Repairing the Damage
 

Hey everyone! I'm looking for a little mentoring, constructive criticism, and motivation.

I'm in my mid-thirties and I nearly self-destructed over the past five years. I am a former athlete and military man that stayed in shape until my late twenties. I was an on-and-off gym-rat that dabbled in supplementing via creatines and whey proteins. After leaving the military, my wife and I had our first child. Throughout my wife's pregnancy, I gained the weight with her. I was around 215 pounds and in fairly good shape before...and here it is 5 years later and I'm over 290.

I'm a bit overwhelmed since I let things get so out of hand. I get out of breath going up stairs sometimes...and even tying my shoes can be a pain in the ass with my big gut in the way. The biggest problem is that while I knew I was getting huge...I never changed the things I did. It wasn't until a couple of weeks ago that I noticed I had to rock to get up from the couch...and found out I couldn't zipline at our whitewater center because I was over the weight limit. How embarrassing!

I started working out again a little over a month ago. I had been walking on the treadmill for 30 minutes about 3 days a week, and lifting weights in a push/pull/legs fashion. My eating and sleeping habits hadn't been addressed much...as I know they should.

So today is the day I start rectifying all of this. I had been having a hard time staying motivated...but going anyhow. My gym partner was a bit lazy and doesn't really understand the gym and excercise overall. I'm not new to this, but it has been a while.

Here's where I stand right now:

1. Diet...plans are to can the cans...and stick with proteins and fresh veggies

2. Supplements: NO XPLODE, Tribulus from ON, Green Tea Extract, and Muscle Milk after my workout

3. My sleep habits suck as I tend to stay up late...I'm trying to rectify this with a bed and wake time

4. Along with my bad sleeping, I tend to eat at night...I know this is horrible

5. Beer...frankly...I like good beer...I figure...and ONLY on the weekend attitude must happen...even though I love a full-flavored beer or two at the end of the day.

6. Motivation: I want to get back in shape...and need to figure out how to overcome a wishy-washy workout partner (thank God for my Ipod).

7. Goals: I want to be around 200-210 pounds again, I want my gut gone, and I want some lean muscles again. I have two kids and a wife...so meals become the issue sometimes.

8. My statistics: Male
6'2
290+

* Any help or suggestions anybody may have would be appreciated. Ideas for supplementing or working out...or any tricks or advice. I am a person that actually uses constructive criticism to improve.

**and thank you to any of you that took the time to read this

I like giving constructive criticism.

If your gym partner isn't teachable don't let him/ her hold you back. Try to give you partner a good understanding and if he/she isn't "on board" go it alone. Don't let someone else be your excuse or hold you back.

1. diet is key, the sooner and better it is, the sooner and better your results will be.
2. I don't know about Tribulus, but I'd be afraid to mix NO XPLODE and green tea. That seems like a lot of caffeine. If you are looking for a Vasodiolator get some L-Arginine b/c it won't have the caffeine.
3. they say sleep is inportant, I assume they are right
4. IMO eating at night isn't that big of an issue. When it comes to timing of food or nutrients I think the biggest thing is after a work out.
5. same as #1
6. round is a shape ;). Don't let yor partner be your crutch!
7. #1 plus heavy compund lifts.

Mike gives great advice. I, too, love beer. Once a week didn't work all that well for me--I had to go to once a month, more or less. You may have to tinker with how much you can get away with. Beer has lots of cals (especially the kind you and I seem to like) and of course alcohol messes with the liver which is also what metabolizes fat.

Other than that, just freakin' decide to do it, no matter what and git-r-done.

Regards,
Michael

Mmmmmm...beer.....I try to keep it to only a few on the weekends and only as a "reward" - not a weekend binge like the old days.

I don't binge on beer but I love the stuff so I work my macros around it when I am going out. :D

Macros?

Yea, I know the beer can't go down the ole swill pipe like it used to. My fatness causes me to have heartburn with way too many things...including beer. I've managed to keep around a steady weight while still drinking beer, but I'm never going to get my weight back down with it. I'll save it for occasions and celebrate at my Oktoberfest party. Steins of Sam Adams Oktoberfest, Brats & Kraut, Schnitzel, and some polka. I'll need to drop at least twenty just for that.

This is my first day trying the two. NO XPLODE on an empty stomach before hitting the weights. When I got home I drank two servings of Muscle Milk, ate breakfast and took my Tibulus with a green tea extract. We'll see if I sleep tonight.

I'm not one to fake myself into thinking supplements work if they don't. I took two scoops of the NO XPLODE and I was a bit sluggish at the gym. I haven't felt any Tribulus effects yet either. I'm sure I just need to get the creatine in my muscles for a bit before I notice anything. We'll see tomorrow. I put in 5 miles, basketball, and weights today...so I'm gonna need a boost in the morning.

the one supplement that I used that made me insane in the gym was 1M.R. but the crash for me was pretty bad. I used it like 3 times and I couldn't handle it.

Day 3...

The NO XPLODE had to be upped to 3 scoops. All I feel is a caffeine driven tingle. It is however helping my recovery. I hit my chest and tricepts pretty hard the other day and the two-day-later soreness is almost nonexistant. The Tribulus still seems to do nothing. The green tea extract has minimal caffeine so it didn't keep me up. I am skeptical as to whether or not anitoxidants in pill form work in the manner intended.

Tomorrow is going to be a test. We go to watch our local roller derby girls (insert joke here) whenever they have a match. PBRs are only $3 for 24 oz. cans...and it's a double header. We will be going to a hybrid resteraunt afterwards known for their outstanding burgers and sushi...yes...you heard that right. I love both burgers and sushi...but only having sushi while I watch my buddy bite into a burger with thick-cut bacon...guacamole...onion straws...jalapenos...aged cheddar...pickles...and bbq sauce is going to kill me! I think I'll just have to split one with my wife. She's running an 8k trail run in the morning and I'm sure she'll be ready to reward herself...and I'll guilt her into sharing half of her burger...lol.

Since I've started down the healthy path, quite without intending to I've cut my caffeine intake down to almost nothing. I like a cup of coffee in the morn, well 2 cups actually, but the rest of the day I'm caffeine free. And since I start my day with a 60 minute workout, I sleep like a fallen log. The only time I have trouble sleeping anymore is when I accidentally get into something with caffeine in it late in the day, like a new box of herbal tea that I didn't realize was regular not decaff. So I would recommend that you cut back on the caffeine some, it actually causes water retention which will give you more pain, the less pain you are in the more you can do at the gym and the easier it is to get out of bed.

As for motivation, this is what works for me (although I'm actually a mom):
I don't want to be the dad that sits on the bench at the park, I want to be the dad out there having a great time with my kids.
I don't want to be the dad who, through example teaches his children to be obese.
I don't want to be the father of children that are miserable because they are obese.
I want to meet my grandchildren and great grandchildren.
I want to be physically strong enough to tackle each day like a linebacker and fast enough to keep the kids chasing me (instead of the other way round).

The day before Easter, I took my kids to an Easter egg hunt that involved a helicopter dropping two loads of eggs in a field. Instructions were given at least ten times to wait until the helicopter dropped its second load. Over and over the organizers explained this. You can probably guess what happened.

As for caffeine...my intake was zero before taking supplements...and for men especially, lifting heavy weights, energy and energy boosts have always been important...just as creatine tends to be used differently by men than by woman. Water weight does not concern me here...although I avoid heavy sodium intake anyhow.

Day 6 was awesome for me. I moved up 10 lbs. on my incline dumbell presses and the skull-crushers I did will have my tris screaming for a month. I'm going to up the Tribulus again and hopefully I will have something useful for those of you reading this. The NOXPLODE made me tingly today...especially in the forearms and hands. Not sure if this will continue...but I'll keep you posted.

I started using the steam room and sauna after my workouts and notice a significant difference in muscle relaxation. Felt like I was detoxing...and the hydrating I did afterwards was crazy fullfilling.

Give yourself a challenge. Write down everything you eat - measured first, in a measuring cup or using a kitchen scale - for 3 days. At the end of that time, you should be able to average those daily calories and see how much you are eating.

Just measuring and counting food you put in your mouth - and logging it in (fitday!) will tell you why you are not losing weight at the rate you like. If beer is 500 calories, total (all counts should be online somewhere if you google them for specific beers) and that fits in your calorie limit, then you can manage beer. If that's pushing your calorie count up and replacing energy that your muscles need from protein, for example, then either cut way down or drop the beer.

Fitday gives you all the tools you need to see what's going on with your diet. Once using those tools becomes a habit, the process of dieting is much, much clearer.

that seems like a lot of supplements... call me crazy but I like to eat my calories. Why have a protein shake when you could have a chicken breast?

That's about it for constructive critiscm that I have... being a big guy as well at about the same size as you we both know you got there by eating and drinking to much beer. The key right now for you and for myself is to cut the weight. Your 90lbs overweight, I am 80 at this point and I wont even consider going crazy on the weights like you seem to be until I hit about 20lbs left to lose. Sure gaining muscle increases your metabolism but 90lbs of fat will kill you. Ditch the supplements and make the treadmill your bitch :) Good luck with your journey!

Great advice Optiquest! I do know how we got here...and you are right. As far as supplements go...I cannot express to everyone how well NOXPLODE is working for me. I used to take Creatine Ethyl Esther when I was in the military and it worked pretty well. Now the NOXPLODE works to heal my soreness before the next day is over. I'm not sure how my muscles are holding so much of the creatine...but the results blow my mind. I was a little worried at first...the vasodilation of my blood vessels was creating a tingling in my forearms, shins and sometimes hands. Not a bad thing...just different. I spoke with a professional trainer...and he laughed. He said it's quite common.

Anyhow...I quit taking the Tribulus and Green Tea Extract. The Tribulus wasn't doing anything for me after nearly 1900 milligrams, and I just sluffed off on the GTE. I'll start again soon...it has very little caffeine.

As for needing to make the treadmill my bitch...it bored me to death. I started going to another gym and play basketball for about an hour and a half 4 days a week.

To the ladies that have posted advice. I mean this in a kind way...and don't know how to say this nicely...but, this is a forum for men. My Easter analogy was being way too sarcastic...so I'll just quote the line under the forum name.

"This is a place where men can get together and talk about issues they don’t feel comfortable to talk about around women."

I hear ya about the treadmill. What I do is try and make a contest of it, i'm a very competitive guy. I will get on it with a goal of burning 1000 calories, and in my head I break it down as I go, so every 10 minues i'm aiming for 175 calories or so, and I push myself every 10 minutes to hit that. I will also set it on showing calories burned, set it to a light jog and every 10 calories increase the speed until i've burned 50 calories, then every 10 calories decrease the speed, etc. Sounds dumb but it really helps to pass the time!

Basketball though sounds a lot better though :)

How has your progress been going? I'm down to 275 as of this morning. 3 weeks ago I was 291 so i'm happy with my results thus far. This time last year I was 310, and slowly dropped to 291 over the past 11 months before getting serious about this again.

I may have to try the NOXPLODE stuff, I am always sore from 6 days of cardio a week. In an odd way though I kind of like the soreness its a reminder of what i'm trying to do.