Moba

This is intended as an informative post as to what helped me lose weight. I am new to these forums, however I have used several fitness posts here in the past to help me create a proper regiment. How proper it truely is can be disputed by the pro's that troll here, but this is simply what has worked well enough for me.

I am like any other buried college student, struggling to maintain some sort of a social life, while juggling a girlfriend, friends, and all in the while maintaining a healthy body and mind. The healthy body and mind is a relatively new addition. But a most welcomed one. I am 6'1" and presently weigh 205lbs. 4 months ago I weighed in at roughly 228lbs. I have a relatively large frame. I consider 195-200 to be healthy for me. My blood pressure prior to these 4 months of exercise was a ridiculous 145/80. Currently I have a BP of 112/71.

Here is what I used to do:

Bars 3+ nights a week. Typically 2-4 beers each time, weekends more. We're talking heavy stouts/ales etc, not your bud/mgd lights.
Smoking 1 pack of cigarettes every 3 days or so.
Very little to no exercise apart from walking to class.
Mediocre diet with no observation towards a well-rounded nutrition plan. Not very much fast food, but certainly soft drinks and household snacks.

Here is what I do now:

I work out 5 times a week. If I don't have time to work out, I make time for it. I could not have made it past the 2 week and 3 month mark had I not dragged my friend along every once and a while. You need a partner to keep you motivated, in my opinion.

My Regiment:
15 minutes of stretching prior to every work-out.
20 minutes of alternating jogging and running on the treadmill in 2 minute increments. Followed by a work-out plan focusing on high sets high reps at a medium resistance. Ending with another 20 minutes of the same treadmill exercise
On off days, I do 50 minutes on an elliptical machine at a low stride. Just enough to make me sweat, but not quite enough to lose breath. You should be able to maintain a conversation while doing this exercise.
Once a week, typically Weds. I do heavy cardio, running on average 3-5 miles at a decent pace. Luckily I live next to the Rose Bowl, so motivation for that is about a 5 minute drive.

I eat all the time now. But in strict moderation. It was pure hell for about 10-14 days, but I got over it, and now I love it. I eat about 6 times a day, but single serving portions. If i go out for dinner I save half the meal and eat it later(most restraunts serve 2-4 serving sizes in a single meal). I do not drink sodas ever. They end up tasting like sh*t eventually anyway. I never eat fastfood, and I try my best to order healthy *MOST* of the time. Be reminded that I am a college student, so this is possible for those of you out there with ridiculous schedules. Deciding to do this isn't a fad diet, it has to become a part of your daily ritual. Like any change, it gets a ton of resistance at first, but as your train yourself to think differently about the way you eat and the way you make time for yourself you can learn to integrate all this into your everyday life. As for the smoking, my girlfriend quit so I had no choice but I still have a cigarette or two on the evenings i spend out with my buddies. Literally no more than 1 or 2 though. It's still bad, but at this point it's better than where I was.

I still go out about atleast one to two nights a week, but now I do not consume more than 1-2 beers, and typically order a water between drinks to keep me occupied while my friends enjoy my misery(sarcasm). Be prepared to have your favorite bartender serve you ice water in an espresso cup, just to rub it in .

My Work-Out Pan:

Medium resistance weights. I was not bulking. My intent was to tone, and I am currently happy with the results I am seeing.

Incline Bench. 4 sets @ 15-15-12-12 reps
Dips 2 sets @ 8 to 10 reps
Upright Row 3 sets @ 12-10-12 reps
Shoulder Raises 4 sets @ 12-10-10-8 reps
Tricep Pushdown 4 sets @ 12-10-10-8 reps
Raise Crunches 3 sets @ muscle fatigue
Back Extension 2 sets @ 12 reps
Hanging Leg Lift 3 sets @ fatigue
Hip Abductors 4 sets @ 15-15-12-12

My Diet:

8:30am - Oatmeal, 3 eggwhites. I eat the reduced sugar apple/cinammon quaker oatmeal. 1 serving.

10:30am - banana and usually 1 serving, vitamin C naked juice. (1/2 the bottle)

1pm - Sandwich with sprouts, spinach leaves instead of lettuce, tomatoe, light mayo, roasted turkey or chicken usually on rye or 100% whole wheat bread. often with a packet of baby carrots and a piece of fruit of some sort.

3pm - 1 service vitamin C naked juice. (remaining 1/2 of the bottle) and usually either another banana or when I have the time celery/carrots with peanut butter or light ranch dressing.

5:30pm - Usually a well-rounded meal. 2 sides of greens or veggies of some sort. with a lean cut of chicken/beef or uncolored salmon. boneless skinless chicken breasts are super easy to cook, as are salmon filets with a little online research.

After this I usually head to the gym for about 1:30mins-2 hours.

when i get home and begin studying, etc, I usually just drink water or eat a yogurt. depending on how hungry I am and how late it is.


I hope there's someone out there that finds this useful. As I said, it is what has worked for me. It may or may not work for you. I feel like a completely different person mentally and physically. My girlfriend likes it, I love it, and my friends find it mildly annoying I'm always working out at night. I am happier than I have ever been and having done all this has really improved my clarity of thinking and self-confidence.

Some points I stress:

*Make time for working out and eating well. It is your body and your life, keeping sane is far more important than anything else.

*Find someone who can join you. Maybe not all the time, but a decent portion. Most people need that push. The hardest part is getting out the door.

Willravel

Sincerest congratulations on your lifestyle change. Overcoming bad life habits and transforming yourself into a healthier person is an epic pursuit. It seems you've done everything right. I'd say that your information would work for most people, so it'sgood that you posted it.

Frankly, it's damned similar to most stories I hear, and my own. I do need to bump up my every other day gym visit to 5 days a week, though. I've gotta get my back in shape for swimming season!

intecel

I wish I had someone to kick my ass back into shape... My girlfriend was my last project (getting her to get in shape), but she got bored, so I got bored... Now I need to figure out something else..

The biggest problem I have is food. I get so bored of the same food over and over again. I can only eat (or cook) chicken about 7 days straight before I'm sick of it for a month.

Then I start eating like crap, and figure that if I'm eating like crap, what's the point of going to the gym anyways...

Willravel

Intecel, you do your own shopping, yes? Only buy healthy food. If the crap (chips, sodas, salty, fatty or sugary snacks) isn't there to eat, you'll eat something else.

Dilbert1234567

first congrats to moba, i know it's tough to change, after high school i finaly got fed up with my lardyness and changed my diet, I've lost almost 100 lb since then (i'm about 200 lb today)

intecel, don't cook chicken 7 days in a row... throw some fish in there, (a good shrimp salad with a vinaigrette is awesome, a tiny bit of cheese, some candied nuts, you can have a superb salad that's healthy), if price is an issue, cut them in half, they will stretch farther) and have the occasion piece of beef. it's ok to eat a bad meal every now and then, just not to often.

__________________
Donate Blood!

"Love is not finding the perfect person, but learning to see an imperfect person perfectly." -Sam Keen

dirtyrascal7

That's awesome, Moba (and willravel and Dilbert)... I wish you guys the best in your continuing journey for better health.

I've been undergoing a similar lifestyle adjustment over the past 3-4 months. I have been watching my calorie intake and choosing much healthier foods and more appropriate portions. A very good website I've found helpful in learning about which foods are good choices is http://www.nutritiondata.com

I still have a couple more weeks of low-calorie diet (to trim the rest of my fat) before I switch and start eating more calories as I build up some muscle mass. Just remember that you cannot burn fat and gain muscle (in large quantities at least) simultaneously... you can either concentrate on losing fat and maintaining your current muscles or concentrate on building muscle while gaining only a little fat.

I've found that you don't even really need to have someone to go with you to the gym... just someone else who is going through the same process. My friend Ryan lives in another state, but we keep each other updated on our progress and what we've done recently. If he mentions he worked out for 2 hours today, I feel guilty if I haven't done the same, so it has been good motivation having him along for the ride.

__________________
"Tie yourself to your limitless potential, rather than your limiting past."

"Every man I meet is my superior in some way. In that, I learn of him."

cadre

I was looking around that website and it looks great. Thanks for the link!

Congratulations to all of you that have done well with being healthier. You definately have more will power than me. I'm going to try though since I am done with the semester and I won't have to eat on campus next year that should help. I'm keepin my fingers crossed.

__________________
My life is one of those 'you had to be there' jokes.

Moba

Thanks for all the positive replies. The nutrition website is informative. Nice link.

I was curious if you guys had any experience with hitting a plateau in your workout routine -- my primary focus is still losing weight while maintaining current muscle mass. I feel I may be bearing down on it now, but I'm not entirely clear on what I should do to turn it around. How often should I implement a new routine? Can I go back to my initial routine after I've switched it up for a while?

Speaking with my mother who has always been into fitness, she got to a point with spinning where regardless of 2 hours a day on the bike she just couldn't get anywhere, and had to switch to aerobics classes for a while. To my knowledge, I thought that weight loss was simply attributed to burning more calories than you consume, and depending on that varying degree you can zone in to a healthy weight for one's size. Am I wrong?

Willravel

The plateau is an evil SOB. When you hit this point, I suggest changing your workout completely. If you run a lot, try long distance swimming. If you swim a lot, try roller blading 6 miles. If you use machines, switch to free weights. If you use free weights, try resistance using your own bodyweight. Also, this is the time to tie up the loose ends in your diet. It's time to finally stop drinking your daily coke or having that once a week hamburger.

That's a good point, but there's a problem: after your body has undergone it's change and has reached the plateau, it learns how to squeeze every calorie out of what you eat. It adapts to the new situation with more exercise and better diet, and tries to compensate by being more efficient in taking the fats, carbs, and proteins out. So what do you do? You change things up again. Keep your body adapting by changing your diet. Eat a lot of apples? Try something like pears or plums. Shoot, try broccoli.

Moba

very helpful advice. thanks a ton.

Porkchop

Great post. I too around oct last year thought enough is enough, i know enjoy a new lifestyle, although it is hard at times to keep motivated with other interests work etc.

__________________
Be cool b*tch now b*tch be cool
Sport 1976 Taxi Driver.