1,000,000 meters done

[Castu]

I reached a million meters today since I started rowing in February.
I was 400lbs on December 1 and decided to eat healthier and less to be supportive of my wife who had started dieing on her own. I figured I'd lose some weight but it was not my primary motivation.
Near the end of January I was down about 40lbs and decided to go all in, lose down to 170lbs and actually get healthy and on a spur of the moment, having never rowed before, I decided to get an erg. Quick internet research later and concept 2 was the obvious choice.
Since February 2 I have rowed a million meters and dropped another 100lbs. Still have 90lbs to go but wanted to share my milestone. Ordered the t shirt a size small so I can grow into it

(For those curious, my diet is a combination of OMAD, ADF, and some extended fasts mixed in. No real miracle cure, except that fasting gets easier as you get used to it. It is mainly just a huge reduction in calories with the hope/expectation that my BMR stays relatively normal because of relatively high calorie meals when I do eat.)

[DavidA]

I reached a million meters today since I started rowing in February.
I was 400lbs on December 1 and decided to eat healthier and less to be supportive of my wife who had started dieing on her own. I figured I'd lose some weight but it was not my primary motivation.
Near the end of January I was down about 40lbs and decided to go all in, lose down to 170lbs and actually get healthy and on a spur of the moment, having never rowed before, I decided to get an erg. Quick internet research later and concept 2 was the obvious choice.
Since February 2 I have rowed a million meters and dropped another 100lbs. Still have 90lbs to go but wanted to share my milestone. Ordered the t shirt a size small so I can grow into it

(For those curious, my diet is a combination of OMAD, ADF, and some extended fasts mixed in. No real miracle cure, except that fasting gets easier as you get used to it. It is mainly just a huge reduction in calories with the hope/expectation that my BMR stays relatively normal because of relatively high calorie meals when I do eat.)

Huge congratulations on the million meters, the desire to be healthier, and the weight loss!
Good luck on continuing with all of it.

David

[mict450]

I reached a million meters today since I started rowing in February.

A hearty well done!!!

concept 2 was the obvious choice.

Great choice!! C2, being non-weight bearing is easier on the body when one is heavier than optimal.

For those curious, my diet is a combination of OMAD, ADF, and some extended fasts mixed in. No real miracle cure, except that fasting gets easier as you get used to it. It is mainly just a huge reduction in calories with the hope/expectation that my BMR stays relatively normal because of relatively high calorie meals when I do eat.

Sounds like you got this. You may want to add a little strength training in your mix. You don't have to go crazy & get an Olympic barbell set. Calisthenics would do just fine. Also a word of caution...for all of us, not just you, we will need to be on some regimen of intake restriction for the rest of our lives, especially since all/most of us live calorie-rich environments. Caloric restriction was, is and forever will be the key to losing weight & subsequently maintaining our new, svelte boyish figures. Your IF approach seems well fitted to you. You just have to keep it up. The reptile part of our brains takes kindly to habits. All the best to you & another well done.

[Castu]

Sounds like you got this.

I am feeling confident at the moment but there are still some tough days. I have failed before and it'll be a lifelong effort. But so far so good

You may want to add a little strength training in your mix. You don't have to go crazy & get an Olympic barbell set. Calisthenics would do just fine.

I have been wanting to add a bench and a set of adjustable dumbbells . But with covid prices are just stupid. I figure as long as what I am doing drops weight at a good pace I can continue this, and then mix it up once I plateau, if prices have gone back to normal. I was lucky to get the rower just before things went crazy.
And once I am skinny my reward for myself will be a fancy bike so I can get outside and keep fit in even more ways.

Also a word of caution...for all of us, not just you, we will need to be on some regimen of intake restriction for the rest of our lives, especially since all/most of us live calorie-rich environments. Caloric restriction was, is and forever will be the key to losing weight & subsequently maintaining our new, svelte boyish figures. Your IF approach seems well fitted to you. You just have to keep it up. The reptile part of our brains takes kindly to habits. All the best to you & another well done.

I totally agree. And how I am doing it is not for everyone, but I think it can be a sustainable lifestyle for a lot of people who have tried and failed at other diets. Because once it becomes habit it doesn't feel like a diet.
Making this post was part ego boost for myself because of my progress, but also a hope that it can be an inspiration for someone else, along with sharing the idea of intermittent fasting. The motivation has to come from inside one self, but inspiration from outside can help.

[Tony Cook]

Well done Castu. I’m closing in on my 1M and it will feel good to get there.
Fortunately I have never had a problem with weight, but always being active and not actually liking ‘bad’ food probably helps. That said during lockdown I have consumed more ‘bad’ calories than I did before - mainly from getting into baking cakes, and then you have to eat them!
Even with that the 65-70k a week on the rower has taken 3kg off my weight and I can see a fat reduction.
Anyway, we are all different and what you have achieved is amazing. It’s great that you enjoy the rowing and I look forward to hearing how you progress and where you are at 2M metres.

[Bill]

Massive achievement, well done.

[Robert31987]

That is amazing, Castu! Well done.

Did you have a strategy to get to the one million meters? Was there an amount per day/week that you were targeting?

I started at 380lb and I've lost about 150lbs, looking to add some rowing to help get down the next 50lbs. I'm really encouraged by your story.

[Dangerscouse]

I totally agree. And how I am doing it is not for everyone, but I think it can be a sustainable lifestyle for a lot of people who have tried and failed at other diets. Because once it becomes habit it doesn't feel like a diet.
Making this post was part ego boost for myself because of my progress, but also a hope that it can be an inspiration for someone else, along with sharing the idea of intermittent fasting. The motivation has to come from inside one self, but inspiration from outside can help.

Great to hear that you have made it a lifestyle and a habit rather than a means to an end. That is an essential part of the process as you don't focus so much on the results, and lose motivation when you try and micro manage it all.

Well done on reaching one million metres and that is a great idea to get a t-shirt that is too small

[capetownmike]

Well done Castu

That is a fantastic achievement that you should be very proud of! Consistency and determination is key to results and you have those attributes. You will achieve your goals.

Well done!

Regards

Mike

[Alan_Schenk]

Well done on your effort to date, excellent results and a lot to be proud of. I'm closing in on 1M myself (currently 840,000) and have lost 120lbs to date having been 324lbs, and need a further 30lb loss to get into the healthy BMI range. I have found the classic low carb diet to be most effective combined with a good food diary (I use mynetdiary) and it feels much more sustainable going forward. As we all know, maintenance is the mountain yet to be climbed, but I feel more confident going into that by year end, than I have previously. I expect that I will need to keep a food diary for the rest of my life, given how calorie dense foods can be and weight can get away from you so easily without keeping tabs on it. Rowing has now become a habit, rather than a burden and being weight bearing, is much more sustainable going forward.

[clampe1066]

I reached a million meters today since I started rowing in February.
I was 400lbs on December 1 and decided to eat healthier and less to be supportive of my wife who had started dieing on her own. I figured I'd lose some weight but it was not my primary motivation.
Near the end of January I was down about 40lbs and decided to go all in, lose down to 170lbs and actually get healthy and on a spur of the moment, having never rowed before, I decided to get an erg. Quick internet research later and concept 2 was the obvious choice.
Since February 2 I have rowed a million meters and dropped another 100lbs. Still have 90lbs to go but wanted to share my milestone. Ordered the t shirt a size small so I can grow into it

(For those curious, my diet is a combination of OMAD, ADF, and some extended fasts mixed in. No real miracle cure, except that fasting gets easier as you get used to it. It is mainly just a huge reduction in calories with the hope/expectation that my BMR stays relatively normal because of relatively high calorie meals when I do eat.)

Reaching a million meters is a big accomplishment.

Losing 140 pounds is HUGE accomplishement!

Congratulations and keep at it!

[Doubleplay]

Congratulations to all.
Keep it up.
Half of the challenge is not to gain the weight back.

[mict450]

Half of the challenge is not to gain the weight back.

Truly, but I would put it at 95% of the process. Maintenance is a lot harder than the weight loss, because it lasts for the rest of your life.

[Castu]

That is amazing, Castu! Well done.

Did you have a strategy to get to the one million meters? Was there an amount per day/week that you were targeting?

I started at 380lb and I've lost about 150lbs, looking to add some rowing to help get down the next 50lbs. I'm really encouraged by your story.

My goal is to row every day. Some days I am to worn out to, but I generally give it a try even so. The distance varies with how I feel but a common day will be 10k at lunch and then another shorter distance in the evening, maybe 5k or half hour row.
There was no real strategy about getting to a million meters except keeping at it. The meters never go down so if you row one more time you will be closer than you were. Just keep chugging along, and use the million meters as motivation on days when it is tough.
Your own weight lots is already impressive so it looks like you have the mindset to keep going for the long haul. Keep at it is all you need to do.

[Castu]

Well done Castu. I’m closing in on my 1M and it will feel good to get there.
Fortunately I have never had a problem with weight, but always being active and not actually liking ‘bad’ food probably helps. That said during lockdown I have consumed more ‘bad’ calories than I did before - mainly from getting into baking cakes, and then you have to eat them!
Even with that the 65-70k a week on the rower has taken 3kg off my weight and I can see a fat reduction.
Anyway, we are all different and what you have achieved is amazing. It’s great that you enjoy the rowing and I look forward to hearing how you progress and where you are at 2M metres.

I completed the 2nd million meters last week (and on my way to #3 now) and rowing is still going well. Over the last month I have set PBs on all the distances I normally row, including sub- 2:00/500 pace on 5k and 30:00 minutes (2:00/500 was a big barrier of sorts) and sub 90 minute half-marathon.

Weight loss went well for a while and I lost down to 215lbs, but over the last 2 months I have been bouncing between 220lbs and 230lbs. My body has been craving more calories and my mind has not been strong enough to say no.

Good thing is that even when I have eaten more than I should I have not just started gaining weight again, so while it fluctuates some, it has stayed around 225lbs. Bad thing is that I still want to lose 45lbs more and have made no progress for months. So my short term goal is to sharpen my resolve, focus my mind and make a push to get to 200lbs.

Anyway, it is definitely not easy, and rowing a lot while eating low calories has not been possible for me. On the positive side when I have eaten to many calories rowing has felt a lot easier and has helped keep my weight fairly constant. I am working to find the right balance and keep pushing forward.