I need some help......got to get rid of this weight. (1 Viewer)

[LaMarcus]

I need some kind of diet, if you met me today for the first time you'd think I was not over weight. I look pretty medium sized, but you can see I'm getting a beer gut.

I'm 5'11", and ever since I 15 to 18 I could never get past 165 lbs. And I was really trying because I used to really be into body building. I was 165 and benching 300lbs (no joke).

Then at 19, I went to the military and gained weight in boot camp, I got up to 186 in 1996. Today, I'm 235!! And the muscles are almost completely non visible. When people see me that knew me in high school can't believe that I'm not a body builder anymore and I've gained so much weight.

I need some help getting back to my old self. But with work and school, I find myself too tired to exercise, and my diet isn't the best either. I turned 27 in August this year I want to do something about this before it's too late. Any advice?

 

[Michael Martin]

My advice is going to be very boring, but most likely the safest and healthiest:

Avoid any and all fad diets. Yes, that even means Atkins.

Start an eating journal. Just write down what you eat, when you eat it, and how much. The only reason for this is for you to get a good, objective look at your eating habits. Once you have a couple of weeks journaled, take a hard look at what you're eating, why (are you eating because you're hungry? bored? because you always eat when watching a movie?) and make some adjustments for a healthier diet of food.

Find one or two types of exercise that you enjoy doing - swimming, cycling, weight-lifting, running....something. Start doing one of them on a consistent basis - 3-4 times a week. However, take it easy. You didn't put the weight on overnight, and you're not going to tone up your body by doing too much. If possible, hold yourself accountable to someone - enlist a friend to start with you or at least regularly ask you if you're exercising.

Most importantly, talk to your doctor. Get a complete physical, tell him what your specific goal is, and ask the best way to pursue a slimmer, healthier you is. I know guys HATE going to the doctor, but think of this as preventative.

Finally, don't beat yourself up over how you look now and how you want to look. Give yourself credit for each step and day, and take a long-term view of finding a leaner, faster LaMarcus.

 

[Aaron_Mum]

Here lies your answer, eat better and exercise. Problem is that when you are out of shape and eat a lot of fat you are tired all the time. Therefore the thought of doing anything more that your daily schedule seems impossible. If you tough it out for a few months you will begin to get more and more energy.

You have to make a plan on how to eat different and you have to start exercising. You will feel like absolute junk for at least a few weeks but after that it will slowly get easier. You have to tough it out, it's that simple.

I'm 28, 5'10'' and have gone from 203 to 193 this past summer/fall and still dropping. I banned myself from all fast food this summer except subway, stopped drinking coffee, and jog a 1/2 hr everyweek day morning. Getting up early sucks but I wouldn't miss it now. I really notice how crappy I feel without exercising!

The hardest part is starting up. You have to be really stubborn with yourself and not give yourself any excuses.

 

[Glenn Overholt]

Gee, in the beginning you sounded like me. I was 135 lbs when I joined up, and gained 20 pounds in boot camp. It wasn't that I was eating more, it was that I was moving around less then I was on the outside. When I got a week off after boot camp, I lost nearly all of it.

15 years later, I was at about 165, but not at your age. I think there is something medically wrong. Thin people burn off the fat quickly, and for you to change like that in just a few years shows that. Sorry, but you need to get a physical.

Glenn

 

[Julian Reville]

The first thing I would recommend doing is getting a GOOD physical exam AND some basic bloodwork (CBC, Chemistry panel, T4) and urinalysis. Make sure you don't have some metabolic reason for being tired. Hypothyroidism can make you feel like you are carrying a 80lb ruck all of the time.

If everything checks out OK, then start with the exercise program: weights and running/jogging/walking, whatever your knees can take.

Eat healthy, but don't cut your calories below 10/lb/day until you have been exercising regularly for at least 2 months.

I'm 5'8", weighed 181 this morning, down from my hoggish high of 213, still trying to get to 170. My left knee sounds like somebody eating Captain Crunch whenever I jog. Only a really good day, I can bench 200 once, but I can still pass the AFPT for my age bracket (the over 50 old farts)

 

[Sami Kallio]

There isn't necessarily anything wrong with him. He said he used to lift weights and with that comes a big appetite. Once you stop exercising the appetite usually stays and now you will start gaining weight when in the past you used all the energy.

You don't need to exercise to lose the weight, you can do it by simple changes in the diet. Exercise will help but will not work without a proper diet. I stopped working out and I'm down almost 20lb (190-195 to 170-175), mostly fat but also some muscle. Changing diet habits (mostly just eating less) was the key factor. Now I'm starting lifting again in hopes I will gain at least 10lb back in muscle.

If you're a big soda drinker, cutting down will help. This was one my biggest weaknesses. Now I only drink soda occasionally and got free of two harmful things; empty calories and caffeine.

 

[shaniceMW]

omg no junk food? j/k. when i started doing step aerobics and lifting weights the fat just seemed to melt away. then i got lazy and all that weight i lost i found again. back to the gym for me...

 

[John Alvarez]

Why? Caffine is dieretic and will get rid of water. Just don't use cream and sugar. Also do your cardio in the morning on an empty stomach. This will make your body burn fat as fuel instead of sugars you have just ingested.

 

[shaniceMW]

i cant do the empty stomach thing. first i am no where near a morning person. but i did stop putting cream and sugar in my coffee and found out i love coffee like that. i figured as long as i was getting in the gym it was a good thing. i am feeling guilty about this slurpee and popcorn right about now. dang. i guess i'm not having spaghetti for dinner tonight either. back to the gym i go

 

[Holadem]

Nope, it's too late.

--
H

 

[John Alvarez]

I'm not a morning person either. After I got married I knew that was the only way I was ever going to make it in the gym. After being off for a year and eating all that great Cuban food my wife cooks I knew I had to do it. Now I get up at 5:00 and get to the gym, take a shower and go to work. After the first 2 months I knew I could never stop now. What a great way to sart the day and get your blood pumping.

 

[Michael Toguchi]

This is great advice. I found that if I didn't have somebody watching over my back I would easily slide back to my bad eating habits. A plus with getting a friend to go into the healthy habits with you starts up a kind of competition, which even further drives the desire to reach your goals.

 

[Sami Kallio]

Substituting whole wheat pasta in place of "enriched" pasta will help quite a lot. Carbs are not the enemy, just the processed ones without any fiber. When you buy bread, always check the fiber value. Suprisingly many "healthy looking" brown bread is very low in fiber, the only way to know is to look at the label. Subway breads, even wheat, are all quite low on fiber which is a shame.

 

[shaniceMW]

what about fruits? are they good or bad? i love salads and i love fruit. but fruit is not something i have to have. if i had to eat three salads a day to stick to a diet, that is not hard for me to do. my problem is sticking with the fad diets because i am not too much of a "routine" person. i cant just eat beef every day and stuff like that.

 

[Leila Dougan]

Carbs, in and of themselves, are not the enemy, but the types and quantities are.

Whole grains, fruit and veggies are your friends. The problem is all those other carbs, such as sugar and white, processed flour. Keep track of everything (everything!) you eat. Sign up with www.fitday.com which is a great, free way to track your eating. Avoid too many carbs at one time. My limit is about 30g every 2 hours. That's all your body uses so any more than that, is just going to get stored as fat. So it's about eating carbs moderately. Instead of a 100g carb bowl of spaghetti, try something with a lot more protein and a lot fewer carbs (and make those good carbs). Those 100g of carbs would be better spent spread throughout the day, not in one sitting.

 

[Sami Kallio]

Fruits and berries are good (vitamins, fiber and minerals), just remember that they contain a lot of fructose which is a form of sugar (calories). Also pay attention to what they contain as different fruits/berries are quite different.

http://www.driscollsberries.com/html...nutrition.html

 

[Julian Reville]

It also helps to avoid the store-bought fruits and berries, as they are full of really bad things. For maximum weight loss you should only eat wild fruits & berries that you pick yourself. I guarantee the weight will melt away.

 

[Jason GT]

Ah, these ever popular threads

Exercise and diet - that's really it. Personally I've found that it's difficult for me (due to various reasons) to get into a gym/workout sort of routine. My solution? Play team sports. I find it more enjoyable than just working out solo at the gym and there's a social aspect to it as well, which is nice.

Drink more water. Sometimes when you feel like a snack, try drinking a glass (or two) of water. At least for myself it sometimes seems like I'm not really hungry - just have an empty stomach (in case that makes sense).

As for caffeine - sure it's a diuretic, but that isn't necessarily a good thing. Ingesting too much caffeine simply makes you more thirsty - which is pretty evil when you're slurping pop and coffee to quency your thirst. It's potentially a vicious cycle. For those hung up on weight, water weight lost isn't really weight lost.

 

[LaMarcus]

Man I really appreciate the response on this one. I really feel ashamed of myself; I'm such a cliché, star athlete in school, weight lifting freak turned slob.

A friend of mine always picks with me saying "Man you used to be my role model, you used to be diesel!!...Damn you Jenni!!!!” Jenni is fiancée; we've been together about 6 years. She's from the south, and all that damn soul food over the years, she's put a belly on me. I blame her and Budweiser!!

Funny thing is she was a track star in college at Western Kentucky State, so she and I had nice figures when we met in the Air Force. 6 six years, 2 kids later I'm 5'11" 235 lbs from 185, she's 5'1" 140lbs from 129. We both are desperate to get our figures back. I'm going to take all of the advice my fellow members have given me and apply it as best as I can. I may follow up with some picture progress.

 

[LaMarcus]

Actually Jenni still looks really good (but you can't tell women anything),she still has the muscles in her arms (not so much her legs), women still ask her if she lifts weights she's just naturally toned. Me on the other hand every one's comment is "Your getting a little belly on you, OOooh you've gained weight in your face", Bastards!