Hi,

Just signed up, its my first post of many to come.

Well, im 17 going on 18, and live in the northern area of England.
Im 252 pounds, 5'10. Im at college full time (9-5pm) and seriously need a few tips and a couple questions answering and would appreciate anyone who could help me out.

I have set a goal of losing 52 pounds, which is a little under 4 stone by the end of the year. Is this a little unrealistic?

Also I was wondering if I could avoid the gym and work out at home maybe? Or is this a little unreastic aswell?

I was thinking maybe an oatey cereal for breakfast, fruit for lunch and pasta? for dinner.

Im completely clueless in this area, and again, would appreciate any comments on this.

Thanks.

Your goal should be to lose only body fat not lean mass. You are only going to be able to lose between 1 and 2 pounds of body fat per week. A nice goal to go for is 1.5 lbs. per week. With about 16 weeks left in 2007 you should be able to lose 25 to 32 pounds. I'm going to assume you don't have any experience working out at the gym and it seems that you aren't ready for gym workouts. The best possible workout for you at this point is walking. Try to build up slowly to 5 days per week 45 min fast walking. Walk slow a couple times a week at first and then add speed and duration and finally add more days. Once you get to the point that you can walk 5 days a week for 45min each day you can begin a Couch to 5k program. Push-ups, crunches and stretching are good exercises for at home. By next year you will probably be bored with walking and crunches and ready for the gym but you can decide when that time comes. What to eat? That is the question. Many posters on this site do shakes on their down days. I'm not a shake guy I have to eat. First of all get your calorie ranges from the Johnson up day down day site. Your down day will be at least 600 calories. That's 200 calories 3 times a day. I like an egg and toast for breakfast, 1/2 a sandwich for lunch and a little chicken for dinner. Drink lots of water. There is no real magic to this program it's all about the numbers. What you have to do is research foods you like and the amounts of those foods that may fit your numbers. It's a good idea to track your calorie intake on up days as well as down days. I use Calorie-counter.com but there are others. I am usually able to make it through my down days but I go a little crazy on my up days. So keep track of both. the most important thing to remember is to not get down on yourself and discouraged. It took a long time for you to put on those extra pounds and it's going to take a while to take them off. Give yourself a chance make you effort a long term project and don't let little setbacks turn into tailspins. This site is a good source of useful information. Please ask if you have questions.

good luck

Hi Soup,

I think the best way for you to really approach this is to see how things go. Yes, having a goal is fantastic and it is what pushes people on but sometimes its best to give your-self a long term goal? ie: drop 4 stone in a year. Adjust what you eat, by this I mean, cut out snacking and high calorie foods, or eat regularly, eat 5-8 portions of fruit and vegetables a day, drink 2 litters of water a day and of course, excersise. Excersise doesn't have to be in the gym, get out and walk, take the dog out, do some sit-ups at home.

It's all about what you want and what you’re doing now. By changing everything drastically over-night you do run the risk of equally, over-night doing what you did before.

So just take things slowly and maybe set your-self smaller goals as I personally believe 4 stone by the end of the year is a little much and maybe equally a little un-healthy.

The food seems fine but don't over do it with the pasta and remember to add some vegetables and protein too and that all-important WATER!

Best of luck and let us all know how you get on.

Thanks a lot Joe and Sam, brilliant advice.

I've heard a lot of people talking about meal replacements and protein shakes etc and only drinking bottled water. What do you think about this? Any risks? I thought the best way to go about weight loss was to do it the way everyone else does, a healthy diet and excersise.

wait a second guys, this dude is 250 lbs, not 600. I am pretty sure that setting a goal of 5 days a week of walking is severely underrating his potential.

Walking for an entire year? Jeez.

Dude, start jogging. Go outside and run slow as long as you can then walk a couple minutes. Then start running again and walk when you get winded again. Gradually take out the breaks and I am almost positive you will be able to run consecutive miles in about a month or so, it's far less difficult than anyone would have you realize.

Also, get thee to a gym and start lifting weights. Go for total body workouts and don't focus too much on stuff other than the basics: squat, bench, lunges, rows, military press, and a couple curls and extensions.

Do the run/walk (eventually all run) thing 75% of the time and 25% of the time concentrate on weights. If you want to lose weight, you need to do lots and lots of cardio.

5 days of 45 minutes of walking will not get it done. I mean it will...it will just take years. What is that, like 600 calories total?


Oh yeah, and take a long hard look at what you are eating and toss the junk. But keep the beer or you'll go crazy.

Adam,

Thanks for that. I'll follow it (esp. the last part!) and i'll sign up to the gym tomorow.

Weights... i've been told an upside would be that it increases metabolism, however a downside is you build muscle over fat, which will make me bigger.

As for the gym, how do you suggest I workout, days.. cardio/weights, running/rowing etc. Im not asking for a detailed plan, just outlines if your not too busy.

Thanks again Adam.

I have quite a bit more to lose than you do, but am looking at the run/walk and weight combo that you are interested in. Let me know what advice you get about your gym regimen as well. Best of luck!

Hi Soup the run walk combo is the best way to start a jogging plan, don't go straight into running on the first day for 30 mins because the chances are you haven’t done it for a while and will injure yourself, take it easy and do what you can do.

In answer to your timetable, I would do the following:

Day 1:Cardio Day
Day 2:25 mins cardio - High rep, low resistance weight
Day 3:25 mins cardio - High rep, low resistance weight
Day 4:Cardio Day
Day 5:25 mins cardio - High rep, low resistance weight

By doing High rep, low weights you are toning what muscle is they’re, building on it also and getting a cardio workout at the same time.

To be fair. Unless you live in a massive hard water area then tap water is fine, or filtered tap water if you wish, at this stage try and stay away from meal replacement. Just cut out the bad stuff, eat the good stuff, and drink water and exercise.

What gym are you thinking of joining?

Sam,

Thanks. I joined this morning. Its Greens health and fitness.

The plan looks great and i'll start it later today.

Cheers for the help!

- Soup

A whole grain cereal will keep you fuller longer(oatey would be good). Go for a balance of carbs/protein/(a little) fat at each meal. A person could not maintain fruit alone for long.

Check your target heart rate for exercise. There is a thread on that here. Walking might get your heart rate where it needs to be, at first.

There is absolutely no downside to lifting weights. If you can do it, and you like doing it, it is the best thing for your weight loss goals. Muscle over fat? that sounds like someone who is miss informed. Jogging is good exercise but if you try and start out without a good base of walking you are going to hurt yourself. I said to try and walk and you would be ready to bump it up the first of the year (in 12 weeks). I didn't mean to walk for a year. My point was to build gradually to avoid injury. Glad to hear your going to a gym.

good luck