LostParrot 2007 Online Journal

[lostparrot]

Name: Scott Burnham
Age: 28
Location: Corvallis, OR, USA
Gym: Anytime Fitness, Corvallis, OR

History:

Growing up I have always been overweight, mom would always say that I was "Husky" Or "Big Boned" but I knew better. But, I still was stubborn to change my eating habits. Out of High School I got married and ended up getting a job in a warehouse that was physically demanding. Soon after, I started dropping weight fast. I quit that job after 3 years and got a better paying job that evolved me driving 10+ hours a day. I would end up eating fast food 3 - 5 times a day. After a year and half of a extremely poor diet of fast food and a job that was not physically demanding at all (and getting a divorce) , my weight went from 230 lbs to 410lbs. I was a mess. Not the fact that I was so fat. But, The fact that I was so sick. Every morning I would puke. I was constantly sick. I slowly started weaning myself off fast food to once a day and trying to cut down on my soda intake.
Fast forward a bit. March of 2006 I moved from my hometown to Corvallis, OR. I got a new job and finally quit eating fast food. Actually in the last year I have mabey had fast food 5 times total so to me that was a amazing feat. Before I started my new diet and working out I weighed in at 347lbs. By not eating fast food anymore I dropped ~60lbs. Eventually I settled into working 2 jobs. I am a nanny and I work at a bar. 2 of my co-workers at the bar are bodybuilder and started giving me weight loss advise. For one I had to quit drinking soda. This was HARD but I did it. They also set me up on a realistic diet and pointed me to *stuff* to increase my metabolism, which was way to low. About a month ago I started my diet and working out at the gym 3 - 5 times a week. Here is my Journal.

7/06/07 Journal Entry and Previous Recap

Working out is going amazingly good. I am enjoying going to the gym and I am starting to notice the change in my health. I weighed in at 347lbs a month ago. I did a 2 week Clen cycle. Ate properly, worked out 3 - 5 time a week and I am glad to say I am down to 320lbs. I plan to be down below 300lbs by mid August. I am trying to keep my goals realistic and attainable.

Food:

Meal #1: Chicken & Rice, Apple
Meal #2: Double Protein Shake
Meal #3: Chicken & Rice
Meal #4: Double Protein Shake
Meal #5: Chicken & Rice

Todays Work Out:

Cardio
- 40min on Elliptical
Leg Extentions
- 3 Sets of 20 @ 50lbs
- 1 Set of 6 @ 230lbs
Seated Leg Curl 3 Sets of 20 @ 85lbs
- 1 Set of 6 @ 150lbs
Hip Abduction
- 3 Sets of 20 @ 100lbs
Hip Aduction
- 3 Sets of 20 @ 100lbs
Leg Press
- 3 Sets of 30 @ 200lbs
- 2 Sets of 15 @ 400lbs
Glute
- 3 Sets of 15 @ 50lbs

Hello lostparrot and welcome to Discuss Fitness and the Online Journal.

Thanks for opening up your book and sharing that intimate background about you. It gives us all a proper understanding of where you have been so we can help you where you want to go.

Post here daily with good detail like you did. You'll get great support and training tips. I'll definitely be checking out your journal and offering my two cents from time to time.

Have a great day!

p.s. I've been to Corvalis, nice college town. Oregon is a nice place to be in the summertime when it is superhot in my part of the world. Oh one final comment: how about some vegetables in the mix of what you are eating?

another p.s. have you checked out our Summer 2007 Newsletter. There is an excellent article written my member Firehawk that you should read.

[Lady C]

Congrats -thus far and hopefully you will still be losing!

You would have more success if you would modify your diet to this
Food:

Meal #1: Chicken & Rice, Apple
Meal #2: Double Protein Shake, veggies
Meal #3: Chicken & veggies
Meal #4: Double Protein Shake, veggies
Meal #5: Chicken & veggies
And maybe even add a meal 6 to make up for some lost rice calories.

Your bodybuilding friends - did they plan your diet for you? What do you put in your shakes? Not getting alot variety in the diet can lead to boredom or even quitting. Spice it up some with different foods and flavors. It might make meal planning a bit tougher but it will lead to long term changes and sustainability. I don't see enought good fats in that diet either. They are important.

[gymgirl]

welcome lostparrot! thanks for sharing your background and lifestyle and congrats on your weightloss so far!

I agree with Lady C's comments about the variety in your diet. Do you like fish, and what about good fats?

[lostparrot]

Thanks everyone, yeah pretty much I need to go shopping. the shakes I am talking about is the Protein shakes. Think about about blending in some fresh fruit with them for more flavor. Chicken and rice sounds boring but I love it. When I go shopping here next I am going to buy veggies and fruit also. Thanks for the advice.

[Jackal]

Buy some fish oil caps, they will help you lose fat and change your body as you are eating right and working out. I also agree with lady C that less rice and more veggies would be good, and you could very well not take that advice, but DEFINATELY add in some good fats!!!!!!!

I have a new 2007 study with fish oil and exercise from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition I would like to post but I can't seem to attach a pdf file. Take my word for it!!

[lostparrot]

Thanks thats good to know. Got paid today, did some grocery shopping, so I can eat more then chicken and rice. The Gym is going good, having fun doing it. The only bad choices this week is not eating very much. Its been soo hot out that I am not hungry at all. I would break my food intake and workout down but I forgot to write it all down. Still at 320lbs. starting to notice a bit of a difference in my upper body. I am trying to go with more reps and lower weights on my workouts. It feels so good that people are noticing me losing weight. Just another positive to keep me going Going to have a BBQ tommarrow and go to the beach on Saturday and mabey go for a swim in the ocean, if we can find parking near the beach, lol. On nice days people flock to the Oregon Coast! should be fun. Buy some new clothes since most my clothes are to big for me.

[minime]

hi scot! congratulations on losing the weight! Wow you lost almost a hundred pounds, that is amazing.

Keep up the good work!

[lostparrot]

Still A Loooooooooong way to got

[lostparrot]

7/15/07 Journal Entry
Today was a pretty good day. Helped start some remodeling at the bar I work at. The Gym went good, I didn't go to crazy but felt it was a good workout. I pinched a never the other day doing shrugs, ouch that hurt. I gotta be more careful.

Todays Work Out:

Cardio
- 40min on Elliptical
Leg Extentions
- 3 Sets of 20 @ 60lbs
Seated Leg Curl
- 3 Sets of 20 @ 85lbs
Hip Abduction
- 3 Sets of 20 @ 70lbs
Hip Aduction
- 3 Sets of 20 @ 70lbs
Leg Press
- 3 Sets of 30 @ 200lbs
Glute
- 3 Sets of 15 @ 50lbs

Food:

Meal#1 Pita (Whole Wheat Pita Bread w/Lettuce,Olives,Sprouts,Cheese,Chicken, Mustard)
Meal#2 Double Protein Shake, Banana
Meal#3 Teriyaki Chicken w/rice
Meal#4 Double Protein Shake
Meal#5 BBQ'ed Steak, Baked Potato w/ only salt n pepper on it.

[lostparrot]

Good workout today, I was happy. all upper body and arms.

Cardio
- 40 minutes Elliptical
Preacher Curls
- 3 Sets of 15 @ 30lbs
Chest Press
- 3 Sets of 20 @ 70lbs
Wide Grip Lat Pull Down
- 3 Sets of 30 @ 50lbs
Alternate Dumbbell Curl
- 3 Sets of 35 @ 15lbs

Having lots of fun at the gym.

[Lady C]

Great job on the workouts!

Two things I see that might help your fatloss go a bit quicker.
1-Always do your weight lifting first (after a 5 min warm-up) then cardio. This gives your muscles the glycogen needed to lift heavy and then depleats it so you are buring more fat during cardio.

2-You've been doing weights long enough that you have established a good base. I would change your rep ranges to alternate between 6-8 reps one time (heavier weights) and 10-15 reps the next (lighter weights). This keeps the body guessing. Otherwise it grows accostomed to what you are doing.

[lostparrot]

Thanks for the advise. I'll apply the info to my workout.

[lostparrot]

Good workout tonight! I did a little cardio for like 10 minutes. Instead of doing my normal routine of less weight more reps I switched it up. Doing more weights for less reps. For example, instead of doing 35 reps of dumbbell curls at 15lbs. I did a set of 17 at 30lbs and a set of 15 at 40lbs then another set at 30lbs. Switching it up a bit. I increased my weights on almost everything. I still have a bit of a problem with preacher curls and simular stuff. My arms get shaky and I don't curl it evenly. Just something I need to work on. But damn, my arm are sore. I ended my workout doing cardio for ~40minutes.
I have been steady at the same weight for 2 weeks now, I am eating healthy ans so badly want to lose my fat gut. But, on a positive note, My upper body is starting to look better and be more defined. My arms are starting to get bigger and I can feel my muscles getting bigger so I feel good about that.

Great that you are continuing to train and make progress.

Personally, I believe you'll make greater progress doing the compound barbell lifts using heavier weights and lower reps. I'd skip those lower weight high rep dumbell curls all together to free up more time for doing the barbell lifts.

Maybe someone else will chime in and give specifics.