Ok, what to do?

[Saulbadguy]

Here is the deal - I have to lose girth. The girth is becoming a major annoyance, and can't be good for my health. The belly, the ponch, the moobs, it all must go.

How quickly can I do this? If you fitness experts needed to lose a massive amount of body fat, what would your plan be?

Background information:

Age 26
5'9
235 lbs
size 42 waist
Mainly sedentary office job, at my desk most of the day.

I want to lose weight, of course, but I understand this needs to be a lifestyle change. I eat like shit, don't exercise, but that will all change.

I don't want to join a gym. I've got enough equipment at home I can manage w/ an exercise routine, plus my favorite activity is walking/jogging. My main problem with that is that after 5/10 minutes of doing that, the sides of my shins tighten up and feel like they are going to rip. Very painful. If I stick w/ the routine, eventually it will get better, but it really hurts. We also have an elliptical at home..problem with that is, I can use it for like 2 minutes and then my thighs tighten up and really start hurting. Probably a stretching issue...i've always thought I stretched well but maybe not?

And..for eating, I eat like shit right now, but I think I understand what I need to do, but would like some clarification. I think eating small meals throughout the day would be better, but I don't have a whole lot of time to prepare things. Are protein shakes acceptable for someone trying to lose fat, but not so much concerned with adding muscle (important later..?)

Any help, guidance, motivational speeches would be appreciated. I'll answer any other questions you have, I realize this may not be too clear. Thx.

 

[Crono]

<disclaimer>
The advice I'm giving you now is my own, not that of a doctor, professional athlete, or bodybuilder. It is all advice I have taken myself, and have found to be very useful. You should always consult with a professional before attempting any of the exercises or dietary changes I recommend.
</disclaimer>

Exercise
The key to exercise is working your way up in intensity over time by taking small steps. I think stretching is really important. Stretching your major muscle groups using these 10 stretches
( http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stretching/SM00043 ) is a good start, and should limber you up and also prevent
you from hurting yourself. You should do all 10 before starting your workout sessions, and afterwards as well. When you're at the office, you can stretch also (http://www.sport-fitness-advis...dumbbellexercises.html )
and I would recommend getting up for 5 minutes every hour or so that you are sitting down.

As a primary exercise for your workout session, I would recommend using an exercise bike. They are low impact and easy to use. People already moderately fit may have no problem hitting the treadmills, ellipticals, or jogging for extended periods of time, but I think the humble exercise bike is the best for those of us whose muscles and joints can't take all that strain. I've lost about 20 lbs in a about 8 months (YMMV, of course) and gained a lot of leg muscle just using an old exercise bike an average of an hour a day. If you don't have one already, I highly recommend getting one. To start, find the maximum speed that you can maintain for 30 minutes or so. For 6 days straight, keep going at that speed for 30 minutes, every day, and on the 7th day take a break. The next week, challenge yourself: Increase the average speed by a mile per hour. Again, exercise for 6 days straight, 30 minutes a day, rest on the 7th. The 3rd week, try increasing the speed again by 1 mile per hour and/or increase the time by 5 minutes (if you can). 6 days at this pace,
1 day of rest. The main thing is to keep increasing your intensity and duration, and challenge yourself. Continue this pattern of increasing the speed and time little by little; if at any point it gets to be too much, default back to the previous level you could achieve for a while, and then attempt the increase again. Once you can do 45 minutes - 1 hour on the bike,
stop increasing the duration and focus on increasing the speed. Add "bursts" of speed of 1 - 2 minutes in which you rapidly pedal, then slow down back to normal speed. I personally like to exercise to intense music, but sometimes I'll watch TV or a movie (I have a laptop hooked up to a monitor in front of my exercise bike). If you limit yourself to watching TV only when biking, you'll find an incentive to exercise more. It's important that you find exercise interesting; later on, when you are more in shape the exerise itself may become fun/challenging for you, but if you're a couch potato you'll find yourself being bored initially and give up too easily.

As secondary exercise, I would recommend lifting weights. If you don't know proper form for lifting weights, learn first from a trainer or class. If you have dumbells, use them. Find out what the maximum weights you can lift for 1-2 sets of 10 - 12 repetitions without hurting yourself, and stick with them for 3 weeks. After 3 weeks, try increasing the weights by a single increment (i.e., if you were using 8 lb dumbbells, try 10 lb dumbbells. If you can't do it, go back to the previous weights and stick with them for 2 more weeks and try again. Here is a list of different dumbbell exercises that work out different muscle groups; do 1 exercise from each group every workout session. Work out with weights only every other day to allow muscles to heal.

Walking is good excercise, but unless you walk fast or with hand/leg weights or uphill, you probably won't lose much weight (unless you walk for hours every day).
Walking is a good supplemental exercise, though, and if you enjoy walking you should definitely do it as much as possible.


Diet
I think the simplest way to lose weight by your diet is to eliminate as many as processed foods as possible, limit your calories, and eat a variety of fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
Drink enough water (you can usually tell if you are getting enough water if you urine is nearly clear or perfectly clear), and get enough sleep (7 - 9 hours).
You can figure out how many calories your body needs a day to maintain its weight(roughly) using a calculator ( http://www.mayoclinic.com/heal...rie-calculator/NU00598 ). Subtract 300 calories from that, and that should be
your daily calorie goal. Try not to go over that and, along with exercise, you will lose weight and become healthier. The Food Pyramid (customized) is actually a very good guideline for nutrition ( http://www.mypyramid.gov/mypyramid/index.aspx ).

Protein shakes are ok as meal replacements, though I personally prefer bars. Eating 5 -6 smaller meals of 300 - 400 calories spaced out over the day (every 3 hours or so) will keep your metabolism at a higher level and also allow you to eat less fatty foods without getting hungry all the time (fat is more satiating, but also higher in calories).

 

[thespeakerbox]

Your shins shouldnt hurt when you walk for 10 minuts. Something is very wrong. Esp @ 235 . In comparison to the rest of the nation, its really not that bad. Check with a doctor before you do any more cardio.

 

[skace]

First off, I think it is a mistake of most beginners looking to lose fat to say something to the effect of "I want to lose fat but I'm won't be concerned about muscle until later". Do yourself a favor and change that opinion. You want muscle, if only for the fact that you want to maintain the muscle that is probably hiding under your fat.

Note: Even though a day is dedicated to stretching, it is assumed that you will perform proper stretching after every single workout day (including walking). Also, it is expected that every workout goes to failure, if you can do more pushups but you stop because you did 10 then you are wasting a workout.

Phase 1:
Diet: Cut soda. Start drinking water.
Monday: Pushups, Situps
Tuesday: Walk
Wednesday: Pushups, Situps
Thursday: Walk
Friday:
Saturday: Light Warmup and then dedicate the entire workout period to stretching.

Phase 2:
Diet: Cut snacks. Ensure daily fiber intake is sufficient (possible fiber supplement).
Monday: Pushups (exercise variation), Situps (exercise variation), Air Lunges, Air Squats, Dumbbell Curls
Tuesday: Walk
Wednesday: Pushups, Situps, Air Lunges, Air Squats, Dumbbell Curls
Thursday: Walk
Friday:
Saturday: Light Warmup and then dedicate the entire workout period to stretching.

Phase 3:
Diet: Start drinking a protein shake/smoothie.
Monday: Dumbbell Curls, Hammer Curls, Skull crushers, Dumbbell bench press
Tuesday: Jog
Wednesday: Pushups (exercise variation), Situps (exercise variation), Air Lunges, Air Squats
Thursday: Jog
Friday:

Phase 4:
Diet: Replace white starches w/ whole wheat. Increase vegetable intake.
Monday: Dumbbell Curls, Hammer Curls, Skull crushers, Dumbbell bench press
Tuesday: Jog
Wednesday: Pushups (exercise variation), Situps (exercise variation), Air Lunges, Air Squats, Chinups
Thursday: Jog
Friday: Dumbbell Squat and Lunges

Phase 5:
Diet: Lower carbs if needed
Monday: Dumbbell Squat + Arnold Press, Bent Arm Pullover w/ Chest Press, Dumbbell Lunge w/ Bicep Curl
Tuesday: Jog / Sprint
Wednesday: Pushups (exercise variation), Situps (exercise variation), Air Lunges, Air Squats, Chinups [Do entire routine under the guidelines of Tabata]
Thursday: Jog / Sprint
Friday: Javorek Dumbbell Complex: Upright Row, Supinated Curl, Overhead Press, Hammer Curl, Squat-Push Press, High-Pull Snatch

I broke this up into phases. They were originally months, but that didn?t seem necessary since it could be a month, it could be just 1 week if one phase is easy for you, it could be 2-3 months if you get stuck on something. Also, I broke the diet portion up into phases, even though there is really no need to phase it out. It kind of depends on how much you love your food and what you eat. The more you enjoy what you currently eat, the more difficult it is going to be for you to change those eating habits and you may benefit from having it pieced out like this.

Also, I have no way of knowing if my advice here is the best way. I just tried to think about how my own workout routine changed as I learned. And looking back how I would have pieced it out knowing what I know now. At first I wanted to make Phase 1 more involved, but realized that if I think back to the shape I was in then, I really wouldn?t have been able to do it with success if I tried to go too quickly.

Phase 6 would probably be beyond my current level. Additional back, shoulder and leg workouts, possibly including carb cycling on the diet side.

Oh and anyone who wants to critique this, please do. The comments would probably benefit my own routine.