1. #1

    Help me lose weight?

    Hey, I am a 22 year old male looking to lose weight. I am currently 89kgs and 1.9m tall (6'3'' I think for you non-metric peoples).
    I am tall so I spread the weight well, but I have been eating shit more often and therefore my shirts are tighter (with stomach showing) and jeans no longer fit anymore.

    My main issue is that I am so physically unfit. I can bearly do four proper push ups in a row, and am struggling to increase my strength threshold to progress and increase that number. In the meantime I have been jogging a little, but in short bursts because I get super amounts of dizzy for some reason if I keep it up.

    Currently for the past 3 days I have been going for a Walk/Jog for an hour and a quarter to the beach and back, with around 30% Jogging and 70% Walking. That number is staying stubbornly still, as people constantly just jog past me without stopping. How do you do that?

    I don't want to make excuses for myself, but I have been pushing myself so I am wondering if I am just a weakling or I might be doing something wrong? I have begun to eat better as well (no sugar for the time being).

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by Bowserkills7 View Post
    How do you do that?
    They're runners! Experienced, with years of work at it, probably at least a bit of knowledge of what they're doing, and able to maintain long stretches of aerobic activity without exertion. It'd be a bit like sitting down to learn Visual Basic, looking over at a guy doing some hardcore programming, and wondering how he does it

    Anyway, good on you for starting to get shit together. Getting started is so very, very difficult and frustrating. Try not to get yourself too frustrated, know that you're doing things right. As far as what to do, it actually sounds like your starting workout is a bit ambitious - an hour and fifteen minutes is way more aerobic activity than anyone's going to be able to maintain when they're starting out. I think you'd be best picking a route that you can do at about 30-45 minutes and trying to work on running the whole the whole thing without a walk break. If you need a walk break, don't feel down on yourself or ashamed. If you're slow, again, don't feel down on yourself. No one is good at running when they start. This is months of work before you really start being able to do "impressive" sorts of things, but it's absolutely worth it.

    If it's an option for you, cycling is great as well, particularly if you're on a road bike. That'll give you a sport where you're able to work fairly hard, then ease back without having quite a same feel as walking. Cycling is more naturally built for intervals of hard effort than running is, at least in my experience. It's also easier to do long, long workouts on a bike than running, particularly when you're new.

    Don't worry too much though, have fun! Running is supposed to be fun above all else. I know that's hard to believe when you're starting, since it hurts like hell and is nearly impossible to sustain for a satisfying chunk of time, but you'll get there. Cheers!

  3. #3
    I'll help you lose weight, my child, but it won't be easy.

    It sounds like you're not active enough combined with a poor diet. (Which is the case for all overweight people but its usually because they just eat a ton and don't exercise ever.)

    The cardio (walking/jogging) is good, but you want to lift some weights too. Also, a minor diet will help you out. I don't think you have to go hardcore on the diet, but cutting out sugary drinks and reducing/replacing snacks and a few healthier choices will do enough.

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Blueobelisk View Post
    The cardio (walking/jogging) is good, but you want to lift some weights too.
    This is an important point. Lifting is critical for core strength and bone density. People that aren't into fitness often here "lifting" and think of bulky guys, but adding bulk takes a lot of specific intent, it doesn't just happen. I'm mostly a runner (and I'll do tris if I can ever stop sucking at swimming), I'm very light weight and thin, but I try to hit the weight room twice a week anyway. If you lift, you'll look better, feel better, have better bone density, burn calories at a higher rate while in a resting state, and perform better when running and cycling.

    In short, pick up heavy things and put them down. Repeat.

    edit - Diet's going to be relevant too, but I find it so individual that I hate giving advice about it. Find a calorie deficit plan that works for you and roll with it.
    Last edited by Spectral; 2013-07-27 at 05:27 AM.

  5. #5
    Buy yourself a cheap rowing machine and a cheap heart rate monitor, google one of the hundreds of optimal age / heart rate calculators.

    There's no impact good for your joints, it's an overall work out to work almost all of your body while doing cardio at the same time.
    Your indoors and at home, good place and time to build up your confidence.

    Eat a light meal an hour before working out, some fruit and a single salad sandwhich is a general choice.
    Hydrate, drink lots and lots of water, stay away from sports drinks, your at home no problems with needing a bio, if your like me a hate plain water juice some fruit into the water to give it some taste.

    Stretch 15 minutes of stretching can cut 3 days of sore muscles down to 1

    Don't strain yourself it's not about how faster you go it's about keeping your heart rate up for atleast 30minutes.

    Lastly the most important thing BREATHE in through your nose and out through your mouth in long deep breathes.

    p.s. This is the best way to start your journey to fitness, doing this for 6 months 3 times a week and you'll be ready to mix it up with different exercises. If you looking to start weight training down the track i suggest getting yourself some hand grip trainers to use on your off days, or whenever your nothing doing much

  6. #6
    So how many times a week should I jog? I have heard 5 days a week, but what do I do on the other two? And I want to lift, but dont own any freeweights or a gym membership. Maybe joining a gym will help with that haha.
    I do eat reasonably well in my home, but outside I eat junk. Social eater and all that, so I have cut that right down. Cereal (+soy milk) for breakfast (considering lowering amount of cereal and adding banana, cereal is Plus), tuna salad for lunch (tuna, lettuce, tomato, cucumber and a small sprinkle of cheese), and had a homemade hamburger for dinner (wholmeal bread, light bbq sauce, lettuce tomato cucumber and patty is low fat mince). I have been snacking on fruit during the day.
    Dieting is so damn hard though... and I miss my yogurt haha.

    So from what I have gathered, breate in through nose and out of my mouth when jogging, jog for as long as I can without a break, only do around 45 minutes, start weights and stay on a diet?

  7. #7
    Mechagnome plastkaze's Avatar
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    Don't overdo the jogging in the start. Slowly let your body get used to it or you'll injure yourself.
    How fast you can improve is personal but if I were to jog for 45 minutes in my current condition I'd probably end up with shin splints again and you do want to avoid that at all costs.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Bowserkills7 View Post
    So how many times a week should I jog? I have heard 5 days a week, but what do I do on the other two? And I want to lift, but dont own any freeweights or a gym membership. Maybe joining a gym will help with that haha.
    A lot of this is personal preference. Starting out, I'd be inclined to only run 3 or 4 days a week, as it is a bit taxing until you really build up a strong base base. Keep in mind, an occasional rest day is a good thing, not a bad thing. There's a fair bit of evidence that a long period of intense activity followed by a day off is better than continuing to overtrain. Some biking and swimming would be great on the side as well.

    If you want to hold off on a gym membership, you'll see some nice fitness gains from doing just body weight exercises in the short run. I'd recommend the forums and other pages at bodybuilding.com for advice on these things. You don't have to be a bodybuilder (I'm sure not) to benefit from their techniques.

    Quote Originally Posted by Bowserkills7 View Post
    Dieting is so damn hard though... and I miss my yogurt haha.
    Non-fat greek yogurt will be your best friend then! Here's the kind I eat on the regular. Stirring in some fresh blueberries or fresh strawberries is good, but my favorite right now is putting this is protein shakes to get a frozen yogurt type effect. Mixing this protein, greek yogurt, some ice, and the fruit of your choice gives something that tastes an awful like like dessert.

    Quote Originally Posted by Bowserkills7 View Post
    So from what I have gathered, breate in through nose and out of my mouth when jogging, jog for as long as I can without a break, only do around 45 minutes, start weights and stay on a diet?
    I'm not convinced that worrying about breathing through mouth or nose is all that relevant, as long as the pacing is good. The rest is good though.
    Last edited by Spectral; 2013-07-27 at 02:08 PM.

  9. #9
    Deleted
    89 kg and 1.9 m sounds pretty ok to me

  10. #10
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by Bowserkills7 View Post
    So how many times a week should I jog? I have heard 5 days a week, but what do I do on the other two?
    Rest! It's very important to let your muscles recover from the exercise. Also like others have said, work with weights as well. It'll do your body good in the long run.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Taftvalue View Post
    89 kg and 1.9 m sounds pretty ok to me
    Yeah, this is worth mentioning too - that's a perfectly healthy weight. Worry more about fitness and less about losing weight and it'll serve you well. Eat well because it's good for you, not because of shedding big poundage.

  12. #12
    Yep, OK. Had a break today due to sore legs (working is hell, how do you guys cope? haha), but will be going again tomorrow.

    Any hints on how to build up strength to use weights? I can bearly do a pushup, so anything will help. And as I said, I am tall but really unfit so the idea is to lose the stomach and tone up once I build up enough strength.

    And how much sugar should I be having? My main Yogurt is about 1/6th sugar, and my main cereal is around the same. It is all so confusing, I know I have to avoid it but I keep finding it in non-sweet things.

  13. #13
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by Bowserkills7 View Post
    Any hints on how to build up strength to use weights? I can bearly do a pushup, so anything will help. And as I said, I am tall but really unfit so the idea is to lose the stomach and tone up once I build up enough strength.

    And how much sugar should I be having? My main Yogurt is about 1/6th sugar, and my main cereal is around the same. It is all so confusing, I know I have to avoid it but I keep finding it in non-sweet things.
    Just start small, work your way into it. You don't have to go and pick up the 20kg weights straight away, start with lighter ones and if you feel up to it, increase the weight slightly every time you go work out. And with pushups, why not start with the easy, knees on the floor style until you feel comfortable enough with doing it the proper way?

    There's a good rule of thumb, less than 5g of sugar per 100g/ml is low sugar, 15g or more is considered very high. It's a good thing to start reading into nutrition info, you'll actually be very surprised how much sugar they put in things (for example all these cereal bars they advertise as healthy, I picked one up yesterday at the shop and it said 32g per 100g).

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Bowserkills7 View Post
    Any hints on how to build up strength to use weights? I can bearly do a pushup, so anything will help. And as I said, I am tall but really unfit so the idea is to lose the stomach and tone up once I build up enough strength.
    You just start with whatever you can do. If you can only do five pushups, do five pushups. Just work your way up, it'll be fine. Same with weight training if you hit the gym - you don't have to start doing curls with 30 kg dumbbells straight away. Just start with whatever feels difficult.

    Quote Originally Posted by Bowserkills7 View Post
    And as I said, I am tall but really unfit so the idea is to lose the stomach and tone up once I build up enough strength.
    Losing a gut is about shedding body fat, not about building muscle mass. Building a strong core is important in its own right, but lifting isn't going to make abdominal fat go away on its own.

    Quote Originally Posted by Bowserkills7 View Post
    My main Yogurt is about 1/6th sugar, and my main cereal is around the same.
    Your yogurt and cereal should have zero sugar, aside from any fruit you cut up into it.

  15. #15
    If you want quick results, and your goal is to just trim a few kg off the top (like 5-10) Jut do a ketogenic diet. Or something like Atkins, which is based off a regular ketogenic diet.

    Basicly keep track of the carbs you eat in a day, eat lean protein, and fibre in the form of green leafy veggies, avocado for natural fats. Drink only water. Take the carbs you eat in a day, subtract the fibre, you end up with your net carbs for the day. Try to keep this number around 20-25 for 2-3 weeks, and you will see a dramatic weight drop. (fruit is actually not that good for you in terms of carbs, but the vitamin is important, you will have to take a good multivitamin)

    From personal experience, I gained 40 pounds after being stuck in bed for 2 months after a really bad accident. I went up to 250. 8 weeks of this kind of diet dropped me to 190 lb. Now im slowly reintroducing bits of sugar back into my life in forms of berries and fruit.
    P.S. I work at a computer all day long, with almost no time for exercise, so these results are with just an hour walk every day)

    If interested, look up atkins diet, or ketogenic diet, and see if it works for you.


    IMPORTANT: Alcohol is a big issue for people who want to lose weight, and they dont even know it. It is the easiest fuel for your body to burn. Alcohol>carbs>fats. So a glass of vine, or a bottle of beer at dinner, even with a healthy diet can stall weight loss for some people. Of course a lot depends on your metabolism, but even if you exercise an hour each day, then drink 2 beers, you just counteracted a lot of the progress for that day.
    Last edited by Hexotic; 2013-07-28 at 03:38 PM.

  16. #16
    Deleted
    As mentioned before, i think your weight is fine. You just lack a bit of fitness.

    Concerning the optics u should train ur stomach muscles. You can not choose where your fat will be burnt, but u can strengthen the stomach area to hide it a little.

    If u really want to loose some weight u have to start reading the nutrition infos and understand them. Eat less noodles, potatoes, bread... If u eat 3 big meals a day now, make it 2 and some fruits in the future. Instead of coke drink the light stuff (even the caffeine will help a little).

    But i think it would be better for u to just improve your fitness. In the beginning do some cardio every second day. On the cardio free days do some strength training. Try to avoid training the same muscle on the following day. And once a week u have to take a day off. On this day u eat what u want and dont do any sports. It will help regain some energy and u have something to look forward to.

    I think 4km running on the first day and strength training using your body weight (push ups,...) on the second, is a good start.
    Buying a gym membership is only a good idea if ur totally sure about it. Thers a lot of people buying memberships and then stop going after a few times.

    I lost about 1,5kg per week with the above mentioned diet combined with the fitness plan without beeing hungry.
    Last edited by mmocfeef537d85; 2013-07-28 at 04:12 PM.

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