Fat Fast - Yes, another fat person looking for help

Not sure how I tripped upon T-Mag, but certainly glad I did. What a wealth of information. In about 10 minutes here, I feel I LEARNED more than in 10 months of Men’s Health and Fitness. Anyway, I’m gonna be generic and give this forum another thread from the perspective of fat man that wants to stop being a fatass. Don’t act so surprised - America’s full of us. I have taken the precursory step of reading much of this site’s material, however, now’s the time to separate the great from the good. Articles are fantastic, but don’t offer the dynamic that comes with a forum like this.

Some stats and a little history. I’m a 22YO male, 5’11" 220 LBS. No idea of BF%, but a 36-38" waist (along with my own educated guess) makes me want to say ~20-25%. A couple years ago I probably weighed 250 with 40-42" waist. I started working out at school with a friend and the weight slowly dropped off. I was as low as 195 this past summer (34-35" waist) but graduation and my introduction to Corporate America led to a dramatically changed lifestyle. Obviously, 25 new lbs says I didn’t handle that transition all too well.

Which is why I come to you looking for suggestions/help. As fun as being fat is (and it’s not), I don’t want to turn into the rest of the people in my office. I don’t want the most exciting moments of my life to be potluck lunches (not fair, I know).

Obviously a quick fix is going to garner more attention than other ideas, but the Fat Fast doesn’t particularly strike me as a gimmick. I’d actually call it punishment - straight-up. Anyway, Brock Strasser’s original column is old and some of the supplements he used aren’t available now, correct (MD6?). With that said, I’m switching to numbered questions/comments:

  1. I can certainly see why the dropout rate for FF is so high. Frankly, knowing that only appeals to my sense of competition (with myself). Cravings have been getting a free ride on this ship for too long.

  2. Is FF the best option for someone like me (not obese, but definitely overweight)?

  3. What supplements are people using these days to combat catabolism and reduced energy levels?

  4. I read Drew’s suggested alternative to FF on another thread. Actually sounds like a good plan, as sort of a FF exit diet.

  5. I’m not all that interested in cheats designed to make the program less painful at the expense of progress. I deserve at least four weeks of penitence for years of gluttony.

I guess that’s all I have for now. I obviously appreciate anything you guys (and gals) have to offer. Hey, even the following would be ok:

“Go home you fat idiot. You suck and you’ll always be fat. Stop trying.”

Thanks again. I hope you haven’t been turned off by too many of “these” threads.

A couple quick points: 1. MD6 is still available with third party distributors. DPSnutrition.com leaps to mind. 2. FF is an option for someone of your bodyfat level, but realize that more moderate diets (ie, TDawg) will work quite effectively as well. FF is great for breaking plateaus, or crashing into the low single digits. 3. To combat catabolism select an androgen of your choice, 4-AD-EC is the most obvious as it is highly effective and one can stay on for up to 8 weeks at a time. To combat the energy issue some choose to employ stimulants–ephedra, caffine, etc. I prefer to avoid this practice. Experiment with Power Drive, it addresses the issues of energy and concentration nicely. 5. Regarding cheats, I would actually recommend a “Cheater’s Diet” approach more than a strict Fat Fast. With a higher bodyfat percentage, one might be better off starting with one weekly carb refeed, using only ‘clean’ carb sources. Check out the article (Cheat to Win), Joel addresses these issues. The reason for these refeeds/cheats, no only to help maintain sanity and motivation, is that they may actually accelerate your fat loss. The jury is still out on this one, but my own personal experience seems to back up this idea.

One more thing: Quit getting down on yourself. You’ve made the decision, and now you’re educating yourself on how to go about solving your problem. You’re way ahead of the game (and all the other sheep) already, give yourself some credit!

hmm… first off don’t make excuses, none of this “graduation and my introduction to Corporate America led to a dramatically changed lifestyle” you were weak, admit it and move on. Fat fast is neat, look thru archives there are many threads about it, there are much better ways of losing fat, due to the fact that you pretty much can’t live on the fat fast forever, while you can live off clean foods, self prepared and lots of veggies, and no junk food or processed pre-made foods for a great while, and maybe a cheat meal here or there. Using the fat fast in 4 weeks you will lose about 20 to 30 pounds, 9 of it is water and may come back about 4 or so lbs the few days after you stop. Your cravings will go thru the roof and if you eat junk food at this point you will gain most of it back. Anyway good luck.

Welcome, glad to have you here, now get to work!

This is not a diet thread, you never mentioned a weight program, and I’m confused. Either the Tdawg or Nekkid articles will help with diet, but we need to know what your workout regimen will be before we can help. Pick a program, 5x5, renegade, etc. Holidays are a great time to change your future. Good Luck.

First of all: congratulations on taking action! I’d never say “go home, fatty!” to someone who has the gumption to do something with their life. Like you.

What Ike said is basically really good advice. I wouldn't begin the Fat Fast, especially if it's the first time you've tried a particular diet. I would read any nutrition article by John Berardi and do look into the T-Dawg diet.

Also, while weight training is very important, don't forget that the "little things" would create a impact as well. Like, walking, turning the TV off and finding a hobby. As you embark on a life of physical fitness, don't neglect the mind. Oh, and begin a food journal. Start recording your food intake. Take the time to notice the differences in your body composition or any change, no matter how little. What are your plans for weight training, BTW?

i would echo the first gentlemans comments. good advice. and hey man 25% body fat is bad, but take a look around you man. go to a donut place or a starbucks or take a look around the office. there are so many fat people around you man that yu are not as fat as you think. people have raised the bar man. you got the steroid pumped freaks, and the mcdonalds pumped freaks.

good luck man. when i first dieted i chose a sport loved and trained around that. i never got bored and it helped my body. like for example basketball. alot of running with otu concentrating so much on running just the hustle and competitive spirit. also if you dont like running that much( sore knees,shins) i would reccomend a eliptical trainer. you can pound on that thing for an hour a day if you want too. it kills alot of calories. not to worry if you are weight traing as well you will improve there as well.

good luck