Hello, and HELP!

[badmanalive]

Ok, I am brand new.......... I literally typed "Weight loss forum" into google, and here I am. I apologise, for just stepping in, and asking for help. If you guys N gal's, give me help, and advise, I can promise I will stick around, and reciprocate .

Here is a little background, to start this out.......

I have spent the majority of my life, since I was 16 (currently 29.78 yrs old) doing phisically demanding labor. I gained enough technical knowledge, that my current job, which I love, (NOT WILLING TO CHANGE JOB'S) is functioning as a claim "authorizor", for a home warranty company.

When I was working in the field, I was in reasonable shape..... not great, but reasonable. Approx 175 Lbs., With a waist of 32 inches.... BTW, I'm 5-11 in height. WELL......... upon getting a desk job, approx 9 to 10 months ago.... I have slowly become approx. 200 Lbs. with a 26 inch waist. I have not actually weighed myself to verify this.

My wife is going to Florida, for 2 weeks, maybe more......... We went food shopping yesterday, for me, so that I will be set, while she's gone, and while looking at the cart, I had the thought.... I need to do something about my weight..... and then thought, I need to go on a crash course, and surprise her with my new "bod" when she get's home!

Here is what I what I plan on doing, and if you will, please help me hone this into a really great surprise for her.... First, I feel, that drinking nothing but water, will be very important. Work is approx. 3.5 miles away, and I will walk to, and from work, every day. These 2 things, I feel, are set in stone, and are at the least, the 2 principals I will go by......

This is where I step into the unsure zone.... I know I have to eat something...... I'm assuming fruit's, and vegetables would be ideal..... should I exercise, on top of this?.......... What should I eat?.......... I am unsure of much beyond walking to and from work, and drinking water only.

Please give your advise, if you have time....... I want my wife to say "DAMN!!" when she comes home. I do plan on continuing this, but want the 2 week's she is gone to have maximum impact. Btw, I have great willpower, particularly for this, so throw your thoughts out there....... i.e. only water, no food for 2 weeks..... I can handle it! ( I'm assuming that would be a bad idea)

 

[amy1985]

Hi, and welcome to the forum

You need to consider two things- the calories you're eating/ using, and your nutrition. For the former, I recommend you look up a BMR calculator on Google, and use it (incorporating your activity- I personally favour one that uses the Harris-Benedict formula to work this out) to work out how many calories you need a day to maintain your weight. Then reduce that number by 500 to lose approx a pound a week, or 1000 to lose approx 2. (They're "in theory" numbers so your mileage will vary, but it's a good place to start, and it's worked very well for me- I've lost 7kg, or 15.4lb, in 7 weeks using this system) Then you can either calorie count (I do this- I weigh my food and note everything down. it's not as hard as it sounds) or at least have an awareness of higher and lower calorie foods, and avoid the ones that are higher calorie. You need to do what works for you, though- so you need to find a balance of foods that are filling and meet your calorie/ weight loss goals.

You shouldn't drop your calories too far- no more than 1000 calories a day off maintenance, or no less than 1800 calories a day, whichever number is higher. You should aim to lose about 1-2lb a week unless you're over 200lb (the figure I've read is 1-2% of total body weight is ok to lose).

Nutrition is also important but for different reasons- it keeps you well, essentially, and can aid in muscle development (or not losing muscle) if that's what you're after. You want to aim at about 50% carbs, 25% fat, and 25% protein (or 20% fat and 30% protein). Fruit and vegetables are a really important part of weight loss, as most of them are very low calorie for the amount of food you get- check your country/ region's nutritional guidelines, but the UK recommends 5 80g (2.82oz) serves of fresh fruit and vegetables a day, and Australia recommends 5 vegetables and 2 fruit. Try to keep your meat lean (buy lean mince/ ground beef and cut the fat off the meat) and limit meat to 80g portions (up to 100g- 3.5oz for white meat). Here's a really simple guide based on UK recommendations: (my diet is probably over half fruit and vegetables, but that's not sustainable for most people)

Exercise is very important. In theory, you could lose the weight without doing any exercise at all, but being in a calorie deficit (which is what weight loss is about) means that there will be some muscle loss as well as fat loss. Exercising, particularly strength training, helps to minimise this. Do whatever exercise works for you (and remember to adjust your calorie intake accordingly)- walking to work sounds like a very good start, although try to make that brisk to increase the fitness benefits.

I recommend reading the stickied posts here for some very useful information, and looking in particular at the before/ after sections for inspiration, and the diary section to see what other people are doing (and if you like, set up one of your own- people are very supportive in there).

Hope this helps

 

[madgicsh]

Live on water? I don't think so!!

Only water, no food for two weeks? Yep, a super bad idea!

As a dedicated carnivore I have found that what stops my hunger cold is lots of lean protein (eggs, fish such as tuna or salmon canned in water, steak, chicken, low-fat low-sugar yoghurt.

Your principles of lots of water and lots of walking are great, but if you only eat fruit and veg you will lose muscle mass and end up gaining weight. Only muscle "eats" calories; fat just kinda sits there, and bones only really need calcium (see yoghurt) and vitamin D, which you will get from walking in the sunshine. GOOD LUCK!