79 replies to this topic

[Zinix]

Okay guys, I need your help. I'm 5'10" or 5'11 and 185 pounds. These past several years I've become non-active and have gained a substantial amount of weight. I desperately need to lose weight, more so than I care about gaining muscle mass. Just yesterday morning I have started the beginning of my journey to become healthy again. I know it's not much but it's a start for me; I rode my bike around my whole small town for 15 min, then I got home and did 50 crunches and 20 pushups. I was going to go on a run last night but something came up. Today I really couldn't exercise because I was sore, which you guys might think that's newbish but considering my body, it wasn't used to it. But tomorrow, I will replace biking for 15 min for running. And then also the crunches and pushups afterwards. I don't know if this is enough for me to lose weight but it's better than nothing I guess. If you guys could provide some input on what I should do that would be great.

I would suggest doing cardio until you meet your ideal weight, then you can worry about gain mass. Cut your calorie intake, eat healthier foods, drink more water, etc. Cut out all the processed and foods with high frutose corn syrup and eat wheat bread instead of white. Since you 5'11, I would actually suggest try running for 20 or 25 minutes since you're much taller and heavier. You can increase the time you run each week once your body gets used to running and gains more stamina. 

[nintendo3DS]

I'm gonna reply assuming you know nothing about dieting, just to make sure I cover everything.

 

Well, first off I suppose you should think about why you gained weight. Is it only inactivity or is your diet a little heavy on the calories? Even if your diet is balanced, you should probably still cut down on calories just to quicken your weight loss. Especially to even out those sore days where you let your body rest after working out.

 

The easiest way to cut down on calories is to cut out liquid calories. So, basically stick to water and tea. I like to use stevia to sweeten it as it's "natural" and 0 calories. If you're not too fond of tea, you can try herbal teas, or teas mixed with other flavors. Herbal teas can be a decent substitute for juice if you ice it, as they come in a lot of fruity flavors such as cherry and mixed berry. If you like sweets, you should look up some relatively healthy treats so you know what to grab when you get really bad cravings. To start with, fruit is a good substitute. Toast with jelly and a little cream cheese will help with pastry cravings in particular.

 

Next, you should eat at least three meals a day, and you should never skip breakfast. Skipping breakfast makes you save calories instead of burning them, so make sure you eat something with at least some amount of carbs and protein in the morning to keep full and resist snacks.

 

Make sure you stick to whole grains, it keeps your belly feeling full longer, regardless of if it's healthier than white or not.

 

Protein-wise, try to lean more towards poultry, seafood, and other lean meats such as bison. Bison is a delicious substitute for beef!

 

In the end, even if you don't take any of the other advice, just count your calories, even if you're not exact with it. You don't need to bother with low carb diets or anything crazy, just stick to the simple science of the more calories you consume, the more you're going to have to burn off. Male adults usually need around 2,000 daily, so try to keep under that. Remember to take into consideration the calories you burn by working out also. You don't need to eat less than 2,000 if you know you're going to burn 500 exercising.

 

Exercise wise... I'm not too knowledgable on that end, I stick to simple things like walking or running, but you should consider trying some simple yoga exercises to mix it up a little and do on the days you're too tired to do much else. Try to do at least 30 minutes several times a week, preferably around 6 days. Also, Wii Fit isn't such a gimmick. I'm not saying to go out and buy it, but if you have fun exercising you're more likely to do it. Most people listen to music but I like to watch shows while exercising, especially because it provides a good way to time your workout sessions.

Wow, thank you so much man.

 

You were right about me not knowing about the whole dieting thing.

I do love tea, but I usually drink my moms sweet tea - which has a bit of sugar in it. The only other "healthy" tea I drink is diet Gold Peak Tea. 

I will now also substitute white bread for wheat and will try counting my calories and whatnot. 

Thanks again, lxchel and Zenix (I couldn't quote you 'cause you're on the next page), I really appreciate it.

[Ixchel]

Wow, thank you so much man.

 

You were right about me not knowing about the whole dieting thing.

I do love tea, but I usually drink my moms sweet tea - which has a bit of sugar in it. The only other "healthy" tea I drink is diet Gold Peak Tea. 

I will now also substitute white bread for wheat and will try counting my calories and whatnot. 

Thanks again, lxchel and Zenix (I couldn't quote you 'cause you're on the next page), I really appreciate it.

Haha wow sorry about the wall of text. I didn't realize I wrote so much until I submitted it.

A little sugar is okay. You don't need to go that intense with the counting unless you have specific goals or health reasons.
I think sweet tea and gold peak are both black tea. You could try green, white, and red rooibos for some variety, if you're interested. Rooibos in particular tastes similar to black but... Fruitier? Pretty interesting, still not quite sure if I like that variety myself lol.

[AIR]

I go do crossfit daily I love it!

[meitantei_conan]

Make this short and simple

 

Diet: Eat a diet rich in variety with little to no processed foods. veggies and fruit, bread(with most fiber and least amount of additives), eggs, fish, chicken, beef,pork,oats,brown rice,nuts,butter(NO MARGARINE),coconut oil, olive oil, water,tea,coffee,milk,yogurt,cheese(DO NOT GO LOW FAT ON THESE). calculate daily caloric needs take away 500-200 calories and that will be your daily caloric value. implement a cheat day at the end of the week for sanity purposes. x2 you daily caloric needs and eat whatever you want. though try to skip the sugary drinks. basically moderation. 

 

Exercise: weight training is the best form of exercise for weight loss mixed in with some cardio. Work out 3 times per week for  an hour each session, no less no more. you must give your body 1 day to fully recover after an intense work out. Only doing Cardio will aid to muscle wasting, which you do not want, so instead of burning fat you burn muscle tissue and then you end up skinny fat. plus weight training boosts testosterone and has a longer metabolic effect than simple running, also you build lean muscle which burns fat! the best form of cardio is HITT. Also walking is very good form of exercise. 

 

I actually typed up a full in depth page but... something happened and i lost everything. if you have any questions just ask. also everything i told you here worked for me, I lost 100 pounds and have kept it off for 2 years.Studying to become a dietician, so hope this helps

 

Okay guys, I need your help. I'm 5'10" or 5'11 and 185 pounds. These past several years I've become non-active and have gained a substantial amount of weight. I desperately need to lose weight, more so than I care about gaining muscle mass. Just yesterday morning I have started the beginning of my journey to become healthy again. I know it's not much but it's a start for me; I rode my bike around my whole small town for 15 min, then I got home and did 50 crunches and 20 pushups. I was going to go on a run last night but something came up. Today I really couldn't exercise because I was sore, which you guys might think that's newbish but considering my body, it wasn't used to it. But tomorrow, I will replace biking for 15 min for running. And then also the crunches and pushups afterwards. I don't know if this is enough for me to lose weight but it's better than nothing I guess. If you guys could provide some input on what I should do that would be great. 

 

Edited by meitantei_conan, 03 August 2013 - 06:50 PM.

[BnB]

 

Exercise: weight training is the best form of exercise for weight loss mixed in with some cardio. Work out 3 times per week for  an hour each session, no less no more. you must give your body 1 day to fully recover after an intense work out. Only doing Cardio will aid to muscle wasting, which you do not want, so instead of burning fat you burn muscle tissue and then you end up skinny fat. plus weight training boosts testosterone and has a longer metabolic effect than simple running, also you build lean muscle which burns fat! the best form of cardio is HITT. Also walking is very good form of exercise. 

 

This ^

[Xiombarg]

meitantei_conan, on 03 Aug 2013 - 8:31 PM, said:

 

Exercise: weight training is the best form of exercise for weight loss mixed in with some cardio. Work out 3 times per week for  an hour each session, no less no more. you must give your body 1 day to fully recover after an intense work out. Only doing Cardio will aid to muscle wasting, which you do not want, so instead of burning fat you burn muscle tissue and then you end up skinny fat. plus weight training boosts testosterone and has a longer metabolic effect than simple running, also you build lean muscle which burns fat! the best form of cardio is HITT. Also walking is very good form of exercise. 

 

To be honest, I haven't actually had this problem, and I do cardio regularly.

But then again, I'm not trying to lose any weight, I don't need to.

[Zinix]

There isn't anything wrong with him doing cardio. Once he lost the certain the amount of weight he wants to lose, he could regain the muscle he lost. 

 

 

[ugguy]

I suffer from really bad gym fear, today I went to my local gym and got to the door and looked inside and just had get away. I was like "who am I kidding? I will never have the nerve to go into a room full of complete strangers, most of them much bigger and taller than me, and ask the guy at reception to sign me up without my voice quiwering from the sheer fear and nervousness and sounding like a right girl."

 

Damn, I don't even like going out anyway in public anywhere, so going to a gym is just out of the question.

 

Edit: Rather ironic that I have a Shyguy pic under my avatar.

Edited by ugguy, 05 August 2013 - 02:30 PM.

[BnB]

I suffer from really bad gym fear, today I went to my local gym and got to the door and looked inside and just had get away. I was like "who am I kidding? I will never have the nerve to go into a room full of complete strangers, most of them much bigger and taller than me, and ask the guy at reception to sign me up without my voice quiwering from the sheer fear and nervousness and sounding like a right girl."

 

Damn, I don't even like going out anyway in public anywhere, so going to a gym is just out of the question.

 

Edit: Rather ironic that I have a Shyguy pic under my avatar.

 

lol I used to fear the gym aswell.

It's really not that bad, everybody just keeps to themselves. Might help to bring a buddy for a few days until you get used to it. After that, you should be fine,

[ugguy]

lol I used to fear the gym aswell.

It's really not that bad, everybody just keeps to themselves. Might help to bring a buddy for a few days until you get used to it. After that, you should be fine,

 

I haven't got any buddies, I told you: I don't go out.

[nintendo3DS]

I haven't got any buddies, I told you: I don't go out.

What about family? 

[ugguy]

What about family? 

 

My 16 year old nephew is the only member of my family that I would want to go there with, and just last week he was mocking me for not being able to kick a ball properly. Soooo..no.

[BnB]

Then I guess you won't be going to the gym then.

[meitantei_conan]

 

There isn't anything wrong with him doing cardio. Once he lost the certain the amount of weight he wants to lose, he could regain the muscle he lost. 

 

Nothing is wrong with cardio but he should also include some sort of resistance training. The more lean muscle mass you have on your body the easier it is for you to burn fat, so for him to just be doing cardio will result in him losing some fat and alot of muscle, it would be best for him to keep whatever muscle mass he has now. Most cardio doesn't have the long lasting metabolic fat burning effect that resistance training offers. HITT (high intensity interval training) is one of the most effective forms of cardio, as it also triggers the same long lasting fat burning effect that resistance training does. Its up to him if he wants to do just cardio: lose the muscle he has now and later  become increasingly difficult for him to lose the remainder of the weight or resistance and cardio: keep the muscle, gain strength, and lose weight . Plus gaining muscle is much harder to do than losing it so for him to lose the muscle now and later try to regain it will take even longer. 

To be honest, I haven't actually had this problem, and I do cardio regularly.

But then again, I'm not trying to lose any weight, I don't need to.

 

 

that's the thing you aren't decreasing your calories you are in a state of homeostasis you aren't losing or gaining weight, you are maintaining it.

[Xiombarg]

 that's the thing you aren't decreasing your calories you are in a state of homeostasis you aren't losing or gaining weight, you are maintaining it.

Alright, that makes sense.

[Zinix]

I suffer from really bad gym fear, today I went to my local gym and got to the door and looked inside and just had get away. I was like "who am I kidding? I will never have the nerve to go into a room full of complete strangers, most of them much bigger and taller than me, and ask the guy at reception to sign me up without my voice quiwering from the sheer fear and nervousness and sounding like a right girl."

 

Damn, I don't even like going out anyway in public anywhere, so going to a gym is just out of the question.

 

Edit: Rather ironic that I have a Shyguy pic under my avatar.

I had the same feeling when I started. I was surrounded by muscular dudes and I was scrawny and weak. You'll eventually get over the fear if you don't give a damn.  I'm not exactly the biggest guy neither, 5'7, which is strange because both my brother and father are 6 feet tall. 

Edited by Y2Kev, 11 August 2013 - 08:51 AM.

[Foot]

I am one of those people who can eat WHATEVER he wants and lose weight, so that's good for me.

 

On the topic,Now I exercise maybe 2-3 times a week on arms and abs only. Before when I had a gym membership I would go 5 times a week for 3-4 hours at a time. Never really got into leg and pecs exercises but if anyone has some effective ones please tell me! lol

[grahamf]

Vertical 69

[Zinix]

Bring this up.