tperthguy...@hotmail.com wrote:
> This NG seems to be mainly a female domain and they all seem very nice
> and supportive to each other and also to  the few males here.However
> maybe some of the guys here are feeling a bit on the outer so  I'd
> thought as a male i would share my experiences , mainly for the guys
> :)

> Well 5 years ago i weighed 110KG and was fat ! plain and simple. I was
> 22 at the time. My parents had been nagging me for ages to lose weight
> but it didn't help , it's only when I wanted to do it myself that it
> happened. That really is the first obstacle , wanting to do it
> yourself for yourself and it is linked to self esteem. You have to
> believe that you deserve to be thin to really want it.

> Well at that time i wasn't the guru of diet and exercise that i like
> to think i am now :) . I started off just eating less of everything
> and kicking the junk food but i never got too strict with my diet. I
> never counted total calores or percentages of protein/carbs/fat etc. I
> had the occasional choccy bar.  I actually took the exercise approach.
> I did keep an exercise journal thought and looking back it makes
> interesting reading ! i started off with 10minutes walking/jogging and
> went every morning. I would follow the same route throughout the week
> then on saturday i would do the same route i had done through the week
> but faster, as fast as i could. Then on sunday i would go a bit longer
> that the previous week's route but really slow to make sure i would
> complete the new route comfortably,then that would be the new longer
> route for the next week. I kept building up until i was upto over an
> hour running. The weight dropped off week by week ! and i was now
> around 75kg, a good weight for me and i looked good in clothes but
> never quite lost the tiny bit around the waist (i.e. no true abs).

> I found i was good at the running thing and really got into it and i
> mean really got into it ! i started fun runs and races. started to
> read bibles on the sport (e.g. Lore of running, Training Distrance
> Runners) and got to a stage where i could do 5k in 17minutes and 10K
> in 36 mins which isn't too bad !

> I was using a heart rate monitor, keeping heart rate/km splits for my
> training and all that! A real hardcore running fanatic. Now looking
> back at my early uneducated efforts i really did the right thing in my
> exercise program as far as running was concerned. My saturday faster
> run was in fact an anerobic threshold run and my longer slow sunday
> run was a perfect overdistance run . Both necessary for increasing
> running performance.  Anyway i was nice and thin no worries there, but
> never got the abs i wanted. I was eating very clean, 10% fat, 20%
> protein and 70% carbs (mainly complex), exactly was is recommended for
> runners.

> Anyway with a new demanding job my running took a back seat. Over the
> next few years i stayed fit playing tennis, indoor soccer , my weight
> did fluctuate a bit, i gained at most 5-6kg. i was eating 'normally'
> not bad not perfect just what every normal person eats.

> Now this last year i decided it was time to make another real push to
> see just how good a shape i could get myself back into. Since i
> started that first weight loss years ago i have read everything i have
> laid my hands on in relation to diet/fitness and exercise.  This
> approach would be difference. WEight training is a big part of it,
> running in the morning and a 45% protein, 25% fat, %30 carbs diet.

> I've now got he abs i always wanted ! and my body has never been
> harder , more defined or sexier looking (if i do say so myself!)

> Sure i didn't have the big mass of weight to lose this time buy i
> definitely learned a lot since the first time around.

> Here are some of what i think are the important points

> a) doing your aerobic exercise in the morning does make a fair bit of
> difference, it has to do with lower insulin levels. High insulin
> levels do NOT promote the burning of fat for fuel.

> b) eating too many carbs. I used to think heaps of complex carbs is
> good, , now i'm a moderate carbs is good believer. I eat most of my
> carbs in the morning. i eat very few in the evening

> c) WEight training is a must whilst losing weight ! It's a fact that
> when you diet you lose both fat and muscle, it's unavoidable ! WEight
> training will minimise the muscle loss and help shape your muscles.
> Don't worry about turning into Arnie overnight, it won't happen ! you
> can get whatever kind of physique you want. I was always after the cut
> 'model' type body not the big chunky look.

> d) Aim to lose the weight slowly ! the first time around i maybe did
> it  a bit fast. I have a few minor stretch marks , nothing too bad, i
> think i was lucky i was pretty young but the slowier you lose the
> weight the better.

> e) learn your own body - everyone is different, it doesn't matter what
> you read you have to learn what works for you. for me eating a small
> dinner makes a lot of difference to me ! i can get away pigging out
> big time early in the day but at night no way ! I have also discovered
> that i take bread and pasta better than rice.

> well anyway that's enough ranting for one day. Good luck everyone and
> stick with it, it's worth it !

> BTW what do those figures that everyone posts mean ? e.g.  145/135/90
> ??

> thanx

> Johnny