The 5 Month Challenge: Who's With Me? ***COMPLETED: UPDATES INSIDE***

[A790]

In February I'm going to Mexico with my girlfriend. She looks great in a bikini, with a great body and all of the right assets. I, in a swimsuit, look like a wooly mammoth. The hair thing isn't a big deal- I can get that lasered off (and I am planning on it), but the weight, well.... that's a bit of a problem.

Last February I got a personal trainer and from the months of March until May I lost around 12 lbs, though I continued to eat like garbage. My strength improved, I started to get definition, and generally, I was losing weight (people started commenting on it... awesome).

Unfortunately, that all ended when I moved back to Calgary at the end of June.

So, it's time to step it up. I'm going to take before/midway/after pictures of my progress and post my diet on here (as well as on a website that I haven't made yet). I know there are a lot of people on beyond that know their stuff when it comes to weight loss and training, so I'm hoping that some of the more experienced people can lend some tips.

I know the theory behind training and diet, what I don't have is the motivation to continue. I work out for a month, feel great, and then it tapers off. Since I work from home in front of a computer that also limits my physical exertion, though I can pull off half an hour sexathalons (though lately it really takes a bit out of me).

Who's with me in this? Who's serious about training and losing weight? I'm willing to do whatever it takes. Seriously, WHATEVER it takes to make this happen. If you've even had a passing thought about going to the gym, now's the time to do it. My goal is to lose 25lbs in 5 months- what's yours?

Any advice, ideas, tips for staying motivated, and healthy (and lean) recipes are welcome.

Updates:

I officially started my 5 month challenge on October 1. Before/current (as of Dec 23) pics can be found here: http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread.p...10#post2744410

Final update (February 24) here: http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread.p...34#post2831134... SUCCESS!!

[max_boost]

Dude, you don't need 5 months. You can get it in 3 months no BS if you are committed.

You don't need a personal trainer either, you need the WILL to succeed. If you will take your training as serious as your successful online businesses, you'll be fine.

I tell you what, I'm at the Talisman Centre Mon-Thurs night 9:30-11:00pm and Sat/Sun 11:00am-1:00pm. So if you need someone to lift with, chat with, let me know.

I've been doing it for a good 6 weeks now. I was 5"5, 150lbs, lost about 7llbs, gained some strength but still got a long way to go.

The diet is crucial to your success.

This is what I know so feel free to correct me boys. Whatever your target weight is, you try to eat that much in protein. For me I try to get in min.125 grams of protein a day. Split it over 5-6 meals so basically every few hours.

Meal 1: High fiber cereal
Meal 2: Shake
Meal 3: Subway Wrap
Meal 4: A fruit
Meal 5: Lean dinner, small steak, baked potato & veg.
Meal 6: Shake or protein bar

This is my routine. Two upper/lower body sessions a week. 4-5 sessions of low intensity cardio up to an hour each week.

[WWJAI]

My goal is to lose 15-20lbs in 4 months. I as well can not consistently go to the gym but have been recently. I'm not large though and I look alright but I am motivated to finally lose this excess weight after years of procrastinating.

I would like tips to stay motivated as well, cause everytime I see results I stop hitting the gym.

Good luck.

[max_boost]

Sunday is rest and cheat day.

Nike's slogan, "Just do it"

That's all there is to it.

I think my goals are pretty simple, just to get leaner and stronger. I want to be cardiovascular fit with strength. I've done pretty well so far, it's a routine that I want to maintain and keep up forever, if possible haha

I got a gym membership to Talisman, $699/year. So I'm forced to use it!

[ercchry]

do you want a golds membership for $34 a month? i have one and have yet to go, we have a gym in the building so no point of leaving here and driving 20min to the gym

a few tips:

eat slow=more full feeling from less food
eat often, 6 small meals is better then 3 large ones
dont eat heavy carbs in the evening/night

[A790]

Originally posted by max_boost
Dude, you don't need 5 months. You can get it in 3 months no BS if you are committed.

You don't need a personal trainer either, you need the WILL to succeed. If you will take your training as serious as your successful online businesses, you'll be fine.

I tell you what, I'm at the Talisman Centre Mon-Thurs night 9:30-11:00pm and Sat/Sun 11:00am-1:00pm. So if you need someone to lift with, chat with, let me know.

I've been doing it for a good 6 weeks now. I was 5"5, 150lbs, lost about 7llbs, gained some strength but still got a long way to go.

The diet is crucial to your success.

This is what I know so feel free to correct me boys. Whatever your target weight is, you try to eat that much in protein. For me I try to get in min.125 grams of protein a day. Split it over 5-6 meals so basically every few hours.

Meal 1: High fiber cereal
Meal 2: Shake
Meal 3: Subway Wrap
Meal 4: A fruit
Meal 5: Lean dinner, small steak, baked potato & veg.
Meal 6: Shake or protein bar

This is my routine. Two upper/lower body sessions a week. 4-5 sessions of low intensity cardio up to an hour each week.

Dude, believe me, I'm stoked about making this happen. I used to be cut a few years back, but working 12 hour days in front of my computer and eating delivery have really taken their toll on my body. I'm 6'2 and about 230lbs right now I think... last February I was 242. I want to be 205 and pretty cut. That's the goal. I think about it every damn day and I'm at the point where I'm dead serious about making it happen.

I'm actually not hiring a trainer this time because one thing I noticed when I had one is that I felt really motivated when I trained, but I always felt that it was an excuse to slack off otherwise. It was always "oh, well Mike will push me a bit harder at the gym". I feel that I need to be behind this 100% without using a trainer as a crutch.

The only really challenge I see is the cardio- I HATE cardio.

Oh, and congrats on your success I will definitely hit you up and take you up on your offer.

[KRyn]

Dude I cut this summer dropping nearly 20lbs in two months. I ate the exact same thing for two months, switched all my training routines to super sets, increased cardio, and hit an ECA stack. If you are serious about cutting some weight it will be very easy to do. You need to get a meal plan and follow it to the "T" and step up the training regime. Maybe even consider taking some supplements.

Now that it is winter however it's time to bulk and I hope to gain 30-45 lbs in eight months or so.

[A790]

Originally posted by KRyn
Dude I cut this summer dropping nearly 20lbs in two months. I ate the exact same thing for two months, switched all my training routines to super sets, increased cardio, and hit an ECA stack. If you are serious about cutting some weight it will be very easy to do. You need to get a meal plan and follow it to the "T" and step up the training regime. Maybe even consider taking some supplements.

Now that it is winter however it's time to bulk and I hope to gain 30-45 lbs in eight months or so.

What's an ECA stack, and what are super sets?

Also, does anyone know of a good online resource to use for planning meals?

[KRyn]

Honestly dude figuring out a meal plan is A LOT of work. You need to calculate your daily calorie needs and then from there subtract a set amount so you can lose so much weight in "x" amount of days. Then you need to know the caloritic value of an ass load of foods and there macro nutrient break down to figure out how much protein/fat/carbs you need so you know what food and how much of it to eat…

Ephedrine Caffeine and Asprin, but in all honesty you are better getting a product like Hydro Lean or any similar US product.

A superset consists of performing different exercises for two or more body parts. Set one is performed directly followed by a set of the second exercise. There is minimal rest in between the exercises but rest in between sets can be from 1-2 minutes. For example, barbell curls followed by triceps extensions.

[t_soarer]

Do circuit training....meaning get your feet on the elliptical machine and do the following:

1. Warm up 5 minutes on Level 7
2. Increase to level 20 and work as hard as you can for 30 seconds
3. Bring it down to level 7 again and rest for 1 minute
4. Go up to level 21 and 30 seconds of hardcore action again
5. Go back down to 7, etc.
6. Repeat this procedure until 15 minutes, then 5 minute cool down. You've burned at least 280 cals in 20 minutes (if you worked hard that is).

I now average around 315 cals/ 20 minutes

Then go do abs, bridges - 4 different exercises of your choice, 4 sets with 30 seconds rest in between sets

Finish with 10 minutes of biking if you want, but doing this 6 days a week....you won't need anywhere near 3 months to lose 20+ lbs.

Oh yeah and eating plan definitely helps. Cheating day once a month if you can do it.

Good luck!

[max_boost]

Not many people can do the high intensity cardio. Hell I know I can't handle it. But I watch TV while doing my hour of low intensity haha

Of everything I've read, ECA will shred you but the whole idea of take all those pills is just crazy to me. I rather do it the natural way, but that's just me.

You really have to customize a program to suit you individually.

[bigbadboss101]

Sounds good. Best wishes to all. I too need to get in shape, firm up, lose fat, and get stranger etc. Eating is definitely a huge part.

Anyone go to Crowfoot Y?

[The_Rural_Juror]

Originally posted by A790
She looks great in a bikini, with a great body and all of the right assets.

Prove it?

[Danish]

Have you considered taking a martial arts class such as kick boxing? It's a great way to get a lot of cardio in, and far more fun than just running around a track. Also with an instructor you should get a lot of motivation.

[reiRei]

I'm getting tired of being chunky myself, so for the past 3 months I've been hitting the gym.

Even if you don't see results right away, the reassurance that every single day is a step closer works for me. As a girl, weight loss and building muscle is twice as hard as you guys.

I have found, however, that if I log my Eating Habits, exercise, sleep and body I can see the progression on Paper. I just recently bought a health log from chapters in chinook ... and it's a great notebook I fill out every night to see how I've been doing in terms of my body.

ultimately, I just want to get healthier.. but if I look better on the way... that's even better

[88CRX]

I've dropped 20 lbs in the last 3 months or so and I haven't really done anything special.

- no pop, no alcohol, no double-double coffees
- no junk food, fast food and very little eating out
- eat a big breakfast (egg whites, oatmeal, etc)
- lots of fruit for snacks (morning and afternoon)
- lots of water
- smaller portioned meals
- really try to get a decent amount of sleep most nights

- usually do 30-40 minutes of cardio 4-5 nights a week. Treadmill in front of the tv is really easy, half an hour goes by in no time.
- play ice hockey 1-2 times a week.

And that's it.... just gotta watch what you eat. I haven't been counting calories or anything, just trying to eat better.

[403ep3]

I am in the kind of the same boat as you. About a half a year ago I was around 150lbs of actual muscle. I first started out about almost 2 years ago at around 130lbs. I worked my ass off 5-6 days a week, ate lots of protein, drank supplements, and eventually started growing more muscle and increasing my mass. I used to be able to bench 185lbs when I was around 145-150.

When summer hit, I got lazy as hell and dropped back down to 140lbs. This weight doesn't consist of very much muscle. I think I am getting a stomach slowly. I don't want to be fat so I went to the gym this week. I plan on starting up my routine once again because I wanna make 160lbs by year end. Luckily, with school forcing me to be here, I don't have an excuse to miss out on the gym.

My routine consisted of 5 day a week workouts:
(in order)
1. Full out chest workout - 1 1/2 - 2 hr workout
Start out with heavy weights then as I am getting tired, lower the weights and do as many reps as possible.
2. Back/Shoulders - 1 - 1 1/2 hr workout
Start at shoulders then back, shoulders then back...
3. Legs - 1 - 1/2 hr workout
This is one of the most exhausting workouts I do. Since it uses your whole body, you are normally done after this workout.
4. Arms/Tris - 1 1/2 - 2 hr workout
This is my favourite workout as it shows of how my body type is. Start out with heavy weights then lower weights with high reps. I use skeleton bar.
5. Cardio/Abs - 1 1/2 - 2 hr workout
Take a run for a 30 mins to an hour. Then you can do abs. There are lot's of different exercises from being on the mat to being on the machines.

Make sure to drink lots and lots of water!!!
I guess my workout plan is not really for losing weight but the cardio/abs will help you lose weight while the other workouts will get you full and toned eventually.

Does anyone workout at MRC? I've got useless guy friends that won't workout with me and I definately need a spot so I can lift heavier weights.

[civic_rida]

sam Talisman Centre eh
What a baller.

[A790]

Originally posted by 403ep3
I am in the kind of the same boat as you. About a half a year ago I was around 150lbs of actual muscle. I first started out about almost 2 years ago at around 130lbs. I worked my ass off 5-6 days a week, ate lots of protein, drank supplements, and eventually started growing more muscle and increasing my mass. I used to be able to bench 185lbs when I was around 145-150.

When summer hit, I got lazy as hell and dropped back down to 140lbs. This weight doesn't consist of very much muscle. I think I am getting a stomach slowly. I don't want to be fat so I went to the gym this week. I plan on starting up my routine once again because I wanna make 160lbs by year end. Luckily, with school forcing me to be here, I don't have an excuse to miss out on the gym.

My routine consisted of 5 day a week workouts:
(in order)
1. Full out chest workout - 1 1/2 - 2 hr workout
Start out with heavy weights then as I am getting tired, lower the weights and do as many reps as possible.
2. Back/Shoulders - 1 - 1 1/2 hr workout
Start at shoulders then back, shoulders then back...
3. Legs - 1 - 1/2 hr workout
This is one of the most exhausting workouts I do. Since it uses your whole body, you are normally done after this workout.
4. Arms/Tris - 1 1/2 - 2 hr workout
This is my favourite workout as it shows of how my body type is. Start out with heavy weights then lower weights with high reps. I use skeleton bar.
5. Cardio/Abs - 1 1/2 - 2 hr workout
Take a run for a 30 mins to an hour. Then you can do abs. There are lot's of different exercises from being on the mat to being on the machines.

Make sure to drink lots and lots of water!!!
I guess my workout plan is not really for losing weight but the cardio/abs will help you lose weight while the other workouts will get you full and toned eventually.

Does anyone workout at MRC? I've got useless guy friends that won't workout with me and I definately need a spot so I can lift heavier weights.

When I get back from ON on Wednesday me and a buddy will be there. It's a great gym.

[Kloubek]

Pics of the said girlfriend?