The Monster Den

[Master of Monsters]

I am glad you joined us here in my den. ^_^

I am glad to hear you are having success as well! I've tried all my life to get a handle on my weight, and now at 25, I think I finally have. I wish to get to the 160-180 range, so I have about 300lbs left to go. However, I am losing about a pound a day and with not much more exercise then I normally used to do. I only work out once a week, with a few extra short walks when I am in the mood.

[Master of Monsters]

I have good news and I have bad news.

Lets start with the bad news. Due to time restraints, I have to cease in my activities here on DNDOG. That means that I will no longer be able to DM or play any of the games I am in and for this I am truly sorry. For the last 8 years(as my 8 year anniversary passed on the 22nd.) any who have known me know that I love a practical joke and that I am talking out my behind right this very moment. August 25th fools!

The real bad news. Due to limited cash flow, my diet has come to a stand still, as I have no cash to order my protein shake mix. So for the moment I am in diet limbo.

The good news: Due to live events I will no longer be able to function at full capacity on dndog. No this is not a joke this time, but I'm not being completely honest. I have gotten a job that requires me to travel to California for 9 days. I will be gone from the 2nd of sept to the 11th of sept. During this time I am unsure of whether I will have internet access or not. So bear with me, as this is an exciting opportunity for me!

[Olorian]

 

Hehe, I believed you for a second!

Dude! Don't put your dietary quest on hold so quickly, aren't there other ways you could change your diet, even without a protein shake?

[Master of Monsters]

oh, that has changed, My diet is all around improved. Its just, the protein shake is the secret weapon! Im don't done, its just I wont lose weight nearly as fast. When I had the shake, I was eating about 600-800 cal a day, and feeling full. Now im up to about 1600 a day.

[Dalinen]

That still seems low for an adult male. If you eat healthy, lots of colour and greens, and toss out the junk and processed foods/additives, then you're on your way to 180. Add in the exercise and you're on your way even faster. If you take in less then the body requires for its normal functions, your body sends signals to the brain that it's in starvation mode. This then gets it to hold on to all of its food intake and conserve it as much as possible. As good fat is more important for the body's functions, it can start eating away at muscle mass before tackling the excess fat storages.

I'm no nutritionist or very experienced in this area though, so take my caution with a grain of salt. I did come across a site for calorie-based weight loss.byitsmeasure, you're on your way to losing 2lbs per week, assuming your regular intake is around 2600cal/day. I'm doubtful how sustainable that is though. Here's the link: http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk...rie_intake.htm

I do recall reading an article some time ago that compared all major diets for successful commonalities. In other words, what worked in each and whether trends were noticeable. Perhaps unsurprisingly it found no universal tricks or tools to help in weight loss. The only thing It did find was thebasic numbers- if you burn more calories then you eat, you'll lose the weight. Calories, in other words, will be the deciding factor. My take on what a healthy diet would be would be to maintain your recommended daily caloric intake to ensure the body always gets what it needs, but increase your activity level so tht you burn more than you would otherwise.

Oh, and you fooled me too on the having-to-leave-the-site joke. But congrats on the California job! What's the gig? And, of course, kudos on sticking to your program, despite the protein shake set-back.

[Master of Monsters]

I am selling forever sharp knives. I will be training in cali for 9 days, then return home to work my home area. Thanks ^_^

The thing with the shake is, that it is formulated to give the body everything it needs to function. It just cuts out all of the unnecessary stuff. Im not an expert either, all I know is it worked. I was losing about a pound a day, feeling great, and had more energy then I ever did before. I don't know why the stuff works, it just does.

I've been large all my life, and i've tried everything I could think off. I payed a nutritions along with going to 3 or 4 doctors, and I lost 3 pounds that month. So meh, it works, and thats what I care about.

[Dalinen]

Compared to me you are an expert. Glad that you found something successful. While you're building up your revenues for the shake, maybe you could substitute it with a standard meal replacement drink? Those drinks are heavily loaded with vitamins and nutrients, with a similar intent of providing your dietary needs in a small caloric bundle. In Canada you can find these at most drug stores or larger grocery stores.

[Master of Monsters]

Originally Posted by Dalinen

Compared to me you are an expert. Glad that you found something successful. While you're building up your revenues for the shake, maybe you could substitute it with a standard meal replacement drink? Those drinks are heavily loaded with vitamins and nutrients, with a similar intent of providing your dietary needs in a small caloric bundle. In Canada you can find these at most drug stores or larger grocery stores.

I'll keep that in mind! I never thought of doing that xD


Anyways, I am back. I am sure many of you noticed my 11 day absense. This is beacause I took an invulantery vacation to the local county jail. Now before you get worried, don't. It wasn't anything serious. My mom, my aunt and I got into a scuffle, and tempers flaired and the cops decided I needed so away time. Yes, I am blowing this off a bit, as there is some charges, but I should get them dropped and jail time should be over with now.

However, that is not even the bad news. We found out on 30th of August that my mom has Cancer again, for the third time in her life, and it is indeed terminal this time. We do not know how long it will be, but there is nothing they can do due to the placement of the tumor this time. It is tangled with several major blood vessels that are around your throat. Slowly as the tumor grows, it will cut off her wind pipe, and she will die of either suffocation or heart failure(whichever gets cut off first, blood vessel or wind pipe.) Very sad news indeed, but I am still upbeat about it. Being a devout christian, death is not the end. Her reward is coming, and only us remaining on earth will feel the pain when it is said in done.

So all in all, i've had better two week stretches in my life. So with that all said, I am return to my games now.

[Enthusiast]

Sorry to hear the sad news, but glad to have you back.

[Olorian]

Sh*******t, man.

When I started reading, I was wondering whether it was another "25th August fools" joke, about the jail time, but if it's true, that is unfortunate to say the least. But what came after blew my mind, MoM, that is extremely sad indeed. I wish your mom, you and your family all the strength to hang on in times to come.

[Master of Monsters]

Sadly, no joke. The jail time was not soooo bad. I mean jail is jail, but i'll probably get most if not all the charges dropped, so I'm all good.

As for mom, she and I thank you both(and everyone who will post after this) for your support.

Some good news today. I was able to save my class from being failed due to jail(though my GPA will take a hit), My stipend check got released, so I have some spare cash to take care of stuff, and I found out I still have the job I got before going to jail. So all in all, today is better!

[Olorian]

The job for which you had to go to Cali?

[Master of Monsters]

Yep, thats the one!

[Dalinen]

Rough bout of news, MoM. My thoughts are with you and your family. I hope the two of you get some great quality time together before her condition takes a turn for the worse. In many ways, knowing what is coming allows you to plan ahead and make the most of the time granted.
I genuinely hope the best for you two.

And glad to hear your recent (mis)adventure hasn't completely fouled your future prospects!

[Master of Monsters]

So here it is everyone. Today is the day before I leave for California. This will be my first time flying, and it is Someone roll an intimidation check for the plane so I know how intimidated to be....please!quite intimidating.. I have no clue what to do to get through airport, so it will be a fly by the seat of your pants think all day tomorrow for me. Not to mention due to my large size, I am unsure if I will have a seat large enough to be comfortable in. Does anyone have any experience with such a thing? (Hal, you just flew, right? :-P)

I will be one of six people who will be training in California this week, and I am one of a lucky two who get a rental car! This means I get the full experience. However, I fear, means I may have to be a you have no idea how long it took me to look up the spelling of this wordchauffeur to two other people. Hope they enjoy my 'tire on the yellow line or white line' driving style, It drives my parents nuts that I never seem to be able to stay in the center of the lane. I drive 75% of the time on the white line(aka with a tire on the side of the road) 20% time on yellow(Thus almost in the oncoming traffic lane) and 5% in the center of the lane. I know im a bit bizarre

This brings me to my last real fear. I hope I do not have to deal with a 4-8 lane highway! I've never driven anything larger then a 3-lane highway. The largest City I have ever driven in is Madison, which is around 200k in population. I will be in Newport Beach CA, which is 10 miles S-SW of down town Santa Ana CA, which has a population of roughly double Madison. Even more so, it is only about 30 miles from LA, So yeah, a lot to consider.