I'm AJ, 25, I joined a few days ago and have been reading a lot and I think there's a lot more for me to learn. Here's my story (I'll try not to turn it into a novel):
When I graduated highschool at age 18, I was the fittest I ever was, 5'6", 155 lbs, 5.3% body fat, I could run a half marathon in the morning and play basketball in the afternoon... and then it all went down hill when i got to college.
I started smoking, drinking and eating...a lot. the freshman 15 turned into the sophomore 20, junior 10 and senior 15. So I was 215lbs when i graduated from college and didn't get the message, got a job and have lived a pretty sedentary lifestyle for 4 years (I am now 225 lbs and can't recognize the person from my senior picture).
Now, I'm hoping to make a change for the better. I quit smoking cold turkey May 2nd because of a severe case of Pneumonia and decided to get back into the gym a month ago, it took a number of aerobic sessions to get my lungs back but i now feel like my lungs are atleast 90%, I ran 6 miles today at the gym.
As of 20 minutes ago, I am 225 lbs, my long term goal is to get down to 160 lbs by this time next year. Thats a 65 pound weight loss goal, over 12 months or roughly 5.5 pounds a month. I plan on getting there by dragging my butt into the gym as often as I can (unfortunately I work 10-12 hours a day, at a desk) so my workouts can be early in the morning (when I have a hard time waking up), at lunch or after work trying to fit a dinner in there somewhere. I'm already a pretty healthy eater, but I'm going to try to cut the diet pepsi and cheesecake factory visits out. In order to jump start the weight loss I'm going to try a 1600 calorie diet, I've normally been in the 2200-2700 calorie range so I'm unsure how much this will affect me and if I'll be able to stick to the diet.
Well, there ya go, I'll try to take some proper pictures of the beer gut for you guys and post them in the appropriate forum. I'll be around and am happy to answer any questions.
~AJ
When I graduated highschool at age 18, I was the fittest I ever was, 5'6", 155 lbs, 5.3% body fat, I could run a half marathon in the morning and play basketball in the afternoon... and then it all went down hill when i got to college.
I started smoking, drinking and eating...a lot. the freshman 15 turned into the sophomore 20, junior 10 and senior 15. So I was 215lbs when i graduated from college and didn't get the message, got a job and have lived a pretty sedentary lifestyle for 4 years (I am now 225 lbs and can't recognize the person from my senior picture).
Now, I'm hoping to make a change for the better. I quit smoking cold turkey May 2nd because of a severe case of Pneumonia and decided to get back into the gym a month ago, it took a number of aerobic sessions to get my lungs back but i now feel like my lungs are atleast 90%, I ran 6 miles today at the gym.
As of 20 minutes ago, I am 225 lbs, my long term goal is to get down to 160 lbs by this time next year. Thats a 65 pound weight loss goal, over 12 months or roughly 5.5 pounds a month. I plan on getting there by dragging my butt into the gym as often as I can (unfortunately I work 10-12 hours a day, at a desk) so my workouts can be early in the morning (when I have a hard time waking up), at lunch or after work trying to fit a dinner in there somewhere. I'm already a pretty healthy eater, but I'm going to try to cut the diet pepsi and cheesecake factory visits out. In order to jump start the weight loss I'm going to try a 1600 calorie diet, I've normally been in the 2200-2700 calorie range so I'm unsure how much this will affect me and if I'll be able to stick to the diet.
Well, there ya go, I'll try to take some proper pictures of the beer gut for you guys and post them in the appropriate forum. I'll be around and am happy to answer any questions.
~AJ
