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Can't Keep Up...

Old 12-19-2010, 11:04 AM
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Default Can't Keep Up...

Hey everyone! I am somewhat new to this site, but no newbie when it comes to dieting and trying to get in shape. I've been struggling to keep my weight down since 2002 when I started 9th grade. In fact, the summer before 10th grade I was probably in the best shape of my life because my parents had rejoined Weight Watchers and I was obsessed with following the program with them. If I remember correctly, I was around 165 (after the summer) and about 5' 8" - 5' 10". After that summer I was always struggling trying to get in better shape and feel good about myself.

Currently I weigh 199.6 (up from 194 just a month ago?!?!) and I am 5' 11.5" According to my body fat scale (which I read can have a +/- 5% reading) I am 19.8% body fat. Not horrible...but not amazing. This year I have attempted some interesting theories in dieting. One of which I really loved...RAW FOODS! I ate raw for about 2 weeks and I think I was feeling the best I have ever felt in my life...and I wasn't even exercising. I don't have any record showing I lost weight, but the way I felt inside was incredible and I regret falling back into Standard American Diet hell.

So my issue at the moment is just sticking with logging everything and getting to the gym on a frequent basis. I should mention, I joined a local Planet Fitness on the 10th and have since only gone twice...I also live in NY (Long Island) and the weather isn't so great and I hate leaving the warmth.
The other night before signing up on this site, I contemplated doing Weight Watchers online...but reconsidered since I have the knowledge and could most likely get by without it.

Ideally, I want to incorporate concepts from The Abs Diet and The Raw Food Detox Diet. I don't want to go completely raw or vegan because I like having a bit of poultry and fish in my diet. I am on the fence when it comes to dairy and I think I would benefit more from eliminating it altogether. I guess my real issue is logging everything on this site because it gets annoying when 75% of what I eat is not found in my searches. I need some help in terms of how to go about making sure I get everything logged. Also, should I even bother logging activities? I have read here that it doesn't help much and that it does help...everyone has different opinions.

Ok so bit of a rant and I don't know if it was clear as to what I wanted, but feel free to post your opinions, ideas, methods, etc.
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Old 12-19-2010, 11:27 AM
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Pictures from October 27th at 196.4 pounds and approx. 18.4% body fat (according to my Omron BF Scale)
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Old 12-19-2010, 11:53 AM
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welcome aboard! I've heard great things about a raw food diet.

I have 1 question... your bf scale cane be +/- 5% as in you could be anywhere from a 24.8% to a 14.8%?? If so that's crazy. Why have it?

A 6 pack good is a good quest, I've come close but that's about it.
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Old 12-19-2010, 12:01 PM
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Originally Posted by 01gt4.6
your bf scale cane be +/- 5% as in you could be anywhere from a 24.8% to a 14.8%?? If so that's crazy. Why have it?
lol yea I'm not sure I read a review of the scale somewhere (probably amazon) and someone said it isn't totally accurate. It's a handheld version. So really it's possible it's only measuring the upper portion of my body and not completing the read or whatever the case. I kind of like it because it helps me to see how I'm doing in terms of progress...but again I can't be sure it's accurate. I have used online measurement calculations with neck measurements and something else and it was close to what I was getting on the bf monitor.

Btw I've seen a couple of your videos and think you're very inspirational. Thanks for the welcome!
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Old 12-19-2010, 01:01 PM
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oh thanks.

Even if it's not accurate against another form of testing, it should be accurate against itself. So, that'll be a good way to see progress.
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Old 12-19-2010, 03:40 PM
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It's a pain in the arse at first, but, I suggest you create some custom foods. Remember to add your measurement to the food name, since custom foods are always "1 serving". Calorieking.com is a good site I use to find stuff FitDay doesn't have, and I've entered in a lot of labels from things I buy which apparently aren't "popular" enough to be in the database already. Using the "food browse" option is much easier when you're looking for a certain cut of meat, and I always add "raw" behind my fruit and veggie searches.
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Old 12-19-2010, 07:02 PM
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Hi there Alex! My only dieting tip for you is to eat as whole and natural as possible. In my experience raw isn't necessary, since cooking some foods increases the bioavailability of certain vitamins, but whole fresh carrots always beat preserved carrot sticks, not only in terms of quantity of vitamins and phytochemicals but also in terms of flavor. I eat a lot of chicken and fish regularly, free range and wild caught, respectively, and grass-fed beef or bison where I can find and afford it. And nuts. Lots of nuts. All in all, I attribute my fitness to the fact that 90% of my diet comes from whole foods, not plastic packages. I'm not saying it's a cure-all, but it's a simple strategy without fancy rules and it could help you too.

With regards to gyms, I highly recommend switching to a 24-hour fitness or Gold's gym because I hear you're not allowed to deadlift (or grunt while lifting) in Planet Fitnesses. IMO this atmosphere is highly detrimental to having a successful strength training experience if you're always under pressure to purposefully under-perform just so you won't get kicked out. Or, you could just not join a gym and go full bodyweight exercises without leaving your warm home. You can get a pretty killer workout incorporating only bodyweight movements.

Good luck on your journey!
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Old 12-19-2010, 08:43 PM
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Yes, the search feature can be frustrating. Sometimes "less is more" and less specific searches work better.

Also, try the "Browse Food" choice--that often works better than a search.

As mentioned above, make a "Custom Food" for things you can't easily find and/or that you eat a lot. It is a bit of a pain at first, but is a big time saver in the long run.

Keep up the good work!

Regards,
Michael
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Old 12-20-2010, 12:27 AM
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I find that I create a lot of custom foods because the brands i use tend to differ from the values listed in the more generic listings, and I want to be as accurate as possible. This was a pain in the beginning, but because I utilize many of those components over and over it has gotten quite easy. Since I'm working from ingredients rather than prepared foods, I simply sit down after a grocery shop and enter foods that are new to me. Then they're available when I need them. Also, and idea is to keep a written log and catch up entering foods when you have time.

One frustration is that most food labels don't list micro-nutrients (not sure if that's the right word), so you could appear to be in deficit of certain minerals only because you don't have an expanded nutrition label. I have chosen not to worry about that, and assume I'm getting enough of those things by maintaining a varied and clean diet.

I find logging activities helpful. It's just another way to keep me connected, like this forum, to what I want to consider a new lifestyle, and not a diet. I do find that the more I log, the better idea I have of what I'm doing and how my body is responding. So far, my numbers make a lot of sense against my performance.

Good luck to you.
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Old 12-20-2010, 02:19 AM
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Thanks everyone for the replies, suggestions, and support!

My responses:

I joined Planet Fitness because it's super cheap and I got the Black Card status so I can bring guests. I was also really desperate to get on a treadmill and do some walking and jogging...something I am not willing to do in the cold weather. I have yet to go downstairs in the gym where all the weight machines are, but apparently they have a load of free weights and equipment. Also, on the first floor with all the cardio equipment they have 4 bench press sets which is ridiculous considering the grunting rule...and it's a bit weird because it's separated from the rest of the weight machines. I am not worried about the grunting rule because I have never worked out to an extreme that I needed to grunt. Also, there was no way I was going to another gym because they all want $50 or more a month...simply too much money. After my cruise in January, I might go to this small gym down the block from me that offers 6 personal training sessions for $99...they also have some sort of group boot camp class for $20 a class. Might be what I need to get a boost in the fat loss journey.

Yes, the tracking gets annoying...especially when I just don't feel like doing it. One trick I have been using is to take a picture of the nutrition label so I can later come back and enter all the info into the site. I'm just a bit surprised that with all the technology we have that this site can't just grab all the nutrition info from other websites on its on during a search...and I bet there are sites that can do that. Guess we have to deal with it for now.

I'm not sure how much of an impact entering my info into the site will make, but I guess I have to stick with it for a while to see.
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