PoteMatic

Ok im out of shape and want to get into shape but i dont know much about it and i would like to get some advice...

I am probably 5'5" or 5'6" and weigh 196 Ibs. 34" waist

Most of my fat is in my stomach and in my pecks. How can i tone down and loose some weight? Is there a routine i should get on?

Any help would be appreciated...

tikki

What kind of stuff are you eating? Post what you ate in the past 24 hours (EVERYTHING!), and we'll go from there.

__________________
Take notice. Take interest. Take me with you.

Mael

take that a step further and keep a little notebook with you and write down everything you eat and drink, what time, sizes if you can, calories, etc, as much info as possible. also write down how you're feeling at the time and whether or not your eating because your hungry, bored, depressed, whatever, etc. when you see it in writing, you'll be surprised how much/little it is compared to what you think you are eating.

clavus

Run. (jog)

Seriously. Run 1/2 hour per day every day. If at first you can't run/jog the whole time, walk. Just keep moving.

Go for time, not distance. Its not a race. Don't sprint. Just set a nice even pace.

The first two weeks will be tough. Make it through that, then it gets a LOT easier.

Once you have that down, start increasing the time you run. Don't be a fool about it. Bumpt it up to 45 minutes a day and an hour one day a week. Get used to this, then check out one of the bazillion different running excercise regimes out there.

You'd be amazed how much better you will feel and how much you can do over the course of a few weeks. And hey, those pounds come off too as long as you don't go bongo-brain with your diet.

Good luck! You can do it!

__________________
Ass, gas or grass. Nobody rides for free.

PoteMatic

ok last 24 hrs lemme think what all i ate...

fried egg with cheese on an english muffin and 2 glasses of oj - 9:30

bowl of goldne gram cereal 2% milk - 4:30

cheese burger on white roll and about 10 tatter tots - 8:30

9 bagle bites pizza things - 1 am

2 pepsi's ,3 glasses of water , 1 1/2 glasses of ginger ale.


For running/walking is it ok to wear any shoes?

tikki

bagel bites at 1am bad. That's just gonna turn to fat because you don't burn as much energy at night.

You need some veggies, more protein, less carbs in general.

I promise vegetables don't hurt.

Also, switch to Diet Pepsi. It tastes good, and after a few months regular Pepsi will taste nasty.

__________________
Take notice. Take interest. Take me with you.

HarmlessRabbit

My suggestion:

I'm an atkins dieter but in any event you need to cut WAY back on the sugar. Kill the OJ, kill the pepsi, kill the ginger ale, kill the golden grahams. You're going to be diabetic when you're 40 with that kind of diet. Replace one meal a day with a big salad with lots of veggies and a vinegar-and-oil based dressing. Drink a big glass of water with every meal.

For running/walking since you're starting out slow I'd recommend just some cheap running/walking shoes from somewhere like Target (should be less than $25). Like clavus says, just start by doing SOMETHING.

If you JUST do that, cut out the sodas and sugar and add in 30 minutes of walking every day, you will:

- Cut out about 400 calories a day in sugar
- Add about 100 calories a day in exercise

A pound of fat is about 3,500 calories, so that's actually exactly a week of work on your new plan. So, if you keep it up, you can expect to lose up to a pound a week. Not bad, eh?

The death of any diet is in cheating. There will always be a night out with the guys, a special event, or some reason to eat junk food or skip exercising. Don't do it.

Just start out with that, stick to it for two months, and then once you're into the groove on that you can come back here and ask for help getting to the next level. The next step would be to take your diet more seriously and start doing some weightlifting to put on some muscle.

But first things first.

Darkblack

Okay, here is my 2 cents worth.

First meal you have is ok other than the double dose of OJ. Switch one of those for a glass of water or cup of herbal tea. The next biggest problem is the time between your next meals. In order to speed up your metabolism you need to eat small meals about 6 times a day. So if you had breakfast at 9:30, have a piece of fruit at 11 and then a healthy lunch (small salad, miso soup, something low calorie low carbs.) at around 1pm. Around 3 or so have some carrot sticks or something small just to keep the metabolism going. A low fat ranch dressing makes them yummy! Around 6pm eat a healthy dinner. Try to stay away from a lot of fried food and starchy foods. Whole grains, fresh veggies and fruit, fish, small cuts of lean meat, salads with low fat or oil and vinegar dressings, etc. Around 8pm have a desert. Fresh fruit, yogurt, something not to fatty. Eat nothing else for the rest of the night.

Make sure that during the day you are drinking 5-8 glasses of water. This is very important for your body.

I can guarantee you if you change your diet and eating habits and include a nightly walk or a jog in the morning you will notice a huge difference in a couple months.

mtbiker

just to let you know what has worked for me.
I cut out most sugar...basicaly just cutting WAY back on the soda.
I eat breakfast everyday (eggs and cheese). I used to skip breakfast.
I drink over 1/2 gallon of water everyday too. becarefull with this, too much water leaches minerals out of your body.
and I bike every day for at least an hour. road, trails, what ever I can get.
I've had loads of people come up and say "you've lost a lot of weight". I've been doing this for a little over a month and feel FANTASTIC!!

I'm currently 5'8" and about 210 (down from 230 a few months ago).

most importantly, be patient. You have to stick with it. In a couple weeks you will notice changes and start feeling better...use that to motivate yourself further.

hobbes

Here's what has made me lose ten pounds in the last month:

Monday-Friday:

Breakfast: 8 oz. of yogurt
Mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack: Orange slices (the fruit, not the candy)
Lunch: Small salad, non-fat dressing
Dinner: Veggie burger, turkey burger, or Subway's honey mustard ham sub (foot long); heavy on the lettuce and tomatoes, no cheese or mayo
Evening snack: canned peaches or pineapple or applesauce

Around bedtime, I drink some skim milk. The rest of the day all I drink is spring water or naturally flavored seltzer. It's like guilt-free soda. I don't trust artificial sweeteners.

Weekends I eat whatever I want, but my craving for bad food is waning. I believe in easing your way into a healthy diet.

Exercise: 6 days a week, 15-30 min. on a stairclimber, and then an hour on an elliptical machine. I'll add in weight training soon, when I'm in better shape. My goal is to lose 100 pounds.

PoteMatic

Damn tons of good advice... I think that i am going to start walking every day for 30min. Im getting more time in the days and i think i am going to get back into skateboarding... For while i skated 3 hrs a day minimum and would drink at least 1 gallon of water each day. I am getting hyped about this exercising and eating good stuff LoL. I think that i will post on this thread every day and just list what i ate and did that day that way if it was bad i will hear it from people and realize that im messing it up.

mvassek

The first thing to remember about diet is the first three letters are DIE. You are not giving your body what it needs so you have cravings and upon reaching you goal weight you revert to your original eating.

Spend the money and find a good nutritionist who will teach you about the food pyramid and help you set up an eating plan that is part of the larger Healthy Lifestyle which includes the foods you eat and an exercise program that you enjoy (if you don't enjoy it you will have a hard time continuing it).

Remember it is a Healthy lifestyle and some of your habits will have to be changed but in the long run it will be worth it.

Matt

asquint

Every few hours during the day do some pushups/situps/crunches
start off with what you can comfortably do and add acouple of reps every day. You can easily be knocking out 50-60 pushups in 2 minutes in less than 2 months. Continue the aerobic exercise (walk/run/swim/bicycle) and maintain a healthy diet.

__________________
Hi-Tech Redneck