No, I’m not Mr Hankey, but I may be the Pillsbury Doughboy.

Stats- 35yo. 5’7”. Starting weight 07/11: 201.5lbs

07/13: 198.5lbs

I will be doing some tape measurements later. Hadn’t thought of it Monday.

I had been feeling like crap and noticed I was lumpier than usual lately. I was thinking I needed to start back at working out (quit it last fall due to working 60-70hr weeks and being lazy). I weighed myself Monday morning and realized I had gained almost exactly 20lbs since March. I made the crack to my wife about how fat I was, and she emphatically told me I was not, then I told her that fact and she tried to hide her surprise.

Today, Wednesday, is Day 3. I have been getting up early and riding my bike 3.65 miles, then going out on the deck and doing 3 sets of 10 squats, 10 pushups, and 40 flutter kicks. I also really want to get back to lifting (was doing 5x5 last year) but I want to drop about 10 lbs first, and I’m not going to screw around with gaining strength while losing weight.

I will be updating this occasionally to keep myself accountable. Feel free to ask questions, make comments, etc.

Knowing you need to do it and having the motivation to get started is where it’s at brother!  It doesn’t have to be a giant leap either. I got back into it in September. At first I didn’t commit a certain time to the gym, just doing sets of something every few minutes in the office. Type for a bit, get up and do a set.  Once I started getting back into it, I committed the time to a routine. Keep that body moving. Newton knew what he was talking about when he said an object in motion stays in motion.

Keep going buddy!  Good thing your easing your way back into it.  Remember, you didn’t gain it over night and you won’t lose it overnight either.

Thank you both.

I have kept up the routine every morning. I haven’t been pushing too hard, but it feels good to be moving again.

I am thinking about adding free weights back in next week, but keeping the weight on the bar low just to get back into the movement patterns and not make myself sore to the point where I don’t want to ride.

The next big hurdle is the nutrition. I am eating less crap, but it’s still there. Next grocery trip (this weekend) will be better foods.

I think it’s a good idea adding free weights but not to the point you’re too sore to do anything.  And healthier food is great.  

Stay motivated.

One week in. Sticking to the routine with the exception of the weekend, but that was filled with other physical activities like using a non-assisted push mower to mow hills and a romp at the playground. I forgot that playing on swings and monkey bars is an actual workout.

Shaved about a minute off my ride time this morning, and upped the flutter kicks to 50 and squats to 15. Pushups are out for the moment since I tripped and landed on my shoulder trying to make the merry go round go faster. I’m sure I’ll be back to those in a few days, but I’ll wait til the bruising and soreness goes down a notch.

Weight: 197.0lbs.

Still at it! Just shy of 20 miles ridden so far this week, and 1100 calories burned.

Keep going brother!

Still keeping it going. I did skip two days last week due to going to a concert and not getting home til 1am, and the following day since I hadn’t slept much for four days running. But, other than that, it’s been the same route every morning.

No ride today; it’s raining cats and dogs here. It gave me more time to work on food, so that’s good.

I’m working on going keto. The hard part is that my wife and daughter are big on potatoes and pasta, but I’ll work around that as much as I can. Today’s menu is:

Breakfast: 3 eggs
Break: 2/3 keto Greek yogurt, bell pepper strips and 1/4 cup cashews
Lunch: Mango chipotle Salmon pouch, spinach and 2 tbsp oil dressing
Dinner: undetermined

Nice going.  Are you seeing progress?

I weighed in at 196.0 yesterday morning. Obviously, a little more of a loss would be nice, but any negative movement is better than positive, in this case.

The weather has been hampering rides lately. It has either been raining or dense fog four days in the last week. I walked one morning, but doing that and then going to work for 10 hours in a machine shop didn’t make for happy feet.

Interestingly, weighed in at 194.0 this morning. I’m quite happy with that.

Breakfast: 4 eggs and some hot sauce.

Snack: sliced peppers

Lunch: Spinach “salad” (just spinach in a bowl) 2tbsp vinegar and oil dressing, tuna or salmon pouch, 2/3 cup of keto Greek yogurt

Snack: 1/4 cup roasted and unsalted cashews that I chew on throughout the afternoon.

Dinner: whatever the family is having. I have noticed that I don’t care for pasta as much. I had some last night, and mid chew I thought “I should have made broccoli.”

To quote Benicio del Toro “I’m still here.”

Didn’t weigh in this week yet. I’m sure I’m up a bit based upon my evening meals.

I have hit the point where soda is disgusting and I couldn’t be happier. I bought a Mountain Dew at lunch last Friday, drank about a third of it and threw it out. I still drink energy drinks, but have moved toward the “cleaner” ones like Kill Cliff and Celsius. I have also moved to drinking LifeAid on the mornings where I’m not dragging. It seems to trick my brain into satisfying the want of an energy drink’s fizz/taste.

Mio water additive has become a new addiction. I have my doubts about it being calorie free and such, but it gives a nice flavor boost occasionally.

Good for you OP!  

IMHO, the best long term motivator is doing it for yourself.


If I were you, I'd stop weighing yourself.  The numbers are either disappointing or give false hope.  Appearance, fit of clothing, BF% are much better at tracking progress.  I've seen more than few folks who start hitting it hard, give up because the scale doesn't move enough for them.  

Put in the work every day, challenge yourself in the gym (status quo is never good enough), adjust your diet and cut out all the bullshit like sweetened drinks, processed foods, candy.

Be patient.  If you do your part, the results will follow...that's guaranteed.

ETA:  Mio is can excellent water additive.  The propel powders are great for replenishing salt.  Drink 120ounces of water every day. Cut the soda out completely; don't drink your calories.

I've been using LMNT mixed with carbonated water, no sugar, still tasty.

I have been wanting to check out LMNT.

I got some produce from Costco and wasn’t too thrilled. Two of the six peppers in the bag were trashed. The upside was the large tub of spinach, but I think I’m going back to my original plan of buying two peppers and a smaller tub of spinach on Sunday and Wednesday. Also got a six pack of containers of egg whites. I want to do 2 whole eggs and two worth of egg whites, so that’s 6 weeks of egg whites in there ??

Went back to 5x5 tonight. It was tempting to add another 40lbs to each lift, but I also wanted to be able to move tomorrow.
Squat: 95lbs
OHP: 65lbs
Trap bar Deadlifts: 168lbs
2 pull-ups and 2 chin-ups

I purchased some bands from Valor Fitness that come with wraps to put around the rack uprights, so I can do flyes, crossovers, etc. Hopefully, they get here this week.

I am starting to debate getting either a bike or rower for the gym in the winter months. I’ll give that another month or so. I want to prove my dedication before getting into that discussion with my wife.

ETA: 40lbs to OHP is a bad call. I’m lighter on that due to shoulder issues.

Debating adding in a chicken breast at lunch. I feel like I’m not getting enough protein out of the day.

Hit 5x5 again. It was tempting to make excuses since I was working til 730, but I made it happen.

Weighed in this morning at 191. I’m happy with that result, seeing as I’m not starving myself or going about it in any way to lose it too rapidly, while also lifting and eating normal meals for dinner.

My biggest positive change is dietary. I still like sweets, but I’m much more apt to grab a bag of nuts or some sort of semi-healthy snack than finding a candy bar. I also have zero interest in soda. I used to be good for 1-2 every day, and some days 4+. I had one yesterday with lunch and it didn’t taste good.

https://www.ar15.com/forums/general/Friendly-reminder-get-out-and-move-or-lift-something-heavy-today-/5-2550369/

Eventually the motivation will fade. Replace it with being disciplined.

Looks like a sick thread. Thanks.

For the record, still at it. I ride every morning as long as it isn’t raining. The 46 degree morning was a fun ride!

Hit 5x5. I feel like a weak Nancy compared to where I had been, but when you slip into lazy POS territory, it’s bound to happen.

Well, this morning’s ride sucked. 53 degrees and still wet on the trail since it rained Saturday through yesterday morning. I also had a lady California roll a stop sign while I was IN FRONT of her crossing a T intersection. I had a front light and blinky rear light going and it was directly under a street light.