Hi! I finally got around to registering on the forum (long time lurker) and wanted to get some thoughts from the more experienced users here. I'll start by telling you about myself, my eating and exercise habits, and what my plan is for both.
Sex: Male
Age: 30
Height: 6 feet 2 inches
Weight: 235 pounds
Body fat: 40.5% (According to my scale, which is supposed to be accurate to .1%, and this is in the morning before eating/drinking and averaged)
Occupation: Self employed web developer
Eating habits: Because I work from a home office, I unfortunately have full access to a kitchen full of food all day long, and I tend to take advantage of it. Because I'm usually pretty busy, I often miss breakfast, and sometimes don't eat lunch until late afternoon (my first meal of the day). I eat a pretty large (1500 calories) dinner, but then go out of control all evening long, taking in at least another 2000 calories - mostly junk (cookies, chips, etc).
I have very, very low willpower with regards to controlling my overeating, especially in the evening. Any diet I've tried in the past has left me ravenously hungry (usually I'd try to aim at 2000 calories/day) and while I can resist the urge occasionally, I'd usually blow the diet at night and double my calorie intake in about 10 minutes.
Exercise habits: To put it simply, I have none. I have no commute to work (down the stairs is about it), and tend to sit in an office chair all day, except for trips to the kitchen and bathroom. I've tried jogging in the past, but have problems when it is too hot outside (massive overheating), too cold outside (lungs burning), raining (chafing), etc, etc, etc.
All of this said, I'm not in terrible shape. I have some muscle definition, can run 2 miles at a 10 min/mile pace, can bench 200lbs. Because I'm fairly tall, I hide a lot of the weight in a long torso, and people generally think I weight closer to 210lbs.
The problem with this is that while I may look like the average, somewhat overweight American man, I feel absolutely terrible. My sleep is affected by my energy levels. I'm always tired. I feel like I'm carrying an extra person on my back all of the time. Feeling this way affects my mood and productivity, costing me happiness and money.
I recently decided I'd had enough of it and really want to make a life long change. I don't really have a goal of a specific weight - I just want to lose a LOT of BF%, feel strong and healthy, and have lots of energy.
So..
Exercise plan: I bought a treadmill (Smooth Fitness HR 7.1 Pro) and had it set up on Tuesday night. I've run twice on it so far (Wednesday and Thursday morning), and my current plan is to run Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, alternating longer, slower runs with faster, shorter runs. Then rest on Friday, followed by the longest run outdoors I can manage at a comfortable pace on Saturday. Rest on Sunday, and then repeat the cycle.
Is this sufficient for exercise in order to lose fat effectively? I plan on weight training eventually, but wanted to cut down the weight a bit first, and figured cardio is a good option for that.
Diet plan: No idea here. I know I should be eating 5-6 small meals instead of binging in a short period of time. I don't know what the makeup of my meals should be (Low fat? Low carb?), and I don't know how I should structure my calories in those meals. Equal sized meals for all 6? Go a little heavier in the morning?
My sincerest thanks to anyone who provides help - I'd just like some feedback about my approach, and I'm very open to any suggestions that help me move in the right direction here.
Thanks!
-Ken
Sex: Male
Age: 30
Height: 6 feet 2 inches
Weight: 235 pounds
Body fat: 40.5% (According to my scale, which is supposed to be accurate to .1%, and this is in the morning before eating/drinking and averaged)
Occupation: Self employed web developer
Eating habits: Because I work from a home office, I unfortunately have full access to a kitchen full of food all day long, and I tend to take advantage of it. Because I'm usually pretty busy, I often miss breakfast, and sometimes don't eat lunch until late afternoon (my first meal of the day). I eat a pretty large (1500 calories) dinner, but then go out of control all evening long, taking in at least another 2000 calories - mostly junk (cookies, chips, etc).
I have very, very low willpower with regards to controlling my overeating, especially in the evening. Any diet I've tried in the past has left me ravenously hungry (usually I'd try to aim at 2000 calories/day) and while I can resist the urge occasionally, I'd usually blow the diet at night and double my calorie intake in about 10 minutes.
Exercise habits: To put it simply, I have none. I have no commute to work (down the stairs is about it), and tend to sit in an office chair all day, except for trips to the kitchen and bathroom. I've tried jogging in the past, but have problems when it is too hot outside (massive overheating), too cold outside (lungs burning), raining (chafing), etc, etc, etc.
All of this said, I'm not in terrible shape. I have some muscle definition, can run 2 miles at a 10 min/mile pace, can bench 200lbs. Because I'm fairly tall, I hide a lot of the weight in a long torso, and people generally think I weight closer to 210lbs.
The problem with this is that while I may look like the average, somewhat overweight American man, I feel absolutely terrible. My sleep is affected by my energy levels. I'm always tired. I feel like I'm carrying an extra person on my back all of the time. Feeling this way affects my mood and productivity, costing me happiness and money.
I recently decided I'd had enough of it and really want to make a life long change. I don't really have a goal of a specific weight - I just want to lose a LOT of BF%, feel strong and healthy, and have lots of energy.
So..
Exercise plan: I bought a treadmill (Smooth Fitness HR 7.1 Pro) and had it set up on Tuesday night. I've run twice on it so far (Wednesday and Thursday morning), and my current plan is to run Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, alternating longer, slower runs with faster, shorter runs. Then rest on Friday, followed by the longest run outdoors I can manage at a comfortable pace on Saturday. Rest on Sunday, and then repeat the cycle.
Is this sufficient for exercise in order to lose fat effectively? I plan on weight training eventually, but wanted to cut down the weight a bit first, and figured cardio is a good option for that.
Diet plan: No idea here. I know I should be eating 5-6 small meals instead of binging in a short period of time. I don't know what the makeup of my meals should be (Low fat? Low carb?), and I don't know how I should structure my calories in those meals. Equal sized meals for all 6? Go a little heavier in the morning?
My sincerest thanks to anyone who provides help - I'd just like some feedback about my approach, and I'm very open to any suggestions that help me move in the right direction here.
Thanks!
-Ken
Good luck!