The INGO Hardcore Weight Loss/Fitness Thread

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  • Frosty

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    Jan 27, 2013
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    Always start with loose straps. Tighten the hips first. Then the main shoulder straps, but not too tight. Then chest connector. Then go back to main shoulder straps and get the load balanced well. Then the fine adjustment straps last and those should be adjusted during a hike.

    Osprey packs used to be excellent for light to medium loads. Well made with good venting. But not very light weight. I’ve not looked at them in 3-4 years but I assume they are still good for light to medium loads.
    The one I was looking at was rated for a 30-35 pound load, I’ve been looking at tents and sleeping bags, trying to find quality, lightweight gear.
     

    melensdad

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    18   1   0
    Apr 2, 2008
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    The one I was looking at was rated for a 30-35 pound load, I’ve been looking at tents and sleeping bags, trying to find quality, lightweight gear.
    Osprey packs tend to be heavy. Nice, but heavy.

    Compare the Atmos 50L pack at 4.5 pounds to the Granite Gear Blaze 60L pack at approx 3.2 pounds or the Granite Gear Perimeter 50L, also at just over 3#.

    The Blaze weighs 1.3 pounds less and is rated to carry 50 pounds, was "pack of the year" in 2019. The Perimeter 50L is rated at 40# for carry load and is 2021 pack of the year.

    At less than half the weight of the Osprey is the Granite Gear Crown 3, which weighs about 2 pounds and carries up to 35#, but will carry 35+ pounds with an add on aluminum frame.

    FROM MY EXPERIENCE, a pack is rated at more than it will comfortably carry. So assume that you can actually carry 80% of the weight rating for a full day. If you want to carry 35#, get a pack rated for 40#.

    ALSO FROM MY EXPERIENCE, you will carry LESS stuff the 2nd time you carry. Even LESS on the 3rd trip. By the time you get to the 4th trip you might even buy a smaller pack. My biggest pack is my Deuter, which I think is a 45+10 and I used that for 500+ miles. I've used 35 Liter packs for week long trips.

    For true wilderness trips you need more volume, but those days are behind me. At that point you also are cutting your toothbrush in half to shave grams off your weight and carrying bare essentials and using very high tech lightweight clothing and titanium pots. Heck I have an alcohol stove that weighs maybe an ounce and is made out of a tuna fish can. I have all that stuff and it helps a lot. Not sure I'll use it again, but I've got it if I need it.

    My favorite pack is probably my 35L Lowe Alpine AirZone 35 (which is no longer made but offered in a similar model). At 3.5# it is too heavy for the volume but my back never sweats and it carries what I need. I used it when I hiked the 85 mile Hadrian's Wall trail across England. Started at the North Sea and stopped when we got to the Irish Sea. Then used it for the remainder of the month we traveled around the UK.
     
    Last edited:

    melensdad

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    18   1   0
    Apr 2, 2008
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    Monday morning and NO morning workout.

    Weight was again, 187.8# so I'm doing well toward reaching my 185# interim goal BY MID-OCTOBER then on the way to 177# by Christmas.
    • Blood pressure is trending down
    • VO2/max is trending up
    • BMI is trending down
    • Body fat % is trending down
    • Muscle mass is trending up
    • Visceral fat is ever-so-slowly trending down
    Foster son has to get off to daycare. Today we drop him off at daycare; grandma picks him up and keeps him with her for several days. We share custody.

    Monday routine includes going out to breakfast with my wife after dropping off the baby (he is now 2.75 years old). My Monday morning meal is easily the highest calorie meal of the week. Typically Eggs Benedict or something else that is even less healthy :dunno:

    I tend to come home from breakfast and wallow around for an hour or two before I start a real workout. High School olympic style fencing season starts today. I need to get my workout in, do errands around, and get to fencing practice so I can begin another season of beating surly smart-mouthed teenagers about their heads with metal sticks. BEST JOB EVER!
     

    Hoosierdood

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    8   0   0
    Nov 2, 2010
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    I think I’ve hit a plateau. Lost about 12 lbs in a month, now been hovering around 225 for the last week. Trying to run a calorie deficit, but weight isn’t budging.
     

    Snapdragon

    know-it-all tart
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    Nov 5, 2013
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    I think I’ve hit a plateau. Lost about 12 lbs in a month, now been hovering around 225 for the last week. Trying to run a calorie deficit, but weight isn’t budging.
    I have been stuck in that same place for 6 weeks, but I'm just now starting to see a little bit of progress. Hang in there.
     

    Frosty

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    11   0   0
    Jan 27, 2013
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    I think I’ve hit a plateau. Lost about 12 lbs in a month, now been hovering around 225 for the last week. Trying to run a calorie deficit, but weight isn’t budging.
    Me too. Been hovering around the mid-230’s for several months. I’m changing up my diet to see if I can give my metabolism a kick in the pants.
     

    melensdad

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 94.7%
    18   1   0
    Apr 2, 2008
    23,985
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    Far West Suburban Lowellabama
    I think I’ve hit a plateau. Lost about 12 lbs in a month, now been hovering around 225 for the last week. Trying to run a calorie deficit, but weight isn’t budging.
    From what I have been able to tell, something often referred to as "healthy weight loss" is typically described as 1 to 2 pounds per week. So in rough terms, 8 pounds a month on the maximum side for a normal human and that seems to a somewhat sustainable rate of loss.

    So if you lost 12#, that is roughly 3# per week.

    Hovering at 225# may just be your body in recovery mode trying to figure out how its systems were so shocked that they lost so much weight. Think in terms of 3# per week as being 50% over the maximum sustainable weekly weight loss or 100% over the median sustainable weight loss per week.

    To lose weight we have to sustain a calorie deficit versus our activity, but if we exercise we can build muscle, which weighs more than fat, so body can look better but actually not lose weight as it reshapes. This is just one reason why the long heralded BMI or Body Mass Index is considered so outdated and obsolete.

    I'm sitting at just under 188# for several days. Goal is 185 by October 18th. 3 pounds in 3 weeks. I think it will be a struggle. I've lost most of the easy stuff to lose. Now I have to really work to lose. Looking to be 177# by Christmas, that is 11 pounds in roughly 12 weeks. One goal at a time. That is how I am looking at things. But 6' tall and 177 would make me pretty darn lean. The last few pounds will likely be the hardest to lose.
     

    melensdad

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 94.7%
    18   1   0
    Apr 2, 2008
    23,985
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    Far West Suburban Lowellabama
    Kinda fell off the diet wagon today. Damn White Castle hamburgers. Actually doubles, with everything + double onions. I'm sure my intestines will give me hell for that tomorrow. But today was glorious.

    Probably gained back a pound of what I lost. But I've not taken any 'cheat' days and I've exercised and closed all 3 of my "rings" on my fitness app every-single-day (including today) since I started down this road.
     

    Dr.Midnight

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    13   0   0
    Jul 24, 2011
    4,414
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    Monroe County
    Kinda fell off the diet wagon today. Damn White Castle hamburgers. Actually doubles, with everything + double onions. I'm sure my intestines will give me hell for that tomorrow. But today was glorious.

    Probably gained back a pound of what I lost. But I've not taken any 'cheat' days and I've exercised and closed all 3 of my "rings" on my fitness app every-single-day (including today) since I started down this road.
    gsCnu3C.gif
     

    Frosty

    Grandmaster
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    11   0   0
    Jan 27, 2013
    8,389
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    Greencastle
    My shop did some work for the owner of a small family diner down the road. The owner came in today with 9 orders of biscuits and gravy for all the guys at the shop to show his appreciation.

    I’m a weak man. Just couldn’t fight the temptation. And they were delicious, btw.
    And you didn’t bring us any??? Harumph and a good day to you sir!
     

    melensdad

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 94.7%
    18   1   0
    Apr 2, 2008
    23,985
    77
    Far West Suburban Lowellabama
    I hit my goal weight this morning.
    185.1 pounds on the scale for my official (pre-coffee) weigh in. I'm going to White Castle to celebrate.

    My goal was 185# by my birthday (mid-October). Today was my first day at 185. I consider my weight official when I am there for 3 days in a row, so this is a pre-mature celebration. If I hit that weight by my birthday I was going to celebrate at my annual co-birthday meal with my foreign exchange 'daughter' who also has the exact same birthday (but is 41 years younger). Each year we travel to wherever she is (currently at Notre Dame) and we have a big fancy dinner.

    This year, given my weight and heart issues, that celebration might have been curtailed to a low calorie salad with low fat dressing, unless I could drop some serious weight. 206# with a partial (fairly serious) blockage in one of the arteries in my heart on July 16. Today is September 28, so roughly 2.5 months later and I'm 185#.

    Some days the weight came off easy. Some days the weight went back on and it was depressing. But EVERY SINGLE DAY, I exercise, and average 70 minutes each day. EVERY SINGLE DAY I try to stay below 1700 calories. My wife and I have a tradition of going out to breakfast on Monday morning, I eat a 1000 calorie meal that day so I skimp the rest of the day. Lots of menu-substitutions when I cook. Cauliflower instead of noodles. Palm "noodles" instead of noodles. Konji "noodles" instead of noodles. I think I forgot what bread tastes like. My wife cooks with butter, I cook my own food, after using a paper towel to wipe the butter off the skillet. I've watched my wife eat perfectly grilled Ribeye, but yes I did taste it! I've eaten about 1 and 1/2 strips of bacon in the past 60 days.

    My 'car snacks' now include carrot sticks, celery sticks, grapes and sugar snap peas. I take a bowl in the car whenever I drive so that I do NOT stop at a drive thru restaurant. Water, lots of water while deriving too. I now know where the clean bathrooms are along my routes!

    Sadly I took a photo of my torso this morning in the mirror and I'm still flabby.

    I figured 185# would have me looking good. I was wrong. The American impression of 'healthy weight' is actually slightly fat :crying:

    My next goal is to get down to a steady 177#. Based on the BODY MASS INDEX my height/weight has me as healthy. Looking in the mirror I can see that is a lie. There are other medically based body weight ranges, all are lower than the B.M.I. I found 2 of them, can't recall the names, but both correlated closely and 177# as the MAXIMUM healthy weight for a 6' tall male. So I set my goal at 177#.

    The journey continues. First to maintain this 185 for 3 days so I can claim it is my official weight. Second to push down to 177#.

    My wife is amazed at how hard I am working at this. She thinks I'm possessed.

    The ONE THING that I did not give up is my nightcap of bourbon before bedtime. 2, OK, maybe sometimes 3, ounces of a good bourbon. But I include that in my calorie intake. Bourbon is roughly 65 calories per ounce, so 4 ounces of bourbon = 260 calories, which is about the equivalent of an entire diet meal. 2 oz of bourbon is roughly 2 White Castle Hamburgers. So if I want my bedtime treat I have to watch my daytime consumption.

    The REAL TEST is one that comes after I'm at 177# . . . and that will be to STAY AT THAT WEIGHT and that only comes with the lifestyle changes that I'm already making. Less fatty meats, more lean fish, smaller meals, continued exercise. Logically I will be able to increase my calories from under 1700 to roughly 2000, maybe closer to 2200? But if I want to get lean, improve my heart health, and keep it, then I can't sit on the couch with a can of SPAM and share it with the dogs as my evening snack. A3E9B471-A6CB-4EDB-BA29-0CE50849F350.jpeg
     

    Snapdragon

    know-it-all tart
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    36   0   0
    Nov 5, 2013
    38,771
    77
    NW Indiana
    I hit my goal weight this morning.
    185.1 pounds on the scale for my official (pre-coffee) weigh in. I'm going to White Castle to celebrate.

    My goal was 185# by my birthday (mid-October). Today was my first day at 185. I consider my weight official when I am there for 3 days in a row, so this is a pre-mature celebration. If I hit that weight by my birthday I was going to celebrate at my annual co-birthday meal with my foreign exchange 'daughter' who also has the exact same birthday (but is 41 years younger). Each year we travel to wherever she is (currently at Notre Dame) and we have a big fancy dinner.

    This year, given my weight and heart issues, that celebration might have been curtailed to a low calorie salad with low fat dressing, unless I could drop some serious weight. 206# with a partial (fairly serious) blockage in one of the arteries in my heart on July 16. Today is September 28, so roughly 2.5 months later and I'm 185#.

    Some days the weight came off easy. Some days the weight went back on and it was depressing. But EVERY SINGLE DAY, I exercise, and average 70 minutes each day. EVERY SINGLE DAY I try to stay below 1700 calories. My wife and I have a tradition of going out to breakfast on Monday morning, I eat a 1000 calorie meal that day so I skimp the rest of the day. Lots of menu-substitutions when I cook. Cauliflower instead of noodles. Palm "noodles" instead of noodles. Konji "noodles" instead of noodles. I think I forgot what bread tastes like. My wife cooks with butter, I cook my own food, after using a paper towel to wipe the butter off the skillet. I've watched my wife eat perfectly grilled Ribeye, but yes I did taste it! I've eaten about 1 and 1/2 strips of bacon in the past 60 days.

    My 'car snacks' now include carrot sticks, celery sticks, grapes and sugar snap peas. I take a bowl in the car whenever I drive so that I do NOT stop at a drive thru restaurant. Water, lots of water while deriving too. I now know where the clean bathrooms are along my routes!

    Sadly I took a photo of my torso this morning in the mirror and I'm still flabby.

    I figured 185# would have me looking good. I was wrong. The American impression of 'healthy weight' is actually slightly fat :crying:

    My next goal is to get down to a steady 177#. Based on the BODY MASS INDEX my height/weight has me as healthy. Looking in the mirror I can see that is a lie. There are other medically based body weight ranges, all are lower than the B.M.I. I found 2 of them, can't recall the names, but both correlated closely and 177# as the MAXIMUM healthy weight for a 6' tall male. So I set my goal at 177#.

    The journey continues. First to maintain this 185 for 3 days so I can claim it is my official weight. Second to push down to 177#.

    My wife is amazed at how hard I am working at this. She thinks I'm possessed.

    The ONE THING that I did not give up is my nightcap of bourbon before bedtime. 2, OK, maybe sometimes 3, ounces of a good bourbon. But I include that in my calorie intake. Bourbon is roughly 65 calories per ounce, so 4 ounces of bourbon = 260 calories, which is about the equivalent of an entire diet meal. 2 oz of bourbon is roughly 2 White Castle Hamburgers. So if I want my bedtime treat I have to watch my daytime consumption.

    The REAL TEST is one that comes after I'm at 177# . . . and that will be to STAY AT THAT WEIGHT and that only comes with the lifestyle changes that I'm already making. Less fatty meats, more lean fish, smaller meals, continued exercise. Logically I will be able to increase my calories from under 1700 to roughly 2000, maybe closer to 2200? But if I want to get lean, improve my heart health, and keep it, then I can't sit on the couch with a can of SPAM and share it with the dogs as my evening snack. View attachment 227004
    Great job!
     

    Hoosierdood

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    8   0   0
    Nov 2, 2010
    5,360
    149
    North of you
    I hit my goal weight this morning.
    185.1 pounds on the scale for my official (pre-coffee) weigh in. I'm going to White Castle to celebrate.

    My goal was 185# by my birthday (mid-October). Today was my first day at 185. I consider my weight official when I am there for 3 days in a row, so this is a pre-mature celebration. If I hit that weight by my birthday I was going to celebrate at my annual co-birthday meal with my foreign exchange 'daughter' who also has the exact same birthday (but is 41 years younger). Each year we travel to wherever she is (currently at Notre Dame) and we have a big fancy dinner.

    This year, given my weight and heart issues, that celebration might have been curtailed to a low calorie salad with low fat dressing, unless I could drop some serious weight. 206# with a partial (fairly serious) blockage in one of the arteries in my heart on July 16. Today is September 28, so roughly 2.5 months later and I'm 185#.

    Some days the weight came off easy. Some days the weight went back on and it was depressing. But EVERY SINGLE DAY, I exercise, and average 70 minutes each day. EVERY SINGLE DAY I try to stay below 1700 calories. My wife and I have a tradition of going out to breakfast on Monday morning, I eat a 1000 calorie meal that day so I skimp the rest of the day. Lots of menu-substitutions when I cook. Cauliflower instead of noodles. Palm "noodles" instead of noodles. Konji "noodles" instead of noodles. I think I forgot what bread tastes like. My wife cooks with butter, I cook my own food, after using a paper towel to wipe the butter off the skillet. I've watched my wife eat perfectly grilled Ribeye, but yes I did taste it! I've eaten about 1 and 1/2 strips of bacon in the past 60 days.

    My 'car snacks' now include carrot sticks, celery sticks, grapes and sugar snap peas. I take a bowl in the car whenever I drive so that I do NOT stop at a drive thru restaurant. Water, lots of water while deriving too. I now know where the clean bathrooms are along my routes!

    Sadly I took a photo of my torso this morning in the mirror and I'm still flabby.

    I figured 185# would have me looking good. I was wrong. The American impression of 'healthy weight' is actually slightly fat :crying:

    My next goal is to get down to a steady 177#. Based on the BODY MASS INDEX my height/weight has me as healthy. Looking in the mirror I can see that is a lie. There are other medically based body weight ranges, all are lower than the B.M.I. I found 2 of them, can't recall the names, but both correlated closely and 177# as the MAXIMUM healthy weight for a 6' tall male. So I set my goal at 177#.

    The journey continues. First to maintain this 185 for 3 days so I can claim it is my official weight. Second to push down to 177#.

    My wife is amazed at how hard I am working at this. She thinks I'm possessed.

    The ONE THING that I did not give up is my nightcap of bourbon before bedtime. 2, OK, maybe sometimes 3, ounces of a good bourbon. But I include that in my calorie intake. Bourbon is roughly 65 calories per ounce, so 4 ounces of bourbon = 260 calories, which is about the equivalent of an entire diet meal. 2 oz of bourbon is roughly 2 White Castle Hamburgers. So if I want my bedtime treat I have to watch my daytime consumption.

    The REAL TEST is one that comes after I'm at 177# . . . and that will be to STAY AT THAT WEIGHT and that only comes with the lifestyle changes that I'm already making. Less fatty meats, more lean fish, smaller meals, continued exercise. Logically I will be able to increase my calories from under 1700 to roughly 2000, maybe closer to 2200? But if I want to get lean, improve my heart health, and keep it, then I can't sit on the couch with a can of SPAM and share it with the dogs as my evening snack. View attachment 227004
    Awesome job! FYI, if you are craving bread, I found some at Meijer that is Aunt Millie’s Light Whole Grain and is 40 calories per slice. As far as whole grain bread goes, this is the best I have found that doesn’t taste like cardboard. I make a sandwich probably one a week with it.
     
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