[Elelaytet]

In high school i weighed roughly 250 lbs at 6ft (male). After graduating I did atkins the next year and pretty much got myself down to 187 which is the lowest I remember being. I always stayed at 250 no matter what I did/ate whatever. Before weighing 250 I was involved in sports and all kinds of activity and was around 200 lbs. Then I got into video games and playing music and cut out sports and gained the weight.

Anyhoo, when I got to 187 I kept the weight off doing whatever I wanted. Of course I fluctuated between 187-190. Then I moved to NYC... The weight stayed off up until I reached the legal drinking age. Ooops! Now we all know 21 is a bit of a partying age. I never really enjoyed being 'drunk' but it was some sort of novelty or something for my roommates and I to just pop open a beer at the end of the night or goto the bar and have a beer or two, almost every night. To the best of my knowledge, that is the only thing I changed about my lifestyle/diet/food and beverage intake. I gained the weight back , so I am blaming the alcohol.

Sooo the beginning of November 2008 I started seeing a personal trainer twice a week doing 30 minutes of hard cardio and then lifting/crunches/ all the fun stuff for 30 minutes. My trainer suggested I see what kind of results I get just from working out without really changing my diet. So now almost 2 months later I have lost almost 4 inches on my waist, body fat percentage has gone down, and my biceps and other muscle areas have grown from gaining muscle, but I've only lost about 4-5 lbs.

I want results faster and I just dropped 200 bucks on groceries to stock my apartment and am starting induction today (december 28th). New Years Eve won't be tempting as I will be working. I am a poor musician living in NYC but it is important to me to get back into shape and feel better about myself. I am going on tour in March for a month and get to go all the way down to Florida, then all the way to California, then back through Vegas. Vegas has always been a dream city of mine to perform in, so I have until Friday, March 6th 2009 until I leave. Pretty much 10 weeks.

I am also quite the chef so I am looking forward to cooking my meals and seeing results. Due to new years and what not, my trainer is on vacation, so my next session is January 6th so I have about 10 days of induction before I weigh in. My starting weight is pretty much 250.

Thanks for reading my novel!!

[kictainiSot]

Well, I'd say your nickname tells what you play - what model, an L-5? I love the sound of a Gibson.

It sounds like you and your trainer have made a good start toward getting physically fit. Remember, lots and lots of water along with all these lovely veggies and meats - Let your inner chef start working with the squash veggies and cauliflower - you'll be amazed what you can do. Since it's well known that the road can put weight on a person almost as fast as a bakery, you might want to work on healthy things you can bring along while you are out on tour. That way the occasional drink won't knock your progress sideways.

Enjoy and write whenever you can. This is a fun place to be, even for starving musicians!

LL (aka Martingirl)

[Elelaytet]

Of course I get a miserable cold yesterday but I am pulling through. Just staying hydrating the best I can. yes I am a Gibson guitar guy. I have a les paul and an SG. I also have a Fender strat but I don't really play it anymore. Then I have a Yamaha acoustic as well as a takamine acoustic.

[kictainiSot]

Two guitars I would love to have: a Gibson Les Paul and a Guild (probably D50). It took my DH and I a year of eating mac and cheese to pay for our Martins (one of the reasons I need Atkins!) Stay hydrated and keep the chicken soup coming - just ixnay on the oodles-nay! I hope you feel better soon.

Take care

LL

[Elelaytet]

yeah i checked the back of a chicken soup (one of the heartier brands) and the label said it had like 12 g of carbs so I figured that was mostly from the noodles. But I had about half of one of those roaster chickens left in my fridge, so i chopped up some celery and threw it in with the chicken into some cans of chicken broth I had. added some pepper and a few drops of Tabasco sauce to help clear me up a bit.

When i low carbed before, I had no idea about soups. this might save me this time around. Still my hardest thing is beverages. I love water, but not when I'm eating. I want milk, or cranberry juice, or orange juice, or coke.

Now i'm stuck drinking water all day and drinking seltzer at meals.

[kictainiSot]

Once you get the water ration down (a size-able amount, I agree!) then take advantage of the no calorie lo/no carb mixes if you wish! Decaf tea is what I live for (actually caf tea once I get through the water - I've given up carbs, & almost all alcohol - If I have to give up sarcasm and caffeine, it's too much!) Once you are through the big bit of induction, who knows what lovelies can be added?

I'm a milk junkie too so one thing I did when I missed it horribly (I love hot drinks) was mix part of my cream ration with hot water and some splenda. To someone craving dairy, it really helped.

Take care of the cold and I wish you a very good new year.