Lose a stone and maybe tone a little in 3 months

rossyl

rossyl

rossyl

Soldato
Joined
27 Oct 2002
Posts
4,260
Location
London
Hey, i wanna lose a stone or more, and tone up a bit, particularly in the chest region in 3 months.

Firstly main thing is to be realistic.

I come back from work late shattered. And am not really the gym sort.

Here's my current routine.

Breakfast - Two bananas.
Lunch - I eat a Ginsters Cornish Pasty and two oranges throughout day.
Snack - Tea and biscuits or whatever crap is going when i come back rom work. Dinner - I eat whatever is put on the table, and little can be done to help that (although its usually home cooked beef/pork/chicken and rice and veg).

And about 5pints a week on average. (some weeks that'll be 2 pints, occasional big nights out a lot more)

Excercise

None. Drive to work. Sit down behind desk. Come home sit and watch TV. Its rubbish I know.

I am trying to do some time on the rowing amchine. However after like 3mins i feel knackered. I suppose I have to learn how to break through the pain barrier. But I find it boring.

I have thought about going for a 30min walk (up large hill, then down large hill).

I am also trying to go play squash once a week for 45mins, although my mates are useless.


I have press up bars that i rarely ever use. And one of those ab cruncher things my sister bought.

ADVICE Please! :p :p
 
I have read it before, when i was getting all keen. Was gonna buy weights etc. But i wasn't being realistic. As I'd buy the stuff and never use it.

Having 5-6meals as Gordy suggests doesn't really work with my daily schedule, I don't even have time for breakfast, and occasionally don't take lunch til 3pm. And usually eat dinner at 10pm.

The thing about doing gym stuff, i.e. bench presses, running machines etc bores the hell outta me. I'm more for natural sport excercise. Excercise that mentally stimulates me, and is relatively natural. Like going for a walk, or playing football. unfortunately its a bit late to get into local clubs etc.

I'm not looking to be butch and built...just to lose weight and tone up a little to lose the boobs! I was hoping the rowing machine, and maybe push ups would help in light toning.

HOWEVER...I am willing to try and change my current regime. It would be stupid for me to come on here and say, "I'm changing nothing, make me lose weight".

But the most important thing is to be realistic. As otherwise it will alst for one week.
 
Last edited:
rossyl said:
Hey, i wanna lose a stone or more, and **** up a bit, particularly in the chest region in 3 months.
Click to expand...

Notice I starred out the above sweary. Well it's not technically a sweary but it's banned from my vocabulary. :D

rossyl said:
Here's my current routine.

Breakfast - Two bananas.
Lunch - I eat a Ginsters Cornish Pasty and two oranges throughout day.
Snack - Tea and biscuits or whatever crap is going when i come back rom work. Dinner - I eat whatever is put on the table, and little can be done to help that (although its usually home cooked beef/pork/chicken and rice and veg).

And about 5pints a week on average. (some weeks that'll be 2 pints, occasional big nights out a lot more)
Click to expand...

Ok by the sounds of it you mainly want to lose some fat. Since your daily schedule is very unforgiving and you wont be do any 'real' form of resistance training i'll try to give advice based on what I think you 'will' do rather than what I think you truly 'should' do... If that makes any sense.

Breakfast: Drop one of the bananas. Add in a bowl of oats, cut up the other banana and add it on top. Add a hardboiled egg or two in here too. You're only going to be eating three meals a day so they need to be a bit more substantial than what you're having currently.

Lunch: First of all drop that Ginsters pasty! Swap it out for a round of sandwiches with wholemeal bread and some form of lean meat or perhaps a jacket potato with tuna.

Dinner: Eat whatever your mum cooks.

Snacks: Drop the biscuits along with any sugar you have in your tea. Switch to sweetners if you must. Instead snack on raw veggies like carrots and fruit. Don't go overboard with the fruit though, it's still sugary and the calories add up.

Right, at least then you'll be eating a little healthier. Weigh yourself when you start and then weigh again a week later. If you haven't lost 2 lb's then drop your calories further (around 200-300 a day less) by having 'slightly' smaller portions of everything. If you have lost 2 lb's then congratulations are in order. Keep your diet the same and continue to lose fat slowly but surely.


rossyl said:
None. Drive to work. Sit down behind desk. Come home sit and watch TV. Its rubbish I know.

I am trying to do some time on the rowing amchine. However after like 3mins i feel knackered. I suppose I have to learn how to break through the pain barrier. But I find it boring.

I have thought about going for a 30min walk (up large hill, then down large hill).

I am also trying to go play squash once a week for 45mins, although my mates are useless.


I have press up bars that i rarely ever use. And one of those ab cruncher things my sister bought.
Click to expand...

Okay well from what you say here it seems clear to me that you wont really be doing much in the way of exercise. If you really want to speed up your fat loss then you need to force yourself to start. You wont be lifting weights so gaining any muscle mass is out, all you can do is work on losing that fat. I wont sit here and type out a workout routine for you because from your post it is clear that you wont be able to follow it. You seem to know that you 'should' be doing exercise but also freely admit that you wont do it. It's not very easy for us to advise you because of this.

Do I think you will manage to lose a stone in 3 months? Well it's certainly possible and not all that difficult but without exercise or improving your diet further by switching to 5-6 small meals etc. (both of which you are unable to do) it is unlikely. If you really want to make this change then you need to work for it mate. That means cutting out the rubbish in your diet. Forcing yourself to exercise and forcing yourself to eat frequently to keep your metabolism up.

We can give you all the advice in the world but it will do no good unless you act upon it. Regardless good luck! :)
 
Last edited:
Thanks Gordy and others for posts.

DIET can and will be changed.

So porridge in morning (original quaker oats? Alpen?)

In between breakfast and lunch it can only really be fruit. I currently have oranges. If its other fruit it should be something that can just be eaten or peeled and eaten, don't really ahve time for avocados and things like that.

Sandwiches with tuna/ham/chicken. Will be arranged. With no mayo I presume?

Snack here? I have no sugar in tea really. Fruit can be put substituted again.

Excercise

I'm not gonna buy a bench and massive bar, but dumbells aren't off the chart.
What about the rowing machine? The walk? and push up bars?

If you could think of soething that is manageable that'd be great.

I think it is important to be honest. Ther's no point you setting a 3 hour training regime, when i've barely got time for 1 hour.

Spur me on mate!

Ross

Dinner - No change.
 
How far do you live from work? Considered cycling or just walking?

Your doing absolutely nothing atm so even going for a fast paced half hour walk at some point in the day would do you good.
 
I was going to start a new thread for this, but I think its similar enough to rossyl's questions to join in.
I am in a similar position. Want to lose a few pounds and get fitter / look better. I figure we can help each other.

I don't eat meat of any kind, and basically since New Year have started to eat healthier - less bread with meals, less sugar / chocolate and more fruits / Salads. Less stuffing myself till my stomach aches with fullness ! - Since doing that, I have lost 7 pounds. So far so good.

The diet is slipping now a bit though, and I want to combat that by starting an exercise routine. I too am also very busy - work full time, 2 small children - its gone 9pm when I get chance to do anything, and by then I am knackered.

My plan is this. Go swimming once a week for an hour, and walk a lot more. (Weather is getting nicer, and we walk a lot) - These I can manage without assistance !

Home exercise - (Here is where I need help!) - I want to do a routine everyday to improve strength, Stamina and muscle.

Press-Ups, Sit-Ups, Crunches, Dumbbells. That sort of thing. Now this may sound daft - but HOW ?!

I do a dozen or so press-ups and collapse in a big heap. Do I start with girly ones where I keep my knees on the floor ? or just do 10 or so normal ones and build from there ?

Sit Ups - pulls my back quite a lot, and I have had trouble before, so I have bought a sit-up machine, which helps a lot. Highly recommended and quite cheap.
I see these done different all the time, some people lift there back about 6 inches, some people touch their elbows to their knees ? What is best ?

Dumbbells, I kind of waft them about a bit and think "they get heavy after a bit". Are there proper methods of using these to build different arm muscles ? Just holding them and bending my elbows seems wrong somehow !

How do I do these exercises properly (and effectively) without doing myself some damage.
 
i dunno the proper name but i do these kinda situps where i lay flat on me back and then raise my legs all the back round till my kness are close to my face and hold for a few seconds and then lower again slowly.

I dunno if there a proper exercise as i just started doing them one night in the house, but there really good i find, strengthens the legs and that. Am no fitness guru like gordy so i dont no what they are helping specifically but i do no they are helping.

the swimming thing sounds good to me for you, maybe if the kids are old enough you coudl take them as well?
 
EasyG said:
i dunno the proper name but i do these kinda situps where i lay flat on me back and then raise my legs all the back round till my kness are close to my face and hold for a few seconds and then lower again slowly.

I dunno if there a proper exercise as i just started doing them one night in the house, but there really good i find, strengthens the legs and that. Am no fitness guru like gordy so i dont no what they are helping specifically but i do no they are helping.

the swimming thing sounds good to me for you, maybe if the kids are old enough you coudl take them as well?
Click to expand...

Thanks for that - yes, the plan is to go myself for a few weeks, to do some swimming, and then take the girls on weekends to do some bobbing around with arm-bands :D

I'll give those sit-ups a go too, thanks.
 
One easy meal that you can make in the morning then take anywhere is this:
1 tine of tuna in sunflower oil
two spring onions
cottage cheese
pitta bread
pepper

Drain some of the oil from the tuna, chop your spring onions, mix it in with the tuna and cottage cheese, put it in toasted pitta. Add however much pepper you like and maybe some lemon juice too. Nice, easy, tasty and healthy.
 
zain said:
lol its funny how much everyone hates the T word here :P
Click to expand...

yeah, although being sat in the middle (am overweight with a mate whos a fitness trainer)i can see why both sides use/hate it

the end goal for the unfit is usually the "American Beauty" effect
Lester Burnham: I figured you guys might be able to give me some pointers. I need to shape up. Fast.

Jim Olmeyer: Are you just looking to lose weight, or do you want increased strength and flexibility as well?

Lester Burnham: I want to look good naked!
Click to expand...

whereas in practice the diet/exercise regime will normally achieve this if implemented properly without the mythical 'toning' of xyz muscle group.
 
swap the pints out for a voddy. Isnt a vodka and diet coke the least number of calories you can fit into a glass? Thought i read that somewhere.

Lose the Ginsters. I used to work in the Ginsters factory in my student days, and they taste exactly how youd imagine they would taste after being hand stuffed by a load of workshy grubby students! The extra "spices" we used to add! :)

Dont go carb mad, mix a bit of protein into the diet, chicken, fish, turkey, etc etc

Once a week squash isnt a lot of good, try going more often. Does the place you play squash have a normal gym section you can use? Rowing machine is cool though :)

Buy more fruit to eat during the day in between main meals, bananas/pears/apples, any old thing so long as its a fruit :)

Youre knackered after 3 mins on the rower probably cause your going too fast, just ease back a bit.


I came back after xmas with an extra stone on!!! now nearly shifted it.
Breakfast either readybrek with a bit of honey or a bacon sandwhich
I buy a bag of fruit for munching during the day and have a chicken salad for lunch
Then something like pasta, baked spud, pork chops, veg for evening meal.
Plus go to the gym for an hour 4 times a week. lard is soo much easier to put on than take off so youll have to break into a sweat at some point.

I find weekends are the hardest though and had to hide the takeaway menus!

But dont give up hope. Lose the beer and the "pasties" and get some exercise.
 
I'm similar to the OP, not really into gyms as they bore me. Well recently (don't laugh) i bought a tae bo fitness dvd and have been doing half an hour of that a day.

Now my question is i've been doing it a week along with a reduced diet and have only lost 1lb, i sweat like a pig when i'm flailing my arms and legs about, but does that actually mean i'm actually doing any good? primary goal; is weight / flub loss.
 
rossyl said:
Having 5-6meals as Gordy suggests doesn't really work with my daily schedule, I don't even have time for breakfast, and occasionally don't take lunch til 3pm. And usually eat dinner at 10pm.

.
Click to expand...


it doesnt fit in with my work/home life either, but im doing a damn good job of trying.

eat breakfast as early as possible, if that means getting up 15mins earlier so be it.

the rower is doing you no good what so ever tbh, i do about 5 mins a go when i goto the gym, but i also do other things aswell while there.
if you encorporate the rower into other exercise then you will be doing good.
try to do 100m splits, 100 steady, 100 fast, 100 steady etc etc
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom