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[Horseticuffs]

Yeh. I feel like the threads have two very different goals in mind. I feel so out of place reading that thread.

Yeah, same here. They are definitely awesome people worthy of admiration, but it's two totally different things. I wish to god I could eat like those dudes.

 

[mkenyon]

a lot of the old members here i think are now over at the cool kids fitgaf house, or not? But this is not my deal. I work out, but more with condition than mass in mind.

Come sommer i will update my progress ^^.

Yeah, made a few posts in there, and it's a different crowd altogether. I'm not out to be cut, just healthy and in shape, while still enjoying food and life!

 

[Arksy]

Ok so I'm fat, no two ways about it.

February 2012

September 2013

December 2013



I just got tickets for Comic Con San Diego, and I really want to look good for it. I'm from Australia and this will be the second time I'm going and this time I'd really love to be able to pull off a cosplay without looking...you know...like one of those cosplay people.

So....

Yeah, I want to lose weight.

Current Weight: 117kg/ 257lbs

Target Weight: 91kg/200lbs

Difference: 26kg or 57lbs

Time Period: Now until July 24. So about 130 days.

So....

GOAL: 57 lbs in 130 days or 3lbs per week.

I don't even know if that's possible. But I'm going to try my hardest.

That's super ambitious and I might get absolutely no where near it, but I would like to reach FOR that goal anyway. I don't know how to do this or what I need to do.

I've started doing daily cardio for an hour. Getting my heart rate up to 140-160ish on average.

I've cut back a lot of my diet as well. I'd love a diet to stick to but I'm too spastic, I don't have much junk food any more and I barely ever eat out.

Any tips, plans, ideas would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Horseticuffs]

Ok so I'm fat, no two ways about it.

February 2012

September 2013

December 2013



I just got tickets for Comic Con San Diego, and I really want to look good for it. I'm from Australia and this will be the second time I'm going and this time I'd really love to be able to pull off a cosplay without looking...you know...like one of those cosplay people.

So....

Yeah, I want to lose weight.

Current Weight: 117kg/ 257lbs

Target Weight: 91kg/200lbs

Difference: 26kg or 57lbs

Time Period: Now until July 24. So about 130 days.

So....

GOAL: 57 lbs in 130 days or 3lbs per week.

I don't even know if that's possible. But I'm going to try my hardest.

That's super ambitious and I might get absolutely no where near it, but I would like to reach FOR that goal anyway. I don't know how to do this or what I need to do.

I've started doing daily cardio for an hour. Getting my heart rate up to 140-160ish on average.

I've cut back a lot of my diet as well. I'd love a diet to stick to but I'm too spastic, I don't have much junk food any more and I barely ever eat out.

Any tips, plans, ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Hey there, Arksy. That's a lot of weight in a short amount of time. Not saying it's impossible or that you should give up, by any means. I think you could possibly get pretty close to your goal given the time allowed.

Starting out with some cardio is a great first step, as everyone should be striving for a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity a day. The more you can fit in, the better. Not only does it help burn calories, but it gets you off your ass, out of the house, and ideally away from food supplies.

The bigger part of the equation is your intake, which is where most of weight-loss comes into play.It takes a lot of time, energy, and effort to burn significant calories so you can't sabotage your good efforts with bad nutrition. It's a war you can't win. Straight away I recommend 2 things;

1) Buy some sort of food measurement system, be it a bunch of measuring cups or even a food scale if you're feeling frisky (I haven't made the jump to food scale yet, though it's always tempting me!). Getting to know what a real "Portion" is supposed to be is going to be a game changer for you. Chances are your idea, like mine was, of what a "normal" portion is is waaaaaaaaay off.

Some foodstuffs are very calorically dense and it doesn't take much at all to over-do it.

2) Find a method to log your intake. If you have a smart phone there's some tremendous apps for that. Many folks, myself included, use My Fitness Pal. It's got a tremendous food database, you can use your phone's camera to scan items' bar codes, it's got a built-in social network for accountability, and it hooks into other big fitness apps like Runtastic.

For what it's worth I've also seen plenty of people suggest Loseit, but I haven't checked it out.

When you're first starting out you're going to lose pretty well just controlling your calorie intake. Eventually you'll likely hit a point where you stop losing so dramatically simply by eating less and you'll want to start to think about why that might be. Then, if you're starting to get into the whole process passionately, you can start reading up a bit more on nutrition and start eating enough of the right foods so that you're body's needs are better met and trying to fill those needs in the most efficient, healthy way. You can be morbidly obese and die of malnutrition.

In many ways the key to sustained weight loss is simply changing your relationship to food, and it has to stay that way for the rest of your life if you want the change to stay.Finding a healthy relationship with food can be difficult. It isn't like drugs or alcohol which you can just completely cut out if you're strong enough. No matter how toxic a relationship you have with food, you'll never be able to escape it, so it's best to confront WHY you eat and what emotional hole you're really trying to fill when you do so in an unhealthy manner.

Sorry if this was a bit long-winded, it's a subject you grow to be very passionate about! Maybe I missed it in your post but how tall are you? You don't look terribly overweight in the pics you've posted so you've definitely got that working in your favor.

 

[Arksy]

Thanks for that, it's a shame this thread isn't what it used to be.

I am quite tall, I'm 6'3, but I'm also really god damned heavy.

I will keep that in mind and update every so often.

I did an hour and twenty mins worth of exercise bike today. I'm pretty stoked.

 

[Horseticuffs]

Thanks for that, it's a shame this thread isn't what it used to be.

I am quite tall, I'm 6'3, but I'm also really god damned heavy.

I will keep that in mind and update every so often.

I did an hour and twenty mins worth of exercise bike today. I'm pretty stoked.

Hey, that's really great! Glad to hear it left you feeling good. Anecdotaly the plus side to being so tall, this coming from a dude who's 5' 7", is that you're going to look thin much more quickly than if you were a shorter guy.

I look at myself at 177 and I see this frumpy dude shaped like a sack of potatoes, and I see dudes who are even 3 or 4 inches taller than me who I suspect weigh significantly more and don't work out at all and they look just like normal dudes, so hopefully it won't be long before you're liking the results!

 

[Fixed1979]

I've averaged 3.73lbs/week over the past 8 weeks solely through calorie counting, the first couple weeks also help the average...Started at 241.2lbs (5'11"). I am planning to start working out, in fact I was planning on starting a routine at 223lbs, but that came and went and I was lazy. I just bought some running shoes and I'll defiantly get some use out of those as long as the shin splints stay away. I'm almost 1/2 way towards my first goal of 178.5lbs at which point I'll re-evaluate where I want to go.

It's certainly possible, though it's not recommended to loose that fast and you can't really fuck around with your diet. Through 8.5 weeks I've really only had 1 day that I took completely off. If you decide to just do a defecate, then count everything...seriously. Doesn't matter if it's a cracker or a tablespoon of olive oil in the pan, add it up.

 

[mkenyon]

Any tips, plans, ideas would be greatly appreciated!

I think everyone needs to find what works for them, but what worked for me:

Eat less, way less, and exercise. The first part is way more important than the second. If I'd have a craving for something, I would eat it, just way less of it, and then account for it and move on. As a person who loves food, anytime I tried to go with something super strict, I'd end up falling off.

Generally, I snack on high protein/nutrition:calorie foods to get me by during the day and then have a nice balanced meal for dinner. If I had about 600 calories during the day, that gave me around 800-1000 calories for dinner, which is a pretty damned good meal.

As it is now, I generally indulge a lot more often, but I also have a far more active lifestyle, running about 3 miles 4 days a week, and 5 miles once a week.

 

[cartoon_soldier]

Do you guys recommend a split workout routine vs full body routine for weight loss?

Thanks

 

[SeanR1221]

Do you guys recommend a split workout routine vs full body routine for weight loss?

Thanks

Always full body for beginners. Squats, deadlifts, bench, overhead press, rowing.

 

[mkenyon]

Always full body for beginners. Squats, deadlifts, bench, overhead press, rowing.

?

Cardio for weightloss. That full body workout would put on weight.

 

[SeanR1221]

?

Cardio for weightloss. That full body workout would put on weight.

That's not true. Depends how heavy he is.

 

[Zoe]

Full body didn't make me gain weight, but it sure as hell didn't make me lose any.

 

[cartoon_soldier]

Always full body for beginners. Squats, deadlifts, bench, overhead press, rowing.

?

Cardio for weightloss. That full body workout would put on weight.

That's not true. Depends how heavy he is.

290 pounds...so pretty fucking heavy.

I am going to make a workout routine on jetfit and get some opinions.

 

[SeanR1221]

290 pounds...so pretty fucking heavy.

I am going to make a workout routine on jetfit and get some opinions.

Yeah definitely do what I said. Post in fitgaf. I know a couple members that were in your position starting out and they lost weight.

 

[cartoon_soldier]

This is what I built out:

 

[mkenyon]

That's not true. Depends how heavy he is.

I get what you're saying, but I really think that kind of workout might best be reserved once a lot of BMI (fat and otherwise) is lost.

This:

Full body didn't make me gain weight, but it sure as hell didn't make me lose any.

Some people might get discouraged at the slow rate of weight loss due to the added muscle. There's no way one can argue that a full body workout like that will help you lose weight faster than a great diet combined with cardio.

While they are of course related, I do think one of the issues that a lot of people have is that they combine weightloss and fitness into one thing. They're not though. You can lose a ton of weight with just diet and zero exercise. You can't lose weight with tons of exercise and a shitty diet.

More importantly though, it's a lot harder to sustain a great diet when you start exercising. Your body is screaming for more calories, both as a reaction to your reduction, but because it needs it to build new muscle mass. For someone who is already on the path, that might be manageable. For someone who is fat, and has not yet conquered the diet aspect, that's a recipe for falling off the wagon.

 

[SeanR1221]

This is what I built out:

Yeahhhhhh that's a mess. But you've posted in the fitness thread so we'll get you on course.

I get what you're saying, but I really think that kind of workout might best be reserved once a lot of BMI (fat and otherwise) is lost.

This:



Some people might get discouraged at the slow rate of weight loss due to the added muscle. There's no way one can argue that a full body workout like that will help you lose weight faster than a great diet combined with cardio.

While they are of course related, I do think one of the issues that a lot of people have is that they combine weightloss and fitness into one thing. They're not though. You can lose a ton of weight with just diet and zero exercise. You can't lose weight with tons of exercise and a shitty diet.

More importantly though, it's a lot harder to sustain a great diet when you start exercising. Your body is screaming for more calories, both as a reaction to your reduction, but because it needs it to build new muscle mass. For someone who is already on the path, that might be manageable. For someone who is fat, and has not yet conquered the diet aspect, that's a recipe for falling off the wagon.

A lot of what you said just isn't true. Who cares if he can lose faster with diet and cardio. He should only be losing 1-2lbs a week which would be very easy at his size. He'll look a hell of a lot better achieving that with diet and lifting over diet and cardio.

 

[Zoe]

Some people might get discouraged at the slow rate of weight loss due to the added muscle. There's no way one can argue that a full body workout like that will help you lose weight faster than a great diet combined with cardio.

While they are of course related, I do think one of the issues that a lot of people have is that they combine weightloss and fitness into one thing. They're not though. You can lose a ton of weight with just diet and zero exercise. You can't lose weight with tons of exercise and a shitty diet.

More importantly though, it's a lot harder to sustain a great diet when you start exercising. Your body is screaming for more calories, both as a reaction to your reduction, but because it needs it to build new muscle mass. For someone who is already on the path, that might be manageable. For someone who is fat, and has not yet conquered the diet aspect, that's a recipe for falling off the wagon.

It just plain didn't work for me. Over the course of a year with doing heavy lifting but no diet changes, all I managed to do was trade about 2 pounds of fat for muscle (tracked with those electric current machines). My measurements around my waist and thighs actually slightly increased--the last thing I wanted. Any pathetic gainz that I have seen are limited to the lower half of my body.

 

[Arksy]

What are people saying? Don't do weight training while trying to lose weight? Wouldn't it be better to do some so you don't lose a lot of muscle while losing weight and when you actually become a bit thinner you're not a bag of bones?

 

[Zoe]

In order to lose weight, your net calories have to be less than what you're currently maintaining. You either achieve that by dieting or working out. It takes a high amount of working out to out-eat a bad diet, and heavy lifting simply isn't enough to do that.

There's nothing bad about lifting while you're trying to lose, but you're not going to gain much strength without a lifting diet which is difficult to someone trying to cut out the bad at the same time.

 

[mkenyon]

What are people saying? Don't do weight training while trying to lose weight? Wouldn't it be better to do some so you don't lose a lot of muscle while losing weight and when you actually become a bit thinner you're not a bag of bones?

A lot of BMI that you have when you're fat is there to support the extra weight you have. Contrary to a lot of fitness people, it's not healthy to have a lot of BMI, whether it's fat or muscle. The more calories you eat, the higher the BMI you have, the shorter your life is. That's undeniable scientific fact.

If the goal is to get buff and have a lot of self esteem, then I could certainly see a place for weightlifting while trying to lose weight. But if the starting point is nearly 300 pounds, it seems to make a lot more sense to lose weight, get to a sane level of BMI, and then think about increasing mass as you see fit.

A lot of what you said just isn't true. Who cares if he can lose faster with diet and cardio. He should only be losing 1-2lbs a week which would be very easy at his size. He'll look a hell of a lot better achieving that with diet and lifting over diet and cardio.

Your first and second sentences seem contrary to me, but it might be because you're not being overly specific. I'm curious as to what is incorrect in my post.

 

[daycru]

.

 

[daycru]

Edit: I am very bad at the Internet.

 

[daycru]

.

 

[Horseticuffs]

.

Bad at the internet.
Good at the weight loss.

 

[Pein]

So I lost 60lbs in 2012 and gained back 75 in 2013, I've been going to the gym lightly since the beginning of the year but have really got back on track since march started. I weighed in at 317 pounds a month ago and now down to 295 still fat but getting there.

Cut my portions by half and weight has been falling off again.

 

[Arksy]

I'm finding it staggeringly difficult to find good information about a good diet or good diet plan.

Come Sunday, I plan to start counting, but It's just difficult to figure out what works beyond 'no junk food' I say this in the interests of having a time goal of Comic Con (24 july) so I really am looking for something with an exceptionally high efficacy and efficiency.

 

[Dr. Feel Good]

I'm finding it staggeringly difficult to find good information about a good diet or good diet plan.

Come Sunday, I plan to start counting, but It's just difficult to figure out what works beyond 'no junk food' I say this in the interests of having a time goal of Comic Con (24 july) so I really am looking for something with an exceptionally high efficacy and efficiency.

Carbs. Cut them. I'm talking less than 50 grams per day.

I was 193 on January 1st at 6'2. I am now 177.

 

[Arksy]

Carbs. Cut them. I'm talking less than 50 grams per day.

I was 193 on January 1st at 6'2. I am now 177.

Ketosis diet worth trying?

 

[Dr. Feel Good]

Ketosis diet worth trying?

I don't think I ever went into Ketosis, but under 50 consistently would probably do it for you. I'm type 1 diabetic so I'd rather not go into Ketosis, so I tend to average higher carbs per day but still lost weight. As someone who is insulin dependent through a manual insulin pump I see first hand just how much carbs actually mess with glucose levels. Avoid carbs. Stick to meats, cheeses, veggies, nuts, fruit (berries mostly) and high fiber foods and it should come off easy. Add in regular activity three times in a week and you could lose a lot even quicker.

 

[Dimefan3]

Carbs. Cut them. I'm talking less than 50 grams per day.

I was 193 on January 1st at 6'2. I am now 177.

I'm trying to do that. Problem is, almost all vegetables have some form of carbs in them. So when you're trying to do the right thing by having a salad, you end up having the same amount of carbs.

I'm currently using the My Fitness Pal app to help monitor meals, and I'm while I've had a bit of success (I've come down from 108 at the start of Feb, to 104kgs,) Monitoring my nutrition I'm finding I'm still having less protein than I'd like to.

I've had a few 'off' days, where I'd end up eating a bit over my set amount of Calories, but in the last few weeks I've found I've started to be well under my limit. I just need to try and shrink my meal sizes a bit more.

 

[Griss]

Was 220 when I started dieting mid-January. Just broke through the 200 barrier this morning. Now wishing I had taken some 'before' pics! I don't feel different, but all my old clothes fit, some I'm guessing I'd probably see it if I had pics to compare.

Anyway - onwards and upwards! Or downwards!

 

[Fixed1979]

Was 220 when I started dieting mid-January. Just broke through the 200 barrier this morning. Now wishing I had taken some 'before' pics! I don't feel different, but all my old clothes fit, some I'm guessing I'd probably see it if I had pics to compare.

Anyway - onwards and upwards! Or downwards!

This is also my regret. I definitely know there a difference and people see it, but some before pictures would have been a good idea. I even thought about it when I started and just decided it was a stupid idea...

I'm trying to do that. Problem is, almost all vegetables have some form of carbs in them. So when you're trying to do the right thing by having a salad, you end up having the same amount of carbs.

I'm currently using the My Fitness Pal app to help monitor meals, and I'm while I've had a bit of success (I've come down from 108 at the start of Feb, to 104kgs,) Monitoring my nutrition I'm finding I'm still having less protein than I'd like to.

I've had a few 'off' days, where I'd end up eating a bit over my set amount of Calories, but in the last few weeks I've found I've started to be well under my limit. I just need to try and shrink my meal sizes a bit more.

Before freaking out and giving up on vegtables because they have carbs it might be worth you're while to do some researching (assuming you haven't already). There are significant differences in types of carbs (complex v simple, starch v firbrous, processed etc.), how your body handles these types of carbs makes all the difference. Bailing on carbs completely is extreme in my opinion...

 

[Rabbi_Vole]

New before (342 lbs) and after (230 lbs). Down 112 lbs from April 1, 2013.

 

[Horseticuffs]

New before (342 lbs) and after (230 lbs). Down 112 lbs from April 1, 2013.

That's awesome! Great work, it looks like a totally new you

 

[mkenyon]

You look fantastic, great work!

 

[Snowblindvictim]

Hey WeightlossGAF

I think I've hit a bit of a plateau as far as my own weight loss goes. I'm 6'3 and 23 years old.
Around 2009/2010 I was 280lbs and since then I've managed to drop down to 210.
For the past couple (3-4) weeks I seem to be floating around the 210 range. My ideal goal is to get to 190, but I'd really like to break 200 after I've worked this hard.

I'm a pretty active guy as it is, I skate to work and back which is a 2 mile commute.
I like to think my diet is pretty good, I don't really eat meat as I mainly stick to fish and veggies.

Typical day is:

Breakfast: two eggs/one avocado
Snack: banana/or nature valley bar
lunch: fish with asparagus/broccoli
snack: granola bar or almonds
dinner: spinach/kale with garlic (sometimes would add protein whether its fish/eggs/avocado)

I have cut soda completely out so thats not an issue.
I can't pinpoint the plateau to anyone thing, I might just try reducing the portions of my diet. I might give IF a try too.

Any or all help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[DJwest]

New before (342 lbs) and after (230 lbs). Down 112 lbs from April 1, 2013.

This is just amazing, congrats! Care to share your diet plan bro ?

 

[Arksy]

Alright, today I trial a ketosis diet. Let's see how it goes for a month.

 

[Rabbi_Vole]

This is just amazing, congrats! Care to share your diet plan bro ?

Thanks. I eat lower carb. I eat eggs most mornings. For lunch, I'll eat either chicken, hamburger, tuna or a salad. Dinner usually consists of 1 meat and one vegetable. For the first 7 months, I was extremely disciplined, only taking an official cheat meal every 25lbs down. I also spent a lot of time outside last spring/summer doing yard work, walking and eventually running. Last fall, I started using a trainer for weight training and running on my own. Now, I run about 20-30 miles a week and weight train 3-5 days a week depending on my travel schedule.

 

[Broken Hope]

Does anyone else other than me find it hard to know how much weight they need to lose? At every 'target' weight I have I keep changing it to a lower one because I don't look how I want, still too high a body fat etc.

I've gone from 317lb to 168lb and I still need to lose a bit more to get rid of some chest and stomach fat.

 

[Horseticuffs]

Does anyone else other than me find it hard to know how much weight they need to lose? At every 'target' weight I have I keep changing it to a lower one because I don't look how I want, still too high a body fat etc.

I've gone from 317lb to 168lb and I still need to lose a bit more to get rid of some chest and stomach fat.

Same thing here going from 350+ to 170. I think it's because you don't really have a good grasp on what your body will look like when you hit your goal. You've just gotta keep health and sustainability as goals and I think you're on a healthy path.


Congrats on the loss!

 

[Broken Hope]

Some pics just to show the difference.

Before.

After

 

[Horseticuffs]

Some pics just to show the difference.

Before.







After

Wow, that's awesome work! Great job on that. Good luck maintaining.

 

[BigWeather]

I'm going through the same thing where I'm continually revising my target weight. I'm 6'5.5" and pretty large boned. January 2013 I started this journey at 336#. January 2014 I was 228 and I'm now right around 210. My goal in January 2013 was just to get sub-250 but I still didn't like where I was at there. Then it became about sub-225. Even at 210 I have quite a bit of fat I'd like to knock out. Also I'd love to hit < 200. I'm aiming for 186 at the moment -- and maintaining between 180 - 200. 186 is nice because that is 150 down. I'm wondering, though, if losing another 25 (from current 210) is going to knock out the fat.

 

[Horseticuffs]

I'm going through the same thing where I'm continually revising my target weight. I'm 6'5.5" and pretty large boned. January 2013 I started this journey at 336#. January 2014 I was 228 and I'm now right around 210. My goal in January 2013 was just to get sub-250 but I still didn't like where I was at there. Then it became about sub-225. Even at 210 I have quite a bit of fat I'd like to knock out. Also I'd love to hit < 200. I'm aiming for 186 at the moment -- and maintaining between 180 - 200. 186 is nice because that is 150 down. I'm wondering, though, if losing another 25 (from current 210) is going to knock out the fat.

Thanks for posting with your story! That's an impressive loss, and I bet you look great at that height and weight.

I'm hovering around 170 at 5' 7" and while I'd love to lose this last twenty and the last of this flab, I have noticed a significant reduction at the very least. Particularly my moobs are just a bit of loose skin now, but I don't think that'll ever go away. I don't know your skin situation but that may even be a good part of your remaining weight you'd like to lose, just excess skin that'll never really go away completely without surgery. Depends how badly stretched it is, mine was stretched to hell so I don't count on it ever being normal.

 

[BigWeather]

Thanks for posting with your story! That's an impressive loss, and I bet you look great at that height and weight.

I'm hovering around 170 at 5' 7" and while I'd love to lose this last twenty and the last of this flab, I have noticed a significant reduction at the very least. Particularly my moobs are just a bit of loose skin now, but I don't think that'll ever go away. I don't know your skin situation but that may even be a good part of your remaining weight you'd like to lose, just excess skin that'll never really go away completely without surgery. Depends how badly stretched it is, mine was stretched to hell so I don't count on it ever being normal.

Thanks! Yeah, I think some of it will never go away, and I'm OK with that I think. I'm 42 so I'm also battling the onset of the skin just not being as elastic as it used to be so that isn't helping things either. Definitely some areas (like under the upper arms, some under the neck, and obviously a bit of my stomach) that I'm pretty much going to have to live with having loose skin.

However, there is definitely 10 to 20 pounds of excess weight that I'm pretty sure I can knock out that isn't just loose skin. It'll likely take me a number of months. I may never hit 186, though -- that may just be a pipe dream. Ultimately I guess it is more important to stabilize at a point that I feel I can commit to for the rest of my life and maintain.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Does anyone else other than me find it hard to know how much weight they need to lose? At every 'target' weight I have I keep changing it to a lower one because I don't look how I want, still too high a body fat etc.

I've gone from 317lb to 168lb and I still need to lose a bit more to get rid of some chest and stomach fat.

Once you get to a reasonable weight, say 180 or lower, then you should really just ignore the scale and start focusing on body re-composition through weight training and exercise.

It shouldn't be about losing weight, but losing fat and gaining muscle.

 

[DJwest]

Sad that this thread is practically dead, hope I will get help here...

I tried some hardcore low carb diet for a week and failed miserably. I'm used to not eating in the morning and I skip lunch pretty often. The nature of my work compels me to leave the office pretty late, and that's when I eat like there is no tomorrow.

Going back to my diet, I tried eating basically only eggs, sausages and tuna flakes for a week, and God was I starving during that period and felt weak. I'm 6'1 and weigh nearly 135 kgs. At this point, going to 100 kgs would be a dream come true, but my real goal is 90kgs. I've read about how low carb diets have done wonders for most of you, but maybe I didn't approach the diet well. Any advice would be greatly appreciated guys, thanks.