help this fat boy become slim

[wilksj01]

I'm 5'11" and used to weigh 16.5 stone. I was never fat but had begun to get a beer belly (or so I thought!). I started off jogging around the park and was gutted when some kids called me fat Jeremy :-( But it did give me the determination I needed to get into it properly.

After about 8 weeks of running on the streets I decided to hit the gym. I did 4 days a week, 2 hours a time, no excuse. I started by doing 1 month at a time and concentrating on exercises. So for the 1st month I did 40 min running, an hour weights. Then 2nd month 20 min rowing, 20 min cycling and an hour weights. After each session I would also do 9 sets of 20 sit-ups.

Now 9 months on I weigh just under 14.5 stone and have put on a lot of muscle. I still have a bit of fat on my love handles but I feel a lot better than I used to and I'm able to run about 8k in 40 min which isn't to bad.

The main thing is to keep going. It is easy to get in on a cold night and eat fish and chips. I say it's all about character.

I allow myself Saturday as my binge day where I eat and drink as much as I want with my girlfriend that way you don't feel like you’re sacrificing your life to get in shape and you more likely to stick at it.

The gains will be quick to start with; I lost the majority of my weight in the first 2 months.

Good Luck.

Wilksj01

[BlindMelon7]

For what its worth, hear is what I think:

Avoid all weight loss drugs, they'll do more worse than good. You're better off overweight than dead

Get a dog and walk it. They can be much more persuasive than you (ie. puppy dog eyes).

Try to find a balance of food you like that isn't too bad for you (I discovered a newfound taste for humous, and avacado).

This has helped me stay fairly fit since I lost weight. I found that it wasn't the exercise routines or the diets that were the problem. It was meerly lack of motivation... hence the puppy

[Funkstar]

humous, and avacado

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

that's what i have for lunch in a pitta with some rocket salad and tomato

[chriswood_7]

I think you need to look at your lifestyle tbh before anything else.

Do you get plenty of sleep? Do you eat at the right times? Do you snack often? Do you eat junk food (burgers, kebabs)?

When I was at uni I became lazy and just ate crap, and at the wrong times. Since I left Uni in May 2005 I have lost 5 and a half stone just by changing what I eat and when I eat it.

First off you need to stop snacking. One of my downfalls was chocolate bars, crisps and general junk. Other little lifestyle changes that help are for example:
- Changing white for brown bread
- Eat plenty of fibre at breakfast
- Using skimmed milk instead of full fat/semi-skimmed
- Not eating after 8pm (and if you do, have a light cereal full of fibre)
- Try and stay under 2000kcals per day (yes, this means examining all of those tins and packets and adding them up)
- Cutting out intermeal snacks. I generally have a wholegrain/bran cereal for breakfast and a light lunch with a yoghurt, and for tea I try to eat rice/vegetables with some chicken/tuna or a salad.

It took me a long time to see some serious weight loss but im glad I did it gradually, I made a lifestyle change and done it the way that suited me which was slowly. I get very little time to exercise as I work quite long hours (by the time I get home I just want a meal and to chill out before bed). Also if your a big drinker, there are a LOT of calories in a pint of beer (i think its equivalent to 5 chocolate biscuits), so you need to really cut down alcohol. I know drinking water is no where near as fun as alcohol, but you must drink plenty of water.

The biggest thing you have to tackle is your mind, you must have to want to do this! 9 times out of 10 if you dont want to do it you will give in.

Finally, good luck with this as I know its not easy. Its a total change of lifestyle and it all depends on your will power as to how successful you are with it! Let us know how you get on...

[BlindMelon7]

With my case it probably helped being a vegitarian. You could convert?

[starbuck]

A few things I've found with weight loss:

1 - 75% of weight loss is down to diet(what you eat and what you drink). It's no good going to the gym 5 times a week if you eat rubbish.

2 - Motivation is the key. If you can find THE 1 big reason(or a couple of fairly big reasons) you want to lose weight, then you will find a way of doing it. With a strong enough reason(for yourself, not anyone else), the motivation will always be there and it will keep you going, whatever happens. You just have to find that 1 or 2 things strong enough to get you towards where you want to be. I've found that putting a picture of yourself on the fridge door works well to keep you motivated as you are always reminded of watching what you eat whenever you want to dive in for a snack.

3- Partly linked to motivation above, I've found if I watch what I eat and exercise properly then I allow myself a meal a week where I can have whatever I want without worrying about calories or anything else. If you can honestly say that you have been good all week, then the thought of being able to have whatever you want will encourage you to keep the diet up.

4 - Keep your goals realistic, have an end goal in mind(ie lose 5 stone or fit into a certain size of jeans etc) but make sure you have a few short term goals that are attainable and change them when you need to. ie, rather than saying "i will go to the gym 5 times per week, even though I haven't been for 4 months", just go to the gym once, then your short term goal will be to go another 1 time, then another and build it up.

finally, never plan too far ahead(like how many times you'll excercise next week or that long bike ride or run you keep saying you'll do) as your mind will automatically start to plan ways to get out of it. a good thing I've found for the gym is to always keep my gym bag next to the front door so I don't have to plan when I'm going to go, I just see it on my way out, feel guilty if I don't go and just grab it on the way out.

[ponders]

I rekon cycling is the most fun way to do cardio, you get to sight see, work out upper body as well, and as far as food goes,the only thing i can say that definatly has an effect on weight reduction, is having a decent breakfast so you dont loose any energy as you go through your normal day, apple, cereal, orange juice, perhaps a few biscuits. running and swimming is also good, but after developing cycling muscles, these activities will be much more easier too.