sucks in the rain.

Also, the old cliche is true. You didn't get fat overnight, so don't expect to get skinny overnight.
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wcb
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In reply to Hoss • 10:10a, 11/28/23
AG
Hoss said:
PascalsWager said:
Good luck!

As far as being held accountable, tell us what the plan is!


THE PLAN

I know that at least 80-90% of this is nutrition, so that's where I'm really trying to put my focus. To that end, I'm making a great effort to make sure that 80-90% of what I eat is whole unprocessed foods with an emphasis on protein and keeping carbs very low (very little fruit and limited starchy veggies). For the time being, I intend to combine that with intermittent fasting (16:8).

In addition to fat loss, I obviously need to rebuild both muscle and endurance. For muscle I'm starting with a modified version of StrongLifts three nights a week. There are probably better programs out there, but I just want to spend the first 12 weeks or so rebuilding my base strength.

For endurance I'm starting with a 9 week Couch to 5K program, except that instead of running I'm going use my Assault bike. I already have some ankle pain and achilles tendonitis so I don't want to make that worse by trying to run at 300+ pounds. That will also be three nights a week.

I'm also walking for 30 minutes first thing in the morning (5 days a week). This is really less about exercise and more about just starting my day with some movement and fresh air.

So, that's the plan for now.
Curious to hear some of your daily nutrition / meals if you don't mind sharing. Needing to overhaul my nutrition this year; getting enough protein is always challenging.

Good luck man, you got this.
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fc2112
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10:26a, 11/28/23
Good luck.

From a guy who was 300+ lb to half marathon runner, let me give this advice:

Incorporate two things at a time, one diet and one physical, and stick all the way with it for three weeks, then add the next. I always found that if I tried to do too much too fast, I fell off the wagon.

I started with no all you can eat restaurants and walking 30 minutes a day. I then added cutting out sugar and some weight lifting. Every three weeks, I added more.
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Hoss
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In reply to CC09LawAg • 10:35a, 11/28/23
AG
CC09LawAg said:
You'll need some recovery time. I'm not sure how you're modifying Stronglifts, but squatting 3x a week can get pretty rough after a few months. I prioritized my strength training as my #1 goal, since that has an easy, objective, measurable way to track your progress (going up in weight on your lifts). Then I tried to walk every day and then do whatever else I felt like on off days, time and energy permitting.
The main modification is instead of doing squats I'm doing trap bar deadlifts. I'm also using DB's for bench and rows instead of a barbell. Like you did, I'm prioritizing strength training. Couch to 5K on the Assault bike is secondary. I'm mainly doing that because I thought some low impact movement would help with recovery from lifting, but obviously it has cardiovascular benefits as well.
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Hoss
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In reply to Milwaukees Best Light • 10:38a, 11/28/23
AG
Milwaukees Best Light said:
This is not for everyone, but getting a big dog helped me. I have to walk him every day or he is a real Ahole in the evening. The dog keeps me accountable. Not sure how this will change as he gets older, but 2 years in and he needs his walks. Sucks in the rain.
I had a big dog but he died about a year ago. I'll get another one at some point but my work schedule isn't great for dogs right now.
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Hoss
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In reply to wcb • 10:50a, 11/28/23
AG
wcb said:

Curious to hear some of your daily nutrition / meals if you don't mind sharing. Needing to overhaul my nutrition this year; getting enough protein is always challenging.

Good luck man, you got this.

I'm just getting started back, but yesterday's lunch was half of a HEB rotisserie chicken and half a bag of HEB sugar snap peas. Today's lunch will be the other half. Dinner last night was a Freebird bowl with half the normal rice, black beans, double steak, guacamole, cilantro, and cheese, but generally I'm planning to cook at home as much as possible.

I follow a guy on IG named James DiNicolantonio (@drjamesdinic). He seems to post great advice and one of his recent posts said the following:

If this was your weekly grocery list:

- 2 cartons of eggs
- 4 grassfed steaks
- 3 lbs ground beef
- 2 bags of lettuce
- 1 whole chicken
- Vegetables of choice
- Avocados and berries
- 2 large Greek yogurts

You would weigh less each time you went to the grocery store.

I'm generally following that as a guideline for WHAT to eat (probably including fish on occasion and other novelties like brisket or ribs on weekends I feel like firing the smoker up). He posts a lot of great stuff if you want to check him out.

I'm also taking creatine, collagen, magnesium, and Vitamin D daily.
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Hoss
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In reply to fc2112 • 10:57a, 11/28/23
AG
fc2112 said:
Good luck.

From a guy who was 300+ lb to half marathon runner, let me give this advice:

Incorporate two things at a time, one diet and one physical, and stick all the way with it for three weeks, then add the next. I always found that if I tried to do too much too fast, I fell off the wagon.

I started with no all you can eat restaurants and walking 30 minutes a day. I then added cutting out sugar and some weight lifting. Every three weeks, I added more.

Admittedly, that's hard for me to do, but it's probably great advice considering I've been guilty before of going "all in" only to fall off the wagon a week or two later. I recently remarried though and my wife is 100% onboard for doing this with me, so hopefully we can keep each other going. We have different goals (she's a tiny little thing), but nutrition is the same and we walk together in the morning. We work out at the same time too but we do different workouts.
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PascalsWager
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3:26p, 11/28/23
AG
I've found that there's a drastic weight loss (beyond water weight) early and diminishing returns further down. Don't get discouraged if you plateau a little while around ~270. Remember that you're also gaining some muscle from your hard workouts in the gym. PATIENCE!

Give yourself a lot of grace around Christmas/New Years, when you're with your kids (if you have them!), or occasionally when you indulge.

Most of all, don't tie ANY of your self esteem to your rate of change on the scale or on PRs in the gym. From someone's who done it: its a path to complete misery. Body dysmorphia/mental health is real especially for men (and largely ignored by everyone).

Share your experiences and ups and downs. I'd appreciate it if nothing else. And join us in the Weightlifting thread on Texags. For me its the best thread on the entire site; I've learned a LOT.

Good Luck once again!
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Hoss
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In reply to PascalsWager • 4:10p, 11/28/23
AG
Great advice and feedback. I appreciate it!
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Ghost of Bisbee
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1:18a, 11/29/23
AG
Love these threads, you got this OP!

I downloaded the LoseIt app 100 days ago to track my caloric intake, and also started exercising more consistently.

Down 34 pounds on day 100 and continuing. If I can do it, anyone can! Look forward to seeing your updates.
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Dr. Not Yet Dr. Ag
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5:07a, 11/29/23
Former 280lbs, now 190. I would strongly recommend calculating your TDEE and counting your calories for the first few weeks after starting to get a general estimate of how much calories are going in and out on a typical day while making this change up. Much easier if you have a smart watch that calculates active and resting energy for you (Apple Watches are fairly accurate). Counting calories isn't for everyone (although I'd argue it's the most guaranteed way of successful weight loss if strictly adhered to), but you really should have a baseline of your typical energy expenditure and a general understanding of what 2000 or 3000 or 5000 calories looks like. I can easily consume 5000 calories on a weekend day when I'm eating out for lunch with the significant other and then having dinner and drinks with friends and an inevitable late night snack after drinking (alcohol is the enemy of any weight loss plan). Also, make sure you are re-calculating TDEE as you lose weight.

Congrats on taking the first step. The weight loss journey is difficult and if successful will almost never look like a straight line, but lots of little hills and valleys. The first few weeks will be by far the most difficult with regard to hunger pangs. Give yourself some grace if you have the occasional 5000 calorie day. Those kind of days will make it so tempting to go back to your old ways, but try to stay strong. In order to keep me honest and keep friends and co-workers off my back while I was still in my strict dieting phase, I informed all of them that I was on a strict diet and did not want to deviate from that. It helped keep them from constantly tempting me with food or drinking as they understood I was serious about keeping to my diet.

It's okay to not be so strict for special occasions, but remember that "special occasions" can make it much easier to backslide, so be cautious.
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
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Hoss
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In reply to Dr. Not Yet Dr. Ag • 8:28a, 11/29/23
AG
My handy dandy Garmin Fenix says my seven day average is a 3,010 calorie expenditure.

I've had some success in the past counting calories and I can definitely agree that it's worthwhile, but I also think if I'm eating whole foods combined with intermittent fasting then I'd have to try REALLY hard not to be in a calorie deficit. It could be done, of course, even with whole foods...but if you're eating primarily meats and vegetables for two meals a day it's fairly difficult to eat too much.

That said, I've use MFP on and off for years and it's super easy to log food there so there's really no reason not to.
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CC09LawAg
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In reply to Hoss • 9:28a, 11/29/23
Hoss, I kind of adopted a similar approach.

I mostly focused on eating 1 gram of protein per pound of my goal body weight, and then tried to just be mindful of junk the rest of the day (chips, desserts, giant servings of carbs, etc.) but didn't really limit myself on any non-processed food. I was usually so full from the protein that I didn't have much desire to eat more.

I found this to be a much easier lifestyle to adopt than constantly measuring and counting things. With a wife and kids, birthday parties, occasional fast food nights because we're on the go, etc., I knew I could not realistically keep up with measuring and counting everything. And I wasn't going to make my wife alter our weekly menu to account for me meticulously counting my macros while also trying to feed kids something they will eat.

This approach of course won't work if you're trying to be perfect; I know I won't ever be shredded or sub 10% body fat doing it this way. But I think as long as the number on the scale keeps going down over the long haul, it's a much more sustainable way to do things.
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Ghost of Bisbee
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In reply to Dr. Not Yet Dr. Ag • 9:45a, 11/29/23
AG
Dr. Not Yet Dr. Ag said:
Former 280lbs, now 190. I would strongly recommend calculating your TDEE and counting your calories for the first few weeks after starting to get a general estimate of how much calories are going in and out on a typical day while making this change up. Much easier if you have a smart watch that calculates active and resting energy for you (Apple Watches are fairly accurate). Counting calories isn't for everyone (although I'd argue it's the most guaranteed way of successful weight loss if strictly adhered to), but you really should have a baseline of your typical energy expenditure and a general understanding of what 2000 or 3000 or 5000 calories looks like. I can easily consume 5000 calories on a weekend day when I'm eating out for lunch with the significant other and then having dinner and drinks with friends and an inevitable late night snack after drinking (alcohol is the enemy of any weight loss plan). Also, make sure you are re-calculating TDEE as you lose weight.

Congrats on taking the first step. The weight loss journey is difficult and if successful will almost never look like a straight line, but lots of little hills and valleys. The first few weeks will be by far the most difficult with regard to hunger pangs. Give yourself some grace if you have the occasional 5000 calorie day. Those kind of days will make it so tempting to go back to your old ways, but try to stay strong. In order to keep me honest and keep friends and co-workers off my back while I was still in my strict dieting phase, I informed all of them that I was on a strict diet and did not want to deviate from that. It helped keep them from constantly tempting me with food or drinking as they understood I was serious about keeping to my diet.

It's okay to not be so strict for special occasions, but remember that "special occasions" can make it much easier to backslide, so be cautious.


That point around backsliding is so accurate. I indulged in 1/4 of a Costco pecan pie over the thanksgiving holiday. The first slice I thought "this is way too rich". 2nd slice the next day "damn this is good". 3rd day I went back for 2nds. 4th day I was craving sugary/carb-rich foods again. I stopped eating it and the hunger pangs receded back to normal after a couple days

It was fun, but I definitely have to be careful about this approaching Christmas lol. Crazy what consuming added sugars will convince your body you "need"
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MouthBQ98
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2:44p, 11/29/23
AG
Also, practice usibg your mind to help you maintain discipline.

Think of excess carbs as a "poison" for you.
Think of hunger as something to savor as a sign of progress and success, and feed it some water. It gives a greater appreciation for food when it is time to eat.
Eat more slowly and smaller bites, and take time to enjoy the experience a little. it helps to use smaller helpings and utensils. If you go for seconds of a half-size first helping, no big deal. If you don't, well, that's even better.
Think of exercise as a duty to your health, to yourself, to your family and friends. Make it fun if you can, but those days when you really don't feel like it, make yourself start. Once you get going, you will finish your plan most likely.

Make up little mind games or challenges for yourself. Easy ones or hard ones, but anything that helps you progress toward your goal.
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bam02
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In reply to MouthBQ98 • 2:46p, 11/29/23
AG
This is incredible advice!
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Wycliffe
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In reply to wcb • 2:49p, 11/29/23
Didn't see a specific response to your question so I'd be happy to show give you a picture of what 235 grams of protein a day looks like for me. I break it down into 5-6 portions usually. The "breakfast, lunch and dinner" meals get made into traditional style meals, the "meal 2, 4 and 6" are just portions of protein sources.

Meal 1 (Pre workout)
Eggs: 162 g (about 3 large)
Egg whites: 152 g
Rice mixed into scramble: 75 g cooked
Ezekiel bread: 2 slices
Honey: 15 g
1% Milk: 16 oz

Meal 2 after workout
Chicken Breast: 150 g
Chocolate milk: 8 oz

Meal 3
HEB meal simple spaghetti with beef meat balls: 1 bowl
Mixed greens salad no dressing: unlimited

Meal 4
Chicken breast: 175 g
Broccoli: 75 g

Meal 5:
1% Milk: 32 oz


I find it easiest if I plan my days food starting with the protein across the whole day and the fill in the rest. Also, breaking it up into 5-6 portions distributed throughout the day has made it easier for me to get it all in. Hope that helps



Not trying to derail the thread, didnt know where else to respond. You got this OP! Motivating
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MouthBQ98
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In reply to Ghost of Bisbee • 2:52p, 11/29/23
AG
I definitely wrecked some food over the holidays. I have a rule: on official holidays at specific gatherings, the plan is off and aI allow myself to indulge as I please for the day. I try to be reasonable but also don't punish myself if I have seconds or eat too many deserts. It's just one day, you can't wreck it in just one day. If I have a leftover from it, I eat it fast and it ends there when it is gone. Limits the damage of building a nibbling habit.

I ate half a pumpkin pie in 3 days for breakfast or part of lunch but it's gone and the last pie I will have until Christmas, then all the way to next thanksgiving most likely.

The good thing about starting big is you should see some good initial progress and that boosts morale and gives momentum and that gives time to form good habits that last.
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TurboVelo
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4:59p, 11/29/23
AG
As someone who lost 70 pounds and won the US National Championships in Cycling (masters track), I can tell you it's possible. Stick with it. If you stumble, get back up and get moving forward again. Take it one day at a time, and keep records of what you're doing. If you track it, you can improve it.
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