No More Excuses...Time for me to work on my 2019 Body

Even though I always (half) joke about your Karen Carpenter propensities (I’m 6’3” and would kill to be 210 again; your idea of fat is criminal and stereotypically gay lol), I’m going to join you on this summer challenge, Nick. We’ll compare notes October 1.

Now, I think folk in the U.S. are hella fat, especially in my neck of the woods. While fat shaming is totally wrong, otoh people have gotten WAY TOO comfortable with medical obesity under the guise of “being comfortable with who I am.” We went from a skinny health conscious president to a piece of draft dodging Rob Ford shit that brags that scarfing down Big Macs are some kind of fucking machismo. Black, Latina, and white women seem to be especially comfortable with “letting it all hang out” on the streets with multiple blob layers stuffed into skin tight stretch clothes looking like (as a black Marine gunny from Louisiana once put it to me) a bunch of hogs trapped in a burlap sack fighting over a milk dud.

The only good thing about looking at grossly fat people being comfortable with themselves is it made me get out of my own complacency and start doing public exercise activities again. If 400 lb Becky and Bertha can proudly suntan at South Beach, what’s my moderately overweight excuse?When I was in Miami last month, I had a friend take a “before” pic. I knew I was moving to a place where I literally only had to leave the apartment, go down the elevator and the brand new gym room and outdoor pool was right there. That kind of ease is “beyond excuses”. So, back to cardio every morning like when I was in the military. Also weights because I’m just a naturally big tall dude. 210 is unrealistic at my age but looking like Shaq and Barkley on TBS is inexcusable as well.

Thoughts:

- I still use the “body type” thing as a general guide though I know it’s not entirely scientific. We generally fit into one of these categories, so plan your activities according to your somatype.



Generally. I was No. 6 below, in my 20s and 30s. Now that I’m older it’s a constant struggle between 4 and 5, so I have to be very conscious of food /activity. This is the diet and exercise equivalent of our earlier “staying in your lane” thread.



- You’re never too old. Sometimes we think you have to get that “Laurence Fishburne 50” pounds due to age. Not true. My elderly mother dropped a lot of weight after she started seeing a doctor she felt comfortable with, and she and Fishburne are both older than me. I think (have no proof) a lot people probably get big, not because they overeat but they eat exactly at 40 or 50 how they did at 20 or 30. Bodies change, diets must change.

- Diet. Everyone that’s an adult pretty much knows what’s right for their body. No one diet is right for everyone but everyone has a right diet for themselves as individuals. By right diet, I mean that which helps you maintain good weight and health and can be empirically verified as “right” by your doc through blood panels for A1C, cholesterol etc. I am pretty much a paleo body: dead animals, leafy greens and fruit. Dairy, sugar, beans, potatoes, and all grains are my devils. I had a coworker who lived almost exclusively on grains but it was medically right for him, but would have made me 500 lbs. Choose what’s right for you, not what’s best selling at Barnes and Noble.

- Cooking. When you know your diet type, cook those meals ahead of time. Get the Costco/Sams Club memberships, buy bulk, stick it in the fridge. Save your money and waistline.

- Alcohol. Sorry, I got a gummint job and Orange Julius Caesar is president. I’m a need a drink until further notice! So, keeping balanced, I will have drinks only on Friday or Saturday nights like women on weight watchers weekend cheat desserts.

- Use apps. I use Lose It on my iphone. Not just calorie counting, but actively tracking your food makes you more conscious of your own eating, good or bad. The good apps will actually analyze your habits. Lose It told me I eat far less on days I drink coffee, for example, so I went back to drinking coffee on the regular.

So let’s see who’s serious this summer. On that note, I leave you with Nick’s dieting doppelgänger:

 

I’m interested in the challenge aspect. I recently started working out to bulk up but trying to eat enough clean foods has been a little tricky with my limited cooking ability lol. I think I might pick this book up.

 

All of this!! Wine is my very real problem. I have gained nearly 50 pounds from 22 to 32 years old. I am 6'0" and when I started my military service I was 130 pounds. I was skinny. I bulked up because of the military exercise regimen. I plateaued at 150. Really solid nice looking body. Over the past decade and several jobs where I was not particularly active, I hover between 180 and 190.

I recently started a fitness program and started sitting less at work and drinking more water. I totally eliminated soda and sweet tea (my kryptonite). I started to develop some health issues, primarily acid reflux and heartburn. The doctor told me it was diet and weight. Now, I am working slowly but deliberately to restore some balance. The problem is I love wine. I am a wino. I know its a problem don't judge me.

You are right though about men not talking about weight I think it is important particularly in the black men category because we are dying young by ignoring how weight affects our health outcomes.

 

Yep! Just heard a report that oncologists realized that treatment for colorectal cancer in young folk doesn’t work as well statistically as it does for older patients. So, I hope younger squad members don’t see the challenge as just an oldhead thing.

For disclosure, after I was posted my first reply, my doc called me with the last round of blood test results from last week. Long story short, everything was good/normal (statistically for my age/race/sex) EXCEPT A1C. It’s high for my statistical class. I know it’s the weight. Luckily, I’m not officially diabetic, so I have an extra incentive to meet Nick’s challenge. Like @BlackguyExecutive I’ve gained about 50 I need to lose. Hopefully, the weight loss will leave me like Drew Carey, who was able to avoid meds (and early heart attack death like his dad) once he slimmed down.

 

If I were to make some changes as well, it would be to lose 10 pounds of fat over the next 2 months before Labor Day Weekend in ATL. I have been tipping at just over 200 lbs for the last few weeks because I've been busy with work and I slacked off on meal prepping. Just about a month or two ago I was around 190 so I need to get back to that. I just wanna lean out and get to the point where I don't have to suck my belly in! Even if I don't reach my goal by Labor Day Weekend, I need to slim down before the end of the year. I would love to be where I was in summer 2015.... around 185 lbs and the leanest I've ever been in my entire life.

My enemy has been food. Work stress got me eating poorly so I need to get back to meal prepping and being as active in the gym as I was just 2 months ago.

 

I have seen how much I don't consume fruits and veggies enough. I have to reduce my refined sugar, fried food and unnecessary carbohydrate intake over the course of the rest of 2018. I'm down for the challenge!!! @Nick Delmacy

 

Great thread going here! Im down.

Also, @BlackguyExecutive not to minimize your point, but Im having a hard time imagining how alarming 180lbs on a 6' frame could be. But I imagine your point is more about being in ideal shape for yourself.

 

@Nick Delmacy great post. I'm probably an inch taller than you and I'm at 208lbs now. For the last 5 years or so, i've maintained my weight at 185-190 so i definitely feel the 18 pounds. I've lost 7lbs already. The funny thing is, when i was younger, my weight would fluctuate dramatically from 265lbs upon high school graduation to 165lbs when i graduated college. Both were extremes and I never wanna get back to those. The problem is i've found it harder to lose weight now than I did 10 years ago. I'm a runner so i can run 3 miles a day with no problem but i fractured a toe over a week ago and haven't been able to do that. I know a lot of people live by meal prepping and I can see how that works. I encourage anyone to give it a try. My weakness is sweets. What i did was not buy any to stock at my place. NONE. I haven't really missed it. Every once and a while I get a weakness but there is nothing here to snack on so the urge goes away. It's all mental.

Even though I still get complimented on my shape while dressed, I know that i've gained weight, definitely in the mid-section area. The narrow waist is gone. LOL My goal is to get back to 195. Once i start back doing what i love, jogging, I know the weight will come off. So my suggestions, for anyone who cares, are:

1. Refrain from stocking unhealthy things in your home if possible. This includes, junk food, alcohol, soft drinks, etc.

2. Find fun activities, OUTSIDE OF THE GYM, that you enjoy and that burn calories. I jog the neighborhood, different paths,
play tennis and racquetball. All are good workouts but they don't feel like workouts because i'm not in the GYM.

3. Try and exercise on your lunch break to avoid over eating and lounging. My company's campus has a nice track with
a pond and it's really peaceful and allows me to get in a good jog or walk, while at work, in case i'm busy after work.


4. Find people who are fun to jog, run, workout with to make it fun and social. It's good to have someone to push you
and hold you accountable for missing workouts. Trust me, it's embarrassing when my jogging partner calls me twice
because i'm trying to skip out on a run.

These things have really helped me maintain my weight, until recently, but once i'm fully healthy again, i'm back on it.

 

Touche. I have been in better shape. At my heaviest, 192 LBS, I was 14LBS away from the weight the Coast Guard would have forced me to go on a mandatory fitness program or be discharged. LOL. Throughout my military stint, I always had about 30 to 40 pounds to spare. But I concede your point, I am not bad but have seen my body look better.

 

@BlackguyExecutive @Nick Delmacy

I get it. Body image is indeed an insecurity for men, especially gay men who (according to media) are supposed to be naked having sex 23 hrs a day. Weight distribution is a big part of that.

My point w @BlackguyExecutive was that, when I was performing 6 days a week, I hovered around 175/180 at 6' tall. I wasn't frail, but I certainly didn't need to miss a meal either. So that's why it was hard for me to imagine that being an 'issue' weight. The fact that the military rings the alarm at low 200s on a 6' frame is very surprising.

 

As a side note, I was in a similar boat when I was in the reserves, as the Navy acted like a bunch of Queerty Queens when it came to making sure people me hewed to some stupid fucking “statistical” weight, as if the US military isn’t comprised of a diversity of ethnicities.

This goes to the variation issue. I’m sure the CG wasn’t all that different than the navy considering you guys use our maritime ranking structure (Petty Officers, Ensigns, etc.). I always throught the Navy’s attitude at times was bullshit. Case in point, the Navy Times newspaper, a few years ago, featured a Petty Officer who consistently scored a perfect 300 on his PFT (seniannual fitness test), was cleared as being in perfect health by doctors but the Navy would not let him make chief petty officer because he “looked fat.” He was a short, barrel chested white guy, like a younger Bob Hoskins.

To @Nick Delmacy point that that their are unhealthy “skinny fat” folk there are also healthy “fat looking” guys, based on their actual health not “the way they look.” I understand if you actually have some pudgy young recruit who needs to get into shape but that’s why I emphasized doctors analysis and blood/medical tests over aesthetic or cultural prejudices. That shit still pisses be off as that white guy’s lack of promotion was totally illogical based on exercise and medicine.

 

Part of my lack of confidence in some areas is because I'm heavier than I'd like to be. As an endomorph, I have to sweat to drop weight. However currently I have prioritized weight lifting over Cardio. I literally would need Two A Days to drop weight but I have trouble finding the time at the moment.

Working studying commuting all take so much time Out of my day. But I definitely can find pockets of time where I can get that extra workouts in.

I could plan better as far as getting my clothes ironed for the week ahead of time. That's one area I know I could work on for better time management.

Meal prep is meh for me because I get bored easily eating the same things. After 2 days I'm good. I do make more than I eat and just freeze it for later

Carbs are a weakness but I'm 3 months Oreo free. Chips I'll eat on occasion.

Alcohol is a non issue as that's not a vice. If you give me a plate of pasta or a Tom Collins (hey it's my drink of choice sue me hoe ) I'm taking the pasta.

 

Not a Tom Collins! You must've been drinking during WW2 lol.

 

I am refined. That ish is like water. It's so easy to drink and smooth.

 

Lord, don’t let me mention Harvey Wallbangers, you’ll say I was drinking at Studio 54 with Liza Minnelli in 1979...

 

I don’t drink much anyway, but like i told you, a weekend glass of something will be my weight watchers equivalent of “cheat meal” for the challenge. I usually like drinks that go well with Coke too, so I’ll just do go with Diet Coke.

I have a coworker who is Type 1 diabetic (like Mary Tyler Moore was, skinny and on insulin since youth). He does drink when we have office parties, just not the heavy stuff like rum, etc. mostly just a light beer or very dry wine.

The $1 hamburger night turned out well. You don’t get fries (guess that’s why it’s so cheap lol), but the grilled mushrooms were cool and low cal. There are lots of veggies, if done right, than can give you a nice faux sweet tooth satisfaction without actual added sugars (e.g. grilled onions). So without the bun or condiments, my app said the two grilled burgers were just 300 calories. Also cinnamon is a great way to add a faux sweet taste. I use it in my chili to give a sweet flavor without actual added sugars, also in coffee in place of sugar (a dab of cream and cinnamon).

 

I support you and your efforts. Staying motivated is the challenge though I know that you can do it especially when you want it bad enough. Also, nutrition and what's going into your vessel is equally as important. 8 glasses of water, no processed foods and fried meats, fresh greens and fruits and exercisers least an hour 5x a week. You got this, bro. It took a year for me to lose 75 lbs (yes, that weight crept on over time and when it became a concern I decided to do something about it) and have successfully kept it off now for 3 months. Again, you have this. If I get 10 + daps I'll post a pic to quench any thrist. Jaja.

 

I applaud your decision to take care of yourself, eat healthy, and to get back in shape. I've a had a similar journey. I've been skinny most of my life. I got in shape when I was in my 20s while I was in the armed forces. At 5'10" I went from a scrawny 130lbs to a fit 165lbs and hovered between 165 - 170 depending on what I ate. After I got out of the military at 29 I got lazy, stopped working out. My weight dropped back down to 140lbs until I turned 36 then all of a sudden I started getting pudgy. My weight went from 140 to 176. I wasn't obese or anything but I didn't like the way I looked. That just didn't sit well with me. I became determined not to be one of those dudes who just let's themselves go after a certain age. I cut out soda, junk food, and alcohol. Started eating fruits and vegetables as well as lifting weights again eventually I got back in shape. At the age I am now, 41 I'm in better shape than when I was in my 20s. It's not too late it just takes discipline and determination. Once you start seeing results that helps motivate you to keep going. You really have to avoid sugar, especially high fructose corn syrup at all costs! HFCS is in almost every processed food and in most beverages. That's why I drink mostly water. You gotta get in the habit of reading labels to see what the ingredients are and how many grams of sugar it has per serving. For a man that is not overweight you're not supposed consume more than 37.5 g of sugar per day if you're trying to loose weight you gotta consume less.

 

Man, you ain’t lying! To get totally free of sugar, you have to basically cook your own food and avoid anything on the market. I understand that in the 19th and early 20th Century before modern refrigeration and packaging that salt and sugar were cheap preservatives, but there is simply no excuse for the amount of crap in most supermarket items. A lot of it is just due to fucking govt welfare subsidies given to farmers and ag conglomerates to prop up sugar, dairy, and corn growers.

It kills me how people think processed foods at Whole Foods or “a health food store” are more healthful* due to marketing and labeling words (“gluten free!!!”) when it has just as much sugar and salt as “regular” supermarket items. Like how comedian Jim Gaffigan commented that yuppies lie to themselves that a Starbucks Frappuccino isn’t really just a milkshake. I realized most of my recent weight gain wasn’t OVEReating but just eating prepared foods on the job. Remember this bullshit propaganda?


The thing is, once you stop eating processed foods, your normal taste buds and preferences return. Sugar is def an addiction. Will have to dust off this old book that actress Gloria Swanson use to push on TV talk shows when I was a kid:



Nothing new under the sun...

 

It’s not an accident that the obesity and diabetes crisis started in this country in the 1980s. If you look at pictures and film footage of people from the 1970s and before obesity was pretty rare. What changed is HFSC replaced cane sugar in soda and then spread to other products, even products that traditionally didn’t have a lot of sugar like bread. Obesity rates began to skyrocket. Many people in this country don’t realize how powerful the corn lobby and big agribusiness is. They are the ones making us fat and sick. They’re exporting this to other countries like Mexico has a huge problem with obesity and diabetes because they drink a lot of soda. Coca Cola is making a killing down there. Countries in Africa are now starting experience an obesity crisis thanks to introduction of processed foods and soda.


Check out the nutrition label for a typical 20 oz Coke. HFCS is the second ingredient and it has 65g of sugar. 65 GRAMS!! Mind you 37.5g is the limit per day if you aren’t overweight. This is just one product. It doesn’t count all the sugar in everything else a person consumes in a day. No wonder so many people are fat.

 

This. There's a WHOLE LOT of gray area between the (hilarious) clip above and being on the professional body builder diet.
I actually know a guy who used to compete Mr. Olympia and the likes, and he literally ate steamed chicken and broccoli all competition season long, for years.

The pink elephant tho, is that he obvs had a reason to be so limited. The average person who wants to look and feel good has 0 reason to be so strict. While downing soda the way you SHOULD be regularly downing water is a complete waste of calories, there's no reason to be walking around w a george foreman grill just so you can eat.

While we all know diet > exercise, there's a lot to be said for how detrimental the lack of consistent physical activity is when it comes to getting into better shape. Just like cookies everyday is a lot more fun than once a week, while running a few miles 3 times a week may not be a day at 6 flags, there's no denying the benefits.

 

Now see, when Eddie Murphy made fun of obese black women in Norbit, he was “an insensitive male” who got the Dreamgirls oscar snatched from his grasp



And y’all know damn well that fat suit Murphy wore deserved an oscar too, as there are too many black women who look EXACTLY LIKE that

Like I said Nick, the are no perfect diets and you have to have balance in everything. It’s just that most people’s ideas of “balanced” ends up looking like


Even weight watchers allows “cheats” as long as they are like lunar eclipses (rare and exceptional). You just adjust before or after the cheat (extra exercise or consume less calories).

 

Here’s a couple more books I lived by when i was a skinny college health food enthusiast.



Both are anthropological in nature, the Price book is the most famous of the two. Price was a dentist who went to study teeth from an anthropology standpoint in the 1920s and 30s. He found that, regardless of race or continent, most people who ate natural native foods to their population had almost no dental caries or abnormalities. Then minute you introduced sugar and processed food, once again, regardless of race or national origin, you start to see cavities, gum disease, and other abnormalities.


I think I mentioned this documentary (“Good Meat”) before, about a native american young man whose family were obese and diabetic. You don’t see it in the trailer (I caught it on PBS a few years ago) but he made DRAMATIC change! He went back to his ancestral ways, including killing and eating buffalo (which is DELICIOUS by the way ), his weight dropped, AC1 got under control, health improved.


And it’s a shame this book is out of print and the used copies on Amazon are way overpriced, but it’s a classic every black person should read. Before he was the skinny, bearded guru before all of us here were born, Dick Gregory was an overweight smoking standup comedian

 

So I recently discovered this vein of Buzz feed, BuzzfeedBlue .

I watched this video this morning and it resonated with me.



I am the dude. Like he's lighter than me and my stomach doesn't dunlap but we're built pretty much the same shape.

Before that one I watched this....



Now previously I noted that the same things everyday with meal prep killed it for me. I need variety but I'm OK with setting that aside for other goals. But in order for that to work I'd need to be creative. Itewas the lady in the first video that I was virtually high fiving in my head at her statement. So I had to think. For example, today I cooked lemon pepper chicken thighs But I only seasoned half of the pack. The rest has a cajun flavor. I'll slap them in the oven tomorrow.

I caught a London broil on sale for 10 bucks so that's Wednesday and Thursday and I'll have a meatza on Friday.

So my meal prep has to be me getting the food ready so I can put it in the oven or skillet, variations on preparation, and enough variety but simple cooking techniques. The weekends I'll play by ear with making the best choices as far as eating out goes.

Also I'm going to attempt to log my food. I have a food scale but I'm not going to weigh my food and count Macros. I have done that before. It's not fun but it works. Just not trying to be that granular right now. I'm building up to my routine and doing too much too soon is failure for me. I'll be using Lose It for logging food. Also I could stand to drink more water so I got a reminder app for that too.

Also below is a list I made of foods that will work for me. I think it's a good base. Note that I don't eat eggs so...

Protein

Cottage Cheese
Chicken boobs
Pork Loin
Lean beef
Buffalo
Cod
Salmon

Fats

Walnuts
Coconut
Olive Oil
Cheddar
Full Fat Yogurt
Almonds
Olive Oil
Cashews

Carbs

Brown rice
Quinoa
Steel Oats
Sweet Potato
Whole Wheat pasta

Plants

Apple
Pear
Raspberries
Blackberries
Blueberries
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Kale
Spinach
Lettuce
Cabbage
Asparagus
Carrots
Cucumber
Peppers

​

 

@ControlledXaos you are now forever on my Christmas/Kwanzaa/Chinese New Year/Hanukkah list for introducing us all to Meatza!! So paleo! That’s gonna be a regular from now on. Some paleo people use riced cauliflower for crust, but i prefer the Meatza take.

My food list is almost like yours except my body prefers salmon, buffalo, and turkey. My body seems to react to beef and pork so buffalo is the only red meat I’ll be doing. Sweet potato is the only carb I do and that’s only if they’re baked like red potatoes or french fried. No grains of any kind for me. Finally, I’ll send my portion of kale to you and Sally Struthers for the starving kids. I don’t care if it is a “superfood” I hate it!!

 

Yeah my food list is a little bit keto and a little bit pale. Lol

I used to make a meatza about once a week when I was working 3 13 hour shifts a week . It was a staple. Though I would suggest making it on a non stick sheet or the fancy non stick foil. It oozes a lot so you'll be soaking up a lot of grease before you top it. I liked it as is with the Mexican theme but Italian seasoning could work too.