2012 Weight Loss Thread

A few weeks ago following advice on here i set myself up a plan to get on the road to fit. I lost my way with many distractions but i am back.

I am starting my diet/fitness regime slowly this week before properly doing it starting monday so i have a fresh week to go on.

This is my Gym Plan;
5 mins warm up on treadmill
Alternate days between
Workout A
3 x 5 - squat
3 x 5 - bench press
3 x 5 - barbell row.
Quote:
Workout B
3 x 5 - squat
3 x 5 - overhead press
1 x 5 - deadlift
followed by

15 mins on bike
5 mins on rower
5 mins stretching.
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I am going to try and sort out my diet this week. Been reading around regarding calorie intake etc. Anyone shed any light on this or any good plans they have been following?

Cant remember if i mentioned this earlier or not?

Thanks
 
Big milestone hit this week, I'm no longer obese! Get in!

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All I can say is, just do it, its a cliche but only you can run, go for a bike ride, lift weights, you dont need anything fancy, (cheap bike, trainers or I was on £28 monthly gym membership )just get into a routine and stick with it, I was drinking nearly every weekend and still go fit, would have probably had a 6 pack if I had given up alcohol.

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Left was me in March last year and in July, nothing but eating lean meats and veg/rice/pasta with nearly every day doing something, going for a run, big ride on my MTB or gym work.

DO IT TOMORROW trust me, I was like meh then just did a week and got back into the buzz and the rest was history, Spring/Summer is the best time had so much fun doing it, once Winter comes I go a bit slack due to the short days and cold and Christmas/New Year but back on it now.
 
Some advice from a Noob (who's lost over 2 stones since January :D)

Don't use fancy diets and don't bother with gym membership unless you're genuinely interested in going to the gym.

Do download and use MyfitnessPal App and stick to the calories it allows you. Add everything you eat and drink - this is important, I know a few people who don't add drinks or the odd snack and then wonder why they're not losing weight.

Take up running or cycling, start off slowly and keep it up and you will eventually enjoy it and won't see it as a chore.

If you do have to have a treat or a night out make sure you pay it back with exercise, a 30 min run or a 45 min bike ride equates to roughly 400 calories. For example if you want 4 pints on a Saturday night then go for an hours run in the park the following Sunday ;)

Think of it as a lifestyle change and only do and eat stuff that you can see yourself carrying on with when you've reached your target weight.

One last thing, get to know just how many calories are in certain snack foods like sweets, cakes and biscuits (MyfitnessPal will help) you'll be surprised and will want to avoid these high calorie foods in favour of something more filling with fewer calories. For example a small 60g ASDA Mousse and a 2 finger KitKat as roughly the same calories as a bowl of golden syrup flavour Oats So Simple which is more filling, better for you and imo tastes much better..

Good luck :)
 
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Good advice there pumaz especially about seeing this as a long term lifestyle change but not just a short term fix before you return to old habits.

I would add that if you have a smartphone then there are a heap of great apps that let you aim for a goal that isn't based on weight. I use 100 Pushups, Runkeeper, Fitocracy and Stronglifts all of which can be used to see improvement week on week that isn't just based on losing weight. I also used Couch to 5k initially and my missus swears by it for helping motivate her.

I track my weight as well but often I find it good to see some numbers that actually show me getting fitter as well as thinner. At some point I will stop worrying about my weight (once I get to a BMI around 22) and so having other goals to aim for will help me keep up my exercise routine. I'd love to work towards something like a half-marathon as I can run 5km no problems now and 10km leaves me a bit sore but not actually that tired, this is a looooooong way from when I started and couldn't even do 1km without feeling like I was dying!

Good luck to everyone :)
 
Hey ricky I'm looking in to doing something to tone the top half of my body! and will look into some of those Apps you mentioned. Want to try and do something that doesn't involve going to a gym, buying a multi gym (although i'm not against buying a few weights) and that I can do from home by just incorporating it into a daily routine.

At the moment I can run 3 miles, I do this 3 days a week, my recovery time is getting better each time and I'm at the point where I'm actually enjoying it and thinking of entering a half marathon maybe next year. I've also started cycling to work which is a 10 mile round trip 5 days a week and finally Me and the wife go for a 5 mile very brisk (4.5 MPH) walk on a Sunday. So I think my legs are getting enough exercise it's just my top half I need to do something with!!!

Was the same as you, couldn't even run half a mile without feeling I was going to die! and walked most of the 3 mile route I do!
 
Maybe look at suspension training? I have a TRX one but there are much cheaper alternatives but I didn't look around at the time :( You can hook them on to a door or beam or tree and the nature of how it works forces you to strengthen core muscles rather than just pumping iron.

I've found pushups very good for upper body work with no equipment but when you start out you might find you're quite limited in how many you can do so maybe a routine with a few exercises would be better.

You can do a surprising range of exercises with just some cheap weights although as you progress you might find you want to join a gym or get some more serious kit so you can increase the weight and have the safety of a stand/cage (if you do then it'd be because you're enjoying it so are less likely to mind the cost).

One thing I have found is that as I upped the weights I was lifting I couldn't alternate between weights one day and pushups the next because my body was still recovering from the previous day. I am contemplating just doing 20-30 pushups each day (as well as a 5km run and 15-20 mins cycling/cross-training) and doing weights on alternate days.

Maybe stick up a new post or do a search as there are a lot of much more clued-up people who would probably be able to suggest some equipment and/or a routine for you :)
 
Rusty_Noob said:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BxYBsq6OsJpsY3pvUl9XUU5TQ3k3Q2d3SHJIYk5oQQ

Heres a link to the spreadsheet I use, you need to enter your weight in lbs and height in inches for it to calculate properly - just click file download in the top left to start using it yourself.
Click to expand...

I think there's a bug in that, the first height is used properly for the BMI, but anything after uses the height of 76 inches, aka row 4 onwards. Regardless, pretty nice spreadsheet and grats on the loss :).
 
Zhokel said:
I think there's a bug in that, the first height is used properly for the BMI, but anything after uses the height of 76 inches, aka row 4 onwards. Regardless, pretty nice spreadsheet and grats on the loss :).
Click to expand...

Whoops! Sorry about that, I'll amend it and reupload tonight. The 76 inches is my height so I've obviously not linked it in properly.

Thanks dude :)
 
cheets64 said:
Whats with these fancy apps, you DONT need them notepad paper or excel to track what you are doing, keep it simple.
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Apps are a great motivator and can do so much more than "notepad paper or excel". Carrying a smart phone round with internet connectivity and GPS etc. is so much more convenient than carrying a notepad and at least a laptop to run excel!!!

Welcome to the 21st century btw :p
 
pumaz said:
Apps are a great motivator and can do so much more than "notepad paper or excel". Carrying a smart phone round with internet connectivity and GPS etc. is so much more convenient than carrying a notepad and at least a laptop to run excel!!!

Welcome to the 21st century btw :p
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just use gmaps-pedometer.com to track your route, do these apps accurately track stuff? Also when I lost 11lb I never calories counted just stuck to a healthy balanced diet.

People dont want to over complicate things that is when they start finding excuses not to exercise
 
cheets64 said:
just use gmaps-pedometer.com to track your route, do these apps accurately track stuff? Also when I lost 11lb I never calories counted just stuck to a healthy balanced diet.

People dont want to over complicate things that is when they start finding excuses not to exercise
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Like said above, people are motivated by different things. There is nothing wrong with how you lost you weight, nor is there an issue with anyone losing weight and using apps etc. Everyone has the same goal in the end.
 
cheets64 said:
People dont want to over complicate things that is when they start finding excuses not to exercise
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Says the person who earlier in the thread admitted to slacking cause it was winter.:D

Whatever way someone finds that works for them is the correct way. If people want to count calories and use apps then that's just fine
 
I slacked because its not safe to cycle at night, its bad enough in daylight around here.

I lost over a stone and went from not being about to do 4 press up to doing over 20 in one go last year.
 
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