Good Day

[Ess_The_Mess]

Hello Everyone,

I thought this would be a great tool to help me lose some weight. Currently I am 25 and recently lost my father to a heart attack which was attributed to his smoking and unhealthy lifestyle.

After a huge amount of reflection on my part I realized that I personally have to make a change. I was certainly in a state of denial thinking that I was somewhat still in shape. I weighed myself this evening and it came out that I was a whopping 230 pounds. I am utterly disgusted. Not me, I wasn't *that* overweight. But it is true and it a humbling reality to say the least.

Tomorrow I am going for my first jog in a very long time (I have extremely bad knees and ankles) and going to my doctor to ensure that some of my weight-loss goals aren't too overambitious.

I plan on losing 50 pounds before my birthday which is on January 28th, and be down to 150 pounds by August 1st of next year. I feel that verbalizing/typing this out will help me stick to this better and I hope to meet some great people along the way.

Cheers!

 

[Steve]

Welcome aboard and this forum is a great way to announce your goals and therefore hold yourself accountable.

Sorry about the loss of your father. I'm very glad to hear you are letting his death stand as a means of motivation for getting your health under control.

It is certainly in your control, so congrats.

My main advice would be to take it slow. You probably haven't been active in a long while. Easing into things very conservatively is your best bet, not only for your mind, but your body. It's so easy to overdo things in the beginning and get overly sore, or worse, injured. That's no way to start this journey.

Small and consistent steps win this race (yea, I know, it's not a race) each and every time. Don't forget this.

Your goal is a little ambitious if you ask me, based on my experience. I'm a fan of aiming high though. Just make sure you have a good handle on your expectations at the same time. Landing among the stars when you aim for the moon ain't so bad. I'm simply saying don't be too rigid and inflexible. It tends to rob people of consistency once they realize the 'moon' ain't happening.

Above all, nutrition is going to be your primary driver. It's great you're starting off with getting yourself active again. But hopefully you understand the importance of nutrition and caloric control at this stage in the game.

The stickies at the tops of each subforum are loaded with good info, so if you have the time, I'd highly suggest checking them out.