My Toxx

Miscellaneous babblings from the Wildfire Riders and friends!

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Israia
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My Toxx

Postby Israia » Wed Sep 15, 2010 10:06 pm

So, the dreaded SA Toxx. Basically, the idea is you set a weight goal, a date to achieve it by, and a punishment.

I've been failing a lot recently, been in a lot of positions to just make things difficult for myself. I'll admit; I need support. I also need something that's important to me to be on the line. WoW fits that bill.

1) Post your current stats
Gender: Questionable, but Male
Age: 22
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 320 lbs


2) Post a current pic if your goal is to lose bodyfat/see abs/put on 20 lbs/etc.
I'll message it to you if you wanna see it, but it isn't pretty. Note the usual Toxx picture is one of you in your skivvies.

3) Post your goals
40 pounds gone by Christmas. Yeah, brutal.

4) Post the date you must reach this goal by
December 25th, 2010. No joke.

5) Post your punishment if failing to reach this goal.
I cancel my WoW account until I reach the goal. Period. So if I don't make it, I still have to lose the pounds. I play WoW between 20 and 40 hours a week, and roleplay in it extensively. Canceling this account will hurt. Oh, and did I mention I have 9 level 80 characters?

I will post either pictures or video of the account being canceled. I'd assure posting video but I don't know if any sensitive information would be displayed, and I don't want to pirate software just to blur some text out.



This does not necessarily mean that if I don't make it, I lose WoW forever. I just lose it until I reach the target weight of 280. Once I reach that, I can subscribe again. It's a brutal, difficult goal, but this is my first month of doing this. I want to set my goal high and make it hard on myself. That's the only way I'll ever make it. Easy makes it easy to forget. This, I won't.

I hope to get as many of you harping on me and annoying the piss out of me as possible. This isn't an obligation I'm inflicting on you- just, if you think of it, it'd be nice. Also, I figure that if I am going to be suddenly disappearing in a few months, I want people to know why.

<3

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Dalbarr
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Re: My Toxx

Postby Dalbarr » Thu Sep 16, 2010 10:19 am

Wow izzy. Tough goal you've set for yourself. Best of luck getting there. A suggestion, maybe you could tell us how you plan to go about losing the weight. If you're serious about wanting people to help harass/motialvate you it would good to be able to say things like "Hey Izzy! Have you done your *insert gruelling exercise activity here* today?"

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Aelflaed
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Re: My Toxx

Postby Aelflaed » Thu Sep 16, 2010 12:09 pm

Depending on what you're doing (diet/calorie reduction/exercise) you may find http://fatsecret.com to be useful. It's run by a philanthropic feeling person who lost a lot of weight and put up the website as their "pay it forward" sort of thing. It's free, there are very few ads, and it'll track calories, weight, and exercise via their system. Their "output" tends to be a little high (which is to say, the estimates for calories burned for certain activities can be on the high side), but it's easy to add food to their database, and the database is already really well populated, even with some restaurant food.
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uthas
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Re: My Toxx

Postby uthas » Thu Sep 16, 2010 1:26 pm

This is a tough goal, but doable.

Healthy weight loss is about 2.5 pounds a week. That gives your body and skin time to adjust to your new weight. Losing more than that can be very unhealthy for you in the long run, and cause weight rebound.

The two big secrets to weight loss are thus:

1. Keep a daily list of everything you eat
2. Do a daily workout that is balanced and starts slow

If your knees are ok, I suggest running. If they are bad, I suggest biking or swimming.
A rhombus is the kind of rectangle a bitch would draw.

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Israia
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Re: My Toxx

Postby Israia » Thu Sep 16, 2010 2:03 pm

From my second Toxx post:
9/16/2010

So, second day of the Toxx. And already it's hurting.

Had a huge scare today. Went on another Couch to 5k run(which ends up being a mile and a half, as I cut it down to something I can handle), and felt relatively fine the whole way through. Definitely worked, tired, and couldn't wait to sit down- but fine.

Until I got home.

Suddenly, I felt like I couldn't quite get enough air. I was going to post my Toxx then, but I couldn't quite breathe, so I just laid down. Eventually, I got up and went to the computer to try talking to a friend, figuring it'd just take a few minutes to catch my breath.

It didn't. It was 15 minutes after I'd ended and I still hadn't completely caught my breath.

She said I should lay down. That sounded divine. So, I climbed into bed and tried to sleep with the fan going right on me, using my sweat to cool myself off extra fast. Once I felt cooled down enough, I brought the covers up and over me, and tried to sleep.

Except, it wasn't working. The last time I looked at the clock it was 45 minutes after I'd gotten home, and I couldn't sleep because I was still catching my breath.



So, my question is; Is that normal? To not actually feel like something is wrong whatsoever? I've worked out extensively before, I know what signs to look for before something is wrong. None of them were there, I actually felt pretty good despite having worked so hard.

I'm not letting this discourage me; Luckily, I DID fall asleep and slept for nearly 2 hours. When I woke up I was breathing fine and felt perfectly fine, if not better than I have in weeks. I'll be running again in a couple/few days, once I know my legs aren't gonna give out when running(they're still getting used to the strain; This is my third day total of couch-to-5k, though it's been a week and a half since the last one).

Otherwise; I got my meal sizes back down to a reasonable size. Question though; What is the best cereal for this sort of thing? I know Wheaties are what everyone thinks of, but I've never been a huge fan. But if they're the best, I'll do it. But, if there is anything else that's just as good, I'd love to know what.

Also, I still need to know ideas for how to lift weights... without any weights to lift.



I'm okay though, promise. I think.

Dalbarr wrote:Wow izzy. Tough goal you've set for yourself. Best of luck getting there. A suggestion, maybe you could tell us how you plan to go about losing the weight. If you're serious about wanting people to help harass/motialvate you it would good to be able to say things like "Hey Izzy! Have you done your *insert gruelling exercise activity here* today?"


I'm generally doing running, especially the Couch to 5k program. However, since I have no access to weights, I want to figure out a decent workout that is a weight-lifting replacement that can at least simulate it in the early stages. I know pushups can, to a degree, simulate bench presses. But I want more than that, and I want specifics on how I should practice even the pushups.

Aelflaed wrote:Depending on what you're doing (diet/calorie reduction/exercise) you may find http://fatsecret.com to be useful. It's run by a philanthropic feeling person who lost a lot of weight and put up the website as their "pay it forward" sort of thing. It's free, there are very few ads, and it'll track calories, weight, and exercise via their system. Their "output" tends to be a little high (which is to say, the estimates for calories burned for certain activities can be on the high side), but it's easy to add food to their database, and the database is already really well populated, even with some restaurant food.


Already liking the look of the site, I might just use it. My only problem so far with weight tracking sites tend to be that they become more of a chore to me than a real habit-forming thing. Maybe if I knew folks were watching it it'd be something I wouldn't treat so badly? We'll see.

Uthas wrote:This is a tough goal, but doable.

Healthy weight loss is about 2.5 pounds a week. That gives your body and skin time to adjust to your new weight. Losing more than that can be very unhealthy for you in the long run, and cause weight rebound.

The two big secrets to weight loss are thus:

1. Keep a daily list of everything you eat
2. Do a daily workout that is balanced and starts slow

If your knees are ok, I suggest running. If they are bad, I suggest biking or swimming.


Yeah, you can ask Threnn, I had my goal set higher. But any weight off is good weight off at this point. I just want it gone.

I can start trying to get a daily list going of what I eat. It shouldn't be too difficult; Especially if I use one of the tracking sites, it'd make it even easier. I remember it forcing me to be a bit more disciplined, but that's part of what turned it into a chore. I'll record it anyway.

As to the 'daily' workout; Is a workout that alternates still okay? The Couch to 5k program recommends running only 3 days a week, and so far that's all I've been able to handle, really. I might be able to do a 4th, but that sounds grueling right now, and not in the good way. But I'd definitely be willing to try.

If I stuck another exercise on the off-days, something like using a punching bag, or the pushup/situp regimen, would that work? Nothing out there really provides a way to lift weights without the weights themselves, and I've got zip on access to weights. The YMCA around here closed down, sadly :\


Thanks everyone, for your concern and help, I super appreciate it. Exactly what I was hoping for, and maybe, just maybe, with your guys' help, I'll make it there and add a few years onto my life.

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Dravir
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Re: My Toxx

Postby Dravir » Thu Sep 16, 2010 2:39 pm

It's a good goal: not dangerously hard and a target where if you work right you can keep the weight off easily (which are the two major points!) I'll hit you up later with more stuff, but here's some initial advice.

I like the couch to 5k look, but since you have 3 months, I would suggest a 3 month program. I've a few I could point you to, but the end goal, after 3 months, is 10km; it may sound like a lot more, but it is very doable, and you'll end up in much better form.

With no weights, I strongly advise investing in a workout elastic. They are great for stretching and resistance, and you can usually find them for very cheap if you hunt a bit.

On the topic of losing weight, though: generally, you'll experience some good initial loss, but plateau for a bit as you get into the routine of it, or even somehow gain a goddamn pound or two back. Don't panic, but you're gaining muscle, which is heavy, while losing fat. This can be a routine-kill for a lot of people going into a new diet-type thing, as they get discouraged over stalled progress, but pushing through it is the key, as eventually your new muscle will start burning some hardcore fat away.

Also, for tracking your weight? I recommend a smallish white board, somewhere where it will always be in your face. Right on top of your monitor, maybe? :P Keep track of it each 'running' day, charted for this week, and then at least previous week. For the whole ordeal, just in a notebook works.
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Aelflaed
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Re: My Toxx

Postby Aelflaed » Thu Sep 16, 2010 3:18 pm

The other thing to remember is that your body processes WAY more water every day than you're capable of gaining or losing. It's normal to have a swing of a pound or two up or down - especially if you have a day with an unusually high amount of salt (like eating a lot of restaurant food). When you weigh yourself can make a big difference as well (as can how well/poorly hydrated you are).

The reason I like FatSecret, aside from the food database, is that it actually /charts/ your weight when you enter it - so you can see that what's important is not "OH GOD I GAINED THREE POUNDS YESTERDAY" but that the overall trend is in the "down" direction. (or "stable", or "up" - there are people using FatSecret for all three)

As for tracking what you eat, I'm a HUGE fan. It forces you to be honest with yourself, and to learn a lot about what a "serving" really is, regardless of whether the food is nutritionally dense or not. Did you eat one serving of sliced turkey or three? (on the sliced turkey I make sandwiches out of, one serving is about a slice and a half, so a "normal" sandwich for me is two "servings".) You'll also learn that "serving" is frequently a gimmick by the food industry to make their food look good. But that's a rant for another day.

For an "in between" workout that you can use - try this http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/e4/ - specifically the chapter "What, Me Exercise?" - it breaks down 6 really basic exercises with detailed instructions, as well as "rungs" of a ladder that you can progress up as you get better - it's designed so that you can figure out where your current "rung" is as well, so getting started isn't too hard. It's easy to follow and doesn't require any extra stuff - though a set of resistance bands, an exercise ball, or a chin up bar are all great "non-weight" home exercise equipment, this would be a good "off day" thing to try as well. The most important thing with exercise is to figure out what you like and can/will do. :)
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Chrystenise
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Re: My Toxx

Postby Chrystenise » Thu Sep 16, 2010 3:32 pm

Kashi Go Lean for your cereal.

Heck, Kashi everything for your grain foods. =P

Use splenda in place of your sugars when possible, eat as little red meat as possible, where as chicken is easily the leanest, easily available meat. Drinks like Ensure are good meal replacements as well that will have little effect on adding pounds to you.

Avoid soda like the plague, especially Mountain Dew. (A gamer sin, I know, but you can shoot me later =P)

Vegetables might suck, but they're great for you.

Lots of water, it fuels your metabolism.

B Vitamins, especially B12, helps send your metabolism into overdrive. A good multivitamin can't do any harm as well.

Don't starve yourself. Eat smaller, frequent meals instead. Starving yourself kicks your body into survival mode and will all but put the brakes on your metabolism.

For a workout without any sort of tools, go with push-ups (of course), crunches/sit-ups, whichever is most comfortable for you to do, lunges/squat-thrusts.

Basic aerobic exercises will go a long way as well. Windmills, sways, shoulder rolls, etc. The key to a good workout isn't so much in what you use to achieve your burn, so much as the fact that you -do- actually achieve it.

If running becomes too difficult, there's nothing wrong with a good power walk as well. Keeping the body active is the key, regardless of the activity.

8 Hours of sleep a night. Keep the body recharged and fresh.

As well as, I'm not sure how natural you wish to keep this process, but there's also certain legit medications that do a great deal for weight loss, such as phentarmine/adipex, though after personally seeing a friend on that stuff, I'd avoid it unless you're into legal speed. =P

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Aelflaed
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Re: My Toxx

Postby Aelflaed » Thu Sep 16, 2010 4:04 pm

Seconding the recommendation for Kashi Go Lean. The honey almond flax is as delicious as the "original" too. Also, if you like oatmeal, McCann's Steel Cut Irish Oats are the way to go ("rolled" oats are more processed, and have less fiber and good stuff in them). Excellent with Splenda's Brown Sugar blend and fresh blueberries/peaches. Eggs can also be a good breakfast - especially if you make them ahead (like these: http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/2006/ ... again.html - warning, I've NEVER had mine come out looking all even like that. Also avoid paper muffin tin liners if you try them).

How much cooking are you looking to do, vs. packaged meals?

If, like me, you are not keen on drinking plain water, carbonated water with ice and half a lemon squeezed in it is tasty, and about as good. >.>
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Itanya_blade
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Re: My Toxx

Postby Itanya_blade » Thu Sep 16, 2010 4:14 pm

Personally, I prefer oatmeal over cereal. But I detest cereal, so that is just me.


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