Hey guys...

justsomeguy

So I feel like I'm very obese now... I gained 40 lbs since last semester (half a year ago)... Now I feel motivated to lose weight after noticing that I have breathing problems while driving fast... God... Horrible feeling.. Anyways, anyone have any advice??

Arrvaxx

I lost 50 lbs and -refuse- to go back. So many 'problems' cleared up. I feel great. Do it!

__________________

Jordo!

Religiously count calories that you presently eat. Now reduce it by about 20% and stick to it. Start there, modulate up or down as needed.

You can find calculators on resting metabolism, but really, there is considerable individual variation (and these formulas were developed when Americans were far less sedentary...), so unless you can find a place that does the respiration test, just assume whatever number you arrive at when making calculations is probably an overestimate.

We are not so different from our ancestors 400 K years ago... but we are far less active and have agriculture, so we eat tons and tons of crap while sitting on our asses, even though we evolved to run around with not too much food. So, as compared to our ancient ancestors, modern humans tend to have less dense bone mass, less muscle mass, and are fatter. Oh, and then there's all the diseases directly tied to diet like late onset diabetes and heart disease...

Cut out anything that is mainly fats or sugar entirely (e.g., cheese, whole milk, white bread, soda). No booze, if you are really serious.

Drink more water. Lean meats, fish, fruits, veg. Go easy on anything that requires some form of processing before it can be eaten (e.g., wheat and rice products, anything deep fried...).

Begin a workout regimen. Start with the basics if you are out of shape; stretch, push ups, crunches.

Run. Seriously, run. As you get more fit, add some wind-sprints to it (full tilt, short bursts).

Track everything you do and eat in a log. Note progress in strength (e.g., can now do more push ups) and weight (a few lbs every two weeks or so is reasonable if you stick at it -- and it tends to drop off quickly as first if you are really packing too much excess fat).

Picking up a set of body fat calipers or a decent scale that can estimate it is helpful as well.

Log everything -- humans are bad at estimating without record keeping.

Good luck!

__________________
Enjoy it. Destroy it.

justsomeguy

Thanks a lot BroZ. I appreciate ur motivational speeches. I just now did some weight training and jogged around my neighborhood for about 40 minutes. I can't say that sounds good compared to other people, but right now I'm just focusing on how I do. I think it was pretty great for a first time exercise! I'm actually feeling really good right now as I'm typing this. I think this is gonna be life changing

Team Boost

i'd focus on my diet a big part of actually being healthy and looking great is in the diet. cut out non essentials like jordo! listed above. once you change the way you eat do some weight training. ease into it though if you aren't used to physical activity. once you start gaining muscle your body will begin to metabolize everything more efficiently, and you will burn a lot more fat as you gain muscle mass. the biggest thing is that these things take time so don't get discouraged early on stick with it and you will look and feel great.
good luck!

boarderbob

Congrats on taking the first step; admitting there is a problem. There are a lot of online resources that can help you on this journey. It can be a bit overwhelming to sort through it all, but don't be afraid to ask others for help.

As Jordo said, if you eat it then log it. This will take time, but you'll get better with time. Understanding your caloric intake and requirements will go a long way.

As Boost said, be patient. Don't be discouraged if you falter. This is a journey and it will take time.

Be sure to set realistic goals, and acknowledge any progress in the right direction. Being able to stay focused on the end result can be difficult without feeling positive about the progress.

TreeSemdyZee

I've been using an iPhone app (I think they also have Android) as well as online. It's called Loseit! It helps you keep track of your eating. With Premium membership, it will also link to MapMyRide and others to keep track of that also.
I've lost 2 or 3 pounds in the last week and my brother has lost 50 since he started in May.
Keeping track of calories will amaze you at just how much you ate in the past.
We had free pizza at work the day after I started this. I had 3 pieces of cheese pizza and one pepperoni. 1,000 calories. Half of my allotment for the day.

SouthArk370Z

I've never had to diet but going by what I have seen of others who wanted to lose weight, going on a diet is a short-term fix. To keep the weight off, one must break old habits. I'm betting that you do a lot of snacking while studying ... cut that out! Or nosh on stuff with few calories. Pick lower-calorie foods and eat a little less (starving yourself is counter-productive, you'll be miserable and more likely to snack). Exercise is your best friend - burn those calories up before they have time to turn to fat.

Edit: BTW, "Hey guys..." is a real crappy title for this thread (or any other). Something like "Looking for dieting tips", "Help me lose weight", &c would probably work better. YMMV

__________________
Steering Lock Links - Search The370Z Bookmarklet - FSM @ NICOclub
Mankind has progressed past the need for war but we haven't evolved that far. - NachoMahma

Meulen

1. find some kind of activity, that you like to do!!!, and do it often.
2. replace the bad things you eat with wholesome natural foods
3. cut out the sugar whether it be synthetic or processed
4. find friends that enjoy the same activities you do and hang around them often
5. take advantage of cold thermogenesis
6. If you are stuck in a chair all day, get up and move every hour
7. track your results weekly

I'm a fitness coach. Feel free to hit me up if you have any questions

__________________
Follow my build thread here: Meulens Build Journal

njobe89

This is a double edged sword... there are good calories and bad calories you can intake. Just because something might say it was 100 calories it doesn't necessarily mean it will benefit your body.

Honestly just start exercising daily, do a lot of cardio and if you want to lift weights, do low weight but high reps. 15-20 reps of 6+ sets. also, if you can go to the gym early in the morning i would suggest you do that. working out in the morning jump starts your body and you'll feel better as well.

There are fat burners but i'm skeptical about those and i would not recommend them, but they can help you take of weight a little bit.

Just be dedicated and don't pig out and you'll see an improvement.

__________________
2 plus 2 times 2 = ? ... hint, it's not 8

Stillen CBE, Stillen Gen 3, TP's, Uprev tuned - 324whp/264tq

Meulen

I've found my clients to greatly differ with this. Some people can count calories and eat twinkies and doughnuts and still lose weight as long as overall calories are lower in deficit. Others, it greatly matters what they eat. I think there are 2 reasons for this.

1. Peoples bodies are different and react to foods/calories differently. Some peoples bodies don't burn stored fat easily, and store processed sugar and carbs as fat more rather than use it for fuel. It's mostly hereditary. In this case you'll need to learn to balance stress, keep your hormones in check and find out what foods work for you.

2. Some people are under educated on this. They don't realize how important it is to eat foods high in nutrition and low in calories. Once they learn about this, they eat more good quality caloric foods and actually feel less hungry. If you don't understand and eat low quality food dieting can be very stressful. You'll feel hungry constantly, and if you don't give in to the urges you'll just increase cortisol levels and your body will still store more fat!

__________________
Follow my build thread here: Meulens Build Journal

njobe89

yup, no 2 people are the same, got to find the right balance for everything.

__________________
2 plus 2 times 2 = ? ... hint, it's not 8

Stillen CBE, Stillen Gen 3, TP's, Uprev tuned - 324whp/264tq

Jordo!

I give specific dietary recommendations besides counting calories... I also recommended he use that as a STARTING point.

Yes, in principal, you can lose weight on twinkies and vodka, but you feel like **** and be creeping your way towards late onset diabetes...

Lean meats, fish, veg, fruit, limit processed foods (i.e., wheat and rice products), obviously cut out all foods devoted to high sugar, fat, or sodium content (i.e., snack foods), cut out whole fat dairy, and if really serious NO booze. For at least two months, pretend you are training for a fight and be disciplined. It will suck. It will be hard. But its only 8 weeks. You'll feel like a new man in 4, and that will galvanize you for the next 4. Then, re-evaluate your next move.

That hilarious 2000 Kc/day recommended for the "average" adult is, if you work out the values using the old BMR maths, for a 175 lb reasonably lean and physically active adult man. That's not a lot of people, as it turns out. In any case, the "average" American probably eats about double that or more.

Based on my recommendation, if he eats 7,500 Kc a day (quite possible if he eats lots of junk foods), cutting 20% is a drop to a "mere" 6000 Kc. Hardly starvation. Then those updated caloric needs have to be filled with densely nutritious foods.

40 lbs of body fat will drop off fast provided he reduces caloric intake, increases physical activity (especially resistance training combined with cardiovascular activity), while sparing (and building) lean muscle mass.

Stat light to moderate; work hard, but slow down if you get wiped out. Consult a physician if you are in poor health, injuries, or have heart/breathing issues to work around before beginning. When the exercise regimen seems fairly easy, time to work harder and do more.

Always stretch at least a bit before and after (there is evidence you burn more calories by skipping the pre-stretch -- more latent energy in the muscles -- but also greater likelihood of pulling something... so stretch). Flexible is good.

Set your goals to be challenging but manageable. If you feel like its too little, put more effort in. If you are ready to collapse (especially just beginning) slow the **** down and pace yourself. You'll be maintaining these habits the rest of your life, not for a month or two.

The only supplement I would recommend other than Designer Whey (the "designer" part is based on a production method that makes it more easily absorbed rather than destroyed in the gut), is calcium citrate (better absorbed than carbonate) and, if desired, as a very safe appetite suppressant/fat burner, good old caffeine. Mind your tolerance to it -- don't overdo it, obviously. If you are twitchy and can't sleep, that's not good... if you already down coffee on a daily basis, use that as your guideline.

Drink lots of water. Fills you up, keeps your cells hydrated, and helps with elimination. Good for the kidneys too.

Oh yeah, and if you smoke: QUIT.

Log everything, count calories, time, reps, weights, take notes.

Compare and contrast in 4 weeks. If you follow my advice, I predict a loss of around 10 lbs of fat and overall feeling surprisingly more fit, agile, and light on your feet.

__________________
Enjoy it. Destroy it.

DLSTR

Get yourself a decent physical with your Dr. If you dont have one go to your health clinic and make an appt. Before you go radically changing your life/diet etc find out how you are doing first. Its cheap easy insurance at your age.
Plenty of good advice here as well. Seeing a Doc if you have not been in a while is never a bad idea at all. We can have problems at any age.

Meulen

NICE!!! We actually recommend a similar 2 month diet during winter training months for our endurance athletes. Not only do they lose weight on the diet but seem to continue losing weight in post diet months and seem to attest they perform better in races/workouts.

The only thing I'll add is about the stretching. A lot of recent studies are showing stretching before workouts actually contributes to injuries. Theory goes that stretching loosens up soft tissues and and promotes hyperextensions. Over the past few years we've been promoting regular use of foam rollers to lengthen muscles and take out adhesions instead.

__________________
Follow my build thread here: Meulens Build Journal