THE BIGGEST LOSER (aka DB Diet)

[bustorama]

So, in almost everyone's sitches with the combo of GAL-ing, stress, and/or the separation diet, we are dropping weight like that Brooks Conrad guy is dropping balls.

Who is THE BIGGEST LOSER?

I've dropped ~30 pounds since May --
or 15.6% of my starting weight.

Good news is:
32" waist from 36+"
Benching ~70% more than May.
Running 5-7 mile runs (vs. 0 before, lol)

[FaithnAK]

I've dropped all muscle, increased my spare tire to the size of a smart car, and my hair is falling out. I think I gained weight but in a "cry for help" kind of way.

DID I WIN?!

Thanks Busto and good job! You just motivated me.

[robx]

I've dropped all muscle, increased my spare tire to the size of a smart car, and my hair is falling out. I think I gained weight but in a "cry for help" kind of way.

DID I WIN?!

Thanks Busto and good job! You just motivated me.

It's actually not surprising to hear this.

Your body tends to produce a fair amount of cortisol when you're under stress, cortisol will effectively stop the body from burning stored body fat for energy.

When some people lose weight in these situations it's because they're so stressed that they can't eat, they have no hunger - they'll lose some bodyfat but it's mostly lean muscle tissue and water that people lose in these types of stress diets which makes them dangerous. The flipside is some people get so stressed that they eat too much, cortisol stops bodyfat from being burned and you're consuming too many calories, for lack of a better term, it's the "perfect storm", a great way to pack on the pounds.

Hang in there bro, get thee to a gym, start using that nervous energy and turn this thing around, get yourself an mp3 player, walk a few miles everyday (if you're not a runner, look into a 10000 step program where you get yourself a pedometer or something similar for tracking number of steps you take in a day), start pumping some weights, start taking vitamin C and D as well as a multivitamin, consume a protein shake for breakfast and lunch, reduce your carb intake and focus on lean protein and clean vegetables/fruits, you'll get back into shape quickly and you'll be healthy too, you won't crack this DB nut if you're out of shape.

You can do it bro, I have faith in you ;-)

[TimeHeals]

If you drink, that's a source of carbohydrates you can cut out totally painlessly while enhancing your mind/spirit.

[pookie69]

With all seriousness I dropped 10 lb within first 4 weeks of my bomb.

I'm 6'2" and 165 lb normally and pretty lean and mean.

Gaining or losing weight for me is virtually impossible regardless what I eat or drink.

Never thought that Auschwitz can be a voluntary camp (sort of).

All back to 167 lb now.

[bustorama]

Faith, if you can't get to gym, can you do like:

100 pushups
100 bicycle crunches
3 sets of 90-second "planks"

daily or every other day?

The more muscle you have, the less you have to do to maintain weight cause it does the work for you while you sit around. If you are losing muscle mass from the catabolic effects of cortisol, then the abdominal weight gain follows. Anything you can do to keep on the muscle helps.

[NotFromThesePart]

Well most of this is by choice, though I'm not totally sure now if it is by choice or the depression. I'm 5'8" Was 172lbs. Last I checked I'm 148 or so now. Couldn't run more than 3 miles, now 6-8 is easy, though that was during my visit and I can only run on the treadmill here.

I've stopped drinking but that is VERY new. It is intentional and actually seems easier than I thought. I never drank a lot, but I didn't realize how much I used it just as a placeholder to do something. Now I'm still "drinking" by the quart, but it is water.

[Atossup]

I have lost almost 20pds in a month. working out sometimes but it seems like a chore. W has lost weight too. Clothes dont fit her. stress is major factor. While your Spouse chooses is torture.

[pinhead]

I was 230-240 before the Bomb. 38 inch waist. I'm 6-2. I started dropping weight pretty fast, mostly due to stress. Then I saw the light and started eating really well while starting my exercise regimen.

Now I'm at 180, and eating pretty much as much as I want. This is probably a good weight for me. I couldn't run 100 yards for months ago, now I'm doing 5 mile races. I try to run three days a week if I'm prepping for a race, or every day if not. I do 100 bicycle crunches and 100 pushups everyday. And my waist is now down to 32 inches. Simply unbelievable.

And I used to be scared of trying anything new; food, music, movies, books, clothes. Then I realized that nothing seemed as scary as losing my marriage, so I started experimenting.

Life is good. Embrace turmoil and change; make them work for you!

[Piano]

I was 72 kgs when I became pregnant, and 65kg after I gave birth in May.

Now I am at 68kgs.