Routine Help

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3 Jun 2006
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558
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Saafend
Right so here it goes. Last Monday I packed up the cigs after 5 1/2 years of smoking (using nicotine patches), dusted off the gym membership card and decided I want to get "into shape" the final push was probably the girlfriend and a comment she made lol. Either way, I gave myself a week for my breathing to improve before I returned to the gym. I set myself 3 goals and a set of rules to obey:

Goals
1. Reduce weight to 11 - 11.5 stone [Currently 12.13st - I'm 23, 5ft 11]
2. Improve breathing capacity
3. Build muscle (I don't want to be bodybuilder big, just enough, I'd say
"Tone" but I think GordyR may hurt me)

Rules
1. No Beer - Only vodka/diet mixer and keep it MODERATE
2. No Takeaways
3. Replace fizzy drinks with water or juice
4. Don't eat highly saturated fatty foods when hungry
5. Eat 3 meals a day, snack on fruits when your hungry

Now I've read the sticky threads and I'm still confused of what would be best for me. I've written up a spreadsheet that will record gym attendance (total hours), weight loss/gain and any other exercise that I do. I'm taking this very seriously.
I went to the gym yesterday for the first time in 4 months and It wasn't too bad, although I only did 10 minute warm up on the treadmill, 15 on cross-trainer and 10 minutes again on the treadmill before stretching off and warming down - needless to say I have no idea what I'm suppose to be doing in there. I really need some help with a routine that will help me achieve the above goals. Is my target weight too low for age/height? As it comes to diet, today for example:

Breakfast -2 weetabix with skimmed milk, glass of OJ
Lunch - Jacket potatoe with veggie chilli
Dinner - (Yet to come) Fish, new potatoes and vegetables.

Drink wise I've had 2 bottles of water.
I'm sitting here and I'm very hungry and it's only been 3 hours since I last ate, I'm not sure whether it's because I'm psychologically craving cigarettes (physically I can't be because of the patches) or what. I don't want my metabolism to hit a brick wall and I put on more weight.
 
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So I should stay away from weight completely and just do pure cardio or is some lifting good? How many times a week should I be doing this, I know taking a break is just as important as working out? I've been looking at gym 4 and a 5 miles run with a mate once a week.
 
I appreciate all the replies.
For the time being I think I'm just going to ease myself in with cardio, at the moment I'm only really concerned about reducing body fat. I'll hit the gym 3 maybe 4 times a week and dedicate 2 of those to cardio, the other for lifting.
I've made my primary target to 12 stone now, once I get there I'll see where it takes me. I'll only allow myself to get down to 11.5 as a bare minimum, obviously it's going to be a lot of hard work and I know it'll take a lot of time.

So what I'm understanding is - With a good mix of cardio and lifting, combined with a calorie controlled diet, I'll reach my goals?!
 
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Well I'm only on day 2 of this diet and I'm struggling, guess everything takes time to adjust. Once again, thanks all.
 
I was hoping 11.5 by Mid-Jan aslong as I'm strict over Christmas. It's a bloddy struggle to adapt to this diet. Comes with time like everything else I guess.
 
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