My 90 Day Transformation

So it's day 88 of my 90 transformation that I decided to undertake on June 1st since I was tired of being fat and out of shape. My hope in posting this is more for encouragement to others who where in my situation rather than trying to be boastful. I am just an average 44 year old with an ordinary office job and a family but I was tired of being out of shape and getting fatter by the day.

I'm not going to bore anyone with the details but I'll just hit the highlights.

Height: 5'8"

Starting:

Weight 196 (Ugh!)
Waist: 42.5"
Body Fat estimate: 33.61% (D'OH!)
BMI 29.8

Ending

Weight 164
Waist 33
Body fat estimate: 17.73
BMI 24.93

I spent a lot of time walking, running and weight lifting and watching my diet. It took my brother laughing at me to keep me going at first but now I get to laugh at him at times!

I don't have any before or after pictures and don't really know if this is the place but I would like to encourage anyone else here to take the challenge. I drew inspiration from Kevin in his journey, which is much more ambitious than mine. If anyone would like to know more about my diet and exercise program feel free to ask. I didn't do any named diet or program and I did not have a nutritionist or personal trainer but I will share any wisdom that I have gained along the way.

That is amazing. I want to know more.

August West said:

That is amazing. I want to know more.

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Thanks! I'll post more when I get back from the gym, I hear a treadmill calling my name -- oh wait that's my wife!

dabrock said:

Body Fat estimate: 33.61% (OUCH!)

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Great. Now I'm officially a fat insult. And to think I was going to compliment you on your terrific results.

ouch said:

Great. Now I'm officially a fat insult. And to think I was going to compliment you on your terrific results.

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I didn't even realize that when I wrote it! Sorry about that, Ouch.

Comment has been removed with apologies for the thoughtless wording.

Congratulations on taking charge and for making an incredible transformation. I need to lose about 12-15 lbs. and this is getting me inspired.

BSAGuy said:

Congratulations on taking charge and for making an incredible transformation. I need to lose about 12-15 lbs. and this is getting me inspired.

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Thanks, I hope that it encourages others since I am nothing out of the ordinary and there are a lot of people here who could do that same.

ouch said:

Great. Now I'm officially a fat insult. And to think I was going to compliment you on your terrific results.

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Congrats! Be very proud as it is no small feat to do what you did.

Dabrock, please do share. 32 pounds in 90 days! That's impressive. Congrats!

I am also 5' 8", and I weigh 205, currently. I have weighed 180-185 since college, but in the last few years the weight has been adding on. I really want to do something about it, and could use some help getting started.

August West said:

That is amazing. I want to know more.

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Well, I can give more details but I'll just give the basics. It wasn't about secret eating formulas and hocus pocus devices and products it was just plain old determination to get healthy and be simple about it. I've often heard that if the real diet truth was published as a book it would be the smallest book in the world and say: it less and move more. For diet I lived by the statement: Eat food, not too much, mostly plants. So I cut down on meats and got rid of all the junk food in the house and I shop for food every other day. I take my lunch or eat at a sandwich shop where I know what every ingredient used is.

I cook almost all my meals but I still have the odd snack because I don't want to get into the "Forbidden Fruit" problem that haunts many dieters. I avoid processed foods as much as possible but I'm not a raw food vegan or anything like that. I bought a Fitbit and log all of my food and average about 2000 cals per day in a 1800 to 2200 cal range and burn about 3500 cals per day.

For exercise I keep it simple; I walk a LOT, run two times a week (three if possible) and lift heavy 2 to 3 times per week. I started out barely getting to half a mile in 6 minutes and tonight I ran a 24:06 5K! My strength is improving weekly and I feel so much better.

So in a nut shell it's been as simple as you can get. Nothing special just hard work and keeping my hands away from my mouth!

That's impressive, David. Congrats! [emoji106]

TheVez2 said:

Dabrock, please do share. 32 pounds in 90 days! That's impressive. Congrats!

I am also 5' 8", and I weigh 205, currently. I have weighed 180-185 since college, but in the last few years the weight has been adding on. I really want to do something about it, and could use some help getting started.

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Vez, please see my post and PM with any questions. I will give you more details on my techniques and links to useful resources but you will be surprised at how simple it is in the overall, not easy but simple and straight forward. I will give you all the help I can to help you get started and keep going!

Good for you!!! Stay strong!

kevdogg329 said:

Good for you!!! Stay strong!

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Thanks! Hope all is going well in your journey today and always.

myfitnesspal was the key to losing 10-15lbs (depending on where I decide the start/stop was). While not overweight, I was getting further away from my target. Using myfitnesspal made it easy to see exactly how many calories were going in - what makes it easy is that it has a huge database of real foods and exercise to count calories burned. The trick, as dabrock stated, is determination to stick to the plan as well as being brutally honest about everything you put in your mouth.

Next step is to put back on at least 5, and hopefully 10lbs of muscle over the winter.

ZeroGravity said:

myfitnesspal was the key to losing 10-15lbs (depending on where I decide the start/stop was). While not overweight, I was getting further away from my target. Using myfitnesspal made it easy to see exactly how many calories were going in - what makes it easy is that it has a huge database of real foods and exercise to count calories burned. The trick, as dabrock stated, is determination to stick to the plan as well as being brutally honest about everything you put in your mouth.

Next step is to put back on at least 5, and hopefully 10lbs of muscle over the winter.

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MFP has become a key resource for many and I like that fact that it integrates with my Fitbit! Map My Run is another great resource for those who walk and run.

Good luck on your journey -- 10lbs is a big goal but can be done!

That's really an amazing transformation in 3 months. Almost 10 inches off of your waist! How have you dealt with the need to replace clothes?

beginish said:

That's really an amazing transformation in 3 months. Almost 10 inches off of your waist! How have you dealt with the need to replace clothes?

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Right now I have old clothes from before I gained all the weight a year and a half ago (I was 172) so I'm OK, but a little out of date! Part of my reward system was new clothes. My current goal weight is 160 but I might adjust that down a bit to 155 since I was always light before I was 35. My brother, who is an identical twin, is currently 155 but has about 10lbs less of muscle than I currently do looks pretty slim but I think 155 could be my ideal weight even with less body fat than he has. I estimate I will have about 12% when I hit that weight if I maintain my current lean mass.

That's a great transformation!

But I was hoping you had the secret broccoli, broth and bean-bath plan....