Trying to lose fat need some advice

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matts0344

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OK, I'm a male, 20 years old, 150 lbs, 5'4, so I'm pretty big, and I need to lose weight. I never did any physical activity.

I started walking on a treadmill last October (2006) for 45 minutes 5-6 days a week (2.5mph).

December - March I added 4x 2 minute of light jogging at 4mph spread throughout the walk
and inclines.

April - Current I now do 45 minutes of walking at 3mph and 4x of 1 minute 4mph, 1 minute of 5mph, and 1 minute of 5.5mph. 6 days a week.

I also do light weight training with dumbells 3-4 days a week before going on the treadmill. (3 sets of 16 reps of: push-ups, dumblell curls, dumbells
presses, side-lateral raise, tricep extensions behind head, bicycle crunches)
(this is with 15lbs dumbells, this seem kinda weak?) I have no machines because I don't want to go to a gym (I'm embarassed and have no time)

I don't know that much about fitness, haven't read a book or got professional advice so I could definitely use some suggestions.

I definitely FEEL fitter, more energy, more fit etc but I haven't lost much weight, I think only about 10-15 lbs.

I definintely eat less than I used to a year ago, I don't drink soda, eat junk food or candy but haven't made drastic changes to WHAT I eat, only the amounts. I find changing my eating habits so much harder than working out.

I really want to lose more fat, I can't live being so fat anymore, I'm sick of it. I would appreciate any changes to my workout routine. Like exactly what speeds to go for what how much time, when to change speed/incline etc.
I would like to do no more than 1 hour a day, 6 days a week though.

I've read that your supposed to eat 5-6 meals a day, I definitely don't do this, who has time to do this? I'm just so busy with school and work. What exactly should a "meal" be?

Sorry for the long post I'm just so desperate for advice on what to do to lose weight, I really do appreciate any help you give me. Thanks.
 
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Hey, I'm having the exact same problem. I understand your pain and stress. I'm trying to go from 240 to about 190, and in about 2 months, I only lost 15-20 pounds too. I stopped drinking soda, try to eat good, but I sometimes fail.

Losing weight is hard to do. I recommend reading this site:

Don't stress it if you don't lose a lot of weight in just one week. It takes a lot of months to lose weight, and depending on what you eat and how hard you exercise, it could mean a lot.
 
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Oh also, about exercising.

I recommend buy a heart rate monitor. It will help you a lot in determining how hard you are working. Generally, you want to hit somewhere between 60-90% of your max heart rate. I usually do 163-177 for 30 minutes, with a 5 minutes cool down. Then, I run for 5-6 minutes, or .50 miles, with a heart rate at 90% or 181+.
 
Oh and finally... lol... last post.

I wouldn't recommend listening to people who are fit and never been fat before. While they understand that being fit requires exercising, they never really experienced being fat or overweight. I'm not bashing anyone or calling them wrong, I'm just saying that they sometimes say things that you cannot possibly do.

For example, losing 1-2 pounds per week. That is nearly impossible for someone who never exercised nor ate right. Even if you manage to change your entire lifestyle to fit this, you will probably create a yo-yo effect because you will turn right back to eating the stuff you ate before.

I'm trying to "phase" myself out. I started eating things that I normally don't eat before. Things like fruit, veg, etc. However, looking at the meal plans set out by various sites, it seems like nearly impossible to do, and it is. You can't go about life counting everything, because when you do, you're going to give it up later on down the road after losing the weight.

Remember, losing 1 pound in just a week and a half, is better than losing 5 pounds in just 5 days.
 
I'm a guy actually, I put that in my post (its ok though, it was kind of long). I'm just really short, maybe the scale is off a little also, I'm definitely pretty fat. I do actually have a heart rate monitor on the treadmill, just never used it.
 
Dont worry about numbers, but I would say your natural body weight is around 120.

Post your current diet (as detailed as you can go)
 
matts0344 said:
I'm a guy actually, I put that in my post (its ok though, it was kind of long). I'm just really short, maybe the scale is off a little also, I'm definitely pretty fat. I do actually have a heart rate monitor on the treadmill, just never used it.
Click to expand...

Yea sorry about that, I edited my post hoping you wouldn't see it. lol.

Yea, it would be best to use that heart rate monitor. It really helps.

Hopefully we'll see each other in coming months a lot lighter. :)
 
Oh sorry, I didn't clearify that statement. What I meant was that it's impossible to lose 1-2 pounds per week right away without first taking the time to slowly adjust. I'm guessing it's more about will power, and just how much you phase out of your current diet.

Hopefully I can do it too. But only time will tell. :)
 
OK, well me diet is not that great, because, well, I haven't really changed it. Its so much easier for me to excersise than to eat well.

Breakfast: (This is only the real consisent meal that never changes)
Bowl of cereal (whole grain), low fat milk, half glass of orange or apple juice

Lunch:
90% time a sandwhich, turkey, lettuce, tomato on wheat.
about 12ozs of water

Snacks between lunch and dinner.
some type of fruit, grapes, apple, etc, not too much
another 12ozs of water

Dinner; Kind of embarassingly incosistant and not healthy
Could really be anything, examples
(1 of the following) 2 slices of pizza,1 cheesburger,steak,pasta, chicken breast, turkey sandwhich, baked fish,
Its not good I know, but I try to limit the portion size. I still live and eat with my family for dinner, so its basically whatever my mother makes for the rest of us.
 
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Well, like I said, its just whatever my family is eating. I guess I could start eating something else, it would need to be easy to make because I don't have much time. Its not EVERY night either, just giving examples, like I said, its different almost every night. If it really is impossible to lose weight with my diet, I will obviously try to change it but I hoping to mostly just my excersizing instead.
 
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Derwyddon said:
well to be honest your diet is in very poor shape, and you should be trying to clean it up at least some before asking for tips and help. read the nutritional sticky and come up with as many ideas as you can.
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Yeah, I'll admit that your right, I have been exersizing but its probably time to change me diet now. I'll read that nutrition sticky. Thanks.
 
Working out is easy, anyone can do that. Eating right and at the right times is the real struggle.

Your family eats unhealthy :mad: , so does mine. I enjoy my Salmon, broccoli, and salad for dinner while they have McDonalds or mac n cheese (or god forbid wings) You are gonna have to start cooking for yourself man, Eating healthy is pretty cheap, water = free and you can buy bags of veggies and chicken breast or fish.

Try to get 5-7 meals a day, figure out how many calories you need to lose weight.

Come back at us with a little better plan (not what you are eating now but what you think you should be eating), read some more, ask questions. Because your diet is really hard to build off of, you gotta help yourself before we can help you.
 
C-MayheM said:
Working out is easy, anyone can do that. Eating right and at the right times is the real struggle.

Your family eats unhealthy :mad: , so does mine. I enjoy my Salmon, broccoli, and salad for dinner while they have McDonalds or mac n cheese (or god forbid wings) You are gonna have to start cooking for yourself man, Eating healthy is pretty cheap, water = free and you can buy bags of veggies and chicken breast or fish.

Try to get 5-7 meals a day, figure out how many calories you need to lose weight.

Come back at us with a little better plan (not what you are eating now but what you think you should be eating), read some more, ask questions. Because your diet is really hard to build off of, you gotta help yourself before we can help you.
Click to expand...


OK, this losing weight thing is going to be a lot harder than I first thought, "hey I could probably lose weight, all I have to do is eat less and exersize more" :eek: yeah...

I'll try to figure something out. Thanks.
 
What about 3 meals a day? I'm going to think over my plan, and I like your idea of cooking yourself. I live at home too, and I pretty much eat whatever coming to me.

I guess my question is why is it so important that you get 5-7 meals a day? Is that based on the food pyramid?
 
There are several reasons, all of which are probably in the nutrition sticky here on the site. In lieu of that, read . It's not the best article on the topic, but it was the one I had handy.

Also, as with Derwyddon and numerous other folks here, I was been through this. It is possible to lose 1-2 pounds a week. In fact, it can be easier. Just be consistent with your exercise and consider what you're eating at all times. This especially includes pizza and hamburgers. If you spend 3/4 of your day eating well and 1/4 eating horribly, you're not really getting anywhere. Have you brought this up to your parents? They might get you something else if you ask.
 
Dallen said:
What about 3 meals a day? I'm going to think over my plan, and I like your idea of cooking yourself. I live at home too, and I pretty much eat whatever coming to me.

I guess my question is why is it so important that you get 5-7 meals a day? Is that based on the food pyramid?
Click to expand...

I believe that it's so your body will get fuel every 2-3 hours - which will help keep the metabolism going.
 
Hmm... I guess I should attempt to read over this. I'm planning on going to the bookstore tomorrow to look at some diet books. I'm a bit skeptical about this 5-7 meals plan, but since that one guy said he lost quite a bit on it, I might want to check it out. Thanks for the info.
 
Try hula hooping. I've read it burns 100 calories in 10 minutes. There are adult size hoops available o the internet only. Then are much larger then what you're thinking of and anyone can keep adult size hoops up. I know of a couple large people doing it and size doesn't matter. It is so fun. Time goes by, and it's way less of a drag. Since men store fat in their gut, hooping will be great for you. I've been doing it for 1 1/2 months and I can see the biggest difference in my abs.

As far as calorie counting. The weight watcher diet is the easiest for me to follow.

You get:

3 or 4 bread circles - each circle is worth 70 calories.
6 protein circles - each worth 60-80 calories
3 milks circles - each worth 90 calories
3 fat circles - each worth 30 calories.
3 fruits circles - each worth 70 calories
unlimited veggies. Potatoes count as a bread 1 small potato = 1 bread circle. Corn and peas are starchy, and aren't unlimited. Nor is tomato, which is actually a fruit, but I count it as a veggie.

1 egg or 1 oz of meat = 1 protein 1 can of tuna = 1 1/2 proteins. Yogurt can be a protein or a milk. Olive oil, nuts (very fattening), and avacado count as fats. You can count nuts as fat and protein.


I always have protein in the morning. Either eggs and turkey bacon or tuna salad. I have complex carbs (whole wheat breads that are not refined) after exercising to feed muscle and before to get energy. I always have my fruit alone, because it will turn anything else in your stomach into sugar. natural sugar is okay. After 6pm, as long as I don't exercise, I only have protein and veggies and I always go to bed hungry, but not starving. Additives in convenience foods are bad when it comes to weight less. The closest thing to convenient that you should have on a diet is yogurt and sandwich bread. Anything that is premade is a no no. Like most none natural applesauses or cereal bars and things you think are healthy will have corn syrup in it. A good rule of thumb, is that everything on the out skirts of the grocery store is healthy. The dairy, deli, produce, bakery and meat departments. Everything in the isles isn't, its convenient foods. With some exceptions, like canned refried beans, rice, noodles, cans of broth, ketchup, pickles, etc.... I don't really count circles anymore, since I have a good feel of what I'm eating, and already know how many breads I've had that day. If it comes in a box with directions, don't eat it! Of course there's some exceptions.

Here's food that goes far, but doesn't count as much. I live off of these....
Tuna Salad (more mustard, less mayo) 2 big heaping scoops on 1 slice of toast, like a tostada.

Fat free Vanilla Yogurt, sliced banana, and 1/2 cup oatmeal

Chicken soup. I use onion in the broth, whole wheat noodles (<---complex carb), carrots and celery. Make sure the chicken is almost completely covered with water, but NOT all the way. That way your broth won't be too weak. Put the chicken and broth in the fridge to let cool, so that the fat hardens and comes to the top, the scrap it off, take the chicken out, add carrots and celery for 15 minutes, then noodles. Clean the chicken while veggies cook. Don't over cook veggies before you add the noodles. Then at the end, throw in cleaned chicken. Chicken soup is really how I lost 30 lbs. I eat it up after 4 or 5 days. I usually have it for breakfest and lunch! :p

Watermelon! LOVE IT!

Chicken taco salad. I cook cubed chicken wit very little oil, with salt and pepper. I season with chili power, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper. Then I take a scoop of fat free cream cheese and just warm it up a big in the pan with chicken. Then I put chicken on top of a heaping bowl of lettuce, tomato, onion etc...... avocado maybe (though fattening) and I toast one taco shell and crumble it on top. So filling, with barely any bread. A good choice for dinner.

Oh yeah, and BLTS. But I use turkey bacon, and I put it on one slice of bread, like a tostada(sp?) so that I can eat more lettuce, tomato and bacon and less bread.

I also cook with coconut oil and I use veganaise instead of mayo, because it's better for you. Veganaise is way better tasting then mayo believe it or not.
 
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