BlueWeasel
Lifer
- Jun 2, 2000
- 15,944
- 475
- 126
Exactly. It's intimidating for me at the gym, and I've been working out for years. Hell, the Mississippi state bodylifting champion works out at the same gym and same time as I do.
Exactly. It's intimidating for me at the gym, and I've been working out for years. Hell, the Mississippi state bodylifting champion works out at the same gym and same time as I do.
One of the first hurdles involved in getting in shape is establishing goals and setting up a rigid and strict diet/exercise routine. I don't care what anyone else tells you - if you want to lose weight or make gains of any kind you have to sacrifice in order to get there. In general, the more you sacrifice the larger your weight loss/gains.
Walking is an excellent form of exercise and probably your best bet considering your current weight. One mile every other day is not nearly enough to get yourself in shape or lose any amount of significant weight. I would suggest at least 3 miles/day for 5 days of the week. If you think that's too much and that makes you apathetic, then try less, but you're not going to lose 70lbs any time soon through a lesser routine. Up the distance or the speed at which you walk the 3 miles every week by about 5-10%. Never increase both at the same time because you risk injuring yourself and setting yourself back. I would HIGHLY suggest adding a weight lifting routine as well. You don't need to have some hardcore workout plan, but basic exercises like bench, squats, curls, tricep extensions, and military press would help build and tone (the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, and so the more weight you should lose). However, do not substitute weight lifting for cardiovascular exercise - your goal is to lose weight and so you MUST focus on cardiovascular activity. I would suggest trying to do as much extra activity as you can (park you car far away from stores, always take the stairs, do as much outdoor activity as you can, in addition to the walking routine).
Your diet will dictate whether you lose weight or not. The formula is simple...if you intake more than you burn, you will gain weight. However, if you intake less than you burn you will lose weight. Cut back on your eating portions in a BIG way. I'd suggest eating about half as much as you normally do. Do NOT drink soda of any kind (or any beverage with tons of sugar - i.e. iced tea, lemonade, juices of different sorts). If you're head is really in the game, I'd advise only drinking water. Drink lots of water as often as possible. Also, whenever you need a snack (which should be every 2 hours or so) make sure to eat a piece of fruit instead of snacks of some kind like chips, cookies, doughnuts, or other high calorie, high fat alternatives. Stay away from the likes of pizza and oily foods and try and eat simply. Rice, fish, and a side of vegetables is excellent (substitute fish with chicken or even beef if you like, but remember to stick with SMALL portions). A daily sampling of your diet should look something like this:
cereal with nonfat milk
piece of fruit and some nonfat cottage cheese
lean turkey sandwich with baked lays potato chips (sandwich should be simple: turkey, lettuce, tomato, multigrain bread - no mayonaise or other spreads)
piece of fruit
nonfat cottage cheese
salmon, rice, vegetables (small portions and do NOT eat late at night)
Good luck.
Walking is an excellent form of exercise and probably your best bet considering your current weight. One mile every other day is not nearly enough to get yourself in shape or lose any amount of significant weight. I would suggest at least 3 miles/day for 5 days of the week. If you think that's too much and that makes you apathetic, then try less, but you're not going to lose 70lbs any time soon through a lesser routine. Up the distance or the speed at which you walk the 3 miles every week by about 5-10%. Never increase both at the same time because you risk injuring yourself and setting yourself back. I would HIGHLY suggest adding a weight lifting routine as well. You don't need to have some hardcore workout plan, but basic exercises like bench, squats, curls, tricep extensions, and military press would help build and tone (the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, and so the more weight you should lose). However, do not substitute weight lifting for cardiovascular exercise - your goal is to lose weight and so you MUST focus on cardiovascular activity. I would suggest trying to do as much extra activity as you can (park you car far away from stores, always take the stairs, do as much outdoor activity as you can, in addition to the walking routine).
Your diet will dictate whether you lose weight or not. The formula is simple...if you intake more than you burn, you will gain weight. However, if you intake less than you burn you will lose weight. Cut back on your eating portions in a BIG way. I'd suggest eating about half as much as you normally do. Do NOT drink soda of any kind (or any beverage with tons of sugar - i.e. iced tea, lemonade, juices of different sorts). If you're head is really in the game, I'd advise only drinking water. Drink lots of water as often as possible. Also, whenever you need a snack (which should be every 2 hours or so) make sure to eat a piece of fruit instead of snacks of some kind like chips, cookies, doughnuts, or other high calorie, high fat alternatives. Stay away from the likes of pizza and oily foods and try and eat simply. Rice, fish, and a side of vegetables is excellent (substitute fish with chicken or even beef if you like, but remember to stick with SMALL portions). A daily sampling of your diet should look something like this:
cereal with nonfat milk
piece of fruit and some nonfat cottage cheese
lean turkey sandwich with baked lays potato chips (sandwich should be simple: turkey, lettuce, tomato, multigrain bread - no mayonaise or other spreads)
piece of fruit
nonfat cottage cheese
salmon, rice, vegetables (small portions and do NOT eat late at night)
Good luck.
You are an a$$hat.
What you said about the pain is 100% correct, but he is concerned about health risks involved. I would not recommend running to anyone who is "trying his hardest not to faint." This could involve serious heart failure risks.
Recommendation:
Go easy until you can get some heart analysis from a doctor, then request advice from a personal trainer. Then determine how to lose weight.
And yes, working out does suck. It feels like sh!t. If it doesn't feel like sh!t, you're not doing it correctly. That's the only way to lose weight.
I agree gyms are intimidating, I stay away from them completely. A few hundred bucks will get you a decent bench and some iron, and if you wanted you could find some sort of cardio machine (treadmill, skier, bike) for probably a hundred more. It's an up-front cost, but no gym membership fees to pay.. and for me at least it's a lot easier to go downstairs than to a gym, and I'm less likely to shirk my workouts. Muscle burns calories even at rest, so the more you have the easier it is to maintain a reasonable weight.
virtuamike
Diamond Member
- Oct 13, 2000
- 7,845
- 13
- 81
Don't be intimidated by the gym. Instead, the other guys should be praising YOU. A fat guy working out in the gym to change his ways gets a hell of a lot more respect than a fat ass doing nothing at home. Nothing more awesome than seeing a fat ass turn into super-cut babe magnet.
You need to do a minimum of 30 min of cardio 3x a week in order to kickstart the fat burning process. Work your way up to 40 min of cardio daily. Don't worry about effort for now, go for time. Exercise bike and elliptical are great to start with.
Diet is crucial. You need discipline, so throw away all the junk food and ban yourself from fast food and soda for the next 3 months. Limit yourself to 2000 calories a day and work your way down to 1600. Drink at least a gallon of water a day. Eat 3-5 smaller meals daily instead of 1-2 big meals, and don't eat 4 hours prior to go to sleep at night. Cut the rice to 1 cup per meal for now, work your way down to 1/2 cup. Eat your vegetables and get your protein from low-fat sources (chicken breast, fish, turkey, etc).
The first 2 weeks are the hardest, but your body will adapt and settle into the routine, then the fun begins. Once the weight starts dropping, that'll be all the motivation you need.
Don't worry too much about lifting for now. Just do 1-2 months of straight cardio, and work your way to 40 min daily & 1600 calorie intake.
You need to do a minimum of 30 min of cardio 3x a week in order to kickstart the fat burning process. Work your way up to 40 min of cardio daily. Don't worry about effort for now, go for time. Exercise bike and elliptical are great to start with.
Diet is crucial. You need discipline, so throw away all the junk food and ban yourself from fast food and soda for the next 3 months. Limit yourself to 2000 calories a day and work your way down to 1600. Drink at least a gallon of water a day. Eat 3-5 smaller meals daily instead of 1-2 big meals, and don't eat 4 hours prior to go to sleep at night. Cut the rice to 1 cup per meal for now, work your way down to 1/2 cup. Eat your vegetables and get your protein from low-fat sources (chicken breast, fish, turkey, etc).
The first 2 weeks are the hardest, but your body will adapt and settle into the routine, then the fun begins. Once the weight starts dropping, that'll be all the motivation you need.
Don't worry too much about lifting for now. Just do 1-2 months of straight cardio, and work your way to 40 min daily & 1600 calorie intake.
I've been heading to the gym regularly since February of this year, and within 2 months I had lost 10 pounds. This consisted of running 5 miles / day, 5 days a week, (went after work daily), and the biggest part was eliminating high sugar foods, ie: pop, and the like, stuck primarily to veggies, fruits, meats, and occaisonal breads, pastas, rice. Also, it all came from limiting intake, I used to eat overrly large portions of food, I've cut down, and drink water about 95% of the time, which all helps.
Also, when I began my cardio routine, I could barely keep up a constant 1 mile / night, but after continually going for a week my endurance increased, but the key was sticking to it. Just be sure to be hydrated and full of energy prior to your work out, so that you're ready to go. after a couple weeks, I was doing 5 miles a night at a fast jog / almost sprinting pace, and my heart rate lowered substantially.
Moral of the story... start small, work your way up, bring about diet changes like mentioned above, and you[ll begin to see the results you want. It takes a determined mindset to get all this done, and if you really want you'll be able to achieve, but it's up to you. Us here on ATOT can only give you so much advice, the rest is up to you, and I wish you best of luck.
P.S I'm still keeping my healthy diet and cardio routine (although less now because of school), and I've never felt better
--Mark
Also, when I began my cardio routine, I could barely keep up a constant 1 mile / night, but after continually going for a week my endurance increased, but the key was sticking to it. Just be sure to be hydrated and full of energy prior to your work out, so that you're ready to go. after a couple weeks, I was doing 5 miles a night at a fast jog / almost sprinting pace, and my heart rate lowered substantially.
Moral of the story... start small, work your way up, bring about diet changes like mentioned above, and you[ll begin to see the results you want. It takes a determined mindset to get all this done, and if you really want you'll be able to achieve, but it's up to you. Us here on ATOT can only give you so much advice, the rest is up to you, and I wish you best of luck.
P.S I'm still keeping my healthy diet and cardio routine (although less now because of school), and I've never felt better
--Mark
I'm not sure if you mentioned how old you are. Anyway, the older you are, the more important it is for you to get a stress test from your doctor before you start exerting yourself. If you have heart disease, you could literally kill yourself by exercising too hard.
When I first started working out, the idea that I might have a heart attack always held me back. But then I got checked out, and have felt confident about pushing myself to the limit ever since.
Remember, you have to balance your exercise routine between "challenging" and "burning out." You have to push yourself everytime you exercise. And you have to gradually increase the number of times you exercise every week.
Just keep in mind that nobody who has ever stuck with a good routine and diet has stayed fat. Your results are guaranteed...eventually.
I'm a rice eater too. Or at least I used to be. Just cutting down on the rice and substituting vegetables should help you out a lot.
Oh yeah, part of my motivation for going to the gym is to see hot babes. Yeah, I'm a dawg...
Good luck!
:sun:
When I first started working out, the idea that I might have a heart attack always held me back. But then I got checked out, and have felt confident about pushing myself to the limit ever since.
Remember, you have to balance your exercise routine between "challenging" and "burning out." You have to push yourself everytime you exercise. And you have to gradually increase the number of times you exercise every week.
Just keep in mind that nobody who has ever stuck with a good routine and diet has stayed fat. Your results are guaranteed...eventually.
I'm a rice eater too. Or at least I used to be. Just cutting down on the rice and substituting vegetables should help you out a lot.
Oh yeah, part of my motivation for going to the gym is to see hot babes. Yeah, I'm a dawg...
Good luck!
:sun:
Geekbabe
Moderator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
Don't feel badly about yourself! Yeah there's a few ignorant folks at the gym but most people there are average folks just trying to get themselves into better shape!
I'm a 47 yr old lady,I started at the gym the 3rd week in Dec and was so embarrassed all I wore was baggy sweats and tee shirts.I thought I was going to die the first few weeks everything hurt so bad.Flash forward several months,I've dropped a bunch of fat,added inches of muscle.I'm regular enough at the gym to be recognized by lots of folks and my progress noted.I love doing cardio now and my strength training now includes some free weights.
I don't look like Brittany Spears but I don't look like a grandmother either and I'm really enjoying having more energy and wearing smaller more form fitting clothing.I'm also enjoying a greater range of motion and flexibility than I ever thought possible at my age.Start slowly,walking briskly on the treadmill is fine,the key thing here is to just start,get out of your chair and get your body in motion,make small diet changes over time,try adding more water and fruit,veggies to your menu,slowly replacing unhealthy foods.
Small changes become regular habits over time,don't get discouraged,don't beat yourself up emotionally and don't let fear of others laughing stop you.
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