Help for a teen looking to lose weight!

M

Mike_Check

0
Hey there all. I've been trawling this site for aaages and only just refound it. I obviously am looking to lose my weight and get at least normal proportion for "schoolies" in late November.

Previously I went swimming 3 or 4 nights a week (mon, wed, thurs, sometimes fri depending on what was on) just doing laps and sometimes trying a bit of HIIT which I couldn't really do as it was a public pool.

Anyway moral of the story I didn't see how much weight I lsot, personally I didn't see any but people commented I had thinned a bit - I think a remark was "you're deffinately slowly getting there" - but I don't know how much of that was just nicety.

Aaaaanyway. I'm looking to lose it again and more. For real this time. I've got a goal and I've got determination.

What I need is a routine. When I was swimming I was doing it straight after tea to avoid crowds however I had to walk the fine line between getting there too early after tea and getting cramps, thus wasting a session and leaving it too late and having the pool close 3/4 of the way through my session. So I was constantly stressed which a year 12 does not need.

I've been looking at HIIT, especially on the bike. I hate running and have an infected toe atm so can barely walk fast let alone run. Would you guys recommend hiring/buying an exercise bike to work on whenever and for however long I needed or would you say go back to swimming, braving the cold and all.

Sorry that was so long I jsut need ALOT of help...

Mike

P.S. Your photos have been an inspiration.
 
Ciao Mike!! The first thing I would like to ask you is how much overweight are you? If you have a lot to lose and less than fit, swimming is an excellent option. Was the hours of the pool was the only problem for you? Did you think about rearranging your tea time, so that you would eat AFTER swimming? You could have a little nibble to boost your power some time before (about an hour - hour and half) you hit the pool.

If you like biking, I suggest for you, which is much more enjoyable and effective than simply chugging on a normal stationary bike.
The duration of the session is usually anything from 45-90 minutes, you pedal to the rythm of the music, constantly changing the position, resistance and speed. You can keep at your own pace and maintain the intensity that suit you, I suggest monitoring your heart rate especially at the beginning, and try to keep it within 85% of the max at the peak.

Or if it is possible, you can do both, variety always helps to keep things interesting. And try to enjoy your activity, instead of seeing it as a chore.

Good luck and keep us posted!
 
hey thanks for the reply!

At the moment I am about 175cm tall and weigh 101kg (I don't know what that is it pounds sorry) which according to an online BMi calculator puts me jsut in the Obese section.

yeah the hours generally were the only thing wrong with the pool and the fact that it's really REALLY cold here now that winter's making an appearance so I was looking for alternatives. Plus I heard it's bad to swim in cold water.

While my OVERALL goal is to lose weight (as I assume most people's is) precicesly I would like to lose my man boobs and stomach fat... but mostly the man boobs. I didn't really think cycling would be the best for this hence the HIIT versions which I gather burns fat regardless of what activity as long as it's intenense.

SO I suppose the new question is: which would lose my gut and man-boobs quickest and most efficeintly? the swimming or the biking?

Oh also I've given myself till November to hopefully slim down alot... is that enough time do you think?

Mike
 
Ciao again Mikey, okay, yes you are a bit on a heavy side I see... well, it will take a lot of patience, and you have to set your goals realistically. Probably November is a bit too early if you are looking to be perfectly lean and mean, but of course, with proper training and dedication, you can improve your fitness level and appearance alike a great deal in several months time.

Unfortunately there is no such thing as spot reduction, what you need to do is to keep up with a well balanced training regularly.
I suggest you to include some muscular tonification along with aerobic activity. You don't need to do a heavy duty pumping iron, just to improve the strength and definition in your physique. Well defined body with good muscle tone beneath your skin will help reduce the flabby look, also another benefit of resistance training is that you will continue to burn calories long after the workout, where as the calorie burning process stops immediately when your aerobic session is over. Begin with some moderate weight exercise, either doing the all around session 3 times a week or split pattern (upper/lower body) 2 times each per week. You can work your abs every day.

Another thing, when you start training yourself, you may not see a weight loss, as you build muscle tissues. This is a good weight gain and most likely you are losing the fat mass at the same time. So don't worry about what the scale says too much, just trust how you feel and look.
Good luck!!
 
hey there thanks again again for the reply! You're really helping me alot :D

So now I know everything I need to about my goals and everything like that, which exercise would be most beneficial? Swimming or Riding? I can't entirely do both (as good as it sounds) as I don't have a stationary bike or an adapter for a normal bike so would need my parents to hire one and unless I have a well thought out, day to day plan tehy won't do it.

That brings me to my next point. Would you be able to help me with a day-to-day plan?

I can do things Mon, Wed, Thurs and Fri with my sport on Sunday. How should I split up the swimming and riding? more swimming and less hiit or more hiit and less swimming? Obviously weights will be interspersed amongst the days.

Thanks alot you are really helping :D

Mike
 
Just want to say good luck on your long road to fitness, it's hard work but well worth it in the end. Almost 5 years ago I weighed almost 90 Kilograms , now I'm 19 and just under 70kg. I've managed to never put weight back on and now I'm just finishing up on my remaining body fat that I want off with cardio long distance bike riding.

It's been a long road for me , tried many different things. All I can really say is...push till it hurts & eat proper amounts of healthy foods, don't set your goals to big or hard because if you fail you will be pissed off at yourself, but most importantly, you HAVE to change your lifestyle...we get overweight because of our lifestyles, if you change for a few months then go back to the old ways you will most likely put the weight back on plus some more. Take it slowly and it wont seem like a choir.

I'm not exactly an expert on diets or workout programs so I'll leave that to someone who knows here to answer that for you, but just saying what worked for me.

I use to actually enjoy eating junk food - it gave me a high to be honest, now it just makes me feel sick if I have some lol...I can't even drink normal coke, my body can only take the 100% sugar free drinks.

What ever you do, don't give up...it's truly amazing at how losing excess body fat can change your life so dramatically - in a good way.


Btw: I'm in melbourne aswell lolz, live in albert park in the city here, bout 3minutes from the F1 race course.
 
hey thanks tonnes for the words of encouragement. I think I'll try starting on the bike doing hiit or similarly intensive things then maybe intersperse some swimming in their later on.

You're saying biking worked for you in losing weight? That's great because I really enjoy biking and I can listen to music whileI do it (something swimming wouldn't allow me to)

Thanks again it means heaps.

Mike
 
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