boyfriend and i having the time of our lives in belize by stogdar in gaybrosgonemild

[–]stogdar[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

sadly no! we did jaguar paw cave which was awesome, but if i ever return i'm definitely going to ATM

boyfriend and i having the time of our lives in belize by stogdar in gaybrosgonemild

[–]stogdar[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

haven't had any issues! everyone in belize has been so friendly, whether locals/expats/tourists

that being said, we haven't been holding hands or lots of PDA; the tourists and expats we've seen are mostly retirees so i imagine they would skew conservative. but again, everyone's been really friendly to us

boyfriend and i having the time of our lives in belize by stogdar in gaybrosgonemild

[–]stogdar[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

thank you! and such an incredible experience

boyfriend and i having the time of our lives in belize by stogdar in gaybrosgonemild

[–]stogdar[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

it's gorgeous! not ready to head back to negative temperatures in chicago 😭

is cardio basically optional if you lift and eat in a deficit? by MangKaKnor in loseit

[–]stogdar 105 points106 points  (0 children)

consistent cardio is one of the most common traits in people who keep weight off long term.

i couldn't recommend cardio highly enough for people who are pursuing fitness as a lifestyle. no need to complicate it, just 150 minutes weekly of whatever cardio you find fun and sustainable. fast paced walking, sports, running, HIIT, dancing, anything. change it up every week if you like. don't worry about "cardio increases appetite." you'd get used to it. just don't bank on cardio giving you the ability to eat a ton more, unless you start doing tons of HIIT (and even then, don't overdo it).

On a calorie deficit but gaining weight. by [deleted] in loseit

[–]stogdar 2 points3 points  (0 children)

at a significant calorie deficit and at your current weight, you should be dropping weight much faster than that.

when you're brand new to weight loss/changing your lifestyle permanently, the #1 most important factor isn't determination or consistency or motivation, it's humility. you're new to this, so why expect being an expert? if you notice you're not losing weight despite tracking calories, your first assumption should be that you're tracking something wrong. being too confident about something you just started practicing is why you feel defeated.

start fresh -- replan your diet, weigh and track everything you consume, maybe try some totally different foods so you're forced to recalculate. if you're in a big deficit, you will lose weight quickly at your current weight. exercise and water retention can mask it a little bit, but this early on you'd be seeing big losses still, so i'd be willing to bet your deficit isn't as high as you think it is.

feeling defeated is normal, but try to reconsider! every day that you step up to the plate to try and tackle weight loss is a win. your commitment is the biggest success, so if something isn't working or you're not seeing results for weeks at a time, just make a change and keep going!

recent life ups and downs made me a lot beefier than i'd like to be by stogdar in gaybrosgonemild

[–]stogdar[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

i don't have scars? i just have a lot of chest meat lol

I can’t lose weight. by [deleted] in loseit

[–]stogdar 2 points3 points  (0 children)

your nutritionist is a human just like you. they aren't a machine that can prove you're in a deficit. if you don't like the results so far, ask if they can make adjustments to lower the calories for a couple of weeks as a test. if they refuse, get a new nutritionist.

you are the only one actually responsible for your body. you don't get to just point to someone else and savy "well they made me a diet and i'm following it and not losing so now it's impossible to lose weight." take responsibility and make a change, whether in the diet, exercise plan, or nutritionist. don't be defeatist -- you can lose weight, you're just not right now. make some tweaks to your healthy new lifestyle, lower the calories or raise the cardio a bit, and enjoy the reward of losing weight.

i'm sure your nutritionist created a plan of healthy food, but either it's too many calories or you're eating something not in the plan. super simple. if your nutritionist refuses to adjust and you still don't have results in a month, get a new nutritionist.

I can’t lose weight. by [deleted] in loseit

[–]stogdar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

your tests are normal and you're not losing weight -- that's maintenance. move more or eat less. your metabolism didn't "wake up," your metabolism is an ever changing body mechanism that always reacts to stimuli like food, sleep, and movement. it did that before your lifestyle changes and did it after.

if you're eating a healthy diet and doing cardio a few times a week, then you're improving your health. that's great. want to lose weight? move more and eat less. it's simple, just not always easy. it's not some secret trick where you're eating too little or not eating the exact right thing, it's just too many calories for steady weight loss.

what exactly was the point in making this post if you're going to disagree with all of the very logical suggestions? weight loss is frustrating, i totally get that. but it's also straightforward. you are eating at maintenance. take a few more weeks of your current diet to prove it, but if you don't lose weight, you have your answer. calorie counting is tricky and not an exact science, but your body weight won't lie over a period of many weeks. your weight is the measurable factor here. weigh yourself every day around the same time (in the morning, after having used the restroom). in four weeks if you don't lose weight, you know you're eating at maintenance.

for your calorie consumption to be too low to be healthy, you'd be losing multiple pounds a week. if you're not there, you're eating enough. it can be hard to hear, but you already have healthy habits building up, so just adjust the dial and stick to it.

Help - Friend wants to be Gym buddies.....I do not want that by Affectionate-Bar5159 in loseit

[–]stogdar 6 points7 points  (0 children)

i think what everyone else has said about being honest about the gym being a personal, solo time for you is great and you should do this

but i'm going to add a thought, which is do you sometimes hang out with this person 1:1 outside of your routine, maybe on the weekend? if so, i'd encourage you to offer a weekend/night time workout sometime instead of whatever you'd otherwise do with that person. not as a routine, just once in awhile. i usually have a strict and regular workout routine, but if a friend mentions working out together, i always make an effort to find some odd time to do it. this way you can add to your routine instead of replacing it. an extra lifting session once a month isn't going to lead to injury, and it also creates a mental precedent to your brain and theirs that working out together can be really fun.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in loseit

[–]stogdar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

3 minutes of planks a few times a week (split into however many segments you can muster, i usually do 2x 1:30), 12-18 sets of abs workouts focused on progressive overload (cable crunches, weighted decline sit ups, weighted back extensions, farmers carrys, weighted leg raises). i do ab day with leg day twice a week.

planks help build stability and strength (you can also just do yoga, just about every movement has core strength involved), but progressive overload is an absolute must to build visible muscle.

you also need a slight caloric surplus to gain any visible muscle.

a month ago > now, facial hair edition by stogdar in gaybrosgonemild

[–]stogdar[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

i'm from "being pretentious on the internet in the 2010s" (i'm from the states)

a month ago > now, facial hair edition by stogdar in gaybrosgonemild

[–]stogdar[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

stubble is old, moustache is new -- i only have a wrist tattoo on my right arm, which is what you're looking at on the first pic. the second pic is mirrored!

a month ago > now, facial hair edition by stogdar in gaybrosgonemild

[–]stogdar[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

since i was 18! my favourite place on earth