I made up my mind

G

Guile

0
Good day! My name is Eric, and I'm sixteen years old. I am 1.82 meters tall and my weight is 118kg. That's 5'11.5" and 261 pounds. My body type is consistent with a mesomorph--I gain muscle mass quickly, have broad shoulders and back and am naturally shaped as an inverted triangle.

However, most of my admittedly short life I've had absolutely zero interest in shaping up, and have had overweight due to excess eating (when I was younger, basketball helped me fend off some of the weight, but my life has become too sedentary for the past few years).

While on a recent drunken small party with my closest friends, one of them commented (as we discussed people we knew who were formerly skinny or unfit and then became healthy and sometimes ripped) that the only surefire method he'd heard of for people committing themselves to diet and exercise was betting. Make a bet with someone that you'd reach some goal before some deadline, and you had not just physical/social/health-related motivations, but monetary motivations as well.

I promptly proposed a bet; I would have a two-pack/four-pack/six-pack by my 17th birthday (July 8th). One of my friends is a few months shy of graduating as a lawyer, and he wrote up a document to make note of the bet. $100 per head--of the four present, three accepted the bet, the lawyer stood as witness. This all transpired earlier today (April 5th), circa 4AM. We shook hands, signed our bets, made copies and such.

I started right off the bat--skipped on the next three rounds of beers, and will probably be skipping on beer and rum today, tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday (we were planning on binge drinking throughout the week, starting last Sunday). However, I realize that for someone my size and with my lifestyle, skipping a couple beers isn't going to give me a six-pack. So this is why I come to you folks.

WHAT I NEED:
  • An exercise program that will allow me to go from a small beer-belly to a six-pack in 95 days. Other body parts are less important and should not be focused upon.
  • A diet program that will complement the exercise plan mentioned above.

WHAT MY RESTRICTIONS ARE:
  • I cannot join a gym. Every morning, from 7:30AM to 12:30PM, I go to the University for my Architecture degree. Every afternoon, from 2:50PM to 6:10PM, I go to another University for my Civil Engineering degree. When I get home at around 6:30PM, not only am I tired, but I have a pile of research and homework to do for both careers, so I do not have time to leave my house and go to the gym.
  • I cannot eat salads. I have incessantly tried to bring myself to it, but I cannot accomplish it. Proposed diets can include vegetables, but not as salads. Broccoli is out of the question.

WHAT MIGHT BE A PROBLEM:
The following are things about me that could be an issue and if worked around would be best, but that I am willing and capable of adjusting if necessary:

  • I am a pretty heavy drinker. When drinking beer, I only drink light beer, but after 18 beers in one night, light doesn't matter much to your belly. I also drink rum and vodka on a regular basis, and whiskey when I can get my hands on something worthwhile. I am willing to drop this if needed. If it will speed up or ensure results, I'd prefer a diet plan that would eliminate this completely (I'm an extremist, I like all-or-nothing approaches)
  • I am a chain-smoker. When classes get in the way of my smoking, I only smoke about two packs of 20 cigarettes (Marlboro Menthol mostly, Marlboro Reds when I can't find Menthols) per day. When nothing gets in the way, I smoke up to 7-8 packs per day, assuming I'm always in places where smoking is permitted. I am willing to cut back on this, but please, only eliminate this if it is impossible for me to accomplish my goal if I don't.
  • I am abnormally lazy. I know I can't achieve anything like what I aim for if I act lazy, so I know I'll have to adjust my attitude, but I thought I should mention it--it is perhaps one of my defining characteristics.

If you would like any other form of information in order to better provide me with assistance, please ask here or message me.

Absolutely any help, routines, exercises and diet plans are welcome. Tips, suggestions and personal stories are good too. I know I'm asking for something big, but if you folks could give me a hand, I might finally do something with my body and get healthy.

I made up my mind. I need guidance now. Thanks!

NOTE: Pictures coming up soon. For now, I can tell you that I have a moderate/large beer-belly, love-handles and stretch-marks. I also have some degree of gynecomastia that has bothered me for years; if anyone has any suggestions on how to get rid of that, I would greatly appreciate it as well.
 
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So, just that we are all on the same page. You are:

  • a heavy drinker
  • a chain smoker
  • abnormally lazy
  • cannot eat salads
  • cannot join a gym
  • desire a customized routine, which suits all of the above characteristics
  • need a six pack in 3 months

This will never happen. You realize people actually work very hard for long periods of time to achieve a six-pack and that is under ideal conditions. Your conditions are so far from ideal that it would likely never happen. To do this in 3 months, you have to do everything perfectly which, quite honestly, it doesn't sound like you're truly willing to consider (drinking, diet, exercise, study and hard work). Best of luck to you, though.
 
Do consider that heavy drinking, chain smoking and being lazy are all within the section of things that I am capable of and willing to adjust in order to reach my goal. I also do not necessarily need a six-pack; any form of lesser abdominal definition is enough (two-pack and such, if that is easier to accomplish).

The only non-negotiable terms are that I cannot join a gym due to study restrictions, and that I can't eat broccoli or all-vegetable salads (I could eat a tuna or chicken salad, for example).

Though if it is completely impossible, I could use the closest approximation to my requirements you can provide--I do not have a problem with intensity and commitment, and even if you give me something that does not quite match what I need, I will see what I can do with it. I will be as flexible as I have to be; if salads are an absolute must, I will even forfeit that restriction. The only absolute restriction I have is that I need something that works around my dual career schedule.

Thank you for the feedback, though!

On another note, as far as diet plans go, what am I aiming for? High protein and low fat I can guess, but what about carbohydrates? Low, high, something specific? Are there products that can help me and should I consider using any? Last night someone mentioned Hydroxycut--does it work, and would it work for me?
 
You cant go to the gym due to study restrctions?? Just get up earlier im doing a double and I still get to the gym. You say your sedentary why dont you get off your arse and go for a run.

As for getting this sick pack, your going to lose 100 bucks if you dont read the stickies. The best way to reach your goals is to read for a couple of days and educate yourself then you wont encounter all the problems that you no doubt will in the first month.
 
Classes at 7:30AM mean I need to be leaving home at 7:00AM, which means I need to start showering and changing at 6:30AM at the latest. Not much gym time in there, considering the gym opens at 6:00AM. I get home at 1:00PM and need to leave showered and changed by 2:30PM; that's 90 minutes for lunch, shower and change--again not enough for hitting the gym and coming back. My only chance would be getting home at 6:30PM and then going to the gym from 7:00PM until about 9:00PM or 10:00PM, when it closes--but that would mean I would have no time to do homework or study whatsoever. Gym is not an option.

Going for a run is more feasible. However, I live in the city, and there are not many places around me where I can run without being mugged, though I am considering getting an elliptic machine or a treadmill (though I'm unsure if I can run on a treadmill at my weight without damage to the machine). Would an elliptic provide suitable cardio work-out?

I'll read the stickies right away.
 
Yeah an eliptical is a good machine but you should look into getting some other equipment as well. All you need is a barbell set and a bench.
 
If you can't do a gym, you HAVE to find a way to maintain muscle while losing weight. Otherwise, you can run and run and run, but a lot of will be muscle and you will bottom out and gain it all back. On the note of losing weight, stop drinking so much. Once a week, OK, and even then keep it under control. Stop smoking. How are you going to run and lift weights if you can barely breath? Stop being lazy. Laziness will not net you any results! Having a superb diet CAN be enough to lose weight, but even then you still need to be lifting weights, and cardio helps. Salads aren't a must. There are dozens of great, healthy veggies. You have a lot to learn, and as NBS 4life said, read around. Cliche as it may be, "Knowledge is Power".
 
I can breathe/run rather decently, my smoking insofar hasn't had much effect on that. Drinking I can completely eliminate--I drink to get drunk, so drinking in moderation is useless, not drinking at all is much better for me. What sort of abs workouts should I be looking into for fat reduction? I can get some weight lifting equipment, but how intense a workout should I be aiming for as far as weights go, considering my priority is abs?
 
You could do 1000 ab exercises everyday and never lose fat of your midsection. Spot reduction is a myth. You cant lose fat of one area of your body. Basically what Im saying is that you cant choose where you lose fat from first last or whatever
 
So to reduce fat, I need full-body workouts--though when I've lost enough fat and have a low enough body fat percentage for a pack to show, then I should focus on abs exercises, correct?
 
Does 30-45 minutes of elliptic HITT per day sound good? As far as weights go, I could buy a bench and the basic equipment, but what sort of workout should I do? And what type of diet do I aim for?
 
Look online for a calorie calculator, that will tell you how many calories you must eat every day to maintain your current weight. In order to lose weight, all you need to do is reduce that amount by 500 calories per day. That will give you your total daily caloric intake for weight loss. As for your diet, all you need to do is take that number and divide it by 6 and you have the caloric amounts you need at each meal of the day (you need to be eating 5-6 smaller meals during the day). I usually supplement with Lipo-6 (same as hydroxicut) for the caffeine (I hate coffee), as I need the energy boost. Adding weight training and cardio will make your weight loss goals more attainable.

As for you vices.....you already know the answer to them and don't need anyone else to tell you that drinking, smoking and being sedentary should be the first thing to go....
 
Google full body workout and some routines will pop up. Several have been posted around here and other forums. The New Rules of Lifting has some nice routines, and a few devoted to fat loss. Being new to lifting, though, they will hurt.
 
Sorry to tell you this but you will most likely not succeed.
You didn't put on all this weight in 4 months and you will never loose that much BF in such a short period of time.

You have to understand that what you wants requires immense discipline and knowledge and most importantly, time.
The last thing you want is to loose your precious muscle mass when losing weight so quickly.

So unless you want to end up with lots of loose skin which can only be surgically removed, possibly kidney stones and almost no muscle mass, you're going to have to learn a lot, loose weight slowly and most of all be incredibly dedicated.

Just my $0.02
 
Okay guys. Using calculator, I got the following results:

  • Resting (basal) metabolic rate: 2841 calories per day
  • Typical daily activities: 1527 calories per day
  • Total calories burned: 4368 per day

I'm interpreting this as meaning that if I change my diet to 3000 calories per day, I would be burning 1368 calories per day, correct? On top of exercise and whatnot? If I divide 3000 calories between 6 meals, I'd get 500 calories per meal, spaced out every three hours (I'm usually awake 18 hours). Would this work for a diet plan? Should I go with high protein, low carb and fat, or high carb and low fat? Or something else entirely?

As far as exercise goes, during this week I'll be getting an elliptic machine and a basic weights set. I'm currently looking up routines, but suggestions are welcome.
 
Guile said:
Okay guys. Using calculator, I got the following results:

  • Resting (basal) metabolic rate: 2841 calories per day
  • Typical daily activities: 1527 calories per day
  • Total calories burned: 4368 per day

I'm interpreting this as meaning that if I change my diet to 3000 calories per day, I would be burning 1368 calories per day, correct? On top of exercise and whatnot? If I divide 3000 calories between 6 meals, I'd get 500 calories per meal, spaced out every three hours (I'm usually awake 18 hours). Would this work for a diet plan? Should I go with high protein, low carb and fat, or high carb and low fat? Or something else entirely?

As far as exercise goes, during this week I'll be getting an elliptic machine and a basic weights set. I'm currently looking up routines, but suggestions are welcome.
Click to expand...

That seems a bit high (from the looks of it, that calculator is for high caliber athletes - those doing AT LEAST 10K runs every day, all the way up to half marathons and beyond) Most of the online calculators I've come across put me at around 2500 calories per day to maintain my current weight (and I consider myself in the "active" category), and in order to cut effectively, I need to reduce my intake to about 2000 calories per day.

when you put your info into this one (, what are you getting?
 
It requires a minimum of 18 years of age, and I am 16. However, with 18, I get 2300 calories (inactive) and 2550 (somewhat active). Due to walking around to all my classes and going up and down stairs all day long, I am likely somewhere in between those--say, 2400 calories. So if I change my diet to 2000 calories and add physical activity, I'd be burning more than a pound of fat a week, correct?
 
Guile said:
It requires a minimum of 18 years of age, and I am 16. However, with 18, I get 2300 calories (inactive) and 2550 (somewhat active). Due to walking around to all my classes and going up and down stairs all day long, I am likely somewhere in between those--say, 2400 calories. So if I change my diet to 2000 calories and add physical activity, I'd be burning more than a pound of fat a week, correct?
Click to expand...

That's right! Just make sure you're eating 2000 calories of healthy food though, and not a bunch of crap. Lots of articles/recipes in the forum to help you out (you can't go wrong with the usual of grilled chicken, tuna, eggs, fruits and veggies, etc) - stay away from the processed stuff (no frozen dinners, et al) heh
 
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