First of all, to the OP: Good Luck!
It's good to see that you have accepted you have a problem and are willing to what it takes to fix it. I lost about 40 pounds of fat this summer by doing the following things, all of which should help you.
1. Fitday...it's been mentioned several times, and it keeps you honest.
2. Lifting
3. Cardio
4.Rest...both physically and emotionally. I used to have Fridays as a cheat day for food. It allowed me to keep eating correctly the rest of the week.
5. Constant motivation!! This is the most important...too many people burn out and say "screw it, I can't do this anymore"
Don't be that guy.
Also, a good protein powder (like ON whey powder. Protein shakes keep down hunger with relatively few calories.
It's good to see that you have accepted you have a problem and are willing to what it takes to fix it. I lost about 40 pounds of fat this summer by doing the following things, all of which should help you.
1. Fitday...it's been mentioned several times, and it keeps you honest.
2. Lifting
3. Cardio
4.Rest...both physically and emotionally. I used to have Fridays as a cheat day for food. It allowed me to keep eating correctly the rest of the week.
5. Constant motivation!! This is the most important...too many people burn out and say "screw it, I can't do this anymore"
Don't be that guy.
Also, a good protein powder (like ON whey powder. Protein shakes keep down hunger with relatively few calories.
Well I felt like giving up today, was sweating hella hard and those hills were killing me, but kept going, for AT 
amish
Diamond Member
- Aug 20, 2004
- 4,295
- 6
- 81
Originally posted by: montypythizzle
Well I felt like giving up today, was sweating hella hard and those hills were killing me, but kept going, for AT
like this?
Originally posted by: amish
Originally posted by: montypythizzle
Well I felt like giving up today, was sweating hella hard and those hills were killing me, but kept going, for AT
like this?
Not quite, but I don't think I have sweat that much ever.
obviously fat doesn't magically turn into muscle. Fat is burned but at the same time the actual muscle mass will increase so it's more of a replacement. A state of mind if you will.
Yeah, got to get some sleep hopefully some more riding, I love riding my bike in the fall, in the summer it is just oppressive
All that bike riding and severely reduced meals will cause you to burn out fast and just go back to gorging yourself. You have to take this slow. How long did it take to put on the pounds? It should take that long to take them off. Plus it will allow your skin to shrink naturally with your weight loss so you don't look like saggy crap after you lose the weight.
First thing I would suggest is learning to eat slower. Slow yourself down so your body has time to adjust to the food you eat. Eating that starchy white bread is releasing sugar into the blood real fast and satisfying you, but 1 hour later it will make you twice as hungry as your blood sugar dips. Slow down your pace and you'll get used to a healthier rate of absorbing food and your body will learn when it has enough of a meal.
Next thing I would suggest is spreading out your food. Cutting back on meals is fine, but going to micro portions and not snacking very often in between will throw you into starvation mode really fast, making you not lose weight and feel like total crap to boot. You need to be eating constantly to keep the metabolism going. You won't even have to exercise to see an impact if you get your diet right. Some good thing to have around is V8. I don't like V8, but I don't hate it either. It's not a drink that I would be tempted to guzzle. It has enough calories to keep the metabolism going, though. Get the low sodium kind to keep the water weight in check. Fill up a bottle (litre or so) and drink it all day, throughout the day.
Exercise is important as it sparks your metabolism. People see great advantages to weight loss when they exercise, especially with resistance (e.g. weight training). However, overdoing it will kill your enthusiasm fast, especially if your diet has slipped and your body has gone into starvation. If you enjoy biking, then do it. But only do it because you enjoy it and it has the side effect of being healthy.
If you spread out your food well and take it slow, what you eat specifically, so long as it's varied is not AS important. Sure, you can optimize your diet very effectively, but the above points are infinitely more important. In general, though, stay away from the processed foods. Replace with whole grains whenever possible (tricky, because most "wheat" breads aren't much better for you than white breads. Nature's own makes a sugar free 100% whole wheat bread that's quite good for wheat bread). No soda of any kind, should go without saying. Don't buy into the sugar free diet soda and things you would eat without a meal. You won't get the calories, but fake sugar has the same effect on your body as real sugar. It won't help you lose weight unless your diet is elsewise very good. Don't worry about fatty foods and snacks (healthy fats, e.g. nuts, seeds, olive oil). They're actually better for you, especially earlier in the day because they take longer to digest and will keep your blood sugar more even, satiating appetite more effectively later on. HOWEVER, you will overeat them and cause damage if you don't learn to pace your eating!
Perfect diet is about discipline. Most fat people get fat because they lack dietary and exercise discipline. Follow the tips above in this order because they are most likely to give you a lasting impact and are millions of times easier to discipline yourself to do than cutting meals and exercising, and also millions of times SAFER.
Lastly, you will lose muscle in losing weight. Don't worry about it. This isn't about perfecting your diet. This is about getting you in a healthier range and making you feel good about it, that it was easy to achieve. When you have realistic expectations and have felt positive about realizing them, then you'll be psychologically more motivated to perfecting your body, which takes a lot more science and discipline!
First thing I would suggest is learning to eat slower. Slow yourself down so your body has time to adjust to the food you eat. Eating that starchy white bread is releasing sugar into the blood real fast and satisfying you, but 1 hour later it will make you twice as hungry as your blood sugar dips. Slow down your pace and you'll get used to a healthier rate of absorbing food and your body will learn when it has enough of a meal.
Next thing I would suggest is spreading out your food. Cutting back on meals is fine, but going to micro portions and not snacking very often in between will throw you into starvation mode really fast, making you not lose weight and feel like total crap to boot. You need to be eating constantly to keep the metabolism going. You won't even have to exercise to see an impact if you get your diet right. Some good thing to have around is V8. I don't like V8, but I don't hate it either. It's not a drink that I would be tempted to guzzle. It has enough calories to keep the metabolism going, though. Get the low sodium kind to keep the water weight in check. Fill up a bottle (litre or so) and drink it all day, throughout the day.
Exercise is important as it sparks your metabolism. People see great advantages to weight loss when they exercise, especially with resistance (e.g. weight training). However, overdoing it will kill your enthusiasm fast, especially if your diet has slipped and your body has gone into starvation. If you enjoy biking, then do it. But only do it because you enjoy it and it has the side effect of being healthy.
If you spread out your food well and take it slow, what you eat specifically, so long as it's varied is not AS important. Sure, you can optimize your diet very effectively, but the above points are infinitely more important. In general, though, stay away from the processed foods. Replace with whole grains whenever possible (tricky, because most "wheat" breads aren't much better for you than white breads. Nature's own makes a sugar free 100% whole wheat bread that's quite good for wheat bread). No soda of any kind, should go without saying. Don't buy into the sugar free diet soda and things you would eat without a meal. You won't get the calories, but fake sugar has the same effect on your body as real sugar. It won't help you lose weight unless your diet is elsewise very good. Don't worry about fatty foods and snacks (healthy fats, e.g. nuts, seeds, olive oil). They're actually better for you, especially earlier in the day because they take longer to digest and will keep your blood sugar more even, satiating appetite more effectively later on. HOWEVER, you will overeat them and cause damage if you don't learn to pace your eating!
Perfect diet is about discipline. Most fat people get fat because they lack dietary and exercise discipline. Follow the tips above in this order because they are most likely to give you a lasting impact and are millions of times easier to discipline yourself to do than cutting meals and exercising, and also millions of times SAFER.
Lastly, you will lose muscle in losing weight. Don't worry about it. This isn't about perfecting your diet. This is about getting you in a healthier range and making you feel good about it, that it was easy to achieve. When you have realistic expectations and have felt positive about realizing them, then you'll be psychologically more motivated to perfecting your body, which takes a lot more science and discipline!
Wow, great suggestions.
Heh, I feel like that sometimes
Oh well hopefully after a week I can get over my addiction, but right now it is hard.
Heh, my legs seemed loose this morning, I think I am going to stretch and wear more athleticish shorts when riding today, those jean shorts were killing me.
Platypus, I can see what I can do about pics today.
Originally posted by: montypythizzle
Wow, great suggestions.
Heh, I feel like that sometimes
Oh well hopefully after a week I can get over my addiction, but right now it is hard.
Heh, my legs seemed loose this morning, I think I am going to stretch and wear more athleticish shorts when riding today, those jean shorts were killing me.
Platypus, I can see what I can do about pics today.
Don't worry man. Just remember. This shouldn't be hard. If you're making it hard, you're doing it wrong. Just do things the smart way and you won't get burned out. Once you lose the first 75 lbs, then it gets a little trickier.
But if you do it right and have realistic expectations, you can reflect positively on all the little things you've done for yourself. That will enable you to finish the job and stay healthy. Getting in tip-top shape is hard, but getting in and staying in good shape is just a matter of psychology, really.Just a tip I have used in the past, drink a full 8 oz glass of water ~ 15 minutes before a meal.
From the Marines, I had a tendency to "wolf" down my food. If I drank the water, I found myself eating quite a bit slower.
Congrats on the decision to make changes in your life.
Yeah, as soon as I hit <250 then my parents will probably be more inclined to buy me a gym membership (not a priority when you are poor, but maybe saving food money will go towards the membership ), but I never really liked working out with other people, and most of the people at the gym are probably going to be a little older. I'll try to go there when the "cool" peepz get there .
), but I never really liked working out with other people, and most of the people at the gym are probably going to be a little older. I'll try to go there when the "cool" peepz get there .
alkemyst
No Lifer
- Feb 13, 2001
- 83,769
- 19
- 81
Originally posted by: montypythizzle
I am not much of a water animal
Biking is better than nothing, but bikes by design work against working you...they are the most efficient machines.
Being you are a big guy (I weigh in cut at about 175lbs, about 190lbs in good shape and up to 230 out of shape) running is going to be hard, but it really will burn the weight the fastest especially doing HIIT. You get alot more bang for buck running as well as to bike you have to usually do it longer.
I would skip swimming....most can't swim well enough to keep it aerobic.
I lose the most wieght strength training though. 20-30 mins every other day is plenty.
Hit the big lifts like squats, deadlifts and bench press. Miltary presses/Cleans, pull ups (lat pulldowns until you are stronger)...etc. Go for 6-8 serious reps and about 3-5 sets. Find a tried and true program and stick with it. If you find it wrong for you, look for another one. Once you have 6 months to a year under your belt then you can figure out your own changes to the programs. To many people get into a great program and in 2 weeks decide to add all these specialized movements and wonder why they don't progress. They end up overtraining.
I am a bit different than many in that my activity totally determines my body weight. I was injured pretty seriously last year and just recently recovered after a year off and almost 4 months of rehab 3 days a week. I went up to 230lbs in two months just doing normal things again I am down to 205lbs. That's 3lbs a week with no diet change and not even exercising.
The most wieght I have shed was 86lbs in 3 months after a bad divorce I was having.
Things like cereal and the like can work against you. A great place for advice is bodybuilding.com forums. Another good thing is plan how much food you need on paper with the food wieghts/measurements. Then stick with it. You are more than likely going to feel hungry pretty bad until your body adjusts, but once it does you will be getting what you need and nothing you don't.
Always remember it's the eating and sleeping that get you the results actually...the exercising is merely the catalyst for things that happen after it.
Well, I enjoy biking as it seems easier and a pretty strenuous hour bike ride I'm guessing is about as good as a half an hour run or more.
It is impossible for fat to just magically turn to muscle. You lose fat or you gain muscle. Only if your lucky and at the newbie phase will both happen at the same time. Whether you trim down or become "huge" is ALL in your diet.
Before I explain why weight training is important let's talk about fat loss vs weight loss. Fat is the bad guy. Excessive fat is what causes health problems and make you unhappy with your body. Muscle is the good guy. Muscle makes you looks good, keeps you strong, and raises metabolism. The problem is, with cardio and diet alone, you'll end up losing too much muscle and not enough fat. This is why so many people diet down and then gain it right back. They've lose too much muscle and they end up with a skinny-fat physique with a slow metabolism to go along with it. Due to the fact that having muscle does burn calories, when your body is in a calorie defecit, what do you think it'll want to get rid of first? You guessed it, muscle. Your body will attempt to get rid of the muscle to bring your caloric expensiture down, since fat doesn't use much energy to store. However, muscle does.
This is why it is so important to minimzie muscle loss when losing weight. Fat is the bad guy, not muscle. This is where weight training comes in. After you lift heavy weights your body goes straight to work repairing and reinforcing muscle tissue so your body can handle it next time. While in a calorie defecit it is near impossible to gain muscle. Gaining muscle would require a calorie surplus. However, weight training is important when trying to lose fat, because its like convincing your body to keep the muscle because you're using it. Since your in a calorie defecit, your body is going to have to do something. So the next option is to get rid of fat. That's how to convince your body to lose fat, not muscle - weight training.
Cardio on the other hand, does not have near this effect. In fact, over time cardio will actually make your muscles smaller due to it being so much work to haul them around. Done right cardio is great for heart health and creating a small calorie defecit, which will allow you more flexibility in your diet. However, cardio should not be used as the main way to lose fat because of the fact that it doesn't convince your body to keep muscle and it only creates a small calorie defecit. To lose a pound of fat, you'd need to create a defecit of 3500 calories. There's the problem, it will take a hell of a lot of cardio to burn even a pound in a week from cardio alone. Also, if you actually did do enough to burn that much, you'd be burning quite a bit of muscle along the way as well.
This brings me to my next point - Diet. Diet is the single most important factor when it comes to reaching your goals. Hell, I would say its about 85% of it, and I'm not lieing. Even with tons of exercise, even if you're only eating a tiny bit more than what you expend, you'll steadily gain weight and unless you're lifting weights, most of it will be fat. So you have to eat less than you expend in a day in order to lose weight. The very first step anybody who is planning to fix their diet to do is see how their diet currently looks. Without any changes. The reason for this, is then you know what doesn't work, and you can go from there. So, my suggestion to you is go to fitday.com, make an account, and track everything you eat for an entire week. Fitday is a great way to keep track of how many calories you've consumed and gives a breakdown of macronutrients. If, after that week, you did not gain nor lose any weight, than that is your "maintence calories." In order to lose weight you want to eat less than your maintence.
However, before you even begin dropping calories, I'd get your macronutrients in check. First of all, you should be getting 1g of protein per pound of lean body mass (if you don't know this, just use your target weight) and fat should be 0.5g per pound. The rest can be filled with whatever you want, as long as you stay under your maintence calories. As long as you stay under that value and you meet the mininums for fat and protein, it's really all personal preference. Some people like to eat less carbs because carbs generally make them more hungry while protein and fats keep them full. Just mess around with it trying to find what you are comfortable with. This will vary from person to person. In addition to carbs, protein, and fats, you should be getting around 25g of fibre. Also, drink tons of water. I ussually drink about 1-2 gallons a day. Both the fibre and extra water will help with hunger.
Only after you are comfortable with the new macronutrient levels, would I drop calories. So eat at maintence for a few days, see how it feels make any adjustments, and then start dropping calories. However. you don't want to drop calories too much or you risk losing muscle and it'll make it harder for you to stick to the diet anyway. 10-20% is usually good. As was previously suggested, having multiple small meals a day does help. This way you are feeding yourself frequently, which can definitely help with appetite control. Also, planning your meals ahead of time is definitely the way to go. There's also nothing wrong with taking a "cheat meal" every week or two either. Not only is it good for your metabolism, but its nice to have a break every now and then.
Now that diet is out of the way, lets discuss the ideal weight training routine. The ideal weight lifting routine would consist of mainly compound movements, to stimulate the most muscle. For a novice, I personally prefer a 3x a week full body routine. The main reasons being it keeps things simple, which is good for a beginner to not really overwhelm them, and a higher frequency of the heavy compound lifts means more practice on form. Learning proper form is the most important thing for a beginner IMO, and a full body routine will accomplish this best. Also, as a nove you're really not able to tax your body beyond its ability to recover. So you should use that to your advantage. Once you actually move past the novice phase you will actually become more prone to overtraining, and a 4-day split is good in this case. As a novice, you should build a good foundation using the basic compound lifts, work on form and moving more weight on the basic compound lifts, then move on. You don't want to overwhelm yourself right at the beginning and lose focus of what's most important. That being the basic compound lifts.
With that said, I would suggest the Starting Strength routine by Mark Rippetoe:
Workout A:
Squat 3x5
Bench 3x5
Deadlift 1x5
Workout B:
Squat 3x5
Military Press 3x5
Pendlay Rows 3x5
You'd do it three times a week alternating between the two. Remember to start very light (even with the bar if you've never done the movement before) and slowly work your way up. Keep the weight the same throughout all the sets as well. If you feel you can move up in weight next session, do so. Try to push yourself to increase weight, but don't add too much weight to where your form begins to become sloppy. I actually highly suggest getting the book Starting Strength to help you with form on the major compound lifts.
As for cardio, do whatever you enjoy. I would try to change cardio up though. Don't just do the same thing. Do some high intensity interval training (HIIT) along with Steady State (SS) cardio. Hill training works well also. Ideally HIIT and Hills should be done on their own day though. I would also suggest at least one day a week where you rest from all training, including cardio and weight training. I'll say exactly what I said before. Cardio plus diet alone is not the way to go. As you get better at cardio, your heart and lungs get stronger, but your body also becomes better at utilizing the body fat you have. Decreasing your metabolism, making it harder to burn calories while doing it. Meaning as your body gets used to it, you could be doing more cardio, but still burning the same amount of calories you burnt before. Not only that, but your body will start tapping into your muscles for energy.
Cardio + diet alone will make your body less efficient at burning fat. It's as simple as that. In the end, you'll lose weight, but a lot will be muscle and you'll be left a skinny-fat person with a slow metabolism who can't keep the weight off.
As I have said before I don't have any exercising equipment besides my bike, and all I really want to do is just drastically limit portions and cut "fake" food and junk food out of my food.
I did however get done with biking and took a top part of my body pic in the bathroom mirror, memory card reader really doesn't want to work (always had the same problem with this one flash card) so I will find the USB cable tomorrow and upload it.
I need to find a scale.
This time I brought my sweat rag, water bottle, and more flexible shorts.
Seat hurts my ass though now, I think I have a blister now
Forgot to stretch though
Had a bowl of rice krispies this morning with limited amount of 2%.
For lunch I had some leftover mashed potatoes.
Had the other 1/4 left for 3 o'clock snack, along with about 2 tbsp. mixed veggies, each had butter in them from last night and a tbsp. of peanut butter and some sunflower seeds.
Dinner I had a BLT sandwich with 3 slices of bacon (yeah parents...) and then like 2 other pieces by themselves
Somewhat legit, but still I had plenty of protein and had WAY smaller portions than I usually would have.
I did however get done with biking and took a top part of my body pic in the bathroom mirror, memory card reader really doesn't want to work (always had the same problem with this one flash card) so I will find the USB cable tomorrow and upload it.
I need to find a scale.
This time I brought my sweat rag, water bottle, and more flexible shorts.
Seat hurts my ass though now, I think I have a blister now
Forgot to stretch though
Had a bowl of rice krispies this morning with limited amount of 2%.
For lunch I had some leftover mashed potatoes.
Had the other 1/4 left for 3 o'clock snack, along with about 2 tbsp. mixed veggies, each had butter in them from last night
and a tbsp. of peanut butter and some sunflower seeds.Dinner I had a BLT sandwich with 3 slices of bacon (yeah parents...) and then like 2 other pieces by themselves
Somewhat legit, but still I had plenty of protein and had WAY smaller portions than I usually would have.
Didn't you say you were 17? Doesn't your school have a weight room? Even if you're school doesn't I'm sure there is a gym around...
If you REALLY cannot acces a gym (emphasize on the "really" as many people just make up excuses, and if they really wanted to, they'd find a way) then get an old knapsack/duffel bag, a pillow case (maybe two), some duct tape, some sand, and make yourself a sandbag. You could also use an old soccer ball to make a medicine ball, use a sled with weights on it for sled dragging, get a large tire for tire flipping, fill a bucket with sand and do rows with it, etc. Really the possibilities are endless, and you don't *need* special equipment for it either.
iamwiz82
Lifer
- Jan 10, 2001
- 30,772
- 13
- 81
I have lost just about 60lbs now since February and i haven't had any sort of excercise routine because I absolutely hate it. I feel as though nothing is being accomplished. That is not to say I have not gotten any exercise, I just find things that make me feel like I have accomplished something, usually around the house.
I also eat less. It's as simple as that. Why do you NEED that large fry? I still go to fast food joint, but I only get enough to fill me up, usually just a burger. At subway a 6" is more than enough to satisy my hunger, instead of the 12" I used to get. I now realize that I ate all that food simply because it was there. I would still do that, too. I have a need ot eat what I see on my plate, so I try to limit what i see.
I also eat less. It's as simple as that. Why do you NEED that large fry? I still go to fast food joint, but I only get enough to fill me up, usually just a burger. At subway a 6" is more than enough to satisy my hunger, instead of the 12" I used to get. I now realize that I ate all that food simply because it was there. I would still do that, too. I have a need ot eat what I see on my plate, so I try to limit what i see.
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