L33 BYT

The last few years have taken its toll on me as a person mentally and also physically.
In 2008 I split up with my long term partner of 13 years (Met her a few days after leaving school)
I lost my house a shed load of cash, my Nan passed away and just the beginning of the year we lost my dad due to a brain tumor which shattered my world.

Not wanting to confuse the bad and the good, there have been certain things in life that have crept through and kept me going. My new Mrs that I had met 6 months after the split with the old long term girlfriend and the birth of my son who is now 18months.
Whilst I let the bad get me down very much, I have now trained my self to understand these things are just life, it happens and hopefully makes us stronger.

Any hows, the point of this post......
The above took its toll, I am reasonably short and weigh in at 18 stone. In a nut shell a fat c**t. Every morning I wake up feeling crappy, I commute to London every day and walk about a mile to and from tube stations to the office, puffing and panting out my arse.
I went to the Dr's fairly certain of what he was going to say, and as expected he said mate your over weight.

So I have joined the Gym, I have been doing it for two weeks and will share a little bit of my sessions shortly. I have been trying to watch what I eat but even after two weeks the scales stayed exactly the same.

So I need some help. Whats the best course for some monster weight loss.

So far I spend about an 1hr and a half at the gym every other day.

- I start with a 10Km Bike ride, takes around 25mins.
- I burn 100 CAL on the cross trainer and 100 CAL on the treadmill (I cannot run as it kills my damn ancles)
- 50 or so Shoulder presses,
- 50 or so Abdominal crunches,
plus about 20 mins on other weights etc.

Where am I bloody going wrong?

Danster76

iTrader: (2)

'Trying to watch what you eat' isn't good enough mate.

Remember this:

Calories in minus calories burned = + or - weight loss

In the gym;
get some good tunes on your mp3
get on the thread mill
Incline it to maximum (2/3 or level 10 or 12)
Set a walking speed you can handle (7.0 kph would be a reasonable start) and walk as far as you can - go for the hour. You should burn in the region of 1000-1200 cals if you don't cheat it.

Build up from there. As you loose weight, and you will! Interval the speed, try 2 mins at the walk pace then 2 mins fast walk (8.2kph) or better, jog (9.0kph) and then back down to walk pace.

Drink plenty of non sugar squash or water, count the calories and limit your food intake and you will lose weight. Aim for 4 hour sessions in the gym a week minimum.

Forget the weights until you've lost about 5 stone. You want to lose weight and improve fitness first.

Best of luck

r06ert

takes me at least a month to start seeing the difference, first couple of weeks you are probably building muscle, which weighs more than fat

i'm the same as you, walking a mile to the station, puffing and im 13 stone, hour down the gym every day from work with a some patience and time

stick with it is the secret

Chip

iTrader: (3)

As per above, its a profit and loss account essentially, so if you eat more than you burn you get fatter if you eat less than you burn you get thinner.

Diet will make far more difference than gym does though when you are grossly overweight like yourself.
Its easy to cut 2000 calories a day from your intake, but not easy to increase your output by 2000 calories a day.

I'm actually in the middle of some weight loss myself at the moment (just restarting martial arts and it doesnt work if you are a fat bastard, lol), have lost over 1.5 stone in the last 2 months, and although I go to the gym (I started down the gym a month before I started my diet) its the diet that makes the difference.

If you make sure you are eating only 1200-1500 calories a day, the weight will fall off you irrelevant of if you go to the gym or not.

This is a typical lunch for me for example at the moment, which contains around 500 calories despite having over half a pound in weight of meat in it:


IMHO the key to weight loss is lean meat and salad, you can fill yourself up on that for hardly any calories and if you are going to the gym at the same time you'll have plenty of protein available to build muscles with.

Chip

iTrader: (3)

Ps

Post what you normally consume in a day, EVERY thing that you eat or drink, people can then give you some pointers on the key things to avoid then?

Obviously some of it is blatant, like sweets and full fat fizzy drinks etc, but there might be other stuff you havent thought about, pasta and bread for example are actually pretty bad for weight control.

essex-monkey

Try using my fitness pal , great for keeping track of food also has a free iPhone app

L33 BYT

Well a rough idea.

Todays plan is as follows

2 Slices of WHolemeal bread and Marmite for Breakfast.
2 Wheatabix for Lunch

Dinner, usually something made with fresh meat, a chicken breast, pork chops etc with New potatoes or salad or similar.

Chip

iTrader: (3)

TBH I would introduce more protein instead of the bread and new potatoes, bread and potato havent really got anything in them that are useful to a fat bloke going to the gym, just starch and carbs etc that you want to be avoiding.

Today for lunch Ive got 400grams of meat (lean beef and chicken breast), and a portion of salad, thats under 500 calories in total and yet when I go and lift some weights later my body will have all the protein it needs for it.

Chip

iTrader: (3)

PS

Weetabix are over 68% carbs!

http://www.weetabix.co.uk/products/c...nalInformation

Doesnt really matter when you are only having 2 of them of course, but is two going to fill you up the way that a plate of salad and lean meat would?


What are you doing for drinks? i find the sparkling water with a hint of fruit a bit less boring that just water, hasnt got all the nasty aspartame etc that diet fizzy drinks have and still naff all calories in it.

L33 BYT

Drink the same as you have bottled in the background

Chip

iTrader: (3)

Cool, great option for still having some flavour to it without containing any nasty chemicals or sugar etc.

L33 BYT

So in regards to the food then guys - Is there a specific diet I can follow to assist?

A problem I do have is i'm not awfully keen on the greens, which isn't helping matters at all. However I know I do not want to give up on sorting my weight out.

Would it be worth trying Ephedrine, or are these things we should stay well clear of.

As an earlier comment. I will try the tread mill option, and maybe cut the cycle ride down to only 5kms a session. I can see that I am just being to eager to see instant results and know this isnt going to happen after years of food abuse!

Chip

iTrader: (3)

Any of the atkins or dukan etc style diets are a good option for a bloke who is also wanting to work out IMHO, thats vaguely what im doing.

Basically just cut out carbs and fat is the general theory of all of them although they contain a lot more detail than that if you really follow them to the letter.

Ive lost 1.5 stone in the last 2 months, without really feeling that I have suffered much to do it and not feeling hungry the whole time etc, first week or so was a bit of a pain as I used to really eat a lot before that so while my stomach was getting used to the new regime it was moaning about being hungry etc, but since then its been fine.

I cant stand veg, but force myself to eat salad just as it fills you up for more or less no calories and no carbs or fat etc, plus its a bit of roughage to keep your digestive tract working ok etc on the meats.

Treadmill or walking/running/cycling is a great option, the more you do of it the better I reckon.

Chip

iTrader: (3)

Ps

Tank Mike on here was exactly your size and also followed a similar diet to what im doing now (his variation was called the "caveman diet" IIRC) and he has gone from 18.5 stone in december to under 14 stone now, he does a lot of gym as well though but the diet is the main thing thats caused the weight loss, the gym has just helped with general fitness etc and a bit of extra help on the weight loss.

CossieRich

iTrader: (1)

Instant in terms of fat loss doesnt really happen unless you go under the knife. If you think of 4 weeks as instant then yes it can be.

Its all too easy to talk a good diet and get hung up on what the word means. Replace the word diet with lifestyle change and your mind can cope with it better. Diet invariably means there is an end point and then you quite easily fall into the same trap that has led to being over weight in the 1st place.

Lots of protein will force your body to use its fat store to give you energy whilst also helping muscles recover after training. Cross trainer is a prime example of training your muscles without using the weights section of the gym.

i used to eat a bowl of porridge and 2 bananas a day for 6 weeks. The 1st time i went out for a curry after that, i threw it all up as my body couldnt cope with the sudden shite going in.

Within 8 weeks your body shape will start to change for the better. Ive never been concerned with what the scales say. i go by how my clothes fit and what attention i get from the opposite sex

bookwyse

I have gone from 16 and a half stone at the beginning of the year to 12 and a half now.

As rich says don't diet change your lifestyle and it will work. I am doing the sa,me as everyone has said, lots of protein and around 1500 calories a day. Plus regular gym sessions. I have also entered a triathlon as an inspiration to keep going. My trouser size has gone from40in to 32 I that time and tshirts are now a medium.

Chip

iTrader: (3)

I think its fine to go on a fairly diet for a few months, then relax it a bit after that if he is in a hurry for results.

To stay at say 13-14 stone is going to take about 2500 calories (more if he is hitting the gym) so thats where he needs to end up longer term, but going on a much stricter diet initially to speed the initial weight loss is perfectly valid.

If he stuck on 2500 calories a day from day one he'd still get his weight down, but it would take a year rather than a few months.

L33 BYT

4 stone loss in such a short time - Wow, fantastic effort.

Chip

iTrader: (3)

Same as Tank Mike has done as well, 18.5 in december, under 14 now.

So it shows how amazingly possible it is, people who think losing weight is hard are just idiots IMHO, it really is very very simple, you just have to commit to it and not keep deviating from the food you are meant to be eating.

L33 BYT

so i guess its a case of watch this space!

Chip

iTrader: (3)

Yes, hopefully by the end of the year it will be a space that no longer has a fat bastard in it, lol

stevenebm

iTrader: (6)

At your weight it will fly off with a bit of hard work.simple diet
Oats and eggs for breakfast
Chicken salad for lunch
Fish/steak etc with veg and some cous cous.


Keep it simple.dont worry about hitting weights just now as you want major weight loss.get on the cross trainer.an hour at a time.you want to change your body it's the only way.
Coldo is your man for this as he is the cardio expert.

stevenebm

iTrader: (6)

Oh and on a Saturday nite let yourself have a treat.chicken curry boiled rice etc.it will keep you sane during the week knowing you have this to look forward to.

studabear

Some good advice on this thread

Chip

iTrader: (3)

Agreed, at that level of obesity to begin with he should piss through the first 2 stone in about 1 month flat if he sticks to a relatively strict regime.

bookwyse

I thing the main thing is maintaining the motivation. I have had two beers since I started and have decided to to tea total just because I m not missing it.

If you can get a good training partner that will drag you to the gym even when you don't feel like it they will help a lot. I train twice a week with the local triathlon club and even though I hate it at times it's good.

As stated jst keep at it and the weight will fall, then it gets easier as you buy new clothes and people comment on how good you are looking. The biggest motivation for me is hats my mums 60th birthday bash at the beginning of next month and thinking of much better I look now than when they last saw me.

Just keep at it.

Dirty Harry

iTrader: (12)

well mate you have got over the hardest of hurdles "walking into the gym" the easy bit is training the hard bit is diet,combind the two and the weight will fly off,when you actually see the changes the gym will become an obsession.
as its been said plenty of cardio to start then add weights as you will only build muscle under the fat,
low carb high protein diet is what you need,
good luck

L33 BYT

Here was last nights dinner,
Grilled chicken - lots of.
Leaf salad (I think it was called)
a tiny sprinkle of cheese and a bit of light salad cream as fookin hate salad,


An hour and a half in the gym, 500 cals off on the treadmill plus a couple of hundred more on the cycle.

Danster76

iTrader: (2)

Keep the above up and you'll see a result for sure!

Chip

iTrader: (3)

Agreed, if you do that level of gym a few times a week, and eat that sort of food with no snacks or sweets etc in between, then you'll do 1-2 stone in the first month, and then another at least half-3/4 of stone a month average for a few months after that, ie you'll lose 5 stone before the end of the year.

creator

Chip,and others how much roughly do you think it costs per week to stick to that diet? As in how much do you spend on food a week?

studabear

You save the money by not eating all the crap

Chip

iTrader: (3)

Seven quid a day gets you:
2 for 5 quid 200g tub of chicken breast / lean beef etc
1 quid for a bag of ready prepped salad
1 quid for two litres of fizzy water

That's enough for two meals and then I'll some days have a couple of apples or a cereal bar, so another quid or so on top on days I do that, but the salad normally lasts three days or so which cancels it out.

So 49 quid a week

Chip

iTrader: (3)

Ps weighed in at gym yesterday, 95kg, was 106kg less than 2 months ago
So gone from over 16.5 stone to 15 dead now. 25lbs loss. Ie just over 3lb a week average.

And I only do 1 hour taekwondo and 2 hours light gym a week so nearly all that loss is just down to diet.

In the last 3 months I've increased the weights I do by around 25 percent so have probably gained a few lb of muscle too, so have probably lost more like two stone in fat.
It's enough that most people I know have comments on it but I've still got a long way to go till I'm not overweight of course!

Chip

iTrader: (3)

I was previously eating out around ten times a week, typically spending about 120 quid a week or so, so even when I have a couple of meals out still for me it's quids in, but that's cause I work away all week so eat out twice a day most days, hence getting up to over 16.5 stone in the first place, lol

L33 BYT

It works!!!
Weighed my self last night, down half a stone. Massive boost

wirralphil

Nice one!

The weight will soon be off, keep up the good work.

Chip

iTrader: (3)

Glad to hear its working for you mate.

Bear in mind with weighing yourself if you do it too often that the body naturally fluctuates a little anyway, so one day it might look like you have lost nothing or gone up slightly but in reality you havent and its just you're holding more water than same time the day before or whatever.

Once a week is a good rate to be measuring at, if you do it more often than that then ignore minor day to day fluctuations.

My weekly weigh ins for the last 8 weeks till now were:

106kg (16.7 stone)
104 (16.4)
101 (15.9)
99 (15.6)
97.5 (15.4)
96.5 (15.2)
missed a week
95 (15.0) - well 14.97 technically, so Ive just broken the 15 stone mark this week


My original target was to be under 15 stone by the beginning of june, so I actually got there quicker than I expected to. And I was looking to be under 14 stone by the end of the year, im sure I'll do that far sooner too though. Dont really want to get much under 14 though, dont want to end up a skinny little bloke, I look right at 13-14 stone basically IMHO

It really is VERY easy to do, I dont know why anyone ever says that losing weight is hard TBH!

CrOwSoN15

People that say weightloss is hard are usually the ones that think hitting the gym a couple of times a week, going out and getting leathered at the weekend, stuff a nice kebab before they go home, and generally eat shit for the rest of the week.

Chip

iTrader: (3)

Mike who I mentioned earlier from here that has lost over 4.5 stone now was telling me the other day about a conversation he was having with one of his mum's friends.

Her: Wow mike, you have lost loads of weight, whats the secret?
Him: Exercise more, eat less
Her: If only it was that simple
Him: It is that simple, nothing else to it
Her: No that doesnt work, Ive tried that
Him: Ive just lost over 4 stone and thats all I have done, it is that simple
Her: No its not that simple, you need willpower too, your lucky you have it, some people dont, Im not lucky like you



Seriously, people really are fucking stupid sometimes.
If you dont stick to it, you obviously dont really care about losing the weight, and if you dont really care about losing the weight stop going on about being fat, thats your CHOICE its not something you are afflicted with or stuck with (medical conditions aside).