My master plan

[GDVS]

Ok, so I'm a fat bastard. I'm not chunky, big boned*, husky or any of those other crappy euphemisms, I'm fat.

I went to look at a gym this evening following a thread a few weeks ago and things have changed since I last tried it. Instead of being full of sanctimonious fit people and meatheads there was a good mix of ages and sizes, a good start. The kit has come on a little as well, I swear the cardio kit is a geeks wet dream

I only went down to look it over and think about it but I ended up joining, first time I've been part of the gym croud in the best part of 20 years!

I have a plan. A master plan. You could even say a cunning plan. You see my brain doesn't like exercise, I always used to feel physically better for it but my brain hated it so I'm bribing it into submission.

You see, I've always wanted to fly, I used to fly as a cadet every chance I got and I loved every airborne minute but I was never in a position to even think about paying for lessons and now I can at least think about it I'm not physically in a position to pass the medical for either PPL. I'm (somewhat surprisingly) disgustingly healthy except for being fat and totally unfit, exercise and weight loss is all that stands between me and that medical. Two sessions a week in the gym, eating breakfast, and cutting down on the crap I eat is phase one.

Phase 2 of the plan is to give up smoking, the money saved would allow me to pay for flying lessons easily. I'm not going to try and give up now as going from fat lazy bastard to health freak in one step is a guaranteed way to get fed up in short order and revert. Baby steps, one thing at a time.

We'll see how it goes, there's a great possibility that by this time next week I'll be a physical wreck but I have a long term goal to aim for and it's something I've always wanted so fingers crossed I have the willpower. I want to fly and this is the only way I can do it.



* Ok, so I am big boned but I'm also fat.

[Stewart]

Be careful not to gain weight when you stop smoking. Apparently its all too common.

[XA04]

Good luck, hope it works out for you. Sound goods though!

[Clunk]

good luck mate. walking is your friend. ditch the car/bus as often as possible, buy a shedload of fruit, and where you would normally have junk food, have a couple of apples or whatever fruit you have. i guarantee that you will feel fitter in about 2-3 weeks if you cut out ALL junk food and eat healthy and do plenty of walking. get a stepometer. they say about 10,000 steps a day is about right, but combine that with some hills and stairs and stuff and the weight will drop off you mate. and if you drink, dont. drinking is possibly the worst thing you can do if you want to lose weight. also, drink plenty of water. 8 big glasses a day minimum, and more if you can manage it.

p.s. leave the smoking until you are into the swing of losing weight. also see your doc and make sure you are ok to do the gym. if you have high blood pressure, this will need treating before he gives you the nod.

[kidzer]

Best of luck!

I need to get fit aswell, summer holidays coming up, got a plan for them

[Clstrphbc_donut]

Be careful not to gain weight when you stop smoking. Apparently its all too common.

Yeah, very true.

I still smoke But everytime I've tried to stop, I've gone from 3-4 meals a day, to 6+.

A mate of mine quit smoking on New Year, and he's gained a helluva lotta weight since.

[chicken]

Get some ordinary chewing gum (not nicotine gum) and keep it on you all the time. Try not to use it but if you feel yourself reaching for a bag of crisps or something because you actually want a cigarette, chew the gum. It's not so much food your craving as something to do with your mouth, a bag of crisps and a bit of gum are just as effective as each other but the gum's easier to carry and won't affect your weight.

Good on you btw!

[Funkstar]

Good luck with it, hope your mental bribery works

The chewing gum thing sounds like a good idea and if you get some dental gum you end up with cleaner teath at the same time. added bonus time!

[herulach]

kudos to you. when you get a bit fitter take a spinning class, i did my first one the other day, excellent fun, and fantastic training.

[Rave]

Sounds like a very good plan. Best of luck with it. Some days you just don't feel like going to the gym but unless you're ill you need to overcome the inertia and do it. By setting yourself a clear goal to think about you're halfway there.

If it's a good gym I'm sure they'll give you a decent exercise program, but my advice would be not to overdo it. Gym 3 times a week is about right, or every other day. If you must exercise more regularly, do cardio work and resistance on alternate days so your musclues have time to recover- ideally muscle groups need 48 hours between workouts if you're working them hard.

Don't be put off if you feel stiff and sore after your first few times though (unless you've actually strained a muscle or joint). It's hard to force an aching muscle to get on with it, but if you do force them they soon get the idea, they stop complaining and start getting stronger.

[GDVS]

If it's a good gym I'm sure they'll give you a decent exercise program, but my advice would be not to overdo it.

Words to live by, I want to get fit and lose weight not die of a heart attack

Don't be put off if you feel stiff and sore after your first few times though (unless you've actually strained a muscle or joint). It's hard to force an aching muscle to get on with it, but if you do force them they soon get the idea, they stop complaining and start getting stronger.

I kind of remember the pain (way back through the mists of time) the last time I started using the gym and my memory is probably exaggerating it a tad but distinctly remember it not being funny. It did go away though so I'll remember the advice

Thanks for the thoughts guys, all appreciated.

herulach: what's a spinning class?

[Splash]

Spinning is basically an excercise bike thing done in a group. Which gym did you join? Those salespeople can be hell...

[herulach]

Spinning is basically an excercise bike thing done in a group. Which gym did you join? Those salespeople can be hell...

Its different mainly because its a fixed wheel, and it has a proper bike seat, those fat things on exercise bikes are horrid when youre used to a proper saddle.

[GDVS]

Which gym did you join?

Courtney's up at Monks Cross, £35 a month which I gather is very reasonable (they have the York council logo on the website so I guess they're involved somehow).

I was still mystified about spinning so I asked Google and it looks pretty cool

[kasavien]

Hope all goes well for you, joined the gym myself recently and i feel so so much happier, especially after i've just finished a training session. Didn't realise there was a gym at monks cross, i joined fitness first on clifton moor

[dom_xbox]

also, drink plenty of water. 8 big glasses a day minimum, and more if you can manage it.

but too much it could be dangerous...

it may sound wierd but i love walking!... i wanna get a driving licence and a car for the odd trip but with the mortgage its a bit tricky...

good look with the weight loss!