Last few stubborn pounds!

[Johrai]

Fellow poolees,

When I began the journey to become a Marine, I was 253lbs at 5' 7". To date, I've lose over 60 lbs, clocking in at 187 right now. These last few pounds are excruciatingly hard to lose! At 5' 7" I need to be 176, and I still have more weight to lose to be inside the 18% body fat allowed to get a 5% waiver.

Does anyone have any advice on helping me with these last few lbs? So far, a good healthy diet with constant running(about 2-4 miles per day, alternating) with no weight training(just pullups/situps to reduce extra muscle mass!) has gotten me down to this weight, but I've been struggling with the last 10.

Any advice? Anything special like a particular diet or juiceing work for you? Or am I going to have to OOH-RAH and work my ass off even harder?

Appreciate any input!

[TWDP]

Fellow poolees,

When I began the journey to become a Marine, I was 253lbs at 5' 7". To date, I've lose over 60 lbs, clocking in at 187 right now. These last few pounds are excruciatingly hard to lose! At 5' 7" I need to be 176, and I still have more weight to lose to be inside the 18% body fat allowed to get a 5% waiver.

Does anyone have any advice on helping me with these last few lbs? So far, a good healthy diet with constant running(about 2-4 miles per day, alternating) with no weight training(just pullups/situps to reduce extra muscle mass!) has gotten me down to this weight, but I've been struggling with the last 10.

Any advice? Anything special like a particular diet or juiceing work for you? Or am I going to have to OOH-RAH and work my ass off even harder?

Appreciate any input!


Try doing stuff like crossfit it's all cardio and circuit training great for losing weight and getting in great shape. And if you have the money buy insanity one of the best cardio workouts I've ever done
It's quite a bit cheaper off of ebay too if you think about buying it

and long runs at a slower pace are better for losing weight then low miles faster time
try going for like 5 or more miles, no need to run really fast, the point of it is to keep your heart rate high for a long period of time which means more calories burned

pretty much all you have to do is eat less, like 1500-1800 calories, and burn more

[DrinkTwiceT1000]

Try doing stuff like crossfit it's all cardio and circuit training great for losing weight and getting in great shape

Good thing you mentioned Crossfit because I feel like a broken record mentioning it so many times, but it does work. If there isn't one near you or you can't afford it http://crossfit.com (http://crossfit.com/) has their Workout Of the Day (WOD) posted on their home page.

I'm in the same boat you are Johrai, I'm even shipping a week before you so I understand your time crunch. I came from 230 something down to 204 and need to be at 197. One of the things I'm doing is I'm just going to start working out twice a day. One is just going to be a regular distance run, maybe a ruck every once in a while, and some push ups and crunches at home. The second is going to be a workout at the gym, mine is a Crossfit affiliate, and I'm hoping that the two of them combined with going even stricter on my diet will work.

Another thing about your diet is eat smaller meals more often. If you eat 5 small meals a day, instead of 3 big ones, your metabolism stays high throughout the day and you burn more calories. The more whole foods you can eat the better. Lara bars are half decent, but they have no additives or anything, unless you get chocolate ones. They work good for like a breakfast bar and an in-between meal because they're just enough to hold your body over for another 2 hours. Drinking water will also help curb your appetite.

[IHaveEGA843]

80% Diet/20% Working out/PT

Change the intake and do some good cardio. I wasn't looking to lose weight but all I did was add more miles on my running route and I dropped 4-5 lbs in a week.

[JenniferJp]

I was having a similar problem. I cut out all carbs and sugar. I also started crossfit - it works! If you cut carbs and sugar, just be careful adding them back into your diet or you gain back the weight you lost and then some. Good Luck!

[Johrai]

Thanks for the replies everyone!

I totally think it's doable in the two months I have, but gaining muscle mass seems to be a problem as well. I think I'll take the general advice and radically change my diet. It's good, now, but not as good as it can be!

Also, lengthening my runs as well. These days, I've been doing about 1.5 miles at least, every day, with longer or two runs every other day.

Think extending to 3+ miles every day would do the trick? Also, what is Crossfit? I am unfamiliar with is haha.

Cheers!

[DrinkTwiceT1000]

Also, what is Crossfit?

Crossfit explains itself as: "CrossFit is the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide."

Pretty much its a bunch of work out enthusiasts who started a website. Their workouts are designed, for the most part, to have practical applications. Later they realized that they should probably have gyms to do their workouts at and so started their affiliate program. It has grown since then to include an international competition that was hosted on ESPN3 this year and sponsored by Reebok. They also have dietary help as well as a couple other things.

Here's their main site, they post a workout for every day on here. Most of them you can do at your own gym.
http://crossfit.com/

Here's a list of their affiliates, local gyms.
http://www.crossfit.com/cf-affiliates/

[usmcdjcs1ssy]

I have lost some weight for the Marine Coprs and am still losing weight. My weight loss is slow as I am at 16% body fat. However, the one thing my recruiter has me doing was when I first wake up befor I eat going on a 1-1.5 mile.

When you wake up your body has burnt the food in your system so during the run your body burns body fat for fuel and then when you get back from the run make sure to eat your breakfest.

Another thing is I am on a very strict diet but its pretty simple to stick with. If you would like it give my your email and I'll send it to you. You eat 3 big meals and drink a protein shake twice daily.
Also NOOOO carbs after 3 or 4ish, for dinner you eat protein and vegestables.
Good Luck

[Tbrown10]

try crossfit endurance . com they have really good WODs ( workout of the day) as well. my buddy just did these everyday ( or whatever it said to do) and said he actually got out of shape in bootcamp lol

[robbyj]

pretty much all you have to do is eat less, like 1500-1800 calories, and burn more

FALSE, your body needs those 2000 calories, if you eat less than your supposed to you can still gain weight/have trouble losing it.

My advice would be to stick to a healthy 3 meal a day 2000 calorie diet, and hit the gym doing light weights for a good amount of time to burn calories then hop on a treadmill for a while. The reason for this is so that you burn everything up while your lifting LIGHT weights and when you get on the treadmill you burn pure fat.

[DrinkTwiceT1000]

FALSE, your body needs those 2000 calories, if you eat less than your supposed to you can still gain weight/have trouble losing it.

My advice would be to stick to a healthy 3 meal a day 2000 calorie diet, and hit the gym doing light weights for a good amount of time to burn calories then hop on a treadmill for a while. The reason for this is so that you burn everything up while your lifting LIGHT weights and when you get on the treadmill you burn pure fat.

You're partially right. Your body does need the 2000 calories a day, however how often and how many times you eat does affect how your body process it. If you eat less than what your body needs, it may store the energy as fat later. Same thing goes with water. If you don't drink enough consistently, your body will store in for a time when there is a shortage.

5 meals a day is better than 3 because it keeps your metabolism up since your body consistently process the food coming in. Your body may also store some of the energy from one of your meals as fat for later in the day. It may seem stupid logically, but I since when has the body ever made sense. If you eat more meals a day then your body learns that it will get more calories later and will use the energy rather than store it.

Now, that said, eating 5 meals a day does not mean 5 large meals. On a 2000 calorie diet you should consume 5 meals of 400 calories. It actually isn't hard once you get used to the routine, but it is hard to get into that habit at first.

[robbyj]

You're partially right. Your body does need the 2000 calories a day, however how often and how many times you eat does affect how your body process it. If you eat less than what your body needs, it may store the energy as fat later. Same thing goes with water. If you don't drink enough consistently, your body will store in for a time when there is a shortage.

5 meals a day is better than 3 because it keeps your metabolism up since your body consistently process the food coming in. Your body may also store some of the energy from one of your meals as fat for later in the day. It may seem stupid logically, but I since when has the body ever made sense. If you eat more meals a day then your body learns that it will get more calories later and will use the energy rather than store it.

Now, that said, eating 5 meals a day does not mean 5 large meals. On a 2000 calorie diet you should consume 5 meals of 400 calories. It actually isn't hard once you get used to the routine, but it is hard to get into that habit at first.

Good point about the 5 meal plan, I did not think to mention that

Also try starting your day with oatmeal, its a good protein source and slow digesting so it keeps you metabolism going for a while.

[IHaveEGA843]

I never counted calories, I think of it a way to add in snacks you want to have if you're "points" dont add up to 2000 yet.

Just eat 5 meals a day at certain times. For snacks eat fruit or a whole grain sandwhich. Usually on a sandwhich its just wheat bread, a slice of cheese, 3-4 slices of meat, and some lettuce. I skip all the dressings and stuff since I dont like it anyways. You follow a good diet plan and hit the gym ATLEAST 3 times you'll lose that easily.

80%Diet and Mental 20%Working out.....TRUST ME I lost over 50 lbs just to DEP in

[DrinkTwiceT1000]

For snacks eat fruit or a whole grain sandwhich.

Be careful with grains because the carbs are sugar, don't believe me check a dietary label. Carbs and sugar are in the same category.

Fruit is better because its a sugar that gets into your body fast. Carbs take a bit longer and so have a better chance of being turned into fat. I've pretty much cut all grains out of my system.

Hell, get watermelon while it is still in season. It is mainly water so it will fill you up without giving you to many calories.

[MunkyVsRobot]

You keep mentioning carbs as if carbohydrates are bad. Complex carbohydrates are good for you they are energy that lasts a long time, why do you think runners who are getting ready for a marathon or what not carbo load? Because they are good for sustained energy the only time carbohydrates are bad for you is if you eat a lot of them and sit on your @$$ carbs and some sugars are not in and of themselves inherently bad.

It is when you consume them in exorbitant amounts and then sit around all day playing Xbox that you dont see a difference. But If you eat a lot of carbs (obviously assuming that youre eating a balanced diet) and work out you will do fine, when you are active your metabolic rate will rise and you will burn off most of the calories/carbs ETC.

ETA: also anything can be turned into fat, you dont decide what your body turns stuff into your body does. It decides what it thinks you need and absorbs what it think it needs and discards the rest.

[Johrai]

Appreciate all the responses! I have a schedule to meet with a personal trainer for a consultation as well, just to make sure I'm optimizing.

My Diet is;
-5 meals a day, with 2 protein shakes(no sugar, they taste horrendous though...)
-Mostly complex carbs in the morning before I go running at least 1.5 miles
-Vegetables and Vegetable juice throughout day and at work(pretty sedentary at work so I stay off the carbs)
-Balanced fat/protein meal at night after PT

My Exercise:
-1.5-3 miles in the morning, with stretches
-Max set of Pullups and Crunches in the morning(do them while I make breakfast =P)
-Light Jog in the evening as warmup for endurance and strength training
-Started doing the Crossfit daily, VERY good program! Thanks to TWDP, DrinkTwiceT1000, and other for the link, very effective training(sure feel it in the morning...)

I think following all of your advice broke my plateau, dropped 2 lbs since thread was started! I think my diet was the key; I started adding freshly made vegetable juice, cut out 100% sugar, and schedules my meals for optimal intake. Worked beautifully!

Thanks all, I owe you guys!

[CharlieDelta]

Heres my spill on it im 5'10 195' used to be 265
When you ingest 5 or more small meals a day your metabolism increases significantly because it thinks "damn i need to process this" so it does
Another great way to increase metabo is to start your morning with a drink consisting of blended fruit and water then go get a nice little run in come back and eat some eggs or as robbyj said oatmeal. oatmeal has officialy been listed as a super food so unlike arby's its actually good mood food.
Another thing is to stay moderately active all day as compared to pushing yourself 2 to 3 times a day. Reason being you may burn 150 cal. Each workout but in the long run thats max 500 cal. However stay active by WALKING, all day err day. Andnyes i know im guilty of it to but posting up on the couch and playing black ops isnt really good practice. Lifes beautiful go chill at the park n stuff of sorts
Also munkyvsrobot is right complex carbs is where its at things such as whole grain bread OATMEAL! Wheat pasta just keep it to two servings a day, your body needs carbs for energy and how do you expect to get energy if your pulling an Atkins diet
Which leads me to all protein diets these are descibed effective because of a process known as ketosis which is simply described as body produces ketones, ketones eat fat. Good right? Not exactly with no carbs no energy, and with high amounts of ketones in your body you are way more succeptable to kidney stones OUCH!

Basically man
Lemme tell you keep doin what your doin
Your body plateaus from time to time dont get discouraged
Eat smart, remember there are no shortcuts for permanent weight loss
A body in constant motion is a happy body
And look up super foods its like eating superman except without the latex
Oh yeah and always celery is a free food

[EpicPopsicle]

I'm 5'8 1/2. Was all the up to 233 now sitting pretty good at 177 right now. What worked for me was to keep your protein to carb ratio at 1.5/1 per body weight. That way your body will be forced to used up it's fat reserves because it will not have enough carbs to burn and you will not lose muscle because your body will have enough protein to keep it maintained. Try to eat less bread and other high carb foods and get it from stuff like fruit and nuts. For protein eat chicken(take off the skin) and try to get the leanest cut of meat you can like get like sirloin steak. Oh ya and weight lift (circuit training) and HIIT training for cardio instead of steady pace cardio (Do sprints instead of the treadmill).

[Gunstream]

I honestly haven't bothered to read all of this, but some things I skimmed over should be clarified:

1) Eating several meals a day doesn't increase your metabolism because you are constantly digesting, it increases your metabolism because it prevents your body from entering starvation mode. When you decrease your total intake, your body slows your metabolism to preserve fat. It's a survival tactic that is designed to keep you alive, should your intake stop completely. By eating several small meals, you trick your body into avoiding starvation mode.

2) Lifting weights will make you lose weight. Anaerobic activity has been shown to increase Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) for up to 48 hours following a lifting session. Additionally, lifting in circuits for 45 minutes has shown to burn more calories than moderate cardio for 45 minutes. Finally, muscle requires more caloric fuel than any other body mass, so increasing muscle mass further increases metabolism.

3) Protein is not converted into fat. Ever. Period. Eat your fill. Polysaturated fats and carbohydrates are converted into fat. Unsaturated fats run delivery service for branch chain amino acids into muscle fiber. They are good.

4) Whoever told you to eat oatmeal for breakfast knows what he's talking about. Listen to him.

[EpicPopsicle]

I honestly haven't bothered to read all of this, but some things I skimmed over should be clarified:

1) Eating several meals a day doesn't increase your metabolism because you are constantly digesting, it increases your metabolism because it prevents your body from entering starvation mode. When you decrease your total intake, your body slows your metabolism to preserve fat. It's a survival tactic that is designed to keep you alive, should your intake stop completely. By eating several small meals, you trick your body into avoiding starvation mode.

I think for diet it doesn't really matter whether you eat 5 or 6 small meals or 3 big ones, it's more important that you just eat something healthy and stay away from junk. Me personally I liked doing the 5 small meals diet because even though you eat small portions it still keeps you from feeling hungry and it seemed to work for me as it helped me lose almost 50 pounds. I miss going to the buffet though when you skip lunch and I just eat everything I see.:D

[Crusader0451]

I honestly haven't bothered to read all of this, but some things I skimmed over should be clarified:

1) Eating several meals a day doesn't increase your metabolism because you are constantly digesting, it increases your metabolism because it prevents your body from entering starvation mode. When you decrease your total intake, your body slows your metabolism to preserve fat. It's a survival tactic that is designed to keep you alive, should your intake stop completely. By eating several small meals, you trick your body into avoiding starvation mode.

2) Lifting weights will make you lose weight. Anaerobic activity has been shown to increase Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) for up to 48 hours following a lifting session. Additionally, lifting in circuits for 45 minutes has shown to burn more calories than moderate cardio for 45 minutes. Finally, muscle requires more caloric fuel than any other body mass, so increasing muscle mass further increases metabolism.

3) Protein is not converted into fat. Ever. Period. Eat your fill. Polysaturated fats and carbohydrates are converted into fat. Unsaturated fats run delivery service for branch chain amino acids into muscle fiber. They are good.

4) Whoever told you to eat oatmeal for breakfast knows what he's talking about. Listen to him.
:thumbup:

[IHaveEGA843]

I got tired of mentioning my high fiber diet because people were shooting it down......it worked for me and I dropped weight like nothing.

[Gunstream]

I got tired of mentioning my high fiber diet because people were shooting it down......it worked for me and I dropped weight like nothing.

I fully suspect that it worked, but it's not as though fiber caused you to lose weight. Fiber and protein (particularly casein) are extremely complex macronutrients, and are subsequently more difficult for your stomach to break down. Because they are harder to break down, it takes longer to digest them. This makes you feel full longer, and feeling full longer makes you eat less. Eating less causes you to lose weight. :p

[MunkyVsRobot]

My problem is I still do everything Im not supposed to do. Im still within my ship weight last I weighed like 185 or so but I am undisciplined in that respect. I still drink beer occasionally I skip meals quite often when i do eat its like half a pizza or a 12" sub or something else terrible. I think about the only thing Healthy I do is take vitamins and protein, I eat fruits and vegetables just not everyday as someone should. Oh well to each his own I know what I have to do I am just reluctant because I want to enjoy the finer things in life while I still can. I pretty much have to give all this stuff up in a few weeks anyways I ship in 54 days.