Losing weight in a HEALTHY way

[stitch1z]

Okay, I'm a fat bastard. Which is a shame, because outside of that I have a pretty healthy lifestyle: I don't drink alcohol or carbonated drinks, I don't smoke, I eat mostly "healthy", non-fried food (but I eat way too large of quantities), and I occasionally exercise (mostly heavy bag work and when the stars align I will jog with my Bull Terrier).

My weight has fluctuated up and down a lot my whole life. When I was actively kickboxing, I was in great shape for the most part (about 220 with just a bit of flab). But I ate like a lunatic. I look like a crackhead at 200, so my frame is heavy as hell.

But I have gotten WAY too fat now and I need a simple diet / exercise program to drop weight. No money for a gym, no scientific understanding of carbs, dietary fibers, etc.

Can anybody help, because it's straight up embarrassing to have let myself go this far (damn near 270!!!!).

If somebody hooks me up, I will post my progress here.

[zzTIGERzz81]

You can really improve your shape with simple bodyweight exercises especially since you have a good bit to use as weight. ;)

Anyways...eat more often but eating smaller portions will really help. If you eat sugars a lot...just substitute those with fresh fruits to cure your sweet tooth.

Go to this site for some really good exercises that use only your bodyweight. Also, if you just do them and instead of rest periods you do some cardio work then you should burn a ton more calories.

http://www.liveawesome.com/public/department58.cfm

Men's Health does some helpful stuff on this too..but I haven't been to their site in a while. I just got my wife started on this bodyweight stuff because she doesn't like gyms.

[stitch1z]

Thanks man!

When I get to my home comp, I'll post a pic and keep this thread updated.

I know I'm not the only fat ass that lurks the FLD forum, so maybe it will help someone else out as well. :D

[bail3yz]

Eat less :)

Count your calories.. and reduce calories.

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

Use that calculator to figure out how many calories you should be eating per day.

It might be too big of a jump to drop down all at once.. so do it over time.

Also, eat more smaller meals.. instead of a few large ones.
Dont completely fill up.

If you eat a bunch of small meals.. your body will get use to it and realize it can use all the food you give it for energy because it knows itll get more food soon.. if you just eat a few big meals a day.. itll store some of the food as fat because its unsure of when its next meal will be.

Drink a lot of water (helps you from being hungry).. and eat a lot of vegetables (next to no calories).

Hit the treadmill!

EDIT: I repeated a lot of stuff Tiger said .. I was typing my post when he posted lol

[zzTIGERzz81]

Thanks man!

When I get to my home comp, I'll post a pic and keep this thread updated.

I know I'm not the only fat ass that lurks the FLD forum, so maybe it will help someone else out as well. :D

Well at least you are concerned about your health and willing to improve it and that is the hardest part.

[stitch1z]

Thanks Bail3yz. All looks like good info!

I've never exercised to lose weight before. Just for functionality.

So what kind of regiment would you guys suggest:
1 hour a day 3x a week or 5x a week?

At what point would I be over or under-doing it, how much should I ensure I eat, at what point should I stop. At what time of the day should I stop eating?

I can easily put on muscle mass (should I try and do that while I have the extra weight?)

I'm not asking anyone to layout my whole regiment for me, but any suggestions from knowledgeable cats would be awesome.

Thanks again!

[bail3yz]

As far as exercise routine goes.. do whatever you feel like doing.
If you eat properly.. and work out once a week.. youll lose weight.. if you work out 3 times a week.. youll lose weight faster...

If you dont want to do cardio work.. you can lift weights... if you are putting on a lot of muscle mass your weight wont go down as fast.. but just remember its just a number. Youll still be in a lot better shape and be losing fat.

Don't eat anything 3hours before bed.

Once you get into it.. youll see what works best for you and you can kind of do your own thing.

[zzTIGERzz81]

My suggestion would be to do the weight exercises 3 times/week say M/W/F and do cardio on Tues/Thurs. That way you will be active every weekday and you will not likely take breaks from exercising.

It is easy to lose focus when you first start back...so the more you commit yourself the harder it is to stop.

I would recommend doing some upper body on monday...then cardio on tuesday...then lower body on wednesday...then cardio on thursday...then full body with different exercises on friday.

[southpaw447]

I'd look into HIIT.

As far as diet, Try to keep calorie low (around 2500 per day)

High Protein, Low Carbs, Low Fat.

Get a lot of Green Vegetables, and Fruits (Particularly Berries like Blueberries, Raspberries, Strawberries that are high in antioxidants)

Keep Sugar consumption low as well. Too much Sugar and Carbs results in insulin spike which will in turn cause your body to store fat.

No Carb consumption after 7pm. Consume some type of Milk Protein before bed like Milk or Cottage Cheese.

Mix Up weight training and Cardio. Doing cardio alone is not going to be enough.


Look into Green Tea and some L-Carnitine as well.

[zzTIGERzz81]

I'd look into HIIT.

No Carb consumption after 7pm. Consume some type of Milk Protein before bed like Milk or Cottage Cheese.

yogurt too or even smoothies (homemade)...non-fat plain yogurt with frozen fruit and non-fat milk actually taste great. Just make sure it is non-fat.

SP447...what is HIIT? Intervals?

[MJB23]

I'm the same as you. I used to weigh 145 when I wrestled and now that I'm in college and haven't wrestled for 2 years I got fat again and now I'm up to about 185-190. I plan to get back down to about 150-155 by next September or October.

Pretty much everything everyone's said so far is perfect.

You'll know when you're training too much by listening to your body. Don't be afraid to take a rest day every once in awhile.

Sunday should be the day when you allow yourself to splurge a little bit and be a little more lax on your diet that day. You'll get bored of eating healthy all the time if you don't do that and then you'll start to slip up on the diet.

Limit your caloric intake. Breakfast should be your biggest meal of the day then between lunch and breakfast eat a small snack like an apple and do the same between lunch and dinner. This keeps your metabolism high so that even when you aren't doing anything you're burning fat.

Don't eat after 7 or 8 pm.

You should still be slightly hungry after you eat your meals but feel satisfied enough that you won't be going back for a snack in 20 minutes.

Salad with grilled chicken and a lowfat salad dressing is a great meal. I used to eat that all the time when I was losing weight for wrestling.

[southpaw447]

yogurt too or even smoothies (homemade)...non-fat plain yogurt with frozen fruit and non-fat milk actually taste great. Just make sure it is non-fat.

SP447...what is HIIT? Intervals?

HIIT is a training idea in which low to moderate intensity intervals are alternated with high intensity intervals.

Basically by doing intervals your body never adapts and therefore you can burn more calories in a shorter period of time.

Check out this article

http://www.teenbodybuilding.com/justin6.htm

[zzTIGERzz81]

yeah that is what I thought...I do that on my cardio days. It is more effective and has helped my fitness much more as well. It really helps on the treadmill because I get wicked splints

[MJB23]

I forgot to add the cardio part.

If you can run or jog then you should do that at least 2 days a week, the more the better, and the quicker you'll lose weight.

If you can't run or jog then go for walks and work you're cardio up until you can run.

Start off slow and try to go for a 30 minute to 1 hour jog/run a day. Alternate your pace from sprints to a slow jog to keep your heart working.

Remember that losing weight is something you do overtime. Don't expect to lose 20 or 30 pounds in 2 weeks. It takes time to lose a significant amount of weight and crash dieting doesn't work because you'll just end up putting it back on in a few months.

[PunchDrunk]

There's a lot of good advice in this thread. All I can say is stick with it. I've known too many people that aren't patient enough (or lack the willpower) and just gave up when the results weren't matching their expectations.

[SimplyNate]

It seems to be covered but I just wanted to wish you goodluck. I am going to partake in a weightloss routine as well.

Bascially I find if I don't set goals I never end up doing anything. So make sure you right stuff down, keep at least a weekly log, set a goal for the week, set some long term goals such as 1 month and 6 months as well. Just make sure the goals are reasonable.

[Ashilles]

Hey Mate,

I run a strength and Conditioning Company and we specialise in athlete performance with of course a focus on combat sports (boxing, kickboxing wrestling and BJJ). Despite the athletes 90 of my income comes form weight loss clients. You are not alone!!
There is so much info out there and i could type for years and still not cover the subject completely.

To be honest it sounds like you need more than just a routine of 3 x cardio and 3 x wghts for example. No doubt you have probably tried this before and found it hard to stick to it.

If you wont something different and enjoyable with not too much equipment needed but very good results go to

www.crossfit.com

It is a periodized program which can only be described as competitive fitness. I think the competitive aspect will really help you out. that is competiting against yourself and going on the comments and checking your times. It isnt for everyone but trust me it works.

Over 3-6 months the results are phenomenal.

Just click on the start here part on the left and have fun.
p.s. any other questions mate, send me a message and i can answer them specifically. I have two degrees one in Sport science (biomechanics, rehab, performance etc) and one in Nutrition.

[southpaw447]

God Damn Crossfit Nazi's. Taking up all the equipment in the gym...LOL

[Aaron]

if you do HIIT, prepare to sweat, ALOT

you are extremely tired afterwards....but it's badass man